“Now that I have you alone, I have some questions for you,” Marcus growled. His slitted pupils were little more than golden orbs reflecting the scribe lights overhead.

  Edan held back his reflexive shiver. At his feet, the two bear cubs slunk behind him, with the little male growling defiantly.

  “You realize there are less creepy ways of approaching people, right?” Edan asked as he pushed his hammock, testing the swing.

  The rag-tag group of five had been assigned their sleeping quarters roughly thirty minutes into their voyage. Miz, the monkey Aniser, had been gracious enough to show them below deck once Gem had given the all-clear.

  It hadn't escaped Edan's notice that the small, wiry man kept as many people between himself and Marcus as possible while they descended.

  The sleeping quarters were located towards the front of the ship and separated from the cargo hold by a thin wooden wall. More of a brace, really. There were hammocks slung up around the room.

  When questioned, Miz explained the Sea Crystal sometimes took on extra crew, so the extra hammocks weren’t there for them specifically.

  The space was small enough that poor Tali struggled to move about. Luckily, she didn’t need to sleep, as Edan doubted the hammocks could hold her.

  “I’ll accept being creepy, and you will answer my questions.” Marcus continued.

  Edan moved out of the room. The others had returned to the top deck, and he was eager to follow. Below deck, while clean, was cramped and musty and Edan was having trouble adjusting to the rocking of the boat.

  “What questions?” Edan called over his shoulders, taking the steps two at a time.

  Sunlight hit his face and he blinked the stars from his vision.

  “The First Light, he lives?”

  “Kinda." Edan hedged. "Give me a second?”

  Edan wasn't sure how much to tell Marcus. He may poke fun at Kiba, but he wasn't about to break the Primordial's trust and just spit out privileged information.

  You can tell him everything. I have ties to the Traders Guild. My main body must have sensed it when I severed the soul tether and requested their help locating me.

  Uhuh, Edan sent back, not surprised Kiba had been eavesdropping. He expected it to get worse the stronger his Soul Sense became and the more information that got filtered through to the Primordial.

  “Come on,” Edan gestured towards the handrail closest to them. “I’ll fill you in.”

  The Sea Crystal surged forward, the sea turning frothy in her wake. The sails over head were kept taut by whatever skill it was Lem used. Gem stood on the quarter-deck, one hand gripping the ship's wheel loosely as the wind whipped her orange Mohawk back.

  Reema stood beside Gem and behind the woman, Sanik could be seen throwing up over the side of the railing.

  Edan started by telling Marcus about the pool at the bottom of the dungeon. The wolfman had always been suspicious of the Academies source of power, and the smile that spread across his face as Edan talked was formed from pure smugness.

  The story moved past the point of betrayal, with Edan doing well to hide his anger and resentment. To give the giant wolf man his due, he didn’t interrupt and listened intently as Edan spoke.

  When Edan got to the part about the Four Star Heavenly Sect, he watched the Guild Head intently.

  Edan trusted Kiba and knew what the Primordial had told him was the truth. Tali had all but confirmed it. Still, Edan wondered how many people actually knew. Marcus didn’t seem surprised by the news. If anything, he didn’t react at all. He froze, much the same way Tali had, and it was up to Kiba to fill him in.

  Relax kid, It’s a defense mechanism. If their reaction tipped you off, the system might consider it the same as telling, which would break their oaths and ruin their cultivation.

  So they freeze? Edan asked skeptically. That's stupid. No answer, or in this case exaggerated no answer, is still an answer.

  Ahhhh, but the System doesn’t see it that way. No answer is no answer.

  Edan thought Kiba's explanation was just as stupid, but apparently, the Primordial was not done talking.

  And you may not want to judge them too hastily, kid. Perhaps it is the only way they can answer your question.

  Edan had no response to that and simply shook his head sadly. Sometimes living with the System was just confusing. He allowed his frustration to melt away as he watched the two bear cubs trying to adjust to the rolling motion of the ship. The female cub kept leaning on the male, who in turn had splayed his legs out wide, almost doing a double split, and growled at the deck.

  “Cap’n! There’s a ship following on our stern.”

  “What do you see, Miz?” Gem hollered back.

  “She’s big, Cap’n, and moving faster than us. We won’t outrun her!”

  Marcus growled low in his throat, but Edan ignored the grumpy wolf. He sought out his parents and found them watching him. Sanik still looked a bit woozy, but he flashed a quick thumbs up.

