I stop as I exit, the small, squat guild building, built on the rocks before the sandy part of the beach. A westward blowing breeze brought the scents of salt and fish inland from the Great Blue. Four ships anchored at the port creak and groan as the tide ebbs and flows beneath them — flowing onto the golden sand beach in foamy white peaks. It was built here on the coast at the founding of the Guild as a symbol, according to my grandfather. That if all  humanity should be pushed off of the continent of Atoria and into the Great Blue, that the Guild would still be there, fighting. 

Men work diligently unloading the ships; taking their cargo to either the wagons waiting in the loading area, or the skiffs tied to the pier. Once a wagon was loaded, it would pull out and go along a road that curves around the guild building, and climbs the short slope up the stony hill through the harbor’s gates into the city of Dullahan. From there they would bring their goods to the various farming, hunting and gathering communities inland. The skiffs, once full, would bring their goods into the Half-Crescent Bay and navigate its waters to bring their supplies to the fishing communities along its banks. 

Both Shepherd’s Stead and Alfden were pretty far inland, and mostly relied on farming, gathering and hunting, and when I came to Dullahan to sign up for the guild, it was the first time I had seen the Great Blue. I had thought the Half-Crescent Bay had been the Great Blue when I and the wagon driver from Alfden first passed by it. I had never seen anything so vast in my life. A feeling of smallness washed through me. It was a similar feeling I had whenever I looked up at the White King — the mountain peak whose shadow Shepherd’s Stead resided under. But the Great Blue was incomparably vast. 

I stand looking out at the Great Blue again, letting that feeling of near holy smallness settle, and overhear a conversation between a wagon driver and one of the men unloading the cargo.

“I’m missing half of my order!” He points to his wagon, “Most of the foodstuff we ordered isn’t here, and most of the iron is missing as well.” 

“I’m sorry sir,” the dockworker says as he wipes his forehead with a rag, “But a major city in Mu was captured recently. Most of your order couldn’t be filled because of that we had trouble filling a lot of shipments.” 

“Well do something about it.” The irate wagon driver slams his fist against the side of his wagon. “How is Corina supposed to survive on half a shipment? 

The horses pulling the wagon groans and pulls against the yoke as the heat of the sun beat down on them. 

“We can’t do anything, sir. I’m sorry. Can you move along? You’re holding up the line.” The worker motions to the line of wagons behind the man. 

The man looks to his wagon with a defeated sigh and climbs into the driver’s seat. With a quick flick of his wrist, the reins snap and the horses pull away. A man with flowing black and tan robes pushes past me and slams the door of the guild building shut; jolting me out of my temporary trance. I check to see if I have everything, and put the papers I was still carrying inside of my satchel and continued on my way, along the footpath that ran alongside the stone paved street, and led into town. 

Its late morning, nearly noon. People crowd the street in an unbelievable number. It is nearly suffocating to walk the street. The market is about half a mile away. Before I even enter it the aromas of searing venison, fish, and beef mixes with the salty air, and before long the scents of saffron, turmeric, and ginger joined in. My stomach rumbled. I reach for the coin pouch in my pocket, and pull it out. The linen sack compresses as I feel it for any leftover coin. I shove it back into my pocket and my stomach rumbles.

“Damn,” I mutter to myself, “I hope I get a request soon.” 

People look at me as I mumble to myself. Their eyes feel like coal against my skin. Cold sweat forms on my forehead as I continue through the crowd. I would love to look around, but the pain from my stomach and the faintness in my head stop me. I needed to get out of there. I move my satchel to my front so it doesn’t snag against any passerby as we brush shoulders as we pass one another. It was hot. Unbelievably hot. How could there be so many people? I wasn’t aware so many people had even existed on Atoria. I was nearing the gate. I could see the entrance to the bay, and the great gates that would lead me out of the city just before me as the road began to slope downwards. My stomach rumbles and my head flutters like a bird on its wings. My skin feels hot as if the mass of people were a great oven and I was placed in the middle of it. Just before I reach the gate, another swelling wind carries the smell of cooked meat to my nostrils and I swoon; the lightness in my head returning as I nearly stumble over. I duck into the space between two nearby buildings. 

