HEO 30

A cloud cast shadows over the mountains and river. The river water reflected the ash-gray sky, the great mountain, and the ferry boat as clearly as a well-polished mirror. It was a warm day for winter. Silver yawned as he rowed.

[Wolf, what happened to your hand?]

[Nothing much. I must have hit the back of my hand on something while tossing around in my sleep. I wrapped it up roughly with a handkerchief.]

[Did it bleed a lot?]

[No, it had almost stopped by the time I woke up. Don’t worry, Your Highness.]

Across the way, Wolf and Red Eagle were chattering. Silver looked up at the sky. Judging by the sun’s position, it would be dusk soon.

“Haaaaam.”

Silver yawned again and frowned. For some reason, ever since waking up, the taste of blood lingered in his mouth. He suspected the wine he’d drunk last night. Which stupid rat had mistaken the wine barrel for a cheese box, jumped in, and drowned?

None of the three boys managed to rise until late morning. It was around noon when Black Weasel kicked them awake and chased them out of the cave. They wouldn’t reach the river harbor until midnight at the earliest.

[The problem is what happens after I meet Mother. Whether she’ll send me back to Atania without a fuss…]

[You’re worried about that? She’s made peace with the prince’s half-brother. She’ll send you back to Atania as soon as possible.]

[That’s true, but I have a bad feeling about it. Believe it or not, I have a good instinct for these things…]

[Put that confidence aside, Your Highness. When you left Levenon, did you foresee even a fraction of the hardship you’re enduring now?]

Red Eagle’s face flushed crimson at Wolf’s rebuke. Though it was a sight of the prince being scolded by his servant, Silver couldn’t laugh. Only after hearing their conversation did he realize that he had little time left with Wolf.

Why am I like this?

Silver blinked. As Black Weasel had said, Wolf certainly radiated a sinister aura. If that weren’t the case, why would his heart pound the moment he realized how little time he had left with the boy?

Suddenly, his gaze met Wolf’s. Silver was caught in a strange sensation. Something unknown rushed in through his airways, racing his heartbeat, spreading through his veins until it took hold of every corner of his body… His vision tinged with pale blue-gray as his body temperature rose.

Silver took a deep breath and lowered his eyes. The moment he averted his gaze from Wolf, the ‘strange sensation’ vanished completely. What was that?

An ordinary human couldn’t possibly do this. Could some evil spirit have attached itself to Wolf?

The river turned red. The sun disappeared beyond the great mountain.

***

Stoll’s geography, scarce in flatlands, shaped everything from its socio-economy to its military infrastructure. Waterways centered around the river replaced land routes, fostering the development of an inland water transport system. This gave birth to a unique ports know as rivers harbors. Distributed roughly a day’s journey apart along the waterways, these rivers harbors serve as Stoll’s vital hubs for transportation and logistics.

The scale of a river harbor varies widely. They range from small near ferry crossings to large ones rivaling most seaports in size. Control over a rivers harbor equates to regional hegemony. A tribe securing a dedicated rivers harbor gains the ability to rapidly move troops and supplies. This effectively grants military power sufficient to dominate at least ten other tribes. For this reason, territorial disputes over rivers harbors in Stoll have been as common as children’s war games since ancient times.

Countless stars shone in the night sky. It resembled a vast, dark tapestry studded with pearls. Wolf, who had been gazing up at the sky, spoke.

[Sir, we’re heading in the opposite direction from Morgan Harbor?]

[Yeah, we’re heading northeast. We’ll reach a rivers harbor. We’ll stay at the inn there tonight.]

Black Weasel calmly explained in Atanian.

“Silver, that Atanian bastard is cunning. The servant boy checked the constellations for direction when we came here. What a meticulous little shit!”

“Right. He’s a sinister one!”

Silver nodded in agreement. Black Weasel whistled.

“What’s going on. You always nitpick at my every word. You agree this time? He’s sinister, right? When you see that servant, doesn’t your heart flutter, and your mind feel dizzy like it’s being sucked in? You just want to be nice to him for no reason at all… right?”

“That’s right! You too?”

Silver asked back in surprise. Black Weasel turned his head toward Silver. Intense gray eyes stared at Silver as if they could pierce through him.

“Yeah. I felt the same way every time I saw the servant. That’s why I spared him even when he acted cocky! Just look at his physical abilities, he’s no ordinary human. Plus, that bizarre ability to bewitch people! There’s something about that guy…”

Silver swallowed dryly. Even Bingapsu was bewitched by the servant like me!

“Silver. What do you think the servant’s true identity is? A thunder?”

“What the hell kind of thunder are you talking about? Are you blind? You saw that bastard’s cave-wall-climbing skills.”

“So?”

“My guess is… that sinister ability? No matter how you look at it, it’s definitely not human strength. That servant is possessed by an evil spirit, no doubt. The moment I saw him, I felt weird. So it must be an evil spirit from Morgan Harbor. If it can charm thunders like us, it must be a powerful evil spirit. You think the same as me, right?”

“……Yeah. It feels like an evil spirit…….”

Unaware of what they were arguing about, Wolf stared at Silver. The latter felt guilty and quietly lowered his eyes. Every time they spoke in Stoll, Wolf listened attentively, looking like he was dying of curiosity. Even though he was deaf to Stoll.

But then, those Atanian fools were cunning, but they were just trying to survive. And honestly, weren’t they being more cunning, cursing in front of someone who couldn’t understand Stoll speech…? Silver flinched. Did I just feel sorry? Another uncharacteristic thing!

What the hell is that evil spirit clinging to Wolf?

The spirits said to haunt the sea harbors paraded through Silver’s mind. The Svatandr, who lures human souls and imprisons them in rusted cages. The Heimurd, who destroys sailors’ sense of direction and wrecks their ships. The Kelbramor, who plants the delusion of ‘fated love’ in those it first encounters, leading them to ruin… Even excluding the three great sea harbors spirits, there were countless others.

Just as the hair on his entire body stood on end, a light flickered in the deep darkness. Wolf pointed at the light with a flushed face.

[Your Highness. You can sleep in a bed tonight.]

[You’ve been through a lot, Wolf.]

It took quite a while longer for the ferry to reach the river harvor. Once again, Black Weasel led the way, followed by Red Eagle, Wolf, and Silver. The vicinity was a raucous din of snarling, foul curses, and laughter. People sat in circles around blazing bonfires scattered everywhere, drinking alcohol and smoking hallucinogenic herbs while chattering.

They were riffraffs making a living by committing various crimes and lewd acts against visitors to the port. More specifically, they were beggars, vagrants, pickpockets, muggers, thieves, male and female prostitutes, teenage boys abandoned by their parents, teenage girls who had run away from home, old men kicked out by their children, old women who had swindled neighbors out of money and fled, and so on.

It was hard to find anyone with a whole body. They were one-eyed with an eye patch, missing all their teeth, leaning on crutches, or missing an arm. Though most were fake cripples cleverly disguised.

Corpses of men and women hung from the surrounding trees. All were burly figures with severed arms or legs. Nearby tribes had probably clashed again over territory. The victors displayed the defeated side’s special unit corpses as trophies. Seeing nearly fifty corpses hanging from the trees suggested the scale of the battle had been considerable.

“Huh? Oh! Oh oh!”

“Oh? Oh! Ooh!”

The riffraffs who spotted Black Weasel party let out shrieks and scrambled to their feet. A one-armed woman ran over and clung to Black Weasel.

“You’re handsome! Just let me suck you once! One coin!”

Black Weasel shoved the woman away and walked on. This time, some old man beside Silver stuck his butt high in the air and spread his butt cheeks with both hands.

“One coin per round!”