The Long Road of Adventure- Blue Storms and Black Sand Read online

  “Thank you, your support and belief in us means a lot,” Gaelin said earnestly. Gelt smiled.

  “Well, I’m headed to Riggs next. I have some items to deliver and pick up. Who knows? Maybe we’ll run into each other there,” the half-elf said.

  “Lily and I are headed there as well! I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for you,” Gaelin chuckled, amused by the coincidence.

  The pair shook hands in the bath before Gelt stepped out and started to dry himself off. Meanwhile the young adventurer had thoughts brewing in his brain. He would definitely try to find the Secret Shop merchant when they were in Riggs. He had a few questions about some wares he hoped the man might have.

  The baths were not a place for business, so he had held his tongue. But he would make an effort to see if Gelt knew anything about a possible cure for Lily’s cursed hip wound.

  There was a chance that even if he didn’t, Gelt’s connections might have an answer. And Gaelin always kept his promises. Lily would be fine. He’d make sure of it.

  After a few more minutes in the pool, he got out and dried off. As wonderful as the water felt, he had other things to do today, and now that he was done sprucing up he could do them.

  Once dried and dressed, Gaelin headed into Riverfold’s commerce district, and headed towards a store he had spotted when he had been with Bigg Guy yesterday. A small, out of the way store from which the sharp tang of medicine could be detected wafting through the windows.

  “Welcome, how may I help you today?” a wheezing voice inquired. Behind the counter was a decrepit old man who looked criminally old. How he was able to run an Alchemy shop at his age was anyone’s guess.

  “I’m looking for something for a young woman who is barren,” Gaelin said softly as he walked deeper into the store.

  The old man raised an eyebrow but smiled knowingly.

  “I had a feeling you were here for a matter like that. Men your age don’t really need the other pills and potions I sell. So, tell me about the woman’s needs.”

  “It was a curse,” Gaelin said, facing the old potion maker behind the counter. “Delivered by a knife, right above her hip. It damaged her womb.”

  “An adventurer, then. I see, I see. What kind of curse was it?”

  “One of the God of Murder’s.”

  The aged alchemist winced but stepped into a backroom to look through tomes and various records.

  As he waited, Gaelin looked around the store. More than just a shop for alchemy and medical purposes, this was a store dedicated to the ‘art of love,’ as it was advertised.

  Hardly ever talked about, but known all the same, these sorts of stores sold ‘marital aids’ as well as performance enhancers and methods to improve fertility.

  The shelves were stocked with a variety of basic things, such as pills and salacious pamphlets detailing assorted maneuvers for use in bed. More arcane methods were stocked in harder to reach places, such as a vial of powdered unicorn horn high on a shelf behind the counter, widely believed to be a potent magical cure-all for matters of having children.

  There was a box filled with shiny grey pebbles; the gallstones of a Dire Cow, said to promote vitality in males. They were also useful for virility potions. They sat next to a bottle of Crimson Ape blood, also used for potions of a similar nature.

  One item above all others in the magical section made Gaelin snort in amusement. A milk-white jar of lotion labeled ‘size enhancer (female).’

  A part of him wanted to buy it to give to Lily as a gag gift. He had a feeling part of her animosity towards Vala was a sense of inferiority in the chest region, and wondered if this would make her happy at last.

  He then had a burst of common sense that told him that the fiery archer would beat his head in with his own halberd if he were to buy that for her.

  Plus, twenty gold for a single jar? Too pricey for his blood, thank you very much! Even if he did think it would be hilarious to watch Lily’s reactions.

  Maybe he could trick her with something else. Perhaps get her a copy of one of the ‘bedroom manuals’ but with a different cover? Yeah, that would work!

  After an hour the alchemist returned with a sad shake of his head and a tome under his arm.

  “I am afraid I do not have anything which you seek. The curses Vandalore uses are potent, and designed to attack any attempt at healing them, which will only make the problem worse. If she is currently stable and the curse is not progressing, then that is already more than most people can hope for.”

