Sitting at Lookout Point was far from an engaging experience. Taking out that sloop of scavengers had been good sport so Z had been in a good mood, good enough to agree to his shipmate's idea to take a break and rest for a couple days. He had become fidgety just a day later and his attempts at conversation with her were referred to as pestering.
The fog in the distance had thickened enough that he could no longer spy the galleon to the north. In this time, Z had become quite perplexed by what it had been doing. He did not know the islands in that area to be particularly yielding of treasure, nor was he aware of anything else of interest around them, but that galleon had to be busy with something. Perhaps there had been two ships there at a previous time, engaged in combat and sunk each other. Exploring fresh shipwrecks could take some time, especially if they had begun to sink in earnest, but a seasoned crew wouldn't be there that long.
This came to the forefront of his mind in the middle of the second day while he was laid out on a rock in the shade.
Z pushed thoughts of the galleon away from his mind. It was only riling him up and that was no good right now. He sat up on the rock — his rock, he decided — to peer out along the horizon again. He saw nothing of interest.
He should have suggested that they stay at the outpost for this. There, at least, would be plenty of drink and the off-chance of another crew coming by to entertain him.
This was a terrible way to be spending any significant amount of time, he decided. Blue didn't seem bothered at all by their stay, not by her constant, repetitive work on the torn sail that brought them here, nothing at all. He couldn't fathom how she didn't find this offensive.
But Z? He was bored.
Too much time had been spent on this island. He was restless. Surely Blue had to be, too. He was up on his feet and back at the ship in no time, peering down from the quarter-deck to the sail that his shipmate was so affectionate towards.
"I am almost finished here."
That was a surprise. "Really?"
"Really." She gave him an unenthused look.
"Then…" He thought a little harder about it. "Then can we leave t'morrow?"
"Aye. That suffices. We will not be landing anywhere before the sun goes down."
Finally. Z could hardly believe his ears. Though it likely meant that they would travel to Plunder Outpost once more before leaving the area properly, that still meant they could leave this damned island and that was all he really cared about.
"Would you like to help me change the sails tonight or in the morning?"
"S— what?"
More sternly, she said, "Would you like to help me swap the sails out later this evening or tomorrow morn?"
He was sure he squeaked and then decided that was ridiculous. Another moment was taken to consider his options, neither of which he enjoyed.
"Might as well do it t'night."
She nodded and stood a moment later, looking over the sail. He did the same; it was a pretty design, but he was sure he had never seen it before and that frustrated him. More curious was Blue: he watched her pull her threading tight at one end, pulling the torn edges together. It was a good job; from a distance, it would be impossible to tell that it had ever been damaged in the first place. He wasn't very good at sewing, just good enough to patch up a bad wound, so he could appreciate what he saw, had experienced. Having Blue around wasn't such a bad thing.
He stayed quiet as he watched her continue to pull the sail together, entranced. It seemed she didn't mind his company so much when he was quiet, though it was a good time for dinner, he thought.
"You hungry?"
"Hungry enough. Go find some water coconuts for us, will you?"
As content as he would have been to keep watching, Z grunted an acknowledgement and hopped from the ship to the rowboat and back to the island. Through his boredom, he had paid enough attention to the island's trees to know exactly where to find the requested items. A tall boulder sat beside the tree so it was easy enough to reach up from there with his sword and free the coconuts. When he gathered them up, he found another nearby, one with leaves sprouting from it. He collected it, too, to show to Blue.
"Hey, what's this?" he inquired once he was back on the main-deck with her.
She looked up, unimpressed. Then she took it from him, unsheathed her dagger and proceeded to open it. Inside was a normal looking ball of coconut meat.
"Simply a coconut that is beginning to grow into a tree," she said as she handed every piece of it back to him.
"Oh." He absentmindedly chewed on it while he considered this. So that's why they fell from the tree: they were seeds.
He made a noise to get Blue's attention and handed about half of the sphere back to her. She gave him the vague look she always did — he still wasn't sure what to make of it — and then accepted it, allowing him to head downstairs to work on getting food for them started.
A splashtail sounded as good as ever, especially after starting off with something as sweet as that coconut. He found a fresh one in the barrel and threw it on the stove to cook, flipping it when it seemed about time. Once it was thoroughly cooked, he made his way back topside. Blue had sat herself down against a cannon, a little ways away from the sailcloth. He snapped the fish in half and handed her the tail-end before sitting down against the mast.
"So why bother fixin' that sail if it was so much trouble?" he asked after a time.
