Perhaps, because he expected more from the place that carried a proud title of the ‘Pirate Hub’. Instead, he got a mix of buildings, a salad of scruffy looking people, sprinkled with a borderline civilized settlement, and a pretty much normal student party one would throw on a weekend after yearly exams. None of that stood out as ’piraty’ enough - the worldwide love for shooting sticks and stabby instruments notwithstanding. Evalyn shone as the only exception, and her light was as hollow as he would anticipate the place itself to be.

So in the end, he almost got what he wanted all along.

Joseph sneered at himself. Good going, adventurer. Go and cry to Alchfrid now. Exactly like you did last night.

The heavy feeling swelled within. It grew and morphed, preying on his thoughts and painting his vision red. The town didn’t wear the grey mask anymore, but one that leaked crimson liquid down its alleyways, as dark and twisted as the Threshold itself. His fear of Evalyn took a step back, letting the savage curiosity take the stage.

He picked up the pace.

He would see his adventure through. Regardless of the hidden danger that was waiting at any corner in this crapsaccharine world, after the Threshold pampered him for all five days, the least he could do is to make the promise to himself.

Reach his home. Cross the Threshold. If possible, find out what happened with Ekaterina, Nick, and Jack on the way.

But for now, another stop awaited him. The fishing shack at the edge of the settlement, outside the fortress and behind another gate, lived the rest of its days near the lake. The stains of mould on rotting wooden walls gnawed the structure as a rabid dog. The place was deserted for years, if not an eternity. Ralf didn’t miss one bit.

It was all the more jarring when they saw the open door with footsteps leading inside. Without saying a word, Ralf pulled out a pistol and dashed to the doorway.

“...Empty,” he snarled and lowered the gun.

Joseph walked into the shack. The small table and the chair looked like they were about to break apart from a single sneeze. The tarnished rug had never recovered its long withered colour and laid in a corner, tossed away by the unknown force.

A hatch on the floor rested open wide. No longer hidden by the rug, it spread the stench of dump wood and salt.

“You got any fire?” Ralf turned his head to Joe.

Joseph pulled out a lighter and released a stream of flame onto the piece of dry wood the cook held in his hands. Ralf jumped down into the dark.

“Nothing,” Joe heard his voice a minute after. “Emptier than a belly of a factory worker. I see marks on the floor, but no weapons. Whoever they were, they cleaned up after themselves at the end.”

“You think they found out that you visited them?”

The hole fell into silence.

“Might be. Doesn’t matter either way. I’m going up.”

Two hands rose from the darkness and grabbed the rotting ledge. Ralf pulled himself up shortly after.

“No reason to clown around this place,” he declared when they stepped outside. “Spending time awaits.”

“How did you even find it?”

They began walking back towards the gate, leading into Ghastly Wail.

“One girl whispered to me that she saw some dodgy-looking figures sniffing around this spot. She had no idea who it was. I agreed to do my duty and investigate!”

Joe shook his head at the sight of the twinkling armsmaster. However, Ralf’s enthusiasm lasted only until they crossed the entryway into the settlement. Then it shifted into concern.

“I haven’t seen them. Not before, not after I left. They did not expect anyone to find the place, I’m sure. Or didn’t care enough to hide it better.”

“With a stash full of rare weapons?”

Ralf’s face went through the entire magazine of expressions.

“...It is… weird. It may be Mad Festival screwing with the flow of Ghastly Wail… No, that’s some superstitious horseshit I’m blubbering.”

The cook shut his eyes.

“No point in guessing and thrashing around, growling at every single shadow that twitched the wrong way. Lest your own head will drive you to madness before the true danger bites your arse. Keep your eyes peeled, keep your hand close to the belt, and keep your focus straight. We’ll see it through.”

Ralf turned at the nearest corner. Joseph followed him a moment after. In a couple of metres away a stone building stood, jammed between its two duplicates. It had no porch, but a single iron door, with decorations of wood, bones, or dry flowers hanging on the outside, giving the building a unique face amongst the similitude of its surroundings. Joseph looked at the decorations, only to see the shapes of amulets and beads woven from the seemingly unrelated pieces on the wall. The window on the side had no light coming from it, and not without reason - grey sheets hanged behind the glass, shut tight together.

Ralf knocked on the door. It clicked and moved, exposing a thin gap. The cook grabbed the handle and marched in, with Joseph coming right after.

The warm atmosphere met them inside the stranger building. A cheerful fireplace sang with a soft crackling, in tune with the humming of a man with tanned skin, who donned a fur jacket on top of a dark blue robe…

In the middle of the summer. In the heated enclosed space.

Joseph stared at the person behind the counter. In addition to his atrocious clothing choice, he wore a pendant with a purple gem. Judging by the presented choice of wares on the walls and the counter, the man possessed the ability to make it himself.

“Hey, Zaid! Got anything fun?”

