As soon as dawn broke, we headed down to the Pascen docks to board our ship. I’d never visited Versia before. Organizing a trip over was expensive and dangerous, and the creatures that lived there would have minced me a few months ago. Now things were very different. I needed to get away and let some of the heat cool off, and I had the chance to power-level myself by slaying some powerful monsters.

The docks were a lively place. Hundreds of sailors and traders pushed and shoved their way across the stone appendages. Several huge ships were currently occupying those spaces. They were incredible to see, with fine wood detail and figures of sea creatures carved into their bows. Some of them had started to incorporate new materials into their construction, another effect of outworlder contamination.

Our ship was a little smaller. But even a small ship was still big enough to house several dozen people uncomfortably. It was painted in a deep red with metal plates bolted onto the hull for protection. We stood at the end of the boarding walkway and double-checked that we were in the right place.

“This is the one.”

“How long is this journey going to be?” Cali asked.

“A week there, presuming we have favourable winds. Two weeks for the study. Then another week to get back.”

Cali nodded in affirmation.

“Hey, you!”

I groaned and swivelled around on the ball of my foot. I had hoped to leave Pascen before he came back, but Marcus wasn’t going to let me get away that easily. He sauntered through the deckhands with a scowl on this face. He was followed by a group of four others, one of whom was the man I’d beaten black and blue yesterday. I’d done a serious number on his face. I was surprised to see him taking another go at me.

“Trying to escape before I take care of you?”

I was not impressed by the mob he had gathered, “Are these miserable dregs the only people you could round up, Marcus?”

He sneered, “This is more than enough to deal with the likes of you. You should have stayed a rogue, boy.”

“Sounds like you just don’t have any mates.”

“I know every merc in this town. When the Duke refuses to enforce the law, lads like us have to be the ones to step in and do the community a service.”

I laughed, “Sure. But you know that I could beat all of you without even drawing my weapon?”

“Overconfidence can be deadly.”

“And what do you call this? You only brought five people.”

“Would you like me to burn him to death?” Cali said.

“Uh, no. Let me handle it.”

I braced myself as the first of the four goons charged at me. He waylaid me with a wild left hook, unable to keep his footing on the uneven stonework. I stepped back and kicked his knee out from under him. He fell down, allowing me to boot him in the face and send him rolling into a puddle. The sailors caught on that a fight was breaking out and quickly surrounded us. They cheered and yelled, some even placing bets on who they thought would win.

The other three thought that teaming up on me would save them from a beatdown. In the end, they only crowded each other’s space and made it harder to get at me. I stepped back to keep my distance from them, letting loose speculative punches to keep them weary.

“Use your weapons!” Marcus demanded. One of the men drew a short blade from his belt and tried to skewer me, but it glanced harmlessly off my chest plate. I punched him in the neck and dragged him to the ground by his hair.

The noise from the crowd was distracting, someone was shouting into my ear; “Get him lad, batter him!”

The other two took the chance, while I was caving in their friend’s face with a boot to the head, to retrieve their own daggers and try again. My speed and strength were simply superior to theirs. It was like they were moving in slow motion. Was this the effect of the ‘stat multiplier’ that Adel told me about?

The man on my left had learnt his lesson and tried to drive the tip of the dagger into my skull from above. I raised my arms and blocked him. As I did, the other assailant decided to take advantage and swing at me while I was busy. I saw him coming from a mile away. I ducked under the man’s shoulder and put him between me and the blade. He cried out in agony as the dagger stabbed him in the shoulder through his cheap leather armour.

I pushed him onto his friend, sending both falling to the floor. I finished them with a pair of punches that left them counting sheep and missing a few teeth. Marcus couldn’t believe what he was seeing, nor could the sailors who bet on the mob – they’d just lost a lot of money on what seemed to be a sure thing.

“Marcus, I’m disappointed! Any more, or do you need some dental work too?”

He was too deep to back out now. Marcus drew his sword and stepped in to try and do what his gang of toadies couldn’t. For the men who’d betted on him, this was their last hope. His stance and angle of attack was much better than what the other four offered, but it still wasn’t good enough. He tried to slice my arm with his sword, but I intentionally turned to take the hit on my chestplate instead.

As it bounced away and stole his momentum, I swirled on my feet and delivered a bone crunching rolling elbow to his thick skull. He dropped the sword and fell back, unconscious. In a matter of moments, I’d beaten five armed men with nothing but my fists. The crowd of sailors went crazy, jumping and shouting like a gang of schoolchildren.

