The Long Road of Adventure- Blue Storms and Black Sand

by Ian Rodgers

  Her inspection came to a halt as the bearman growled out a response.

  “Hot. Sick. Do not like boats.”

  “Never been on one before?” she asked. The tower of black fur shook his head.

  “No boats. Forest all life till left.”

  “Where did you learn to speak?” she inquired after a pause.

  “Vala teach. I not good student. Still learning. Hopefully get better soon.” He turned to give her a questioning look.

  “You smell of blood and Darkness.”

  Lily winced. “You can tell?”

  “Nose sharp.”

  “It must be. I was wounded about a year ago by a man with a cursed weapon. The injury never healed properly. Gaelin and I are searching for a cure.”

  “Does friend know?” Bigg Guy asked.

  “He knows I was wounded, but not that it continues to hurt,” Lily said, and refused to make eye contact. “It’s fine, though. I can manage it.”

  “Pain must come out,” Bigg Guy rumbled. “You are like Vala. Both need to get it out before it festers.”

  Lily studiously ignored the Ursine, refusing to believe she shared anything in common with the earth elf. He snorted, partly in amusement, but mostly in exasperation.

  “Women stubborn, regardless of race.”

  He then crawled away to give some of his breakfast back to the sea. Lily was silently glad he had chosen to move away to do so. She could still faintly smell the acrid stench from here, and knew it’d have been worse closer.

  From below another muffled thud and loud curse wafted up. She frowned. That voice sounded familiar…

  .

  Gaelin rubbed his back as he staggered up off the floor for what felt like the tenth time in a row since he’d tried to get the hang of reclining in a hammock.

  He sent a hateful glare at the deceptive strip of canvas. If only he had a Bloodline Trait that would let him set it on fire with only the pure force of his loathing.

  “I see your game. Oh, you think you’re so innocent! So practical and able to save space on a cramped vessel! Well guess what, I’m going to sleep on you if it’s the last thing I’ll do!”

  Ultimatum declared he leapt onto the hammock and managed to have it hold him up for a few seconds before wobbling violently. He held on though, and after a harrowing experience of swinging back and forth like he was on a demonic swing set, Gaelin got himself under control and sat proudly on his new bedding.

  A cough jerked him from his revelries and he twisted his head to look at the entrance to the room.

  Standing there was the brown skinned elf from the cabin upstairs. He felt a tingle of embarrassment crawl through him as he realized she must have been observing him for a while.

  “Can I help you?” he asked awkwardly and she shook her head.

  “No, well, yes, but, um…” she trailed off and sighed, before getting ahold of herself once more.

  “Your stuff is on my friend’s pack, and I wanted to get something out of it.”

  Gaelin raised an eyebrow at that, before looking over to the spot where the Ursine’s items had been laid near the corner. To his surprise he noticed that his own pack had fallen over next to it, his halberd and other effects blocking it. The young adventurer assumed he had accidentally thrown his stuff over there at some point during his flailing attempts to get onto his hammock properly.

  “Of course, let me help you with that,” Gaelin said with a note of apology in his voice. Carefully, he slipped off the suspended sleeping device – without planting his face or posterior in the planks below this time! – and headed over to move his stuff away.

  “Sorry, I don’t know how that happened,” the brown-haired man stated as he shifted his things.

  “It’s fine. I just didn’t want to touch someone else’s stuff without their permission,” Vala said timidly as she joined him.

  As she bent down to sort through her companion’s sack, Gaelin couldn’t help but notice she had changed into a less crumpled dress. It was a dark shade of emerald green, and though it still had the embroidered plants on it like her sleeping clothes, these designs were done in red thread.

  It looked good on her, he thought. Gaelin blushed at that and quickly averted his eyes so not to be accused of staring. His eyes alighted on the item she withdrew from the Ursine’s pack; a dog-eared copy of a book he knew quite well.

  “Is that a copy of Dain Cartblanc’s ‘Tales of Travel, and How to Survive if You Ever Decide to Leave Home?’” Gaelin asked in surprise.

