The first two days out of Vilpomolan passed in a blur. There was a lot to do and their makeshift crew was still injured and exhausted from the fight, not to mention that even those with actual sailing experience weren't use to working with any of the others. If it was anything like an airship then it took time to build a rapport between crew members, time and experience with each other. That was how you built a crew that could run a ship. Without Peabody, with all his years of experience, and the strange little kobold, their flight from the burning slave compound might have floundered. Ed hated having to leave others behind. The ten men and all those slaves. He could only hope that somehow, some way they had made it out alive. It was a slim hope, one that he had no right to wish for. Considering the girl was still alive and had found them, though, maybe the others had made it out okay. He smiled at that thought as he looked out across the ocean spreading out ahead of him. He would need to find the girl and talk to her soon, make some time in his schedule so that they could catch up and he could find out what she wanted to do next. It was strange to think that only a few weeks before she had been trying to steal his little boat so she could make it out to sea, and here they were now on a ship. Right where she wanted to be.

Peabody spent the first night out of the pirate city in a whirlwind of action. He hadn't had the time to find out any of the backgrounds and strengths of any of the mercenaries, but over his time he had learned a little about the slaves they had freed. There were a couple of sailors among them. Two fishermen and one other who had had experience on an actual ship many years before. It wasn't ideal. Some of the mercenaries did have the look of seamen about them, and considering where they were hired on it was likely they had experience at sea too. Some of them fell into positions aboard the ship, working hard through the first night while others stood around looking lost. They weren't going to be making good time on this ship, not any time soon. May the gods help them if anyone from the city set out in pursuit, or if they ran into a storm or any creatures out at sea that meant them harm. There had been a brief discussion about taking the ship and heading straight back to Vilpamolan, but that had been quickly decided against when they saw the ships in the harbor on fire, and the flames spreading along some of the docks. That was not a place they wanted to be seen any time soon, not with a ship stolen from a slaver. They hadn't discussed much of anything else after that, simply trying to get as much distance between themselves and the city as they could.

The morning of the second day came and things calmed a little. With distance between themselves and the city they allowed themselves a chance to catch their breaths. At least, everyone else had a chance to catch their breaths and tend to their wounds. Peabody, on the other hand, had to take on the role of captain. At least until he could teach their actual captain a little. If he was right about what came next, he would have plenty of time to do so. Filling his pipe, he handed off the wheel to the kobold. He immediately recognised him for what he was, an aquatic breed of their race. They made excellent sailors, some of their clans even maintaining fleets of their own. If there was anyone here that he trusted with the wheel, it was him. They had a brief discussion, made a little difficult, but since they each knew enough of a smattering of languages they found a form of communication that would work. They introduced themselves, each gave a little of their background. Peabody was reminded of the religious nature of the kobolds, then. It wasn't anything to hold against them, but he wondered if the little guy would be leaving them as soon as they reached port so he could resume looking for his demonic mistress. Good luck to him if he decided to go that course.

He smoked as he traveled the ship, meeting the mercenaries properly and interviewing them a little. The mood was difficult. None of them had signed up for fleeing from their homes. If they didn't address the issue of morale soon then they could end up facing a mutiny. Not likely considering more than half the people on board were sworn to the captain, but still. With enough time and dissent, anybody could be persuaded to do anything. He took stock of their supplies as he made his rounds. There was plenty of supplies, that was good. Enough food, water and rum to last them a trip across the ocean to the other continent if it came to it, and if they were careful. Along with that they had some medical supplies and a cat. Everything they could ask for. Fieri and Twinkle both remained below deck, each of them adamantly refusing to leave. Fieri, it seemed, was violently seasick. Twinkle… Well, the stone girl was terrified of the water. They would need her magic soon if they were going to make up for having an inexperienced crew, but for now she could have some time to herself. At least she wasn't alone down there, bundled up in her robes, tucked up next to the former slave. Then there was Kamri, the girl they had risked everything to save. Peabody avoided her, remembering her words on the beach. He couldn't trust himself not to give her a proper talking to if he was left alone with her. Then there was Captain Ward. Despite his obvious injuries he insisted on pulling his weight. He was pushing himself hard to help out wherever he could. He just wasn't helping as much as just getting in the way. Peabody sighed. It would take some time.

Ed sat down in the captain's cabin, along with Peabody and the kobold. They had talked of dropping anchor as they were near the coast… Or something along those lines. He didn't really understand, but he was determined he would learn what was happening soon. What good was a captain who didn't know a single damned thing about his own ship? Why, on the Zephyr he had known every inch of her! This ship, named the Guy, Fieri… Something he would need to know more about eventually as that was the name of the new girl, wasn't it? Well the ship he would learn eventually too. Maybe rename it. Well anyway, whatever the two before him had decided to do, Peabody assured him the ship wasn't going anywhere right now. They had someone up the mast with a looking glass on watch to ensure no ships were after them. Now they were discussing what they were going to do, Peabody translating for the kobold who Peabody was vouching for. Odd how quickly that happened. Sailors. They had been talking about going back to Adeluna, but that was quickly ruled out. That would mean sailing back past Vilpomolan. Even if there wasn't anybody looking for them, those waters were infested with pirates. With an undermanned and inexperienced crew there was no way they could risk it. That left north, or east. Arguments were made for each. If they went north then they could hug the coast, they would come across a city sooner and then they would be able to let people off, take people on, sell the ship or do whatever. The main point was, it was the least risk and the quickest option. On the other hand, it made the most sense. If anyone in the pirate city got together and even suspected anything… It wouldn't take long to send people after them. They could land in a city to the north only to find a welcoming committee. If they even made it there before being caught. Which left East. The other continent. Nisshoki was close and a thriving port city. It was their best bet in finding a trained crew. To get there they would just need to sail north of Abed, head down south of Gaharee and then there was their target. Other options were discussed, but in the end, that was what they decided on. It would mean a perilous voyage across open ocean. Peabody and the kobold, Ed reminded himself he would need to start calling him by his actual name, seemed confident that between the two of them they could get the crew up to scratch easily enough. If they took the voyage slow then they would make it there safely. Training rosters were then drawn up and labor divided. Peabody would take the day shift for twelve hours and Cel the night. Until Ed was ready and then they could split the shifts in three. Made sense.

After sitting through the  meeting, Celery needed to head out and get some air. He liked the human captain, and the one dressed in yellow was funny enough, but he had been confined for two long. He looked down at the bracelets on his wrists. Taking them off would be a priority, eventually. They suppressed magic, not something Celery worried about. There were others here still wearing them, though. All the slaves on the ship wore them, but the only true mage among them was the girl from the mines. Te girl from the mines… He would find her, soon. Bring her something nice. Ever since boarding the ship she had seemed down and Celery had been too busy to talk with her. She seemed to be avoiding everyone though, which wasn't healthy. Sometimes slaves didn't do well when they were freed. They became… What was the word? Institutionalized? That sounded right. He hoped that wasn't the case. Maybe she was just upset about the cuffs. But Celery had an idea about that, and what he could do to help. 

He found a net and gathered it up along with a spear. Since the ship wasn't moving right now while every saw to their wounds, Celery didn't have any from battle as he had missed it all and was therefore healthy, he decided to go fishing. It would pass the time, help him work some things out in his mind and hopefully make him feel happier. With a clear and happy mind and a little luck he might be able to help the girl in the same way. And learn her name while he was at it.

He came to the surface an hour later with a huge haul, his net fit to burst with all the fish. Along with that he had a monster of an eel still writhing on the end of his spear. He called up to the deck above, and a few moments later there were ropes lowered to haul his catch up onto the deck. He then threw up his spear, which soared impressively up and over onto the deck, then scaled the side of the ship without the need of ropes. Once on deck he began gesturing for people to help themselves, while he himself selected two nice juicy fishes. The first he consumed, messily, right there in front of everyone. He was hungry, after all that time in captivity and all the activity. He was damn hungry. Not for long though. With his belly full of fish he gathered up everything he needed and headed off to find Kamri. It didn't take long to find her, still off by herself. First he offered her the fish, then he began to work through miming to her what he had in mind. With the fish bones, he might be able to get those cuffs off of her.

Ed stretched, rubbing at his eyes. He hadn't even realised that he had fallen asleep after the meeting. He must have been exhausted. Now, everything was stiff. He could feel aches and pains he hadn't been aware of before, but they were making themselves known now. According to their new plans they wouldn't be leaving anchor until the next morning, unless something forced them to. That gave them all a little bit of time to get themselves rested and ready, since after this everyone would be expected to do their part. It was refreshing, really, to be back on board a ship. Even if it wasn't an airship they would still fall into similar routines. He would go and check on everyone now that he was awake, then see about getting himself cleaned up. He was sure he stank, and his clothes were a mess. But he would see to his crew first, starting with the girl. He regretted not going to her sooner, but that would be changed now. He stripped off his cloak, dumping it on the hammock along with the gloves, mask and weapons. All that left him in was a torn and blood soaked shirt and pants, and his boots of course. Would it be crazy to take a dip in the ocean to clean up? Probably, considering he couldn't swim… That was a question for later though.

