The sun had begun setting over the horizon of the town. As it did, the lighthouse settled near the shore lit up. Tarnet took that as a sign that it was time to retire for the night. It was one of the hottest days of the season, so he was looking forward to a cooled room and nice food. He’d already been paid for the day so all that was left was the walk home. Someone chimed in before he could start heading in the direction of his house.

“Hey, Tarnet! What say you and I go drinking tonight, huh?” asked one of his fishing buddies. Tarnet was glad for the offer, but had to refuse. Maybe he’d be more receptive another time, but tonight was not one of those times. He said goodbye to his fellow men and headed home.

****

Sincan eyed the portly scalin as he exited his ship and locked it up. He was talking with his friend for a second before he headed off. Stoneshore was a random town on the coast of the continent that they had decided to settle on.

Sincan turned back to face the rest of his group. Firil had let him give orders for the past week, not feeling herself up to the task. “I think we’ve found our target,” Sincan told the rest. He pointed in the direction of the man that was walking out. They were slightly hidden so it took some adjusting to view him. Tarnet would be the unlucky victim of a theft that night.

“Great, going after the elderly now, are we?” Kos said sarcastically. “Hey, he’s in his prime!” Sincan countered.

“Doesn’t make it any better.” Firil muttered from the back. “Ugh, I’ll be sure to memorize his ID. Maybe you can do something nice once we beat Oxe.”

“Heh, once…” Firil said. Sincan felt that he’d pushed on a topic that he shouldn’t have. “Regardless, let’s go.” They snuck out of the harbor and went after the man.

****

It was a little while after when they saw the scalin man take a turn and enter his house. He was pretty well off, from what could be seen of it. Sincan felt another pang of guilt from the actions they were about to take. He turned to Kos and held her shoulders. “You’re up,” he said.

“W-wait what? You want me to sneak in?” she asked incredulously.

“You’ve got a Trick/Crystal, that’s what you told me, right?” Sincan said.

“Yes, but I won’t use it for this!” she hissed.

“Please, Kos. Just do this one thing. I promise we’ll pay him back somehow,” Moris pleaded. Jake and Firil didn’t join in, but nobody expected them to at this point.

“Fine, but only this once.” She walked towards the house, half shaking from the anticipation. If she was caught, what would happen? Would the man turn violent? Those thoughts needed to be buried before she could proceed. She gathered up a small batch of rocks and placed one half in front of the windows of the house. She moved over next to the front door and placed another batch of rocks down. She shaped the pile next to her into a crystal that began turning her invisible. Her body disappeared along with the clothes she was wearing, at least to anyone standing outside the range of the crystals.

She threw one of the stones through the window, shattering the glass it was holding. An alerted man’s voice came from inside. She shaped the first pile she left into another crystal that emitted the sound of children laughing. Before Tarnet could open the door, she dropped the sound crystals and just stood there. Tarnet rushed over to the rock pile and examined it for a few seconds, along with the crack in his window. It gave Kos enough time to pick up the second pile and silently walk into the house. She started exploring the obvious spots. The kitchen was as far as she got before hearing the footsteps returning.

Kos picked a corner and set up another small invisibility bubble, waiting for the man to pass by. He did, and went back into the lounge to begin cleaning up. Kos took that opportunity to search around the house for the key to the boat. Sincan had shown what it was supposed to look like, but where was the thing?

Her snooping took her to the garage eventually, where scrap metal and tools were strewn about desks. On a rack that was on the opposite side of the car that was parked here lay the keys she was searching for. She walked over to the rack and took out the key she needed. She still had her rocks in her other hand. Unbeknownst to her, she knocked over a tool that clanged horribly on the ground. Stomps started coming nearer and nearer and she was forced to duck down near the car. The door to the garage opened and she was furiously trying to cast a Revolution. She had no bewl left, so it would be impossible to do so. She freaked out until she noticed some bewllan shining from underneath the car.

Tarnet entered the room and observed it to make sure nothing was moving around in there. It could always have been Shiela but it didn’t hurt to be cautious. He walked over to the other side of the car slowly and noticed…. a wrench on the ground. Maybe it was Shiela? He tried calling out to her but she must have gone through the door while he was not looking. He put the tool back and went back in.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

****

Kos breathed a sigh of relief as she made it outside and climbed over the fence. That was one experience she hoped she wouldn’t need to repeat. Thankfully there had been some bewllan there for her to absorb. Moris congratulated her on the task, but she didn’t feel much like a winner. At least they needed her for something. She didn’t like imagining what would happen if that changed. It’s why she tried making herself useful in other ways.

“Good work, Kos! Do we need anything else, Sincan?” Moris asked.

“Some supplies and we’ll be ready to go. Pack a lot, this is going to be a long trip through the ocean,” Sincan said.