  Vala nodded hesitantly before standing up. “It is. Why?”

  Gaelin hurried back to his own pack and removed his own weathered copy of the book.

  “I have one as well! Its tips about wilderness preparedness have come in handy with me, and I also love reading about his own experiences traveling the world.”

  He eased himself back onto the hammock and shot the earth elf a look.

  “Want to talk about it?” he asked. The young-looking elf bit her lower lip as she contemplated his offer.

  Before she could say anything Gaelin lost his balance and the hammock slipped out from beneath him, throwing him to the wooden floor with a thump. The mood was broken and Vala stifled a giggle.

  “Maybe after dinner. It’s time for Bigg Guy’s lessons. I’m trying to teach him to read and write, and he really likes this book as well, so I use it for reference.”

  Gaelin nodded in understanding from where he’d fallen, holding back curses as he struggled back up to his feet. He glared at the hammock as the earth elf left.

  “I will beat you. You will not beat me!”

  A sailor who was passing by at the moment shook his head sadly at their young passenger’s antics.

  “It seems hammock fever has claimed another soul. The poor fool. He should have quit while he was ahead.”

  Chapter 6: An elf and a bear

  “So, did you have fun today?” Lily asked, barely able to hold in her laughter.

  “No. No I did not,” Gaelin griped. He tried to move but ended up spinning around for a bit.

  For four hours he had tried to figure out how to rest in his hammock. For four hours he had failed. Now, it was lunch time and he was currently tangled up in a canvas cocoon, completely unable to move.

  Lily just stood there laughing her head off at his helpless state.

  “How did you even get wrapped up like that?!” she gasped out between peals of laughter.

  “If I knew that I would have avoided it!” Gaelin shot back. When she continued to let her mirth be known he gave a smirk of his own.

  “If I recall, there’s only one proper bed in your cabin, Lily, and it’s already taken. Have fun trying to use your own hammock tonight!”

  Her laughter settled down at that, though she looked unconcerned at the prospect.

  “I think I can manage some canvas all on my own, Gaelin. I have poise and balance training to fall back on as well. The hammock won’t be a problem,” she said pridefully, tossing her hair slightly to emphasize her former royal training.

  He stared at her for a bit. Lily blinked, confused by his intense observation of her.

  “Is there something on my face?”

  “Yeah. Or rather, on your head. How is your hair so perfect even after all this time on the road? I would have thought you’d have had much more difficulty maintaining it while traveling.”

  Gaelin grimaced as he thought of his own dark brown hair, and how hard it was to keep it clean when traveling. It didn’t help that his hair refused to do any style other than ‘bedhead’ so combing it was a chore and a half already.

  Lily gave a smirk of her own. “Don’t you know that women have the power to care for their hair regardless of where they are?”

  “Did you know I can smell lies when my left foot is in front of my right one?” Gaelin shot back. She let out a giggle before shaking her head in amusement.

  “It’s nothing that mysterious, Gaelin. There are all sorts of beauty and hygiene pr
oducts for women. All kinds of magical tools have been developed for our use in this regard. I keep my hair lustrous and clean with an item known as a Soapstone.”

  She walked over to the halberdier and began to help extract him from his hammock, explaining all the while.

  “Soapstones are alchemical creations that take the form of milky white pebbles. Drop one in a container of water, and it will imbue said water with all sorts of cleanliness attributes, turning the liquid into shampoo, conditioner, and more. Plus, the Soapstone can be used several times before it fully dissolves. It’s also nice and cheap, only a silver coin or two for one, and perfect for ladies on the go.”

  “Huh, never heard of them. They sound useful, though,” Gaelin mused.

  Lily tugged on a part of the hammock and the knot tying it to the post came undone, causing his feet to hit the floor hard and his head to smack against the other pole the hanging bedding was still tied to.

  “Ouch! Careful, Lily!”

  “Sorry, didn’t expect that to happen,” she apologized. “But at least your legs are free!”

  He grumbled something unprintable and kicked his lower half free of the constricting hammock. From there he wiggled his way out of the rest of it, and lay on the floor panting. He was tired, but finally free!

