Knelt against the cot with his upper body resting on it, Z stirred slightly. He felt her hand move a little and that made him open his eyes, inspecting Blue for any signs of consciousness once more. While she had been out for a very long time at this point, he only slept because he couldn't stay awake any more.

Z did not do well in captivity. Having been tied to the post in the bottom of the Forlorn Phoenix and watched closely by a rotating crew of people from the now-sunk Winter's End, he hadn't slept much in the last, what was it? Two days? Three? He wasn't sure anymore. He hadn't eaten anything, either, sustained by rage. Yet, just as he had pointed out so long ago and as Joseph had pointed out recently, a regular diet of meat made a pirate especially resilient. That must have been why Blue was still alive and why the worst of his own wounds had already faded into mere annoyances.

The two of them having each had half a pineapple probably didn't hurt, either. With a lot of insistence, Z had managed to get her to nibble consistently at the bottom half of the fruit after agreeing to the other half. He still wasn't sure if the concern from her when she was in such a state was endearing or something to be concerned about.

Whatever the case, they were both doing better now. The presence of the Winding Serpent at Dagger Tooth Outpost had been most fortuitous. Z had only encountered one previous vessel whose mission was to aid others that was bolstered by ferrying a doctor around, but this one was specialised in it. Favouring speed over firepower, she only bore two cannons per side and carried just enough armaments to defend itself from the natural forces encountered within the Sea of Thieves. She relied quite a lot on being known as a friendly vessel, though that had resulted in it being robbed a few times of valuable medical supplies. Still, even Z had known of its existence through the occasional rumour in the taverns. To be so lucky…

Well, lucky enough, it seemed. The Winding Serpent had meant to leave the outpost that day, but its crew had been interested in potentially trading with them once their little sloop had been spotted heading their way. Blue's condition had solidified their continued presence.

He could hear Joseph down the way at the other end of the galleon's hold. A pirate without a ship had complained of some ailment that the doctor agreed to tend to — it wasn't any of Z's business so long as that lone pirate didn't bother them or cause a ruckus.

After shifting some, he got as comfortable as he could. He bent his knees and pulled them close to his body, his arms crossed and resting on the side of the cot as a makeshift pillow for his weary head. Blue's left hand was underneath his own, the only thing besides her head that wasn't underneath the thick blanket. It was just when Z was about asleep again that he felt her move again. There was a mix of concern and ever-so-slight annoyance until she jerked her hand away from him, moving to sit up on her elbows. With the other arm bandaged against her side and its injury, this wouldn't go well so Z moved as fast as she did, standing so he could lean forward, get his arms around her and support her in her upright position. He felt her shudder.

"Graymarrow—"

"Dead. Y' killed him. That gally's sunk, too. Y're safe here."

He was thankful she trusted him and immediately relaxed, if for a moment. Then she tensed up and groaned, wincing and sucking in a breath. Slowly, he laid her back down against the pair of pillows that supported her shoulder, pulling the blanket back over her.

"The Winter's End is sunk?" she asked, voice barely a whisper. She hadn't bothered to open her eyes again.

"Crew and ship both're dead far as I can tell," Z said as he knelt back down.

She gave him a soft 'hm' in response. Her free arm came up to her face and she rested the back of her forearm across her forehead.

"We're on the Winding Serpent at Dagger Tooth." As he said that, Joseph turned to look over at them. Z waved him over as he spoke. "It's a hospital ship or somethin' like that. Right place, right time."

Blue grunted a response that made him think she didn't appreciate this. He didn't blame her; he wouldn't have been much of a conversationalist in her position either.

"Finally awake then?" the old man asked rhetorically as he came to a stop beside them. Blue only grunted another response. He turned to Z. "Fetch her a change of clothes, would you?"

He nodded to that. He gave Blue's knee a gentle pat as he stood and headed up all the stairs of the galleon. This was something he had considered for a while at one point while trying to get to sleep. Between being cut and stained in blood, that set of clothing Blue had been wearing was about as good as scrap and had to be removed by the crew when he brought her to them. It might not have been a total loss so he'd stashed them in the bottom of the barrel of rusted swords that he was overly thankful for now. Without that, he might not have been able to free himself, and if that had been the case… well, Graymarrow would probably still be kicking around instead of them.

As for something for her to wear now, Z already knew what he would grab: whatever came up first for bottoms, boots that slipped on easily, and a roomy jacket. The first two were easy enough to find, but most of the jackets Blue owned fit her rather well and he didn't have any of his own. It was near the bottom of the clothing chest that he finally found what he was looking for. This jacket didn't seem like it was hers, but it would work nonetheless.

