Sailing from Ancient Spire Outpost to Cinder Islet was not the most difficult course they could have been challenged with. In fact, with the positioning of the island, they only had to skirt around the edge of The Devil's Roar, bypassing most volcanoes. The wind was fine — a little lacklustre — and the waves refrained from fighting the sloop's momentum very much. More speed would have been nice, but they made do without complaint. This trip was an easy one. The only difficulty they had was a shared anxiety over whether or not they would be spotted before they disappeared into the horizon. Thankfully, no galleon was spotted pursuing them.
Throughout their travel, Z emanated a calmness that he was anything but. Knowing what lie before them caused an excitement to flow through him that he couldn't afford to act upon, restraining himself and staying focused. Blue, on the other hand, was rather impatient with him. Whatever had upset her, she had yet to explain and he wasn't about to prompt her. No, he did not care what grievances she might have had so long as they did not get in their way. Her pacing about the deck was slightly annoying, but thankfully she stayed her tongue and focused.
At some point, she disappeared downstairs, probably for some sleep. That was also fine by him. It was surprising when she got herself up a short time later, but a welcome one.
The sun was past its highest point by the time they reached Cinder Islet. Blue studied the map while he got the sloop stopped, slightly resentful that she didn't help him and make the process go by faster, urgency still laced in his actions. He grabbed a pair of shovels from down low and murmured a simple, "C'mon," to his shipmate before he vaulted over the side of the ship, landing in the shallow water with an ungraceful splash. A moment later and he heard her following.
Since she had been the one to look it over, he asked, "Where we diggin'?"
Blue said nothing and instead came to his side, holding the map so he could view it himself. He passed a shovel off to her before he faced north to orientate himself and started towards the general area of the map's X in the centre of the island. After taking a few seemingly random steps back and forth, he stopped, lifted his shovel and plunged it into the sand. A satisfying THUNK resounded back at them.
The two of them looked at each other before beginning to dig. It was at this point that Blue broke the long-running silence.
"Is a single piece of treasure really worth all this work?"
Z wasn't sure what the hell he was supposed to say to that. No, he hadn't explained anything to her about what they were up to and he knew that she wouldn't know from the moment they had met. He barely quelled his knee-jerk reaction to yell and scold her.
"More than worth it," he said breathlessly, continuing to dig. Blue had paused to look at him and only continued to help after another moment of thought.
At first glance, the chest they dug up wasn't particularly eye-catching; it could even have been mistaken for a much lesser treasure. When they lifted it from the ground, exposing the emblem on the front and allowing its glow to gleam, he saw Blue realise that she had never seen anything quite like it except for once.
"This is like the chest you had when… when you ran into me, but red — it's ashen?"
"Yea, ashen," Z confirmed after staring at the chest in disbelief. What a way to steal one of these. He handed Blue his shovel before picking it up in his arms and heading back to the ship.
"You are also yet to explain the value of this chest," Blue said as she strode alongside him.
"I don't need t'," he said. She was visibly annoyed by that. "I'll let the gold do the talkin'." That seemed to placate her.
Once they were back aboard the Forlorn Phoenix, there came the problem of where to go next. Until the chest — which was now stashed below deck against the foot of the bed — was turned into the appropriate Company representative, it was as good as rocks to them. There would be no breaking that lock.
"We can't go back t' Ancient Spire," he had said in a plainly matter-of-fact tone when both of them came to stand at the map table.
"Morrow's Peak is not too far from here."
"Neither's the gally crew this belongs t'."
"That is also true." She lifted her head a moment as though to make sure there was still no said galleon bearing down on them. "Galleon's Grave is far to our north, but it is also technically the next closest outpost." She looked up again, peering in the general direction of Ancient Spire. "We are currently hidden by the… volcano? By the rocks between these islands. Galleon's Grave may be too obvious — we could go northwest for Dagger Tooth and use Kraken's Fall to hide ourselves—"
"That might be bein' a little too careful," Z interjected with some amusement. He liked her thinking, though. "Galleon's Grave ought'a be fine."
They could agree to that, though it took a moment of thought for Blue to nod to him. "And if we spot a galleon coming towards us from the south, we can revisit the idea. Among others, I am sure."
Z nodded. Something else seemed to cross Blue's mind.
"We are going to be taking turns sleeping while we make our way there, are we not?" She didn't sound excited about that.
"We need t' get there as fast as possible…"
"So yes."
"Yeah."
If conditions were good, they could make that trip in a day's time. However, the conditions were not good. Not only did the waves always fight those that moved in any direction from the west to north, but the wind was not to their back, coming at their side at an inopportune angle. This would take a while.
