Rep and Zalan followed behind Oshrad silently. They were uncomfortable, and doing a bad job at hiding it. He was leading them to Captain Buttonwillow’s ship, but they already knew where it was. They didn’t want to mention it to him for fear of saying the wrong thing to the man. Zalan’s emotions spun anxiously within his stomach. He was almost giddy at having gotten the ship, but struggled to express any emotion with Oshrad so close. He was as difficult to read as Ma. Soon, they arrived at the port.

“Here is your ship, The Aegeusson,” Oshrad presented. “Buttonwillow McKittrick is the captain on board. He also has a loyal crew of his own. Allow me to introduce you all to one another.”

“We’ve already met,” Zalan said.

Oshrad nodded, but went to the vessel anyway. Rep and Zalan reluctantly followed. One of Captain Buttonwillow’s crew members was swabbing the deck with Elemental Water when they boarded. He moved his arms back and forth and water sloshed as though met with an invisible mop. He was young, a few short years into manhood. He looked up and went pale.

“Captain! Oshrad on deck to see you!” he said.

He then twisted his body and rushed away from the deck, making as much distance between himself and Oshrad as he could. Captain Buttonwillow appeared from the captain’s quarters. He took long, gallivanting strides and beamed at Oshrad as he approached.

“Oshrad! My good man! It is my pleasure to see you have come into acquaintance with these distinguished gentlemen. Welcome aboard to you all,” Captain Buttonwillow said, tipping his large hat to the three.

“This is Rep and Zalan. Prepare a crew for their voyage,” Oshrad replied.

“Then the Mother of the Port has given them her blessing?” Captain Buttonwillow asked, excitedly.

“She has given them much more than that. They have her authority,” Oshrad said, a hint of chagrin in his voice.

“By God, what an honor. I hope someday I can earn such a high ranking with her. I would expect nothing less of her to grant it to these two, of course. Such a generous woman. When did our port’s mother ask for me to disembark?” the captain asked.

“It is up to them,” Oshrad flicked his head to Rep and Zalan. “It is their ship.”

Rep, Zalan, and Captain Buttonwillow looked at one another. The way Oshrad worded the last sentence threw them off. Captain Buttonwillow cleared his throat awkwardly.

“You mean to say that she has granted them use for this journey?” the captain clarified.

“No. This ship is theirs to do as they please. They are the new owners.”

Rep, Zalan, and Captain Buttonwillow exchanged another baffled glance. This was news to all three of them. Captain Buttonwillow stammered, trying to come up with words and continuously stumbling over himself.

“Did they… that is to say… These two…” Captain Buttonwillow cleared his throat again. “Are they part of her family? Or perhaps a wealthy family that has earned her favor?”

“Neither,” Oshrad answered simply. The curtness of his response threw the captain even further into confusion.

“I thought… that she… I was supposed to… I thought that the ship was promised to me. By Ma,” the captain said, so disheartened that he didn’t call her Mother of the Port.

“Do not put words in her mouth. Ma always fulfills her promises. She said that if you worked hard enough, she might be convinced to grant you a ship of your choosing. You have not worked hard enough,” Oshrad said firmly.

“But… But I thought…”

“You need to stop thinking. Prepare your crew. We need to purchase a sword. Be ready by the time we return. Ma has given her final say on the matter,” Oshrad said, spinning in place and walking off the ship before Captain Buttonwillow could say another word.

Rep and Zalan looked to one another, then at the captain. Captain Buttonwillow stared into the distance, looking as though his world had been shattered. Rep and Zalan couldn’t think of anything to say to him. The friends rushed to catch up with Oshrad.

“Ma gave us the whole ship?” Zalan asked, flabbergasted. “I thought it was Captain Buttonwillow’s.”

“It is not.”

“Okay, but what about before?”

“It was Ma’s. She has ownership of all ships in the port. Well… almost all. She will soon own those as well. But do not be concerned by the surprise in ownership of The Aegeusson. The ship’s crew are still on her payroll and are loyal to her. They will treat you well,” Oshrad said confidently.

Once again, Rep and Zalan were stunned by Ma’s gifts. A single flower was so little to trade for everything they were getting back.

“What about the captain?” Rep asked. “He seemed very intent on the ship.”

“If you feel so strongly, then grant it to him. It is yours to give away to a madman or burn down, for all I care,” Oshrad said bitterly.

