Raiya- Early Game

by Russell Wilbinski

  “Look, maybe I feel sorry for him, I can’t say. My gut says to help him, and I always follow my gut.” She said, gently freeing herself from his grip.

  “Last time you followed your gut, a lizard the size of a small building nearly ate you.”

  “And I found a mysterious man on a mysterious island. Now we’re here, going over ancient history.”

  “That was less than two weeks ago.”

  “Really? Only two weeks?” she asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. “I must have bumped my head and forgotten how to tell time.”

  Hawkins gritted his teeth, exhaling loudly. “I don’t trust him. Something tells me he will bring far more trouble than he’s worth.”

  “Oh honey, now you’ve convinced me. We’re keeping him. You know just how much I love trouble.” She said, taunting him with a devious smile.

  “You are the Captain, and I follow your orders. Just know I reserve the right to say I told you so.” He said, running a hand through his gray hair.

  “Better go check on your studious pupil, see if he actuallycharted the most difficult course in all of Raiya.” She said playfully. “If he did, I get to say I told you so.”

  “Aye aye, Captain.” He snapped, clicking his heels together and saluting. She stuck out her tongue and waved him away.

  ~~~

  The sand in the hourglass was nearly empty. He had just finished drawing his course and was furiously rechecking each leg of the trip when the door opened and the last grain of sand fell. He set down the quill and pushed himself away from the table, stretching his shoulders and shaking out his cramped hands.

  Hawkins watched his student carefully as he moved to check the work. A few minutes later, Hawkins leaned heavily on the table. Skree deflated as he watched the man lower his head in disappointment.

  “Hawkins? I got it right. I know I got it right.” Skree said matter-of-factly. He glanced at the chart again, wondering where he could have made the mistake. He had been so careful, considering every single variable he could think of. Seasonal winds, storms, dangerous areas, all of it. He had been so sure.

  The old man seemed tired, like the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. He turned to face him, a small smile on his face. “You did.”

  He almost jumped for joy at the confirmation he had gotten it right finally. He didn’t want to seem like a silly child, so he nodded. “Why do you look so… uh… disappointed?”

  “Because, I dislike liars.” The sudden accusation caught Skree off guard. He opened his mouth to protest but Hawkins held up a hand, silencing him immediately. “I have been a pirate for nearly forty years and I know how to take the measure of a man. You are lying. To me, to the Captain and I don’t like it.”

  Skree considered asking him what he thought he was lying about, but he knew the answer, so he kept his mouth shut. Hawkins slammed his hand on the table, startling Skree, who took a step back from the angry man.

  “You have more knowledge than many of the men I have sailed with over the years, you understand difficult concepts and have a firm understanding of things you have no business knowing. Where did you learn Algebra? Calculus? You know so little sometimes that it makes me believe you have no memories. Other times…” he waved a hand over the maps and charts. “You seem to know everything.”

  His hand came to rest on the pommels of his twin cutlasses, eyes hard as he stared at Skree. “It’s almost like you are from a different world entirely.”

  Skree almost choked on his own breath at the words. How could Hawkins have guessed that? His thoughts raced as he struggled to understand what he meant. No, he didn’t know he was from a different world, he couldn’t. Hell, sometimes Skree couldn’t believe it himself. “Hawkins I…” before Skree could even register his movement, Hawkins had a blade to his throat.

  “No more lies. No more pretending. Who are you?” he asked. Skree stood motionless as a mouse before a snake, knowing one wrong move could cost him his life.

  “I don’t know.” He said evenly. “Skree is just the name I gave myself because it felt right. I woke up on that island terrified and alone. Nothing was familiar, and I did not understand how I had gotten there.” He said, recognizing that it was very much the truth. Well, mostly the truth. “I spent several days on the island, nearly died a bunch of times and prayed, night after night that someone would find me. Rescue me. When I met Captain Lis in the jungle, I nearly wept on the spot when she offered me a way off the island. I was sure I would die there whether torn to pieces by wildlife or as an old man.”

