The empress was not a personable zebra.

Certainly, she had bestowed a great deal of praise upon the trio, and a begrudging thanks to Daring who had been a hair's breadth from being named a national enemy. However, between the work needed to bring the city back on its hooves and the investigation into the current state of the jackals, Nerfeti had found ample opportunity to avoid conversation with them.

And in all honesty, Karon didn't object. The rooms that had been made available for their use were luxurious, and there was always a servant nearby ready to fetch whatever was desired. That was what he had been told anyway, and Karon had found great pleasure in testing the boundaries of what the servants could bring to him. Things like alcohol, local crystals and herbs, zebra writings and … consorts, had been brought to him with impressive speed.

While things like the pink moss of fun turned out to be more difficult to acquire, there was little Karon could think of that great Mjimkuu didn't offer apparently. The only exception had been meat, which the servant had fainted after being ordered to procure. Karon had tried to laugh it off and tell the poor thing it had been a joke, and the servant had nervously bought it. After all, the strange creature calling itself a human had proven to be quick to laugh and even quicker to play jokes on the zebras around him.

His attitude had started to wear on their gratefulness towards him though, and it was most apparent in the somewhat chilly response he had started to receive. It might also have to do with the fact that most of the credit for saving great Mjimkuu was not granted to Karon, but rather it was given to the zebra warriors that had fought the jackals, and the three ponies that had helped bring them together.

The fact that Karon had gone to great lengths to break the jackals' morale, and that without him the attack would have most likely ended in a bloodbath in the jackals' favor, was either overlooked or not even known to most of Mjimkuu. His part as a central player in the incident was remembered only by the jackals, who would forever refer to him as “the blood monster”. A name that, thanks to the jackals' limited imagination, was mostly founded on the fact that he had worn red clothes.

Eight days had passed since the jackals were beaten back, and in those eight days, Karon had – besides testing the limits of the servants' patience – done some thorough soul searching. Most of it had been with the assistance of alcohol, the lovely zebra consorts and the pink moss of fun, but there had been long nights after those activities where he had reflected on what had happened to him during the last few months.

During those eight days, busy with self discovery and hedonistic exploration, Karon had usually only seen Lyra at breakfast, after which she spent most of her day out in the city seeing what great Mjimkuu could offer. Trixie was the opposite, and he usually only saw her in the evening before he went out, during which time they continued to have their usual lessons.

Though the lessons were as usual, the atmosphere between him and Trixie was not. He couldn't put his finger on what had changed, but there was a slight shift in the way she talked, moved, looked at him and everything else for that matter. The mystery would have aggravated him had he been less busy enjoying whatever pleasures the grand capital could provide, so instead it remained something he had kept in the back of his mind.

And it was on such a night, after he had watched Trixie close his door behind her after another lesson, that he sprawled himself in the pile of pillows the zebras used as beds and tried to summarize the last day's results of introspection in words.

It didn't work.

For every sentence he tried to form, every word sought, something was left out. Curiously enough, it didn't upset him in any way, and if anything, it made him calm. The fact that he couldn't capture what was going on within himself was probably a good sign. It meant that the absolute certainty that things couldn't get better and that he was doomed to misery was perhaps not altogether right. He was a mystery even to himself, and that left enough room for a tiny sliver of hope.

He smiled up at the ceiling and then rose; it was high time to get going. Amusing as it had been to enjoy the decadence of Mjimkuu, it was only a brief moment of much needed rest. The road was calling and so was....

Destiny?

Whatever the answer may be, the result was the same. However, there was something he needed to do first before informing the ponies that they should pack their things. He needed to talk to Lyra. She had been very patient with him after all, accepting his irrational behavior before the attack and holding her tongue after, waiting for when he felt he was ready to talk. She had earned her place beside him – in more ways than he could ever have asked of her – and he needed to let her know that.

He walked through the dark corridors silently, sticking to the shadows out of pure habit. Lyra's room wasn't far away, and when he reached the ornamented door he knocked on it gently and waited. The unicorn opened it looking a bit sleepy.

“Karon? Oh, uhm … what do you want?” she asked and rubbed her eyes.

“To talk, if that's okay with you?” he asked and leaned against the frame.

Lyra blinked a few times then held open the door for him to enter, “Yeah, sure, come in.”

