The air was heavy and damp when Z awoke. A moment later and he realised that the dull drumming was the sound of a mild rainfall, the roll of thunder distant. He wondered which had woken Blue. After securing his pegleg, he got to his feet to check on her. Right away he found her sitting at the desk, busy with a book.

"Guess we're not goin' anywhere t'day."

Blue shook her head. "No. At least it seems only the edge of the storm will be passing over us."

Z made a small noise of acknowledgement as he stepped around her, looking out at the storm beyond the half-walls of the aft. He sat on the map table and took in the scene.

"It's not so bad, really. We could sail in this."

"And if the wind shifts and brings the more savage parts of the storm to us?"

"Hmm. Well, when'd it last change?"

Blue sighed. "Some point before I got up."

"So we'll wait 'til it does again and see about it then."

That had been more of a statement than a mere suggestion but Blue seemed tolerant of it. He had no doubt that he would be the one in charge of getting them from Point A to Point B since it was his idea, but that was fine, too, since Blue still looked tired. With a bit more thought, Z realised that probably had something to do with the two days spent around his friends. Blue was… not social, he had come to understand, even if she was good at pretending she was.

When it was late enough in the day that he finally felt the slightest twinge of pain in his stomach — probably hunger — he noticed the wind had changed directions. The darker, angrier part of the storm was over to their southwest and the wind blew in from the southeast.

"I guess we can get goin'," Z said after sharing his observations.

Blue hadn't seemed crazy about the idea of going somewhere, but neither did she argue with him. His voicing of an offer to take care of their travels definitely helped that.

With the wind the way that it was, they were able to quickly make their way to The Crow's Nest Fortress. He doubted that Blue was over her dislike of forts, he could even imagine her writing all about that while they had sailed over, but staying there was better than open water or continuing to idly sit at that nothing-island. Besides, they could ransack the fort for good supplies after having given some to his friends. He voiced this idea and Blue found it agreeable so they got their feet on the sand and went through all the barrels they could find, taking anything good. They spent most of the evening doing this before they had a small dinner and went to bed.

Sometime in the middle of the night, roaring thunder woke Z. Whereas the morning rain had been a light drizzle, it was now a downpour. The air was nippy, making the warm bed all the more comfortable. That made him wonder…

Forcing himself out of bed, Z made for upstairs. He only got to the mid-deck before finding Blue sat against the wall next to the bookcase. The sight of her with a damp blanket across her legs was something else, but at least she didn't look entirely like a drowned rat.

"How do you sleep like this?"

He grinned and shook his head, unable to help a chuckle. "Why don't y' go get some sleep?" he suggested, motioning back to the bed.

Blue stared at him for a long moment, misery crossing her face. Without a word, she got to her feet and made her way past him, dragging the blanket behind her. It was a struggle to keep from laughing at the poor thing.

In the time that she slept, Z sat at the desk, leaned back with his feet on the edge of the table as he dozed. Some hours would pass before Blue was finally back up, waking him with a gentle shake of the shoulder. The rain, however, had not let up. They split a reheated splashtail before anyone said anything.

"We are not going anywhere."

"Nope," he said with a smirk. "'Sides, I think I can see a gally over at Devil's Ridge."

"You think?"

"Mhmm. Hard t' see through all the rain and I ain't about t' go up int' the crow's nest t' check."

She stared at him for a moment. "That is fair."

"Can't see Ancient Spire through the rocks, but I bet there's a ship or two hidin' from the storm there, too."

She nodded.

"So, we jus' gonna sit here 'til the storm passes?"

Blue rolled her eyes. "I do not see any point in moving… The storm is over us anyhow — continuing our route would lengthen the amount of time we spend in it."

"So we're gonna head out soon as it's clear? An' hope everybody at Ancient Spire's gonna be friendly?"

"I see no reason why not."

He made a noise of disagreement but didn't openly fight the matter. Blue was good at getting on people's good side and a tavern offered many appealing amenities after a storm.

