“Have you ever sailed before?” Rodrick asked Victor, as he watched the boy stand idle in the middle of their boat.
Victor wavered. “I have but, it’s not that I can’t sail, I just don’t think the sea ever agrees with me.” The thought of being stuck out at sea again made him nauseous.
Rodrick clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll make your peace with her once you get your sea legs! Now help Hansel with the sail.” They had acquired a schooner that would take them west along the coast and then south through the cut onto the Island of West Harbour.
The sea rocked the deck beneath Victor’s feet. He stared out into the hazy blue where the ocean kissed the sky, thankful that Rodrick had chosen to hug the coast rather than attempt to traverse more perilous waters. “I wouldn’t go feeling too comfortable,” said Rodrick. “The coast can be perilous. You wouldn’t think to find a Nokken in a body of water this large but they’re out there; the locals of West Harbour call them mermaids for some reason. Just make sure you don’t stare at anything you see floating in the water, especially if it doesn’t make sense, like a horse or something. I know you’ve read about them and all but let me tell you first hand that witches (and especially Nokken’s) are feisty little bastards, they get in your head and mess with your logic. Other than that, look out for rocks and debris; there are some cliffs and a reef and day or two up the coast that’ll shred us to pieces if we’re not careful, especially when it gets foggy.”
Victor lowered his head and moaned. “Wow, I can’t believe I was excited for this.”
“Welcome to the hunting life,” Rodrick laughed. “Have you ever been to West Harbour?” he asked the three of them.
“I went there on an errand during my studies,” said Sam. “There is an abundance of water-weeds.”
Rodrick raised an eyebrow. He was accomplished in all forms of monster slaying and yet he failed to grasp Samantha’s peculiar interest in the smallest aspects of alchemy. “Yes, well, it’s a wonderful town, I think; nice people, and a lively tavern.”
They sailed smoothly for most of the day. Much of the coast was a distant line of dry yellow sand and green shrubs. Occasionally they drifted past a village built on the water; some were only five or six buildings, and the inhabitants were grubby and reeked of fish. To Hansel’s disliking (and also to Victor’s) fish became their main meal when they weren’t dining on the dried food or fruit in their stores. After a few days, the two the boys became restless. “What if we go ashore early this afternoon for some hunting?”
“No can do,” Rodrick decreed. “I told you before that this isn’t a holiday. There is a vampyre terrorising a town out there and we need to kill it.” He sighed. “You’re both good students but there’s more to this now than grades, and some things here that can’t be taught in a classroom. Now quit your complaining and let’s get on.”
Later that night Victor was watching the moon hover over the sea. Rodrick’s words constantly repeated themselves in his head, ‘some things can’t be taught in a classroom’. This worried him. He wondered if he was actually ready to face a vampyre in the field; up until now he thought he could do it, but suddenly he was gripped with fear.
“You shouldn’t worry,” Rodrick said quietly, coming up behind him. He hesitated. “Well, perhaps you should worry a little. I don’t want to sugar-coat it, these monsters and terrifying and there isn’t much you could learn in a classroom to prepare you for them. Just be brave, trust your friends, and do what you will.”
A silence became filled with the chopping of the waves below. “Why did you choose us?” Victor asked.
“That,” said Rodrick, “is a secret. Show your stuff on this assignment and I’ll tell you the answer.”
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