At long last, Raine and Nikolay finally reached Marque.
It took a few detours and distractions, but their journey had finally arrived at its last resting point. Now, it was only a matter of time before they could head to the prophecy’s final location — the “serpent’s domain”, or more accurately, Serpent Isle.
To get to the island, though, they’d have to find a ship willing to take them there. Given the nature of the rumours surrounding Serpent Isle, the task was harder than it sounded.
As for now, there were more pressing issues at hand.
Namely, in the shape of a white-haired sorcerer that apparently didn’t know when to quit following them.
“Hey, it’s you two! You’re already back in Marque?” Irideis squinted at them. “Got all the artifacts on you?”
Their eyes darted up and down Raine, noting the three artifacts worn on plain display. Instead of simply acknowledging them, however, a cheeky grin crept onto their face. Raine could’ve sworn that their gaze lingered on the matching bracelets worn by himself and Nikolay.
“Oh… I see,” was all they said.
Nikolay frowned. “What does that mean? Is there something wrong with the artifacts?”
“No, no,” Irideis covering their mouth to stifle a laugh. “It’s good to see that you’ve come this far without much trouble. I assume you’re headed towards Serpent Isle next?”
“That’s right. The prophecy is almost at a close.”
…Even if Raine still couldn’t make sense of most of it. No matter how many times he recited the words over in his head, it still all sounded like meaningless gibberish to him.
When crimson light shines upon a serpent’s domain, all creations will understand the meaning of eternity. A wild beast, released from its prison of resentment, seeks to free its brethren.
One that treads the line between mind and spirit returns a key to its rightful place. Unbreakable steel shatters indestructible metal: destiny and curse intertwine. Strengthened by the past, the loop of infinity is closed.
“Unfortunately, I have to be the bearer of bad news,” Irideis says, pulling Raine out of his contemplation. “You won’t be able to reach Serpent Isle anytime soon.”
Of course. Why would their journey go as smoothly as they’d thought? Not a single thing had gone to plan in their entire time in Kosira, so they were clearly asking for too much now.
Raine could tell that Nikolay was just as irritated, but the other man managed to hide it well enough.
“And why is that?” Nikolay asked flatly.
“The port at Marque is closed. No ships can leave nor enter Kosira, due to a security concern.”
“How long will we have to wait? The supposed deadline is almost here, isn’t it? The blood moon from the ‘crimson light’ line is only in a couple of weeks.”
The white-haired guide merely put on a clueless expression. “I wouldn’t know. I’m not the security threat, nor am I part of the Marque leadership.”
“So you came here purely to give us bad news,” Nikolay sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. “Thanks.”
“Well, I was going to offer you free accommodation at my place, but if you’re so eager to get rid of me…”
Raine quickly cut in. “No, no. That’d be great. Thanks for your continued help, Irideis. If you wouldn’t mind showing us around, we’d be in your debt.”
A playful smirk appeared on Irideis’ face. “I’d be glad to. Just don’t get too rowdy, okay? It is my favourite place to stay in Marque, after all.”
What did they mean by rowdy? To be fair, the last time they’d seen Irideis was during their massive argument after they’d first separated bodies.
Shaking aside their mysterious words, Raine followed Irideis to their apartment, with Nikolay trailing behind.
As they walked through the streets of Marque, the scenery looked almost the same as he remembered. The pavement was still a stained dark grey, and the drab grey and black buildings still cast a constant looming shadow over the town.
There were fewer kids playing on the sidewalk, as well as less overall pedestrians from their first visit, though Raine attributed this to the ‘security threat’ that Irideis had mentioned earlier.
Even though there weren’t as many visible people on the street, the number of eyes on him still didn’t feel any fewer. For the sake of his sanity, Raine chalked it up to his paranoia. After all, they’d narrowly escaped assassination more than once by now.
After walking for a while, Irideis finally came to a stop in front of a nondescript building. It looked the same as the several others down the street, but Raine was surprised to see Irideis pull out the keys to the front door.
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“You own the entire thing?” he asked in surprise. “I thought it was just a room or something.”
“Technically, I don’t own it. I just have a ‘friend’ who was willing to lend me their spare house for whenever I’m in Marque,” Irideis winks.
“Of course you do,” Nikolay muttered under his breath.
Suspicious circumstances aside, the interior was surprisingly nice. While it was still the same drab colour scheme as everything else in the town, at least there was a standard of cleanliness rarely seen in the hotel and tavern rooms that they’d stayed in. Their only experience with Marque accommodation certainly wasn’t the greatest, between the constant drunk patrons and the mould infestation. Come to think of it, Raine wondered how the receptionist there was faring — the red-headed teenager who they’d seen in the Order of Truth headquarters.
Perhaps she’d gone onto bigger things, like… Actually, Raine really hoped she hadn’t met Guthasar. A mortal wouldn’t stand a chance against an immortal sorcerer, no matter how badass she was.
“You two can sleep in the guest room. It’s down this corridor here,” Irideis gestured to the door in question. “If you need me, my bedroom is back down this way. There should be some spare hay in the storeroom if Rascal needs it, otherwise the stable will have more than enough.”
