Chapter VI

May the Wind Blow in Your Favor

"RUN, KID!"

"IM SOOO SORRY!"

"DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!". Yelled a mob of around 5 people as they chased Jaune and Don across a forest.

The two heroes bravely decided to hide behind a large rock and hoped for their pursuers to miss them.

"What were you thinking!?" Jaune said angrily to his master, his voice lowered as to not give away their hiding spot.

"I told you! I just wanted some chocolate milk from that brown cow!" Don replied.

"First, brown cows don't give chocolate milk! and Second, they were selling milk!

"I wasn't going to pay 6 Lien for a glass of milk, are you kidding me?!". Don said with his arms crossed.

"But you didn't have to burn down their carriage!".

"Hey! That was because that guy was smoking. So, if you think about it, he really brought this on himself".

"He didn't scare the brown cow, which by the way, was clearly a BULL!".

"Well, how was I supposed to know that!?".

"BECAUSE IT HAD A DI…" Jaune yelled in anger forgetting for a moment that they were supposed to hide. Thankfully Don covered his mouth as their pursuers got closer to them.

"I think I heard them!" One of them said, as they ran past the rock, not noticing them hiding behind it.

Jaune and Don sighed in relief, they had managed to barely escape this situation unharmed…Or thats what they thought. As they opened their eyes and looked in front of them, a large angry brown bull stared directly at them, ready to charge.

Jaune and Don sat there shaking in terror and embracing each other. With a faint smile Jaune tried to calm down the beast. "Oh….heeey, buddy. How is it goAHHHHH!".

The bull charged at the two huntsmen, but luckily its horns hit the rock behind them, preventing it from hitting them and giving time for the two of them to run away. Fortunately, their screams caught the attention of the traveling milk ranchers who lasso the bull's horns and shot it with a tranquilizer. The Bull kneeled and soon it calmed down, much to Jaune and Don's relief. But of course, that didn't last long, as the milk ranchers quickly surrounded the two Huntsmen, ready to give them the beating they deserved.

"You two MORORS!" a rancher said as he grabbed Jaune by his hoodie.

"Listen! We can discuss this!".

"Yeah! I'll start. I think your smoking habit is the true source of your problems, so clearly you have no one to blame but yourself".

"YOU ARE NOT HELPING, DON!". Jaune yelled right before the ranchers beat them both.

The beating took a few minutes, those ranchers really had some piled-up frustration that they gladly took out on Jaune and Don's faces. After a while, the ranchers demanded to be paid for the damages, which Jaune reluctantly had to agree on, it was either that or pay a dentist for a new set of teeth. The angry ranchers took the money and left, leaving the brave heroes to lick their wounds.

Jaune stood up in pain, but as always Don kept his cheerful spirit, much to Jaunes annoyance.

"Well, that takes care of that. Nothing like a bit of excitement before supper, don't you think?".

"I hate you".

It's been a month and a half since their journey began and this sort of thing had become part for the course for Jaune. Wake up, brush his teeth, get beaten because of something Don did, go to bed. You would think at some point he would have gotten used to it, but Don always found a new and creative way of getting them in trouble. There wouldn't be a day in which they wouldn't end up getting chased by an angry mob, or angry animal, or angry Grimm, or angry mob, animals and Grimm…that was a fun Wednesday. There was also that one time they were beaten by a monk but in his defense, how would Don know that spring was a sacred place? I mean is not like the sign saying "Sacred Spring of Purity, do not enter" was any indication, and it certainly didn't say you shouldn't go skinny dipping in it.

After weeks of travel, Jaune and Don finally made it to a town, this was the first proper settlement they had seen since their days at Magdalene's Inn. This was a fishing town, one of the most common types of settlements in the Stained Coastline but also one of the poorest. The presence of Sea Grimm made fishing particularly hard, not to mention that the abundance of this sort of towns made competition harsh. The most prolific fishing towns in this region were those that served as hobs for trade and travel, with fishing becoming a part of their economy and not their only source of income. This didn't seem to be the case for this particular town though. However, finishing wasn't the only activity in there, no, this was a hub not for trade, but for something else.

Don walked proudly as usual, a big smile on his face as they approached the town, but of course Jaune was annoyed behind him and that was something he didn't even tried to hide.

"Come on, lad. Look at how beautiful the ocean is! Why are you so grumpy?" Don said as he walked backwards facing his student.

"Im not grum…Sigh…I wanted to use that money for my upgrade, ok? Maggie said we had more than enough to make it to Gaviota and I thought I could use the extra cash. Now I'll be surprised if we can make it another week". Jaune said, trying to calm down a bit.

"Come on, lad. We can always make more. We'll figure something out. Look at it this way, at least we didn't get rob this time… technically speaking of course".

"You are not making me feel better".

Don got closer to Jaune and while pointing to his face continued. "Here is a lesson, squire. A Knight Errant always sees the bright side! Don't see this as a problem. Look at it as a challenge and as an opportunity".

"For what?".

"Adventure of course! The kind that makes you rich in spirit and a bit in the pocket. Nowhere is it said that you can't have fun while making money". Don said.

"I think I had enough of your adventures for a day. Why don't we find a place to eat?" Jaune suggested as the two made it in the town.

The town was built on a downhill cove and from the distance you could clearly see its port and all the ships there. The buildings were old, mostly made of wood with cement foundations and as Jaune and Don got closer to the beach they started seeing people working on their fishing nets. These town folks all seemed hard working, but not that friendly. A few that exchanged looks with Jaune ended up spitting near him. As they explored the town, Jaune saw how two men were talking but as soon as they noticed him, the men covered something under a blanket and stared directly at Jaune, clearly threatening him to back off. Jaune started to feel unwelcome in this town but Don didn't pay much attention to it and once they made it to the beach and the port, Jaune's worries left his mind for a while at the sight of the ships.

The port was full of vessels, none seemed quite new but they still had a charm to them. Sail boats, motor vessels, and of course fishing boats both large and magnificent ones and small and practical ones. Jaune's face had a big smile, the sight of this ships, the evening sky, the waves and the seagulls had him in awe. His amazement was cut short though as soon as he bumped into another man.

"Watch it!" the man said. He was a short middle age man with a blind eye and a scar in it, he had a five o'clock shadow and a smell as nasty as his attitude. His short height didn't make him any less intimidating, specially with those big arms of his.

"I…I'm sorry, I didn't see you and…".

"Didn't see ME?! Because I be short?! Ya scrawny sack of trash!" The man said, clearly annoyed. "We don't like pansy outsiders like ya here, YA HEAR ME!".