  Gem looked over her shoulder, then out to sea, holding up a hand to shade her eyes from the sun.

  “Can you see her colors?”

  “Aye Cap’n, blue and gold!”

  “Merchant Guild,” Marcus growled, stomping off towards Gem.

  Tali sat a few feet from Edan, her eyes closed in meditation. Edan realized with a start that she was the only one in the group he hadn’t told about Kiba. It had felt wrong telling her before his parents, and after telling them…well things had kinda gone downhill rather quickly.

  Edan cleared his throat, wondering if he should try to get her attention. He needn’t have bothered. Her eyelids fluttered open and pale amber eyes locked with Edan’s.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “Te’Roro Bwaka,” Edan said, inclining his head respectfully. “I was just thinking about you. I have something to tell you.”

  “You have already told me, Emge, though it was meant for Marcus’s ears alone.”

  “Oops, you heard that?” Edan scratched the back of his head, his eyes turning towards the horizon to see if he could make out the approaching ship so he wouldn’t have to look at Tali.

  “Perception is not my strongest stat, but that does not mean it is insignificant,” Tali admitted. She got to her feet in one smooth motion. Her customary brown robes snapped in the sea breeze as the ship adjusted course. “We are being followed?”

  “Gem’s trying to figure that out.” Edan couldn’t tell if Tali was upset with him. “I’m sorry. About not telling you about Kiba.”

  Tali waved a hand dismissively as she went to join the rest of the group forming around Gem. Before she turned though, Edan wondered if the hurt he saw on her face was real or just imagined.

  Casting one last look out behind them, Edan thought he could see masts on the horizon, but it was hard to tell. Turning away, a patch of ocean caught his attention, darkness seemed to shift beneath the surface of the sea, but a wave crashed down, and frothy white bubbles hide it.

  “...runner.”

  Edan was just in time to catch the end of Gem’s sentence but judging from the look on Marcus’s face it wasn’t good.

  The Sea Crystal rocked as it knifed through a wave, the wall of water crashing against the hull. They were surrounded by dark blue ocean, the waves around them large enough to make Edan's heart flutter. Edan had heard stories from sailors about the creatures lurking in the deep sea, and he looked to Gem for reassurance. Her lips were pressed into thin lines as her crystal like eyes scanned the surrounding ocean.

  Edan expected the next couple of hours to be full of tense fear, but he soon found out that sea chases were rather boring. The Merchant ship behind them was gaining, but slowly, and there wasn’t much more the crew of the Sea Crystal could do but keep it moving forward.

  After a couple of minutes, Edan wandered off to join Tali. The Titan didn’t speak, but Edan kept her company anyway, his earlier guilt making him want to suck up to her a bit. Sanik and Reema walked off, the latter rubbing her husband's back as he looked ready to hunch over the railing once more.

  “I’m going to change course, but gradually. It’s a risk, but I’m taking us out deeper, If they follow us we know she’s really after us, if not it may be worth slowing down and letting her pass.” Gem said loudly.

  The next hour passed in relative silence as everyone waited to hear the news from Miz. The monkey Aniser was perched in the crow's nest, his tail wrapped around the mast, as he kept a steady eye on the vessel behind them.

  The sky around them was growing dark, night setting in as the day drew a close when Miz’s shout got everyone's attention.

  “The ship behind us has changed course as well, Cap’an. She’s definitely following us.”

  “Damn them!” Gem cursed. “Lem, I’m sorry darling, but I need you to keep the wind going a bit longer.” Lem nodded, his face as impassive as ever. “Miz! What's your estimate?”

  “Morning Cap’n. They’ll be a sun in the sky when they catch us.”

  After the update, everyone settled down. Edan tried dozing, but his higher stats worked against him, and after a restless hour he ended up sitting down cross-legged to meditate.

  It proved more difficult than Edan thought. His mind kept pulling his attention to the fight with his classmates earlier. The dying gasp of Kumi echoed in time with his heartbeat. Frustrated, Edan got up and began going over his dance slowly, feeling the flow of Vitalis as it rolled through his body. The rocking deck beneath his feet added an extra layer of difficulty to the task, and by the time the sun had lightened the horizon, Edan found himself more annoyed and irritable than rested.

  The Merchant vessel was close enough now that even Edan could see it clearly. The flag, showcasing the merchant colors, on its highest mast, flapped in the sea breeze.

  Gem called the group together.

