009

Noah woke up feeling sick to his stomach. It wasn’t just the seasickness, though. He’d had the same nightmare he’d had for four nights now. He was standing under a gallows, and Berenice and Kirsa had rope around their necks and were about to be executed. He could only untie one of them, and they both begged and pleaded with him. They each tried to convince him that they were the one who should be saved. Eventually, he decided to untie Berenice. As he did, Kirsa screamed and bawled. Her face was red with anger and betrayal. And then the floor dropped out from under her, and her neck snapped, and Noah woke up with a start.

He sat up quickly and was breathing heavily. Berenice was lying beside him in the bed, already awake. They were in a small cabin aboard a ship, which rocked slowly in the water.

“Art thou well, Noah? Didst thou suffer another nightmare?”

Noah just nodded. It took them a day to get to the small port where the Wandering River, a magical river which flowed through the sky, came low enough for passengers to board. It then took them two days of waiting before a ferry showed up, and then they were able to pay to come aboard.

During that time, Noah had been plagued by the same nightmare, and the same memories of Kirsa screaming as Clyp took her away to be imprisoned and later executed. It could have been Berenice, but Noah chose, and Kirsa was taken instead. It was his fault. It was his fault anyone was taken. He could have been smarter and done a better job hiding Berenice’s freedom. He knew about the law against her freedom, and he defied it anyway.

Berenice shifted closer to him and rubbed his back soothingly. She had been kind to him for the last few days. Every night, she offered him sex, and even though his body wanted it, he refused. It didn’t feel right to have sex with Berenice when Kirsa was rotting in a cell somewhere, ready to be executed. And the idea of having sex with her still felt weird, even though she had consented to it and didn’t seem to mind the idea at all.

Noah hadn’t masturbated or had sex since Berenice sucked his dick in the Rainbow Mountains a few days ago, and he was horny. He almost never went this long without relief. But he was also feeling guilty and would ignore his needs for as long as he could.

“I see thy member is hard again this morn. Perhaps I may be of service?” asked Berenice. Noah wanted to accept, but he couldn’t. He shook his head no. “Noah, ‘tis alright. I am in thy service, forever. I swore it. It bothers me not. Thou canst use me in what way thou dost please. Be not timid.”

Maybe. Maybe he would at some point. He couldn’t hold off his urges forever. But he couldn’t now.

“No, it’s okay. Not now. Let’s just go to the galley for breakfast, okay?”

They left their little cabin, which was barely big enough for just a bed. The ship looked like a big raft, with cabins and rooms built on top. It was manned by frogfolk. Of all the species of people Noah had seen, the frogfolk were the most bestial. They didn’t walk upright, but rather hopped around like frogs, and looked mostly like frogs, rather than like people. Apparently, they weren’t humanborn.

Noah felt creeped out by the Eye staring down at them. Its eyelids were sagging, and apparently, it would close soon and remain closed until next year.

He also saw several frogfolk standing at the back of the raft, throwing food to their young with their tongues. Their young were waterborne tadpole-folk who followed the raft as it floated along the Wandering River. He could see them jumping out of the water to catch their breakfast and then landing back in the River. The River varied in width and depth, but at this point, it was about twenty feet below the water’s surface that the water stopped. There were no walls or a floor to contain the River – it just flowed magically through the air, even upward. He could see giant tadpoles and other fish swimming at all depths. The River was currently hundreds of feet in the air. The height made Noah feel more nauseous.

He paused to look around at the landscape. He had never had a view like this, even in an airplane. The ferry was open on all sides, without even a railing to stop him from falling into the River – or down to the Earth below if they were close to the edge of the River. The landscape was fantastical. To their south were the Rainbow Mountains. To their southeast, Noah could see that large, chainlike tower in the distance, which stretched absurdly high into the sky. It was now glowing red and slowly fading away. It was the same thing that had happened to the metal creature Noah killed. He had thought the effect was the result of the Rainbow Mountains and their magic, but now he saw the same thing happening to the impossibly tall tower, and he didn’t know what to think.

Underneath them was a desert, with great dunes and rock formations, including several tall vents spilling smoke into the air. The only signs of life in the desert were the occasional solitary tree. There were brief stretches of bright-green swamp to their east, and a reddish badlands to their west that was pockmarked with craters of all sizes. The north was dark. Despite it being morning, the north was dark. He could make out the silhouettes of hills and a few tiny spires that were apparently the skyline of the Toldenhold, but the area was shrouded in a strange darkness that made it impossible to make out any details.

Noah looked over and saw Berenice, too, was taking in the landscape. It was breathtaking. They were so high up and could see everything. They walked past the frogfolk to another enclosed area, which was the galley. There, they could have whatever food they desired, as long as they desired fish. Berenice sat down with some fish and a mug of water at one of the tables. Noah insisted on having his water boiled by the frogfolk chef before he drank it, so it took him longer, but soon he joined Berenice at a table. She was sitting with a frogfolk and a humanoid man, and they were chatting.

The man was some kind of warrior with two curved swords. He wore shorts but was shirtless, exposing his gray skin and rippling muscles. Noah had never seen his species before and couldn’t help but stare at him. He was larger than a human and would have been around seven feet tall standing. He was pulling at some fish with his hands, which Noah noticed had holes through the palms. He wondered if the holes were part of his natural biology or resulted from some injury. His hands seemed to work fine, even with the two-inch-diameter holes through them, so he figured it must be his biology. If Berenice was as weirded out by the man and his holy hands, she didn’t give any sign of it.

