Another Hero's Journey...to Krawk Island

     The hamlet of Seaside faced the sea to the east, abuzz with fisherfolk peddling their wares or jostling for spots on the pier, sailors docking their ships loaded with imports from various corners of Neopia, and vendors calling out recommendations and restaurants for passersby who bothered to notice. A salty tang wafted over the entire settlement from the day’s catch – and since the day had just begun, there was much more to come.

     The salty air and the hustle and bustle went unnoticed, however, in a small jewellery shop close to Seaside’s forested outskirts. Inside, two white Blumaroos and a male royal Draik were huddled at the counter, poring over various gold rings in a velvet-lined chest.

     “Hmm.” The taller Blumaroo picked up one ring and held it up into a ray of sunlight streaming in from the window to his left. “Is there something etched into this ring, Eurig?”

     The Draik clapped his hands excitedly. “Oh, you have a good eye for detail, Master Reuben! That is an ancient Lost Desert inscription, stating, ‘for better or worse, for richer or poorer’.” Then he looked at the other Blumaroo. “Surely Sir Rohane might have encountered these runes on his travels…”

     “Encountered, sure, but I can’t make heads or tails of them.”

     “Too busy saving the world for a crash course on ancient Lost Desert script?” said Reuben, nudging Rohane with his elbow. He replaced the ring in its proper niche in the chest.

     “Well, we had to stop those sandstorms as soon as possible.” Rohane pointed to another ring and added, “What about this one? It looks a bit like a curled feather.”

     Reuben frowned as he picked it up. “It does, but…I don’t know, it doesn’t feel right for Andrea.”

     “You said she is a writer, yes?” Eurig asked, clasping his claws together. “Can you tell me more about her? Perhaps then I can help you find the perfect gift for your dearest friend.”

     “Andrea…” Reuben stroked his chin. “She is…what can I say? She was there for me, no matter what happened. Though she can be serious and thoughtful, when she smiles, she has the sincerest smile. She’s a huge help with my weapon forge and shop, never misses the little details especially when we budget, and she can be really scary when she uses her magic.”

     Rohane grinned and nudged Reuben right back, but Eurig’s eyes lit up and he turned away to one of his display cases. “Wait, I think I have something here that will interest you.” After unlocking the glass door, he took out a small, maroon box, and laid it in front of Reuben.

     “Take a look at this.”

     Reuben did as he was told and picked up the box, flipping it open gently. Inside was a gold ring with curlicues into which a brilliant sapphire was elegantly set. He gasped reverently.

     “It’s nice, but it looks like it costs a fortune and a half,” Rohane remarked drily.

     “You think I don’t know that?” Reuben answered. Sighing, he turned to Eurig. “It’s beautiful, but…”

     “Not to worry, sir, not to worry!” the Draik said, clapping his hands. “Seaside, much like the rest of Meridell, is indebted to Sir Rohane! I’m willing to give you a discount for your brother’s heroic deeds!” Eurig whipped out a notepad from inside his tunic and grabbed the nearest quill pen. After some furious scribbling, he showed the paper to Reuben, who could only gape in shock.

     “You’re discounting that much?”

     “I would be out of business entirely if Ramtor hadn’t been overthrown.”

     Rohane turned slowly to Reuben and whispered, raising an eyebrow, “Did you bring me along on your Seaside trip so you can get discounts?”

     The other white Blumaroo didn’t answer, but merely began laying out several bags of Neopoints on the counter, divided into thousands, hundreds, and tens. Meanwhile, Eurig wrote out some more details on his notepad before looking up and asking hopefully, “By the way, if it’s not too much to ask, may I have your autograph on my copy of the receipt, Sir Rohane?”

     * * *

     “Of course, I didn’t bring you just for the discounts, little bro,” Reuben pointed out, slipping the ring in its box into an inner pocket of his vest. “I wanted you to share this getaway with me and Andrea, and even she said you needed the time off.”

     Rohane didn’t look convinced. He frowned at Reuben. “Are you sure?”

     The older white Blumaroo gritted his teeth and sighed, bending down and letting his arms – and ears – hang limp. “Fine, fine, I also brought you along because…if it were just Andrea and me, I probably wouldn’t be able to keep her present a secret.”

     “Then give it to her already,” said Rohane as he and his brother walked back into the heart of Seaside.

     “No!” Reuben exclaimed, throwing up his hands. Several Neopians turned to look at them, and immediately began whispering and talking excitedly, a few even pointing at Rohane. Gritting his teeth, the knight grabbed the weapon smith by the wrist and strode down the street as briskly as they could. When they got to their inn, Reuben pulled Rohane into a corner of the reception area, behind a potted plant that did little to obscure them.

