"I can only hope that the one reading this can learn from my mistakes. Perhaps maybe even learn something that can be considered wisdom."

The smell of salt in the air almost made James sick with recollection. He had to bury those memories deep within, if only so he wouldn't start hating himself. He instead decided to focus on the distant horizon, where the sun was barely peeking out. Today, he would reclaim what was lost and save his home from orc raiders.

'If it's not already being burned to the ground,' he thought bitterly.

'Stay calm, James,' Faust said within. 'We'll get back in time.'

'How can you be so sure that it'll hold out?' James asked.

'How can you be sure that they'll fall?' Faust threw back. 'Have faith in your friends. They are not so weak.'

James bit his tongue at that, his head resting against the mast of Boar's Fury. He looked down at the thick journal he held in his hands, the one that had been written by Yorn Halvorson himself. He only read up to the logs taken before his meeting with the Atroxi, stopping only for a moment. James couldn't help but feel a little sick at the idea of reading a dead man's writings. A man who was the father of his closest friend.

It didn't help that he knew the end of this story. The Atroxi—who were better known as Barbarians—did not vie for peace with Valenfrost. James knew well how things turned out. The only question he had was the timeline of events. Didn't the Outsider Wars begin with the Lumen Kingdom sparking conflict? He could've sworn that it was a common fact that the Barbarians had arrived a couple years after.

'It could be,' Faust said. 'That after their confrontation with Yorn, they left for Atrox to recuperate and gather forces. By the time the war was in full swing, they saw an opportunity.'

James slowly nodded to that, his hand resting on the leather cover of the book. He grimaced at the idea of reading more so he instead focused on a friendly face.

Dimitri was ordering around the crew of the longship, his hands gesturing wildly as the men churned their oars. The drummer at the rear was thumping his instrument, keeping them all in sync as the shipmaster guided the men on the rudders and sails. Nearby, Miles watched with an air of fascination.

The Follower of Chaos seemed to blend in on the crowded deck, despite his cracked mask and outlandish clothes. He had been given his old gear back, which James recognized as being similar to the garb the man wore during their time questing. Miles still held on to his cuirass, dents and all. However, his shawl had been traded out for a ruddy brown cloak that had tattered ends. It exposed his armor underneath, revealing his belt and bandolier of vials.

James wasn't sure what happened to Miles this past year. Last he saw of the man, he had been heading north with Edmund, who had embarked on a journey home. He idly wondered how that journey ended.

'Did Edmund ever make it out?' he thought. James hoped he did if only to rest a little easily at the idea of someone making out of Valenfrost alive and sane. He had doubts that he himself would be so lucky.

"Did you get any sleep?" someone asked nearby. James didn't have to turn to know that Naomi had moved to sit closer to his spot. He just continued to stare ahead, deciding not to make eye contact with the other Earthling.

"I've spent more time than I should've in bed already," James admitted. "So, not really."

"You need sleep," she murmured.

"You need to back off," James responded, a little harsher. "I don't need you to worry about me."

"Well, I wish it could be as easy as that," Naomi said softly. "Thing is, I don't really have much of a choice."

James glanced at her, scowling. Naomi wasn't even looking at him, her one eye gazing up at the morning sky. She looked to be completely relaxed, her right hand fiddling with something.

"What's your deal?" he asked.

"Depends on what you mean by that," she said simply.

"Villtur. Yorktown. Saving me," James listed. "I can see why Lukas wants me and my clan. Hell, I can almost relate to it. But you, I can't figure you out. What do you want? Why do you stick around?"

Naomi stopped for a moment, her hand stilling. James could barely see what it was she held. It was a… silver coin? No, James could see that it was actually a quarter from Earth. He almost didn't recognize it, given that there wasn't much light for him to distinguish the small details.

"When Thien summoned me here," Naomi muttered. "He gave me a quest with a promise of a reward." She flipped the coin, the silver quarter spinning for a bit before it landed on her palm. "He told me that I could ask for one thing. A second chance at life. All I had to do was one simple quest."

