With my purse replenished, I returned to my training regin with a will. A gold coin was usually enough for a sailor to spend weeks ashore living high on the best he could buy, lazing about and drinking his fill of overpriced alcohol and hangover cures. The regular tutelage of both Renshaw and Kane ate through coin much faster than standard room and board, however.
Their services were not exclusive. Kane was often juggling a number of students who ca to him for training, and when he had more than he could handle hed pit so of us against each other to practice. Without exception, they were all veteran pirates. Id never actually asked about the pay and work for piracy since Id stuck to the mostly law-abiding sailor life, but I discovered that successful pirate crews made several tis even my own veteran pay on each of their excursions. So pirates spent their money indulging themselves, but a surprising amount simply viewed it as their inco to go back to their families. Others, like the ones I happened to train with, were acutely aware of their business and invested their ill-gotten earnings in becoming better fighters.
And they all were better fighters. They werent the match of Lawless Jacks crew, but they averaged personal levels in the 20s and weapon skill levels in the high teens to low 20s. Whenever I fought with soone in a straight sparring match, I lost. It was as simple as that. When Kane organized more creative fights, where we had the range of his training yard and could use whatever tricks we pleased, I pulled out so victories. My opponents learned to hate my bag of tricks adventurer bag. Instead of discouraging them, however, I soon found that the older and wiser among them were lining up for the chance to practice with an adventurer.
Not being a true adventurer was sothing I had to clear up routinely. People saw the bag and they assud, because only adventurers could get those bags, right? I didnt realize even Kane had thought that until he ntioned sothing about my society trying to establish a local chapter house. For once it was my turn to go off on him, though he redirected my frustrations back into my training. He was an excellent trainer; Id give him that.
Still, it didnt matter what weapon or what handicap the other person had, I didnt have the skill of a veteran fighter. It would take years of training to accomplish that. Thats why Id gone for magic training, and it was paying heavy dividends.
My Heart at Sea perk truly was exceptional when it ca to nautical matters. It extended to my mastery of both water and air magic, and I learned spells in both fields at a prodigious rate according to Renshaw. I felt like it was too slow, and I never had enough ti to practice, despite doing little else besides train. He reminded that mastering a magical discipline was like mastering a weapons skill; it took ti. I had a bit of a cheat with the aptitude granted by my perk, but it wasnt a substitute for hours of practice.
Our training ti was not solely focused on expanding my list of spells. Discussions on magical theory, principles of mana, and my own cursed nature all took place. We thoroughly explored Tadra with ntal magic, and I discovered that outside my well-established mindscape the realm was indeed filled with the chaotic stuff of dreams and nightmares, both equally dangerous. I never made any progress in visiting another mindscape, and not even Renshaws abilities could hold prisoner in his. There were drawbacks to this, but as far as ntal combat went Id have an edge.
Several mornings were dedicated to Renshaws curiosity. I felt I owed it to him because I considered him a true friend now: hed seen my cursed nature and had stuck by . Questions about my ocean magic, physical characteristics, and even my psyche were all worth having him as a companion.
As a part of satisfying his curiosity, we spent so ti testing my affinities for other fields of magic. He wanted to gauge how much my perk was affecting my progression rate. We discovered to both of our surprise that I had an affinity for life magic and a lesser affinity for dark magic. That was unusual. Typically, life paired with light and dark paired with death, but I had no affinity whatsoever for either light or death.
We werent able to open those new affinities into a discipline I could train in. Id love to explore the possibilities both those fields offered, but Id have to slog through the studying and practice to unlock them like every other person who wanted to beco a mage. It had taken Renshaw nearly his whole life to access all the fields of magic, and that was only possible because he had at least a slight affinity for all of them.
The second boon to my magical training was my mana. At 250 MP, I had a very large pool and recovery rate for soone just starting out. I was also the master of two deeper magics, which combined lowered the cost of each magic spell by 20% and made my recovery rate 20% faster.
When Renshaw realized I was disappointed about not learning a healing spell from life magic (and who wouldnt want that? Particularly when abusing your body in weapons training half the day, every day!) he taught the spell cleansing waters. He had to dig though his compendium for a bit to find it, as it wasnt sothing hed ever bothered learning himself. Water magic had a few healing spells, but life magic was where the powerful and efficient healing ca from.
