by Ian Rodgers
Though his halberd was sharp, it barely did more than scratch the Armored Kraken. Still, Gaelin was not giving up, and continued fending it off with the rest of the sailors, protecting the two Magic Cannons and their gunners.
“Captain on deck!” a voice cried out, and Gaelin spared a quick look over his shoulder. There, at the top of the stairs, was the Captain of the Blue Wave, a cluster of harpoons in his hands.
He had only seen the man a few times during the voyage. For the most part he handled navigation and steering, but otherwise rarely mingled. He seemed a decent enough fellow, if not entirely what anyone expected when they pictured a captain of a ship.
He was portly and completely bald with heavily suntanned skin, and wore very basic clothes that resisted the salty air and waves well. He preferred sandals to boots, and had not a single peg leg to his name. He had an eyepatch over his right eye, though.
Without a word, the captain hefted one of his harpoons and hurled it with astonishing strength and accuracy. The barbed tip impaled the bulbous round eye of the Armor Kraken and it let out a piercing roar as blood spurted from the wound.
In anger it lashed out, a tentacle aimed straight for the stairs where the captain stood.
Gaelin leapt into action, sending magic coursing through his weapon. “Strike, my soul. Become my blade. Magic Edge!”
His halberd erupted with silvery flames and he hacked through the tip of the tentacle like an axe through a watermelon. Watery red blood gushed from the wound and the vast creature recoiled as the severed limb thrashed about on deck for a bit before falling still.
One last volley from the Magic Cannons persuaded the Armored Kraken that this boat was not worth its time and it retreated, quickly becoming a murky, indistinct blob beneath the churning waves.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief once the monster had fled.
“Is fight over?” the crew and passengers glanced over towards Bigg Guy who had finally managed to get his gear together and make it back up from below deck despite the increased turbulence in the ocean.
“Are you wearing that table like a chest plate?” Lily asked incredulously.
Indeed he was! The Ursine had somehow strapped the sturdy wooden table with the broken legs to the front of his body with cord and leather straps. It looked like some sort of avant-garde armor.
When Bigg Guy nodded, Gaelin spoke up next.
“Is that wagon wheel being used as a shield?”
Again, Bigg Guy nodded, showing off the heavy wheel of a transport of some kind attached to his left arm like it was a buckler.
“Well alright then,” the halberdier said, trying to fathom the Ursine’s idea regarding personal defenses.
As he turned away he caught sight of Vala, breathing heavily and slumped against the Magic Cannon she had been operating. Jenner and a group of sailors who had been feeding the other Magic Cannon mana were also in a disorganized pile, brows streaked with sweat from experiencing a sudden drop in mana.
Gaelin and Bigg Guy rushed over to her side while the rest of the crew hurried over to help their own comrades.
“Are you alright?” the halberdier asked worriedly. She nodded jerkily.
“Never… used… so much… mana at once,” she gasped out. Tenderly, Bigg Guy wiped the sweat from her brow before hoisting her into his arms and carrying her back to her room.
“She needs rest,” the Ursine rumbled. No one impeded him and he hurried off to deliver Vala to the comforts of her room. His seasickness had been totally forgotten due to his desire to save the woman he cared about.
Gaelin waved at them as they left before heading over to where Lily stood, her arms folded as she stared angrily out over the waves.
“What is it?” she snapped. Gaelin, though confused as to why she was so annoyed, raised his hands in a placating gesture none the less.
“I just wanted to check on you. You were fighting pretty close to the monster, so I wanted to make sure you were alright,” Gaelin said.
“Uh-huh. Yeah, that’s what I did. ‘Fight,’” the red-head drawled, the last word of her sentence drawn out sarcastically.
“You did, though. I saw you firing arrows at the Armored Kraken,” the brown-haired man said.
“I didn’t do anything to it, though! Even when I charged my attacks with mana they were useless! It barely felt them at all!” Lily complained. Gaelin patted her on the back.
“But at least you kept trying! True, you might not have done much, but you did enough, and let’s be honest and ask just how many people can say they helped drive off an tentacled monster that size?” Gaelin asked, a cheerful smile on his face.
