They had a single room in the inn and sat around a table listening to Uzca explain what the information broker Haversen had told him.

"Frenza might be the next emperor? What?"

"It's coming back to me now," Thad said. "That's right, the Rossenal family lost their heir many years ago. Not your brother, Uzca. The previous heir. It would have been your uncle, I believe. He died in some accident, though I don't remember the details."

"Maybe that's why they came for my mother and brother."

"The whole thing stinks. Why not at least come talk to your family? Renza might have gone along, and you'd all be together in Telestria instead of broken apart."

"Yeah. It's sad that this is how things ended up. I...I guess I'm happy, though. I know they're alive. But it still raises some questions, like, did my mother get all of my father's letters? Are they just ignoring us? I still have to know what happened."

"And we'll find out!" Thad said.

"Yes!" Bezben agreed. "But not tonight. That pie is really pushing me toward bed. What time are we meeting that boat?"

"Dawn, I think," Thad said. "I have a device we can use as an alarm. Should we talk about tomorrow at all? I hate to steamroll your revelations, Uzca, but Telestria is still a long way off."

"No, no, you're right. Do you know anything about Dreggs?"

"Not much. Probably as much as you do after Captain Jones spoke with us. I guess we'll just focus on staying together. We need to locate the base of operations for whoever controls the city and find out who the leaders are if we can. Other than that, we're just looking for weaknesses. I think the key is ensuring we can get out at any time."

"Well, I guess that's as much of a plan as we can hope for until we see what we're dealing with. Bez, you'll have to leave your spear at the station, and you'll probably want to leave your more valuable items there as well, Thad."

"Good call. I don't want to lose this again," he said, patting his pocket. Then, the other pocket. Then he stood around and started digging through his robes.

He pulled out the metal stone and laughed. "Ha. Don't worry, I still have it."

"That's good. I'm not fighting another mutant hag. I can't even use my right hand for a week," Bezben said, looking at his unwrapped hand. It looked much better after the Living God's healer's ministrations, though the order not to use it was clear.

Uzca wasn't sure he shouldn't tell Bezben to stay put, but he knew his cousin would probably cause more trouble by himself than Uzca could imagine. Best keep him where he could keep an eye on him.

The following day came as early as Thad had warned, and the small enchanted rock he had buzzed against a metal plate, waking them all quite suddenly.

Bezben was out of bed and holding his spear in his left hand, and Uzca's skin was gleaming silver.

"Sorry! Sorry! Just the alarm. I should have warned you."

They relaxed and got ready. The station was close, and Captain Jones met them to store their things safely and escort them to the boat. He reviewed the final orders as they walked down to the docks in Riverside.

"Are you all still sure you're up for this? There's no shame in backing out. I know you're not constables."

"Don't sweat it, Captain," Bezben said. "We're here to help."

Uzca and Thad shared a look but nodded in agreement nonetheless.

The boat captain was a grizzled man who looked like he had woken up and gone for a swim in the river. After quick introductions, Captain Jones waved them off, and they departed quickly.

"To head downriver, we'll just let the current carry us. It's strong today, so we'll make good time. There was a slight change of plan on where we're stopping. Since the current is so strong, we're leaving the boat downstream. That means we'll ride right under Dreggs. They shouldn't care, but keep your wits about you and eyes open. We'll unload on the beach near the coast. I'll take the boat down a ways and beach her, then return to Brightwater when the current slows. It's a cycle, and we have another day of fast current before I can head back up."

They nodded their agreement.

"How do you get back? I don't see any sails or even oars," Uzca asked.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Propulsion stone?" Thad asked.

The boat captain nodded at Thad. "I have a magic rock. It fits into a slot on the steering mechanism and allows the boat to push itself. Not sure how it works, but it can't fight the current when it's this fast. I'd run out of juice halfway back and be stranded anyway. Once the current slows, I can make it back in a day."

The boat's captain was happy to answer their questions, but they soon ran out of things to ask and fell into a slightly nervous silence. Uzca worried about what he had learned yesterday and the possible danger they would be putting themselves in today. He reminded himself that they were doing this to help the people of Dreggs who were at the mercy of criminals.

Bezben watched the shoreline while Thad sat in a cross-legged position and meditated. Uzca had seen the mage do that many times while on the road but had never asked him about it. He usually forgot about it when Thad wasn't meditating and didn't want to interrupt him while he was.

The captain's words proved true, and the ship zipped down the river more quickly than Uzca had expected. Given the width of the river, the sheer amount of water moving out to sea was staggering.

The captain got their attention two hours into the ride and pointed ahead. Dreggs was just coming into view.

