by Ian Rodgers
“…Fine. You got me. I was tricked into buying that for you because I thought it would help,” Gaelin said loudly, sagging his shoulders. Part of him was glad for the misunderstanding, though, as it let him pretend this was why he had become depressed.
After all, who wouldn’t be bummed out they bought into a scam like that and wasted what would be for most people several months salary?
In the end, though, the red-headed archer bought his excuse and walked over to him for a sympathetic pat on the back.
“It’s the thought that counts,” she said with a chuckle. “And who knows? Maybe it’ll work. I’ll go put it away for later. Maybe Vala could help…”
The royal runaway walked off, still giggling every so often as she returned to her shared cabin. The rest of the crew went back to work, some of them shooting Gaelin knowing grins and winks.
“So, what was the real reason for your depression?”
“Gah!” he shouted, jumping a bit in fright. He glanced over to the prow behind him where Vala was seated on top of the figurehead, legs crossed in a meditative position.
“How long were you there?” he asked worriedly.
“The whole time. I commandeered this spot before you and Lily had your lovers spat,” the earth elf said with a smug smile.
“It wasn’t a…! You know what, forget it,” Gaelin grumbled, knowing the green-haired Druid wouldn’t believe his protests anyways.
“How were you able to avoid being noticed before?” he asked after a moment as the calm night breeze blew over him.
“When I meditate, I blend into nature, becoming attuned to my surroundings,” she explained. Another long pause descended on the duo.
“If you can’t tell her about your actual problem, could you perhaps tell me?” she asked softly, turning serious as she observed his downcast expression.
“I thought I had found a way to completely cure Lily,” Gaelin said after a long, thoughtful pause. “It turned out to be impossible, and a waste of twenty gold.”
He wasn’t sure why he was trusting this knowledge to her. He had not known Vala that long, and though he considered her a friend of sorts, he wasn’t certain he would normally trust her with all the various secrets he and Lily had accumulated.
She surprised him by nodding sadly. “Ah. That cursed wound on her side.”
“You know about it?” he asked incredulously.
“She showed it to me when we were shopping yesterday,” the elf admitted. “And if I’m not mistaken, you blame yourself for the injury.”
She put a finger to her chin. “That would explain your emotions. Whenever you see her wince in pain or rub her wound you overflow with guilt.”
“Are you an Empath as well as a Druid now?” Gaelin asked scathingly.
“A little bit of one, yes. Learning to feel the emotions of others is important if you want to communicate with creatures that have no language,” she explained.
“But back to you. This is clearly the second time you feel like you’ve let someone down. That you failed to protect them. You can’t take that, anymore, and are doing everything in your power to make it better for Lily to assuage your own feelings. So, let me give you some advice on this topic. Don’t blame yourself. Even if it was your fault.”
“What?!”
“I’ve been where you are, Gaelin. I hurt someone I loved. I caused his death. And I spiraled into a seething pit of depression for years. Do you know how old I am?”
The out of place question caught Gaelin off guard and he shook his head.
“I am sixty-eight years old. I started my Druid training when I was twenty-five. I should have graduated from being an apprentice when I was fifty.” She leaned towards Gaelin, eyes flickering with haunted emotions.
“I was so wrapped up in my misery I missed how I was hurting the others who loved me. How I was becoming more and more of a problem. It was only thanks to my mentor slapping sense back into me that I was able to wake up and finish my training. And she told me, when I demanded to know how was I supposed to get over my sorrow: ‘Shut up and get back to work. If you don’t try your hardest you are shaming the memory of the person you claim to be lamenting. How can you possibly look them in the eye after you pass on, knowing that you didn’t do enough to keep their legacy alive?’”
“You master sounds… interesting,” Gaelin said slowly.
“Yes. Yes, she is,” Vala said slowly, a fond smile on her lips. She then focused back on the halberdier.
“If you are to blame, keep doing what you’ve been doing; trying to support Lily in everything she does. Never stop being her support. That is the only way you can rid yourself of your guilt.”
