Azarus told me that he wrangled a promise from Captain Bronzle to secretly inform his superiors that the Astray was off limits as it traveled down the coast. After all, it generally wasn’t a good idea for an officer to get in the way of the nobility if they wanted to keep advancing their career.

  He seemed to keep his promise, too.

  Over the next two days of travel through Velancian waters, we sighted no less than three more Venier patrol ships in the distance. They undoubtedly saw us as well, considering the response time that the Lancia del Mare had displayed. And yet, not a single one of them approached. We were completely unharried all the way through the territorial zone of control that belonged to the Dwarves.

  Not only that, but I was thankful to discover the Ward Stone of the Astray was working perfectly well. Out on the open ocean, you were extremely unlikely to encounter monsters of any kind, owing to the sort of…Aetherial dead-zone that seemed to originate over deep water. It was along the much more energy-dense coasts that you always encountered monsters looking to gnaw your face off. But none of them approached us, due to the dense net of enchantments woven into the floating quartz Ward Stone, stashed away in a small closet attached to mine and Aveline’s room. We still saw some of them in the distance, of course. Many monsters weren’t exactly subtle in their approach. But, according to Azarus, who had pretty much commandeered the crow’s nest, everything interested in a meal crossed a point about half a mile away from the Astray, spasmed, and then immediately darted away.

  However, on the third day of travel, we exited Dwarven waters and passed into what might have been, once upon a time, Elven territory. Now, though, it was entirely untended by anything but the beasts. The shoreline was nothing more than a single, untended stretch of dense forest. There were no patrols and certainly no savage Elves themselves to be seen in those trees. I was tempted to weigh anchor and use the Astray’s small rowboat to approach the shore. I was…a bit curious, about what was now termed the Barren Forest. It was my understanding that these days, it was mostly a wild, untamed land, filled with completely mad denizens. And I’m not just talking about the Elves themselves.

  From what I’d been told, not only were the monsters being influenced by the insanity of the Mad God, but the very wildlife was a bit…crazier. I’m not sure how much I believed Azarus’s stories about crazed packs of hares the size of small dogs, wild enough to attack people on sight. According to him, they were actually considered a rare delicacy on both sides of the forest. Something about insanity tenderizing the flesh?

  I’d been a bit unnerved by Liora and Renauld nodding along with his stories. At least they kept it out of Aveline’s earshot. I was thankful enough that my new charge seemed to be adapting well enough to the new world she had found herself in. She didn’t need more nightmares.

  I was…dealing with what she already had, to the best of my ability.

  Still, I resisted the impulse to set foot on Elven land, and after another day of travel, we passed into Herztalian waters. Nothing much interesting happened for the next few days of travel, on the journey down to T?r Gronn. From the maps I had, I was searching for a particular river that would lead to their settlement some distance below the mid-point of Herztalian control. I think we’d long since passed by Hollow Hill by now, and were approaching Helstein. I had no desire to return to that city, even if it didn’t exactly control its own port. T?r Gronn and the Hill people in general lived in the zone between Helstein and Elderwyck, which was where I would find their river.

  I was relatively new to the whole solo-navigation thing, having always relied on…Bella or Grey before to make sure we knew where we were going. Embarrassingly enough, I actually mistook a different river for our destination initially. I’d maneuvered the Astray down one of them a fair bit before I realized what I’d done, and it was only thanks to a…tip from Azarus that I did. According to him, a somewhat smug Tarus had messaged his Envoy to tell me that I was going the wrong way, and after consulting the maps again, discovered he was correct. I wasn’t sure whether to be grateful to the Great Spirit, even though seemed to hold a grudge against me now, or irritated that he let us waste half a day traveling the wrong way. We had to furl the sails, drop anchor, and use long poles to turn my ship around. It didn’t take long, but it was still a bit embarrassing to do so.

  On the fourth day of travel along the Herztalian coast, we finally found it, and it was huge. The last time I’d been in this area, I hadn’t exactly paid much attention to the river the Thunderheart Clan controlled. I’d been a bit preoccupied at the time. But now that I was paying attention, I realized just why the Calonawr were the great power in this region, essentially the leaders of the Mynydd clans.

  This was a massive river. The mouth of it was wide enough that I’m pretty sure you could have fit a modern Terran cruise ship lengthwise within the breadth. If my maps were accurate, this was a river basin almost comparable in size to the Colorado River from back on Earth. Curiously, the notations on my map had two names for it.

