Chapter 6: Simeon

  On the seventh day from the moment they had landed on Trinixo the group arrived at Ankur. But they would not be here for long. What they had seen in Grial was fresh in their memories. They knew they were on borrowed time and had to be cautious.

  Corin and the rest entered Ankur with as little fanfare as possible, coming in as dawn broke to avoid interactions.

  Nanaua was eager to learn about Ankur, but Corin thought that a dragon furtive walking around the village might throw the population into a frenzy. On the other hand, Zhi was more than happy to walk into their home, find the first bed available, and fall asleep the instant her body touched the mattress.

  It did not take long for the town to notice the couple’s return. They wanted to hear about their trip, but this was quickly stifled by Livia’s announcement of Corin’s condition.

  “You see, he found some meat on the floor of the temple and against my better judgment ate it,” Livia told Pallo, one of their neighbors. “So now after eating the dead birds at the temple, he’s very sick and doesn’t smell very good. Oh, he is getting better, but the smell is too much. But he is eager to see all of you once he feels better.”

  She told variations of the same story to several villagers before going to visit Simeon.

  “You want me to do what? Go see Corin? The whole village is saying he ate some rotting meat and that he smells horrible! And you want me to go see him?” Simeon gawked in disbelief.

  The middle-aged ape-man was perched on a branch in a tree next to his home. He had been resting when Livia approached him. His face, the one part of his body not covered in the white fur, looked very much like a person’s aside from the squished nose and the thin lips. He wore a breezy shirt, short pants that exposed his hairy legs, and comfy sandals. His tail wagged about as he relaxed on the tree.

  “Simeon, you don’t understand. It’s not that Corin is sick. It’s that we found something in there, something we need your help with. You won’t believe what we brought back!” Livia’s enthusiasm was barely contained.

  Simeon heard Livia and thought for a second. As he did, his tail coiled up beside him.

  “Ah ha” Simeon replied, his tail swinging about happily. “I can’t believe I’ve fallen for such an obvious ruse!” He started to get worked up.

  Simeon jumped from his branch now and landed next to Livia. He was taller than her and Corin and his face showed his age, about half a century. Despite his age he was still a very active furtive, going on hunts frequently and was still the best shot with a bow in the entire village and perhaps the entire island.

  Livia had to try to calm him down, she did not want to attract any unwanted attention to them.

  “Come to our home at sunset. We shall explain everything then.”

  ***

  Later that day, Corin found himself in his home. This had been his second home. His first one he had shared with Cyril in Bothia before the titan attack.

  His home was small. Initially only for him, but then along came Livia. He had fashioned this home exactly like his small childhood home in Bothia. It had a kitchen, a dining table next to a large fireplace, and two bedrooms. One of them was Corin’s. Like his old home, his room was the one on the left. The one on the right was like Cyril’s room in Bothia. Corin had left that room undisturbed since the house had been built. Livia never even brought up the existence of the room.

  It had been his brother’s wish to see their small house in Bothia become a home. To see a flourishing family grow in their house, much like when he, Corin, and their parents had shared it. But that had been a long time ago.

  Cyril would tell him stories of their parents, and ask Corin if he remembered what they looked like, but he could not. Cyril told him that eventually their home would house a growing family again. He figured that once Corin was old enough and could make his own way, Cyril would find a wife and make a family here.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  But it was Corin who would eventually find a wife to make a home there. Corin hoped this would have made Cyril happy.

  As Corin sat in front of the fire, he could now hear the snoring coming from that room, that single space on this world that had been left undisturbed for so long.

  Livia had not mentioned anything to the group upon arriving at the house.

  “What room is your room?” Zhi had asked upon arriving.

  “Our room is the one on the left.” Corin had replied.

  Without replying Zhi went into the room on the right. Livia was about to say something, but Corin stopped her.

  “It’s fine,” he said. “I know he wouldn’t mind.”

  Livia looked at her husband and smiled. “He loved having company,” she added.

  There was a knock at the door. Corin went and opened it. Simeon was there.

  “Come in quick!” He grabbed Simeon by the arm and dragged him in the house.

  Simeon felt whiplash as he was quickly brought into the house, and the door behind him closed.

  “Good to see you too, Corin!” Simeon said with a large smile.

  Simeon, Corin and Cyril had all been close friends from the day that Cyril and Corin had rescued Simeon. Cyril’s loss was a crushing blow to both Corin and Simeon, and their bond only intensified after his passing.

  “Livia and her rumors worried me to no end! I had heard you ate all sorts of rotten meat and that you smelled so bad that this house needed to be avoided at all cost!” Simeon said, laughing.

  “Is that what she said about me?” Corin asked.

  Livia walked into the room, greeting Simeon. “I had to say something to keep people away from here. But, Corin, you know it’s rude to keep our guest waiting. Go get them,” Livia said.

  Corin was hoping that Nanaua and Zhi would have been awake by now, but that was not the case. He knocked on the door several times until he got a response.

