45

It's not that difficult to find Estre; he's one of the loudest merfolk in a group of carousers. You start to rethink approaching him, when he notices you and cuts off your doubt with a simple "Hey, Kavitha!" He grabs you up in a big hug of adrenaline-fueled joy. "It's a good day to be alive and in the water, isn't it?" The rest of his crowd agrees, but almost immediately decides to leave Estre with you instead of risking contemplating anything deeper. Estre doesn't seem to mind their departure, though.

Estre tilts his head in concern. "I want you to know," he says, "that I consider you a hero. You actually volunteered to recover the Orb. You're one of the few who don't ever have to fight ever again, and yet you volunteered for something just as risky. Most of the people who volunteered, Tephra included, just wanted to get out of Everwarden duty."

Estre leans in close. "That's why I want to ask you about something," he says. "It's about Cinza." His eyes dart around, checking for other merfolk nearby. "I care about her…a lot. Almost as much as I care about Arraia. She's always been important to me. But the council, they're not being sympathetic toward her at all. Unless something happens, it looks like she's going to be killed. And I just don't know what to do."