Chapter 5 – Porte Town’s Welcoming Committee

Alice’s nerves grew as they drew closer to the island. Not a single light appeared to be on on the entire island. Alice had lowered the sail and let them drift in, being wary not to crash into any boats. Sailing off of her senses, the moonlight and the dim lamps of the boat alone was risky; they had had one too many close calls as they neared the port.
Once they pulled up alongside the jetty, Alice tied the boat and stepped off. Oriana, letting out a sigh of relief, joined her. The swordsman took a moment to regain her bearings.

Alice glanced around with narrowed eyes, scanning their darkened surroundings.

“We should wait until morning before we go further… It isn’t safe to walk around without light.”

“Can you not just… sense where everything is?”

“I am not that accurate with my earth sense. Not yet anyway. And besides, that would only help on things made of stone. Most of these buildings are wooden, so anyone waiting to get the jump on us would be invisible to me if they were inside of one of them. This isn’t the place I once knew, so I am not going to venture any further without daylight.” Alice exclaimed, hopping back on the boat and moving towards the hatch that led beneath deck.

“Well… I am not hanging around with a pirate any longer than I have to. So… I will be going!” Oriana announced, folding her arms.

“You’re sure you can’t wait a little while?” Concern coated Alice’s words.

“Certain!” Oriana stepped onto the boat and walked over to the mast, retrieving the now snuffed out lantern from its hook,
“I will find myself somewhere to stay for the evening!”

Alice sighed and watched Oriana fumble around in her pockets until she produced a small metal box. She popped the top of it off and reached in, a marble-sized, orange, glowing orb coming back out in her fingers. She opened the lantern and inserted the orb, the flame igniting at once, dancing around the orb inside. Alice had seen one of these before; an Ignite, a piece of equipment created by the Angelica and blessed by the Angels themselves.

Oriana pocketed her box. She glanced back to Alice, once, her expression softening in the lamp light.

“It was nice to meet you… and thank you… for not… you know, kidnapping me.”

Alice chuckled, and offered her a wave back, unsure if the girl would see it in the darkness.

“The pleasure was all mine. Keep your guard up out there. Not everyone in the Archipelago is as nice as me.”

With a final laugh, Oriana began walking on, following the gravel path that led away from the port, her footsteps growing fainter and fainter.

~

Oriana wandered through the dark streets, only the moonlight and her lantern to guide her. It was too quiet for her liking. Not a sound came from the houses that she walked past. Not a soul stirred on the streets. She let out a shaky breath, before composing herself.
She pressed on, gravel crunching underfoot the whole way making stealth difficult to achieve; though Oriana figured that no one was around to listen.

She approached a large building in the centre of the island, the path now made up with stone bricks. The building stood proud, its red brick outside turned black in the night’s veil. It overshadowed a strange, grey stone platform.
She creeped forwards, looking around her as the path opened up into a square before the platform. Still no one in sight.
Oriana neared the stage, following its steps up and moving for the front door of the grand building, sat just behind the stage.

That is when she noticed the sound of footsteps growing near. A few voices broke the silence,

“This place is creepy… same as always… hey why do we even have to patrol here? No one is awake.”

“Because, Pete, someone reckoned they seen a boat near the island.”

“Oh so what? They probably sailed away ’cause of fear of crashing, didn’t they!”

Shadows of a few figures emerged from the other side of the building, a few carrying lanterns. Oriana noted a particularly large man, the ground in front of him being illuminated by a strange red glow from his hand, but what was emitting it was unclear. She was glad to see the island was not deserted, but they did not sound like the most wholesome bunch. She made a move for one of the bushes that lined the building, cursing as she crunched over some leaves.

“Hey, what was that?”

“What was what?”

“Quiet! The both of you!” The large man shouted, narrowing his eyes as he inspected the shadows of the stage, “If there is someone out there, you had better make yourself known! I can see your lantern. Come out!”

Oriana sighed, scolding herself for being so stupid. She slowly rose from behind the bush, surveying the group stood in front of her, their silhouettes lined by moonlight. Five total. Aside from the obvious runt of the pack, they all looked strong and able fighters. Especially the man out front, who’s figure reminded Oriana of a sumo-fighter who had visited their tribe some time ago. He would not be easily shoved around.

“Hey boss, don’t those tattoos look a lot like- ow!” one of the grunts stumbled back, having received an elbow to the chest.

“I said quiet. Let me do the talking…” the big man muttered, “What brings you here? You aren’t one of the island’s residents.”

Oriana thought as she stepped out from behind the bush and onto the stage,
“I am looking for a place to stay. I was caught out at sea in the dark and had quite a rough time getting onto the island.”

“You are alone?”

Her thoughts flitted back to the pirate. No. She would not risk Alice being pulled into this. She had saved her, after all, and these men did not seem to be your regular, friendly civilians.
“Yes, just me.”

“Markus, I really think she looks like an- ow!” another elbow to the ribs from Markus shut the grunt up for good. He then smiled back to Oriana,
“Please, come with us. We can take you to the inn. You must be tired after that rough sailing.”

