Tried learning but misunderstood.
She’d chop the wrong tree,
Scare birds recklessly,
Yet swore she was doing real good!
- Goldie Honorhide.
By the time Goldie declared my shoulders ready for some light work to test them. Makara was chomping at the bit to get underway. This was not because she wanted the treasure but because Yoboc had banned her from entering the ocean until I was ready. I think this was the longest she had ever spent not being submerged.
Yoboc was pushing her and highlighting the differences between us. She seemed to be determined to stick it out. The five days were hard on her as Goldie regularly beat her up sparring and then took her out, teaching her about plant animals, herbs and how to use an axe. I don’t think she had ever used an axe in her life before. Goldie was not a kind teacher.
We were all waiting for her to give up and leave us, but it didn’t happen. I know Yoboc was wondering the same thing as I was. Why was she so determined to join us?
We didn’t go to the cache as soon as my shoulders were healed. I went for a light swim, and we did some light sparring. Felix and I went for a run, and Yoboc insisted Makara also join us. Makara has never done a lot of running. Swimming is her thing. She was dropping behind fairly quickly. I guess this is Yoboc starting me down the Team Leader path.
We jogged and then did some Sprints while we waited for Makara, and then we went again. With Makara along, I never pushed my endurance, let alone Felix’s. However, it was a start. My Breath Control is useful for this as well.
Then we got back, and we all went for a swim. Even Felix came in.
I have definitely noticed a change in Felix. The key was his learning of Olfactory. He is much more interested in and aware of the world around him now. He will head off to investigate a smell and is more inquisitive. He will never regain the youthful vigour of when he was a puppy, but it is like he is waking up to new things.
Felix and I still like just sitting and being together. Silent companionship is the core of our relationship, but this inquisitiveness is fun. It is like he has been restricted all his life, and now those restrictions are gone, and he is free to explore.
Felix has always liked running. He still does. His body is older and not as powerful as it used to be, but he can easily outrun me. He could probably still outrun me if he were pulling a sled. I am going to work on that. If he likes running, then running together is a good thing.
Working with Felix has started to level our bond. Mapping the stars has levelled my Map skill.
We sat together for the evening meal. Goldie cooked tonight. Yoboc is also a good cook, but Makara is even worse than I am. Makara and I usually eat raw food.
“How are your shoulders after today?” Yoboc asked me.
“Good,” I say as I move my arms, feeling for any issues. “They will be enough to go and scout this stash tomorrow anyway.”
Yoboc nodded, “Good. Look and use your senses, then come back, and we can plan a way in.”
“We are not going to try to get in tomorrow?” Makara asked.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Yoboc said. “It depends on the plan and how Ivan's shoulders handle it. You said the entrance is a crevice and that it will be widened further in and trapped, but the sides are caved in?” Makara nodded. “Therefore, we will wait to see what Ivan maps. Why dig out rubble and be in danger of more traps when we might be able to mine in from another direction and avoid most of the traps? We grew up in mines, lass. There is always more than one way to get somewhere.”
“Oh. That didn’t occur to me,” she said.
“Hopefully, that didn’t occur to the Blue Bastard either. You Shark Mer are not miners, so tackling it from a miner's perspective will hopefully make it easier. We will see,” Yoboc said. Then he looked at Makara. “Are you going to finally tell us what you are hoping to find there and why you are so insistent?”
I pulled out the bone knife, “I assume it has something to do with these? You were pretty keen on having them once you recognised them.”
Makara pulled out the serrated-edged one she had. “Yeah. I have had a closer look at them now. They are definitely from the Chelonian School of Alchemy.”
“Is that an alchemy training institute somewhere?” I asked.
Makara looked at me funny. “No, they don’t train people in alchemy. Why would you think that?”
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“Ivan,” Yoboc explained, “organised groups of Mer are called Schools, like Avion Nests, Dwarven Kin and Orc Clans.”
“The Chelonian School is very exclusive, and its secrets are carefully guarded,” Makara said. “About a year ago, they were raided. The raid went bad, and a number of bodies were left behind, both School guards and raiders. A small group got away with some alchemically treated equipment as well as a safe, which reportedly contains some aspects of their methodology. Somehow, the attackers convinced a Whale-Shark Mer to join them and rip out the entire safe. The Whale-Shark Mer did not survive the pursuit as they were too slow.”
“I take it the Blue Bastard was involved?” I asked.
“He was named by those who were captured alive. The bounty on him is substantial, but the real prize is the safe, especially if it is unopened,” Makara said. “The knives prove he had some of the missing goods. Nick and I tracked him for months and checked out his other stashes, but he discovered us somehow, and you know the rest. He got desperate, so this might be the one.”
