“Are you sure you’re fully packed?” Salandra hugged Cobal one more time as they were standing on the little road leading out of Marsolin towards the rest of the kingdom. He smiled. “I’m certain I have everything, you’ve asked four times already.”
She smiled back. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too.” After spending a couple of days together, the two had grown even closer which made their departure that much more sad. But they both knew this would be something temporary, so they’d made their peace with it. Clara and Eliana seemed much less emotional about parting ways. They were almost callous about it all, but Cobal wasn’t the one who should be judging.
Mana was talking with the other two before turning to Cobal. “Shall we go then?”
Cobal nodded. He gave Salandra one last hug before getting in the wagon. Lysa paid for it. The driver would bring them all the way to Jasodar before turning back. She said it was a gift for how much she was allowed to pick at Mana’s brain during their stay in Marsolin.
Having said all of their goodbyes, the trio went into their wagon and started the long journey back to Jasodar. It would end up being an uneventful journey as the wagon was one officially sanctioned by the great library of Marsolin so no one bothered to attack them nor did any of the city officials want to check who was in it. The library had enough pull that it was just generally accepted not to mess with them. Wrapped up carefully in Cobal’s bag was the vial that Salandra had concocted that should help Dylon and the others who had been paralyzed turn back to normal.
It wouldn’t be long before the mountains and hills flattened out and the ocean was coming into sight. It was starting to get close to the peak of summer as their wagon trotted into the city center of Jasodar. They thanked the driver who went to check in with a local contact and made their way towards the harbor.
“I have some ideas where to look for my crew,” Eliana said. They followed the pirate captain through several streets that looked more and more dilapidated every corner they went around. Finally they stood in front of a dingy looking shop with a signpost that was illegible. Eliana swung open the door violently, causing it to slam against a chair standing behind it. Everyone in the inn looked up before recognizing her and returning back to their drinks. With how tame she’d been during their travels it was easy to forget that she was still a feared pirate captain and most of the seafaring folk in this part of the world had heard her name before and knew not to mess with her. The person they were looking for was sitting at the far end of the bar. “Captain,” an older woman’s voice sounded.
“Miyara, good to see you haven’t kicked the bucket yet.” They walked over to the old woman who was one of Eliana’s closest advisors.
“So, did you find what you were looking for?”
“We have much to discuss, where’s the crew?”
“Most of them are in town, but if I send the message we could be sailing for Feaseral Cove before the sun goes down.” She looked over at Mana and Cobal. “Good to see that the nobility made it out alive as well.” She looked Cobal up and down sternly. “You’ve gotten older.”
“Well, yeah, that’s how time works.”
She smirked. “You know that’s not what I mean.”
She turned her attention to Mana. “Men, am I right?”
Mana laughed along with her.
Miyara got up. “I’ll go get everyone ready, you three head for the ship.”
As Miyara had promised, the Tidesetter was ready to depart by early evening. The crew was happy to see their captain again, complaining about the lack of income and how gambling their fortune away had not gone the way they would have liked it to. Eliana listened to their grumbling and brushed most of it off. “Has there been any news from those who went missing?” Cobal asked.
Miyara’s face went fully neutral and she sighed. “I have received a letter from your friend, Mirgia.”
“Why are you sighing when you say that, it’s good news, right?”
“Well, judge for yourself.” She handed the letter over to Cobal who opened it.
To Cobal and Mana,
I hope this letter reaches you and you’re doing well. I’ve found myself in a bit of a situation. I was teleported to a city which I’ve since learned is far north from here. It’s been besieged for a few weeks now and I have been unable to leave. Getting a messenger bird is all I could manage and with Kimi’s help we were able to convince them to let us send you this letter.
Although I would love to come back and help you, as I promised our chief I would do, I don’t think I’ll be able to return to Blueyerd anytime soon. I understand that you have much going on so I don’t expect you to come to my aid either, so the only real solution is waiting things out. I hope you are making good progress on finding your brother.
Best regards, Mirgia.
Cobal clenched his fist. “That bastard.”
“What’s wrong? It’s a normal letter, is it not?” Eliana said.
“I think I know why Cobal is angry,” Mana said. “Mirgia didn’t mention where he was so that we wouldn’t bother to go and help him. He wants us to use our time more efficiently.”
