Chapter Three – An Adventure

By the time they made port the sun was halfway through the sky.

"We're not going to be able to see much today, are we?" Laila whined behind Selene.

"Nope. But we've got plenty of time to settle in and find some good food." Her eyes turned over to Leon. "Did we let the division out here know we were on our way?"

"Yes."

"And they have rooms ready for us?"

"Yes."

"And…what would you like to eat?"

"We should ask the staff?"

Selene frowned. The most words she had ever gotten out of him at once was seven. Maybe she could beat that. "Okay. When we get to the inn why don't you ask where to go? Laila, I need you to check in the manager, see if there is anything they are in need of, or lacking. We should take care of that while we are here."

"And what are you going to be doing?" Laila frowned.

"Making sure that our stuff gets to our rooms."

Leon and Laila turned to each other.

"It seems like she's getting the easiest job," Laila whispered loudly.

"I agree."

"Fine!" Selene threw up her hands. "I'll go deal with the manager then, and you take care of the luggage. I didn't want to care all fifteen of your bags anyway!" She turned to Leon. "You're still in charge of food though."

Three hours later Selene found herself with her head buried in her arms, resting against a table. "He burned the back half of the inn down," she groaned to Laila, who patted her back sympathetically. "What kind of idiot decides it's a good idea to practice fire magic inside a room without any kind of wards or barriers?"

"I know…I know…" Laila cooed.

Her touches did little to sooth the anguish coursing through Selene. Sure, they had the money for it. It would get fixed and everything would be okay, but to have someone so foolishly destroy half of the inn? By doing something so stupid?

She let out another groan, pushing her hands over the back of her head.

"Is she okay?"

The manager's shrill voice was softer than it had been earlier.

"Yeah. She just needs a moment," Laila offered up, waving the man away. "Come on Selene, how much is it? It can't be that bad."

Selene looked over her shoulder, her eyes wavering. "Thirty-thousand coin."

Laila's eyes widened, her knees giving out as she fell in beside Selene.

It wasn't long before Leon found them there, both with their heads buried on their arms.

He slowly approached, poking his sister first.

"T-thirty thousand…" she moaned.

"That bad?"

"Uh-huh," Selene mumbled, her teary eyes turning to Leon. It was at that moment she remembered what his task had been. Three hours should have been plenty of time to find food. She perked up at the mere thought. "What kind of food did you find us?"

He shook his head, smiling slightly at her sudden mood swing. "Pub."

Selene narrowed her eyes at him. This was her chance. She had to get him to say more than a few words. "Where? Was there anywhere else that has good food? Is it far? Is it close?"

"Two blocks south." He turned without saying a word.

Selene's shoulders sank in defeat.

"Better luck next time," Laila laughed.

"I'm starting to think he's doing this just to spite me."

"Probably!"

Still, she got up and followed the towering red head out the door in search of some hearty food to fill her stomach.

The streets were full of laughing people, children of all ages running around and engaging in silly pranks and games. Across the street she heard the shouts of merchants selling their wares.

That was the nice thing about Sindria. All were welcome to come and live here in peace under the benevolent King Sinbad. No one seemed to have a bad thing to say about him, that she had heard so far at least. Things were well in the city, and that meant business was good for her.

"Here." Leon paused and turned to face the pub.

"That's the pub?" Selene gawked. The building took up the entire block and went up two floors, all bustling with activity. The line to get in looped from the entrance back around the block.

Laila let out a whistle that rang from high to low. "Looks like that'll take a while."

"Any chance there was another place that looked good nearby?"

Leon shrugged in response.

Selene glanced down to her growling belly. She knew they had packets of dry meat, cheeses, and bread back at the inn, but she wasn't sure if she could handle another day of that. She needed something different. A hearty beef stew perhaps? Or maybe a meat pie? Hell, even some beer bread would be better than the same old food they had in their rooms, and she hated that stuff.

"Why don't we buy something from the stalls?" Laila offered up.

Fifteen coins later, Selene and her companions walked along the streets with cheese and meat stuffed rolls. That is, until they passed a stall full of vibrant colored fabric, lines of jewels and beads coating the edge of each one.

