‘Luke! Damn the gods, wake up!’

  I blinked my eyes open as I unsteadily leaned up in my bed, causing a faint creak to sound.

  ‘Luke! Finally, yer awake! Do ya have to sleep this much like a rock?’

  Despite my grogginess, I let out an amused chuckle.

  ‘Well, I guess a little more sleep can’t hurt, right?’ I cracked a grin.

  ‘Maybe not on a normal day, Luke! Our boat’s setting off at Dragon, and it’s already half past Fairy! We’ll be lucky to get some meat on those frail bones o’ yours!’

  I grumbled silently before deciding enough was enough and getting out of my bed, still in my nightwear.

  That was my life; one of a sad, poor excuse of an adventurer. We barely made do with our parts and pelts, but we made things work in the end. Usually.

  The person responsible for my rather rude awakening was Aiden Bouldercast, a half-dwarf half- human absolute tank of a man. I met him at a shoddy pub back in Firesong, and we hit it off from there.

  And I’m Luke Thralyn. An elven and human halfbreed outcast, commonly referred to as a half-elf. Elves always frowned upon crossbreeds, especially with the so-called ‘purer’ subtypes such as High or Light Elves. So, I grew up in some shoddy pub with a barkeep as a parental figure. And now I’m here.

  ‘Luke? Did I wake ya a lil’ hard? Yer zonin’ out again.’ I snapped back to reality as Aiden brought me back to my senses.

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  ‘Y-yes, my apologies…’ I barely sputtered out from the realisation. I then vacated the room and entered the main part of the inn, some run-down establishment dubbed ‘The Smiling Shade’. I quickly approached the barkeep.

  ‘Just a standard breakfast, please.’ I’d regained my bearings by then, so I was back to speaking coherently.

  ‘Dat’s five silver, six if ye be wantin’ some meat wit’ dat.’

  The man had a very thick accent, most likely either Dwarven or Giant. I handed him the six silver pieces and took a seat at one of the bare tables. The establishment was as run-down as one could get. The chandelier was rusted, the windows were frayed, there was even a crack on the bar table.

  Eventually, a waiter arrived with my meal and shortly after, Aiden joined me.

  ‘So, Aiden, just where is the next ship going?’ I asked, after swallowing a mouthful of vegetables.

  ‘This one, this’ll be the one, ya hear? ‘Parently there’s some kinda crypt on the other side o’ the channel. Real freaky stuff. But there’s said ta be good treasure ‘round there.’

  I rolled my eyes. ‘Aiden, you say this every time, and it always ends up either being an adventurer trap or extremely underwhelming.’

  ‘Have a little faith in me, will ya? I’m tryin’!’ I couldn’t discount his words. They did ring of truth.

  ‘Very well.’

  The boat set off at twenty past Dragon due to an issue with the rigging, but it set off eventually. It was very small, with barely enough room for me, Aiden, the captain and some storage. Our destination was the Swampcake Islands, aptly named for the swampy and humid terrain.

  ‘Man, how do ya do tha’? I’m over ‘ere about to vomit and you’re just sittin’ there? Damn elf blood…’ Aiden was lying down below deck with me, looking rather green. He never took well to seafaring due to his Dwarven heritage, hence the evident seasickness.

  ‘I know it’s a long way, but… wait on a moment.’

  ‘Weren’t you the one that suggested going by sea?’

  AM: (no affix)

  PM: Late (insert time here)

  1 = Serpent

  2 = Goblin

  3 = Griffin

  4 = Hydra

  5 = Centaur

  6 = Phoenix

  7 = Cyclops

  8 = Fairy

  9 = Faun

  10 = Dragon

  11 = Banshee

  12 = Chimera

  So 7 AM would be Hour of the Cyclops but 2 PM would be Hour of the Late Goblin