He found out where the girl was quickly enough, heard her and the kobold fellow, Cel, talking to each other. Smiling, he walked up behind Cel, ready to greet her properly and apologise for everything.

The chilly sea breeze was something Kamri hadn’t experienced before. It sent shivers down her spine with each new gust of wind. She thought of going down below deck but most of the other slaves where there. Too crowded, and too dark, too.
She spent most of her time on the side on the ship, often resting her arms and head on the rail and letting her legs dangle off the edge. Most people left you alone when you were like that. The ship was big but not big enough to really have a private area to be alone in.

When she woke up this morning, she immediately shot from her hammock and panicked, thinking she would be beaten again for sleeping on a couple minutes too late. Her ruckus had awoken some tired slaves but they all understood. She wasn’t the only one who did it.

Most slaves had to be approached with loud footsteps so they knew where you were. If you were too quiet they would jump and depending on the person, attack, or scream and cry.
Kamri would tend to just turn and freeze, eyes wide waiting for a physical blow or someone inches from her face giving her orders.
She wasn’t one to pity, though. At least, not any more than the other slaves. She had spent a lot of time being moody- still was. But when she mustered up the courage and found it was clear enough to make a trip without bumping into someone familiar, she would find some slaves and just talk to them. A lot of people just needed someone to talk or cry to. Others needed to be left alone. Kamri hadn’t told any other slaves about how the Captain- er, well, the man in yellow- was the one who placed her in the camp. She was angry but she wouldn’t let her selfish reasons cloud their one ray of hope. If they found that one of the men they looked up to was the reason for one of the slaves, it would cause chaos and be a good formula for mutiny.

Kamri had spent some time with the journal. When she finally had a good look at it, all the pages where technically there though several had been ripped from the binding and merely sandwiched in between the pages. It might be a while until she could get it fixed so until then she just had to be diligent not to lose any pages.

She heard claws tap the boards behind her. She appreciated being able to hear Cel coming, it put her at just a bit more ease.
He approached with a mouth covered in blood and a fish in his hand. The sight was odd but Kamri understood he probably just ate. She hadn’t seen him eat since the last time they were in the mines together and it was good to see him walking around freshly fed.
He handed her the fish which she accepted gratefully. The fish had been freshly caught though, so she reluctantly slammed it against the railing to kill to before she began to dig in. She felt odd doing it but what else was there to do?
Celery sat down next to her and started to do some weird movements. He pointed at her cuffs and then pointed at the fish. Then he pretended… to knit?
“You want to knit me some gloves with the fish?”
He rolled his eyes. Okay, different method. He showed his teeth and pointed to them, then the fish.
“Fish… teeth?”
He thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“Fish… bone?”
He nodded then pointed to the cuffs.
“You want to see if you can open the cuffs with a fishbone?”
Celery folded his arms proudly and nodded. Kamri smiled, taking another bite. “Alright, we can try it. Thanks for thinking of me.”
she continued to eat the fish until she could pull out a bone from the meat. She handed it to Cel. Cel began to work the bone into a shape, scratching it and biting it. Kamri gave him Drien’s knife to help carve.

A second pair of footsteps approached from behind. Kamri jumped and spun around, suddenly feeling awake and alert. Her unease doubled when she saw who it was. She froze for a moment, trying to figure out the best way out of this. Jump overboard, perhaps?
She stood up promptly and started to walk off in the other direction. Maybe in the hammocks with the other slaves wouldn’t be so bad.
“Come on, Cel. It’s gotten a bit too crowded up here for me.”
She walked past Ed, trying to pay him no mind. Maybe he would get the hint. Maybe he wouldn’t.
She had made a promise not to kill or harm him. And she intended to keep to that. He seemed clueless. Didn’t he know she was smarter then to fall for the same trick twice?

Celery raised the ridge above his eye, where an eyebrow would be on species with facial hair. That had been a little awkward. While he was accustomed to eating fish raw, his digestive system was much different from hers. After getting his point across to her about wanting to attempt to remove her cuffs with a bone, bones he had brought with him from his own fish and carefully disposed of when he saw what she had in mind… Well, he had planned on getting the cuffs off her and then taking her to have the fish cooked to celebrate. But this worked too, didn't it? Sure. She handed him a bone and he set to work on it, having no idea what he was doing. This seemed like the correct way to work it. He was out of his depth. He should let her know that. Before he could say anything footsteps approached from behind him. There was the man again, the one whose opinion the captain of this ship seemed to value so much for unknown reasons. As soon as the man approached them, the human girl stood and walked away. Her comment as she passed was positively chilly. He couldn't suppress a little shiver. Poor guy. What could he have possibly done to her? Celery understood there was some history between his acquaintance and the rest of the people on this ship but had no idea what it was. It was lucky for the two of them that they had all met up though. That was for sure…

The human girl kept walking, not waiting to see if Celery was following. Shrugging nervously at the man, he took off after her, catching up quickly. She wasn't too much bigger than he was really. It was refreshing to not always be surrounded by extremely tall people, as he had been since that fateful day when he had come across the demoness. Those had been simpler times. He gazed out over the side of the ship, looking at the coast and thinking about where she might be right now. There was a gentle ache in his chest.

When finally the girl settled down after fuming for a while, Celery sidled on up to her with his makeshift tool. There was no way this was going to work, they both had to know that. But dutifully he tried. He forced the bone into the lock and fussed with it for almost an hour with no success. Maybe the bone was too soft. One of the other crew members might have a better idea, but Celery was fresh out right now. He would take a look at the discarded scraps from the fish he had brought aboard, see if he could find a couple of sturdier bones to make another attempt with. He shrugged apologetically to her, sitting down next to her for a moment in an attempt to comfort her. It couldn't be easy for her, being cut off from her magic like this.

Ed looked around, watching the two of them leave. It hadn't been all that crowded, had it? He could only guess at the conditions she had suffered in the time it had taken him to reach her though. Maybe they had been packed in together with no room to move or breathe. That would explain her reaction. If only he had been there sooner. He could only hope that she wasn't scarred permanently. Leaning against the rail, he took a moment to himself to look out over the water and brood.

His next stop was down into the hold. It was easy enough to find the two of them, given the way Twinkle's eyes glowed, bathing the two of them in a gentle green light in the darkness that surrounded them. He needed to use magic himself to aid his own eyesight to avoid tripping over anything down here. There were quarters for the crew down here somewhere, but nobody had bothered lighting lanterns down here yet. He was doing quite the balancing act with cups and platters for them and was grateful when he got close enough that he could settle them down. Along with the magic to see down here, he had been slowly using a small amount of telekinesis to keep everything falling all over the place. "Fish, freshly caught and cooked." he explained to them both, though neither of them seemed the least bit interested.

He spent a short time with the two of them, talking quietly but getting no responses from either. He would come back down here later and check on them again, but for now he had more rounds to do. Peabody had said something about teaching him and he was eager to learn. There was also a rumor about there being rum aboard, and he was parched.

Peabody rubbed his eyes, jaw stretching open in a wide yawn. He had managed enough sleep and felt rested and ready to go. Sitting up, he quickly hopped down out of the hammock and began with his daily necessities. A wash from the basin, a quick shave. He ran his hands over his hair. Still had a little time before it would need a trim. He took out his second uniform, the captain had been kind enough to summon some of their items the night before, and got dressed. Years of practice had it on straight and perfect without any effort on his part. Taking a deep breath as he strapped on the sword, he stepped out and onto the deck, feeling at home again. He had missed this.

The rest was already doing everyone a world of good. As best as he could he had divided up the crew into two equal shifts, just as he had done with himself and Cel. He had put a few of the more experienced sailors on his own shift, as they would be making more progress throughout the day. But they would soon begin rotating so all the crew could get some experience in both day and night. If, that was, they decided to stay on. Now was the moment of truth, the moment he would address the crew and see who was willing to stick with them through to the end. Just because he and Captain Ward had decided on a course of action it didn't mean that the crew would follow. He reached for his pipe but thought better of it. He couldn't afford to look nervous. He looked around the deck and was surprised to see the captain up and ready before him, his own clothes clean and the man looking more refreshed. The crew was on the deck, also ready, as if they had all been waiting just for him. He took another deep breath and stepped forwards to address them all the while wondering what was going on.

The address went well, Ed had to admit. Peabody's words were far more inspiring than his own could have been. He had spent the early hours of the morning and the previous evening meeting with everyone, talking with them, preparing them. He was much better at that, he could admit that. It took him back to his time on the airship, before he had become captain. It had been a simpler time, that was true. The ship was under way now, and Ed was pleased to see Twinkle shuffling up onto the deck, clutching tightly to a Fieri who was looking a little green. Her magic wasn't strong, but it any help was appreciated. Ed stood at the front of the ship, the prow? Stern? He would figure out what it was called eventually. Either way, he stood there, staring off into their future.