  With no warning, the door swung open, and Nanaua walked into the middle of the room.

  “Did we miss something?” she asked as she was half awake.

  Upon walking out, Simeon instantly gasped.

  “By the firmament! A dragoor!” Simeon almost fell back from the shock.

  Nanaua herself looked surprised to see Simeon. “An ape-man?”

  Zhi came out as well, looking half asleep. “Who is this?” She asked.

  Simeon was left at a loss for words.

  “It’s a long story, so why don’t you sit down?” Livia said.

  She proceeded to tell Simeon of their recent encounters. Throughout the telling of the story, Simeon had fewer questions than Corin or Livia expected. In fact, the entire time he would look from Zhi to Nanaua and back to whomever was speaking as if he had just seen them for the first time.

  Upon finishing the story, the only thing that could be heard was the crackling of the fire.

  “So, what do you think Simeon? Do you think you might be able to guide us?” Zhi asked.

  Simeon said, “Your tale is amazing. That is simply obvious. Your goal is clear, the eradication of the titans. The means to do so are not as clear. You claim to have part of an artifact that will give you a weapon that can kill titans, but herein lies the problem. You only have part of this weapon.” Simeon pointed to the hollow pyramid that was placed in front of him.

  “And the reason you were able to obtain it was due to the chance occurrence that Lord Tonatiuh had been entrusted with it. But according to your story, there are two more parts to this weapon, a hollow cube and a solid sphere that combine with the pyramid. But where are those two parts?” Simeon asked as he looked around the room.

  Corin and Livia looked at each other. They did not know the answer to this.

  “What we know is that one titan lord for each domain was trusted each with a portion of the weapon. In the case of the sky lord that was given one piece, it was of course Tonatiuh,” Zhi said with spite. “For the other two lords, we have two pieces of information, their name and the general area they claim as their own.”

  “The giant who guards their portion of the weapon is Belaran. His kingdom is somewhere in Khorsor. The leviathan that guards the other portion of the weapon we believe claims the White Sea as his home, which is why we brought down the dragon temple here,” Nanaua said.

  Corin’s heart started to race. He knew the seas near him. There was only one titan that called the White Sea home. A terror Corin never wanted to see again.

  “Arandu,” Corin interjected.

  Zhi and Nanaua nodded.

  “So you know of him?” Zhi asked.

  Livia, Corin, and Simeon all looked at each other.

  Simeon answered, “Arandu was the titan who came to our previous home and laid waste to the village when it clashed with Telletioh. Both caused significant damage to each other, but nothing compared to the damage they inflicted upon us. We lost many good people that day.”

  “So you know what is at risk! You know why we need your help!” Zhi said. “With this, we can make sure that furtives do not have to live in fear any longer. We can end the titan’s cruel ways against the furtives, but we need your help.”

  “And this information. How did you come about it? Surely you did not learn dragon script?” Simeon asked.

  “I did,” Zhi replied.

  Simeon scoffed, “After what I’ve heard, I don’t even know why I’m surprised. Last I heard, any furtive who learned the dragon script was to be executed immediately.”

  “Those rules are still in place, but as you know my execution date was forthcoming, and I made sure to keep my studies secret,” Zhi replied.

  “Hmm. So the plan would be to find Arandu and Belaran’s portions of this weapon, and then?” Simeon asked.

  “We have an idea of how to use the weapon,” Zhi replied.

  “I see. So you think you know how to use it,” Simeon said.

  “From dragon script we are able to gather that titans are terrified of this weapon. The last time it was wielded against them, the three titan species united to seal it away,” Nanaua interjected.

  “Ah of course you learned dragon script as well,” Simeon laughed.

  Corin did not understand these concepts of dragon script but was too enthralled by the conversation to raise any questions.

  “So you are looking for this weapon, while also being hunted by your lord’s Zifors?” Simeon mentioned.

  Zhi nodded.

  Simeon was quiet. He knew there were a lot of unknowns in this journey. There was no guarantee they would succeed in their goals. Their chances of survival were slim.

  He looked at Corin and slapped him on the knee.

  “Ouch!” Corin replied, rubbing his knee. “What was that for?”

  “Corin? Don’t you know that I came to this island explicitly to get away from crazy adventure nonsense like this? And then you go look for it, bring it into your home, and then ask me to hear it!” Simeon said as he shook his head.

  Corin could see a large grin on Simeon’s face. His tail was moving side to side, a clear sign that Simeon was greatly interested.

  “Alright, so here’s what you’ll need. Supplies for the next ten days, a very gracious gift to share with the sirens, and Livia’s leviathan-sensing device. Weapons will be necessary. Livia, you need to spend the next five days preparing as much ammunition as possible. That’s all the time that will be available before departure.” Simeon stood up and prepared to leave.

  Everyone stared at him confused, not moving.

  “Are you joining us?” Zhi asked.

  “Of course I am! Who else is going to lead your group?” Simeon replied with a smile.