by Ian Rodgers
“‘Men are blind to love, and women are blind to hate. That is why they need other to stay in balance,’” Bigg Guy said, his words carrying a philosophical note.
“Interesting. A quote from some Ursine or earth elf philosopher?” Gaelin inquired.
“No. Gnomish.”
“Huh. Neat. Know where the quote comes from?”
“I can lend you the book,” Bigg Guy said. The brown-haired human nodded in thanks.
“Great. Alright, then! Let’s go do some shopping. I don’t know about you, but I am sick of boat rations, so I am going to stock up on snacks before we push off!”
Bigg Guy nodded eagerly, and they rushed off to a wholefoods seller and began to pick out various preserved foods.
As they wandered, a weapons shop caught Gaelin’s eye, and he motioned towards it.
“Come on, let’s see if they make stuff for a person of your size,” he joked. Bigg Guy agreed though, to Gaelin’s surprise.
“Fun to browse,” the Ursine explained.
Inside the store, Gaelin couldn’t help but let out a whistle. “Look at all these enchanted weapons! They must cost a fortune!”
Alongside the well-crafted blades of a mundane nature quite a few magical weapons were in the shop. Those that weren’t chained down were locked behind glass cases.
“Ah, seeking a weapon with a bit of magical kick to it, are you? Well don’t worry! We have all sorts of items in stock for agreeable prices!” the store owner, a reedy man, exclaimed.
“We’re just looking for now,” Gaelin informed him, but the man tutted, not one to ignore the chance for a sales pitch.
“You can look, but you won’t find better deals than here! How about a sword that has Runes of Burning? It’s dwarven made, so you know it can handle the heat. Or perhaps a battle axe that is sharper than mere steel?”
“I’m more of a polearm man, myself,” Gaelin said dismissively. “Perhaps the axe would interest my companion, though.”
Bigg Guy shot the human next to him a look of betrayal as the shopkeeper went up to him and began to blabber on about the various plus sized weapons he had in stock. Gaelin just chuckled and took the chance to look around on his own.
He would never replace his halberd. It was a gift from the World Paladin himself, after all, and more magical than most of the items in the store! Not that he had unlocked all of its powers, of course. But it was a long-term investment.
What the D-ranker really wanted were some daggers. He liked having a backup weapon, and he knew Lily did as well. After all, when an archer ran out of arrows, they needed something else for protection.
A cluster of impressive short steel blades caught his eye and he leaned in to inspect them. Each of the daggers were unusual in design. They had only a single bladed edge, and the quillon was shorter, making it seem like there was almost nothing separating the blade from the hilt. Compared to the knives and daggers of Orria that looked more like miniature longswords, these clearly stood out based on design alone.
As for the decorations, they were all uniform. The cross-guard had a pair of wings etched into its surface, while the pommel had a coat-of-arms stamped onto it. Nothing fancy, and it carried a feel of mass production.
The dozen or so blades were chained to their shelf, marking them as magical in some way. Checking their label, his eyes widened in shock.
“Are these really Dancing Blades?” Gaelin asked, drawing the merchant’s attention.
“Of course! These are fine steel daggers enchanted by the Dancing spell-like ability. Once drawn from its sheath, they will float beside their owner and fly through the air to defend and attack! These particular daggers can only hover for a few minutes before needing to rest and recharge, though.”
“Rather expensive,” Gaelin mused. four hundred gold for a single steel dagger was excessive, but then again, enchanted weapons always went for more, and Dancing weapons were rare.
“The methods for creating the Dancing and Singing enchantments were lost when Val’Narash fell during the Great Calamity,” the old man said. “It’s only natural that any items with those magical effects would be worth a lot of money.”
The weapon merchant leaned over and began to whisper conspiratorially. “Although, and you didn’t hear this from me, it seems someone managed to plunder a hidden fortress in Val’Narash and found dozens of preserved Dancing weapons of decent quality. They’ve practically flooded the market the past few years! Normally, I’d be selling these daggers for twice what they’re currently being offered for.”
