“More than ready!” Balthazar said to the captain.
“Great,” said the veteran. “Come with me then. I only need to sort out a few more things and then I can take you to where you want to go.”
After saying goodbye to the mayor, the crab followed the man down the city square and through the busy streets of Marquessa. The people no longer rushed past him without so much as a glance, instead noticing his presence and greeting him warmly or nudging each other from a distance as they pointed at the famous crab who saved the city’s mangoes.
Not the way he had envisioned becoming famous in a new city, rescuing a bunch of fruit, but if it meant people recognized and respected him—and more importantly, gave him free pastries—he was more than happy to take it.
“Going to skip town without saying goodbye, are you?” a young woman’s voice said from nearby.
Olivia, wearing a studded leather tabard and her neck-length hair tied into a ponytail, came out of a side street with a wide grin on her face and her hands on her hips.
“No, I just thought you would be too busy breaking pieces of pottery over some poor sap’s head to come say goodbye to an old crab,” Balthazar replied, throwing his pincers up.
The niece of the baroness chuckled. “I’m already on thin ice with the milkman, so I’m staying away from his jugs for the time being.”
Joining the crustacean and the captain, the young woman walked alongside them up the street.
“You like my new threads?” she asked, running her hand down the sturdy leather she was wearing.
“Not bad. I could probably sell you something better if you ever visited my bazaar, though.”
“Hah, maybe one day I’ll come visit you, but for now I have my hands busy here.”
Balthazar eyed her up and down. “Going to be slapping bandits around, are you?”
“Something like that,” replied Olivia, a big grin brightening her face. “My aunt convinced old Leander over here to take a break from his retirement to help her clean house after kicking that pantless commander out from the city watch. And I will be helping him.”
The crab rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So that makes you the right-hand man’s… right-hand… finger… woman?”
Captain Leander laughed. “I figured that if I couldn’t keep her away from trouble, it would be best to at least keep her close.”
“There are still a bunch of guards that need straightening out,” the girl said. “And that’s what my job will be, rounding them up and keeping them in line.”
“If you bring a ceramic pot or two with you, I’m sure that won’t be difficult!” said Balthazar. “Hey, whatever happened to Onion Jake, by the way?”
“Oh, we caught him,” the Marquessa girl said. “He was trying to escape the city hidden inside a crate of onions in the back of a carriage. Would have been easy to miss his stench there, but it seems a couple of dissatisfied bandits ratted him out. Apparently they want new management in their so-called organization, after their leader’s witch-induced embarrassment.”
“And after someone told them about their bandit rights!” the smug crab cheekily added.
Olivia groaned and rolled her eyes as the trio arrived at the docks.
“I’ll grab a few things and be back for you shortly, Mr. Balthazar,” said Captain Leander.
“I’ll help you, old man. Wouldn’t want you pulling your back or something,” Olivia said jokingly.
As they left, Balthazar looked around, trying to pass the time as he waited.
dockworkers moved around, carrying ropes and boxes. The smell of fresh fish was in the air as the fishermen carted pallets to the markets. Down there, where people were busy working hard, they seemed to notice the newest local celebrity a lot less.
Off by a pillar, the crab noticed a man in dark leathers reading a book. Or at least pretending to. His eyes were not on the pages of the copy of “The Historical Tale of Semmel, vol. 1” in his hands, but rather fixed on the crustacean.
Noticing the crab’s gaze, the man lifted his face from the book and gave him a discreet nod of acknowledgement.
After a moment of hard thinking, Balthazar finally realized who it was. Clovis, the guildmaster of the local Thieves Guild.
“Hello!” a cheery voice suddenly exclaimed from behind the merchant.
Balthazar turned to find Suze standing there with a big grin and her hands behind her back.
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“Suze!” he exclaimed. “I thought I’d leave without seeing you again.”
“Yeah, I was pretty busy, but lucky for you, I found a little bit of free time to come say bye,” the cheeky rascal said.
“Oh, right, busy doing lots of guided tours, are you?”
“Nah,” the girl said. “I’m moving up in life after our little adventure.”
“Really?” said Balthazar. “Got yourself a job helping the mayor’s staff, maybe? I tried to put in a good word with them and let them know how much you helped.”
“Olivia told me. She also said I could come help her with her new job, but nah, I turned it down. I’m a freelancer, my own boss. I don’t want to be held down by anyone.”
“So what are you going to do now?” the curious crab asked.
“Like I said, freelancing work.” She paused and looked past Balthazar, to the man reading his book by the pillar. “I got an apprenticeship offer to work on my natural talents.”
