Cael sat with his back to the main eating area of the pub.
He didn't know again what to feel about them. But what he WAS feeling were good things. There were little things more inspiring than the knowledge that only PARTS of the world were against him—and those were the smaller parts.
Even the kraken, compared to this, was nothing. The loss didn't make Cael despair, but it made him think hard. For him, this was the opening act of a war… And in a war, one had to know their enemy.
He turned to Niko, who had time to drink its strange brews until his eyes glazed over. He was the only one who bore the loss in silence. Cael decided it meant there was hope in him, too.
"Say, if it's merfolk who order the kraken to attack ships, then why would they do that? What for? What changed between the time they didn't do it, and now?"
Myrna blinked. Tarek raised his eyes at Cael. Niko's left pinky twitched.