The Baalbek ll. That was the given name of the ship Maddalin and her crew were piloting, an older model of airships created and mass produced in the country of Saigel, a close neighbor to the Kingdom of Ingol. It was a pretty little vehicle, designed to haul sugar, spice, and other cargo that couldn't be teleported over long distances. Outfitted with steel plates on the hull of the vessel and upper half of the aeronaul, the giant balloon above the ship that allowed flight, the Baalbek was created to traverse places most other airships couldn't manage. It was a tough machine, a reliable transport, and a close partner to the JunBaren twins, of whom had been with it since it's conception.

All that being said, despite Maddalin's unwavering confidence in the Baalbek, she wasn't usually comfortable with people other than her own crew boarding it. Though she did put out signs alluding to tickets being up for purchase, it was mainly as a way to make some quick extra cash and it was only for 20 people per trip at the maximum. She never intended for the Baalbek to move anything other then cargo, at least not for as long as she had.

Currently she had 17 passengers aboard that wasn't a part of her crew, all of which were stowed in the cabins below deck. Now that her fellow shipmates had spotted the white haired boy, the tally had risen to a whopping total of eighteen.

"Get me in contact with that kid," Maddalin said, her blue eyes flitting over to her brother. "I have some things I wanna say."

Walner made a face before doing what was asked, lifting his hand and holding up his palm towards a space in front of the ships steering wheel. "[Setsuzoku]."

A bright glow erupted in front of the two, causing them so squint momentarily as the light gradually took shape, assuming the form of a large flat, jagged edged screen. On the newly erected surface, a youth sat, his back to them, his front overlooking the rising sun as it peaked over the horizon. Beneath the boy was the easily recognizable black surface of the Baalbek's aeronaul, something that Maddalin had seen far too many times to even count. Far below, extending onwards to as far as the eye could see, was a rich green forest, an endless sea of vibrant trees and foliage that only added to the picturesque scene. It was as if a scene from a book had come to life right before her eyes, and it actually made Maddalin do a double take as she stared at the image.

"See? I told you." Walner said, interrupting his sister's train of thought. "Like some tragic character from a fairytale. His hair is even glowing."

(("Huh. His hair DOES look like it's glowing,")) Maddalin admitted internally, zeroing in on the child's fluffy white hair. (("Never thought hair could be that white."))

"Go ahead and call out to him," Walner said. "Or did you just wanna stare at him more?"

"Shut it." Maddalin responded, her eyes furrowing in annoyance. "You're too far from him anyways. I want to talk to his front, not his back you wignut."

"Well excuse me doll face," the man replied. "This spell isn't the easiest to place. Its likes throwing a ball at something that's out of you vision. Feel thankful I even managed to get that close."

After some more back and forth bickering, a quick squabble, and some rough word choices, Walner took down the spell, letting the screen dissolve back into nothing. Raising his hand once again, the green haired male uttered the same spell as before, this time closing his eyes in concentration.

A few seconds after, a new screen appeared, one just a few feet away from the the white haired youth.

"There, was that so hard," Maddalin taunted, clearly trying to get a ride out of her brother.

Her question fell on deaf ears however as Walner had already started walking away the moment the screen had made it's reappearance.

"The screen will stay up for around five minutes," The brother said back, loud enough for her to hear. "His name is Takeda. Be sure to actually use it."

Maddalin shook her head before glancing back to the screen, shifting her attention to the matter at hand. She wasn't a big fan of stowaways, or kids for that matter, and she needed to vent her frustrations. She wasn't heartless enough to throw the kid overboard, but she also wasn't nice enough to him stay aboard for free either.

The boy hadn't moved from his spot in the entire time Maddalin and Walner had been arguing, still located in the same position as before, legs slightly outstretched with knees up and facing away from each other, arms loosely wrapped around his knees. With a hoodie almost a bright as his shirt, black cargo pants and sneakers, he looked like he was heading to a runway as opposed to an Adventure Exam. He didn't even seem to be very fazed by Maddalin's sudden appearance, a look of indifferent curiousity plastered over his visage.

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"Ummm. Hi." Maddalin said, trying to find her earlier anger. "I'm Maddalin JunBaren, captain of this vessel. And you are?"

The white haired kid said nothing at first, his bright blue eyes staring into hers for what felt like an eternity.

"My name is Takeda, head of the house of ValBurn, last remaining remnant of Knights of AshNall." Takeda looked at her carefully, as if watching for any specific reaction to his answer. "My apologies for boarding your vessel without any express approval, but I'm caught in the middle of a bind. Your ship was one of the only few departures heading to the Capital and, though it pained me to do so, I took it upon myself to climb on."

(("This kid gets straight to the point,")) Maddalin said, feeling thrown off once again. (("He's more honest then most of the grown men I have to talk to."))

When she had first made contact, the young woman went in expecting someone more closed off and to themselves, someone she'd have to thoroughly interrogate before learning anything of importance. She wasn't particularly used to dealing with outright honesty in her line of work, dealing with beggars, scammers, and nobility on a day to day basis. Now, when faced with such a forthright mannerism, she wasn't sure how to properly respond, let alone retain the anger or frustration she had felt previously.

"Where are you headed exactly?" Maddalin asked once she had regained her thought process. "I was told by my lookout that you were heading to Ingol to snatch an Adventurer license."

