Glacier & Lights

Chapter 7

Burøtof just woke up, when the sun came through window in the room he rented for the night. He arrived in the city in previous day, very lately, but the bed was surprisingly soft and he slept very well. Now he just got up from the bed and came out of the guesthouse.

When he got on the street, he just stood there and watched, how the sun beams lights all the well cared for building up. It was something completely different from what he was used to and in a good way. He imagined, how would it be, waking up and just walking through the welcoming sun-shined city every day. He was quite concerned he would be willing to give up anything, just for the view.

But he had some business that needed to be done, perhaps he can come back later. Bardur will surely attempt to capture this city at some point and he has enough reputation to get it for himself.

Not wasting more time, he set off for the docks. It took him some time to get there, but the city was so nice that he didn't mind. He was thinking about all the things that happened while he was on the road. Quetzali was destroyed. Oumaji smashed Yadakk. Zebasi disbanded it's whole army. Ai-Mo unsuccessfully tried to save Yadakk and Imperius lost against Hoodrick. In addition, rumors were saying that the great general Arklak has retired. It was all so strange!

When Burøtof reached the docks, he froze in amazement. He never saw such a beautiful place. He was used to docks in Bagrugru which were messy, overcrowded and with fishy flavor. The piers were ugly and each one looked differently as if their builder got more drunk with the building process. There were stalls with fisherman selling their fish and sailors carrying crates with stuff all over the place. But the dock in Wedolo was as different as possible. All the piers were perfectly simetrical and looked all the same. The air was fresh and smell like the sea. There was one ships called "Fisherman's Madness" which was buying fish and another sea monsters from all the fishermen around and then selling it among the Hoodrick citizen. There was only a few sailors walking around. Burøtof also spotted something like outdoor pub, several rounded wooden tables and chairs placed in front of a robust building labeled with "Quissbery Heaven" and a few men were sitting there, each at his own table, and drinking some drinks.

Burøtof was watching them for a while and then he confronted the closest one, an elderly looking man with a hoodrick hat torn in places. "Hey, how are ya doin?" asked Burøtof with a slight smile, trying to look friendly. "Hah, what would I be doing, waiting for my crew. Can I help you with something?" said the hoodrickian, apparently having good mood. "Yes, I have heard that some fishermen around there have hunted a big crab, do you know anything about it?" was Burøtof's next question. "Of course I do, but it's like some time ago, why?" Burøtof hesitated, not sure how to respond. "Let's say I am interested in crabs, who was the one to hunt him down?" he said at last. "That is some interest, considering you have traveled all the way from Bardur territory. It is the guy over there," said the fisherman and nodded towards the hoodrickian sitting at the table on left. "Thank you." said Burøtof goodbye and moved one table to the left. "Hey, I heard you are the captain that got the gigantic clapper beast." said Burøtof, thinking a small compliment would do the trick. "What do you want?" asked the man, like if he didn't hear his acclaim. "I need you to take me to the spot, where you found that crab. It is very important for me." said Burøtof directly. The fisherman laughed. "Nah, we don't go to that place, too far away to be worth it. We just got bad wind." Burøtof smiled and reached into his pocket. "I said it is very important for me." and he laid out on ten golden stars the table. Then he paused. "You can catch fish on the way, so you will still have your harvest." he added when he saw the curious look of the hoodrickian in front of him. The hoodrickian finished his cup of quisberry tea and said: "Very well, we are setting sail with noon."

*

They were on the voyage for a week now, but the island, where they found the crab, was still out of their sight. It was cause by weak wind occasionally switching with no wind. Good news were that they had food and water for a whole month and they were constantly fishing, so they would just need to find an island with fresh water. Another good news was, that Burøtof's pocket contained enough gold to buy the boat crew for one hundred years. The bad news were, that they had no idea what is happening in the square.
Burøtof was getting restless, he invested a lot in a hunt for something, that was very unlikely to work. The best thing he had was a feeling that it will work. When he was, like usually, looking at the sea and thinking what is behind it after lunch, the captain has aproached him.