He stepped inside and looked around briefly. He had been inside her room before and noted that it was of a higher grade of luxury than his own. It might have made some think it showed the gratitude the empress felt towards those who had helped save her city, however in truth such luxury was the standard within the palace, and enjoyed even by most of the guests.

He walked over to one of the windows and looked out at the city draped in moonlight, turning the gold and red into midnight blue and gray, broken only by the light shining out through hundreds of windows. Where many cities would have fallen asleep at the late hour, great Mjimkuu was only now truly waking up.

“What did you want to talk about?” Lyra asked and walked over to one of the tables, taking one of the cups of water upon it.

“My favorite subject of course. Me.”

Karon didn't see Lyra roll her eyes, but he could well enough imagine it.

“I should have guessed. Anything special about yourself you want to talk about?” he heard her ask in an exasperated voice.

“My tendency to make a lot of mistakes would be a good start I think,” he answered with a slight smile.

“If you want to talk about that, we won't get any sleep tonight.”

The slight smile turned into a grin and he turned around to face her.

“Well how about we talk about you instead of me then?” he asked and quirked an eyebrow.

“Me?” Lyra asked and sputtered.

“What? Don't act so surprised that I care about you.”

“Well yeah, it's just that … we've never talked about me before,” she said and coughed gently.

“I know, but I'm asking now,” Karon responded and walked over to her, taking the cup from her and placing it back on the table.

She looked up at him with mixed emotions warring on her face, eventually her eyes narrowed as suspicion won.

“Are you trying to distract me from something?”

“No.”

“Are you trying to trick me into giving away some piece of information you'll use for some hidden agenda?”

“No.”

“Then what are you planning!?” she half shouted in frustration.

“Mostly I just want to know how you're doing … after everything that's happened I mean,” he answered and held out his palms placatingly.

She grumbled something to herself and walked over to the pile of pillows that was her bed, which she laid down upon with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“I'm good, I guess....” she said and left the words hanging in the air.

“I get the feeling there is more to it than that,” Karon noted and crossed his arms.

“Well I don't know, okay!” she responded irritated. “How am I supposed to know what's fine and what's not when I can barely understand half of what's going on?! I would never have been able to imagine anything like what we've been through happening to me back in Ponyville, so how am I supposed to know what I should be feeling!?”

“I've got no answer for that,” Karon shrugged and walked over to the unicorn before dumping himself down beside her.

“Figures when it comes to my own feelings you don't have anything to say,” she sighed.

“Well, if you're looking at it like you're supposed to feel something because that's what you're supposed to feel, I think you're looking at it the wrong way,” he said sagely, thinking back on Big Mac.

“Well what else am I to do? It's not like I understand how ponies like Daring are supposed to act and think and feel and whatever else.”

“You think you're like Daring?” Karon asked, more than a little surprised.

“I don't know … maybe. I don't mean her personally just … ponies like her, adventure ponies, great ponies. Like her, and the elements of harmony and everypony else you hear about in stories and ponytales. Because that's what we're doing right? The kind of things you hear about in stories?” she asked in a distant tone, her gaze roaming across the ceiling.

“I guess so, though I don't know who'll ever tell our stories,” Karon answered honestly.

“I'm certain somepony will, or a zebra, or something else. I don't know how much of it will be true though when they tell it,” Lyra said thoughtfully.

“Does it really matter? They might be the ones who tell the story, but these are our lives to live.”

“You're right. Still, it doesn't make it any less confusing. It would be nice to have somepony telling me our story so I know if it's a happy or sad one.”

“I can do that for you,” he responded confidently and cleared his throat before starting to speak in a deep and dramatic voice.

“Uhrm … This story is one of romance, of love and hate intermingled and desire walking hand in hoof with doubt. It is a story of tragedy, of flaws and weaknesses both in body and spirit, mind and heart, that leads to dark depths and from there rises. This tale is a dark tale, where the light doesn’t just cast a dark shadow, but instead is the canvas upon which small stars burn. This story is one of laughter, of foolish mistakes and clever trickery meant only to inspire a smile because it is a worthy cause. This tale, our tale, is one of adventure, of discovery both within and without, and the danger that dwells in both. Our tale, this story that is just a small glimpse of our lives Lyra, is all these things. But above all … it is an awesome tale.”

She turned her head and smiled at him.

“That doesn't sound so bad,” she said.

“No … it doesn't,” he agreed and looked her in the eyes.

“Karon....”