With an armload of clothes and a set of boots, Z was back on the galleon. He passed the doctor's granddaughter on the way and they exchanged polite nods, and then he passed by the lone pirate on the mid-deck. Joseph was still standing beside Blue's cot on the lowest deck, explaining something about a small glass bottle he held. She somehow looked even less enthused than she did before he left. The doctor looked glad Z was back and willing to listen.

"For the pain," he explained, holding the bottle up. "A sip every quarter of the day, no more than every eighth. Oh, and don't be surprised if it makes her sleep. That's also good for the body."

"Uh huh." He took the bottle, gave it a little shake to better see the semi-opaque liquid, then pocketed it. They both looked back to Blue, who hadn't moved, then back to each other. Joseph nodded to him before stepping around him and heading up the stairs.

"All right," Z started as he sat on the edge of the bed by her legs. She finally moved to look at him. "Y' want me t' help y' get dressed or should I go find—"

"You."

Well, that surprised him.

"Sure. Uh…" He looked around, not entirely sure what to do as he hadn't expected that. She had barely moved… ah!

"All right, first order'a business is gettin' you t' sit up," he said.

She grunted meekly and he took that as an indication to get started. After setting the clothing down, he scooted closer. Taking her good arm's hand in his and placing the other hand behind that shoulder, Z counted to three and then pulled her forward. That had hurt her but at this point, he wasn't sure what wouldn't. He also made sure to keep that blanket in place to limit her bickering.

When certain she was steady, he took his hand off her back, considerably glad to have thick gloves on. She hadn't let go of his hand yet, but that was fine.

Taking the pain reliever out of his pocket, he said, "Now this." Blue finally opened her eyes to look. "Y' heard what he said, right? So, a little sip. I still gotta get you back on our own damn ship."

There was just the slightest twitch at the corner of her mouth. "Fine."

He pulled the cork and she took the bottle from him. As agreed, she took the tiniest of sips from it, her face momentarily contorting in disgust. When it was passed back to him, Z gave the mouth of the bottle a sniff and made a similar face. He stuffed the cork back into the top and settled it in his pocket.

"Jacket first. Ready?"

She gave him a small nod and that was good enough for him. He twisted around to grab the jacket and ready it for her to slip her good arm through. When the blanket fell, he hadn't looked, but just as he brought it across her shoulders, he stopped. There were only faint spots where blood had seeped through the bandaging of her shoulder, but that wasn't what caught his attention. Rather, he was unable to help staring at the swathe of scars decorating her torso in the bright lamp-light. They were all much more minor than what she had just gone through, anything was, but there were so many…

Z did his best to ignore the ache in his heart as he pulled all the buttons together for her.

There was a similar story going on with her legs but again he did his best to ignore them. By the time they got to the boots, Blue was a little more lively and was able to slip her feet into them on her own.

"Y' feelin' better?" he asked, hopeful. She just looked at him with disappointment in her eyes.

Footsteps from the stairs caught their attention and they turned to look at Joseph and his granddaughter Kareah coming their way. The girl was tall, approaching the first years of womanhood, and she was busier than anyone else on the ship. When Z had first brought Blue to them, they had shooed him away and he watched her go from the lower decks to the cabin at least fifteen times.

Blue's expression was impassive as they came to stand before them. The girl gave them a small wave and Z nodded to them.

"You look better," Joseph said. "Get a bit of food in your belly and you ought to be as spry as you were before that little scuffle you had."

Blue looked to Z with just the movement of her eyes.

"Anywho, your recovery time is good. A skeleton fleet has appeared and we will be needed to tend to the wounded there."

"Is this yer way'a politely kickin' us out?" Z said in jest.

With a small laugh, Kareah nodded to them. Her grandfather allowed himself a similar laugh.

"I'm afraid so. As it is, we've done all that we can. The rest is up to you two," he said. He pointed at Z; "Though, I reckon you will be back to 100% by tonight." He looked at Blue. "Good news for you, eh?"

Blue was still distant, but she at least forced a small, "Ha."

Standing, Z shook the man's hand. "If there's anythin' I can do for you…"

"All I ask of all my patients is an amount of gold they can afford or think is fair for my service."

Z paused, considering that. After a moment's thought, he produced the purse from their last pay and forced half of it into Joseph's palm. The doctor paled slightly at the weight of the coins.

"Fair's fair?"

Joseph took a moment to look from his hand to Z. "Fair is fair."

Z nodded and looked to Blue. She looked back.

"We'll be gettin' out'a yer hair now."

