They spent the night on the boat in comfortable cabins. Mahon and Jorik had no trouble adapting to the slow sway of the ship. The next morning, the boat made good use of the high tide to leave the harbor and sail on open seas.

The winds were in their favor, and the ship quickly caught up in speed. The captain always kept an eye on the boat’s course and the tension of its sails, but he soon joined the passengers with a radiant smile while a part of the sailors continued their watch.

“Morning, ladies and gentlemen!” He walked to the open space where a dozen persons were resting leisurely. “Let me introduce myself again for those that forgot my name. I’m Triandal, the captain of the Hasty Dolfin III. I’m pleased to have you all on board, but let me remind you of two rules for the good success of our trip.”

The captain was still smiling as he glanced at the passengers one after the other, but his eyes betrayed his seriousness.

“There are twenty-eight sailors on this ship and twelve passengers. That makes forty people living together for the next four months. The sailors are used to their job, and they work in four watches along the day so there is always a team handling the ship. Please, never, never disturb the team on watch. If you’re curious and have a question about the ship, just ask me, or a team at rest. Those working have much better things to do.”

The passengers nodded eagerly while Triandal continued.

“That was rule number one. The second rule is that in case of any trouble, your help is mandatory. At least half of you have traveled with me before, but let me reassess this for the newcomers. We’ve an average of one battle per trip. Sea monsters, pirates, whatever. We’re only forty, and although we’re elites, an extra arm is often the difference between a mess and no casualties. Also keep in mind that a dead sailor will slow us down.”

Again, the passengers nodded easily. They had been warned before joining the ship anyway, so there was no surprise.

“Perfect!” Triandal clapped his hand with a wide smile. “Now that we’re done with this, I’ve to admit most of the trip is still very calm. And that’s why there are twelve of you. I’ve got just enough to catch up on everything before we reach the Notitia Region!”

“Never change, Triandal!” A bald man in his forties chuckled in answer. “I actually have a surprise that I’m dying to show you, but before that, should we make the usual round of introductions?”

Triandal’s smile grew even wider. “A surprise? You just piqued my curiosity! But you’re right, let’s do this properly.” The captain faced the twelve passengers. “Let’s be honest, half of the price is for the trip, and the other half is to make sure we’re between interesting people.” He winked. “If we have to spend four months together, at least we should make sure we’re in good company!”

With a more serious tone, Triandal continued his little speech.

“Truth be told, I’m proud to say that many good opportunities and agreements were discussed on that very deck. You’re all people with money and important positions. Take the time to know each other. Who knows? You may find your next business partner during that trip.”

As he reached his conclusion, Triandal gestured for the man that had interrupted him before to start the round of presentations.

“Morning, everyone.” The bald man waved at the other passengers. “I’m Tanyl, and I’m here with my two brothers in arms, Iliphar and Hamon.” He gestured to the two bald men at his sides. “We’re bodyguards. Originally from the kingdom of Cheoca, we’re specialized in escorting people through the Linpool Sea and its bordering lands. Our client as of now, is Lady Jhaana Yesqen.” He gestured to a woman in her sixties while indicating to Triandal he should listen attentively.

Jhaana had a charming smile and intelligent eyes as she slightly bowed at the passengers.

“Good to meet you all.” She said with an excited voice. “I admit I’m very happy to be there as it’s a good opportunity for me to introduce myself to many different people. I’m the maker of the game chogess, if you’ve ever heard of it. And if not, I would be more than happy to introduce you to it.”

“What?! Really?” Triandal exclaimed as he went to shake hands with the woman. “You’re really the person who invented chogess? I’m a big fan of your game!”

At the side, Tanyl bore a wide smile, clearly happy with the captain’s reaction. They spent at least five minutes talking about things few could understand before Triandal regained his senses and realized he wasn’t alone.

The introductions continued after Jhaana promised they would play in the afternoon, and the excitement in the captain’s voice was enough to put all the passengers in a good mood. Of the six people left, there were three liquor merchants used to travel together, a young couple that went back from their honeymoon to act as the mayor of an important town in a kingdom Mahon and Jorik had vaguely heard about, and a solitary woman that seemed very secretive although she socialized easily.

Mahon and Jorik introduced themselves as bodyguards in a mission for the Finem kingdom, but they didn’t mention they were Protectors, and Triandal didn’t seem to mind the omission.

The merry band discussed openly with the help of Triandal who acted more like a perfect host than a ship’s captain. He always knew what questions to ask to draw the attention on people without making them feel annoyed or embarrassed. He had hundreds of stories to tell from all the people that boarded his ship previously, and he had a good combination of energy, humor and quick-wittedness to keep the conversation interesting for all.

