Chapter Three Hundred and Eighty-Six - Here's a Story About a Little Town That Lives in a Blue World

“So, what are we looking for?” Judas asked. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together. His smile seemed genuine, warm even. I imagined that the coins Amaryllis had given him was cause for some of that, but Judas seemed like a nice guy in any case.

“We’re interested in information about a wedding,” Amaryllis said. "It's happening in the south, by Port Royal. There's a dragon involved."

“Wendy mentioned that you had mentioned it,” I said.

Judas nodded. "I'm a man of the land, so to speak. I try to keep tabs on things. What's important to people? Turns out that a big one is weddings. Not that I am particularly fond of them myself. Most of the Codwood weddings are held right here, you see. Inn’s the biggest place in town and we’ve got the kitchens and the drinks.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “So, you’ve heard about the wedding?”

“Ah, right, that one. Well, I don’t envy whoever’ll have to cater that wedding. A dragon! Getting married! Never heard the like. Wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t hear the rumours from two sources either.”

“Two sources?” Calamity asked. He was sipping away at a frothy mug of something local and leaning back on his chair so that it stood on two legs.

Judas nodded. “First I heard of it was from some merchants. They stop by here every so often, buy a load of Blue Lake cod and oils and the like; bring in some stuff we need too. Would have dismissed it at that, but then one of my pals, a fishermen fellow from nearby Inkwren, came by for a visit a few days back. He does that, sometimes, skirts along the edge of the Blue Lake and stops by. Says the fish are bigger on this end, but I bet he just buys the biggest fish we’ve got here then resells them in Inkwren for a few lazy coins. Anyway, he mentioned this particular wedding too.”

I nodded along to his story. “Do you know when the wedding will be taking place?” I asked.

“I heard the winter solstice,” Judas said. “But that sounds like it’s an awful long time from now for a wedding. Most of the time when two younger folk hitch up here, it’s only a matter of weeks before we’ve got to prepare a proper party.”

I turned towards Amaryllis, and my question must have been obvious. “The solstice is... in about a month and a half from now,” she said.

“Oh,” I said. “Shouldn’t it be getting colder then?”

“It has been,” Calamity replied. “For a bit now, even.”

“Oh,” I said. I hadn’t noticed. Then again, the difference from climbing to a high altitude and then coming back down was pretty big sometimes. It was super cold up in the sky, especially at night, so when we descended back down to ground level, things felt comparatively warmer. “So, we do have plenty of time to get to Port Royal, then?” I asked.

“We have enough time, yes,” Amaryllis said. Although we won't have enough if we linger around and follow every side-quest like a dog chasing squirrels, right Broccoli?"

Amaryllis gave me a pointed look, which I ignored. I turned my attention back to Judas. “So, is there anything you need help with?” I asked. “Maybe with the mothfolk?”

“Why are you asking that, Broccoli?” Amaryllis asked.

“Because I want to help?” I asked.

She kept staring until I found myself fidgeting on my seat.

“Because I want to help the moth people so that I have a reason to go around hugging them. But Amaryllis, they have four arms! Imagine how cool that must feel! You don’t need to worry about whether your arms are above or under when hugging them because it can be both, and they look so soft!”

“No Broccoli, we won’t go saving people just to hug them, that’s... morally questionable, I think. Maybe.” Amaryllis frowned. “In any case, it’s a bad idea.”

“The mothfolk are in a bad way,” Judas said. “Their dungeon’s being plagued by these strange plants, I’ve heard.”

I looked at Amaryllis.

“We’re on a schedule,” she said.

“They’re offering a lot of gold to anyone who could help, but no one’s answered the bounty yet,” Judas continued.

“That does make it more tempting,” Amaryllis muttered.

“I like gold,” Calamity added.

I pouted. “Guys, we don’t do things for money, not when that thing is helping people who are in need of helping. It’s not nice.”

“We absolutely do things for money,” Amaryllis said. “The Beaver doesn’t run on water and happy thoughts you know. And our time and expertise is worth something. A lot, in fact.”

“I like gold,” Calamity repeated with a nod.

I crossed my arms. “Judas, how bad are things right now?”

“Not so great. The mothfolk used to get a lot of the things they needed for their village from their dungeon. The first few floors give cloth.” He reached to his sweater, which seemed like it was made of a thick, soft sort of knit material. “We used to buy lots of it here in Codwood. Not just for clothes. It’s a really tough silk, so it makes for great ropes. Not so good for sails though.”

“It’s a moth-themed dungeon, right?” I asked.

“It is,” he said. “If you want to know more though, and if you want to try to help, I know a few folk who would love to meet you.”

I looked at my friends, then shrugged. “Sure. Are those people in town?”

“They shouldn’t be far,” he said. “I can probably have them meeting you here by tonight.”