  He placed the worn volume on the counter and gave an apologetic frown towards Gaelin. “As for the issue of her sterility, I cannot do anything about it. If it was a side effect of the curse, it would be resolved by breaking the curse. But if her womb was wounded, then even removing the taint will likely not be enough to ever allow her to have children.”

  “So, there is no treatment, then,” Gaelin said with a sigh. He had expected that. No other shop he had visited had had anything, either.

  “Well, there may be one.”

  His ears perked up at the hesitant tone in the old alchemist’s tone. He shot the store owner a wide-eyed look and saw that the book before him had been opened to a specific page.

  “This book belonged to my master’s master. It details a large number of treatments for a variety of complications related to producing and rearing children. In this entry, he claims that a woman who suffered a cursed wound to her belly also ended up barren even after the Dark magic was removed. Yet he was able to cure her.”

  “How?” Gaelin demanded, leaning in. He tried to get a look at the page but the old man quickly closed the cover and gave the brown-haired man a knowing look. He held up his right hand and showed five fingers, then curled them into a ‘G’ shape.

  The D-ranker growled and looked around the store. His eyes settled on the white jar of chest enhancing cream he had been musing over earlier and reached into his coin purse as he pointed at it.

  Twenty gold coins plonked down onto the counter. Almost half of his share of the reward and hush money for taking down the Slicer in Sanc Aldet last year.

  “That should cover your ‘fee,’” Gaelin said angrily. The old man simply nodded and took the gold before handing him the ceramic container. He waited until the halberdier had shoved the purchased item into a pocket before speaking.

  “There is a spell which can cure any wound. It is a Level Ten spell, and only a truly devout and powerful Healer can use it. The spell’s name is Restore, and it literally rewinds time to cure a person’s wounds. The absolute pinnacle of healing magic,” the alchemist said.

  Gaelin’s eyes widened. This was the first helpful information in a long time.

  “Why wouldn’t any of the other Healers now of this spell? We asked around and none of them ever mentioned anything like that!” he demanded.

  “It’s the pinnacle of their art, kid. Only a true master can even try to perform it without having their very soul transmuted into raw energy to compensate for the spell’s cost. I doubt they’d spread the word just in case some foolish person tried to do it and died in the process,” the shopkeeper said with a snort.

  Gaelin nodded slowly, unable to deny that fact. He then turned on his heels and left the store.

  His mind clouded with the headiness of success after so long, Gaelin wandered the marketplace in a daze. His thoughts also turned to ideas as to how he could find someone who might know how to cast the spell. It seemed they really would have to go to Cathedral City to find a Healer for Lily. As the center of faith for the Divine Family, all the best Healers were trained there, and it was where the ponifex reigned. Surely, the city would have someone capable of it? Even if he had to pay a thousand gold for the privilege, he’d take the chance!

  Now all he had to do was convince Lily that heading south to Partaevia was the right choice to make. And that was going to be a monumental effort in and of itself.

  He glanced up as the square’s clocktower began to ring, chiming forth the hour.
Noon. Time for lunch! Gaelin wandered about the stalls, a frown on his face as he contemplated what to have, and whether he should buy something for Lily, Vala, and Bigg Guy. The trio was likely still back at the Blue Wave, two of them incapacitated in some manner.

  After a silent debate the young adventurer decided it was best to err on the side of caution and purchased a handful of various foodstuffs from the nearby carts and stalls before heading back to the boat.

  It was a bit of a trial getting through the increased numbers in the market area as the lunch rush began, but Gaelin persevered and pushed through the crowd, reaching the harbor in good time.

  As he walked up the gangplank onto the boat, and nodding some greetings to a few of the crewmen, Gaelin stopped short when he saw a sleek ebony horse standing on deck. Gaelin tilted his head, confused.

  It wasn’t a Dire Horse. It lacked the simmering wrath and glowing red eyes. There was a saddle along with stirrups and other riding gear on its back, so it seemed that the horse wasn’t a stray that had come aboard. There was a large pack and chest lying nearby, and the horse appeared to be guarding them.

