When Wellynd finally collapsed into his bed at Briarberry cottage, the sun had already set. He was cold, wet, and too tired from his journey back over the mountain to protest when Laine called up for him to be at the warehouse by sunrise the next day.

Despite Kellog’s revelations about Wellynd’s extraordinary circumstances, he still needed to live his ordinary life.

The warehouse was lively and loud when Wellynd arrived in the early hours of the morning.

Laine had found them a job.

Klof and Bilge were loading supplies aboard The Brinebreaker, and Henry and Filch were arguing about who owes who money for the previous night’s revelry at the Boar’s Rump.

Laine sat alone on a rickety chair in the middle of the warehouse, enshrouded in a haze of smoke, watching Henry and Filch argue, a mild smirk glued to his face.

Any outsider watching this scene would never have guessed they had just suffered the loss of a crewmember.

But that’s how it went.

He walked up to Laine, stretching out his arms and yawning.

“Remind me why we have to leave so early again?”

A sharp gust rattled the portcullis blocking entry from the sea.

Laine spat out a piece of tobacco leaf “You know why, Welly. Storms tend to be calmer in the morn’. Won’t be a long one. We’re just skipping over to Port Ketch. Got some Melyin tobacco and a few of the remaining skald to deliver. We’ll be back by the early afternoon.”

Who were they delivering skald to that far south? Tanner’s remarks about Laine selling to the Crusaders of Deakon, the notorious mercenary group, echoed in Wellynd’s head.

He shuffled his feet “Can I ask you something?”

Laine, who had been eyeing Filch and Henry, focused his eyes on Wellynd’s.

“Probably. What is it?”

“Do we care who we deliver skald to?”

Laine clicked his tongue “I think so. Yes. Why?”

“It’s nothing. Tanner at the Mox told me we were delivering to the Crusaders of Deakon. I figured he was lying, but I just wanted to make sure. I, you know, hope we aren’t making the war worse.”

Laine’s brow furrowed “Tanner knows that? Well he’s not wrong. But…well…they aren’t…it’s probably best that I don’t say. There is a lot going on with this damn war that is complicated. Don’t look at me like that…I’d tell you more, but it’s not for me to say. We’ve got to do what we have to. Speaking of questions, where’ve you been? Did you figure out your problem?”

Wellynd, surprised at Laine’s curt response, scratched the back of his head. “Alright then. And uh, yeah. Sort of. It’s a work in progress.”

Laine patted his legs and stood up. “Glad to hear. Let’s set sail.”

~

The trip down the coast of Ars Illuve and across the channel to the mainland was, thankfully, uneventful.

Wellynd spent the first leg of the voyage chatting with Klof while the Brinebreaker shot through the waves, skirting just a few hundred yards off the coast. The jagged, sandy cliffs of southern Ars Illuve rolled by to their west.

Klof had spent the intervening days resting up and practicing his gusting. He had thought the work would keep his mind off the death of Briv, and Wellynd was surprised to see him bounce back so quickly. His friend was rapidly becoming a full-fledged member of the Brinebreaker, in both skill and demeanour.

For some reason, Wellynd, whose mind was still half occupying the cave back at the mine, didn’t quite feel the same.

The storms raged further out at sea, roiling black clouds dominating the southern horizon, as The Brinebreaker navigated around the tip of Ars Illuve, Laine expertly weaving the ship through a series of rocky shores. Cutting across the channel posed some danger, but with the combined might of Henry and a burgeoning Klof, they made it to the southern mainland in what Bilge said was record time.

Upon reaching Port Ketch, Laine had instructed most of the crew to come with him to the exchange, including Klof. Only Wellynd and Henry stayed aboard the ship.

Surprisingly, this didn’t bother Wellynd. He spent some of his time idly talking to Henry while they prepared the ship for their return voyage. Most of the time, however, Wellynd spent reconstructing Kellog’s shape in his head. He’d made a point to commit everything about kose and weaving to memory, whenever he got the chance. He wanted to actually practice shaping, but he thought Henry might notice and ask him questions he wasn’t quite ready to answer.

Next week felt so far away.

When the crew did return, Wellynd learned that there had been a scuffle at the exchange. Filch had a bloody gash on his arm, and Klof was suffering a black eye, though you wouldn’t know it with the grin that was plastered to his face.

Apparently, there had been a miscommunication on the final price and some of the Crusaders’ grunts had struck first. Filch responded in kind. Ultimately, an all-out brawl was avoided, thanks to Laine negotiating a new price.

