Elmar looked on at the sea before them. He had seen it before, but never did he have to cross it. What was more, he had gotten a new mission from Theanore.

To find a Naga and his lover in the dungeon of illusions. What for, he did not know, but the letter had been written in the typical for Theanore carefree style. He preferred not to question it.

“Another ship laughed us out of the deck.” Said Diana with a frown. She was returning from the ship, the Prancing Mare. The captain had said there were only elves and the dungeon of illusions in there, and that children like her should go to their mothers.

She had gotten a similar response from the Shy Mermaid and another just like it from the Sea Witch. She looked at Dereck, who was limping out of the ship, The Proud Seahorse. She was worried about him.

“Dereck, what happened? Why are you limping?” Asked Diana. Dereck pointed at the ship.

“I got into a bet with one of the shipmates that if I can kick harder than him, he had to get the captain to get us in the forest of plenty. He kicked harder.”

Diana giggled; all worry forgotten.

“Are you saying you just stood there and let someone kick you in the behind?” She asked. Now she was outright laughing.

“Shut up, sis.” Said Dereck, and he turned to Elmar. “Any luck on your end, Elm?”

“None.” Said Elmar, and then he turned towards the direction of No Man’s Land. “Let us go. We will have a better chance getting a carriage. The sled is useless now, but at least we have horses.”

“You don’t mean to go through No Man’s Land, do you?” The worry returned to Diana in full. “There are Ogres and Giants in there.”

“No ship will take us.” Said Elmar. He had made peace with that, despite not liking the situation. “Come on before our luck rots even more and all carriages are sold.”

“It won’t be safe, but I am with Elm on this. We have no other way. But do you think auntie Esmer wouldn’t mind us delving in her dungeon?” Asked Dereck. This had been on his mind ever since he had learned of the mission about the Naga.

“If we don’t tell her, does it matter? We won’t steal anything.” Said Elmar, already walking towards the stalls.

“But, she will know when we enter. She is a dungeon core, Elm. Maybe we should ask her for save passage?” Said Diana. Elmar shook his head.

“Had Theanore wanted us to ask her mother for help finding this Naga, then she would have done so herself. And yet, she did not, or she would have included that detail in her letter.” Said Elmar.

“Theanore is a baby. We can’t expect her to think things through. This is about the teleportation ring, is it not? As soon as you heard the Naga had one, you made the dungeon of illusions your priority.” Said Dereck. He liked Theanore despite what he told her the first time they met, but he was not going to lie.

“You are right.” Said Elmar, stopping in his tracks. “I need that teleportation ring, badly. It, a life-extending ring and a necklace, is the reason we left the apple grotto. It would be easier to get it from the Naga, one rumored to be good, than from the elven King. We can’t fail.”

“Why Elmar? What will happen if we fail?” Asked Dereck, getting in front of Elmar and blocking his path.

“I haven’t been truthful. Let us go somewhere quiet, and I will tell you both everything.” Said Elmar. They headed back towards the inn, where they were staying, and went to their room.

Their money was running low, and so they have gotten only one room for the three of them. It hadn’t been ideal, but Diana hadn’t complained. And so, the boys hadn’t either.

“Look, there is this God called Hades that comes from the same world as grandpa Thinker.” Said Elmar, and he saw how angry both of his friends were getting. “I had no choice, I needed to help him. He just wants his wife back. And if she doesn’t come to him soon, he will start capturing souls again.”

“Grandpa Thinker’s world is evil, Elmar. It is dead.” Said Diana. “Chances are, so is Hades’ wife.”

“He said she is not. Look, if we help, they will enter this world fully and…”

“We will have another grandpa and grandma Thinker, except instead of a bad list, our souls will be stolen if we are deemed bad?” Asked Dereck with a snort.

“I already took the quest.” Said Elmar, head bowed. “I understand if you want to go back to the apple grotto.”

“Oh, Elm. We will help. But it is not a wise thing to do, bringing two possible malevolent deities here.” Said Diana. She had a hand over Elmar’s and a gentle smile on her face.

“Fine, I am in too. A bit too late to turn back now, seeing as we are going to cross No Man’s Land.” Said Dereck.

Elmar was smiling brightly, daring to believe what he had just heard. He hugged them both, and they awkwardly patted his back.

“Ok, maybe we should just get new horses. The ones we do have are tired even with the three days we have been here. In No Man’s Land, there won’t be many roads, I’d imagine.” Said Diana. Dereck nodded.

“Apart from the toll roads, which will be patrolled by Ogres and Giants. I wish we had some Ogre’s demise here. Do you think we can write to Thea, and she will send us some?” Asked Dereck. Ogre’s demise was a powerful poison against Ogres. It slowed Giants too, but it wasn’t as strong to them as to Ogres.

“We won’t become killers.” Promised Elmar. He gripped his healing staff. They could do this with brains, rather than brawl. And their journey in No Man’s Land would be the stuff of songs and stories.