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Chapter Text

Hugo was only 8 when it happened.

When his world ended.

A blurry world, made up of silhouettes and the play of light and shadow, bright colours and harsh sounds, was all that Hugo knew.

Back then, he wasn't much use. Not to his father, who left them before he could even remember. Not to his mother, who worked day and night to provide for the both of them.

It wasn't Hugo's fault, really, that he came half blind into the world. Mama's dark, bronze-like hair, he could perfectly make out at least.
For most days, he'd listen to his mother's voice, as she'd tell stories of her many adventures atop the Iron Maiden.

Ah yes, the Iron Maiden.
The ship, on which Hugo had spent his eighth summer.

When news came that the ship would once again set sail, his mother was delighted to rejoin her old crew. Hugo didn't want anyone else to take care of him in her absence, what with the horror stories he'd heard about foster care. Besides, he promised he wouldn't be a burden! So he begged his Mama to take him with her, and she of course did, on the trip.

Their last trip, he'd later learn.

Their goal was to acquire a legendary treasure, one so rare no pirates ever came close to finding it, and so valuable it could save lives, for it was more than mere riches.
This treasure, no, this place was a library deep inside the ocean, holding all the world's knowledge.

The Eternal Library.

Mama was responsible for the sails and the rigging, while Hugo took care of swabbing the deck. That, he could at least do.

One thing Hugo remembers clear as day, is her many creative curse words to any and all inconvenience that would present itself while working. A collegue would be slacking off? "Hát süljön ki a szeme!" Because wishing someone's eyes burnt out is completely reasonable in such situation. The rigs weren't tight enough? "Hogy a rohadás álljon belé!" How rotting would help the ropes, Hugo wasn't sure, but it sure was a delight to hear her mutter to herself.

Yes, mutter. Because as much as she'd want to set a good example to her son, the son in question had amazing hearing due to the lack of clear sight, making it easy to make out and imitate the sayings.

This, and his general mischivousness earned Hugo the title "Piszkos Patkány!", a scold his mother would teasingly use. Hugo wore it with pride. Yes, he was a Dirty Rat, and he was his mother's favourite rat, so it was a win in his mind.

Rats were cool and he liked their big ears. They reminded him of himself, in a weird way.

Hugo was also a curious kid. After the start of their adventure, he wondered why the pause even happened in the first place. Luckily, Mama would always have smart answers.

The reason the ship set sail again after not doing so for the past 5 and a half years, was the return of the Quartermaster, the Captain's right hand. Without her, the Captain refused to continue, so her presence was celebrated.

Mama told Hugo, that while she was away, the Quartermaster brought a young boy into the world. He was now safe to be left without her mother, hence why she came back.
This woman, srikingly short of stature and with fiery orange hair, fascinated Hugo. Her blue skin, he'd learned, was due to her being a Triton. A race of the Undersea.

A world unknown to the young boy, allegedly a society of all sorts of sea races just below the surface. It is where the Library would be located. That is, if they found it.

One night, after a whole day of endless searching, the Captain threw a party. A sudden surprise, but a welcome one for sure. Her serious demeanor, for once, changed, as she announced to her crew that she would be retiring soon.

For what reason, Hugo would only learn many years later.

Nonetheless, the crew, although confused, decided to let themselves rest. They drank, they ate, they danced, without a care in the world.

But all good things must come to an end.

At midnight, everything changed.

The full moon and various lamps lit the deck of the joyful, unexpecting crew.

Then, a cry.

"Whirlpool!"

The sky and the sea, in a matter of seconds, turned pitch black. All the lamps shattered. The sound of screaming filled the ship, as the crew was overtook by dread.

Hugo couldn't see a thing.

That is, until something pierced through the deck. It was black, like obsidian, and sharp like razor. It looked like a rock, but seemed to have a mind of its own.

Mama hurried to secure Hugo to a mast, and was supposed to tie it around herself as well.

Then, crack.

The ship split in half.

The water quickly filled the deck, except when it reached Hugo, it didn't feel like water at all. More like slime. A strange, black substance covered Hugo, as he cried out for his Mama in desperation.

She, on the other end of the deck, tried to reach her son, tried to grab onto the railing, tried to somehow keep herself on top of the sinking boat.

It was no use.

She cried, she screamed, then a boom, and she was dead silent.

Hugo doesn't remember what happened after that. Time seemed to stop, for how long, he was uncertain. As the Iron Maiden sunk, so did the boy's conciousness slip, and the world became an endless dark.

How he survived is a blur. He assumes, the mast helped, but even then it was a miracle, that he lived.

Hugo was only 8 when it happened.
When his world ended, and a new one emerged.

Even after 12 years, he could still hear her cries. It rang in his ears, as an old man in front of the counter shouted about his food being cold. Hugo rolled his eyes, making sure the man was aware of his annoyance.

Mama's cooking was always warm.

He missed it every day. He missed her every day.

He missed Olivia.

Well, nothing to do about it now.
Hugo got to work, trying to make himself actually useful for once.

Chapter Text

"Look, it's the North Star!"

Nuru's eyes lit up, as she turned where Niah pointed. She was thankful, sitting on the coast, telescope in hand, that her older sister had come stargazing with her.

Well, even if she wasn't all that interested in the topic. It was nice to have her finally present in the activity.

As per usual, Nuru's parents also took the time to entertain their daughter's interest. Every 3 or so months the family gathered at the shore, down from their castle high above, listening to Nuru's rambles about her most recent discoveries.

This time, with Niah's princess training becoming more intense, and Mama needing more time to rest with her babies on the way, Nuru expected only Baba to come. She was pleasently surprised when everyone decided to show up.

However, as greateful as she was, she had to break the idyllic situation.

She had bad news.

---

Looking up to the sky, Nuru tried to locate herself on the open sea.

The night was serene, the sky free of clouds, the stars and moonlight guiding her. Although she wasn't of that faith, she still thanked the Moon for Her presence on this night.

After checking her directions, she took the oars in her hand, and steered the rowboat forward, once again.

It didn't take long for her mind to start wandering. And when that happened, it always led to one specific memory.

The booming meteors, combined with the many canonballs attacking their castle, caused a ring in her ears, that, try as she might, she couldn't ever get rid of.

The walls crumbled around her family. Her mother screamed.

Never once in her lifetime did Nuru imagine humans capable of causing more damage to her home than the usual meteor showers, yet here it was. The destruction they'd feared all along.

Well, part of it.

It was only the beginning, all those years ago, and soon it would be the end.

That is, if Nuru doesn't take matters into her own hands.

---

"Aren't you tired of this, Nuru?" Her father asked the night prior. "Wouldn't it be easier to just... give them what they want?"

Kamara and Bahari, her two younger sisters, sitting at the dinner table, looked at Nuru expectantly.

"And what? Let those Navy bastards ruin our kingdom? The way they do with ALL other islands? No, dad, I don't think so," Nuru said.

"Listen, binti, I know this is hard for you, but an alliance would benefit us all. They could help us rebuild, help us get the resources we need, and-"

"And restrict our every move! All they want is power, you know that, I know that. Besides," she took a moment to choose her next words carefully, "if Ingvarr and Koto were to unite, our kingdom would always come second to them. They are much more powerful than we are, have much more land, and only truly care about growing their empire."

Father, of course, knew all this. Still, after over 18 years of constant crisis, he intended to end it all, peacefully.

Nuru didn't falter. "I understand where you're coming from, Father. However, if we let them in, the meteors will be our smallest problem. Think about our traditions, our culture! What happens if they force us to comform to their beliefs? Will they use our inventions as weapons? Will Koto be erased, not by meteors, but by greedy warlords?" Nuru looked him straight in the eyes. "Is that what you truly want?"

"Nuru. The people are tired of this. They want peace. If they don't get it soon, I fear they will... well, think about your mother..." Father's gaze became distant, Nuru knew exactly where he was in his mind. Mama, years ago, started coughing up some black ooze. No doctors were able to identify her desease, nor the cause. The impatient commoners took this as a sign of her ruling finally coming to an end, and one paricularly nasty scumbag decided it wasn't enough that she was suffering. He took it upon himself to end her life, making the royal family fall into deep grief for years to come.

Nuru wasn't one to tear open old wounds, but the new ones begged to be acknowledged.

"Alright, then, do you expect me to marry into the empire that took Niah away? Really?!"

Father's eyes shot up to hers. His face morphed into anger, then quickly to desperation. He needed an answer, a solution, something.

A way to solve Koto's troubles.

"If not by uniting our kingdoms, how do you intend to save us all?" Father pleaded, practically begged for an answer.

And Nuru smiled.

---

The Southern Sea. That's where she was headed, though, upon further observation, she realized she was too focused on last night still, that she somehow ended up steering in the opposite direction.

She quickly corrected her mistake.

The Southern Sea will be their salvation, surely.

---

"Baba, what's the 'Hole in the Sea'? One of the merchants talked about it with his apprentice in the town square, and I was wondering about it," Nuru asked her father, many many years ago. Back when her childish curiosity hadn't been wiped away and replaced by sorrow.

"Just a folktale to scare off children who sail the seas alone. Nothing more," Baba reassured her.

"But...the merchant said it so confidently, it must have some truth to it. That's what you and Mama always say." She raised one finger and repeated the phrase "Every joke, every tale comes from something true."

Mama smiled at Nuru and took her hand into her own. "If you believe it's true, then it is."

"Like the Sun? Because I never see Her, but everyone says She is someone to believe in, so..."

Mama thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes," she said, "exactly like the Sun."

Nuru smiled back at her. She briefly questioned if the Sun's brightness could ever compare to that of her mother's smile. The answer was an obious no.

"Imani, dear, please don't teach the kid nonsense." He then turned to Nuru, now a serious expression settled on his face. "You shouldn't compare a foolish tale to our Godess, Nuru," Baba warned. "If I told you the Sun was in the ocean, would you jump in to see Her?"

"No..."

"Then those pirates who do jump in at the word of treasure, are no better than mere idiots. You are smarter than them, Nuru. Don't ever forget that."

---

Well.

Turns out, Nuru was an idiot after all.

When all hope died, she started grasping at far away concepts, reached for solutions that seemed to come out of thin air.

But nothing compared to this newest one.

A library deep inside the ocean, with knowledge so valuable the only pirates who ever found it died, their bodies never found.

Not a word was spoken about it since Nuru asked all those years ago, yet due to the current issue, the tale resurfaced in her mind. Nuru had to believe it was real. It was their last hope to stop the chaos peacefully and without sacrificing their Kingdom's power.

She had to believe. For Mama.

She had to save them all. For Niah.

The least she could do was try, despite her father begging her not to. But, stubborn as she's always been, nothing was convincing. She promised that she wouldn't come back until she found a way.

Her father had no chance but to support her, and what better way to do it, than with a rowboat, small enough to slip out of the kingdom under the dark of the night. It was made by his most trusted carpenters, and only one of them could know about this expedition. The less doubtful eyes, the better.

Nuru set sail alone. She would never forgive herself if someone else died on her death wish of a trip.

She wouldn't let that happen, she-

Huh.

That was strange.

Nuru was taken out of her thoughts immediately, as she saw a pair of bright blue eyes in the distance.

As she steered the rowboat closer to them, she started to make out a figure, blurry as it was, slightly covered by the water. The creature floated atop the sea, and seemed occupied with reading... a bunch of lilypads? They were bound together by a small string of seaweed, the pages lit by the glass vial that the figure was holding in one hand.

It seemed like some substance, able to create a small light, and shone brighter when the person shook it slightly. Nuru was immediately interested in it.

She got closer and closer, but the person didn't seem to notice her, much too absorbed in whatever they were doing.

Nuru decided, that if they were a foe, they would have attacked already. Seeing as they didn't, she shouted out to them.

"Greetings! Might I inquire who you are?" Politely she asked, to come off as friendly as possible.

The person flinched at the sound and turned to her. Nuru could now make out the tail of the creature, wagging left and right. That must be how they stayed afloat without moving their arms or legs.

Next, she noticed their blue skin, sparkling in the moonlight. A triton, then. Interesting.

Nuru never had the pleasure of actually talking to one, as Koto was mostly made out of humans and goliaths. She was more than excited to get to know one.

The creature, the triton, looked up at her, then at the rowboat. They didn't answer, instead they started backing up a bit. Then, as if shaking themselves out of something invisible, they looked down at the lilypad-book, then swam forward in Nuru's direction.

They stopped at the nose of the ship.

Nuru, seeing as they were in the middle of nowhere, asked, "Are you lost?"

The triton just kept staring at her and her rowboat. They pointed at themselves, then at Nuru, and shook their head.

Nuru wasn't sure what that meant, so she asked again, "Why are you out here, alone?"

The triton, now frustrated, pointed at the lilypads, and said...something. The sounds that came out of his mouth weren't clear, as if he was still underwater, and they were mostly throat-sounds, lots of Rs and CHs. Despite its muffled nature, Nuru recognized the language.

It was Coronan.

Now, being a diplomat, Nuru was thought all kinds of languages from a young age, but Coronan was one she could never truly get behind. Their grammar rules were far too complicated, the pronunciation near impossible for her, not to mention the many verb tenses. Coronan was spoken only in the Undersea.

She gestured for him to repeat, slower this time. After a while, it clicked for the triton, and he began once again.

This time, Nuru could just barely make out the words for "father" and "attack".

And another one, one that immediately made the two words make sense. Though muffled, she swore she heard "Navy".

She tried to speak in broken Coronan, and asked, just to make sure she understood it correctly, "Your father....Navy...attacked by?"

The triton nodded quickly, then thought better of it and corrected himself. "No. Taken. Away." He looked at Nuru sadly, pointed to the lilypads and said "Help."

Nuru wasn't sure how she could help with whatever information the peculiar book held, but she recognized a person in need anywhere. And this triton seemed to need help, urgently.

She held out a hand for him to take.

He did.

The triton made the rowboat shake, as he climbed into it. He tried to stand, but gravity quickly made him fall flat. Nuru figured, the guy must have been new to the surface.

Once he got his bearings and got used to the dryness of the air, he smiled at Nuru, then took out the light and once again, buried himself in the strange book.

They sat in silence for a while, Nuru observing the man. The man, as well as the strange creature which emerged from under his cloak: an animal of sorts, most likely a pet. It had tentacles, like an octopus, but the head was that of a raccoon's. As it came out from its hiding place, the man smiled at it and stroke its head gently. Then, he turned to the book once again.

The triton gradually got nearer the tome, clearly becoming more frustrated with whatever he was reading. Or, trying to, it seemed, because he wasn't turning the pages at all. He shook his vial more violently each time he had to go back to a paragraph, and after the 3rd time of him doing so, Nuru decided to break the silence.

"So..." She started. "Light. Glass. What is it?" She asked in broken Coronan. She wasn't sure if how to say 'vial', so she just used a simpler word, uncertain if the man would get what she was talking about.

The man immediately shot up, smiling ear to ear, and shouted "Alchemy!", then, corrected his tone, and said, quieter, "alchemy."

"Oh!" Nuru replied, because of course it was alchemy, she just never seen it in action before. She was more of a calculations-numbers-astronomy kind of science lover, and alchemy was mostly practiced in the Undersea anyways, so she never took the time to even dabble in it. Suffice to say, she was interested! It was always great to see someone beaming with joy, especially when it came to science. Nuru reciprocated the smile and added, "Nice! Alchemy good."

The man let out a small laugh, nodded and repeated, "Alchemy good."

Nuru, happy to see a fellow science enthusiast in her presence, decided to ask him, "Your name?"

The triton's smile fell at that, just a bit, but still noticably. He looked out at the sea, distant for a moment, then said "Varian." Nuru was quiet for a moment. The triton, Varian, seemed so small now in her rowboat, and not just due to his race's general small height. Even the pet's expression changed, as it looked at its owner remorsefully, letting out comforting sounds similar to chittering.

The man seemed unhappy about something, maybe his name, Nuru assumed, or something related to it. She didn't know, and didn't know how to ask, so she changed the topic.

She pointed at the book in Varian's lap. "What is it?"

Varian, as if changed, came back to the present moment, and seemed excited for just a second. Then, he tried to start somehow, but he didn't know just how to phrase it simply, so that Nuru could understand. He opened and closed his mouth a bunch of times. He said something, flailing his hands to make it clearer, but Nuru just stared at him patiently.

He sighed, thought for a bit and said "Book is mom's. Mom was at Hole. Uhh...Hole in the Sea? Yes? Hole has answers. I," and he gestured to himself, "go to Hole. Help father."

Now was Nuru's time to be shocked. Who know the first person she met on her adventure was also heading in the same direction! She immediately asked, "Hole where? You know?!"

Varian shrugged at that.

Then he went back to reading the book. The book that had all the answers Nuru was hoping for. He shook the alchemy vial once again.

To say Nuru was disappointed would be an understatement, but it was obvious. The journey wouldn't be a piece of cake, she was aware of that.

"Arlight, then..." Nuru muttered in Kotoan. She looked at the her compass and map, to see where she (they, now with Varian along) would be headed. The Isle of Bayangor was a perfect destination, not only just a couple hours away, but it also had the advantage of being mostly neutral grounds. Sure, the Ingvarrish Navy took over some two years ago, but the opression wasn't as bad yet, and the people would likely have hope of possible liberation. That place would be safe to look for anwers, leads, perhaps even allies who could help Nuru find the Hole in the Sea.

