After leaving Tarrin, Lucas and Rosemary had to take a ferry to reach the next city. Not that it wasn’t accessible by road, but because with the ferry it would take merely a day, whereas by road one would be traveling for three. Besides, the scenery upon entering the city by ferry was just too beautiful to miss out. “I guess that’s why they call it Lakeview City,” Lucas noted, given that the city was half built in a beautiful, clear lake. Now one might consider it odd to build half a city under water, but consider this: Mermaids. The water was clear enough to admire their brightly coloured scales and clothing as they stepped of the ferry and onto a loooong boardwalk that led to the dry part of the city. Again they were plagued by merchants. This time they randomly popped up out of the water and tried to sell their exotic goods. Rosemary actually stopped to ask a merman about the underwater flora, though Lucas wasn’t sure if she was actually getting useful information or just flirting. By the time they could finally move on, night had already fallen. Finally Lucas and Rosemary reached one of the pebbled shores, which slowly transitioned into cobbled streets. On the one shore Lucas and Rosemary passed, lay three mermaids. They were hardly dressed, having only their hair to cover their bosoms, which they then flicked aside, whistling and giggling as the young humans passed by. “Sadly they only remind me of my mother,” Lucas sighed as their quickened their pace to escape the awkward atmosphere. Rosemary covered a laugh with a fake cough. Lucas pretended to fall for it. So they had reached land, and the city of their destination. “What now?” Lucas asked.
“Now we find a place to rest for the night,” Rosemary said with a shrug, “say...you mentioned you heard the trick of surviving that dragon’s attack by jumping in a well in a story, right? Did the story also mention the pendant and the king?”
“Y-yeah,” Lucas admitted.
“Then what did the character in the story do in Lakeview City?” Rosemary asked.
“I really don’t recall,” Lucas said, “I heard the story once winters ago and spent the past few seasons dreaming various versions of it. Besides, I don’t think we should have an adventure on the hand of some story. We should use our wits.”
“Wise words,” Rosemary said, “in that case let’s see if there’s an inn we can afford. We don’t have much left, I fear.”
“Can we make it to the capital with what we have left?” Lucas asked. Rosemary looked inside her satchel, counting the coins they had left in a leather purse. “we might just have enough to spend a night at an inn and to buy food for the road. I don’t fear we’d be able to afford anything in Ylfalon either way.”
“Ylfalon?” Lucas repeated. Rosemary nodded. “Ylfalon is a two-day walk from here. It’s a rather small city, mostly populated by delegates from the elven kingdom. It would be our last stop before reaching the capital.”
“We should start thinking of a way of making money for ourselves,” Lucas said, “otherwise we’ll end up begging on the streets.”
“You maybe,” Rosemary said, “I’ll just join a church and become a nun. Free food and shelter in exchange for daily chores and prayer. I would subject myself to any god for such an easy life.”
“You shouldn’t take the gods so lightly,” Lucas said, “they may have been kind to us so far, but you’ll never know when your luck runs out.”
“Oh what do you know? You can’t even read,” Rosemary said, rolling her eyes. Lucas shrugged and walked off, ending their argument. Rosemary followed him. He needed her to identify an inn after all. Despite the late hour, there were still plenty of people about, and they were all quite friendly. Not even back in their small hometown would one wish you a good evening upon passing you on the street, but here everyone did. “Maybe we can ask someone?” Lucas said, after walking round a few streets, and not finding anything. Rosemary nodded in agreement, so they held up the next person who wished them a good evening when they passed him. “Excuse me, sir,” Lucas said, “could you point us in the direction of the nearest inn?”
“We don’t have inns here, lad,” the man said with a shake of the head, “if you seek shelter for the night you might want to try the church, see if they have some room for you.”
“And where would the church be?” Rosemary asked.
“Down this street and to your left. Walk towards the fountain in the plaza and you’ll see the church to your right. Can’t be missed,” the man said.
“Thank you, sir. Have a great evening,” Lucas said. The man nodded. “You too.”