"Get some more rest. I'll get ya up when I'm tired'a fightin' the waves," he said.
She gave him an unimpressed look. "When did you last sleep?"
"Been a while but I ain't gonna be able t' sleep yet."
Blue clearly wanted to argue the matter but yielded. "Fine." She took the shovels with her as she went down to the lowest deck.
Blue slept for quite some time. It was only when they were directly east of Liar's Backbone that Z felt his own fatigue setting in. Thankfully, she got up on her own shortly after that, dressed and ready to take charge of the ship. They shared a fish and he explained that he had spotted nothing of interest while she rested. Z did, however, instruct her to wake him before they reached the outpost; she flashed him a curious, distrusting look before agreeing.
When Z was awoken, it felt as though hardly any time had passed. He'd had trouble getting to sleep so maybe that was, in fact, what had happened. He didn't dwell on it, instead hurrying to get out of bed, so eager that he nearly stood up before reattaching his pegleg. That seemed to amuse his shipmate quite a lot.
Once they were on the main-deck, Z took a good look around them. Blue had stopped the ship against one of the rocks that surrounded Galleon's Grave Outpost. That was too close for his liking, but when he looked around and realised there were still no ships around them, he understood why she had done that.
"You are awfully worried about this singular chest," she commented.
Their very original agreement had been one that revolved around practicality, of teaching by example — though they had since made a new agreement, Z had made the former a habit when interacting with other people; they learned better that way, he had come to realise.
"When we get paid y'll see why."
Blue looked at him but said nothing. He saw some amount of distrust in her expression, but she refrained from voicing it.
"No change from before I laid down?" he asked.
"I have sighted nothing," she said with a shake of her head.
"Hmm." Standing beside a cannon, he leaned over the railing of the main-deck. "An' I see no mer…"
They looked at each other for a moment.
"Well then, let's get to it," he said.
Blue looked exasperated but again she said nothing of the matter, turning to get the ship moving. If he hadn't known what awaited them, he might have expected her to strike him, but she didn't. A pick-pocket and budding hoarder of gold, he knew she would appreciate the payout. It seemed, he thought, that he had earned some amount of true trust from her. Then he decided that had been a ridiculous thought — their new agreement was based entirely around trust. Of course she trusted him.
"Careful as we come in," he said as they got closer to the dock. Blue gave him a look and he allowed himself a smirk. "Just in case."
"Just in case?"
Z nodded. His shipmate stayed quiet and focused on the task at hand.
The dock was quiet enough. The Senior Trader of the Merchant Alliance looked up from her list and gave them a polite wave; the shipwright was too busy with her work to notice them. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but there were still plenty of places where rogue pirates could have hidden themselves. Z would not be convinced until they had been paid.
Z helped tie the sail ropes and pull the ship close to the dock. It wasn't a perfect job, merely a sufficient one. He then made his way downstairs, retrieved the chest and motioned for Blue to go on ahead. It seemed to take her a second to figure out what he wanted and even then he wasn't convinced.
"Go on ahead," he clarified. Their first meeting flashed through his mind and as he watched her step onto the dock, he added: "Make sure the tavern's empty."
Blue paused mid-stride, looking back at him. Perhaps she, too, thought back to that moment. The origin of the uncertainty in her eyes eluded him. Whatever the case, she continued onward and he followed a comfortable distance behind, one that felt safe should the tavern not be.
They came up to the door and Z paused; Blue continued through the threshold. There was no eruption of gunshots, no fighting, no screaming — nothing. She returned after a few seconds, perfectly well and alive. He stepped forward, motioning with a nod for her to stay close, and he headed towards the back of the building where it was darkest. Her expression indiscernible, he wondered if Blue had ever noticed the man lurking in these shadows, ghostly green eyes giving away his presence to anyone with a keen eye.
The chest exchanged hands. Blue visibly considered this. Then they were each handed a hefty purse. She was taken aback — he had to nudge her with an elbow to get her to stop staring, to accept it, and follow him to a table.
"This worth all the runnin' around?"
One hand held the purse while the other rolled a coin around. Blue finally said, "This is… worthwhile. I have made large deliveries that did not pay this well, even when I picked up scraps along the way. This is…"
"Pretty damn good?"
"I see why you were so excited now. I understand why there was such a battle for the one at Plunder Outpost."
Z couldn't help a haughty grin.
"You do not need to look so smug about it."
He laughed. "Nah, it ain't that, it's just that this is my favourite part'a bringin' on someone new."
She tilted her head slightly. "I thought your favourite part was the fighting part."
