Ray started counting the days he was aboard the ship. He was never allowed on shore when they stopped occasionally for supplies in case something bad happened. If they got jumped by drunken thugs or spotted by Venator guards, then they needed to be able to make a quick getaway without worrying about Ray. Otherwise, he tried to keep moving, because he knew if he ever stopped, he wouldn't be able to start again.

Ray's regimen was the hardest he had ever been on. He slept on a rocking hammock below deck with the rest of the crew and woke up at dawn when everyone else started moving around. He never really got seasick, but it took him a whole week to get used to the constant swaying of the ship under his feet. After a quick breakfast, he was made to do physical exercises, normally including stretches, pushups, and sit-ups, but extending occasionally to other exercises as well. Then, after lunch, he and Kerry would train with the sword, usually borrowing Kerry's blade. It was exhausting, but it kept Ray's mind and body occupied. He was finding it hard to get used to the sword. It simply wasn't clicking. At the end of every day, he would collapse into his hammock and fall instantly asleep.

Every couple of days, the Rose Thief would watch them practice on the deck from in front of the double doors before jumping down and dueling Ray himself. After Day 1, the Rose Thief took a few breather days, and on Day 4, when he tested Ray's progress, he seemed a lot calmer. Still angry, but restrained. Ray had learned not to pry into the Rose Thief's past - at least, when the Rose Thief was on board. On that Day 4, when the Rose Thief tested him a second time and knocked the sword out of his hand a second time, the Rose Thief stood over Ray with a sneer.

"Pathetic," the Rose Thief said. "Can't even hold onto his sword."

When the Rose Thief had disappeared into the captain's cabin again, Kerry told him, "It's like that phrase. 'You are your own biggest critic.'" He was trying to be helpful, but Ray only felt miserable.

On Day 5, when the Rose Thief was nowhere to be seen, Ray ventured again to ask Kerry about the Rose Thief's past. Kerry chewed his lip and glanced at the cabin doors. "If he doesn't want to talk to you about it," he said after a moment's thought, "then I'm not going to go behind his back. It's up to him."

Day 7 was overcast, and while Ray had a friendly duel with a random crewmate and dulled, relatively harmless swords, Kerry and Caleb talked in hushed voices. They weren't trying to be secretive, but what they were discussing was not applicable to a general audience.

On Day 8, the winds began to die and Ray got to see his first real example of a Mage's power. The black clouds churned above, and the rain came down in heavy blankets of water. The wind picked up again and howled. Caleb stood behind the railing in front of the captain's cabin, his hands gripping the wet wood so tightly his knuckles paled to match his sleeves. His clothing plastered to his body with the rain. Ray, invited to watch Caleb in action by Kerry, clung to the main mast in the middle of the deck, his black shirt cold and wet against his skin. When the wind began to blast, Caleb began to concentrate.

The dark storm was lit up nearly constantly by lightning, but Ray could barely hear the thunder around the wind and the chill in his ears. Caleb began to glow as he leaned forward, elbows locked and feet spread solidly wide. The wind plucked at the soaked hem of his robe and sleeves. White light hovered around him before, with a sudden whirlwind originating from him, the light stretched rapidly outwards in an orb. Caleb created a white force field around them, and the wind howled a little less and the waves stopped tipping the ship as much. The rain and lightning no longer threatened them at all. Kerry exited the cabin behind Caleb and put a hand on the Mage's shoulder, whispering something in his ear. Caleb's eyes flashed white, and the wind changed direction to blow the ship in a specific direction. They dropped anchor near a town a few leagues away and waited the storm out. Ray only threw up once, and he felt he deserved an achievement for that. Caleb slept for all of Day 9 after that.

On Day 10, the Rose Thief challenged Ray again. Ray barely held onto his sword, and sported a few new bruises and scrapes where he had fallen to the ground. The Rose Thief was careful not to cut him, however. The Rose Thief seemed calmer, so Ray decided it might be a good idea to ask again about his past. It had been over a week, and he figured the Rose Thief might be more reasonable and more willing to share.

He was wrong. The Rose Thief shut down immediately. When Ray insisted, he snapped back, "It's not fucking important for you to know, so just shut up, okay?" He then shoved Ray away and disappeared back into the captain's cabin.

Day 14, the Rose Thief hopped off the ship during the afternoon at a different port in Venator. Ray wasn't told the details, but he assumed the Rose Thief was going to terrorize that poor little town to uphold his title. While Kerry worked with Ray and his dueling stance, Ray ventured, "Why was the other Ray going to be executed?"

