The sun shone down onto the wooden docks of Lesen, a small town in the west of the archipelago. It's located on a high rock in the middle of the sea, making it only accessible by airship. The town had great strategic value, yet it had stayed independent and neutral during the conflicts that roamed during the past centuries. The town was flourishing, showing off its wealth by hanging banners and flags throughout the streets.

A ship slowly steered into the docks, carefully gliding between the two walkways. Once it came to a halt the captain signalled the dock's master, who started to docking mechanism. On each side of the ship two large stamps rose from the walls, slowly closing in on the metal and wood structure of the ship's hull. They connected with the frame, sending a small shock through the ship, before locking it in place.

The crew cheered, glad that they had finally found port again. Many a days they had been out in the skies, continuing their so far endless search for the lost heir. Now tracing a different lead. Gobber dropped the gangplank, before walking over to greed the dock's master. "Hello Sir, I'll need a name for you and your vessel." The master spoke. "And it will cost you three silver." "How about I give you 8 silver and we forget the name?" Gobber asked, shuffling a few coins in his hand. "Welcome to Lesen mister Smith." The master said. "I hope you enjoy your stay."

The crew walked out of the dock, which was cut into the stone cliffs of the town. They followed the staircase that lead to the main square of the town, hoping to find their target in the flourishing town. Outside the town was beautiful, rich decorations were lingered and draped over every stall and building. Colourful flags were tied to the large brick smokestacks. The town was tiny compared to some of the big cities around the archipelago, but made up for it by the amount of money they gained through trade and pacts with other towns.

Each town had pubs and bars, and because Lesen was a small town, it only had six. The establishments were usually combined with sleeping arrangements, so most of them were taverns. The Berkians decided to split, everyone going to one of the pubs to search for their target.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of town there is a small building, the first floor made of stone and steel and the second made of steel and wood, everything covered by a thick red roof. Inside, the smell of sweat, burnt wood and alcohol were ever present. Along with the sound of laughter, storytelling and singing. It was a happy place.

The bar was filled with townsfolk and sailors, all sharing their loneliness. That was until they had enough to find company with the other drunks. Across the main room a few new and fancy tables were spread. Along with richly decorated chairs. Most town's pubs wouldn't take much pride in their furniture, but Leser was different. These folk took great pride in their craft, and thanks to their richness they could easily afford such fancy materials.

On one of these tables we find a girl with brown hair, slowly sipping from her tasty beverage. She sat alone at the table, her drinking partner having left her for a small break to the bathroom. The crew usually spend their time in separate quarters while in towns, to lesser their chances of getting caught as a group, but since the couple didn't get much 'privacy' on the ship they decided to stay the night together.

Brynn took another sip of her drink, slowly enjoying the taste of the strong, bitter beer on her tongue. The calm busyness of the tavern had a relaxing effect on her, almost like the wind and noise of the skies being pierced by souring engines. She could relax for once, it was possible on the airship but it wasn't the perfect calmness that she felt now. There was always something to do, either it was the threat of being chased by mercenaries or Berkians. Or it was the pre-battle anxiousness for an oncoming fight.

Tonight she could relax, enjoy a drink and soon sleep in the hands of her lover. They had stayed at Lesen for two days now, switching from tavern each day to decrease the chances of people realising that they were in town. Because Lesen was independent from the military forces they only had a small chance to be discovered. This made them more at ease and a lot more careless in their behaviour. And this in turn explained why a certain man was able to spot her without her noticing it.

Aster kept his gaze on the brown haired woman, who was slowly drinking her beverage. He was certain that it was her, the description fitted perfectly. She was the stunning picture of a mechanic, and as beautiful as the tales foretold. Luckily for him, there was only one woman in his life.

He let his eyes linger the bar, looking for anyone that he could recognise, but found no one. As his eyes turned back to his target he saw how she quickly gulped down the last bit of her drink, before a tall man in trench coat handed her another one. The man sat down next to her and the two shared a long and passionate kiss.

Once the two broke away, which seemed like an eternity to Aster, the man looked around. Aster could see his face very clearly now. Gobber had told them many complot theories when they were younger, but the chances were just too slim. There was no way that Roamer had a relationship with Bloodbane. The more he stared at the two the more it seemed unreal, the odds were just too slim. They knew Brynn had direct ties to Hicca, and that she wouldn't be far from her. But if Roamer then again had ties to Brynn, where did that leave Hicca. Was she close to them? Or maybe she was on the other side of the archipelago and they had no clue of her whereabouts. The more he thought about it the less it made sense. He was missing something, something didn't make sense.

