Jumping at the sound of Qadim's shouting, he dropped the flower crown he had been working on. Was it necessary to shout? He picked the crown back up and began to continue working on it anyway. There was something about Qadim that made the jewelry maker on edge. The orc had this attitude, as though he controlled everything and everyone. He might but that attitude made Caius nervous. What if the orc met somebody who would not deal with that kind of behavior? What if he got himself hurt because of it? Even though the man shouted, he couldn't help but feel concern for the stranger.

The orc also seemed convinced that the treasure was coming from somewhere on this world. If there was this much power behind the magic, then it was possible that the treasure wasn't coming from their own land. It could be coming from a completely different place. Or maybe it was being created and dumped on the island. Could gods even rearrange the materials of the natural world to create these treasures? Caius had no idea but he would not discredit the possibility. He waited until the Orc seemed like he was about to leave. The orc talked to the woman and seemed to be handing her a business card. Something came to his mind. Caius stood and walked over to the two, leaving his flower crown behind. 

"Before you start sinking ships and causing destruction, you might need to know that people brought their children with them to this island." The jewelry maker gently reminded them, "They might be on the island or on those ships. And there are rumors that the goddess Angela and Zanar are behind this. If that is so, I'm certain neither of you would want to be killing children around a goddess who loves children so much. Even if it is just a rumor…."

He was mostly saying this to protect the children. However, after seeing the way that they both reacted to the treasure, Caius assumed that neither of them would have issues with child murder. So he opted to use different tactics to prevent child death. 

Taking the card she held it up to the light, turned it every which way, checked it for any possible curses or enchantments, and then sniffed it. Scanning the ledger she began to frown. "Unless you have the world's entire stock of fine mesh nets, I don't think I'll be needing any of these. Thanks for the offer though." She put the card away for safekeeping. It was a basic sign of courtesy between business-people. "Forgeries or not, they're going to burn." At last the human spoke up. As well-intentioned as his speech was against her plan for the blockade, Shiloh found a few holes in his argument. "First off, anybody who thinks taking their kids to a foreign island like it's a Terra egg hunt needs to go straight home. There's going to be treasure hunters, bandits, robbers, pirates, and all the contents of the bottom of the barrel crawling at the sound of free riches. This isn't some family picnic on a lazy afternoon. And second, those caravels are likely to be merchant ships instead of passenger vessels. The most a tight-fisted banker'll be willing to pay would be the bare minimum of a crew, which means a typical all-male crew in the prime of their lives. The only possibility of a child being there would be either a stowaway or cabin boy, but I highly doubt it since merchants value security and efficiency. Plus, travel by portal is the faster and quicker option for individuals."

To hammer her point home, she pointed towards the docks. "It takes a decent amount of time for a ship that big to sink, even with a hole in the bottom of it. Maybe a little faster depending on how much metal and polished rock they've loaded in the hull. Unless they skimped on basic emergency measures, they should at least have lifeboats if the brig goes under. With all the gold that'll be floating around, I might not even need to put a hole in them before they start to sink." The temptation of taking 'just a little more' could easily cause the weight capacity of a sailing vessel to go over the appropriate bounds, and if infighting broke out the ships probably would stay stuck in the harbor. "I don't care about the gold people have in their pockets already. I do care about getting rid of what hasn't been taken, if I haven't made myself clear. It's not my responsibility to ensure people use common sense when they take risks. I'm out." With a stiff salute, she gave an obligatory wave before jumping into the thick jungle overgrowth. 

When they were out of earshot and out of sight, she scaled a tree and settled in a crook, letting out a deep exhale. "Could you made it any less obvious? It's not like I'm going to throw people off the pier for the sake of money." Her wyvern chittered at her, head poking out from behind her shoulder. "No I didn't let it get to me. I've already accepted that people'll misunderstand. I don't have time to sit around and explain even if I wanted to. Let's go; we're going to get up close and personal with a volcano." Tempers were short and flared easily when things like money or a conflict of interest was involved. "I'll start scraping up the Ignius section then. Terra and Venti are the least harsh climate-wise, and that orc said he'd be sending men to Glaciem. I'd rather not bump elbows if I can." The heat was going to be terrible, but she had to start somewhere on the island.

Only the damnable foolish or desperate would bring children over to much an enriched state of chaos. The feeble and weak-minded would easily be the first to fall under the pressure of the larger groups that dared to add to their bank accounts. Pirates often had little sympathy about where they got their treasure and goods from, either. If they could get candy from a baby, they damn will. It was foolish to even dare think about this being a "casual vacation" trip… unless they were already on the island before it began to rain gold. Surely, they would have sought shelter, right?

After retrieving his ledger back with no deals being made, he tucked it under his shoulder as he watched the woman take off into the thickened lands of Ignis. It was a shame there was no business to be had, but at the very least she kept the card. Maybe when things settle down, they could talk, considering the shine of focus that resided in her eyes. They were determined eyes, for sure. Eyes he'd dare not get on the bad side of.

