Broad brushstrokes of clouds painted the morning sky shades of red as the Myth Seekers gathered on the docks to set off on their first adventure. Fresh river air, heavy with life, accompanied the breathtaking sunrise.

  “Looks like our drought is about to end.” The brightly dressed selkie threw Raith a wink as he passed by carrying a large crate to the boat. He disappeared into the hold with the cargo as another man emerged from the upper deck of the river barge.

  “You must be the Myth Seekers,” he said, approaching the group. He had that rakish look typical of selkies, refined by a touch of gray at the temples of his black hair.

  “I’m Captain Rayne.”

  He gave a hand to chest salute towards Silas, who happened to be the one standing closest to the boat.

  “Uh, Slias. This is Captian Raith, Althea, Nyhm and Tolliver. Thanks for having us aboard.”

  Rayne let out a wry chuckle.

  “No need to thank me. This isn’t charity. Your team will be responsible for around the clock lookout duty on the top deck. When you’re not on duty, I expect you to keep clear of the decks so my men can work. Your bunks are in a storeroom next to the mess belowdecks. SANGAR!”

  The entire team jumped at the sudden yell. Laughing at the look of shock on their faces, Rayne didn’t turn around as a voice rang out from the ship.

  “Yes, Captain?”

  A hard looking, middle aged selkie, arms covered in tattoos, walked towards them from the barge.

  “Show these folks to their quarters and get me the watch rotation after they're settled in.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” Sangar nodded towards the team, then tossed his head back towards the boat. “Come on, then.”

  The room he led them to wouldn’t fit all five of them standing at the same time. Three bunks were stacked up the walls to either side, and a single uncomfortable-looking chair sat against the far wall.

  “Use one of the bunks to stow your gear. It’s ok to sit in the messhall until chowtime, then clear out so the men can eat. You lot can eat before or after. Anyone needing fresh air can hug the rails port or starboard, but keep the middle of the decks clear and stay off the bow. Understand?”

  “Indeed, I do not,” Tolliver said, raising a finger and staring around the room with a look of unfiltered disgust. “Are we expected to…”

  “I’ll explain it,” Silas quickly interrupted, to a look of appreciation from Raith.

  “We’ve got it from here. Thank you, Sangar.”

  With a parting sneer of disapproval at Tolliver, the selkie left them to unpack. The [Mage] looked at Raith in disbelief.

  “You can’t be serious. I will not be subject to these conditions like some…,” he paused and looked nervously over his shoulder before deciding whatever he was about to say may be unwise within earshot of their hosts. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “This is undignified. These men look like criminals. Why do we not simply take a passenger ship with fine accommodations south?”

  “First of all, this is a [Quest] and we all stand to level upon successful completion,” Raith said. “Second, I can’t speak for Silas, but the rest of us can’t afford a luxury passenger ship.”

  “I can actually afford that right now,” Silas supplied unhelpfully. He at least had the good graces to look abashed at a glare from Raith.

  Tolliver was unmoved.

  “If money is the issue, then I will gladly pay for the rest of the team.” He turned to leave, but everyone else was in his way in the cramped quarters. “Excuse me, please.”

  “This is nowhere near the most uncomfortable you will find yourself as part of an adventuring team, Tolliver.”

  Silas appeared to be trying to make up for his previous comment.

  “Come on, Tolly,” Thea said. “We’ve got a [Quest]. This is an adventure. It’ll be fun.”

  “There is no fun to be had in this closet. And I will thank you to call me Tolliver.”

  “That’s too long. How about Liver?” Thea asked with a grin.

  “Don’t be an asshole,” Raith said. “Listen, Tolliver. We have committed to this journey. It will besmirch the honor of our team to back out now.”

  Thea arched an eyebrow and mouthed the word ‘besmirch’ at Raith, who gave a quick head shake. The pale [Mage] considered the issue and eventually relented.

  “I will allow that the honor of the team takes precedence in this instance.” He turned back towards the room and threw his pack onto one of the top bunks. “I call this one.”

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  Silas was less than a second behind him, tossing his gear onto the other top bunk.

  “Dibs!”

  Damned [Archers] and their reflexes.

  “Hold on now. Shouldn’t the team Captain get first pick?”

  Everyone agreed that Raith’s status did not afford him any special bunk privileges. They settled in, such as it was, and sorted out the watch schedule around a mess table as the crew finished getting them underway.

  “So did anyone else pick up a [Quest] for us?” Raith asked.

  “Not me,” Silas said.

  “Me either,” Nyhm added, but Raith hadn’t really expected his introverted brother to bring them anything.

  “There’s a [Druid] grove a bit west of the river that no one has heard from in a while. I’ve gotten us a [Quest] to check on them and deliver a message. The message is confidential.”

  “Perfect. I have one to check on a safehouse in that same general area. We can knock them both out at the same time, then head to Janek’s tower.”

  The less said about the next week, the better. For all they had tried to deflect Tolliver’s complaints, barge life really was cramped and tedious. Guard duty was boring, and being posted on the roof half the day in the summer hot sun was miserable.