Zalan got the feeling he was jealous. He had tried over a dozen times to get the Nightbloom and failed every time. But Rep and Zalan did it on their first try. Zalan felt like he was allowed to taunt Oshrad if he had Ma’s authority, but didn’t want to push the subject with a man three times his size and strength.

They began making their way to the alleys back to the main part of town to go to a sword forge. When they reached the edge of the alley, a man in front of one of the ships caught Zalan’s eye. Staring with squinted eyes, Zalan abruptly stopped to focus on him.

“What stops you?” Oshrad asked impatiently.

Zalan leaned forward and pointed.

“I think that’s the guy that robbed me,” Zalan said to Rep.

“Are you certain?” Rep asked.

Without waiting for a reply, Oshrad stomped on the floor. A massive pile of rocks rose into the air and dove toward the man. They sailed in at blinding speed, like bullets. Zalan flinched as the rocks hit the floor around the man. He screamed in terror. The rocks piled up tightly around him, climbing up his body.

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In a moment, he was entombed from the neck down, shouting in fear for assistance. Men on the docks looked ready to fight. Water sprung from the sea in menacing whips and air spun violently overhead. They went to help the trapped man until they saw it was Oshrad who immobilized him. Upon seeing him flick his chin, they went about their business. As though they had been dismissed, the docks were bustling around the man stuck in rocks.

“What are you doing?” Zalan asked, nervous.

“I have subdued the thief. Would you like me to break his toes?” Oshrad asked eagerly.

“No. I’m not even sure if that was the thief, yet! It kinda looked like him! Let me just go talk to him!”

Oshrad looked disappointed, but nodded. Zalan and Rep rushed across the docks and got a good look at the man’s face. He was calling to the men on the docks who were now pretending he didn’t exist. The dock workers had gone silent, as though waiting for orders from Oshrad. The entombed man’s eyes widened when he noticed Zalan approaching.

“Definitely the guy who robbed me,” Zalan said certainly.

“No! I have never met you before in my life!” the man said, terrified.

“I bet you he still has a mark from where I zapped him with lightning,” Zalan said confidently.

“Unless he took a Healing Rest since then,” Rep reminded him.

“Oh… right, yeah, he probably did,” Zalan said.

“What is your name, thief?” Oshrad stepped in front of the man.

“I am innocent!” the man pleaded.

“I will not ask again.”

The rocks entrenching the man in place shifted slightly around the base. The rocks were placing pressure on one of the man’s toes. He squealed in fear.

“Sneppen. I am known as Sneppen!” the man said, sweating profusely as Oshrad looked down on him.

“Why did you steal from this man?” Oshrad asked.

“I would never! I have done nothing of the sort!” he said loudly.

Oshrad looked back at Zalan for confirmation. Zalan hesitated at how desperate the man sounded.

“What’s your twin’s name, Sneppen?” Zalan asked.

“Twin? I have no twin… Wait, I mean I do!” Sneppen corrected himself, obviously lying.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s him. Stole a bunch of my gold,” Zalan said to Oshrad.

“I am not!” Sneppen denied.

“This man walks with Ma’s authority,” Oshrad raised a hand to Zalan. “What he says should be treated as words from Ma’s mouth. I ask you: Are you calling Ma a liar?” Oshrad demanded.

“No! I would never!” Sneppen cried.

“Then why did you steal from him?”

Sneppen went red in the face, running out of ideas. He cried out one more time in frustration then began rambling.

“He was such an easy mark! He looked clumsy in the alley and had such a large pouch of money! I knew I could bump it off of him! I thought it would be an easy way to get money!” Sneppen said, his head thrashing as he tried to escape his rock tomb.

“Where is the money?” Oshrad asked.

Sneppen kept his lips tight, sweat pouring from his head.

“Shall I break his toes?” Oshrad asked Rep and Zalan. They looked uncomfortable.

“No!” Sneppen begged.

“I can kill him, if you please,” Oshrad added, ignoring Sneppen.

“No! I have them! I have all the coins! Just take it and let me go!” Sneppen said, bobbing his head as he tried to pull out the money.

Oshrad loomed over him skeptically. He looked to Rep and Zalan, awaiting their orders.

“Let him go,” Zalan said. “Let me see the money.”