Well, aside from Varian, of course. Nuru figured they should stick close, since they're both looking for the same place, albeit for different reasons.

Nuru hoped that once she found the library and with it, the answer to stop the meteor showers, it would be easier to rebuild the kingdom, perhaps with the help of other kingdoms. As of now, Ingvarr couldn't be trusted to help support Koto, if the opression they caused in their colonies was anything to go by.

Maybe if they changed their ways, she'd unite the Ingvarrish Empire and Koto, and there would be no conflicts again. Like how Baba wanted. But right now, that was simply out of the question, and Nuru knew that out of the issues, the more pressing one was the natural disaster. Solve it first, then move to the other. That seemed far more logical.

And, who knows? Maybe Ingvarr would retreat when they learned that the library, along with its massive knowledge had been discovered. And since Nuru would have found it, her kingdom would be spared.

To achieve that, Varian was needed.

So, Bayangor it was. That's where she was headed. To the Southern Sea.

Just as Nuru made up her mind, she heard it.

A crakle, then a loud bang.

The once clear sky was clouded, the only light source now coming from Varian's vial. The wind started blowing like crazy, from just one moment to the other, without any buildup. Nuru had barely a minute to process what this meant, as she tried to navigate while Varian grabbed the oars and followed Nuru's orders to push, steer, do something to keep them in the right direction.

The battle was lost before it even began, for two people in a small rowboat were no competition against the wrath of a raging storm.

Nuru, on her first day at sea, learned just how ruthless it is can be out there.

The wind tossed them around from one end of the rowboat to the other, each time more violently than before. The rain poured as if it was coming down like buckets, the drops feeling like icy rocks, hitting the two constantly. The world roared with each thunder, each bolt lighting up the sky for just a moment before hitting into the sea, causing ripples on the water's surface and dread in the hearts of Nuru and Varian.

Every time the navigator thought it had ended, the storm came back twice as violently.

It had continued for hours, how many, the two weren't sure. At some point, the rowboat had flipped on its head, and it was only thanks to the triton that Nuru didn't drown. Despite him looking rather scrawny, it was his strength that managed to turn the boat back upwards.

After what seemed like ages, the storm had passed, leaving a dissheveled princess and a tired triton in its wake. The boat was sufficiently empty of any and all food sources, the storm made sure of that.

At least Varian clung tight to his lilypads, so their only lead wasn't lost to the sea. What a relief.

By the time the two came to, it was sunrise. Nuru patched them up with a spell she'd learned from her Baba, and it comforted their aching bodies just a little bit.

What's more, they reached land. That was a good news, one to celebrate!

Except Nuru knew that her plans to Bayangor had swum away with the storm, as it tossed them into who knew where.

Actually, Nuru might know where.

Taking one look at their destination, then at her compass, Nuru's face drained of color.

Becaue out of all places, they ended up at Featherbrook Island.

The definitive biggest Navy soil in all of the seven kingdoms.

Nuru rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"Well. Shit."

Chapter Text

Nuru steered the rowboat into a farely hidden corner of Featherbrook Island, then jumped out of it, Varian following behind.

She had to turn back immediately at the distinct sound of Varian falling ass first into the sand.

Walking. That was still new to him it seemed.

Nuru looked back, trying to see if anyone heard the noise. After a moment, she deemed them safe and walked back up to Varian. The triton was silently apologizing to his pet...thing for the impact, as the fall seemed to hurt its head greately. The creature just huffed then licked Varian's hand and the conflict was, just like that, resolved.

He looked at Nuru when she got closer.

She showed Varian how it's done, slowly gesturing to how, when one leg is stretched out, it needs to bend to catch you before falling. Varian was a surprisingly fast learner. After a couple steps he seemed to get it.

Nuru smiled at him, then said "We'll get food. Carefully!"

Because even if they sailed away now, they'd starve to death before reaching any other island. Besides, and this was to Nuru's utmost sadness, the boat made out of the best wood in Koto unfortunately looked beaten up to the point that she wasn't sure it could take another storm of that capacity. Dying hungry in the middle of the ocean wasn't on her bucket list, so getting nutrition and possibly fixing up needed to get done. Then they could sail far, far away from here.

Before Varian could even nod, his stomach growled loudly. He smiled apologetically and the two, plus the pet creature started walking up the small hill in front of them.

Halfway through, Nuru remembered something.

She was the Crown Princess of Koto, and if she was found by the Navy alone being practically unarmed, who kew what they'd do to her for their political gain. A kidnapping wouldn't be out of the question and she was smarter than to let herself get captured so easily. Especially on an island so stricktly Navy-ruled as Featherbrook.

So she turned back to Varian, and asked him "Can you...be...not you?"

Listen, Nuru's Coronan vocabulary wasn't perfect, and she definitely could have phrased it better. For some strange reason, Varian seemed to get exactly what she meant. He rummaged through his many vials and was just about to pour one's contents on himself when Nuru stopped him.

"No! Not you. Me."

Varian slowly tilted the vial back up, and looked at nuru with narrowed eyes. "Why?"

Nuru looked around to see if nobody saw or heard them. Then, she leaned close to Varian and whispered "I'm Princess Nuru of Koto. Navy...not good to Koto."

At that, Varian's demeanor changed to understanding. He said something along the lines of how Navy was a bunch of...well, Nuru didn't exactly know the word, but it was a swear, she was certain.

The triton then gave the vial to Nuru and seemed to realize something. He brought the cloak he was wearing further up his neck, so that it covered his mouth and nose as well as the pet raccoon-octopus.

Nuru figured it wouldn't hurt for Varian to also be wary of the Navy on their island.

She then poured the vial on her clothes, which then quickly turned into rags of various colors, all different from the Kotoan purple. Her hair also grew longer, but she decided not to change much else about her presence. A couple moles here and there, but she liked her face too much to change it. A voice in her mind whispered about looking in the mirror and seeing...them...but she quickly brushed the thought off. She didn't have time for this again.

"This will have to do it," she muttered to herself, then turned to Varian and bowed her head thankfully as she gave back the empty glass vial. The triton pocketed it and together, now sufficiently disguised, they continued their walk upwards.

It didn't take long for them to reach the top of the hill and to spot the small tavern laying at the edge of it. It seemed serene, made of bright brown wood, and a little shield hanging at the side. It read 'Vöröspofa Vendéglő'.

Nuru was, thanks to her upbringing at conflict with the Navy, familiar with their native language, Ingvarrish. This little bit meant so much as 'Red Cheek Tavern'.
A strange name, maybe they sold spicy food that made your face heat up? Nuru wasn't sure.

As they approached, more people crossed their path, most of them leaving the tavern, some going in. A handful amount sat at the terrace smoking cigarettes and drinking beer, talking exceptionally loud.

Varian had to cover his fin-like ears to not get overwhelmed. Nuru's face also soured at the harsh sounds, but she tried not to show her displeasure.

After all, they weren't supposed to draw attention to themselves.

The bell attached to the tavern's door rang merrily as they entered, and without a word they sat down at a nearby table.

Varian took out his mom's book and once again started reading it. Nuru would have thought he was extremely dedicated about getting to the Hole, if she didn't feel the same way as the triton. The sounds were getting to her and it seemed they both needed something to focus on to keep them distracted from it all.

Nuru decided to concentrate on her surroundings instead.

The tavern, though on a hostile island, seemed ordinary, if not outright peaceful on the inside. Sure, the men drinking and eating were uncultured, as they ate loudly and without any silverware. Sure, they resembled pigs more than they resembled men, which irked Nuru in a way she never thought possible. But otherwise, the tavern had a warm atmosphere about it. The wooden tables and chairs, the white and red cloths on the tables, the many painted plates on the walls as well as the violin and flute music coming from some unseen place made the place feel like home, in a way. Well, without the height. And the inventions. And the large glass windows lining every wall. And the polite people...

Alright, maybe Nuru was trying to convince herself of the place's familiarity. Maybe Nuru was a bit overwhelmed about the cultural differences. Maybe a lot.

She took one look at Varian, deeming him a better subject to focus on than the tavern. He was clutching his ears, elbows on the table, eyes wide, looking at the same page as he was a couple minutes ago. In fact, he was looking at the exact same spot, eyes unmoving. Unblinking.

Nuru could wholeheartedly relate to his stressed state of being. Internally, she asked herself, how this could get any worse.

"What can I get you two?" A nasally voice broke the silence.

They both immediately looked up at the blond man who asked them. He was tall and had a white apron tied around him. The only waiter Nuru has spotted so far.

Nuru hesitated for only a moment before her face smoothed out into perfect nonchalancy.
"Five kilos of dried meat, two bags of hardtack and as many cans of dried bean as you have in stock, please," she said. "Oh, and a barrel of wine, if it isn't too much trouble for you."

The waiter smiled at her, confused.

"That's not how taverns-"

"We- we're leaving in a bit. So we aren't eating here, sir."
Varian of all people answered. In fluent Ingvarrish. Huh.

The waiter now looked him up and down, then at the lilypads the triton went back to reading and his smile turned into actual confusion. He stood there for a moment, before something seemengly clicking in his mind. He huffed out a bit of air, then let out a "Whatever you say, fish guy."

He then nodded at Nuru, went away for a bit and came back with everything they asked for. It was almost painful seeing only one guy with such thin arms carry that much and rolling a large barrel, but then again, he was the one who chose to work here, so it wasn't anyone's fault.

After paying, he asked them if they needed help carrying any of it, but Nuru declined the offer. The less time they spent here with the less people involved, the better.

The waiter was just about to leave them be when a woman burst through the tavern's door, panting. She shouted, "My daughter! They stole my daughter! Someone, help!"

The waiter just rolled his eyes and left to the back of the tavern.

"The- they said if we didn't give them all our money they'll kill her!"

Nuru and Varian looked at each other, at a loss for what to do about it.

"Please," the woman begged, "those hooligans at the- at the other end of the island. They can't get away with this!"

They looked at the woman, trying to categorize her. She didn't seem like a bad guy at all, just an old, helpless woman. Her back was hunched and she had greying hair. She had a cane in one hand, and spoke with a bit of an accent, Nuru coulnd't really place it anywhere. She seemed like a generally nice lady.

Nuru wanted to help, she really did. But to help was to bring attention to herself, and she couldn't risk it with the Navy. She looked back at Varian, who also seemed to struggle with leaving the woman to her worries. He shook his head at Nuru, and the two, silently and with their ackquired goods in hand left the tavern.

As they were just about halfway down the hill, Nuru rounded up on Varian.

"You didn't tell me you spoke Ingvarrish!" She whisper-shouted in said language.

Varian, seemingly lost in thought, almost dropped the barrel full of wine.

"Wh- well, I didn't know you spoke it either!" He countered. "You aren't Navy, so when you think about it, it really isn't that obvious that you know it. It's just logical to assume you didn't."

And, fair. Nuru had to agree with that. She didn't want their first real conversation to be a semi-fight anyway, so she changed the topic to something more relevant.
"That woman back there. Should we help her?"

"No. She doesn't strike me as someone who could help us find the Hole in the Sea. And I mean, those tavern guys didn't jump to help her either. We're not sticking out for not lending a hand."

Nuru wasn't expecting such straightforward answer. He was right, obiously, but that didn't make her feel any better about this. She stopped in her tracks and looked the triton in the eyes. "I learned that when there's someone in need, one should at least try to help them in some way."

Varian faltered for a bit, then said "If everyone thought like that, Princess, there would be no conflicts between the Kingdoms. Or within."

"I suppose that's true..." Nuru said. She sighed. "We better pack up and get going. Quickly. This place is freaking me out."

"Ohhh yeah, absolutely. It's way too loud," Varian responded.

"I think that's just how people are on land. Not that I've been to the Undersea... Then again, Ingvarr is on a whole other level. My Mama told me to always be polite, but those men weren't better than pigs. Is that too much to say? Maybe it's a bit too much to say..." Nuru blabbered as they packed the little rowbooat.

"Come to think of it, why are you up here, anyways?"

Varian stopped.

"Uh- If...I may ask," Nuru added.

Varian stayed in the same position, eyes once again distant. His mouth was wide open, like a fish gasping for air...ironically enough. He stayed like that for a moment, then looked at the ground, wiped his face and turned to Nuru.

He was just about to respond, when-

"Leaving in a bit, ey?"

They turned around to see the blond waiter from before sitting on top of a cliff that stuck out of the hill. Shit, were they followed? His grin grew even wider as the two, shocked, hurried to get in the rowboat.

"I wouldn't set sail in that wreck, if I were you," he practically sung. Then he shook his head. "You'd think a pirate would know that, but alas..."

"We're not pirates," Nuru countered.

It was true, technically neither her nor Varian were what you'd usually call a 'pirate'. They weren't thieves or against any major law. But Ingvarr and their Navy, thinking their politics were the only lawfully correct one, used the term on all people who didn't see eye to eye with them. So in that sense, sure, they were pirates.

"And yet you try to flee from here. Why else woud you be in such a hurry?"

Varian grabbed the oars and pulled on them, stronger than ever before.

The man, at that, jumped down from the cliff and in the blink of an eye and put a hand on the rowboat. It didn't do much, but still got the idea across. He'd seen them. He could alarm the people and they'd hunt them down before they got far away. That is, if the boat didn't sink by that point.

"Face it, friends, this is a dead end." Then he let go, straightened up and said "Well, without my-"

Varian threw a vial at him.

The bastard evaded it effortlessly. The boat shook as Varian climbed out of it, bombarding the man with various alchemical compounds, growling Coronan insults at him in the process.

The man just smirked at him, his agility allowing him to get out of every attack's way just in time. Varian got more and more frustrated with this.

He seemed to be enjoying the little playfight he'd gotten himself into, when Nuru suddenly tripped him from behind, making the man lose his balance long enough that Varian could throw a pink alchemy bomb at him. As it exploded, the waiter got covered in a sticky, pink goo, trapping him at the wall.

Varian let out a loud "Ha!" at the man.

Nuru then, from seemingly nowhere, took out a thin sword and pointed it at the man's neck. Varian was surprised for only a second, before rounding on the man and holding yet another compound high to show him he's not out of resources.

The sword got closer to the waiter's neck as Nuru's glare deepened.
"First, I'll see to that your mother dies. Your father will be next in line. I'll make you watch as they beg for me not to cut their lives short. Guess what. I will." The sword drew a little blood from the man's neck.
"Then, and only then will I grant the mercy of killing you too, scum."

The man stared at the blade, eyes wide, then looked at Nuru and smiled.
"Holy shit, Princess, I didn't think you'd have it in you."

Nuru backed away. Dang, did he hear Varian call her a princess? Just how long had he been tailing them?

The man then looked at the boat.
"As I was saying, before you," he looked at Varian, "rudely interrupted... This is a dead end. Without my help that is."


"...what." Varian deadpaned.

"You heard me right, cimbik, I'll help you. I'll patch the boat up and you'll be free from harm's eye, for however long you need."

Nuru didn't trust this. She didn't trust this at all.

"And what's in it for you?" she asked. "Surely you aren't so altruistic...are you? Unbecoming of the Navy."

The man laughed loudly, Varian once again had to cluch his ears.
"Me? Navy? No no no no, Starlight, I'm no Navy dog," the man answered. "I'm a pirate, just like you!"

"Again, I'm not a pirate," Nuru repeated.

"Sure, sure, princess, pirate, whatever. But you need my help. You need me," he said.

"No, we don't," Varian declared.

"Hmm?" The man now placed all his attention on the triton. "And why's that?"

"Because you're lying." Varian started pacing.
"You're not a pirate. If you were, you'd bee in deep within this island's dungeons, rotting, counting the days until death takes you. Yet you're here, serving Navy left and right at the tavern."

"Shows how well I can play my role," the waiter (?) said.

"A role, yes. Is that what you're playing right now? Playing being a pirate, so that we take you in, for you to stab us in the back? Huh? Is that it?"

Varian was getting worked up, so Nuru put a hand on his shoulder, stopping his pacing. He looked at the triton and motioned with her head that she'd try something. Just see.

Nuru touched the man's hand, closed her eyes and concentrated.

When she opened them, the man's eyes were bright purple. Nuru looked back at Varian and smiled.

Then, she turned to the man and asked "Are you a pirate?"

"Yes," he said, smirking. "I am."

Nuru, taken aback for just a moment, continued "What are your intentions? Why are you trying to help?"

The man closed his eyes and calmly said "My intentions are simply to help you, because 'when there's someone in need, one should at least try to help them in some way'".

Hearing Nuru's own words thrown back at her made her rethink just about every moment leading up to this. Nuru was an excellent spellcaster. There was no way her Zone of Truth ever failed, which meant...

"He's telling the truth, Varian."

"Finally, someone with reason-"

"Shut up," Nuru commanded. He did.

She looked at the triton, puzzled.
"What should we do with him?"

Varian was thinking. Then thinking some more. Then looked at Nuru, as if something he just had an epiphany. "The daughter," he said.

And Nuru was immediately on board.

"That woman had lost her daughter. She cried for someone to help."

The blond groaned, "That old hag? She's crazy, she loses something every week. Her bag, her husband, now her daughter-"

"Did you check if she was just making things up?" Nuru asked.

The man smiled from ear to ear.

"He's a bastard, Nuru," Varian said, completely seriously.