With Blue unable to sleep in her usual spot due to the rain, she was curled up in the bed. His bed? He supposed that it was, at least in a way. Z was sat at the desk once more, having spent most of the day there, dozing as often as he could while they waited for the storm to pass. It was late into the night when it finally did, and with it the wind had shifted to take it more north than east. With only a drizzle to contend with and Blue's ability to sleep through travel, he decided it was a grand idea to get the ship moving for Ancient Spire Outpost.

Not too long after starting out, Z was able to confirm that yes, he had just barely spotted the silhouette of a galleon at Devil's Ridge, likely waiting out the storm. It was not close enough that he could make out any identifying features of it, nor did it fly a flag he knew. He simply made a mental note of its existence as he watched it head west, uninterested in them.

Now that the storm was mostly past them, he decided that yes, a warm tavern and a meal of something other than fish sounded very good. He had initially expected that only Blue would appreciate it, but as they neared the outpost, he found himself yearning for those things. A storm didn't make him as miserable as she, he even had a history of using them to occasionally get a job done, and of course, he didn't need these things… but damn if they didn't sound good.

As expected, Blue was up with the sun. Though they weren't quite at the outpost yet, she was well-dressed in red and gold, ready to spend the day off the ship and in the company of others. Breakfast was something that neither of them brought up, each of them having decided on their own that something from the tavern's kitchen would be nicer.

There came the time when they were rounding the island on the southern side and all stopped ships came into view. While he was trying to decide where they could squeeze the sloop in, Z realised that his shipmate had been staring at him. He finally looked back and her stare wavered momentarily before her expression changed into what he assumed was disapproval before turning away entirely.

With a sigh, he asked, "What is it now?"

"You look ridiculous," she answered without looking.

"Wha, how?"

"Your hair is getting too long and your face is unshaven. It is just like the last time we visited an outpost after a storm."

She wasn't wrong; these things had started to bother him. That didn't change the fact that her annoyance with his appearance was annoying to him.

"Fine, I'll clean up before we get off the ship."

"That is not necessary."

"Wha—" He nearly ripped the rope apart as he pulled the sail up. "What's the point'a yer complainin' then?!"

She turned to look at him before shrugging. "You asked."

"Yeah, I guess I did," he muttered.

With the ship moving slowly, he took a moment to nip downstairs and brush his hair back; that was much better. His beard was a bit long and scraggly but it wasn't enough to bother him personally — in fact, if he was more patient with it, he could potentially grow a good-looking full-faced beard. Now was not the time for that, though.

Pleased with his little bit of grooming, not that he had looked bad before it, Z returned topside. Blue had both taken his place at the helm and charge of getting them situated at the outpost. He spotted some pirates high up just outside the tavern, a few down low where the shops were, though none seemed to care that they were coming to join the gathering. That somewhat eased the concern he felt. Any other pirates at an outpost were too many but he couldn't deny that this was a good opportunity to socialise, maybe pick a pocket or two or have a good old-fashioned brawl — who knew?

Right now, Z was just glad that Blue decided to take them between the docks. The main dock would have been crowded with one galleon at it — today, there were two. At the other dock sat a sloop; near it, a brigantine was positioned in such a way that it looked like it was being used by the sloop crew to get onto the island. It was that sloop that they slid theirs beside. Ancient Spire Outpost may have been roomy enough for this many pirates to visit at once, but situating their ships was less than convenient.

As they were using the alternative dock, that meant they had quite the walk to get up to the tavern. That was fine by Z, but Blue… Well, he thought that she might have a problem with that, but as he watched her use a set of ropes to pull the Forlorn Phoenix's stern against the other sloop's and the dock, he reminded himself that the dress was just a pretty little lie. No matter how well she was dressed, there was no pretending that all that time spent alone hadn't made her quite the rugged sailor.

They disembarked and started on the path upwards. Halfway there and he couldn't help himself.

"So what's yer plan for t'day?"

"Surely someone here is a decent conversationalist."

She replied a little too quickly for his liking and that made him raise a brow, if also slightly amused him. "Really? All these people here an' y're thinkin' 'bout talkin'?"

"Among other things," she admitted. They took a few more steps before she added, "I had planned to spend the day with other company."

"Glad we're on the same page. Bit'a time apart's a good thing, I hear."

