Within the central temple of Sostra, within the council chamber, the grand construction's pillars of marble stood in silent judgement of one particular lizard.

  Atzi frantically dug through a heavy bag of supplies. She had overslept. She was late for her ride to Tarsus. Her red hair spun out in a mess, partially knotted around her two small horns. Dark silver-blue scales glinted under the open hole in the roof, shattered open by the Dragon. She shivered with a slight chill.

  She tossed out the clothing, the sleeping bags, the towels, and the food. Next to her lay a discarded note that she'd found atop the bag.

  'Wear the ring. Pierce your tongue with the teardrop pearl.' It was signed by Elliot, the prophet of the Star, the new ruler of Sostra.

  Free magic stuff!

  She wondered if she'd be able to get them in future loops, too. She'd spent so many dying, over and over, to get this far. To stop the undead hordes from destroying the city.

  Atzi figured she deserved something nice for the trouble.

  Finally she found a small purple silk pouch tied with a yellow cord. Fancy. She tore it free from underneath a preserved hunk of dried meat.

  With her two clawed index fingers, she pulled it open, and then upturned it on the table. The ring and pearl spilled out. The ring was a dark copper, not even shiny, whereas the pearl glinted white.

  Atzi put on the ring. Immediately, the chill of the air ended. She felt as warm as on a mild day. A ring to protect her from the cold of the northern sea, where she would be traveling.

  She stared at the pearl and shivered. Do I really have to do that…

  When Atzi had revealed Malus's betrayal, Malus revealed the false Saintess, a human woman under the bandages. Atzi thought the woman had looked kinda cute, in a pathetic sort of way. As such, she had been paying attention to the woman's mouth, and particularly remembered her tongue pierced through with a white bead that looked identical to the one in front of her.

  They didn't… tear it out, did they?

  At the very least this was likely the same sort of magic item. There was no way a regular human could have breathed underneath all those bandages alone. Meanwhile, Atzi was being given this magical piercing to breathe underwater, so she could retrieve the lost artifact of the Star. An artifact that Elliot had told her was the cause of her looping.

  Atzi didn't know if that was true, but what did she have to lose? If Elliot was lying to her, she'd be able to figure it out so easily when she came back. Was she stupid?

  She didn't want to die, but if she did... just one more time... at least Hemm would be back.

  Atzi couldn't delay any longer. She stuck out her long tongue. Her hand shook as she lowered the sharp end of the piercing closer. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine it was Cory taking a playful nip.

  Her eyes flew open in pain. "Oh oh oh!" she cried out, unable to say 'ow' properly.

  Atzi's tongue darted back into her mouth and she rolled it around. After only a few seconds, it calmed down. Some kinda healing magic? It felt normal again, except for a slight but ever-present weight.

  "Blugeh…"

  She shoveled the rest of the stuff back in the bag, barely fitting, before slinging it over her shoulder. Gotta meet these other bozos.

  -

  Atzi scampered towards the city gates. The streets were filled with people, the 'stay indoors' order lifted.

  Along the way, she saw the One Eye Open - the charred remains of Hemm's inn. Somewhere under the wreckage-

  She hurried past it.

  At the gate out of the city, she saw several people milling around carts. One of them vaguely matched a description she was given. A cart, neither particularly fancy nor cheap looking, headed by two horses and a driver. In the back, a few other bags and two people, man and woman, dressed in black furs.

  Atzi wandered up, "Uh, are you expecting me...?"

  The man turned to her with a quiet look in his green eyes. Messy black hair sat on his head and face. He regarded her for a second before nodding. "Aye. Ship Captain Brock."

  "Atzi."

  The woman had similar eyes, but blonde hair going down to her shoulders. "I'm his first mate, Samantha. But call me Sam."

  Atzi looked at her mouth and tongue as she spoke. Purely to see if she had a water-breathing pearl too, of course. But it was entirely bare.

  "Did you guys not get a pearl as well?"

  "Huh?" Brock raised a bushy eyebrow.

  "For going underwater?"

  Brock gave a heartful belly-laugh. "No, ain't part of the job I signed up for, neither."

  "Oh..."

  "Sounds like you'll be diving alone," Brock said with a nod.

  She expects me to go down there alone? So much for a crew to help out!

  Atzi grumpily tossed her bag onto the cart. Then she scrambled onto it, before the two seafarers joined her.

  As the cart began to move, Brock continued their conversation, "'Course, we'll get you there safely, and you can always come back to the ship if you run into trouble. Plus, I doubt you want to sleep underwater."

