"I don't think we've stopped at a seapost before." Stella noted as the Icebreaker pulled up to what looked like a wooden dock with a couple of small stalls, jutting out of a rock. A beacon with a roaring flame was visible high above. "Seaposts are usually the gathering places for Hunter's Call members." Koa explained as he lowered the anchor, "They also tend to have stalls selling various goods, so their handy if you run out of supplies and can't make it to an outpost."

"And this specific one is where our next clue is, right?" Zhen asked, climbing down from the crow's nest. Koa nodded, "Sudds. He used to be Briggsy's navigator and is said to be in possession of an enchanted spyglass. A tool we need if we hope to find the next jewel for the Shroudbreaker."

"I've never had to navigate by stars before. But I'll do my best!" Ali smiled. "That's the spirit!" Stella grinned as she lowered the gangplank and the crew walked onto the seapost and towards a stall. There stood an old, well-dressed gentleman whose jacket seemed to depict multiple constellations. He seemed to be muttering to himself as the crew approached, "Obliquity of the ecliptic, twenty-three degrees..."

"Sorry to interrupt," Stella began, "We're-"

"The Glacial Dragons I presume." Sudds finished, "So, you had a run-in with the Captain, eh? I know all about it."

"How did you-?"

"The stars whisper to ol' Sudds, they do! They're his best friends, and they keep their secrets...make no mistake! Captain Briggsy was the smartest pirate on the seas and Sudds was the only one she trusted to read the stars...the only one to have a spyglass as special as hers!" Sudds briefly consulted a star map on his table, "The Great Warrior should be in appulse with the Serpent soon, I see…" He then turned his attention back to the crew, "So, now you're seeking the stones, tryin' to part the fog and follow in the Captain's footsteps."

Stella nodded, "That's right. My mom always wanted to reach the Shores of Gold, and now I'm taking on that mission in her stead." Sudds handed Stella a book with a golden moon and stars on the front, "Take these papers Sudds made. Better find that special spyglass too, eh? The Captain hid it when she left Sudds behind and now it can't see the stars. Use it to take a peek at Sudd's friends. If you're worthy of the Captain's treasure, they'll show you where to sail. Be sure to bring them papers back to me, though. They're not for keepsies!" Stella went to say she will, but the old man had already gone back to muttering over his map.

The crew boarded their ship once more and went down to the map below deck. "Alright, let's see what we got." Stella hummed as she opened the book. It was full of pages describing constellations and their meanings, but the first page read "My back to the north star, saw an island where we parted not far from here. One small island made of two."

"Hmm…" Ali consulted the map, "Back to the north, so south of here…island made of two…hmm, no it can't be the uncharted island we found you and Jim on, that's technically four islands…so it must be the Twin Groves!"

"Nice detective work!" Zhen grinned as he gave a thumbs up. "And that's not too far from here either." Koa added, "Shouldn't take us too long to get there."

"Then what are waiting for?" Stella smiled, "Let's cast off!"


"Is this it, Ali?" Stella asked as she waded onto the shore with the crew tailing her. Ali nodded, "It said a tree between the two largest rocks, so this has to be it."

"Koa?"

"Already on it." Koa replied, shovel at the ready, before digging in the sand. "I'll watch your back, Ko." Zhen offered, pistol at the ready, "Don't want skellies jumping us again!"

"What do you think makes this spyglass enchanted?" Ali asked as Stella helped Koa with the digging. "No clue." Stella replied, "But I can't wait to find out!"

*thunk!*

"Got something!" Koa announced as he hoisted a chest out of the sand, opening it to reveal a grey and gold spyglass. "I guess we should wait 'til nightfall?" Stella suggested as Zhen picked up the spyglass and looked through it. "Whoa! We might not have to! Check this out!" Zhen handed the spyglass to Stella who glanced through it. To her surprise, despite it being the middle of the day, she could clearly see the stars as if it was night. Not only that, but any constellation she came across, the spyglass connected the dots and revealed the shape. "This is incredible!" Stella gasped, "I don't think I've ever noticed how different the stars were here compared to outside the Shroud. "No one's been able to explain it." Koa shrugged, "Some say the Shroud acts as a portal to a completely different world and that the Sea of Thieves isn't even on Earth. But there's been no way to prove that, so who knows?"