“Aye, we are bound for the Toldenhold, too. What business hast thou there?” asked Berenice as Noah took a seat beside her.

“Well, you see, I have been entrusted by my people with a message for the Emperor, which I am to deliver to him personally.”

“I see. Makes sense,” croaked the frogfolk. His lips didn’t move when he spoke. Instead, he opened his mouth slightly, his neck bulged in and out, and the sound of speech came out. “Never seen golgotha in person. Unlikely event.”

“Yes, that is very true. My people are insular, and we do not trust outsiders,” spoke the grey golgotha. “And what of you? What brings you to the city of the black star?”

“Well, we have a friend who likewise came to the Toldenhold to speak to the Emperor, and we are but coming to meet her. She is an elf, as Noah here is.”

The huge golgotha man turned and looked at Noah, looking at him closely. “Is that true? You are an elf? I have never seen one in person before.”

“Uhh,” replied Noah, “Actually, I’m just human.”

The golgotha and the frogfolk both stopped eating and stared at him. Berenice, too, looked surprised.

“You human?” asked the frogfolk. “You mean humanborn?”

“I, too, am humanborn,” said the golgotha. “As are elves. But that is not what you mean, no? You mean you are a true human?”

“Uhh, yeah,” replied Noah, hoping this wouldn’t become a problem. He should have just said he was an elf.

“But Noah, I thought thou wert an elf, as Chastity is?”

“Uhh…”

“Human? True human? Ha!”

“It is not possible, but I have seen many things that are not possible. I have done things that are not possible. But you may be lying. Are you lying to me or not?” asked the golgotha.

“No, I’m telling the truth,” said Noah. “I’m human. Just human. I don’t know how I ended up here, but I did. I’m human.”

“Wow. What lies.”

“I find it hard to believe. If you were human, you would have great power, no?”

“Well, he doth level with uncommon haste,” said Berenice.

“Is that true? What level are you, sir?” asked the golgotha.

“Four,” said Noah.

“Total bullshit,” said the golgotha.

“Yep. Load of crap,” croaked the frogfolk.

“It is verily true; I have beheld his strength! And, he now wieldeth an artifact of great might.”

“That thing?” asked the golgotha of the rod hanging from Noah’s side.

“Yeah, it shoots electricity.”

“Wow, I’d like to see that,” smiled the golgotha. Noah gave him a little show, swinging it around slowly, shooting sparks into the air. “Incredible. So you are level four, as well as an artificer? What was your class again?”

“Rude to ask,” croaked the frogfolk.

Noah stayed silent, not wanting to reveal he was a Heretic.

“Sorry, sir, sorry. I did not mean to pry. You do seem unusually strong for your age, sir. Perhaps you are human after all.”

“Yeah, I mean, I’m not lying.”

“Maybe. Maybe,” said the frogfolk.

“My name is Graven, by the way. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.” He stuck out his meaty, grey hand, which Noah shook.

“My name Patta,” said the frogfolk, and he stuck out his massive tongue toward Noah. Noah cringed at the sight of the dripping wet tongue but shook it anyway, using only his forefinger and thumb. He surreptitiously wiped his hand on his pants after.

Berenice shook Graven’s hand and Patta’s tongue too. “So, what about thee, Patta? Art thou a part of the crew, or art thou bound for some destination?”

Patta swallowed some fish whole and then responded, his throat bulging with each word. “I was crew. I just fired. I get kicked off next stop. Very sad.”

“Alas, what hath transpired?”

“Well, I was aerographer. I assisted the navigator. Look up. See no clouds?” Everyone looked up; indeed, there was the Eye, the other planets, the sun, and the blue sky, but not a cloud in sight. “No clouds for weeks. This worrisome. This should never happen. I warned captain: drought means low water levels. River not safe.”

“Not safe?” asked Noah.

“Water levels too low, ship fall out of River. Not here, but at wide part. Tomorrow maybe. Unless rain. Rain make River thicker. Deeper. Safer.”

“So your captain ignored your warnings of safety? That is not responsible.”

“Yes. I made a scene. He fired me. I leave ferry today. I must find work on another ferry.”

“Aww, poor Patta,” said Berenice.

“Indeed. It is sad. My home is two days travel. But I must get off today. I asked captain to stay until then, but rooms full. Even if I pay.”

“Well, thou couldst abide in our chamber for a few nights. The space would be close, but we could make it befitting. Right, Noah?”

“Umm…” Noah didn’t like the sound of that. Sharing their already tiny room with a giant frog? He would take up half the bed. And Noah was so horny. He knew he probably wouldn’t be able to hold out on Berenice’s offers of sex for several more days. But how would he have sex with Berenice if some frog was in their bed. “I mean, it’s already pretty cramped in there, isn’t it, Berenice? I don’t think we have room.”

“Hmm, perchance not.”

“Well, do not look at me. I have no room in my bed, and if I did, I would not share it with a giant, talking frog. No offence, sir.”

“None taken. Feeling mutual. Sorry, all.”

“Noah, art thou certain we would not be able to accommodate him with us?”

“Yeah, I don’t think so. Sorry.”

“Is alright. I will find passage. Probably on next ferry. Few days.”