The crab looked back at the thief. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You know, maybe a bit of a bad influence…”
“Pfft, don’t worry, you old lobster,” Suze said with a cheeky smile. “I’ll do my best to try and not influence them too badly. No promises, though. I can’t help it if I rub off on people.”
“Not exactly what I meant, and I’m still not a lobster, but alright…” Balthazar said with a scowl that quickly changed to a friendly expression. “Well, if you somehow ever decide to travel to the other side of the continent, come visit my bazaar. I’m sure everyone there would like to meet you, and Blue and Druma would be happy to see you again.”
“But not you?” the rascal said with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.
“If you bring me a box of mango treats from Madame Margo’s Boutique… maybe,” Balthazar replied with a flick of his eyestalks.
After a few minutes chatting, Druma and Blue joined them, coming from the city hall where they had been filling their bellies all morning while Balthazar negotiated with the locals. Apparently, the crab’s companions had gained their own share of popularity with the staff there, and everyone wanted to say their goodbyes to the goblin and drake before they left.
“Alright, I’ve got everything ready and set for our departure, Mr. Balthazar,” Captain Leander said as he rejoined the crab.
“Excellent!” the merchant said. “When do we get on the road?”
“Roads?” the veteran said with a hearty chuckle. “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”
Taking a few steps toward one of the piers, the old sailor pointed to the ship docked next to it.
It was the captain’s vessel that they had used before to escape the bandits. The Marquessian Dame.
“The shores you wish to reach are far too treacherous to reach on foot, Mr. Balthazar,” the man explained. “That’s why you couldn’t find a way there. If you want to get to your destination in one piece, you need an experienced navigator who can sail there. Luckily for you, I am one of very few who can.”
“Oooh,” said the merchant, finally realizing why he couldn’t find a way to reach the destination marked on his map by Ruby and the Birdwatchers.
After saying their goodbyes to Suze and Olivia, the crab, goblin, and drake followed the captain to the gangway.
“The trip shouldn’t take more than a couple of days,” Leander said as he untied the ship’s ropes from the dock. “While we’re out in the sea I will hold my end of our agreement and teach you my secret technique, as promised.”
“Great!” said the crab. “I look forward to—”
“Mr. Balthazaaaaar!” a high-pitched voice called from the other side of the dock.
No…
The crustacean turned his shell slowly, knowing already who that voice belonged to.
He had only heard it once, back in Ardville, several weeks before, but that had been enough for its irritating pitch to leave a mark on the crab’s brain.
“Mr. Balthazar! Please wait for me!” Taffy yelled. “I’ve been on the road searching for you for so long! I can’t believe I finally found you!”
The ginger-haired boy was running down the docks, toward the pier, a travel bag bouncing on his back as he shouted for his idol, causing everyone else around to turn their heads to look at the source of commotion.
“It’s Mr. Balthazar!” he kept repeating in a euphoric state to everyone he bumped into. “I’ve been chasing rumors of his sightings for weeks! I can’t believe I finally found him! He’s so awesome! I’m finally going to travel with him!”
“Oh no, no, no…” the merchant muttered as he saw the annoying human approaching the pier they stood on.
As the boy made his way through the dock, bumping and bothering the workers and people going about their business, loudly proclaiming his excitement for finding the crab, something else started happening.
One by one, the workers started putting down their tools, the sailors abandoning their tasks, the market people leaving their crates of fish behind, and they started coming closer to the fanatic.
“Balthazar? The merchant crab?” a man among the crowd said.
“The one that defeated that dragon?” said another.
“You mean the same one that saved our city’s harvest?” someone else in the back asked.
The people started gathering around the incoming fanboy, joining him in his excitement to meet the crab, their calls growing into roars and chants.
“Balthazar! Balthazar! Balthazar!”
“Not this again!” The merchant nervously exclaimed before turning to the mayor’s right-hand man. “Captain, we need to set sail, right now!”
They all rushed up the ramp to the Marquessian Dame as fast as they could, the mob of people quickly running down the pier close behind.
“No, please, Mr. Balthazar! Don’t leave me behind! Take me with you!” Taffy shouted from below as the frenzied people around him started piling up on the edge of the dock.
“Go, go, go! Row if you have to!” Balthazar desperately shouted to the others as he watched townsfolk start to spill over and fall into the water below. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”
And so the crab and his friends sailed away from Marquessa, leaving the city behind and heading to the dangerous rocky cliffs where Tweedus resided.
***
All the way on the other side of the continent of Mantell, a lone adventurer sat behind a couple of boulders, attentively watching the pond across the road.
“I finally found your lair, merchant,” Ren bitterly muttered as he peered through a spyglass. “I’ve got you now, Balthazar.”