James awoke with a loud gasp, his lungs begging for breath as he suddenly sat up.

‘Too hot…’

His hands moved to undo his armor and cloak. His body was overheating, sweat dampening his clothes and hair. As he pulled off his leather armor and cloak, James realized he wasn’t on deck anymore. He was somewhere darker, the only light coming from a hatch in the ceiling.

‘Below deck?’

“James?” Dahlia’s voice caught his attention, prompting the young man to turn to the shaman. He nearly reached for his short sword by instinct, Faust’s memory still fresh in his mind.

“Dahlia?” James asked, squinting through the dim light. The shaman was by the wall, sitting on a barrel as she held an opened journal. She closed her book, moving to James’ side. She put a cool hand on his sweating forehead, frowning.

“You’re overheating,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, no shit!” James pulled away, feeling as if he was going to cook to death.

‘Need to get outside… on top of the deck…’

James pulled off his blue tunic, leaving him in his long-sleeved undershirt as he went up the steps, his hands pushing the hatch open as he stepped outside. The cold breeze felt like bliss on his stressed body.

‘Oh, thank god…’

James let out a breath, which turned into a cloud of steam as he did so. As he cooled off, his mind went back to the memory he had experienced earlier. Faust, Kord, the duel, everything.

‘Faust… What the fuck was that?!’ James mentally shouted at the spirit, who finally made his presence known.

‘I don’t control my memories, alright? Things just… happen…’ Faust sounded just as stressed as James, his voice strained and mentally exhausted. James wanted to vomit, the swaying of the deck not helping as he did his best to keep his breakfast in. All that blood, violence, and pain was too much for the young man. His stomach turned at the memory of the knight’s twisted expression of agony.

‘Faust… what did I see?’ James asked again. The spirit was quiet, as if he was hesitating.

‘Faust,’ James demanded.

“James, are you alright?”

The blond man turned to see a worried Seamus, accompanied by a confused Haggard and Helen. Dahlia had just arrived as well, standing by the hatch nearby. James regained his composure, straightening himself as his breathing went back to normal. He looked down at himself, his gray shirt drenched in sweat.

“I’m fine,” James answered as he wiped his forehead with a damp sleeve.

“Are you sure? You passed out a few hours ago and—”

“Can you just shut it?!” James snapped. “I said I’m fine!”

His outburst was enough to stun Seamus and surprise everyone else. James sighed, shaking his head as he walked back below deck, avoiding eye contact. This wasn’t the first time he had experienced Faust’s memory, the last time being before Yorktown’s climatic battle. The memory had inspired James’ original plan before it all went to hell. Faust had killed others in that memory as well before dying at the end.

Still, James had only experienced the memory through hazy eyes and fuzzy recollections. This recent memory was an entirely different story, however. James could swear he was the one fighting, the one bleeding out, the one who slowly killed the knight. It was like it was his own memory, vivid and detailed in every way.

‘Could it be that my connection to Faust is slowly growing stronger?’ James wondered to himself. The young man sat back at the spot where he had woken up, his body temperature now back to normal.

Dahlia came up to the young man, her face furrowed with clear anger and other mixed emotions.

“What has gotten into you? We were worried sick about you, and the first thing you do is yell at us? What happened?” She was obviously confused and understandably pissed off at James. “I had thought you were sick. Your body was overheating, and you were speaking in your sleep…” She slowly trailed off, realization hitting her. “It was Faust again… Wasn’t it? Another memory?” Dahlia sat down in front of James, her pissed-off expression replaced by one of intrigue.

“What did you see?” she inquired.

“I… I don’t want to talk about it,” James answered softly, his eyes closing. “It was… too much. I need some time to process it all,” he explained.

“I see,” Dahlia muttered. There was a sense of worry about her words, but James could still see that she was still upset with him. “Take some time to rest down here, but come up when you’re ready. Helen spotted Vindis through her spotting glass, so we’ll arrive at the city soon.”

The shaman stood up right after; her back turning to James. “Apologize to Seamus once you’re up there.” With that, Dahlia headed out through the hatch. Leaving James alone with his thoughts.

‘Faust…’ James asked again, softer this time.

‘I don’t know,’ the spirit answered. ‘I don’t know what we saw. It’s a memory that’s foreign to me as well, James. I don’t know what kind of man I was, nor what people I was fighting.’

“I think… I think we need to rest a little, tackle this another time.” James could feel Faust’s spirit shift inside of him.

‘Agreed,’ the spirit murmured.

James sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyes before frowning again.

“Can you answer one question?” He asked.

‘Sure. What is it?’ Faust inquired.

“I’m confused about the memory. Wasn’t Kord the one who killed you originally?” James could’ve sworn that was the same man who had beheaded Faust, as he had worn the same wax seal and phoenix emblem.

‘Yes, and no,’ Faust answered before explaining. ‘From what I can gather in my memories, the one that killed me was another of Leonard Kord’s family. Possibly his son.’

James raised his head. “So I guess he was coming at you for revenge?”

‘It would seem so.’

