People started leaving the boat or heading into their quarters as we made our way to the captain’s quarters making it much less crowded. Less than two hours until dusk when the boat set sail.
There were six beds and one was in use by a very naked female elf. She was very lean and in amazing shape. Barely over five feet I assumed. Shaking his head Lax walked over and threw a blanket over her. Now that I was no longer distracted I looked around. The paneled walls alternated from white to brown and there were a few paintings of places that I’d never been to but could only dream about. Each of the six beds had a small dresser at the head of it and the only other furniture in the room was a desk with a chair.
Lax pointed at the bed closest to me, “Put your stuff under the bed.” He headed to a bed on the same wall as mine. “do elves lust?” I asked as we were preparing for bed. “If elves had as much lust as you humans we would all have fifty kids.” “So it isn’t a fertility thing?” “Not at all.” “What about attraction?” “Complex question but I assume it is not much different than it is with humans.” “So you felt no lust or attraction to her?” “I would certainly hope not.” he scoffed. “Why’s that?” “She is my great niece.” An awkward silence fell over the room.” Is she why you are here?” “Yes and no. I picked this boat to see her but I need to get to Nardun.” “And you showed Leah Proof?” “Yes, my house crest.”
After a few minutes of taking in the day I just had, I said “Hey Lax?” “What my boy?” “Thanks for everything.” “It has been a pleasure Tom.”
I was about to scry Maria when a thought came into my mind. Was this an invasion of her privacy? My want to see her was too much “Scry Maria.” There’s my beautiful very pregnant wife holding my wedding ring in her hand. There were two bottles of hard alcohol next to her on the ground. One empty and the other just opened. She was alone and at the campsite and she had been clearly crying a lot. In her other hand was my revolver. “Maria don’t do it!” I yell, breaking the image and bolting upright in shock.
Lax and his great niece also sit up. “Tom what happened?” “What is going on?!” The niece yelled, getting my attention and she is still very naked. “Uncle Lax?” “Yes my dear Pem. Could you please cloth yourself?” I noticed I was staring at her. “Sorry ma’am.” And looked away. She ignored me while getting dressed. “Uncle, why are you here and who is this human?” “This is Tom The Spider Slayer dear. Tom this is my great niece Pemilandituril.” “Nice to meet you. Your uncle has been a great help.” I replied, staring at a wall. My mind was still occupied with the image of Maria. “He always is. So what spider do you have to kill to get that title?” When I didn’t answer Lax did, “Pem, his party killed the Wanderer.” She audibly gasped, “Is that true?” The question broke my hold on the image of Maria. I was now thinking about how the Wanderer basically mortally wounded itself then Kritin finished it off I chuckled a bit and I was in the same group so I guess so? “Yeah it’s true” “Grandpa is finally avenged. Thank you Tom. May the gods bless you.” Then she did the same bow I saw the three elves at the inn do. I looked over to Lax, “So her grandpa is?” “My brother, yes. I did not want my family to be what we talked about. I wanted to learn about you. You are unique and at my age new and unique is hard to find. I am sorry.” “I understand”
“So my boy what happened?” “My wife is at my disappearance site drinking heavily with my weapon in her hand…” No one said anything for a while. “How do you know this?” “He cast scry my dear.” “You act like it is common uncle.” “It’s not that rare is it?” Lax literally facepalms. “Do you know anything about magic? What tier you are?” “The Murichi couldn’t test me but I’m at least tier five right?” “Tom, what are you?” “What do you mean?” “ We will talk more about your family later but now I will explain something to you.” Lax took a deep breath, “One in twenty beings have basic magic. One in twenty of those beings have tier two magic. One in twenty of them are tier three and so on. It is not exact but close enough to be a rule. There are only three mages we know of that are tier six or higher. Since all of Magarnia has around two hundred million people, there are probably between sixty and seventy people who can cast scry themselves. There are also magic items to aid in casting higher magic so more could cast it.” “Three tier six mages?” “The court mage at Eldrin might be tier seven or above but he will not say. One is a human who is the headmistress of the magic academy in Eldrin and the other is the Empress’s daughter.”
“How do we test my tier?” “Any large city will have a tester. The closest would be Nardun or Frintilandituril but that would add days to your journey. You want to go to Eldrin for anything magical anyway.” “How do you not know any of this?” Pem asked with a confused look on her face. “I’m from a very small village.” “No you are not.” She was staring at me with anger in her eyes. “Pem dear, leave poor Tom alone.” “But uncle he is lying” “Pem…” “No Lax I’ll answer for myself. The truth is I don’t know where I’m from. Nothing on your maps looks familiar. I’m headed to Eldrin to find my way home, wherever that is back to my pregnant wife and happy simple life.” “Sorry Tom. I see that it was mostly truthful thanks.” “Speaking of your wife, my boy there is nothing you can do about it but get home to her.” Lax said as he patted my arm. “Now Pem,Tom I need to sleep goodnight.” “I need to relieve the captain, good night you two.” We quickly fell asleep even though the sun hadn't set yet.
