OVER THE SILVER SKY TO THE WORLD OF NEVER : Part 283 - I Have To Vent Regularly.

I MAY VERY WELL BURN IN HELL FOR THIS ONE. SO BE WARNED DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED.

The dating game is a lot more difficult than it used to be. When I was a lad it was a lot easier. Go out. Get drunk. Wake up next to a moose. Quietly collect your clothes, making sure not to wake it. Then sneak away and hope none of your friends saw you getting off with her. Then every now and then you'd wake up with a very attractive lady. Way out of your league. So far out you were now the equivalent of a swamp monster. You were again forced to sneak out before she woke up and started screaming. Of course you hoped your friends had seen you get off with this one. You'd tell hem all about it making up details you were too drunk to have remembered. They never believed you. All that's changed of course. At least according to the surveys. Young guys ain't getting anywhere near as much pussy as I used to get back in the day. In fact I seem to be getting more in my old age than those poor bastards are. I understand the game far better than I did when I was a youth. Nowadays the worst that can happen when I'm having sex with a younger beautiful woman is that she regains consciousness before I'm finished.

(The copyright to this image is the property of Humans.)

They had a long talk. Once Jake had halted Daisy's constant apologizing it improved greatly. Now she looked at that bed with puzzlement. Unable to understand why it had been so mesmerizing. Jake didn't know either. He had his suspicions though. Ones that gave him hope. They discussed the trip to Fafindi, only made because she had wished to talk to Ugo about those of her people who'd headed across the ocean. She knew this to be so. Yet couldn't explain anything. All she knew for certain was that Scarlet had suggested the trip and she'd enthusiastically agreed. Only to then avoid having any contact with the oldest man on the super continent. Until Jake's actions had caused them to meet. She gave half an apology again before he stopped her. It was okay. While she'd not spoken a single word regarding her apparent quest for historical knowledge, Jake had pumped what little he could out of the chief of the Shucha.

It wasn't a lot. The People had split before Ugo was born. All he knew were tales his own parents had told him thousands of years ago. A great fleet of over 100 ships had been built. It had set sail along a particular bearing intending to continue along it until they reached a land they'd been told of. Where this information came from was a mystery. The source unknown or not recorded. Where they were heading didn't have a name yet. That applied to all the diaspora's while there'd been people here from even more ancient times they'd been more primitive technologically.

