Although I regretted returning, I still found myself growing a little anxious and excited as the ship drew closer and closer to the port.

The ports looked new. There were not only other boats and ships, but seafaring ones docked at it as well. It was interesting to see that there were bigger, fancier, ships than the one I was on. I had thought this one to be not bad, for a human vessel.

I didn’t remember this town, the sailors and crew hadn’t actually called this town by its name yet and instead did so by seemingly what it was known for.

“Ah! But don’t she smell blimy!” one of the men shouted, drawing laughs from some of the others.

The joke took me a moment to understand, since the word meant something else to me. It helped that the closer we got the smellier the air became.

A stinky town. They must be mining sulfur or something like it nearby, and processing it. Maybe for gunpowder of some kind?

Leaning against the railing, I tried to guess the town’s population. It was difficult since the town ran around a large mountain, hiding most of it from sight. The port was situated in something of an inlet birth, alongside a mountain range.

Likely a few hundred thousand, at least.

“Mate, you been here before?”

Shifting, I glanced at the older sailor. He was one of the few who had spent some time with me, telling me about the latest news and stories. The others had found me too weird, or strange, and hadn’t really wanted to get too close to me.

“No. Least I don’t remember it,” I said to him honestly.

“Aye, figured. The city’s under the control of a corrupt man. The laws here are weird, and the people cruel. I suggest you keep your head down, aye?” the sailor warned me. For him it was a kind thing to do, since he didn’t seem to have much compassion himself. They had thrown overboard three other sailors since I was picked up. Men who had gotten sick somehow and they hadn’t wanted the disease to spread. He had been the first willing to do the deed.

“There’s always a corrupt lord or two,” I said.

The old sailor scoffed. “Tis’ why I favor the sea. She is a cruel mistress, but she fair,” he said.

I smiled and nodded. Yes. I agreed with him. Even if he didn’t seem to share the same fairness in his heart.

The sea was fair, honestly. In a way that only something beyond our reason could be. Like a fire, or wind.

It was better than the emotionally corrupt people that walked around on land. Better than those who would believe in one thing, and do another.

At least the sea was just the sea. There was nothing nefariously misleading about her existence.

I’d prefer, and always would, the sea and the far off little islands she hid than the lands of men and beast.

Though… right now I must not, deep within.

After all… was I not returning to land? Abandoning the sea?

“Anchor lads!” a man shouted from the other side of the ship. I felt the anchors get released through the ship, causing the whole boat to jolt a little. They were being released slowly, letting them carefully find the sea-floor and latch to it.

As we neared the dock we were about to situate against, the old sailor stepped over and leaned against the rail next to me. He coughed and clasped his hands… as if worried about what he was going to say next.

Glancing at him, I wondered if he was going to ask for payment or something, for all the questions he had answered for me in the last few weeks.

If so he was going to be rather upset. I didn’t have a coin to my name.

The only thing of worth I had, I’d given to the ship’s captain. A jewel I had found a few months ago. It had been pretty, but too big to be of any real use… at least it paid my way here.

“This lands not safe for your kind, mate. Be wary,” the old man then said, and with a light cough he turned and stepped away.

Frowning at him, I shifted and wondered how the hell he had known. He himself was human, as were the rest of the crew, and… well…

Glancing down at myself, as if I’d suddenly see something that showed I wasn’t necessarily human all of a sudden… I quickly thought of all the conversations he and I had during the trip.

Maybe I had just been just enough of an oddity for him to put one and two together.

Maybe that was why the rest of the human crew had avoided me, leaving me to my own devices.

Though it could have also been the fact that I had shown up in the middle of the night, during a storm, off the coast of an island. One that they had thought uninhabited and not on any map.

I was lucky that the sailors of this era were like the last few. A superstitious lot, but willing to overlook a lot out of fear more than anything.

Smiling a little, I turned to finish watching our docking process. I was looking forward to seeing the knots they used to tie the ropes, since some of the ones I’d seen them use so far had been… odd, to say the least.

They knew some that I did, yet some of the others they used were… well…

Wrong. Inept. Useless.

It was interesting, since it meant the humans had once again forgotten knowledge.

Usually I’d worry that meant a long, long, time had passed… but…

Staring at the large town, and all the hubbub around the docks… I figured it couldn’t have been that long.

Maybe a few dozen years?

The sailors hadn’t really known what year it was. They just knew it was the year of the burning sea. Some kind of religious thing. Humans did that sometimes… changing the way time was kept and all.

