Lidarion: Chapter 21

Lisa had never been to the Lidarion Docks in her life. But once she was past the district gate she felt instantly at home. The same could not be said for Squints. The second the smell of rotting fish hit his nostrils he turned an unhealthy shade of green.

Lisa was lost in the sights and sounds of the docks, the fish sellers, the supply shops, the ship design and repair guild, They hadn’t even reached the actual docks and her childhood was flooding back to her with incredible clarity. She looked down at Squints and saw him holding back the impulse to be sick. “Are you going to be ok?” She asked.

Squints burped and nodded with determination. “I have never liked this district. In fact I’ve never been a huge fan of the ocean.” He lamented.

Lisa looked confused. “You’re people are historically sea faring islanders, how can you hate the ocean?” She asked.

Squints shrugged his shoulders. “Dad moved us from the islands when I was a baby, I don’t remember him talking much about our home on the island and I’ve never had a desire to go back there. I’m a dry land Gnome I guess.” He explained.

Lisa nodded. “I’m the exact opposite. I love the ocean, I love sailing, I grew up in this world and I love every part of it.” She said with a smile.

They reached the doc masters office and made their way inside the tiny one room shack. There was an older gentlemen leaning back in a wooden chair, an old floppy tri-corner hat down over his eyes, his feet were up on the desk and he was snoring deeply. Lisa knocked on the door loudly. The man shot up, throwing his hat behind him in a panic. “I’m awake already!” The man growled with droopy half asleep eyes. He looked around the room, not stopping to focus on Lisa or Squints. He ran his hands through his gray hair. “Where’s my hat?” He asked himself more than anything else. He checked the floor, found it behind him and placed it back on his head. Finally acknowledging Lisa and Squints. “How Can I be of service?” he asked.

Lisa pointed to his log book. “We would like to book passage on the next passage to Cela’an.” She explained.

The barely away dock master rubbed his chin. “Not many ships make that trip anymore, and the ones that do, don’t do it very often.” He opened his log book to check the records he had of who was coming and going and when. “There’s one ship scheduled to dock in a few days that could make the voyage, for the right price.” He glanced at Lisa.

She smiled. “Price is not an issue. We just need to get there. What’s the name of the ship?” She asked.

He ran his finger down the page to the entry he was looking for. “The Woah Mom El” He groggily stumbled through the name.

Lisa shook her head. “It’s not Woah Mom El, it’s Womamel” She said trying not to smile.

Squints looked up at her. “How would you know that?” He asked.

She smiled down at him. “Because it’s my brother’s ship and It’s short for ‘Worst Mistake Of My Life.’” She explained.

The Dock master nodded. “Anyway, the Womamel will be docked here in the next few days, you might be able to book passage then. He said.” As he was already situating himself back into his napping position. Squints and Lisa saw themselves out.