Chapter 4- The Wreck of the Albatross

The morning sun showed through the leaves as it crept ever closer to noon. The noise of life that came from the Albatross traveled only so far as the treeline that surrounded it. The forest muffled any sound that touched it. Like the ruined town that he had seen earlier, this Roni rest stop seemed to appear out of nowhere, with no real roads giving context to its existence. Yhora led them past the mast-tent and around the firepit to the main entrance. It was a large double door cut from the deck of the ship. The door itself looked to be crafted of local variety brickwood, with a strong rust-red color. The rest of the ship was not made from this same wood, and looked to be much older. There were several Roni men that looked to be acting as guards strewn around the grounds. Most of them sat around the fire, none of them so much as turned their gaze to them as two strange figures emerged from the woods with a back of dripping raw meat and walked in the door. 

As they walked inside all the wonderful smells and sounds from before were magnified. The warmth of the fireplace in the far side of the room greeted Gane first. Yhora waved to a Roni man sitting in the far left corner of the room. He sat behind a bar table and got up when he saw them enter. The man was tall and hairy with a stout figure. Draped in the humble brown and beige clothes of a common man, but with a greasy white apron around his waist and a bright yellow ribbon tied around his forehead. The man had a scruffy red beard and thick stubby antlers. He gave a broad yet warm smile and hugged Yhora.

“Yhora! We were worried about you, You’ve been out there for such a long time!” He bellowed gladly. “Go in the back room and talk to Lycce, you look hurt and famished.”

Yhora thanked him and gestured a hand to Gane. “This is my guest, he’s half starved please help him. Paid on the Clan tab.” She nodded to Gane and handed him the bag before walking away into the back room and out of sight. Gane’s one link to understanding this strange place was out of sight. 

The large Roni man turned to Gane and introduced himself. “Owsain Va’Nohanja, Which name is yours?”

“Gane Halaney. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Gane spoke with a slight awkwardness to this imposing man, but tried his best to maintain his manners.

“Halaney you say… Sounds Neirn. You descend from a Halanehmalakoy? He asked as he led Gane up to the bar table.

This surprised Gane, his family was not nobility nor were they descended from any great heros. “That’s right! Halanehmalakoy was the name of my family about five generations ago. How did you know that?”

“Family lines are very important to me, I’ve got books and books of them upstairs. I find travelers make better business and conversation when you can tell them something about themselves.” Oswain poured an opaque brown liquid in a flagon and pushed it over towards Gane. “What does your stomach hunger for, my friend?”

“We caught game out in the woods, all I need is a fire to cook it.” Gane replied while holding up the dripping bag. 

“Ah yes, hand it here and I can help you with that.” He took two cuts of meat from Gane and set them into a metal spit over the fireplace that sat beside the bar table. “That should be going for a few minutes. If you don’t mind me asking? What’s got you out here in Kellylin?”

“I’m on my way to Sohouta. I’m out here studying...animals.” Gane figured this answer sufficed, and frankly he couldn’t make heads or tails of what this man thought of him. “You’ve got quite the place out here. I’ve never seen a place built to look like a ship before.”

“Ah she’s a beauty,” He said patting at the side of the plank wood wall. “But she wasn’t built to look like a ship, she was built to be a ship. How do you think she got the name, Wreck of the Albatross?”

“We’re nowhere near the sea. How did it get all the way out here?”

“It was a real bad wreck.” Said Oswain as he turned around to pull the meat out of the fire. “Here this looks done enough. I’m gonna go check on Yhora and Lycce”

Gane didn’t hesitate to bite into it. Half of it was burnt and the other half was uncomfortably undercooked, but it didn’t matter. Considering how long it had been since his last good meal, this tasted like a gourmet steak. Gane took in the surroundings of this bar-area. There were a handful of tables and about a dozen people. Half of them were Roni, but there were many from outside Kellylin as well. They hadn't paid much attention to him and went about their business conversing, eating and trading. The walls were wooden, it was the hull of a ship alright, but they were covered in frames with portraits of various Roni people and landscapes. They seemed haphazardly placed, and almost none of them seemed to come from the same artist. The walls were also dominated by mounted animal heads. Everything from small river mongoose to saber tooth lions, and a few that resembled the beast that he and Yhora had fought. The overwhelming scent of pepper cigars made the room feel stuffy, but mixed well with the scent of food. Gane spotted a Cauval merchant walk in the door, he carried a large pack with him. The man had long matted pink hair that extended down close to the floor, it was full of flowers. Gane approached the odd man and held out his bag with the remaining cuts of meat. “Do you buy perishables? They’re freshly caught from this morning.”