“Tom?” A feminine whisper pierces my dreams “Yes?” I whisper back as I see Pem naked and crawling into my bed, “Tom!” My eyes shot open and I saw Pem fully clothed in a hard looking leather with an unstrung bow on her back and a short sword on each side of her hip. She had a quiver full of arrows on her belt as well. “You are a hard sleeper….nice dreams?” she smirked as she looked down. Two can play that game. I smiled. “I was dreaming of you.” Her now shocked face started turning red as she turned around. “By the gods you are telling the truth.” “I’m sorry, I’m a man who saw a pretty naked woman last night” “Thanks.” she said as she looked away.
She started walking out then stopped. “Uncle wanted me to wake you. Dawn was two hours ago.” And she left. Not only did I just dream of a woman who wasn’t my wife but I then flirted with her. Guilt started eating me up. Here I am in a new world with magic not being completely faithful while she may not even be alive from the pain I have caused. Not intentionally of course but still. Grunting at myself I get up and wash up a bit in the washing bowl and get dressed. Grab the longsword and head out.
I step outside and see the most magnificent red beard I have ever seen. The man sporting the beard was around five feet tall and very broad. “Watch it, troll.” He said in a very deep gravelly voice as he lightly pushed me back and he walked past me. Dwarves always interested me the most in fantasy but to see one. I laughed a few seconds later because I was starstruck by a random dwarf. A pretty nude elf no problem but an angry dwarf, speechless.
Stepping back outside, I take in the sights. The giant trees were still so impressive with their canopy covering hundreds of feet of the water on each side of the equally impressive river. The top of the trees above the canopy looked like a very normal large pine type tree. The very vast river was clear but too deep to see down very far since our boat was in the center of the river. There was a cool breeze on a cool morning.
“Wonderful morning Tom.” Lax was standing next to me. “Every day I breathe is a blessing especially with scenery like this.” “Well put. Now that you are awake Leah wants to talk with us.” I started following him. “Is it good or bad?” “Does it have to be either tom? But I do not know.” Climbing to the top deck we reached the wheelhouse or bridge. The only thing on this deck was a small bird coup.
“Come on in.” Leah points to the door and we head inside. A few chairs and a desk were all that was in the room. “I received a message from Girroc earlier today. Boats are being held up there. A dragon….” Just then the dwarf I ran into and a massive scaled being with deep sea blue scales with many scars. Over seven feet tall with heavy white armor. Both their eyes were dark red with black slits. “Oh it’s the troll again.” “Good you made it now I will not have to repeat myself much.”
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“First lady, why we are here?” “Of course Master Stilldar. You four are the most experienced fighters on this boat…” “Wait, this troll is a warrior?” Pointing at me of course. “What’s your problem with me?” “You are arrogant, glory stealing, attention seeking, foul, and destructive to everything around you!” “Dude who peed in your cereal?” I knew I was egging him on a bit but his constant rudeness to me for no apparent reason got to me. He started growling and slowly reached towards his greatsword when the massive scaled being clasped a large hand down on his shoulder, “Sorry for my friend. He has a history with bad humans.” His voice was so deep it was almost scary. “They are all bad.” The dwarf growled. Lax spoke up, “In all honesty Master Stilldar, you have been nothing but rude to everyone around you. Tom is also a friend of the Murichi and empress.” Stilldar’s anger seemed to fade as he turned and walked out. “Again sorry for my friend. He’s been through a lot but that’s no excuse. I will relay all the information to him.”
Leah sighed, “Thank you. As I was saying, a message came from Girroc earlier today. Boats are being held up there because a dragon came down from the northern isles with some wyverns and has taken residency in the pass. They attack any boats that try to go through toward the port. Now the why you are here part. The Trade Union put a large bounty on both the dragon and wyverns. They also want to set up a coordinated attack with all the warriors in Girroc in three day’s time. I am to relay this message to the most experienced fighters and pass it on to Paradise.” “My ancestors are here?” “One yes.” After a moment of silence the large scaled being walked out.
“What is he?” I whispered to Lax. “A Dratoric or dragon son.” Lax said quietly, “They were hunted along with dragons because of the destruction the dragons caused. The Dratoric were not really any more destructive than humans or Dwarves but being associated with fire and dragons cost them dearly. “What will you two do once we reach Girroc?” Leah asked, putting us back on topic.
“Leah my dear, our plans just changed. We will arrive early tomorrow morning, correct?” “Yes at this pace we should arrive just before dawn.” “Thank you for the information. We will leave now to work out our plans.” Lax smiled at Leah and walked out the door “See you later.” I said and I followed him out.
Still standing on the top deck Lax sighed, sounding deep in thought. “So Lax what’s next for you?” He started laughing “Dude who peed in your cereal?” He said doing a decent job mimicking me. “That was great. What’s a dude though?” We shared a laugh. It felt nice to feel joy. “Dude is like a less proper sir. You could say it to a friend or someone you don’t like much. There’s other meanings but that’s the best I can explain.” “And this word is from your home language?” “Yes the language is English and it shares a lot of similarities with Universal or feels like it does anyway.” “He is being honest again uncle.” Pem said as she finished climbing up the ladder. “He is a very honest human, Pem.” She nodded “I was looking for you uncle. I need to talk to you before you leave. It was nice to meet you Tom.” She said as she started walking towards the bridge where we just had our meeting. “Pem dear have you heard about the pass?” “No, what about it?” “Have Leah fill you in, Tom and I have much to discuss.” “Understood uncle.”
