Next weekend I make plans to drive out to the port city of Faraway to the east. It is the only lead I have. This ‘Lady in the Water’, perhaps she knows something or is connected to why Iskir was attacked. Either way, apparently Iskir learned something in Faraway which caused him to act strange upon his return. Therefore, Faraway seems as good a place as any to investigate.

  Iskir’s research, why he was attacked, the mysterious hatchet capable of killing immortal beings, none of it makes sense. It feels like my search for answers only leads to more questions.

  It is Saturday morning and I am ready to depart. I pass by the couch Sera sleeps on. She is stirring and vaguely awake. "Well, Sera?" I ask.

  "Hm? What?" she grumbles.

  “I asked you three times if you wanted to come with me to Faraway. Twice this morning and once not twenty minutes ago.” I fold my arms and look down at her. "First you said sure. Then you changed your mind and said ask again later. Last time I asked you, you said ask before I leave. Well, I’m leaving. So, what’s your answer?"

  Sera didn't look at all interested, at least not anymore. She rolled around in her pile of unorganized blankets. "A road trip to Faraway huh? Sounds kinda boring to be honest. I don't really feel like being cooped up in your truck for several hours. No offense. Not to mention you're taken the mutt along. You know I can’t stand him.”

  "Don’t you want to see the ocean? Come on, it’ll be fun." My reassurance seems to have little effect on her, but I try regardless.

  "Nah I’m good.” Sera rolls over and pulls the blankets over her head, exposing her feet. She curls up into a ball rather than get up and actually spread them out properly. “I can see the ocean in my games. You go ahead and have fun. I’ll stay here and hold down the fort."

  I shrug and make my way towards the door. "Alright, if you insist."

  "Oh! Buy me a souvenir though!” I can barely hear her muffled voice call out from under her wrecked fortress of blankets. “Something cool and weird I can put on my dresser please."

  She doesn't want to come but she wants something anyway. "I’ll think about it.” I answer. “Alright, I’m off."

  I leave my apartment, get in my truck, and drive off toward Faraway with Sunny, who gladly takes the passenger's seat now that Sera is absent. It is a long drive that takes almost a full day and then some. There is nothing but a long stretch of seldom traveled highway between the two cities. The route is not used for ordinary commutes, just by freight companies transporting cargo. That is Frontier in summary though; a lot of nothing. I take a quick nap halfway there and arrive just outside of Faraway sometime the next morning. I find a discreet lot to park in at the edge of the city proper and get out my truck. Sunny hops out of the passenger’s seat and comes alongside me. We take to the streets and begin exploring the city.

  "So, this is Faraway, huh? It looks like it has seen better days huh Sunny?" I look at Sunny who pants and is ecstatic to be on what is a glorified walk for him. I lean over and give him a few pets. "Well, let’s walk around and see what there is to see."

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Faraway is one of the few, official, ports on the planet. It once was Frontier’s largest city back when the planet was first being colonized and people wanted to come out to Frontier for whatever reason. In recent years, as off-world travel became much more popular, Faraway was made obsolete by the more modern port of Nowhere on the other side of the planet. Faraway’s airfield completely shut down and the city became a naval transportation hub. That said, naval transportation in general is not a booming industry by any means. Transportation by sea, using ordinary sea ships, is far cheaper than air and spaceships, but slow, unreliable, and supposedly miserable. Sea ships are essentially only used to transport large quantities of goods short distances and rarely from one continent to the other. Monsters of the sea are known for being far more dangerous, at least on Frontier, than sky or land-based monsters. So, transportation by sea had never been a big thing on Frontier to begin with. When Faraway’s airfield closed, it seemed to mark the end of the city itself.

  I walk around the city and it looks even worse for wear than I gathered from first glance. Sunny and I walk through the desolate city streets lined with abandoned, run-down buildings. What people are out and about look downtrodden and tired. There isn’t a hint of joy to be had anywhere. At least there are still many different shops up and running. It isn’t all bad. The weather is nice and you can smell the ocean not far away.

  I take refuge on a bench to take it all in. "I guess I should start asking around about this ‘Lady in the Water’.” I say to Sunny. “I guess Sera wanted a souvenir too. She said she wanted something cool and weird, what does that even mean? This is a port city not a carnival… Should I even bother? If she really wanted something, she should have come with us."

  Sunny seems to agree, in his own way.

  “I suppose I’ll buy her something. I'd feel bad if I didn't and maybe it’ll help us get a little bit closer." Sunny yawns and gives me an annoyed look. He seems to disapprove of my decision. "Don’t give me that look! She asked me nicely... or nice enough. How could I not?" Sunny is still not convinced by my defense. "I’m not spoiling her! If anything, you’re more spoiled than she is. How about I buy you a treat too? Will that even things out?" Sunny seems to like that idea. He lets out a happy bark and circles around me. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." I guess I can't say no to either of them.

  Sunny and I walk around the promenade just a few streets ahead of the shoreline. After I get Sunny a treat I check various shops and outdoor vendors for a souvenir to satisfy Sera’s demands. There are a lot of souvenirs and knickknacks one would expect to be sold in shops by the ocean, but nothing stood out. Nothing that screams cool and weird. I don’t even know Sera all that well myself, but she doesn’t seem to have much affinity for maritime trinkets. Many of the shops are just as run down as the city is. A good number of them are boarded up and or vandalized.

  I come upon an outdoor vendor selling antiques with what look like stone-carved figurines. I examine the wares and a peculiar figurine catches my eye. It looks like some kind of weird vaguely humanoid monster.

  The shopkeeper puts down his newspaper and says to me, "Are you interested in that figurine miss? All of my wares are handmade out of the finest stone."

  "Yes, well, no... It’s for a friend.” I say. “What is it though?"

  The shopkeeper smiles and puts his hand together. "It’s a monster called a prutor. They’re demonic imps said to crawl the outside of houses and cause them to creak in the dead of night. They say if it can get into your house, it’ll drag you off into the underworld while you sleep. I don’t think they’re real though, just fairy tales to scare children." The shop keeper gives a boisterous laugh.

  There is something eerie about the figurine as I look over it. "What’s wrong with its face? It looks mangled."

  The shopkeeper puts his hands together. "Well, it doesn’t have one. That’s why it kidnaps people, for their faces,” he says deadpan. “A long time ago my father told me the story of how it lost its face. He said the imp traded its face unto the Goddess of all Knowledge to attain renown unlike that of anyone else in the universe. The imp wanted to become known by all and loved, but it forgot to specify that - it only said it wished to be known. So, indeed, it did become known by all, but only through the fear it and its offspring inspired. Without its face it became a terrible monster."

  "So the Goddess tricked the imp?" I ask.

  The shopkeeper shakes his head. "I don’t think it was a trick. The Goddess just revealed the truth. She is the Goddess of All Knowledge, after all. Was the imp’s face even real to begin with - was it truth? Or was it just a mask to hide the truth? Ultimately, the Goddess upheld most of her end of the bargain. Nowadays there aren't many children who aren't scared to death of being abducted by a prutor!"

  "What a strange story.” I say. “I don't really get it but I’ll take it. How much?"

  I pay for the figure and stuff the wrapped figurine into my bag. The shopkeeper waves goodbye and thanks me for my business as I walk away. Now that Sera’s request has been fulfilled, I begin my search for this ‘Lady in the Water'.