“Okay, treat me like I just fell down a flight of stairs and cracked my head on a bulkhead” Michael said to Alexi, “I have a couple of questions about how things work in the wider world, just to double check that my head is in fact not damaged.”
Alexi gave a small sigh and nodded, “Very well, but why are you not asking Bernard or someone in your retinue?” she asked, giving Michael an appraising look.
“Well, about that, they aren’t exactly my retinue. A retinue would imply that I am of some import, the truth of the matter is, I am just the son of a merchant that barely had enough pikes to pay for this ship to carry our cargo and us to Straitport. Also, Bernard and his company were hired for their brawn, not their brains.” Michael gave a small chuckle, “That isn’t to say that Bernard isn’t an intelligent man when it comes to fighting and the trade of arms and armor, but despite the best efforts of the Deutis Vash, Bernard can barely read. He doesn’t have the attention span for it, so he says. Yet, in battle, it would not surprise me if the only thing more aware of everything in the chaos of combat than Bernard, would be Deutis Bellatorus” Michael stopped talking when he realized that Alexi had a lost expression on her face. “What? I said something crazy didn’t I?”
Alexi stared at Michael for a moment, just completely slack jawed for a moment, “You, you realize you answered my question in Faedolic?” She stammered out before shaking her head, “Do you know how rare it is for a human to speak anything other than the trade language and their local language?” Her eyes were wide at the revelation.
Michael gave a quick chuckle, “Let me ask you a question. Didn’t it put you at ease, and make you more willing to speak with me, a man that you do not know, when I was speaking Faedolic to you?” he ended his question with a knowing smirk that only curled the right side of his mouth.
“Well” Alexi started, before looking over the side of the ship to watch the water pass for a moment as she settled the unusual emotions swirling inside of her. “Actually, yes, it was rather disarming” she admitted after a moment, returning her eyes to meet his eyes for a brief moment.
“And that right there is the exact reason why I made sure to study multiple languages, it makes trade negotiations easier. It is a trade trick but it can also be used with other tricks of the trade as well” He said, grinning at his simple play on words.
Alexi stood there for a moment gathering her thoughts before she gave a long exhale, “I will answer your questions but you have to answer a single one of mine first.” Her eyes bore into Michael’s eyes as if drilling into his soul as she awaited the answer to her question.
Michael held her gaze, clearly trying to deduce what her question might be. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind, keenly aware that her emerald eyes watched his every movement. He would have hated to play poker against her because those eyes made him want to spill every secret he had. Finally, he exhaled a breath that he had been holding and said, “I suppose that is fair, what is your question?” Michael finally said, breaking the silence that had felt like it stretched on for hours.
“Are you really from Bluestone?” Alexi said pointedly.
Michael sputtered his lips and looked out over the ocean, “That’s complicated.” He said, having a sense that she wasn’t asking if he had grown up in the city that was supposed to be his home city upon his arrival into this world.
“Please, it can’t be any more complicated than explaining my history. But to sum it up, I was born in Gemrise, but was at Aedon Observatory with my master when the war broke out between Abalonia and The Alliance, and with the borders closed and need for healers, I stayed. But with the war over, and with my apprenticeship over, I am travelling to Lewiston.” She told him, tucking a lock of her hair behind her pointed ear.
Michael listened intently, knowing that he was missing something about the importance of Lewiston, but he mentally put that aside for a moment to answer her question after mentally going over his backstory given by Creation. He chuckled to himself as he remembered his coworker complaining about how one of his players would always ask for a pre-written backstory, instead of coming up with one on his own, and how that player would either forget information in it, or how it would take him forever to find the information written in it that his character would know. Then suddenly he just felt the information there in his mind, like he had known it forever. Something on his face must have given away his discomfort because Alexi lightly touched his arm, checking on him.
“Are you well?” Alexi asked, “You chuckled about something and then you got this distant look in your eyes before your lips twisted like you just ate some pickled fish.” Her voice was tender and full of concern.
“I’m fine, just got trapped in my own thoughts, remembering a moment that was a lifetime ago” Michael said with a sheepish smile, “I was born in Vashnah, my father was a local merchant that focused mainly on fabrics, and he fell in love with an apprentice seamstress that was working in the garment district next to the palace. Shortly after my birth, my father had a disagreement with one of the nobles.” He looked at Alexi, who was listening intently, but he could tell that she wasn’t fully believing his words, but he continued anyways, “No, I was never told what the disagreement was, but you know how nobles are, if you are not a noble, your word is worthless and theirs is unimpreachable. So, my family fled to Bluestone with each other and the few coins we still had to start over. I think the plan was to leave Alliance lands entirely, but shortly after arriving in Bluestone, the war started. By the time it ended, my father was an established merchant again, trading in a variety of goods.”
