Chapter 5

J'ygar

Ani watched as children ran up and down the last few steps. They played tag, one a younger boy and the other an older girl. It reminded her of the times she was forced to play with her own younger brother. Her mother insisted that it was good to bond with her brother, but she never really saw what they had in common. Besides, he left to join some thieving crew and never returned. As far as she could tell, he never gave a damn about the family in the first place.

"Did you hear he's in town? I just about dropped my basket when I heard!" A younger lady said as she walked past Ani, paying her no mind. She held a basket filled to the brim with fruits and vegetables. An older, portly lady walked next to her, a basket of her own balanced on her head. Her white dress with red spots bounced with each step on the cobblestone road.

"I don't care for gossip, though, even I can't ignore such a thing. Has anyone actually seen him for themselves?" The portly lady said, her cheeks red and her forehead beaming with sweat. It was clear she was overextending herself, but Ani respected her dedication. The younger woman flashed her a stare, her mouth agape.

"Te Co'uk himself made the announcement in the square not to long ago, so I'd imagine so!" The older lady laughed, a hand to her belly as she heaved in deep breaths. Ani kept a decent pace behind them, trying to make it less obvious that she was listening. It had been years since she had heard news of things happening on the island as they were happening. That is, as opposed to days or even weeks after as the maids often received it.

"Co'uk has about as much influence as a fruit fly. Hells, I'd probably trust a one's word over his. He's probably just trying to get himself even an ounce of attention. Lords knows he needs it with how he's been acting these past few years." How had he been acting these last few years? Ani hadn't heard anything of Te Co'uk for many rotations, and had assumed he either died or simply left the island. Though, she reminded herself, lack of appearance doesn't necessarily equate to absence on the island. As Lorrketh had proven several times himself, that is, before he had taken his own life.

"Seyor, give him a break. He's got big boots to fill, and he's too old at this point to grow into them! Besides, it must feel awfully lonely down there. Hidden beneath Ce'yossh like that, and next to Z'esh Chasm for that matter? They say it sings songs to those nearby, you know? Trying to lure the victim into falling inside. Wouldn't be surprised if Co'uk succumbed to such a thing." The two arrived at their stand, where they began to quickly unpack their goods onto the display. Ani stood by the merchant stand beside them, pretending to be interested in the spices they were selling. Though each time the vendor tried to speak she would quickly put a finger to her lips.

"My lords, Mari, you thought my prospect was grim?"

"I only mean that this Lonely Virus is seeming to go around quite fast. It apparently makes a man hear things." The younger lady, Mari said with a shrug. The portly lady shrugged as well, throwing the basket behind the stand and sitting down on a chair, exhausted. She wore worn out slippers and that looked as if they'd seen several Eras.

"The Lonely Virus is just a fancy way to describe men who are unmarriageable! Trust me, it's only these nobles you see catching it, am I wrong?" She waved her hands around wildly, her eyes bulged from her pudgy face. Mari couldn't help but laugh, brushing off dust from her dark green dress. Ani hadn't forgotten what it was she was supposed to be doing, but she figured she could at least wait for the ladies to stop talking so she could ask for directions.

Her assumption that everything would look different was more accurate than she had hoped. It felt like even the town square itself had been changed, the pattern of market stands and traveling carriages all moved around. Ani remembered her specific route she would use to weave between the merchants to make sure she didn't get distracted by anything else. It often didn't work as the merchants were far too good at targeting her desires; whatever desires it was she had at the moment.

"I suppose you're right. If it's some scheme at all, it's probably to try and get some of us women to finally marry and have kids! It feels like this island is slowly growing more quiet each year. Might just be us two by the end of the decade!" Mari joked, butting her friend in the shoulder to which she rolled her eyes. As much as Ani wished to be included in the conversation, she knew she had little time to waste and quickly made her way over to the merchant stand.

"T'ma, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the Hudze Brewery?" Ani asked innocently, her hands resting on her lap. The two ladies looked at each other and then back at the maid, who's face began to grow red with each passing moment going unspoken. Eventually Mari spoke up.

