"Captain, we are coming into port," Lios poked his head into the Captain's quarters. He saw her still buried under a pile of blankets in her bed. The blankets shifted and a hand emerged from the pile and waved him off.

He shook his head rather disappointed in the pathetic sight. He knew she wasn't much of a morning person but it was almost noon.
He glanced back to those in deck and they were busy preparing to dock, most of them ready to leave ship all together. No one was paying attention to the mysteriously ajar door to the Captain's quarters. He smirked because only the Captain could see or hear him, which made it easy to mess with her or the crew. He stepped inside and took a deep breath.

"Captain!" He yelled as loud as he could. "The Order has found us! They are on our tail!"

She jolted upright and fell out of bed with a loud thud. Lios started laughing hysterically as she reached for her rapier and looked out the window. The bewildered look on her face was priceless.

Her nose scrunched as she realized he was playing a prank on her. She threw a pillow at him as hard as she could. He caught it, still laughing as she scowled bitterly at him.

"Don't ever joke about that again!" She marched over and backhanded him across the arm. "You jerk!"

"I'm sorry," his laughter tapered off. He looked down at her and met her fierce light hazel eyes. "I…" He froze as her death flashed before his eyes once more.

She was cornered in a cavern. Tattered and worn out, but she wasn't giving up. She let out a scream that he couldn't hear as she charged two druids of The Order. Before she could reach them she got trapped in a wind tornado by the Wind Fae next to the young redhead woman. A blaze ignited from the Fire Fae next to the blonde man. The inferno eventually fizzled out and the Captain was unrecognizable and the scene before his eyes faded away to the mess of a Captain that had just woken up.

"I know that look!" Captain looked apoplectic but curiosity was eating away at her. "Did it change?! I was going to ask before we went ashore anyways."

"You are still crispy in a cave," Lios smirked as he ran his hand through his hair and looked away to not trigger the sight again.

"Do you have to put it that way?" She huffed.

"Yes," he crossed his arms, a bad smile on his face. If he didn't joke about it it would make it harder. "I've seen it enough times and it's the best way to sum it up."

"Sorry, I'm just being cautious," she felt a little bad for abusing his foresight.

"Don't stop," he shrugged. His gaze was lingering over her disaster of a desk but a crate filled with small sacks stood out to him. "What's that?" He pointed to the crate.

"A last ditch effort," She brushed her bangs out of her face. "I stayed up most of last night sorting them out." She grabbed her coat off the back of the chair and slipped it on. "Could you help me carry it out?"

"Won't that look weird?" He shrugged knowing the answer that was coming.

"Do I look like I give a fuck?!" She threw her hands in the air before grabbing the edge of the crate. "Help me damn it! I'm a weak feeble human!" She whined sarcastically.

"Yes, sir!" He voiced with a cheeky smile picking it up with both hands and taking it from her. "One hand underneath, pretend to be strong?"

"Ooh! Yes!" She ran around her desk and met him at the door. She placed her hand under the bottom and she kicked open the door. Everyone on deck turned and looked at the source of the loud bang. With everyone’s attention she smirked, “Listen closely you wretched lot. Since most of you are jumping ship when we make port I want to make one thing clear.” She tilted her hand and pushed the crate and Lios tossed it down on deck, realizing that’s where she was going with it. The small sacks inside tumbled out of the crate that had landed on it’s side. “For every member on this ship there is a bag filled with coin and jewels equivalent to 1,000 Mun. You are all going to take it, and if you remain on this ship there will be more where that came from. If you still decide to leave take it as payment for your silence, because if I find out you sold us out,” She had a sweet smile on her face though she had the most threatening tone, “I will personally hunt you down and kill you!”

"Yeah, right," Lios scoffed. "You are too soft for that!"

"You want to say that again?!" She grabbed his collar and leered at him with the same creepy smile.

