Author's Note:
Hello, hello. Just wanted to thank everyone who has read thus far, and let you know that I appreciate you! (I don't own Aveyond, by the way)
-Tangent
Ava's hair whipped around her as she turned the wheel of the ship, adjusting their course slightly to the south. The morning sun was warm, bringing her a small amount of comfort after the night spent at the tiller. A few crew members were on duty as well, waiting for orders, but she supposed that the rest of the party was still sleeping.
After that night in Candar, they had returned to the ship and set sail immediately. Her first mate, as usual, had restocked the supplies onboard, enough to last a month at sea. She glanced out over the sprawling ocean, as though she could see the land that had not yet appeared. After sailing for nearly two days, the pirate figured that the Wildlands were about six hours away.
"Good morning." Iya said as she approached Ava, yawning slightly. She had her cloak draped around her to ward off the wind, and her hair was bound in a messy but effective ponytail.
"Morning." The pirate said evenly, still looking at the horizon. "Rest well?" Ever since Candar, she felt a little closer to Iya and Emma, the only other females aboard the ship.
"I suppose." Iya said. "I was up a bit late."
"With Ean?" Ava allowed a teasing note to enter her voice, and the elven woman blushed.
"Well, yes… but not like that." She stared at the pirate for a moment. "You made up with Gavin?" Ava started, surprised at the sudden change in conversation.
How did she know?
"It's obvious." Iya continued, seemingly aware of what she was thinking. "You two don't glare at each other anymore."
"Hmph." Ava muttered. "He gets one more chance." Changing the topic, she pointed to the ocean south of the ship. "I figure we arrive in a few hours, but where do we land?"
"Well, Stardale Glen, which is where Serendipity lives, is on the northwest side of the island." Iya said. "Or that's what my book said."
"That isn't on my map." Ava said curiously, turning to check the document. "Interesting."
"Maybe she likes to keep it secret." Iya said. "Regardless, we can make for there, if you are agreeable?"
"Sure." Ava said, turning the tiller very slightly to the west. Iya was quiet for a moment as she stared at her, and the pirate felt the gaze on her back. The elf opened her mouth, but was stopped by the arrival of Gavin and Rye on the deck. Ava's eyes moved over them, but stopped as Gavin met her gaze evenly. He nodded, and she did the same before turning back to the wheel of the ship. Iya smiled, and Ava rolled her eyes at her.
"How is your magic progressing?" Iya had begun practicing again while they were at sea, once again shooting bits of her power off the sides of the ship.
"Well, I suppose. I'm getting more comfortable with the battle magic." Iya said. "The elements, like fire and ice, come relatively easy, but summoning weapons is harder." Ava nodded wordlessly.
"I'm going to eat breakfast now." Iya said, pushing her body up from where she was leaning against the railings of deck. "Have you eaten?"
"No, but my first mate is due to relieve me." After handing the wheel to her capable second-in-command, the two women headed down to the small kitchen of the ship. Ean and Jack joined them a few minutes later, grabbing food of their own before sitting down at the table.
"Are we almost there?" Jack asked, his mouth half-full with bread. Ava filled them in on the information while Iya sliced her fruit into pieces, and Ean buttered his own slice of bread. Before long, they were joined by Nicholas, who seemed extremely surly. As the rest of the ship had noticed, the prince of Thais was not fond of sailing.
"Thank the Goddess." He muttered when he was told of their imminent arrival. "One more day with this lot, and I'd have lost my mind." Ean smiled slightly at the comment. It seemed that, however slightly, Nicholas was warming to his new companions. The exception, of course, was Gavin, whom Nicholas still seemed to hold in great contempt.
"You know," Ava began, looking at the blond-haired man. "You could try being a little bit nicer every now and then."
"And why would I do that?" Nicholas drawled, looking at her with a mix of confusion and annoyance. "As far as I'm concerned, you haven't earned that privilege."
"Yeah, we'll need to work on that." The pirate muttered. "I swear, if we weren't at sea, I'd throw you overboard." Nicholas did not respond with anything but a slight smirk, and Ava felt her temper beginning to rise.