Blue gave him a look and he barely resisted laughing. "Time apart is a very good thing," she said.

He couldn't help the snicker.

"If all goes well tonight, you will have the sloop to yourself, too."

"Oh?"

"I plan to keep busy both today and tonight. There are quite a few ships here, aye? Meaning there are lots of people here. Surely I will find something that catches my interest."

"All right. I guess. I don't—"

"Don't worry about it, hmm?"

They walked in silence across the bridge while he considered her words. She wasn't the most clear with her words, but Z decided that was fine if they were getting some time to themselves. She always slept on the canvas, though, so where…

Huh.

He stopped to consider that thought. In this context, time apart meant time with other people. He decided that was a good idea — maybe she would be less of a hard ass for a while if someone gave her some attention. He stayed where he was, just past the bridge, and watched as Blue disappeared around the corner of the tavern. A moment later and he started in the same direction.

Just outside the tavern door were the pirates he had spotted from below, a pair of ladies with tankards in hand. They sat around a small campfire, the pan of which held half a chicken. The one with neutral green and blue clothing sat on a stool while the other of a drabby short blue dress sat in the grass beside a grog keg. They looked like they could have been sisters but not quite.

"Hey, come sit with us! Your crewmate didn't want nothin' t' do with us and we got all this drinkin' t' do!"

He paused at the sight of them, unable to help a grin. It struck him that they probably weren't the smartest of pirates, drinking themselves silly when there were other crews around. He was hungry, though, and finding some decent company right off the rip was nice.

"Ah, yeah, my soon-t'-be-sister-in-law's kind'a — well, yeah," he said as he sat himself on the empty stool.

"Ooh, your sister-in-law?" the other asked.

"Soon-to-be," the first one reiterated to her… friend?

Z chuckled. "We're gettin' 'cross the Sea of Thieves back t' family's all," he explained, seeing in their faces that they totally bought the idea. They were probably too drunk to think very hard. "Anyways, we got caught in that storm. You guys, too?"

They both nodded.

"Any idea 'bout the others here?"

"Them, too. Carlene, by the way," the first one said as she extended a hand to him.

"My friends call me Z," he responded. When he looked over at the one sat in the grass, she lurched upright.

"An' I'm Shanna!"

"Pleased t' meet ya."

While he noticed the twinges of curiosity, neither of them made a comment about his name and that made continuing the conversation with them all the easier. He spent a time with them, sharing their meal and learning that every single one of the crew had taken shelter from the storm here at Ancient Spire. Apparently no one had caused any trouble.

Z wondered if they would be the ones to change that.

When his stomach bothered him again, they only let him leave if he promised to come back with food for them, too. They were good enough company and they were getting a kick out of his stories of glory and stealth so he didn't mind such a demand. Shanna had promised to tell a story of her own, too, but he was doubting that she would stay sober enough long enough for that.

The first half of the day was spent with that pair of pirates before the drinking got to them. Z had paced himself so much better than they did. Shanna had struggled to stay alert throughout much of the later afternoon conversations and eventually could struggle no more. Her shipmate decided it was in both of their interests to get some rest aboard their sloop. He let them go and moved across the island.

The twin peaks of Ancient Spire Outpost were close in height, but unlike the one that housed the tavern, the secondary peak had a rocky top. As much as he didn't care for climbing, Z did just that and sat on the highest rock, taking in the view. That was worth it.

To the west-by-northwest was the rock cluster that had been a blessing and a curse to many a pirate, but unless they were using those structures to hide, there were no ships to be spotted anywhere on the horizon. Just as expected, the storm had brought all nearby crews together for the moment, sans the one galleon.

Satisfied that there would be no unexpected company, Z spent some time sitting there, soaking in the sun when it peeked through the clouds. No one bothered him and he was glad to be able to sober up in peace. He did note an occasional rowdiness from the tavern, but none of it sounded like something to be concerned over.

When the sun was low in the sky and he realised that had happened because he had dozed off, dinner struck him as a good idea. He wasn't as stingy about eating regularly like Blue was, but getting a nice meal from a good kitchen was irresistible.

