Mid-air down toward the dock and as the breeze whipped his hair back, Henry realized—after he had jumped off the ship—that his current weight, which would easily be in the upward of 500 pounds, would absolutely demolish the thick planks of reinforced wood he was about to land on. Enchanted or not, he hadn’t had the chance to actually measure himself but considering all the condensed muscles and bone packed in his human frame, Henry didn’t like the odds of the jetty below him. So with a quick application of Telekinesis, he slowed himself down right before his boots hit the wood.

  In the meantime, Maurice landed with the finesse of an anvil thrown out from a five-story building. Like a grenade had gone off, bits of wood went flying everywhere as Maurice cracked right through, landing into the water below with a head whirling splash that had everyone around freeze, fearing a potential monster attack.

  “This one’s on me, I think,” Henry mumbled as he telekinetically lifted the human-looking Maurice out of the water.

  After nearly ten minutes of shouting and wheedling, Henry and a chastised Maurice stepped out of harbormaster’s office, trailing after Ray, who had been there considering this had been Velistraine’s ship.

  “Don’t worry about it,” the man said. “Velistraine had done much worse in the past. Just try not to flash those things too much,” he said, glancing back toward the closed door behind.

  The harbormaster had started talking about gold and what it’d cost in delays and whatnot, and while Henry hadn’t been carrying gold around, he’d offered to pay in cores. The first one had been enough to quiet the uniformed man, and the second had him regain his smile and good humor.

  Good thing Henry still had plenty of cores sitting about in storage.

  “Alright. We’ll be staying at the Harbor’s Rest,” said Ray, waiving goodbye as he walked away, a frown on his face as he eyed a few of his own people who somehow managed to already get into a scuffle with another crew. “Ask around and you’ll be pointed to it.”

  With that dealt with, the two made out into the stone-paved street, leaving Ray to his managerial responsibilities, and for the first time in a while, Henry was back on solid land. His steps felt secure. Balanced.

  It felt odd.

  Of course, they’d been in Thalis. But the Verdant Canopy didn’t count. While there had been plenty of space to stand around and walk and whatnot, you never forget that you were still in the middle of the ocean, standing on top of massive trees. It wasn’t the same as having the ground under your feet, and knowing that no matter how far and high you jumped, you’d still land on solid ground.

  “Henry! What’s that?”

  Maurice’s voice cut him off, attracting a few curious glances toward them. Right out of the harbor’s entrance, they found themselves entering a wide plaza. Stores and shops lined the sides while people milled about. It was around noon, so the food stalls were busy offering a wide selection ranging from grilled seafood to breads and even sweets, though those weren’t as busy right this second. The scent of grilled meats mixed with the salty air coming out the ocean, and Henry finally saw what Maurice had been pointing to.

  “That’s called a monument. Statues.”

  The structure depicted four victorious humans, each facing one of the cardinal directions with weapons in hands, standing atop what might be a mountain peak.

  “Oooh,” nodded Maurice, and Henry turning his attention back to their surroundings. While everything he was seeing was piquing his interest, one thing about the lightly dressed humans around them sat on top of everything else.

  Barely anyone was above C-rank. Most weren’t even D-rank.

  How the hell were they surviving in this world? How could they all go around their days, laughing and joking and arguing while at any time, something could crawl out of the water and lay waste to this place?

  Henry had seen patrols or he had heard from Fabian and Ash that there were multiple measures to counter such threats, from artillery to specialists combatants, but he couldn’t help but feel they’d be insufficient. If he had been trying to breach through and do some damage, he didn’t see how they’d be able to stop them.

  But maybe this is about whether I’d even want to do that?

  Monsters of high rank didn’t usually care so much about weaker individuals.

  “Good day, gentlemen. Do you mind if I take a couple of minutes of your time?”

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  Henry turned to find a younger man with a satchel hung over his shoulder and… pamphlets.

  What?

  Of course they weren’t of the same caliber of those from earth, but they were still standard-sized, around 8 by 3 inches, with identical text, though the quality of paper differed a little. Henry was still staring at the outstretched piece of paper as Maurice reached out and took it, and the man—who had been staring at Henry’s eyes for a couple of seconds—recovered and began explaining.

