"Now dear, you really have no manners," She said turning to Esral and Bryn, "So you are looking for Hugo, huh? I might be able to help you."
"Really?" Esral said cheerfully, "How?"
"Follow me," She said heading up the stairs of the tavern. Esral and Bryn followed her and she lead them into a room, "I came here several weeks ago, I came here curious about Hugo's story and his life before he went crazy."
"So?"
"I talked to his adviser, and the fact that the Mouths of the Creator were his parents, and they had been brought back to life, I have been planning on going to their sanctuary near the settlement of Yoinkos, but I don't have money to pay for a ship," She said as she pulled out a bunch of maps, "I translated the area on the old maps onto the new ones so it gave me the location, right in the middle of the Yoinkos plains."
"Bryn, do we have money for a boat?"
"Yes, we should have largely enough," He said, "I can do the sailing, I will just need the directions."
"Then let's go," Esral said getting up, "You want to come?"
"A reason to get off this bloody island, yeah, I'm in," She grabbed a bag and stuffed her things into it and swung it onto her back ,"Let's go," They bought a boat in the port and boarded the boat and started the sailing to find the sanctuary. The clouds began to form above them. Bryn set the bag down next to him and grabbed the handle of the rudder and set it to stay straight. He grabbed a rope of the sail and pulled the sail into position. They slowly started moving. Esral and the woman who had joined them sat near Bryn.
"I never told you guys my name, I am Grila, the sword mistress."
"Nice to meet you, I am Esral and this is my guardian Bryn."
"Esral? Wait, are you Hugo's Esral?"
"What do you mean?" She looked puzzled, "I don't get what you mean by Hugo's Esral."
"You are the last person he mentioned in his human form," She said, "Before, before he went berserk."
"So we've heard, his advisor told us that," Esral sighed and looked out to sea. The clouds quickly formed, the wind rose and the waves crashed against the ship. Bryn reduced the tightness of the rope holding the sail. The winds was in their back, but the waves crashed wildly. Grila took the bags and put them in the cabin of the ship away from the rain that began falling from the sky. Bryn gestured for Esral and Grila to move to his side of the ship. He pulled the rope once again and the ship's speed. The ship tilted with the force of the wind. He spoke but the wind and the waves silenced him. A bolt of thunder appeared in the sky. The clouds moved slowly in the opposite direction. Large waves rose around the ship. Bryn released the rope and the boat slammed back down. He pulled it slowly and the ship restarted to move but with less inclination. Waves crashed against the ship and the rain battered the sail and the deck. Bryn seemed extremely calm, he just focused on moving them out of the storm. The sun broke through the clouds in the distance. Bryn pointed at the spots of sunlight. The waves died down and the rain turned to drizzle. They had escaped the storm. Bryn sighed and released the rope of the sail. He exhaled as he pulled the sail slightly to make the ship move. Esral and Grila moved back to where they were. The ship had a small amount of water stuck on the deck that slowly poured back into the sea. Bryn turned to Grila.
"How far is it?"
"Around 500 or 600 kilometers then 50 by foot," She said as she took out her bags, "I brought some food for a day or two," She pulled out a fishing rod, "Maybe I could find some more."
"We could stop and get more food when we run out."
"Yeah, we don't need to fish yet," Esral said, "How did you stay calm during that?"
"I enjoy sailing," He smiled at Esral, "And I don't think the storm was terrible."
"Well, anyone hungry?" Grila said taking a bit of food.
"Is your sword special?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like an elemental blade," She said drawing hers, "Mine is the Frozen Fang."
"Actually, yes, I normally hide it because of the fear of elemental blades because of Hugo and his own blade," She explained, "It is the Steel Ravager, the metal elemental, but it is in no way nearly as strong as the Demon's Claw or the Angel's Wing," The conversation stopped after that. They sat on the ship as Bryn sailed. The waves had died down and the storm clouds moved over Bilgewater and away from them. The wind puffed the sail and the sun pounded down on them. Bryn held a compass in his left hand and the rudder on the other. He was mumbling things to himself. They had a few days of sailing ahead of them. Grila lied down and closed her eyes. Esral sat there, looking out to sea, thinking. What are we going to learn from these people? I hope they can bring us to Hugo or help us get there. If his mother did imprison him then she should know. They set foot in Yoinkos three days later. Bryn sold the ship and then walked to the stables. Grila yawned as they walked.
"Tired?"
"Sailing makes me tired, so yeah," She yawned again, "We should be around a day away from the sanctuary by horse."
"Yeah, I'll get two."
"Two? We are three."
"Doesn't matter," He said as he entered the stables. He returned a few minutes later with two horses. Grila climbed onto one and Bryn climbed onto the other and helped Esral onto the horse. Grila paused looking at them for a second before leading the way. They left the city and stopped at the fork in the road. She pulled out the map she had. Bryn walked over and took the map. He folded it and started down the right path. Grila sighed and followed them.
"There should be a town in 20 kilometers, so we will stop there for the night," Bryn said, "Then we will travel to the sanctuary and meet the family that he was part of."
"I heard that Omega and Sona, his mother and father, were both in a permanent demonic form," She added, "I wonder how powerful Hugo is, he took on two demons and an entire orders of knights."
"Let's focus on getting to the town, we can talk then."
The sun had descended out of the sky. They entered the inn.
"Good evening, how can I help you?"
"A room and some food would be nice," Bryn said, "And some food for our horses."
"I'll take care of your horses tonight, sit down and I'll bring you some food."
"Thank you," Bryn said as they sat down at one of the tables, Grila leaned back in her chair and Esral yawned. They sat in silence for a little while until the bartender brought them food and drinks, "Thanks again."
"What brings you here? In this isolated town."
"We are heading to the sanctuary of the Mouths of the Creator."
"Ah, want to see your destiny," He laughed, "Many knights come here for them, some return some don't, the two guardians are very deadly, they are brother and sister, they came to town some time ago," He said placing the food and the cups on the table, "After well, you know, that guy who rampaged through Terruna."
"Yeah, we know," Bryn said, "We came a little prepared for them, but we don't come to fight, but to ask for advice."
"Well, here is your key, it's the second room on the left, there are three beds."
"Thanks," Bryn said as the bartender left, "Don't forget to take care of our horses, I'll pay you in the morning!"
"No problem sir, as long as you pay!" The man called back. They began eating, then after a minute or so, Esral asked a question.
"Why are you interested in Hugo, Grila?"
"I was interested by this guy, who vanished after such a devastating rampage," She explained, "It sparked my interest, and you guys?"
"That's interesting," Bryn said, "I swore to protect Esral, it was her father's last order for me, so I follow her in her adventures."
"So why are you looking for Hugo, Esral? You said that you were friends but I don't buy it," She said taking a drink, "So why do you look for him?"
"I haven't told this to anyone, but," She hesitated, "Five years ago, I fell in love with him and so I longed to see him again, but I never could, I tried to move on, but it ate away at me so I decided to leave to go find him."
"You never told me that," Bryn said looking surprised, "So you two were lovers."
"Now it could be the reason why he mentioned you before going crazy," Grila said as she continued to eat, "Well, tomorrow hopefully we will have answers to our questions."