The heavy rain didn't show any sign of stopping. And why would it? The monsoon had only arrived two days ago. Or was it yesterday? Sebastien Lister sighed loudly, turning away from the dirty window, that was his only source of light in his dilapidated hut, in a futile attempt at suppressing the feeling of utter boredom.

He started thinking about how to best spend the day. Perhaps go into town and look for a job? No, nothing would have changed since last time, there wouldn't be any. He suddenly felt something cold hitting his neck. He looked up. A growing wet spot on the ceiling told him that his last improvised repairs had failed. That was it! He resisted several impulses to punch the hole. Instead, he picked up an old newspaper to plug it with. One of the headlines reminded him of what he had heard from a friend that knew someone working with the foreign troops in Gerstaad. Was it intelligence? Apparently some queen in a nation called Joan or something like that was looking for a man to marry. She was a very successful doctor too.

The more he thought about it, the more tempting it was. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance against the fancy princes that likely would court her, but she would at least give him a chance to immigrate to Joan, if being such a caring person as her reputation gave her credit for. At the very least it would be a great adventure!

He reached into an aged ketchup bottle standing on his old plastic table. His skinny fingers got hold of a piece of paper. The first bill to appear was 1000-Transsunerian Dollar bill, just enough for buying a stamp to Joan. Then his hard-earned 50-Tennle bill fell out. It landed on his knees and he gazed at it for a few minutes. He had earned it while helping some foreigners unload cargo in Floodport. A virtual fortune. Now he would go back to the port, and buy himself a ticket for a cargo ship to Karnetvor. From there things would sort themselves out. For sure. If he could manage writing a classy letter.

He packed his most precious possessions, including his father's comb, a photo of his mother, and his grandfather's old watch in his worn backpack. Then he stuffed down a woollen blanket, some soap, and what clothes he had left after sorting out the least representative garments. On top he put his Sedunnic emergency rations, the only things he had in relative abundance.

Sebastien Lister closed the door behind him and walked away in the heavy rain, not looking back.