Cleansing waters worked very slowly. Id experienced healing spells before, and simple injuries were gone in the ti it took to snap your fingers. This spell didnt do that. By investing a steady, continuous supply of mana into the spell, you imbued the surrounding water with healing magic. An hour or two later, bruises would fade. Several hours, and simple bone breaks would begin to nd. The ti involved and the requirent to be encapsulated in water made it an overlooked spell, but it fit my situation rather well. Between my resistances to physical damage and regularly practicing cleansing waters, I managed to keep up with my training pace.
Cleansing waters and summon water were the utilitarian spells I learned. My other spells were combat or defense oriented. I learned water whip and progressed in in far enough to not only achieve dexterous control over the whip but manage two at once. I was extrely proud of myself until Renshaw had to burst my bubble by ntioning masters of the spell could control as many arms as an octopus.
I learned freezing spells which were even more difficult to maintain at this latitude. I didnt learn Renshaws ability to summon a dagger made of ice but given the quantity of blades Id taken to carrying on that was fine. It would take more ti and practice to learn spells that inflicted direct damage on an opponent like frostbite but freezing water was just what I was looking for to give an edge in a weapons fight. I could cause my opponent to be montarily stuck in a puddle or if given enough ti I could summon and freeze enough water to alter the landscape.
The spells I most enjoyed were movent-based spells. Water and air were the disciplines of fluidity and offered spells to increase my own speed and hinder the speed of my opponents. All the other spells had useful even powerful applications, but the ability to simply be faster than your opponent was the edge I needed to stay alive against opponents with years more training than .
My air spells saw a more narrow, focused progression. I improved the spells Id already learned: push, pull, gust, blade and my new movent spells. Renshaw had pointed out that when it ca to combat, water carried more weight in the early stages literally. A basic freeze spell could have a much greater impact than a simple air push. The caveat to that was most water spells required water to already be present, but that wasnt a problem in my normal environnt.
A simple air push could interrupt and off-balance opponent, but it wasnt powerful enough to disrupt or cause damage to soone otherwise. I needed to train it up a great deal before Id be able to send soone flying. Higher tiered air spells like lightning, on the other hand, often packed enough punch to kill or incapacitate enemies with a single hit. Unfortunately, lightning remained firmly outside of my abilities, and Renshaw reminded not to ss with it yet.
Shocking touch was the entry-level spell for mages looking to wield lightning, but it too remained beyond . The way the mana moved and affected things was different. It caused a change in two different areas that Renshaw called a polarity and a sudden, imdiate action between the points that caused the damage. I could channel it through conductive weapons when I finally mastered it, but ti was once again my unflappable moderator.
There were many other spells that Id started to practice but hadnt mastered. I firmly believed my money was Renshaws primary source of inco; he saw no one else in the morning and very few during the rest of his day. The looming trouble had scared away both his classes and pirate clientele.
And trouble was looming. The local garrison was set on maintaining their foothold in their corner of the city and stayed there. Outside of the city though, troops were massing. It started as rumors of extra patrols, but people quickly realized that there were more troops surrounding the town than in it. It hadnt co to a fight yet, but everyone knew King Leopold was getting ready to assu control of Tulisang with martial law, stamping out the port as a pirate stronghold for good. It made my pirate sparring partners nervous. The town could only support its level of piracy because pirates took ships filled with goods and sold them here. If they didnt have an outlet for that, theyd be looking to take more liquid assets like silver and gold. There werent enough ships carrying silver and gold to feed every pirates family.
I worried that my neutrality in the conflict would lead to trouble, but I encountered no problems. Granted, I stayed busy training and outside of the whole affair as much as possible. The prior battle seed to have shaken the townsfolk, though. The Tulisang pirates and the Free Brethren factions seed t have co to so sort of an arrangent in the face of their shared enemy bearing down on them. The military people seed like they didnt want to force the issue and were hoping that a display of power would overco the resistance Tulisang was prepared to offer.