The trip back to Kellek’s Watch felt long, and Wellynd just wanted to get back so he could continue practicing his weaving. During the final stretch up the east coast of the island, even Henry’s wind seemed to waver as the Brinebreaker sluggishly ploughed through the waves.

As the ship was re-entering the warehouse at Kellek’s Watch, Klof, who had taken over for a tired Henry, walked by Wellynd and made the comment “Gonna do anything Welly? Decks need cleaning! Haha just kidding!”

Wellynd laughed off the comment, but in truth, Klof’s words had his mind wandering. Mainly because it held some truth. What was his plan now? He obviously wasn’t going to be a guster, and even if he did learn much from Kellog, would anything the man taught him be useful to The Brinebreaker crew?

An answer came soon enough. It was when they had docked and unloaded that Laine asked Wellynd to follow him into his office while the crew took off to celebrate in town.

“What’s up?” Wellynd asked, watching Laine light a fresh cigar, waving his hand to snuff out the match.

“I need you to go back to Revenshore.” Laine said before coughing.

“What? Why? I thought we were going to stay away until things calmed down there.”

Lained nodded “Yeah that was the plan. A few of my contacts have said that things have laxed up a bit, though, I don’t think they’ll ever go back to the way they were. The Vertans are mad. This is probably going to be the new reality for us.”

Wellynd shook his head. “I...I...can’t. I have things I have to do here. Why me?”

Laine furrowed his brow “Things to do eh? Well, it needs to be you. You’re the best at it. You know your way around. And you know the sole client. It’s a small delivery.”

“Who?”

“That Selkis nut at the Observatory. He’s been reaching out to our contact non-stop. Something about a breakthrough. Says he’ll pay a lot for a single skald. Quite frankly, after the other day’s failure, we could use it. Today’s deal is enough to keep us goin’, keep the lads well-paid but...”

“But what?”

Laine rubbed his open palm against his rough, unshaven face “Well, I’ve been told that there’s been a push by the Vertans, and some Melyins, I think, to open up the desert for mining again. Make skald legal or somethin’. Don’t know what will come of it but, if that happens, we’ll be hard-pressed to keep things going the way they are. If that happens, we’ll need to figure out something new to smuggle. Heh, maybe we’ll have to become legitimate traders. Can you imagine Bilge doin proper bartering in a Melyin bazaar? Anyway, maybe that’s a good thing, ultimately, but we’ll need a lot o’ Grell to sustain us while we figure it all out.”

Laine took a long drag of his cigar and fiddled with a thread on his trousers

He was nervous. Wellynd had never seen his Uncle like this. Laine Albright was supposed to be calm and inscrutable.

“Okay, and you’re explaining all of this to me for what? Is what Selkis is offering enough to cover everything?”

“Oh, no. Not at all. It’ll help for a bit, but, no. What we really need is another shipment of skald.” Laine stared at his nephew.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Wellynd blanched. “Are you nuts? You can’t possibly be thinking about going back! The storms are stronger than ever! You don’t even have a Fulmin. And what about those Sombernaught things? When’s the last time someone went across the Elaudri at this point in the season and came back in one piece?”

Laine leaned back in this chair. “Well. Huh. Now that I think about it, that’s kind of a funny question. The only person on Ars Iluve, at least that I know of, who has done that, is you.”

Wellynd scoffed “Yeah. Real funny.”

Laine just stared and raised his eyebrows.

“What are you talking about?”

“How do you think your Dad died?”

Wellynd frowned “At sea, I know that. What does that have to do with me?”

“You were with him, Welly. You and your mom. I suppose I never really talked about it, now that I think about it, what with your mom leavin’ right after I had figured we best be done with it.” He cleared his throat. “ We had been talkin’ about finding a quicker way across the Elaudri, using the currents, especially if the storms subsided early. You know, sometimes it happens. Well, one season, they did. At least, we thought they did. We were young...”

Laine stood up and started mindlessly shifting papers around on his desk, ash from his cigar falling onto the large map sprawled across the table.

“We both decided to try different routes. You know, we both knew what we were doin’. I took The Brinebreaker and Henry. Your dad had a good-sized sloop. Nice boat, stood out with these deep red sails. Anyway…uh…back then… not everyone figured out what they were good at early, and bein’ a little younger than me, well, your mom had a decent go at gustin’ so far, so she volunteered. Brought you along.” Laine looked up at the ceiling and chuckled “we were so sure the storms were done. I joked about how the family trip was gonna slow him down’”

Wellynd slumped down against the wall “How did you make it back and not him?”