As Michael finished, Alexi just stared at him for another moment before sighing, “Well that doesn’t explain anything. Sorry, I was hoping that understanding your upbringing a bit better would explain what I saw and satisfy my own curiosity. But, that story you just told me leaves me even more confused.” She admitted with a sigh. Michael watched as she got a distant look in her eyes for a moment, but they darted back and forth as if searching for something. After a moment, he realized that she was reading something from her own System interface. It took her a moment to find what was looking for before a screen filled his vision again. He realized that he could see through it, but it covered his vision in the familiar blue hue that he associated with the System.
Michael blinked and then looked at Alexi. His understanding was that this was akin to sharing some of the most personal information that one could share. As his eyes settled on Alexi, he could see that both her cheeks and the tips of her ears had turned pink and she was staring at her shoes while waiting for Michael to make his decision. He couldn’t help his own curiosity and since she was offering, he couldn’t see what the harm would be if he accepted the request. With that thought, he accepted and a new screen appeared before him.
Michael read the message twice and then he looked at Alexi, a cold chill ran down his spine. “How much do you know?” he asked, and immediately wanted to words back, not because he didn’t want the information, but because of the mixture of panic and accusation his tone held.
“That’s the thing, I don’t know anything. While I was looking you over to make sure that you didn’t have any ailments or anything, I felt my trait fail. I have never felt my trait fail, at least not on someone the same level as me.” Alexi said, with her head bowed in embarrassment. “I can tell that you have a couple of traits that you have suppressed on your System Information, and that your magic and the specializations connected to it have had their skill ranks altered. Honestly, had you not been unconscious at the time, I would have thought that you had some type of bluff skill that allowed you to inflate your skill ranks, but I have never heard of one of those that works while unconscious.”
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Michael held up a hand to stop her from continuing before he moved closer to her. “I have a question for you, and just bear with me but I really must ask this question.” Michael started, aware that in just about every isekai or new-world novel that he ever read, just about every world that the main character had been sent to had stories of people from other worlds being sent to them. “Are there legends of people from different worlds arriving to Alontor?” The moment he asked, he could see her starting to put the pieces together before she gave a small nod.
“There are myths about the Sojurners. Most regard them as pure fantasy, but there are some fringe groups that believe that when Duetis Vash was mortal, he was a Sojourner." Alexi replied, starting to put the pieces together and her eyes went wide when she finally made all the connections. “You’re a Sojourner?!” She blurted in an urgent whisper to Michael.
Michael gave a nod before saying, “Yes, I was born in a small town called Helendale. I don’t expect you to know the name, because it is on a planet we called Earth.” Alexi gave a snicker at that before Michael continued, “Yes, I am aware that it is another word for dirt. I guess that some of the more educated use the term Terra, as she was the goddess of the world from one of our ancient cultures that became the foundation for most of our civilizations.”
“Oh, so you had gods in your world as well? That’s good” Alexi blurted, only to be perplexed by Michael’s laughter.
“Yes, but no. My understanding is that the gods and goddesses here actually talk to and in some cases intervene for the devout. That never happened on my world and until recently, I was an atheist” Michael admitted.
“Until recently?” Alexi asked, her eyebrows raising in confusion and curiosity.
“Yeah, magic is not really a thing on my world, at least not in the way you understand magic. I am sure that what we call ‘technology’, would probably be considered magical to you. That is beside the point, the three major religions of my world all share the same god. The differences come from a separation between if you believe a couple major figures were simply teachers of the ways of that god, if one of them was the son of that god and the other was a false prophet, or if both of those figures were prophets and the later prophet was teaching a continuation of the teaching of the other divine prophets. Yes, it is complicated, and I really am not qualified to explain it more than that gross over simplification.” Michael admitted.
“So, that god must be extremely powerful with all of that worship in your world, why don’t they talk to their faithful?” Alexi asked.
Michael gave a long sigh, “That is the question for the ages and why so many don’t believe. I’ve heard theories ranging from the fact that we have free will and have been given the teachings to follow to theories that said god was active in the world until he decided to create a son, and out of fear we killed him in one of the most torturous ways we had devised. I, like many others, thought that it was all just a myth, used to explain why we were different from the more intelligent beasts of the world and help us form a societal identity.”
“What changed that?” Alexi asked when Michael paused for a moment.
“I died” Michael said, holding up a hand to forestall Alexi from asking anymore questions, “I was travelling to work and had an accident that killed me. After my death, one of the Primordial Beings…”
Alexi quickly placed a hand over Michael’s mouth, her eyes wide with panic. “Stop talking! Talk of any beings more powerful than the gods is forbidden and considered heresy of the highest order.” The warning tone of her words impressed the seriousness of the matter into Michael. “I may not be the most devout worshipper of Deutrix Rosalyna, but the gods hear everything said in the presence of their worshippers.” The seriousness in Alexi’s tone froze Michael’s blood as he listened and then he nodded.
Michael looked to the sky and gave a long exhalation of breath before looking at Alexi, “So, how are Sojourners normally viewed in the world?” A lump of dread had lodged itself in his throat as he asked Alexi.