"It wasn't simple, was it?" James asked, his gaze moving to his lap. He could recall that sleazy grin Thien always had, almost like he was begging for someone to take whatever offer he had on the table.

"They never are," Naomi said. James could hear her flip the coin once more, her voice growing soft. "I spent three years fighting. Not just against the ones I considered enemies but even the ones I thought were my friends. I killed to survive. Killed to protect. Sound familiar?"

James didn't say anything. He thought back to the times he had to fight, to the battles where he lost friends. To the moments he had thought his time was up. Only a year had passed since his summoning. A year that was already starting to break him. How did Naomi get through three?

"What did you ask from him?" James asked after a moment of silence. "When you finished your quest? Did you even complete it?"

"I completed it," Naomi said. "Did it just the way he wanted. Every i dotted and every t crossed." James could hear how she shifted in her spot, prompting him to glance once more. She was looking right at him, her fingers holding up the quarter from before.

'No… that's not a quarter. At least, not anymore.'

James stared at the small token, which had a glyph inscribed onto it. It was burnt into the coin, malforming what used to be the coin's head.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"I wanted to go back home," Naomi revealed. "I still want to go back home. I want nothing more than to be back there, far from this place."

"Why can't you?" James asked. He felt as if he knew the answer already.

Naomi simply placed the coin over her bandaged left eye, eclipsing the socket. "Like you, I'm cursed to stay here. All because of what lies behind the gauze. I can't rip it out. I can't even destroy it. Because if I do, I will die."

"So Thien can't take you back unless you get rid of it," James murmured. The pieces slowly began to click for him. That was why she had hunted the Eye he kept on Yorktown and why she was so obsessed with James' current situation. He had encountered these users and was looking for them. If she was also looking for them…

"You want to find a solution," James said. "To get rid of the eye without killing yourself. But can't Thien do it? He's basically a god, no? This would probably be nothing for him."

"I could ask him," Naomi said, sitting back in her spot. She tucked the coin back into her satchel. "If it ever gets to the point where the pain is unbearable."

"That's dangerous," James argued. "This is dangerous. We have no idea what it could—"

"You have no idea," Naomi corrected. "I've been living with this thing longer than you have with your spirit. I know it won't take control. It can't, no matter how hard it wants to. Believe me." She rested her head against the mast. "The coin is just a promise. That there is a solution to this curse. Just in case I don't find the answers I need."

James only stared at her, frowning as he mulled over her words. He felt the need to argue against what she said, to tell her that the risks were too great. Yet he held back from it. The last thing he needed was more problems to think about. So he instead decided to sit back in his spot, and do his best to not feel frustration over his current situation.

He didn't do a very good job of it.

Haggard gritted his teeth as he dragged the last of the ship's cargo, his arms straining as he heaved the iron barrel onto Draugr's Haunt. The longship shifted from the weight, the crew all stopping in their tracks to watch with worry.

"Freyja's tits, Haggard!" Liam called from nearby, the former wheelman hurrying over. His naval jacket now had the telltale pin of a shipmaster, the metal made of bronze to signify that it was a temporary promotion.

"She can hold the weight," Haggard breathed. "Right?"

"Well, she is orc-built," Liam said, his hand brushing through his ginger hair. "I reckon she can bear the extra pounds."

"What of the ammo?" Rockford grunted, the dwarf dragging along a small crate. Liam turned around, his boot raising as he pressed some of his own weight against it. It didn't budge.

"Well, now this is ridiculous," Liam muttered. "Maybe if we offload some of the cargo inside…"

The crew soon got to work on offloading the ship of its cargo, carrying it off-board and trading it for the rest of the crates Haggard and Rockford brought. However, right as they finished, a familiar face arrived at their spot on the harbor.

"Haggard!" Nora called, forcing the man to turn from his work. He stared at the older woman, who stood on the floating dock with visible discomfort. She still wasn't used to the movements of the sea. Haggard almost found that telling.

"We're going to Yorktown," Haggard said. "I don't care if you think my plan is stupid. It is. I already know that. Suicidal, even. A waste of time and a ridiculous—"

"Shut up," Nora interrupted. "Just… Just promise me."

