Chronicles of a Royal Pet- Of Scales and Distant Shores

by Ian Rodgers

  “I’m sure Captain Roche is glad you’re wise enough not to use your magic onboard his vessel,” Katherine mused, before poking me in the side.

  I’d seen the touch coming, so I managed to keep my concentration in check. Still, it was an unwelcome bit of physical contact, and I quickly released the sphere of fire I’d been working on, sending it flying through the salty breeze to impact the waves. A small gush of evaporated water rose up from the point of contact, and Tara recorded the size, shape, and density of the steam cloud for me.

  “What is it?” I asked in a monotone voice, glaring at Katherine. She ignored my glare and folded her arms.

  “Rosa and I are bored. Entertain us.”

  “Can’t you see I’m busy?” I demanded, annoyed at the interruption.

  “Yeah, but we’re bored. Tell, him, Rosa.”

  (We’re really, really boooored,) the ruby-studded Carbuncle whined, drawing out the word like it was a piece of taffy. She flashed me puppy dog eyes and I felt my resistance crumble.

  “Fine, fine, what do you want me to do about that?” I asked, giving up in the face of her overwhelming cuteness.

  Rosa threw her hands into the air and gave a cheer before flying over to rest on top of my hat brim.

  “We were wondering if you could show us some tricks with your magic,” Katherine requested eagerly.

  I made a frown appear on my ‘face’ and gave her an exasperated look. “And what, exactly, did you expect me to perform for you? You can’t just ask for a magic show and not have an idea of what you want me to do!”

  “Can you do anything neat, like change the colors of your flames?” Katherine suggested.

  I pondered her words and came to the conclusion that yes, I could. It wouldn’t be too difficult.

  I proceeded to point my staff off over the starboard bow and concentrated. Around my staff, half a dozen fist fireballs appeared, bobbing gently. Each one was a different shade of red, ranging from dark crimson to almost pink.

  I waved my staff slowly, twirling it through the air, and the fireballs obeyed my movements, dancing to an unheard tune.

  Unheard by my audience, at least. Tara was humming a bit of orchestral music in my head in time to the gestures I made, and Rosa joined in, creating a miniature symphony as I worked.

  It was fitting. I was the conductor of the spell, and the magical flames followed my lead. I made them spin around each other as if they were waltzing with one another, do loop-the-loops over the waves, and taunt the curious fish that came to the surface and tried to bite the hot orbs of fire thinking they were tasty.

  After a bit I felt a tiny bit of strain from trying to manipulate multiple fireballs at once, and sent them rocketing into the sky before causing them to plunge into the surf, detonating in spectacular blasts of salty steam.

  Once the spell ended I quickly checked my staff to make sure it wasn’t damaged or dirtied during the performance. It wasn’t hurt. Not that I’d thought it would be. It would take a lot more than that to even crack the finely made staff. But I was cautious. I’d only just received it, and didn’t want to have any unexpected surprises to deal with.

  I ran a ‘finger’ down the haft of my staff. It was a masterwork, both beautiful and efficient. Carved from the bones of the Urdrai, the ferocious monster that was akin to a draconic bear in appearance that I had helped defeat last autumn, inlaid with gold and the rare, mana-sensitive material orihalcum to increase its ability to channel magical energy, and to top it all off, pun only slightly intended, the whittled antlers of a Dire Moose clutched a fist sized opal.

  All in all, it was a potent magical tool, and something I hadn’t known I’d needed until I’d gotten it. Staves, wands, rods, and other apparatus for casting spells helped focus the mana as well as shape it. Before I’d obtained my own, I was simply flinging crudely molded globs of magical power everywhere that took on the shape of spells thanks to the incantation that preceded the flinging.

  With the staff in my grasp, I could feel how vastly easier it was to turn mana into the proper form, and through it, create a spell that wasted less time and energy to cast.

  I turned my attention back to Rosa and Katherine, and was greeted with a round of wild applause from both them, and the crew.

