Eldwyna blinked a few seconds later, looking at the bodies and then at me. “Well done. I will need to confirm with the registry, but there is a very high chance that these men were wanted for trafficking. Kleyn!”

  Kleyn opened the door and stepped in.

  “Take these bodies away for identification. Have Helga assist.” Kleyn nodded, leaving. Eldwyna continued. “If they have bounties, I will see that you are paid appropriately. Well done.”

  Her initial reaction seemed to have been erased from her mind. I wasn’t sure how the system handled NPC interaction with our inventory, since they didn’t have a spacial storage like we did. It seemed like it was just hardwired to be forgotten or overlooked in some way. Arlo, Katarina, and I exchanged glances as she continued, ignoring the bodies that lay on the blood between our seats and the desk.

  “Now, on to the request. Verdantbrook has been experiencing intermittent occurrences of piracy just off the docks. The incidents occur just close enough to the city for the deep water naval ships of the Empire to deny the requests sent by the harbor masters for support.”

  “So the Navy is declining requests for assistance against piracy? That sounds odd.” Arlo replied.

  “There are underlying political motivations that we do not need to concern ourselves with. Mayor Endel has requested we step in, as the attacks are occurring beyond the authority of the city watch, and the leader of the guards has also declined requests for intervention from the harbor masters. The mayor has made several personal requests for our assistance in this. The pirates target specific vessels, laden with valuable materials. Every attack, without fail. The Mayor believes there to be an insider on the dock, feeding the pirates information.”

  She paused for a moment as Helga and Kleyn stepped into the office.

  “Chanter!” Helga called, slapping my shoulder with a huge smile that split her beard with a crescent of white teeth. “Good to see ya!”

  She looked down at the bodies. “Oof, damn lad, this looks like more of your handiwork.” She looked up, between Arlo and Katarina. “Shoulda seen what the lad did against that naga! True artist, Chanter.”

  “We are in the middle of a meeting,” Eldwyna cut in. “Please take the bodies away for identification.”

  She looked at Kleyn. “Ensure their identities and wanted status are confirmed. Inform me of your findings.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Kleyn nodded.

  “Aye, aye,” Helga demured, bending down and picking up one body under each arm. “Was a pleasure see’in ya again, Chanter. Good work, lad.”

  “Same, see you around, Helga!” I called as they left.

  Kleyn looked distastefully at the blood stained floor before leaving. “I will send someone to clean this up.”

  “Good.” Eldwyna waited for them to leave before continuing. “I have calculated the mission to be of Iron rank. With Chanter and Katarina along, your party should be more than enough to deal with a small band of pirates. Reports put their numbers at fewer than twenty, but they should be without the skills and strengths allotted by your classes as adventurers. Nothing more than sea-thugs. Mayor Endel has proposed a plan. I discussed it with him and have made a few adjustments to the plan. It has a high chance of success with minimal casualties considering your current party composition.”

  Eldwyna extended a piece of paper over to Arlo. “Here is the official mission card. You will need to form the party and leave tonight. Your ship will depart in a few hours.”

  She held on to the paper as Arlo pulled at it, stopping him from taking it for a second. “You are not required to accept this mission. It is against Adventure Guild policy to require any members partake of specific missions. But there will be a bonus, should your party accept, of two parts. The Mayor has offered additional rewards for successful completion of this mission, and the Guild will match the bonus contribution. A total of thirty Gold Coins, in addition to the reward offered for accepting and completing the mission.”

  She released the paper. Arlo took it, glancing over the contents as she continued. “If you decide not to take the mission, return the mission card to Kleyn and he will post it. There will be no retaliation taken, no hard feelings. Only accept this mission if you feel up to it.”

  She sat back in her chair. “Any questions?”

  Arlo read over the mission card. “So this has us stowing away in the boat that is expected to be attacked?”

  “Correct.”

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  “Will we have any kind of support?” He asked.

  “No, the harbor masters offered to send fishing ships nearby, but Mayor Andel fears the pirates will catch on. There will be no support offered, beyond the workers aboard the vessel.”

  “Will they have guards on board?” Katarina asked.

  “No city guardsman, though there may be a mercenary. The last few vessels hired a blade that proved insufficient for the task. That is something you will determine upon arrival, should you accept.”

  “What goods are they targeting?” I asked.

  “Mayor Endel has been closed lipped about that. I am curious as well. If you do accept the mission, please tell me.”

  I nodded, looking to Katarina then Arlo. They both nodded.

  “Alright, let’s go tell the others,” Arlo said, standing. We followed suit. “We need to talk before coming to a final decision, but I think this is something we can handle.”

  “Good, I had a feeling your party would be up to the challenge. Be safe. And Chanter. What is the rule?”

  I sighed. “Don’t blow up anything in the city.”

