Troy led them towards a longhouse at the very middle of the docks and the only residence on land. Uldannish regarded them, some with contempt and others with fear. Rook gave polite nods and waved to curious children before they were ushered into their domiciles by frowning parents.

  A loud, wet slap sounded from beside Rook, nearly scaring him out of his skin. Turning his head, he was surprised to see a ball of sand and seaweed stuck to the front of Troy’s armor. “What?”

  He sighed, scraping the sticky mess off with the back of a gauntleted hand. They watched as a young Uldannish, no more than his late teens, ran the opposite way, jumping into the water at the end of the docks.

  “Never a dull moment here in Ollar,” Troy said with disgust, shaking his head. Hitting the middleway, they continued up to the longhouse doors. “Go in, I’ll wait out here and make more friends.”

  Jody let out a hearty laugh. “You’re funny,” he said, wiping a tear away.

  The longhouse was simple in design. A thatched roof above wood and straw construction, two windows, and a single door. The walls were covered with symbols of the Bloodstone. All in all the place made his skin crawl. Inside the longhouse, they were greeted by two guards holding black scimitars

  One tall and broad male with thick muscles and a shaved head. The other was a lean female with a blue pixie cut.

  White painted designs covered their upper bodies, moving like the roots of a tree. Their black longswords, tied and fixed to a white wooden handle, reflected the firelight like natural cave stone. Are those obsidian? Rook found himself staring at the blades, and the female tensed like a cornered animal ready to strike.

  At the center of the room, an elderly Uldannish man sat on a bench, entertaining small children with a marionette of a serpent-like creature.

  “What do you want?” The friendlier-looking brute asked Rook. The thick, almost Mediterranean-esque accent rolled off her tongue.

  Not what I expected you to sound like. He held out the parchment. “We’re here to help; we can leave if you want.”

  “No,” her face softened. “My apologies, we are on high alert.”

  Rook regarded the Uldannish warrior’s face and forgave her. Given the circumstances, I’d do the same thing. He waved a dismissive hand at her. “If it’s the same to you, we’d like to start.”

  “I think the Chief is just finishing up. Please wait here.” She lowered her weapon into a neutral stance.

  The Chief had a wild mane of dark blue hair that traced down his face and formed a beard, giving him a lion’s mane appearance. He had thick robes that shimmered like the scales of a luminescent fish. Rook found himself entranced once again by the Uldannish.

  Rook glanced at Reina; her returned gaze told him the same thing. Hurry up. He patiently waited for the elder to finish his story and wave the children outside the hut. His cheery grandfatherly appearance shifted into a darker, colder, distraught man. Rook swallowed hard and approached the man. Don’t let me fail this man.

  “Hey, Chief,” Rook said, extending his hand. He heard Reina gasp and felt the cold, sharp edge of a blade on his neck. “Whoa,” Rook said, calmly raising his hands back up to his face in surrender. “Remember, I’m here to help find the lost boy?” He fixed his eyes on the black longsword.

  “Remove that blade from his neck,” Reina nearly growled.

  Rook glanced at his companion and smiled. Thanks, killer. Once again, Jody watched the interaction with interest.

  “We’re here to help, and we have a fairly high-level city guard lieutenant outside ready to intervene.” Rook looked towards the door, careful not to move his head.

  “Enough, Maki,” The Chief said, cutting the situation with the single gruff-voiced command. “We have little time, and my patience is thin.”

  The cruel edge of Maki’s blade came free, and he rubbed at his throat, relief washing over him. Probing his skin, he frowned at the new warm spot where the blade sat. A trickle of blood ran down his neck.

  “You.” He stared at Rook. “I’ve seen you in my visions. You can help us.” He rubbed at his bloodshot eyes. “My youngest son, Nelios, disappeared two days ago,” he said with a sniff.

  Rook’s heart skipped a beat. The memory of the missing child case flashed in his mind. So many hours of searching the woods of Washington. The feeling of fear clutching at his heart and the warm feeling of relief that washed over him when he found the hungry kid hiding in an old traveler’s cabin. He wouldn’t let the boy out of his sight until the paramedics arrived.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “I’ll do everything I can to find him.”

  “I know you will,” said the Chief. “I’ve seen your desires.”

  The elder Uldannish breathed a sigh of relief and waved to one of his guards. The male came over and leaned in so the Chief could whisper something in his ear. The man rushed out of the tent, clutching his weapon.

  “Damn, watch it,” Troy’s voice called from outside.

  Rook smiled. “That reminds me. Chief, would you mind if Lieutenant Hannor came in to assist?”

  The Chief nodded, much to Maki’s dismay. She opened the door and beckoned Troy in with a nod. When he entered the domicile, he unstrapped his blade and handed it to the guard. She took it and regarded him suspiciously.

  Troy smiled. “Thank you for welcoming me, Chief Totoma,” he said with a flourishing bow.

  “The guards cannot be trusted, Chief.” Maki glared at Troy. “This one is a ranking member.”

  “Enough,” he snapped. “Maki, your mother strived for peace. Can you not do the same?”

  After the situation calmed down, they sat on benches surrounding the Chief, all except Maki, who stood a wary distance from Troy.

  “As I said, we noticed Nelios was not in his room two days ago. My people scoured the bottoms of the bay searching, even going as far as to ask other tribes.” He rubbed at his temples. “No luck.”

  “Who was the last person seen with him?” Rook asked, looking at Reina, who was studiously writing in her journal.