"Dear, the Hudze Brewery hasn't been around since the Emergence, it was never rebuilt." She said with a frown, her head tilted slightly to the side as if she was watching a cat with a missing leg prance by. Ani blushed even deeper, rubbing her neck subconsciously.

"Oh, I see. Then how might I get some Lo'tof ale?" This time the portly lady laughed, her whole body seemed to shake, the chair squeaking as she moved.

"Lo'tof? You might have better luck looking for a lost cryy in a lake." The small silver crystals used for currency on the island, known as cryys, had a strange property that led to them becoming nearly invisible when under water. It didn't seem to have any practical application, though most researchers agreed it appeared as something an organism might use as a defense mechanism. But as far as anyone could tell, cryys were just crystals, a collection of minerals mined from the Billowtop Mountains on the western most part of the island. Some claim they have magical properties, but nothing yet had been discovered.

"Right, well where might I find any ale at all?" Ani grew desperate. She gripped her own fingers, which started to turn white from trapping all the blood in her hand. Mari sniffled, sitting down on her own stool and tapping her chin. She had a slim, beautiful face with long brown hair that went to her hips. She wore a green floral triangular scarf on her head, which marked her as a student of the academy. Most adult women never wore scarfs, and preferred some form of bonnet.

"I think all of our ale is imported now. Besides, we never made Lo'tof here ourselves, we aren't half as good as those Skyfielders are when it comes to their ale." Mari pursed her lips, then pointed further along the town square. "You can try your luck at the Maryk. They sell some ale, but mostly wines. We haven't had an import of ale for a good while. Word is there's some kind of war going on in the mainland. I think it's just a slow season, personally." She shrugged with a smile. Ani bowed to her and gave the two her thanks before scurrying off into the crowd. One might think someone would take the Gulf-fest as an excuse to keep the stand closed for the day, but most saw it as an opportunity instead. The streets were more crowded than she had ever seen before, despite Maris' claim that the city's population had gone down. Perhaps there had been more fluctuation in residency in the last decade than she had thought possible. Either way, she followed the vague directions she was given, and kept in a straight line through the town square.

She didn't recognize a single face. Which was odd to her, considering that most of the people she knew when she still lived in J'ygar were close to her age. But she didn't brush away the idea that maybe they had simply moved on with their lives, and made way for the mainland. It wasn't a rare thing to see, as most children her age constantly talked of wanting to explore Hyvak. A land of prosperity and opportunity. Where each corner of the country was a breeding ground for different ways of life.

Ani had thought of leaving the island as a kid. Even now she wondered, imagining what kind of life she could've built for herself. She was too young when she was taken away, she wasn't sure what occupation she was even interested in. Did she want to be a surgeon like their neighbor, Maza? Or did she think she could work steel like her father had, as a blacksmith. She had only been an apprentice to Miss Vevin for a few months before she was casted out as incompetent. Apparently being a scholar was not in her cards.

"Vete'vet!" A man shouted as she bumped into him. It meant 'fool of a fool' in Sccyesh, a language commonly used on the island. She bowed and kept walking, rubbing her shoulder sourly as she minded more carefully where she walked from thereon out. And only a few more streets away, she saw a large building with a sign dangling from the top that read 'Maryk Market'.

The inside had a low ceiling much like that of the wine cellar at the Dust, which seemed to be a trend for places housing alcohol. It looked nothing but inconvenient to Ani, but then again, she knew nothing of the craft. She learned to stop asking such questions when she brought it up to Ayvar and was knocked in the knee with a wine bottle. Ani hadn't forgotten that, not for even a second.

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There were indeed almost hundreds of racks filled with wine bottles. All sorts of colors and years lining the racks with their own special labels. Summerwines, winterwines, springwines, seawines. As far as she could tell, there wasn't any ale to be seen, not even in the corners of the room away from the racks. Her smile faded as she realized none of this wasn't going to be made easy for her. Nothing ever was, she supposed. Luckily for her, a man stood behind a counter only a few feet away.

