Morn awoke to sunlight peering over the horizon, shining through the window of the captain's cabin. With a groan of pain, Morn sat up, then leaned back in the chair, swivelling around to face the rising sun through the window.
The sunlight glimmered across the water, rippling with the waves. Shades of pink, purple, red, and yellow illuminated the horizon, painting a vibrant picture. Despite his pain, Morn felt a wash of tranquillity.
"The sunrise truly is beautiful…"
With a wavering smile, Morn remembered long days at sea, voyaging with Azur. The two would often wake up early, climbing into the crow's nest to watch the sunrise.
'Those days are long gone… I've got to focus.'
Shaking himself from his memories, Morn forced the thoughts of Azur from his mind, then with just as much difficulty, forced a smile.
'Time to go over my performance from yesterday.'
Retrieving a charcoal pencil and paper, Morn began to review his actions. 'I fought well, using my ability to its fullest without putting myself in danger. That's a good rule, don't do something when I can make my enemy do it for me.'
Morn paused momentarily, stretching his sore muscles. He let out a sharp breath of air as his self-induced bruises flared up.
'Aghh… My ability is powerful if I use it right, but I definitely have to get better at managing my Vaihniir consumption. I don't want to feel like I got hit by a cannonball everytime I fight. I should go a day or two without using Vaihniir, and I should definitely inhale Haidwal next time I use my abilities- perhaps it will prevent this soreness.'
For a moment, Morn considered inhaling Tairn to numb his pain, but then dismissed the idea. 'I want to remember this pain so I don't make the same mistake in the future.'
Already regretting his decision, Morn stood from the desk with a groan, then relocated to the hammocks on a lower floor. Once settled in, he began taking notes once again.
'My hallucinations worked immediately and very easily against the unprepared pirates, but I doubt I'll have the same success with enemies who know about my ability. If someone knows, they'll be able to discern my hallucinations to be fake, then they won't be able to cause any harm. Even more cause for concern, I should be careful around other Leviathans, it's likely that they'll take longer to fall under my hallucinations, and even more likely that they won't be as effective. Plus, if someone has the ability to see through illusions, like some Farseers, I'll be forced to fight normally. If someone can see through my hallucinations, and has a powerful Vaihn spell or excels in combat, I could easily be caught unprepared and die…'
Morn shivered in the hammock, which unfortunately aggravated his internal bruising once again.
"Ahh! Damn Vaihniir, it's my own power, why does it have to be so uncooperative!"
Finally finished writing, Morn checked over his "Self notes".
Don't do something that you can trick an enemy into doing.
Manage your Vaihniir use!
Ambush, Ambush, Ambush.
You're an Alkimist, use gases , dumbass!
Never assume my hallucinations will work, always prepare for combat.
???
Looking at his notes, Morn nodded in satisfaction. While he had made some mistakes, overall he'd done a good job. Pleased, and under the influence of his growling stomach, Morn decided to reward himself with a delicious breakfast.
After stopping by the captain's quarters once again to set a new destination for the ship, a random location along the coast exactly halfway between the far apart cities of Tafjah and Suhl-vel, Morn made his way to the bottommost deck to retrieve ingredients for his breakfast.
From the supplies, he grabbed a sack of oats, a few eggs, wheat flour, a bottle of vinegar, sugar, honey, a sealed stick of butter, and some salt, as well as a whisk, a wooden spoon, a cup, and two large bowls. Though he had few eggs, they wouldn't last very long anyway, so he decided to treat himself for his first successful foray as Rain.
After refilling his waterskin from a barrel, Morn returned to the main deck to cook his meal in the open air. He poured in a portion of water and oats, then mixed it with the whisk. After setting it aside to let the oats soften, Morn cut a quarter of the butter stick into a pan. Using a simple spirit-stove, a stove that burned hard liquor to generate its heat, Morn melted the butter, then poured it into a small cup to cool.