Renshaw recomnded I stop by a bookstore in town for subjects I was interested in from magic and weapons to military strategy. After another venture for Smitty to restock my purse, I did just that.
The bookstore was an amazing example of maximizing space. The shelves were stuffed floor to ceiling and the aisles were narrow. There were no desks or study areas like youd find in a nice library, everything about the place was designed to offer you a selection that youd pay for and leave with.
Books were not uncommon, but the sheer volu of magical skill books made this place very attractive for thieves. Because of that, it was built nearly like a prison, with bars over the windows and a high-level security guard keeping watch. The security guard sat to one side of the door when you entered, and the shop owner sat behind his counter on the other side of the door. Thered be no sneaking books out of this store.
Hello, uh I was wondering if you could help ? I showed the shop keeper the list of titles that Renshaw and Kane had recomnded.
He glanced over the list and his eyebrows rose. I took the opportunity to analyze him. I was expecting hed have a profession like librarian, but he had so unique profession called bindery. It was a bit rude to ask since his stats werent open, but I apologized and asked anyway.
Bindery, he explained after looking at askance, is a profession involved in making books. Between my partners and I, we can create quality paper with raw materials, transcribe or copy contents, and offer a durable finished product. We dont manufacture skill books ourselves, but we sell blank books for mages here. He gestured at his shelves. All the magical skill books have so amount of mana left in them, but as second-hand goods the quality will determine the price. Well still offer you the best price anywhere in Andros! He handed my list back and left to find them on my own. I didnt bla him and browsing gave the opportunity to find books I wasnt looking for.
Over half of the shop was dedicated to skill books of various kinds, including spell books which was why Renshaw recomnded the place. A quarter was stuffed with informative works these were books that werent imbued with mana to help you learn or culminate with a new spell or ability. This was where I found the most interesting naval strategy books.
The last corner of the shop was cramd with all manner of mismatched books. There were books and pamphlets casually lying around that would no doubt have the store closed and the owner arrested for sedition before the mage colleges even had a chance to seize the spell books. There was also a large amount dedicated to entertainnt, including a surprising amount of fiction.
Included in those shelves was a book titled The travels of Jordan Voyager, which I imdiately picked up, flooded with nostalgia. This was the book that my mother had used to teach to read. I was impatient and determined not to spend my ti indoors learning my letters. Shed picked up this book of sea adventures, and then I couldnt learn to read fast enough! Jordan Voyager claid that his stories were true, and would no doubt be apoplectic to find it stacked with the fiction. Itd be interesting to read the stories again now that I knew what sea life was like, maybe Jordans tales were tar than my own.
The shopkeeper had required that I leave my adventurers bag at his desk when I entered, so I was soon carting a growing pile of books around. My book of guilty entertainnt pleasure, a guide to naval warfare, a codex of sea creatures, a compendium of ways to unlock magical affinities what was the difference between a codex and a compendium anyway?
I decided not to skimp and picked up every book that I thought would be useful for learning or even if I thought Id reference it when needed. Renshaw had pointed out that I could carry a veritable library in my bag. While having lots of empty inventory space was useful for my salvage job, it made more sense to carry whatever I needed. I had to go through and clear it out a few tis though. That squid steak Id collected was nasty by the ti I thought about cooking it.
It made curious why it was so comparatively empty when Id found it. The adventurer had been a specialist, and the trapmaking supplies were impressively complete, but there was a lot more space that could have been used. Was that normal practice? Was there a particular reason? Had he just cleaned it out or gotten a new one? I doubted Id ever know. The letter and map that it had contained was already more than I had any right to expect.
I ended up blowing nearly all my money on books. The shopkeeper actually asked if I was buying on behalf of a noble! With the amount of gold that went from my purse to his, I guess only a rich man or very successful pirate would make a purchase like this. Id never been particularly attached to my coin, not after Id paid my mums debts. My current attitude of money in, money out would shock most people.
After doing so much money out spending, I had to turn around and go back to sea so I could keep paying for more training. My seagoing ventures were where I reminded myself I was living. In port I did nothing but train and study. Those were predominant subjects of my voyages as well, but I was free out at sea. I had no tir counting down the minutes, no one giving looks as I climbed out of the harbor, and the breath of the wind on my face as chop was splashed aboard my abused boat.
