Riley Siofra Davar stumbled down the stairs, barely keeping his balance before he caught himself on the balustrade. He wasn’t the only one stumbling around in a drunken stupor, or more accurately, with a hungover head. He made his way into a booth near the front windows and plopped his head down on the table.

Recovery was one of the most revolutionary techniques the Empire ever came up with, even if the effects weren’t great at the first level of mastery. But its potential, even if the technique wasn’t inlaid, was incredible. Knowledge of the workings of the human body greatly increased the technique’s potency, and it allowed the user to recover even from lost limbs and other grave injuries. Working through a hangover would have been simple.

If not for the fact that the Winespring Inn’s wine, which literally comes from a contained Chaos Spring, was notoriously hard to overcome with the technique. And when the suite came with a wine fountain, and his aunt was a notorious wine connoisseur, or really, a common drunkard was a closer description, Riley thought. Well, it meant being drunk nearly every night, and hungover painfully for half of the next day.

Today would be the last day of excess though, Riley mused. Probably. Well, the Arkship would leave this evening and they would need to be abroad then, on the way back to their home plane of Ulmira.

The last Season had been a blur. A luxurious and licentious blur. The bounty from the Mishala Clan had been paid in full and each of the Davars cleared more than six hundred thousand Sovies each. Far more money than Riley knew what to do with considering he’d been paid a few hundred Sovies a week while being a merchant marine.

He’d followed Aidan’s advice to shove half of the bounty in his account at the Imperial Bank and then spent the rest as he pleased. Well, he had new clothes, with fine runescript weaving for self-repair, cleaning, and temperature control, as well as protection. He had his trusty Plasma Caster upgraded with an imperial jade cartridge, which cost him nearly two dozen gold marks by itself. It allowed him to store Animus without it getting denatured, which effectively expanded his Animus reserves. Well, the cartridge only held a couple hundred lumens, but that was more than his available reserve, effectively doubling his combat endurance.

He would have brought more imperial jade, but as a Knight, he was limited in how much he could legally carry. The cartridge pushed the limit already, but since it was a single piece, he managed to get his license approved.

And, after his high-value purchases, he and the others mostly spent the time enjoying the hospitality of the Imperial Capital, which had cost a pretty penny. It had only been a couple of weeks ago that Captain Mitchel had written to all of the officers and marines that the Ebon Horizon would be abandoned as salvage and a new ship would have to be commissioned. Unfortunately, the good captain didn’t have the grace or connections to bump herself up the shipbuilding queue. So, that meant all of them were let go of their current contract and free to sign up on other ships.

Well, the three of them decided to head back home to Ulmira and relax for a while. He missed his childhood sweetheart too, but since he and Noanne hadn’t made things clear, he wasn’t sure what he’d return to.

And somehow he managed to spend two hundred thousand Sovies during his stay. He didn’t even know how he managed it, but gold just slipped through his fingers. Haah.

Well, Aunt Layla and Aidan went just as wild with their sudden wealth. His brother probably engaged in debauchery since he’d been frequenting the Camellia Quadrant, and specifically, the Azure Manor. Riley thought to visit himself but none of the girls attracted him quite the same way, especially if he compared them to his cousin, Yuriko.

Alright, he still had an unhealthy infatuation. But he couldn’t help it. And once Aunt Layla revealed that Yuriko wanted to see them before they left, he had his heart knotted in anxiety.

Oh, it was too early for a drink. What time was it anyway? He focused on his Anima, judging his innate time sense. He glanced out the window and looked at the shadows since the drink had blurred his senses up, but the visual cues were enough to allow him to synchronize. It was an hour before noon.

“How may I help you today?” the server asked when she came up to Riley’s booth.

“Breakfast…er, lunch now, I guess. Just grab me a platter.”

“Would you like the house remedy too?” The woman asked, a twinkle of mirth behind her eyes while Riley glared up at her.

“...yes.”

She bowed, spun on her heels and left for the kitchen.

“Oh, Riley. There you are,” Aidan slurred as he stumbled across the table from him. He was probably nursing a hangover head too, and from the flowery scent wafting from his clothes, he had company last night.

“Had fun?”

Aidan rolled his eyes then nodded. “Unlike you, I’ve no one to wait for me back home.”

“Sure,” Riley shrugged. “Where’s Aunt Layla?”

“Dead drunk in her room.”

“Oh. Er, Yuri’s coming here today, right? Why’s she not up?”

“She should be down in an hour for lunch. Speaking of, I’m starving.”

Aidan hailed a server and ordered a lunch platter. Then, the two brothers settled into a comfortable silence for the next few minutes. The same server came up to them with two platters of cold cuts and bread.

Riley happily dug into his food while Aidan ate with a bit more restraint. The salty food, and the remedy, a small vial that tasted even worse than bile, soon reduced the headache from thunderous pounding to quiet knocking.

It was to this that Aunt Layla clomped down the stairs and plopped herself next to Aidan. The black bags under her eyes went halfway down her cheeks, which were somewhat sunken. Her lips were chapping too.

“You look like the walking dead,” Riley snickered.

A pained moan answered, followed by a swift punch that missed, resulting in the smaller woman plopping her head on the table, where she mumbled incoherently.

“Another platter and remedy please,” Aidan called out.

The Winespring Inn’s common room slowly filled up with the lunch hour rush, and soon enough, there were no empty tables left. The foot wasn’t spectacular, but the wine pairings made everything so much more delectable. After about half an hour, Aunt Layla looked human again and Riley had a second serving.

A sudden hush, then a quiet susurration followed. Riley glanced over to the main doors and of course, it was his cousin, Yuriko, who entered. He almost didn’t see the other woman following a step behind her.

