Ho there, break it up! I shouted. Saying break it up sounded like there were two sides to a fight, but Gerald was just trying to protect his vital organs. The tarish seed to think that if he let them get their licks in, theyd give up. Then again, this was his fourth tour aboard a navy vessel compared to my once. Maybe he knew what he was doing.
But Id be sliced up for chum before I let the man whod offered so relief from my guilt be used as a punching bag.
I got so glances, and the harassers idly turned from Gerald to with the attitude that one amusent was interrupting them from another.
And who are you? A nasally fellow asked.
I ignored his question, as squaring up to people and explaining who you were and why they should listen to you was sothing you only did with authority and the power to back it up. I had the personal power, but the authority would be a bluff. Instead, I aid to brush right by them.
Of course, the big fellow I passed by didnt want to be ignored and placed his hand on my chest to shove back. I decided to use my dirty fighting skills to teach him a lesson and keep moving.
When I was looking at the sky a mont later trying to catch air in my lungs again, I realized that this was a tougher crowd than Id given them credit for, and they had levels in dirty fighting that trumped my own brawling experience. They clustered around in a similar way to how theyd been circled around Gerald. They didnt start kicking yet, but it was an intimidating ring of interrogators.
Bloody stars, well they asked for it, and they were conveniently positioned. Ti to practice my newest spell
Thunderclap not only gave them a minor deafened debuff (which I was thankfully immune to) it pushed away anyone and anything within 5 feet unless they could resist or were well secured. None of these guys were prepared for it, and almost all were sent on their backsides with hands clapping over their ears. The big fellow managed to keep his feet, just staggering back a bit, but I was able to regain my feet and move over to Gerald without any other issues. Power spoke its own language.
Why is it, I hissed in Geralds ear as I dragged him to his feet. That I have to keep rescuing you from angry mobs?
These fellows were just initiating into their crew, Gerald said, loudly for the benefit of those not caught within my deafening spell. Of course, he was trying to give them an out. Make peace with his torntors so theyd eventually stop harassing him.
It wasnt that I wanted to stomp on his thod, but Id seen humans look down on their own kind without rcy because they were called a slave. I wasnt going to hold out hope that humans would give a tarish more leeway.
You didnt answer our question, Nasal Voice said from where hed gotten up. Who are you?
Im a war mage for the Isa. I claid. Co to think of it, I wasnt sure whether I was being positioned as an expert seaman or an amateur mage and my claim was mostly bluff. Having seen the need for magic users on the Carpathia, I was probably going with mage again. In either case, these fellows had just seen cast a spell and werent in a position to question .
Oh really? Said a man from the periter. Then why is this the first ti Ive seen you? Lieutenant Lockwood, second mate.
Lieutenant, I greeted neutrally. Just transferred from the Carpathia, and assigned to the Isa by the colonel not an hour ago. Encountered this altercation on my way to the ship.
The n were just giving the tarish a lesson in self-defense, helping him get his unard levels up a bit. You may continue to the ship and report to the first mate now. He said dismissively.
And leave Gerald here to have his lesson picked up where it had left off? Shiv that.
I let Gerald stand on his own feet and squared up to the second lieutenant. Is the command structure on the Isa really so different, or did you try to give an order? My voice was low and threatening. The man flushed.
How dare you speak to like that!
Ive done a lot of daring things in my life. Speaking to you isnt one of them.
Youre going to start your duties with a report on the Captains desk regarding your behavior!
I took a nacing step forward and dropped my voice. Lockwood, look in the eyes. Then ask whether I care about your complaints to anyone.
The mans expression beca darker, and his voice adopted its own venom. You watch yourself, Harter. Youve just made an enemy of the whole fighting force aboard the Isa! A very dumb move, over a tarish.
I didnt see the need to respond to that and let him have the last word, escorting Gerald away. Sure, having people aboard my ship carry a vendetta was a pain, but it hardly compared to my other problems.
You should have just let them finish with , Gerald grunted.