“But sir, you were saying the River is not safe to travel anyway? Why would you want to stay aboard if it’s so dangerous?”

“Ah. If River looks too thin, I can swim. Ship will fall, but I’ll be fine. If you can’t, I’d get off. Maybe it’s fine. But just in case.”

“That is a scary prospect,” said Graven, “Dropping out of the sky like that. I hope if the River is too thin, the captain notices in time.”

“The captain can’t stop ship. Can only steer. With paddles. Ship floats down River. No propulsion.”

“A wonderful design,” Graven said sarcastically.

“Well, what should we do, then?” asked Noah.

“Get off now. Convince captain. Pray for rain. Any of these. Not my job anymore.”

Noah looked at Berenice and swallowed. She seemed calm. He was worried, though. At this height, if the ship dropped out of the bottom of the Wandering River, it would fall hundreds of feet to the ground below, and they would likely be killed on impact.

They finished eating and chatting with Graven and Patta. There wasn’t much to do aboard the ship. At mealtimes, they could eat, and they could talk to frogfolk. The only other humanoid passenger was Graven, and he spent much of his time doing some kind of prayer or meditation. Berenice spent most of her time chatting with the frogfolk, but Noah wasn’t interested in talking. He still felt a bit nauseous and wanted to be alone. Noah was bored. He walked around the edge of the vessel, looking out at the landscape and down into the water. Sometimes he could see a tadpole-folk swimming along with the boat, or a school of fish would swim by. He threw a small chunk of wood he found off the edge of the ship, past the edge of the water, and watched it fall to the desert below.

When the ferry stopped at the next port, Noah saw Patta hop off the ship. He looked sad, somehow, for a frog. For the rest of the day, Noah either walked in circles around the ship or ate fish. He ate more fish than he would ever want to, merely because there was nothing else to do. He thought about playing with the flesh scanner, creating and attaching extra fingers or something just for fun, but he didn’t want to waste any mana or charge or whatever limited resources it might have.

When night came, Berenice and Noah met together in their room and climbed into bed. Their room was lit by a single lantern on the wall above their heads.

“Thou dost look weary, Noah. Hast thou been bored? I have seen thee pacing around the ship.”

“Yeah. There’s nothing to do on this stupid ship. Nothing but to wait and see if we drop out of the sky to our deaths.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine, Noah. The other frogfolk do not seem worried. Thou shouldst talk to them, Noah. They have interesting customs! Didst thou know they are born in the water, and learn not to speak until they’re already adults?”

“Really? Cool.”

“Aye. And they must be born in the water of the Wandering River. Anywhere else, and their eggs will not hatch!”

“Hmm. Interesting,” mumbled Noah.

“Thou seem’st down, Noah. I wish I could bring thee cheer. Art thou still averse to using my body for thy pleasure?”

Noah swallowed. He looked briefly down at Berenice’s body. At her curves. Her black skin under her white wool. “I don’t know. It still doesn’t feel right to me, but I don’t know how long I can hold out. I’m so horny I can’t think straight.”

Berenice put her hand on Noah’s chest. “It’s alright, Noah. What is there to worry about? Just let me take care of thee, alright?”

“It doesn’t seem right. I don’t know. I guess there’s nothing objectively wrong with it, but… Kirsa…”

“I know, Noah. ‘Tis alright. Here, let me make thee feel better.” Berenice’s hand started sliding down from his chest to his crotch, but he stopped her with his hand.

“Wait,” he said. “At least let me do you first. That way, I don’t just feel like I’m using you.”

“Hmm? Thou wish to give me pleasure?”

“Yeah. Sure. I’ll try.”

“Alright, Noah, if it pleases thee.”

Noah looked into Berenice’s earnest eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her. She kissed back. “Oh, Noah,” she moaned as he kissed her neck, and then her collarbone. Below her collarbone, her wool started. It was like a short dress she couldn’t take off. His hand cupped her breast over her wool. Moving his finger around through her wool, he found a way to part it to get to her nipple. He rubbed her nipple slightly, and then he moved his head down and sucked on it.

The feeling was a bit uncomfortable, since he also got a mouthful of wool. But he could feel her nipple harden under his tongue. He sucked and licked it for a few seconds, then asked her if she liked it.

“Not really, Noah. Sorry. I just don’t feel aught there.”

“Okay,” said Noah. He was slightly dispirited but pressed on. He moved his hand between her legs and felt warmth from her crotch. His fingers felt around in her wool, looking for a way to part the wool to get to her vagina. He finally found it, and moving his head down, he could see her pussy: Her black outer lips and pinkish-red opening. He positioned himself so his mouth was close to her pussy, and she could no doubt feel his breath on her. She moaned slightly.

Noah was taken aback when he saw that Berenice’s pussy had two holes. “What?” he said out loud.

“Is there a problem?” she asked.

“Uhh, no. I was just wondering. Do sheeple have two vaginas?” He felt uncomfortable asking the question, but he was too curious not to.

“Ah. That matter. No, one of the holes is my urethra, Noah.”

“Really? I thought it was supposed to be smaller. Like, Kirsa’s was so small I couldn’t see it. And I’ve seen others that were smaller.” He was thinking of porn, not reality. “Is that normal for sheeple?”

“No, it is not normal. It hath been stretched out.”

“Stretched? Why?”

“To accommodate a penis.”