     “I can’t. It’s not yet the right time.”

     “So, when’s the right time?”

     “I don’t know!”

     “You don’t know what?”

     The white Blumaroos jumped and whipped around to see a red Kyrii staring at them, arms folded across her chest. She had a turquoise drop clipped to one of her ears, and she was dressed for comfort in a long, belted tunic over a cream-coloured blouse and dark leggings. A small purse was slung over her shoulder.

     “Andrea!” Reuben cried, chuckling nervously, one hand on his vest pocket. “I thought you wouldn’t be up till later! Since you said you were working on a new story…” He hurriedly stepped out from behind the plant, tripping all over his own feet and nearly running into one of the chairs near the reception desk.

     “Did you find a souvenir for your mom?” Andrea fished a note out from her purse, which had been written in Reuben’s untidy scrawl.

     Reuben opened his mouth, but Rohane already had a quick answer. “Not yet. We might go over the shops again. It’s hard finding something Mother would like, since she’s really practical.”

     After shooting Rohane a grateful glance, the older Blumaroo nodded vigorously. “I think it’s much better if we all go together.” He smiled widely – a bit too widely, as Andrea squinted at him.

     “Is…everything okay?”

     “Absolutely!” Reuben said abruptly before stepping around the Kyrii to head for the stairs. “I’ll just…go and grab my things. My, er, other things. Before we go. Then we can go.” He sprinted upstairs, leaving Andrea to look at Rohane, who merely shrugged.

     “Reuben’s acting weird.”

     “Weirder than usual?”

     “I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen him hide behind a plant before.”

     “I have. We did play a lot of hide-and-seek when we were little…”

     Andrea toyed with her earring and sank into the side of the couch that wasn’t occupied by a snoring Elephante. “Was that before or after you two learned to get along?”

     “After, but I used to hide from Reuben when he was angry at me.”

     She laughed softly. “And look at you now. You’re the hero of the family.” Pausing, she tucked a lock of her mane behind one ear. “But of course, Reuben is also a hero, protecting Trestin while you were gone and everything.”

     Rohane smiled. “Yes, he is. He also took care of Mother while I was travelling…and took care of you and your family whenever you were around.”

     “I like to think I know him well by now, but it feels like there’s still more to find out about him.”

     Several thumping steps down the stairs later, Reuben was back, having donned a brown hooded cloak over his vest, shirt, trousers, and boots. The cloak did little to obscure the belt that held several daggers, but was enough to cover Reuben’s sleeves, under which he kept more knives. Hanging from his neck was a turquoise drop that matched the one on Andrea’s ear.

     “We can go now!” he announced so loudly that the snoozing Elephante came awake, blinking.

     * * *

     “Oh, look at these!” Andrea gushed, pointing to a set of hollow wooden chimes on display at an Usul’s shop full of many trinkets and knickknacks. “You could get a set for Miss Melissa.”

     “And hang it up at our front door, I bet,” Reuben said. “It’s also a really simple design, just the way Mother likes it.” He grinned at her with approval. “You have good taste, Andrea.”

     The Kyrii blushed. “Well, I just know Miss Melissa a lot better now…” She glanced over her shoulder and gasped, clapping a hand to her cheek. “Ah! Where’s Rohane? Did we leave him behind again?”

     “I told him to go ahead and find us a place for lunch,” the white Blumaroo replied, chuckling. “Don’t worry about him. He knows Seaside better than either of us.”

     “It’s not that. I hope he doesn’t…feel left out.”

     “What do you mean?”

     Reuben blinked as he and Andrea stepped into the shop. She immediately pointed out the chimes for the Usul shopkeeper.

     “I wanted to invite him, make it our trip instead of just yours and mine,” said Andrea softly as the Usul took the chimes and moved toward the cash register, a contraption straight out of Moltara with its various gears and levers. “But sometimes you and I wind up going off together, looking for things we like, and forgetting about him…” She fingered some strands of her mane worriedly.

     “Trust me. Rohane never feels that way,” said the Blumaroo as he counted out Neopoints onto the counter for the chimes.

     At first, Andrea seemed unsure. But by the time the Usul gave her the paper bag with the wind chimes jingling softly, she let out a breath.

     “Good,” she answered before dropping her voice to a whisper. “Anyway, what was up with you two? You were jumpier than a Zebie on a sugar rush!”

     Reuben froze briefly but continued walking as they left the shop. “Huh? Nothing. You know us, sometimes we get into fights over the slightest things. Where were we supposed to meet Rohane again?”

     “At the wood carver’s lane, but don’t try to change the subject!”

     “…Has anyone else ever told you that you have a scary glare?”

