by Dawn Chapman
The older man’s ears flicked, and I noticed this time that he was truly blind. “I cannot sail the ship this time of year, son. You know this. My eyes see for only six months of the year. My blindness returns with a vengeance every winter.”
Taffie nodded, and his eyes met mine. “My father, Oarhn, was cursed many years ago by a powerful mage. He can only sail the seas through the summer months. His blindness returns, and he sits here all winter.”
I moved to sit before the older man. “May I take your hand?” I asked.
Oarhn didn’t speak for a moment, but then he moved his hand towards me. “I accept your offer, Akillia.”
Gently, I took his hand in mine. Not really knowing if what I was going to do was even possible. “I can’t reverse your loss of eyesight, I’m no mage, but I can be your eyes. Given your senses are more than likely heightened while you’re blind, I believe you can sense and hear much more than others, correct?”
Oarhn squeezed my hand. “Yes, I do hear and feel things that I believe others don’t.”
“Then my question is this—over the years, have you not taught your sons how to sail? Do you trust that they have the ability, just not the experience you do?”
Oarhn turned to where his son stood. “We’ll ready the ship all right. Akillia’s correct. There’s no reason why she shouldn’t sail just because I can’t. It’s time you took over the master’s cabin, Taffie.”
Taffie almost choked. “Father, I…”
Oarhn pushed his chair back and stood to embrace his son. “We’ve a lot to get sorted out if we’re to sail tomorrow. Let me and Akillia do that here. You fix the ship.”
Taffie looked at his daughters. “Quickly get changed. We’ll be at the boatyard.”
Uula moved towards me, and she smiled. “You have no idea what you just did for us, Akillia. All dinner is prepared. Oarhn will help tell you where everything is. Our main stores are out back. If we’re going to sea, you’ll need to help organise that.”
And with a quick turn, they all vanished, leaving me with Oarhn.
“To the stores,” he said. “There’s a lot we’ll need on that weeklong trip out to sea.”
I wasn’t sure how he’d get around with being blind, but he seemed to do extremely well. I guess having a family around him that didn’t move large objects helped. He walked out the back door and towards the barn like his sight was still there. I just followed amazed at the size of this place and taking in as many details as I could.
The yard’s fresh dirt crunched under my feet, the grass and garden beds immaculately cared for, herbs and plants growing beautifully. I had no doubt that was the job for the sisters. Just noticing these details made me want to spend time here. It was a great place to learn about things, I was sure. If I’d not been on this quest, I would have liked to get to know them all for a while, at least.
Oarhn pushed the locks to the barn open, and we went inside. I coughed a little at the ground coverings, a dusty base of wooden shavings. Oarhn stepped to the wall and turned on the lights. “I know I don’t need them, but you will.”
I let out a laugh at this and blinked with the lights until they settled on. “I guess so. This place is huge.”
Oarhn pointed to the far wall. “There are four hundred square feet and three levels. A lift at the centre takes stock and foods down below where it’s cooler and the animals can’t get in.”
“You can get all this to the ship easily, though?”
“Macie is our only magic user. She’s been attending one of the smaller colleges in Trist’s City of Mages. The only way to get there is to be one. Usually, she transports all the goods we need. Much easier than the way we used to get it off and on the ship.”
I moved within the confines of the barn. There were large shelving units and within these were stacked units of foodstuffs. It was quite the haul. “I am just guessing this is a winter supply?”
“Pretty much, my dear. There are a couple of local villages that store their food and supplies here because it’s hard through winter, and they like to trade late.”
Oarhn pointed to my left. “There’s a linked computer system. You should be able to operate it—key in three elements, the location you’re aiming for, the time we’re leaving, and the crew size. It should pull up the relevant data and stores we need to travel, then we can earmark them for Macie later on.”
I moved to the computer and did exactly as he asked. It was easy to do so—the basics were just that. Three key elements.
As we’d already known the travel time was going to be about a week, I was shocked when this said nine days at sea. “Why is it longer from here than Oakrim Wharf?”
“We have to sail around the barrier reefs. They’re dangerous, but we know them well.”
Damnit. Coming here had added four days to the journey. I wanted to curse, but I held my tongue. It wasn’t Oarhn’s fault, and it wasn’t Sven’s as they were all looking out for the party. I guess whatever happened, we’d have to allow it. This was set now. They were coming here, and tomorrow the ship out there in dry dock would be back in the water, and we’d set sail. It really was a lot to do. My stomach churned at the thought. Oarhn put his arm on my shoulder. His furry skin tickled and I laughed. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t be so cynical about this journey, but a lot is riding on this.”
“No, it’s okay. I understand.”
I keyed in and watched as several lights lit up around the barn. “The stores you need seem to be a lot. Your party is large, so that’s another reason why the journey is longer.”
“Would it make a huge difference if we left behind one of the wagons?”
Oarhn shrugged. “You can try and key it in, see if it does. Honestly, I don’t know.”
I altered the party size not to include the smaller wagon, and to leave behind six members and their horses. “Two day’s difference.”
“Is that a lot?” he asked me.
I thought about it and the timing of the whole quest. “I think it’s something we’ll have to discuss when the others get here.”
