"No Fair you said I could cook!"

"You can, you can, but seeing as it's our first night all together I wanted to do something special! Trust me it will be delicious and I will, of course, need your help."

"It will be delicious?" Mirna asks squinting at me to spot a lie. "And you'll need my help. Hmmph, I guess I have no choice, you're hopeless."

"That's right," I say with a smile. We had sailed half a day already and Mirna still seemed to be in an okay state which made me happy.

This was also a great chance to see Mirna's real skill in cooking before leaving it up to her completely. lunch was all pre-made bread so we hadn't had a chance to see her in action yet. It made me somewhat anxious.

But my thoughts were unfounded. I instructed Mirna to prepare the spices while I ground the meat.

The conversions to the measurements of this world took a bit to figure out but I was able to estimate it easy enough. Moments after I begin grinding the Sea Dragon steak, Mirna appears with the spices.

I look them over and they seem exactly like I'd make them on earth. A few things were missing but that was due to this world, not Mirna's doing.

"Perfect, this actually works better." I sprinkle the spices slowly into the bowl catching the ground dragon meat. little by little it grinds away the whole chunk. I have enough ground meat for days, but I can store it for eternity so no problems there.

"What next?" Mirna insists from below me.

"Next we get to play!"

"Play?"

"Yep." I take a handful of the meat and slap it into a thick patty before rounding the edges and again flattening it. I repeat the process until it looks about right.

Mirna has already taken a handful and begun to form it. A few chunk begin to fall so I reinforce her efforts with a hand and she successfully forms a hamburger of her own.

"Perfect," I say comparing the two.

We continue the action until everyone has two. I wasn't positive how the results would taste but again, storage.

Or I can use it as chum if it's really bad.

But I had heard that Dragon meat was 'better than beef' from Muscleman so maybe it will work.

"Ready to take them up?"

"Raw?"

"We are cooking on the deck. We will have to take the sail down but a half hour won't be too much delay."

"Oh!"

"Yep, Let's go!"

Mirna leaps up from her seat and grabs one of the plates while I take the other. I could use storage but she wants to help might as well.

"Mirna thank you for your help. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Of course," Mirna says triumphantly from the top of the stairs before dashing out the door.

~ ~

"Smells amazing!"  

"Well, I guess we will have to see huh?"

"No, Rou is right, it really does smell amazing. No doubt it will taste amazing too!"

"Ah but here is the key part," I explain lifting the burger off the makeshift grill Aqua assembled. I place it lightly on the roll I had sliced and top it with lettuce and a tomato like fruit. I capped it with mayonnaise and then set the top on.

"Behold."

I exclaim holding it into the air.

"""OH!"""

They all cry out in joy. They follow my lead and craft their burgers. Aqua applies double as much lettuce while Mirna avoids the vegetation entirely opting instead for a vast helping of mayo. I wish we had cheese but this is good enough. It really is a close beef counterpart. But it's even more soft and juicy. Each bite feels like a gulp of water.

"Amazing!" Rou says happily biting through a double meat burger with no toppings. To think she has already discovered the elusive double hamburger. Truly a fearful creature.

The burgers were mopped up in a rush. And here I thought we would have too much. We even ran out of toppings. Although I'm fairly sure I spotted Aqua munching on the lettuce. Mirna was glaring at me for a while, growling about 'difficult opponent'.

After raising the sail again we continue on the bearing towards 283. Aqua and Rou seem to think we were off to a good start. The boat was apparently faster than the two expected. Perhaps because it was basically empty. Or wouldn't that make it slower? Maybe it's because I put a point into ship speed under the [Ship stat] page.

Yeah, it's probably that.

~ ~

"Well, we will sleep in shifts. If you see anything wake me immediately. And if I see anything just continue sleeping peacefully and leave it to me!"

"Mirna won't sleep without Captain. So Mirna will stay with the captain as a lookout."

"Mirna you need your sleep properly so come sleep with us."

Mirna turns her head away from Rou's extended hand with fierce defiance on her face. A curt refusal.

Aqua looks at Rou who is glaring at me. She's giving me the impression that she wants to send me a mental message. If I were to guess it would say. 'do something.'

Aqua interjects and calms Rou down. They decide that my shift will be first, Now until midnight. And I was told in a hushed tone that I should be sure Mirna falls asleep long before our watch ends. I agreed to the terms so it was decided.

"Is that something?" Mirna asks beside me a few hours after Rou and Aqua retired.

"Looks like seaweed to me."

"Hmm, Captain's impressive."

"Why do you say that? it was just a guess really and we don't even know if I'm right yet."

"Hmm… no, but I thought about it, and either way, captain will be impressive."

"How so?"

"If it's a sea beast you will destroy it with a single fist. and if its seaweed then you are a good guesser"

"Ah, I see."

She's not wrong. But I don't know if spotting seaweed is considered impressive. I secretly hope she is right and it's a ferocious beast.

But unfortunately it was a log so we both got disheartened.

Seemingly noticing our shared state Mirna turns to me and waves me to bend down. She leans in next to my ear and gently whispers.

