Walking out of the alleyway into the street near the water, Bren led the way toward the main port.
Bren picked up the pace. "Alright, Aldric should already be there so let's not keep him waiting."
Eventually the two of them arrived and saw both Aldric and a man talking to each other.
It was a broad-shouldered man around forty, dark hair pulled back and tied with a few loose strands, a short beard and mustache.
Bren saw him and spoke as he walked over. "Oh, boss is already chatting with Aldric."
So this is the boss. Captain Varen?
Aldric, mid-conversation with Varen, spotted the two of them coming from the side and looked their way. Varen turned to look as well.
Varen walked over and tapped Jack's shoulder. "Jack! I'm glad to see you are fine."
He took his hand off. "I heard what happened to your neighborhood. You have my condolences."
He took three fingers and tapped them on his head.
It's that gesture again..
Jack gave a nod and opened his mouth to speak but Varen lifted his palm in a stopping manner. Jack allowed him to continue.
During this time Varen's left hand reached into the satchel on his belt and pulled out a small cloth sack. As he moved to hand it over he spoke.
"I heard there was a small shrine built there. I know it is not much, but use this to buy some good quality candles."
Jack took the little sack and heard the clink of coins inside.
"I.. honestly don't know what to say."
Varen stepped closer and placed his left hand on Jack's right shoulder. "You don't need to say anything."
He tapped Jack's shoulder a few times, then turned to leave, dropping a few words behind him.
"I already told Aldric what today's work is."
Jack looked at the little sack before placing it in his pocket.
I wonder how many coins are inside.
Ptui!
Damn it.. Jack, the man told you his condolences and you think about the money? When did you become such a bastard?
Jack exhaled and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed.
THUD!!
The sound of hard wood hitting wood. Jack looked toward the source and saw Aldric step across onto the ship.
Bren looked at Aldric. "So what are we doing today?"
Aldric didn't answer right away, moving toward the inside of the ship. "We are fixing up the leaks."
The two of them kept talking but Jack's mind had already drifted somewhere else.
Hmm.. Now that I look at it more clearly, why is it that Varen is hiring people like us to do odd jobs around the ship?
This ship is medium sized but it's still big enough to have a crew. So why is he not using his own people but going out of his way to hire us? Is it charity?
Aldric came back up from inside the ship and handed some keys to Bren. The two of them walked off the ship and back onto the wooden pier.
Bren spoke. "Alright, I'll go get the cotton."
Aldric walked past Jack toward the edge of the pier, to a spot with an unobstructed view, and sat down, letting his legs dangle over the side. He leaned back, stretched a little, and yawned.
Finding himself alone, Jack looked around to make sure no one was watching, then pulled out the little sack and counted the coins.
One.. Two.. Three. Thirty coins! I don't remember how many coins I spent yesterday but I'm sure this covers it.
With nothing else to do, Jack walked over to Aldric and sat down beside him.
"So. How was the night sleep at Bren's?" Aldric asked as soon as Jack sat.
"I slept pretty well."
The two of them stayed quiet for a few moments, listening to the sound of the waves.
Aldric tapped on the wooden pier before asking something else.
"Did you eat well this morning?"
"We ate some bread before leaving."
A little more silence. "That's good."
This is awkward. Is he trying to fill the silence? Bren is really good at making him talk.. But then again he is very sociable.
How do I save this conversation? Do we talk about food? He just asked me what I ate, maybe I should ask him back? Hmm.. He is a member of the church, maybe that will work?
After what felt like a minute of no one talking, Jack finally spoke.
"So how are things at the church? Anything happen while I was gone?"
Aldric looked at Jack before opening his mouth. "Actually, I asked Priest Aldwin about what happened at your neighborhood."
Jack raised his eyebrows slightly. "So what did you learn?"
"Apparently he only heard about it a few days ago, when he was asked by the Count's representative to bless the way-shrine from your neighborhood."
Jack raised his leg slightly. "The way you're saying it means it wasn't the church that made it?"
Aldric looked down and sighed. "It was the Count's family that built it. Priest Aldwin was very angry about it."
"It happened while I was at work at the docks, so they decided to keep it from me because you lived there."
He looked at Jack and paused before continuing.
"While I was annoyed about that, since you are well I decided to let it go."
Is there a conflict between Mardrago's Church and the Count? This sounds too intentional.
"Did Priest Aldwin do anything to retaliate?" Jack said while rubbing his neck.
Aldric bit his lip. "He sent a letter to the Bishop. The Deacon also signed it after reading it."
He continued. "He blamed the Church of Salvation since they are in charge of the matter and are currently supported by the Count. He specifically made sure to mention that they might have let the plague spread."
Jack rubbed his chin thoughtfully before responding "So did they really do it? And why does Salvation get the right to cure people?"
"They specialize in curing disease. All of their artifacts are tied to salvation."
Aldric scratched between his eyebrows before continuing. "The fact that only the slums and the area surrounding it are suffering from this, while the richer parts are spared, points toward it."
He slowed down. "They also benefit from it. Most of the treated convert to the goddess as their deity."
Aldric glared at the water. "It's as if they all forgot the good that Lord Mardrago brought them the past few centuries."
So Salvation, Peril is female?
FWUP!
The sound of a heavy sack hitting the ground from behind them.
Jack looked back toward Varen's ship and saw Bren waving at them.
Aldric got up from the pier and exhaled. "Let's get to work."