She stood on her own and nodded once in agreement, freezing and wincing. Z quelled the pity that he felt — that would do them no good right now — and walked with her up to the galleon's main-deck. She walked with a limp, slow enough that he was surprised she didn't swallow her pride and ask him to carry her. He almost did so without prompting, but by then they were on the dock of Dagger Tooth being seen off by the whole crew. The two of them, mostly Z, exchanged waves and other pleasantries with the crew as they left. They watched the galleon sail away for a small while before Blue made a noise of curiosity.

"What?"

Her voice was slow and quiet. "That… island?" She pointed to the southwest, at the giant uncharted island. "There, on those rocks, are buildings. They were not there before."

Z looked. "… huh." They looked at each other for a moment. He shook his head and she seemed to agree — no, they would not be investigating that.

With the Forlorn Phoenix pulled up against the dock, it was easy even for Blue to get back aboard the sloop. Z stayed with her as she made her way to the desk, sitting carefully. He took a spot on the corner of the table.

Unsurprisingly, Blue's attention went to the three books that had been set there. She lifted each one with her operational hand, looking at the covers before setting them down; then she looked at him.

"You can't read, can you?"

Z blinked at the suddenness of her words. "Uh, no," he said more sheepishly than he expected.

"Thought so."

She pulled one close to the edge of the desk and opened it to its first page. She did that with the other two, flipping through more pages.

"One of these belonged to… Captain Eli Slate. Of the Morningstar."

"Wait, Morningstar? Isn't that the wreck we found at Boulder Cay?"

"Yes. They scuttled her themselves." Z stared at her. Blue slowly took a deep breath. "They scuttled their own ship… in an attempt to hide from Graymarrow. They were hunted down." She flipped a few pages forward and turned the book towards him.

Z understood that drawing: it was a bounty on the crew of the Morningstar. No wonder they scuttled their ship.

"But they just delayed their deaths, didn't they?"

Z nodded. "Did you already read these?" he asked.

"No, Garrett told me."

"Garrett?"

"The big one with the beard and fancy clothes. He…" She was quiet for a long moment. "He was the only member of the crew to realise the… the… severity of what they were doing and it tore him up. He warned me about Graymarrow."

"But he didn't stop it."

"But he did not stop it…"

Z shook his head.

"He told me only as much as he thought was safe to. And in case of this exact situation, he asked me to retrieve these books. They do have information in them… Good information. Who knew skeletons had a written language of their own?"

Z shrugged at that. Then Blue paused, looking as though she had realised something.

"What?"

"Graymarrow hunted them for their Shroudbreaker stone, it says… A stone. Is that—"

Z stood, saying, "I hid that red stone in the wood barrel. Think that's it?" He started to the hold.

"I do."

With a little effort, Z reached through all the planks and recovered the item in question. He held it out for her to take.

"This is very peculiar…" Blue said. "I have never seen anything like it."

Z eyed the stone as hard as Blue did. "So…?"

"I have no idea what we're to do with it."

"Me neither."

She sighed. Z looked at her with a scrutinising eye.

"Y' sure y're up t' lookin' through all this?"

She sighed again, groaning as she had just started to try shaking her head. "I still hurt. I'm tired, hungry, thirsty, I—" She groaned again.

"You want a fish?"

She looked at him.

"I don't do it all the time but I can fish."

"Why didn't you—"

"I don't like t'."

Blue scowled at him. He wasn't sure what that was about, but…

"I'm, uh, I'm gonna go—"

"A mango will suffice."

"Y' sure?"

"I do not want to be up that much long— ah." She looked at him for a long moment, then to her injured shoulder as well as she could. "I… cannot sleep on the canvas—"

"So y'll sleep in the bed. I'll figure somethin' out for meself."

Blue looked like she wanted to argue but refrained. "Fine."

Z nodded to her before turning and heading back to the hold once more. He had hidden her dagger there as well; such a pretty thing would also be a target for thieves. Retrieving that, he then found a mango that wasn't too soft, as well as a plain knife. When he returned to Blue, she was inspecting the Shroudbreaker stone again.

Gently taking it away, he placed the mango and knife in her hand. "This can wait. Eatin' can't."

"Mm."

Blue was still for an embarrassingly long moment before he flinched. "Ah, fuck, you can't—"

"No."

"I'm sorry."

Instead of trying that again, Z placed everything on the table in front of her. He took the knife and fruit into his own hands and worked on cutting the mango into neat enough slices.

"Where was this?" Blue asked, referring to her dagger.

"I hid it, too. It's awfully nice and y' seem t' like it a lot."

"Ah." She rolled it in her fingers, then, "Thank you."

