As they disembarked, the brightness of the sun blinded them at first. Slowly, Astera harbour came into view. Bergen reached for Meira's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as they stared up the cliffs on which Astera perched. Built from disassembled ships, Astera resembled a massive treehouse. The ship busts, fashioned after heroes of the old times and the new standing together as if to help protect this land, now held up the trade yard. Up ahead, the forge was the only metal building, smoking as ever.
"Come along now, don't dawdle. There's plenty of time to look around later. Move along, everyone!" The guide to receive them announced. He was clad in leather armour, with a sword almost as long as him strapped to his back. Like a class of awestruck children on a school trip, the newcomers of the Fifth Fleet scuffled in a disorganized row up the stairs, some of their equipment clinking as they did. They gathered in the trade yard, surrounded by stockpiles and voyagers looking to buy and sell. Crates of citrus fruits that could not be grown in this land were stacked for future use. A nearby stall sold local tea leaves, dried and bundled. Up ahead was the canteen, with the smell of cooking meat in the air.
"First of all, welcome to Astera. We are happy to have all of you. I'm the commander here and this here," the white-haired man speaking gestured to the man who guided the newcomers up from the harbour. "This is the field team leader. Anyone going out will need his permission." The man with the tall sword nodded and the commander continued. "Life here isn't easy. You must work to earn your keep. We have no room for the lazy and the weak." A nervous shiver went through the crowd of newcomers. "But let us not worry about that right now. Find your assigned room, drop off your belongings and join us in the canteen for a breakfast feast!"
Bergen and Meira's quarters appeared to be located in the hull of one of the old ships, judging from the directions given to them. Light shone through the cracks of the neglected wood, and the entire place had strong, damp scent to it. Beds were hidden away by a ratty blanket, each that functioned as a curtain, accompanied by a crate refunctioned as a storage box. In the middle of the room, lumpy pillows were being fluffed by an elderly palico, a social cat-like creature that walked on its hind legs.
"Welcome Meowster and Meowstress! I am Spot, your housekeeper." The palico had a white coat that looked slightly yellow in the candlelight with not a single spot to be seen. A matriarch, possibly. "The others have not arrrrived yet. Please, make yourself at home!"
"I can't wait until we have a place for ourselves," Meira muttered as Spot wandered off slowly. "I knew we'd be having roommates, but this ship is falling apart! Look at it!" She gestured to the floor full of holes and the cracks in the ceiling. She paced back and forth, her nervous mind finding faults everywhere she looked.
"You want the corner bed here, honey?" Bergen asked, pulling aside one of the sheets to reveal a bed in a secluded corner, trying to redirect her mind to more present issues. "I could take this other one."
"Yes please," Meira sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist. Bergen dropped his duffle bag and kissed her on her forehead again. It gave him great pleasure to know his wife this well.
"It'll be alright. I told you this before, and I will tell you this as many times as you need to hear it. It'll be all right. The rent of this place is super low. It will allow us to get our bearings first."
"I love you, you know? You always know what to say. I'm sorry for freaking out," Meira smiled wryly.
"I love you too. We're in this together." He kissed her gently, as he had on the day they were married.
"Woah there!" A loud voice echoed through the quarters of the ship, forcing the two apart. A bear of a man came stomping in. His boots were plated, which served as an explanation for the noise. For some reason, the intruder did not feel the need to wear a shirt, revealing a broad, muscled torso and trousers fitting nicely around his narrow hips. He easily towered over Meira, who wasn't a tiny lady herself.
"Hi there," Meira tried greeting him cheerfully, holding out her hand. "You're one of our roommates, right? It's great to meet you. My name is-."
"Not important." The man interrupted her, slapping her hand away. From being this close to him, it was visible to Meira that the sides of his head were shaven and the remaining fair hair was braided over his head and down his back.
