"What are they called again? Abysmal Shards?” Jack’s voice trailed from the rear of the party. He marched with strength and confidence, his feet plummeting into the beach’s coarse sand with every step. His wounds had been healed, but best of all, he had a basket full of bread and sausages by his side, which a passing farmer was kind enough to gift to them.

Jillian, one of the three that Jack had stumbled across near the cliff, turned to face him from ahead. “They’re called Abyssal Shards, Jack,” she said, her voice tinged with subtle impatience.

She was an Aetherian, a human with celestial blood coursing through her veins. Her smooth blue-gray skin and white eyes made it clear enough. But she also possessed the ability to use healing magic, which Jack was lucky enough to find out after she had healed his wounds for him. Freckles lined her face, and she had a shock of short dark hair on her head. She was tall too, passing Jack by an inch, but the drakarian would argue that they were the same height.

What puzzled him the most, however, was what she was wearing; somehow, the aetherian woman had managed to make a coat out of a pair of trousers. It was dark blue with brass buttons set at the front and white fur at the neck and bottom of the coat. Beneath that, she wore simple clothes and a pair of dark brown boots.

“Right… and there are six of them. And once you collect all six, they’re supposed to transform into a staff which has the power to grant you a wish?”

“That's the gist of it, although the shards all still have unique powers of their own, or so we’ve been told,” Jillian replied.

Jack hesitated on his next question; he wondered if Axorivim was listening to them at this very moment. He finally finished by asking, thinking that he probably had nothing to worry about, “So what does the Lord of all devils want with the shards? Is a wish really that powerful for a being of his stature?”

“Couldn’t say. But hey, at least we get to live again; that’s what’s most important, right?” She replied, smiling beneath her mask which covered her mouth and nose.

A voice ahead of them called out, “And if we want to stay alive, we’re going to have to continue looking for the shards, so let’s get a move on.” This came from the tall man who had threatened to cut into Jack’s throat a few hours ago. His name was Hasib, a human who easily towered over both Jack and Jillian. He was as quick-witted as he was a master of sleight of hand and stealth, a good lookout too. He had long brown hair that was attached at the back of his head in a bun and a thick unkempt beard. His green eyes glowed as they peered back at the group and then wandered off to their surroundings. They hadn’t encountered any unwanted company so far, part of that was thanks to Hasib’s vigilance.

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At first, they had used the forest path, which wasn’t such a good idea, for many dangerous beasts lurked within the forest. However, Hasib had then suggested that they travel along the beach to avoid as many unwanted guests as possible, and to the contentment of the party, his instincts had served them well.

“Any idea where we are?” Jack asked Hasib, failing to notice the small goblin hand reaching inside his basket and taking the last of the sausage. Jillian smirked at the sight.

Although he had just asked the question of where, what really was on the drakarian’s mind was the question of when. To him, it had felt like a moment since he had left. But how long had the world been waiting for him? How many years, decades, or centuries? He couldn’t tell; the world was now a stranger to him, it no longer answered his calls.

“Well, from what the passing farmer told us, we’re on an island called Farmer’s Folly, which is connected by bridge to Valeron,” Hasib replied.

“Farmer’s Folly? Never heard of the place. Sounds like a shit-hole, if you ask me.'' The drakarian replied

“Don’t you mean shit-land?” Jack heard, glancing down to see Kirkley the goblin giggling at his own joke. He stared at his mismatched eyes, darting back and forth between the two.

Yellow. Then blue. Then yellow again, and then settling back on blue as he asked, “So who brought the kid?” Pointing at Kirkley.

To the sound of these words, the brave little tunechanter bent his knees, then with all the strength in his tiny goblin legs, pushed himself upward, launching himself up into the air like a quipper and bit into the drakarian with his pointed yellow teeth. Kirkley hung on as long as he could, as Jack tried to wiggle him off his finger, grunting in pain.

“Get off, you ass!” Kirkley finally let go, and the motion took him airborne before he splashed into the salty sea water and plummeted down to the bottom. As he came up, his eyes were closed and red around the lids. He was screaming in agony from the stinging in his eyes.

“Little shit,” Jack sneered, reaching into the basket for some sausage in hopes of calming his nerves. As he hovered his hand for a few seconds, he felt like something was missing. He looked inside the basket to confirm his suspicions.

“THE DAMN SAUSAGE IS GONE,” he yelled out.

“It was probably the squirrels who took your sausage Jack.” Jillian said in a haze.

“What squirrels?! We’re on the beach!”

“The… uhm, sea squirrels! Yeah, that’s right, the sea squirrels took your sausage, Jack. ”

“Sea squirrels?” He squinted his eyes and then quickly dropped the basket and rushed into the water where Kirkley was still wailing.

“GIVE ME BACK MY SAUSAGE YOU DAMN SEA SQUIRRELS!” He yelled for the whole world to hear.

Hasib winced, a palm on his forehead, “Azr'afir help us.”