Somewhere far far away ... Part 2

Somewhere far far away ... Part 2 (a collaborative story) Somewhere far far away ... Part 1 Table of Contents (so far!) Chapter 5 (by CaylaCatz) : Pirates and Maggots (added 4/27/26) Chapter 5 : Pirates and Maggots Chapter 5 images and text by CaylaCatz Cat's chapter: I look at the wizard with narrowed eyes. There he goes again with that "Trust me, I'm a Wizard". And here I am walking with him and where does he take me? To a pirate ship! I push my dark hair behind my ears. Oh yeah, Rie said that was my tell when I'm nervous. She's always winning when we play poker. I don't even know why I play cards with her. Talk about pirates. I look again at the skull and bones flag. Then I halt. I just remembered, "Wait, I don't have any money. All I have is what I am wearing. How am I supposed to pay for passage?" The Wizard answered, "I can pay your way for now" "No, I don't think so. I don't know when I'll get any income. How am I supposed to live here? This is all crazy. I can't go on an airship." I can't go anywhere! I have no place to go! I'm homeless! I am feeling a rising panic as I realized the enormity of my situation. I need a job. I need a place to live. I can't go on an airship. I also need a way to get home but that seems the least of my worries at the moment. The wizard's voice stopped my spiraling thoughts, "Well you can ask to work for passage. It's what I always do. Everyone always needs a wizard. What can you do? Cleaning? Cooking?" I wrinkle my nose, "No, I'm lousy at those things. I'm good at fixing things like small machines. Watches even. I can sew with a sewing machine but I'm not that great at hand sewing." The Wizard nods, "Fixing things is good. Ship this size always needs something fixed. Do you have a preference? Steam or aether engines?" "Uh, electric engines? gas engines? Things that use batteries." My mind is whirling. Steam? We haven't used steam for a couple of hundred years. They still use steam? Huh. And what's aether? The wizard is still talking when I tune him back in. I seriously need to get a grip. What am I doing here? He is say, "Electricity? like lightning? You must be very skilled to harness lightning." "Uh, no, not lightning. Well, yes, lightning is electricity but I mean the electricity you plug into an outlet. That's what we use. Uh, it's already harnessed and delivered straight to your house." "Oh, yes, I remember now. I met an odd fellow. Edison, he experiments with electricity. People think he's wasting his time. Why do we need his electricity when we have aether and steam. Foolish. Now Augustin Mouchot, he's a genius. He is trying to harness the sun's energy to augment steam. Very smart man." "I'm sure he is but that's not the point. The point is I have no experience with steam or whatever aether is." My voice is rising just a tad. Really! Just a tad. I'm not panicking. The wizard says soothingly, "We won't tell them that. How difficult can it be? A machine is a machine. You can figure it out." "How would you know? Have you worked on a machine?" "Me? No! I'm a wizard! I don't work on machines! I spell them to make them work." "You can spell machines to make them work?" "Well, no, I'm not that kind of wizard." "What can you do?" "I currently am building up my repertoire of teleportation spells. I am a third level teleporter which is quite rare. I can also throw a mean fireball. I'm more of a battle mage." "Well, if you can teleport, why don't you teleport yourself to Maggot?" "Maggot? What's that?" "The city you're going to." "Maggonia?" "Yes, Maggonia." Well, excuse me for not remembering the name of a strange city, I think to myself. And it does sound like Maggot. The wizard explained, "I've never been there. It's best to teleport yourself to a clearing that you know exists outside a town. Farmland will do too but farmers get upset having strange people trample their crops. Level 4 spells should net me some farseeing abilities. Then I can go where I've never been." A piercing whistle interrupts us. Melnya, the beautiful paradise bird, interrupted us. "If you both keep nattering away, we're going to miss the airship. Best get a move on." "But my passage!" I say worriedly Melnya replies, "He's right. You can say you're a fixer and get a job on board for the duration." "What if I can't fix anything? They're pirates. Maybe they'll sell me as a slave to get their passage money." The wizard scoffs, "That almost never happens. They'll make you wash dishes or laundry instead. Swab the decks. That sort of thing. Pay is less than a fixer so you'd have to work longer hours. Just don't piss anyone off. Or tell them you have a rich father. The first they might sell you as a slave and the second they'll keep you for ransom. Being poor is a good thing. Trust me, I'm a wizard. Melnya's right. Let's go." As I set my foot on the plank, I'm conscious of a very strong wish that he would not keep saying "Trust me". It's not nearly as reassuring as he thinks it is. To be continued .... panos' chapter will be up in a few days so check back. If you want to be notified everytime a new chapter appears, please say so in the comments.