Blue seemed to take offence to the conversation, and not because she wasn't done eating. "Anything worth doing is troublesome."
I mean…" He shrugged and motioned to the sail that was already rigged up. "Y've already got a workin' sail…"
"Yes, but it is not this ship's sail."
"Huh." That gave him something to think about and after a moment, he decided that her words made sense. He still didn't see the point in spending so much time on something that wasn't necessary when it could be spent hunting, but he understood. "I guess."
"Besides, you have not had to do any of the work yourself until now."
"I'm bored as hell."
She made an amused noise. "Fair enough, but I would expect you to like a few days of doing nothing."
"Guess I'm not really for it."
She made another noise as she finished her piece of fish.
"Anyway, why don't we take care of that sail now?"
Z was surprised by the athleticism that his shipmate displayed when she climbed out onto the mast's yard and her balance never faltered while she was up there. He wasn't sure why he was surprised — she had told him before that she changed the sails out on her own and the proof was there.
Though he had agreed to help, Z didn't take any charge, instead waiting for Blue to tell him what she needed. This proved beneficial to his workload; all he had to do was move the plain sail aside and keep the repaired sail steady as she hoisted it up via the ropes. Still, Blue had the easier job, using her weight to pull it up rather than hauling it.
"That was exhausting."
Blue snickered sharply before quieting herself.
"Is that all?" he asked.
"That is all. You have some more time to yourself tonight—"
He groaned loudly. More time to himself would be boring. At least they had agreed to get moving again in the morning.
"I'll be on my rock," he declared before disembarking.
Morning couldn't come fast enough for Z. He had spent much of the evening dozing until sleep took him in earnest. It was early when he wrenched himself free of his rock yet Blue had still somehow gotten up before him so she got breakfast cooking — a fresh splashtail — for the both of them while he finished waking up. She ate and then got the ship moving while he ate.
He was pleasantly surprised when they went east instead of north.
They passed by Booty Isle, an unremarkable island by all accounts. Thieves' Haven was far more interesting. One of the largest charted islands in the Sea of Thieves, wide and tall, it was easy for any pirate to get lost there. It was a nice island to pass by and visit, a terrible one to have a voyage at.
Apparently, Blue had never had any reason to stop by and explore the island. That seemed to be a running theme with her. Once there, though, he could hardly keep track of her through the island foliage. They had started from the southwest end of the island and were now atop the southeastern side, stood before a group of massive rocks with faces carved into them.
"What do you make of these?" she asked after some time of observation.
Z shrugged and made an 'ehh' sort of noise.
"What, just—" Blue mimicked him.
He shrugged more fiercely. "I never thought about it. Sometimes they're in riddles, but that's it."
"Giant stones carved into the shape of heads, complete with faces, is not something that crosses your mind as strange?"
"Not really."
"The past of this place never weighs on your mind?"
"No, not really. Don't make a difference to me what people did years before I came along. I won't care what they do after I'm gone, neither."
She hummed and turned back to the stone heads that stood many times taller than they did.
"And what about the cave system down low?"
"Ehh, I've explored some of it. Never found anythin' good, though."
"Fair enough."
They moved on from that spot, stopping at whatever Blue seemed to find interesting, though she didn't voice any more thoughts. She took great interest in the stone carvings and paintings on the island, something that Z realised must have been how she spent all of her time on Plunder Valley some days ago. He hated that island and nothing would ever change his mind about it. This one wasn't too high up on his list of favourites, either.
Later in the evening, they were back on the ship for dinner. They had worked up appetites exploring the island so Blue caught a pair of splashtails for them. From the stove, she asked him a question through the main-deck's grate.
"Why not stop the ship in the centre of the island?"
"'Cause by the time y' spot another ship comin' at ya, it's too late to make a good getaway or meet 'em out on the water."
She seemed to consider his words. It was only when she came topside with their food in hand that she said anything more.
"It is something for larger crews to consider, hm? They have the leisure of stopping like that." He gave her a look, mostly because his mouth was stuffed with fish. "Surely a lookout atop the island would spot any potential dangers far before they came close. If the ship were in the centre, one could get back to it quickly from any point on the island."
"Counterpoint! Someone should always be on the ship anyway. Ev'ryone keeps watch no matter what they're doin' but that doesn't matter if no one can move the ship."
She made a thoughtful noise and let the matter rest so they could eat. Z spoke after a while.
"Hey, if we need t', we can stop at Ancient Spire, but after that, why don't we keep goin' east?"
Blue paused mid-sip of her tankard of grog. "Keep going east?" she repeated carefully. "Into the Devil's Roar?"