"I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO" Jaune tried to say but thankfully he heard Don's voice calling for him in the distance which he took as a chance to leave before things got ugly.

"Yeah! Ya better run!".

Jaune ran towards Don who was waiting for him in front of a tavern.

"What took you so long? Making new friends?".

"No! definitely not…" Jaune started to say, exasperated, but quickly calmed down as a delicious aroma caught his attention and made his mouth start to water. "Wow, what smells so amazing?!". Jaune said.

"Ha, ha! Right?! Lets get in, my boy!". Don said, leading their charge into the tavern.

Jaune and Don got inside the tavern, they immediately got greeted by the amazing smell of fried fish, but of course that was the only thing amazing about this place. The entire tavern was dirty and messy, some wood planks were broken and there were passed out drunks all around. The tavern was full of people eating and drinking and the music was loudly coming out of some speakers. Jaune and Don barely managed to find some sits at the bar and promptly made their order.

"What do you want?!" the bar tender asked, rudely, but Don wasn't faced by it.

"Hello, good sir. We…".

"I said, what do you want?!" he replied, growing a bit pissed off.

Jaune got nervous but his stomach was going crazy with the smell of the fried fish. His hunger took over his mind. "Two of that fish, please!". He said, unintentionally rising his voice with a bit of a demanding tone.

The bar tender saw him with a bit of surprise, and that surprise turned into annoyance. "Ya giving me orders, boy?!".

Jaune realized what he had done and quickly tried to back down. "I..no, I said please…" he said with a nervous smile.

The bar tender took a look at him. He wasn't annoyed at all, he just wanted to see how tough Jaune was and after that answer he couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Haha! I'm just messing with ya, fancy lad. Two orders of fried fish coming up".

The plates they got were as dirty as the floor but the fish was incredible, so Don of course saw it as an absolute win, even after a cockroach came out from under Jaune's plate. The tavern doubled as a small Inn and after weeks of travel, a warm bed was too much of a temptation to pass it out. So, they took a room and left all their gear in it before going back down and enjoy a fun evening at the tavern.

As the night went on and they had drunk their first beer, Jaune started noticing something odd about this place. He kept seeing people coming in the tavern, but the place was crowded already. There was nowhere to sit yet not many were standing either so where were the new costumers going? He saw people coming in, not many went out, so the place should be even more crowded that it was.

Eventually, three men came inside the tavern and out of curiosity, Jaune followed them with his sight. The men didn't get a table, neither did they sit at the bar. They headed straight towards the kitchen's door and Jaune saw how the same bar tender that served them earlier let these men in with no problem. His first assumption was that this were kitchen staff as well, why else would they go inside the kitchen after all? But the longer observed the less sense this started to make. As the minutes went by, Jaune kept seeing people coming in the tavern, but not a single one got to a table or to the bar, they all did the same, headed to the kitchen.

The bar tender brought another round to the huntsmen. "Here is your ale".

"Oh…sir. I wanted to ask. Why is there so many people going in the kitchen?" Jaune asked, clearly intimidated by the bar tender.

The bar tender slammed his hands on their table right in front of Jaune and put his face close to his. "Not of your damned business!", he said as he stared right at Jaune who just sat there nodding quickly in terror.

The bar tender left them and headed back to the kitchen, but not before greeting some new costumers and walking them with him back there.

"Man, what a nice guy. How much you think we should tip him? Cause I'm thinking 20%" Don said with a big smile.

Jaune drank to calm his nerves down, he couldn't stop thinking that there was something off with this town and the tavern in particular didn't give him a good vibe. But the bar tender had him intimidated and he really didn't want to get in any more trouble.

"What is it, lad?" Don asked, all this time he was unaware of his students' discomfort.

"Its just…Look is probably nothing, we better not get involved".

"Not get involved?! Nonsense! Lesson two, my boy. A Knight Errant always gets involved! Specially when no one asked for it! Now talk!" Don said eager to hear what his student had to say. Jaune's expression was giving Don a vibe that his student had seen something and that something reeked of adventure to him!

"I…Ok, but is probably nothing. Have you noticed how people seem to come in here but the place doesn't get more crowded and crowded? They all go inside the kitchen and…Wait" Jaune said but he had to pause when something caught his attention. The two men he saw earlier that day, the ones that hid something under a blanket, they were heading towards the kitchen as well. Jaune pointed them down and Don turned to see them going in just like Jaune was describing.

"Nice catch, squire! There is something fishy in this fishing town in this fish restaurant at this fishy hour!". Don said, he was feeling the exciting chills before a thrilling moment. "Come on! Let's see what we can find back there!".

"Hold on! We can't just break our way in like that!" Jaune said as he pulled his master back on his chair.

"You are right! We have to await the best opportunity to make our move!"

"No! just, let's leave it like that! Ok? I'm sorry I brought it up!" Jaune tried to plead with his mentor, but it was too late, Don's adventure senses were off the charts and nothing was stopping him from getting in that kitchen.

To their surprise, the bar tender came out of the kitchen talking in his scroll. "Yeah, I know, dear. I swear, I bought those for you…Oh come on babe. Oh damnit!" He said as he walked out of the tavern.

"What did I tell you? Opportunity! Let's go!" Don said as he dragged Jaune by his arm and headed to the kitchen.

The door was unguarded, so they had no problem going in. As they made their way through the kitchen, they had to silently move around and hide in different spots to avoid being detected by the kitchen personnel.

Jaune whispered to Don as they both hid behind some potato bags "There is nothing here, let's get out!". But his plead fell in deaf ears when they spotted a cook taking a big trait of food inside what seemed to be an underground cellar.

"Jackpot". Don said, as they waited a few seconds and made their way to the cellar's doors, quickly getting inside.

"This is a terrible idea, Don!". Jaune kept whispering as they walked down the long staircase.

"Shhh. Did you hear that?". Don said as they approached a second door. There was music coming out from behind it and what seemed to be a bit of smoke. Nervously, Don and Jaune opened the door and as they did the music got louder and louder.

The sound of accordions, violins, guitars and the laughter of a large crowd of people could be heard all around them. The place was huge. A hidden bar full of people drinking, smoking and gambling. The costumers looked tough and nasty and they were armed to the teeth. Drinks and food flew around the place as the sexy waitresses served their costumers, they didn't take disrespect from them though, Jaune saw how a waitress angrily caved a man's face with her fist after he tried to be a little too touchy, and as 2 of his teeth landed on a table, the costumers did nothing but laugh and celebrate.

