“A what?” asked Alara.

  “A mantle” replied Wellynd, grabbing the rail behind him as a wicked gust tore across the deck.

  The pair stood near the bow of the small ferry, their cloaks pulled tight against their bodies as the chill wind held domain over the choppy waters of the strait. Kellog, who had spent the first leg of the trip chatting with Leofer while Wellynd caught Alara up on all that had happened, was now leaning against the railing, staring off toward the distant shimmer of Revenshore torchlight.

  The night was dark. As the sun fell below the horizon, a slate blanket of heavy cloud had hastily overwhelmed the fledgling light of the stars.

  Alara scratched her head “And yours being…different…is what has been causing the issues you’ve had?”

  “Sort of. Some of the issues. It’s complicated. The relic I bought in Revenshore and skald seem to be involved as well. We haven’t quite figured it out yet. It’s one of the reasons Kellog tagged along to visit Selkis…skald in general I mean seems to be what Kellog’s investigating.” Wellynd looked at Kellog for confirmation, the man’s features barely discernible from the faint light cast by the sole oil lamp hanging from the front mast.

  “That about sums it up. At least from my perspective.” replied Kellog.

  “Hmm. That’s a lot. Answers a lot of questions. Poses a lot more…does anyone else know?” Alara asked.

  “No. And uh…for now, we’d prefer to keep it that way. Kellog mentioned that there might be some problems, especially if it gets to the Vertans.” Wellynd replied.

  Alara examined Kellog for a moment before tapping her nose and walking off towards the helm.

  “I hope I didn’t reveal anything I shouldn’t have.” Wellynd said.

  Kellog walked over and patted Wellynd on the shoulder “Not at all, Welly. What you tell people is entirely up to you. I only ever gave warning because of the difficult position it might put you in. I also get the sense that you don’t keep anything from Alara…”

  “Yeah...” replied Wellynd, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “Well…almost anything…” Kellog said, smiling and giving him a playful nudge.

  Wellynd felt his face get hot so he turned to face the sea.

  Minutes later, footsteps approached as Alara rejoined Wellynd and Kellog at the bow, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

  “So.” she said, holding out a leather satchel to Kellog.

  “So.” he replied, taking the satchel and holding it up closer to eye level. “What’s this now? A bribe?”

  “Wine.” she said, leaning against the handrail beside him. “And good wine at that. A gift for a newcomer to the island. This is standard Illuvian custom.”

  Kellog raised an eyebrow. Unscrewing the cap, he swirled the wineskin around as he brought it to his nose.

  “Well...far be it from me to question the traditions of the Illuvians, then.” he said before taking a long sip, then passing the wineskin back to Alara.

  She took it, taking a sip herself before screwing the cap back on.

  “Hey! None for me?” Wellynd asked.

  “Hey, you just told me all of your secrets, so, no. None for you.”

  He could faintly see her mouth quirk into a smile through the darkness of the starless sky.

  He smiled to himself. “Fine, fine. Careful, Kellog...”

  A dull thud resounded as the wineskin smacked against Wellynd’s chest.

  “So. Where are you from?” she asked, leaning against the edge of the boat, following Kellog’s gaze, which had returned forward out to sea.

  “Hah. Welly here asked me the same question. I’m learning it’s an important thing about a person around these parts. Rel, I suppose. Or perhaps Melyar.”

  Alara turned to Kellog and fixed him with a stare that demanded more. A few moments passed before Kellog took notice.

  “Well, you see...I was born in Rel. Or at least, a part of the land that is now known as Rel.”

  “What do you mean now known as Rel. It’s been Rel my whole life.”

  “Ah, but not mine. No. Before, Gwyn and Val Kan flew under the same banner. Rel was just another part of Melyar. Sort of like Arta before the divide. You know of that history, yes?”

  “More or less, though around here you mostly get superstitious folk bickering about whether a Koshai could actually split the land in two.”

  “And? Could they?” asked Kellog.

  Alara huffed a laugh “No. No way. I’ve seen the maps. It’s half the size of this strait at its widest. It was just a coincidental quake and some soldiers looking to claim glory.”

  Kellog raised his eyebrows and casually nodded “That’s a reasonable approach to any outlandish thing you hear.”

  Wellynd found the response to be rather disappointing, though, and couldn’t help but notice the slightest tugging at the corners of Kellog’s mouth when he responded.

  For her part, Alara was clearly chuffed with Kellog’s response. She snatched the wineskin from Wellynd and took another swig.

  “Okay...” she said, wiping her mouth with her sleeve “You’re from Rel, Melyar, wherever. You met Wellynd in Kellek’s Watch, which you were visiting because you’re investigating some mineral deposits up at the mine, and now you’ve decided to tag along with us back to Revenshore because Wellynd told you about the experiments they are doing at the Observatory and you want to go see?”

