Bird calls echoed as a flock of seaphraits circled endlessly. Waves crashed up and down the rocky coastline as a warm breeze blew over the terrain. Although it was hard to believe, this warm and tropical coast shared the same continent as the cold and foreboding mountains. Far in the distance, the mountains could just barely be seen, frigid clouds circling them with a frost aura, but not a shred of cold could be felt here!

                A short distance away, a field of flowing, green grass blew. The plains stretched far to the north and south with a jungle just to its east. Canopies rustled as tropical birds sang within the branches and insects chirped in the undergrowth. Cold and snow wasn’t even a thought in this verdant forest, and while it was full of lush life, a certain explorer only had eyes for the jagged coast!

                “After what felt like months of tundra, blizzards, and barren wasteland, we finally arrived at a tropical retreat!” Grass crunched under Tearna’s sandals as she stepped up to the edge of the coast, waves crashing in her ears while the blue horizon reflected in her shining eyes, “Feeling warmth again was truly a welcome reprieve. We were cold, tired, and beyond sick of the mountains, but with our arrival on the Maldrezzan coastline, there was no sign of snow anywhere in our futures!”

                “FINALLY!” Bren exclaimed, Tearna bursting out laughing as she watched the desperate shasheek fall onto white sand.

                “Some of us were a little happier than others,” Tearna continued, shaking her head as she pulled out her journal. “Our time in the mountains was certainly something to remember, but going forward, we would be traversing what I would call warm climates, and much of our itinerary would be purely tropical!” Writing a moment longer, Tearna paused and frowned, “Well, with one slight detour… but I’m getting ahead of myself.”

                Mist alighted across her as she picked her way over the rocky terrain, moving closer to the shore as waves broke against the jagged rocks jutting out of the water, “The Maldrezzan coastline is a region just north of the port city of Maldrezza. This coastline extends about a quarter of the way up the continent and can be identified by two features. The first is the long stretches of dark, jagged rock, and this was mostly what we first encountered.”

                Water splashed as Tearna tossed a rock into a before looking to see if anything had come out of hiding, “These rocks, while a bit precarious, are teeming with life. When the ocean waves crash against the shore, they send droplets of water raining down, which either returns to the ocean or pools across the rocks. Some of the creatures we saw were simple coastal fish, but others were creatures that can only be found in tidepools, one such example being a rock hermit!”

                Water rolled across a red carapace as a small creature pulled itself out of the pool she had tossed the rock into. Tearna watched curiously as the spindly crab picked its way across the rock, “Rock hermits can be found on both continents and are recognizable by their spindly, four legs and two arms. Their pincers are incredibly sharp and about as hard as the pickaxes, and that’s how they earned their name.”

                Tapping the rock in front of it, the rock hermit suddenly hit it with surprising force, breaking off a chunk to inspect, “Using their powerful forearms, rock hermits can chisel away stone to make a home for themselves. Some collect rocks to make a burrow for themselves while others turn the rocks they harvest into a shell. In this case, I found the latter.” Letting go of the stone, the rock hermit continued to pick its way along as water dripped off the massive rock it was carrying on its back.

                Further down the coast, Tearna continued to scan the tidepools, “While our spirits were high, we couldn’t forget that we had a job to do. Our next destination was the port city of Maldrezza where we would catch a ship to the island of Garodar, something more than a few of us weren’t exactly looking forward to.” Pausing, Tearna shielded her eyes and looked south, “The port city was at least two days away, so I had plenty of time to search the coast for entries in my journal, and after so many days of not seeing anything new, I was practically in a dreamland!”

                Rainbow patterns flashed along the backside of a fish as Tearna carefully plucked it from the tidepool, “The rainbow belly snivasnout is another interesting tidepool creature. They are known for the rainbow patterns on their belly that flash whenever they feel threatened, and their sharp, pointed noses. These creatures can be a bit tricky to find, but if one knows where to look, they can be found on almost any coast!” Smiling, she set it back down into the pool and watched as it darted back into the sand to hide.

