When the Pig Flew [Mystria]

[Dyste]

Also known as 'Going Ham in Mystria'. Co-written with Rohane Alista.

The plane ride had been over six hours, heading from Calberona Skyways to their destination. For a good chunk of it, the Suidan had been asleep; it was his first trip outside of his homeland, and he hadn’t been used to how long it’d be. But now, they had just called the destination over the intercom, as he peered out of the window to look below.

As the plane descended, the Suidan could see the sea below sparkling in the midday sun, large boats passing below. As the plane came further in for the city, the boats got smaller, and then were replaced by the small dots of people as the beach came into view. It seemed a lot of people were there this day, especially as regular, steady waves crashed into the sand. Beyond the sand were trees, and then the roofs of buildings in hundreds of brilliant colors quickly faded away. The view changed to be a runway as the Suidan felt the plane touchdown with a slight shock. "Welcome to Rohane Alista," the captain said over the intercom. "We will taxi to our gate in five minutes. Thank you for flying Calberona Skyways today!"

“Oh, we’re here!” the half-asleep man’s ears perked up as he collected his belongings; he had decided to go the Rohanian way while here, but he still carried a backpack of belongings. Compared to even Calberona this was rather a bit daunting for him, but he took a deep breath as he departed the plane. Maybe he should’ve gone somewhere smaller to start?

As the plane parked and passengers began to disembark, he was greeted by a sign in the walkway, featuring a human man and a bovinian woman smiling under the sun, eye the text Welcome to Finral! on it. Luckily for the tourist, Finral was rather smaller than the three largest tourist cities in Rohane Alista; compared to Berabil's five million people, Alistara's population being almost that large, and the nearly unbelievable forty five million in Calihain, the one and a half million in Finral was somewhat less likely to overwhelm. Still, as he exited the terminal and headed towards immigration control, there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people in the airport already.

The pigman wished he could say he picked Finral for that reason, but fact of the matter was, he had mostly chosen at random for this. That said, he did have to get used to crowds better, this seemed more claustrophobic than Auram did during the tournament. As he did so, he got out his Dystan passport, ready to present to the staff; the black design with a golden dragon-themed coat of arms was quite distinct.

"Next," a bland human woman behind a desk called in a bored voice. There was a plastic barrier between her and the Dystan, with a little slot in it to set his passport. "Passport and visa, please."

“Ah, here you go!” the Dystan said, still a bit nervous; opening it up, it showed his name was Helvos Venja; nationality was Dystan, of course, and he was born in the late 1970’s in a place called Thricsvaklar in Dyste, the date of the passport’s issue being only two weeks ago in Calberona.

"Visa, please," the woman repeated. Helvos would be aware that every international boarding pass into Rohane Alista required a printed Visa as well. The woman still typed in his details into her computer, though.

“Oh, right, right,” Helvos reached into his bag and pulled out a few documents, “Um, yeah, I think it’s this one?”

The lady took the visa, tapping on her keyboard a few more times before handing it and the passport back. "Welcome to Rohane Alista. Have a good stay, Mr. Venja. Next!" She shouted, waving him through a turnstile on the right.

“Thanks!” Helvos waved back as he exited; as he packed light, he didn’t need to wait for a baggage check on this one. Not like he exactly needed a lot of changes of clothes out here in Rohane Alista, after all! Of course, now he needed to figure what he wanted to do next… probably find some sort of lodgings and get a bite to eat before hitting the city.

Skipping the baggage claim let the Suidan walk right past most of the crowd in the airport, outside to where transportation could be found. He was spoiled for choice here, with taxis and busses running, a tram just pulling into the airport station, and even the ability to walk across a few roads and be in the middle of Finral on foot. There was also a bank of payphones to the side, all under a warm but not scorching sun, the scent of the sea air wafting over.

Helvos was almost a bit overwhelmed here, but after giving it a thought, he figured that a little jog might be nice; in spite of his heavier build, he was hardly the inactive type. Besides, after sleeping most of the way here, he wanted to have a better look at the scenery of this place!

The footpath out of the airport was well marked for the tourist, and though he had to cross a few roads, it wasn't long until he found himself on a skybridge. All sides but the floor were sparkling glass, a highway underneath him, a large steel building opposite. Halfway down the bridge was a small observation area, where one could watch the traffic, or if they had particularly good eyesight, even see all the way to the beach on one side and to downtown on the other.

Thankfully for Helvos, he did indeed have quite good senses; Suidans were well-known for their strong senses of taste and smell, but he had to hone his other ones in his line of work too. “Nice place,” he admired the view from the observation deck. A very different sight from the cities of Dyste, let alone his hometown. Some of the buildings were taller than even Castle Dyste, he must’ve figured.

The sun glinted off the buildings around as traffic in the footpath began to pick up. Those who had gotten their baggage were starting to walk through, chattering about random things, places to eat, what hotels they were staying at, their plans for the day or tomorrow, giving Helvos little snippets of what he could look forward to in Finral, from what one person said was the largest arcade in Rohane Alista all the way to paragliding.

“Paragliding, hm?” Helvos had heard some phrase about pigs flying, maybe that was where it came from? That said, he definitely needed a place to stay; he wasn’t the one for overly fancy lodgings, and while he had a considerable budget considering his earnings, he didn’t want to spend it all just on one visit! Thankfully, hearing about the hotels at least gave him some idea what they were like as he set off.

After leaving the footpath, Helvos immediately found himself in a tall building, stairs to one side and elevators to the other. There were metal stands full of little leaflets all over, some advertising lodgings ranging from cheap motels to expensive, elite hotels, while others advertised various activities, such as paragliding again, or a boat trip to try and see the sea dragons of the area. Out in front of him, Helvos could look through the window to see downtown Finral properly now, tall steel and glass buildings side by side with sandstone or marble buildings of older build.

Even Helvos knew about the Rohanian’s love of sandstone buildings, it was one of the things everyone in Dyste knew about them alongside the love of horses and burgers. For his own part, he wanted to find a modest place for his lodgings, not a motel but a more reasonably priced hotel, so he looked into the best options from the leaflets.

Helvos could discard the first few he found, obviously rat trap motels, and then the next few too, most of them making no effort to hide that they were glamorous places for the well to do. After a few minutes, he’d finally found three probable fliers to pick between; on the lower end, there was a place called Horn House, a step or two above a motel but almost as cheap as one while at least offering the basic amenities right in downtown; a mid level hotel, The Carryway Inn at Merigon, which was itself a bit out of downtown according to the map in it’s flier, and a little more expensive than the Horn House, but with much better amenities, and a hotel that clearly just missed the cut off for the group of the best in the city, the Rockary Hotel, a little on the expensive side, but once again in downtown, right near the beach as well, with all the amenities one could hope for without being a major celebrity.

After considering his options, Helvos decided he could splurge a little bit for his first visit; his tournament winnings would last him a fair amount of time so long as he didn’t overspend on his stay, so the Rockary Hotel it was, as he looked over the location to head over there.

A quick elevator ride to the bottom floor of the building let Helvos exit into the sun soaked pathways of Finral. Luckily, right across from Helvos was a building with a sign declaring it ‘The Old Finral Manor House’, which was marked on the map in the leaflet. It seemed the Rockary would be about twelve blocks to his right, and glancing down, he could see tree lined boulevards with many interesting buildings along his way… mostly sandstone ones, again.

“They really do love their sandstone,” Helvos said to himself as he jogged towards where the Rockary would be; he wasn’t in a rush, but he had always found it made him more able to enjoy a good meal afterwards. He figured with all these tall buildings, paragliding sounded all the more appealing!

Helvos passed a few restaurants as he jogged, the smells of various things wafting out from them, though of course there was certainly plenty of beef clearly identifiable among the scents. It was a little harder to jog as he got closer to the Rockary, though, crowds picking up and filling out as he approached where downtown met the boardwalk. The hotel itself had become easy to spot, at least, many stories tall and jutting into the sky, a large sign announcing itself to the world.

The Suidan could already tell loads of places he wanted to try out already; his people were known for their big appetites alongside their senses, and he was no exception. But first thing was first here, he needed to check into the hotel, entering the building.

The lobby of the hotel had a marble floor, shined to perfection, as well as marble walls with gold filigree along them. It was filled with plush sitting areas, as well as a long desk, made of well cared for hardwoods, behind which there was a bank of elevators as well as two staircases. On either side of the room were closed doors that led to things Helvos did not know of.

There were two people working behind the desk, one busy with another person, but a dark skinned woman was available, and on seeing Helvos, smiled at him. It seemed a surprising place for it, but she was definitely a beauty, with perfect teeth and long, well maintained hair, her appearance likely carefully controlled to be up to the standards of the hotel, which Helvos could already tell might have been higher than its actual price point.

Helvos walked up with a smile on his face, it seemed the staff were friendly enough, “Hello there! I’d like to book a room for, oh, about two weeks?”

“Of course, sir! No reservation?” The woman at the desk asked. A small plaque on the desk read ‘Æthelwyf.’ “What sized room are you looking for? Unfortunately we don’t have any doubles available that would cover the entire time, but we can put you up in a queen, king, or Calihain King room if you’d like?”

“I think a queen room’ll do it just fine!” Helvos almost seemed afraid of how fancy the highest rooms might be, “It’ll suit my needs here for certain, miss.”

“Alright! Would you like an ocean view on that room, sir?” The attendant asked with a winning smile. “I do recommend it! They say you can see for miles out to sea from those rooms, and practically see the world as it turns!”

“Oh, that sounds great!” Helvos had always loved seeing the ocean when he visited Calberona or Undellah, “I’ll take it if one’s available!”

“Great! It was only one more, so you’ve done well to get it before someone else booked it, sir!” The woman’s smile persisted as she typed away on a computer. “Will you be paying with card or cash today, sir?”

“Card, naturally,” Helvos reached into his pack for a wallet, containing a black card with a picture of a treasure chest in gold on it; this was Treasure Vault Bank, the oldest one in Dyste.

“Thank you sir,” the woman smiled, taking the card and hitting a few more buttons. “And you would like that room for fourteen days? The total will come to… N$4,690 for that, sir.”

While a little more than Helvos originally intended to spend on lodgings here, it wasn’t too big a dent in his travel budget, and if need be, between trips he might go participate in more arena matches. “Got it!” He said, happy to sort out the biggest issue of his stay early on, so he could spend the rest just on having fun.

The woman behind the desk ran the suidan’s card, handing it back to him a moment later, and then handing him a further card, white with gold trim. “This is your room key, sir. You’re on floor twenty seven, in room 2709, and the elevator to your right can take you there. If you need any help, or have any issues with your room, please feel free to call the front desk at any time. We have clerks working around the clock to ensure your stay is as excellent as possible!”

“Thank you!” Helvos took the card; he figured it’d be good to see the room and leave some of his personal belongings before heading out into the city, maybe get a good view of the ocean first before going there himself.

The woman at the desk smiled at Helvos as he left, turning quickly to deal with the next guest. Helvos was alone as he got into the elevator, which had its own window to overlook the city and the beach as it rose to floor twenty seven, the midday sun sparkling off the glass. The view was still similar to what the suidan had seen from the plane, but if anything, the beach seemed even more packed now. Before he could spend too much time watching, though, the elevator dinged and stopped rising, the doors opening on a hallway filled with carpet.

The signs opposite the elevator indicated room 2709 would be to the right, which was where Helvos would find a heavy wooden door with an 09 on it, waiting for his card.

“Lots of people, huh,” Helvos seemed to get a bit nervous again, but he could think about his plans later as he reached his door, putting the card in to check out the room.

With a short beep, the door opened, allowing the man to enter. He knew this wasn’t the fanciest room in the hotel, the lady at the desk had been clear about that, but it was plenty fancy anyways. The bed was large, large enough two bovinians could easily have laid next to each other without feeling cramped, the bathroom was an entirely separate room, and it looked like a waterfall shower with marble tiling was the main appeal there.

There was a large closet, far more than large enough for all of Helvos’ clothes, and a TV on the wall, a wide one. It looked like one of those new, cutting edge models that were shockingly thin compared to the CTVs of the recent past. But most of all, there was a balcony just beyond a set of floor to ceiling windowed doors, which looked out over the ocean and had a small table and chairs already on it.

“Geez, almost still seems too fancy for me,” Helvos had to admit, setting his bag down to unpack a few things. He had some extra clothes, not that he needed them here, plus a copy of a travel guide he had bought back at Dyste; other than reading about Rohane Alista in Tyroth’s travel journals, he hadn’t really known too much about Rohane Alista other than common knowledge, so it would be helpful to learn. For the time being, it seemed best to perhaps go into the city proper, maybe start at the beach and get an idea on where the best spots were.

The way to the beach was pretty obvious from Helvos’ room, at least. It was pretty hard to miss the straight, flat stretch of land heading right up to the boardwalk that the cars were driving on, after all. As he observed, the Dystan could see a couple of people, humans most likely, hanging from big kites as they drifted past his hotel, heading for the beach itself.

“Hm, actually…” Helvos was already inspired to try out the gliding; call it the adventurer in him, but he couldn’t resist! Perhaps he could find more information at the beach proper about it.

The walk to the beach was a pleasant one, once Helvos left the hotel. With the small but noticeable lack of the weight of his bags, the Suidan was able to take his time in the sun. Scents drifted over the area as he walked, the smells of traffic and buildings slowly being replaced by those of food and the ocean the further he went, until he stood at the entrance to the beach. To his left were many multitudes of wooden buildings, made to look like shacks but clearly too steady, including one with a sign that read ‘Windsurfing’ and another that read ‘Paragliding Tours’. To his right were more stone buildings, most of them restaurants, knick knack shops, or general retailers. And, of course, in front of him was a stretch of warm sand and warm water filled with people, human and not.

Hevlos felt like trying out the paragliding right away, it seemed too fun to pass up, and it’d give he a better look than he could have on the plane, as he went towards the building for it; in spite of the crowds, he seemed quite mobile moving through them, as if he had experience dealing with tighter spaces before.

Of course, it would be rude to use his surprisingly nimble moves to skip in line, and there was definitely a line. It seemed the paragliding was popular, and after several minutes in line, Helvos could see a group of people exit the building and enter a bus that had showed up just then. With that, the line moved forward suddenly, taking him closer to the door of the business. Just as the line stopped, people began gliding overhead, just high enough to clear the crowds and land in the empty part of the beach.

“Ah, I see,” Helvos muttered to himself; the bus must take them to wherever they would start from, so they would land back around here. Made a lot of sense; they needed to start from somewhere high up, after all. He knew that while Draconids could fly fully, it was easier to start from a height point and descend rather than ascend, hence why they were known for jumping off airships.

As Helvos mused about how draconids were only half as suicidal as they looked to everyone else, the line continued to move forward until he found himself looking at a price list. It seemed this place actually did pricing based on paraglider size, with only one package currently available, which at least made it simple enough for the clerk to tell him his price. "N$75 for the paragliding tour, sir!"

“Oh, sure thing!” Helvos was snapped out of his thoughts by this, using his card to pay for it, “Got a lot of tourists at this time of year, I’d imagine?”

"This time of year?" The lady asked, running his card and handing it back. She then ducked away for a moment, coming back with a harness. She didn't put it on Helvos, but she did begin adjusting it.

“Oh, um, yeah,” Helvos put his hand in his hair, “There’s a whole lotta people around and such… or is it like that all year around?”

"Well, it's pleasant all year round, so I suppose I've never noticed a large decrease in the amount of visitors we get," the clerk smiled, handing Helvos the harness. If you go to your left, there will be a room with lockers and benches. Please store anything loose you have, like a wallet, in the locker that matches the number on the tag of your harness, sir, and then feel free to wait for the next bus!"

“Gotcha!” Helvos was too used to Dyste being more temperate, while it never got to Silverdalean levels of cold it could get a bit chilly and cause a decrease in tourism to Dyste’s own beaches. Nevertheless, he placed his bag with the remaining items he didn’t leave at the hotel there (not like he had any pockets on hand either way), before going to wait for the next bus.

Helvos only had to wait about five minutes before the next bus pulled up. It was easy enough to get on, as it was for everyone else, the bus filling up rapidly. Before it left for its destination, however, a blonde and well tanned man stood at the front, speaking to the crowd.

"Hello! My name is Casey, and I'm going to be the overseer for this totally radical paraglider tour of Finral!" He said with a smile. "A few things before we start though, dudes and dudettes. First; you gotta do what I, or other instructors, tell you. I'm not being the man to put you down, but your safety is our highest priority, and we know what we're doing. Second; don't wander off! There's some neat woods up there, but we're not rangers, man. Third; have fun! You're here to have a good time, so have a good time!... alright, let's get going!" Casey finished, sitting down as the bus started to move.

Helvos chuckled a bit to himself, he was reminded of those shows he watched as a kid in the 90’s, including that fad hero group the Ninja Bros.; he even had some t-shirts for them, not that they really fit him. That said, he did pay close attention to the instructions; he knew better than to simply assume he knew better than them on their own attraction.

The bus ride was fairly unremarkable. For a city that had seemed so large from the air, it was only about fifteen minutes until they had left behind the traffic and started heading up a large hill, a butte of some kind that rose over it. The bus soon stopped in a dirt parking lot, the doors opening as the people on board disembarked, the employees gathering the required sails as they waited for all the soon to be gliders to gather.

Helvos was glad he didn’t eat before coming, he figured that going up like this on a full stomach might’ve been a bad idea after all. Nevertheless, he took a look in the direction of the beach, trying to see how far away from it they really were.

Already, he could tell they were at least as high up as his hotel room, but as the group began to move, they were walking up a smaller path through the trees that led even higher. It was a fairly gentle stroll, all told, though carrying the harness certainly made it a little more difficult than usual. It was about twenty minutes later that the group broke out of the trees, to a mostly flat and wide open hilltop that looked down on the city entirely. Arguably it felt more like a small mountain than a hill, it was so tall, but that just made the view it provided even better.

Helvos was looking forward to it even more now; he had only ever gotten to play once in an airship and once on the plane, and now he’d have an all-new experience here; even if the distance would be shorter, it’d be quite a different feeling this time, more personal in a way.

"Alright!" Casey stopped, standing on a rock near the edge of the hill. "Now, in just a minute we're going to come around and help everyone with their harnesses, make sure you're all good! And then, we'll start taking you all to fly… well, glide, at least!" The man laughed at his own lame joke. "Don't worry if this is your first time! Just let us know and we'll have one of our fine instructors head down with you!"

“Um,” Helvos raised his hand, seeming a bit embarrassed, “It… is my first time, yeah…”

Casey himself approached the suidan, smiling at the man. "Don't worry, man, everyone's gotta do something for the first time at some point!" He chuckled, quickly adjusting Helvos' harness. "You just relax and enjoy the ride, alright? I'll make sure you're safe and thrilled!"

“Th-thanks,” Helvos seemed a bit more at ease with it now, taking a deep breath, “Yeah, I think I’ll be ready for it…”

"Hey, it's a biiig thing to jump off this height, but don't worry," Casey smiled, clapping Helvos on the shoulder. "You're going to wonder how you can get some more permanent wings after this, I bet! Now come on, who's hyped up to paraglide?"

“I am!” Hevlos said; he knew that there were ways in Dyste to achieve flight, but they wouldn’t exactly work here either way.

"That's the spirit, dude!" Casey laughed, leading Helvos to the edge of the hill. The suidan could now see that there was a small ramp that ran off over the edge. He was soon directed to stand in the middle of the ramp while the instructor attached their harnesses together. "Now, in going to count down from three. On one, I want you to run as hard as you can forward as possible, alright? Don't worry about me, just go as fast as you can, starting with the left leg. Alright dude?"

“Hear ya loud and clear!” Helvos at least knew how to run fast if nothing else; aside from punching monsters, it was one thing he could always do.

"Alright! 3… 2… 1!" The Rohanian shouted, already starting to run himself, giving Helvos a pace to match if he needed it.

Casey didn’t really need to worry about Helvos keeping pace, in spite of the Suidan’s rotund build he was easily able to keep up, even needing to slow down a little to make sure he didn’t overtake the Rohanian.

A few seconds later, Helvos found himself in the air, a transition so smooth he could be forgiven for not even noticing it. The hill grew smaller behind them as a small gust of wind gave the two a lift, pushing them out over the city. It was similar to the view from the plane as it had come in for landing, but now everything looked bigger, more real, without the restraints of the window, and with the feeling of wind in his hair.

“WHOA!” Helvos knew that it would be exciting, but he didn’t expect something like this! The last time he had a rush like this was when he was traversing a dungeon and needed to ride through a wind trap; thankfully this one didn’t push him against the ceiling. Not to mention, the view was incredible from up here; it really was the best way to see the city, it seemed.

"That's right, dude!" Casey shouted from behind him, steering the glider slightly to do a wide circle around the hill. "I love it up here! You see a totally different kind of world!"

“Yeah, totally… dude!” Helvos tried awkwardly to fit in there, “Everything looks so tiny down there!”

"Right on!" Casey laughed, turning them to face towards the general direction of the beach as they glided over the city proper. Helvos could see his own hotel, the airport, and for the first time, on the far side of the beach, a roller coaster. "And you think this was all made by people! It's wicked wild, man!"

“Yeah!” Helvos admired the view even more now, “Amazing what you only notice way up here, isn’t it?”

"Yeah," Casey laughed, pointing past Helvos' face at a flock of colorful birds flying by. "But it's not all on the ground, man! Look at those parrots go, radical little dudes!"

“Ohhh, yeah!” Helvos looked over at them, “So many cool birds here, too!” He had heard that there were some dangerous animals in Rohane Alista, but mostly in the jungles; here it was pretty safe, it seemed.

"Right on, man," Casey laughed loudly, and Helvos could feel as they started to descend. The instructor nudged the glider slightly so they were on course to fly right over the very same building they had originally left from, landing on an empty plot of beach. "Now, when we land, don't brace! Run a little bit forward instead and it'll feel a lot better!"

“O-oh, sure!” Helvos got ready for the little run, making sure that when they finally reached the ground, to move his feet on a good timing, running forward a bit before he came to a complete stop, “Whew… that was fun!”

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, dude!" Casey beamed, quickly unhooking himself from the suidan. "Hey, you can just head inside the back door, grab your things, and turn in the harness. Thanks for coming up, dude, and if you ever want to again, you know where to find us!"

“Got it, thanks!” Helvos waved him off; it was quite the great first impression for not just Finral, but Rohane Alista as a whole for him. And hey, it made him even more hungry, so he left the beach in order to see more of the city, and to, as much as the stereotype annoyed him, ‘pig out’ on the local meals. So much more of Mystria to see!

[Thalassium]

Written with Dyste

After his heroics in Tambelon, Helvos was glad to get a chance to relax; he was already one of the greatest adventurers in Dyste, having accomplished much between the years of his original vacation to Finral and this time, his reddish-brown hair having a hint of gray in it, but this did nothing to stop his enthusiasm, especially with so many friends he had met along the way. Wearing his usual vacationing attire of an open patterned shirt (in this case, red with patterns of fish on it) and cargo shorts, he spoke to his companion, “So then, you’re telling me you’ve never been on a vacation before? Ever?”

“Hmm,” his companion, a woman with deep blue hair, in a light blue sundress hummed softly, considering before she replied. “Well, I don’t suppose my journey in my youth to the freezing depths of Silverdale counts, do they?” She smiled, mystery and humor both in it. “No, Noelani is a no vacation girl, it seems.”

“Well, we can’t have that then!” Helvos chuckled, “It’s important to take a breather after a hard job, you know,” he said as the boat they were riding reached the dock, “It’s a great way to relieve stress and take a load off, y’know… well, I guess you don’t, and that’s why I’m here to show you!”

“I had a feeling you were the correct one to ask about this whole vacation business,” Noelani continued to smile, watching the boat come into the dock. “In fact, I intend to take as long of one as I can get away with. I see no reason I need to return to Thalassium right this moment,” she could think of one thing, but she’d done enough with attempting to fight the mad sorceress of the Dragon States right now. “... and I’ve heard that apparently, girls are supposed to have fun.”

“Everyone should have a little fun!” Helvos said as they departed the boat, reaching a beachfront with loads of tourists and shops alongside the light-blue roads, soft to the touch as they walked along it, “Which is why I took you to Undellah, one of Dyste’s biggest tourist hotspots! Come for the warm beaches and cool water, stay for the atmosphere and lovely seafood, or so they say.”

“Are you sure it had nothing to do with me being a mermaid?” Noelani raised an eyebrow as she asked. “Many people assume I wish to stay by the sea at all times. Are you one, Sir Helvos?”

“Nah, you should do what you feel like,” Helvos said, “It’s your vacation, right? Is there anything you’ve always wanted to do but never could?”

“Take a vacation,” she replied, laughing lightly after. “Sir Helvos, please, I have no idea how one is meant to do all of this at all. I am entirely in your hands. … just please ensure they do not have any dragon left on them?”

“Ah, well, I hope you don’t mean them,” Helvos pointed to a couple of Draconids walking by them, “But there’s not really a right or wrong way to take a vacation, really… but personally, I think there’s always two good things to do when visiting a place: trying the local food, and taking part in a local activity! … and c’mon, it’s just Helvos, okay? I’m no knight or anything, I’m just a guy who can punch things well.”

“A man who punched a fully grown umbral dragon to death in less than six seconds with your bare hands,” Noelani pointed out. “If you are not a knight, it is because your country lacks an understanding of your true ability. Or maybe you’re just too relaxed,” she laughed again, interrupted by a stomach rumble. “... yes, food may be good. But I have a challenge for you, Sir Helvos!”

“Oh really now?” Helvos was curious now, “You know an adventurer never turns down a good challenge… what might this one be?”

“As you can likely guess, I am rather an expert on all kinds of seafood, as a mer,” Noelani said. “You said this city is famous for it… but I don’t wish to eat seafood. I am on vacation, I want to try things I have never had before! So that is your challenge, find me a good restaurant that does not serve seafood. And soon,” she added as her stomach growled again.

“Oh, well…” Helvos laughed a bit nervously, he fully had intended to have her go to Qarash’s, but instead… “... oh, I know! This way!” He led her onto land away from the beach, as a restaurant with a red dragon cooking meat on skewers could be seen, with the words Redfang’s Rotisserie at the top. “Best chicken and ribs in Dyste, this place!”

“Chicken?” Noelani thought for a moment. “The small flightless birds? People eat that?”

“.... yeah?” Helvos scratched his head, “... I guess it isn’t really done where you’re from?”

“No!” Noelani smiled. “If you were to have poultry, it would likely be pheasant, pigeons, or geese, and perhaps, for the lucky or the rich, even peacocks. Peacock is not my favorite, to be honest, it is a strange meat. But I will try these chickens!”

“You won’t regret it!” Helvos said as he led Noelani in. Redfang’s Rotisserie was not an overly fancy restaurant, albeit it was still a little more traditional than the likes of Mr Moocow’s, as a Draconid took them to their seating, “I would totally recommend getting a bit of each,” Helvos suggested, “Some ribs, some chicken, a bit of mash, it’s all great here!”

“That sounds like perhaps too much,” Noelani replied, turning a tiny bit green at the mere thought. “I’m sure I will find something suitable on the menu, however. Something small would be ideal.”

“Hey, sure thing,” Helvos was pretty accepting, nevertheless choosing it for himself (of course, he got beef ribs; pork was a little too close to home), “Maybe just the chicken instead, then? They may not be able to fly, but they sure are tasty!”

“Yes, that will be good,” Noelani replied, looking over her options. She decided on a small chicken sandwich, forgoing any sides or drinks besides water. “I am sure it will be marvelous.”

“I’m sure it will be!” Helvos said as they placed their orders, “... you mentioned you were in Silverdale before, huh? Aside from that and our little excursion to Tambelon, where else have you been to?”

“Well, all around Thalassium, of course,” Noelani said. “And, obviously, Hippocratia. Funny little place, that. Oh, I have been to Rintyar, but only in disguise. I do not believe they would take so kindly to… someone like me openly walking among them.”

“... yeah, I can see that,” Helvos admitted, “I’ve been to places like Rohane Alista, Silverdale, Corneria, Malgrave, Crystal Spires, Aravea… but actually never Thalassium, strangely enough.”

“It is a beautiful country!” Noelani seemed suddenly eager, leaning forward. “Blessed with natural beauty by all three of the Great Lords! Of course, I think the mer cities would be beyond you, but even the humans and the avians have built some amazing places. Especially for you, I think it would be worth seeing! You have the spirit of a Son of the Land Father, I am sure of it!”

“Ah, yeah, you mentioned Him to me before,” Helvos admittedly wasn’t a very religious person, but he was still interested in learning more, “So the Land Father’s one of these three Great Lords, right?”

“Indeed! Terrinius… well, some pronounce Terranius, I think it is an Aravean dialect?” Noelani shrugged. “Regardless, He is the Land Father, the Great Lord of the Terrestrial Races, Overseer of Lands. The islands of Thalassium, and indeed all Western Mystria, are his. Or at least, used to be. I know most have forgotten him from their hearts.”

