The bunk beds had been too narrow to really have fun in so Yuriko, Gwendith, and Heron put the mattresses on the floor in between then just made do with cuddles at night. Yuriko didn’t really mind as the intimate contact was just as soothing. On the second day on the Wild Tulip, the lake’s bottom had disappeared from Yuriko’s Anima perception, and she caught more than a few disturbing glimpses of the creatures that dwelt underneath.
She was pretty certain that at some point, the lake’s bottom had turned into an Elemental Conflux as there was no way creatures that big would have remained inconspicuous all the while. Whale hunting ships were prowling across the Great Lake, though they weren’t technically hunting whale species, but rather, anything bigger than a typical ship—roughly fifty or so paces long. She’d spotted a few in the distance, battling a giant crustacean that had claws ten paces long. The Magi hunters had it all under control, and by the time the Tulip had pulled away, they were already dragging the carcass behind them.
‘That might be why the Behemoth Carp became extinct,’ Yuriko mused.
She poked and prodded a few of the giant fish when she grew bored, though they barely reacted to her Animakinesis. The few that did were easy enough to hold back. She didn’t really wish them harm, but there was little to do on the ferry while they travelled. Sure, there were some board games, but after a couple of hours, she’d played enough to grow bored.
Honestly, she’d rather spend the day training, but there wasn’t much room to run around or spar. She and the others could fight while standing on the waves, but that was a bit too obvious. After all, they were trying to keep a low profile since the Ishodirians were still after her, and Xotha Matriarchy wasn’t exactly an allied nation. She was curious to explore that country since she’d read in the atlases that the Sandsea Desert was beautiful any time of year. Ah, and by noon the day after they left Briardale City, the local weather had changed.
The Great Erithmus Lake’s surface had a visible change in hue, almost like a line drawn on top of the waves. North, it was dark blue, but across the line, it was a lighter green. Then, the lake breeze turned warm, and the chill rapidly left. Every passenger doffed their cold weather clothes and donned thinner and lighter clothing. Yuriko noticed and changed her attire into a white sundress, sandals, as well as a wide-brimmed hat to shield her eyes from the glare of the Radiant Sun.
Admittedly, the hat wasn't all that necessary, but her usual grey beret didn't quite match the outfit, and she was already flushed with Radiant energy. If she absorbed more, her skin would start glowing with pinpricks of golden light, and her hair would shed light like a lantern. So…sunhat.
Gwendith wore sundresses too, but she wore shorts underneath. She didn’t wear a hat but said, “We’ll have to buy desert robes once we get to Boata Port, otherwise we’ll stick out too much. I’ll change into a blouse and trousers then.”
Heron wore cut-off pants that hung halfway down his calves, a sleeveless white shirt with a v-neck, and the same sandals. No hat since he didn’t like things on his head. He did spend the rest of the day flexing his arms for her viewing pleasure though.
Saki and Ryoko wore sundresses with short sleeves, Saki in dark blue, while Ryoko got green. Devotee wore the most layers, a vest over a t-shirt, full-length trousers, and boots. Fluffington spent the day in the shade, panting heavily, while his shed fur clustered in the corners. Poor pupper.
Ship food wasn’t all too spectacular either. It was mostly biscuits and gravy with the occasional chunk of meat, and surprisingly, lemon slices to go with ale. Once would have been bearable, but it had been dinner, breakfast, and lunch so far. And from what the cooks were making, and the food stores in the hold, that was all they had for meals. At least the passengers got ale. The soldiers got severely watered-down grog.
Well, the second day passed uneventfully, and the ship didn’t stop even at night. She’d been curious how they navigated considering that they were far from shore. The ship could have followed the coastline, but that would have increased the distance and time to travel. And there were dangerous reefs and rocks in the shallows. She only saw the navigator use a strange contraption at night, and she couldn’t figure out what it was or how it worked. It had several dials to adjust, but it all seemed arbitrary to her sensibilities. Oh well.
As they moved closer to their destination, the heat became more and more oppressive. And by the time noon came along, everyone else on the ship was sweating buckets. The sailors had put on the desert robes, as did the rest of the passengers.
“Sorry, mistress,” Ryoko muttered, “I should have bought robes in Briardale.”
“I think that merchant is selling robes.” Yuriko pointed at a man who stood near the railings, looking at them, and subtly holding folded robes.
“Ah, so he is.” She walked up to the man and inquired about it.
Stolen novel; please report.
Well, he was selling each robe for ten silver coins, which was probably three or four times more expensive than what they could’ve gotten in the last port of call, or what they could get in Boata Port. Still, walking down the gangplank to the docks while not in robes would have made them stand out. Ryoko returned with seven dun-coloured robes, all of the same size. Yup, they got fleeced.
Yuriko just threw it on. The robe’s hem fell halfway down her knees, while on Gwendith and the other girls, it was suitably at ankle length. Heron’s fell above his knees and exposed his well-turned calves. Well, it would have if he didn’t wear loose trousers. Yuriko wore a pair of palazzo pants, cream-coloured, under the robes, and her sandals.