  Gradually, the tip of Hawkins sword lowered and Skree took a sharp breath, letting it out haltingly. Almost as quickly as Hawkins had drawn his sword, it disappeared into its scabbard.

  “How very fortunate that we found you then. You must be the luckiest man alive.” He said, watching Skree carefully. “Tomorrow we continue your lessons.” Without another word, he strode from the small cabin, slamming the door behind him.

  Chapter 7

  After he had cleaned up the small workspace, Skree headed below decks. It had been a few days since he had last spent time with Zuka and had missed his companion dearly. He asked to let Zuka follow him around the deck while learning the basics of sailing, but Hawkins wanted no distractions. The wolf had been pulling overtime as a friend and companion to the young Kobolds, for which Skree was grateful.

  Skree rounded the corner, intending to retrieve Zuka from the hold but to his surprise, the large wolf was waiting patiently in front of his cabin door.

  “Hi boy, are you waiting for me?” he asked, scratching the wolf on the head, barking happily. It had only been a few weeks since they bonded and each day, the wolf got bigger. His companion was at least the size of a full-grown wolf now, maybe even bigger than normal. He hadn’t spent a lot of time around wolves in his old life.

  “I am happy to see you too.” He opened the door, chuckling when the large wolf pushed into the room and jumped onto the small bed, making him look even bigger. He flopped onto the bed beside his companion, running his hands through the wolf’s bristly fur. He felt the powerful muscles just beneath the surface. Profound sadness welled within him when he saw the broad scar where Zuka’s eye should have been. They had escaped the island and saved the Kobolds, but it wasn’t without a heavy cost.

  “Zuka.”

  The wolf lifted his head, turning to look at Skree.

  “I want to say I’m sorry. Sorry that I have been around very little lately. I’ve just been so busy and so tired, all I want to do is sleep.”

  Zuka licked his hand and a wave of concession washed through his mind. Zuka‘s cold wet nose poked his hand a few times forcing Skree to smile. He rubbed Zuka’s ears, and the wolf inched closer, happily turning his head so Skree could get to the good spots.

  “Thanks Zuka, I knew you would understand.”

  They sat together in silence for half an hour, just enjoying each other’s reassuring presence. Skree spent the time reflecting on all he had learned about sailing and the lessons still to come. Zuka was just happy to have a solid moment of peace away from the two dozen younglings.

  Skree knew he hadn’t taken the time to check his character screen in days. He had been so exhausted that every night he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. Buoyed by his recent success, he caught up on all the prompts he had been missing the last few days.

  When he had first trained with Hawkins, the notifications appeared far too often, distracting him from his lessons. He kept minimizing them, intending to deal with them later but they just kept coming. He asked Hawkins if there was a way to disable them for a while and much to his relief, Hawkins showed him how to do so. He had become so focused on his training he had forgotten that they were there, waiting for him.

  With a grin, he opened the character screen and selected read all.

  Congratulations! You have completed the quest Learning the Ropes, Part 2: Three-hundred Sixty Degrees of Separation. You have successfully learned the wa
ys of a navigator, charting courses through all the great oceans of Raiya. Reward: 15,000 experience.

  Hawkins has offered you a quest! Learning the Ropes, Part 3: Wheel of Fortune

  Satisfied with your knowledge of nautical navigation, Hawkins is ready to continue your training.

  Rewards: Experience, Reputation with Hawkins

  Failure: Hawkins will end your training, and you will lose reputation with Hawkins

  The next morning, Skree made it a point to share breakfast with the Priestess and the Kobolds. Jury, the ship’s cook, had ample food delivered every morning from the kitchen because having nearly thirty Kobolds in the mess might lead to complaints. Even though the mess was a social space, it still needed to run smoothly and Jury was a master at moving the crew through with machinelike efficiency.

