The Fusionist Book 4 -- Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“I’m just passing through and resupplying, Protector.”

The armored woman looked at him with a strange expression on her face, but eventually waved him by, free to enter the city of Swiftwater through the gates. At least, he thought it was Swiftwater according to where he thought he was on the now-worn map in his pack, but he had avoided most towns and villages on his travels east to the point where he wasn’t entirely sure where he was. It would’ve helped if there was some sort of sign on the outside of the walled city, the first that he’d seen thus far in the Sealance Empire – both the first city and the first habitation that actually had walls defending it. It wasn’t even something new from the recent appearances of monsters and Apertures, as he could see the weathered stone worn smooth in a few places where the traffic rubbed up against it.

His assumption was proven correct soon after entering the busy city as he saw a sign over a permanent market stall located near the entrance that said, “Swiftwater Delicatessen”. He’d seen the same sort of stalls in the few towns he was forced to visit over the last month as he restocked his food supplies, and it sold fresh meats and some breads – none of which he typically bought, as he concentrated on foods that would last a while and had a high protein and fat content to replenish his energy.

It was for that reason that he stopped by this city, as he was completely out of food that wasn’t just straight meat that he’d butchered from certain monsters he’d killed on his journey. At first, he had done it to simply supplement his diet by having fresh meat, even if it was of questionable quality when he attempted to cook it on a spit over a fire; he had barely been able to choke down his first attempt, as it was quite bad. That attempt had also raised his Cooking Skill to Level 2, which made subsequent meals progressively better as he eventually brought it all the way up to Level 7. The one thing he had wished for during his cooking attempts was some sort of spices or seasoning to flavor the meat better, which was another thing he was hoping to purchase while in the city.

Along with more supplies, his other goal was to find a way across the river that was blocking his progress. Swiftwater was apparently named for the wide, fast-moving river that ran alongside the city, and it certainly lived up to that moniker. He’d stepped into the edge of the river in an attempt to see if he could simply swim across, but he had his feet nearly swept out from underneath him from the swiftly flowing water. Looking closer at the flow of the river, he had the impression that there were strange undercurrents moving around throughout its entire width which might end up pulling him under if he wasn’t careful. He was strong and had more than enough stamina to swim all the way across, even though it was nearly 2 miles wide, but who knew where he would end up as he was washed downstream or sent into its depths by the fast-moving currents.

It was possible that there were narrower places along the river that would be easier to cross, but his map didn’t have that kind of detail. All he knew was that there had to be someplace to cross, as the Sealance Empire didn’t simply end where the north- and south-oriented river appeared. The map indicated that it originated far to the north, which he estimated to be at least 1,000 miles or more away, but that seemed quite restrictive to movement through the Empire if that was the only option. He figured that they had to have some sort of ferry system like he’d seen in the Empire, and the docks in the city that he had spotted from afar seemed as if they would have exactly what he needed.

As it was still before noon, Larek figured he would be able to get into the city, pick up his supplies as quickly as he could, and then hit the docks to find some way to cross before night fell. He’d slept in plenty of strange places over the last month so he was confident he could find somewhere to wait out the darkness once he got to the other side.

He didn’t want to stay in the city of Swiftwater too long just in case his description had been spread around by the Protector back in Lakebellow, especially since he no longer had his Perceptive Misdirection Fusion on the ring Shinpai had given him. It had long since faded and his 7-foot frame was visible to everyone, and while the Protector leader had seen the “shorter” version of him a month ago, his height still made him the center of attention whenever he passed through a town. He, of course, didn’t stick around long enough to find out if he was actively being hunted, but he was still planning on acting like he was.

