Valendo returned to the dim, decaying restaurant, where rust spread like ringworm across the walls and pipes.
Dozens of new residents gathered around the damp, swollen round tables in the scattered restaurant, using conversation to pass the arduous journey. Another third of the new residents hid in equally harsh cabins, either resting or lying down to relieve seasickness.
The metallic echo of Valendo's footsteps drew some attention, most of it from young aristocrats with neat hair and brightly colored clothes, though somewhat dirty.
Varodo did not like them.
He disliked them in the Vena Ice-Free Port, in the Vena Refuge, and even more so on the journey to the Land of Light.
The reason was simple: these offspring from various families, wealthy individuals, and officials came to "invest" in the Land of Light.
