Cinnamon Bun - Chapter Five Hundred and Seventy-Seven (Patreon)

Chapter Five Hundred and Seventy-Seven

I woke up a little later than usual the next morning. I had kind of gotten used to having my sleep interrupted all the time. It came with the job, sorta. Airships needed people tending to them at all hours of the day and night, and as Captain, I had to take my share of weird watches. Still, I didn’t like missing out on too much sleep. 

I was a growing girl! Growing girls needed their beauty sleep otherwise they wouldn't become cute! Wait... I didn’t want to be cute, so maybe I could make a point of missing out on more sleep?

It was worth considering! 

I yawned, stretched, then carefully moved the Admiral from where she’d settled on my tummy for warmth. I placed her down on my bed then brought the blankets up to snuggle her in better.

After slipping on some slippers, I made my way to the kitchen and warmed up some bread before spreading some jam over it. Not the most complicated breakfast, but it would do. Then I wandered around and checked on my friends. Most were still sleeping, though I did discover Caprica on the floor of her room, pushing up and down against the ground.

“Morning exercise?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “It’s... good... for... disciple.”

“I guess it’s good for muscles too,” I replied. Maybe I could start doing something like that? It couldn’t hurt. 

“It’s... alright?” she said before pausing and rolling onto her back. She hooked her feet under her bed then started on sit-ups. Yuck, I hated those. “There’s a lot of diminishing returns on exercise if you’re going to be levelling up frequently. You tend to grow stronger and faster as you level, regardless of the amount of working out you do. But there is a noted advantage still. It’s just not as great as with someone who is locked at a level cap.”

“Huh, neat.”

“Still worth doing,” Caprica said. “That two or three percent more strength might not seem like much, but it adds up, and it’s a good way to wake up in the morning besides.”

“I guess so!” I said. “You’ll have to show me what your routine is like. Ah, but I’m gonna go get dressed. Lemme know if you want some Cleaning magic later!”

I didn’t know how normal ships with normal crews stayed clean. The Beaver was partially a luxury ship, and it didn’t have very fancy plumbing. I hadn’t been on too many other ships, but I had never seen a shower on those I had been on. So how did normal crews stay clean? 

I decided not to think about it too much. The average sailor probably had a certain smell to them that I wouldn’t enjoy. 

After changing into something more appropriate for being out on the deck, I slipped on my Captain’s hat, then climbed onto the main deck. There was a bit of a breeze out, cooler air coming in from the north, carrying the faint smell of sea water and something fishy. The Beaver’s deck being a bit above the treeline allowed a fair bit of wind to blow past, though it wasn’t that strong. 

I stifled another yawn as I chewed on the last of my breakfast, then went about looking the ship over. 

There were some rope coils that could use some tightening, and a few little things that had to be stowed away, but otherwise the Beaver was in good shape.

I don’t know why it pleased me so much, but there was just something about having the ship be in perfect condition that made me very happy. It was like having a tidy bedroom, with everything in its place and no clothes on the clothes chair. It was neat, and probably especially important for a space that was shared with so many others.

I was a little surprised when I heard a thumping sound from the side of the ship. Something was knocking on the hull.

Moving over to the side, I leaned over, then blinked down at the top of a straw hat way below. “Hello?” I called out.

The hat tipped back, and I grinned at the old village head. “Ah, there you are,” he said as he lowered his cane. “I don’t know much about these ship things. How do you usually get the attention of the folk onboard, huh?’

“I think knocking works,” I said. “There’re some spells to make noise and lights too, but those can be spooky. Usually the ship just has a watch going.”

“Hmpf,” he said. “And how does someone get up there?”

I laughed, then moved over to the side and undid part of the railing designed to be removable. Then I kicked down a rope ladder. “Do you want me to go down to help you up?” I asked. The rope ladders could be tricky to climb. They weren’t as steady as a normal ladder and had an annoying swing to them.

“I’m not impaired, I’m just old,” the old man said. He bit down on his cane, then started up the ladder. It wasn’t fast, but he was steady, and I leaned down to help him up the last few rungs. 

“Welcome aboard,” I said. 

“Thank you,” he replied, then he noticed that the rails had seats on the inside and he scooted over for a sit. “Ah, getting down won't be any easier, will it?”

“I can carry you down, if you want,” I said.

He didn’t seem to like that idea much. Still, he reached around into his pockets and pulled out a long-stemmed pipe and was soon stuffing it full of something that smelled rather strong. It reminded me a bit of the stuff Clive sometimes smoked, which I also wasn’t very fond of. It probably wasn’t good for his lungs, but I didn’t think I could tell him to just stop.

“You took care of the dungeon,” he said.

“We did,” I replied. “Did someone come back from looking at it?”

“Joshua popped over to it early this morning. Said the place felt ‘right’ again. Sent some tougher folk to poke their heads in, and they confirmed it. Didn’t do a run though, because we’re just farming folk, not the sorts that tackle dungeons like that, but as far as we can tell, the dungeon’s cleared up and working again.”

“Good!” I said with a sigh. “That’s a load off my chest. I was pretty sure it would return to normal, but pretty sure isn’t a guarantee.”

“Mhm,” he replied. “So, what was wrong with it?”

“The dungeon? Oh, it... well, some people put a device in it? We have it here, and we’re going to look it over later. But it was what was making the dungeon act weird. Apparently some people claiming to be Black Avatars went in and placed the device around the dungeon’s core.”

“Tsk,” he said. “Dangerous fools. I should have known when they were passing through.”

I stood a little straighter as I parsed his words. “Wait...” I said. He knew the Black Avatars? Or he knew about the people that had gone into the dungeon, at least? “What did you mean by that?”

The village head chewed on the end of his pipe. “Do you know the name of our little village?”

“Blackwatch,” I said.

“Aye. Well, it’s before my time, a little, but... once, we were here to serve a greater purpose than farming sheep and a few crops. The Black Avatars had a keep nearby. It’s gone now, but when it was here, it needed food and the kinds of things that a small village like ours can provide.”

“So you did know them!” I accused.

“Aye, a little,” he said. “But we keep that to ourselves. Didn’t think that when they came over again it would be to ruin the local dungeon, but that’s what it is. Maybe it’s for the best that they’re gone now.”

“Where did they go?” I asked.

The village head blinked. “The Avatars? They took their keep and half the land around it and left.”

“I mean, sure, but where did they leave to? 

The village head rubbed at his chin. “Can’t say exactly, but only because I’m not well-versed in that sort of thing. But mostly they’re over the Moonstruck Sea.”

“Huh?” I asked.

“Their keep ought to still be out there. It floats above a giant bank of stormy clouds. I reckon anyone with a ship could make it to their keep, if they’re brave enough.”

“Do you know where, over the sea? It’s a big place.”

“Not exactly, no,” he said. Then his eyes lit up. “But I might have something that could help. It’s an old trinket, but... well, maybe you can return it one day? If you don’t, then too bad.” He reached down the front of his shirt and pulled out a small necklace that was on the end of a leather strap. 

I took it carefully. The item looked a bit like a small knife in an old, slightly cracked leather sheath. It had some wrappings around it, keeping the blade part in place. “What is it?” I asked.

“A way to call out to the Black Avatars. Or so I was told,” he said. “It’s ancient, though, and I don’t know if it still works.”

“I... think I ought to show this to Amaryllis, then.”

***