After wandering through town for a part of the afternoon and delivering the letters to the post office, who promised a safe delivery, but not a particularly quick one, Mirgia eventually made his way out of the town of Redsan and towards the home of Teddy and his wife. “If you leave the town on the sunset side and then just keep walking till you see a lovely little farm then you’ve found it. If you get into a dangerous plain of red sand, you’ve gone way too far and should have probably reconsidered your steps hours prior.”
Mirgia smiled. It wasn’t often that he met people who were just so outwardly pleasant to be around. Growing up in the elven city of Milinia, people had always been very reserved. A lot of elves were very aware of their long lifespan and would regularly take much time to spend on themselves in quiet contemplation, ignoring those around them. It was only around festivals and other fun events that the people of Milinia let their guard down a bit more.
Mirgia had spoken a little bit with the innkeeper and learned that Teddy was quite the loved figure in town, often running around helping anyone who might need it. Having lost his parents at a rather young age, he was taken in by a local farmer, with many of the townsfolk sharing the care for the little boy. Garvin said that Teddy was likely still trying to pay the villagers back for all their love and help.
Mirgia had already decided to try and figure out a way to repay the smallfolk farmer for his hospitality somehow. How he was going to accomplish that in his current situation, he didn’t know yet, but it could be as simple as helping out on the farm for a little bit. People didn’t need grand gestures after all, they needed concrete help. And that was something he could provide.
Mirgia saw several other people travel in the direction of the farm and wondered if they were also invited to the dinner. More surprising was that at a certain point the Sahilid he saw in the inn the previous day were walking the opposite direction, away from Teddy’s farm. They seemed to suspiciously eye him up but didn’t say anything as they passed by each other. Strange, but nothing to linger on as the farm was coming into sight. Although he allegedly was found near this spot, this was his first time seeing the farm, but like Teddy said, it was hard to miss as it’s the only building outside of town. And to make it even harder to miss, Teddy came running over to meet him halfway up the road. “Glad you could make it, friend, come on, I could use some help on the grill.”
Mirgia smiled. Part of him felt like he was in a dreamstate, going from such a tense situation to such a pleasant one overnight and he felt a pang of guilt creep up when he thought about whatever situation Cobal and Mana might be in. The logical part of his brain quickly reminded him that there was nothing he could do to change any of it, but it didn’t fully eradicate the guilt.
Teddy led him around the back of the house to where several large tables were already partially set. Besides Birdie and Teddy, several other smallfolk villagers were running around preparing things.
“What’s this celebration for?” Mirgia asked.
“Do you need a reason to eat with friends?” Teddy replied, handing him an apron and some tongs. “Keep an eye on that one for me, will you, I’ll go meet the other guests as well.”
Before Mirgia could argue, Teddy had already gone and he was standing alone at the grill, a little bit awkwardly looking around. He didn’t know anyone here after all.
A young woman walked up to him, probably not past her mid twenties. “You look like you’re new around here.”
“What gave it away?” Mirgia said as he struggled to turn a bit of sausage on its side without it rolling back over.
“Length,” the young woman said with a grind on her face. She had her blond hair in a messy bun and deep emerald eyes hidden in a suntanned face. She reached to just around Mirgia’s waist, which was on the taller side for a smallfolk.
“That makes sense,” he replied. He reached out his hand. “I’m Mirgia.”
“Doroly, Uncle Teddy told me about you.” She smiled.
“I feel like he’s everyone’s uncle,” Mirgia responded.
“That’s just ‘cause most of us call him that, but in my case he’s actually my uncle.”
From behind Mirgia, Birdie came running up. “Mom, I got the bread you asked me to get.” She looked at Mirgia. “Oh, glad you came.” The girl smiled brightly. “Are you feeling okay?”
Mirgia nodded. “I’m feeling fine, thank you again for your help the other day.”
“I’m very proud of her,” Doroly said with a smile.
“You raised her well.”
“Most credit goes to my husband, he’s the one that did most of the raising while I was out and away.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve been employed as a mercenary for quite a few years now, so I spend a lot of time away from home. But I’m on a bit of a break right now,” she added.
“I see.”
“So what’s your plan moving forward? Teddy told me that apparently you just materialized out of thin air one day? Even with all my experience traveling, that’s pretty high up on the list of strange stuff to happen.”
“If it makes you feel better, it’s not an ordinary afternoon activity for me either.” Mirgia sighed. “I was with some friends of mine, dealing with a cult off the coast of Jasodar. Are you familiar?”
She nodded. “Never been, but know where it’s located.”
“Well, we were on board a pirate ship.” He saw her frown and added. “Don’t ask, it’s complicated,” before continuing, “with the pirates and my friends, we went onto the island under the cover of night in an attempt to sneak into the cultist camp and deal with their leadership in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, it seems like they were more than prepared for a raid like this and they used strange magic with runic circles to somehow teleport me here.”
Doroly nodded. “And were you the only one who was teleported?”
Mirgia shrugged. “I don’t know, but as far as I’m aware, I was the only one who was teleported here at least. Once I’ve gotten my bearings here and get some money to travel back to Milinia, I’ll figure out what happened to the rest.”
“I would be worried,” she stopped herself as she realized what she was saying and blushed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright, and I am worried about them,” Mirgia said. “But the truth of the matter is that there is simply no way for me to get to them in anything less than several weeks, so rushing over is completely pointless. Better to deal with things at hand and reconvene later.”
“You’re staying very calm and collected under such a strange situation, I’m impressed,” she stepped next to him. “You’re burning that one,” she said and took one of the sausages between her fingers before flipping it with ease.”
“Good call.” Mirgia checked the rest of the meat in front of him while he continued. “Well, it’s how we often deal with problems. Panicking is not efficient and although it’s a very understandable reaction, many elves are trained to get past that initial feeling and take the time to really think about our situation before making a decision. It’s often better to think things through than to regret a hasty decision.”
“I’m not sure I fully agree with that,” Doroly replied to his surprise.
“How come?”
“Well, sometimes a quick decision is needed to prevent things from getting out of hand. Especially when it comes to fighting and my line of work. You don’t want to regret missing out on an opportunity because you stood around too long thinking about strategies.”
“There are no wrong or right answers when it comes to life,” Mirgia replied.
“How wise.”
“Dionil said that.”
Her eyes went wide. “You know the woodland sage?” She asked.
“I spent some time with him when my friends were visiting. Well, they were strangers when they visited, but friends by the time they left.”
“I’m so jealous, he’s a legendary figure in our field. He traveled with the Blueyerd Hero after all.”
Mirgia smiled. “Well he also taught the new Blueyerd Hero some things as well.”
“Don’t tell me you know Lady Mana too?”
“I didn’t know Mana was so popular this far from home. But yes, she is one of the friends who were with me before I was teleported here.”
She grabbed his arm. “Sit next to me during dinner, you have to tell me more.”
“Well, I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of interesting stories to tell, but I can tell you a few things here and there.”
“That’s all I ask for.”
“Y’all getting along great I see,” Teddy slapped Mirgia on the back. “Glad to see it.”
“Teddy, thanks again for all you’ve done for me.”
“You’re manning the grill are you not? We’re pretty much even.”
Mirgia was going to argue with him, but the smallfolk farmer didn’t give him a chance. “I hope you don’t feel uncomfortable around so many people of such a different height, but I’m afraid all my family and friends are from Redsan.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, as long as you can get me a chair that fits me, I don’t mind.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He chuckled. “Thanks for manning the grill for a bit, I’ll send Kenny over in a bit to take over so you can get some food in you.”

