Sorry for the delay, I got a lil busy, here is the chapter

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Rose Tea

Chapter Thirteen [Wilbur]

At the fountain in the town, the three of them saw Phil and Tubbo waiting. Phil's face didn't seem very happy. The man stood uncomfortably stiff by the fountain with his arms crossed and his brows furrowed. Tubbo sat on the edge of the fountain. The clear water that reflected the setting sun obscured Tubbo's face from view as it splashed down into the basin of the fountain.

"Guys, how did your search go, ours did not go so well," Tubbo stood up and waved to them as they approached.

"We have a lead, sort of," Techno said, he fiddled with the pendant around his neck, "The beastfolk I talked to said that the one in possession of the axe would approach us if I had this on while riding on a ship called the SS Flower or something."

"Rose," Wilbur corrected. He shook his head, it wasn't a hard name.

Phil pondered for a moment, "We've only just gotten this inn room, but if the axe can be found just by taking a ship then we should do it. I'll inquire about the fare for passage on the ship, the rest of you should return to the inn and get some dinner."

The 5 of them split up again, with Techno leading the four of them to the inn and Phil heading towards the port. Wilbur was relieved to see Tommy smiling alongside Tubbo as they chatted, he was glad the boy was in better spirits now.

Wilbur wondered if he should explain to Tommy and Tubbo what exactly they were doing. To be honest, the two of them unintentionally got roped into this quest of his simply because they happened to be at the wrong place and time. And though Wilbur loved their company he was worried if it was right to keep them along when this journey could very well risk their lives.

He thought back to Tommy's concerns. The concerns of a child who didn't want to be thrown away. Perhaps this journey gave the boys a sense of belonging or a home amongst others. Here the two orphans wouldn't have to worry about food or warmth again. In other words, they were rather lucky to have met him and Techno, but his concerns still remained. Wilbur would never be able to forgive himself if they got hurt on his account.

All that the three of them really knew was that they were searching for Phil's family's heirloom, Dream's axe of Valor. But they didn't really know much about why or what was to come after that. It didn't feel right to Wilbur to keep them in the dark for too long, but it seemed neither Phil, Techno, or him knew how to break the ice.

How do you tell two boys that they were unknowingly embarking on a potentially dangerous journey against an unknown enemy?

They arrived back at the inn before Wilbur even knew it. His thoughts were interrupted as they were surrounded by the bustling noise of the inn's dining space.

Techno turned to the two boys, "Don't leave the building, don't cause trouble, and go get yourselves something to eat." Tubbo caught the coins that Techno pulled from his pockets and tossed to him. Both boys eagerly looked at each other before the two scurried to place their orders. "We'll be upstairs ok, come up when you're done," Techno shouted to the two. The two boys barely gave much acknowledgment, but it was clear they had heard him. Techno and Wilbur climbed the staircase to the inn's 2nd floor and entered their room. Tommy still had Wilbur's book, but since they were just the floor below he could handle the distance.

Upon entering the room, Techno flopped on his bed. He sighed in relief, "I'm taking a nap," he muttered. Wilbur felt sorry for the pig. He must be tired.

