"Well, it's about what I promised I'd explain earlier, but I don't know how to ask the question properly," she said after a brief, pensive pause. "You know me almost as well as I know myself, but if you don't feel comfortable asking, then I won't prod any further," I said with a light-hearted shrug, causing her to glance at me and smile.
"I know, but I feel like I have to ask you, I just need to figure out how," she said, her smile weakening slightly as if she feared whatever answer I would give her. "Like you always tell me: I'm right here," I said, reaching for her hand to squeeze it gently as I did my best to be supportive.
Whether it was the gesture or the fact that I'd quoted her directly, I didn't know, but she gave herself a firm nod as I felt a wave of courage come through our connection. "What do you know about dragons?" she asked broadly, causing my Mom to turn around and look at her in surprise.
I raised an eyebrow at both of them, but figured whatever meaning was behind the glance they shared was something I was probably about to find out on my own. "Not much, I suppose. I know they're ancient creatures, though no one has seen one for at least a thousand years," I shrugged with an upturned lip.
"I see," she said, closing her eyes momentarily as if comforted by my ignorance. "Well, I can tell you there's much more to them than you realize, but I'm glad to know you don't seem to have any prejudices toward them," she chuckled, leaving me a little confused. "H-How did this even come up?" I asked, blinking a few times and shaking my head.
"Well, do you remember what Erumon said about my mother's ambivalence?" she asked. "I do, but what does that have to do with dragons? Did your mom get that as a gift from them, or something?" I asked half-jokingly. "In a sense," she shrugged, but that only added to my confusion.
Before I could ask any more questions, my mother raised a hand and signaled for us to turn down the path to the left, which I could see would lead us to a sharp cliff. "We're nearing the docks. I think it would be best if that conversation didn't continue around people like this. Information is almost too freely shared around this place, so just be mindful of what you say or do," she said, glancing at the two of us.
Since this would be my first time anywhere near these kinds of people, I decided it was best to trust her judgment. We'll have to talk about this again later, Ysevel noted with a tone that let me know there were still things she had to tell me. I'll be here when you're ready, I smile warmly, though I couldn't help but wonder what else she wanted to say.
As we came to the cliff, I suddenly felt small. Incredibly small, as what I saw was like nothing I'd ever seen. A vast expanse of water as far as my eyes could see, that glistened in the late-afternoon sunlight. The blinding light vaguely reminded me of what it was like to be outside on a clear winter day, but the smell of salt carried on the breeze shattered that comparison immediately.
Off in the distance, just behind a layer of mist, I could vaguely make out the silhouette of an island, though any specific details were lost behind the fog. As I turned my gaze downward, I could see there were several large ships and a decently sized market that appeared to attend to whatever the sailors were unloading from the ships.
"Ah, I love the smell of seal shit, syphilis, and fish guts," Athar's alternate voice said after inhaling deeply. "You can smell that from here? Better yet, how do you even know what that smells like?" Irun asked with a half-chuckle. "You don't?" Ysevel asked, scrunching her nostrils briefly. "No, I'm pretty sure my memory and sense of smell have gone to shit after being in the Unde-... Vareluth for so long," he corrected himself.
"I can smell just fine, and I've lived there my entire life," Devyr said playfully. It was the first real thing she'd said to anyone aside from Athar since leaving my old home, though I suspected it was just because he was constantly being asked questions about my past there. "I didn't mean it like that, Devyr," Irun waved a hand dismissively. "How did you mean it, then?" she asked with a wry chuckle.
"Irun, don't answer that," Mom turned to point a finger at him, causing him to raise his hands defensively. "I wasn't going to!" he shook his head quickly with widened eyes, causing the rest of us to chuckle. "Good. Let's get down there and onto a ship before nightfall. We still have to find one that'll take us over there," she said, gesturing for us to follow her down the steep path.
When we finally reached the bottom, we came to a small stable where we were instructed to leave our horses. I felt bad having to leave Celer behind yet again, but I could tell he would be in good hands. "Not as good as Caegweni stables, but they'll do. Don't kick anyone, and make sure they give you lots of apples, alright?" I muttered to him, gently patting his nape as he nuzzled my chest as if telling me to go.
"You speak to him like he understands you," Kalia said, following my lead as I tied the reins to the post. "They might not be able to answer verbally, but I'm sure they understand much more than we realize," I said, giving him a final few scratches on his forehead and nose. "I wonder what mine thinks of me," she said idly, similarly patting her horse's nape as I did mine. "She seems to appreciate you, though I'm not sure the same could be said for Athar's," I chuckled, noticing his horse was being rather stubborn when he tried to say goodbye.
