A tranquil breeze blew over the resting eyelids of a young gaunt man. He sat facing away from dawn, so the sun didn't shine directly on him while he was peacefully sleeping. The breeze picked up and toyed with his slightly messy hair. There were no sails for the wind to catch on, for the ship had nowhere to go just yet. No waves rolled against the sides of the small schooner, the sea as tranquil as always.
They were all waiting for Quies to wake up, for Valerie might fear that departing while he was still asleep would only be asking for trouble.
Eventually, the young gaunt man stirred and awoke. The clear blue sky greeted him, and the whitewashed cloud waved.
"...is he awake yet?"
Valerie mumbled to herself while she sat near the edge of the schooner. She was reading a bright red book with yellow accents, but took a glance towards Quies. She did a double take, and realized that Quies was actually awake.
"Finally, you're awake! Did you really need to sleep that long after last night?"
"I guess?"
Quies slowly stood up from a seated position on the floor. It was a miracle that he was able to sleep like a baby.
"Am I supposed to just not sleep?"
"Oh come on, you know I was just messing with you! Anyways, now that you're awake, I'll set the ship to sail towards Etris."
Valerie shut the bright red book lightly and stood up. In a flash, she disappeared from her spot and began blitzing across different areas on the boat, preparing it to depart.
'Damn, she's fast.'
Not even a moment later, the sails fluttered in the wind, and the schooner began moving. Valerie's ship did not have an anchor, which was actually quite common for many ships in lumen.
"Ah, the wind isn't too optimal today. If only you had been a galebreather…but man, I've never seen an attunement like that being used in my entire life."
Suddenly, Quies felt a light grumble from his stomach. He came to the realization that he hadn't actually eaten dinner last night, since he was in such a haste.
"Valerie, is there food on the ship by any chance?"
She had just positioned herself at the stern of the ship, guiding it towards Etris, their next destination.
"Good question!"
She pretended to look around for food, her cat ears expressively fluttering. However, Quies could easily see through her antics. She had completely forgotten to pack rations.
"Great…"
"Hey! This trip wasn't even planned! Plus, the food in Etris is 100 times better because, y'know, it's an actual town compared to the Isle of Vigil."
"Tell me about it."
Quies took a seat where Valerie was previously reading her book. Since he had woken up later than usual, the sun didn't shine directly into his face. Rather, sunlight shone from a slightly upwards angle down, illuminating the fine deck of the ship.
They sat for a moment, each one observing different things. If there was one positive thing about the Etrean luminant, it was how picturesque it could be at most times of the day.
"I really shouldn't have worn all black, it's getting really hot here. The fact that it's summer too… Anyways, the mission will be carried out in the quietest hours of the night, so around midnight. Which means we have time to go shopping!"
"And why exactly do… ah, nevermind."
"Yeah… Well, other than giving you better looking clothes than… that… you also need gear. Unfortunately, my connections in Etris are lacking, which means I won't get any juicy discounts…"
Valerie lowered her gaze after the last statement, as if she was truly dismayed.
"Doesn't really matter because I have a mountain of notes in my bank, but still! And if you're wondering why I'm doing all of this for you, it's because you will need it later, with extra emphasis on that will. Get to thinking about what type of weapon you'd like to use, everything else I can mostly handle."
"What type of weapon do you use? I've never seen you truly in action, and surely you don't use the sword in your Illusory Realm."
Valerie raised an eyebrow and an ear.
"You just reminded me! I've been really wanting to try another weapon, but I haven't gotten the chance to do some proper exploring since I got tied up in… this mess. I'm pretty flexible when it comes to different weapons, but right now I've got this cool looking odachi laying around somewhere on the ship. People call it a Railblade. It works well with thundercall, which was why I chose it."
"Can I see it?"
"You see, I would have shown you earlier, but we're pretty much already at Etris. In fact, you can see the highway gate already. Pretty fast, considering I took us a little too close to the voidsea."
"Huh?!"
'The voidsea is the place where people go and disappear! Why would she bring me so close to there?!'
"Oh come on, don't be too shocked. You'll have to venture even farther than that eventually I bet."
As she finished her sentence, a sudden gust of wind filled the sails of the schooner and made Valerie's black coat flutter. They had entered the highway, and were now being propelled much faster towards their destination. Quies jumped back in his seat due to the sudden acceleration.
'I wonder who built these. What a marvel of engineering.'
The highway winds took them under a gigantic gate constructed out of stone. Its arch loomed far above the highest point of the small schooner, and could fit even the largest of merchant ships. The monument of dark stone had withstood the test of time, ushering many ships as it stood proudly in the tranquil waters of the luminant.
Upon passing the gate, the ship's pace slowed down significantly. The highway had ended.
"Welp, we're here."
Quies looked to his right, to the front of the ship, and noticed a dock similar to the one at Vigil nestled in a small nook on the shore. Its architecture was nearly identical, with red wood pillars supporting the elegantly sloped roof tiles. Behind it, was a towering cliff that had a sizeable cavity dug out of it. From what Quies could see, there were people entering and leaving the tunnel, most likely transporting goods from the town, which was situated high above the tides, and the low laying dock. From afar, he could see the dark jaded leaves of firm trees rustling in the light breeze.
They had reached Etris.