Chapter 124 - Rum Soaked Epiphanies

I sat down near the strange man, who I could barely see in the darkness, save for the little bit of light from the resort that trickled to this part of the coast.

He wasn't much to look at. A bit scrawny, and all of his clothes fit loosely on him. But he had such a relaxed vibe about him that I felt comforted just being near him.

"So, what kind of help do you think I need?" I asked.

"First things first! You drink, kiddo? You look old enough, but I can never tell with you Burgotovan elves." He laughed and held up a bottle.

"I do, but how did you know I'm Burgotovan?" I reached out for the bottle, taking a sniff. It smelled good. Strong too.

"I swear only you northern elves burn so easily. And I overheard you talking in the dining hall early. Have a swig. It's good rum from the Far Isles towards the coast of the Western Endless Empire. Which is wrong with all three of those words, but who knows what those weirdos are thinking." He laughed again, an almost infectious sound.

I decided to risk it. My gut wasn't giving me any warnings about him, and the drink did smell good. And it burned on the way down too, but in the absolutely best way.

"There you go! That's the good stuff." He took it back, likewise taking a deep pull from it.

He looked out across the ocean with a bemused look before he turned back to me.

"So, I'll cut to the chase here, as you seem like a straightforward gal. I can tell you're having some trouble with the magic stuff, yeah?" He said bluntly.

I just blinked. That was the second time on this trip someone had noticed that. Did I have a sign on me that said 'Struggling Sword-Witch' that announced this to the world?

"I can cast spells! I just need to use spell poems sometimes. Most times. I did it without once, but never again. I just can't seem to focus on it and get the mana to do what I want without them. My mind just can't seem to hold on to the mana flow when I need it to do something. I got three spells I can manage to do easily enough, but anything more complicated and I just mess up. Also, when I use enhancement spells, I lose track of them, and end up with feedback, and it absolutely wrecks me." The words just spilled from my mouth, as a dam had broken, and I was finally able to put all my concerns to voice.

That was some damn good rum, I guess.

He sat there quietly, just nodding to himself. He handed the bottle back over to me, and I gladly took another hit of it. Gods, that was good. I was feeling more and more relaxed.

"Do you need more than three spells? I mean, do you really? You a mage? Professionally, I mean." He asked.

I thought about it. More seriously than I had in a while.

"Well, I was trained as a Sword-Witch, which I don't know if you know is basically a self-trained Sword-Mage. My sister insisted I become one, and she drilled it all into me, but no matter what I did, I just couldn't get better at it. And my party back in dungeon school just had our mage quit, so I have to pick up the slack." I sighed, feeling the weight of anxiety press against me again.

"Do you though? You're at that dungeon school thingy, right? Just find another mage. Or figure out a way to work without one. Plenty of dungeon crawlers go mage-less. I sure as shit did in my day. Didn't have a proper mage or a priest or anything of that. All I can do is use magic to sense mana flow, and that's it. And here I am, a happy drunk in paradise! Ha ha!" He chortled to himself.

"But what if I let my friends down? They count on me. What if-" He held up a hand, cutting me off.

"If you fall down that path, considering what-if constantly, you'll just end up trapped in your own head, and that is a labyrinth worse than any dungeon. And don't worry about the expectations of others. That is a shackle around your neck at the best of times. Find what works for you, and your friends will figure out how to adapt, and you have to do the same for them. That's just how life works." He said with a shrug.

I thought about it. There was a lot of sense to what he was saying. A thought occurred to me as I pondered what I wanted, what works for me.

"What if I just stopped with magic altogether? It's brought me nothing but stress, headaches, and I'm tired of constantly trying to make it work. I was forced to learn it, and every time I try to use it I'm right back at my bitch sister's training session remembering every insult she threw at me. I hate it! I hate magic, and I hate mana, and I just don't want to worry about spells and all that shit anymore!" I admitted, my voice getting louder as my confession went on.

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I realized I was jealous of Myth. She had just quit dungeoneering to focus on what she actually enjoyed. I was jealous that I couldn't do the same thing with magic. I enjoyed sword fighting, getting up close and personal with my foes, and hitting them hard and fast. I wanted to do more of that. Losing my magic had felt like a weight off me, and I wanted to go back to that.

"Sounds like you know what you need to do to me, kiddo. Find your own path, be your own person. Don't be bound by the wishes and desires of others. 'Live as thou wilt' is the best advice I ever got. Was written on the wall of some dungeon somewhere. I don't remember. The only advice I can give is that you shouldn't totally abandon all your skills. Just take those few little tricks you know, keep them close, but don't obsess over gaining more magical prowess." He leaned closer, his face becoming serious.

