The Crooked Coin, as Ash discovered the tavern to be named, was just as busy on the inside as it appeared to be. Pirates crowded into the building, and even where there was free space, their presence filled that spot. These men and women were loud. They laughed and jeered and jostled and shouted. Lewd jokes flew across the tavern. Good-natured jabs returned. Bodies moved closer together to share breath, sometimes even more than that. All the while, food and drink passed between hands.

Ash felt as if she'd stepped into a party, and instead of leaving coats at the door, it was all worries of propriety. If not for the overbearing scents and noises, it could have been fascinating to watch. As it was, she almost wanted to bury her face in Caspian's back and beg him to leave.

But they couldn't. They'd come here for information, and she could see exactly why this was the best place for that.

She scanned the many pirates around them, remembering her own part in this plan. Everything would become so much easier if she'd just spot a familiar face.

Something suddenly slammed into her. A body. That of a broad-shouldered pirate. It was an accident, one she could have avoided if she hadn't been trying to both look around and keep track of Caspian. He shook with laughter, drink coloring his cheeks. She stumbled away, both from the force of the hit and from surprise.

"Sorry 'bout that, lass." He grinned, and even through the cheer of the mood and the haze of the alcohol, there was a glint of danger as he took her in. No matter how much fun these people were having with each other, they were still feared by most of Somniox for a reason.

Ash's mind tried to flee, but she forced it in place and pried forth Caspian's advice. She kept her eyes even with the man's and smiled back. As she did, she imagined that easy confidence she'd seen from Odella so often. Even if Ash couldn't hide all her fear, the glamour could. Hopefully.

"You look like you're having a good time. It seems I've found the right place to be." The words felt stiff, but Ash hoped that the maybe-glamour and her steady gaze would carry the performance.

Either it did or the man's inebriation saved her, because he laughed. "That you have. Cheers!" He raised his drink toward her, and some of it sloshed out.

She cringed when liquid splattered across her boots but didn't move until the man had made his way to his original destination, singing along with other men belting out a vulgar shanty.

"Well, that was fun to watch." Caspian stood in front of Ash now, grinning at the man's retreating back. "I'll admit, I was surprised I didn't have to step in. I guess it helps when the people here are drunk, though. That little act would have had you marked as a target for most other pirates."

"But that wouldn't have even happened if—" Ash cut herself off, remembering a little too late that she was wasting her breath. She needed a different tactic. "I'm supposed to be looking around for familiar faces. I can't do that if I'm also trying to watch for people getting between us."

Caspian's expression changed. The amusement shifted behind a mask of serious contemplation, and Ash had the strange sensation it wasn't only over her words. "Alright," he said, and she struggled not to startle at his tone of voice.

Nothing was wrong with it, but a mocking amusement no longer hung off every word. It almost sounded like he would talk to any of the others.

"I'll stick closer so that you can search around with more ease, but we're heading toward the bar. It will be far easier to observe the room from there, but you are free to do it on our way there. Just don't be too obvious."

He spoke quietly, his words little more than a whispered breath, and only now did she realize how close the tavern's limited space put them. She resisted the urge to step away.

"Understood," she said.

His lips curled, and he almost looked like he was going to laugh. Before she could understand why he'd had yet another shift in expression, he spun on his heel and proceeded forward.

Like he said, he kept his gait shorter, allowing her to keep close while looking around. Also like he said, searching the room while in the throng of it wasn't easy. Too many factors played against her. Backs turned to her, the greater height of the majority-male pirates, both her and the pirates' constant movements.

Surely, though, if she caught sight of the fox-like pirate or Dalmat, even if just their profile, she'd recognize them, right?

"Watch your step," Caspian warned when they arrived at the bar.

"Wha—" Ash's foot collided with a step. She fell forward. Her hands flew out. The edge of the bar bit into her palm, and her knee bashed into one of the stools. She bit her lips against a string of curses.

And Caspian, the rat that he was, laughed. "I told you to watch your step." He tapped the toe of his boot on the floor. The bar sat atop a six-inch high platform.

"I recommend more than a one-second warning in the future," Ash muttered. She joined Caspian at the bar. Whereas he leaned against it, she took a seat and found a comfortable way to rest her throbbing leg. She refused to acknowledge the pain in any other way.

She couldn't show weakness here. Already she risked drawing enough uncomfortable attention from her fumble, but given how freely Caspian usually gave out critiques, she hoped it wasn't too terrible.

"Ay, barkeep!" Caspian waved down the pale man running around behind the counter. "Can we get a few drinks over here?" His amber eyes gleamed as he glanced around them. "Let's go with five to start."

"Five?" Ash nearly choked. "I don't think drowning yourself and your senses is going to help us."