“Darn right! Good work, you two! Most people panic like headless chickens when they see a sea monster of that size for the first time!” a strong baritone reached their ears and they turned to acknowledge the captain with a polite nod. He had the severed tentacle slung over one shoulder and a wide grin on his face.
“Hello, captain. Glad we could help,” Lily said with a bob of her head. He waved it off with his free hand.
“Don’t mention it. Actually, I should be thanking your halberd-wielding friend for getting us this lovely piece of meat!” the captain said jovially as he patted the rubbery flesh of the Armored Kraken.
“You’re going to eat that?” she asked incredulously. He nodded.
“Oh yes, most definitely. Tastes great simmered in oil and butter! Just like octopus, really. Which is odd, since Krakens are more closely related to squids…” the captain trailed off, seeing the horrified look on Lily’s face, and the curious one of Gaelin’s.
“I’ve never eaten the meat of a magical creature before,” Gaelin said, eyeing the tentacle in a new light.
“Some of them are nasty, but you’ll find that most sea critters are edible in one way or another,” the captain announced. He then turned to Jenner who was staggering back up to his feet.
“Bosun! Good work on the Magic Cannons! You do the Blue Wave proud! Now go relax with the rest of the gunners!”
“Yes, captain! Thank you!” Jenner said with a relieved smile. He and the rest of the drained men hobbled off.
“Don’t you have Mana Batteries so you don’t have to drain your men directly?” Lily inquired as the men went off.
“Those things are expensive. And the rechargeable ones are even worse! Nah, we do it ourselves the old-fashioned way!” the captain proclaimed. Lily looked like she wanted to argue so Gaelin swiftly put a hand on her shoulder.
“What was an Armored Kraken doing out here? I thought they lived further south?” he asked.
“Oh, Armored Krakens live all over the north. It’s another reason why most sailors don’t dare sail in the winter around Jetty. It’s their mating season! It’s the normal, unshelled Krakens that lurk in the warmer southern waters,” the captain explained.
“So, you’re really going to eat that?” Lily asked, returning to her main concern.
“Yup! Cookie can whip us up a nice meal with this! No need for the usual ration!” he said cheerfully. “I’m going to deliver this to him. Again, good work not peeing yourselves in terror. You would not believe how often we have to scrub the deck when monsters pop up.”
Lily grimaced and lifted her boot off the deck with a look of disgust while the captain of the Blue Wave headed off, whistling a jaunty nautical tune.
The rest of the sailors immediately went back to work manning the sails, checking the wind, and steering the ship. That left the two adventurers alone to their own devices.
Gaelin glanced over at Lily. “So, have you been able to get along with Vala yet?”
“Why are you so concerned with this?” she demanded, rounding on her companion. “Why are you going to such lengths to try and convince me to play nice?”
“Because we’re essentially trapped on a boat with her for two months!” Gaelin replied. “Or would you prefer the answer, ‘Because I like making friends and like seeing other people get along despite their differences?’”
“You’re impossible!” Lily cried, throwing her arms in the air. “First you keep eyeballing and hanging around her, and now you worry over her first after the battle!”
“She was severely exhausted from charging the Mana Cannons,” Gaelin argued. The archer huffed and rolled her eyes.
“Why am I even arguing with you about this? Forget it, you’re just another typical male.” She wandered off, bow clutched angrily. Gaelin turned to the crew with a bewildered expression on his face.
“Does anyone here know what that was about?”
“Lad, does it look like any of us know how women think?” a burly slab of weather beaten muscle asked, gesturing to his equally burly and tattooed buddies.
“Um, maybe?” Gaelin hazarded. The sailors exchanged looks, then burst out into laughter.
“Kid, we’re men. That means we are incapable of understanding women. Some of us may have sweethearts and wives, but when has that ever meant we know how their minds work?” the biggest and burliest of the men said, walking over and slapping Gaelin on the back.
“Come on, let’s put some real muscles on you. Nothing’s better than ship work to reduce the amount of scrawny on a person’s frame!”