"T'ma, I was wondering if you would have any ale I might be able to acquire?" Her formality was met with a snicker. The man wore a long white apron, though it was heavily stained and covered in wood shavings. His hair was a curly black, his beard reaching to his chest.

"Ale? Eh. We haven't had a shipment in a full Lunar. Bloody well annoying it is. But we have a few kegs, I suppose. For a rainy day, I was thinking. What are you looking for?" He smiled, leaning into the counter and getting dastardly close to the young maids face. She retained her mild expression, swallowing her words of discontent.

"What might you have?"

"Buckberry, Pinthrash, and erm, some Kindlea I believe."

"So no Lo'tof?"

"No Lo…HA!" He erupted into laughter, pulling away from the counter and landing in his chair. He slapped his hand on the counter repeatedly as he laughed, then wiped away the tears that had formed in his eyes. After his fit, he coughed, and stood back to his feet.

"Young lady, if you're looking for Lo'tof you best be flying to Rifnallia herself! We haven't had a keg of that since the Emergence before this last one!" He laughed further, which was followed by more vigorous coughing.

"I understand." She bit her lip, looking around anxiously at her choices. "Well, of the three which one would be the best substitute, do you think?" Ani wasn't sure if asking the man his opinion was the greatest choice, as he wasn't being very helpful. But even a broken clock is right twice a day.

"Hmm, well the Pinthrash is far too tart. The Kindlea is a bit too sweet. I'd wager the Buckberry would be a good choice. It'll run you sixty cryys, though. Like I said, these past few Lunars have been difficult." A lunar eclipse occured every two months, that being when Joryks shadow was casted over Coreterra. A true lunar was when Coreterras light casted a shadow onto their moon, which was prone to being the source of many strange occurrences. That only happened every three years though, thank the Lords.

Ani looked down into her bag, she had exactly sixty-four cryys, and sighed from relief. It was months of her wages, but she figured that Korlas didn't expect her to pay for it all herself. That being said, she hadn't even bothered if she had the money. It was bold of Korlas to assume that she had saved up that much to begin with. And as little as the opportunities came to really spend their cryys, the maids often found ways to blow them off the moment they could. Wine, new clothing, new shoes. All things they drank or wore in private when they weren't on duty. But Ani figured she'd never need such things, and did her best to keep her cryys safe within her satchel. There had been cases of maids stealing from each other, and she didn't quite feel like being another victim.

The thought then occurred to her, and she quickly dug around in her bag, pulling out the note that Korlas had given her. The stamp was still there, clean and fresh. Ani then slapped the note down onto the table with a slight grin.

"This is for the Dust Queen herself, and I would think twice before trying to take money from her." She planted the seed; it wasn't her money, it was the queen's money. Of course. The man's face scrunched in frustration, his fingers running across the gray hairs on his face. It sounded like someone scratching sandpaper. After a few short moments the man took in a deep breath and shrugged, leaning back in his seat.

"Can't argue with the stamp. Need a few men to get that ale back up there?" He asked, looking defeated. The maid paused for a moment, then quickly rolled the note back up and put it in her satchel. She then nodded, and left. The man knew where it needed to go, she had seen delivery carts bring in ale before, she had just never known where they came from until now.

I have so much more time left than I thought. She looked around the town square, people beginning to make their way towards the Dust Palace. The massive stairs already had a long stream of people climbing them. It went so high they began to look like little bugs, climbing a mountain. She wondered how those men ever managed to get the ale up there to begin with, but decided it wasn't her problem to mull over. She had the rare opportunity to explore J'ygar without worry, as the note in her possession would allow her to do. Now it was just a matter of where she was to go first.

Mari watched as the young maid wandered around aimlessly. She couldn't help but smile to herself, an orange balancing on the back of her hand. Letting it roll off into her other hand, she looked to her friend. Somehow she had fallen asleep, even with the summer heat baring over them. Kicking her lightly in the leg, the woman snorted as she awoke.