They followed the man’s directions and came upon a beautiful grand fountain, decorated with marble mermaids and other creatures of the depts. They admired the sight for a few seconds, before approaching the church. They could see light burning through the stained glass windows. “Belisama,” Rosemary said.
“What?”
“It says Belisama above the door,” Rosemary said, pointing at the wooden plate that spelt out the name, “I guess it’s the name of the goddess they worship here.”
“Let’s go in,” Lucas said, approaching the door and carefully pushing it open. They entered in a grand hall, with many benches for the attendees of a mass to sit. On the walls, hung large paintings of the same woman, but in various positions, clothes and surroundings. Judging from the paintings she was a water diety. All the way in the back of the hall stood a large altar, where a lonely figure was kneeled before a statue of the goddess. Lucas and Rosemary silently approached them, afraid they might disturb some sort of prayer. They patiently waited for the figure to slowly bow, before getting up and turning around. She was a beautiful young woman with long, silver hair and silver, almost transparent eyes. She smiled kindly and bowed her head as a greeting. “Welcome, travelers,” she said, looking back up. Lucas noticed she did not look at them directly, “How may I help you?”
“We seek shelter for the night,” Rosemary said, “I’m Rosemary, and this is Lucas. Do you perhaps have a place for us?”
“Of course,” the young woman said, “I am Triteia, I am the caretaker and head priestess of the Church of Belisama.”
“T-Triteia as in the daughter of Triton?” Rosemary asked shocked. Triteia nodded. Lucas looked back and forth between the two girls. “What?” he asked.
“Triton was the king of an ancient race,” Rosemary explained, “we call them immortals, but...legend says all immortals have gone extinct…”
“There are a few of my kind left. Please, follow me and I shall answer any questions you may have,” Triteia said. She walked rather slowly, towards a door to their left, and had to search for the handle before she could open it. Lucas and Rosemary exchanged glances as they both came to the same conclusion: Triteia was blind. The decided not to mention it, as she appeared perfectly capable of leading them through a long hallway, before entering a large kitchen, where a young boy, standing upon a stool, was stirring in a large pan. Whatever he was cooking up; it smelled great. “Theobold,” Triteia said in a gentle voice, to which the boy looked up, “we’re going to need some extra plates.”
Theobold nodded. “Welcome,” he said, “please, take a seat. I hope you like seafood.”
“As long as it’s food,” Lucas said, while he and Rosemary sat down at the dining table. Theobold left his pan so he could grab a few extra plates and bowls and place them in front of Lucas and Rosemary. “I’m Theobold, but you can call me Theo. I assist Lady Triteia with, well...everything.”
“A few winters ago the city fell victim to a terrible illness,” Triteia said, “mainly older people and children were affected. Theobold’s parents had fallen ill too, as did Theobold himself. They begged for me to save their son, so he could live on. It cost me my sight and my endorsement, but at least Theobold may live. He’s been helping me out ever since.”
“You lost your what?” Lucas asked. Triteia smiled and patiently explained: “Long before ancient times, when my kind was thriving, magic was a very common concept. There were many different kinds of magic, and many different kinds of mages. Most used their power for good, and for the people who could not accomplish magic, but some used their magic for the most malicious deeds history has seen. So the gods unanimously decided magic should be reserved for those who are pure of heart, and kept to strict limits. The gods are now free to choose any creature who they deem pure of heart, and grant them one magic power. This is called an endorsement. I was chosen by Poseidon himself, to heal the creatures of his kingdom.”
“So you were a healer then?” Rosemary asked. Triteia nodded. “Yes, but I was only allowed to use the gift for creatures of the water. To save Theobold I broke the only rule there was. My powers were taken, as was my sight.”
“Your sight too? Isn’t that a bit much?” Lucas said. Triteia shook her head. “Oh, no,” she said, “I had already lost my sight long before Poseidon’s endorsement. As a healer, my sight was automatically restored, but when Poseidon took back his endorsement, that became undone.”
“Lady Triteia, could you tell us more about your kind?” Rosemary asked, “a lot of mystery surrounds your legend. One might even say you never existed.”