                “And how many entries have you made so far?” Kai asked as he walked alongside her. They were both making their way across the rocks, most of the rest of the expedition marching through the less precarious grass nearby.

                “I’m on entry thirty-eight now,” Tearna said, smiling happily. “I’m starting to consider opening a third journal! I think I won’t have a choice by the time we’re done here!”

                “Heh, it never ceases to amaze me how much you can write,” Kai said with a grin. Looking at her thoughtfully, he tilted his head sheepishly, “Is… there anything I can do to help?”

                “Hmm?” Tearna looked at him in surprise, blinking a few times before smiling as her ears heated, “Oh, umm… Possibly?” She let out an awkward laugh, “I’m not used to having assistance, so I’ve never really thought about what others could do.” Closing her eyes, she finally nodded, “There is something you can help me with, but I don’t think you’re going to like it!”

                Water splashed in a tidepool as a larger fish flopped about. “I think you got it!” Tearna called from the shore.

Kai grunted as he flopped back onto the rock, “You didn’t tell me this thing was as strong as a ghollon!”

                “I did warn you it was a fighter though!” she countered, smiling as Kai finally tossed the fish onto the rock. Loud smacks echoed as it flopped around and snapped its large jaws to try and fight anything it could. Wind latched around its tail and head, keeping it held down as Tearna knelt to look it over, “Hold it there for a few minutes and I’ll make a quick note!”

                “With Kai’s help, I was able to wrest one of the largest tidepool species onto land so I could get a good look, this one being a rather feisty rockjaw gnasher!” The fish snapped its jaws a few time as Tearna carefully looked it over, “Gnashers can be found in most oceans and are typically identifiable by their large size. Their heads are wider than the average fish, and their bodies could be called a bit stout, but the rockjaw variety is quite unique.”

                “Rockjaws can only be found in tidepools and have evolved more rock-like scales, allowing them to blend in with their surroundings, but they have also evolved venomous protrusions along their neck and fins. If you ever find yourself near a tidepool, be extra careful to NOT step on one of these!” Finishing her notes, she stood as she smiled at Kai, “Ok! You can toss it back in!”

                “Happily!” A loud splash erupted as Kai casually tossed the fish back into the pool, breathing a sigh of relief as he doubled over, “Phew… When you told me to fish that thing out, I thought you were joking about how strong it was, but that thing nearly exhausted my powers.”

                “Sorry! I guess I should have been a bit firmer in my warning.” Sighing, Kai looked up in surprise as Tearna patted his shoulder, “Thanks for your help though, Kai! I really appreciate you doing that for me.” Smiling a moment longer, she turned and made her way down the coast, leaving Kai looking after her with a thoughtful smile.

                Water rained across Tearna as she walked between the tidepools, “After almost a full day of travel, I had catalogued numerous creatures and was nearly out of space. There was, however, one last creature I needed to document!” Blinking in surprise, she gasped and hurried over to a rock as she noticed a flash of color. Very carefully, she rolled the stone over, her smile brightening as an odd looking creature began to scurry around, “While most people hate this particular creature, I find the vibrant patterns of nettle worms to be quite lovely!”

                Purple and crimson patterns swirled along the back of the mostly dark worm as it crawled around. “Nettle worms can be found in any rocky, coastal environment, and are largely considered pests,” Tearna wrote. “Roughly two feet in length, these worms can be identified by their vibrant colors and thorny sides.” Red thorns glinted along the sides of the ribbony worm as it finally found a pool and slithered in, “Like the rockjaw, these worms are poisonous, and while they aren’t lethal, they will certainly leave a mark!”

                Orange light shone across the shore as the star began to descend. Tearna frowned as she watched from the coastline, waves crashing alongside her while her tails blew in the breeze. “So, did you end up finding all the creatures you were looking for?”

                Blinking once, she looked over at Kai and nodded, “I think I did.” She looked down at her journal with a small smile, “There were so many today that my hand actually hurts, but I’m thankful for it.” She suddenly barked a laugh, “There were actually a few I didn’t recognize, so I’ll be quite curious to learn what they were when we get back.”

