Touch of Fate

It all started easily enough.

After entrusting his faithful steed Barley to Morris, Mike spent the next day taking care of the little tasks associated with picking up and moving again. The mare had apparently ridden out the entire demon invasion inside her stall. Placidly chewing on her feed while all the other horses had broken free in sheer terror.

Even though he had only spent a short time in the city, he'd made a few acquaintances he felt obligated to say his farewells to. Luckily, they were almost entirely located within the Adventurer's Guild, so he was able to get it done in one trip.

He was able to meet up with Philip, Kate, and Shy through happenstance. The trio were just about to embark on some dungeon delving, and were in the process of leaving when Mike arrived.

A surprisingly emotional parting took place, in which the three promised to visit once they had the opportunity. Mike still sensed a slight distance from Philip, but the other two seemed genuinely distressed at the idea of him moving.

His next stop was Philomena, who as his instructor, deserved to be greeted one more time before he left. The meeting was brief, since she had another class to teach soon, but he was able to gather that the twins Lloyd and Rita, who had been with them when the delve went south, had given up adventuring.

From the sounds of it, Lloyd was now a blacksmith's apprentice while Rita was working at a local inn. They were both safely south of the defensive cordon during the invasion, and seemed to be in good health and spirits.

Thanking the instructor for the news, he next stopped by the Guild counter to report his move. Apparently, he just needed to visit the Guild office in the capital once he got there to complete the necessary steps.

After that, he stopped by the Guild stores to spend a little bit of the money he'd acquired in the last few days. Unfortunately, the majority of the few magic items for sale were still out of his price range, but he did take the opportunity to use Appraise to improve his skill.

He finally settled on purchasing a new longsword made of Grey Steel, a substance apparently reputed for being both durable and lightweight. After a quick examination, he figured that it was the same material used to make Manslayer, the sword of the Chosen Keld. He'd decided to give the evil sword to Brenden, since it matched the beastman's fighting style, and it still creeped him out a little whenever he held it.

While he was shopping, Mike took a moment to pick out a decent spear. He realized during the demonic invasion, that he'd grown too dependent on his swordsmanship, and he needed to branch out a little to start improving some of his other skills. He never knew when he would be in a situation where he'd be deprived of his weapon of choice.

After picking up a new backpack, and some other items useful for travel, he headed back to the inn to wait for the meeting.

Sera spoke first. "I don't understand exactly what's going on, but its largely irrelevant. I'm going to trust in my mother's visions. Even if she made some mistakes, she was right more often than not. That said, I'm going with you."

"That's fine, but-"

She cut him off. "I know I'm not the most useful in combat, but I can cook, clear, do housework, and no one else here will be better than me at managing finances. I'd be a benefit to the team."

Mike had a mental image of her rolling around in the pile of coins. She certainly seemed to appreciate money.

"What I was going to say," He paused to look around the table, "to all of you, is that I'm going to the capital to study. I'm not sure how they run the place, but I suspect it will be difficult for you to even get in. I just wanted to warn you before we left, that I will likely be occupied with my life at the University for much of the foreseeable future, and I don't know how much time I will have for all of you, team or no."

Brenden shrugged, and Tal just gave him a blanker look than usual. Sera chimed in, "Doesn't really matter, I have a destiny to fulfill, and the only place I can do it, is with you."

He shook his head, a small smile on his face. Although he didn't know it, it was at then that Mike finally accepted their company, and started planning for the future with the group in mind.

The meeting then moved on to how they would be getting to the capital. There was an overland route, but it was widely held to be both long and dangerous. Other, more magical, means of transport were available, but were summarily dismissed by Sera due to their price.

The group settled on sea travel, since it would be relatively quick, and fairly affordable. Sera immediately set out to find a ship captain willing to take them while the other two went to take care of their own business and packing.

Not too long afterwards, Sera returned stating that she had managed to negotiate their passage on a vessel for no cost so long as the group provided security during the trip.

Mike was a little bit suspicious of how good these terms sounded, but decided to roll with it, not wanting to spoil the atmosphere of the group this early into the enterprise.