The good-weather season was now past. The passive ocean still held its nasake and the storms were visible a long way off if you were paying attention, but they wound up and hit hard if you were careless. I wasnt careless, but by normal sailor standards I was reckless. I wanted to practice my ship handling in tempestuous weather. I wanted to explore the forces going on under the waves when seas were rough. But above all that, I wanted to feel the terrible wrath of nature during a hurricane.
Id been called mad before for enjoying dangerous weather while on a ships crew. At them ti Id felt chastised; there were peoples lives on the line, it was no ti to be having fun! But now I could sink my boat beneath the waves and call it a reprieve from the storm, not a loss. I would never presu to command the waves of the ocean, but I rejoiced in riding them.
I still practiced raising ships and familiarizing myself with their effects, but it was sowhat rote. I needed a crew to sail any decent ship, and I had none. I couldnt gather one despite my attempts. Most of the spirits I tried to summon were beyond my reach. The others soundly rejected .
Renshaw still refused to teach spiritual magic, but he offered a few explanations. Most spirits didnt linger in the physical world after death, I was reaching into a different existence to summon them. I needed an avenue to do that. For most people it was their body, their physical remains were their last connection to their spirit. In most cases, the bodies of crew were lost at sea and inaccessible to .
In other cases, the ship itself was a connection. If a captain who went down with his beloved ship I had a high likelihood of connecting to his spirit.
The last factor Renshaw told of was ti. It was possible for soone to be resuscitated if they were very recently deceased. The more ti that elapsed, the further that persons spirit went and the more inaccessible it beca. Renshaw posited that any spirit more than a year gone would be beyond my skill. It made consider investing in the XP into the second level of the Raise Crew ability to try and improve my odds, but 75,000 XP price tag was more than I could afford yet.
I explored more wrecks and returned with a portion of their goods to Smitty. If they were worth it, Id make several trips. Smitty kept his promise and never asked about the artifact I used to make my dives or what my limits were, but he kept scrounging up older and deeper wrecks for to explore, things that should have been beyond most divers. Rather than give him an indication with so of those ships, I looted them and then claid the loot ca from other, more accessible ships.
Three tis he officially invoked the magic of our contract to make sure I was staying honest. The magic was weak, and only tested the bare bones of my statents and the contents of my bag. Id been worried that my rearranging activities would raise an alarm, but the contract was too vague for that. A magical contract it might be, but the magic was the quality youd expect of a dockside business, not like anything youd expect from a magical institute or royal agreent.
For over three months, my life consisted of my training and my money-making voyages. My spells were not my only area of growth.
Na
Donic Seaborn
Age
24
Race
Human (Cursed)
Profession
Captain of the Deep
Level
10
XP
49,197
Health
250
Mana
260
Stamina
230
Strength
22
Agility
23
Dexterity
21
Constitution
25
Endurance
23
Intelligence
26
Wisdom
25
Charisma
18
Luck
19
Skills
Seamanship 19
Swimming 15
Sea Legs 14
Rowing 8
Carpentry 3
Fishing 8
Singing 2
Cooking 2
Analyze 8
Observation 10
Climbing 11
First Aid 2
Lock Picking 4
Stealth 7
Leadership 2
Trade 1
Traps 10
Dirty fighting 4
Artillery 2
Unard combat 8
Swordsmanship 8
Small blades 10
Spears 8
Axes 7
Light armor 4
Archery 4
Magic
Air magic
Water magic
Ocean magic
ntal magic
Achievents
Lifesaving III
Trickster
Perks
Adaptable
Heart at Sea
Id increased my base attributes of dexterity, endurance and intelligence by 1 each. I picked up a few levels in light armor and progressed in all my weapon skills, though small blades was the only skill I hit level 10 in. I also picked up a level in stealth while sneaking around hunting on my voyages. I progressed two levels in lockpicking, thanks to a couple of locks I acquired and practiced on when I was looking to unwind.
I also had a birthday. It made sorry I wasnt around to give my mother a gift, as was traditional. Id missed a lot of those opportunities over the years.