Gaelin chuckled nervously at that. “Well, I wouldn’t mind being in better shape…”
“Great! You heard all it, he consented!” the man leading the halberdier shouted to the rest. He then tossed a length of rope to Gaelin who was steadily growing concerned as the grins on the sailors turned shark-like.
“This is going to hurt, isn’t it?”
“Only for the first few days,” a seadog said with a smirk. “Then it’ll just ache.”
Gaelin groaned as he was shown the ropes. Literally and figuratively.
.
Lily stomped into her room after dinner, clutching a bowl of pan fried Kraken bits. The chef had done an impressive job making a terrifying cephalopod delicious, and she had enjoyed her share immensely.
That was not why she was taking her anger out on the poor, abused deck and steps. Her foul mood was due to the fact that she now had to deliver Vala’s meal to her.
“Stupid stuck-up elf! Jenner and the other sailors were all fine, why does she get food taken up to her?” Lily grumbled as she approached her shared cabin. She glanced down at the cheap tin bowl that contained the crispy Kraken chunks and bread.
It would be so easy to ‘accidentally’ stumble and drop it, spilling the food and forcing her to clean it all by sweeping it all overboard.
Before leaving Tashel and the palace at Palan Vey with Gaelin, Lily would have done so. Now, however, she knew the worth of food, and how painful an empty stomach was. She had endured hunger alongside her rescuer when their rations ran out on the way up towards Trask, and seen the effects up close on the downtrodden in Sanc Aldet.
Lily would not condemn another to starvation, no matter how much she disliked him or her.
Using her shoulder the red-head pushed the door open, revealing the brown skinned elf lying on her cot. There was a faint pallor to her cheeks that remained even now, but was noticeably improved from earlier.
“Here you go, dinner,” Lily said shortly, passing the bowl over to the prone earth elf. She took it eagerly, and happily began to eat. There were no utensils, a petty ploy on the archer’s side, but Vala didn’t care, her stomach pushing her to feed regardless of fork or spoon.
“Mmm! I had no idea Armored Kraken could taste so good!” she moaned, licking the grease off her fingers.
“I had no idea you ate meat,” Lily said, only partially condescending.
Vala, either not hearing the derision or choosing to ignore it, nodded at her words.
“A lot of people think that us earth elves are vegetarians on account of the sheer number of us who practice Druidism. But we eat meat as well. Maybe not as much as a human or dwarves, but we do enjoy a juicy steak or cut of fish every so often,” Vala said with a smile.
Lily nodded slowly at her words and gave a noncommittal grunt before she walked over to her pack and rifled through it before finding her nightdress.
“Good night,” she said tersely as she prepared for bed, slipping into her hammock with practiced ease.
Vala said nothing as she put her bowl down. She was drowsy from the mana loss, and only the smell of the food had stirred her long enough to rise from her slumber.
She drifted off, but could not help the tiny smile that came to her lips. Like it or not, she knew the red-headed spitfire was warming up to her.
Chapter 8: City of Crossed Water
Two weeks passed by after the attack from the Armored Kraken. There were no other ambushes by monsters or pirates on the way to Riverfold, and as the days passed in a blur of searing sun and salty gusts, a sense of anticipation crawled through everyone onboard.
After almost a full month upon the Bluestar Ocean, the second of the Crawling Coast’s Free Cities reared up before them, a monolithic testament to the power of trade. The early morning fog that rolled off the coast shrouded the city in a white wedding dress of salty mist, and gave it an air of mystique and beauty.
“Ah, Riverfold! By far the finest of the three cities,” Jenner praised. “It has none of the cold, imposing edifices of Jetty, nor the cut-throat dealings of Riggs.”
“It looks amazing!” Vala exclaimed as she leaned over the bow to peer at the city as the Blue Wave approached.
“Agreed! The docks look a bit odd, though. And are those channels running through the cityscape?” Gaelin asked, using Reinforcement on his eyes to get a better view. Jenner nodded.