“What?” he exclaimed. “Why? Doesn’t that hurt?”

“I know not. I have never done it, but I believe it doth hurt a great deal, yes. But, as I said, I have never done it.”

Noah frowned. “But, if you’ve never done it, then why did you get it stretched?”

“I know not. I do not remember. I’m sorry, Noah.”

“It’s okay. I just didn’t know why it was like that, that’s all.”

“Dost thou wish to do it that way, Noah?”

Noah shuddered, and his face cringed. “Ugh. No. No, I don’t think so. That has to be so painful. I wouldn’t do that to you. And wouldn’t it get infected?”

“I do apply a cream each morn to ward off infection.”

“Oh. Well, no, I don’t want to do it that way. Who would?”

“Longfolk,” whispered Berenice.

“Ah,” said Noah. He really wasn’t liking longfolk so far. They wanted to have sex with people’s urethras? He wondered if some longfolk had sex with Berenice’s urethra and then brainwashed her into forgetting it. But why? If she was their slave, why would they have to make her forget? It shouldn’t matter if she remembers, right? Oh well. Noah didn’t care right now.

Noah started to lick Berenice’s pussy. He started slow like Kirsa taught him. He kissed her and licked her softly. He felt himself getting harder. Slowly, he picked up the pace. He avoided Berenice’s enlarged urethra, but he licked her other hole, her black labia, and up to her clitoris. She tasted different than Kirsa. She didn’t taste like carrot juice, for one thing. But her scent and her taste were stronger and muskier. Berenice moaned slightly when he licked her clit. For several minutes, he licked faster. He wasn’t really hearing anything from Berenice, but he kept going. He kept going and going until his tongue and jaw were getting sore. Eventually, he stopped and asked Berenice if he was doing something wrong.

“No, I think not. Why, is it not to thy liking?”

“It is. It’s just, I was hoping you would like it too, you know?”

“Ah, well, I am sorry to disappoint thee, Noah. I could feign some moaning if it pleases thee. But I preferred not to lie to thee without thy consent.”

“No, I don’t want you to fake it! Just, what should I do differently?”

“I know not, Noah. Maybe go slower?”

He obliged and licked her slowly. He moved his tongue slowly around her clit, taking ten seconds to do one full circle. He licked her slowly like this for a while. But she didn’t moan. Eventually, he was getting tired again and took a break.

“Sorry, Noah,” said Berenice.

“It’s okay,” said Noah. He was frustrated. He put off having sex with her for days, and now that he did, it was turning out to be disappointing. He would be able to finish, he knew, but he wanted it to be good for her, too. But she didn’t seem into it. It didn’t matter how he licked her. She wasn’t into it. He could tell. It wasn’t fair to her for her to get nothing out of it. He didn’t want to have sex with her if she didn’t enjoy it at all. If only there was some way to make her enjoy it.

“Berenice?” asked Noah.

“Aye?”

“I’m going to lick you again, but it’s gonna feel amazing this time. Like the best sex you’ve ever had. And every time I lick you, you’re gonna think about how it’s the hottest sex you’ve ever had and how good it feels, okay? You are going to be more turned on than you’ve ever been before.”

“Truly? That doth sound thrilling.”

“Mm-hmm,” said Noah, moving his head back down to her crotch. He spread her wool apart again and brought his lips close to her pussy, and breathed on her.

“Mhh ungghh,” Berenice bit her lip and moaned loudly. Her hips tensed and pulled away from Noah’s breath. Wow. That was a different reaction than the one he got before. He moved his lips closer to her pussy, and touched her clit gently with the tip of his tongue.

“Ahhh,” she moaned loudly. “Oh, Eye!” Noah started licking her pussy very slowly and lightly, and she squirmed under his touch. He had to hold her hips in place with both hands to keep licking her. “Ah! Ahhh! Pox! Eye, curse it! Noah, shit!” He moved his tongue around her hole, and up to her clit again. Her hips started rocking. “Shit, Noah! I can’t! Zounds! Oh- Oh! Ohhh!” Her legs began to shake, and then her whole body. She cried out while her body shook. “Pox! Ahh, shit!” Noah held his tongue on her pussy as it shifted around underneath him. She squirmed and screamed. She screamed at the top of her lungs, but she held a pillow over her own mouth so she wouldn’t alarm anyone else aboard the ship. Her screaming turned into sobbing as she continued to shake.

“Mrhh hrmmm.” she mumbled something from beneath the pillow. Her shaking slowed down after a minute, and she took the pillow off her face. “I thank thee, Noah. Oh, Eye, that was beyond belief!”

Noah took his tongue off her pussy, and sat back. He saw that some white fluid was seeping from her vagina, and some clearer fluid had come out of her urethra, too. He looked down at the bed. There was a wet patch between her legs. Did she squirt? Or, rather, since her urethra was so big, did she leak?

Berenice pulled Noah up to her eye level, pulled his face toward hers, and kissed him with a fire unlike before. After, she said, “I thank thee, Noah. That was wondrous. I thank thee so.”

“You’re welcome, Berenice.” He didn’t expect her orgasm to be so powerful, but he was happy. He felt proud, even though he knew he had basically cheated.

“Thou art most skilled. Kirsa hath instructed thee well,” said Berenice. Noah blushed at the compliment, and said nothing.

