(map/details about Laestrithan is now available in the chapter titled 'Glossary of Maps: Laestrithan'. Updated information + map will be added as book progresses).

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Einar Yarrow's POV

I sat in complete darkness, not even the light of my desk lamp disturbing it. I was brooding over the map of Azodu that lay in front of me. I knew I wasn't willing to make any attempts there. Axe was a smart, or whoever was the captain of that retched ship now. Whether they knew about my temporary exile from Azodu or not, was irrelevant. With those A.I.M.D soldiers lurking about at every corner I knew I wouldn't get far. But I also knew they weren't smart enough to stay put there. 

"Laestrithan, hey?" I whispered to myself as I leaned back in my chair, the sound of waves crashing loudly below me. A storm was raging. Like a bad omen preparing us for the icy dimension. I flipped the map of the Laestrithan out from under the map of Azodu, placing it on top.

My finger brushed over the words 'Ossa Morsa', the country of my birth. Or so I was told. The paper scrunched slightly in my grip before I noticed, releasing it. That likely wasn't their destination. 

Did they even know their destination? They were being hasty. That made things easier for me. Although, I wondered why that had reason to be. Perhaps they were afraid I was on their tails. No, their captain, although green, is from Azodu. She'd know that was the safest place for them. Perhaps she's afraid that whatever it was that was suddenly giving her clues, wouldn't last forever. Or was it someone?

All that mattered was that it drove her to haste. Fah'stus had estimated they'd reach the docks before night. The corner of my lip twitched up. I would even call that recklessness. My expression quickly dropped as I thought of my first mate. He was reckless.

The way he smiled so obnoxiously when I told him that they were spotted in Azodu. He'd volunteered to be the spy with such enthusiasm. My face twitched. He was just excited to go home. I understood, yet something bitter rose within me when I thought of it.

I supposed my first mate didn't deserve such feelings being felt about him. He was sometimes the only thing that kept me sane. My hand brushed over the knife at my waist. It still smelt slightly metallic, but not from the materials it was made from. I allowed a smile to creep across my face. Some other things kept me sane too. 

My smile quickly turned bitter. Or furthered my insanity. 

~

Kota's POV

We had finally boarded the Sea Warden, my legs aching from our travels. The sun glared hot and bright, but I still looked up, admiring the two enormous planets that filled the sky. It was strange to think that other people lived on them. But not as strange as thinking about how, apparently, Earth was nowhere in this world's entire universe.

I dizzy just thinking about it and so decided to return my attention to the happenings on the ship. The captain had summoned me to her office- or should I say the captain's cabin. I was surprised to find us alone, except for Nexus, who seemed content nesting atop the captain's curly hair.

"Everybody in this crew has jobs," She started. "The twins are the oarsmen, Axe is my first mate, Ibryn the navigator, Leitus the scholar, Talaos and Dune the mechanics, and so on." I wondered about both Ibryn and Leitus's jobs but found myself more focused on the way she had so seamlessly included the dog in the list of workers.

"Now, while you are not a crewmember, I've decided to offer you a job. I have... let's say, seen some potential in you recently." She paused, giving me the opportunity to interrupt. I didn't, curious to hear what she had to say, while also plotting my end of the bargain.

"This job involves working alongside Noe. He will teach you how to improve what you know and transfer it into... the wider worlds." I remembered Noe's angry reaction to her sharing her decision with him and imagined how well he would 'teach me' as she put it.

"While most of the crew have a single job, some have multiple, like Ibryn being both navigator and head of cannons, as you may have seen. In the same way, Noe has two jobs. He works the cannons, and... does his other job." 

I sighed, louder than I had intended to. "Get to the point, won't you? Words don't kill."

Captain Talaedra pursed her lips before saying, "I suppose he's a spy."

My eyebrows furrowed at this. Why did she think I had 'potential' in this field. Before I could voice my thoughts, I realised she was referring to the... incident in Valley Marketplace. Maybe Noe or Talaos caved and told her.

"I do have experience with 'spying'. But here's the thing; I won't be doing any spying for you or your pirate crew if you keep holding back information. If you want me to work like your men, I want to be kept in loop like them. I want to know exactly what finding this Leviathan's Hoard involves, including that riddle." I had begun my statement with a mask of confidence, but by the end, I realised it wasn't just a mask.

The captain looked surprised at my mentioning of the riddle. "You really are good at spying. Although I'd appreciate it if you didn't use that talent on my ship." Her tone was more impressed than upset.

"It's hard work, not talent." I stated, to which she waved her hand in acknowledgment and pulled out a piece of worn and tattered parchment from her stack of papers.

"This riddle that you mention, is really the first and ultimate clue to the location of the Leviathan's Hoard. While it was once much longer, after the Sea Dragon solved those sections, we are left with just this." She said, holding up the parchment, which contained handwritten paragraphs of writing.

"While Lennon thought you ought to hear it, in case it triggered something in your memory, I wasn't quite sure I could trust you. After all, I don't want you passing on this information to someone who hasn't yet acquired it." I understood that concern. In fact, if I were her, I still wouldn't share this information. I hadn't exactly proved my loyalty after all. I didn't have any to begin with. I was here for the treasure, after all, not to make friends.