“Indeed! You see, Riverfold is built at the mouth of the four different rivers that travel through central Orria. The Gold and Silver Rivers pass through the Edelstein fief of Varia, the main trading hub for that country, before traveling north to other countries. The Bronze and Tin Rivers traverse through the south, the latter of them terminating in the Bluesalt Gulf near Arv Prith in Brune,” Jenner explained.
“It kind of looks like the houses are built on top of the water. And there are a lot of bridges,” Lily said as she followed Gaelin and used a spell to improve her vision. Hawk Eyes was designed to work on the eyes, and so unlike Gaelin’s Reinforced vision, Lily’s was far sharper.
“There are a lot of sailboats and gondolas, too.”
“Good eye, Miss Lily!” Jenner praised. “Yes, Riverfold is known for its unique style of building atop the rivers themselves which are then used as streets. The gondoliers are renowned for smooth rides and ferrying people all over. Out of all the Free Cities, I find Riverfold to be the most aesthetic and pleasant.”
“It does look lovely,” the red-head agreed. “I take it a large part of the economy here involves using the rivers to transport goods? And maybe some fishing?”
“Again, spot on!”
Before Jenner could get more effusive in his praise and give Lily an even larger head one of the crew let out a call of ‘Captain on deck!’ and forced the bosun to snap to attention.
“At ease,” the captain said, waving his hand dismissively. The sailors stood down and he swept his gaze over the deck. It lingered on the moaning figure of Bigg Guy who hung over the side before focusing on Jenner.
“Listen up! We’ll be here for two days! And when I say two days, I mean all of today and tomorrow! We leave at seven in the morning the day after tomorrow, so be sure to be on board before then! And remember to show some sense of decorum and pride as crew of the Blue Wave! That means no getting into fights, no getting arrested, and if anyone challenges you to a drinking contest, you win and teach them not to mess with the best!” the captain declared, raising a fist. His men hollered and cheered and began to scurry around preparing to dock.
As the crew got to work he approached the quartet of passengers.
“If any of you wish to end your journey now, then I’ll have to ask for payment before you step off the ship,” he said. When no one took him up on the offer he nodded and let a tiny smile out.
&
nbsp; “Good. Good. Now, since I’m sure you heard me speaking to my crew, I won’t bother you too much. Just remember that the same rules go for you as well. For the two days we’re in Riverfold, I expect you to keep your noses clean. Rowdy passengers make for poor cargo. And arrested ones can’t pay their traveler’s fees.”
They chuckled dutifully at that before nodding in understanding at the captain’s words. Well, all but Bigg Guy did. He just groaned and shakily gave a thumb up.
“I have never seen a person so bad with seasickness,” the captain said in disbelief as he stared at the Ursine.
“Yeah, it surprised me too. But he is getting better! The whole time we sailed through the Straight he could barely stand. Now he can at least crawl and stagger around,” Vala said, patting her friend on the back.
That was the wrong action to do and Bigg Guy gave another heave over the side of the ship. Lily wrinkled her nose and stepped back from the smell.
“Shouldn’t they have spells or potions to prevent this sort of thing?” Lily asked.
“I suppose. But we probably can’t afford the potions and I’m no good with the spells Healers use,” Vala said apologetically. Lily sighed and folded her arms.
“Ugh! Vala, as soon as we reach Riverfold you and I are going shopping for a seasickness potion for Bigg Guy,” the red-head declared. Everyone gave her a look of disbelief at her attempt to get along with the elf.
The captain and sailors still in ear shot stared at her as if they wanted to know who had replaced the archer. Gaelin was worried the sun had gotten to her head. Were freckles, which the deposed princess had been developing during the trip, actually a sign of some terrible mental affliction?
Bigg Guy raised his head over the bow to give her a look that demanded to know if she had hit her head recently.
As for Vala, she was utterly taken aback and tried to stammer out a response. She was halted by Lily raising a hand in front of the elf’s face.
“No arguing! This is for Bigg Guy’s sake, and mine! I can barely stand the stench, and if he doesn’t start getting better soon Cookie will have a chance to make bear meat cutlets,” Lily said with a smile full of daggers and danger.
