A week later they stopped at an island to offload the cargo taken from their first captured vessel. It was a rainy island, with dirt streets covered by roofing between close-built buildings. Li struggled to assist in the unloading on the rain-slicked deck, trying to manipulate rain-slicked ropes. Eventually, the work was finished and the crew was given its schedule of shore leave and watches. Li was thankful that his leave time would not be until the following morning. It had already grown dark by early evening, helped by the clouds. He did not expect to enjoy the taverns and whorehouses many on the crew were boasting about. Daylight felt like a much safer time to visit.

As he was eating his evening meal below decks, Aricka plopped down beside him with her own bowl of Cook's gruel, a hunk of bread, and a mug of watered rum. He noticed her arm was no longer in a sling. "Excited for your first adventure to Moniacka?" she asked before taking a long drink from her mug.

Li shrugged. "I suppose a walk about the town to see a new place will be interesting. I've never seen a town with covered roads before." Not that he had truly traveled much at all, he added to himself.

She nodded and dipped her bread into her gruel before shoving it into her mouth. "Because of the rain. It rains more often here than the rest of the island," she explained as she chewed.

"Then why build a town here?" Li asked.

"It's the only place on the island where a ship can safely land," she answered with a shrug. "Everywhere else it's reefs and rocks. Here it's clear."

Li supposed that must make up for the need to adapt to the constant rain.

"I know Ardlac is a pain," Aricka went on. "Stick with me when we go to shore. I'll show you around, point you to the good shops and taverns."

"I don't have any money to spend. My share goes to the captain," he reminded her. It was something he had been told more than once by Ardlac.

She sighed. "I can lend you a bit of money. Don't have a fortune myself, but it's enough for me to help a new cuffer. So long as Mond keeps you on, you'll be able to pay me back."

Li shook his head. "Thank you, but I can't promise that. I failed rather spectacularly already."

She snorted and took another drink. "You didn't faint, so you did better than most on their first day of battle."

"Still," Li replied, trying to change the topic of conversation. "I only want to walk on land again, even if it's a strange land."

Aricka nodded. "We can do that. You can carry my shopping for me."

Much to his surprise, Captain Mond requested to see him again the following morning before he left for his leave on shore. He passed Li a small handful of coins.

"This should allow you some enjoyment today," he said, his expression unreadable. "It is a small percentage of what would have been your share, were the situation different. I don't do this for all cuffers, but I feel you were wrongly, or at least unfairly, placed on my ship. Enjoy your leave."

Li nodded to him. "Thank you, Captain."

Aricka had waited for him by the ship's rail, and strangely, so had Ardlac.

"Ready now?" Ardlac asked.

Li nodded. "I'll be with Aricka. She offered to show me the town."

Ardlac looked annoyed for a fleeting moment. "It's my duty as your assigned partner to show you around new places."

"Then by all means, come with us," Aricka told him. "But don't act as if you were forced to."

With that, she climbed over the ladder at the railing and to the boat waiting below. Li followed her, and Ardlac hurried after him as if he believed they would leave him behind even after Aricka had told him to come with them. The others in the boat grumbled about waiting for them, but the ship began towards the shore without further discussion, putting the complaints to an end.

It was raining once more, but it was only a light mist for the time being. It didn't take too long to arrive at the town's shore, but Li still felt wetter than he ever had onboard the Gryphon by that time. The local man guiding the boat took his pay without complaining of the time spent waiting for them all to be on his boat, and Li's small group moved up toward the town of Moniacka.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Li was hit by the new sounds and smells before they were very far into the town. He smelled food and spices he couldn't identify and heard languages spoken he had never heard before. There was conversation, laughter, and music from instruments he didn't recognize. They stopped before too long at a stall that sold sweet bread, which Aricka insisted was the greatest bread ever baked anywhere in the world. Li spent one of his coins on two different breads, unable to resist the smells and Aricka's praises. He was not disappointed.

"Where did you get money?" Ardlac demanded.

"Captain Mond allowed me a small payment," Li explained with a shrug. "That was what held me up so long."

"Why?"

Aricka snorted. "He always does. You just haven't been in the company of enough cuffers to know it."

Li shrugged, thankful she had answered for him. He hadn't considered how he would explain the truth of Ash's death and his unfair trial. Ardlac did not seem the one to be overly sympathetic.

They reached a part of town that was dressed in bright colors and smelled of burning incense. Aricka took a deep breath and grinned.

