![Master [1000]](https://i.imgur.com/AQXM4xC.png)
![Senior [500]](https://i.imgur.com/Nmfn8cD.png)
![Novice [250]](https://i.imgur.com/lrYlde6.png)
Wearing a gray t-shirt and black skirt with white tennis shoes, Victoria strolled into Hargeon Town. She was here to find a "Captain Kooh" and help him load some cargo onto his boat. When the vessel reached River Village, she was to help him unload the cargo. It sounded simple enough. The best place to look for a captain would be the docks.
After a five-minute search, she found a man with long black hair wearing old-fashioned clothing that was at least three centuries out of date. He looked like something out of a storybook. He wore a blue coat with gold braid and white pants with black shoes featuring golden buckles. The man took notice of her and swaggered across a boarding plank stretching from a medium-sized sailboat to reach her.
"Ahoy there, young lady! I'm Captain Kooh!" He introduced himself.
"I'm Victoria Sheridan. I'm with Black Rose. I'm here about the job." Victoria stated.
"Ah, yes! You're here to help load the cargo! You look kinda weedy for a mage, but I think you can do it! You look like the kind that people underestimate!" Captain Kooh opined. Victoria was not sure whether to feel insulted or take it as a sort-of compliment. She opted to take it as a compliment. Captain Kooh's money would spend just as well as anyone else's.
"Me and my men are transporting office supplies to a place called River Village. They need the supplies for a village library they're building. I don't know why such a small place needs one, but I'm not getting paid to ask questions. I'm getting paid to haul the supplies to their docks and unload them." The captain explained. Victoria's eyes narrowed. How did she know that she was not helping smuggle something the Rune Knights would be very interested in?
"We're legitimate businessmen, Victoria. I'll show you." Captain Kooh offered as he snapped his fingers and his men began opening the three dozen crates. Victoria walked over and began inspecting them one by one. After looking into every last one, she saw that they indeed held only office supplies. Pens, paper, rulers... everything an office needed to run.
"It seems legit. Sorry to waste your time. Let's do this." Victoria stated to Captain Kooh. The captain clapped twice and the crew began closing the crates and loading them. Victoria helped a burly sailor with blonde hair and an eyepatch load a crate of paper onto the ship. She repeated the process eight more times until all the crates were loaded and secured.
"I knew you could do it!" The captain praised her. Victoria kept quiet and flashed a thumbs-up. The captain then turned to the crew.
"All right lads, we're sailing to River Village! Hoist the sails! Time is money and we all like money!" Captain Kooh ordered. Men began racing about to comply with his commands. He started barking strange words that were likely nautical terms. Victoria stood at his side as he rested his left arm on her shoulder.
"This is your first time on a boat, huh?" He asked.
"Yeah." Victoria responded. She watched the crew scramble up and down the rigging and felt waves push against the boat. She wondered what a life at sea would be like.
"What do you think of my boat, Eager Merchant?" He asked.
"I like it so far. It beats going overland. I've heard that some of the woods are overrun with bandits." Victoria said. The captain frowned. Did she say something wrong?
"We used to be part of the royal navy in a faraway land. My crew now is the same crew I had when I captained the frigate Eager Huntsman. We were part of a fleet tasked with keeping the shipping lanes clear of pirates. Pirates can be just as bad as any bandits. They know that the hangman awaits them if they get caught, so they try not to leave survivors." He grimly explained. Victoria felt the grimness emanate from him. His next words did nothing to dispel the unpleasant mood.
"Living on the sea's a hard life. Bad weather can sink you in an instant. Pirates can appear without warning. You've gotta keep enough food and water for the entire voyage and keep the food from going bad or getting eaten by insects. Running out can be fatal." Captain Kooh elaborated on the dangers of a sailor's life. Victoria could easily sympathize with the food issue. She had plenty of trouble getting enough to eat on the streets of Capital Crocus.
"But it's all we know how to do. At least it pays pretty good. And there's seldom a dull moment." He added cheerfully. There was a lot of groaning and cheering at a nearby cluster of men. Three were hunched over a card game with an audience of at least five men. A big wager must have just played out.
"Damn, there goes my pay for this voyage!" One of them groaned. He was a bald man with a thick black mustache and wore a blue and white striped shirt with brown pants.