The alley is uninhabited, and I can see the beginnings of the Half-Crescent Bay, as well as the dark, rotting wood of a pier  sticking out into it. The alley is perhaps ten buildings long. Was I this close to it? I lean against the nearest building; my fingers finding the grooves in between the faded red bricks as I watch the crowds of people undulate like a wave. Nausea ebbs through me and I nearly vomit. I reach pull open the flap on my satchel, reach in and pull out the sloshing water skin. I take a deep drink of the warm water, and the looping in my stomach calms down a little. 

“First time in Dullahan?” A voice from down the alley behind me calls. 

I turn around and a large woman stands there, near an open wooden door. She had light brown hair, with gray streaks across it near her temples. Her eyes were a light hazel, with dark circles formed beneath them on her tanned, wrinkled skin. 

“That obvious?” I ask, half joking. 

“Aw, that’s alright sug’.” She said. 

I put the water skin back in the satchel as I straighten myself out. 

“That’s near everyone’s reactions when they first come.” She says warmly, “Why don’t you come inside? Take a seat, I’ll get you somethin’ to eat.” She motions for the open door. 

“I don’t have money.” I admit as I take another deep breath. 

“That’s okay honey, first one’ll be on the house.” Once again she motions for the door. 

My stomach rumbles again as the smell of food being cooked wafts from the open door, and I oblige. Hanging my head as I walk down the alley, and turn into the door. She places her hand on my shoulder and gives it a small squeeze. We enter into a small kitchen. Three people are busy preparing vegetables, meats and a variety of other things for the lunch rush as noon began to approach. 

“Who’s this?” A man asks as his hands work in a flash to chop up a carrot. “New dish boy?” 

“Just a guest, just a guest.” The old woman smiles, “Can you make him somethin’ to eat, Al?” 

“Sandwich be alright?” 

She looks to me and I nod, keeping my eyes on the stone ground.

“Alright, will be out in a flash.” The man said. 

The old lady moved me through the kitchen and into the dining area. Most of the tables are empty, save for one in the far corner next to a window overlooking the dark wood pier and the vast blue Half-Crescent Bay just beyond that which housed a young couple. She sits me at the table nearest the kitchen, and I place my satchel on the floor near the wall. 

“So what brings you here?” She asks as she props up her head on her arm.

“Joining the guild.” I say. 

“Ohh, were you able to?” 

I nod. 

“Good for you! My daughter recently joined as well!” She says with a smile. “She’s about your age. You know, she only joined last month, and she’s already completed three requests! Isn’t that incredible! Though she’s been pretty disappointed with the kind of requests she’s being given.” 

“What kind of requests has she been given?” I ask.

“Things like helping someone put up a barn, hunting for a starving village, and she delivered a letter to a frontier town.” She said, “All in all, pretty boring for her. She’s a great shot with her bow, you know? Practiced every day since she was a kid.” 

“I hope I get a request soon,” I say. “I don’t care what it is.” 

“Where you from, honey?”

“Shepherd’s Stead,” I say, “It’s near the White King.” 

“What’s that?” She asks. 

“You’ve never seen it?” I look up from the floor, “It’s huge.” 

She shakes her head. 

“Was born in Dullahan.” She said, “Haven’t left, but to Cardin. And that was years back.” 

I had passed through Cardin on my way to the city just a few days prior. It was perhaps twenty or so miles away.

“Really? Just that far?” 

I feel a momentary swelling of pride for having traveled so far. A man approaches from the kitchen carrying a tin-plate, a clear pitcher filled with water so cold that it fogs up the glass container. He places the plate in front of me and sets out three cups; filling each with the clear liquid. 

“So who’s this, hun?” The man leans over and plants a kiss on the woman’s cheek. 

“You know, I haven’t asked him yet, what’s your name, sug’?” 

“Abel. Abel Lawrence,” I answer. 

I extend my hand to the man. He takes it, we shake and I do the same for the woman. 

“My name’s Abigail.” She says, “And that’s Charlie,” She motions with her thumb. “You know, he’s joined the guild just today, Charlie.” 