"BOY!" he called out, once again, trying to address the man who would rather spend his time making flower crowns than deal in business, "If you got time to be messing around, then do so helping us clean up this island!" It was at that time the person from before showed up, taking the ledger back. However, before she could go, the orc spoke to her in his innate tongue, giving the command to get the carriage off his ship and  have the guides seek out anyone who got "stranded" in the chaos to a safer location… as well as a small cloth. The woman nodded, handing the item over before taking off back into the shadows as he used the fabric to carefully clean the sand off the monocle. After all, he dared not ruin its finish that coated one side like a silver mirror while the other can be peered through with ease.

"Now then, let's go!" he commanded as he  fixed his monocle back to where it should be.

A sigh escaped the man's lips. He could understand their perspectives. The woman wanted to see that the economy did not collapse and was rushing to get the solution solved. Caius continued making the flower crown but had switched out the flowers. Instead of flowers that symbolized present joy, he made the crown with flowers that represented joy of the past instead.

He could see the perspective of the orc. This was business. His mind was slightly upset that the woman had taken such a defensive tone, as though he was saying not to stop the ships at all. What he had meant was that she ought to present caution as she worked. Caution. The woman was clearly powerful and had only fallen into his trap due to a lack of caution. Her mind appeared to have been only on her goal, ignoring the world around her. So what would happen if that same attitude carried over to the ships? How many people might die because a lack of caution?

As for the orc, it was clear that he was focused on the business aspect. The lives of others might not concern him. Caius did not see that as a good or as a bad trait. There were places in the world for people who could not care for others unless it was related to business. But even he must have known that hundreds of people came with their families to the island on holidays. Spring had just arrived and many families might have been visiting to celebrate. Then there were the families who couldn't afford to keep the kids at home but needed the money from the nearby island. Or there were the wealthy who brought their children to see the sights of the island, believing that bodyguards would keep danger away. Thousands of possibilities hung quietly in the air.

Suddenly he heard the sound of the orc shouting. Looking up, he could see that the orc was rather angry at Caius for supposedly wasting time. Or perhaps it wasn't anger but him trying to make Caius perform a command. Caius knew about the orc's eye. A smile curled onto the jewerly maker's lips.

"Time. I suppose it might be running out." He said standing up and walking over to some other flowers, "Yes, it is. For some of us. We ought to prepare the flowers for them now rather than wait."

He began picking flowers and placing them in the basket. The black of his iris had turned to a shade of gray.

Even all the determination in the world didn't dampen the searing heat that came once she was out of the jungle growth. Wrapping herself in a cloak with a pair of tinkerer's goggles over her eyes, she could still feel the ground radiating from the sun's rays. The faint shadow of the volcano loomed on the horizon, both close and far away. Conserving energy was going to be vital, endurance the name of the game. The sooner she reached it, the better her chances of survival. Strapping on her climbing gear, she rigged herself a makeshift sail attached to ropes. This time instead of slowing a fall, she was going to speed herself off the ground. Getting a running start, she channeled gusts of wind from behind until the sail billowed to full. The ropes went taut as the sail flew in front of her, yanking hard on her harness. This wasn't enough, she needed more momentum! Holding her breath to keep herself steady, she forced the winds underneath–blasting her into the air! 

Riding up the tornado, it was hard to see which way she was spinning. Things were starting to blur and she could feel the updrafts giving out. Gritting her teeth, she forced the winds to change direction horizontally before she lost too much altitude. The hot dry winds of Ignius ballooned her sail again, towing her along. Finally she could breathe. Keeping her thoughts restrained, Shiloh kept the winds blowing. Her eyes were fixed on the volcano, white smoke or steam fuming from the top. Every now and then she looked down, searching for safe places to land or make camp. Fortunately she had the sense to keep her wayfinder's widget active so she could see her flight course later. Even with this awful heat, there were still dangers out in the open plains. Being in the air was the safest place right now. The winds pushing her along blew any coin and treasure away from her sail, giving a small respite from the golden hail. Up high, the showers of riches were really something else. Items continually fell from the sky like ash from Apoy's eruption. She could even see glinting piles below where they accumulated. 

After an hour, her arms were getting sore from holding onto the ropes. The heat was wearing her down and there was still several miles left to go before she was even near the volcano's base. During her flight she noticed the major water source was the river, unlike the oases she had hoped for. There was no doubt that everything would be at the riverbanks; water was the lifeblood of this scorching land. Finding an area with a cluster of trees, the winds died out and she landed. Right away she was looking left and right, paranoid of an ambush. With her arms like this she couldn't use weapons for a while. No signs of wild dogs…what a relief. When her arms could move again, she strained her way up one of the trees and hung herself a hammock-nest from the branches. She had no idea how far she'd flown, but she was dead tired. The orc and the human, they probably wouldn't cross paths with her soon…