- Bellamy -

“You fleeced him.” I told her. Lily looked thoroughly unrepentant. As I had never haggled before, beyond buying candy at a Turkish bazaar where they fleeced me, I had decided to accept Lily’s offer of aid. As it turned out, she was a surprisingly good negotiator, likely due to her aristocratic heritage. She probably could have even been a great one, if she were to change her crass manner of speech, but that was part of her charm I suppose. In any case, Wyper looked like he’d been put through the wringer when she was done with him. I was so proud. “And you even got us a guide. Really well done!”

She preened a little when I thumped her on the back. Seeing no way out of his predicament, Wyper had decided that prudence was the better part of valor and bowed out. Being the generous person that I was, I had allowed this, accepting his offer to take us to his village so that his chieftain could negotiate on his behalf. Sadly, it hadn't been possible to have Lily take over again, because having her deal with the tribal leader would have constituted a major a diplomatic faux-pas, as whenever possible, leaders spoke to leaders and not to underlings.

Which is how I found myself sitting in a tipi, staring across a fire at an elderly man wearing a feathered canine head covering. Arrayed behind the shandian chief was a lineup of their best and strongest, all of them shooting me frosty looks. I wasn't sure what Wyper told them, but from the reception I was getting, I would wager it wasn’t all positive. And to think that as a gesture of good will, I had gifted him with a small bag of dirt too. What a cheapskate. The Chief on the other hand, was more familiar with the concept of hospitality.

“Drink?” the Chief offered, holding out a glass of some unidentifiable fruit juice. “I’d normally offer wine but I’d rather crush you fair and square.”

I probably should have brought Lily along but they had refused. Fair and square indeed…bah humbug.

“Thank you.” The taste reminded me a little bit of mango and peach but not quite? I couldn't really place it. “This is quite good. Could I bother you for a few barrels before we leave?”

“I’m sure Laki will be pleased you appreciate her work. Arranging a gift shouldn't pose any difficulty and I'm sure the boys will gladly deliver it to your ship after we are done.” the chief said, raising his own glass.

Translation: Hand over the dirt at a reasonable price or my warriors will deliver gifts of lead to blow your ship to smithereens.

“Very much appreciated. Of course, if I’m to receive a gift, I must respond in kind. I would hate to be a rude guest.” I told him.

Translation: Try it, old man!

We locked eyes for a bit, eyes unblinking, neither of us willing to back down. He leaned forward, his eyes turning to slits. I took a sip of my drink, continuing our battle across the rim of my glass. It was only when I placed my empty glass down, that the stalemate ended in mutual destruction.

“Kukukuku!”

“Wararara!”

“Kukukukukuku!”

“Wararararara!”

“Kukukukukukukukukukukuku!”

“Wararararararararararara!

“…”

“…not bad, squirt, not bad at all.” he acknowledged after taking a slight breath. It was an opening, which I eagerly took full advantage of, though admittedly, it was a cheap shot.

“Hah, so you do recognize greatness when you see it!” I said victoriously.

SLAM!

“That’s not how this works, brat!” the Chief protested, “You’re supposed to compliment me back and you know it!”

In response, I raised a single eyebrow. “I did, didn’t I?”

“…what?” the Chief reeled back in outrage, before turning turning my words over in his head. Then a grin started spreading across his face, before the Chief let out a bark of laughter. “Wararara, you arrogant brat! You’d make a fine shandian!”

“I’d make a better friend.” I replied. “And friends come bearing gifts.”

Upon my signal Sarquiss got up and placed my sack down before the Chief, who shot me some uncertain looks. It was almost as if he were asking for permission, which I answered with a small nod. With ever so slightly shaking hands, he undid the knot holding the sack closed, fumbling only once. But it wasn't long after that the deed was done, and the tipi was filled with several sharp intakes of breath.

“Vearth…”

Much like Wyper had done, the Chief felt up the loamy earth, rubbing it between his fingers, taking in deep whiffs of its scent and even having a small taste.

“Surely, the harvest shall be bountiful…” he murmured before his head snapped back towards me. “You have a ship full of this vearth?”

I nodded.

“Depending on how thick you spread it, the amount should be sufficient to support more than enough vegetable gardens to feed your entire people.”

