Dahlia looked around the inside of the longhouse, trying her best not to make eye contact with the others at the table. Just an hour ago, she had been confused and fearful of the strange men, flashbacks of last week reminding her of why she should stay cautious.

Yet, here they were, sitting across the long table, along with their armored escort. Dahlia looked at her side of the table, where James, Felix, Nora, and Otis sat. She did not know what was going on, as the knights had only talked with James and Nora so far. Until now.

“I’ve gathered you all here to discuss a proposition,” the knight known as Gryff spoke up.

“Why are they here?” Nora asked as she gestured towards James and Dahlia. The woman in question gritted her teeth as Nora’s question got on Dahlia’s nerves, despite the shaman wanting to know as well.

Gryff raised an eyebrow at the councilwoman.

“From what I understand, the shaman and James are the only ones who have actually fought and killed the creature that had attacked your town. Which is important to this discussion,” the knight explained before his gaze focused on the rest of the council. “You are here out of courtesy and to help come up with a decision.”

Dahlia blinked, wondering why the knight was bringing up the abomination from last week. Something inside told her she really didn’t want to know.

“Let us get on common ground first.” Gryff brought out a glass vial, which contained a dirty-looking crystal, ashy and cloudy. “We believe the creature that had attacked your town was linked to the anomaly caused last week.”

Dahlia averted her gaze from the table as she felt a little guilt.

‘Did I cause that anomaly?’

She recalled back to that night how she and Seamus were thrown back by the magical feedback of the ritual. She had never attempted such a feat before, nor was she ever sure of the consequences it might have brought.

‘If I’m truly responsible for all this…’

She held back a shudder, not finishing that thought.

“Because of this,” Gryff continued, tapping on the small vial, “We have no doubts that something similar has happened to other islands.”

Dahlia raised her head, unsure if she had heard the man right. She looked at the rest of the table, all of whom had the same expression as her.

“Wait,” James started, leaning into the table. “You mean to tell us that there’s more of those things? Plural?!” Dahlia heard Felix curse right next to James, saw Otis turn pale, and watched Nora stare in disbelief.

Gryff raised a hand to calm them down. “We don’t know yet. All we know is the coordinates for those islands. The—”

Nora interrupted, standing up from her chair. “Then what are you waiting for?! Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be out there, then?”

The entire room fell silent at her shout, everyone’s gaze now fixed on the councilwoman. One of the green-tunics stepped up, gesturing for Nora to sit down.

“Sit. Down,” he commanded with a clearly agitated voice. Nora tried to speak back, but the man was having none of it. “It would be wise and very helpful if you would just sit down and shut the hel up.” Nora looked stunned but quickly did as told, her eyes downcast as she sat back down. Dahlia eyed the knight, her focus on the man’s fingers, before he clenched his fist to hide them. She had seen the dangerous glint in Gryff’s eyes and the cold blue glow on his fingertips.

Gryff sighed as Nora sat down.

“The problem is that we cannot go ourselves since we cannot be spotted sailing through Valenfrost waters,” he continued. “Doing so will surely cause conflict in the north, especially with what had happened recently with Yorn Halvorson’s death and the fall of his clan. The northern clans will not be happy with royal ships sailing so near to their territory. Not to mention the target we will put on our backs for orc tribes and marauders alike.” Gryff leaned forward, now looking at James and Dahlia.

“You two, on the other hand, are not royals. You can travel freely through the waters with that ship you have in port. Not only that, but you two have killed one of those creatures before, so I have no doubts you can do it again.”

Dahlia was feeling uneasy, her eyes passing over to James, who looked as she felt.

“What happens if we don’t?” James asked suddenly, catching Dahlia and the knight off guard. Gryff blinked in surprise, but Dahlia could see the hint of a smile on his lips.

“If you don’t, that raises the chances of those things spreading out to other settlements. It also lowers our chances of stopping it for good,” the knight explained. The shaman watched as James pondered over his options, his blue eyes lowering to the table as he thought.

‘Is he really thinking of accepting?’