“Yes Lyra?”

“If you try and kiss me now or anything, I will slap you.”

He chuckled and sat up, leaning back on his elbows.

“I'll try and control myself then.”

“Just checking,” she said and chucked with him.

They both enjoyed the ensuing silence. Not for what it was alone, but rather because it was born out of a moment where they were both content and didn't need to say anything further. However, after a few minutes Karon broke it anyway.

“Ever since that time Trixie and I were forced to walk the plank, after I nearly died from drowning, I have tried to kill myself Lyra,” he admitted.

She meet his gaze steadily and answered quietly.

“I know.”

“You did? You never said anything,” he said with furrowed eyebrows.

“It wouldn't have helped. It would have just made you afraid that I would find a way to stop you, and you would have rushed into it without thinking. I could see it in your eyes, they were growing colder every day no matter how many times you smiled. You can't fool me Karon, I KNOW you. I might not know everything about where you have been and what you think and feel, but I know enough.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am, but I can't help you if you don't let me. If you keep acting like a stranger to me instead of a friend, I can't help you. I won't hurt you, I promise.”

“I'm not afraid of you hurting me Lyra, I just don't know what I'll do to myself if I would let anyone see me without hiding anything … It's risky.”

“You will never know if you don't try it,” she noted wisely, pointing at him with a light accusation in her voice.

“I know … but never is a long time, and I know it's not time for it yet.”

Lyra looked like she had bitten down on a sour fruit, and she turned her face away from him. For a moment anger, pain and fear flickered across her face one after the other, and settled on worry before she turned back to face him. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, then held her silence, hesitating. Karon got the sense that if she'd had hands she would have balled them into fists out of helplessness, and the anger that followed. And when she finally spoke, there was a bitter undertone of surrender, but only temporary, because it was founded on compassion.

“Okay Karon, but will you at least promise that you will try and be a little more open with me, just a little bit. I would like to think that after what we've been through together there is a little part of you that I can call my own.”

“'Your own'?” Karon asked with a hint of laughter.

“Yeah, like 'that part is just for you, because you're my friend and I can share that part with you'.”

Karon laughed at the suggestion, however when the laughter receded the words didn't drift from his mind.

“Something I would share with just her huh?”

“Come on, be nice. Think of something.”

“Uhh, well … If I think of something I'll let you know,” he told her and got up.

“Coward.”

She looked up at him with disappointment written over her face, and when Karon turned around his own features softened.

“Lyra, thank you for everything you've done. I'm glad you're with me.”

She gave him a half smile of self satisfaction and tilted her head, recognizing the acknowledgment for what it was. He bade her good night after that and left her room behind for his own bed. He was far from tired, but if it was truly time to leave Mjimkuu, he should make an attempt at getting some sleep. The walk to wherever they would head to next would probably be long no matter where it lay.

After he took off his clothes and laid down on the mass of pillows, he felt strangely heavy, and despite the fact that he shouldn't be as tired as he was, fatigue overtook him. His eyelids closed all on their own, and it was as if he could feel the weariness of the coming days reach out to him, a small taste of what was to come.

But it didn't matter. Let the dark days come. He was ready for them now, and whatever waited ahead, he would face it with Trixie and Lyra at his side.

He fell asleep with a smile.

                               *******************************************************

He faced the black door with a clenched jaw, he knew what was happening. He could feel it, the erosion of his strength. He tried to will it firm, to force it to remain unbroken with the pure power of his mind. It didn't work, he couldn't fight against himself. And it was by the will of something inside him that the black chains twisted and coiled like serpents.

He tried to stop it, but the screams only grew louder, the smoke thickened and the roaring of a distant fire grew. The chains shook with raw power as they tried to escape the magic he had once wrought on himself. Until one of them sprung free, and fell clattering to the floor. The remaining chains calmed after that, but he knew it would not be for long.

And the screams grew ever louder, until a single shrieking voice roared out from them.

“YOUR FAULT!”

                                 ***********************************************************

Karon twitched awake violently, throwing his cover off and shaking with heaving breaths. Cold perspiration clung to his skin, making the air feel chilled and unwelcoming. He waited for the beating of his heart to slow its frantic pace, and rested his face in his hands.

He swallowed hard. It was coming undone. It would open soon and devour him, kill him from the inside.

He fell back on the pillows and wiped away the tears that had gathered around his eyes. On his hand a muted orange glow could be seen in the deep dark of night. The sight made him snort.