"How about we go up to the deck?" Ean suggested cautiously, and she nodded tightly. Iya was staring at Nicholas intently, but did not say anything. If Ava hadn't known better, she would have said that the elf seemed to be giving him a reproachful look.
Emma stepped to one side and lashed out with her wooden sword, feeling it connect with the side of her enemy, who yelped in pain.
"Enough!" Rye said with a smile, holding his own practice sword out in surrender. They had worked out a sort of tentative agreement, where each would train the other. Of course, archery at sea was not very plausible, so the pair had agreed to begin with sword fighting. Rye was adept with a knife, but he could not stand up to Emma in any sort of melee fight.
"Sorry." Emma said, biting her lip. "Did I hit you too hard?"
"No, I'm fine." Rye said, rubbing the spot where her sword had struck. Jack snickered from the sidelines, and the ranger shot him a glare. "You're next."
"Spare me." Jack said sarcastically, and Gavin grinned.
"Don't land yourself in hot water, now." Jack seemed to take his advice to heart, and shut his mouth quite quickly. Rye turned back to Emma, whose mouth had tilted upwards at the banter. Casting a quick look around the deck, he saw Ean and Iya standing near one of the railings, gazing out over the ocean. Ava and Nicholas were nowhere to be seen, and he gave Emma a mock salute.
"I'm ready." She narrowed her eyes and raised her sword, her gaze boring into his own as she waited for Gavin.
"Begin." The warlock said calmly, and Rye leapt at her with a cry. His strikes, although untrained and somewhat sloppy, were powerful and fast, and she was forced onto the defensive to block them. She smashed her blade into his and pushed, sending him back a few steps, and he grinned. As the man closed in once more, she used a move Uthar had taught her, moving to one side as his sword swept down. Her blade landed on his wrist, and the practice sword fell to the ground with a thunk.
"I win." She said. Rye looked frustrated, but he nodded and picked his sword off the wooden deck with a small smile.
"You're so fast." His voice was full of admiration, and she felt her cheeks begin to heat up.
Stop that, Emma.
"I've been trained, and you haven't." She said. "I'd be more surprised if I wasn't faster." Rye raised his sword again.
"One more time." She opened her mouth to respond, but:
"Is that the best you can do, Willow?" Ava had come striding across the deck, her own sword in its usual place at her side. Her hair was bound back, and she had a gleam in her eyes. "Hand me that, Rye." The man did so tentatively, unsure of what was about to happen. The pirate whipped it back and forth a few times, testing the balance. After getting a feel for it, she raised it in a position across her chest, staring at Emma. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
Looks like my training is overdue. Emma raised her own sword, eyes narrowed. She knew that Ava was faster, and in all likelihood, much better than her at swordplay. Still, the woman was determined not to go down without a fight. Behind her, Ean and Iya turned to watch the sparring match. Rye sat next to Gavin, his eyes riveted on the pair of fighters.
"Scared?" Ava taunted, and Emma moved. Three quick strikes, one to the head, torso, and arm. Much to her dismay, her opponent blocked them easily, sword spinning in a peculiar guard that Emma had never seen before. She swung again, but Ava was already moving. Her sword batted Emma's own aside, and she leapt backwards just in time to avoid the blow that followed. Ava kept pushing her, and she found herself taking several steps back, overwhelmed by the flurry of slashes and jabs that the pirate was sending her way. As she blocked a particularly nasty strike aimed at her knee, she left her guard open for a fraction of a second too long. Emma twisted upwards, hoping to dodge, but she found herself flat on the deck a few seconds later, slightly dazed from the impact with the wood. Ava had tripped her, sending her falling to the ground before leveling her sword at the green-haired woman's throat.
"I win." She said, with no heat in her voice before taking a step back. The others seemed to be in shock at seeing Emma beaten so easily. Emma got to her feet, looking at the older woman with new respect.
"Remind me not to practice with Ava." Jack said, his face pale. "She doesn't pull any punches, does she?"
"Of course I don't." Ava said, looking at the boy for a moment. "I'll admit, Uthar trained you well. Just not good enough for this."