There was a large dining area at the back of the main deck of the boat. We headed there to eat and discuss our plans. So tired of fish. “Well dude Tom, what should we do?” “Dude really?” He smiled and I sighed. “We fight?” “Yes, I think we should.” “Okay so dragons are large and breathe fire and wyverns are smaller and don’t right?” “Mostly right but if a wyverns magical tier is high enough they could spit acid. A wyverns tail is its most dangerous weapon.” “Wait, do dragons have magical tiers as well?” “They can and do but we have not seen many dragons in my lifetime and I am quite old” Lax chuckled at himself. Thinking about an idea I say. “We could just sneak past all the fighting and head to the dwarf city through the pass. It would most likely be cleared of wyverns if there is a big battle going on.” “To think Master Stilldar called you glory stealing and attention seeking.” Lax smiled and nodded. “Your plan is a good one. I think we should stay together throughout this dragon crisis though.” “That sounds great to me.” “I need to speak to Leah then take a nap. You should see if you can entertain yourself for the day. Maybe meet some new people.” “Okay I’ll do that.”
After an hour or so of conversing with the passengers someone mentioned then directed me to an elf onboard who knew magic that I should meet. The young looking elf man was sitting alone at a corner of the bow of the boat. He was around six feet tall with long dirty blonde hair and was a very slender build. His clothes looked expensive like Lax’s and I saw no weapons or armor on him. “Hello sir Brilisanril?” “Yes? Please say what you need so I can decline.” “Well I was wondering if we can practice magic together?” “Light” I said as I held a small globe of light in my hand. “Flame” His entire hand was covered in flames. Then they were extinguished. “You can not help me and I do not help for free. Good day.”
As I left the elf an idea hit me. If casting a spell over and over makes you better at it, why not see if I can cleanse sea sickness or just practice cleansing cups of bad water.
After asking around an older human man said the lower rear deck was where most went if they felt seasick. On my way there I realized I have no idea how to imagine curing sea sickness. What is seasickness? Your body not acclimating to the steady movement? So there’s nothing to cleanse. I tried anyway and it didn’t work so off to the front of the boat where they draw the water up.
There’s a bucket tied to a rope to draw the water. I filled up a cup from the bucket then imagined all the impurities leaving the cup. “Cleanse” It worked! After a few cups were cleansed, I noticed people were watching me from afar. Mesech mentioned cleanse was a tier three spell. “Would you want some cleansed water?” I had a drink. It tasted like nothing, it was so clean. They started a line and we were all having a good time. I saw the elf mage at some point looking annoyed but besides that everyone was in good spirits.
After about one hundred cups cleansed I was pretty tired and hungry. While eating and watching the large red star this planet orbited slowly descend I realized I had a good day today and it made me feel terrible. Maria might not even be living and here I am having a nice day. While dreading the next scry I had to know she was okay. Heading to the captains quarters, it was time to find out.
Pem was asleep wearing more than nothing this time and Lax isn’t here yet. I laid down and imagined telling Maria of the day I had. It was a common occurrence in our house. She was always so animated and happy for me when I had a good day. “Scry Maria.”
“Lisa, thanks for all your help. Even with all your own problems and my part in them.” Lisa and Maria were hugging. “Of course, we have been besties since we were six.” They broke their hug and sat down on Lisa’s couch. “I told you I went to the campsite yesterday but I didn’t tell you why… I don’t even know why.” She started tearing up. “I was drinking and I almost lost all that’s left of Tom in this world.” She rubbed her pregnant belly. “Your husband was a great man. Hey did you know I had a crush on him in High School?” “Only in high school?” They both quietly laughed. “This might hurt our friendship but the truth is a small part of me wanted what you and Jack did to be too much for Tom so that I could swoop in and take him for myself.” Maria laughed at her nervous best friend. “God, I miss him.”
They both looked pretty rough. Teary eyed and just plain exhausted looking. After a minute or so Maria broke the silence. “So Jack, he was…?” “Yeah, it’s apparently Jack’s go to move for cheating on me. To say how destined they were to be together. Well Angie believed him and that’s where he is at now while I sit at home horny, alone, sad, and taking care of two kids.” She half laughed at herself. “One of Tom’s favorite lines was, “every day alive is a great day”” she said in a decent impersonation of me. “And if it was to me he would add, “and you make every day perfect.” I guess he meant even on our worst days there’s hope for great ones while we live. Though with him gone I’m not sure how true it is. Sorry I was going somewhere but…” Maria started tearing up again. “Hey girlfriend, you are exhausted. You should get some rest and I highly recommend staying here and not going home. I love you.” “Thanks Lisa, love you too.”
Lisa got up and Maria laid down on the couch. She just stared at the ceiling clearly deep in thought as the spell faded. It wasn’t an image this time and she is okay. Before I could dwell on it much I was out cold.