Cyll’s eyes widened imperceptibly and he drew in a sharp breath. Maya could practically see the thoughts rattling through his head through the expressions on his face.

“Holy shit,” Cyll finally breathed. “You’re right. There’s no way he could have escaped the dungeon once he went inside it. I highly doubt Akrun would happily let anyone go if it didn’t benefit him.”

“Exactly. Which means that he either has some sort of tie to Akrun, or he’s strong enough to escape without one. He’s also got a boat, and I don’t think a god made it. It’s way too plain. So that means he either somehow got out with his boat intact or stole a new one.”

“Did you forget the whirlpool?” Cyll asked dryly. “There’s no way in the four seas Humbol navigated his boat through that, let it fall who knows how far under the ocean, then flew it out to safety. If that’s his old boat, he rebuilt it completely.”

The immortal pirate drummed his fingers on his knee impatiently. He subconsciously chewed his bottom lip. Then he repressed a curse.

“He threw the fight against me, didn’t he?” Cyll asked. “I can’t see any way how someone strong enough to either deal with Akrun or escape that dungeon would lose that easily. He lost on purpose.”

“It’s certainly a possibility we have to consider,” Maya said, giving her crewmate a weary nod. “We’ll need to keep an eye on him until we figure out what his actual motive is.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t mention anything about the Heart,” Cyll said.

He rose to his feet, massaging his forehead with one hand.

“I’m going back to the wheel to make sure we’re on course. We should just count ourselves lucky that the stars didn’t change too much in the past ten thousand years.”

The immortal pirate left his captain sitting in her quarters. He ascended the stairs and returned to the wheel, not showing any restraint with the suspicious looks he sent at Humbol. The jewelry loving man didn’t acknowledge the attention he was receiving. He was either asleep or still pretending to be.

Maya drifted off into an early sleep within her cabin as Patty left Humbol’s side to talk with Cyll. The immortal pirate updated her on his talk with Maya as the two boats continued silently through the sea.

The sun passed overhead in a lazy arc. It soon sank below the horizon. Day turned to night turned to day once again. The crew continued prying at Humbol, but the man was as slippery as an eel. Personal questions were deflected or ignored, and any mention of his crew just caused him to laugh and wave his hand dismissively.

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Before they knew it, a week had passed. A large landmass appeared on the horizon. The ocean narrowed to a massive river that wove inland. A city sat at the edge of the land, split in two by the river.

A massive gate had been erected before the watery path inland to restrict passage, likely to collect taxes. All four of the pirates watched the city approaching with unveiled interest.

“I assume that’s Greenhill?” Maya asked.

“It is,” Humbol said, cutting Cyll off before he could answer. The immortal pirate shot Humbol a glare, but the decorated man ignored him.

“Aren’t you going to get back on your own ship?” Maya asked. “They might have some questions if it just rolls in on its own. And your crew can finally come out now, right? Since we won’t be at sea anymore.”

“Oh, they’re used to me,” Humbol replied, chuckling. He gave Maya a dismissive wave. “And my crew abhors Greenhill. It’s a necessity, but none of them enjoy partaking in the city’s goods. They’ll stay within my ship and make sure it’s safe from poachers.”

“Should we be worried about that?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow. “I would have thought a large city would have some form of guard to protect docked ships.”

“Oh, they do,” Humbol replied with a glower. “Those are the ones that steal your ship.”

“I’ll stay to watch the ship when we dock,” Patty offered. “I doubt this city will be much more interesting than Bulsen.”

“It isn’t,” Humbol agreed. “The only thing of interest they have is the path inland, and they already charge dearly for it.”

“Thank you, Patty,” Maya said, forcing her way past Humbol’s incessant talking. “I promise we’ll be quick inside the city. We just need to get passage and we’ll be back on the boat.”

“And a spyglass,” Cyll said, shooting Humbol a dirty look. “Just in case some pests decide to chase us.”

“Can’t imagine who would do something so distasteful,” Humbol said with a completely straight face. He shuddered.

Their banter lessened as Greenhill started to draw itself in more detail. Just as the sun was getting close to its zenith, they entered the docks. Cyll and Patty masterfully slowed the Wavedance, raising the sail and lowering the anchor to come to a smooth stop.

Humbol wordlessly darted back to his ship, thrusting his hands into the air. His sail slackened and a violent gust appeared in front of his ship, slamming it to a halt inches before the wooden docks.

He gave them a cocky grin and sauntered onto the dock, giving them a small bow. A small portly man carrying a clipboard approached him and cleared his throat loudly. Humbol spun theatrically, pretending to jump in surprise when he ‘noticed’ the man.

“My apologies,” Humbol said, his accent thickening. “I did not see you there.”

“This is the third time you’ve been here in a month,” the small man growled. “We said you were permitted to dock at Greenhill occasionally, not make a second home here. And now you’ve brought a foreign ship with you?”

Maya and Cyll exchanged a glance. The man’s words weren’t lost on them.

“They are entirely trustworthy,” Humbol said, raising his nose into the air indignantly. “My word. They are simply here to seek safe passage through the river gate.”

“We’ll see about that,” the man said irritably. “Docking fee, please.”

Humbol grandiosely plucked a gem encrusted ring from one hand and plopped it in the man’s pudgy hand. The guard’s eyes widened and the trinket disappeared into his pocket.

“The river gate opens tomorrow for a fleet that’s passing through. They’ve already paid the operation fees, I’ll see what I can do to sneak you through with them,” the man said, turning on his heel and leaving without another word.