I had a surgeon say I shouldnt push the status quo over slaves a while back. I wasnt any better at listening to him.
Yeah? Howd that situation turn out?
With my flogging and improved treatnt of the slaves for a ti. Then they all beca my cursed crewn, were forced to raid the Broken Isles, and wound up cursing my very existence before mutinying.
Ehh, hard to compare.
He snorted, then coughed. Theyd been very rough with him. I stopped long enough to give him a healing potion and had him sip it as we moved. I had spells to do direct healing, so I didnt go through the health potions as fast as mana potions. Health potions also didnt restore your body so much as they added HP. Sure, theyd fix your body up so and improve your rate of recovery, but if Gerald had cracked ribs now he could drink a dozen health potions and still have cracked ribs.
There were long floating docks that extended out for ship berthing. I inspected the Isa as we approached and found her unremarkable a weathered brig that had been repaired and seen its share of storms, but hardly a derelict.
It was only the question of her Captain that made her seem to loom.
At the ramp Gerald stopped and straightened. Follow my lead, he said under his breath. At the bottom of the ramp he bowed to the ship itself. Then he strode up it before stopping at the top and offering a salute to the absent flag. No one was around to watch his ceremonies or my awkward imitations a fact that didnt dissuade Gerald. He didnt step onto the ship and hunt soone out like a sensible person. Instead, he bellowed as loud as he could, Permission to co aboard!
And we waited. Waiting
You sure they heard you? I asked.
Its why youre loud the first ti, Gerald said. Repeating your request causes trouble.
This is silly.
Its the navy.
No need to parrot .
Gerald coughed in a way that seed to be hiding a laugh, before turning into a groan. Id best give him an extended session of cleansing waters the long and slow healing spell should help whatever internal damage he had.
Finally, soone ca topside. That they ca for us yet had taken so long spoke poorly of them. Not because I was so important visitor they were offending, but because if Id had hostile intent I could have walked up the ramp and road about without any difficulty or challenge at all.
Nem and bizness? The man snapped.
Gerald Varus, cook, reporting for duty! my friend declared with a salute.
The man turned to , and I straightened and gave my own salute. Dom Harter, apprentice war mage, reporting for duty.
His eyebrows rose. War mage? Werent expectin ya. Co on.
We finally stepped aboard the ship and my land tir stopped its slowed countdown as it recognized I was properly on board a ship again. The man on watch led us not to the Captains cabin, but the cabin of the first mate. He knocked loudly, announced us, and we waited for a few more minutes while whoever was inside made themselves presentable.
Really, I thought the navy placed a higher regard on efficiency?
When the first mate opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of an unshaven, scraggly-haired man with pants tucked into the tops of his once-fashionable boots, a shirt mostly tucked into his pants, and suspenders holding the outfit together. He didnt even look at us, just opened the door and motioned us inside.
We crowded in while the first mate sate on his chair and rubbed his face, the watchman introducing us. Misser Billings, this ere is our cook, and the man says hes a war mage.
The man looked at us for the first ti. , then Gerald, back to . He didnt seem any more surprised to see a tarish in front of him than an unexpected war mage. Cook will report to the quartermaster. War mage will report to .
Mmhmm. We shifted from foot to foot. Mr. Billings looked up at us. What? he said with a tone that said why are you here? Didnt you hear everything you needed to know?
Sar, the watchman said in his heavy accent. The quartermaster was reassigned.
Billings waved the matter away. Yes, yes. Then the cook will report to the second mate in the anti. Anything else?
Wheres the Captain? I asked. Am I the only mage? When is this ship supposed to sail?
The Captain, Billings said huffily. Is seeing to other matters and has delegated the direct operations of this ship to . Hence you shall report to . Yes, you are currently the only mage assigned to us. Central command is having difficulty staffing the Isa, frankly Im amazed you found yourself here. What college do you hail from?
I was privately tutored.
Eh, that explains it. What was your last question?