Z simply nodded and handed her the first slice of mango. She accepted it and eagerly stripped the fruit's flesh from the skin. A comfortable silence fell between them as she ate. Z kept the second to last slice to himself, knowing she would scold him otherwise. He found that it only made him aware of his ravenous hunger.

Even after fighting a Skeleton Lord and coming out of it with — fresh — battle scars, Blue was dainty in some ways. She had been so careful about how she ate the mango that she didn't dirty her hand and she took advantage of this, pulling a book close. She looked at one page before sighing.

"I am— tired."

"Need help gettin' t' the bed?"

"I can walk. … slowly."

Z watched her get to her feet and curiosity got the better of him.

"Why are you limpin'?"

She sighed and he regretted opening his mouth. Before he could do it again, Blue obliged him.

"Graymarrow…" She felt her right hip before speaking. "He dug his fingers into my hip and picked me up."

"Wha—" That didn't sound right. Z tried and failed to picture this in his mind, not that he was any good at that in the first place. "… I'm not sure I get it? Y' mean, with one hand, he grabbed you by the waist and just picked you up?" he asked slowly.

"Yes."

"Oh." He blinked.

With that out of the way, Blue made her way down to the bed. Z followed and watched as she sat on the edge, kicking her boots off.

"Do y' need anythin'?" he asked as he watched her move into the middle of the bed and turn.

"I can think of nothing. Just… let me sleep."

"That I can do," he said.

Z lingered until he was certain Blue was comfortable. It was awkward for her to kick the blanket out from under herself so she could grab it and lie down, but she managed and seemed comfortable enough. He doused the lantern in the hold and before he stepped away, Z said, "Jus' holler if y' need anythin'." The grunt she gave him was enough to get him to skedaddle.

Unsure of what exactly to do with himself, Z sat in the desk's chair. He could lean back and get some sleep, he supposed — he wasn't going to bother with food now that Blue was downstairs and he definitely wasn't eating raw fish.

She had left the books open on the table. He pushed them away from the corner he was going to put his foot up on when a page made him pause. On both sides were markings that he knew the meanings to. Below them were what he knew to be words, though not what they said. That was… peculiar.

After removing his pegleg, Z leaned back in the chair and considered the thought no more, letting sleep take him.

Z had no idea how long he had been asleep. Something startled him awake but when he looked around, there was nothing in the darkness. The sun would be up soon but he wasn't about the wait that long. After attaching his pegleg, he stood, scanning the area again. He made his way to the main-deck and then the quarter-deck. Still, he found nothing amiss.

The outpost was slowly rousing alongside the sun. Could he have heard a resident? The shipless pirate from yesterday? Something woke him and Z was bound and determined to figure out what it was.

Back at the desk, he sat and took a breath. He thought and then checked behind the map table — that was clear. He made his way to the stairs to the hold and quietly went down those. Blue was awake and sat up. She looked rattled.

"You heard it, too?"

"Heard what?"

He stared for a moment before shaking his head. "Nothin'. How'd y' sleep?"

"Well enough."

"Breakfast in the tavern?" he suggested.

Blue made a face. The Dagger Tooth tavern was wanting for… well, everything, but…

"I suppose that will do… means neither of us have to cook…"

He nodded. She sounded rough and then he paused to produce the bottle of pain reliever. He simply passed it to her and was somewhat surprised that she limited herself to another tiny sip. She passed it back, he corked it and then let it rest on the bed. Apparently, his expression showed his thoughts.

"I am tired of sleeping. I am ravenous."

Blue moved a little better this morning. As the pain's grip on her weakened, she moved that much better. Her voice was more normal, too, if still a little weak. The empty sleeve hanging by her side still made him feel queasy.

Breakfast was serviceable, but it may as well have been a meal fit for a king with how hungry the two of them were. They agreed to split a third plate of food.

"Is she always like this?" Blue asked suddenly. She gestured to Teri the innkeeper behind the counter — fully behind the counter, hopefully just sat on the floor — when he looked confused.

"… Y'know, I don't think I've ever been here and seen her sober."

"… huh."

"Yeah. Uh… so how d' ya feel?"

Blue scowled at him.

"What?"

"I don't like thinking about it." She must have been very uncomfortable to be talking that way.

"Y-yeah. I… but…?"

Blue sighed. "Better. But…" She didn't seem to know what to say, dropping her fork and putting her hand on her damaged shoulder. "I… hm."

"It'll heal."

She gave him an intense look. "How can you be so sure? You… You did not hear them. You did not hear them while they pulled my arm back together." She pressed down slightly, tracing an indent in her shoulder.

