by V. A. Lewis
I slowly slumped over the desk, exhausted from working for so long into the night. I rested my head on my arms atop the table, facing to the side and out of the window.
It was dark.
The moonless night shed no light down from the heavens, as dark clouds gradually formed overhead, covering the celestial bodies from illuminating their shine upon this earth. Yet, I saw not the darkness of the void ahead of me, but instead a picturesque scene layered over the window frame like some sort of portrait.
I remembered the sunset from earlier today. The tranquil view of the beach, the sounds of the waves crashing into the sand, and the rays of the sun beaming down at my face.
It was almost relaxing.
I glanced over at the clock to the side, and checked the time. It was late at night— past midnight— but it was hardly the usual time I went to bed. I felt almost as if I had become a workaholic with all the things I had been doing since I was freed from slavery; every single one of my days had been filled with traveling, studying, or fighting without any moment of reprieve in between them.
The last time I got the chance to simply enjoy myself was the time I went shopping for a new set of clothes since my Goblin outfit was getting used and worn.... and my wallet felt very bad about itself the day after!
I sighed wistfully as I remembered my previous life and all the fun times I managed to spend with my friends doing various different activities in between our studying, volunteering, and school.
"I want to go to the beach," I muttered under my breath.
It was most definitely not the best time to go outside; being a kid and wandering the streets alone at night was a recipe for trouble. I did not want to be forced to expose myself if push came to shove and I had to cast magic to protect myself again.
And yet, once night ended and morning came to replace it, I would lose the opportunity to go to the beach without wasting any of my time. Time was precious, and its wastage on something as unnecessary as enjoying myself would guilt-trip me to no end.
I looked over my shoulder, at the sleeping, rotund figure of the Dwarf laying in his bed. He was going to go to the market tomorrow in search for any Superior mana crystals, bringing me with him to teach me things I needed to learn about them. After that was finished, we would head down to the docks to find any ships that were willing to take us to Taw.
I had no window to act, and the stormy weather would probably bring the tides dangerously close to shore once I finally found the chance to visit the beach. It was with taking all this into consideration, I made my decision.
"I’m going to the beach," I said, standing up and grabbing my dagger and other protective gears.
After all, there was no time like the present, and this wasted no time since I probably wouldn’t have been able to fall asleep anyway.
Chapter 22: Beach Episode
I sat alone in the darkness of the night. The sound of the violent waves echoed in my eardrums as I looked upon the sea before me.
The dim moon and star light was shadowed by the thick layer of clouds gathering toward the heavens; a strong breeze threatened to throw my hood back, but it barely stayed on as the cloth stuck to the mask on my face.
I wore my Hunter’s outfit. There was something dissuading about prancing around the empty city streets past midnight while dressed in colorful, semi-rich clothing. Generally speaking, going out in the middle of the night was never a good idea unless it was necessary, but I needed this moment. There was something relaxing about this, despite the thundering waves and the roaring wind filling in the background noise.
I did not move. My eyes did not wander off this portrait, but stayed glued onto it. I was almost fixated to this sight.
"This is nice," I sighed wistfully to myself.
"It really is, isn’t it?"
I jumped at the unexpected response; I whirled around, reaching down for my dagger and gripped the hilt of the blade, but did not pull it out just yet.
I saw a figure standing behind me. He was a man with pale blue skin that was lighter than the sky at day, with long ears poking out of the side of his head. My eyes widened at his onyx black hair that almost seemed to become one with the shadows of the night, but his deep green eyes were focused straight at the ocean ahead. An Elf? I thought, surprised at seeing one for the first time.
"Who are you? Where did you come from?" I asked, not masking the wariness in my voice.
The man did not answer my question immediately. Instead, he leisurely lowered himself down, and sat on the natural gravel floor of the beach before replying.
"That’s an odd question to ask someone, isn’t it?"
"It is," I said, feeling slightly embarrassed by how jumpy I might have come across. Still, I doubled down. "But it’s an appropriate one for a stranger sneaking up on me by the sea in the middle of the night."
He finally turned to face me, and he gave me an almost dismissive look. "If I wanted to harm you, I would have done so without alerting you of my presence."
True, but that did not mean I shouldn’t be cautious of you. I did not relax as the man continued.
"However, since you’re curious, I am a Half Elf from Ghab-Ha, the last remaining Elven country, and the only other nation in Soli than the Holy Xan Empire. Well, that’s true in theory, but the reality of the situation is that our country lacks sovereignty in various different ways. I came to this continent decades ago to find help—"
I didn’t ask for your full backstory! I tuned the strange man out as he began to tell me all about himself; he was talking about his seaborne voyage past Drake Island and how dangerous the waters got there. I didn't even know why he was telling me this.
I simply rested my chin on the palm of my hand and stared at the waves crashing into the beach. I stayed there for a minute, and some time during that minute, the man stopped talking and I didn’t notice.
"A lovely sight," he finally said, breaking the silence.
"Mhm."
"Tell me, why exactly are you here, young Miss?" he asked, ignoring my detached demeanor towards him. "I don’t believe a child such as you should be out in the middle of the night, let alone where a large wave could sweep you into the sea where you’d be lost forever."
