5
Cutting through the rising waves of the deep blue ocean, a large grey-brown vessel shook from time to time. It distanced itself from the shore, as it tried to maneuver around the reefs and sharp rocks which stuck out like sharp spears ready to impale the unwise intruders of its territory. Two men stood on the stern deck and listened to the symphony of seagulls' cries and occasional crackling of taut rigging against the wood. The young man with a bright white hair in an odd coat watched the land on his left, while his companion was steering the ship.
"Wils, with our current speed, how long is it going to take us to reach Travest?"
The helmsman glanced at the sails and then turned his gaze at the passing clouds. After a moment of silence, he replied: "Sir Rai, I believe with this breeze… it's likely to be in two days tops! Beside my old fishing boat, this vessel is the fastest one I've ever helmed."
"Wils! I told you to drop the over-respectful act and be yourself, please. Anyways…Hm… two days eh? Still not fast enough… maybe… I could try to speed this up…", Rai spoke his mind.
"Ehm…Please excuse me sir, but what are you talking about? Can wizards really do something like that? That seems impossible!", Wils said in wonder and gave the young fellow a sizing side look.
"You will never know until you try! I'll look into that a bit later. For now, if you need a break… let me know, alright?", Rai said enthusiastically and began walking down the stairs.
"Yeah… sure…", Wils voice died in the mid of seagulls' cries.
As soon as Rai touched the main deck, he used his special sight and scanned the ship for the Lia and Glen. Shortly afterwards he found them inside one of the cabins and immediately made his way towards them.
*Knock… knock…*
"It's Rai! Can I enter? Or it's inconvenient right n…"
"RAI! Please come in! Come in!"
Before he could finish a sentence, the door was blasted open and Glen's silhouette appeared in the doorway. He wore a radiant smile on his face and immediately invited the guest to enter.
"Thank you! How are you? Is the cabin to your liking?", Rai asked with a gentle smile on his face.
"Y-yes… I-it's more than j-just comfortable… I… I can't put it into words… it's… it's just magical!", sitting on a large bed, Lia answered in a stuttered voice filled with excitement.
"We have never seen such a luxurious place in our entire lives! By the way, can you tell us… what is the purpose of this small room? Lia touched something and water began to leak out of that strange tube…", Glen said anxiously and pointed towards a small square room on the right side of the entrance.
"Relax! Don't worry! It's called a rest room!", Rai replied, amused by their facial expressions, and went towards the sink to turn off the faucet.
"Rest room?", Glen and Lia exchanged confused looks.
Right now, Rai was happy with himself and thought – 'for them, it is like holding a revolutionary cellphone for the first time in their life!'. He watched their shocked faces and said: "Before you get scared by other… outworldy equipment… I'll show you how to use the rest of them!"
Rai gestured for the pair to get closer and began to educate them on how to use sink, toilet and shower.
"Incredible! To think that… that… those bastards actually had something like that on their ship, it's unbelievable…", Glen said in a voice filled with complex emotions.
"Well… not quite theirs to begin with… I just made some adjustments… no matter… there are two more surprises waiting for you! One in the closet and the other one in that trunk by the table! I'm sure, you will like it, he-he!", Rai said smirking.
He focused his thought on the wardrobe and after that on the lonely chest by the table.
"Surprises? But Rai… we already checked them…", Lia voiced her doubt.
"Well then… check again, ha-ha!", Rai laughed.
The pair again exchanged puzzled looks and turned around to face the said objects. Lia walked towards the closet and opened it.
*Gasp*
"Huh?!"
"What's going on Lia? Are you alright?", Glen asked and walked hastily to her side.
"W-wha…?!", Glen's voice died at the shocking discovery.
The look on their faces was priceless. Rai stood with a wide grin on his face, savoring the show.
"That's one of my promised gifts to you. How is it?", He said smilingly.
"…"
"…"
The couple was stunned and stood there with a dumbfound expressions on their faces. Inside the wooden wardrobe, its whole left side was filled with women's clothing, while the right one was filled with men's.
"Is this all your doing?", Lia asked in a disbelieve.
"Yes, nothing special here, just clothes… well, I hope you find them to your liking", the young man replied, as he arrived to stand by couple's side.
"What a beautiful dress! Such a nice fabric!"