She was unsure of which answer she herself would be happy with. After a couple of seconds, which seemed like forever, James gave his answer.

“I accept your proposition.”

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“You did what!?” Seamus’ surprised reaction caught James off guard, who raised his hands in defense. Before James could answer, however, Dahlia butted in.

“He’s also going to take us with him, believe it or not,” she expressed with a hint of disbelief.

“James, do you have any idea how reckless this is?” Felix joined in, chastising the young man.

James opened his mouth to speak, but even Faust interrupted him.

‘Huh, no wonder there was so much free space in this head of yours…’

“Will you all just please let me explain?” James finally got out, speaking to everyone, spirit and all. The four were currently outside the longhouse, right after Dahlia and Felix had dragged him out. They had told the two knights that they needed to think it over after James’ supposed acceptance. Seamus had been waiting for them and was curious to find out what happened, to which Dahlia explained.

James sighed, passing a hand through his messy hair, which had been unkempt for a while now.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Look, I know I haven’t been here long and I have no reason to care for those other islands. But I can’t just let other people go through what we’ve been through.” James had heard from Harald’s description of what the bodies of Erik Catcher and his family looked like. That alone made the man shiver.

“Hell, I’m pretty sure they’re going through worse. If I just stand here and do nothing… It’ll haunt me for the rest of my life,” James spoke honestly, his eyes moving their focus to the ground as he clenched his fist. His companions seemed to hesitate.

“I… I get what you’re trying to do,” Felix spoke. “But you realize that this is no bard’s tale. You will die. This is reality, James, and I can’t let you go on your own.”

James looked back at the guardsman, giving him a half-smile.

“Who says I’m going alone? From what I heard, that guy Haggard has been itching to leave Yorktown in search of a good fight. Hell, you’ve seen him in action; you know what he’s capable of. Besides, I doubt those knights will need all their soldiers. I’m willing to bet they’ll lend us a few to help.”

Felix sighed, some doubt in his eyes as he rubbed his goatee, which made him look like a musketeer. “Still,” he mumbled, clearly on the fence.

“You know,” Dahlia started, looking over at James. “We can always go to Vindis City, get some gear that might help. Maybe even hire some mercenaries if we have enough money compiled. I still have a hefty bag of coin from that day on the market,” the shaman reminded James, referencing the day he had helped Dahlia with her stock. “I’m also willing to bet that the marauder ship also has some valuables lying around in its cargo.”

Seamus noticed the shifting opinion, his sea-green eyes darting at the group.

“Oh, come on! You’re seriously not thinking of actually going with this?” He asked Felix.

The guardsman sighed again, clearly conflicted.

“I don’t know. On one hand, it’s pretty fucking stupid… Then again, we could prevent those abominations from spreading through Valenfrost. From the sound of things, the latter option is looking much more tempting the more I think about it,” Felix admitted. The guard looked at James.

“I’ll let you go on one condition,” he said, raising a finger. “You’ll have to get a navigator and a map reader. Only then will I allow you to go.”

James thought over the requirements and smiled. “Alright, deal.”

Seamus groaned. “Why did the gods pair me up with you?” He asked solemnly.

Felix nodded to James and turned to the longhouse. “I’ll give you the day to find them. Until then, I’ll be telling those knights that we’re still thinking about it.” With that said, the guard promptly walked into the longhouse, leaving James with his friends.

Dahlia turned to James, raising an eyebrow. “Where are you going to find a navigator and a map reader?” She asked. “The only people I can think of are the traders who come to sell us supplies, and they won’t be back for another week.”

James grinned at the shaman. “Don’t worry, I have someone in mind,” he said reassuringly.

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“The hell do you mean you can’t do either of those?” James asked Harald, who scratched at his beard.

“It means I can’t, dimwit,” the veteran answered.

“But you said you fought in the Outsider Wars. I’m sure you must’ve traveled on a ship pretty often, right?”

“It doesn’t mean I was their navigator or map reader,” Harald shot back. “I was infantry, nothing more, nothing less.”

