After donning their armors and fetching their items, the group met in the inn’s lobby. Quinta was unusually spry, afixed in her new set as well as Akahsha was. Ordna looked especially rough, clutching her temples in pain. Stenson looked to be focused, as if his mind were on something.

“We’ll leave through the South gate. We should arrive near Pouporika in the next two days. Do we need anything before we leave?” Stenson asked aloud.

“I’m set,” Quinta remarked.

“Yeah, I think I’m fine, too.” Akahsha said.

“Please, not so loud.” Ordna held her hands over her ears.

The group departed from the inn, and followed the south road to the Forkwind wall. They walked past a butcher’s den, with the smell of fresh-cut meat in the air. Across the way was a tanner, whose furs were hung in front of his shack. A black wolf fur was stretched out, and a deer skin was next to it. They passed a baker’s home, with the scent of warm baked bread in the air.

“Okay, can we get food before we leave? I think that might be something we need to do.” Quinta spoke up. She ceased walking and looked at the bakery. The group stopped and looked back to her, who was walking directly into the bakery front door.

Twenty-three minutes and two gold pieces later, the party had eaten their fill and embarked on the road again. They passed by the farm lands where farmers plowed and reaped. The fields reminded the young boy that no matter where you are, some things never change. Although he was leading a different life, it felt somehow natural to him. He wondered how his father had felt when he was beginning his life as a monster hunter. This is what it must have been like, Akahsha thought.

The party travelled through the woods for a while, and Stenson raised his closed fist to signal for the group to stop. They did, and he pointed to the side of the road where they followed him. Once behind plentiful tree and bush cover, Stenson announced what was afoot, in a hushed tone.

“Goblins up ahead. I saw their tracks a while back, and now I hear some noises from down the road.” He popped his head above the bush line and looked with intense determination.

“A rightful feud. We must annihilate these creatures, lest they attack travellers coming down the road.”

“How many are there?” Quinta asked. Akahsha observed her asking questions like this. It must be important to communicate that type of information.

“Seven. They don’t seem too terribly tough, but it’s always nice to keep an eye out. Things may not be as they seem, but we can only hope for the best. Alright, let’s go.” Stenson commanded and looked around the area.

There were mostly trees and chest high bushes plastered along the main road. These goblins were set up at a campsite on the side of the road, sixty feet away. They danced around a fire while a couple of goblins played instruments. One held a hurdy gurdy, and the other was playing a flute.

“Set up by that tree there, Quinta.” Stenson pointed to a tree thirty feet away from the goblin troupe’s fire. She nodded and snuck off to her position.

“Akahsha, circle around them and make sure that you cover their exit.” The young boy nodded and snuck off to his position. He crouched low and kept behind the cover of the bushes. He creeped up behind Quinta, who was watching the goblins move about.

“Get in place,” Quinta looked back at him. “They’re going to start soon.”

He still couldn’t fathom that he was doing these types of things. He could recall his father’s stories, and how magnificent they seemed. This was a nightmare. He’d already made one of these goblins bleed in the past, and now he was about to partake in the deaths of more. He went around the camp, staying far away from their sight. When he was in the spot, he looked around for Ordna and Stenson.

And there they were. Ordna had transformed into a horse, or at least it was the only sensible thing that could have happened. Lest the horse came from nowhere, and Ordna was lying down for a nap. Stenson was atop of horse-Ordna, and he held his blade high. The two rode along at quick speeds, rapidly approaching the campsite.

The goblins didn’t even know how to react. The musicians ceased their playing, and Stenson cleaved a goblin’s head clean off. The head fell into the fire. The goblins screamed in unison. Stenson slashed across the face of a goblin, which fell to the ground in pain. The old knight shouted in a glorious rage. He came about and slashed another two down in swift formation. Ordna dashed into one of the larger goblins, knocking him flat on his back.

Quinta released an eldritch blast, which went straight through the chest of one of the goblins. One of the musician goblins stared at the girl from afar and grabbed the other musician, taking him with him to Quinta.