“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” The first thing Mirgia heard when his consciousness returned to him was the voice of what seemed to be a young child. He felt his body shake as the cart he found himself in traversed the rough road. He squinted in the harsh sunlight of the midday and could barely make out two figures in the front of the cart. Both looked to be small children.
“Well now little Birdie, these tallfolk are tough customers, don’t you worry. We’ll get him to Yessep and he’ll fix ‘im up right proper.” The second figure chuckled. “Just keep an eye on the road and tell me if there’s anything in our way, you know my eyes ain’t what they used to.”
“Yes uncle Teddy.”
Another bump in the road jostled him around and the back of his head hit the side of the cart. There wasn’t enough room for him to properly lay there so he slowly sat up and took a look at his surroundings. He indeed found himself in a small cart, being transported down a dusty road. He had no bindings on him and the cut across his face that the bastard cultist gave him was dressed. There was no sign of the dark and wooded island that he was just on. The last thing he remembered before his mind went blank was a fight. During their flanking assignment on the island they ran into an ambush. Some of the cultists were lying in wait and then chased them around for a bit. In their attempt to get a better position in the fight, they ran straight into the trap that was already set there, and then Mirgia woke up here. While still getting his eyes adjusted to the bright light, one of the figures turned around. “Uncle Teddy, he woke up.”
The cart stopped and the other figure turned around as well. “Howdy stranger, be careful not to stand up too quickly.” The man grinned and it was just now that Mirgia realized why he’d thought they were children. The man mentioning ‘tallfolk’ and their small stature gave it away. These were smallfolk. Smallfolk went by different names. The common name for them is smallfolk, but they’re sometimes called halflings. Old elven writing refers to them as Fesirim, but it seems like that name is rarely used in modern times. Smallfolk and tallfolk has a nice ring to it after all, even if tallfolk basically refers to almost everyone that’s taller than them, and that’s a lot of people. The fact that he was in a dusty place with smallfolk made him think he was in the northwestern region of Severanti, but that hardly made any sense.
“Where are we?”
“On the road to Redsan,” the young girl answered excitedly.
Mirgia wasn’t someone who spent much of his days studying, but he had heard of Redsan before. Originally named Redsand after the reddish sand and clay that filled the region, the village was a rather small one, but it was an outpost on the edge of the Feral Wildlands, which launched several expeditions throughout the last century, which is where he’d heard the name before. Travelers would sometimes come through Milinia to head to Redsan. The ‘d’ at the end of the name was dropped eventually as the local folk didn’t seem to be bothered to pronounce it anyway.
“That’s peculiar, I was off the coast of Jasodar just a few moments ago.”
“Well all I know is that you were unconscious on the road near my house, so me and Birdie here picked you up and we’re bringing you to doctor Yessep in town.” The man reached out his hand, which felt small but firm in Mirgia’s own hand. “The name’s Theodore, but folks call me Teddy.”
“I’m Mirgia, a pleasure to meet you.”
“You said you’re from Jasodar?” Teddy asked.
Mirgia shook his head. “That’s where I was until recently, but I’m originally from Milinia” He closed his eyes as a wave of dizziness came over him. “I don’t quite understand exactly what has happened to me, if I’m honest with you.”
“Well, it looked like you took a tumble and cut yourself pretty badly on the face, so that’s why we’ll have Yessep look at you.”
Mirgia nodded. “I won’t argue with having a doctor take a look at me, I appreciate the kindness, Teddy.”
Teddy smiled. “Well now, I wouldn’t be a very nice guy if I left people unconscious on the road, now would I.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Mirgia smiled back.

It wasn’t long before the trio slowly trotted into the village of Redsan. Sleepy, dusty and small were the words that sprung to mind. Mirgia still felt like his head was only partially attached to the rest of his body. Perhaps being flung across the continent did some serious harm to your body.
Teddy pointed at a building off in the distance that was significantly larger than the rest of the buildings here. “You see that green building over there?”
Mirgia nodded.
“That’s the green house for tallfolk.”
“The what?”
“The green house for tallfolk,” Birdie took over, “is the local inn that’s used by travelers, since everyone’s homes are too small for them to comfortably stay in.”
Teddy nodded. “I’d be more than happy to let you stay in our barn if you want to, but I reckon you’d be looking for a more respectable place to stay, and that would be your best bet.”
Mirgia nodded. “I think that’d be nice, as much as I appreciate your hospitality so far, I think after whatever weirdness I just experienced, a barn isn’t going to make me feel much better.”
Teddy chuckled. “I figured as much. I’d love to have you over for dinner though. The wife loves travelers and tales of far off lands, so if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Of course, if you’ll have me.” Mirgia felt a sudden pang of guilt, agreeing to a dinner while Cobal, Mana, Kimi and the others could be in serious danger. He considered his options for a moment. He was several weeks of travel away from his friends. Even if he decided to rush over to them as fast as possible, there was nothing he could do by the time he arrived. He had no way of teleporting back, presuming there wasn’t some way to undo the magic. If there was such a way, he had no idea how, so there was no point thinking about it. No, he’d best rest up a little bit before returning to Milinia and figure out the rest from there. Right, he would write a letter to Karnisal after visiting the doctor. Perhaps he could request a courier at the green house for tallfolk, as Teddy called.
“We’re here,” Teddy said, taking Mirgia out of his own thoughts. “Yessep come on out,” Teddy yelled.
Hobbling out of the small doctor’s office was a crotchety looking old man with a white beard that reached all the way down to below his knees. Beady eyes looked at Teddy before switching over to Mirgia. “Did you bring me more work?” Yessep asked.
“I found Mirgia here passed out on the road near my house, so I figured if anyone would know what to do about him, it would be Yessep.”
Yessep squinted. “Drank too much?”
Mirgia smiled. “I’m afraid it’s a bit more complex than that.”
He explained his situation to the old doctor, who nodded along.
“So you were on the other side of the continent, stepped into some sort of magical trap, and then woke up in the back of Teddy’s cart?”
“That sums it up.”
“Well, not the strangest thing I’ve heard this week.”
“Have similar things happened here recently?” Maybe some of the others were also here.
Yessep shook his head. “Not really, but there’ve been strange wounds and attacks in the area lately and I’ve even had to treat some of the Sahilad the other day.”
“Sahilad?”
“The emperor’s people,” Teddy explained, “they’re like an army that is also tasked with exploring the edges of our empire and any odd news that reaches the capital.”
“And they’re here?” Mirgia asked.
“At least a few of them are,” Yessep shrugged. “They don’t appear around here often, so it has me a bit worried if I’m honest.”
“Good to know,” Mirgia replied. Relationships between Milinia and Severanti were neutral, but he’d heard stories about the emperor’s peculiarities. Good to keep in mind but a problem for another day.
“Let me have a look at you then lad, why don’t you have a seat over here.” Yessep pointed at a comfortable looking chair that was on his lawn, under an awning.
After Yessep looked him over more thoroughly than Mirgia would have given him credit for when he first saw the man, the conclusion was that he was pretty much in perfect health. Putting aside the cut on his face and the fact that he claimed to have just jumped from one end of the continent to another in mere minutes, there was no sign of any damage to him on the inside or outside. After asking Yessep what time of year it was Mirgia was able to establish that although he had no perfect timeline, he knew that the margin of error on the time that he was with Cobal and the moment he woke up here was so small that he could not have realistically traveled here without any magic involved. He had to accept that teleportation magic was afoot which made him wonder if the people responsible for this magic were the same ones that kidnapped the crown prince of Blueyerd and if this place was planned as the destination for the teleportation. Mana could probably tell him a bit more since she was slowly starting to piece together how this magic worked.
“Well, kid,” Yessep concluded, “I reckon a bit of rest won’t hurt since at the very least you seem a bit woozy from being so out of place, but I don’t think you have to worry about anything else for now. If the pain comes back or if you start to lose memory or feel particularly dizzy, you should come see me immediately and we’ll do some more testing, but I’ll tell you ahead of time that any serious head injuries are well above my capabilities. Not that I think you have to worry about those, but it’s important to set expectations early on in a doctor-patient relationship.” He grinned and slapped Mirgia on the back.
“Thank you for the once-over, doctor,” Mirgia replied. “How much do I owe you?”
“Bah, no need for that, I’ll put it on Teddy’s tab.”
“I never pay my tab,” Teddy said from off to the side, chuckling to himself.
“Well, I appreciate your assistance.” Mirgia got up and stretched his shoulders and legs. Everything felt fine, and the headache was slowly subsiding. The cut on his face would leave a mark, but nothing too serious either. He was fine. But he wasn’t where he had to be. Overhead a bird flew off into the distance. It looked like an owl, but it was hard to be certain. Strange, those shouldn’t be common in this region. Mirgia ignored the bird and looked at the green building in the distance that Teddy told him about earlier. “I think I’d better go and check in with the local inn then, to see if they have a room for me.”
Teddy nodded. “I gotta return to the missus, but I must insist that you join us for supper tomorrow and tell us all about the adventures that led to you to be flung across a continent.”
Mirgia smiled. “I suppose that’s the least I can do to thank you for all your help.” He looked at Birdie who was grinning at him. “I can’t wait to hear your stories,” the little girl said.
Mirgia nodded and with a wave headed off to the local inn.

