by MarpTarpton » Mon Feb 01, 2016 10:48 pm
Marp and Belgear waved to Judaism as he walked away to tend to things only Judaism is smart enough to understand, or so he will remind you if you were to ask.
Belgear, smiling shyly, glanced down to his feet and then over to the large ship Marp had manifested from the Aether. It was what he had always wanted, a great boat of his very own. Even though he knew it was just an illusion, landlocked in the small pond Marp had magicked next to his base, it still filled him with a sense of adventure. He finally had his ship, or nearly enough. Old dreams, dreams he had long ago buried beneath priorities of lime digging and crop influencing bubbled forth and he remembered what led him to the New World to in the very beginning. The promise of new discoveries. The promise of new adventures.
When he turned back, he saw Marp leaning casually again the brick wall, watching him with a smile. He felt the color rise to his face and laughed an awkward laugh, rubbing his self-proclaimed jew fro furiously.
"It's weird when you stare like that," Belgear said softly, hoping he sounded convincing enough to disguise the flattery he felt.
"I'm sorry," Marp said, taking off his top hat and resting it on the wall segment at his back and turning away to face the ship himself. "So, you like it?"
"It's wonderful!" Belgear blurted out, coaxing a laugh out of Marp. Belgear continued, less enthusiastically. "It's kind of what I've always wanted. It's a shame that ships like these aren't available to pilgrims like me, to build and sail around in. That would be something else."
"Hmmmm. Is that what you'd really like?" Marp smirked and glanced at Belgear from the corner of his eye, almost daring Belgear to get excited again.
Somehow, defying his nature, he swallowed his nature and kept his cool. "Yeah," he spoke with control in his voice. "Sure, whatever. That would be cool."
Marp laughed again. It was a nice sound, like it came from somewhere deep inside him, deeper than laughs normally go. At first Belgear was afraid he had been too coy, but then Marp grabbed his hat and headed out the gate, walking briskly toward the great ship that bobbed on gentle waves nearby. It was identical to the ones seen in the harbor of Providence, long white sails just waiting to catch a breeze. Belgear had never seen them manned though, or entered, as they were always moored off the dock and otherwise unreachable.
His guide stopped at the edge of the pond and stared up at a point in the hull. Belgear caught up with him and looked at the spot too, wondering if this was a trick of some sort. Suddenly a portion of the hull about the size of a door receded into the ship itself and a rope ladder unfurled and bumped against the wooden boards, frayed ends grazing the water's top in front of their feet.
Belgear's jaw went slack and his breath caught in his throat. This was it. It was actually happening. He would finally ride in his own ship, far bigger than any rowboat or canoe in the land. He reached out for the ladder and even got one foot on a rung before he caught himself. "I'm sorry!" he said, stammering back and losing a step as his foot tangled in the ladder. "I just ... it's so amazing! Can I go in, please?"
"I'd be hurt if you didn't," Marp said with that same smile and merry sparkle in his eye, the smile Belgear was beginning to recognize as the one saved only for him. Instead of allowing his blush to show through again, he chose to hide it by embracing the ladder and made the climb up to the portal.
[To be continued...]
Procne wrote: Devs have again proven that they dont give a crap about untalented and lazy players.