After waiting for Cundy to gather up all of their gear, Holl tossed the still-unconscious Roth onto his shoulder then followed Cundy as he headed down toward the ship. The lead sailor still kept one of his hands free in case they ran into anything else on the island that was dangerous, but the forest remained silent.

The hanging trails of lichen swayed ever so slightly in an invisible breeze, almost like they were waving farewell to the island’s inhabitants.

Despite being more weighted-down than before, the two walking crewmates seemed to move through the sticky mud at a quicker pace than ever before. They cut directly through the forest toward where the ship looked like it would reach the island, a straight-shot that led them to almost the exact same spot where their own ship now lay rotted on the beach.

It didn’t take them long to get down by the shore, and when they peeked their heads out from the hanging trees, they could see the ship just a few dozen meters offshore. There were a number of figures running around on it’s deck, struggling and failing to keep it from heading directly into the shore. The island’s waters, which had been calm every time the stranded men looked out to them, now had waves. Forming ripples on the surface, the wind and water worked together to push the boat into range of Holl.

“Hey! Help us out, we’re stranded!”

Holl lifted up his captain’s hat, holding it up for the ship to see.

“I’m a captain from the Great Superior Shipping Lines, we wrecked on this island while looking for the Fitz!”

Holl waved his hand as he yelled out to the boat, but when they noticed him, most of the figures aboard it disappeared from their side of the deck.

“Eh? Where are they going?”

A few moments later, a tall figure strode over and looked over the side of the boat. The man had a thick, bushy beard and lowset brown eyes. He had a captain’s hat of his own, though it looked much different from the one that Holl was wearing.

The hat looked to be made of fur and leather, and it matched his jacket. Beneath a thick fur coat, Holl could see a white frilled collar.

“Who are ye?”

The Algo’s captain kept a deadpan expression as he looked down at Holl.

“Please help us off this island. My ship wrecked here a few days ago.”

Holl shifted Roth’s position on his shoulder a bit, then looked over at Cundy.

“All of my men are good lads. I can’t have them freezing to death out here like this.”

“Allegiance?”

Holl frowned at the other captain’s words. Was he really asking what company he worked with to decide whether or not to save them?

“GSSL, but I retired from their company a few years ago. We wrecked while looking for the Fitz.”

The captain aboard the ship looked confused at his answer, and he turned to question one of his crewmates. When he failed to get a useful answer, the captain turned back to Holl.

“You a Fris or Catal?”

“Neither? Not sure what you mean.”

The captain aboard the Algo looked even more confused, but he threw more questions forward.

“Quian or Sio, then? Or are you a Yank?”

What is this dude saying?

The other captain had a faintly British-sounding accent as well, making him a bit harder to understand.

Seeing that Holl didn’t seem to understand what he was asking, the Algo’s captain decided to switch gears.

“Do any of your crew have Regards?”

Holl hesitated to answer for a moment, and it was all the time the other captain needed.

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“Which one?”

Shit.

Holl couldn’t think of any way to avoid the question. If he refused to answer, he doubted this captain was going to let them anywhere near his ship. Lying wasn’t a great option either, since he didn’t have any idea which groups this ship was allied with.

“I don’t know. A native on the lakes gave it to me.”

Aboard the ship, the captain glanced back at his crewmates.

“A Quian trader, most likely.”

There was some movement atop the deck, and a small lifeboat was brought over to the side of the boat. When Holl saw it being lowered down to the water, Holl let out a sigh of relief. A few of the Algo’s crew floated the small boat over to the shore, then helped Cundy and Holl onto it. Roth was still unconscious on Holl’s shoulder as they floated back out to the ship.

“Your friend here, is he alright?”

“Yep. I reckon he’ll be waking up soon.”

The small boat was pulled back up onto the Algo, allowing Holl and Cundy to step foot onto the ship. It was what it looked like from afar. The wooden deck looked fairly new, but it still creaked underneath the weight of their footsteps.

The two masts in the middle were made almost entirely of wood, though they could see metal nails embedded in some areas. There were small icy spots beneath the rigging of each sail, with small chunks and spikes of ice sticking up within them. Up above, the rigging looked like it had been recently shaken off, freeing it from any moisture that had been frozen to it.

Instead of having a small cabin like the little fishing boat piloted by Holl, there was a long one taking up much of the deck. It provided a warm place for the crew to warm up and rest on long journeys.

The area below the deck was packed full of pelts and venison gathered up in the north, packed tightly so as to not waste any space.

“Captain Jacob Wilson of the Algo. I guess it’s pretty lucky for us to run into you, we’re probably one of the last ships coming this way at this time of year.”

Wilson had noticeably less of a British accent now compared to a minute ago when he was questioning Holl about their allegiance.

“Captain Thomas Holl. I don’t have a ship now, but I’ve been a captain for most of my life.”

Holl gestured over at Cundy, then at Roth.

“My remaining crew members are George Cundy and Roth Larsen. Thank you for saving us.”

Wilson led them over to the ship's cabin, giving Holl a place to finally set Roth down.

“So, fur traders?”

Holl shook his head.

“I just had a small fishing vessel.”

Seeing the surprise on the other captain’s face, Holl continued explaining.

“I got a message that one of my friends’ ships went missing around here, so we quickly set out in hopes of finding their crew.”

A sad expression came over Captain Wilson’s face.

“Ah, my condolences. The Fractured Sea truly is ruthless. May their souls rise within the army of specters.”

Army of specters? Fractured Sea? What the hell is this guy talking about?

Cundy looked similarly confused, but just before he could open his mouth, they heard a groan from the side. Roth slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

“Back on the ship…?”

His vision slowly cleared, and he identified the surrounding people. When he saw the surroundings and Wilson, he quickly realized that he was on a new ship.

The memories of what happened just before he lost consciousness streamed back into Roth’s mind, and he could faintly feel something on his lower back. He wasn’t sure what it was, but there was a certain sense of sturdiness.

“Roth, we’ve just been taken in by some passing sailors. I was about to ask Captain Wilson here some stuff, now that you’re awake, you can listen in too.”

Holl looked between Cundy and Roth, the warning look in his eyes silencing anything they were about to see.

“Captain Wilson, if I’m being honest, my crew and I don’t know many of the recent happenings. Could you explain some stuff to us?”

Wilson nodded.

“I have other duties to attend to, but I will send for one of my crewmembers to help you. It must’ve been a while since you’ve eaten anything warm, I’ll have someone bring you some warm porridge.”

Leaving the trio in the small resting area, Wilson headed back out to the captain’s quarters, where he started talking with a few of their other crew members.

Once he was out of earshot, Holl turned to his two crew mates.

“I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but a lot of stuff this fellow is saying doesn’t line up with what I know. Try to stay quiet for now, let me handle the talking.”

Holl turned to face Roth.

“This Regard thing, did you learn anything about it?”

“Huh?”

Whatever was on Roth’s lower back tingled a bit as he listened, but he wasn’t sure what Holl was talking about.

“Damn. You feel a bit stronger than usual, right?”

Roth flexed his arm, then nodded, a bit of confusion on his face.

“What are you two talking about?”

Cundy looked between his two teammates.

“While we were on the island, I saw a ghost of some sort. It mumbled something about a Regard, I passed out, and when I woke up, I felt a bit stronger. That’s why I didn’t find Roth as fast as you, Cundy.”

Holl looked at Roth.

“I guessed that golden thing that came off the black rabbit was a Regard too, that’s why I kept you with us. I’ll try to get more information about this from Wilson.”