It’s been a hell of a year with ups and downs, but throughout it all we somehow managed to make our way through a fourth installment in the Hesitant Hero series. With this, we enter a new era in the story, where many more questions have appeared compared to the early volumes. Where did the cultists go during our party’s stint on the southern coast? Who is Abu and what is he planning? Will Diana and Cobal be happy together? Who is this Sorda’Thun character? And let’s not forget, where the hell are Mirgia and Kimi’Thania? Many of those questions will not be answered in the next volume, but that last one is one I want to focus on. I’ll be perfectly honest with you, when I first sent Mirgia and the others away during the assault on the cultist island, I had absolutely no plans for what they would be doing during their absence. I still don’t know the details, but I have some ideas now and instead of having them return without much to it, I want to instead take a look at the adventure they took while they were gone.

This does mean that I will end up retconning some of the letters that Cobal and Eliana received from the missing people. I wrote those before really knowing the details and kept them vague as a way of leaving myself some room. I want to revisit those letters and make them more concrete, but to properly do so I will first need to write out their adventure. So that is what volume 5 will be. Look forward to its arrival at the start of next year.

Then the main focus of volume 4, the ghost pirates and the adventures on Shark Tooth Island. I designed this arc with two things in mind. 

One, I needed a way to connect Abu – who I had thought up to an extent already – to the party, and give them an excuse to come find him in Severanti. There’s tons of culture and history there that I want to develop. One of the challenges I’m setting for myself is that Severanti should be culturally much more interesting than some of the other places in the world. I am quite happy with how Marsolin turned out, as a hidden city in the forest with massive libraries and much art and history to it. But a lot of Blueyerd feels very boring. Part of this is by design, as it is a relatively young nation built by a bunch of colonizers. Why they came here is something that we’ll start diving into in volume 6, but that will still be a little while from now. Volume 5 will take place where Mirgia is and will partially take place in Severanti. We’ll be looking at the story from his perspective and I can also promise that both Kimi and Captain Ferla will make an appearance in this volume.

The second thing I wanted to do in volume 4 was quite simple. Ghost pirates. That’s it. When I first started this story I planned for the gang to return to Ravadier to deal with a kraken of sorts, but that didn’t feel like it would fit with the pacing of the story. So I needed something else, and then I thought of something cool. What if there are ghost pirates? That turned into the kidnapping idea which made for the perfect connection to Abu and his tower. And although there are parts of the story I want to rewrite, I am quite happy with the general plot of this volume. As we make our way through volume 5, I will continue to work behind the scenes on the edited version of the first four volumes. I think I’ll leave things at this for now. There will be more updates in the future before the new year starts, but once again I really appreciate that you all followed along on this journey. Thanks for reading!

The next few weeks went by relatively fast. The royal family announced Cobal and Diana’s engagement at a massive party, where nobles from around the country were invited. It didn’t escape Cobal that a group of nobles – mainly the ones who were on good terms with lord Darsivan Meduer – seemed unhappy about the news, but no one would dare openly complain. After the worst of winter passed, Diana left for the Peninsula to start planning things out. Cobal received three letters during this period. One from Salandra, which stung a little bit considering the situation. She was doing well and planning a trip to Tas’Irkan to meet up with Grac and his family, and learn about their culture some more. She was very excited to go, and had even garnered a small research team to accompany her, all sponsored by Lysa Drant. Her work with Cobal and Mana had impressed the senior librarian enough to give her more responsibilities than she had before. She hoped he could visit by the time she published her studies on the Irkan culture. Cobal couldn’t help but smile at reading about her progress. She was so passionate about her work that he almost felt jealous. He wrote her back about his own adventurers and included that he was now engaged to Diana. For a little while he hesitated to include this part, but he figured she would hear about it soon enough anyway.
The second letter he received was from Eliana, who informed Cobal that Bartew had been spotted on a ship sailing north, and they were chasing that ship down, but it might become tricky considering they were heading to relatively unfamiliar waters. She would continue to inform him about their progress.
Lastly, another letter appeared from Mirgia. He finally explained a little bit more about what happened to him in the time they were separated.

Dear Cobal and Mana,

How are you faring? After some turbulent events I am fine. Took some pretty bad damage to my leg, but the healer says that with enough rest it should recover pretty decently. Still, I doubt I’ll ever be as swift as before. During out unplanned adventure, Kimi and I discovered some pretty bad things going on that I am hesitant to speak about in a letter, so I will save this for when we meet in person. I am currently traveling south from the capital in Severanti – where we made a short pitstop – and towards Milinia. I hope we can meet up in the city, but I understand if you are busy. The only thing I will share is that there is something being unearthed in Severanti that might shake the world at its core. I’m sure Dionil can help us figure things out, and I hope to get Mana’s thoughts on things as well, considering this involves her. We parted with Ferla and his crewmembers a while ago, but Kimi and I are still together with some new friends. I hope to hear from you soon.