  One was Tarrenford, something I’m guessing the Herztalians themselves used. My understanding was that the relationship between the Mynydd and the Herztalians could at times be a bit…colonial.

  The other was what I’m guessing is the real name for the river. Something that more accurately reflected Mynydd culture.

  Afon Tarranon.

  T?r Gronn lay on the main trunk of the vast river basin, but I could see plenty more of the Hill clans spread out across the many, many tributaries of the Afon Tarranon etched onto the map. Just as an example, I saw settlements named things like ‘Brynllwyd’, ‘Glanrhyd’, and ‘Dinas Garw’, each crouching at the edge of a winding river. Honestly, upon seeing just how large and twisting the basin was, I had to question just why they were called the Hill clans and not the River clans.

  Hah, well. Maybe they just hadn’t wanted to copy the Kawamarans.

  Still, I initially thought it would be a pain to navigate the twisting riverine basin. That was, until we actually got there and discovered that ships and boats of all kinds of varying sizes were thick on the great river. All we had to do was flag down one intricately carved longboat that seemed to be fishing the inter-tidal zone and ask them how to reach the home of the Thunderhearts. The stooped, sun-weathered old greybeard looked at me like I was a few apples short of a bushel, and wordlessly pointed to a large stone column sticking out of the mud of the shoreline at an angle. I’d seen a number of these on the way here and hadn’t given them much thought. But…upon closer inspection…they had carvings on their faces. My excuse was that almost all of these apparent guidestones were covered in mud or foliage. However, when we wiped the face down, I could see arrows pointing toward different forks of the Afon Tarranon, each with a different petroglyph next to them.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  I’m guessing our destination might lie in the direction of the lightning bolt.

  Just a thought.

  I did my best not to be embarrassed about it and took this as just another lesson in my ongoing education in navigation. Sometimes, civilizations were smart enough to establish simple waystones.

  Who would have thought?

  It took us most of a day traveling along the length of the Tarranon, following said waystones, before T?r Gronn came into sight. At first, I didn’t see much different about the riverside Mynydd city. It was still smaller than places such as Hinaga, Elderwyck, or even Helstein, while being visibly larger than Hollow Hill. More than a town, but still a lesser city. It still had intricately carved, abnormally tall wooden walls that pulsed with the strength of their enchantments. But then I got a closer look at it.

  There were much, much less people visible, both along the river and in the city itself. It almost looked like a ghost town, honestly. With how close to the T?r Gronn docks we were, I’d already furled our sails, and we were slowly drifting towards the nearest berth. One of the Calonawr dockhands was waving us down towards it, while I, my crew, and Aveline were gathered on the deck. Those of us who were martially inclined were dressed somewhat casually, wearing only a minimal amount of weaponry and armor. While we didn’t think we’d need it in these walls, the Calonawr were more likely to respect us if we were armed. I’d long since informed my friends about my plans while we were here, and it was my understanding that most of them were intending to enjoy some shore time after a little over a week spent out at sea.

  Not everyone was as much of a fan of seafood and the spray of salt air as Aveline and I were.

  Bah, they just had no taste.

  Speaking of Aveline, the little girl had forsaken the Kawamaran dresses she’d been wearing in favor of more Herztalian cuts, at least for this outing. She was excited, I think, to be exploring more of the ‘Garden’ she’d only been told about from within the walls of the bunker, and wanted to make a good impression. It was cute, I had to admit.

  Aveline barely paid any attention to us, as we adults had an adult conversation over her head. She was too busy clutching my hand and staring out at the city before us with an excited look on her face. “Not many men out,” I said quietly to Liora, as the dockhands successfully grabbed the Astray with a long-handled hook and drug her to shore. “You…think it has to do with the war?”

  “Possibly,” My fellow former spy said under her breath, eyes roving the thin crowds. “Mostly greybeards, women, and their children. However, the conflict has been over for months. Why have the Calonawr forces not yet returned home?” She shifted her gaze over to Azarus, who stood with his arms folded. “Does your new patron perhaps know why?”

  In response, Azarus rolled his eyes. “Ain’t no point in askin’,” He grunted. “I know what that old smokestack will say. ‘I won’t say a word about mortal affairs’,” Azarus said in a mocking, almost exasperated tone. He snorted. “Ye’d think he’d want to help his Envoy, but nooo.”