As we left the stables, Ysevel said something in her native language to her horse, which caused it to bay weakly, as if it were sad she was going. "Don't worry, Elyna, we'll be back before you know it," she said comfortingly, putting her forehead to her horse's briefly before turning to join us. "She'll be alright," Mom said comfortingly, knowing just how much Ysevel cared for her horse.
Once, after a long training cycle in the dome, Ysevel told me how elves always gave their horses the same names. Not because it was due to a lack of creativity, but instead because they felt each one they chose held the same personality as the first. This, in turn, also meant that each was a small part of a greater whole.
Kind of like us, I thought idly as I watched Ysevel give her horse a gesture of farewell.
We continued through the market, observing all sorts of trinkets and foods from what I could only assume was the Gramm Isles. It vaguely reminded me of walking down the streets to Deathwhisper Tavern, but Krozz was, unfortunately, nowhere to be seen. "We never did say goodbye to him, did we?" I realized, suddenly fearing whatever anger that massive hegraphene had in store for us when we saw him again.
"No, you didn't. However, Buruz did tell him you wished him well at my command," Kalia said, trying her best to use a more human tone of voice, though she sounded more like my brother on a hungover morning. "Thank you, Kalia. It all seemed to happen so fast that I felt bad we didn't get to have one last meal with him," Ysevel noted with a feeling of regret. "You'll see him again, don't worry," Mom added over her shoulder with a comforting smile.
"I miss him, too, but I can't wait for this mission to be over to try more of Lisai's cooking," Irun chimed in with a thoughtful grin. "You know she's probably over fifty times your age, right?" I grinned, prompting him to scoff. "Like that's ever stopped you," he said with a smirk. "He's got a point, Thoma," Ysevel said, putting a finger to her chin pensively. "Are you on his side now?" I asked, feigning overt astonishment as I put a hand to my mouth.
"No, but I'm just saying that he spoke the truth. That doesn't mean I'm on his side or anything," she retorted wryly just before my mother held up a hand to signal for us to follow her into one of the taverns.
"This is probably our best bet at finding a sailor to take us," she noted in a hushed tone. You mean one that's drunk enough to counter the ship's rocking? I asked smugly, but she didn't reply with much more than a chuckle.
Once we entered the tavern, it was much different than what I expected it to be. The floorboards were surprisingly clean, the tables were neat and organized, and while there wasn't much in the way of debauchery, I could tell that there was an unspoken agreement not to cause a commotion. There were roughly thirty people in the tavern, each more weathered and worn than the last, but like the establishment they were in, they did their best to upkeep a decent appearance.
"Hello there," my mother began as she walked up to the bar. Just behind it, there was a large, bearded fellow who was probably well into his forties, though he kept a clean appearance with not a stain on his apron. "Hello to you too! What can I get you?" he said in an almost forced, cheerful voice.
Something's off, I sent Kalia and Ysevel quickly, though not outwardly showing my discomfort. "Seven ales and a platter of fish, please," Mom said, using a similar tone. "Oh, I'm sorry, but we're all out of fish today," he replied with a shake of his head. "I see. How about some stew and a loaf of bread?" she asked, keeping the same awkward tone.
"What's happening?" Athar asked me in a whisper, but I couldn't offer him any more than a shrug. "Sorry, we're all out of stew and bread as well," the bartender said, causing my mother to burst out into awkward laughter that the bartender mimicked. "Oh, what a shame! I have all these Crescents I've just been dying to spend on some food. I've heard this place had some of the best on this side of the docks," she said, clinking the bag of coins Aurae had sent her off with.
Immediately, a handful of the others on the far side of the tavern raced toward her, with bread, stew, fish, and precisely seven mugs of ale at the ready. "Ah! How wonderful!" she said in feigned surprise. "Hmm, there's still one thing I forgot to mention. You see, I need a strong and brave captain to take me and my companions across the Belurian Channel," she said, causing a few of them to step away cautiously and glance at each other nervously.
Dropping her little act, my mother immediately shifted into a much more hostile stance when she noticed none of the men who approached her were saying anything. "I see that the captain I'm looking for isn't among you. Those of you who are still here and wish to live to tell the tale, leave," she said coldly, as nearly everyone inside the tavern fled for their lives.
All except for the bartender and a thin man in the corner farthest from us.