Pausing, he considered her words. "That's good 'nd all, but it doesn't compare t' stealin' one'a those."
"What is one of those?"
"A Chest'a Legends." The expression she gave him made Z wonder. He asked, "Y'know, a Legend's treasure?"
"I am uncertain that I know what you mean."
"Pirate Legends?"
"Pirate Legends?" Blue repeated. "I have heard stories of pirates and their deeds that could be described as such—"
Z shook his head. "No, no, like, actual Pirate Legends. It's a… It's more than a title, it's a…"
"A status?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Pirate Legends're pirates who've made a name for themselves with all the Trading Companies and gotten the attention'a the Pirate Lord himself. Or, maybe, well — I'm not really sure."
"Pirate Lord?" There was a twinkling of… something… in her eyes. He got the feeling that the legend himself wasn't totally alien to her.
"Y've heard of him, right? The Pirate Lord! It's an honour t' be invited t' drink in his tavern and all that?"
"This sounds familiar, yes. And I have heard of the Legend title before, but I did not realise it was of significance or something specific."
"Very significant an' specific," he emphasised. "There's not too many of 'em so y' can imagine how hard it is t' find crews y' can steal from. Bein' in the right time and place and bein' able t' out-smart or out-fight 'em doesn't happen too often."
"I see," she said with great understanding.
"Y' can imagine, then, that stealin' their map like that might never happen again. That captain waggled his tongue too much to ya, eh?"
It was Blue's turn to wear a shit-eating grin. "Good drink and company tends to loosen the lips of men who have something to be proud of when they should practice silence."
Something about that statement was off-putting to him. Still, they both had a laugh.
"Besides, I have proven to myself again and again that a sleight-of-hand tends to provide the best result for me."
Z blinked. "Oh."
"Mm. I am no stranger to taking things off someone's person should I believe I can get away with it. It is quick, painless, and they are none-the-wiser until I have long since absconded with their money. Or in this case, their map. I normally would not have risked taking an item, but I am glad I did."
"Well, y're welcome. Really paid off, didn't it?"
She sighed at his credit-taking. "Yes, it did. I absolutely despise the work of the Gold Hoarders—" He shifted and she immediately corrected herself. "The work of digging anything up." When she saw he was happy with that, she continued: "A second shovel makes it less tedious."
She wasn't wrong about that. Digging up anything was a miserable experience, he thought, watching her examine her gloves, all ashy and dirty. Something that had been buried so deep so long ago, like a Chest of Legends, was particularly awful. No, having a partner was a very pleasant thing.
"We make a pretty good team."
Blue looked back up at him. He wondered if he should have said that.
"I suppose we do."
That brought him some amount of relief, but it was slightly disheartening that Blue didn't respond with even a fraction of the jovial edge he held. Then again, her agreeing was surprising enough… He considered the situation and then nodded once to himself. Yes, they made a good team, what with having managed sailing quite a distance in less than two days and earn themselves a tale-worthy steal. Speaking of all that time spent sailing…
"So, who's payin' for lunch?"
Blue rolled her eyes at him.
"There's nothin' 'round us," Z said.
After having a meal, the two of them had gone their separate ways for a while. Z had found himself at the very top of Galleon's Grave's shipwreck. It offered a substantial view of the Wilds and from there he had sighted nothing, no ships or wrecks or flotsam. They were quite alone out here.
As she so often was, Blue was sitting at the desk, filling the logbook with the past days' journey. That was an all right idea by Z — he wasn't too good with letters, but he appreciated their steal being documented.
"How much have you slept lately?" she inquired.
"Not much."
"I thought so. … and I understand why."
He laughed. "Yeah. So, I'm gonna get some sleep. You should, too; y' look like a wreck."
Blue gave him a side-eyed look at that. "I am tired, but I would prefer to wait and not ruin my sleeping schedule."
That didn't sound like a bad idea, but… "Y' sure?"
She pondered their statuses. "Yes. Go rest. I will wake you in two hours time and if I am still this fatigued I will have you do the same for me."
"Fine by me."
As soon as Z got to the bed, fatigue wracked his frame. He was far more tired than he had thought and lying down felt incredible. The first thought that crossed his mind when Blue woke him was that he was surprised she didn't chastise him for not removing his pegleg. Perhaps she didn't care if it was only for a short period of time. Besides, the prosthetic had bothered him none whatsoever in the past few weeks.
As much as he wanted to, he forced himself to sit up. Blue excused herself at that point and he quietly cursed how right she was about not ruining their sleep schedules. Just once, he wished that she would fall asleep at that desk she loved so much, but no, she was so specific about how she had to sleep.
