The morning sun blazed overhead with crystalline clarity, casting golden pools across the Kelpie's weathered deck—a brightness that seemed to mock the tension radiating from every crew member like heat from forge-metal. Both Zyren and Bruln stood apart from this unspoken dread, perplexed by the dramatic change in their shipmates' demeanour.

  Twice, Zyren noticed sailors pausing at the rail to peer toward the horizon, eyes narrowing against the brilliant glare before they turned back to their duties without a word. Thaln worked nearby, his webbed hands checking knots with mechanical precision, but his usual melodic humming was absent. When Yrrig passed with a coil of rope, his typical cheerful bounce had been replaced by a concentrated sharpness that made his hooves click more sharply against the deck.

  Once the Kelpie was ready to leave Thalpharos, Urdan had emerged from his chamber like a storm bank rolling over the sea. His broad frame filled the doorway as he surveyed his crew with those penetrating amber eyes. Without his usual pleasantries, he had curtly given navigation duties to Kaelith.

  "Northwest by north," he had growled, his tusks catching the brilliant sunlight. "Keep us in the deeper waters until we clear the Mourning Straits."

  Then he had returned inside, the heavy door sealing shut with a finality that seemed to lock away whatever conversations were taking place within. Their passenger never stepped outside, remaining as much a mystery as when she had first appeared—though her presence could be felt in every nervous glance, every shortened conversation, every sailor who found urgent work elsewhere when passing too close to the captain's quarters.

  "Anything on the Morozari?" asked Bruln, his gravelly voice breaking Zyren's brooding as he approached from behind, carrying two steaming bowls of soup.

  "Not much," Zyren replied while accepting the meal, grateful for both the warmth and the company. "Doesn't look like they're comfortable with them." He gestured subtly toward the crew members who avoided even glancing toward the captain's quarters.

  Above them, the sky remained defiantly cheerful, though Zyren noticed a few wisps of cloud beginning to gather on the distant horizon.

  They settled against the rail, the sun warming their backs. It was remarkable, Zyren reflected, how they could sit here so peacefully—two beings who had once fought each other with lethal intent, now sharing a meal like old comrades.

  "Thought this was just about fighting humans," Bruln said after a long sip. "Turns out there's more to it."

  Zyren nodded, understanding the implication. A light breeze stirred the sails above them, and he noticed the horizon ahead had taken on a slightly hazier quality.

  "Before Urdan told me, I never knew there was a real war with the humans," Zyren admitted, voice easy with the casual conversation. "Even then I didn't take it seriously. When they attacked the ship I took to Thornhold, to me it was just pirates against merchants—common sea raiders, you know?"

  "I know." Bruln's scarred features shifted into something that might have been a smile. "I was on that ship too."

  "What?!" Zyren nearly dropped his bowl, soup sloshing dangerously close to the rim.

  "I told you they put me in a cage and took me to Thornhold," Bruln explained patiently. "The Swift Breeze wasn't just carrying passengers. It had cargo. And I was part of it."

  The bowl hung forgotten in Zyren's hand as understanding began to dawn. "But I would have seen you, wouldn't I? Someone your size?"

  "They kept me below decks in the deepest hold. Locked behind iron bars." Bruln's voice carried old frustration. "I tried to get someone's attention. Growled and roared until my throat was raw, hoping a passenger might hear and investigate."

  Zyren's eyes widened as memory struck. "Wait. I did hear something—growling from somewhere below. I tried to find where it was coming from but could never reach the source."

  "That was me." Bruln nodded grimly. "Thought if I made enough noise, someone might cause a commotion." He shrugged his massive shoulders. "Then Iskareth showed me it was a known practice. Probably some passengers already knew this was done."

  "I had no idea..." Zyren's voice grew uncertain, the casual tone beginning to fracture. "What were they planning to do with you?"

  "They use us as weapons." Bruln's explanation was matter-of-fact, like discussing the weather. "Humans don't like losing their own soldiers. They drop us into hostile territory instead. Let us clear out any resistance."

  Zyren's stomach began to tighten. "Clear out how?"

  "Kill anything that moves. Anyone who fights back." Bruln met his gaze directly. "Then the humans move in clean. No blood on their hands, territory secured."

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  The words settled over Zyren like a cold shadow. Above them, more clouds were gathering now, thin wisps that began to dim the brilliant sunshine. "That's... that's horrible. Do they just capture you from the Bruned Forest?"

  "Kidnap us." Bruln's almost cut through Zyrens question, "The Craglings aren′t animals or just stupid, aggressive beasts, like everyone thinks." The anger on his voice was palpable.

  Bruln seemed aggravated by the prejudice against his race, more that Zyrens unintended inconsideration of them. Yet Zyren wasn′t sure of it. And that kept him on his toes.

  "We fight to defend ourselves and our home." His tone was steady once again. "Just like the ones you killed did."

  Zyren felt a cold shiver. The human soldiers, thorned apart, flashed before his eyes. Bruln did that. What started as a casual conversation changed into something that like it was going to be his end. Hands shanking and thoughts racing, Zyren managed to mumble. "How do you..."

