The Silent Mermaid removed its invisibility cloak on the way around the island. Immediately afterward, Jack signaled Rune to start the ship's disguise transformation.
Quickly, the blazing fire and the ethereal glow of the Silent Mermaid dimmed. The tattered, spectral sails mended themselves and changed color into sturdy, white canvas. The dark, weathered wood of the hull shifted color. Becoming a common, newer, sun-bleached brown. The name on the stern also shimmered and changed.
The Silent Mermaid was gone within a few seconds. In its place was the Ocean Wanderer, a standard single-mast sloop that wouldn't garner a second glance in a busy port.
Several hours later, they pulled into the harbor of Appleseed Town.
It was already late in the afternoon. The sun was low. Casting long, orange shadows over the wooden piers. The town was a sprawling mess of timber buildings, stone warehouses, and bustling markets.
Unlike Lonestone City and Crescent Town, there were no towering factories here. No thick plumes of black coal smoke that choked the sky. Instead, the air smelled of apples, citrus, and oranges.
The Industrial Revolution had touched this place. But it hadn't taken hold. A few steam-powered cranes could be seen on the docks. Puffing away lazily. But most of the labor was still done by hand and pulley.
It was a town stuck in the Exploration Age. Clinging to the old ways because the old ways worked well enough for its purposes.
After the lines were secured and the harbor fees paid, Jack gathered the crew on deck.
"We're here for supplies and information." Jack said. "But someone needs to stay with the ship. We can't leave her unguarded in a port that might be full of thieves and unreliable sailors."
He pulled a top hat from his bag. Containing several scraps of paper. "Our names were in here, except for Bell and Ned. They've already got their turn last time. I'll pull two names. Whoever I pull stays behind. The rest get shore leave until midnight. Or tomorrow morning, if you'd prefer to stay in land for tonight."
He reached in. "Argust!"
The navigator groaned. "Come on! I've just got my water-bending ring. I wanted to see if I could use it to impress some local girls at the tavern."
"You can use it to keep the bilge water out!" Jack said calmly. He reached in again. "Chloe."
The mystic scholar blinked. She was holding the [Lightning Kirin] in her arms. The small creature, looking like a cross between a fawn and a dragon, crackled with a tiny spark of static electricity as it nibbled on her sleeve.
"Well, it's fine I guess." Chloe commented. "I have to take care of this little guy anyway. Besides, Sparkle is too eye-catching to bring to town."
"Just keep trying to inscribe [Glamour Charm] in your grimoire, Chloe." Jack said. "You can bring the kirin to town without any worry with that spell."
"Definitely, Captain!" Chloe agreed.
Jack turned to Reina. "Ready, Love?"
"Always, Dear."
Rune drifted down from the rigging. Her light turned to a soft amber color to match the sunset. She settled near Jack's shoulder. A comforting silent companion for them.
Jack and Reina stepped off the gangplank and onto the wooden docks of Appleseed Town. The transition from the deck of the disguised ship to the solid, salt-crusted wood of a trading port always felt a bit strange. But Jack adjusted himself instantly.
The town seemed truly alive at that moment. Sailors from several different places of origins wandered the streets. Their different style of clothes were mostly stained with the same sweat and sea salt.
Merchants bargained about the prices of oranges and apples openly. Or offering their wares to the locals loudly.
There was an underlying layer of grime there. But it was the grime of honest labor. Not the oily soot of the northern cities.
"This feels... nostalgic." Reina remarked. Tucking her arm into Jack's. "Like a memory of a world before the steam engines started puffing their smokes."
"It's a nice town. But I don't think it could stay unaffected by industrialization for too long." Jack said pessimistically. "Steam and iron are coming, Love. They always do."
They walked past a row of warehouses where men were lugging heavy crates of 'Orchard Island Specials'. A hardy variety of fruit that could stay fresh for months at sea.
Jack noticed that the architecture of the buildings in the town was heavy on oak and cedar. With steep-pitched roofs designed to shed the heavy sub-tropical rains.
Jack kept his eyes moving. He wasn't just looking at the scenery. His [Eyes of Judgement] were activated periodically. He was looking for the 'transcendent' element of the town. He didn't want to get any unexpected surprise. They haven't even halfway on their voyage to Myriad Archipelago.
As they moved deeper into the town, the influence of the 'Exploration Age' became even more apparent.
There were no gas lamps here. Instead, lanterns filled with whale oil were being lit as the twilight deepened. The sound of a fiddler playing a jaunty, seafaring tune drifted out from a nearby tavern called The Bright Pear.
Jack led Reina toward the center of the town, where the buildings were larger and more permanent. He could feel the eyes of the locals on them. Not surprising. Their outfits made them look like high-end mercenaries, or seasoned adventurers. People with money and the means to protect it.
