Look, I'm back! Working on other fics have taken up my time. I'm going to try to alternate chapters of this and my next fic, so hopefully I won't have to go on hiatus again. If you're still here, thanks for sticking with me.

Chapter Eleven: City on Stilts

At the outset, Flynn had not been happy about training Estelle. He only did it because he worried about her safety and figured that if she was going to run into danger, the least he could do was prepare her for it. This went against his firmly held beliefs that there were certain places potential heirs to the throne ought to be, and running into danger in the first place was not one of them. Estelle was a princess, and a fine one at that, and Flynn felt that her skill as a doctor was far more impressive than any fancy sword work he could do. He didn't like the idea of her becoming a fighter and possibly getting hurt, so he faced training her as a reluctant necessity.

Over a week and a half later, he didn't have time to feel upset that the princess was fighting because he was too full of pride for all she had accomplished. Every morning, he forced her through a strict training regimen to strengthen her muscles. She did sit-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, and a slew of other exercises that didn't have the word 'up' in them. Flynn had thought she might lose her enthusiasm after the first day, but she never once complained no matter how much she struggled. He wanted to disapprove of the way the princess had cut her hair and borrowed pants from Judith and took to the sword with vibrant determination, but seeing how happy it made her and how well she was doing made his heart swell with pride.

Her sword skills were coming along nicely. Whenever she wasn't working out, eating, or running chores around the ship (mostly tending to the recovering wounded from the Blood Alliance battle) she and Flynn sparred on deck. Estelle didn't talk much while they fought, but Flynn kept up a steady stream of comments.

"Watch your footing. Don't leave your left side open. Oh, nice one! Don't let your wrist get too stiff." At one point in the middle of a mock battle, he reached out with his left arm and tapped her on the shoulder.

Estelle jumped at the sudden touch. "W-what?!"

"That could have been a knife," Flynn said, pausing the battle. "You didn't even notice my left arm reaching for you."

"Oh…" her eyes fell to the deck.

"It's alright. It's an easy mistake for beginners to make. Remember, you need to watch all of your opponent, not just the part holding the sword."

"Right! I'll do that."

"Ok, let's start again, and don't keep your eyes locked on my right hand this time."

On the afternoon that they approached Dahngrest, Flynn glanced over the side of the ship mid-spar to view the forested islands they sailed through. The land beneath Dahngrest had sunk into the sea a little under a century ago, leaving the city hobbled together on stilts in the middle of a shallow sea nestled in the heart of the Tolbyccia Archipelago. Flynn had only been to Dahngrest once before, since the Imperial Navy tended to avoid the den of guilds and pirates, but he had always found the architecture of the city fascinating and was eager to get another good look at it.

A flash of pain hit his hand, and Estelle shouted, "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

Flynn's eyes shot back to Estelle. He'd only looked away from a split second, but in that time she'd gotten past his defences and lightly struck his hand before pulling back the moment she realized she'd hit him. Flynn lowered his sword and looked down at the back of his hand, where blood welled up from the shallow cut.

"I'm sorry! Oh, I feel terrible. Does it hurt? I didn't mean to cut you, Flynn."

"No, it's quite alright." He sheathed his sword and looked up with a smile. "I underestimated you and allowed myself to be distracted. If your opponent underestimates you, good, take advantage of that."

"But your hand…"

He wiped the blood away with his other hand. "Compared to how proud I am that you managed to land a hit on me, it's negligible."

"Oh… well… ok. I still feel bad, though."

"Why don't we stop for now? We've almost arrived at Dahngrest." The deck was getting busy as the crew prepare to dock. There was less to do than they normally would, since they were being towed by Ba'ul rather than sailing, but there were still anchors to prepare and ropes to tie to the dock and empty containers to be brought up and refilled at port. He didn't want to get in the way, so it would be better if they go below decks.

"Yes, ok," Estelle said. "If we're almost there, I'm going to go help Yuri. I told him I'd let him out of bed when we got there."

"Is he well enough to get up?"

She nodded. "He should be."

Flynn took his sabre from her and sheathed it at his waist and then followed her down the stairs to the captain's cabin. When they entered, they froze and stared at the sight on the bed.

Yuri lay on his back, struggling to shove Repede off his chest. Repede had his front legs firmly draped over Yuri's chest, and snarled in his face when Yuri attempted to dig his fingers under Repede's fur and lift him.

"Uh… Yuri?" Estelle said.

Repede looked over at them and barked.

Yuri said, "Oh, hey guys. I'm, uh… having a bit of trouble here."

