The waves didn't fight them very much as they travelled east away from Golden Sands Outpost. The wind, however, turned against them not long after setting out and thus the journey to Wanderer's Refuge took longer than it should have. The massive island was a welcome reprieve and they stayed there for a few days.

On the first day, they watched the galleon from the south continue moving towards Mermaid's Hideaway until it reached the island. There was no longer any question as to whether or not the two ships were on good terms — certainly enough to meet up. Whether or not it was a predetermined meeting, Z nor Blue could say, and neither was interested in finding out.

When at last the wind shifted majorly and blew along their route, they left Wanderer's behind. Plunder Valley was directly south and quite a ways away. They spoke of stopping at Sailor's Knot Stronghold if conditions did not take them along fast enough. It took longer than the daylight hours offered and Z had to take charge of sailing while Blue got some sleep in the lower deck. He woke her in the dead of night after getting the ship properly stopped on the southwestern beach so that he could have the bed.

On this day, both of them slept later into the morning than usual, until the sun was close to its highest point. Blue had taken the luxury of dozing in the warm sun until the sounds of the island birds began to aggravate her. As she roused, she reasoned that if she had slept late, then Z surely had, too. She went and poked at him and found him agreeable to getting up, allowing her the opportunity to get changed into an outfit appropriate for exploring the island after they ate.

Speaking of which… she highly doubted that Z would take the initiative on that. If she didn't get food for them, then they wouldn't eat. Rather than getting out a previously cooked splashtail, she chose to catch a fresh fish. Using half of a banana for bait probably hadn't been the best idea, as the only fish that really took to the hook was almost as big around as she was and put up quite the fight that Z watched from the crow's nest. He stayed up there all the while she worked on the carcass; it was only when she was nearly done frying it that she heard him slide down the rope ladder.

In addition to the fish, a pair of coconuts were collected from the barrel and cracked open. The fish still had a while to fry so she stepped away from it to find Z situated at the table. As always, he was delighted to have a coconut in the morning and she briefly wondered why he never helped himself if that were the case; she refrained from speaking so as to avoid a dumb argument. Instead, she addressed the business.

"Did you spot anything while you were up there?"

He paused in chewing on a bit of coconut to shake his head. "Nothin' at all. Can't really see much besides where we came from, though; island's in the way."

"Then we will look from the peak of the island after we eat."

"Together?" he whined.

"Together. And you will explain to me just what is so bad about this island as we walk."

He made another whiny noise as she stepped away to check on the fish. Her timing was good as it was nearly done. While she plated it, she silently considered why Z might not like this island and found herself more curious as nothing logical came to mind.

Eager to be on the island and exploring, Blue could have eaten slower. Z, on the other hand, took his sweet time. She refrained from striking up a conversation that would slow him even further.

When he was done eating, they grabbed their gear and disembarked from the ship. From the beach, they went right, starting up a path that very quickly split into two, a tall statue of a bird figure a the fork. The path to the left went through the sharp gorge that ran through this part of the island; the other path went up and over a hill. Agreeing on which one to take was not straightforward.

"Up there looks to go nowhere," Blue explained, gesturing to the right path. She motioned to the other path, saying, "Through here and to the left will take us up the island. Or we can go back—"

"Fine, we'll go yer way," Z snapped.

His attitude bothered her. Rather than let his sharp words determine their way, she shook her head and said, "No, no, we can make certain of this." Stepping away from him, she started up the hill. "There is a way down on the other side where we will meet."

Z made the most obnoxious, loud, exaggerated groan behind her that she had ever heard from him. She froze, heavily considering scolding him for such childish behaviour. Instead, she waved him toward the way through the valley so they could get their day going.

Along the hill was a dirt path, just as Blue knew there to be. She kept to it, heavily interested in avoiding any potential snakes after her last run-in with one. It was only a little later that she realised it was not snakes that they needed to be concerned about.

"Hey— eyes up!"

Down in the gorge, deep in the dirt underneath the brush, skeletons had been hiding. Blue and Z spotted the first one at the same time as it emerged just ahead of him and to his left, emitting raspy growls. Z turned to face it, backing up; Blue didn't have time to tell him not to. Behind him, another skeleton was emerging from the ground, sticking an arm out of the ground and swinging wildly with its sword. She winced as Z staggered and tumbled to the ground.

Getting down the hillside wasn't impossible; it was steep, but there were enough rocky footholds that she could have done it, albeit slowly. Instead, she brought her gun into her grip.

