“So, tell us all about the journey you spent together.” Cobal asked Kayzel as they were getting settled in Baliar’s Nook. The scribe hadn’t exaggerated when he claimed it was a good spot. The ale was tasty and the food smelled incredible. Cobal was hungry after a day of looking at books, and couldn’t wait to dig in once the food would be brought out. Eliana was half asleep, or at least gave off that impression as she leaned back against the wall of the booth they were sitting in. Kayzel sat next to her with Cobal and Mana opposite of the old acquaintances. The leather seating, filled with something that made the pillows quite comfortable made for a great way to fall asleep while talking. Despite the impression that Eliana gave off, she was fully awake and listening to the conversation.
“Well,” Kayzel started, “we first met each other when I was on a research expedition for a merchant that lived in Jasodar. He hired me to explore an archipelago quite far to the north-west of the city. Nowadays it’s a properly explored archipelago and nothing of real value is left there, but back then it was still a mysterious land full of opportunities.”
Cobal had heard of the Coral Archipelago. Rich with coral reefs and once home to a strange series of buildings from a long gone civilization it was a fairly well known point of interest. But as Kayzel said, it was explored a long time ago and all mysteries have been solved since then.
“Because we didn’t know what we could expect at this archipelago, we hired some sailors and mercenaries to accompany us on this mission. Eliana was the one in charge of the ship that took us there. I don’t quite remember the name of the ship, but it’s not the one that you have nowadays, is it?”
Eliana shook her head. “The Stonegaze sank quite a few years back, I’ve been sailing on the Tidesetter ever since.”
“Maybe I’ll hire you again in the future just so I can see your new ship.”
“Do you have enough money to pay for it?”
Kayzel laughed. “What do you think a scribe makes?”
“Not enough to hire me and my crew,” Eliana replied, a smirk on her face.
“Captain, of course not, you’re priceless.”
“Stop it, you’re making me blush.
“Anyway,” Kayzel continued, “we journeyed from Jasodar to the archipelago, a three day trip by ship. It was quite crowded because we brought a lot of people. I was part of the research team, although I was still learning back then. There were five of us in total. The crew, us five and six mercenaries. All of us cramped on a single ship, but we made it to the archipelago safely.”
“Thanks to the skilled captain,” Eliana added.
“Thanks to the skilled captain,” Kayzel repeated. They both chuckled and Kayzel continued. “Although the journey was far from comfortable, it was also not really eventful, which is all you can ask from a journey to an unexplored land. We then docked on the southern beach of the largest island on this archipelago. What we saw there was a sprawling jungle that seemed to cover most of the island. There were no signs of life initially besides from some native animals.”
Kayzel was interrupted by the arrival of their food. With the fresh aromas of beef stew filling the booth, none of them were all too interested in the story for the next few minutes as they were all quite hungry after a long day of work.
They changed to more general chit chat while they ate, aware that the story would be better told after they finished their food.
“So what are you studying here?” Cobal asked Kayzel.
“Mostly history and old artifacts and ruins. I’ve done my fair share of field work and have since moved on to the safer but equally important research part.”
“Which is more fun?” Mana asked.
“Definitely the field work, if I were a younger man I would still be out there.” Kayzel didn’t look all that old to Cobal, but there were definitely a few gray hairs here and there. He reckoned exploring unknown ruins probably wasn’t the easiest task as you got older.
“Any interesting discoveries you’ve made while researching at the library?”
“Well, the big one is that most things that are mysterious are actually already known about. At least that’s what it seems like. No matter how obscure the ruin or location, someone has probably written about it at some point. This means that I rarely ever research something that I can’t find anything on, but it’s arguably more frustrating than finding absolutely nothing. Some of these explorers of old would write down the silliest details of their findings and then omit the important parts completely. It’s often that I feel like I’m really close to learning something important and then the topic changes to how pleasant the nearby creek was. I get that this seemed important and relevant at the time, but what use is that to me?”
“Perhaps it’s an invitation to visit it for yourself and when you do, make sure you bathe in the pleasant creek,” Cobal suggested jokingly.
Kayzel sighed. “Maybe I will, but for now I’m comfortable here in Marsolin.”
“This seems like a very nice place to settle down in,” Mana commented.
Kayzel nodded and his face lit up. “Coming from the much more uptight and energetic Jasodar, this was a very nice change indeed. The people here live life at a slower pace. Everyone here appreciates the time they have and spend it doing the things they enjoy. That’s why you see so much art and music everywhere. It’s honestly a wonder that we don’t get more people moving to our little part of the country. Perhaps the forest surrounding us puts a lot of people off, but it really adds to the wonderful atmosphere here.” Kayzel took another bite of his food and the conversation died down again for a little while. Eventually they all finished eating their food and Mana reached into her pocket. “Before I forget, I got something the other day?” She pulled out a small paper satchel and Cobal recognized it. It was from the jeweler they visited the other day.
