[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 253 – Wavedancer

Komachi rubbing her paws together, then kneading the downed mage with [Healing Biscuits] didn’t do much to calm the ship crew down.

“I know this looks bad,” Sam said, holding his hands up.

The captain shoved through the press of bodies and bared steel. “Put that away ye salt-addled fools! Can’t you tell this man just saved our hides? Or have ye been listenin’ to the calls o’ the lamia?!”

Several crewmen stared at their feet and shifted about.

“‘e pulled me from the rail afore I plunged into the drink,” one of the crew said meekly as he put away his cutlass.

“Aye, I saw him haul Wilkins out de way of a crate full of steel. Woulda crushed de man flat.”

Staring at the faces of the crew arrayed in a semi-circle around him, Sam noticed something that he had missed in the adrenaline-fueled act of saving the ship.

Aside from the captain and the mage, every single crew member was naked from the chest up. Sam thought it incredibly unlikely that everybody had lost their shirts in the storm.

Judging by the lack of tan lines on both the men and women, this was not an uncommon occurrence. More than a few had some rather ostentatious piercings. Some even had golden chains linking the piercings with jewels and pendants weighing them down.

Komachi giggled like a little kid to herself about all the assets on display.

A sailor stepped forward. “He even withstood Yulan’s infamous [Ball Crusher Kick]!”

Sam wasn’t sure how that was something good to be said about his character, but it seemed to impress some of the sailors.

“If he be a stowaway,” the captain began, putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder and turning to face the crew, “then I say he has paid his fare many times over. The Wavedancer would have been lunch fer the lamias if it weren’t for this man.”

Sam had no idea what a lamia was, but he took it all in stride despite how bone-deep weary he was.

“Ye must be tired,” the captain told him. “Me first mate’s among those we lost when that damnable she-devil of a storm nearly blew us down! Ye can take his room, leave the repairs to us.”

His cat turned away from the prone mage and circled around Sam’s boots. She pointed over at the mage with her tail. “He’s mostly fine. Just sleepin’ it off now.”

“My stars,” the captain said, taking off his hat and holding it over his heart. “A soul aeder do be blessin’ our humble ship?!”

Hushed mutters rippled through the crew. Several made the same complicated gesture. At first Sam was worried it was one of those “warding away evil” gestures, but looking at the beaming faces of the crew, he threw that thought out.

Komachi looked around, wiggling her rump with excitement. She enjoyed the attention, especially when she was considered special in some way.

“If it’s all the same to you, captain, I’d like to help however I may.”

The captain frowned. He was a bulky man with bright amber eyes and a thick black beard. Next to Sam, however, he looked runty.

As much as the captain clearly didn’t want Sam to over-tax himself, he seemed to understand that Sam’s prodigious strength could only be put to good use.

“Yer to be me personal guest,” the captain told him. “Ye do as ye like and me crew will help ye learn the ropes. We’re a long way off course. It’ll be many a week afore we’re back in safer waters.”

“Weeks, huh? That’s fine by me.”

Komachi looked up at Sam with an unspoken question.

With things calming down, Sam was able to collect his thoughts. How were they going to find the Lumanot here?

The Proving Grounds sent me here for a reason. It has to be somewhere nearby. He looked across the stern to the distant squall. Really, really hope it’s not in there.

Last time he was sent to the Empire, it was just before a group of thieves managed to make off with the Lumanot. Sam doubted it’d be as simple as the cargo hold magically containing the Lumanot.

If it was, they could have used its power to disperse the storm.

Provided they understand its power well enough to use it, Sam thought to himself. Maybe it wasn’t quite so outlandish. He resolved to give the hold a good look now that he knew what to expect.

Shardscript materialized across his vision, updating a quest he hadn’t any time to look at during the chaos.