  Raith had never really been a hat person, but while in port at a smaller town he bought himself a cheap straw hat with a wide brim to provide a small bit of respite. The brothers also wound up loaning out the Adventurer’s Friend bracelets to whoever was on duty, to the eternal gratitude of their teammates.

  It also turned out that selkies are carnivores. While they all liked fish, eel and mussels well enough, the pure seafood diet soon took a toll on their stomachs. This time they took Tolliver’s offer to purchase some bread, cheese and vegetables for the rest of the journey, and Nyhm stepped up to help incorporate them into the meals.

  Raith had always thought of the selkies as a friendly lot. They were generally sociable at the bars as they passed through town from port to port. Never caused much trouble, although they were sure to finish it if someone started with them, usually over a contentious seduction.

  But while underway, Capitan Rayne and his crew were standoffish, if not downright rude, and clearly not interested in getting to know the Myth Seekers. The cook was the friendliest of the lot, probably because he was forced to deal with them every meal, and only offered ‘don’t know you, don’t trust you’ when asked about the crew's attitudes.

  With [Staccato], there was always time for Raith to use his library for going through the books he picked up at the Adventurer’s Guild. He familiarized himself with common foes they might face on each leg of the journey and had fun exploring team tactics. While there was nowhere for them to train, they did tabletop exercises whenever they had a chance and came up with a few good go-to’s for situations they were likely to face.

  The problem he kept running into was that he found it easy to study the stuff he enjoyed, but when it came time for the stuff he didn’t care much about it was impossible to focus. It was the main reason he had never taken to studying magic, in spite of how well it would complement his [Divine Skill].

  Raith knew the value of becoming proficient at traps and locks. It was essential to have someone like that on the team. He was also aware that he couldn’t just rely on a [Skill] if the Seekers were going to be successful as an adventuring team.

  But reading technical manuals was just boring.

  “Hey, Tolliver. Is there a [Skill] that [Mages] use to help with focus?”

  They were lying in their racks, idly killing time before the next watch. The upper decks had been cleared while the crew scrambled about securing everything for a storm that was rolling in. The Pruxling River didn’t get anywhere near as rough as the ocean, but it could still toss you around when the weather turned.

  “There are analogues to each of the physical [Skills] that are quite common for those pursuing magical and scholarly classes. As a [Scholar] I am surprised you are not aware of this.”

  Raith bit back a snappy retort and took a deep breath. He was asking for help and it wouldn’t do to put Tolliver on the defensive.

  “I came to my classes somewhat unconventionally. Would you please be kind enough to explain them?”

  “Certainly. They progress from lesser, to enhanced, greater, legendary, fabled, mythical and divine, with the ability to upgrade every two braids, just as other [Skills] do.”

  Raith knew all this but declined to interrupt. The noble’s tone brought to mind little Lannom from Thea’s class.

  Do I really sound like this when I’m lecturing people?

  “The one that applies to focus is [Mental Endurance]. This is common among [Mages] as it lets us move aether for longer periods of spell use before becoming fatigued. For speed of thought, there is [Mental Acuity]. It must be stressed that a [Skill] will not make one more intelligent. A quick thinking fool simply thinks foolish things with great speed.”

  Raith chuckled at this. With [Staccato], [Mental Acuity] wasn’t a [Skill] he would need to waste a slot for.

  Tolliver continued.

  “You will almost never find a [Mage] without [Mental Strength]. While anyone may find it useful for willpower and resolve, it is how we move the aether to power spells. More powerful spells require more strength to channel the required energy.”

  “So if I stitch [Mental Endurance] it will be easier to focus on things like studying?”

  “Precisely so. The pattern is quite common. I can help you with it if you wish.”

  “I’d appreciate that. Thank you, Tolliver.”

  When he reached third level in [Rare Tome Procurement Specialist] he had planned on stitching [Read Enchantment] to identify magical items, now that he had the [Read Magic] prerequisite. That might have to wait until fifth level so he could take [Mental Endurance]. He might be able to stitch [Read Enchantment] from [Thief Acrobat], but he needed at least one good trap skill and an improved evasion. Maybe the speed upgrade.

  Ugh, this is a pain. Too many [Skills], not enough slots.

  It would sure be nice to be going down a well trodden path, with well documented patterns, every braid and [Skill] planned out in advance and optimized for the build he wanted. That’s almost certainly what Tolliver was doing. Thea had planned hers obsessively for years, although she was doing some unique stuff with her shield/druid combo. Almost every selection Nyhm made had been forced by his owners, but was still optimized for his fighting style. And then there was Silas, whose [Armor Augmenter] choice seemed a bit weird. Presumably, he had a plan, and Raith was in no position to judge anyone’s class choices.

  WHAM

  The entire boat rocked, rolling Raith painfully into the wall. Thea and Tolliver were unfortunate enough to have bunks on the other wall, and were tossed completely out of their racks.

  “What the fuck was that?”

  “I don’t know. Who’s on guard duty?”

  “Silas.”

  Raith and Nyhm had to wait for Thea and Tolliver to untangle themselves and move before they had enough room to even get down from their beds. As everyone scrambled to extricate themselves, another concussion rocked the boat and started the entire process all over again.

  WHAM

  Sangar appeared in their doorway with a grim look.

  “Time to earn your keep, lads. We’re under attack.”