"For what?" Emma said quietly, eyebrows raised. The pirate opposite her mirrored her expression.
"It's safe to assume that the Snow Queen has placed obstacles in our way. Already, you've faced numerous monsters, haven't you?" Emma nodded, remembering her time in Brightwood Forest. "Unless I miss my guess, she's going to send even more of them after us. Tougher ones, too. And so, I'm going to train you until I think that you really are ready for the battles ahead of us."
"Fair point." Emma said, nodding to the other woman. "Teach me, then." Ava seemed to smile slightly, before raising her sword again.
"The best way to learn is through pain." Emma let out a groan, before she too raised her blade to begin anew.
From their position overlooking the ocean, Iya and Ean watched Emma being beaten around the deck by Ava, who was unrelenting in her precise and powerful strikes. The female elf winced slightly as Emma's knees hit the deck with a thud, but sighed with relief when she appeared to be unhurt.
"I've never seen Ava so fired up." Ean said. "She's normally more reserved, don't you think?"
"She's probably happy to have somebody to spar with. I doubt there was many people in Seri who could match her skill." Iya said, and the elf nodded.
"True, but I think it's because of Gavin." Iya glanced at the spot where the warlock in question was sitting, legs crossed as he watched the sparring match. "I think they apologized, or something like that."
"Av did mention something like that, but refused to give me any details." Iya admitted, and Ean's mouth curved upwards.
"Sounds like her." He turned to look at his female companion as Ava sheathed her sword, calling for a break to allow Emma to recover. "The spirits have been quiet lately." He said it reluctantly, as though he did not want to admit it.
"Have you had any more visions?" Iya asked gently, and he shook his head.
"Not cohesive ones, but… sometimes when I reach out to Vincent and the others, I see flashes of red light and… strange images, like nothing I've ever seen." Iya turned to look him in the eyes, concern flickering in her own.
"Is it that man? Horace?"
"I… I don't know. I feel as though that creature, whatever it is, is trying to tell me something. But I feel fine." Ean added the last sentence hastily as Iya narrowed her eyes at him.
"You'll tell me if you see another one, right?" He smiled at her tone, then nodded.
"I promise." Driven by a sudden urge, he reached out and took her hand like he had done that night in the garden. Iya blushed, but did not pull away from the touch.
"One would think that you are trying to distract me." Thankfully, nobody seemed to be looking their way, which saved her a lot of embarrassment.
"That depends. Is it working?" Ean said quietly, a smile on his face. His brown hair was messy, but it framed his face in such a way that it made her heart twinge slightly, and it took a lot of effort to keep herself from moving a little bit closer to him.
Pull yourself together, Iya! She mentally scolded herself. Ean's smile grew slightly wider, and he turned to look out over the ocean once again. Iya watched Ava begin drilling Emma once again before joining him, their hands still intertwined.
"What do we do if Serendipity isn't there?" Iya asked, returning to the heavy thoughts that had plagued her as of late. If Ceri was right, the other nymphs were likely in danger.
"We find her, and we rescue her if we have to." Ean said simply. "We can't fail them, Iya."
"You're right." The elf murmured, and Ean squeezed her hand, a small movement that nobody but her could see and feel. It made her fingers tingle, and she squeezed back for a moment before letting go.
"We should probably stop Ava before she makes them all do sword drills." Ean gave her a wry grin as they walked across the deck, and Iya saw the humor glinting in his brown eyes.
The sun had just reached its peak in the sky when a shout came from the bow of the ship.
"Captain, land is in sight!" Ava and Ean were on deck, and both hurried to look out at the approaching land.
"That's definitely it." The pirate said, checking her map. "We should be on the north side of the island now." She gave orders to the crew to sail around the island and search for a suitable docking point. "Get the others, if you will." Ean retrieved the rest of the party from below, and they all stared at the island as they drew close enough to see the shore in some detail.