“Christ,” James muttered as he rubbed his eyes. He soon rested back on the cot he had been sleeping on earlier. It smelled of alcohol and wet dog, but it was better than the hard wooden floor.

After some time, James would inevitably change back into his full gear again, leaving his cloak and shield behind as he went back above the deck. The breeze hit him again, this time making the man shiver as he looked around. Everyone seemed busy, the two strangers working on the wheel and sails as Helen and Haggard stood on the quarterdeck. Seamus was currently sitting on a barrel, focusing on the map he held in both hands.

‘I’m an asshole,’ James realized, remembering how he snapped at the young man out of nowhere. He felt a pang of guilt and shame, which made it harder for him to gather up the courage to speak with Seamus. Nonetheless, James walked up to the young man, looking down at the map he held.

“Sorry for yelling at you earlier,” James apologized. He watched how Seamus raised his head to look at James.

“It’s fine,” Seamus answered before he looked back at the map. James didn’t know how to take his answer. He awkwardly stood there as Seamus sat in focus. “Can you at least tell me what happened?” Seamus suddenly asked.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

James looked around for a moment, making sure no one was around to eavesdrop. He finally turned to Seamus, who was looking up at James with an expecting look.

“Do you remember last week? When we were training with Harald? Do you remember when I had passed out, when I relived a memory of the spirit Faust?” James asked. Seamus nodded, a look of realization dawning on his expression.

“It was another memory from Faust,” James started. “Something triggered it, and I passed out again, but it was different this time. It felt… real, too real.”

James looked down at his hands, and for an instant, it flashed back to the memory, his hands that of the Centurion’s, bloody and dirtied. James blinked, and the vision was gone. He shivered at the memory, knowing full well he would have to bury it with the others.

“When I awoke, my body was overheating, much more than last time. I was stressed, scared, and confused,” James explained.

“You don’t need to go any further,” Seamus said. He raised a hand to stop James from continuing. “I can understand what you have gone through. I know our experiences are very different, but I can’t help but feel like I can relate to your situation with Faust,” Seamus grimaced. “We all have our own demons, James. The way we deal with them depends on the people who are there with us.”

James wondered about Seamus’ behavior, how he himself had been rather distant ever since the day he had killed those marauders. Did the man deal with his own inner conflict? It would explain a lot about how he had been acting.

Before James could ask, Helen shouted across the deck,

“We’re coming up on Vindis! Get us to half sails now!”

James watched as Seamus responded to the woman’s call, moving to one of the nearby ropes that held the sails. He stood dumbly, watching as Seamus and another man moved around the deck, raising the sails to the request of Helen. James then finally saw the distant city of Vindis, now visible without the black sails in the way. James headed to the bow of the ship, hoping to get

The city was enormous, much bigger than even the island Yorktown resided on. Most of the buildings were at least two stories high, the tallest being around seven. However, James was not focused on the taller buildings. He could see how the city was supported by enormous platforms, all of them tied together by cables and taut rope.

Waves of all sizes struck against the platforms, but the buildings above them didn’t seem to budge in even the slightest of movements. Countless ships surrounded the city, forming a makeshift barrier around its perimeter. James could see how their own ship was approaching a small gap in between the barrier, which was accompanied by a couple of sloops and longships.

“Pull up all the sails now!” Helen shouted, catching James’ attention. James looked back at the deck, seeing how everyone was pulling up the sails via ropes. James moved to help Seamus pull the sails. By the time everything was said and done, Frostbite was dead in the water, slowly drifting towards the gap in the barrier. Helen walked down to the main deck, Haggard behind her as she looked towards everyone.

“Alright, I’ll do most of the talking. All of you stay quiet,” Helen ordered before she moved to starboard, waiting as the ship eventually reached the gap.

James felt the ship suddenly stop, nearly losing his footing as the deck swayed.

“Halt!” a loud voice came from off the ship. James moved to the starboard, looking off the ship’s edge. There was a longboat, half the size of Frostbite.

“What is your business in Vindis travelers?” The voice rang out once more. James looked for the source of the voice, his eyes passing over men in gambeson and chainmail, almost all of them wearing the same shade of cyan. His eyes settled on a much shorter and broad-shouldered man, whose beard ran nearly half his height.

‘Dwarf…’

That was the first word that ran through James’ mind.

“We’re here on business,” Helen answered.

The dwarf scoffed at that answer, his large hands stroking his braided beard.

“Business? You?” He gestured at the ship’s hull, which still displayed its red paint job. “You marauders are always causing trouble, even more so after what happened to Yorn. What can you do to promise me you won’t start some shit in Vindis?” He asked.

“Not much, besides my word,” Helen answered.

“Your word?” The dwarf asked, letting out a dry laugh. “You marauders really get on my nerves. I oughta Fireball your damned ship to little cinders. Rid the world of scum like you.”

James could feel sweat dampening his forehead, his nerves getting the better of him as he looked towards Helen, who seemed unable to talk the dwarven man down.

“We’re not marauders!” James heard himself shout, his instincts taking over before his logic could. The dwarf raised his brow in surprise, turning to look at James.

