Chapter 7

“I can’t believe we’re placing all our hopes on a seagull!” Annabelle exclaimed in exasperation.

“Familiar!” Wil and Gale said at the same time. The Rank 1 mage smoothed his familiar’s feathers, the white seagull stood patiently on his wrist, staring at Quentin with an oddly intelligent, and clearly disgruntled expression.

Gale whispered softly to the bird to calm it down.

After leaving her cabin, the pair had found the captain and the Mercantile Association mage, Gale, on the deck, discussing their options.

The Drake sat unmoving on the ocean, all the sails and rigging had been removed for repairs. The captain had pointed out that they would need a few days to get back under way.

Laying eyes on Captain Edvard for the first time since powering the wards, Wil was struck by how exhausted the man looked.

Edvard was middle aged, with a salt and pepper grey beard, and black hair. The man seemed worn out, his tanned face wrinkled and creased. Despite his tiredness, he was stood upright and capable, ready to assist with the current crisis.

Even with the repairs completed, it was unlikely they could reach even a quarter of their previous speed. The Drake was large and heavy, it was just too difficult to move it under the power of only one set of sails.

“I’m afraid we have no other choice, Miss Quentin. The Drake requires a port for extensive repairs, or at the very least, a sheltered cove. We’re also in need of a new set of masts. We have enough material on board to provide some makeshift replacements, but to compete the voyage, we need an island with timber.” Edvard explained.

“Gus can find it, Miss. It’s a big part of why I’m here. It’s not the first time he’s scouted for a ship.” Gale assured her, running his fingers along the bird’s feathers.

“I understand that. It’s just…very well. Do what you will. We’ll place the fate of everyone on board to…Gus.” Quentin consented, shaking her head at the words coming from her lips.

“I for one, have complete faith in your familiar, Gale. Let us know what he sees.” Wil said, patting the other mage on the shoulder.

“Of course! Gus, Fly!” Gale commanded, with those words, the gull soared into the sky, circling for a moment before swiftly flying away. It was soon out of sight, traveling over the distance horizon.

“A gull!” Annabelle muttered.

“It’s not so strange, Annabelle. Sailors have been using familiars as scouts for generations. Gus is perfectly capable of scouting for us.” Wil said, leaning over the railing and watching the water below.

“I know that! I’ve sailed before, with a merchant mage on each trip. But they always had more…reliable familiars. An eagle, or a hawk, even an albatross once. I don’t like leaving my life in the wings of a seagull.” Quentin muttered, joining him by the rail.

“It doesn’t really matter what form they take. Familiars are mana spirits given physical form. Could be a duck or parrot for all the difference it makes. At least a seagull blends in better.” Wil explained.

“That makes me trust it even less. Gale could pick any form for his familiar and he picks a seagull? Speaks volumes about him.” Quentin replied. Wil grinned at the comment, agreeing with the assessment.

“Do you have a familiar Wil? It seems a useful thing to have.”

“Heavens no, I have trouble enough looking after myself. Truth be told, I thought about it but…” He trailed off for a moment.

“I wanted a cat when I was a kid. I used to beg my mother for one, but she always said no. I was very…disgruntled with her about it. I thought it was unfair, Markus could get whatever he wanted, but I was denied.”

“But one day, Markus grabs me, and brings me out into the woods towards the back of our estate. He told me he needed to show me something.” Wil stopped again, this time the pause lasted for considerably longer.

“And? What was it?” Annabelle asked, intrigued. She knew that Markus typically didn’t interact much with Wil, this story was out of character for him.

“It was Tabitha.” Seeing Annabelle’s confused look, Wil explained.

“Tabitha, she’s my younger sister. Complete sociopath and insanely talented at magic. She was only five, maybe six at the time, and she was already casting Tier 1 spells. She must have learned the familiar spell, because she kept summoning hers. It was this rat, a black one, nearly the size of a dog. She was…practicing her magic on it. Each time it died, she would bring it back, over and over again”

“I didn’t want a cat, not after seeing that. I was worried what she would do to it.” Wil said, turning away from the railing and walking away.