"That is correct." Takeda lowered a leg and stuck a hand into his pocket, fishing around before pulling out a small, palm sized golden pocket watch. Clicking the top of it, the lid flipped open. "I have exactly 3 days and 11 hours before the Exams begin."

Maddalin frowned and did some quick internal math. Having delivered to Ingol's Capital for years, she was aware of the positions regarding major landmarks, of which included the Guild Hall, where the Adventurer Exams were being held. They were currently around 2 days from Ingol, with a marginal error of a few hours depending on how the wind played out in the next few days. The Baalbek was already going at it's top speed and wasn't capable of making any more substantial progress. Beyond that, it was a further 2 days by land from the landing port they were docking at to the inner edge of the Capital, the place where the Academy Exam was being held. Even with the fastest mode of ground transportation, it would still take a little over under two days for Takeda to reach the Guild Hall, assuming he had every bit of luck on his side and using the assumption that he even HAD enough money to throw at the problem.

"Are you aware of how far the Guild Hall is from Janeva Port?" Maddalin asked, running through the calculations in her head a few more times, applying the positive spins on the matter. "Why didn't you just teleport there using the Gates?"

"I only have a few silver pieces left on me," Takeda answered honestly. "Sadly, the Gate is far out of my price range."

"Why not go earlier then?"

"Crowds suck. The week before the Exams is always the busiest as everyone runs around to get their affairs in order. The Nobles especially."

Maddalin could sense anger behind his words at the mention of nobles, but that wasn't anything new. The Nobles in Ingol would just as easily sacrifice the whole world to protect their own wealth and power, their lives and way of living being far too precious to them when compared to the common masses. Even Maddalin and her crew held a deep rooted hatred for them, but kept it well under wraps since they were the Baalbek crew's main sources of income. The fact that Takeda despised them as well was to be expected, just as it was to be expected for one to come to loathe them up on meeting one.

"What about before that?" Maddalin continued. "Why not go there and hang around until it was time, avoiding the crowds?"

Takeda's entire demeanor changed up at that question, his face becoming expressionless, his curiosity quickly sliding off his visage.

"I was searching for Black Hand," Takeda said softly, his neon blue hues flicking away Maddalin, out onto the horizon.

"You don't mean-"

"Somethings coming," Takeda interrupted, rising up onto his feet, slipping two daggers from sheaths Maddalin hadn't seen until he stood up. It was stealthily tucked under his hoodie, where no one would think to look. "Be on guard."

"What are you-"

"Somethings coming!!" Walner said, sliding into the picture as he ran up the steps leading below deck. "ALL HANDS ON DECK!!"

The previously relaxed crew, the ones who were just milling about and enjoying the breeze, burst into movement, not even bothering to question Walner's command. Tightening down loose equipment, priming the giant mounted crossbows, and double checking the cargo. They all knew what needed to be done, moving like a well oiled machine as they rushed to get ready any potential combat.

"Walner! What's happening?" Maddalin watched as the screen of light dissipated, Takeda vanishing from her sight. She gripped the wheel tightly, ready to turn at a moments notice. "How big of a threat?"

"Big." Was the green haired makes only response as he ran to the front of the ship, grabbing a crossbow and arrows along the way. "I think it might be Stymphalian Crows."

"Michael, get the Knights," Maddalin commanded, barking an order towards an older gentleman with greying hair. "Tell we have trouble and need the backup."

Without so much as a word, the man named Michael darted away, leaving to complete his given mission.

"Emma. Wheel. Now." Maddalin shifted to the side as her friend from earlier came scurrying into view, quickly relieving the ship captain from her position.

Once she was free, the Airship pilot ran after her brother, also snatching a crossbow and sheath of arrows as she went. Once she was at the front, she loaded in one of the iron bolts and cocked it, ready to fire whenever she could. All around, she could hear several other members of her crew stocking their own bows, saddling themselves up for battle.

"I have visual on the enemy."

At first, Maddalin couldn't see what Walner was talking about, her eyes straining as she looked around, attempting to spot their new arrivals.

Eventually though, they came into vision.

Initially it looked like a small drifting black cloud, a harmless pocket of water that would soon fall back to earth. However, the closer it got, the larger it became and the easier it was to see that it was far from just a simple ball of fluff. Hundreds upon hundreds of enormous birds with steel tipped beaks and metallic feathers, that's what was currently heading for them. With pitch black eyes and equally dark plumage, Stymphalian Crows were monsters that could tear apart metal with relative ease. They were nothing to play with and a whole entire flock of them was headed towards the Baalbek, their screeching and cawing becoming more distinct the closer they came.

"Fire your weapo-"

BOOM!!!!

An explosion rocked the ship, causing everyone to hit the deck, the rumbling throwing the crew completely off balance.

(("The hell was that???!!!)) Maddalin screamed in her head as she hurriedly got back onto her feet. (("It definitely came from aboard the ship."))

"Maddalin. Go check it out," Walner commanded as he stood back up. He immediately began shooting at the cloud of black, unleashing arrow after arrow. "See what's going on in the back."

Bang!

The door to below deck blasted off it's hinges, erupting into little fragments as a man walked through, a smile spread across his face. Even through the overwhelming anger rising up within her, Maddalin was able to keep her wits about her as she raised her crossbow. "There's no need for that Walner. It looks like our Knights know exactly what's going on. Isn't that right, Korner?"