“These are for my new home,” Arizar yelled down to Xelinda before I could ask her what was going on with all the luggage. There was way too much. It would take more cargo space than Celinda’s Grace’s even had to carry all her personal affects. We’d have to pack things into people’s rooms, and even then, I doubt we’d be able to get more than half of it aboard.

“There are transport ships for this sort of thing,” Xelinda yelled back, gesturing to the pile of furniture and clothing. “Celinda’s Grace is meant to transport people, and quickly.”

“But these are required to do my job. My people will suffer if I do not have the proper equipment,” Arizar protested, her arms crossed.

“Look, I get that you’re the High Shaper’s daughter,” Xelinda said, shaking her head. “But this is my ship. And we’re not here to cart around every fancy dress and lump of wood you’ve collected over the years. Though don’t let it be said I’m totally heartless. We can fit… oh, about double your own weight in cargo.”

“That won’t even be enough to bring the most important dresses,” Arizar said, blinking. Then she spotted me and Tamrie standing to the side. “Perry, please. Tell her I need more cargo space.”

“Couldn’t you just put it in your storage ring? I’m sure your father must’ve given you one. Or even a dozen,” I said, gesturing at her hands, which were empty of ornamentation, other than a green stone bracelet that had replaced the golden ones she’d worn when we first met.

“My storage is already full. And besides, most of these bear enchantments that would become permanent should I place them within a ring,” Arizar said with a heavy sigh.

I looked over the giant stack of furniture and clothing. “That’s a lot of enchanted… stuff.”

“All useful, I assure you. It was carefully chosen to help set up my new city. Many of the enchantments can be transfered once I arrive,” Arizar replied, frowning. “Though it seems that I’ve wasted years of preparation.”

“Is it going to hurt much if you have to wait another week for a slower ship?”

“I… I suppose not,” Arizar replied, blinking slowly as if, despite Xelinda making the same suggestion, the thought really hadn’t occurred to her. “It is just… these items represent years of my time. I would prefer to journey with them. If they are damaged… Yet delaying my own arrival would be too much.”

“Bit more complicated than it looked, at a glance,” Tamrie said, stepping forward and taking her friend’s arm in hers. “Father ain’t about to help?”

“There are few ships as swift as Celinda’s Grace. One’s that are available, anyway,” Arizar replied. “It seems I’ll just need to get used to the idea of leaving it all behind.”

“Look, I’ve got some space in my ring, if it’ll help at all. About as much as what Xelinda told you. Pretty sure I can fit that much in,” I offered. It’d probably take some doing. Three storage rings and a pendant, and I’d already filled them with materials we’d acquired in trade. If not for the materials that went into all my new spells, I wouldn’t have been able to offer her as much space as I had.

“That will… I suppose it will have to work, won’t it?” Arizar said more than asked, already striding towards the stack of furniture, Tamrie’s arm still held in hers.

“Ain’t you forgetting a thing,” Tamrie asked, patting Arizar’s arm.

Arizar paused, glancing towards Tamrie. Then she turned back, offering me a small bow. “Thank you.”

“Well, that’s polite and all,” Tamrie said, chuckling softly. “But I was thinking more along the lines of how many more dresses we might smuggle aboard if’n we shoved the racks.”

I chuckled as they walked, talking the whole time. I barely had time to turn away from them before I spotted our other new passenger. The blond bearded man still had paint staining his robe as he approached. Folras also had crumbs visible in his beard.

At least he wasn’t carrying much baggage. Other than the sack of books and easel, he had a single bag. He drew up next to us, eying Inertia who was on deck loading a crate full of rare non-magical metals. Precious metals weren’t quite as precious on Ro’an. That actually made them a bit harder to acquire, since most people didn’t have much use for them.

“You’re not a lizard,” Bevel said, poking Folras in the leg.

“Am I not?” he asked her in response. “How do you define a lizard? Is it-”

“Oh, you’re stupid. Sorry,” Bevel said, cutting him off and turning away.