Wilbur decided to leave the pig be. He could busy himself with exploring the room and waiting until Phil got back.

~~~~~

Wilbur looked up to hear the door opening. Techno was snoring loudly on his bed. Wilbur was floating over some of their supplies. He had been attempting to practice picking things up, but with no success. He'd only manage to nudge a spoon out of a bag and onto the floor. But it practically remained glued to the floor, the weight of gravity too much for the ghost to counteract.

"I'm stuffed!" Tommy exclaimed.

"I hope we can eat like this every day!" Tubbo added. Phil chuckled behind the two as the three of them entered the room. Phil carried in a bag that looked like it was filled with stuff. He set the bag on the floor by the door. Techno woke up with a start and sat up.

"You're back," he said. He wiped the drool from his mouth and rubbed his eyes.

"Yes," Phil said. He pulled from his pocket 4 slips of paper, "I got us 4 tickets on that boat. They depart tomorrow morning so it looks like we made it just in time."

"Good."

"Hey Phil, so what do ships do?" Tubbo asked.

"They are large vessels that carry people over the water from one place to another," Phil said. He walked over to a small table and placed the tickets there. Phil took off his shoes and sat in the chair.

Tommy and Tubbo each took a seat on a bed, "Do you have to swim? Because I can't swim," Tommy said.

Phil chuckled, "No you won't have to worry about that. Think of it like a carriage but on water."

"So do sharks pull it?" Tubbo jumped up, "Like how horses pull carriages?" Wilbur snickered and Phil shook his head, but he too had a smile on his face. Techno, at this point, had already laid back down and passed out once more. His snoring ripped through the room.

"Alright, enough questions. The two of you should get ready to sleep. We'll be waking up by dawn this time, we can't be late, ok?"

"Fine," they said in unison.

After about 20 minutes of stalling and taking their sweet time, the two boys inevitably passed out in their beds. Which left him and Phil as the last two remaining awake. Not that he would be going to sleep at all. Phil yawned, but the man didn't get up from his chair to prepare for sleep. He cleared his throat.

"Aren't you going to sleep Phil?" Wilbur asked.

"Yeah...in a bit, I just needed to think for a bit," Phil closed his eyes. Wilbur watched him curiously.

"So what will you do after this?" Wilbur asked. Phil opened one eye.

"After sleeping?"

Wilbur shook his head, "No, after retrieving the axe." At this point, Wilbur had fully stopped messing with the spoon. Phil opened both eyes and sat up straighter.

"After this...," he glanced over in Tommy and Tubbo's direction, "I plan to head back to Crowle. I only planned to help you and Techno retrieve what should have been carefully stored for your use, in any case, I won't be much help in a real battle so it won't do any good to stick around after," Phil's eyes glanced away.

Wilbur noticed Phil quietly shift in his seat. He thought back to the fact Phil had packed his sword amongst their supplies, but since traveling, has not worn it around his waist once. At least not since Wilbur last saw it on him, back when he went to go save Techno. The sword remained untouched in their supplies, only once disturbed by Tommy's curious and grabby hands. Though Techno had quickly stopped the boy while on their journey here from playing around with it.

"Can I ask how you got hurt?"

"Mm..." Phil faltered, "You could say I flew too close to the sun. My hubris was the cause of my own ruin; my greatest regret and my harshest reminder."

Wilbur could tell he wasn't going to get any specifics from Phil and he wasn't going to pry any deeper. He respected the guy, and if he wanted to share he would when he was ready. Wilbur quietly nodded to Phil.

"To be honest, I would still be greatly honored and happy if you stuck with us even after this is through. Knowing you are here is enough comfort to me, and you're dependable too, plus," Wilbur glanced in Techno's direction and smiled, "I think you're the only reason Techno is remaining so agreeable and easy to work with."

Phil chuckled, "Thanks mate, you're a good lad, Wilbur. And I'm sure you were a fine young man when you were alive too, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about either."

Wilbur smiled, he hoped Phil would stay with them even after this. But he also wouldn't force the man either, only time could tell what would come in the future.

Phil yawned and stretched, "Alright mate, I will get some shut-eye now. Wake me if anything happens," Phil got up from the chair and walked to his bed. Wilbur nodded to the man. Phil blew out the candle and the room was lit only by the glow of the moon outside the window. Wilbur turned to the window.

The night would be quiet now. He would be alone with his thoughts.

He heard Phil shift in his bed and a sigh under his breath. Wilbur basked in the moonlight that streamed in and closed his eyes. He wished he could sleep like everyone else. Time would pass sweetly for him if he could. Just like when he was in his book. At least then he didn't even know 300 years went by.

Wilbur frowned for a moment, to think that much time had gone by when for him it barely felt like anything...

Sapnap must have been an amazing mage to create a spell such as the one that bound his soul to that book. Though he didn't know if Sapnap was the one who actually cast the spell, he assumed he was. Still, he hoped that soon he would discover the reason why his soul was here. What had happened to him to lead to this course of events?

Wilbur once again wondered just what kind of relationship he had with the three heroes. Was he some untold comrade that died and never made it into the history books? Or perhaps he was just some bloke they saved and then befriended.

Wilbur remembered the memory he had, the one where he cried over the sickly form of a child as he himself heaved blood onto the sheets. The voices and the hands that tried to pry him from the bed were recognizable to him as the three heroes. Would he ever discover just who he was to the three of them?

He hoped so.

Wilbur opened his eyes. He sighed.

Techno's snores continued to rumble into the night.

~~~~~

"Right! I think we are all packed, it was good of me to buy these backpacks after getting the tickets," Phil smiled as he buckled up Tubbo's bag on his back, "This will make it easier for when we aren't in a carriage."

Wilbur waited for everyone to get ready. The sun hadn't started rising yet, but Wilbur could no longer see the moon.

"Oi, does this bag make me look fat, Tubbo?" Tommy frowned as he spun around, "It's a bit lumpy, innit?"

