Chapter 5 Interesting Times


After a subdued Balasi was sent back to his watch and Kolur started checking over the three ballistae the Morning Dove carried—just in case—Jia returned to the helm to make sure Eleniel was all right after the emergency maneuvers she'd had to perform.

"Are you all right, my angel?" Jia asked softly.

"Yes, why?" Eleniel asked curiously.

"The maneuvers you were forced into did not distress you?"

"Pfft," her daughter said, laughing. "Mama, I'm fine. That was nothing. Those things were too slow to catch us!"

"Eleniel," Jia said sternly, "if there is one thing I have learned in my life it is that you cannot assume anything when encountering something new. We have never seen those gigantic jellyfish before. They might indeed be slow—or simply were not hungry. For all we know those tentacles might be able to lash out sideways. Or they might have some ranged attack like lightning or thrown darts."

Eleniel rolled her eyes, about the only part of her body she could move while on the helm.

"Mama, you worry too much! Being careful is important, I know that. But you don't' trust anything. Pabbi isn't like that. Why are you so afraid of everything?"

Jia winced, barely restraining herself from snapping at the nine-year old. Taking a deep breath she let it out slowly, thinking of what she wanted to say.

"My angel," she said carefully, "the world is a dangerous place. Monsters are only a small part of that. Beasts like those jellyfish are driven by basic desires, to eat, to keep themselves safe from predators, and to have young. While the number of beasts and monsters is vast, and many have unique weapons and defenses that one might not be prepared for, for the most part they will leave you alone if you do not threaten them or if you are too large or too alert to interest a predator. They are predictable.

"Storms, earthquakes, tidal waves, those too one can take precautions against. They might not be predictable but preparations can be made.

"The real danger comes from people. No matter what shape a person is, be it another human, an elf, a dwarf, or even something like a rastipede, they are far more complex than a simple beast. They cannot be predicted.

"Most people are willing to deal fairly with you, but many will not. Greed, arrogance, entitlement, desperation, all these things and a hundred more secretly drive their desires. Worse, they never allow their true motives to appear, smiling at the world as they scheme and plot. Those people will pretend to be your friend, all the while using you to gain what they desire, often hurting you in the process.

"I've told you about my family, do you remember?"

"Yes, mama."

"My family is fairly high-ranking, and wealthy," Jia said, casting her mind back over the lessons her parents had drilled into her. "While we were never influential enough to deal with the Forbidden City and its politics we did deal with several noble families. Nobles were always seeking an edge against one another, to bolster their standing with the Emperor and among the Ministries. They traded in favors and my father always said the price of those favors was far too high.

"A word of advice, my angel, if we should ever manage to find our way back to Shou Lung always remember to keep your wits about you, and never accept friendship at face value. Allies are fluid, and the friends of today might become opponents tomorrow."

"But that's in Kara Tur, right? Things are different here!" Eleniel said with the conviction of youth. "Like Utaz, he's a friend of mine—even you trust him!"

"Utaz is—not a typical wizard, my angel," Jia said with a chuckle. "While competent in his field he rarely wears two socks of the same color. He's so focused on pursuing some esoteric bit of magical knowledge he seldom knows what day of the week it is and often forgets to eat. Such people are exceptions, not the rule. And while I trust him I certainly would never let him know about your necklace. Even one such as he might be tempted, or tell the wrong person and then—"

She shuddered.

"He is a bit absent minded," Eleniel admitted with a grin. "But there isn't a sneaky bone in his body, Mama."

"Perhaps not," Jia acknowledged. "But remember, the more power a person has, or the higher the position they hold, the less trustworthy they are. Utaz is neither a particularly powerful wizard nor does he hold any position of authority. Beware those that do."

"Even here, mama?" Eleniel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Even here, my angel," Jia nodded firmly. "Power calls to power, wealth wants to grow and it often taints those who have it into wanting more of it—losing sight of common sense and decency in the process."

ooOoo

The rest of the trip proceeded without further incident and late that afternoon they reached the area they would be scouting for the city council of Yarrin, who had heard there were luxite deposits in the area, valuable for making lamps that neither required open flame nor consumed themselves for hundreds of years.

Morning Dove herself used several of them. Although extremely expensive they would eventually pay for themselves in terms of both lamp oil and precious storage over extended expeditions.

The area was mountainous which made the job much harder than Kolur and his wife preferred, but as they would receive a tiny percentage of the profits made from the mine they were more than ready to put in the necessary effort.

Given their current provisions they planned to stay on site for at least a month, perhaps longer if they could supplement their provisions by hunting and gathering.

The first objective was finding a landing spot, which took a couple of hours. Kolur finally approved the site, a small lake with a good-sized creek flowing into it.

"This will do," Kolur said to his wife as Eleniel cautiously drifted the ship toward the creek. "It's shallow enough to not worry about big lake monsters but deep enough we're safe from anything land-based."

"Which just leaves attack from the air," Jia noted.

He grinned at her.

"Standard watches, Jia. We're too big for most fliers and anything that wants to take us on will be in for a surprise. Ballista bolt or lightning bolt, either way it's likely to discourage hungry visitors."