  “Brockan the Swiftscale teacher.”

  “We have a route to explore, however.” Rook paused. “Why your son?” He looked from Maki to Totoma, and both exchanged nervous glances with one another.

  “My son is mixed blood. A Rukri.” He frowned. “My wife was attacked by the Udak’ith during an expedition to Uldan. She came back on the brink of death.” His tone took a monotone, almost robotic cadence, as if he were dissociating. “She was taken to the healers, that’s when they found she was with child. Six months later, Nelios was born. He has the Leviathan’s blessing.”

  “Is it valuable?”

  Maki scoffed. “Only to us, he can control the mind, command those to do his bidding.”

  “Who else knows about Nelios?”

  “Everyone,” Troy chimed, surprising the bunch. “The Leviathan’s Blessing results in different colored eyes more gold than the traditional colors. Take Maki’s, for example, her eyes are azure, with a hint of orange like the deep blue right at the line of the horizon.” He realized he spoke too much and cleared his throat. “Well, that’s what Gale had told me once.”

  Rook glanced at Maki. Yes, her eyes were blue, but you really had to look to get that amount of detail. She flushed, opened her mouth to say something. Thought better and looked out the window instead. Well, well, someone has ocean fever.

  “Anyways, it seems we have a suspect and a motive.” He stood up. “Chief, I think we should get going. I will update you as much as I can.”

  With an appreciative nod, he glanced at Maki. “Take her, I don’t know what’s going to happen, and it’s better if one of my people is there for questioning.”

  Troy looked offended, frowning at the Chief.

  “For your sake, Lieutenant. Not hers, Maki had unnaturally high strength and constitution.”

  Quest Updated Bayside Situation

  Speak to Brockan, find out what happened to Nelios.

  Jody smiled, crossing his arms and nodding his head.

  “Jody, I have a question,” Rook said as he opened the tent flap.

  “Mm?” Jody faced toward him and Reina.

  “Are you evaluating us?” Rook asked, with a frown.

  “Took you long enough to notice. My duties here during our quests are to lead you to the objective and only step in if your lives are truly in danger. If not, I am there to watch. Which means every interaction you have, every swing of your mace or thrust of your rapier, will be without my help.” He smiled and took a drag from his pipe. “Do your best.”

  * * *

  Maki led them on a narrow bridge towards a house, big as a small cabin. “This is our school, we educate the children on Uldannish ways. They begin as soon as they are able to comprehend the world around them.” Opening a small flap for a makeshift door, she entered.

  Rook followed after her. The house was comfortable, and the air in the small space was surprisingly pleasant-smelling for being a cramped residence over water. The smell of citrus emanated from a small burning bowl on a corner table. A single Uldannish turned in his chair to face them.

  “What is the meaning of this Maki?! Outsiders in the education center?” Brockan stood, almost as tall as Reina. He had a face like a raisin, baked in the sun for a century. He adjusted the brown robes he wore, using a robe belt to keep everything in place. On the left side of the wall was a small candlelit shrine with a Bloodstone riding a griffin. This is going to be good.

  “I am here on the Chief’s orders. You will answer questions; these three have to ask.”

  “Befitting the Chief’s daughter, getting a special duty. I’m surprised you aren’t in a fancy Uldan house. Living out your days as a housewife.”

  She seemed to deflate slightly at his words. Troy stepped up and put his helmet on. “You will not address anyone in this party like that in my presence,” Troy said, his voice a harsh growl. He stepped past Maki. “We came on the flag of peace and are doing this for the Swiftscale.”

  “You can’t talk to me like that. We are under the protection of the Bloodstone,” Brockan growled.

  Maki spat. “What protection? They treat us like dogs. Gathering and planting, gathering and planting the Vern Stones. What kind of life is that?”

  Rook started to understand the situation in Ollar. The Uldannish cultivate the Vern Stones and give them to the Bloodstone in bulk. In turn, they get “protection.” He looked around the meager house.

  More so shitty houses on the bay of a city that hates them.

  Troy looked at Maki, as if his world view just shattered, then back to Brockan. “When did you last see Nelios?”

  “Two days ago, someone came to pick him up after our time was up.” His eyes darted around nervously.

  “Someone?” Rook asked. “And I thought I was a bad liar.”

  “It’s no lie, what would an outsider know?” Brokan snapped back.

  “What would I know? Now, I could be wrong, even though I’ve spent years getting lied to my face. Weirdly enough, they all sound and look like you. Like a rat looking for his chance to escape, regret hit his face as he realized he lived the easy life and won’t fit through that window you keep staring at.” Rook leaned in closer. “What I know is that Maki will chop you to pieces and feed the little fish below your house.” Rook’s eyes focused on the man’s forehead, instead of his eyes. The slight look above eye level made people really uncomfortable.

  Command presence Silver Tongued Bastard activated

  “Well, I Er.” He took a step backward. “You aren’t really suggesting that I had something to do with it, right?” He asked with a shaky voice.

  “I am.” Rook stared at the Uldannish teacher. Letting the Silver Tongued Bastard skill work its magic, Rook watched the man before him crumble. “Tell me!”

  “Okay!” the man exclaimed, letting out a half-sob, half-gasp at Rook’s outburst. “They told me they were going to take the child and appease the Leviathan. The great serpent is coming back, if we don’t—”

  “Where?” Troy asked, low and dangerous.

  “Ollar’s underground, there’s an Udak’ith temple to The Leviathan, and tonight is the new moon. The fresh tide will be coming.”