It was early in the morning when Veronica and the rest decided to leave the city. After waiting for a few days to prepare themselves they were ready to go on the long journey, at least mentally. They didn't have to waste time packing clothes and food because they all possessed the [Spatial Storage], when it was time to go, they were escorted to the city gate by their friends, Pascal, Alex, and Ronan.
When they reached the gate, they waited a bit to say their goodbyes, George was chatting with Alex and was bumped that he didn't want to come with them, Ronan and David whispered on the side and sometimes broke into laughter. Pascal was talking to Veronica and Sarah, standing beside them was Mary and Finn, a Water Mage Pascal brought to follow them.
"Well, they day is finally here." Pascal looked a bit nostalgic, "It seems like just yesterday that we all fought the wights and re-opened the city and made it suitable for humans to live in."
"It's been months since that happened." Mary said with a slight smirk. They all burst out laughing.
"Are you sure you want to come with us?" Sarah asked Finn, again.
"Yes, High Priestess."
"It's just… where we're going to might be – no it will be dangerous."
"You don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself." Finn smiled reassuringly.
"Finn is a level 16 Water Mage, you don't have to worry so much." Pascal said. "Plus, he will aid you greatly on your voyage."
"Right, I forgot we will have to reach the Elven Forest by ship." George joined in on their conversation, he and Alex had finished talking and walked closer to the group. "I'm kind of excited, I've never been on a boat before."
"None of us have." David said, waving to Ronan who was returning to the city.
"Yeah, I know."
"Will we be able to afford a ship?" Veronica asked.
Pascal and Sarah looked at each other and chuckled, "Trust me, money is the least of our problems." Pascal said.
They continued with their small talk for a few minutes, after that Veronica and the rest were ready to go. Henry who had been standing a few feet away opened a spatial passage, then everyone began to link arms. Sarah looked back at Pascal who nodded at her.
"You will all come back safe and sound." He said.
Sarah nodded back with a smile, then they all jumped into the spatial passage. Pascal waited there a few seconds after the passage closed before turning back to return to the city. He hadn't walked far when he received a prompt from the system.
[You have received a new quest; Explore the Forsaken Lands, as far as you can!
Quest Reward: A part of the Armor of Faith unlocked, certain amounts of exp points]
Pascal sighed when he saw the quest, "Just when I thought I'd have more time to rest." His words were complaints but a smile grew on his face, he was very much looking forward to his next adventure.
…
Henry and the rest stayed in the spatial passage until they reached the Green Turtle Duchy. Unlike before, Henry was more proficient in using the [Spatial Movement] skill and checked the map every time they took a step. They came out at Seashine Beach, luckily, they weren't near people. The next thing they did was to find where they could rent a ship, after asking a few locals they were directed to the Fishermen Council house in Hard Scale Town.
When they reached the town, they noticed that the gate, wall and some houses were under construction. They were stopped by the gate by cautious guards who asked why they were visiting the Green Stallion Duchy after they said they weren't natives. They explained their situation, leaving the part about the Eleven Forest out of the story. But they weren't given passage into the town, it seemed they were still wary about the undead.
But they were given new directions to where the Fishermen Council house was. Although it was affiliated with the Green Scale Town it wasn't situated in the town but beside it, near the ocean. They were not allowed to enter the town, but were able to visit the Fisherman Council house. They thanked the guards and walked towards the direction they pointed in, after walking a short distance they finally saw the house.
The Fishermen Council house wasn't big, but it was a two-story building. There were quite a number of people gathered there, the strong wind brought a few chatters to Henry and the others' ears. But the most eye-catching view were the boats and ships that were floating in the water.
The was a long stall in front of the house, there were four people sitting behind it attending to people in front of them. They were too far to hear what they were saying so they joined one of the four lines. The line moved slowly; George began fidgeting as they trudged forward. It was a cloudless day, and the sun shined bright and hot on the people below, but the heat was thankfully abated by the strong, cool breeze that the ocean brought. The line was long, but slowly and surely, they soon reached the front.