The Wildlands appeared to be aptly named, with lush forests that stretched right to edge of the ocean. The trees were shorter than the others seen on the mainland, but they grew thickly everywhere Ean looked. They were a light, cheerful green, which was a shade darker than the bushes and wild hedges that dotted the beaches. There was a thin strip of a grey sand that stretched along the coast, frequently interrupted by large rocks. The water seemed to be shallow, as the sandy bottom extended several yards outward before vanishing into the blues of the ocean. Beyond the trees, the party could see several smaller mountains that were covered with an equal amount of vegetation.
"Seems wild to me." Jack said, and Rye nodded.
"I wonder what kind of animals inhabit a place like this." The ship sailed onwards, curving around the island to the west. A few minutes passed, but there was no sign of any suitable landing, and Ava frowned.
"If Iya is right, there should be some place here to land." She turned to Iya, but the elf suddenly clutched her head and let out a gasp of breath.
"Iya!" Ean reached out to her, but she moved away from him, her head whipping up to scour the land in front of them. "What is it?"
"Something is calling out to me." Iya said, still holding her forehead. "I… It needs our help."
"Is it the nymph?" Gavin asked, his eyes narrowed.
"It sounds different than Ceri, but…" Iya trailed off. "I can feel it, just over there." She gestured to the shore, and Jack raised a hand.
"I see something ahead, Ava."
"I saw it too." The pirate responded, eyes glued to the horizon. "Bring us in, boys." The crew chorused assent and ran to the sails, while the first mate spun the wheel towards the island. As they rounded the tip of the Wildlands, Ean saw a small clearing in the woods, a space little more than an opening in the trees. There was a small wooden dock attached to the beach, and the ship swung smoothly toward it. When it slid up to the dock, which was barely big enough for the ship, two pirate slid down and secured the ship, using rope. The anchor was lowered, and a silence fell.
"Well, shall we?" Ava said, and Iya nodded.
"The presence has faded, but I can still feel it out there." She gestured to the woods, and Ean glanced towards them as well.
"Everyone armed?" Emma, Rye, and Gavin nodded, while Jack shrugged. Nicholas, who was standing a few feet away, did not say anything. "Good." Ean leapt down onto the dock, followed by the rest of the party, who landed smoothly or nearly as much as the elf.
As they stepped onto the island, Rye knelt down and touched the sand.
"It's quite coarse." Indeed, the sand felt much rougher than the beaches of the mainland, and Gavin smiled slightly.
"I think it's the ocean that does it. More salt, maybe?"
"Or perhaps the rock is a different kind." Jack pointed out. Ean gestured towards the gap in the tress, which had a small path winding into the woods and out of sight.
"After you, gentlemen." The words were light, but the elf's tone was deadly serious.
"I'll take point." Emma said, and moved to Iya's other side. The party moved through the sand and up onto the grass, where it was much firmer. Ahead of them, the trees were rustling with the slight breeze that blew across the small cove, creating ripples on the water.
As they entered the passage between two large trees, Iya stopped.
"The presence is ahead of us now." Ean looked around, using both his normal and enhanced sight, but the woods were empty.
"Odd." He said as they walked forward. The path, which widened slightly after a few yards, curved away from them to the left, vanishing around a corner. Trees formed a barrier nigh impenetrable on both sides of the road. Seeing only one path to take, the group continued down the path, which they realized sloped slightly downwards after a moment.
They had walked for roughly five minutes when Rye spotted an opening ahead.
"It looks like the trees get thinner up ahead." He called, and Ean nodded. A minute or two later, the party emerged from the tree line. Ean's eyes widened. They were standing at the edge of large clearing, which was clear of everything but grass and flowers that grew in patches. At the back of the area, a rock wall sprouted from the ground, stretching what had to have been thirty feet high. Water sprouted from a crack in the grey rock, arcing down smoothly into the pond below.
The pond itself was the most magical part of the clearing, no more than two feet deep and shaped like a six-pointed star. Lilies grew on the pond's surface, and the water was crystal clear. A sign next to it read: Stardale Glen.
"Well, this sure is something." Jack said. "Iya, do you-" Iya had taken a step forward, eyes closed.
"The voice is no longer here, but I can feel it lingering in the water." She opened her eyes and looked at Ean. "This must be the spring of Serendipity."
