Mazlak’s words answered a question that had been needling at me for some time now. Whenever Diego talked about his father, he used the past tense. That could’ve simply meant he’d been out of town for a while, but if he’d spent a good chunk of his life working to get his curse vend—uh, general store—off the ground, it didn’t make much sense for him to go gallivanting off and leave it behind.
Diego likely would’ve mentioned if that had been the case, anyway. Since he hadn’t, I’d figured chances were high that his father was gone and definitely wasn’t coming back. Of course, it would’ve been rude to pry without a reason, so I’d let the matter be until Mazlak had essentially confirmed it for me. Though now, I was just curious about Diego’s mother...
“Pops was happy,” Diego said. “Lived a life doing what he loved.”
Mazlak nodded. “Certainly did. You could call him selfish, in a sense, but I suppose you could also say that’s what led to you being born. Still, after Mariana died, he...”
“My mother was...” Diego trailed off. Before he could continue, the sound of a harp played from farther back in the tavern. “Oh, there’s a minstrel here? The mood does take me, once in a while. I’ll be back later.” Cup in one hand and a piece of jerky in the other, he stood and moved to a seat closer to the musical performance.
“Hrm. Shouldn’t have opened my mouth, looks like,” Mazlak remarked. “Sorry, all. I’ve gone and chased our friend off.”
“No harm done,” Capitan said. “Diego didn’t look particularly upset either. We all have things we’d just rather not talk about, is all.”
He was right about that. In my case, a tavern wasn’t the kind of place I would’ve wanted to open up about my childhood, or my mother and father. I would’ve come away with the impression that Mazlak was a little insensitive if it wasn’t for what he said next.
“I hope you’re right,” the old sailor said, scrubbing his hand through his hair. “I’ll apologize to him later. It’s just been a while since we’ve run into each other, so I suppose I got a bit nostalgic. With that and the drink loosening my tongue... Well, I should’ve stuck to talking about the job.”
Everyone slipped up from time to time. If self-control was something people could constantly maintain, then there’d be no conflicts in this world of ours—and alcohol was the king of loosening your self-control. The fact that Diego had simply stood and left was a testament to his maturity. He’d likely accept Mazlak’s apology without any issue.
“Might as well, then,” Capitan said. “Not that your job will be changing much, all things considered. There’ll just be a few more passengers coming along.”
Mazlak nodded. “Mmm. Let’s see—you, Rentt, Niedz, Gahedd, and Lukas? So, five?”
“That’s the plan as I understand it, but...” Capitan said, turning to me.
“Works for me,” I agreed. Suddenly, a thought occurred. “Just one thing...”
“Yes?”
“What about Diego?”
Mazlak cocked his head. “What, does he plan on delving with you?” he asked, somewhat disbelievingly. “In the Dungeon of the Sea God’s Daughters? Are you sure?”
I was curious as to why Mazlak would react like that, but digging into Diego’s past seemed rather touchy at the moment, given what had just happened. I decided to let sleeping dogs lie and keep to the topic of the job. “I don’t know if he’ll be coming along, but I’ve promised to bring him any cursed items I find,” I explained. “And you know how strange some cursed items can be. With some, you wouldn’t even be able to figure out what they do unless you’ve studied the spot where you picked it up.”
The air tubes that the others would be using were one such example. Placing one in your mouth let you breathe underwater, but if you found one far away from the water, you’d be hard-pressed to figure out its purpose. You’d just wonder where this strange pipe had come from, and whether it was a component that had fallen out of some larger contraption. If you knew they were often found near the shore, though, you’d start thinking about how it might be used in the water, and then you’d eventually figure it out.
Unlike ordinary magical items, cursed items found in dungeons tended to have strong connections to the places they were found—which meant knowing that information was often crucial. So while I could bring Diego all the cursed items I came across, it seemed pretty likely that he’d want a better look at the locations where I’d found some of them—and Mazlak’s boat would be his only way to get there.
Mazlak nodded; he seemed to have picked up on my thought process. “So Diego’s gathering cursed items from the Dungeon of the Sea God’s Daughters, hmm?” he mused. “I suppose that would make him want to go delving himself, now and again. I think it’s best we leave him be right now, but we can ask him about it later. If he wants to come along, though, I’ve no problem with it. I’d say that’s your call, since you’ll be delving with him.”
“I don’t mind,” Capitan said. “The sea spirit herbs are all I’m after. If Diego needs cursed items, I’ll happily hand over any I find. Most are just useless knickknacks, anyway. Might set aside a few as souvenirs for Gharb, but that’s it. From what I could tell about the way he carried himself, I don’t think Diego’s going to slow us down, and an extra pair of eyes when searching for the herbs is always welcome.” He turned a sharp gaze over to Niedz and the others. “Honestly, Niedz and his friends might have a rougher time, but that’s why Rentt and I will be training them.”
“Better brace yourselves,” I told the trio of adventurers. “Capitan’s training is no joke.”
“What are you going to make us do?” Niedz asked, somewhat hesitantly.
“To start with? We’ll be building up your fitness and getting some experience under your belts. It’s tough, but don’t worry too much. If I managed to overcome it in the past, so can you.”
“I’m not sure if I believe that...”