CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.

I passed out for a bit, basically cried myself to sleep. When I woke up a few hours later I felt less… raw, but a lingering sense of exhaustion smothered me into the bed. The room had been cleaned up while I slept— which made me feel a little guilty— though the scorch marks remained on the walls and floor. Leigh had stayed with me and was currently lying back on a chair with his feet up on the corner of my bed, arms crossed and his wide gaucho hat tilted down to cover his face.

There was no clock that I could see, and like all the interior rooms of the ship there weren’t any windows, so I had no idea what time it was or how long I’d been out, but it felt like it’d been a while. A spark of irritation lit up in me at the time I’d wasted just lying in bed, the emotion just barely cresting over the wave of overwhelmed exhaustion I was still riding. It was a tiny thing, but sometimes? Being annoyed at yourself is enough.

Ok. Time to get up.

With a groan, I shifted my feet over the side of the bed and started carefully pushing my way upright. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Leigh use one finger to lift the brim of his hat and give me an inquisitive look.

“Need something?” he asked.

“No, I just… I need to get up.”

He shrugged and stood with his usual easy grace before helping me out of the bed. I was actually feeling surprisingly well, considering I had a big-ass hole in my shoulder. Or, correction, more emphasis on ‘had’ a big-ass hole in my shoulder because while the pain was still there, the hole itself was completely sealed already. An angry-looking scar and bruise covered my right side (damn it, the last one just went away) and I couldn’t help giving it an annoyed look.

“How long was I out?”

“Not long this time, a few hours at most. The actual attack was yesterday though.”

Great, lost a day. Still, at least I’m healing really fast this time…

"Did you give me another potion?"

"Not this time. Wondering why you're healing so quickly?"

Sightly confused, I nodded.

"Authority. That's what the shaman was talking about when he said you 'partook of his essence' after you killed that griffon. The Path, as a way to gain power, is something of a double-edged sword. Killing other beings invested with Authority means you’ll steal some of what they had. Like I said the other day, Authority reinforces how you interact with the world, making you more resistant to damage and speeding your recovery. How it does so is… complex, but in essence, it gives your will a more tangible effect on reality. It means you have a relatively quick way to improve your strength compared to regular Mages and Warriors, but…”

“But everyone else on the Path knows that too, and it paints a big target right on my back.” I finished for him.

Leigh nodded seriously.

“Exactly.”

I grunted an unhappy acknowledgment while I tried to get my thoughts in order. The info about my new ‘Authority’ was nice, but right now there was too much going on, too many threads trying to unravel me all at once. I needed to trim things down if I was going to keep my sanity.

"Leigh, can you find out what's going on with the villagers? I have no idea what's happening or why but this whole thing stinks."

"I can do that. Anything specific you want me to look for?" He asked in reply.

"Just… what their situation is and why they think I'm the solution to it. I’m gonna try and sort things out with the captain."

Leigh grinned and sauntered out of the room with a wave.

"Alright kid. I'm sure a friendly round of drinks will loosen some lips, good luck!"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes and sighing as the alcohol-obsessed man vanished from view.

Ok, one problem sorted. Next is… Teadran. Yeah, this is gonna suck.

Carefully, I made my way out of the infirmary and made my way through the twisting labyrinth of steel toward the Captain's cabin. He was sitting at his desk when I arrived, pouring over some paperwork with a heavy frown that only deepened when he saw me in the doorway.

"What is it, Baines?"

I hesitated briefly before pushing through.

"Can we talk?"

Teadran leaned back in his chair resignedly and gestured with a brusque wave for me to take a seat. He seemed remarkably unfazed but how quickly I was up and about.

"By all means. Not as if I'm trying to run a caravan here or anything. Let's talk."

Entering the room, I gingerly made my way over to one of the seats in front of his desk and lowered myself down. It took me a minute to get my thoughts in order because while I'd resolved to make things better, I wasn't sure where to start.

Well, I guess I can just keep it simple and start at the beginning.

"I'd like to apologize," I said, firming my expression. "I know you're looking out for Shani and I'm a complete stranger. I overreacted, and I apologize."

Teadran stared at me incredulously for a moment.

"Did she put you up to this?"

"No," I said defensively. "It was Tibbs. One of the last things we talked about before… Anyway, he asked if I could try to get along better, and if I'm honest I don't have the energy to fight all the random monsters out here and you. So… yeah."

We looked at each other tensely across the desk, the quiet stretching out awkwardly until Teadran nodded.

"A divided crew will quickly find themselves at the mercy of the wilds even on the easiest passage— which this one is decidedly not. " His face darkened into another frown. "But I'll need more from you."

