“So… let’s see if I understood correctly…”

  Inside the stuffy office, lights dim as the ocean shone in the distant horizon through the closed windows, tension filled the room. Laying back on the creaking wooden chair, the olive skinned woman locked eyes with the balding man sitting across from her, his hands trembling.

  “You hired the crew of the Belle, that being us,” - she motioned to the two people frowning behind her, a particularly tall woman with dark tanned skin and dreadlocks, and a young blonde boy with his eyes covered, who waved at the man - “to bring back a shipment from the Iron Islands… no questions asked…”

  “Ye… Yes, I…”

  “And now when said shipment has arrived,” - the woman continued, ignoring the man completely, her fingertips slowly caressing the pommel of the sword on her waist - “you want to renegotiate the terms of our deal? Is that correct?”

  “Well,” - the man stummered, using a stained handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, his eyes wandering from the woman's serious face to her sword - “it appears the situation has changed quite a bit since then…”

  “How’s that our damn problem, asshole?” - taking a step forward, the tall woman in the back of the room yelled at the man, her eyes filled with rage as her muscles tensed. Besides her, the boy placed his arms in front of her body, barely reaching her stomach, signalling for her to stop.

  “So I’ve heard. You see, we’ve only come back to shore this morning,” - without looking back at her companions, she reached for the still untouched cup on the table in front of her - “so why don’t you fill us in to all the latest events?”

  “Yes, Miss Belle…”

  As if suddenly seeing a lifeline out of his current predicament, the man instantly jumped from his seat, walking around his office grabbing seemingly random books and pieces of paper. Lifting the wooden cup to her nose, the woman inhaled the familiar scent of firewater, before taking a simple sip as a pile of papers was thrown in front of her.

  “It’s all their fault you see, they started it…” - he rambled while searching for something amidst the mess he himself created, a small piece of fabric falling from the pile of books.

  “You mean the Helios Church.” - Belle asked, recognizing the small golden sun painted at the center of the cloth.

  “Yes… Damned bastards, but that’s not it…” - As the books piled on the edges of the table, the pieces of paper scattered in the middle of the table started to seem connected to each other - “Here it is!”

  “Is that…” - the tall woman started to ask, the previous anger in her voice turned into disbelief.

  “A map, yes…”

  Carefully organising the mess in front of him, a precarious looking map started to form in front of them. Just like a jigsaw, the patchwork of different bits and pieces of leather and paper started to come together. A rough attempt to resemble the shape of the known continent.

  Many pieces looked aged and falling apart, others like quick notes or scribbles made by someone on the run. Nowadays, even the simplest of maps could cost a fortune if proven to be accurate. And ever since the beginning of the Elven war, the mere idea of forming a single concise map of the continent became something unfathomable.

  “Reynard you son of a bitch… “ - Belle leaned closer to the papers, recognizing the shape of the shoreline, and a few other landmarks - “How did you manage to get your hands on all of these?”

  “With great cost, and quite a bit of trouble. But this is beyond the point.” - Stretching his arm across the table, Reynard pointed to a small faded star around the middle of the continent - “A new King has risen on the Capital!”

  The former capital of the now long destroyed human kingdom, now simply referred to as ‘The Capital’. As the Elven forces invaded from the south more than three hundred years ago, their advance was only halted as they reached the area surrounding it. Serving as the last line of defense, soldiers and refugees gathered inside its walls in droves, looking for either a safe haven or a chance to avenge those who had fallen.

  “I thought the Capital was destroyed, I’ve heard the story before.” - observing the state of the papers around the center part of the land, those around the Capital were especially faded and frail - “The Elves cast a powerful curse during the night, destroying the walls of the city. Those who fled were able to survive, and any who tried to return were never seen again.”

  “Well, someone made it, or at least that’s what the Helios Church has been shouting all day at the market.” - Reynard started picking up the pieces of his map, much more carefully now that his life seemed not to be in any immediate danger - “They claim a new King has arisen, ready to create a united human kingdom.”

  Moving away from the table, the other woman scoffed. Belle could understand why. As the Elves seemed fated to rule the entire continent, one day for no apparent reason, their magic suddenly weakened. Being physically inferior to other races, It was their natural dominion and aptitude for magic that allowed for their invasion to progress so far. Without this advantage, the Elven army was easily pushed back towards their homeland, staying there ever since.

  However, even almost one hundred years since the end of their invasion, the former human territories still lacked any form of unity. Local Lords attacked and betrayed their neighbors, bandits and mercenaries roamed the land unchecked, and monsters reclaimed the forest and valleys.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “This is all very interesting,” - the woman said, finishing her drink in one go, before loudly setting her cup back on the table - “but I still don’t see what any of this has to do with our cargo!”

  “People are scared…” - reducing his voice to no more than a whisper, Reynard placed the pile of papers inside a chest behind his chair, before taking back his seat - “There’s gossip of a new war brewing, worse than before. Those Helios bastards keep spouting whatever they want, gathering people under their so-called faith.”

  Cursing in Orcish, her voice full of disdain, the tall woman spit on the floor, causing the boy to hit her in the stomach with his elbow.

