The villager told them to take care and ran away like a roadrunner. Whatever, those remaining three thought and continued on their dinner.
Morning came. They cooked their food today - sandwiches. They ate them and left the outpost. Just like the myth, River Honey looked like flowing honey. Dan took a glass of River Honey water and drank it to quench his thirst. Fayette took a sip as well. Camb too tried on it. All of them found it refreshing.
Dan searched their way to Bajista on the map. They had to cross through canals to reach another end of River Honey because Dan got to know from the villagers and sailors that there's going to be a river fair and all ships and boats are temporarily blocked to go through that way. It's now around 9 am and they would reach the first canal at 11:30 am. That's almost a two-hour journey.
Dan went to the deck, cheerfully carrying a basket of carrots and cabbages for his horses, Hadrian and Marcus. The stallions ate them. Neighing at intervals. Dan checked the carriage, removing items from some boxes and checking them. Fayette and Camb were in the cabin. Fayette was sitting on the wheel, while Camb was sitting down. Both of them enjoyed the views.
Dan seemed to be searching very sincerely, Fayette thought. He opened boxes, tilted bags, moved everything as if foraging treasure.
Fayette went for herself to see what that 17-year-old fellow was up to. "Wossh hup, Dan? What are you searching for?" Turning around to see where did that cheeky voice came from, he answered in a faint voice searching a basket:
"Nothing. I am searching for those tyres and that motor I bought at the New Year Festival. Have you ever seen it, Fayette?"
She denied having seen them. Dan looked closely. He finally checked near the driving seat.
Dan looked throughout the boat. He searched the ice boxes, the food basket, the tools box. He didn't get them anywhere.
He thought of checking the cabin room. He looked behind the control table. He found a bag. He was confident that the motor and the wheels were in that bag. It was heavy. "Maybe it's in here?" He said to himself. He tilted the bag down. He did find the tyres and that motor, but there were far more curious things in that bag. Dan remembered:
"Oh yes...I remember putting these in that bag. (yelling) I found it, Fayette, near the control table"
"You found that! Well, what a weird place it is. But, where did this bag come from?"
"I found it in that outpost we stopped yesterday. It was near the stationery store. The shopkeeper gave it to me, as it was useless and empty."
"Well, I guess it wasn't empty. Look down."
"Oh gosh! What is that?"
Both of them peeped down. Camb barked at it, showing apprehension. What those three found would help them for the whole journey. They found an iron case. It was a puzzle board. They also found a box which opened as it fell. It had five puzzle pieces. Above all of that, they found three maps of Bajista, Serpento and Aquilla and a piece of paper. It read:
"Good luck. The pieces depict clues. You might finish it to attain the magical power. You won't defeat me, for sure. You would be running for dear life after getting defeated. I'm waiting for the day. Waiting for you...
Yours Your Enemy"
Everyone was spooked by this letter, as well as thrilled. "This might be from Aquilla. Let's have this as a clue." Dan told. Fayette agreed to it. Camb nodded. While they had reached a different level of their adventure, there came the canal. Dan steered to the left. They sailed until sunset through the canal, speaking about their discoveries.
"Maybe the villains are watching us, Dan? This might be a reminder of the spy system."
'You're right, Fayette. I guess they're prompting us to reach Aquilla or Serpento through Bajista. Maybe this could be their plan. But, I assume there's something about this puzzle game. Let's set them in place."
Dan fitted the fives puzzles vertically, for it's the only way he could. He wasn't sure in which column should he keep, but it depicted something. They got a picture of a banner. The banner depicted a bear, in the first picture. At once, Dan found it showed Bajista. The next picture showed a bee and a snake sitting on an eagle.
In the third, it showed the eagle along with the bee and the snake chasing the bear, while the bear was walking on two legs, like a human, carrying two things in both hands - a globe and a sword.
"Well, I guess they would trap us in Bajista, trying to defeat us. Remember Mistro? He might be back again. What do you say, Fayette?"
"Indeed, Dan. I guess the snake represents Serpento and obviously, the eagle is Aquilla. But, I don't understand the meaning of the sword, the globe and the bee."
"Whatever it might be, their aim is to trap us in Bajista and attack us. We should be prepared for their attacks."
The sun was down by this time. They had to gather resources for their supper. Dan thought its time to use the fish. They had almost 20. Some of the fish was sold to the villagers and the nearby sailors. Dan loves to fish. And this was Salmon. He's used to eating a lot of red meat. He cooked the fish himself for the first time. The three adventures devoured their supper - fried rice and fish fry. With their hearts contented they take rest. Dan looked for a safe place to anchor the boat. He did get one, after half an hour of roaming in the canal with awful mosquitoes nearby. They're not from the river (of course) but from the nearby puddles and ponds.
Dan hates mosquitoes. He never liked them. But his hate began to grow even more when he got bitten by a mosquito and got malaria at the age of 13. Camb was scratching his body onto a wall of the cabin. Fayette hates them too. For her, they're like biting rats! She hid in a box left on the carriage and after some searching, Dan found a mosquito vapouriser. There was no refill for it, but he ignored it. He spelt his magic on it, hoping to give the refill. He worked for 1-2 minutes and got an infinity refill. There's no need to describe that refill (the name says it all). He attached it to the vapouriser and plugged it. After some time, they felt relieved.
Anyways, Dan parked near a pathway. He thought it meant a small dock for canoes, cause there were canoes and kayaks in there. The people in the boat wished good night and slept.