  She nodded and waved us out of her office.

  “Pirates? In the middle of the night?” Hannah smiled, her sharp ferret-kin teeth glistening in the dim fire-light of the Adventurer Guild bar room. “Hells yes.”

  “That’s what I’m saying!” Katarina cheered, fist-bumping Hannah.

  “I don’t know…” Abernathy started. “I’m not even sure how well I can swim.”

  “You shouldn’t need to swim if we kick their asses fast enough.” Katarina replied.

  “I share Abernathy’s concern,” Elsetha tapped a finger against her chin as she spoke. “This is dangerous. Eldwyna said that the previous boats have been guarded, and they were still robbed. These thieves may be stronger than expected.”

  “I trust the guild master’s assessment,” Arlo replied. “She ranked it as an Iron rank. We will have two Iron-rankers in the party.”

  Hannah held up her Brass emblem. “Plus we’re all Brass ranked now! It’ll be cake!”

  Elsetha sighed. “What do you think, Tobias?”

  Tobias shifted in his seat. Lesh klaked in complaint, his head nestled under one wing. “It’s worth a try. The Guild, the City, and harbor masters, they all need us. Isn’t that why we are adventurers? To help people?”

  “This mission seems more like it helps the rich get richer, but it gives me an excuse to kick some ass!” Katarina replied.

  “It seems like we are the minority, Abernathy.” Elsetha looked over to the Quokka-kin.

  “Okay, I don’t want to hold anyone back. Let’s do it.”

  “That’s the spirit, Abe!” Hannah cheered.

  “Alright,” Arlo said. “Everyone ready? I’m going to form the party and accept the mission.”

  We all responded with a chorus of affirmations and he formed the party. I accepted the invitation and subsequent mission offer. A notification appeared.

  New Quest! Foil the Pillagers Plot.

  Stop the pirates from making away with the goods aboard the Wave’s Mistress by any means necessary. Successful completion of this quest requires the Wave’s Mistress remain intact with all goods remaining on board, as well as the capture or death of every attacker. This is a group mission and will provide rewards individually upon successful completion. Rewards: 1 Iron Booty Chest, Silver Coin x10, Greatly increased faction reputation with the Harbor Masters of Verdantbrook, the Mayor of Verdantbrook, and the Verdantbrook branch of the adventurer’s guild.

  We made our way across town and toward the docks. Abernathy inquired about Katarina’s abilities and she was happy to explain.

  Katarina’s class used a combination of air manipulation and martial arts. The wind manipulation allowed her to hit harder, dodge faster. She didn’t have mana, instead relying on stamina and Chi points to power her abilities.

  I showed the group my new song, failing the first two attempts from nerves before getting in a rhythm and succeeding three times in a row. We had to stop while I attempted to complete it, walking and playing was beyond my current skill. Their eyes widened as I vanished, along with the music.

  “This song has so many applications!” Abernathy said, shaking with excitement.

  “You’re just excited to be invisible,” Hannah responded.

  “And you’re jealous because you aren’t the only one who can vanish anymore!” He retorted with a small laugh.

  “I’m not jealous. That’s a really cool skill. I can be double invisible now!”

  “I don’t think double invisibility exists,” Elsetha replied as we approached a central area of the massive docks that made up the eastern side of Verdantbrook.

  We followed the quest notification to a nervous, diminutive man standing at the edge of a boardwalk. A medium sized vessel was tied to the dock. Groups of otter beastkin loaded the boat with large wooden crates. The crates were large enough to require two men for each.

  The beastkin wore colorful pants, the colors muted by the partially obscured moonlight and weak light from lanterns affixed to poles. They ignored our party, a steady stream of dark furred bodies loading the crates.

  The man, a beardless dwarf named Jericho, greeted us. “Hail, good evening!” He cried. His voice was high pitched, each word enunciated with care.

  “You must be the adventurers here to help us tonight, yes?”

  Arlo approached, shaking the dwarf’s hand. “Yes, that’s us. Good evening.”

  “Good, good, perfect timing. We are just finishing a few last minute additions to the cargo and we will be on our way!”

  “Last minute additions?” Elsetha asked, eyeing the workers warily. “Is this in addition to the merchandise we are protecting?”

  “Y— yes,” he stammered, “though you will only need accompany us into the deep waters. Once we are there, a small boat will take you back to the docks, manned by one of these dock workers.”

  He gestured toward the otter beastkin before continuing. “Our ships have been intercepted well before that, so we will be safe once we pass the Barren Isle to the southeast. It takes just over an hour of sailing once we embark. Please, please, follow me.”

  Chapter 0: Overture; 10001. It will be released on RR in early January, but it, as well as the next ten chapters of Veil are available on me Patreon! A direct link to the bonus chapter can be found .