Berenice kissed Noah’s neck and then rolled him onto his back. “Now, I must repay this wondrous gift in like manner. Shall I ride thee?”

“Okay,” Noah murmured. Berenice’s hand wandered down to his crotch and pulled his fly free, and took his hard cock from his pants. Her hands were soft. She kissed him on the lips, and then sat up in a cowgirl position. The ceiling in the room was low, and her white afro pressed against it.

“Shall I take you in my foyer, or my back room?” asked Berenice, looking him in the eye.

“Uhh. Foyer, I guess.”

“Aye,” she smiled. She guided his cock into her vagina. The feeling of her slick, warm insides made him gasp. Slowly, she began to ride him.

She smiled down at him. He closed his eyes and lay still while she rode him. After three or four humps, he could already feel himself about to explode. He tried to stop himself, but he failed. “Umm, ahh, ohh,” he moaned as he came inside her. She pushed her hips down against his body while he came deep inside her belly. He moaned and breathed loudly, and she moaned a vicarious, low moan in response.

“There thou hast it, Noah. There thou hast it. Let that ease thy spirit.”

Noah breathed heavily for a while. Berenice slowly pulled herself off him, then lay next to him. He sighed. “Thank you. Sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“For cumming so quickly,” Noah said, avoiding looking her in the eye.

“Oh, I have already had my pleasure before. Worry not.”

This made Noah feel better. It was true. She had already been more than satisfied. Berenice wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. “I thank thee once more, Noah. This shall be a night I never forget.”

Noah was happy she was happy. He felt weird, having so much power over her, even if he used it to make her feel good. He still wished she wasn’t so gullible. He wished she would think for herself. But if he could only make her cum by brainwashing her, then he would. What was wrong so with that? They were both happy in the end.

Comfortable in Berenice’s arms, and heavy from his orgasm, Noah quickly fell asleep.

And fall asleep he did. When he woke up, he and Berenice were hovering in the air above the bed. They were in freefall.

“Noah!”

“Ahh!”

Noah and Berenice tumbled around in their tiny room as the ship fell out of the sky. Noah’s stomach turned, and so did he as Berenice’s knee met his ribcage and sent him turning.

The panic distracted him from the pain. Trying to get his bearings while they tumbled, he glanced out the window. He saw the Eye staring back at him. The ship was on its side, and the porthole was pointed at the Eye. Its eyelids were drooping and nearly half closed.

There was a crack, and then another. Noah and Berenice slammed into the ground, and then the room sharply rotated beneath them, sending Noah flying into Berenice. He headbutted her in the side of the face, and she then rolled away from him. Then, everything was still.

Noah groaned. “Wha-?” He looked around. Half of the room was gone. There were branches. Dark. Thick. Dirt and dry grass and sand below them. Noah and Berenice’s cabin and much of the ship were stuck in the tree. The rest of the ship surrounded the tree on the ground in bits and pieces.

He looked over at Berenice, who was dangling downward from her feet. Her legs were wrapped around part of the bed frame, and she was leaning down the sloped, broken floor at an angle. “Are you okay, Berenice?”

She looked up at him and dusted off the wool on her chest. “Aye, methinks I am well. Mine wool is somewhat dusty, and- Ah!”

“What is it?” asked Noah.

“My foot! I am wounded!” Looking up at her foot, she sucked in air through her teeth. Noah looked at it. Her foot had been speared by a sharp plank of wood and was nearly severed entirely. She was bleeding steadily from the wound.

“Shit! Shit!” said Noah. He shifted himself to get closer to her, but when he did so, the floor beneath him creaked, and the entire cabin shifted.

“Halt! Noah, abide there! I’ll be well. Just- ah! It doth look dreadful. But it causeth me no pain.”

“What should we do?” he asked. He looked over the edge of the broken floor and down at the grass and sand below. They seemed to have landed in the only tree in the area. Lucky. But luckier, he supposed, to have never fallen in the first place. It was quite a drop to the ground, and they’d have to climb down.

“I know not. But my foot, Noah. ‘Tis beyond repair. The flesh-scanning artifact, Noah. We can fashion me a new foot.”

Noah nodded. “Right. Where is it?”

“‘Tis in the knapsack. There, near unto thee.” She pointed at the backpack, which was hanging from a lantern hook. The lantern itself was gone.

Noah slowly crawled along the dusty floor, trying not to upset the balance of the ship in the tree too much. He reached out, stretching his arm as much as he could, and managed to hook the bag with the tip of his middle finger. He pulled it toward him. He took the flesh scanner from the bag, fastened it closed, and slung it around his shoulder. “Okay, I’m coming. How do I use this thing?”

“I know not. Clyp showed us.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t really paying attention. If I scan your existing foot, then it will make a new one?”

“Aye. Just scan my good foot, and it should fashion a duplicate.”

“Uhh,” said Noah as he slowly dragged himself along the floor toward her legs, “But won’t that mean you’d have two left feet?”

“Pox, thou art right. Mayhaps scan the bad foot, then?”

“Will that work? Will it make a healthy copy?”

“I know not. Just try it. Ah, the blood doth rush to my head!” She tried to do a sit-up to stop the blood from rushing down into her head, but she became faint, and sighed, laying back down.

“Hold on, hold on,” said Noah. “I’ll get you down. Okay, hold on to something. I’m going to free your foot, so don’t fall.” She nodded, and he pulled her foot free from the bed frame.

