Tales from Aelysia: The Adventurer
As the ship continued to sway in the storm, Jelin nodded off to sleep. He dreamt of his adventure thus far and thought of Jokwit, the fiery old bard from his village who, for years, regaled him with tales from his youth: the war, the dragon, the lusty maid. Jelin had so enjoyed the stories but never saw himself playing that role. He had always imagined himself as the Gnome behind the curtain, the one who really saved the day by breaking the curse after translating an ancient tome or enchanting the hero’s sword. Right now, Jelin didn’t feel like the competent adventurer he was trying to be — just a foolhardy Gnome who’d forgotten his place in this world. What am I doing here, he asked himself. I’m not cut out for this kind of life. Maybe he was right.
Jelin was a tinkerer. He’d grown up at the foothills of the Sigil Mountains. Much of his childhood was spent playing with tools in his father’s workshop or piecing together puzzles or hidden away in his books. He never had the stomach for adventuring, much less fighting. When the other boys were out sword fighting with sticks and learning to swing a pickaxe, Jelin was in his room tinkering away with brass trinkets brought back from the mine. All of that changed after Jokwit’s passing. Ever since Jelin had become a man grown, Jokwit had pushed for him to accompany the old Gnome on one last adventure, but Jelin kept putting it off. Another time, he would always say. That time never came for Jokwit, however, who had waited patiently for Jelin to take him up on that promise, even as his health began to fail.
Jelin was abruptly awakened from his sleep as the ship lurched forward and propelled him from his bunk. “Shite!” shouted one of the crewmembers, “We’ve sailed too close to The Knuckles!” Outside his door he heard the Bastion’s crew hustling up and down the hall to assess the damage.
“Come on now, gents! The last thing we need in this mother of a storm is to be takin’ on water. Patch ‘er up ‘fore I need to start tossing some of you’s overboard!” Captain Landis’ voice echoed through the ship. Jelin stepped out of his cabin for the first time since the storm had begun. He had to grasp at the wall to stay upright as the ship leaned to either side. The stench of piss and ale wafted through the hall as Jelin attempted to climb up to the deck of the ship. Big, burly men shuffled passed him on his way. He was knocked to the floor a couple times as they pushed by. Curious to see how the rest of the ship was fairing, Jelin peeked his head in one of the open doors but soon realized what a mistake that had been. One of the Bastion’s seamen had apparently been trying to tie down some of the hull’s cargo when a heavy wave knocked it all loose. His skull was little match for the weight of the ale-filled barrels. I’m gonna be sick, thought Jelin bringing his hand up to cover his mouth, but he was too slow. Brown and green bile spewed from his mouth and onto his blue tunic. Disoriented, Jelin wiped the vomit from his lips, picked himself up, and carried on his way. I have to get off this boat.
On deck the wind howled with such force that the rain stung when it hit Jelin’s bare skin. Thunder boomed all around. As lightning lit up the sky, he could see the true destruction of the storm. Jelin hadn’t known there were other ships sailing in the vicinity, but there they were, dashed against The Knuckles or sinking to the bottom of the Pikeway. Each time the lightning flashed he got a better look at the debris floating atop the water. On the third flash he realized that it wasn’t just loose cargo or bits of broken boats. Is this the end? He watched as a massive wave broadsided the Bastion and pulled two of the sailors back into the sea with it. As Jelin rocked with the ship, lightning struck one of the secondary masts, splintering it to pieces. Looking across the deck and up, Jelin saw the main sail was ripped to shreds by the relentless winds. Did Jokwit’s adventures go this smoothly? Just then Jelin felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder.
“Got a death wish, little Gnome?” shouted Landis. Jelin was so caught off guard that the words stuck in his mouth. Landis chuckled, gray beard dripping wet. The sea captain appeared to say something else, but Jelin couldn’t make it out over the roar of the storm. Flailing his arms about, Landis shouted profanities into the wind, as if the storm itself were sentient. This man is mad. At that moment, another wave knocked the ship sideways, sending both Jelin and the captain to their knees. Jelin scrambled to get back on his feet but another wave hit the ship, throwing Jelin headlong into a wall. Everything went black.