"What is going on here?!" Jaune whispered but Don had a big smile on his face.

"Don't you see, lad? WE ARE IN A PIRATES DEN!" Don yelled in excitement, completely blowing their cover and catching the attention of the drunk, angry and dangerous pirates.

The pirates stood up, and the music stopped. Guns were drawn and pointed at Jaune and Don, surrounding them completely.

"Outsiders! Ya came to the wrong place!".

Jaune was shaking in fear as the pirates came closer and closer to them, but Don got close to him and whispered in his ear. "Follow my lead, kid".

Don walked proudly towards the man in front of him, slapping his gun away. "Outsiders?! Do you have any idea of who we are?!".

"Ya seem like a couple of pansy outsiders to me!".

"Pansy!? Who ya calling pansy?! We be the Terrors of the South Coast of Vale!" Don replied as he closed his left eye as if he had an eye patch.

The pirates all got curious and lowered their guns a little as Don stood on top of a stool. "YARR! The name be Captain Bloodstab! And that be my first mate…eh…Salty…Bottoms, Yeah! Say hi, Salty Bottoms!".

"…hey." Jaune said faintly.

Don continued "We be the nightmare of Vale! And we heard you had a damn mighty ale in here".

"Ya don't look like pirates to me". The man said, not sure if he bought the story.

Don started to get a bit nervous, if these pirates caught him in his lie, they were done for. He looked back at Jaune, trying to get him to get in character. Jaune was standing there screaming internally, but as soon as he saw Don's eyes, he realized he was asking his help. He had to do something if they wanted to make it out of there.

Jaune grabbed Pyrrha's scarf from his hip and tied it over his head like a bandana, he then took a mug out from a pirate's hand, chugged it whole and slammed it in the floor. "Aye! Captain! That be a mighty ale!".

The pirate's saw him in shock for a moment and Jaune stood there with an awkward fake smile, but to his relief, the pirates started laughing and as they took their guns away, the music started to play again.

"Nice job! Salty Bottoms!".

"Please, let's just get out of here". Jaune said, but his master had another idea.

"Out? The night is young, first mate! And how many people can say they had drinks with real life pirates?!".

"No! We are not going to..." Jaune was about to object, but he was interrupted when a pirate approached them.

"Oi! Bloodstab! If ya have some coin, why won't you join us at the gambling table?".

"Aye!".

"No, Don!" Jaune said, but Don didn't hear him. The thrills of this night were just starting and nothing was going to stop him now. Jaune resigned to just follow his master, he was too worried the pirates would gauche his eyes out or something.

As they sat down on the gambling table, Jaune tried to bring reason to Don. "Don…Eh, Captain. I don't think we should be gambling!".

"Relax, boy. I told you earlier, didn't I? Nowhere is it said you can't make money while having fun."

"Yeah, but we can't lose what we hav.." Jaune was about to say when a pirate lady loudly threw a bunch of domino pieces on the table.

"The game be domino, mateys! Place ya bets and take ya pieces!".

Jaune got nervous as the pirates and Don started to throw money on the table and picking domino pieces.

"You know what you are doing?".

"What WE are doing, and no, but how hard could it be?" Don said as he tossed some pieces to Jaune.

The game went on as the sound of the accordion became louder. The atmosphere was a mixture of joyful and a bit threatening as the pirates slammed the domino pieces on the table one after the other. It wasn't a part of the game but it seemed like they were competing to see who made the hardest noise when placing the pieces.

"Haha! Ya are a sack of chum, Bloodstab!" A pirate said as he placed his piece, mocking Don for his clear inexperience in the game.

"Oh YEAH?! What do you think about this?!" Don said as he put in another piece, not noticing it didn't match anywhere.

The pirates all laughed, it was easy money and just too hilarious seeing this old man pretending to be taught. Some started to doubt his story once more as Don nervously looked for another piece to place.

"Hahahaha! Ya dumb moron! Why won't ya go back to the rat hole ya came fr…"

"E…xcuse me…" Jaune interrupted nervously. The pirates all turned at him with judging eyes but their expressions all turned to shock when the lad continued.

"I'm out of pieces, so…what should I do now?".

"THE LAD WINS! PAY UP!" The pirate lady yelled, celebrating Jaune's victory much to the other pirate's shock.

"Haha! That's ma boy!" Don said as he hugged Jaune.

"How did you do that, kid? You played before?".

"Hehe, not really, but is not hard, you just have to count the pieces and trick the others to waste theirs" Jaune said, the boy was a natural strategist and this sort of games were particularly easy to him.

"LUCKY SHOT!" One of the pirates said.

"Luck?! A pirate needs no such thing! Rum, Beer, Quest and Mead! Those are the things a pirate need! Come on J…I mean, Salty Bottoms. Show them what ya got!". Don said enthusiastically as the second round of bets were placed.

Drinks and bets came and went and to the pirate's frustration started to rise. Jaune was just too good at the game. Victory after victory Jaune became more and more arrogant and confident, and the beer certainly wasn't helping either.

"Terror of Vale? Ya just seem like a couple of fancy idiots!".

"Ha! Well, let me tell ya a story. Back in Vale we became famous for raiding 10 ports in a night. We came out like a black mist and took everything they had! Their money, their dust, see this scar under my chin? Got it when I stopped a bullet from a Beacon teacher right before putting my sword in his guts!". Don said.

"I don't see no scar".

"Well, ya know the lighting at stuff".

The pirates didn't buy the story that much "Pff, That aint nothing. Vale ports are easy to raid. That's all ya did?".

The beers started to get on Jaune's head and he started to talk without thinking but also with a smug face, "We stole an airship from the Atlas military, right under their noses".

The pirates laughed at him; they didn't believe this kid for a moment. "Yeah right! No one steals from the Atlas military!".

"Infiltrated a crew mate in the Argus base, took the whole crew across the border all the way to Atlas with the missing heiress of the Schnee Dust Company with us!" Jaune said, his smugness growing every second.

One of the pirates spat his drink once he heard this story, some were still doubtful but many started to think these two morons might actually be serious business.

"Wait, if ya kidnapped the Schnee heiress, why did ya take her to At…".

"ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE BLONDE BOY!"

"OH, SON OF A..".

The pirates grew ever more annoyed at Jaune and Don who had amassed quite the little fortune.

"Haha! Atta Boy! Told ya, there was nothing to worry about! I'm gonna get another drink", Don said as he stood up and left Jaune alone at the table as another round of domino was about to begin.