"I told you to quit gambling, Phil! You're not gonna have any money if you keep losing!" Captain Kooh shouted.
"I'm tryin' to save for my son to go to magic school, Cap'n! My wife's last letter said that he's got a knack for controlling water! He can even make clean water out of thin air!" Phil shouted back.
"What? Why don't you bring him on board then? We need someone like him!" Another sailor bellowed.
"Ya see, Jonah, my son gets seasick real easy." Phil explained to a shirtless red-haired man with a red bandanna and brown pants.
"What? A water mage getting seasick? How does that even-" Jonah asked incredulously. Victoria wanted to hear the rest of the conversation, but it was interrupted by an announcement. A very important one, as it turned out.
"WE'RE ALMOST THERE, CAP'N!" A strong voice called out from the crow's nest.
"Good. Everyone get ready to unload the cargo when we dock!" Captain Kooh ordered. He soon began barking more incomprehensible naval jargon. Victoria looked on as the card-playing men dropped what they were doing and scrambled to obey. They swiftly did their jobs and ten minutes later the Eager Merchant was docked.
"All right boys, let's unload the cargo and get paid!" Captain Kooh shouted. Cheering erupted as men streamed below decks to get the crates. Victoria followed them and was again working with the blonde man from earlier.
-Forty-five minutes later-
"We did it, boys! Another successful voyage!" The captain said while holding up a large bag of Jewels for all to see. Cheering erupted from the crew. Victoria's arms were aching, but she and the blonde man hauled their crates without complaint.
"We're visiting the tavern tonight! Drinks are on me!" The captain exclaimed. More cheering ensued. Victoria could use a drink after all the work she did. But she needed to get back to Rose Garden. Getting back would be easier if she were sober.
As the crew streamed from the boat to go to the tavern, the captain tossed her a small bag of Jewels.
"Here's your pay for the voyage, Victoria. I had my doubts that you'd make it, but you proved me wrong. You earned every last Jewel of it!" He gave her a genuine compliment.
"Thanks Captain. It's been an interesting trip." Victoria replied.
"I give a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. If you ever get tired of being a mage, look me up. I always have room in my crew!" He said.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks." Victoria said. The captain gave a slight bow and went to follow his crew to the tavern. Victoria turned and began the trip home.
[Word Count: 1,304] [Total Word Count: 1,304/1,000]
After a five-minute search, she found a man with long black hair wearing old-fashioned clothing that was at least three centuries out of date. He looked like something out of a storybook. He wore a blue coat with gold braid and white pants with black shoes featuring golden buckles. The man took notice of her and swaggered across a boarding plank stretching from a medium-sized sailboat to reach her.
"Ahoy there, young lady! I'm Captain Kooh!" He introduced himself.
"I'm Victoria Sheridan. I'm with Black Rose. I'm here about the job." Victoria stated.
"Ah, yes! You're here to help load the cargo! You look kinda weedy for a mage, but I think you can do it! You look like the kind that people underestimate!" Captain Kooh opined. Victoria was not sure whether to feel insulted or take it as a sort-of compliment. She opted to take it as a compliment. Captain Kooh's money would spend just as well as anyone else's.
"Me and my men are transporting office supplies to a place called River Village. They need the supplies for a village library they're building. I don't know why such a small place needs one, but I'm not getting paid to ask questions. I'm getting paid to haul the supplies to their docks and unload them." The captain explained. Victoria's eyes narrowed. How did she know that she was not helping smuggle something the Rune Knights would be very interested in?
"We're legitimate businessmen, Victoria. I'll show you." Captain Kooh offered as he snapped his fingers and his men began opening the three dozen crates. Victoria walked over and began inspecting them one by one. After looking into every last one, she saw that they indeed held only office supplies. Pens, paper, rulers... everything an office needed to run.
"It seems legit. Sorry to waste your time. Let's do this." Victoria stated to Captain Kooh. The captain clapped twice and the crew began closing the crates and loading them. Victoria helped a burly sailor with blonde hair and an eyepatch load a crate of paper onto the ship. She repeated the process eight more times until all the crates were loaded and secured.
"I knew you could do it!" The captain praised her. Victoria kept quiet and flashed a thumbs-up. The captain then turned to the crew.
