Rep and Zalan waited for Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick to further explain himself and the favor he needed done, but he stood silently. There was a proud smile on his face, his teeth shining brightly as if waiting for a camera to flash his picture. Rep and Zalan exchanged a confused glance, then pressed onward.

“Uhhh… what do you need us to do for you?” Zalan asked.

“It is quite the travesty, really,” Captain Buttonwillow immediately replied, bowing his head low in a show of disgrace. He even brought his hat lower over his eyes, casting shameful shadows on his face. “My ability to disembark on this ship is not determined by myself, but another. I would love to go on the daring — and dare I say dashing — adventure, but alas I am hindered by the words of my benefactor. If, perhaps, someone were to be able to convince my benefactor to let us set sail, I would be more than willing.”

“Who is this benefactor?” Rep asked.

“The Mother of the Port has final say on all travels that this great ship The Aegeusson takes part in. If you have received her blessing, then my crew and I would be at your service,” Captain Buttonwillow bowed his head in deference.

“The Mother of the Port?” Zalan asked both Rep and the captain.

“The ne’er do wells and lesser men refer to her simply as ‘Ma.’ She can be found in the large white building at the end of the docks there!” Captain Buttonwillow spun in place, then struck a pose as he pointed out the large white mansion. It was covered in flowers and plants, one of the few signs of affluence on the docks outside the ships themselves. It stood out in stark contrast to the small, drab buildings around it. It felt like the mansion towered over the port itself, watching the ongoings of this side of town with a stern, judgemental gaze.

“So we just talk to her and you’ll give us a ride to the Island of Remains?” Zalan clarified.

“I would do so not only with aplomb, but with gusto!” the captain smiled.

“Why do you need us to do this?” Zalan asked. “You can’t just ask her yourself?”

“I already know the riposte I would receive if I dared to approach the Mother of the Port myself. But she is a more than reasonable woman when it comes to her guests,” Captain Buttonwillow assured them.

The captain’s crew began gathering on deck to see who he was talking to. Zalan saw two young men and an equally young woman watching them closely.

“I suppose we can try to pay her for use of one of her ships and its crew,” Rep said to Zalan.

“Please, no!” the captain shouted suddenly.

Rep and Zalan stared at him, wondering if it was another quirk. He looked scared for them. The crew looked concerned behind him, shaking their heads in agreement.

“Do not try to offer her any money! Ask her what can be done in order to procure the vessel. A negotiation that would bring pleasantries to both parties. And be sure to only refer to her by her title,” the captain said urgently.

“And what is her title?”

“Mother of the Port. She also accepts ‘Ma,’” Captain Buttonwillow replied.

Rep and Zalan exchanged a glance. They stared at the captain’s twitching eyes and his excessively expressive fingers dancing in anxiety. Zalan leaned in close to Rep.

“Maybe we should talk to the last ship before trying to take our chances with this ‘Ma’ lady,” Zalan whispered.

“I was going to suggest the same,” Rep agreed quietly.

“What is it you good men are saying?” Captain Buttonwillow asked, not one to be left out of secrets being shared. He smiled in ignorance, thinking they were complimenting him in whispers.

“We would like to thank you for your time,” Rep nodded to him politely.

“But of course. Anything for gentlemen of such good taste. I daresay I look forward to spending more time with you on the way to the Island of Remains. You will understand why the name ‘Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick’ has spread far and wide. Why you cannot travel to any city in the realm without hearing it spoken in whispers of awe,” the captain said, tapping the brim of his hat knowingly.

“Right,” Zalan said, forcing a smile.

“Trying to con good men onto your dinghy?” a voice called from the last ship on the dock.

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Rep, Zalan, and Captain Buttonwillow turned to see the source of the voice. Immediately, Captain Buttonwillow’s countenance changed. His jovial attitude turned sour and several sharp lines creased his forehead. Even the members of his crew folded their arms in disapproval of the intruding comment.

“Lexington Winchester,” Captain Buttonwillow seethed through grit teeth.

“I hope you two have not promised anything to this rapscallion. Captain McKittrick knows how to command a ship about as well as he knows how to shut up,” Lexington Winchester said smarmily.

“I will have no such words from you, Captain Winchester! Your tiny, pathetic vessel only knows how to stay upright because of the excessive air your head supplies to keep it afloat!” Captain Buttonwillow shot back.

“My ship is ten times the boat yours could ever dream to be, both in size and in reputation,” Captain Lexington said confidently.

Rep and Zalan looked between both Buttonwillow and Lexington’s ship. They were exactly the same size. And they both looked pretty beat up to Zalan. If Zalan didn’t see them side by side, he would have assumed it was the same exact ship.

