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Spring is the time of rebirth. In this time, we remember the rebirth of our sister, Maerin Suncloud D’Avros. May she live in peace in her new life and remember us when we too join her.
It had been years since he first heard those words as his mother’s body burned in the funeral pyre. The last few days, he had been recalling the one who gave him life, and all he could do was wonder how different life would have been if she were still around. Instead, she succumbed to an illness that was invading the land and she died, leaving Cristianno behind. She was the only true family he had. Marcus and Emii were his adoptive family, but Maerin was the blood that ran between them.
He walked through the streets of Silvermoon, his face somber and serious, that even his friend Gunner noticed he wasn’t his normal self when a woman asked him to show her what he could do. Gunner snickered, but Cris simply took his flute and played. A normal Cris would have said something sexual in nature.
Then the oddest urge overcame him: leave. Leave Silvermoon, Ghostlands, the land….Niela. Leave it all behind and just go back to the sea and back to his mother. That was the solution. He realized it when he spoke to a woman on a bench in the Royal Exchange.
She’ll forgive me… he thought. The picnic he had planned for her, the gift he was ready to give her, the time spent with her would have to wait. For that moment, his mother came first.
“Excuse me. It was a pleasure meeting you,” he politely told the woman and walked away from the bench, his mind decided and ready to just leave. He had extra clothes on the ship. The crew wouldn’t mind. It was decided.
As he walked toward the Silvermoon gates, he heard footsteps behind him. Instinctively, he drew his dagger and turned around. He noticed a young elf with widened eyes and a letter in his hand.
“C-captain?”
“Who wants to know?”
“I have a l-letter. I was t-told to look for an elf that had a wolf tattoo on his wrist. I’ve been asking everyone.”
Cris kept his eyes on the boy and lifted his right sleeve, revealing the exact tattoo the boy described. The boy sighed and extended his small arm. Cris took the letter and paid the boy a few gold, which the boy gladly took and ran away.
Upon opening the letter, Cris simply leaned against the nearest wall, his body language giving away the shock that his eyes had read in the darkened ink. His hand shook as he tried to finish the letter. His eyes read the same words over and over as he tried to comprehend what he was reading, but it seemed too surreal to him. His face paled over and his sea-green eyes looked so lost. He swayed from side to side, as if he had finished twenty casks of bourbon, but instead, he was simply dazed by the news. His legs picked up speed and soon, he found himself running. He stopped by a mailbox and sent Niela a quick and messy letter.
He’s dead. I have to go back to Booty Bay.
That was it. He knew he would have to explain when he returned, but for now, that would do. He found Davy, his devilsaur, scratching against a tree, and he mounted up quickly, rushing to Ghostlands as quickly as possible.
He rode up onto the ship and ran down to the hammocks. “Get up! We’re leaving!” Without explaining, he barged into his cabin and yelled, “GET UP!”
Ziggly jumped out of bed and grabbed his daggers. “What the fuck!”
“Booty Bay, now!”
“What happened?”
Cris rubbed his eyes and ran his hand through his auburn hair. “He’s…dead.” Ziggly lowered his weapons and stared at him. Cris threw the letter at the goblin and struck his desk with his fist. “What the fuck is taking so long? Let’s go!”
Ziggly watched Cris storm out of the cabin and read the letter in his hands. He then understood. The goblin sighed and shook his head, throwing the letter onto the desk and walking out to the deck. Cris was right. They had to go now.
Wolf,
The Captain is dead. We’re having a brief ceremony before sending him off to be buried at sea. He spoke highly of you and your presence would be appreciated. I may not have been his wife, but as his long-time mistress, I know how much you meant to him. We will see you in Booty Bay tomorrow.
Daleana
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