The crew's mood improved significantly now that they weren't so harshly affected by the sharp winter air. Mea even found it in herself to spend some precious time above deck, taking in some of the passing scenery that she hadn't been able to enjoy earlier. Between the possibility of freezing and the large killer bugs she just didn't think it was worth it. While the views were nothing like the open expanses of water from her home country she still found the snow to be quite beautiful.

  The mountains loomed over them in the distance, but the forest they had been sailing over slowly thinned out and was replaced by sparse settlements and walled off cities. They saw snowy fields crowded with thickly furred bovines, evergreen trees growing in neat lines so they could be harvested more efficiently, and tall wooden posts with sentinels that waved at them as they passed. It snowed on and off throughout the day, but with their new enchanted gear the only problem it presented was lower visibility.

  Some time after midday Willow made her way above deck, absently twirling her mace. She quickly spotted Sola on the upper deck chatting with Zero who was currently on helm. The two of them looked up in surprise as she approached. Their reaction wasn’t meant in a negative way, she just had a habit of not going to the upper deck unless she needed to.

  “Hello Willow!” Zero called out, waving to her enthusiastically. “What brings you here?”

  “Sola, you’re good with weapons right?” She asked, letting the mace fall to her side.

  The first mate raised a split eyebrow. “Sure am.”

  “Can you teach me how to use my mace?”

  “You don’t know how to use that thing?” Sola asked skeptically. “You sure seemed to have a good handle of it when you bashed that centipede that was biting me.”

  “Well, I got the mace because ((“Because it had good stats.”)) I needed a weapon in case I couldn’t use my magic to fight. But other than fighting with sticks with my brothers when I was a kid I don’t really have any proper training. Sure I hit a big bug, it was hard to miss, but I don’t think I could confidently use it in a real battle,” Willow explained with a sigh.

  "Was fighting the glacedea now a real battle?" Zero mused, but Sola just shrugged.

  He understood what she was saying. Fighting a wild animal was not the same as fighting with a person, and while he didn't like the idea of Willow learning to hurt others he wasn't about to tell her not to defend herself. "I don't usually fight with a mace, but I can go over the basics of combat to get you started."

  Willow smiled in appreciation. She didn’t think he would say no, but she had been worried none the less. They made their way down to the lower deck so they’d have more room to maneuver, and so Willow could be further from the edge. But as she glanced over the scenery Sola realized she was far less skittish about being on the deck than she usually was. He wasn’t sure what changed, but he was glad she was finally adjusting. It was going to be a long trip is she never got over her fear of heights. But then she inched a bit closer to the center of the deck, and he decided learning to live with her fear might be the next best thing.

  Sola Rea gave her a simple rundown of what considered to be the basics, correcting her stance and trying to help her with her balance. He thought she had been exaggerating when she said she’d only ever did pretend fights before now, but it quickly became apparent she wasn't. Willow hadn’t even started to learn proper spell casting until she was in her twenties. He didn't say anything, but envied her for that.

  Sola had learned to wield swords, spears, bows, and anything else his parents could find as soon as he was old enough to hold a weapon. It was small victory, using his parents militaristic training to in turn teach a friend of his, but he had to hold onto something. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself otherwise.

  After about an hour of work Willow finally started getting a hang of the basics, and Sola summoned his shield so she could take some practice swings at a real person. However, she was immediately put off by the idea, backing away from him when he suggested it.

  “Oh! No, I don’t think I should,” Willow set her weapon down as she stretched out. Nobody told her how stiff she'd feel after gripping a weapon for so long. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

  Sola had just spent an hour watching her poor form, she was not about to hurt him in a practice match. However, he had the sense to not to tell her that. “It’s alright Willow,” He assured her, “I’m pretty sturdy. Besides, you can just heal me if you get a hit in can’t you?”

  She frowned at this, wringing her hands out nervously There was no helping it, he wasn’t going to force her to spar with him if she didn’t want to. He wondered if they might be able to get a training dummy or something for her to practice with instead. She might even be able to make one herself with her ability to manipulate plants. He shrugged, thinking he might bring up the idea next time she refused to take a swing at him. At least she had made good progress in the time they’d been working.