My gear had also been overhauled. I couldnt argue with Kane over having the equipnt in my bag any more than I could argue with Renshaw over a library. I had a set of light armor to call my own now, and went to the weaponsmith for a spear, a couple of throwing javelins to complent my harpoons, an axe and a sword. The sword made very excited; not because I was giddy with the thought of going off and having adventures, but because that was the first day I didnt have to hear anything from Kane about the pitiful excuse that my corroded sword was!
All my weapons were standard and functional, having no enchantnts or stat buffs. Id considered forking over more money for better equipnt, but when I learned the right spells I could apply them to whatever weapon I was using. Trying to get a weapon worth naming would only draw unwanted attention to myself.
Besides, one day people would probably be naming my weapons for , average quality or not.
One day, the town was in an uproar. Not because of politics, but because there was open, public quest for the area. So flying wolf-bats had followed so other creature on their migration pattern, and had decided to set up shop in the area. They were posing enough of a threat that a quest was generated to deal with them.
Such things were great for towns, because while the rewards might be trifling for soone who killed monsters on the regular, anyone who participated would get the reward. People with no experience besides running a business would leap at the chance for an easy bonus. Parents would grab their children and find ways for them to participate so of my earliest XP was from my mother coaching how to help in a similar quest for Pristav. The town was abuzz and nearly everyone was looking to get in on the action.
Except for . The quest rewards werent worth the risk of going further inland. I would be better served by going out to sea and hunting. Kane was conscripted to help organize and lead groups of amateur participants, so our afternoon training was cancelled. Renshaw was expecting to et a prospective student that afternoon, so I had so unexpected ti off. I did so shopping for basic supplies with anyone who was still open and laughed at the sudden inflation of prices for armor and weapons. I practiced magic out of sight and otherwise had an uneventful afternoon watching the shenanigans.
Completely uneventful, up until that evening. I was out later than usual, because Id spent several hours in the sea earlier. I was walking the docks looking for an unobtrusive spot to slip into the water for the night when people started streaming from a side alley to a ship. They wore old coats and floppy hats or tattered brown or gray cloaks with hoods pulled up. The evening was cool, but the temperature wasnt nearly enough to validate bundling up like that.
They stread from the alley to the ship and climbed aboard without fuss from the watch on deck. By the ti I started counting, there were over fifty people. There may have been as many as thirty more. When the stream of people ended and there didnt seem to be any other activity, I continued walking past the odd ship. As I was passing the gangplank, a man stepped on it and froze when he saw . I recognized him: it was Donovan from Donovans Reef.
He looked at with an expression that would have had turning right around had I seen it upon entering his tavern. He looked at like I was a rogue that had stolen his daughter from him. He seed to be considering whether he was going to ignore or step on my throat.
Good evening, he said flatly. I dont think Id ever heard anyone say good evening as coldly or unwelcomingly as he did.
Evening, I replied, knuckling my brow and hurrying on my way. He watched until I was out of sight. I was even more careful about when and where I slipped into the sea that night.
My days of training ca to an end two days later when in the morning I surfaced and saw a ship blocking the harbor mouth.
The Athair
Ship Class: Warship
Captain: Commander Darius
Ship Durability: 41,000/45,000
Ship Level: 5
The most disturbing thing about the warship popping up to block the harbor? It wasnt flying the flag of Andros. It was flying the flag of Oorkom. Why would a warship from a neighboring country be here? Andros could have asked for help in pacifying the town, sure; but it was unlikely given the troubles they were having in their own war. What would bring a ship like this down here?
Id do it.
If they had sohow found out that I was operating out of Tulisang, Andros would willingly invite a neighbor and that neighbor would willingly send a warship. Which raised the question: were they here for ?
A look at the harbor told that several ships had fled already, escaping before the Athair arrived. One was waiting with its ballistae loaded, daring the more dangerous ship to test it. For the most part, though, the harbor was calm. There werent any hysterical reactions to this new developnt. I couldnt hear sounds of fighting, but I imagined that the army had arrived in force to surround the town as well.