“For the most part, they are viewed as an omen of ill tidings, worse than adventurers actually” The seelie healer commented.
Michael chuckled at the idea and shook his head, “Because where there are adventurers, trouble is soon to follow.” He kept the joke about murder-hobos to himself, not even sure how to explain the idea. “So, I am guessing that since you healed a Sojourner, you would be viewed as tainted by the ill tidings that I bring?” He asked jokingly, knowing phrasing it in the most pretentious way possible.
“Truth be told, the common sentiment when dealing with Sojourners is to either get as close as you can to them or to avoid them as much as possible, because those caught in their wake tend to either be pulled along in their current or drown.” Alexi said, looking toward the aft of the ship, watching the wake created by the ship.
Michael nodded, letting silence fall on the conversation as he processed everything. After the fourth or fifth time he replayed the conversation in his mind, he realized the deep amount of trust and personal information that Alexi had shared with him by showing her special ability. If the information given to him by Creation could be trusted, she had done more than just share a bit about her, but likely something that only those closest to her knew, if she had ever shared that with another person. He decided that he was going to take the chance and share one of his deep secrets with her.
CRACK!
Suddenly there was a shower of splinters and the top fifth of the main mast went crashing to the deck, pulling rigging and the topsail onto the deck. Chaos broke out on the deck as sailors and passengers scrambled around the deck in confusion. Michael found himself scanning the horizon, only to find one other ship within sight. As his eyes settled on the other ship, he judged it to be about three quarters of a mile away. The clipper was paralleling them, clearly a slimmer and faster ship then the massive ship that he was one. Then a bit of random knowledge popped into Michael’s head and he looked to the aft of the clipper, watching the crew raise a large red flag.
“SHE’S A FLYING RED!” A panicked shout from a deck hand cut through the chaos. Then a moment later, the deck hand’s head exploded with a shower of gore and bone shrapnel, as the ship rocked from an impact.
Michael stepped towards the deck hand’s lifeless body, but his eyes followed the spray of blood and saw a fist size rock embedded into the mast at eye level. His mind raced as he tried to put everything together, when he felt arms wrap around his left arm in an attempt to drag him away. His head snapped to his left, only to be met with Alexi’s fear filled eyes. Seeing the fear and terror in her eyes, time slowed for Michael. He became aware of calls for all hands to get to battle stations, and caught the sobbing cries of other passengers. Then the captain’s gruff voice bellowed above the din, “They offer no quarter! Offer your prayers to Deutis Bellatorus that he grant us strength, or we will soon be claimed by Deutrix Mare’s crushing embrace.”
Michael looked at Alexi, “I’ve never been one for prayer”, he said to her, before grinning, “We have a saying from that old Empire I mentioned, ‘Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat’”. He was going to explain further but the wide eyes of Alexi told him that maybe he had made a mistake speaking the Latin phrase to her. But as another shower of shrapnel flew across the deck from another impact, and a sliver cut deep into Michael’s left arm, causing him to let loose with a torrent of profanities. In a fit of unadulterated rage, Michael grabbed a chunk of the shattered railing that struck him. He could feel energy from the world around him pouring into his body, and realized that he was drawing in magic. With a thought, he focused that magic to the shard of wood in his hand, wanting to impart as much energy into the wood as possible. He could feel the wood starting to vibrate in his hand, and with a feral scream of defiance, he hurled the shard at the pirate clipper. There was a mighty crack, and pain was all that Michael knew.
What Michael couldn’t see as he crumpled to the deck with a pained scream, was the shard of wood that he released closed the distance between the two ships in a blink of an eye. The impact blasted a hole at midship, and also snapped the keel of the clipper. At the sight of the clipper’s demise, the ship fell into deathly silence, only the creaks of the boards dared speak into the surreal silence.
Alexi, having watched everything that just took place, fell to her knees over Michael, fully expecting to find him laying dead. As she used her magic to examine his wounds, she could see dozens of small scrapes and bruises from being peppered by debris flying around. However, he had two grievous injuries, his left arm was slashed down to the bone from his wrist to past his elbow and his right arm flopped bonelessly with every movement of the ship. Alexi had only seen an injury like his right arm once before, when an apprentice mage had been attempting to cast a combat spell without using a focus and the fool had lost control of the spell, forcing too much magic into it. The magical backlash from the sudden release of that much magic had pulverized every bone in the poor mage’s arm. As she examined Michael’s right arm, she found that he had done much the same from his shoulder all the way down to his fingers. With a prayer to Deutrix Rosalyna, thanking her both for Michael still being alive and for his unconscious state, she went about using her magic to close his wounds and knit his bones back together. Healing wounds like this, normally required expending magic on blocking the pain of the body repairing at a rapid rate. The sickening sound of the bones in Michael’s arm snapping back together and sliding into place turned her stomach. When she finished, she plopped onto the deck, the strength having been drained from her body from using so much magic herself and the reality of everything that just happened sunk in.