"I just like beaches, that’s all," I gave him a straightforward answer.
"And you couldn’t go in the day?"
"Was busy," I said curtly.
"You’re a peculiar girl," he remarked, standing up.
And I think you’re a weirdo, but you don’t hear me saying it, I quipped mentally; I was not going to say it out loud, but I was getting rather annoyed that my relaxation period was being ruined by some stranger.
"Personally," he started, "I find the ocean fascinating because of how vast it is. I know that somewhere, out there, is where my homeland lies. I will return to it, and they will hail me as a hero."
With that said, the man took a step back, and left me alone on the beach. I turned around to watch him go— making sure he truly left and wasn’t about to grab me from behind to kidnap me and sell me into slavery, before settling back down.
What a weird man, I thought for one last time.
I continued to stare into the undulating blue lines ahead as it shifted up and down accompanied by the howling wind, before something caught my eye. The Half Elf (or Elf?) was gone, yet I could have sworn I saw a figure hiding in the alleyways, watching me.
I eyed the small alcoves and side streets surrounding the beachfront, but there was no one there. I carefully made my way further into the city, casting my gaze toward every possible hiding spot, but saw nothing. And yet, I still felt like someone was watching me.
I started for the inn, but felt my pace getting faster and faster as the feeling never went away. My brisk walk turned into a jog, and my jog into a mad dash. I ran through the empty streets of Luke, trying to flee from this invisible stalker.
My footsteps attracted the attention of gang members, thugs, and other criminals coming to poke their he
ads out of their alleys to see what was going on; many of them just gave me a weird look, yet that only exacerbated my unease and I felt my heart pounding faster and faster in my chest
I needed to get inside. I wanted to get indoors. The calm serenity of watching the sea vanished as I screamed internally to flee. Where were the guards? Why were the streets so empty of life?
I saw a dim light illuminating a building in the distance and decided to make a break for it. I almost felt like I was back in Bys, running for my life from the Abominations that were chasing me. My life was not in danger— it could not have been in danger— but a panic came over me like I had rarely ever felt before.
Someone was following me. I knew they were.
I threw the doors of the building open, and slammed it shut behind me. I waited with bated breath for a moment, taking a step back away from the entryway to the room, but nothing came after me. The overwhelming feeling of fear subsided, and I slumped to the floor, panting.
I lay there for just a moment, not even taking in my surroundings, before I noticed the people staring at me. There were not a lot of people there, but those that were were seated on tables and others waiting behind a… desk?
A… receptionist cocked her head at me.
Blinking, I realized where I had escaped to: it was the Hunter’s Guild of Luke.
"Um, hi?" the receptionist said. "Was there something you needed, little Miss?"
I tried to ignore the other Hunters in the guild lobby staring at me, and quickly got myself up and dusted myself off.
"Yes," I said, walking up to the receptionist and pulling out my ID card. "I’m a Hunter, and I was hoping to take a look at the jobs around, and maybe collect any additional rewards for a previous job I completed."
May as well cross out a few items in my to-do list while I’m here.
The Hunter’s Guild offered little jobs in the city of Luke. I would have expected there to be plenty of escort jobs available for the taking, but it seemed that most ships found it more efficient and cost-effective to simply hire Mercenaries to protect them from both sea Monsters and pirates.
After taking a look at the also bare amount of bounties in place, I returned to the receptionist to inquire on my previous job with the Abominations; Gennady had told me the truth when he said I would receive extra payment once the Hunter’s Guild confirmed that we were not lying about the number of Abominations there were.
Unfortunately, the Hunter’s Guild must not have done a thorough job of excavating the cave of bodies, since I was only given an extra hundred gold coins. It was a lot of gold— despite having seen a similar amount of money just the other day, I still found myself gawking when the receptionist handed over the small bag of coins to me.
And yet, it was hardly the amount which I had expected to receive: the original job description suspected there to have been a few hundred Abominations at most. I ended up killing thousands of them, including an Atrocity, and yet my payment was merely doubled. It was not a fair compensation, but when I tried pressing the issue, I realized it would not have gone anywhere and gave up.
I was certain this underpayment was a result of both neglect by the scouts the Hunter’s Guild sent, as well as the fact that they were probably going to revise the reward for exterminating Abominations if they really were more commonplace than was thought.
Regardless, I stayed in the Hunter’s Guild until just before sunrise, when the streets of the city began to fill up with regular people going about their days, before daring to go out and return to my inn. The sense of unease was gone, and I found myself questioning whether I had suffered from a momentary panic attack due to whatever reason.
I was back at the inn before I knew it and changed back to my other clothes; Gennady was still asleep, snoring loudly in his bed. I took a peek at the clock, and deciding that it would not have been an issue if I took a quick wink, I went to bed.
The Dwarf woke me up just after noon, having come back from shopping for mana crystals and other tools he needed. He did not find what he wanted, but he managed to get away with two ‘high quality’ Superior mana crystals for a good price— that meant it had a good cut for its size, which made it far easier to inscribe on when tinkering with it.