"Well then, let's get to searching!" Stella handed the spyglass to Ali. "I'll study the constellations and compare them to the notes in the book." Ali said, "Once I have them figured out, it's smooth sailing!"


"Any idea where the stars are pointing us to next?" Stella asked as she, Zhen and Koa went below deck to where Ali had notes and sketches littering the map. She managed to match each constellation to a certain heading on the compass and was able to navigate to two islands so far, the crew finding two red gems called Star Jewels. "Funnily enough, there's no constellation to decode for this one." Ali replied, pointing to the page, "In fact, I think I can guess what island it is. It calls it an island not on any map and the picture on the other page leads me to believe it's the island where we found the Magpie's Wing." Koa glanced at the picture, "Now that you mention it…I did see what looked like a tunnel entrance while we were diving. That might be what this area under the island is. And it looks like we have to put the gems in the statue."

"Let's see." Ali consulted the map, "We're at the Isle of Last Words, so let's follow the bear and head south-southwest!"

"You're loving using the stars, aren't you?" Stella chuckled.

"What can I say? It's fun!" Ali beamed as she trotted up the stairs to the wheel. "So, we just gotta dive down, put the stones in the stony boy, and get the jewel?" Zhen smirked, "And here I thought this adventure would be hard!"


*WHOOSH, SPLASH!*

The vault door within the underground caves of the mysterious island opened as a wave of water burst out, carrying four coughing pirates with them. "Zhen…never jinx us like that again…" Koa panted. "S-sorry…!" Zhen chuckled between coughs. After the crew had placed the jewels in the statue, it revealed a vault key and a riddle. The key seemed to fit into a hole behind them, opening a vault. Zhen had decided to rush in and start the puzzle before the crew had time to study the riddle. The crew barely managed to solve the puzzle without drowning in the water that quickly filled the vault.

Stella got to her feet and glanced behind her at the vault. The wall at the back of the vault had sunk below the ground to reveal a Shroudbreaker gem. "Well, all's well that ends well, right?" Stella smiled as she picked up the gem and left the vault. "Yeah, I guess you have a point." Ali chuckled lightly as she fixed her bandana, "But maybe we should study the riddle before starting the puzzle next time. I'm in no hurry to pay a visit to the Ferry of the Damned."

"Me neither." Koa agreed. "Hǎo de, hǎo de, I get it!" Zhen groaned, "I'll be more careful next time…can we go back to the boat now? I feel like a drowned rat…"

"Zhen's right. Let's head back to the seapost and give Sudds his stuff and the gem." Stella agreed and the crew dove back into the pool that they used to enter.


"Now where'd Sudds leave those ephemeris charts..."

"Mr. Sudds?"

"Oh!" Sudds jumped before turning on his heel to see the Glacial Dragons had approached the stall with the spyglass, notes, and gem in hand, "Oh, it's you! My spyglass! A fine keepsake." Sudds happily took the items from Stella, storing them under his desk, "I'll pass along that pretty gem of yours in return. Heh, Ol' Sudds won't forget! Doesn't want the glowing eyes man angry at him, no, no, no...so many secret stars...declination, twenty-two...need to collimate..."

"I…think we should leave him to his starry rambles…" Zhen whispered before turning to head back to the boat. "Oh, before you go!" Sudds suddenly said, snapping out of his mutterings, "You there, ginger girl."

"U-uh, yes?" Ali replied, not expecting to be called out, "I'd recommend your crew heads to Sanctuary Outpost. Larinna of the Bilge Rats stopped by earlier and asked for your assistance with something."

"Larinna asked for me? Must be important…" Ali muttered before nodding at Sudds, "Thanks for letting me know!"

"No problem, dear. Now…where did I put it…" Sudds went back to muttering as the crew just shrugged and headed back to the boat.


"What do you think Larinna wants you for?" Stella asked as the crew walked up to the George & Kraken tavern located on Sanctuary Outpost.

"Probably wants me to help with maps for a voyage she has planned. Hopefully, it won't be too long. I don't want to hold you up." Ali replied, "Maybe I can convince Larinna to let a Bilge Rat take my place for you guys while I'm gone."

"Won't be as good as our magnificent navigator, eh?" Koa gave Ali a playful nudge, earning a laugh from her.