Mirgia.

Cobal closed the letter after reading it out loud to Mana. “So what do you think?”
“Well, we were heading that way already, but that does worry me a little bit. If Mirgia discovered something important during his stay in Severanti that could change the world, why did Abu make absolutely no mention of it. What is he scheming and how involved is he in all of this?”
Cobal shrugged. “I suppose there’s only one way to find out, right?”
Mana nodded. “I’m very happy that we get to speak with Mirgia – assuming all goes well – before heading to Severanti. His knowledge on what might be going on there will be vital.”
“And we get to see Dionil again. It’s been well over a year.” Cobal smiled. “Bit of a different energy going into it, but that’s appreciated.”
“Well yeah, I’m sure you won’t start a fight this time around.”
“You might,” Cobal replied.
“Why?”
“Well, you’re one of their council members now and you haven’t exactly done much work in their name, so you’ll get a stern talking to.”
“Do you think so?” Mana immediately looked worried.
“I’m just messing with you, it’s more a honorary title. But in these strange times, it might not hurt to establish what you can and cannot do.”
Mana nodded before letting out a deep sigh. “If I knew being a hero involved politics I never would have become one.”
“You never had a choice.”
They both laughed. “We’ll leave in three days, by the way,” Cobal said. “We’ll pick up Cassandra in Ravadier, give our regards to Guthir and then head to Miranji. We should be in the forest around the start of the new year, giving us the better part of a year to get everything in order in Severanti before heading back for my wedding.”
“Sounds good.”

Quick little note at the end of volume 4. I will talk about these things more in depth in a future post as well, but I am changing a lot of the story/letters surrounding Mirgia and Ferla. I wrote some of those letters without having a clear plan for what they would do during their absence, and now that I’m planning on actually writing their story, I need to make sure it all fits. I also want to eventually write a more satisfying ending to this volume, but as you might have noticed, I’ve been struggling a little bit lately, and writing a conclusion – albeit not as extensive as I would have liked – felt like a good way to give myself a break and prepare for writing volume 5, which will tell Mirgia’s story. More on that later, I hope you enjoyed volume 4 and I truly, really appreciate everyone who reads this story. It’s been so much fun writing it, and I have many more ideas for it, and volumes worth of content, I just need to streamline the first four volumes first! Thanks for reading!

It was a cold and dreary day when Cobal, Mana, Diana and their small caravan of servants drove into Saphestan. The streets reflected the snowy weather by feeling chilly and empty. Cobal shivered in the back of their carriage. Diana insisted they’d travel with their family’s carriage as the announcement they brought to the capital required some manner of decorum. Cobal was just worried they’d attract attention on the road, but nothing happened during their short travel from Ravadier to Saphestan. Cobal spent quite a bit of time with Diana, talking about all sorts of things. They had to work out what they wanted to present to the king after all. The marriage was a sound idea politically, but it would require Cobal to more or less give up his rights to the crown in favor of becoming the new lord of Ravadier. And Diana would be the lady of Ravadier and the one who actually ruled the peninsula, just like she’d done now. Mana thought that Cobal would have to take over as the ruler of Ravadier, especially since he’d be giving up his position as a royal prince, but that wasn’t how it worked. Diana as the heir to Ravadier would continue to rule the place, and when they got a child that became of age, they would take over eventually. They’d settled on a fall wedding, which meant there would be enough time for Cobal and Mana to go visit Severanti and find out what was going on with Abu, Mirgia and the others. Diana would get some time to get her affairs in order. Cobal had asked her if she didn’t mind that they’d get engaged and then he’d immediately run off on another adventure.
She’d just chuckled and said that she was happy he was no longer hiding behind his mother’s skirt. Truthfully, Cobal still hadn’t fully processed the entire idea, but he knew he was in good hands with Diana.
Thinking things over for the hundredth time, the carriage came to a stop in front of the palace gates. A few words were exchanged between the driver and the guard, and they were let into the palace. The head of staff, Malara, was there to personally bring Diana to her rooms. Guthir had stayed in the manor back in Ravadier, his health making a trip during winter a more risky endeavor. Diana leaving with Malara gave Cobal and Mana some room to unwind in Cobal’s chambers. “We’re back,” Cobal said.
“Sure wish we weren’t.”
“Come on, this is my home you know?”
Mana let out a sigh. “I know, but we didn’t leave during the most peaceful discussions and from everything we’ve heard in the past couple of weeks, things have only gotten more tense. I truly hope things can calm down a bit with this marriage proposal.”
“We’ll see.”
“And you?” Mana asked.
“What about me?”
“Will marrying into the Vadier family mean that I’ll have to find some other prince to travel with me as I search for answers?”
“Maybe you and Abu can hit it off, you’re from the same world after all.”
Mana’s face turned stern. “There was something about his attitude that rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I’m not sure we can trust him.”
Cobal shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. What I’m more curious about is what Miyara said.”
“I know, have you put much thought into it yet?”
Cobal shook his head. “I plan to speak with Nazuren and my father about it, maybe they know more.”
“I’ll go raid the palace library while we’re at it.”
“Any excuse to read some books,” Cobal joked.
“You know me.”
After that the conversation ran quiet again. Mana actually picked up a book that she’d been reading before they left for Ravadier, almost as if to prove Cobal’s point. Cobal went to lie down on his bed, and rather quickly found himself falling asleep.
Not much time had passed when Mana shook him awake. “Come on Cobal, you need to get ready for dinner with the royal family and your future wife, I can’t call myself your friend if I don’t wake you up for it.”
Cobal looked at her, she was already in her nightgown. “Shouldn’t you get ready?”
“Why? I’m not invited.”
“Sometimes I forget you’re not actually family, it feels like you are.”
“I don’t know if I should be weirded out or feel honored.”
“Whichever you prefer. Thanks for waking me up, I’ll go get ready.”
“Good, I’ll go take a nap in my room, if you need me, who am I kidding, you won’t need me, good night.”
Cobal chuckled. “Goodnight.”
Cobal sat down at the dinner table, next to Diana. They hadn’t told his parents about the proposal yet, but Cobal suspected that his mother at the very least already knew what was going on. She was a very perceptive woman after all. His entire remaining family was present for the dinner, without any of the members of the council. During the first few courses his parents mostly asked about the things that happened during their stay in Ravadier and Shark Tooth Island. Cobal told them all about the ghostly pirates, the kidnapped villagers and the eventual solution. He told them about Abu and the conversation they had with him. Both his parents and his older brother were shocked that there was another otherworlder so nearby. Cyanna seemed more curious than shocked. Finally, he told them of their intent to travel to Severanti and establish diplomatic relationships with this Abu, as that would benefit them greatly and also help them figure out more about the otherworlders and perhaps a road to where Sapher has gone. Nazuren disapproved of the idea and where Navyr was hesitant, Marin was supportive.
Finally it came to the most important thing he had to share with his family.
“Diana and Guthir informed me during my stay in Ravadier that things in the capital have been getting a bit more unstable. Unrest is growing and I’ve seen some of this unrest in the eastern part of our kingdom for myself, when we traveled through it last year. While trust in the royal family is waning,” he saw that the king wanted to interrupt him but he kept talking, “the trust in the Vadier family is still strong and the Peninsula is currently thriving. Diana and Guthir then came to me with a suggestion. What if I were to marry into the Vadier family, strengthening the bond between our kingdom and the Peninsula, which has long stood on its own while still being a part of the Blueyerd Kingdom. And after some hesitation, I have accepted their proposal.”
The room filled with silence. After what felt like an hour, but what was realistically only a few moments, Diana added. “We were hoping to hold the ceremony in the Peninsula in fall of next year. That would give Cobal and Mana the chance to reunite with their friends in Severanti and talk to Abu, while I can start planning the wedding.”
“This is all very sudden, did the two of you think it through?” Navyr asked. He scratched his chin. “I do think it is a very good idea, but are you sure? You would be giving up any rights to the throne by becoming a member of the Vadier family.”
Cobal nodded. “I don’t mind. Nazuren will be a great king one day and his children will take over when he retires and old man. What is there for me to do but marry into some allied family? I like Diana, we’ve been friends for a long time, and spending my days alongside her doesn’t sound like a bad thing at all.”
“And you, Lady Vadier?”
“If anyone can set this boy straight, it’s me.”
Marin chuckled. “As a proper lady should be.” She stood up and walked over to Diana, before hugging her. “Welcome to our family.”
“Just like that?” Navyr asked.
“What, were you going to object, darling?”
Navyr immediately shrunk in his chair. “No I wasn’t.”
Cobal looked at his siblings.
Nazuren smiled, which was a lot for someone as stoic as him. “I think it’s a very good idea, and I’m happy that you two are both on board for it.”
“I’ve always wanted a sister,” Cyanna added.
“Well, I suppose if no one is opposed,” Diana said with a smile. “I look forward to getting to know all of you a bit better while Cobal goes off on an adventure with his friends.”
“Do I sense some bitterness there, my dear fiance?” Cobal joked.
“You’re both already comfortable in your roles, from the looks of it.”
Marin stood up and hugged both Cobal and Diana. “For what it’s worth I hope you find happiness together. Your father is a stubborn man who refused to give up on me, despite his own parents’ complaints that I wasn’t nobility. Not everyone finds happiness in this way, but that is part of being nobility.”
She turned from Diana to Cobal. “Despite what I just said, you’d better do everything in your power to make her happy or I will personally come over and throw you into the ocean.”
Diana chuckled. “Well, you’re welcome to visit the Peninsula at any time, I’m sure my father would appreciate it too. He doesn’t get to leave very often with his health being what it is.”
“We shall make sure to pay him a proper visit soon as well, and to welcome him into the family,” Navyr said. He looked at his son who nodded. “That would be the least we can do.” He put his hand on Cobal’s shoulder. “Congratulations, brother.”

