In the Midst of the Lonely Sea of Loneliness (3)

On the wagon ride into town, all the Igiby children chattered about the activities that would be occurring throughout the day while Podo and Wendolyn sat in the front steering the horse.

"I'm totally going to rule at the sack races." Tink boasted confidently. "Just you watch. Those Blaggus boys don't stand a chance."

"Not if you get sick like last year." Janner reminded his younger brother. "Don't eat so much before the races."

"I'm not gonna this time." Tink blew a raspberry.

Leeli giggled. "Maybe I'll enter this year... I've been practicing."

"Yeah, I guess you could join... But don't expect to win on your first try. The races are brutal." Tink said in an attempt to scare his sister out of the competition but it didn't work the way he hoped.

"I'll be careful." She smiled. "Don't worry about me."

Janner rolled his eyes and smiled. "You two have fun with that. I still have to return my books." He turned to ask his uncle a question. "Uncle Artham, can we stop by the-" He paused.

Artham, who had slept in due to reasons beknownst the rest of the family, was fast asleep on the bumpy wagon ride with his elbow and hand supporting his chin on the side of the wagon.

The sight of his sleeping uncle only served as a reminder for Janner about his aloofness the year prior.

"He's asleep?" Janner thought with confusion. "Why did he over sleep anyway? Didn't he know Dragon Day was today? But he did know... So why didn't he get to sleep at a good time?"

The wagon hit a large bump, startling Artham awake.

"Mm..." Artham hummed as be stretched his legs and arms to help himself wake up.

"Uncle Artham?" Janner asked, noticing that he was waking up. "Why are you so tired? Didn't you go to bed after you talked to me last night?"

Artham looked over at Janner and smiled tiredly. "Oh, Janner... Um... I did go to bed... It was the sleeping part that evaded me, but don't worry. I'm ready for our day out today."

Janner stared long and hard at his uncle, as if trying to evaluate if that was true. "It's just... Last time you seemed to be... elsewhere."

"I'm sorry about that, Janner..." Artham placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder to reassure him. "I promise today will be a great day, okay? And yes, we can stop by the library first."

"Hey- How did you know I was going to ask that?" Janner puzzled.

Artham chuckled. "Because you brought a large stack of books and wouldn't want to carry them around all day?" He pulled a book out of his vest to revealed his borrowed book from Books and Crannies with an eyebrow raised. "That's how I am too."

Janner laughed, realizing how much his uncle was like him.

"Say... Did you all get new vests today? They look fashionable..." Artham proceeded to banter and joke with the children for the rest of the trip to town.

Once the wagon and horse were stationed outside of where they needed to be, Podo helped Wendolyn out of the wagon and joined Artham and the kids near the back.

"Alright, dears. Me and your grandpa are going to go deliver the trunk to the fang check in. Just like last year, be sure you stay close to your Uncle Artham and remember, stay out of the fangs' way. Do you understand?" Wendolyn asked. The children verified that they understood and so, she and Podo unloaded the filth trunk and started off to dispose of it once and for all.

After helping the children down from the wagon, Artham prepped them for their day in town. "Alright, so here's what we're going to do. Janner and I need to take back our books to Oskar's but after we're done, we'll head to town square for the events. Once Tink brings home his victorious ribbon that he's been boasting all morning about, we'll get one treat for each of us to snack on while we listen to the performance. Does that sound fair?"

"Yeah!" The children simultaneously agreed.

"Perfect." Artham smiled before gesturing for them to follow him. "Well, Iggyducklings, follow the me!"

Without further delay, the three of them laughed before following their uncle into town to execute his seemingly foolproof plan.

The four of them passed through the bustling town of Glipwood where they saw many people from other towns they had never been to before. These, along with the Dragon Day decorations, inspired joy in each one of the Igiby children's hearts.

Artham was very careful not to lose any of the children in his custody while traveling through the crowds and they all successfully made it to their first stop: Books and Crannies.

The bell on the shop door sounded as Artham led the children inside.

"Oskar!" Artham called when he saw the front desk vacant of neither Oskar or that ridgerunner he kept around. "We're just stopping in to return some of your books!"

"Oof!" Oskar was heard exclaiming as the sound of books hitting the ground followed. "Ah, is that the Igibys up front?! Hold on! I'll be with you momentarily. I've just made a mess."

The silence that came after Oskar's delayed answer and appearance put Artham on edge, his own mind bringing some anxiety inducing thoughts to his mind about the fangs today.

What if today was the day he snapped on one of those big lizards and got them all in trouble? What if today was the day one of the children wandered off or worse- followed his example and try to fight the fangs as well? Podo's words were still on his heart from the night before and Artham couldn't bare to think that today could be the last 'peaceful' day for all of them. One slip up was all it would take.

Being so deep in thought, it only took a small scampering noise nearby to cause Artham to become startled and point his book at the source like it was a sword.

However, Artham felt quite foolish when it was only Zouzab that made the noise.

Zouzab made blank eye contact with him before slowly lifting an eyebrow. "My, aren't we jumpy today?" He asked, lifting a berry to his mouth. "Not enough sleep, perhaps?"

"Uncle Artham, what are you doing?" Tink asked, thinking it odd his uncle took a swordfighting stance out of what seemed like nowhere.

Since he had never told his niece or nephews about Anniera, by extension, Artham had never told them that he was an expert swordsman. For him to make a perfect fighting stance was very foreign to them.

Artham slowly returned to a normal stance but tried to pretend it was intentional, as to not give anything away about their family secret. "Oh! It's just um... A move I saw on a cover once... I think the book had a rabbit on it in that pose. It was called 'Emerald Blazes'. You should... read it some time."

The three children only stared with confusion for the next few minutes until Oskar finally came up front.

"Ah, young Igiby's... And slightly older Igiby." Oskar greeted with a chuckle, setting a stack of books on his desk. "Are you all enjoying Dragon Day?"

"Not yet..." Tink sighed.

"Oh?" Oskar readjusted his spectacles.

"Tink's just impatient, Mr. Reteep." Janner shook his head in annoyance, setting his stack of books on the counter to return them. "He wants to leave pretty quickly since we just got to town."

"Ah, then I won't keep you too long." Oskar said, pulling Janner's stack toward himself and setting them aside to be put away later. "I say... I've been meaning to ask." He looked at Artham. "Would it be alright if Janner came by tomorrow to help me reorganize some of the books in the back? That is, if he would want to-"

"Really? I can help?" Janner perked up excitedly before turning to his uncle. "Can I, Uncle Artham?"

"Hm... I suppose you can... But I'll drive you to town. I don't want you out here alone." Artham replied, wanting Janner safe but also not wanting to squelch his freedom.

"Yes! Thank you!" Janner beamed.

Nugget began whining outside the shop door, scratching at it like he wanted Leeli to come out.

"Nugget!" Leeli went over to the door and looked back at her uncle. "I'll wait outside with him."

"Wait, a second, Leeli." Artham said with hesitancy, returning his own book to Reteep before joining her by the door. "Remember, we need to stick close by." He looked back at Oskar. "We'll see you later, Oskar!"

"Have fun at the Dragon Day festivities, Igibys!" Oskar waved.

Zouzab waved as well but a little more carelessly.

With their goodbyes and farewells in place, Artham led the kids outside to start making their way to town square for the events.

Along the road, the children could hardly keep their excitement about all that was going to happen that day and thankfully, Artham was doing all he could to be present in the moment; He was determined to keep his promise to Janner.

However, the day would soon take a turn he did not expect.