The Long Road of Adventure- Blue Storms and Black Sand

by Ian Rodgers

  “We may need to just save up our gold for a trip to Cathedral City,” Gaelin suggested after a few minutes of silence and watching the fountain’s spray splash about. “They have all kinds of Curse Breakers and wielders of powerful Divine and Light magic down there. If anyone can undo a wound inflicted by a servant of the God of Murder, it’ll be them.”

  “True, but I’d be in Partaevia then, and that’s not something I want to do unless it’s a last resort,” Lily said with a sigh. “When I return to Tashel to retake my throne, grandfather could use that as ammunition against me. Partaevia is reviled down south, and I know for a fact that as soon as they’ve finished subjugating Katlamar their eyes will turn to us and the other nations in the area.”

  “If I’m healed by Clerics in Cathedral City, he could frame it as if I was selling my allegiance to Partaevia to cure myself, regardless of the truth. And nobles and commoners alike would resist my claims to the throne if they thought I would let Partaevia annex us in exchange for a quick fix.”

  She winced and glanced over at Gaelin. “No offense towards your home, of course.”

  “No, I’ve come to understand and accept how the people of Orria look at the empire. They see it as a threat, and I can’t deny my country has not been a good neighbor,” he said with a shake of his head. “Still, it kind of hurts knowing I’m viewed as almost as bad as an elf from the Domain due to my home.”

  Lily patted his shoulder comfortingly. “If it makes you feel any better, I know you’re not a terrible person.” She then smiled teasingly. “There you go! One whole person likes you who isn’t your family or someone you know from your hometown! You’re on a roll!”

  Gaelin gave a tiny chuckle. He then stood and offered her his hand.

  “There’s still one or two places we haven’t checked that might help. Shall we go explore?”

  “As long as it’s not that ‘marital aid shop’ we passed by. I don’t want to have any more people mistakenly assume we’re a couple!” Lily protested. Gaelin laughed at that but nodded in agreement.

  Before they wandered off, Gaelin tossed a copper coin into the fountain, where it joined countless other such tokens of favors and wishes beseeched.

  “Grant us luck,” he supplicated, before wandering off.

  Neither of them noticed the flicker of purest silver that manifested in the ripples of the offered coin, or the way the eyes of the statues seemed to follow them as they left.

  .

  “Nothing,” Lily grunted from where she sat slumped at a booth in a tavern.

  “Nothing substantial,” Gaelin pointed out. “We heard plenty of rumors and hearsay about potential cures.”

  “And how are those going to help us?” Lily questioned, her tone sharp. The halberdier shrugged helplessly.

  “They could lead us in the right direction,” he offered. “We heard the names of several apothecaries and alchemists who might be able to brew a curse removal concoction, as well as a dozen or so mages with the kind of magical talent that might be able to do the same.”

  She sighed, but nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you’re right. What should we do then?”

  “We board a ship and sail south, towards Riggs. I’m certain that we can find what you need.”

  Lily bobbed her head slowly, thinking it over. “Yes. Yes, that is a solid plan. Shall we try to buy passage, or see if any ships are hiring adventurers?”

  “We may have to actually buy our way on,” Gaelin said after thinking it over. “We don’t have any seaworthy skills or abilities, so we probably wouldn’t be hired or be able to take a request from the Guild involving sailing.”

  “Hmm. Solid argument. Would we be able to get onto a boat with our funds?” Lily asked.

  “Oh, certainly! We still have most of the gold from the incident in Sanc Aldet, and the sale from the Razorpede helped pad it out. We could even get two separate rooms and not have to share!”

  “Alright, then! Tomorrow we’ll go to the docks and have a look around,” the princess decided.

  “Sounds like fun. Especially if we have to get into another drinking contest. I still cannot believe you won the one from last night,” Gaelin mused, thinking back to the previous evening.

  Lily had been challenged by some sailors to a drinking competition because they thought she was ‘too young to be playing around with alcohol.’ Which she was, technically, as she was not yet fifteen. Yet she had still managed to drink a room full of seadogs under the table with barely any effort.