When does this ship sail? I asked, my voice getting slightly clipped. This place was a travesty to the nature of good seamanship and we hadnt even left the dock!
Estimated ti is two weeks. That has now been pushed back three separate occasions, so dont get your hopes up. Travis, see them out.
Yissir, the watchman Travis said. Alright, co on yall.
Gerald followed Travis imdiately. I left as well, but lingered first, taking in the sight of the first mate sitting bleakly at his desk, eyes staring off sowhere, and the state of the cabin. It was spartan, but still sohow unkempt. I wasnt going to judge a man on whether his rack had squared corners at all tis, and many officers Id worked with had their spaces cramd with everything from clothes and sundry items to important papers and treasured knick-knacks.
Sohow Billings state was wrong. More importantly, why was soone like him assigned as first mate? Why was Lockwood assigned as a second? If the navy wanted aggressive officers why not make Lockwood the first and keep Billings ashore? If Billings was supposed to temper Lockwoods aggressiveness, then he was a poor man for the job as he was already burnt out and was delegating everything he could to his second.
Maybe I was basing too much on first impressions. For all I knew, Lockwood was a peaceful man when he didnt have new reports riling him up in front of his n. Billings could be a hell-raiser when he wasnt freshly pulled from bed.
But I doubted it.
Shadowing over these musings were the bigger questions: where was the Captain? Did they have a say in the roles of his officers? Did he see how poorly they ran things?
Was Darius my father?
The crew of the Isa was staying on shore with a rotating single watchman on duty. Travis told us all about how getting the n off the boat for shore liberty was necessary for the morale of any crew, and how it spoke well of the officers that they made arrangents for it to be that way. I agreed that n needed ti off the ship, having seen the sa story play out a hundred tis, but privately held my own opinions. I knew that I was the anomaly in this.
I also doubted that getting the n shore liberty was any great insight on the officers part, and more a matter of standard procedure. Lockwood was in charge of the n ashore, and had apparently turned his group into what was essentially a gang. Billings stayed aboard the ship, and a single watchman would return to relieve his fellow aboard the Isa at noon each day.
The Captain didnt return to the ship at night. It seed that he had a place ashore and was very busy taking care of business, as he didnt even stop in to check on things.
I couldnt judge, not with my record, but I expected the forr Captain of the Athair to have things well in hand. Stars, I was being disappointed at the way things seed to be running! Youd think that Id be happy to see my forr/current/potential enemy was not as capable as Id given him credit for. Instead, I found myself hoping that Captain Darius would co aboard and put things in order, that he had been given no choice in his officers or was indeed too busy taking care of other business and hadnt realized those under him lacked what was needed to command properly.
Each ti I caught myself thinking about what it took to command properly, I heard Burdettes voice telling how Id lost the support of my entire crew right down to my friends.
For a week, I beca Geralds shadow. The new quartermaster hadnt been assigned, so the tarish cook reported directly to the racist second mate. I had little better to do, so tagging along as a bodyguard suited well enough. Lockwood seed to regard it as a ga, and tried to find ways to distract away from Gerald like leaving his side ant he would suddenly be plagued by assassins.
Neither of us cared for playing that ga. Gerald ca up with the plan that I eventually agreed to, resulting in him getting ganged up on by a handful of masked characters. He thought that would make it go away, that theyd have done it and forgotten about the whole affair. It was a wrong assumption, as he was pulled into an alley a second ti and given another, more thorough beating.
As I was healing him that night with my cleansing waters spell, he admitted to being discouraged but thought that surely his torntors were finished now.
He was right. His torntors didnt bother him again. Incidentally, a handful of Lockwoods n went AWOL, to the Lieutenants consternation.
The sea keeps many secrets it would keep theirs. If their corpses were soday found in a nest of water dancers, no one would look too deeply into their circumstances. Maybe my mistakes could be accredited to violence, but so were also due to being too rciful to the wrong people. I was trying not to repeat such mistakes.