The adventurer nodded, Vala’s words ringing true in his mind.
“I see. Thank you. I needed that.”
“Glad to help,” the apprentice Druid said magnanimously. “Care to join me for some meditation?”
Gaelin shrugged and sat down across from her, legs folded as he mimicked her style. The stars and moon shone down, and Gaelin felt at peace as he stared at their reflections in the water.
Chapter 10: Unexpected weather
The Bluestar Ocean was calm as the Blue Wave slipped its moorings and left Riverfold. It was early in the morning, but thanks to weeks of getting used to people making loud noises around him Gaelin didn’t notice.
His mood swings from excited to depressed to accepting had thrown his body for a loop and he only crawled out of his hammock around noon.
“Hey, Bigg Guy,” Gaelin greeted through a yawn. The black lump of fur growled back a greeting from where the Ursine was rifling through his pack. It found what it was looking for a held out a book to the halberdier.
“Is this the book you wanted to give me the other day to read? The one with the Gnomish philosopher?” Gaelin asked. When the bearman nodded he took the battered but cared for tome and smiled in thanks.
“Where is everyone?” he asked after a minute, realizing how empty the area was.
“On deck. Almost lunch,” Bigg Guy explained.
“Seriously? I slept that long?”
“You were tired. Mind in flux. Sleep was good,” the gentle giant stated. He then lumbered off towards the stairs. There was none of the limping or wobbling gait he had displayed before, and the D-ranker grinned at the sight.
“I see you’ve gotten over your seasickness at last. The potion Lily bought really works, it seems,” Gaelin said cheerfully.
“Yes! I feel not-sick for first time on boat!” Bigg Guy exclaimed. “Is good not to have weak stomach!”
“Yes, it is, Bigg Guy. Weak stomachs are the worst,” Gaelin agreed with a nod as he followed the Ursine up top. They would have to descend again for the afternoon meal soon, but he wanted a breath of fresh air beforehand.
He saw Lily and Vala chatting near the aft bow, and smiled seeing the two of them finally getting along, though, he could tell the archer wasn’t completely comfortable with the earth elf. At least she was giving the Druid a chance.
Looking around, the adventurer spotted the bosun speaking with Gelt and approached the pair with a wave. He noticed that they were having a rather intense conversation.
“How long before we reach Riggs?” Gelt asked Jenner.
“If the weather holds, I think we can expect only three weeks instead of the full month we were expecting,” the older man claimed. “The captain was glad for that. Hopefully we won’t run into any pirates along the way.”
“Are pirates a common problem along this route?” Gaelin inquired worriedly, entering their conversation. Neither looked put off by the interruption and Jenner explained.
“They’re always a problem, but it gets pretty bad the further south you get on the Crawling Coast. There are a lot of islands scattered around for an enterprising sea-brigand to set up a small base, and launch raids to the rest of the shipping lanes.”
The veteran seadog grimaced. “No matter how many times the navies try to repulse them, or how often mercenar
ies wipe out their bases, there’s always a new batch of raiders to take their place. The whole region between Riggs and Saluda is known as the Pirate Strip because of the sheer density of criminal activity down there.”
“And recently, there’s been a new crew and captain terrorizing the Strip. Bolos the Stormbringer. Only attacks during a storm, and some say he can conjure them up. Clear skies one moment, then ‘Poof!’ thunder and lightning and rain and pirates.”
“Even has a bounty in the Adventurer’ Guild. Listed as a B-rank threat with at least five hundred gold on his head, dead or alive,” Jenner claimed, continuing his spiel. “Ya have to be a special kind of evil to get blacklisted by the Guild and have a bounty slapped on ya, since they don’t usually go after people.”
“How long has this man been around for? I don’t believe I’ve heard of him,” Gaelin asked.
“Only popped up around half a decade or so and immediately made a big name for himself by attacking a dwarven ship. Apparently, it was carrying a master metalworker, some high-ranked member of the Smithing Station, and you know how dwarves venerate those who work miracles with metal and stone. Bolos kept on hitting high profile targets one after the other after that and built up a nasty reputation as a raider and slaver.”