A portal opened on the beach and a dragon scale boot stepped out, followed by another, the hem on the black cloak moving gently with the breeze from the ocean. He didn't know why, but Gregoire was suddenly struck with an impending sense of doom. He had no idea who the figure was, but his eyes traveled up the cloaked figure. Out of the flowing robe's arms hung dragon scale gauntlet covered hands. The face was shrouded by a deep hood, but horns stuck out through slits cut into the top. They were made of dragon scale too, so whoever it was must have been wearing a helmet made of the material. If he had to guess, he would say that underneath those robes the figure was clad entirely in dragon scale. It had taken some time for his eyes to travel up the whole of the figure. Whatever was inside the armor must have been at least seven feet tall. He gulped, audibly, and remained planted firmly in place. He didn't want to attract undue attention from the figure. He could recognise the figure from the rumors. Ameilgaliea had arrived.

The figure took long, slow steps down the beach, pausing by the body of Drien. They reached down, taking the head in their gauntlet covered hand and chanted something. The words were muffled by the helmet, giving them an unnatural, echoing quality. Gregoire hoped that it was just the helmet that made them sound that way. Beads of sweat were gathering all over his body, despite the way the air was becoming chilly ever since the armored figure had emerged through a gate and onto this small stretch of sand. Two goblins came rushing out of nowhere, had they emerged from the gate with Ameilgaliea? They joined their master, each of them taking an arm and holding on tight. The body began to shudder and jerk and a sudden piercing scream emerged from the throat of Gregoire's former boss.

"Drien," the echoing words rasped out from the hood, "how could you have failed so miserably….?"
Drien's eyes widened as he must have realised what was going on. From the look of it he tried to move his head to inspect where he was and his current condition, but it was held tightly in place, with goblins restraining him on either side.
"Wh-what's going on?"
"Oh Drien, you never were the smartest one, were you?" a gurgling chuckle, then. "Oh Drien, the fun I could have with you now, if only  I had the time. Tell me, Drien, what do you remember?"
"Listen, just, just listen. You can resurrect me, I know you can. Do it an I'l—" Drien began screaming then, a terrifying sound that had Gregoire's bladder loosening without him even noticing. The screams lasted… Far too long. There were other guards on the beach, all of them looking away and trying to seem to busy to be paying attention to what was happening. The screaming stopped, replaced by wracking sobs.
"There was an attack! I don't know who, or why! I swear it! They attacked and I had to escape! I couldn't risk being caught, not with everything I know! Then there was this burned b–" he was cut off again, then. This time, though, it was by his head being crushed within the grasp of the one who had brought him temporarily back to life.
"Yes, Drien. You did know far too much…"

Satisfied with what had happened the figure rose, one of the goblins rushing over with a rag while the other poured water over the hand that had crushed a skull moments before. They cleaned it off and then backed away, seeming to melt into the shadows that shouldn't have been there. Gregoire didn't know why he thought that, they were just shadows. But something about them seemed… Off. He shuddered, refusing to move a muscle in case he draw the attention of the figure. He watched as it walked past the other corpses, seeming to study them, evaluating them maybe? There was one, at the bottom of the cliff, further off from the others. This one grabbed the attention of the armored figure, who headed over to it. There was an arrow sticking out of the back, which the figure took hold of, tearing it out and discarding it. They then grasped the body by the throat, lifting it clear from the ground and holding it aloft. Gregoire could recognise who it was now. It was Nedarius. Poor guy, attacked from behind and knocked off the cliff. His face looked pretty good, considering he had landed on it. There was that weird chanting again and suddenly Nedarius was twitching.

"Yes, come back to me… Just a little more… Ah. I see. A lot of damage… The legs are ruined but that is fine… Hmm wasn't too bright but… Deliciously brutal. I could make use of you…"

Gregoire had no idea what the figure was talking about. He didn't want to know. Nedarius was rasping and coughing, choking it seemed. Staring around with blank eyes. This didn't look the same as what had been done to Drien, somehow. There was that wet chuckling sound from the figure as a portal opened next to them. Armor floated out through the portal, closing around Nedarius' chest and arms. It was a strange looking metal, not one that Gregoire recognised. Nedarius began to writhe and scream, then, as something strange began to happen to his legs. The pants and boots fell to the ground and the flesh beneath seemed to be running like melted candle wax, joining together… Scales began to grow over them… What in the names of all the gods was going on here?! As something broke within Gregoire's mind, he was aware of a trident being given to the thing that had once been Nedarius.

"Go now, my child. Find them. Use this…"

There were screams from all across the beach. Gregoire didn't care, though. A goblin had killed him already.

Kamri watched as Cel narrowed and etched away at the bones. He sat next to her, paying attention to detail what he was doing. She lent him her wrist so he could attempt to pick the locks but after what must have been an hour of attempts, both decided it would be best to give it a rest.

Kamri appreciated how hard he was working. She had picked up a good friend in the mines.
“Ya know, Cel. I’m not quite sure how we got so lucky. It took a lot of careful planning and work to get out but also sheer luck and timing.”
Part of it- well, a large portion of it- was due to the attack. She still wasn’t sure the captain’s motives behind it, or if they had been hired.
“I checked the Miner slave quarters for you before I went down in the mines. I somehow snuck in through a window. I got in because some guard couldn’t hold his bladder. Crazy, right?”
She let her head lean back and hit the wall behind her.
“You were gone and I thought you might already be in the mines, making an escape. But when I got there, you were nowhere to be seen. I was worried you had been killed. I started thinking of turning around and trying to scale that cliff.” She chuckled.
“I guess, thanks. For waiting for me. Obviously you needed help moving them but I’m sure just about any slave would have killed for that chance.”
She looked down at her wrists. “I guess the point is you’ve helped me out more than I could ask. Don’t fret about the shackles. We’ll figure out how to get them off in time. Hey, maybe we could break them.”

She thought about the captain, and how she ended up in this mess. She sighed, trying to find the right words. She dropped her voice to a whisper.
“The two in charge here. Be careful. The older one is, well, I don’t think he’s bad. The one he travels with though. The bald one? If I were you, I would keep an eye on him.”
She glanced around at the dark cabin. No one was within earshot.
“I’m not giving details. Morale is important here. Just be wary.”
She gave a worried smile before standing up. “Well, I think it’s about time I did something useful. This might not be ideal but if it is my way out I might as well help clean. Even if I have a bad shoulder. I should ask around. See if someone is a doctor of sorts. This will heal incorrectly as I leave it and sometimes fresh blood seeps out. If you find someone, give me a holler, alright?”


—

Zazel sat on the Cliffside, watching the figure below resurrect a guard. The process was grim and dark. He liked that. Made him feel truly alive. He giggled “Icky.”
He kept his distance, knowing if he was spotted he was in big trouble. Still, after he heard of the attack, he had to come here to investigate and see the damage.
He heard that the girl was freed from the camp, which meant she was now free game. He now had two targets. It seems like they had gone out to sea.
Though eventually they would have to stop somewhere for supplies. He would ask around, travel. Figure out where they were headed. It would be a task, but his honor relied on it.
He left the ragtag group below for now. He had some research to do.

—

Kamri had been busy cleaning the sleeping quarters. She organized the clutter that had collected and even chased off some mice. She wasn’t sure how long they had been on board but she wasn’t going to have them in here!
She sat down in her hammock, taking a deep breath. She had done her part for today. She slipped the journal out from her robe pocket.
Ah, right, her robes.
She needed to buy new clothes. The ones who wore now where dirty and too worn. Maybe she should ask to go into town.
Then again, she would have to ask Ed or Peabody and… Well, she couldn’t muster up the courage or the self-restraint. She would wait. They would have to stop somewhere for supplies, right?
She didn’t know how long it would take but she had too much spite and fear to really do much about it.
What was their plan? Their gimmick?
She looked down at the journal, looking at the scribbled page, ‘Get to work, Thirteen.’
She sneered, flipping it to another page. She found an empty one and began to write.

“The slave camp was attacked and set ablaze. After making an escape with a Kobold I’ve befriended named ‘Celery’, we found the same man on the beach who had sold me to this wretched place.
Him, along with a crew of people, where there on the night of the attack. I’m not sure if they organized it, I just know they were there and we’re now sailing the same boat with them.
I can’t cast magic. The shackles they used to suppress magic are still on my wrists and we can’t seem to open them. At least, not yet. I’m not going to give up. Magic is a part of me, and I won’t let that go.
“I’ve thought about whether or not I would stay. Peabody rounded everyone on the ship and gave a speech. I watched from the doorway. I didn’t’ give a definite answer on if I would stay or leave. On one hand, I’m far from home and low on funds and won’t be able to really go anywhere. On the other, I’m on a ship with him.
I need to ensure my safety. I want to look out for Cel, too. Hopefully all ends well. I need some rest.”