  As night began to fall the capital city of Eldence came into view. The great skyline rose over the nearby trees, still clearly bustling with activity despite how late it was getting. While most of the cities they had passed were quaint and rustic, this place glittered with artificial lights and magically constructed buildings. Some looked like they were carved from pure ice, though Keizeron knew it was simply for aesthetics. He couldn’t fathom why they wanted to emulate the icy landscape around them, when looking at it just made him feel colder. At least they weren’t going to stay long, Sola was going to get some supplies while Keizeron escorted Mea to the springs. The crew would be gone before midnight.

  There were several other airships around them as they came in, all of varying sizes and makes. Keizeron scanned the ships discretely, making sure none belonged to the coalition before he attempted to hail the dock master to secure a spot. There were already about a dozen ships in the port, meaning they had to take a spot that was further from the city. They weren't unloading any cargo, it hardly mattered to Keiz that they were further out. In fact, he preferred it that way, it gave them a little more space and would make it easier to leave even it was still busy when they were done.

  Sola showed Willow how to properly anchor the ship, capitalizing on the fact that she was starting to face her fears. It was slow going, but she was trying and that was enough for the first mate. Once the ship was settled the crew split up. Keizeron and Aka would go with Mea to the crystalline spring, while Sola and Willow picked up some supplies they needed. Zero and Duchess would stay on the ship to keep an eye on things. Keiz doubted they would encounter any trouble on such a well guarded dock, but more people always meant more trouble.

  Mea was uncharacteristically nervous as she followed her two escorts off the boat. She had put off this incredibly important thing for so long that she didn’t know what to expect when they got there. When her older sister returned from her pilgrimage she just didn’t explain it very clearly. That, or maybe Mea wasn’t really paying attention, both were very likely. All she could remember was that there are spots on the prime material plane that are thinner, and the other planes can leak into this one. The sisters are the places where the plane of water was closest and the denizens of the forever sea could peak through. Connecting with the sisters could strengthen her powers, but no one ever explained how exactly it worked.

  It wasn’t helping her nerves that Keizeron was treating the trip like it was some sort of field trip. She appreciated that he wanted to learn about her culture and support her! But his excitement was only making her feel more nervous. On the other hand, Aka’s calm indifference was a much bigger help. The fuan was the only one on the crew who had ever been to Eldence before, and while they didn’t know exactly where the spring was they knew enough about the city to find it with minimal effort. As the navigator lead the way it suddenly occurred to Mea that she didn’t know how long the visit was supposed to take either. Hopefully not too long, Keiz had made it very clear they weren’t staying the night here.

  Aka guided them through the outskirts of town, completely avoiding all the bustle of the shopping districts. There were a few stores here and there that they passed, but it quickly devolved into industrial looking houses and apartment style homes.

  ((“It makes sense for a big city but I am losing my mind over the idea of fantasy apartments. Like, yeah we have magic and dragons and shit but I still have to go to work to afford this two bed room high rise with a view of downtown,” Blair laughed.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Look, It’s not modern but we established this isn’t ye old medieval fantasy. Technology exists to some degree,” Caine waved their hand.

  “And what degree is that?” Zenith asked, raising his eyebrow.

  Caine sank below their screen. “Give me like a season or two, I’ll have it figured out by then.”))

  Eventually Aka took them down a small trail that lead them out town completely. It was exposed to the elements and would have been chilly if they didn’t have their heat touched gear on them. The path was well traveled and equally well lit, with large glowing crystals shedding soft light every twenty feet or so. They were a stark contrast to the harsh magic lights that illuminated the rest of the city.

  After nearly an hour since they left the ship the three of them came across a large dome like structure, it’s walls made of sheets of crystalline ice. Even with their gear they could feel the cold coming off of it in waves. How was a teenage aquan supposed to get through this? From what Mea could see there was a hole in the center of the roof, allowing for natural light to come in.

  The area was mostly deserted, save for a few snowy birds perched on the roof. They took flight as the party approached, their downy plumage barely making a sound. Most aquans who were on their pilgrimage would be in their early to mid teens, it was perfectly reasonable to assume they wouldn't be out so late. The area was clearly closed for the night, but with how important the fountain was Mea had expected to at least see some sort of security guarding it.

  Icy blue ivy vines were crawling over the outside of the building, and hanging over the entrance to the spring creating a natural door. It looked dark from where they were standing, and Aka stepped aside to let Mea go first. Mea moved forward, rubbing her hands together nervously. Mittens, currently in his axolotl form, swam around her head sending her words of encouragement. This was why they had left home after all. Mea nodded, and pulled aside the vine curtain to enter.

