Skye's eyes were fixed on the glowing orb as it floated ahead of them. He had made a game out of chasing after it, determined to catch it no matter how many times it eluded him. Each time he thought he had it in his grasp, his hands passed right through it as if it were nothing more than a mirage.

"So, tell us about yourself," said Hamish, breaking the silence as they walked through the forest.

Skye ate the last leftover knub of his cucumber. “No.”

Hamish laughed. "Fair enough. We're from the south, from a place called The Spire. We came out here looking for adventure, and I'd say we've found it."

As they continued their journey through the night, Skye couldn't help but continue to be drawn to the ball of light, stalking it from every angle and leaping at it with all the ferocity of a predator. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get a grip on it.

Slone chuckled. “You’re a good hunter.”

"Is this amusing or annoying for you?" Duran asked, noticing Skye's persistent pursuit of the ball of light. “If it’s distracting, I can do this.”

Skye watched as the orb rose higher, drifting towards the canopy. He dropped his weight and scrambled up a nearby tree, sprinting along a branch and leaping down onto the glowing sphere. It shot away from him, but he was quick on its heels, tumbling across the ground as he tried to capture it.

“Okay, definitely not that,” Duran said. “I’ll just keep it down here.”

They continued to walk through the night, and once the sun started to come up, the ball of light went away. When they stopped for breakfast, Skye swiped a few pieces of food and then accepted more when it was offered to him. He ate half and stashed the remainder away in his bag with the rest of his food.

“So, Skye, how far are we from Saltwater?” Hamish asked.

Skye didn’t know any measures of distance and he wasn’t that great at time, either, so he didn’t know how to answer that question. He looked up into the tree above them and watched a bird hop from branch to branch instead

“Should we get some sleep here, or you reckon we’re close enough that it’s worth pushing through?” Slone asked.

“Keep going,” Skye said.

“We’ll keep going, then,” Hamish said. 

Skye dropped his weight and scampered up the tree after the bird, but it saw him coming and flew away.

#

Saltwater was a port town built on a hilly landscape that curved around a large bay. Brightly-colored buildings and tall sails from ships were visible from a distance, and a cobbled road led the way into town as they approached.

Skye wasn’t sure if he was being followed or if this new group he’d picked up just happened to be heading in the same direction as he was as they made their way down sloping paths towards the docks. It was still early enough in the morning to be fairly quiet out, but port towns never really slept. Fishermen were getting ready to head out to sea and drunks who probably should have called it a night hours ago on the streets.

“Is this some sort of an inn?” Hamish asked, pointing to a sign that depicted a cresting wave above the entrance to a building painted in blues and greens. Skye couldn’t read the words on the sign, but he’d heard the place called The Wave Watcher. It was indeed an inn.

Skye nodded.

“Slone and Duran, do you two want to head in there and ask around about work?” Hamish asked. “I’m sure we’ll need money if we want a room to rest in, and probably for passage on a ship as well. I’ll head down to the docks and ask around about that.”

“Sounds good,” Slone said.

While they were busy transitioning custody of the egg from Hamish to Slone, Skye walked away. He no longer needed them and they no longer needed him.

Skye had sailed on ships before, although he had never paid for it. Whenever he got bored of a place or was no longer welcome, he would just get on ships until one of them didn’t kick him off, and then he’d go wherever they were going. 

Last time he had made the mistake of climbing the mast and refusing to get down when the crew of the ship he had boarded tried to kick him off. They’d let him stay so that they could set sail on time, and then spent the next two days trying to chase him down. When they finally caught him, they’d thrown him into the ocean.

He’d made himself light and floated effortlessly out in the vast expanse of the ocean. The water had chilled him and he had become thirstier and thirstier until another ship had sailed past and spotted him. Its captain, Miriam, had jumped in to rescue him and bring him aboard. It was her who he was going to visit now.

Miriam lived in a tall waterfront building painted bright red. Skye unlocked the door with the key Miriam had given him and then headed up the ramp inside. The walls were bare wood and the lighting dim, a dramatic contrast to the outside.

Even the loft apartment at the top of the ramp was a rather gloomy place. The town had electric lighting, but Miriam kept the windows shuttered and the lights low. She said she liked the ambiance. Skye didn’t know what that meant and he hadn’t cared to ask.

Miriam looked up from her desk and offered him a smile as she wheeled her wheelchair out from under the desk and turned it to face him. “Did everything go well?”

“No,” Skye said as he crouched on the floor to dig around in his bag for the pouch of coins.

“No?”

“There were vampires.”

