Foreword:
This story is based on my experience playing Arcane Odyssey. Obviously not entirely 100% accurate to the in-game story and lore, but perhaps a fun story, regardless.
This is Chapter 2 of the Astral Odyssey series.
Chapter 1 - Dawn
Chapter 3 - Anomaly
Chapter 4 - Gratitude
Content Warnings: Blood, Violence, Death, light descriptions of injury
Bronze Sea - Frostmill Island - Glacier Inn
”The past two days have been the most eventful that I can recall, and yet my past continues to elude me. Perhaps for good reason- there’s no telling what, exactly, I went through under the prior circumstances. Considering that Tucker perished during our escape, I can say with certainty that whoever was keeping us prisoner did -not- want us to escape.”
”To recount the events of the past two days… I have discovered just how capable I am in combat, and I have discovered my good nature does not merely apply to the destruction of bandits.”
”Estrid told me that there were several townsfolk who were looking for help cleaning up after the Jaw Pirates attempted to loot Redwake. I found three more of the Jaw Pirates, evidently cowardly or wise enough to know they were outmatched, had hid in the storehouse."
"I discovered this when one of the villagers, who was old and had a bad back, discovered that the bridge to his house had been destroyed, and told me to go to the storehouse in order to retrieve wood to repair it.”
”However, as I have stated prior, my good nature does not merely extend to hunting bandits. A villager lost her shark-tooth necklace, and with a bit of effort and a general idea as to where she had lost it, I was able to track it down for her.”
“Another villager asked me to catch some fish- this experience felt entirely new to me, but I proved to be adept enough at it to fulfill her request.”
”Something else that surprised me was when the village chef offered to teach me to cook. With some basic instructions, I discovered that I had a very good idea as to how food was prepared. It even surprised the chef.”
”Evidently, in my past life, I was fond of cooking, had a good nature (as far as I can presently tell), and knew how to fight, to some degree.”
”My fighting and magical abilities were put to the test again, as I rowed to the north and discovered the encampment of the Jaw Pirates. Either I’m more skilled than I give myself credit for, or the Jaw Pirates were some of the least-threatening brigands I’d encountered.”
”Though, to give them credit, they -were- the only brigands I’d encountered thus far. There was still the possibility that I would find brigands who were even more inept than them, but I digress.”
”After I had tended to the Jaw Pirates, either significantly cutting down their numbers if not outright wiping them out, I headed back to Redwake to speak with Chief Alfarin. I was instructed to row to the south, and visit a small island where the Redwake Warriors said a hermit lived. Chief Alfarin wanted me to speak with the hermit, and see if this hermit knew anything about what was going on.”
”As it turns out, they were far, -far- more relevant to the situation than I anticipated. I arrived on the island, the waters surrounding it an unnatural shade of green, with a slightly sour odor. This was not normal seawater.”
”As I approached the strange hut on the island, a figure sitting at a firepit not too far from the hut stood up, and turned to regard me.”
”The words he spoke haunted me. He said ‘You should not have come here…’ Before I could explain the situation or ask him any questions, he drew a blade, dripping with some sort of green liquid.”
”Instead of contenting himself to simply charge forward and slash at me, he threw down something that emitted green, caustic smoke. As the cloud came over me, my hands and arms began to burn, intensely. Something inside of me remarked; ‘Acid Magic.’.”
”This hermit, whom I would later learn was named Shura, was a wandering ronin- a samurai without a master -and was planning on leaving the region after one year’s time. I managed to convince him- after proving my strength and receiving more than a few acid burns and sword wounds for my trouble -that he needed to leave. As it turned out, he had only recently discovered his magical abilities, and was unaware of the effect it was having on the surrounding region.”
”And so he packed up, bid me farewell and told me that we would be sure to meet again, and departed.”
”I discovered, first hand, as I rowed back to Redwake and tried to power through the burning sensation on my arms and chest, that the effect of the acid on the water was definitely affecting my rowboat. I managed to make it back to Redwake before my acid-bathed rowboat began to disintegrate.”
”Fortunately, I was already starting to recover from the burns, but now I had no way of traveling between islands. The rowboat was completely unsalvageable. I explained the situation to Chief Alfarin- the waters should clear up after a couple of weeks, at maximum, and that the hermit was responsible. I also explained that I had convinced the hermit to leave, and he wasn’t going to be a problem. Finally, I explained that my rowboat did not endure the trip to the hermit’s island- a place I learned was called the Silent Ire -very well, and I would need a new rowboat.”
”Chief Alfarin shook his head in disapproval- he told me that I was a hero of Redwake, and he was going to have Redwake’s shipwright make me a proper sailboat. It would travel between the islands much faster and more efficiently than a rowboat.”
”Initially, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to operate a sailboat- but it became apparent to me, as Elgfrothi presented the sailboat he’d put together for me, that I knew what I was doing. After learning the ropes, I knew how to pull the sails up and how to let them down, and how to steer my new vessel.”
”Chief Alfarin wanted me to head to another island- this one was called Frostmill -and speak to one of his scouts by the name of Hallfrid. I was to tell them that it was safe to return to Redwake.”
”The storm continued to loom above the island where I first washed up- the locals said it was called ‘Dawn Island’. I headed back over with my new sailboat in search of Morden, but he wasn’t there. I paid my respects at Tucker’s grave- Morden was finishing up with burying him when I woke up and approached him on that fateful day -even though I didn’t know him all that well.”
”Then came my travel to Frostmill- I never expected that Frostmill would be a literal glacier floating in the ocean, but evidently, such was the case. It was cold enough that it was generating its own snowfall. I pulled my new sailboat up to the dock, moored it, and sought out Hallfrid. I explained the situation to him, and he told me to go speak to the mayor of Frostmill.”
”I made plans to do so… tomorrow. I’m genuinely surprised at how much I got done in a couple of days, and I’ve certainly earned my rest for now.”
”Even if I don’t know who I used to be, I’d like to hope that I can make Tucker and Morden proud, if they’re the type of people whose pride I should seek.”
-Matt Starsoul