As the men in the hull of the ship continue their discussion of the upcoming assault of Farrowport, Eijnar took Narrita by the hand and led her up the steps to the deck.

"Where are we going?" the former leader of the Cutthroats asked. Her words were broken up by her sobbing.

"To my personal quarters. There, we can have a talk. In private. There are more details that you should know about."

"You didn't tell the Cutthroats everything?"

"Some parts of the plan are best left in secret. I can't let everyone know about every minute detail." Eijnar opened the door to the captain's quarters and held it for Narrita. He waved his hand and offered her the first step inside with a bow.

With her head hung low, Narrita entered the room. The quarters spanned the size of an inn's bedroom with an ornate wooden desk taking up the bulk of the area's space. It's golden trim along the edges glistened from the soft glow from the flickering torches that lined the room's walls. Perched underneath was a matching chair. Complex carvings made up the chair's back while the jewels encrusted in the woodwork sparkled like small stars.

Besides the long cot placed along the wall, bits of treasures adorned the shelves and wall of the room. Paintings, stones and jewelry from all over the world covered every inch of the interior. Narrita paused her sobbing to look at the decorations with awe.

"You like what you see?" Eijnar said confidently as he headed over towards his desk. He pulled the seat back and leaned on the chair's rear two legs before propping his feet up on the desk. "I keep the best loot for myself."

"As expected," Narrita said as she picked up a small silver statue of a rabbit from one of the shelves. "The captain deserves the very best."

"Exactly. But a captain would be nothing without his crew. Especially a second-in-command. It’s a shame what happened to my other one. It’ll be hard to fill his spot."

Narrita stopped examining the small figure and turned to Eijnar. "You're talking about me?"

Eijnar looked around his office. "I don't see anyone else in here. Do you?"

"I don't understand. Of all the people to choose to be your secondary, why would you pick the leader of a ragtag band of crooks?"

"Err... from what happened in the hull, I'd say former leader is a more suiting title."

Narrita crossed her arms and cut her eyes at the captain. "I see. So that was part of the plan, huh? Turn my men against me?"

The captain shrugged his shoulders. "Somewhat. But the fact that they abandoned you so quickly was just a stroke of luck. If they remained loyal, I had other ways to convince you to join." Eijnar then reached under his desk and pulled out two purple bottles. He bit onto the cork of one and tore it out, letting the sweet scent of wine fill the air. "You're welcome to have one."

"I'm fine," Narrita said with a flick of her hand. "But back to my question. Why me?"

Eijnar tilted his head back and the wine flow. After a few seconds of straight chugging, he wiped away the excess that spilled onto his beard with the back of his hand. "I'll get straight to the point. Travelling the seas gets lonely."

"Looking for a different of companionship, huh?" Narrita said, annoyed.

"When you spend your time with a bunch of savage, male warriors, things get a bit dull. You'd be the perfect replacement for old pal that Xiwaoan girl killed a few days ago."

"And you really think I'd just join your group after you've threatened to kill me and my family?" Narrita said with a stomp of her foot.

"They didn't seem like your family to me," Eijnar said with a smug grin. He placed his bottle back on the table and continued to lean back in his chair. "I know the Ghenkans would never turn their backs on me, no matter the situation. They wouldn't even abandon our weakest fighter. We may be brutal, Narrita. But at least we have honor."

The captain sat upright in his seat and leaned forward on the desk, staring Narrita directly in her eyes. "That's what separate warriors from bandits. Loyalty."

Narrita remained quiet, quickly turning her head away and breaking eye contact with the captain. She stared at the floor with a somber face as Eijnar drummed his fingers across his desk. "Come on, Narrita. I know it's a bit hard to take in right now. The folks you grew up with aren't what they seemed to be. You thought you'd live and die for each other. But when that moment actually came, they left you."

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

"Because of you!" Narrita snapped. "None of this would have happened if you didn't barge into Farrowport and start making demands."

"Am I partially to blame for this?" Eijnar said as he placed his hand over his heart. "Absolutely. I'll admit that. But it still doesn't change the fact that your men abandoned you. No point in dwelling on that idealistic fantasy of yours that's been crushed. You need to focus on reality. You’re a captain with nothing to command. Let's say my plan goes perfectly. No Cutthroat dies. Farrowport submits. What happens then?"

"I... don't know..." Narrita said slowly.

"Exactly. The Cutthroats will have a taste for blood and Horace is more than willing to satiate their thirst. There's no going back to them now."

"Then I'll just... form a new crew. I've done it once. I can do it again!"

