Elizia and the Krawk Island Boat Race

           “You’re late!” As she stepped into the rundown dark inn, from behind the counter a Bruce glared at her. “I pay you to be back here at four, I expect you back here at four! You don’t want to lose your break privileges do you!?” The Bruce’s bloodshot old eyes bulged within his skull.

      Elizia smiled, a toothy grin. “Oh no! How dare I be back two minutes late? I’m sorry boss.” She beamed at the Bruce.

      “If we added up the two minutes extra you take each day, I’d say you wouldn’t get paid for a week! Possibly two!” The two stared at each other for a while. The Bruce appearing furious, Elizia standing her ground and returning his stare, her smile slowly growing.

      And then they both burst into laughter.

      Elizia had been working for Barney since she was a little girl. He had always had a soft spot for her, always treated her as if she were his own daughter. The scruffy old Bruce had never been good at appearance, or first impressions. To many he was simply the local grumpy old man. Many compared him to Mayor Thumburt, some had even taken to calling him that behind his back. But Elizia knew him better than any of them. He was a sweet old soul with a rough surface.

      Barney stopped chuckling and took in a deep breath, releasing it in a sigh. “I’m sorry, my girl. If it were up to me, you’d be on vacation right now.” He looked around. “Unfortunately, this place has seen better days.” The inn had been in his family for generations. Ever since the opening of the Golden Dubloon however, the place had been in decline. It still got enough customers to stay in business, and could put food on the table, but not much else.

      Suddenly the doors behind Barney flung open. Eagerly a Brown Warf ran up to Elizia, wagging its tail and running circles around her. He did this every time she got back from her break. The Petpet was old, she suspected, possibly older than Barney himself, but the thing never lost spirit. “Hi Spoteye,” she said warmly to the Warf.

      A while later, as she was washing dishes, Barney approached. “What’s on your mind, my dear? You seem more cheerful than usual.”

      “I’ve made a decision today. I have decided I shall participate—“

      “Say no more, child!” Barney interrupted. The boat race! You plan to compete, do you? Elizia nodded eagerly. Barney began to pace, and got that look on his face that meant it was time for one of his stories. “Oh, I remember being young, I decided to compete too.”

      “You took part in the boat races, old man?” He had never told her this before.

      “Sure did child, sure did.”

      “And what happened?”

      The Bruce sat down, and his smile faded. “It was… It was awful,” he answered bluntly.

      “You can’t… You can’t mean it, boss?”

      “Sadly I do, Elizia, sadly I do. I was young, full of ambition, I heard about the grand prize and knew I had to go for it. I built my own ship, too! Small thing, but it did the work I needed it to. I was quite the paddler back in my day, and at one point was even winning the race.” Spoteye came and curled up at the man’s feet.

      “That’s wonderful, Barney! Did you win?”

      Barney sighed. “Maybe I would have, maybe.” His eyes narrowed. “But we live on an island of pirates, Elizia. It wasn’t exactly an honest competition. At some point I noticed my boat was beginning to fill with water. I had no choice but to get to shore before I sank. Good paddler as I was, I had never been much of a swimmer. Funny for a Bruce, isn’t it? By the time I got to shore, the race was over. HE had won…”

      “Who?” Elizia asked softly.

      Barney exhaled loudly. “Krockins. Or as he was called back then, Captain Krockins. Captain of his own pirate crew, turns out he is quite the boat racer too. Retired now, but back in my day he was quite something on the seas…” Elizia gave Barney a drink, and he took a large gulp. “Anyway, once I had reached shore I noticed my boat had been torn down the middle, end to end. I hadn’t hit anything, no rock or reef could have done that kind of damage anyway.”

      “You mean to say that is was—“

      “Sabotage. Yes. Turns out I wasn’t the only one. Another racer recounted being attacked by a swarm of Charnie. Another had been knocked off course by another racer. Krockins’ first mate. He was going to win at all costs. May the best racer win? Not for him.”

      “But times have changed, Barney. Krockins has been retired for a long time now! I won’t have to worry about him messing up my chances.”

      “You misunderstand, kid.” Barney looked up at her, sympathy in his eyes. “It wasn’t just Krockins. EVERY racer was the same, willing to do whatever it took to win. The annual boat race is an event without honour. Always has been, and I’m sure it always will be.”

      There was a long silence. Then Eliza finally said: “Even so, I’ve got to at least try, right? I’ve got nothing to lose by trying!”

      “But you do, my dear. It’s dangerous. No one will hesitate for a second about harming you, if it means winning. You shouldn’t participate, kid. Trust me on this, as someone who has been watching every race since long before you were born.”

           For the rest of the afternoon, Elizia tried to stop from thinking too much about what Barney had said. Maybe it was dangerous, maybe she was wasting her time. But maybe, even if the chances were slimmer than a Dubloon, just maybe she could win. Anyway, her mind had been made up, and hearing about the risks wasn’t going to sway her.

      Overall, it was a pleasant evening. The customers were cheerful, Elizia was cheerful, even Barney seemed cheerful. Elizia looked out at the faces of the customers. There was joy all around. Krawk Island may have been infamous as a lawless harbour full of thugs and smugglers, but Elizia knew most of the people here were kind-hearted and joyful beings. Whilst their flames may appear the brightest sometimes, she knew the nastier residents were little more than frail sparks. It was everyone else that brightened the Island, and made life here something to always enjoy.

