On a rainy day in the tavern near Ves-Dinas harbor. The relentless rain from the gray sky soaks the ground, and the occasional thunderclap from outside halts the raised tankards and forks heading toward plates, creating momentary silences among the people inside the tavern.
The exterior of the small harbor tavern, 'The Eternal Sailor' has darkened further from the rain soaking its old wooden structure, with rainwater streaming endlessly down the small windows along the frames.
At the entrance hangs a large wooden sign with the bold letters 'The Eternal Sailor' scrawled in the owner's rough handwriting. The sign is old and worn, but the letters remain clear. As sailors hurriedly push open the door to escape the rain, the small bell inside chimes, announcing the arrival of new patrons along with their voices.
The interior of the tavern was a world apart from the outside. Warm logs crackled in the fireplace, and candles placed here and there illuminated the dark corners. In the center stood large wooden tables, laden with plates of variously shaped foods and tankards filled with drinks.
Adventurers and sailors seated at the tables shared tales of their experiences, laughing and chatting loudly enough to overpower the fierce rain pounding outside.
The sailors wore rough clothes imbued with the scents of the sea and rain. They boasted about storms encountered during their recent voyages, enormous fish caught by skewering bread scraps or leftover meat bits on hooks, and sometimes showed off pouches heavy with silver coins rewarded by their captains for a good haul. Some even brought fresh seafood from their ships to share with the tavern's patrons.
At the tables where adventurers sat, and on the nearby walls, lay weapons of various sizes. They regaled the surrounding guests with stories of battles from their quests, proudly recounting a recent close call when surrounded by a goblin horde. Amid the noisy voices of such companions, some adventurers quietly spread out maps of the city's surrounding terrain and newly discovered caves in a corner, planning their next expedition.
The tavern owner filled empty tankards with practiced ease and handed out beers to newly arrived patrons to sip while they pondered their food orders.
Greeting the customers with a subtle smile and friendly tone, the owner listened to their stories as he conversed with them.
The walls were adorned with large fish bones, old iron harpoons, and small ship models decorated by the owner and his colleagues, heightening the maritime atmosphere.
The rain continued to pour. As time passed, the tavern grew even more bustling. Some adventurers pulled out small instruments from their pockets and began improvising songs while tapping on the tables. Sailors gathered to the sound of the music, stomping their feet in rhythm to the adventurers' tunes. Soon, everyone in the tavern united in laughter, song, and dance.
'The Eternal Sailor' tavern, a vibrant space far from gloomy on this rainy day. In a secluded corner, a man sat clapping along, downing the beer in his hand.
It was Tardan, the owner of the smithy in Ves-Dinas's old town market district. His throat was hoarse from dealing with the influx of customers due to the Grand Tournament, and his arms and legs ached all over, but Tardan's expression was brighter than ever as he clapped and stomped to the cheerful songs filling the tavern.
Customers introduced by Nia Calagon would say things like, "I heard the half-spear Nia uses is your handiwork?" or "They say the weapons here are top-notch." flocking in daily. Thanks to that, he spent his days tirelessly serving customers and hammering red-hot iron whenever he had a spare moment.
Amid such hectic days, Tardan was finally enjoying a rare break, waiting at 'The Eternal Sailor' for his old friend he'd arranged to meet.
"Hey! Blacksmith~"
A voice tapped Tardan on the shoulder as he hummed along to the songs, propping his chin on his hand.
"You're late~ Lighthouse Keeper. I thought the ship back to the harbor sank or something."
"Heh heh. The ship and the weather were too good for that! The rain started after we docked. What about the food? Did you order?"
The man called the Lighthouse Keeper by Tardan chuckled playfully as he sat across the table.
"Yeah, I ordered. I told the tavern owner to start cooking when a big-mouthed, scrawny friend sits across from me... So it'll take a bit for the food to come. In the meantime, have this warmed wine."
Tardan opened the lid of the thick lidded tankard on the table and passed it to the Lighthouse Keeper opposite him, continuing the conversation.
"Oh~ ho! Perfect timing, this damn rain had me chilling to the bone."
Taking the tankard from Tardan and bringing it to his lips, the Lighthouse Keeper said.
"How is it? The apple and cinnamon scents are nice, right?"
"Mm~ Yeah. The sweetness is just right—perfect to sip before the food arrives."
Savoring the spices and dried fruit aromas spreading in his mouth with a satisfied smile, the Lighthouse Keeper continued.
"Anyway, aren't you busy? I heard your once-deserted weapon shop is overflowing with customers now?"
"Huh? How does a guy stuck tending a lighthouse on an island know that?"
"Phehehe, I have my ways. But more importantly... I had something interesting happen recently. Wanna hear?"
Leaning forward so his voice wouldn't get lost in the merry music spreading through the tavern, the Lighthouse Keeper asked Tardan. At the same time, he ladled more warmed wine into his own tankard and Tardan's.
"What kinda nonsense now? If it's another story about fish you caught on the lighthouse island, I'll just pretend I heard it... To a landlubber like me who only hammers iron, they all sound the same."
"Aww, no. It's not about fishing. It happened at the lighthouse not long ago. About repelling a flock of Krukuut~"
"Krukuut? How many? Go on, keep talking..."
With a strangely proud expression, the Lighthouse Keeper cleared his throat briefly, then began recounting the day's events to the curious Tardan.
"You know, right, Tardan? On stormy nights, sometimes Krukuut that get separated from their flock or lose their way end up on my lighthouse island."
"Yeah, I know. That's why there are soldiers there too. How many did you say there are?"
