The knock woke Seko from a dreamless slumber, yanking him from the quiet comfort of sleep. He still had on a shirt and trousers, so he opened the door as he was. Cria stood on the other side and wore an expression of surprise. She looked him up and down and laughed.

"I didn't realize the captain slept through the day."

"Is there something I can help you with?" He wasn't entirely keen on the concept of entertaining at the moment. She was a guest of theirs, and would receive the proper hospitality that the position entailed, but he wasn't going to pretend to be excited about the prospect.

"Yes, actually, can I come in to-" Crias eyes glanced behind Seko and her words fell to the floor. Seko's room was the smallest on the floor, something he took great pride in, and barely had the furniture requisite to consider it an actual "captains" chamber. "Well, is there somewhere we can talk?"

"The Navigation room," He said, pointing across the hall, "It's our place of meeting when things need discussed. Shall we go?"

"Would you like to get a bit more dressed? It's the afternoon."

Seko groaned and closed the door to dress himself in the proper garbs of the captain he so regularly pretended to be. Am I fooling myself now? Am I really a pirate? He shoved aside a boot and pulled over a coat, it wasn't something he needed to think on right now. It wasn't something he wanted to think of anyway.

They made their way into the navigation room and sat across from each other at a small circular table set into the corner. Two high backed chairs of elder wood and patched cotton were perched on either side, giving them their uncomfortable and uneasy seating arrangement. Seko shifted in his chair as he pulled over a brewing stand, they weren't anything special but the convenience they provided was invaluable.

"No rum? Aren't you a pirate?" Cria asked with a wry grin creeping across her face

"I was a nobleman first, and I don't need the taste of it so soon after waking." He paused, considering the hypocrisies of the statement, "Well, not always."

The Brewing stand consisted of a medium sized kettle sat atop a metal tripod, beneath the center of the kettles housing and connecting all three legs together was a single gewel. Typically a ruby. The gewel only acted as a source of heat if someone placed a fire spell into it, and so it made the storage of the device much safer. Seko had been incredibly proud when he'd purchased the device second hand at a market one drunken night. Tea had always been a bit more to his taste for polite conversation.

He pulled the internal strings of the dancing magical lines within himself and focused them to his right palm. He felt the spot he focused on grow prickly and tense. Fire! Nothing happened. Seko sighed and tried to hid his disappointment. He clenched his fist slowly and felt the energy move through his fingers, filling everything up to the nails with the feeling of being stabbed by a thousand tiny pins.

"For Konudepa." Seko mumbled. Hand still moving through the slow clenching to a fist, Sekos palm lit in a sudden burst of ermarld flames. They danced around his hand and in his palm, filling him with a gentle warmth that reminded him of the summers back home. He placed his hand to the ruby igniter and watched the energy flow from him into the Gewel, causing it to adopt a purplish hue. "There now, truly a marvel of the ages."

"Tea?" Cria asked, she scrunched her nose in feigned disgust, "really now, isn't that a bit too imperial?"

"To enjoy both the advancements of modern magic and the benefits of agriculture? I should say not." Seko adopted his truly horrendous Noble mans voice as he finished the statement. In truth, it was just the voice their head butler had used when he was mocking Sekos father, always in good fun and at the young boy's request.

"Well, you're certainly not what I expected. Your brother fits the bill of 'pirate degenerate' much better."

"Yes, well, we all have our talents and faults." He eyed Cria carefully, she seemed to be growing more relaxed as the conversation continued. "You said you had something to discuss?"

"That's right," She paused. Cria was clearly bothered by something, she bit her lower lip and looked as if she wanted to leave. Is she forcing herself?

"If its something you're not ready to-"

"No!" She said it louder than Seko had expected and he was taken aback at the volume "No, thats not the issue. Its just... its something that you might want to know. Both of you, but your brother doesn't seem to be as interested in the idea of-"

"Talking?" Seko asked

"Listening." Cria corrected "Something you seem to be better at, if only just."

"What is it?" The kettle screamed and Seko lifted the metal from the heat and poured the water in to two cups he set aside, having placed an amount of leaves and bits in beforehand. The steaming clear liquid poured into the spaces and began to turn a brilliant golden color. "Here, careful though. It's hot and needs to steep."

"Thank you." She took the cup happily and placed it before her.

"So what should we both know about you?"

"I am also of a nobility, of sorts."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Right," He tried reaching into his memory for what exactly she may mean, "you mentioned the Free Coasts like you were somehow a name there."

"I am, or my family is, anyway. The point is that my house is in a bad way. Those bastards from across the void sea are burning and raiding along the coasts of both the Empire and the surrounding peoples." The anger was slipping into her voice, raising its volume in small increments, "They don't care who or what they kill so long as they get the supplies they want. They're as bad as the damned Empire!"

"I understand. My House is in no better shape, but what does the Void Sea and the Holy Republic have to do with it? Are they raiding your lands in excess?"

"Not necessarily," She said. He'd struck something, he didn't know what, but he was sure he had. Cria was looking more and more like a cat being cornered, trying to make the desperate calculations of how best to escape with as little investment in it as possible.

