From The Ashes [#NaNoWriMo16]

Chapter Two - Issobel Rique

Voleai wasn't as big as Adrana, or as populated as Rathnos, but it definitely was richer. The Elves tended to pay attention to the real problems Reichon was facing, rather than spending all their money on pointless things like capturing thieves and making their country look pretty. The Elves built all their cities and towns around nature, so as to keep peace with the world. They were the ones that thought about Reichon's wellbeing, not the Keeri. The Elves looked after the world; they brought amity everywhere they went. And they turned their attention to the big problems, not the pointless ones. Like what was going on south of Adrana.

For around about a year, ships that scoured the ocean looking for new land had been going missing, not returning to Adrana's southern port. More ships would leave the docks in search of the lost ones, but they wouldn't return either. It was a mystery; the biggest problem since the war. But what was Adrana doing about it? Nothing but stealing ships from every other country and sending them south, to make it look like they were doing something. And when someone asked them about it, they'd turn a head and say "not to worry; we're doing everything we can to fix this issue. But, in the meantime, let's look in the other direction, at this guy we're going to imprison for stealing some pumpkin seeds because he's poor."

What jerks. Honestly, if Issey didn't have her father to look after, she would have made a million complaints to King Ethir regarding the Adranian Council's actions over the past few centuries. But she couldn't afford to get herself arrested for standing up for her country when she had an elf that was relying on her to stay alive.

Her thick, blonde hair flew out behind her as she ran quickly through the busy streets of Vadox to get the shipment of tarragon. It was a good thing that elves were agile beings; most of the ones that Issey almost ran into were quick enough to jump out the way, but she managed to avoid the ones that weren't on her own. This gave her a quick and easy route to the western port.

No matter how hard she tried, Issey could never quite convince herself that everything was going to be okay with her dad. He could hardly walk anymore; she needed to stop kidding herself. He didn't have long, and she knew it. He tried to bring it up with her sometimes, to soften the blow a little, but Issey would change the subject, or get angry. It never ended well, so he just stopped talking about it. She knew, though. She knew the risks. And if she didn't find a cure soon, for whatever it was that her father was sick with, it was going to completely envelop him and she would be left alone in a horrible, horrible world.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder exactly what it was that was happening to those ships. Sure, Adrana didn't think it was a problem, but Issey did. Well, either that or they were scared to face something that was bigger and more powerful than them. If something awful was happening to the ships, Adrana was happy with turning their heads and pretending like they didn't know what was going on, because it meant that they didn't have to face the real threat and look weak. But the Elves knew better than playing along with their stupid 'games' and had taken it upon themselves to overlook the entirety of Reichon, instead of just Voleai. They were looking into the missing ships from Adrana's port currently, and despite the extended amount of time it was taking them to work on it, Issey was just glad that they were actually doing something to help.

She made it to the southern port quick and easy, just missing the midday traffic of workers that were changing shifts. Letting out a long, heavy breath of air, Issey moved for the decking and looked for the man with the half-shaven hair that Kay had told her to look out for. Despite the heat of the day, Issey was wearing a long-sleeved, white fabric shirt with the lace at the front done up loosely. It was thin, though, and gave free movement. She had a belt over the shirt, done up around her waist that held all the bottles of her liquid and explosive poisons, all concealed very well to avoid anyone robbing her. She also wore a pair of tight brown pants that went with her favourite pair of black boots, which fit her so well that she dreaded the day they didn't.