  “That was amazing!” Coal exclaimed, staring dumbfounded at the distant cloud of steam that was the end result of my rain of spell-fire.

  “Not bad for a pansy mage,” Captain Roche chuckled, giving a short clap of approval before turning back to his very important task of steering the ship.

  “I’ve always found magic impressive,” Katherine said with a sigh of appreciation. “Shame us dwarves cannot use that much external magic. It’s always so amazing to watch. I didn’t have that much chance to see all the spells you used against the Urdrai, so this was a nice consolation prize.”

  “You could have asked me to show off some spells back when we were in Arv Prith,” I pointed out. “It was winter, and the snow would have softened the spell’s impacts. I could have given you a private show any time you wanted.”

  Muffled snickered broke out amongst the crewmen, and I tilted my head in confusion. Why was Katherine blushing all of a sudden?

  “You, you, you!” Katherine stammered, the red hue overtaking her face only growing more pronounced as I continued to stare uncomprehendingly at her.

  I turned to Rosa for assistance, but she had fallen flat on her back and was laughing out loud with her chime-like voice. No luck on getting anything out of her when she was like this.

  I turned to Coal, hoping that Katherine’s brother-figure would know something, but he had an expression that was half amused and half protective plastered on his face and didn’t seem to be in the mood to answer my questions.

  Finally, I turned to the one person who always had an answer. ‘Tara what’s going on? What did I say?’

  ~Giving someone a ‘private show,’ especially when said by an entertainer, is often seen as an invitation to do ‘adult things,’~ the Spirit of Knowledge said drily.

  “Oh. Oh!” I exclaimed out loud, before pulling my hat down so it further hid my ‘face,’ emulating bashfulness. It worked, and the sailors roared with another round of laughter.

  “It’s like watching two clumsy kids trying to be coy with their declarations of love,” Roche said with a snicker. Katherine spun around, an angry expression on her face.

  “Godfather! It’s not like that!” Her exclamation failed to convince anyone, however, due to her beet red face and pouting expression that couldn’t intimidate a baby.

  “Argh! Look, I don’t like him like that! Why would you think that?! No offense,” she hastily tacked onto the end for my benefit.

  I shrugged and waved it off. Her words hurt a little, but I knew what she was trying to say. “None taken.”

  “Just messing with ya, Kat,” Coal said with a fond chuckle and a pat on her head. She fumed but resigned herself to the teasing for the moment. Although the cold, calculating look promising revenge that flashed through her eyes for a moment made me pity her brother-figure and godfather.

  “So, how much farther till we reach Drakon?” I asked, interrupting the show.

  Once everyone calmed down, Roche replied. “Another week, give or take a few days depending on weather.”

  “Really? It’s barely been a week since we set off, I wasn’t aware the New Frontier was that close to Orria,” I said, surprised.

  “It’s not. A normal ship would take at least twice as long to get there,” Roche said, before proudly tapping the steering wheel. “But the Striding Fish is special. She’s a cog, which is designed to be faster than most bigger ships. And, we have something that cuts down on travel time even more. Enchanted sails!”

  He pointed dramatically at the mast, where a square white sail was currently tugging us along.

  “I noticed that,” I admitted, having detected the magic within it before even boarding. “It’s a Wind Element enchantment, right? Designed to constantly
fill the sail with a weak gust of wind, meaning you don’t have to rely on the actual weather to get around.”

  “Dang, you have a good eye!” Roche praised, impressed by my observation. I shrugged, playing it down.

  “Well, you’re right,” he said after a moment to reorganize his thoughts. “That sail is known as a Galeforce Sail. Nifty tool for any sailing vessel. Expensive though. The bigger the sail, the more gold one of them costs. That’s why bigger boats rarely have one unless they belong to a kingdom, or a very rich merchant. Even so, it was worth every coin!”

  “Thanks to it, we’re able to cut down our travel time by more than half!” the captain declared happily. “Faster deliveries mean we get the profits quicker!”