Akahsha watched the goblins head towards Quinta and looked at the ones that were around Stenson. He felt that Stenson would have it covered, so he ran to help Quinta, leaving his post.

The goblins nearly reached her when Akahsha sprung into action. He came behind them and unsheathed his father’s sword. He swung it and it cut through the thigh of one of the goblins. It fell to the ground, and the other one turned away from Quinta to look at his fallen comrade. Quinta used this opportunity to come up behind it and stab it in the back. It clutched his chest and fell to his knees. He let out a deep sigh, quickly and violently shook, and died.

The one on the ground was crying, reaching for his cut thigh.

Stenson cleaved through another one, and the one he cut across the face decided to flee. The old knight felt confident in his plan, he’d accounted that one or two might try to flee, but that’s why Akahsha was stationed at their rear. Wait, where was he? Stenson thought. He gazed over to Quinta, who Akahsha stood next to.

“AKAHSHA!” Stenson barked loudly. His eyes lit up with a fury and he was still on horseback, so he charged after the last one, cutting it down with ease. He rode up to the Warlock and the boy, and he dismounted from Ordna, who turned back into her regular shape when he got off of her.

Stenson picked up Akahsha and shook him in the air. “You were supposed to watch their escape! Their exit! What would have happened had he gotten away? You know what kind of danger we could have been in? Of course you don’t, cuz you don’t follow orders. So start doing it! If you can’t, then go home to whatever home left you’ve got!” Stenson threw him to the ground. Akahsha landed on his back and looked up at the old knight, who raised his sword high in the air, and drove it through the skull of the last remaining goblin. He pulled the sword out, cleaned the blade between his forearm and his bicep, then sheathed it. Stenson walked away.

Akahsha said nothing for the rest of the evening. Even when Quinta would make jokes to try and lift the mood, he’d turn away or look at the ground. The group made camp a couple of hours of walk from Pouporika.

Ordna made a stew over the fire on a tripod that they’d invested in back in Forkwind. The stew smelled fresh, and the fire felt warm. Quinta and Akahsha sat next to each other, but with a few feet of distance between them. Stenson sharpened his blade while sitting on a rock twenty feet away from camp.

“Are you okay?” Quinta asked Akahsha, who looked at her with tired eyes.

“Not right now, but I will be.” He replied.

The next day they marched toward Pouporika, where they walked through an outlet of shops and services. People wore much more revealing clothing, and there were a lot more people than there were in Forkwind. Oddly enough, it seemed to be quite popular. Outdoor eateries with tables placed around for convenience were all about.

The scents lingered in the air, and the voices of the hundreds of people in the city streets were a lot for the group of four. They followed Stenson to the docks, where he met with a colorful captain.

The elvish male had thick black hair arranged in a pompadour fashion, and his mustache was long and twisted. He wore black pants, a large green jacket, had a yellow paisley vest, and brown boots. Atop his head was a green captain’s hat, and in his mouth was a pipe fuming with smoke. He looked over to the group that approached him.

“May I help you fine folks?” The captain said, inhaling from his pipe.

“I hope so. We’re a party of four looking for passage South. We have a contract that needs to be fulfilled.” Stenson said, crossing his arms.

“Well you are just in luck! My crew is setting sail South in the morning. We are spending the night prepping for the trip. We’ll be staying in Hedoman for two weeks before coming back to Pouporika.”

“That’s mighty fine,” Stenson pulled out a coin purse, and took out a few from it. “This should cover the expenses of our passage, I hope.”

The captain looked over the coins for a moment and nodded. “Of course. Captain Wesley Irons, and welcome aboard the Wench.”

The vessel behind him was quite spectacular, but of course it was the first ship Akahsha had ever seen, so anything that would float with such a large body would be awe-inspiring to look at. He never even had imagined things that could take men across seas, but it was only because he was foolish and unlearned. They boarded the ship by a large plank connecting the dock to the deck. Men of varying sizes and races bustled about the top deck. The captain walked beside them and then stood at the top of the stairs in front of the helm. The men took a minute to realize that their captain was about to make a speech and they all stopped what they were doing and listened.