"Slept late last night, huh?" he asked, as he handed me a small bag of food; it had grilled fish skewered on thin wooden sticks. "You hungry?"
My stomach growled in response, and he chuckled.
"Hah, I knew it." He winked at me as my face grew red.
"I had a long night, ok?" I meekly defended myself. That was technically true, but I knew for a fact that my stomach would have reacted the same way even if I had gone to bed early last night. The scent of good food was enough to make me hungry most of the time.
"I saw," he said, glancing at the desk in the corner of the room. "You used up all your paper, huh?"
"Mhm," I made a noise in reply, as I chewed on my food.
"We’ll get you some more later. First, we’ll be heading to the harbor— speak to the sailors and find if any are willing to bring us to Taw."
I nodded my head and finished up the short meal before I spoke; "Well then, let’s not waste any time." I hopped out of bed and grabbed my staff while donning my pointed hat. "Let’s go, shall we?"
The Dwarf snorted. "Don’t act like ye were tha one waiting for me, lass. I was the one waiting for ya!"
I grinned, then we were off. We exited the inn and started for the harbor; it was in a different direction to the beach I had my weird surge of paranoia, or… ‘episode’... last night. That beach episode did not go the way I expected to, and I was glad that I was completely normal now.
Could that Half Elf have done something to me? I thought, wondering if that was the result of some gaseous alchemical concoction. But that would not have made sense; if he was trying to attack me, why did he just up and leave? Plus, it only happened once he had been gone for a few minutes.
I shook my head and shook away those thoughts for now. I focused on the task at hand: finding a ship.
I strutted behind Gennady alongside the wooden pier of Luke’s harbor. He was stroking his bushy beard while carefully inspecting each boat we passed.
"What kind of ship are you looking for?" I asked. He was probably finding one that looked sturdy enough to be able to last the voyage all the way up to Taw rather than any old dinghy, but I did not know what were the specifics he had in mind.
"Well, I’d prefer a mana powered boat to bring us there since those are far better suited for the rough oceans, but I’m willing to settle for just a fully rigged ship with three or four masts."
I drew my lips to a thin line. "I have no idea what any of that means."
The Dwarf sighed. "It means I want a big boat," He paused, glancing around, before pointing at something in the distance. "Like that."
I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a large, thin ship with a single mast; I had expected it to be made of metal, but it was designed with wood just like any other boat with its name ‘The Lightbringer’s Vessel’ inscribed on its side. Its one distinguishing feature was the extra section protruding out of its quarterdeck and attached to a paddlewheel.
"Whew," I whistled. "That’s a nice boat. Probably expensive to ride on, huh?"
"It would be, but we could get on it for free."
I paused, taking a moment to figure out what he meant. "You want us to offer them our services as Hunters?" I asked, snapping my fingers.
"‘Course," he said, grinning. "Why shouldn’t we? We’re Hunters. We’d probably have to fight any sea Monsters anyway even if we pay to ride on a boat. Might as well take advantage of our roles and hitch a free ride— or, well, voyage."
"But I’m not wearing my mask," I pointed out, and instinctively pulled my shoulders and arms in as if protecting myself.
Gennady shrugged. "You can just sit back for a bit. I’ll say me and a companion would like to offer our services to them. I’ll ‘introduce ‘Aria’ to them on anoth
er day if they say yes."
I slowly relaxed, and agreed to his terms, "Alright, that makes sense I guess."
We reached the ship he had pointed out, and found a group of sailors milling around on its deck. I stayed back, as he approached them.
"Hoy there!" the Dwarf called out, raising a hand. "Is your Captain around?"
The sailors gave him an odd look, and after a moment, one of them shouted back, "Go away, little man. We don’t like your kind here!"
I frowned, hearing the insult; Gennady however, seemed unaffected by it.
"Come now, lads. I’d just like to offer my services to your crew," he said casually.
"Hah," one of the sailors laughed. "As if we’d let a Dwarf tinker with our ship. You wouldn’t even be able to work with its mana crystal! We don’t carve on the crystals unlike you fools!"
"I meant it as a Hunter," Gennady said, his brows suddenly arching darkly over his eyes. I narrowed my eyes at the sudden change in his demeanour, but he was not finished. "But since ye lads dinna wan it, how ‘bout I teach ya a lesson instead?!"
I blinked. The sailors blinked. We did not understand a single word he had just said.
Despite that, one of the sailors still decided to taunt him. "Speak up, little man, we can’t hear you from down there—"
The man was cut off when a hammer came flying through the air and smashed him in the face. Gennady lowered his hand, reaching into his backpack for something else. "Wanna go ya lassies?"
"Hey, Gennady, I think we shouldn’t—" I started, but was immediately cut off.
"He just hurt John!"
"No one hurts John and gets away with it!"
"Get him, boys!"
I cursed as more than half a dozen sailors ran down the gangway and onto the pier, charging at my companion; the Dwarf just smirked, and continued throwing objects at them.
Two sailors fell off the wooden plank and into the sea before the rest reached him. They swarmed him one by one, punching and kicking at him.