Stolen story; please report.

"Don't worry Captain is still amazing."

She peels away from my ear before quickly latching her lips onto my cheek with a light kiss. I was somewhat stunned so she giggled softly and ran off towards the stern of the ship.

She was a truly mysterious creature. She still felt no fear from being away from home she just ran around happily.

"Come back it's dangerous."

The only reply was a laugh in the distance.

Well, it shouldn't be an issue. I glance back at the sea and scan the distance. Still nothing. I check the time with the menu and return to watching. I wonder how Rou and Aqua tell the time?

This is a nice life. I think I have mostly gotten used to the sea at this point. I felt queasy earlier in the day but now my head feels clear. And the reflection of the moonlight on the still sea is breathtaking.

This is a peaceful life I can get used to.

Mirna sure has been awhile though. I turn back towards the deck and glance around for her figure. When I finally begin to get worried I hear a soft whistle from above. In the crows nest, I see short brown hair blowing in the wind. She gives me a toothy smile and then points towards the left.

I look towards where she was pointing but see nothing in the purple darkness. I shrug to her and she climbs down like a monkey.

"It's a boat." She explains once her feet hit the deck.

"A boat? Out here?" I pull out the map while she glances in the direction of the ship.

"It's hard to see down here, but the moon lit it up from up there. I'm sure of it."

"Hmm, I'd say we are here right now," I say pointing next to a small black dot. "Maybe they are visiting 282?"

"Wierd boat."

"What was weird?"

"Blue."

"The boat was blue?"

"Looked like."

"Strange. Should we wake Rou and Aqua and see if they know anything? It could be someone dangerous."

"Hmm…" Mirna ponders rubbing her chin. "Elf?"

"Elf?"

"Elf ships are purple I've heard. Could be."

"Interesting. Are elves friendly with humans?"

"Mirna's never met one. But hear they're nice."

"Did the ship have its sail raised?"

"No sail, no mast."

"No mast? Is it a row boat or something?"

"Damage probably. Adrift maybe?"

"Let's drop the sail for now continue watch and then investigate tomorrow if Aqua and Rou agree to it."

"Yes, Captain," Mirna says with a salute before running off to loosen the sail. I operate the pulley and bundle it properly, I doubt it will rain but better safe than sorry.

When we finish I return to watch and Mirna curls up into a ball near my legs. She claims I am warm. She began to wobble so I wrapped my jacket around her and lift her up like a princess. She smiles sleepily and hugs her body closer lightly sniffing me. It was somewhat strange but I didn't mind it so I will keep quiet and let her sleep.

~ ~

At first light, we discussed the plan. It wasn't exactly much of a plan though. We would investigate the ship and the island it was near. If we met with the elves we would see if they needed aid. If we find nothing we will just continue towards our destination. Everyone seems slightly on edge though. Understandably so, we may be walking into a danger or even an ambush of some kind.

They became even more wary when I told them we had no weapons or armor. Perhaps I rushed a bit leaving town…   

In any case, neither Rou or Aqua seem to have more information about the elves. Just fragments of stories, some contradicted each other. Lifespan was hotly debated between the three. Each had heard a different statistic. But it was unanimous that the elves were kind. That gave me some reasurance but the whole situation was still wierd.

Why are elves so far from the elven forest? Aren't elves reclusive?

Brushing off the worries I pull the sail and tie it off. We are only flying half the sail, we want to be able to bail in a hurry should the need arise.

Mirna is in the crows nest she points out the direction of the ship in relation to us until we are near enough to see it.

It was indeed purplish blue. Beautiful but severely damaged. It seems like it was attacked by a sea monster of some kind.

"Be on guard," I warn as we near it, but then I realize why it was so still. "Turn, lest we want to be beached again!"

Rou spun the wheel rapidly and I yank a few more feet of rope from the sail, increasing our speed enough to dodge the sandbar.

This place is dangerous.

"Let's find some deeps and head towards the island. If anyone survived they'd be there. Doesn't look like it's been here too long."

"Roger!" Rou says, instructing Aqua to stand on the bowsprit to watch for sandbars.

We limp our way towards the island avoiding near beachings a few times. Aqua acting as a watch was vastly helpful. Even Mirna in the nest had trouble spotting them before her.

"See anything?" I shout to Aqua as we near the small forested island.

I say small but that's only according to the map. It's easily a few hundred times the size of marrow. A small rocky patch sits off to the west and the part we face has a deep cove, as well as a sandy coast. It's fairly ideal really.

We drop the anchor, and Aqua instantly leaps off the ship and begins paddling towards the island. I glance at Rou but she simply shrugs.

"Don't go too far!" I shout towards her. I receive a thumbs up so she seems to understand.

Not wanting to be left behind we lower the ladder and begin to swim towards the island.

I notice oyster shells as soon as we reach the beach so it's possible we could find our target here, but I won't hold my breath. First, we need to look for survivors. We had to circle around quite a few sandbars so we will need to walk a bit.

"Let the rescue mission begin!"

"""Roger."""