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Yosha was quite fascinated by his stories, and became especially intrigued by his description of the sea and its strange creatures. She listened to tales of bizarre creatures, rumors of underwater cities, and stories about sea-faring peoples in huge boats. By the time the merchant retired to the quarters offered him, Yosha's neighbors noticed that a twinkle had returned to her eyes that had been gone since Myzh's demise. Not long after the merchant had departed to peddle his goods elsewhere, Yosha, too, packed a few belongings and decided to make her way to this fabulous sea he had so colorfully described. Though the inhabitants of Green Cove worried for her safety, they knew she would only continue to be unhappy if she remained and threw a small farewell celebration to wish her luck on her journey. The actual journey to the sea was not overly arduous or dangerous, and the only excitement (other than the wonder of finding all sorts of interesting bits and pieces along the way) during her travel was her brief stop in an elfin village along the way. Unable to understand the languages the villagers spoke, Yosha counted herself lucky that one of the settlers was able to speak a fragmented version of her own native tongue. Here she tried chocolate for the first time, and found that she was horribly allergic to the sweet concoction, and puffed up until she looked like (in her own words) a fluffy blue cloud. After a few days rest, she was back to her old self and resumed her travel towards the sea. While in the town, she had heard further tales of the wonders concerning the sea, including a story about herds of huge, brownish-red creatures with teeth nearly three times as large as she. Walruses, they were called, and such a strange beast she was resolved to lay eyes on. Posing questions along the way, few seemed to know what these creatures were or where they might be found, but her curiosity did not diminish. Yosha's spirit soared when she finally arrived in a small coastal fishing hamlet and had her first glimpse of this strange-smelling new sort of water. She also had her first glimpse of a human, and was a bit taken aback by the size of some of them at first, but her curiosity proved to be greater than her unease. A kind woman, Lelenia, allowed her to take refuge in her home while Yosha stayed in the area to explore the coast. |
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