“A raid like that would have been commissioned,” Yoboc said. “Surely the safe went to the organisation that financed the raiders?”
“They no longer exist. The Chelonian School found out pretty quickly who commissioned the raid and made an example of them. You don’t mess with the Chelonians,” Makara said.
“I am assuming it is difficult to open, or it would have been sold by now,” Goldie said.
“It was not just enchanted, but alchemically sealed, according to the Chelonians. There seems to be no reason to lie, so it is either still unopened or destroyed,” Makara said.
“Or being worked on by a rival alchemist organisation,” Goldie said.
“Possible, but unlikely. We think it has been stashed while they try to find a new buyer. The Blue Bastard was one of the three remaining raiders,” Makara said.
“So those other two also will know where it is?” Yoboc asked.
Makara nodded.
“Were you planning to turn it in for the reward or find a higher bidder?” Yoboc asked.
“After the example the Chelonians made, the only real alternative is the Empire, and we doubt they were worth the risk. The easy coin is to return it for the reward, and it is very good coin.”
“What about these,” I asked, holding up the bone knife, “and any other equipment that might be there?”
“We could be more flexible on that, or at least Nick and I were planning to decide after we found what was there,” Makara said with a grin.
“Heirlooms, you said?” I reiterated.
“Indeed,” Makara said, “although they won’t all be that quality.”
“Or there may be nothing,” Goldie said, bringing us down to earth. “It will probably be nothing.”
“The stash is real,” Makara said. “As a bare minimum, there will be potions and spare equipment.” She flicked her bone knife in the air and caught it, “This says there could be a lot more.”
“What’s the catch?” Yoboc asked.
“What do you mean catch? I just told you everything,” Makara said.
“No, you didn’t. You don’t need us or Ivan for this,” Yoboc said. “You found it. You could swim off to Asasaga or Worlds End and hire some help, or go to the Chelonians, and they would have come. Why us? What is the catch?”
She looked at each of us. “Nick was convinced the Blue bastard was meeting the other two at Worlds End, and they had a deal lined up, which is why he was getting desperate.”
“And what? You want us to kill those two as well?” Goldie asked sceptically.
“No,” said Yoboc, “She thinks they will come looking for the cache and may know its location. Isn’t that right, Makara?”
“They probably don’t know its exact location,” Makara said, “but Worlds End is the closest town.”
“Probably,” Yoboc repeated, “so they may know. And they probably have someone with the skills to find it if they don’t. I doubt they are just going to trust the Blue Bastard.”
“Who are these people?” I asked.
Everybody looked at Makara. “Dorreen Lily and Daniel Wahlberg, according to the Mercenary Contract.”
“That wouldn’t be Doomsday Doreen, the infamous pirate, would it? The one with the fleet with three affinity users?” Goldie asked.
“She hires herself out as the Coastal Corsairs, and I think the fleet now only has three ships and two affinity users, including Doreen. They have been hunted.” Makara said.
“That is a yes, then. It is Doomsday Doreen,” Goldie said.
“This Daniel Wahlberg,” Youboc interrupted, “this wouldn’t be the assassin that is known as Dagger Dan, would it? Of course, it would,” Yoboc answered his own question. “This heist needed some high-powered people, and only the best were the ones who survived it and the retribution that followed.”
“You bitch!” Goldie said, “You were going to lead us directly to them. Who are you working for, the pirate or the assassin?”
“I am not working for either!” Makara shouted back. “Nick and I were on contract as issued by the Chelonian School. I was going to tell you about it if we found anything. It is not like you are telling me all your secrets. Why should I tell you mine?”
Yoboc interjected with a more reasonable tone before the argument got worse, “The difference, Makara, is that your secrets put us all at risk. They may not meet at Worlds End. They may already be missing the Blue Bastard and be searching. They could turn up at any time.”
“We should just leave,” Goldie said. “We go. Leave the Bitch, and we skip Worlds End and go inland. Let’s walk away. Right now.”
“Scared of a little risk? The payout is huge,” Makara pulled out her bone knife to make her point.
“Money-grubbing mercenary,” Goldie spat out, “All you care about is the coin. I don’t think it is worth the risk.”
“Worth the Risk?” Makara exploded. “Of course, it is worth the risk! My partner and mentor died getting this far. I am not stopping now. We are so close!”
“Makara,” Yoboc interjected. “Your partner and mentor died.” He gestured out to the ocean, “Is it really worth that? He would be alive if you didn’t take this contract.” Makara’s face fell. “You misjudged the risk. Now, you want us to risk our lives for this? You have a lucrative bounty to hand in, which also avenges your partner’s death. We could walk away.”
I figured it was time I spoke up, “I need to have a say in this as well.”
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