  “You strike me as someone who can handle themselves well on a boat, considering your anti-appraisal gear, and the Coast Wardens are always looking for promising recruits.”

  Gear? Oh, the anti-Identify stuff, Henry recalled. The kraken was still reeling a little from how familiar this interaction was, but Maurice had no such baggage. “That sounds fun!” the crab exclaimed, turning the piece of paper in his hand.

  The young man hesitated for a fraction of a second before he nodded to Maurice. “Of course it is, young man. I’m sure that when you’re a little older they’d love to have you!”

  That made Maurice blink and Henry grinned, then the young man looked back up at him. “We offer very competitive salaries. Any loot is equally and fairly divided depending on contribution, and—”

  “Hi sir, is this man bothering you?”

  The recruiter’s enthusiastic smile tensed as a pair of uniformed and armored men approached. Both were D-rank, as well, same as the recruiter, who smoothed his expression before smiling at the two guards. “Gentlemen.”

  The two guards eyed Henry and Maurice, and their eyes lingered on his clothing and eyes. While Henry and Maurice didn’t stand out that much with their complexion or clothing, their staring and gawking outed them as complete tourists.

  “It’s fine. He’s just making his pitch. We’re new around so, it’s no bother,” said Henry after a second.

  The man who’d spoken first, the older of the pair, raised a brow. “New, huh. I don’t recognize the dialect you’re speaking. Where’d the two of you come from, exactly? Can I see some identification?”

  “Henry, what is he talking about,” whispered Maurice, and everyone heard him. Henry rubbed the back of his head and sighed. “I don’t have any,” he simply said, and recalling a potential out-of-jail card, he added. “We’re tra—we’re part of Captain Velistraine’s crew.”

  The two guards’ eyes widened a little, but there was no reaction from the recruiter, which told Henry he might have been trying to poach them.

  Stealing a glance past them at the moored vessel in the distance, the guard seemed to weigh his options for a second before nodding. “Of course. If you’re staying for more than a week, it might benefit you from getting some identification. You could stop by any watch-house or any government sanctioned guild to get one issued.”

  With that, the two guards bid them a good day and walked away, heading toward some small altercation in front of a shop, leaving Henry and Maurice with the recruiter. Henry turned to the young man and grinned. “So is poaching common around here?”

  Henry wasn’t sure what to expect when he had asked the question. Dodging would have been an option. Denying or just ignoring it and changing the subject would have been in the cards. Instead, the man just shrugged and gave him a rueful smile. “It works sometimes, so long as we can make a good offer. Not everyone’s built for a long life at sea. At some point, most sailors want to end their day in a bed that doesn’t sway along with the waves.”

  Henry chuckled. “That’s fair enough. So what is it that you’re offering, then?”

  The man grinned. “It’d be my pleasure to tell you all about it. How about we found ourselves a table to speak more comfortably?”

  ***

  As soon as they had gotten their rooms, Ash had slunk out and headed toward the northern side of the First Landing. The largest city of the Emerald Isles.

  The island in which she’d been born.

  She had been tempted to stay a little in the wide room, but she knew she wouldn’t have been able to sit there calmly. Not when she knew she was only a walk away from where she’d used to live.

  She had to go see it. And she had to do it alone. Fabian offered to join her but frankly, Ash didn’t want anyone to come along with her. She had to do this alone.

  Velistraine had already gone out, escorted by some representative who’d already come to get her, while Henry and Maurice were gone ever since they’d docked. The rest of the crew were settling in, some enjoying the hotel they’d picked while others had already gone out to get started on their errands.

  So Ash had set out. Walking the familiar streets and roads that had once been her home. The stone and tile construction contrasted strongly with the architecture of Thalis. Which made sense, considering stone handled the rain and humidity much better than wood and as she walked, Ash couldn’t help but feel out of place.

  She felt nervous being back here. The last time, she had been running in the dead of night. Barely understanding what had been happening as her guardian smuggled her out to the harbor. The fear of that night was leaking out of her memories and into her present, but Ash wasn’t who she had been back then.

  She hadn’t lived on the street. She hadn’t stolen and bartered and been forced to hurt so she wouldn’t be the one getting hurt.

  She was a different person. And now, she was going to see how those who’d orchestrated the events that took her out of her home were living.

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