"But I am being hindered by these attacks. I can't help the people if they're too busy dying to raids before they can die to disease."

"So what does this have to do with the treasure. I understand your situation and I feel for you, but opinion alone is not enough to sway this crew. Nor is it enough to stop Yan forever."

"I need the item in that horde so that I can return and offer it to the Free Merchants Council. If they have something they can use against the Invaders then...then...then maybe theres a still a chance." A silent tear fell from her eye and ran down her cheek. Seko did his best to ignore it, he was never good at emotions in the best of times. He didn't want to stick himself in the middle of something that was obviously hurting this Arcanist, an arcanist strong enough to need the chains of demons and Arch mages.

"I understand, I really do." Seko went to extend his hand across the table but stopped when he realized the gesture would be moot. Cria was better, if she had ever been anything other than that to begin with. When he looked to her again she was composed once more and the tear streak was gone.

It must be hard to live that way, all that power and no way of using it to help the people around you. An impotent god amongst a gaggle of unpredictable mortals. He didn't really know what he'd do if his magic were anything other than the most minute of abilities, would he also be so reliant on it? Would he feel the same if he were stuck in that position? No, i'm not like that. I find a way, even if it takes nearly all I have. She will too, shes not weak. Shes just alone.

It was a hard fact to come to terms with, being alone. Being separated from the entirety of your life and all you called comfort. He'd felt the same during the shore leaves and times away from the seas and sails. He was a sailor now, and provided he had the opportunity for occasional nights in port, he wasn't going to change that. Cria would be no different, she seemed the sort to have an iron will and find a way through, emotions just had a way of revealing the mask was all. He coughed and tried to continue.

"It's a shame what's happening with the armies of the Holy Republic and the Empire, a lot of innocents caught up in the battle. The void is the unknown in this all, the invaders are still just people."

"People or not, they have magic. Not lesser magics, real honest to goodness magic."Cria said

"Magic was a gift from the creator and the Elder Dragons. It shouldn't be a surprise that others across the Void have the same."

Cria sipped from the cup and seemed to relax her shoulders, she was more tense than he'd noticed. The tea seemed to be a welcome drink for her, something other than the ordinary.

"Whats the issue?" He asked "The real issue, you're not talking about anything currently." Seko rested the cup beside him and stared the woman down. If she wasn't going to approach the subject naturally, then he'd take the actions to start the process. "What has you so rattled?"

"I need help, Seko." She folded her arms and leaned back, less in a stand-off and more as a defense. "I have no desire to ask for the aid, but I'm afraid that if I don't, then I'll be the end of my legacy."

"Quite a weight on your shoulder." Seko said, feeling a wave of understanding wash over him. "Is this just about the invaders?"

"It's never so simple." She said frowning. "But largely yes."

"What are you looking for in the treasure horde?"

"A sphere, I think. Attached to a blade. A focus really,"

"Those Magical enhancement things? Rare piece of work those." Seko whistled and leaned back to consider the option. Focuses were rare, and valuable. The power they provided was beyond anything that a regular gem, jewel, or Gewel could provide. "Are you sure its there?"

"The journal mentions bits and pieces of the treasure hordes items, one is the sphere. And thats what I'm interested in." Cria rest an arm on the table and pinched her brow. "A piece that has become more and more of a nuisance for me."

"What does it do?" Seko asked

"It's a focus, it increases power and helps you channel. Come now, surely you know that."

"I mean," Seko said, wire tightening in his voice, "how do you know it will help? What is it supposed to do, exactly."

"Is it important?" Cria asked

"It could be," He said, "I'm not sure."

"If it doesn't matter to complete the journey, then I'd like to request it remain private and personal."

He didn't like that, nothing in his body said that personal secrets were safe when it came to dangerous magical treasures. He hadn't been a pirate for very long yet, but that much he was at least sure on.

"Is it cursed?"

"The focus?" Cria seemed genuinely surprised by the question. "Is that normally the case?"

"Its possible. Can't say for sure." He paused, “Vel had mentioned a curse.”

“No, there isn’t one as far as I know.”

Cria pursed her lips and looked around. The maps of the room were posted around the walls, and the actual maps for planning were rolled and bound in a corner within a cabinet. The map on the table was a brief run up of the surrounding routes of the Expanse Strait, with the marks seeming to be fairly accurate.

"Have you figured anything out with the journal?"

"Thats Yans department, not mine." Seko said

"Hes the scholarly type?" Cria asked

"He likes to read, one of the few times he isn't trying to kill, fuck, or drink. I'm not going to put a stop to it."

"Right."

Cria stood and pushed the cup closer to him, indicating her lack of interest in continuing. Whether the reason was the conversation or the drink, he wasn't sure. Seko stood as well and made to follow her.

"I think," She said "That I have told you all I wish to for now. Once we get moving on the actual finding of the treausre, then we'll talk again."

"Fine," Seko said "No issue with me. Just make sure you aren't too much of a burden on the crew in the Arc room. Thats my section, and I don't want to have to repair anything else."

Cria winked and dipped her head in acknowledgement, then opened the door, leaving Seko alone in the chamber and with two room temperature cups of an average tea.