For a week I followed Gerald while he made food arrangents on behalf of the non-existent quartermaster. I did my own shopping; restocking my potions, grabbing a few discounted skill books, and picking up so added weaponry including a new trident that didnt have the barbs that were always getting caught in my enemies!
At the end of the week we had shocking news: our deploynt wasnt getting postponed again. We would actually get underway as scheduled.
Cue chaos as Lockwood brought his n back and Billings began crying about where his quartermaster was. Supplies and munitions were sourced and carried aboard thankfully so paper-pusher was in charge of most the allocations and it was mostly a matter of picking our assigned supplies from the right location.
The Captain still hadnt shown.
I threw my hand into getting things organized, but quickly found it was better for to sit things out. No amount of skill or experience could make up for a second lieutenant that imdiately contradicted your directions, no matter whether they made sense or not. If I said put sothing down Lockwood said pick it up. It was causing trouble and everyone was better off if I didnt even help.
Two days until our departure, and we received a unique new crewman. Twenty well-ard soldiers, many of them professional warriors no less, escorted a very tall and well built figure down the dock. The figure had a bag over his head that concealed his features and obstructed his vision, requiring a pair of the guardsn to escort him by the elbows. At the ramp, a handful of the warriors walked the figure up to the deck, where the group was greeted by Lockwood and Billings.
The man in charge saluted Billings, then gestured for the hood to be taken off. Delivered safely as ordered. Hes now in your custody, and your responsibility.
When the hood was removed, several of the crew cursed under their breath. The figure was not a man. He was an orc!
Na
Jorgagu
Age
42
Race
Orc
Profession
Enchanter
Level
20
XP
103
Health
350
Mana
250
Stamina
230
Strength
35
Agility
23
Dexterity
31
Constitution
35
Endurance
23
Intelligence
35
Wisdom
28
Charisma
28
Luck
23
Orcs had different racial builds from other humanoids. They naturally advanced strength and constitution with each level, but suffered penalties to the effects of intelligence and wisdom. This orc Jorgagu had allocated his points contrary to his racial strengths. He had invested heavily into intelligence, but due to the penalties he had his mana pool was smaller than mine. I wasnt sure on the specifics, but I knew that orcs could handle a wider variety between their attributes without suffering from imbalance. The 12-point gap between his lowest and highest stats made think that was the barrier hed imposed to avoid imbalance.
Very good, Lockwood said, giving orders for so of the n to arm up and take custody of the orc. Jorgagu stood passively while they did, not even flexing his hands against the rune-covered manacles latched around his wrists. The key to those manacles was given from the sergeant to Lockwood, and Billings didnt say a word.
Jorgagu was led below and the army escort left. I later checked and found where he was chained and the makeshift prison that had sprung up around him. Lockwood had posted a guard that seed to have orders to deny anyone from interacting with the prisoner and specifically Lockwood having assud Id be interested in the orc after standing up for a tarish.
I left well enough alone and waited until we were set to sail, my mind more on Darius than Jorgagu, though they were both enigmas.
It wasnt until the night before we were set to leave that the mysterious man in command of the ship made himself known. I knew him before I analyzed him before anyone else had seen him. He had broad shoulders and a tall build, things I hadnt picked up from my mother. His dark blue military coat was tailored to fit his trim fra. There was no stack of dals on his lapel, just a single button pinned to his collar that was the mark of ritorious service recognized by the king.
He did not bow to the ship when he started up the ramp. He did not salute at the top of it. Instead, soone called for attention on the deck and everyone else stood up sharply and snapped salutes to him. He looked about with a critical eye and called out a series of nas to attend, among them Lockwood and Billings. They made their way directly to his cabin no doubt for a full debrief.
He hadnt glanced at any longer than the other crewman, nor had he startled like hed received an unexpected prompt. Yet I knew it, I knew with a certainty that brought my own prompt into being: that man was my long lost father!