They were attended to by a lady, she had a skeptical look but still kept her professional tone.
"Um, are you here to rent a boat? Or did you keep your parent's personal boat here and are here to receive it?"
"We are here to buy a ship." Sarah said.
The lady's mouth dropped comically; her whole body seemed to take a pause. George sniggered at the side; his laugh brought the lady back. Her eyebrows creased as she frowned at them, "Is this a joke? Go somewhere else to play!"
"I assure you, ma'am, that we are not joking. We would like to buy, or rent a ship, whichever way we can get it."
The lady narrowed her eyes and stared at them for a period of time, they could hear the people behind them complaining about how slow the line was moving, asking what the holdup was. After a whole minute passed the lady seemed to believe their words, so she pulled out a piece of fine, smooth wood tied with a red string and gave it to Sarah.
"Take this and go in there, when you show them this someone will direct you to meet the person who rents out ships." She pointed at the house.
"Much thanks."
They left the line and walked into the house with large steps, there were less people inside and it was less cooler. From the entrance they could see a receptionist so they walked up to her and showed her their wood. She looked at the wood then looked at them, then she did it again before calling someone to lead them into the house. They followed the man up the stairs and stopped in front of a door, the man knocked on the door heavily.
"Come in." a gruff voice said.
"He will attend to you." The man said before leaving them. Sarah opened the door and they all entered.
The strong scent of tobacco hit them when they entered, they all scrunched their nose as they stared at the big man sitting behind a desk, who was looking at them with much confusion. They walked forward and gathered in front of his desk.
"What exactly is going on?" he asked.
Sarah dropped the wood of the desk, "We are here to rent or buy a ship." She took short breaths after she spoke, not wanting to inhale the smell too much.
The man stared at them with his mouth open, his tobacco dangling on his lips. With a deep chuckle, he leaned forward and clasped his hands together, "Oh, I see. You want a ship you say?"
"Yes."
"Oh, I see. And where are you sailing to if I may ask?"
"The Elven Forest."
The lines of his face deepened as his smile widened, "Oh, I see!" His whole body trembled, then he burst out laughing. He leaned back and grabbed his stomach, laughing loudly. In his blithe he didn't notice the children's face darken.
"Ah," he rubbed the tears that had gathered in the corner of his eyes, "thanks for the laugh, I really needed that. You tell whoever sent you that I had a hearty laugh, ha!" He waved at them, signaling for them to leave.
Suddenly, the temperature of the room dropped drastically. The man breathed in harshly then shivered involuntarily, goosebumps began forming on his hairy arms. The room grew colder still, everyone's breath came out in fogs. Veronica kept her hand on the desk and leaned forward, frost began forming on the desk from where her hands touched it. The man scrambled to his feet when he saw this, his tobacco fell from his lips, but either he didn't notice it or he didn't care, he just stared straight at Veronica with wide eyes.
"Listen, sir," Veronica's tone was as icy as the frost, "I can assure you that we didn't come here to spread jokes. We are in need of a ship, and we can pay you the amount of money needed for one."
Veronica glared up at him for a few more seconds before moving back, taking the frost and the cold with her. The man stared at the desk where the frost had disappeared and wondered if he was hallucinating, but the cold that lingered on his skin told him otherwise. With a surprising quickness, he regained his composure and sat back down, opened a drawer and brought out another tobacco and lit the end with a lighter.
"Nope." George rushed to the window pushed it open, but it did little to clear the smoke that the man puffed out.
"So," the man spoke after a few puffs, "you want to sail to the Elven Forest."
The children nodded.
"Sure, I can rent you a ship, if you have enough money to rent one."
"Money is no problem." Veronica said, she looked back at Sarah who nodded reassuringly.
The man barked out a laugh, "That's what I like to hear! And will you be renting a crew as well, or did you bring your own?"
"Crew?" The children looked at each other in confusion.
"A crew. You know, a cook, a boatswain, a navigator and a quartermaster. And don't forget the captain, unless sailing a boat is one of your, er, skills." The man asked.
The children fidgeted uncomfortably, especially Veronica, she hadn't thought about anything the man said.
