This is a continuation of the story begun in the description of this video (bit.ly/1PQUPPs) and continued here (bit.ly/1LYeDdD and bit.ly/1CJACFa and bit.ly/1MBTcC7)
The Boy offered his hand to The Courtesan and helped her into the boat. He quickly untied the rope from the dock post and jumped in. As the boat drifted away from the dock, he grabbed the oars and pushed away, catching the current, moving downriver. The Boy dipped the oars into the water...and realized he’d never been in a boat before, let alone navigated one. He hesitated --
“Let me guess. No naval experience?” The Courtesan asked wryly.
The Boy shrugged.
“Ok, move it.” He gave up his position as she moved into the center bench, deftly handling the oars and easing the boat into the center of the river. Fort Hornwick rapidly fell away, the sounds of chaos and smells of smoke receding into the distance. The Cortesan fell into an easy pulse with the boat, letting the current do most of the work.
“Where did you learn to rescue damsels in distress? I need to have a word with your teachers.”
“Hey, at least we’re out of the camp, I guess. And just because I can’t...boat...well, I bet you don’t know how to wrestle the eggs from a Skycat or find a vein of Truegold in a dark cave!”
The Courtesan laughed. “Fair enough. We all have our hidden skills. If you’re lucky, you may even discover more of mine.”
The Boy turned red as a bloodberry. An awkward silence hung over the boat, punctuated by the rhythmic squeaking of the rusty oars, the splashing water on the boat.
“My apologies - my sisters always told me I was too forward.”
“With boys?”
“With boys, with men, with anything. My philosophy is, ‘why let everyone else have all the fun?’”
The boy pondered that a moment. “Fun” wasn’t much valued on The Mountain he called home. It was a hardscrabble existence, a constant fight for survival against the Beasts of the Wild, the Storms of the Great Sky, and the Mountain itself. “I think I should very much like to have fun as well.”
“And so we shall! Let’s see - we’ve got some food and supplies in the boat. Enough for at least a couple of weeks, I’d guess. We’re dressed as common peasants, but looky here!”
She raised a soldier’s uniform out of a sack in the boat.
“And we’re riding on Gilderfern Brook. Gilderfern flows through these hills, into Knifewater Canyon. Bandits there, but the water flows swiftly and we could be in and out like a buttered trout...as they say. From there, it joins with the Mighty Rashorne River and wends to Rashgate Capital and the Great Water.
“Of course, that’s only if we decide not to stop at The University on the way. Lots to see there, of course, and much to learn. So...where to, Boy?”
If you want The Boy to follow the River, type “River” in the comments
If you want The Boy to go to the University, type “University” in the comments
This story will be continued if 1 Dollar 1 Hour continues.
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