Tapping my chin, I considered it for a moment. It would be nice to get some proper information before starting off on a little side-adventure. And a side-adventure would also be fantastic. I had skills that I wanted to improve, and I wanted to be a stronger bun. A dungeon would help a lot with that!

“Do you think these friends of yours could meet us at our ship?” I asked. “If we’re going to do this--and I haven’t said we would yet--then we’d have to ask the rest of the crew about it. We wouldn’t be going into a dungeon with just the three of us.”

Judas agreed, and after offering us something to drink--on the house, but we ended up refusing--he got up and returned to work with a promise that he’d get into contact with his friends as soon as he could.

“Well, that’s something,” I said as I stood up and stretched until my back went crick-pop. “Do you think we should head back to the Beaver now?”

“After a short stop,” Amaryllis said. “We need supplies. Not just for any dungeon we might inadvertently end up in, but for the Beaver as a whole. Our pantry isn’t as full as I’d like to see it.”

“Alright!” I said.

We left the Go Fish inn and headed down to the docks with some directions from a helpful local. There was a small market where fishermen brought their daily catches. It smelled... strongly. Very strongly. But other than that, the place was lively and fun, with stalls displaying the best of the day’s catch and others with fishing gear and locally made crafts on sale. From what I understood, the market was free for anyone to pick a stall and use, but it was only open for a couple of hours a day. That meant that anyone not selling stuff had to hurry over to grab what they needed, but it also meant that the gossips and busybodies all had a place to gather every afternoon.

We paused by one of the stalls to stare at the fish.

“I don’t think i’ve ever seen a blue fish before,” I said.

The fish on display was very dead, with half of it cut open to display the fish meat within. Pale cyan fish meat. It had pearlescent blue scales and fins of a darker cobalt colour. “These are Blue Lake cod,” the man behind the counter said. “I hear they’re quite the delicacy elsewhere in the Endless Swells.”

“They’re very impressive,” I said.

Amaryllis struck up a conversation with the man about the best places to buy preserved food while Calamity barely held back his drool.

I made a note to buy a small bit of fish for Orange.

We ended up being pointed towards another merchant who sold these little barrels no bigger than my head filled with salted fish on beds of dried seaweed and covered in copious amounts of a blue-tinged salt.

“Nearly everything from the lake comes out bluish,” he said. “Just the way it is.”

I thought it was a little too weird for it to be dismissed so easily, but then I hadn’t grown up next to the Blue Lake either.

We picked up some food, grabbing fresh produce while we could. I really had to start a garden up on the Beaver one of these days so that we could have fresh carrots whenever we wanted. Or maybe I could help Awen invent the fridge so that wouldn’t be a problem?

Soon enough, we were heading back to the Beaver with a couple of barrels of salted fish and a few heavy sacks filled with veggies.

We were greeted on the Beaver by most of the crew who were split up handling different tasks. Oda was on a bench, scribbling in a notebook, the other Scallywags had strung up hammocks on the rigging, and Caprica was working through some sword forms on the deck.

“We brought food!” I said.

There was a cheer at that.

“But it’s not cooked yet,” I added.

The cheer died down into a bunch of low grumbling, and I found myself giggling as I skipped across the deck with a sack hugged close.

I decided that we’d have a big cookout, right there on the deck, and that turned out to be a lot more complicated than I initially imagined it would be.

Awen came out, was a little miffed about the idea, then took charge of building everything we’d need to make it not be a disaster. Fortunately, her glass magic was coming along really well, and soon we had a toughened glass device designed to hold some flammable oil and conduct heat into a big in-set plate that a few pots and pans could sit on.

I directed some of my friends to chop veggies while I prepped the rest of the food. It was probably a good thing that I wasn’t hungry, because the smells that started to rise up were dizzyingly yummy.

We raided our stores for spices and anything that was starting to go mushie, and tossed those into a big stew while I seared some blue fish in oil and got everything warmed up.

Things were just about ready when someone showed up by the Beaver Cleaver’s side. I was informed by a watchful Orange, who was guarding the ship while ripping into a big chunk of raw fish. She meowed at the arrival of a stranger and that had my ears perking up.

“Oh,” I said. “Caprica, can you keep stirring things?” I asked since she was close.

Once the princess was behind the stove--and looking a little lost--I skipped across the deck and paused. “Hello,” the man said.

He was a mothfolk person, with long wilty antennae, bent by old age, and huge wings which draped over his body like a long, fluffy-edged trenchcoat. He was hanging onto a gnarled stick that he was using as a cane.

“Hi!” I said. “I’m Captain Broccoli Bunch, of the Beaver. Did Judas send you over?”

“Hello captain,” he said. His voice was raspy and low. “My name is Lepido Ptera. And yes, Judas mentioned how you might be able to help us.”

“That’s fantastic,” I said. “Come! We’re just about to have lunch! We made enough to share, and you can tell us about that dungeon problem you’ve been having. We’re sort of experts at fixing those, you see!”

***