"Hey!"

"Well, time to make things right, then. You want to help us? How about you help that 'old hag' first? She seemed really in need, don't you think?" Nuru reasoned.

"No no, you misunderstand, princess, I'm a pirate, not a hero-"

"Don't care, didn't ask, do as you're told or perish," Nuru said.

Then, Varian chimed in.
"Say you're a pirate as you say," he started slowly.

"Oh my Gods are you still hung up on that-"

"If you are, and you didn't get caught on this island, that would actually come in handy for us. Right, Nuru? Right. Right it would, because if someone so sneaky could help us out, then we'd never call unwanted attention to us. Ever," Varian said.

"Indeed, so then..." Nuru smirked at the man "if he helps us go unnoticed as we rescue the old woman's daughter... Well, that would truly be oh so helpful. Very useful."

The two both crossed their arms and looked at the man, smugly.

"S-so what? I help you help the lady, you let me on the ship?" he asked.

Nuru nodded. "Make us do it invisibly. Nobody can know we were ever here."

"Besides you, naturally," Varian added.

"You really felt the need to clarify," the man muttered.

Deciding not to hear that, Varian turned heel and started marching in the direction where the lady said. Nuru followed suit.

"Hey, fish guy, get me down won't ya?" The blond shouted behind them.

Oh, right. He almost forgot.
"Don't call me that," Varian warned.

"Okay, what can I call you then? Blue Thing, Sharkteeth, Fishlegs, Goggles, Freckles, uhh- Shorty, Your Majesty the Undersea King, oh so big fish please I beg of thee, let my tired human self down from here-"

He fell down with a thud.

Varian closed the vial of the anti-pink-goo-serum (he was working on the name) and kept going without looking back.

----

There was something fishy about the old lady's situation, Nuru had come to realize not so far into their walk to the other end of Featherbrook island.

See, Featherbrook was populated by navy people, and navy people only, at least as far as Nuru was concerned. The man - Hugo, he'd told them - was a pirate though, disguised as a waiter on the island. If he could go unnoticed, who's to say there weren't other bandits lurking around, causing trouble?

But, and this is what made Nuru conflicted, Hugo wasn't a part of them. One would assume that working in a group of outcasts would come with benefits, because it's harder to capture them all if discovered, but Hugo worked alone. That's what he said, at the very least.

"And this happens often?" Varian asked, out of breath as they walked the steep hills of the island.

"Yeah, well, this month it happened a lot. Dunno about before," he answered.

Huh, another contradiction? Nuru noticed it immediately and said "Funny, you seem to know this island quite well. One would assume you've been working here for quite some time, not just a month."

The man, as if caught, faltered just a bit. Had Nuru not been an excellent people-reader, she would have missed it.

"I'm quick at learning my directions, Princess," Hugo said.

"Yet you never came across these bandits? Not once?" Nuru asked.

"Wasn't my problem," Hugo answered.

Nuru and Varian looked at each other at that, thinking the same thing. This guy was a total asshole.

Time passed as they walked in silence after this.

At some point, they had to go through a small village, with one single street and made up of two houses as well as a large field of what looked like...Hmm.

"What is that?" Varian asked the two and pointed at the strange plant crawling up large wooden rods in a pattern.

"That's-"

"It's hops, the traditional Ingvarrish flower they make beer from," Nuru cut in before Hugo could finish. He just raised an eyebrow and continued walking. "However, it tastes awfully bad."

"How dare you-", Hugo almost shouted, when he noticed a farmer at the far end of the field harvesting the hop flower.
He looked in their direction, and Hugo grabbed the two and quickly pulled them down, so that they didn't get discovered.

They stayed put until Hugo gave them the sign that the farmer had passed them.

They stood up slowly, and the other two looked at Hugo, utterly unimpressed.

"Hey, I didn't expose you, alright? I didn't," Hugo said, as he walked ahead.

---

"So...what exactly is our plan here?" Varian asked after they had passed the village.

"I could hand them some gold if needed," Nuru, the rich Kotoan Princess started, "but I'm certain they'd continue their tyranny and demand more once this trouble got resolved. Therefore, we must rip out the issue by its root-"

"You mean cut," Hugo corrected her Ingvarrish vocabulary.

"Cut, rip out, doesn't matter. We need to chase them away from this island somehow, so that they won't keep inconveniencing the people," Nuru finished.

"So we aren't giving them money?" Varian asked.

"Not money, no," Hugo answered. He gestured towards Varian. "Gimme your bandana."

"What? No, I'm not giving you-"

Hugo slipped it off of Varian's neck.

"Hey, that was my dad's you prick!"

Hugo then took out some...cogs from his pocket and wrapped the bandana around them, tying it at the top. Now it looked like a large sack of gold.
"For a bit of baiting," he explained. "We can't come empty handed, now, can we?"

Varian glared at him but ultimately let him do it.
"If there's oil on those cogs I'll kill you," he said.

"Ooh, scary," Hugo said.

"And then we will figure it out from there, I assume?" Nuru asked.

"We'll have to threaten them, or fight them. But yeah, I guess so," Varian thought out loud.

"And what's more threatening than a little girl and a fish, am I right?" Hugo asked ironically.

The two didn't signify that with an answer.

---

The entrance, once they reached the bandits' not-so-well-hidden hideout (it was just in a cave at the other end, really, with a clearing in front of it so not even trees were hiding it from plain sight), was their first challenge.

It was guarded by a monster of sorts. Well, it seemed that way to Varian. In reality, it was just some exeptionally large guy. He was bored out of his head, and not exactly paying attention to the sound of the trio's arrival, as they hid behind the tall grass. That, at least, hid the place from outsiders, but it was still a wonder that the guy didn't notice them.

Nuru observed the guard. He was, in his boredom, picking up small pebbles and rolling them around in his hands. That seemed just about the only thing to do around here.

Nuru turned to the boys. "He seems fascinated by those pebbles..."

And just like that, Varian had an idea. He looked around in the grass and found some rocks.

"You can't be serious," Hugo whispered to him, but Varian had already picked them up.

He emerged slightly, circled his arm around a couple of times and lounged the rocks in the other direction, far, far away from the entrance. It collided with the ground in a loud thud, and the guard looked where it went. He then looked around, and, deciding that nobody was looking, went to pick up the rocks.

Varian then bolted to the entrance, the others following shortly after, and just like that, they were inside.

"That was easy," Varian said blankly.

"That was exeptionally easy. If this is what the bandits are all about, I'm surprised Hugo never tried helping the lady," Nuru pondered.

"For the last time, not my problem," Hugo said.

They took a look at their surroundings. The cave was built out, and one hallway led them inside in utter darkness as they followed along. At the end, a closed door greeted them.

"I could use my acidic compound to melt the lock..." Varian muttered, "but It may come in handy later when we fight the guys."

"Allow me," Hugo said, and he crouched down slightly to the hinge and picked out a hairpin from inside his braid. It ratteled as he lockpicked the door, and it opened with a click in no time.

"Impressive," Nuru said.

"Why thank you, I try," Hugo answered  with a small bow.

As the door opened, they were led to a room which opened to another hallway, as they walked along it. At the end, it split in two ways, and Hugo, without looking back, headed down the left hall. The others, baffled, followed him.

Yet another door stood in their way, and Hugo, yet again, picked the lock with ease. After another hallway opened up, they came across a third door, locked once again.

Hugo just smiled at them, as he went to pick the lock, and-

"Watch out!" Nuru exclaimed, a bit too late.

Hugo set off a machination that singed his fingers, and would have burnt him more if he didn't jump out of the way.

"Huh. Gotta be careful, oh master pirate," Varian joked smugly.

Hugo rolled his eyes and continued onwards, the others close behind.

The hallway now opened up a little as it became wider, but also even darker. They could barely see now.

Varian, thankfully, had night vision. As a triton.

"Crew, this place is definitely full of traps. I can sense it. Just try to follow my lead, I'll show you how it's done," Hugo said, brimming with confidence.

When Hugo went ahead quickly to get through the hall, Varian noticed a small bump on the floor and grabbed Nuru's hand, pulling her back. Hugo, an unstoppable force through the dark, walked right onto it, and with a click, the wall opened up in small cracks, and from them, arrows shot out.

They hit Hugo right in the arm and foot.

He didn't seem to notice for a bit, as he said "See, you just dodge these and you're all well and good, you know, how a pirate does i. You can learn this way of moving from me if you take me on the ship and- OH MY GODS."

He turned back in horror to the others who could not at all hide their smiles.

Varian went up to him and yanked one of the arrows out, as Hugo whined with pain.
"This is poisoned," Varian said happily.

Hugo, terrified, took the other arrow out, turned around and silently gone ahead.

Nuru had to admit, this was quite amusing.

Not a mintue later, there was another pressure plate he sufficiently stepped on, and Nuru, aware of his impending doom grabbed the man's hand and pulled him away as the ground gave out and a pit with sharp spikes in it opened. It took effort for Hugo not to fall in, but he decided not to dwell on that. Once he had both feet on the ground, he went a bit back in the hallway.

He then gave it a run and effortlessly jumped above the pit to the other side. When the others tried it too, he made sure to pull them out if they almost slipped back. That, at least, was helpful.

The way was mostly clear after that, with Hugo, now limping slightly, leading the way and Varian helping signal if a trap was going to set off. Hugo muttered something definitely not nice about fish, and Varian swore to his pet raccoon-octopus to kill the guy first chance he got.

After a bit of walking and escaping life threatening traps, the trio arrived at a wide room with only some boxes and planks in it. Clearly under construction.

Just as Nuru looked around, a man jumped down from a gallery part hidden away by some large rocks. He was a hulk of a man who had a red bandana tied around his head. Another jumped down, hunched and with a hooked nose. Then another. Then another.

Then, a woman.

Hugo looked behind him to where they were coming from, and was surprised to find two thinner men standing there, blocking the way out.

The bandits started to close in on them.

"Where is the girl?" Nuru shouted, her voice wavering slightly.

"Oh, came for the little girl I see. Well too bad, she's not present at the moment..." the woman declared.

Nuru and the others, unable to do anything, waited for further explanation.

The woman sighed, then continued. "She's at the harbour docks not far away from here. We decided to take her on a little cruise."

One of the goons put a hand on his mouth and started screaming, voice muffled. Then, he stopped and laughed.

"Quite a good impression, Otter, sounds just like her" she said to him. Then she turned to the trio and continued. "One of my men is with her right now. When I give the word, he won't hesitate to throw her into the ocean, and she'll drown. If you don't want her blood on your hands, you give us our due."

Hugo, out of nowhere, started chuckling. He then threw the sack of "gold" at her feet.

"Here, lady, a little bit we gathered. But, say," and his face took on a devilish grin, "why are you staying here, when you could come to the town and take what you need there? Why hide away? Unless...no, it can't be..."
Hugo looked her in the eyes "Are you scared?"

"Cut the theatrics, boy, or I'll cut your tounge out."

"Ouch, miss, you wound me so..."
Hugo then looked at the other two. They were expecting confidence. Instead, his eyes were full of fear. He was sweating buckets and any plan he once had dissolved in his head.

Nuru could have laughed. She didn't.

Instead, she tried the one thing she was good at: diplomacy.
"Let us think this through before anything drastic happens. You bandits need money? Or is there something else you are after? After all, a small amount of money can't buy your rights as...what are you, pirates?"

The bandana man pointed his hand in Nuru's face. It had a large hook on it and glimmered slighlty.

"Oh, very nice, yes..." Nuru mumbled. "So, pirates. You may have a vendetta against the Navy, which could be why you are scandalizing in their territory, however I must warn you. The Navy is not to be played with, not violently at least. Violence and force are never the answer, and I'm certain you could come to some sort of agreement if you just talked it out with the island's leader-"

"Honey, we are not staying here. We don't need an agreement. Also," she put a hand on her hip, "Lady Caine never backs down from a fight. We don't talk. We brawl."

"Is that so," Nuru started. "Well, well then, a fight you shall get but the concequences of your actions will always haunt yo-"

"There's dynamite planted all over this place. Let the girl go or we all go up into smithereens."

All eyes looked at the short triton at the centre of the room.

His eyes were cast on the ground, but they glowed a bright blue in the dark. His hair was flowing in a wind that surely couldn't have gotten into the cave. His sharp, shark-like teeth were sticking out of his mouth, and if Hugo looked closer, he could almost see blood dripping from it. That was most likely just his imagination, but seeing Varian in such a way, it wasn't too far fetched of an idea.

The room had gone silent for just a moment.

Then, Lady Caine took out a sword, pointed it at Varian.

In the same moment, the triton took out two glowing alchemy vials from under his cloak and looked up at the woman.

The woman whistled and Varian bolted for the door they came from. The men standing there tried to stop him, but he threw the balls at them and as he left, a pink smoke filled the room behind him as the two goons got trapped in goo.

Varian ran.

The two burly men followed in his wake, and now there was only Nuru, Hugo and Lady Caine left in the room.

She circled them slowly, as Nuru and Hugo exchanged worried glances. Then, Nuru took out her long, thin sword she used to prickle Hugo's neck with, ready to fight.

Hugo reached behind his vest, and took out something shiny. Something bronze. There was no moment to process it as it was thrown at the pirate woman, and it ran across her whole body, biting her.

She, surprised, yelped out at the many tiny pains the creature caused her.

Nuru took this as an opportunity to use her sword, and slashed at the woman two times. The first managed to cut her because of the momentary distraction, but the second one she dodged. She then kicked the bronze creature off of her, skin now bruised with tiny bites.

Hugo ran to catch the thing, then took out two daggers from his belt. He threw them at the lady.

Caine was agile and dodged the attacks, doing a cartwheel in the process. Once up, she stabbed at Nuru, who stopped her sword with her thin fencing sword. They slashed and collided many times, with seemingly no progress made, only that they were slowly moving to the room's exit.

Hugo saw their stalemate and took it as an opportunity to crouch down behind Caine and trip her.
She fell on the stone floor, head hitting the ground with a thud. Nuru and Hugo ran out the exit, with Caine following them only a few moments after.

---

Varian, thanks to his night vision, evaded the now activated and opened spike pit and ran through the hallways with determination. At one point, when the halls divided he almost went through the left one, but then remembered that the "left" was the "right" back when they entered, and quickly corrected his mistake.

With the two men on his tail, as in, literally grabbing his tail in the half-darkness, he was momentarily slowed down just before he could get outside the hideout. He tried to pull them away but the weight of the men wouldn't let him progress.

He threw a stick bomb at them, the two coughed and loosened their grip just enough that Varian could slip away.

---

When the pit came, it was Hugo's turn to pull Nuru out from almost falling, and they ran ahead. They heard Caine quickly jump through, and Hugo grabbed Nuru's hand.

"Don't let go, keep up," he said, as he, practically blind in the dark, tapped along the walls as they ran. He could remember exactly where they came from and which turn they took, so they didn't get lost at all, and in no time, were out of the cave.

---

Varian ran to the docks as fast as he could. There was nothing standing in his way.

---

When they exited, Nuru and Hugo found two bodies passed out in front of the cave, and the rock-enthusiastic giant hugging his chest tighter. There was no time to look, but Nuru could just barely make out the blood on the giant's chest, his flesh visible from a tear in his skin.

Caine, still close behind them called out.
"You can run, but the girl's already dead! I gave the order!"

Not giving her the time of day, the two ran and ran and ran until they finally reached the docs.

Lady Caine, shortly after, also arrived at the scene.

At the scene, where they found a man with an eyepatch tied up, drenched in a familiar pink goo, stuck to the wood of the docks.

He was screaming his head off. On top of him was a man, no, a monster Hugo believed, with a green vial in his hand. Its lid taken off, the beast stared at the goon, who begged for mercy. The vial got tipped ever so slightly, the liquid almost dripping into his eye. His good eye, that the beast with one hand was holding open.

"Please! Please I- I have a family, I have children... I- I'm a teacher, I have to read- Oh Sun, give me mercy please," the man blabbered.

And Nuru smelled the acid first. One drop and the man's eye would be gone for good.

It was clear that Varian was not himself. His face was devoid of any emotion, his breathing heavy, eyes dialated and once again, glowing. Even in the setting sun it was clearly visible.

Hugo had to force himself to look anywhere else, and he spotted a small boat slightly farther behind, with a young woman sitting on it, her hands and feet tied together and her mouth gagged. She was crying quietly while sitting motionlessly. Clearly, she must have been also entranced by the triton's mad manouver.

Then, a voice broke throught the wind.

"Stop! It's enough. The girl's yours, just let him go!" Lady Caine's sword was shaking in her hand. She could barely compose herself to make her voice sound confident enough.

Varian, as if thrown out of a loop of malicious thoughts, straightened up, shook himself and closed the lid on the vial. He slowly got off of the man and went straight up to Lady Caine.

The Lady Caine, who was now on her guard, started backing away, but Varian's quiet yet clear voice made her stop in her tracks.

"Go. Go, if you know what's good for you. And if you tell anyone we were here, I won't hesitate. I'll destroy you. That's a promise."

He then took out another vial from under his cloak, and Caine almost slashed at him in defence, before the triton handed it over to her.

"This is the neutralizer for the compound your men are trapped in."

At that, she took the lid off, poured a bit on the man on the ground. The goo evaporated and the two ran off.