“Really now…” Helvos hadn’t really learned about any of this on his travels, likely because of his lack of knowledge on Thalassium, but he was always eager to learn more. But before he could say any more, their food arrived, a chicken sandwich for Noelani and a large platter of food for Helvos. “Oooh, nice! This food’s always roasted by a Fire Draconid’s flame, y’know!”

“Is there something special about a Fire Draconid’s fire?” Noelani asked, observing her sandwich. “Is it especially hot? Or does it impart a specific flavor? Perhaps it is neither of those and simply a ritualistic process, like a religious ceremony, anointing the flesh with graces of the gods?”

“Erm, I dunno,” Helvos sheepishly admitted, “I think it’s just some sorta selling point?” he said as he took a bite out of his ribs, “Some places just like doing stuff like that because it makes them sound fancy, I guess. Personally, if it makes it taste good, I’m for it!”

“Do you think I could go back and ask?” Noelani inquired, taking a tentative bite out of her sandwich. She chewed for a few moments before swallowing and passing her judgement. “It is better than I expected! Still not quite pheasant, but certainly good. I think I will have to have this chicken some more!”

“Well, there’s certainly more places in Dyste if you want to try more of it!” Helvos laughed as he ate some of his own roasted chicken. “... does this mean I pass your challenge, then?”

“Stage one,” Noelani smiled. “I heard there is a place that does beef sandwiches in this land, which I would like to try for dinner. Beef is usually not eaten in Thalassium either!”

“Oh… right, I think I know which one you’re thinking about,” Helvos nodded, “But we’ll have to entertain ourselves before then, right? Even I have my limits on how much I can eat at once, you know,” he said as his belly hung out from his seat.

Noelani looked a little shell shocked at just how much he had actually eaten, and so fast. She wasn’t even half done with her sandwich yet! “Well… I suppose it is still the middle of the day,” she replied, looking outside where the sun was bright. “But what to do? I believe you mentioned the beach, but then you might be taken in by my mermaid charms,” she giggled at her own joke.

“I mean, it is the main reason people come here, after all,” Helvos said, “Besides, doesn’t a bit of relaxing sound nice after all the hard work we did in Tambelon?”

“It certainly does,” Noelani said, setting aside her sandwich, three quarters eaten. “And that is quite enough food for the moment. Of course, I hardly prepared vacationing equipment for the trip to Tambelon. Rather an oversight now, I suppose.”

“Hey, fair enough,” Helvos sat back, “I’ve got a bit, plus we can buy some in the market if you’re looking for some. Nothing like tanning a bit in the sunshine, after all.”

Noelani blinked. “Tanning? That thing the humans do to leather?”

“Oh, um, no,” Helvos blinked, “Well… it’s more just taking in the sun’s rays and such, I guess?” Helvos himself was actually a fair amount of tan on his pinkish skin, “It’s just sort of a way to enjoy the heat, I suppose!”

“Oh! Sun soaking!” Noelani nodded. “I did not realize it translated as tanning. You would think, speaking twenty six languages,” she was obviously bragging, “that I should, but sometimes you just don’t. Yes, I do enjoy a good soak in the sun. I don’t know of any mer who don’t!”

“Well then, let’s go do some soaking in the sun!” Helvos said, “Just don’t get cooked out there, we don’t want to be the next meals ourselves after all!”

“I dare say, if anyone attempts to cook either of us, I will give them a reason to regret it,” Noelani frowned, standing from the booth. “Do you mind if we stop by the markets first, Sir Helvos? I should pick out appropriate attire. Tomorrow, I will be able to simply go home and collect my things, then return, but for now, I am without the spells prepared.”

“There you go with this ‘sir’ again,” Helvos sighed, as after paying for their meal, he led Noelani outside, where the market took up a large portion of the area between them and the beach, “But sure, I think perhaps I could use a few things myself anyways.”

“I could call you Lord Helvos?” She offered, starting to grin. “Your Honor? Your Eminence!... no, the Rohirrim use that one for their ruler. His Excellency!” She laughed, stumbling slightly on a rock in the road. “Oh! I suppose I should pay more attention to where I set my feet.”

Helvos quickly held her to make sure she didn’t lose her balance, “Not as used to ‘em, are you… and c’mon, all these fancy titles are a bit much for someone like me, aren’t they? I’m just a guy from a village in the middle of nowhere.”

“They are not,” Noelani confirmed, turning to give Helvos a doubting look. “And I am the… daughter… of a small family of no renown, in a town of few mer in a part of the seas even Thalassian’s barely have heard of, and where even other mer are doubtful to know my home. Yet they call me The Lady Neolani, because to them I am a hero and a wonder. It is not a bad thing to have a title, Helvos. At least not one you’ve gained by earning it.”

“I… guess you got a point,” Helvos said as they got to the market, several merchants showing off their wares. “I just wanna make sure people don’t see me as anything other than what I am. Some people are saying I’m like ‘the next big hero’ or ‘the strongest Suidan to ever live’, but I’ve just tried to be me all this time.”

“You can be both things,” Noelani said. “I am a Child of Aquamenria, a holy warrior and savior, raised to be the first sacrifice for my people against true despair, and given significant opportunity for this purpose. But I am also Noelani, a young woman who… sees a nice clothing stall,” she smiled, pointing. “And one who has decided to live her life on her own terms, while she can! Maybe I will still yet be called to The Mother’s side at a young age, but it will not be before I can have some fun, and make some memories, and with any luck, fall in love and begin a family.”

“Hey, that’s a great way to look at it,” Helvos said, looking over the clothes himself; admittedly, it was sometimes hard to find things that really fit him, “I know one day you’ll be able to do all of that. I… well, one day I almost retired from this whole adventuring stuff, you know? But a job got me back in it, and well… here we are. So who knows what the future has in store for us?”

“Oh, I have a guess,” Noelani had moved straight to the swimsuits, blowing past the one pieces and looking at the bikinis. “The tail won’t work with a one piece,” she explained briefly as she looked over various patterns and colors. “I strongly suspect I will not get to have that family. It’s only happened once that a Child of Aquamenria had descendants, though I’ve been unable to find a record of what happened to them, either. But, a girl can dream!”

“Tail troubles, huh?” Helvos remarked, “Mine isn’t as big, but I need a really big size regardless,” he said as he looked at swimsuits made for Draconids and Sarkesh, “You ought to chase those dreams, Noelani. If I never chased mine, I would’ve never been an adventurer, and we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“I am here, are I not?” Noelani replied, picking out three swimsuits, each a different color and pattern, for herself. “I don’t intend to let go of those dreams easily. I do feel a bit of a swell in my heart, having come through that adventure, that perhaps I really will reach the stars… well, the metaphorical ones. I could have taken that spaceship if I wanted the literal ones, but no thank you.”

“Fair enough!” Helvos picked out a set of maroon swim trunks, “Who knows, maybe we’ll get to go on some other ones eventually… preferably in places less gloomy than Tambeleon this time.”

“Indeed,” Noelani nodded, giggling at Helvos’ choice. “It suits you, Sir Helvos. Bold! What do you think?” She held out her selections to him, a plain pink one, a set with a dark blue bottoms and lighter top, and finally a slightly shiny golden yellow one. “The… last one is a little bolder than I usually would pick, but I’ve been told that apparently they are becoming more and more popular…”

“It is a growing trend, I hear,” Helvos agreed, “Those Silverdalean heroines… erm, what were they again? The Fighter Trio or something… I think they had a part to play in it. Either way, I think it’d look great on you.”

“Ah, the Warrior Trinity?” Noelani offered. “I’ve heard of them. I’m not that aware of all their activities, but I do know The Mother has apparently heard of them, too. However, if you think it would look good, I’ll get it, then,” she smiled, heading to the counter, grabbing a floppy sun hat on her way. “I hardly need this, but it seems to be standard beachwear, according to my research!”

“Don’t wanna get burnt before soaking in the sun, right?” Helvos said, also picking up a pair of sunglasses for himself, putting them on immediately, “What do you think? A bit much, maybe?”

“Oh, mer don’t really get sunburnt,” Noelani explained. “We barely tan! And no, I think it is perfect for you. After all, you are a cool fellow, right?”

“If you say so,” Helvos seemed to blush a bit, “C’mon, then, let’s change and try to get a good spot while the sun’s up at its peak!”

“As you say,” Noelani exited the stall, a small bag in hand with her swimsuits. She hummed a soft tune to herself as she walked towards the beach, finding several huts in which to change set up. “Perfect! I’ll be with you again in a minute, Helvos!” She said, hurrying to the one marked for women.

“At least she got that right, finally,” Helvos muttered as he himself got changed in one of the other huts, a fairly simple affair on his own end to get ready for the beach.

He was done before she was, though he only had to wait about five minutes until Noelani joined him. She had chosen the golden one, a small blush of her own on her face now. “You said you thought it would look good,” she smiled slightly as she approached him.

“Well,” Helvos couldn’t really hide his own blush even with the new sunglasses, “I was right, wasn’t I?”

Her smile grew just a little bit. “From your reaction, I think perhaps you were,” she agreed, walking out onto the sand of the beach proper, wiggling her toes in it. “Ahhh, the sand is nice and warm already!” She continued on, suddenly flopping down on her stomach in an empty spot. “Wonderful.”

“I would hope it’s warm,” Helvos said as he joined her, only lying on his back instead to enjoy the sun’s rays, “It’s not Silverdale, after all… but take in all the sun you can, Mr. Moocow’s will be there when we’re finished, so just relax until then.”

“I fully intended to,” Noelani muttered, spreading out her limbs. She sighed softly, her back visibly relaxing in the warm sun. “I didn’t know that I would ever be able to do this again. But it is so wonderful to feel like I earned it…”

“Well, how about when you show me Thalassium, you show me the best spots for sun soaking?” Helvos said, “Because I’m getting the feeling from this that it’s more enjoyable to do it with company…”

“Oh, so I am already committed to showing you around Thalassium, then?” Noelani giggled, eyes closing. “That’s perfectly fine. Actually, I would like to see much of the rest of western Mystria… Rohane Alista, Silverdale, Malgrave, even Corneria, perhaps? I hear they all have many wonderful and exciting things, after all. And then I can show you my homelands… yes, that would be good. If you would accompany me, that is, Sir Helvos?” She asked, flipping over onto her back.

“Sure, that sounds wonderful,” Helvos said with a smile, “Under one condition… please drop the ‘sir’. Geez, it makes me feel old…”

“Aww,” Noelani whined slightly. “I think it makes you sound dignified! But fine, I will drop it, Si- er, Helvos. I doubt you’re that old, anyways. You certainly don’t seem it to me.”

“Really?” Helvos felt over his hair; admittedly ever since that battle in the Winter War, he actually felt younger, but he still had his signs of graying there. “You really think so?”

“I really think so,” she chuckled. “You certainly don’t move like you’re some old man, and you don’t have the personality of any old man I’ve ever known, which is far more than I’d like! No, no, I think at most you’re at your peak, Helvos. Or so it seems to me, at least.”

“Huh, really…” Helvos laid back on the ground, “And here I thought maybe I might’ve been getting past my prime… guess not. Well, perhaps during this journey, you’ll have to make sure I stay that way. I want to remain young at heart for quite a while longer still!”

“Don’t ask too much of me, S- Helvos,” Noelani said, opening her eyes just a little bit to watch him for a moment, before closing them again. “I’ll be so very busy with my first ever vacation, you know. You’ll have to stay youthful through proxy, I suppose. Unless you can think of more direct methods,” she laughed again.

“Be careful about that, I’ve come across creatures that suck away youth like a vampire,” Helvos admitted, not being clear if he was joking or serious. “In this case I must just try to follow by example while you’re doing so with me, huh?”

Noelani shuddered. “Don’t even joke about that,” she said. “I’ll spend my youth the gods intended way, basking in the sun and saving people from evil, not being sucked dry by some hag. So, yes, follow my example, instead of doing that!”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Helvos laid back, getting more of the sun’s rays, “Honestly not a bad way to live, really, that… let’s continue on with it, then, Noelani, for a fulfilling life…”

[Legokiller]

Collab with Dyste & Thalaasium

Penguin Island

Penguin Island, dubbed by the local ‘founders’ of the oddballs of foreign settlers, to the local name of Luckstone, was the place of modernity and a bridge from the frosty coastline of Winter Mane. Icebergs floated from the grand Glacier Bay as a grand tourist city, alluring many people to visit the beaches to catch the best waves of the nation, the massive ski resort complexes, a location of a hidden dojo, to the whole night life of Penguindale with its famous Club Penguin Entertainment District, and rent various homes. There was of course the whole dive into lost ruins of civilizations long passed, to the historical rookies that had a whole Medieval fair going out. With people able to access the island by sea and an underground tunnel, in addition to the whole airport, it attracted missions! That helped given there were a number of amusement parks, to the whole authentic pirate ship misadventure.

A whole vacation destination that Lissah had in mind after a long ferry trip to one of the busy docks. It was the ultimate ‘repay ‘all’ from a raid mission she signed up for to rescue Luna that was life-threatening. For this, there were a few more… or a ton of people… that she invited to stay with her at one of the igloo estates.

Amongst those invited had been some new acquaintances, met during the daring raid on Tambelon. Noelani simply smiled slightly as she arrived with her travel partner in Silverdale; teleportation certainly made travel, even over vast distances, far easier. And when you were a mage of such prodigious power as she was, well, it was highly effective to get anywhere. Including directly in front of the exact ‘igloo’ that was being rented for them to stay out. “And… here we are,” she giggled quietly as she corralled her bags, waiting for Helvos to recover, if needed to.

Thankfully for Noelani, Helvos was not in fact Rohanian, and was actually quite familiar with teleportation, in addition to being one of the hardiest adventurers in the world; when people said he had more health than most dragons, that wasn’t an exaggeration. “Yup, seems we made it!” He had been to Silverdale before, but not here specifically as of yet, so he was excited to check it out.

“It was a good description from Lissah,” Noelani said softly, approaching the door of the igloo and knocking. “Let’s hope she’s home, then.”

The door to the igloo opened to reveal Lissah with a curious smile. “Oh hello friends! Glad you all arrived just in time.” She said as there was a buzz of noise inside the home.

"Just in time?" Noelani asked, looking around Lissah. "Is there something happening?"

“Hey, Lissah!” Helvos waved; he was now wearing a blue patterned shirt with a penguin theme, “What’s up?”

“Oh I just invited practically everyone I knew for a great party!” Lissah chuckled. “We’re about to get started, so your arrival is super welcome.” She then offered the two a hug.

Noelani gave Lissah a quick hug, separating to let Helvos get in. "What do you mean, practically everyone? The Tambelon team?" Noelani asked, looking down. She was wearing a simple blue dress, and almost no jewelry, certainly not party ready.

Helvos joined in the hug; he knew a lot of Silverdaleans could be very affectionate, “Hey, you look great, Noelani, and we can get some more stuff in town at some point… and whaddya mean, ‘we’, Lissah? Bring over any company?”

“I invited the team. Granted there are likely a no shows. That said: I invited as many friends and family that could come here! I know most of my family and my wife are here.” Lissha chuckled. “Now you wanna see?”

"You're married?" Noelani asked, mildly surprised. "I had no idea. Congratulations!"

“Oh thanks! Been a few years already.” Lissah then helped guide Noelani’s hand to go inside. “Come along, there are some warm beverages inside.”

"Alright, alright," Noelani let Lissah pull her along. "I'm sure it's wonderful. Come on, Helvos, you're going to be left behind!"

“H-hey!” Helvos followed behind, Lissah wisely having decided not to try and drag him along.

The interior of the igloo was a grand place with two circular rooms with a plentiful amount of creatures. The first was the obvious grand hi-tech magic kitchen and table alongside a whole gathering of people who blast away on video games. Before the two focused on the stomps of a yak, the first person who presented herself was a light gray flowing long hair human who was fixated to get the next soda and fried chocolate filled fish waffle done. “So these are your friends dear?”

“Eeyup!” Lissah nodded as she gestured for the two. “This is Marian, my wife. She’s quite the star around here.”

The scarlet eyes shined up as she became flustered. “No no, I’m far simpler than one of those m-pop stars that rocked the goat’s house.”

"It's nice to meet you, Marian," Noelani bowed slightly. "My name is Noelani, one of those who met your wife during the mission in Tambelon."

“And I’m Helvos!” The pigman waved, “I was there, too; I gotta say, your wife’s spells were a lot of help, between the two of you, you saved my bacon many times!”

"I don't really think I did all that much," Noelani said, a slight blush on her face. "But Lissah was certainly invaluable. Not only did she heal us magnificently, she was vital to overcoming a few of our problems."

“Sounds like my poor unicorn overworked herself.” Marian chuckled.

“I mean we had that bell and all.” Lissah pointed out. “So obtuse that dong was.”

“Heheh, well regardless I imagine you had your own unique talents to shine.” Marian said.

“I’m just a guy who knows how to punch things well,” Helvos said, “Not really talented at much like these two here.”

"Not talented?" Noelani raised an eyebrow. "You beat a fully grown dragon to death in less than six seconds with your bare hands! I think that's a much more difficult talent than learning a few spells, like me."

“Golly! Quite gifted with the muscles right there. Perhaps you can face a Jabborwock single handedly by mere fists.” Lissah teased.

“Really? You know, maybe Helvos here can wrestle one of the polar bears here then.” Marian smiled.

"I'm certain he could take on a polar bear," Noelani smiled. "It would be awfully impressive, but I've seen him do even more!"

“I’m sure I could,” Helvos couldn’t be too humble here, “I’ve fought dire bears and owlbears before, so polar bears can’t be too bad, right?”

"If you need, I can always put it in a box for you," Noelani giggled. "Alright, but I need to change if there's to be a party. Are there bedrooms here?"

“I heard those polar bears are the toughest of them all out there.” Marian chuckled.

“Well there is! Just make sure you don’t bump around with anyone there.” Lissah said.

Noelani looked confused. "I'm sorry… bump around?"

“Basically crash into someone else. The place is crowded!” Lissah said.

“Is that blue merfolk!” An excitable yak jumped out from the couch.

The mermaid turned at the new arrival, or at least new to her, raising an eyebrow. "Uh… hello?"

“Oh that's Yoka Yak! I met her in my youth in Equestria, and helped me out with a number of adventures.” Lissah explained. “In other words, my teammate.”

Noelani can tell the yak herself was a chestnut fur creature with a colorful checkered mat on her hump, and wild zazzy red hair. “Yoka is strongest in team! Yoka is curious about big piggy!”

“Oh, um, well,” Helvos patted the red hair, “I’m an adventurer from Dyste, and Lissah was a big help to me! I’m really strong too!”

“Really strong? Awesome! Show Yoka what a big piggy can do!” Yoka then patted on the couch. Helvos can tell there were others seated as a hippogriff, a fellow blonde sister-figure of Lissah, and a unicorn who were fixated on the game at hand. The couch itself was a blue leather L shape sofa.

“Geez, what kinda family do you have here, Lissah?” Helvos asked.

“Well-” Lissah paused as a large regal figure that looked like her in a material sense alongside a cotton candy ball of a blue mane unicorn pony, cluttered with many sweets and magical charms. The pink unicorn mom sent a number of bags of whole delights and ingredients as she moved over to Lissah to embrace her! “Is that your friends Lissy?”

“Mom!” Lissah blushed up. “Um yes…. Ahem… Um, this is mommy corn Sprinkle Horn. Also the other one is um… big mom Arthurus. Oh! Over there is my lil bro and… um… big sis Mordredus. Something like that!”

“No worries. Despite her being complicated, she is a good girl.” Arthurus said. “Mostly.”

“Damn it! I am going to win this time!” Modredus shouted.

"I can tell," Noelani replied as Lissah's sister shouted from the couch. "Alright, I'll be back in a moment, Lissah, Helvos!" She smiled, then took her bag, heading towards the bedrooms.

“Geez, I think she has an outfit for all the occasions, and all I really have are these,” Helvos gestured to his open shirt, “It’s nice having a lot of family, isn’t it… heh…” before he stopped himself, “Wait, Arthurus? As in the ex-general? She’s your mom?”

“Eh… Something like that…” Lissah flustered up.

“It’s long and complicated.” Arthurus spoke up. “That said: Sprinkle did a fine job caring for Lissah.”

“As long as they all got the attention they needed,” the pigman nodded, “... can you keep a secret, Lissah?”

“A secret?” Lissah looked confused. “Should we go to another room or something for that?”

“Nah, nothing like that,” Helvos said, “It’s just… well, I do kinda want to be a dad someday. When I was going to retire from adventuring, I thought it was time to do that, but then that weird stuff in the Winter War happened, and I kinda put it on hold, but… still, I’d like it someday.”

“You wanna become a father? Oh well, I can keep that a secret.” Lissah smiled. “As for me… I guess I can share my secret. Given um… Basically there’s like a whole fairy poly that created me from a misadventure… It’s odd, but that’s what you’re dealing with with fairies.”

“... ah, fey stuff,” Helvos nodded knowingly, “I had a few adventures out there. One of them tried to steal my name, y’know? Dealing with fairies always makes things tricky… so what is it?”

“Um yeah.” Lissah said. “That and sometimes life is a bit like a show you know.”

Arthurus gave a small sigh. “There is one key difference you may want to explain. Otherwise, it’d leave people confused on how fairies work.”

“Um…” Helvos was completely lost now, “Whaddya mean?”

“Heheh, well it’s easy to get lost here.” Lissah chuckled.

“Oh dear, my sweetie is going to go full pixilie out now.” Sprinkle witted.

“There are a number of fairy realms known to Silverdale and subscribe to a strange ‘ grand order.’ What you see in Silverdale is the White Rose Court that is the influx of the nature spirits here and those who build civilization. This consists of ponies, penguins, and all people who are blessed by the flow of magic alongside other gifts of spirits. These might be described as the ‘friendly ones’ who keep nature and balance more of a thing. However, the Elder Ones, from the Fey Realm, are those who do share partially with the White Rose Court, but separated to become more wild, unrestrain, and mad. They see themselves as the ‘Eldest’ and those who exist when the south pole was green, and have roots even across our world to the Fairy Alliance. Both Fey Courts are known as rivals to say where the magic flows, the natural order, to what is the definition of fun. My mom Arthurus and I had a few runs in with the Eldest like Thelia who is more… close with the White Rose Court but not really an ally! However there is another dangerous force of the Butterfly Monarch who sees that all most become more buggish and civilization should become eusocial insects like some weird butterfly species not found on our world.” Lissah explained.

“I must mention that the White Rose Court is another name for the Silverdale Pantheon, which symbolizes the White Rose.” Arthurus said.

“Eeyup! There are other Fairy Groups out there in the world, which one is in Kouralia for example.” Lissah said.

“Geez, I think I learned more about fairies from that lil’speech than a few years in the Feywild,” Helvos felt his head hurt, “But the important part is, you’re connected to the fairies, and created in part from it?”

“Heheh sort of… I think some awful fairy thought it’d be funny to make me… To annoy mother.” Lissah blushed.

“It’s quite a shock, but I don’t see Lissah as a curse… It’s… a unique situation.” Arthurus said.

“Yeah, I guess if I saw the fairies made like some alternate version of me, it’d be weird, too,” Helvos admitted. “But it seems you made the best outta it.”

“Thanks! One thing I learned is to be able to adapt and survive those fairy games! As for an alternative version… Just keep your wits up if you happen to land into one of Thelia’s game shows. They can be rather lethal with unwitting actors.” Lissah said.

"Thelia? Isn't she a fae?" Noelani said as she returned, having changed from her simple dress into a black dress with a plunging neckline, though it cried over her neck itself, as well as heeled boots and a small, sparkling necklace. She'd topped it off with a nice small hat of a matching color, that mostly sat on the side of her head. "Apologies, I was having trouble deciding what to wear. Though, if we're expecting fae, perhaps I should have gone with something more apt for adventuring…"

“Oh I didn’t invite fae fae.” Lissah shook her head. “The only fairy we’ll meet is Pucky the Fairy. He’s bringing some homemade pizza pie over. That said: I was just explaining a few things about fairies in general.”

“Oooh, sounds tasty,” Helvos was never one to turn down food, enough to get him to stop admiring Noelani’s dress for a moment. “And hey, while we’re here we oughta check out the island too, shouldn’t we?”

A very slight frown graced Noelani's face as she shook her head. "Well, I'm glad you didn't invite any proper fae, then. You know, according to the legends, one of them once tried to trick The Mother… that is, Aquamenria, out of her entire divine realm. The records are conflicted on whether that creature is still bound forever in a pearl on her throne, or if she simply took their name in a reversal and then sent them back out into the world, powerless."

“Wow…” Lissah eyes were amazed. “Aquamenria does sound quite amazing.”

“Well, I know there is a few fairy cotton candy I can conjure up!” Sprinkle skipped over into the kitchen. “Now do let me know if you want anything! Soda, water, or Sweaticorn’s famous candy apples.”

"Let's hope you never have to meet her," Noelani said. "Oh, just water for me, please."

“What kinda soda you got?” Helvos asked, trying to not think of the things that Aquamenria was capable of.

“Well I have some homemade orange pop, Chilly Willy Cola, and even Sodabold!” Sprinkle said. The unicorn went ahead to pour a glass of water for Noelani.

“Hmm, you do appear knowledgeable about the mother.” Lissah commented.

"As I should," Noelani replied, taking the water when it was offered. "Thank you, miss. I am what they call a Child of Aquamenria, after all. Much of my education was handled by a cleric."

“Erm, I’ll have Chilly Willy,” Helvos’s face turned a little red, “I can’t drink Sodabold after I tried their… oinkbold flavour…”

Noelani patted him gently on the arm. "Poor man."

“That flavor doesn’t sound that great…” Lissah commented. All as a can of Chilly Willy Cola floated over to Helvos.

“You’re telling me,” Helvos took a sip, “Right, you told me about that before, but I still was wondering about one part, Noelani… you are a child of Hers, but you said you had mortal parents too?”

"Ah, right, of course," Noelani nodded. "You see, the level of literalness in the term 'Child of Aquamenria' is hotly debated by Her faithful. Some think we are literally her children, given to mortals to raise, others think we're just her specially chosen, but otherwise mundane. Either way, every Child is born of a mortal mother and father, and raised by them too. I suppose I won't know the proper level of connection I have to Her until I die, and end up in the Sea of Souls."

“Geez, a fae copy of a famous general and a chosen kid of a goddess,” Helvos sipped his cola, “And here I am, some village piggy with nothing special to talk about. Gotta admit I feel a little outta my element here.”

Noelani stared at him, then sighed. "You should think more highly of yourself."

“You can be happy with the achievements you made.” Lissah said. “Outside of the whole… um… clone deal… I lived in a good household with a number of magical beasts. Then again that might not help my case relating to ordinary folks.”

“Hey, fair enough,” Helvos’s spirits were raised a bit, “It’s not like I have any shortage of great stories to tell. Maybe one day I’ll tell you about the time I saved a whole village from a werewolf gang!”

"I did grow up among normal people, by the by," Noelani said. "Back when I was a younger me, I was part of the town guard for my little village!"

“Town guard?” Lissah gasped. “Wait, that’s a thing? Isn’t that a lil medieval right there?”

"Well," Noelani replied, grabbing a few random items on the counter to use for a demonstration. "You all are used to living above land," she explained, setting a salt shaker on a napkin holder. "Where you can see and react to threats long before they're dangerous. In addition," she set a pepper shaker next to the salt. "On land, a lot of communities tend to be relatively able to reach each other in a timely manner, even without magic. But under the water," she held a small bottle under the counter. "You often can't tell when a threat will appear until it has already. And many settlements are very far apart indeed. So you need some kind of small, but capable, defense force, if nothing else than to scare some animals away."

“Yeah, when I was starting out I was hired for quite a few protection jobs,” Helvos said, “Lots of threats around you’d want some skilled individuals to help with.”

"That's right!" Noelani smiled. "And we did fight off a few raids, even once I went hunting down a pirate out in the deeps…" she shuddered. "Even for most mer, the deep sea is a dangerous place. I don't suggest going there without a guide."

“Pirates? Well I am aware of the dangers of sharks, toothy whales, and giant squads out there. But there are more threats out there in Thalassium?” Lissah asked.

"I'm speaking of deep sea mer," Noelani said, putting things back on the counter. "Surface pirates are dangerous too, but in my experience, deep sea pirates are worse. They'll torture you for fun, and then keep you alive to feed to their mounts. There's… often a bit of a low scale war in the deep waters."

“Geez, I better be ready if I ever go adventuring there,” Helvos said, “Might wanna get one of those belts, too…”

"Don't worry, if we end up in Thalassium, I won't take you to the depths," Noelani smiled.

“That’s good.” Marian chirped up. “Otherwise you’d need a whole submarine for the crew. Anyway, Lissy, our Skywing is going out to bring Mr Feather inside.”

“Oh!” Lissah jumped up as the blue macaw-like hippogriff decided to try and help out with something bear-owl-ish! “Right! Lil bro’s friend is back.” She then went to the door to help bring in the animal friends.

"Oh, no, I don't suggest a submarine," Noelani shook her head sadly. "Practically a sitting duck in one. And, er… what is Lissah doing?"

