(Storyish) New Directions
The hour was slowly growing late yet there was still candle light burning in the captain’s quarters of The Sunstriker. Fen sat back in his chair, boots propped up on the desk as he puffed silently on his dwarven pipe. The old hickory wood of the pipe gave the tobac weed an enjoyable taste, which was a kind distraction from a particular problem Fen was facing.
Smoke blew out from his lips to form rings, one after another, until they slowly dispersed. Fen’s Fel corrupted eyes lazily watched them with amusement until an itch began to tickle the back of his mind pointing out the annoyance from earlier. With a sigh he switched his gaze to the single book that cluttered his desk. The problem.
He had nearly forgotten all about it, he wanted to just sweep it under the figurative rug of his mind, never to be thought of again. But it wasn’t that simple. It’d only come back to bite him in some way, that and it just wasn’t proper due to the recent changes in his life.
The book on his desk was his ledger. His book of accounts. It was a written record of who he was, at least financially. His numerous bank accounts, properties, equipment, and any other assets along with their estimated value. He was far richer than he had previously thought. But that wasn’t what occupied the the majority of his thoughts this night. No, it was line item number thirteen on his list of assets. Fen reached over and turned the pages until he reached line number thirteen. The old hunting lodge.
At one time the cabin was just what it sounded like, a place to rest while on hunting trips. But now it was a place he avoided. Fen wrinkled his nose and leaned forward, his boots returning to the wooded floor boards. He had lived there for a few months after he was kicked from his family home but had left it when he broke it off with Fisali. She had left there as well, but then returned a few months later after asking him if it was alright that she did.
Before it was fine for her to stay there, but now that he was soon to be wed, it wasn’t proper for him to house an old ex girlfriend. “No, just won’t do at all…” Fen muttered out loud then puffed thoughtfully on his pipe. “What to do… What to do.” He hummed out. He knew what he had to do. “Fine, fine…”
Fen checked the time then stood to his feet to look out the large window at the stern of the ship. Other thoughts entertained his mind. His world was changing, and he needed to change with it.
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change."
He smiled as the old quote came to mind. He needed to revisit his old business model, adapt a new strategy that would ensure his success for years to come. After all, he would soon have a wife to help support. He stepped over to a cabinet nearby, pulled open one of the draws, and selected one of his maps. It was time to revisit one of his older project ideas, one that wasn’t ready a few months back, but now that he had the money, it was finally viable again.
The next hour was spent marking maps, making lists of supplies he’d need, as well as a list of people who could help.
Foots steps were heard heading down to the cabin, Fen smiled knowing it was his love returning.