Lia took out a white silk gown, decorated with deep blue roses, and gently ran her hand over it. Meanwhile, Glen looked at the right side, where men clothes lied.
"Thank you so much! It's a pity that we can give you nothing in return…", Glen said a bit nervously.
"As long as you don't harm those around you, especially the loved ones, I won't ask anything in return.", Rai replied with a gentle smile.
Glen spotted a brown cotton pants with a black belt, black leather vest and white linen shirt lying on the shelf. He reached out, took and placed them on the bed. Following Lia's example, he touched clothes' fabric, saying: "How did you do that? That's incredible! Thank you! Thank so much!"
"Don't forget the chest! Thank me afterwards!", Rai said, winked and pointed at the trunk by the table.
Glen removed his gaze from clothes, looked at Rai and then focused on the mysterious box. With small steps he arrived slowly to its side, placed his hands and with a light motion raised the upper half.
*Gasp*
"Huh?!"
"Glen?"
Lia's voice had a note of concern in it.
"I-it's… I'm fine Lia… j-just too much surprises for one d-day…", Glen replied with a slight stutter in his voice.
"Uh? W-wha...?"
Lia walked to her beloved's side and immediately became stunned by the shine escaping the opened chest.
"By the bright sky and glowing stars! That's… that's too much Rai... that's too much! How… how can we receive such a gift? But more importantly, how can we ever repay you?!"
Staring at the gold-filled trunk, Lia turned her head and addressed her disbelieve to the young sorcerer. Rai shrugged and said: "I told you already, two gifts… so I'd appreciate, if you accepted them and repaid me by living on meaningfully! I want to genuinely help everyone on board without exceptions."
"I'm lost for words… *sob* w-we c-can't t-thank you enough! *sob* After all you've done for us! T-thank you, truly!", Lia said, as tears streamed down her face.
"I-I hope that there're more people like you in the world! But more importantly… more sorcerers such as yourself!", Glen said and looked at the white-haired fellow with his watery eyes.
The couple bowed deeply, making Rai a little embarrassed.
"Alright! Alright! Stop it! You make me uncomfortable!", he said with a pause and changed the topic: "Now! Back to the task at hand! If Wils is right, our journey is going to take two days. So… make yourself at home and relax as much as you can! Oh! I forgot to tell you! There are small sacks on the bottom of the upper half. You can use them to carry as much coins as you want and here you can touch this thingy to shrink the whole box and press again to return it to its original size!", Rai made his way towards the treasure chest and showed them where to activate the magical formation.
*gasp*
Both Lia and Glen were shocked by the strange sight, as the trunk started to change its shape.
"See… no problem at all! You can carry it safely!", Rai said happily and went on: "Well then… I'm going to leave you now, so… check out your new clothes and make yourself comfortable. I'll be helping others with their accommodations, see you later! Bye for now!"
Rai waved them goodbye and hastily walked out of the cabin, leaving them stunned by the wonder. He looked around the corridor and with a smile on his face proceeded to check on other refugees. Couple of hours later, he finished his lap of glory around the ship – explaining how to use rest room and how to take away their treasures. Returning back to the surface, he noticed that It was already an evening.
"I can't believe that it took so much time! It was a midday when I left! Poor Wils! He has never left his post!", Rai thought and increased his pace towards the stern deck.
"Good evening Sir. Nothing new here.", Wils said with a respectful tone.
An awkward and uncomfortable feeling spread inside Rai's body. He left him helming the ship for almost a day.
"G-good evening to you too Wils… You did an excellent job at steering the ship safely… Go eat and rest! I'm taking over for now!", Rai said with an apologetic tone in his voice.
"It's ok Sir, I'm not tired! I can go for a couple more hours!", Wils replied enthusiastically.
"That's enough for today, Wils! Go and rest! That's an order!", Rai insisted and put his hand on Wils's shoulder.
"Thank you, Sir Rai! I'll eat something and be back sho…"
"No, you won't! As your savior! I command you to leave your post and relax till tomorrow morning! We don't want to see you accidentally fall asleep and hit a reef, do we now?", Rai stopped him and gave him a sharp stare.
"Ehm… N-no, we don't! Thank you, sir! I'll be back with the dawn! Good night!"