Repede growled at him again.

"Why is Repede on you?" Estelle asked, taking a few steps closer.

Flynn wasn't willing to get too much closer, because for a dog that couldn't talk, the way Repede growled at him did a fantastic job of communicating, My ancestors ate yours for brunch and we can easily go back to those days if you piss me off.

"Because he's being unreasonable!" Yuri said. "He won't let me pick up a deck of cards."

The deck of cards in question sat on the bedside table, just out of Yuri's reach. Flynn sighed and said, "Were you maybe trying to get out of bed to get the cards when Repede stopped you?"

The glare Yuri gave him said it all.

Estelle giggled, covering her mouth with her fingers. "Good boy, Repede," she said. "I'm glad you're here to make sure Yuri does what he's told."

Repede barked and sat upright. Yuri grunted in annoyance as his paws pressed heavily against his chest on the way up.

"You should thank Repede, Yuri," Estelle said, walking to the side of the bed. "He's such a good dog. He's really concerned about your health." She reached out to scratch Repede's head, but as her fingers got close he turned his head. Estelle's face fell as Repede scooted further against the wall, lowered his head, and turned to lay down sideways next to Yuri to avoid letting her rub his head.

"Dumb mutt," Yuri grumbled, twining his fingers through the fur on his back. "You're supposed to be a dog, not a mother hen."

Repede turned his head slightly and a low rumbling growl filled the room. The meaning was clear: Call me a hen to my face, monkey.

Yuri froze for a second, and then said, "My apologies." He turned his head to Estelle and said, "I really do feel fine, though."

"You probably are fine," Estelle said. "We're almost in Dahngrest. Let check you one more time and hopefully I can declare you healthy."

"Alright!" Yuri said, grabbing his shirt and pulling it up without further prompting. "I am so ready to be healthy."

Estelle carefully examined the wound, and ran her fingers around Yuri's abdomen. "Tell me if anything hurts," she said, pressing gently around the wound.

"It's in your best interest to be honest, Yuri," Flynn reminded him. "If you try to hide an injury, it will inevitably get worse, cause complications, and you'll be bedridden for even longer."

"I know," Yuri grumbled.

"Well?" Estelle asked. "Are you in pain? Does anything hurt?"

"A little," Yuri admitted. "It sort of feels like a bad stomach ache, but just centred around the actual wound. And… I guess it's a bit sore when you press on it."

Estelle nodded and pulled back. "Good. Everything seems to be in order."

"Great!" Yuri said. "So, can I get up now?"

"Yes," Estelle said. "The internal injury from the Blood Alliance fight has healed. You're still sore, but the bleeding stopped and the wound closed and shouldn't reopen unless you get punched there again." She went to her medical chest and pulled out the key to the handcuff. Flynn could tell Yuri was practically bouncing out of bed in his eagerness to get up and walk around.

With the handcuff off, Flynn stepped forward and held out a hand to help, but Yuri ignored him and determinedly sat upright without help. When he sat on the edge of the bed, he wore a grin and didn't even look too out of breath from the effort.

He stood up and stretched his arms to the ceiling. "Wow, Estelle, I feel great." He held out his left hand and stretched his fingers, rotating his thumb around. Estelle had taken the stitches out a few days earlier, and only a reddish mark showed any sign that he'd even been injured. He took a deep breath and stretched further, and then his face tightened and he lowered a hand to hold over his stomach. "Ah… maybe not one hundred percent ok, then."

"That's right. You're still healing, and it will take months to fully heal. For now, though, you should be ok to walk around. I could write a list of activities you're prohibited from doing, but…"

Flynn gave Yuri a dry look. "He won't read it."

Estelle sighed. "Just don't push yourself, ok? If it starts hurting, that's your body's way of telling you to slow down."

"Alright, got it," Yuri said. "Does that mean I can sword fight with you now?"

"No! I just told you not to push yourself!"

"She's right, Yuri," Flynn said. "You might think sparring with Lady Estellise won't take effort, but she's getting pretty good. Just today she landed a hit on me."

Yuri smirked. "Maybe that says more about your abilities than hers, Flynn."

"I'm confident enough in my abilities to not rise to that insult," Flynn said while following the other two out of the room.

"That's because you know I could beat you."

"Perhaps."

"Why don't you and I fight? We haven't had a good spar since our swords were made of wood."

"No."

"Why? Afraid you'll lose?"