Don walked all wobbly and dizzy, stumbling on people and even stepping on them. In the shadows of the Pirate's den a man was approached by one of the pirates that had been losing to Jaune all night. The pirate whispered something to the man and pointed at Don who managed to get his drink. He then gave a signal to two other men and they headed towards Don.

"Oh, hey fellows" Don said as the two pirates grabbed him by the arms and carried him to the dark corner where the man was sitting.

As he was sat down on a chair, Don saw an old man with a long grey bear, to his surprise his right arm was a cybernetic prostatic and from one of his fingers a small flame came out which the man used to light up a cigar. "So, Bloodstab, was it?".

"Aye, who wants to know?!" Don said as he grabbed his mug and took a sip.

"They name be Captain Fred the Pentahook. Me crew told me how they lost their coin to ya and ya first mate", the man said. Captain Fred wasn't like the rest of the pirates, he was a very serious and calm man, which just made him more intimidating. He was the kind of person a smart man wouldn't dare to challenge…but Don wasn't that smart, so...

"Ha! Yeah we did! Ya crew is made of suckers!" Don said while laughing.

The captain's bodyguards got annoyed and were about to beat up Don but Captain Fred stopped them and continued. "Yeah, they are a bunch of idiots alright. But here's da thing, buddy. All their coin, be me coin. And if ya steal from them, ya are stealing from me…", he said as he tossed the ash of his cigar in an ash tray.

"Now, listen. I enjoy a good big stake gamble, and I also like things to be fair. So, let's make a bet, from Captain to Captain. If I win, ya give back the money and all the money ya had when you entered me bar."

"Aaand what if I win?".

"Ya keep the money and get to go out of here with your kneecaps intact. So? Deal?".

Don wasn't a smart man but he understood the thread clearly, it was either play or die and the odds were against him. He wasn't going to let that intimidate him though, he was a proud knight errant after all.

"Deal! But I get to choose the game!".

"Sure, what is it going to be?".

Don folded his sleeve and put his right arm on the table "Arm wrestling match! Show me what Ya got!" Don said with confidence, however Captain Fred looked at him and gave a smile.

Unfortunately for Don, he realized too late he had forgotten a small detail when the Captain put his robot arm on the table and grabbed his hand "….Oh….Right".

Back at the domino table, Jaune had just won another match and the pirates were getting more and more pissed off. Jaune however was having the time of his life. "I believe this cash belongs to me, gentlemen, oh yeah!", he said, proud of himself but the pirates didn't like his attitude one bit.

This of course didn't stop a drunk pirate lady from throwing herself on Jaune's side "Hey, Salty Bottoms. What ya doing tonight? Care to invite me a drink?" She said as she playfully moved her finger on Jaune's chest and lip.

Jaune immediately blushed and stood up awkwardly, "I…No…I mean yes…I mean…" He stuttered as he walked backwards trying to escape the pirate lady's affection. As he did, he bumped on a large man and made him drop his drink.

"HEY! YA LITTLE BASTARD!" The man said as he grabbed Jaune by the collar of his hoodie, ready to smash his face with his fist.

"IM SORRY! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!".

Before Jaune's face was pummeled though, Don went out flying, sliding on the floor until he stopped right at Jaune's feet.

"Kid! Don't freak out, but I may have lost all our money".

"BUT I DON'T FREAK OUT!?".

Captain Fred came out of his private table laughing at the idiocy of this supposed pirates. "Hahahaha! Ya really are a fun pair of idiots!".

The entire crew laughed at their misfortune, but Don wasn't going to give up that easily. "DOUBLE OR NOTHING!".

"You aint got NOTHING ALREADY! HAHAH!".

Don was starting to get mad and he wasn't going to back down, his challenge was thrown and there was no going back. "If ya win! We will join your crew!".

"WHAT?!".

"I don't know! I panicked! I mean... Yeah! We will join your crew!". Don said as he lifted his chest and put his fists on his sides.

The pirates all laughed but the Captain was enjoying the idea the more he thought about it. "Haha, Alright Bloodstab! You win! But now I choose the game! Byron! Let go of the kid".

"Aye…Captain" The pirate said as he let Jaune go.

"Bar tender. Bring the Pegleg Potion. We are getting ourselves a drinking contest". The Captain said as his crew cheered.

Captain Fred's robot arm transformed from a hand to a massive hook that he used to hook and launch a massive table in the middle of the tavern. The tavern' staff quickly placed a bunch of shot glasses, making a skull and bones symbol on the table. Jaune and Don watched with worry while the bar tender brought a barrel and started pouring a strange liquid in the glassed. The so called Pegleg Potion was a brown cocktail that looked a bit like gravy and smelled as bad as it looked.

"Don't worry, lad, I'll get us out of here, I promise".

"You were the one that got us into this!" Jaune said, not pleased at his master's attempt at encouragement.

Don approached the table ready to jump in the challenge, but the Captain had other plans.

"Now, now, hold it right there. I'm being told that yar first mate pissed off mine. I told ya I'm a fair guy. Da kid and my first mate play too".

Jaune was a bit surprised but at this point they had no other way out. He approached the table and stood up next to Don.

"Now here are da rules. Last man standing wins, if da shots are done and there is no winner, whoever drank da most wins! Is that clear?" The captain said to which Jaune and Don nodded in agreement.

Captain Fred's arm transformed once more, this time into a pistol. "Ready! GO!", he shouted as he shot the pistol to the ceiling and quickly turned it back into a hand.

The race began and the pirates were off to a strong start, drinking shot after shot. Don also jumped in, but the taste of the shot was terrible for him, he still tried his best to shallow them quickly. Jaune however took a shot and kept looking at it, not daring to put it in his mouth, the shot looked and smelled too disgustingly and it even had little bits of something solid floating in them.

"Kid what are you doing?!" Don yelled.

The pirates had a big lead, but even them couldn't hide how awful the shots were.

Jaune saw how the pirates were amassing a big pile of empty shots and how much of an effort Don was making, he just couldn't stand there and do nothing, he had to try even if it seemed like they were never going to be able to win. "I…ok…ok…. Here I go!" Jaune said before taking the shot.

His eyes opened widely at the taste of the shot…but it wasn't in disgust "It…it tastes like Pumpkin Pete…" He thought.

As the competition kept going the pirates stopped on their tracks and everyone turned their heads at Jaune as soon as they started to hear…that maniacal laugh.

"Hehe…hehe….HAHAHAHAHAH!" Jaune laughed like a mad man and quickly started taking shots one after the other. Don and the pirates were amazed and a little bit freaked out at the sight of this kid drinking like there was no tomorrow. Some people in the crowd even felt nausea. The band however, saw an opportunity to make things fun, they started playing faster and faster as the boy drank his shots and the pirates tried to catch up.