She screamed wildly for a second while he pulled her foot free. “Ah! I did feel that!”

“Yeah. Okay, let me scan your foot.” He scanned the foot with the flesh scanner. There was a brief flash of white light. He then turned the knob he assumed would change the setting on the scanner from the white circle to the cyan circle, and pressed the trigger again. A cyan light projected from the scanner, and a sheep foot with black skin and hooves started to materialize.

“Is it working?”

“Yeah, hold on. Yeah, it worked. I have your new foot.” He raised it so she could see it. “It looks healthy. I’m gonna try to stick it on your leg, but first, I have to cut off what’s left of your existing foot.”

“Aye. Do it.”

Taking his sword from the backpack, Noah sawed at the skin holding Berenice’s foot to her leg. Every time he sliced at the skin, a new pulse of blood poured from her stump. There was so much blood, and it was running down the floor, up her legs. Noah felt sick, but he needed to do this. He eventually managed to hack and twist off the old foot.

“What should I do with this?” he asked, holding the old foot.

“Away with it!” she exclaimed.

“Okay, okay.” He chucked the foot out of the remains of the ship, and it tumbled down the branches and landed in the grass. He held the new foot to her ankle, and the skin and vessels of her ankle reached out to the new extremity, ready to attach to it. He moved it closer, and it connected seamlessly. It was as if she had never been injured.

“Wow,” he muttered, touching her ankle with his fingertips. There was no sign of any injury.

“It worked? ‘Tis attached?”

“Yeah. Can’t you feel it?”

Cautiously, she wiggled her foot, and then both of her hooves on her new foot. “Aye. A miracle!”

“Now, let’s try to get down from here, okay?”

The two of them, one at a time, carefully shifted to the edge of the floor, where the tree trunk was, and transfered their weight onto a large branch. Then began the slow climb down. It wasn’t particularly difficult. The tree had a lot of sturdy branches. On the way down, they saw one dead frogfolk who had been thrown from the ship and impaled through the chest on the tree. His red blood was smeared all over the tip of the sharp branch.

As they got below the ship, they had a better view of the situation. Frogfolk were dead or injured on the ground all around the tree. Some were crawling; some were lying still. There were a lot fewer frogfolk here now than had been on the ship. Noah assumed many of the frogfolk had abandoned ship right before the ship fell through the River.

They got to the bottom of the tree safely. They heard a shuffling above them, and a voice call down to them. “Hello, you two. Are you okay? Are you injured? What the heck happened?” It was Graven, the gray golgotha. He was climbing adeptly down the tree, basically leaping from branch to branch. He landed on the ground next to them. “My goodness. So much destruction.”

“Yeah. I think we fell.”

“You don’t say,” smiled Graven. “Shall we make sure the froggies are okay?” Noah and Berenice nodded. Noah took his flesh scanner around and started helping the frogfolk. Many of them were beyond saving, or if they could be saved, he had no idea how to save them. If they were missing an arm or an eye, he could make them a new one. But if they were just generally battered or impaled all over, what would he do? Make an entirely new body for them? He tried, but it would only copy one organ at a time. In the end, most of the frogfolk were either dead on impact or died of their injuries before Noah could make it to them. Only five survived. After Noah helped them, none of the five had significant injuries.

“Thank you. What magic.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome.”

Noah looked around. The desert was hot. The sun shone harshly on the corpses and wreckage, and the thirsty sand drank as much frogfolk blood as it was given. There were dunes for miles in every direction. He could see the eerie darkness to the north and knew that was the direction they had to head in.

“What dost we do now, Noah?” asked Berenice.

“I don’t know. I guess we have to get to a village or town. How far was the next port?” he asked aloud. Graven and the frogfolk were close enough to hear, and one of the frogfolk spoke up.

“Few hours river. More hours hop.”

“Okay. To the north?”

“Yes, north. Toward Toldenhold. We hop.”

“No hop. Too far. Too hot,” another frogfolk croaked.

A third frogfolk chimed in. “If not hop, we die! You stupid?”

“This your fault! You stupid!” The frogfolk lashed out at the other frogfolk with its tongue. Its tongue was the thickness of Noah’s thigh, and knocked the other frogfolk back on impact. Noah was sure it was strong enough of an impact to break bones, if it had hit right.

“Ah! You stupid! No listen to captain!” He lashed back at the other frog. Soon, all the frogfolk were punching each other with their tongues and hopping out of the way of other tongues. Noah saw one frog hop high into the air to avoid a tongueshot, only to be smacked in the side of the head by a different tongue.

“Idiot! No listen!”

“Reckless!”

“We die! Too hot!”

“Listen! Listen all of you. You are going so crazy! Please, calm down!” begged Graven. He tried to walk into the chaos to stop the frogfolk from fighting, but he took a tongue to the face and fell over backwards onto his ass. “Ah shit! Damn your mothers!”

“Noah, do something, I prithee!” Berenice begged. One frog was now lying on its back, and being beaten by two other frogs with repeated tongueshots. The other two were fighting one-on-one.

“Die, fool!” croaked one of them.

“You first!”

Noah took the electricity rod from the backpack and stepped forward. “Stop!” he yelled, and shook the rod through the air. It shot lightning bolts into the sky and made a booming sound which shocked the frogfolk into silence. “Stop fighting! This is pointless! We’re trapped in the desert! We need to work together. Quit fucking around!”