"You’re just mad because you know I'm right," He smirked and didn't even flinch. He looked over at the crew and most of them looked at the Captain as though she were crazy, a regular sight, given not many people see Fae. The only one who didn't think of the Captain as crazy was at the helm. Even though the first mate couldn't see Fae she believed in them and the Captain wholeheartedly.

In the bustle of the bar, a lone bartender rinsed cups before murmuring to himself. A dark haired man looked up from his drink, to the nearly-bald squat man, squinting. 

“What did you say?”
“Said n’tha ship coming’ in. Means mo’ trouble rollin’ the docks,” He rolled his eyes before turning to place the cup on the shelf behind him. The dark hair brushed Max’s face a little as he stood up to take a quick glance at the patrons on the bar. Good, he thought, No one I know. He shelled out his last couple mun out onto the counter. It had been nearly ages since he had taken his last job, maybe he could join a crew for a little while. It wasn’t like anything was holding him down on this tiny island anyway.


"Hey handsome, got somewhere to be tonight?” A lovely blonde approached him, and Max groaned loudly before pushing her aside. He made his way to the door before dredging into the bright sun, placing his hand on his brow to peer out at the ships. There were several birds flocking the incoming ship, which happen to be overflowing the dock with crew members. 
Cautiously, he began to head towards the ship. Chatter from the crew buzzed in the air, and Max couldn’t help but overhear. 

“She’s fucking crazy man.” 

“I know, I can’t believe we stayed that long.”

“I’d rather live on this shithole island for the next year than get back on that ship.”



Maybe this is a bad idea. Maybe I’m really getting into something stupid. The ship loomed over him as he drew closer. He felt his hand drifting to Bravuss, a gun he now cherished owning. The deep sails loomed overhead and taunted Max with their uncertainty.
Just then he heard shouting, “Lios! They’re leaving!” 



I know that voice… 



“What am I gonna do?” She cried out. Max travelled up the ramp to the ship and saw a tall man trying to calm her down. 

"Well, well, well. What have we here,” Max smirked widely, folding his arms. “Edelweiss Thatch…”


She looked up, with a glare. “That’s Captain, Maximillian Foresythe. Now get off my boat.” 


Max grinned, crossing further onto the boat, "Make me."
Ed turned to Lios, her eyes wide. He shrugged "What?" She huffed loudly.
"What do you want, Max?"

"A job."
"No."
Lios whispered "Ya know, we could really use the crew members..."
"NO." She tried to grab the box and storm off with it but it was in vain, since it was too heavy.

"What is she doing, Fae?" Max questioned. Lios looked around everywhere, then back to the last man on the ship.
"A-are you talking to- to me?" He stuttered.
"You're the only Fae on the ship, mate."

"He can see you, dingbat!!" The Captain of the Black Briar crew stormed off towards the ramp off her own ship.
"Ah, you see Fae, we know each other." Max spoke confidently before following her down, Lios trailing behind. "Once long along we used to share the same coat."

"Stop following me!" Edel continued to walk off towards the port city, the two men in tow.

-

Ifrinn lay curled up in the crow's nest of The Shrike, her tail and wings were a little cramped but Ifrinn would rather feel slightly uncomfortable than being on the deck and among the crew. What have I gotten myself into?... Ifrinn shook her head as she heard some yelling, obviously the captain was involved in a conversation. Then a splash sounded and Ifrinn let out a groan, "time to get of this wretched ship..." While it was only going to be temporary any time away from the ocean was a good time.

With a grunt, Ifrinn stood up and spread her wings letting out a sigh of relief. Ifrinn then lept from the Crow's nest and began gliding, skipping over the docks and planting her feet on the first piece of soil she could. She instantly walked the opposite direction to Thatch and the others.

Boots of the three resounded against the wooden docks, echoing a hollow sound. A nearby fishing boat let off a horrid fishy smell, and gulls circled everywhere. The crew made their way into the area where the beach met the docks.