The first mate was the first one out, he couldn't handle the shots and vomited on a bucket next to him. Now it was a 2v1 and with Jaune's…lets called enthusiastic frenzy, they managed to catch up quickly, but the Captain wasn't giving up.

The crowd cheered and the music kept going faster and faster. Don eventually couldn't handle it anymore. It was now between Jaune and the Captain.

Captain Fred could handle his drink perfectly, he was pirate captain after all. He had done this challenge before and as an experienced drinker he knew he shouldn't taste the shot and just pour it straight to his throat, that was his strategy and even then, he couldn't help but taste it a little…but this kid, he was an animal. Jaune started to take over the Captain's side and started drinking his shots. The Captain quickly tried to catch up.

As they both closed in and the shots were almost done, The Captain made a last effort to outmatch Jaune, but when the last shot remained and they both reached for it, Jaune was faster and managed to snatch it right from the Captain's cold steel hand, drinking it and smashing the glass on the table.

Jaune was breathing heavily he almost vomited and the alcohol made him dizzy and incoherent, but he managed to stay in control.

After a quick look at the piles of glasses, the pirate referee had his verdict, "VICTORY FOR THE TERRORS OF VALE!".

Jaune stumbled, he couldn't handle his drink that well and it was showing.

Don approached him "You did it! How are you feeling, champ?".

"Terri…ble. Please, let's go" Jaune said, while trying to hold his vomit.

"Haha, yeah, I feel awful too. Get up stares, I'll catch you in a bit after I get our prize" Don said to his triumphant and nauseous apprentice.

Jaune did as told and headed up stares, he ended up vomiting in the street outside the tavern before heading to his room.

Don was ready to cash out, but before he did, Captain Fred called him back to his private table.

"Well, well, well. Looks like the boot is in another foot…or something…" Don said.

"Don't get cocky, pal. Your first mate caught me off guard that's all". The Captain said as he drank a glass of water.

"Anyways, I'm just taking my money and..."

"Not so fast" Captain Fred said, much to Don's surprise.

"Ya two beat me fair and square and I respect that. But I can't let ya go with all me crew's money. So, I have another offer for ya. Ya can take back all the money ya came in with, and instead of me crew's money, I'll give ya this…", The captain said as he took a folded piece of paper from his coat. As he unfolded it, Don knew exactly what it was as soon as he laid eyes on it.

"A treasure map!?".

"Aye. It be the map for Captain Plentybelt's treasure!". Captain Fred said which only made Don's eyes wide with excitement.

"Captain Barret Plentybelt was the Wolf of Anima. He raided every port from Argus to Menagerie. I be his last living crewmate and only I know where his treasure is to this day! Or that is, unless ya accept my offer, then I'll give ya the map and a ship. What do ya say?".

Don was shaking, a real treasure map, adventure incarnate! What else could he want? "DEAL!", he said before taking the map and shaking Captain Fred's cold metal hand.

Don took the map and the money they originally came with and left back up stares. His brain woozy after all the booze, but his mind set on the adventure ahead.

Captain Fred saw how the old man walked away with a big dumb smile in his face and after lighting up another cigar told to himself "Haha. Sucker".

Morning came and Jaune was too comfortable on his bed…That just wasn't going to fly.

"AHOY! YOU FILTHY FLEA BAG!" Don yelled while sounding a bell he had... Let's say borrow.

"AHHHHH!".

"Dress up! First mate! We are going on a quest!". Don said eager to start the day.

"Don, I swear, I will…".

"Yeah, yeah, less nagging and more dressing, we are running late!".

Don threw Jaune his clothes and pushed him to get ready quickly, they needed every bit of sunlight they could get.

Jaune was still hangover and the sun outside was killing him but what bothered him the most his master pushing him around to hurry up.

"Come on! Lad, what are you waiting for?!"

"Hold on!" Jaune said as he scrabbled through his backpack looking for something.

They finally made it to a pier at the town's port. Don stood proudly "Here it is! our ship, me boy. The Mighty Antilope!" he said.

Jaune lifted his face in awe at the sight of a huge and imponent ship.

"WOW! That thing is amazing! Is huge!".

"What? No, not that one. The one down there" Don said as he pointed at a small old white boat with a single small sail.

"For real?…Don?" Jaune said as Don walked down a staircase to the lower level of the pier and their might vessel.

Jaune kept on checking his backpack much to Don's slight annoyance. Don quickly threw his backpack in the boat and took Jaune's away to do the same.

"Hey hold on! I'm looking for the money we made last night! I didn't see it when we were packing".

"Oh, that's because I trade it all". Don said with a big smile in his face.

"YOU DID WHAT?!". Jaune yelled angrily.

"Relax, I got something even better!".

"Whatever it is, it better pays for our food!".

"Oh, it will, and more! By the end of this quest, you and I will be filthy rich, my boy! Because I got us a treasure map!" Don said proudly showing his treasure map to Jaune.

Jaune's mouth hit the floor, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!".

"Not one bit! Now get on board, first mate!" Don said as he pushed Jaune in the boat and jumped after him.

With the sail open and anchor lifted. Jaune and Don began their treasure hunting journey, like the true pirates they were pretending to be.

The sea was wild, the waves only got bigger and bigger and the boat kept on moving in all directions. At the stern Don sat with his map in hand as he controlled the boat while at starboard Jaune kept on vomiting, being hanged over and sea sick was a terrible combo.

"AH, this is the meaning of life! The voyage into the unknown! Doing ok, first mate?".

"No, I'm not, ok!" Jaune said before going back at vomiting. After a short bit, he was strong enough to wash up and sit back down. "Do you even know where we are going?".

"Is all here in the map, my boy! Look! That one over there is Sunflower Island." Don said as he pointed at an island covered in sunlight with a massive rainbow over it. "And that one over there is where we are going, Breakneck Island" He said as he pointed at an island covered under a massive storm.

"Of course, it is".

As they approached Breakneck Island, the already wild sea became even more dangerous. The stormy weather had the sail going wild until eventually it broke. Don handed a paddle to Jaune "Paddle, my boy! Paddle as if your life depended on it!"

"It literally does!".

"That's the spirit!".

The storm grew stronger but they were too far away from any landmass. The only chance they had was make it into Breakneck Island as quickly as they could, but that was still a long and dangerous trek.

Jaune and Don paddled as hard as they could, but things were about to become even worst for the two. At a short distance, Jaune saw something among the stormy waves. Something was moving, something black.