"About twenty or so. Anyway, to start the story, that day the wind was fierce, and the moon was hidden behind thick black clouds, so I used more oil than usual to make the lighthouse beam brighter... It was late at night, but I couldn't sleep for some reason. After stoking the light, I was rummaging in the underground storage for some dried fish to share with the soldiers in the barracks below."
"The dried flying fish you brought last time? That was pretty tasty."
"Hm? No, no... That day it was probably sea bream... Or mackerel...? Anyway, not flying fish."
A tavern waitress approached carefully with a large plate of food, not wanting to interrupt the conversation between the Lighthouse Keeper and Tardan. She placed it down quietly—a well-roasted goose served with potatoes.
She slid the plate to the center of the table, flashed a smile, and mouthed 'Enjoy your meal' without making a sound. Tardan and the Lighthouse Keeper nodded in thanks, and their conversation resumed.
"So... Where was I? Ah... Yeah, yeah, I grabbed a few dried fish from the storage and headed out of the lighthouse. It's just a short downhill to the barracks, so I didn't bother with a hooded cloak or even a lantern—too lazy to replace the candle."
"No moonlight, you said? You navigated that dark path just fine..."
Tardan said as he tore off a large piece of goose meat from the plate.
"Hehe... I could walk the lighthouse side blindfolded. It's been ten years since I started going back and forth between the lighthouse island and Ves-Dinas... Anyway, as I was walking toward the barracks, that's when I heard it—the wingbeats of those damned Krukuut. Not just one or two; the flapping pierced through the rain, sounding like a bunch."
"I've never seen them myself, but I hear they're way bigger than us... With wings that size, I can imagine the noise. So? What happened next?"
"What do you think? I ran toward the barracks. I wanted to shout to alert the soldiers, but I figured something might come flying from the sky and hit me, so I bit my lip and just dashed."
The Lighthouse Keeper paused to signal two fingers to a passing waitress for two beers. Soon, chilled beers were placed before Tardan and him, and the conversation continued.
"I made it to the barracks, but the area around it and the watchtowers were already swarming with Krukuut. The soldiers were swinging and throwing torches, thrusting spears at the flapping ones... I had no choice but to hide in the shadow of a nearby big rock. More and more Krukuut were gathering around the barracks."
Recalling the memory in detail, the Lighthouse Keeper tilted his tankard and took a big swig.
"But you managed to drive them off somehow, right? Otherwise, I'd be talking to a ghost right now."
"Heh heh heh, yeah. That night, all those flapping Krukuut ended up dead, or the survivors had their wings bound and shackles on, locked in the deep underground prison of Ves-Dinas."
"Underground prison? So some were captured alive? How?"
"Just like you said, Tardan, I almost became a ghost that night. The barracks was surrounded by Krukuut, and even with all the awakened soldiers, those bird bastards outnumbered them by far... It was a crisis. A lighthouse keeper like me rushing in would've just added another corpse to the island."
"You did the right thing. No one would blame you for hiding in that moment. What could folks like us do against those savage, brutal Krukuut?"
"Thanks for saying that; makes me feel a bit less like a coward that night. Appreciate it, heh heh... So, what happened in the end was..."
The Lighthouse Keeper used two forks to tear off some goose meat—one fork with the meat, the other with a potato chunk—then continued the rest of the story to Tardan.
"A man appeared out of nowhere and started helping the soldiers, dropping the Krukuut one by one from the sky. He had a black hood pulled low, so I couldn't see his face, but he flew higher than the Krukuut, slicing their wings and arms to make them drop their weapons. He was so fast it was hard to follow with the eyes. They fell from the sky with arms, legs, and waists severed—some even split in half. Even if it had been a clear day with the sun out and no storm, that speed would've been impossible to track."
"Wasn't it just one of the soldiers with exceptional skill?"
"Nope. The one slicing Krukuut in the sky wasn't among the soldiers. Me and all the soldiers gathered to watch this black-hooded man in the air taking them down."
"So, you're saying some guy suddenly shows up on that isolated island in the middle of the ocean, flies around cutting down Krukuut with a sword, and saves the soldiers and the lighthouse keeper... Is that it?"
Tardan's face was full of skepticism as he confirmed the Lighthouse Keeper's words.
"Yeah, exactly? And with insanely fast swordplay—swish swish slash! Chop!"
Wielding the fork like a sword, the Lighthouse Keeper tried to mimic the movements of the black-hooded man he'd seen that day for Tardan.
"Well... If you say so, it must be true... But what about that hooded guy? What happened after? After driving off all the Krukuut?"
"Hm... He just vanished. Disappeared into the black clouds... I approached to at least say thanks, but he just looked around the barracks, confirmed no more Krukuut were left, and poof—gone."
"That's bizarre... But thanks to that bizarre event, you're here today, so I can't complain about not knowing who he was."
"Hahaha. I don't know much else, but I definitely owe him my life. If I ever see him again, I'll give him a proper thanks and a heap of dried fish. Anyway, that's the story I went through not long before coming to Ves-Dinas today. Fun to hear as a tale, right?"
The Lighthouse Keeper laughed cheerfully and raised his beer glass high, tilting it toward his mouth.
"Then, with those surviving Krukuut as proof, you must've gotten some gold reward from the lord or maybe Lord Ratak! So today's tab at the pub is on you, with your pockets full of reward money?"
"Whoa~ What are you talking about? With that measly reward, this poor lighthouse keeper needs to buy a coat to survive the winter chills on that isolated lighthouse. Better to give the chance to pay for today's food and drinks to the smithy owner who's so swamped he can't even sell out his stock~!"
After a while of bickering mixed with laughter, the clink of beer glasses and even louder guffaws were all that echoed.