The Long Road of Adventure- Blue Storms and Black Sand

by Ian Rodgers

  The Long Road of Adventure:

  Blue Storms and Black Sand

  Ian Rodgers

  Text Copyright ©2018 Ian Rodgers

  All Rights Reserved

  Dedicated to all the people who try their hardest despite the hardships that come their way.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Thaw and threats

  Chapter 2: Over the walls

  Chapter 3: On the long road again

  Chapter 4: City of Shielded Water

  Chapter 5: Upon the waves

  Chapter 6: An elf and a bear

  Chapter 7: Cabin fever and krakens

  Chapter 8: City of Crossed Water

  Chapter 9: Baths and business

  Chapter 10: Unexpected weather

  Chapter 11: Stranded on the sand

  Chapter 12: Royal truth

  Chapter 13: Pirates and problems

  Chapter 14: Sneaking in

  Chapter 15: Twisted metal

  Chapter 16: Breaking out

  Chapter 17: Skull and crossed blades

  Chapter 18: Ever onwards

  Chapter 1: Thaw and threats

  A cold, harsh wind blew down from the north. Yet there was a hint of warmth that retaliated against the icy breeze lashing against walls and houses and nearby hills. A promise of spring was in the air, and an end to the biting cold and frost that had assailed the beaches and plains far longer than anyone cared for.

  And across the land a loud, joyous cry was carried aloft by the much-anticipated promise. “FINALLY!”

  Several pounds of snow were shaken loose by the victorious shout that echoed through the town.

  “Jeez, shout louder, Lily, I don’t think everyone down in Varia heard you!” a young man muttered as he massaged his ears and brushed snow off of his shoulders. His dark brown hair was peppered with quickly dissolving flakes of snow, giving it a wet, oily appearance much to his dismay.

  He was clad in leather armor with a thick woolen coat atop of it. In his hands, he carried a finely crafted halberd as he went through a round of practice thrusts and swipes against a wooden post set up for training.

  The spot set up for the practice ground was a small area out in the rear courtyard of a small inn. It was just an empty space under an awning filled with straw dummies and wooden poles, and didn’t do much to block out the cold, but it was free to use and the young halberdier didn’t want to get rusty.

  “How can you not be excited, Gaelin? The snow is finally starting to melt! And that means we can finally leave! Not to disparage this town, or anything, but I’ve had itchy feet for the past few months and I don’t think I can wait much longer to be on the road again!”

  Standing beside the young man was a girl, just barely on the cusp of adulthood. Her curly red hair somehow staying fresh and clean regardless of what happened to it. She wore a few pieces of leather armor as well, though her armor set consisted of just a breastplate and a pair of fingerless gloves. She wore sturdy traveling clothes however, and they possessed a distinct feminine style to them. No one would mistake her for wearing boy’s clothes again, thank you very much!

  “I am eager to start traveling again, but I don’t want to rush off immediately. The snow is melting, yes, but that just means it’s going to be mud as far as the eye can see. And the roads will be swamps based on the amount of snowfall this area has seen. If we want to go, we need to prepare.”

  The red-head groaned, but eventually nodded in understanding. She pulled up a bow that had been hanging at her side and began to get some archery practice in as well.

  “Hard to believe we’ve been here for three months, huh?” Lily said as she sent arrow after arrow into her own training post.

  “Yup. Seems like longer thanks to being indoors most of the time. Still, I can’t forget your face when you found out we’d be stuck here in Trask for the winter,” Gaelin said with a snicker.

  That had been an amusing expression the runaway princess had made.

  After healing up following the events of the serial killing Slicer down in Sanc Aldet Lily had desired to wander for a bit. She was still coming to terms with her own injuries and what that meant for her plans of the future, and wanted to drown herself in adventuring work.

  Having both been promoted to D-rank for their assistance in solving the case the two young adventurers had chosen to travel around and perform various quests for the villages and towns in the region. Lily desperately wanted to build her reputation, so for the next few months they’d gone here and there, performing all sorts of D-rank missions and jobs.