Z thought he had an idea of what she was thinking. "Injuries like that — sometimes the Ferry just… doesn't fix it."

"So it was this or no arm at all?"

He wasn't sure what 'this' meant but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, but y'll be fine, I promise."

The way she stared at him, Z wasn't sure if it was the pain souring her mood or if she truly didn't believe him. He hoped she did, though.

It had been quiet, and then: "We're here!"

Z, laying in the bed and stretching out, jerked upright. What the hell was she… "What?"

"We're here. Right here!"

He got up and made his way to the desk where Blue sat.

"So I think I was asleep, so I'm gonna need y' t'—"

She held the Shroudbreaker stone up.

"… what about it?"

"Sandra, the shipwright here. She sent them on that mission."

"… oh."

Blue got to her feet, stone in hand. He gave her a look and she spoke quickly, "I intend to find out just what she thought was going to happen." She stepped past him.

Dumbstruck, Z stood there for a moment, wondering just what the hell had happened. Rather than wonder more, he moved to follow Blue, who was now walking up the dock.

"Y' just plan on talkin' t' her 'bout— 'bout, uh, well—"

"Yes."

Considering her state… "Y're a real hot-head sometimes, y'know that?"

"It gets results," she said simply before going up the steps to the shipwright's post.

Sandra looked up from the piece of metal she was working and shock took her friendly demeanour away the moment she laid eyes on the Shroudbreaker stone in Blue's hand.

"Oh! Is it true? Did you really destroy Graymarrow?"

Apparently, word got around. Z would probably have to explain that to his crewmate later.

"Am I finally free of him?"

They looked at each other; What? Then Z nodded to Sandra. She held a hand out and Blue gave her the stone.

"You have no idea how good it feels to hear that. And if you're the ones who vanquished Graymarrow and retrieved the stone, then that means the other crew wasn't so lucky?"

Z nodded again.

"That's a shame. The truth, though, is that I was Jill, the one who jumped overboard rather than face Graymarrow. After that, I gave up my name and my old life to hide from him. I tell everyone I'm building a ship to fight a kraken, but… the truth is, it's so I could escape if he ever found me again."

She was good at hiding it, but Z knew her well enough to see that Blue was fuming under her facade.

"I always wondered…. could I have made a difference if I'd stayed and fought alongside the others? I'll always carry that regret, and maybe that's what I deserve. But I'll sleep a little easier now I know the others have been set free.

"Y'know, I'm glad someone's picking up where we left off and aiming for the Shores of Gold. I'll clean up this piece and pass it along. When you're seaworthy again, you should speak to the only pirate who ever used the Shroudbreaker and lived to tell the tale… You'll find her at Morrow's Peak."

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

They exchanged nods and the shipwright sent them off with a polite, "Good luck!"

The walk back to the ship was a quiet one. Z wasn't sure if he should touch her or say anything, but he had never seen Blue quite like this. When she returned to the chair and stared at nothing, he could hold his tongue no longer.

"You all right?"

"… I cannot fathom being so cowardly."

He wasn't sure of what to make of that.

She looked back to the books, saying, "It is beside the point anyhow." Leaning forward, Blue pulled one close. "The Winter's End was part of an alliance. Was. From what Garrett recorded in this book, three galleons were working together to restore something called the Shroudbreaker so they could reach the Shores of Gold. I thought that was just another tall tale, but I suppose not.

"They took the task of fighting Graymarrow from a ship called the Mild Mannered Marauder. They also took any supplies worth taking from it before they left."

"And the third ship?" Z asked.

"That ship is the Octavia. Apparently they are the ones that formed this alliance in the first place. I have only skimmed the earlier pages, but it seems this alliance was very busy."

"Three of them restoring a Shroudbreaker," he mumbled. Blue looked at him and Z stood upright. "How many stones were there?"

"I believe four."

"All right." Z brought a hand up to his chin. He needed to shave. "Can you quickly read all three books?"

She side-eyed him. "I can… Shall we make for the Devil's Roar?"

"What?"

Blue blinked at him. "Shall we go to Morrow's Peak—"

"You don't really intend on continuin' that voyage of theirs, do you?"

"Why not? We helped. Not on purpose… but still."

Z recoiled. She wasn't wrong. This voyage had involved them in fighting a Skeleton Lord, and the point of that was to reach the Shores of Gold… The Shores of Gold!

"You know what… that's not the worst idea. Y' should heal up pretty quick. I'll swing us southeast while you read? We'll make good time with the wind on our back," he said.

"Plot a course so we can stop occasionally. That medicine is making me very tired, and the good doctor did tell us to rest…"

"Fine, fine."