"You're not telling them. Nobody in this town is ever going to know"

There was an awkward silence between the two as they stared at each other. For once, Tristan had said something with conviction. Neither the man nor the merbeing had experienced this before and it stunned them both equally.

"And I don't mean that I just don't like the idea" Tristan continued "I mean, it's just not happening and if you ever say something like that again I'll fillet you and sell you at my stall by the pound"

Narius wasn't the type to heed warnings but an eerie shadow fell across Tristan's face as his threat was spoken and Narius decided to keep his mouth closed on the matter. He opened it again quickly though to speak of a different subject.

"We need to find Vahri" he said "Do you have any clue where she could be? We have to get back to our people and make sure they all stay asleep"

"She said she was going to follow the boat" Tristan said after thinking for a moment

Narius looked irritated "Which boat? There are hundreds in your hell-hole of a town"

"Yeah, thanks for that" Tristan muttered "The one with the travellers in it; the dwarves and the Hobbit. They're going up to the mountain as we speak. They'll probably be there by now"

Narius sighed "I need to go and get her"

Tristan nodded "If we set out now, we'll be able to…"

"I didn't say we, I said I" Narius snapped, turning to begin the long swim to the mountain "I'm going alone. You'll only slow me down"

"Oh shut up!" Tristan shouted "I'm sick of you telling me what I'm going to do. I'm coming with you because it's my choice not yours. I care about what happens to Vahri and I don't want you to die up there either"

Narius sighed "What do you propose we do?"

Tristan began to walk across the square back towards his home as the sun began to hide behind the landscape and Narius followed him, swimming underneath the wooden structures.

They arrived at the small house within minutes and Tristan pulled the family boat out from under its cover. He began to untie its holdings and prep it for the journey "We're sailing there. How long can you survive out of water?"

Narius shrugged and placed his hands tentatively on the edge of the platformed wooden pathway in front of the house "I don't know. Maybe an hour or so"

"Right, because I'm not having you swim the whole way. You'll exhaust yourself and then you'll be no use to anyone" Tristan stood up straight with his hands on his hips as the boat was loosed from its ropes and began to float in the space between the houses, ready to be launched onto the great wide lake.

He looked up at the light coming from his window and watched his sister and mother move about inside. Something had just come out of the oven to be put out for dinner and his mother was having a hard time keeping Ellen away from desert.

"They'll be okay without you"

Tristan spun around out of his daydream to see Narius sat with only the tip of his fins dangling in the water. He took up a great deal of space on the boat and looked wildly uncomfortable at the angle he was in. Tristan wanted to laugh but he knew the fish-man was only trying to comfort him and so he quelled his cackles.

"Yeah, I know. I just worry" Tristan lowered himself into the boat and cast off, beginning to row away from his home as the water grew dark to reflect the sky above it

Narius sighed as they began the long journey out onto the lake

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Everything will be there when you get back"