On the other side of town Sola was on the search for winter coats while also trying to wrangle his crew mates. Mea had asked him multiple times if he thought anyone here would be cool enough to sell her some sea weed and Zero had stopped into various metal working shops to ask if they did tattoos. He couldn’t even be mad at Zero, he was the one who had planted the idea of getting a tattoo in his head. Mea on the other hand, he could be annoyed with.
Eventually the first mate managed to corral the two of them into a clothing shop, but despite the fact that winter would soon be upon them the number of coats they had out was few and far between. Mea took one look at the selection and informed Sola that they were all horribly out of fashion. Zero, who’s only clothing was a single faded poncho, was quick to agree with her. Eventually, Sola disregarded the both of them and bought two of the somewhat unfashionable coats, and a deepwood bear pelt. He folded the pelt to put in his pack, hoping that one of his companions knew how to sew. If not, he was sure they would stop in another town before they made the trip to Flolon. A bigger town would have better odds of having the supplies they needed anyway.
Journeying between the continents was a surprisingly harrowing experience. If the crew was going to fly around Amon that would only make things that much worse. No stops for around a week, with no lands to be seen and only the impenetrable cloud layer below them. Sola had a healthy fear of flying over the no mans land. While he had never seen it himself, he had heard stories of ships being lost below the clouds in sudden violent storms. Anything that went below had never come back up, and something about the magic of the clouds prevented scrying beyond them so no one even knew what was under them anymore.
Lost in his thoughts, Sola failed to notice Mea and Zero had become separated from him. Between packing the coats and pelts and removing his funds from the general ship funds Keizeron had given him his focus was too split. Once he finished he looked up and found that he was completely alone in the store, aside from the bored looking cashier. Sola cursed in annoyance, and went outside to see if he could spot where the duo had run off too.
((“Ren please, this whole episode can’t just be Mea’s quest for drugs. You’re not going to find good weed here, that’s an Amon thing,” Zenith sighed in exasperation. He leaned forward putting his head in his hands as he rolled bad on his perception check to spot the renegade crew mates he was chasing. His perception was negative, a side effect of his character being half blind. “And you’re going to corrupt poor sweet innocent Zero.”
“You don’t know how innocent my boy is, let Zero do drugs!” Blair interrupted, tapping their hands on the table with excitement. Ren reached over for a high five while Winter and Lucky exchanged glances.
Zenith looked at his partner for support, but Caine only smiled back at him. “Don’t be a narc,” They said, tilting their head slightly. “Let them figure things out the hard way.”
Ren and Blair went quite as Caine rolled a few dice behind the screen, and looked back up without elaborating. Unable to tell if the dm was bluffing or not, they let the story continue.))
There was not much of the city left to explore, and as Sola scanned the area he noticed Mea and Zero disappear into a bar down the street. The first mate sighed before trotting after them, passing by a number of travelers and villagers alike. The bar they had gone into was dark and devoid of life, it was far too early in the morning for anyone to be out drinking. A sign above the door named the place the Fallen Feather, and he genuinely couldn't tell whether they were open or not. After a moments hesitation Sola made his way inside, a bell above the door chiming quietly.
As he walked in he caught the tail end of Mea slipping a bag into her pocket and handing the bar tender, an older cat faun man, a couple of gold coins. They looked up as he approached, but when Mea waved cheerfully the bar tender relaxed. He turned, going to get something from the back as Sola came to sit next to his crew mates.
“Satisfied?” Sola asked, trying not to be annoyed. Mea was an adult, she could spend her money and her free time on whatever she wanted.
“Yes!” Mea said, before looking and up and seeing his expression. Her grin turned more sheepish and she lowered her head slightly. “Sorry about running off. We’ll stick around for the rest of the trip,” She apologized.
That was good enough for Sola, and he shrugged. “We’re done with the shopping we needed to do, so we can grab a drink before we head back to the ship.”
“I would like a drink.” Zero informed them, setting his hands on the bar.