Max begged a little to a Captain who wasn’t hearing it. “Come on, Thatch. I could really use the coin. Hiding out hasn’t been easy for me. The Order never has to know you paid me.”
Lios, who had been following, erupted in laughter. “He said- he said the Order doesn’t have to know! Hahaha!”

Even the Cap cracked a smirk as she stopped mid-step to turn and face him. She was almost eye-level to him and he flinched a little. “I wouldn’t give you a job even if I had the mun to pay you, not after that shit you pulled.”

Max shrugged, “It was good-hearted squad-sibling rivalry.”

Edel’s eyes grew wide, her brow furrowed, “Squad-sibling rivalry does not involve four goats, a burned cheesecake, and several inappropriate photographs of the Arch-Druid, Forsythe!!”
“Listen-“

Lios, seeing the captain so riled up stepped in. “Look, Forsythe, was it?” The human nodded. “Give me one good reason why we should employ you.”

“Well you need the crew and I need a job. I don’t really see any obstacles here. I’ll even call her Captain.” He smirked menacingly.
Lios squinted. “Can I have a moment with my Captain please?”

The Fae leaned over Ed and whispered, “Captain, why don’t we hire this guy?”
“He’s a trouble-maker! And a criminal on the run!”
“So are we,” he said in deadpan.
“Look he just- he’s like a bad luck charm.”
“We can always throw him overboard if he causes us that much hardship, Captain. We just lost a ton of crew members. We don’t have anyone to swab the decks!”
“Fine!”

“Alright, Forsythe. I’ll hire you, under a few conditions.” The beautiful captain crossed her arms. “One: No goats, no cheesecake, and no lingerie pictures of anyone permitted on my boat. Two: If the Order catches us, I’m selling you out to save our skin. Three: Since you’ll be living on the ship, and eating our food, I’m only paying for time on deck. You’ll only get paid when you do your chores. Four: You will stay with us until we reach the end of our mission, not just to the next port.”
Max tilted his head, “Which is what, exactly?”
“Five: Don’t ask questions. Deal?” The tall woman stuck out her hand, which Max gripped and both gave a firm handshake.

That was easy.

The smell of brine and the feel of crosswinds at her back is still new to Amelia, stepping off the Glory and setting foot on land for the first time in a week. She looks across the pier to see other moored ships; freighters and schooners and dinghies alongside each other. People mill about their business as the other soldiers, led by their druids, march into the port town and set to find their quarry.

Indeed, this will be a rough hunt. Edelweiss Thatch, former member of the Order and current traitor, wielder of Regulus. They said that she was one of the best among them, and Amelia can attest to that. And yet here they are on this backwater island to bring in a murderer.

At least if she doesn't die in the process of capture, which doesn't seem likely when it comes to Amelia's commanding officer. Finally coming off the boat to join her charges, Druid Raven Omninas' eyes shift around to take in the surroundings. Slumped in her hood with silver locks dangling out of it, she grips her staff as though ready to attack at any moment.

Omninas barks, "Well, w-what are you w-waitin' for? Go do your b-blasted jobs so I-I can start doing mine. A-Anyone who doesn't get her b-back by sunset," the druid looks pointedly at Amelia, "will be in t-t-terrible s-straits. That b-bitch will b-b-burn for what she d-did to me!"

She raps her staff upon the ground, and flames burst from the point struck in the semblance of a torch. The woman raises it toward the town, and Amelia and the rest go on their forced march, lest she snaps for even the slightest delay.

Lily ran about the docks. She had grown familiar with this place in the last few years. She looked about the docked ships and the hordes of people flowing off the ships and those trudging onto others. Lily caught sight of one ship in particular with a spunky young woman with golden locks tucked neatly in a braid running about the deck. The blond lady ran frantically around yelling at the other people on the ship and eventually disappeared below deck. Lily giggled to herself and skipped her way up the ramp to the Shrike.