"I'm afraid I'd hurt you." He really didn't know how good Yuri was with a sword. When they were kids, he'd always been one step behind Flynn. It got to the point where he hated sparing with Yuri, because either he won and Yuri got frustrated, or he let Yuri win and Yuri was insulted. Flynn never tried to beat Yuri at everything, he was just stronger. He was a few mothers older, he got his growth spurts earlier, and back then he still had two parents and a loving family with marginally more reliable healthy meals than Yuri got at the orphanage.

He assumed that by their age, their growth would have levelled out. He could tell just by looking at Yuri that he was less muscular, and Yuri had not received the formal training with a sword that Flynn had gotten at the Naval Academy. Still, he'd never seen Yuri fight and it was possible he'd become a skilled swordsman in his own right. He'd survived the slaughter on the quarterdeck where most of the other crew members had been killed, after all.

Yuri grabbed Flynn's shoulder. "What's that supposed to mean? You think you're so much better than me?"

"At the moment? Yes. Lady Estellise just said you're still not at the top of you game. So, no, I'm not going to fight you any time soon." If he went easy on Yuri, Yuri would be furious and even more upset with him than before. If he didn't go easy on him, Flynn would feel like crap for taking all his skill and strength out on a man only a month recovered from a near-fatal injury. "If you really want to fight me, Yuri, I'll only do it when Lady Estellise gives her blessing that you've returned to peak condition."

Yuri glared at him for a few long seconds, and then snapped, "Fine." He turned and headed for the stairs. "I'm going to check up with Karol." He stomped up the stairs, only pausing once to clutch his gut and resume at a slower pace.

Flynn sighed. "That could have gone worse."

"I'm just glad he's feeling better," Estelle said.

"Yes." Yuri was an idiot, but Flynn was glad he wasn't loitering around death's door anymore. "We should go on deck. Dahngrest might be in view already."

"Oh, yes! I can't wait to see it." Estelle ran ahead of him and followed Yuri up to the deck.

Flynn watched her leave, taking a moment to figure out why his chest felt heavy. It was because Estelle was clearly more vibrant and at home on this ship than she had ever been in the castle. With her short hair hanging loose and pants under her skirt to let her run around freely, it was clear that, even if Estelle didn't realize it herself yet, this ship was the most comfortable and welcoming place she'd ever lived and she would never want to leave.

Flynn could see only two possible outcomes of this situation: either he forced her to return to the castle and watched her shrivel back into the unfulfilling life she'd led there, or he leave her here and possibly never see her again. Either way, it would break his heart.

"Dahngrest wasn't always in the middle of the ocean," Karol said as they pulled up to port. "It used to be a big city in the lowlands that took up most of the largest island in the Tolbyccia Archipelago."

They were getting close to the dock now. The ship had already drawn gawkers around the docks pointing at them in surprise thanks to being towed in by a whale. Certainly not many ships could pull into port with a broken mast. Yuri stood with his friends at the bow, leaning on the railing and watching the buildings get bigger.

Dahngrest was one of the most unique cities in the world. The whole thing was propped up on an intricate network of stilts and boardwalks about ten feet above the water level. In places these stilts were made from broken masts, and old ship hatches bridged small gaps. Many of the buildings had distinctive curved roofs thanks to being made of ship hulls. The wooden maze of buildings and bridges radiated out of the cathedral in the centre of the city. Only the top floor and towers reached above the water line, and it had served as the main headquarters for Altosk since the flooding.

"About a hundred years ago," Karol explained to an enraptured Estelle, "there was an earthquake south of the city. The tremors destabilized the ground and the entire plain liquefied. The process was gradual enough that people had enough time to escape or prepare, until the whole plain had turned to mud and the sea flooded in. That's when the big island broke into the several smaller islands you see around us that now surround the Dahngrest Sea."

"You can still see the old Dahngrest down below in some places," Judith said.

"Yeah," Yuri said, "there's this rusty old weather vane near where I grew up that sticks out of the water. You've got to do a bit of acrobatics to get to it because it's below the walkway, but there's no point. It rusted over and it's impossible to pry it loose."

Estelle cocked her head. "Why were you trying to take a weather vane off a flooded roof?"

Yuri crossed his arms. "Because I was sixteen and thought it would be cool to salvage a weather vane."

"That's not true, Yuri," Karol said with a smirk. "You did it because Droite said it was impossible to get down there and back up again and then double-dared you to do it when you said you bet you could."

Yuri waved his hand. "That's a minor technicality."

"Isn't that stealing?" Flynn said.