****

Sneaking into the dock again at night wasn’t so difficult now that everyone had left. Sincan made sure to contact Okshender so he would watch over them for the trip. He could recede back into the bewlsphere to recharge if he needed to. He was packing the supplies onto the ship. Firil was helping him, but was not in a conversing mood. Sincan had sent Jake downstairs to check on the engine. The ship was decently sized, but still a fishing vessel.

Chosh hopped onto the ship easily. The little ganver seemed to not like the water much, but he liked his owner enough to risk it.

****

Jake examined the engine. It was a task he’d done many times before, but for land vehicles. The ships bewllan was in good shape, no cracks showing on it. With luck, they’d be able to get to their destination easily. Also with luck, they’d avoid any patrols that Okshender could warn them of. Jake was crouched down and didn’t notice when Moris walked up to him.

“Umm, do you need anything to help you work?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Jake replied.

“What about refreshments?”

“None of that either.”

“Not in the mood to talk?” Moris asked.

“No, I’m not.” He said as he slammed something closed. He moved onto another part and Moris began again.

“Cheer up a little, Jake. We’ll find a way to make this right. The safe is still with us, we just need to find a way to crack it.” Jake seemed to grow more aggravated when Moris mentioned that. “Did I say something wrong?” Moris asked.

Jake finally let go of the parts he was tinkering with and stood up. “Moris, what do you care about?” he asked. “Well, that’s obvious. I care about getting to where Firil’s taking us and opening the safe,” Moris replied.

Jake put his hand up against his head. “So, you too then. Why has everyone,” he gestured around himself, “forgotten about Vanessa!? I see you joking sometimes, are you being facetious or have you people actually forgotten that a person died!” Moris stepped back and lowered his shoulders.

“We haven’t. But we can’t deal with that immediately. There’s too many things we need to d- “He was cut off by Jake.

“Yes, like mourn! You’ve barely talked about her. All of you! At least I accept that fact. Why can’t you do the same?”

“I will!” Moris screamed. “I will mourn for those who’ve died, Jake. I will mourn when I know for sure they’ve been brought to justice!” Moris stared fiercely at the man before him. “I’m sorry. I just- Sometimes I remember all that she’s done for me. I feel guilty for how it ended up happening.”

“I hope we can move on, Jake. I hope we can do it together.” He left the room afterwards.

****

Firil searched the captain’s quarters lazily. She took a look at the steering wheel and noticed a picture tucked near the window. The picture was of the man they had robbed surrounded by a few other people. She slumped down onto the ground and began sobbing.

“You’d know what to do, wouldn’t you? Even in a situation like this, you’d piece together something coherent.”

“But I’m not you. No matter how I try, I can’t be you. It’s why I was the employee and you were the manager, Vanessa.” The tears came quicker now. This is all I can do. Please, Hath, help me. I just need a way.

****

Kos stood on the deck of the ship and stared out into the ocean. The preparations for the trip would be done soon and they’d be off. The wind that blew in wasn’t strong enough to deter them from their path. Neither was the smell that the ship gave off. It would just have to be something that they dealt with.

Despite the warm weather, she was shivering. She’d need to get that under control. Useful people didn’t shake after a successful job. Kos wondered if she was even considered that by the people around her. Cervo and Vanessa had saved them despite their uselessness, but they were good people. All they were left with now were the ones who were grey at best.

Those thoughts brushed her mind like the wind. If she had been caught in that man’s house, would the others leave her behind. Should she leave them behind? Her line of thinking was interrupted by the steps that kept ringing closer.

She almost freaked out until she realized it was just Sincan who was walking up to her. “What are you doing?” he asked her nonchalantly.

“Deciding if I should go for a nice dip or not. In this weather, I might even become a local delicacy if I stay in too long,” she replied.

“Scalin meat does not tastes good, trust me,” he said.

“Wait, have you?”

Sincan just smiled at her. “Oh, you intolerable man,” she said, annoyed. Sincan stood beside her and looked out over in the same direction. “Ship’s ready, we’re going to gather up soon.”

“I won’t be late.”

“Good to know.” They just stayed there for a moment, staring out into the ocean.

“Say, Sincan. What would you have done if I had failed?” she asked him. He kept looking out into the ocean. “I guess we would have gotten you out of there and found another way to the island.”

“I was under the impression you were the selfish type.”

“Firil wouldn’t let me leave you,” he replied almost too quickly. As soon as he did, he left. Kos felt the thoughts in her head recede a bit after what Sincan said. She decided to follow soon after, in a better mood than the rest.

The engine of the boat started as Jake released the choke. Sincan thought he could make out the faint shape of Okshender in the clouds. Maybe the Gear had burst through them as a joke and not told him. It wasn’t what someone like Okshender would do, however.

The boat began to slowly move across the water. As it did, Okshender moved with them, always keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious. Ironically, he didn’t count the boat thieves as one of them. Sincan walked inside and noticed that one of the rooms had been taken by Firil. The last thing he did before keeping watch was do a head count.