Entry point

Coming towards the end of a peninsula, their ship stumbled across a village that was built right into the edge of a beach. Its edges gleamed with the shallow waters of the tropics; kept at bay by the presence of smooth sandy beaches, which flowed like the ends of a feather with the gust of equally gentle winds.

Large patches of forest and rock rested in the background, while in the distance, stood the massive bodies of rough, peaking mountains. 

It was moderate in size, but no doubt held a lively ambiance.

With slight hesitation, Straits pulled their boat into the town’s dock, before jumping from the side of the vessel.

Witnessing this, Than’s eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets. “No way! That’s like two floors high!” He thought.

“Hump!” Straits simply huffed as he landed on the wooden float below, unscathed.

Noticing their presence, a group of villagers emerged from their seaside homes and approached the ship's crew.

With a smile on his face, Straits gave one of their older men a greeting.

As this was going on, Than and Brauch were struggling to climb down the side of the vessel and catch up with their father.

“Huh. Those villagers seem to have the same red-colored hair as Brauch and Straits.” Than noted to himself.

Seeing his weary expression, Brauch asked. “Is something wrong?” To which Than scoffed and turned away.

“It's been a while since I last visited this place, so how is everyone doing?” Straits questioned the group of villagers, who seemed to not recognize him, but nevertheless asked for his name.

“Straits Rugen!” He exclaimed with a salute.

Hearing this, the crowd went silent.

“Is something wrong?” Straits asked. To which one of the people at the far end of the crowd perked up. "Straits Rugen? As in, son of Einher Rugen?”

Straits affirmed their question with a nod. “That’s my dad. Do you, by any chance, know where he resides? I’ve heard rumors of him moving to this area, but I haven’t confirmed his exact location yet.”

A younger boy towards the front replied. “That’s that old weird guy that lives in the forest outside the village and sometimes hangs out at the local bar, right?”

Straits scratched his chin for a moment. “I haven’t seen him in a while, but that does sound like something he'd do.”

With that, Straits turned around and returned to his ship.

“Hey, boys! Both of you go back up; we still need to unload the cargo from this ship!” He announced, to the annoyance of Than and Brauch, who had just barely reached the ground floor.

“That is one quick Bastard!” Than thought.

******

Later that day, with the sun setting over the horizon, Brauch let out a sigh as he dropped the last box of equipment onto the tiny human-driven carriage Straits had brought along.

Covered in sweat, he turned to his father and gave him a disapproving glare. “Why didn’t you help me? We could’ve finished in half the time!” He grumbled.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, young man.” Straits scolded him. “Anyways, it's small tasks like these that instill a good work ethic in you children … I think.” He stammered with both of his arms crossed.

Watching them argue from atop the same carriage. Than couldn't help but judge Straits as he would a bum. "I could do better as a parent, and I don't have any experience with kids."  He thought 

Having finished unloading their vessel, the three of them set out on their search for the old man; with Brauch being the one to tug on the carriage.

“Exactly how do we reach this hermit grandpa of ours?" Questioned Brauch. "Do we delve into the mountains or something?"

Straits grinned at his son's questions. “Well, son. Your clever father here took the initiative to ask a couple of nearby residents for directions, and I was told that the quickest way to enter the nearby forest would be to cut through the town’s center street market. Which, from what I heard, is a quite nice.”

“All right, so where can we find this market then?"

“Right here.” Straits proudly proclaimed as the group turned a corner.

In front of them stood a long cobblestone road; Shops lined its walls, selling a variety of products; illuminated by a long strip of diversely colored lanterns which hung from a rope in the center. Along with that, crowds of villagers occupied whatever free space was left in between the venders. 

“I’m guessing this place is popular among locals?” Brauch said.

Straits simply shrugged. "Something like that. Today is the anniversary of their founding, so a celebration is to be expected.”

“That’s nice and all …” Bruach quickly interrupted. “... But how exactly are we supposed to cut through all of these people? I’d suggest we take another route.” He proposed.

Listening to Bruach, Straits wrapped his arm around the older boy and gave him a somber smile. “No need to rush. Let's at least try to make the journey pleasant.” He winked.

Bruach remained disappointed and speechless. On the other hand, Than licked his lips.

It had been a while since he'd tasted normal cuisine, and frankly, he was getting tired of that weird ocean stew.