The Quest

Chapter Thirty Two - Tess' Star

Tom woke up the next morning, swaying in his hammock. He turned to his side, barely seeing over the edge. He heard the pirates above deck going about their day. The ship was moving. It must've been later in the day than he had thought. Why did Destru let him sleep in? Tom wrestled in his mind about how long he thought he could stay in his hammock without people wondering where he was. Sighing, he opted to get up.

After making himself semi-presentable, he made his way to the upper deck. All the pirates were running around with vigor, which was weird to him. Why was everyone so excited?

"Mr. Tom!" Runes' voice called from the ship's wheel. Tom looked towards him to see he was steering the ship... that was odd. Maybe he bumped his head before falling asleep and was suffering from memory loss. "Ready to find the Dias?" Rune grinned with excitement, making Tom cock his head in confusion.

"Did we find it?" Tom asked, making his way up to the ship's wheel. He wasn't sure why Destru was letting the pipsqueak steer.

"Capt'n says we're headed to the flower fields." Rune gave him a confused look. "Didn't you two find out last night?"

Tom thought back to the previous night. Richard had mentioned the flower fields, but would that really be where the Dias was? The place was popular when it wasn't closed... why were the fields closed? They were always open to visitors... unless. "Keep'r steady," Tom nodded to Rune, who saluted him.

If they were headed to the flower fields, there was one stop Tom needed to make before they did anything else. Tom went directly to Destru's cabin, not knocking before entering. "Wilkie! Good to see you made it out of bed!" Destru wrapped an arm around Tom's shoulder. "I see you talked to Rune already."

"Why is he steering the ship? That wheel is as big as he is," Tom asked, his ears falling back, then springing back to attention.

"Little rugrat needs a change of scenery every once in a while," Destru shrugged. "I don't know why I didn't think of the flower fields before. They've never been closed for as long as they have been this year!" Destru sat at his table, looking at maps, plotting out their course.

"Destru, I have to make a stop before we go to the flower fields." Tom interrupted Destru's plotting.

Destru looked up with a confused grin. "Your house wasn't near the flower fields, so you wouldn't be wanting to stop there?"

Tom shook his head no. "Tess and I-" Tom paused for a moment as a wave of sadness passed over himself.

"Take your time, Wilkie," Destru encouraged. He put his pen down, giving Tom his full attention.

Tom took a deep breath, then continued his explanation. "Tess and I had been chased out of a town before the one we met you in. She left a family memento back there and I want to get it back."

"How long will that take?"

"Only a day," Tom looked out the window. He knew he could've asked to get it sooner, but he didn't want to take Destru off of his pirating course.

"You have my blessing to head out once we dock. We'll wait for you once you get back."

"I appreciate it," Tom gave a sigh of relief. He didn't know why that took so much courage to say.

—--

They arrived near the flower fields a few days later. Tom had a bag packed and waved goodbye after he helped the crew dock the ship. "I'll be back by tomorrow!" he called, as the crew waved him off.

Tom's journey was boringly uneventful. He was a little disappointed when nobody stopped him on his way into town. It had been over a year since he was last there. He took a deep breath before entering the hotel. He wasn't even sure how he was going to ask about Tess' star.