Sentry Ship (Part 1)

Chapter 13

Sentry Ship (Part 1)

The ocean stretched vast and silver-blue beneath them as Eliron soared with everyone on his back, their cloaks whipping in the wind.

Ynez, with the other leaders of the group, held the smaller children down, protecting them from the harsh wind. Their things weren't of concern though since it was tied down with rope and a protection spell that Lemon and Lime casted.

Seated calmly at the very front was Nameless with an unreadable gaze.

Though the early morning sun filtered down warmly, a growing weight seemed to pull on the dragon, and Eliron couldn't help but grumble. 

"Are you sure you couldn't have left some of this behind?" he muttered, flexing his wings with effort. "This isn't light cargo I'm hauling."

His dragon-like scowl made his body tremble. The kids noticed it and gulped.

Nameless grinned, patting his scales. "We need every bit of it, don't worry. You're doing fine. If I didn't ask Lemon to keep it, you'd have hauled the dragon wing too."

Eliron scowled, it wasn't like he'd feel bad hauling the only memento he had.

Royce, holding tightly to one of the protruding rocks embedded on Eliron's scale, glanced over with an apologetic look. "Sorry, Mister Dragon. If it weren't for this whole stash—"

"Not your fault," Eliron cut him off, though his tone suggested he still wasn't thrilled. "But next time, maybe bring fewer valuables."

"You really don't understand, we need all of these!" Nameless pouted, it was such a childlike reaction that no one thought would come from her. But she was too unpredictable to also think otherwise.

"Nameless... We even brought the paintings and tore off the wallpapers of the castle. His jewelry too, even the clothes that won't fit us. It's like we're moving a castle's worth of materials." Royce grunted too.

"It isn't like that, it is exactly what we're doing." She answered casually.

"What are we gonna do with all these?" Eliron sighed, exasperated. It truly was heavy.

He didn't even know how he can carry such heavy load, but maybe because of the Saintess' blessing it was made possible.

To his question, Keith crawled closer to them. "We're going to sell it and establish ourselves in Norkif."

Royce asked in detail and eventually the two were making business plans on their own.

As they flew onward, the rhythmic beat of Eliron's wings gradually calmed Ayu, who had been sleeping on Nameless's lap, her small face serene in slumber. Nameless kept a hand on her, stabilizing her as they glided over the open water.

Loyd leaned closer, his voice raised just enough to be heard over the wind. "Where did you even find her, Saintess? I searched for her everywhere earlier, but she was nowhere in sight."

Nameless glanced at the sleeping Ayu with a half-smile. "She was busy making friends with the sea creatures. Seemed to prefer their company to any human ones." She shrugged, effectively closing the topic with her tone.

Loyd nodded as if he understood.

But the truth was he didn't. They're both crazy in their own way I guess.

The hour passed in an easy silence, each of them bracing as the shore loomed closer.

It was Loyd who first caught sight of their entry point: a massive, iron-plated ship that stretched across the water like a fortress on the ocean, cutting a stark silhouette against the horizon. 

A giant metal sheet is floating over the water! Keith's eyes sparked in interest.

The vessel was ringed with lookout towers, bristling with weaponry and glinting under the midday sun. Besides the towers, there was a large cylindrical metallic artillery at the front, its' snouts pointing against the land of Gashu.

Guards patrolled its decks with longswords and shields strapped to their arms, and the sight of Eliron approaching set off a sudden commotion.

Voices called down in panic, and a shout rang out over the ship's hull.

"Turn back! By order of the Sentry, fall back, or we'll be forced to fire!" 

"C-Call reinforcements! The demon king's people are raiding us!"

"A dragon! Someone! Wake the sentry chief even at the cost of your lives!"

Hearing the panicked voices and fast shuffling of guards, moving and pointing both artillery and personal weapons at them, Nameless poked Eliron's back.

Taking that as a sign, Eliron, slowed his pace, hovering just a few meters from the vessel. Her eyes stayed fixed on the guards, undaunted by the pointed spears and leveled crossbows aimed in their direction before turning away.

"You talk to them, Keith." She says, "If we die, it's on your hands."

"W-what?!"

He panicked and trembled like an aspen tree's leaves in the middle of a storm, he shook uncontrollably, the sight was pathetic.

But Nameless only stuck her tongue out before heading at the very back of the bunch, grabbing Ayu, Lemon and Lime with her.

Loyd gulped seeing the scene.

Whether she trusted Keith or not, it was a matter of leaving it to a child younger than her. "But Saint—"

"P-Please stop!"

Crawling and looking down from Eliron's head was Keith. His face was pale under all the weapons pointed at them— at him!