The first skeleton that had emerged had a partner now, and at least two others were behind Z. She took a shot at the first one and it crumpled. She was thankful for their weak resolve.

In the time it took her to reload her musket and bring it back up to aim, Z had taken out a skeleton on his own, having shoved his cutlass between its ribs and twisted it apart. Blue shot another as he took a swing at it, both of them just missing their marks. She spied a pineapple in his hand before she looked away to reload again. The next shot landed.

Just before she finished her next reload cycle, the sound of a gun's hammer being pulled back gave her reason to pause: that was not her doing. Before she could turn, a flintlock pistol was fired and the projectile ripped through her right shoulder. The pain gave her the motivation to spin around and beat the skeleton with the butt of her gun, knocking its head clean off.

When she turned back around, Z was on his feet and looking her way, the rest of his attackers dispatched. They looked to each other, taking a moment to breathe.

When Z moved towards the hillside, clearly intent on climbing it, Blue became aware of blood pouring from her shoulder. She glanced at it, ascertained that the bullet had gone straight through, and that it was not life-threatening despite the pain. She took a step forward and raised a hand to stop him from climbing up, then motioned back the way they came. With hurried feet, they backtracked to where the paths came together.

"You good?"

Blue forced herself to stand up straight. "It is nothing that will not mend." She looked at him, recalling how terribly his ankle had been cut, unable to help a glance. "The better question—"

"I'm fine."

Blue tilted her head slightly as she had a hard time believing that. "I saw that swing—"

"I'm good," Z repeated sternly, turning slightly to hide his foot behind the pegleg. "It's fine, I promise. Pineapples, 'member?"

"I saw where it hit you. Are you certain you require no st—"

"I'm sure."

Blue stared at him for a long moment before taking a breath in. That hurt. She winced and he gave her a look. If he was all right after eating part of a pineapple…

"Would you be willing to share then?"

"Share?— oh." He blinked and searched for words. "Uh, I ate the whole thing."

Z was not a small man by any means, yet for him to be able to wolf down an entire pineapple… and in the middle of combat!

Blue sighed. That, too, hurt.

"Do y' not—"

"I want a fish," she declared as she stepped past him and towards the ship. It took a long moment before she heard Z follow her.

A cold splashtail wasn't the most appetising thing in the world, but it satisfied the craving she had developed. Halfway done eating, she came back to the main-deck, observing Z leaning against the helm's railing. Her shoulder was already feeling better, and she supposed that his ankle could have been healed by the entirety of a pineapple… Still, he had been very… coy about it.

"Feelin' better?" he asked.

"Not as good as you, I suppose."

He chuckled. "We've got more pineapples, don't we?"

"It seems… wasteful to eat it after the matter," she explained. She looked to her shoulder again, the dark blood contrasting against the white cloth. "Besides, this shirt is ruined anyway."

He laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I suppose your boot is also ruined?"

"Y… maybe, yea."

"Shall we refresh our supplies and try again?"

That got a toothy grin out of him.

After grabbing some fresh food, ammunition, and when Z had put a different boot on, they took back to the island. Z didn't fight over the path they took this time, instead going through the gorge together without question. "We stay together," Blue had insisted, much to their chagrin.

The path to the top was a long and winding one, taking them through the entirety of the island. The incline up was gentle and they didn't mind it too much, walking in a comfortable silence. They were bothered no more by skeletons, the ambush apparently having been all the danger the island had to offer.

For someone who didn't like this island, Z sure knew his way around it. As they went up the trail, he never stopped to wait for Blue when she lagged behind and neither did he ask for directions in the thickest parts of the forest where the trail was at its lightest. Sure, getting to the top was only a matter of following said trail, but her interest had been piqued.

"What is so bad about this island?" Blue asked.

Z looked over at her, chewing the inside of his cheek with the most unenthused expression he could muster. "Y've never had t' dig up anythin' here, have ya?"

No, she had not. Being so adverse to such work, it took great effort for Blue to consider this scenario, yet she still found herself unconvinced. "Explain."

"Y've seen the island on the map, yeah?" She nodded. "It's huge. And there ain't much in the way'a landmarks."

Blue disagreed with that statement, but when she thought a little more about it, she decided that there were few significant landmarks. Besides those, it was easy to get lost in the trees. She nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"The island's so big that findin' what y're diggin' up takes forever. Worse, someone wants t' have a fight with ya and y're here, movin' 'cross the island takes so long…"

"I believe I get the idea," Blue interjected. Z seemed like he was about to go on a tangent that she wasn't interested in entertaining. This all sounded like an experience.

