Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [131]
His own wound seeps blood all night but by morning has stopped and a scab is beginning to form.
That was several days ago, just how many Miko isn’t sure. He’s lost count as every day is the same. He looks down to where Black Tooth still sits and whenever their eyes meet, naked hatred is all he sees reflected in his eyes. He’s sure that given the chance, Black Tooth would kill him. But without his right hand, Miko is confident that he can defend himself against any attack he may try.
A day or so ago, the road turned south as it continues following the coastline. They had rolled into a large city and made their way down to the docks to drop off two slaves while picking up three more. They now number six wagons with sixteen slaves jammed into each.
The ships with their sails gave Miko a moment’s pleasure as he imagines sailing upon the seas in them, like many a story he heard from bards and minstrels. To feel the sea air and the spray of the waves as your ship crashes through them, ah, Miko can only dream. But the dream was to be short lived, for they once more returned to the road and continued on their way, leaving the ships behind them.
Miko looks to the sea as they ride and occasionally can see the ships passing by on their way to who knows where. Ever since being in the port, he’s had a desire to be upon one.
That night, during the wee hours of the morning, Miko is awakened by shouting as guards begin rushing about. He sees a couple of them with crossbows mounting their horses and heading off into the desert. The slaves begin muttering to themselves until a slaver comes over and tells them to be quiet.
Miko lies back down, wondering just what all that was about. In the morning when he awakens and gets back on the wagon, he sees at the edge of the camp, four dead bodies. Slaves that he later comes to understand had tried to make a break for it last night.
Wish one of them had been Black Tooth, he thinks wistfully.
Another couple of days finds them rolling into another port town and heading toward the dock area. Several ships docked there are in the process of loading or unloading cargo. The wagons pull up next to one and a slaver gets down off the lead wagon and walks up the gangplank onto the ship.
Miko is figuring on them transferring more men either to or from the ship. When the slaver comes back to the top of the gangplank, he hollers to the other slavers and they begin removing all the slaves from the wagons who are then led up to the ship. Excited about being on a ship, but apprehensive as well, Miko looks around as he walks up the gangplank and led over to a hatch where he’s led down into the hold.
The hold is a place of stale air and unpleasant odors. They are led over to where eye rings have been secured to the hull and their manacles are secured to them. Left there in the dark, Miko begins to get scared and a little nauseous from the motion of the ship and the smells from the hold.
After what seems like hours, the ship finally begins to move. Even though he’s held in the cargo hold as a slave, Miko enjoys the roll of the ship despite being nauseated as it makes its way out to sea.
After twenty minutes into the voyage, one of the slaves further down from Miko starts throwing up when the rocking of the ship gets the better of him, spraying it all over. The odor only adds to the already unbearable stench in the hold. Miko’s stomach begins to protest as he continues to smell the other man’s vomit.
Before too long, others begin vomiting as well, including Miko whose stomach can no longer stand the combined odor and the rocking of the ship. The voyage that started out as one of excitement for him, now is pure misery as he gets sicker and sicker, vomiting several more times.
At last, the rocking of the ship diminishes and they feel the hull scrape alongside another dock. The ship comes to a stop and they hear footsteps on the deck