End of the Voyage

 An elbow from Alpen urged Fallon to move through the sharp pain of the blinding daylight. Alpen on the

left, Fallon on the right, they trusted that Alithea and Bebe could hear the cadence that Alpen and Fallon

sounded out as they took the stairs.

From the right of the stairway, legs tried to take purchase on the steps. Fallon chopped down and the body fell back. Alpen jabbed with his left elbow and a head flew back. Matching their arm movements on the inside, they formed a threshing machine. Forward, forward, chop, chop, and they must never lose the feel of the playpen at their backs.

When Fallon felt a hand thrust at his gut, he chopped down hard and felt the crunch of bone. Forward, forward, chop, chop and they were at the top of the stairs. Fallon stumbled as he cleared the deck, but Fallon helped him regain his balance. They almost took out the Cawthingi at the edge of the hold.

The uproar from the hold was deafening. Looking over his shoulder, Fallon saw Bebe pulled back into the hold by a hand, then a stick split the outstretched arm. Another Cawthingi guard. They were ruthless in their discipline. He looked in the eyes of the Cawthingi at the front of him and repeated the crude voicing of Surrender to the guard. Surprised, he swept his arm to usher them away from the hold. 

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Fallon and Alpen were accustomed to the uproar of battle but the deafening noise thoroughly terrified Bebe, Alithea and the young ones. Erthen lay on his side on top of the playpen, his eyes squeezed shut and his face contorted against the uproar as those in the hold erupted out of the darkness below.

Fallon looked to Alithea and saw a sadness and longing in her eyes that made him ache. He picked up Erthen and cuddled the boy close to his chest, then turned to face what lay ahead of them. Two guards directed them to a ramp that led to the dock alongside the boat. Fallon wanted to pause and survey the area but didn't dare taunt the guards. Show subservience, he reminded himself and called out the word to the others. Passive compliance. No threat. 

He turned left and felt the spring of the ramp under his weight. He looked right as he descended the ramp with Erthen and was overwhelmed by the sight of a village so large that he could not see its end. Great walls taller than a hill rose up to the sky. Something in his gut cowered in response and he hugged his son closer.

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"What is this place?" Alpen growled. "Hang in there, buddy." He put his hand on Erthen's head as he crouched in Fallon's arms and Alpen realized felt the boy's shaking.

"Head down," Fallon said. "Surrender. They are calling us Bonitas." Bonita was a bug that carried pieces of Ibik feces. Fallon looked back at the playpen that Alithea and Bebe carried. He could see that the babes were upset.

Cawthingi guards herded them from the dock and onto the smooth cobblestones. Ahead of them Fae riders on Sprints stood on either side of an open route to a wall several warriors high. As they strode forward, Fallon looked left through the legs of the Sprints toward the ocean. In the distance he saw creatures like themselves carrying rocks. He understood now. Under his breath, he muttered "Left" and Alpen did so. "Bonitas," Fallon repeated. Alpen kept his head down and nodded.