Of course, nothing is easy…

"More?" I asked tiredly.

"Answer some of my questions."

"Ok…?"

The captain leaned forward on his desk and steepled his fingers.

"What is your affiliation with the Eldborn Enclave?"

"Who?"

My answer seemed to throw him off.

“Er… the Enclave? But Bhartolo recognized you…”

“You know more than I do. I hadn’t even heard the term ‘Eldborn’ before I came on this ship.”

That stumped him pretty hard and he sat back in confusion.

“Never heard of— But you’re an Eldborn! How can you not have heard of them?”

“Didn’t know that until I came on the ship either. Turns out ‘existing’ doesn’t come with a manual of convenient information.”

Gah, bad Ray. Tone down the snark, trying to be nice.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Luckily, the grizzled captain only looked at me in consternation rather than taking offense.

“What kind of rock has your House been living under?”

I sighed exasperatedly and tried to get the message through the wall of Teadran’s preconceptions.

“There is no ‘House Baines’. Baines is just my last name, and there’s only me. I’m not traveling this way to be ‘incognito’ or because I want to, it’s because everything I own is in the locker of my cabin and even that was just given to me the day before I met you.”

We went round like this a few times, with Teadran asking questions about associations or common knowledge things that just left both of us increasingly confused and frustrated. In the end, I had enough.

“Look, I’m not even from Haven so how can I—”

“You’re an outworlder?” He blurted out, cutting me off.

“...yes?” I replied hesitantly.

“Why didn’t you just lead with that instead of making me ask all these questions??” He growled out.

“I, uh, honestly I thought you’d be more freaked out.”

I’d been keeping my background secret since I arrived mostly out of reflexive paranoia. It wasn’t like I was going actively out of my way to lie or anything just… keeping everything to myself. But the more I thought about it, the more nonsensical that stance was. People from other worlds being summoned as champions was obviously a thing here even if it was usually the province of the gods. So it stood to reason that most people would be at least aware of other worlds out there and the potential for travel between them. The captain’s lack of any real reaction to my origins just helped to hammer home the realization that I had been balancing myself on the razor edge of stress-induced anxiety, hoarding my secrets out of a subconscious need for some kind of control over my new life.

There’s… no reason. There is literally no reason for me to hide my identity.

I mean yeah there were definitely some things I probably shouldn’t be broadcasting to everyone I meet— my semi-adversarial relationship with the gods comes to mind— but this was my life now. I could just… live.

Teadran was mumbling to himself under his breath, obviously lost in thought almost as badly as I was.

“—makes sense, even has a guide from Erranos… damn.”

The captain belatedly realized I was still there and let out an embarrassed cough.

“Right. Well, I can honestly say I believe you, at least. Nobody from this world would be as clueless as you are.”

“Gee, thanks,” I answered, dryly.

He brushed past my sarcasm with a grunt.

“Are you a champion? I thought they were all still in training at Godpeak.”

A familiar sense of bitterness welled up at the reminder that had I just not done anything, I’d currently be enjoying a comparatively lavish lifestyle with a group of other people from Earth.

“No, it’s just me.”

Teadran paused thoughtfully before coming to some conclusion and nodding to himself. “That takes care of many of my concerns about you. A man can be observed, his character learned by interacting with him and watching how he interacts with others. An organization, however, can make even honorable men commit the gravest of betrayals in the name of their ‘cause’. Thought you were on some kind of mission— one I had no intention of getting even remotely involved in.”

Teadran shrugged as he finished speaking and then he just… went back to work. I stared at him blankly before speaking up.

“Uh… is that all? I mean, are we good?”

He glanced up at me with an arched eyebrow.

“For the sake of clarity, I accept your earlier apology. This does not mean we are suddenly friends, Mister Baines, and I have too much work to be sitting around chatting idly with a hired mage. Is there something else you need?”

It took an effort of will to not let my jaw drop at the abrupt dismissal, but in the end, I just smiled tersely and carefully stood up.

“Nope. Thanks for your time.”

Remember, being nice. Being… nice.

Stalking my way toward the exit, I couldn’t help but feel irritated and let down. Like… I knew we wouldn’t exactly be best buds after a quick apology like that and I’m not so needy that I want everyone nearby to like me, but it was still a disappointment to just get outright dismissed. The experience thoroughly blunted any relief I felt from finally figuring out I didn’t need to keep my existence a secret, and I did my best to get over it while considering my next move. Which is, of course, when I remembered the three thousand people who were camped outside.

Groaning quietly, I made an awkward u-turn right back to Teadran’s desk where he was now glaring impatiently at my continued interruptions.

