The port of Heron’s Reef resembled the bird it was named after. All the buildings stood on stilts that held them above the water. The roofs were made from gray-blue slate. The clapboard walls were gray with age and salt but the trims around the windows and door were painted white. The color combination of slate, old wood, and white accents mirrored the hues on the feathers of the large blue herons that fished the waters around the edges of the port.
The two young men approached the town somewhat disguised. They both had moved their armor into their packs. Kaid had zipped off on the last leg of the trip, returning with a couple of wide-brimmed straw hats that were commonly worn around the area. He had a fishing pole for himself while outfitting Joe with a basket and a net. It was unclear if he had bought, traded, or stolen the items. As they were fairly common items, Joe decided he didn’t care at this point. Their use as camouflage was surprisingly effective. While both he and Kaid were a bit paler than the locals, the addition of the fishing gear made them pretty much indistinguishable from everyone else.
They stepped up onto the raised streets and followed them into the center of the town. A sign depicting a lounging frog in a mug of frothy ale heralded their first stop. As they were both hot and hungry, they had decided before looking for a ship, that a tavern was their first priority. The two entered and took a seat at the table Kaid picked towards the side of the open floor. The room was a large open area with balconies forming a ring around a central bar. The beams were painted a deep emerald green, wreathed in chains of white and yellow paper flowers. With a dark blue floor, the room as a whole reminded Joe of lily pads on a lake. The cool colors eased the sense of being overheated, even if the room itself was not any cooler than it was outside.
“If anyone looks like they are coming at you, head for the side door there,” Kaid said, with a slight nod of his head. Joe tried to look without making it obvious he was doing so. “Let’s get a quick meal. Then after we eat, you go find a new staff and grab some supplies. I’ll find us a boat out of here.”
Before Joe could answer, a scaled woman stepped up to their table. “What can I get you, boys?” she asked in a voice that carried a slight hiss to its pronunciation. She was mostly a teal color, but rainbow-like highlights glinted in the sunlight coming through the windows. Joe found the effect almost mesmerizing.
“What do you have that is fast? We got a boat ta catch in a bit,” Kaid replied.
“How does gator gumbo sound? Either that or fish skewers.”
“I’d like to try the gumbo,” Joe said.
“Skewers,” Kaid grunted. “Pints for both as well.”
“Please,” Joe added, which earned him a sharp-toothed smile.
“Coming right up, Hon.” She spun and sashayed away with an undulating step that made Joe think she had more of a serpentine background than a lizard one.
“Can you not?” Kaid hissed, leaning slightly over the table.
“Not what?”
“Be so blazy obvious. If someone comes asking about us, she probably won’t remember me at all. I did nuthing to catch her notice. You got her smiling and flirting. You, she will remember.”
“I didn’t think of that sorry. I won’t say anything else to her.”
“No, don’t do that,” the little scoundrel huffed with a notable wince. “Berghal, you are hopeless. Now you have to keep being nice to her. Better she remembers a nice guy than feel snubbed and want to rat you out.”
“You know you are exhausting, right?” Joe groaned.
“Here she comes, with the drinks. You pay and make sure to give her a tip.”
“I always leave a tip.”
Kaid rolled his eyes. “Of course you do.”
“Two ales. I’ll have the gumbo and the fish out in just a minute, Sugar.”
“Thanks,” Joe replied, now feeling overly self-conscious. He did not have to suffer long. She smiled once more, but as soon as the drinks were on the table, she wriggled back into the crowd, heading for another group of customers. Joe took a big gulp of the beverage. It had been a very long time since he had been able to enjoy a good beer. His chemo and cancer meds had not gotten along with alcohol at all. He wished it was colder but that first draught was blissful. The ale had a crisp, almost citrusy taste. Joe let the drink slide down his parched throat, releasing a deep sigh. Only to be kicked from under the table.
“Do you want to tell everyone you just got into town? You are going to get me killed.”
While Joe realized the grumpy gnome was probably right, the constant criticism was really getting on his nerves. He let out a breath and counted to ten. Getting into a fight with him would only draw more attention and so prove the little curmudgeon’s point. The next few minutes were spent glowering at each other until the food arrived. Joe paid and tipped, of course, trying not to leave too large of a gratuity and so earn another scolding.