While the butter cooled, Morn cracked both the eggs into a bowl and whisked them vigorously to incorporate lots of air. He then poured the eggs, cooled butter, sugar, wheat flour, and salt into the water-oat mixture. After mixing them until they combined together completely, he set them aside for a few more minutes, then lit the stove again, ready to cook.
For every oat cake he made, he sliced a pad of butter into the pan, letting it melt before scooping the batter over top. He'd flip the oat cakes when they bubbled, then scoop them into a bowl when they finished cooking. After a short time, he had a bowl full of the cakes. He then promptly used the wooden spoon to roughly chop the oat cakes into smaller crumbly portions.
Finally, he poured sugar, honey, water, a tiny bit of vinegar, and a pinch of salt into the pan and mixed it until it boiled and the sugar dissolved. When it finished dissolving, he turned off the stove and quickly cracked another two eggs, pouring only the egg whites into a bowl. He then whisked them until they foamed up and slowly poured the syrup mixture over the egg whites while whisking them as fast as he could. When the mixture was solid enough to not fall out of the bowl when he turned it upside down, he scooped the fluff into the bowl with the chopped oat cakes and set about mixing them together.
Finally, he leaned against the mast and began to eat directly out of the bowl with the spoon. Morn smiled happily as he ate in the morning sunshine, finally filling his stomach. The crumbled oatcakes and meringue were his favourite breakfast, one he had discovered on a voyage to the great island Freta. The dish was known, rather uncreatively, as "Oat Crumbles." It was also a favourite food of many Fretan children, something Morn had been teased about by his companions during the trip.
By the time Morn finished eating and cleaning up, the ship arrived at the location he'd marked. The ship anchored itself next to a low cliffside. Morn's recently purchased map indicated a small village was only an hour's walk inland. He planned to head to the village, this time not dressed as Rain, to see if his bounty had spread yet. He also wanted to pick his next targets from the bounty board.
After donning simple clothes and a Palkian jacket with large flared sleeves to hide his Folia Lance and a pair of gloves to hide his prosthetic, Morn scaled the small cliffside, dismissing the boat when he reached the top. He then stored the mask in a large inner pocket in the jacket and headed inland.
After an uneventful but rather bruise-aching hour-long walk, Morn arrived at the village. A sign along the road read "Hekurah-Fay Mawnt" a Manthalan name meaning "Safe Land." Sceptical of the name, Morn rolled his eyes. In his experience, places that touted their safety or 'goodness' were often the most vile. With a hint of disdain, Morn trudged the remaining few metres down the road and into the town.
Almost immediately, his suspicions were confirmed as a group of pirates rounded the corner. Behind the group, a horse pulled a large wagon with a cage instead of a sitting area atop it. Inside the cage, several trembling figures sat silently against the bars. Their eyes held a look of resignation, as if they had long given up any hope of escape.
That is, all but one. A women about Morn's age with long and unkempt black hair, dressed well compared to the other individuals in the cage, stood with her hands grasping the bars. Her face was pressed against the bars, her eyes locked on the pirate at the front of the caravan. A rightfully-angry and defiant look was plastered on her face as she shouted words Morn couldn't quite hear at the lead-pirate.
As the caravan drew closer, he could make out her words:
"Hey, Baldy! I used to be a cook, so I know a thing or two about cracking eggs. Why don't you come over here so I can try it out on that ugly head of yours. Your face is as disgusting as the compost we used to feed the pigs back home, maybe I could rearrange it for you!"
With the caravan much closer than before, Morn clearly saw the tired and irate expression on the Bald pirate's face. Admiring the woman's resolve in the midst of such a terrible situation, Morn made a mental note to try to recruit her if he got the chance. Judging by her spirit, she would make an excellent ally- and he just happened to be in need of a crew. Trying to stifle a laugh as she continued berating the pirate, Morn took note of "Baldy's" looks. It seemed he'd found his new target already.