The old man shuddered at the young man's gaze and after thanking him, he stepped down from his post, before he made a quick getaway towards the cabins. Rai swept his gaze across the ship and noticed that there were only a couple of folks standing on the fo'c'sle deck.
"Good… Now… I can turn on an auto pilot and go to sleep as well!", the new sternman announced in a slightly hushed voice.
"Auto pilot? What is that?", a pleasant young woman's voice rang from the stairs.
After a short moment, a young girl with an olive colored skin came into the view. If Rai had to guess her age, he would say that she was in her twenties. The first thing he noticed was those unusual orange eyes and in combination with bit arced brows, it gave him a seductive impression about her. Her long light brown hair fell all the way down to her hips with an addition to a small braid on her left. She was dressed in a white long linen dress decorated with goldenrod flowers and on her feet, she wore silver colored ancient Greek style sandals. The girl paced slowly towards the young man and looked intensively into his eyes.
"Hello? How can I help you, young lady? You aren't hungry, are you?", Rai asked, a bit amused and surprised by the arrival of his new companion.
"Young lady? I told you my name already, uncle! How could you forget? And I'm not hungry, thank you", she spoke disappointingly with a barely seen pout on her rose lips.
"Uncle? Sure, call me uncle, it doesn't matter. But… Please, excuse me… I had distracting thoughts on my mind this whole day. I barely remember anyone's name.", Rai said with an apologetic smile.
Girl's eyes danced left and right between young man's eyes, as she tried to spot a deception.
"Alright! I forgive you, but only this once! It's Lerinne, don't forget it!", she said with a warm smile and examined him with those seductively attractive eyes. "What did you mean by… 'auto pilot' and… going to sleep as well?"
"Well… Lerinne… I meant to make this vessel sail by itself to our chosen destination, while we all rest and tend to own doings… wait… so it is you… I can barely recognize you… after… all this make over… it suits you well, especially this white color… it makes you look so fresh and it makes you flourish… I think…", he said with a calm voice while his eyes moved up and down.
"Oh… Thank you! But the way you speak… I don't know, if it's a compliment or an insult…", she said, as her face brightened up by a radiant smile with a touch of redness on her cheeks. "W-wait… What did you say? You can make it sail by itself?! Can wizards really do something so amazing?"
Rai's amusement deepened by what he saw next – her brows rose up and those rosy lips trembled and parted. However, before he could enjoy that stunning scene, young woman raised her hand and covered her mouth.
"Ehm… well… I don't want to brag… it's not an easy task to pull and there might be only a small number of wizards who can do something like that, but I can, and you will see it soon, he-he."
Ending his ego boosting speech with a chuckle, he activated his shadowy-eyes and focused on an auto pilot concept. During brainstorming he thought – "As soon as I touch this steering wheel, it should sail in Travest's direction, as I saw it on the map. Also, I'm going to apply an invisible shield around the ship to both protect and serve as radar to spot a dangerous rocky terrain and adjust accordingly. Sounds good, let's try it out!"
Through the whole process, Lerinne was watching him silently while her imagination ran wild with expectations. However, to her disappointment nothing really happened. No sound, glow or shine followed, the young man just touched the wheel with both of his hands and a moment later removed them just like that.
"I-is... is it done? I don't see any change…", she asked curiously.
"It's done! It'd be hard to see a change right now… but… you will feel it when the ship begins to turn!"
Just as he finished speaking, the wheel made a turn to the right and stopped.
"Ah! It moved! It moved on its own! Look! Oh… it stopped! Incredible!"
Rai could have sworn that she jumped just now and laughed.
"Hey! Quit laughing at me!", she said with an annoyed expression.
"Alright, Alright! I won't! I promise! It's just too adorable to watch!", he said apologetically.
"A-adorable?! I'm not a little girl! I'm already twenty this year! So, no more similar remarks!", she warned him with a glint in her eyes.
Rai didn't answer, just smiled gently.
"So, Lerinne… what brought you up here to me? Most of the refugees preferred to stay in their cabins and rest. You seemed to be energetic…", he asked curiously.
She moved her eyes away from Rai and watched the dark ocean. After a while, she moved on to stare at the small group standing on the fo'c'sle deck. A short pause grew into a long silence and uncomfortable feeling rose inside him.
"A-are… are you alright? Did I say something improper again?", he asked worriedly.
