What is he thinking?! Seko sat on the sand with his boots off and let the lapping waves run over his tired feet. The crew were either asleep or still drinking their cares away onboard the ship or around the shoreside fire. He would have joined them, but Yan had returned and had begun mingling with the crew, Seko wasn't sure what about, but he wasn't in any mood to speculate.

Yan had openly and violently disagreed with everyone, about what the best course of action was. Had he been a regular crewman he'd have been hung or shot, but he was a Captain, which meant that his words had some weight. It didn't matter if the entire Arc team agreed with Seko about something decidedly Arcane, because Yan still had his opinion and ultimately the Arc crew was more of Sekos pet project. Some of the crew hadn't trusted them when they'd first joined, and now was no different.

Seko tried picking up a rock and found his grip slipped as if he'd grabbed the corner, letting it fall to the ground. He sighed and adjusted to pick up the stone, feeling its heft with a strange sense of contentment. Something weird was going on with the Island, whether that had to do with Dotan or whether it had anything to do with anything at all was another story, but they needed to find something.

"Perhaps I can take them up the Bonsuian Coast, Yan would appreciate the plundering."

It wasn't the worst idea, but he'd hate every second of it. Whenever they raided, Yan always worked the crew up into something of a frenzy, and it was becoming more and more difficult to walk them down. Still, if it helped ease the burden of another lost treasure then that was enough, right?

Then there was the useless Treasure Island and pointless sphere that they were currently obsessed with, Seko had tried to put the matter of the orb away from his mind but had only managed to dwell on it in the moments between thoughts. It couldn't just be useless, could it? Travel all this far and chase that legend, nearly get eaten, just for a failed hunt?

Seko set his jaw and puffed his chest. No, no, it wouldn't be that way. He'd take that damned orb to every port on the coasts if he needed to. He'd redeem this journey, even if it took a lifetime. This was the treasure of the Pirate Lord Dotan Depairyo, and even if they'd been wrong on certain specifics, the gewels had still been where it said. The hut still reacted to the energy within, and the sphere still had an effect on this place.

He stood and marched toward the buried orb, kicking aside some sand to better find it. There you are, you little bastard. Seko knelt and inspected the object once more, hoping to find a solution in the inscrutable reflection of the metal's finish. It was as absent of information as any other rock or stone, so instead he picked it up. He missed again on the first try, and angrily wretched the thing from the sand.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Damned double vision, not even drunk." He shook the Orb in frustration.

A sharp pain ran through his arm as he felt the normal tendrils of energy he controlled be pulled into a forceful vacuum. He tried to drop it, but couldn't get his hand to release its grip. Seko bit back a scream of pain and gripped his arm, willing the force to subside. A flicker of light caught his eye and he looked up to see a line being drawn into the world.

It was thin, and green. It split down the center of the mountain opening and dipped below the water's surface. Then it widened, slowly and steadily increasing in size, opening to reveal a full green light splitting the mountain. The pain faded as Seko was caught awestruck as a gargantuan door opened before him, causing the water on both sides to flow inward and vanish into the door.

"Are you certain?" Abin folded the parchment and leaned over her desk.

The captain's cabin of the Swallows Tears was small, but she had made sure to include the minimum required luxuries of a proper naval captain. Mainly, a desk from which one could sit behind and present an air of authority that was rivaled only by the judges stands in the home courts. None would stand before her, as she had for her captains, and not feel the weight and pressure of the captain.

"Aye captain," The man struck a stiff salute after handing over the folded paper. "A Boku from the northern scouts reported a ship matching its description. Headed for a crescent island near Panwe."

"Well, that's rather convenient. Have the helmsman informed of the change, and see to it that the engine crews work double for the next night." She dismissed the man with a wave and leaned back to ponder in the silence of the empty cabin.

Her candles flickered behind their aged glass housing, casting wild dancing shadows over the world and basking all in its amber glow. The Pasongunan had survived. That was something she was going to have to deal with, more than being tricked and left to think they were dead, the captain of that ship had near convinced her they'd fail in the process.

She took a sip from her coffee and looked once over the maps on the table. Sea charts with descriptions of the current ships on routes for trade or defense in the surrounding areas. They'd managed to secure the charts before leaving nearly a month ago, hoping to use it to chase down their prey. If they'd failed to secure the large number of coins from the Treasure Galleon, then it was possible that they would need to strike again, and Abin would be ready for them.

What she hadn't expected was a report stating they'd forgone any raids or boarding and instead worked to pass right through the strait with as little activity as possible. They were pirates afterall, shouldn't they have been more focused on the gold and jewels onboard the vessels? Instead, they were now heading for some strange island that bore more rumors than an unwed noble.

Worse yet were the rumors always seemed to change. Cursed this, haunted that, ancient treasure, untold power, blah blah. It was always the same for those of the Sea without a modicum of understanding for how the world worked. They figured they could just steal and plunder anything they so desired, but Abin was of no mind to let that pass. No, she would find them and bring them in. They would feel the hangman noose tighten around their cowardly throats.

"Less than a day and you'll be mind, wretched worms."