  Her captain and her navigator followed inside behind her, all three of them so mystified by the fountain they failed to notice the dark figure lurking among the frozen trees, a ripped paper gripped tightly in his hand.

  ~*~

  Without knowing how long Mea and the rest of the crew were going to be, Sola and Willow tried to do their shopping close to the docks. They didn’t have a whole lot they needed to pick up since they had only left Saburn the day before. Despite that Mea had asked them to get a few things for the galley, she liked to get fresh meat when they were in town and Sola was inclined to agree. Aka had also requested he get them some papers and ink bottles.

  The pair stopped in a few general stores grabbing the perishables they needed, keeping an eye out for a butcher. Instead Sola spotted a weapons shop with a number of wooden practice arms on display out front. “Would you feel better about taking a swing at me if we were using training weapons?” The first mate asked, pointing them out to Willow.

  “It would be better,” Willow agreed quietly. “Yeah, way better than the heavy metal stuff.”

  Sola walked over, digging through a barrel of swords to find one that he thought she’d like. However when he stood back up she was holding a gnarled wooden staff in her hands.

  ((“I know in fiction Willow doesn’t have any weapon proficiencies, but my character class came with knowing how to use a staff. So I think maybe I should start here and work my way up to using the mace I bought?” Lucky explained. Her last character had been a barbarian, so this game she wanted a change of pace and go for a magic heavy healer. Unfortunately now that they had been playing for about a month she realized that having no martial weapons just wasn’t her style. She still wanted to hit things, she just wouldn’t be as mad about it anymore.)

  “It’s a fine weapon, it’s just not going to be anything like using a mace,” warned Sola as she paid for the wooden staff.

  It wasn’t very expensive, only a few copper pieces, so she didn’t think much of it. “It’s alright, I’d rather have a weapon that I’m confident with to train,” Willow responded, giving the staff a practice twirl. He was right, it had a very different balance than the heavy mace she had been using up until this point.

  While not exactly the same, holding the staff in her hands reminded her of the sticks her and her siblings would play fight with when they were younger. When she first started sailing Willow tried not to think of her siblings, other than Wisteria. Recalling her reason for her adventure kept her going, but remembering what she left behind made her terribly homesick. Now with her blessing from Vothos it didn’t hurt as bad, and she found herself wondering what they were up to.

  Her brothers, Roan and Basil followed more of a druidic path than she had, and tended to the animals on the ranch. This late at night Roan would have finished up with the horses and other mounts they boarded for people. Basil would be bringing in the goats and chickens for the night, and giving the livestock dogs their daily inspirational speech. Of course, the barn was enchanted to keep out scavengers, but Basil loved his hounds. And their youngest sister, Persephone didn’t actually work on the farm. She helped their mom at the clinic, since she had such a knack for brewing healing potions.

  Persephone was known to experiment frequently with her potions, and her brothers, bless their hearts, were always willing to test them out. Their mom had to get very good at curse breaking as soon as Percy started brewing. Of course their father believed that a good meal was the best antidote, and whenever a potion went wrong the boys had to alternate between their dad giving them forkfuls of roasted corn and their mom giving them actual healing magic. This was especially tricky when a potion had turned Roan into a goose. Up until Willow left home she was still finding feathers in her clothes and hair. She was just surprised it took her so long to start learning magic from her mom given how harrowing things could be on the ranch.

  Once they paid for the staff they headed back out into the night, Sola keeping an eye out for a market where they could buy the rest of their supplies. It was a bit of a stretch, but most of the butchery shops were already closed for the night. They walked past groups of people, hearing snippets of conversation from a world that seemed so far away from them. “We went to the play last night! The effects were so stunning considering they didn’t use magic at all!” “Oh no! I think I left my coin purse at the bar we need to go back!” “Did you hear they got married? I just KNOW it’s not going to last.”

  After asking around a bit and getting a tad lost, the pair managed to find an open air night market. Tons of colorful tents were spread out along the edge of a dark looking river that flowed through town. People milled about, some were in travelers garb like they were, while others looked far more casual. At least they didn’t stand out as they made their way through the stalls.

  However, it quickly became apparent they weren’t going to find what they were looking for here. There was a diverse selection of goods, rugs from Amon, thrifted magical goods that looked like they were most likely cursed, and a tent that was full of dark cages that Sola couldn’t see into. He couldn’t tell if it was because he was blind or they were enchanted, but he didn’t like them. The only food they could find was street food, the sort of things that were already cooked and would not store for very long on the boat.