“We have passengers with us to Hedoman. You all pay them the respect that you would me. They are paying, so I don’t want anyone to give them any trouble. If I hear that such thing has occurred, you will thrown in the brig until we get to town. Am I clear?” Captain Irons finished.

“Yes sir!” The crew shouted with bolster.

“That’s what I like to hear! Now back to work, men. We leave bright and early.” Captain Irons smiled, then looked back at the party. He walked down the stairs and raised his palms up in the air in an invitation for applause. “No need to thank me,”

“Okay,” Quinta said with a slight smile. Captain Irons gave her a sour look, and Akahsha chuckled quietly, then regained his composure.

Below the decks was a mess hall, and a cook with the nickname of Messy resided. He was a goliath male, with a painting of a sunset on his face. He heartily laughed and stirred the food in his pot. The group had come into the mess hall, and sat at one of the dozen tables placed about.

“Oy, Messy! Bring another round here for Cromp ‘nd I!” A bald man with tattoos on his face and neck called out. There was a hook tattoo from his neck to his eye, with the curve of the hook being on the side of his head.

“Heard!” The goliath replied, and trotted along with great joy. He plopped some grub on the plate, and then on the plate next to him. He looked up and saw the four new passengers.

“Might I interest you in some grub? I promise it’s all organic, or at least all the things I put in this pot used to be,” Messy looked in the pot for a moment.

“Sure, I could use some food,” Akahsha raised his hand. Messy plopped some grub down in front of him. It had a unique smell to it, one that Akahsha wasn’t at all familiar with.

The others got their own plate full as well, and when they examined it, and Messy had gone back to his stove, Stenson leaned in. “I’d get used to it. These kind of chefs only know how to serve one thing,” He shrugged. “Usually.”

The bald headed man looked over to the table with the party. He eyed Ordna, who was looking at Quinta. The bald man arose from his chair and laughed. He walked up to the table and kneeled, using his elbow as prop for his chin.

“Hey little lady, I saw you watchin’ me from over there.” He said to Ordna.

“No I wasn’t,” she replied.

“Well you were lookin’ in my direction.” He corrected.

“I wasn’t even looking at you.” She corrected.

“Well, er, no maybe I was looking at you.” He stated.

“That’s fair, and look all you want, but don’t pester me.” Ordna turned away from him, and he rose from the table and went back to his own.

“Impressive,” Quinta simply said.

Ordna smiled. “Beauty comes with many responsibilities. Letting them down is just one of them.”

Stenson pulled out some gold pieces from his coin purse and looked around the room. “I’m going to get some information, excuse me.” He stood up and walked across the room, and sat at a table with three men playing cards.

Ordna went and got some beverages for herself, and indulged.

“I’m ready to be done with this job. You haven’t been to a desert yet, but it’s hot. Unbearably so. Then, if that’s not bad enough, during the night time it gets very cold. It’s a strange region, to be sure.” Quinta said, folding her arms.

“I’ll have to see how I feel about it,” Akahsha said. “Will it be a long trip there?”

“Probably not,” Ordna said while putting down her mug. “This will be our sixth trip to the desert via ship. Stenson has a knack for getting the job furthest away from where we receive it. It’s ridiculous.” She drank more. “Don’t listen to me, I’m not well.” She drank more.

“Okay,” Quinta said. She proceeded to stand up and beckon Akahsha to the exit. They walked up the stairs and onto the top deck. The sun was setting. The crew members had calmed down at their stations, leaving only four men to walk about on the top deck. Quinta walked onto the board leading to the dock platform, and Akahsha followed behind.

A dozen fishermen were posted along the dock’s edges. Other crews were disembarking from their vessels. Some women stood at the stores overlooking the docks, and on the fences two teenage girls waited for their sailor boyfriends who walked up to them on cue. Two men sat next to each other shucking oysters, laughing as they did so.