The strange merchant looked down at him blankly for a moment. “Freshly caught huh?” He inspected the slabs of meat before nodding to Gane. “I’ll give ya sixteen esser for that.” He said with a slow and deep voiced draw. Esser was the colloquial term given to the most common currency of the Southwest. South Sea Standard was the official name for the brownish gold bills, but everyone just called them esser.

“Sixteen? I’ve seen meat half as good go for more than that.” Gane only pushed at this price because of how little he had on him, and running out of money on the road was something that he was explicitly warned about avoiding.

“Listen pal, I can tell yer new to haggling. Buohram meat goes cheap in these woods, and you clearly have too much to haul out of here. So I’ll be nice to ya and give ya my generous offer of sixteen again.” The man’s blank stare turned to a cold patronizing one. He had a slight smirk on his face as he watched Gane’s confidence crumble. 

Gane handed over the meat. He was going to take whatever he could get, and clearly this man had won. He watched as the merchant packed it up into canvas paper, then produced a small vial. He opened and then tapped the sparkling magenta powder contained within said vial into his hand. The merchant pinched it in his hand and sprinkled a bit on each meat slab.

“What is that you’re putting on it?” Gane asked, still staring at this strange man.

“Powdered Magic, enchanted to slow the passage of time. Travelers from Cavaulia use it to preserve meat.” Replied the merchant without looking up at him. After finishing, he tied the meat up in slabs and put them in his bag. He held the vial above his head and tapped a bit into his eyes. He blinked rapidly for a few seconds before stopping. His face now turned even blanker than before, and he wordlessly shuffled over to the bar table where he proceeded to stare off into space.

Gane was finished talking to this moongazer, and decided to pick up his flagon and food and finish outside. He maneuvered out of the stuffy room and walked past the tents outside to a nice mossy rock that pushed up against the side of the hull. As Gane enjoyed his meal, he pulled out his now drying bag and decided to take inventory on everything that he still had with him. He patted the right pocket of his coat. His notebook and pen were still there. Left pocket. A wad of about forty esser with a clip on it. If he was lucky, that much could buy him about three day’s stay in a big city like Sohouta. He still had about a half a box’s worth of matches, a hair comb, and a little wooden tooth cleaner. Aside from that his bag was empty, and he had the clothes on his back. He needed to stock up here if he wanted a chance of getting to Sohouta. Yhora was his best bet to get safe travel into the city. She was capable and well connected but seems to need support as well. Gane flipped back and forth on how to proceed. He wasn’t supposed to let anyone know about his mission, about page 138. But then again he and Sajazar had parted ways before they had even left Nierlyben, and he needed two for the mission. Gane had nearly finished his meal when his train of thought was interrupted. Yhora, Oswain, and a older looking Roni woman approached him. 

“Gane we were looking for you. I haven’t properly introduced you.” Yhora said as she approached him. “This is Oswain and his wife Lycce. They are my kin, and they own this place.”

Gane introduced himself and exchanged greetings. He shook the hand of Lycce, who wore tan dress with a yellow ribbon tied around her waist. She had a pleasant smile, a calm wrinkled face, and long silver hair. The four of them made there way out to the front of the Albatross and sat around the fire. “So your clan owns this rest stop, which clan owns Sohouta if you don’t mind me asking.” Gane inquired. 

“Well a city like that is far too big to be owned by a single clan. Clans like us can own small settlements out in the forest, but in the cities are owned by many different clans from district to district. Answered Oswain. 

“That’s interesting, in Neirlyben kingdoms fight hard to remain the sole rulers of given cities.” Replied Gane.

“There are far too many clans in Kellylin for any to rule whole cities alone. However, clan leaders do convene to elect a certain clan to live as spiritual leaders of all Roni. Their leader is given the title Rhanava. It’s hardly the pan-Ronic unifier that it claims to be, but having one clear leader in times of invasion has come in handy many times over the years.” Oswain spoke as he pulled a wooden box out from under his chair. He opened it and began rifling through. 