“I see. We shall have to be on our toes if we don’t want any water-bandits to take us by surprise,” Vala said with a frown.
“Is there any particular reason you’re in such a hurry?” Gaelin asked Gelt as Jenner headed off to do ship-things.
“Some of the items I need to drop off are time sensitive. The less I have to wait, the better,” the merchant explained. “And I don’t like boats. It’s not the seasickness, but rather the claustrophobia that gets me. I prefer open plains and roads to a cramped wooden box.”
“I can understand that. Lily had been rather antsy being cooped up before we got to Riverfold. Though now that she has a female friend to talk to, I hope the trip to Riggs is a better one for her,” Gaelin said with a glance towards the two women.
Something had clearly amused them as they were giggling softly between themselves. But why were they casting their own discreet glances towards him? Gaelin felt confused, but also felt a vague sense of dread fill him.
Gelt clapped the young man on the shoulder. “That fear you feel is a defense mechanism, my friend. Heed its warnings, because it rarely bodes well when females laugh together at you behind your back.”
“Speaking from experience?” Gaelin asked, his tone snarky in response to the merchant’s warning.
“I’m almost two hundred years old. I have plenty of experience,” the Secret Shop owner said solemnly. Gaelin shot him a look of disbelief. He nodded.
“Oh yes. Even among elves I have been told I have a baby face.”
“Huh. Learn something new every day. Even if you didn’t want to.” Gaelin’s attention caught the sound of a bell ringing, and he headed off to the mess hall for lunch, his stomach growling at him impatiently.
.
The week was calm and much more like a vacation than they had experienced before on the ship. The waters and waves allowed for smooth sailing, and not one person could deny the sun and weather were pleasant. Vala even took to napping outside, leaned against the masts and nestled in the shade.
Bigg Guy was happy to finally be rid of his seasickness and had taken up training alongside Gaelin to make up for all the lost time he had spent leaning over the railings. He also took great pleasure in being able to eat and keep it down. The tears of joy he shed when he ate the snacks he had squirreled away earned him a lot of teasing from Vala.
Gaelin was just happy for being able to train without worry. Ever since his talk with Vala he had become focused on growing stronger. His practice drills and attempts to perfect his magical skills kept him busy.
As for Lily? She continued to tease Gaelin about the purchase of bust enhancement cream. Her training never slacked either, though there were a few times she had done a bit too much damage to the Blue Wave when a spell-augmented arrow of hers sent splinters flying off the prow or mast. These episodes earned her more than a few stern words from the captain as he scolded her about playing with fire. Or wind. Or raw mana-enhanced projectiles.
Of course, not everyone seemed glad for the free time. Gelt had started to pace a week into the voyage. Whatever was bothering him was giving him itchy feet, and when he wasn’t bothering everyone with his constant back-and-forth wandering, he was in the cargo hold tending to his horse.
“Is anyone else annoyed with Gelt? I understand that sailing is rather boring, but does he have to be so obvious with his worry?” Lily asked as she flopped down next to Gaelin. Across from them Vala was trying to sleep while Bigg Guy was reading a book and mumbling to himself as he practiced speaking the Common Tongue.
Gelt had just finished an hour of pacing before hurrying down into the hold to check on Shadow Wind and his packs stuffed with assorted goods.
“Whatever errand he is on is certainly an important one,” Gaelin said noncommittally. “Although part of his displeasure may be his dislike of boats.”
He spun his halberd and performed a jab, then swept it around in an arc. Lily clapped politely at the display.
“He was asking about pirates. Do you think he’s worried about them?” Lily mused.
“I think worrying about them is completely natural,” Vala replied, her eyes still shut. But there was a distinct sense of surrender in her tone, and the earth elf was resigned to not getting a nap at the moment. “That Bolos fellow seemed like a piece of thramsh, pardon my elfish. What the question should be is ‘why did Gelt decide to go by sea in the first place?’”
