“More than ready!” Balthazar said to the captain.

  “Great,” said the veteran. “e with me then. I only o sort out a few more things and then I take you to where you want to go.”

  After saying goodbye to the mayor, the crab followed the man dowy square and through the busy streets of Marquessa. The people no longer rushed past him without so much as a gnce, instead notig his presend greeting him warmly or nudging each other from a distance as they poi the famous crab who saved the city’s mangoes.

  Not the way he had envisioned being famous in a new city, resg a bunch of fruit, but if it meant people reized and respected him—and more importantly, gave him free pastries—he was more than happy to take it.

  “Going to skip town without saying goodbye, are you?” a young woman’s voice said from nearby.

  Olivia, wearing a studded leather tabard and her neck-length hair tied into a ponytail, came out of a side street with a wide grin on her fad her hands on her hips.

  “No, I just thought you would be too busy breaking pieces of pottery over some poor sap’s head to e say goodbye to an old crab,” Balthazar replied, throwing his pincers up.

  The niece of the baroness chuckled. “I’m already on thih the milkman, so I’m staying away from his jugs for the time being.”

  Joining the crusta and the captain, the young woman walked alongside them up the street.

  “You like my hreads?” she asked, running her hand dowurdy leather she was wearing.

  “Not bad. I could probably sell you somethier if you ever visited my bazaar, though.”

  “Hah, maybe one day I’ll e visit you, but for now I have my hands busy here.”

  Balthazar eyed her up and down. “Going to be spping bandits around, are you?”

  “Something like that,” replied Olivia, a big grin brightening her face. “My aunt vinced old Leander over here to take a break from his retirement to help her house after kig that pantless ander out from the city watch. And I will be helping him.”

  The crab rubbed his thoughtfully. “So that makes you the right-hand man’s… right-hand… finger… woman?”

  Captain Leander ughed. “I figured that if I couldn’t keep her away from trouble, it would be best to at least keep her close.”

  “There are still a bunch of guards that raightening out,” the girl said. “And that’s what my job will be, rounding them up and keeping them in line.”

  “If y a ceramic pot or two with you, I’m sure that won’t be difficult!” said Balthazar. “Hey, whatever happeo Onion Jake, by the way?”

  “Oh, we caught him,” the Marquessa girl said. “He was trying to escape the city hidden inside a crate of onions in the back of a carriage. Would have been easy to miss his stench there, but it seems a couple of dissatisfied bandits ratted him out. Apparently they want new ma in their so-called anization, after their leader’s witduced embarrassment.”

  “And after someoold them about their bandit rights!” the smug crab cheekily added.

  Olivia groaned and rolled her eyes as the trio arrived at the docks.

  “I’ll grab a few things and be back for you shortly, Mr. Balthazar,” said Captain Leander.

  “I’ll help you, old man. Wouldn’t want you pulling your back or something,” Olivia said jokingly.

  As they left, Balthazar looked around, trying to pass the time as he waited.

  dockworkers moved around, carrying ropes and boxes. The smell of fresh fish was in the air as the fishermen carted pallets to the markets. Down there, where people were busy w hard, they seemed to notice the local celebrity a lot less.

  Off by a pilr, the crab noticed a man in dark leathers reading a book. Or at least pretending to. His eyes were not on the pages of the copy of “The Historical Tale of Semmel, vol. 1” in his hands, but rather fixed on the crusta.

  Notig the crab’s gaze, the man lifted his face from the book and gave him a discreet nod of aowledgement.

  After a moment of hard thinking, Balthazar finally realized who it was. Clovis, the guildmaster of the local Thieves Guild.

  “Hello!” a cheery voice suddenly excimed from behind the mert.

  Balthazar turo find Suze standing there with a big grin and her hands behind her back.

  “Suze!” he excimed. “I thought I’d leave without seeing you again.”

  “Yeah, I retty busy, but lucky for you, I found a little bit of free time to e say bye,” the cheeky rascal said.

  “ht, busy doing lots of guided tours, are you?”

  “Nah,” the girl said. “I’m moving up in life after our little adventure.”

  “Really?” said Balthazar. “Got yourself a job helping the mayor’s staff, maybe? I tried to put in a good word with them ahem know how much you helped.”

  “Olivia told me. She also said I could e help her with her new job, but nah, I tur down. I’m a freencer, my own boss. I don’t want to be held down by anyone.”

  “So what are you going to do now?” the curious crab asked.

  “Like I said, freeng work.” She paused and looked past Balthazar, to the man reading his book by the pilr. “I got an apprenticeship offer to work on my natural talents.”