                “Maybe you discovered a new species,” he suggested with a shrug.

                “I highly doubt that.” Shaking her head, she looked out at the horizon, “Much of this continent was documented long ago, but with that knowledge lost, we have to rediscover it. If this does turn out to be something we forgot about, then I can at least be happy that I helped recover a little bit of what we once had.” A smile touched her face as she admired the star. Although it always made her sad to think about how much their people had forgotten, it did make her happy to think about how much she had rediscovered for them!

                “Hey, airheads!” Blinking with a start, Kai and Tearna both turned as Bren stepped over with a wide grin, “We found a place to camp for the night!” Looking at Tearna, she winked, “I’m pretty sure you’re going to have a field day… and it might be time to break out the third journal.” Feeling her heart skip a beat, Tearna quickly hurried after her as they made their way down the coast.

                Embers rose into the night sky from the fire at the heart of the camp. Nearby, the ghollon were snoring loudly while their handlers stowed their equipment. Several tents had been erected in a semi-circle alongside an arrangement of crates, small tables, chairs, and other things, and while night had fully fallen a while ago, many of the expedition members were still fully awake.

                “I would like to point out that Tearna managed to con the Archon into buying her basket of bread!” one of the expedition members sitting around the fire pointed out as the laughed.

                “That is quite right,” the shasheek beside him chimed in, Tearna hiding her face in embarrassment. “I almost feel like we should turn her in for swindling the Archon!”

                “I still can’t believe that happened,” Tearna moaned with embarrassment, Kai laughing as he slapped her on the back.

                “On the plus side, it at least opened the door for us to get clearance to the Eclipse ruins,” Farin spoke up, relaxing for the first time in forever atop his stool. “That experience was critical to the success of our expedition. Swindled or not, I will gladly allow it given the outcome.”

                “First Archon, I didn’t swindle him!” Tearna exclaimed, laughing with sheer embarrassment.

                “Well, regardless, we’re on track to finish our objectives here with flying colors,” the captain continued more seriously. Sitting forward, he pulled out a journal of his own, “Tomorrow, we’ll make our way south, and that will put us on schedule to reach Maldrezza the day after.”

                “For the love of- Captain, can we please stop worrying about efficiency for just one day?” Farin looked over at Bren as she threw her head back dramatically, “We’ve been going nonstop since we left Orden! Some of us are exhausted, and all those days in such cold weather killed me!”

                “It was rough, but it was a part of our duty, Bren,” Farin said judgmentally as he frowned. “There’s no reason to shirk our duties just because we had a rough patch, so we’ll continue from here on out with-“

                “Actually, Bren might have a point,” Tearna spoke up. Farin looked over at her in surprise as Tearna tilted her head, “Since leaving Orden, we’ve been working as hard as we can. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve fulfilled our obligations, so… a day to relax and recover might actually be in order.”

                “Thank you!” Bren exclaimed, Farin frowning at the sand in thought.

                “Plus,” Tearna continued, drawing his gaze back to her. “Staying here for a few days will give me some time to document the creatures… if you want to think purely about efficiency, of course.”

                Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they looked at Farin. For a few minutes, he remained silent, rubbing his chin as he kept his eyes closed. Bren leaned forward more and more on her stool, seemingly about to fall off as her smile slowly grew. Finally, Farin sighed in defeat, “That does sound logical, and if that’s what the majority of you want… then it would be rude of me to deny you a chance to relax after all the hard work you’ve put in.” Grinning as joyous voices began to rise, Farin finally raised his fist, “Tomorrow, we take the day off!” Joyous cheers rose into the night as drinks were raised, laughter and a palpable sense of relief flowing around the camp as the tension that had been hanging over them finally relaxed.

                The next day, golden light shone around the camp as the star slowly rose into the sky. Sand crunched under Tearna’s feet as she made her way towards the shore, wearing her swimming gear once again as she hummed happily. This time, she had left off her sandals since this section of the coast was quite different! Moving over to a boulder sticking out of the sand, she sat herself down and pulled out her journal, “After a full day of travel, we made camp on the second feature that defines the Maldrezzan coastline, white sand!”