“He knows I wouldn’t let him just sit there.” He turned to Miyara. “Do you have any idea which place this can mean?”
The old woman shook her head. “No, I’m not particularly familiar with the place far north from here. To the direct north of Rilodar are the open plains of Tar’guk. Nomadic tribes have roamed those for many generations. To the north of that is the kingdom of Kriost, but that’s been peaceful for a while as far as I know. That probably means he’s somewhere even further north, and I’m afraid that’s where my knowledge of the world ends.”
Cobal sighed. “Well, I guess we just have to believe in him.”
“Or figure out where he is,” Eliana said. She grinned. “There’s always a way.”
Cobal considered it for a moment. “I don’t know. First we need to speak with my father.”
“First we need to help the paralyzed people in the cove,” Mana added.
“You’re right, one thing at a time.” The ship was already well on its way there and they would reach the cove two days later.
At Feaseral Cove, Cobal and Mana quickly applied the strange concoction to Dylon and to their surprise – it’s not that they had no faith in Salandra, but more so that it seemed unlikely the paralyzed people would just return to normal – Dylon soon blinked and started coming to life. “Where am I, what happened?”
Cobal smiled. “You were hit by strange magic quite a while ago, it’s a miracle your body is still intact.”
As if on command, Dylon’s stomach made the loudest noise that Cobal had ever heard coming from a person’s stomach. They all laughed before explaining all of the hassle they had gone through the last few weeks. Dylon apologized profusely for not being of more help even though Cobal assured him it wasn’t a problem. They then made sure that the other few people from Eliana’s crew were also turned back to normal. Cobal told the rest that Mirgia and Kimi were somewhere far away and he hadn’t heard anything about the other missing folks, so perhaps it was still a good idea to keep an eye out for them.
“And now the part I’m dreading the most,” Cobal said.
“And that is?” Eliana asked.
“Well, we need to go to Saphestan and inform my father of what has been happening with Sapher. I sent a letter ahead but we really need to tell him everything. I hear that tensions at the border have yet to ease up and I’m worried we might not even be in time to prevent an all out war.”
Mana nodded. “Let’s hope he listens to what we have to say.”
“Let’s hope so too.”
That night, the pirates all celebrated the return of their captain and the rejuvenation of their fellow crewmates, although those who had been paralyzed would spend the next couple of days recuperating as their body – although it had miraculously survived – was very malnourished and weak. With a small crew, Eliana set sail the very next day after they got to the cove, heading for the port town of Fitseren.
Standing on the ship, looking back at the cove slowly disappearing in the distance, Cobal and Mana were silent for a while until Mana was the one who first spoke up. “It feels almost like I’ve been here for years, but it’s only been a little over one year.”
Cobal nodded. “You arrived here in spring of last year.”
“I arrived here… as if I took an uber.”
Cobal just looked at her.
“Right, a motorized carriage for hire.”
He laughed. “That makes more sense to me. A little bit at least.”
“It’s been a bit of a journey though, I will agree on that. We started going to Ravadier and then we went all the way to Milinia only to return to the capital. And now after staying in a foreign country for a few months we’re heading back to where it all began.”
Mana smiled. “I wonder where we’re going next.”
Cobal’s face turned serious. “I’d like to think somewhere nice but I don’t think we’ll be that lucky. If we’re not going to war, then we’ll probably have to figure out how to deal with my brother. Putting aside the fact that I’d like to figure out a way to get him back, the cult is also after you and for destroying the balance of the world or something like that.”
Mana nodded. “Not my fault, but I suppose they don’t care about that.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll figure out a way to solve this.” Eliana’s voice spoke from behind her. She’d exchanged her rather muted travel clothes for her captain’s outfit and although she physically looked much more ferocious now, it didn’t have the same impact as it had when they first encountered her.
“I hope you’re right.”
The summer breeze was pleasant as they sailed over the invisible line in the world where the Rilodar kingdom ended and the Blueyerd kingdom began. With the wind in their back and their eyes fixed on the horizon, our trio of weary travelers was headed towards the next chapter of their journey, none of them quite knowing how wildly their lives were about to be turned upside down. But for now, things were still peaceful.
Opal Kaharis 