  The crab looked back at the thief. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You know, maybe a bit of a bad influence…”

  “Pfft, don’t worry, you old lobster,” Suze said with a cheeky smile. “I’ll do my best to try and not influehem too badly. No promises, though. I ’t help it if I rub off on people.”

  “ly what I meant, and I’m still not a lobster, but alright…” Balthazar said with a scowl that quickly ged to a friendly expression. “Well, if you somehow ever decide to travel to the other side of the ti, e visit my bazaar. I’m sure everyohere would like to meet you, and Blue and Druma would be happy to see you again.”

  “But not you?” the rascal said with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

  “If y me a box of mango treats from Madame Margo’s Boutique… maybe,” Balthazar replied with a flick of his eyestalks.

  After a few minutes chatting, Druma and Blue joihem, ing from the city hall where they had been filling their bellies all m while Balthazar iated with the locals. Apparently, the crab’s panions had gaiheir own share of popurity with the staff there, and everyone wao say their goodbyes to the goblin and drake before they left.

  “Alright, I’ve got everything ready a for our departure, Mr. Balthazar,” Captain Leander said as he rejoihe crab.

  “Excellent!” the mert said. “When do we get on the road?”

  “Roads?” the veteran said with a hearty chuckle. “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

  Taking a few steps toward one of the piers, the old sailor poio the ship docked o it.

  It was the captain’s vessel that they had used before to escape the bandits. The Marquessian Dame.

  “The shores you wish to reach are far too treacherous to rea foot, Mr. Balthazar,” the man expined. “That’s why you couldn’t find a way there. If you want to get to your destination in one piece, you need an experienavigator who sail there. Luckily for you, I am one of very few who .”

  “Oooh,” said the mert, finally realizing why he couldn’t find a way to reach the destination marked on his map by Ruby and the Birdwatchers.

  After saying their goodbyes to Suze and Olivia, the crab, goblin, and drake followed the captain to the gangway.

  “The trip shouldn’t take more than a couple of days,” Leander said as he uhe ship’s ropes from the dock. “While we’re out in the sea I will hold my end of reement and teay secret teique, as promised.”

  “Great!” said the crab. “I look forward to—”

  “Mr. Balthazaaaaar!” a high-pitched voice called from the other side of the dock.

  No…

  The crusta turned his shell slowly, knowing already who that voice beloo.

  He had only heard it once, ba Ardville, several weeks before, but that had been enough for its irritating pitch to leave a mark on the crab’s brain.

  “Mr. Balthazar! Please wait for me!” Taffy yelled. “I’ve been on the road searg for you for so long! I ’t believe I finally found you!”

  The ginger-haired boy was running down the docks, toward the pier, a travel bag boung on his back as he shouted for his idol, causing everyone else around to turn their heads to look at the source of otion.

  “It’s Mr. Balthazar!” he kept repeating in a euphoric state to everyone he bumped into. “I’ve been chasing rumors of his sightings for weeks! I ’t believe I finally found him! He’s so awesome! I’m finally going to travel with him!”

  “Oh no, no, no…” the mert muttered as he saw the annoying human approag the pier they stood on.

  As the boy made his way through the dock, bumping and b the workers and people going about their business, loudly prog his excitement for finding the crab, something else started happening.

  One by ohe workers started putting dowools, the sailors abandoning their tasks, the market people leaving their crates of fish behind, and they started ing closer to the fanatic.

  “Balthazar? The mert crab?” a man among the crowd said.

  “The ohat defeated that dragon?” said another.

  “You mean the same ohat saved our city’s harvest?” someone else in the back asked.

  The people started gathering around the ining fanboy, joining him in his excitement to meet the crab, their calls growing into roars and ts.

  “Balthazar! Balthazar! Balthazar!”

  “Not this again!” The mert nervously excimed before turning to the mayor’s right-hand man. “Captain, we o set sail, right now!”

  They all rushed up the ramp to the Marquessian Dame as fast as they could, the mob of people quickly running down the pier close behind.

  “No, please, Mr. Balthazar! Don’t leave me behind! Take me with you!” Taffy shouted from below as the frenzied people around him started piling up on the edge of the dock.

  “Go, go, go! Row if you have to!” Balthazar desperately shouted to the others as he watched townsfolk start to spill over and fall into the water below. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”

  And so the crab and his friends sailed away from Marquessa, leaving the city behind and heading to the dangerous rocky cliffs where Tweedus resided.

  ***

  All the way oher side of the ti of Mantell, a lone adventurer sat behind a couple of boulders, attentively watg the pond across the road.

  “I finally found your ir, mert,” Ren bitterly muttered as he peered through a spygss. “I’ve got you now, Balthazar.”