"True enough. Except maybe those flying jellyfish we saw," she reminded him. "I doubt they would notice either one."

"Which is why we're nestled next to the trees," he countered. "Be hard for them to fish us out—or even notice us."

Jia sighed. "I suppose. We have taken all the precautions we can, the rest is up to the will of Fu Xing."

"You know what they say," Kolur grinned. "The gods help those who help themselves. Personally, I think that's because they want to keep their workload down."

"Kolur!" Jia exclaimed, scandalized. He just laughed and whistled for Balasi. Jia sighed and left for the galley as the two lowered the sails and secured them for the night.

ooOoo

"This is really good, Mama," Eleniel said as she took another bite of her stew two days after their arrival on site.

The four of them were eating on deck, the adults keeping a watchful eye around the ship even as they enjoyed their evening meal.

"Thank you, my angel," Jia said, pleased. "It is a lot of work but everyone liking it makes it worth the effort."

"So what's the special occasion?" Kolur asked, spearing a chunk of lamb and savoring it. "You usually only make this for celebrations."

"The discovery of Fu Xing's blessing," Jia said with a faint smile. "Is that not reason enough my husband?"

"Works for me," Balasi said as he finished off his spicy helping. "Is there any more?"

"Yes, you greedy boy," Jia said with a laugh. "I knew one serving would not fill your belly! There's enough for everyone to have more."

"Great! Be right back," the boy said as he took his bowel and headed for the galley.

"Now there's a growing boy," Kolur said in approval, his gaze switching back to idly scanning the lake.

"If he's not careful his belly will win that race," Eleniel said with a giggle. The wind blew softly across the deck, fanning Jia's long hair slightly. The table Kolur had brought up on deck was barely big enough for the four of them but Jia actually found it enjoyable, the physical closeness warming her as much as the food.

However she didn't let her contentment interfere with keeping a close eye on the trees the ship was anchored next to.

When Balasi settled back with a full bowl Kolur spoke up.

"Ok, listen up. Now that we've scouted the area from the air we know the most likely locations to find luxite outcrops. Unfortunately that means we need to search those areas on foot. Starting tomorrow your mother and I will be the survey team. Balasi, you and Eleniel will stay with the ship, keeping overwatch. Eleniel will be keeping an eye on the ground from the helm, Balasi you man the forward ballista and keep an eye on the sky. Make sure to keep your cutlass with you. Jia and I will be carrying trace stones so Eleniel can track us with the Snoop."

"We will have smoke flares to signal you," Jia interjected. "Eleniel, you remember the color codes?"

"Yes, Mama," the girl nodded. "Green to drop the ladder and let you climb aboard, red means you're in trouble and I should maneuver to let Balasi shoot the monster attacking you, purple means go to the meeting spot and land because you'll be running away from something too big to fight."

"When you show up with whatever it is hot on your heels I shoot it," Balasi said with a savage grin, "twice."

"And once you and Pabbi grab the ladder I head for the clouds," Eleniel added, nodding.

"So proud," Kolur said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. "Ok, crew, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Jia, I'll take first watch. As for you two, get a good night's sleep, got it?"

"Yes, Pabbi," Eleniel said as she gathered up the dishes. Balasi stretched, before grabbing the table and dragging it toward the companionway.

ooOoo

Jia carefully checked her crossbow before slinging it across her back and picking up her staff. She checked to make sure the oak was sound and hadn't cracked.

"I'm glad we won't have to be hauling food and water," Kolur commented as he strapped on his cutlass, shrugging to settle the leather armor more comfortably. He slung his shield over his back and settled the crossbow over it.

Squatting a couple of times to see if anything shifted, he hooked a stout club to his belt. "Just like old times, eh?"

"I do not miss them," Jia replied dryly. She hooked a rock hammer to one side of her belt and a sample bag to the other. "Robbing crypts overrun with vermin may be profitable but it does not lead to long life, my husband."

"Bah," he snorted. "You always spent too much time looking over your shoulder, dear. We really did have some fun times back then."

"You did," she retorted. "I hated risking my life for gold. Though I do admit we would never have been able to afford Morning Dove otherwise."

"Nor would we have met," he reminded her, running one hand down her hair affectionately.

"True enough," she admitted with a smile. "I suppose it was Fu Xing's will that kept us safe. Heaven smiling on us is the only thing I can think of that let us survive the insane risks we took."

Kolur laughed and slapped his wife on the back.

"Speaking of, ready to rappel to the first site?

"If I must," she said, stomach tightening in anticipation.

They left their quarters and passed through the bridge where their daughter smiled at them from the helm.

"Snoop sees you," she glanced at a hemispherical glass dome set vertically on the pillar topped by the compass. A blue and yellow dot sat squarely in the center of the dome.

The dome was divided into quarters by two perpendicular etched circles, one dividing the globe in half around its middle and the other running around the top and bottom of the globe. Precise numbered marks on the circles let the viewer see what part of the globe the dots were in.

"We will return before dusk," Jia informed her daughter as the two ascended to the deck, tied off a pair of lines and rappelled into the forested mountainside below.