Long Island

Chapter 21: Naval Training

'So why give hunger or satiety in the first place? This also seems like a good topic for the report. Should I go with it? '

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Raka logged in the room. The room had no windows, illuminated by those same magical lights which illuminated the Magic Institute back at Gurrow village. In fact these magical lights were the standard norm for most buildings on the island. Now it was dim though casting deep shadows in the room.

Two slightly breathing voices. A soft snore here and there. Lady Altia and Lady Verina were still sleeping which probably meant it was still night outside. Raka knew the room well, having used it so often in this trip, enough to remember where things were. He tiptoed to the door and quietly slipped out in the darkness. The deck hallway had only a small light, a magic light hanging in the galley, near the stairs, giving just enough light to see the way. Raka moved slowly and carefully. Suddenly appearing on a rocking ship does not help with your balance. He moved, avoiding the sleeping men in the galley and climbed up.

Noises were heard shattering the quiet of the night, instructions and bellows guiding the ship through the waves . He walked to the captain's cabin.

"Oh hey there Raka."

"Hello Captain, whats going on?"

"Ah! We spotted the pirate ship yesterday. Just saw it on the horizon as we reached there' docking spot. They seem to have seen us too. They took off in a hurry towards open sea."

"So did we miss their trail?"

"Not completely. Though we cannot see the ship in the dark, we did follow it throughout the day. It is a fast ship that one, we kept playing a nice little cat and mouse all day. But they forgot ol' Captain. I know these seas like the back of my hand. If they think they can get away from me, they have another thing coming. Anyways Lady Altia made a nice little guess on their destination and so far the pirates have followed that route. If we keep that heading we will run into them sooner or later."

Raka was flummoxed. He had missed a very important moment which actually brought into stark contrast his inability to play all the time. What if he had missed the entire battle completely! He did understand the importance of the real world though. Games come and games go. You still have to live in the real world. But there should be some way to take some time off for these kind of things. 'I mean shouldn't the university which supports playing virtual reality games have a policy of some kind which allows you to play such quests?!' Other than bunking that is. He could not imagine a university which would allow skipping classes to be the norm.

"So where are they headed?" he asked the Captain.

"If they keep the same course they will end up in Brittanica. But Lady Altia believes they could be heading to this small island, just off the coast of Brittanica. It is home to a Brittan noble family which mostly does farming. But its snow season now so there might not be many people. Perfect for pirates to capture and defend. They won't like to fight us over water owing to the numbers." the Captain replied.

"...so the best situation would be for us to find them before they get there. Can't we warn them?"

"Yep. Jus' hoping that those stinking pirates don't know the seas around here too well. There is this area of low wind in the course they have taken. If they fall into it, we may be able to catch up. But if they know and avoid it, then they will have the advantage. Dunno about warning them...better ask Lady Verina bout' that."

"Hmmm." Raka said pondering.

Well the chase just got pretty exciting.......not! After all we are still chasing a ship we cannot even see. 'Time to get mopping.' Raka sighed.