The hustle and bustle of Haasundra left Winolin to shame. Jule slid her cloak onto Ghost’s back, giving him a pat as she led him down the cobbled street of a busy street. From atop the hill she stood upon, she could easily make out the ocean and harbor, its shifts and movements made by the hundreds of people milling about upon it.

  Gulls squawked overhead, and a gull linlao barked back at them. Their owner hushed them, pulling on the linlao’s reins and dragging them across the street as the linlao tried jumping and running to the birds. A vendor yelled as the linlao toppled a basket of exotic fruits off her stand, and the owner apologized.

  Voices encircled them, leaving nowhere in the city free from their sound. Ellio came up behind her, breathing out deeply at the scene just as Jule did. Two children laughed as they passed, one of them hitting Ellio’s leg with the side of her small wooden toy sword. Ellio didn’t notice, his eyes glittering from the ocean’s beauty.

  “Should we find an inn first?” He asked.

  Jule shrugged. “We can check in at the guildhall here later. I want to explore the town, maybe find something to eat and relax. We’ve been traveling for weeks.”

  “Shouldn’t we… start on the purpose for coming here?” He fiddled with his fingers. Someone bumped into him from behind, and Ellio stumbled a step forward.

  “No way,” she started, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m getting myself a drink, finding a sunny spot to look at the water, and maybe going shopping.”

  They had plenty of time! After weeks of traveling through the snow and then playing nice with the merchants as they increasingly got frustrated with Azhar, she deserved a break. And a break she would have. Whether Ellio liked it or not. Taiga and Mouse could handle a few extra days alone.

  She liked snow as much as the next person, but traveling in it reminded her of the mountains of Monx, and reminded her more of how much she hated the wetness in her boots. “Go find something to do if you’re antsy.”

  She handed Ghost’s reins to Ellio, who took them with a silly look on his face. She slung her bag over her shoulder, and started her march forward and into the busied streets of Haasundra. Ellio’s boots picked up behind her, and she let him tail her. Azhar, who had been wherever up to now, walked beside Jule, swishing her skirt back and forth with dancing feet.

  “What’s all the blue over there?” She asked with a smile that told Jule she wasn’t joking.

  “Are you serious? It’s the ocean.”

  Azhar cocked her head to the side, looking out at the blue stretching to the edge of the horizon. “It’s water?”

  Jule pressed a finger to a temple, running it as annoyance pricked her. “Yes. Water, Azhar. It’s water.”

  She didn’t know what about the woman bugged her so intensely, but did she ever. With a huff, Jule sped up to walk ahead of her, dodging around a cart pulling out from a side street. Azhar ‘hmm’d behind her, and Jule breathed to keep from exploding.

  “Why’s it water?” She heard Azhar ask.

  “Well,” Ellio started. Of course he was gullible enough to answer her. To Jule’s best guess, the woman partly enjoyed messing with them, asking idiotic questions with no real answer. And Ellio, forever naive little Ellio, always played right into her hand. “I think if the ocean was made of anything else, it wouldn’t be the ocean?”

  What a half-ridiculous answer.

  “Ah.” Ellio caught Jule’s attention, and she turned to see him trotting across the street with Ghost in tow. A woman dodged away from him, cowering as if Ellio was a giant. He was nothing of the sort, of course, but she supposed others could be daunted by his size.

  Ellio was taller than their father had ever been. She could still recall their father putting his hand on young Ellio’s head, laughing boisterously about the child’s height for his age. The muscles he earned through hard work in their small town and then at the academy learning the sword made him into someone not easily trifled with. Despite his soft personality that absolutely could be trifled.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  And their parents—

  She stopped, and pushed the thought away.

  Her fingers dug into the strap of her bag carrying all that remained of their legacy. When the thought buried deep enough within her, and all her suppressed pain with it subdued, she huffed, and continued on.

  Jule came up behind Ellio, nudging him over to get a better view of what caught his attention. Small trinkets; bracelets, hairpins, and other glittery things lined with fragments of shells or wood carvings of waves. Surely he knew by now not to get her one of these things, so who could it possibly be for? His eyes lingered on a small ribbon with braided ends tied to small shells.