She closed the book for now. She wanted to go to sleep but she found she had trouble letting her mind relax. She hoped they would get to a town somewhat soon but she knew it could be a little while. She tried not to think about it too much.

The late afternoon sun illuminated the open ocean spread out before him and Peabody took in a deep breath, savoring it. On the deck below him the captain was in the middle of giving a complex series of orders to two crewmen, none of which made any sense. From the looks on their faces, the crew were just waiting for Captain Ward to finish so they could go back to work. Peabody had spent near twelve hours a day with the captain, trying to show him the ropes but there was so much to teach him and so little time to do it in. A true naval captain would have spent years in the academy before setting foot on a ship as a junior officer, then work their way up. Peabody hadn't had the experience of the academy, having been a commoner. But the time he had spent on board different ships had proved his worth to his superiors. He had risen through the ranks based on merit, but that had taken years too. There were no shortcuts to this. Captain Ward would need to learn and that meant spending the time to teach him. The problem was, the captain had done it all before. Risen through the ranks himself aboard airships. Peabody had always thought the two were similar, but obviously not. He didn't want to think of what it must have been like on an airship… Didn't bear thinking about. Give him solid ground or the open sea.

Once Captain Ward was done giving his orders the two crewman gave Peabody a quick glance for confirmation that they should just get back to previous duties which he nodded at, he descended the few steps to speak with the captain.
"How are you doing, sir?"
Ed looked at him with that bright smile he had, grinning from ear to ear.
"Why, Peabody, I do believe the ocean agrees with me! It's not the same as being in the air but my, this is marvelous, isn't it?"
Peabody returned the smile with one of his own. He couldn't fault the captain for his enthusiasm. There were a number of things he could fault him for, though, the chief of which being the knot he was tying in that rope!
"Ah! Allow me, sir!" he quickly took over, not making a big deal of it but making sure the captain would easily be able to see what he was doing and how it was different. The good news was that, despite how slowly the captain was picking up on what was required of him as a captain and how slowly he was picking up the basics of seafaring, the rest of the crew was coming along nicely. He didn't have the tools and charts that were necessary for exact sea travel, which he regretted. But using the map they had, the compass the captain was able to summon with magic and the stars, he had a rough idea of where they were. They had made slow progress the first three days, ever since his speech before the crew. There had been a lot of teaching required of the inexperienced crew members. There had been a number of accidents and mistakes. Without a healer on board that made things more difficult. They were making progress though and that was good. Twinkle spent four hours a day on deck, a rope tied tightly around her waste connecting her by a tether to the main mast. She was deathly afraid of going over. In those four hours she controlled the wind, speeding them along a little fast, and broke the waves before them to ease their passage. He was grateful for her. The last four days had passed without anything to comment on. The crew continued to learn, they continued to travel forwards. If his guesses were correct, they would catch sight of Ahbed in the next few days. With their crew limited as it was they were unlikely to pick up any more speed, but unless there were any more accidents. Well, they would get where they needed to be soon enough.

Ed stood at the prow of the ship, letting the breeze run through his beard and over his scalp. Peabody had shaved it fresh for him just that morning. It was nice that, despite how busy the two of them were, they could still find time for the important things. He felt better than he had in weeks. His wounds were healing nicely, and as they did he was able to do much more about the ship. Along with his magic, well, he was doing great! Learning fast! He even knew that the part of the ship he was standing at now was called the prow, how was that for progress? He had just finished up a pleasant conversation with Peabody, while his manservant took over tying a knot for him. He really should stop that, the crew would talk about how Peabody was babying him! His shift on deck was winding down now though, twelve hours having passed quickly. When you enjoyed your work it happened that way.

A little while later Ed found himself making his rounds of the ship. He had taken it upon himself to make sure morale remained high. His initial suggestions of increasing rations of rum had been met with a blank stare from Peabody. Not an outright refusal, but something in the way the man looked at him had Ed second guessing himself. So there had been no increase in rum rations. That had been fine though. Ed spoke with each crew member daily, even if it was just for a few minutes. There were the ten on the day crew and the ten on the night shift. Then there were those he considered his people. The girl, Fieri and Twinkle, as well as Peabody. Even the kobold Celery was becoming a part of his inner circle. If it hadn't been for the way that Peabody trusted the little guy then the way the girl stuck close by him would have convinced Ed. He sighed as he thought of the girl. He tried daily to find her and talk with her, but between his duties improving morale and his actual shifts on deck he didn't have a whole lot of time. There were days when he just couldn't find her and others when she seemed far too busy to talk with him. He would find time, though. Time to sit down with her and talk about all that had happened since that day they had met. How long ago had that been, now? Three weeks? Four? Time was passing at a breakneck pace.

"And how are my two favorite people holding up down here today?" Ed wandered into the hold where Fieri and Twinkle sat, almost in the exact same positions he had found them in that first day. Twinkle seemed a little happier since then. While terrified of the time she needed to spend above deck, she was enjoying her time spent down here. Playing with Stubble and… Well, there had been rumors of people seeing her talking to rats. Holding conversations with them while they stood in a line in front of her. Ed had never seen it himself but… Well. That was enough about that. Fieri rolled her head and looked at him, swaying with the motion of the ship. Still silent. "You know, if you head up top they assure me you will feel a little better. The fresh air, you see, will do you a world of good?" She stared at him, sullenly, still not moving. "Twinkle will go with you." he said in a sing song voice. This caused Twinkle's head to spin, snapping around to stare at him, glowing eyes going wide.

Emily stood, leaning forwards over the rails so she could look into the waves below. Her life sure had taken a number of shocking turns this last month. It has all started after her father was lifted by the guard in Adeluna for thieving. He had done it, she was sure. Was the only way they ate most days. He had swung. There was no way for them to pay his fines and nobody wanted him for a slave so hanging was the only thing for him. So she had needed to step up. After mother had died of the pox the year before she was the head of the house when father was out. Unfortunately, her first day out trying to steal had been her last. Father had taught her all sorts, taken her out too. She could pick a lock, pick a pocket, snatch and grab. She had always done well! But not that day. Oh no, not that day. Feeling the guard's iron grip on her wrist. Well, she thought it was a death sentence. Might have been better if it had been. 'Stead of going to prison she was sold off as a slave to pay for her fines. Trumped up list of charges were set against her! Blamed her for stealing all kind of things! Any excuse to sell a young girl. What had happened next… Tears ran down her cheeks, the pain still too fresh. When she had been sold to a slave caravan she had hoped things would get better. Then, while on the road. Out of the night came the Captain. He saved them all. When he asked for volunteers to help him, well, how could she resist? She couldn't. Others didn't. That's how she found herself in a completely new city. She'd never set foot outside of Adeluna before and there she was, in some fancy mansion being taught how to fire a crossbow! Things got weirder and weirder. There was that attack against the slaver, from what the others said it had been the very same place she was headed for. That night had been terrifying! It was all she could do to keep loading her bow and pointing it in the same direction as the others. She was on a ship now, being taught how to sail. If only her ma or pa could see her now. She shook her head sadly.

In the moonlight the glowing tattoo on her wrist was even more visible. She licked her thumb and rubbed at it in the hope she could get rid of it. She had been too scared to show the others what had happened, days before when she had managed finally to get the bracelets off. They weren't the same ones that had been put on her when she was first arrested. They switched them when she was sold to that caravan. These ones were different. Meant to stop you doing magic, not that she could. She had picked up some things from around the ship and during her down time she had set to removing them. It had been hard, but she'd picked worse. After the second one fell to the deck there had been a tingling sensation and there on her wrist this tattoo had appeared. What did it mean?
Celery rushed to find the crewman he was looking for before the bell would ring to signal the turning of the shift. He had heard that the man in question was good with his hands. Before he was hired on to the crew, or whatever he had been hired to do before boarding the ship with the rest of them, he had been a thief. Celery didn't approve but if the man had skills that were useful then he wouldn't judge him. After his own failed attempts to pick the locks on the cuffs he hoped this man might be able to succeed. The man was on his shift, so he could have waited until later and then sent him to go find the human girl, but… Well there were reasons that wouldn't work. Chief among those was the fact that she didn't seem to trust anyone aboard, even after spending a week aboard with them. Celery worried about her, it wasn't healthy. If she got those cuffs off then hopefully she would open up more. There he was! Coming out of his cabin…

Celery led the man, having gestured as much as was necessary to show him that he was needed. He led him to where he knew the girl would be, she was a creature of habit and lurked in the same few places. He waved to her, walking over and waving over the man too. With a few hissed words and hand gestures, pointing at the cuffs and miming opening them, the man got the idea. He took a look at them and seemed to think it over for a while before agreeing it was possible. Tools appeared from his belt and he knelt down just as the bell rang for the changing of the shift. Celery needed to get to the main deck.