Noelani can see Lissah guiding a polar bear-esque creature with a snow owl head into the room, and carefully giving it some nice feather rubs. The owlbear appeared quite joyful as Arthurus took out a t-steak to help feed it! “Bringing Mr Feather in! One of the prime magical creatures that is cared for by the Hornheart family.” Marian explained. “You’ll find that Lissah gets along with many animals.”

“Almost surprised she didn’t become a druid, then,” Helvos patted the owlbear, “Yeah, I’ve wrestled one of these before, but it wasn’t the polar-y kind. Seems quite friendly!”

"Quite an interesting… pet," Noelani sounded less convinced than Helvos.

“Pet’s a bit of a misnomer.” Lissah spoke up. “Mr Feather is more of one who needs close care and can’t be released back into the wild. He was caught by exotic animal traders as a cub and doesn’t have the skills needed and is a bit too attached to people. Hence we have to care for him in the sanctuary.”

“In other words, my family is quite close to many fantastic animals and beasts. Caretakers! Besides, I doubt you want a bear or an owlbear in your house! A quick song of the upcoming tragedy for that one.” Marian chuckled.

"And I don't think Tama would appreciate that," Noelani said, the small dragon scuttling up from somewhere on her back to click its claws at the polar bear creature.

“Yeah, I love to spar with ‘em, but having them in my house is another matter entirely,” Helvos said. “Might as well have a Fire Drake if you wanted something dangerous around!”

Tamatoa made some hissing noises from Noelani's shoulder, getting him a small pat on the head. "Oh, yes, Tama, you're very very scary," she giggled. "He thinks he could fight a fire drake one on one."

“Oooh, I’d be careful about that, little guy,” Helvos chuckled, “Pretty nasty beasts when irritated. Once I had to deal with a whole den of ‘em when they were endangering the area because of some idiot who thought it’d be a good idea to raise ‘em in the village! Good thing I had my healy ring then, or else I’d still probably have some of the burn marks…”

“That’s awful.” Lissah said. As to help calm Mr Feather so he won’t squawk at the small dragon. “I know magic helps, but it’s quite the feat to get wild animals to be friendly.”

"Well, Tama is intelligent, if belligerent," Noelani said, patting him more. "What you've done seems more impressive to me."

“It’s more of a family effort.” Lissah said.

“Even so, that’s quite impressive of your family!” Helvos exclaimed. “All I know how to do well is punch stuff, that’s real skill there.”

Noelani rolled her eyes, tired of trying to correct Helvos on this, she turned to Marian. "So, we know what Lissah does, but how about you?"

“Me?” Marian blinked. “I’m less grandiose. More of a simple performer in these woods. A quite high standard to endure and… well not be so successful at times. I’m not in the same grade as an adventurer, but I do have my skills as one of those ‘bards’ as well.”

“Hey, nothing wrong with that,” Helvos assured her, “Lifting the spirits of others with music is a great task whether you do it on the battlefield or in towns and cities. Have some pride in that!”

“Why thank you Helvos… Although I’ll say it isn’t as simple as that.” Marian said.

"Nothing ever is," Noelani nodded. "But it seems like you have those who love and support you, so I'm sure that if you keep at it, you'll get your chance eventually. My council is just to not forget what's important to you!"

“Why thank you. There are a few matters I need to work on, from mere charity to a few cover songs to craft.” Marian said.

"Well, I hope you have both success and joy," Noelani smiled. "I never could master music, but I do enjoy it!"

“I could probably try, but I dunno if anyone wants to listen to a porky musician,” Helvos laughed.

"I'm sure there's at least one person who would love to hear you sing," Noelani smiled.

“Well I had some work with those… Fae Idol Groups… So my voice is on par. Hopefully it might land me on an actual solo career or get recommended by one M-pop star.” Marian winked. “Oh, and I’d love to hear you sing.”

"No M-Pop ever, please," Noelani shuddered.

“Geez, really,” Helvos blushed, “I guess I could try… hm? Noelani, have a bad experience or something there?”

"Were you able to shut it out?" Noelani raised an eyebrow. "The constant M-Pop from that bard? All I can think of when I hear it is Tambelon now!"

“Believe me: the alternative is F-pop. A lot of poor idols' talents were used up like paper.” Marian shivered. “Plus they… are all so similar.”

“It’s been a while since I heard that music. Granted, it isn’t the same since the Fairy Alliance civil war.” Lissah remarked.

"Well, there's lots of music to listen to," Noelani said. "I like hymnals."

“I’m a fan of some of the classics, like Bobbold,” Helvos admitted.

“I suppose the Tim classics are always a safe and go to option.” Lissah answered.

"Who are those?" Noelani asked, holding her water up so Tamatoa could get to it. "I've never heard of either of those names."

“Oh, you never heard of Bob?” Helvos was actually a little shocked. “He’s only the most famous kobold musician who ever lived! He created the genre of Dystan Rock!”

"There are kobold musicians?" Noelani seemed surprised. "Huh. I'm surprised, everything we know about them suggests they're violent little beasts, though I do know Dystan ones are… uh, not that. I didn't realize… music…"

“Violent? Kobolds?” Helvos was now even more shocked! “You saw some kobolds when we visited! … you didn’t think they were Draconid children, did you?”

“You haven’t heard Tim? He was one of the bards that were around the Shadow Wars. Did have a big resurgence in the last century with his blues.” Lissah said.

"I didn't!" Noelani pouted at Helvos. "I said I know Dystan ones aren't supposedly like that!... and no, I've never heard of Tim. Clearly he isn't that popular in Thalassium."

“Are there any big-name musicians in Thalassium you like, Noelani?” Helvos asked.

"Uh…" Noelani's eyes darted about. "None that you've ever heard of, I'm sure!"

“Boo! Tell us, or I have to whip up the old VHS! I got plenty of tapes there!” Modredus shouted.

“Who even uses that?!” Sparkly Pad the unicorn bro complained.

“Um don’t mind them!” Lissah waved her hands.

"Don't insult VHS, it's good and reliable," Noelani frowned. "I mean, as long as you remember to be kind, rewind."

“Noelani, aren’t you evading the question?” Helvos folded his arms.

"Evading what question?" Noelani replied.

“Who’s the most popular music stars in Thalassium.” Lissah nudged.

"Oh, well, there's, um… Kamakawi'o, and… um…" the young woman started to blush. "The… Siren's Choir?"

“Oooh, I see,” Helvos was interested to know more, “What kinda music do they play?”

"Um… the choir is a… religious group, affiliated with Aquamenria's temples…" Noelani admitted. "And I never actually listened to Kamakawi'o, I just know the name."

“So religious hymns then?” Lissah asked. “Eh, not bad.”

“Fair enough,” Helvos patted Noelani’s shoulder, “... we gotta take you to some concerts sometime.”

"I've never been to one," Noelani said. "As long as it isn't too bright, I'd love to go!"

“Well I might pull something to start a little concert at the local temple or gym. It won’t be that grand.” Marian said.

"You can just do that?" Noelani asked in shock. "Won't you get smited?"

“... why would you get smited by that?” Helvos asked.

"For interrupting the function of the temple!" Noelani replied.

Marian gave a nervous smile. “Oh I volunteer with the temples to do a few performances there… Plus some of my early song covers were made in the Harmonism Pop genre when I was a kid. I mean… It’s fine! I know a few people with my network and I visited the local one here… So let’s not worry about the smite part okay?”

“Aww it isn’t that bad.” Lissah cuddles up with Marian. “It’s adorable.”

“Thanks but… not my finest work.” Marian said.

"You're sure? You won't be cursed so all water you consume turns to salt, or any dirt you tread turns to sand?" Noelani asked. "Or so that the wind causes all your valuables to fly away whenever you attempt to leave your home?"

“. . . I don’t think Aura is that punishing for a private show in the temple.” Marian said.

“Sorry, I don’t know my Silver Harmonism that well,” Helvos said, “But I thought some of the gods liked a good performance.”

“Well they do.” Marian said. “Like Glacia right?”

“She does.” Arthurus smiled. She for the most part took some turns in the now dance rhyme game, but returned when Sprinkle prepared a potato chip bowl. She then bit one down before she paused as a baby’s cry came from the other room that Noelani missed. “Oh… pardon me, but I need to show Lissah’s half sister.”

Noelani tried a potato chip, gagging slightly. "So salty… half-sister? I wonder what it's like to have a living sibling."

“You never had any siblings before?” Lissah looked a little confused. “Well I can explain a couple, which they’re present here already.”

“I’m the second of four siblings, myself,” Helvos said, “But yeah, your half-sis’s here, too?”

"Well, there have been lots of Children of Aquamenria, but rarely at the same time," Noelani said. "And we're usually only children. Some say that we destroy our mothers womb…"

“As in… similar to sharks?” Lissah asked.

"Sure, why not," Noelani replied.

“Okay, but why is that the case?” Lissah asked.

"... you know, Lissah," Noelani tried to not sound pressured. "Maybe you should go to Mount Amarlana and ask an actual priest these questions?"

“Hey, c’mon, we’re here to have fun, aren’t we?” Helvos said, trying a bit of the dance rhythm game; in spite of his size, he seemed to do exceptionally well.

“Maybe I should, but I do have diplomatic duties to return.” Lissah answered.

"Well, perhaps you can visit if you ever find yourself in Thalassium," Noelani said, moving over towards the dancing game, cheering for Helvos. "You sure can move, Helvos!"

“Maybe I missed my calling,” Helvos said as he upped the difficulty, moving faster, “I could’ve been a performer myself!”

"But then we never would have met," Noelani muttered.

“Eh?” Helvos’s ears wiggled as he did a backflip, “What was that, Noelani?”

"Er, then you wouldn't have been there to help us in Tambelon," Noelani said, watching the backflip with a mix between admiration and worry. "Let's try not to destroy anything of our hosts?"

As Lissah joined in for another round with the others on the coach cheering on, Arthurus returned with a lil toddler elflet who quickly jumped forward to hug Lissah. “Hi big sis!” Lissah picked up the elf child and swirled around as she continued to dance.

“Sorry, there was a bit of a… sugar rush accident earlier that caused some sickless.” Arthurus said. “But this is Caeda. A godling or something similar like yourself Noelani.”

“Hmm?” Noelani hummed, diverting her attention for a moment. “I’m not actually a godling, as far as I know.”

“But you just said you’re a Child of Aquamenria… but I guess it’s sorta different in your case,” Helvos admittedly didn’t know too much about this. “That said, nice to meetcha, Caeda!”

Caeda was let go from Lissah’s arms as she looked at the piggie. “Wow… You’re so big!” She said as she tried to find a way to hug him beyond his legs.

“No matter. What is important is that Caeda is a child of Glacia.” Arthurus said. “And yes… my family is filled with… shall I say ‘house of curiosities?’”

“Yeah, guess I am big, huh?” Helvos stepped off the game mat and picked up Caeda to hug her. “Hey, family’s family no matter how unusual, huh?”

"Even if you're the unusual one," Noelani nodded.

“Unusual?” Caeda said as she hugged Helvos. “My family is all magical you know and living in the divine springs.”

“Heh, and mine’s not magical at all. I can’t even cast a spell!” Helvos patted the child on the head. “Maybe you’ll grow up to be a great adventurer too!”

“Oh yeah! Something like that, and be like mommy.” Caeda said.

"I'm sure you can be, if you work hard," Noelani said. "And stay focused on your goals!"

“Okie dokie.” Caeda then tried to jump over to hug Noelani.

“Easy there, kiddo,” Helvos walked over to make it easier for her to climb over, “Just take little steps at a time…”

Noelani held out her arms, giving Caeda something to climb into. "Well, there's being brave, and there's being foolish. If you want to be a good adventurer, be brave, not foolish."

“Hmm I see! Better than being big sis Lumia!” Caeda nodded.

"Oh? What did your big sister do?" Noelani asked.

“Um… Something about taking mom’s wand to try and do some blink moves! Almost got stuck on the ceiling.” Caeda said.

"Maybe your mom needs to keep her wands locked up more securely," Noelani said, picking up the small elf herself. "But you know, I have a wand you can try, if you want. A safe one!"

“Really? Can I try?” Caeda asked.

"Sure!" Noelani shifted the elflet to sit in her left arm, surprisingly firmly held, despite the slim limb. With her right hand, she pulled a thin piece of wood out of her purse, handing it over to Caeda. "Can you tell what kind of wand this is?"

Caeda blinked out as she held the wand. “Not really…”

Noelani chuckled softly, patting Caeda's head. "And that's just fine. It's a cure wounds wand, meant for healing those who are hurt. Isn't that heroic?"

“I’ll say,” Helvos nodded, “That wand helped keep a lot of people - especially Noelani’s little friend - alive.”

“Oh sure, but my moms aren’t healers. They fight with swords! More heroic really.” Caeda said.

Noelani frowned, lightly booping Caeda's nose. "Now that just isn't true. It isn't more heroic to use a sword over healing people, or anything else. Being a hero is about doing the good things you can, with your own abilities, little one. I don't use swords, and neither does Sir Helvos here, even your big sister Lissah used spells, and we saved a princess-goddess from an evil goat. That's heroic!"

“Well saving people with heals is good… but kinda boring.” Caeda said.

“Believe me sis. It’s better to restore someone’s health after almost being melted away by dragons.” Lissah said.

“Oh! Okay I see that!” Caeda nodded wildly.

"Believe me, healing is not boring," Noelani said. "Saving someone's life in the heart of the moment is one of the best feelings there is, little one. And it's how you keep those important to you around, you know. What if you had a little sibling who was really beat up, would you not want to heal them because it's boring?"

“H-Hey! I’ll heal but… don’t be mean like that.” Caeda protested.

"It isn't me who's going to beat them up," Noelani laughed. "But I think you'd find that it makes you happy to heal them."

“I’ll tell you, Caeda,” Helvos added, “Being tough is nice and all, but a big part of being an adventurer is helping others out, and healing is one of the best ways you can do so.”

“Okay I’ll learn it one day.” Caeda nodded.

"That's the spirit," Noelani praised, taking back the wand and setting Caeda down.

Caeda ran off to the kitchen to gather some more treats for herself as Arthurus smiled. “Well she does have promise. I am sure in time she’d be an excellent example of Glacia’s children. That being said: Caeda will enjoy more luxury in the Divine Springs than on earth.”

“Well duh.” Mordredus said. “Any kid of Glacia would have an easy life.”

"Glacia… that is one of the new gods, isn't it?" Noelani asked, tucking away the wand. "It is quite strange to think of mortals undergoing apotheosis recently, to be honest. I worry a little bit…"

“About some random dude who becomes god and wrecks the planet? Eh, I expect that’s mostly the case.” Mordredus said.

“Hey! Yoka won’t smash all dumb things if Yoka was god.” Yoka protested.

“I assure you that Glacia is far refined and mature to handle her divinity as expected as a proper goddess.” Arthurus said.

"No, that isn't what I mean," Noelani shook her head. "There are major, long reaching alterations to people's spirits going on in the world right now. I have a sense, though this is just a hunch, that the physical and spiritual world are… contracting, becoming closer, and there will be more disasters before things start getting better," the mer explained. "The boundaries that should exist between man and god are weaker than I have any knowledge of them ever being before. I… expect the disasters to continue. Ah, but that's a bit dark for a party, isn't it? Apologies."

“It’s quite the partypooper info dump.” Skywind admitted as the unicorn bro tried to focus on picking the next game.

“That’s a subject I can ask the Department of Magic to investigate on such matters. Although… My nation is more worried about hostile extraplanar beings to what Tambelon is up to. Either way, let’s move on to another subject.” Lissah said.

"Sorry, parties aren't really… my usual thing," Noelani admitted. "I didn't mean to ruin the atmosphere…"

“Well then, good thing you’ve got some experts at partying here, huh?” Helvos patted Noelani on the back.

“Well now… Perhaps some Karaoke is next in line.” Marian then grinned. “I know my darling has a beautiful voice that’d rock your socks off.”

“Heheheh… Well yes! I am sure it’d be a lot more pleasant.” Lissah smiled.

"Oh, the thing where you pretend to be a popstar, right?" Noelani asked. "Those don't really exist underwater, you know, apparently it's hard to replicate the whole thing with magistones. Sounds fun!"

“Something down that line. Although it is about singing your favorite songs, that is the fun part.” Marian said.

"Oh! So I can sing a hymn? But my voice isn't that good, I always hid behind the rest of the choir," Noelani laughed softly.

“Hey, you wanted to hear my singing voice, right?” Helvos nudged Noelani. “Here’s your chance!”

"Well, go sing something then," the mer smiled, settling down onto the couch.

“H-huh?!” the pigman’s face turned red, “You mean, like, now?!”

"... yes?" Noelani sounded confused by the sudden bashfulness. "You said this was my chance to hear you sing?"

“... ugh, yeah, I guess,” Helvos sighed, “I guess I better do it… c’mon, then, give me a good song to sing to…”

"I don't know any songs at all!" Noelani asked. "Lissah, help us!"

The video game on the tv screen turned off as Sprinkle took out a microphone karaoke set from the cabinet stand alongside a big book. One that Lissah lifted up to show the massive pages of all shorts of popular songs across the land. “Here we go… I know not a lot of them are a chorus, so you have to go into a solo act.” Lissah explained.

“Um, sure…” Helvos chose a song at random, a Cornerian ballad called Sword of Love, as he attempted it. In spite of not having any background or training at singing, he managed to belt out a surprisingly good performance, his physical training giving him a powerful voice for such a thing. “... ermm, that was okay, right?”

Noelani applauded. "Good job! I bet with a teacher you could add singing to your list of great skills really fast!"

“Oh wow. Let me try this one…” Lissah selected the The Ballad of The Wolf by Tim and tried to sing. Although her voice was pretty, there was something off about her cues as she tried to do something decent. “Eh… Well that was a try!”

Noelani applauded again. "You have potential too, Lissah! Well, in my opinion. I guess your wife is the real expert, huh?" She smiled.

“Allow me…” Marian went ahead to try Cherry Pop, Cherry Pop by the obvious named artist of the same title. While it was good, she began to slip up on the wild rhymes! “Oh dear… This is bad…”

“Geez, that’s a complex song,” Helvos winced.

"I still liked it," Noelani said. "But that one was really fast! I don't think I'd be brave enough to even try!"

“... but you are gonna try a song, right?” Helvos asked.

"... if someone else picks one," Noelani conceded. "I don't know any of these songs at all."

“Try Sword of Love!” Mordredus shouted. “You can’t go wrong with swords!”

“Or you can try a Bobbold classic,” Helvos suggested. “They’re all great!”

"Isn't that the same song Helvos did?" Noelani asked. "Can I get something by a woman, at least?"

“You can try Cherry Pop.” Marian said. “Obviously written by a woman and she’s my fellow idol.”

"Um, alright," Noelani took the microphone, looking through the Cherry Pop songs on offer. "... Popipopi? Maybe that one?"

“Of course.” Marian nodded.

“... that’s a song name?” Helvos asked.

Noelani started the song, doing her best to keep up with the lyrics. Luckily, they were fairly simple, so she was able to focus on keeping on pace as well, turning in a solid performance. "Whew, that's nerve wracking…"

“... wow,” Helvos was taken aback, “I… didn’t know you could sing like that…”

"Oh, I'm not that good," the mermaid blushed. "No proper siren or anything!"

“No no, that’s worthy of a songstress! The step that all idols must graduate to become.” Marian said.

"Oh, I'm not really looking to be an idol, but thank you!" Noelani replied. "If you say it was that good, maybe I do have a talent?"

“Eeyup! Granted, at my age I am not looking for those idol groups.” Marian chuckled.

“The way I see it,” Helvos said, “You should spend your life the way you want. It worked for me at least!”

"I'm seeing that," Noelani smiled. "It worked very well for you, Helvos."

“Why thanks. I suppose there is a number of years ahead to decide what I want to do.” Marian said.

"If you ever want to tour Thalassium, I'll see what I can do," Noelani smiled. "I can't promise I can help that much, but I do have a little sway!"

“That’d be great.” Lissah then made a sly grin. “That said: my role as a guide has to be complete first. There is much to see in Penguin Island and it might take a few days.”

“Hey, no prob with that,” Helvos replied, “By that time, maybe some of the other invitees’ll come, anyways.”

“Though, if we’re going to be here for a few days, I should see about getting settled in sooner than later,” Noelani said softly. “There’ll be more time for partying later, I’m sure.”

“Well do settle down.” Lissah said. “There should be some enough rooms, or well, space, for everyone to rest in. Otherwise I can help rent out a hotel nearby.”

The front door opened for an almost 5’0 feet tall green haired butterfly winged fairy to fly in with a stack of pizza boxes. “Who wants pizza!”

“Oh!” Noelani gasped slightly. “I forgot there was meant to be a pizza! I wonder if it’s on flatbread?”

“Sorry! A bit late but…” Plucky then passed one of the boxes on the table, by allowing it to slide onto it, for Sprinkle to use her magic to reveal a massive pizza pie dish. One littered by tomato sauce with pepperoni, peppers, spinach, and some shrimp on it. Beyond it was the delicious mozzarella inside.

“Oooh, looks delish!” Helvos said. “Silverdalean pizza is great!”

“This is… a soup in bread?” Noelani examined it, looking at it like it was a turtle with three heads. “This was not what I understood to be ‘pizza’.”

“Oh no no! This is Pizza Pie.” Plucky explained. “But I got some more!” The second pizza was more round, but more cheesy with fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, plums, and tomatoes on it. “A fairy favorite.” The last two appeared to be ordinary homemade pepperoni pizza, and a dessert chocolate one with cut apples, peaches, plums, strawberries, starfruit, and pineapple.

“Chocolate pizza?” Noelani sounded surprised again. “What will they think of next!” She chuckled, taking a slice of the pepperoni pizza. “Well… I can stay a little longer to enjoy dinner.”

Helvos, for his own part, took slices of all but the pepperoni; as a Suidan, Pepperoni was too close to home. “You’ll have to treat us to some of your homeland’s cuisine sometime, too!”

Lissah joined in as she grabbed a slice of all the pies, while Arthurus got twice the slices. “I haven’t had any Thalassium meals before.” She admitted as her family began to swarm over to get their slices.

“Well, I think a lot of western Mystrian food finds an origin there if you go back far enough, you know,” Noelani said. “Even pizza!... but I’m not an expert on that, better to ask a real chef.”

“Hey, if you have any recipes, I can give ‘em a shot,” Helvos said after eating a few slices, “I had to learn a lil’ bit on my adventures; I’m no professional of course, but I think I’d do decently…”

“Oh, I’ll send a letter to mother for some,” Noelani smiled, enjoying the pizza. After a single slice, though, she leaned back. “That was good. Thank you for the food.”

“No problemo!” Plucky said. “I worked extra, EXTRA, hard on this! Plus with some help with a few bros to get it done.”

“I’m sure you did!” Helvos laughed as he finished off a dozen slices, “Man, that was gooooood!”

“You astound me, Helvos,” Noelani shook her head, but she was smiling. “Your poor family must spend way too much on food.”

Arthurus paused as she witnessed Helvos consumed more slices than her! The second most heavy eater. “You know what they say!” Lissah chirped up. “Pizza is one of the fastest party food to be eaten away!”

“Heh, sorry,” Helvos’s face turned a bit red, “How about we relax for the evening, then? Next day we’ll check out the island.”

“That sounds good,” Noelani said. “I was planning to go and get settled in for an early night, to be honest.”

“Sounds good. Just let us know if you need anything! That and us keeping things a bit less noisy.” Lissah said.

“Hey, I come from a family of four siblings,” Helvos shrugged, stretching as he headed for one of the guest rooms, “I’m used to it. Nighty-night, everyone.”

“Night from us, as well,” Noelani said, holding up Tamatoa and making him act like he was waving with a claw, before heading off to a guest room herself.

“Goodnight!” Lissah waved.

[Malgrave]

written with Dyste

Aurora, Malgrave
The 1990’s

After his time in Rohane Alista, Helvos was still hoping for more. He was only twenty at the time, and still not used to traveling outside his homeland of Dyste. That said, he felt the simplest place to visit next was Malgrave, the nation sharing a border with the Rohanians. He didn’t know much about the place, but it just made him excited to learn more.

The pigman had taken a ship out from Berabil, having gotten a tan from the beaches there; he had enjoyed it, but it was certainly quite hot there, moreso than even Undellah in Dyste. That said, he heard about a port town in Malgrave which seemed quite nice from the talks he had with the sailors. After trying his hand at fishing (he was decent, but he tended to put too much strength into it, snapping the line twice), he had taken a set on the deck, waiting for the city to come into view…

Aurora had been hastily established six decades ago following the loss of the original Malgravean homeland, with the initial buildings being constructed from materials scavenged from old merchant vessels and crumbling destroyers that were deemed damaged beyond repair.

It was a moment in history that cemented the cities connection with the ocean, and as Helvos approached he would be able to witness a wide array of civilian and military vessels from simple fishing vessels to large fleet carriers which underscored that Aurora was the centre of all things naval in the country.

Malgrave itself was technically under isolation, with the country cutting itself off from the region shortly after the start of a succession of crisis that had resulted in a multi-decade long civil war, however, the peace that had been forged ten years ago required this policy to end and small groups of foreigners were now being allowed to enter the country as part of a test to gauge the countries preparedness.

In the distance Helvos would be able to see a sign being unfurled which simply read ‘AURORA WELCOMES FOREIGN TOURISTS’.

“Seems I made it just in time,” Helvos chuckled as he saw the sign unfurled; as far as he knew, he might’ve even been the first Dystan to ever set foot in Malgrave. Regardless, he figured he’d try and take it a bit easier here compared to Berabil; he didn’t know how used these people would be to see someone like him there, some might be more wary. That said, he was still excited, as any adventurer would be to visit somewhere new, as the boat entered the docks.

A few minutes passed as the boat Helvos was travelling in was gently guided towards its assigned position within the docks, a process seemingly delayed by the simple fact that the docks themselves appeared to be noticeably understaffed.

In the immediate vicinity Helvos would be able to see a small welcoming committee, with a small group of around a dozen Malgraveans holding signs in Mystrian Common and Malgravean Ancient welcoming the new arrivals.

Beyond that Helvos would also see a clear sign that the arrival of foreign tourists into the country was not a universally popular decision, with a grouping of protesters holding signs complaining about the money being spent to welcome foreigners during an economic crisis.

Helvos was happy to see a welcoming party, but his cheerfulness waned a bit as he saw the protestors; he hadn’t wanted to try and make a big scene, but he supposed it might be inevitable at this time as he and the other foreign guests made their way to the welcoming committee. “Um, hey there,” he said, a bit awkwardly, “Th-thanks for the welcome…”

A series of discussions rang out within the group itself, as the welcoming committee worked to assign which tourist that they’d be helping settle into Malgrave.

Helvos himself was greeted by a particularly short woman, although her strong hazel eyes and charming smile indicated that she had been carefully selected for this role due to her regular career.

“Just a small sign of our appreciation to those that have volunteered to help guide us out of our isolation,” the woman said after bowing in greeting, “I am Park Yu-Mi and I will be your guide around Aurora and Malgrave itself if required.”

“Ah, thanks!” Helvos bowed in turn; he was noticeably larger than the Malgravean, which made him feel even more awkward with his gesture, but nevertheless he appreciated the welcome. “I’m Helvos Venja, from Dyste; I got an offer in Rohane Alista to take part in this thing. Guess though not everyone’s happy about it…”

Yu-Mi couldn’t suppress her frown as she turned to look at the group of protesters, “Unfortunately, a segment of the population are still holding onto fears from our past and the destruction of our old homeland.”

Alongside her, a number of her colleagues could be seen making similar introductions to the foreign tourists.

“Do you have a particular place in mind that you want to visit?” Yu-Mi asked, “If not then I do have a suggestion of my own, as I know a karaoke restaurant not too far from here that has a decent selection of music and food.”

“Oh, that sounds pretty fun,” Helvos said, “I always try to find the best local food, you can tell a lot about a culture from it! And singing… eheh, we’ll see,” he didn’t have much experience with it, but he had to try at least!

“Excellent,” Yu-Mi said, appearing visibly pleased with events, “If you’ll follow me then I can guide you to the restaurant. You are fine with taking public transportation? We will be taking a tram to our destination.”

“Sure!” Helvos smiled, “While I do like a good jog, usually I find others find it a little hard to keep up with me when I get going, so when I’m with others I like to take transportation.” The trams would be interesting to see too, Dyste was working on new transportation projects in the bigger cities.

As the duo moved forward Helvos would be reacquainted with fishing, as boats worked to unload freshly caught fish into awaiting warehouses by the shoreline which were being worked on by dozens of locals.

In the background a maze of rails connected the port itself with a variety of warehouses, although here Helvos would be able to spot that a significant portion of these buildings were abandoned.

“Malgrave consumes a lot of fish, so our fleet is always busy even if we are increasingly reliant on inland fish farms,” Yu-Mi told Helvos, “In fact I think our only outward contact with the world is through our ships and our radio and television broadcasts,” she continued, “You said that your homeland is Dyste?”