“Hmm,” Gaelin uttered, intrigued.
But in the end, they were too pricey for his meagre funds and he had to turn away from them dejectedly.
“Perhaps another time,” the adventurer said. He then motioned towards his companion. “Hey, Bigg Guy, see anything you like?”
The Ursine shook his head.
“Ah, well. Come again when you have the coin!” the merchant lamented as the two exited the store. Gaelin nodded before heading back out into the bustling marketplace.
.
“Cheers!”
“CHEERS!”
In a cozy bar on the edge of the line of docks, next to the veritable forest of beech trees which was the legacy of the Merchant-King, a quartet of figures raised mugs in a toast.
Lily and Vala had returned from their shopping trip in a noticeably different mood. It was not quite friendship, but Gaelin noticed the duo seemed to have worked out some of the problems during the day.
Gaelin and Bigg Guy, on the other hand, were fully relaxed and laid back and eager for a hot meal and cold drinks. They’d explored the vast mercantile district of Riverfold and come away with a good haul of supplies.
“So, I take it your day was productive,” Gaelin said with a nod towards the bags at Lily and Vala’s feet.
“Indeed it was. We got some seasickness prevention medicine for Bigg Guy, and Vala and I got new outfits. Some of my old clothes were close to wearing out completely,” the archer said, taking a large sip from her mug.
“It was a pleasant experience. I think Lily and I have come to understand each other a bit more as well,” Vala said softly. The red-head nodded at that, but kept her attention on her foamy alcoholic drink.
“That’s good to hear. Bigg Guy and I just hung out all day. It was good to spend time with another guy after so long,” Gaelin said.
“Oh? You’re saying I’m not the most charming woman in the world, and the best travel buddy you could ever ask for?” Lily asked, a teasing note in her voice.
“I wonder about the ‘woman’ part sometimes. The way you chug alcohol raises some questions in my mind. That mustache of yours certainly suits you though,” Gaelin quipped, and he pointed at her lips where a layer of foam had settled.
She furiously wiped it off with the back of her hand and glared at the man seated across from her.
Unbeknownst to the pair, Bigg Guy shot Vala a knowing look, and she returned it with an exhausted smile and shake of her head.
She tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear as she brought her own mug to her lips, and sighed contentedly as she partook of the brew.
“Not bad. Certainly beats stale barrel water,” the Druid said with a barely perceptible grimace as she thought of the water rations the Blue Wave provided.
“You could taste that? It didn’t seem all that strange to me,” Gaelin said, impressed.
“As part of my Druid training I had to be able to identify all sorts of food and drink with my eyes closed. Partly to be able to test for freshness, but also to recognize various poisonous plants and animals,” the green-haired elf explained.
“Your master fed you poison?” Lily demanded, incredulously.
“Sort of. It’s actually fairly common even outside of Druid training among earth elves to do so. It builds immunities, and there are certain sections of the Emerald Forest that are filled with toxic flora and fauna. And since Druids are meant to be able to connect with nature, we co
me into contact with poisonous creatures quite often,” Vala stated.
“My master took it a bit further, and made me learn how to identify an assortment of substances so I could tell if they were fresh, poisonous, rotten, and so forth with my tongue.”
“So, are you immune to lots of poisons now?” Gaelin asked and he leaned in, excited. When the brown skinned elf nodded he gave whistle.
“I could probably survive most venomous snake and insect bites, and eat anything that grows in the region without ill effects,” Vala boasted with a satisfied smile on her face.
“Well, what about alcohol? Does your poison resistance go that far?” Lily asked with a smirk, a mug waggling mockingly in front of the Druid. The earth elf frowned when she saw that it was the archer’s second drink of the evening and it was already empty.
A smirk of her own graced her lips and she leaned in. “Bring it on, tiny.”
Lily frowned. “Oh, you’re going down.”
Gaelin sighed heavily as Lily waved over a waitress and requested several flagons of ale. Their group had already attracted attention simply because of the more exotic members, but now that there was a drinking contest between two beautiful young women? The surroundings began to clamor.
