Rouge XII (Patreon)

Rouge stared out over the side of the ship as Port Carnival came into view. Maybe the name had fit before Akuji’s forces decimated it, along with the surrounding countryside, but now it should be Port Gloom, or maybe Port Depression. She could see where efforts had been made to repair or replace old buildings, but the clear priority had been the docks. They were the only part of the town that looked even vaguely complete and in good shape.

::I think I could make it now, if you want me to scout ahead,:: Silus offered, shifting her weight on Rouge’s shoulder as she stared out at the large insects that darted between the white flowers that dotted the aquatic plants all but choking the bay.

Rouge eyed the birds that already dove and flew amongst the bugs, and shook her head. They probably wouldn’t be interested in eating a bat who was only slightly smaller than them, but the much larger birds that circled high overhead wouldn’t be as choosy.

“We’ll be there soon enough,” Rouge murmured. “Save your energy. We’ll need you able to fly if something does go wrong.” Not that that was likely to happen. After all, there were, what? Maybe a hundred people in that village? Or, that would make it a hamlet, right? They could call it a town all they wanted, but there was no way they had enough citizens to actually qualify for that title. She squinted, trying to tell if they even had bluestones, yet, or if the port was still stuck fending off monster attacks while they tried to increase their population.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

Vexxx’s voice nearly made Rouge jump out of her skin, and she whirled, glaring at him. She deflated at the genuinely admiring look in his eyes, though. It was the first time she’d ever seen him look so pleased, except when he was shoveling food into his face. “Do what?”

“Talk back to Nana.” He shook his head. “And win!”

Rouge snorted. “Did I? I mean, yes, we’ll be eating better food for the rest of the week, but you and I will not only have to cook and clean, but we’ll also have to break up our playtime so we’re done at ‘a reasonable time’. Meanwhile, Nana just has to sit around, watch her vids, and eat whatever we serve up.” Her eyes narrowed. “Though, she hates seafood, and I’m going to have to place a grocery order soon. How do you feel about fish and chips?”

He grinned. “I’m from the coast. I love seafood.” He seemed to catch himself, and his eyes shifted away as the smile twisted into a sneer. “Though I’m used to good seafood, so we’ll see.”

Rouge facepalmed. “Why do you do that?”

Shrugging, Vexxx turned to lean against the railing. “Is that your question?”

Stymied, Rouge cast her mind over their recent conversations, trying to figure out what he was talking about. They had had lunch with their grandma, cleaned up while she watched over them to be certain they ‘did it right’, and then retreated to their rooms to get some rest. When they woke, it was time for dinner, which she prepared under Nana’s gimlet eye without much help from her incompetent sous chef. After that, the cousins trooped upstairs and got ready for their next play session. At no point during that time had she said anything about a…

Her eyes widened. “Oh! Uh, no.” Asking for the answer to a question in return for blankets had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, and she didn’t actually know what she wanted to ask. Coming out with ‘why do you hate Brad so much’ would be too on-the-nose, not to mention too easily answered. After all, Vexxx could just say ‘because he’s dating my mom’, and that would undoubtedly be the truth, though likely not the whole truth.

She tore her eyes from the docks, which were coming closer with almost alarming rapidity, and looked at her cousin instead. “We’re almost there,” she said. “I’ll, um, ask you later. And,” she fixed him with a look, “I’ll tell you when it’s that question, so don’t go claiming I already asked.”

He smirked, and she could tell the idea had occurred to him. “Whatever,” he said, and his eyes assessed her as he waited to see if she’d take the bait.

Fortunately, Horatio, who was standing on a little platform at the top of the mast, called out, “Slip four, Cap’n!” and they both turned to look up at him, breaking the moment.

The ship began turning, and the crew did something with the sails so its speed dropped precipitously as they headed for the far side of the first long dock. As they approached, Rouge and Vexxx shifted to the other side of the boat so they could see better, and saw large numbers painted on the dock. When they reached number four, the ship nosed in, and Bonny threw out a heavy rope that a man on the dock quickly tied around a big, metal banana bolted to the dock.

