Neytopia › Part 2: Noon › Chapter 13

Across the golden ocean

During their journey, the raven and the giant had to deal with all sorts of people. Bands of thieves attacked them at night, even though they carried nothing more than some food. Once, they even tried to kidnap them. A man popped out of the woods in the morning, soon followed by more thieves, approached the raven and giant and said,

Behold, we are the 128 thieves, and we have come to take you prisoners for a bounty. Surrender or prepare to be—

The raven was suddenly deaf and covered in blood. The giant had slammed the thief with his right hand, crushing him to pulp.

Haha, funny man go splat.

The 128 - 1 thieves disappeared back into the forest. The giant looked at the hand he had used to crush the thief with disgust,

Yikes.

When word spread around, hunters began tracking them, seeking the renown that would come from killing the two monsters. So they were forced to sleep by day, usually in caves they blocked with large boulders, and travel by night. For weeks they walked across mountains and forests, for weeks they had to kill and bury their wannabe assassins.

With nothing else to do but talk, they learned everything about each other. The raven saw how much it hurt the giant to have forgotten his past life. So one night, as he buried the remains of an assassin, he told the giant,

If I ever have the opportunity, I promise to restore your memories.

Thank you, raven. You make this giant happy.

Eventually they reached a desert that stretched beyond the horizon. The raven said,

Going around it will take us weeks, we have to risk it.

The past few days, a party of 64 had been following them. The raven knew it was a matter of time before they caught up, so why not drag them into the unforgiving desert? Day by day the mob shrunk: men deserted out of fear, hunger, thirst and exhaustion. One morning, when only half the mob remained, the giant and the raven hid behind some dunes to ambush them.

They jumped on them as they passed by the dune where they had hidden. Some men fled in horror, hearing the giant’s roar and seeing the raven’s eyes, which had all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming. Some men faced the monsters with bravery, stabbing the giant a couple of times. But the gian’ts skin was too thick for their weapons. The raven flew above his enemies and then dove to strike with his sword, slicing necks and arms before soaring again, blinding his enemies with sunlight.

Once their enemies were all dead, the raven and the giant took their provisions and the raven healed the giant’s shallow wounds. The giant asked,

Will it always be like this?

For us, yes. Regular folk will see us as monsters. But we will prevail. No matter how bad it gets, I promise you, we will live to fight another day.

After eating the dead men’s rations they continued their journey out of the desert. The golden ocean led them to the Middle Sea. From there they walked along the coast until they reached a small port town that regularly shipped people and goods up north. Though now that barbarians were ravaging the southern continent, trade had mostly stopped. They approached a ghost town.

The raven bandaged his face and body to hide his identity. The giant waited outside the town, while the raven he headed for the ports, looking for a ship that would take them north. He asked some beggars about the owner, and they told him it was an old sailor who was drinking away his life in one of the town’s many taverns.

When the raven stepped into the tavern, everyone turned to look at him, thinking he was either a burn victim or a leper. He asked the bartender for something to drink, and people mostly lost their interest. He noticed roaches crawling through the walls and a family of cats wandering about the tables. He asked the bartender, a large woman with moustache and strong muscles,

Who owns that large ship outside?

That old salty dog over there.

“She” pointed at an old man who was missing an eye and a leg. The old man sat in a corner drinking alone. He approached the captain,

Excuse me, sir. I would like to sail the Middle Sea on your ship.

Get lost.

The raven pulled out the golden trinkets he had collected from all the people he had killed in self-defense.

I have many gold.

The captain chewed the golden trinkets one by one before concluding,

Aright, I’ll take ya.

I must also mention that I carry a large animal and we… I must travel tonight.

Fine, for an extra fee.