                White sand composed the shore all the way to their south, waves lapping against it calmly while phraits cried overhead in the bright, warm sky. “Since we were able to convince the captain to give us the day to relax, I had more than enough time to fully catalog the sandy beach!” Tearna continued, looking up briefly as several expedition members dove into the water. Laughing, Tearna set her journal aside and quickly jogged after them, “Though, I admit that I may have spent at least part of the day enjoying the water!”

                A shining blue landscape stretched out before her as she dove underwater, looking around with shining eyes and a bright smile. Schools of colorful fish swam all around her, many of them scattering as several of the other expedition members swam by. Looking over at Kai briefly as he swam up beside her, she turned forward as she began to swim down, “Just a short distance off the coast, the ocean turned into a true kaleidoscope of color!”

                Purple tendrils waved with the rhythm of the ocean as Tearna looked at the anemone curiously, “Though not as tropical as the Southern Isles, the coast of Maldrezza supports a stunning variety of coral communities!” Color shone all around her as she slowly swam through the vast sea of coral. There were large, stony, orange structures and larger, flatter coral stretched across the ocean floor. She looked around with shining eyes, “There were so many creatures that there was no way I could document them all! Everywhere I turned, I found more splotches of color to admire, and the creatures only got more exotic the further I went!”

                Brightly colored fish waved their fins to remain stationary as they stared up at the odd creature in their midst, Tearna studying them and the coral they floated beside, “Just off the shore, I found a rather complex city of coral! I saw collection of red plai, striped niseos, and even a school of tri-painted gaeria!” Squinting, Tearna moved further down as she eyed a fish swimming around an anemone, “But what stood out to me most was the simple shepherdfish!”

                The relatively small fish waggled its fins as it drifted in a collection of tendrils from an anemone, “Sheperdfish earned their name for the way they carefully guard their anemone! Unlike other fish, they are unaffected by the toxic sting, so they have a sort of communalistic relationship with them. The anemone provides them with protection, and they provide the anemone with a rather effective cleaning service!” She smiled brightly as she watched one of the many shepherdfish carry a pebble out of the anemone, “I wish I could have a caretaker like them!”

                Tearna paddled her feet as she moved closer to shore, still studying the shining coral. Suddenly, she paused before smiling brightly and swimming off to her right, “On my way back to shore, I spotted another odd fish, a chromatic crossfish!” Larger fins waved in the ocean’s current as a fish drifted along absently, ignoring Tearna entirely as she swam alongside it, “From the side, crossfish look like a normal type of fish with overly large fins, but their naming becomes readily apparent when viewed from the front!”

                Long fins trialed alongside the crossfish in an x-shape from the front. “Chromatic crossfish are one of the brightest fish you can find in a reef,” Tearna continued, watching its long, feathery fins float in the water. “Their bright violet and crimson patterns are sure to stand out in any school, and their unique x-shaped body earns them a very unique place in the oceanic community!” Watching the fish swim away, she turned and swam back to shore, “After seeing so many strange fish species, I was eager to get back to my journal, but I encountered a bit of a distraction.”

                “Hey, no powers!” someone shouted as a ball smacked down into the water.

                “Sorry!” someone called sheepishly, Tearna letting out a laugh as she floated. Bobbing in the water were about a dozen expedition members, but they were separated by a tall net made of pure water! The water flowed through the air like small streams, suspended by seemingly nothing, but a short distance away, another expedition member’s eyes glowed as she kept the net manifested. “Do we need to do a penalty shot for that?”

                “No, I think it’s fine,” Tearna called, picking up the ball. With a huge grin, she tossed it up and smacked it over the net, “Heads up!”

