Free Into the Wastelands: Book Four of the Restoration Series by Christopher Williams Page B

seemed wide and there were holes which allowed the sailors to use oars. There was one mast directly in the middle of the ship but the sails were currently down. There was a raised deck at the stern of the ship. All in all, it wasn’t all that impressive.
    It took a while for everyone to climb the rope ladder from the longboat to the deck of the ship. Agminion was so bad off that he had to be helped.
    Heather was pleased that there were only about ten or so sailors on the ship. If there ever was a need for a fight, she liked her group’s chances against the crew.
    They were left o n their own for a short while as Kapernum saw to his ship. Heather and her group leaned against the railings and watched, all except Agminion, who sat down on the deck and rested his head against a crate. The ship seemed to be organized chaos, but it wasn’t long before the sails were raised and the ship was moving. Kappie returned soon enough.
    He smiled as he approached. “Forgive me for abandoning you, but there were matters that I had to see to immediately.”
    “We understand,” Heather answered politely.
    “Normally I sleep in the cabin there,” he pointed to a small cabin just under the raised portion of the deck, “and my men sleep in the hold.” He pointed again, but this time downwards.
    “Do you have a cargo?” Dagan asked. He sounded surprised.
    Kappie grunted, “Y es, though it isn’t much of one. Mainly spices and dried foods that do not grow up north. It’s not much, but it will help offset the cost of the voyage.”
    “And we appreciate it immensely,” Heather said. She was feeling the first pangs of guilt at having so disrupted these men’s lives.
    “Little lady, I’m not doing it for you. My mother is in charge of the family business and she told me to undertake this mission.”
    Someday, Heather thought, I want to meet this woman.
    Kappie looked at the men, “ Y ou’ll have to join me in the hold with the other men.” He turned his gaze to Heather, “Miss Heather and these other beautiful ladies can have my cabin.” He nodded to where Agminion had fallen a sleep leaning against the crate, “Is he all right?”
    “He will be,” Dagan answered. “He pushed himself a little too far. I think we’re lucky he didn’t vomit all over the deck, actually.”
    Kappie snorted. “He knows better than to sick up on my deck. He knows I’d have made him clean it up himself.”

Chapter 7
     
    Flare wok e with his whole body hurting. Yesterday, early in the afternoon , he had tried to use sorcery for the sixth time since he had been captured. The medallion around his neck still prevented him from using sorcery and the punishments were getting worse.
    The first time he had tried, there had been an excruciating pain that ran through his body for nearly an hour. He had been unable to walk for a while and he had been sore for several days. Each time he tried to use sorcery, the pain increased.
    After his aborted attempt yesterday, he had endured a quarter of an hour of the most intense pain he had ever felt in his life. At that point, he, mercifully, had blacked out. When he awoke, he felt like someone had taken a club and beaten every square inch of his body.
    He had been awake for nearly half an hour now, and the soreness of his muscles was growing. Laying there on his side, he watched the sun climb over the mountains to the east and his thoughts ran furiously over his predicament.
    He had been captured by agents of the Church of Adel . They viewed all warriors who used magic or sorcery as abominations and they had a deep desire to execute him publicly. In all honesty it was strange. They hated magic-using warriors but had created their own such secret order. An order that used magic and sorcery while they carried swords. By their own definition, these men were abominations, but they viewed it as a necessary evil. The leader of those who had captured him was such a man. Thomas seemed like a genuinely likeable person,