"I thought as much." Ean said. "But she's not here, is she?" The other elf shook her head slowly.
"Then… she's been taken?" Jack asked.
"Or she fled." Ava pointed out. "Iya, can you feel anything else?"
"Not much…" Iya said slowly. "But I don't think the nymph would have left if she was attacked. Her presence is strongest here, not anywhere else."
"So it was the Snow Queen, then?" Rye asked, and Iya nodded again.
"It must have been. What else could do something like this?" Her voice was low, and Ean saw sadness in her eyes.
"Then we'll find her." He vowed. "There is a town here, right?"
"Verashema." Ava responded. "It's on the south side of the island, according to the map."
"If anybody knows, it will be them." Gavin pointed out, and the pirate nodded absentmindedly. A ghost of a smile crossed the warlock's face before he wiped it clean.
"How long of a trip is it?" Ean asked, and Ava shrugged.
"An hour or two, by my guess."
"Then let's go."
Verashema was not the kind of town that Gavin was expecting. As the ship sailed around another point of the island, he saw the wooden buildings rising through the tops of the trees. It seemed as though the residents had built the trees with little regard for the woods around them. Near the beach, there was another, more substantial dock than the one outside of Stardale Glen. There were a few fishing boats on the sandy shore, but none were being used at the moment.
"Is there a man at the end of the dock?" Rye said, pointing. Even as the party looked, a figure moved near the end of the dock. He was tall, with long, light pink hair that fell to his shoulders. As the ship sailed closer, he raised a hand in greeting.
"I guess that means we can dock." Ava said, and steered the vessel alongside the wooden platform. The boat was secured, and Ean leapt down onto the dock. The man stepped forward, revealing a bow strapped to his back, and a knife at his side.
"Welcome to Verashema, travelers. We have little, but we will show out hospitality in any way we can." Iya joined Ean, but both elves seemed dumbstruck by the man in front of them.
"What's wrong?" Gavin said as the rest of the party stepped off the ship, but he received an answer a few second later. The man's hair moved with the breeze, revealing two long, pointed ears identical to Ean's.
"You're an elf?" Rye said incredulously, and the creature nodded.
"My name is Elkian, and yes. Verashema has been home to elves for hundreds of years. His eyes fell on Ean and Iya, and he smiled widely.
"Oh, pardon me. Hello, my elven friends." The two still seemed shocked, but Gavin stepped forward.
"We'd like to see the town, if you don't mind." Elkian nodded and turned back towards the entrance to the town, which was an archway made of two long trees, bound together in a way that made them look as though they had grown in the same fashion.
"Wait!" Ean said. "We're not… from here, Elkian." The elf turned around, confusion on his face.
"I figured as much. Are you from Happily Ever After? There's a lot of elves there, too."
"I'm not sure where that is, but no." Ean said. "We're from the Vale. Have you heard of it?" Gavin glanced at him. He had never heard of such a place, and from the looks on their faces, neither had the others. Ean had omitted the name of their home from his stories, and rarely spoke of where they had come from.
"I have not." Elkian admitted. "But if you aren't from here, then how did you come to be here?"
"It is… a long story." Iya said, and Elkian shrugged.
"Maybe you should talk to Gulliver, then. He's the smartest elf in the village." He seemed remarkably unconcerned about where they had come from. Evidently, Gulliver was held in high esteem in the town.
"Perhaps." Ean said, making a mental note. After a moment, they followed the pink-haired elf down the path and into the town of Verashema.
The town itself was something unique, with houses stretched out among the trees with no apparent organization. Some houses sat on ridges or cliffs that turned into the hilly border to the north of the settlement. The trees themselves were predominant in the landscape, and it was clear that the original builders had wanted to cut as few trees down as possible. From the houses nearby, Ean could see that they were a mixture of a light wood and grey stone, a pleasing, yet simple aesthetic. A few other elves were outdoors, including three children running among the trees and laughing.
"It's a peaceful place." Elkian said. "The inn is at the top of the hill, as are our shops and other places of interest."
