For the next couple of weeks while we were at sea, we were told what exactly we will be doing in our first ever quest. The old man, whose name is Tanathos by the way, said that we’ll be serving as a sort of drug mule, with the only exception being that we won’t be smuggling drugs, but rather completely legal medicinal herbs instead. As he explained it, a white man will pass through customs with such wares without any issues, but it was all too easy to get set up as a black man. That is why he needed us in particular, we just happened to be born with the more forgiving skin color is all.

Such a world that he describes is one all too familiar to us, as we’ve both seen countless light-skinned traveling merchants attend the fairs held in Meridia, but maybe only once or twice could we ever see a properly dressed dark-skinned man or woman walking around without being mistaken for a slave at least a dozen or so times. This just goes to show that our decision to first deal with fixing World’s image of the dark-skinned race was the right call. For that, I really should thank Shaid for suggesting the idea.

“Yo, Shaid.” I called out to him out of the blue, “Thanks man.”

“Huh?” He furrowed his brows, “What the fuck are you thanking me for, Schnell?”

“Just take the gratitude in stride, asshat.”

Well, I did my part. No matter what happens in the future, at least I’ll have peace of mind that I thanked my dear friend properly. Speaking of Shaid though, he’s been pretty tense this whole boat ride. It seems he bit off more than he could chew when he suggested we first went to Abyssus Solis of all places, since he really doesn’t seem to get along well with Tanathos at all. I wonder why that is…

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He noticed me staring, “Alright, I am sorry for hissing at you earlier. I do not know why you are thanking me, nor for what for that matter, but your welcome nonetheless.”

“Uh, no. It’s not that.” I scooted my barrel over to him before sitting on it again, “Hey Shaid, why did you suggest we go to the land of the dark-skinned race if you’re not particularly fond of them?”

“That is…” He seemed apprehensive to answer, “Do you really want to know?”

Nodding without saying another word more, I had given him my solemn oath that I would not mock or laugh at whatever reason he may have for this little contradiction of his. I mean, we’re all human, right? I understand that he may have his reasons, but I just wanna know, given that he’s my best friend and travel companion and all.

“Sigh, well, it’s really a matter of personal trauma.” He explained, “Of course I know that the best way to unite the world would be to help these kind folks live proper and better lives in the outside world instead of being shunned here, but I just can’t seem to get this one memory out of my head whenever I see one of them.”

“That memory being?” I pressed him for an answer.

“Mnn…” He looked away before muttering the answer, “The memory… of my mother sleeping with one of them while my father watched.”

“Oh, is that all?” I tactlessly replied without thinking, “A-Ah, I didn’t mean it in a rude way! Well, I mean, don’t get me wrong, but isn’t your mother’s infidelity and your father’s cuck habits kind of the norm? Also, you should really stop peeking on them while they’re doing their thing, it’s just not healthy for your brain.”

“I could not help it, Schnell!” He swung me back and forth by the collar, “I was yet again trapped in a closet playing hide and seek! I was a stupid kid who didn’t learn from his mistakes! But that’s not the issue. The issue lies in the man that was the one sleeping with my mother.”

“So what could he have done to make you fear their entire race in just that one night? Did he perhaps harm your mother in some way?”

“No, he was actually really gentle, if I recall.” He denied my guess, “It’s just…. his thing. His serpent, so to speak, you understand me, right? It was unbelievably huge.”

“Not to sound homo or anything, but how big we talking here?” I thought to ask.

“It was…” He tried measuring with his hands before suddenly backing out, “Hey, what are you trying to make me do, reliving my traumas?! You fiend, Schnell! For shame!”

“Oh come on, I was just trying to help…” I sounded dejected before suddenly getting a bright idea, “Oi, Tanathos! How big’s your willy?”

“Schnell?!” Shaid couldn’t believe what I had just asked the old man.

“Twenty.” Tanathos replied in a nonchalant yet equally as vague way.

Twenty… what? O-Oi, don’t walk away from me, old man! Hey, old man, come back and give me a proper answer! Twenty what?!

***

Soon after making it to the shores of our very first continent of the journey, we were told to wait for Tanathos to properly anchor and tie his ship down before we could continue to his settlement. After he was done talking to the person running the dock, we were surprised by the two leashed giant beasts he had come back with. Smiling as he handed me one of the leashes and hopped on the beast, he introduced us to these large animals.

“Surprised?” He chuckled, “Brothers, these two are Lina and Linda. They are camels, the desert equivalent of horses in your country. They will make our trip to Havana a lot easier.”

“Wha…!” Shaid jumped back, “What the hell is that thing?!”

“It is as I said, brother.” Tanathos chuckled, “This is a camel. They are the direct upgrade to the horse. Their hooves are better prepared for walking on sand, they can hold the water they drink in their bodies for up to 11 days, and the humps on their backs allow for a comfier traveling experience, not to mention they’re a lot friendlier to boot.”

“Right.” I reached to pet Lina, “So what’s the catch? I mean, if they’re so amazing, then why aren’t there any camels in Meridia?”