“Can you get drunk?” Mea asked curiously.Sola raised his eyebrows at her, and tried not to laugh at how ridiculous the question even was. With how Zero's head worked, the automaton couldn't even open his mouth. He spoke aloud with a voice chip in his throat. Sure Zero sat with the rest of them while they ate, but he never had sustenance of his own. Though, he did have an empty cup that he pretended to take sips from occasionally, to feel included.
“No,” Zero confirmed, making a sad noise and he withdrew his hands.
“Anything for you sir?” The bartender asked as he returned with a thin wine glass full of an opaque blue liquid for Mea.
“Strongest ale you have,” Sola replied, setting a few coins on the counter top. The bartender nodded, a wide smile on his face as he swept up the coins and turned back to his barrels.
“You folks on your blessings run?” The bartender asked as he handed over a frothy mug of ale.
Sola tensed for a moment, but Mea took a quick sip and leaned across the counter, putting her head on her hands in a display of attention. “No, we actually finished ours last week! Why?” She asked in a slow drawl. Neither of her companions said anything, letting her take point. She was glad they could catch on so quickly.
“A couple of the monks that live at the temple of Aria used to frequent this place. Heard from one of them this morning that the temple was raided by pirates last night!” He said, his tail swishing in agitation.
Sola took a sip from his mug. News traveled fast.
“That’s awful!” Mea cried, and Sola could almost believe she had no idea. Almost. She leaned against the bar, and Zero copied her movement. “What happened?”
“Well, they said that a unity officer showed up last evening to do an inspection and they closed for the night. But some time around midnight a crew showed up pretending to be on their blessings run and demanded entrance. When they were denied they got violent, and blew up half the temple! Several officers and a few of the monks were killed in the cross fire. It’s a shame,” The bartender sighed, shaking his head.
“How terrible,” Mea agreed, covering her mouth. Sola took another sip of his drink to try to hide his nerves, impressed at how easy lying came to Mea. Being an automaton, Zero was hard to read anyway, but he was wise enough to keep silent. “Why would they do that?”
“Well,” The bar tender looked around, as if he was about to share a dark secret with them. The bar was completely empty aside from the four of them, his theatrics were wholly unnecessary. “They’re still combing the wreckage, but the monk who talked to me told me they still haven’t found the rod! I bet those pirates managed to escape with it, we’re about to watch the man hunt of a life time.”
Mea looked properly scandalized by the news, and the two of them started to theorize where the pirates could have escaped to and what will happen to the blessings run now, but Sola was no longer listening.
Some of the pirates had gotten away after they had. While ultimately a bad thing, this could be good news for the crew of the Fortune’s favor. If the unity officers thought that the pirates got away with the rod it would take the target off of their backs. Although, Keiz had told him that a significant number of the pirates in the temple had been killed or captured. It was anyone's guess how long a broken crew of pirates could keep the entire coalition of Regilis on a wild goose chase. Sola was certainly going to root for them, but if they were to be captured it would become obvious they didn't have the rod. While they had plausible deniability now, it wouldn’t take a genius to realize the only other group that was there that night took the artifact. They would have to take advantage of this confusion before the crown figured it out.
Sola finished his drink and set it down, waiting for Mea and the bartender to stop gossiping. Mea picked up on his serious demeanor immediately, and downed the rest of her glass in a single gulp.The aquan woman hopped off her stool, but swayed slightly as she stood up too fast after shooting a drink like that. Both Zero and Sola reached out to steady her, but she managed to keep her footing. She laughed awkwardly, holding onto Zero's arm.
Sola shook his head and set an extra gold coin on the counter. “For the interesting news,” He said, giving the bartender a nod before also getting to his feet and heading outside.
The three of them made sure they had all their supplies, and headed back to the docks to rejoin the rest of the crew. Mea continued to lean on Zero for support, giggling as they went. Sola wasn’t sure what she had drank, but it must have been strong and he considered if he needed to carry her back to the ship. Fortunately they returned without further incident, and as they walked up the gang plank Sola saw his captain standing next to Aka as they tried to attach something to the helm.
“Great timing!” Keizeron looked up from where he was working and wiped his brow. Despite how late it was in the season it was getting to be quite hot out. Even Aka had rolled up the sleeves of their jacket as they worked. Willow was standing back, watching them with interest. “Mea, do you think you could cast your rain spell?”