"Maybe not. But it's better than diving into something crazy with only three pirates, right?"

"Fair point."

The four pirates entered the tavern when…

"Well, well, well! Look at what the tides washed up! A wild ice dragon!"

Stella's eyes widened as a familiar voice greeted her. There, standing by the bar, was Stitcher Jim. Only he wasn't in the same clothes he wore when Stella first met him. He now wore a sleeveless, brown leather jacker, grey knee-length trousers (one leg higher than the other), a belt made of rope, a yellow sash and a metal ring, dark brown shoes (with the left seeming to be missing its heel and toe), grey and yellow hand wraps, what seemed like a skeletal finger with a ring on it hanging around his neck, and a yellow headband around his forehead. Stella couldn't help but notice that his left eye was now completely white and could barely notice a scar underneath his usual black face paint. "Jim!" Stella exclaimed in surprise. "The one and only." Jim replied proudly, "Now an official Bilge Rat! What do you think of the getup? Suits me, right?"

"I've never seen a weasel wear clothes before, so I'll give ya that."

Stella's attention was caught by another familiar voice in the tavern corner. Ais was sitting with a tankard and her legs on the table, looking very bored but proud at her own remark.

"Ais too?!" Stella seemed even more surprised.

"Unfortunately." Ais sighed, "Larinna wants me on weasel-sitting duty."

"Will ya quit calling me that?" Jim asked, clearly unamused with his new nickname.

"Nah, I don't think I will."

Jim sighed in defeat before turning back to Stella, "Larinna insisted on miss bounty hunter over here keeping an eye on me. Don't see why, though. I'm more than capable of takin' care of myself."

"That's not the issue, tóin tana. The issue is leaving you unsupervised to do Ancients know what." Ais replied, "And I don't like this either. I should be hunting bounties, not keeping an eye on your sorry mug. The only reason I agreed to this is because Larinna said she'd pay me for it."

"Somebody said my name?"

Everyone turned to see Larinna walk into the tavern, "Ah, Ali's here. Perfect timing."

"Hello, Larinna." Ali greeted politely, "Sudds said you sent for me?"

"Polite as ever, Als. And yes. I need you to aid on a voyage in my stead as I'm heading off for a business meeting with Duke."

"I had a feeling you'd say that. I was actually going to ask if you could have a Bilge Rat fill in for me with…my…umm…" Ali trailed off upon seeing Jim waving his arms from behind Larinna and pointing to himself, mouthing 'Me! Pick me! Please!'

"You're not bein' subtle there, Jim." Larinna smirked, not even turning to face Jim. "For once, I'm with neas here." Ais piped up, "I wouldn't mind the Glacial Dragons taking him off my hands."

"Ok, my Irish isn't as good as yours, but even I could tell you were calling me a weasel." Jim fired back.

"And that's why you're the greatest genius of our time. Would you like a medal? A gold star, perhaps?"

"Ais, knock it off." Larinna warned before addressing Stella, "If it's alright with you, I don't mind trading Jim for Ali."

Koa glanced at Stella with concern, realising that Stella had learned of the rumours surrounding Jim. But to his surprise, Stella seemed more than happy to oblige, "Sure! It'll be fun!"

"Well, with that sorted, I'm outta here." Ais got up from where she was sitting and left the tavern, giving a half-hearted wave as she left. Larinna just shook her head before addressing the crew, "Well then, I better brief Ali on the voyage. I hear you're on a quest for the Shores of Gold, so I'll let you get back to it." Larinna shot Jim a warning glare, "Don't go causing trouble for them, Jim."

"I won't. I swear!" Jim grinned. "Hmm." Larinna narrowed her eyes before shrugging it off and walking with Ali to the back of the tavern.


Ali strolled down to the docks, whistling a tune.

"ARGH!"

Ais fell to one knee, clutching her right arm – the gloved one. It was twitching violently as Ais inhaled sharply between gritted teeth, trying to get it under control. Ais's breathing slowed as she calmed her arm. Ais got to her feet and glared down at her arm, "Damn it…just as well I got out of there…that was too close. Looks like I need to go deal with this again." Ais gripped her arm tightly, a dark expression crossing her face, as she beelined to her ship.

To Be Continued…