“Where is it he has promised to take you?” Captain Lexington asked. “I guarantee I could take you there faster!”

“Ha! And I know your skull is thick, so again, I say, ha! You have neither the gall nor the knowhow to make your way to the Island of Remains!” Captain Buttonwillow forced a laugh.

“The Island of Remains? It would be a miracle if Captain McKittrick could even shipwreck onto its shores,” Captain Lexington spat.

Rep and Zalan exchanged another nervous glance. It was clear that neither Captain Buttonwillow or Captain Lexington was a superior choice between the two ships. They shrugged and began to walk down the steps of Captain Buttonwillow’s ship, The Aegeusson. The two captains continued to hurl insults toward one another as they made their way off to the Mother of the Port’s building. Rep held tightly to the gold he had in his pocket.

“Do you think he was serious about not suggesting to pay for anything from the Mother of the Port?” Rep asked.

“I don’t know if that man was serious about anything. But he’s really the only option we have right now. Or the other guy, I guess. If I had to pick, I would take Buttonwillow. Unless you can think of any Artifacts that we can get that would give us a way there?” Zalan asked.

“None that come to mind,” Rep shook his head. “Let us speak to this port mother and we can determine what to do from there.”

Approaching the clean white building, they saw two bodyguards standing in wait for any visitors. Both of them stood with folded arms, suspicious eyes, and weapons at their hips. They moved to block the door at the end of a short path filled with various colorful flowers and plants. Rep and Zalan stopped at the edge, not sure how to appropriately approach the property. The guards already seemed somewhat wary of them walking so close. Zalan decided to move first when suddenly the door burst open, two more bodyguards carrying a flailing young man.

“No, please! I can get the gold! I swear! Let me speak to Ma! Please!” the man begged, his arms swinging wildly. He was trying to pry the powerful bodyguards arms off of him.

Rep and Zalan took several steps away as the burly men came down the path, not showing any indication of caring about Rep and Zalan’s presence. They walked toward the water.

“Please! I am being sincere! I can get the gold!” he begged.

“Ma does not like being lied to,” one of the men said sourly.

“I assure you I am being honest!”

“Good. Because Ma has decided to trust you. She will give you one last chance before your life is forfeit,” the man informed him. The two bodyguards continued to walk him to the edge of the dock in front of the building.

“Oh thank you! Tell Ma I thank her! She can count on me! I will…”

The two bodyguards threw the young man off the end of the port. He yelped just before crashing into the sea. The two bodyguards didn’t wait to see him emerge. Instead, they simultaneously turned on their heels and walked back toward the building.

Rep and Zalan began to rush to help the man get out of the water, but the two guards shook their heads sharply and stood in their way. The threat was clear, and they halted anxiously as they watched the water lap against the portside.

Before long, the drenched man came coughing out of the water, clawing his way back on the dock and thanking Ma again as he pulled himself up. The bodyguards shoved past Zalan and Rep when they passed them by, as if they didn’t see them. They slammed the door behind them as they entered the clean mansion.

Zalan and Rep took the next few seconds looking between the mansion, each other, and the dock where the man laid flat with a huge smile on his face, grateful to still be alive.

“That’s who we’re going to ask for help?” Zalan hissed quietly, pointing to the mansion.

“How was I to know that she was like this?” Rep said.

“Well, what do we do now?”

“We are not going in there, are we?” Rep asked.

Zalan ran a hand through his hair and looked at Captain Buttonwillow’s ship and back to the mansion. Captain Buttonwillow was still in the midst of a screaming match with Captain Lexington. Both men were blue in the face.

“Zalan, are we going in there?” Rep asked, sounding more concerned.

“I don’t know, let me think,” Zalan said. “Is there any other way we could get to the island? Any other ships you know of?”

“No. And Madam Hikma said the port would be the place to look,” Rep answered. He sounded sick as he came to the same conclusion as Zalan. Zalan waited with his breath held, hoping that Rep would have a sudden epiphany of another way to reach the island. Rep’s face was tight with consternation.

“We gotta go ask her. I don’t know any other way,” Zalan concluded finally with a sputter.

“Keep the Homeseeker close,” Rep said.

Zalan nodded, putting a hand in his pocket and keeping his thumb lightly over the trigger to activate the Artifact. Swallowing hard, the two friends began to slowly walk their way down the path toward the mansion. The pair of men standing guard stood taller, looming over Rep and Zalan as they approached.

“I hope you have a good reason for sullying Ma’s path with your filthy footwear,” one said, cracking knuckles loudly as Rep and Zalan approached.