"Let's set off, then," I said to the men that had taken their seats.
Sitting down on our wooden boxes that contained our personal items and with an oar in our hands, we were ready to head out. The wind was blowing east, right in the direction that we needed it to be.
Katherine saw me off, while Selene was nowhere to be seen.
A slight wave goodbye and we were gone.
Rowing with complete synchronization, the twelve us put our legs and backs into every pull as the Karvi slowly but steadily gained speed. Heading down the river with the outflow heading north towards the ocean, our speed gradually picked up to a point where we no longer needed to row.
Guiding the sixty foot boat down the river was of such relative ease that I nearly lost myself to a daydream, only to snap back to attention at the sound of a barking seal. If the thing was any closer, I probably would have clubbed it with my axe.
The little bastard.
Passing through the estuary provided us with quite a sight, as the natural habitat was teeming with life forms of all types. Dozens of species of birds flew about or walked along the water's edge, as countless schools of fish swam underneath. The mixed salt and fresh water created a brackish water environment, one that cultivated various types of marine organisms to the point that oysters and clams were easily visible from where I sat. One might pay for these types of views, on some kayak trip through a cove or a shallow reef, yet here, it was free.
Free for anyone willing to travel.
Enjoying the sights of marine life going about their day, I turned my attention to the small waves off in the distance. The incoming tidal forces were somewhat weak, as the flow of the river carried all the way out towards the mouth. And with a relatively flat sandy beach, the waves were inconsequential as we began to slightly roll over them.
Keeping the boat straight was paramount, and to not stop rowing was all that was required to get over the larger waves. I was glad, we weren't in a small boat.
If this were a twelve-footer, a rubber boat with a crew of six or seven… had we stopped paddling, or hit the surf at an angle, we would all be ditching into the blue.
That cold, deep, dark blue… it scared me.
The ocean was a powerful thing, and even if I was a proficient swimmer, more than proficient at it, a mistake or an accident would lead to a world of misfortune out here.
You had to respect the ocean, for you couldn't beat it.
To think I was on a boat despite my fear of drowning, well… at least it was a game.
A splash of water on my face nearly convinced me otherwise, though.
I didn't want to know how realistic drowning was in this game.
An hour and some change had passed by the time the wind had fully picked up. Our sail looked as if it had reached max effectiveness, as it filled to the brim without an inch of slack. I worried that the mast might break for a second, but I trusted the shipbuilder.
He was recruited by me anyhow, so I knew exactly how good he was.
With a full sail, we were starting to really fly.
I had no way of judging our knots, but I had read and seen that fifteen knots was considered readily achievable in the right conditions. That was something around seventeen miles per hour, and if those numbers were correct, this nearly two-hundred mile journey would be over and done with in a little less than half a day.
Twelve hours on a boat.
Well, at least I wasn't one to get seasick.
Kicking back and relaxing as our oars sat motionless, the men had engaged in idle chatter as I decided to browse the web. A week had passed since I left the Outcast Dungeon, yet no one else had claimed the fifth floor.
We were still the reigning champs there.
That was pretty neat.
Another hour had passed as my mind began to wander. There was nothing to do out here, and watching the coastline had grown boring after some time. Then it occurred to me, that I could take a nap.
Or in other words, log out.
The men would be fine without me, or at least I hoped they would.
Yeah, there was little reason for me to sit in this boat for another ten hours staring at the mountain walls along the coast. Two hours was plenty, they didn't look any different after an hour, anyways.
Yup, time was nigh for me to skedaddle.
Chapter 58: Establishing a Trade Route
(Thursday, August 12th Game Day / Tuesday, March 16th Real Day)
Ten hours had passed since we first set out on our voyage, eight hours of which I spent offline eating and sleeping. This wasn't quite fast-travel, what with it taking so many hours to cover the two-hundred or so miles, but it was automated travel.
As a consolation prize, that wasn't half bad.
It sure as hell beat pulling a sled for a week.
And finally, our destination was in sight.
The winds that blew east never let up the entire trip, so the men were well rested as we took in the sights along the way. The Elven Northeastern Region was a bit different from the North we called home.
Sailing southward up a series of small rivers, the climate was considerably warmer than the western side of the continent. We were at the very tip of this continent after all. The western region was our home, with the middle occupied by an undisclosed, undiscovered region, while the eastern edge had been settled by the elves.
The trees themselves, mostly Oaks of a rather frighteningly large stature, seemed as if they were alive with their branches spreading out and hovering about like tentacles in the air. The green foliage of their massive tops created complete dark zones underneath as the sunlight was hard-pressed to sneak through.
Easily twenty feet across the base and who-knows how tall in height, the trees were exceptionally large. Beautiful, yet scary at the same time. To be lost in these woods in the dead of night was not on my list of things to do.
There were, however, plenty of creatures.
As we passed rather quietly up the river, countless deer and elk were spotted grazing along the forest floor. A few uncharacteristic hoots from an owl seemed out of place in the middle of the day, but it kind of fit with the surroundings. Smaller creatures were abound as well, foxes and rabbits a staple, though the appearance of a weasel, a red squirrel, and a couple of beavers added some variety to the scenery.
This definitely wasn't the North.
I still disagreed with it being called a wasteland but, there was some truth to the term. We lacked diversity in relation to our animal population, at least compared to the other regions. Though, we also had the most diversity in terms of fish and sea life on the continent, so it all evened out in the end.
If anything, I was now convinced that fishing very well might be my meal ticket. Fresh seafood, if it was as realistic as the rest of the game, would be a delicacy that players could splurge on. Having some control over that market, maybe even running the export industry… hah, the possibilities were endless.
"Sigurd, a campsite is within distance," interrupted Eindride.
"Ah, it is as you say," I replied as I turned my attention to the small village that was probably more aptly termed a campsite. Ellieby's guild site, the land they had laid claim to and were slowly developing for fun. It… wasn't quite as impressive as I was hoping.
"We'll beach as closely as possible," I instructed as I grabbed an oar and began to aid in the steering. With twelve able-bodies, the ship was easy to control and navigate with as we came upon the campsite.
Slowing the ship down to barely a crawl, we landed on the beach with hardly a thud.
Hopping over the side and into the shallow water below, the river didn't even wet my knees. As I stood in maybe a foot of water, a few onlookers from the guild had come over to greet us.
Only, half of them turned away and walked off once they saw who I was.
That silly hunter and priest, they weren't too friendly with me.