“Wyper tells me you desire dials in exchange for your vearth.” He said, officially acknowledging my ownership over my cargo and relinquishing any claims they might have had. And being the honorable warriors they were, this meant they wouldn't stoop to dishonorable means like theft nor would they rob their guests of their property. Which only left them the option of trading for it. A clear win for me.

“Amongst other things.” I answered, leaving myself some more options open. In addition to the dials themselves, I wanted to purchase the knowledge of how to maintain them and more importantly, how to use them effectively. But from what Lily had told me, you never made the first offer. “What do you have?”

----------------------------------------

Being the seasoned chieftain that he was, my opponent recovered his equilibrium annoyingly fast. He made an offer. I refused and countered with my own. And then we began to haggle in earnest.

I inflated the value of my dirt sky high and described all the benefits my dirt would provide for his people. The Chief extolled the skills of his dial mechanics and spent a long-time hammering home just how rare and precious my desired dials were. I had not known that there were so many extinct dial species. All the while, we heavily critiqued each other’s goods and threw verbal jabs with a big smile.

He’d point out how I probably got my vearth dirt cheap from the Blue Sea and I’d counter with the basic model of demand and supply. I was not seeing any other suppliers around here, so I had an effective monopoly, the delusional prick with a god complex notwithstanding.

In the same vein, I had other potential customers who’d be happy to pay me for my goods. Though when I pointed this out, the Chief just smirked and dared me to try sneak my vearth past Enel. I hastily retraced my last arguments, scrambling to recover.

We both consciously avoided mentioning how Wyper had pointed his weapon at us when we first met. The Chief, because doing so would mean he’d need to pay us recompense and I, because I had nothing to gain by embarrassing the shandian’s top warrior. The potential for friendship was way more important than a couple of extra dials.

I also had to admit that I was having a lot of fun. In fact, this was probably the most fun I’d had ever since I had woken up in my new body. At the moment I didn’t have to worry about how to survive the next day or how to beat someone I couldn’t touch. Instead, I was playing a harmless game with very low stakes.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

If I lost a few rounds, I just paid a bit more dirt for the dials, which didn’t change the price all that much. And because pirate crews didn’t have a regular paycheck, the labor cost involved in stuffing my cargo hold with free dirt was effectively zero. In fact, I may just sell one dial later for one belly so I could boast to have a return on investment north of infinite percent. Take that Wall Street!

And if I won? Props to me. I’d have to share the profits with my crew, but I was going to do that anyway. My guys and gals seriously needed an upgrade, if they were going to survive what’s coming our way.

But eventually, as with all things, all good things must come to an end.

“So, we have a deal?” he asked.

“We have a deal.” I answered and we shook on it. For an old man, the Chief had a strong grip, though I guess there had to be a reason why he was the boss of a tribe of a warrior people.

“Feel free to take the vearth whenever you’re ready.” I offered. These were the best kind of gifts. They cost me nothing but were very well appreciated by the receiver. “As for the dials, don’t worry about it. We are in no rush.”

“You would trust us not to stab you in the back?” he asked, clearly surprised.

“I’m a good judge of character.” I told him and that wasn’t theoretically wrong either. I knew basically everyone of relevance in this world, so my judgement was very accurate as a result. “I trust you to honor our agreement.”

At that the Chief began to chuckle. “Clever boy, very clever. No need to apply the pressure. We, shandians never break our word, especially not if it is given to friends.”

Not that I’m not extremely pleased by the outcome, but this seemed very fast. Did Noland become friends with them this quickly?

My surprise must have showed on my face, because every shandian began to smirk. “Didn't you call yourself our friend already? Shandians do not refuse a hand extended in friendship.”

Right, I had, hadn't I? Noland saved them from the tree sickness. Maybe I saved them from starvation or something? Probably not, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Tomorrow, my warriors will begin instructing your crew in the arts of dial warfare.” The Chief said before opening the entrance to the tipi and addressing the gathered shandians. “Tonight, we celebrate our new friends and our future prosperity!”

Nice idea. If you wanted a party, a party you would get. “Hewitt! Break out the alcohol! Nobody is remaining standing after tonight! Captain’s orders.”

“Aye, aye Captain!”

