I don’t see it but I know. The people I met in the street either look at me with awe or fear. There’s a group of men who tried to block my way but the enchantment tattooed on this body made punching an easy feat. With just a single jab, I broke the ribs of a man twice my size. The ropes wrapped around my arms amplified my strength and made my punches faster and more accurate. With the goons lying unconscious on the floor, I found their leader trying to escape but not before the other citizens grabbed him by the arms and left him immobile in front of me.
“Ere’s Crawford Jones, Mr. Creach, sir.” A brisk muscular man filled to the brim with tattoos said.
With a smirk, I powered up my arms and released my charged up punch. Fuck! I feel like the most powerful man in the world with these muscles and strength. Whoever this Crawford Jones is, I sent him flying into the air and sent his soul farther up.
Suddenly, the crowd stopped in their tracks and gave way to a green Cordovan guard with his red plated assistant. They were about to disperse the crowd and arrest me when they saw who they’re dealing with. Their far but it feels like I could hear their collective gulp. With a smile, he turned back and didn’t even shed a look. Not only do I have strength, but I also have status and fame in these parts. Wait till Carim saw me.
—
Carim’s back at the tavern below the inn. He’s talking with a burly man with a thick beard that reached down his feet. The man’s big, even bigger than Haafgar. By my estimate, he’d reach the wooden beam in the ceiling if he stood with his toes. Aside from his height, the biceps ripped the man’s shirt to shreds. It’s adorned with a caricature of a laughing Kraken chained to a chimera in the forearm.
Carim looked at us but when he saw me, his eyes grew wider. He went to us and said, “Of all the people you could take over, why him?”
“Is there something wrong?” The man behind him said. “Edward my boy, that ye?”
I waved my hand and smiled. Edward. That’s me.
“Who be that lad beside ye?”
“He-” I coughed as I focused on how to imitate Edward’s accent, “be my friend, ye. He he he he.”
“Friend?” He looked to Aylwin, “be careful of me boy lad. He bites.”
Wait, did he call me boy? Then that means, he’s Temerius Creach. My father and the pirate those bar customers are talking about. From my eavesdropping, he’s a notorious pirate on this side of the coast. He raids other pirates of loot and adds their skeleton crew to his own. He’s not the most formidable in this sea, that would be awarded to Ignatius Sclera - The Flaming Falcon, but Temerius is still a force one should not reckon with.
“Do be a good lad and introduce your friend,”
Carim walked between us, “Actually, this lad here is my um- travel partner. Temerius Creach, Aylwin. Aylwin, Temerius Creach.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Aylwin said.
“That be so. Tis’ a product of fate ain’t it?”
“Aye…?” I replied.
“Aye,” Carim said.
“Aye,” Aylwin said too.
“We leave at the end of the week,” Temerius said. “That fancies ye Carim?”
“Aye,”
Temerius chugged three mugs of beer in one sitting, letting the gold liquid run down his throat and letting a laugh to belch out the air. He called upon names of gods he believed in and wished luck for the journey to Almaria. He and his cohorts left the inn but he didn’t bother asking me to come with him. He may be this boy’s father by blood but a feeling inside me tells that’s the end of it.
—
Carim was furious at us when we returned to our room. What would happen is Temerius knew that his son is overtaken by someone from another world? Carim thought about it for a second, and his face looked like he’s arguing with himself. Then his face changed for the better.
“Actually, stay in his body. I know Temerius since he smuggled me out of Almaria years ago. He’s damn good at his job but he can be fickle at times. We’ll use the boy as a bargaining chip when the time comes.”
We spent that latter part of the day buying commodities and using Edward’s fame to get discounted prices. There were goons on the way that tried to hurt us but they were easily dealt with my fist and Carim’s sword.