If someone asked Helvos what his favourite food was, it seemed to depend on the day, but fish was certainly a frequent one for him, “Oh, yeah, I’m from Dyste, from a little village in the eastern side of the island. Cities like this are still pretty new to me!”

“Really? I don’t have many opportunities to meet someone from a small settlement, as the majority of our people live in cities like this one,” Yu-Mi said gesturing vaguely to the city skyline, a dense mixture of residential apartments and commercial offices, “What can you tell me about your village? I can answer any questions you have about Aurora as this is my hometown.”

In time the warehouses and fisheries gave way to a small street, with rails on the ground and the presence of cables in the sky indicating the existence of the tramway.

Nearby Helvos would be able to see a small huddle of people formed around a covered series of benches, a few in deep conversation as they checked over the timetables and then looked down at their watches.

“Oh, well, it’s a really small place called Thricsvaklar; my family ran the local shop there. It’s nothing too special, but we happen to be in a spot where a lot of adventurers passed by to go to the north side of the island.” Helvos explained, “It’s mostly Suidans and Bovinians there, I didn’t actually see a human in person until I was about eleven. Is Aurora mostly humans?”

“Adventurers? I didn’t know that those existed outside comic book tales unless you mean soldiers? We have quite a few combat veterans from our civil war,” Yu-Mi said, the local deciding to ask her own question before replying to the Dystans question, “I believe humans are the majority, however, we have a few elves and beastlings here in Aurora.

In fact as the duo got closer they’d be able to see a couple of elves and an otter and puffin beastling amongst those waiting for the tram.

“It would be impossible for you to have any Malvians, so I shall pay for your ticket and any other expenses we incur today,” Yu-Mi stated, the Malgravean pulling out an electronic device and waving around, “A MalTec Auklet, a smart electronic device that I can use to pay for our tickets without the need to carry physical cash.”

“Right, I didn’t actually get the chance to yet,” Helvos’s face turned a bit red, “But I can pay you back for this when I can!” His tournament winnings meant he could live comfortably for a few years at least. “... so you really have never seen an adventurer before?”

“What does an adventurer do?” Yu-Mi asked, “I have met a fair few veterans that served in the civil war, however, I do have a feeling that this isn’t what you mean when you say adventurer.”

“Oh, right, I guess you wouldn’t know,” Helvos considered how to explain it, “Well… adventurers are people who journey to many places for excitement and danger, to challenge themselves and see the world. Oftentimes they do so by taking requests to help out locals, sometimes for rewards or just to help out. Many people do it for different reasons, really.”

“It sounds like a paragon worthy profession, a group of people challenging themselves and helping people in the process. Malgrave is not alien to danger, however, our threats are more related to the civil war and are dealt with by the military,” Yu-Mi said, the local directing the tourists attention to a nearby assortment of sandbags that formed a basic checkpoint, “Would you consider yourself to be an adventurer then? You are certainly journeying to a different place today.”

“Yeah, absolutely I’m an adventurer!” Helvos said, this time with a bit of pride in his tone rather than uncertainty, “I’ve been one for about four years now, and I’ve done a fair share in Dyste, probably most notably saving some miners in a cave-in with the help of this,” he pointed to his pig nose; Suidans had an acute sense of smell making it much easier to track with it compared to a human’s. “I also recently won a major tournament, which is where I ended up winning the money I’m using to take these vacations; I figured I needed to expand my horizons and see more places if I really wanted to call myself an adventurer. Don’t you agree?”

“Congratulations, Helvos,” Yu-Mi said, the local quite proud of the suidans accomplishments even if she didn’t know what a tournament victory meant in this context, “Mining is still a dangerous industry and finding people trapped after an incident can be incredibly difficult, so removing that obstacle certainly saved their lives,” she added, “In a few years time I will be able to officially leave Malgrave, and then I will follow your mantra and use travel to broaden my horizons. Perhaps I will even cross your path in Dyste? I think it would be interesting to visit your homeland.”

“Oh, if you come to Dyste I’d love to show you around!” Helvos said enthusiastically, “We’ve been improving our own tourism as well, particularly in Undellah and Auram… apparently some people in parliament is hoping it’ll help the economy or something like that, I’ve never followed that stuff much but… well, I’d think in turn having tourists here might do the same for Malgrave.”

Yu-Mi nodded, “You can probably tell that we are in the middle of an economic downturn at the moment, a lot of businesses are struggling and unemployment is at an all time high which means a lot of people are suffering, especially those with IDD,” she said, “...but Auram? I’ll mark it off as the place to visit in six years.”

At that moment a tram stopped neatly nearby, with Yu-Mi gesturing to Helvos to follow her onboard.

”Just a puffin pass for my comrade here,” Yu-Mi told the driver in Ancient, the Malgravean flashing her MalTec device and waving it across a small computer screen.

“You may take a seat now,” Yu-Mi said gesturing towards the cabin, an aisle separating a couple of bench seats, “It will be a few minutes before we reach our destination.”

“I’ll be happy to show you around when you go there,” Helvos said before taking a seat, uneasy for a second but it seemed to fit him; people in Malgrave and Rohane Alista (Bovinians aside) weren’t as big as him so that was a worry for him traveling. “Heh, good thing I’m not a Draconid; they probably bump their heads on the tram.”

“I know someone that works for MSORTIRC and they are looking forward to opening new routes, so I shall have to mention Auram to them,” Yu-Mi said before looking around the tram with some confusion, “Draconids? How tall do they tend to be? We have 3.6 metres of room here which is quite spacious for locals as we tend to be 1.5 metres tall.”

“And I’m about 1.7, so the height’s not an issue in my end… it’s more the width that may cause problems,” Helvos chuckled, “Draconids are about 3 metres tall, so it’d be much closer but possible.”

“THREE METRES?” Yu-Mi exclaimed in shock, the local turning a bright shade of red when several heads turned in response to her outburst, “In that case I sincerely hope that they don’t go on the metro, as they’ll have to crouch a bit due to those carriages being around 10 metres tall and apartments? I live in a civil war era apartment which has a ceiling under two metres so I think a bit of work needs to be done to fully welcome them.”

“I think you’d be fine with kobolds, though,” Helvos snickered, “They’re only about four-fifths of a metre tall, so you could handle that one easily enough! But I get it, in Dyste we’ve got lots of height differences so we need to make a lot of things adjustable. Suidans like myself are probably the closest to humans as far as height goes, so we’ll definitely be fine here.”

“Kobolds, eh? Hopefully they are as cute as they sound because if so we’ll get on a treat,” Yu-Mi replied, “What do Dystans typically eat? Malgraveans tend to eat a seafood rich diet but we have a number of vegetarians and vegans in the country, a few meat eaters as well but due to an earlier incident it is comparatively rare.”

“I think you’d like kobolds, aside from the fact they are meat eaters,” Helvos snorted, “But other than them it’s pretty varied in food preferences, sandwiches and pasta being quite popular… myself, I tend to like anything but pork - that’s a little too close to home for my liking!”

“In that case we shall have to import some meat to make them feel welcome, and it sounds like Dyste could be a trade partner for that,” Yu-Mi said, “You should also be relieved as Malgrave has no pork products, a little byproduct of the losses we sustained while fleeing our old homeland to settle here.”

Outside Helvos would be able to see the landscape change, as the warehouses and industrious streets of the port district retreated to be replaced with an expansive series of public parks, an array of woodland and lakes that were connected with walkways and cycle paths which were broken up by massive apartment complexes.

“In other cities in Malgrave this would be described as rather chaotic, as the residential apartments and public parks are merged into one but I personally prefer this approach,” Yu-Mi admitted, “It means that someone has a public park at their doorstep. In other places apartments are grouped together into blocks and then separated by parks while here the opposite is true.”

“Huh, this is chaotic?” Helvos couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, “Oh geez, some areas in Dyste can be a lot worse about it. But yeah, there’s a pretty big meat industry in Dyste, pretty good to trade there…” after looking over more of the landscape, he added, “Yeah, I think I agree with you here, it’s nice to have a bit of natural beauty as you step outside, isn’t it? One of the problems with a lot of cities is you can miss out on that in your everyday life.”

Yu-Mi nodded in response, “If you travel outside Aurora then you’ll hear people refer to us as a chaotic and even an ugly city, as it was built before pre-planning became a thing due to the chaos of the exodus,” she explained, “I tend to find that having access to a natural environment helps people with IDD but I am not a doctor so I can’t say that for certain

“That seems… kinda mean, if you ask me,” Helvos’s joy faded for a moment, “Even if it was ‘chaotic’, it can still have its own beauty, I’d say. Not that I’m any expert on that sort of thing, but there’s something to be admired about such work if you’d ask me. If this is how ‘chaotic’ it goes, maybe you might need a little more chaos around… um, what’s IDD?”

“It is rather frustrating to deal with at times, but I do agree with you that chaos can be rather beautiful at times and I will keep that in mind when I have to deal with an annoying visitor from Epping,” Yu-Mi said, the smile on her face fading somewhat at the question, “IDD? Apologies as I forgot that you weren’t aware. It stands for Immunodeficiency Disorder, a disease that all Malgraveans are born with. Initially it is dormant but it activates at a certain point and weakens our immune system until we die.”

“... geez, that’s rough,” Helvos felt like he made some sort of faux pas, but his host didn’t seem to mind. On his own end, Suidans were, in spite of their pudgy frames, actually a very healthy and hardy people; he especially was quite robust in that regard, seemingly unable to get sick. “I have to wonder if maybe healers in Dyste might be able to help? I gotta figure your doctors have worked on it a lot, but we might have access to things you might not.”

Yu-Mi smiled in an effort to reassure Helvos, “It is tough, as without a cure the entire Malgravean people could soon be wiped from the face of the planet, however, we do have some very smart people working on a cure, and as someone with active IDD I am rather invested in their success,” she said, “Dystan healers? It couldn’t hurt, right? I mean it would be rather poetic if all it took to cure IDD was working together with a Dystan healer which was prevented due to years of isolation.”

“Well, I can see what I can find, but, well… just make sure it’s not made a huge deal of,” Helvos said, sounding a bit worried, “I wouldn’t want your people to get the wrong idea and think this is an guaranteed thing, it’s possible it might not work. That said, it’s certainly better than not trying at all.”

Yu-Mi shrugged, “I don’t think anyone is expecting some manner of miracle cure to emerge but I think it would be good to get an outside opinion,” she explained, “Have you ever been focused so much on something only to miss something obvious? In Malgrave we’d say something like can’t see the concrete for the apartments or steel for the railway but essentially missing the wider picture.”.”,

“Oh, that happens to me all the time,” Helvos laughed, “You know, one time I was exploring this cavern and I found this locked door. I kept on trying to force it open with my strength, but it wouldn’t budge, and it wasn’t for like half an hour before I noticed there was a puzzle to open it! Lemme tell you, after that I always check for that sort of thing… so, um, yeah, I totally get what you’re saying there.”

“I wonder if that puzzle was put in place to serve as a lesson for adventurers? An exercise in always checking your environment and not depending on one characteristic like strength or dexterity,” Yu-Mi theorised, the tram gradually coming to a stop, “It wouldn’t be the first time that I have encountered something like that before, as my trainer in the Royal Navy liked to keep us recruits on their toes during our training.”

As the tram came to a gradual stop Yu-Mi sprung into life, the Malgravean rising from her seat and gesturing to an exit at the rear of the tram which appeared to be strictly designated for passengers just leaving the tram.

Once outside Helvos would be able to see that they were the cultural heart of Aurora, with theatres and restaurants lining either side of a street abuzz with pedestrians and bicycles which was isolated from the central tramway with a neat array of trees, although, a handful of these places were closed.

“I’d offer to take you to a show but the theatres here don’t open until later,” Yu-Mi explained as she navigated the streets, “Just be careful not to run into any cyclists as they can have tunnel vision sometimes.”

“If they did, I’d be a little more worried about the bikes than anything,” Helvos was only half-joking there. “Still, this seems like a great part of town for some entertainment; if you properly open up it’d be a good spot to showcase for foreign tourists, I’d say.”

“I’ll rely on you to protect me in that case, Helvos,” Yu-Mi said, the Malgravean scanning the streets carefully before crossing, “I spend a fair bit of time here, as I occasionally have work in one of the theatres so it would be good to share this space with new people.”

Yu-Mi led Helvos towards a small building called Coastal Voice, with an assortment of semi-private booths containing a mixture of tourists and locals who were looking to unwind with some food and music, however, the locals efforts were halted when she was stopped by a nearby attendant.

“Park Yu-Mi? If we had known you were visiting today we would have set aside one of our VIP booths,” the attendant said, “Allow us to set aside a private room for you.”

Yu-Mi shook her head, “I wouldn’t want any special treatment, so we will take the booth that I booked earlier,” she said continuing towards one of the semi-private booths located towards the rear of the building which gave some privacy, “Apologies for that but I quite dislike being gifted with things I haven’t earned.”

Helvos followed, “Huh, what was that about, Yu-Mi? Seems like they know you here…”

Yu-Mi paused for a few moments as she tried to translate her thoughts, “It is probably because I am known as a musical idol in the country? I started performing around ten years ago now and have released four albums which have achieved some success on the music charts,” she explained, “It is why some people attempt to give me special treatment which I dislike.”

“Huh, guess I’ll get to hear that voice later, right?” Helvos smiled, “But I get you there; I don’t really like to be treated overly special either. Getting a nice reward for a job well done is one thing, but I’m not wanting everything just handed to me either; I’ll just grow complacent and suffer for it.”

“It would also feel rather odd accepting these luxuries during an economic crisis,” Yu-Mi admitted, the Malgravean picking up a small tablet device, “You can see the menu selection here, a few popular recipes like kimchi stew, mixed rice, soybean soup and one of my personal favourites soft tofu soup, as our local version has freshly caught seafood and is far superior to any copy produced in Portmon.”

Helvos could sense a bit of local pride from Yu-Mi, “Hm, yeah, I think I’ll try all of what you suggested. Might as well get a bit of the local flavours while I’m here and help the economy a little, huh?”

“I hope that you have a healthy appetite, as all of these dishes also come with their own local side dishes which tend to be fried vegetables, rice and often a vegetable broth which acts as flavour enhancer for the rice,” Yu-Mi explained as she started to make the order, “It is also typically designed to share as meals in Malgrave tend to be a communal affair.”

If Helvos had taken a look at the restaurant earlier he would remember seeing multiple groups of people sharing main dishes and sides from a varied selection of earthenware pots.

“Well, I hope that you are fine with sharing, then,” Helvos didn’t seem at all deterred from this, still as excited as ever to try the food.

“It is what I have grown up with,” Yu-Mi said with a shrug of her shoulders, “Is communal dining and sharing food popular in Dyste?”

“Oh, for sure!” Helvos said, “In fact all major meals are communal in Dyste, though generally the idea is that breakfast is with family, lunch with friends, and supper with the community as whole. Of course, that’s just the traditional way it’s done, some people do it other ways, but my family’s always stuck to that.”

“Remarkable, Helvos,” Yu-Mi said, “We have a similar meal structure here in Aurora, of course, it is different elsewhere in other parts in Malgrave but I do find it interesting that we’ve coincidentally developed similar customs despite zero contact. What happens to be your favourite Dystan food by the way? I was wondering if I could sneak a few hints to some restaurants I know so that they’ll add it to the menu.”

“Um, well,” Helvos had to think about it, “Geez, it seems my favourite changes by the day, but I’ve been fond of this one type of pasta with cheese in it… I can’t remember the name, but man was it good!”

“If you want good pasta then I recommend taking a trip to Epping or Pakosc, as you’ll likely be able to find some decent filled pasta in these cities,” Yu-Mi replied, a small hint of something in her voice as she talked about Epping, “Just I think they are obsessed about pasta in Epping, so you may struggle to find something else which can be quite frustrating if you want a taste of home after working for MBC and can only find places selling pasta or ancestral bread.”

Yu-Mi grumbled to herself for a few seconds before perking up at the arrival of the food, with an otter beastling carrying an assortment of heavy looking bowls which he carefully placed on the table before him before returning with a variety of smaller dishes containing a variety of fried vegetables and rice alongside an empty bowl for Helvos and Yu-Mi.

“Okay, we have kimchi stew here which can be quite salty on account of the fact its base is an anchovy stock, however, this can be easily negated by pouring the stew over into a bowl of rice and having that soak up the flavours.”

Yu-Mi then motioned towards a more cloudy looking dish that was filled with tofu and shrimp, “We have fermented soybean paste soup here, again this is typically mixed in with rice on account of the anchovy base,” she explained, “In fact this is the first meal that I ate, as parents in Aurora tend to feed it to their children and then cook again whenever we return home, so I have a lot of fond memories of this dish.”

At that point, a wide smile appeared on Yu-Mi’s face as she motioned towards the final dish on offer, a massive stew which appeared to be stuffed full of king oyster mushrooms, soft tofu, fresh shrimp, oysters and mussels, “I recommend this one with rice as well, although, it can be enjoyed on its own as it is a delight, she said, “I hope that you are also okay with spice? Auoran can be quite spicy, especially the kimchi stew as that can have hot chili flakes and hot pepper paste in it.”

“Oh, I can handle spice alright,” Helvos licked his lips seeing the dishes, “Dystan spices can be quite the shock if you’re not used to them. Also, just tell me if I’m, ahem, pigging out a little too much with these dishes, I don’t want to leave you with nothing, after all.”

“I’ll probably find myself liking some Dystan dishes then, as I like a lot of kick in my food,” Yu-Mi replied, the Malgravean using a long spoon to move some of the soft tofu stew alongside some fresh rice, “Just feel free to eat whatever you want, as an active idol I technically have a diet to follow but I will just keep this meal a secret.”

Before eating herself Yu-Mi briefly spoke to herself, a small statement in a language that Helvos had heard around him but was unlikely to be fluent in.

“With all the pleasantries out of the way we can now eat.” Yu-Mi told Helvos.

Helvos decided to dig in, swapping around the foods at a surprising pace as he wanted to try them all, “Hmm… I think it’s hard to decide which is my favourite. You know what that means, I just gotta try more!” He showed no signs of slowing down.

Yu-Mi had quite a wide smile on her face as she watched Helvos enjoy the food, with the Malgravean enjoying a comparatively smaller portion, “I’ll have to pass on my compliments to the chef as they’ve created quite a positive display for Aurora,” she said, “I am thankful that I didn’t decide to cook, as that either ends well or in a complete disaster with a massive mess and I couldn’t run the risk. You ever cook your own food, Helvos?”

“Oh, all the time!” Helvos said after gulping down some food, “It’s a great skill for an adventurer to have, since you might have to spend days away from any cities or towns or anything. Trust me, it gets easier with practice. Of course, I was lucky enough that since my parents ran the general store, I had easy access to ingredients to practice with. Maybe I’ll try cooking a Dystan dish for you later.”

“I imagine that you have to cook while camping as well? I can’t imagine that you’ll stumble upon many kitchens while travelling between locations, so that presents its own challenge,” Yu-Mi said, the local enjoying some asparagus and broccoli, “What would you cook or are you keeping that one a surprise?”

Helvos would notice a couple of dishes begin to reduce in size, however, the enormous fish stew at the centre of the table still appeared relatively untouched in spite of their efforts.

“Heh, well, it’ll depend on what I can find,” Helvos chuckled as he tried out the fish stew, “Man, this stuff is delicious! Promote this sort of thing and you’ll get tourists in no time! … ahem, yes, camping is a big part of adventuring. I’m hoping one day to get a ship of my own and get to rest there, but for the time being, it’s basically mandatory if you are in the middle of an adventure to have good camping skills.”

“I couldn’t imagine camping for an extended period of time, as I only really know the basics from some lessons in an old youth group,” Yu-Mi admitted, “...and a ship of your own to sail the ocean or an airship to travel the sky?”

“Um, well, I’d kinda like either,” Helvos admitted, trying out more of the stew, “But airships are a big Dystan staple, ever since they were invented during the Imperial War we’ve always used them a lot, and many adventuring parties try and get one! … course, that’s a party, and I’m really usually doing this alone. Not many people wanted someone looking like me when I first started out, after all.”

Yu-Mi looked quite confused for a moment, “I presume people underestimated you? It is their loss then, as you look like quite a capable individual to me and good natured which I would say are grand qualities for an adventurer,” she said, “I know that airships are quite popular in the military and scientific community, as they allow both to travel a suitably long distance without needing to supply which is a valuable trait for...”

Whatever Yu-Mi was going to say was interrupted by an ear piercing scream, as an incredibly frightened puffin beastling appeared from a nearby door which appeared to lead down towards the restaurant's basement, a few scrapes on her wing and face indicating that she had received some recent injuries.

“Huh?!” Helvos stood up, reacting with surprising speed for a man his size, “Are you okay? What happened?”

“Just a minor incident in the basement,” the puffin replied, although her wounded wing suggested otherwise, “All is fine.”

“Are you certain?” Yu-Mi asked, “It looks like you’ve received quite the injury.”

In response the puffin groaned but perked up a bit when she noticed how strong Helvos was, “If I say then you must promise to keep this to yourself and not tell any of the customers here.”

“... fair enough,” Helvos nodded, “I understand you don’t want to make ‘em worry.”

“In that case follow me,” the puffin responded, “...and the name is Rina by the way.”

Yu-Mi bowed slightly in greeting even as she was led through the door, “You can call me Yu-Mi,” she said, “What appears to be the problem?”

“I didn’t want to say this outside but it looks like we have a mad scientist problem,” Rina told the duo, “A problem that has created a giant rat which has now crashed through into our basement and is causing havoc.”

Helvos had to resist a snorting laugh, “Well, you’ve come to the right person here! I’ve had my fair share of problems with that! Once I even needed to shrink myself down and fight a rat while tiny, I think I can handle one at a piggy size!”

“You shrunk yourself to fight a rat?” Rina asked, the puffin looking at Helvos like he had stumbled in from a different planet.

Yu-Mi laughed briefly at the puffins' shocked reaction before settling down, “You think that someone was testing out ideas for the CMM and made a mess, right?”

Rina nodded, “You tend to see incidents like this on MBC News but I never thought that it would happen to me!” she exclaimed in shock, “Can you deal with it?”

“It’s not like I did it just to fight the rat, I needed to go through a real tight passageway, like even a puffin wouldn’t have fit,” Helvos explained, “But totally, I can deal with it! Might help make sure I don’t get too rusty out here.”

“In that case I will wish you luck,” Rina told them, “I would help but these wings don’t deal well with bites and I would feel foolish if I died fighting a giant rat...but I have confidence this won’t happen to you!”

Yu-Mi didn’t fancy the attempt at a pep talk but still opened the door which led to the basement, a poorly lit staircase that led towards a large storage room, although, at this point no giant rat was visible.

“Stay behind me,” Helvos said, his voice turning from its usual jovial tone to a more serious and focused one, as he took the leader in going down the stairs. “I can handle a few more attacks than you can, so if it jumps us by surprise, I’d rather it goes for me, plus I can punch it back if it tries.”

“You don’t need to say that twice,” Yu-Mi said, the idol clearly quite pleased that she didn’t have to lead the party into potential combat, “It looks like it broke through that wall at the rear of the basement,” she added as the pair got to the bottom of the stairs, a handful of stacked shelves separating them from the hole.

Helvos went slowly in, “Either it’s around here somewhere or it’s in the hole,” he whispered, “Either way, be careful not to cause too much noise.”

Yu-Mi followed closely behind, the idol glad to be with an adventurer in these circumstances given her comparatively limited combat experience, “You think that it is still hiding within the hole?”

In fact, as Helvos got closer he would be able to see that the hole led through into what appeared to be a makeshift lab but again the rat was not visible.

“Certainly looks like someone was hoping to win this year's CMM,” Yu-Mi commented as she looked at the scene, “I’ll bet they will be in serious trouble.”

“CMM?” Helvos’s ears wiggled a bit, as he sniffed the area; there was a chemical odor around, making it hard to discern the rat’s location.

“It stands for conference for the masters of tomorrow, a youth competition that sees people across Malgrave compete in various educational and artistic fields, although, it is mostly known for the scientific and engineering aspects,” Yu-Mi said, the local starting to explain the complicated organisational structure of the contest, “A dish called ance...”

At that precise moment the rat decided to introduce itself, a terrible rumble was heard as the large creature emerged from its hiding place and set itself on the duo, a crazed look on its face as it appeared to match Yu-Mi in size.

It was a frightful situation that got worse, as the creature did not emerge from the ruins of the partially destroyed wall but started to charge from the other side of the basement entirely, with the large rat charging through shelves in an attempt to attack the smallest of the group.

“Then why isn’t it CMT-” Helvos stopped as the rat appeared, as he kept alert on the rat’s position. It was certainly larger than most giant rats he had encountered, but nothing he couldn’t handle. It seemed to go to attack Yu-Mi, but Helvos launched himself off a wall in order to slam his fist into its side, sending it backward. “Yu-Mi, get back! I’ll handle this.”

Yu-Mi gladly stepped back, however, that did not stop her from getting involved in the fight as she started to sing an old naval song which would instill Helvos with a greater sense of courage and confidence.

Helvos could feel his strength improve, alongside his will; he had of course been familiar with such abilities before, but being mostly a solo adventurer he had not had the opportunity to experience it often. The rat struck back, biting his shoulder and slashing his chest. He winced in pain, but it didn’t deter him, getting into a fighting stance before raining down a flurry attack, hitting the rat with four equally strong attacks in a matter of seconds! Such an assault felled the rat, Helvos gasping a bit as he stood up straight, “You okay, Yu-Mi?”

“You can’t seriously be asking me that question now, Helvos,” Yu-Mi said, the idol quickly gesturing towards the multitude of wounds that the Dystan had sustained during the fight and then down towards her unharmed body, “Just be careful now and I will get some medical supplies to help with those wounds.”

Yu-Mi didn’t have to search far, as the prevalence of IDD meant that first aid stations were always close by and she soon returned.

“It may sting a bit but we need to ensure that the wound does not get infected,” the idol said as she put a set of disposable gloves on before pouring bottled water over the visible cuts, “...sorry about this.”

Helvos winced again, before having a sigh of relief, “Huh… so that’s what this is like, huh… so used to healing spells or potions, to be honest…”

“I am afraid we all ran out of potions last week, so you will have to do with old fashioned medicine for now,” Yu-Mi joked as she started cleaning the area around the wound with some antiseptic wipes, the local assuming that the Dystan was making his own jokes about healing spells and potions, “I think this will be sufficient but you should probably check-in at a local hospital before you leave, as I wouldn’t want you to go to your next destination with a terrible sickness.”

“I’ll do that a bit later, yeah,” Helvos nodded, Suidans were a very hardy people but they weren’t immune to getting sick. “For now, we ought to report back into the puffin about this place, and we still have to sing Karaoke, don’t we?”

Yu-Mi nodded, “I imagine that they’ll be rather pleased that we put an end to that mad scientist project, shall we?”

When Helvos and Yu-Mi returned upstairs they found Rina nervously pacing within the small room, the puffin muttering to herself as she paced.

“I know I should have just called the nearest TDF checkpoint, now, if those people are hurt i’ll be in some serious trou...oh welcome back brave adventurers,” Rina said, the puffin not even breaking a sweat as she switched from doomerism to rampant optimism within a few seconds, “It looks like you were successful in dealing with our little problem?”

“It certainly wasn’t little,” Yu-Mi said with a frown, “Helvos here was wounded while taking it down.”

“Okay, so perhaps the rat was a little unusual in size but still you were able to get the job done and with no major injuries,” Rina replied, “I’ll have your meal paid for here, and I will even throw in some extra karaoke time. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good to me!” Helvos chuckled, “Just don’t be surprised at how much we ordered… oh, and you might want to make an investigation at some point down there, whoever did that set up their lab down there and might still be doing some experiments.”

Rina sighed, “It is exactly what I feared when I first saw that rat, well aside from the obvious fear that it was going to eat me,” she said, “I’ll certainly contact the local police, so hopefully they can fix that mess and prevent future incidents.”

“In that case we’ll just return to enjoying ourselves,” Yu-Mi said, the idol bowing to the puffin beastling before escorting Helvos back inside the restaurant, although she didn’t stop precisely at their table but moved towards a large stage that overlooked the entire restaurant.

“You wanted to do some karaoke, correct?” Yu-Mi asked the idol, loading up a selection of songs from a computer screen, “What do you typically listen to?”

“Oh, well, honestly I’m not as much of a music aficionado as some are,” Helvos admitted, “I just like what I like, I suppose. If you’re asking what I’d like to sing, well, I dunno if my voice is good for any of it…”

“Nonsense! If you had doubted yourself down in that basement, do you think you would have done well against the giant rat?” Yu-Mi said, “You have some incredible talents, Helvos and you should apply that same confidence and power to singing.”

Yu-Mi then loaded up a song called Courage on the High Seas

“A strong powerful song about the sailors who fought against the Imerian invaders and died to protect us all,” the idol explained, “...plus this restaurant is attended by drunk students and sailors so you don’t have to put on a world class performance but just have fun, okay?”