      Barney approached Elizia. “You seem happy tonight, child. That is good. Have you thought anymore about what I’ve said?”

      “I have,” Elizia answered. “But my mind is set. It has to be done. Otherwise I will spend the rest of my life regretting not taking the chance.”

      Barney laughed. “Hehe, you sure are like I was when I was young. I’m proud of your conviction to achieve your goals.” He leaned in closer. “Meet me in the cellar once we are closed. I’ve something to show you.” He walked off, Spoteye waggling along after him.

      The evening continued to be a bright one, with songs and cheers and laughter all around. Though the crowd was small, they sure created an incredible party.

      At some point, Elizia wasn’t sure when a young Gelert came up to the counter, and smiled at Elizia. “Hey! Remember me?” She certainly didn’t, and said as much. The Gelert brushed his fringe out of his eyes. “I’m Gable. That ring any bells?” It didn’t. The Gelert frowned. “We went to the Academy together. When we were younger, much younger.” Now she remembered.

      Gable, if memory serves correctly, was always getting into trouble. Too energetic, unable to sit still. Even so, he had seemed friendly enough, and always wanted to go exploring with Elizia. Sometimes she complied, and traversed the shores near the Academy with him, sometimes, knowing she would get in trouble, she refused. Sure enough, the boy was always caught. He’d spend many afternoons locked up inside the Academy, punished for his disobedience. Even so, he always found a way to escape. You just couldn’t keep him still. Then, one day he and his family vanished, moved off the island without any goodbyes, any trace of where they were going. And now, so many years later, here he was, grinning before Elizia’s eyes.

      “Gable… it’s been… so long!” Elizia was lost for words. Spontaneity was a good thing in her mind, but this was beyond unexpected. “What are you doing back? Where did you go?”

      “All over the world!” Gable had barely let her finish speaking. “The things I’ve seen, the experiences I’ve had! It’s been quite something.”

      Elizia was not in the mood to listen to his boasting now. She had longed for travel, the life he had been living, the experiences he had had. “And why are you back here?”

      Gable smiled. “The tournament.”

      Great, Elizia thought. She’d have to compete with this guy… No doubt his parents had bought him the fastest boat, no doubt he didn’t need the prize money. He must have been doing this purely for his ego. “Good for you,” she snapped.

      Elizia had turned to go away, but just then a flicker of light seemed to rise off the ground. Elizia turned back, alarmed. On Gable’s shoulder now sat a Vaeolus was now perched on his shoulder. “This is Negg,” he smirked. “My partner for the race.”

      “...Negg? Wait, did you say partner!?”

      “Of course. We are allowed a Petpet to assist us, it’s basically a necessity if you want a chance at winning, didn’t you know that?” Elizia had not known. This was troublesome. Who would she take to assist her? She looked down at Spoteye. Would he be able to endure the rough waves? Energetic as he was, he was still very old. Still, purchasing a Petpet at Little Nippers was out of the question. She simply couldn’t afford it.

      “You ever competed, Eli?” She didn’t like him calling her that. She shook her head. “Well, had I been living here long as you have I’d have many competitions under my belt already!”

      “I don’t have parents to buy me everything needed to win,” Elizia muttered. Gable didn’t hear.

      Just then Barney came out of the washroom. “Elizia, time to start cleaning up!”

     
 Gable smiled at her. “I’ll see you around.” Negg chirped, and the two walked away…

           The rest of the evening Elizia sulked. Her chances of winning were seeming lower and lower. Spoteye seemed to pick up on her sorrow and nuzzled his head against her leg. Elizia finished tidying up, and Barney entered the room. She had meant to ask him about the Petpet he used during the race. Perhaps it had been Spoteye. But something made her feel it was best left alone for now. “Come,” he said, and led the way into the cellar.

     
 Elizia rarely came down here. It was where the stock used to be kept, when business was better. Barney led her over to the corner of the room, and opened a small door she had never noticed before. This led into another room, smaller than the cellar. In the centre was a large purple sheet, covering something incredibly lumpy. Barney smiled. “Remove that sheet for me, please.” She did so. Dust flew everywhere as she removed it. She gasped. It was… wood. Planks of old wood, seemingly formed in some sort of undecipherable shape.

      “Barney, what is this?”

      “This,” Barney said, coming closer, “is your ticket off this island. This was the boat I used when I participated in the boat race. Or at least what’s left of it.”

      Elizia raised an eyebrow. The planks seemed old, almost rotting. No way it could be made into anything seaworthy after all these years. “Barney this is… old. I don’t think it can…”

      Barney shook his head. “You don’t understand, girl. This wood is from an ancient tree that used to reside in the Haunted Woods. The species is now extinct. Some say a witch had enchanted it, to make it superior to other wood. This stuff doesn’t look like much, but it is priceless.”

      “Why have you kept it then, and not sold it after all this time?”

      Barney sighed. “Couldn’t bring myself to do it. Meant too much, reminded me of a time when… Forget it. Just accept it. Tomorrow, we will start putting them back together, and you shall have your boat!”

      Elizia beamed. It seemed, perhaps, that some luck was finally coming her way.

     To be continued…