Sola finally realized they were adding an enchantment stone to the helm. Keiz must have found one while they were out, and they were putting spells into it for future use. He had seen some before on other ships that he had been a crew mate on, but adding an enchantment took serious magic. He was under the impression that Keizeron was a powerful mage, but it seemed he hadn't even began to understand the depth of the older man's magic.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“You want me to make it rain?” Mea giggled. “I can do that!”
Keizeron looked at her for a moment, and then over to Sola with a raised eyebrow.
“She had something to drink while we were out.” Sola explained.
“Ah. In that case we can wait on the spell,” The captain started to stand back, only for Mea to interrupt him.
“No, no im fine. Fine enough!” Mea said as she made her way across the deck. Zero and Sola followed her, until the whole crew was crowded around the helm.
Keizeron and Aka had put the stone in the center of the wheel, and it glimmered gold with the magic Keiz must have poured into it. Sola wondered what spell he had done, and glanced over at his captain. Keizeron had taken off his jacket at some point, and was just wearing an undershirt and his tan trousers. Sola could see the jacket folded haphazardly on the lower railing, with his hat next to it. Duchess has curled up in the soft fabric and was resting peacefully.
Keiz looked uncertain, but after Mea insisted he gave her a short tutorial on what she needed to do. The rest of the crew took a step back as she laid her left hand on the enchanting stone. With her right hand she drew a large rune in the air, tracing a pattern that was made visible by streaks of bright blue light. Once she completed the pattern she put both hands on the stone, which began to glow in the same bright hue. The magic drained from her hands as it charged the helm, leaving Mea looking a bit pale. The stone glowed brilliantly as it absorbed the spell, and pulsed a vibrant sky blue. After a few seconds the glow faded, and Mea took a step back.
Keiz moved forward as her legs gave out and caught her around the waist. “Has a little kick to it,” Mea wheezed as she clutched to him for support, still pale.
“Are you alright? It usually doesn’t take that much.” Keiz said with a frown. “I thought you said you didn’t have that much to drink.”
“I didn’t say that, Sola did,” Mea shrugged as she righted herself. “I’ll be fine, I just need a little nap I think. Do you work out?” She added with a titter as she squeezed Keizeron’s bicep.
Keizeron rolled his eyes as he let Mea go. “We could have waited on the spell, but it will be fine. Zero, if you could?”
Zero gave a dramatic salute and picked up Mea, cradling her in his arms. She continued to laugh and poke at his arms, and in response he moved her to one arm and flexed with the other. His metallic arm didn’t change shape, and instead creaked loudly, which seemed to delight Mea even more. Even Willow gave a small chuckle, which she hid behind her hand as Zero took Mea below deck.
“I have good news. I think,” Sola said as things settled and the crew resumed their normal duties. Keizeron listened intently as Sola explained about how some of the pirates had escaped, leading the rumor to be that they were the ones who ended up with the missing rod piece.
Keizeron stroked his beard thoughtfully once he was finished. “This could certainly work in our favor, but we shouldn’t count on it covering us for long. The queen is no fool, and she will not show us mercy when she realizes what’s happened.”
“I think our greatest advantage right now is that even we don’t know where we’re going.” Sola pointed out with a hand wave.
The unity government was a coalition made up of people from all the continents, and so were allowed to operate in every country. Still, the system was not flawless. The unity officers reported to the queen with little to no input from the other countries. There was supposed to be a council, made up of leaders from every nation, but that had died out long before Sola was even born. No one is quite sure anymore how the leader of Regilis became the sole leader, but the tensions it’s caused with the other nations were hard to miss.
The reason the queen had gotten away with this so long was clear to anyone who cared to look. Flolon and Iwix were the only countries who had their own independent military forces, and neither had the might to oppose Queen Odella. It was another reason in a long list of them that the queen was detested outside of Regilis. But the subtle conflict of the nations could work in their favor currently. Since her realm of influence was weaker outside of her home country, it would be easier to avoid unity ships after they left the continent. That coupled with the fact that event they didn’t know where they were going, meant it would be hard for the coalition to follow them once they were found out.
