Mages of the North: The Adventure Begins

Chapter 19

At the docks, Floris and Alvis stood silently side-by-side as they stared in awe at the size of the ships anchored nearby. The docks were far busier than the town itself with people rushing all over the place and carrying large square or round objects that looked like containers of some kind to the ships. Currently, there were ten ships docked, but many others were waiting out in the water. It was a little too much for the two boys to take in at once; people were moving from one place to another so quickly that it was hard for them to make sense out of anything.

"Well, this is interesting. How in the world are we supposed to find a ship to take us across the water?" Floris asked.

"Maybe we just need to ask someone." Alvis suggested, not really knowing what to do himself.

Floris looked at Alvis for a moment, then turned his attention back to the docks and watched the commotion, "Ask someone with all this going on? We'd be lucky if anyone even noticed us talking to them."

The two started walking along the piers, looking for someone who might be of assistance, after looking around for a while, they found someone who seemed to be of higher importance. The man was sharply dressed in some sort of dark blue overcoat and wore white clothing underneath with a big black hat on top of his head. He wore a strange, yet very fancy long knife on his left hip, and wore polished black boots that reached up to his knees. His hair was long and white and he wore it in a ponytail that reached down his back. Even though the two boys thought the clothing was ridiculous, they couldn't help but admire the commanding presence of the man. He was shouting at the others around him, giving them orders and watching where the freight went as the others carried it onboard the ships. His voice was dominant and commanding, which suited someone of his stature.

"Do you think he could help us? He seems to be important somehow." Alvis whispered to Floris.

Floris looked at Alvis for a brief moment, then looked at the man again before responding, "I don't know if that's such a good idea. This man is different from the man we met on the road a while back. There's something strange about him."

Alvis bumped his elbow into Floris' side in a playful way, "Ah, come on! It never hurts to ask; what's the worst that could happen?"

Floris remained quiet as he ran through all the different things that could happen in his head. He imagined approaching him the first time, asking him a question, then getting kicked into the water. The second time, he gets placed on one of the ships and is forced into slave labor. The third time, he's forced to join the crew of one of the ships and goes off to a far off distant land and never returns. The fourth time, he turns into some horrible man-eating monster that destroys the whole town.

Floris stared straight ahead with a very unamused look on his face, "Actually, there's a lot of "worst things that could happen"." He says in an equally unamused voice.

Alvis stared at Floris with a dumbfounded look on his face and his shoulders slumped, "You sure you're not overthinking this a bit?"

Floris only stared straight ahead with the same unamused face from before, "Probably way overthinking it." He took in a deep breath, then slowly let it out with a sigh, "Alright, I'll ask him what we're supposed to do."

"Well, so long as that last part doesn't come true..." Alvis started to say, but he was cut off by the man's voice.

"Hey! You two! What are you doing over there?"

Floris and Alvis looked at the man to see his attention was focused solely on them. They both swallowed nervously as the man stared at them, "Well? Out with it."

Floris slowly approached the man and started explaining their situation, "Well, you see, mister, my friend and I are from the Swamp. We recently just lost our village to some kind of sickness and are the only survivors. We've never been outside of the swamp before, so this is all kind of new to us. We're trying to get to Mist City to join the Mages Guild and we met someone who said it'd be easier for us to travel by boat."

The man's eyes softened a little after hearing Floris speak and a small grin appeared on his face, "Oh, I see. That would explain the clothing you two are wearing and the weapons you're carrying. I'm sorry to hear about your village and I'll help you out a little since it seems like you boys need all the help you can get. But first, I'll need your names."

Floris smiled under his scarf and motioned for Alvis to step forward, "This is Alvis Era and my name is Floris Fetcher. We're both from the village of Two Creeks."

The man's eyes widened and he stared at Floris in disbelief, "F-Floris? You...you're THE Floris Fetcher?"

Floris and Alvis looked at each other with a little confusion, then Floris nodded at the man, "Yes, sir."

"Well, I'll be a..." The man stopped himself and grinned at the two boys as he scratched the back of his neck, "Well, I must say this is quite an unexpected surprise! I never dreamed I'd meet the legendary alchemist from the swamp in person! This is a tremendous honor. Your potions have saved the lives of countless soldiers, Floris. You're kind of a legend around these parts."

"Uh, well...thanks....I guess." Floris said, Not knowing how to respond to the man's words.

The man regained his composure and folded his arms behind his back, "My name is David Drake; I'm the commanding military officer for this region. I'd be happy to assist you, boys."

Floris nodded in thanks and responded, "We need to get to Mist City. Can you take us there?"

"No, I'm afraid I can't take you personally, though I'd be happy to. You'll need to get a passport for a Sloop to take you across the water. It's a little pricy, but I suspect you two have little in the way of money, correct?" David asked.

"We have twenty gold coins, exactly." Floris said as he showed the sack of coins to the officer.

"Twenty coins, huh? You'd be lucky to get a room at an inn for that kind of coin." David responded. He thought for a moment, then started digging inside his pockets, "I normally don't do this for random people I run into, but I owe you something, Floris. You've saved a lot of lives with your potions and I feel this is the least I can do for you." He walked over and handed Floris a bunch of coins from his own pocket, "Take this to the travel office back the way you came. This should be enough to buy you some passports and a little something to eat along the way. It's been a real honor, Floris."

Floris stuffed the coins into his pocket, "Thanks, Mister Drake."

"Oh, no, thank you! I wish you the best of luck at the Mages Guild, Mister Fetcher!" David responded.

Floris and Alvis turned around and went back to find the Travel Office.