Kerry shook his head and pressed his lips into a fine line. Caleb looked up from his book where he was seated at the railing to squint at them through the harsh sunlight. "If Ray still hasn't told you himself, I'm not going to. So stop asking me." Ray nodded in understanding and practiced a lunge. Kerry lashed out a hand to smack Ray's wrist, and he dropped the sword. "Poor grip."

On Day 19, Kerry and Caleb stopped at a town in Roosterteeth to visit a lord who was a known book collector. They were gone from midmorning to nightfall, and Ray learned just how awkward it could be to be essentially alone on the ship with the Rose Thief. He was standing at the rails lining the edge of the deck, leaning over the water and allowing the cool sea breeze to whisk away the heat of the sun from his face, when he felt eyes upon him. He looked behind him to see the Rose Thief standing in front of the captain's cabin. The silence between them was so thick, Ray could have stabbed it with his borrowed rapier.

"Are you going to fucking talk to me?" Ray called.

The Rose Thief merely held his gaze for a moment longer before spinning on his heel and entering the captain's cabin again, his clothes fluttering in the breeze.

Being essentially alone with the Rose Thief only reminded Ray how much he didn't know. The Rose Thief had been on death's row but refused to tell him why. It didn't make any sense to Ray. He couldn't understand being so closed off, especially to his own doppelgänger.

He also realized he was starting to feel lonely. Being around Caleb and Kerry helped, but they just weren't the same as the real Caleb and Kerry. They were alike in face, but Ray missed the friends he worked with and shared memories with. And he missed the other Achievement Hunters. The last time he saw any of them, including lookalikes, they had been eager to kill them. And now he had been gone for nearly a month. The random strangers that made up Kerry's crew were no replacement.

That nineteenth day, Ray didn't do any sword practice.

On Day 20, Caleb went below deck to rouse Ray from his slumber and told him, "Next time both Kerry and Ray leave the ship, I can try to answer any questions you have." He retreated back above deck before Ray even had time to sit up and rub his eyes.

It was over a week before Ray could take Caleb up on his offer. Day 25 saw another bad storm that threatened to capsize the entire ship, and it was only thank to Caleb's Mage abilities that they were able to dock safely in a sheltered cove, where they stayed for two days so that the stormy weather could subside and so that Caleb could recover his energy.

It was Day 30 when Kerry and the Rose Thief finally decided to run off into a town in Roosterteeth and pull a stunt together. Ray had Caleb to thank for encouraging Kerry to tag along with the Rose Thief. He spouted some mumbo jumbo about friendship and old times, and Kerry enthusiastically bought it all. So, Ray finally had a couple hours alone with Caleb without threat of his lookalike or the captain barging in on them.

Caleb invited Ray inside his personal cabin, which he had been inside a couple times before. It was sparse, especially compared to the captain's cabin with all of its souvenirs and knickknacks, and about a quarter the size as well. There was a small bed with undecorated and undyed sheets, a lamp on two of its walls and a round window on a third, a simple desk, and a small bookshelf crammed full of books. Ray sat on the bed while Caleb took the desk chair.

"Why are you so willing to tell me stuff?" Ray asked immediately, choosing not to parse words. He had been waiting a month. He was impatient. Caleb grinned.

"I'm a Mage. My power comes from the knowledge I have, so obviously I think it's not fair to willfully withhold knowledge from you. I'm going to assume you still want to know about Ray's - other Ray's - execution?"

"Fuck yeah, I do. No one's telling me shit."

Caleb chuckled.

"I wasn't actually there when everything happened. I had lived at the castle, but I travelled a lot. At the time, I was spending several months in southern Venator along the border of the Ender Kingdom. I had a few missions in mind, almost all of them including Endermen, but that's not really important right now.

"As you probably guessed, Gavin, Michael, and the other Ray were very close." Caleb paused for a moment, as if gauging Ray's reaction. When Ray started to react in confusion, Caleb continued. "About five years ago, the year Michael became captain of the guard, apparently you - the other Ray, I mean - attempted to kill the king."

"I would never fucking-"

"That's what Ray said, too. According to his majesty King Geoff, he was awoken in the night with a figure over him. It was thanks to his quick reflexes and spell training that he fended the person off, though it was too dark to identify the intruder. He shot an ice spell, which snagged the figure's cape and ripped it, but he didn't get the person himself. Guards were shouted for, but the figure got away, leaving only a piece of fabric. Soon, that fabric was matched to an outfit of y-of Ray's. One of his capes had a missing piece, and that piece had been left behind in the king's chambers.

