Chapter 5: Skull and Bones

I

I was lost. Not in the sense that I didn’t know where I was going, I knew exactly where I was going; it was part of the reason I had taken the tower quest only a few nights ago. I was lost in the sense that I didn’t know where I was. Somewhere in this area, near the southern coast, east of Wiccawich, was a part of my skeleton. I had felt it, that feeling was what had dragged me so far off the beaten path and along the beach.

I had left the village of Urila a few days earlier for a number of reasons. I wasn’t the biggest fan of parties and it looked as if they were building for an absolute rager. But more importantly I had just noted down a treasure trove of information from that tower.

The level of magical complexity paled in comparison to the mana network within my own tower but that was a good thing. I had lived in the Blue Tower for centuries and much of its abilities remained a mystery to me; not for lack of trying on my part. The Towers on my home world were designed in the golden age of magic, before the undead wars, and much of the techniques that were used were lost. If that was the only problem I may have uncovered their methods of production but that was far from the only issue.

There were a number of mana pathways which were red herrings, they did nothing as best as I could tell. What's more I would only have seconds to look at it, as when I bypassed the tower’s defences, the mana network would reset after very little time and block my mana sight by flooding the walls with mana. Compounding this was the countless modifications previous generations of Archmagi had done to the tower - muddying the waters further. I had guessed that my tower must also have a core room but I had never been able to find it, there wasn’t even room for it in the structure but bending space was nothing new.

Suffice to say the insights I had gained from this much simpler tower had given me much to think on. I did my best thinking while in motion, usually this meant keeping myself busy with the monotonous work of repeated experimentation. Although my ‘walks’ were infamous in my home world, I might reshape the landscape by accident when my mind was elsewhere and if there was, say, a mountain or a city in my way I may, without thinking, flatten it.

Without access to a proper laboratory I was forced to resort to walking. I set my internal compass upon that sense I had of a piece of myself and began to walk. The first night passed uneventfully as I walked along a sandy beach. The first day was a disaster. So caught up was I in my musings that I had failed to notice the rising sun. I was left, trapped in a dead body, for the entire day. I was lucky that I had been walking above the tidal line or I may have been swept out to sea without any recourse. I could, of course, have let my soul leave this body, however I was unsure if I would be able to return.

With my body sedentary, my thoughts slowed, grinding to a halt long before dusk. I was beyond frustrated when night finally came and unlife returned to Hal’s body. I must have looked like a petulant teenager, stamping across the sand in the moonlight that second night. Shortly before sunrise on the second day I made sure to refresh; Sunscreen, Minor Finesse, and Preserve Meat. Not long after I did the sand tapered off before cliffs began to rise, seeing this coming only thanks to my spell-break I put myself on the solid heathland and continued up the coast in the direction of my bones.

I walked along the edge of the cliff as it rose from 0 feet to 50. As I proceeded, the heathers and sandy soil of the heath gradually gave way to a more wooded area. At first it was the occasional silver birch that sprouted singularly from the flat lands. Eventually these lonely survivors were brought into the fold by patches of bracken and gorse; before long I found myself in a fully fledged forest.

If I had been thinking much of my surroundings: I might have been surprised by the ease with which I followed the top of the cliff. A path had been worn through and the spiky plants that populated this region had been cut back from the walkway. This would have seemed particularly odd as there were no signs of any mortals out this way, not even smoke from distant houses.

I didn’t notice any of this as I continued plodding on, my brain working its way through the puzzles I had given it. I finally came back to my senses; having figured out everything I could and memorised all I had seen in the tower. I was surprised to find I had no idea where I was; I was lost.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

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I looked about, quickly taking in my surroundings. I peered over the cliff at the waves which lapped at the rocks below. I looked behind me and ahead but there was no end to the cliffs in sight. I was going to return the way I had presumably come when something caught my eye. Below me the waves crashed against boulders, suspended in clay, all the way along - save for a spot about 500 feet ahead. At that point the water appeared to continue inwards without being impeded, no sign of white horses.

The sight piqued my new passion for exploration, as although I could not see it from here, there must be a cave hidden away down there. I rushed along the path I had been subconsciously following, wanting to get closer to the point of interest.

Unfortunately, I was unable to. About 100 feet from the place, the path turned inland and the way forward was blocked by thick foliage. I debated just burning my way through but decided to leave that as a last resort and instead follow the path in the hopes this was a momentary diversion.

As I passed one tree I heard the incongruous sound of snoring. I unfocused my Life Sense; changing it from the normal overlay I had over my sight to a vision that was mostly dark save for the largest forms of life. I shut my eyes and scanned about. Sure enough, tucked away in the tree above me was a dwarf woman, fast asleep. She wore a baggy, white, linen shirt and thick, brown, cotton trousers. At her waist there was a sabre - so thick that it may have been a cleaver.

My Detection skill tugged at me and I could make out the marks left on the tree from her desperate scramble up it. It also highlighted the footsteps left in the mud that continued along the trail. Curious, I ignored the sleeping woman and continued along the path.

It terminated at a cave, still not far from the sea. I entered with all haste and followed the path as it descended down into the earth. The exterior had appeared natural but the descent was anything but. It was a man made tunnel complete with rotting wooden supports. I turned a corner and was greeted by quite the sight.

I looked out upon a secluded harbour, hidden beneath the cliffs. This was no doubt the cove I had detected before. The haven had room for only the one large square rigged ship which currently made port. The surrounding dock was stacked with cargo being moved about by men and women dressed the same as the exterior dwarf and of such variety in race and species that it had only been matched by my brief glimpse into the nobility in Wiccawich.

An iron banded oak chest caught my eye. The locks it sported were a match for the one I had seen earlier; the only thing missing was a ward. Combined with my sense for myself, there could be no doubt that it contained some of my bones. It was being carried towards the ship by a young human looking man - he wore a baggy, linen shirt and baggy, brown shorts and around his middle was a red, silk cumberbund and atop his head was tied off a giant kerchief of the same material; completely covering his hair and exposing slightly pointed ears.

I scanned about for a way that I may get to him undetected but there were simply too many of them. I did, however, notice that while most were sporting sabres, of a more reasonable width than the dwarf’s, the better dressed among them were carrying coshes. I returned my focus to the man who held a part of me and used Identify.

Name: Huck Tuah

Title: Sea Man

Race: Half Elf

Class: Fighter Lv.14

Age: 21

Skills: 5

Spells: 0

Attributes: Identify skill too low to determine.

I examined the window which contained much more info than the last time I had used the skill, since I had levelled it up. I was just examining the man’s rather peculiar name when the screen suddenly went fuzzy and my ears filled with static. I then heard the echo of a Thwack that had occurred seconds before bouncing off the walls of the cave. My vision darkened and just before I fell into blackness I looked up to see an annoyed looking man wearing a tricorn hat looking down at me; then nothing.