"Yeah. Whaddya think?"
She looked offended. "Why?"
"There might be somethin' in'erestin' goin' on there. That sloop was nothin' and that gally up north ain't doin' anythin', neither."
She just stared at him.
"… y' have been t' the Roar, haven't ya?"
"My visits have never lasted long. I do not move cargo there on account of the… difficulties."
He snickered. "Comes with the shinier treasure."
"What do you mean?"
"Y ever find any goodies in a shipwreck or on an island that was dark and red or somethin' like that? We call 'em ashen treasures; they're just about the other thing y' find out in the Roar. The Trading Companies give ya extra for 'em, too."
Blue made a thoughtful noise. "Suffer the hazards of the Devil's Roar, recover these soot-covered treasures, get paid more…"
"Now y're gettin' it."
"Very well, but I will be charting each volcano's location and approximate range for my own map."
He chuckled. "Fine, fine."
When the Forlorn Phoenix was at its closest to Ancient Spire Outpost, the duo had a small debate as to whether or not to swing north and stop there. They could grab more supplies and see about some niceties, though they were not in dire need of either. There were no other crews present at the outpost to mingle with and neither of them were fond of stopping for the sake of stopping so they continued east.
From Devil's Ridge, they turned somewhat south. Z had argued a case for scouring the entire Devil's Roar, starting from the south end. A strong wind took them past Roaring Sands and all the way to Ashen Reaches, the most southern island in the Roar.
Further southeast of that island was a sprawling rock formation jutting out of the ocean; such sights were common in the region, but that one garnered more of Blue's attention than usual.
"It's just a volcano, I think. No reason to be over there," he explained.
The formation being 'just a volcano' wasn't good enough for Blue. A galleon could hide itself over in that area, but the proximity to the vast nothingness out there and the presence of a volcano seemed to relax her, if only enough to drop the matter. Throughout the evening, Z spotted her occasionally checking that direction anyway.
As a whole, Blue seemed very uneasy. Considering their location, that was reasonable, he supposed. Having spent so much time in the Roar, it no longer surprised him; at worst, the volcanos' eruptions were inconveniences.
"There's always an earthquake before an eruption," he explained while they ate dinner. That seemed to calm Blue's nerves some.
"There have been earthquakes consistently since we arrived, and the air reeks of sulphur. How do you know when one is to be taken seriously?"
He shrugged. "Act like every one is serious."
Blue stared at him, his attempt to soothe her now failing.
"Then we take turns sleeping."
Z grumbled. "I guess that's not a bad idea…"
"Have you a better one?"
He made a face but didn't dare voice the thought that they simply tank the eruptions as they came. They weren't a large enough ship for that anyway.
"I guess we'll take turns sleepin'. A lot, I guess."
"Yes, I suppose much of our days out here will be spent with someone sleeping…" Blue's words indicated that they seemed to be in agreement.
Z's thoughts went back to their time on the brigantine. His shipmate had seemed grumpy when she didn't get to sleep at her usual time. He was better at sleeping whenever, wherever, so he suggested, "You sleep when y' us'ally do; I'll sleep whenever I feel like."
That arrangement would work just fine for him. Blue looked surprised, then nodded. "Very well."
Then her attention was on the island beside them. He'd seen that look on her face before, the look of someone who hadn't explored somewhere and wanted to. He didn't hide his amusement as he stood.
"Ready t' take a walk?"
Blue gave him a look before she begrudgingly finished her half of splashtail and stood. They made their way to the ship's stern and moved the rowboat, placing it between the ship and the beach.
They stood under the island's volcano on a tiny beach. The solid rock before them opened up into a tunnel that led through some of the island's verticality. Besides swimming, this was the only path for them to take and so they did. Throughout the hall, orange-reddish crystals sprung out from the ground, walls, and even the ceiling, illuminating the way.
Had there not been an opening in the ceiling for light to pour through, Blue might have walked past an altar in the tunnel. A skull with four arms was situated on a large, flat rock; beside that were a handful of other skulls, seemingly forgotten in the assembly. Z and Blue both stood before the scene for a time.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Y'know… I have no idea."
They looked at each other; he shrugged. Blue shook her head and turned to keep going.
Before them were two paths: to the right, the way opened up slightly before it ended. The path to the left took them through the remainder of the tunnel system, throwing them out onto a beach that was only a little ways away from the ship. Blue was visibly annoyed by this.
They turned right and went more inland. The rock that helped form a slope seemed quite ordinary until Blue stopped before it took in a painting on the side. With a reddish paint, three skulls were marked on it, semi-straight lines above them.