As it started to grow dark out, Willow and Zero watched the deck while Aka, Sola, and Keizeron decided on their best path to Flolon. After a bit of debate they decided on sailing north for a day until they were close to the border, and then they could check the direction of the rod again. If the Flolon city was still in the path, they would head there in the safest route they could. Skirting Amon would be safer than going over it, even if it meant they were over the cloud layer for longer. If the former capital didn’t line up anymore, they would be able to triangulate a more exact location anyway.
Once they were done Keizeron folded up the map, and headed back onto the deck to find the rest of the crew. The captain was pleasantly surprised to find that while they talked Mea had woken up from her nap and was recharged enough to make a simple dinner. Keiz proceded to explain the plan while they ate a flavorful spread of roast root veggies and exotic game meat they had picked up in town.
After the meal the crew split up and began preparing for bed. Since it was their last night in a protected port, Keiz had allowed everyone to sleep without having a guard on deck. They had a long journey ahead of them, and would need the rest. However, sleep wouldn’t come to Sola, and sometime after midnight he jolted awake. He tried to go back to sleep, but after laying in bed tossing and turning for another half hour he decided to get up and get some fresh air. The first mate yawned as he put back on his pants and an undershirt, and made his way above deck.
Sola stretched as he made his away into the cool fall night air. After spending the first part of their journey being soaked in the rain, he was glad for a cloudless night. The moon shone eerily over the deck, which he had expected to be empty so late at night. Instead Sola was surprised to spy Willow standing on the other end of the deck, looking wistfully at the darkened city below them.
“Nice night,” Sola called gently, trying not to startle her as he approached.
She jumped anyway, whirling around with her hand on her chest in alarm. Willow visibly calmed when she noticed who it was, and gave a short nervous laugh. “Don’t sneak up on someone like that!” She chided, “what are you doing up so late?”
“I could ask you the same question,” Sola replied as he came to stand next to her. Willow was wearing a simple white dress, having taken off her armor for the night. Her hair was braided more finely than normal. She had been up for a while too.
They stood in silence for a few comfortable minutes, just enjoying the breeze. The city was mostly quite this late, aside from a string of bars and taverns lit up in the distance. With how dark it was the stars gleamed brilliantly, and Sola began silently picking out all the constellations he knew by heart. He had never been a navigator, but his first captain had taught him how to look for certain stars to lead the way in the dark.
“I know the journey ahead of us isn’t going to be easy.” Sola said finally, continuing to stare out over the small village. “I’m excited to see if we can really reassemble the rod. I haven’t felt like this about a mission since- well, in a while. But I’m worried Willow. There’s no way we’ll avoid getting into dangerous situations and places, and I don’t want any of you to get hurt.” He explained, wringing his hands as he spoke.
Willow listened quietly as he spoke, and looked up at him. “I understand. As the party cleric I also feel responsible for the crews well being. But for the rest of it, well I knew being on a ship this long would be a challenge when I took the job.”
“Being on the ship is the challenging part? Do, do you not like being on airships?” Sola repeated incredulously. It had occurred to him that when they were sailing she mostly kept away from the railings, only looking over when they were lowered. “You know that’s the whole job right?”
“I’m not the biggest fan of heights, but I’m dealing with it.” Willow tried to shrug it off. Well, at least she had taken his mind off of his worries, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about her own instead.
Sola whistled, glancing around the deck. “Tell me, how did you end up on an airship if you’re afraid of heights?”
Willow hesitated a moment, and tapped her holy symbol. It was scary, but he had opened up to her about his fears. Maybe she could return the favor. Maybe it would help her to stop keeping her worries bottled up inside without anyone to help. “I’m a twin.” Willow said finally.
Sola said nothing, but looked down at her. She could only hold his gaze for a moment before she looked away. “Her name was- is Wisteria. We come from a pretty big family who owned a ranch in Slaowin. I don’t know what you’ve heard about terrans, but our powers come from the earth so traveling is really scary for us. But my sister and I, we’re not fully terran. My mom is an elf who came to our little farming village from a huge city in Reglilis. I guess Wisteria inherited her love of travel, and she joined an airship crew right after we turned twenty. For a while she would write to me about all the amazing places she would go and the crazy missions her crew went on.