  "No way!" Atzi shook her head rapidly. "It's freezing in the sea apparently..."

  "Aye. You given a magic thingy for that, too?"

  Atzi held up the ring on her finger. "Yeah. Hope it works!"

  "Well Atzi, don't be surprised if some of the crew asks to borrow it. Tell 'em no, though. Bunch of pansies need to learn to deal with the frigid seas if they want to sail with me."

  Atzi clutched the ring possessively. "I need it anyway."

  Samantha lifted her chin. "It must be important, whatever you're going to find."

  "Don't dig." Brock swung an arm in front of his first mate. "Part of our deal, Sam."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "If I even find it." Atzi scratched her scales as she gave an awkward laugh.

  "You ever used a sea lantern before?" Samantha asked.

  More magic? "... no, how does that work?"

  Samantha dug into one of the bags of the cart. "Airtight lantern. Uses a special powder. You'll need to bring a few, 'cause they don't burn long. Each one has enough fuel for about two hours before they snuff out."

  "Got it. So I shouldn't be down there too long in case they run out?" Atzi asked.

  "The more you bring the longer you can stay, but they'll weigh you down. Unwieldy to carry."

  "So how many should I bring?"

  "Try two at first. See how far it takes you. Before the first one runs out, come back. Then we can start giving you more as you get used to it."

  Atzi nodded.

  "Most the crew brings four when we do salvage work on the shores, though this time it's just you..."

  "I've never been in the sea before. I've never even seen it. Pomaria's really far from it..."

  "I'm from Mediolanum," Samantha said.

  Brock nodded. "Born and raised in Novae."

  Atzi grimaced. "Oh... uh, sorry about what happened to it."

  Brock shook his fist. "We'll feed it to those bastards, even if Hasen is helpin' em."

  -

  The ride to Tarsus took an entire day and night, the group finally arriving the next morning.

  "Tarsus, beautiful place. They really know how to build here," Brock remarked.

  Atzi had never been to Tarsus before, but even she had to admit it looked majestic. Huge buildings all carved from stone, stable and grand. Unlike Sostra, the buildings were a darker stone, and the city was without walls. Buildings climbed with ever-ascending steps to a central peak, before dipping back down to the docks. Snow slightly dusted the giant-sized steps of the city as sunlight weakly brushed against it.

  Atzi didn't feel one hint of the cold.

  This is great! I need one of these permanently.

  "Grab your stuff. Time to meet the rest of the crew." Brock grabbed two heavy bags himself before stepping off the cart, heading towards the giant steps.

  The climb was punishing. Tarsus lacked human-sized architecture entirely, meaning the ascent was a process of lifting their legs comically high, stepping up, walking forward, and doing it all over again. Meanwhile the horned half-giants flowed around them, their twice as tall frames taking the steps with ease.

  Finally they crested the hill, looking down on the rest of the city below. There were no steps for this part, just a long winding road down covered in open air shops.

  "It's very nice," a voice sounded in Atzi's head. The true Saintess of Sostra, she had discovered recently. Atzi was still processing it.

  "Have you been here before?" Atzi asked.

  "I don't know…" Her identity hadn't jolted any extra memories in the amnesiac goddess, so Atzi was stuck trying to teach her stuff for now.

  Half the Tarsus shopkeepers were selling humongous fish. According to their shouts, they all had the freshest catch. They didn't hesitate trying to prove it by gripping the fish by their tails and flopping them through the air.

  Atzi narrowly avoided being slapped by one.

  Finally they made it to the docks. Every one of the wooden ships was huge, fitting of the people who lived there. Atzi followed Brock to one of them.

  There were a bunch of humans chatting just in front of it. The crew, Atzi assumed. Then she spotted the two half-giants.

  One wore grey and red robes and a giant cow skull mask. Atzi wondered if cows that big really existed. He carried a staff nearly as tall as him at his side, tipped with the skull of a regular sized cow. He stood to the side of the massive boat, leaning against it as if he was sleeping. It was impossible to tell beneath the mask.

  More importantly, the other was a woman wearing heavy-looking black armor, a giant hammer on her back. She looked angry, bickering with the rest of the crew. They didn't look afraid of her at all, laughing and elbowing each other as she got even angrier.

  I should avoid pissing her off. I don't wanna get squashed.

  Brock slapped Atzi on the back, "Go on, say hello."

  Atzi stumbled forward. She gritted her sharp teeth. Then she crept the rest of the way. Slowly.

