Blog Post

Blog Post 62: The Adventure Shop: Part 29:

10/13/24

“How did we end up on a ship?” Tadgh moaned before heaving what was left of his stomach over the side of the railing. The sound of his hurling to alleviate his stomach came out in screeches that only a Banshee could make: that and a seagull. 

Dahlia looked up and smiled as seagulls responded to the Banshee’s despondent cry. They were flying low to inspect him before soaring off again. The smell of the sea and the spray from the ocean waves hitting the sides of the ship gave Dahlia a sense of excitement and anxiety, but not the nausea some of the others were experiencing. 

She rubbed Tadgh’s back and held his hair as she responded, “You were asleep and not feeling well when we traveled here.”

“I get carriage si-aacckk.” The rest came out in a screechy hurl that gave Dahlia the urge to gag momentarily. Apparently, she was a sympathetic vomiter. She motioned for Lothar to go to Hazel for her to make something for the poor Banshee. 

“I still don’t understand why it had to be a shi-aahhppp.” 

Dahlia held her hand over her mouth, before saying, “Please stop talking. Since you were not conscious at the time, I will tell you.” Dahlia hoped this would help her friend somewhat from the rolling waves, giving Hazel time to concoct something to help Tadgh. 

“We were at the edge of the forest,” she began.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“How is Tadgh?” Dahlia asked Jubair as he came back from checking on him. 

“Asleep. Finally. He’s in the carriage. Hazel gave him a sleep aid that should help.” 

Dahlia shook her head, stifling a smile. The poor Banshee was carriage sick and had only ended up riding in the carriage because he sprained his ankle recently.

“I feel horrible,” she said as a laugh escaped her. Jubair, Aster, Bart, and Caridad stared at her. 

“I do. Really, I do feel bad for him, but it is also slightly humorous that he avoided riding in the carriage because he gets sick. And then was so tired from walking that he tripped, sprained his ankle, and ended up in the carriage anyway.”

Jubair smiled and shook his head. “It is not unordinary for him to fall into ironic situations.”

Caridad snorted out the laughter she was holding in. “Fall!” she wheezed as Dahlia joined her in a fit of giggles. 

Pertanix rolled his eyes as he approached. “I assume what they are laughing at is neither funny nor something to laugh at?”

“How can you tell?” Bart asked with a smirk. 

“Because they both have a terrible sense of humor, and together, they are ten times worse.”

~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey! Were you making fun of me?” Tadgh turned to look at Dahlia, green-faced with a hurt expression.

“No, no, hun,” Dahlia said, rubbing his back again. Tadgh turned back to the sea and breathed in slowly. “Just the situation,” she said quietly. 

Tadgh turned to glare at her and she hurriedly said, “Back to the story!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What did you find, Pertanix?” Aster asked, pulling their attention onto the matter at hand.

“We are in the forest and the tracking is pulling away. Hazel said it is going beyond the spell’s reach, which could only mean one thing.”  Dahlia waited for them to speak, but no one said anything. 

“And what is the one thing that means?”

“She’s in the desert!” “Mountains!” “Underground!” came all the answers at once as Pertanix facepalmed. Even as experienced adventures, they still seemed ill-adept to puzzles as she was to adventuring. 

“And the answer is?” She turned to Pertanix with a cheesy smile. 

“The ocean. She is crossing the ocean.”

“So we have to go off the continent?” Dahlia felt the fear come up within her. She heard stories of other places that were just as strange as the places she had recently been to, but this would be the farthest she had ever been. 

Breathing as she settled the fear and pushed beyond it.

 Even without her power, she’d been okay so far. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to look directly behind her at the person who stood so close.

Xaxol smiled down at her. “It’ll be fun seeing something new, huh?” She was thankful for him. He knew the comfort she needed and she smiled. “As if the whole thing hasn’t been new and strange. The only normal thing is Killian getting shot in the knee.” 

“Yeah,” Xaxol laughed. “I miss that. And those guys.”

“What about a knee?” Bart asked. 

“One of our friends has a knee that seems to attract arrows. I swear, in a fight, no one will get hit, except him.” Xaxol chuckled. 