“Of course I can tell you more,” Triteia said with a nod, “although I might have to explain your friend what an immortal is.”
“Please do,” Lucas said, as he was still puzzled about it. Triteia nodded again. “Very well. What you call immortals in this day and age, were known as Terrestrial Deities, in other words gods of the earth. We cannot die of age nor illness, which are qualities we share only with gods. However, gods aren’t able to die of wounds either, whereas Terrestrial Deities are. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to share the truth of our origins with anyone outside of our kin, so I cannot tell you that.”
“Then what about the near extinction you suffered?” Rosemary asked, “how can an immortal race die out so rapidly?”
“I fear humans are to blame for that one,” Tritea said, sadness showing on her face, “our era ended with the beginning of what you know as the Kings of Old. They were responsible for my father’s, King Triton’s demise. Envious of his eternal life, they took advantage of his kind and trusting nature and murdered him, starting a brutal hunt on all of us. Survivors of the slaughter went into hiding, and remained hidden until the human world forgot about us. Our kind is now the stuff of legends.”
“If most humans forgot you ever existed...then how come you knew about them?” Lucas asked, turning to Rosemary, “you even know the king’s name…”
“My mother was quite intelligent,” Rosemary said, “she used to travel a lot before she married my father. It wouldn’t surprise me if she met someone like Lady Tritea and heard the tale from them. She loved telling me about all the legends and lore she knew.”
“Well, you two are the first ones I have shared my history with, aside from Theobold then,” Tritea said, “it must’ve been someone else your mother spoke with. Oh I’d give anything to reunite with my kind once more…”
“Maybe if our guests are to be so kind to mention you when they happen upon another immortal,” Theobold suggested, as he planted a damping pot on the table and started filling their bowls.
“Yeah we can do that,” Lucas said, “I mean...chances are probably small we’ll ever meet another immortal, but it’ll be better than just to sit and wait here.”
“And it’s the least we can do in exchange for feeding us and letting us stay the night,” Rosemary added.
“Thank you,” Tritea said, “now let us eat. Theobold, don’t forget to offer our guests something to drink.”
“Oops,” Theobold said, as he clearly forgot, “would you like some water or ale? We have wine too, and herbal tea. Personally I’d suggest wine with this dish. I’ll pour you some wine!” Before Lucas or Rosemary could say anything, the boy had already ran off. Tritea laughed adoringly. “Please pardon his manners,” she said, “he’s a very excitable young man.”
“It’s no issue,” Rosemary said, “after all I’m traveling with this guy here.”
“As if you’re so polite,” Lucas shot back.

After dinner, Theobald showed them a plain room with two beds where they could retire for the night. It reminded Lucas of his own bed, as it was no more than a wooden board, softened with various layers of sheepskin and wool. Either way, they both fell asleep rather easily thanks to the wine, and were very glad to find Theobold waking them with his herbal tea, as they found out it’s rather hard to get up from an alcohol-induced sleep. After a delicious breakfast with freshly picked eggs, toast with blackberry marmalade, and a few pieces of fruit. As they left, Tritea revealed that she had packed a bag with food for about three days. “Ylfalon is not quite peasant-friendly,” she said, “so please. I hope this will suffice until you reach the capital. I wish I could give you more, but then we wouldn’t have enough left for the people who depend on us for their food. This city knows many poor, sadly.”
“We understand,” Rosemary said, “we’re so grateful for your good care. I hope we’ll be able to repay you by reuniting you with other immortals.”
“That would make me so happy,” Tritea said, “go now, and take care.”
She waved them off until Theobold informed her that they’d disappeared from sight. Lucas and Rosemary left the city, counting their lucky stars...or more specifically: Counting their money. “With this food we won’t need to spend anything until we reach the capital, and I guess we’ll see how things go from there,” Rosemary said. Lucas nodded in agreement. If Rosemary’s theory were right, he already sort of knew what would happen when they finally reached the capital, but he didn’t want to frighten her, or give false hope, so he decided to keep it for himself. Besides, adventures were way more fun if one didn’t know what was to come next...