The group of travelers turned their attention to the Druid.
“If he really wanted to, he could have gone by land to reach Riggs from Riverfold,” Vala continued. “It would have taken twice as long, even with a horse to aide him, but he would not have had to worry about pirates or being on a ship. So, what does that tell you?”
“He couldn’t trust the roads. Gelt feared someone might know his route or ambush him if he went by land,” Lily reasoned, and Vala nodded.
“That was my suspicion as well. Whatever he needs to do in Riggs, it is important.”
“I think it’s business with the Adventurer’s Guild, or at least related to it,” Gaelin suggested. “That was how he sounded when I asked about what he was doing on the Blue Wave yesterday.”
“Well, regardless of his purpose, it’s bothersome to see him pace like that,” Lily huffed.
“If you take a nap, you won’t have to,” the green-haired Druid tempted. The offer did sound appealing to the red-head, and after a moment of internal debate she slid down next to Vala and closed her eyes.
“How cute. You two have finally gotten over your aversion to each other,” Gaelin teased.
“Go back to swinging your stick around like the muscle head you are,” Lily shot back. Her retort lacked all of her usual bite, though, due to the peaceful state she was attempting to reach. He rolled his eyes but took her advice none-the-less. He wouldn’t get stronger by napping.
.
Another week of sailing the seas came and went. Gelt continued to pace, and the pleasant days turned grey. A few short rain bursts dampened everyone’s moods and sent the Blue Wave through choppy waters. But the gallant brigantine endured and powered through, thanks in no small part to Vala’s Druidic magic.
Though unable to directly control the weather, as such manipulations were beyond her current level and ability, she managed to conjure small gusts into the Blue Wave’s sails, adding a little extra push to their speed. It got them out of a few tricky situations, much to the crew’s relief.
The weather remained overcast as they sailed, and gods willing it would remain that way without any storms striking them. But, on the sixth day, the odds turned against the Blue Wave’s crew and passengers.
“Sky looks rather grim,” Lily said with a wary eye aimed at the clouds. They swirled
and danced overhead, rapidly turning dark and threatening. In the span of a few minutes the otherwise lifeless grey sky had blackened with the threat of rain.
The winds suddenly picked up, sending the archer’s red curls flickering in the breeze. Like fire in the dusk, Gaelin thought to himself.
Next to Lily, Vala squinted up at the clouds as if trying to comprehend some inner secret about them. The way she clutched her staff set off alarm bells in the minds of the two adventurers. Something was wrong, and the Druid could tell.
“Agreed. It’s starting to look bad. Probably should get under cover,” he commented after another glance at the sky. Lily nodded and started heading back to her cabin, her earth elf roommate following.
“Bigg Guy, let’s see if the sailors need any help with the rigging,” the halberdier suggested.
A grunt and a nod were the Ursine’s response and the two hurried over to Jenner, who was shouting orders left and right.
“What can we do?!” the dark-haired man shouted as the wind blew faster and stronger, as if it was trying to rip the words from their mouths before they could be spoken.
“Grab whatever ropes you can and start tying everything down! The storm will rip everything off that isn’t secured properly!” the bosun shouted back, tossing a rope to the pair.
That led to Bigg Guy holding down the line while Gaelin tied the intricate knots. Paws, no matter how human-like and dexterous, weren’t meant to handle small knots on rope that could be ripped apart by an errant claw.
A deafening boom shattered the heavens and Gaelin flinched as lightning screamed across the sky. Almost as soon as the sound faded the pitter-patter of rain descended, swiftly drenching the deck.
“Friend! Pay attention to the ropes!” Bigg Guy roared over the approaching storm as the D-ranker’s attention was stolen by the storm’s approach.
Gaelin chastised himself in his mind as he realized he had almost let the current line he was clutching go. He hastily began to tie up the last of the rigging and sighed in satisfaction as it was finally finished.