I dusted myself off. The men who hadn’t been injured too badly grabbed their unconscious comrades and dragged them away. Having gotten their fill of drama for the day, the crowd began to disperse and go back to work. Benadora was lying in wait behind them, “That was interesting.”

“What about it? It’s just a bunch of mercs brawling.”

Benadora cackled, “Is that the way you describe yourself? You nearly broke his neck.”

“Ren is a humble man. One could describe him as overly-cautious.”

I sighed, “Thanks for your contribution Cali. Overly-cautious is the only way to go when you work in the business that I do.”

“Your business is working as one of my bodyguards,” Benadora reminded me, “I hope you’ll be honest with me about your true capabilities.”

I didn’t need to worry about any lawmen coming for me. Matters settled between people punching each other was a common sight in rough towns like Pascen. Plus, losing with a number’s advantage was a story that didn’t elicit sympathy from most.

We followed Benadora up the ramp and onto the deck of the ship. Medalie was leaning against the mast pole with a piece of bread in one hand and a hammer in the other. She finished eating her breakfast and reached out to shake my hand. “Nice to see you making good use of that armour, Ren.”

“Sure am.”

“I wasn’t so sure about taking on this kind of job, but she swayed me by saying that you were coming.”

“Did she? She didn’t know I was joining in till yesterday.”

Medalie’s eyes narrowed. It seemed that Benadora had made a few assumptions to get her on board. Not that it mattered now, we were all present and ready to make the trip to an unknown continent. Benadora was quick to put a firm hand on her shoulder and assure her that everything had been planned out properly in advance.

“We’re departing as soon as the captain’s ready. If you want to claim a bunk, take a stop below deck and pick out a spot.”

“We even get beds? It’s like a hotel,” Medalie snarked.

At each end of the deck were a pair of doors that led down to the lower floors. We decided to follow Benadora’s advice and pick out a patch for ourselves. The rooms were cramped, but better than I expected from the barracks on a ship. Most of them didn’t even have rooms. At least here, you had some small amount of privacy with wooden walls dividing each chamber of four.

The ones that were occupied were plainly obvious. They were filled with the belongings of the people who manned the ship. Clothes hung from rope washing lines, bags and belongings squeezed into the already tiny floorspace. I picked one of the rooms at random and unloaded my pack onto the bottom bunk of one of the beds. Medalie and Cali quickly occupied the bed across from me.

It was dark, wet, and there was no window – but it beat sleeping out on deck.

For the sake of putting our heads somewhere after a day’s sailing, it was fine. Having so many people in a confined space would keep things warm during the evening. I still erred on the side of caution and brought some extra blankets. One of the problems I was experiencing was related to Stigma, or her size.

“Lose some damn weight, will you?” I muttered as I felt myself being pulled back into the doorway I just passed through. I turned to my side and carefully navigated my way through it. I did not want to leave the extremely valuable and life-giving sword to the hands of a petty thief. If I lost Stigma, I’d have no way to consume souls.

I was going to spend most of my time on-deck. There wasn’t much to see besides… the sea. I got to know a few of the sailors while we were still moored in the dock. Conversation with them was going to be one of the only sources of entertainment during the journey, unless I was willing to gamble my life’s savings on card games in the mess hall.

The captain, Jerry Johns, was an interesting looking man with a dirty blonde beard and a missing left eye. Unlike your most stereotypical of seamen, he did not cover the injury with an eyepatch. He spent the morning barking out orders and getting things ready for departure.

“This is the first time I’ve been on a ship since I left home,” Medalie said to me.

“How much did Benadora pay you?”

“More than I was going to make manning my shop. I don’t know about you, but I like things slow and safe. So she added an extra premium on top of it.”

“No expenses spared huh?”

“Aye. Renting a boat like this must cost an arm and a leg too.”

“I think she has a contributor sponsoring her. They’re very interested in this Tall School. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep out of trouble and get this job over with quickly.”

Medalie kicked my shin in a huff, “You’re bloody tempting fate saying shite like that. Shut your gob!”

Trouble tended to find me whether I invited it or not.

The bell rang. The sailors set about their procedures. Ropes were unfurled, anchors were raised, cranks were twisted and nettings were secured. A small crowd of onlookers waved to the departing crew from the dock as we slowly drifted away from our original location. The full strength of the sea started to hit the sides of the boat, rocking it from side to side.

Cali clutched my arm like a frightened cat.

“Don’t tell me you’re seasick already.”

“…Very well. I will refrain.”