Varian stood there. Just silently looking at the way the bandits went.

Slowly, Nuru forced herself to move and untie the girl in the ship. She started with taking out the gag, as she gasped for clear air and thanked her a dozen times. She used her sword to cut the ropes on her arms and legs and she reached out a hand for her to grab, as she was carefully led out of the ship and onto the docks. Her legs shook, like they were tied up for most of the day. She was about to cry again when Nuru hugged her and muttered something about it being alright. That she was safe.

Hugo kept staring at Varian.

Nuru looked at Hugo and for once couldn't read what the man was thinking, at all.

To her, Varian's expressions were clear as day, and yet she couldn't logically deduce why he would act or look the way he did. Anger, maybe, but it was so much more. It must have been, because that person was not the triton she took on her rowboat the day prior.

That person was a stranger.

---

They took the girl - Faith, as she told Nuru on the way - back into the tavern where the old lady was waiting, head in hands. When she looked up and spotted her daughter, the joy she felt radiated off of her, making Nuru and Hugo smile uncontrollably.

They hugged each other close, tears running down both their cheeks, as the lady whispered to her
"Thank Sun you're alright, kicsim, jajj kicsikém, drága kicsi Faith..."

She then turned to the rescuers.
"Thank you! Oh, Sun, thank you! I owe you my life, you are my heroes!" She said.

Nuru heard a sob coming from next to her. It was quiet, but present enough that she could hear it clearly. She looked to her left.

Varian was crying, tears running down his face as he stood there, hands by his side, making no move to wipe them away.

Nuru took the triton's hand in her and grasped it tight. He smiled a bit. It was then that Nuru realized, Varian was wearing gloves, and it felt rough against her skin.

---

After a long day's adventure, if you could call it that, Hugo sat the two down at one of the tavern's tables after they had closed and cooked them some traditional Csirkepaprikás. On the house, he said.

He also promised to fix up the small rowboat in just a day, so that they can get away from Featherbrook as soon as possible.

He sat at the pult, also eating but from a distance away. He broke the quiet clinking of the silverwares.

"So... Am I in?"

Varian almost choked on the bite he was taking.
He looked at Hugo, then Nuru, then Hugo again.

"I mean... You're not that helpful-"

"Definitely not helpful. And I still have my doubts," Nuru said, "And ultimately it wasn't thanks to you that we didn't get exposed on this island," she looked at Varian and smiled.

Varian returned it, though not as widely.
"Well we battled against pirates and we almost lost. Maybe you can show us what you're capable of out on the open seas?" Varian said.

"Yes, like a trial run," Nuru said, "You come along and help us. You can sail with us for a while, I suppose. It wouldn't hurt to have another ally on my quest."

Varian nodded. Then, an idea came to him.

"We also need a cook on the ship."

Hugo chuckled at that.
"So...You're not taking me because of any my extraordinary pirate skills I showed ya today, but... My cooking?"

"What can I say. It's hard to think straight when you're hungry for justice," Varian replied.


---


Dear Vice Admiral Donella,

I found them. Rest assured, they won't cause problems for the Empire.

I won't let you down. You can trust me.

Lots of love,
Hugo Rottewange

Chapter Text

Varian's green alchemy vial lit up the room as Hugo slowly closed the creaking door behind them.

"Remember, people. No fatal injuries!" Nuru exclaimed in hushed tones.

"Sure, sure, we're just gonna tickle them with these," Hugo anwered as he walked up to a desk, grabbed two sharp daggers and examined them.

Varian rolled his eyes in the other end of the room. Despite sailing together for days now, Hugo was still just as insufferable as before.

Well, at least he got them into the Canella Navy Base pretty much effortlessly. No guards noticed them. Sneaking in was a success.

Now, onto the next phase.

Varian lifted up his vial to see better. He was walking along the wall slowly, looking for the most harmful weapons. The armoury of the base was secured by two guards, but with some group effort (and alchemy) they were knocked out prone.

This also meant that their time was limited. The guards' state would soon be discovered. Still, Varian walked along the wall, examining each armament in great detail.

Nuru grabbed a long sword, a definite update from the thin, fencing sword she used. As she lifted it up and felt its weight, she nodded to herself, then looked at the other two.

"So we're really doing this?" Nuru started. Hugo turned to her slightly, half listening. "I mean, possible allies aside, this is a bit extreme, don't you think? The people deserve freedom, they do, but is this really the best way to go about it?"

Hugo let out a small laugh. "Princess. These folk need proof that they can fight back. We're just taking some Navy weapons, it's no big deal."

"Yes, but we're stealing!" Nuru argued, as she pocketed some smaller weapons.

"We're pirates," Varian said, amused. He was still at the wall, now standing in place.

"Well- Well I'm here on a political mission! Not to play pirates," Nuru replied.

Hugo, who now had a gun, enough ammo for at least 4 times the gun, as well as the daggers in his pouch, snapped to Varian. Varian, who still hasn't picked up anything yet.

"Goggles, any day now..." Hugo said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey!" Varian turned to him. He hated that nickname. "I can't rush this!"

"Just take something. Anything!"

Varian's eyes lit up. "Anything?"

"Sure, just hurry up."

At this, Varian, walked over to a large barrel of gunpowder that reached until his stomach and was extremely wide. He crouched, shifted a little and slowly lifted it up, smiling at Hugo.

Hugo, seeing the small triton holding a barrel almost his own size, looked amazed. And also terrified. "Don't you dare drop that."

Varian nodded solemnly. His small octopus-raccoon creature - Ruddiger, he insisted - climbed on top of the barrel, holding a tiny knife. It must have realised that alchemical components alone can't account for everything, so it took a knife, just in case.

"Aww, that's very considerate, Ruddiger," Nuru cooed.

"Yeah, well, my rat can cut her enemies with her bare teeth. That's nothing impressive," Hugo mumbled. The small mechanical rat climbed out of Hugo's jacket when it heard that she was the topic, and looked at Ruddiger then back at Hugo, confused.

Ruddiger raised the knife in their direction threateningly. The man just smiled but nodded. He got the memo.

With all the equipment they needed (or could possibly hold in two hands), the crew was ready to get the hell out of there.

Nuru looked out the crack of the door. The small hall in front of the armoury was empty at this point. She gestured to the others that it was safe to come out.

Varian did, along with Ruddiger, as Hugo stayed back to light a torch and light up the arbitary system he and (begrudgingly) Varian threw together. The now lit fuse leading up to the other gunpowder barrels quickly got shorter as Hugo shut the door behind him and caught up with the others.

The resounding boom behind them was loud enough to possibly alert everyone in their vicinity. They had to be even more careful from now on.

They ran from the explosion, but then went through the following thin corridors at a snail's pace, checking at every turn if it was clear. Things were going smoothly.

---

"So we sneak in, depower them and then what?" Varian asked in the rowboat as they swam towards Canella just that morning.

"Then? We just sneak out, easy as that," Hugo replied.

"Which would be a sound plan, however," Nuru argued, "the promise of mayhaps acquiring pirate allies for my mission isn't a guarantee. Therefore, we should also aim for something concrete."

"That is..?" Varian asked.

"Plans, confidential information, just about anything that knowing about would benefit us."

"Cause you don't wanna actually fight them," Hugo added. "Only with words," he mocked her tone.

Nuru refused to get worked up. "If we already have the upper hand, there won't be a need to combat in the traditional sense."

"Okay, then Nuru talks while we beat people up, deal," Varian chimed in as he swung forcefully on the oars.

Nuru looked at him worriedly. She now knew firsthand what the triton was capable of, but still, this is...

But this plan needed to work.

"You know what? Fine, but no killing," Nuru decided.

"Of course. What kind of monster do you think I am?" Varian asked, genuenly a bit hurt, but hiding it with a small smile.

Hugo noticed but didn't say a thing.

---

After walking through endless corridors, some of which they needed to manouver so that the guards didn't notice, they arrived at the base's leader's office. This would definitely hold some valuable knowledge.

Varian and Nuru let Hugo walk forward, the two then staying slightly behind, just in case anything happened. So far so good, the hall was dark. Windows around this wing of the establishment were strangely absent.

Hugo tried lockpicking the door, but the darkness gave him a slight disadvantage. Luckily it was in his element to feel stuff around in the dark, as he practically did only that for most of his childhood. Slowly he worked through the lock, when-

"Stop right there!"

Varian and Nuru turned around first. They were on the lookout but somehow, even with Varian's dark vision, this woman still managed to surprise them. Footsteps were getting louder in the distance.

A sword was pointed in Nuru's face, but the woman's gaze lingered on Hugo, his lockpicking tools hanging loosely in his hands. He was smiling at her apologetically, but not backing away.

"Miss, you must have the wrong idea!" Nuru started, grabbing the woman's attention from Hugo. "See, we were just trying to get inside! We need to speak to whoever runs this place."

The woman raised an eyebrow. She was not impressed at all.

"Now, it's safe to assume that they are most likely away at this moment, however we believed it best if we..."

"Broke into my office?" The woman deadpanned.

"Yes! I- I mean no, of course not, that was not at all our intention..." Nuru blabbered. Then it registered. "Your office?"

Nuru now took in the woman as a whole. A tall, muscular, short haired woman with the fiercest expression that Nuru had ever seen. She had the typical red-white-gold uniform of the Navy, top and bottom connected with a belt with intricate design. On her shoulders hang a cape that reached until her mid-back, adorned with golden symbols that contrasted well with the dark red of the cape's inside. If the cape wasn't a dead giveaway, then the badge on her chest definitely was: a silver and gold sphere, a bird atop that and large spread out wings on the sides.

This woman was no lesser than a captain...

"Captain Cassandra!" one of three men shouted as they gathered behind the woman. "The armoury! It was plundered, blown up, weapons and ammunition taken!"

Cassandra looked at the 3 strangers in front of her. She looked at Varian. The gunpowder barrel was still in his hands. She looked at Nuru, a long sword's sheath poking out from under her skirt.

She looked at Hugo, thieves tools in hand.

She shouted.

"Pirates!"

The crew bolted as fast as they could, Navy plans and possible weak points all forgotten. A new goal emerged:

Trying not to get caught and arrested.

Immediately they had a problem. The three men were blocking the hallway, which's other end was a dead end. Cassandra still had her sword out, meaning they'd have to get through her somehow, then the men, then bolt. So this is why there were no windows nearby!

Nuru also pulled out her sword. Her princess training would come in handy especially now.

Meanwhile, Hugo pocketed his tools and bolted towards Cassandra, who now was stopped and in a stalemate with Nuru. This gave him and Varian the chance to slip away from her.

Varian, with his hands full holding the barrel, couldn't reach for any of his vials. Thankfully his pet, Ruddiger climbed down to his belt and pulled some out, throwing them to Hugo. He grabbed them and tossed one at one of the men's feet. It exploded in a pink goo, sufficiently trapping Man number 1 to the place. One down.

Nuru clashed with Cassandra. The Captain was a skilled swordfighter, that much was certain. Nuru's attacks so far have all been dodged or deflected, no matter how swiftly she tried or how much she turned them slightly so that Nuru's back faced the other side of the corridor. The one where she could actually run somewhere.

As Varian's goo trapped the guy, two more jumped at him, seeing how he was unable to attack on his own. Varian couldn't fight with his hands, yes, but the men forgot to take one other component into account: Varian's race.

The alchemist turned his back at them and bent down a bit. He swung with his tail and tripped the men behind him, who fell on their backs. Without a moment of hesitation, Hugo ran forth. Varian straightened up and also made the move to run, but he stopped in his track. He looked back at Nuru.

"Don't you think this is wrong?" Nuru asked Cassandra, as the woman slashed from below. Nuru just barely dodged, shuffling still in Varian's direction. "These people deserve freedom, Captain! They're not bad people!"

"May be so," Cassandra said as she lunged forward, "I'm just following orders."

Nuru understood, a Captain wasn't at all the highest rank. But she still had a say in how the island was treated. She had been placed here, after all. So technically, on a smaller scale, this was actually her deed. That the island came to this point.

Which also meant that "You could make things right! Have you seen the town? They're starving, whereas before the takeover all of Bayangor's towns were flourishing!"

Cassandra locked eyes with Nuru as she attacked. Once again in a stalemate, Nuru, the excellent people reader, could see the guilt in the woman's eyes. Deep down, buried under layers of reinforced misbeliefs, she must have known the error of her ways.

Then, one of the men from behind Nuru got up, ready to slash at her back.

Ruddiger jumped on top of him and squirted black ink in his eyes. He yelped in surprise as the other man came to support.

Nuru heard the commotion and quickly moved out of the now blinded man's aim, whose blade in turn cut Cassandra's arm. She backed a bit due to the sudden pain, and it gave Nuru the chance to run.

Varian did, too, just a moment later. He waited half a second for his raccoon to climb back up to him, then he bolted away.
The man whose eyesight was still good followed closely behind, along with Captain Cassandra.

As Varian and Nuru ran through the hallways, with the intent of simply getting as far away from their pursuers as possible, one realization hit them:

Hugo wasn't around.

---

In no time, he found what he was looking for.

Following the halls he knew like the back of his hand was beyond easy. Here he was. At a small, vault-like place.

He entered and exited just as quickly as he came, pocketed the treasures and without being noticed by any of the guards (or rather, them paying him no mind), he ran back to the people he'd been ordered to keep an eye on.

---

The Navy base became lighter the more windows Nuru and Varian came across. With the Captain and her underling on their tail, persistent as ever, their escape seemed hopeless.

That was, until Varian got an excellent idea.

"Hey. Nuru," he started while running, panting from exhaustion from carrying the barrel the whole time. "I'll buy us time if they reach us, but," he gestured his head to the windows on their right. "Can you break a window real quick?"

Nuru got the memo.

She ran forth, kicking, banging on a large window to their right. No use. Nuru then looked at the raccoon, who after just a moment of confusion, tossed her one of Varian's acidic compounds.

Nuru tossed it at the window, which shattered and then melted the glass. Despite it being narrow, this was their only chance.

So, Nuru climbed through the small opening, the shattered parts of the glass scraping her skin. Varian followed behind, though the barrel seemed way too big, he couldn't get through while holding it. He climbed back to try again, when he heard their pursuers catching up.

He tossed the barrel through the hole, Nuru just barely caught it thank Gods, and Varian climbed through.

They were at the rooftop of the base, many meters above the ground. Luckily, the capital of Bayangor was built with houses of fairly similar heights.

Thanks to this, they could jump from roof to roof, the deep red roof shingles clattering below their feet. They were descending slightly with each jump. All while the two tossed the barrel back and forth between them, in case Varian needed to throw a vial at the people behind, or Nuru to secure that Varian got ahead. They were moving in the direction of the docks, where their rowboat would be.

However, they couldn't escape as just the two of them. They couldn't leave without-

"Hugo?" Varian shouted when he spotted the blond on the ground, running with something in his hand. It looked like a bag, stuffed and heavy. Still, more importantly than the goods he likely stole, "Where the hell have you been?!"

"Just getting souvenirs," he said, smiling smugly. "Come on, let's get outta here."

"Actually," Nuru began as she tossed the barrel back to Varian. They were now only a bit above ground, and Nuru noticed an opening to a small alleyway. When they were higher, she also spotted the direction to the town square. And how people, small as they seemed from such a distance, were gathering in that square. She saw an opportunity. "Bye guys, I'll go make some actual progress."

She jumped down the roof and ran in the square's direction. Hugo, who was next to her for just a second tried to stop her. No use, she was fast as lightning.

With Varian all alone on the roof, he shouted "Catch!" as he threw the barrel down into Hugo's hands and climbed down. Hugo almost fell on his ass from the impact, but just barely caught himself. He scowled at the triton.

"Let's buy her some time, 'kay?" Varian asked. Hugo didn't say a thing, just nodded as Cassandra and her men (both, the other one managed to get the ink out of his eyes it seemed) reached the house they just jumped down from.

---

As Nuru ran towards the town square, the amount of people she almost ran into increased. She apologised to every single one of them. Still, with all the merchants out on this sunny day, it was the best time to install hope into their hearts.

The townspeople didn't even bat an eye at her, as she ran. They all looked so...sad. So out of energy, but still working, working their whole miserable lives to earn less than needed to just barely get by.

The sun in the sky seemed like it was mocking the dire tone of the scene.

With each step taken, Nuru became less and less sure how to motivate such beaten folk. Still, she wasn't one to give up without trying.

She climbed up a platform on the side of the square, probably a good place to hold a speech. It wasn't anything special, just the top of a fountain without any water in it. This was right in the centre, so from here, she would be heard from all directions.

Some merchants looked up at her in confusion. They also heard the commotion from behind. The pedestrians whispered to each other, none knowing what was going on.

"People of Canella! My name is Princess Nuru Grace Aester of Koto."

The townsfolk gave all their attention to her now. A princess in their town? Now that's unusual.

"The base tower in which the Navy positioned here stores their weapons has been raided and blown up by none other than my crew." She pointed at the tower, smoke coming out of one of the windows. The people looked at it, then back at the princess, buffled.
"This means they're currently at a weakened state. This is your chance, Bayangor! This marks the day your opression ceases! All you have to do is fight back!"

Navy soldiers came through the square, all armed. They would soon attack Nuru, so she knew her time was over. She wrapped it up elegantly with a "So fight, people of Canella! Fight for your freedom, your rights, and now more than ever..."