The days passed quickly after Gus was sent on the hunt for land. Wil’s companions all gradually recovered, no worse for wear. Martin even had a breakthrough, reaching Rank 3. To celebrate, the group had supper together in Quentin’s cabin, with copious amounts of ‘watery grog’.

One day blended into the other, with what repairs that could be completed on the Drake, finishing. The vessel set sail, significantly slower than it had before, continuing in their originally plotted course. Wil spent his time as he usually did, studying and training. But as more time passed, the feeling on the ship gradually changed. A thread of worry and panic was building amongst the crew, as everyone kept one eye out for signs of storm clouds.

The trip was originally planned to take another month, but if the Drake could not be repaired, it would take nearly half a year to reach Lund. That was in the event that they didn’t encounter any more storms.

On the Azure Sea, storms were an inevitability. It was a matter of when, not if, they met bad weather.

Gus the seagull took longer and longer trips out across the water. Reporting in every day at first, he quickly stretched outings to two days, then three.

After nearly a month of the ship limping along, Gus the Seagull hadn’t been seen in almost five days. Only the assurance from Gale that the familiar was still alive kept Wil and the others from seeking an alternative solution to their problem, not that they had many other options.

Wil was on the deck with Mara, conjuring large, wooden rings that the young woman would throw at the dolphins below. It was a game that both sides enjoyed. Mara would toss the rings over the side of the deck, and the dolphins would take turns leaping from the ocean, through the ring, and diving gracefully back into the water.

They were getting good at the game, Mara could throw it at just the right angle that two dolphins could make the jump before it touched the water. She had done it so three could leap the ring, once, but hadn’t been able to recreate the feet.

The wooden ring touched the water, floating for a moment before Wil canceled the spell. Dissipating into specks of light that drifted away, Wil was ready to create another when a cry overhead interrupted them.

Looking upwards, he saw a white seagull circling overhead, its continuous cries alerting the entire crew of its return.

“Gus must have found something, he’s never been this excited before!” Mara said, standing up from the railing and dragging Wil towards the center deck. Gale was waiting, with his arm outstretched while the exhausted seagull slowly flew downwards, gently perching on the mage.

Squawking and screeching, the familiar spoke to Gale, who nodded along at the bird’s speech. They were joined by most of the crew, everyone excited to hear what the seagull had found.

“Well, Mr. Gale? What had Gus discovered?” Captain Edvard asked. The man looked more rested than he had after the storm. His clothing clean and tidy. Dressed in black pants and grey shirt, with a red overcoat, the captain stood with arms crossed, waiting impatiently for news.

“Land, Captain. He found land! It took him nearly three days travel east to find it, but it has trees and even people!” Gale exclaimed, translating what Gus was describing for the captain.

“People…are they human?” The captain asked, cautious. This far out in the Azure Sea, it was...unlikely they would find an inhabited island with friendly humans.

“Gus said they look like us, human. They have houses dotting the island, and docks with ships tied to them.”

“Three days for Gus to travel, that would be, what, a week or more for us to cover?” Annabelle questioned, looking to Edvard for an answer.

“At the very least. Regardless, we will set course immediately.” Edvard ordered, gesturing for the First mate to take over. Nodding, the crew scrambled to obey.

“Mr. Brookmoor, a moment please.” The captain said, waving him forward. Waiting a moment to ensure no one was close, he leaned in as he lowered his voice.

“I will need you and the others to prepare for an…unfriendly welcome.” The captain said.

“Expecting trouble?”

“Hope for the best, Mr. Brookmoor. We need materials for the repairs. I am hopeful that they will be willing to trade. But anyone living in the Azure Sea will likely be hostile, this place does not suffer the weak.”

“Understood. I’ll inform the others. We’ll be prepared for the worst.”