He bent down and took the dagger out of the man’s back, then stood straight. He held his hand out, open with the dagger resting on his palm. "I believe this is yours."

"Why thank you. That would splendid if you lead me to Windelton. Also, do you know of a shop called Gordd’s Book Keep? I would like to speak to him about some of his books." The man looked at Ned’s palm with the dagger on it. "It will be of more use to you than to me. Keep it."

"Gordd’s Book Keep, well of course I do. I am Gordd’s son. My name is Nedderick or you could call me Ned for short. Thank you for the dagger I will keep it with me knowing that it was the dagger that saved my life. Now let’s be off. I must be home before the sun sets to help set up for the Coming of the Winds fests." Ned turned and with the man following behind they made their start towards Windelton.

The more they walked down the trail the more the sun seemed to set below the hills that girdled the town. Beyond the hills were the prosperous farms, that grew the town’s crops, followed by the town square, which was like the downtown area of a big city. Beyond the town was the ocean, the River’s End Ocean, which was a big industry for many of the cities near it, providing the cities with: fish; seal; whales; and especially kratos, small fire-breathing sea serpents that were extremely dangerous, but when eaten were extremely delicious. Men often risked their lives just to capture these, because the wealth achieved from it was so much. There have also been rare cases where these kratos were found in rivers and lakes.

The two made it to town with only an hour to spare before Ned had to help set up for the festivals. The town square was full of lights powered by balls with candles inside of them, which were on the corners of every walkway. The main shops were in the center of the town square, which was actually shaped in more of a circle, with small paths branching out to homes and other shops. Gordd’s Book Keep was among the main shops in the sphere-shaped part of town. Heads nodded in greeting to the two as they slowly paced through the town square in the direction of Gordd’s Book Keep. Suddenly, Ned was abruptly stopped by a hand on his shoulder. As he turned he saw the person who grabbed him. It was a woman with long brown locks, a finely-shaped body, and bearing a grim expression on her face. She was beautiful, well-formed, and good-natured.

With his own sudden frown on his face, Ned said to her, "What’s the matter, Trish?"

She placed her hands on her hips and lifted her eyebrow at him. "What’s the matter, Trish? Don’t give me that. You know very well what the matter is." She poked his chest with her finger, then drew it back and pointed he finger at him. "You were supposed to meet me for dinner over an hour ago, and when I asked your father where you were; he said you went for a walk in the woods."

Ned slapped himself in the head with his palm. "Oh, that’s right! Shoot! I’m sorry Trish. I got an idea, how bout after I introduce my friend, Jared, here to my father; you and I will go for dinner? You didn’t eat yet did you?"