She looked at Eliana. “I know we’ve only known each other for a relatively short time, but during our travels together I’ve learned quite a lot from you. You’ve quickly become an inspiration for me in how steadfast and confident you are. Despite all of that, you’re not afraid to talk about your vulnerabilities either which I believe is very commendable. So to show you how much I appreciate you, I bought you a little something.” She handed the little satchel to Eliana who had emerged from her reclined and bored posture and was now leaning forward, fully attentive. She almost delicately took the gift from Mana and held it in her palm for a moment before carefully opening it. From it she took the small earring with the beautifully carved ruby that Mana picked out with Cobal the other day. “I heard it was actually made by a friend of Cobal, which is a crazy coincidence.” Mana added.
“It’s beautiful, are you sure you want to give this to me?” Eliana seemed dumbstruck by the gesture. As far as Cobal knew, Eliana has had the reputation of a ruthless pirate captain for a very long time. Although there was definitely a good reason for this reputation, and she could absolutely be a cutthroat killer when times called for it, she wasn’t a bad person at heart. Receiving a gift from someone as honest as Mana probably meant a lot to her.
Eliana carefully inspected the earring. The links of metal were shimmering in the fire of the heart that was elsewhere in the small eatery. The ruby itself was almost encased in a golden shell, with the shining red gem visible on either side as it slowly turned back and forth, dangling from her hand. “Thank you so much.” Eliana carefully took off her other earrings and put this one on. She then retrieved the matching one from the paper bag and put it in her other ear. “How do they look on me?” She asked.
“You’re gorgeous,” Mana said.
“Stop, you’re making me blush.” She turned to Cobal, awaiting a comment from him as well.
“They suit you well, they’re really fiery.”
“Good enough,” Eliana replied. She smiled. “Thank you again, I’ll treasure these.” She put her other earrings in the paper bag and put it into her pocket.
When the barmaid came back to the table with another round of drinks, Cobal asked her something that had been on his mind ever since they sat down.
She gave him a peculiar look. “The painting above the bar?” She asked.
Cobal nodded. “It looks interesting, I was wondering what it’s supposed to be.”
“It’s an old painting of Marsolin, from long before you and I were born.”
“Really? Cobal looked at it again. It didn’t look much like the vibrant town that they had just arrived in the other day, but it had some similarities. There were three tall buildings at the center of it, although they would be dwarfed by the current libraries. “Were those the old libraries then?” He asked.
“Exactly. The woman in her late 40s smiled. “Apparently this is the fifth time they were rebuilt, and there’s already some talk of rebuilding the Topaz Slumber again in the near future.”
“Wouldn’t that be almost impossible with how many books are in each of the libraries?” Mana asked.
The barmaid shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll figure something out, it sure isn’t my problem.” She put down the last of their drinks. “Marsolin hasn’t changed much in recent years but it used to be changing so regularly that when my great-grandfather returned after living elsewhere for a decade, it looked so drastically different that he thought he’d accidentally gone to a different city.” She chuckled. “Imagine that, you return to your hometown only for it to look completely different, that has to be quite the shock.” She looked around. “Can I get you folks anything else?”
“We’re good for now, thank you. But in a while we’ll probably need more drinks, so don’t go too far away,” Cobal replied half jokingly.
“I never do.” She winked at him and walked off to a different table.
Mana turned her attention back to Kayzel. “Now that we’ve got some drinks in us, would you tell us about your expedition on that island?”
Kayzel nodded. “Of course, where was I again?” he asked.
“You were just telling them about the incredibly attractive pirate captain that sailed you there.”
“Was I? I don’t think I remember any attractive pirate captains.” He’d barely finished the sentence or a hint of pain showed on his face. Eliana had put her heel on his foot. “Are you sure?”
“Now that I really think about it properly, I do remember an attractive pirate.”
Eliana smiled. “That’s better, continue your story.”
Kayzel cleared his throat. “Very well. We took a ship from Jasodar to this archipelago and when we landed we were faced with a seemingly uninhabited island overgrown by a thick jungle.”
Cobal and Mana were both leaning back in their chairs, full from the food, warm from the nearby hearth and drinking some surprisingly nice tasting ale as Kayzel started telling them about a young researcher and a slightly less fiery pirate captain and the things they found on a strange island off the coast.
Opal Kaharis 