He knew Hicca was a keen and smart devil, someone who could easily food the best detectives and bounty hunters. But this destroyed every theory they had. He looked back at the table of the two love-birds, only to find it empty. "Shit." He muttered, but his mood quickly lightened as he saw the last part of a trench coat disappear up the staircase. He quickly followed the two, staying far enough behind to not be spotted. But once he arrived at the highest floor of the building they were nowhere to be found. He slowly stalked through the hallway, careful to not be ambushed by the two. He let his eyes slowly scan everything. There was a bookcase and several doors, which were all locked except for one. He walked towards the unlocked door, and peeked through the small opening between the door and the frame. People could not be seen, but he did see the long barrel and the beginning of a scope. So he knew he was in the right room. He slowly opened the door, carefully stepping over the threshold.

He took in every sound in the room, carefully listening to anything that might hint to an ambush or a trap. He heard nothing, nothing besides the light squeaking of the floorboards beneath his weight. He took another step, slowly taking the build of the room into his mind. There was a large bed in the middle, with two bags on it. He guessed that the two rested here together. The room was mostly empty and clear. Their personal belonging probably stuffed in their bags. He then heard a noice from outside the window on the balcony, and decided to investigate. He slowly traversed the room, careful not to alert his target. He gently moved the curtain to the side, revealing the two he was looking for, actively kissing each other.

Of anything, his assumptions of a relation were correct, so that was good. But even though they were the bad guys that kept them from finding Hicca he felt like he violated their privacy. He slowly made his way back to the door, hoping to escape the room and wait for the two to fall asleep. Which would probably take some time, knowing lovebirds.

He was halfway through the room when he heard movement, and noticed someone shoving the curtains to the side. He quickly dropped down and hid underneath the bed, a classic hiding spot. He heard the two enter the room and noticed the two pairs of feet on the ground. He prayed that they weren't planning on going to bed yet, because then it would be a long night.

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On the other side of town Hicca was casually looking down onto the street from her balcony, busy towns always fascinated her. The people walked around like ants, always carrying good or merchandise. Lesen had proud and busy people, who worked harder than any other townsfolk she had ever seen before. She glanced around the street, before she spotted something that made her feel both scared and happy. On the corner of a street stood a large, bulky man. He had a wooden leg and a prosthetic hand, and was scanning the square for any irregularities.

She missed Gobber, she missed him a lot. He was like a father to her, since her own father always whined about how she should run the town. Always pressing her to be a fine and fair maiden. She was having noting of that. He probably thought that she was captured by pirates instead of her being one, which actually was a plus to their attempts in evading the Berkians. She still remembered how mad he was when he found out that she was helping Gobber in his shop. She came home, a little girl, covered in grease and oil. But happier than ever.

Stoick had been mad at her at first, but he had noticed the joy in her eyes when his little girl looked at airships and machinery. So he allowed her to work as Gobbers apprentice as long as she would try to act a bit more like a maiden outside of the shop. In the few years that she had helped Gobber she grew to see him as the father she never had. He cared for her, played with her and helped her understand the world. He explained thing to her like boys, children, and of course what was going on what her first period came around.

She usually also ate with him, something she used to do alone, since Stoick would still be working. She loved her father like there was no tomorrow, but she would follow Gobber to the ends of time. He had raised her, he had helped her, and he had cared for her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a angry knock on her door. She quickly slid her helmet on her head and walked towards it. "It's us." She heard Brynn yell. She opened the door and was met with an interesting sight. Brynn and Ray both stood at the side of a third man, who had his hands tied in front of him. She walked into the room, acting like the third man didn't bother her, grabbed a chair and sat down. "What is this?" She asked, her voice muffled by the mask. "He requests a parlay." Ray said as he pushed Aster into the room. Tripping him on purpose to make him fall to the ground in front of Hicca.

AN :

HUAHUAHUA, CLIFFY!

Anyway, after a long and hard writer's blog on both stories I finally found inspiration to write again. I have some nice ideas for later in the story but I needed something to fit in between the chapters. So here it is!

If you have any tips for me than please review. Any feedback is welcome. If you have an OC to add then do tell. If you have any tips or ideas for what should happen than please don't put them in the reviews, if you PM me I'll read it and it will stay a surprise for other readers. :D

Anyway have a nice day!

R4y