The outfit spared them from burning in the harsh sun, and their sweat stayed on the clothes long enough to combat the heat. It was uncomfortable, and Yuriko could feel her companion’s complaints coming through their connecting threads. She wasn’t uncomfortable with the heat and she didn’t sweat, and neither did Gwendith. Fluffington…
The pupper was panting heavily and looked so miserable that Yuriko could practically see the waves of despair rolling off his fur.
“Aww, poor baby?” Gwendith cooed as she rubbed the wolf pup’s forehead. She then manipulated the heat off Fluffington and vented it away from them.
“Rowf!” Fluffington barked happily once the cold air surrounded his fur. He licked Gwendith’s hand who giggled and continued to pat the wolf. Yuriko noted the merchant’s eyes lingering on them, but when she turned to face him, he quickly averted his gaze. She didn’t notice any threads attempting to connect to hers, but since she couldn’t see the threads that weren’t aimed at her, she wondered if he was attracted to Gwendith instead.
Well, he didn’t bother them for the rest of the morning, and by noon, Boata Port came into view. Yuriko walked up to the bow to observe. Behind the town were tall hills that were covered in yellow sand. The sunlight reflected off it in such a way that the hillside shimmered and sometimes, gave the illusion of everything flowing down.
The town looked like a circle, half of it was on land, and the other half on water. The breakwater wasn’t completely circular though, the outer edges did curve inwards. The Great Erithmus Lake typically didn’t have rough waters so a tall breakwater wasn’t needed. As the paddle-wheel ship entered the town’s embrace, Yuriko noted a couple of other ships entering behind them. One was about twice the length of the Tulip and had two pairs of paddle wheels. The other was a ferry similar in shape and size to theirs but was coming from the south.
The Tulip was directed to dock at the fifth pier from the northern side of the town, and the bigger ship moved farther south, about three piers away. The second ferry docked at the pier next to theirs.
With their things already gathered, they waited for some of the other passengers, those who had the more expensive cabins, to alight. The docks were quite busy, and she saw a large delegation heading towards the large ship. It was a group of a hundred or so, and she noticed wagons parked behind them. Everyone was in robes, most of the ones in the group were in grey, and each openly carried their weapons, firearms and sideswords.
They were guarding the ones robed in red and white, and these ones had wands holstered to their sides. Yuriko noticed the denser Elemental energy surrounding those people, as well as the homogeny of that energy. Most had Earth or Fire Elemental energy swirling around them, though there were a few who had Metal, Wind, or some other esoteric Elemental energies.
She stiffened when she saw what, or who were disembarking the ship. A line of men and women clad in tattered and filthy robes were shackled and chained together as they were marched down the gangplank.
“Slaves,” Gwendith hissed from behind Yuriko. Anger, fear, disdain, and a tinge of helplessness flooded through their connecting thread.
The raw emotion seeped into Yuriko's mind, but most of them slid off. She couldn't allow the other's emotions to dictate her own. She isolated what came in, then sealed it off to be slowly shed later on. She took a deep breath and sighed.
‘I know we can't do anything.’ Gwendith sent through their mental link. ‘I saw their slaves before, in Braxxon Ruin, but those weren't as pathetic or miserable as these.’
‘Freshly caught, you think?’ Yuriko sent back.
‘Possibly.’ Gwendith's emotions settled down, ‘When I confronted them then, they told me that slaves were part of their culture, and only criminals, debtors, and war prisoners are enslaved.’
‘Well, we have the opportunity now to ascertain it. Do you want to find out the truth of what they said?’
Gwendith remained mentally silent for a long moment, then said, ‘If we have time. Only if…’
‘Well, we'll have to cut the guild, then join a caravan. It's unlikely we’ll be able to leave by today, so we have ample time to find out.’
‘Thanks.’
By the time their mental conversation finished, it was their turn to disembark. Heron cast a Telekinetic hand spell ostensibly to carry the chests, but he used his Animakinesis to bear most of the weight.
They followed the passengers towards the town gate. There, they had to pay the entrance fee, though it wasn't more than a few copper pence for all of them, with Fluffington commanding twenty, plus paperwork from the guild ascertaining his status as a tamed beast.
It was a pity she hadn't been able to observe the town from the skies so she didn't have any idea of its general shape. There, more than a few street kids loitered near the exit and almost as one, they rushed towards the ex-passengers, claiming knowledge of the best inns, the greatest bargains, and whatever else they thought people would pay to have them guided to wherever it was.
“Best inn and tavern, you say?” Heron said to one of the urchins who was trying to get Yuriko's attention. “Know where the Adventurers' Guild branch is located?” He opened his palm and showed a couple of copper pence. “Twice again after you get us there.”
“I know the way, freeman!” the kid said quickly. The child’s dun robes probably had more holes than cloth, but a quick check with her Anima perception told Yuriko that the kid’s underclothes were well made and relatively clean, and despite the shoulder-length hair and girlish demeanour, the kid was unmistakably male.
Still, Yuriko told Heron to continue, and soon enough, they entered the maze that was Boata’s alleyways.