109: Alfred's Sky Fortress

January 25, 2021 - 9 minutes read - 1736 words

“The sky is a beautiful blue today as well…” Al

I look up at the sky that fills my field of vision while laying down in the crow’s nest. It has enough space for two adults to stand, if you packed them in like sardines, you’d get four, barely. I can easily lie down comfortably in that space since I’m a seven-year-old child.

This space feels like a secret base for me. Normally, I’d feel cramped, but the walls make it feel good. It’s kind of strange. I’ve got my own base where the small space won’t be invaded by others. It’s exciting to be in such a small space.

In addition, this base lies around 30 meters above the sea level. Nobody else is higher than me, plus you’d have to run up a shroud to get here. As long as I’m up here, I can retaliate against anyone doing that. Since the shroud will squeak when weight is put on it, I don’t even have to be looking in the right direction to know someone is coming. If Irving or Mark climbed up, I could pour boiling water down at them.

“Hahah! This is a perfect fortress! It’s my own sky fortress! No one can invade this sanctuary!” Al

I’m confident I could intercept Eleanora before she invaded here. Well, let’s say I’m leaving that issue for another time, I’ll think about taking a nap now.

The ship is blown by the wind and sways with the waves. The swaying of the waves is transmitted through the whole ship, so the crows nest is swaying side to side. However, I can only see the swaying as a cradle like for a baby. I feel the swaying from the waves inviting me to dream world.

Above me, I see seabirds flying around, screeching at each other. When I hear them, I really sinks in that I’m on the sea. The birds you can see in Koriat Village are nice, but these seabirds are pretty cool…

Their calls that echo across the sea without being too loud make me feel lazy. This is a fun place to be, let’s enjoy it fully.

However, if I had to complain, I’d say the sun is a bit bright. Summer is a nice season to follow spring, but the sun shines so brightly. Probably even if it wasn’t summer, the sun would be harsh at 30 meters above the sea. Let’s see if I can cover it up with some cloth.

I use Spatial Magic and reach into the subspace while thinking of a black cloth. The black cloth I had secreted earlier appeared in my hand and I pulled it out. It’s black so it will absorb UV rays. White cloth would reflect the UV rays, it could work as well. Black is less noticeable and cuts out more of the light.

When I looked around, I couldn’t find any protrusions that could be used to hold up the cloth. It’s a little naughty, but I’ll use some thumbtacks I made with Earth Magic. It’ll be fine, it’s a small thumbtack, nobody would notice the small hole it will leave.

I hit in the thumbtacks with a hammer I brought out, then covered up the cloth and lay down.

“Ah, it’s not dazzling and so hot like it was.” Al

I can barely see the sky, but it’s fine. If I wanted to see the sun, I can just unroll some of the cloth. I start to close my eyes…

Well, the floor is a bit hard. Hmm, I could get out a blanket. Human are fundamentally greedy. Even if I’m satisfied with one thing, I’d still like to have more comforts. However, I’m dedicated to a comfortable life, so I’m not about to limit myself. I’ll take out a blanket from my subspace and lie down on that. I’ll also grab a towel to cover up my belly.

In addition, I’ll use Ice Magic to cool the air around me. Oh, this is a nice cooling feeling. In order to keep the blanket from getting wet, I’ll make a bucket with Earth Magic to hold the ice.

I think it’s time to have a nice nap…

“Hey Mark, where is Alfred?” Irving asks Mark.

“Huh? That reminds me, I haven’t seen him for a while. Where did he get to?” Mark replies while splayed out on the deck.

Mark sits up and looks around. Neither of them had seen Alfred since the Tarzan playing had ceased. Irving looks around the deck, but can’t spot Alfred anywhere. Irving realizes that Alfred seems to be missing from the ship’s deck.

“Hey, do you think he fell overboard without anyone noticing?” Mark

“Well, he is a kid. If he fell off he could have been gobbled up…” Irving

Mark’s face turns blue and thinks on Irving’s words. He thinks that Alfred is only a seven-year-old child, and not a particularly large one. It’s quite possible for him to fall into the sea when trying to look over the side.

“Yes! It’s important to not let the escort target get gobbled up without us knowing!” Mark

“Hold up! Before we assume that happened, let’s check the interior of the ship and check with other people.” Irving

Irving regains some composure. While it’s true that Alfred is a small kid and could have fallen over, Irving doesn’t want to think that happened. While the two were thinking, Alisha broke in.

