“Feels like it’s been years since we all gathered here,” Nana said, swiveling her high-back chair, the crystal-white light from the ceiling bouncing off her satiny chestnut hair as she blew the loose strands that tickled her nose.
“We’re all Step-1 now,” Kidd said, polishing the table before him; its glass squeaked, and he grinned with his reflection. “Almost like a reunion after our success.”
“Stop rubbing the glass already, you’ll scratch it,” Stefan said, slapping Kidd’s elbow with a backhand. “I keep the whole warship spotless; you won't find even a layer of dirt in any corner.”
Indeed, there weren’t even any wiping marks left on the glazing table, the brushed-metal walls retained its mint condition, the lights radiated from the clean frosted caps, and not a hint of dirt and dust marred the corners and the crevices.
“How do you know, you can't even see,” Kidd retorted, waving his hands in front of him. “Did you grow your eyeballs again?”
“I can now, with my Ryvia.” Stefan bit back, grabbing and bending Kidd’s pinky backward, wrenching it until he squealed.
“Feels like home again,” Lance muttered on the side, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
The books had gobbled Ewan’s heed, while their din brought the warship alive, even Nyte’s stiff responses held a brighter hue today.
“Stefan,” Ewan said, finally breaking away from the texts in the journal. “Did you check the database?”
“I did,” Stefan said, his squabble with Kidd ending with his reply. “It’s efficient enough, I couldn’t make any improvement.”
“Hmm, let’s use that for now then, we’ll make changes in the spell circuit when we get more information to add. Transfer a copy of everything to Nyte’s database too.”
“Are we hitting that merchant ship, Boss?” Kidd asked.
“Do we even know where it is?” Nana asked.
“Last I asked around, it's actually roaming in the area that we’ll cross on our way,” Kidd said.
“Even if it’s bait, we should be able to pull out if things go wrong,” Lance said. “We have a strong assembly now.”
“That is if the highest involvement is still Step-1,” Stefan said. “We’ll be fucked otherwise.”
“The lists we found so far hadn’t had any mention of a Step-2 or higher Ashevas,” Ewan said, stuffing all the books back in his claw-ring, leaving only his diary out. “Whoever’s muddying the waters with these porters is limited to Step-1 for now, so the ceiling of the involvement should be that.”
“Some of the lists we found only had the details of Step-0 Ashevas, some had a mix of the two, and the rest were all Step-1,” Stefan said. “By that pattern, we should see a list with Step-2 names soon.”
“We’ll bail when it happens,” Ewan said. “There is a chance that the merchant ship has a Step-2 list already, so we’ll just check it from afar and see how things develop. We can't be the first to bite.”
“There isn’t much time left till the banquet though,” Nana said.
“We won't wait for long, a few days to a week,” Ewan said. “If nothing happens during that, we’ll detour and be on our way. Prepare for the worst though, just in case.” When the four nodded and hummed in assent, he tapped the table and swiped away for Nyte to lay out the materials he’d just added.
“What we saw in that hall?” Nana asked, glimpsing the holographic files above the table.
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“I need more information to be sure, but after I consulted the books and my family’s journal, I have enough data to share my thoughts on this,” Ewan said, deepening the underline of his premature conclusion in the diary. “The king was from another planet, or it could be a plane or even a realm. He lived and ruled these waters ages ago, but if we can somehow find his vestige or where he fell, I might be able to use my
“Sir…is this something we can touch at our level?” Lance asked while the others gaped at the files then gawked at Ewan.
“Ewan, it’s too risky,” Nana said, grabbing his hand with an anxious curve in her brows.
“If we get the link, Boss, can we use it?” Kidd asked.
“Not yet, no, but in the future,” Ewan said. “If we succeed, that link might become one of our greatest reliance. Just like that king came to Airadia and prospered, we might be able to do the same. Our visit won't be permanent, however, unlike his.”
“Getting the link shouldn’t be that risky, unless there are no remains or the vestige is in a place we can't reach,” Stefan said. “The problem will start after we get it, it’ll be a hot potato, Ewan.”
“That’s why this topic will remain within these walls, we won't discuss it anywhere else,” Ewan said.
“What if the link points to a registered world, sir?” Lance asked.
“Depends on how Ashevagord dealt with it. If it’s a publicly available world, then we’ll have the visitation rights for free. If it's private, then we would’ve strived for nothing.”
“How do we even get started on this though? Where do we look, Boss?”
“Let’s follow the history recorded in that hall for now,” Ewan said. “We need to focus on the three points of triangle. Also, I have an inkling we might not be the only ones looking for this, the curse on the Seroyotes is quite suspicious.” He heaved a deep breath after all the words and looked at the four. “I know I’m being a bit reckless. I might be aiming for something that’s beyond our reach, but I think this might work. I won't move forward with it if you guys disagree though.”
Stefan laughed. “Worst case scenario, we all die side by side, so be it.”
“I will go wherever you all will go, whether hell or heaven, it doesn’t matter,” Lance said, sitting up straight with his chest puffed out.
“If we go up in flames, we go up in flames together,” Kidd said, his eyes sparkling. “In flames together!” Walyn jumped out with a holler and echoed his words.
“It was so relaxing back when your biggest goal was the last slice of cake,” Nana said, looking at Ewan. She was one with him, she was his wife-to-be; his direction was what she followed.
And he chuckled. “Very well then, our next aim in this area will be that link. Once we get the green light from risk assessment and information gathering, we’ll target the three major points. It’s still a premature thought though, just a fleeting idea, and we’ll probably fail hard at this. But the hunt should be riveting. Let’s enjoy the quest for the grail together, shall we?”
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