Theo 2 – Part 1

Theo Wood made his way to the docks of Leeside soon after his appointment with Skinner. The day was bright with the promise of wealth and sunshine, and Theo could hear the rolling rush of labour as he approached the dockyards. Dockworkers on all races bellowed their orders, and Theo thought it sounded much more like a battlefield than a dockyard. He was happy however to see fewer soldiers than normal, it would appear the city had bled men since the Emperor’s host marched past several days ago, sucking men from the city like a tick might suck blood from its host. The Duchess had taken the liberty in hiring the peasant folk to supplement her city guard, and even sell-swords from Yuanland had been seen in Leeside, their dark skin as black as onyx.

The lack of city guard filled Theo with both confidences and at the same time, concern; like two sides to the same coin. Any dealings he had (like this one) would be much easier without the city guard breathing down his neck. But it filled him with the dread knowing much of the city’s defences lay in the hands of blacksmith apprentice’s and foreign soldiers.

Theo arrived at a ship anchored in port, its tall sails had been drawn in and along the side of the ship—written in fine italic print, was the name Roguetooth. Theo had heard of captain’s naming their ships after great battles, or perhaps after fair maidens, but naming your ship quite literally after yourself seemed a trifle bold. When Theo marched up the gangplank as if he were one of the crew himself, he was immediately halted by a young boy that barred his path.

“Can I help you good sir?” the boy said. He was wiry and could not have been older than fifteen.

“I’m here on business with your captain, Roguetooth” Theo replied.

The boy looked curiously at Theo but when Theo’s unflinching stubbornness moved to an awkward silence the boy shouted:

“Captain!”

Almost immediately Theo noticed a half-orc respond to the callout up on the quarterdeck. She was big (like Brock) and stood at least seven feet tall from what Theo could judge. She peered down at the gangplank Theo stood on, her eyes a set of amber daggers. Theo watched her hand a parchment to a crewman before descending the deck to greet him.

“What can I do for you, elf?” She asked, her voice was as steely as her image. The boy that greeted Theo hurriedly made himself scarce.

“One can never have too many webs,” Theo said, and the captain loosened a smile. It was the guilds new saying, a sort of code when conducting business.

“Right this way,” Captain Roguetooth announced, and Theo followed.

Amongst the work of the crew, Roguetooth led him around the outer perimeter of the ship, as if to show off her ship in all its well-oiled efficiency; her extended strides outmatched Theo and he had to pace quickly to keep up with her. He could smell the salt in her thick locks of black hair that was tied into a long braid and guessed this Roguetooth had spent most of her life at sea. The way she carried herself on her ship, combined with the pale white scars she had on her arms, each one looking to be the result of a shark attack.

“What do you think of my ship Mr….”

“Wood,” Theo answered. “She’s quite the fine vessel but I understand she’s a little heavy in the cargo hold?”

Roguetooth chuckled baring her extensively large lower fangs.

“You’re quite right in that assumption, please allow me to show you my burden”

The captain led Theo down into the cargo hold, compared to the brightness on the deck, the cargo hold was like a tomb and Theo had to wait for his eyes to adjust. There was no one down here when they arrived and Roguetooth had to hunch over to walk but seemed to have memorised the exact layout of her cargo hold—as she quickly navigated her way to a particular barrel. Theo observed as she lifted the lid to expose its content.

In the dimness of the hold Theo could just make out fine crystal-like sand—but its colour was that of dark maroon. Roguetooth gave the barrel a gentle smack with her hip and Theo’s eyes glistened when the maroon sand suddenly sparked a bright blue. After a few seconds, the sand returned to its deep maroon colour and remained dormant once more.

Theo tried to look impressed but had no idea what this substance was, or how much it was worth. The captain smiled when she read Theo’s face.

“You have no idea what you're looking at, do you?” Roguetooth asked.

“I’m afraid not” Theo had to admit reluctantly. The first rule when doing business was not to show you have no idea the value of the thing your buying, otherwise, you're bound to be cheated.

“It’s called infused Titanite, the common folk call it Sphene dust,”

Theo gave the barrel a gently kick with his boot and watched the colour glitter once more. It was certainly magical.

“The Empire is shipping barrels of the stuff to help the Sorceress’s retake Wetbrook. It’s valuable, and illegal to purchase, but your guild has been wanting to get their hands on the stuff for some time now I believe”

This gave Theo a moment of pause. Skinner had been trying to get his hands on this stuff for some time? As well as get his hands on a powerful wizard, just what was he planning?

“Captain, what exactly do Sorceress’s do with this substance?” Theo asked. Roguetooth looked confused but answered:

“Why to cast their spells of course. Magic can only be pushed to certain limits on willpower alone. Some Sorceresses’ can conjure more than others. But with enough Sphene dust. Any grade of Sorcerer can wield the most powerful of magics. It’s like blasting powder in that respect; the more you have, the bigger the boom”

Theo scooped up a handful of the Sphene dust gingerly and watched it run down in a single stream like a narrow waterfall; its maroon giving way to blue as it hit the content of the barrel. This was serious stuff Theo concluded.

“Can this be traced back to us?” Theo asked.

Roguetooth gave a rogue smile exposing her lower teeth in a gesture of malevolence.

“I’m not heading to Wetbrook Mr Wood. My sails will turn south to Yuanland,” the captain said. “and with any luck, the Empire will think my ship was lost at sea. I doubt I’ll see the Empire again in my lifetime.”

“What’s for you in Yuanland?” he asked not taking his eyes from the Sphene dust.

“A new life, a wealthier one.” Answered Roguetooth looking out into the darkness of the cargo hold as if she were looking out of a window that showed the future.

Theo looked one last time into the dark Sphene dust; mesmerised by the twinkle of blue light that erupted in its depths.

“We’ll take it, captain,” he said.