She raised a fist to the sky, the sun shining behind her, giving her a sort of ethereal appereance.

"Be pirates!"

For a moment, everything was quiet. Then, the soldiers closed in on the fountain. Nuru just barely made it out, dodging their attacks while running towards the docks.

From behind her, she heard someone start to cheer and clap, followed by all other people present joining in. It warmed her heart.

---

Hugo and Varian threw the barrel back and forth, one grabbing alchemy vials while the other fought with his newly acquired daggers.

Just as they heard the people cheer behind them, Hugo shouted out to Nuru. "Hey, Starlight, we don't have all day!"

Then, when Hugo was sure Nuru heard him clearly, he signaled to Varian to run. And run they did. Towards the docks, the pursuers close behind.

The two pirates looked back in panic to see Cassandra still following them. A bird, an owl flew forth in the pirates' direction and landed on Varian's head as he carried the barrel. It pecked at his goggles, slowing the triton down immensely.

Hugo turned back to help, when he saw something red fly towards Cassandra. Its end was lit, it sparkled and then, without the woman noticing it coming,

Boom.

The explosion not only brought the woman down, but also caused a smoke cloud, so that neither she nor her men saw the pirates anymore.

The owl, sensing its owner getting injured, flew back to her, leaving Varian alone.

He could now move forward.

There was no time to think about where the mystery explosion could have possibly come from.

They ran.

When reaching the docks, Hugo got in first. Varian handed him the barrel to place into the rowboat carefully, and also climbed in.

Nuru caught up to them, wasting no time getting into the boat, and then she and Varian pulled the oars as forcefully as they could.

"Go, go, go!" Hugo urged them, looking out at the island behind. The tower raided, the main street they came from in shambles, and the riot of Canella started, it was clear they made an impact.

Only when the island of Bayangor was just a dot on the horizon, did the other two rest. Out in the ocean, they were peacefully sailing.

With their minds now clear, Varian let out a cheerful 'whoo!', smiling wide.

Nuru reciprocated his smile. Her heart wasn't racing anymore, but she still felt like today she made the first step towards freedom from the Empire. "First blow on the Navy is a success, then, I would say?"

"Yeah, definitely," Varian replied. He then, now calm and collected, looked at Hugo. He pointed at the stuffed bag in the other end of the boat, that Hugo threw in hastily.
"What's the deal with that?"

"So glad you asked!"

Suddenly, Varian wished he didn't. But, curiousity got the cat (or rather, the fish) and he watched closely as the blond took out coins, some shiny jewellery and golden cups from the bag. He held them high each time, making sure the others got a good look at them. They let out some 'ooh's and 'aah's at each new treasure shown. Some more sarcastically than others.

Then, Hugo grabbed the last one.

"Now I'm not really sure what this is, though. But it looks pretty valuable right?" The treasure he was showing wasn't made of gold, rather it was the same colour as the roof shingles but had golden patterns carved into it. It was a wooden rod, more or less. Small and wide.

Varian looked at it, confused. Those golden markings looked similar to those drawings in her mother's journal. He still couldn't understand what her text said, but the pictures made it clear. This treasure was related to her research, meaning it was related to the Hole in the Sea.

Not that he would reveal this information to Hugo of all people.

So, he instead said "Yeah...no clue. The golden stuff is probably worth a bit but other than that?" He shrugged.

"I've never seen something like this..." Nuru muttered. "How come you picked it up?"

Hugo seemed lost in thought for a bit. Then, he said "I don't know, it was just... like, it was calling to me. And I mean there was just enough space in the bag for whatever this is, so I took it."

"Huh," Nuru said.

"Master pirate here acted on impulse, is what he means," Varian added.

"Can't a guy be a bit spontainous? Maybe it's even more valuable than all the other stuff combined."

"Or just a rod with random lines on it. Who knows," Varian wanted to look at his book. He really did. To confirm his theory as well as to get away from needing to tolerate Hugo. He couldn't stand him.

But he couldn't just whip out mom's research in front of him, when the topic was this. He had to wait.

So, they sat in silence for a bit.

Then, in a hushed tone, Nuru broke that silence.

"Guys. We started a revolution," her distant gaze on the horizon.

"Yup," Hugo said. He was half laying down, as much as he could in the small boat, seemingly unbothered. As the sun was going down, he seemed to be trying to get a little rest.

"I mean I did give that speech but still...was this the right course of action?"

"If they rise up, some will get hurt, yes. Or thrown into prison. But it's a first step we had to take," Hugo said. "There was no other way going about it."

"Those Navy guys had it coming," was all Varian contributed so far.

Nuru was lost in thought. She was sure this would lead to good in the long run, but for now, everything seemed so uncertain.

"Wanna celebrate?" Hugo asked all of a sudden.

Nuru turned to him, wide eyed. "Like, celebrate that we may have just caused the worst outcome ever? Celebrate that they know my name?"

"Oof...you gave them your name?" Varian asked.

"Yes! Yes I did because. Well, I'm not even sure. I wanted them to get hopeful? To know they could count on me?" Nuru fidgeted with her hands while speaking. "Now they're surely after me..."

"Welcome to piracy, Starshine! Can't wait for our wanted posters, just hope they get my glasses right this time," Hugo said. "We gotta drink to this." He turned to Varian. "Ever gotten drunk before?"

Varian looked at him, utterly unimpressed. "I created fluids of all kind in the Undersea. I breathed in toxic chemicals daily. You really think I don't know what being drunk means?"

"I'm...not sure if you should be that proud about the toxic chemicals..." Nuru said quietly.

"Okay, okay, but the gravity must be different down there, what with all the water around," Hugo said, getting up from his position excitedly.
"So I bet you never tried a kegstand!"

Nuru facepalmed. This was gonna be a long night.

Chapter Text

All getting drunk lead to was Nuru being extra tired, so she claimed the entire first row of seat (it was just a wooden plank in the rowboat) to lay down on. This meant that Hugo and Varian had to share the other seat.

Now, because of getting drunk, Varian actually became slightly friendlier! Slightly. This meant that he didn't whine about sitting next to Hugo.

He also didn't start a fight, so, hurray to that. He even ignored all Hugo's weird remarks as he took out his mother's journal to look at it in the dim light of his green vial. He only did that before when Hugo was asleep, but now, all common sense forgotten, and after a long day, he decided why not. Maybe the alcohol could help him decode better, right?

It couldn't. The words were just as gibberish as before. Maybe even more so.

Hugo looked at him for a while. He looked into the book, saw the text, saw Varian concentrating on it but not getting anywhere.

He leaned in closer to take a look at the text.
"Ancient language? What, is this like...a holy script or something?"

Varian didn't answer.

"Didn't take you for the religious kind." Hugo leaned back. "You Moon people are pretty extreme."

"I don't believe in that," Varian muttered, getting frustrated with Hugo as well as with the unsuccessful decoding.

"Oh? Are you a Sun worshipper?" Hugo asked. "Is that even a thing down there?"

Varian shut the book forcefully.
"No, Hugo, I don't do worship. I'm a scientist."

"So you worship the science," he said, smiling.

Varian glared at him.

"No but really, if this isn't a script for that, then what is it?"

"None of your business," Varian said.

Hugo thought for a moment. Varian seemed to be decoding the script. He couldn't progress. He wouldn't tell Hugo about what it is about. He's kind of obsessive about it. From the little peeque he got, there were some signs and drawings in there, too. And Varian's a scientist. Okay, that last part doesn't have to do anything with this. If it doesn't, this could mean...

Was this...

"A treasure map!" He exclaimed.

Varian jumped at his loud tone. Nuru stirred slightly.

Varian tried to look as neutral as he could. His poker face was pretty good, he thought.

"Hmm. Playing the poker face, I see. Kinda rude, man. It's still a treasure map though," Hugo said.

"It's not a-," Varian paused.
He looked at the book. He looked out at the sea. Then he said "actually, yeah. Yeah this is totally a treasure map! Nothing else!" He half-lied.

Technically, it was the truth? The Hole in the Sea held the greatest treasure of all time. It wasn't a map, though, not really. And simplifying it to that is just crude.

Hugo blinked. This triton in front of him was sweating buckets, which was something, since he was always glistening a bit due to his race.
"Okay?" Hugo started, taken aback slightly. "You don't sound so sure about that."

"I am so sure! 100% sure," Varian said.

"Uh huh," Hugo said, but he didn't prod further. "We'll just steal it then, after we gathered more allies and stuff. Looks complicated enough for you, so it's likely worth a ton."

"Wha- what do you mean 'for me'?" Varian said, raising his tone.

Hugo smiled in front of himself.

"The hell do you mean 'for me'? Hugo?!"

Still looking ahead, unbothered, Hugo went "Let's just say I'm not the one staring daggers at a bunch of lilypads."

"I'll stare the daggers into your flesh, asshole!"

Hugo looked back at Varian, totally amused. He leaned on the side of the rowboat. "Into my flesh?"

"Yeah! It will hurt, a lot in fact because you'll be dead," Varian said, glaring at Hugo. He said it so matter of factly. Hugo almost laughed. It was a bit endearing.

"That's...not what this saying means, Goggles." Hugo said.

"I don't give a crap about your stupid Ingvarrish sayings! Leave me alone!" Varian practically shouted.

"Would you guys just shut it?" Nuru woke up groggily from her nap. The sun was almost rishing at this point.

The boys looked at her. Varian took a side glance at Hugo, then muttered "Sorry".
Hugo didn't say a thing, still smiling.

Nuru rolled her eyes. She looked around, seeing the day start to begin, and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. It didn't help much.

She heard a grumble. It was muffled, and while she was looking ahead, she just brushed it off as Varian doing it.

Then, the boat started shaking slightly. It also started moving. Nuru looked back, neither of the boys were steering. Which meant the boat was pulled into something. She, immediatley alarmed, grabbed her telescope, stood up and - actually, she had to wait a moment, she only saw black and stars in front of her from standing up so quickly - but when she came back into,

Nuru saw a-

"Whirlpool!" she cried.

Varian also stood up and ran to where the navigator stood. He looked ahead, confirming that yes, it indeed was a whirlpool forming near them. From behind, Nuru could make out a hushed "what?" sound from Hugo. She looked back at him.

The moment Hugo's eyes locked with Nuru's, he stood up. His movements were exagerated, as if he was putting on a show, and he practically shouted a "Where? Let me see that!"
He pushed Varian away as he got to the other end of the boat, which the triton obviously had to reciprocate. Nuru ignored the boat swaying left and right with each push of the boys.

She decided to look ahead instead, to see the boat reaching the whirlpool, that for some reason was small enough that it didn't suck the boat in. What a relief.

The sea also didn't turn black, so that confirmed it: this was not the Hole in the sea. Would have been a letdown anyways, if such a small hole had been the one destroying an entire quarter of the ocean.

But then, what was this whirlpool all of a sudden?

Nuru heard that grumble again. Now a bit clearer, it almost sounded like a belly growling. Huh.

Then, an animal stuck its head out of the water. Then another. Then another. They were so called sea-lemurs.

They were small, white and adorable monkey-like creatures with large ears and a long tail. Nuru knew these species from when she was younger, though they were much more at home in Bayangor. Seems like the waters near the island were just as beloved by them.

"Ew, why are their eyes so big?" Hugo asked.

"Whoa, I only saw these swimming near the surface before, I didn't know they could also breath air!" Varian noted, utterly fascinated.

Nuru liked the lemurs, they were cute. However, she also knew not to let her guard down, when-

"Varian! Stop petting it, it can-"

"Ow!" Varian yelped as the monkey spat fire onto his hand. It was just a small flame, likely a defense mechanism. They are wild animals, after all. Varian quickly pulled back his hand, now also wary.

Elsewhere on the small boat, while the trio was focusing on the 3 lemurs and the whirlpool ahead of them, another one managed to climb onto the ship. It saw a sack full of food and set out to snatch some.

From the sack sitting right next to the barrel full of gunpowder.

"Betrayed by your own kind? Damn, that's cruel," Hugo said to Varian, totally amused.

"He's a triton, not a monkey, Hugo!" Nuru corrected.

"Technically humans are much closer to monkeys in their evolution, so you're wrong in many ways," Varian added.

As the lemur in the back got hold of an apple, it sensed another presence and stopped. A pair of eyes observed it and the apple it was holding, curiously. Then, hands reached in its direction.

The lemur fled, from the sack to the side of the boat, and was about to jump in the water when the hands grabbed its tail.

The animal, shocked, went wild. Its main objective now was to just run somewhere, anywhere. The tail wiggled wildly, and in no time slipped out of the grapple and so, the lemur managed to run into the barrel. The curious human took its lid off for the monkey to climb in, and then slapped the lid back on with a "Ha!"

Three confused pirates all looked back to where the sound came from.

They saw a kid.

A kid, trapping a fire spitting sea lemur in a barrel full of gunpowder.

They wanted to shout, but then-

BOOM.

They all went flying as the ship exploded. For a bit, everything went white.

---

He was drowning. His eyes filled with water, the world a blurry mess as he was slowly suffocating. His body shocked from the ice cold water. He would have thought the sun would warm it up a bit, so that it would be bearable at least. Guess that didn't count for the open sea.

In the blur, he saw a figure swimming towards him. It was the cool, blue skinned one. The one with the cool glass vials that he got a good look at from inside the barrel he was hiding in. He seemed like he knew stuff.

In the distance, he could make out pairs of legs kicking to keep two bodies afloat. Likely the other two of the crew.

The blue man grabbed him by the arms and pulled him up.

Once he surfaced, still in the man's hold, he coughed up saltwater, his body desperate to get some air in.

It took a while, but he also started to regain his hearing a bit. Just the normal amount, so everything was still muffled, but slightly more clear. He could hear a-

"What in the world- I- First week of traveling and my ship blows up?! Thanks, Sun, really cool, Sun!"

The woman was shouting.

"Yeah, no, can't patch this one up for ya..." The tall one said.

"Great, just swell!"

The blue guy still held him in his arms, waiting for him to come to, properly. As he wiped the water from his eyes, his surroundings became abundadly clear.

Strayed in the middle of nowhere, a bunch of rubble sticking out of the water as the waves swayed them forcefully.

A woman, the hero who gave the speech, enraged. Complaining to mostly herself, but looking at the tall one with the glasses. Those glasses being now full of water, so that the man's eyes were shut tight instead. Looking up around, he could also now make out the blue guy a lot better. He was looking at him with this worried expression, saying...huh. Strange. It was even more muffled than normal, and his words were said with a thick accent. He gathered as much to know that he said something along the lines of "are you alright", but man. He said these words so strangely, he had to concentrate real hard to know what they even meant.

"Oh? Is the kid finally awake?" The woman asked, swimming closer with her feet, holding onto a wooden plank.

"Yeah, he seems better now," the blue one answered.

"Well then he can tell us exactly what in the hell he was doing on my ship!" Nuru said, looking the kid up and down.

He looked around, gulped, and then looked the woman in the eyes. And he smiled.
"Your speech was so cool! You have to let me join your crew!"

Nuru was baffled. "I...my speech... From Bayangor? You're here from Bayangor?!"

"I snuck in and hid. There was no time to say hi, you guys were in a hurry," he explained.

"And you didn't reveal yourself since then? No wonder you were hungry, it's been like 8 hours..." Nuru pondered.

"I couldn't risk it! If you were bad pirates, then you could have done something bad to me. And even if not, you could have just said 'nuh uh, you're not joining, get out of the ship, dumb kid' and then leave me in the open sea!"

"Yeah cause that's not at all what's happening right now," Hugo said sarcastically.

"Wha- I didn't want this to happen either, tall guy!" The kid countered.

"So, let me get this straight. You heard Nuru give her speech, decided she was worth following and then...snuck into our ship, and would have stayed hidden for days?" Varian asked.

"If not for my stupid belly, yeah. That was the plan," the kid said.

At that point, it dawned on Nuru. "We- we kidnapped a boy. Holy Stars, we kidnapped a boy."

"Hey, you did get an ally after all, Starshine!" Hugo cheered.

"I'll destroy you."

"Hey, guys, is this really the time? We need to get to land ASAP" Varian said.

Nuru looked up at the stars. Without any maps present, she could still make out their location, and could easily deduce that "The nearest land is at least 3 hours away, Varian. How are we supposed to get there," she looked at the kid angrily, "without a ship?!"

The kid, as if he just got something, looked up in understanding. "Miss Starshine! The blue guy's some sort of a fish, right? He could totally swim us there! And then once we get to land, I can make it up to you. Okay?"

Nuru rolled her eyes at that. Seemed like she wasn't so tolerable to children, especially when it was about her mission to save a kingdom.

"Actually, yeah, I can swim you there, but..." and then Varian had Ruddiger pull out some vials. He mixed a bunch together, and after a while, he poured the concuction onto the other three's heads. "You need to be able to breath. So this bubble will protect you for a while. Be careful, though, I'm not sure how stable it is..."

"Oh, so it might pop while we're still under the water? That's cool, I can hold my breath pretty well!" The kid said.

"I like the attitude, but hopefully you won't have to test that theory..." Varian said. "Hey, what's your name, kid?"

"Yong!"