  “That’s simply his way, Azarus,” Sena scolded the dwarf lightly. “Grandfather will not betray the trust of the mortals. He is aware of the position of power he holds over the people of Vereden, and has no wish to abuse it. Even if they know nothing of his existence, he does not desire to rule over them like some…omniscient tyrant. It is an honorable stance. Tarus sees all under the sun, but will not speak a word about it, unless in extreme circumstances.”

  Azarus grumbled, but didn’t argue back. I think, in his own way, he was thankful Tarus was such a stickler for his own rules. Honestly, I kind of appreciated it as well.

  Our conversation was cut short by the Astray finally bumping into the docks. In response, I let down the gangplank, letting it thunk onto wood belonging to the Calonawr. Once it was down, everyone disembarked from my ship, only to be blinked at in confusion by the young, pre-Awakening teen boy waiting for us.

  “Well, yer an odd lookin’ bunch,” The teenager said, tilting his head at us curiously.

  Which was understandable. It’s not often you saw crews as diverse as we were. Humans, dwarves, and Gnolls…the only thing we were missing was a Sculpted and an Elf, and we’d have the full complement of Vereden natives.

  Well, other than The Lost.

  “What’s yer business, then? Ye traders, merchants, travellers? What cargo do ye have in that…strange old gel ye got there?” He said, letting curious brown eyes rove the odd in comparison construction of the Astray.

  “No cargo,” I said, almost proud of the envious look the young man was giving my ship. “We’re here on personal business, and to stock up supplies on the way to Blutstein. Mainly, I’m here to visit an old friend.”

  The teen reluctantly dragged his gaze back over to me. “Aye, that’s all well and good. Ye’ll still have to register with the harbormaster, and he’ll tell ye where to buy from.”

  I thanked him, and with that, my group broke up. Venix, Liora, and Renauld had business of their own, while Azarus and Sena were intending to come with me to meet up with Taran and Fade. I think it was partially diplomatic, between representatives of the Great Spirits, and partially because Sena had said she knew Taran.

  First, though, we settled up with the harbormaster as the dockhand had told us to. The crotchety old man was curious about us but didn’t ask too many questions.

  However, I had one of my own.

  “Where can I find Captain Cadoc of the Carregwyr?” I asked the man, who was surrounded on all sides by musty scrolls.

  He blinked at me through his small spectacles and readjusted them. “Oh, not your first time here, is it? Well, I don’t know this Cadoc meself, but if you’re lookin’ for the Carregwyr, you’re out of luck. Ain’t a single one of them left inside these walls. They’re all down south with the Chief and the Council, waiting on this new King of ours to be crowned. Only a few guards left up here, and they’re mostly to keep the monsters away.”

  Hmm.

  Well, that was unfortunate. The Captain was the lowest person on the proverbial totem pole I knew in T?r Gronn, and I’d been hoping he would be able to escort us to see the wolves. I’d gotten the impression the Calonawr were a bit protective of their lupine guardian. Maybe, though…maybe I didn’t need it.

  “If I, perhaps had some…business with the lord of the standing stones…” I started slowly. “Would I be permitted to visit them?”

  “Lord of the-” The harbormaster started in a confused tone, before cutting himself off. I could see the moment realization dawned on him about what I meant, because his eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets. “Wait a mo’. I heard something about how some outsider was the one who left that…little one behind,” He said in an almost conspiratorial tone, leaning forward with curiosity in his voice. “Was that you?”

  Well, I guess Fade hadn’t exactly been hiding from the locals.

  I smiled at the man. “Yes, I’m here to visit him. I want to introduce the…little one to that little one,” I said, nodding to Aveline, who had wandered away to stare at the spines of the bookshelves of logs along the walls. By this point I well knew that she was capable of reading the spines, even though they were decidedly not in English.

  Just more evidence that my new charge had some kind of link to the System.

  “Oh!” The harbormaster straightened up. “Well, that’s different. Go ahead. Ain’t nobody gonna bother ya from goin’ to the standin’ stones. If the Ancestor don’t like ya, it’s not like you’ll be able to do anything to stop him from rippin’ you to shreds.”

  What a wonderful mental image.

  Nonetheless, I thanked the man, and beckoned Aveline to my side. Hand in hand with the little girl, I exited the office and found Azarus and Sena waiting where I’d left them outside. I motioned for them to follow me, and we all set out for the walls of T?r Gronn. As we did so, with Aveline’s head jerking every which way to take in the sights, a smile stretched over my lips that wouldn’t die.

  I wouldn’t be surprised if they already knew we were here. Considering the senses of an old wolf like Taran, it was even likely.

  Soon, buddy.