  Gaelin had started to regret promising her that they would do anything and everything as they traveled back in Sanc Aldet. The pace she set was brutal. Which had led to some interesting and diverse quests. Steal some eggs from a Dire Eagle? That had ended with him going berserk at the sight of the flying creature and fighting it due to his childhood trauma reawakening.

  Gather several bouquets of assorted herbs and medical plants? The two of them had stumbled into a dance being hosted by a bunch of Sprites who had forced the adventurers to join them and party for several hours.

  Hunt down a dozen Oozes that had been wrecking an old granny’s garden? He got punched in the face by said old lady twice because she thought he was the tax collector whenever he tried to inquire about the monsters for the quest!

  Eventually they’d traveled north following a rumor about goblin raiders, and found themselves in the kingdom of Rield, which was one of Varia’s neighbors. Tracking the goblins had taken a while, and an early snowfall had cut them off from leaving until spring.

  Lily had possessed an abject look of horror on her face when she’d found out about their delay, which for some reason really warmed Gaelin’s heart. Maybe the halberdier was venting about being dragged around at an insane pace by someone three years his junior. Maybe he was glad to have a chance to rest at long last.

  Or maybe he thought she looked hilariously cute with her bugged out eyes and open mouth. Like a startled baby animal.

  His introspections on the past were interrupted by an arrow that zipped past a bit too close for comfort and smacked into the side of his training post.

  “Geez, Lily! Watch where you’re shooting that thing!” Gaelin shouted over his shoulder. The red-headed archer rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

  “Sorry about that! I thought I finally got the Wind Coating spell down properly.”

  “Obviously not,” Gaelin stated in a deadpan as he nudged the projectile with the tip of his halberd. The fletching was badly torn and frayed while the wood itself was riddled with cracks.

  The only reason the wooden training arrow was stuck inside the post was because the tip had sheared off due to the improperly cast spell and now hung like a splinter in the side.

  “I think we can agree that Wind is not your preferred Elemental Affinity,” Gaelin said. He poked the arrow again, and watched it wobble. “Still, if you ever want to distract your opponent by hitting the guy standing next to them this is the way to go.”

  “I can figure it out!” Lily shouted, stomping her foot childishly at her companion’s words. “It’s just taking me a little bit longer, is all!”

  Her expression turned smug. “And at least I can actually cast that spell at all. How goes your practice with Magic Edge?”

  “For your information, Lily, it’s going great!” Gaelin shot back, an annoyed grimace on his face. “Watch!”

  “Strike, my soul. Become my blade. Magic Edge!” The axe blade of his halberd lit up with a silvery aura and he swung the weapon into the post, bisecting it neatly without any ef
fort.

  “See? I’ve finally mastered that technique!” Gaelin claimed proudly. Slow clapping accompanied his declaration.

  “Bravo! Now, do it with your dagger as well.”

  The young man winced but drew the smaller sheathed weapon all the same. “Strike, my soul. Become my blade. Magic Edge!”

  Faint silver sparks sputtered to life along the edge of the iron dagger before flickering and dying seconds later.

  Lily shook her head in amused disappointment. “Tsk, tsk, tsk! You claim to have mastered the spell, yet you can only perform it on your halberd. That’s not very masterful, in my humble opinion.”

  “Fine! So, I’m still having some troubles with making my spells work! But let me tell you, I know what your Elemental Affinity is! You just refuse to listen to my advice!”

  “I told you my Element is not Fire, Gaelin!” Lily replied hotly. “Just because I have red hair does not mean that I will be able to use fire based magic!”

  “Actually, I’m pretty sure you’re Fire aligned based on your short temper,” Gaelin said blithely, leaning against the now destroyed training post. A low growl escaped her and she ground her teeth together.

  Before she could retort a loud voice interrupted their spat.