Lunch quickly came with tons of fish and seafood Mahon and Jorik had never seen before, and each was even more delicious than the previous ones. A new batch of sailors came to substitute the current one a bit after lunch, but they mostly stayed on their side of the boat and didn’t meddle in the captain and his passengers’ discussions.

“Time to play!” Triandal shouted excitedly a few minutes later as he disappeared in his cabin before coming back with a playing board and wooden pieces.

Jhaana smiled happily at this sight and moved in front of Triandal to help him prepare the board. She threw an eye around.

“Some of you know how to play?” She asked.

The three bodyguards accompanying her obviously knew, but she was very pleased when the couple and the solitary woman nodded at the question. Only Mahon, Jorik, and the three liquor merchants had never heard of it before.

“It’s an open-ended game that involves two people fighting with their intelligence, strategy and tactics to outwit their opponent.” She explained with clear enthusiasm. “Each game starts the same, and players take turns to move one of their pieces. Whenever someone takes that centerpiece,” she pointed to one specific piece on the board, “he wins, and the game moves to the next level. We start again from the beginning, but the loser can upgrade one of his pieces. If you have to upgrade your fourth piece, you lose. That is to say, whoever wins three times, wins the match.”

As Triandal and Jhaana started to place their pieces on the board, Mahon and Jorik walked closer to observe. The woman’s little introduction of the game had aroused their curiosity.

Triandal lost three times in a row while Jhaana didn’t even upgrade one of her pieces. Mahon and Jorik didn’t understand a single thing about what happened, but from the frown and whispers of amazement from the other passengers when Jhaana moved her pieces, they became even more intrigued in the game.

The game maker was very aware of Mahon and Jorik’s attention, and even the three liquor merchants showed some interest in the game.

“I’ve another board in my cabin.” She said to them. “Should I grab it so we can have two games? I can teach you how to play on one while playing against Triandal on the other.” She winked to the ship’s captain. “No offense.”

“None taken.” Triandal answered pensively.

He was still absorbed in his previous game against Jhaana, but he looked eager to play more. The old woman looked at the five potential new players who all nodded with enthusiasm, and she went to her cabin to grab her board.

The afternoon was spent between playing and chitchatting. Mahon and Jorik quickly learned the rules of the game as they were actually not that complicated, but it took them some time to get a sense of what they should do on the board. It was really a game easy to understand but hard to master.

They played against the three liquor merchants, but after a few rounds the latter group gave up and let Mahon and Jorik play against each other. The game actually reminded Mahon of the battle game they used to practice at the Pine Hill Officer Institute, back in Ratho. It wasn’t the same rule, nor did it aim to depict the reality of battle, but it was close enough that it was interesting in the same kind of way.

Jorik showed once again he was a real genius as he seemed to absorb each new concept the woman taught them once in a while with absurd speed. Mahon, on the other hand, relied on his own past of brilliant tactician to step up his game. Broad considerations helped him visualize the board in another way and came up with new strategies.

The two were actually pretty tied most of the time, and Jhaana praised their gameplay. Shortly after, the passengers were cut in two groups.

Mahon, Jorik, Triandal, Jhaana, Dirue, who was the lone mysterious woman, and the honeymoon couple were still immersed in the game and played the whole afternoon, exchanging pointers and anecdotes in the meantime.

On the other side, Tanyl and his two brothers spent time talking with the three liquor merchants about their different travels, and the latter group soon brought out their products. The discussion turned light-hearted with many bursts of laughing after just a few drinks.

The day turned into night, and the passengers reunited for dinner where they discovered even more new seafood and unknown fishes. The night turned into another day. And then another night.

A week quickly passed, and as Triandal had planned, the passengers bonded together. The sailors were rarely talking with them, and so the group of twelve plus the captain spent all their time together. They mostly played and chitchatted, either about business opportunities or simply to share funny anecdotes.

At times, the winds would stop blowing for a few hours, and the captain would seize the opportunity to jump into the water and swim.

The man was actually some kind of half-sorcerer. He wasn’t able to fight with his fire, but he could invoke a flame. With magic fueling his fire, he could turn seawater into drinkable water with ease, and thus they had no worries about being thirsty. It was also the perfect way to clean oneself of any lingering salt, and when he said he could provide clear water for everyone to shower, all the passengers joined him in his recurrent baths.

Jorik had been a noble in Ratho, and even though there weren’t any massive bodies of water there, learning how to swim had been part of his teachings. Mahon, on the other hand, didn’t know anything, and when the captain learnt about it, he took on him to teach Mahon how to swim.

Since they didn’t really have anything better to do, Mahon went along with it, and after a week, he could stay afloat, but had no control whatsoever about his direction should he try to advance.

All in all, the trip started with a cheerful mood, and Mahon and Jorik were more than pleased with this change of pace after four months stuck in a caravan.