“A-alright…” Helvos tried, his voice was quite powerful but his confidence was shaky here, as he messed up at several points in the song and sometimes sang off-key. He seemed more pained from that than being wounded by the rat, “Sorry, I guess I still have to put in a bit of practice…”

In spite of his questionable performance Helvos still obtained some cheers from the audience, with a crowd of sailors raising a pint to him in appreciation of the fact that he had attempted to sing an old naval song.

“I won’t lie and say that it was perfect, however, it can be quite hard for newcomers to sing in a language they haven’t spoken before,” Yu-Mi said, “...but you have made a fair few sailors here happy and protected everyone from a dangerous rat so I would say you’ve done a good job.”

“Thanks…” Helvos felt a bit better seeing the reaction, “... and really, thanks for all your help here, Yu-Mi, you’ve really made me feel more comfortable so far away from home.”

“It has been a genuine pleasure, Helvos,” Yu-Mi replied, the wide smile on her face sealing the honesty behind her words “How about I perform a little something to close us off?”

“Sure!” Helvos was just relieved not having to perform himself, “Take it away!”

Yu-Mi selected an entirely different song, still one that required powerful vocals but also expert control and an ability to channel raw emotion and ensure that the crowd could experience everything the singer was going through.

In many ways the theme of the song were simple, as it spoke about historic mistakes, forgotten love and the desire to fix these errors while admitting they were foolish, however, the skill of Yu-Mi transformed the song into something quite powerful and soon Helvos would be able to see several guests in tears, with one of the sailors that had approved of the Dystan earlier even excusing himself to contact his family.

Helvos had never seen a singer like this before; of course Dyste indeed had performers, but the style of music was something that was completely new to him. Maybe he just hadn’t had the chance, but if this was the sort of thing he was missing out on, this might’ve proved that Malgrave should indeed open itself up more. The experiences he seeked while adventuring weren’t just those where he could fight something or enjoy a local delicacy, but for moments like this, where he could just experience a culture like this, was why he had chosen to take a break from his adventuring to just tour parts of Mystria. As he gave her a standing ovation, he hoped one day his own singing would be enough to get a reaction like this…

[Legokiller]

Penguin Island

After a relaxation in the igloo of the Hornhearts, the group returned to the main adventure into the heart of Penguin Island. Known as ‘Central Town Square’ was one of the two major mall outlets with vast arrays of shops, a grand night club, cafes, coffee shops, and many places of enjoyment. As snow was laid out across the paths, and stone brick roads let out a pathway for vehicles and city rain, it was very waddle friendly for the typical person. Of course as a metropolis, there was a whole sports district on the horizon with many stadiums to the outdoor snowball leagues to compete in (that and recreational parks). All with of course, the Luckstone’s Plaza being a few miles in walking distance.

“Here we are!” Lissah smiled brightly. “We can stop by Michael’s pizza shop later! But if you wanna get some fancy clothing, or some hot coffee, there’s tons of shops here! Even international.”

“Ooh, more pizza, huh?” Helvos clearly hadn’t has his fill from last time, “Ah, but I’d imagine you aren’t quite ready to eat just yet, hm? What would you like to see, Noelani?”

"Well," Noelani pondered. "Lissah, can I purchase Zap Apple Jam here?"

“Zap Apple Jam?” Lissah looked surprised when Noelani mentioned it. “Well, there is a nearby jam shop I am sure of it.” She said as her phone was levitated up by her magic and taps her made. “I’m guessing you’re curious about its taste?”

“Um,” Helvos nervously chuckled, “I have the feeling she might want some of her just in case… y’know. … but I am curious about how good it tastes, too!”

"Just in case that Doom Man reappears, yes," Noelani said. "We didn't finish him off, and he did seem like other than the vigilante, he was not well pleased by my shoving him into that maze."

“Archnemesis deal?” Lissah chuckled. “Well it should be close!” She said as she led them into one of the streets with looming traditional festival shops. All with one being a glass shaped ‘jam’ store with green painted wood and dark red tiling. On display was an assortment of various fruity jams to the exotic ones. All with the rainbow ‘Zap’ ones on display. “Granted, a lil pricey, but these ones likely grew from the local orchards.”

"I can afford it, I'm sure," Noelani smiled slightly. "Thank you, Lissah. I'll just buy this and then we can be finished up here."

“It’s almost like adventuring pays well if you’re good at it,” Helvos snorted. “I’ll get one too, just because I wanna try some.”

Lissah led the group inside to see the vast authentic spruce and decorated shop, alongside many sleeves filled with many types of jam. The Zap Apple Jam itself cost about $79.99 bits and limited supply.

"$79.99 bits… what is that in Dystan gold coins?" Noelani asked, gently picking up a jar of the strangely colorful jam.

“... why would a shop in Silverdale deal in that, Noelani?” Helvos pointed out, “... actually if we all shared a currency I suppose it would… huh, not a bad idea… erm, I mean, it’s likely in Silverdalean Dollars.”

"Aren't you all… basically one nation? You don't share a currency?" Noelani seemed surprised. "I didn't anticipate that, to be honest. Perhaps the temples have outdated information on the Dragon Seas?"

“Heheh, well there are discussions across the Dragon Sea Alliance sphere about creating a whole economic zone to build it and further ideas. I recall the Pony Lands used to have its own zone within the Coalition of Pony States, but it likely died off over the years since its dissolution. For now, we’re still our separate states with our own currencies.” Lissah explained.

"Well, my apologies then," Noelani sighed, showing them that she only had Dystan currency. "I also need an exchange shop, it seems."

“I’ll cover it,” Helvos had his own card with him, “You can pay me back later; this lets me pay at a pretty low exchange rate.”

“So I’m guessing you’ll rig this jam as a sort of bomb encase the Doom Man comes up?” Lissah asked. She did find herself interested in one jam: banana jam.

"I will repay you, Helvos," Noelani said, sounding a little annoyed at herself. "No, I'll just hold it. Being near it at all weakens him significantly, it looked like."

Helvos for his part also picked up a bunch of other jams from the place; after paying he placed them into his backpack, aside of course from the Zap Apple Jam, “Here you are!” Handing it to Noelani.

Lissah selected her jam alongside of course the zap jam, and bought it soon after. “Well, it’ll be a long time until we see him again. But hey, we can enjoy a few good sandwiches with it.”

"I will not be using mine," Noelani said, as it disappeared into the aether. "Actually, I hope to never see him again, but I'm not one of the oldest children of Aquamenria to ever live by a lack of caution," she added with a smile.

“Hey, in our line of work, preparation and caution’s the name of the game,” Helvos chuckled. “Wouldn’t have lasted as long as I have as an adventurer if I just rushed into everything.”

“True enough. That said: my duties as a diplomat need attention alongside tutoring a few students.” Lissah then looked at Noelani. “That said: You’re one of the oldest children of Aquamenria?”

"Well, oldest in terms of years alive as a mortal," Noelani clarified, waiting for the ding of the store door to fade out before she continued. "In fact, I'm the oldest I know of! It's really quite the accomplishment, if I say so myself."

“Geez, I recall you telling me a bit about this earlier,” Helvos said, “But it’s usually a short life for ‘em, then?”

"Oh, yes," Noelani nodded. "Actually, I sealed my last will and testament before going to Tambelon, I didn't expect to return. Then again, I didn't expect to meet a man who can fell a dragon in seven or so punches…" she giggled.

“Um… heheh…” Helvos blushed, “Not like I’m the strongest person in Dyste by any margin - there’s this huge Bovinian warrior named Tysteus, she’d probably do it even faster - but I was trying to make sure you weren’t in danger or anything…”

“Well I endured enough dragon’s breathes for one day.” Lissah smiled. “Aah. Well, do other half-siblings of yours have shorter life spans?”

"Well, I have no living siblings," Noelani clarified. "Not by blood or in being a Child of Aquamenria, that I know of, at least. Which means I might get to be the first to have a family!" She added with a smile.

“It’s really a great thing, isn’t it?” Helvos said, “You’ve met some of Lissah’s, and next time we’re in Dyste I’ll take you back to my hometown to meet mine!” They would’ve likely gone during the first visit, but Lissah’s invitation came up, and considering Helvos’s new method of transport, reaching Penguin Island was hardly an issue.

"Eventually, perhaps you can all meet my family," Noelani smiled. "Not that there's nearly as much to meet there."

“Why’s that the case?” Lissah asked.

"Because I only have my parents," Noelani said. "No siblings, if you'll recall. I used to have some friends as close as family, but, ah, you know how life is."

“This does sound so strange… Seems like Aquameria gave her kids away and they have to wander across the world.” Lissah remarked.

"Not wander, no," Noelani explained. "We're here to protect the people of Thalassium, as much as we can, until such time as we are called back to the Mother's embrace."

“Right, but there’s the part that I’m wonderin’ about, then…” Helvos admitted. “If you’re here to protect the people of Thalassium, why did you get involved in the rescue of Princess Luna?”

"The Mother desired it," Noelani shrugged. "I have long since given up on attempting to understand why she gives the instructions she does. Maybe she just didn't like another goddess being trapped by an evil creature?"

“That or preventing another calamity.” Lissah answered. “That said: what do you mean by Mother’s embrace?”

"The cycle of rebirth?" Noelani asked, waiting a beat before answering calmly. "Death. I mean when I die."

“Eh-” Lissah felt bummed out. “Well then. I suppose the children of gods aren’t all sunshine and rainbows. I mean, I can explain a few tales about that…”

“Hey,” Helvos tried to lighten the mood a bit,” How ‘bout we go see some more stuff? Like, there might be some cute winter clothes to get here…”

"Certainly worth a look… after I convert my currency," Noelani seemed unphased. "You can help me look, Lissah, and I'll do the same for you. We might even be about the same size?"

“Heheh possibly! Now there are a ton of stores! Brand ones, tourists, to local traditional stores. Anything you wanna check out first?” Lissah asked.

"Um… whatever you think is good?" Noelani said. "I don't know that much about the brands and all that, I just usually get what I think is pretty."

Lissah led the group to one of the store brands, NIKKE, which was a large department store filled with various pop silverdale clothing from the silver punky jackets, collection of dresses, winter clothing, mens clothing, women’s clothing, sport goodies, shoes, hats, and a ton of specialized ones. For the more obvious aquatic selection, to flight suits for sky travel. All with the pair wings logo on most of their branding. “Here we go! I know, super consumerist than the local wool shop nearby. But it has a good range of items you want.”

"Oh, that's a lot of choice," Noelani said, wandering into the store and walking around sections at random. "This is even bigger than the biggest Fairwinds store I've ever been in. They have almost everything!"

“Geez, and here I am mostly wearing the same sorta shirts, vests and shorts,” Helvos shrugged, “Not really a fashion expert here, so glad you’re here to help, Lissah.”

“Right! Now I know there are some magic items to help endure the cold, but I kinda get a bit of a sore thumb at times.” Lissah said. “So let’s look for some sweaters and jackets for starters. We need to make sure you get some good layers here to insulate warmth.”

"Oh, just a single sweater will likely be fine," Noelani smiled. "I've been pretty deep, and if it gets too cold I have spells for that!"

“I think I haven’t had a sweater that fit me since I was 27,” Helvos chuckled. “Turns out I’m pretty tough in any weather anyways!”

"Well, we should get you one," Noelani said idly, looking through a rack of clothes. "I think you'd be cute in a sweater."

Noelani can see signs of the many body types from humanoids, ones with extra limbs like tail and ears, four legged creatures, fish, and more. All as Lissah escorted them to go into one of the corners of the store where many types of sweaters were located. “ I think so too! Now, are you more interested in simple ones or a bit more funny?” Lissah asked.

"For me, something simple… but I think we can both agree Helvos needs a funny one," Noelani giggled slightly. "It would suit him more!"

“Hey, c’mon, you really think so?” Helvos looked a bit embarrassed about it.

Lissah led them to a wide shelf with pictures that were animated by magic to show various goofy images, from a clown face, a baffled penguin with text, smiley face, and other versions that were about twenty four in total. Alongside this was a goat joke one around the holiday session. “How… How about this one!” Lissah pulled out the penguin sweater.

“Hey, that’s not too bad,” Helvos said, checking it out, “The penguin really says ‘Silverdale’, doesn’t it?”

Noelani pulled out a sweater with an iceberg on it. “Perhaps it is because I live in the sea, but I think of icebergs like this when I think of Silverdale.”

“Glaciers, snow, ice, and shelves are pretty common. I mean there was once a whole theory that a massive ice shelf used to be where Silver City was at, but was hurled into the ocean when the promise of soil came for penguins of forest and others came to the states of Floridea and Chen.” Lissah explained. “Oh: do check if the size for this sweater fits you!”

"Of course," Noelani said. "It is disrespectful to the craftsman to use magic to change their clothing for something like size. Also not as cheap as one might hope," the mermaid laughed softly.

“There’s not that much that fits me, which is part of the reason I typically don’t wear ‘em,” Helvos admitted, “But I guess we can see…”

“Great! Now before we go to the change room, let’s pick out a few more!” Lissah said. She tossed in a few mother sweaters to one ‘on sale’ hawaiian red and white in the mix.

“Oooh, now there’s a few in my style,” Helvos usually wore open patterned shirts on vacation like this, “Noelani, got any ideas yourself here?”

"I think I am quite good," Noelani looked through the other sweaters. "One is enough for me. To be quite honest, it's more of a souvenir than something I expect to wear all that often."

“Heheh, for me I need to keep up my style and have spares.” Lissah chuckled.

"We all have our own requirements, after all," Noelani nodded. "Shall we clear out after buying these? It occurs to me that neither of you have ever truly seen my true form."

“Yeah, that’s true, huh?” Helvos realized that, “I mean, we went to a beach in Dyste and you still didn’t get to show it off.”

“Your true form? And the beach?” Lissah inquired.

"Lissah, you do remember that I'm a mermaid?" Noelani giggled. "The legs," she wiggled one of her legs, "that I have right now are a bit of magic most mer have. My real form is… well, half fish! And I didn't even use it last time I went to a beach!"

“Right, and I missed it there,” Helvos said, “Guess you wanted to see what it was like vacationing on a beach with legs… oh yeah, I took Noelani to Undellah in Dyste, Lissah, before we came here.”

“Heheh, it slipped off my mine for a second.” Lissah chuckled. “I’ll say there are indoor pools with suitable temperatures if you want to visit there.”

"Oh, I'm hardly worried about the cold. And pools tend to have so much chlorine in them, it makes my scales itchy," Noelani explained. "If you two are alright with it, the beach will work just fine for me."

“In that case: the beach will be so much fun.” Lissah smiled.

"Helvos?" Noelani grinned, then giggled. "Will you escort these two young ladies on a trip to the beach?"

“Fair enough,” Helvos chuckled, as they made their purposes, “What’s the best route to take there, Lissah?”

“There are plentiful amounts of spots nearby. Question is: are you interested in swimming or surfing?” Lissah asked.

"Swimming," Noelani answered instantly. "Kind of useless to try and surf with my tail out…"

“Right! In that case: we need to head to Pirate’s Beach next to the lighthouse. A very popular destination. Alongside a whole pirate bay second close by too!” Lissah said.

"Oh no, will we get attacked by pirates?" Noelani sounded genuinely concerned."

“Nah! It’s all touristy alongside a few historical ships.” Lissah answered. “We’re not going to the dangerous coast at the south pole or anything.”

“Heh, fair enough, otherwise that might be too chilly!” Helvos laughed.

"I was more worried about defending the people from evil!" Noelani said. "But lead on, Lissah. And if you get too cold, Helvos, I'm sure we both have spells for that."

“Oh sure. Now before that…” Lissah looked at Helvos. “Have you tried any of the clothes we picked for you?”

“Um, erm, sorry, I should,” Helvos went into the changing room. After checking them out, most of the sweaters seemed to not fully fit him, leaving part of his belly exposed, while the patterned shirts he wore like he normally would’ve, worn opened up. “How do they look?”

“Well… a little bit small, admittedly,” Noelani frowned. “But that’s the largest size I saw of the iceberg sweater…”

“Ah, don’t feel so bad,” Helvos chuckled, “I’m used to it, I haven’t really worn much covering my full top for several years now.”

“Eh? I mean I can try to find an extra size without getting too gigantic.” Lissah said.

“He seems alright with this,” Noelani shook her head in bemusement. “So I say let him have them.”

“See, there you go!” Helvos happily got the clothes, not being bothered by the fitting issues there. “Now, c’mon, what about your own stuff?”

“Oh, I suppose I can get something,” Noelani said, grabbing one with a matching iceberg to the one she’d handed Helvos, but clearly much smaller. “Yes, this does truly say ‘Silverdale’ to me.”

“Heheh! Silver in the earth and heavens.” Lissah rhymed. “As for me… I’ll surprise you all!”

“Fair enough,” the Suidan went to pay for his own clothes, “At least we’ll have the tourist vibe down now.”

Noelani did the same, though only after finding a place to convert her money, walking out of the clothing store with sweater in hand. "So, the beach next?"

Lissah came last as she hid what she bought within her bags. “Eeyup!” Lissah said. “We have to take the bus to get there naturally. That is if you don’t want to move too much.”

"We can't just teleport?" Noelani asked.

“... oh right, I keep forgetting,” Helvos said, “Both of you would be able to do that. Geez, usually whenever I’m traveling I’m either alone or my companions can’t teleport… but don’t you want to see the area, Noelani?”

"I suppose that is part of why we're here," Noelani nodded.

“Golly, I thought you’d prefer the scenic route.” She teased. All as she opens a portal way to enter a sandy white beach area view.

"Oh, I mean, I don't mind it!" Noelani blushed lightly. "I just wanted to make it more convenient for everyone, that's all."

“Hey, c’mon now, I know how much you mages value your spell slots,” Helvos pulled them towards the portal.

"Well I would call it less a 'slot' and more of a preconcentrated amount of- hey!" Noelani's explanation got cut off as she was pulled through the portal!

“Spell slots? I mean there is more than that simplistic terminology!” Lissah protested.

On the otherside was the grand ‘curve’ coastline with a hook where a grand red and white lighthouse can be overseen. Long stretches of white sandy beaches were able to be found alongside a whole parkway for the whole ‘Shark Team resort’, party haven going district, and the whole dockyard close by that held many galleons and skipper wooden ships. There was of course the whole resort restaurant and hotel close by that advertised a pirate theme palace with a whole ‘pirate tour on a boat.’

Then of course was the whole crowd of penguin beach-goers and other folks around that the three landed themselves at.

"Well, I can explain that later, I suppose," Noelani said. "We're at the beach now! No reason to waste time, right?"

“Of course!” Helvos said, noticing even a few Sarkesh around, “Let’s get to the waves so you can show off a little!”

“Right!” Lissah smiled. The sorcerer stumbled her way to find a nice opening at the sand close by to the brush and trees and had a small overlook of the seas for the two to jump in. It was low tide and the waters brush the beach calmly.

Noelani followed, grumbling slightly about the sand grabbing her feet, then dipped toes in the water. "Ahh… Oh, I suppose I should change," she said, snapping away her dress, showing she had the swimsuit from Dyste on, and then diving into the water, quickly disappearing underneath it.

Helvos for his own part needed to actually change like some sort of non-magical person, but thankfully all that meant was a quick change into his swimming trunks and taking off his shirt.

Lissah used a spell to swap clothes into a white bikini, and quickly rushed over to the sea. “I’m coming over!”

After a few minutes, Noelani reemerged, only her top half visible as she rested it on the beach. She giggled softly, putting on her best fake seductive voice, and wiggled her fingers at Lissah and Helvos. "The siren is calling you to the sea!"

“Well now, I suppose we can’t avoid the siren’s song, huh?” Helvos shrugged as he rushed towards the water, moving at an unreal speed.

“Heheh I guess. Although I do recall sirens are more seahorse or bird-like.” Lissah commented.” She then looked at Noelani. “Oh wow… That’s amazing!”

"You recall wrongly," Noelani pouted, splashing Lissah slightly with her tail. It was long, almost as long as Noelani in her human form was tall, and a deep blue, shimmering and shining lightly in the light. Each scale looked almost like a strangely shaped sapphire, fluttering down to her fins, which seemed awfully wispy. "It's a little odd to have non-mer see my tail," she admitted with a nervous giggle.

“Really, is it that weird for you?” Helvos said as he swam in, “It’s part of who you are, like these ears and nose of mine. It’s not something to be ashamed or nervous of.”

"I'm not ashamed, it's just a little unusual," Noelani said. "You might not have figured out, but I actually don't usually come to the surface world, much less in my merform. This has all been a real rush in some ways!"

“H-Hey.” Lissah giggled. “I mean, your tail is so beautiful. Like a precious gem in the sea.”

Noelani blushed. "Oh, well, thank you so much! I try to take really good care of it, and all, so it's nice to know you think it looks good!"

“Heh, so I guess this means now I’ll have to try and visit under the sea and see what it’s like down there,” Helvos said, “It’s only fair if I’m taking you to all these places above!”

"Sure, we can do that!" Noelani smiled. "Just let me be your guide, it can be dangerous down there, and I'm not sure if punching will work as well down deep…"

“I can’t swim very well.” Lissah admitted. “That said… There is a kelp forest close by.”

"Would you like me to help you?" Noelani offered. "I certainly have no issues with swimming, I can keep you safe."

“I’m a great swimmer too,” Helvos said, “I once had to swim from Pravoka to Old Elfheim in Corneria because the ships were too afraid to go out!”

“Please do. I don’t wanna be swept away by the current.” Lissah said.

Noelani nodded, helping Lissah along as they headed towards the kelp. "Don't worry, I've got you," the mer smiled, keeping the peace steady and gentle. "You know, if you'd like, I can help you learn how to swim better."

“Heheh… Well it’d be great. I frankly had lil time to do so far.” Lissah said.

“Of course, I know there’s a few magic items that can help…” as Helvos was saying this, he realized something, but that would be more for something in the future, “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and improve your natural abilities, too. Even though I carry a lot of ‘em on adventures, most of my best skills are things I learned myself.”

"Very true," Noelani agreed. "Though, I suppose our spells should count for that, too!" As she spoke, a tidepool dragon crawled out of some other place, up and over her arms, to sit on Lissah's head.

“Hey it does cover one weakness if it takes too long to build up.” Lissah said.

“C’mon, if you have an expert willing to teach you, certainly you’ll be decent with enough practice,” Helvos remarked, doing a little paddle in the water, “I had to learn myself, took me a few weeks to really get the hang of it.”

“It’s rather easier when you live in the water, admittedly,” Noelani said, gently letting Lissah float without support. “Stay calm, Lissah. It really isn’t that hard.”

“Okay! Just don’t pull me down the current alright?!” Lissah said.

“You're fine,” Noelani smiled softly. “Relax, relax… I'm not going to let you go anywhere. Just lay there and don't move, alright? Get used to floating.”

Lissah causally floated on the water as the group went further out. They can see in the distance, or underwater, is the edge from the banks of the beaches towards the kelp forests. One vast life as a number of penguins swam by.

Helvos continued what he coined the ‘piggy paddle’ as he watched the penguins, “Hey, at least we can tell the name of the island isn’t false advertising, huh?”

“It had better not be, Silverdale is known for the penguins, you know,” Noelani said, keeping one eye on Lissah as she watched the birds pass. “How are you doing, Lissah? It isn't so bad now that you're just letting the water work, is it?”

“It does… But for diving… We need to cast a spell to breathe under it now, don’t we?” Lissah said.

“You didn't bring diving gear, did you?” Noelani asked. “I don't need such magic, but you might, yes.”

“I can’t cast magic at all, as a reminder,” Helvos said, “I could always use gear, but I didn’t know we’d use any.”

“I can cast the spell on you both,” Noelani smiled. “I'm glad I prepared ahead of time for this.”

“Great!” Lissah gave an awkward smile. “Let’s do that then.”

“An undersea adventure, that’s a new one for me,” Helvos said, “That’s a real treat at my age.”

“Alright, just a second,” Noelani said, Tamatoa swimming over to sit on Helvos’ head. She chanted in Thalassian, and then a surge of blue light filled both Lissah and Helvos for just a moment. “Now, try diving down and breathing.”

Lissah gave a small cheek puff as she dived into the water to explore what was beyond the surface. “Wow.. I mean, not too surprising, but it is amazing.”
“Wow…” Helvos tried it for himself, “Heh, I guess that’s what having gills is like? Sarkesh are probably used to this sorta thing…”

“I suppose? Having gills is pretty natural to me,” Noelani joked, joining the other two below the water. She moved easily, swimming literal circles around them. “You probably can’t tell, but you’re not really talking the same way you would on land, either. It was quite a shock the first time I realized that you surfacers speak so quietly! Even the draconids!”

“I know the spell may do some echolocation or… hmmm AHEM let’s not go into the specifics on how communication underwater works! For this case: it does.” Lissah siad. “Anyway…” She awkwardly swimmed forward and back to get used to the water, and its current.

“Practice makes perfect, so they say,” Helvos swam more gracefully than Lissah at least, “At least for this sorta thing. Some people can’t cast magic or use ki or anything like that.”

Noelani continued her circles around the two. “Most people have the talent in them, they just don’t know how to use it. But that’s alright, too. A lot of people are better off without worrying about magic, you know. Alright, let’s try going a little deeper, Lissah.”

Lissah gave an uneasy look as they went deeper to explore the maze of kelp that danced with the current. Alongside seeing the vast species of fish, to the crawl of starfish and octopuses. Lissah seemed to get a handle of it as a marine otter passed by to give a curious look before looking for fish to eat.

“Isn’t it nice?” Noelani said. “Not as beautiful as the vast coral forests, or as awe inspiring as the thousand mile chasm and its carved temples, but the kelp forest here is a reminder that life in the sea is just as varied and precious as that on land, don’t you think?”

“Yeah… geez, I guess I’ve got a lot more of the world to explore, huh?” Helvos remarked. “And here I was thinking I’ve seen it all…”

“You can’t believe how many adventurers skip out the sea.” Lissah giggled. “I mean, there is a whole realm out there yet to explore!”

“Well, maybe for you landwalkers,” Noelani teased. “Those of us who live in the ocean certainly don’t skip it.”

“I gotta invest in getting one of those belts I heard about,” Helvos muttered, “Between that and the spaceship I’ve got two more horizons at least!”

“Maybe we can focus on the here and now?” Noelani asked, disappearing into the kelp. A moment later, she reappeared from a different direction. “After all, isn’t this both of yours first time like this?”

“Does the time when I got thrown into the water by a kraken and I had to beat it up count?” Helvos asked.

“YOU FOUGHT A KRAKEN!?” Lissah shouted. “Like around Tako Island or something?”

“Actually, might’ve been,” Helvos tried to recall, “It was during the Winter War, and I boarded a Dystan Navy vessel in order to travel to defeat a different monster I was tasked with stopping, when that thing attacked the ship. They fired the Harpoon Cannon at it, but a tentacle knocked me overboard and I had to fight it underwater. I just… well, punched it until it stopped? Oh, in case you’re wonder, I did make it to that other job afterwards and stopped that monster too, some frost giant or something like that, it was actually easier than the Kraken!”

“It would be easier! Not many limbs besides oversize ones.” Lissah said. “That said: those Harpoon Cannons were effective in cleaning up those megafaunas aligned with Garyx.”

“Kraken aren’t so rare,” Noelani shrugged. “A huge menace, of course, especially for smaller towns that don’t have the right equipment for one. The reason you folks don’t see them often is because they mostly live in the deepest deeps… though I’ve heard some rumors that a clan of deep sea mer might have tamed one!”

“Geez, remind me not to go there,” Helvos remarked.

“It is quite dangerous that deep! I wouldn’t take you there unless I had to,” Noelani insisted.

“Unless we’re visiting Starfall Trench, I think we can find somewhere safer for travel.” Lissah said. Starfall Trench is said to be a legendary vessel that resisted corison for untold years, and a party of DSA members visited it once.

“Oh yeah, I think I heard about that one before, Her Majesty visited it before,” Helvos said, “But gotcha, we’ll stick to these waters. Guess you’ll have to show us around places you know sometime, Noelani.”

“Maybe someday,” Noelani said, disappearing into the kelp again. “But first you’ll have to try and catch me!”

“Geez she’s fast,” Helvos tried to go after her, “Better learn to swim, Lissah, or you’ll be left behind!”

“H-Hey!” Lissah tried to swim faster. “Wait for me!”

[Thalassium]

Written with Dyste!

Noelani took a deep breath, hanging her legs over the edge of the boat. She suddenly felt a bit nervous, looking down into the deep, clear water. She hadn't been gone from home that long, all told, but it felt like ages with all that had happened. A high wave splashed her feet as she let out a sigh. “Alright… we're here…” she announced, looking back over the deck. They were there, in the middle of the sea, Nowhere, Thalassium.

“So this is it, huh,” Helvos dipped his toes in the water, “I guess it’s not as easy to spot from the surface… not like you’d see my hometown from the sky, either.”

“Well, it's not right near the surface, some mer cities are,” Noelani explained. “Some even flow right out of the water, into human or heron settlements. Nova Quarinia was one of those,” she continued, taking another deep breath. “You have the belt?”