Unlike Brightwater, which was made from bright stone that shone in the sun, Dreggs was made from a grey stone that was rather drab. It didn't catch the sun at all. The most significant difference between the cities, though, was Dreggs' positioning.

Where Brightwater Crossing primarily existed on one side of the river with the bridge in the middle and a smaller settlement on the southern side, Dreggs was built over the river. It was the bridge, the crossing, and the city all in one. It was actually pretty impressive. The river had narrowed here, most likely due to the higher ground on either side. As the river narrowed, they picked up yet more speed. The underside of the city didn't reveal much but grey interlocking stone and massive wooden supports as they passed beneath it. Still, the area that it covered was enormous. Much of the city was built onto the hills on either side, but enough was over the river that Uzca still marveled at its construction.

The side that faced the sea looked much the same, but high walls had been built onto this side to protect from storms blowing into the coast.

"That was Dreggs, huh," Bezben said. "I'm honestly more impressed than I thought I would be."

"Dreggs has a bad reputation," the captain said, "but it's actually a pretty nice city. It's older than Brightwater, by most estimates, and has a lot going on inside. It's the people you need to watch out for there. Not all of them, mind you, but there's obviously a criminal element that's essentially become part of the city's identity."

The sea was not too far beyond Dreggs, and they turned and followed the coast slightly north. The captain had to plug in his propulsion stone, and the boat moved at a reasonable clip for twenty minutes before he intentionally steered it into shore.

"Give me a hand pushing this in, then I'll walk you three close enough to see the city. I'm not going in with you, but I can at least get you that far."

They pushed the boat in. It turned out to be a less strenuous task than expected. The captain had special rollers he put down in front of the boat, so it basically just rolled over the ground. Uzca had wondered how he was going to get it back out to sea himself.

Once it was securely ashore and somewhat hidden in a patch of trees, they headed back south. The area near the coast had different plant life than Uzca was used to seeing. He spotted the occasional palm tree, and Thad mentioned that the trees were more common around Telestria in the south.

Dense foliage grew under the relatively thin canopy, and when they did finally turn inland, the brush made it slow going. The captain was one of those people who could move through the forest with ease. He wasn't the equal of the Laka-uni, who had mastered their forest, but he was having an easier time than anyone else in the group. As was the case last time, Thad was having a challenging time moving through the undergrowth.

The mage had changed from his traditional robes and was wearing simple brown pants and a white shirt with a padded vest. Uzca had thought of Thad as skinny, but he looked downright frail when he saw the man without his thick robes. Even with his slight build and lack of bulky clothing, he managed to catch himself on nearly every branch he passed.

"Do you not spend a lot of time in nature, Thad?" Bezben asked. "I thought this would be the same as moving through a crowd. You did that well enough."

"It's hardly the same. The thing about people is that they look out for themselves. People will naturally avoid bumping into each other, and it makes it easy for someone like me to move through them. These cursed branches do not show the same courtesy!"

The boat captain—Uzca hadn't caught a name and honestly wasn't sure he wanted to ask—held up a hand to halt them. Bezben was walking behind Thad and noticed the signal before Thad did, so he grabbed the mage's shoulders to stop and silence him.

The captain turned his head and said in a low voice, "There's something out here."

Uzca looked around, but all he could see was dense jungle. He focused on listening to the sounds around them. It was eerily quiet now that they weren't disturbing leaves and branches.

The sound of moving leaves to their left pulled their attention, and Uzca crouched. Bezben silently pulled a constable's baton from his waist and held it in his left hand. Thad began making arcane gestures in front of himself before stopping abruptly.

The captain slowly drew his sword, and Uzca followed suit. He still didn't know how to use the weapon, but Captain Jones said most everyone in Dreggs was armed, criminal or not, so it made sense to bring along a weapon. If nothing else, being armed could be a deterrent on its own.

Ahead of them, something emerged from the trees. To Uzca, it looked like a tumbleweed but not as dead and taller than he was. Those blew into the mountains sometimes. The plant rolled around on hundreds of vines that formed a rough sphere. A single appendage stuck up out of the middle of the sphere. It ended in something resembling an insect's eye, composed of many facets.

Upon further inspection, he didn't think it was a plant at all. He was pretty sure he could see organs through the gaps in the vines that made up its exterior. This was some kind of monster.

The eye stalk swiveled in their direction. Hundreds of openings, one on the end of each vine, opened up at once, and Uzca could see they were filled with tiny, razor teeth. All the mouths let out a blood-curdling screech, and the tumbleweed monster started hurtling toward them in a flurry of motion.