Chapter 6
LIFE’S ALWAYS BETTER AFTER BREAKFAST
The next morning, Finn was in the generously appointed kitchen that catered for the officers. After the crew had been killed, he’d claimed the galley as his own.
Since the academy, he’d spent five years of his spare time learning to cook. During his twenty years of training, he’d been taught alchemy, enchanting, engineering and construction, yet he’d never learnt to look after himself. He couldn’t cook, hunt or survive without resources outside the carefully managed environments he’d always lived in. So, he resolved to change that. He’d been keen to learn from anyone in the kitchens willing to teach him. Usually, the chief cook had found time for him. She had been a lovely old cowkin lady called Bess, a superb cook who became very sweet on Finn. It was the first hobby he’d ever had the chance to indulge in, and he found cooking for others enjoyable and very relaxing.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Gypsy thought to him. She seemed happy and content.
“Top of the morning to you,” Finn laughed back. “You sound chirpy.”
“I am. It felt like this world reached out and opened up to us yesterday.”
“Yes, I felt it too. It was such a different concept for me. Pure freedom, even if it might be predetermined by deities. I feel both excited and nervous about our future.”
“We agreed it was what we both wanted, yes?” Gypsy asked. “You’re not having second thoughts, I hope.”
Finn paused and thought. He subconsciously flipped the bacon and broke eggs into a separate skillet.“Not really. No, not second thoughts. Just nerves. Being so free is a little daunting for me.”
Gypsy flooded Finn’s mind with her sympathy. “Neither of us has ever experienced true freedom before.” Images of Finn and a hooded lady sitting together in a prison cell, wrapped in chains and shackled to the wall, filled Finn’s mind. “Just the idea that we could go anywhere or do anything just because we can is an alien concept for me, too, lover.”
“I suppose you’ve always been just as much a creature of the military as I have,” Finn replied. Gypsy’s pain was his pain.
“When I first gained consciousness, I was already part of this craft’s superstructure,” Gypsy said, then she paused.
Finn felt her mind shudder with the horror of her awakening. He experienced it just as vividly as she did. Just the concept of his bonded waking up for the first time, then realising she was bolted into a machine, filled him with a feeling of deep sorrow. He could feel her tears pricking at his own eyes.
“They had to suppress my consciousness for months while gradually acclimating me to my reality.” She paused again, then sighed heavily. “Your bacon’s burning, dear.”
“What?” Finn looked at the smoking pan and quickly flipped the cremated meat onto a waiting plate. “Shit! I killed the best part of breakfast,” he thought, looking at the blackened morsels lying there sorrowfully. He rescued the eggs before they shared the bacon’s fate, then went about cooking some more.
“Mhmm! You know, you’ve really taken to this cooking thing,” Gypsy said, clearly wanting a distraction from her melancholy. “Now you’ve got good at it. You should consider focusing on something else for a change. Why not look for some sort of instrument you can learn to play? I have read that playing an instrument is a very relaxing pastime. I’d wager the ladies would love it, too.”
“Not good enough at cooking to prevent the bacon from burning,” Finn snorted. “Is this your new project, then?” Finn thought back with amusement. “Operation, get Finn a girlfriend.”
“A skyship’s got to have a hobby. Besides, until I get my avatar, I’ll have to get my kicks vicariously through you.”
“Liss hinted she might have given us a book to help make that happen,” Finn replied. “If it can be done, I’ll make it happen, I promise.”
“If I get my avatar, I’m choosing my appearance. Can you see me with auburn hair like Ember? I can. Also, I want boobs that challenge even the roomiest of dresses. That’ll make damn sure I get your undivided attention, my young letch. I’ve noticed you are very keen on those particular assets on a lady. Then I want a proper wedding ceremony. I’ve been bonded to you for years. I ought to get a nice ceremony and a honeymoon out of it, too. I can just imagine it. A temple full of our friends, everyone in suits or gorgeous flowing dresses, there’d be flowers everywhere and bells ringing. We’ve got to have bells. Then afterwards there’d be beautiful music and dancing. Ohh! Such a wonderful dream. It can’t come soon enough,” Gypsy’s mind had gone from gloomy to full of new hopes in moments.
“Now, wife. One thing at a time.” Finn snorted. “Can you please tell our guests I’m about to serve breakfast?”
