The Fifth Crusade

If anything characterized the Fifth Crusade’s ship, it was the instability. I dragged a pair of stinky Paisantuna, expecting the ship to sink in that precise moment. For whatever reason, that wooden junk stayed afloat.

Captain Ledybuddy looked fondly at my efforts, insisting that the help of Healytroll and Kalandra was no longer needed. Despite his black beard, leather clothing, and constant pacing back and forth, he seemed relaxed and immune to the sun.

“Alisha, girl, time to say farewell.”

Everything happened so fast that I couldn’t prepare my mind and heart to confront Kalandra. The Solid supporters allowed us to at least say some parting words. In an impulse, I made a promise to her.

“We will meet again. You can count on that.”

My mom & sis would laugh at this if they were present.

And after a parting hug, I embarked on a new ‘adventure’.

Sofia was her name. Yes, the name of the ship. It was fifty or sixty meters long, maybe more. In the front was a wooden statue of two women holding hands. Meanwhile, the zone of the back had a two-floor structure for the helm and other navy-thing stuff.

But two things caught my attention in particular: the absence of sails, and the dozens of people lying outdoors on the deck of the ship. The only luxury was the awning to cover them from the intense sun. Surrounded by strangers, I was regretting already.

“Em Alpha, ready!”

“Em Beta, ready!”

“Em Gamma, ready!”

“Ha ha ha, let’s fucking go, people, until forever!”

And without further ado, the boat began to sail down the Amayaracu River. Kalandra and I exchanged glances one last time. She was crying, but remained strong, standing firmly on the dock.

After thirty minutes, Matilda wasn’t in sight anymore. I would never visit the city again.

* * *

The first thing I learned in Sofia was why there was no real cover for the tripulants: the heat. We were all sweaty, so what we did most of the time was hang in there and hope for a fresh breeze. The second thing I learned was the difference in the tripulation.

The Fifth Crusade was one of the many Guilds in charge of river transportation. Most of them have already left to continue the Reconquest, so I was lucky to find them. Moreover, hearing people talking, I learned that not only organized Guilds, but also independent people joined the army effort.

Such was the song's topic performed by a bard in the prow of the ship.

The musician’s sardonic smile, as if feeling superior to the rest, the way he played, as if trying to start an uproar: I knew that guy. He was entertaining a group of twenty Heroes, much to the dismay of the crew. Until he saw me.

“Why, why, it’s you! The girl from the other day, and in one piece! Sorry, gentleman, the fun is over.”

Everyone looked at me, yet nobody said a word. They were indifferent at most. For the first time, I noticed the curious assortment of people reunited on the ship. One guy (or girl?) sat close to the border, covered completely like bandages.

“I almost died cause of you!”

“Of me? I didn’t force you. And definitely, you were already trying to kill a Hero in plain daylight. You were born an idiot for sure.”

Damn logic.

Suddenly, the Sofia was struck, and from the river giant turtles covered in spikes jumped onto the ship. We were surrounded by these strange beasts that emitted a sharp cry. I grabbed my dagger, but it was already too late.

Four Heroes killed all the monsters in a split second, three of them using spears and one of them using a bolt of lightning. Before I could have time to scream, the one with a black hat commanded us:

“We are the Fifth Crusade’s officers, and we’ll not tolerate any disturbance to the Sofia. All of you, protect her, more mobs are incoming!”

Other Guild members began to distribute spears.

“Keep the melee distance as farthest as possible, the spikes are poisonous!”

With those words, I ended up fighting alongside these strangers against the turtles. They were the Matamata or devil turtles. Later, I found out that according to some legends, you could dive to Hell from the Amayaracu River, where those beasts lay.

“Pretty funny, huh? I bet you are not as comfy as when attacking people. Call me Smokinjoes, by the way. A pleasure!”

Smokinjoes had a great time looking at me struggling to fight back. He was right: this wasn’t the same as fighting people. The Matamata were agile enough to evade, and when you weren’t cautious, they went at you with a powerful bite.

So that’s why everybody kept their armor.

But the worst part was using the spear without hurting anyone nearby. A Mage next to me yelled at me for almost stabbing him in the back. The only person who didn't fit into the rhythm of the fight was me.

Fifteen minutes of incessant fighting passed, and finally, no more Matamata jumped at the ship. We were all sweaty,

Captain Leady left his control room and shouted at us:

“Ha ha ha, having a good time? We are going to have soup turtle for the entire month!”

Month?!

He left us on our own again, so one of the four heroes who had defended us first commanded us again:

“Now to skin! You can keep the meat you want for yourself, as well as other loot. But skins go to the Fifth Crusade. Any weight that you can’t carry is thrown into the River.”

Skinning wasn't pleasant work. I wasn’t even sure why I was doing it, yet I needed to be careful. For some reason, the rest of the Heroes considered it valuable.

“Oh, girl, you are going to cut your hands. You can't have such a fine dagger for skinning. Take this, one of my personal inventories.”

Ugh.

Receiving help from that guy irritated me, but he was skillful with knives. The rest of the afternoon, I spent my time learning the skinning technique by watching him. And when I saw the rest of the crew throwing the Matamata, I did it myself.

“Crew, guests, time to eat!”

The shouting officer appeared again, this time organizing the distribution of soup bowls. Smokinjoes informed me he was called Turkeey, one of the Fifth Crusade’s four officers. Turkeey wasn’t known among the crew for being kind.

“Alicia, you can’t be so nice in these parts of the world.”

“You really like to lecture me that much?”

The soup itself wasn’t bad at all. It had a strong flavour, and the heat made me sweat even more, but it replenished my energies quickly. However, when I finished half of my own bowl, I noticed an intense gaze not so far from me.

A young, pink-haired girl with two pigtails was looking at my meal. At first, I thought she might have resented me because of my poor performance at defending the ship.

Then the drooling started.

“Do you want some?” I tried to be nice for once.

“What? Are you talking to me? I don’t need this distasteful soup.”

Her bowl was empty.

I ignored her, but when I was about to resume my turtle meal, I noticed her gaze again.

“Here, you can have some. I’m almost full to be honest.”

“Don’t you have manners? Leaving a plate you received as a guest, no matter how distasteful, is poor manners. Give me. I can’t allow this.”

She ended up drinking all my soup. No trace of it was left.

“You can call me Alicia.”

“What? Do you think we are friends? Please remember I was doing you a favor. Call me Se…nara. Call me Senara.”

She didn’t talk again, yet she sat closer to me.

Then night fell, and one of the four officials came to us. He was probably around his twenties, but the dark circles under his eyes made him look wise. A proper feature, since he was the Fifth Crusade’s Loremaster.

“We have here old and new Heroes, it seems. Why don't you entertain your first night with a good story?”

Smokinjoes began to play a soft melody to set the mood. The crew and the guests gathered around, and the Mage I almost killed started a magic fire that didn’t damage the ship. Even the Hero covered in bandages was interested. For my part, I didn’t want to think of some weird story of this cursed land. I didn’t even care about my own world’s history.

Yet the myth the Loremaster was about to tell us caught my full attention.

“How don’t we start with a classic? You girls, have you ever heard the story of the River Titan? The Forgotten Titan that divided the Two Brothers? Have you? Why don’t we start with the tale of Amayaracu, the Great Serpent?”