"Not if no one's owned that house for almost a century." Really, the fact that no one else had pilfered it decades earlier should have tipped him off that it was impossible. It might have saved him the bruises and splinters from scrambling around the old, algae-infested support beams. He took solace in the fact that even though he hadn't been able to bring the weather vane up as proof that he made it, he did get down there.

Estelle leaned over the side, trying to catch a glimpse of the sunken buildings below. There weren't many around the docks, though. The docks had purposefully sprung up in the area with the least buildings below to avoid ships smacking into them.

They pulled up at the dock and crew members jumped over the side with ropes to secure the ship. Yuri left the bow to oversee the docking and help where he could, even if he knew he wouldn't be allowed to jump over the side himself.

It took about fifteen minutes to properly dock the ship. Yuri enjoyed it more than he had ever enjoyed docking before, because for the first time in nearly a month he was up, walking around, and helping out around the ship. They wouldn't let him do any heavy lifting, but it felt good to be useful.

"Where's Ragou?" Rita asked when they were ready to disembark.

"Lurking in his cabin," Flynn said. "I suggested he get off the ship and stretch his legs and perhaps send a memo to Capua Nor, but he said he didn't want anything to do with this goddess-forsaken city. His words, not mine," he added when he noticed the glare Yuri levelled his way.

"Whatever," Yuri said. "I don't care what he does as long as he doesn't buy himself a new parrot." He was actually pleased to hear Ragou would be staying on board, because he didn't trust that bastard not to get into something nefarious in town. Yuri was still certain he was in league with Barbos, he just couldn't prove it.

Yuri was the first to leave the ship. They were on their way to Altosk to request a meeting with Don Whitehorse in hopes of finding Barbos. Yuri tromped down the gangway, taking simple satisfaction in solid steps. He could walk again. He had never thought such a basic act would bring him such pleasure, but being able to walk around fully under his own power without hobbling along in piercing agony was something he hadn't experienced in a month.

He stood on the dock waiting for the others to follow him, when someone let out an impressed whistle. Yuri turned his head and saw a man sitting on a broad wooden post, one leg stretched out in front of him and the other foot perched on the edge of his seat. He chewed on a pipe, which he pulled away from his mouth when he saw Yuri watching him.

Yuri put his hand on his hip. "Something you'd like to comment on, old man?"

"Who, little ol' me?" the man said. "Nah, I was just marvellin' at the state ya got your ship inta. I've been all over the Great Sea, and seen monsters ya wouldn't believe, but even I've never seen a whale towin' a busted boat."

"What kind of monsters?" Estelle asked as she arrived on the scene.

"I don't wanna tell ya, darlin'; it would frighten your poor heart!" the man said with a laugh that morphed into a cough. He coughed into his fist for a few seconds, and then took a deep puff on his pipe.

"I'm not afraid," Estelle said. "I want to hear about the world."

The others had come down by now as well, and Yuri was about ready to leave the chatty old-timer behind and get on with their business. Estelle, though, had her interest piqued and took a few steps closer. "What sort of things have you seen?"

"Terrifyin' things," the man said, throwing his hands out. "Giant turtles the size of islands, squids the size of houses with tentacles thicker than yer waist, people with fish for heads, a great sorcerer who lives at the edge of the world, or even a huge snake that swims through the ocean with fins like wings!"

Estelle stared at him with eyes the size of dinner plates. "Are all those things really true?"

"Of course not," Flynn scoffed, coming up behind her. "He's just trying to scare you."

"Are ya callin' me a liar?" the man said. "I'll have ya know I've seen all those things with these very eyes!"

"Your eyes might be turning near-sighted, old man," Yuri said. Of course there were dangerous monsters out in the sea, especially once you got farther away from the coast, but the massive beasts this man was going on about were just the subjects of old sailors' myths. 'Monsters' were just what people called particularly scary animals. "Let's get going, guys."

They started walking away, but the man continued. "Oh, sure, ignore me. I know what I saw. Out there, a hundred leagues from shore… the shadow."

Flynn paused. He glanced back at the man and said, "That's a myth."

Yuri frowned as he watched the old sailor slowly blow a ring of smoke. He seemed pretty satisfied at the reaction he'd garnered and soaked up their faces like an actor receiving applause.

"You think we're stupid?" Rita said. "You'd have to be really gullible to buy the stories drunk sailors rant about in pubs."

Estelle looked around the group in confusion. "The shadow? What is he talking about?"

"It's just a myth," Flynn said.

