A turquoise light blinked in the dark for a moment.

Nero turned under the covers.

After a minute, it blinked again.

Nero took a deep breath and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

"Araven... what the hell, man... you using magic this early in the morning?", he murmured.

"Haha, sorry. Did I wake you?", he said.

"...kinda."

Nero looked around in the dark, searching for a familiar pair of amber lights.

"Where's Sharmon...?"

"I dunno. Maybe with Elena?"

Nero abruptly jumped out of bed, waking up Ferguson in the process, and walked out of the room. A tall sorcerer was leaning against the wall outside, in the hallway.

"Full of energy this morning, are we not?", he asked.

Nero frowned.

"More like, full of worry."

"Ha. When are you not, I wonder."

"Did she do anything weird to you?"

"If you are referring to Elena, she is fast asleep in another room. She was not in the mood for more company after our conversation downstairs. The air around here does not suit her."

"Ah, she's "Elena" now. When's the wedding?"

"I never thought you the type to be jealous of what others think of me. How quaint."

"I'm not jealous, you moron! She's our ferryman...woman! Isn't your identity like, some important secret?"

"Sooner or later, people are bound to discover me. As time goes on, it becomes more a matter of finding trusted allies before that happens. In fact, I advice you do the same."

"Funny. I thought you didn't want me to have friends. How quaint."

"Do not presume to mock me, brat, and "friends" is not the word I used. An ally is someone whose goals and desires align with ours. We shall get as many of them as we can find if you are to be a sorcerer."

"And why's that?"

"I already told you this, boy; people are going to hate you. You will need allies to assist you; this is not something I have decided upon, it is an inevitable rule that all who seek greatness must respect."

"...alright, fine. And what did you talk about with your dear, beautiful Elena about?"

Araven and Ferguson came out of the room, having changed into their day clothes.

"Morning...", yawned Ferguson, scratching his back.

"What's up?", smiled Araven. It looked like this morning agreed with him a lot more than the other ones.

"Today we go seafaring.", said Sharmon.

"Seafaring... where?"

"If I remember correctly, the ruins of Castle Armorica are located further northwest. I believe they might be worth exploring."

"Castle Armorica...?", wondered Araven.

"Yeah. Remember how Ferguson told us this region used to be a kingdom? The Kingdom of Armorica and whatnot, and how it fell around the same time the Plague appeared. Castle Armorica was a stronghold located in a very strategic place on the coast."

"Ah. I remember now. This wasn't always Nycean territory."

"No. they occupied it a few decades after the kingdom disappeared."

"So... studying the ruins might give us clues regarding the fall of Armorica, and perhaps we could gather information on the Plague.", said Araven.

"Let us wait for the captain downstairs. We shall discuss the details once we have all gathered."

The group walked down and were greeted by a cheerful Lisey.

"Morning! Siddown, I'll bring your breakfast in a minute.", she said, running off to the kitchen.

Elena came down a few minutes later; her plate was already waiting for her.

"More soup, huh?"

"It is what it is.", said Ferguson.

Elena looked at Sharmon, who was quietly standing against a wall like usual.

"Sometimes I envy you for not needing to do any of this.", she said.

Huh. Nero had thought something very similar the other day.

"If anything, I feel sorry for him. There are so many pleasures of life that he's missing out on...", mused Ferguson.

"When you put it like that...", said Araven.

"I can eat and drink if I decide it. I simply choose not to."

"Why?", asked Nero, frowning. It was a very strange thing to do, or rather, not do, even if he did have a choice.

"People are starving here, boy. Feeding me is the same as throwing a meal to the fire; it would be an insult."

A grim silence took place at the table. Everyone looked at their plates, feeling guilty.

"You should finish your breakfast. The people of Trena are giving you what little they can afford in hopes that we assist them in these dire circumstances," he continued, "we have done well so far, but our work here is far from over. We should make a wise use of our time and resources."

"And here, our most valuable resource is our fully manned ship...", said Araven.

"You can say that again...", said Elena, taking a sip of her syrup. Clearly, she was very proud of her little wooden ship, and certainly, compared to the other... canoes that were docked at Trena, it stood out as the best ship around.

"For this reason, I decided to take our captain up on her offer and set sail northwest today. Whatever we find there will decide our next course of action."

"Do you want me to come with you?", asked Ferguson.

Sharmon nodded.

"You will document our findings if nothing else, both for the research and for your report to the College."

"Alright, got it."

"Then, if we're all done eating... shall we go now?", said Nero.

"Yeah. Let's move out.", said Araven.

The group got up, waved at Lisey and Georg, and headed towards the docks, not without retrieving the planks and having Sharmon carry them over in the air like he had done the previous afternoon. Again, curious onlookers stared at the group, but there would be no show this time.