"Don! GRIMM!" Jaune yelled as the black figure quickly rushed towards the boat. Jaune took his paddle and stood up as giant black tentacles came out of the water, some wrapped around the boat but Jaune smashed others with his paddle.

The boat was bound to be sank by the giant waves and the Grimm pulling it down. Jaune and Don dropped their paddles and took their swords to try to free themselves from the vicious Grimm. Cutting the tentacles seemed effective at first, it made the Grimm let go of the boat but soon enough another tentacle showed up and wrapped itself on the boat again. Jaune noticed how after slicing a tentacle it quickly regenerated, so it didn't matter how many times they did it, the Grimm wouldn't just let go of them.

"Jaune! Hold onto something!" Don yelled as he pointed at a massive wave coming right at them. Jaune and Don stowed their swords and quickly grabbed into the boat as hard as they could. As the massive wave towered with them in it, Jaune saw how the tentacles shifted direction and now appeared to come from above the boat, and as a lighting crashed the wave was illuminated and the silhouette of the Kraken showed clearly from inside the wave. The wave broke on top of them, capsizing the boat and throwing Jaune and Don into the ocean.

The sound of waves on the beach kept coming and going, and the sunlight finally woke Don up. He was lying on the beach, wet and covered in sand, but alive. He stood up and right next to him saw the body of his student.

"Jaune? JAUNE?! OH GODS HE IS DEAD!" Don yelled. He stood up and started walking in circles worried.

"Ok, ok calm down, Dominique!" He took deep breaths and continued "So, Maria, about the kid, is a funny story. No, no, there is nothing funny about this! He went rogue! Ran away in love with a nasty woman with an eye patch and a Grimm for an arm! No, that's too unbelievable, what am I saying?! Ok. Kid? What kid? I don't know who you are talking abo…" Don said but stopped as soon as he heard Jaune coughing.

"Kid! Oh, thank goodness! You are ok!". Don said as he hugged his apprentice.

"No thanks to you!".

"You want to fight, but I'm just glad you are fine!".

Against all odds, they had survived the storm and ended up in an island with their boat capsized on the beach but mostly intact save from the sail. Their backpacks were wet but everything was still in them.

"Where are we anyways?" Jaune asked while Don checked his map trying to see if he could find a clue. To their luck, Don recognized the main mountain of the island in the map and confirmed that they had actually made it to Breakneck Island.

"Haha! Not even a storm could stop us!" Don celebrated as this meant they could continue their treasure quest after all!

Against Jaune's protests, Don walked inside the deep jungle heading in the direction described on the map eager to find the legendary treasure of Captain Plentybelt. Jaune didn't have other option but to follow Don, and so the two of them journeyed deeper and deeper into the island.

The longer they walked the more the terrain became harder to navigate, but Don's map showed some landmarks like a weird rock in the shape of a triangle and some palm trees tied to make an X shape.

Eventually, Don and Jaune found a waterfall in which they made a quick stop to refresh and finally drink some fresh water. According to the map, behind the waterfall there was a hidden cave and after a few minutes of searching, Jaune and Don managed to find the secret resting place of Captain Plentybelt's treasure.

Using a make shift torch, they ventured inside the cave, they walked for a few minutes until finally, they made it to a dead end.

"Wait, where is the treasure?" Jaune asked as the cave was completely empty.

"I don't get it; the map says it should be here" Don said as he tried to read the map with the little light the torch was providing.

"Don, just face it, they tricked you! Let's get out of here and see if we can make back to land today".

"Wait! look! The map says: Look up to find the truth" Don said and as they turned their heads up, they saw text written on the roof of the cave.

"Congratulations! Ya found the treasure of Captain Plentybelt! But of course, the most valuable treasure of all are the friendships built on your journey!".

"….".

"OH COME ON!" Jaune said in anger.

"Well I think is a very positive message. It makes you think that jewels and gold will never come close to the value of a strong bond of love and…Oh wait there is more".

"SIKE! GOTCHA! HAHA! Nah, there aint no treasure, suckers! Haha! Oh fine, tell ya what, for your troubles there is a bag with a Silver Belt buckle hanged behind the stalactite marked with an X".

"Oh, hey!" Don said as he picked up the bag with the Silver Belt buckle. "Jackpot! Looks like we got ourselves a treasure!".

"Yei, now let's get out of here". Jaune said sarcastically.

Sunset came as Jaune and Don walked back to their boat, ready to head back to the main land.

"Why the frond face, lad?".

"I just, I would like a single day, just one day in which we weren't in trouble because of you, ok?!". Jaune said, after a month and half, he had more than enough of Don's shenanigans.

"Troubles?! What are you talking about?!".

"I'm talking about this! Changing our money for a fake treasure map?! Almost getting killed in a storm?! All we had to do was keep going to Gaviota. But no, now were stuck in this island in the middle of nowhere, and for what?! A belt buckle?!" Jaune said, finally letting go of his frustrations.

"First of all, it is a Silver Belt Buckle! Second, what is wrong with a simple and fun detour? And C! We are not stuck in this island, ok? There is the boat right there!". Don said as he pointed at the empty space where the boat was supposed to be.

"Where is the boat?!" Jaune yelled as he moved his head from side to side. "Please tell me we didn't lose it!".

"It's ok, lad! I see it over there!" Don said as he pointed at the distance.

The tide had risen and the waves took the boat with them, as Don pointed at the drifting boat, the waves made it crash against some rocks, breaking it into pieces and making their only means of escape sink into the depths of the ocean.

Don's regular smile slowly faded away as he realized that perhaps the kid was into something after all.

"Wonderful" Jaune said sarcastically as he walked away from the beach back into the woods with Don following behind.

As the huntsmen left in disappointment, the floating remains of their boat drifted in the ocean, and particular large chunk of it was grabbed by a tentacle and dragged to the depths.

As night came, Jaune sat at the fire place, bitter. Don walked closer with more timber and after putting it on the floor decided to join his apprentice.

"Come on, lad. Quit the long face. If it makes you feel better, I was planning on using the Buckle to pay for that upgrade you want so much. How does that sound?" Don said trying to comfort Jaune.

"I…Don, is not about the buckle, ok? I told you, I'm tired of you getting us in trouble. Can't you see how serious this is? How am I supposed to meet back with Ruby and my friends now?".

"Well, we can always swim our way back to shore, but I didn't pack my lucky yellow swimming suit, haha" Don said as he lied down with his arms behind his head.

"This isn't a game, Don!". Jaune said ever so frustrated.

