Just kill me Without money me and my brother
Randidly’s metallic left hand screeched in protest as it clenched into a fist filled with crushing force
I can’t save everyone
It was an easy truth to acknowledge but a hard one to hold To wear a Crown is to have the ability to open Paths for those who agree to follow you
Yet for those who will not follow what could be done His Crown above his head seemed to ask You do not rule a peaceful kingdom You struggle to manage the ending of the world DonÆt flinch as flows of blood beneath your feet begin to accumulate
With gritted teeth Randidly wandered deeper into Scant following the scent of dead fish and human filth toward the docks
Kerrar Minnow flashed his gap toothed smile “You wish to hire my boat It can be done but the amount I make in a day fishing is not small sir I am very good So your pay on a daily basis will need to be higher than that “
The young man sighed and pressed his eyes closed Which wasn’t a no
Kerrar eyed the young manÆs equipment skeptically He was wearing rather worn leathers but on his chest was a strange charcoal colored piece of armor There was also a strange plant necklace that sometimes seemed to move An Elementalist then Although Kerrar hadnÆt met any himself he knew of them
That would mean this boy had wandered down here from the East End Quite a far way from home
An easy mark And the fact that he was thinking about this amount of money meant that he could pay
“In addition ” Kerrar continued smoothly “LIfe on the sea is dangerous We will require guards and those do not come cheap If we pay them per day “
“Unnecessary ” The man opened his eyes and spoke with definitive confidence And those eyes they were so green and piercing that Kerrar’s breath caught in his throat
Well itÆs not like I thought it would be easy If he came from the North there is no doubt he has some grit Kerrar thought The young man smiled and Kerrar’s Dangerous Depths Skill tingled
That fact slid into KerrarÆs back like a spike of ice
“I’ll be more than enough to keep monsters away So the price Give me a number “
Kerrar rubbed his sweaty hands on his leather pants as his mind scrambled to process this information Although Kerrar planned on robbing this Northern fool blind it was true that Kerrar would have kept him safe during the voyage The Long Minnow Kerrar’s ship might not be as fast or comfortable as some others but it boasted the greatest track record for safety amongst the vessels Most of the money Kerrar made was from kickbacks from guards everyone was willing to take a little less pay to run with Kerrar’s ship
The Long Minnow might run afoul of weather but never of monsters Because Kerrar was always able to steer his way out of the worst of it
That was due to his signature Skill Dangerous Depths It was twinge whenever the boat was heading toward an area where an extremely powerful monster lay below the shifting currents of the sea
This was as far as Kerrar knew the first time the Skill had ever activated on land The man in front of him looked at Kerrar with his luminous emerald eyes and a small smile on his face as though he knew exactly what Kerrar was thinking right now And somehow the young man looked profoundly pleased
Suppressing a shiver Kerrar tried a different tactic Well then that just leaves the matter of the guide Because of the unpredictable nature of the currents we will need someone will a deep familiarity with your destination If you could just tell me
Honestly why am I hiring you if there are so many things you canÆt do The man asked in amusement
Kerrar scowled to discourage this sort of behavior immediately As time passed Kerrar began to wonder if he was overreacting Even now that strange sensation of danger from this man was fading into his memory It was becoming difficult to be sure that he didnÆt just imagine it Well then if my boat isnÆt fit for you IÆm sure you can find others in the harbor
I asked for someone fast Yours was the name that came up The man grinned and his face was that of a hungry predator eyeing its next meal I want fast And I can pay I donÆt need anything but a crew to run the ship And a captain to point it in the direction that I indicate The rest I donÆt need it
It will be expensive even with no extra personal No maybe more expensive because we go with so few The sailing will be difficult Kerrar said slowly
The man tilted his head to the side Do you take Donnyton Coins
Money Kerrar reflected Makes men do foolish things
Chapter 885
Randidly let his tongue taste the air it was salty and full of particles dragged here by strange winds
This place truly was a sea It was easy to see how an image of adventure would quickly and naturally develop in Scant There would be a darker underbelly of that but if this process continued for a long time
Behind him the hunched and suspicious face of Kerrar glanced at him then returned to his busy work around the boat Chuckling Randidly let the thoughts of ScantÆs development slide away Honestly Randidly was relieved that the man was able to stop trying to upsell him on useless additional personnel after they began talking about the price for being rented out as RandidlyÆs personal ship for an indeterminate amount of time
Especially when Randidly revealed how much he was willing to pay
It was somewhat upsetting that Kerrar insisted on charging a bit more as insurance when Randidly wouldnÆt pay for guards but he could understand the other manÆs point if they really did encounter a sea monster it was hard to simply trust that Randidly would handle it without seeing it for himself
Which of course was almost comically easy for Randidly That was just a difference in perspectives
Yet Randidly said nothing about the ease he could manage it and instead engaged in the haggling For two interrelated reasons He very much wanted to actually have a local sail with him out toward where Neveah was located in order to know the gossip going around the islands about what was going on
After all Neveah ordered Thorn to both prevent the Frogpeople from landing keeping them away from humans and keep humans away from them What was Neveah trying to accomplish with these interrelated by slightly different orders
Understanding of the context of what Neveah was doing would be difficult to pry out by simply asking questions and Randidly didnÆt have much use for money at the moment he didnÆt mind paying a little extra for KerrarÆs presence
The second reason was that because he truly wanted a pair of local eyes to give him context Randidly had spoken with several to find someone with which to work And that Kerrar was the fifth captain that Randidly had spoken to All the men that Randidly had met were all blustery and dismissive sneering at Randidly and insisting that he pay for their guards and their guides and their oracles and their retainers An endless series of kickbacks that even Randidly wasnÆt so loose with money as to allow
Such was the similarity of KerrarÆs demeanor to that of the half dozen shitty clones before him that Randidly briefly lost his temper during their interaction Which wasnÆt in an of itself special he had lost his temper with the other captains as well
But unlike the others Kerrar froze like a mouse that had looked up to find a hawk sitting on a branch above it with a rumbling stomach His instincts had detected the brief moment where Randidly had decided that he was done with the conversation and mentally dropped the guise of civility
In that space the images of Yggdrasil Ash and the Wild Phantom loomed heavy And Kerrar was filled with fear
Which made Randidly smile Perhaps Randidly should be more disturbed about his casual reaction but he hadnÆt used a Skill against the guy the other was just sharp enough to catch the shift and understand the danger it posed to him A man with good Perception or a powerful Skill that would notice RandidlyÆs brief lapse was someone worth working with
Ah It appears thereÆs something coming Kerrar said sidling up to Randidly
Randidly did his best to suppress a grin You saw something Or do you just have a feeling