  He saw Lily watching him, bemused, as she leaned against the main mast, and since Jenner was arguing with some sailors about turning a portion of the cargohold into a stable he approached her for answers.

  “Whose horse is this? And why is it here?” Gaelin asked. “Also, food. Here you go.”

  “Thanks, I was starting to get hungry,” she said eagerly as she grabbed a pair of meat skewers and a bread roll. “Anyways, that’s the steed of someone we know. He’ll be joining us on our ride down to Riggs.”

  “Someone we know…” Gaelin said slowly. It clicked when he peered closer at the chest and noticed a sigil on the lock. “Wait, don’t tell me…!”

  “Looks like we are going to be seeing each other sooner than we expected, eh, Gaelin!”

  A smile crossed the halberdier’s face as he saw Gelt descending from the captain’s cabin.

  “I guess so! I wasn’t aware that the Blue Wave carried animals on it, though,” Gaelin said, glancing at the half-elf’s steed. Gelt smiled and patted his horse fondly.

  “It cost a bit extra to arrange passage for her, but I could never leave my dear behind. She has carried me across continents for years, and never let me down,” the Secret Shop operator said.

  “Good to see you again,” Lily said happily. “I finally get to thank you for sending a letter of recommendation to the Guild on my behalf.”

  She showed off her bronze D-rank badge proudly to the merchant, who nodded approvingly.

  “I heard from Gaelin about some of your adventures. You already do the badge proud, and proved I made the right choice in you and your companion.”

  She blushed at the praise and walked off with a spring in her steps, food still in her clutches. The halberdier then recalled he had food and quickly called her back.

  “Lily, can you deliver this food to Vala?” Gaelin asked, passing her some of the greasy goods to the archer. “I got some for Bigg Guy as well, but I can check on him myself.”

  “Sure thing!” she said cheerfully.

  Once she was gone Gaelin approached Gelt. “I was honestly not expecting to see you this soon, but now that you’re here I need to ask a few questions about your ‘side business.’”

  He pointed at the emblem on the Chest of Holding’s lock as he spoke, and the merchant nodded.

  “While I cannot sell you anything until you reach C-rank, I can answer one or two questions about my stock. So, how can Gelt Vaxmern help you today?” he inquired with an over exaggerated flourish.

  “You have many connections, do you not?”

  “I do,” Gelt confirmed.

  “Then, do you know anyone who might be able to cast the Restore spell?” Gaelin asked, leaning in. “Or anyone who knows how to replicate it in the form of a potion, or one-use item?”

  The pointy-eared merchant raised a delicate eyebrow. “Is this to do with Lily?”

  “It’s the only thing that might be able to fix her womb,” Gaelin explained. “Even if the curse is removed, it won’t fix the other problems it caused.”

  “In that case, I cannot help, and would advise you to find another solution to your problem,” Gelt said sadly.

  “Why?”

  “Because there hasn’t been anyone who has been able to cast that particular spell in two centuries.”

  For Gaelin, it was as if someone had yanked the floor out from beneath, then held him in place mid-fall. The tumbling, sinking sensation refused to end, and he could swear his vision had begun to swim.

  “What?” It was little more than a gasp of air, a pitiful whisper. All the hopes he had been building up through the afternoon now lay in a distorted heap.

  It shouldn’t have hurt this much to have all his newly laid plans ruined so quickly and thoroughly. Yet it stung almost as painfully as when the serrated knife of Brother Mencis, the Slicer, cut him open in the darkened nave of the Temple of the Divine Family.

  “To be able to cast Restore, there are several requirements that must be met,” Gelt explained when he saw Gaelin’s stricken expression.

  “First, the person must have a natural Light Element affinity. Second, they must have all the knowledge, medical and magical, of a First-Class Healer. Third, the mana and magic capacity they possess must be at a minimum equal to an S-rank mage. Fourth, they have to have a strong connection to Cynthia and the divine nature and concept of mercy and healing. Fifth and finally, the caster must be able to envision the person they want to heal as they were and should be. If they never knew the person they seek to use Restore on, then trying to undo the damage is much, much harder.”