*Sigh*
"No… you did not… as you already know… a lot has happened to me… to us… in such a short time… it's hard to move on. M-my… my father is dead… my childhood friend is dead… my mother is all I have right now", she paused, side glanced at him and asked: "Rai… do you have a family? Or someone you hold dear? I don't want to think, what it's like to be all alone in this vast unknown and dark world…"
"I… can't give you a definite answer… I do and I don't… it's hard to put it into words. I believe, we all have our own path in this twisted reality that we live in… I don't want to add more sadness than there already is… but… in this world… I don't have anyone…", he said and looked down to his right.
"So… my situation isn't as bad as I thought… you're in a worse one…", she looked at him gently.
"It's fine… at best… I learnt to live on… after all we are mortals...", he said and raised his head to meet her eyes.
"It looks like… I'm a lot younger than you…"
Their eyes met for a short moment before she returned to watch the front group.
Looking at her, reminded him of someone he knew from his previous world. He watched her lean slightly on the railing, while the wind played with her hair.
"By the way… Rai… do you perhaps know any song?", she asked curiously and shifted her eyes back on him.
"Ehm… well… though, I'm not a bard, but… I actually do know some… If you want, I'll try singing… just excuse me for my bad voice.", he replied with a clear surprise on his face.
"huh? You do? I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… I wasn't serious just now! I just wanted to lighten up the mood a little…", she said with a clear amazement in her voice, while looking back at him and shaking her hands in protest.
"It's not a big deal, really… well… which one is more or less appropriate…", he said while supporting his chin with a hand.
After a short pause he removed the hand and began his endeavor.
*cough*
*cough*
"Far away… This ship is taking me far away… Far away… from these bad m-memories… to the place where it shines, and I'll feel alive… Starlight… I'll be chasing this starlight… in hope it guides me to a better life… am I a fool to believe in that… In my arms… All I wanted was to hold you… in my arms… feeling your heartbeat so close to mine… in a symphony that outlives our mortal selves… My life…You brightened up my life… I hope you stay by my side! No matter what life throws, I will strive to make this moment last! I'll… never let you go, if you… promise… not to… fade away… never fade away! …Our-r h-hopes and expectations-s… dark thoughts and tribulations-s… Our hopes and expectations… dark thoughts and tribulations! Starlight… please guide me… Starlight… don't give up on me… Starlight… please never fade away… never fade away…"
Listening silently to an acceptable singing of the young man, Lerinne's face remained quite serene, unlike her inner world which raged like an erupting volcano. By the end her vision became blurry and one tear escaped her sunset eyes.
"I-it… it's sad… but it's beautiful, Rai! You're as much bard as you're a wizard! If it's not too much trouble… can you write it down for me? Please?", She smiled and commented with a slight tremble in her voice.
"Yes, sure and thank you for your kind words… I guess, I still have a chance to become one after all!", he laughed happily.
"Yes, you seem passable!", she chuckled and went on: "Where are you from, Rai? How did you managed to find us?"
"I… I'm sorry… I can't tell you much… especially, my origin… but… I came from the north of your Tart village… I just happened to spot the rising smoke and immediately made my way through the ridge… shortly afterwards, I saw the destruction and the horrible scene. There was one old man, who barely breathed. He told me what happened and how your captors looked. On his death bed, I promised him, I'd save the kidnapped people. That's the whole story…", Rai recalled his journey and tried to not give away too much information about where exactly he came from and what occurred between him and the old man.
"I see… can you tell me about that old man and how he looked?", she asked a little troubled.
Rai looked sideways to the left and tried to recall as much as he could about that man.
"He… I think… he was at the height of my shoulders… he had a long hair, though most of it was white, but still there were signs of it being brown in his younger days. He had a long wide beard without a mustache and his eyes were… wait…. Now that I'm trying to remember how he looked… you remind me of him… somehow… his eyes… his eyes… yes! I think he had orange eyes… yes! Same as yours!", he said with a surprised tone, glanced back at her and waited for the response.
"T-that… that was… that was my father! He was the only one with orange eyes in our village! And that was my only resemblance to him… as you can see, I look more like my mom. I must thank you for trying to help him and realizing his dying wish! At least… now my mother will feel less guilty for his death…", she said with a sad expression on her face.
"It's alright. What's happened has happened and you can't change it! You should keep him in your memories and live on with as less regrets as possible. Make him happy and proud, of who you will be!", he tried to cheer her up.