                Shouts and laughter rose from the cluster of sheek as they continued to smack the ball back and forth, “Much to my surprise, someone had the foresight to pack along a sports ball, and they finally decided to break it out for a few rounds of waterball!” Tearna grunted as she pushed herself up to smack the ball back over the net, “Though I doubt there is anyone that doesn’t understand the game, the rules are simple. Hit the ball over the net and hope that your opponent doesn’t return it!”

                Grunting, she hit the ball back as someone shouted, “For a simplistic game, it’s quite fun! We kept it up for at least an hour, and by the end of it, I was completely exhausted!” Water poured off her body as she clambered back onto the shore, waving back at the others before sitting with a tired sigh, “With my hour off over, I was fairly certain that the rest of my day would be nothing but working in my journal, but there was one last creature we managed to stumble across.”

                The star rapidly moved across the sky and started to descend towards the horizon. “Hey, Tearna!” Tearna looked up from where she was sitting on a crate as a sheek jogged up to her, “They wanted me to ask you if you had catalogued a sea scorpion yet.”

                “No, did they find one?!” she asked with a start, her eyes widening as he nodded. Quickly snapping her journal shut, she leapt onto her feet and hurried after him.

                “Watch its tail!” someone shouted, water splashing as the large crustacean stabbed the water.

                “Can you get a better grip on it?!”

                “I’m trying my best here!”

                “You guys actually found a sea scorpion?” Tearna called as she jogged up to the shoreline. No one even needed to answer as she gasped. Thrashing in the water, and trapped by several different types of powers, was a large crustacean known as a sea scorpion. “Woah,” Tearna whispered, stepping into the water. It let out a hiss from its domed, seemingly eyeless, face as it struggled to move its pincers. Tearna moved closer, “They are so much larger than I-“

                “Watch out!” Tearna cried out and dodged back as a massive stinger impaled the water in front of her. Wind quickly lassoed around it and dragging it back as an expedition member strained, “This thing is insanely strong, so study it quickly!”

                “G-got it,” Tearna said with a firm nod. “Near the end of the day, my colleagues were lucky enough to stumble upon a sea scorpion, a gigantic crustacean not too different from its terrestrial namesake,” Tearna narrated as she swam alongside the creature. “Sea scorpions are about the size of a person and are completely covered in a tan, armored shell. They have large, powerful pincers, and their heads are noticeably shielded, even going so far as to hide their eyes under a ledge of armor. Lining their sides are a series of fins, but the thing that stands out most, obviously, are their gigantic stingers.”

                The scorpions sharp tail twisted and flexed as Tearna dove to get a better look, “Sea scorpions have a powerful tail with a gigantic barb on its end, but instead of stinging, they are used to impale prey.” Looking it over, she swam back to shore as she signaled the others, “Although we managed to find a solitary one, they will typically travel in small packs, and can be quite dangerous to any swimmers caught unaware. If you ever happen to be in the ocean, always keep an eye out for scorpions!” Releasing their powers, the scorpion instantly dove under the water, swinging its fins and undulating its body as it disappeared into the murk.

                Stars began to shine as the star disappeared on the horizon. Back in the camp, Tearna let out a tired sigh as she stowed her pen away and shut her journal. Yawning tiredly, she laid her head back on her pillow. “I am so glad we don’t have to deal with cold weather anymore,” Bren groaned as she threw herself on the bed across from Tearna. “It could go up another hundred degrees and I don’t think I would care.”

                “You are very weird when it comes to temperature,” Tearna remarked, pulling her blanket over her shoulder.

                “I personally can’t fathom how you all can stand snow like that, but I guess we’ll see how well you all fair in the land of extreme heat.” Opening her eyes, Bren suddenly grinned impishly, “Speaking of things getting spicy, what’s going on with you and Kai?”

                “Huh?!” Tearna exclaimed with a start as her ears heated with embarrassment. Groaning, she shut the lamp off as Bren burst out laughing, “Just shut up and go to sleep, Bren…”

                Morning light shone across the warm coast. Warmth rolled over the land as the wind briefly picked up, pulling at Tearna’s clothing as she stopped and closed her eyes, “After our day of relaxation, it was back to business. We were technically a day behind schedule and still had a long way to go to reach port.” Opening her eyes, she followed the caravan as they followed the curve of the coast.

