“What’s the matter?” he asked as he leaned toward me. His beard dripped onto the new leather pants and shirt the tribe had given me. “Get up! Have fun! Today was a good -burp- day!”
I shrugged, and the movement of his beard and his bushy eyebrows suggested he’d frowned. He set his cup down, steadied himself on the table, then looked me in the eye.
“You killed a monster unlike anything we’ve ever seen before,” he said. “A dragon. You should celebrate like a true Ish-Nul does. Maybe take a few of those hungry women to bed? But you’re pouting. What is it?”
It was time. I told him almost everything. I left out the part where I met his gods. I didn’t know how deep that discussion would go, or if they’d start treating me like one of the Lakunae or something.
“So, you need to find your people,” he said thoughtfully. “How do you know they’re even here?”
“I don’t,” I admitted. “That’s the problem. I have no idea where to start looking. I mean, it’s an entire planet. How would I find them? It’s not as if the Lakunae were specific with where they left my crew.”
“Nothing is more important than our people. I understand, though I’ll be sad to see you go. I think you need to go to Brazud. It’s the biggest city on the planet, so far as I know. I think you can find what you’re looking for there. Where to start once you arrive? No idea.”
“Thank you. It’s something. How do I get there?”
Timo-ran shrugged. “I don’t know. And no one else among our people will know either. We avoid such places. The best way for curious Ish-Nul not to go there is not knowing the way.”
“Wouldn’t it be best to know where it is? In case you accidentally go there while traveling?”
“We do not venture far from our lands.”
“Right,” I said.
I already had a guide in Skrew, so I hoped he knew the way. I wasn’t exactly sure whether he’d still be waiting for me outside the village, but I had little choice other than to assume he had remained there. Without him, I’d have to find some other way of finding Brazud. Besides the Ish-Nul, all the other alien species had been less than helpful.
“Anything else I should know?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said as he poked me in the chest. “Don’t get yourself killed. I don’t know much about Brazud, but the place is dangerous. Especially for us humans. Well, you’re not exactly human anymore, so maybe you’ll be fine.” Timo-ran gestured at the pendant around my neck, as though only just seeing it. “Where’d you get that?” His eyes narrowed for a moment, and I could tell his mind was working in overgear to understand what I was doing with an item of ownership.
“It’s not technically mine. I saved a vrak’s life, so he gave it to me.”
“Saved his life? Sounds like you did a bad deed there, dragon slayer. But for one of them to give you a phylac of its own kind—that says something. Maybe we don’t know them as well as we thought. Still, they deserve to die. For taking Enra from us.”
I knew I wouldn’t convince the man otherwise, and I didn’t particularly like the vrak either. If Timo-ran wanted to lead the Ish-Nul in genocide, then I was happy to leave them to it.
“Drink more beer, relax, and leave in the morning,” Timo-ran continued.
“I need to leave now,” I said, staring out the window of the great hall at the huge moon rising over the horizon.
Timo-ran sighed. “You do what you need to do, then. Wait here. I’ll fetch your sword and some rations for your travel. But promise me you’ll return, or the women will never let me hear the end of it.”
“I promise,” I said. I knew he was telling the truth. The women would give him hell if I didn’t come back. There was one woman in particular I’d need to say goodbye to. I didn’t intend on leaving without telling her my plans.
I was saved the trouble of finding her when Timo-ran returned a moment later with Enra by his side, a pack of rations in one arm, and my scabbarded sword in the other. A braided garland twisted through her hair and framed a face that was flushed by more than a little beer. There was a soft sadness in her eyes as she embraced me without a word. I held her for a long moment and heard her whisper into my chest.
“There’s always a place for you here, Jacob,” she murmured.
I squeezed her gently. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me,” she said as she stepped back.
“None of us will. The Ish-Nul will always open their arms to you and yours, Jacob,” Timo-ran assented. “Now, take your weapon and go in search of your own family.”
Enra kissed me before I turned to leave. Her mouth hungrily consumed mine, and her hands curled in my new tunic of furs. Then she drew back and smiled wistfully.
“I’ll see you soon,” I promised.
I was loaded with supplies, and the sword hung from my hip as I crept back to where I’d left Skrew. I heard him before I saw him. So much for stealth. I watched him sleep and listened to his high-pitched snoring for several seconds before I tapped his foot with my own. He stopped snoring for a moment, yawned, and started snoring again.
I tapped harder and smiled as he scrambled to his feet. He
