The following morning Eliana called everyone to the central area of the cove, where there was a large open space. She stood upon a small wooden podium with Fareh and Majar to her side. Cobal and Mana stood towards the back of the gathered group of sailors and pirates. They already knew what Eliana was about to share, since they’d spent the morning thinking up a plan.
“Friends and unexpected allies. As you all are aware, the raid on Triban island was completed with mixed success. We learned some important information and in doing so completed one of the goals we had. Unfortunately we also lost a lot. Some folks were paralyzed while a few others have likely been teleported somewhere. Where they’ve gone, we don’t know, we can only hope for their safety. We need to move on quickly and without hesitation. So here’s what we’ve decided on. Myself, Prince Cobal and Mana will head to Jasodar on the Tidesetter. From there on out we are heading to Marsolin. There we’ll try to find out more about this cult as well as how to help out the people who were paralyzed. We think that the Marsolin institute of knowledge is the best place to do so. In the meantime, Fareh and Majar are in charge of the crew here, and will search for the missing people and a possible solution in the region.” She paused and looked at the crowd. A few moments passed as she gauged everyone’s reaction. There was a little bit of murmuring but most people seemed to be waiting for her to continue. “I would be remiss not to address the elephant in the room. Captain Ferla is currently an unmoving statue. I don’t have a solution for this right now. I’m sure he has a second in command for when something would happen, is that person present?” She waited until one person raised their hand. Cobal smiled, it didn’t surprise him.
“That’d be me,” Old Goof said.
“That puts you in charge. You’re free to work with us, you’re free to leave and do your own thing. Quite frankly I’m not your boss and I don’t want to be. If we find a cure for this paralyzation we’ll share it with you, regardless of what you decide.”
Old Goof nodded. “We’ll sail back to Blueyerd and start our search there, best be spreading out our forces.”
Eliana nodded. “Very well, if there are any supplies we can provide for you, please discuss with Fareh.”
“Now, before I leave to start preparing for our own journey, is there anyone that has questions left? We’re planning to depart before the day is over, so don’t wait with them.” She looked around the room where one person stood up. “What if we want to come along with you, captain?” One of her crew members asked.
Eliana smiled. “Unfortunately I don’t think that’s smart. We’re going far in a short amount of time and things might be dangerous up ahead. Besides, we’re kind of spread thin as it is. If too many of us leave, the ship becomes harder to keep afloat.”
Seemingly having given a satisfying answer to the question, the rest went quiet and the meeting ended there.
Eliana let out a deep sigh. “Well, that part is done, now comes the hard part.”
Mana smiled. “I’d argue the worst part is done. Now all we have to do is journey to Marsolin. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
“It’s not the journey there that I’m worried about, it’s finding what we’re looking for. Or not finding what we’re looking for. Both options worry me equally. What have we stumbled into?”
“Traveling through a country is something Mana and I have some experience with. You can count on us for that.”
“Good.” Eliana didn’t sound or look convinced. “Any bags you need to pack before we leave? The ship should be ready pretty soon.”
“I think we’re all packed up right?” Cobal looked at Mana, who nodded.
“Very well, we’ll leave in two hours.” Eliana went to her own quarters in Feaseral Cove and left the two of them alone for a while.
“How are you feeling?” Cobal asked Mana, sitting down cross legged on his bedroll.
She sat down across from him, on her own bedroll. The small quarters they were given in Feaseral Cove suddenly felt large with the other three gone. “I’m managing. If I were in my old world I would have probably called in sick from work at this point and stayed at home watching videos or something.”
“Whatever that means,” Cobal said, chuckling to himself.
“Either way, that’s just not an option right now, and I can’t lie. The exhaustion is getting to me. I’ll probably just stay in my quarters as we sail to Jasodar and spend that time to recover a little bit. It’s the best way I can think of coping with this situation.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
Mana smiled. “That’s sweet of you. I don’t think so, just leave me be for the time being I guess. That doesn’t mean you should abandon me, but don’t have expectations for me.” She looked up at him. “Am I making sense?”
“You are. No bothering you, no ignoring you.”
“That’s one way to put it, but I guess it’ll suffice for now. Thank you.” She stared out the entrance to the tent. “How long of a journey is it to Jasodar?”
“I don’t exactly know, want me to go ask?” Cobal was already getting up before he got an answer.
“Well, since you’re already halfway out the door.”
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
Leaving the tent behind, Cobal decided to take a walk through the cove and talk to some people. They would be leaving shortly, after all. The first person he found was Old Goof, who was instructing some other sailors to carefully put crates on the Chandecobra. He smiled warmly when Cobal approached, showing off the gaps in his teeth. “There you are, lad, I was wondering if you were going to leave without saying goodbye.”