“Glowing eyes, what a stupid thing.”

“Well at least it looks cool.”

“How would you know? We've hardly seen it.”

“It's glowing eyes, of course it's cool.”

“I guess that's something at least.”

“Enough of this,” he half-growled and rose from the bed, putting his clothes on with angry movements. He grabbed his spear on the way out, itching for a chance to use it. Perhaps not to kill, but at least beat someone up and channel some of the excess emotional energy tearing at his heartstrings.

He had no such luck, and the zebras down in the city avoided making trouble with the human. He had garnered a bit of reputation down in some parts of the city, and so he was welcomed in certain establishments and found other ways to spend that energy until the point of exhaustion.

Even so, he didn't sleep anymore that night.

When dawn arrived, its deep orange was reflected in two bleary eyes of the same color, and a slight sardonic smile graced Karon's lips. The zebras knew how to have a good time, he would give them that, and it had been a nice distraction for the night. However, it was time to get moving, and even though the lack of sleep would make the traveling hellish, he only felt more convinced than before in the decision to leave.

On the way back to his room, he stopped at both Trixie's and Lyra's rooms and gave them the news, that it was time to leave. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so surprised, but both the ponies seemed relieved when he told them, like they had just been waiting for him to give them the sign to pack up.

The trio had no idea where Daring was. The pegasus had stopped by from time to time and spent a while in their company before disappearing just as mysteriously, maybe preparing for or already on another of her grand adventures.

Karon had discovered after the tumult of the invasion had settled down, that his bag of bits had decreased in size drastically during his rather brief stay in prison. And after he had made his irritation clear to the empress about this, she had more or less showered him in golden trinkets and jewels. And although there were many mysterious and things unknown about the world of Equus to him still, he wasn't fool enough to think that jewels had quite the same value here as they did back on Earth. And so, he carefully picked among the finest crafted trinkets of gold, silver and some more unknown metals, yet their aura showed plainly that they were of the 'noble' kind.

But that was just payment, what he planned to use for selling and gaining money to use their travels. The real treasure he would take with him from great Mjimkuu wasn't anything of gold or careful crafting. The real treasure was one he would receive after he heard a knocking on his door, while he was going through the trinkets he had stuffed in his rucksack.

He shoved the glittering pieces back into it and walked over to the door, opening it with a slight creak, and hiding his surprise when he saw the zebra shaman that had helped him during the invasion standing outside.

“Hello?” he asked uncertainly when she didn't say anything.

“In deep sleep dreaming I was, when a spirit visit me does. A pony of white and gold says a message I must bring,'to be prepared to the past, no longer cling. That you must promise your loyal servant not to hold trapped within, that which you must share or your fear will win. It is okay to be afraid and take what time you need, but time is running out and right now your soul does bleed. And when the hope in the eyes has dried, your time has come, to be free or die inside'.”

Karon stared hard at the shaman, hiding his shaking hands behind his back. He swallowed hard and spoke in a voice held carefully neutral.

“Was that ... all?”

“No, she bade me give you this as well, to your unease, help you quell,” the shaman replied and presented to him her hoof, upon which a single white feather lay.

He took the feather tentatively, and felt a slight pulse echo from it. Spreading a calm through his nerves and easing his breath. He held it carefully and gave the shaman a grateful nod. She turned around to leave but hesitated, then tilted her head with a distant look in her eyes before speaking, the voice lighter than it had been before.

“And please remember to wash your clothes master. They're absolutely filthy and I'm not here to do it anymore.”

A shiver ran up Karon's spine and he felt a slight breeze touch his face, a cold distant presence that had reached out across the veils to him. The shaman shook her head and looked up towards the ceiling with an annoyed glance, then gave Karon a 'you know how it is' look and left him standing in the doorway.

He closed the door behind him and walked over to pile of pillows, stroking the feather in his hand with his thumb. It was smooth and very real, no simple illusion or ghostly image. Yet it didn't come from anything physical. It wasn't just a feather. It came from her spirit. She had given him a tiny piece of herself.

Karon rummaged through the trinkets he had shoved into the rucksack until he found a golden chain, he snapped a bit of the leather rope off the rucksack and tied the feather to the chain, before putting it around his neck.

