Garrett and his group headed out of the in before dawn to find the pier that had been indicated in the quest. It took about a half hour of asking around before they finally were directed to the last pier on the docks at the far end of the small town. When they arrived, they found a boat that was rather small compared to the others they had passed. It only had one large mast in the center with a smaller one near the rear and was just over a hundred feet long if Garrett had to guess.

  There was a rather young blond elf rolling some barrels up the loading plank and onto the ship. His white shirt stained with sweat clung to his broad shoulders outlining his well-toned muscles. "Excuse me." Garrett called out from the dock. "We are looking for Old Lou and we were told this was his ship. Do you know where we could find him?"

  The elf leaned on the ships railing as he looked over Garrett and his crew. "Why are you looking for him?" The elf said in a voice that was somehow soft yet carried over the din of the waves and voices around them.

  "We have a quest to escort him along the coast."

  "Well then," The elf said with a slight grumble. "You can help finish loading the rest of those barrels onto my ship. Also, don't call me old. I'm barely over two hundred." He finished with a slight chuckle.

  "You're Lou?" Garrett called out in surprise.

  "The names A'Louosia Grendalinde, but people just call me Lou." The elf said with a smirk. "Now are you going to help load the ship or do I need to wait for some other adventurers to accept my quest?"

  April shrugged, when Garrett turned to look at the group, grabbed a barrel and hoisted it onto her shoulder before she walked onto the ship. Kyle followed April on board without touching the barrels since he doubted he would be able to move one anyway. "Well, grab a barrel and load it up." Blixie told Garrett before she too flew onto the ship. Garrett paused to look at the barrel trying to decide how he could make it look natural to load the barrel. He figured it would be suspicious if he used his Unseen Force skill and just lift several of the barrels in one go. He ended up tipping one of the barrels onto its side and follow the elf's example and roll it up the ramp.

  It took about a half hour for Garrett and April to finish loading the rest of the barrels and the few crates onto the ship. "Looks like you finished just in time." Lou said as he appeared on the deck beside them. "The tide has just finished coming in and we can leave." Lou walked up to the helm of the ship situated near the rear of the ship on a raised deck and tapped a couple of silver inlayed runes on it. The mooring lines holding the ship to the pier untied themselves and slithered up onboard before coiling neatly out of the way. "I hope none of you get seasick." He laughed and spun the helm to lead them out onto the sea.

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  Several blobs of slime splashed into the water along the side of the ship. "Ugh." Kyle groaned. Only Garrett heard him as the others were on other sides of the ship taking in the view. "No one ever mentioned slimes could get seasick." He groaned as his body vibrated, and another blob of his slime disconnected and splashed into the water below.

  "Maybe we should get you something to eat." Garrett suggested. "You are looking a bit smaller than before, and if this keeps up there won't be any more of you to go overboard."

  April approached them. "Is he still not feeling good?"

  "No." Garrett replied. "I'm a bit worried there isn't going to be any of him left if this continues."

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  "We could always put him in an empty barrel." She suggested cheerfully. "That way he can just reabsorb the parts of himself he loses."

  "That's not a bad idea." Garrett said after a moment.

  "That sounds gross." Kyle said as he vibrated again but managed to keep himself together.

  "More gross than you being a sentient blob of slime that eats everything he finds on the ground?" April said in a light tone.

  "I guess that's fair, but in my defense, I can't really help that." Kyle said with a weak chuckle as he vibrated again and lost another small chunk of himself over the side. "Alright. I'll try the barrel." He slithered off to find an empty barrel.

  Garrett headed over to Lou. "How long until we reach the next village to drop of the barrels?"

  "The first village is just a half a day down the coast." Lou responded in his soft voice that still managed to cut through the sound of the waves. "It is a rather small fishing village, and they only ordered a couple of barrels of wheat and a few small kegs of ale. If we can unload quickly, we can get back underway and reach the next village by nightfall where we can stay for the night. In the morning, we will head out and cut across a small section of open water and reach the last town by nightfall tomorrow."

  "Can this small ship handle being out in the open waters of the ocean?"

  Lou chuckled. "It's not really the ocean lad. Just a small detour to cut off a couple days of following the coast since the land curves back around like a half-moon. Plus, I've used that shortcut for decades with only a few minor problems, but this ship has not let me down yet."

  Garrett looked at Lou with the feeling that nothing ever went well when people bragged about the ships. "I'm glad to hear that. This is the first time on a ship for me and my companions, and I have been a little nervous to be honest."

  "First time jitters are to be expected. I remember my first time out I held onto the mast the entire time thinking any little wave would wash me overboard." Lou laughed.

  The rest of the morning went by smoothly with a few waves large enough to rock the boat here and there. They reach the small fishing village along the coast that contained about ten small houses that were barely larger than huts. Garrett and April unloaded a few of the barrels of grain and ale while Lou collected his payment from an elderly man with a long white beard that must have been the leader. The group quickly finished up and sailed away. Night approached as they saw the next town that needed to be delivered to, the lanterns just starting to be lit. By the time they finally arrived at the docks only the lanterns in the town held the darkness at bay.

  "Looks like we arrived a little later than I was hoping for." Lou said as he slowly eased the ship up to the docks and pressed several of the inlayed runes on the helm. The ropes on the side of the ship quickly unfurled themselves, looking like snakes hunting for a meal, lashed out and tied themselves to the mooring posts. "No one will be awake to receive the shipment right now so we will just sleep on the ship until the morning. There are some hammocks down below that you can use."

  "Thanks." Garrett said as he and April headed toward the hatch in the deck that would get them into the belly of the ship. Garrett turned back to the elf. "I feel a bit bad that we haven't really had to do much on this voyage so far. Is there anything else that we could do to help out?"

  "Don't you worry. The first day is always pretty uneventful." Lou responded with a wave of his hand. "Tomorrow we will cross over to the last town. If your help is truly needed, it will be then."

  "Why then if it is just a short trip."

  "You never know what will be lurking in the deeper waters." Lou said eerily. "Could be pirates come to rob us, or hungry sea monsters looking to make a meal of us. Storms could come on suddenly and tip the ship over." Lou waited to see Garretts expression change into fear but was disappointed when Garrett didn't even bat an eye. With a small huff of disappointment Lou continued. "But most of the time it is smooth sailing, and I will have just paid you to help unload cargo and for your company. So go get some rest in the off chance that pirates make tomorrow interesting."

  With a nod Garrett followed April down below and found the hammocks that Lou had mentioned. They saw Kyle peek over the lip of one of the smaller barrels. "How are you feeling?" Garrett asked.

  "A bit better." Kyle responded weakly. "I think I'm getting used to it. Are we getting off the ship now?"

  "We are just stopping for the night, but Lou says that by tomorrow night we should be at the final town."

  With a weak gurgle Kyle slipped back into his barrel while April and Garrett sat nearby, not trusting the hammocks to hold their weight, and waited for morning to come.