Chapter 263 – Varsea

Chapter 263 – Varsea

 

Kai walked down the wobbling gangway onto a dock of firm gray stone—likely compacted by an Earth shaper. After almost two weeks aboard, the phantom impression of the rocking ship made him sway with every step.

We really made it.

Excitement thrummed in his chest. Despite the accidents, he stood on the mainland, the same place of awe and mystery he had dreamt about as a child. Hundreds of foreign faces shuffled around the dock. Only half sported the lighter features he associated with the Republic. There were plenty of thick accents, colorful hairstyles and strangely cut gowns he had never seen before.

Vendors shouted the quality of their goods from the left end of the port. Dockworkers lifted crates and barrels larger than them, chattering in a slurred cadence. Across the streets, a kid pointed at the Melenia before being dragged off by his mother.

Kai took a deep breath to savor the moment. At Red-3, the ambient mana gave him a feeling of fullness. Then the smell of sweat, brine and grime caught up to him, making him grimace.

Not the cleanest town.

“Get out of the damn way!” A portly man shoved him aside.

Or polite.

Kai moved beside a rotten crate to not bother more passersby. Little had gone as planned during this journey, though that made him all the happier to have moored.

“This port’s bigger than I thought.” Flynn strolled down the gangway, holding his bartered bag over a shoulder with one finger. The nap had turned him back into his lively self. He looked over his shoulder at Rain. “Are you good?”

The white-haired boy stumbled on land with a somewhat greenish tinge. He stared at his feet on the firm ground, looking ready to puke. “Is everything always so… still?”

“Usually. Unless the earth is shaking, but I don’t think you’d like that either.” Flynn clapped his back. “I’ve never been to a place like this… this town is huge.”

“Land settlements are known for their large population,” Rain mused. “This one should be avera—” He pressed his lips shut, holding a hand over his mouth.

“Well, let’s see for ourselves.” Flynn glanced at both. “Do you have any preference?”

The siren shook his head and threw a mournful look at the sea.

“We need an inn to pass the night.” Kai craned his neck to look around. “And a way to contact Valela.”

“I think I’ve heard of a place for that.” Flynn strode with all the confidence of a local, and all the knowhow of a drunk. “C’mon, nothing better than some walkin’ to settle in.”

Varsea got noticeably quieter once they stepped out of the docks—though not much cleaner. Tall buildings of white limestone and shops with enchanted windows lined the streets. Further up on the left, a rowdy market began. Runes were present wherever Kai turned, from buildings to clothes to the stove a woman used to sell a fish hamburger with fried onions and a bluish sauce.

“Who wants to eat something? I’m starving.” Flynn leaped to the stall, rummaging through his bag for coins.

The saleswoman smiled at his eagerness. “Best burgers in Varsea. Are you new in town? You must try them with some fresh cider.” She gestured to a keg. “You won’t regret it, I promise.”

“We’ll take three of those then.” Flynn quickly hit it off with the stall owner while the food sizzled on the grill. He smoothly inquired about the best places to visit and what to avoid.

Kai was half sure the vendor charged them extra, but he could not find it in himself to care once he bit into the bread. Flavors exploded in his mouth, making him sigh in satisfaction. On the ship, he had only eaten dried jerky and boiled vegetables.

“I’m good, thanks.” Rain raised a hand to refuse the burger and only sipped the apple cider. He looked paler than usual, pacing along the street.

Guess he wasn’t lying about never being on land.

A single conversation couldn’t rid all the awkwardness between the two of them, though Kai had stopped feeling the need to watch his back around him. He would never make new friends if he wasn’t willing to take a chance.

It is much easier to trust someone when I’m stronger than them… Flynn had a point on that.

“Meow.” Hobbes sauntered on the cobble street, pleased to be on land.

Kai crouched to scratch his neck. “Where have you been?” In the last few days, the furball had refused to leave the ship hold except to steal food at night.

The cat threw a side-eye at Rain. “Mew.”

“Wait?” He lowered his tone. “You knew he was a siren?”

Hobbes’s violet eyes regarded him with a mix of contempt and resignation as if he couldn’t believe his human was so thick. A series of impressions slipped through their bond. The cat had known it was better to keep his distance from Rain, even if not why.

“You could have told me something. Why did you come out now?” he grumbled, uncaring of the judging gazes of the passersby.

I’m arguing with a cat. So what?

“Mrooow.” The silver feline pushed more jumbled strings of meaning toward him.

Kai used Split Mind to make sense of them. “So he’s not a danger anymore?”

“Mew.” Hobbes licked his paw and rubbed his head against Kai’s hand, demanding a tribute.

Fine. You spoiled little cat. What do you want?

Kai picked up his Majesty to not let him dirty his paws crossing the two meters separating them and the stall. “Can I have one more of those? Just the fish, please.”

“Mrow.”

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“Sorry. I meant two of them. Only one cooked.”

“Mrow.”

“Alright… three total.”

The woman didn’t question Kai’s conversation with the furball and gave him what he wanted. “That’ll be three coppers, dear. You have a very beautiful kitty.”

“Thank you.” Kai pulled the coins out of his pocket and exchanged them for the feline’s little feast.

“I missed you.” Flynn tried to scratch the cat, only to get his hand scratched instead. “Ahi,” he pulled back, hurt more by the rejection than the claws. “Why are you mad at me?”

“Mrow.”

“He’s envious you didn’t pay him much attention on the ship.” Kai narrowly avoided getting his own claw mark.

“Is that yours? I didn’t know you had a familiar…” Rain met his Majesty’s gaze, his pale smile quickly turned into a frown. “What kind of breed is he? He must be quite…”

Hobbes turned to his food with a hiss, leaving the boy in a stunned silence. Pride pulsed amidst disinterest and also proved the siren was no threat.

The mighty siren got knocked out by a mound of ground.

“I don’t know his species.” Kai petted him.

“He’s a very special boy,” Flynn sulked. “Let’s go visit the shopping district. We need to replace the clothes we lost in the wreckage.”

They followed the vendor’s direction to turn into another street. It soon became clear Flynn’s main goal was to find any food that tickled his Majesty’s interest and regain his favor.

Varsea’s market gave him a sense of nostalgia for home. While the goods were different, the vibrant atmosphere was the same. Loud bargaining and foreign smells filled the streets.

Kai quickly found a hunched graying man selling mana herbs from the back of a cart. The selection was wider than he expected from a random seller, and the prices higher too—similar to Higharbor.

“Do you have the money to pay?” The vendor squinted at his tattered clothes.