---

Swimming for 4 hours straight with 3 humans clinging onto him was even more exhausting than Varian had anticipated. By the time they reached land, his arms and back were completely sore. He wasn't the only one in bad shape, the kid, Yong seemed to get more and more seasick as the time progressed. Varian was worried he'd throw up onto his back. Thankfully, that never happened.

All this to say, Varian was eager to throw the 3 down onto the wet sand of the shore.

With the impact of landing, the bubbles around their heads dissolved, and they now could breathe in the air. And Yong had to cover his nose and rub his hands together when he, drenched in water, noticed the coldness of the island's air.

Though it was the afternoon, around 3 PM, the sky above seemed grey and dark.
Hugo rubbed his hands together in attempt of warming them up. No use. With teeth clenched together, he asked "Okay, we've arrived at...where exactly, Princess?"

Nuru looked around. Though the shore was sandy, hills covered in pine trees emerged not far from where the crew was standing. Out here, the wind was blowing like crazy, and Nuru feared it'd be even worse deeper on the island. She tried to associate it with any place she'd learned about, but nothing came to mind.

"Well, it's not as warm as Bayangor, plus the terrain is vastly different, so I doubt it belongs to the country." Nuru said, and then looked at Yong to confirm it.

Yong didn't catch her gaze at first, but when he did, he quickly straightened up and said "Um, yeah, no...this isn't Bayangor."

"Cool, so we don't know where we are," Hugo concluded.

"I've never heard of an island like this...strangely enough," Nuru added. "But that is exactly why we must lay low. Once we figure out a way to get...a ship..." Nuru looked out to the horizon longingly for more than she needed to, but enough for Yong to turn in on himself.
"Then, we can get away from this place, go back to Bayangor to find people willing to assist my mission."

"Your mission? Sure, Princess, sure," Hugo said. "Counterpoint: we'll freeze to death here without a ship or any place to stay. So, just a crazy little idea, but what about going deeper into the island and finding  people there? They could help. Or, you know, find like a cave we can stay in. A boat won't just appear out of thin air anyhow."

"Right, so waiting for that to happen is nonsensical," Varian thought out loud, as he stood up and stretched a bit.

"Wow, Goggles is agreeing with me on something? What has the world come to?" Hugo said, grinning.

Varian looked at him, grinned too, and shook the water off of him like a dog would. It all landed on Hugo, who, now twice as drenched and surprised, hugged his chest tighter.

"Hey- What the hell, man?!"

Varian laughed to himself, and turned to Nuru. "We need all the info we can get. What we find could be important to solve..." and he motioned towards the lilypads in his hands.

"Alright. Okay. We'll go in, sure. Let us try our luck!" Nuru said, now filled with determination. "As captain, I'll go in front and handle the talking. You three can assist, I guess."

The crew started marching in. Once they got up to a hill, they could see the cause of the cold clearly: a snowstorm was blowing trees and rubble away, the flakes and the darkness making it hard to see anything besides trees and the endless white. Varian lit up one of his alchemy balls, but it shone duller than before. It flickered only, likely due to the cold temperature they found themselves surrounded by.

Knee deep in the snow, the four quickly started freezing. They had to get to a safe destination, soon.

As they were walking, too focused on moving forward to converse, only the noise of the storm accompanied their path. That is until the kid got curious.

"Um, question..." Yong started. "In Canella you said you were the Princess of Koto. And the tall one also keeps calling you that. So, is that, like, something to say upfront, or..."

Nuru stopped her march to look back at him. "Yong, unless I give the sign, it shall stay hidden. We're not sure if the population here, if there are any, are Navy or not."

"So better safe than sorry. That's smart!" Yong said. Nuru didn't react to the compliment, just turned back to continue her walk at the front.

Not much later, Varian, walking in the back, heard something from a snow-covered bush. He stopped, immediately on guard, and told the others to stay put as well. He moved their only source of light in the voice's direction.

In the substance's green tint, mixed with the endless white, they could make out a figure.

They were running towards them.

They started backing away, but the snow slowed the crew down significantly. Not the person, though. They seemed to be used to navigating in the extreme weather, which is how they caught up to the four in no time.

The closer the person got, the more intimidating they looked; massive stature, a bulky man with a large coat, a strange helmet settled on his head. Likely to endure the snowfall. But it covered the man's entire face, only small openings making sure he could breathe properly. And the most peculiar part about it were no doubt the two horns attached to the sides of the helmet.

Varian was at least 85% sure it wasn't what regular humans wore.

As the man reached them and panted a bit to get his energy back (how far away did he run from?), the crew shifted closer to each other in a feeble attempt to protect themselves.

Nuru, ever the diplomat, stepped forth and asked, in a hushed voice raspy from the cold, "Good sir, who-"

"No time for that. Follow me!" The man said. He had a deep, growly voice, but not nearly as scary sounding as his appereance would indicate.

Still, doubt was written all over Hugo's face, as he looked at the others. Yong shrugged.

Nuru opened her mouth to ask for an explanation, but the man turned heels and started trudging through the snow; still deeper into the island, but in the other direction than where the crew was initially heading.

Nuru shouted after him, "Excuse me, could you tell us why?"

The man turned around. "You want to freeze to death? Come, quickly. We've got shelter," he said. Though his helmet masked all facial expressions, it was clear he was getting frustrated, maybe even scared for the inexperienced travellers.

Nuru looked at the others, motioned with her head to follow the man, and so, although full of doubt, they did.

In their now fast paced walk through the storm, the man said something without turning back. Only Nuru, first in the row, could hear it.

"Quick. Before the demon strikes again."

And wasn't that just a great thing to hear.

---

The 'shelter' in question seemed to be a flat, wide house, snow covering the roofs and everything up to the windowsills. Only a somewhat beaten out path made sure their legs didn't fall off from trudging in the cold.

There was a short fence in front of the building, beaten up by the storm. A shield, just as bad for wear, barely hung above the door.

They couldn't read it, but they didn't need to. The helmet-man turned his head to them as he opened the door, and said, in his deep voice now filled with excitement, "Welcome to The Snuggly Duckling."

Hugo snorted. Nuru shot him a glare. He shouldn't be impolite.

The 'Snuggly Duckling' was a stark contrast to the freezing wrath of cold outside. Its warmth radiated from every corner, the dark brown wood it was built out of reflecting the candles lighting the place. It was crammed, despite its reasonable size. The tables were just a tad too big, the ceiling a tad too low. But these weren't the main reason why it looked so crowded.

It's because it was. As the door opened and the four walked in with Helmet-Man leading them like lost sheep, many pairs of eyes turned to them, at first wary. Then, the man nodded and the people greeted them with warm smiles.

At least, on the first glance. Nuru could immediately read them: they weren't happy to see them, per se. They were hopeful. On the last verge of it, perhaps. Delighted that someone came to their humble abode.

Nuru mustered up her best, most reassuring smile.
"Greetings, Snuggly Duckling!"

Just as the Helmet-Man closed the door behind them and barricaded it with a large piece of wood, something banged on it with such force, one would think it was a creature. But judging by the howling wind, it was clear the cause was the raging storm.

The crew stepped deeper inside the place, a tavern it seemed, and they could hear the man let out a sigh of relief and a small "Just in time."

Nuru looked at Varian, who shrugged. They were still standing in the doorway. The men inside looked at them expectantly. Nuru decided to ask, "In time for what exactly?"

A man with a large nose and high, shaky voice stood up and said "Before she got you! The demon!"

Hugo snorted again. All eyes turned to him.

"What?" He asked. "You people are fun. But it's just a storm, nothing to get so superstitious about."

The Helmet-Man shook his head. "I'm afraid you don't understand. Let me explain. But," he looked at the four of them, dissheveled and still clutching their sides to get warm and said "aren't you gonna sit down first? You'll feel better when you eat."

"And you wanna sit for this," a small man (a gnome, maybe?) with large white beard whispered, a drunken smile on his face.

Nuru ignored him. He turned to the man who offered the luch and bowed "Thank you, Mr...?"

"Attila," the man said.

Yong, ever the excitable, ran inside the tavern. He looked at the tables, the people, gave them a smile, looked at what they were eating. His stomach grumbled. Then he remembered the whole reason he'd been discovered and suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore. Still, he sat down at a random table.

The others of the crew followed suit and Helmet-Man, Attila stood beside the table. There were beers quickly placed on it, but only three. Despite Yong huffing, they only gave him what seemed like warmed up water with a bit of cocoa mixed in. The kid took it begrudgingly.

Two people left them for a bit and returned with the promised food.

Varian eyed it curiously. Not because there was anything inherintly wrong about the food, no, but because the amount seemed inappropriate for humans. A couple of seeds and half a slice of bread for each of them. When he picked the bread up, it was as if made of stone; hard and heavy.

"Well thanks guys, you really shouldn't have," Hugo said under his breath but loud enough that Attila heard it.

He sighed. "This is all we can give you. Trust me, the tavern has seen better days..."

"No kidding," Hugo replied, taking a bite of the stale bread, or at least trying to.

Attila continued. "There are barely any crops left, we've been trying to hold it out as long as possible, but... Well."

"Just hold on a bit longer? I'm sure the storm will go away sometime soon. It never snows longer than like 5 days in Bayangor," Yong added, with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

The faces of the people took on something bittersweet, something they all knew and shared the weight of.

The man with a large nose spoke up. "It's been like this for over half a year. Don't think it'll be over any time soon..."

Nuru didn't touch the food just yet. Instead, the gears in her head were turning, but ultimately coming up with no logical explanation why she wouldn't know about an island  so close to Bayangor, yet struck with a seemingly endless snowstorm. Then, a question surfaced on her mind: "Why don't you just leave, then?"

"I'm afraid we can't," Attila said. After a beat of silent confusion he added "trust me, we tried, no use. And not even the Navy came by, ever since the storm started... It's like there's an invisible wall surrounding the island. Though, I don't know the specifics, that's more of Xavier's thing."

"How come? Is he versed in this sort of thing?" Nuru asked.

"Not so much the magic, he's more of an ancient languages, artifacts and history guy. But he has theories."

Hugo bumped Varian with his elbow. He whispered, "That guy could help us with that map of yours!"

Varian, who had been busy trying to piece the island's story together, shot up at that. He didn't say a thing but nodded eagerly. Finally, they could have a lead on mom's notes!

---

After finishing their (not so fulfilling) meals, the crew set out towards this Xavier's hut, just a little behind the Snuggly Duckling. The sky took on an even darker shade, it must have been around 8 PM, Nuru assumed. The princess' mind was racing, unable to let one particular detail of this whole situation go. Namely: If there's no leaving the island, and not even the Navy came here for a suspiciously long time, the 'wall' must have stopped any who have ever tried to enter.
But she's never heard of this place, as if it's been deleted from all maps ever drawn. So, nobody could have even tried to enter.

So, the question remains: Why could Nuru's crew step foot on the island?

Why them? Why now?

A burly man, a blacksmith it seemed, was working in the hut as they came in. He stopped and looked up when the door opened.

Xavier looked at each of them, and his gaze lingered on Varian for a while, before smiling brightly. It was a warm, welcoming smile, one that made them want to listen to whatever the man had to say.

"Greetings, Xavier I assume?" Nuru asked.

"Yes, that would be me. It's been quite some time since I've had some company. How can I help you?"

Nuru put on a polite smile. "We've been made aware of the island's...rather unfortunate situation, and I'd like to help. Can you tell us about the snowstorm? The men at the tavern said you had some 'theories'?"

"Oh, and," Varian took out his mother's research from under his cloak and held it up high, "maybe you know what these notes say? I've been trying to decode them, but..."

Yong shot Hugo, standing near the door still, a questioning look. He looked at them, seemingly all having a sort of mutual understanding about the strange bound-together lilypads. Not him, though.

Xavier came closer with heavy steps that reminded the kid of bears. This man didn't seem to be nearly as dangerous, however, despite his large frame. He gestured for Varian to hand over the research, and he did. After one skim-through, the man's jaw almost dropped, recognition in his eyes unmistakeable. He then closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts and began to explain.

"Do you know about a man named Lord Demanitus?" Xavier asked.

The crew all shook their head no.

He opened the lilypad-book on a page Varian had been relentlessly trying to get a grip on, so far no use. "You see this drawing here? This pattern, it is one he used on most, if not all of his devices."

"Devices?" Nuru asked.

The man was eager to explain in great detail. "Oh, well why don't I start with the beginning, then. Lord Demanitus was a world-famous sorcerer sailing the four seas. Everywhere he went, he made inventions operating on a mix of magic and science that brought progress to all islands, for all kinds of people." He thought for a while, seeing his audience listening in awe. He added, "This was way before your time. Way before the Ingvarrish Empire even existed, or the East Sea turned black. Thousands of years ago."

Nuru and Varian nodded as they toook in the information. Hugo, on the other hand, seemed to get bored and nudged Yong lightly, who seemed quite lost trying to follow along. The tall one motioned with his head, and the kid followed him deeper into the hut, only half listening to the story now.

"We know about the stories mainly from scriptures, as well as memorials built for him. There's one device of his on this very island, high up in the mountains!"

"For what purpose, may I ask?"

"Well, it is one to control the course of the wind." The alchemist and the princess looked at each other excitedly. Xavier quickly continued "But it hasn't been working for quite some time. In fact, if my theories are correct, it is haunted."

"Haunted," Varian repeated.

"Yes, by a demon. I believe she's the reason for the endless snowstorm curse. See, Demanitus had many enemies in his lifetime, all jealous of his work. This woman, an evil, extremely powerful warlock it is said, tried to kill him many times. Once she knew the man was staying on this island for a prolonged period of time, she cursed it with a storm so big, it was sure to destroy the island, and with it, Demanitus as well."

"That's horrible! Why kill innocent folk if you're aiming for just one man?" Varian fumed.

"There's no logical explanation in the way of insanity. The subterranean device was built to defeat the storm. And he was victorious. But, assuming this is related to the demon, her curse must linger on still. Demanitus' solution was temporary, it seems."

"Why don't you just activate the machine?" Hugo asked from the other end of the room. Him and Yong were looking at Xavier's weapons.

"It is not so easy, my boy," Xavier said sorrowfully. "Those of us who tried, never came back from the mountains."

"Oh, great! So there's no solution!" Hugo said.

"But you said you wanted to help, right?" The man looked at Nuru, who nodded in return. "Then this is all you can do. Go up there and try."

"How do we know we won't die?!" Yong asked, full of worry. The weight of the situation just dawned on him, apparently, and he suddenly had second thoughts about having run away from home.
Then, Xavier smiled. "You don't. But you managed to get on this island. It couldn't be a coincidence. I believe if anyone can do it, it's you."

"We'll try our best," Nuru said, already deciding in place of the entire crew.

They looked at her incrediously.

"Uh," Varian spoke first, "and what does this have to do with these notes again?" He motioned to his lilypads. "How will defeating the demon help me know what's in this book?" Varian didn't want to add a 'How can I actually get to the Hole?'. So far, only Nuru knew about his intentions, and it should stay that way. It was enough trouble as it was, that Hugo got interested in the notes. 

"Well, we already know it has to do something with Demanitus. If anyone will have information you can extract from, it's her."

"How?" Varian asked.

"You will know the way," the man said vaguely. Great. Guess legends can't account for everything. Varian took back his book and shifted in his place awkwardly.

"So, we go up there, activate the machine," an unsaid 'or we'll die' was professionally left out of her sentence "somehow extract information...? And the island is saved. Understood, you can count on us," Nuru said.

"Okay, so we're actually playing heroes now. Cool. Why?" Hugo asked, clearly not wanting to go along with the plan.

Xavier's expression turned serious. "We'll give you whatever you want in return. Money, supplies, what else do you need?"

"Can you build a ship?"

The blacksmith thought for a moment. "Absolutely. That is, if the snowstorm ceases."

"Oh!" Hugo's body language, as if a completely different person's, became open and welcoming. Yong snorted. "Xavier, my man, this is why you're the best! Well. We'll make sure to defeat the demon or whatever, don't you worry!"

Xavier then went back to his workspace, put aside the axe he was working on, and said "Great to hear. But you can't go there unprepared. You need rest, but also," he put some helmets and and armour on his workbench "protection."

"Cool!" Yong beamed.

"Can you also sharpen this?" Nuru took out her fencing sword, as well as the one she stole from Bayangor.

"Of course. Weaponry is important indeed," Xavier responded, taking the swords.

Just as he put them down, Nuru added "But please, be careful with the thin one. It was my sister's." Her voice got unimaginably quiet at the last word. She then gave a slightly worried smile to the blacksmith. He nodded, understanding.

---

They said goodbye, Xavier wishing them a good night and informing them that they'd start the march up the mountain at 6 AM. Apparently the storm wasn't as strong in the morning.

When they got back to the tavern, Nuru paid for a single room. It was the only one the men could offer them, but as Nuru and Varian noticed Hugo handing a dagger to Yong, likely stolen, rooming together didn't seem like a bad idea. They didn't mind keeping an eye on the both of them.

After settling in, each and every one of the crew was ready to pass out on the large bed. They all fell asleep quickly, exhausted to death. Well, almost all of them.

Varian tried to stay up. He had to think about how exactly they could evade certain death, and also how he could get the information he so desperately needed. After half an hour of tossing and turning, though, the alchemist involuntarely got pulled into the land of dreams.

And like every night since that awful day, dreams quickly turned to something sinister.

At first, it was just images flashing in front of his eyelids.

