The Lore Society was a good practice run for Wai. It was low risk, and we both learned a lot. The naval base is definitely high risk. What I learned was that we need to share a sight skill. I made a deal that I would learn Olfaction from him if he learned Farsight from me. I doubted he could learn Darksight as it was too close to his natural Nightsight. After breakfast the next morning, we sat at the window of my room and watched the ships on the harbour. It was a very pleasant few hours. Farsight was not natural for him, but once he learned it, he could definitely see the use for finding food and watching for predators.

Then it was my turn. That wasn’t unpleasant. We wandered the markets and down to the docks, and I concentrated on what he was sensing through our bond. I had picked up Tasty already, which was really smelling underwater, so it didn’t take long to pick up Olfaction. I wanted Wai to pick up Sense Spiritual as well, but that was enough for now. We would both need time to get used to our new skills.

We stopped for a late lunch at a cafe by the docks and then wandered back past the entrance to the Naval base. While Wai was exploring, I was looking for somewhere I could be for an extended period. I wanted to be close. The main business near the base were taverns and brothels, neither of which would be suitable for my purposes. We kept walking, looking at the businesses, and moving into a residential area.

I decided we wouldn’t be tackling the naval base tonight. We needed a low-risk run to test our abilities. I decided to swing past Gwaed’s place to see if she had ideas to tackle the Lore Society and to familiarise myself with where she was. Surprisingly she was in. She had been busy, and the whole kitchen and lounge area was turned into an alchemy lab. She had obviously purchased a fair amount of equipment as she didn’t bring all this with her. We might need to start watching out for our expenditures. Spiritual fish can only go so far.

“Greetings,” I said. I spied Sugnwr in a dark corner. She was awake. I guess it was late in the day.

“Hi, I am making real progress here. I think I have a mix that will work with the sticky fire, and I am trying to improve it here. Over here, I have an Acid brewing, and over there is something that I hope will help us get out of here, but more on that later. I have a skill, Multi-Tasking, and it is great. I don’t lose track of what I am doing now.” Gwaed sounded excited.

“That’s great. Didn’t we need to break into the lore society for some of that information?” I said.

“The consultation gave me enough information. It cost a packet, but well worth it,” she said. “I don’t need to get in there, although I am sure there are books there that would help me leap ahead.”

“That’s fine. Wai and I were looking for a low-risk task to test our shared sensing skills before we attempted the Naval Base. For me, the main thing of value in the Lore society would be the Skill books, which are locked away tight,” I mused.

Gwaed looked at me, “Rune locks, you say?” I nodded. She looked over to the table that had a container of acid simmering away. “I might be able to help with that. After all, you need some reward for this venture.”

“That would be nice, but it does have to be our lowest priority,” I said. She nodded. “It seems like I am free tonight, then. Would you like some amateur help here?” I asked.

“Sure, I can multi-task my brain, but I only have two hands. Do you have Acid Resistance?” She asked. I shook my head. “Do you want to learn it? How is your Pain Resistance?”

Acid Resistance is very painful to learn. I got another point in Pain Resistance learning it, which is rare these days. The major thing I learned that night was that I did not want to become an Alchemist. I didn’t understand anything she said, except for, “Stir this until it thickens,” or “Grind that to a powder,” “no, it needs to be finer than that,” and so on. She wouldn’t even let me measure anything; they needed precise amounts, and she had a skill for that. Alchemy is not for me. Wai is in full agreement with me on that.

Sugnwr was out all night searching the city. I didn’t see Merch anywhere. I got a few hours of sleep on her spare bed. Gwaed worked through the night. She did say that learning Alchemy was a seven-year apprenticeship. That is insane, and no wonder full alchemists are expensive. She did say she was selling simple formulas after her second year, under the oversight of a Journeyman Level Alchemist. A lot of the repetitive work is done by the apprentices, but it does depend on whether they have learned the right Skills.