He tapped the center of his forehead. "Let me do my part, and you do yours, Cinders. Get to looking around. Ah, one moment." The barkeep reappeared, their orders frothing over mugs, and after passing over the necessary numias, Caspian slid one drink to her. "At most, sip at it. But no matter what, look like you're drinking it, got it?"

Ash eyed the four remaining drinks, but he'd known what he was doing with Jewel, so she faced forward as if to people watch and leaned back against the table. She sipped from the mug. The sweet alcohol burned its way through her as she glanced over the tavern room. She alternated between looking down at her drink, trying to sweep her focus over certain areas, and flicking her eyes over the entire room. Sometimes, she'd lean toward Caspian, as if he had her attention, but his attention was elsewhere the entire time.

He kept one drink for himself, but he passed the others to any pirate that would spare him attention. Some refused to associate with him. Most loosened up with the offering of ale. He chatted with each passing pirate before slipping in a few questions, each an attempt to wheedle out information about this supposed pirate hiring.

From what bits Ash gleaned from her eavesdropping, his endeavor wasn't very productive. It wasn't much better for Ash. She had yet to spot a familiar face.

Ash nearly jumped from her seat when Caspian's breath tickled her ear. He chuckled, summoning goosebumps along her skin as the exhalation brushed across it. "Calm down. I'm going to see if I can find more information by exploring the tables. You stay here where you're nice and safe, you got it?"

She eyed the sea of pirates in front of her and nodded. She had no desire to wade amongst them until she had to leave.

Caspian patted her shoulder. "That's a good handicap."

Ash glowered at his back as he vanished into the throng, but the expression smoothed out quickly. Given how little she'd accomplished by accompanying Caspian, she could almost believe that was all she was on this task. Lorica had only sent her on the chance that she may recognize someone. Ash tried to console herself with that, but the unrest continued to press down on her.

Why not return to the Haven if she wasn't helping?

She tried to shake herself. What was going on with her lately? She couldn't remember another time when she'd felt such an incessant need to be part of the action. When she'd followed Roan, it was a desire to see her sister restored and a belief that she had to act, not because she wanted to.

Now wasn't the time to dwell on the why, though. The mission hadn't ended. Taking another sip from her mug, she studied the crowd again.

Then she almost choked on her drink.

A man was staring at her.

Ash jerked her head away, and she immediately kicked herself. That was the quickest way to make herself look suspicious. They may have just happened to lock eyes at the right moment and her paranoia took it as catching someone staring.

But no, there had been too much scrutiny in his eyes, as if he was seeing someone he thought he knew.

And what pirates would know her except the ones from the ship?

Greatest Terrors, she needed a better look at his face. She hadn't seen many pirates aboard the ship, and the few that fed her hadn't been particularly remarkable. If he was one of them, would she even know?

She cursed Caspian. Of course, this would happen while he was away.

Keeping her face half obscured by her drink, Ash risked a glance back in the man's direction. He wasn't at his table, but she located him quickly. His broad frame pushed through the crowd of people on a clear path.

The bar.

She needed to find Caspian. If this was one of the men Roan hired, she couldn't face him alone. Struggling to appear calm, she placed the mug on the counter and searched for his dark blond hair amidst the others.

There, closer to the back wall, he chatted with a couple of burlier men, an easy smile on his face. He didn't even spare a glance in her direction. Adrenaline spurred her heart into a gallop as she stepped off the bar's platform.

Twenty feet. That was all that separated her from the Nightwrath pirate. Well, along with so many moving bodies that they almost worked as a barrier. Locking her jaw, Ash shoved her way forward.

She slipped around people as they switched tables, ducked out of the way when they threw themselves back in laughter, and apologized when she failed to do either. Bit by bit, she found herself herded closer and closer to the wall, which put more distance between her and Caspian even as she closed it. She'd have to start elbowing her way through people, no matter how much it upset them, especially now that she had an almost straight path to him—

A shadow fell over her a moment before a gruff voice asked, "It really is you, isn't it?"

Ash flinched backward, and her back slammed against wood. The wall. She'd been moved to the side more than she realized. The suspicious man stood before her, dark green eyes scrutinizing her. Dark hair and a well-trimmed beard covered most of his face, but up close, she could see a burn scarring the muscle of his neck and vanishing beneath the collar of his shirt. Had she seen such a scar before?

She tried to summon a smile even if she was aware it had to be too late to act natural. "Excuse me?"

The man narrowed his eyes. "It's you, I know it. I saw you at Vanshell while on a job. They declared you the 'Dreamwoven.'"

Ash tried to keep her expression unreactive or confused, even attempted to manipulate her glamour into that, but she must have failed, because the man's lips curled. He didn't recognize Ash; he'd approached her because he recognized Odella.

