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# Waverider Expedition - Chalan

All is not what it seems

The sea around the Laguna Islands glowed like glass. Shallows of turquoise faded into deep cobalt, coral shapes rippling beneath the waves. As the Waverider's longboat cut through the lagoon, Solonex shaded his eyes against the glare.

"Beautiful," he said quietly. "Almost unreal."

Ulfar grinned, his beard flecked with salt. "If this is unreal, I'll take it over the real any day."

They beached the boat on a strip of pale sand. Palms bent overhead, their fronds whispering in the wind. Figures waited by the tree line, men and women with bronze skin and calm smiles, wearing garlands of flowers and wraps of woven reed.

One stepped forward, tall, graceful, eyes like shifting amber. "Welcome, travelers. You have found Halina, the Resting Shore. You are tired, yes? Rest a while. The sea brings only those it means to."

"Kind of you," Solonex said, bowing slightly. "We only seek to replenish our stores."

"Of course," the man said smoothly. "We have fruit, fresh water, and welcome. No payment needed."

Severin watched him closely. His voice was soft, melodic - and familiar. He frowned, glancing at another of the islanders who looked oddly like the first, though shorter, with different hair. When their eyes met, she smiled, and for a heartbeat, Severin could have sworn she was the same person in another shape.

He said nothing.

The islanders led them through a village of round huts woven from palm and reed, their walls decorated with shells that shimmered in the light. Children laughed, darting past with faces painted like fish, and somewhere a drumbeat rose, low and steady as a heartbeat.

They were served fruit and roasted fish by a woman with silver beads in her hair. When Severin thanked her, she smiled and said, "You're welcome, Captain."

He froze. He hadn't introduced himself.

But when he looked again, she was already gone, replaced by another woman setting down cups of cool water.

Solonex was in his element, laughing, asking questions, praising their craftsmanship. Ulfar compared fishing tricks with a group of men who nodded eagerly, mirroring his every gesture with uncanny precision.

"Strange folk," Ulfar said later, wiping his mouth after a feast of grilled crab. "Don't ask for coin, don't even ask where we're from. Just smiles and songs."

"They seem content," Solonex said. "Rare thing in this world."

Severin nodded slowly. "Content, or waiting for the tide to change."

That night, they were given a hut by the water. The villagers sang on the beach, their voices rising and falling like waves. It was beautiful, haunting, and oddly repetitive, as though each verse was a variation of the same refrain.

When Severin stepped outside near dawn, the singing had stopped. The beach was empty - but the footprints in the sand were all different sizes, overlapping in strange patterns.

By noon, they were back aboard the Waverider, sails filling with a steady breeze. The island shrank behind them, green and gold against the blue.

Ulfar leaned on the rail, content. "Friendly place. Almost sorry to leave."

"Almost," Solonex said, smiling. "If only every port was like that."

Severin stood apart, arms crossed, eyes on the receding shore. "They were kind," he said slowly. "But something was off."

Ulfar laughed. "You're just not used to hospitality that doesn't come with a knife."

"Maybe." Severin's gaze stayed fixed on the islands. "Still... every time one of them smiled, I felt like I'd seen the same face before. In different skin."

Solonex chuckled. "Too much sun, my friend."

Severin didn't answer. He only watched as the light shifted over the lagoon, and just out of view, someone stood at the water's edge, a tall figure, smiling, with his own face.

Then the sails caught the wind, and Halina vanished behind the horizon.

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