Gypsy huffed back at him. “Good morning, honoured guests,” she said over the tannoy. “We hope you slept well and you have awoken feeling suitably refreshed. Finn has asked me to let you know that he is about to serve breakfast. We would be delighted if you could join us in the officer’s mess.”
It was less than a minute before Bernard arrived. A serving bar between the galley and the kitchen allowed Finn to watch what went on in the dining area. So, he saw him come in and take a seat.
“Good morning, Bernard. I hope you’re hungry.” Finn said through the hatch. He was delighted to have people around worth cooking for. He’d never admitted his cooking abilities to the Ravagers when they were on board. “I have bacon, eggs, hash and tomatoes to sate your appetite this morning. There’s also toast and fruit should you prefer something a little lighter. The coffee was only recently brewed, or maybe you’d prefer tea?”
“Uhm! Wow! I’m not sure I’ve ever been so well cared for, and I’m married,” Bernard laughed, shaking his head. “The shower was a welcome relief, too.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Uh! Coffee, toast, eggs and some bacon if you’d be so kind. Just black coffee. I normally have it as black as pitch in the keep.”
“Coming right up! By the way, yesterday, I assumed that you must be a military man. Was I right?” Finn asked.
“Not military, exactly,” Bernard replied. “Shanty doesn’t have an army per se, just a band of reserves for emergencies. No, I’m the captain of the city watch.”
Finn plonked a steaming cup of coffee in front of Bernard along with a well-stacked plate. As he did so, he spotted Bernard’s hands.
“Your hands look really painful. What happened?” Finn asked with concern.
“Rowing,” Bernard said with a wince as he picked up his fork. “I’m not the best oarsman, and as soon as the oars got wet, they started to rub.”
“I could sort that out quickly if you’d like,” Finn offered.
“You’re a healer?” Bernard asked, his tone conveying a little doubt at this young man’s claim. “If you bandage me up, I’ll not be able to row home.”
“I can do it magically, so it’ll be swift. No bandages needed.” Finn replied. “Here, give me your hands and a little trust.”
Just then, Abbot and Ember arrived. Both were smiling and looked clean and refreshed.
“Oho! What’s occurring here?” Abbot asked, his expression flicking from happy and relaxed straight to intensely focused and curious.
“He says he can heal my shredded hands,” Bernard replied, his voice still laced with doubt.
“A very generous offer, Bernard. You really should accept it.” Abbot said without pause.
Bernard scowled at the old man but offered his hands, palm up, to Finn.
Finn took the hands and pushed light-aspected mana into the wounds. Instantly, he got reports on the severity of the wounds from his anatomical knowledge base. “Not severe, but these blisters are in a bad way, and you’ve broken the skin layer in a few places. Your wounds could rapidly turn septic.”
“Okay, so can you do anything for my hands or not?” Bernard asked. His tone was testy.
“Bernard, just relax, you old coot,” Ember teased him. “Just be patient and watch carefully.”
“Brace yourself. This will sting a lot,” Finn said, closing his eyes. He focused on guiding the golden light mana into Bernard’s hands to begin the healing. At the same time, Finn used pulses of shadow mana to cut away any dead or damaged tissue. A technique he’d been accredited for inventing when he’d demonstrated it to the academy’s guild of surgeons.
“Oww! Gorbytch’s ass, that hurts,” Bernard hissed.
Ember snorted. “Don’t be such a wet wus.”
Soon, Finn’s mana had sealed any breaks in the skin layer and sped the skin’s regrowth to a point where the blisters flaked away to reveal fresh, healthy skin. He cast slow-acting restoration runes on the affected areas as a parting gesture. They would continuously rejuvenate the ongoing healing over the next thirty minutes.
“There you go. Now eat your food. It’s getting cold,” Finn said with a smile. He looked at his own hands in mild confusion. The process of healing Bernard had been much easier than it ever had been before. The channelling and rune formation just seemed to occur more naturally. He looked suspiciously at the golden flare embedded in the back of his hand. He was sure he hadn’t imagined the improvement. I wonder if Liss had something to do with that?
Bernard’s mouth fell open when he looked at his perfectly healed hands. “Wha? He— Did you see that, Ember? Look at my hands!”
Ember chuckled at Bernard’s excitement. “It seems you might have many surprises to show us, Finn. That’s the first real magic I’ve ever seen.”