  The red-haired archer clutched her head at the memory. “Ugh, don’t bring that up! I still feel the headaches ringing behind my eyes!”

  “Then stop drinking so much,” Gaelin retorted. “Seriously, I know you have an iron stomach and seem to be unable to get totally wasted, but that doesn’t mean the effect won’t slam into you the morning after!”

  “But it tastes so good!” she whined. After a bit in a low voice she uttered, “I blame Gelt for opening my eyes to the wonderful world of drinking.”

  “We can blame half-elf merchants all we want, but in the end you’re the one who takes the first sip. And then drains the rest of the mug. And the next dozen or so,” Gaelin said, shaking his head in disbelief.

  He proceeded to wave over a waitress and ordered some food.

  “I think we should fill our bellies for now. It’s close to dinner and I think we should enjoy good food before we have to subsist on boat rations.”

  Lily nodded in agreement, and the pair eagerly awaited their meals.

  .

  The walk to the docks the next morning was nothing special. However, when they arrived they found an unusual sight; rows of trees lining the divide between the port and the solid ground the rest of Jetty had been built on.

  The trees created a strip of greenery that looked bright and vibrant compared to the dull grey stone and brown lumber that comprised the city, and gave the area an upbeat feel.

  Lily tilted her head, the flora familiar to her. After pondering them for a moment an expression of annoyance crossed her face.

  “Seriously?” she demanded. Gaelin looked at her in confusion.

  “Is everything alright, Lily?”

  “Do you see this?!” she said, pointing at the numerous trees. He appraised them for a moment.

  “They look nice? Certainly greener than I’d expect for having survived winter, though. Magic perhaps?”

  “Not that! The species of tree!”

  “I’m not a botanist, Lily. I can barely tell a dandelion from a daffodil. Or oak from ironwood.”

  “It’s a beech tree!” she hissed, glaring at it as if the flora had personally insulted her. Gaelin scratched his chin, still not sure why his red-headed companion was so biased against this particular tree, until he looked around at the docks and realized the problem.

  “Beech trees… near a beach…” he muttered. He blinked, then held back a snort. Now that he saw it, he couldn’t help but laugh at the play on words.

  “Oh, jeez! That’s hilarious! Puns are so much fun sometimes!” he chuckled, pointedly ignoring Lily’s scandalized look.

  “Glad to see someone has a good sense of humor!”

  The pair glanced to the left to see a burly man approaching them with a grin on his face. He had tanned, weather beaten skin and a scruffy beard, and he eyes were alight with mirth as if sharing a joke.

  Without a doubt, this man was a sailor. Even if his loose-fitting attire and nautical themed tattoos didn’t give it away, he had a coil of rope thrown over one shoulder while the other balanced a sack of produce. Judging by the smell emanating from it, it contained citruses. A must-have for preventing scurvy while on the high seas.

  All in all, his appearance just screamed ‘salty seadog.’

  “Ah, hello, can we help you?” Lily asked cautiously, right hand drifting down to her side to brush against her hip.

  “I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation you two were having. You’re not the first people to notice the play
on words we’ve got going on here in Jetty,” the sailor said with a chuckle.

  “Apparently, the Merchant-King was a big fan of wordplay and puns, and so decreed that all ports in the Crawling Coast had to have some beech trees planted in the area between harbor and city.”

  “That is an odd abuse of power,” Lily commented, unimpressed. Gaelin, however, was grinning at that historic tidbit.

  “What are you talking about, Lily? It’s hilarious! If only more kings and rulers had a sense of humor we might not have so much tension between nations. Certainly, it couldn’t hurt the elves to have a lighter outlook at life, or the politicians back home to be able to take a joke!”

  “See, your buddy gets it!” the sailor said cheerfully towards Lily, as he clapped the halberdier heartily on the back. She just looked disappointed in her friend and guardian.

  “Anyways, what are ya doin’ out here? Looking for something?” the salty man asked as he faced the two.

  “We’re looking to sail down to Riggs, and were going to see if any boats had room for the two of us,” Gaelin explained. “We don’t have any experience traveling by water, though.”