Entering the colorful and familiar home of Miyara the seer, the atmosphere was much lighter than Mana and Cobal had anticipated. Visiting someone who was on their deathbed wasn’t an easy task in the best of conditions, but knowing that the person in question had a reason to call them over in their final moments made things even scarier. Still, they couldn’t afford to just wait and collect themselves, and so they were pleasantly surprised when the energy they brought didn’t match with the energy in the room. Many different people were in the tavern itself, with Miyara’s two grandchildren rushing about between patrons. Miyara was laying down on a bed that was set up in the corner of the room, looking on at the festivities. When she noticed Cobal and Mana enter, she smiled and beckoned them to come over.
“I am so happy you two found the time to come visit an old woman like me.”
“Of course, you’ve been a great help to us,” Cobal said.
“You’re such a different young man than the first time we met. I’m very pleased to see your growth.”
“Well, I’ve learned some truths about the world since we last spoke.”
“Not everyone can take those truths as well as you have done, and that’s to be commended.” Her voice was soft, softer than the last time they spoke and it was hard for Cobal and Mana to hear her over the sound of people enjoying themselves throughout the room.
“We heard you asked for me,” Cobal said.
“Yes, I’ll get to that, let me just ramble for a bit first.” She turned her attention to Mana. “It’s good to see you again, I hope you’ve been successful in your endeavors so far.”
Mana smiled. “Depends on what you call successful, but I’ve met Dionil, spoken to Abu and have heard the final name you told us as well.”
“Good.” Miyara’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think I made sure to tell you this last time, but the Lady of Knowledge never told me if these people will be allies, only that you should meet them.”
Mana nodded. “That makes sense. At least Dionil has become a good friend.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” She turned her attention back to Cobal. “As for why I called you here, it seems like my lady brought me one last vision before it’s time to go.”
“You’re still young.”
Miyara cackled. “I’m beyond old, child, I can feel it in my bones. I’m tired and it’s not good to keep the afterlife waiting.”
“What do you think happens when we die?”
She shrugged. “I can’t see that far ahead, but I hope it’s comfortable.”
“I’m sure it will be.” Cobal said.
“My lady visited me a few days ago, in my dreams. She told me of your family’s plight and that you should be the one to continue what your forefather started.”
“What does that mean?” Cobal asked.
“I don’t know, but the best I understood was that it is something to do with why your family came to this continent in the first place.”
Cobal looked at Mana. “I guess that adds another reason to return to the capital.”
Mana sighed. “Not looking forward to it.”
Miyara slowly looked from one to the other. “Does the past still haunt you?” She asked.
Mana shook her head. “No, we’ve fortunately moved past that. What haunts us now is the present.”
“As it does for so many. I empathize, but I am too tired to be of any help.”
“You’ve already done so much for us,” Mana pulled the amulet from her pocket that Miyara had given her when they first visited. “I can’t say I’ve made use of it, but I’ve always been happy to have a gift to remember you by me at all times.”
Miyara smiled. “That’s good. Not everything in life needs to be useful, sometimes it just needs to be. And there’s a very good chance it’s done more than you think.” Her eyes narrowed. “I appreciate you taking the time to visit me, but I must nap now.”
“Of course, rest up well, it seems like there are many people here that still want to talk to you.”
“I’ll keep the nap short.”