  “I’m sorry about Mahna…” - Belle gave a short bow before turning her face slightly to glare at her companion

  “Don’t be,” - Reynard waved his hand, disregarding the woman’s manners - “I only hope more people around here shared her enthusiasm…”

  Searching his outer pocket, the man picked up a small key, carefully placing it on a locked drawer on his table. From the inside, he pulled a heavy looking leather satchel, throwing it towards Belle.

  “Your payment for the cargo, as per our initial agreement!” - Judging by the coins already being pushed out of the bag, the money seemed to be all in there - “You may bring your vessel to the southern docks, I’ll have my men ready in the morning.”

  “Did you give up on negotiating, old man?” - Mahna sounded surprised, taking a moment to open the satchel and confirm it’s contents. Merchants loved to haggle, specially when a big deal was involved

  “Call it an investment.” - he replied, receiving a surprised look from both women - “Dark times are coming my friends, I can feel it in my bones. There’s a storm brewing on the horizon, and at times like these, friends are more precious than gold!”

  ***

  “So, what do you two think?” - Belle asked as the group made their way back towards the docks, the city streets buzzing with merchants, the man’s words still on her mind.

  “Roasted boar, vegetable soup and a barrel of ale, definitely!” - Mahna declared happily, the sounds of their bounty chiming loudly from the bag wrapped around her shoulder - “Maybe some dark bread If they have some…”

  “Boss is talking about what that old man said, dumbass…” - the young boy walked a few steps behind the other two, seemingly unbothered despite having a piece of cloth covering both his eyes - “I don’t really get it…”

  “That’s because you’re still a little smartass!” - Mahna stopped and turned, stretching her arm towards the boy's head. Before her fingers could reach their target, a large white bird swopped in from above, its claws leaving fresh wounds on her hand as it flew away - “I was joking… Damn bird…”

  “You asked for it Mahna!” - trying to hide her laughter, Belle watched as the bird came back, perching itself comfortably on the young man’s shoulder - “What does your instinct say? Is he telling the truth?”

  “I can’t tell if he’s lying or not,” - rubbing the cuts, the woman pouted looking annoyed at the bird - “but he’s afraid of something, and I mean really afraid…”

  “What about you, Yuri?” - Belle asked the boy, who seemed deeply interested in rubbing behind his companions neck.

  “He’s telling the truth,” - Yuri said after thinking for a second, while having his earlobe bickered at - “at least as close to the truth as he can grasp!”

  “Show me what you saw!” - she spoke whilst getting closer, offering the boy her hand, an order rather than a request.

  Yuri took a deep breath before accepting the offered hand, grabbing it by the wrist. With a quick motion, he pulled Belle closer, using his other hand to grab the woman by her forehead.

  Suddenly, a flurry of images began pouring into Belle’s mind at an incredible speed. The fishermen hanging at the docks, the roof of Reynard’s tiny office, the busy streets leading to the city’s main market.

  Despite Yuri’s tender age, his ability to share the senses of his familiar always left Belle with a feeling of awe. While not able to see the world with his own eyes, he managed to have a broader vision than any other member of the crew.

  As the flow of images began to slow down, one particular scene caught the woman’s attention. On the edge of the market, surrounded by an agitated mob, one man with long dark hair shouted words of command, inciting the people while holding a piece of cloth painted with a golden sun.

  “Damn it…” - was all Belle managed to say, gasping for air the moment Yuri removed his hand from her face. Despite its usefulness, the boy’s ability still had much to be improved, including its recoil.

  “What was it?” - Mahna hurriedly offered to help Belle regain her composure, which the woman quickly refused, pushing her hand away.

  “Helios priests…”

  “How many?”

  “I counted at least a dozen, scattered around the port and market.” - Yuri answered instead of Belle, adjusting his robe - “But I only started paying attention after Reynard mentioned them.”

  “So we can expect at least double that.” - Belle reached for the bird’s head, rubbing it gently, the gesture seeming to be well received - “I need you to take a message to the crew. Can you handle it?”

  “Are you kidding?” - the boy sounded offended, despite the droplets of sweat forming on his forehead - “I’m not even tired yet.”

  “Good.” - reaching for a holster on her belt, Belle grabbed a thin wooden plank and a shiv, quickly carving a dozen symbols before putting the blade back, offering the plank to the bird - “Deliver this to Cook, he’ll know what to do.”

  “Right away boss!” - Yuri turned to the bird, its eyes shining briefly with a bluish glow before jumping back into the air, grabbing the message as it soared towards the distance - “Guess you’ll have to be my eyes for a while!”

  “No problem, time for dinner then!” - Mahna grabbed the boy’s hand knowing he wouldn’t be able to react, holding to it tight while walking away - “I’ll even feed you if you ask me nicely enough!”

  “Dinner it is…” - Belle laughed, watching as the other two argued while walking away, completely unfazed by the danger surrounding them - “What do you want?”

  “Roasted boar, vegetable soup and a barrel of ale!” - Mahna yelled from the other end of the road, looking at Belle as if she had grown a second head - “We need to put some meat on this kid!”

  “Mind If I join you for dinner?” - a sweet and calm voice asked, coming from behind Belle, her presence unnoticed until it spoke - “We have a lot to talk about!”

  “Guess we do…” - replied Belle, turning to face the newcomer, it's dark long hair fluttering in the wind.