Filled with worry, Pan Long left the mobile city that had been renamed the Tower of Babel.
Beyond the city lay an Argoan town.
The Argoans were also known as the "People of the Sea." Their ancestors had carried the blood of marine creatures and once lived in the ocean. But some upheaval—supposedly an assault by dangerous monsters from the depths—had driven them onto land. They had built towns along the coast and settled beside the sea.
Of course, that was only legend.
At least, the Argoans Pan Long saw in this town, though stronger than ordinary people and possessed of a certain air of the ocean, did not seem capable of fighting deep-sea giants like the enormous octopus he had encountered in the Desert Ruins.
Their snacks, however, were interesting. They had distinctive flavors and were well worth trying.
The town was called Erythrina, and great numbers of Erythrina trees grew there. Erythrina was a spice plant, and the Argoans had used grafting to create the famous Erythrina Pepper. It produced a good yield and was one of the most popular everyday seasonings in the world.
Pan Long walked down the street carrying a paper carton filled with skewers of grilled squid. Though the squid had been cut into pieces and roasted over intense heat, its tentacles still twitched from time to time. When he bit into one, he could even feel it struggling between his teeth, lips, and tongue.
The stuff was downright bizarre!
Yet many people raved about that peculiar quality, and grilled squid had become one of the most famous foods in Argoan towns.
"Don't boast that you're a gourmet if you haven't tried Argoan food" was a well-known saying.
To Pan Long, Argoan grilled squid tasted merely average, no more delicious than anyone else's barbecue.