Oarhn squeezed lightly. “No, you’re the one who must make this decision now. It will mean a lot less work for us to load and to set up. Everything saves time. It’s whether you can do without them on the other side.”
“Those two days could mean the difference between winning or failing. But having a larger team could also be that difference.”
I didn’t know what was best, but I knew I had to make that decision. “Then half the team won’t be coming with us.”
“I believe that’s a wise decision, Akillia.”
I still had pains in my stomach, but I hoped it was. I didn’t know how the others would take it, but I knew it was right. Time was the most important factor. The rest we’d cope with as it arrived.
“Now that we have a decent list of goods, we can prepare for your guests to arrive. Some of dinner is already cooking, and if I’m not mistaken, there are about four hours before they’ll come in. They can light the dock up, so working through is no hardship, but they will need plenty of food.”
I patted my stomach. I certainly needed food. I was so hungry.
Moving back to the main house, I simply got on with the task of cooking and making as much food as I could. I wanted to packet enough off so there was plenty available through the night. If Macie and her sister, Anlea, were somehow lighting up the dock with mana, they’d need more to replenish used energy. I liked the fact that I could at least do something to help them, as seemingly meagre as it was.
That was when I heard a strange noise from behind me. I turned. Oarhn had been reading at the kitchen table just as he was when I first arrived hours ago, but now his face was pained.
I rushed to his side and immediately felt his pulse. It was too fast, irregular. Oh crap. This guy was having some kind of heart attack! Or worse—just dying on me right now! I had to act, but I was frozen to the spot. I didn’t know what to do.
I wanted to shout for th
e others at the yard, but there was no way they’d hear me, and if I tried to make a run for it, I had no doubt Oarhn would be dead by the time we returned.
I wasn’t quick enough to get to his side before he collapsed, so I helped him to the floor and listened to see if he was breathing. No. This was now full-on cardiac arrest, I was sure. I’d only ever seen CPR on TV. Of course, I’d had some training as a kid in school, but it was so long ago, I barely remembered.
I tried to get him as flat as possible, leaning his neck back so I could give him mouth to mouth and perform chest compressions. I hoped to every god there was on Puatera that these lovely cat people had similar physiology as we did so this would work.
I placed my lips on his and held his nose, and then I breathed for him.
Counting chest compressions, average a hundred a minute. I didn’t know if I could match that, but I’d try. I counted out the timing to breathe again.
One, one thousand.
Two, one thousand.
Three, one thousand and breathe.
I breathed again for him, and his furry face tickled my nose. I heard a giant explosion around me, the air totally sucked from the room as Macie appeared before us. I was continuing chest compressions.
“What the hell are you doing?” she shouted at me, about to run towards me to knock me away from her grandfather.
“He’s in cardiac arrest, Macie. He’s dying!” I leaned over to breathe for him once more, and she fell to her knees beside me.
“What can I do?” she asked, tears streaming down her face.
“You’re a mage. Maybe you’ve a chance to jump-start his heart again.”
“I don’t know any healing spells,” she cried. “I’m defence and attack.”
My arms ached, the burning lactic acid in them now was more than the fuel I needed to pump them, my compressions slower. I checked his breathing. Still nothing.
“Listen to me. You can do this. You just need a small electrical charge directed at his chest.”
“I think I can do that.” I watched as her whiskers twitched and her eyes focussed. “Let me concentrate.”
I carried on, hoping that she would get this right. I pulled his shirt up exposing his chest, and told her, “Get yourself ready. When I pull back my hands and breathe for him. I need you to be gentle but focussed. Place your hands on his chest and gently hit him with whatever shock you think will work. Light pressure, but thinking you still need the hit to be strong.”
She agreed. I leaned forward and breathed once more for him. Still no pulse or reaction. Then I nodded to her. She moved in, placing her hands on his chest and letting go with the lightest of electrical charges. When she pulled back, I checked for a pulse. Again, nothing.
We were losing him. I’d only just started to talk to him, laugh with him while I was cooking, and listen to his stories of the open seas. I wasn’t giving up.
I breathed again and did more compressions. “This time, use a stronger hit.”
Tears poured down her face this time, she let out a sob. “What if I kill him?”
“You won’t. Trust me. Once more. You’ve got this.”
The front door opened and the rest of Oarhn’s family rushed inside. This was getting to be quite the floor show, and I didn’t think Macie was ready for this.
I leaned in, breathed once more, and shouted, “Now!”
Macie’s strength was tenfold on this one. I worried myself that it was too much, but when his body jerked with the hit, and his eyes shot open, I knew she was spot on. I placed my hands on his chest easing him back to the floor. His eyes had rolled back in his head, but at least, when I felt for his pulse, he had one. I leaned in and felt his breath against my cheek.
Ping! “You have learned the action CPR!”
Ping! “You have learned the Ability Natural Healer!”
The pop-ups here were a little annoying, and I didn’t remember even discovering those things first, but I was elated to receive another one.
