Gertrude V
Gertrude strode through the city with Triton-Raven stood silently on her shoulder. The Triton’s Bay folk cast them curious glances and stepped around them wide as if they were afraid that the raven might peck at them for getting too close.
Gertrude hadn’t been to Triton’s Bay in ages. The city had a heartbeat of its own. During the day, the yelling from markets and general clamor of thousands of folks out and about their business was enough to drown out the sounds of the ocean—a stone’s throw from most places in the city. At night, however, Gertrude found incredible sleep. The city quieted down and gave itself to the sounds of waves on rocks. The ocean was still mighty, and the people gave it the respect it deserved. The main city street ran impractically around the coast, which was not efficient for business or travel, but gave the inhabitants a view of the shimmering blue water at all times. Gertrude had thought of the city as a busy place to be. She thought city-goers were stuck up and blind to anything outside their walls. She was still right—but while she traveled with Triton-Raven, she began to understand and appreciate them.
Without the guidance of her dreams, Gertrude resigned herself to the persistence of Triton-Raven. The Raven was her spiritual companion through service to their Queen. But since her Raven had merged with the great wizard Triton, Gertrude felt rudderless. This wasn’t the same raven; it was Triton-Raven. Should she still follow it, even though it was now Triton?
What else would she do?
She used her best judgment and hoped she was right. Triton-Raven wanted to follow the sword. He couldn’t use the evil Craven’s Edge as Raven. Gertrude had no idea what to do with the blade once they did find it. If they ever did. Maybe this whole ordeal was just to distract her and Triton. If that was the case, it was bloody working.
They had tracked the infamous, storied sword to Triton’s Bay. The knight that scampered off with it in the wake of Gertrude and Triton’s magical battle had lost it just as quickly. They found the familiar knight’s body along the river a day’s walk South. They heard rumor along the highway that they were closing in on the sword. The road brought them to the walls of Triton’s Bay.
Together they wandered the city. Triton’s Bay—the seat of King Triton’s former throne. The throne he relinquished to chase the sword. And now he was Raven. And Gertrude was, essentially, working for him.
Things were simpler before. But Gertrude was nothing if not an exceptional servant. She considered herself a skilled worker, ready to tackle the problems her Queen needed dealt with. But now she was looking for the world’s most corrupt, evil sword. At Triton-Raven’s bidding.
She stopped and purchased an apple and some bread for the bird. Triton-Raven still wasn’t a flier. She had dropped him out of a local tavern’s second-story window and laughed heartily when plunged to the ground. He gave it a good flap, that’s for sure. He couldn’t scavenge and was altogether rather useless. He made his frustrations clear. At one time, King Triton scared off the world’s scummiest sorcerers. There were songs and stories of his battles against vile, evil creatures of epic proportions. And Gertrude believed most of them. But now he was a pathetic little bird, desperate to collect a sword he couldn’t use.
They stayed at the tavern again that night. It was rowdy, but that was the way of taverns in the city. When they went for their morning stroll, however, the street outside their tavern was littered with guards. Gertrude approached some and asked about their business.
“Sad story, mum,” a guard replied. He eyed the bird on her shoulder but kept going. “Man’s body found in the alley. Brutal, mum. Father of three.” The guard shook his head.
“I’d like to have a look,” Gertrude told him.
“Not a sight for ladies, I’m ‘fraid,” the guard frowned.
“I’m a healer.”
“This one’s past helping, mum. I’m sure of it.”
“Things to be learned, even so.” His face remained hesitant. “I insist.”
The guard eyed her. “Well, if you can’t be swayed. Come along, mum. We’ll make it quick.”
He brought them to the alley, which was a terrible scene. Blood, mangled body, etc. Gertrude regarded the body’s form. She looked up at the tavern above and found a window the man was quite obviously tossed from. Besides the clear sword wounds. Triton-Raven awkwardly jumped off her shoulder and hopped around the man. He squawked and looked at her.
“Thank you, sir,” Gertrude told the guard. She scooped up Triton-Raven and walked off. As they meandered about the city, she spoke to Triton-Raven in a hushed voice.
“Could be, could not be. Hard to say.”
Triton-Raven squawked at her.
“You’re reaching,” she told him. “Could just be a gambling thing, hard to say.”
Triton-Raven squawked in annoyance.
“See what you want, you do, your highness.”
Just then, in the street ahead, they heard a ruckus. City goers bounced off their normal walking paths and out of the way. Gertrude and Triton-Raven watched a determined Tortle dashing against the traffic. Though their species was rare, Gertrude had seen plenty of Tortles. This one was strong of muscle and moving rather quickly through the crowd. They both stared, seeing Craven’s Edge clearly in the Tortle’s hand. He dashed toward the water. Realizing she was staring frozen, Gertrude raised her skirt and ran to follow. She wasn’t much for running, but she didn’t think about that now.
The tortle was far ahead and the distance between them grew. She struggled to keep up. Triton-Raven gripped her shoulder hard and squawked in exasperation. They watched as the Tortle pushed folks out of the way, running toward the docks. Gertrude bumped folks and apologized hastily, trying to keep up. She stepped onto the wooden docks and watched the Tortle draw back and fling the sword into the ocean. She stopped running. They all watched the sword splash before disappearing under the water. The tortle leaned over the dock and retched.
The torlte stood back up, stoic and dignified. He turned and walked back the way he came. He passed Gertrude and Triton-Raven without so much as looking their direction.
Gertrude walked to the edge of the dock and looked down into the water where the sword Craven’s Edge had sunk. Triton-Raven squawked at her.
“I’m not much of a swimmer, your highness.”
Previous Chapter: https://therealzsmith.com/2023/06/02/resistance-chapter-16/
Next Chapter: https://therealzsmith.com/2023/06/16/resistance-chapter-18/
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