"But," she sighed, "I suppose you're right. I owe you more information than I've provided. I am willing to share with you the lines relevant to our next step. Past that, I'm afraid I can't yet intrust you with that information."

I nodded, understanding. I'd hoped to hear the end of the riddle, but I supposed we'd get there eventually.

The captain gave a small smile, probably relieved I was accepting her less than satisfactory bargain. "The relevant lines are," she held up the parchment, "within cave's depths, door sealed tight, treasure's map concealed from sight. The Crystal Key, beneath the lake, unveils the path past barrier's wake."

I'd heard it before, yet once again it pulled at something in my memory, like a string attached far back.

"Thanks to you, we can now assume the cave in question is in Laestrithan. And also, thanks to you," she opened a drawer in her desk and revealed the Crystal Key which had once been inside my locket. "We have the Crystal Key to unveil the path. This had been the last clue the Sea Dragon had found- in a lake in Ecethis- which she had been rumoured to hide inside her personal locket before going into hiding."

Gran Shelly... What kind of life did you hide from me?
~

Fah'stus's POV

It was surely past midnight by now, even in standard time. Yet here I was, crossing chambers of sleeping men to quell the eager questions of my captain.

A smile tugged at my lips, unseen in the dark. He never could wait until morning. He'd summoned me the moment my boots hit the deck. It was part of what I liked about him - his impatience, his recklessness. I ignored the light trail of sand that followed behind me, heading straight to his cabins.

I reached the captain's cabin, knocking on it three consecutive times, then a pause before the fourth. It was sometimes the only sound that pulled him out of whatever deep thoughts he was absorbed in.

"Come in." The captain's voice called from behind the door, quiet and low, to the point of sounding almost bored. Yet the authority that sewed itself in his every word was unmistakable.

I let myself in, being greeted by two stark blue eyes so bright they seemed to glow in the pitch darkness that surrounded us. They were like a Laestrithan Wolf's, I'd told him once. He didn't seem to find it as amusing as I did. He never was one for humour.

"Where are they?" He asked, his voice harsh, like an order more than a question. His eyes had returned to whatever he was looking at on his desk. Probably a map.

"Aren't you missing something?" I asked, smirking.

He paused, his eyes boring into me for a moment, sharp and dangerous, before they softened, barely.

"Welcome back, Fah'stus." He said, his voice lacking the severity it did a moment ago. His eyes returned to his papers, and I smiled. There was something nice about seeing my old friend this way - not absorbed in his work, talking about normal things - like we used to.

"Now answer the d*mn question." My smile widened. Well, it was short-lived.

"They're at the docks. They plan to leave for Laestrithan before dark." I answered. He hummed quietly in thought, staring at the map in his hands like it held all the answers.

When he didn't dismiss me, I took that as an invitation to approach. But I knew he had just gotten too absorbed in his own thoughts that he forgot that I was there.

He remained oblivious until I hopped up onto his desk, legs crossed on his polished desk, leaning forward to view the map in his hands. It was a map of Laestrithan, of course. Bitter thoughts whirled within me at the sight of the map, but I didn't let that show.

His blue eyes finally looked up from it, slowly, slightly obscured by the strands his hair. From this distance, I could see the way his nose crinkled in disgust, the brown streaks of his hair that rested on his face shifting. People always said my hair was unique, yet here he was with a head of messy black hair, the front containing a large tuft of brown. I was once convinced he'd dyed it until I met his uncle, who shared those genes, albeit a bit greyed.

"What are you doing?" He asked, disgust and irritation laced in his voice.

"Aren't you going to ask me how my trip went?" I asked, grinning at his obvious annoyance. It reminded me of when we were just boys, and I used to pick on him so he would play with me - even as a child, he needed me to get his face out of books and maps.

He sighed, leaning back in his chair so he wasn't looking up at me anymore, but across. "Fah'stus, I already know how your 'trip' went. You spied on our targets, enjoyed your local drinks, and had more fun than you should've. Am I right?" He listed, then added when I opened my mouth to answer, "and caused trouble for some foreigners."

I shrugged my shoulders, smirking. It had been quite fun.

"I also got you that suprise you asked for." I added, remembering his request.

For the first time since I entered the room, a smile pulled at his lips. Not a friendly one, but a smile was a smile.

"Where is he?" He asked, standing up from his chair.

"In the dungeon already~" I chuckled at his energy. "You're welcome, Einar."

He made his way around the desk before saying, "And get your dirty boots off desk," landing a painful smack to the back of my head.

I rubbed the spot for a moment as I watched him leave the room before a smirk crossed my face.

With the man I'd managed to make our prisoner, I was sure it wouldn't be long before we had the upper hand in this long battle.

With a crack of my knuckles, I followed after him, eager to get to business.

-Interdimensional Pirates
Bluebird/@BlueWhiskers1
-19/Nov/2025
-Chapter 22: Spy
-2064 words
-1.36K 👁‍🗨, 319 🌟, 547💭