"Beautiful weather we're having today. Based on what you told me last night, it should only take four to six hours to make it to the ruins.", said Elena as they were arriving at the port, "I just hope the wind will be on our side..."

"Alright, so... where did you move your ship to?", asked Ferguson.

"Huh?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The brunette pointed at the empty space where her proud wooden vessel used to be last night.

"It's not where you left it."

"This is impossible...!"

Elena ran ahead and literally kicked open the door of the shed where her crew had gone to sleep the night before.

Everyone woke up in a jolt.

"Where the fuck's the ship!?", she demanded.

"Huh...?"

"What... the ship...?"

The men had no idea what she was talking about; they had literally been woken up by her a moment ago.

She looked at everyone. All of her crew were there.

"It's... not a mutiny...", she murmured.

"Wait, wait, huh!? What does this mean...!?", asked Ferguson, looking around in confusion.

"It means", said Sharmon, "that the ship has been stolen."

"S-Stolen...!? But we took the damn planks!", said Nero.

"Do you see a wooden vessel here, brat?", asked Sharmon impatiently.

"Tch...! Damn it!"

"So... what now'", asked Araven.

"We look for it. We cannot investigate the ruins, nor return to Nycea without it.", said the sorcerer.

Elena put her hands on her waist and addressed her crew.

"Listen up! You will all spread out and search for clues! Biggs! Take Fern and Wedge and go to the farm south of the city to ask if they saw the ship go that way. Reno, you go with Horace and Gobu and comb the north neighborhood. The remaining group will split in two, one half will ask around downtown and the other one will collect information here at the docks! Any questions!?"

"Where are you going cap'n?", asked Biggs.

"I'll go north of Trena with the contingent to look for clues, myself. Send someone to find us if you get your hands on any relevant info. Any other questions?"

"No, cap'n!"

"Alright, then hurry up and get to work if you wanna see your homes again, damn it!"

The men ran outside.

She sighed.

"This is all your fault, you know. You convinced me to step out of my ship, and now I've lost it.", she said, looking at Sharmon.

The sorcerer accommodated the planks in the shed and closed it.

"Whoever is responsible," he said, "will answer to me."

Elena rested her hand on her blunderbuss.

"Only if I don't shoot 'em first."

"Let's go.", said Ferguson, leading the way towards the north gate.

"Why would someone steal our vessel...?", wondered Araven as they walked.

"Maybe they wanna sell it?", thought Nero.

"If it was pirates, they may intend to use it.", said Sharmon from behind.

"The Caledon sea up north becomes an archipelago of sorts, and is outside the borders of Nycea. The plague is worse up there, and it's also home of all sorts of bandits and criminals.", said Ferguson.

"A place with no law, no state, and no authority... the perfect place for pirates.", said Araven.

"...meaning chances are, we'll find my ship there."

"Wait, but how the hell are we gonna reach the ship? If there's an archipelago and the bandits are on an island, we have no way to get to them.", said Nero.

"The islands are essentially uninhabited. There are towns and villages outside the borders of Nycea, too, so the pirates are more likely than not docking the ship on this coast.", said Ferguson.

"You mean, there are settlements that function like like city-states?", said Araven.

Ferguson nodded.

"They give the local regent a few coins, or maybe make an arrangement with them, and they collaborate."

"Corruption is a form of Plague in itself.", said Sharmon.

"...I can't disagree with that.", said the guide.

The group kept walking north, following the road that wound along the seashore, keeping a sharp eye for any suspicious activity. There were several farms, all of them very similar to Herbert's to the right, and the group pulled over to one of them.

"Good day, good people! Can I ask you a question?", greeted Ferguson from the road without crossing the fence that separated the road from the fields.

The farmers walked up to the group.

"Morning. If you're selling anything, we're not buying."

"Hahaha, no, not at all. See, we're looking for a vessel. Has any of you seen a ship sailing along the coast today or yesterday?"

"Boats come and go all the time."

"This one's a larger ship; it's got several decks, and is nothing like the ones you usually see around here.", said Elena.

"...can't say I have, lass.", said the farmer, taking a quick look at her long, beautiful neck.

Sharmon crossed his arms.

"Are you positive you saw and heard nothing during the night?", he asked.

"I couldn't tell you, jester. I was asleep last night.", the farmers laughed.

"Well... I saw something."

Everybody turned their heads. A young boy, around eleven, had also approached the group.

"Really? What was it?", said Ferguson.

"I wanted to go to the bathroom over there last night", the boy pointed at a small shack separate from the other buildings, "and when I was going back to the house to sleep again I saw some very weak lights moving slowly over there."

The kid then pointed his finger at the coast.

"Lights in the darkness, near the shore...", said Araven.

"The ship! It must be it...!", said Nero.

