"Good to see you, too, Siraye," he said tiredly, shifting his wide, leather hat and uncrossing his legs, bringing them down from the table. "Damien! What a pleasant surprise! Who knew I'd find you in here?" she said with an abhorrently sarcastic tone.
As the man stood up, I could see why everyone immediately fled. It wasn't because of my mother, though I suspect she had a heavy hand in that, but rather because of this thin man with scars all over his body. His clothes were relatively neat, though there were a few stitching marks present on his leather cloak, likely signifying he'd seen his fair share of action.
Is he the actual owner of this tavern? I wondered. It makes sense to me, but what do you make of him? Ysevel asked, glancing between him and my mother repeatedly. Not sure yet. Let's see what happens, I suggested, getting a subtle nod of confirmation from her.
His thick, leather boots clunked heavily against the hardwood floor, but there wasn't a speck of mud or dirt on them, just decades of use. "You coming back here doesn't bode well for anyone, elf. So tell me, why are you here? Don't you remember what happened last time you wanted to go hunting?" he asked in a tired, raspy voice as if he'd just woken from a nap.
"I do, but that's not why I'm here," she replied, giving him a proper greeting. "Oh? I'm all ears," he said, lifting his face from beneath the brim of his wide hat, revealing more scars on his face and a missing ear. His eyes were bloodshot and watery, though his dirty blonde hair and clean-shaven face told me there was a lot more to him than I realized.
"I'm calling in that favor you owe me," Mom said, immediately presenting the token she'd grabbed from the house. He glanced at it in astonishment for a moment, then rapidly shifted his gaze between her eyes and it. "You can't be serious," he scoffed. "After nearly thirty years, you finally decided to use that on me? That's bullshit," he said gruffly.
"Sorry, but it's urgent, old friend," she said firmly, making him sigh at the use of the term. After a few moments of consideration, he finally seemed to notice the rest of us. "Didn't think you'd bring your own son and her Highness with you. I can tell those two can handle themselves in a fight, but who are these two?" he asked, gesturing to Kalia and Devyr, who were still wearing their helmets.
"I'm more surprised you could tell who they were from a single glance," Mom chuckled as if she'd forgotten his personality. "These are Kalia and Devyr. They've taken a vow of silence until their enemy is killed. We've tracked him to the Isles, but we need your help to end this duty of theirs," she said almost mournfully.
He raised a scarred eyebrow at the concept, but after giving them another glance, he finally relented. "Secrets within secrets, right?" he scoffed and shook his head. "Fine. The tide's about to drop, so let's just get this over with," Damien sighed heavily, as he snatched the token out of my mom's hand with a speed I hadn't suspected he owned.
That makes a lot more sense, now, Kalia noted with a slight tinge of excitement. I guess it does, but if he's that fast, then what could have given him all those scars? Ysevel asked worriedly before we all followed him and my mother out of the tavern. Just before she crossed the threshold, she flicked a coin to the bartender and gave him a wink, though he offered a solemn bow in return.
He led us to his ship without a word. It was, like the tavern, clean and well-kept, but like his cloak, there were signs of more than just a short skirmish with a sea creature. Sirens, I realized, recognizing the tell-tale claw marks on the side of the ship from my studies in Codrean. Whatever you do, don't say that name out loud unless you actually see or hear one, understood? Mom sent with a strong, warranting feeling behind her words that I couldn't ignore.
"How much does he know about sea creatures?" I whispered to Irun, who was just behind me. "He knows more than you might think. He spent a lot of time in Ardrin's library and creature infirmary, but I can't confirm whether he knows about those things," Irun replied hushedly, causing my stomach to drop a little.
We'll be fine, but I'm more concerned about Kalia accidentally using her Wraith mana, Ysevel sent us, nearly making my mom stop mid-step. She's right. We won't be able to use any of those abilities on the ship, since it would be too easy a target for Mideia to find. Which means that only you, Irun, and I will be able to defend the ship if we get attacked, Mom said, her words laced with the memory of Gheraak and how he had come through the portal.
I realized that using dark mana, or Vexing mana as Ardrin had put it, was also out of the question, as it would cause much more suspicion among the crew than we needed.
As we stepped onto the wooden bridge, with planks laid out in even spaces to provide footholds, I looked down at the small waves that gently lapped against the edges of the stone dock and wooden ship. "First time on a ship, boy?" Damien asked, already at the far end of the bridge. "Yeah, something like that," I said, trying to hide my nervousness since it really was my first time.
Maybe it was the way I said it, but he began to chuckle and shake his head as he turned away and began to prepare the ship for our departure. The thick mooring lines were cast off, and the anchor was pulled from the seabed by the handful of large, weathered men employed to help control the large ship, and I could feel my stomach beginning to feel a little uneasy at the gentle sway on the waves.