The small port town was awfully busy as Ash walked through the crowds of people. His eyes wandered the crowd looking for the small human he had been dragged into playing with. Her favorite game lately had been hide and seek and she had been doing a pretty good job of hiding today. Ash couldn't find her in the merchant stalls or in the back alley ways of the town. She wasn't hiding the forest and about the only place left to look was the docks.
Ash could see why the town was so busy after seeing the amount of ships in port. Deck hands loaded and unloaded all kinds of ships around the dock. Ash checked around all of the barrels and crates on the edges of the docks and he searched in the piles of rope and other goods brought out by the various ship dwellers; where could she have gone?
Ash observed all of the ships around the docks and managed to catch sight of a small girl with bobbed blond hair sneaking about the deck of a particular ship. His eyes widened as she slipped around a corner and out of his sight.
Shit...
Ash sped off from his spot and clambered up the ramp to The Shrike.

Lios sighed in slight relief after looking into Max’s eyes again. The execution he saw in Max’s not so distant future, from making eye contact at first, had changed the moment Captain had agreed to take him on. Even if she had a slight distaste for him, he was a part of her crew. Despite saying that she’d turn him over Lios knew she’d never do it. She’d always look out for members of her crew, not that many knew, aside from the more loyal members that picked up on it since she never broadcasted this notion.

Out of the corner of his eye Lios caught sight of crimson wings settling just beyond the crowd. He grew concerned over Ifrinn wandering the island on her own. It had been years since the Captain left The Order, he couldn’t shake the feeling that things had changed since then and they couldn’t rely on her knowledge of patrols forever.

“Captain, I’ll be back later,” Lios waved as he walked off.

“What?! Wait!” Much to her dismay, it was too late he was already gone, weaving through the crowd so as to not bump into the humans that couldn’t see him. She too spotted Iffrin’s towering height just beyond the crowds and she understood. “Damn! I wanted him with me for finding others to try and recruit a few more.”

She sighed and glanced over at Max, “Report to The Shrike. My First Mate, Buttercup, will be somewhere around there or the docks. Let her know you are a new member of the crew and don’t say anything about The Order or our time there to anyone on the ship just yet, they might get defensive. I need to hunt down more crew mates," She shrugged as she began to slink further into town, "so I’ll be at one or all of the taverns!”

---

“Ifrinn!” Lios finally caught up to her matching her quick pace. “I hope you don’t mind if I tag along. I’m worried to have any of us Fae solo right now. Captain says we’ll be fine but I can’t shake this contrary feeling.”

Ifrinn paused as she heard Lios coming up behind her, out of all the crew members he was one of the more tolerable ones. She let out a sigh and slowed her pace as Lios caught up with her. "Well I actually went this way specifically to be alone..." She let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "But since you mentioned it. I do have a feeling something is amiss. I can't quite put my finger on it, but we're among humans so there's no doubt they've done something stupi-."

Ifrinn froze and gave the air a brief sniff and looked over her shoulder. She squinted "Do you smell that?" She clicked her tongue, hopefully it was just her imagination. "As I was saying. Humans probably disrupted the local mana with their idiocy." Ifrinn shook her head, taking one last glance over her shoulder.

Sting and Phil walked down the streets among the crowd. Phil was covered in layers of clothes and a mask, keeping his true identity a secret to the public. Sting however was not so caring. His usual attire of leather jacket and pants were working well as always.
"Interesting."
Sting said all of the sudden as they strolled down the street. Phil glanced at his companion and shrugged.
"What, someone interesting appeared?"
The cash thirsty Pilgrim followed Sting's gaze to a certain lady. Huh. She.... looked like a pirate?

Before Phil could say anything Sting was already approaching the lady.
"Greetings, fine stranger."
Sting said with a short bow.
He seemed evidently oblivious of Captain Edelweiss, and any of the situation she was in. He just gound her interesting on the first glance. Whether it was the look in her eyes or anything else, he didn't know. But he could surely detect some adventure from her side.
"I smell a bit of cash."
Phil whispered from next to him. Typical Phil.