  I nodded in understanding, then bent down to scoop up Rosa off the deck. She was still wheezing a bit from all her laughter, so I fondly tucked her into a pocket in my robes so she could recover.

  “That’s good news for me! The sooner the better is an attitude I can get behind!” I praised, and Captain Roche beamed, having found a kindred spirit in me.

  “I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: you’re not bad for a mage!”

  I laughed at the captain’s words before turning my attention back to the ocean.

  “Back to training,” I muttered, and I drew upon my vast reserves of mana for another fireball. I paused and let the magical energy trickle away as my senses felt something large pass beneath the ship.

  Whatever it was, it’s size was greater than the Striding Fish’s by a magnitude of five at the very least! I peered down into the ocean with my sensory abilities and gasped at the aquatic beast almost directly below us.

  Whale-like in shape, but gnarled and covered in ancient scars and barnacles that encrusted its flesh like organic armor. It had four flippers, two on each side, while its tail resembled a trident.

  And its head! Good gravy did it have a huge, fang-filled head! The head was almost a third of the whale’s entire mass!

  “Um, guys, there’s a really big whale beneath the ship,” I said nervously. Instead of growing concerned, the sailors all perked up.

  “Really? Can you tell what kind?” Roche inquired eagerly. I paused, confused as to why they were all so calm, but neatly described its basic physical appearance.

  “A Sovereign Whale!” Roche exclaimed, a tinge of awe in his voice and a few of the sailors held out three fingers over their heart.

  “Is it going to eat us?” I asked, growing concerned when the enormous aquatic beast shifted, and came closer to the surface.

  “Not at all! In fact, from now on our voyage will be even safer!” Coal stated with a grin.

  “Can someone fill in us landlubbers?” Katherine asked, mirroring my concern about the creature.

  “Sovereign Whales are docile, as long as you don’t provoke them,” Captain Roche assured us. “In fact, they’re treated as good luck when they accompany a ship.”

  ~These large water-dwelling mammals are sensitive to magic,~ Tara piped up. ~They are well known to follow ships that have powerful enchantments, or carry talented mages. Most aquatic predators will not approach a Sovereign Whale, and they sometimes rescue sailors who have fallen overboard during a storm. Do not worry. As long as you don’t try to harm it, the beast will not harm you.~

  “That’s a relief,” I said aloud for both the captain and my mind-mate’s benefit.

  “It probably was attracted by your little magic show,” one of the crew suggested, and the other salty seadogs nodded in agreement.

  “I supposed I shouldn’t disappoint our new companion, then,” I murmured, and raised my staff, sending fireballs dancing over the waves, and being very careful to aim far away from the massive beast below us.

  A deep, thrumming hum emerged from the depths, shivering the timbers and rattling loose objects. Rosa shot out of my pocket in fright, looking around with wide eyes. When I explained what was going on through our mental link she settled down and sat on the brim of my hat again. It was becoming one of her favorite spots to sit.

  Once it passed, I waited a bit before casting any more spells. This time, I switched over to practicing my control over water, and created miniature waterspouts and geysers here and there amidst the waves.

  Another echoing sound rose up around us, and this time I could detect a hint of joy in the booming voice of the whale.

  Without warning, the Sovereign Whale moved beneath us, angling upwards. Before I could shout a warning, the creature burst from the water, sending waves and spray everywhere.

  I stood there, rooted to the deck in awe at the sheer majesty of creature before me. Seeing it through my magic-sight was one thing, but now it was in the open in full view. It was huge, easily surpassing the size of the ship, and casting a dark shadow over the deck as it blocked out the sun. Skin like obsidian, mottled with dark green bands of barnacles forming a sort of living armor over its body. Great, pale gashes of scarred flesh decorated its form. Its massive flippers flapping lazily as it surfaced. And large, soulful blue eyes that seemed to peer right through me.

  The Sovereign Whale hung there, half in and half out, before it fell back into the ocean, creating another watery eruption as it sank back down into the depths.

