Arista dropped her sister on a cliff next to the port city. The young mermaid princess still wasn't used to the constricting clothes, and they rubbed over all her skin like a swarm of raspy and dry sea slugs. She hated clothes, the young woman decided. However, to blend in with the surface society, she had to wear them. Her red hair was braided and it felt heavy on her head. She loved having the mane floating around her as she swam.

"Uncomfortable?" Arista asked as she shifted from her giant dragon-bird form back to looking like a human. She splurted a snort. Adyra didn't know what was so funny. "And those are made with the finest silk in the world. Imagine what she would feel if she were to wear crude hemp clothes, Nenandil."

"Don't tease her," The fairy said as she came out of Arista's chest.

Nenandil was extremely beautiful. Her tiny features seemed chiseled, her deep blue hair looked like the ocean at dusk and her white-ish skin resembled shellfish nacre. her diaphanous wings fluttered slowly behind her as if she didn't need them to fly.

"We are here on serious business," she added then hovered in front of Adyra. "Focus on the mission, okay? Rescue your sisters. Arista and I will help you, but we want you to learn a lot in this outing, so we won't help much. But we'll keep you safe, so don't fear anything."

"Okay. Look, Adyra, it will be alright. Remember you are a [Princess] but you are not automatically everyone's superior. Treat people fairly until they give you reason not to. We'll be with you. here, this is for you."

After handing her a pouch with coins, Arista transformed into a fairy. Differently from Nenandil's well-proportioned features, sister-fairy had a large head that was a bit flattened at the top, giving her the appearance of a small child or a doll. Her hair was brighly white and under starlight, it seemed to glow. She had light brown skin and a wide and prominent nose that resembled a sea anemone polyp. She wore a dark gray robe that gleamed when the moonlight caught in the right angles.

She put the coin pouch in her storage ring.

The two fairies sat on each of the princess's shoulders. "We won't talk much, but we'll be here," Arista-fairy said. "Invisible... whoosh!" She said and made a sound Adyra associated with wind.

They disappeared but Adyra could still feel their weight. Holding her staff, she willed it to illuminate her path. A walkway led from the rocky promontory to the main road where she could see some merchants.

In this Age of Eclipse, the night wasn't really night. People adapted and some slept right after the sunset, only to wake up a few hours later and go on with their life. Others stayed awake after sunset and only slept later on. That meant the streets and roads were never truly empty.

She walked to the road and made her way to the city. Two men in armor with spears were at the gates. They looked at her but didn't say anything, so Adyra crossed the gate along with the traffic.

The city itself was alive. People of all species and types walked around. Torches and magical lights of all colors decorated the streets and dispelled the darkness of the eternal night. She took her first steps into the city and heard her sister's voice in her head.

"I know what an inn is, sister!" Adira whispered her protest.

The mermaid walked with those boots clamping around her tail flukes. She stopped and stomped the cobblestones. Not tail flukes, leg feet. It was so damn strange. She also missed the weight and drag of her fin stabilizing her from behind. Wobbling a bit on the irregular paving, she slammed her staff on the stone to balance herself.

"Sorry," she said when her stunt caught the attention of some people.

She wandered the streets for a while, taking in the sights and smells. Yeah, surface cities smelled bad. There was a smell of dead fish and rotten... stuff along with an acrid pungent stench she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Finally, she came upon a sign that had a sculpture of a mermaid crying. With a bit of difficulty, she read it. "The wailing mermaid. Looks like an inn."

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She entered and saw a bunch of rowdy people singing along with a musician. The bard's music was much cruder than what she was used to listening to, mostly Arista playing. 'My sister can do anything better than anyone!' she thought, her heart swelling with pride.

A lady with a bushy orange tail ending in white appeared next to her. In Adyra's defense, she was distracted. Very distracted. She wore a stained apron.

"What can I get you, milady?" She said with a sultry voice. Or her normal voice, that sounded sultry for some reason. "Something to drink?"

"Yes, water, please."

The bushy-tailed barmaid examined her from up-down. "What's your age, girl?"

"Thirteen."

She put a hand on her waist, that for some reason made her lean to the side a little bit, "You're old enough to drink something stronger, aren't you?"

"No, thanks. Seawater is fine for me."

"Are you..." The barmaid fixed her gaze on Arista. She felt uncomfortable for a moment, a sign she'd been {Appraised}. "Oh, I'm sorry. Please, this way. Jeffries! Jeffries, where are you, you pest!"

