After a detailed instruction of how to leave Zeltiva, Jayce felt so clueless about all that was out there in the world, but as stubborn as his father had inadvertently raised him to be, he decided he'd still go along with the original plan (with of course alterations to his route). Understanding hit Jayce hard, and he soon realised that Mr. Dungeolah was there for him.
"Mr. Dungeolah, I fear the cold may consume me, or that I may fail to consume," Jayce started, "Do you think--".
"Don't fear, my man. I will tell you what you need to know!" With that, Mr. Dungeolah began to pull items from the crate. "I assume you've never seen these items before, so I'll start by detailing the application of these instruments!" He produced a tent and read the text on its label. He couldn't resist cracking a smile when he remembered, "Ah yes, this baffled me the most," he winked at Jayce with that, "I only assumed there'd be some female company on this journey, whether you wanted it originally or not... it seemed strange to me when I saw that the tent was only large enough for one person! Aha-ha-ha!"
Jayce smiled, it was good that Mr. Dungeolah had a sense of humour like this, and it showed just how well he knew Jayce. A little moment passed by, while Mr. Dungeolah briefly went over how to set up the tent and prevent it from falling over or apart. He showed him how to shield himself from wind while sleeping, using a combination of pegs and tucks around the seams of the canvas. Demonstrations were shown with the tent assembled, and Jayce felt he got a good understanding of what temperatures meant in terms of tent setup. In fact, a whole 10 minutes went by where Jayce simply experimented with the second layer of the window, (that was intended as fly deterrent) trying to stop it halfway down and fasten it at the bottom. After a good half an hour, he'd found out exactly what the tent was all about, and moved on to the next item on the list.
"So, I've shown you how the camouflage tarp. works, right?" He stopped before Jayce nodded to him, "Good, the rope has some fairly obvious practicalities, I suppose I should show you a couple of knots, though". This was Jayce's first time at anything like this, he felt like being back in training, only with survival gear instead of the sword. First up was the Overhand not, which seemed all too simple, but as more knots were introduced, namely the Slip Knot, Sheet Bend and Noose, Jayce's head began whirling in confusion. It was one thing learning how to tie the knots, but remembering when to apply them would be a nightmare for him.
As the 'training' went on, and Jayce endured more painfully baffling lectures, he began to forget some of the previous training. By the time he moved on to learning about the fishing kit, for example, he'd already forgotten half of the folds and pegging techniques involved in the tent. Overall, though, he grasped a good understanding of all of his equipment, and definitely felt more comfortable with his plan.
"I don't know how to thank you," he started, "Here, take some--" Once again he was interrupted by Mr. Dungeolah.
"Listen to me, my silly, funny man", Mr. Dungeolah looked him dead in the eye, "Money can't buy some things, and I want you to take this as a lesson. The sooner you start thinking without money, the better!"
"Oh," Jayce sighed in a half-relief, half-disappointment style, and shook Mr. Dungeolah's hand, offering him hesitantly the mizas for all of the equipment, "You still want paying for all of--"
"Of course!" Mr. Dungeolah laughed aloud at himself, "Do you know what it cost me to get all of that? I almost lost my job!"
-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
They gently pushed open the cabin door and peered out. The light shot through in a dazzling ray, leaving the pair of them to stumble around on the deck for a while while they became accustomed again to the day. The sun had climbed, and now it sat proudly atop a hill of clouds, gazing down at the early Winter scene. It wasn't very cold considering it was a Winter's day, the wind had stopped completely, and Jayce felt very free in his own space.
His stomach turned, and he realised he had to eat something, so the both of them wandered away from the vessel (after adjusting the plank to be in place on the Starboard, of course), and said their goodbyes, before parting.
|
|