It was cramped inside the inn and smelt faintly of sweat and stale beer. Long wooden tables, with simple benches squeezed beneath, filled up the large open space. Instead of scribe lights, like Edan was used to, there were low-hanging chandeliers made of horns and bones. Candles, their wax drippings creating long beards, were placed at the tips, the flames banishing most of the gloom.

  Marlin came in last, then squeezed past the group. With a friendly word, he led them to the bar that ran along the wall opposite the entrance. There were a group of men sitting down at the end of the bar, muttering into their mugs. One looked up as the group approached, his hard gray eyes taking them in before he scowled and looked away.

  “What can I get you?” Marlin asked, sliding behind the bar with practiced ease.

  “Something strong that's been fermenting long.” Marcus growled, settling onto one of the seats. Noticing the rest of them looking at him, the wolf Animer shrugged. “What? The man offered.”

  “Yes, please, please, sit.”

  Reema and Sanik had an ale, while Tali asked for fruit juice. Edan, following his mentor, asked for the same. The bear cubs even got a dish of milk each. After growling his bowl into submission, Regal began lapping it up, getting most of it on his muzzle and forehead.

  The female cub, seeing the mess he was making, approached her bowl more cautiously and lapped daintily at it.

  “Honey?” Edan wondered out loud. She was a bear, and bears liked honey…and she did seem the sweeter of the two. “No, maybe not.”

  “So?” Gem asked, prodding Marlin gently. “Adept Tarik.”

  “He’s gone missing,” Marlin said, huffing out a great breath of air and leaning his thin frame on the bar. “Some four weeks back. Adept Tarik thought there might be a Hrovath tree settling down nearby so he went out into the wilds leaving his apprentice behind, you remember her? Tish, sweet little thing, cute as a mouse and twice as shy.”

  Marlin grabbed a rag that was nearby before pulling a mug from beneath the counter. Absentmindedly, he began to clean it, the action looking almost meditative.

  “I’m sure he’ll be back before the season turns. He knows how important the barrier is to us, and his apprentice doesn’t have the skill to keep it alive.”

  There was a low grunt followed by the scrape of wood on wood as one of the men down the bar pushed his chair back. It was the same man that had first watched them enter. He took a long pull on his mug and slammed it down on the counter before walking over.

  Thin hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail over a face that was all tanned skin and scruffy beard. Grey eyes, blurred from drink, but holding a hard edge, took in the group before turning to rest on Marlin.

  “Tell 'em the truth, Marly,” He growled. Edan could smell the alcohol on his breath and felt sorry for Sanik, the one closest to the man. “Tarik didn’t go off after no Hor-Hrovath tree. He left cause you’re a piss poor excuse for a village head, and you wouldn’t give him what was owed him. And now you won't even let us go after him.”

  “I think you’ve had a little too much to drink, Lando. And it's Adept Tarik. He may not be here now, but you’ll still show him the proper respect while under my roof, or you’re welcome to leave it.”

  “Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t,” Lando leaned heavily on the bar and slid forward unsteadily. Sanik put out a hand to help, but Lando brushed him off. “Leave off! I don't need your hand. Give it to the village head.” Lando looked past Sanik and glared at Marlin. “And don’t think I don’t respect the Adept. You know I do! He asked you for one thing. One fucking thing! And you said no, and now he’s gone when we need him most.”

  “Lando, I’m warning you…”

  Lando looked like he was ready to spit, but the rest of his group quickly came over. Throwing their arms around him, they part led, part herded him towards the exit.

  They were a tough looking lot, with hard flat faces tanned by too much time outdoors and hands covered in fine white scars of a working man. A few looked at Marlin with animosity, but no one said anything.

  Marlin watched them leave before shaking his head slowly.

  “Sorry about Lando, he’s just upset. This close to the Season of Storms, there's not much he and his hunters can do. The animals are either hiding or getting too aggressive, so they get bored and sit around, drinking all day.” Marlin explained, his eyes lingering on the door.

  “He didn’t seem too happy with you,” Sanik noted, taking a sip of his ale.

  “Many in the village aren't.” Marlin chewed on his lip in thought before shrugging. “No harm in you knowing. Adept Tarik has been…pushing to expand his holdings in the village. He wanted more materials, more equipment, and more space for his experiments. You know how it is with those academic types. He asked for the old storehouse, It has the largest basement, and he’d been looking to expand his lab. I declined his request, as much as I hated doing it. That building's the last point of safety for the villages, and we still hold mass there, every seventh day.”