They walked while the apron woman shouted for this Jeffries fellow. "Here, you can sit here," she pointed at an empty seat on a booth with two women. "Ladies, could you keep an eye on this young miss here while I get her something to eat and drink?"

The two women wore very little clothing. Adyra wanted to dress just like them. They seemed very comfortable.

"Sure thing, Elyse. She looks delicious," One of them said and discreetly licked her lip.

"She's not for the likes of you, Martha. Hands-off unless you want trouble."

"We're leaving for work soon. We just need to get hammered enough to endure our clients," the other one offered a placating gesture.

"Sure. Why don't you go adventuring again, instead of..." Elyse the barmaid trailed off as she looked at Adyra. "Nevermind. I'll get you some whiskey, okay? Just keep the guest safe."

"Right. We will. The men here know better than to bother us when we are off-duty," Martha nodded.

Elyse went off, still shouting for Jeffries.

"So, what brings a pretty and rich lady like you here," the other woman asked staring at the jewels on the head of Adyra's staff.

"I'm looking for my sisters," the [Princess] confessed, "They've been kidnapped by some evil man on a ship. Destiny's Dreamer, do you know them?"

Martha stopped sipping her drink. It had some foam, like waves crashing on the beach. But it was yellow, so it wasn't seawater.

"I know. They arrived a week ago from a trading voyage to that mermaid kingdom. But..."

"That's them!" Adyra stood up and slammed the table in excitement. She became a bit angry too. "Where are them now?"

"They are still anchored in the... Hey, girl, wait!"

Adyra was already halfway across the tavern when Martha held her by the wrist. "By Mehaia's tentacles, you are going to get yourself killed, girl. Come back."

"My sisters were on that ship!" Adyra shouted. "Against their will! Unhand me. I must go and take them back!"

The bard stopped playing. Adyra suddenly became conscious of the number of eyes on her. She flinched at the sheer number of {Appraise} attempts shot at her.

"Hey, [Princess]! Wanna come and play with us?" Some drunk sailors called for her.

"What? U sure, old Goggles?"

"As sure as my {Appraise} proficiency is a hundred-fifty," Goggles the sailor chortled and belched. "Wanna bet?"

"No. We all know you have that stupid heritage Perk."

"And I'll only sell it for no less than a thousand Kingmetal coins. Knife me and you lose as much. Oh. What? Who are you? Where? Now? Serious?"

The Goggles fellow rose from his chair and walked out. Adyra felt her left shoulder lighter. "She'll be back soon," Nenandil whispered from her other shoulder.

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Back alley of the Wailing Mermaid. Goggles' POV.

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"Devil Sharks bite me. That's really a thousand Kingmetal coins!" he shouted after appraising the large sack of coins in his hand.

"The heritage Perk," the strange man wearing shining plate armor said. "Transfer it to me."

He scared Goggles because he couldn't get a reading on the man. When he tried again, the armored man laughed.

> Appraisal Blocked. Impossible to Pierce. No information is available.

It was a first.

"Okay, okay. Know that if you get a single Exp for my death, you'll suffer the penalty and the Perk will be lost."

"I know. You got your payment, now give it to me."

Goggles felt compelled to do so now that he received payment. "Here you go."

> You lost the heritage Perk: Pioneer of Appraise.

>

> Your Appraise proficiency is now 150 / 120

"Thanks for your time. Don't worry, I won't harm you, ever. Speak to nobody of this," The mysterious figure said before vanishing. "For your own safety."

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Back to our naive heroine.

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Adyra acquiesced and returned to the table with Martha. The scantily-clad woman glowered at the room and the men went on with their business.

"Be careful around males. They are dangerous."

Adyra's eyes went dreamy, "And they make very pleasant company, my sisters told me. I never had one, but I wish..."

Martha huffed, "Girl, you are too good for this kind of profession. I mean, you are decked to the nines," she stared at the gems in her staff.

"My sister made these for me yesterday!" She happily shared. "Aren't they nice? She told me she used some stuff she had laying around."

Martha sucked in a huge breath and held it. She exhaled in an attempt to calm herself down. "Look, if your sister has that much riches 'just laying around, she could buy Goggles'--"

"I'LL PAY EVERYONE'S BILLS FOR TONIGHT! EVERYONE, LET'S PAR-TAY!" Goggles returned to the tavern shouting, a large sack of coins jiggling in his hand.