Morning.
I woke up from a nightmare. Don't ask me what it was about. I forgot the moment I opened my eyes. One of those dreams where you're running from something, or maybe chasing someone, or maybe you were a chicken. Who knows. Point is, it made no sense, and now it's gone.
Downstairs, in the inn's eating hall, Elhaan was already awake. Talking—or rather pretending to talk—with Zaman Zee. Zaman was nodding, eyes blank, like a man whose soul had left his body. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if either of them even sleep. Then again, I've heard Elhaan snore. God forbid anyone doubts that man's lungs.
"Come here, Mikael," Elhaan raised his hand like a king summoning a servant.
I sat quietly. Best not to test his mood before breakfast.
"Eat. Then we go for the ship."
That was that. Zaman would buy supplies. I would follow orders. We always did what Elhaan said. there's never a vote, never a debate. He talks, we walk.
Outside, the sun was shining brighter now. We headed toward the mountain. Not the usual green type of mountain. This one was bluish-violet, towering over the harbor like some enchanted wall. Waves of emerald-colored water smacked against its rocky feet, foaming like an angry drunk.
The caves at the base were enormous, each lined with metal frameworks like massive garages. Only instead of cars, they stored ships. Shipbuilding, repairing, buying, selling , this was the heart of Takhbay's ship district.
And what a sight it was. Pointy rocks like teeth hung from the cave roofs. Blue water sparkled inside, connecting tunnels straight into the ocean. Some caves had half-built ships sticking out. Others were packed with carpenters, hammers ringing, ropes dangling.
"Did you feed the moos well?" someone shouted.
"Yes!" came the reply.
Now, I had never seen a moos before. Turns out it's a magical beast with rotating teeth-yes, like a chainsaw. They use it for cutting wood, smoothing planks. Very practical. Very terrifying. If one of those things ever sneezes near you, you'll end up in slices.
We stopped at a wooden counter. Behind it sat a fat, bald man cleaning his prosthetic metal arm. Looked like he could crush your skull with his stomach alone. But when he spoke, it was with a sharp, shrill voice—completely wrong for his body.
"Elhaan?" he squeaked.
"Here for Imran," Elhaan said.
The man pointed lazily toward a cluster of tall trees growing out of the cliffside. Among them, I spotted a few crooked houses balancing on branches. Treehouses. Dangerous-looking ones.
Elhaan slid a copper coin across the counter like he was tipping a bard. The man pocketed it with a grunt.
We climbed up the path until we reached one of those treehouses , rickety, swaying a little too much in the sea breeze.
Elhaan knocked twice.
A long minute later, a raspy voice answered, "Coming."
The door creaked open.
Imran stood there. Bald, one prosthetic leg, an eyepiece he was still screwing into place. His beard was basically half-hearted stubble clinging for dear life. White tank top, stained. He gave me a suspicious look, the kind that makes you want to check if you still have all your pockets.
"I'm here for the Dagger's Oath," Elhaan said calmly. He pulled a token from his coat. Old, worn, clearly important. "Ilyaas sent me."
Imran's eyes narrowed. He studied the token, grunted, then stepped aside.
Inside, the place was surprisingly neat. Tools and ship parts lined every shelf. Out the window, leaves fluttered in the wind. On a desk sat the strangest sight of all: an old boot with a ship-in-a-bottle stuffed inside it. A necklace hung off the rim. The weird part? The boot had two little eyes.
It stared at us. Judging us. Then it turned away like, "Not worth my time."
"Boot," Imran said.
The boot groaned. "Ugh. What now?"
"Call Ilyaas."
The shoe muttered something and started glowing faintly. I decided not to question my life choices.
After a minute, Imran nodded. Whatever needed confirming was confirmed. He grabbed a long coat from a hook, belted it tight, and motioned to us.
"Follow me."
So we followed. Down the twisting paths again, past shallow pools and half-sunken docks. Finally, we reached a sealed metal gate, covered in moss, separate from the rest of the caves.
Imran whispered a command.
The gate groaned open.
Inside there she was. A massive ship. Too perfect in shape, like someone had carved it out of shadow and bone. It stood silent, waiting.
"The Dagger's Oath," Imran said. "Docked two years. Needs inspection. She's no ordinary ship, but give me a day."
I nodded. "We'll come back tomorrow."
Elhaan agreed.
We exchanged parting words, then made our way back to the inn