On the final turn up the path, they passed a mostly barren cliff that jutted out from another rock formation. A tree was growing in the middle of the platform, offering a little shade in what looked like would be a pleasant place to sit when the tree was more mature. Blue made a mental note of this location.

Further along the way, they came upon a ritual site with yet another bird feature to it. They passed it, continuing along the trail past yet one more altar. They gave each other a curious look as they did.

At the top of the island was an unlit brazier, set up back during the first Festival of the Damned that was celebrated. Coincidentally, this was also the highest point of the island, a clear vantage point facing the southeast. The only thing that Blue could spy was a large flock of seagulls between the nearby fort and Plunder Outpost. Something in the water was quite interesting.

"Do you see anything?" she asked Z.

He shook his head. "Nothin' but those gulls over the water. Unless there's some specs in my eyes."

"No, there is certainly a flock of seagulls out there."

"Think it's worth checkin' out?"

"Always. There could be any number of things under those birds, but I would expect it to be a shipwreck. Those attract the most birds."

He seemed to consider her words before dipping his chin. "Y're right about that."

Blue looked over the area once more before nodding to herself, deciding that investigating that was a fine idea. When she looked back to Z, she was astonished to find him sitting on the rock ledge just past the brazier. His unease at Ashen Reaches came screaming to the forefront of her mind.

"What are you doing?"

"Sittin'. What's it look like?"

"I thought you and heights disagreed with one another?"

He was quiet for a moment. "It's the climbin' I don't like." He lifted his pegleg up to emphasise his point.

"… ah. I see."

"Uh huh," he quipped, leaning back against the brazier. For a split moment, she considered igniting it with the flame of her lantern. Blue chose to go to his side instead, quickly sitting so that he didn't have time to consider pushing her.

No wonder he had decided to stay up here for a while — now that she wasn't looking for anything, it struck her that the view was rather marvellous.

Blue wondered why she looked down. It was quite a drop. Almost directly below them, she spotted an inanimate skeleton, one that she was certain hadn't been part of the earlier ambush. Z noticed it as well.

"… huh." He looked at her. "Don't fall, I guess."

A moment later, she scooted a little bit away from him.

Just in case the galleons of Mermaid's Hideaway moved back into The Ancient Isles, the Forlorn Phoenix was moved to the eastern beach where the bulk of the island would hide it from sight. Here, there was an old shipwreck, and Blue was immensely curious. Despite a thorough investigation, she found nothing of value or interest in it, not even its name. Z had no words of wisdom to share regarding it.

Much of Blue's day was spent exploring the island once over again. She made it a point to familiarise herself with its points of interest. About the island were numerous references to birds, or maybe a bird, in the form of many statues and quite a few paintings. Inside the cave system that she had neglected during the walk, she found what appeared to be a shrine dedicated to the bird figure(s) that the island honoured. It was all a bit unsettling. Still, she determined that there were landmarks on the island, it was just that all the jungle foliage covered them up.

On the upper level of the island was a pointed rock that had been shaped in the likeness of a great bird. Just below it, water poured from the rock, pooling slightly before draining into the ocean via two more, less impressive waterfalls. There had been nothing in the cave system to suggest where the water might have come from, but after getting so dirty in one day, Blue hardly cared what the water's origin was.

Z, on the other hand, was much less enthused by the prospect of bathing and doing laundry. While Blue might have tolerated his view on meals, she wasn't budging on this matter. The idea that she wash everything was ridiculous. Thankfully, cleaning their own clothes was an agreeable idea.

The bedding, however, was another matter. It used to be that Blue very rarely used the bed, generally when she got caught in some rain; as of late, however, they had been trading off who slept in it. She conceded to this fact, but determining who used it more was a hassle. Eventually, Blue decided that it would be quicker to wash the bedding herself this time around than continue arguing, though she also declared that it would be his turn next.

In the meantime, she asked Z to see about finding some young coconuts for them to have over dinner. This seemed to please him quite a lot. She was unsurprised when he returned with sprouted coconuts, too.

"So t'morrow we're headin' t' the outpost?" Z asked, a piece of fish disappearing down his gullet in the next moment.

"If we can," Blue said cautiously. "That is quite a distance to sail."

"The waves work in our favour and the wind might be good—"

"Might be," she emphasised. "Here to Plunder Outpost" — she hated that the two islands shared the same short-hand name — "is quite a distance. We would be better off setting our sights on Lost Gold Fort."

Z raised his hand to gesture a point. Blue held hers up to silence him.