“You catch on quick, brother.” He praised me, “That’s right. Camels are incredible animals that are just perfect for desert travel, but they are incredibly slow. The white man is impatient, he directly compares efficiency with speed, and would rather a wild animal like a horse than a sluggish camel. That, and the climate doesn’t quite allow for camels to be anywhere else.”

“Is that so?” Shaid climbed up Lina’s back behind me, “Alright then, let us see for ourselves just how efficient these animals are. Schnell, if you would.”

“Got it!” I tugged the leash as we began slowly following along the path Tanathos was going on with Linda.

Now one thing that I should explain is that these camels… are fuckin’ slow! Like, I know Tanathos literally said the exact same thing, but I kind of underestimated the sheer scale of his assessment. He was too on point with his description, because as we trotted through the sand, getting our backs and necks sunburnt from how slow we were traveling, he kept on giving us odd analogies on how slow camels really are.

“Really, if I were to describe a camel’s pace…” He noted as he put on a piece of cloth over his head, “I’d say they are like the lines at the restaurants in your country.”

“Dude, who cares about that?” Both Shaid and I groaned as we felt the Sun’s deadly rays turn our skin bright red, “We’ll burn to a crisp at this rate! Got any water to alleviate the pain?”

“Water?” He turned back with his head tilted, “In this heat, applying water on the skin will only amplify the pain, brother. It will lead to scalding, so I do not recommend it. Instead, consider doing what I did and putting some cloth over your heads. It is better to prevent than to remedy.”

Could’a told us that earlier, old man. Y’know, before we were put in a position where a remedy was our only saving grace? Eh, I guess anything will do at this point. That being said, the only piece of clothing I had on me right now is my spare shirt, so I’ll just toss it over my neck and… hm?

“Whoa!? This feels amazing!” I immediately felt the effects, “Shaid, this is incredible! Quickly, put something over your neck, it really helps!”

“That’s crazy, how could adding more clothes possibly…” He rolled his eyes as he put his spare undershirt over his neck, like you would a scarf, “Huh? It’s so… soothing!”

“Often times, things that may seem obvious just won’t work outside of your usual place of residence.” Tanathos smiled, “And all too often, the things that just don’t feel like they’d work, will almost always pleasantly surprise you. This is far from the last thing you will learn about my homeland, so be sure to keep an open mind and enjoy your stay.”

What the old man was saying was absolutely World shattering. It seems that being reserved when it comes to accepting outside ideas wouldn’t have ever gotten us far in the world had we gone anywhere else like that. Thankfully though, we happened to cross paths with Tanathos, an old but patient man who showed us the way. From here on, the journey to his settlement was very much smooth sailing, and we had actually managed to arrive just as the time was nearing sundown.

“Here we are, brothers.” Tanathos welcomed us into the place, “Welcome to quik Havana!”

Put simply, we were at a loss for words. He described the place as rather run-down, but this was just on a completely different level. There were no houses, no irrigation systems, not even any livestock or plants to live off of. The people were all practically buck naked, safe from some pretty modest loincloths, which only made their bones look more obvious. Truly, this must have been what Hell looked like in the legends of old.

“¡Padre!” A young woman ran up to the three of us as she called out to Tanathos, “¡Padre! Quienes son estos personas?! ¿Nos van a hacer daño?”

Glaring back at us, neither Shaid nor I could handle looking a girl who was practically buck naked while out in the open in the eye. Shying away, we looked at Tanathos to ask for a translation.

“…” Tanathos remained calm as he went to reply to the woman, “No se preocupe, Cassandra. Ellos son amigables.”

“Hey, hey, what’s she saying?” I nudged him lightly, which seemed to have offended her.

“¡No presiones a mi padre! Eres un enemigo!”

“H-Hey now, lady, I don’t know what you’re saying…” I didn’t know where to look anymore as she started getting in my face.

“¡Cassandra!” Tanathos yelled at her, before covering her up with the cloth he had around his head and turning to us, “Sorry about that, brother, my daughter is just as wary of your kind as you are of ours.”

“Ah, so that’s your daughter?” I realized, “So wait, that language you’re speaking, I’ve never even heard of it before.”

“The language of the Raamans – Raamic, as it were.” He explained, “It is in many ways similar to the Universal Language, and in many ways different. Do not fret, you will adapt to it soon enough, brothers.”

Seeing how her father was talking in a friendly manner with us, it seems Cassandra here quickly realized that we were of no threat to her or her people, so she huffed and puffed some more before running off back to the tent she came out of. It was a bit sad too, seeing everyone here living in such tiny tents. Really, one strong gust of wind and this place is as good as gone. Tanathos was right to call us over.

“Old man!” I grabbed him by the hands as I shouted, “Teach us this Raamic language! We’re gonna bring Havana forward in time by hundreds, no, thousands of years, but in order to do that, we’ll need to know how to communicate with the locals!”

Taken by surprise by my sudden declaration, it seems even Tanathos was driven to tears. During all this time though, Shaid couldn’t help but steal a few glances at the other girls of the settlement, despite how skinny and frail they were. I don’t want to judge my best friend too harshly, but couldn’t he have at least waited until we put some meat on their bones first?