Cobal and Mana sat down at one of the empty tables, ordering some tea from Melissa. “What do you think she meant?” Mana asked.
Cobal shrugged. “I always thought we came here to create a new kingdom and claim the land for our own. But somehow I don’t believe Owlana would tell me to continue conquering the nearby lands.”
“It doesn’t seem like her thing, no. Although you are annexing the peninsula through marriage soon, so maybe you are becoming a tyrannical colonizer.”
“Spare me your jokes, I’m still trying to get used to the idea.” Cobal paused. “I have a question if that’s alright.”
“Sure.”
“When we first met and traveled here, you knew to visit Miyara. How did you know, I don’t think you ever told me?”
Mana fell silent for a while. “I don’t really know all that well. I heard a voice telling me to find the seer of Arana. I don’t know where the voice came from. I’ve honestly assumed the voice came from Owlana, but I have no evidence of that, it’s purely the most logical thing I can think of.”
“Strange, if it were Owlana’s voice, why would she not simply deliver the message that she delivered to Miyara to you instead?”
Mana shrugged. “Miyara said it was my first test to find her, so maybe it has something to do with that. Maybe the voice was something else. It could also be as simple as not wanting to overwhelm me immediately. Telling me to find a single person in a known location is a lot easier than telling me to find three people that I would have no idea where to start searching for.”
That made sense to Cobal. Although most people here considered Arana to be long lost, the fact that Mana was told to visit someone there made her convinced it existed and she ended up being correct, of course. “It does feel like we’re being messed with by someone who isn’t telling us their honest intentions.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Owlana told us to visit Miyara, then visit Dionil after and although we didn’t search out Abu, we are likely to cross paths. What is the end goal? Just to make you a powerful hero? Is the journey the real reward, what are we doing?”
Mana thought about this for a little while before replying. “I don’t know. I definitely feel like there are things being kept from us. But right now, I have no real reason to not do what is being suggested to us. For starters, the only thing that Owlana has really asked of us is to meet three different people. Meeting Dionil helped me come to terms with this world and it changed you for the better, so I choose to believe in this prophecy for now. It’s also a good excuse to look into your family’s past. As for Abu, I think meeting another person from my world was always going to be inevitable. Just the curiosity alone would likely pull me in that direction eventually. So I don’t know what to think, but as long as I have no good reason to stop following this path.”
“That’s fair. So we go home, then we go find Mirgia and have a chat with this Abu person to see what he’s up to?”
“Sounds like a plan. If you have the time to squeeze that all in before the wedding.”
“Could you stop reminding me every five minutes.”
“Really though, what do you think? I’m joking about it, but it’s a pretty serious decision that you had to make.”
Cobal let the sound of the room wash over him as he connected his thoughts. “Diana’s great. She’s dedicated, she’s kind and she’s not afraid to stand up for herself and her people.”
“Great body too,” Mana added.
Cobal looked shocked at the comment and Mana burst out in laughter. “Too much?”
“Didn’t expect you to be the type to make those comments.”
“Am I wrong though?”
“Didn’t you tell me it was wrong to objectify people like that?”
“Did I? Well it’s alright if it’s all in good fun.”
“So you make the rules now?”
“Correct, and don’t you forget it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Miyara’s funeral was a simple one. Cobal was curious about Arana’s funeral traditions, but they weren’t that different from their own. Bodies were often burned or buried, depending on where you came from and who you left behind. Miyara’s grave was dug into an underground bed of sand on the outskirts of Arana. Apparently they had excavated a very deep cavern when the village was first founded and then started burying their dead there. The cavern was about three quarters full and Cobal heard some people talking about how they would need to find a new solution in the future, but probably not during their lifetime. Arana was a rather small community after all. Besides the underwater part, the rest of the ceremony was mostly the same as for the people above ground which made sense as they were once the same people. Mana was asked to speak a few words and did so despite her immediate anxiety for the public speech.
“I didn’t know Miyara well. As a matter of fact, we only spoke on two occasions, but I could tell from those interactions that she was a kind soul. She welcomed me home where she had no obligation to do so. She served me tea with a smile and gave me this amulet to hold. I’ve treasured it ever since. As most of you here know, I am originally from another world. I was summoned here to be a hero, which is something I still don’t quite think I’m suited for. But Miyara was the first person here to give me direction and help me find my way. For that I will be forever grateful. May she rest in peace and may Owlana forever remember her.” She smiled and put down a piece of Coral on top of the sand, which was tradition.
After Mana’s speech, a few other people spoke, including Miyara’s grandchildren. A lot of people were present at the funeral, including Kiiran and Vandra. It seemed like many people really loved Miyara and wanted to pay their respects. Cobal felt a little bit awkward at times, but he was glad he could be in attendance.
After the funeral ended, everyone made their way back to the Seer’s Ballad – the establishment that Miyara’s grandchildren ran – to eat, drink and remember. Towards the end of the afternoon, Kiiran tapped Cobal on his shoulder. “I wish to speak with you in private a moment before you leave.”

“What’s wrong?” Cobal asked. “I can see on your face that this isn’t something pleasant.”
Kiiran smiled. “Perceptive young man.”
“I’ve spent enough hours at court to pick up a few things here and there, unfortunately.”
“Well, let me not beat around the bush then. We were made aware of a disturbing fact recently.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Although we are a secluded people, I have a couple of friends above the water that know quite a few things about the world, and one of them sent me this letter.” He handed Cobal a scroll which Cobal read through quickly.
“This is very troubling news indeed, are you sure it’s real?”
Kiiran nodded. “At the very least I believe that our source wouldn’t fabricate it, so if it is fake, it was planted somehow.”
“Can I take this with me?” Cobal asked.
Kiiran hesitated. “How will you explain getting your hands on it?”
“That’s a good question. Perhaps I’ll just tell my father about it. Besides, all it proves is that someone in our nobility is working with Sapher and the cultists, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.”
“Do you have any idea where he is?”
Cobal shook his head. “No word of him after we parted ways in Marsolin. He could be anywhere in the world right now.” He paused. “Although this letter makes me believe he might be near Blueyerd. I will inform my father, thank you for sharing this with me.”
“Of course, although we’re not particularly close, you’ve done right by my people and that is valuable to me. Know that you’ll have friends here as long as you continue to honor this friendship.”
Cobal smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The sun was long gone and the only thing still lighting their pathway along the beach was the moon and the stars. Mana once explained to him that – as least in her world – the moon didn’t actually have any light coming from it directly, but only reflected the light from the sun which would be on the other side of the world at the time. Cobal brushed it off when she first told him as he did with many of the things he told her, but staring out over the water and imagining that the sun was still providing light to them in the dark of night felt nice. He was locking arms with a beautiful woman that he’d known since he was a child. She was always a bit of a tomboy when she was younger, and Cobal definitely didn’t like her all the time, but she’d been kind and as she grew up and took over her father’s responsibility, her personality had certainly mellowed out. Her shocking white hair – something she inherited from her mother – reminded him of snow and her green eyes were hit with just enough moonlight to sparkle. Yet every time he looked away from her during their conversation, he found his mind drifting to another woman. He didn’t feel the same way about Diana as he’d felt about Salandra. He didn’t know if that would change over time, since it wasn’t that long ago that he left Salandra behind in Marsolin, but for now, he definitely still thought about her.
“Your mind is elsewhere,” Diana’s voice took him out of his train of thoughts. He smiled sheepishly.
“That obvious?”
“I’ve asked you three questions and you’ve replied to all three by nodding your head yes. The third question was if you wanted to go for a swim.”
He chuckled. “I’d rather not.”
“Surprising.”
“Is this where you thought your life was headed?”
Diana stopped walking. “Where does that question come from?”
“When we were kids, was this how you envisioned your future?” He looked around. “Not literally walking on a beach, but being the lady of Ravadier, getting ready for a political marriage to strengthen your future?”
Diana continued walking. “I guess. I didn’t think my father’s health would decline so rapidly and I would be in charge at such a young age, but I always knew he was weaker than most people, and with him refusing to take another wife after my mother passed, it was pretty clear from a young age that I would take over the peninsula instead of being married off to a distant noble.”
“And how do you feel about it all?”
She shrugged. “It’s just what life has put in front of me, we all have our paths to follow.”
It was Cobal’s turn to stop walking. “Is it all predetermined?”
“Well, it’s a figure of speech.”
“I know, but it’s something I used to think as well. I was supposed to get married to some noblewoman to make Blueyerd a more stable country, perhaps even a foreign princess if I got particularly lucky. Then I made a friend.” He sat down in the sand. He’d sobered up a bit, but not enough to keep walking through the night. “I met with people living on the bottom of the sea, I helped free a spirit from a magical prison. I fought demonic creatures in the capital of the elves and traveled to the libraries of Marsolin. I sailed on pirate ships, fought ghosts and met not one but two people who were born on a completely different world. I found friendship and love, I stopped trusting my country and regained some of that trust. And somehow after all of it I ended up right back here, the peninsula where my adventure started and the peninsula where I’ll go back to being a political pawn.” He stopped his rant as he felt Diana’s hand touch his shoulder. He looked up at her smiling face, hidden in the shadow of the night.
“Can’t you be both?”
He let himself fall into the sand. “I don’t know.” He rather quickly got back up, realizing how cold the wet sand felt below him. “Can I?”
“We all have our path to walk. But no one said there can’t be a detour or two.” She reached out a hand to him. “Let’s get you back to the inn, you look terrible.”
“I could easily get up on my own, but if you insist, I think I’ll lean on you for a while.”
“That’s what shoulders are for, to lean on from time to time.”