Satisfied, he packed the rest of his things and took his spear and map and walked out of the room. He would need to say good bye to the empress. She wouldn't appreciate it if her 'heroes' sneaked out of her city without informing her that they were leaving. On the way to her favorite room, where he was most likely to find her, he stopped by at Trixie's and Lyra's rooms and told them to meet him there when they were ready to leave.

Neither of them needed any more time, and joined up with him as he went. Both the unicorns carried saddlebags that looked to be half full, perhaps loaded with similar trinkets like the ones Karon carried, or other treasure they had picked up in their stay at the capital.

They found the empress in her favorite room, which was incidentally the same one where Vako had been holding her and Zuka hostage. Most rulers would have avoided the place where they had been brought low by a competitor, however Karon suspected that the empress found some twisted glee in being in the same room Vako had plunged to his death from.

She was lounging on a pillow twice her size, two servants flanking her and four warriors guarding the entrance. They let the trio through without question, and the zebra didn't show any reaction to the surprise visit.

“Ah, my saviors. Did you wish to ask something more of me? Gold? Knowledge? Perhaps a few of our very skilled consorts?” she asked the last one with a brief flash of smile towards Karon.

“No, just wanted to let you know we feel it's time to move on,” the human replied evenly.

“Oh? Grown tired of our hospitality already?”

“I grew tired of it after the first minute in your jail. But it has been improved on since then, a little I admit. Even so, it's time to move on,” he said, keeping a diplomatic tone as best he could.

The empress' eyes glinted with vague amusement for a moment, then she waved her hoof dismissively.

“Very well, ask of us whatever provisions you need for your journey, and know that you will always be honored guests in our empire for as long as I rule.”

“We don't need much. Trixie, could you get some food for the trip and meet us at the outer gates? Something that will last us at least to the coast,” he asked the unicorn.

She nodded, and one of the two servants quickly joined the unicorn on her way out when the empress motioned for him to do so.

“Was there anything else you needed?” the empress asked.

“No, I just wanted to thank you for allowing us to stay here and the generous rewards,” Karon said.

Lyra stared at him like he had just grown two heads, and the empress couldn't hide her surprise quick enough for it to go unnoticed. More than surprised, she also looked a bit disappointed before adopting her usual expression.

“It was the least I could do for our saviors. Now if that was the last thing you wanted to say, I would ask you to leave me. I will have dinner with another merchant family soon and I need to be rested for it,” she said in a bored tone.

“Of course empress,” Karon said and bowed respectfully before exiting the room.

Lyra followed him, stumbling over herself with a shocked look and her mouth half open. When they were almost down the corridor and away from the room Karon stopped and looked down on her with a grin.

“What?”

“I … I just … you were NICE when you talked to hear. Polite even … Is something wrong?” she stuttered.

“Nothing's wrong,” Karon answered with eyes far too innocent looking for Lyra to be assured, and she didn't try to hide it.

“What? Can't I be polite to the ruler of an entire empire without others looking at me like it's something suspicious?” he asked in mock offense.

Lyra snorted, but accepted the explanation and walked down the hall with Karon following behind, not hiding his grin.

“Well, it's not like you were very respectful towards Princess Celestia OR Princess Luna ... or anypony else. Actually, I thought you said you actually smacked both of them on … the … Karon?” she turned around and didn't see anyone in the hall besides herself.

She swallowed hard as her suspicion grew, and she couldn't help but wince when she heard a loud sound, like something slapping somepony hard, drift down the hallway from the empress' room. The sound was followed by a large commotion and indignant shouting, accompanied by roaring laughter coming from an invisible source.

Lyra didn't stay to see what happened. She turned and ran towards the exit and the waiting city gate. She and Trixie would do well to hurry away before the empress decided her warriors should hunt more than just jackals. And all the way down the streets, she could hear laughter rising and ebbing, sometimes from the invisible Karon, sometimes from herself.

                 ***********************************************************************

The trio would leave the great Majani empire the same way they arrived, through the harbor town of Mosimji.

Karon stood on the wooden dock stretching out towards the sea, fishing boats lined it, and out in the deep water sat several larger vessels. They had spoken with the zebras around the docks and gotten to know the captain of one of the ships. A female gryphon who had eyed Karon with a lot of mistrust. After a short conversation he had concluded it would probably be best if they found another captain to take them away, less chance of him being killed in his sleep that way.

“What are you looking at?” Lyra asked and followed his gaze out the sea.