You have unlocked the quest Sins of the Father. Despite your personal admonitions on how you never cared who your father was, deep down you recognized it was untrue. Now, the identity of your father will have untold consequences for your new life. Find out who he is!
You have tracked down the man whose blood you share. You have found that you have the sea in common, but are on opposite sides of a major conflict. The question remains: what will you do now?
What will I do now my own quest threw the question in my face. Id had so plans, and theyd worked more or less how Id wanted them to. Id gotten transport to a major hub and a large amount of XP on the way. Id been pardoned for my alibi and the navy was none the wiser that Donic Seaborn, scourge of the Broken Isles, was enlisted aboard one of their own ships.
Then Id seen Lieutenant Commander Darius na and Id just had to know. Now I knew. What next?
The simple answer the one Jones would have pushed towards was to kill him. Deprive the navy of his expertise, and maybe get so personal satisfaction over gutting the man whod hired out my mother, then abandoned her with his child to the rcy of a noble family that didnt know the aning of the word!
It said sothing about that even without Jones pushing anymore, that thought was highly tempting.
Though as I faced it, I found that I didnt necessarily want him punished. Id look down on him for his choices, sure, but what I really wanted was to look him in the eye and ask him why?
Why would he leave a child behind? Didnt he ever even wonder what it would be like to take a son sailing or fishing? Wouldnt he have felt pride over a boy that followed in his footsteps? Couldnt he have spared even a little ti to introduce himself and let his family know they werent forgotten?
Why wasnt I wanted?
Hey! Harter! Tha Capn wants a word with ya. Travis interrupted the whirlpool of my thoughts. I spared a mont to check that I didnt have a debuff like anguish or crippling self-awareness.
The Captain wants to speak with ? I said, testing my voice. It ca out harder than I expected, Id been worried Id be rasping.
Yeah. Yer our mage! Course he wants to chat with ya!
I nodded and left what I was doing and headed to the Captains cabin. I knocked and was imdiately bidden to enter.
Captain Darius was sitting at his desk, reading. He glanced up, analyzed , then resud his reading.
Your imbalanced charisma is trouble.
Beg pardon, sir?
He slapped the paper in his hand, and I was shocked to realize it was my letter of recomndation from Captain Graves.
It caused trouble on your last ship. Judging by the fact that youre here, it caused you trouble with the colonel, too. Then theres the matter of my second mate handing a stack of complaints against you when I step on board. He said wryly.
This I was expecting I dont know what I was expecting, but it wasnt to be talked to like I was a normal crewman.
Mr. Lockwood and I have had our disagreents.
Darius my father snorted. Disagreents Captain Graves is a good man. Hes prone to overestimating his own capabilities, in my opinion, but hes honest enough. When he says that youre among the most capable mixed-skills fighters hes worked with, that ans sothing.
I have turned into sothing of a spellsword, sir. Against my better judgent.
Interesting, Darius said. The mage colleges on Antarus dont look down on spellswords the sa way other colleges do, since weve incorporated their use into our naval warfare. Mr. Billings failed to ntion that you were tutored outside of the holand.
I felt a chill. My father was casually testing my backstory, and the way I hadnt even realized he was doing it scared .
I was tutored by a pirate, sir.
A pirate? Darius exclaid.
I chose to deliberately misinterpret his incredulity besides, Renshaw had been a pirate of sorts. Well sir, you already know I fought for Nilfheim. Surely learning from a foreign pirate isnt such a great cri?
Darius regarded with surprise, then amusent. I suppose not. Ill enjoy hearing about your history, Mr. Harter. I think Ill be able to personally work with you despite your imbalance. I trust you wont take it the wrong way if I say you look like a ghast?
I got my features from you, father. My curse now seems to be my disguise.
Darius went on. You will report directly to , though you will be filling the position of second ships mage. I know you have developed seamanship skills, but Ill let my first mate decide whether he needs you in that field.
Ooookay? Second ships mage, sir?