  Bruln was quiet for a long moment, studying Zyren's face with those amber eyes. Letting the silence linger longer than needed and enjoying Zyrens uneasiness. "Iskareth showed me records about three Craglings killed by a traveler crossing through the forest. The way it happened." Bruln's voice held no accusation, it morphed into a deep sadness. "Soon as he told me, I knew it had to be you."

  Zyren gripped the rail with both hands, his knuckles going white. "They would kill me. I had no choice. I was just trying to get through the forest. Then they came with claws and weapons and..." His words came faster now, tumbling over each other in desperate justification.

  "I know you fought for your life."

  "I never thought they were like you. I never considered that they might have thoughts or families or reasons for being there..." Zyren's voice cracked, the sentences getting longer and more tangled as panic set in.

  "Easy." Bruln's voice was steady, grounding. "You did what you had to do. They understood the risks that came with their task."

  "Task?" Zyren stared at him, confusion mixing with horror. "What task?"

  "Protecting our home." Replied Bruln, looking into the horizon. "The Burned Forest is the only home we have left. Defending it is above anything else for us."

  "Then how do the humans manage to capture some of you?" Zyrens heart was still racing, the sweat on his face was warming up. Brulns anger didn′t seem directed at him. "I saw what you did in Thornhold. They wouldn′t easily capture you."

  "I told our leader we should be building alliances with other tribes, not serving as human attack dogs." Bruln spat over the side.

  "What happened?"

  "He had me arrested and handed over to the humans." Bruln's laugh was harsh. "Solved two problems at once—silenced the dissent and gave them their weapon."

  Zyren looked up, his eyes red-rimmed and desperate. "Then when you got to Thornhold..."

  "I killed every human I could get my hands on." Bruln nodded grimly. "Probably proved their point about Craglings being nothing but savage monsters. Made things worse for any of my people still trying to show we are different."

  They sat in heavy silence, the weight of understanding settling between them. Around them, the crew continued their work, and Zyren found himself watching them with haunted eyes. Kaelith stood at the helm, her skilled hands adjusting their course—what violence had she been forced into? What choices had torn at her conscience?

  Above them, the sky ahead had taken on a distinctly ominous quality, the brilliant blue giving way to a wall of grey clouds that stretched across the horizon. The wind was picking up, carrying the metallic scent of approaching storm.

  "Your knots are improving," came a voice behind Zyren, both complimentary and gently corrective.

  "Thank you Hisoka," he managed, his voice hoarse and distant, while she undid his work and retied it with practiced ease, her movements fluid despite the ship's increasing motion.

  "Better this way," she said with a knowing smile before moving off with remarkable grace.

  "She moves like water over stones," Bruln observed, clearly trying to shift the mood away from the heavy conversation.

  Zyren nodded absently, still lost in the maze of his thoughts. The casual observation that might have brought colour to his cheeks earlier now barely registered through the fog of his guilt and confusion.

  "Patrol!" Yrrig's cry split the air like a snapped line, cutting through the morning like a blade.

  Urdan's door burst open with a resounding crash. The captain strode to the quarterdeck with startling speed, his massive frame radiating the controlled urgency of long experience. Through the open doorway, their mysterious passenger remained seated at her table, utterly unmoved by the alarm.

  The crew crowded the port rail to see the Imperial patrol ship cutting toward them with predatory precision. Its sleek hull and towering masts sliced through the water with frightening efficiency, closing the distance with each passing moment.

  "What's the plan?" Kaelith asked, smoothly transferring the helm back to Urdan's capable hands.

  Urdan took a moment, scanning his surroundings and feeling the world outside of his chambers. "We run for the storm and hope it's worse for them than for us," He said grimly, pointing toward the mass of dark clouds ahead. "Make all sail! Every scrap of canvas we've got!"

  The crew exploded into coordinated motion. Sails stretched and filled to catch every breath of wind, ropes singing under the sudden strain. The bow lifted as they surged forward, spray beginning to whip across the deck with increasing force.

  The Imperial vessel was gaining steadily, its pristine sails and expert crew making the most of every advantage.

  "Lighten her up!" Yrrig called out, dropping from the rigging. "Anything we can spare goes over the side!"

  "Take these barrels to the stern and wait for my signal," Hisoka called to them.

  Zyren and Bruln rolled the heavy containers aft, fighting against the increasingly unstable deck as the Kelpie began to pitch and roll in the growing swells. Around them, the last remnants of the morning's cheerful sunshine were being devoured by towering storm clouds.

  The tempest loomed ahead like a living mountain of darkness—black clouds twisted and rolled into one another, the sea beneath them heaving in great, restless waves. What had begun as innocent wisps on a brilliant morning had grown into something ancient and hungry, as if the storm itself was reaching out to decide their fate.

  The Imperial patrol ship continued its relentless pursuit behind them, its clean lines cutting through the water like a knife. Whether the chaos ahead offered salvation or destruction, it now filled the entire horizon.

  There was nowhere else to run.

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