Golden hair.

Flowing in the water.

Shiny colours of the underwater scenery.

Purple. Green. Red. Purple.

Then, Varian realised his existence. He was under the water, swimming around, taking note of the vague blobs of colour around him. Then, something told him to look at his hands. He did.

His hands were full of blood. Panicked, he noticed that the water around him also turned to blood. He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't breathe.

He had to swim up to the surface.
As he broke free of the blood, finally able to breathe, he noticed a rowboat in the distance. It got closer by the second, and he recognised a young woman sitting in it. He couldn't see her face.

She held out a hand for him, and he grabbed it.

In that moment, he looked up at her face.

A skeleton stared back.

Varian woke up drenched in cold sweat, heart beating uncontrollably, his breath short and never quite enough. He sat up and looked around. Everyone else was sleeping peacefully on the bed, and he really didn't want to wake them. They needed to have all the energy for whatever tomorrow may hold. He laid back slowly, knowing fully well that sleep won't come to him after this.

At the other end of the bed, Hugo, turned away from the rest, stared out in front of himself tiredly. He shifted a bit, slowly so he wouldn't wake anybody, and took out something from under his vest. It shone slightly in the light of the moon. A badge of sorts. He stared at it for what seemed like an eternity.

When Hugo realised that the tossing and turning, likely from Varian, didn't continue, he put the metal piece away. Gods, he needed to sleep already.

That night, Hugo dreamt of his Mama, as always.

Chapter Text

When Varian got hold of it, he chugged the coffe down in one go.

It made him disorientated for just a moment, before falling back into his sleep-deprived state of sluggishly following along whatever conversation Nuru was holding with the Duckling's many thugs.

Breakfast consisted of nothing better than the day before. This time some nuts and once again, stale bread. Their only saving grace was the coffee, which, although extremely watered up, still gave them a bit of coffein to help pull through the day.

Yong got tea instead, now without any visible complaints. He was eagerly nodding his head to whatever the topic was, that Nuru seemed to be talking about. He slept well, it seemed. Or, and this was just a theory, but Varian could believe it if Nuru's polite conversation and Yong's focus would be a way to keep their minds on something other than thoughts of their possibly impending doom.

He couldn't blame them. He was just too tired to add anything.

He wasn't the only one, apparently, because at the other end of the table, Hugo was spacing out while munching on the nuts. The guy chose Varian as his gaze's anchor, eyes unmoving from staring into the alchemist's very soul.

Varian tried to win the impromtu staring contest. What was he, if not ready for a challenge?

He failed immediately, the tiredness making it hard to keep his eyes open. He took the defeat silently, knowing that Hugo would normally react and be annoying about winning. Not this time, though. A morning miracle, not having to hear his grating voice. He hoped it would stay that way the whole day.

---

"You ready, Sparkles?"

"I was born ready."

"The demon attacks, what do you do?"

Yong took out his newly stolen dagger. "I beat her ass with this!"

"Hell yeah, you will!"

The world hated Varian and Varian hated everything after breakfast. He was refilling some of his alchemical vials in Xavier's workshop, Ruddiger helping diligently, bless his heart. The alchemist then overheard this particular tidbit, and had to stop.

Nuru was trying on the armour and swinging her swords lightly, trying to feel out the changes. She, too, had beared witness to the pathetic phenomenon that was Hugo Rottewange, and couldn't let it stand.

"Are we sure this is really the best mindset? We don't exactly know what awaits us, now do we..."

Varian would have said something more straightforward, but what can he ask of a princess, anyways.

"Starshine, do not tell me how to teach the kid I just met. Kid, surprise attack." The kid in question threw the dagger into Xavier's wooden wall, aiming at just above the swords hanged up, and landing at practically the floor. Hugo stood there in silence for a bit, then said a reluctant "Yeah... We'll work on it."

Yong beamed as he pocketed the dagger again. It was better than seeing him scared to death about their predicament, but still.

"I must warn you, this isn't a game," Xavier reminded. If he noticed his own weapon being taken by a thirteen year old, he didn't say anything. "The mountain is treatcherous, the demon unpredictable. This is your last chance to turn back."

At that, all of the crew straightened up and with various degrees of smiles (as in, from polite to innocent to tired to the ugliest grin Varian had been forced to endure seeing), reassured the man that no, they wouldn't turn back now.

---

Just as Xavier predicted, the march up the mountain this early in the morning wasn't nearly as difficult as the day before. The wind still blew forcefully, snow still picked up by it and thrown around in every which way, but as they went further up, the sun sliced through the stormclouds, giving them a bit of warmth. Not much, it was more of a metaphorical one, deep within their hearts. The feeling of the tiniest hope.

The feeling that they'd come out victorious and save the island.

Varian's eyes were protected by a helmet Xavier gave him, as well as his trusted goggles. The armour, though slowing them down, did make a change in how protected they both felt and actually were.

After what felt like an eternity of trudging in the endless white, the blacksmith led the crew to an opening of a cave.

Well, if it would open. As it stood, it had been busted, large amounts of snow fallen from above, locking the entrance. Moving it with bare force was out of the question, as when Yong and Varian tried, they realised the snow froze together creating a near stone-hard wall.

Nuru then took a step back, looking up at the sun above. She closed her eyes and concentrated, let the little warmth run through her body as much as it could, and centered it at the palms of her gloved hands. She stood like that for at least two minutes, unmoving. When Yong looked up at her confused, Xavier just motioned to let her be.

In the meantime, Varian splashed some concuction at the top of the wall. As it trickled down, the first layer melted away. Still, he had to use three different vials for just this stunt, and he had to be more sparing. Who knew what this 'demon' had in mind.

Nuru's hands finally started to glow a bright yellow, almost blinding. Then, she suddenly opened her eyes and a beam of something came out, destroying the remaining wall entirely. She smiled at the crew smugly, as the boys all stared.

"You just got like, 10 times more awesome. You've got to teach me that!" Yong shouted excitedly, and Nuru just smiled at him, then turned to get inside.

Varian quickly shook his alchemy ball, creating a small light as they entered the cave. Deeper and deeper they went, the green tinting the white and gray. At the branchings, Xavier took the charge again and silently they followed, noticing how each way got even thinner than the one before.
Then, after at least 5 branchings and five times the worry of will-they-even-reach-this-place, the cave opened up. They'd practically come out of a hole into the largest interior they've ever seen. Well, except for Nuru. She was used to the high ceilings.

Even so, the large device felt monumental as they stared up at it. It had multiple layers. The bottom one, holding the rest in place was rather thin, connected to a circular platform they could walk onto easily, thanks to the bridge connected to it. As they looked down, they noticed the depth of this cave. One wrong move, and it could be fatal. They quickly hurried to the platform.

The higher they looked, the thicker the device got. Most curiously, it also had loads of beam-looking parts sticking out of the device, all connecting to golden spheres. And those were connected to smaller, blue crystals. What exactly their purpose was, Varian couldn't deduce, but he assumed that when activated, the device would likely gather the energy from these parts, and then shoot it out at...that now snow-filled opening at the top of the mountain, he thought as he looked up.

And there was one other thing. The strange wooden rod Hugo had stolen from Bayangor also had the exact same layered look, the exact same colour and the golden lines seemed to resemble the structure of the branching spheres. It wasn't a coincidence. There was truly a relation between whatever that thing was, and this device.

Varian had to find out, what.

The machine was not activated, obviously, which is how the space they found themselves in was eerily quiet. Only their racing heartbeats were heard as Xavier stepped forth, two hands reached out as he stared up at the lifeless device.

He then, with a booming voice full of confidence, or maybe well-masked fear, Varian couldn't tell, started, "Demon Zhanna Tirico! We come in peace!"

No answer. Nothing moved, nothing progressed.

"We just want this device to activate! Please, spare us!"

Nothing.

Nuru started to walk up, when a sound, quiet as a pindrop, made her stop.

Something was leaking.

Something was leaking fast, and it filled the room with white as the crystals dimly lit up.

Before they could run back through the bridge, their legs gave out, and the world became white.

---

The first thing they noticed waking up was the warmth. In her armour, Nuru started to sweat, but didn't take it off just yet. Again, better being careful.

As the crew and Xavier slowly came to and opened their eyes, they found themselves in a place vastly different than the snowy mountains. Around them an endless green, a scenic valley of sorts. The sun shone brightly, giving the place a late spring-like feeling. Birds chirped cheerfully, white butterflies flown by. The air was fresh and clear.

The crew was taken aback by this scene, something straight out of a fairytale. Then, Varian took a step back as he stood up, and heard his boot splash in something. Looking down, he saw a small brook gently rushing by. As he followed it with his eyes, it turned thicker and thicker until he finally noticed its source: up there, between two hills, a small waterfall decorated the area.

As the others also turned around, they seemed a bit more interested in what laid next to the waterfall.

Rocks and bricks thrown around haphazardly, remains of bright red roof shingles, wooden planks and shards of glass, from what seemed to once have been a window. In the depth of these old ruins, a part seemed to still be somewhat intact, though from this distance, they couldn't quite tell.

They all started to approach, except for Yong, who stood still and confused at where he first woke up. He looked at the blacksmith for an explanation.

The man stopped, thought for a moment and said, "I didn't know the cave leads to a pocket dimension. Must be the demon's doing."

Yong rushed up to the others' sides, now intrigued, more than anything. "What's that?"

Nuru chimed in, "It is sort of a...how do I explain this...a highly magical place. It doesn't look apparent from the normal world, and it feels like an actual place you can touch, when you're inside." Yong nodded along, taking in the information with great interest. Nuru added, "But it's not real. More like an optical illusion. And for it to be so grand..." she looked around in both awe and fear, "its creator must be an extremely powerful magic user."

"Aha. We'll just have to beat her together, then?"

"That would be ideal indeed," Xavier replied.

Nuru decided that, if anyone, it shoud be her to greet their foe, if she was even in this place. She composed herself and shouted a "Miss Demon! We came to talk! Please, spare us some time!"

No answer. This time, not even a reaction from the place they found themselves in.

After a beat, Nuru shrugged and motioned to the others to follow further into the valley.

As the crew got near the ruins, their theory of a part staying intact proved true. They walked around it, trying to peace together just what kind of a building it was. Even before going in, they should deduce every information available.

"Something big. A manor?" Hugo tried.

"If these stones were all used for walls, wouldn't there be more shingles?" Varian retorted.

"That's a goo- a point."

Varian didn't respond to the blond's obvious correction. Of course the alchemist was right. At least Hugo admitted it.

Nuru pointed to the remains. "Look here. Doesn't this part that stayed together remind you of a smaller house?"

"What were all these other stones for, then?" Hugo asked.

"Maybe a fence?"

"In the middle of nowhere? Alright, Starshine."

"Well, what is it then?"

Varian was deep in thought for a while. Yes, Nuru was right, the parts would indicate a smaller home. Especially if the demon resided in here, alone, it wouldn't make sense for a larger building to be there. But the rest of the rubble made him think otherwise. If not the width, but the height of the building was different, with the intact part on top, it would make sense.

So, what if...

"It was a tower."

Silence.

Then, a "Cool. Why don't we go in," Hugo asked as he walked to the part that still remained stable, and seeing as how there were no doors available (the tower theory seemed logical), he tried climbing in through the broken window.

Of course, everyone else immediately jumped after him, pulling the guy back, shocked.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Nuru gaped.

"Going in?" Hugo looked up with an innocent smile. "What, impatient lot? You could've followed anyways."

"That will not be possible."

They all turned their heads at the booming, loud voice coming from nowhere, yet heard in every part of the valley, echoing slightly.

A feminine voice, calm and collected.

The demon.

The crew was immediately on guard. They tensed as the voice, after a dramatic pause, continued explaining. She kept it short and simple.

"One of you may enter now."

Panic.

Panic in the hearts of everyone outside the old tower ruins. Then, sensing this to be a time sensitive matter, they exchanged quick, worried glances, trying to determine who would go in, and fast.

Xavier spoke, then, as a reminder. "She isn't someone to take lightly. The one to go in should be strong, both physically and emotionally."

"And only one of us? How will we know how to protect ourself?" Yong asked, the terrified look from yesterday all rushing back to his face.

"We wouldn't. We'd need to think fast," Nuru concluded.

"So, someone who can adapt fast and is strong. Sparkles, sorry to say, you're out," Hugo said, looking at the boy.

"Yeah, fine..." It was obvious. Despite his brave words, he was still a kid, and if anyone had to come out alive no matter what, it would have been him. "I'll just protect you guys from out here." Still determined, though.

"That you will," Hugo said, smiling a bit.

Huh, it was a strange thing, Varian thought. Something akin to genuine emotion on Hugo's face.

Well, it disappeared as quickly as it came, as the tall one crossed his arms and shook his head in an exagerated motion. "Not it."

"Heh, even though you were so ready to go in just a minute ago," Varian noted. "Scared?"

Hugo grinned, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Terribly. Now, can we decide already?"

Of course, the guy wouldn't admit to simply not wanting to help strangers. Nothing new there, it's not like Varian would have trusted him to go in anyways. Who knew what scheme he would pull with that demon.

Still, the question lingered in the air.

Nuru and Varian turned to look at each other. Neither of them spoke for  a while, as if urging the other to give in and let them take their place.

Varian broke the silence first. He looked at Nuru with solemn determination, as he put a hand on her shoulder and said "You are the strongest person in here, Nuru. In both ways. If anyone can do it, it's you."

"And you'd be right," Nuru pondered, a smug grin on her face, but then looked Varian in the eyes. "But I couldn't possibly risk it. Trust me, I would. I really want to. But..."

"I know. You have to return to your country in one piece, huh?"

"They're counting on me, Varian. Listen, in any other situation, I'd..." She sucked in a deep breath. "But not now. I have to see this through."

"It's okay. Hey, I wouldn't risk it for a stranger either," Varian said, though his voice was uneven.

"Varian, that's not what I-"

"I know, Princess." He turned his back on her, now facing the window, ready to step in all alone.

He lifted one leg, moved forth when a hand grabbed his own from behind.

"Don't you die on me. That's a command. I couldn't live with myself if you did," Nuru said, that last part very quietly.

Varian turned back, face blank.

"Oh, I could..." Hugo said out loud.

All faces turned to him in utter shock.

Then, a single, manic laugh from the alchemist.

Varian's face morphed into a wicked grin. "Now I just have to come back, don't I?"

And with that, and another reassuring look to Nuru, Varian Rödig stepped into the demon's tower.

---

He hated this already.

See, Varian mainly took the lead because 1, he was a decent person, or so he wanted to believe, who wanted these people to be saved; and 2, he needed answers immediately.

Okay, that second part was definitely more important.

Nuru was out of the equation, for obvious reasons, but he couldn't have been sure if the princess would relay the information learned properly, anyways, once she came back. Maybe it was foolish, maybe it was insane and something in his head screamed at him for still not trusting her, but it felt rational. It felt right.

He tried to go back the moment he entered, just to see what would happen, but the window was now closed through a magical barrier. He also couldn't see the others anymore.

Magic, how infuriating.

He decided there was no other way to go but forward, and so he did, slowly inspecting the area for any tricks.

The place was once well lived in, long ago. The furniture seemed to be rotting away slowly, red curtains filled with layers of long since collected dust, the floortiles cracked and dirty. A broken mirror lay at the floor. When he looked into his reflection, light scattered his face into tiny pieces.

Needless to say, there was nothing of interest in this dark, secluded remainder of an abode.

Until he saw two curtains hanging from the wall, a bit higher above. There was no window behind them. He would have noticed it from the outside.

Intirgued, he climbed up a little platform and carefully moved the curtains, breathing in the dust and coughing a bit before he could open his eyes and notice the large mural painted on the wall.

He was, as if transfixed by it.

Something about a woman with long, golden hair sitting atop a green field, looking up at the night sky lit with...what were they? Floating lights? Varian wasn't sure.

It was familiar, in a way.

He couldn't put a finger on why. He started backing up.

It kind of looked like something Rapunzel would-

"See something you like?"

He turned back alarmed at the high pitched voice behind him. There she was.

"The demon." He tried to remember the name Xavier used. "Zhan...Tiri?"

"Close enough," the woman said and smiled way too wide for her face shape. Most curiously, she had the stature of a small girl, skin and hair and attire all tinted a sickly pale blue, as if she was just a hollow shadow, a ghost, a fragment of imagination. Absolutely illogical, to Varian's demise.

She came closer and noticed Varian take a step back. She hummed, then said, "No need to be so cautious, Varian Rödig."

The alchemist stood, perplexed.

She chuckled. "Why, yes, I know who you are, boy. I know much more than you could ever imagine." Then, she looked down, as if considering something. "There is one thing, however, I want you to tell me."

"What?" Varian asked, still not moving. He tried to ease himself. Maybe if he answered honestly, he could get exactly what he-

"What is your desire?"

A beat.

"As in, what do I want?" Varian asked. She just smiled. Alright. "Well, your power is needed to turn on the Demanitus device. To save this island."

She started marching back and forth in small circles, painfully slowly. "Oh I see. Then, I will help."

"Really?" Varian coulnd't help but lean a bit forward.

"But of course!" She suddenly stopped and locked eyes with the alchemist, her smile dropping. "That's not all you are here for, is it."