"It does seem odd, however the volcano on this island is a mana vent from the Leylines." Lios glances to steep slope just beyond the edge of town. Just about all the island was this small port town and the volcano. "I doubt there is a regular local mana flow on this island,” Lios shrugged. “It might not be a bad idea to see if we can find some Runes around the volcano, get out of town for a short bit.”

”... That’s better than staying here. Admittedly a lot of things are better than staying in a human settlement…” Ifrinn looked over at the volcano in the distance and frowned. ” I’ll say I don’t think I was feeling the volcano just now, that thing doesn’t look like it’s seen any action in at least a few hundred years.”

“You might be right, considering there’s a town right at the base of it,” Lios rubbed his neck, with a faint smirk on his face.

” Great more humans…” Ifrinn noticed Lios’s smirk “ Something amusing?” Ifrinn asked raising an eyebrow.

“Not at all,” Lios waved his hand. “You just remind me a lot of my little sister. She doesn’t care much for humans either and literally has a nose for trouble.” What little smile he had faded a bit, realizing how much he missed her.

” Sounds like a sensible girl. We could use more people like her on the ship.” With that Ifrinn went quiet noticing Lio’s drop in mood and decided to let the conversation end there. She didn’t care much for conversation anyway.

Flames shroud The Stone's Rest, black smoke billowing into the sky. Embers fly out of the blasted doorway whenever a poor sod manages to escape with deep burns. The wails inside must be the ones who weren't so lucky. People flee the scene, and Raven offhandedly dismisses some of their lives with a rift of heat burning out their chests.

Glass shatters, and half a man falls out of a window and lands hard on the ground, groaning and crawling with his arms from the pyre. Raven can't help but chuckle at the soul, walking towards him before a hand grips her shoulder.

"What is it, r-runt?" The Druid asks, knowing it's Amelia.

"What are you doing? Haven't you done enough?"

The woman smiles at the soldier, as though she were a mother reminding her child about the same problem for the hundredth time. "A message has to be as c-clear as possible, o-or these idiots might make a-assumptions as to why we're here. Dissenters a-are not tolerated, and h-housing dissenters even more so. Maybe that t-thief would get the message."

"But harming civilians?" Amelia rebuts. "Destroying shelter? Torturing innocent people?"

"Now now, don't e-exaggerate," brushes off Raven, pointing a finger at the crawling man's head. In a moment, the head has a searing bore and the body becomes limp. "I just put it o-out of its misery, as a good Druid s-should."

"This is unforgivable," fumes Amelia. "What would the Empire say of this? What would the Arch-Druid say of this?"

"N-Nothing. Apprehending a dangerous t-traitor like Edelweiss T-Thatch is bound to result in casualties. With a-as much power as I-I have, I can't guarantee I w-won't collapse a building or accidentally hit, say, y-you."

The pyromancer leans her face into Amelia's, pressing an increasingly scalding finger into the girl's chest. "Understand?"

Amelia turns and marches away from the Druid, and the other onlooking soldiers merely stand scared. Raven eyes them with a smoldering gaze, and all of them scatter like ash, wary of being the next victim.

Raven groans. "Kids these days..."

Ifrinn continued walking in silence until smoke started to rise from the town near the base of the hill. "Humph, still think it's the volcano?" Ifrinn jeered an uncommonly large smirk on her face. "I'm going to see what the humans have botched this time. It's always fun to watch them blunder about." With a flap of her wings Ifrinn shot into the air soaring towards the town. As she got closer her nose began to twitch, there was no doubt this was human magic Ifrinn was going to have to be careful.

----

Landing atop a tree near the town's edge Ifrinn took in the situation and growled. It looked like the order had caught up with them, perfect Ifrinn quickly hopped down from the top of the tree and took cover behind the trunk of the tree. "Cursed wings could you not fold a little smaller?" She humbled to herself as she attempted to conceal her wings behind the tree, while only small bits were poking out Ifrinn didn't doubt it was only a matter of time before she was spotted (if she hadn't already been spotted that is).