"All right lads, we're sailing to River Village! Hoist the sails! Time is money and we all like money!" Captain Kooh ordered. Men began racing about to comply with his commands. He started barking strange words that were likely nautical terms. Victoria stood at his side as he rested his left arm on her shoulder.
"This is your first time on a boat, huh?" He asked.
"Yeah." Victoria responded. She watched the crew scramble up and down the rigging and felt waves push against the boat. She wondered what a life at sea would be like.
"What do you think of my boat, Eager Merchant?" He asked.
"I like it so far. It beats going overland. I've heard that some of the woods are overrun with bandits." Victoria said. The captain frowned. Did she say something wrong?
"We used to be part of the royal navy in a faraway land. My crew now is the same crew I had when I captained the frigate Eager Huntsman. We were part of a fleet tasked with keeping the shipping lanes clear of pirates. Pirates can be just as bad as any bandits. They know that the hangman awaits them if they get caught, so they try not to leave survivors." He grimly explained. Victoria felt the grimness emanate from him. His next words did nothing to dispel the unpleasant mood.
"Living on the sea's a hard life. Bad weather can sink you in an instant. Pirates can appear without warning. You've gotta keep enough food and water for the entire voyage and keep the food from going bad or getting eaten by insects. Running out can be fatal." Captain Kooh elaborated on the dangers of a sailor's life. Victoria could easily sympathize with the food issue. She had plenty of trouble getting enough to eat on the streets of Capital Crocus.
"But it's all we know how to do. At least it pays pretty good. And there's seldom a dull moment." He added cheerfully. There was a lot of groaning and cheering at a nearby cluster of men. Three were hunched over a card game with an audience of at least five men. A big wager must have just played out.
"Damn, there goes my pay for this voyage!" One of them groaned. He was a bald man with a thick black mustache and wore a blue and white striped shirt with brown pants.
"I told you to quit gambling, Phil! You're not gonna have any money if you keep losing!" Captain Kooh shouted.
"I'm tryin' to save for my son to go to magic school, Cap'n! My wife's last letter said that he's got a knack for controlling water! He can even make clean water out of thin air!" Phil shouted back.
"What? Why don't you bring him on board then? We need someone like him!" Another sailor bellowed.
"Ya see, Jonah, my son gets seasick real easy." Phil explained to a shirtless red-haired man with a red bandanna and brown pants.
"What? A water mage getting seasick? How does that even-" Jonah asked incredulously. Victoria wanted to hear the rest of the conversation, but it was interrupted by an announcement. A very important one, as it turned out.
"WE'RE ALMOST THERE, CAP'N!" A strong voice called out from the crow's nest.
"Good. Everyone get ready to unload the cargo when we dock!" Captain Kooh ordered. He soon began barking more incomprehensible naval jargon. Victoria looked on as the card-playing men dropped what they were doing and scrambled to obey. They swiftly did their jobs and ten minutes later the Eager Merchant was docked.
"All right boys, let's unload the cargo and get paid!" Captain Kooh shouted. Cheering erupted as men streamed below decks to get the crates. Victoria followed them and was again working with the blonde man from earlier.
-Forty-five minutes later-
"We did it, boys! Another successful voyage!" The captain said while holding up a large bag of Jewels for all to see. Cheering erupted from the crew. Victoria's arms were aching, but she and the blonde man hauled their crates without complaint.
"We're visiting the tavern tonight! Drinks are on me!" The captain exclaimed. More cheering ensued. Victoria could use a drink after all the work she did. But she needed to get back to Rose Garden. Getting back would be easier if she were sober.
As the crew streamed from the boat to go to the tavern, the captain tossed her a small bag of Jewels.
"Here's your pay for the voyage, Victoria. I had my doubts that you'd make it, but you proved me wrong. You earned every last Jewel of it!" He gave her a genuine compliment.
"Thanks Captain. It's been an interesting trip." Victoria replied.
"I give a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. If you ever get tired of being a mage, look me up. I always have room in my crew!" He said.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks." Victoria said. The captain gave a slight bow and went to follow his crew to the tavern. Victoria turned and began the trip home.
[Word Count: 1,304] [Total Word Count: 1,304/1,000]