"No, you're fine, I think it's just filled with stuff," Tubbo responded.

"Well, I figured that, I just think Phil gave me all the lumpy bits."

"Mmm, no I don't think he has. My bag is lumpy too, see," Tubbo turned his back to Tommy to show him his bag.

"Yeah, but mine is lumpier," Tommy responded.

"Is this really the topic of your argument this damn early in the morning?" Techno walked in between the two boys to gather his things, Tommy and Tubbo were forced to separate, "Are we good Phil?"

"Yep!" If we head to the docks now we should be fine before the ship departs," Phil tucked the tickets into his pocket.

"What about breakfast?" Tommy asked.

"We'll eat when we get on the ship. Come now, let's start heading over," Phil responded.

Tommy grumbled but the five of them still left the inn without any trouble. Wilbur was surprised how much of their travel supplies Phil managed to squeeze into the new backpacks. But he was sure the others were glad to not have to carry everything by hand now. Especially Tommy.

The streets had few people on them, perhaps not as many early risers here, Wilbur thought. The walk to the port was not as long as Wilbur thought it would be; though, of course, he was just flying. When they got to the ship, however...

Tommy, Tubbo, and Wilbur waited at the sides as Phil argued with one sailor. Techno stood behind Phil in an almost menacing way, but the sailor was unphased despite being slightly smaller than Phil.

"What do you mean? I have four tickets that I purchased from you lot yesterday," Phil frowned.

"Aye, but you have an extra traveler," The sailor pointed in Wilbur's direction.

Phil looked back, "He's not even riding, Wilbur, come here," Wilbur floated towards Phil. He did wonder last night why Phil only bought 4 tickets, but then again he was dead, and tickets were normally for the living, "Look," Phil swiped his hand through Wilbur, "Do you have a fare for ghosts?"

The sailor faltered, "Well...no, but–"

"So there is no issue, 4 tickets, 4 living passengers. Wilbur here won't even touch your ship so how can you expect me to pay a fare for him?"

The sailor sighed. He stepped to the side allowing for room on the boardwalk. The 4 of them walked up the plank as Wilbur floated. He looked back at the sailor who only frowned in displeasure in Wilbur's direction.

"Wouldn't it have been easier just to get 5 tickets?" Wilbur asked Phil as he flew closer to him.

"Potentially, but we'd be getting ripped off if we did that, I wouldn't trust a sailor and their stingy ways with my life. Money grubbing thieves," Phil muttered the last bit. Wilbur felt like he was stating the obvious, but Phil must not like sailors very much.

"Guys?" Wilbur looked up, he saw a familiar face sitting on the deck of the ship as other sailors hurried about.

"Charlie!" Tommy shouted, Wilbur could see the wide grin on the boy's face as he and Tubbo hurried up the boardwalk. They narrowly dodged a sailor carrying a few barrels on his shoulders as they bumbled past them.

"Hey, there kiddo!" Charlie stood up as the two boys tackled him into a hug, "Oof–"

"Hey Charlie," Wilbur floated to him.

"Oh Wilbur, the funky ghost, how's it hanging, or floating I suppose."

Wilbur chuckled, "Good, man."

"Who thought we would see each other so soon after saying our goodbyes," Phil set his bag down and took a seat beside Charlie on the ship's deck. Tommy and Tubbo climbed off the man, but Techno kept back. Still in close proximity, but he did not join them on the floor.

"Who'd have thought, did you find the axolotl you were looking for?"

"The wha–" Phil caught himself, "OH, that...er, not yet. So we're hoping to catch our own?" Phil's voice became strained before he coughed and smiled at Charlie. Wilbur noticed Techno slightly shake his head but say nothing in response, "And you? Did you complete what you came here for?"

"Oh not yet, I needed a ship to take me out to sea, first."

"Well, now you can finish telling us the story!" Tommy interjected. The boy was practically squirming on the floor with excitement.

"Yeah! And you still haven't explained why there are red lights in that district place–"

"OH-ok, right, how about I just finish the story from before and we leave it at that," Charlie coughed as Phil gave the two boys a stern and questioning glare, to which they were oblivious of.

Wilbur watched as the sailors worked. As Charlie recounted his tale and the sun slowly began to rise, the ship was off thirty minutes later. The gentle wind that rippled through the sail looked calm and welcoming. If only he could smell the sea breeze and feel the wind, then this moment would be perfect.

It was finally beginning. Now, Wilbur thought, he could finally make some headway into his quest. Soon, he hoped, he would remember more of his past to prepare for the future that was unfolding before him.

~~~~~

Word Count: 2786

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