I didnt like it. Not one bit. After the near-deadly fiasco that was the last battle, I wasnt about to set foot on the shore, either. It was ti to skip town for a little while. Id head out to sea, wait a week or so, then take a peek to see if the town was still standing.
I dropped back down to my boat and in minutes I was heading for the mouth of the bay, safely hidden at a depth that would take right under the Athair. Id slip past it and theyd be none the wiser.
Gosh, I loved my profession!
I saw the shadow of the Athairs hull above and made an obscene gesture at it. If they wanted to capture the lieutenant of Davy Jones, theyd have to force to fight. Good luck with that! I had no reason to face them on their terms! Why should I ever? It was impossible for them to follow beneath the waves, impossible for them to stop once I subrged
The bow of my fishing boat struck an invisible wall and splintered like Id crashed into a reef. I was making decent speed and was utterly unprepared for the sudden shock. I was thrown from my vessel and crashed against the sa barrier that had stopped my boat. Stars clouded my vision, and several prompts accompanied them. One was imdiately relevant.
Your ship fishing boat has been sunk!
The boat had been old to start, and Id worn it hard in storms and conditions it was never ant to see. Crashing into whatever it was that I crashed into had stove it in and dropped the last bits of its durability to zero. It was no longer a fishing boat; it was a wreck. With its destruction, my ship interface faded away.
I pushed away from the wall Id encountered. Despite all my senses telling there was nothing there, I was unable to pass through it. It had stopped my ship too, yet a saw a fish swim by without difficulty.
It was only stopping .
It was a trap.
I swam away as quickly as I could, which between my skills, achievents and spell buffs was plenty fast. I heard a series of large splashes and glanced behind. A trio of boulders sank to the sea floor, one of them crushing the remains of my fishing boat. A smaller object followed them, a buoyant device tied to a weight by a length or rope. I didnt see the purpose of that device, which led to believe it was sothing dangerous, sothing worthy of following a set of boulders capable of smashing my vessel.
I was right. As I swam away the device exploded, sending sound through the water along with a concussive wave of force. Even with my distance from it, the force rippled through and knocked off my stroke. A glance showed that my HP had dropped appreciably. If Id been right next to it, it probably would have killed . Even now, with my resistances, my body felt off and I struggled to catch my breath.
I looked to see if there were any more of those unpleasant packages headed my way and instead saw a team of people drop through the surface. I anchored myself, dropping to the harbor floor to hide. Two of the attacking group had weights strapped to their feet which brought them quickly to the wreckage of my ship and the boulders the Athair had just sent down. They hardly needed the boulders, since they were wearing heavy armor that would have carried them down just as fast.
Following them down though the stunned and killed marine life floating up were ten more individuals. I recognized the range of specialties; fighters who specialized in taking and negating damage, mages, and combat specialists. Theyd adapted themselves with underwater combat in mind, either having potions or spells that allowed them to breathe one of the mages was even surrounded by a bubble which he directed where he wished. Another man shifted into the form of the largest crocodile Id ever seen. The weapons of each mber were picked to be maneuverable in the slower environnt.
All of them were above level 40.
They were the most advanced fighting team Id ever seen, and the speed and efficiency that theyd deployed with was frightening. If the Wind Runner had these n, we would have rebuffed Lawless Jacks ambush. They were a strike team that had been gathered for the express purpose of ending my life.
Jones had warned that people would seek to stamp out. I guess this was what that looked like. The dread rolled through . If I could pick my ideal environnt to fight one of these fighters in, I still didnt like the odds. Give a ship ard with artillery and a trained crew and then Id take a crack at them.
They were looking for , trying to see if I was at the site of their ambush: either buried in rubble or turning the ambush around on them. They really were a brave group. If Id been on the sa level as Davy Jones theirs would have been a suicide mission. Brave, strong enemies exactly the worst kind to have.
While they might have had potions or buffs to perception, they were still struggling to see very far since they lacked my abilities. Because Id put distance between and the ambush imdiately, I was able to slip away without their noticing.
That left alone in the harbor, facing a tightening net on one side and a volatile harbor town on the other.
Fishguts.
Reviews
All reviews (0)