The soup had a nice kick to it without being too hot. It tasted much like the gumbo from Earth, but a bit meatier since the crawfish and shrimp had been replaced by the heavier alligator meat. The weirdest part was the colors. The rice was bright yellow and the slices of what he took to be okra were baby blue colored. Joe considered ordering a second portion but if he was going to be on a ship shortly, it was probably best not to stuff himself. Kaid finished his meal at about the same time and nodded his head toward the door.
“Yeah, I’m done too,” Joe acknowledged. “I’ll find you at the docks.”
“Good. Be quick. And for the love of Berghal, try not to stand out this time.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Kaid left first. Joe finished his drink and then followed a minute later. As he walked he noticed the town had an odd feel to it. The whole place was a giant set of connected docks. He had seen shows about places like Bangkok and Vietnam, where the city and the waterways were fully integrated, but he had never been anywhere like it. The center of town was one massive slab of bound logs. Every now and then there would be small gaps that showed glimpses of the water below. Underneath the sounds of the crowd, one could hear the constant swishing of water lapping against the poles.
Joe headed for the area where he could see the most hanging signs, assuming there would be his best opportunity to find a shop with the gear he needed. A staff and rations were mandatory but he also wanted to find skills. He had an open slot in strength and two in vigor. Also after the fight with the lions, he was on the very edge of reaching sixth level. He needed less than twenty experience points to level up. If he saw a good skill he wanted, he would not have to wait long before he had a free attribute point to spend on it. As soon as Joe spotted a general store, he headed right for it.
Unlike Gurda’s neat, high-ceilinged, wide-aisled store, Rordgar’s Emporium was a series of connected rooms that were filled with items shelved or hanging anywhere that seemed like they would fit. The store looked like it had started with a decent size building and then expanded, connecting neighboring structures by adding walls across the allies and cutting out a pair of doors. Items for sale were found in those now enclosed alleys.
Joe found an area where simple and second-hand weapons were displayed. He assumed that higher-quality arms and armor would be found in a more specialized shop. There were a handful of staves, priced at a gold piece each. There was one blue stained stave priced at five gold. Curious, Joe read the tag on it and it simply stated ‘Reinforcement charm’. He hadn’t worried about his old staff breaking but Joe had also not used it against any particularly powerful enemies yet either.
Joe had checked his purse on the trip to Heron’s Reef. He was not rolling in coins but he was better off than he had thought. Among the items Konren had given him was a small pouch with almost ten gold pieces. Added to the twenty-six and change he had left over from healing in Crowfield, he had enough coin for some basic purchases. Having a staff that would not break if he needed to use it in an unorthodox manner seemed worth the few extra gold pieces. Joe smiled at the dumb mental image that popped into his head of levering a boulder over the edge of a cliff, Wiley Coyote style. He grabbed the blue shaft and picked up a dozen basic rations.
He then hunted through the maze until he found the Skill Stones. They were not nearly as organized as Gurda’s were. There were four baskets. Each stone had a tag for what skill it provided and a price. The baskets were not arranged by skill, attribute, or rarity. They were just lumped together by cost. The most full basket was the one with the cheapest stones. Joe couldn’t see all the prices but the highest price he could read was 8 gp. The next basket seemed to be between ten to fifty gold and the other two were so far out of his price range Joe just ignored them.
Joe grabbed the cheap stone basket and tried to quickly look through them. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time so he would not be able to labor over his choices. He would have to take what he could readily find. At the same time, he was not going to just grab any old skill. Joe was aware that his choices now could impact his build for years to come. Unless the skill was something he really thought he could use, it was staying in the bin.
The crystals here were coated in a clear layer of wax, obviously to prevent shoplifting. A thief would have to peel off the wax in order to absorb the skill. Unfortunately, this meant that large groups of crystals were stuck together. Joe didn’t bother to try and break open the blobs of stones. He focused on the ones that were loose or easily pulled off the waxed masses.