  “Come on, it’s lunch. Let’s get some food in you,” Lily said, reaching down and helping the taller boy up. He took her hand gratefully and rose to his feet.

  “Alright. Wonder what they’re serving?”

  .

  As it turned out, the meals onboard the Blue Wave were frugal but not as bad as Lily and Gaelin had feared. There was the standard black bread, as well as a cup of soup and a thick slice of salted beef.

  The chef for the ship, a jolly round man, had done an excellent job on the soup. It softened up the bread and tasted great with it, and the beef wasn’t too heavy on the salt. Simple, but delicious.

  This was the meal for both lunch and dinner, and the two adventurers had the feeling they would soon grow tired of these rations.

  The crew was boisterous, and the meals turned into a pleasant, jaunty affair with the veteran sailors talking about places they’d seen, and aquatic monsters they’d encountered. Gaelin and Lily were extremely interested in the latter, and hearing the tales of battles on the high seas passed the time well during the meal.

  Gaelin noticed that the other two passengers kept to themselves for the most part. Bigg Guy was the stereotypical ‘gentle giant,’ while Vala was clearly wary of Lily and sat as far from the red-head as she could.

  They were polite though, and answered any questions that were asked of them. The earth elf did most of the talking however, as the Ursine’s speech was a bit choppy. The large black furred beastman had refrained from eating much, only nibbling at his food due to his queasy stomach.

  After lunch everyone went their separate ways. Gaelin continued trying to figure out his hammock. Lily also went below deck, but was spending her time shooting practice arrows. She hadn’t wanted to waste her limited projectiles, and having a shot fall in the ocean was all too possible on the open deck of the boat. So, she had asked for permission to train in an enclosed area.

  Gaelin hadn’t seen where the beastkin or the green-haired elf had gone, but based on the faint sounds of pained groaning, he assumed Bigg Guy returned to tending to his seasickness. As for Vala, he had no idea, other than that she might be reading in the comfort of her cabin.

  Speaking of cabins, Lily had continued to refuse to approach the room she was supposed to stay in, which Gaelin felt was rather childish. She’d have to go in sooner or later in order to sleep. And she had yet to experience the dreaded hammock. He smirked at that thought.

  And so, the rest of the day was spent just getting used to being on a boat. After several more hours and dozens of more tumbles and failures he had found the sweet spot on his hammock and had rested in it till dinner.

  After the plain meal that evening he had ventured up top to take in the night time breeze.

  “So many stars,” he whispered, staring up at the sky. Dusk was falling rapidly and the stars were starting to pop out on the heavens. The moon was already fairly high in the sky, its radiance providing plenty of light to guide the Blue Wave and other ships.

  He heard someone approaching and looked back, smiling politely as he saw Vala approaching.

  “Hello. Here to enjoy the night sky?”

  “Yes, the stars are lovely this time of year,” she said as she neared. Gaelin glanced past her at the moaning mass that was her friend.

  “Is he going to be OK?” he asked, concerned.

  She shrugged helplessly. “Probably not. I don’t think Ursine can handle this sort of travel. We came to Jetty on a boat as well, and he never really got over his seasickness while he was on that one.”

  “Oh? Where did you come from?”

  “Bigg Guy and I set sail from Pearlport in the Domain. We’d been traveling around Par-Orria for a while, but now we’re traveling to Crotia,” she explained.

  “Crotia? Um, that’s in Brune, right?” Gaelin inquired. It sounded familiar. The elf nodded.

  “It’s the trade center of Brune. But it’s also where many Druids travel to on pilgrimage. There’s a very old, and very powerful idol of Gaea near the city.”

  “Are you an adventurer?” Gaelin asked.

  She shook her head. “No. I am just an apprentice Druid. But I’ve finally earned the right to make my way to the Idol of Traveler’s Boon in Brune to pray and graduate from being an apprentice and become a full Druid. Albeit only with Junior status.”

  She then tilted her head to the side. “I take it you and your friend are adventurers?”