"More of a rumour," Karol said, fiddling with his hands. "A myth makes it sound pretty old, but this is more of a recent thing…"

Yuri shook his head. "Doesn't make it any less bullshit." The rumours had flown around the various port cities for decades, as far as Yuri knew. He heard sailors talk about it at least every other shore leave, but in his entire life he had never met anyone who could confirm it as anything other than 'a friend of a friend of a friend definitely saw this I swear.'

"It's real, alright," the man said. "I was on a ship smack dab in the middle of the Great Sea. It was dawn, an' then a huge shadow appeared in the water. It snaked up outa the depths like some kinda mountain-sized seaweed, wriggled around a bit, and then sunk back down."

"Like… a whale?" Estelle asked.

"No way!" the man said. "Much bigger than that! It musta been as wide as our ship was long! It was almost like some kinda tentacle, if octopi were the size of a small landmasses."

"So you're saying there's a squid the size of an island out in the middle of the ocean?" Yuri said skeptically.

"No, yer not listenin'!" the man said, waving his hands and head impatiently so his dark ponytail bounced back and forth . "It was just a shadow. There was nothin' there to cast it. And here's where it really gets weird." He punctuated the air with his pipe as he said, "Right after it passed, hundreds o' fish floated up ta the surface, dead as doornails. Seems ta me like whatever came in contact with that thing snuffed it. Boy am I glad it stayed in the water!"

"Wow…" Estelle said, staring at him with an even mix of wonder and horror.

"I-is that really true?" Karol's face was leaning more on the horror side.

"Sure is."

"Hm…" Judith was clearly deep in thought and Yuri waited for her to explain what she was thinking over, but she didn't provide any further comment.

Yuri had to admit it was a more convincing story than the whispered rumours and second-hand gossip he usually heard, but he couldn't say he was entirely convinced. In any case, it didn't matter to him much. Even if there was some mysterious fish-killing shadow out on the middle of the ocean, they never went out there. Hardly anyone ventured out into the vast expanse of sea when it was so much safer to skirt around the edges in range of safe harbours and fresh supplies.

"It's nonsense," Flynn said. "It's nothing but a sailor's superstition to encourage crews to not recklessly try to shortcut across the ocean when it's safer to stay along the coastline." He gently touched Estelle's elbow and said, "Come, Estellise, we have places to be."

"Right," she said, turning to follow Flynn. She glanced back at the man blowing more smoke rings on his pipe, and then moved on.

"That's kind of scary to think about," Karol said as they made their way down the dock toward the city proper.

"No, it's not," Rita said. "Estelle's right, it was probably just a whale or something swimming under the ship. A coincidentally timed gas leak from one of the dozens of submarine volcanoes in the middle of the ocean could have killed all those fish. Sailors are way too easily spooked."

As they reached the edge of the dock, Repede barked once and then trotted off on his own.

"Where is he going?" Estelle asked worriedly. "Will he be alright by himself?"

"Don't worry about Repede," Yuri said. "He grew up here. He's off to meet up with some old friends of his."

"So did you and Karol get Repede when you still lived in Dahngrest?" Estelle asked.

"That's right!" Karol said. He watched Repede's tail disappear into the crowd with a grin. "We found him on the street when he was a little puppy, and then Yuri and I snuck scraps of food to him whenever we could. He's stuck with us ever since."

"I don't know if you'd say we 'got' Repede, though," Yuri said. "He'd probably object to phrasing it like we own him."

"Oh, whoops," Estelle said. "Don't tell him I said that, then."

"Don't worry about it, Estelle," Rita said. "Repede is one weird dog."

The rest of Dahngrest wasn't actually too different from the docks, considering the entire city was built on wooden platforms above the water. It was denser, though, with scrapped-together buildings huddling along worn wooden walkways. Heavy clouds hung over the city, combining with damp fog at street level. The smell of fog mixed with dead fish, salt, and old wood to create a distinct aroma that permeated every corner of the city. Estelle looked less-than-enamoured with the scent, but Yuri took a deep breath with a smile.

"It's good to be home, huh, Yuri?" Karol said.

"Yeah. It's been a long time since we stopped in Dahngrest."

"You consider this your home?" Flynn asked. "You spent the first nine years of your life in Zaphias."

Yuri shrugged. "Well, I spent equal amounts of my childhood in both cities, but I remember Dahngrest better and it's a place I can come back to without worrying about getting stopped by the navy, so to me it's home." He wasn't entirely off the hook here, since there was still the issue that he had technically kidnapped Karol. He was pretty sure the police weren't actively looking for them anymore, though.

"I see," Flynn said, sounding a bit put out.

