Salt and Blood [A Pirate LitRPG]

The seas are vast and their mysteries are endless. I have seen a man born with three arms, another with one. Women who can wield the powers of the tide as naturally as breathing. Sea monsters that could swallow an island whole and buildings that came to life. Truly, I have grown numb to what is possible, but that doesn't detract from the wonder I feel each time I discover something marvellously unique

-Excerpt from 'Silversea Saga' by Norris Howell

Rose sat at a table in the tavern where she had agreed to meet with Everyn. He was late. She tapped one of her feet while sipping on a tankard of mead.

It had nothing on rum.

She enjoyed the burn of rum, whereas mead was simply honeyed water that made her belly swell and her head throb. It wasn't exciting.

Every time the door of the tavern swung open, her head snapped towards it. Each time she was disappointed when the person or people who walked in weren't the crown prince.

The bell jingled as it swung open yet again. This time she didn't bother raising her head. Did he forget which tavern it was? she wondered.

"Rose! Great news," a familiar voice exclaimed as someone plonked into the chair opposite and slammed their palms against the sticky wooden table.

"Damn it! What took you so long. You're a royal pain in my ass," she snapped.

"Woah, easy there wild woman," Everyn chuckled, raising his hands in apology. "I had to organise things with our new crew members," he said with a smile.

Her eyes shot open and a smile curled onto her lips. "Your father agreed?"

"He did. Third through fifth squads. Not the elite of the elite, but some of the finest soldiers this nation has to offer. Unfortunately, he insisted that my brother join us, but we can leave him with the soldiers for babysitting," Everyn sighed.

"What? Sibling trouble?" she chuckled.

"You don't know the half of it," he replied, waving down the waitress.

"You're right, I don't. Only child," she said with a smile. It faded rapidly when the image of her mother suddenly flashed in her head. I'll never know, now…

Then again, having a sibling would be dangerous. They might follow in her footsteps and Sylack knows her father would die from stress if he had to worry about two kids running headfirst into danger.

"Okay, so we have soldiers. Your brother will do what he's told or I'll throw him overboard, so don't worry about that," Rose said with a devious grin. "We should head back and start planning. I wonder how Daniel's been getting on with the ship."

"Sounds like a plan," Everyn replied. "But first, let's drink! Two tankards of mead and a bottle of your finest wine," he told the waitress when she arrived.

"Right away," she replied with a smile and a look that told Rose the wine they were about to drink would be anything but fine.

***

Daniel was sitting flat on his backside, staring blankly into space. What in the pantheon's name just happened!? One moment I thought we were about to blow up and then… poof. All gone.

He stared over at Jason, who was standing beside the engine, turning his hands over and over while staring at them and shaking his head. Every now and then he would mutter something.

His face was twisted in confusion. Whatever the boy had done, it seemed that even he didn't understand it. It didn't matter. They were alive.

Suddenly Jason doubled over and started coughing madly. Blood splattered from his mouth onto the hull and then he collapsed.

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"Jason!" Daniel cried, leaping to his feet and rushing over to the boy's side. "What's wrong?"

He looked up and down, but his ability to sense arcane energy was still too poor to observe inside someone's body. Blood dribbled out of Jason's mouth and his eyes were glued shut.

The next moment his arm started to tremble and then his entire body began convulsing. The fit only lasted a few moments, but Daniel was terrified.

"You two, help me carry him to one of the beds above. One of you go and bring a doctor. I'll try to treat him as best I can!" he ordered, pointing at the two labourers.

It was extremely difficult to carry the unconscious boy up the ladder. He was damn heavy.

Eventually they managed it and got him into a bed. Daniel wiped the blood from his face and did his best to clear his airways.

He had to work slowly, terrified that he might make a mistake or cause the problem to grow worse. He had no idea what had gone wrong, but he knew that he owed Jason his life.

If he allowed the boy to die now, he would be worse than a pile of crap. He ran through all the crew's quarters and empty rooms. In every room he tore open every cabinet and drawer he found, searching for medicine.

It took him emptying half the damn ship, but eventually he stumbled into the cleanest room yet. There was a white crystal set into the ceiling that was currently flickering weakly.

It cast an odd glow over the room. There were four large beds and two huge cabinets in the room. This looks like somewhere you'd treat the wounded, he said to himself with a nod, before unceremoniously tearing open the cabinet doors.

Laying within like priceless treasure, there were shelves of rolled up bandages, vials of coloured liquids, boxes of pills, and even a few assorted herbs.

Daniel had no clue what any of them did, so he grabbed a huge handful of everything. Balancing it all in his arms made him look and feel stupid, but he didn't want to make the journey across the ship twice.

When he made it back to the place they'd kept Jason, he dumped all his loot on the bed next to Jason's. Then, he started to riffle through the various medicines and remedies.

Bandages? He isn't wounded. Herbs? What if they're poisonous raw? Half of these liquids give me an ominous feeling. Argh! I'm not a damn doctor. Screw it, his thoughts were racing at a thousand knots.

He grabbed a fistful of white pills. Of all the things he'd brought from the cabinet they seemed the least threatening.

Unhinging Jason's stiff jaw, he poured in a little water and then dropped a single pill into his mouth. "Swallow, you obstinate git," he implored, holding the boy's mouth shut.

I'll give him one and see how he reacts. If it seems to be working I'll give him another and then wait for the doctor.

Jason eventually swallowed, shifting and murmuring in his unconscious state. At that moment, a whorl splashed in Daniel's ears.

You have earned a new skill!
Field Medicine 0 > 1

What!? Is that good or bad? Argh, curse you tide! he complained in his head.

Deciding that all this stress wasn't good for his own health, Daniel figured he would stop worrying. Earning a medicine skill meant that what he'd done was probably beneficial.

It had to be.

"Where's that damn fool and the doctor? It shouldn't take that long to find one," he exclaimed, pacing to and fro.

***

Rose and Everyn dismounted from their doori. Rose clutched her head and lurched as her feet touched the ground.

"I am never riding a doori after drinking ever again. That wine was absolutely foul! It smelled like vinegar," she cursed.

"It wasn't that bad," Everyn chuckled. "Sometimes the best isn't always the most enjoyable."

At that moment his face went green and he grabbed his mouth, forcing it shut. He rushed to the side of the street and doubled over, emptying his guts.

"Ha! Was that enjoyable, then?" Rose chortled, delighting in their shared misery.

"Piss off."

"As you command, Your Highness," she exclaimed with a flourishing curtsy.

Everyn glared at her. He was about to throw another insult but then suddenly doubled over and threw up again.

After wiping his mouth and chin he stood up, leaning against a wall for support. Rose watched, half fascinated and half disgusted as his doori leaned down and started to lick his vomit.

"They really will eat anything, huh," she muttered to herself.

Patting her own doori on the head, she gave it a pointed stare. "You would never do something that gross, right?" she asked, sighing when it looked back blankly.

Once Everyn had collected himself, they handed the doori over to the stablemaster. Rose made sure to give him extra and apologised profusely about the mess her hungover companion had made.

"Want to bet whether Daniel's broken something?" she asked as they walked towards the harbour.

"I'll take that bet. Ten gold he managed to pull off the upgrades without anything going wrong," Everyn replied with a wry smile.

Rose thought for a moment and then shrugged. It was only ten gold. "Sure, why not. Let's make it twenty for fun. One mistake and the money's mine. Although Daniel knows what he's doing, what could've gone wrong?" she chuckled.