Finn turned a very bright shade of red. “Uh! Not sure about that.”
Abbot grinned widely again. “Ember, stop embarrassing our host.”
Ember grinned.
“By the way, my sincere compliments on the quality of your hospitality, Finn,” Ember said. “I have never been anywhere with such soft, warm beds, and the facilities are a phenomenon all on their own. If you’re not careful, I may never leave,” she finished with a laugh.
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Finn put that delightful thought to one side for later consideration.
“Would you like me to ask her to move in, or were you planning on doing it?” Gypsy asked mentally, leaping at the situation.
“You would be very welcome to stay with us,” Finn replied, blushing further. “It’s just me and Gypsy here at the moment, and we don’t take up much space between us.”
“At least not until you make me an avatar. When that happens, you’d best lookout. I want my honeymoon,” Gypsy thought with accompanying suggestive images.
“My, my! I never knew you had such a rich and exotic imagination. Maybe you could recommend some informative reading material to help me keep up?” Finn retorted, glad of the distraction.
“You forget, dearest. I see everything that occurs on board, and we had a mixed-gender crew,” Gypsy giggled. “Very educational it was, too.”
Finn pulled himself together and looked at Ember. “Ahem! Yes, well, in the meantime, would you like some breakfast? I’ve prepared eggs, bacon, hash, tomatoes and toast, or I could make you up a plate of fruit if you’d prefer. The coffee is fresh and hot if you’d like some.”
Ember laughed. It was an open and relaxed laugh that reached into Finn’s mind and tugged. “We’re not officers, Finn. Relax. We’ll all be good friends by the time we reach Shanty. Thank you for cooking us breakfast. I’ll nip into the kitchen and fill plates for Abbot and me.
Abbot had been watching Finn and Ember interact with interest. “After breakfast, we’d love a tour of this fantastic vessel if you’d be willing.”
“Yes, that should be okay,” Finn said, and then a memory of the now-dead crew made his mood plummet. “I suppose we aren’t bound by the fae secrecy laws anymore, and Liss has already vouchsafed you. Perhaps the shorter tour might be better, though. The full tour takes hours.”
Abbot reached forward and raised Finn’s sinking chin. “One day, we will chat about those fateful days of yours. When we do, you will realise that nothing could have been done to change what occurred. Until then, you must focus on what is before you, not behind. That’s what we’re here to help you with.”
Finn gave Abbot a weak smile. “Thank you.”
“Don’t fret, youngling,” Abbot grinned. “I’ve got so much planned for you both that you won’t have any spare time to dwell on your past.”
*****-*****
Breakfast and the tour took them most of the morning. Finn wasn’t sure their guests fully comprehended Gypsy’s capabilities. They seemed to realise that she could house a small army but not that Gypsy had the facilities to grow food for up to seventy-five souls. With a full staff complement, they could also clothe, equip, train, heal and entertain that small army.
Finn glowed with the pride he had for his ward. Giving his life to Gypsy had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. Even if he hadn’t appreciated it at the time.
“We’re pretty fantastic together, you and I,” Gypsy purred into his mind. “Never forget that you’re as valuable to our union as I am. Never lose track of how much I will always need you around.”
“You’re too good to me.”
Feeling overwhelmed, Finn turned to Abbot, keen for a change of subject. “How long will our journey to Shanty take?”
“In a rowing boat going upstream and allowing for our fully armoured oarsman, it took us two days,” Ember answered. “Going downstream will take a day and a half, probably.”
“I’d forgotten how much I dislike camping, too,” Abbot laughed. “I suppose we’d better get started. Pitching a tent in the dark is not fun.” He looked beseechingly at Finn. The hint hung heavily in the air.
Even so, Finn managed to miss Abbot’s unsubtle hint, but it didn’t matter. “Pitching a tent?” he asked, a little confused. “Aren’t you staying aboard Gypsy and helping me navigate? Liss said I should take you to a place called Shanty.”
“Is Gypsy able to make the journey?” Ember asked.
Finn snorted. “Yes, of course.”
“Liss also said we had to stay on the water,” Gypsy contributed via the tannoy.
“Fine by me,” Finn replied.
“One of us must row home, although it’ll be easier this time,” Bernard said.
“Fancy a bit of showing off for your potential lady friend, dear?” Gypsy thought to him.
“I love showing you off. You up for a gentle float downstream?” Finn asked.