“What are you two yelling about now?” Alisha

Since Irving and Mark make fools of themselves at regular intervals, it seems Alisha is worried they’re up to something.

“Oh, Alisha! Have you seen Alfred?! We haven’t seem him recently!” Mark

“Maybe he fell into the sea!” Irving

Irving and Mark are worked up, but Alisha just puts her hands on her hips in a miffed pose.

“Why would you think that? He’s sitting in the crow’s nest on the main mast.” Alisha

“The crow’s nest? Why would he want to be in a small place like that?” Mark

“So he climbed up to that place when we weren’t watching…” Irving

Irving and Mark stare at each other in surprise.

“Well, we’re employed to escort him, so why don’t you check on him.” Alisha

Alisha looks amazed at the reactions of Mark and Irving. Adventurers aren’t supposed to be relaxing during escort quests. No matter how high-ranked you are, you’ll be chastised for failing to look after the escort target. The other two can’t say anything back, they know what the expectations are.

“I guess we should check in the crow’s nest?” Mark

“Yeah, sounds good.” Irving

When Irving and Mark made it to the crow’s nest, it was covered up with a black cloth.

“Huh? It’s covered over with a black cloth?” Irving

“Is it for shade?” Mark

Irving and Mark lean over and try to lift the cloth, but it seems to be fixed down with a small brown nail thing to prevent it from lifting up.

“It’s held down using something like a nail…” Irving

It seems like iron, but the color isn’t right. This must be made with Earth Magic. The Jenga pieces Alfred made were a very similar color. Irving is convinced that Alfred is under the cloth.

“Oh, this side isn’t fixed down, you can roll it up.” Mark

Mark beckons Irving over to the other side. Mark lifts up the cloth and they find Alfred sleeping quietly. He’d able to lay down on the floor of the crow’s nest, since he’s a child. Furthermore, he’s laying on a blanket and has a towel covering his belly. He really tried to have a comfortable nap.

“This guy, sleeping peacefully in a place like this.” Irving

“Hey, did Alfred climb alone up here with a blanket and towel?” Mark

“Did he plan this all out for a nap…” Irving

Initially the two were surprised, but then they noticed the air seemed unnaturally cool for the time of year.

“This air seems cool?” Mark

“That’s right. The air is strangely cool…” Irving

They wonder where it is coming from and look around to figure it out.

“Hey, what’s in the bucket?” Mark

“Hmm, that must be made with Earth Magic. It’s astounding, the thing is perfectly round. Could Ilya make something near that quality?” Irving

Magicians who know Earth Magic can make all sorts of things with it. However, the more complex the item, the more skill is required. An ordinary magician who can use Earth Magic can make rough walls, but tools aren’t possible. A magician isn’t a blacksmith and can’t design tools. You would need extraordinary observation and modeling skills to make high fidelity objects using Earth Magic. A bucket is a surprisingly difficult object, average Earth Magic users will end up with a distorted shape or invisible holes that leak water.

In actuality, Alfred is already building whole houses to serve as secret bases. Court wizards would be astonished.

“Oh, Ilya was dumbfounded when she saw the Jenga pieces.” Mark

Ilya had borrowed one of the Jenga pieces to practice trying to reproduce the fidelity. She wasn’t having an easy time of it.

Mark gingerly reaches forward into the bucket so Irving won’t wake up Alfred.

“Cold!” Mark

“Huh? Why is the bucket cold? Is it full of ice?” Irving

Irving was joking, but his words were actually true. Mark grabs the bucket to look inside.

“Ice…” Mark

“Huh?” Irving

While Mark is muttering with a startled expression, Irving moves over to check the bucket as well. It’s packed full of ice and gives off cool air. The two instinctively pick up some ice from the bucket.

“Hey, why is there ice in this place? It’s a ways past spring? Was there ice loaded on at port?” Irving

“Nobody loads ice for a trip like ours… yet it’s real. Definitely cold.” Mark

Based on what they know, the only option is to use magic. The two can’t think of any other option, who would load ice onto a ship? Before it would be useful, it would turn back into water. If Alfred can use Ice Magic, he would be able to make as much as ice as he likes.

“Should we borrow this for a while?” Irving

“Good idea…” Mark

When Irving had an idea, they didn’t hesitate. The two look at each other and laugh.