"Besides, there is also the event between there and the outpost."

His expression turned thoughtful. "Fine, fine, y're right. Might be trouble, too. Wouldn't want t' be too tired just in case."

She nodded. "Precisely. It is most likely a shipwreck, but in the event that it is not…"

He nodded back.

The route they took was one they had gone through before. Blue found that thought rather strange, but these sorts of thoughts were becoming more and more common. She wasn't sure what to make of that. There were worse people to have in her crew, she supposed; better ones, too, though.

Just as Z had said, the waves moved in the same direction as they did, giving them a fast, smooth ride. This meant that there was plenty of time to kill in the later part of the day.

From the top of Lost Gold Fort, she pondered over these thoughts. Just like all the other skeleton-inhabited islands, there was a rickety building on it, and it was a fantastic spot to sit and observe the horizon from. Here, Blue became fairly certain that it was a proper shipwreck in their way; a school of fish was unlikely to linger so long and attract the attention of the gulls, but then again, these were strange waters. A flotsam, perhaps? Any other ideas eluded her.

Rather than do anything at all, Z was napping on the bowsprit of the ship. She supposed that there wasn't anything that needed to be done, but she still found it annoying. She did wonder if the smell of food cooking would be enough to rouse him…

As it turned out, it was. When Blue was nearing the end of the cooking process of a fresh fish, he was poking his nose downstairs to see what exactly she was up to.

"Good morning," she teased.

Z made a playfully annoyed noise in response. "More fish?"

"Of the local variety," she specified. She took an uncooked one out of the barrel to show him. "They are not islehoppers—"

"Ancientscales."

"—Yes, those, thank you." She put the fish away and poked at what was on the stove, nearly finished. Gathering plates and beginning to transfer food onto them, Blue continued: "To answer your question: not quite an hour."

He gave her a look before understanding.

"And as for what is around us: nothing. I am, however, fairly certain that before us is a shipwreck."

Deciding that he'd be more comfortable this way, Z sat at the foot of the bed. "What makes y' say that?"

"I have seen the gulls diving down into the water. There is something very interesting to them there. Fish would not linger for so long, though. Do you disagree?"

He thought for a moment before shrugging and making an 'ehh' sort of noise.

Blue paused, sighed and refrained from striking him. "I do not know what—" she mimicked him "—means."

"Not really."

"That is not much better."

He shrugged again and she scowled.

"Then what do you think it might be?"

"Y' might be right, y' might not be. We'll see when we get there."

She rose a brow. Was that the closest she was getting him to saying that he wasn't sure? That was all she could figure out for his behaviour. Handing him his plate of fish and mango, she sat on the opposite side of the bed.

Dinner was eaten and then once more, as they usually did, they split apart and spent the rest of the evening on their own. While Blue made up her bed shortly after the sun had gone down, Z took his time getting to bed. Such was not unusual, nor was the difficulty in rousing him the next morning, but Blue was not willing to investigate the disturbance with him fast asleep. A light breakfast was shared between them — a single small ancientscale and a water coconut — before they got the ship moving.

The fantastic conditions of yesterday had soured only slightly and so they found themselves nearing the flock of seagulls in no time, Z reefing the sail to slow their approach. While she had been certain of a shipwreck here, it was instead a flotsam that they found; they exchanged curious glances. It was only when Blue leaned half of herself over the side of the ship that she spied the ship it belonged to, far too deep to be identified in any way or dive for.

With a harpoon, Z brought the first barrel aboard the ship. A bird was shooed away as he rolled it upright on the deck, fighting the lid off. It opened with a pleasant pop. The smell that emanated was far less so. His face scrunched up as he looked inside and promptly shook his head.

"Not worth."

Judging by the look on his face, that was putting it mildly.

The lid was replaced before the barrel was thrown overboard to be claimed by the depths.

Upon bringing the second barrel aboard, Z declared, "This is good!" He withdrew a single wooden plank to emphasise his point.

Both Z and Blue worked to empty the barrel of all the planks it held. Rolling the barrel downstairs was an impossibility, what with the sloop's standard barrel smaller to account for its narrow passageways, but with the outpost so close by, they kept it to sell as scrap.

Upon harpooning the final barrel and hefting it onto the deck, Z turned to her before he opened it.

"Whaddya think's in this one?"

She almost shrugged; Blue wasn't sure. So far they had pulled up some rotten food and planks, so…

"Ammunition?"

"Hope so."

Then the lid was pried off. Much to both of their pleasures, Blue was right. She beamed slightly at that before realising just how much was in there.