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Alright, Flynn, Zaphias is my hometown, too, but I haven't been there since I was nine years old so I don't think about it very much."

As they made their way through the city, Yuri couldn't help but smirk at the way Flynn kept glancing at the street, as if expecting the old boards to give out underneath his feet at any minute. Dahngrest had survived like this for nearly a century; it was hardly going to topple into the ocean now. Flynn kept glancing around nervously, as if any of the rough sailors they passed might be able to sense that he was a navy officer. Yuri couldn't say that fear was entirely unfounded, since the general populace of Dahngrest had a decidedly negative opinion of the Imperial Navy, but it wasn't like Flynn was wearing his uniform. He wore a dressy white shirt and beige breeches, but without the wig and jacket he just looked like a businessman.

While Flynn was on edge, Estelle was ecstatic. Her wide eyes flew around the streets as they walked, absorbing as much information as she could. She kept asking Rita questions about everything they passed, which led to Rita inevitably shrugging and saying she didn't live here. Karol hopped in to answer, but Estelle kept asking Rita, and Yuri briefly wondered if there was a specific reason Estelle seemed to want not just conversation but conversation with Rita. He didn't think too hard on it, though, because generally he assumed other people's relationships were none of his business.

Other than Flynn, Judith was the only one who wasn't in high spirits to have reached Dahngrest. She walked silently, her face impassive. It was only because Yuri had known her for a few years that he recognized the slight crease in her brows that said she was thinking about something.

"What's got you out of sorts?" Yuri asked.

"Hm?" She turned her head with a smile, even the tiny hint of concern vanishing in a second. "What do you mean?"

"You're not still thinking about that old timer's story, are you?" Yuri asked. He had first noticed her mood drop during the man's story, so it had to be connected to that.

"Well, it's certainly something to think about, isn't it? A shadow lurking up from the depths of the ocean…"

"You actually think that's true?" Judith was always a sensible girl, so it seemed unlikely she'd buy into some random sailor's wild stories.

"Oh, I don't know," she said idly. "There are lots of things about the world we don't know, after all. It would be interesting to check out."

"Maybe, but it would take ages to stock up on all the provisions we'd need for an expedition all the way to the centre of the ocean."

"That's true," Judith said, nodding. "I think only the Navy has the resources to pay for an expedition like that."

"Yeah. Well, maybe Altosk, but I can't see the Don sending people out there for no reason. Too dangerous, and nothing to gain."

"Right. I wonder what that man was doing out in the middle of the ocean, then? He didn't appear to be in the Imperial Navy."

Yuri paused to consider this. "…Huh." He shook his head with a scowl. "It doesn't matter. What ship he was on doesn't change how bullshit his story probably is."

"Oh!" Estelle jolted him out of his thoughts and pointed ahead after they turned a corner. "What's that?"

"That's the headquarters of Altosk," Karol supplied.

At the end of the street was a stone cathedral, or at least the top of one. The cathedral was the tallest and more solid structure in the city, so when it flooded, the first story was submerged while the second level and the towers poked above the water line. The building had become the hub of the city, with the boardwalks stretching out like spokes on a wheel.

"Is Altosk a religious organization?" Flynn asked when they got closer.

"Nah," Yuri said. "The priests who ran the cathedral abandoned it during the flood. Altosk took over and organized the reconstruction. They've been the leaders of the city ever since."

Estelle frowned. "But, if this isn't really a church anymore, is there another church?"

Yuri shrugged. "Probably. Not like I know every building in the city."

The wooden streets went right up to the edge of the cathedral. The main doors were hidden underwater, but on the side a large stained-glass window had been cut out to accommodate a new door. The simple wooden door seemed out of place surrounded by intricate glass depictions of Krityans and the goddess, and Estelle froze when she saw it.

"But… how could they destroy the window like this?" She stared at the window, where one Krityan had been cut in half by glass cutters and a new metal frame, her colourful and intricately designed whale-tail split off to make way for the door.

"It was easier to make an entrance through an existing window than to carve out through the stone," Karol said. He shuffled he feet and added, "It kinda sucks that they had to ruin the art, but it's better than smashing the window completely."

"I… suppose." Estelle clearly didn't fully believe it, but she didn't protest any further when Yuri grabbed the door handle and led them inside.

The interior of the cathedral was just as imposing as the outside. The main room for worship was underwater, and they stood on a large stone balcony that encircled the entire thing. Above them was a dome, which shimmered with reflected light from the water. Below, rotting wooden pews had turned into colonies of seaweed and barnacles. A stone statue of the goddess rose out of the water, dominating the back of the chamber. Beneath her outstretched arms were doors that led to what used to be bedrooms and offices for priests but was now the operating rooms for Altosk.