"I know how to summon balls of light, do a barrier, and a little healing." I considered out loud.

"Good! A good little magical toolkit. Worry about getting good with those three, and just say 'screw it' to the rest of it! That's my two doubloons' worth anyway." He took another swig of the rum before handing me the bottle, which I then wiped out.

He had given me a lot to consider, but I think I was in the right direction finally. I had struggled for so long, and while I knew plenty of spells outside those three, I was passable at best. It took a lot just to get those spells to work right, and I had been lucky so far, but I couldn't trust my luck to last forever.

An old Burgotovan was saying, "In terms of gods and gambling, always load the dice before gambling with your life." Seemed appropriate.

That thought was interrupted by something catching my eye. A flickering orange light. And not one that was attached to the resort. It was deep in the jungle, where, as far as I knew, no one was. That said, I had no idea if that was true or not. My brain was not doing my best thinking right now.

Damn, this rum was good.

"What is that?" I asked, barely noticing my slurred words.

The man turned and looked, and made a curious hum. He turned back to me with a playful twinkle in his eyes.

"That, my dear drinking buddy, is what we call 'a mystery'. You wanna check it out? Might be fun!" He grinned widely at me.

It was a bad idea. Going into the jungle with a strange man? Absolutely stupid. That said, I was curious. Very curious. I mean, it was probably the rum talking, but I really wanted to know.

"And this is where you are. And I see you found yet another one of my family." I heard an all too familiar voice behind me.

I turned a bit too fast and started to tip over. Yup, I definitely had drunk too much rum.

"Hey Eira! This nice guy was giving me rum!" I slurred. Wow, this stuff was hitting me hard."

"Hey! It's my niece! Didn't think I'd run into you properly till tomorrow! Long time no see! Is this the girlfriend?" He said happily.

"Yes, Uncle Osian, this is my girlfriend. Alta, we are going to have a talk about this later, but first, what is this about going into the jungle? While drunk off your arses no less?" She huffed at the two of us.

"There's a light!" I pointed towards the offending mystery as if that was justification for everything she was upset about.

She turned and looked at it for a long moment. I was feeling myself sober up, and I could tell already that this hangover was going to be the source of many regrets in the morning.

"Ok, I'm miffed about my girlfriend wandering off and getting drunk near the ocean, but that is admittedly very weird."

"Right? You girls should join me to investigate. Safety in numbers after all." Osian said, nodding to himself.

Eira scowled at the two of us until her eyes widened at a sound. At first I couldn't tell what I was hearing, but it sounded musical.

"That's not a good sound," Osian said, his drunk smile completely vanishing.

Eira reached into a little hip pouch she had and tossed me a little vial.

"Drink that. It'll sober you up. We're going to investigate." She said, her tone having turned deadly serious.

I did as she said, not wanting to waste time asking questions. It was the foulest tasting stuff I had drunk in recent memory, but the last twinges of drunken dizziness vanished like a puff of smoke.

Eira tossed me my dagger, which she had attached to her belt.

"What is going on?" I asked as I began walking into the jungle.

"I'm not sure if I want to say anything before we're sure, but music in the jungle could be a sign of a few different monsters you do not want near a populated area like the resort. Or the surf cults are back." Eira said.

"Gods of the deep, I hope it's not the surf cults." Osian sighed.

I stopped in my tracks and blinked in confusion.

"Surf cults?"

"That would take waaaaay too much explanation for right now. We'll sneak through the woods, take a look, and then get back to the resort and let the staff know if it turns out to be something bad." Eira turned to me and looked at me seriously.

"Yes, beloved?" I said, trying my best to sound innocent.

"When I say run, you run. Got it?" She said, pointing at my chest sternly.

"Yes, ma'am." I agreed with a slight tone of petulance.

"Don't sass me. This is important." She said, her voice softer this time.

"Ok. I'll follow your lead." I nodded. "Whether it be monster or surf cults."

"I'm gonna be so pissed off if it's surf cults," Osian growled as he pushed into the jungle foliage.

I tightened my grip on my dagger, absolutely clueless as to what we were likely to face in the depths of the dark jungle night, but I wasn't going unprepared.

I hope. This was all very strange, and I was not looking forward to the discussion tomorrow.

I sighed, kept close to Eira, and delved into the shadowy world of the island jungle, wondering to myself where my nice quiet vacation had disappeared to.