She stopped writing me a year ago. In her last letter she told me that her ship, the Pelican’s Roost, had been in a scrape with a unity ship near the Solair port in Ocaes. She never actually explained what a scrape was, but she assured me the captain had it handled and then she never replied to another letter. My parents were worried of course, but my mom was the village doctor and couldn’t leave. And no one else in the family was brave enough to get on an airship. I realized after a few months that it would have to be me. I had no choice but to do it scared, no one else was going to look for her.
My mom taught me some of her clerical skills, but I had always been more connected to the harvest god than to Aria’s light like she was. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find a job with my lack of experience, but right after I started sending out applications Miss Adelaide contacted me. I took the contract immediately, thinking the once I had some experience I could jump ship until I found someone heading towards Ocaes. But, I guess I’m in it for the long run now huh? I still need to find my sister, but I think Aria chose me to join you all to reassemble the rod. I know my mother would be proud, she always told me Aria was looking out for me, but now I just don’t know what to do anymore, or which path to follow.”
The entire time she was telling her story, she continued to stare out over Leuson. Willow didn’t think that he would be mad at her, but it felt strange to tell her first mate that she had never planned on staying on the ship. That she had only considered this a stepping stone to her real goal, only for that to come crashing down around her when something completely unexpected happened.
Sola had been silent while Willow talked, but now that it was clear she was done he questioned her. “Do you think she’s still in Ocaes?”
Willow finally looked up at him. His expression was neutral, but she could tell he was concerned for her. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Willow was a worrier at heart, when Wisteria stopped responded to her letters she had immediately thought of a hundred bad things that could have happened to her twin. After a month she had dipped into her savings to hire a scrier, but had been unable to see anything in the vision. However, that was a clue that Willow had needed. In her last letter Wisteria described the altercation with the unity ship as a minor miscommunication, and that the captain would get it all fixed in no time, but Willow doubted it. Her guess was that the captain failed to get the problem cleared, and the crew of the Roost had been arrested out of spite. It was impossible to scry on the unity prisons due to an enchantment on the buildings. When her attempt to scry on her sister failed, Willow was certain her sister had ended up in one of the prisons in Ocaes.
Willow explained her theory and reasoning to Sola who nodded. She was glad he agreed, but it wasn't exactly comforting. Especially when he added, "That's not good." At least he had the good sense to stop when he realized how insensitive he was being.
“No it’s not,” Willow agreed quietly. Even in her isolated part of the world people avoided the unity officers. They were unpleasant at best, and horribly corrupt at worst. And then there were the work programs. The queen before the current one, Queen Misha, had set up a program for inmates in unity prisons. If they worked for the crown during their time in jail they could earn money to buy their freedom. Jobs ranged from hard labor to serving nobles in their manors, but in the end Willow had never heard of a person earning enough to escape. She had heard stories of course, but had never encountered proof herself and so she remained skeptical. It was slavery, and it scared Willow to no end that her sister might have gotten mixed up in it.
“The good news is, Keizeron is already against the government. So if that's where your sister is I doubt it would be hard to convince him to break her out.” Sola informed her, crossing his arms.
“What?” Willow balked. Unity prisons were notorious for being awful places, and it was said it was impossible to break in or out of one. To even think of raiding one was no small feat.
“Oh, he hates those fuckers, for the same reasons you do. Just give him the word and he will gladly go against them to help you. It might not happen immediately, but I don’t think you’ll need to jump ship to find your sister.”
“I-” Willow stuttered, her eyes welling up. She had been overwhelmed by this mission for so long, unsure of where she would even start once she was on her own. “Thank you.”
Sola smiled. “I’m sure the rest of the crew will help you as well. I know I will."
Willow smiled as he talked, her mood significantly lifted. Maybe she hadn’t solved her problem, but she had support now that she hadn’t gotten back home. It was enough to fill her with the hope that she would see her sister again.
