"What was she even checking me for? Did any of you ask?"
From what it sounded like, it appeared as if she had been looking for him for quite a long while. And yet, he didn't think he would've known her even before that incident, and Hugo didn't even seem to recognise her either. So how did she know about him?
For just a brief moment, a dark possibility occured to him. But he quickly reasoned that it was very unlikely.
'The only ones that should be looking for me is that cult. But then she should've been looking for Hugo too.. so it couldn't be that.'
In the end, he was not that person, so it didn't really matter. Even if that was the case, taking over this ship while they were in that state should've been a walk in the park, so atleast she wasn't malicious. In the quick time that he had figured all of that out, Hugo answered,
"I was curious, but she chased me off. Said it was a hassle or whatever."
He turned his attention towards Lotte, but she seemed just as stumped too.
"Same here."
Quietly sighing to himself for a moment, he then realized that he didn't even know her name. He had intended to introduce himself properly back then, but she didn't even seem interested.
'It'll be awkward the next time I need to talk to her.. we'll be living together for a while so I better prepare.'
"Right.. can any of you guys tell me her name then?"
The moment he asked, Hugo's expression appeared to twist into something that was resembled both shame and embarrassment. He glanced at Lotte for a moment, but that carefully maintained smile of hers seemed to crack into something unreadable.
"I asked, but she told me it was a hassle."
"Same here.. she's very difficult to talk to it seems."
Hearing that, he could only scratch his head.
'I'm starting to notice a pattern."
"Let's just leave it at that I guess. What were you two arguing about, anyhow."
**
Hugo reached out without wait, and brushed the crow aside. The strange thing then hurled an unexpected wave of slurs and insults, but Hugo seemed relatively unbothered. Instead, he pulled out a large weathered map that he had taken out from a cupboard before hand, and snapped it open across the table.
The map was highly detailed just as it was large, depicting numerous regions and kingdoms that had been split off with black and blue borders. With a feathered pen dipped in red ink, he pressed down it's tip into the map as he marked a firm X.
It was where they currently were, being a distance quite far from one of those region borders where they originally had been.
"I hope that you already knew this, but we're currently responsible for a ship full of mundane. Obviously, we have to drop them all of somewhere."
Azdin's face lit up with surprise for a second, but he quickly tried to keep himself composed.
"O-oh?"
Back then, he and Hugo were supposed to have arrived in a War Empire owned location, in which they would've tried to escape on their own. But Lotte had exposed the flaws in that plan, and advised them to fight back which led to this situation. Thinking on it now, he hadn't really thought things that far in advance. If they really did manage to escape from the war empire on their own, where would they go next?
'We would be lost at sea.. just like before.'
Maybe one of them would've died just like that time too. Even if he held no memory of those events, he did not want to relieve it again.
Awakening him from his deep train of thoughts, Lotte continued,
"We agreed that taking them each back home isn't an option. So we settled for any kind of land where a marine facility was docked. They would look after them as victims of the war empire."
Dumping them at any other place with civilization wasn't an option as there was no telling if they even had the facilities necessary to look after these people, and there was the chance that they could be turned away. The marines on the other hand were both legally required, and obligated to look after them. So there was no arguement there.
Reaching over the table, Hugo marked down more writing sounding disgruntled,
"I said that we should just head for the closest land since that would be simplest. It's a floating city in this neutral territory that we're currently in called Nantames, we're about a week away from it now."
Still feeling quite vexed, he glared at Lotte with a mean look.
"But Lotte over here.."
Clearing her voice, she spoke while keeping ahold of her composure, and at the same time, she pointed to a much further position on the map. It appeared to go past one of the blue borders, entering a territory that possessed its own strange symbol.
It was a crest that held the image of a raging whirlpool.
"I believe that we should immediately sail further away to a larger city in the Saoirse dominion. It's about a month away, but it's much safer."
'A month...'
He didn't try to hide his doubt. A month was simply far too long, almost irrational, even.
"I'm sure a month sounds bad, but atleast hear me out."
Unlike Hugo, she didn't rush her words. Since what she said sounded that much unbelievable, she had to take her time with it that much more.
"A month sounds long, but that's ultimately to reach the end destination. The true goal is to get past the neutral territory and domain border which is only three days away."
Her eyes shifted briefly to Azdin, before switching back to the map. Then, taking the red inked pen from Hugo, she began to draw.
"The thing is, while sailing we've had several extremely close calls, Azdin. We've been avoiding not just War Empire ships that have been passing by, but also stray pirates. For whatever reason, we haven't been attacked by a single creature hiding under the water too."
Right smack down in the middle of sea, was a drawing of their ship. And surrounding them.. numerous question marks. All foretelling unknown danger that could wipe them out in an instant.
"We haven't had any trouble till now thanks to Hugo's Aspect.. but it's only a matter of time till our luck runs dry. Eventually, we'll have to fight."
He had a rough guess before, but Azdin was sure of it now. Even if they had escaped that crisis with Roswell, the worse of it all may still have yet to come.
"Right now, the two of you are still injured. Even as strong as that other woman is, she is nowhere near capable of fighting a ship full of awakened, nevertheless an Ascendent warrior."
