Part two of this story.
This will probably be a three part story (or more) honestly, I’m not the best with pacing.
I was awoken from my thoughts by a light tap on the cell doors. When I looked up, I saw a Navy captain, his longer than average cape flowing behind him. A small group of marines followed behind as he faced me to deliver an announcement.
“Hawkins, your execution will be in two hours at Palo Town. Make any final preparations you need.”
He then continued down the hallway, chatting with a vice captain just barely visible from my cell. As I sat back down, I pulled out a notebook, scribbling a few words in it. Maybe someone would find the note I put in this cell one day. I hid it in a corner, folding it carefully. For all I knew, it could be discarded as trash, or all that remained of me.
I sat back down on the cold stone benches attached to the cell walls. The prison had fallen back into silence, except for silent whispers from prisoners in the adjacent cell. The Navy didn’t make too many arrests at a time, so everyone had their own cell usually, but sometimes two people would get put together in the same one. If only I had the luxury of being with a fellow inmate.
I thought back to my time as a castaway again. After being saved by the green-suited wind warlock, I decided to sell what little I had left to the marketplaces set up around Palo. I only earned about a hundred galleons, but it was enough to get by. Palo was known both for its marketplaces and its naturally-grown fruits such as coconuts and apples, so I had no worries about starving. I could always harvest something for free if I needed.
I tried to get back into the merchant business. I bought a small sailboat, and as I had some sailing knowledge myself, I began to transport cargo to Frostmill. It was quick journey, but also not very profitable. Back when Captain Blackwell and I owned that reinforced ketch, we’d frequently go from Ravenna to Redwake and back. But now, that was nothing more than a faded dream of peaceful days long gone.
I had no money to hire a crew, of course, nor buy equipment, so I had to rely on my old compass and map of the Bronze Sea. They were worn, the map wrinkled with age and seawater, and the compass cracked in several places, but they worked, and that was all I wanted.
I soon got the hang of how to do these quick cargo trips. If the winds were favorable and the seas were calm, I’d go, or else I’d stay behind at either Palo or Frostmill, and for a while, things went back to normal, as close to normal as it could get, really. I’d make a cargo shipment or two every day, rent a place to sleep at for the night, and repeat. I eventually switched to a caravel to carry more cargo, and attached some hemp sailcloth I had bought to it. I even had the Palo alchemist do some strange enchanting on it, which in some way made it make my ship go even faster. I never really understood magic, and I probably never will. You’re either born a mage or not in this world, and I had lost the lottery.
I had also transitioned to sailing to Redwake to sell my cargo. I had expertise in navigating around the jaw spires, and the profit was well worth it. I’d occasionally crash, but the damage to the ship was minor and easily repaired at the shipwright.
And yet, even as I started my life anew, it seemed as though life would never let me catch a break recently… On one occasion, I decided I wanted to try and deliver some Palo cargo to Sailor’s Lodge. It was a long journey, and I had equipped my ship well for this. The seas looked calm, and by reports of other sailors, it was safe to travel down there. No pirates were sighted, nor Assassins… And as I set sail from Palo Town’s familiar dock again, I never would have expected what would cause me trouble.
The Navy must’ve been chasing a criminal, as I noticed several of their ships sailing in a line towards presumably the Forest of Cernunno, or anchored near Silverhold. Despite that, I paid little attention. As a merchant ship, the Navy would never bother me. That’s what made it all the more surprising when just past Harvest Island, a Navy caravel rammed into my ship.
I was more confused than angry at this point, but the ram had left a sizeable dent in the hull. I stopped the ship, raising up the sails and walking over to the offending caravel. It was an unarmored one, manned by a vice captain and a small crew of marines. Walking over the scattered cargo, some of which was now ruined and drifting away in the sea, I boarded the Navy ship.
“What exactly is this all about? You’ve damaged my ship and destroyed my cargo.” I spoke with a calm tone towards the vice captain, whose gaze bored into me without an ounce of empathy.
“Your ship was in the way, and it’s windy today. Now, get out of the way or else you’ll be arrested as well for obstructing the Navy’s duties. You’re jsut a merchant. In fact, how do I know you’re not the wanted criminal?”
As the Navy vice captain dug through his uniform for the description of the criminal, I couldn’t help but feel outraged. This Navy member had just crashed into a merchant ship, and instead of apologizing, decided to insult me instead… It was ridiculous, but I had to put up with it. I had met some kind Navy members before who had helped me ship cargo in years past, but also crazed, unreasonable zealots who endlessly shouted about justice. The Grand Navy sure was strange…
Finally, the irritated vice captain pulled out a wrinkled sheet of paper. I recognized it instantly as a bounty poster, the kind that covered the board in Palo. On it was a picture of a man, dressed in a merchant’s clothes. However, this man looked nothing like me, aside from maybe the hairstyle and moustache. Still, this was a bit of a stretch to request to detain me.
“I’m sorry, but I have not seen this man before. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to repair my ship, and you have a criminal to capture.” I replied curtly, stepped back to my ship to get a repair hammer to fix that massive dent in the side of my caravel. I swear the lower deck was already killing up with water. At least we were near land, so I wouldn’t get stuck like I did last time.
However, the Navy vice captain grabbed my arm tightly, pulling out a pair of those fancy magic handcuffs they used to detain criminals.
“I’m sorry, sir, but we’ll have to take you in for questioning.”
“But I look nothing like that man. His hair and eyes are a different color than mine, and I literally just departed from Palo town three hours ago. You have no reasonable grounds to arrest me, and I have to get this cargo delivered.”
I wrenched my arm out of the vice captain’s grasp, getting back onto my ship. Of course, this Navy member wouldn’t let me go so easily, based on how he had acted, and sent his marines onto my ship. I watched as one by one, the stepped onto the ship, caring not about whatever cargo they stepped on or kicked out of the way. I gripped onto the wheel tightly, and pulled a old dagger out of my pants pocket. My face was sweaty, and the marines all had their swords drawn. I was sure the captain was a magic user, as I could see faint wisps of fire around him. If he burnt my ship, I was going to have to be stuck at Harvest for the foreseeable future.
“Assaulting any Navy members is a crime. Put your knife down. You’re under arrest under suspicion of being a criminal.”
“It states on your report that this criminal is a mage who was last seen at the Forest of Cernunno. I’m not a mage, and nor have I been to Cernunno in my life. Please, sir, let me go. If this criminal is actually at Cernunno, your fellow Navy members may need your help.”
“A no is a no, merchant. You’re coming with us.”
I could see him ready his magic as a warning, taking a few steps closer, and the marines that were on my ship pointed their weapons at me. I gripped my knife tightly with my hand, wondering what exactly I would have to do. It was either time to fight or to flee, and neither was a good idea.
