247 Boat Hunting

Graham closed the inn door behind him, locking it secure before stuffing the key inside his pants pocket. Not long after, the door from the next room was opened and Luuk got out. The two men had planned to meet up outside their rooms after dropping off their belongings.

Having taken a quick shower, Graham was now wearing a plain loose t-shirt that was cream in color, matching that of the locals' and a pair of loose cotton pants. His tanned and hairy arms were exposed, ready to soak up some sunlight. There was a belt covered underneath his thin shirt that was somewhat seethrough and a strange-looking bracelet around his right wrist. Graham's right hand was holding a cane that didn't show any abnormality except for the fact that it looked very sturdy.

Luuk, on the other hand, was now wearing a thin black sweater and a pair of jeans. There was something bulging on the right side of his waist, which was most likely the severed hand enhanced weapon that boosted his Theft ability. The young man's brown hair was left in a mess with signs of wet patches here and there. 'The wind will dry the rest' was probably what Luuk was thinking when he left the room.

Although it was approaching winter, the weather in Texel was rather strange. The sun was shining brightly, casting its warm sunshine down while the temperature itself was low enough to be comfortable in thick clothing. For Graham with his supernaturally-warmed body, however, it was not an issue at all.

"Where do we go looking for a boat, Mr. Hymes?" asked Luuk, knowing that his neighbor must have used his divination ability to find out.

"First, we need to head to the southern part of the island. The port that leads to our destination is there. There should be someone there who's desperate enough to be willing to take us to Raas. Although, I don't think it will be cheap," Graham explained while rummaging his pockets.

Luuk noticed what his partner was doing and started doing the same. He checked his wallet for money and found that not much was left there.

"How are we going to pay then?" he asked nonchalantly, looking at the detective right in the eye. He was sure the man was still in possession of quite a lot of money left and his gesture just now was only for a dramatic effect.

Graham now stared at Luuk with a mischievous glare.

"Isn't that your specialty?" he smiled meaningfully, his tone all serious.

Luuk smiled bitterly, understanding what the man meant.

"Okay, I'll try to get some money along the way. It's been long since I could do it anyway."

"Good. I'll also try to get some money another way. Just remember not to get caught. Although this is an offshore island, this place is still under the authority of the Police and the Marine. They must have their own Contractbound division stationed here,"

The young medical student nodded.

Once they had finished discussing, Graham and Luuk made their way downstairs back to the bar. The two of them headed straight for the exit, walking through the indistinguishable murmurs and yellings of the drunk.

"Maria... give me back my balls..."

"Fuck you, doghead! You must be cheating!"

"Your grandma is cheating! I ain't playing no trick you ballsack face!"

Thud!

The inn door was closed behind him, ending the nonsense. They were now greeted by a different kind of noise, one that was much more pleasant. It was the bustling island life with its own distinct sounds and smell, somewhat fishy and salty with a hint of muddiness... until suddenly their noses were assaulted by a strong and pungent aroma coming from nearby.

"Ugh! What the hell is this smell!" Luuk pinched his nose with a disgusting look on his face. His eyes gradually became watery and red the longer he was exposed to the smell.

It was a smell similar to caramelized sewage water combined with rotting flesh that was marinated in rose water. The smell individually would not be a big deal, but all of them incorporated together was something even the strongest human would have a problem with.

"Crap. I know this one. It's one of those spikefruits! Let's leave quickly before we end up smelling like one,"

Graham quickly ran, followed by Luuk. He covered his nose with his forearm, stuffing his face deep into his elbow pit. The two ran as fast as they could as if their lives depended on it. Only after escaping the blast radius did they stop and took a deep breath.

"Pant... pant... was that really a fruit? A spikefruit? What even is that?" Luuk was recovering with his hands on his knees. Running that far while holding his breath was not easy, after all, especially since the reach of the smell was a large radius around it.

