Lordza got in trouble. How does the tension feel?
Chained on a table, I watched the night beset the rocking boat. My small window to the open sea slowly obscured in the thick fog of—what appeared to be—the middle of nowhere. The iron gripped my wrists like hands pinning them together. At least they gave me the luxury of sitting. Next to me, a map was nailed down on the table, listing numbers and letters that—if I could just glimpse at it—would help me decipher where I truly was. Standing in my way were compasses and star charts covering important pins and locations placed on the map.
“Eugh,” I groaned, trying to move a star chart off the map. “C’mon,” I blew on it, but the flaps just hovered and then fell. “Agh, c’mon…” I struggled, inching closer, though finally, the paper moved after a few huffs. “Yes!” I breathed, letting my eyes scan the geometric lines before a sailor walked in.
I instantly looked down, acting like I wasn’t doing anything. “Heh,” the young boy chuckled, “evenin’” The sailor swerved left to right, a bit tipsy, as he unsheathed a dagger. “Guess who’s here?”
If you’re just gonna stab me, do it already. I sighed. “Who?”
“Yer boss,” the sailor sneered. “Unloadin’ right now, actually.”
My boss? Valdrec? No, he’s too busy on the mainland to care about me. This sailor is obviously drunk out of his mind. “Really?” I entertained, “And what’s Valdrec gonna do to me?”
“Says he’s gonna kill ya!” the sailor snorted, wiggling his dagger. “I’d hate to be in that chair, in your…” the tip of his blade nicked my cheek, “unforgivable position.”
“Hey,” I barked, “watch where you point that thing—”
The sailor grabbed the star chart on the floor and placed it on top of the map. “I know exactly what I’m doing,” he licked his lips and stabbed the chart’s paper into the map, shredding it as I ground my teeth. Damn it! My one chance to just know where I am. I can’t even have that privilege. “Cap’n said to just check on you, make sure you were alive for him,” he cackled at the sight of my jaw-dropped face, “you look alive to me, yeah.”
The man wobbled out of the quarters, seemingly unaware that he left the door open. Now, I could hear his other sailors singing clearer, blasting their taunting tunes while I squirmed in my chair. Sounds of drunkenness merged with a howling wind picking up speed, sending a chilling breeze that made my body shiver and stutter.
This is going to be a long, long night.
~
My body slammed upon the floor, shaking and reverberating as the world barely made sense. I’m on the floor. Why am I on the floor? I glanced around. I was still chained to the chair, though two shadowy figures stood in the same room. “Wake up!” a voice yelled—it was the captain of the ship, “I said—” he yanked me, subsequently pulling the chair as well, “Wake—” he raised his fist.
“Stop it, stop it!” said the man next to him. “Dear Trianite, he’s all bloody now, eh?” It smelled like tobacco in the room. “He’s your boss, you know. Treat your boss with some respect,” ordered the muffled voice. Is that Valdrec?
I shook my head, and the dizzy world soon focused into a clearer rendition. “Valdrec?” I stumply murmured, “What are you doing here?” Why is Valdrec here? This doesn’t make any sense. Are we still at sea? What’s going on?
“Get out of the room, eh?” Valdrec looked at the captain, who shrugged and left the quarters with a slam of the door. The ship rocked back and forth, and the smells merged with Valdrec’s whiff of smoke. He lit a cigar in front of me and gestured for me to take it, before realizing that my hands were strapped behind the seat I was in. “Lordza,” he sighed. “Lordza, Lordza, Lordza. A stowaway? That’s not a proper way for my Manager to travel.”
My head leaned back on the wood. Now, he’s going to fire me. Well, he’s probably going to kill me instead, but first, fire me. I can’t believe I followed Zul onto that ship. I should’ve just stayed on the mainland and helped her there. It was stupid of me to try and go on this adventure with her, not when I’m so passionate about her pursuing magic. I sighed as a cruel realization set in: I’m not getting out of this one.
“They treat you well?” Valdrec asked, setting his elbows on the table.
“As best as a prisoner can,” I went back to face him. I might as well look him in the eyes as he decided my fate. Maybe he’ll give me pity. “I shouldn’t have gone,” was all I could say as he leered further.
“Mmm…” he sucked a deep breath into his cigar as if he wanted to taste every bit of spice before speaking. “You shouldn’t have… yes,” he began, “but I’m not mad, actually.”
I raised a brow. Like, hell, Valdrec isn’t mad at me. I basically committed treason. “Uhuh,” I half-smiled.
“I’m serious,” he said, smoke seeping out his nose. His eyes dug into mine, boring deep into my soul. “What do your parents do, Lordza? Any merchants in the family?”
What does that have to do with anything? “My mother makes bricks, and my dad was a Waterlord.”
“Was,” he licked his lips. “I’m sorry for your loss.” He squinted. “You were a Waterlord once, weren’t you? And then… you overclocked.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please, don’t—”
“Battle of West Mystral,” he hastily interjected. “Right? Did I get it right?”
“Yes,” I clenched my fists, groaning, “You got it right.”
“I’m not trying to berate you,” Valdrec stood up from his chair and took a key out of his pocket. Picking on the lock behind me, he freed me from the seat and sat back down. The rush of relief washed over my hands, moving them and fidgeting them as he continued, “I’m just trying to make sense of you, Lordza,” he sighed. “You see, I was fortunate. As a matter of fact, I came from a pretty good background. Before all this, I went to school and never worried if there was bread on the table. It was…” he shrugged, “different than most people’s upbringings.”
Why is he telling me this? I thought, but something didn’t sit right with me. Why is he being so honest about this? “Alright, and what does that have to do with me?” I asked.
“You have an affinity toward Zul, and I admire that,” Valdrec started, though quickly darkening the mood as his serious countenance froze me still. “But that has to stop today,” he emphasized, “you’ve been the best Manager of the Sea, and I can’t replace you as I did with other people.” He leaned forward, tobacco breath blowing in my face, “Look, I know that this merchant job is the only thing you’re good at.” My stomach knotted. “Don’t screw this up for yourself, alright?” He leaned back down.
Don’t screw this up for myself… Well, that’s one way to put it. Damn it, Valdrec. I shifted from my chair, nodding, “Fine, boss.”
“Your new position is at Shellport,” he stated. “That’s far away from wherever Zul is at the moment, but I—” for the first time in my life, I heard Valdrec stutter, “I swear on my life, if you go and find trouble—if you wrong me, just, one, more, time—I will chase you down to the wastelands of Gedredul.”
I shifted in my chair and knew my place. “Yes, boss.”
Valdrec stood up and patted me out the door. “Now get moving,” he grinned. “You have a job to do.”