  “Taiga wears a ribbon in his hair, doesn’t he?”

  So it was a souvenir. “You can get it for him if you want. I don’t know if he likes the ocean, though.”

  Actually, she didn’t know basically anything about either of them. Wait, scratch that. She did know Mouse liked sweets, stealing, and Taiga. And that he despised humans for whatever reason. It didn’t bother her. She, too, got annoyed with humans more than occasionally.

  “I think he does. Mouse mentioned Taiga wants to live by the ocean.” Ellio pulled out his wallet and paid the vendor.

  This was a surprise to Jule. When did he have such a joyous conversation with that psycho? Half-fairy and half-human. Hah. She had “half” a mind that he was half-crazy and half-fairy. But whatever.

  She needed a drink.

  Azhar hovered on the other side of the street, crouched in front of a menu board a restaurant set out. Useful for something. Jule headed to her, peering at the lettering and satisfied they sold alcohol.

  “Let’s go in.” She walked into the archway, finding a seat on the patio with a view of the ocean. She settled into her seat, eavesdropping on a conversation from a group of four behind her. They spoke in, what Jule could guess, Thelccea. Their tongue had a distinct twist in it which reflected in their written characters. The country of wonders.

  Oh, how she wished she could understand their conversation. But unfortunately, such teachings were nowhere to be found in all of Anu. If they spoke Anish, Monx, Enrishi, or even Old Anish, she may have been able to ask about—

  No, no. She was relaxing. She was taking the day off. No work. But after a few minutes of her foot increasingly thumping against the ground, she decided it couldn't hurt to at least listen in and see how they’d communicate to the workers here.

  Unfortunately, they struggled to communicate in even the most basic of Anish and used gestures even when asking for food. She gave up, sipped her oddly flavored mixed tea, and let the annoyance of the journey melt from her shoulders in the sun.

  “What is that?” Azhar’s eyes lit up to something behind Jule.

  She turned. A waitress brought some sizzling stone with a large oranged crab on it to another table on the patio. “Something we can’t afford.”

  “We can’t?” Azhar asked, blinking at her. “Do we need money?”

  Jule made a few mental calculations. Well, they could afford it. But she’d rather save such funds for emergencies, in case they came across any issues during their trip. But to tell all that to Azhar, who may not even remember the conversation five minutes from then seemed, well, utterly pointless.

  “Yep. We need money.”

  Beyond the patio, Ellio stopped by another vendor stall. After a few minutes of talking back and forth with the vendor, he exchanged money and slipped the item into his bag. His eyes lit up and a smile spread over his silly face. He’d always enjoyed picking up gifts for others like this. At least it was worth more than buying some expensive dish Azhar couldn’t even appreciate.

  When he turned and saw the two of them, Jule waved. Ellio looked both ways before crossing the street and stepping to the fence of the patio. “The lady back there,” he pointed to the vendor he’d just purchased from, “said the streets are extra busy this time of year because merchants travel here from all over.”

  “Oh?” So he was doing something useful other than spending money on trinkets.

  Ellio nodded. “One of the biggest trade groups from across the ocean makes their yearly trip at the beginning of winter. Merchants come to make exchanges with them. And this year, it’s rumored they have a new contract they’re trying to find a partnership for. So every merchant worth their salt is coming, vying for the spot.”

  “From Thelccea?”

  Ellio blinked at her. “How’d you know?”

  So the merchants behind their table were part of the merchant group. Perhaps not the people in charge of negotiations and dealmaking, considering the language barrier. But they were from the country of wonders.

  The oldest land in the world.

  Surely… they’d know stories of Guardian Spirits and if they were lucky, they’d know how to fix a magical imbalance. Jule considered. This could be an easy way to learn more. Being a merchant group, they likely brought a variety of goods with them. Perhaps they brought books for scholars or research materials with them to spread knowledge.

  “Hey, Jules?” Ellio looked around her.

  “What?”

  “Where’s Azhar?”

  Jule turned, realizing the seat beside her was empty. “She was… here a moment ago.”

  “No she wasn’t. I didn’t see her at all since I spotted you from across the street.”