Standing up, he made his way up the first set of stairs. She stood at the map table, pouring over it. Curious, he came to her side and she spared a momentary glance.
"Plottin' our next adventure?"
"Is there any reason not to? I am not terribly fond of this outpost and I imagine you are not, either." She ignored the uncertain noise he made and continued. "No, rather I find that I am eager to get a proper bath after digging in that ashy dirt." She shook her head. "I know that The Sunken Grove has a pool in its deep centre."
"It's not very warm here…"
"No, it is not, but the Grove is far closer than Hidden Spring Keep is."
He made an annoyed, whiny noise, but as always, Blue had a point.
They split up again until later when both of their stomachs bothered them enough that they needed to eat. Rather than go into the tavern, Blue fished up a fresh splashtail that they shared. They were tired enough — comfortable enough? — that they only spoke as much was necessary at the moment, but a thought had popped into Z's mind earlier in the day and he decided that it would never leave his mind so now was the time to voice it.
"Hey, y' know, anythin' y' ever need, y' can count on me for it."
Blue, mid-way through pulling a bone out of her half of the fish, paused to look at him. He suddenly got the feeling that he shouldn't have said that, her expression so thoughtful. Perhaps he had pushed some sort of boundary that he didn't know existed before — but they were friends, weren't they? Thankfully, she nodded a moment later.
"Understood. Thank you. I suppose that the same goes for me."
That mostly alleviated his concerns, but there was a lingering suspicion in the back of his mind that, somehow, they didn't understand each other.
Leisurely sailing after how exciting the past few days had been was a pleasant change of pace. Between the poor waves and the newly terrible wind, they didn't have much choice in taking their time. Neither of them felt like fighting the current the whole time so the ship was allowed to drift somewhat off-course a few times until one of them noticed and corrected their heading.
It was late into the evening when they arrived at The Sunken Grove, the sun touching the horizon. They ate before resting and in the morning, Blue insisted on bathing and doing some amount of laundry. Z was happy to let her go and do that. He waited until the warmest part of the day to get his turn in. As a pleasant surprise, Blue presented him with a hand-held mirror and a pair of scissors that she had bought while they were at Galleon's Grave. It seemed that he had also earned enough of her trust to be allowed to take her dagger with him so he could shave his beard. Though she insisted that she had already trimmed her hair, as far as he could tell, it was still a mess of wavy strands and curls that was best kept tied back. He trimmed his own hair appropriately so that it would lay flat when brushed back and not tickle his neck.
The second half of the day was spent doing nothing in particular. Z was happy to sit in the crow's nest, his legs dangling through the openings of the railing, his back against the mast. He kept a bored eye on the horizon — there was nothing noteworthy to spy, no ships, nothing. It was pure laziness that kept him up there for so long. He only came down for supper and then went back up until it was dark.
When he came down again, intent on sleeping, he was unfazed by Blue sitting on the bed just as she had a few nights ago. This time she held a half-finished tankard of grog in her hands. Without a second thought, he lifted her outstretched leg and laid down, ignoring her little screech and getting comfortable.
"You really do not need to be so rude."
"Eh, I'm tired and y're in the way." He shifted some, getting an arm behind his head and propping his head up slightly, expecting a conversation. He also thought better of leaving that as his only statement and quickly said, "Fine; what's botherin' ya?"
She looked momentarily surprised by his observation. "More of the same. That and—" She caught herself.
He rose a brow. "And?"
It was a long moment before Blue answered, "Your offer."
"My offer?" He hadn't really seen it like that, though he supposed he had phrased it poorly. It took him an embarrassingly long pause to process that. "What about it?"
"I have been considering it."
That put a small amount of dread in his belly. "Considering it how?"
"At first I wondered if there might be something that you wanted out of saying such a thing, if there was an underlying meaning to it. That seems unlikely to me; you are fairly straightforward with your words."
He was glad she knew that — they did understand each other. "So what's botherin' ya then?"
She was still for a moment and refused to look at him. "What did you mean by 'anything'?"
"Well…" Z thought on his words. "Well, anything. I can't think of anythin' y' couldn't rely on me for, y' know? We've been sailin' t'gether for a while now and I think we get on pretty good."
After taking a sip of her grog, Blue nodded. "That we do."
Apparently finished with her drink, she moved closer to him before reaching over to set it down on the stove beside the pan. He thought nothing of their proximity until she leaned further over him and brought a leg to his other side, straddling him.
They looked at each other for a moment before he questioned their understanding once more. He couldn't think at all once she kissed him.