Rouge wrinkled her nose. “It smells like…” She shook her head. The beach she’d visited with her dad and Bree had, frankly, smelled like old fish and salt, but it hadn’t exactly been unpleasant. This, however, was rank. The fish scent was more than a little rotten, and there was some kind of almost rancid vegetation odor on top of that. The only thing that edged it away from ‘nauseating’ was the clean aroma of salt.

Vexxx nodded in agreement, and Silus squeaked, ::What stinks?::

Rouge shook her head. “I don’t know what that is, but I’m glad we’re leaving soon.”

Quest: “The Miasma of Carnival” available.

Something is rotten in the port of Carnival. You detect piquant notes of death and decay, with an unpleasant bitterness at the end. Find out what (or whose) bitterness is causing the problem, and rectify it.

Success: 1000 G, a Very Rare Knife, +7 Reputation with all residents of Port Carnival, Variable bonus based on your solution.

Failure: The aroma continues to worsen.

Accept: Yes/No?

Rouge read over the description and accepted it. It wasn’t like she didn’t already have a bajillion unfinished quests, so what was one more? She glanced over at Vexxx. “Did you just get a quest?”

He nodded. “Discover the source of the smell and report it to the authorities.”

She hummed thoughtfully. That actually made the quest a little more interesting. If Vexxx was just supposed to report it, that meant there was a reason that Rouge, specifically, should be able to solve the problem, while he couldn’t. It could be because she was a higher level, or because she was a saintess, but whatever it was, the issue was obviously more complex or challenging than the wording of it implied. If they had a little time left after finishing the ‘Shellfish’ quest, maybe they should look into it.

The side of the boat bumped gently into the dock, and Rouge looked down, realizing that the crew and the dock workers seemed to be done with whatever people did to attach a vessel to a dock, and Bonny had lowered the ramp. Rouge and Vexxx exchanged glances, turning to their mounts.

Rouge had, of course, given Wally a cinnamon bun as soon as she logged in, but she gave him another now as he turned a long-suffering look on her. While Vexxx’s horse seemed to have weathered the trip without complaint, Wally had spent most of the time pacing their small deck-chunk, warbling unhappily. Rouge was honestly tempted to mount up and let him jump down to the dock, but they were still pretending he was a horse, so she resisted the urge.

Bonny’s head popped into view over the top step, looking at them all curiously. “Scar says he’d like to talk to you real quick,” she said. “Whenever you’re ready, just come down to the main deck.” They nodded, and she vanished again, off to do whatever it was that a quartermaster did.

“Everyone ready?” Rouge asked, laying a hand on Wally’s neck. Her ostrich shifted eagerly beneath her hand, looking toward shore.

::Ready!:: Silus chirped, sounding as impatient as Wally. ::I can go see what other ships are here! Maybe listen in to see if anyone is talking about Farewell Island, or leaving soon, or-::

Vexxx rolled his eyes, cutting off the bat. “Yeah, I’m ready.” He grasped his mount’s reins with a hand and headed for the stairs without further ado. The horse walked down the stairs behind him without protest, though Rouge was fairly sure she’d read somewhere that while horses could go up stairs readily enough, they freaked out when they had to go down. Still, player mounts were different from real horses, and they would do whatever they had to in order to stay with their player. At least as long as that player took decent care of them.

Rouge reached up and patted Silus gently on the head, feeling her drooping ears. “Let’s see what Scar wants first, okay, Silus? After that, we’ll definitely need you to scout things out for us.”

“Okay,” Silus agreed, though she still sounded a bit subdued.

Rouge turned to the stairs, tugging on Wally’s lead. The bird followed her right up to the edge of the steps and then balked. Rouge was already three steps down when she realized he wasn’t following, and she turned, looking up at the ostrich. She could tell from the stubborn set of his beak that this was going to be a challenge, unless she thought outside the box. Looking down to where Vexxx waited impatiently, she felt a slightly evil grin tug at her lips.