The rest of the day passed in an uneventful manner, filled with the usual chores of unpacking their bags and setting up the room for sleeping. Their situation only began setting in once night fell.
Raine worriedly picked at the peeling wallpaper in their room. “Do you really think we’re going to find a ship in time? It sounds pretty serious if they closed Kosira’s only way of transport from the outside world.”
Conversely, Nikolay didn’t seem bothered at all.
“If there’s no other option, I can always use my magic to take us to Serpent Isle.”
“No,” Raine shot Nikolay a hard look. “We don’t know how far the island is. You might end up running out of steam half-way through and drop us into the middle of the ocean.”
“It won’t be a problem. I’ll make sure you have a way to get to safety.”
“…Of course you will,” Raine muttered under his breath. “And what about you?”
If Nikolay heard him, he didn’t visibly react to Raine’s gripe.
“Good night, Raine. Sleep well.”
—
As expected, they didn’t see Irideis for the next few days. Even though the elusive guide had a bedroom here, the two had never seen anybody in the room, let alone anywhere else in the building.
They had never said this was their only place of residence, after all. It was probably Raine and Nikolay’s fault for assuming things when it came to someone as slippery as Irideis.
Most of their time went towards exploring the city, in search of clues and rumours regarding the closed docks. Their next course of action depended entirely on what was causing the sudden closure of Marque. If it was something small, then it would be much faster to just resolve the ‘security threat’ themselves. Otherwise, just getting an opening date for the docks was enough.
But even that was proving to be difficult, as an entire week passed without even an inch of progress towards finding the answer.
On a day that seemed like it would pan out the same as the rest, Nikolay woke up well before the sun had risen, as per his usual routine.
The abnormal presence of magic alerted him to someone approaching, and he immediately looked towards the door. Strangely enough, he couldn’t hear the sound of footsteps or breathing — this person was well-trained in hiding their tracks. As this mystery intruder neared closer, their magic signature became clearer.
His own magic, poised at the ready, dissolved as soon as he recognised the owner of the aura.
Nikolay opened the door before they could knock.
“You decide to show up at the strangest times, Irideis,” he grumbled. “What is it?”
The white-haired sorcerer didn’t seem shocked at all. It was almost as if they’d calculated his response perfectly, which unnerved Nikolay.
“I’ll cut to the chase for your sake,” they calmly said. “It’s Raine’s birthday tomorrow, isn’t it? I was thinking I could show you around the markets to find a present for him. I also need advice on what to gift him, and you’re the best person to consult.”
Nikolay glanced back at the room behind him. “Give me a minute.”
He ducked back into their shared bedroom, then took out a sticky note from the desk on the side. Irideis watched on in curiosity as he scribbled something on the paper, then stuck it on Raine’s forehead. Surprisingly, he barely stirred from his sleep.
“The idiot will get worried if he finds me gone when he wakes up,” he explained. “I let him know I’m out with you.”
For now, Irideis hadn’t shown any signs of hostility, nor had they tricked them with their many acts of kindness. He wasn’t particularly concerned about Raine’s safety inside the house — not any more than he usually was, anyway.
With that, Irideis led Nikolay to their destination. The streets of Marque were even more quiet than when they’d arrived, given how early it was.
“Will the markets be open at this time?” Nikolay asked sceptically.
Irideis hummed to themselves. “They should be closing soon, actually. I figured you wouldn’t appreciate being woken up at the witching hour, though, so I waited until you were awake.”
“How considerate of you.”
They continued to make their way through the city, before finally reaching a street lined with faded banners and stalls. Despite the time, there were still a decent amount of people still lingering around the market.
Nikolay hadn’t seen this market before in their scouring of Marque, though it would make sense, considering the opening hours. Leave it to Irideis to know about niche markets like these.
“You seem to know this place quite well,” Nikolay said. “Any recommendations?”
“You’ll find whatever you need in due time,” was all Irideis said.
Shaking off their infuriatingly vague comments, Nikolay decided to head straight towards the first stall that caught his eye. A rotating stand with various trinkets stood in front. Although none of them looked promising, Nikolay would rather be browsing a random stall over standing around and doing nothing.
Hovering just out of his field of view, Nikolay could acutely feel Irideis’ gaze on him. He tried his best to ignore it for as long as he could while observing the stand, but it became too unnerving in the silent atmosphere.
“You said you needed help with choosing a gift for Raine,” Nikolay started.
“That’s right. You seem like you know Raine inside and out,” Irideis said offhandedly, the ghost of a smirk forming on their face.
Nikolay, too busy examining a particular wooden carving, missed whatever deeper meaning was behind their words.
“I try to pay attention to anything related to Raine when I can,” he agreed. “But for you, I think you should stick to gifts that represent your relationship with Raine. After all, it loses its sincerity if you buy whatever I suggest.”
“Sincerity…” Irideis muses. “An interesting thought. I suppose Raine would like a sincere gift. You’re a talented gift giver, Nikolay. I wasn’t expecting this side of you.”
“It’s not skill or talent at all. I’m not in the habit of giving gifts — I’m simply speaking based on calculations.”
“Calculations, huh? Is that what you’re calling it these days…”