  Beside me, Katherine and the entire crew of the Striding Fish stared with slack jaws at where it had come and gone, stunned by the enormity of it. Rosa simply applauded the display, clapping wildly and shouting ‘Encore!’ in my head.

  “Full speed ahead!” Captain Roche declared in the reverent silence. “With a Sovereign Whale of that size on our side, we’ll reach Drakon without a single worry! Hop to it, you louts!”

  “Yes, captain!” the sailors all cried, snapping out of their daze, and immediately scrambled about, adjusting the rigging and checking the sky for wind.

  “That was amazing!” Katherine said, breaking out of her stupor. “I’ve never seen a living thing so big before!”

  A distant ‘that’s what she said!’ burst forth from one of the crew, which was instantly followed by a smacking sound as the catcaller was disciplined by a whack upside the head.

  “I have to agree, it was certainly a sight to see,” I replied, a hint of wonder still lingering in my voice. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, which resulted in Rosa being flung off my hat and tumbling through air. She recovered quickly and flew up and bopped me on the shoulder.

  “Sorry, Rosa, didn’t mean to dislodge you from your perch,” I apologized. She huffed but forgave me and flew over to sit on Katherine’s shoulder.

  “Anyways, was there something else you needed?” I inquired of the diminutive thief.

  She smiled, and I was instantly on guard. There was something off about the expression she was making, but I couldn’t put a finger on it.

  “I need a favor.”

  “Oh gods,” I muttered under my breath. Then, a bit louder, “What is it you want me to do?”

  “See, I’ve been thinking about a few things, and your display of magical prowess gave me the push I needed. See, my ‘associates’ back in Crotia are expecting a few things from the colony I’m taking you to,” Katherine explained.

  “And? What does this have to do with me? And what does interest do they have in the Soul Oozes?” I asked, growing a touch concerned. The only associates of her in Crotia would be the Dark Guild. And from the way this conversation was going, I assumed she wanted me to do something for them.

  “Oh, it’s nothing big or bad. They just want the Soul Oozes’ village to grow a few special herbs we use as ‘medicine’ and to also act as a safehouse for members of the Guild on the lamb,” Katherine said, waving my concern off. “But that’s them. What I want from you is your help in acquiring two things for the settlement’s development.”

  “Are they magical in nature?” I wondered. After all, what else could a magical talking Ooze possibly provide?

  “Yup! First off, I need you to help set up a barrier to keep the place hidden. Or at the very least, prevent monsters
from venturing too close. And the second thing is the deed to the colony.”

  “Ok, the first thing I can do with ease. I might need to consult with some people on how to go about creating such a barrier, but it won’t be too hard,” I said after thinking it through. “But the second item sounds like I’m going to have to steal it from someone.”

  “You’re quick to catch on!” the thief who only came up to my waist praised, slapping me on the back. “See, the thing is, the deed to the colony was ‘entrusted’ to a regional noble who owes the Dark Guild some favors. This way the village’s inhabitants would be protected to an extent.”

  “Then why steal it back? Has he done something stupid?”

  “He got caught smuggling and extorting. And not using my associates to do so,” Katherine said, her voice dropping and sending a shiver through my body at the malice that leaked through her tone.

  “The Dark Guild does not take kindly to such betrayals. As such, we’re repossessing everything that foolish noble owes us. Which includes the deed to the Soul Ooze’s village. Can I count on you for that?”

  “You want me to steal for you?” I asked incredulously.

  “Indeed. I could do it myself, but, well, what better way to prove your loyalty to your new brethren than giving them the deed to their home?”

  “You are a devious woman,” I said. She smirked in response.

  “Thank you for the compliment.”

  Chapter 4: Arrival

  The harbor town of Pollastra was one of the first pioneering settlements built on the New Frontier. As such it was unique in that it was jointly owned by both Varia and Brune. The entire stretch of land that comprised the colonial region on which the oceanside town was built, known as New Castella, was in fact an experiment to create a colony that belonged to multiple nations, and would be treated as a nationless, neutral territory for future purposes. So far, it seemed to be working.