  “Hmm. You won’t find many passenger ships right now. Winter still has its icy grip up here, so most vessels that carry people exclusively won’t venture up north for another month or so. Don’t want to hit any iceburgs, ya know?” the man replied, rubbing his hairy chin.

  “But, if you’re really interested, my ship’s a trading vessel. We go up and down the Crawling Coast for deliveries all the time, and occasionally take on passengers. If they can pay and don’t mind cramped quarters, of course.”

  “If that’s an offer, we’ll take it,” Gaelin said and exchanged a look with Lily. She nodded and he turned back to the sailor. “What’s the going rate right now for a trip down to Riggs?”

  “One gold a person. If they want room to store their luggage in the cargo hold, that’ll be an extra five copper coins per bag. Meals included.”

  “That sounds fair. Maybe on the expensive side though,” Lily mused. “What are the conditions on board?”

  The sailor shrugged. “We’re not a luxury liner, so the men sleep with the crew on hammocks and women get the tiny spare cabin next to the captain. Plus, the food ain’t all that great, and if a storm or other issue arises it’s all hands on deck, including travelers,” the man warned.

  “Still, that’s a good deal. We’re used to difficult conditions as well. We might not look it, but we’re adventurers,” Lily proudly proclaimed. Gaelin showed his bronze badge that hung around his neck for added weight when the large man turned skeptical.

  Upon seeing the emblem of the Adventurer’s Guild engraved upon it he smiled, mollified, and nodded towards the young pair.

  “Alright then. We leave tomorrow at seven in the morning with another pair of adventurers who are also headed to Riggs. Don’t be late, and be ready to pay half the fare up front,” the man said. “The rest of the money comes when we reach our destination.”

  “We shall see you then!” Lily said happily, and waved the man off. He wandered off towards one of the many ships moored at the pier and made note of which it was for when morning came.

  Once the burly sailor left Gaelin looked around the docks and couldn’t help but feel inadequate in certain ways as he observed all the men walking around.

  “Why does almost every guy in the city look like they can lift a house with one arm?” the dark-haired halberdier lamented. Lily patted his shoulder sympathetically.

  “I’m sure you’ll bulk up someday. Until then, though, you’ll just have to settle for being less of a man.”

  “Hey!”

  “I’m just saying! Besides, you like puns. You’re already half-dead to me for that.”

  “What! No fair, puns can be fun sometimes!”

  Lily stared at Gaelin as if she’d never truly seen him before.

  “Sweet Cynthia you’re serious!” she uttered in shock and disbelief. She shivered.

  “Oh wow, I’ve been traveling for almost a year with someone who finds the lowest form of humor entertaining! This is worse than that birthday party you threw for me!”

  “Hey, I did the best with what we had on the road! Many women would love to have fresh venison steak!”

  “Yes, but not all women like being presented with a bouquet of Thornberry to go with it!”

  As the pair bickered, the sailor they’d met winced as he loaded up the supplies onto the ship.

  “Damn, definitely gonna have to keep those two in separate rooms! If we let ‘em stay in one place for too long onboard they’ll either tear each other new ones, or tear each other’s clothes off! And I’m not sure which would be worse!”

  Fellow crewmen nodded as they watched the two junior adventurer’s antics. At least it was amusing, if nothing else.

  Chapter 5: Upon the waves

  The next morning, Lily and Gaelin woke up early thanks to an Alarm enchanted tool they had rented from the inn they had stayed at. After a quick meal of fresh baked bread and lukewarm water they hurried off towards the docks to their ship.

  “What kind of people can wake up this early on purpose?” Lily wondered as she glared with sleepy eyes at the dawn light that was barely starting to creep over the walls of Jetty.

  “I don’t know, Lily. I really don’t know,” Gaelin said with a shake of his head.

  Despite their grumbles about the ridiculousness of waking up at half past five in the morning, they made good time towards the docks and reached it with about forty minutes to spare.