Leaning on the wall of the building behind him, Graham replied, "It's a kind of imported fruit from the south that is all spiky on the outside. I've never seen how the flesh looks because I'm always long gone by the time one is opened.. Occasionally, there will be traveling merchants selling those abominable fruits here, and a lot of the locals and tourists seem to enjoy them. Luckily, they're illegal on the mainland because of the smell.

"No wonder I've never heard of it. At least that's good news. How can people enjoy something that smells worse than a dead body like that..." Luuk pondered.

Graham shrugged and then started walking again. He looked back at his partner and spoke, "No idea. Let's get a move on. The southern port should not be too far. There should also be another market street with a lot of tourists. You can do your thing there."

With a glimmer in his eyes, Luuk nodded softly.

The two men walked south following the cobblestone path. It was already past noon, but the island was still as lively as in the morning. Something that Luuk had noticed was that there were no motor carriages at all on the island. People still used horse carriages to transport goods and even people.

The market street that Graham had seen through his divination gradually made its appearance in front of them, and people were already packing it. The southern port, after all, was the busiest of the four ports on Texel. It was the port that people who wanted to explore the numerous smaller islands would go to, as well as where the big ships from other countries docked. Although the eastern port would be closer to those countries, the water was too shallow for those giant sea vessels, so the eastern port was used mostly by fishermen's boats.

"Come here, handsome! We have the finest fabric made here on Texel! You can feel how soft it is with just a single touch!"

"Young lady over there! You look distressed! Come here for a traditional Texel massage! You will be a whole new person once we're done!"

"Young man, you look rather pale! Buy our tanning oil to improve your complexion!"

The last one was directed at Luuk, who, compared to the other people there, indeed looked rather pale. However, the young man had no intention of buying anything from the market place, so he just ignored it.

Luuk's eyes were quickly scanning all the people flocking the wide market street. There were a lot of rich-looking tourists everywhere, and he was looking for the most suitable target. After all, he had to be really careful not to get caught.

Each putting on a pair of gloves, the two men walked deeper into the street casually. At some point, Luuk's right hand was making a tiny swiping motion that was hidden by his body while focusing on a man in a fur coat in front of him. The crowd all around him also helped to veil his suspicious action.

"Your wallet is mine..."

Suddenly, a thick brown wallet with an intricate design appeared in Luuk's hand. With a swift movement, he took out what felt to be a thick stack of money from the wallet without looking. Luuk just trusted his instinct as a Thief. After that, he secretly handed the man's wallet to Graham, who was standing closely next to him.

"I order you to go back to your owner..."

The detective whispered and covertly tossed the wallet and it magically flew back to the owner's pocket. Now, it seemed that nothing had happened at all except for the fact that the man's wallet had gotten thinner.

Continuing along the street, Luuk stole some more money from four other people and Graham helped return their wallets to erase the track. By the time they reached the dock, they had made more than ten guilders from stealing alone.

"Not bad, eh, Mr. Hymes? It's just too bad people traveling don't usually carry all their cash with them, otherwise, we would have got much more," there was a proud smile on Luuk's face.

"Yeah, not bad at all. With what I have on me, it should be enough to cover our fare to the island. Now let's go find that person," Graham nodded in approval, counting the money. He then put the stolen money inside his wallet and moved along.

In front of them was now the southern port of Texel itself, a place bigger than the western one where their ship had docked earlier this morning. There were many giant cargo ships docked in the distance while people were busy running about their own businesses. It was an overall pretty busy port.

"We won't find any spikefruits around here, will we?" asked Luuk jokingly.

Graham smiled mockingly, "Why? The smell has grown on you? There must be a seller somewhere here, although opening it right here in this port might not be that legal."

There was a genuine relief on Luuk's face upon hearing Graham's words. However, he then suddenly recalled something.

"Why didn't you use your ability back then to get rid of the smell?" Luuk asked judgingly.

There was a bitter expression on Graham's face.