The two arguing men were currently at the training center at the edge of town, with the class of trainees sparring and exercising in the background. James groaned, realizing that finding those requirements was going to be harder than he thought.

“Well, do you know anyone who might?” James asked, hoping that at least one trainee might have some experience.

Harald shook his head again. “There’s no one in Yorktown that I know can navigate a ship. There might be someone who can read a basic map, but I doubt they’ll be useful enough to give directions.”

James pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He racked his brain in thought of anyone who could help.

‘Faust?’ He asked.

‘Don’t even think about it. Like that veteran, I’ve only ridden on ships as a passenger, not a navigator.’

James continued to think it over.

‘Seamus? No… He told me himself that he can only read maps.’

He recalled the conversation with Seamus, who had told James that he had only trained in combat back when he was in his clan, rarely ever getting the time to learn about navigating and the like. He did, however, read a lot of books during his free time, which led to him learning how to read maps as well. Still, Seamus had been hesitant to go with James, so he listed Seamus as a last resort for a map reader.

‘Dahlia had also told me she had only been on a ship twice her entire life, and only for trips to Vindis City. That leaves me with…’

James blinked, realizing that he hadn’t considered Haggard, the one who had also come to Yorktown the same day James did.

‘Didn’t Haggard say that he traveled through Valenfrost?’

James thought back to the few times he had met the man. Haggard had talked about wanting to spar with powerful fighters. Because of this, he had traveled throughout Valenfrost, looking for his fabled ‘rival’ until he had reached Yorktown, where he was forced to stay because of the marauders. Haggard had expressed regret for being blackout drunk the night James was killed, mainly since he didn’t get to fight Deimos one on one. Currently, the man was bored out of his mind, only drinking and helping with the rebuilding.

‘Come to think of it, I’m sure he’ll love this trip since it’ll give him a reason to fight strong opponents.’

James smiled to himself, earning a look from Harald as the veteran watched his thought process.

“I think I have a guy in mind,” James said to Harald before heading off to the tavern.

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Once James had reached the tavern, he took notice of the nearby townsfolk, who all spoke in hushed tones. Although James couldn’t hear what they were saying, he had no doubts that they were speaking about the newcomers. James continued his walk, entering the tavern doors. He looked around the place, which had a few more customers since morning. Most were eating, and others were socializing, while some gave the blond man dirty looks.

‘Right… Some of them still blame me for what happened…’ James recalled, deciding to ignore them as he looked for Haggard. James soon spotted his target, who was drinking at the bar.

“It's a bit early for drinking, isn’t it?” James asked, sitting next to the man.

Haggard shrugged, eyeing James with his light brown irises. “It takes more than a couple of tankards to bring me down, my friend,” he answered, grinning under his trimmed beard.

James smiled a bit at his answer, looking at the bar in front of him. “You know why I’m here, right?” James asked finally. He knew that the drunk wasn’t an idiot.

“No, but I know it has something to do with those knights that had arrived earlier,” Haggard answered, taking a swig from his drink.

“They want me to go to some islands, investigate them,” James explained. “They think that they’re being affected and attacked by creatures like the one Dahlia and I killed.” Haggard turned to James, his grin still there.

“You want me to come with and kill those things with you?” He asked, setting down his tankard.

“Well… not exactly,” James explained. “We need someone who can navigate the ship, as well as someone who can read maps.”

Haggard’s grin faltered, replaced by a disappointed frown. “Friend James, as much as I would enjoy fighting alongside you, I’m afraid I’m not the man you’re looking for,” He sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“If I was, I would’ve already left this town with that ship in the docks.” Haggard seemed genuinely sorry. James silently cursed to himself, realizing that the day would end soon.

‘I guess I won’t be able to help Valenfrost for the better…’

“Hold up,” Haggard spoke up. “There might be someone in Yorktown who can help.” Haggard pointed out, as if he had an epiphany.

“Really? Who? Can they really help?” James asked, genuinely curious about who the drunk man might recommend.

”Well, it depends on whether she’ll be willing to help.”