“I wouldn’t dare do so, Goof, we’re better friends than that.”
“We’ve not known each other for a full moon circle, but I appreciate the sentiment. Maybe I’ll tell my wife that I’m friends with a prince.”
“Hold up Goof, you’re married?”
“Did I never tell you?”
“No, I can’t remember you ever talking about it.”
“Well, I am. I have a wife and child, they live in Kasadir.”
Cobal thought for a moment. “I know where that is.”
“You’d better, it’s your land.” He laughed.
“My wife is always worried that our little girl wants to be a sailor like her father. She’s been playing pirate since the moment she could walk. Captain Tidescreecher would probably be impressed by her.” He smiled.
“Well, if I’m ever in the region and you’re at home, I’ll make sure to drop by.”
“That would be a hell of a surprise, I hope we get to make you dinner one day.”
“Thanks Goof, we’ll be off shortly.”
“Good luck to you and the lady, I hope you find your brother safely. It’s not right that these things are happening, and times are strange. I’ll be happy when things are back to normal and the Captain is back.”
“Sooner rather than later Goof, we’ll make sure of it.”
They exchanged a firm handshake and Cobal continued his walk through the cove. After having seen and talked to everyone he wanted to see, which wasn’t a lot of people, he made his way to the ship, and got their quarters ready for when they would depart.
Right as he was about to head into the room, he was flagged down by Fareh.
“Prince Cobal, could I have a moment of your time please?”
Cobal looked at the old woman, who was Eliana’s right hand. “Certainly, want to come inside for a bit? It’s empty right now.”
She nodded and followed him into their quarters, sitting down on the hammock across from him. She was quiet for a while and Cobal was starting to get a bit antsy when she finally spoke up. “Eliana is a very strong, passionate woman. She’s been around for a lot of time. But there’s more to her than that. There’s a trauma that’s been dragging her down, and the fact that she is leaving the crew behind to travel with the two of you is a much bigger deal to her than you might think.”
Cobal nodded. He hadn’t really put much thought into this, but it didn’t surprise him that much.
“Please take good care of her. She’s a good person.”
“We will, don’t worry.”
Fareh smiled. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Her smile turned into a grin. “And I hope your family puts less money into the navy so our lives become easier.”
Cobal laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
The trip from the cove to Jasodar was a short and easy one. The terrible weather that had driven them into the hands of Eliana’s pirate crew in the first place was long gone, and the seas themselves were in great condition for where they were sailing. And to their credit, the crew of the Tidescreecher was very good at what they did. Mana spent the two days mainly in their quarters. She was asleep a lot, making up for lost sleep from the anxiety, while Cobal spent a lot of the time sitting on the deck and watching out over the waves. He was in another country now, he could somehow feel it. Although there was no clear border on the sea, he felt a feeling of comfort was no longer there. He didn’t see too much of Eliana throughout these two days. They ate dinner as a group on the first night and talked a little bit there, but besides that she spent a lot of time in her quarters as well. He would find out later that she also took a lot of this time to write instructions for the rest of her crew on how to act while she was gone. The morning of their arrival came fast and under good weather conditions. Cobal had woken up and packed the few clothing items he had laying around into his bag. Mana was sitting on her hammock, writing something down. “What are you doing?” Cobal asked her.
“I’ve been thinking for a while that I should try and learn more than just wind magic. Our time with Dionil mostly focused on that aspect, since that’s what I showed some talent in, but it could be that I just randomly came across it. So I’ve been pouring over my notes trying to see if there are things I could apply differently. I wish I could have done this together with Dionil, but since that’s not going to happen, I might as well try it myself. I started on this when we were sailing from Fitseren to the cove, and I’ll be honest, I’ve had very little progress.”
Cobal put his bag to the side and sat down on his own hammock. “A lot has happened in a short time, I can imagine that’s made it harder to focus on this stuff.”
Mana nodded.
Cobal continued. “We’ll be on the road for a while, do you think you’ll be able to work on this while we travel?”
“I think so. Probably not efficiently, but we’ll have some downtime each day. And if we’re out in the woods or just on the road I’ll also have room to practice.”
One of the papers fell out of the pile she was working on. Cobal picked it up and put it back. He noticed there were a bunch of runes and circles drawn on it as well. Wondering what she was doing with those he was interrupted before he could ask her about it. “We’re at our destination,” a voice yelled from the deck.
Cobal got up and went up to the deck to see the view for himself.
Opal Kaharis 