Things took an unexpected turn when Cobal woke up the next morning. Just when he’d made up his mind to accept Diana’s proposal for marriage, someone came knocking on the door. “Cobal, you have a guest.”
Cobal got dressed quickly and made his way back down to the main room of the inn. Sitting at the table, hood over their head was a familiar figure. He couldn’t see her face, but he knew instinctively that it was Vandra who had come to visit.
“Prince Cobal, thank you for taking the time to see me.”
“Of course, are you alright being out in the open here?”
Vandra nodded. “A few people in town know who I am and the rest know that I am some strange person that visits once every few years.” She looked around to make sure they had some privacy. “I came to bring you a message from Miyara. She wished to speak with you.”
“You mean with Mana?”
Vandra shook her head. “No, Miyara said that she would like to see the hero once more before she passes on, but the one she specifically requested was you.”
That was strange. The last time – and only time – they spoke with Miyara, she was the one who set Mana on the path towards Dionil and whatever other things the future might have in store for her. Cobal only recently remembered that there were two other people that Miyara had told them to seek out. Besides finding the Woodland Sage Dionil, they were also told to find a man named Abu and someone called Sorda’Thun the wanderer. They’d now met Abu, although he was sure that Miyara meant for them to actually travel to Severanti and meet the man in person. The wanderer on the other hand was still a complete mystery to him.
“When you say before she passes on,” Cobal halted his question.
Vandra nodded again. “It seems that time has come for the seer.”
“I see.” Cobal smiled. “Well, we’d best not keep her waiting then, I’ll go wake up Mana.”
After picking up Mana, the duo followed Vandra to the shore. They went to one of the rental houses on the beach, similar to the one that Cobal and Mana had stayed in the previous year but not the exact one they stayed in. “From this place it’s the shortest route to our main entrance,” Vandra explained before taking off her hood. She smiled at the duo. “I’m glad I managed to get hold of you so quickly.”
“We were indisposed until quite recently.”
“Yeah, how did that go?”
“Long story short, most of the ghost pirates have been sent to the afterlife, one of them ran off and is going to be chased down by the Tidesetter and her crew. The mage tower on Shark Tooth Island belongs to someone who is not currently in Blueyerd, but very much still alive.”
“That is a lot to unpack, make sure you have a chat with Kiiran before you leave Arana as well.”
Cobal nodded. “Best to get everything sorted out and capped off while we’re at it. If we are to head to Severanti it’ll probably be a while before we get to return after all, no idea what to expect there and how long things will take.” He looked at Mana who agreed with him. “It’ll be good to get our heads empty so we can focus on the tasks at hand.”
“What leads you to Severanti?” Vandra asked.
“Some of our friends are currently stuck there, although they’ve been annoyingly vague about telling us what is actually going on. We also believe the man who the tower belongs to is there. Not to mention, a year ago Miyara told us that there are three people we need to seek out. One of them was Dionil, who we met. The second one is this mage, and we have no leads on the third one yet.”
Mana looked surprised. “What do you mean?”
“Which part?”
“We have a lead on the final person as well.”
“What?”
“The person named Sorda’Thun?”
“Yes, when did you learn about them?”
“Did you not hear the conversation that we saw through the monitor?”
Cobal thought back to it. “There was a lot coming at us all at once, did I miss something important?”
“Well, the reason Abu broke off the conversation was because he had a visitor.”
“Yes?”
“The visitor was the person named Sorda’Thun.”
“Really? I didn’t realize it at all.”
“What would you do without me?” Mana chuckled.
“Deep breaths now, both of you, and prepare to be cold for a bit.”
“I am not going to enjoy this part,” Mana said, before taking a deep breath and diving in after Vandra.
One of the benefits of actually being expected to visit the city of Arana is that there are a few priests at the ready to provide you with some dry clothing and a towel. It’s a much more pleasant experience than wandering the damp tunnels in your soaking wet tunic. Cobal still felt cold despite changing to a warm robe and drying off. “It’ll be better when we get to Miyara’s place,” Vandra promised.
And so the duo entered the underwater city for the third time, but under a more heavy atmosphere than the previous two times, knowing why they had to hurry to the old seer.

Quick note from me: I realize that in earlier chapters I mixed up some character names. Eliana’s first mate is a woman named Fareh, the seer in Arana is named Miyara. I refered to Eliana’s first mate by the name Miyara many times, and I hope it wasn’t too confusing. I’ll pay more attention to this in the future.

Also, next week the Hesitant Hero will be on break again. Hopefully that will be the last break before I finish volume 4, which should be somewhere in late September, early August. Thank you for your endless patience.