----------------------------------------

There must have been several hundred people gathered around a giant bonfire, singing and dancing and getting hilariously drunk. It was nice to see my crew actively intermingling with our hosts, the last remaining tension flowing out of them.

They'd had a few rough days, and as such they deserved to let their hair down a little. I could also see that members of my crew were attempting to chat up some pretty locals, which while not always done successfully, did sometimes yield results.

Ross, in particular, was dragged behind a tipi and didn’t emerge for the rest of the evening. Sarquiss on the other hand was dragged behind a tipi too, but by an irate Lily. He emerged shortly thereafter, with a rather prominent mark of her disapproval on his cheek. The crowd loved it and spontaneously decided that they both needed matching headdresses.

“It’s a fine sight, isn’t it?” the Chief groaned exaggeratedly, as he sat down on a log next to mine. “It has been too long since I’ve seen my people like this.”

Was it just me or was the mood suddenly getting darker?

“…”

“Shandia has had little to celebrate for a long while.” Ah, that did shine a little more light onto why the Chief had been so quick to declare us friends. He needed a pretext. Me losing more than I had won during our little game probably helped.

“Does this have anything to do with this Enel character, I’ve heard about?” I asked.

“Yes, but not only.” he answered, taking a large swigg of his drink and belching. “What do you know about our history?”

“Not much.” I admitted. “There isn’t much information to be had down below. What little is known comes mostly from the memoirs of Montblanc Noland and the resulting stories.”

It seemed, the Chief hadn't expected that. “You know of Montblanc Noland?”

“As much as anyone else who isn’t a part of his family. According to the stories, Noland reportedly found a lost city of gold occupied by a tribe called the Shandians. Your ancestors if I’m not mistaken.” The Chief nodded and gestured for me to continue. “However, when Noland returned with his king to visit the Shandians, they were nowhere to be found. Noland died believing that you guys sank into the sea. But considering where we are, it’s probably much more likely that you guys somehow rode the Knock Up Stream to end up here.”

After I was finished, the chief remained silent for a while, nursing his drink.

“You’re right. Our ancestors suddenly found themselves uprooted from their home and surrounded by hostile neighbors. Our homeland consisted of the near sum total of all vearth on the White Sea and we were too weak to defend it.” Another swig. “We were driven out and have been fighting to regain our homeland ever since. The victorious Skypieans renamed our home the Upper Yard, the home of the gods. What drivel.”

The man seemed more bitter than I had first assumed. “So Enel is not a deity then?”

“That Birkan is no divine being and neither was his predecessor. No, he is but a man child with an overinflated sense of self importance. But he has power beyond anything we can muster, so for all intents and purposes, he may as well be a god.”

“Pardon me, but who or what is a Birkan?” I asked, changing the topic. I would rather not step into a minefield if possible, thank you very much.

“Legends say, that three tribes came to the White Sea from paradise we call Fairy Vearth. The Shandians, Skypieans and the Birkans. Unlike the Skypieans, we had more amicable relations with the Birkans, who lived far away.”

“You mentioned Enel was one of them. Did they all migrate to the Upper Yard then?”

“The ones who remain. Enel slaughtered the rest.”

Well, that escalated quickly. What did you say to that?

“…”

“Not even the corpses were left. Just a large hole. When I think about it, there had been inklings before it happened. Merchants brought news that a radical faction was growing in power, but we all dismissed it. We should have listened when my nephew warned us and sought our help.”

“Nephew?”

“My sister married a Birkan merchant. Had he lived, he would have had his own family by now.” Swig. “When we first fought Enel, he tortured me with the knowledge of my nephew’s fate."

Right...that didn't go as planned. I'd jumped out of the pan and into the fire. Minefields everywhere.

"For leading the resistance, little Urouge was personally cast down by Enel, such that his soul would not find it's way to the great ancestral assembly, but instead be cursed to wander your oceans forever.”

Urouge? Wasn’t that the captain of the Mad Monk pirates?

“Do forgive an old man for his drunk ramblings. I should not have burdened you with my personal troubles." the Chief said as he got up, waving at me to stay seated. "Please, enjoy the rest of the night. If you’ll excuse, I’ve obviously have had too much to drink.”

With that, he turned around to leave.

He didn't get far.

“Chief." I took a breath. "Urouge may still be alive.”