In the dying light he could make out one of the younger girls, a former slave who somehow had found her way to this crew, standing at the edge and looking over into the sea. He could just make out the red of her shirt before something came flying over the side, landing next to her, somehow balancing… No. Not balancing. She gave a very faint cry before the trident that had speared her through the chest was dragged back, pulling her forwards over the rail and into the sea below. Celery didn't think, he just acted. He ran quickly and grabbed a spear from the rack on the main deck and then he was over the side. He didn't think about how the ship would continue without him. How hard it would be to catch up if no one noticed him going over the side. His thought was for the girl in the red shirt. He could still save her.

He plunged into the water, limbs tucked in tight. Instinct took over. Using his tail and legs, one arm to steer, he speared through the water. He could taste the blood in the water, sinking down fast. He followed it. Down, down. There had been little light to begin with as the day had been drawing to an end, but they were now getting deep underwater. Then he saw it. It was a cruel parody of a mermaid. Whatever had made it, and Celery could tell that it was not natural, had obviously been focused on creating something strong. Something monstrous. It's skin was graying, looking like that of a corpse. In fact, he could see places that looked like smaller fishes had been biting at. It's upper body looked human, but it's lower body… He couldn't even tell what it had been. It was a tail now, that was all he could say of it. The monster mermaid was wearing metal armor, underwater, and looked like it didn't slow it at all. Something about the face looked familiar. It reminded him of the head of the guards at the slave compound… But there was no way… Celery didn't hesitate for a moment. The creature was already swimming back up towards him, the girl having been torn from the trident. It's movements were jerky, awkward. It was fast, but it looked like it wasn't used to it's own body yet. The trident came lashing out at him and he moved around it easily, his own spear lashing out but scraping against armor plating. The fight lasted a few more strikes back and forth. Only once did the creature score a strike, one of the tips from the trident scraping a line of pain along his ribs. Celery's spear found it's throat, then. Pulling back, something got caught on the head of his spear. A tug and the resistance disappeared. What looked like a key floated in the water and Celery snatched at it, looking back at the figure falling down into the deeps. He wasn't sure if it was dead but.. He looked up and could vaguely see the shape of the ship up above, then back down at the figure which was now being enveloped by the dark depths of the sea. He hissed with frustration and kicked for the surface, key held tightly in his hand.

Kamri sat alone. Again. Sulking.
She had no idea how to progress. She had been racking her brain for days. She was holding onto the grudge, true. But the grudge was justified! What would she do? Just let it go and leave herself venerable? No! She hated the thought of forgiveness and then being stabbed in the back again.
What haunted her most, however, was what Peabody had said. In context it was okay he would be mad- if they had come to retrieve her to betray her later, being told that your gambling piece was taking your ship would make anyone mad. But she also saw betrayal flash in his eyes, and that didn’t fit.
She hadn’t betrayed him in the least, so why was it there? Something wasn’t right.

She was snapped from her thoughts when Celery approached her with a man. “Hello?” She hesitantly asked. The man held up a hand as a greeting and let Celery mime a few things. When Kamri was having trouble getting the message the man stepped in.
“Let’s just say my profession included a lot of picking locks and opening unopenable chests. There are a lot of slaves onboard with cuffs like yours and I’m fairly sure I can open them.”
Kamri glanced around the ship, looking at the slaves, all still having their cuffs still on their wrists.
“Why not start unlocking them earlier?”
The man gave a sheepish smile, growing a bit uncomfortable. “No one really trusts someone in my line of work. I’ve offered but they tend to leave. I’m harmless, really. Well, as long as you’re not-well, you don’t have some kind of target on your back so you’re fine.”
Kamri paled a little, the man taking a step back. “Bad joke, bad joke. Right, right. Sorry I just haven’t spent a lot of time around people. They tend to leave.”
“I can see why.”
“Right. So, want me to try and open them for you?”
Kamri looked at her wrists for a minute then brought them up and in front of her. “Anything to get these things off.”

Celery had left by this point. The man sat down next to her and pulled a small metal rod and a hook from his pocket and began to work the locks.
They sat in silence for a little while. Every here and there the man would hum quietly to himself as he would change positions to get a better angle. Kamri just watched the clouds above.

“He’s worried, you know.”
Kamri looked down again. “Who’s worried?”
“The kobold. He didn’t say anything but I know how to read body language and since that’s all he can really use, well it’s obvious he’s really worried about you.”
Kamri shifted uncomfortably, not feeling at her best when being called out.
“I’ve seen you around, too. You don’t talk to a lot of people. You kind of just mope all day. I don’t know what your story is, but everyone here went through something in that camp or on the way there and they’re still talking and working. I’m not saying you didn’t suffer, you did, and everyone copes with it in their own way. But you’re not helping yourself like this and Celery’s trying his best to help but he can’t unless you help yourself.”

The words stung. At first, it made Kamri angry. How dare he talk to her like that! After what she’s gone through?
But Cel had spent a lot of time with her, and it was always to watch her and try and make sure that she was okay. If you spend all your time doing that for someone without a break, it ends up draining you.
She tapped her heels, realizing that despite her anger, his words had some truth.
“I think you have a point. I’ll think it over.”
She would go talk to Peabody today. She wasn’t sure what she would ask but she could muster up the grit to talk to Peabody. He wasn’t the bald idiot but she could maybe hold a conversation to at least get a better idea of what they were doing. She was suspicious of their behavior, but she should at least hear out what they had to say. She would speak with him as soon as these cuffs where off or right after they gave up.

She heard a scream and then a splash. Kamri stood up suddenly, the man yelping as he fell back.
She heard the sound of water, something heavy and metal hitting the floor, gasps from the crew, and then she felt this odd surge run through her body.
Had someone jumped overboard?
“Hey, hey! We have to slow the ship! We have a man overboard!” She cried.
She felt a breeze hit her wrists. Looking down, the cuffs laid on the floor at her feet. She smiled broadly, nodding to the man. He gave her a thumbs up as she turned around and rushed off to the side of the boat, yelling about how the ship had to slow.

Without hesitation, she ran to the side and leaned over the railing, pushing and pulling the water.
Men and women hustled across the deck to slow it down, raising sails and dropping anchor. A few mages who had not yet been cuffed began to pull the water gently back to slow the ships decent. A few ran around to attain a small rescue boat or a rope.
She ship began to slow and Kamri got a better look at the ocean below. She saw a couple shapes down below swimming in the water. Someone rushed over and threw a rope over the side, securing it to the railing. Kamri kept pulling the water to help it slow. She could swim, yes, but she wasn’t a fantastic swimmer. It was best she stay out of the water else she would need to be rescued too.

She watched, doing all she could do. She knew if her mentor had only stayed she could help more, but right now she had to make do with what she had. She didn’t know who went overboard but she hoped they were okay.

Peabody had been wrapping things up for the day ready for the shift to change. He expected the kobold, Celery, to be along any minute now before the change over actually happened. That one had been an incredibly lucky find. If not for him then Peabody didn't know what he would have done, with the captain learning so slowly. After the kobold arrived he could catch him up on the day's events, not that there were all that many. It had been a quiet day with plenty of time to run drills with his men. He was looking forward to getting some rest though. He wasn't a young man any more and had been taking it easy since his retirement. Even after taking on with Captain Ward his schedule hadn't been excessively busy, not until this previous month. He was getting back into shape, he could feel that much at least. It was good for him!

As he took out his pipe, wondering if he would have enough leaf to last until they made port, he watched as Fieri and Twinkle came up onto the deck. One looked positively mutinous as the other reluctantly pulled her along. It was obvious neither truly wanted to be up there. Twinkle had her issues and Fieri had been violently sick the entire time that they were at sea, hardly keeping anything down. If it continued, well Peabody worried she might not make it the whole way. But here was Twinkle dragging her along, despite the fact that Twinkle never came up top unless she was coerced onto the deck to use her magic to aid the ship. He was busy watching the two of them, so didn't see what was happening off at the side with the girl in the red shirt, but he did hear the splashing of something solid hitting the water. This was quickly followed by another, and shouts… Someone was overboard! Peabody began to holler orders, running to the bell to alert the whole ship. With such a new crew they had practiced for this scenario, so Peabody would have to trust in the training he had provided. 

The ship lurched, sending Ed stumbling forwards at the same time he heard the bell ringing. That only happened in case of emergencies! Finally some action! He reached for the sword that wasn't at his side. Ah. He then fumbled for the knives inside the coat that he wasn't wearing. Ah. He patted himself down, finding nothing. Awkward, that was. There were stashes of weapons up on deck. He had been talking with a couple of crewmen down in their room and was now at the back of a crowd of crew rushing for the stairs up onto the deck. He sighed, waiting for his turn to climb up and aid in whatever was going on.

