Orme hurriedly splashed water on his face from the small basin on the table, wiped himself, and put on his wide brown pants and lighter brown overrobe over a cotton grey shirt.

Wren and Iyona were waiting in the dining room, each of them with a coffee and some pastries for a light breakfast. Orme joined them, and a mug appeared in front of him, courtesy of Cheetah.

“Had a good night then?” Iyona asked.

“I guess so, I didn’t even hear you guys get up. No weird dreams this time too, it was nice. What about you?”

“I slept perfectly,” Wren said. “It felt so nice to be in a real bed again.”

Iyona nodded in approval. Orme thought a bed wasn’t so bad after all, but he much preferred sleeping under the stars. Imagining that the war has ended, that peace reigned over his beloved land and sea. If only.

“Well, we've slept. We ate. Now what? Wren, where does your research lead next?” Orme asked.

Wren's brow creased. They weren't used to deciding much. But Orme and Iyone were  running out of ideas. They had to find clues in order to move forward in their quest, and they were finding none.

“North, I'd say. Inland. I know you want to stay close to the coast, Orme, but we've pretty much gone around all of it and haven't found a thing. So let's head in and see what that brings us. As long as we avoid the fighting, we should be good, right?”

Iyona laughed. “Right. We don't have a chance anyway, not with you so clumsy with a sword!”

Orme laughed along. They knew full well their kid was as bad with a sword as a fish would be at walking. Wren stuck their tongue out at them both and got up.

“Breakfast is over. I'm going for a short walk. Meet you back here in an hour.”