Despite my nervous glances into the water for the rest of the trip, no other monsters burst from the deep trying to kill me. I was excused from sailing due to the lingering effects of the poison and that gave me plenty of time to puzzle over my books. After learning the runes it was a simple if laborious matter to translate the adventurer's guidebook. I could sound out most of the words and with some help from William each night, I figured out the rest. Despite the crawling pace, it was fascinating reading from page one.

“To become an Adventurer is to seek perfection. Whether your path lies in the mundane arts, martial arts, or magical arts, the first step is to recognize that your path will never end. Only by seeking greater heights will you forge ahead. Contentment brings stagnation and so desire is the most important attribute an adventurer can have. You must lust after perfection, you must need it, and you must also accept that you will never grasp it. It is a precarious balancing act but those who can walk that narrow road may eventually find themselves looking down on titans.”

I could get behind that philosophy. Grandiose prose aside, it sounded like there was no level cap. I had no shortage of desire either. The speed and skill Duncan displayed with his saber left me in awe. I wanted that, badly.

“The Earth Mother provides those of her children who strain against their boundaries with recognition and boons meant to help them accomplish related endeavors in the future. Boons make up the foundation of an adventurer's strength. Without a strong foundation, your power is likely to crumble at a critical moment.”

I guessed these boons were the Feats I had been gathering and I couldn’t help but agree. Stat points were the foundation of any character. More is always better. I jotted down a couple of notes. Organizing the feats I remembered and guessing how I could earn more. A few were simple and could be done on the ship. Carrying more merchandise, completing more voyages, and regenerating mana for instance. Others were a bit more involved and I’d have to wait until my contract was up before I started grinding them out.

The guidebook went on to explain how to gain a few easy feats for each attribute. I couldn’t try all of them on the ship but I began to incorporate pushups and situps into my morning routine. I also took every opportunity to try and balance on one leg. I even took to flipping a copper coin in the hopes that calling ‘heads’ enough times would increase my luck. Staking something important on the outcome would have been better but this should work for a point or two.

“Every living being holds a spark of the Earth Mother’s essence. When we die, that spark returns to the earth. When we kill, we tear away a small portion of our victim’s essence, carrying it with us until death. If you collect enough essence and visit a fountain, the Earth-Mother will weave that extra essence into your body, increasing its abilities according to your wishes. Each improvement requires significantly more essence than the one that came before.”

I wasn’t sure what to think about this essence. It sounded a little like I was taking fragments of souls from all the lobsters I hunted.

“Most discovered fountains have been enhanced by the Adventurers Guild to allow its members to attain abilities in addition to boons and improvements. These abilities can be quite powerful but you must pay for them in devotion. Devotion is cultivated by the unrelenting pursuit of an art. It doesn’t matter if you practice basket weaving or swordplay. The effort involved in seeking perfection generates devotion. Devotion can be fed into a fountain and returned as an ability. The specifics of this process are a closely guarded secret but no adventurer would forego the benefits provided by abilities. Devotion can be cultivated again after it is spent in this manner. Think carefully before choosing an ability. While they may be powerful, the costs in devotion will delay your advancement. Some adventurers never progress past the first tier of a skill because they try to purchase every ability.”

There was that reference to skill tiers again. This book for beginners didn’t give any more information on the subject so I guessed it was common knowledge. Harry confirmed this when I asked the crew about tiers one night. He grunted that he was a Mariner. He left the Sailor skill behind a few years back, trading it in for the more powerful tier-2 skill.

That was about it. The guidebook wasn’t very long and the blocky runes took up a lot of space on each page. I wondered why they messed about with essence and devotion when they could have just talked in the plain terms of EXP. I didn’t learn a lot of new information from it but it gave me plenty of ideas about collecting feats, not to mention the Intelligence point I gained from the reading itself.

I added ‘read an entire library’ to my list of methods for gaining feats. If I was going to be a mage, I was going to want all the Intelligence points I could get my hands on. Learning about this world would be a nice side benefit too.

By the time we made landfall in the northern mining town again the poison had faded to an unpleasant memory. I helped the crew unload our wares and load the ship with masonry before we were released for a few hours.

I wasted no time in finding a deserted alley and changing into my fancy pants. I completed the outfit by throwing my common woolen cloak over my shoulders. So long as I kept my hat off, I wasn’t too conspicuous. Thieves didn’t worry me in this military town but I didn’t need to draw too much attention to myself. I was technically a smuggler after all.

I walked the streets with purpose and when I saw likely customers I would don my cap with a flourish and a bow. The soldiers with pockets full of salary and nowhere to spend it were no match for my 26 Charisma. I sold off my rum in record time. Fifty-five coppers a bottle was a little too much for some of the soldiers but when I threw in some meat-on-a-stick, even the most reluctant soldiers handed over their coin. My inventory kept them so fresh that steam rose from the skewers.

I completed the trading quickly enough that I decided to visit the mining quarter and do some busking in their taverns. The handful of coppers seemed like a pittance now that I was making real money but the visit had an unexpected outcome. Some of the miners recognized my music and were astounded by how much I had changed since my last visit.

My new appearance was so impressive that they viewed me as a real trader now and not some precocious tramp who happened to buy some surplus goods. A handful of the miners revealed that they sometimes found gems in the mine and even more rarely were able to smuggle them out under a tongue, in a boot, or stuck up… less savory places. I was happy to buy all the uncut semi-precious stones they had. I was pretty sure I could get a decent price for the garnets, topaz, and Lapis Lazuli but I’d only know if I was ripped off when I got back to Navarone. For 13 of the semi-precious stones, I had to part with four whole silver, most of my profits from the rum.