Huh. Yuriko had grown into a young woman. It was his first and immediate thought. What else could it have been? She was now of the average height for a Davar woman, which was still above average for others. In fact, she was taller than the woman behind her by at least six inches. Aunt Layla was actually the runt of her generation and was merely at the average height of an Imperial citizen.

Yuriko was clad in a form-fitting coat that somehow emphasised her figure. It was still modest, but unmistakable now. Her grey clothing only made the paleness of her skin and the gold of her hair stand out more. Those icy blue eyes raked across the common room until they settled on their table. Belatedly, he raised a hand to wave at her.

When that cold, expressionless face broke into a smile, there was another susurration of awe, which she handedly ignored as she made her way gracefully to them. The gazes of everyone seated at their tables were riveted to the sway of her hips. It certainly didn’t help that her breeches looked tight.

“Aunt Layla! Riley, Aidan!” she gushed when she came close. She gave each of them a hug, and Riley felt his heartbeat quicken. The woman behind Yuriko smirked and he felt his cheeks heat up. “Oh, this is Ryoko, my attendant. These are my cousins, Riley, Aidan, and Aunt Layla.”

“Don’t call me aunt!” Layla growled, but she winced as soon as she did so. Still hungover.

“You’re a Mishala as well?” Aidan asked Ryoko.

Riley supposed that she was, with how uncommonly pretty Ryoko looked. Her auburn hair had that casual, wind-tossed look, and her complexion was pale with a smattering of cute freckles. She was probably near Aidan’s age.

After Layla and Riley shuffled around to give the other two room to sit, and after they ordered lunch off the server, Riley asked, “So, what brings you here? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you again, but I would have thought the Mishala Clan would have been more…er, protective.”

“I’m running away.” Yuriko shrugged as she tucked into her food.

“Eh?” All three of them gasped.

“Running away?” Layla said cautiously. “Am I to assume that they’ll be coming after you?”

“Probably not,” Yuriko said grudgingly. “I got permission from the Matriarch.”

“Then that isn’t running away now, isn’t it?” Riley pointed out.

“Hmph.”

“What the young mistress is saying,” Ryoko said, her voice held restrained amusement, “is that she’s running away from her fiancé.”

Riley stared at his cousin, who ate as though she was starving, then glanced at Aidan and Aunt Layla, whose gazes both held confusion.

“Running away from your fiancé?” Aidan repeated. “Why?”

“Because I don’t know him and clan rules say I can’t turn this one down. So I’m leaving.” Yuriko grunted. “Oh, but I’m trying to return to Rumiga for an entirely different reason.”

“I see. And that is?”

“A, er, a premonition.” Her cheeks flushed at the admission and even her attendant gave her a sidelong glance. Yuriko’s shoulders hunched down and she glanced at them reproachfully, “I’m serious.”

“Do you have a habit of following your premonitions?” Layla asked in a sour tone.

“Hmmm, I guess. I don’t have them often, but, well, this one was just…” Yuriko trailed off then shuddered. “Anyway, since I’m leaving anyway, I want to go see my brothers and friends. And since they’re all in Rumiga, and with the premonition, well…”

“Huh. I see.” Layla stroked her chin while Riley stared at both women. He honestly didn’t mind spending more time with his beautiful cousin, and from the way Aidan stared at Ryoko, he looked like he wanted to get to know her better, too.

“Well, we’re leaving tonight on the Lonely Bastion, heading to Ulmira. You’re welcome to come aboard with us,” Riley said. “Ah, it’s too late to rent a cabin, but we have three. Aidan can move in with mine and you and Ryoko can take the third. Just pay for your tickets, huh?”

Yuriko’s smile brightened up the room and he couldn’t help but return it. “Thank you, Riley.”

“No problem. Well, why don’t you tell us more about this engagement of yours?” He snorted, “Maybe we should rough the guy up, eh? Make him back off?”

“I wish it were that simple,” Yuriko grumbled. “There’s really nothing more to it than that. Oh, and Mum told me I could try to escape it if I want to. It’s how she ended up marrying my Da instead of the one arranged for her.”

“Oh, so you have to find yourself a husband and have kids? Anyone in mind?” Riley teased.

He didn’t quite expect her to turn completely red while spluttering a negative, which somewhat led him to believe that there was someone she had in mind. Or, she was just finally starting to notice the opposite sex. She’d been worryingly oblivious back in the Ebon Horizon.

They spend the afternoon at a private parlour of the Winespring. The three of them refrained from drinking more wine, but Yuriko tried to taste a vintage before Layla took it away from her. She pouted and sulked, but that just made her prettier. Ryoko, on the other hand, waited on her young mistress hand and foot.

Aidan chatted her up, and Ryoko responded politely. But she made it clear that she was there for Yuriko and nothing else. That evening, after a sumptuous dinner, they headed out to the Sunset Quay.

The Lonely Bastion was a lumbering cow of a ship. It was at least twenty storeys high, Three hundred fifty paces long, and about fifty paces wide. It wasn’t made of Venere Wood like the Ebon Horizon but had been carved from Garavundi Granite, which was tougher than Venere when it came to resisting the corrosive influence of the Chaos Sea.

They settled into their respective suites, which rented out for two hundred Sovies, or two silver crowns, a night. The voyage would take nearly a week, maybe more depending on the tides. Ah, the individual tickets were at five silver crowns each. Small change to how wealthy he was right now.

All five of them settled into a lounge that gave a view of the Chaos Channel, and within minutes, the Arkship pushed away from the docks and they set back out into the Chaos Sea.