"Thank you… your words mean a lot to me! I'll try to live on and make my father proud!", she said decisively.
The evening turned slowly into the night and soon without their knowing the dawn sneaked up on them. Through the whole conversation, Lerinne was open and relaxed, as she shared her childhood memories. From time to time she laughed, she felt sad, but overall, she was happy to finally talk to someone who could be by her side and listen. She enjoyed his company a lot and answered all of his questions, even though some of them were slightly embarrassing.
"Well well… look… it's already dawn… time sure flies fast while talking to you, young lady!", he said with a smirk.
"Oh my! Yes… I… I was completely lost… Rai… excuse me I'll go and check on my mother!", she apologized and sprinted down stairs.
"While you're at it, take a nap!", he shouted at the runaway girl, whose silhouette was already gone from the main deck.
"It's so hard to let go the prejudice… she is completely different from her seductive impression… I hope she learns and knows herself well. It will bring her less harm in future… Ok! Now, I should go and check on Wils. I have to tell him that we no longer require his shifts."
After voicing his thoughts, he looked at the people on the front side of the ship and a moment later began walking towards Wils' cabin.
"Look there are bodies at the entrance!"
"Let's check them!"
Two elves sped up before stopping abruptly by the hooded bodies.
"It looks like, both are still breathing…", Gael'dyr said while assessing them.
"I hope we can get them talk to us!", said Vaar'dyr.
Each elf took hold of one of the bodies and just when they were about to raise them up, the bodies shook and struggled out of elves' arms. Two black clothed figures stood still in front of the elves and stared at them hostilely.
"Weh eren't gere to hurt you, the at ease! Weh woult like to ask youa, wahat happanet heare…", Vaar'dyr talked in a barely understandable human language.
"Varr'dyr, you know how to speak in human tongue?", Gael'dyr asked slightly surprised.
"Ye… a little… I learnt it from a pardoned one…", Vaar'dyr replied still looking at the two.
"… zzz…tgfz… ehar…", two strangers whispered something to one another with only a barely audible noises reaching elves' ears.
"Elven scouts in this part of the land? it's quite a rare sight…", the left hooded person said in elven tongue with a hoarse voice.
"You speak our language?! Who are you? Are you the exiled one?", Vaar'dyr asked and frowned.
"I… am… the exiled one… my name is Vir'thas and my partner's name is Grat. We both lived here peacefully until a group of bandits arrived, tortured and enslaved most of the people. Shortly afterwards a strange half-blood came by and attacked us…", the left one by the name Vir'thas replied with a sad tone in his voice.
"A strange half-blood? Do you mean the one with a white hair and a black-bluish coat?", asked Gael'dyr.
"Yes! That's the one! Are you hunting him down?", Vir'thas asked curiously.
"Hunting him down…?!"
"We do want to have a chat with him… why are you hiding your appearance?", Vaar'dyr signaled his partner to be quiet and asked seriously.
"H-he… tortured us with fire and dark magic… our flesh is hideous to look at… we have nothing to hide… it's just too horrifying…", Vir'thas said anxiously.
"Gael'dyr…"
*Whoosh*
A red-black and an azure light flashed, and both elves disappeared from their spots. Before the hooded ones could react, they were knocked down hard and a sharp blade appeared at each one's throat.
"Alright imposters! You have a second and the only chance to tell us, what REALLY happened here!", Vaar'dyr said in an intimidating tone.
"You heard my brother, start talking!", Gael'dyr added seriously and removed Grat's hood.
A bald head with a mutilated pale face was revealed to him.
"Who…? What are you?!", Gael'dyr asked in shock.
"He is a foul-spawn! Be careful! They have poison in their bodies."
Hearing his brother's words, Gael'dyr raised his guard and tightened his grip on the subdued man.
"He… *cough* he isn't a foul-spawn… *cough* He was… an Orc… once… through the torture and gruesome experiments… on… both of us… that's how we look right now… *cough* can you loosen the grip… I'm chocking…", Vir'thas said with a visible difficulty.
"Hardly convincing, imposter! Killing you will end your misery and rid this realm off your poisonous kind!", Gael'dyr barked at him.