“Vampires? What happened? Did you get into a fight?”

Skye placed the coin pouch on the desk, but Miriam didn’t seem interested in it. “Someone else got attacked, so I helped.”

“Did you get hurt?”

Skye nudged the coin pouch closer to Miriam in case she hadn’t noticed it. “No.”

"Vampires," Miriam said, frowning. "You'll have to report that."

“I just did.”

She gave him a smile and a shake of her head as she finally picked up the coin pouch. “I’ll report it up for you.”

While Miriam was distracted counting the money, Skye swiped a half eaten muffin off her desk and bit into it. When she glanced up at him, he quickly shoved what was left of it into his mouth.

“You know, I’m lucky you have no interest in money,” Miriam commented.

“Why would I want money? It’s just bits of metal.”

“You can exchange money for goods and services.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“It’s really not. You just—” Miriam stopped and shook her head. “Never mind. If I ever convince your klepto ass of the value of money, I’ll have made my best courier worthless. You said you helped someone else who was attacked by a vampire. Who was that?”

“Duran,” Skye said.

“Ah. I don’t think I know them.”

“He was with a group of travellers from the south,” Skye said. “They said they came from The Spire.”

“The Spire? Really? They’re a long way from home if that’s true.”

“That’s what they said. They’re trying to catch a boat back.”

“They won’t have much luck with that,” Miriam said. “Ships don’t pass that way. The currents are too difficult to navigate to be worth the trip.”

“Hmm,” Skye said, his attention wandering. He wondered if Miriam would let him sleep in her bed through the day. Maybe he’d just go lay down and see if she stopped him.

“Though I have to say, I’m curious,” Miriam said. “It’s probably been about forty years since we’ve made contact down there. Can you go and get your new friends for me?”

Skye nodded and headed back outside.

#

After inquiring with several people at the docks, Hamish learned that there were no ships that travelled to The Spire or its vicinity. He was just about to turn and head back to the inn where he had left the others when he collided with Skye, who had been standing directly behind him. Despite his slender frame and graceful movements, Skye felt surprisingly solid.

Hamish grinned at him. "Oh, hey there. I thought you were done with us."

"Me too," Skye replied as he took hold of Hamish's hand and led him away.

"We're holding hands now, are we?" Hamish asked with a hint of amusement. Skye didn't respond, but Hamish didn't mind. He found Skye to be an odd character, but there didn't seem to be any ill will in him. 

Skye stopped in front of a bright red building and fished a key out of his pocket before unlocking the door. As he yawned, Hamish caught a glimpse of his small, pointed teeth and long canines.

Skye led the way up a long ramp and into a large, dimly-lit room. On one side was a living area with a bed, table and chairs, and a kitchen area. On the other side, the space had been converted into an office, complete with a desk and shelves stacked with books and papers.

A thickset woman in a wheelchair with dark hair shaved stubble-short looked up from behind the desk and offered Hamish a friendly smile. She had a blanket draped over her lap, but when she wheeled out to face him, the end of a thick, flat tail, like that of some sort of marine mammal, peeked out from beneath the bottom of the blanket.

"It's more useful in the water," she said, noticing Hamish's gaze. "You're one of Skye's friends from The Spire, right?"

"Hamish," he introduced himself, holding out his hand for her to shake. "Yes, I'm from The Spire."

"Miriam," she said, shaking his hand. "I heard you're trying to get back home."

"Trying being the operative word," Hamish said. "I've been told it's not accessible by boat."

"How did you end up here in the first place?"

“Oh, you know,” Hamish waved a dismissive hand, “some sort of magical bullshit.”

“Ah. And I take it not the kind where you can just do it again and get back?”

“Unfortunately not. Don’t get me wrong, this has been a fantastic adventure, but not being able to get home at all isn’t something that sits well with any of us.”

"I understand," Miriam said. "I run trade ships, though not to The Spire. How are things down there? Any news?"

"Well, we did have a major confrontation with the large human settlement recently, and somehow it ended in talks about peace and ending slavery for the mages in their community. I think that counts as pretty big news."

Miriam's eyes widened. "If that's true, if it really works out... it changes a lot of things.”

"The truth is, I am human," Hamish admitted. "I've been living outside of their territory for a couple of years now, but that was where I was born. It's a complicated situation, but I believe change is happening."

"I’d like to help you, but my ship is a trade vessel,” Miriam said. “To even attempt that route, you'd need something lighter and more manoeuvrable. I'm not sure I'll be able to help you, but stick around town for now. I might be able to make something happen."