135. ABANDON SHIP: GWAED.

I was serving dinner, and when Ruku went past, he said, “It is time to go.” I nodded at him. We knew this time was coming, but I don’t know what tipped him off. My alchemy was semi-packed, so it wouldn’t take much to finish. Ruku had been organising supplies. The canoe he had purchased was quite small, and I wasn’t sure how the supplies, my alchemy, the bonds, and both of us would fit. Can’t change it now.

We had already bribed the captain about us leaving early and them staying quiet. Whether he would or not would probably depend on the pressure that would be put on him. Part of the bribe was a selection of my health potions and a couple of poisonous ones.

After the dinner shift was completed, I headed to the cabin to finish packing. Ruku was there with his pack. I packed up everything, and we headed to the deck. We loaded the gear and the bonds into the canoe, and a seaman helped Ruku lower it and me to the water. It was a calm night, but there was a high layer of clouds that muted the moon's light. This affected my Nightsight more than Ruku’s Darksight, but I had enough to see by.

There really wasn’t room for Ruku as well, and then I heard a splash as he dove into the water from the deck. Then I realised Ruku wasn’t planning to get into the canoe but to swim. I moved onto the central seat and picked up the paddle. Pybyr settled to lie with his head propped up on the edge of the canoe, with Merch perched on his head. Esgyn was sleepy and uncomfortable while Sugnwr flitted around the canoe quite happily. I am pretty sure Wai was tucked away in the canoe somewhere, but I couldn’t sense him. Actually, maybe I could sense him as a small amount of blood was moving under Ruku’s pack in the front of the canoe.

I used the paddle to move the canoe away from the ship and orientate it to where I thought the shore was. We hadn’t been in sight of the shore for a week or so, but I knew roughly where it was from Esgyn’s flights. He much preferred to fly to the land than out to sea. Ruku’s head popped up at the front of the canoe, and he grabbed the rope there and tied it around his waist. Then he started swimming, towing the canoe. With his Attributes, Water Manipulation, and periodic applications of Water Surge and Water Sprint, we were moving faster than any ship I had been on. I saw him keep pace with the dolphins, but this brought it home about how fast he actually was in the water.

The aim was to make it to shore before daybreak. I knew how far it was and had doubts about making it until I saw how fast Ruku could move in the water. Hopefully, his stamina will last. He is pacing himself; this does not seem to be the first time he has done this. All I had to do was keep the canoe straight and steady with the occasional application of the paddle.

My time on the ship was productive. On the day of the fire, or the first fire Ruku was aware of, I gained the Fire Alchemy Specialisation. I found it very difficult to get that specialisation. I guess the reason was that I hadn’t done any alchemy in the last two decades that wasn’t related to my blood. I had been very focused and specialised. Now I need to broaden my repertoire. Fire Alchemy is a four-point Specialisation. One point is assigned to Spiritual Strenght and Spiritual Agility, and one point is to Mental Agility. One point is free per level. The Skill I got with it is called Spiritual Candle. I can create a small flame on my hand. It is designed for me to ignite my potions. The flame is only the size of the tip of my thumb at the moment, and it will grow to about 200mm at the Journeyman level, and the cost will drop. It will never be a fireball, but I can create those with my potions.

I now have several potions that will burn. I gained a level in my general Alchemy class and am a level 3 Fire Alchemist. I am still working on a formula to make it a stickier consistency so it sticks as it burns. I will get there. I just need to find the right ingredient. I am planning a night raid on the Northport Lore Society. There is another Specialisation I want as well, especially after bonding with Esgyn. I want to make Acids. Acid Alchemy is uncommon, but acids are much more discrete than fire. This will have to wait until after we have dealt with Northport, but hopefully, there will be information I can pick up at the Lore Society.

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Dawn was breaking when we finally got to the surf. I had to be quite active in keeping the canoe straight so we didn’t tip. Esgyn had taken to the sky, so I had more room. I surfed the canoe in and beached it, immediately getting out to grab it and hall it ashore. Ruku arrived, and we carried it all the way to the tree line. Ruku grabbed a branch and smoothed the sand, so there should be no sign of our arrival. I rummaged in the top of his pack, and I tossed him some trousers when he got back. Ruku always swam nude. The guy's Cold Resistance must be very high as these northern waters are not warm.

Ruku was worn out, but we decided to head inland for a couple of hours before taking a break. Esgyn and Pybyr were off scouting while we sorted the packs and hid the canoe. Sugnwr settled in for the day in the space on my pack. Merch also rested on the top of my pack. I caught a glimpse of yellow on Ruku’s arm, which showed where Wai was. He needs to learn camouflage.

We headed out following a small creek. We kept to the trees. I was still having trouble with two bonds sending me information at the same time. I had some spare points, so I bumped Mental Agility, so it was over 60, and that helped. In fact, I could feel another Skill was available to me. I worked at it as we walked, and it clicked into place. Multi-Tasking needs a Mental Agility of 60 and a Mental Strength of 40. The number of things I can concentrate on at one time is a function of Mental Agility, and how well I concentrate on them is a function of Mental Strength. The Skill level makes everything easier and requires less effort. Suddenly, it was easier to juggle the multiple pieces of information and concentrate on where I was walking. Skills from attributes get fewer and fewer. This Skill was going to be a boon for my Alchemy as well as for managing my bonds.

We found a small pond, and Ruku settled down for a power nap. I saw Wai dart into the pond. I guess he was missing his usual habitat. Merch went exploring while I settled down, chewing some jerky and mulling over Alchemy recipes in my head.

We were about a week from Northport by ship, so maybe two weeks for us travelling overland, but travelling light and fast. While I had time, I decided to use the Scry skill to look for the assassin. The skill is at Level 2, so I can use my Nightsight and Sense Blood Skills. I am hoping the Sense Blood will give me insight as to who she might be with and how many are there but not in view. It is mid-morning now, and Northport is close enough to be about the same time. I get a drop of her blood out and concentrate on activating the skill. The first thing I notice is the benefits of my Multi-Tasking Skill. I can keep track of my bonds while I am using this Skill, and the two senses coming from the skill are easier to interpret. The assassin is dressed as an Imperial citizen and walking through a market. I try to memorise the features in the background so that when I get to Northport, I will hopefully recognise the market. Sense Blood isn’t useful here with so many people. I push the skill to the limit to try and level it. If I can get it to level 3, I will enable Olfaction, and the smells will help with tracking her.

The Skill eats through my Spiritual Energy, which is also called Spiritual Constitution. It is the energy that Tabitha’s bond Nyx siphons. If your Spiritual Consitution gets to zero, you will die. Having used so much on this one Skill, I will have to be careful with other skills until it regenerates. I am quite envious of Tabitha and Nyx as Nyx feeds her Spiritual Energy. I will never be able to bond with an elemental. At least the Scry levelled, so the cost is reduced, and I will be able to use Olfaction next time.

I have the Blacksteel pendant that Tabitha gave me. I could use Scry on that and see them. It would be interesting to know if it worked on Tabitha or Nyx. I have to watch the time zones. I am not sure if they are ahead of us or behind us. Time zones are some sort of navigation tool that doesn’t affect most of us. The night might be the best time to see Tabitha. I don’t have the energy now, so it will have to wait. They should be on the road to Kirghiz anyway, but it could be good to do just to level the Skill.

I check with my bonds. Everything seems normal. Time to get back on the road. Not that there is a road.