"I'm sorry… but that's the truth! My companion can't speak in elvish or human tongue! Ask me what you want!", Vir'thas begged in a hoarse voice.
"Did you say he was an Orc? That's quite a distance from his natural habitat… So, Mister Orc! What's your story? How come a vagabond Orc and an exiled one found themselves lying at the entrance to the bandit camp?", Gael'dyr said humorously.
Just when the elf finished his last sentence, the quietly lying orc moved forcefully. He twirled and with a fast motion tried to hit the piggybacking elf with the back of his right hand. Gael'dyr kept a close eye on his prisoner, so when the show began, he reacted fast. He moved his head back, dodging the incoming move, caught orc's hand with his left and turned him over. Then, he pressed his sword against orc's throat and while looking at his angry eyes, he said: "You're not so smart, it seems…". However, just when he uttered those words, the lying guy struck him. Gael'dyr's guts told him that something was off and immediately used his sword's azure power. Before a short blade could pierce elf's skin, an azure light shone, and orc's head fell on the ground.
"Nice one brother! The training did pay off after all!", Vaar'dyr praised.
"Close one! Ye, it did after all...", Gael'dyr replied calmly.
"You companion wasn't so eager to talk and choose to fight. I respect his courage. You on the other hand aren't so eager to follow his footsteps. What will be your choice?", Vaar'dyr said seriously.
"I… I… I already told you the truth… w-we tried to escape that mad human, but we were knocked out… the next thing we knew, it was when you arrived… and apparently everyone else is gone…", Vir'thas said anxiously and glanced at the abandoned settlement.
"It looks like, you are telling a half-truth, exiled one! Last chance or you die!", Vaar'dyr announced and moved his scarlet sword closer to the throat.
"Alright… Alright… I… I… I'll tell you! I'll tell you… but promise not to kill…"
"Speak already! Your leaves are almost withered away!"
Vaar'dyr snapped at the lying elf, before he could finish his words.
"I-I was guarding this place with him… until we met that guy… and before I could make a move, I blanked out. I have no idea what happened afterwards…", Vir'thas replied dejectedly.
"That's not enough! Whom do you serve? Was it your group's doing? Were you the ones that burned the village to the north, right behind this mountain?", Vaar'dyr asked grimly.
"Y-yes… it was us… our leader is a dark sorcerer… h-he formed a group out of slaves and mercenaries. Our objective was to burn that village, enslave the most capable ones and kill the rest. We were going to leave today… but... that white haired guy… it seems like he ruined the plan.", Vir'thas said in a docile voice.
"DARK ALCHORAI? Here? With bunch of mercenaries? That's very suspicious, brother!", Gael'dyr exclaimed.
"How strange… the timing of the prophecy and this group of bandits murdering people so close to our territory… We MUST inform the elders! That human must have rescued the rest and set sailed…"
"Rescued and took my master's ship? Are you dreaming? My master is a dark sorcerer! No matter how powerful this man is, his physical abilities can't rival the power of magic! Especially that of a dark sorcerer!", Vir'thas intervened.
"Yes… it'd sound ridiculous to most… but… unfortunately… your master met the "Dreamer" and I doubt that the prophesied one could die at the hands of an Alchorai, who is only at the rank of a 'dark sorcerer'", Vaar'dyr said mockingly.
"That's right! His speed is enough to catch your master off guard and kill him, he-he", Gael'dyr added with a smirk.
"D-dreamer? Who is that?", Vir'thas asked doubtfully.
"None of your…"
"Stop, brother! Take him and return to the capital, immediately! Tell elders what happened and ask them to further question this 'exiled one'! I'll look around and join you later!", Vaar'dyr said sternly and got off the lying man's back.
"Alright, brother! I'll go now!"
Gael'dyr arrived at prisoner's side, took some strange vines out of his pocket and tied exiled one's hands. When he was done, the vines began to emit a green light.
"Don't try to escape, it will only hurt you more!", he warned him and took out a metal necklace with a yellowy leaf-shaped medallion attached. He held it with one hand, while the other was resting on Vir'thas's shoulder. A faint golden light shone, and a yellow leaf tree grew out of the ground in front of the two. After a short moment, a green magical symbol appeared at the center of its trunk, before it began to twist and turn, eventually forming a vortex of pure energy. Gael'dyr bid farewell to his brother and together with his prisoner walked into the portal.