  He pulled a familiar pendant from under his shirt to show them. The three stars take point around the largest central one. The symbol of the church of the Four Star Sect.

  Edan had to grit his teeth to stop himself from saying something. They worshiped the very god that was going to use Terra like a supplement pill and gobble it down.

  “Adept Tarik wasn’t too happy about it, but we talked it out.” Marlin tucked the pendant back under his collar. “Came to an understanding. That was months ago, but gossip spreads. A few weeks ago he went out, and a couple of days after that people began to notice he wasn’t around anymore. They remembered the disagreement we had and put two and two together and came up with forty. This close to the beast tides, everyone is anxious and in need of someone to blame.”

  “And so you became the bad guy.” Marcus finished, tossing back another shot of amber liquid.

  “It’s easier than thinking Adept Tarik might not be here for the tides.”

  “Do you know where the Hrovath tree is?” Gem asked.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “I’m not even sure it’s real. Adept Tarik’s apprentice may know more if she’s willing to talk to you.” Marlin grabbed their empty mugs and poured another when Sanik held up a finger. “I couldn’t get much out of her. But I wouldn’t worry too much, I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

  “The drunk from earlier, Lando? Mentioned you won’t let them go looking for him?” Sanik asked.

  “The hunters are the closest thing this village has to a fighting force. I can’t risk sending them off after Adept Tarik on the off chance they don’t come back either. The village would be defenseless when the tides come.”

  Gem tapped her fingers on the bar, her green eyes going distant.

  “What are you thinking?” Reema asked.

  “I might head over and speak with Tish. Adept Tarik is a friend and if he’s in trouble I’d like to help,” Gem met Reema's soft brown eyes and scratched the stubble on the side of her Mohawk, shrugging, she addressed the whole group. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but the Sea Crystal isn’t going anywhere with her stern all bashed in, and Adept Tarik is our best bet at getting her patched up right.”

  “It is what it is,” Sanik said, sipping his second mug of ale. “Reema and I will help out however we can as well.” He turned to Marlin. “It sounds like you lot are in a bit of a pickle if Adept Tarik doesn't come back, aye?”

  Marlin nodded slowly, his eyes going distant for a second before he smiled at the group. “We would be, yes.”

  “Is it our problem, though?” Marcus asked, pouring the dregs from a bottle of spirit into his shot glass and throwing it down his throat. Edan didn't even know why he bothered with the glass in the first place.

  “You just drank a bottle of the man’s booze, the least you can do is try not to act like a dick,” Sanik exclaimed.

  “Also, no Adept Tarik means no boat repair, no boat repair means no departure, no departure means no getting to Solaris. Unless you want to walk there? During the Storms and Tides?” Reema added, backing her husband up.

  Marcus looked to be considering it.

  “If I remember correctly, you were never part of the deal I made with Reema either. That technically means you’re a stowaway.” Gem tacked on.

  Marcus waved that argument away as if it didn’t matter at all.

  “The quicker we get this done, the quicker we’re on our way,” Edan said, looking the guild head in the eye.

  “I’ll help,” Marcus grumbled.

  Maybe teach him to play fetch next. Kiba’s voice said inside Edan’s head.

  “That is very considerate of you,” Marlin said warmly, holding his hands out wide as if to give them all a hug. “Meals and accommodation will of course be on me, should you need them. There are a few rooms upstairs you can use. They rarely see guests, and we’d need to clean them out, but it's dry and comfortable.” He threw down his rag and rushed towards the door that led to the back. He stopped long enough to say, “Please give me a moment, I’ll let my wife know to clean the rooms. Once Delene is replaced on watch, he can show you to the Adepts home.”

  By the time Delene had turned up to show them the way, the sun had begun to sink below the treeline. Shadows stretched across the road and the temperature dropped rapidly.

  A bobbing light caught Edan’s eye and he looked up. Men were patrolling the top of the barrier, torches held in their hands.

  “Doesn’t that just leave them blind?” Edan asked Tali who walked beside him.

  The Titan and Marcus made Delene so nervous he became a stuttering mess, so by unspoken agreement the two of them had drifted towards the back of the group. Edan just preferred hanging at the back and welcomed the company.

  “A show,” Tali explained, gesturing with her eyes to the few people still out. “They see people protecting them, watching for danger, and in turn feel protected and watched.”

  “I’m sure it makes the fools up there feel safe too,” Marcus added, his hands in his pocket.