Of course, Darius said. While I might be Captain, I am also an accomplished mage and assu the role of primary mage myself.
I had been unable to analyze him while he had his stats hidden, but he lowered them with that statent and I analyzed my father for the first ti.
Na
Cyrell Darius
Age
41
Race
Human
Profession
Naval Captain
Level
31
XP
36,800
Health
310
Mana
360
Stamina
280
Strength
27
Agility
27
Dexterity
29
Constitution
31
Endurance
28
Intelligence
36
Wisdom
35
Charisma
33
Luck
34
Magic
ntal (deeper magic)
Air magic
Looking at my fathers abilities, I felt sothing like a pre-teen did watching their father work. He outstripped . In every respect, from his attribute levels to his 12 levels in leadership and his 7 levels in tactician, he was a naval captain to be envied. I had more levels in seamanship than him, but his 13 levels were highly respectable for an officer particularly one with such varied interests. His stats pointed to not only leveling, but also having stewarded his early attribute points until hed advanced through the early progression by his own hard work just like I had.
On top of all that, he also had ntal magic in addition to his air proficiency. The mana benefits from the deeper magic went far for mages, besides speaking for his ntal discipline.
For all that I wondered why he was here. A man like this surely belonged in command of an important ship, so strategic asset to the war. A man this capable didnt belong in command of the Isa.
A man this disciplined should never have abandoned his son.
I envied him. It didnt matter that I could have bridged the gap in levels and attributes without Jones mandate against leveling. My father was the picture of the man Id once dread of being. Now I was the villain instead right down to looking the part.
A look like that on your face, a person might think you ant them harm.
I ntally shook myself. Apologies, sir. Youre more than I expected.
Yet less than I was. I trust you wont have any complaints not being first mage? I shook my head. Good. Youll find that Im accomplished in air magic, my specialization is in communication - though you may find the principles of sound overlap with a number of other spells. Mr. Lockwood tells you already demonstrated thunderclap? I judiciously maintained my silence. Well, while you are my second, my position as Captain of this vessel puts in a unique position, and I expect you to voice any input regarding our magical capabilities at any of our officers etings. You understand what Im saying?
Yes sir, I said. You have other things to do besides manage minutiae, and at etings you cant take an unbiased position as a Captain and still advocate the mages perspective.
It makes it easier when its unnecessary, to be sure. Very good, Im glad to see you are astute and am willing to have you take on greater responsibility. Any more questions?
Take on more responsibility? From what I gathered, he wanted to be the first mage in all but na. Not that I minded, he really did have better things to be doing, but when I worked with Frederick our main day-to-day job had been taking charge of the flood barrier and act as a battery for it. Besides that, Frederick had acted as an advisor to Captain Graves, but Darius had already pointed out that he was the expert when it ca to both magic and leadership. I was but a dabbler in those. What advice could I give? And so, what extra duties did he want to take on?
I didnt voice these questions. Ah, so rather routine questions about the nature of our patrol and such. Im sure theres a better ti for those.
Indeed, all will have those questions answered shortly. Youre dismissed. He made a stack with the papers dealing with and set them aside. Please let Travis know that I desire to speak with our bosun next.
I left his cabin, my mind whirling. Thankfully Travis was right there and I chanically passed Darius instructions. I went to the galley. Where Gerald prepared als had beco my latest form of sanctuary. The tarish wasnt there, but the absence of other bodies suited well.
Id finally t my father. Id had a real conversation with him. He was a real, honest-to-goodness person. He wasnt a blatant sleazebag, and if he was a nobleman and politician at least he was down to earth about it.
I wanted to respect him.
I wanted to shake him!
How did I reconcile the picture of this man with the absent father I knew him to be? If not for the quest update in response to my earlier certainty, Id be seriously thinking the resemblance was coincidence!
n shouted and cursed throughout the ship, thumping and stomping echoing through the stout wood as last-minute preparations to sail were made. At least Id be getting a first-hand look at how my father acted as a Captain over the next weeks.
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