"I wish I could tell you more Jake." Daisy glowered at the bed a final time before dismissing it scornfully. "I look back over the last few weeks and it's as though I am watching a vid. I know I did these things. I don't remember the script or the plot."
"I can't promise to get you there before your child is born. You understand this don't you? I'm the Wanderer. Things could crop up along the way."
She leaned across, taking his hands in hers. Squeezing them warmly.
"Of course. This will take as long as it takes. I am content with the situation. I've taken enough of your time already. I'll sneak back to my cabin and hide there."
"Will you balls. You'll hold your head up proudly. The crew aren't as angry with you as you think. Otherwise they'd have made it known. They just don't know what to make of things. Scarlet's betrayal and Pengelly's death shook them all up. It's hard to reconcile their previous beliefs with the evidence of her duplicity. You're different. Crazy Daisy."
His door eased open. Pip looked in. A quick glance at Jake. A longer inspection of Daisy who got a tight little smile.
"I thought you might have killed him."
Daisy looked aghast. Then ashamed.
"While I've been responsible for the Wanderers death many times before I've never had the honesty to kill him myself."
The blonde chuckled.
"No. I mean because he's so bloody annoying. How long did it take him to get round to deciding what he was doing? And for that matter what are we doing?"
Having Daisy clasp his cheeks for a long kiss, was not the worst thing to ever happen to him.
"Mere moments to tell me he is willing to take me across the Boundless Ocean to my kin. With a few detours no doubt." She rubbed his lips with her thumb before releasing her grip on him. "Pip I know this means nothing..."
"Don't get all soft on me Daisy. Something's been going on here for a very long time. So slow and gradual it's taken all of us by surprise. Did he tell you about the pygmy toxin?"
"Yes. And your suspicions regarding the Ashenram. I never met it directly. Scarlet made sure of that. I did see her briefly a few times while she was under its influence though. Jake can tell you. I'm going to return to my cabin. Offer thanks to whatever deity has redeemed me. Perhaps the Creator himself. I'd like it if you visited me."
The two women hugged. Jake averted his eyes.
"I'll be along later. You may well live to regret inviting me. He's so frustrating to deal with I have to vent regularly."
Jake and Pip followed Daisy out into the corridor. Where they found Gungthor waiting. A happy grin on his countenance. The Matriarch returned his greeting before heading off. The captain and his officer looked at the sorcerer expectantly. Something was going on here.
"It's good to have her back again. Finally." Was his only enigmatic comment before he made to leave.
"Before you go I'd like you and your sister to have a look at something for us. Whenever you're ready, but sooner would be better." Jake requested.
"Of course. We'll be glad to oblige."
"One more thing. I thought neither of you could use your magical powers."
"We can't really. Not to any effect. I couldn't summon up enough to light a candle. We can still feel when magic is being used though. Is there anything else we can help with?"
Now that he'd mentioned it. Jake patted his pockets, He didn't have it on him.
"There's something I'd like you both to take a look at. Remind me when we meet next time."
He could tell Pip was intrigued.
"I'm assuming you want them to take a look at the locked door. That's a pretty safe one. I'm also confident you were the one they detected using magic. On Daisy if I'm not mistaken. What's this other thing you want them to examine?"
"You must have seen it. I picked it up way back at the prison armory. I kept meaning to ask Ursella about it. For some reason I always forget." When she still looked at him mystified he went on. "Little squat cylindrical thing. About this size. Although sometimes it seems bigger than others. It might be nothing. It just intrigues me. I've probably asked you about it before. I think I tried it with your pendant at one time. Nothing happened of course. The weight varies to. Or I'm imagining this along with the boatload of beautiful women."
She still looked doubtful.
"Maybe you can show me later. You're scheduled to meet up with Ydrie. Although you're going to get nothing of any use out of him. He will keep asking to see Scarlet you know."
"That's interesting. You're calling her Scarlet again. Rather than whore, traitor or bitch. Are you going soft on her? You admitted earlier you don't hate her anymore."
"My emotions were still pretty raw. I'd have no problem putting a bullet through her skull if I had to. Don't worry about that."
"I'm not worried. I'm actually pleased. Nothing is as it seems here. I'm still not convinced I'm not the bad guy in all this. I've seen what I can do. Worse than that, I've seen what I've done. Gungthor was a mite enigmatic wasn't he."
"That finally you mean?" He assented. "Him and his sister know more than they're divulging."
"Maybe you should give them the third degree." Pip suggested mischievously.
Jake chortled.
"Can you really see me threatening Ursella? Five minutes in I'd be telling her my life story. Gungthor wouldn't crack no matter how much pressure you put on him. I trust them both. If they aren't saying anything it's for very good reasons. He was giving us a clue there. I'm sure of it."
"Any ideas?"
"Thousands. All of them are shit so far. My guess is the magic brought Daisy out of whatever state she was in. How she got there is unknown right now. Come on then let's take a look at Ydrie."

He didn't quite know why he was doing this. The chances of discovering anything of use from the guy was extremely low. Ydrie knew nothing. An innocent dupe who'd been used by his clan's patriarch. Then fallen in love with a beautiful woman. The entirety of their relationship and interactions recorded and later examined by Pip, himself and the tribunal which tried them. Most of it available for consumption by the citizens of Palamar. Many of whom had recognized him on their way into the city. This was a belated introduction mainly. An attempt to figure out what they could do with him. There weren't a lot of options. None that would lead to a long prosperous life. Chaska and Kaisha could survive out there. They had the skills and know how. Ydrie was helpless and helplessly in love.

They found Tamsin standing guard. In the loosest sense. She had her feet up studying a tablet. The petty officer greeted them from her seated position, outside the cell they'd made for their prisoner. It had once been a sick bay. Now it contained only Ydire and the few possessions he'd brought along with him. Leaving the poor bastard with nothing. A fact Jake noted to the two women. Pip pointing out the poetic artist had a lot more than Jake had started out with. A fair point until he considered the resources that had always been at his disposal in the memory palace. Tamsin brought them up to date. Having vacated the prison, due to being unable to stand the artistic temperament she claimed. Morag had kindly set up a monitoring station right outside the door. Right now he was painting. Had been for a while. Following his recovery he'd done nothing else apart from keep asking to see his wife. The officer rolling her eyes as she said this.

Jake hadn't had a lot of experience with prisons. Not as a residence anyway. He was still pretty convinced that Ydrie's accommodations were quite salubrious as these things went. Very roomy. Almost a suite. Small bedroom, his own bathroom that didn't involve crapping in a bucket. A living area with table and chairs. They'd been moved out of the way so he could put up his easel to paint. Striped to the waist and daubed with spots of color he was slapping his brush on that canvass with a lot of energy. Pip changed the view so they could see what he was working on. Jake squinted at it. Unable to discern precisely what the theme was. Knowing only that it involved a lot of red paint. Oh it was blood. That might mean the thing down in the left corner was Pengelly. It was time to get in there for a meet and greet.