The journey back to Maripolos had been longer than their original expedition to the island. They no longer had support from Malysseus’ wind magic and navigation spells. Gurten had not worked on training his powers, although he had kept hold of the staff. He had not felt it was the proper time to learn magic. Not in his period of mourning.

Nothing bothered them along the journey. No squidlings. No Kraken. Gurten had known why nothing was bothering them the whole trip. All possible enemies had felt the same thing Gurten did: Malysseus’ lingering power was present all over the boat. He had spent many hours pondering whether the magic would ever fade from the ship. He had, in the end, decided that magic was now an integral part of the boat.

He was, as of landing at the docks of Maripolos, still unsure if his period of mourning would ever end. The King’s advisor was waiting for them on the docks. She had obviously received word of a returning ship. The ship was shoddy, so Gurten figured they were able to ascertain what happened. He walked from the boat.

“Hi,” Gurten said, carrying the powerful staff. He stopped before the advisor, greeting her as the new Captain would. Now that they had returned, he had no luxury of refusing his role as Captain. It didn’t matter what he wanted.

“Hello Gurten,” Selira said. “You look well. Where is Malysseus?”

“Selira…”

The advisor frowned at what she saw on Gurten’s face. She left him the space to process whatever he wanted to speak on. They stood on the pier as the crew began loading and unloading supplies. None of them spoke to Selira or Gurten. None of them even looked at the pair, frozen in their conversation.

“Selira, Malysseus is dead,” Gurten said gravely. “We have his body on the ship. He… there were cyclopses. He fought them, Selira. He fought cyclopses. Multiple.”

Selira’s face fell.

“There’s something different about you,” Selira said. “I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“There’s something different about all of us,” Gurten agreed. “But we need to speak to the King. We come bearing gifts from the Island of Peril.”

Selira did not speak on the name. She simply left the dock to go about her duties preparing the King. An audience with a King was no small matter, so she had many things to see done. Gurten was left by himself on the docks, surrounded by crowds of people—but alone.

Gurten looked back at the ship mournfully. The only source of comfort was the staff he held in his hand and the lingering sense of Malysseus’ presence on the boat. In the end, there was one blessing. He didn’t need to help unload the vessel. He was the Captain now.

The hours passed in a flurry as everything was put together for Gurten to meet with the King. He fell into autopilot as he waited. Many people came to ask him questions about Malysseus. They came to ask him about arrangements for the coming ceremony. The parade of people asked how Malysseus would have preferred to be honored. He didn’t have the heart to tell them that Malysseus would have felt most honored if they had left him alone.

Malysseus had chosen to remain a secret Wizard for a reason.

The day had turned to night before Gurten was summoned to the King’s throne room. Selira did not come to lead him herself. Instead, one of the courtiers came to the docks to call him. This courtier found Gurten staring out into the distance. To the sea. But when he was summoned, he stood up to accompany the courtier to the castle.

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Entering the throne room, Gurten was well aware of the room’s opulence. The throne was forged in gold and likely held more value than the Opportunity ship Malysseus had worked his life for. Gurten and the King were not alone. Selira stood beside the King. There was another man that Gurten did not recognize, with his robes covering his entire body, even his face. Two dozen guards spread throughout the room guarded every exit. Gurten approached the throne when ushered.

“Your excellency,” he said with a bow. “It pleases me greatly to speak with you.”

“And I with you,” the King replied. “As I understand, you have brought several artifacts back from the island?”

“Yes.”

“And you have asked to keep hold of the staff? May I see it?”

Gurten’s insides recoiled at the thought of relinquishing the staff. Still, he knew he could not refuse the King outright. He slowly approached the throne, handing the staff over to the King. The staff was passed to the man he did not recognize. The man scrutinized it for several minutes as awkward silence hung through the air. Finally, the unknown man spoke.

“You intend to keep hold of an ancient artifact meant for a Wizard? After what you’ve been through, I can see how you wish to feel as though it was not all for naught. But you are no Wizard. The court, of course, keeps track of such things.”

“With all due respect…” Gurten began, not knowing the name of the other advisor.

“Grick,” Selira chimed in. “The court’s chief Wizard.”

“Grick,” Gurten added. “With all due respect, chief Wizard, my power grows slowly, and I could use aid. But I am a Wizard. I intend to train myself using this artifact. We also brought a sword and a shield. I would not deny the court’s chief Wizard a chance to study this staff. But I claim the staff as Captain of the expedition, as is my right per the expedition charter bylaws.”

“You were not Captain of this expedition,” the King said. There was no anger in his tone, but there was a challenge. Gurten decided to push his luck.

“But I am now.”

“He’s right, my excellency,” Selira admitted. “The charter is clear. After Malysseus’ death, Captaincy passes to his First Mate. That would be Gurten.”

“Truly?” the King asked rhetorically. He saw to it that the staff was handed back to Gurten. “I suppose it cannot be helped, then. We thank you for the opportunity to study this artifact you lay claim to.” Gurten did not expect such a reaction. After all, a King could demand what he wished. And now, he was a mere sailor, being thanked by the King.

“For now,” the King continued, “I call this meeting to an end. We must prepare for the ceremony. Grick tells me Malysseus was secretly a truly accomplished Wizard. I regret that I now feel as though I barely knew the man, despite our days at sea.”

***

The ceremony for Malysseus’ funeral was held on the beach. After all, that’s where he would have wanted it to be. In the end, Gurten could not escape the pressure of having to say a few words on behalf of the fallen Wizard.

“Malysseus often hid parts of himself from everyone he met. That was part of his charm. He’d show a little bit to every soul he spent time with, but he kept most of it hidden. At first, as we grew closer, and I started to see more of it than others, I thought he was afraid of himself. I thought he was afraid of showing people who he truly was. But I think, in the end, I’ve discovered the truth of the matter. He wasn’t afraid of what other people would think. He was afraid of their expectations. Meeting them. Living up to them. Understanding them, even.”

Gurten tried to maintain his composure as he came to the end of his planned words. “But he taught me the most important part. You can’t change people’s expectations. You can’t control what’s coming for you. But you can change how you meet it. With humor. With pride. With courage.” He lost the tatters of his composure, tears running down his cheek.

“This is for Malysseus,” Gurten added, ending his speech and lighting a small fire on the altar in front of him. As the fire began to burn, he pulled a small powder he had acquired before the ceremony from his jacket pockets. Throwing the powder into the flames and feeding them, the material turned the blazing fires blue as the powder burned.

The blue flames may have been the end of the line for Malysseus, but for Gurten—they were just the beginning.