     “I’m going to give you more than a scary glare if you don’t tell me what’s going on!” Andrea shook the wind chimes in her hand.

     The white Blumaroo groaned. “Okay, okay, it’s something, but I can’t tell you what it is.”

     “Why not?” Her voice rose so sharply that a nearby Lupe stared at them while pushing along a crate of fish.

     “At least not yet!”

     “But why?”

     “Uh…um, look, is that Rohane over there?” Reuben asked abruptly, pointing to a hooded figure that resembled a Blumaroo from the ears to the tail standing beside a lantern at the corner of Wood Carver Lane.

     Andrea glanced toward that direction, squinting at the stranger as they drew closer. The navy-blue hood dropped, revealing a Blumaroo – albeit a mutant one, grinning toothily and waving.

     “Oh, sorry, sir,” she mumbled.

     “Thought you were someone else,” added Reuben, laughing nervously. He turned away, only to find the Blumaroo he was looking for. “There you are! Did you find a place for us to eat?”

     Rohane nodded. He was wearing a dark cloak like the mutant Blumaroo, but the outline of a sheathed sword could be seen at his side, and the clasp at his collarbone was gilded and shaped like a tiny blade. “Mipsy and I found this hole-in-the-wall eatery that has the best clam chowder either of us ever tasted, and I was hoping it was still around. It’s just outside the marketplace, right next to the Fishermen’s Guild.”

     “Great!” Reuben replied, his voice rising by an octave. “I’m starving. Let’s go.”

     “Me too,” said Andrea, although she shot Reuben a glance that told him their discussion was far from over. “Do they have anything else?”

     “Uh…you two go ahead. You said it’s near the Fishermen’s Guild, right?”

     “Reuben, what are you doing?” the red Kyrii asked, her blue eyes flashing. “Where are you going?”

     This time, Rohane agreed with her. “Yeah, you just said you were starving.”

     “I…um, I think I want to check something out here first. Some figurines caught my eye. I could put them on my shop counter when we get back…”

     “Then we can check it later,” Andrea offered, reaching out to take his hand. “Come on. Let’s eat first.” She gasped when he stepped away from her.

     “I’ll be quick.” Reuben reached out to squeeze her hand tightly. Then he whispered into her ear, “I just need to think for a while. About what I’m going to tell you, hopefully before we return to Trestin.” Then he looked at his younger brother. “See you later. Just order a bowl of chowder for me.”

     With furrowed brow and concerned eyes, Andrea watched him walk away, waving at her and Rohane. The two of them traded a clueless expression.

     “What did he tell you?”

     Andrea remained silent, and all she could do was shrug.

     “I’ll tell you over lunch. Let’s go.”

     * * *

     Wood Carver Lane did have many striking figurines and statuettes for sale, but Reuben barely spared any of them a glance as he walked farther down the street, his mind a blur and his hood pulled over his eyes.

     Maybe I should’ve given the ring to Andrea already, the white Blumaroo thought, stroking his chin. So I don’t have to keep this a secret. But this just isn’t the right place for it. To give her a gift, and to tell her what she really means to me. He threw up his hands. Ugh, I hate keeping secrets from her. Especially when she sees right through me…

     His train of thought was derailed when something – or rather, someone – crashed into him, sending him toppling into the nearest back alley, which smelled strongly of garbage and fish entrails. Reuben wrinkled his nose as he disentangled himself from the brown Grundo who had collided with him.

     “S-Sorry, sir, sorry,” the Grundo mumbled as he staggered to his feet, brushing dust off his already grimy shirt and tattered pants. “Still getting used to…y’know.” He pointed to a velvet eyepatch obscuring one of his eyes.

     “Oh, that’s fi – “ Reuben gagged and coughed when the Grundo suddenly pulled out a bottle of bluish purple liquid and splashed it against the Blumaroo’s face. Instinctively, Reuben pulled two daggers from his belt, but he could feel his energy draining away rapidly, his arms feeling more like wet noodles. And when he tried to stagger forward, he swayed and fell back onto the pavement at the feet of a pirate Kougra.

     Beside the Kougra, a shadow Kiko grinned. “So, it’s true. We’ve got celebrities in Seaside.” Meanwhile, the Grundo had gotten back onto his feet and was casually and quietly pushing some crates to block the entrance of the alley.

     “If you…want…my little brother’s autograph…just ask,” Reuben gasped, trying to raise his dagger, but the Kiko parried it easily with a notched cutlass. The ground was hard and dirty, but it was beginning to look as attractive as the fluffiest bedsheets and thickest blankets.

     “It’s not his autograph we want,” the Kougra said smoothly as Reuben slumped over, eyes shut, blades falling from his hands.

     To be continued…