"Ray ran away from the guards who turned around to arrest him. He fled to Michael's room, hoping to get the new captain's help, but Michael couldn't make a decision fast enough, and Ray was arrested. He was found guilty, but simply being hung wasn't enough for the king. One of his most loyal and closest subjects, one he had sometimes personally worked with for over a decade, had turned against him. He had to be made an example of. Michael took charge of the punishment."

Ray interrupted, "The scars...?"

Caleb nodded. "So you saw those. Yeah, the punishment was a public lashing. It was at the lashings that Ray made his escape, but not without the help of Kerry. Kerry took Ray away, gathered his crew, and took his ship south to pick me up." Caleb stared at his lap. "By the time they found me again, Ray's injuries had scarred over, and there was no way I could heal them completely."

"So I-so Ray, the other me, tried to kill Geoff?" Ray summarized. He was starting to feel numb. That didn't make any sense. Not from his standpoint, anyway. The real Geoff was a very good friend and a great boss. His exposure to this world's Geoff was limited to his trial, but it was easy to assume it wouldn't be much different.

"The other Ray claims otherwise," Caleb said, "but there's no proof. The only 'proof' is the outfit you showed up in."

Ray balled his hands in his lap. He felt all drawn and tight like a stretched rubber band. Any other questions Ray might have had for Caleb had vanished with the new information. He needed time to digest. When Kerry and the Rose Thief returned from their heist, they found Ray dutifully practicing his motions with his borrowed sword.

Day 36, the Rose Thief challenged Ray to another duel. The sword felt heavy in Ray's hands as he lunged and attacked, but the Thief was just toying with him. Dueling was a game and Ray hadn't figured out how to play yet, and so was getting picked on by the more experienced gamer. When the Rose Thief twisted the sword out of Ray's hand and kicked him back so that Ray stumbled to the floor, Ray started to believe that his other self was capable of attempted murder.

"You've been doing this for over a month and you still can't hold on to your sword!" the Rose Thief chastised.

The rubber band snapped. He had spent a month dealing with the tension between him and the Rose Thief and he was sick of it. He had tried to hold back, tried to let the Rose Thief do his own thing, but being humiliated again was the last straw. "Maybe if you weren't such a huge fucking pissbaby who didn't fucking hate himself so much, maybe I'd learn a little better!" Ray's voice was rising as he spoke. The Rose Thief's face stilled, his eyes widening slightly as he looked down at Ray. His clenched fists betrayed his apparent calm.

Kerry picked up on the sudden tension and dashed forward. "Haa, that's, uh, that's enough practice for today, isn't it?" The Rose Thief raised his hand and glared at Kerry, who stopped in his tracks.

Ray pushed off the ground and stood back up. He wasn't done. "All you've done is fucking bully me! Well, what have you got to fucking prove? You fucking know, you fucking know you're better at this than me! What the fuck is this fucking hatred?" He inched forward during his rant, shouting at his lookalike. It was like yelling at himself in the mirror, though his reflection was trying his best to hold back his rage. "I think you can't fucking like yourself. Maybe you fucking regret not being able to just fucking do it, to just plunge the fucking knife into Geoff's goddamn back!"

"How did you find that out?" the Rose Thief screamed. He stepped forward. "You're not supposed to know-"

Some small part of Ray's mind realized he made a mistake, but he could only continue on now. It was too late to backtrack, even if he wanted to. "It doesn't fucking matter how I know. I know that you tried, I know that you must fucking hate everything around you! That you're fucking displacing your own shameful fucking feelings onto me, and I know that you fucking-I know that you're a goddamn bitch of a coward who betrayed Geoff and Michael and-"

The Rose Thief didn't even formulate words. He just gave a primal shout and lurched forward, tackling Ray to the ground. Kerry leaped back in surprise and seemed unsure of what to do as the two identical men rolled around on the ground. They punched at each other, but were too close to be very effective. So they ended up tumbling over each other, trying to pin the other beneath them, all while shouting and grunting. The Rose Thief might have been a better, more refined fighter, but in the heat of the most basic battle, there was no clear winner. They slapped at each other, grabbed onto loose clothing and hair, pushed and pulled and punched.

"I-did not-attempt murder," the Rose Thief hissed between grunts. "I-was-fucking-framed!"

The door to Caleb's room slammed open, and the two brawlers flew apart as though yanked by a rope attached to their backs. Ray slid along the wooden floor towards the railing while the Rose Thief smashed into the main mast and was held there. Ray was able to struggle into a low sitting position, but felt resistance as though thick straps were trying to pull him back down. Caleb marched out from the doorway with his hand visible and flung out in front of him. "What in the name of the Tower is going on?!" he cried.