The man laughed once more – although this time with less mockery – and stood up, "Then I would like to offer my services. I am the captain of my own ship, and I come with a complete crew. But if you want to hire me, know I don't come cheap."
"Erm, money is no problem." Veronica repeated, this time with a little shame.
"Ha!" The man barked out a laugh, "Then we need to be properly acquainted. My name is Iorek Granger, follow me while you tell me your names.
…
Iorek walked very fast with his stocky legs; the children had to jog just to keep up. They walked past an array of boats of different sizes, the children couldn't help but awe at the wooden constructs that swayed steadily on the water. The atmosphere felt more humid the closer they got to the water, Iorek waved at everyone he met along the way, he seemed to be a very popular man. Soon, the children noticed that the boats began getting scarce until they were only ships in sight, they walked a bit more then stopped beside an eye-catching ship.
The ship was a carrack, made of reddish-brown wood and was bigger than most of the ships around. Without a pause, Iorek walked up the gangway and hollered, his booming voice startling Sarah and the rest.
"Sam, come out here, we got a job!"
"Boss?!" A muffled voice sounded below deck, then a flurry of feet before the hatch was opened. A lanky man crawled out of the hole and ran to Iorek side, Sam was as tall as Iorek, just bonier.
"Did you say we have a job?" Sam said excitedly.
"Yes. Meet the clients." Iorek gestured towards the children.
As Sam stood there, confused, Iorek used that opportunity to introduce him, "Sam here is my second in command, if you need anything and I'm not available you can go to him."
Sam was about to say something but Iorek interrupted him, "Go gather the crew, we are sailing for the Elven Forest."
"The Elven Forest?!" Sam yelled, "Captain, is this a joke?"
"I wouldn't mention the word joke, if I were you. That one doesn't like it." He pointed at Veronica who turned her head away. "Just go call the crew."
Sam gave one last look at them before leaving hesitantly. Iorek decided to give them a small tour of his ship, bragging about the design. George buzzed excitedly around the ship, touching everything in his sight. He was about to run towards the ship's wheel when Sarah coughed, he jumped like a frightened cat and ran back to her side. Iorek just chuckled and continued his tour.
Soon, a group of men – 20 in total – came up the ship, greeting Iorek with loud voices. Iorek introduced everyone to each other and told them about the job, the men didn't ask much questions like Sam, they just nodded and went to their assigned posts. Suddenly the ship buzzed with activity, strong men dragged ropes and raised the sails high, Sam untied the rope that held the ship in place causing the ship to jolt. The children hadn't been on a ship before, but something told them Iorek's boisterous crew were different than others.
The ship slowly moved forward as the breeze picked up, Iorek walked up to the wheel, wearing a hat he brought out of nowhere. Sam followed him and spoke quietly, "Are you sure about this, sir? This are not a military ship, there are a lot of dangers that far in the sea."
Iorek snorted, "What's there to be afraid of? It's not like we haven't sailed that far before. And besides," he glanced at the children who were looking around with bright eyes, "my guts tell me that this journey will be interesting, to say the least."
Veronica could barely hide her excitement as they moved farther and farther into the ocean, "We're doing it. We're really doing it." She breathed.
"Yeah." Sarah said beside her, her arms rested on the side of the ship and she peered down at the flowing waters, "It's too bad Annie couldn't come with us though, she was really looking forward to seeing the Elven Forest."
"She has to wait till next time," Veronica said, "this won't the only time we go to the Elven Forest."
"I have to go pay Iorek. I'll be back." Sarah walked up to the captain.
The ship suddenly picked up speed after they sailed past a point in the ocean, Veronica looked backwards and watched the land slowly get more distant. She watched it until it became just a small dot on the horizon, then she turned her head to the front. She shook her hair out of her face and smiled tightly, her heart was palpitating and her body was tense. She closed her eyes to placate the fear that wanted to grow in her. She chose to journey to the Elven Forest; she didn't have the luxury to second guess her decision. She would face whatever comes their way head on, and get vengeance from her parent's murderers.