  “OI! If you want to have a lover’s quarrel, fine by me, but do it elsewhere so I don’t have to hear it! Also, stop breaking all my training posts!”

  “Yes, Uncle Bob,” the two adventurers said with red faces, studiously refusing to look at each other. A few muffled laughs could be heard from the inside of the inn, and their blushes only deepened at the thought of some of the patrons having heard them.

  “I’ll just clear this away,” Gaelin said softly, picking up the severed lump of wood. Lily simply nodded and went back to shooting arrows at her own target. It was clear her mind was not fully into it though as a few of her shots wobbled as they flew from her bow.

  As he replaced the ruined training post, Gaelin couldn’t help but cast his gaze onto the halberd propped up against the side of the wall.

  A gift from the legendary World Paladin Tomas Nierz himself, it was an impressive weapon that rarely needed sharpening or rust removed. However, ever since Gaelin had channeled the power and might of Kardale, God of Justice, to smite the murderous cultist of Vandalore, he had found that the halberd had changed.

  Before, it had taken considerable effort to meld his own mana with other objects, let alone cast spells that affected things externally. Now, though, the halberd accepted his magic easily, as if it were an extension of his own body!

  He continued to struggle to enchant other objects, though. It felt like trying to push a round peg through a much smaller square hole. Regardless, being able to cast a Level Four spell at all was a major change. And it wasn’t entirely due to the halberd, either.

  Something had happened to him. Gaelin could feel it. Ever since he had dreamed of that ocean of liquid silver after his near fatal encounter with the cultist, his mana had subtly changed, becoming easier to manipulate, faster to regenerate, and grew at a quicker pace. In one year, he had doubled his mana reserves and capacity, a feat which previously would have taken him much longer and far more effort. Not that he had that much mana to begin with, but it was a startling increase all the same.

  Gaelin’s physical abilities had been altered as well. He was taller than before, leaner as well, with the muscles in his arms and legs becoming thicker and tougher. His muscle mass had shifted slightly so it didn’t look like he was stronger, but he was. And perhaps most importantly, his Reinforcement magic was easier to perform, and it hurt his body much less.

  His senses were sharper as well. Not by much, but he didn’t need to squint anymore when he read things, or hold them closer to his face. That had been a major relief to him. He hadn’t told Lily about this, and it hadn’t really affected his work, but nearsightedness was not an issue easily solved. Fixing eyesight with magic was an expensive medical treatment, and eyeglasses were just as costly but much more cumbersome for an adventurer.

  In the end, while curious about how and why he had received these rewards he was accepting of them, and not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Channeling raw divinity had its perks, but he doubted he would want to do so again due to the pain he’d suffered afterwards.

  “Come on, quit your lollygagging and hurry up! I’m freezing!”

  Gaelin looked over at Lily who was starting to shiver as she waited for the young man to finish replacing the ruined training post. A tad embarrassed by having been caught daydreaming he hastily completed the work.

  “Maybe if you wore better clothes for the weather you wouldn’t be so chilly,” Gaelin commented in an offhand manner as he walked over.

  “Maybe you should you buy me a hot drink since I’m such a poor, frail little lady,” Lily said, fluttering her eyelashes at him. The halberdier snorted and the secret princess pouted before they both chuckled.

  “Let’s warm up. Then we can discuss our next step,” Gaelin offered. She smiled at that, her mind already concocting plans and ideas about where to go next in her efforts to raise her name and fame.

  Entering through a door below the awning, the duo found themselves buffeted by a wall of warm air suffused with the scents of roast meat and potatoes.

  The inn the pair of adventurers were staying at, the White Boar, was just as lively as it had been throughout the winter. It provided plenty of good food and drink, and served as the Adventurer’s Guild liaison for the local area.

  “Well, well, look at the two lovebirds the wind blew in,” a man at a booth called out.

  “Shut up! We’re not like that!” Lily cried, fighting down the red that rushed to her face.