"Welcome to the Altosk Headquarters," a young man by the door said. "How can we help you?"

"We'd like a meeting with the Don," Karol said.

"I see," the man said, smiling at Karol. "As I'm sure you can understand, Don Whitehorse is a very busy man and can't see everyone right away. Would you like to make an appointment and come back next week?"

"We can't wait a week!" Karol said. "This is really important!"

The man nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure it is, but the Don simply cannot see every person who wants to meet him."

Flynn edged past Judith and stood behind Karol. "Excuse me, this truly is a matter of extreme urgency. My name is Captain Flynn Scifo of the Imperial Navy, and this is Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein. We need to meet with the Don to discuss a matter that may threaten the tentative peace between our states."

The man's eyes widened. "O-oh! I see. I didn't realize you were from the empire. I'll go ask the Don right away."

As they waited, Estelle leaned on the railing and looked down at the flooded pews. "It's… sad."

"I know what you mean," Flynn said, crossing his arms and looking around. "To convert a cathedral into a political office… it's blasphemous."

"I don't think it's that bad." Yuri leaned against the railing and tried to balance being friendly and respectful to Estelle's beliefs but confrontational toward Flynn (for no other reason than that he was annoyed with him and wanted to be confrontational). This proved to be difficult, because Flynn and Estelle had the same beliefs. "Sure, it's not a church anymore, but Altosk has done a lot of good for this city."

Judith nodded. "That's true. Many more people would have died during the flood if they hadn't stepped in, and today they provide useful leadership in opposition to the empire."

Flynn struggled not to roll his eyes. "Forgive me for not feeling overly friendly toward a group of secessionist leaders."

"Get over it," Yuri snapped, irritation growing. "The war was over ten years ago. You didn't manage to bring us back into the empire then, and you're not going to do it any time soon. The Union had been its own country for a century; we're not a group of secessionists."

"For a given definition of 'country'," Flynn said in a calculatedly even tone.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Karol demanded.

Yuri shot Flynn a warning look. He could be a jerk to Yuri all he wanted, but if he hurt Karol's feelings, that was crossing the line.

Estelle looked worriedly between them. "I'm sure Flynn didn't mean anything negative by it," she said hurriedly. With a pointed look at Flynn she added, "Right, Flynn?"

Flynn held her gaze for a second, and then turned to Karol. "Correct. I apologize for my tone. I merely meant that the Union has a very loose power structure and is not governed in a traditional way."

Before Flynn could dig himself deeper, the man returned. "Don Whitehorse can see you right away."

A few minutes later, they were seated in the Don's chamber. It was a small room at the back of the cathedral, with the flags of all the major Union fleets hanging from the walls. Yuri noticed Karol eyeing them with envy, knowing Karol's dream was for Brave Vesperia's flag to hang on these walls someday, too. That would take a lot of work - they weren't even a fleet yet, let alone one of the five big ones. Barbos' flag caught Yuri's eye and he scowled at it. Everyone knew the Blood Alliance were bastards who preyed on civilian and Union ships rather than the navy ships they were supposed to, but they were too powerful to cut ties with. It was better that they at least pretended to still respect the Don's authority and not letting them branch off on their own completely unregulated.

The Don himself slouched in a large padded chair in front of the window. He was the kind of man who didn't need to flex his muscles to make it obvious he could wring your neck with one hand behind his back, and when he sat upright as the group entered it was like a glacier moving. Red tattoos crossed his face in vertical lines, with more tattoos covering his exposed chest. It was an old sailor's tradition to get a tattoo once you'd travelled to all five major island chains, and the number of tattoos the Don had meant he'd sailed extensively.

Yuri hadn't done it himself - he'd never been farther south than Zaphias - and he briefly wondered if Flynn had, and if so, if Flynn had a tattoo somewhere. Yuri highly doubted that, although the idea of Flynn hiding some ultra-manly tattoo hidden under his shirt amused Yuri far more than it should have.

"So you're the princess of the empire, huh?" The Don's voice rumbled like an avalanche.

"Ah, yes," Estelle said. "My name is Estellise Sidos Heura-"

"Yeah, I know your name."

"Oh…" She deflated and scooted a tad closer to Flynn.

"What can I do for ya?" he asked. "I was told this was an emergency."