"This is where the dreamers ply their trade," she explained.

"Who are they?" Li asked.

"People with magic," Ardlac explained. "People who are children of Asirim and sorcerers. They can heal the pains of a wounded soul. Their healing art requires trances, hence they are called dreamers."

Aricka eyed him with a kindness Li did not expect to see between them. "You should visit them," she suggested.

Ardlac grunted. "This is where I intended to come."

"Good."

Li didn't know much about the Asirim, but he chose not to ask. He was distracted from his companions by the gaze of a man from one of the shops. He was tall and slender, and his eyes were nearly silver in color. He was dressed in a black robe, the hood of which covered his bald head. Tattoos twisted about his neck. He raised one slender hand, also lined with swirling tattoos, toward Li.

Aricka nudged him. "Go on. The dreamers choose their clients, not the reverse. Don't be rude. We will all meet back in this spot."

Li nodded and went to the man, who met his gaze, then vanished into his shop. Li followed and found himself in a room full of cushions and pillows. The man sat down among them, and motioned for Li to sit across from him. He did so. Though he was unsure of what this experience would entail and puzzled by the importance Aricka and Ardlac seemed to place on it, he also felt strangely comfortable and at ease in the woody-scented shop among the soft cushions with a stranger.

The man began to softly hum and Li felt himself relax even more. He was not even startled when a gentle male voice spoke, seemingly within his mind.

"I am Xeliact," the voice told him in the same lovely accent he had heard on the streets outside. "You hurt. Your soul itself has been torn and is only slowly mending. Your pain is as deep as that of your friend you left outside. His needs exceed my skills, but yours do not. Allow me to heal you, offer you some comfort so your soul may mend itself, in time."

Li felt himself relax more, falling back among the cushions without knowing it. He felt the rough edges of his aching heart dull just a little bit. His mind returned to Ash as it often did, but he found himself enjoying fonder memories of their time together. He was not transported back to that terrible moment, finding his lover lying dead. Instead, he remembered their first, tentative kiss while Li had poured over the estate's account books with Ash, leaning in so close that when Ash had turned his head to ask him something, all that was required for that first act was for either of them to lean just a little closer. And they both had, both wanting it. He remembered nearly a month later when Ash had finally sorted his conflicting emotions and taken Li on a ride to the farthest reaches of the estate, where they had let the horses graze while they made love for the first time beside a gently babbling creek among the concealing trees and lush foliage of summer. He recalled the day when Ash confessed to loving him and not knowing what to do about it. He recalled every short trip they took together for business and every stolen moment where they didn't fear discovery by Catanere.

Instead of pain, he was filled with the warmth of love, with the joy of the knowledge that he had been loved and he had loved in turn.

"You will feel that again," Xeliact assured him. "I feel that your soul will mend in time. You will be able to love once more, and you will be loved in return. Entirely. There is much healing yet to be done, but you have made progress already. Remember these feelings. Cast aside the pain for love when you are able. When you are not able, recall this gift and speak my name. It will comfort you."

Li vaguely felt his hand being lifted and something being tied around his wrist. It felt soft and was fastened snugly.

"You may rest for some time here. Leave when you are ready. Open your eyes now."

Reluctantly, Li did so, and found himself lying among the cushions. The man, Xeliact, nodded to him and released his hand. Li looked at his wrist and saw a bracelet of fine silver braiding there. Among the silver threads seemed to be hints of gold and blue.

Xeliact stood, silent, and left him. Li sat up and breathed deeply of the incense in the shop. After some time, during which he struggled to bring himself back to the present time and leave fond memories of Ash behind, he decided leaving the shop might clear his mind. He stood and moved toward the door. He didn't see Xeliact and wasn't certain what his fees were, so he chose to leave a couple coins on the cushions where he had sat. He hoped it was enough.

Outside, he found Aricka waiting. She looked relaxed and wore a bracelet similar to Li's, but green and blue in color. It was several minutes before Ardlac rejoined them, and when he did Li noticed he wore two bracelets. One was the same silver design as Li's, while the other was a myriad of colors. None of them asked each other of their experiences, but Li did recall Xeliact's observation that Ardlac was also in pain as deep as Li's. Even if the man had not truly been a friend to him, Li still felt compassion. If his experiences were much like Li's, Li thought he deserved that compassion. Li hoped he, too, found healing.