"Where does Gulliver live?" Ean asked curiously, and their tour guide pointed to a house up the hill, half-blocked by a copse of trees. The house looked much like any of the others, with the same wood and stone construction.
"He's not here at the moment, but I will notify you if he returns."
"That's fine." Ean stepped a little closer to the other elf. "Elkian, I need a favor."
"What is it, Ean?"
"We'll go settle in for the moment, but can we speak to you again after that? To tell the truth, we came here for a specific reason." Elkian nodded slowly.
"I think I can spare the time. Farewell, all of you." He bowed slightly and hurried off through the woods to the east, vanishing from sight. Ean turned to the others and gestured to the town.
"Let's go take a look."
Jack was gazing around the forest when Rye tapped him on the shoulder.
"You want to look around?" Gavin and Emma were behind him, and he nodded. "Ava went with Ean and Iya, and she took Nicholas with her. Elkian was meeting them somewhere, I think." He fell into step in front of the boy, and they headed back towards the entrance of the village. To their left, two shops indicating weapons and a general store had their doors open, letting in the fresh air of the island.
"What's this?" Jack asked, moving over to a pile of boxes that were sitting at the base of a tree. He opened it, was stunned to see that it was full of uncut jewels, each the size of his fist.
"Whoa." Gavin said from next to him. "That's a lot of gems."
"I won't take any." Jack muttered, catching the look Rye was giving him. He closed the wooden lid of the chest, intrigued. "Still, I wonder where they got them."
"I know Thais used to get shipments of jewels from here, but trade has dried up recently." Emma put in. The boy turned back towards the steps that led down to the entrance of the village, gazing down upon the few people he could see below. Two elven women were chatting next to a statue of the Goddess, and Jack smiled.
I saw Ean put some coins in there earlier, interestingly enough. He followed Gavin down the stairs that were carved into the hill, still gazing around at the trees.
"It is a beautiful place." Emma said, catching his eye. "Are you from Thais, Jack?"
"I was, a long time ago." He said quietly, and she did not press him for a better answer.
"Yes, I heard you were turned to stone by a warlock."
"Not me, though." Gavin put in, and Jack smiled slightly.
"I would hope not." They headed to the eastern side of town, a place they had not explored yet. Here, there was fewer houses and more trees, and they soon came upon the wild forest once again, which formed a barrier that impeded their progress. Jack bent down and picked up a rock from the ground, casting it into the forest with a powerful toss. It bounced off a tree and vanished into a thicket.
"Hopefully we don't have to go digging through here." Gavin said. "It would take ages to get through a place like this." While the warlock was speaking, Jack had bent down and picked up another stone. Suddenly, a flash of white leapt from the forest behind him, and Jack acted instinctively, hurling the rock at the creature. The bird chirped in surprise as the rock clipped its wing, and it fluttered away as fast as it could. Jack stood there for a moment, feeling foolish.
"My bad." He muttered, but Rye grabbed his arm.
"Where'd you learn to throw like that?" The ranger, of course, could tell when somebody was skilled at ranged weapons just by assessing their stance.
"Just grew up with it, I guess. Why?" Jack glanced at the green-haired man, and saw that he had a cunning look on his face.
"I have a place I want to visit." Gavin raised an eyebrow, mirroring Emma. "Come on, you guys."
And so, that was how Jack found himself standing in front of a glass case, looking at a pair of daggers that a middle-aged elf was holding out to him. Rye was standing next to him, examining the weapons, while Gavin and Emma were browsing the other shelves of the weapon shop. The place itself was quite small, with various wooden racks all around the room that were displaying various items.
"They are for throwing?" Rye asked, and the elf nodded enthusiastically.
"Indeed, sir. Elven-made!" Rye passed one to Jack, who flipped it around in his palm, reveling at the familiar feeling of the handle between his fingers. The knives were nothing fancy, but the silver blades were solidly built, and Jack could tell that they were far superior to his own.
"Well?" Rye asked, and Jack smiled slightly.
"You trust me with these?"
"I trust you to throw them." The ranger responded, and the boy frowned.
"How do you know I can throw a knife?"