FOR SAVING THE LIFE OF ANOTHER, YOU’VE BEEN AWARDED 2 KARMA POINTS
Two Karma! That was some bonus! As the flashing lights and the music took me away for a moment, the wonderful euphoric drug spread through my veins. Man, no wonder guys loved playing games. I looked to the stricken family by the doorway. Macie pushed herself up and ran to her mother. Taffie was the one who knelt beside me. “What did you do to him?”
“He was dying. I used a technique I know to keep his blood pumping and oxygen to his brain. Macie did the hardest thing. She kick-started his heart again so he could live.”
I leaned back against the kitchen unit. “He’ll be fine, but he won’t be coming on any sea journey with us,” I said.
I instantly worried about Taffie backing out, but he placed his paw on my hand, pulling me to him in a huge hug. “Akillia, I have no words.”
I let him cry softly against my shirt for a moment and then eased back from him. Heck, these furry people were so damned hot!
I noticed the dinner pots starting to blacken and shot up. “Get him to a rest bed while I try and rescue dinner.”
Chapter 17
I thought the whole dinner affair would have been subdued, but the family was too excited about the upcoming trip out to sea and making plans, even Oarhn’s incident was glossed over.
The only one who was quiet was Taffie. I watched him carefully as he ate, picking at his plate with great care. With his family being loud around him, it was almost painful.
I sipped from my cup and placed it down a little too loudly. This act alone had all eyes staring at me.
“I don’t expect you to want to come now,” I said formally. “I would totally understand if you wanted to back out of the sail, all of you.”
Taffie’s eyes fixed on mine, his whiskers and nose twitching slightly. “Akillia, you and Macie saved my father’s life. I would never back out on any deal, but I am worried about the trip a little more if I were to be honest. I am not sure I can navigate the waters without him.”
Macie took her father’s hand in his, “Dad, you’ve been sailing the seas longer than I’ve been alive. You’re more than capable of doing it without grandpops. You just need to believe you can.”
I nodded in agreement, but inside, I knew how nervous he was. Setting out on your own was something totally alien to him. “Taffie, I’m new to all of this, this world and the way everything works. I’m scared. I’m nervous I can’t complete the mission I’ve been assigned, but you know what? I’ve got the belief of the wonderful people around me. When my party arrives, tomorrow you’ll get to meet them and see how dedicated they are. Together we can and will complete and return in time to save the cities.”
Taffie agreed with me through my short speech, but I could still see the concern that lined his furred features. “We still a lot of work to do through the night. Macie will help you get the stocks loaded, and we’ll be ready to get her into the water at first light. Do not worry, Akillia. We’ll be fit and prepped for sail.”
Personally, I was worried just as much as they all were. Leaving Oarhn behind was a shock for the family no matter who was going to stay to look after him. I knew my party would await my return, but would they all come with me now? I had so many questions to ask, and I had no power to do so. What became of tomorrow would be just that—fate drawing a line under our decisions helping us or not along our journey.
I decided then if I ever were awarded more Karma, I’d seriously need to think about putting it into anything to adjust my luck in the game. If I could be a lucky player, maybe I’d have more chance of things going right around me—not being thrust into panic stations because the one person we needed to rally the crew together has heart failure.
I let out a sigh as I watched them finish the food on their plates and then exited, leaving me with Macie. She started to clear the plates and run some hot water. While she washed and put the dishes away, I helped as best I could.
We checked on Oarhn before we moved out into the storage sh
ed, and Macie double-checked the stores we had selected. “You’ve quite the party coming with you, but it’s no problem for us to replace some of it through winter.”
“Would you be able to show me some basics with moving items, I’d really like to help you,” I said. Hoping, as well, that in learning some basic magic, I’d be able to pick up more along the way.
“Of course, I’d love to.” Her eyes gleamed at me, beautiful yellows. No matter what came from this seafaring journey, I’d had some amazing experiences with this small family unit.
Macie didn’t jump straight into teaching me. She knew she had a lot of moving about to do, so she showed me where I needed to be when the crates started to arrive. There was a set safe spot out on the dry docks where I could watch if I needed to, but we both knew there was also no time for that.
“My father will make sure there’s no one in the cargo bay while we start to ship the goods. It will make departure into the water a little more complicated because of the weight, and I might need some assistance with things tomorrow. Are there any strong mages in your party?”
I had gotten to know that two of them were more than capable of using magic in the last few days. “Yes, there will be enough to help when the time comes.”
Over the course of the next few hours, I assisted Macie where I could. Selecting the cargo and figuring out where it would go in the ship’s hold was essential. It meant she needed to know and recall every detail about the hold, the sizes of each crate, and where it needed to be stored.
It was painstakingly slow, but I’d imagine moving the crates by hand would be much worse.
To magically move each crate, Macie placed her hands on it, concentrating on weaving her spells. Moments later, the crate would start to glow and then, pop, it would vanish.
When she’d moved half a dozen or so, she stopped, and I could see the effort had taken its toll. I ran to the kitchen for refreshments. She sat on the dusty woodchip floor as I handed her a drink. At least the colour in her face was returning, as much as you could tell from their furry outer layers. When she paled, her fur dulled and her eyes appeared sunken. Quite a shock to the system when you’re used to seeing them happy and healthy.