Ryan followed Grizzly and Eragon to the Airship hidden on the roof of the building.
"Femur!"
The skeleton ran toward Grizzly, bones clanking like a xylophone every step.
He stood at attention and saluted.
"Yes, Sir!"
The old man sighed while lighting another cigarette.
"Get the ship ready, and I need you to relax. We aren't at war."
"Understood, Sir."
He saluted again and clanked toward the ship.
"Why me?" Grizzly whispered to himself as he followed
Eragon walked closer to Ryan, who was staring at the skeleton.
"The Guild Master is a Necromancer. He makes deals with people to work for him after they die."
The Draconian opened the door and let Ryan and the old man enter first.
"They do the everyday stuff so we can focus on being badasses."
Ryan remained quiet.
He tried and failed to keep his distance.
The Airship wasn't very big, and the sails had the same rose with blood dripping picture from the front of the building.
The ship took off from the building in a flash.
Ryan nearly lost his balance, but Grizzly caught him.
He pushed himself off the old man.
After a few minutes, Grizzly said, "I'm going below for a nap, Blue Leader. Take care of the kid."
As he left, he gave the Draconian a small salute.
Ryan stood rigidly next to the railing, looking down at the ground.
He could feel the vibrations of Eragon's footsteps getting closer to him.
The Draconian saw the young man's white knuckles on the railing.
"Do you like video games?"
Ryan stayed quiet for a few seconds before he answered.
"I have never played."
He feigned outrage with his expressionless face.
"Why? Fun is what a growing boy needs!"
Ryan kept quiet, and Eragon walked a little closer.
"Do you want to try? We still have a few hours until we hit land."
Ryan wanted to protest, but the sight of Eragon destroyed the thought.
Eragon held out a handheld system.
"This will help you to relax."
He looked at the console and relented.
"How does it work?"
Eragon sat down on the railing to go down low enough to teach Ryan how to play.
"Finally, he speaks."
They played racing games for about an hour.
Eragon won every single race until he 'crashed' at the end of the final one.
"Yes!"
Ryan had a big smile on his face for a second and punched the air, but he immediately pulled back.
"Good job, Ryan, it seems that you have a real talent for video games."
He tried to pat Ryan's back.
He moved away from Eragon's touch.
"Thank you, that was fun."
Ryan's voice was back to monotone.
He turned the game off and handed it back to Eragon.
"What is the guild like?"
"I think it is better if you see that for yourself, it is very different from what you seem to be used to."
Ryan bolted to his feet and faced Eragon with anger in his eyes.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Eragon held up his hands.
"You are very serious, and you felt guilty for enjoying video games. Your life must've been hell."
Ryan looked down.
"Yes, hell."
"I tell you what, if anyone wants to punish you for having fun, I promise they have to go through me first."
He locked eyes with Eragon.
"Why?"
The Draconian shrugged and said, "Why not?"
Ryan thought about the words he had just heard.
"Thank you, you are not as scary as you seem."
"I know."
There was sadness in Eragon's voice.
It was eerie because his expression remained the same.
Ryan then asked, "What other games are there?"
Eragon perked up and said, "You have much to learn, Padawan."
He pulled out the game system and gave it to Ryan again.
Ryan then proceeded to lose every single game.
After a few hours of losing, Ryan became bored and put the system away.
He sat with his back to the railing with his eyes closed.
He tried to sleep for about two hours, but it refused to come.
Just as it felt like he would drift away, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Eragon said after Ryan opened his eyes, "Look over there."
Ryan saw a floating island directly in front of them.
The island had high walls, like a castle that could withstand sieges.
"Isn't she a beauty?" Eragon said happily with his expressionless face.
"How does it fly?"
"I have no idea. You will have to ask the Baron."
He then turned from Ryan and stood at attention.
Eragon took a deep breath and yelled, "Femur!"
The skeleton clinked and clanked to Eragon and saluted.
"Yes, Sir, at your service."
Eragon saluted back at the skeleton.
"Wake Grizzly, and tell him we will land shortly."
"Understood, Sir!"
He saluted again and clanked away.
"So, any questions before we hit landfall?"
Eragon leaned over the railing and looked at the island.
"Is everyone like you?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Eragon mimicked Ryan's monotone.
Ryan's voice sounded normal for once.
"Like Dragons and skeletons?"
"I am a Draconian, and I am the only one. The skellies, on the other hand, are everywhere."
Ryan wanted to give Eragon comforting words, but he had none.
To his surprise, he felt shame.
"I do have some friends for you to meet."
Ryan felt relief at Eragon's change of subject.
He leaned in close and whispered, looking over Ryan's shoulder, "I would like to introduce you to Grizzly's girlfriend."
"She is not my girlfriend!"
Grizzly was right behind Ryan.
The young man almost jumped at Grizzly's quiet movement.
"Not with that attitude."
The old man rolled his eyes and looked for his lighter, but couldn't find it.
He cleared his throat and gave Eragon a look.
The Draconian licked his finger and, with a snap, created a small flame.
As he lit his cigarette, Grizzly looked at Ryan.
"Eragon is referring to Eena, who owns a tavern."
Trying to process the new information, Ryan asked, "So Eena isn't your girlfriend?"
Grizzly started coughing and almost dropped his cigarette.
Eragon started laughing, and Grizzly said, "Not you too!"
Between laughs, Eragon said, "The tavern has a small house connected, but just the three of us are gonna stay there."
Ryan felt slightly overloaded by the way these two just threw around information.
As the ship got ready to dock, Grizzly called for Femur again.
He heard the familiar clanking.
"Yes, Sir, at your service!"
"When we land, get the ship cleaned and let Aleksandar know Ryan is here."
With another salute, Femur clanked away to perform his duties.
As they drew closer to the dock area, Ryan mostly saw humans, but sprinkled in the group were skeletons and some Orcs.
Ryan felt sweat drip down the back of his neck.
As they landed, Orcs with their massive strength pulled the ship.
The Orcs heaved loudly as they anchored the ship.
The same Orcs placed the gangway between the ship and the dock.
A massive Orc with an eye-patch walked onto the deck and stopped directly in front of Grizzly.
"Do ya have anything to declare, old man?"
The two were facing off, and Ryan feared a fight would break out.
The Orc smiled, and this brought attention to his large tusks jutting up from his bottom lip.
"I declare that you owe me a drink"
The Orc started laughing and shook Grizzly's hand.
"You always know how to bring 'em in, how do ya do it?"
Grizzly shrugged, "I'm a people person."
The smiling Orc turns to Ryan, who fought to retain eye contact.
"The name is Grawl, I'm part o' da guard."
Ryan looked at his outstretched hand and hesitantly shook it.
"Ryan."
"A man o' few words, welcome to da Blood Rose."
He nodded at Ryan.
For a second, he was sure that Grawl bared his teeth at Eragon.
Grizzly led them through the busy cobblestone streets to the tavern called The Broken Tusk.