“Mmm! What a comfortable, decadent life we lead now. A relaxing trip on the water sounds delightful.”
“Where did you leave your boat?” Finn asked Bernard.
“About one hundred yards west of here,” Bernard replied. “I tied it up well enough, so it should still be where we left it.”
Finn cast his mind out, and sure enough, a small rowing boat was secured using three ropes and thick metal stakes hammered hard into the bank. He closed his eyes and frowned. His spatial mana was fighting his control, making it hard to corral it at that distance. However, with his pigheadedness and copious amounts of focused willpower, he forced his magic to comply with his wishes and enclosed the little boat. He then dragged it ungracefully through a temporary portal that spat it back out in the fellward cargo hold. There was an audible thump below deck, and Finn smiled with satisfaction.
“That was good practice. I should move boats around more often,” Finn said to Abbot with a chuckle. “I’ve put your boat in our smaller cargo hold. It’ll be safe there until we get to Shanty. This way, no one has to spend a night in a tent.
Ember stared at him for a few seconds and grinned. “Oh really? No way! If that is true, show me. If you can reach out, Liss knows how, and bring our boat here without moving from your chair, I’ll cook our meal tonight.”
Finn grinned. He had been hoping to try one of his recipes on them tonight. “Can you cook?”
Ember gave him a cuff on the shoulder. “Not the point. I’ll be amazed if I need to make good on that threat.”
Finn encircled Abbot, Bernard and Ember with spatial mana and moved them down to the Fellward cargo hold on the lower deck.
The shadows fell away as the powerful overhead lights flickered on and grew in intensity, revealing a vast and largely empty cargo hold. There in the corner, a small rowing boat was leaning over alarmingly. A few bits of equipment had scattered onto the floor nearby, which must have happened when the initially upright craft tilted abruptly.
Abbot laughed out loud. It was a loud, happy chortle that made everyone present smile. “It seems, Ember, that Finn here has surprised us again. So, tell me, young lady, can you cook?”
“No,” Ember said sheepishly as she hung her head. “I don’t understand how you did what you did, but I apologise for doubting you.”
“Fantastic!” Bernard snorted. “Now, can we get going before it starts getting dark?”
“Yes, midday has already come and gone. Would you mind, Finn?” Abbot asked.
Finn nodded and moved them all to the war room. “Feel free to watch from the observation area. My pilot’s space is directly above us, but if you need to speak to me, just press the blue crystal on the wall there,” Finn said, indicating a squat, dark blue, hexagonal gem nearby. He wondered if their guests would actually use the crystal or just resort to shouting loudly as the Ravagers had.
“Is there space in your area for me?” Ember asked timidly. “It would be fascinating for me to watch you at work.”
Finn hesitated. He’d never invited anyone into the cockpit before. Other than the duty co-pilot, no one had been allowed in there.
“Oh! Sorry. If it’s uncomfortable or against some rule you have, please forget I asked,” Ember quickly added.
Finn felt bad for his initial hesitation. “No, not against any rules. Well, not anymore, anyway. Will you join me?”
Ember grinned and clapped her hands excitedly. “Yes, I’d love to.”
“Let’s get going then,” Finn said hastily. With a thought, he hurriedly grabbed Ember with his mana, pulled them both through non-space, and deposited them in the cockpit.
Ember blinked a few times, then looked around the small room. “Wow! That whole disappearing in one place and appearing somewhere else is really freaky. Utterly wonderful, but it’s incredible that you can do such things without effort.” She looked around the cramped confines of the cockpit and gasped. “What an extraordinary place. What does all this stuff do?”
Finn just wanted to get Gypsy moving and wasn’t used to having to explain things. “Let’s get underway. Perhaps it’ll be easier to explain things as they happen.”
“Oh yes! Good plan. Is that chair okay to sit in?” Ember said, pointing to the co-pilot’s chair.
“Yes, when we used to run missions for the fae military, there were always two co-pilots working in a shift pattern so that I always had someone up here with me.”
Ember frowned. “But what about you? Surely you needed to sleep, too.”
Finn gave her a wan smile. “My species are created from pure mana. I don’t need sleep. I just need to meditate occasionally to sort my thoughts out and calm my head down.”
“Oh! What a strange idea. You must get so much done, not needing to spend half your day unconscious,” Ember said, shaking her head.