"Lay down, kid".

"I don't want to! I want you to…".

"Just lay down!" Don said, his voice having a more commanding tone. "I want you to look straight up and clear your mind of any thought".

Jaune reluctantly complied and lied down just as told. When he did, Jaune's eyes were mesmerized at the sight of the stars. Millions of them as clear as if they were at arms reach of him. He had only seen such beautiful skies when he camped with his sisters as a kid and when he traveled with Ren, Nora and Ruby a few months prior and even then, he wasn't able to enjoy them, he was either too distracted by his sisters or in too much pain after…well, after the Fall.

"Magnificent, don't you think? You don't see so many stars back in the main Kingdoms. This is truly a blessed view" Don said, as they both admired the beauty of the night sky.

"Lesson three, my boy. Loosen up a little, life really isn't that serious".

"You are kidding, right? After all we have seen? After all we have been through? You are telling me that life isn't serious when there are people miserable everywhere?".

"Calm down, would you? Of course, life can suck. Of course, there is famine, discrimination, corruption, death, suffering and raisin cookies, thats not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that life isn't THAT serious. I'll put it this way, lad. You are the main character of your life, which would you prefer? for your life to be a tragic drama or an adventure comedy?".

"I really don't follow".

"For crying out loud, boy, you are wearing a hoodie with a bunny in it, are you really telling me you don't enjoy goofing around? Jaune, it is because life is full of misery that you should stand defiant to it. Laugh, sing, enjoy the small things. You want to bring a better future? Make one in which everyone can smile".

"But you can't be happy all the time, thats not realistic. Faking a smile is not healthy. You have to take life seriously at times".

"True, but you can't be serious all the time either. You aren't living life if you aren't having fun, boy. A cynical life is no life at all. You should always find a moment to enjoy yourself. Find a reason to laugh. Loosen up a little, let your true self be free. And for the love of the gods, stop being so whiny all the time!".

Jaune started to think about the word of his master "But what do you do if you end up in a rough situation because of that?".

"Good and bad things will always happen, lad, but you want to know the great thing about not taking everything too seriously? Whether you succeed or fail, at least you'll have a good story".

Jaune stared at the stars, with a lot of thoughts in his head, and a lot of reflection to make.

"A Knight Errant must have fun while living and fighting. Never let your foes see your tears. Make them tremble at the sight of your smile".

The next morning, the scourging sun shined over Breakneck island but this didn't dissuade the Shipwrecked huntsmen. Shirtless and shoeless, with only their pants, a hat and a bandana, Don and Jaune got to work, their two missions were clear. Gather food and build a raft for their voyage back to the main land. Jaune decided to use his great sword to chop some palm trees to build the raft, leaving one fallen tree for Don whose idea of food gathering was more fun.

Don decided to take the opportunity to train Jaune a bit and made a lot of wooden spears out of the fallen tree. Once Jaune was done with the wood chopping, Don trained Jaune at throwing spears.

The two huntsmen stood on the rocks and aimed at the fishes in the water. Jaune's accuracy wasn't particularly good, but it was a work in progress. Don however was surprisingly accurate, managing to catch multiple fishes for lunch.

As the day progressed, Don had Jaune practice with stationary targets by making him throw the spears at some coconuts while he cooked their lunch.

Jaune tried for a few hours until eventually he started to get the hang of it, managing to hit a couple of coconuts to his joy. Jaune was starting to enjoy their beach day, he even pushed Don in the water and the two of them started to play around like a grandfather and his grandson, without a single worry in the world.

The day went on and Jaune made his best to build the raft while Don explored the Island searching for something to tie the logs together. He found some vines and luckily some rope and after a while they had finally made the raft that would take them back to civilization.

"And, done! Haha! I can't believe, I did it!" Jaune celebrated, proud of his beautiful yet rustic raft.

"I only doubted you a little, my boy!". Don said.

"Eh…Thank you?".

"I'm just messing with you, lad. You did a great job!" Don complemented the hard work of his student.

"Thanks, well your rope actually helped a lot. You have a bit of it tied to your leg, by the way" Jaune said as he pointed at Don's left leg. However, to both of their surprise…this wasn't a rope.

The tentacle wrapped tightly on Don's leg and pulled him to the water. The Kraken had returned for its prey, and it was hungry.

"AHHHHH!"

"DON!". Jaune yelled, rushing to his master's aid, but soon after, another tentacle wrapped around his legs and pulled him to the water as well.

The Kraken lifted both huntsmen and slammed them a couple times on the sand before dragging them to the water. In the commotion, Jaune managed to pull out his sword and in a moment in which he found himself close enough, he slashed the tentacle holding Don, freeing his master.

Don fell to the water but he was close enough to the shore that he could stand up and run to the sand. Don quickly took one of the wooden spears and threw it at the tentacle holding Jaune, stabbing the creature and making it let go of his apprentice.

Jaune fell to the water, under it, he saw the mandibles of the Kraken, freaking out at the horrific sight of the Grimm. The kraken grabbed Jaune with another tentacle, lifting him out of the water with the intention of slamming him with the surface once more. Jaune however was quick enough to slice the tentacle as he was launched to the sky, freeing himself and falling back in shore.

"Jaune!" Don said as he ran to his apprentice side.

From the shore, Jaune and Don saw how The Kraken's tentacles quickly regenerated again, just like they did when they first fought it in the storm.

Jaune and Don drew their swords and shields and prepared to face the next attack of the creature.

The Kraken launched an attack with its 8 tentacles. Don and Jaune managed to block and evade the tentacles as they tried to hit them and slashed them when they tried to grab them. Their defense wasn't perfect at all. The tentacles moved too erratically and it was hard to predict their movements. Jaune and Don got hit multiple times from all angles and while they slashed the tentacles, they regenerated too fast. Don and Jaune got grabbed multiple times, every time they freed themselves, another tentacle would come and take them again, smashing them on the ground or water multiple times. When the opportunity finally came, Jaune and Don ran away toward the trees and at a fair distance from the water.

Now behind the tree line, Jaune and Don finally got a chance to catch their breath.

"It's too strong!" Don said as he tried to catch his breath.

A tentacle tried to reach for them, making it slightly behind the tree line.

"Seriously?! This far?!" Don yelled.

Jaune however looked at the tentacle which despite making it behind the tree line, it barely did and its reach wasn't long enough to reach them. Hiding behind a tree, Jaune took a look at the beach and saw how the Kraken was actually closer to the beach than it originally was. In order to reach that far, it had to get too close to the land.