I could’ve haggled them down but these miners didn’t deserve to be fleeced. I didn’t envy their lifestyle and was happy with what they thought was a fair price. The light buzz from a couple of complimentary ales didn’t have anything to do with it, I promise.

Transporting slaves on the next leg of the journey was nearly as uncomfortable as it was the first time. This time, however, I was able to sneak a meat skewer to all the slaves who would accept one when I pulled a night shift on the way to the tower. In return, I learned that they were all prisoners of war. Their villages had been overrun by the ever-expanding empire and they were given a choice. Shackles or noose wasn’t much of a choice in my opinion and my respect for the Empire dropped to rock-bottom.

I told them the story of Robin Hood, It was all I could think to do. I hope it lifted some of their spirits. Later on, I let hot tears soak into my hammock, silently crying over my own impotence. Instead of trying to forget them this time, I retold their stories to myself each night. If I was going to save people like them, I needed to be stronger, smarter, better.

I hit the plantations with a vengeance. I traded my straw hats for as much fruit as I could carry, which was a surprising amount with my Light Mood ability taken into account. I snuck off to coves to practice my swimming and diving while hunting anything that would give even a little EXP. On one of the islands, I spotted a lady enjoying the shade of her garden.

While trading with the fringes of society was fairly profitable, I jumped at the opportunity to bleed this fat hog dry. I hurriedly changed out of the roughspun clothes I wore to fit in with the slaves a bit better and put on my Courtier’s set.

I strolled nonchalantly into the garden looking at the rows of flowers, pointedly ignoring the lady of the estate like I was out to do nothing more than stretch my legs. I kept track of the baby-blue bell-shaped blob in my peripheral vision but she seemed content to ignore the stranger in her garden until I sat on the edge of the central fountain and scooped some water into my mouth.

“Excuse me.” Said a soft voice with the edge that really meant 'you are excused, now go away’.

I started and looked up, making sure to throw my eyes wide in affected surprise when I saw her. I jumped to my feet, took my hat in my hands and gave a half bow.

“Please accept my apologies mistress. I did not see you there, you must have blended in too perfectly with the other beautiful flowers.” I cringed inwardly at the sugary introduction but my Charisma did its job. She blushed for a moment and I pushed on before she could object to a strange man wandering around her home. I had to cover my tracks in case this went south and hastily grabbed the first fancy-sounding name that popped into my head to use as an alias.

“If you will allow me to be so bold as to introduce myself, my name is Benedict Cumberbatch and I am a humble traveling merchant. I do apologize for causing you any undue worry. My sole intention is to stretch my legs after too long at sea. I couldn’t resist exploring this pretty little garden.”

The lady was still flustered but she let some social contract take over. She gave a little curtsey, lifting the hem of her bell-shaped dress to keep it off of the ground. A curl of brown hair escaped from her tight bun and fell forward as she did so. She locked suspicious grey eyes on me, but I could see her curiosity just behind them.

“Welcome to Gleeson Manor. I am Lady Armandra. It is nice to have a cultured visitor on occasion but it is… less than proper for us to be together without a chaperone. I am afraid that you must leave. If you have wares to trade I would ask that you make the acquaintance of my husband, Ferdinand.”

“Thank you for your advice but alas, I have no wares that would interest the master of a manor. My goods are all bound for the free city of Navarone. As far as propriety goes, I am only here to rest my weary feet and indulge in the perfumed air of this garden before resigning myself to further weeks in an uncomfortable berth. I won’t tell Master Ferdinand if you don't.”

I winked at her with a playful grin. She unfolded her fan and put it to use.

“You have been to Navarone? My word, you must have lead an exciting life, Mr Cumberbatch.”

“Please, Benedict is fine. It is unbecoming to brag but I have seen my fair share of adventure. Navarone is by far the most impressive city I have had the pleasure to visit.”

She was hanging on my every word now. I was counting on the inherent boredom of island life to make an unexpected charismatic and cultured stranger seem even more alluring. I wasn’t expecting it to work this well and tripped over my tongue at the sudden female attention.

“I-In fact, this trinket was crafted by the famous jewelers of that fair city.” I held up a hand to show Armandra one of my silver rings. Her eyes widened like she had seen a holy relic.

“I personally took this ring to one of the most highly regarded enchanters in the Navarone. He worked his magic on this silver band and now any who wear it will become more beautiful and charming. It’s a useful effect for a merchant.”

Armandra’s eyes were saucers now. She leaned in closer to inspect the ring, her previous reservations forgotten.

“What an incredible effect! It works for anyone you say?”

“Certainly! If I don’t miss my guess, you harbor some small desire for such a ring?”

“What Lady would pass up an enchantment like this? And one on such a pretty and storied accessory too. Name your price, I simply must have this ring!”

Hook, line, and sinker. The desperate lady who wasn’t accustomed to trading forked over ten silvers for the ‘exquisite craftsmanship’ and ‘superior spellwork’ that was only worth three at most. I felt no remorse when I passed off the pewter ring looted from a battlefield as an unenchanted silver ring from 'the finest silversmiths of Navarone' for another four silver coins.

This was the way Robin Hood should have operated, Steal from the rich and make them thank you for it. I’d get around to giving to the poor at some point.