TRAVIS

"Someone is here; they're marveling at my beauty at the base of the gangplank." Paragon's mental voice snapped Travis's focus away from his book. "I think she is from the Krisinger family." Paragon's excitement briefly washed away Travis's nervousness, but as he stood and separated Paragon's thoughts from his own, the anxiety began to creep into the forefront of his mind. "You got this," Paragon assured telepathically.

Travis inhaled, then stood as he placed his book on the table next to his chair. I can do this. He exited the room, hen stepped onto the deck, and looked in the direction of the gangplank.

A blue-skinned woman in a simple pale green dress stood at the gangplank with her navy hair tied into a ball behind her head. She looked up to Travis as he crossed onto the earthen dock.

"Hello madam, how may I help you?" Travis smiled slightly.

"I'm looking for Captain Woodgrain; this is The Paragon, correct?" She raised an eyebrow as she surveyed the young man.

"This is Paragon; I am Captain Travis Woodgrain." Travis offered a hand to the woman.

She blinked in surprise, then accepted the brief handshake. "I am Krisinger Fein. I apologize for my matriarch's absence, but she was unable to come, so I am here in her stead."

Invite her in, and offer refreshments. I prepared a room; however, I can make a table and chairs appear on the deck if she prefers that instead. Paragon's excitement rang in each of her words.

"Welcome, madam, would you like some refreshments?" Travis offered a hand to the woman to help her up the gangplank. "I have a place prepared for us to discuss inside, but a place on the deck can easily be prepared."

"Below deck is fine," the woman accepted his assistance and walked onto the motionless deck. "My family was quite surprised to hear news of this vessel; I had to dig through old records. Though I do admit, I was not expecting a human as her captain." She spoke softly and carefully.

"Captain Starport did not have any heirs," Travis repeated the explanation Paragon instructed him to use as he released her hand and lead her into the room the live ship prepared for negotiations. "Paragon eventually ended in my family, though I am the first to use her a merchant vessel in a long time." The young captain held the door to the negotiation room.

The room was very similar to the map area, though the table was smaller and only contained two chairs. A scale and weights sat on a shelf behind the desk, along with a few random gold and silver items.

The woman thanked him, then calmly entered and glanced around the room as she and Travis sat in on opposite sides of the desk. "I have four crates of magic textiles and a crate of jewelry from Havenous," Travis opened the drawer and withdrew the items Paragon magically placed inside. He set the fabric on the desk, then opened the two jewelry boxes and displayed them.

"It has been a long time since I've seen such fine magical cloth," the blue-skinned Ynirian muttered to herself as she fingered the red fabric. "I can offer one hundred ecnuos per crate. As for the jewelry, fifty for necklaces, twenty-five for bracelets, and fifteen for earrings and rings."

"I won't accept any higher than seventy-five for the crates; the other prices are acceptable." Paragon evaluated the offer. "Her offer is reasonable, but I'm not going to extort her for things we got for free."

Travis nodded slightly, "I'll take seventy-five ecnuos for the fabrics, but no more." He smiled a bit, "I will not extort my partners. The other prices were reasonable." Travis withdrew his trading log and pretended to do the calculations while Paragon secretly did it for him.

Travis smiled at the shocked woman and placed the paper on the table for her to view. "The total is seven hundred ecnuos for the entire shipment." He set the page onto the table and turned it for her to see.

The woman looked at the page, her eyes wide. "I shall bring the payment and a wagon within the hour." She accepted the page as she stood. "Thank you, Captain Woodgrain, for your honesty; it was a pleasure to do business with you. May we continue to do business into the future."

"Likewise, madam," Travis stood and politely offered an arm, "would you like me to escort you back to the dock?"

"Thank you," the woman nodded and accepted his offer.

Travis led her out of the aftercastle, then helped her down the gangplank. He waved as she quickly walked down the earthen dock.

"Ooh, I can't wait!" Paragon's words rang with excitement. When Krisinger Feinu was out of sight, the four crates of cloth and the one crate of packaged jewelry appeared on the deck.

Travis jumped in surprise, "What happened to remain undercover?" He chuckled slightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm just excited! Our first trade!" Paragon managed to keep her figurehead form still, though some of the tied ropes trembled in an unseen breeze. "You already have things picked out to take with us, right?"

"Yes," Travis promised, "but you need to have patience. I can't buy new items before we finish this deal."

"I waited hundreds of years; I can wait an hour," Paragon boasted. "It will be easy!"

Paragon later admitted that it was not as easy as she initially thought.

Before the hour was up, a wagon arrived with Krisinger Feinu at the head, with another male Ynirian. "Hello, Captain," the woman smiled as she stepped out of the wagon. "This is my brother, Krisinger Kyu."

Travis smiled and nodded. "Hello sir, madam, here is everything you ordered, ready for inspection if you would like."

The man nodded and walked up the gangplank. "Where's your crew?" He raised a suspicious eyebrow as he approached the crates.

Travis watched as he opened a crate. "Don't have one yet; sailors are a suspicious lot. Not many good men will work on a magic ship." Travis admitted. "My father didn't want to sail the ship, so I didn't inherit a crew when I became captain. Thankfully the ship runs itself."

The male Ynirian suspiciously eyed the human as he opened up the top two crates. "How do I know you didn't steal the ship and these wares?"

"Because I wouldn't allow anyone to steal me." The two blue-skinned humanoids jumped and looked at Paragon as she slightly moved her head. "What kind of liveship would I be if I allowed that to happen?" She huffed slightly, then returned to her standard position.

"The figurehead...." Krisinger Kyu gawked, "...is alive?"

"That's what it meant by liveship..." Krisinger Feinu murmured to herself. "The ship itself is alive."

"Paragon is alive, though she usually pretends to be inanimate, many people are unnerved by her magical properties. I'm sorry if she startled you." Travis explained."What happened to not revealing yourself?"

"I will not let them belittle my captain," Paragon mentally snorted.

What am I going to do with you? Travis shook his head a bit, "I apologize for Paragon's behavior."

"Don't apologize!" Paragon yelled into Travis's mind, but the human ignored her complaints.

"If I heard someone was disrespectful to my matriarch, I would defend her," the female Ynirian said as she glanced to her brother as he continued to survey the crated products, "I apologize for my brother's comments."

"And I apologize for my doubt; these look like fine wares for the agreed price." Krisinger Kyu closed the crates, then began to load them into the wagon. "I hope we can continue to trade in the future."

"Fine, but if he scorns you again, I may change my mind." Paragon mentally stated. "No one talks bad about my captain."

"Here, this is the seven-hundred," Krisinger Feinu offered a small chest that she carried as if it was heavy. However, it was not all that heavy when Travis accepted it. "Thank you for trading with the Krisinger Family."

"That is the correct weight." Paragon mentally nodded. "Place it on the deck; I'll add it to your moneybag for when you need it."

The brother and sister pair waved as they left with the five crates in their wagon, and Travis waved back.

He set the box down, then watched as it vanished into the planks of the deck. Now to buy new items to trade before we set off again.

Author Notes:

Sorry for being late, college hit me harder than I expected this semester.