  “We are,” Gaelin stated, proudly showing off his bronze badge that marked him as a D-ranked member of the Adventurer’s Guild. “Lily and I are just beginners, really, but we’ve earned some fame here and there, and are well on our way to C-rank and beyond.”

  “Fascinating! Have you seen a lot in your travels?” Vala asked. He shrugged.

  “Some. I’ve only been adventuring for two years, now, and Lily for one. But there were a few interesting moments. Sanc Aldet was beautiful, and we encountered some kind of mind manipulating monster when we got lost in the Dullwilds,” Gaelin reminisced.

  They never had found out what had caused the fog that had plunged the two of them into those odd nightmares. Likely never would, either, and neither of them were interested in going back to search for the culprit in case they failed to escape a second time.

  He shook his head. “Anyway, we’re fairly new to it all, but we have seen some stuff here and there, and had our fair share of excitement. But what about you? I’ve no idea where exactly Pearlport is in Par-Orria, but it can’t have been easy to get from there to here. Also, wouldn’t you just want to go to a port in Brune instead of Riggs?”

  “You’re right about that. Bigg Guy and I had to sail through the Narrow Ice Strait to get from Pearlport to Jetty. That was unpleasant. It was early fall when we left but we could already spot ice floes and mini-icebergs. We barely made it to our destination before the winter storms struck,” Vala said with a grimace. She leaned up against the railing and stared at the moon. “As for why we don’t go to a port closer to our destination… well, we’re kind of broke. Used up far more gold than expected when we got trapped in Jetty for the winter. It looks like Bigg Guy and I will be walking the rest of the way.”

  “As for what the two of us did before that? Well, I was an apprentice in Esmerelda to an older, powerful Druid. She trained me well, but I never seemed to be able to meet her expectations. Eventually I met the big furry lug and I took a hiatus to take care of family troubles with Bigg Guy in tow. Took a long time to fix the mess. But here I am! Finally considered good enough to become a full-fledged Druid!”

  There was a bitter note in her voice as she proclaimed that. Gaelin felt a pang of sympathy go out to her. It seemed her time as a student hadn’t been the best. He couldn�
��t relate. His training had been self-taught, so he’d never had the expectations of a mentor to work towards.

  It seemed like that had been for the best in his opinion, judging from the angst he could practically taste coming from the earth elf as she stared at the moon.

  He sighed. Why did all the women he know end up being so high-strung and feel like they had to carry more than they should on their shoulders?

  “Well, enough depressing stuff! You said you wouldn’t mind discussing some things about Dain Cartblanc’s book?” Gaelin said, shifting the mood around with his question. Vala smiled and nodded as she remembered.

  “Yes, I would enjoy that,” she said. She removed her copy from a pocket on her robes and flipped through the pages absentmindedly.

  “I just find his travels so fascinating! He’s the first man to circumnavigate the globe and visit every continent bar Drakon! To do something like that… I can barely imagine the time and effort he took to do it. And all the while, he was studying and learning about the places he visited,” Vala sighed happily.

  “I know! He’s also the reason we call map makers ‘cartographers!’ Say what you want about the man, but when your last name becomes an entirely new profession, you know you’ve done something impressive!” Gaelin agreed. He opened his own copy, which he had fetched from his pack before going to dinner, and pointed out a passage.

  “I particularly like the way he describes our final destination! ‘Riggs is a city of wealth in every sense of the word. It is rich in goods, services, cultures, and of course crimes. One cannot deny that this city is the finest example of what happens when gold is god.’”

  “You always hear about how amazing the city is, but at the same time everyone warns you about the sheer amount of danger and dark dealings that lurk within. I’m rather nervous about setting foot there,” Vala claimed.

  “Same here. I’ll be on my guard the entire time Lily and I are there,” Gaelin said with a resolute nod.

  Something in the way the halberdier had said that caused the Druid-in-training to frown.

  “You say that as if you do not think Lily will be cautious,” Vala pointed out. Gaelin scratched the back of his head sheepishly.