"He's a bitch, that's what," Ray shouted indignantly, jabbing a finger at the Rose Thief. The Rose Thief was fighting against the spell that pinned him to the mast, but he was still able to perceive Ray's insult. Before the Rose Thief could open his mouth and yell back, Caleb's eyes flashed and the two men's heads jerked back and their jaws forcefully snapped shut.

When Caleb turned his gaze to Kerry, the captain offered his best explanation. "Ray was-they, uh... Well, the new Ray lost the duel with our Ray, and he started shouting, and then they started fighting..."

The Rose Thief attempted to talk around the second spell and turned his attention to Caleb and Kerry. "How did he know about the trial?" he hissed around a tight jaw. Caleb's eyes briefly flicked guiltily towards Ray.

"Well I didn't tell him!" Kerry said immediately, raising both hands defensively. When Caleb didn't respond just as quickly, Kerry and the Rose Thief fell quiet, their gaze narrowing onto the Mage.

"I warned you he'd find out eventually," Caleb said crossly.

Ray worked his jaw free of the second spell and shouted, "Is your friendship more important than justice!?"

"Will you shut up?" Caleb yelled suddenly. He took a deep breath, and everyone present waited out of respect to the Mage. The air was tense with anticipation. He breathed a few more times, as though waiting for anyone to dare to speak up defiantly now. When he spoke again, his voice was completely under control. "I think we all just need to chill. Ray-both Rays-I want them separated." He turned to Ray. "I advise you return below deck and rest a while." He then looked at the Rose Thief. "You will return to Kerry's cabin, and if you have anything to say to me or to the other Ray, you will say it later after you have calmed down. Kerry will remain out here and you will have the cabin to yourself. Understand?" he asked both of them.

"Yes," Ray grumbled.

The Rose Thief didn't nod until Kerry ordered, "Do as Caleb says," and continued shifting his intense glare between Ray and Caleb. When Caleb felt that the two men would follow his instructions, he lowered his arm slightly, then quickly swiped his hand horizontally across his torso, his long sleeves fluttering back to hide his hands again. The spell was released, and the Rose Thief slumped away from the mast, breathing hard. The spell must have bound him much tighter than it had bound Ray, who only felt the invisible pressure dissipate. Ray scrambled to his feet and hurried to the stairs below deck. He would have remained there for the rest of his time aboard if Kerry hadn't come for him the next day.

"Come on," he said when Ray refused to get up from his hammock. "I think you're getting the hang of sword fighting..."

Ray exhaled loudly through pursed lips. "I'm sorry for starting a fight yesterday."

It was Kerry's turn to sigh. The captain took off his hat, rolled up his jacket sleeves, and sat down on the floor where he stood. "I guess you're both just victims of circumstance here. I can't imagine talking to myself, especially if that person who was supposed to be you knew less about you... if that makes sense." He looked up to meet Ray's eye. "I think he views you as a sort of impermanent fixture. Two months seems like a long time, but in the grand scheme of things, I guess it isn't. And that part of his past is full of shame and feelings he doesn't really want to revisit, so when you ask after them and pry into things, and he can't really run away, being stuck on a ship in addition to being sort of responsible for you..."

"I get it," Ray said when Kerry trailed off awkwardly. He massaged his forehead. They sat in the dim light for a moment as the ship gently rocked beneath them. Then, Ray asked, "Will the people we visit really be able to help me get back home?"

Kerry stood back up with a soft grunt. "I'm not the person to ask. All I know is that if anyone knows anything, it would be a Court Mage. The Ruby Kingdom is as good a place as any, and they don't want to arrest or kill us. Now get up, you lazy ass."

Day 42, swordplay finally seemed to click in Ray's mind. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing differently, but in one fluid movement he swiped his partner's sword to the side with his blade and lunged forward. The man, a random crewmate, scuttled backwards and fell to avoid the point, as Ray had aimed straight for the torso. The sword he was using had been dulled, but it could still do some damage.

Kerry began to clap. "Way to go, Ray!"

Ray stared at his sword before letting a grin break his face. He imagined the look on his real friends' faces when he would tell them that he learned how to swordfight. He was by no means a professional, but he certainly knew more than Michael and Gavin.

On Day 45, The Rose Thief challenged Ray once more to a duel. This time, Ray was much more careful, much more sure of himself than with previous times. He knew the Rose Thief was still a much better swordsman, but he wasn't going to be toyed with any longer. He lunged, expecting not to hit but for the Rose Thief to block his blade. He dipped the blade under and continued forward, and the Rose Thief stepped back with a raised eyebrow.