“Hey, Bigg Guy, don’t drink too much on your end. One of us has to be able to carry Vala back to the ship,” the halberdier stated as he nursed his own drink.
“Don’t you mean ‘both of them?’” the Ursine inquired. The man with dark brown hair shook his head.
“Nope.” He glanced over at Lily and Vala who had begun to chug, cheers and bets being thrown everywhere, and a few random people joining in the drinking as well.
“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again; I have never seen Lily drunk, or lose in a drinking contest.”
Chapter 9: Baths and business
“Wwwhhhyyy…” a sick, pained moan spilled out across the deck of the Blue Wave in the early hours of the morning.
Gaelin looked down with pity at the heaving form of Vala as she lay draped over the bow, the results from last night writ clear on her complexion and overall demeanor.
“Did I not warn you after the fifth mug that maybe it was better to drop out then?” Gaelin asked in a conversational tone. A groan was the only response. He shrugged and tore a strip off of a piece jerky that was his modest breakfast.
“Come on, let’s put some food in you,” he said kindly, offering the elf the bit of flavorful dried beef.
“How? How did she do it?” Vala demanded weakly, blearily staring out over at where Lily was practicing her archery near the main mast. “How does she not suffer like I do?”
“She is as resistant to alcohol as you are to poisons,” Gaelin said blithely. “She doesn’t get drunk, and though she does suffer the effect the morning after they are greatly mitigated from what she should be feeling.”
“Great, two groaning lumps on my ship,” the captain complained as he stepped onto the deck from his personal quarters. “At least this one is waif-like and easily moved. What did she do, lose a drinking contest?”
“Yup. Lost it bad to Lily,” Gaelin affirmed when it was clear Vala’s only interest was keeping her stomach’s contents inside her.
The captain stared at Gaelin. Then at Lily.
“Seriously? That short stack beat her?” he scoffed incredulously.
“It’s true, captain. Some of the boys saw it themselves,” Jenner said, coming up from below deck with a few other sailors. “Plus, didn’t you hear about the so-called ‘Drunken Rose’ back when we were in Jetty?”
“That’s her?!”
“They’re calling me what?!”
Two disbelieving shouts overlapped each other.
“You mean to tell me that slip of a girl is the one who drank ‘Drunken Fist’ Sho under the table? He was a B-rank Qwanese mercenary specialized in fighting while inebriated!” the captain exclaimed.
“Why in the Hells is that my nickname?!” Lily seethed, her rage incandescent. “That better not become my official Adventurer’s Moniker!”
“To answer the captain first, yes, that’s her. I was surprised too. Sho was a good sport about it, though. Very polite, and even offered to make her his apprentice in his style,” Gaelin said. He then turned to Lily.
“As for you, well, it makes sense that it’s your nickname. Your red hair and prickly attitude give people the impression of a rose. Take it as a compliment! And don’t worry, you probably won’t have that as your official designation in the Guild. Unless you do something truly astonishing while drunk, in which case, hurray for you!”
Lily’s face turned an interesting shade of purple from her suppressed rage. After a moment she let out a deep gush of air and her appearance returned to normal. She stomped over to where Vala lay and grabbed the dark-skinned elf before dragging her off.
“We’re going to find a bath!” the red-head declared. She left, Vala stumbling in her wake.
“Will they be all right?” Gaelin wondered as he watched them descend the gangplank and head into the harbor.
“Probably. Riverfold is rather placid in the mornings. Plus, they have decent bath houses so they won’t have any troubles regarding finding one of those to use,” Jenner said as he brushed himself off and acted like he hadn’t just ducked for cover with the rest of the sailors when they saw the archer’s apoplectic fury.
The captain muttered ‘bunch of sissies’ in regards to his crew’s cowardice in the face of a tiny girl before looking around the deck.
“Where’s the big one?”
“Bigg Guy is still below deck, I think. He had a few drinks, but thankfully held back. I don’t think I could have carried him back here alone,” Gaelin said. The captain gave the halberdier a strange look.