Peabody directed the crew, slowing the ship. On one side was the girl, doing her part with her magic. When had she managed to get those damned cuffs off? On the other side of the ship was Twinkle, doing the same thing. Twinkle had been slower at first, her rhythm off causing the ship to jerk. Luckily she managed to get her timing in line with the girl's and the ship slowed faster. Once the anchor was set and sails tied off they were stopped. Peabody, along with a number of the more curious crew members, rushed to the side to get a better understanding of what was going on. He had given his orders and trusted they would be followed, his men had been doing their jobs wonderfully considering their lack of training. A small boat was being brought over and prepared to go over the side, ready to find whoever had gone over. Peabody thought back, sure he had heard two distinct sounds of masses hitting the water. Did that mean two people had gone over the side, or that one had gone over in an attempt to save another? He hoped not. The last thing they needed was two people to search the ocean for, with the sun near to setting it was going to be hard enough to find one. He realised he still had his pipe clutched tightly in one hand. The temptation to light it warred with his better judgement. His better judgement won and he slipped it into his pocket.

Ed made his way, finally, onto the deck. He snatched up a hatchet and spun around in an attempt to find the first enemy to fight. There was nobody around but his own crew, though. Some were gathering off to one side so he joined them. Based on their chatter as they searched the water for signs of something, someone had gone over the side. Possibly two people. A small boat was being brought over, smaller even than the Pride of Carnelux. He had spent so little time with that boat, and it felt like so long ago that he had woken up to find himself owning it. He looked to Twinkle who was shuffling her way over, and gestured for her to hurry. An idea was forming. With her and the Fieri girl, they could take that boat and find whoever had gone over the side! Sure, he couldn't swim, but that didn't matter! All he needed to do was stand in the boat and help the stranded people in.

Well, Celery thought, that had been easier than he had thought. He kicked towards the surface, eyes on the ship above him. It was already getting further away and he didn't want to lose it. Surely someone must have seen him go either the side, which meant any minute now the ship would be slowing down. A search would be mounted. He would be found. At least, if it had been one of his people's ships that would happen. With these new people, on a stolen ship? He kicked harder, trying to not let feeling of panic crowd him. He still felt bad for the girl, Emily. She had been on his night crew and had a lot of potential. Well he had avenged her, that would have to be enough. The thought was enough to push back the panic and fuel his next few kicks, at least until a hand closed around his ankle.

Bubbles burst out of his mouth as he twisted and turned, trying to break free of whatever it was that had him. He kicked and clawed, the disturbance in the water causing his field of vision to be diminished. He stabbed down randomly with his spear, trying to get at whatever it was that was down there. Once, twice, three times and he hit nothing. On the fourth attempt he managed to get something though, and the grip around his ankle loosed enough for him to kick free. He was still a long way from the surface. If there was another one of those things down here then he would need to take care of it. If one of them had really been the head guard from the slave compound, then who would the other take the guise of? Speaking of the slave compound… He realised he had dropped the key in the struggle. If it had been the key to the cuffs then it was far too important. He looked around, eyes darting back and forth, searching for his attacker and the key at the same time. He found them both, one after the other. The attacker was the same one as before, ragged strips of flesh hanging from the throat Celery had ruined with the tip of his spear. The key was sinking right past whatever the creature was. The creature, the false mermaid, didn't seem to notice or care about the key. Celery cared though. He kicked his legs, heading back down towards the creature.

Celery and the creature circled each other, both their weapons darting to and fro. Celery managed to dart away from most of the strikes aimed at him. One got him in the leg, scoring another scratch along his thigh. Another took him in this shoulder, this one deeper. If he had been focusing on the fight then he would have managed to stay ahead of the tips of the trident, much like he had done before. But he wanted that key. He knew rationally that it couldn't be the slaver in front of him, but at the same time he just couldn't shake the feeling. If it was the key then he would be able to get the cuffs off the girl, off himself and off the rest of the former slaves. If he let it fall into the depths then they would all remain trapped by them. They were descending quickly, the ship getting smaller and smaller above him as he chased the key down and tried to stay alive. Once he had the key in his hand then he could focus on the creature, surely a member of the undead considering the wound he had dealt it before. He reached out, clawed fingers hooking the trailing cord attached to the key just as a new pain went shooting through the arm holding the spear. He hissed in pain, letting it go and twisting around, short legs kicking powerfully. Body and tail moving he shot through the water.
It took some doing to get the boat of them into the ship, and to convince a couple of the crew to send them out over the side and lower them into the water, but finally Ed found himself, Fieri and Twinkle in the water. Twinkle used her magic to move the boat back in the direction the ship had come from. Ed heightened his sight with magic, tossing a knife he had fetched from hand to hand nervously as he looked for any sign of someone in the water. The water itself was getting a little choppy, waves tossing their small boat around. He heard retching from behind and turned to see Fieri hunched over the side, knuckles white as she clenched the bow she had brought with her. Twinkle was muttering under her breath, something about… Not wanting to sink… Ed had a moment to wonder if he had made the right choice, perhaps Peabody should have been brought with them, when a wave hit and he dropped his knife over the side. Whoops.

After what he felt was enough time swimming away, ribbons of blood following him through the water, he turned. Bad mistake. The mer-creature was hot on his tail. Celery was actually surprised other predators hadn't been attracted already by the blood in the water. How long had he been down here? He was starting to lose track of the time, which wasn't a good sign. If it had been a while then maybe the creature's stench of death was keeping away other ocean predators. On the other hand, if he hadn't been down here all that long then any moment now there might be other problems. Celery began moving again, looking up above. He was getting further away from the ship. He needed to fix that. Gaining a little distance from the creature's pursuit he snapped back in the opposite direction, kicking harder and harder to regain speed and shoot past the creature which didn't slow in time. Celery hoped it would buy him a little room to breath, and began to ascend towards the surface. Was that a smaller boat, up above? And there, sinking through the water… He put on anther burst of speed. If it was what he thought it was… He tucked the key through his cuff, using his teeth to tie off the cord so he wouldn't lose it again. Using his now free hand, as the other was hanging limply by his side, he grabbed at the knife that was now in front of him.

Armed once more, Celery repeated the move from before to whip around to face his pursuer once more. He didn't have much hope of winning this fight, not really. He may have a weapon now, but he was up against an armored opponent. An armored opponent who was speeding towards him. Celery gritted his teeth, sending off a prayer to the demons. And Mari. He needed their strength now. He and the creature shot towards each other, head on, on a course to collide. At the last moment Celery bent at the waist, moving down and turning, slashing out with the dagger. It dug in deep, cutting into the creature's tail. He almost lost his grip on it then but was able to pull it back out. The creature turned to face him again, staring into his eyes. Celery growled. He repeated the move again, the creature swimming straight for him. At the list second the creature made an attempt to follow Celery. That wouldn't work a third time, and the wounds weren't slowing it down at all. Celery would have sighed if he wasn't underwater. He had one more idea. This time, when they charged through the water at each other, Celery made to move down again. The creature moved faster this time, reacting, but Celery didn't dive down while the creature did. As the creature began to pass below him Celery began stabbing hard, again and again at the back of the creature's head and neck.

Ed searched the waves, looking for signs. He had the hatchet in his hands now but didn't try to juggle it. He had learned his lesson. Fieri was passed out in the back of the boat, her bow would be no help to him right now. If it would have been any hope to begin with. What were the chances there was anything out here that would need filling with arrows anyway? Twinkle was still muttering the same mantra to herself, over and over. She had been convinced to move the ship in slowly expanding circles in an attempt to find the crew who had gone over the side. Ed was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, they weren't going to find anything when a small reptilian head broke the surface not too far away. Ed let out a cheer, tipping the boat violently as he jumped back to point him out to Twinkle. She yelped, a high pitch sound which was followed by gentle sobs. Whoops. The boat moved in the right direction, though. They made it to the kobold's side and Ed was helping him into the boat in no time at all.

On the way back to the ship, Celery fumbled with the knife in his hand and the key tied around his cuff. He hissed with frustration. He didn't want to be unarmed. He still wasn't sure whether the creature was dead or not, but he did manage to finally get the key into the hole on his wrist. There was a click and it fell to the bottom of the boat, which had a small puddle of water and blood growing in it. They girl, not a human from the taste of the air around her, zeroed in on the sound. He had thought her unconscious when he clambered aboard with the help of the bearded human. She was kneeling over him in no time, gently taking the key from his fingers and using it to remove his other cuff, followed quickly by her own. Her skin began to regain it's colour almost immediately. Celery closed his eyes. They knew the key would work, which meant they would take the cuffs off everyone soon. Including the girl. He let the darkness take him.