Haggard froze, his thoughts halted as he stared at Nora. "What?"

"Promise me," Nora repeated. "That this will work. That you'll save the townspeople."

"I… I can't," Haggard sputtered, confused. This was the last thing he expected from her. Of all the damn things she could've said…

"If you can't promise," Nora said, her voice shaking. "Then why are you going?"

Was she… was she crying? This woman, the same one who once tried to exile him, was crying? Haggard just stood there, dumbfounded. Genuinely unsure of what to say. That question… it infuriated him. Not because of Nora specifically. But because there was no good answer. Could Haggard promise such a thing? Was he even sure of himself?

'Dammit, this is where I start questioning myself? Over a damn promise?'

Yet Haggard couldn't help but feel skeptical. He knew that their efforts could pay off. Their weapon could affect this fight, dramatically so. But would it be enough to win it? Three longships, one weapon, against what was reportedly a large blockade of ships. Orc ships, for that matter, along with one of the most dangerous creatures Haggard had the displeasure of facing.

Could he win this?

'James could,' he thought. That was the first thing that came to mind. James could win this. He would do it with style, if anything. Every fight that man was in, he always came out on top. A siege like this would be nothing. Right?

The thing was, Haggard wasn't really sure. James was still missing, possibly dead. Yorktown's 'allies' were watching with anticipation, all in hopes of the White Raven's fall. No one was coming to save the island. That was clear from his standpoint.

'Falrick said they're going to raid,' he thought, recalling their conversation earlier that morning. 'No one is coming. Not James, not the clans.'

Even if he wasn't sure if he could win, Haggard was not going to stand idly and watch that town burn. He was their calvary. Their only hope for survival. With that in mind, he turned to Nora with a confident grin.

"I can't promise shit," he said loudly. "But I will see what I can do."

Nora just blinked at that, confusion on her expression as she tried to formulate a response. Before she could, however, Nathan appeared and patted her shoulder. The Wizard wore his signature robes, a pack slung behind his back, and he used a staff as a walking stick.

"I suppose what he meant to say," he started, his staff's tip tilting his hat's brim back. "Is that we'll give them hel. Go and get some sleep, Nora. I hear that it does wonders for the skin."

The councilwoman nodded at that, her hand wiping what looked to be tears in her eyes. She gave Haggard a glance, and gods be damned, she smiled at him.

"Give those bastard hel," Nora said to him, her head tilting a nod of respect before she headed off into the city with the two guards she brought along.

"Nice lady," Nathan said as he gave his pack to one crewmate.

"I'm positive she's been replaced by a doppelganger," Haggard sighed as he set aside another crate for space. He looked up at Nathan, who guided someone onto Draugr's Haunt's deck bridge. Hilda, it seemed, was coming along.

"Are you sure you want to come along?" Haggard asked. "We're probably going to get boarded if things go to shit."

"I need to make sure you all don't blow yourselves into oblivion," Hilda said as she rested a hand on the heavy barrel. "This is my creation, don't forget."

"One that you stole from James' world," Haggard commented.

"Appropriated," Hilda said with a snap. "The term is 'appropriated.' Gnomes in Havengard would stone you for that mistake."

"Well, good thing we're not at Havengard," Haggard muttered. "Are we prepared, Nathan?"

The Wizard nodded, his feet wobbling a bit as he boarded the other longship, the one meant to evacuate the townspeople. "The other ships are ready. Their men are equipped with Fireball runes, and the guardsmen who agreed to come with us have all kept their word."

"How many are coming?" Rockford asked.

"Between the ships that are going to be our offensive, we're looking at a good eighty men," Nathan said. "Most are city guardsmen, thankful for the chance to repay the debt they owe to James."

"Let's hope they get a chance to repay that debt then," Haggard said. "If we're successful, we can probably make landfall without much trouble."

Nathan nodded, his gaze moving to the horizon ahead. The sun's light was slowly peeking through, signifying the start of the day ahead. Haggard had a feeling that it was going to be a long day. He only hoped that it would end with Yorktown safe and Blood-Irk dead.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.