Effie and Kai climbed over the rubble of the shattered gateway and entered the crumbled fortress. Both were tired and covered in layers of dirt, their armors dented and their weapons nicked. The travel to the very edge of the explored lands had not been easy.
Even though they had made stops and rested at human Citadels along the way, it took a lot of strength, endurance, resolve, and a bit of luck to reach the Chained Isles alive.
However, both Raised by Wolves and Nightingale were calm and vigilant, their eyes sharp, their hands steady. They were ready to face any danger… luckily, there were no enemies inside the ruin.
Instead, several Nightmare Creatures lay dead on the ground, some of them cut to pieces, some strangely lacking any wounds, but utterly broken — as though something terrifyingly powerful had crushed their bodies with inhuman strength.
The shadows suddenly moved, and a split second later, Kai already had his bow drawn. However, Effie gestured for him to lower it.
Out of the shadows, a tall and graceful figure in elaborate black armor stepped out, two ruby flames shining behind the visor of her helmet. In one hand, she wielded a steadfast kite shield forged out of dull steel, and in the other, an austere sword, its blade still dripping with rancid blood of the slaughtered abominations.
Kai cautiously studied the menacing creature.
"Is that Sunny's Echo? She looks… different?"
Effie grinned.
"Yeah… she does that sometimes. Hey there, beautiful! Where's your sneaky boyfr... I mean, master?"
The taciturn demon tilted her head a little, stared at Effie for a few moments, then silently turned around and walked away.
"...I guess we should follow."
The three of them left the crumbling fortress and walked along the edge of the island. Soon, the heavenly smell of roasting meat reached their nostrils.
A few seconds later, both Effie and Kai froze, their mouths hanging open.
A firepit was built in the shadow of an ancient wall, strips of juicy, generously seasoned meat roasting over the coals.
But that was not all.
There were also fresh vegetables and succulent fruits, a copper cezve producing the unmistakable smell of freshly brewed coffee, and a few more things that people very rarely saw in the Dream Realm.
The person responsible for all this revelry was sitting in a comfortable folding chair, lazily enjoying a slice of melon.
When he saw them, an impish smile appeared on his face.
"Oh, hi guys! You finally made it!"
With that, the young man jumped out of the chair, reached into a pot full of ice, and then placed two frosty bottles of cold, expensive beer into their hands.
Sunny grinned.
"Welcome to the Chained Isles!"
***
Some time later, Effie and Kai had satiated their hunger and were resting with dreamy expressions on their faces. Sunny had given up his folding chair and was now sitting on the ground. He was inwardly lamenting the fact that Covetous Coffer was not large enough on the inside to fit several... at least not yet. Maybe after he becomes a Master, things would be different.
Kai took a sip of his beer and glanced at the branded bottle in his hand with a funny expression.
"Sunny… how do you even have all this stuff? Are you on such good terms with the White Feather clan?"
Sunny laughed.
"Nope, I delivered all these things here myself. What, you have forgotten about my Brilliant Emporium already? It seems that Aiko had not hounded you for an endorsement hard enough… or maybe too hard, and you're suffering from trauma-induced amnesia? I mean, you are basically a co-founder! The first deal I ever made was with your help, remember?"
Kai smiled.
"Those terrible Memories you asked me to buy on your behalf in the Castle? Yeah, I do."
Sunny nodded with enthusiasm.
"My operation might seem small compared to what you two have seen in Bastion, but here on the Chained Island, I am the most successful entrepreneur. I guess it's true what they say about business… you know. You have to find the right people in the right wells. Or something like that."
The charming archer blinked a couple of times, but didn't comment.
Effie, on the other hand, did. Finishing her beer, she glanced at the empty bottle with regret and sighed.
"Sunny, I have a serious question… think about it before answering… take your time, too. Will you marry me? No, seriously! I am reformed. I swear I won't tease you anymore… I won't even mind you having a girlfriend! Just continue supplying me with all this stuff!"
He sneered.
"No. Denied. You shameless gold digger."
Effie made a disappointed face, then threw her head back and laughed out loud.
"Oh, well. Alright then."
Then, she grew a little bit more serious and asked:
"So, what's the plan? How do we proceed from here?"
Sunny sighed, then took out his map of the Chained Isles and placed it on the grass.
Effie and Kai got closer and studied it attentively.
He pointed to the southernmost point on the map and said:
"We are here. First things first, we need to get you to the Sanctuary of Noctis, which is about three days of traveling away, and get you anchored there. White Feather clan patrols this route routinely, so we shouldn't run into anything too troublesome."
Then, he pointed at a particular island marked with an image of a burned tree.
"After you are settled, we'll go check up on the Fire Keepers and their progress on the ship. They won't be finished repairing that thing for at least a month more, from what I've heard, so you'll have to spend that time well. Hunt, saturate your cores as much as you can, search for better equipment."
Effie nodded.
"What about you and Cassie? Are you well prepared?"
Sunny hesitated, then nodded.
"I am reasonably prepared. Cassie… I don't know. But the two of us have another task to accomplish before the ship is ready to set sail."
He pointed to the very north of the Chained Isles, to a dark island that was almost touching the foreboding slopes of the Hollow Mountains.
"There is something we need to retrieve from the Night Temple. If all goes well, we'll travel north and come back within a month. If it takes longer, we will rendezvous here."
His finger landed on the Shipwreck Island.
"...And challenge the Seed. That's the gist of it. Don't worry, though, we'll talk everything through in detail before Cassie and I leave."
Effie and Kai glanced at each other.
"Sounds like a plan."
Sunny nodded, then glanced at the setting sun.
"Good. Rest well tonight, then. We'll set off in the morning."
...Winter was drawing closer and closer.
And the closer it got, the more nervous he became.