“How are you so calm and collected this morning?”
The D-rank adventurer shrugged. “To be perfectly honest, this is pretty tame compared to some of the mornings following one of Lily’s drinking binges. After a year of them I’ve gotten desensitized to it all.”
The captain stared before chuckling. “You poor soul. May Cynthia shine mercy upon you.”
Gaelin nodded in thanks. He then plucked his halberd which had lain at his feet and began to run through several drills and forms, keeping in shape with a round of training.
After a while Gaelin was covered in a light coat of sweat. He stopped his exercise and headed down into the hold of the Blue Wave to drop off his weapon and grab a spare set of clothes and some silver coins. He felt that Lily’s idea had merit, and ventured off to find a place he could clean off.
Situated next to four rivers, the port city of Riverfold was able to secure an unending supply of good water. As such, it possessed quite a few communal bath houses that allowed for customers pay for a chance to clean themselves. Sailors frequented these places often whenever they were visiting the city, as ships did not have much onboard for the purposes of cleaning.
Following Jenner’s recommendation, Gaelin happily entered a nearby harbor side bath house. The lobby was stark, and lacked any decorations. It consisted of only a desk and two doors which led to gender separated bathing areas.
“Four copper,” an attendant at the desk said, and Gaelin paid the entrance fee. He then added an extra two for a rented towel.
Slipping inside the male door, Gaelin came across several cubbyholes and baskets to store clothes. He carefully placed his things in one compartment before discreetly hiding his coin purse beneath his towel. He didn’t want to have to trust his hard-earned cash to anyone, let alone in such an open spot.
Nude save for the coarse white towel, Gaelin entered the bathing area. It was filled with steam, and moisture clung to every conceivable surface. There was a spot for cold baths, a pool of heated water, and a sauna further in the back. Men of various ages soaked and relaxed in the available areas.
Gaelin eased himself into the warm water bath, sighing as his let the grime and sweat fall away. He closed his eyes and basked in the soothing sen
sations for a bit.
The two pools, both heated and cooled, were designed the same way; a large basin, four feet deep, with a bench running around the entire circumference. The water came up to his chest as he sat, and his feet dangled in the deeper water like limpid, deformed eels.
“Gaelin? Gaelin Arcros?”
A vaguely familiar voice called out to the young man and he cracked an eye open to see who was talking to him.
He opened both eyes fully when he recognized the tanned half-elf in the pool across from him.
“Gelt? Is that you?” he asked, excited. They shared a laugh and slid closer on the benches to greet each other.
“Indeed it is! Ha! What are the odds we’d meet up again like this! And in a bathhouse no less!” the half-elf merchant said with a joyous expression.
“Certainly a better spot than the first way we met. Being chased by Dire Wolves through a forest is not my idea of fun,” Gaelin replied.
“What brings you to Riverfold?” the slender man asked.
Gelt Vaxmern, a half-elf wandering peddler and proprietor of a Secret Shop, one of the Adventurer’s Guilds sanctioned merchants, lay back in the water as Gaelin regaled him about what he and Lily had been up to.
He whistled, winced, and applauded throughout the retelling. Gaelin was careful to leave certain parts out, such as the true identity of the Slicer or Lily’s royal lineage, and a few other tasteful edits to protect the dignity of himself and others, but it was more than enough for a reveal.
A side effect of the D-ranker’s impromptu story time was that quite a few people in the baths overheard, and many stayed a while longer just to listen.
There a heavy sigh from the merchant as he processed Gaelin’s story.
“To think that all that madness occurred to you within a year. Some of those things you did most adventurers would have broken down from if they had had to do them one after the other. Seriously, stealing Dire Eagle eggs and trying to contain Ghouls in the same month?”
Gelt shook his head. “It all sounds so surreal.” A thin smile then crossed his face. “Still, to think the duo I gave such stellar recommendations for at the Guild managed to reach such heights. Why, the next thing you know you’ll be C-rank!”