The tavern wasn't crowded crowded, but there were still more people in it than he preferred, and yet, there somehow wasn't enough. He didn't see the sloop ladies and thus assumed that they were still aboard their ship, but that meant there still could have been a dozen bodies here in total. Blue and at least three others were missing and he wasn't sure of what to make of that when it seemed certain that a trio was the brigantine crew, what with the way they sat and drank together.

It wasn't his business, he decided.

While he stood at the counter and waited for his dinner plate, a short pirate with impossibly wide shoulders approached him. The way he carried himself, Z didn't get the feeling that the man was looking for a pleasant talk.

"You that Blue's crewmate?"

He quirked an eyebrow at the question. "Uh huh."

"Well, then I got a bone t' pick with you."

Normally, Z wasn't against a tavern brawl — a classic, really — but right now he just wanted to eat. That, and… "Why's that?"

"My boy over there" — he gestured to another who looked much younger and in fact like he could have been the man's child — "can't find his purse. He had it this mornin' before you and your girl showed up."

Yep, they had disrupted the peace.

"What's that got t' do with me? If y' think she stole it, go bother her 'bout it."

Now there was a fist gripping his shirt. It was almost comical in a way how the other man had to pull him down to manage a threat. Still, Z wasn't especially interested in this situation and heads were starting to turn in their direction.

"Look, y' got about three seconds t' let go'a me before I make you."

"Oh, yeah? What're you gonna do?"

He silently counted the seconds and when time was up, Z brought his off-hand up in a quick swing, knocking the other back and down with a satisfying crunch. His forearm had connected with the other's jaw and that hadn't been optimal, but it had sufficed. By the time the man whipped back around in a fury, Z's blunderbuss was in his hands and readied.

"I ain't about this. I jus' want somethin' t' eat. Like I said, you got a problem with my crewmate, you go bother her yerself."

The man looked up between him and his gun before scowling, shaking his head and shifting away from Z. "Ah, you ain't worth the trouble."

No, no he was not. Z knew this very well.

As gold had already been exchanged between him and the barkeep, a plate of food exchanged hands without a word and he took it outside to the campfire, sat partially facing the tavern door to make sure no more trouble ambled up to him. He also considered what he was going to say to Blue when he found her later, a curiosity burning in his belly.

He took a moment to rest and consider things further after he was done eating before returning to the docks. Aboard the other sloop, Carlene had fallen asleep on the quarter-deck and he spotted Shanna curled up behind the map table. When he investigated the Forlorn Phoenix, he found her empty and that left him more curious. She had said she planned to spend the day and night in the company of others, but he had some choice words for Blue right now.

Deciding he needed something else to do, Z returned to the tavern. Who knew? Maybe he had missed her in a corner. He got a few looks when he strode in but no one openly argued his presence. In fact, the brigantine crew called him over. Weatherly was the woman's name and her two male companions were Dominik and Nyack. They had been impressed with the near-fight earlier as his adversary had been acting as something of a bully towards everyone. Apparently, this made Z worth drinking with. He didn't mind, not when the gold that procured drink wasn't his. They proved to be decent company, too, appreciating his stealthier stories and coming back with their own.

When the sun had long since dipped below the horizon, the brig crew could no longer stand to be awake. That sounded like a good idea and so Z was happy to part ways with them, heading back down to the docks while they sobered up some before making the trek. The women of the other sloop evaded his eye as he passed their ship. He found no evidence of his own sloop having been messed with before boarding it and that was all he cared about.

Somewhat alarmingly, though, he found Blue sat in the middle of the bed with her back against the wall, one leg stretched out so her bare foot hung off the edge. She was already dressed in her nighttime outfit and that raised some questions, though none he cared enough about to ask. They looked at each other for a long moment before he decided that he really didn't care what was going on now, nor about the trouble she had caused for him earlier.

"I thought you slept on the canvas?" he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"I do."

"Then move, I'm tired."

When she only continued to stare at him, seeming slightly bewildered, he pushed her leg aside before laying down and getting comfortable. She made some sort of undignified noise that he ignored, even when she readjusted her leg to stretch it over his.