"Never thought I'd be on one of these. Did you, Thoma?" Athar asked, approaching Ysevel and I, who were watching the sun begin to set on the distant horizon. "No, honestly," I chuckled, doing my best to keep what little food I had in my stomach where it belonged.
"How are Kalia and Devyr doing?" Ysevel asked, but he only shrugged. "Meh, about as well as one might expect. It's their first time seeing the sea, much less being on a ship. They're suffering from both excitement and shitting through their teeth," he said with a chuckle before leaning over the railing to watch the water splash beside the bow. "To be honest, it's my first time, too, but I'm too excited about it to feel whatever they're feeling," she said, turning to see both of the hegraphenes huddled together and holding their stomachs.
"Oh, I'm with them on that feeling, but I think we should get some rest, or at least try to," I suggested, noticing my mother's nod of approval from near where Damien was at the helm. "Let's at least finish watching the sunset, then we'll go," Ysevel said as she took my arm in hers, and spoke in a tone that didn't take much more convincing than that to get me to stay.
As we looked out to the horizon, the edge of the sun was just about to hide behind it when a subtle, yet noticeable, flash of green appeared where it had once been. Ysevel and I were immediately on guard, but once I heard my mother's and Damien's laughter at our reaction, we just glanced at each other with confused looks.
"That's not what you think it is, you two," Damien said between chuckles as he summoned us both to where he was. Not knowing what else to do, we followed his order and stood near the helm with him and my mother. "She told me everything while you were all having a moment with the sunset," he began, only increasing my confusion.
"That's comforting," I noted with a slight look of worry on my face. "So, what was that green flash, then?" Ysevel asked, more curious than worried, that my mother had just told him our real purpose for going to the Isles. "Ah, it's an old sailor legend that says that when the flash happens, someone's come back from the land of the dead," he said as if he didn't believe the legend himself.
"Is that true? I've always wondered what sort of stories were prevalent on the sea," Ysevel asked with childish interest, making Damien shrug. "Whether it's true or not, it doesn't matter, but it does give some sailors hope that friends and loved ones they've lost may return to them someday," he said distantly, causing my mom to look away uncomfortably.
"Oh, I see," Ysevel said, though not entirely unaffected by his words. "I've lived long enough to know that hope is something that can push people through difficult times, but seeing a small manifestation of it, even if it's just a legend, makes me happy," she said with a bright smile, causing Damien's eyes to widen and shift away briefly. "W-Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it," he said awkwardly.
She just hit a nerve, didn't she? I asked my mom, who nodded subtly. He doesn't like to talk about it, but the last time I was here, I helped him and his wife stave off a Siren attack. He and I were the only two survivors that night, and as thanks for saving his life, he gave me that token in case I ever needed his help, she explained, avoiding many of the details that I felt I didn't need to know, judging by the way she talked about it.
As the sky began to darken and our conversation with Damien waned, we left him and my mother alone on the deck while Ysevel and I joined the others below. There wasn't much in the way of accommodations, but there were a few nets strung up that were still available to sleep on.
"Maybe it helps with countering the ships' movement?" I asked Ysevel hushedly. "Only one way to find out. I'll see you in the morning," she said with an excited smile before giving me a quick kiss and getting into her net that was next to mine. Even as I lay there, I could feel Kalia's displeasure with the ship's movement, while Ysevel was already fast asleep. Mom, however, had a strange mix of emotions, which I could only identify as regret or sadness.
I did my best to dismiss the thoughts I had regarding what she'd told me about Damien and closed my eyes to sleep. The gentle swaying of the ship shifted from being annoying to rather soothing, as I felt like a small baby being rocked to bed.
I don't know how long I was asleep for, but I suddenly woke to the sound of a bell being rung.
That's not a good sign in the middle of the night. Ysevel, Kalia, get up, we've got to go up top! I sent them urgently. What am I supposed to do? Kalia asked, recalling the instructions my mother gave me. "Just defend Damien, and don't do anything fancy. Irun, with me!" I said aloud. I was grateful to see he hadn't forgotten everything about his time in Codrean, since he was already up and grabbing his blade.
As we hurried up the stairs, I heard the sound of ear-piercing screeches somewhere above me. "I can't see shit out here," Irun noted, which I didn't think would actually be a problem. The only available light we had was a handful of torches that lined the deck of the ship, but everything else around us was an eerie darkness that none of their light seemed to penetrate.
"I'm on it!" Mom shouted, already knowing what I was going to ask her. She cast a massive ball of light and stuck it to the top of the main mast, helping to illuminate the area immediately surrounding the ship in a white glow. As the area around us grew brighter, I saw a shadowy silhouette moving quickly along the edges of her spell's range.
Is that what I think it is? I thought, trying to figure out what other kind of creature it could possibly be.