Flynn spoke up to explain, his voice tightly professional like he was speaking to the admiral himself and he stood up so straight it would give a mast an inferiority complex. "I am Captain Flynn Scifo of the Imperial Navy. I was escorting His Royal Highness Ioder Argylos Heurassein to Heliord on the ship Brave Vesperia. Mid-route, our vessel was attacked by the pirate Barbos of the Blood Alliance and Master Ioder was kidnapped. We seek your aid in recovering the prince."

"The prince?" The Don rubbed his beard-covered chin. "Why should I help? Sounds like an imperial problem to me."

"Barbos is currently allied with the Union," Flynn said. "If the empire believes the Union as a whole was responsible for Master Ioder's abduction, I see few ways to avoid an outbreak of hostilities."

"You may have a point, there," the Don said.

Yuri said, "We're not asking you to do all the work for us. Ioder paid us to get him to Heliord, so it's our job to get him there. We just want to know if you have any information on where Barbos might have gone."

"Please, help us," Estelle said. "We have to rescue Ioder, but we have no idea where Barbos went."

The Don thought about this, and then leaned forward on his chair. "Can't say I have any real desire to help this prince, but your navy friend is right. The last thing we want is for a second Great War to flare up."

Karol's face lit up. "So, you'll help us?"

"I can't directly go against Barbos. He's on a fragile leash as it is. I don't know exactly where he's gone, but I have heard he's got a base of some kind in Caer Bocram."

"Where's that?" Estelle asked.

"It's a ruined city not far from here," Karol answered, looking to her. "It was destroyed in an earthquake about ten years ago."

"The city's abandoned," the Don said, "but Barbos set up a private port for himself there. You might find him there, or at least evidence of where he went."

"That's great, thanks a lot!" Karol said with a grin.

Yuri looked to Judith. "Will we be able to head out tomorrow?"

"Hm…" she thought for a moment. "Ba'ul is tired from towing us all the way here. We might need to wait a few days."

"Oh no," Estelle said. "If we wait, Barbos might be gone by the time we arrive."

"There's nothing else we can do," Yuri said. "Vesperia needs to be fixed anyway."

The Don stared around at the group. "Your ship's in need of repair?"

"Y-yes, sir," Karol said, taken aback by the piercing gaze on him. "She got damaged when Barbos attacked."

"Hm…" the Don thought this over again, and then said, "like Captain Scifo here said, if this prince doesn't get rescued soon, it could spark a war. If you need, I can send a ship from Altosk's fleet over to Caer Bocram to check it out."

"No, thanks," Yuri said. "We want to take care of this ourselves."

"I meant that you guys would go with 'em," the Don said. "I'm just offering to send a sloop over to get you guys there. I'll give you a good deal on supplies and hands to fix your ship, too."

"Wow, thanks!" Karol said.

"I'll have the ship prepared and ready to go tomorrow. I'll put you up in rooms here for the night and you can head out tomorrow morning."

"Thank you very much," Flynn said. "We truly appreciate your help."

The Don waved his hand. "I'm just trying to prevent a war. You get that prince back and tell your superiors we had nothing to do with it, and we're square."

Their meeting concluded, they filed out of the room. An assistant directed them to some rooms they could sleep in, and then they crowded in the hall outside to discuss their next plan of action.

"I want to explore the city!" Estelle said. "Rita, will you come with me?"

Rita crossed her arms and shrugged. "It's just a city, you know. There's nothing that exciting about it…"

Estelle folded her hands over her heart, quivered her lip, and made her eyes wide and pouty.

Rita sighed. "Fine."

"Hurray!" Estelle pulled Rita into a quick hug in success, which Rita feebly tried to escape from. "Come on, let's go! We'll be back tonight, ok, Flynn?"

Before he could say more than a quick, "Yes, alri-" Estelle had dragged Rita down the hall. "Well, then," Flynn said, watching them disappear. "I suppose I'll spend the afternoon alone."

"You don't have to be alone," Karol said. "Why don't you come with us?"

Flynn glanced to Yuri. "Uh, I suppose if Yuri doesn't mind me tagging along…"

Yuri waved his hand. "Do what you want. Karol and I have some important things to take care of. You're welcome to tag along."

"Sure," he said. "I'd be interested to see the city. I don't have many chances to come to Dahngrest, after all."

"You coming, Judy?" Yuri asked.

"Hm, I don't think so. I'll meet you boys here tonight, ok?"

"Whatever suits you. Let's go, Karol." With Karol and Flynn close behind, Yuri led the way out of the cathedral.