The water swirled beneath the ship, causing it to slow in a slow, rocking manner.
Kamri focused on moving the water. Her wrists felt sore and her movements where far from practiced. Amazing what a few weeks of being magicless could do. You take one little break and then nothing works.

The Captain, Peabody, and Fieri went down into the water with a small rescue boat. She stopped her water shifting for a moment to gently push the boat further towards the site of the accident.
She wasn’t sure who had gone overboard. She heard the splash followed by another. She briefly glimpsed the silhouette as they dove but was unable to attain any details whatsoever.

She ship had slowed and Kamri had started to try and think through her options. She could just sit and wait, and hope whoever was thrown overboard would resurface soon. The thought of standing by made her upset, she didn’t want to watch everyone work hard while she simply sat and watched.

She also thought about diving into the water to search herself; of course, she would need to be pulled back onto the ship and saving two people would be twice as risky and laborious as just one.

Third was she could search the ship for supplies or items that might help make things easier on the person who had fallen into the ocean, but Fieri, Captain, and Peabody all seemed to be handling this best as they could, and adding another person to that mix could end up doing much more harm than good.

For now she figured best she could do was wait and see, even if she despised the idea. She rubbed her wrists with her hands. She now had her power back. Newly reborn spells and ideas, brimming at her fingertips once more. Though the spells she knew where weak, and mostly useless in this very situation.

She watched along with everyone else, hoping that someone would resurface.
Everyone started to lose face. Surely there was no real hope. No one could hold their breath for that long.

Then a head poked out of the water, reptilian eyes squeezed shut for a moment before they started to blink rapidly trying to flush out the water.
The ship cheered and applauded. Kamri cried out in both fear and joy, realizing it was Celery who had just gone over.

She watched as they loaded him onto the boat and then was raised high into the air, stumbling finally on the ship, safe.

Kamri ran to her friend, trying to fight the crowd and push her way through. But Every time she found he was in her line of sight, she was pushed back. She saw him standing, then she was pushed back into the crowd. Then he was on the floor, a few more people stepped in front of Kamri. He had something in his hand. Her light of sight, again broken. A key? Again, denied entry.
By the time she got close, the bearded traitor had taken him and was carrying him away to the slave quarters below. She bit back a bitter word, knowing he was helping but feeling uncomfortable with Celery being in his hands now.
She kept her tongue and let the surrounding celebratory crowd cheer and drown her out.
Some followed the man down into the sleeping quarters, others stayed by to retell the tale to the few who had missed it. A few highfived and clapped, knowing they had all played some minor part. Kamri watched with malice as the crowd surrounding their captain had gone to the floor below.


—


The crowds had left and the Captain had resurfaced a while later. Kamri watched him walk by, waiting for him to leave the area before she stood up and left to go to the servants quarters.
The area was still dark and a little musty but some cleanup had been done and a few more lanterns had been placed. Cel wasn’t difficult to pick out within the few who slept at this hour. The only Kobold here was easy to find, even if you weren’t used to the dark.
She rushed to his side and sat on the floor, realizing he was asleep once she got there.
He looked exhausted, that much was glaringly obvious.
Poor Celery, must have been tough fighting the water. She sighed solemnly. He was safe.

Then she noticed something. Or, lack of something, to be precise.
The shackles on his wrists where gone.
She could almost scream! Finally, he had been freed! How did he do it? Did someone lock pick them, too?
She looked down at her own hands. Soon, they would all have their magic back! She smiled broadly, feeling hope peak through again!
Wait.
Was there something stuck to her wrist?
She turned her wrist around, noticing something quiet peculiar she hadn’t seen before. She had been busy casting magic, and didn’t really have time to just admire her freedom. But there, clear as day, her wrist pulsed with a faint green glow. The letter ‘D’ ingrained in her skin.

She tried to scratch it off, but it was etched into her wrist. She sneered as she tried to scrub it away but it was no use! Where had this come from? What had happened? What was this?!

She looked at Celery’s wrists. Reaching over, she gently turned them so the inside of his wrist was visible. He had not been printed at all.
Part of her grew angry. What significance did ‘D’ have? Death? Demon? Damnation?
She felt her heart sink.
Drein.
It stood for Drein.
But why hadn’t Celery been marked?
She recalled the prick she felt on his skin as the shackles came off. Was that when she was marked?
She stood up, looking for something, anything to throw! Something to cause noise! Something to break!

Celery stirred slightly.
She looked down at him, rage slowly melting away.
The key from before. He had unlocked them. That’s why he had no mark.
Kamri looked down at hers, eyebrows knit in confusion.
How did he get the key? He didn’t have it before he went in the water so…

She pieced things together. Not as well as she thought but she had pieced it together enough.
“Oh, Cel.” She grimaced. “That key… You fought so hard for it.”

She looked back down at the mark, remembering the anger she had a moment ago. Realizing it would have Woken Cel after his long fight against the tides.

“It’s obvious he’s really worried about you.”

The words from the lockpick stung her ears. Cel was doing so much. The key was for everyone, she knew that. But after being thought of, even if as part of a group, she was about to throw another fit. Who would repay a kind deed by throwing a tantrum? She was so angry and hurt and-

She walked out of the slave quarters. She was angry and fuming and she hated feeling like that. What’s more, she hated knowing it hurt Cel, too.
She swallowed her pride best she could. She couldn’t face the captain but the pepper haired man she could probably face without a violent outburst. It was a start.
She climbed her way to the Deck, where Peabody stood commanding people and making sure things ran smoothly. She marched up behind him, making no attempt to hide the loud stomping footsteps.

“Sir!” She called, eyes determined. She took a second to swallow her pride again, trying to calm down. She marched up just behind him and stopped. She closed her eyes and forced her shoulders to drop. Taking a minute to regain herself, she looked up, looking at the man face to face.
“I’m ready to talk.”

The trip back to the ship after recovering the kobold was a lot slower than Ed had hoped it would be. He glanced nervously back and forth from the ship that grew steadily closer and the kobold that grew steadily paler. Fieri was fussing over him. As soon as she freed herself from those shackles she seemed to have reverted most of the way back to her former state. Still silent and sullen, but no longer pale, washed out, a little green. The wonders being free could do to a body! The struggle to bring the kobold over the side of the boat had caused it to rock, and that in addition to the waves getting a little livelier out here (maybe something to do with the magic being used to create unnatural patterns in the water around the ship) had caused Twinkle some distress. She alternated between shooting the ship forwards quickly with a burst of speed and then squeaking and spending a minute calming the waters around their little boat as much as she could. It made for some very slow sailing. Ed could almost pick out the faces of the crew on deck. They were getting very close now!

As the little boat came up alongside the ship ropes were lowered to help bring the passengers aboard. Ed considered trying to carry the kobold over his shoulder but didn't want to risk jostling him around too much. No telling what kind of injuries the poor fellow had. Best to just attach the ropes to the boat and have the crew lift them up. A few moments later and the sound of heaving came from above, the sound of a terrified Twinkle from the behind Ed and the sound of the waves hitting the bottom of the boat as they were lifted out of the water. Ed stood, arms out to greet the crew who cheered at the sight of their successful return with the kobold, still alive. He relished in their joy, soaking it up before finally the boat came to a halt on deck. Peabody, a stern look upon his face, approached them then. He was silent, his orders having been given and followed as he expected them to be. Those who were gathering around now were the ones waiting to stow the little boat and those whose shift was over now. As well as one or two, perhaps, who were meant to be working but instead chose to linger and join in with the little celebration that was bringing. Ed opened his mouth to order the rum brought out but a look at Peabody, who was glaring, told him this would not be the best of ideas. Well then. He ducked down and scooped up the kobold, taking a step over and onto the deck of the ship. The little guy was still breathing, which was a great sign. How, though, when he had been under the water for so long was an absolute mystery to him. Didn't kobolds normally live in caves?

He pushed through the crowd, heading for his own cabin at first. He wanted to take care of the kobold but there was nothing in there for the treatment of wounds. Was there some kind of infirmary aboard this ship? In all his wanderings he had never thought to stop and ask such a thing. Well, the ship was under his command now and if he decided there would be a need for an infirmary then an infirmary would be! Surely someone aboard would have some skill with patching up wounds. Or maybe they would need to hire someone on… A stray thought, one best left to later when he could put some time into it. Or approach Peabody with it. Instead of the captain's cabin he instead took the stairs leading down into the belly of the ship. The cargo area, the sleeping quarters, the galley and common room type area. All this was down there. If nothing else they would be close to boiling water, a necessity for cleaning wounds.