Eijnar shook his head. "You're determined. I'll give you that. But I can tell you're not thinking straight,” he said as he tapped his temple. “Must be too shaken by what just happened. And I don't blame you."

"I don't want to talk about it. Either let me go. Or end me. Because I refuse to join you and your cast of murderers."

The captain put his hand over his stomach as he let out a bellied laugh. "Always being so dramatic. No need to call for such a drastic solution for such a simple problem. Tell you what. I'll drop all the talk about my offer for now. Let's get down to business, shall we? Perhaps if you find out what's really in store, you'll have a change of heart." Eijnar slid open one of the desk's drawers and pulled out some papers. He spread them out on the surface of his desk and with a wag of his finger, invited Narrita to take a look.

"What's all this?" Narrita said as she looked down at the papers. The pages had turned yellowed with age and were torn and bent. Despite their condition, the handwriting scribbled on them were still legible. Scattered among the long expanses of text were detailed illustrations of assorted insects. Eijnar's finger pointed to a sketch of a hornet-like creature.

"This... is what's coming to Farrowport," he said sinisterly. "You'd be surprised at the vast amount of wealth and treasure that this world of ours has to offer."

"Bees? And bugs?" Narrita scoffed. "You plan on them biting the people of this island to death?"

"To a certain extent, yes. But these aren't the kind of insects you'd find in your average garden." Eijnar shuffled through the pages until he found a paper with an illustration of a maggot in the center. "We've heard rumors during our travels of a powerful race that have been dormant for generations. They once brought destruction to most of the world. First, they drove both man and beast crazy, making them fight with one another to the death. Those that managed to survive were the unlucky ones."

"Sounds like one of those tales the other kids would tell in the alleys to try and scare each other," Narrita said.

"Ah, but you see, I had heard of these tales from civilizations seas apart. They all share similar stories despite them having next to no contact from the outside world. That's when I realized that there must have been some truth to what was said."

"So what did you do, Eijnar?" an annoyed Narrita asked. "Go out searching for these mythical insects that can turn an entire country into rubble?"

"Of course! I couldn't resist the temptation of seeing them in action."

Narrita rolled her eyes to the back of her head. "And let me guess. You somehow managed to fight them and despite the myths and legends, they weren't a match for the might of the Ghenkans. Am I right?"

"I appreciate the compliment," Eijnar said as he stroked his beard. "But that's not quite what happened. The opposite, actually. Many a good men died so that we could get our hands on the last known spawn of the Insectus."

"How did a roving band of barbarians get their hands on some... mythical beasts of destruction?"

"Took a while. Close to decades. We came across so many dead ends. I was tempted to give up searching for them myself, but the journey to find them just happened to be very profitable, so me and the rest of the Ghenkans found the motivation to keep up with the search. Following the rumors led us to a small village off the coast of Bahnwa. You could fit the entire population on our ship. Not much there but a few huts and an underground shrine."

The captain lifted the paper with the image of the maggot and held in front of Narrita's face. "Found some eggs stashed away for who knows how long. Under the right conditions, they'll hatch."

Shaking, Narrita took a few steps back. "Conditions? What do you mean?"

"Proper temperature. A bit of water. And some meat for them to nibble on. But unfortunately for us, we lost them the same day as they broke out of their shells. Fell out of an escape raft along with my second-in-command when that Xiwaoan girl escaped."

"That means there's no need to worry about them, right?" Narrita asked nervously. "If they fell into the ocean then that means they're probably fish food now."

The captain shook his head. "Don't think so. They're not ones to die that easily. If anything, they're getting ready to reach the next stage in their lifecycle." Eijnar spread his arms apart. "Some will grow to have their wings be the size of my arms. And if we're really lucky, one's going to be the Queen! Probably the size of a boat!" He started laughing as he plopped himself back down in his chair. "While everyone's too busy fighting for their lives, that's when us Ghenkans swoop in to clear the island! The Farrowport Guard will have their hands full dealing with the Cutthroats, so it'll be easy pickings for us!"

"You'd... destroy an entire island?" Narrita's eyes widened as her body trembled from head to toe. "Just to steal what little the people of Farrowport have?"

"Not like it'll be the first time. Just on a larger scale. Should have seen what we did to the last village in Xiwao!"

"Let's say your crazy scheme does work. What are you going to do with the Insectus? They'll wipe you out too! And after that, they'll spread to the rest of the world!"

"You don't have to worry about us Ghenkans," Eijnar boasted. He got up from his seat and headed to the door. "I have something in mind for that Queen of theirs if she does happen to spawn." He opened the door again and offered Narrita to go through first. "I'll show you what I'm talking about."