“I… uh…” Folras said, his momentum thoroughly lost, clearly unsure of how to respond. Bevel didn’t give him a chance to recover, wandering over to where Tamrie and Arizar were pulling dresses free.

Tamrie was holding them up in front of her, turning back and forth.

“Do people normally just let you ramble?” I found myself asking when I pulled my gaze away from her.

“Well… yes,” Folras said, clearly still flustered. “Questioning reality is the surest sign of intelligence, afterall.”

“Sure. To a point,” I said, patting his shoulder. “But there’s a balance.” I stepped away, smiling over where Bevel was helping Tamrie choose dresses by floating them through the air, letting them hang in front of her, and even causing them to billow slightly. Then I looked back at Folras. “It’s fine, you’ll get over it. Or you’ll keep looking like a fool. Should be entertaining either way.”

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“More’n like both,” Tamrie said with a chuckle, her and Arizar having figured out their selection apparently. Bevel was floating just behind her, a giant grin on her face and dozens of dresses floating in a pair of lines behind her.

“Cheaters,” I grumbled good naturedly.

“Always, my love,” Tamrie said, kissing my cheek.

“Ewwww,” Bevel said, laughing even as I stored Arizar’s dresses. Then she ran off the edge, doing a somersault onto the ship’s deck. Shaking my head, I noticed Calbern standing at the end of the dock just past the remaining pile of luggage. He stood with his usual perfect posture, his hands clasped behind his back, staring up at the sky. Patting Tamrie on the arm, I left her to visit with Arizar as I went over to the man who’d stood with me through everything since I woke up on Ro’an.

“Something on your mind?” I asked, taking up a similar stance.

“It is… Sebastian’s trail leads south, Percival,” Calbern said, voice somehow more controlled than usual.

“Well, that’s good news,” I said, letting my posture slouch. If he was referring to me without the master, kinda implied a more personal conversation.

“You believe so?” Calbern asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It means he’s not coming north, won’t be making a mess of things in Cape Aeternia, right?”

“Ah. There is that, yes,” Calbern said, acknowledging my point with a slight incline of his head.

“That’s not the problem, is it?” I asked, studying how the morning sun was cutting through the ocean, the light reflecting off hundreds of moving vessels.

“No. Now that I know where he is, I must pursue this lead.”

“You know, you never did tell me why you were chasing him. Other than the oath, of course.”

“Some would say it is a difference of opinion,” Calbern said, tapping his finger against the hilt of his sword once, practically screaming his anger.

“Killing a man over a difference of opinion… that is sadly understandable, though not something I would’ve expected from you,” I said, shaking my head.

“A difference of opinion in what is acceptable when pursuing the Exemplar’s code,” Calbern clarified. “Sebastian is willing to enslave those who've broken the code. The ones he judges unredeemable. To force them to serve penance. Because death is too much a mercy.”

“That’s… definitely not great, though not too different from locking them in prison for the rest of their lives,” I said. There weren’t too many places that did prison back in the Hundred Kingdoms. Was pretty sure Spellford had them though. Most of Terra Vista had voluntary rehabilitation programs, though I’d only read a reference to those.

“He uses soul bonds to compel them, turning their Kinya against them. They are not simply chained in body, but in thought as well,” Calbern said, his finger tapping the hilt of his sword once more. “While he had noble intentions, the practice spread beyond him. By the time I swore the oath, he was no longer the man who’d taught me the code. There was a time I believed him dead. It was only after reaching the City on the Water that I discovered he’d been in Terra Vista for the last couple decades. And now…”

“I understand,” I said, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder. “And now you need to fulfill your oath.”

“I do. After I failed my oath to master Perth’s mother, I…” A drop of moisture appeared at the corner of Calbern’s eye.

“Guess you’re talking about me taking over, aren’t you. I… I’m sorry, Calbern. Sorry I’m not the Perth you loved,” I said, squeezing my hand into a fist. “I’d give him back if I could, but I don’t regret surviving.”