  “Mhm.”

  Alara crossed her arms. “Rubbish. That doesn’t make any sense. Why would you come all the way down to the middle of nowhere just to backtrack on the offhand that some provincial Observer is doing some weird things?”

  Kellog smiled and leaned back against the railing “You never know what you’re going to find. Someone like me has to investigate these types of things. Some of my most productive discoveries have come from the drunken murmurings at a local tavern or the eager rumours of a village gossip.”

  Alara raised one eyebrow before turning to Wellynd and hitting him in the shoulder “He has an excuse to lie to me, he’s a stranger. I don’t expect it from you.”

  Wellynd stepped back, rubbing his shoulder “Hey! He’s not lying. I don’t think. And neither am I...The fact of the matter is there’s something strange going on with how I use kose. And Kellog’s helping me figure it out. He’s been more open than the Observatory has been with any of us. Well, any of us except for Neer and Berty I guess.”

  “You’ve got a point there...I’ll give you that. Okay, well, apart from your mantle, what else has he taught you? Show me something.” her eyes flicked to Kellog, then back to Wellynd.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Uh, but...I...do you have a rock or...some mud?” he chuckled before adding “I guess you could say I’m still early in my lessons. If I had some extra skald I could probably gust, but I have to give this one to Selkis.”

  Alara patted her cloak and flashed a consoling smile. “Fresh out of mud. Is that all you’re delivering, then?”

  “Yeah. Selkis has been offering Laine a lot for just a single skald. This is probably the last delivery. My last one at least.” said Wellynd. He let the words hang in the air before continuing. “I uh. I’m taking a break from sailing with the crew.”

  “And... doing what? Did you get another job?”

  “No. I just...” Wellynd looked at Kellog. “Well I have some more training to do.”

  A wave slammed into the hull and a spray of ocean mist washed over them.

  “Behold! I control the waves!” Wellynd exclaimed, flicking wet fingers at Alara.

  She laughed, covering her face as she flicked water back at him. Wellynd retreated, taking cover behind Kellog.

  The storm, evidently, had picked up over the course of the trip, the waves growing larger as the wind’s might continued to swell. Rain began to patter against the deck, and Wellynd, alongside Kellog and Alara, quickly moved to stand under the short canopy that overhung the passenger cabin.

  Leofer’s shout echoed over the water, his words obscured by the wind.

  Wellynd took a step around the cabin but began to slip as another large wave carried the ship upward, tilting the deck as the vessel rolled over the wave’s peak before plunging back into the churning waters.

  Leofer called out again “Watch for shallows!”

  Alara moved to the edge of the skiff, signaling something to Leofer, a look of concern on her face as she scanned the horizon.

  “It’s too dark!” Alara called back.

  Something was off about their approach into port.

  The usual glow of the city seemed to be different. The large port-side lanterns that beckoned ships in from sea didn’t quite look the same. The glow was still apparent, but it was partially obscured somehow. There were also many smaller lantern flames, some of which even seemed to be bobbing up and down with the waves.

  As they continued to draw closer, Wellynd felt his stomach begin to tighten as he realized that he was looking at two entirely different sets of lanterns: the dockside ones, and the small lanterns that hung from a series of vessels anchored at sea.

  A strong gust of wind buffeted the lanterns that hung from the array of ships that floated between The Flea and Revenshore, the dancing torchlight briefly illuminating the furled black and bronze sails that rested above them.

  Scanning the horizon, Wellynd counted ten ships in all, positioned in a wide arc that blocked off entry to the port.

  “Blockade!” yelled Leofer.

  The Flea entered the calm waters of the bay as Alara and Wellynd quickly pulled down the buffeting sails. The skiff began to lose momentum until a low hum rang out from behind them and they lurched forward once more, though this time with the consistent pace of the vessel’s jant.

  As they approached, one of the flickering lanterns on the nearest warship began to move in a sweeping gesture that pointed further up the blockade. Squinting against the light, Wellynd realized it was a soldier swinging the lantern, his other arm extended in the same direction.

  Leofur must have noticed, as The Flea began to pivot, making an arc that followed the soldier’s signal. After another minute of ferrying, Wellynd spotted two ships slightly smaller than the others, their bows facing one another, each with a lantern affixed to the end of their bowsprits that cast fractured light onto the choppy waters below.

  Wellynd swallowed, placing a hand on the railing as they approached the sole passage into the port city’s inner bay.

  A voice called out from the nearest gate-ship. “Lo!”

  The hum of the jant cut out and The Flea slowly drifted towards the space between the imposing ships.

  “State your business in Revenshore,” asked a soldier leaning against the edge of the nearest warship, their lantern raised outward.

  “This is Captain Leofer of The Flea, a passenger vessel carryin’ some folk to the port. Their business is their own.”