Quest Complete: Ship Going Down

You saved not just yourself, but the majority of the Wavedancer’s crew by preventing the vessel from sinking to the bottom of the sea. While you’re not completely free of the squall yet, your efforts have paid off. You gain the following:

Swordsman Experience

(1) [Alzahan Imperial Ring Coffer]

I’ve gained Experience in the Empire? The empowering warmth that filled his body stunned Sam to silence. He thought gaining Experience would be impossible even in the Empire.

A gilded box materialized in front of his chest.

Komachi looked up at the sudden shadow, a much smaller coffer already sitting in front of her paws. Despite dealing with his shock, he snatched his coffer from the air.

“Treasure awarded by the Shard?” the captain asked. “Auspicious indeed.”

Despite his tone, Sam couldn’t help but notice that he was watching Sam with deepening suspicion.

Sam doubted anybody had actually seen him appear from the portal, but that would be the least of his worries if they thought he was some sort of enemy agent. He was a stranger in a strange land, and only his good deeds had saved him from being tossed overboard.

Not that Sam minded. He wouldn’t have been very trusting of a random guy appearing on his deck if he didn’t help out during a life-or-death event either.

The captain clapped Sam on the shoulder and extended his hand once the chest’s contents disappeared into Sam’s inventory. “Name’s Galbast. I ain’t normally such a bad host, but y’see our meetin’ wasn’t the most normal either, so I says it’s a wash. What do they call ye, son?”

Sam clasped the captain’s forearm in a greeting of his own. “Sam.”

“Interestin’ name,” Galbast said thoughtfully. “Let’s get you acquainted with the Wavedancer, eh?”

From there, Sam took to the tutelage of the deckhands. He learned on his feet about the rigging, the sails, and how the steps were called “ladders” instead of stairs. He learned starboard from port, stern from bow, and much more.

With his prodigious Strength, Sam easily hauled what took four other sailors working together to manage. Nails were pounded in with one swift swing of the hammer. Sam could patch a section of the hull in minutes instead of hours.

He could do nothing about their missing mainmast, but the rest of the ship was quickly brought up to a suitable state.

Some things were similar to what little he knew from Earth, and others were fairly different. Materials could withstand significantly more amounts of damage than a world without magic.

Komachi learned as well. Though much wasn’t expected of her. Despite being a small mage cat, she was handy in hard to reach places and her claws were stronger than the tools used to work on the ship.

Some of Komachi’s time was spent playing games of dice and cards with the sailors or entertaining them with music.

It was easy to see how she lifted everyone’s spirits, even when she ended up winning heaps of imperial coins.

True to his word, the captain was a gracious host. That very night, he extended an invitation to have Sam and Komachi eat with him in his quarters.

Though Sam had little understanding of ships, he had an idea that the captain’s quarters should be large and palatial, with stained glass windows looking out the back.

Galbast’s room was nothing of the sort. It was just big enough for a bed nailed to the boards, a wide desk, some extra seats (all secured to the floor), and a moderately sized table that could fit up to six people.

“Ye were expectin’ something a bit fancier?” Galbast said with a chuckle as he tucked a napkin under his chin and pulled up to the table.

The feast before them was sumptuous indeed and included a great deal of fish but also fresh fruit and greens. Sam hadn’t expected that last bit, but he guessed scurvy was probably a concern here too.

Nothing was salted or dried for preservation. Sam guessed that the magic of the Empire was advanced enough to make refrigeration look like a joke.

The captain made a motion with his thick fingers. A gem on one gold ring flashed, and the door turned a pale shade of amber for a moment.

“Ain’t no pryin’ while we eat,” the captain said amiably.

Sam nodded his thanks, but knew it was more for the captain’s sake than his own. That the captain had invited him to dinner, let alone cast some sort of anti-eavesdropping charm on the room, spoke volumes about his intentions.

“You want to know what my purpose here is,” Sam guessed. He found he honestly liked captain Galbast. The man seemed sincere and forthright. Sam would treat him as he would wish to be treated. Which was to be blunt and to the point.