                Light chatter rose from the other members as they talked, Tearna walking with her usual group as they laughed and discussed her findings, “I hadn’t realized how desperately we needed a break, but we were all feeling refreshed and rejuvenated! More than ever, we were ready to arrive at our next destination, and we certainly did our best to make good time!”

                Tearna looked up at the sky as she briefly eyed the position of the star, “We spent most of the day traveling, and there weren’t too many creatures for me to catalogue.” Rocks shifted beneath her feet as she traversed a rockier portion of the coast, eyeing the tidepools while the caravan rested nearby, “As we progressed south, the coastline alternated between sand and rock. We saw numerous tidepools, rocky shallows, and white sands over and over! However, it was one of the breaks a little later in the day where we had an accident…”

                Tearna frowned as she looked over the sandy shore they had stopped on. The ghollon were resting a little further inland along with most of the expedition, leaving a handful of them to look over the shore. Eyeing the tracks in the sand, she looked off to her left with narrowed eyes as Bren stepped up beside her, “Whatcha you searching for, ‘explorer?’”

                “There’s something here.” Tearna swept her eyes over the sand, looking further down the shore towards the other group walking along, “A lot of somethings…” Tiny pits dotted the sand all up and down the shore, and while they could have seemed like a simple geographical oddity, she had seen them before. They were footprints, and there were a lot of them… Scanning the south end of the shore, her heart suddenly skipped a beat as she realized just a second too late what was about to happen.

                “Stop!” Tearna practically screamed as she ran towards the group moving towards the large, haphazard pile of sand. An ominous rattle made her heart stop. The group turned to look at the mound of sand fearfully as a small creature crawled up from a hole. Dozens of thick spines rattled across its back, six legs with sharp, pointed tips supporting its relatively small, armored body as an angry face stared at the explorers. “Oh crud,” Tearna whispered, dozens of other creatures crawling up onto the ridge beside it as they hissed menacingly.

                “As our rotten luck turned out, we happened to stop for a break on a beach with a massive nest of thorners,” Tearna continued as she slowly backed away from the nest with the other explorers. The tiny thorners hissed as they all rattled their spines in a defensive show of force, “Anyone that has ever visited the south shores know the threat that thorners pose. These small, six-legged insects are a highly aggressive species that dig massive fortresses in the sand much in the same way ants do. Thorners, however, are extremely hostile to intruders, and they have one massive feature that makes them a massive pain to deal with, literally.”

                Letting out a screeching hiss, the lead thorner reared its back and launched its spines like missiles. Screams rang out as the thorns struck the explorers and impaled the beach, sending them scrambling away as the remaining thorners opened fire, “Through a chemical reaction, thorners are capable of launching their spines like ballistae, and they pack quite a punch. Each thorner can launch over a dozen spines, and while they are not toxic, their size means they can do considerable damage.”

                “Shields! SHIELDS!” Tearna practically roared as she summoned a wall of granite over the injured explorers. She bared her teeth as more insects began to clamber out of the mound, prompting her to race forward as she shouted over her shoulder, “WE NEED BACKUP!”

                A little later, loud stomps echoed as the column of ghollon plodded along. On their backs, the injured explorers were strapped down, white bandages splotched with red wrapped around parts of their bodies. Tearna frowned as she walked, looking at them guiltily before wincing as she held her bandaged arm, “While we were able to ward off the thorners, we took quite a bit of damage. Several of us were injured, one of us critically so, but we were able to get away without any… lethal, injuries…”

                Frowning sadly, Tearna looked over as Bren stepped up beside her, “Thanks for saving our hides back there, Tearna.”

