They couldn’t find anything helpful in the Cheryn village, so Iztris agreed for them to go over to Relan. Alyson wasn’t satisfied saying that they’ve done their best when they’ve only been to one side—that, and if she was able to clear the situation up if it was innocent, then her father would have one less thing he needed to do later.

Relan had a history of being dependent on Cheryn—the nations were separate now, but a majority of Relan still needed what Cheryn sold to them to make up for its lack of agriculture. There was something of a begrudging respect towards Cheryn as a result—some people weren’t willing to say much, but others answered Alyson and Jacob’s questions without much questions of their own. It helped that they would be more used to talking with strangers from Cheryn than others.

Iztris stood closer to the princess and prince without quite explaining why, so while Alyson spoke with an older man near the docks, Iztris stood close enough to interject if he wanted to.

“Sir?” Alyson said to the man. He looked at her and nodded, showing that she had his attention. She continued as simply and kindly as she could manage. “May I ask a few questions about the ships leaving here?”

“Sure; no real harm in it,” the man replied with a little shrug. “What’cha want to know, kid?”

“There are ships leaving this port and heading over to Cheryn with weapons and such,” Alyson explained. “Do you know if they’re coming by mistake?”

The man looked a bit confused. “No, that’s where we were told to ship ‘em. Causing problems for Cheryn people? I know the man in charge of those ships—want me to get someone to stop the boats from leaving?”

“If you can, please,” Alyson replied thankfully. The man nodded, and she ventured to ask, “Do you know who wanted them to be sent over?”

The man chuckled. “The most flat-chested woman I’ve ever seen, I’ll tell ya! No curves on that thing, I swear; looks more like a crossdresser trying to convince everyone he’s a girl—some kind of orange hair and green eyes, light skinned.”

Iztris glanced at him when he heard. “Did they give a name?”

“Nope!” The man replied, almost sounding a bit proud of it. “Just came by, spouted off some nonsense, and asked some of the people to load up ships and send ‘em over.”

Alyson looked back at Iztris. “Does it sound like the other servant?” She asked.

“Elsyn’s preferred form is something like that, yes,” Iztris replied with a nod. “So they might have been here, at least.” He looked back at the man. “Are you sure they didn’t give a name?”

“I’m sure,” the man said firmly. “If you’re looking for her, I’d try looking closer to the old capital—that’s where most folk find her.”

“That’s very helpful, sir,” Iztris replied. “Thank you.”

The man grunted and turned away. Jacob came by a short while after. “Did you hear anything helpful?” He asked.

“Yes, actually,” Iztris said. He simply explained what happened, concluding it with, “If you’ll be willing, we can move towards the previous capital soon; everything here is settled.”

“I don’t mind,” Jacob began, growing a bit confused as he continued, “But I don’t know where the ancient capital of Relan is.”

“North of here, isn’t it?” Alyson asked Iztris.

Iztris frowned. “Neither of you were taught it?” He asked, sounding partially surprised and partially annoyed. Jacob offered a shrug while Alyson shook her head. “I would have thought heirs to a kingdom would know more about the country closest to them, but perhaps I was wrong. The original capital is a bit northwest, directly north of the current one. It should only take a few weeks to get there.”

“You know the way there, then?” Alyson guessed.

“…I went there a few times,” Iztris replied firmly after a moment. “The path is fairly easy to remember; it isn’t used as much now, but enough should remain of it that we won’t get lost. Both of you can get ready to leave, if you’d like.”

“We might as well follow a lead,” Jacob said. Alyson nodded her agreement.

“Get going, then,” Iztris said. “You don’t have much, so it shouldn’t take you too long to gather it.”

Both of them nodded, returning to the inn they had planned to stay at and where they had kept their things. They met back with Iztris outside and he led the way out of the port by way of a dirt path. Relan didn’t look too different from Cheryn, but Alyson still took the opportunity to look around a bit—it distracted her from the thoughts of possibly engaging in a battle with the other servant god, if they found them. It seemed likely, after all, and she didn’t think she would ever be considered quite ‘ready.’