“Depends on your definition of fun, Ralf.” The young black-haired, tanned merchant answered in a voice that was as kingly and uplifted as Joe would imagine the Emperor’s voice would be, but pleasantly soft at the same time. “I can turn you into a pig if you so desire.”

Ralf waved his hands in front of him.

“No, thank you! I wanted to pick something for the k- Sorry, my new crewmate.”

Zaid glanced at Joe.

“The man looks crumpled, like he hasn’t slept in weeks. Were you torturing him perchance?”

There was a certain accent in his way of speaking. The man had a noticeable preference for hard consonants, and he pronounced ‘crumpled’ closer to ‘crumbled’. Which would not be entirely wrong, Joseph mumbled to himself.

“What? You really think of me like that?!” he heard Ralf shouting.

Zaid shrugged, picked up a wooden ring with an inserted amber and inspected it.

“I’ve heard rumours. They told me a very tasty story. They told me that your quartermaster is chasing innocent girls, growling like a war dog, together with your captain rooting himself into the ship and becoming whole with it. What do you want me to think?”

“...They really say that?”

Joseph puffed his cheeks, desperately holding back the laugh. Zaid kept the serious armour on his face, although his eyes squinted a little.

“But enough of the empty meandering. What exactly do you need?”

“I need more than just some charms, Zaid,” Ralf began to curl his fingers. “First, I would like to know if anyone among the gunpowder crowd selling the hottest Sumeilien weapons. Second, we ran into a bunch of freaks in black all over the place, and they don’t look too friendly. I need your opinion on that. And third, we came here for the protection against mental sabotage. How’s that?”

“That’ll cost you double,” Zaid looked over the shelf to his left. “Where did you get this idea from? Why would I know what weapons the others sell?”

Ralf dropped both of his hands on the counter and stared right into Zaid’s face.

“Because I am aware of your weird obsession with learning the news before everyone else gets an opportunity to. One time, before we even got the confirmation that the replacement details for the thrusters would not arrive until January, you were the one to tell Xander exactly that, two days in advance. Another time, you predicted that Hans would bring the navy to Ghastly Wail on his tail, even before we learned that he stole from the military.”

Zaid crossed his arms on the chest. But before he could say a single letter, a loud clanking sound, accompanied by the loud ‘Oi!’ startled all three of them.

It came from behind the wall that separated the main store and the rest of the building. Ralf raised his eyebrows, to which the tanned merchant answered with a lazy shrug.

“Got an assistant after my last visit to the Capital. But, in regards to your requests… I wish you would have forgotten what I said.”

Ralf spread his arms.

“Too suspicious, Zaid. Too suspicious to forget. So, what do you have for me?”

“Nothing,” the man grimaced. “I’ve seen glances here and there, nothing outstanding. The flame-breathing weapon caught my eye, but they disappeared like snow during summer the very same day. There were only a couple of them for sale.”

“No heavy stuff? Like, weapons that are so big, you need two hands just to hold them in place, let alone use? Long too, with fouder red crystals on the front?”

“None of that. I saw what I saw - the flame-spreading machine, and that was it. If you have something to share with me, I have ears. Otherwise, buy what you need and move on.”

“Not a very friendly customer service, huh?” Joseph muttered, hiding the words under his breath.

Zaid’s ears twitched. Ralf snickered.

“You are taking my valuable time away.”

“There are no customers but us, mate!” Ralf gave the merchant a friendly smile. Zaid wasn’t buying it.

“I might have had more if it wasn’t for your untimely visits. But, regarding the people in black… I don’t have much to say about them. Half of Ghastly Wail wears black and is armed to ravage. But…”

Zaid closed his eyes. His mouth drew a hard line.

“...I’ve heard that a couple of days ago, a group was seen near the headquarters. It happened very late into the night. Said group entered the building and then came out, seemingly without doing anything else. Daniel was very surprised when he heard about that. Just as surprised he was, when all the watchmen got a full, three days long break during this year’s Mad Festival.”

“Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

The tanned man made a sharp nod.

“That’s my story for you. You do whatever you want with it. Now, you asked for the protection from the Mind Magic, did you not?”

“That I did.”

Ralf pushed himself away from the counter and took a step back. The merchant approached the shelf he looked at earlier and crouched. The noises of him moving his merchandise around, periodically dropping words in a language that Joe had never heard before, danced through the store, accompanied by the enthusiastic crackling of the fireplace.

The process didn’t take too long. Zaid emerged from beneath the store counter and laid down two gems of a gentle blue colour. They nested in black metal frames, connected to leather straps.

Zaid glanced over them with a heavy gaze.

“These are my last ones. Use them wisely. Tie them around your wrist and keep an eye out on the strap.”

Ralf frowned.

“I don’t need one, Zaid. That was for Joseph only.”

The man turned his head to Joe. He felt like the inspecting gaze of the merchant grabbed him with the grey eyes and turned inside-out. Shivers wormed their way down his spine.

Zaid furrowed his brows. Then, he exploded.

“Wah?!”