"Where were the lights headed, boy? Do you remember?", asked Sharmon.

"Yeah, they were going to the right."

From his perspective, the right meant up north.

"I see. Did you hear anything?"

The boy shook his head.

"The lights were pretty and very quiet."

"They would have to be, if they wanted to attract as little attention as possible while also being able to handle the ship and navigate its interior.", thought Ferguson.

"What color were they?", asked Elena, just to be sure.

"Yellow."

The group asked a few more questions, but that was about all they could get from them. Ferguson thanked the farmers and walked away from the fields and down to the coast, which only took some ten minutes. The brown waters caressed the sand under their feet gently as they looked to the horizon.

"The evidence stacks in favor of our theory. Even if we have no confirmation, it is reasonable to assume the vessel has been hijacked by pirates during the night, and was taken either to Coria, or somewhere in its general direction.", summarized Sharmon.

"So, Coria should be our next destination. How far are we?", asked Nero.

Ferguson shook his head.

"Coria is a good twelve hours away from Trena. We didn't come prepared to make the trip."

"Then, we should head back to Trena, catch some sleep, get ready and head to Coria to look for it."

"Huh? Are you sure about that?", asked Nero, "shouldn't we follow the trail, you know, before it goes cold?"

Elena shook her head.

"My vessel takes several men to man it, and we loaded off all our provisions and money. Nobody can make a long trip on it, and loading it takes time and effort. Our chances of finding the ship docked in Coria tomorrow are very high."

"So, what you're saying is... we have a window of opportunity to get our hands on the ship before it sails off Coria, away from Nycean authority.", said Araven, to which Elena nodded.

"We should make it in time, but we can't waste a single hour."

"Let's go, then! We can regroup with the crew and ask them to come with us and take back the ship by force if we have to!", said Nero.

Elena smiled at the boy.

"Ask them?"

"Uhh... order them?", Nero corrected himself.

The captain let out a hearty laugh.

"You're in an awful good mood, considering you're the victim here."

"Heh, I wouldn't call myself a victim, and also...", a half smile ran across her beautiful face, "it's been a while since my last shootout. This should be fun."

"...fun.", repeated Nero.

"At any rate, we better head back. Let's add whatever the crew was able to find with our clues and organize our journey to Coria.", proposed Ferguson.

And so the group returned to Trena, where they met up with the rest of the crew as the sun was going down. Some couldn't find anything, but others were able to dig up information that correlated with the boy's testimony: the ship had been both seen and heard being boarded during the night, and its dim lights had disappeared over the northern horizon.

The group decided to head back to the inn where, at Elena's request, Georg had fixed an old bath tub and had gotten it ready in an unused room.

Elena went upstairs to wash herself, while the others sat at the inn's restaurant and waited for their dinner.

"You know, I've been thinking... if we manage to capture a bunch of pirates, wouldn't that be great points for our College exam?", Nero asked.

"If that happens, I'll make sure to add it to the report.", said Ferguson, "it would be a really great way to help Armorica."

Araven put his hands behind his head.

"What are we going to do if we can't retrieve the ship, however...?"

"Haha, I'll probably work something out for you guys if that happens. Don't worry about it."

Sharmon shook his head.

"It is in our best interests that the captain recovers her ship."

"You mean for the exam?", said Nero.

"No. We need the ship to keep the captain on our side."

"You keep going on and on about that..."

"It is because you do not give it its proper importance."

"Yeah, yeah..."

An hour later, Elena returned, looking fresh and in an even better mood. She took a seat close to where Sharmon was leaning and enjoyed her meal with the rest before heading back to her own room.

"Ain't she a little princess...", commented Ferguson, looking at her closed door as the boys entered their room.

"Most of them don't feel comfortable sharing facilities with guys.", said Araven, promptly lying on his bed.

"Is that your experience talking there?", said Nero, also lying on his bed.

"Yeah."

"What do you think of women, Sharmon?", asked Ferguson. The sorcerer was leaning against a wall, as usual.

"I could only answer that if I knew every woman in the world.", he replied.

"Fair answer.", yawned Araven.

"Have you ever fallen in love with a girl?", asked Nero.

Sharmon stared at the boy.

"Define love."

"Well, I mean... when you think someone is beautiful and you want to be with them?"

"That is called lust.", said Sharmon.

"Stop beating around the bush, you know what I'm talking about!", said Nero.

"Indeed, however, it is clear that you do not. Go to sleep already, brat; tomorrow will be a long day."

"Tch..."

Nero turned around and covered himself with the blankets. Despite his bad mood, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

The following morning, everyone had their breakfast and was carrying their bags full of supplies and even a change of clothes for the road ahead. After thanking Lisey and Georg, the group met up with the crew -some thirty men- and headed north towards Coria.

The hunt for the missing ship was on.