The ships don’t look as bad as expected.

Levent and Burhan walked towards the vessels which would take them on their great odyssey. Burhan kept Levent close by his side, mindful of the threat breathing down their necks.

They arrived in front of the ship and were received by a young man. He had brown skin, amber eyes and black hair, combed backwards to land on his shoulders.

That’s a human, not an elf. Surprisingly clean, though. Doesn’t look too much older than me.

"Welcome, welcome. My name is Juan. Come aboard the Drowsy Plum. General Bo wants to see you."

Juan gave both of them a nod. "What names should I address you with?"

Huh, interesting phrasing. Does Burhan expect me to give him a fake name?

"I am Burhan, pleased to meet you."

That answers that.

"Levent."

With the introductions taken care of, they made their way unto the deck of the ship and walked towards the rear end, where the general’s quarter was located.

On board, the crew was shuffling cargo around. More cargo than a vessel of that size could possibly fit, a fact that didn’t escape Levents notice. Another thing that stuck out to him were the cows and lambs milling about on a field of grass that was set into the ship's deck. Keeping the livestock took up a sizeable chunk of space.

Odd. Quite the sophisticated use of magic though, to keep that running while on sea.

The group passed some of the crew, mostly elves, on their way to meet General Bo. Busy as they were, they didn’t spare them much attention. Levent, on the other hand, observed them carefully and was, yet again, surprised by their cleanliness. In fact, he was forced to admit that he could not describe them as anything but well maintained.

Are they no pirates after all or are pirates not as rowdy a bunch as I was told?

He peeked at Burhan to gauge his reaction, but it seemed the man treated the situation as nothing out of the ordinary.

They arrived in front of General Bo’s quarter. Juan knocked at the door and took a step back to wait for General Bo.

A few moments later the door swung open and a tall elf emerged behind it. He was clothed in fine garments, had broad shoulders and long, dark hair with two thin braids.

To Levent the man looked like he was slightly younger than Burhan, who was twenty nine years old, but appearances could be deceptive. Even more so when Mana came into play, or in the case of most elves, Qi. That was not even taking into account an elves naturally slower ageing process.

He is at least forty. Looks strong.

"You look dirty."

Levent was taken aback. He didn’t expect anyone to greet him in such a manner. While he was exceedingly conscious of his current lack of power, his inclination to just stand there and be disrespected remained slim.

He took a scant moment too long to respond, however, which Burhan used to interject himself.

"Thanks for granting us a place amongst your crew, General Bo. We only arrived in this town at dawn, in an inn that offers a bath only on labor days, thus our unkempt appearance. I reckon there’s a place on this ship to get ourselves clean?"

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The general chuckled. "I reckon there is. Who would’ve thought, eh?" He gave Levent a look, with an expression he couldn’t quite read.

It’s almost like he knows that I expected them to be dirty. Does he have a mind reading abilities?

Levent considered this.

Unlikely, but not impossible.

"Well," he clasped his hands, "We didn’t meet yet, boy. What’s your name?"

Levent shook his head in an almost imperceptible manner, choosing not to waste any words on this man.

The general seemed unperturbed by the youth's unresponsivenes.

He gestured towards the crew and the other ship, docked next to the one they were standing on and said, "I am responsible for all of this. So before you are allowed to live amongst us, you must agree to follow certain rules." He pointed his finger in Levents direction and said, "Especially you."

Tch. What an annoying guy, you can count yourself lucky I can’t have you flogged.

"The first rule," General Bo continued, "Is to do as you are told."

After disclosing the first rule, General Bo let his eyes wander, starring at something in the distance. Levent followed his gaze, his mind immediately jumping to the possibility of it being soldiers in service of the Empire of Cretulm.

He was unable to notice anything out of the ordinary. He took a quick glance at Burhan, who seemed as relaxed as their situation allowed, soothing Levent with his calm demeanor.

Unwilling to let the silence stretch on Levent asked, "And the other rules are?"

General Bo rubbed his chin like he was in deep thought. "No, that’s it. You seem like you will have trouble doing even this much."

Levent gave the general a tight-lipped smile. It usually wasn’t easy to get a rise out of him, but General Bo made short work of it. Coupled with all the things that happened to him in recent weeks, Levent’s pent up emotions made him dismiss the possible consequences of an outburst.

Carefully intoning every word he said, "You. Little. Shit st-"

That was all Levent managed, before his voice abruptly stopped carrying sound. He was still trying to insult the general, yet nothing more than hot air came out of his mouth.

"Thank you for dropping by. Juan will show you around the ship."

With the introductions taken care of, General Bo turned around and closed the door behind himself.

<><><><><><><>

After giving the new passengers a warm welcome, Bo retreated into his quarter. To be approached by a man like Burhan, just before setting sail, was almost too good to be true. While Bo usually wouldn’t consider allowing anyone aboard of their ships on such short notice, he quickly changed his mind when the man revealed what he had to offer.

Knowledge of Sigils. Bo could barely believe his luck.

The Canine Company was already on a rising tide, adding new Sigils to their arsenal would bring them one step closer to their goals.

"I guess we are at a level where the prey offers itself to us of their own volition," Bo chuckled.

Not just anyone had knowledge of Sigils, Bo was well aware of that. Burhan had told him he was not affiliated to the Enchanter’s Guild, which left two options. He was either a noble or an unaffiliated sigilcrafter. The former was more likely than the latter, courtesy of the Enchanter’s Guild’s efforts to guard their craft by any means.

Burhans insistence to bring along his companion was far outweighed by the value he could provide as a temporary asset, even more so if he decided to join the crew in the future.

After their initial meeting, Burhan had left to get his companion. When Bo saw the boy, his hunch regarding their noble background solidified.

It were the small things that gave it away, like Levent’s hair color, deep red like the ripest cherries, a trait unique to the people of some regions in the southern lands. Incidentally one of these regions was Ozkan, a middle sized kingdom that was recently conquered by the Empire of Cretulm.

From what he had heard, Ozkan's seat of power was razed to the ground, the royal bloodline exterminated.

Bo would bet everything and then some that their guests managed to get away and somehow ended up in the care of the Canine Corsair’s. It would at least explain why a southern looking sigilcrafter would turn up in a small port town.

"One mans misfortune is another ones treasure or so I’ve heard."

Ultimately, it wasn’t Bo’s concern.

Taking a seat at his desk, Bo took a Talisman and bamboo brush out of his desks drawer. With practiced motions he wrote a letter to Ling Chu, informing her that the crew would arrive at their meeting point in about two months.

He checked the letter to see if he forgot to mention anything noteworthy. He didn’t.

Bo proceeded to cover the Talisman with his Qi, causing it to rapidly evaporate. The thin, odorless fog wafting through his room was the only indicator of the message he had just sent.

With everything taken care of, he left his quarter to check on the crew. Most of them were on the main deck, having finished with the preparations while he was in his quarter. The ships were ready to sail.

A satisfied grin spread across Bo’s face. "Looks like we are ready to depart."