"I... actually was really flustered that I forgot to do that. The first time I experienced the smell of a Spikefruit was when I was still a normal human, so it made me think I was still one. That just shows how potent that smell is," Graham explained sheepishly, "Anyway, let's go that way. The person should be around there," he changed the topic.

Luuk followed Graham who had already gone ahead towards another section of the port. Instead of going straight where the giant ships were, Graham made his way to the right, towards a smaller path leading to a smaller dock. There, boats and small ships were lined up.

"There. That boat is the one I saw in my divination."

The young medical student looked in the direction where Graham pointed at. There was a docked motorboat that was big enough for probably five people to still sail comfortably, but small enough to maneuver easily. It looked rather old but well-maintained, and the white paint over its body still looked fresh. There was the flag of the Republic of Tulp hoisted at the right back corner of the boat and the name 'Sailor Goon' was painted on its side.

"What a weird name for a boat. Where is the owner?" asked Luuk, scanning his surroundings. There seemed to be no one on the boat or inside the cabin.

"Let's just approach it. The person will surely show up if we get too close to their boat," Graham suggested.

Walking on the dock, Graham and Luuk approached the anchored boat carefully, anticipating someone to come to them. It didn't take long before finally there was a yell coming from one of the small bars on the other side.

"Oi lads! Watch where yer going!"

It was a bald man that looked to be in his late fifties with a thick, magnificent orange mustache on his face. The man was topless, exposing his hairy chest that was as orange as his mustache and his beer belly. He looked rather pissed that some strangers were approaching his treasured boat. Carrying a beer bottle in one hand, he approached Graham and Luuk rather hastily.

"Sorry, Sir. We're actually looking for you, but you were nowhere to be seen," Graham said politely.

The bald man raised his eyebrows.

"Looking fer me? What business d'ya have with me?" asked the man suspiciously, scanning the two strangers in front of him carefully.

"I'll go straight to the point. I need you to take us to Raas," said Graham seriously.

The man's expression visibly changed. It was a mix of surprise, anger, and a hint of delight hidden behind the other emotions.

"Yer crazy or what lads?! Raas? That island is cursed! And the bloody pirates too! And why are ye looking for me first and not the other bastards around here?"

Graham smiled meaningfully.

"Because my divination told me you're the best sailor around this part. Am I not right, Mr. de Velde?"

The bald man couldn't hide his smile as the corners of his lips started curling. There was a proud look on his face. There was also a hidden look of expectation in his eyes that instantly disappeared before anyone noticed.

"Hah! So you're one of those weirdos! And this one too?" he pointed at Luuk.

The young medical student understood what he meant by weirdos and nodded.

"Okay then! I'll take you there, but it won't be cheap, lads! Thirty guilders and we'll have to leave the island before dark, so no sightseeing for you. Take it or leave it," de Velde made his offer.

Graham had already found the price through divination, so he was not surprised by it. With the extra ten that Luuk made earlier, they had just enough to pay for that. As for money for the next day, the island should be home to some weird supernatural creatures, so they could hunt them and sold their remains for money once they were there.

"Deal. So what time should we meet you here tomorrow?" Graham offered a handshake, which de Velde accepted firmly.

"Meet me here at five. We'll leave at the break of dawn. Make sure you have everything ready. I ain't going back to fetch yer mama's laces. And we must leave Raas before four, otherwise, we'll be sailing in the dark and be easy targets for those lowlifes."

Graham nodded.

"Understood."

"And there is one thing. I'll tell you tomorrow," de Velde added. "Now scram! I need to get my baby ready for tomorrow," he hushed the two men.

Graham and Luuk left the dock area and the topless man behind. The captain of the boat had been gone when they turned back, probably to deal with the preparations.

"It was... easy. I thought it would be much more difficult..." Luuk said uneasily.

"It would have been much more difficult without divination for sure. Besides, it seems that the man has his own reason for wanting to go to Raas, but he just hid it well. Us being Contractbounds appears to be the deal maker for him."