“Ready lad!” a sailor shouted at a pair of men on the dock we were slowly floating next to. He didn’t wait for a response and he and two others tossed out rope. Hundreds of feet of rope flew through the air, and only one of the men caught the one he was supposed to. The other men on the dock had to hurry along the docks to grab the rope as they sunk into the ocean water.

It didn’t take long for them to get the ropes under control, and pull the ship into position. The ship rocked, and less than a handful of minutes later I was walking down a large plank gangway to the dock.

Being the first to disembark, I wasn’t too surprised to be accosted. Sometimes ports such as these had fees and taxes.

“Ship name?” the man asked as he readied a charcoal pen. I didn’t like the look of the thing in his hand, since it was another hint at human civilization taking a step backwards again.

“No idea,” I said to him honestly.

“Excuse me?” the man looked up from his little plank tablet, and I smirked as I gestured with a thumb at the man descending the plank after me.

“Ask him,” I said, and stepped away.

The man made a noise for a moment, but I ignored him as I rounded some of the dockhands. The stared at me as I did so, but none went to stop me as I headed down the dock and towards the mainland.

As I headed down the dock, I noted the ship docked nearby. It was far bigger than the one I had been on, and had fancy sails. Colorful ones, with an emblem of some kind of sun design.

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Well… even if humans had once again regressed, it couldn’t have been too bad. Not if they had trade to this level, at least.

Plus it wasn’t as if it mattered. It’d not be long and they’d be roaring and building again, advancing and educating until they inevitably destroyed themselves.

Stepping off the dock and onto solid stone, I felt an odd sense of relief. Not because I was on solid ground again, not at all, but because I was… back in civilization.

How long had it been since I had walked on a proper road?

Back on the little chain of islands I’d been calling home for the last however many years, I had made something of a small path… but it had been but a simple dirt one. Made by my very feet as I had trodden upon it over the years.

Turning towards a random road, I smiled and stepped forward.

I had no destination in mind, so I decided to find the city center. To see what it was like. To check the markets, the stalls, the stores, the people.

Eventually I’ll need to find something of a job. Then a place to stay. Can’t have one without the other, likely. Unless this place had some kind of social safety net for those destitute, which I kind of doubted. Humans rarely had such places, even during their triumphs.

There was no hurry though. I could go a very long time without food or drink. And even longer without a roof over my head. Though I would need to get new clothes soon, so at the very least I didn’t stand out too much.

And too much it was.

As I left the docks and into the city, I started to see the more… normal people. Those not half naked or wearing plain rags, thanks to the rigorous labor they were doing. The people of this city seemed to be all human, and were mostly dressed in thinner threads. Cotton and silk type stuff. Nothing like the hard leather I was currently wearing.

Luckily even though I got a few looks and glances as I walked around, none seemed to stop and stare or run away at the mere sight of me.

It being a port town was undoubtedly the reason. They probably saw men like me all the time. Vagrants and other such outcasts…

“Hold!”

The shout had obviously been directed towards me, so I slowed and turned as two men hurried over to me. They were dressed in armor, though thin stuff. Chain mail and hardened leather, and only around their vitals.

One had a spear, the other only a sword. Neither looked willing, or intending, to use them… but I did note the metal they were made of.

The sword was in a sheath, but its handle and likewise the spear’s tip… were both made of iron. Pig iron.

Interesting.

“Yes?” I asked lightly, and went to pretending I wasn’t sure why they had bothered to yell at me and stop me.

“Lad, just what wagon did you fall off?” the oldest of the two men asked with a huff, shaking his head. He oddly had a look of pity on his face.

“Well, more a ship than a wagon,” I responded.

The older man blinked, and the younger knight behind him with the spear actually smirked.

As the older man sighed and rubbed his eyes, I noted the fashion he had his beard and mustache shaped into. It reminded me of the past, the long past. Had such styles come into fashion again?

“Beyond that road there,” the man then pointed past me, towards the place I was just before heading towards.

“Hm?” I frowned at it. What was wrong with it? It looked like the street just… continued deeper into town. There were people walking along it, heading both away and towards us too, so it wasn’t like it was sectioned off or something.

It in fact wasn’t even the road I had been heading towards.

“That’s the noble’s district. I’m sorry lad, but you’ll not be able to go there,” the man then told me the reason.

Ah…

So that was the current state of society, then.

“I see. Sorry about that,” I said as I turned back to them and nodded.

I was willing to play along with it.

“Where were you going lad?” the man asked as he crossed his arms. When he did his chain mail shifted a little oddly… and I instinctively focused on the links near his armpits.

They weren’t fashioned correctly. There was a glaring mistake near where they linked to his breastplate, misaligned them and causing the issue. He likely couldn’t move his arms around as much as he wished to.

