By the time Ashwind was nothing but a small speck on the horizon behind them, Maya and Cyll had been traveling for several hours. Luckily, the road was well traveled and it had been paved with small gravel, making it much easier on their feet.

The two pirates passed many other people as they walked, but nobody paid them any attention and they returned the favor. The road came to a branch about halfway through their journey. One led deeper midland while the other was nothing more than a small footpath that followed the coast.

Maya and Cyll headed along the footpath. Within minutes, it became clear that this way was not well traveled. The paving grew worse and potholes peppered the ground. Nobody else was walking the road as far as they could see.

“This is as good a place to take a short break as any,” Maya said, stepping off the road and into the sandy ground beside it.

Cyll took that as another opportunity to eat a steamed bun. They were cold at this point, but that didn’t seem to bother the pirate much.

“Works for me, Cap,” Cyll said amiably.

“You’ve awakened your magic, right?” Maya asked as they sat down.

“Sure have. Why?”

“Well, I’ve got no clue what it is. You did that green flying stuff when we got out of the prison, but aside from that…” Maya trailed off and shrugged.

Cyll scratched his head and offered Maya a bun, which she took.

“Actually, the flying was more of a one time thing,” Cyll said. “It was a single use ability given to me by an old friend before he died. I didn't even have the strength to use it before you healed me.”

“Oh. I’m sorry about that, but to be honest, that only makes me even more confused. What the heck can you do?”

“Time,” Cyll said after a long pause. “It’s easier to show you than to explain it. Get your sickle out and try to hit me.”

Maya raised an eyebrow, but they stood up and she drew her weapon as instructed. She flicked it out and it slashed across Cyll’s chest, cutting through his shirt and leaving a thin bloody furrow in its wake.

Cyll’s skin shimmered like a mirage. The wound was gone. Maya blinked and peered closer at her crewmate’s chest. At Cyll’s encouraging nod, she slashed him again, deeper this time. Just like before, the wound vanished.

“By the four seas… you’re immortal!” Maya exclaimed.

“Not exactly. Cut my head off or kill me before I can react, I'm dead. But in all other cases..” Cyll trailed off and shrugged. “Say, give me my change of clothes.I can fix myself, but my shirt keeps its holes.”

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Maya reached into her bag and ruffled around for the two sets of clothes she’d bought for them back in Ashwind. She tossed Cyll’s set over, and he wasted no time in stripping his clothes off and changing into the new ones. Since he didn’t care much for decency, Maya did the same.

“So…that’s why those people had to lock you up? You can’t be killed?” Maya asked.

“Essentially. Don’t get the wrong idea though, this doesn’t make me the strongest man to ever live. I might be pretty hard to kill, but I’m not much use on the offense side. In that regard, what you see is what you get.”

“That’s amazing,” Maya said, slowly reaching out to cut him again with her sickle. Cyll gave her a sharp look and she retracted her hand like a stung child.

“I still feel pain, you know,” Cyll said. “Put the pointy object away.”

Maya put the sickle back with a reluctant sigh. Cyll noticed her dejected look and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get you a replacement for your Life-spark. I promise,” Cyll said.

“Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can start with after you saved my life,” Cyll said, patting her on the back.

“You did save mine and train me how to fight for ten years,” Maya pointed out. Cyll just scoffed.

“Bah. I was bored. That doesn’t count,” Cyll said. He paused for a moment, lost in thought. “Now, lets get a move on. We don’t want your Ashwind friends catching up to us.”

Maya nodded and the two of them set off once again. However, they only managed to travel two more hours before something caught their attention at the side of the road. Both of them froze as a prickling sensation wrapped around them like a cold blanket.

“Dungeon,” they both whispered at the same time.

“I didn’t know there was a dungeon here,” Maya said. “It might have just popped up. Should we check it out?”

“You’re the captain. But I haven’t done a good dungeon run in…ah, far too long. My bones are itching for some Essence, and it couldn’t hurt to see what loot is in there,” Cyll said.

“Agreed,” Maya said.

The sensation was coming from within a small forest to the right side of the beaten road. The two of them broke off the path and started towards it. Maya led the way through the dense trees, grimacing as they plucked and scraped against her. The air grew more charged with every step they took. Wildlife grew quiet and even the wind slid to a stop.

A minute of pushing through the foliage later, the two emerged into a small clearing. A mound of stone with a rectangular hole sat in the center. The two pirates exchanged an amused glance.

“You think this is it?” Maya asked.

“It’s real subtle. Whatever’s in this thing really wants us to pay it a visit,” Cyll observed.

“I suggest we oblige it. Who are we to deny such a polite welcome?” Maya said, starting towards the rock.

She paused right in front of it and glanced back at Cyll.

“Ah, maybe…”

“Yeah, I should probably go first,” Cyll agreed.

Cyll stepped past Maya and strode up to the rectangular entrance with his captain on his heels. As they had suspected, the rectangular hole was a staircase that descended into the rock. All but the first few steps were shrouded in darkness.

After checking his surroundings one more time, Cyll stepped down onto the first stair. He let out a garbled choke as an arrow appeared from the darkness and buried itself in his throat. A moment later, the arrow fell to the ground and Cyll kicked it angrily.

“That was rude. You’ll pay for that!” Cyll yelled into the dungeon before bounding down the stairs. Arrows peppered into him with every step, but the pirate just ignored them as he descended into the dungeon.

Maya placed a hesitant foot on the staircase, but whoever was shooting was clearly preoccupied with Cyll. She shrugged and descended into the darkness after her new friend.