Finn thought about that. To him, wasting half a day in an unconscious state was strange. “I get a lot of reading and research done at night. That’s a bonus, I suppose,” he finished weakly.
There was an awkward silence as the two of them began to understand how different their lives were. Mercifully, Ember found something to say before things got worse. “So, how do such tiny buttons affect such a huge ship?”
“Magic,” Finn replied with a broad smile, back on a familiar subject. “Lots and lots of magic.” He knew that, technically, the movement of concentrated mana aspects and its interaction with runic formations was what really made things happen, but this wasn’t an astromancy lecture.
“I’ll stay quiet and watch, Finn. I’ve already distracted you too much, and I appreciate you indulging my curiosity.”
Finn smiled at her. There was so much he could say in response, but nothing that immediately came into his befuddled brain. The gorgeous lady sitting next to him was making his brain feel fuzzy. “Okay, we’re anchored by four large spikes attached to chains. First, we need to retract those, and then we’ll be floating freely.” Finn flicked the four harpoon buttons up. The clonk of the anchor spikes retracting back into the body vibrated through the ship, and then there was the faint sound of chains being rewound at each corner of the outer hulls.
Ember gasped. “That’s incredible. So much power right there at your fingertips.”
When Gypsy started to float sideways, Finn realised there must be a flow to the lake. By his estimate, the water flowed south toward the gap in the surrounding mountains. He lowered the thrusters and started turning Gypsy into the flow. “Now I deploy the four directional engines underneath Gypsy’s larger hulls. Those will motivate her to go where I need her to.”
“You don’t use a rudder, then?” Ember asked.
“No, the thrusters can rotate and push Gypsy in any direction we need to go,” Finn replied. “Is this water channel narrow or fast-moving?”
“The flow is brisk but not fast, and it’s a wide channel most of the way. Your ship might find one area a bit of a squeeze, but we’ll have to see. I think it’ll be close,” Ember replied.
“The goddess won’t mind if we hop that bit, will she?” Gypsy asked Finn.
“She won’t complain if we couldn’t otherwise make it through, would she?” He replied.
“Meh! We choose our own path, remember. Her words!” Gypsy thought.
“Good point.”
“We’ll manage. Gypsy has plenty of tricks we can use,” Finn replied to Ember.
Finn gently eased the two rear-thrust levers forward. “Now we add some forward motion,” he said. There was a thump from the large rear engines as ignition runes ignited mana-enriched ambient air, forcing it to begin moving through the system. A soft purr began to rise in volume, indicating that the engines had started to respond to the controls. Raw mana started to flow, igniting the force, fire and wind runes of the jets. Gypsy started to drag copious quantities of air into the intakes, and then force-aspected mana was injected into the mix. As the air passed the ignition runes, it began to rip apart and burn. Additional wind and force runes doubled the speed of the airflow. The purr rose in volume and pitch, slowly turning into a faint whine as the engine’s thrust built.
“What’s that noise?” Ember asked, looking around as if the noise’s source was nearby.
“At the back of each of Gypsy’s outer hulls is a powerful engine that forces scorched air out of it. That pushes Gypsy forward,” Finn replied, not looking away from his console and the front windscreen.
Finn narrowed the thruster ports of the rear engines and felt the jolt as he was pushed back into his seat’s upholstery. All he had to do now was use the directional thrusters to keep them heading in the right direction.
“Perhaps a little less oomph, dear,” Gypsy chided.
“Sorry! Yes, I forgot this was supposed to be a leisurely journey.”
“We both know you were showing off for the young lady,” Gypsy laughed.
“Uhm! Wow! This ship is so— Wow!” Ember said, a little lost for words.
“I assume we just follow this river?” Finn asked, easing off on the thrust before they built up too much speed.
“Y-yes. There are no deviations,” Ember was happy to finally be talking about a subject she knew about. So much about this ship baffled and amazed her simultaneously. “The Run flows straight down to Lake Corymere. Shanty is on the west coast of the lake. The Lissian Monastery where Abbot lives is on an island in the middle of the lower lake. Just like Arcathia.”
“Gypsy, are you alright taking control from here on?” Finn asked.
“Yes indeed. Although I’m not piloting if you’re going to ravish the young lady in here.”
Finn harumphed. “Lover, I wouldn’t know how to ravage her even if she asked me to.” He confessed.