Blue looked at him and he shook his head. She didn't look surprised, just disappointed, and walked past him, opting to ignore the upward slope for now. She took them along a path until they could see the shoreline on the other side of the island, eventually stopping at yet another painting on a rock. White and red were used to create markings that seemed to resemble an erupting volcano and people below it.
"Do you… Do you never think about these?" she asked.
"Not very hard."
Blue approached the painting, tracing the edges with her fingertips. "Some of the people here are upside-down… Dead, I suppose. And that—" she pointed "—the base of the volcano goes far beneath their feet. The brimstones are skulls."
Z looked at her.
"You never think about these?"
"The paintings on islands aren't us'ally… like this? They're usually plain marks, a fire, some dots, mer, maybe a hunter with a spear. The ones out here are a bit dif'rent."
"I see. The Devil's Roar itself is entirely different compared to the rest of the known Sea of Thieves."
"That's prob'ly it."
Blue said nothing more and carried on, finding a path that led upwards. She stopped between two rock formations where something that might have been a gate at one time was. On either side of it was a boar skull on a post, human skulls scattered about on the ground. She didn't look at him for his thoughts on this one, instead moving on after a moment of her own consideration. Then she made a noise and stopped.
"What is this?"
Z stopped beside her and followed her line of sight. Nestled into the end of a shallow cave was another altar; skulls were piled about, one flipped upside-down and used as a candle holder. In the centre was another painting: three skulls together before a crystal clump. Two large, curved bones caressed the entire thing.
Z shrugged with the most effort he had shown so far, making an 'iunno' noise at her. Judging by her expression, he wondered how close she was to hitting him. "I mean, y're not wrong— this is really weird."
She sighed, exasperated, and moved on past the altar. Further upwards they hiked, coming to a point where it seemed like the earth was collapsing. Perhaps that was exactly the case as he almost fell into a cave opening. He stepped around to the side opposite Blue. Both of them looked at it before deciding against going inside, instead moving towards a still-burning torch. There was a ruined box, a smaller box, and a stool beside it. If one were to sit down, they would have a fantastic view of the sea to the north.
"I am amazed that anything from previous travellers has survived here," she commented as she examined a book before putting it back down.
Considering the harshness of the Devil's Roar, Z was inclined to agree with her. This ledge must have been someone's outpost at some point, but that had been long ago if the ruined and scorched nature of everything was any hint.
Without saying anything more or waiting for his comments, Blue turned around and headed back down the slope. He found that curious but followed nonetheless. His curiosity grew as they came back to the second altar; it was another moment before Z realised that her interest was in the rock formation itself. Even an honest jump wouldn't get one started up that way so he hadn't even considered it. Blue, on the other hand, was happy to grip the edges and pull herself up.
"You coming?"
Climbing up there was the last thing he expected out of her. It was also the most annoying thing that she could have done. The rock was quite angled; even with two good feet, it took some effort on her part to stay steady. Despite the difficulty, Z was less willing to be left behind.
Hiding his annoyance, he followed her up.
The rock was steep, but they were able to take a few good strides upward. To his eye, there was no way further up with the way the formation had cracked; to his furthered surprise, Blue placed herself in the crack, gripped both sides of it, and began pulling herself up along it. With a roll of his eyes, he followed her up, mimicking her motions.
At the top of this great formation was some relatively flat ground for them to stand on, though it was cramped with the two of them. Nearby, from the crack burst forth a considerably sized bunch of crystals.
"This is better."
He looked to Blue, then followed her gaze. They stood on the second highest point of the island — surely Blue wouldn't consider climbing up the volcano — and it was quite a view in almost every direction.
"Well, y're not wrong 'bout that…"
Despite his words, Z was far from comfortable, contrasting his shipmate's relaxed posture. They were quiet a moment longer before she sat down on the north edge, apparently content to stay up there. Between the difficulty of the climb and the lack of space, he was eager to go back down.
"I'm gonna go back to the ship now," he said, looking over the way they had come.
Blue looked him over. "Do you need help going down?"
"I'll manage," he said, beginning the trek down. He was vaguely aware of her watching him until he disappeared from her view, just above the altar. Taking the same way further down was unnecessary, he decided, opting instead to slide off the formation at that point. The fall was just high enough to make his knees sting when he landed; it was far from the worst he had suffered, though.
Back on comfortable dirt, Z shook himself free of the weariness that had claimed his form during the climb. On the walk back to the ship, he decided two things: Blue was definitely insane, and now would be the perfect time to get a few hours of sleep.
