The Quest

Tom woke up the next morning, swaying in his hammock. He turned to his side, barely seeing over the edge. He heard the pirates above deck going about their day. The ship was moving. It must've been later in the day than he had thought. Why did Destru let him sleep in? Tom wrestled in his mind about how long he thought he could stay in his hammock without people wondering where he was. Sighing, he opted to get up.

After making himself semi-presentable, he made his way to the upper deck. All the pirates were running around with vigor, which was weird to him. Why was everyone so excited?

"Mr. Tom!" Runes' voice called from the ship's wheel. Tom looked towards him to see he was steering the ship... that was odd. Maybe he bumped his head before falling asleep and was suffering from memory loss. "Ready to find the Dias?" Rune grinned with excitement, making Tom cock his head in confusion.

"Did we find it?" Tom asked, making his way up to the ship's wheel. He wasn't sure why Destru was letting the pipsqueak steer.

"Capt'n says we're headed to the flower fields." Rune gave him a confused look. "Didn't you two find out last night?"

Tom thought back to the previous night. Richard had mentioned the flower fields, but would that really be where the Dias was? The place was popular when it wasn't closed... why were the fields closed? They were always open to visitors... unless. "Keep'r steady," Tom nodded to Rune, who saluted him.

If they were headed to the flower fields, there was one stop Tom needed to make before they did anything else. Tom went directly to Destru's cabin, not knocking before entering. "Wilkie! Good to see you made it out of bed!" Destru wrapped an arm around Tom's shoulder. "I see you talked to Rune already."

"Why is he steering the ship? That wheel is as big as he is," Tom asked, his ears falling back, then springing back to attention.

"Little rugrat needs a change of scenery every once in a while," Destru shrugged. "I don't know why I didn't think of the flower fields before. They've never been closed for as long as they have been this year!" Destru sat at his table, looking at maps, plotting out their course.

"Destru, I have to make a stop before we go to the flower fields." Tom interrupted Destru's plotting.

Destru looked up with a confused grin. "Your house wasn't near the flower fields, so you wouldn't be wanting to stop there?"

Tom shook his head no. "Tess and I-" Tom paused for a moment as a wave of sadness passed over himself.

"Take your time, Wilkie," Destru encouraged. He put his pen down, giving Tom his full attention.

Tom took a deep breath, then continued his explanation. "Tess and I had been chased out of a town before the one we met you in. She left a family memento back there and I want to get it back."

"How long will that take?"

"Only a day," Tom looked out the window. He knew he could've asked to get it sooner, but he didn't want to take Destru off of his pirating course.

"You have my blessing to head out once we dock. We'll wait for you once you get back."

"I appreciate it," Tom gave a sigh of relief. He didn't know why that took so much courage to say.

—--

They arrived near the flower fields a few days later. Tom had a bag packed and waved goodbye after he helped the crew dock the ship. "I'll be back by tomorrow!" he called, as the crew waved him off.

Tom's journey was boringly uneventful. He was a little disappointed when nobody stopped him on his way into town. It had been over a year since he was last there. He took a deep breath before entering the hotel. He wasn't even sure how he was going to ask about Tess' star.

The receptionist appeared to be busy upon entering the building. Tom busied himself with looking at the decorations while he waited for someone to be available.

"Sir, can I help you?" the receptionist called, once everyone was taken care of.

Tom walked up to the desk, his ears rotating as he listened to his surroundings. He hadn't completely forgotten what had happened last time. "Is your manager in?" Tom asked, trying to keep his voice calm. He wanted this to go as smoothly as possible.

"He's in his office. Give me a moment," the receptionist offered. She gave a tired look. Tom reasoned that she had had a long shift. She hopped off the box that she had been standing on and ambled off to the office. Her hooves clicked on the tiled floor. A satyr...it had been a while since he'd seen one.

Tom waited impatiently as the receptionist seemed to take their time coming back to him. Finally, he heard voices making their way back to him. "Hello sir," the manager gave a strained smile. "I'm told you wanted to see me."

"Yes, sir," Tom smiled, trying to calm his nerves. "A friend of mine left an item here a while ago and I was wondering if I could get it back for her."

"Well, if it's been a while, I'm not sure if we'll still have it, but we can see what we can do."

"I appreciate any help you can give. My friend had lost a small glowing orb in a leather pouch."

The manager's face slowly fell as they realized who they were talking to.

"She had used it to put on a show for some travelers' kids the day before we checked out." Tom continued, watching the manager closely. He didn't think they could do much to him, but he wasn't completely sure.

The manager cleared his throat as the receptionist looked on, bored. "I don't think I've seen the item in question, but feel free to check the lost and found in my office." The manager invited Tom to follow him behind the counter and into a room close to the reception area.

Tom's eyes darted around the manager's office. He hoped he could find the orb and get out before anything major happened. The manager sat behind their desk and opened a drawer up. "I hope you forgive me. We keep the lost and found locked up in here so people don't walk off with random things." the manager pulled a box from a drawer and sat it on his desk.

"Understandable," Tom nodded his head as he looked at the box. It was an assortment of undergarments and charging wires for portable game systems. He looked towards the manager, who gestured for him to have a look. Tom gave a small smile, then rummaged through the box. His ears drooped when he couldn't find the leather pouch. "Do you have any other lost and founds?"

"No, sorry," the manager shrugged. He had got antsy as Tom started thoroughly looking through the box. He was taking everything out to make sure he had missed nothing. Tom's ears swiveled as he heard an angry buzzing sound coming from the opposite wall.

"What's that?" Tom asked as he spotted a leather bag on a shelf near the buzzing sound. Little bits of clutter and books surrounded it.

"Ah, a shelf of knick-knacks and trinkets I've collected over the years." the manager followed Tom's gaze.

"And stolen items." Tom pulled the bag down and opened it to a ball of shining light. Tom pulled his lips back into a snarl when the manager tried to defend himself. "Don't think that I will forget this," Tom growled, tucking the bag into a pocket in his shirt.

The manager whimpered, sinking into their chair as Tom left the room, still growling. Next thing to do was the Dias.

------

Tom arrived back at The Lucinda May before nightfall, to Destru's delight. "Wilkie!" Destru clapped him on his back. "Let's get a drink and plan for our next adventure!" The pirate seemed to stumble a little as he attempted to turn Tom back to the docks.

"Destru, how much have you drank already?" Tom asked, steadying the older wolf.

"Twas just a few shots. Rune challenged me," Destru hiccupped.

Tom sighed, "why are you allowing Rune to challenge you to a drink off? He's too young." Tom scanned the deck to see Rune collapsed on the deck with a silly grin.

"He started it," Destru slurred, nearly crumbling to the deck.

"I think you need some rest," Tom shook his head, putting Destru's arm around his neck.

"No, I'm fine," Destru drawled his words.

"No, you're not," Tom responded sternly. "I'm locking you in your cabin and we'll discuss things in the morning."

"You're no fun," Destru sulked, but allowed himself to be led to his cabin. "Why don't you chase the cat that's been hanging around the ship?"

Tom laughed as he sat Destru on his bed. "What cat?"

"Orange tabby. Been staring at the ship all day."

Tom gave Destru a weird look before leaving the cabin. Destru had passed out. He looked around the deck. The crew was coming and going, getting the ship ready for its next departure. Better get Rune to bed, Tom thought to himself as he crossed the deck.

He saw Nyx give him a nod of approval as he took Rune to his hammock below deck. He gave himself a small smile as he thought about how Tess would be proud of him for making friends with the cook. His stomach twisted as he thought about what Tess must be going through. He hoped she was still doing okay.