  The Adept’s house was on the very other side of the village, pressed up against the barrier. It was small, even by the standards of the buildings nearest it, which weren’t many. It was clean, though, and well-maintained. A small fence, hip height to Edan, ringed the front of the property before joining up against the barrier at the back. Gardens burst from between the fence posts, threatening to spill out onto the street.

  “Pretty,” Tali whispered, easily bending over the fence to smell the flowers.

  They came in all shapes and every color of the rainbow. Edan even saw one that looked polka-dotted and was shaped like a forked tongue.

  Delene unlatched the gate and walked up the path to the house, doing his best not to step on anything. The rest of the group came up behind him, following his lead.

  Glancing over his shoulder at the motley crew, Delene whispered something to Gem, who laughed and shook her head. Apparently accepting that as an answer, Delene turned back around and knocked gently on the door.

  “Tish!” He called in that strange voice people use when they’re trying to be loud, but quiet at the same time. “It’s Delene, I’ve brought…some people, they think they can help. They’re friends of Gem, the ship captain.”

  The sound of movement behind the door could be heard, and one of the curtains covering the window was moved. A shaft of light poured through the window to illuminate part of the group in the late evening gloom.

  A large pair of eyes stared out at them, blinking owlishly, before the curtain returned to its place and the thunk of a lock being thrown rang out.

  The door opened a sliver, more light spilling out. Silhouetted against it was the shape of a small woman. She was shorter than Edan, though not by much. Her hair, a frizzy mess of curls barely contained by a band behind her head, added a few inches to her height. Large brown eyes looked at them before dropping to study the floor.

  “H-how can I help you?” She asked hesitantly, pulling at the edges of her long floral dress. Even though she spoke to the group, her head remained lowered, her eyes cast on the ground.

  “These people think they might be able to help find Adept Tarik,” Delene said quietly, as if afraid to spook the woman.

  Edan had to stifle a laugh, as it reminded him of the tone he took with the bears when he tried not to scare them. Speaking of bears, Edan had lost them somewhere in the garden. Occasionally a bush would shake, or the low snuffling grunt could be heard, so he wasn't too worried. Edan just hoped they didn't tear up something valuable.

  “Th-thank you for coming, but there is no need to trouble yourself.” Tish insisted. She looked up, found them all staring at her, and quickly looked down again.

  Edan nudged Tali and Marcus and nodded toward the direction he’d last seen the cubs.

  “How about we give them a little space.” He muttered.

  Taking his cue, the two rather intimidating presences moved off the path and began to wander aimlessly amidst the flowers. Edan had to fight another laugh as Marcus looked completely out of his element. Tali looked content to stop and smell the flowers.

  Edan stayed close enough to listen in on the conversation.

  Reema, being the natural mother, moved forward slowly, and said gently.

  “I’m Reema, that big oaf smiling and waving is Sanik, my husband. I’m sure you remember Gem?”

  Tish nodded, a small smile of greeting flashing across her face, before she looked down and studied her toes.

  Reema pointed at Edan, even though the small woman couldn’t see. “That’s my son, Edan. We were on Gem’s ship, heading to Solaris when it got damaged. Gem told us that Adept Tarik is a very talented Botanist and would be able to help.”

  There was a pause as no one spoke. Delene was looking at the girl, pityingly. Edan rolled his eyes in the man's reaction. It was obvious Tish was shy, and a group of strangers had rocked up to her home uninvited, of course, she’d be out of sorts.

  “We were hoping you could tell us what happened to Adept Tarik,” Reema continued gently. “If we can help find him, we’re hoping he can help us fix our boat.”

  Tish pulled at the edges of the dress again and looked up at Reema. She held her gaze for a few seconds before looking off to the side.

  “My Master is just busy,” Tish said, this time in a voice above a whisper. Edan thought she had a pleasant voice. One that would be good for singing.

  "Or dead.” She added quietly.

  And that puts an end to the break. Chapter releases will now switch over to 5 a week. Release time will be roughly the same (at whatever time this is being released for your time zone). I’d try to work it out, but my dumb ass has trouble understanding time zones.

  Chapter lengths…well, that's also up in the air. I try to keep it over 2000, and around 2500, but that's not a promise. Honestly, I suck at transition scenes, so I usually end it when I’m done with one. (I’m trying to improve, and you may notice it in later chapters).

  As always, thanks for reading and sticking with the story. I hope you enjoy the chapters to come.