Captain's Log, Aaron wrote slowly. He looked up at Lybaria, lit up from behind by the setting sun. A great mass of black, dotted with gold and flickering yellow lights, lit up with pink, oranges and sharp reds.

Beautiful.

Aaron blinked and looked back at the log, painted yellow by the fluttering candle.

Captain's Log, 17th of April 1800. Aaron Jones writing. The rest of the crew has gone ashore on Lybaria to trade goods and - we hope - find the maps to the Fountain of Youth. I have been left aboard the ship, to make sure nothing goes wrong.

A light thud made Aaron look up. He swallowed and laid down his pen.

His shallow breathing reflected back into his ears. That and the gentle lap of waves on the sand was all he could hear.

He waited, poised to either run or attack.

Nothing.

Had he imagined it?

Tap, tap, tap, tap...

Footsteps. Quiet, nearly silent, but definitely footsteps.

His had closed around the knife lodged in his belt. He waited. He didn't dare breathe.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...

Heeled boots? Aaron cocked his head slightly and listened more earnestly. Heeled boots... not steel, just plain heels. Hurried, like their owner was searcher for something.

The rigging creaked above him. The boards under his feet groaned in silent protest. The quick, quiet footsteps carried on below.

Another small thud. A clatter as the door on the deck below opened. Orange light spilled out and Aaron could make out a silhouette.

Two?

Shaking, Aaron picked up the pen to the Captain's Log.

Captain, there's someone aboard the ship.

It was midday and they were still 3 barrels short of enough cash for the maps. Janus sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

The ribbon dropped out of his hair and onto the dusty cobbles of the street. Janus groaned, cursed himself, and stooped to pick the ribbon up.

"This is useless," he said. He pulled the ribbon under his hair and tied it as best he could.

"Virge's given us an order," Patton said. "You wanna disobey it, it's your arse on the line. I'd rather live."

Janus shrugged. "Fair." He sighed again and shook the tension out of his arms. He missed Remus.

"Do you think Virgil's found the maps yet?" He asked. Patton shrugged.

"I don't think we'd still be here if he had." Patton brightened up. "Straighten up, someone's coming."

Janus scoffed but pushed his shoulders back. A lady and a small (probably) servant boy were stood slightly to the side, inspecting the rum.

The lady turned to Janus, hesitated, wrinkled her nose and turned to Patton instead. Patton's smile dropped a bit before she'd even opened her mouth.

"Excuse me," she began, "where is this from?"

"Redia, ma'am," Patton said with a slight incline of his head. "Only the finest around."

"And is it only by the barrelful or...?"

"I'm afraid so, ma'am," Patton said regretfully. "You see, we're, ah..."

"We're traders," Janus jumped in. "We got more than we bargained for, turns out Redia is very eager to trade. We can't seem to get rid of it fast enough. But we do offer a reasonable price for it."

The lady was rummaging in her stupidly tiny purse. She handed a half-shilling to the little boy, who looked like he'd never held that much money in his life.

"Go hail a cab," she ordered. The boy nodded and ran off. She turned back to Patton and Janus. "What's the price?"

"13 shillings."

The lady laughed. "13 shillings?!" She repeated. "You've got to be joking."

"Hey, that's a reasonable price," Patton said. "This is real Redian rum, you won't find it at so low a price, even if you look for a hundred years!" Janus closed his eyes and cringed. The anger was painfully apparent in Patton's voice. The lady gave him a snooty look and flounced off after her servant boy, no doubt to take the money back from him.

"Pat-"

"I know, I know!" Patton sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I need to get better at that."

Janus caught sight of Virgil storming through the crowd towards them. He placed his hands behind his back and straightened his posture slightly.

"Captain, we've nearly-"

"Forget it," Virgil interrupted. "Forget all of it, there's no damn point."

Patton and Janus exchanged a glance. "Kiddo, what's up?"

"The maps aren't there!" Virgil groaned and ran a hand up through his hair. "The damn maps aren't there! All my planning, all our time, down the drain, worth nothing cos the damn maps aren't there. They sold the maps already. The utter bullshit-"

"Kiddo, calm down," Patton said firmly. Virgil glared at him and patted his hair down.

"Round up the crew," he growled. "We're going back home."

Virgil was disappointed. They all knew it. The entire crew could sense it. Even for someone so closed off, his disappointment was coming off him in waves.

It turned to pure fury when they couldn't find Aaron.

"Where is he?!" Virgil demanded. He jumped down from one of the ladders up to the mast and landed like a cat. He sprang up, his coat moving like a great black river, and marched into his quarters. "My maps are a mess too! My plans!"

He marched back out onto the deck. The whole crew was trying to not get noticed, keeping their heads down.

"Captain!" Virgil spun round at Remus' call. He was waving to him.

"This had better be good."

"It is," Remus promised. When Virgil got to his side, he pointed to the Captain's Log.

Captain, there's someone aboard the ship.

Virgil's brow furrowed. He looked up at Remus. "And that's not all." Remus held up a fragment of red ribbon, edged with gold. "It's the Masked Prince."

Virgil's eyes widened and the fury cleared from his face. "The King's Loyalty."

HELLO PLOT, NICE TO FINALLY SEE YOU
Bye,
Blaize