“You bet,” Helvos held out a belt with an image of a merfolk on it, “Had it custom-made and all that, hard to get belts that fit me after all, heh.”

“I've noticed that,” Noelani teased gently. “Don't be surprised if the magic of that belt slims you down a lot. I don't think I've ever actually seen a… hefty merman.”

“Hey, c’mon, a lot of it is just how we piggies are,” Helvos chuckled, “But I suppose I should try it out…”

Putting his feet into the water, he slowly put the belt on, as his lower legs locked together, as he fell into the water. Splashing into the water, a dark pink tail emerged from the water, as Helvos resurfaced, “Well now, seems like it worked!”

“It sure did,” Noelani smiled. She wasn't sure if he knew that she had been the one to provide the enchantment on his belt, but decided to keep that to herself for now. “Move the tail a bit, is it doing what you want it to?”

“Hm…” Helvos moved a bit, the tail following along; he seemed a bit awkward, but it was working nonetheless, “Huh, this is so weird… then again, I guess it was the same for you when you first walked on feet, huh?”

“Let's just say, most mer never end up very dexterous on land,” Noelani replied, dropping into the water with a splash. She popped back up a moment later, taking Helvos’ hand. “It will likely feel strange to breathe through the water at first, but don't panic, don't try and take big gulps of water. Just try breathing through your nose and you'll figure it out quickly.”

“Gotcha,” Helvos was still a bit nervous, but if Noelani could learn to walk on land, he could learn to swim like a mer. “Let’s try taking things a little slowly, okay?”

“Of course,” Noelani nodded, slowly pulling Helvos down. “If you'd like, I could sing for you. It would certainly make this less scary…”

“Well, you are quite a good singer,” Helvos smiled; now that they were underwater, it seemed that the pigman had not exactly lost his figure in this form.

“I'm… surprised,” Noelani admitted, though her voice sounded different filtered through the sea. She sighed, slowly bringing him deeper. “Don't be shocked if someone asks if you have whale ancestors…”

“Heh, there’s some whale beastlings in Dyste and Silverdale-” Helvos said, before gasping a bit, “... huh, it feels weird, hearing myself like this…”

“You'll get used to it,” Noelani assured. “I know of whale beastlings, of course. I meant actual whales, though. How is your breathing?”

“Actually, pretty good,” Helvos said, seemingly finding it rather easy compared to swimming, “I’ve got real strong lungs, so I guess it means I have strong gills, too.”

“Well you still… Ah, you know what, the important thing is that you're not suffering or struggling,” Noelani smiled. She started pulling Helvos deeper, faster, towards a shelf along the sea bed. “Prepare yourself. Soon you will be in my little hometown.”

“Well, struggling a bit from the swimming,” Helvos said, still being rather awkward in his movements, “But it’s nothing I can’t handle… oh, we’re nearly there, huh?”

“It really isn't that deep,” Noelani replied. “I'm a shallow sea mer, you can tell because I don't have blue skin. It'll be on that oceanic shelf,” she pointed, where a few soft lights could already be seen.

“Good to know, your tail and hair’s plenty blue, though,” Helvos remarked, “Looks nice,” he muttered, not clear exactly what he was referring to.

“Looks pathetic,” Noelani admitted. “Don't worry, I know I'm from way out of the way. It has its charms, but… listen, I hope everything goes great, but if I decide to leave, please don't delay?”

“Huh? Okay…” Helvos didn’t understand fully, but he didn’t want to make Noelani uncomfortable.

“Alright, so, stop,” Noelani said, her expression almost scared as she brought them to a stop just outside the town. “There's some really important things about me you need to know. They might change how you… think or feel about me.”

“... alright,” Helvos stopped and patted Noelani’s hand, “... you can tell me, I’ll listen.”

“You know me as Noelani, Lady of the Sea and daughter of Aquamenria. But I was actually born as Io Lani… son of Aquamenria,” she cringed. “Helvos, I was born a man.”

“Ah, I see…” Helvos nodded, “But what matters is how you feel, right? You’re Noelani.”

Noelani floated in front of Helvos for a moment before pulling him into a hug. She was squeezing him surprisingly hard as she spoke again. “I hoped, so badly, that you would respond just like that,” she whispered, almost soft enough to be carried away by the sounds of the water, but not quite. “I was so afraid you would be disgusted. Noelani is who I have always really been, even before I knew it.”

“In my years of adventuring, I’ve met a lot of people, Noelani,” Helvos explained, “There are those that aren’t what society expects of them, or don’t feel like the identity they were born with was really them. Some found answers, some didn’t, but one thing I did learn from all of that is, you have to live true to yourself, regardless of what others think.”

“Oh gods, how come you're such a perfect man?” Noelani asked, half laughing and half sobbing as she pulled back. “Don't tell my father you think that way, he'll be so angry… or maybe you should! You know what?” The girl smiled, awkwardly smashing her lips against Helvos’. “There!”

“W-wow…” Helvos’s face turned a bit red, “I don’t think anyone’s called me that before… or done that before! … I, um… rather liked it, by the way…”

“Good! It was my first kiss so you had better appreciate it!” Noelani's face began to get as red as it could in the slightly chilly water. “I, uh… I can give you another one. If you'd like?”

“Um, well…” Helvos said, “I’d like that, but… I’m not exactly a prize pig now, am I?”

“Oh, shut up,” Noelani said, kissing him again. “You're the prizest whatever you want to be of all time! You saved us from a dragon, you let me tag along with you on your vacation, and… you like who I am! Even my awful kisses!”

“It’s the least I can do,” Helvos said, “Any decent person would do those things… okay, maybe not the dragon thing, but still! You’re, like, the daughter of a goddess, and I’m just some guy from some nowhere place in Dyste…”

“And maybe that's why you're so special,” Noelani told him. “Because nothing indicates you should be, but you are anyways. And the whole goddess thing is metaphorical anyways. I think. But just… I don't know if this is love, or just whatever, but you are special. And when my parents ask, I'm telling them you're my boyfriend!... be ready, we might actually have to run after that…”

“Putting some actual danger in our meeting here, huh… you really know how to make me feel at home, Noelani,” Helvos laughed, “Every day’s an adventure waiting to happen! … I do like the sound of that, though…”

“Well, good! And next time you go to get space tacos or whatever, I'm coming with you! And… do you have a pool? In your home?” She asked, finally pulling Helvos towards the town again, the lights becoming clearer as buildings made directly out of coral or stone could be seen.

“Um, not in my village home, but in the spaceship, I do,” Helvos remembered adding that in part because he figured Noelani would like it, but his train of thought was halted upon seeing the town, “Oh, wow… so this is a Mer town, huh…”

“A tiny village, maybe even smaller than yours,” Noelani said. “Or maybe a little bigger? I think there's about twenty five families in the whole place. We've had a couple move in over the last decade or so, practically explosive growth,” she clarified.

The two swam now through the town itself. The buildings, such as they were, were small, nothing that could be considered anything more than a small family home or a cafe. At the end of the towns single obvious path was a building with red lights, which Noelani pointed to, but before she could speak, they were interrupted by a merman with a brown tail, in some coral armor and holding a spear. “Halt! Who goes- oh, Lady Noelani and a guest! Forgive me!”

“Well, I guess in a small village like this, people are bound to know who you are,” Helvos remarked.

“They know who I am everywhere,” Noelani sighed slightly. “Hello, Rapa. Return to your patrols.”

“Yes, si- ma'am!” The guard saluted before swimming off.

“Well, at least they do what I say, normally,” Noelani joked, leading Helvos to the home with red lights. “And this is where I grew up.”

“I’d like to say the same for me, but you’d be surprised how often I’m overlooked and underestimated even now,” Helvos said regarding recognition. “That said, it looks nice there at least.”

“It's… a lot of things. Nice, sometimes, yeah,” the mermaid sounded nervous as she summoned a key into her hand, opening the door. It opened immediately into a wide room, much different than the homes Helvos would likely be used to, with little in the way of permanent furniture, though it seemed there were still some things installed. Notably, a sheet of some kind of crystal was set against the far wall, and there were massive, open oyster shells along the floor. “Welcome home…”

“Hey,” Helvos patted Noelani’s hand as they swam in, “I’m here, Noelani. It’ll be okay.”

“Thank you, Helvos, I'm just nervous,” Noelani smiled, closing the door behind them. “Looks like my parents are out at the moment. Maybe they went to the big city… come on, I'll show you my rooms… well, one is actually mine, one is the little prayer room but I used it the most… you know, if you wanted to see that?”

“I would,” Helvos said, “I want to know more about you, after all, if I’m to be your boyfriend and all…”

Noelani once again turned red. “That's the most impulsive single thing I've ever done, but I don't regret it!” She declared, first leading Helvos through an open hole in the rock of the home. Inside was a small shrine, with several softly glowing stones along the walls. At the far end was a mosaic that took the form of Aquamenria, a carved basin below it. Noelani summoned a small stone, perfectly round and shining, which she set in the basin. “Oh holy Mother, Lady of the Sea and Great Queen, bless your daughter and her chosen one this day…”

Helvos respectfully let her do her prayers in peace; he wasn’t an especially religious person himself, he knew gods existed but had no leaning towards any of them. He did notice the passing resemblance Noelani had to the mosaic, he supposed it was a sign of her heritage.

For a brief moment, so quickly that most would have missed it, the basin burst into green fire, the lights on the walls changing color to bright blue. The effect passed in an instant, Noelani turning and smiling at Helvos. “Well, she seems quite pleased with you, at least. You might find swimming easier… or other things, The Mother can be a little bit… whimsical…”

“... I don’t know whether to be happy or worried,” Helvos admitted, though he did indeed seem to find swimming a bit easier at least.

Noelani giggled slightly. “Me neither. Maybe she just made you cuter?” The mermaid teased, leading Helvos out of the shrine and to a different doorway. This one actually had a solid piece of coral in it, instead of being open. “OK… I'm ready for this…”

“C’mon, don’t tease me,” Helvos blushed, before assuring her, “It’ll be okay, I’m sure…”

Noelani touched the door, which split into pieces, sliding out of the way and revealing a round hole to swim through. As soon as they had, they two entered Noelani's own room, which was nearly as barren as the living room. There were still small hints of her here, though, like a bed in the shape of a sea dollar, or a half open closet carved directly into the wall, filled with robes, tops, and nothing else. There was even a desk carved out of the stone, which Helvos could see had a small air bubble permanently on it.

Tamatoa crawled suddenly out of Noelani's hair, swimming to a small basket of woven kelp on her desk and settling in it with a click of his claws and a hiss.

“Be nice! They're my parents!” Noelani scolded the tiny dragon.

“Hehe, it seems he’s got a bed here too,” Helvos chuckled, “I guess most of your stuff’s usually with you since you’re traveling so much.”

“Indeed,” Noelani confirmed, pulling Helvos to her bed. It wasn't really big enough for them both, but that seemed alright with the mermaid as she squeezed in with him. “Well, and I have some things stashed in the ancient temple where I got my… me,” she looked down at her body. “It isn't really a home, but it kind of has become my place of respite. But now, I'm going to buy a nice big beach house for us to share,” she giggled. “Um… if that's not too fast. It's too fast, isn't it?”

Tamatoa hissed again, Noelani shooting him a glare.

“Heh, between that and that roomy spaceship, I think we’ll have two places to have to ourselves,” Helvos smiled, cuddling up with her, “Anywhere we wanna go, we can go there now, don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.”

“... you're the best,” Noelani smiled, relaxing for a moment before she perked up again. “They're home. I can feel the arcana wave from the portal room. Alright… are you ready to meet my parents?”

“Yeah,” Helvos said, “Not the scariest thing I’ve dealt with this month, but probably a close second…”

Noelani gripped his hand firmly, leading Helvos out of her room and back to the living room. Inside were two older mer, clearly Noelani's mother and father. The larger of the two, her mother, had purple scales and dark, almost black hair, while her father, nearly a foot smaller than his wife, had green scales and similar hair.

“What's this, then?” Her father said, looking directly at the two, the first to notice them.

“Mother, Father, I'm home,” Noelani smiled nervously. “I brought a guest…”

“U-um, hi,” Helvos waved, “I’m Helvos… nice to meet you…”

“Hello, Helvos,” the matriarch of the family replied. “I am Kailani, and this is my mate, Nohe'a. How do you know our child?”

“We were both on the mission to the Shadowed City,” Noelani said. “He saved my life from the attack of a dragon.”

“I see. Well, it is meal time, so you will join us,” Kailani stated like it was an obvious fact.

“Oh, good to know!” For a Dystan, a meal was a great time to socialize, especially for Suidans. “Nice place you have here, by the way.”

“Don't expect nearly as much as you normally would,” Noelani warned Helvos. “Meals in mer culture aren't usually very big.”

Indeed, it took Nohe'a only a few minutes to prepare the food, some kind of salad of kelp and other sea plants, with raw fish, put inside an outer wrapping of fish skin. While that was being made, Noelani guided Helvos to one of the oyster shaped seats, settling in the one next to it, folding her tail back so as to sit.

Helvos tried to hide a bit of disappointment at how small the portions were, sitting next to Noelani, “I guess even while swimming you need to sit down sometimes…”

“It's polite,” Noelani and her mother said at the exact same time.

“Fair enough,” Helvos had to admit it was, even a pigman like him had some manners.

Soon enough, all of the mer has finished eating, apparently waiting for Helvos to finish before speaking more. Noelani gave him a small smile. “Take your time. We will talk after you're done.”

It was rather bold for them to assume that Helvos wouldn’t be done first out of them, “Nah, I can talk now.”

“I forget how quickly you eat,” Noelani said.

“What is your relation with our child?” Kailani asked.

Straight for the tough question, this was certainly a formidable figure. “I’m her… boyfriend…”

“You are aware that the child is not the woman ‘she’ claims to be?” Nohe'a asked. “Io Lani, have you told this man the truth?”

“He knows, Father…” Noelani replied softly.

“I know exactly who she is,” Helvos said. “I’ve spent much of the last few months with her.”

Noelani reached over, taking Helvos’ hand and giving it an appreciative squeeze.

“So, you are homosexual, then,” Nohe'a scoffed.

“Nah, I think Noelani is a fine woman,” Helvos said, this time with a bit more force in his tone. “Kinda surprised she’d like a guy like me, but hey, seems like I’m a lucky guy.”

Noelani straightened her back a little bit. It was only clear now that she was closer in size to her smaller father than her mother. “Father, I was blessed by The Mother herself, I am as much a woman as any other. Helvos is an excellent, and caring, man, and one of few I've ever met that likes me for me.”

“Do not insult your mother or other mermaids with that spew,” Nohe'a crossed his arms.

“Nohe'a,” Kailani said. “You are not wrong, but do not insult The Mother, either. Io Lani, we have allowed you too much in the way of freedoms and decision making. Your mind was poisoned by that priestess, it seems. You will be staying home. It is time for Mister Helvos to return whence he came.”

“I’m not leaving without Noelani,” Helvos said, folding his arms, “I promised her that, and where I’m from, that means something.”

“We are his parents,” Nohe'a said. “And that means everything here.”

“They're… right, Helvos,” Noelani whispered. “To go directly against my parents, it… I would be an outcast, it's practically unheard of. Especially my mother. She's the family matriarch, you can't just say no to her…”

“So saying your mother is wrong is not allowed here?” Helvos considered it. “... but what about what The Mother wants? Noelani prayed to her before you arrived and gave me a blessing as a result of it. Are you saying that She does not approve here?”

Neither of Noelani's parents had a response to that, but Noelani herself frowned, deep in thought. After a minute or so of silence, she spoke, quietly. “He's right, mother, father. The Mother has given me so many blessings… not just today, but always, including getting to be who I really am. If… if you can't accept that, then you're going against her will! And she's the ultimate Matriarch! So, so I'm not going to just stay at home!”

“Io Lani,” Kailani spoke, surprisingly calm, her eyes hard as the stone the home was made of. “You may be her chosen, but we are your parents, and I am your matriarch. If you leave with this man, you may never return. Even if he is no longer willing to have a clan-less bride.”

Noelani gasped, covering her mouth, and even Nohe'a looked shocked.

“Um…” Helvos blinked. “... what?”

“She… mother is saying that if I leave with you, she will remove me from the family rolls,” Noelani explained to Helvos in a whisper. “As the matriarch, if a member of the family disappoints or angers her enough, she can disown them, but just from the immediate family, but the entire clan. I would not even have cousins any longer…”

“Oh…” Helvos said, holding her hand, “... what is it you want, though, Noelani? Do you want to stay here, with a clan that doesn’t care for who you are? Or do you want to live your life with people who’ll accept you for you?”

“I… don't want to stay,” Noelani admitted. “The Mother herself made me who I am. And I like who I am, and the people I've found. The clan isn't even very large! If I have for children and get married, my new clan will be the same size!” She unfolded her tail. “Helvos is right, and that's why I made him my boyfriend! Because he… gives me the bravery to do something I've wanted to do for a decade!” Noelani finished, swimming forward rapidly and slapping both of her parents, who sat in stunned silence.

“U-um,” Helvos stood up himself, knowing they’d have to leave right away, “I’d like to say it’s been nice meeting you, but… well, she said it better than I could’ve. C’mon, Noelani,” he took her hand, “We’ve got a new place to get. Much better than here, right?”

“We have to get Tama!” Noelani said, pulling Helvos along back to her room. Along the way, she summoned a waterproof bag, handing it to Helvos. “Just shove everything you can fit into that!” She instructed as they entered, heading to the closet.

“U-um, sure!” Helvos didn’t see too much worth taking, but he at least could help Noelani with the clothing there.

Tamatoa jumped and swam onto Helvos’ head, snipping his claws as he settled in. Noelani, meanwhile, finished shoving her clothes in a suitcase, the few she couldn't fit getting floated over to Helvos. “Alright! Are you ready? I'm not… my staff!” She opened a small, well hidden cabinet, pulling out her staff, as well as some things she didn't let Helvos see as she shoved them in his bag. “Let's go!”

“Yes, let’s,” Helvos took Noelani’s hand, “Let’s hope that blessing made me a faster swimmer, we can’t get out of here fast enough.”

“We'll take the teleporter room,” Noelani said, leading Helvos out of her room as far as he could swim, straight past her parents as they got out of their seats in the meeting room. “It was only installed because of me anyways! To let the priestess who taught me come and go as her duties needed! Think about, about- your spaceship! What is its name?”

“Oh, you mean the Flying Pig?” Helvos said. “... yeah, sorry, I had to…”

The two, plus a tiny dragon, burst into a room that was clearly different from the rest of the house. Instead of the black stone, it was made entirely of some smooth white material, small veins of crystal running through it. “THE FLYING PIG SPACESHIP, POOL!” Noelani screamed, the crystals suddenly lighting up as they disappeared.

In a moment, they arrived in one of the living spaces of the Flying Pig, where there appeared to be a small residence, complete with a poolside they fell into as they teleported there, “See, what’d I tell you, Noelani, there’s your pool!”

“Ughh,” Noelani groaned softly, flopping about a little bit, having missed the pool. Her tail defused, forming two legs after a moment, allowing her to sit up. “I appreciate it, Helvos. I'm… sorry that went that badly. I didn't think they would come out and attack you too…”

“At least we got out of there when we did,” Helvos said, having landed in the pool himself, still having the mer transformation, “Things could’ve gotten real ugly if we stayed…” he took off the belt before realizing he wasn’t turning back, “... um, Noelani, was the belt supposed to have a delayed effect?”

“No?” She said, moving over and then facepalming. “Oh, Sea Mother, why? Helvos, try to focus your mind on the feeling of having legs for me?”

“Sure thing!” Helvos thought about all the great things about having legs, like rushing towards monsters to punch them, or getting to all the best places to eat in a city in one day, or being able to kick things when punches weren’t enough by themselves…

“No, I meant the… oh, it's working,” Noelani let out a breath. “I thought you were thinking about something silly like running to a restaurant. There, look, your tail is splitting back into legs.”

“... but that’s part of what I was thinking of,” Helvos said as he turned back to normal. “Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”

“It sure did,” Noelani laughed a little. “That's good, too. I'm glad! I'm… really glad,” she sniffed.

“Hey, hey, I’m okay, Noelani,” Helvos said, offering his hand to her, “We’re okay… right?”

“Yeah, we're fine,” she laughed weakly. “No, no, after that, you're not getting rid of me so easily. It's just… a whole lot, I haven't even really processed what just happened! I think I need a nap, honestly. And maybe after that, something better to eat. I forgot how bland mer food gets…”

“Well, before that,” Helvos pulled in Noelani into the pool, “I think you’ve earned this at least! You wanted the pool, you get to enjoy it too!”

“Hey!” Noelani exclaimed, dropping her suitcase, her legs becoming a tail once again. “Oh, alright. I can sleep just fine in this, anyways! See if I don't!”

“See, that’s the spirit, huh?” Helvos laughed. “... granted, I haven’t exactly set things up for us, since, well… I didn’t exactly expect, well, that to happen between us…”

“It's alright,” Noelani said, sitting against Helvos and closing her eyes. “It'll all be fine. We'll sort it out later. For right now… rest with me,” she said softly, humming a gentle, soothing tone, before she began to sing properly, low in volume and peaceful. “Waiho iho ie ko…”

[Dyste]

Written with Thalassium

Thricsvaklar, Dyste

The mostly Suidan settlement of Thricsvaklar was a hamlet (yes, they are aware) to the northwest of Calberona, close to the burgeoning city of Anatola, having a population of about 200 people. It was rare to see visitors, mostly adventurers passing by, but today they would have two special guests, or rather one guest and one returning home for the first time in months.

Teleporting just on the outskirts, the pair arrived at around noontime, “Ah, good,” Helvos looked over the place, “I was worried I might’ve gotten the coordinates or timing wrong… I know it’s not much to look at, but it’s home.”

“I think it's larger than my village i- was,” Noelani said, gripping her staff a little tighter. She was carrying almost everything she owned, now, on a pack on her back. “But only just. I suppose that makes me a small town girl, or however that song goes, doesn't it?”

“I’m hardly an uptown boy myself,” Helvos snorted, “Really it seems we’re both from small places,” he said as they entered, big open fields separating the buildings, only a few even having a second floor. One of the larger ones they saw had an old sign that said Venja Goods: Shopping for Locals and Adventurers Alike!

“There's a name I recognize,” Noelani smiled slightly. “I don't know how you can live so far from the sea, though.”

“I mean, I’m clearly a land piggy,” Helvos chuckled, “I didn’t even learn how to swim until I was a teenager! That said, that’s the shop my parents built; even if we don’t have that many people it beats going all the way into the city for basic things. I was actually planning to take it over when I retired, but, well, I don’t think that’s happening any time soon now!”

“I think I would get rather bored,” Noelani admitted. “Retirement is ages away from me, at least. But surely you don't live in the shop?”

“Oh, of course not,” Helvos said, gesturing to one of the houses nearby; it wasn’t anything standout from the others on the outside, being roughly the same size and appearance as the one across the street which was next to the shop, “I have a home here, naturally. Given I’m traveling and adventuring so much I’m often away for periods of time, but I still do spend some time here.”

“Can we… go inside?” Noelani couldn't quite keep her voice from shaking slightly.

“Sure thing!” Helvos stood at the front and waved his arm in front of the door, opening the lock. The hallway had a few pictures of other Suidans, likely members of his family. the first room they could see was a living room with a couch and TV, looking rather… normal considering it was the home of a legendary adventurer.

“I expected some… trophies?” Noelani said, seeming almost tentative as she entered the home. “... hi, I'm home,” she called out into the house, blushing. “Sorry, I've never really felt like I could do that kind of thing.”

“Oh, those I keep by the gym,” Helvos said, “Had ‘em here at first but, well, I kinda won too many to display here? … pretty embarrassing, I know…”

“Not the kind of trophies I meant,” Noelani giggled, closing the door behind her. “You are a very silly piggy, sometimes. Thank you for inviting me into your home.”

“What trophies did you… um, thanks,” Helvos said, “I’ve got a few enchantments done around here, but if you need to make any changes we can see about that.” Along the hall there was also a small dining room, a kitchen that seemed to be decently stocked, and further along there appeared to be a bathroom, a study, a bedroom and a room that Noelani could assume was the gym by process of elimination.

“I'm not sure I should make any changes to someone else's home, but I can take a look if you'd like,” she said, poking her head into each room in turn, finishing with the gym.

Of the other rooms, the most notable things were that his study had a surprisingly large amount of books, especially on adventuring, and he did in fact seem to own a computer, the bedroom seemed to contain a locked chest in it that appeared to contain some of his ‘trophies’ that Noelani actually was thinking about, and that the gym was surprisingly state-of-the-art, and carried equipment that appeared to be designed for Draconids rather than more human-sized workouts. And indeed, a wall of it had been dedicated to a handful of trophies from his arena winnings.

“It's very you,” Noelani said after she finished looking around. “I guess you aren't here often enough to have bothered furnishing it more, are you?”

“Yeah…” Helvos admitted, “Kinda hard to really put too much into it if I’m away so much, right? I think the longest time I’ve ever spent here was three weeks and that’s just because I was recovering from a curse this one enemy put on me.”

“Maybe you should spend more time,” she suggested, looking through his kitchen cabinets. “I'm sure that… your family would like to see you more.”

The cabinets had a pretty large array of foodstuffs, and the Mer could sense that there were a few spells placed there to help preserve them over longer periods of time, “Yeah, I guess so,” Helvos admitted, “I guess I always felt kinda lonely here, but it’s not like my family’s far away, and, well, now you’ll be here too.”

Noelani stopped, seemingly staring into a cabinet for no reason. After a few moments of silence, Helvos could hear her sniffling, and see her wiping at her eyes.

“Huh?” Helvos patted Noelani’s shoulder, “Is… is something the matter? I know there isn't much here…”

“It isn't that,” the mer gave a watery laugh. “It's just that, that… you said I'd be here, too. Like you want me in your home for… however long. You want me in your home…”

“Hey, c’mon now,” Helvos smiled, “If I didn’t want you around, I wouldn’t have offered to take you here, would I?”

“Silly piggy,” she sniffed again, turning and hugging him. “It's because you're the first one to want me to be around. Is it really alright? To say this is my home too?”

“Am I really the first-” Helvos accepted the hug, “... I mean, yeah, of course, Noelani. You can live here too. Admittedly might have to spruce up the place but that’d be no problem with you around!”

“You better watch out,” she said into his chest. “I'm going to turn this place into my home, too, and that means a lot more stuff. I've finally got somewhere to put it all! And we'll need a good room for my projects!”

“Anything you need, we can do,” Helvos chuckled, “And hey, maybe I can actually get a room to set up my trophies! … oh, right, you’re talking about the things I got from my decades of adventuring! Yeah, that makes sense…”

“What did you think I meant?” Noelani asked, pulling back to look Helvos in the eyes, her own a little red. “... they better not be mementos of past… women!”

“What…?” Helvos blinked, “No, I thought you meant my arena trophies, the ones in my gym. Noelani, I… actually haven’t been with anyone else before this.”

“You haven't?” Noelani asked. “But you're so big, and strong, and… I mean, you know, manly. I'm the first?... I'm the first! Hah! All mine!”

“Heh, you sure are excited about that, huh?” Helvos smiled, “And, well, not many people see me like that. Either I’m some fat guy with a funny nose and a curly tail, or I’m some legendary adventurer that people are wary of. You’re the first person who’s ever seen me that way…”

“Well, their loss, then!” Noelani said, hugging him tighter. “But you do have a cute tail. That one they're right about.”

“Heheh, I remember when you first saw it and giggled,” Helvos patted her back, “I can’t help being who I am, though, any more than anyone else, really. I’m glad I found someone who likes me for that.”

“I do! Though, maybe you could stand to lose a tiny bit of weight… I don't want your heart giving out on me, Mr. Venja! Nor your pants,” the mermaid teased.

“Aw, c’mon,” Helvos pouted, “I’m in great shape, and Suidans like me are usually big! … besides, I doubt hugging me would be as much fun if I wasn’t like this, right?”

“I don't really have anything to compare it with,” Noelani admitted. “But you are pretty damn good to hug…”

“I would hope so!” Helvos laughed, “And hey, if I need to resize those pants I know who to ask. But seeing this place is only half of the reason you’re here; I’ve already told my family I’d be back today, but you’ll be a surprise for them!”

“Do you think they'll like me?” Noelani asked, letting go of Helvos and stepping back. “Or even be alright with me and you? I mean, it's pretty weird of you, to be dating a mermaid, not to mention the other stuff…”

“I think they’ll just be more surprised I’m dating anyone at all,” Helvos snorted, “You’ll be fine, Noelani. We can take a bit of time if you need to settle anything, then we’ll go to the goods store and see if they’re there.”

“Maybe I should change? I have another dress,” she said, looking down at her blue dress. “Something… nicer. Yeah. I should look my best meeting your family. I want them to be impressed! You… stay here, I'm taking the bedroom!” She said, walking away quickly.