“Well what do we have ‘ere? What do you mean by you’re not marauders blondie?” The shorter man gestured at the hull. “You obviously sail in a marauder’s ship, or perhaps you share an artist with the bunch?”

A couple of the other men snickered at the remark. James ignored them, staring down at the dwarf. His thoughts ran wild with what his next words should be, lest he and the entire ship suffer.

“We took it from them,” he answered, straight to the point.

“Took it? From the Marauders of the North? What a load a shite.”

“I’m serious. We kicked their asses after they tried to raid our town. This is the ship those assholes left behind.” James hoped his false bravado would work, as he had nothing else to use against these men.

‘Just got to seem confident. Like in those RPG games Nick used to make me play.’

“Now let us through, or we’ll make sure we’ll add your dinky little longboat to our spoils,” He demanded suddenly. James felt everyone’s eyes move onto him as he threatened the dwarf and his companions, who had all gone deathly silent. Now that was too far, as the stunned stares told him he was far gone beyond the point of no return. James still kept his serious face, even though he was mentally screaming at himself.

‘Caelus’ balls...’ Faust groaned internally.

‘Stupid stupid stupid!’

James bashed at himself, panicking mentally. He didn’t dare to break eye contact with the dwarf, who was stunned by his words, his eye twitching for a second. The dwarf looked as if to yell, but then stopped and laughed. Heartily. The tension in the air soon dissipated as the dwarf guffawed, doubling over in laughter as everyone else looked at each other with confused looks.

“Oh… Oh, you’re a funny one!” The dwarf exclaimed, wiping a tear from his eye. “You really got me there. I almost thought you were serious! You should’ve seen the look on your face when you realized what you had said!” The dwarf’s laughing soon faded away before he finally sighed, all of his energy gone.

“Alright. You’re obviously not a threat, so you’re good to go. Just for making my day, I’ll even let you all go in without the necessary fee.” He waved James off. “Off you go then. Get yourselves docked at the harbor.”

James stared dumbfounded at the dwarf, who turned to converse with his fellow buddies. Soon, Frostbite moved again, with Helen navigating the ship to the harbor as a couple of longboats rowed next to the ship. James watched in awe as they got closer to the city, passing by what looked like makeshift buoys marked with glowing runes as they floated peacefully.

The city ahead grew closer by the second, and before long, Frostbite was finally floating next to a floating platform, thanks to the longboats’ guidance. Some men on the platform and longboat threw ropes onto the deck of the ship, causing Helen to call out,

“Tie the ropes to the starboard side!”

James watched as Seamus and the other men moved to grab the ropes on the deck, moving to tie them. He joined them, following their lead. Once everything was done, James could feel the ship move once more, this time towards the floating platform next to them. He watched as the ship slowly made contact with the harbor before finally docking.

One man on the floating platforms, a man with dark brown hair and sunburnt skin, called his companions to put up a bridge. James watched as the men brought up a uniquely shaped wooden platform. Using this, they connected the ship’s dock to the platform.

James looked over at his companions, who all seemed to look at him for direction.

“Helen,” James started, looking over at the ex-marauder. “Have you been to Vindis before?” He asked. If the marauder knew the city well, she could be important in helping them find what they needed.

Helen shrugged. “I’ve only been here a handful of times, most of those times years apart,” she responded. James frowned, looking over at everyone else. The two men in green tunics, the ones Gryff had sent, both shrugged.

“This is our first time here,” one of them spoke, his voice gruff like he had been washing his throat with whiskey for the last ten years of his life. James looked towards his friends, who shook their heads.

“I’ve only seen the city, never been inside,” Seamus responded.

“Only been here once before, but I didn’t explore beyond the marketplace and harbor,” Dahlia said. James looked at Haggard, hoping that he had a better answer.

“I visited this place before Yorktown, but I forgot most of the time I spent here since I got drunk at one of the taverns nearby.” Haggard’s response didn’t spark an ounce of hope in James.

The young man sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“Alright, let’s do it like this…” James looked at the group in front of him. “Haggard, Helen, and Dahlia are coming with me. Everyone else stays on the ship.” James watched everyone’s reactions, varying between disappointment, excitedness, and downright terror. Seamus was the one who was gripped by such fear.

“James,” Seamus started, lowering his voice as he got close. “I appreciate you not taking me with you on this little journey that will probably end up with you getting mugged, but are you really going to leave me here with these guys?” He gestured towards the two other men he was supposed to stay with, who seemed bored at the prospect of waiting on the ship.

James raised an eyebrow. “Do they really bother you that much?” He asked.

“Yes! They bother me!” Seamus exclaimed in a low voice.

James sighed, scratching at his head as he glanced at the two men again.

“Look, our time in Vindis probably won’t even last that long. Just bear with these guys until we get back, alright?” James looked towards the group he had chosen for his little ‘journey,’ all of them already heading down the ramp that connected the deck to the platform below. “Just hang in there.” James gave his words of encouragement before heading off, leaving Seamus to call out in loud whispers.

“James! James! You ass! I swear…”

James didn’t hear the rest of what Seamus was saying as he walked down the ramp that led into Vindis City.