The air was still tense between them as they moved back and forth, their swords clinking steadily together. The Rose Thief had taken some time to cool off, but it was clear he hadn't yet forgiven Ray for his outburst and his nosiness. Then Ray saw his chance and he took it. He lunged

The Rose Thief stumbled back, his sword raised. Ray's sword bounced off of something unseen, jolting his arm in his socket. He caught himself and glanced up at the Rose Thief, surprised. In front of the Rose Thief's hand on his sword, the air shimmered in a moderately sized oval like a shield. The glyph on the back of his hand shone so brightly, shone rosy red and deep soft blue, that it hurt to look at. When the Rose Thief lowered his hand and his sword, the air returned to normal, and the glow faded. Ray guessed that the spell on the Rose Thief's right hand was some sort of force field.

The Rose Thief coughed once into his free hand. "You've improved," he said awkwardly, twirling his sword a couple times before thrusting back into the frog at his waist. He hesitated before turning on his heel and retreating to the captain's cabin.

Kerry approached Ray to retrieve his sword that Ray had been borrowing. Caleb trailed behind him. "Nice work, Ray!" Kerry said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I think you impressed yourself there." He laughed, amused at his own little joke. Ray smiled briefly and shrugged. He glanced at Caleb but couldn't think of anything to say.

"Don't worry," Caleb said, noticing. "The other Ray isn't as mad at you as he is at me. There's some... residual anger, but..."

"Thanks," Ray said.

On Day 49, Kerry decided it was roughly time to head towards the Ruby Kingdom. They had sailed a little farther east than intended, but if they turned around now, they should reach the Ruby Kingdom by this second month's end. Ray's heart beat with tentative warmth when he heard the news. They had purpose again. Just another week or two of waiting, and then his waiting would be done. And the Mages at the Ruby Kingdom can probably get him back home. Home, where his friends were probably worried sick about him. Home, where his friends didn't want to hang him, and where there was only one of him.

The next week and a half were agonizing to Ray. He slowed his sword practice in favor of standing at the railing and feeling the wind in his face and watching the water slip by. He would have forgotten to eat had Kerry and Caleb not reminded him to. He was antsy and restless.

On Day 60, when the land of the Ruby Kingdom was faintly visible on the horizon, a dark gray smudge against the blue background, the Rose Thief joined Ray at the railing. They stood there for several minutes, the air thick. Finally, the Rose Thief broke the silence.

"I guess I should apologize for our fight two weeks ago."

"About fucking time," Ray said lightly with a brief grin. "I should be the one apologizing; I started it."

"No," said the Rose Thief, "if I had not been so secretive, you wouldn't have been so nosy..."

Ray shrugged, keeping his eye on the horizon. The wind stung at his eyes, drying them out a little and making him blink rapidly. "It's your personal business. Just 'cause I'm... you from another fucking dimension or something doesn't mean you have to share."

The Rose Thief laughed, his tattooed hands tightening on the railing. "I guess we can agree we're both at fault."

Ray nodded and met the Rose Thief's eyes. "I guess so. I won't pry anymore. You tell me what you want to tell me."

The Rose Thief closed his eyes against the wind and the sun and smiled. The sea breeze tugged at the ribbons trailing from his hat and pulled at his billowy shirt. He sighed. "Michael and I, our towns were close to each other. Our families were the lords of our towns. So by the time we were both in the knight program at the castle, we were already really close. We grew up together. King Geoff was kind to us, was like a second father to both of us. When I was... accused of attempted assassination, Michael had been recently appointed Captain of the Guard. I went to him, the night of my accusation, hoping he would help me, but he couldn't decide between me and the law. And when I found out he would be the one delivering my punishment, I hoped he would be easy on me. But it seems his loyalty to the king outweighed his loyalty to me."

Ray studied the Rose Thief. It seemed his doppelgänger was offering a personal story sort of as a part of his apology. But really, it just meant that Ray didn't know how to respond. The Rose Thief opened his eyes again and stared at his hands.

"There was a lot of betrayal at that time," he said. "It's hard to talk about, and if people don't know about it, I'd rather they not know at all."

"I'm sorry," Ray said lamely. The Rose Thief shrugged and smiled again, though this time his smile was weaker.

"I'm just hoping that you understand," he said. Ray affirmed this, and his lookalike nodded, watched the horizon for a while longer, and then returned to the captain's cabin. Ray wasn't exactly sure what had just transpired, but he felt like something had been repaired between him and the Rose Thief. Their fight felt so long ago, and in retrospect seemed childish at worst, needless at best. Things were still a little awkward, but it was infinitely better than the tenseness between them.

Tomorrow, they would land at the port capital of Vale in the Ruby Kingdom. Yes, Ray would much rather be a little awkward with himself than at odds when they finally arrived.