"I watched your form." Rye said. "You've clearly had some practice with it. Come on, then." He gestured to the door behind them. "I want to see you try."
The shopkeeper followed them outside, where he pointed to a scarred tree nearby. It was clearly the practice target for ranged weapons, and Jack stepped forward. He had three knives in his hand, and he transferred two of them to his left hand. He studied the tree, which was about fifteen feet away.
Here goes nothing. Flipping the knife in his hand once again, he cast it forward in a powerful, overhand throw that sent the silver blade spinning through the air. It rotated once, then twice, before hitting the tree and bouncing off to one side.
Oops. Hope I didn't damage it.
"Try again." Rye said calmly, and Jack nodded. He steeled himself mentally before casting the second knife, which stuck into the right side of tree. He grinned before throwing the last once, which slammed into the center of tree and embedded itself firmly in the wood. Gavin whistled, and Emma clapped.
"Good job." Rye said. "I told you that you could do it, didn't I?"
"I suppose." Jack said, giving him a small smile. "Sorry for not telling you before." The shop keeper came forward and pulled the knives from the tree.
"Well, looks like you know how to use them. Are you buying?" The ranger looked at Jack for a moment, then nodded.
"We'll take a set."
They had just exited the shop when Ean, Iya, Ava, and Nicholas appeared from behind the inn. Rye raised a hand in greeting, and Ean hurried over. He spotted the knives, tucked in Jack's belt, and raised an eyebrow.
"Tell you later." Rye said. "Elkian know anything important?"
"A couple things." Ean said, leading them back to the rest of the group. "Let's go inside for lunch, shall we?"
The innkeeper supplied them with a hearty meal, consisting of fish, rice, and vegetables, while Ean told the rest of the party what their guide had said.
"They're very fond of Serendipity, from what he said. He's not happy at all that she's disappeared."
"Does he know where she could have been taken?" Gavin asked, taking more fish from a plate.
"No, but apparently they have some old stories about the nymphs. According to Elkian, the nymphs were given special places to go, and their essence grew into the land itself."
"Is that possible?" Ava put in, and Iya nodded.
"From what I felt with Ceri, certainly."
"Anyways," Ean went on. "This makes it pretty much impossible to remove a nymph from their ancestral point. So, the chances are very good that Serendipity is being held captive on this island somewhere. And, just north of here is the Shivendale Woods, where they used to mine jewels to sell to the mainland."
"Used to?"
"Monsters have taken over the mines." Iya said with a frown on her face. "No doubt the work of the Snow Queen. They haven't been able to get in there for just over a year, which would coincide with the plan to… to take my magic from me."
"Okay, so we've got a destination." Rye said. "We should stock up on gear first, though. The weapons shop also sells some very nice armor, so maybe we should invest in that."
"Good point." Ean said, nodding to him. Everybody had finished eating, and they rose from the table. The elf dropped a few gold coins on the table, and the party left the inn once again.
As it turned out, the proprietor of the equipment shop was only too happy to provide the party with all the gear they needed. When he heard that they were planning to clear out the mines, the elf even gave them a substantial discount.
Ean, Ava, Rye, and Emma all received new coats of mail that fit under their clothes, and could be magically summoned at any time. Emma already had a suit of armor, but she agreed to let the shopkeeper upgrade it so that it could be summoned to her as well. Iya purchased a new, more defensive robe, as did Gavin. For the first time, Nicholas seemed interested in something other than himself, and he bought a staff that was enchanted to be beneficial to users of white magic.
Rye himself bought new gloves and a new, stronger bow, while Ean decided to get himself another pair of claws, ones enchanted with fire abilities. Iya decided on a staff made of a strange, silvery wood that the owner told her was harvested deep within the forest.
When the party left the inn, they were substantially more deadly than they had been before. All of them sported new equipment, and Nicholas was carrying a pack of healing items. Ean led them back to the inn, where he revealed a path behind the building, which led deeper into the woods. It was, at one point, likely wide enough for a cart, but the forest had grown over it, making it smaller and greener.
"Everybody ready?" Ean asked. "Then let's go!"
And without a further word, he strode into the Shivendale Woods.