  “In the next hour, they’ll be close enough to see on deck. You lot need to hide. We’ve got a smugglers hatch under the cargo hold. It feeds into the bilge so you’re going to get wet, and it doesn't smell all that great, but it's warded and, provided you don’t make noise, no one should find you.”

  “Or we fight!” Marcus growled.

  “And if the ship is loaded with cultivators and the city watch?” Sanik asked, his eyebrow raised. "Or worse, they see we're on board and just sink the ship?"

  “We hide.” Reema insisted. “That was the initial plan. Lem and Gem know what they’re doing, and if Gem says we’ll be safe, we’ll be safe.”

  “If things go belly up, then we’ll fight,” Gem added, giving Marcus a wink. Gem got a rumbling growl in return. She turned away from the group and shouted, “Miz, get down here, I need you to stow this lot in the chest.”

  Miz dropped from above, one hand shooting out to grab at the rigging. He jerked to a stop before dropping the rest of the way. Landing lightly, he motioned for the group to follow him, his tail curled up tight behind his back.

  “Lem, honey, you may as well ease off and recover. If it comes to a fight, I don’t want you worn out.”

  Miz guided them down towards the cargo hold. With the help of Tali, they shifted some of the larger crates, clearing a patch on the ground. Miz knelt, his thin fingers dancing across the wood as he searched for something. Everyone peered over his shoulder, curious.

  With a soft exclamation, Miz found what he was looking for. He pushed at a groove that was only a little larger than his fingernail. It sunk into the deck, along with a square section of the floor.

  “We'll let you back out once it's clear. Remember, keep silent.”

  Edan slipped in first, a cub under each arm. The darkness was suffocating, and the sound of the sea surging around the ship's hull was amplified in the small space. Edan shuffled to the side, crouching low so he didn’t knock his head on the ceiling…or was it the floor…deck?

  “Watch out, son!” Sanik muttered as he climbed through the hole as well. Sanik shuffled around, trying to make room for the rest. There was a thunk and Edan heard him cursing. If the space was cramped for him, he hated to think what it was like for the rest.

  Tali came through last. She had the most trouble manoeuvring her bulk and ended up sitting down on the ground with her head sticking out of the hole. Sanik and Marcus grabbed her feet and pulled, finally getting her in. Unable to sit, the Titan ended up lying down across the floor.

  Gem hadn't been exaggerating. Bilge water lapped at Edan's ankle, and already his clothes were wet and sticking to him. It must have been so much more unpleasant for Tali, but she didn't complain.

  Miz closed the hole, and they heard his labored breathing as he shifted boxes around, trying to get it all back as it was.

  The air was hot and muggy and Gem had been right, it smelt. A combination of salty brine and the sharp ammonia smell of dead seaweed. Whenever the Sea Crystal hit a particularly large wave and rocked violently, the water around their feet would surge across the room, splashing against the wall and covering them in the horrid stench.

  Edan’s eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, letting him make out the blurry shapes of his companions. There were also markings on the wood above their head, the runes a grey that Edan could only see out of the corner of his eye.

  Scribe work. He realized and wondered what it did. Gem had told them to be quiet, so it likely didn’t stop sound from filtering through. Maybe it stopped spirit sense or other sense-related skills?

  Edan sat down, ignoring the water, and closed his eyes. The cubs squirmed in his grip, trying to get comfortable. He let them go, but they didn’t hop off his lap as expected, and instead curled up against him. Their body heat radiated comfortably through his thighs.

  There was nothing to do now but wait. Edan allowed himself to drift, the rocking motion of the boat helped to lull him into fitful meditation.

  Remembering the notification from earlier, the one that had popped up when he was fighting Kumi, and eager for a distraction, Edan pulled it up.

  [Skill: Throw (Basic)]

  Hurl objects or weapons with precision, force, and strategic intent. Success is based on items thrown.

  Upgrade ->

  [Skill: Imbued Throw of Residual Charges (Uncommon)]

  Allow your Path to aid your throws. Adds an electric current to your thrown weapon. Small chance to stun target.

  Edan had been hoping it was a skill upgrade and was happy to see he was right. A small part of him had also been hoping it might advance his Path, but apparently not.

  As he had been taught to do, Edan began reviewing the fight with his classmates. It was harder than expected, as he unconsciously shied away from memories of killing his classmate.

  Edan was more than happy for the interruption when he heard muffled shouting and the scrape of wood on wood from above.

  They were being boarded.