Laila's eyes grew wide at the selection, her feet seeming to lead her over to the stall on their own accord. Selene couldn't help but laugh at her friend's obviousness, but suddenly found herself alone, noticing that Leon too had been distracted by a stall boasting the best meat in town, though she assumed it was the bow on the merchant's back that had caught his attention.

Selene wandered through the crowds on her own, leaving Laila and Leon to their own devices for the moment. She had yet to visit Sindria, despite having an inn within its walls. So she did what she always did upon entering a new kingdom—visit the slums. She felt that the best way to get to know a kingdom and how it was run was not to visit the places where coin was in abundance, but to visit the places where no one wished to tread. It was those places that really told the story of how a kingdom was run.

Her footsteps lead her down to the docks. Her instinct telling her that the slums would be a little further down the way. The fresh sea air hit her face as she moved, the saltiness of the cold whipping against her face and her tunic, pulling it tight against her body.

Slowly, she closed her eyes, embracing the contrast of the sun's heat with the cold whip of the sea air. She found herself pausing amid the bustle of the docks to face the sea, letting the wind whip at her hair as she held her arms out in welcome.

At the very moment she felt her body relaxing into the moment, she felt a bump against her hip, pushing her forward. Her eyes peeled open to see the water racing up towards her, one foot searching for air, her toes on the other barely keeping hold on the ground beneath her.

A strong hold wrapped around her waist. "Woah! Careful there!"

She found herself lifted up off the ground and was placed carefully back down away from the water's edge.

"You need to be more careful around here. The docks aren't the best place to be losing your head."

Selene felt the flush run to her cheeks, not daring to look up at the man until it had passed. "Thank you," she muttered into the soft cream colored fabric of his tunic. She took a moment to compose herself and then stepped back, shifting her clothes back into place. "Sorry…I just got lost in the moment a bit."

Her eyes raised to meet the light gray eyes of a man not much older than herself. He smiled down gently at her, being but a few inches taller than she.

"Understandably so." He turned to face the ocean. "I've been here in this very spot thousands of times and the sight still gets me…the way the sunlight ignites the ocean, the crystals of the water spray…it is quite breath taking."

Selene nodded in agreement.

They stood there for a moment in the mutual silence, ignoring the chaos of the docks around them.

"Say, I don't believe I've noticed you around here before. Are you new? Visiting?"

"Visiting," Selene responded. "We just docked today."

"Ah. Did you come in on the Magister? It landed a few hours ago, did it not?"

Selene nodded.

"May I ask where your accommodations are?"

"The Skylar Inn-"

"Oh! That is definitely one of our best inn's in the city. So sad about the incident that occurred a month ago. There was that magician and-" He paused, noticing Selene's slumped shoulders. "Are you alright Miss?"

"T-t-thirty thousand coin," she mumbled, the number suddenly reappearing in her mind the instant he spoke of the fire.

"I'm sorry if I offended you."

Selene quickly wiped off the mood, shaking the frown from her face. "No, not at all…it's just…I work for the company that owns the inn." She rubbed the back of her head. "Back in Reim we hadn't heard about the fire or the damage. The manager neglected to let us know about the incident. Something about wanting to take care of it himself."

"Oh! I am so sorry!" he exclaimed. "I had no idea you were here on business. Most come here to enjoy the city."

Selene laughed. "Business certainly wasn't our intended goal…kind of an added bonus."

"Ah." He smiled. "Not to be too forward or anything, but, may I inquire your name?"

"Selene," she smiled.

"Ja'far."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Ja'far."

"You as well Miss Selene." He paused. "So, if this trip wasn't for business, what was it that brought you here."

Selene paused, glancing out at the sea. "Hm. Not sure that I could put the exact reason into words." She thought back on what Yunan had said.

"You need to journey to Sindria."

"Why? If something bad is coming I should be here to deal with it," she shot back at him.

"It's not a good idea to handle this on your own."

"So you want me to flee? To run away. You should know me better than that Yunan."

"I do. But I'm asking you to do this because I think it is the best course of action." He paused, resting his chin over his folded fingers. "Think of it as an adventure. It'll be a new place, new people, and you going is the right course of action."

The rukh surrounding Yunan buzzed. Her eyes flitted over to them.

"You can still see them?" he murmured.

Selene closed her eyes, letting out a long breath of air. "I guess we're going to Sindria then."

"I guess the reason would be an adventure."