Rune flickered a sharp, deep orange for a second. Then, the glow faded back to amber.
"Someone's following us, Dear." Reina whispered. Her voice was barely audible over the crowd.
"I know, Love." Jack replied. Kept moving in his pace. "Let them. We'll just need to see if they're brave enough to try something before we return to the ship."
He adjusted his leather coat. Feeling the hidden weight of his various steamrune tools and the latent power of his abilities. If someone wanted to play, Jack was more than happy to show them one or two of his tricks.
They turned a corner into a narrower alleyway that served as a shortcut to the main plaza. The shadows here were thick. Smelling of fermenting fruit and damp stone. Jack stopped and turned around.
"All right!" Jack said to the empty air behind them. "You've followed us three blocks. Either come out and state your business, or I'll start assuming you're our enemy. And we won't play nice to enemies."
Reina's hand drifted toward the pair of gun holsters on her waist. Rune glowed a warning orange.
From the shadows of a stack of empty crates, a figure emerged. It wasn't a thug or a pirate. It was a young boy.
He should be no older than twelve. Wearing a tattered vest and an oversized newsboy cap. He looked nervous. But his eyes were sharp. The eyes of someone who survived on scraps and secrets.
"Er... Sorry, Sir!" The boy said with cracking voice. "But I saw your ship come in. The Ocean Wanderer, right?"
"What of it?" Jack asked with flat tone.
"You don't look like merchants. You look strong." The boy said in a hurry. "There's a man in the Salty Rind tavern looking for strong people who aren't afraid of the 'Hungry Mist'. I think you fit the requirement, Sir."
Jack narrowed his eyes. "The Hungry Mist?"
"The mist that eats ships, Sir." The boy whispered. "It's moving closer to the Barrentree Island to the south. Most ships choose to avoid it. But the man in the tavern is looking for strong people who dare enter the mist."
Jack looked at Reina. A 'mist that eats ships' sounded exactly like their kind of trouble. The one they would likely face and solve..
"Interesting! Lead the way, Kid." Jack said. "But if this is a trick, you'll be the first one I throw into the sea."
The boy nodded vigorously and started moving toward the lights of the plaza. Jack and Reina followed calmly.
...
The Salty Rind tavern was exactly what Jack expected from a port town dive. It smelled of spilled ale, unwashed bodies, and the sharp, briny tang of fermented fish.
The floorboards were stained dark with years of grime. And the lighting was provided by flickering oil lamps. Ones that cast long, uneasy shadows against the wood-paneled walls.
The boy led them through a crowd of boisterous sailors. Right to a booth in the far corner. Sitting there was a man who looked more like a barrel than a human.
He was short, squat, and possessed a mustache so thick it practically obscured his mouth. He wore a faded captain's coat that had seen better decades.
"Sir!" The boy said, gesturing toward the man.
The man looked at the boy and then at Jack and Reina. After nodding and giving a short grunt, he tossed a couple of silver coins to the boy.
The young lad caught them expertly and immediately scuttled away. Leaving the booth. Probably looking for another one to introduce to this person.
Jack didn't speak immediately. He activated [Eyes of Judgement]. The world in his vision was instantly overlaid with a spectrum of data and metaphysical weight.
[Name: Wellcrow]
[Race: Transcendent Human]
[Age: 48]
[Affiliation: -]
[Karma: Slightly Negative]
[Power Level: Moderate]
[Power Class: Primal Sorcerer]
[Power Traits: Shapeshift - Winged Sharkman]
[Personalities: Careful, Cunning]
[Crimes: Murders (23), Theft (41), Fraud (7)]
Jack's eyes narrowed. The man looked like a common, honest ship captain. But beneath that skin, he seemed to be a hidden predator.
His karma wasn't the worst Jack had seen. But the 'Murder', 'Theft', and 'Fraud' tags were enough to keep Jack's hand near his [Spatial Belt].
"I'm Wellcrow. Captain Wellcrow of the White Crow adventurers." The man said. "You are interested in the mission, I suppose."
"I heard it is related to the Hungry Mist." Jack said. His voice was flat. Expressionless.
Wellcrow took a long drag from a tankard in his hand. "Yes. I need captains who don't piss themselves when the extraordinary happens. You look like you've seen a few things."
"I've seen enough." Jack replied. "Tell me about the mist."
Wellcrow leaned forward. The wood of the table creaking under his weight. "The Hungry Mist. It's a localized spatial phenomenon. Its moving south toward Barrentree Island at the moment. It doesn't just block vision. It blocks sound and direction. It will eventually drag any ship that gets caught into its unknown belly. I'm assuming it is dragging them to a different spatial realm. I might be wrong though."
"So, why do you want to enter the mist?" Reina asked.
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