“Umm… okay,” Helvos meanwhile was just wearing a pair of black shorts and an open white shirt that Noelani helped pick out for him, which was one of the closest things he had to being ‘fancy’.

Noelani reappeared fifteen minutes later, now in a black dress with a tasteful cutout to show her modest cleavage and tall beige heeled boots. She fixed a small black hat to her hair, done in a double braid, and makeup had been used to remove any sign she'd been crying. “Alright, Mr. Venja. I'm ready to go and try to win over your family.”

“Geez, I think you’re the fanciest person for kilometers on end with that,” Helvos chuckled as he took her hand, “They’ll love you, I’m sure,” he said as he led her out of the building, heading over to the nearby store, the shelves looking dusty as they seemed to have a sale on watermelons and potions, as he bellowed, “HEY, I’M BACK!”

“OI, I CAN HEAR Y’JUST FINE, HELVOS!” A similar voice shouted back as a Suidan with mostly grey hair and a flannel shirt appeared, having a striking resemblance to Helvos if he was older and lacked his muscles, “Seems y’got home just fine! … oh, who’s this?”

Noelani was busily rubbing one of her ears after Helvos shouted directly next to it. “Oh, er… hello, my name is… Noelani,” she said, looking at the elder suidan and realizing that maybe she had, indeed, tried too hard.

“Well, nice to meet you, Noelani!” Helvos’s father grinned in a big toothy way she had seen Helvos do, “Th’name’s Finn Venja! Me and the missus have been runnin’ this store for almost 50 years now! Goin’ by things, I suppose you’re an adventurer?”

“Of a kind,” Noelani replied. “It's good to meet you, Mr… Uh… Mr. Venja the Elder,” she said, offering him a hand to shake. “I believe this is a thing done here?”

“Oh, um…” Finn shook the hand, it wasn’t really a Dystan practice either but he had seen a fair share of foreign adventurers passing by who did that. “So I guess Helvos here recommended th’place? Not every day we get someone as fancy dressed as you comin’ ‘round these parts.”

“Oh, well,” she glanced at Helvos. “You see, I find myself able to take some real vacation for the first time, and your son and I were recently on a mission together, so he offered to help me out, and show me around. He's been… very helpful,” she finished somewhat lamely.

“C’mon, Dad,” Helvos lightly tapped Finn’s arm, “Save it for supper. Is Mom or Farah cooking? Gotta make sure there’s enough room for one more, though don’t expect her to eat as much as us!”

“I dunno which one is,” Finn shrugged, “But you’re gonna join us, huh? … um, is there any allergies or dietary needs we oughtta be aware of, Noelani?”

“I prefer seafood. And not too many spices,” she said. “I'm sorry, I know that must seem odd. Please just make what you'd like, and I'm sure it'll be great.”

“Ah, sure, I’ll make sure they’ll know,” Finn patted Helvos’s back, “Can you watch the store ‘til closing time, there? Gotta make sure our guest’s got some grub on her plate,” he set off, leaving them in the store.

“Hey, Dad-ugh, he always does this,” Helvos groaned, “Getting worked up over something and leaving one of us in charge. Ah, well, it won’t be too long and it’s not like it’s hard work anyways, we’ll probably get a few customers at that.”

“I'll go… sit in the back, I suppose?” Noelani said. “I wouldn't want to scare away your clientele.”

“... c’mon, why would you think you’d scare them off?” Helvos shook his head, “If anything more people might come because they’re curious about you!”

“I am a Child of Aquamenria,” Noelani said. “Many would be worried about disturbing me, or else think I am some kind of danger who will force them to do things because I have a divine blessing. Also, small towns often don't like strangers, in my experience.”

“Hey, I know this might be hard to believe, but I think most people here don’t even know who Aquamenria is, let alone what being a Child of Hers would entail,” Helvos retorted, “Though I’ll admit I don’t know how they’ll view you… we can give it a try, we’ve got a few hours to test this out, right?”

“I… if you think so,” Noelani took a deep breath, nodding. “Do you have a stool or chair to sit on? I would rather not dirty the dress by leaning against a wall. It's… one of the two nicest ones I still have.”

Helvos offered her one of the chairs from behind the counter, “Don’t worry, you won’t have to do much, I’ll handle the work. Stocking the shelves here was my first job, y’know, and working the cash was my second. Third was being an adventurer, naturally.”

“Is that common here? For a cashier to become an adventurer?” Noelani asked, sitting in the offered chair and paying Helvos back with an admiring smile. “Or are you just a special kind of special, Mr. Venja?” She teased.

“Actually, there’s kind of a link there,” Helvos said, as he took a seat at the cash register, “I think I mentioned that we stock stuff for adventurers, right? Nothing too special, just supplies and potions and such. While not that many people live here, this is a good spot to stop by if you’re adventuring up north, so I saw a lot of adventurers come by here, and everything they said made me just more interested in the idea of becoming one. Good thing for both of us I did, huh?”

“I think so,” Noelani said, raising her hand. A book appeared in it in a flash, entitled ‘A Dummy’s Guide to: DYSTE’, which she had placed many bookmarks in. “Certainly, it worked out all the better for me, I think, than if you hadn’t. And for you, I suspect you would have gotten bored, eventually.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I could’ve stayed in this place for my whole life,” Helvos admitted, as a few local customers entered. They mostly went about their day, though a few looked curiously at Noelani as they shopped. “Heh, when did you get that book anyways?”

“Before we ever even went to Silverdale,” Noelani admitted. “I am now realizing I misread the section on greetings. It isn’t that handshakes are the common greeting, it’s that they’re an uncommon greeting…” she sighed, shaking her head. “People keep looking at me.”

“Ah, don’t pay it any mind,” Helvos said as he helped out a few customers, referring to them by name; given how small this village was, it wasn’t a stretch to think Helvos knew a good amount of the residents, and certainly all of them knew who he was. A few even asked about Noelani, with Helvos explaining she was his guest here and was staying with him, a few of them waving to her as they went along their day, “See, it isn’t out of any malice or anything, they’re just curious.”

“It wasn't usually malice in Thalassium, either,” Noelani said. “Sometimes wonder, or pleading. Sometimes fear, or shock. The people of Dyste seem so… not innocent, but trusting?”

“Well, I dunno how it is for other places, but here at least so many people from other places do adventuring that it isn’t too much of a shock; maybe surprise, but I don’t think you’ll run into too many problems here.” Helvos said as he helped a few more customers, “Like at our visit in Undellah, we didn’t have issues there either.”

“True,” Noelani smiled slightly. “But where would you expect to find a mermaid if not by the sea?”

“Ah, right, speaking of that, well,” Helvos was now concerned, “I realized that I don’t have much in the way of watery places for you to go swimming here, there’s pretty much the bathtub and that’s it? I guess we’ll need to come up with something there…”

“We'll get something installed. We can afford it,” Noelani said, then smiled to herself. “... we. Together, adding something to the home. For me! That's… exciting!”

“Well, you’ve certainly got some ideas planned I can tell,” Helvos snorted, “We might even have to add a floor or two for that!”

“Good idea! We should add at least two! Maybe even more! And a basement, and buy more land!” Noelani nodded.

“Geez, been here for less than a day and already have big ideas,” Helvos scratched his head, “Well, maybe at least we should go have dinner with my family and see if you’d like to stay here and all before overhauling the place…”

“Oh, yes, that probably is a good idea,” Noelani said. “... how long will you be working, then?”

“Oh, not too long now,” Helvos realized more time had passed than he realized, “You’re not bored, are you?”

“Well…” Noelani seemed like she was about to say something else before stopping for a moment, then nodding. “If I'm being fully honest, yes, a little bit. I don't want to disparage your home, Helvos, it's a lovely place, but it's not what I would call exciting, either! Not that it's a bad thing for a small town like this to be peaceful, don't you think?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Helvos admitted, “I did leave for a reason, you know; it’s not like a bad place to relax or raise a family, but people like us, we need a bit more excitement in our lives, huh? Good thing we’ve got plenty of ways to do just that.”

“Including some that are new to both of us!” Noelani smiled slightly. “Can we close the store, though? I'm starting to get that itch to dump water on something just to do it.”

“Geez, you’re gonna have to get used to this sort of stuff, Noelani,” Helvos sighed, “... but it’s getting close enough that I think we can close early,” he said as he set a few things up and set the sign to ‘CLOSED’. “We’re going to the house next door, the one across from mine, for supper.”

“You did mention it was your parents’,” Noelani said. “But I'm not sure why I would need to get used to this?”

“Because you can’t always take things fast in life, Noelani,” Helvos said, “I mean, you told me usually Children of Aquamenria don’t live long lives, but it seems you might be the exception now. Not to mention with kids you gotta learn to be patient with them.”

“There's a difference between being patient and being bored,” she pointed out. “But you're right, I don't really know about living slow. And honestly, I'm not sure I ever want my life to get truly slow. Hopefully that isn't a big issue…”

“Oh, I think we’ll always find a way to do something,” Helvos offered his arm to her, “I’d say the sky’s the limit, but, heh, I guess it actually isn’t now!”

“One thing we won't be doing is signing you up for open mic night at a comedy club,” Noelani teased him, taking his arm and leaning into him. “I think the crowd would be groaning by your third piggy pun!”

“Are you telling me not to ham it up?” Helvos chuckled, taking her out of the store and towards the house nearby, built quite similar to the one he himself lived in. They could smell the scent of warm home cooking, including, yes, seafood as well.

“I'm saying that you shouldn't get too carried away, Mr. Piggy,” Noelani smiled slightly, stopping outside the home. “... you're sure this is OK?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Helvos asked. “You’re not… scared of meeting them, after you?”

“Of course I am,” Noelani sighed. “They raised you, so they have to be wonderful, but I just thinking about my own parents so much. Or, well, the people who used to be my parents.”

“Hey…” Helvos patted their arm, “My parents have been nothing but supportive of everything I’ve done. I’m sure they’ll like you all the same; Dad certainly did. But if you aren’t ready we can go another day.”

“No, I'll just keep finding reasons if you let me,” Noelani took a deep breath, then nodded. “Let's go, Helvos. Please, I want to be part of your… um, I would like to meet them. If I can raid Tambelon I can do this!”

“That’s the spirit,” Helvos knocked on the door, it opening after a moment, “Hey, we’re here!”

Inside, they were greeted by a Suidan woman who seemed to be a bit shorter than Helvos wearing an apron with a cute pig on it, having the same reddish-brown hair, a bit more graying than Helvos’s, “Oh, there you are!” she gave him a hug, “Hi, you must be my little brother’s guest! I’m Farah, this big piggy’s sister.”

“It's nice to meet you, Farah. Is that a Dystan name?” Noelani asked, about to offer a hand before remembering that wasn't usually done. “It sounds Alistinian, but I suppose after such a long time there would be some shared cultural things. Oh, uh. I'm Noelani.”

“Nice to meetcha!” Farah put her arm to her chest and bowed her head, the actual traditional Dystan greeting, “Come in, we’re just getting dinner set up!”

At the dining table was Finn, with a Suidan man with short black hair in overalls on one side and a woman with braided black hair and a sundress on the other; none of them seemed to be as big overall as Helvos, but that seemed to be a high bar to set, “Hey! These are Lyros and Iria, my younger siblings,” Helvos said as he took the seat next to Iria, leaving a spot between him and the one on the other end, which would be filled by a older woman with fully gray hair, wearing a checkered dress, “Ma! See, I brought her like you asked!”

“Oh, so this is her, hm?” Helvos’s mom looked over at Noelani, “Well, dear, I’m Tajal. Helvos wrote to me to tell me he was bringing someone special over!”

“You… wrote them?” Noelani said, glancing over everyone at the table. She was by far the smallest there, to the point that maybe even two of her wouldn't be enough to match up with the smallest of them in size. Taking her seat, she only realized it even more as she removed her hat. “It's nice to meet you, miss Tajal.”

“Nice to meet you too!” Tajal smiled as Farah arrived with the food, having a mix of beef ribs, pasta alongside some tacos, “You wrote us about the ones that you had with a friend so it inspired us!” Farah said as she set down some grilled fish, “I wasn’t sure how you liked it so I went a little simple, hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh yeah, I do write them, y’know,” Helvos said, “Gotta keep in touch, right?”

“I… guess so?” Noelani said. “Thank you for the fish. I'm sure it's wonderful. It isn't even raw, you didn't have to serve delicacies just for me!”

“That’s a… delicacy?” Farah blinked as she sat down across from Helvos, as everyone got some food for themselves, unsurprisingly Helvos himself had the most.

Also unsurprisingly, Noelani had the least. “Oh, yes. It's quite difficult to cook things underwater, so usually we just eat raw foods,” she explained, then her eyes widened. “Oh… oh, Helvos didn't say, did he?”

“He just mentioned you were from Thalassium,” Lyros said, “That’s far out west from here, isn’t it?”

“You really live underwater?” Iria asked.

“Ah, yes, to both of you,” Noelani said. She glanced at Helvos, then turned back. “I'm a mermaid…”

“Huh, a mermaid?” Finn leaned back, “But don’t they got fishy tails?”

“We have an ability to change our forms in order to walk the surface,” Noelani explained. “It's a blessing from The Mother to her children of the sea. But, uh, yes, I can have a tail.”

“Oh, makes sense,” Finn shrugged, seemingly taking it in stride.

“You’re… surprisingly okay with this, Dad,” even Helvos was surprised, managing to take a break from his meal.

“I might not be as worldly as you,” Finn retorted, “but I’ve seen people who can turn into dragons with stones, or can became animals through loving nature, werecreatures an’ shapeshifters. It’s not a stretch at all there’s people who can change their tails into legs now, is it?”

“You don't care that he brought a merfolk into your home?” Noelani asked. “We're not common out this far east, much less this inland, I suspected… Actually, I don't know what I expected.”

“Look, if Helvos trusted you enough to invite you, that’s good by me!” Finn said, “I just didn’t know mermaids could be found this far in, but I guess if you can walk that’s not an issue!”

“How did you two meet, anyways?” Tajal asked, “He said you were on some sort of mission together?”

“I think it's probably best if that's all we say,” Noelani said. “But yes, that's very true.”

“Yeah, I think some of the details are kinda secret,” Helvos admitted, “But either way we’ve been spending a lot of time together since then, since, well, um… Noelani wanted to see more places.”

“Yes, it was my first ever vacation,” Noelani smiled softly as she slowly ate her food. “I'm very thankful to Helvos for helping me so much with all the things I needed to do. It is a surprising amount of work to not work…”

“Luckily for her I’m an expert on this sort of thing,” Helvos said, “It’s always a nice break instead of adventuring all the time, and sometimes you still get to help out people!”

“We’ve got the pictures to prove it, too!” Farah said, “So, are you an adventurer too, Noelani?”

“I… don't know,” Noelani frowned. “I think by the Dystan definition, I would be something like a state adventurer, I suppose?”

“State… adventurer?” Everyone at the table seemed confused by the idea, before Helvos spoke up, “So, um, maybe tell them what sort of work you do?”

“I defeat enemies of the faith and state, largely meaning monsters that attack settlements, and usually only the very strong ones. I also occasionally act as a diplomat, or a priestess of The Mother, or a midwife. I have, in a pinch, performed the birth rights of the merfolk, and once officiated a wedding alliance between two families. Uh… I also occasionally get asked to give speeches, I suppose?”

“Wow, that sounds like a lot more stuff than you do, Helvos!” Lythos snorted.

“You’d be surprised just how many roles I’ve done when adventuring, I’ll have you know!” Helvos’s own pride seemed a little hurt there, “But yeah, Noelani’s done loads of stuff! And, well… I suppose there’s one other thing we should tell them… should I or do you want to?”

“... you,” Noelani said, quickly focusing on eating.

“Well…” Helvos finished off what he had in front of him, before speaking, “Um, Noelani and I are dating now, and she’s gonna move in with me.”

There was a bit of silence for a moment, before Iria spoke up, “Well, about time, Helvos! I was worried you’d never find anyone!”

“No wonder you’ve been so eager to have us meet her!” Tajal said. “Well, hope you’ve enjoyed your time here so far, Noelani, and that Helvos hasn’t been too embarrassin’!”

“... none of you is going to ask if I enchanted him?” Noelani asked them. “I didn't, by the way! At least, not with magic…”

“C’mon, enchanting Helvos, really?” Lythos snorted, “I think he’s too thick-headed to ever be affected by that…”

“I’m more surprised that someone like you is into someone like our brother!” Farah exclaimed, “Oh, we know he’s a sweetheart and a good guy, but he doesn’t always give off that impression…”

“Oh, well,” Noelani smiled slightly. “He's a bit silly, but he's very manly…”

“Well, he can certainly lift more than anyone else around here at least,” Finn said, Helvos’s face having turned a bit red at Noelani’s comment, “So you’re gonna be moving in with him?”

“Ah, well, um,” Noelani looked down at her food. “Helvos, you can tell them why.”

“Well…” Helvos sighed, “Noelani got disowned from her clan… just because she wasn’t exactly what her parents wanted…”

Tajal gasped, “That’s horrible! What kind of parents would do that!? … Noelani, by all means, stay here as long as you like, and if you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask us.”

“Well… thank you,” the mermaid replied. “I was going to do just that… but with Helvos,” she said, blushing slightly as she resumed eating.

“Of course, stay with Helvos,” Finn said, “Just if you need some parental advice you can ask us! Helvos is talented at a lot of things, but he can be dense about others, after all…”

“Dad, c’mon,” Helvos’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“Ah, well,” Noelani smiled slightly, still blushing, and looked at Tajal. “Maybe in a few months, I may come to you for advice.”

“Of course,” Tajal said, “So how is the fish, dear? It’s a little on the basic side, but apparently you don’t like things very spicy…”

“Oh, it's very thoroughly cooked. I'm surprised you can offer such a fine meal in a small town like this!” Noelani praised, having just finished the food she took. “Really, at least one of you must be a chef, right?”

“Well, I’m not a fancy one that goes to work in a restaurant,” Farah said, “But I’m a local cook and all, I help make community meals and such. Having three younger siblings helps out, plus these noses aren’t for show, our senses of smell and taste are quite strong. Oh, has Helvos cooked for you yet? You’d know a bit of what I was talking about there…”

“Well, he's cooked for me a few times,” Noelani said, patting Helvos’ hand. “The first time was when I realized just how many spices he likes to use! But he's been very good about it ever since.”

“I gotta admit the first time I might’ve overdone it,” Helvos said sheepishly, “Guess you aren’t as hearty as a Suidan is there… but no matter, it was easy enough to fix going forward.”

“I'm tough, but there's a limit, Mr. Piggy,” Noelani teased him. “But, yes, he's improved since. I have been practicing eating more spices, though. Soon I'll be able to handle land food!”

“You better!” Helvos chuckled, “Because there’s a lot more I want to make for you!”

“Anyways, Noelani,” Finn finished his plate, “... wow, that was real good… ahem, just remember what we told you, okay? If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask us.”

“Yes, thank you,” Noelani smiled at them. “I'm sure I'll be alright, but I'll keep it in mind.”

“In that case, we oughta get going, there’s still stuff to sort out at home,” Helvos said, offering Noelani his hand, “Thanks for the meal! It’s great to be back for a while.”

The mer took the offered hand, standing carefully and nodding at the family. “Thank you very much for having me. I look forward to next time.”

“See ya later, bro!” Farah said as they waved back while the couple exited the house, “... well, how was that?” Helvos asked her.

“I think my nerves are worn thin,” Noelani admitted. “But they were so nice. You have a really good family, Helvos!”

“And hey, next time you know you don’t have to be too formal around them if you don’t want to,” Helvos said, “But we better set up, right? And figure out just what extra rooms you’ll need?”

“We can probably get started on that tomorrow, right? Can we go home and spend time together for tonight?” Noelani asked, squeezing his hand.

“Yeah, I guess it’s been a long day,” Helvos said; of course on his end it was mostly eating, getting back home, seeing his family and watching the shop, but for Noelani it was a lot more. “C’mon then, back we go…” he said as he led her back to his, or rather, their home.

[New Dornalia]

OOC: Collab between Dorn and Dyste

IC:

Iolanthe’s school, more properly known as the “Ivorsen Institute”, in Hippocratia was a burgeoning success. Sure, there was the requisite debriefing by a group of men in black who asked her how the mission went, but otherwise the Tambelon Raid had nothing but good effects for her. The old warrior had to admit. She thought she was bored teaching people before. But as it turned out, when it was teaching people how to track bad guys and subdue them with sweet martial arts moves and go on adventures for a living, things were actually quite nice.

But even the successful needed “me” time. And so, on the Saturdays and Sundays where she took a break and let one of the more successful teachers run drills and so on, she spent time in a small cottage she had set up near the school. It had just enough of the bare necessities and creature comforts to be home, but not enough to distract her from her skills.

One undisputed thing though was the backyard, where she had a series of punching and kicking bags set up, along with a kettlebell set and a spot to do yoga. There, she could be seen conducting drills, designed to test her speed and her strength. She learned much from the experience in Tambelon. Namely, don’t bite off more than you can chew, and if you do so, learn how to chew through the mistake.

Unbeknownst to Iolanthe, however, things would become more exciting. Namely, she would be greeted by a familiar face--her doorbell rang, leading her to look at the small camera which oversaw the doorbell to reveal….an old friend.

At the door was Helvos Venja, someone she had met a while back during that fateful mission; the pigman seemed as spry as ever in spite of only being a bit younger than Iolanthe herself. “Heya! Hope I’m not late, I’m still gettin’ used to my ride’s controls and all that.”

“Oh! Helvos. One second.” Iolanthe came to the door, and went, “It’s good to see you again!” in an overjoyed tone. She then went, with a smile after she composed herself, “No, no, it’s my day off. As long as you got here safe and sound, it’s quite alright.” A brief beat, and she asked, “How’s the ship, by the way? You mentioned getting used to the controls.”

“Oh, well, The Flying Pig works just fine and all, it’s actually more comfy than I expected,” Helvos admitted, “It’s like sort of a vacation home in there, sort of! Just, not quite as used to piloting such a thing. It’s not like I took lessons in school about it or anything.”

Iolanthe nodded, her memories quickly flashing back her days of flying lessons and defensive shuttle usage at Marshals school. She then added, “Well, your skills shouldn’t be so bad. You got here in one piece.” Iolanthe then perked up and went, “And they should be good enough to get to our destination--that one taco place I mentioned the other day.”

“Right, the taco place,” Helvos chuckled, “These must be good tacos if we’re going all the way to a different planet to get ‘em and all.”

The old master beamed as Helvos said that. With a tone that suggested a significant degree of enthusiasm and an unwavering belief in her convictions--unusually so, given Iolanthe’s more pragmatic nature most of the time--“They’re some of the best in the galaxy. Trust me. Emilia may work out of a small, somewhat anonymous shop, but she beats any other taquerias by a country mile. Easily.” She then said, “Also, I’ve got the relevant star charts and directions up to get us there in good order.” A pause, and Iolanthe asked, “Are any of the others due to join us on this taco trip?”

“Not that I’m aware of at this point,” Helvos admitted, “Lissah’s doing some family stuff, and Noelani was asked to return to Thalassium over something or other, so it’ll just be us today, it seems. Besides, I think with me there we might not have enough tacos for anyone else!”

Iolanthe laughed a bit at Helvos’s quip, adding an appropriate, “Well, we’ll see. Just save some for me, friend. Shame the others couldn’t join us, but well, all in good time.” She then went, looking down at herself, “Give me one second to get cleaned up, and I will be right with you.” Disappearing for a brief moment, Iolanthe reappeared in clothing with muted colors, perfect for any potential messes. She then went, “Right-o. Let’s see the ship, eh?”

“Of course,” Helvos was meanwhile dressed in his brightest vacation clothes, a bright orange patterned shirt and bright cargo shorts. Gesturing outside, the ship was pretty visible nearby, being an moderately sized passenger ship from the Great Civilization. The most notable change being a picture of a pig with wings had been painted on the side, with The Flying Pig written on it. “Not bad, huh?”

“Lovely as ever,” Iolanthe said with a nod, adding, “I had wondered what the name would be. I knew that was a matter of some debate a while back, no?”

“Yeah, I think Nils suggested something like the ‘Pigsty’, or was that Annaise?” the Suidan knew that naming stuff could get complex. “Either way, I think in the end I think we needed a pig reference in there. Hey, I’m not gonna complain about it; most people who know of me know two things about me, that I’m a pig and I punch things really fast and hard.”

“Both are true, although I wish they knew about the tenacity you’ve got too. Reminds me of some of my old work colleagues, really. Then again, it takes a certain sort of person to join Special Judicial Service to track and take down baddies. It’s all a good thing though.” The old master nodded at the ship, taking it all in and smiling at how Helvos, like the others, had made good in their own ways. She then added, “I will say speaking of one prize to the other, that the school’s been doing good--and thanks once again for stopping by on occasion to help with the close combat drills and so on.”

“Hey now, it’s the least I can do for you,” Helvos chuckled, “I don’t know how to cast any spells or do any fancy weapon skills, but I can deal with that sort of thing good. Still, it’s making me think of taking on a few students myself one of these days; not really in a school setting, I don’t want to tie myself to that, maybe more on an individual basis?”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with the old-school method of training students. Take on a few trusted students, apprentice them in the ways of martial arts. That’s how legends are made, after all.” Iolanthe said with a nod. “I’m more of the newer school, but that’s being a former cop for you.” She then went, “What would be your criteria for taking someone as an apprentice?”

“Well, hm,” Helvos hadn’t thought that far ahead, as he led the Dornalian inside the ship, “Well, probably someone who is in need of some guidance, and has a fighting style that lines in well with my own, so more of a forceful one than finesse. Other than that, I dunno!”

“Good point.” Iolanthe looked about and nodded admiringly at the vessel’s interior. She mused out loud, “C’tan vessels always had that certain panache to them, in terms of design and also performance. This should be quite a fun ride.” The last part was said with unironic hope for the goodness to come.

“Yeah, it’s been a pretty nice ride so far, gotta admit,” Helvos took them to the bridge, where it seemed the pilot’s chair was thankfully quite adjustable so a man his size could sit comfortably, “Now then, I suppose you’ve got our coordinates ready?”

“Indeed I do. One second…”

Iolanthe pulled out a small notepad and a PDA to quickly input the coordinates for Emilio’s, before giving a thumbs up. She then added, “I managed to get us the fastest route there. Avoids a lot of traffic. The Interstellar Expressway will make it a lot easier for sure, but well, it always pays to prep. Even with a network of faster-than-light routes with gates and so on to help ease things along.”

“Right, well, I admit I haven’t actually taken this thing out of the planet’s orbit yet,” Helvos said as he inputted the coordinates, “I figured I ought to have someone like you around before I did something like that, so I don’t screw up and get stranded on some planet in the middle of nowhere.”

"Righto. Let's see about her…."Iolanthe said with a nod, as she conducted a rough visual inspection, before going, "She seems clear, for now. So far so good. Now, let's move onwards--whenever you're ready to go. I’ll help with the liftoff process.”

“R-right,” Helvos smiled nervously, “Let’s get started, before I end up changing my mind!”

Iolanthe then put her hand on Helvos’s shoulder, going with a nod and a reassuring, supportive tone, “Don’t worry. I’ll talk you through it all. One step at a time. Spaceflight’s a bit like driving a car, but with a bit more to worry about and with physics that work a bit differently, but it’s doable. Obviously, liftoff is simple enough, the real key will be to remain attentive to what the sensor readouts or other such things are saying--as well as looking out of the front screen, if there is one--and making sure to dodge any space debris. But one thing at a time.”

“Sure, sure,” Helvos said; he had only had a cursory look through the interface, not to mention having not done much customization on the ship yet, but he was taking it slowly; he wasn’t the first Dystan in space, nor was he the first to fly a spaceship, but it was still a new frontier for him. “I think I’ve got this,” setting the ship to liftoff as it started its flight. “I think I’ve got this part at least.”

“Indeed. You’re doing great, Helvos.” Iolanthe looked over the console and the controls, going, “Now, I’m more used to Dornalian and other ships, but I am certain the principles are quite similar on this one.” She then asked, “Silly question--did the ship come with an owner’s manual, or some sort of automated assistant?”

“Well, it has this virtual interface that I’ve been taking some lessons from,” Helvos said, “It’s going a bit slowly, but maybe that’s the adventurer in me taking things a bit over-cautiously. I know I might seem to be the gung-ho type but I really do think stuff like this over, y’know? … but yeah, it’s how I’ve been able to fly the ship so far.”

“Oh no, I’m not judging you. Just wondering about this control console is all.” Poking and prodding the virtual interface, Iolanthe nodded as she gave herself a brief crash course in C’tani controls, going, “After all, I figure it wouldn’t hurt to have some context on my end.” She then added, taking in Helvos’s words and the interface, she went, “You’ve got a point. This system is quite useful.”

“Yeah, I figured once I have the basics down and know how I can fly it pretty good, I can start customizing the place more, giving it more of a home feel,” Helvos chuckled as the ship left orbit, “I mean, have you seen how big it is!? I think it might be bigger than the village I grew up in!”