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We left Gwaed to find some breakfast. I was then planning to visit the Shipping Guild and probably the Mercenary Guild. After that, I was thinking of another test run with Wai through the Lore Society. If I could share his vision, I could read the book titles. Tonight we would have our first attempt at the Naval Base.

The Shipping Guild was easy. I got a list of all the ships in port or expected soon and their departure dates for those heading to Obalno. The ones accepting passengers were marked. There was a caveat of possible military action upsetting the schedule, and all ships had to submit to a full inspection before leaving port. They also had reports of Naval ships stopping traders for inspections at sea. There were several recent complaints.

I debated whether to do this, but in the end, I needed information. “I had a mate who was a sailor on the Seabreeze, but I haven’t heard from him for over a year. I think this was his last known port. Is there any information I could track him down?” The Seabreeze was Abigail’s parent's ship.

“The Seabreeze, you say, about a year ago? I can look it up.” He went out to the back of the open area where there were shelves of files. He was gone for fifteen minutes and then came back with a box. He worked through the box, which I saw had a date on it. “Ah, here we are. The Seabreeze left port on Oct fifth last year and got into trouble. The Navy rescued it and towed it back, but the owners couldn’t pay for the service and repairs and were made Debt Slaves to work it off. The ship was claimed as salvage for the Navy. Some of the crew were lost at sea, and the rest were disbursed. What was the name of your mate?”

“Algot, from Obalno,” I said, knowing it was the first mate's name that got away with Abigail.

“He is not listed amongst those rescued, so I presume he was lost at sea. I am sorry.” The man seemed quite genuine.

“That's OK. It's been a while,” and I took my leave.

The Mercenary Guild was different. I am not a member, so I had very little knowledge of what processes they followed. Mercenaries did not have a very good reputation from the military viewpoint. They were considered under-trained and generally unreliable, if not traitorous. I have since met some mercenaries I liked, namely the Canine Queens, but my general attitude has not changed. I am able to post an ad to employ someone. I was taken to a private room and questioned about the job. Apparently, breaking into a non-military Organisational Headquarters requires a Class C operative and payment. Assisting a non-class person into the building then bumps it up to C+ as they have to cover for idiotic mistakes. He didn’t say, “idiotic mistakes,” that was my interpretation. A Class C payment is an average-level job. Coins can be held in trust by the Guild for a small fee. I decided to post the job and see what comes from it.

However, smuggling live cargo to Obalno is another story due to rising military tensions. For another small fee, I was provided with a list of possible captains, but the negotiation was entirely up to me, and Guild Guarantees would not apply. I took the list. It wouldn’t hurt to talk with the captains.

We went from there to the Lore Society. I didn’t book a massage this time but sat in the cafe across the road. I ordered a different type of coffee drink to see if I liked it better. Wai scaled the outside of the Lore Society building and went in through the roof garden door. There was only one person on the top floor at the moment, and she was reading. Farsight was working, and I could share what he looked at. It was very disconcerting as I lost sight of what was around me, so I only had it active for short periods. According to Gwaed, I would need to double my Mental Agility before I could get the Multi-Tasking Skill. I was a Physical focussed person until recently with my Leadership and Trainer Classes.

I moved to Olfaction, and it was less disconcerting. I didn’t rely on my sense of smell as much as my eyesight. Maybe it was because the Skill was new, and I had spent decades with the other senses. Olfaction wasn’t going to help here. I had Wai move to one of the locked display cases and read the title of the book. Advanced Metal Working. A valuable book, but not for me. I had Wai move to the shelves, and they were grouped into common areas. The frustrating thing was a lot of them didn’t have names on the spine. Most of the top floor was actually dedicated to Spiritual Materials and their uses.

The next floor down hand many sections. I marked where Alchemy and Enchanting were, thinking of Mayakku as well as Gwaed. I also marked where the Fighting and Weapon sections were. The ground floor was all beginner texts. The vaults were locked up tight, and nobody was around, so we left it for the day, and Wai came out the front door.

We headed back to the Guest House to get some rest. It was going to be a long night.