Oshrad nodded and the rock encasing sunk away. Sneppen fell forward and caught himself just before he hit the ground. Sneppen leered and swung his arm to his hip. Zalan only realized at the last moment that he was going to use the Belt of Bolt a second time and disappear like he did when he first took Zalan’s money. Zalan reached out his hand, far too slow to stop him. With impossibly fast reflexes, Oshrad caught Sneppen’s hand with an armored fist, enshrouded with Elemental Earth. Sneppen stared at his arm, then back up to Oshrad, shaking his head slightly.

With a tight squeeze, Oshrad broke his arm.

Sneppen exploded in an agonizing cry. Both Rep and Zalan took a step back at the display, but Oshrad stepped forward, shedding the Elemental Earth from his hand with a flick. He looped his arm under the Belt of Bolt and tore the Artifact off of Sneppen’s waist. Sneppen tried to snatch it back, but Oshrad slapped his broken arm and caused him to scream even louder. Then he simply waited patiently for Sneppen to quiet down.

“The money?” Oshrad asked.

“P… pouch,” Sneppen said through clenched teeth.

Oshrad looked around his person and picked up a pouch. He opened it, inspecting it for traps, then tossed it to Zalan. He held the Belt of Bolt behind him, hiding it from view just in case. Sneppen was in too much pain to even notice.

“Is all the money there?” Oshrad asked.

Rep looked over Zalan’s shoulder as he opened the pouch. It was filled with hundreds of gold coins. Zalan sifted through it, having no idea if it was the same amount as when it was stolen from him. He never counted.

“It looks right to me,” Zalan said, trying to sound confident.

Sneppen blubbered in relief at Zalan not having noticed the loss of ten gold coins.

“What kind of fool walks around with that much money on his person?” Oshrad said, his eyes directed toward Sneppen.

“I agree,” Rep jumped in snarkily. “Only an idiot would walk the streets with such a fortune. It would be like asking to be robbed by any number of passersby.”

Zalan swallowed hard, giving Rep a look like he got the point. Rep smirked.

“Well then… Shall I break his toes?” Oshrad asked.

“Stop asking about peoples’ toes,” Zalan begged, disturbed.

Oshrad nodded, but didn’t look like he would stop asking anytime soon.

“Would you like this?” Oshrad offered the Belt of Bolt to Rep and Zalan.

“No, I’m not stealing from the man just because he stole from me,” Zalan said. Rep nodded in agreement. Oshrad ever so slightly raised an eyebrow with a hint of respect.

He tossed the Belt of Bolt back to Sneppen who groped at it and activated it. He popped away, searching for a place to heal his broken limb. The people around them in the docks went back to their business in regular voices, the confrontation seeming to have ended.

“Off to the forge?” Oshrad asked.

“And to my guild. I should leave some of the money behind,” Zalan said, pretending to sound responsible. Rep grinned, giving Zalan a knowing glance.

“A wise decision,” Oshrad said.

Rep, Zalan and Oshrad made their way to the alleys. They were completely empty. Where people watched Rep and Zalan from the shadows before, there was nothing for the duo to be wary of on this trip. Oshrad’s mere presence was enough to keep malicious characters far away. Zalan almost felt sorry for the people, until remembering they were the same people that liked to hang around Sneppen.

“Where will you have your sword made, then? I know a number of places loyal to Ma. We can have them grant you any number of blades for free. Or perhaps new weapons if you are wishing to branch out from the blade,” Oshrad said as they emerged to the other end of the alleyways.

“We normally go to Junill,” Rep said.

“The young woman?” Oshrad asked, sounding disappointed.

“Yes, does that concern you?” Rep said, sounding a tad offended.

“She is not one of Ma’s. Her father, Valens, is a much better swordsmith, and loyal to Ma. I admit his daughter does good work. But there is her addiction to the Indefatigable Iron to be concerned of. I am surprised it has not yet degraded from her overuse. The way she uses it, I could see her dying,” Oshrad said.

“Yes, that is why I hope to check on her,” Rep said.

“Check on her, or get a blade from her?” Oshrad asked, confused.

“Get a sword. I said to get a sword from her,” Rep quickly corrected himself, embarrassed.

Oshrad raised a curious eyebrow, but decided not to press further. They arrived in front of Junill’s shop with an anvil etched into the wood atop the door. Rep went inside first, Zalan and Oshrad close behind.

“Dear God, Junill!” Rep said, shocked.

The fires still ran hot on the end of the forge. There were a few swords spilled onto the ground in disarray. Zalan looked ahead of them to see Junill splayed out on the floor, lying motionless.