  Sola bought a warm cinnamon bread that he split with Willow while they walked around. They turned down several vendors who tried offering pretty jewelry to the lady, and expensive weapons to Sola. “Maybe I want some pretty necklaces,” Sola scoffed while Willow turned down a hawker who was trying to get her to try on a brilliant emerald necklace.

  “I’m sure one of these lovely people would sell you a bracer or something. I bet you would look nice with a circlet or a tiara,” She teased him as they walked past a stall with a variety of hair accessories set out in brilliant displays.

  Sola fluffed his hair. “No, I don’t think it would stand out against my golden locks,” He joked, but as he glanced over the items on display something caught his interest. A pair of black hair clips were tucked close to the bottom, not nearly as flashy as the rest of the stock but more practical and elegant. Sola stopped, reaching over to pick them up.

  "I don't think your hair is really long enough to use those," Willow raised an eyebrow.

  They were a little pricey, but not unreasonably so and Sola quickly handed his coins over to the merchant who was running the stall. The woman looked cheerful as she wrapped the clips in a satin bag and gave it back to the first mate.

  "They're not for me. I just thought Aka might like them since they're always brushing their hair out of their face." Sola said absently as he tucked the bag into his belt. Midwinter was coming up soon, maybe he could save it and give it to them as a gift? He smiled thoughtfully, before he noticed Willow was giving him an odd look.

  "What?" He asked,a bit defensively. He couldn't get a holiday present for his friend?

  Willow just shook her head. “I don’t think we’re going to find any fresh supplies for Mea here, we should just head back to the ship.”

  ((“What’s you twos passive perception?” Caine asked in what they hoped was a nonchalant voice.

  “Not good,” Zenith replied immediately. He knew he would take some penalties when he made Sola half blind, and not being very observant was a risk he was willing to take. It helped that most of his companions were far more attentive than he was. “It’s an eleven.”

  “My passive is eighteen.” Lucky said.

  “That’s great!” Caine grinned. “So here’s what Willow sees-”))

  Sola nodded in agreement, and the pair started to move back through the crowd towards the docks. They weren’t very far, but they had gotten lost on their way in so they stopped to get directions. While Sola talked to a woman at a stall, Willow paced a little, looking around the area. She came to a dead halt as she spotted a familiar face across the crowd.

  “Willow?” Sola asked as he finished up and noticed his partner staring back the way they had just come from. He stood next to her and followed her gaze. There, on the side of the market they hadn’t walked by, was a public board covered in fliers. Even from this distance Sola could see various notices like quests, help wanted signs, warnings and the like. But the two of them were staring at several wanted posters, all bearing Keizeron’s face. “Oh shit.”

  Willow covered her mouth, letting out a deep breath as she tried to figure out what they could do. While she hesitated, Sola made his way through the throng of shoppers and crossed the street. Willow trailed after him, clutching the hem of her dress with worry.

  “I uh, I think they’ve noticed we have the rod.” She whispered to Sola. Her first mate gritted his teeth as they reached the board and yanked one of the posters off.

  It was a pretty standard looking notice, Wanted Alive; Keizeron Yin for piracy and crimes against the crown. The picture was a black and white sketch, but it looked like it was based on a real painting of him. Keizeron was wearing his academy jacket and had a clean shave, so it was easy to assume this was taken from before he got the boat. Then Sola glanced down at the reward and his jaw dropped.

  “Ten thousand gold?!” Willow exclaimed with alarm. Sola hushed her as several bystanders looked up with interest at her outburst. “That’s insane! I’ve never heard of such a high reward for one person!”

  “Willow, keep it down,” Sola hissed at her. She looked startled that he would get so angry at her, but then she realized just how many people were staring and what she had done. Willow looked down, flushing with embarrassment and hoped she hadn’t been overheard by the wrong person.

  Sola stuffed the poster into his bag and grabbed Willow’s hand, dragging her away from the board while people whispered around them. “We don’t need to bring any more attention to it than it’s already getting,” the first mate said, a bit more gently.

  “Oh,” Willow frowned. She could tell he was still angry, but she didn’t think it was all directed at her.

  Sola let go of her hand once they were out of the crowd. He let out a frustrated groan and ran his hand through his hair before taking off for the docks. This was the last thing the crew needed, and he had to find Keizeron before anything could happen to the captain. “We need to get back to the ship right now.”