"W-We're e-escapees! P-please! Have mercy!!!"

His cry rang far, reaching the guards below.

For a moment they were stunned and stared at each other, not knowing what to do.

Nameless who saw such a reaction smiled and turned away. She focused on Ayu, Lemon and Lime, putting their heads together as a soft golden light covered their bodies. It was transformation magic again.

Eliron, who had been accustomed to the magic, noticed it and gulped inwardly.

I had forgotten, but aren't I bringing four demons to the peaceful continents?

Though Nameless didn't mention Lemon and Lime to him, they had an aura that wasn't different from what he was used to. It was obvious they were demons too.

As Keith kept yelling in fear, Loyd joined him to beg and the other children too.

Royce didn't join them and stood before the demons in the middle of transforming as if guarding them in case anything happens.

"Help us!"

"W-we don't wanna go back!"

"Ugh! I-I want to be free!"

The children were crying. Even the leaders who had strong impressions were bawling their eyes out after finally seeing different groups of beings.

They didn't even know how to cry and yet the tears just came out instinctively.

Honestly, at this point, they were traumatized by humans because almost everyone on Gashu's side had human bodies despite being of different blood. So they were happy to be able to see different body structures like orcs, lycanthropes, and dwarves.

It was like the first sign that they were out of the Demon King's sights so they felt good inside.

But even with children crying and begging in front of the guards, none had loosened up on their hold of the weapons.

They were, after all, the sentry guards.

Everything that passes through here will be their responsibility. If an evil entity made its way into the peaceful continents, no matter how small the scale of attacks may be, there is a large chance that their families will get caught up.

Not only that but the peace that's been protected for years will be broken out of careless consideration.

Karson Gofir's hold on his axe trembled.

He was the largest being out of the sentry guards, even bigger than the sentry chief, because of his orc and strong dwarf heritage. But he was weak to children.

While he is just a mere soldier he didn't express himself, but since no one was making a move, he gulped down his hesitation and stepped forward.

"I'm sorry. We can't let you pass easily, however we won't turn away from you! If you can, please land one by one and we'll check you thoroughly. We'll have to detain you while we wait for the higher-ups' decision. Is that okay with you?"

No one among the guards berated him. It was a logical solution while catering to both sides' situation. 

As if approving of Karson's words, the guards formed two lines, placing the dragon in between the formation. 

The children's heads naturally turned towards the dragon's tail waiting for Nameless' decision.

However they all paused.

Standing behind was a blonde beauty with orange eyes. Just a gaze from her seemed holy as she gazed at them with a smile. Ayu had her golden brown locks again pairing with her blue eyes. While Lemon and Lime, though they didn't resemble the demon king, they had yellow locks too and seemingly kinder green eyes.

While the children were in a daze, Nameless lowered her head and covered her face with her hands, rubbing her eyes.

The action was so sudden, and she immediately ran through them, jumping down...

"Waaaah!"

....while making sobbing noises.

"P-please! Help us! I-I'll volunteer first for everyone!" 

Nameless's tear-streaked face turned up to the guards, who stumbled back, raising their shields in instinctive alarm, unsure how to respond to her desperate approach.

Just then, the crowd parted as Sentry Chief Dynil Walker strode forward, his eyes sharp and brows furrowed in a stern line. Compared to the formal and shining complete uniform of the guards, he wore an almost worn-out leather armor, but he had a clean face at least.

Dynil Walker glanced from the trembling children to his guards.

Seeing the disciplined formation and the ready stances of the guards, Dynil gave a nod of approval. "Good work, everyone. Well-formed ranks," he remarked, his voice steady.

His gaze returned to Nameless and lowered his voice. "Where are you children from?"

Nameless seemed to hesitate, her eyes darting nervously between him and the guards.

"W-We… we were slaves," she stammered, glancing down. "From the land of Gashu. Our parents… they caused a riot and told us to run. We escaped with a… a dragon they had imprisoned." She gestured toward the dragon, her voice dropping. "They… they just wanted us to be free."

Dynil listened, his face unreadable.

He nodded slowly. "Then I'll need to interview each of you. One by one."

Nameless's face lit up in relief, and she began bowing repeatedly. "Thank you… thank you so much!" she murmured, her voice thick with gratitude. But as she dipped her head low, something slipped from her pocket and landed softly on the ground.

A gleam caught Dynil's green eyes.

He knelt, lifting the medallion that had fallen from her grasp.

For a long moment, he inspected it, an amused smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Well," he said, his tone edged with irony, "I look forward in interviewing you, kid."