“Hey, Vexxx!”

When her cousin looked up, Rouge pulled a cinnamon roll from her inventory, waved it in front of Wally, and then threw it toward Vexxx with a high, arcing toss. Instantly, Wally let out a bugle of protest and hurled himself after the pastry, snatching it midair. Vexxx swore and dove out of the way as Wally’s powerful claws reached toward the deck, and Rouge cackled as his ridiculous mage’s robe caught on a tie-down on the railing, tripping him and very nearly dumping him over the side.

Her laughter ceased abruptly when the rope attached to that tie-down, which looked to be the same one Bonny had been mending when they met her, snapped. It whipped through the air like a snake, and the long wooden bar attached to the base of the mast came free, heading straight for Rouge’s head. Only four-hundred-plus points of Dexterity saved her, as she dove through the air, down the stairs, and tucked into a tumbling roll that ended with her standing on her feet, the end of the rope caught firmly in her hand.

Rouge stared at the solid wooden… Log? Pole? Oh! Boom! She’d definitely heard Bonny call it a boom. Horatio, who had been arranging crates of cargo on the deck, was directly in its path, and beyond him, Vexxx stood, clearly readying a spell that undoubtedly would have been too much, too late.

Rouge coughed. “Um, sorry?” She held out the rope toward Horatio, two-hundredish points of Strength allowing her to easily maintain her grip. Horatio glared and snatched it from her, though he came up on his tip-toes as he struggled to hold onto the still-swinging boom. Bonny, who had been too far away from the action to reach them in time, came over and took the rope from Horatio.

“Y’all right?” she asked, looking the boy over from toe to crown.

He nodded, though he seemed a little pale beneath his tan.

Bonny turned a fierce scowl on Rouge, eyes hot with anger, and her right hand twitched toward her hip, where a vicious hook hung from her belt. Rouge actually flinched before she remembered that she was one of the highest-leveled players in the game now, and it was pretty unlikely that anyone on the crew of a riverboat could actually injure her. Not that she’d ever actually checked, because there was no reason to expect that Bonny or any of the folks aboard the Western Star would try to hurt them.

Giving in to the urge, Rouge squinted, triggering [Examine], even though it would momentarily break the realism of the game.

Bonny (NPC) - Level 85 - Quartermaster of the Western Star.

Rouge’s eyes widened, and she glanced at her cousin. He was also level eighty-five, and he looked much, much squishier than the quartermaster. So, if it did come down to a fight, Rouge would have to serve as tank, holding Bonny off until Vexxx got a spell ready, not that it should be too difficult, since Rouge herself was thirty levels higher than both of them, so as long as she kept Silus and Vexxx safe-

Bonny drew in a bracing breath, closing her eyes. When she let it out, the tension drained from her face and shoulders. Opening her eyes, she gave a smaller version of her usual carefree smile. “That’s all right. It was an accident, and no damage was done.” She lifted a brow, her voice taking on a certain tone that Rouge had heard from more than one teacher. “I’ll thank ya, though, to remember that a ship’s no place for playin’ around.”

Rouge nodded jerkily, and Bonny nodded back, seemingly satisfied.

Scar’s dry voice came from behind Rouge, nearly making her jump. “An excellent suggestion,” he said, and Rouge whipped around to look at him. He smiled. “Though this incident does remind me why the Captain prefers not to carry passengers. Still-” He paused, eyeing Rouge and Vexxx before asking, “You said you wished to travel on to Farewell Island, correct?”

Over party chat, Vexxx muttered, ::So much for op-sec.::

Rouge refused to even look at him, keeping her focus on Scar. She ventured a smile. “Yes?”

He sighed, rubbing his scar absently. “We’ll be continuing on to the islands this trip, and one of our stops is Farewell Island.” He grimaced. “We usually stick to the river these days, but we’re, ah, a bit tight of funds, so we decided to venture a bit further this time. You’re welcome to join us for another fifty gold.”