“Not really sure. Figured I’d find work somewhere, then a place to stay,” I said, to see what he’d say.

The man behind him sighed and looked away, either upset over my answer or tired of hearing it

“Only place willing to hire vagabonds is the mine, or one of the ships. At least tell me you got a citizen mark already, right?” the man asked, and as he did his eyes scanned my person.

Citizen mark? Wonderful.

“Regrettably no. Let me guess, it costs money?” I asked.

The knight behind the man groaned and shook his head. Now he looked like he was pitying me too.

“Aye, lad. It does…” the older man shifted and glanced around.

Oh…?

Watching the older man as he made sure no one was around, or really paying attention to us, he coughed as he turned to his fellow. “The mark,” he whispered quietly to the man.

“Really father, if you keep doing this we’ll eventually get caught,” the younger man said, just as softly.

Although the son seemed to complain, he didn’t hesitate to dig into his side pocket. After a few moments of digging around he procured whatever it was they were talking about, and handed it off to his father.

“They last a moon. These were made a few days ago, so you got nearly the whole month. You’ll need to make sure you get a job, and make enough to pay the non-citizen fee before the month is over,” the older man said as he held it out to me.

Staring at the little block of wood… I felt oddly humbled.

He was doing something that was against the rules, based off the way the son had acted. And he was doing it without even finding out who I was, or what I was.

Reaching out for the little piece of wood, I took it carefully. The thing really was a small block of wood, about the size of my thumb, but it had a little blue design on it. Likely the symbol for this town, or maybe the crest of whatever noble or lord ruled it.

“I thank you,” I said genuinely.

I hadn’t actually needed it. Even if the whole city armed itself and tried to remove me, it wouldn’t work… but…

The older knight nodded, content. “Check the mine. In the morning. Over yonder, you’ll see the smoke stacks once you round the hill,” the man pointed to our right, heading west.

“I see. Okay,” I nodded. I wasn’t sure yet if I was actually going to choose this supposed mine yet, but out of respect to this man I might just do such a thing.

It’d be enough to start a life here, for the most part.

“If you need a place to sleep, it’s too late for any inns or stays. You’ll have to sleep outside. On the other side of the docks is a large field, no one will bother if you, if you sleep there. If you try to sleep in the township, along the roads or in sight, we’ll have to remove you,” the man explained.

I nodded. That was the kindest warning one like him could give, I suppose.

“Try not to get caught by the lord’s men. Stay out of their sight. They’ll flog you,” the boy warned.

Frowning, I nodded. I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to tell such men apart from any other knight, but maybe it’d be obvious. Maybe they wore proper armor, or wore certain colors of emblems.

“Thank you, I appreciate your kindness,” I told the two.

And meant it.

The two smiled softly, and I noted again their looks of pity. “Just keep your head down, and make sure you get that job. They don’t deport here, they hang those who don’t pay the taxes. Be careful,” the older man spoke quietly, but sternly. He wasn’t threatening me, he was genuinely warning me about a terrible fate he didn’t wish on anybody.

I nodded and slid the little wooden mark into my pocket. “I’ll keep safe.”

“Good. Head back towards the docks now, before any of the other sentries see you,” the man stepped away, and the younger boy nodded stiffly as he went to follow after his father.

Turning, I studied the two men for a moment before doing as told.

How interesting.

Once again, humans proved to me that they could be kind. Generous.

To them I was a stranger. A foreigner. Yet they had risked the ire of their fellows to not only give me sound advice, but help.

And the gods thought the humans would destroy everything.

Smiling at the thought I headed back towards the port. I chose another road to take this time, as to check on more of the city… but I wasn’t going to cause any issues at the moment.

Even if it had been many years since I’d been in civilization, I wasn’t overwhelmed or confused by the rows of buildings and chorus of sounds.

I’d never gotten really lost before. No matter how strange a land, or how far I traveled... I always somehow knew where I was and where I was going. Even more especially so in a place I’d been in before… but…

In a way I was lost. Although I knew humans, and their culture, I didn’t know this one.

I didn’t recognize their symbols. I didn’t know their nations. I had no idea what their current laws were, or their religious tenants.

I’d been gone too long. Long enough that I’ll need to learn it all again.

Yet…

It wasn't the culture shock that made me uneasy. It was something deeper. Something that had little, if nothing, to do with these people and this place.

Once again, I was lost.

Alone.

With no goal, or purpose. No destination.

Yet somehow, this time…

I was looking forward to where I’d end up.

Even if it was on the ground, bleeding in agony.

Even if fate forced my hand and put me back on a battlefield.

Even if I was destined to destroy them all…

Again.

At least it’d not be boring.