Neither of us said anything for several seconds, simply standing in silence.

“I am glad to have known you, Percival. To have called you friend. Yet I must admit, that whenever I look upon your face, it is my failure that I find staring back.”

Ouch. I got it though. Was how I felt whenever I looked into a mirror after what I did to Ethan. It was only after I shut down the fighting ring that I’d been able to meet my own gaze. And even then… it was only in the last couple months that’d started to change.

“You’ll always be welcome in my home, Calbern. Even if it takes you a decade to make your way back,” I said, squeezing his shoulder once more. “Never would’ve made it this far without you.”

“I suspect you would’ve survived, Percival. Your head is rather thick,” Calbern said, his lip twitching slightly.

“So, you’re going to travel south then?” I asked, not deigning to grace that with a response.

“I believe so. Tamrie’s mother has offered to arrange passage,” Calbern replied, a different sort of smile making its way onto his face.

One I didn’t recognize.

“Right,” I said, glancing back at Tamrie. Except she and Arizar had left, so all I found was Folras standing there with his easel out. He waved then gave me a thumbs up before returning to his efforts.

My gaze moved to the deck. “Bevel’s not going to like it.”

Calbern squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shallow sigh. “I would imagine you are correct.”

“You’ll say goodbye before you leave,” I said. Not a question.

“Only a coward would do otherwise, no matter how difficult,” Calbern said, opening his eyes once more. Then his gaze shifted to where Bevel was sitting on the deck, surrounded by half a dozen of the materials from Inertia’s crate. A smile tugged at his lips. “I shall miss her terribly.”

“Not gonna miss me, huh?” I teased, bumping his shoulder.

“Not so much as you shall miss me, Percival,” Calbern teased in return.

I chuckled at the truth of it.

Then he did something that actually surprised me. He stepped forward, putting a hand on my shoulder. Then, slowly, and very, very awkwardly, he pulled me forward into the stiffest hug I’d ever received. “Take care of them, Percival. I shall return, this I swear.”

I returned the hug, patting him on the back, trying not to tear up, and failing. After exactly three seconds, he released me, nodding once.

Then he turned and made his way down the ramp, to say his goodbyes.

I went down, to stand by Bevel, in case she needed me.

“I’m afraid I must leave for a time, Lady Bevel,” Calbern said, his perfect tone cracking the slightest bit at the word leave.

“You’re going hunting? For your mentor, right?” Bevel asked.

I stared at her. How the heck did she know that?

“That is… correct,” Calbern said, raising an eyebrow.

“How long will you be gone for?”

“That is uncertain. It will depend on how far I have to chase him. It could be quite a while,” Calbern replied, eyes shifting quickly towards me. “I shall endeavor to send letters, when the situation allows.”

“Kay,” Bevel said. Then she spread her arms wide, holding them out for a hug.

Calbern accepted the hug, and for a second, I could see the conflict in his eyes. The moment where he wavered. Where he almost stayed.

But then Bevel broke the hug. “Well, see you later.”

Before Calbern could finish his reply, she’d turned around and calmly walked down the steps leading into the ship.

Which is how I knew how truly devastated she must feel. Choosing to use her feet instead of floating, swinging or jumping?

I’d give her a few minutes to compose herself, then I’d go talk to her.

After another couple quick goodbyes to the others, I escorted him off the ship.

“I shall do my best to return, Percival. There is much I have yet to do. I have no intention of leaving it all behind,” he said, inclining his head in my direction.

“We’ll be waiting. And if you ever need my help… well, you know where to find me.”

“That I do,” he agreed, clapping a hand on my shoulder. He turned, taking a single step before stopping at the edge of the dock, next Folras and the picture he was painting. “A remarkable feat. You have captured all of the chaos, yet none of the order.”

Before Folras could respond, Calbern walked away, head held high, stride perfect as always.

A man on a mission.

A Knight Exemplar.

A friend.