  “Sure, and I’m the Pontifex of Cathedral City!” he hollered back, earning a round of hoots and laughter.

  “Grah!” she cried, stomping over to the bar. “How many times do I have to tell you people we aren’t together in that way!”

  “Maybe when you stop acting otherwise we’ll believe you!”

  Gaelin was impressed. Only a few seconds through the door and already her face resembled a boiled lobster. Admittedly some of that was due to the cold she had just escaped, but Lily’s face was still impressively flushed.

  “Don’t tease the kids,” a gruff voice ordered, and the patrons looked down at their feet in shame.

  “Sorry, Uncle Bob,” they all intoned. Behind the bar a massive, muscular old man nodded firmly before glancing over to Lily as she plopped into a chair at the countertop.

  “Tea?” the man known throughout Trask as ‘Uncle Bob’ inquired.

  “Please. Rosemary, if you have it,” she said. “With maybe a few drops of lemon juice in it if you have any to spare.”

  Uncle Bob, proprietor of the White Boar and the largest human Gaelin had ever seen, nodded and headed off into the kitchen to fix her the drink. Gaelin sidled up next to Lily.

  “Want me to check on the requests?” Gaelin asked and the red-head nodded.

  He moseyed over to the large bulletin board that had several slips of paper nailed to it and he looked over the assorted missions posted by the Guild. Most were E-rank, as chores and repairs were always needed, especially in the winter. Others were sadly C-rank, and as he and Lily were both just D-rankers Gaelin wasn’t sure if he wanted to tackle any of them without sufficient preparation. There just weren’t that many D-ranks left in Trask after Lily had swept through them.

  “Anything interesting?” Lily called over to him. He shrugged dismissively.

  “Nope. Although maybe we could do this D-rank gathering request. The butcher wants a brace of snow rabbits and is offering some decent compensation.”

  She shook her head. “Maybe if nothing else catches the eye. Anything about the goblins?”

  At that Gaelin scoffed. “Nope. Still nothing. Face it, Lily. The rumors were probably just that. Just because we’re close to the Novern Marches up here doesn’t mean that goblins will come around here all the time. We wer
e lucky – or unlucky depending on your point of view – to run into that band of them before we got snowed in here.”

  Lily groaned and lay her head on the bar top. “So frustrating! Why can’t we take any C-rank missions?”

  “Because I don’t want to run into danger without knowing more about the situation!” Gaelin shot back. “C-rank missions are not that easy, and while we could take some because we’re teaming up, I don’t particularly want to venture out into the snow to deal with…”

  He trailed off to glance at one of the missions. “Hunting a Dire Bear or a group of Ghouls. We don’t know the terrain around here, and it’s snowy. Neither of those are conducive to successful hunts for us.”

  “Curse you and your logic,” Lily grumbled.

  “You know, when you two argue like a married couple you aren’t really convincing anyone that you’re not in a relationship together,” a man called out from the back of the room. Loud agreements echoed forth and Lily groaned and planted her face on the wooden counter.

  Gaelin just chuckled awkwardly, the faint dusting of red on his cheeks successfully hidden with his back turned to them. During this new round of teasing Uncle Bob returned with a steaming cup of tea for the young archer. Lily took the drink gratefully and sipped at it, sighing in bliss.

  “That’s the stuff! I don’t know how you do, Uncle Bob, but you make some great tea,” the red-head said in appreciation.

  “The secret to good food and drink is not screwing up when preparing them,” the large man said, utterly deadpan. “Also, love.”

  Unsure of how to react to that Lily contented herself with enjoying the fine brew. At least until a man burst in through the door, sending some of the tea spilling down her front.

  “Everyone, get up and grab your weapons!” the man shouted. He was one of the local guards, his uniform covered in snow. “Goblins are approaching! An emergency request is being issued!”

  As one, all the adventurers in the tavern looked over to Uncle Bob who nodded solemnly.

  “Approved.”