"Once that happens, it's game over. We can't afford to spend even a single day in anymore danger, we simply can't. It's too risky."
Her hand shifted slightly over the map, fingers brushing near it's marked edge. There she pointed at numerous fortresses highlighted in bright coloured ink with the symbol of a fearsome red dragon swaying above them all. The symbol of the war empire.
"The war empire is strictly sticking to conquering neutral sea, so they shouldn't exist in any domain territory. As long as we can get into even one of them, we'll be safe."
Her plan sounded rather rocky at first, but hearing it all now he could see why there would be room for debate. It was actually quite splendid even, so he was more inclined to agree with it.
But still.. there was something off about it. Something that didn't sit quite right with him.
Perching up, he asked.
"What was her opinion?"
He didn't say her name, but they all knew who he was talking about. Seeing as she had been invited in here, he guessed that they tried to talk to her about what to do next too.
Instead of getting an answer, the two looked at him strangely.
"Oh well, I guess I can figure it out already. That was a dumb question."
She had been asleep when he walked in, so she probably didn't even bother trying to engage with them.
Azdin's gaze lingered on the map, tracing the marked route before he spoke, his tone more measured now.
"This plan of yours.. I'd agree with it. But tell me.. do we have the supplies needed to make a journey that long?"
Lotte didn't hesitate, as if she had already considered the question long before he asked it.
"No, but we can always make a stop to buy more. I already searched everywhere once we took over this thing, but Roswell had quite the full purse on him. If money is an issue, then we'll be fine."
There was a brief pause as Azdin considered her idea even more. He really wanted to agree with her, and even Hugo seemed to be ready to give in too.
But.
His eyes then lifted from the map and onto her, narrowing slightly. Not in suspicion, but in just quiet concern.
"Lotte, do you have a personal reason to want to go there too?"
"..."
She didn't answer, but the smile from her face disappeared.
"Whether I like it or not anymore, I've chosen to care for these people, so I will make sure that they all make it back home no matter what. I was prepared for many of them to die, and even so, many of them may still die."
Her hand rested lightly against the edge of the table, fingers curling just slightly as Azdin finished.
"We will continue sailing for Nantames, no matter how dangerous it is. If we need to fight, we will, and if we need to shed blood, then we will."
Hearing his final answer, she rocked back in chair. Her expression still remained perfectly neutral, but there did seem to be a slight tinge of dissatisfaction in it now. Hugo on the other hand, couldn't hide his surprise. He had almost fully sided with Lotte at that point too.
"I'm not making this decision out of emotion. If what your saying is to be believes, then the chances of us being attacked here compared to within a domain would indeed be higher.
But that was all it was. Although it would've been true that they would be safer.. would these people feel at peace if they did that? Would that get rid of their anxiety?
Yes that would be safer, but that wouldn't get rid of their restlessness. As long as Hugo was here, he wasn't particularly worried about encountering enemies, so that wasn't a factor in his eyes. And if they hadn't encountered a creature in the last 2 weeks, then he was sure they wouldn't spot one for the next week too.
In otherwords, the only thing that mattered was how quickly these people could make it back home alive. And for that, Nantames was their best choice.
"I don't think we will be attacked any time soon. I'm not sure how your aspect works Hugo, but I have faith in it. If you've been able to get us by this long, I believe you can hold us out for another week."
He turned to look at him for assurance, but Hugo seemed to look away from him, hiding his face.
'if he isn't objecting, then I guess it's fine.'
Turning back to Lotte now, he asked.
"Are you okay with this?"
Azdin met her silver gaze, and for once, it wasn't impossible to read. Her earlier dissatisfaction had grown, becoming a very clear and visible irritation that sent a chill down his spine. Even though he was.. presumably.. the stronger of the two, he felt as though he was the one being judged.
That unsettling gaze disappeared in just but a moment though. As a warm smile quickly replaced it instead.
She said in an awfully carefree voice,
"Oh well! I guess that's that then!"
Suddenly, her posture lifted slightly, as if recalling something she had almost left unsaid.
"Ah, there is one more issue."
Surprised, Azdin's eyebrow lifted.
"There is the matter of Roswell and his crew.. What's left of them anyway."
"They're still alive?"
She nodded at him lightly.
"A handful of them now, but yes. They're all being kept in the lower holds where we used to be."
Hearing that, his feelings began to grow complicated. After all that he'd been through, suffering in that place for a little over a week, Roswell was imprisoned down there instead. A kind of poetic justice had been achieved in a way.
No.. it wasn't enough to call it justice. It was far too little. For all the countless people he had sold into slavery, he had to suffer even more.
But even then, he wasn't sure how to feel.
Seeing his hesitation, Lotte suggested.
"We're technically at war with the war empire at the moment, so executing 'traitors' like him won't land you in any trouble. If you'll still feel guilty anyway, Hugo can do it just fine."
Immediately after, his head snapped slightly at her, as his irritation broke through without restraint,
"Don't dump more work onto me!"
Chuckling a little, the brief flare passed away quickly, leaving the decision hanging back in Azdin's hands. He didn't answer Immediately, as his face grew uncertain.
A moment later though, he gave his answer.
"I'd like to talk with him for a bit. I'll decide what to do after."