  “Good that there are some youngsters who can rise with the sun!” a far too chipper and energetic voice called out. Lily and Gaelin turned tired eyes towards the man, and spotted the sailor from the previous day standing on the bow of a two-masted ship, grinning down at them and waving them over.

  “Welcome aboard the Blue Wave! Finest brigantine in Jetty!” the sailor cheered as the adventurer duo ascended the gangplank. “We’ll be pushing off in half an hour, so let me show you to your spots, and the people you’ll be bunking with.”

  “Don’t think I mentioned it, but the name’s Jenner, and I have the honor of being the bosun for the Blue Wave. I’m in charge of the boys who work the deck, and make sure they don’t make any mistakes. And, if need be, I dispense the captain’s justice if someone, be they crew or passenger, tries something stupid.”

  “A pleasure to meet you, Mister Jenner. I am Lily, and this is Gaelin. By the way, do we give you the money now after we’ve set sail?” the archer inquired after their introduction.

  “Before we set off, but first let’s get you situated before anything else,” Jenner stated, leading them to the upper deck.

  “Here are the captain’s quarters. Do not enter it unless you are given an invitation by the captain himself,” the bosun warned. After showing them where the final authority of the ship resided he pointed out a smaller section nearby.

  He led the duo to a door off the corner of the captain’s room and rapped on it. After a moment a muffled and sleepy ‘Come in!’ sounded out, and Jenner pushed the door open, revealing the cramped closet-like room beyond.

  There was enough space for two small cots, or four hammocks if one stacked them atop each other. In this case, the set-up was one cot and two hammocks. The bed was already taken judging from the mussed-up sheets.

  There wasn’t a proper window, but a tiny horizontal slit near the roof that let in a trickle of natural light. And in the far-right corner, a hefty pack was shoved in. It bulged with unseen paraphernalia, although a wooden staff not unlike a shepherd’s crook was slipped through the straps.

  What really caught the two adventurers’ attention was the occupant of the room. She was a tall, light brown skinned young woman with odd grass-green hair that reached her shoulders in a cascade of bedhead curls.

  She was sloppily dressed in a pale grey robe that had several embroidered trees and leaves on it, and barely looked awake as she wobbled back and forth on h
er feet. She stared at them with greenish gold colored eyes that were blurry with sleep.

  “Miss Vala, please, how many times have I told you to dress better while onboard?” Jenner asked in annoyance as he hastily slapped a hand over his eyes so he didn’t catch sight of her cleavage as it tried to slip through her disheveled state.

  Gaelin choked a bit in his own surprise and Lily flushed red at the sight before them. The woman, Vala apparently, shrugged helplessly.

  “I just woke up. Cut me some slack!”

  Jenner heaved a sigh and gestured blindly towards the other passenger in front of the newcomers.

  “This is Valalil Whisperbranch, one of the other two people we’re carrying,” Jenner said. “And Vala, this is, um…”

  “Gaelin Arcros, and Lily,” the halberdier introduced, politely looking askance so not to gaze directly at her state of disarray.

  “Pleasure to meet you!” the woman said, ignoring Gaelin and Lily’s obvious discomfort and stepped forward to shake their hands.

  Now that she was closer, the two adventurers could see the long, slender, knife-like ears she possessed, which just barely poked out of her green hair.

  She was an elf! An earth elf to be precise, one of the three types of elves that existed in Erafore.

  Gaelin hesitantly took her offered hand and shook it, while Lily pointedly ignored the gesture, content on looking anywhere but at the elf.

  The smile the young brown skinned wore faltered slightly at Lily’s dismissal. But she rallied quickly and stepped back.

  “So, you’re going to be my bunkmate, then?” Vala inquired, and the red-head nodded slowly.

  “So it seems,” Lily replied. Neither of them said or did anything, even when it was clear Vala was inviting the newcomer inside.

  Gaelin tugged at his collar awkwardly and Jenner coughed, getting everyone’s attention.

  “Well, there’s still more to see before we shove off!” the bosun said loudly with strained enthusiasm.

  He hurriedly directed Lily and Gaelin towards some more areas of the Blue Wave. Behind them Vala observed them with a pained expression before closing the door to her room.