“I have a feeling we're supposed to stand here and wait for something?” he responded.

“Any idea what?” she asked and looked around.

“No, but I get the sense it's-”

“LYRA! What are you doing back here!? And Karon as well! You still even have the annoying unicorn forcing my stallions into slave labor with you!”

Mouth twitching at the description, Karon turned around and saw the familiar face of the captain of the 'Sea Swallow' walking towards them. Lyra ran to meet him while Karon and Trixie followed behind at an easy pace. The captain was wearing a large grin as he listened to Lyra's happy chattering.

“Well, now I know what we were waiting for at least,” Karon muttered and put on a smile.

“So you have been making trouble with the zebras?” the captain asked and looked up at Karon.

“You could call it that,” he told the captain and shrugged.

“Well, if you're done with whatever you wanted to do here, we would be more than happy to have you on board again,” the stallion carefully suggested.

Karon resisted the urge to roll his eyes and nodded.

“We are looking for a ship to take us back to the main continent. Are you heading there?” Lyra asked the old sailor.

“Sure we are, got a shipment for the minotaurs in Toro. The harpies are harassing ships on the southern route down the continent, so we'll be taking the northern detour around the continent then back down the other side of it. We'll be stopping at Las Pegasus on the way there if you want back into Equestria,” he finished.

Karon didn't respond, as he was busy investigating a feeling demanding his attention. He was being drawn, something or someone was calling to him. It came from a great distance, and he couldn't make out any details other than that he should go with the captain.

“I'm not sure where we're heading, but we'll go with you until I know,” he finally said.

“We'll then, let's get out there. The stallions are still out in town, but they'll be back on board before sunset, and then we'll haul anchor and move on,” the captain announced.

They took a small boat out to the ship, we're they meet some of the sailors, who were happy to have Lyra and Karon back. Though when they spotted Trixie, most of them found something to busy themselves with elsewhere.

They were given the same place to sleep as before, and after eating on top of the deck while watching the setting sun, the rest of the sailors returned from the town and they set sail.

The journey across the ocean was long, and weeks passed by where nothing but endless waters stretched in all directions. They ate, spoke and gambled with the crew to pass the time. And some nights, the sailors told stories of distant lands and stories they had heard about. Trixie mixed in well with the company thanks to her new found personality, and she looked a lot happier most of the time from it.

Eventually they reached the main continent, upon which rested the kingdom of Equestria, as well as the gryphon tribal lands, the minotaur nation of Toro, the otter kingdom and a lot of wild lands unclaimed by any governing body. They would be going around the northern edge of the continent, passing by the pine forests and tundra inhabited by the nomadic moose folk, renowned for their mastery of language, embodiment of masculinity, and breeding healthy and strong offspring like rabbits. Heading south and west after that they would reach Equestria's northern border with Las Pegasus at the tip, surrounded by desert and badlands.

And the place where Karon's infamy would move from rumors to legends.

It was before arriving in that city's harbor that Karon stood on deck with Trixie, watching as they got closer. The sense of something calling was still nagging at the back of his skull, however after the city came into view, he had realized it did not come from there.

“I've been to Las Pegasus before, doing a show. I hope they don't remember me there,” Trixie said and moved uneasily.

“You didn't mention anything about that before. Did something bad happen?” he asked.

“Well … maybe. But without my old clothes and wagon, I don't think anypony will notice me … I hope.”

“Hey cheer up. We could have died back around those cliffs when we were passing the moose's by.”

“I'm not sure this will be much better if they remember me,” Trixie said in a half whisper.

“Yeah, you're right. If we'd have crashed back there, we could at least have survived on eating pine cones,” Karon joked.

“Hey, I'm off the pine cones! I swore I would never touch the stuff again!” Trixie exclaimed defensively, and Karon looked at her with a weird face.

“Yeah ... okay, I'm going to get ready to get off. If you're gonna bring something, you should get it. Lyra mentioned she wanted to stay at least one night in the city, and since the ship is docking for three days, that's the minimum,” Karon finished and walked away.

Trixie watched him go uncertainly, then turned her gaze back towards the fast approaching city. She knew deep in her heart things wouldn't turn out well during their stay. Even so, when the rowboat was loaded and they went to shore, she didn't try to stay, and she went with them without saying anything.

She would come to regret that.

Next Chapter: Chapter 41: Old ghosts Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 13 Minutes