  A moment passed before all the flames of the lanterns on the warship grew small, and suddenly, a spotlight, brighter and more directed than any lantern should be capable of, beamed from the soldier directly at The Flea.

  Wellynd cried out in reaction, shielding his face from the harsh light, blinking through squinted eyes as he tried to discern what the soldier was doing. He and Alara were quickly cast in darkness once more as the beam swept away from them, moving backwards to the helm, inspecting everything on board.

  “What the hell was that?” Wellynd whispered to Alara, who had grabbed onto his arm when the spotlight moved away.

  The light found Leofer and remained directly on him. Vision slowly returned to Wellynd, just enough to see the Captain fully exposed at the helm, shielding his eyes with his arm.

  “Do you have any affiliation with the group known as the Resistance in Revenshore?” asked the soldier.

  “No...no. Don’t even know a one.” he replied, a slight quiver to his voice.

  The light lingered for another moment and then slowly began sweeping the deck once more before blinking out into darkness.

  The lanterns on the Vertan ship returned to their usual brightness and a silence fell over The Flea.

  After several tense moments, the guard waved the lantern toward the shore. “You’re lucky. We’re about to shut the way for the night. You’ll have to wait til’ morning to return. Move along. Avoid making trouble in the city...We will do whatever is necessary to keep the peace, by order of General Gravician himself.”

  The jant hummed to life and the boat shuddered forward. Leofer steered them towards the usual dock, Wellynd and Alara jumping onto the pier and tying them off as the captain cut the jant.

  After Kellog and Leofer disembarked, the four stood atop the pier, the glow of the now quiet city looming above them.

  Leofer scratched the back of his head, a hastily rolled cigarette drooping from his mouth. “Well, that was strange. I’ve been through a few blockades before on that ferry, but that was…”

  “Was what?” asked Alara.

  “Well they usually come aboard, rifle around, especially if yer comin’ in at night like that. They had one up fer a while after the attack. Took a good quarter of an hour to get through to the city.”

  “Perhaps they were tired? They were about to close the blockade. We can never underestimate the quotidian concerns of anyone, even our aggressors.” offered Kellog.

  Leofer raised his eyebrows and scanned Kellog’s face, the light coming from the city above accentuating the heavy bags under his eyes. “Could be it. Still concernin’ to see the blockade back up so soon though.”

  Alara placed her hand on her father’s arm as she looked up at the city “Looks pretty quiet here too...most of the shops have closed up early. Looks like we’ll be stuck here for the night.”

  Leofer patted Alara’s hand.

  Heavy bootsteps shook the deck as the Revenshore dockmaster approached The Flea.

  “Go on and find some rooms. I’ll handle docking procedures and sleep in the ship quarters tonight.” Leofer said. He fetched a small coin pouch and handed it to Alara, who squeezed his arm before turning to Wellynd.

  “C’mon” Alara beckoned, tucking the coins somewhere inside of her cloak.

  They walked past the approaching dockmaster, a tall woman whose eyes were focused on The Flea as she jotted something down in a journal.

  As they continued forward, the wharf fell eerily silent, the exchange between Leofer and the woman falling to murmurs behind them as the rhythmic water lapped against the weathered dock.

  It was strange. Although it was night, Wellynd had expected there to be at least some commotion about the dock. Traders were known to bring in shipments at all hours.

  But there was none of that.

  The drone of the great conveyor that never slept hummed against a background of an otherwise quieted dockside, save for a lone drunkard muttering to himself, slouched up against one of buildings opposite the pier.

  A pair of Vertan soldiers walked by, one of them stopping to kick the man in the stomach. The drunkard coughed in reaction and scurried off into the night, the two soldiers laughing as they continued along their route.

  Alara took in a sharp breath, her eyebrows furrowing. “Is this just happening in the open streets now?” she exclaimed, a little louder than she probably should have, quickening her pace.

  Wellynd quickened his steps as well, but felt a firm hand grab him. He turned to see Kellog had placed a firm hand on each of their shoulders.

  “What are you doing?” snapped Alara.

  “Let’s keep tempers cool for now, shall we?” he said in a placating voice.

  “Didn’t take you for a coward.” said Alara, shrugging off his hand and walking a few paces in front of them.

  Wellynd looked back at Kellog and shrugged, the man flashing a grin in response as they rounded the corner onto the main thoroughfare. Wellynd felt some of his tension dissipate. Unlike the docks, the main thoroughfare was still quite lively, people gathering around the taverns and inns.

  As they climbed the steps alongside the conveyor, Mermaid’s Tavern came into view, busy as usual. Two women stood out front, swaying slightly, their arms over one another’s shoulders. One of them took the other’s arm and led them to a nearby barrel, helping them sit atop it.

  “Neer?” shouted Alara, quickening her pace into a run.