“You didn’t have to come out here to greet us,” Cobal said to Guthir.
“Nonsense, you have done us a great service.”
“Maybe you should take his advice father, you know how hard it was to push this wheelchair all the way to the pier?”
“A bit of exercise is good for you, you spend all day behind a desk.”
“Whose fault is that?”
Cobal chuckled. “You sound more like a married couple than father and daughter sometimes.”
“Are you calling me old?”
“Uh,” Cobal froze. “So anyway, we brought back almost all of the missing villagers, safe and sound. I’ll give you the details when we get a little bit more privacy.”
The missing villagers had stayed on the deck of the ship until Diana, Guthir and the few villagers of Ravadier that were still awake arrived. Fareh had spent a lot of time checking all of the villagers for health problems and to see what remained of their memories. All of them commented that they saw a light in the ocean and felt compelled to walk towards it. Once they reached the light, they woke up on the deck of the Tidesetter. Everything that happened in between was completely gone from their memory.
After giving a quick summary to Diana and Guthir, they sent one of their servants into town to collect the families of the returned villagers. Two people were requested to come to the tavern instead, and meet up with them there.
Cobal walked with Diana and Guthir, while Mana and Eliana stayed behind on the Tidesetter. Cassandra had already run off to her home to check on her parents and tell Sebastian to come over to the inn.
After settling in the main room of the inn, it didn’t take long for Sebastian as well as a man that Cobal had not met before to arrive. They both gave a polite greeting to Guthir and Diana before sitting down.
“I don’t believe you’ve met my brother in law yet,” Sebastian said to Cobal.
Cobal shook the hand of the unfamiliar man. “My name is Dobas, I am Fred’s husband.”
Cobal nodded. He knew that Fred’s husband was called over as well.
“I’ll spare you the details for later and I’ll tell you the main thing we know first. The villagers were possessed by strange ghosts. When we figured out the way to undo this curse, all of the ghosts willingly let go of their stolen bodies except for one. A pirate captain named Bartew was the one who took over Fred’s body, and while we were looking the other way he badly wounded one of ours and ran off to sea. To put it simply, we don’t know where he is, and we are very sorry this happened.”
Dobas and Sebastian both listened closely. “How could you let this happen?” Dobas said. There was anger in his voice.
“Like I said, I’m very sorry this happened, and our friend, Captain Tidescreecher, will depart from here soon to try and find your husband.”
Sebastian put a hand on Dobas’ shoulder. “These are capable people that did us a favor, I’m sure they’ll find my brother.”
Dobas sighed. “I know, I just, I hope he’s doing fine.”
“I may have only known Fred for a couple of days, but he seemed like the kind of person who would be fine no matter what happened to him.”
Dobas smiled. “He’s the light of my life after all. He’s the kindest soul you’ll ever meet.”
“I’m sure Eliana will find him and bring him back.”

After Dobas and Sebastian left the inn, and the innkeeper had gone back to bed as well, it was just Diana, Cobal and Guthir left, sitting at a table. Cobal swirled the wine around in his cup before taking another sip.
“So tell me,” Diana interrupted his thoughts, “what exactly went down on Shark Tooth Island? What about the mage tower?”
Cobal sighed. “It was a lot. There is a very powerful mage who built that tower, and the pirates that tried to rob him once were turned into ghosts, wandering aimlessly in search of their redemption. Taking control of the Ravadier villagers was their last ditch effort to find the key into the tower. The way we ended up solving this whole ordeal was by more or less giving the ghosts what they wanted so they could pass on peacefully and return the villagers to us. That’s how it got to one of them running away, not wanting to give up on life.” Cobal paused. “But the much more scary and pressing matter is the mage himself.”
“Did you meet him?”
“Not in person, but we spoke through some sort of magical device he created. He called himself Abu, and he is currently residing in the empire of Severanti. More importantly, he is from the same world as Mana.”
“Another person from that world.” Guthir asked.
Cobal nodded. “That’s the second one I’ve talked to now, and he seemed very different from Mana. Not to mention that he’s been in our world for a century or more, and he still looks to be no more than middle aged. It’s making me think what the true damage will be that people from another world can do.”
“So what your ministers have been shouting in the streets?” Guthir asked.
Cobal nodded. “I don’t agree with them on most of it, they’re the ones that accepted this summoning, and they only changed their mind when they realized Mana wasn’t some sort of unbeatable fighter. But the core of the argument, that bringing people from civilizations with very different technology to our world could cause a lot of damage.”
“What if it just helps us get more advanced faster? It’ll give us a leg up against some of the other continents, and if we can justify travel to them, it’ll open up all sorts of possibilities.” Guthir continued.
“Maybe. We know that my family originally landed here from another continent, but I honestly never looked into why we did so, and what pushed us to leave. All I learned about it was that it was a grueling journey that wouldn’t be easy to replicate. Although I’m sure with our more modern ships now, we should be able to cross the ocean. It’s interesting that it doesn’t happen more often.”
“Maybe this Abu person you spoke with knows more about it?” Diana suggested.
“Maybe.” Cobal spun his glass around slowly, thinking about a hundred things at once. “Or maybe he’s just some weird mage that likes toying with the dead.”
“Only one way to know for sure,” Guthir said. He put his hand on Cobal’s shoulder. “You’re going, aren’t you?”
Cobal nodded. “Even if I didn’t, I know for certain Mana is going. We also happen to know that two of our friends are currently in Severanti and they seem to be caught up in some strange thing. I think there isn’t a world in which I’m not going.”
“Then you’d best consider the state of things here and get some stuff in order first,” Guthir said. He winked at Cobal. “But first you should get some sleep, you’re welcome to come join us in the manor, your friends are welcome too.”

Diana and Guthir insisted that a celebration should be held in town for the heroes who brought back their missing villagers. Word had spread rather quickly that Fred was still missing, but with the rest of the villagers returned, faith in the pirates had grown tremendously. Where the villagers were very hesitant to allow them anywhere near Ravadier when they first docked a few weeks ago, they now welcomed them into town as they set up a large feast in the inn and the surrounding square. It was a bit cold to celebrate outside, but bonfires were lit to make up for it and the guests of honor of course had space reserved for them inside the building. Sebastian and his wife had spent all day baking for this feast and many of the other villagers brought fruits, meats and whatever they had to offer to thank Cobal, Mana and the crew of the Tidesetter for bringing back their friends and family safely. Even Dobas had joined in the celebration, despite it having a bit of a somber edge to it for him as his husband was still missing. Cobal let himself go in the joys of celebration and quickly found himself drinking more than he usually did. He spent some time talking with many of the different villagers that he truly forgot some of his troubles for a little bit. It wasn’t until much later in the evening, when most of the villagers had already gone to bed and only three dozen or so villagers were still celebrating with the pirates, that Cobal found that his head was becoming too unfocused for him to continue drinking. He needed some fresh air, so he left the inn and started a walk to the outskirts of town, to cool down his head a bit. After taking a leak on the side of a hopefully abandoned shed, he walked to where the town ended and the beach started and sat down in the sand for a while. This was where it felt like it all started. He met Mana only a few days before they set out for Ravadier last year, but they spent a fair bit of time there, and this was the place where he first started to realize that there might actually be more to this timid woman that had suddenly been thrust into his life. He let out a deep sigh as he listened to the sound of the waves hitting the shore and retreating back. The fresh air turned his chaotic head more clear and although he still felt a pleasant buzz, his thoughts were definitely becoming a bit more organized.
“Beautiful view, isn’t it?” A voice said behind him.
He let himself fall backwards into the sand to see who approached him. He tried to desperately regain some of his composure when he realized it was Diana who had walked up to him on the deserted beach.
“Would you like to join me for a walk?” She asked.
Flustered but in no place to say no, Cobal agreed and the two set off for a slow walk along the coast, the moonlight being their only guide in the dark winter night.