Bergen crossed his arms. "Wow, rude." The bare-chested guy simply shrugged, and tossed two heavy-looking hammers on one of the two remaining beds. Strapping a knife to his leg, he gave a sarcastic wave and left their quarters again.
"Well…" Meira started, at a loss for words. "Great start. His hammers reminded me of something, though. We still haven't picked up our weapons. I read the smithy gives out some weapons for free. Nothing special, just crafting experiments, but they should suffice for now to defend ourselves. Shall we go check it out?"
When Bergen agreed, they got ready to leave their quarters as well. Meira was hesitant to leave their stuff unattended, even though it wasn't much but she had no better option. The best she could do was to hide her stuff underneath her creaky bed.
At the smithy, it was reasonably busy. In the courtyard behind the smithy, several newcomers were trying out various weapons. The higher quality ones were undoubtedly gone.
"Oh boy, here we go," Meira muttered, ever the sceptic.
"It'll be fun! Let's see what we've got!" Bergen replied cheerfully, looking into the crates. There was a chipped axe, a hammer with a really short handle, and some other weapons that looked less than ideal. Bergen had wandered to the back, where a few bows were stalled. They were bigger than they should be, which suited a tall guy like Bergen quite well. They'd be much too big for Meira. "Yo, Meir. I'm not usually a bow kind of guy but look at this!"
"Huh, they look pretty cool," Meira said as she came closer. They picked out a few bows that looked good enough and headed over to the practice courtyard. There, Meira watched as Bergen clumsily shot a few arrows at the target in the wall. The first few didn't even hit, but that could be because of the bow. A mangy looking one seemed to be the best fit, as he managed to hit the target with it over and over.
"Won't last long, this one, but it'll be good practice." Bergen remarked, optimistic as ever. He seemed quite pleased to have found a free bow that worked for him. Meira didn't reply. She was watching a slender guy up ahead struggle with two short swords. He seemed too tall and lanky to have the grace required for them. It was vaguely amusing to watch him struggle. Eventually, he gave up and tossed the blades down. Rather than sticking satisfyingly into the ground, they bounced weakly and laid flat. With a groan, the man disappeared.
Quiet like a shadow, Meira moved in to snatch the blades off the ground. She did not wish any of the others to notice these matching blades. With her prize, she returned to Bergen, who hadn't notice her leave. He was still raving about that last shot he made, hitting so close to the centre of the target. The blades felt good in her hands, their weight was familiar. With these in her hands, her gait changed. She felt more confident, more powerful. Effortlessly, she slid into a few poses, both defensive and offensive.
"Could you do it?" A voice broke her concentration. Meira looked up to see Bergen look at her, bemused.
"Huh?" With her focus broken, she felt awfully aware of the people around her, watching her, judging her. Self-consciously, she wrapped her arms around her, mindful of the dull blades.
"Could you do it? Get in close and cut down a monster? I prefer you with the bow, instead."
Meira frowned at him. "You can't always protect me. I should be capable of fighting on my own."
"I know, I know. I'm not saying you're weak or need my protection. I just … I don't want to lose you, honey." He looked so sad that Meira couldn't resist hugging him.
"I trained with blades like these at home, in preparation for coming here. They feel good. I want to contribute to our life here, and I can do it with these. Besides," she added with a sweet smile "you've got my back, right?"
"Always." He tenderly kissed her forehead.
On their way back, with freshly sharpened blades and a re-strung bow, they checked the request board. Several notices were posted, requesting the slaying of monsters they hadn't met yet. It all felt incredibly overwhelming and terrifying.
"Oh hey, look at this one," Bergen said, pointing at a greasy one. In a messy script, with a paw print as sign, the Meowscular Chef, as he calls himself, asks for some hunters to pick him some gourmet shroomcaps. "Mushroom picking. Nice and easy to get to know the area. Not a lot of money, but it'll cover our dinner tonight and hopefully breakfast tomorrow too."
"Sounds good, let's do it!" They tore the notice off the broad and headed towards the exit, onwards to the ancient forest.