"Look! Is almost out! If we get it to come out of the water, we might have a chance!" Jaune said.

"Or, here is an idea! We leave to the other side of the island! It wont follow us if we go in land, so let's go!" Don argued; however, this didn't convince Jaune one bit.

"The raft is right there! If we leave we will have to spend another day building one!...And besides…" Jaune said, before giving a smile to his master "I'm kind of having fun". He said to which Don responded with a big proud smile.

"Haha! Say no more, lad! What's the plan then?" Don said.

Jaune took another look and noticed that while the tentacles were able to regenerate from being chopped off, the one tentacle Don threw a wooden spear to still had it stuck in it.

"Go get the spears! I have an idea".

The Kraken still tried to reach the two humans. The beast was a vicious hunter. Once it set its mind on a target, it would follow it tirelessly. Its attention was suddenly caught by the pain of one of its tentacles being stabbed and at the sight of Jaune coming out from behind the trees.

"Come and get me! You ugly sushi roll!" Jaune yelled as he shook his butt mocking the beast.

The Kraken launched a tentacle to strike Jaune, but he quickly evaded it at the last minute and stabbed it with a wooden spear, pinning it to the floor before running to the right.

From the left side, Don showed up, wooden spears in hand as well. "Come on! I've seen smarter shrimps in a Paella!". Just like last time, the Kraken launched an attack with another tentacle just for it to be pinned to the floor.

Jaune and Don continued their assault, as the tentacles tried to reach them desperately, Jaune and Don ran and jumped to evade the strikes and pin the tentacles down, always staying at a good distance to force the Kraken to extend its reach as far as possible. As they did, the Kraken was slowly being pushed by the waves toward the shore and once all 8 tentacles were pinned down, all it took was a big wave to slam the Kraken in the sand.

"Now!" Jaune yelled, signaling Don that their chance had arrived.

Jaune and Don ran as fast as they could. Jaune activated his great sword and charged towards the beast, however, their window of opportunity didn't last as long as they expected.

A tentacle managed to free itself and immediately wrapped itself around Jaune, lifting him in the air and moving frenetically. The Kraken had enough of games and soon enough moved Jaune towards its mandibles, ready to take a bite off him. Jaune tried desperately to free himself, swinging his sword wildly trying to cut the tentacle. He finally got a lucky slice and the tentacle released him, but it did right on top of the Kraken's opened mandibles.

As his student fell to his doom, Don changed Rocinante to its Spear mode and quickly threw it like a javelin straight at the beast's mandibles. The Kraken screamed in pain, shaking frenetically much to Jaune's fortune. He landed on top of the head of the creature and after realizing how soft it was, took his sword and promptly stabbed the Kraken deeply, he stabbed the beast multiple times before running on top of it dragging his sword and slashing the Kraken open, finally killing it.

As the Kraken banished, Jaune fell to the water, exhausted but alive and victorious.

"HAHA! DID YOU SEE THAT?!" Jaune yelled from the water, raising his fist in celebration.

"Yeah! Wooho! That's what you get!" Don yelled while jumping in joy from the beach.

As Jaune made is out of the water, Don greeted him with big hug and afterwards, Jaune gave his spear back.

"This calls for a celebration, my boy!" Don said as he ran to his backpack and returned quickly with two cold cans of beer.

Jaune took the beer with a smile and as they opened the two cold one, master and apprentice cheered with pride at their accomplishment.

As Jaune and Don chugged the beers thought, something came to Jaune's mind.

"Ah! That's a good one, don't you think, lad?".

Jaune's eyes got wide open and as he slowly moved his head back down, he stared directly at Don.

"Don….Where did you get this?".

"From the Resort. There was a truck unloading them, but don't worry, I'm sure they wont notice two little cans missing".

Jaune's hand started shaking as he slowly but angrily crushed the can in his hand.

"….There is…a Resort…".

"Oh yeah, it's about a 30 minute walk over….there….Oh".

Jaune took his sword and activated his great sword mode. "Run".

Don ran as fast as he could, "LISTEN, KID! WE CAN DISCUSS THIS!".

"YEAH! MY SWORD WILL DISCUSS YOU IN HALF! GET BACK HERE!".

"And that's how we ended up in that ship, officer". Don said as he and Jaune sat next to each other, handcuffed to chairs and in a police station.

"You are joking, right?" The police officer said, her expression clearly showed how much she saw this two as morons.

"I wish he was, ma'am", Jaune said, ashamed.

"I had you two in for being stowaways in a cruise ship, now I have to add arson, illegal gambling, underage drinking, fishing without a permit, deforestation, robbery and trespassing!" The officer said.

"Soooo, does that mean…." Don replied.

"It means prison, old man".

"I knew it! Mom always said that alcohol turned good boys into criminals! Why didn't I listen?!" Jaune yelled as tears came out of his eyes.

"Let's make a deal! I can give you the kid! I know from a good source he stole an Atlas ship!". Don said.

"I WAS ABSOLVED!".

The police officer face palmed "Would you two idiots shut up for a minute? Sigh. I should have you two thrown in a cell for a looong time. But you might just be the luckiest morons in Remnant".

Jaune and Don looked at the police officer with shock and curiosity as she continued, "We have been searching for Fred the Pentahook for over a year now. Now you say that not only you saw him, you know where his hideout is. So, here is my offer. You tell me where this Pirate den is and Ill turn a blind eye on you, just this once".

Jaune and Don shared a look and immediately tried to hug the officer, forgetting they were handcuffed to the chair and hurting their arms.

Now free of charges, Jaune and Don walked free men out of the police station. They were now on the large merchant town of Sevillana, a hub for commerce and tourism famous around the Stained Coastline.

"See, lad? A positive attitude and everything will come out all right!".

"Positive attitude or dumb luck?".

"Same all! Now let's get something to eat! I've heard Sevillana has the most amazing seafood in Anima!". Don said enthusiastically and started running.

"Hey! Wait up!".

"Come on, lad! A huntsman can't save anyone with an empty stomach! Let's go!". Don said as he ran with his apprentice following suit.

Jaune and Don ran across the streets of Sevillana, their spirits high and eager for more adventures, but unbeknown to them, the next challenge on their journey was closer than they thought, as a cloaked shadow emerged from an alleyway, its gaze set on the unsuspecting duo, stalking them through the night.

"Huntsmen…".

Author's notes: AHOY! Ya putrid flea bags! I'm back baby!

Hope you enjoyed this silly pirate adventure leading up to the next arc of this story. As always I would appreaciate any feed back both positive and negative. Wish you all the best and thank you for reading.