                “I don’t deserve thanks,” she sighed with a shake of her head. “It’s my fault for not warning everyone to keep an eye out for thorners! I grew up around those pests! I should have thought about them! I just… I just thought that-“

                “Hey, stop.” Tearna frowned at Bren sadly as the shasheek held her cheeks firmly with a scowl, “It’s not your fault, Tearna! Even if you had warned them about it, they probably still would have gotten hurt because we needed to explore the mound.” Smiling reassuringly, she patted her shoulder, “Your quick reaction saved a lot of us from getting injured, and their injuries would have been a LOT more severe if not for you.” She winked at her, “If you are really determined to blame yourself, at least let your heroism cancel it out!”

                Tearna frowned at Bren as the shasheek walked ahead of her. Thinking about it, Tearna sighed and pulled out her journal, “While our injuries could have been avoided, our quick reaction and skilled defense kept our injuries from being too severe. I can’t help but blame myself, so I decided to make sure that everyone was aware of any dangerous creature whenever we reached a new location! It was the least I could do.” She winced as she gripped her bandage, “And at least they weren’t suffering alone…”

                Overhead, the star set on the horizon as stars appeared, the twin moons sailing by as the star rose once again and climbed just up to the center of the sky. Much farther south, wind whipped around Tearna as she frowned ahead, numerous hills now dotting what had been a relatively flat landscape, “After marching for a whole day, making camp, and then marching for another half day, the end of this leg of our journey was finally in sight. As we clambered over the hillier terrain, we were at last able to lay eyes on the sight we had been looking for.” Clambering up to the top of the hill, Tearna looked out ahead of them with a smile, “Maldrezza!”

                Light glimmered across the smooth, tan tile decorating the rooftops of the far-off city. Crimson flags waved atop the tall towers segmenting the walls as a warm breeze blew around it, phraits crying overhead while waves crashed in the nearby harbor. “Occupying the southern tip of the continent, Maldrezza is Adecial’s southern twin, though far smaller,” Tearna narrated once again as clouds rolled over the calm city. “From up high, the town of Maldrezza would no doubt look like a complicated maze of roads and alleys covered in cobblestone, and, overall, the city had a surprisingly rustic feel to it.”

                Chatter echoed around the expedition as they passed through the main gates, Tearna eyeing the gate and its flanking towers curiously, “Surprisingly, Maldrezza had an architectural style I hadn’t encounter before.” Raising her brow, she looked around at the other buildings lining the road as she followed the convoy, “Most of the buildings were constructed with thick, timber columns lining their corners, but the walls themselves appeared to be entirely stone, giving each of them the same pale appearance.”

                Tearna cocked her head as she looked down an alley to her right, eyeballing the protrusion from what looked to be the building’s second floor stretching over the road, “Most of the buildings were taller than they were wide, but they were also… misshapen? Some of them stretch up like a normal building, but more than a few had a much wider second floor, causing them to build numerous support beams to keep it supported.” She scratched her head curiously, “While I did not get the chance to ask an architect about the reasoning, I believe I ended up stumbling up on the answer later on.”

                Ropes groaned as a pulley system lifted a large platform up into the second floor of one of the buildings, a team of workers below readying more crates. Tearna chewed on her tongue as she wrote dutifully in her journal, “It seems as if this second-floor design eases the process of loading supplies. While I would have liked to have browsed a little to see what these shops had to offer, the captain was feeling a bit antsy, so we were quickly ushered on to the harbor.”

                Tearna looked right and left as they followed the long road, the explorer taking her chance to absorb as much of the city as she possibly could. Following the caravan around an intersection, she paused with a start before quickly whipping out her journal, “Since Maldrezza is much smaller than Adecial, it didn’t take us long to find the harbor, and it was very clear to me where most of the development was focused!”

                Waves crashed in the harbor, clouds floating on the horizon while numerous vessels rocked alongside the piers. “Maldrezza’s harbor was built in a manner similar to that of Nuvar,” she continued, moving down a set of steps towards the docks. “Though, it was noticeably squarer… Regardless, Maldrezza had two long fortifications on either end of the harbor composed entirely of stone and heavily reinforced to keep the more vicious waves at bay, but the rest of it was composed of carefully hewn planks!”