  “That can’t be,” Gaelin whispered.

  “I’m sorry. I know of a few other methods to heal someone injured like Lily, but they’re all rather difficult to achieve at best. We can discuss a couple of them after I store Shadow Wind down below. Come on, my beauty, let’s get you set up for the trip,” Gelt said, leading his stunning ebony steed towards the ramp down to the berth and cargo hold of the Blue Wave.

  Gaelin stayed where he was for a while before jerking back to life and heading down towards the crew sleeping area, the bag of food for himself and Bigg Guy clutched limply in his hands.

  Down in the crew’s quarters, the dark brown-haired man spotted a prone, snoring lump of fur and approached it, sliding down next to him. The smell of food woke the beastkin, and Bigg Guy stirred. Gaelin passed the food over, which the Ursine took eagerly and with a grunt of thanks.

  As for the halberdier, he slumped against the hull, head pressed against his knees as he gave in to mental fatigue.

  “Are you alright?” Bigg Guy asked worriedly through a mouthful of meat and bread. Gaelin sighed.

  “No. Not really.”

  “Things will get better. You will find your answer somehow,” the bearman said kindly. The halberdier smiled weakly at that.

  “Maybe. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

  .

  Everyone noticed the sudden weariness that had suddenly overcome Gaelin that day. Although Lily pestered him about it, he only smiled sadly and told her not to worry. Which only made her worry more. And, of course, her concern gave way to anger when it was clear he was hiding something from her.

  That evening after dinner, the princess-in-hiding cornered him near the prow, determined to get answers.

  “Hey, Lily. Nice evening, huh?” Gaelin said after a minute or so of the red-head staring silently at him. He looked around, trying to find an escape route. Short of him jumping overboard, there was none. He was trapped. Like a rat in a barrel, or a husband who didn’t want to deal with his angry wife yet was unable to leave because she was blocking the door.

  “What in the Six Hellish Planes of Pluton is wrong with you, Gaelin?” she snapped, arms folded and expression fierce. “You’ve been down and dour since lunch. What happened to you in the short time I was gone delivering food to Vala?”
r />   “Nothing. Just a stupid thought that got ruthlessly crushed,” he said with a sigh. He leaned against the railing, only to blink as something pressed against his leg. He glanced down and recalled a certain something that he had bought for twenty gold coins.

  Lily was not someone to miss that, and she strode over. Utterly ignoring Gaelin’s panicked shouts and protests, she reached out and fumbled about with his trouser pockets until she removed the item that had caused him discomfort.

  “Ah-ha! What’s this? The reason you’re so glum?” she demanded, skipping out of arms reach as the D-ranker flailed wildly to grab the item from her.

  A smirk on her lips, she looked down to read the label that was still on the white ceramic jar, and her face turned utterly expressionless.

  “Gaelin… is this what it says it is?”

  He shivered at the cold, empty tone in her voice, yet nodded all the same.

  “How much did you spend on this?”

  “Twenty gold,” he mumbled.

  Lily stared at the halberdier before a snort escaped her. Then she doubled over laughing madly.

  “Y-you actually b-bought this?” she gasped out between peals of laughter.

  “It’s not that funny!” Gaelin protested.

  “Why did you even agree to buy this? Did the salesperson trick you into it?”

  “I was looking for medicine for your, um, injury,” he said as he looked at the deck.

  “And you bought this instead?! Hilarious! Oh, by Cynthia’s bountiful bouncing bosom, this is absolutely hilarious!”

  She straightened up and turned to the crew who was milling about doing their preparations for tomorrow’s departure. “Hey, everyone! Gaelin bought me ‘chest improvement cream’ because he thought it was medicine!”

  Roars of mirth joined her own howls of laughter and the brown-haired man’s face took on a crimson hue.

  “Well, you do need it!” one sailor shouted and a boot soaring through the air and colliding with his head was Lily’s response. She stormed over and berated the man while his companions turned their laughter onto him.