"Good, Tema, watch the market while I'm gone, will you?" Mari said, standing from her stool. Tema looked at her lazily and nodded. It didn't exactly inspire confidence in her, but she rolled her eyes and chased after Ani. She realized during their conversation she hadn't gotten her name, and it was considered rude to shout for someone in a crowd, so she had to resort to catching up to her. For a brief moment she thought she had lost her, but then saw the elf once more as she went towards the piers. Mari did the best she could to get to her without running, which also would be rather inappropriate.

"Ma'am!" She said, only a few feet away. Ani turned and looked at the mylian in shock, but relaxed when she noticed who it was.

"I'm sorry, did I run off with a fruit or something?" Ani quickly began to scavenge through her bag, throwing random trinkets about until Mari slapped a hand over her wrist to stop her. She shook her head with a laugh, then brushed back a loose strand of hair flowing in the gentle wind.

"No, no, good Lords. I just saw you stumbling around and was wondering if you needed help getting about." She said with a smile. The mylian struggled to breath, sweat above her lips. Ani wondered what it was the lady really wanted from her, as surely she couldn't be that interested in her.

"I found my way to Maryks just fine, thank you. I simply have some time to kill, I assure you I'm not lost." Ani responded with a slight bow, then kept walking. She knew that the mylian would follow, and that she did. Mari swallowed a lump in her throat, then cleared it.

"Well I just figured since you asked for directions to a brewery almost a decade gone, you might be new around here." The question brought up a flare of anger within Ani, as she most certainly was not new to the island.

“If I was new to the island, how would I know of a brewery from a decade ago?” Ani snapped back, turning on her heels. Mari threw a hand to her chest, shaking her head.

“I mean no offense! I only meant to say it must have been awhile since you've come here. Most don't even remember that brewery anymore. More important things to be worrying about this Era, you know?" The lady seemed desprete to appeal to Ani, which felt more unnerving than adoring. She looked Mari up and down, blinking.

"Where would you have me visit?" She asked. The palace was just behind her, sitting atop a massive staircase now streaming with people. "Aren't you going to attend the Oto'oco?" Ani added, squinting at her. The lady turned to look at the palace and shrugged.

"I don't usually attend the feast, I just like to see the naval competition." Maris eyes seemed to light at the mention of this, but Ani only squinted further.

"Naval competition?"

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't know about that. Well, a few years ago the queen started this tradition of two ships going to battle as sport, above the Gulfpit." She pointed towards the gulf, Ani turning to see two massive ships waiting at the docks. She wondered how she had never noticed this happening when she managed to sneak glances out of the palace over the years. Usually the sounds of cannon fire could be heard all across the island. Perhaps she just had terrible timing? It seemed unlikely, but a ploy to cover up the battles seemed even less likely.

"That sounds dangerous, how is that even safe?"

"It is most certainly not," Mari chuckled, "A lot of men die during it. Some find it archaic, but most see it as a way to release that pent up frustration. You know, screaming and hollering at their chosen ship. Ah, and of course, a lot of betting goes around during it all. My money is on that new boy. Assuming he gets drawn." She winked, bumping the maid in the shoulder.

"New boy?" Ani sighed, tired of feeling so hopelessly lost.

"Oh come on, the new pretty boy taking up Lorrkeths Manor? You have to have heard about him." Mari looked appalled that Ani might not know what she's talking about, but of course, she did. She wondered what Sym had to do with this, and why he would even agree to do such a thing when he'd only been on the island a year.

"That's whatever," Mari said before Ani could respond. "Let me show you the tavern, that might still be the same way you remember it! Thank the Lords it survived the Emergence. I don't think the carpenters could've survived long enough to rebuild it if it had been destroyed." She chuckled to herself again, looping her arm through Ani's and tugging her towards a line of buildings. It wasn't long before they reached The Dry Crab. It was indeed the same tavern she remembered, puzzling name and all. She hadn't been inside very much as she was far too young, but she remembered the few times she had thanks to her father.

It didn't take very long before they were drinking ale at the bar. It was the first drink of ale she'd ever had before. But she pretended that the taste and texture didn't surprise her, nodding in affirmation when Mari sought a reaction. Time sure seemed to pass quicker there.