4 Days Earlier

  Red stuffed the bread roll into his mouth hungrily. The warmth of the roll and its slight sweetness complemented each other so perfectly that he couldn’t help but savor the wonderful flavor. The slight doughy texture in the interior perfectly cushioned the meager hint of crunch on the outside.

  “That’ll be the usual price, Red,” the shopkeeper announced.

  He blinked in surprise. Somehow, he had almost forgotten that the man was even there. Red sighed and reluctantly slid a coin across the counter. That was one of his last ones, so he would be forced to find work for the evening.

  “Are you busy this evening? I could use your assistance if you are able; it would be at the usual rate,” the shopkeeper asked.

  Red hid a grimace as he tried to remember the man’s name. He knew that he’d heard it before, but it seemed to have totally slipped his mind. It probably was the result of his bread rolls being more notable than he was. That wasn’t to say the man wasn’t notable. It was just that his rolls were exceptionally notable.

  Eventually, Red gave up and nodded, “Sure thing. Will it work after lunch?”

  “That should work.”

  “See you later,” He replied as he strolled off into the crowded market.

  What a pain. None of the jobs he could find on the island were bad, and working for the shopkeeper was actually one of the best. However, they were all such a chore. Which was expected for a tiny island like this one, but he wished there was something more interesting to do.

  He always wanted to check out new places, but Wale Port was not the place to live for that. Hardly any notable ships ever came through because the island was located so far from the hub of Valencia. The Fallen Isles. It would have been nearly impossible to obtain the required money under normal circumstances, but Red had a plan.

  It was truly an ingenious plan if he did say so himself. If he could get the blasted thing to work properly. He was fairly certain he just needed a better power source to get his secret project to work. That left him with a bigger problem than before. There were no big power sources on this tiny island. After all, who would need strong power sources in a small farming town?

  “Me, damn it,” Red muttered under his breath, “I need that power.”

  It was quite the predicament. If only he had stronger sea hearts to work with, he would have completed the whole process. Instead, he was stuck burning through the cheap ones, which still cost a fortune on such a small island.

  Red shoved the rest of the roll in his mouth as he maneuvered through the crowded streets. He waved at a few familiar faces as they passed, but mostly kept to himself. A potential solution to his entire problem was right in front of him. His hands instinctively rubbed the inside of his jacket where his shockblasters were.

  They were strong weapons to carry around on a small island like Wale Port, but Red never left home without them. One never knew when trouble would come knocking. Despite the power the weapons possessed, at the end of the day, they were still just basic handguns. While they may have been slightly above average in terms of power, that wasn’t why they were so impressive.

  Most other weapons used sea hearts like fuel. When they ran dry, the cores were essentially useless. Someone with the right abilities could refill them, but those abilities were rare. So Red circumvented the whole thing.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  His weapons drained the power totally differently from the conventional military shock weapons. It left the sea hearts with the ability to be refilled with mist. Only the most expensive weapons had this capability, and they definitely weren’t mainstream.

  He had been attempting to transfer this ability into his new creation. If he could, the core strength wouldn’t matter. However, that was easier said than done. Much easier said than done. It was so much easier said than done that Red was beginning to think it wasn’t possible at all. That wasn’t going to stop him, though.

  After a minute of walking, Red paused outside a storefront. He still remembered when the shop was barely surviving when he was younger. Now, he was essentially single-handedly keeping the owner from closing down. This was where the rest of his coins would disappear.

  Well, they wouldn’t really disappear…more like exchange for more valuable things. That’s what Red convinced himself, anyway. He was starting to doubt himself after going through so many supplies recently, but it was fine. Surely it was fine. Red stepped inside the little store. He knew the place front to back and headed straight for the counter.

  “Hey, Alan. Did you get the parts I ordered?” He asked the older man behind the counter.

  Alan looked up from his book and squinted at him. Red wasn’t certain how the dang man had such a hard time seeing customers while still being able to read.

  “Is that you, Redwynn?” Alan asked in a ragged voice.

  Red sighed, “Yup, but I told you not to call me that. Now, did you get my parts or not? I’ve got to finish this project before lunch.”

  Alan rose and set his book on the counter…or he tried to at least, because he missed spectacularly and it crashed to the floor. He stared at the fallen book for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and rising to his feet.

  “You young ones, always in such a rush. I think I got your order in. Large crate of strange wires.”

  “Alan, how can those wires be strange when that is literally what you sell in this store. I just ordered slightly more specialized wiring, but it's almost the exact same thing.”

  “Kid, I don’t even know what I sell in this store.” He picked up a wooden crate tucked in the back corner and brought it over to the counter.

  Red ignored the entire conversation and focused intently on the crate’s interior. He felt giddy with excitement at the contents. The roll of amplifier cable he had been waiting on for weeks was in there, as was the mist-enhanced wiring which would be crucial to completing the entire project.

  “Thanks, Alan,” He grinned and tossed his remaining coins on the counter, “This should do for payment.”

  He had totally forgotten his previous annoyance at running out of money. This was great. With this stuff, he’d finally be able to move forward. Finally, after so many weeks, he’d make another step in the process. Even if that was only one out of many, it was still progress, and that’s all that mattered. Red grabbed the crate from Alan and marched out the door.

  “Kids, these days,” The old man muttered as he exited the store.

  Red almost missed the change in the crowd as he exited. However, his instincts immediately kicked in, and the joy of receiving his package faded into the background. Something was going on. The formerly crowded streets were nearly empty. Those that he did see were rushing past in the direction of…the docks. He turned and stared after them.

  “What are these bloody…” His eyes locked on the massive ship that had appeared on the horizon, “Well, I’ll be damned. It’s sure been a while since something that big has been through here.”

  “I have a question,” Derrin said.

  Red grumbled, “Sure, what is it?”

  “How does this have anything to do with you getting captured by Gearborn? I’m just trying to figure out where the connection is?”

  “Well, if you were a bit more patient, you would understand that I was getting there,” Red said with a hint of exasperation.

  Why’d he have to go ahead and interrupt his perfectly good storytelling? It was bloody annoying. He was just getting to the good part.

  “I’m trying to set a tone, so if you just give me a moment, you’ll understand. It’s important to know the whole picture afterall.”

  Derrin nodded expectantly, “Very well, was it a Gearborn ship?”

  “Bloody hell, man, do you want me to finish the damn story or not!” Red growled indignantly.

  “Sorry.”

  Red shook his head. This blasted man and all his talk about honor, and he couldn’t even let him finish the story. Where did his honor go? Red opened his mouth to continue at the same moment the trapdoor at the end of the hallway clicked.