“What?” He demanded as I returned.

“Uh, about all the villagers…”

He gave me a hard look before speaking in a clipped tone.

“I am the Captain of this caravan. The ships and crews under me are my responsibility, and they count on me for their lives. They also count on my timely arrival in port to protect their livelihoods, because a caravan with a reputation for tardiness will quickly find themselves short of work. I will not delay this caravan any further. We will be departing as soon as repairs are completed on the Lady Terise. The villagers are welcome to pace us— if they can— and take what shelter our presence offers, but I cannot spare our supplies. I bare them no ill will, but the villagers are here for you. If you feel some obligation to them then you are welcome to provide whatever aid you personally are capable of, so long as you continue to meet your assigned duties as a ship’s mage. If you cannot meet those duties, then I will pen you a letter of credit for your time thus far— less the fees for damages— and have you escorted off the Duchess. To put it succinctly; they are your problem— not mine— and as long as you handle it I don’t care what you do. But if it becomes my problem, then I will solve it. Am I clear?”

I sighed with resignation.

“Perfectly.”

Not worth the fight. He’s an asshole, but he’s right that these people aren’t his responsibility.

Leaving the cabin, my mood had soured even further from the stressful meeting, but at least that was a couple of items crossed off my mental list. The rest was more ‘personal’.

I wanted to talk to Shani, but last I heard she was over at the broken-down ship trying to help with some of the repairs. There was no way I’d be making it over there with how I felt right now, so I tried to put her out of my mind until she came back.

That’s gonna be another ‘fun’ conversation. Hopefully, she isn’t mad… shit.

In the end, I decided to wait on one of the observation decks and work on my magic. My only other option right now for self-improvement was to try taking Cade up on his offer to spar, which… yeah, not happening. Maybe after I healed for a few more days. I didn't get far before a voice spoke from directly over my shoulder.

"Is there something you require, Great One?"

Jumping in place with a surprised yelp, I immediately doubled over in pain from the sudden motion. Hissing through gritted teeth, I locked eyes with the eerie gaze of Nezzick who’d snuck up behind me somehow.

“Gah, wear a damn bell or something! Jeez, man…” I growled out.

“Is that an order?” he asked, placidly.

I stared at him sharply and snorted in irritation.

“No. Are you going to pedantically take everything I say in the most literal way like an annoying child? Because I can get really creative with that.”

The old man cackled.

“If that is what you wish, Great One.”

“Don’t call me that. It’s… weird.” I said, shying away.

“Your soul belies your words. I sense how it calls to you, radiating in parody of the night sky. A tyranny of Law, all things united under the gaze of one who does not bow. Such Order demands respect, even though your chained mind denies it.”

Ok, that’s freaky.

The hall was silent while I tried to figure out how to respond to the shaman’s eerie knowledge of me until he cocked his head in a birdlike manner.

“You have sent your man into our camp. Why? We exist to serve you, if you had need of anything from us you had but to ask.”

Off balance from the sudden change of topic, I stumbled out my reply.

“It’s because I trust him, and I don’t know you.”

“We are your people.” He said with a creepy grin.

“No, you are not. I haven't accepted this… tribute, or whatever you want to call it.” I found myself backing away from Nezzick’s wizened form. He scratched his chin thoughtfully.

“You say you do not know us… then know us. Come, walk with me, and I will show you your people.” The old shaman stretched out a gnarled hand toward me.

This is too weird.

A distant shout sounded from down the hallway.

“Hey! There he is!”

A squad of marines pounded forward, quickly surrounding Nezzick— as much as they could in the ship’s cramped halls, anyway. A corporal angrily shouted at the old man.

“You are not to be on this ship without an escort! How did you slip your guards?”

Nezzick snickered disdainfully.

“Ya ward-boys think’n too much o’ ya skills. Us old’n folk have our ways, ken?”

The sudden reappearance of the incomprehensible accent threw me off for a second, but it only seemed to infuriate the corporal.

“You’ll ‘ken’ the inside of the brig if—”

“Stop.” I found myself speaking up, somewhat to my own surprise.

“Sir?” The corporal asked, suddenly hesitant.

“He’s been with me. I’m escorting him.”

What the hell am I doing?

“But… sir he’s… very well. My apologies sir.”

I nodded at the corporal’s apology and with a few barked words the squad left, leaving me alone with Nezzick once again. He looked at me in the same curious, birdlike way. I could only sigh in resignation for what I hoped was the last time today.

“Alright. Show me.”

The shaman grinned, reaching out his hand to me again. And— with many reservations— this time, I took it.