"Uh—"

"Let's just keep the barrel on the deck and sell some of it at the outpost…"

Blue dipped her chin in agreement. No way was the sloop's barrels going to hold all of that, nor did it need to. So much shot would certainly slow the ship down, too.

"That is a good idea."

"Yeah. Hm, this is fresh, though."

She didn't disagree, but… "Explain."

"Like, 'Where's the other ship?' fresh."

"Perhaps they sank each other?"

"Nah, there'd be more if that happened."

Blue was starting to think that he was disagreeing with what she said for the fun of it.

"What are you getting at?"

"It's weird." Z scratched at his chin, playing with the small beard he sported. "We should be careful comin' int' Plunder."

That… seemed utterly ridiculous, but not so much so that Blue could muster up an argument. She wasn't willing to make that risk, either.

"Very well."

With the flotsam so close to Plunder Outpost, little more time was spent sailing. While Z managed the ship, Blue took her time exchanging her clothes for an outfit with a pleasant red colour just in case they had reasonable company at the outpost. She was still cautious, however, and made sure it was fully functional.

Eager to rid them of this wariness, Blue declared, "I am going to make sure that the tavern is empty of any troublemakers while you do that."

Z looked away from the ropes he was tying. In the middle of the work, he simply grunted an acknowledgement and went back to securing the sail.

The walk up the dock was unremarkable. It was never in their favour to give away someone's business so no shopkeeper offered Blue any words beyond a polite greeting and suggestion that she should look at their wares. Perhaps later.

The tavern, however, was a different matter. Aware that she was far from silent in her approach, Blue stopped before the threshold. It was a perfect point for an ambush, yet to expect one may also bode poorly for any first impressions she might be about to make.

With a deep breath, she stepped inside…

… and found the building empty of any patrons.

This had been a very silly thing to worry over, she decided. She lingered for a moment, greeting the tavernkeeper and letting her know that they would be in for dinner soon. Then she turned and made for the door.

A bit of roofing fell before her and her hand went to her sword's pommel. A moment later, they dropped to the ground.

"Heya."

"How's it been?"

She didn't recognise one of them, though he looked like he belonged with his thin figure and wild hair, all clad in black, but the other…

"Rylund. What brings you here?"

"Uh." A sheepish grin crossed his face. "Well, the ship we were chasin' came here—"

"I see," Blue interjected. That explained everything she needed to know, but…

"And your ship?"

"Mutually assured destruction," his friend said.

"… ah." Blue wasn't sure whether or not she was glad her shot-in-the-dark idea had been correct. It explained where the flotsam came from, if only somewhat. Though…

"And Jackson?"

They both looked a little upset about that question. The one she didn't know said, "He boarded 'em, got their anchor down, but then a keg popped on 'em close enough to hit us, too."

That explained why there was so little wreckage.

"So this was your brigantine against a…?"

"Another brig. And brigs sink fast sooo…"

"Understandable." Down a man and in the midst of a fight, it was no wonder they had sunk. To sink the other ship, too, was impressive.

"It sounds like you have had a rough go at it. In any case, I am acquaintances with your… crew. I go by Blue." She held a hand out for him to take, which he did.

"Marcus, but my friends call me Mark."

She wasn't sure if that was an invitation or not.

"How about you two stay here and get the kitchen started on dinner?" she suggested. "I will tell Z that you two are here and help him finish docking the ship."

The two looked excited to hear that their friend was around. They nodded in agreement and disappeared into the tavern. Blue was glad for that. As she made the walk back to the Forlorn Phoenix, she wondered just how many people there were in that group and if she had met any others by happenstance.

As she stepped onto the quarter-deck, Z gave her a look as he worked on another set of ropes. "So I was right, eh?"

"Yes, you were. I take it you knew that Rylund and Marcus would be here?"

He paused, looked dumbstruck and then shook his head. "Huh-uh. What brings 'em here?"

"Their ship was part of the flotsam."

"Oh."

"Their chosen prey fought back with a little too much gunpowder. Jackson was slain in the fray."

"Ah, I see."

"I am sure they will tell you all about it over dinner."

"Prob'ly." He released the rope, finally done with it. Still, he looked uncertain about something…

"So they just stopped and said 'hello' t' ya?"

"Not exactly." Blue paused to consider how she had come face-to-face with them. "They… dropped in."

Z crossed his arms, trying not to look amused. "I guess they'll just hafta tell me over dinner?"

"I am sure they will answer all questions to your satisfaction."

He chuckled. "Well, let's go join 'em then."