“I was trapped in the forest with bad creatures and shot an arrow out of desperation. It somehow happened to hit him. Right in the knee. And I am not a good shot, nor have I gotten better. He just has the worst luck.” Dahlia laughed thinking of how, with her lack of skill with a bow, she still somehow managed to hit him. 

“Not to break up the fun, but we are losing the ability to track the woman. We need to make plans and close the distance as soon as possible,” Pertanix noted. 

“Right,” Dahlia acknowledged. “Where do we go?”

“I might know a place.” Bart looked thoughtful as they began to make plans.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Why is this story so long?” Tadgh sighed. “I just want to know how we got on the boat and how long we have to be on it.”

Dahlia pressed her lips to keep a smirk from showing on her face. Despite Tadgh’s protests, he looked less green and was getting back to a normal color for a Banshee. 

She hoped Hazel would hurry with the concoction she had been working on for the few sea-sick adventurers. Tadgh began to look a little worse as Dahlia quickly skipped ahead–at least a little. Hazel needed more time after all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So, you trust these people?” Jubair asked, assessing the crew with a questioning gaze.

The crew moved above them on the ship as they readied to leave port, while the adventurers stood (and some slept) on the docks, assessing if this would be the best route. 

“No. I never said I trusted them. I said they were the best I know. There is a difference.” Bart looked at Jubair. “Is that a problem?” 

Jubair looked at Dahlia and then back at Bart. “No?”

“Is that a question?” Bart smirked.

“So, Barty, are you and your crew embarking with us?” A woman, with long blond hair and wings that drooped on either side of her asked. From Dahlia’s readings, she believed the woman to be a Siren, like Bart. The supposed Siren had various black marks on her skin that looked like she had taken a quill and ink and drew all over her body.

Dahlia had never seen these types of markings, and as far as she knew, the adventurers did not carry any. Dahlia felt a twinge of jealousy at someone so strange and beautiful. So different from how Dahlia felt herself. 

Bart looked to Jubair and Aster one more time, then to Xaxol who cleared his throat. 

Bart raised an eyebrow at Xaxol who nodded and stood closer to Dahlia. Apparently, she would not be making the decision or talking right now.

“Stay quiet. It is best not to draw attention to yourself,” Caridad whispered in her ear as she looked down at Dahlia. Bart spoke over them all and answered the questionable Siren. “Yes, we will be embarking, as soon as you are able to leave port. We have everything we need.”

“Good. Get on. We are leaving as soon as the tide has risen.” She looked behind the adventurers. “I don’t take dead bodies on board. You’ll have to leave that behind,” she said, pointing to Tadgh’s sleeping form.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hurtful!” Tadgh cried.

“I know, hun.” Dahlia looked behind her as Hazel ran–as fast as she could on a ship–to get something else needed for the concoction that should be soon ready to consume.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“He’s not dead. Only sleeping,” Hazel said. “I make one powerful sleeping potion.”

“Noted.” The woman looked at Tadgh once more, as if not sure to believe their tale. “Alright,” she sighed. “Come on board and tell me where we are headed.” Everyone looked at Hazel who looked at the object in her hand and rolled her eyes and pointed. “Somewhere that way!” 

“Alright. Mysterious, tight-lipped group. I do not mind that.” The Siren smiled. “Come on then and get settled.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“And then we carried your body onto the ship and you woke up feeling nauseous,” Dahlia surmised. 

Hazel walked up. 

“Drink this.”

“I–” Tadgh began.

“No questions. Just drink.” She pushed the bottle to his lips. 

“Alright! Round two!” Tadgh held the bottle up like he was toasting them before he downed the concoction in one gulp. He looked as if he had a comment before his body dropped to the deck with a thud at their feet. 

“Is he dead?” the blond captain asked. 

“Only sleeping,” Hazel said firmly as she crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Sure,” the captain noted as she looked at Tadgh’s body and began to walk away. She took one glance over her shoulder before continuing. “Sure.”

Dahlia looked at Hazel, who now had quite the smirk, and burst out laughing. Maybe she and her adventurers were just as strange as the crew on this ship. A very interesting way to start her first trip off the continent.