"What the devil were you thinking?!" a pause as rationality took over once more, "Sir."
Ed had found an empty cabin close to the galley, having found no sign of any kind of infirmary in the doors he had poked his head through on the way there. There was a cot in here, which he lay the kobold down on. Immediately Fieri appeared again and began fussing over Celeryx again.
"I was thinking that one of my men was in danger and I had to do something about it!"
"You have no experience at sea. Neither does Twinkle, and from the looks of her neither does the girl!" There was the sound of a throat being cleared. "..Fieri."
"I just acted! It was a spur of the moment decision my friend! We had a boat, we had a water mage, we had someone with keen eyesight! All they needed was someone to lead them!"
Peabody let out a heavy sigh. "Sir, you are lucky the three of you aren't dead. Four, if the poor kobold survives whatever it was that attacked him. You're meant to be the captain. You're meant to give orders, lead them from safety. Because losing you would jeopardize the safety of everyone.
Ed frowned at this. He had been the captain of an airship for years and had always insisted on leading his men in every engagement and adventure. It was why they had loved him! …. He thought about that for a second. They had loved him, hadn't they? The kobold gave out a tiny murmur, then, distracting him from that line of thought.

Peabody kept him busy rushing to the galley and back, grabbing clean rags and boiling water. From somewhere they had scrounged up a basic medical kit and Peabody set to work inspecting and cleaning the wounds. In the dim light he looked like he might have had trouble stitching the wounds closed but then Twinkle wandered over. How long had she been standing there, silently? She gently took the needle and thread from Peabody's hands and took over, her glowing eyes scrunched up in concentration. Had it only been a couple of weeks since she had watched Peabody stitching them up in that back room in the tavern? Time flew by so quickly.

Once everything that could be done had been done Ed lifted the kobold as gently as he was able. The cot in this room was a mess, it wouldn't be healthy to leave the recovering kobold lying there. He took him back out into the general quarters, finding a place for him and setting him down to rest. He thought to find a man or two to watch over him but Fieri was there already. She fussed over him again in that way she had, fingers running over the kobold's scales, her lips moving as if reciting something. Maybe she was praying for him. He left her to it, and along with Peabody he headed for the deck again. With the person in charge of the night crew injured that meant there was going to be some long days and nights ahead of them. Ed ran his fingers through his beard. There were a couple of the crew that Peabody had compliments, perhaps they might be able to ease some of the burden.

Peabody ran his hand along his jaw, feeling the beginnings of stubble forming. He was drained emotionally, and close to it physically too. He would need to organise the watch for the night but he didn't think the ship would be going any further than this. Perhaps it was best that they weigh anchor here, take a day or two and see if the kobold would survive. He had done his best, and Twinkle had done a spectacular job. Far better than he would have been able to, even in full light. She was like a little sponge, soaking things up. The strange thing was, though, considering the amount of blood that had covered the kobold and the captain who had been carrying him, the wounds weren't all that deep. They were nasty enough, that was true, but still not enough to have caused serious blood loss like that. He had been worried about whatever could have done that to the kobold, especially one that lived at sea himself. He lifted his pipe to his lips, not even having realised he had taken it out and filled it. He chewed the stem for a moment and thought better of lighting it. His supply was starting to get low and they still had a lot of ocean to travel. If they were restricted to only sailing at night then that would lengthen their journey even further. Having the kobold, who could see clearly at night to give directions to his crew to keep the ship moving at a steady pace had been fortunate. What had they done to anger the gods that their fortune could be taken away so quickly?

Peabody returned to the deck and set to the task of getting things cleaned up and order restored. They would remain where they were, just for tonight. See how Celeryx was feeling tomorrow and then make decisions based on that. Whatever had caused the kobold to jump over board though? He looked around at the crew, busy with their tasks. Odd, hadn't there been someone else… A young girl… What had her name been? Curse him, he was getting old. Back in his day he had always known the name of every member of the crew. He had no excuses about time, either. He had spent weeks with her. He could picture her clearly enough, but the name… It was on the tip of his tongue…

A voice behind him, raised to get his attention, and the name was lost to him. He spun in place, a smooth and practiced motion from his years in the military. It was the girl, the one they had done so much to save. True, she wouldn't have needed saving if the captain hadn't made that mistake. But also true was the fact that she wouldn't have been in that situation if she hadn't been a thief intent on stealing their ship. Well, ship was a strong word for the little one sail boat they had left back in Adeluna in their rush to find her. Also, nobody had forced her to join the ridiculous escapade. She could have taken her chances with the guards, when they had been there to help her. She had made her own decisions and her attitude on the beach, and then on the ship afterwards was inexcusable. But then… He imagined his own niece, and how he would have felt had she been sold into slavery… The ice that had been forming around his heart thawed.

"Well, girl, I'm ready to listen. What's your name, by the w-"
"What in the name of Angela's left tit is that?!" the cry, coming from Ed, pierced the night. Peabody turned from the girl and rushed over to see what was going on. There, on the deck of their ship… Was that a gateway? He had seen them before, but what was one doing here and now? In the middle of an ocean? How was that even possible, unless they were being tracked somehow? A figure hopped out of the portal. Tall, pale and wearing a blue robe. Whatever it was had white hair but that was all he could glimpse of it before another gateway opened and it was gone. Peabody rushed to the bell and began ringing the alarm again. People who had only just stumbled away quickly returned. There would be no resting tonight. If they were being tracked, or had been spotted… Was that what had happened to the kobold? They needed to get out of here, and fast. The conversation with the girl forgotten, Peabody began assigning new tasks. Organizing who would be able to sleep, and when. It would be short rests all round so they could maintain an armed watch. He ran a hand over his head, sticking the pipe in his mouth with his free hand.

It floated there, down in the cold darkness. It didn't know if it's eyes were even open. There was a tugging sensation coming from it's head, and neck and in multiple places on it's newly formed tail. All in the places the lizard had struck at it. It reached up, brushing at it's head and disturbing the fish that fed there. It beat it's tail, knocking loose more creatures that wished to feed on it. It had lost it's weapon in the struggle. It's mouth was full of sharp teeth now though. It's hands were hardened claws. It could still fight. A vibration came from it's belt, alerting it to another signal. Well well. It had managed to get the first, but now there was another. It had a direction now. It could follow again.

Kamri perked up a little, the realization hitting her gently. Had she really not introduced herself? Then again, she didn’t know the captain’s name, either.
She knew Peabooty’s name. Wait, Peabotty? Keybody? Well, she knew what it should somewhat sound like. She had heard it in the crowd a few times.
She had never introduced herself? How odd. Usually it was the first thing two parties did when introducing themselves. Then again, most don’t meet while stealing a boat and having a sword pointed at their neck.
Remembering back to what this man’s face looked like, the calm yet indifferent face he had made back then was intimidating. She got the idea he had killed many people before and had maybe gone cold to it. How eerie. Yet, she had rather gone a bit overboard when she took Drien as her first blood herself. But that had a lot of deciding factors-
Ah! He had asked her a question! Right. She spoke up, surprised he thought to ask her name. “O-oh! My name is Ka-“

A flash, a pulse of magic, and a gust of wind tore across the ship, coming as quickly as it had gone.
"What in the name of Angela's left tit is that?!"
Fleabody swiveled around and immediately started to bark orders and raise alarms. What was that?
She couldn’t help but feel crestfallen. She had gained all that courage to speak to the right hand man of her condemner only to be brushed off. She let the spite go, feeling embarrassed she thought of herself so highly. Maybe a pride check was in order. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little cheated.

Still, an alarm was an alarm, and even though it seemed the threat was gone, it was best to take precaution. Maybe, if she was lucky, she would catch him later at a less busy hour.
Until then, she would have to just bite her tongue. It didn’t mean she would suddenly open up to the captain, no. It barely meant she would begrudgingly cooperate. But she would do what she was told for now and just keep her head low until she was gone.

Again, the subject of if she should stay or go came to mind. If she left, she would never have to talk to that man again. But she also felt an attachment to Celery. Though she only knew him for a few days, she felt she owed him more for getting her out of that slave camp. In a situation like that, friends grew close if they didn’t betray you.
Not to mention she would be in an unknown town, homeless and penniless. And her chances of getting back out to sea where nonexistent. Her family didn’t know- and may not care where she was.
Seems noble was a title, not a defining trait.

There she was once more, feeling sorry for herself. She hated being like this- but she also couldn’t just let it go! She just needed time. Time and a good swift kick to that captain’s empty skull.
She pushed her thoughts back. She would complain and moan later. Seems there could be trouble.
Protocol was to have all slaves and people who had not been trained how to fight hide below deck. Up until Now Kamri followed that protocol but with her magic back, she had some use now.
Though, she would be so much better with her mentor.

It seemed it to be all in vain though, as the threat had disappeared yet Kneepotty had gone to order around everyone on deck. She let the spell she had prepared simmer and die. Seems he was too busy right now. She would try again later, if she could figure out how to muster up courage to talk to him again.
She hated herself for letting him walk away. But she had really tried and she wasn’t giving up- Just coming back again later. She had to go through with it, for Celery.

She walked off towards the other end of the ship. There were some crates and boxes that had still gone unopened. She best put herself to use and take inventory.