Laine was already lighting a new cigar. He took a long drag while nodding. “Well, Henry and I musta got to the desert quicker. We combed the coast a bit but didn’t see any sign of your ship, so we figured your dad had beat us and head back, or had decided to turn around. By the time Henry and I got back, a fresh storm had been chasin’ us somewhere off Vellen Kellek. When we found out ye hadn’t come back we didn’t know what to do. Just as we had mustered up the will to head back out and look for you, we saw those red sails bobbin’ in the waves less than a quarter league offshore. Henry shot us out there and we towed the boat back. It was in bad shape. You and your mom were drenched. You wouldn’t stop cryin’. I can still hear it. I knew when I didn’t see your Dad right away what had happened. Well, when we got you to shore, your Mom just handed you off to me and head back up to Briarberry Cottage…” Laine let the cigar droop from his mouth “when I went there with you later…she was just gone.”

As Laine told the story, brief scenes of a wrecked boat with red sails being towed into shore flashed in Wellynd’s mind. He wasn’t sure if he was remembering the day or creating them as Laine recounted the events. Somewhere inside, he felt anger. Not at Laine, or his father, or even his mother. But it felt distant. Or somehow muddled by all the other confusion and mystery that had been heaped upon his life recently.

He didn’t know what to say. He cleared his throat “So. You don’t know what actually happened to my Dad. And you have no idea where my Mom went?”

Laine slumped in his chair and huffed, remnants of smoke missed by his last puff chasing its kin into the rotting wood that made up the ceiling.

“Nope. Only she knows both of those things. If she’s still alive. Either way, don’t know if it matters at this point. What matters is what’s happening now. World’s changing, as far as I can see. Bilge figures he got a Fulmin for us. Someone he met down at Monk’s Landing. And despite the fact that I’d love you to be part of the crew and come with us, I’m guessin’ you’re not gonna be around here forever. Whatever you figured out up in the mountain, you’re wearing it. Any sailor worth his salt knows when the winds have changed. I just need you to do this. Then I’ll be able to help ya in whatever you’re doin or wherever you’re going.”

“What makes you think I don’t want to be around here? Why wouldn’t I want to be a part of the crew?”

“Have you ever?”

That statement hurt a bit. Though, it probably reflected at least some sentiment bordering on truth.

Several moments of silence passed. Laine sat patiently, smoking his cigar as he stared out the small, yellow-stained window.

“When do you need me to go?” Wellynd finally said.

“Anytime in the next few weeks. Vertans will probably be even more active once the storms start to recede. Best do it before then. Who knows when that’ll happen anymore.”

Wellynd scratched his chin. “I’ll go next week. I need to do something first. Also, if I’m gonna do this, I need an extra piece of skald.”

-

Six days later, Wellynd awoke in the early hours of the morning.

Today was the day. His final delivery. And hopefully, one of many meetings with Kellog.

Peeking out the window, he stretched as the red sun spilled gently into his room.

His eyes fell to the two skald that sat atop the windowsill.

One for Selkis. One for Kellog.

He’d asked Laine for a few more, just in case he needed to access the silvery kose in a pinch, but since Wellynd was unable to divulge his reasoning, and they were almost out of stock, Laine had refused.

Wellynd would have to be careful during his trip to Revenshore.

Trying not to dwell on the dangers that lay ahead, he grabbed the skald, squeezing them in his hand before tucking both into his shirt pocket.

He was going to see Kellog first, after all. Before heading into town, Wellynd made a humble breakfast of Laine’s day-old bread fried in honey butter from Ursa. A favourite of his Uncle’s.

By the time he’d reached the town square, the sun had risen and much of the morning mist had lifted from the busy town. Some folk were just beginning their days, opening up their shops, while some, like the few fishermen who had braved the morning storms and were now trudging up from the pier, looked like they were ready for bed.

As Wellynd walked by Klof’s house, he stopped when he spotted Ursa talking to a tall figure out front. At first, he thought it was Conrin, but when the man turned, Wellynd was surprised to see Kellog’s wizened face.

He smiled broadly “Welly! Come here!”

The man waved him over and Wellynd felt the slightest hesitation at the remark. Surely he hadn’t told them about their research in the cave.

“Good morning, Welly. I was just talking with Kellog here about the Season O’ Storms and how our sailors are some of the best on the island. But...you’ve met before?” smiled Ursa.

“We met on the road!” Kellog exclaimed. “He was kind enough to break bread with me and tell me a bit about the island.” He patted Wellynd on the back.

“Yeah. Good to see you again, Kellog. Hi Ursa.”

“Great, well, not much to see here, but we do have quite a knack for sailing. Anyway, I reckon you’ve seen the worst of the storms lately, eh Welly?” she said, a knowing smile touching her face.