The first one he grabbed was a red shard marked ‘Steadfast’ Unlike Gurda’s, there was no skill guidebook here either. He would just have to go by the name on the tag. ‘Steadfast’ was usually a skill that had to do with either bravery or resisting being knocked prone. Considering it was a strength-based skill crystal, Joe assumed it was the second. Thinking back to the fights with the beetles and the lions, this seemed like one worth considering. Additionally, he was heading to a ship. Having something that could keep him from pitching overboard was a strong plus. He put it to the side and picked up the next crystal. Unfortunately, the tag’s lettering was so faded Joe could not make out what it said. The healer looked over the bin and saw that about a quarter of the labels were unreadable or just plain missing. Frowning, he started sorting stones as quickly as he could.
Joe knew he needed some sort of offensive skill. He would never be able to make it in the world if he could not fight his way out of a paper bag. He was hoping for a dexterity-based attack, but so far none of the crystals he found fit the bill. After a handful of stones he didn’t want, he found a common red crystal simply tagged ‘Bash’. He had the open strength slot but he only had a single point of strength. He was not sure that placing his offense in that low of an attribute was any better than not having an attack at all. He found ‘Cleave’ and ‘Foe Hammer’ right next to ‘Bash’, but those sounded like they might be weapon specific. Without a book, he couldn’t know exactly what ‘Bash’ did, but it seemed like a safer choice than the other two. He put it next to the ‘Steadfast’ crystal with a sigh. So far he had only found two skills he liked and both were strength-based.
Joe decided to switch tactics. It felt like time was against him, so he just started looking for green and yellow crystals and not specifically for attack powers. A Dexterity skill was the next one he picked. Stuck to the outside of the biggest wad of stones was a common yellow shard with a crumpled-up tag that read ‘Stealth’. While he was not a rogue-class, Joe had found that sooner or later every character needed to sneak past something. Having light armor helped one be quiet but having the actual skill for it would be much better. He would save that one for when he hit sixth.
Now he just needed to target the green vigor skills. The first one he liked was ‘Poison Resistance’ but right next to it was another green stone with a ripped label that read ‘Stun Lock’. Both were uncommon skills. The second one really caught Joe’s attention. It sounded like an ability that would allow him to repeatedly be able to stun an enemy. He could pile up hits and possibly heal at the same time.
The Stun Lock stone was the most expensive, costing nine gold pieces. The others were between three and five gold. Joe vacillated back and forth between Bash and Poison Resistance or Stun Lock and Steadfast. He wished he had time to think it through but he felt like any minute armed guards might show up looking for him. He forced himself to make a decision. Tossing the resistance and Bash back in the bin and headed for the store clerk to pay for his purchases.
All totaled, the staff, food, and skills cost him twenty-eight of his thirty-six gold pieces. Joe hoped the price of the ship passage was not more than eight gold. If it was, then Joe would have to ask to borrow money from Kaid. That unpleasant thought rambled around Joe’s head as he left he store.
He looked between the Heron’s Reef building to see a small forest of masts ahead. There were a dozen or so blocks between him and the wharves. As Joe looked down the log-floored avenue, he saw several guards stopping people and asking questions. His heart sank when he saw a woman in the city colors holding up a certain wanted poster as she address a man on the street.
Looking around, he picked the direction with the fewest guards. He kept his head down, hoping to remain unnoticed. As he walked, Joe saw a few beggars and considered trying to heal his way to sixth level. He could learn [Stealth] that way but he was pretty sure the healing would draw too much attention. As it was, Joe worried that his new staff was already too conspicuous.
Each chance he could, Joe took streets that lead towards the seaport that did not have guardsmen and women on them. It was a circuitous route but it was all he could think to do to find Kaid. Turn out he didn’t need to. He was about halfway to the piers when a small hand grabbed his belt and pulled him into the shadows between two buildings.
“You get points for noticing the guards are looking for you,” the gnome whispered. “Granted the lane two streets back would have made way more sense than this one.”
Joe was about to answer when he saw that Kaid was looking at him with a very un-Kaid-like expression. His mouth was not pinched into a smirk or a sneer. This humane, non-caustic demeanor was almost more unnerving than even the blank-faced killer he faced in Brandy Mere. Not quite creepier but it was close. Joe felt a sense of dread envelop him. Not knowing what was going on he just stood, staring at the pint-sized cynic.
“Well, this is it, big man,” Kaid finally uttered. “This is where we part ways.”