Varian gulped. Selfish or not, he still wanted to save the island, at least a little bit. "Maybe. But the island comes first. I'll tell you what I came for after you actually promise to help."

The demon's head tilted to the right, so far that any normal person's neck would have broken at that point. Not hers. "My, my, Varian, I already told you I would. Why so doubtful? Could it be you're scared I won't hold up my end of the deal?" She leaned extremely close to Varian's face. "That I would go back on my promise?"

Varian was getting fed up with this.

What does she know?

How could she possibly-

Wait. What didn't she know?

He jumped down from the platform onto the cracked tiles just to put a distance between him and the demon. He looked back at her. "Listen, if you already know so much, why play around? You know exactly what I want, why I came here and where this is going. So you also know that you'll tell me everything."

She hummed.

"You ought to remember your place, triton."

And she jumped forth.

Varian took out two of his acidic solutions and started to throw.

The demon was faster. She, in a blink of a millisecond, reached the alchemist and put one finger on his forehead.

Everything went dark.

---

"You mean you're leaving, too?!"

Varian cried, clutching Rapunzel's hand. He was so happy to see her after so long, only for the world to be playing a cruel trick on him. Because this simply couldn't be true.

"Not forever, Varian! Don't worry," she gave her trademark reassuring smile. The one that always made Varian feel at home, even when everything came crashing down, as it did so often nowadays.

"But you'll be away even more now! That's just..." he sniffled.

"I have to. Dad says it's my destiny."

Varian made a face at that, because ugh. Frederick. "And he's sure it's you? Like, a 110% sure?"

"Everyone says it. And listen. If it's up to me, you know I'll save Corona. The whole Undersea, if I have to."

"And solve every problem?"

"And solve every problem," she repeated with a nod.

Varian was still not convinced. "What if the rocks come back? What if they hurt us- the village?"

Rapunzel shook her head. "They won't come back. It's been five years. They've dissappeared when...you know..."

Oh, Varian really didn't need to be reminded of her mom, on top of all the bad news. He looked down, trying to hold back tears that were threatening to come again.

Rapunzel, seeing this, quickly added "But! But if they do come back, or hey, if you stubbed your toe or you ate something bad- just call me and I'll come help!"

She was so young, so carefree, Varian thought. Even if she was more than five (and a half, she insisted) years older, she still managed to sometimes say the stupidest things. And it made the younger triton chuckle quite a bit. He wiped the tears, unshed or otherwise, out of his eyes and smiled up at her.

"Promise?" he held out a pinky.

"I promise," said his somewhat-sister and locked their fingers. Then, she smugly lifted her hand, closed her eyes and added "Because..."

"I know, I know, it's your destiny."

"My destiny!" She repeated.

"Your father should stop saying that. It sounds dumb," Varian grumbled.

Rapunzel mocked a gasp. "That's treason, V!"

"Nah, it's reason." He then looked at her, actually alarmed. "Don't tell anyone I said that."

---

Somehow, as he fainted, the journal fell out from under his cloak. The pages spread out were the first thing he noticed when he came to.

Then, he looked up at Zhan Tiri.

The demon was smiling at him, now more naturally. She was probably waiting for him to wake up.

Varian blinked, once, twice, then saw her come closer. She stepped on the opened lilypads, crouched down and reached out a hand, as if helping Varian up.

He didn't take it.

She waited a moment more, then when she saw it was pointless, she spoke.

"Let us make a deal. I'll tell you all you need to know."

Varian was reluctant. He couldn't lie, somehow all his muscles, even under the armour, were aching. It took him all his energy to focus on the words being said.

"In exchange for?"

Her smile twisted once again. "A favour."

Varian looked at her, confused. "What kind of favour?"

"Oh, just about anything, my boy. Sometime in the future I will call upon you, and you must do as I say. That's it."

The alchemist considered it. No matter how he looked at the terms of this 'deal', it was suspicious as hell. So, obviously he tried to wiggle his way out of it. "Alright. But on the condition that it wouldn't be something I normally wouldn't do."

"Aren't you a smart one. Unfortunately, that is not at all interesting to me. So, no. That wouldn't do."

"Too bad, then."

Varian slowly stood up, took the journal and headed to the window where he came from. From the corner of his eyes, he couldn't help but look back.

For the first time, something in the demon twitched. It shifted, as she whisper-shouted, "Don't you want answers?! Do you really think those imbeciles out there would lead you to the Hole? You fool. They don't know where it is. They don't even trust you. All they are is humans, ready to turn their backs on you the moment they get the chance!"

Varian stopped.

"Who's to say you wouldn't betray me either?"

A silent beat, as he heard the demon come closer. With every step, she punctuated the words "Because I know the pain, Varian. I know how it feels when someone you adored stabbed you in the back."

Varian turned.

"You and I are more alike than you think." Zhan Tiri looked at him with face emotionless, staring into his eyes, his soul.

The alchemist didn't react.

Zhan Tiri then dealt the final blow to his mind's endless questioning, as she said "A deal goes both ways, my dear. If you agree, so must I. You are smart enough to know that."

She held out her hand again.

Varian sighed.

Then went to shake it.

She suddenly retracted her hand, instead bringing it up to the triton's forehead. He froze. Zhan Tiri took some of his unruly bangs and closed her eyes. Then, when they opened again, she looked at Varian, a genuine smile on her face.

Confused, the triton backed away. His boots collided with the broken mirror on the ground.

Instinctively, he turned to look at his reflection.

Huh.

A bright blue streak in his hair. Same colour as his eyes. Same colour as the demon's blue tint.

This definitely wasn't a bad thing. Yeah.

As he was turning this way and that to get a better look at his discoloured hair, Zhan Tiri finally - finally - explained the journal.

"Now, if you decoded a bit, you'd have come across the word 'trial'. There are seven of them, Varian. Seven trials each leading to seven legendary treasures - totems." She moved next to him, her reflection also visible in the mirror. "Together, they will help you not only find the Hole in the Sea, but open the Eternal Library itself."

The alchemist forced himself to look away from the mirror. "What kind of trials?"

"Demanitus, that fool, claimed to be a scientist. Though, he used it as an afterthought to his magic. All his trials reflect that."

"So, science and a bit of magic?" Varian was delighted. "That's just what we're good at!" Well, he was good at science, Nuru was great at magic, the other two? Well, Yong threw those bombs back then, so he might have dabbled in it, and Hugo...

Okay, three out of four is still a pretty good ratio.

"Indeed."

She then snapped her fingers, as if just having remembered something crucial.

The triton stared as she debated voicing her next words.

She decided for it. "About the totems. You already have one of them."

"We do?" Varian asked incrediously. When did they even- and where- he didn't remember any scientific trials or-

"Oh, but it had been misplaced once, from the trial chambers into a treasury. Specifically one your friend raided all but three days ago."

The gears in Varian's head were turning. They must have been rusty, because he couldn't come up with... unless.

"Now I'm not really sure what this is, though. But it looks pretty valuable right?"

No way.

"Just one question. Do these 'totems' look like rods? With strange markings on them?"

The demon grinned. "No, only the first one. The fire totem."

Oh. Well. That's curious.

Because how the hell did Hugo even know they'd need it? Why would he pick it up? Why then?

The timing was a bit too perfect.

Suspiciously so.

"I don't know, it was just... like, it was calling to me."

Yeah, right.

He put together exactly how it happened: when fighting with that Captain Cassandra, Hugo had left them and bolted for the treasury. Somehow he must have had intel on where exactly to look for the totem, and grabbed it, along with other goods, to not look suspicious.

Interesting. Did that mean someone else already cleared that trial specifically for Hugo? Or maybe, somehow the Navy kept hold of the totem long since acquired?

Either way, Varian was onto him. Just you wait, Rottewange.

The demon stared at Varian, still grinning, patiently waiting for him to pay attention. The alchemist almost felt bad for drifting off for a bit. Almost.

She stepped in front of Varian, so that she was finally all he could focus on. Zhan Tiri continued on about Demanitus.

"He, just like you, had great ideas. I'm not going to deny that. But without outside nudge, " she bowed, "he would've been nowhere close to reaching his potential."

Once again, Varian was theorizing.

Was she talking about... did this 'Demanitus' also make some kind of deal with her?

But, that couldn't be it. If what Xavier told him was true, Zhan Tiri was all about trying to kill the guy.

Wait, then... is she implying that she gave him some help? To... reach his full potential?

If so, what?

And, more importantly,

"Why? Why did you...I don't need any other help. I appreciate you telling about the trials, I do, but you could have just left it at that and-"

"No, boy. Trust me, you need this."

The room around them started to fade.

Something in Varian wanted to just bolt, to turn away from the demon and simply take what he'd been given. But another, more logically inclined part wanted to know more.

"I give you one favour, you give me answers, this 'nudge', and also are about to activate the device. That's three times more. Why?"

As the world around Varian faded out, he heard the demon's voice echo around him.

"It is of utmost importance that you get to the Hole in the Sea. I'll make sure you succeed."

Then, inside his head,

"You can't fail, Varian Rödig. For it is your destiny."

---

After 3 minutes, the crew got antsy in the valley. There was no entering, despite them trying really hard to climb in through the window, or to damage the structure. Despite it being in literal ruins, the stones didn't budge one bit.

Fed up, Hugo tried to eavesdrop on whatever was going on inside, but there were no voices he could make out.

"Nothing?" Nuru asked. Normally, she'd grant the alchemist his privacy, but this was different. She, too, was interested, worried, terrified even. Enough to break her rule about being considerate whenever she could.

The pirate shook his head as he stood up from his crouching position. "Nope."

"Great."

All they could do was stand and wait for any sound, any change in their surroundings, anything.

It took another six worrysome minutes for the world to start shaking.

When they gathered their bearings again, Varian stood beside them.

Nuru didn't waste one moment to lock arms with the alchemist, a worried yet somewhat relieved look on her face. "What happened?"

The triton looked tired. Still, the corners of his mouth curled up as he said, "I know what we have to do now."

"Did she turn on the device?" Yong asked, cutting straight to the point.

"I think so, because-"

He was cut off by the light.

The world turned an eternal white all of a sudden, so Varian had to hold onto that thought.

---

The bridge rumbled beneath them.

When they looked up, the subterranean device was undoubtedly working, the crystals sparkling a bright blue, energy bursting in every spherical part.

Debris from the rocks were falling down rapidly, as a hole in the ceiling gave out and a beam of blue shot out from the top part of the machine, through the hole, into the sky.

Xavier's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. "You did it! You turned it on!"

Rubble fell from the ceiling with such a force the bridge rippeled upon colliding. Large rocks landed not far from the old blacksmith, signaling the time to leave, and fast.

They made a run for it.

Sticking close, they evaded the parts crashing down onto them. When the cracks in the bridge turned into actual holes, they jumped. When Hugo didn't quite reach the other platform they were supposed to jump onto, Yong ran to pull him up.

As the tall and the kid moved forth, so did the others, not stopping until they'd see the entrance they came in.

Well, except when they ran through one of the many narrow tunnels, they started caving in behind them. And Yong, last in the row trying to catch up to Hugo and the others, suffered its consequences. A rock fell right onto his foot, just the end but still enough for his toes to hurt like hell. Enough to slow him down, so the following stones threatening to fall would absolutely crush him, if he wouldn't get out of the way soon.

He realized it would be too slow. He screamed when he felt the tunnel shaking.

A flash of light, yellow like the sun.

Next moment, Nuru stood beside him.

As Yong ran with his hurt foot to get away from the falling rocks, the princess swung her sword in a large arc. A gust of wind burst out from it, forcing the rocks in the other direction.

From in front of her, Yong looked back and gave Nuru a thankful bow, mid-run. Nuru, putting the sword back in its sheath, just grinned and blinked a silent 'you're welcome'.

When they finally reached the cave's opening, the scene outside made them stop to take a second and appreciate the absolute wonder that was the snow in the flat part of the island melting rapidly, much quicker than it normally would.

As the sun shone brighter than ever, the world turned into a similar spring-like picturesce painting as inside the pocket dimension.

The mountain, though, still snow-filled, was shaking as the light still shot out into the heavens. They hade to get down.

Hugo, genious for the first time, practically ever since joining Nuru's side, put a large fallen metal piece from the device on the ground.

"Get on," he urged.

They did. Sitting on their makeshift sled, the crew plus balcksmith quickly sped through the ever melting snow.

Reaching the bottom, the greenery that took its place made them have to jump off just before crashing. As they tumbled through the flowery grass, the fresh scents of life filled their noses, and, compared to the icy cold before, this day finally felt worth the effort.

Hell, even the deal.

At least Varian hoped so.

---

Outside of the Snuggly Duckling, all thugs were basking in the sun for the first time in at least half a year. The smiles on their faces, peaceful as they felt the warmth on their skin, warmed the crew's hearts.

So they dropped the armour and heavy clothes onto the ground, doing the same.

Well, for a bit. When she felt like she could properly move her fingers without them feeling cold as ice, Nuru turned to Varian.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Varian," she started. "I am eternally thankful for going through...uhh..." She took the alchemist in, really for the first time since the trouble ceased and stopped. "Why is your hair blue."

Hugo grinned at her tone. Then, he added, "Interesting choice, Goggles," he said, eyeing the hairstrand with silent judgement. What an ass, he probably though it was shabby hairdye. "Good to know we waited for you to have a makeover session with that demon."

"It wasn't a-" Varian took a deep breath. No use picking a fight. He was so, so tired. "Whatever. We just made a deal, guess it's her mark."

Yong's interest was peequed. "You mean a pact? Like, a demonic pact? That's so cool."

Nuru didn't seem to be so positive. "Varian. What exactly did you do?"

Okay, dang, she looked serious. Maybe it was a big deal, after all. "She asked for a favour in the future. I don't know what, I don't know when," Nuru's face morphed into terror, "but don't worry! I'm sure I can get out of it somehow. And hey, she stopped the curse and gave me some pretty valuable info," he said, pulling out the journal.

The princess calmed at that. Still unsure, she was intirgued, more than anything as she waited intently for Varian to explain.

All shifted slightly closer. "So, that Demanitus guy, he made seven trials, scientific and such, and we have to get through them, gather totems and then we can get to the Hole, easy as that," he said in one breath.

They stared, taking in the information.

"Wait," Hugo said. "the Hole?"

Ah, man, Varian said too much, didn't he. But it wasn't like he couldn't have the upper hand still. He rubbed his eyes, burning from the lack of sleep.

"Yeah? Why?"

"The Hole in the Sea."

"Yes, Hugo, that. Why?"

"You can't go there," the blond said, eyes wide.

Varian tilted his head like a confused puppy, tone turned amused. "Yes we can, if we just do the trials and get the totems, we can-"

"You can't."

The alchemist was genuenly taken aback by the fierceness of the other's voice. Still, why was he so stubborn about this?

"You said you wanted to help," he reminded. "Figured you'd do that to any destination."

Hugo's brows furrowed. He turned to Nuru. "You knew this." It wasn't a question, more of an accusation.

She was also getting confused. "Yes? Why, that's the reason Varian is in this mission in the first place. Now, we knew his journal led there, just couldn't figure out how. But now we can actually progress!" She beamed at Varian, forgetting about the deal.

The triton replicated that smile.

After a beat of silence, Hugo spoke up again, incrediously. "You're crazy." He looked at Nuru. "You're going to die."

Nuru took on that reassuring look she grew more and more fond of using lately. "That's a risk, yes, but we have to take it, Hugo." Then, a question popped up in her head. "Why do you even care?"

The blond stiffened.

"I don't."

Varian almost wanted to shout. To reveal the information he'd learned about that suspicious rat. He didn't care? No, he had to know. Why else would he have taken the totem?

And he still wouldn't tell them. The audacity to pretend to get worked up! Uneliavable.

If it were up to Varian, he'd go up to that traitorous piece of work and shake him until he revealed everything about his motivations, his actual part in this, why he acted so surprised when clearly, clearly he had something up his sleeve and-

"I'm so confused, guys." Yong broke him out of that thought. The kid was looking up between them, a small, sheepish smile on his face. "What Hole in the Sea? Like, what's that?"

They all answered at the same time.

"It's a tale about a magical library," Varian said.

"Our only hope to stop the Kotoan meteor showers!" Said Nuru.

"A pirate graveyard and we're idiotic for going there," Hugo crossed his arms, scoffing.

A beat. "Oh. Alright, so. Wow." He chuckled. "That sounds like an adventure of a lifetime. I knew coming with you would be fun," he concluded.

"Fun is far from it, kiddo," Hugo said.

"Don't call me that, old man," the kid retorted.

Hugo gasped. "I'm 20 you little porbafingó!"

"Exactly."

Nuru smiled, ready to get the conversation back on track. "So, I say we do the seven trials," she started.

"Six, actually," Varian said.

Without any further explanation, and concluding that Varian probably knew what he was talking about, Nuru continued. "I see. The six trials, then, and get the totems needed. We must also gather allies in the meantime, in case Ingvarr, well..."

"Ruins everything?" Yong offered.

"Yes, exactly," Nuru nodded, "If I understand it correctly, the journal, once decoded now that we know what to look for, will lead us there. So we find the Library and all our problems are solved." She put two hands on her hips as she finished devising the plan.

Two of the three eagerly nodded, the first shaking his head disapprovingly but not saying anything else. Good. He shouldn't make this any more difficult, Nuru thought.

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