“My-re, our most important cargo is here! Welcome aboard the Unsinkable III!” Vomarian Fae and captain of the vessel exclaimed briskly approaching and slightly bowing.
Cargo, eh? My-re thought to herself. She shifted her heavy haversack full of belongings and crossed a wide and mainly solid plank from the dock to the hovering tri-master sailing vessel. At the Stronghold Academy, the morning wind blew through her short, dark hair and she noted it smelled clean, unlike the frequent whiffs of unpleasantness in Willow Bay.
The ship, other than floating in mid-air, wasn’t anything special. It was longer than she expected with a deeper hold. The aft section was raised a level with a large, arched door leading into the ship’s interior, which likely held the captain’s quarters and hopefully ‘important cargo’. On top of that section was an over-sized steering wheel, with a double set of wooden spokes, which would take two men to manage. Throughout the ship the crew bustled to secure the three main mast lines, adjust the rigging, and tie down any flapping sails. After a second glance, she realized the crew was all Shagornan elves. Looking down some distance, she noticed two massive chains extending from the bow of the ship and connecting to two enormous rocks below.
“Wait, did one of those boulders just move?” Narrowing her eyes, vertigo set in. She looked away and took a couple deep breaths.
Vomarian Fae followed her gaze down and said, “Ah, you mean the stone golems. Rock and Chip. There’re the Arch-mages…pets? Not sure how to tell them apart.”
A voice behind them said, “It’s very easy. That one there? The slightly smaller one? That’s Chip. I made him from the other one. You see. He’s just a chip off the ol’ Rock.”
Groaning at the pun and turning, My-re saw a man who wasn’t there a moment before. He was a crazed looking individual with wild gray hair, and wearing a dusty, off-white robe with intrinsic deep blue runes along its length. He was pointing with one hand to the golems below, while holding in the other a sandwich, which he was casually eating.
“My-re, let me introduce you to Arch-mage Havelock…” Vomarian began to say, then trailed off as the mage left them, like they weren’t even there. The mage headed towards the aft of the ship.
My-re tilted her head, placed her haversack on the deck, and said, “He’s an odd one.”
“Eccentric, is what he calls himself. The Unsinkable III is his ship and he’s the one keeping it afloat, so to speak. However, he does take some getting used to, but found he is quite useful in the odd situation or two,” Vomarian Fae said.
“So Fae, yer actually going to let a human female sail with ye on this ship?” came the boisterous voice of Kildo Hammerhand from the docks. The surly dwarf crossed the wide plank, visibly bending under his weight, carrying two rectangular gladiator large shields, which were modified with a metal mounting at the top. The contraption would lock together and in effect, cover one or even two people completely in a make-shift metal container.
Narrowing her eyes at the dwarf, My-re asked, “And what exactly is wrong with a woman sailing on a ship?”
“Ye not be understanding the ways of sailing, lass. Human females be unlucky on ships. They might do something foolish, like whistle in the wind, which would surely bring up a storm. A dwarven vessel would never accept one as a crewmember,” Kildo explained.
“First, that doesn’t even make sense. Second, I’m not a crewmember, I’m important cargo,” My-re said then grunted in frustration at calling herself cargo. “Third, I fathom a dwarf, male or female, would be even less welcome on a boat full of elves.”
“Actually, Kildo would be most welcome,” Vomarian Fae said.
Arch-mage Havelock, then seemingly appeared from behind her again and added, “Yes, dwarves can fix stuff. Also, did you bring the mead?”
Smiling from ear to ear at the words, Kildo handed the two shields to My-re, which due to the weight dropped and clamored to the deck. Reaching behind himself, he pulled a small, untapped keg from his belt.
“Here be my best stuff Havelock. I warn ye, don’t be letting these teetotaler elves sneak a nip, or ye might be finding them crashing yer ship into a mountain,” Kildo said. He then continued motioning to My-re. “It’d also be best if you ensured that one doesn’t even get a whiff. A swallow of this will make her drunker than a dwarf at his own birthday gala.”
“Hey, I worked at the Broken Sword tavern,” My-re retorted. “I’ve tasted some of the strongest drinks Alastari has…”
Interrupting, Kildo said, “Don’t ye be getting your short-hair feathers up. I just be looking out for ya lass. Now, that me delivers be done, when are ye bringing aboard this important cargo I be hearing about?”
My-re stepped one foot in front of the dwarf, folded her arms across her chest, and shifted from one foot to the other to ensure she had his attention. She then said, “You’re looking at her.”
Regarding her up and down, Kildo scrunched his face. He gently used his massive hand to brush her aside. “I said the important cargo lass.” He then asked Vomarian Fae, “They be here yet?”
“So, there is other ‘important cargo’ and what did Kildo mean ‘they’?” My-re questioned her gaze pointedly at the elf captain.
Swallowing hard, Vomarian said, “Yes, they are in route to the ship now. We need something that will aid in sniffing out Araminth. Otherwise, it could take years just flying around the Rirorni Empire looking for her. Feriale and two other noble families from the Drakenfell Mountains financing this expedition are helping in the endeavor, so we’ve been waiting for that aid to arrive on the Isle of the Eye.”
“What is that exactly?” My-re asked.
Havelock then strode up with hands on his robes and said, “Three of what to be exact. Some of the best trackers in Alastari. Mere-dragons.