He also hadn’t found a chance to create any more Fusions since he left Lakebellow, including a replacement for the Perceptive Misdirection Fusion. While it should’ve been easy to accomplish at least a simple replacement, as it wouldn’t take much effort, every time he began to settle down and focus on the process, his paranoia about being discovered by those searching for him disrupted his state of mind, making it virtually impossible. For some reason, at least after the first few nights, it didn’t affect his sleep as much, but anything related to creating another Fusion filled him with enough anxiety that he could barely think straight. At some point he knew that he would have to get over it and find someplace extremely secure and safe so that he could focus on Fusions again, but that place hadn’t been found quite yet.

It took over an hour to find all the shops he needed to refill his supplies, as it took an extra detour to find someone selling spices and meat seasonings, but he managed to finish his errands in a relatively short time, nonetheless. Once he was satisfied with his purchases and his packs were full once again, he set off for the docks to see about finding his way across the river.

This was where he discovered some devastating news.

“No one’s getting across anytime soon.”

It hadn’t taken long for him to find what appeared to be the person in charge – or at least a person in charge – near the docks, which was comprised of a dozen long, curved piers with extremely thick stone pilings to keep them stable. The curving of the piers was odd, because the only ones he’d seen in his life had been straight as they jut out into a river; it wasn’t until he really took a look at them and noticed how they were constructed in a way to help redirect the extreme flow of the rushing water in between the relatively calm spaces in between the pier. With the speed at which the water moved, it would be impossible to dock a ferry or a boat without it crashing into everything. The curving was simply to add some stability to the entire structure, sort of like how an arched bridge worked – or that was his assumption.

The problem he noticed immediately upon arriving at the docks was there weren’t any boats or anything resembling a ferry ready to carry him across. Along the waterfront were a half-dozen larger buildings with wide doorways practically overflowing with wooden crates and other merchandise that made him think of the caravans he’d traveled with in the past. In front of what Larek could only assume were warehouses holding caravan goods were dozens of men and women lounging under some impromptu awnings created with what appeared to be canvas tacked to the warehouses’ outer walls and connected to stacks of crates assembled outside, appearing bored and listless as they lethargically played some sort of game involving dice.

As for the rest of the dock area, it was practically deserted. From what he remembered of the docks around Peratin before he was ferried across with his classmates on their journey to Copperleaf Academy, the docks had been a frantic madhouse of activity that was both overwhelming and confusing at the same time – but this was none of that. There was an Inn along the dock that appeared a bit dilapidated, and it was where Larek could hear some activity in the form of laughter and the sound of some sort of stringed instrument playing, but that was about it.

The only person he saw that appeared to have some answers was sitting at a covered booth just inside the dock area, his chin in his hand as he stared out over the river with a vacant expression on his face. When Larek approached, the man barely acknowledged that he saw him, but roused from his stupor when the Combat Fusionist asked him about getting across. That was when he laughed once a little sadly and told Larek that no one was getting across anytime soon.

“Why? Isn’t there some sort of ferry to bring people across?” he asked of the man.

“Of course there is,” the man snapped, seemingly irritated by the question. “We actually have five of them that depart daily, drop off whatever shipments and travelers are aboard at Riverbend, and then are portaged north to Blackferry. From there, they load up with any shipments and travelers wanting to move toward Swiftwater, and then arrive back here where they are dropped off.

“At least, that’s what is supposed to happen. Unfortunately, something happened to the ferries during the portage a few days ago, and we’ve been stuck without a way across ever since.” The man put his chin back in his hand and started to drift away again, but Larek brought him back with more questions.

“Is there another way across? Is there a portion of the Swiftwater that is able to be forded by an individual? What about by a small raft or boat?” While he’d never crafted a raft or boat before, he could probably figure it out well enough if he didn’t have any other choice. Especially if it was just a one-time use thing and would only have to hold together long enough to get him to the other side.

Unfortunately, the man was shaking his head. “Up near the source of the Swiftwater I’ve heard the speed is a bit slower, but that’s a long journey – especially in these times. As far as I know, the river doesn’t narrow enough at any point to allow for easy fording, and the current near the middle is so strong that any attempts at creating a bridge have failed. It’s that same reason that rafts and smaller boats can’t handle a crossing, as they don’t have enough weight to prevent themselves from being pulled under by the current. Our ferries are the only reliable source of crossing the Swiftwater, and it’s been like that for hundreds of years.”