                Her footsteps echoed as she followed the caravan, Kai and Bren taking turns watching over her like hawks. “The harbor was fairly cut and dry. There were numerous piers jutting off into the water with a variety of fishing vessels docked in them, far more than what we saw in Adecial. Whereas Adecial is a primary hub for the imperial navy, the empire’s presence in the south is far less noticeable. Since these were all private fishing vessels, the ships came in every shape and size! Some were relatively short with a single mast while others were longer with masts scattered all over! I have to imagine they were all locally made!”

                Tearna hummed to herself as she wrote, continuing to write even as Bren stomped over to grab her by the collar and pull her along. Footsteps pounded as a pair of dock workers passed them, Tearna squinting at their cargo, “As I suspected, Maldrezza heavily relies on its fishing industry, which isn’t surprising giving the terrain.” A large crane groaned as it hauled a massive net out of the back of a fishing boat, hundreds of fish packed into it as the fishersheek smiled proudly, “From the shops designed around fishing gear to the fish market and cutting stations off on the side, it was clear to me that Maldrezza has mastered the art of fishing!” She chuckled to herself, “I do believe their efficiency would make our captain proud if he would actually take the chance to smell the roses!”

                Chuckling to herself proudly, she snapped her journal shut and squinted ahead of them as they turned down a pier, “Our stay in Maldrezza was incredibly short. Since we were a day late, the ship we had chartered to take us to Garodar was… eager, to get us loaded.” Tearna let out a sound of protest as both Kai and Bren pushed her up the loading ramp, causing her to pout as she stumbled onto the deck. Huffing at them both, she quickly forget her frustration as she looked around, Kai and Bren bumping their fists together in victory as Tearna began to take new notes, “The ship we had chartered was far different than the one we had taken to Adecial.”

                Furled, white sails flapped in the breeze as crews worked across the rigging, Tearna looking up at the masts curiously before looking towards the back of the ship, “This new ship was about the size of a normal galleon, but it was of custom make. Its color was primarily tan, though there were some darker embellishments that I believe reflected the captain’s fur color. In terms of shape, the galleon bore some similarities to an imperial galleon, but its decks were arranged in a strange manner.”

                Stepping up a set of stairs onto the back of the ship, Tearna moved over to the railing along the front, “There was a raised deck on both the front and back of the ship, each one probably about one fifth of its overall length.” Moments later, Tearna peered over the front railing of the front deck as she eyed its prow, “Additionally, this ship had a single prow instead of a split prow, and the bottom part jutted forward like a spear, a very curious design choice that I never got an answer about.” Tapping her chin, she finally shrugged and moved back towards the rear of the ship, “Either way, I didn’t get much time to think about it. After less than thirty minutes of loading, we were off!”

                Waves crashed against the front of the ship as it carved a path through the vast ocean, both of its sailed unfurled. Water sprayed out from the prow as it slammed through the waves, Tearna gripping the railing with a bright smile as her tails constantly rose and fell, “Though I had already experienced the ocean once this trip, it was exhilarating to experience it again, because being back out on it meant we were on our way to a completely new land!”

                Tearna looked back briefly with a thoughtful smile, “Our journey on Falador was at its end, but the memories we made would stay with me for the rest of my life. We saw the famed city of Adecial, camped out on the Golden Plains, fought blizzards, fought scorpions, ventured into a valley that can only be described as a dream, met an Archon, saw the beginning of the Crisis itself, fought another scorpion for some reason, and finally reached the end of the continent!” Breathing out a small sigh, she smiled brightly, “What we experienced was the adventure of a lifetime, and while one part of our long journey was over, the next segment was only just beginning!”

                Tearna glanced over as Bren and Kai both approached her, Bren laughing and waving briefly. Smiling at them both, she turned forward as they walked up beside her and peered ahead, “With one of the coldest places on our planet behind us, our next destination was set for, quite possibly, the hottest! When next we touched land, it would be on the fabled shores of Garodar, the volcanic island!” Miles and miles ahead of them, just on the horizon, black clouds roiled as the slightest hints of an inferno illuminated their underbellies…