The frogfolk all stared at him, and his artifact. One frogfolk who was stunned into silence while his tongue was still out slowly retracted it into his mouth.

Everyone was staring at him. He felt uncomfortable with the attention, but apparently he was now in charge. “Okay, ah, so we have to go that way, right?”

“We die! Of thirst!”

Graven spoke. “It’s only a few hours from here, you overgrown tadpole! Quit bitching!”

“Too hot!”

Noah asked, “Why don’t we wait here until night, then? Under the shade of the tree?”

“I would not stand beneath there were I thee, Noah,” said Berenice, gesturing to the half of the ship that was perched precariously in the branches of the tree.

“Right. Well, there’s not much shade anywhere else. So, we have to walk then, right?” he asked. Everyone stared at him and then looked at each other. Nobody objected.

“Okay. Uhh, does anyone have water? We should probably ration it or something. It might not be safe to drink if we don’t boil it, but given the circumstances, we probably don’t have a choice.”

“Not me.”

“No”

“I’m sorry, sir, I have nothing.”

Berenice shook her head no.

Shit. It was hot. Desert hot. Noah was already feeling the effects of the hot sun after only a few minutes. And the frogfolk probably needed water even more badly than he did. He looked up at the Wandering River. It was high, but not too high. Maybe two hundred feet in the air? It was wide and thin where the ship had fallen through. Maybe fifty feet across, but only a few feet deep. Noah wished there was some way to reach into the sky and grab some water.

“I don’t suppose anyone here can fly?” More blank stares. Okay. What did he have? The flesh scanner. Maybe he could print out some wings. Likely not. His electricity rod. If he swung it, perhaps he could strike the bottom of the River with a lightning bolt, and loose some water? It was worth a shot.

He swung the rod hard, and created a cluster of three lightning bolts. The boom was deafening, and sand blew away from him in all directions. The bolts missed his target. He was off by only a few feet. He tried again. Boom! Miss. A third time. Boom! He saw one bolt contact the bottom of the River, and expel a spray of steam and water. A few seconds later and it was raining down on them.

Berenice looked at Noah and smiled. Graven, too. The frogfolk stuck out their tongues to catch the falling water. After only a few seconds, though, the water stopped.

“Again! Again!” said the frogfolk.

“That was an excellent idea, sir. Perhaps we should set up some containers to catch the water?”

“Yeah-“

Suddenly, they heard a loud rumbling. The sand started to shift and shake beneath their feet. Noah looked at the others; they seemed as confused as he felt. The ground began to shake harder. Was it an Earthquake? Noah was from Toronto and had never experienced an earthquake, but he assumed this must be what it would be like. He saw pieces of the ship start to fall from the tree.

The rumbling grew louder, and then he heard a pealing blast, which made him, Berenice, and Graven cup their ears. He turned to look at the source of the shockwave and saw a creature running toward them over one of the sand dunes.

It was massive. It looked like a beige elephant, but it was way bigger. It was like a dinosaur, running toward them. Its body was covered in faint blue zigzag patterns. Its eyes were black, but it had red circles around its eyes. It stampeded toward them, causing the Earth to shake with every step. It raised its wide trunk at them and sent another blaring blast of sound toward them. The frogfolk were hopping away, but Noah saw there was no point in running. This thing was way too fast.

It was almost at them. Berenice had slipped her metalskin ring on, and she took her hands from her ears. The sound didn’t seem to bother her anymore. Graven had somehow grown four more arms, and his two swords had turned to four. Two of his hands were still protecting his ears.

“Do we fight, my friends?” he shouted.

“I don’t know!” shouted Noah. He was going to try to shock the creature with a lightning bolt before it reached them. It was their only hope of not being crushed.

He readied his electricity rod, and when the huge elephant came closer, Noah swung the rod, hard. Boom! The lightning was blinding, so it took Noah a second to realize he had missed his target. Two lightning bolts had shot from the tip of his rod, but they curved away from the straight line he had intended, and turned toward Berenice, striking her in the side. They left her metal body red on one side, but she stayed standing and Noah thought she seemed otherwise unharmed and unperturbed.

The elephant was close to them and blasted another shockwave toward them. At this distance, the powerful soundwave was strong enough to push them back, knocking Noah and Graven to the ground. Noah saw several of the frogfolk go rolling, too. The elephant creature tried to kick or stomp on Berenice, but she was barely pushed back by the kick, and the huge animal stumbled, almost falling before it caught its balance and ran past them toward the frogfolk. It blasted another shockwave, and knocked over the frogfolk again. It then stomped one of them, leaving behind only a red footprint in the sand where the frogfolk had been. It turned around laboriously to face the other frogfolk.

Noah had to zap it, but he couldn’t as long as Berenice was made of metal. Not unless he got close enough, but that might be a death sentence. Especially because he couldn’t Dash away. Not with his Heartless penalties. Shit. Should he yell for Berenice to take off her metalskin ring? Would she?

Graven ran toward the elephant, six swords in hand. Noah had no idea where he got the extra swords from or how he planned to use them. The elephant stomped on another frogfolk, looked at Graven, and trumpeted angrily. Graven was thrown backward onto the ground.