“Yeah...”

The door to Klof’s home swung open and Conrin emerged holding a rolled piece of paper.

Walking over, he cleared his throat and handed the scroll to Kellog.

“Probably a little off, but it’s the best we’ve got. Water level’s changed a bit since that was drawn up a few years back, so there might be a little more of the islands showing.” he said.

Kellog unfurled it, his eyes darting back and forth as he scanned the drawing. Wellynd recognized the familiar map, but it looked strange seeing it so absent of Laine’s pen marks.

“Wonderful. This is excellent. Much better rendering than what I’ve seen from the folk at Devlyn’s Burrow.” he smiled, nodding to Conrin in appreciation.

“Hah. Don’t mention it; glad to have another connection for good Melyin lumber. Oh and thanks again Urse, I appreciate you having a look at Heidi. Hard to know with the little ones. She’s especially difficult as she refuses to tell me until it gets bad like this. Stubborn girl that one.”

“It’s the same at our house. Neera was like that as a girl, and so is her brother now. Think Heidi will be up for picking wolfberries with me and Newt at some point over the next few days if we get a few hours respite from the storms?” she eyed the clouds looming deeper over the Elaudri.

“Yeah. Wouldn’t doubt it. I’ll ask her tomorrow. But I’m running late. I’ll catch you later. Thanks again.” said Conrin, turning away before pausing and reaching out his hand “Good to meet you, Kellog. Take care.”

“What’s up with Heidi?” asked Wellynd. He hadn’t seen Klof’s younger sister much in the past little while.

“She’s fine. Just the flu gone a bit sour in her ears. She’ll clear up. Anyway, that reminds me. Are you heading into town anytime soon? I could use some supplies.” said Ursa.

“Actually, yeah. I’m heading to Mainland today. What do you need?”

Kellog looked up from the map and cast Wellynd an inquisitive glance.

“Wonderful! I could use more linen. You think you could pass by the tailor’s, pick up a roll or two for me? The thin sheets.”

“Yeah, of course.” responded Wellynd.

“Thank you, Welly. You’re very kind. Let me get you some coins.” said Ursa as she jogged off up towards the hospice.

Kellog cleared his throat. “Ah! Are we going to Revenshore? There were a few things I was hoping we would do today, though, heading to the Mainland wasn’t one of them.” Kellog poked his tongue into the side of his cheek.

“Yeah, about that. Sorry. I wanted to tell you before I left. My Uncle needs me to go to Revenshore. It’s the last time I have to go, so I’ll be free to help you with research after that.”

Kellog tucked the map into his travel bag.

“Hmm. Where in Revenshore are you going? And how long do these trips usually take?”

Wellynd glanced sidelong at Kellog.

“This one should be short. A day if I can time the ferries right.” Wellynd said, assessing the position of the sun. “Yeah, I could probably make it in time to Reven’s Crossing in time for the night ferry, that is if it’s running tonight and if I leave soon. And I just need to deliver something to someone at the Observatory. Speaking of which, I have that…thing…that you need.”

Kellog’s eyebrows shot up “Oh good. Hmm. Are you visiting that Selkis fellow you mentioned back at the cave? Any chance I could tag a long? It’s probably best we avoid the cave for the next little while anyway.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, after my visit to Devlyn’s Burrow, I headed back to the cave to continue examining that large deposit we found. Someone had been there. My notes had been rifled through.”

Wellyn frowned “That’s not good. Do you think they figured out what you’re looking into?”

Kellog shook his head “No, no. I use a specific shorthand for most of my research. It would take some time to decipher. I am worried, however, that they might have seen the deposit, or the floating boulders for that matter, at least, if it was someone who didn’t know they were there. That they didn’t take anything might be the cause for concern. It means they probably intend on going back.”

“That’s…troubling…” he started, just as Ursa rejoined their group.

“Here, Welly, and thanks again. What’s troubling? Well, whatever it is, stay away from it! Anyway, one of Teva’s boys just dropped in, so I’ll catch you later.” she hurriedly said as she started to walk backwards “Oh and good to meet you, Kellog. Stay safe in your travels. Welly, thin linens!”

“Of course!” Wellynd waved before turning back to Kellog “You can come. I don’t imagine you’d have any difficulty getting into the Observatory. I figured I could visit my friends while I’m there too, you could ask them questions about the cave if you want.”

“Perfect!” said Kellog, flicking his hand in a celebratory manner. “We can do some more training on the walk as well.”

At the mention of training, Wellynd beamed. “Sounds good. Shall we go?”

“We shall”