The one thing Sam dreaded most about his title as king was becoming enmeshed in political plots and intrigue. The sort of things that he hated back home. Sam preferred the simplicity of a blade to the doublespeak and innuendos of nobles.

“A man after me own heart!” The captain roared with laughter. “Good on ye, mate! Aye, ye took the measure of me right, I’m guessing.” He leaned forward on the table. “Are ye one o’ them Immortals? I ain’t seen much magic, but ye move with the grace o’ a leopard and the might of a maranta.”

Sam chuckled, knowing that the captain had paid him a compliment. “I’m not an Immortal,” Sam told him. “To be completely honest, I’m not sure why I’m here or how I got here. It’s a bit of a mystery, but I will tell you truthfully: I’m seeking something. When I find it, I’ll know it. Until that point, I am happy to be of service as I may. I am a guest, after all.”

Komachi trembled in her seat, paralyzed with indecision. Her eyes went wide, staring at all the various fruits and foods to try.

There hadn’t been much of a selection on Sil’mara for sweets. Now more options were in front of Komachi than she had ever been aware of before.

Sam glanced at the food, daring to hope for some pineapple.

Galbast drummed his beringed fingers on the tabletop. His other hand stroked his beard. “Ye must know the Talmoori and the Empire do not see eye t’ eye, son.”

Sam shrugged. It seemed the safest reply since he had no idea who the Talmoori were.

“Even if ye ain’t an Imperial Agent, yer takin’ a mighty big risk coming aboard the Wavedancer amid a storm. A spell gone awry?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

The captain shook his head. “What will the Imperial Court come up with next?” he muttered under his breath. “If’n ye be an Imperial Agent, best to keep that between us. The Wavedancer employs more Talmoori than anywhere else in the Empire. They’re good solid folk. Strange customs, but we’re all strange in our own ways, ain’t we? Best sailors you could ever ask for. Saltwater runs in their veins!”

“But they have no love for the Empire,” Sam reasoned.

“That’s takin’ it lightly, son. Any day now it’ll come to blows. Mark my words. I wouldn’t bet on the Talmoori much as I like ‘em. The Empire will sink their nation ‘neath the waves, but not afore the Talmoori strike a blow the Empire won’t soon forget. In fact, if me chart’s right, I’ll be able to show ye personally what happened the last time the Empire and the Talmoori went prow-to-prow.”

Sam was about to ask what he meant when he caught the telltale golden fruit he was so hoping to find. Pineapple.

Komachi scooped some pinkish blue grapes onto her plate, along with bright purple bananas. Sam took her plate just as she was about to dig in.

His cat looked betrayed until Sam dropped several triangular slices onto her plate. “Pineapple,” Sam told her. “You must try the pineapple first.”

The captain looked curiously at him. “Pineapple, eh? I heard it called ananas from the fruit merchant. We’re bringing it to the Empire as a novelty, but I must say pineapple rolls off the tongue a bit better.”

Komachi thinned her eyes at first. Then she gave the pineapple some intense sniffs. Her eyes brightened with keen interest, and she dug in without further hesitation.

Sam devoured the pineapple, relishing the freshly cut fruit that he grew up on as a child. It was better than ice cream. Better than cake or pie. Nothing beat a freshly cut golden pineapple.

Of course, Komachi had much more than pineapple on her plate. She quickly moved on to the next delicious fruit. She was in heaven. There were so many new flavors she could now taste as a soul aeder that she had missed out as a cat. Sweetness had been missing from her life on Hawai’i with Sam, and she was determined to taste every sweet thing in existence now that she could fully appreciate this brand-new flavor.

Komachi made boisterous mews of sheer joy that made Sam grin and sneak some of those grape-like fruits from her plate.

Huh, this tastes almost like cotton candy!

The captain laughed and pushed forward another bowl of exotic fruits. “Here, try these!”

Sam and Komachi obliged happily.