Oriana briefly smiled back,
“That would be great.”

Every fibre of her being screamed at her not to follow these men, but she did not have many better options. She convinced herself that she would be able to take them in a fight.
She walked towards the group, letting them begin to lead the way through the darkened streets. Now that she walked besides Markus, she could see that it was not something that he held that was glowing, but his hand itself.

‘A relic user. Just like the pirate.’

She did not make a comment, and instead just kept her eyes forward.

“How does a girl, such as yourself, end up sailing about on her own, then?”

Her heart beat quickened,
“I was… on a fishing trip, but I was caught out by the winds… I am not a very experienced sailor… so I didn’t know what to do but let them carry me.”

“And where is it you were from exactly?”

“Oh… uh you know… the Eastern Islands…”

“Hmmm, right. And so how is it that you ended up all the way out here to Porte Town, the West most island of the Grand Archipelago?”

“I uh…” Oriana’s mind raced, her face starting to flush, “I must have been on the water much longer than I realised… I am really at Porte Town? I thought that place was meant to be unruly and violent. Not like this peaceful island.”

“That really is unbelievable. And yes, it is true that that is how it once was, but the new mayor has changed things around. That was his house back there, y’know.”

“Oh… really?” She swallowed. She was sure that Markus was onto her.

“You know… I should actually get back to my boat. I can just sleep there. I don’t want to put you guys through any more trouble…” Oriana exclaimed, starting to walk away from the group hurriedly. She felt the air move behind her and ducked the grab for her from one of the grunts.
Oriana dropped her lantern and rolled forwards. She hopped to her feet, turning to face the now spread out group. The nearest to her was tall and lanky, a knife now clutched in one hand.

“You couldn’t have remained oblivious for a few more seconds could you darling… almost had you surrounded too…” Markus muttered,
“The jig is up. It’s plain to see that you’re an Angelica, with those tattoos on show. Come with us quietly and we won’t have to hurt you.”

“Talk about Deja Vu…” Oriana muttered, concentrating with a frown. A singular broadsword appeared before her. She gripped its wrapped hilt in both hands.

Lanky made a move towards her, but she was already stepping into him meeting his head with hers and slicing across his chest. He fell to the floor with a howl of pain, the cut deep. Blood spilled from beneath his shirt.
The next charged her, receiving a wound to the shoulder and a kick to the abdomen, leaving him growling in pain on the floor.
She rushed the half pint and the other, both caught in surprise by her dexterity, unable to block the swings to the chests that sent them to the ground.
Oriana moved in to take a swing at Markus, but the large man, his body smoking and glowing with rage, swatted her away with a blow to the chest. The hit sent her sprawling to the floor, her weapon falling from her grasp and shimmering away into light. She groaned and got to her feet.

“Bloody Angelica. It’s always messy with you and your stupid people.” Markus spat, cracking his knuckles and storming towards her.

Oriana concentrated again, her shield and sword appearing in her hands. She raised the shield as he slammed into her, once more throwing her to the ground. She landed awkwardly on her back and let out a gasp as the breath was knocked out of her.
Markus now stood over her. Her shield was torn from her grasp. She could feel the heat emitting from his hand, like it was a furnace. Oriana twisted and rolled over, gasping to get air back into her lungs. She began crawling away, her back sore.

“I really hope this was worth it you little shit.” He growled, reaching down and grabbing her waist from behind. She cried out in agony as his hands burnt through her clothing. She smelt burning flesh. She wriggled and writhed in his grasp, before being smashed into the ground. Her head rattled and her skin burned. She blinked away the tears from her watering eyes, before a blow to the back of her head knocked the consciousness from her.

~

Flames erupted around Alice. Her room was cast into a blazing pit, making her jump to her feet in panic, looking around.

“Mummy! Mummy a fire!” She cried, running for her door. She gasped as she saw the flames that had consumed it already. From the other side she heard shouts and screams.

“Help! I am here!” She shouted, hoping, in vain, that someone would come to her rescue.
The flames were closing in now, consuming her bed, her toys, her carpet. She looked around her for somewhere else to run, but to no avail.

“Help! Help me please! Someone! The fire won’t let me out! PLEASE SOMEBODY-!

“-HELP!”

Alice woke with a start, sitting up, panting and looking around herself in a frenzy. She was in a hammock… the hammock… the boat… no fire. She let out a deep breath and wiped the cold sweat from her brow, taking a moment to gather herself.

‘Just a dream…’

She swung her feet around and stood up, her breathing finally steadying and her heart rate settling. Alice moved to to the back of the boat, retrieving a loaf of bread and tearing herself off a chunk. She returned the remaining loaf to its barrel and climbed up to the deck, tucking into the bread once she was sat comfortably on the side of the boat.

In the distance she could hear soft music playing. A violin. It was barely audible to her, but she could still feel its intentions. She scoffed down her bread, and returned below deck.
Once she had fashioned some torn fabric from the hammock into ear plugs, she began her journey into town. Music with intentions, good or bad, meant magicians, and Alice was not stupid. A magician had to be responsible for the changes in this town, and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

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