Metal gleamed, and a dagger rested against the wall next to her face. "Tell me, what could the gods' great Dreamwoven be doing here?"

"You're mistaken," she said, but her voice refused to come out evenly. She had been mentally preparing for something Roan related, not this, and even if she didn't have to lie, she was too shaken to appear honest. "I'm not whoever you think I am."

"Is that so?" The dagger drew closer, and though the man's tone was light, there was an underlying threat in his words. "So, if I were to lower the collar of your shirt, I would find nothing?"

She pressed flat against the wall, and her fingers brushed the sheath of her own dagger. The beat of her pulse and rasp of her breath overpowered the other noises in the tavern. Terrors, Terrors, Terrors. Even if she dropped the glamour, she looked close enough to Odella. Could she shift the magic quickly enough, cover the mark? Would he notice the magic at work?

"You're not..." She licked her lips before forcing the words through her drying mouth. "You're not allowed to attack while on this island. It's part of the code."

The man's brows shot up, but then they furrowed, tossing dark shadows over his eyes. "Someone told you about our code here? Has Wolfbane grown so desperate for magic that he's thrown his lot in with the gods? That who he sold his crew out to?"

Wolfbane? Crew? Even beneath the dread pooling deep in her gut, a spark of excitement sparked. Was this the information they'd been looking for? But light danced off the man's dagger, reminding her she had no time to celebrate.

"Code doesn't matter for you though, darling. This is our sanctuary from a world that sees us too far below it, and I'm sure Landdweller will forgive me when I drag you into his office."

"No." Ash stepped away from the dagger, making to grab for the hilt of her own. Before she could, the man snatched her arm and yanked her as if she were a ragdoll. She stumbled forward with a shout. Her three days of training had mostly focused on swordplay, but she could still fall back on some of what her father tried to teach her. She struck out at the man's shin with a kick.

All she achieved was nearly tripping herself. Her angle had been all wrong, and she hit the side of his leg instead. He grunted and continued to drag her toward the back, where she spotted a staircase leading to another floor—

"Excuse me, but that's my responsibility you're dragging off there."

The man stopped, and Ash took the opportunity to find her balance. Caspian stood in front of them, one hand resting against his sword. The smile he gave the man didn't quite reach his eyes.

The man recoiled, staring down his nose as if dung had appeared in their way instead. "Oh, your lot is back in town." He glanced between Ash and Caspian, and then the angry set returned to his jaw. "Ah, I see now. I was a fool in my assumptions before. Of course, it would be your captain who'd bring this girl here. Landdweller shouldn't keep tolerating that dishonorable wench here, or any of you—"

Caspian wasn't subtle in his approach. The moment the man brought up Lorica, Caspian moved, and the man even went to block Caspian's swing.

It didn't matter. The punch broke right through the block and crashed into the man's jaw. Caspian grabbed Ash's arm and kept her steady as the man collapsed to the ground, both hands cradling his face.

Caspian smiled down at him. "If you insult Captain Lorica in front of me again, I don't care about the code. In fact, I'll shove it down your throat. You understand?"

The man responded in spat out curses.

"For your sake, I'll take that as a yes," Caspian said. "Now, Cinders, we should probably get out of here. It's unfortunate that we didn't get what we came for, but I think we've worn out our welcome."

Sure enough, the tavern around them had gone deathly quiet, and almost every eye had turned on them. Apparently, a single punch wasn't enough to stir anyone into action, but they seemed ready to move at a moment's notice.

Still, Ash gulped and took a moment to lean toward him. "Actually, I think our friend here did reveal what we wanted."

Caspian raised a brow. "Oh?"

She nodded. "He said something about this pirate hiring out his crew. Wolfbane, I believe his name was."

Caspian's smile vanished, as did the color in his face. All except in his eyes, which glowed as they focused on her with unsettling intensity.

"Did you say Wolfbane?"

Ash wanted to lie, something about the answer feeling too weighted, as if the name had charged the very air. She glanced around, but others didn't seem to notice. A few of them were beginning to return to their own activities.

And the man was slowly sitting up.

"Caspian, we need to go."

He hadn't released her from before, and his grip tightened, almost drawing out a wince. "Did you say Wolfbane?" he repeated, this time in a near whisper.

Swallowing, she nodded.

His hand dropped to his side, and he closed his eyes, blocking off their magical glow.

Then everything began to shake.

*****

Oh, look at that.  We're to one of my favorite chapters!  I dunno.  Caspian just got to make a lot of fun snarky remarks here, and I had too much fun with it xD Looks like Odella's reputation is coming around to bite Ash in the butt, and info is coming at the cost of... random earthquake or something?  

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D Let me know if you want to join!