The next day, they all met at the docks to get their first glimpse of the ship that they would be protecting.

"Its a pirate ship." Mike said flatly.

"You don't know that." Sera replied.

"That man over there has a hook for a hand! And that one has a peg leg carved with a message saying 'pirate for life.' Does that not mean anything to you?"

"Don't be so insensitive, Mike. They're just people who've lost limbs." Brenden said, dismissing the youths

"Look, they even have a black flag!" He exclaimed while pointing at a pair of the 'sailors' who were quickly trying to stow a piece of fabric that bore a clear skull and cross bones.

"Now, now. I'm sure it will be fine." Sera said while marching up to the captain. The other two went with her, evidently not seeing the same signs.

"But..."

Mike sighed, and followed after. So long as the ship got them to the capital, he supposed it didn't matter in the long run.

"Good morning, Captain Bont, here are the three adventurers, like I promised." She was saying as they approached.

"Aye, that be clear lass," he said with a grin, showing off a good number of gold teeth. "Now get yer gear stowed below, we be setting sail soon."

"Oh, come on...." Mike complained, even though no one listened.

Sera glanced up at the sky, noticing a dark, brooding clouds rolling in. "Are you sure? It looks like a storms coming soon."

"Don't ye worry, lass. We're in for a light blow and nothing more. Bit o' wobbling, and we'll be through it afore ye know it." The captain replied while twisting his braided beard with one hand.

"You're the expert, I suppose." She started walking while carrying her luggage. After a few steps she turned back to look at the others. "Well, are you coming?"

Brenden and Tal turned to Mike as if to ask him for his direction. With a shrug, he followed after the Oracle.

The boat journey proved fairly pleasant at first, although Sera quickly displayed a proclivity towards seasickness, and spent the majority of her time clinging to the gunwale and periodically vomiting. Mike tried to use Healing Magic, but it only seemed to help temporarily, meaning the girl had to suffer on her own.

The other three were fine. Apparently elves never had the problem, and Brenden had some experience on boats. Mike was a little surprised that he didn't have any issue, considering he'd never been on the ocean, even in his previous life. Then he remembered his Physiological Resistance skill, and figured that was helping.

He was brought out of his reflective mood when Tal pulled his sleeve. She pointed up at the clouds and whispered, "Storm soon. Bad one."

"You sure?"

She nodded, and almost as if that was a signal, the deck was caught in a torrential downpour, as the wind began to howl.contemporary romance

"Captain! It looks like that storm is coming soon! Should we be worried?" He called over the noise.

"So long as we stay out of the center of the lake, we'll be fine!" Captain Bont called back from the wheel.

It was at this point that the winds started howling, and massive waves began crashing into the side of the ship. With some quick maneuvering the crew had already started tying up the sails, as the captain wheeled the vessel to face the waves.

"Why is it an issue if we're in the middle of the lake?!" Mike called again.

"Because that's where the monsters live!" Was the reply.

"Eh?"

----------------------------------

After being driven by relentless waves and powerful winds, the ship was forced far from the shore, deep into the center of Wyrmrest Lake. It wasn't long before they were attacked.

"Lesser Kraken. Very dangerous." Tal was calling from her space on the deck while dodging another of the lashing tentacles.

Deciding he had just enough of sea (lake) scenery, Mike spun about and charged the creature, which was furiously trying to crush the ship into pieces.

With a blast of Air Magic he hurled himself across the vessel, summoning a spear of earth in the process. As he reached the point directly over the Kraken, he pumped his limbs full of mana, which started to glow.

With a yell, he hurled the spear down at the creature's head. The stone projectile punched a hole into the beast nearly half a meter thick. He must have hit something vital, as the Kraken's body stiffened, then slump lifelessly.

"Mike, watch out!" Brenden called just a little too late.

One of the tentacles, in its death throes, collided with him, and slapping him down against the surface of the water and driving him deep into the lake.

[Why always the tentacles?] Mike thought as he struggled to right himself.

done.co