  Kobolds were a tight-knit bunch, so each day they ate together, sitting in a circle and taking turns learning about various subjects. To her credit, Priestess used the meal circle as a great way to teach the younglings the human language. She would show them a piece of fruit, tell them what they called it in common speech and they would repeat it. Skree couldn’t stop smiling as the younglings mangled the words nearly every time they tried, except for Seema, who seemed to be a natural.

  That morning, they all had time to laugh at Priestess as Skree taught her new words that were much harder than she was used to. She smiled and laughed with them, failing with exaggerated frustration much to the delight of the younglings. He felt good knowing they were doing well on the ship, and that they were learning every day. Priestess had told him it helped to keep their minds off of the tragedy at the Blue Stone Warrens, which he was thankful for. Every time he spent time with them, it filled him with bitter sadness at his failure to protect the warren. His best friend had died, and it was likely his fault, thanks to his encounter with Abrenacht.

  He still didn’t understand how the dark god had found them so quickly, nor how they had arrived at the island in a matter of days. Sadly, he doubted he would solve that mystery soon. Once he had eaten his fill and played a few games of chase, he made his way topside to continue his lessons. Before that, he decided he needed to make one more side trip.

  The mess was bustling with activity as the crew filed through the food line and found seats at the tables. Many of the crew nodded to him as he entered and he returned the friendly gesture, smiling to each man and woman as he went. It surprised him when he didn’t see Jury in the kitchen. Looking around, he spotted the chubby cook in a dark corner of the mess, eating alone.

  “Good morning Jury, how are you?”

  Hunched over a bowl of oats, stuffing heaping spoonfuls into his mouth, he grunted in reply. His eyes raised from the bowl, spoon still in his mouth. “Mighty fine Mr. Skree. How’s about yourself?”

  “I’m well. I wanted to come and express my gratitude for helping with the Kobolds’ meals. I know you’re a busy man and you didn’t have to send food for them. You have my thanks.”

  He set down his spoon and raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding? Those little buggers are incredible! Been so long since I heard about a Kobold spotting, now we have a whole mess of the things in our hold.”

  Surprised by his excitement, Skree asked, “You’re a fan of Kobolds?”

  “Back before I became a sailor, I always wanted to be an explorer and see impossible things. Kobolds, Merfolk, the Beastmen, you name it. Lesser-known races fascinated me. Used to dream about discovering a long-lost tribe of Kobolds and instead of searching for them, you brought ‘em right to me.” He explained with glee. “Have you seen how many colors are down there? All the stories say they are brown and black, better for underground camouflage and all that. Instead, they’re like little birds of paradise!”

  Skree chuckled at the thought. He had to agree, still astounded by how colorful some of their scales were. “I wouldn’t tell Priestess you think she is a bird. She might burn the ship down around us.”

  Jury threw his head back with a hearty laugh. “That she might. Very nice girl that one, but there is something about her. Gotta say, she is a little scary.”

  Flashes from their fight in the warren played back in his mind, how cold and heartless she had become, burning the invaders alive without a second’s hesitation. He met Jury’s eyes, “Trust me, she is more than a little scary if you piss her off.”

  Jury waggled his eyebrows. “Sounds like you’ve got a story. Would ya mind tellin it sometime?”

  “Sure. But not now, I have to meet Hawkins for more sailing lessons. I just wanted you to have this.” He reached into his pouch and slid a coin across the table. “My gratitude for everything you have done for us.”

  The bearded man’s jaw went slack at the sight of the shiny gold coin. “Mister Skree, honestly, that is too much. Too much by half.” He held up his arms, refusing to take the coin.

  Skree rolled his eyes. “Nonsense. Besides, I thought pirates liked gold?”

  “We do, but I feel like I’d be robbing you myself, and I’d like to think we’re fast becoming friends.” Jury said with a small frown, never taking his eyes from the coin.

  “I just wanted to repay kindness with kindness. Anyway, I’m late for my lesson as it is.” Skree whirled, marched away and not waiting for a reply.

  Jury opened his mouth to say something, but the sparkle of the gold caught his eye and he thought better of it, the golden coin sliding into his hand.