Noah needed Berenice to take of her metalskin ring, or he would be useless. But he didn’t want to put her in danger. Right now, she seemed invincible. She took a direct hit from the thing’s giant leg and seemed fine. Noah’s lightning, too, had turned the side of her torso red hot, but it didn’t harm her. She could go right up to the elephant, fight it, and probably be fine, though she had no weapons. What if she lent the ring to Graven? Then he could fight the elephant without being knocked over or crushed. Or, what if Berenice didn’t need a weapon? Noah had an idea.

“Berenice!” he shouted.

“Aye, Noah?” she shouted back. He saw Graven skillfully dodge an attempt by the elephant to squish him underfoot.

“Berenice! Go hug the elephant!”

“What? Certainly not! Art thou mad?”

“It is a good idea! Trust me!”

Her demeanour changed instantly. “Alright, I do place my trust in thee. I see that it’s a good idea.” She sprinted without fear toward the elephant. It saw her coming and tried to send a shockwave to knock her off her feet, but she was undeterred. When she got close, the elephant reared up on its hind legs and then slammed its front legs down, trying to squish her. If she was one of the frogfolk, she would have been obliterated. Instead, it was like a human stomping on a nail. The elephant pulled its leg back up into the air and trumpeted in pain. Berenice lept onto the other leg and hugged it, holding on for her life.

“Ahh ayy- Ayyaaya ddiddaa-“ she tried to shout to Noah from the leg, but the movement of the elephant shook her around, making her impossible to hear.

Noah swung his electricity rod as hard as he could. Five thick lightning bolts shot from the tip, and they all arced toward Berenice. He did it again, and more bolts shot toward her. After a third time, she was white-hot and glowing so brightly she hurt to look at. Her screaming hot arms cut through the elephant’s flesh like butter. The elephant howled and blared and fell onto its knee, as the flesh on its leg had been melted by Berenice’s hot body.

She was unharmed by the heat and could still move just fine. She lept up onto the knee of the elephant and started digging into its flesh with her glowing, white arms. The elephant fell over on top of Berenice and blasted gusts of wind in random directions as it flailed in pain. Berenice was no longer visible, but the elephant screamed in pain, and she must have still been doing damage to it on the inside. Soon, the elephant went still. It was dead.

Noah looked at the elephant’s corpse. Berenice was inside there somehow. He hoped they wouldn’t have to dig her out. A second later, he was relieved to see her fist punch through the stomach of the elephant, which melted and smoked on contact with her hot body, and she crawled her way out.

“Missus! You did it! You slayed the beast!” Graven shouted. Four of his arms retracted into his body, and his swords snapped together, turning six into two.

Noah and the three remaining frogfolk also approached the elephant’s corpse and Berenice. She was still piping hot, and nobody wanted to get too close.

“Berenice, that was crazy!” shouted Noah.

“Aye, Noah. I am a living sun!” She raised her fist into the air. “All who wouldst keep me in fetters, fear me! Bahahah!”

“Is she alright?”

“She’ll cool down,” said Noah.

“Never! I possess the hottest body in all the Empire! Bahaha!”

“Okay, sure, but… How long will it take her to cool down?” asked Graven.

“I have no idea,” said Noah.

“Maybe some water would help the situation?”

Soon, water was raining down on them again. Noah had to stand far away from Berenice so his bolts wouldn’t arc to her body. Wherever the rain touched Berenice’s red-hot body, it left a black splotch, which quickly heated up again. It took a lot of rain to cool her down. In the meantime, the frogs were drinking up as much of it as they could, and Graven set out a few bowls, leaves, and other things he could find to capture some of the water.

“Ah, I thank thee, Noah. ‘Tis like a cool shower on a hot summer’s day. Not that I have ever owned a shower. But I have used one, methinks. But I know not where. Nevermind. I thank thee.”

“No problem,” yelled Noah, swinging his electricity rod again to bring down more water. Soon, she was back to her usual self. Well, her usual metallic self. She took off her metalskin ring and looked down at her body.

“It doth appear I am unharmed after all. I thank thee again, Noah.”

“No problem, Berenice. Wait, are you bleeding?”

“What, where?” she said, following his gaze to her legs. She turned, looking for the bleeding. She used one hand to pull some of her puffy wool out of the way, and she saw some blood between her legs.

“Ah.” She smiled. “Methinks it may just be my time of the month, Noah.”

“What? Oh!” Noah looked away. “Sorry.”

“Worry not. At least none were harmed.”

Graven spoke to her. “What do you mean, none were harmed? Two of the froggies were crushed to death!”

“Ah, I mean, no humanborns. The two of you are safe.”

“But they’re people too, Berenice.”

“Verily? They are of human birth?”

“No, I mean, they are people, even if they’re not of human birth or whatever.

“Whatever thou dost say. Let us not dwell on it now.”

“Excuse us,” one of the frogfolk spoke.

“Yes, excuse us,” said another.

“We thank you two. For saving us.”

“And letting that stupid captain die.”

“Yes, that too. It worked out great.”

“Uhh, you’re welcome?” said Noah.

“You are hero,” one said to Noah.

“I don’t know about that.”

“You too, sheep one.”

“Thou dost flatter me, kindly frogfolk.”

“She called me kindly!”

“Wait, I’m kindly too!”

“Me too! Me too!”

“Aye, you are all kindly. My goodness. Verily.”

“Thank you, hero.”

“What next?” asked Noah.

Indeed. What next?