The walk back home was just as quiet as the walk towards the hill. Chris walked a few steps ahead of me and Lorelei.

“Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?” Lorelei asked.

I turned to her, “Kind of, I didn’t really think much of it when Lewis was talking about quitting the Ravagers. I mostly wanted to mention the fact that Tal started acting weird after we had met with Crowell. I didn’t think it was normal for Tal to just give up on searching for the thief like that.”

“What did Crowell do exactly? I can’t imagine they were scared of him…”

“No, that’s not it,” I shook my head. “They seemed normal aside from the fact that they both suddenly changed their minds. Lewis wanting to quit the Ravagers suddenly and Tal wanting to give up on finding the thief.”

After thinking for a moment, Lorelei suggested, “Maybe Crowell was able to convince them to do that. Did he give them reasons to change their minds?”

Reasons to change their minds?

I thought back to exactly what he said to them.

“You need not worry, Lewis. Just stay calm and keep everything peaceful. Everything will be just fine after that.”

That’s what he said to Lewis, but how did that make Lewis want to quit being part of the Ravagers?

And what did he say to Tal?

“You must forgive the kid as well, Tal. He’s only a kid. He doesn’t know better. Just forget about him and everything will work out just fine.”

Did Tal want to change his mind just from Crowell telling him to forget about the kid?

I repeated what I remembered to Lorelei.

She nodded and then asked, “Din, were his eyes… normal?”

At first, the question seemed random, but then I looked at Lorelei’s eyes: the eyes of a Spirit. I thought back to Crowell’s eyes, but even then, I remembered him having blue eyes.

“He had blue eyes, I think.”

Lorelei sighed. She seemed sure that might’ve been it, but now she had to think of other reasonings.

We reached the house before she could come up with any other reasonings.

Tal, Mun, and Lewis were sitting in the kitchen with empty bowls in front of them.

“Ah, they’re finally here!” Lewis announced excitedly.

“We can finally eat!” Mun cried out.

I asked, “You guys were waiting for us?”

“Of course, we were. It’s always better eating when everyone is present,” Tal added with a smile.

Chris walked over to help Lewis, who was pouring hot stew into each of the bowls.

“That smells good,” I mentioned. “Who made the stew?”

A proud smile appeared on Lewis’ face, “Glad you like the smell, Din, but wait till you get to taste it. This is my secret weapon. I’ve won countless cooking contests because of this bad boy.”

—It didn’t take long before we all finished eating the stew. It was beyond delicious. The spice levels were just right and the way the potato melted in my mouth was just heavenly, especially with how cold it had been outside.

After noticing that everyone had finished eating, I asked Tal, “When do you think we should start preparing to leave?”

“There weren’t any ships at the docks today, remember? It all depends on when we can grab a ship,” Tal answered.

“You guys went to the docks today?” Lewis asked.

We nodded.

I added, “We went near the docks, but since we didn’t see any ships, we just came back home.”

“Oh right, I forgot to mention. During the colder weather, there’s an area behind the governor’s mansion where all the ships are stored. It’s a big warehouse to protect the ship’s during colder weather, but I’m sure you can find ship captains near the docks fishing. If you talk to them, you can set up a day to leave Lanport.”

“How about we go to the docks again tomorrow, Tal?” I suggested.

He was deep in thought for a moment before he finally looked up, “Actually, I don’t think I’m going, Din.”

“You don’t want to check tomorrow?” I asked. I wasn’t too sure what he meant by that.

My heart sank when he shook his head, “I don’t want to go to Aegis.”

I got up from my seat, “But why?”

I had been prepared to go on this journey with just Lorelei, but it would be much harder without company. Lorelei was good to have around, but because she was just a ghost, it would be just as good as if I was alone.

“I’m tired of travelling,” Tal replied. “It’s just much safer in this city. I want to live a peaceful life and going on a journey to Aegis seems like it will have all kinds of problems waiting for us.”

“I agree with Tal, here,” Lewis added.

What was going on here?

Why were they suddenly changing their minds?

“But…”

That’s all I could say, I was at a loss of words.

“I’m exhausted though. That was a lot of cleaning we did today,” Tal mentioned as he got up from his seat. “Thanks for the meal.”

He went up the stairs. Mun followed shortly.

As Lewis past by me, he placed a hand on my shoulder, “I’m sorry, Din. I know you want to help Lorelei get her body back, but it’s just too dangerous. If you want my advice, just stay here and live peacefully.”

He then went to his room upstairs.

Chris began collecting all the bowls from the table.

“Din, you should help her,” Lorelei whispered.

I snapped out of my thoughts and then offered my help to Chris. She gladly accepted.

As we were washing the bowls, she mentioned, “Don’t worry too much, Din. I’m sure Lewis and Tal will join you on your journey to Aegis. Tomorrow, Lewis and I are planning on visiting some old friends. I’ll have a talk with him then and see if I can convince him to go with you.”

“Thank you,” I said with an honest smile.