.

Sebastian didn't like waiting. He generally wasn't a patient person, so he didn't like waiting for Eris to find information either. Jylan spent all of the day sleeping, so Sebastian tried not to act or feel worried by stitching carpets. Still, it was a task that required little to no focus, so his mind kept wandering around. If only he could forget everything and sleep as well. Wouldn't that be great? But even when he tried, he could only sleep so much. He didn't know how Jylan did it, but perhaps that was part of the curse too. 

The next hour, Sebastian loudly read a note from Eris. 

"There's no information on any curses like that, or anything called the Oculus. All I know is that it meant 'eye' in Ecilian." Sebastian paused at the last word. Ecilian. That was the language of Lei's kingdom - the Eclis kingdom. 

He re-read the note, and then slowly put it down. 

The Eclis Kingdom. 

He knew where he was going next.

"And you'll be fine?" Sebastian asked Jylan. He still had a blindfold on, but he was smiling and relaxed, and he hadn't tripped or stumbled a single time. They had reached the port on horseback, with salty sea air, wooden ports, and running tides. There were a few seagulls above them, and the port was busy with the murmurs of voices and people. 

"Don't worry about me. What are we doing?" Jylan said. 

"Then you should have moved out of the knife if you didn't want me to worry about you." Sebastian snapped. 

"And you should have been able to help me dodge a freaking kitchen knife if you can dodge a shoe," Jylan said.

The two continued to bicker until Sebastian heard a distant rattle of chains. It was a loud, echoing sound, not of just one chain, but of multiple, all rattling desperately at once. There was an even louder horn about a minute later. 

"The slave ships are here," Sebastian said. 

"Slave ships?" Jylan spun in the direction that the horn had sounded out and immediately started walking down the wooden deck. Somehow, it occurred to Sebastian that he was able to do everything just fine even if he didn't have his eyes to see.

"Sebas! If there are slave ships, should we wreak some havoc?"