Rouge frowned. “I mean, yeah, of course, but I thought riverboats and ocean boats were different? Can the Star do both?”

Scar, Bonny, and Horatio all laughed, the last of the awkwardness from the incident fading away. Bonny waved her arm around. “The Star is a sloop, lass. She’s not really a riverboat at all, but the Mirrored River is deep enough that we can sail ‘er, so long as we avoid particularly heavy cargo. Fewer storms inland, and,” her lips quirked, “we can handle land pirates.”

Rouge nodded, though she still had more questions. The important thing right now, though, was that they didn’t need to go find another ship to transfer to! That had to save them time. Though she had to admit that while the Star had seemed a good size on the river, the small vessel was dwarfed by the much larger ones already docked at Port Carnival.

Still, a boat in the hand was worth a much bigger one in the ocean, so Rouge dipped her fingers into her pouch, once again pulling out a second bag that was larger than the one she’d taken it from. She handed it to Scar. “When do we leave?”

Scar glanced at Bonny, who shrugged. “We should be unloaded in an hour or so, and if we’re not taking on new cargo, we can leave as soon as the tide turns.”

Nodding, Scar said, “Late afternoon, then. Unless the Captain decides to head out in the morning.”

Bonny snorted. “Since when has the Cap’n waited for wisdom when she could just forge ahead?”

Scar laughed ruefully. “Fair enough.” He looked back at Rouge. “Then we’ll head out in three or four hours. Will that work for you?”

Rouge did the math in her head. They had already played for about half of the eight hours Veritas permitted in a twenty-four hour period, and though they would roll over soon, it also didn’t allow anyone to play more than eight hours in a single stretch. The best thing to do was probably to log out, and then log back in in an hour and a half or so, but Rouge had never been to Port Carnival before, and she kind of wanted to check it out.

Then the wind turned, the boom creaked as it swayed, straining its freshly retied rope, and Rouge caught a deep whiff of the rotten meat-sulfur-spoiled spinach aroma that surrounded the place. Turning to Vexxx, she tried to keep the disgust off her face as she said, “Take a break?”

He nodded, his nose also wrinkled against the stench. Reaching up, he pinched his nose closed. “Sounds good,” he said, voice nasal.

Rouge looked at Wally. “Sorry, buddy. We need to go back up the stairs.” The ostrich gave her a sorrowful look and opened his beak, closing it and opening it again meaningfully. She sighed. “You’re going to go through all of them before we even get to the island, at this rate.” Nonetheless, she pulled out yet another fluffy, buttery, sugar-coated bundle of goodness, and tossed it up into the waiting maw. As soon as he swallowed it, Codswallop turned and climbed back upstairs, though there was a distinct droop to his feathers as he did.

::No exploring?:: Silus asked, sadly.

Rouge hesitated, biting her lip. Her instincts were to protect her friend as much as possible, but she also knew that part of the reason Silus had wanted to come so badly was so that she could get away from Aspen’s overprotective nature. Eventually, no matter how much you loved a child, you had to let them go. She flinched against a stab of mingled guilt and resentment at that thought, and said, ::Go ahead. Use your best judgment, stay within chat distance, and make sure you’re back well before we leave.::

Silus squeaked excitedly, dropping off of Rouge’s shoulder. As her wings caught the air, she flew around Rouge’s head, once, twice, and then she was away, swooping down to snatch one of the fat, slow water bugs from the air.

Rouge grinned.

Vexxx, who was already half up the stairs, looked back at her. “Is she going to be okay?”

Rouge drew in a deep breath. “She will or she won’t. It’s her life, and all we can do is trust her to value it as much as we do.” Looking at Scar, she said, “We’re going to rest until it’s time to leave. If she comes back injured or something,” her voice choked, “help her, please?”

He exchanged a look with Bonny, and they nodded. Rouge walked up the stairs and started pulling blankets from her inventory.