  "-And then he tries to hit on me!" the half-giant woman shouted.

  Oh, it's just a story. She's not actually mad. Phew!

  "After he just hit on your sister?" one of the other crew asked.

  "After he just hit on my sister!" The woman mimed snapping a neck.

  Atzi blinked. She got the feeling whatever she should say or do was the opposite of what she'd learned during a short etiquette lesson Elliot had insisted upon her.

  "Anyway, then I-" The half giant woman stopped, turning her head in the direction of the three arrivals. "Ah, you're back, Captain. Festivities full enough for ya?"

  Brock shrugged."Got us a new job already. Escorting miss Atzi here."

  "H-hi," Atzi said, staring up at the giant woman.

  "Atzi, this is-" he rattled off the name of every single crew member, all of which passed straight through her ears. "The mage is named Gregori." He pointed to the half-giant with the skull mask. Then he pointed to the half-giant woman. "Our vanguard is named Lattice."

  "So where we taking her?" Lattice asked.

  "North. North west, precisely. Important stuff, apparently, but no details and we're not supposed to ask. Just know we're getting paid a lot for it."

  Lattice whistled. "Shit, nobody's tried to hit the northern ice sea since the fish started bothering us."

  "Fish?" Atzi asked, broken from her trance of staring up.

  The giant woman nodded. "Fish folk. Gotten real rowdy lately. Ever since about a month ago."

  "Oh..." Atzi thought about it. "Like... angry words or attacking...?"

  "Threatening. Probably would have attacked if we went any farther. Three ships have gone missing in those waters already. We didn't want to risk it. But now..." Lattice shrugged.

  Brock shouted in her direction. "We'll deal with it! We always do."

  Oh boy. Fish people. Angry fish people. I hope they're willing to talk about that meteor.

  "You got sea legs?" Lattice asked Atzi.

  "I've never been on a boat."

  "Well, try not to be too prissy about it! I hate it when you noble types ask why we can't make the ride smoother."

  "Noble...?" Am I...? I guess I am. Is it the clothes they gave me? She looked down at the outfit Elliot had insisted she wear. It was a fancy outfit, something she'd totally see rich people wearing.

  Also she'd had a ship chartered just for herself. And arrived escorted by the captain.

  Oh yeah.

  "Uh... I've only been a noble a few days, I can probably handle it."

  Lattice laughed loud enough to rattle Atzi's teeth. "I hope you're right."

  "I hope so too." Atzi gave a few awkward laughs of her own.

  Everyone else started loading goods onto the ship, box after box. Someone even took Atzi's bag for her. She wasn't going to complain about it if people wanted to give her the noble treatment. Plus, she was good at keeping her balance. She wondered if the contrast would impress Lattice.

  After about an hour, it seemed like everyone and everything was aboard. "Final checks!" Brock boomed.

  Atzi was leaning over the railing on the side. She yawned in boredom. Finally.

  Then she saw someone running towards the ship.

  The beautiful half-giant woman had two massive curved horns, atop which sat a crown of flowers. She wore voluminous white robes that billowed as she ran. "Lattice!" She shouted towards the ship. "Are you leaving already?"

  Lattice shouted back. "Yeah sis, got a new job already! Sorry 'bout not staying longer. After this one, alright?"

  Atzi stared as an intrusive thought wormed its way through her mind. I'm at pussy-eating height standing up.

  Lattice's sister stopped in front of the boat. "Be safe!" She waved frantically.

  Atzi stared, drooling. Her poison-mixed spit dripped onto the floorboard of the ship and started eating its way through.

  "You sea sick already?" Lattice suddenly asked her.

  "... Eh?" Atzi looked up at her. Then back at her sister. Then back at her. She remembered the story the half-giant woman had been telling when she arrived. "Ah, uh, n-nothing. Just, uh, first time meeting half-giants, y-yeah, that's it. You guys are…" She looked back at Lattice's sister. "Really, really big."

  Lattice laughed. "To us, it's you that's tiny."

  "Used to it..."

  Lattice loomed over her. "I could throw you overboard one-handed."

  Atzi swallowed, nervously. "Y-you wouldn't do that though, right?"

  Lattice glared down at her. "I will if you get on my bad side." Then she suddenly laughed. "Kidding, you're paying us too much."

  Atzi gave a shaky laugh. "That I am..."

  Brock made another call out and the ship, pushed by heavy winds, lurched out into the cold, turbulent waters.