“Really?” He turns to me, “You know, our daughter — she’s ‘bout your age, just joined last month though she’s been disap-.” 

“I already told him all that, hun.” 

He pulls up a chair from an empty table nearby and sits in it.

“Have you told him ‘bout the one she just got last week? She was super excited for it, too!” 

“Was just about to before you butted in,” she gives him a playful wink and I start eating the sandwich. “She and a few others here in Dullahan were called over to Piersmouth. Some monsters have been attacking the fishers out there, and they’re one of the largest fishing towns around.” 

“Piersmouth, where’s that?” I ask. “This is good.” I take another bite. 

The old woman looks to her husband. 

“Do we still have that Atorian map?” 

“Of course.” 

He pushes himself off the table and heads to a room to the side of the kitchen, coming back shortly after. 

“Kara used to love looking at it when she was a kid.” He commented, “Of course I kept it.” 

He pulled open the map on the table. It was huge. I had seen the map of Atoria once, but I don’t think I ever really appreciated how large the land mass that I lived on was. I look it over. My jaw slack. 

“Where are we?” I ask, setting the sandwich down. 

The man hrmms a bit and looks over the map. His finger jabs down on a point on the left side of the map, near the Great Blue. He pulls out a glass circle from his pocket and places it on that side of the map. The portion beneath the circle gets large enough to read. I can clearly make out the word, ‘Dullahan.’ It sat on a triangular point between the Half-Crescent Bay and the Great Blue. It was only looking at it from this angle did I realize why it was called that. One part of the bay stretched southwards down the map before curving inland and stopping at a point, while the other stretched a little northwards, before stopping. It was as if a crescent moon had been shattered in half, if I squinted at it right. 

“We’re here in Dullahan. Obviously.” The old man laughs and moves his finger southwards towards the southern tip of the bay, “And here’s Piersmouth.” He said, “It’s about 40 miles away.” 

“That close, huh?” I mutter. 

The old man looks up to me and smiles a thin smile that quickly fades.

“Kid, I don’t know if this is appropriate at the moment, but I’m sorry.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, for the state our world’s in.” He says, “Us old folks just didn’t do enough  during our time, and now most of Atoria has been run over by the monsters, and now they’re closer than ever.” He sighs. 

“It’s not your fault. This has been going on for 800 years or so.” I say, “At least according to my granpa; and the guild’s only been around for 80 of those.” I take a drink of the water, “And by that time most of Atoria was already unlivable. The guild’s been doing pretty well in holding off the tide, though, from what I’ve heard. Over the last 80 years the amount of livable land has actually increased by about a percent.” 

“Yeah, but that’s still a drop in the bucket. 99% of the land is uninhabitable because of the monster threat.” The old man says, “he sighs,” And now the monsters are this close to Dullahan, the largest population center left on Atoria.” 

“How’s the other continents doing? I know it all started on Atoria, and then slowly spread to them.” I ask, taking another bite. 

“I’m not too sure. I know that Atoria is the worst off.” The old woman says, joining back in the conversation, 

“Don’t really get many travelers to Atoria, ‘The Doomed Continent,’ after all.” 

“Is that what we’re called?” I finish the sandwich and turn to the man, “Thank you, sir.” 

“No problem. Let me take your plate.” 

The man takes my plate and heads back into the kitchen and the woman sighs. 

“Kara’s hope is to turn that around though.” She says, a twinkle in her eye. 

“That’s my hope too,” I say as I wipe the crumbs off my lip. “I think everyone who joins the guild has that same goal.” 

She smiles. 

“Perhaps. I’m proud of her none-the-less. She’s one of the 5000 still holding the line here.” She smiles, and drops her arm. “Well, thank you for letting an old woman rant.” 

Just as we finish speaking the door swings open and a group of people walk in, chattering with one another. 

“Ah, I have to get back to the kitchen.” She says, “It’s going to get busy here. Finish up here, and stop by whenever you’re back in Dullahan won’t you, boy?” 

I nod. 

“Thank you, Miss Abigail.”