Well, crud. This is definitely going to affect my travel speed.

“Can you build more ferries?”

The dockmaster, or that was who Larek assumed he was, chuckled. “Who, me? Not a chance. We actually had two full-time Shipbuilders assigned to Swiftwater to help with maintenance and replacing any portions of the ferries that were wearing out, but the damn fools went and got themselves killed.”

“How did they die?”

The dockmaster snorted. “How else, nowadays? The two of them became Mages and joined a group of young hotheads that were going out to kill monsters and close these Aperture thingies. Haven’t heard from the entire group in at least a week, so no one expects that they’ll be back.”

Again, it seemed as though the consequences of the change that went through the Empire – and the rest of the world, assumedly – had gone and messed up his plan to get home to the Kingdom. First, it was creating a problem with some no-good layabouts turning bandit and forcing Larek to kill them, and now the only people able to create new ferries had gotten themselves killed when they went out to kill monsters.

“Is there anyone on the other side of the river that would be able to build some new ferries?”

The man shrugged. “Maybe? From what I knew before the whole change happened here, there were three or four shipbuilders in both cities on the other side, but I’m not sure if they’re even there anymore. We haven’t had any contact with either Riverbend or Blackferry since the ferries never came back, so it’s entirely possible that something happened to the people there, as well. Even if they are all alive and well, it will still take about a month to get a brand-new ferry built, so like I said before:

“No one’s getting across anytime soon.”

Thanking the dockmaster for the information, Larek left the docks with a last backwards glance at the swiftly flowing river. No ferries being present to bring him across the river was obviously a huge obstacle toward his goal of returning to the Kingdom, because it seemed as though he was stuck for at least a month – or more.

How long would it take to go around the river? The map he had acquired from Enderflow and Protector Ashlynn wasn’t exactly to scale, but he estimated that he could probably reach it within a month of constant travel, but then he would be quite a bit farther north than he wanted to be and would require weeks of travel to get back on track.

No matter how he looked at it, there was a delay – or did there have to be? Could he find a way to reach the other side without a ferry? The idea of a raft or small boat was supposedly out as a means to get himself across, based on what the dockmaster said, and while that didn’t necessarily mean the man was entirely accurate, Larek wasn’t sure if he wanted to take the chance. If his vessel was caught by the river and pulled under or damaged in some way, then reaching the other side alive would be that much more difficult.

Regardless, unless a ferry arrived in the next hour, he wouldn’t be getting across that day. Which meant that he either had to leave the city and find somewhere to camp, or stay in the city. The first was easy enough, but the latter appealed to him since it had been a month when he had stayed somewhere warm and safe. Or at least gave the impression of being safe, because the longer he stayed somewhere, the more risk he ran of being recognized if his description had been spread around.

It was a hard decision, even though he knew that one of them was the smartest – if not the most convenient – choice. By the time he found his steps bringing him through the city in search of an Inn, he realized that both his body and his mind had already decided. Staying in the city was apparently what he was going to do.

There were a surprisingly large number of Inns in the city, but he supposed it made sense because this was a major trading stop. Apparently, if anything or anyone wanted to get across the river, they had to go through here – which sounded stupid to Larek that they didn’t have any other alternatives if something like the current situation happened.

Each Inn he went into was completely full, however, as the Merchants and their people who were waiting to get their goods across had booked them all up. A total of 7 large Inns had absolutely no rooms for him to stay in, which was disappointing, because it meant that he would have to leave the city and stay outside somewhere.

Shrugging in disappointment, he left the last Inn and started to head toward the city entrance, but was stopped when a voice called out to him from an alleyway next to the Inn.

“Hey there, big boy; you need somewhere to rest your head tonight?”