“Would you like to get a tour of the grounds?” Yhora asked Gane. 

“Of course.” Gane got up and followed her as the two walked away from the fire pit and down the length of the mast.

“This is the mast bazaar. It’s where all the merchants that come through here exchange wares.” She led him inside. “The Albatros was a Cavaul Warship. They used space warping magic to take it behind enemy lines, but it wasn’t properly tested and the Albatross ended up crashing in the middle of the forest. After some fifty years of being a ruin, Oswain and Lycce restored it and made it into a trading post.” She took him to the same bar area that he had seen before. “This is where Oswain serves drinks and travellers going through can contract guides. Merchants that pass through as regulars all buy paintings for the place. It’s tradition to leave a decoration as thanks.” She led him up a staircase built sideways into the hull of the ship. They came to a second floor. “Lycce rents out rooms up here to travelers that stay the night.” They went back down the stairs and out the front door again. “I think you’re gonna like this last one.”

She took him around the other side of the hull. “Here’s the stable, this was always the highlight when I came here as a kid.”There was a small barn built into the side of the ship’s hull. It had four stables, each was filled by a magnificent brown elk. They had saddles and stirrups stored around them, the closest one to the entrance looked up and recognized Yhora as she walked in. It let out a friendly snort noise and stuck its nose out the stable to be near her. Yhora pet the creature’s nose gently. “Elk are regarded as holy creatures in Roni society. Raising and tending to them is considered a hallowed art.”

“They’re certainly beautiful. I’ve never seen them tamed before.” Gane said as he sketched a quick image of the doe that stared at them in his notebook.

“No we don’t use conventional animals like horses or beetles out here. Elk are adept at navigating the forest, and that makes them an invaluable resource.”

By the time they had left the stable it had begun to get dark. Gane and Yhora left the building. They headed around to a small patch of rocks that gave a full view of the building. 

“The building is so much more enchanting at night, with all the lanterns illuminating it.” Gane commented. He noticed that Yhora was starting to slip back into the same mood she had been in in the ruined town. 

“This place was like a home away from home for me.” Yhora said still facing forward as she led. “What with it being so close and owned by our clan, Oswain and Lycce have always been kind to me.” She stopped at the rocks and looked back at the softly glowing lantern light that illuminated the ship in a low light green. “I appreciate you pulling me out of that place. Being there was only making things worse for me.” 

"Don't mention it." They sat in silence for a second. "So are you going to stay here?

“I can’t… this life is nice for a time, but it is not enough for me.”

“What about the ranger’s academy. Will they take you back?”

“They might, but that life that I chose has been tainted by what’s happened.”

Every bit of Gane’s being wanted to offer her the chance to travel with him on his mission, but his weariness held the words back. She had shown him so much kindness and hospitality. Gane’s mind raced back to his grandfather’s words. “Your mission is pure, the world has always sought to corrupt the Restoration for their benefit.” He thought of his split with Sajazar. They were both chosen for this quest, but he couldn’t do what Saj had asked him. Gane shook his head to topple the ever-mounting pile of thoughts that told him not to. “You could travel with me.” 

Yhora turned her head to him inquisitively. “To be a beastiarian? I don’t think I could do that.”

“No, I’m an amature beastiarian, I have a much bigger quest than that. I have to complete the Ritual of Restoration.” Gane's heart beat rapidly as he admitted for his first time what his real quest was. 

Yhora’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious. Doesn’t that ritual require two people?” She immediately realized his implication and rescinded her second question. 

“I can prove it.” Gane opened his notebook and flipped to page 138. He pointed to a drawing of a strange lantern with bits of writing scribbled around it. “The first step of Restoration is to get to Sohouta. There I’m supposed to find a magician to help me find the last known location of the Gourd of Nestra.”

Yhora took a minute to process what had been offered to her. This man was not the simple traveller that he seemed to be. It is said that the Restoration takes years, and leads one all around the world. Maybe she was wrong about her Heiskarn. “I’ll do it.” Yhora held out her hand. Gane returned to gesture and they shook. 

Gane signed an uneasy relief. For the first time since he and Saj had parted ways, he wasn’t alone.