The Song Of Sword And Magic

Chapter 13: Stan From Doyle 

[Translator — Asuka]

[Proofreader — Karane]

The next morning, Fern went to the port to look for a suitable ship. According to the instructions Niss had gotten from her magic cane, their next destination would be Doyle, a city that had been troubled by the Dark Tide. They could either head for Doyle on land or by water. After some deliberation, Fern decided to go there by water. It was because it would be more comfortable to travel on a ship. Furthermore, if they came across the lackeys of the Dark Tide again, they could flee more easily with a ship. However, first of all, they had to get a suitable ship. 

Fern had set his eyes on a few small ships, and he was trying to talk to the captains. As the sun rose to the sky, the port started getting busy, and ships were beginning to depart from the port. However, Fern still hadn’t found a suitable ship. Just then, a ship with double masts caught his attention. On the shore, a man, who appeared to be the captain of the ship, was talking to another man. Fern approached them to listen to their conversation.

“No, it’s going to make me lose money,” the captain said impatiently as he pointed at a shabby ship in the distance. “The price you offer can only get you that ship. Please go over there.” 

The man’s face reddened out of agitation, but he wouldn’t give up. “Mr. Captain, please bring me with you. It’s either most of the ships are full or they’ll depart only a few days from now.” Although the man was begging for help, his tone was solemn. It was as if he was trying to defend his own dignity. 

After shooting him a disdainful look, the captain ignored him and returned to his ship.

Dejectedly, the man took a seat on the piling, but his expression remained serious, which aroused Fern’s curiosity. 

“Hi, are you looking for a ship to leave this place?” Fern decided to have a chat with him. 

The man stood up straight as he placed his left hand on his hilt and his right hand on the outer side of his right thigh before he nodded to Fern respectfully. “Yes, I’m going to Doyle.” He was slightly shorter than Fern. His blonde hair was short, and his facial features were prominent. He was more muscular than Fern and appeared to be energetic. 

Fern was shocked by his move. After pulling himself together, he said, “I’m Fern. I’m from Deville.”

The man relaxed his posture, but his body remained upright. “Hi, Fern. I’m Stan, and I’m from Doyle.”

“Doyle?” An idea sprang to Fern’s mind, and he soon made a decision. “Stan, I’m heading for Doyle as well. I think we can go there together.”

“That’s a great idea.” Stan’s lips curled up, but his expression soon turned solemn again. “But, I don’t think we have enough money to make the captain leave the port.”

“Oh?” Fern circled around him and took a look at the ship. Big sails were hung from the top of the two tall masts. The hull was made from hardwood from the North, and the ship took the form of a spindle. “It’s indeed a good ship.” Then, Fern shifted his attention to Stan. “If I help you get onboard, will you help me back after we reach Doyle?”

“Of course. The Doylans are grateful people.” They said the last five words together. With a smile, Stan asked, “How did you know our saying?”

“I’ve been to Doyle twice,” Fern replied with a smile and turned to look at the ship. 

Noticing someone’s stare, the captain came out of the ship again. His face was tanned with a long scar. “What? Are you interested in boarding my ship? Make sure you have enough money.”

“Of course I have enough money, but I don’t think you know how to run a business at all,” Fern said slowly. 

“What do you mean? Don’t play any tricks on me. I might throw you into the river!” the captain growled as he raised his fists. 

“Look, all the ships have departed. Although their fees are lower, they’ve already managed to receive a lot of gold coins.” Fern took out a gold coin from his clothes and flicked it up into the air before grabbing it with his other hand. “On the other hand, Mr. Captain, you can only wait here until your ship decays.”

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The captain jumped onto the shore and sized up the mercenary. Then, he crossed his arms and shot him a look. “How many of you are there? Where are you going?”

“Doyle. Four people.” Fern replied. 

The captain extended his nine fingers and made a calculation. “Twenty gold coins.” After he finished speaking, he crossed his arms again. It was until then did Fern realize that the captain had lost his right little finger.

“It seems that you still don’t understand the situation you’re in.” Fern motioned for Stan to leave together. 

After they took ten steps forward, the captain shouted from behind, “Fifteen gold coins! No lower than this!”

Fern put on a smug smile, but as soon as he turned around, he straightened his face. “Ten gold coins. I won’t give you even one extra gold coin.” Then, he turned to leave. 

This time, they had gone further from the ship. Just when Stan thought that their strategy had failed, the captain yelled, “Alright, you devil! Ten gold coins!”

Meanwhile, Niss and Rae were waiting for Fern in Rose Inn, but they didn’t expect that he would return with a man. “This is Stan.” Then, he turned to the ladies. “They’re my companions, Niss and Rae.”

Just then, Stan straightened his back, placed his left hand on the hilt and his right hand on his chest before bending his back slightly. “It’s my honor to get to know you. Please accept my praise.”

While Rae was baffled by his action, Niss extended her left hand as though she was trying to accept his salute. Then, she thought of something and immediately retracted her hand before looking away. However, Fern had taken in her every action.

Fern clapped Stan’s shoulder. “Please straighten up, Mr. Knight. You don’t have to perform this salute here.”

Stan raised his head and flashed an apologetic smile at him. “I’ve always tried to behave in accordance with the knight’s etiquette.” Then, he slumped his shoulders. “In fact, I’m not officially knighted yet. I was going to Canreto to attend the ceremony, but I was told that the city had been cordoned off. With not much money left, I had no choice but to return to Doyle.”

“Yes, they’re right.” Fern turned to Niss and Rae, as he continued. “We’ve just come from that place. Rae knows what happened.”

Seeing that the men were staring at her, Rae nodded. “Yes. I could feel those things.”

In puzzlement, Stan looked at Rae and asked, “What do you mean by those things?”

Just when Rae was about to answer his question, Fern said, “I think we should board the ship first. We’ve wasted a lot of time.”

When they reached the ship, the captain had been waiting for them for a long time. “You’d better hurry up. We have to sail past Whitewater Bend before the sky turns dark. I wouldn’t want to get stuck there at night.”

“I agree with you.” Fern stuffed three gold coins into the captain’s hand without releasing his fingers. “I’ll give you the rest when we reach Doyle, so you’d better not play any tricks on us.” Upon finishing his words, he retracted his hand with a smile. 

The captain shot the mercenary a look and told his subordinates to get the quartet’s luggage onto the ship. On the side, Fern nonchalantly observed the seamen. When everything was done, the captain shouted, after which a seaman untied the rope from the piling. Following that, the sails expanded, and with the help of the wind, the ship departed from the port. 

It was the first time Niss boarded a ship, so she kept running around in excitement and looked at everything. Rae reminded her to place a peacebloom petal under her tongue to avoid seasickness. Feeling bashful, Niss stuck out her tongue and took a petal from her clothes before putting it into her mouth. 

“What’s the name of this ship?” Fern walked up to the captain, who was steering the wheel, and he asked curiously. 

“Princess Merry.” the captain replied without looking at him. 

As the sun cast its glow on the river, Princess Merry was slowly leaving Wet Port. White River was wide, and it was flowing slowly. Under the sunlight, the river was glistening brightly. Sometimes, there would be seagulls that flew past to catch fish from the river. The quartet were enjoying the view on the deck. As the breeze whisked across their faces, Wet Port gradually disappeared from their sight. 

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