“Hey, you fine gentlemen over there!”

Alden tugs on his hood to make sure his face is hidden and stands behind Leor. Leor turns his head to face the man calling out to them.

“You look like you're from out of town!” The man motions his hands to draw their attention to a fancy-looking white boat with gold lining the edges. “Why not take a ride on Thálassa’s world-famous Gondola Express? As you can see, Thálassa is under the domain of Naiomi. The wonderful goddess has blessed us with magic-powered water systems that allow our boats to travel in any direction! Even upstream! So, what’ll it be?” The pride in the man’s words matches his dignified smile.

Before Leor can turn him down, Alden grabs onto Leor’s shoulder. Leor turns back in response and finds Alden intensely peering into his eyes. Alden's serious expression catches him off guard.

Alden nods his head and says in a deep serious tone, “Pretty please”.

Leor’s surprised expression quickly turns into annoyance. However, the sparkles in Alden’s eyes were that of a child. Leor caves in and lets out a groan. His hand refuses to release the gold coin to the boat attendant, but the attendant manages to pry his hand open and pocket the coin.

With an ear-to-ear smile, the boat attendant ushers them onto the gondola.

Since the boat is small, Leor and Alden sit face to face. Alden’s excitement is radiating from his body. Leor looks away in confusion. “What’s so special about this? It’s just a boat.”

“Make sure to hold onto your hood, mister! It gets pretty windy when riding the Gondola Express.” says the boat attendant. He pulls on a lever and the gondola slowly descends onto the narrow waterway. As soon as the boat hits the water, it begins moving forward slowly.

“Hey, this is just a normal boat ride! What a ripoff!” says an impatient Alden.

“Don’t worry, my good sir! The current near gondola stations is required to be slow so that boats can freely enter faster currents. It’ll pick up soon. Just remember to hold on”, responds the attendant.

As soon as the attendant finishes his sentence, the boat darts forward up a small incline. The gust of wind pulls their hair back. Alden quickly fastens his grip on his hood. Leor glances at Alden to see him with a child-like grin on his face.

The gondola reaches the highest peak, where the view of the town’s skyline can be seen. In the distance, they can see the bell tower with the sun peeking behind it. Alden’s eyes glimmer with wonder as seagulls soars by next to the boat, and the scent of the ocean breeze stains their nostrils.

Alden notices something off and licks his lips. “Hey, you could even taste salt from the air up here!”

The boat attendant laughs. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? The fact that I can see the view of this wonderful town every day truly makes me feel blessed to be alive. And, it’s all thanks to the powers Naiomi has bestowed upon us. Without her help, we wouldn’t be able to look at the world from such a unique place!”

Alden glances at Leor for a moment to see him blankly staring into the distance with a stoic expression, then returns to basking in the captivating view of the town.

Leor nonchalantly says “Tighten your grip.”

“Huh?”, questions Alden.

The boat takes a sudden dive, causing a powerful enough breeze to almost launch them out of their seats. Alden heeds Leors warning and swiftly clamps down on his hood. Saliva seeps out of their mouths as the boat curves downward. Nearby children laugh at their pulled-back faces.

As the waterway levels out, the gondola slows down to a complete stop at a nearby station. The gondola attendant pulls a lever and raises the boat out of the water.

Leor and Alden step out. The attendant smiles at the duo, leans in and whispers, “I hope you had a good time, Lord Alden. The bell tower is close by. Thank you for blessing our town with your presence.”

Both Alden and Leor are stunned by the man’s remark.

Before Alden could thank the man, Leor hands the attendant another gold coin. “You will not speak of this to anyone,” says Leor in a cold, menacing voice. He turns and walks away with Alden following close behind.

Leor turns his head to lecture Alden. “We need to be careful. You’re a high-profile individual. You may be worried about a hoard of fans, but I’m more concerned with those who have other intentions. If you want to have a nice and peaceful stroll to the capital, I need you to listen to me and lay low.”

“Fine, fine.”, Alden responds childishly. “The bell tower is nearby, so let’s get this adventure started!”

“It’s not an adventure...”, quietly groans Leor.