With a nod as she looked over the basic tutorials, Iolanthe added, her rather basic words underlaid with a current of awe and respect, “I mean, looking over the schematics…you’re not wrong. It would make for quite the mobile home--a mobile manse, more like, but either way, it is all quite impressive.”

“I know, right?” Helvos chuckled, “I’ll have to think of stuff to add for my friends, too; I’d imagine Noelani has a bunch of ideas already. Might even have something here for you, too.”

Iolanthe laughed in appreciation. “Well, thank you. I wouldn’t need much. Maybe a spot to keep my MMA skills sharp and so on, and one of those zen garden things that’s like a big sandbox, but meant to be less sandcastles and more inner contemplation.” A quick pause, and she then said, “I’ll give it some thought.”

“Right, no rush, I’m not going anywh- … well, that’s not entirely true, now,” Helvos said as the ship followed its path towards the location Iolanthe put in, “As an adventurer I’m always on the move and with this ship, there’s just more to explore now. But I’d like to keep in touch with all of you, still; who knows, we might find more dragons to punch and all!”

“Punching out a dragon…” Iolanthe stroked her chin as she thought out loud, “I mean, why not? I tried to wrestle a dragon, so punching it wouldn’t be too far fetched.”


“I’d give you some pointers, but really, all I do is try to hit as fast and hard as I can,” Helvos admitted, “Works out for me, not so much for most people. Whatever works for you, I guess… um, we’re still heading on the correct path, right?”

Iolanthe looked at the console, and said, pushing some items to reveal a map, “We are indeed. So far, so good. A little bit more and we should be in Dornie space, and then it’s a simple proverbial hop, skip and jump to the Governor Delgado Memorial Highway--or more technically, HE-17, a major artery. Shouldn’t be too crowded at this time of day, but well, if it is, it’s just like motoring. A bit of patience and some water will do.”

“Water?” Helvos was confused, “Like, in case I get thirsty?”

“Yeah. Sometimes, waiting in traffic or traveling in general tends to be thirsty work--one of my colleagues imparted the advice of having some sort of soft drink while on duty. Either water, or even a cup of coffee.” She then mused thoughtfully, “Many bottles of water and many cups of coffee were consumed on stakeouts, or while tracking a suspect on the road. I’m sure the principle translates in the event of traffic jams.”

“Ah, fair enough,” Helvos nodded, “Normally I have my magic tankard and cornucopia to keep me filled, but I don’t think eating or getting drunk while flying is a good idea, even if you’re a Sarkesh.”

“Do they make magic tankards which produce coffee or tea?” Iolanthe asked the question with a genuine curiosity, like this was something she had been missing in her life. “Been trying to find one in Hippocratia, but no luck so far--then again, I may not have been looking hard enough.”

“Well, Dyste’s got a fair amount of that stuff if you’re looking for it,” Helvos recalled hearing about that, “Granted, the one I own’s a special case, I didn’t exactly buy it at a magic item store.” He held up a pewter tankard, looking rather battered. “Got it as a gift for beating this challenge during a visit to Aravea. Pretty funny, I’ve never actually gotten hungover or th’like with it.”

Iolanthe made a note of it all, and said, “I will have to stop by Dyste sometime. Maybe the cozier parts not looking for tourist cash, somewhere the locals would go.. Harry Hackathorn’s in Auram was a lovely shop, but very overpriced. Got my machete from there.” Iolanthe looked at the map, and said, “Okay, we’ve entered Dornie space, we’ve got a few ICBA beacons nearby, but I imagine we won’t need to deal with the usual customs business until we dock at New Star City’s spaceport in orbit. In the meantime, we’ll be on HE-17 shortly.”

“Yeah, there’s a lotta stuff in Dyste that’re a bit of tourist traps, I’ll have to show you around to the best places…” Helvos looked over the viewscreen to take in the vastness of space, “Geez, Mystria seems so small when you’re out here, doesn’t it? And here I was thinking I’ve adventured in a lot of places…”

Iolanthe mused, “Well, they call it the Final Frontier for a reason. A sapient can get up to a lot here in the depths of space. Some do good with it, like science and exploration and meeting new cultures. Some do bad with it--lots of space pirates out here, varying between the fun kind and the not-so-fun kind, for starters. Either way, it’s a big galaxy out there, and with a stout ship and an adventurous spirit, one can make the most of it.”

“Granted, I’m not allowed to use this ship for warfare, nor do I intend to,” Helvos said, “But rest assured if those pirates try to board they’ll have more than they bargained for. That said, I thought for a while my adventuring days were behind me, but recently I’ve felt the zeal once more. I guess age’s just a number at the end of the day, isn’t it?”

Iolanthe paused for a second, and tactfully laughed with additional, “Of course. After all, I was arguably one of the oldest of the Team and I thought I’d have to spend the rest of my retirement teaching the aged about tai chi. But well, something about that whole business…well, I do believe I’ve gotten my mojo back, to use a Dornie-ism.” She then adds, “And just as well too, between you, me, and the Team if and when we get the band back together. Space pirates might be used to many things and some may have energy weapons, but mooks are mooks no matter where you go. They tend to fare poorly on the whole when placed against dedicated opposition by folks like us. Then again, scofflaws can get creative. The sap I carry was confiscated from a baddie, after all.”

“Seems at the end of the day, there’s always room for adventure, huh?” Helvos replied, “A lot of people were worried that with the venture into space that there might be an end to the age of the adventurer, but if anything, it might be bigger than ever. I’ll be at the forefront if that happens, believe me!”

“There’ll be plenty of adventure in space, good sir.” As she looked over the console and kept watch, Iolanthe added, her attention distracted, “Plenty of it….hold on.” WIth a nod, she went, “Right-o. Had to make sure we were on course. Shouldn’t be long for those tacos, just have to park the ship at a spaceport somewhere, go through customs, and we should be good to go.”

“These better be the best tacos in the galaxy by going through all this,” Helvos could still feel his heart racing a bit from the flight, “You know, when I was still a young man one of my dreams was to own my own ship. I never thought it’d be a spaceship, though.”

“A ship, eh?” Iolanthe asked, curious.

“Well, it’s always a bit part of the adventuring life in Dyste, having an airship or something like that,” Helvos explained, “But it’s hard work maintaining it by yourself, they don’t have all the interfaces like something like this does.”

“Well, ships like this--particularly from a civilization like the Great Civilization--should have some sort of system to help maintenance and repairs. Either way, I say you’ve definitely got the personal transport part down, in terms of being an adventurer.” Iolanthe then said, looking at the monitors, “You’re doing great. Looks like we’re getting close to New Star City now. Slow your speed a bit, we don’t need to bother the local authorities with a traffic stop and the traffic’s building up a bit.” Iolanthe then added, “Yes, there are traffic stops in space in the Republic, mostly for navigational safety and such. It is a bit odd now that I think about it.”

Helvos took the ship to a slower speed, “Nah, I get it, it’s a safety thing. It’s one thing to be in the big vacuum of space and be safe rushing around, it’s another when you’re in a populated sector of space, high-speed collisions are bad enough when it’s just cars, just imagine how bad it’d be out here!”

“Indeed.” Iolanthe shuddered. “I’ve heard…things from colleagues working the traffic beat and the accident reconstruction beat. Not fun. It’s like what you imagine, but so much worse.” Shaking her head, Iolanthe proceeded to watch the viewscreens and monitors to keep an eye on the traffic. Typical rush hour traffic it seemed, but it would evaporate in time for tacos.

Eventually, the whole cavalcade would open into a vista of immense activity. Signs advertising all manner of products on hovering billboards in space were present, advertising everything from the “holy trinity” of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms to other items such as movies and vacation destinations and local businesses. Helvos would be able to even recognize some of them--Mr. MooCows and other Rohanian businesses being standouts, but also other businesses from back home in Dyste and Mystria. There was also a cavalcade of ships moving to and fro, and like lanes on a terrestrial highway, there were ships in “lanes” on all sides moving at the same speed Helvos was. Gates in the distance disgorged ships on occasion in flashes of light, and took in ships with the same pace. All the while, various ships belonging to local authorities and the ICBA were on patrol, in case anything happened.

The two would be able to find a landing spot soon enough, with a voice radioing Helvos and Iolanthe in Common.

“This is New Star City Traffic Control. Please proceed to the lane to your left, and follow the signs and the coordinates. Sending them over now.”

Iolanthe of course, helpfully translated the directions and the coordinates into easily understood language for Helvos to use. The resulting landing took the duo past chaparral vistas and a sprawling yet lovely urban cityscape with Spanish tiled houses and gleaming urban centers to a waiting spaceport and a place to dock. Waiting for The Flying Pig was a pair of men in blue uniforms with baseball caps and a working dog with armor around him, and also a blue scanning field which went over the vessel before it stopped as soon as it started.

Iolanthe said, “Customs men. Not a big deal. They’re likely going to want to meet us outside, with some identification documents, and a smile.” Iolanthe fished around her pockets, producing some identification cards and a Dornalian passport. Sure enough, the call came.

“Welcome to the Colonial Republic, travelers. This is Sergeant Mulcahy, Immigration and Common Border Authority. Go ahead and disembark, we’re just gonna do some basic screening procedures, okay?”

“No problem,” Helvos mostly allowed Iolanthe to take the lead here, not that he wasn’t familiar with procedural duties when traveling, but as the local he knew to defer to her for matters like this.

Iolanthe nodded, and met the men outside. The air would be crisp, warm, and pleasantly dry. With some nods to the ICBA men, Iolanthe explained simply as she showed her IDs and took the lead, “Good day, Sergeant. My traveling companion Helvos Venja and I, Iolanthe Ivorsen, are visiting for pleasure. I’ve owed Mr. Venja some tacos--I intend to make good on the debt.”

Mulcahy nodded and smiled, going, “You picked a good place to make good on the debt. Where’s the spot? Taqueria Frieza? The Lucky Cat?”

“No, no. A hole in the wall. Emilio’s, down in Center City near here. I know the neighborhood’s a bit rough, but it’s worth it. Besides, no one bothers Emilio.”

“Indeedy.” The ICBA men nodded to each other, and seemed satisfied with the travelers. Mulcahy then said, “Well, welcome to New Star City County, and enjoy your stay, both of ya!” With a tip of his hat, he moved on with the dog and the other man to another ship.

“Right-o, that was annoying, but useful. At least he didn’t reference my MMA career,” Iolanthe said, shuddering at the thought. “Now then! Tacos. Emilio’s isn’t too far from here, just a short walk.” Sniffing the air, Iolanthe beamed. “I can smell the frying of the ingredients from here.”

“Oh, that was what I was smelling, too,” Helvos’s nose seemed quite sensitive to such things, “It does smell good; I know that oftentimes the best places aren’t the most flashy ones, sort of like how many of the best Dystan smiths aren’t the big tourist item places but the more unassuming ones.”

“Indeed.” Iolanthe mused wistfully. “Emilio prefers to keep it humble in terms of decor, with a similar mindset as those smiths. ‘No need for flashy signs or silly decor if you make a good product and have word of mouth on your side. And maybe a good social media presence.’ And he’s been at the game for years, working miracles with meats of all sorts from folks he knows, and small batch tortillas he and the family make themselves with both flour and corn.” Pausing, Iolanthe added, a bit more downbeat, “I hope his mother’s alright, I know she had to take a long break recently due to MacPherson’s Flu and its lingering side effects. No disrespect to the rest of the family, but when she worked the tortilla line, you knew you were in for a good time. Hopefully, she’s back on the line.”

“Here’s hoping, huh?” Helvos replied, “Of course, I’m sure they’ll be great regardless. Y’know, that reminds me of this little sandwich place I saw down in Calberona. I ought to take you sometime.”

“Ooh? Now I’m intrigued.” Iolanthe said, curious.

“Well, it’s this kobold-run deli named Nohck’s,” Helvos explained, “Apparently it’s been run by the same family for several generations, all great sandwichsmiths, each one adding new combinations to them. I’m a fan of this one with corned beef on rye bread, I think some people outside of Dyste call it a ‘Reuben’?”

Iolanthe nodded, adding, “Well, it depends on the ingredients involved, but what you’re describing has two of the key ingredients for a Reuben sandwich for sure.” She then paused and said, “Reminds me of a sandwich I had in a little delicatessen in a place in Ft. Casimir Pulaski named Reb Naum’s. I had to go to the city to serve a warrant involving a particularly vicious smuggler, and after an unpleasant firefight and an even more unpleasant torrent of paperwork, our team needed some refreshments. As it turns out, Reb Naum’s was the only option which was open twenty-four hours besides some local chain stores and some low-quality diners, and came recommended by one of the New Chicago Sheriff’s Department deputies on the task force.” Pausing, Iolanthe mused, “Needless to say, they had excellent sandwiches and decent coffee even at 3AM.” She then continued, “I could have sworn I saw a team of kobolds with a chef’s hat embossed with the words ‘Sandwich King’ on it working the sandwich line. That would explain why that Reuben and the salt, cracked pepper, and garlic fries I had were really rather good. I’ll add that to the list of eateries for the Team to visit besides Emilio’s. One of the silver linings in a career spent executing warrants on fugitives and also engaging in combat sports across the nation is one finds a number of interesting places to eat.”

“Hey, why bother going to other places if you can’t enjoy a good meal, huh?” Helvos chuckled, “It’s one of the main reasons I wanted to travel, after all! I gotta try this ‘Sandwich King’ out sometime, too.”

“It would be well worth the trip. The Sandwich King and his loyal retainers did make an excellent sandwich, and I’d willingly go again in a heartbeat.” Iolanthe then paused and added, “And of course, there’s other destinations. I’ve got a whole list….how are you with fish?”

“C’mon now, I’m Dystan,” the pigman laughed, “It’s one of the main food groups there! There’s this real nice place called Qarash’s in Undellah, the sharkman makes the best fish dishes in the Dragon Sea there.”

“I must try that. Well, one restaurant for another. There’s a rather quirky, experimental restaurant called Bob’s Country Sushi Bunker located somewhere in San Pedro, California, on Dornie Earth. Different Bob than the rock star, though that Bob’s music is on the jukebox there. I had to go there once on a case. It’s a mixture of country-western and…well, I think the Mystrian word is ‘Izumin’, we know it in Dornalia as “Japanese”. To put it in perspective--there’s a statue of an old Dornalian ‘cowboy’ in the front wearing samurai armor, with a katana in one hand and a toy Colt Peacemaker in the other.” Iolanthe spoke, as if somehow struggling to find the right way to describe the sight. She then shrugged and went, “Anyway, the menu is interesting and tastes better than it sounds. All kinds of meats--one should try the chicken fried steak finger bento box--but they have an excellent fish based menu. They have items such as miso clam chowder, tempura fish and chips consisting of trout with yam fries, and catfish nigiri both in classic and in fried form, all washed down with house-made Sasebo Arsenal Punch. Again, much better than it sounds.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of this ‘Izumin’ before,” Helvos knew it was a fairly recent phenomenon, having its first influences in Mystria in Dyste. “Gotta try that sometime; I might have to bring Noelani next time. She was a bit disappointed she couldn’t come along this time, “That said, I suppose I’ll give a review myself when I’m here for her.”

Iolanthe nodded, and seemed downbeat at the mention of the other team members not being there, adding, “It’s a shame they’re not here to experience what we’re going to experience.” Pausing, the old master then asked, “Where is Noelani, anyway? I haven’t heard much from her since the job.”

“Oh, well, we took a visit to Dyste, and then to Silverdale,” Helvos explained, “Lissah showed us this place called ‘Penguin Island’. Unsurprisingly, there were penguins there! She’s now handling a few things in Thalassium before she takes me to her hometown to meet her parents.”

“Penguin Island, eh?” Iolanthe asked, curious. “How many penguins? And what were they like?” She even added, “Was Lothar or Sancho there? My nephew keeps asking me if I’ve met them. I haven’t but well….”

“There were a lotta penguins, didn’t count ‘em all,” Helvos scratched his head, “They were cute… Lothar and Sancho, eh? Haven’t seen ‘em in a long time… yeah, I met ‘em before, but it wasn’t at the island, I was off on a quest and came across them. Hard to ignore a penguin with a shining sword yelling about justice at the top of his lungs, y’know?”

“Quite! Not subtle, but that sort of thing has a place.” Iolanthe looked around at the surroundings, and saw an old poster for a film based on their exploits on the wall of a hole-in-the-wall minimart. “Certainly it makes for good cinematic works. My nephew’s seen that movie twenty-seven times. Hence, he asked about the duo.”

“Geez, there’s even a movie about them, huh?” Helvos chuckled. “I mainly knew about them from old adventuring stories about Princess-erm, I guess she’s Queen Tynah now, but yeah. Pretty incredible that legends from way back then are still around, makes you feel not as old.”



“Quite so.” Then, Iolanthe stopped, and did a telltale Dornalian manuever--she sniffed the air. A task which was harder to do than one might think, considering the wide variety of pleasant smells. However, the one she was looking for perked her interest, and she went, “Emilio’s is just around the corner.”

Gesturing for Helvos to follow, Iolanthe led the suidan to a small storefront on a street corner. The storefront itself was a brown-to-beige facade with a sign saying “Emilio’s Taqueria”, with a subtitle promising “Tacos”, “Burritos” and “House Specialties”. There were a pair of large bay windows, with Venetian blinds and small ceramic curios of gata origin. Inside, one could see plain tables, hardwood flooring, and plain colored walls with various family photos on them. However, this was all overpowered by an intoxicating bouquet of smells--meats, vegetables, smoke, et cetera. Not to mention, a glass door with a simple sign denoting the hours. Out the back of the shop, one could see a smokestack with puffs of smoke coming out of it. There was also a chalkboard sign advertising the daily specials and directing those seeking parking to go into the back.

When the duo went inside, they would find the shop had a menu above the checkout stand, advertising the various dishes including some gata specialty items. There were also people working the front counter, bussing tables, and so on. There was also an open kitchen, and one could see a variety of grills, griddles, deep fryers from which fresh made tortilla chips came out, and cooking tools on display with cooks working the line, including an older woman who was giving orders and making hand gestures. The staff were not only making the meats, but also making tortillas by hand with presses and old school cast-iron comals.

There was a man working the counter, a somewhat tall man with cat ears and a tail, with a green apron on with the name of the restaurant in white along with a black polo shirt and jeans. He looked up and went, raising his eyebrow, in a flattened, Western-sounding accent, “‘Lanthe?”

“Hello, Emilio. It’s been a while.” Iolanthe greeted the man with a smile.

To this, Emilio grinned from ear to ear and went, “It has been, old friend. It has been.”

Iolanthe then nodded and went, “I’ve brought a friend, and I’ve decided to introduce him to your tacos.”

Turning to Helvos, the gato then asked, “Any friend of ‘Lanthe’s is a friend of mine. I’m Emilio--well, I used to be Special Agent Emilio Hernandez. Then well, I took a medical discharge from the Marshals, and now I’m here. What’s your name?”

“Hey,” the Suidan waved, “I’m Helvos Venja, from Dyste; as you can guess from that, I’ve traveled quite a way to try out these tacos.”

“You’ve come to the right place, Helvos. I’ve got chicken, beef…” He then paused and said, “Well, we also got goat, lamb and even vegetable options.” Tactfully, Emilio left out one prominent item--pork--but the look on his face suggested he was interested in avoiding an awkward situation. “We also make ‘em spicy and not spicy, hard shell and soft street style, and you get salsa and chips on the side. Chips are house made, so it’s not like those places where the bread is just an afterthought.”

Iolanthe said to Helvos, “Depending on your spice tolerance, I would try the curry tacos--it’s a house take on an old gata favorite. But they also have some other options--including a sampler platter, if you’re interested in trying more than one.”

“Hm…” Helvos thought about it for a moment, “Honestly it’s pretty hard to decide, so why not go with a bit of it all? I’ll have one of each type! … I mean, aside from the pork; yeah, I know you’d have it, but hey, I’m as much a pig as you are a cat, my good man, not quite the same, just close enough that I wouldn’t actually eat pork myself. And you don’t need to worry about my tolerance for that sort of spiciness; I once ate a burger with a heap of Gulg Peppers, those things make jalapenos look mild!”

Iolanthe nodded, and added, “And, I’ll have my usual curry taco platter, myself. And beverages for the both of us.”

Emilio said, seemingly unfazed by the request, “No problem, my good man. I’ve had bigger orders come through the shop.” He then rang up the order, and Iolanthe paid, going, “Don’t worry about the bill, I’ve got it” with a smile. Emilio then could be seen walking to the back and issuing orders in a sort of Spanglish hash house lingo that was impenetrable even to Iolanthe. One thing Helvos would be able to notice was a discernible limp as Emilio walked to the back to issue his orders, and also when he walked back to the checkout stand after stopping by a cooler with some glass bottles within to retrieve some bottles, and then walking to the checkout stand. “Here’s some colas. Made with real cane sugar, not Splendamin or any other such things.”

“Oooh, nice,” Helvos accepted, opening it up and taking a drink, “Got the good stuff I see. Piggies like me have really good senses of smell and taste, so I can tell the quality stuff like that.”

“The quality’s there, for sure,” Emilio added. “It’s from a local company, the Klinger Beverages Company. They make soft drinks and harder stuff for the adults--beer mostly. This is their Refresco Select brand. It’s one of those sodas where if you have it, you can’t go back to any of the usual stuff--anything else hangs too heavy on the tongue, not like this stuff. I tried carrying one of the bigger brands--SolarSoda or something, I can’t recall--the customers got annoyed. ‘Where’s the friggin Refrescos,’ they’d ask--sometimes not so politely. So, I had to switch back. It’s all good though.”

“I’ll have to get some to bring home for people to try,” Helvos remarked, “I recently got a spaceship to fly around in, and I bet nobody back home’s ever got to try something like this. Probably some of the beer too! Who knows, might become a bit of a hit there.”

“Wait. They don’t have Aguila Vienna-style lager down in Dyste?” Emilio asked, curious.

Iolanthe added, “They don’t really. I mean, the big brands are in Mystria, as far as I know, including Cerveza Amendariz, and--”

Emilio growled at the mention of Cerveza Amendariz, saying, “Chingada, ‘Lanthe! May as well sell them bottled water with a side of moldy lemon, which would be better than Cerveza Amendariz.” He then quickly brought out a couple of bottles of the aforementioned Aguila Vienna-style lager, going, “I’m sure Helvos here knows good beer when he tastes it--this stuff’s leaps and bounds beyond the big brands. Heck, I’ll even throw in a couple of bottles of the stout too, I heard the beer’s strong in Mystria.” The bottles themselves had a stylized eagle upon it with Spanish text, evoking old-timey heraldry in its design.

“Sounds good to me!” Helvos took them, choosing to save some of them for later, before taking a swig of one to taste, “Oh yeah, that’s the good stuff; not as strong as Fire Drake Ale, but’s it’s got a good taste to it.” He poured it into a pewter tankard that Iolanthe would recall he had on him during the trip in Tambelon, which seemed to be able to fill itself, “This’ll give it a taste of it whenever I want it; pretty useful thing I got as a reward on an adventure. Now if I want a drink of it, I got it on me.” He took it in his hand, and it filled with the lager, “Pretty neat trick, huh?”

“Woah.” Emilio said this with a raised eyebrow, adding, “I mean, I would say that I thought that was a legend…but then I remembered that one time, my cousin had seen one of these in action. Still impressive to see one in person though.”

“Which cousin was that, Emilio?” Iolanthe asked. “Rodriga the magical items dealer?”

“Nah, her husband sources all the magical items for her boutique. The one who saw the magical tankard was cousin Pedro, the traveling one with all the videos online and his own TV show now,” Emilio added.

“Huh.” Iolanthe said, nodding as she accepted her bottle and opened it up, beginning to take some sips of the Vienna lager.

“Yeah, he did some travelogue visiting Auram once. Even filmed some shots of the Arena. I’ve never seen a place with so much gold before,” Emilio added.

“Even by magic tankard standards this one’s pretty special,” Helvos said, “It can even improve my strength and vitality for a bit… a toast to Emilio’s Taqueria!” The tankard glowed for a moment, as did Helvos, as he drank from it. His already large muscles seemed to expand a bit as it seemed to bolster his body, even if he appeared to be a little more awkward with his moments, “Ahhh, that’s the stuff… yeah, Auram’s a pretty neat place, y’know,” his words even sounded a little more slurred, “I’ve won over a baker’s dozen of tourneys at that arena!”

The patrons of the restaurant raised their glasses and bottles in reply, going “Here here!” They were evidently motivated by the pigman’s cheer and enthusiasm, and Iolanthe raised her bottle likewise. Even Emilio raised a bottle, though it was water--he did have work to do after all. Iolanthe chimed in and went, “He’s got the physical prowess for it, Emilio. Helvos has a keen mastery of the pugilistic arts.”

Emilio nodded and went, “Nice. He’d get along with some people I know. The guy who ran the Academy boxing team. My cousin Paulie. My first wife Dara and her kickboxery. I mean, I used to be pretty good…until I took that arrow to the knee.”

“Ouch, sounds bad a'ight,” Helvos’s accent was becoming stronger as well, “That’s the way it goes, innit? Some make it alla the way, some don’t, but seems you found a callin’ all your own!”

“Indeed. Turns out I make a damn good taco. I mean, the medical retirement from the Marshals was tough to swallow, but the tacos helped chase it down, I say.” Emilio’s mom could be seen nodding, and so Emilio added “And with the help of the fam, of course.”

“Yeah, family’s good for that, turns out,” Helvos said, “My own one owned th’shop of my village, and they encouraged me to follow my dream to become an adventurer, even supplied me well. ‘Course, I didna know any weapon stuff at the time, so I just figgered I oughtta punch stuff. Seemed ta work!” he snickered, “Well, I’d say I agree you make good tacos, but I’ll just hafta see for myself there, won’t I?”

Helvos’s order came out, fresh and hot and ready to go. It didn’t look like much on the outside--paper plates, red plastic trays, and some accouterments like disposable cutlery in wrapping along with napkins--but the smells and the plating would appear to transcend the humble looking set up. It took several trays to accommodate his order, but it was done. Iolanthe’s order came shortly after. Emilio even gestured to a table, going, “I think table six would be big enough for the whole kit and kaboodle, no?”

“Sounds good t’me!” Helvos chuckled, effortlessly carrying every tray by himself, “Now, c’mon, Iol’the, gotta eat ‘em fresh, right?”

Iolanthe nodded, and before long, the whole spread was placed on the table. To say it was a massive spread was understating it--the order took up the whole table. Even with some clever orientation and setup to ensure everything could fit, the sight was an impressive one. Iolanthe was impressed, and smiled as she began to dig into her order, with the glorious flavors coming back to her as she ate up. She said nothing as she ate and consumed her beverage--why spoil the beauty of the moment with speech?

Helvos also was more focused on the food than the conversation for a while, chowing down on every possible combination he ordered, though he didn’t rush through them, either; he took the time to savour them, food’s no good to just gulp down without considering the taste, after all. That said, he did seem to be a faster eater overall than Iolanthe, as he was already done five tacos in the time it took her to eat one.

Iolanthe nodded at her opposite number’s gustatory prowess, so she stepped it up a bit by picking up the pace. The tacos were flavorful as ever thankfully--no wonder why he was chowing down so quickly. Iolanthe didn’t find it offensive--amusing more like. It also helped that he may have been slightly buzzed. So, she focused on food and not on talking.

The other patrons looked at the sight meanwhile, with curious amusement and wonder. If Helvos paid any attention to them, he’d be able to tell they were genuinely curious, and not passing judgment or being mean about it. It was certainly not something they saw every day, for sure.

Helvos chowed down on some tacos, being rather amused by the attention; he supposed they didn’t exactly see pigmen like him around often, much less one of his particular appetite. After he was done, he’d have to give out his recommendations.

The crowd’s attention seemed rapt, as Iolanthe worked to eat up as well. The tacos were glorious, but Iolanthe had to pause briefly to imbibe some of her beverage. After all, she may have been a badass, but she was still human after all.

Helvos meanwhile had taken a few moments every now and then to fill his tankard with the craft lager he had acquired, not due to any need to take a break, but because he found it helped the flavour of the tacos. Finally, with one last bit, he had managed to consume his entire order, “Whoa, that was somethin’ else, huh? No wonder you recommended it to me,” he said as he leaned back in his chair.

Iolanthe sat back and breathed a sigh of joy. “Indeed it was. Indeed it was. And, it’s why I do lament the others were not able to join us. If they could experience this…they’d know why I hold it in such regard.”

“Hey, next time maybe we’ll see if we can take ‘em here,” Helvos said, breathing out in contentment, “Or maybe I’ll show you some of my favourite places back home.”

“I would be honored, my good man. I would be honored.” Iolanthe leaned back, nursing the meal as it began to undergo the process of digestion. It was obvious she was feeling what some Dornalians would call “The ‘Itis”--that condition where one feels somewhat drowsy after consuming plenty of food. She didn’t say much more, but then again, there wasn’t much need for words.

All the while, Emilio looked at the scene, and smiled to himself with a very distinct joy, and pride of ownership that it was his tacos that made for two satisfied customers.