"Long day, I take it?" he asked with some amusement.

When she looked away and damn near growled, he paused. He'd just gotten an arm under his head and he gave her a look, curious now. He wasn't quite sure what expression that was he saw on her face. In fact, when he studied her posture some more, he got the feeling that, yes, she was agitated, but not at him. More information was needed, but he hesitated so she spoke first.

"That's putting it mildly." She hardly ever put words together like that so that caught his attention. "Not that I think you would be interested in how my day has gone. I spent all day talking to those crews and all I got out of it was a single purse and a map."

He couldn't help a chuckle — so that pirate's kid had been pick-pocketed. "Y' can't seriously tell me nobody had any good stories for ya."

"Absolutely none. Oh, plenty of them wanted my ear for this or that, but I have heard them all before, the same tale with this or that little twist. They are all terrible storytellers. They're all the same, anyway: they work for the Gold Hoarders or they sometimes pick up bounties from the Order of Souls when they've grown bored of digging in the sand — it is nothing interesting. There were no grand stories of monsters slain, no run-ins with the pirates of legends — nothing. No trinkets of yore in that cabin, just more of the same. One had the gall to insist that some pirates distantly related to him had vanquished a Skeleton Lord recently."

Blue's focus rested upon him. Again, he couldn't quite figure out what that expression was… Exhaustion? She was tired for sure, but there was something there that hadn't been satiated. One question remained, however.

"And the map?" he asked.

She looked away and… pouted? "That damned map!"

Z recoiled at her viciousness, then again when she kicked his leg with her other leg.

"He was so damned proud of it, too! Spent days and days with his crew doing this and that just for it. Idiots. And then he had the gall to fall asleep on me!"

Z would have wondered if she meant that literally, but his focus was the map. Days and days… this and that? "Wait, hold up." He sat up on his elbows and she flinched. It looked like there was something to be said that sat on the tip of her tongue but his was far more important. "This and that — do y' mean like, stuff for the Gold Hoarders and the other Companies? The Merchant Alliance and the Order?"

Blue still had that weird frustration upon her countenance, but thankfully she pushed through it and nodded. "Something like that."

"How many?"

"Wh—" She gave him an incredulous look. "I-I don't know, six? Eight?"

Now he sat up. No way. His heart pounding, Z's hand were on her upper arms. "Was it eight?"

The intensity with which she stared back at him mirrored his own. Knowing her the way he did, he expected her to fight him on this and by whatever gods there might have been, he was going to thrash her if she did. His gut told him that the look on her face was about something else, but…

"Two digs, two riddles, two cargo runs, two bounties? Eight total? Is that right?" he asked.

"That… rings a bell, yes. Yes, eight sounds correct." She looked away again, making a face. "But the map they got after was for only one item."

"Holy shit, really?"

She recoiled, looking at him in shock. Her voice had been unsteady, but now he realised that he was probably to blame for that and was probably hurting her, too.

"Sorry, but—" They exchanged glances when he released her and he got the feeling that he had done neither. "All right," Z said in a stern tone, taking a deep breath. "They did eight voyages an' then had another map pop int' their pockets after?"

She nodded.

"A map with jus' one X?"

Reaching into her jacket, she produced a folded paper and handed it to him. His heart skipped a beat when he opened it.

"Cinder Islet."

"Mhmm," Blue responded with a bored tone. "He said they had been in the Devil's Roar and crossed the channel so they could rest somewhere nice before finishing their voyage. Another galleon was already at Devil's Ridge so they came here and got caught in the storm."

"The Roar." Z must have looked and sounded like an idiot for how simple he was being right now, but he couldn't believe their luck. "We gotta go."

"What?"

"Now."

"Right now?" she asked.

He slid a hand underneath her knee and swung his legs out from under hers. Less indignant than before, he ignored the squeak that got from her.

"They're gonna be pissed when they realise this is missin'. We gotta go, right now."

"Right— what?" Somehow Blue seemed more aggravated now than before.

"I'll get us goin'; you get dressed."

She made some more noises as though she wanted to argue but couldn't find the words. Ignoring her, Z made his way to the helm to get them started for the Devil's Roar.