  As he left the mess, a nice breeze and the warm light of early morning danced across his skin. He had to admit, the sun, and the sea had grown on him. At first the cramped quarters and the endless noise of the ocean had felt restrictive, but now, he relished life aboard the ship. When a man at sea tells you he found freedom in the endless waves, you can believe him. There was one part of living at sea he didn’t care for, however. He lifted his arm and took a whiff, recoiling at the strength of his own… charm. Soap was apparently a luxury because most sailors learned a spell for personal hygiene.

  Freshen was the official name for the spell. Unofficially and offensively, the sailors called it scrubbing the duck. Much to his dismay, no one on the ship could teach him the spell. He would have killed for that spell, catching a whiff of himself on the breeze as he walked up the stairs to the Bridge.

  “You’re late.” Hawkins said, not looking away from his duty at the wheel.

  “Apologies, I had to take care of something important.” He replied, taking a position a few feet behind him. For several minutes, Hawkins just stared into the distance, turning the wheel back and forth slowly and with precision. The ship glided easily over the waves and no matter how wildly he spun the wheel, it never felt wrong. The ship was practically hovering over the water.

  “The waves tell a story.” Hawkins said, nearly making him jump. “There is a rhythm to it, if you listen, if you watch for the changing words.” Hawkins turned the wheel sharply, causing the ship to crash through a wave, and several members of the crew, himself included, had to take a step to catch their balance.

  “Refuse to listen…” he swung the wheel in the opposite direction and the ship shuddered angrily as it smashed headlong into a breaker. “And she will beat you senseless.” He made a correction, a small, but a meaningful one. The Typhoon caught the back of the wave, speeding up smoothly to its former tack. “This is something you will commit to learning above all else, or I will not teach you. You’re dismissed.” The words sounded with the finality of a death sentence.

  He opened his mouth to offer his side of the story, but he knew Hawkins was right, like always. This was it, the final leg of his profession quest and he wanted this more than anything, he knew for sure after weeks at sea. If he shirked his responsibilities, Hawkins would have every right to end his training. He knew anyone could technically sail a ship, but without the profession it would be that much harder to do it well.

  “Aye aye, sir!” he snapped a sharp salute and left the bridge, watching his feet in shame. He was nearly at the bottom of the stair
s when he heard a Familiar voice.

  “Late to class?” Fenna asked, leaning casually on the railing and peeling and orange. She tsked. “Bad boy.”

  Not knowing what to say, he said nothing.

  “There are two things you should never do on the Typhoon. Never be late to a lesson with Hawkins. He gets a bitgrumpy. How bad was it?” she asked, popping an orange slice into her mouth.

  “Not terrible. He showed me the importance of piloting and dismissed me.”

  Fenna winced and wiped juice from her lips with a sleeve. “Oh chap, you don’t get it. He didn’t even assign you any extra duties. He didn’t even yell did he?”

  Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. He instantly remembered every time he had agitated or angered Hawkins during his lessons. Hawkins hadn’t been shy about raising his voice, and he was an artist when assigning humiliating chores.

  “Oh, no.” He hissed. “That is bad.”

  “Well, since you have the day free, what do you say we have ourselves a little dance?” She patted the fine sword hanging easily on her hip. “Lady and I could use the excitement. Hawkins is my normal dance partner, and you have been keeping him all to yourself.”

  He perked up at her offer. As much as it hurt to admit it, he was missing the thrill of battle and he knew he could use the practice. “I have never dueled before, so I’m afraid I might hurt you.”

  The mocking giggle that bubbled forth from her chest made Skree blush with embarrassment. “Hurt me? I doubt you can even hit me.” She said. “Besides…” she wiggled her fingers. “Aren’t you one of those touchy-feely life mages? You can just patch me up.” She walked forward with a smile, patting him on the cheek. “Now put on your dancing shoes and follow me.” She turned, walking to the center of the deck. Skree reached into his Nearly Bottomless Bag and withdrew his Savage Steel Great Sword. He marveled at how comfortable it felt in his hand, its familiar bulk reassuring.