And that's not what I'll do.

We approach the side of the Maiyo's Kiss that is connecting to the dock, attached by sturdy ramps coming from the ship. The dwarf leads us on deck, where a variety of men and women are currently loading containers of goods on board. The topside of the ship is near spotless in it's cleanliness, bar the scuffs and dirt being brought on board by the crew's work, and our entrance. The ship's size is not as large as some docked in Tomo, but still big none the less; expected for cargo shipping.

"Who're they, Bran?" A tall, lanky man carrying a barrel on deck asks.

"Possible passengers; religious types it seems." The dwarf answers back.

Nodding at the information, the man waves a sign over to the other crew, more signs akin to what the merchant was doing. I jab at Ashes, our resident expert of sign language due to her mute brother; and point to the signs the man is doing.

"Customers on deck, behave well." She answers in a whisper.

Bran leads us towards the ship's main cabin, with a woman standing guard outside the door. The woman is in similar dressings as Bran, holding a strange weapon; I feel as though Logic would know what it is. Bran flashes similar signs as the lanky man, and we are permitted inside. While I lean down to keep from bumping my head, I see the interior. It is damn striking, and kept as clean as the deck, as elegant furnishings abound; be it the rug, or the curtains to the windows leading to the deck, or the lifelike statues of a handsome man, seated on a barrel. Most impressive of all is a massive painting behind an ornate desk, depicting the nude form Maiyo, Goddess of Sea, Life, Love, Sex, and an unknown amount of other things I've not heard of yet. The desk it resides behind aswell is quite fanciful with its golden rims, with etchings depicting the waves of the sea, and the seat at it's front is just as extravagant, which is quite comfy looking given it's fine violet coushins. Papers; most likely logistical accounts and identifacation papers, are stacked high, and orderly. Behind the desk and mountain of parchment stands a woman in a frilly blouse, donning a large, feathered tricorn; which wriggles and writhes slightly, all on its own.

This woman; Captain Thrusk, is clearly not born entirely of the Light.

Her skin, scaled in places similar to mine, is violet in hue; matching those same said scales. Her eyes are yellow, with slit pupils. Most interesting is her 'hair', as it slithers and hisses while it pushes its way out from her hat; the heads of her sea serpents flicking their tongues towards us. Her height isn't that imposing, around an exact six feet. At her waist, I notice scraps of red cloth draped from her belt, the same kind that makes up Cilla's cloak; this captain is an example of a sucessful conversion from Dark, it seems. Her figure as a whole nearly puts Gabriella to shame in terms of... things that used to make Urge 'fiesty.' Her face is stern, unflinching, and calculating.

The captain speaks, her tone being stern with her subordinate; but the way she speaks seems to indicate her words are meant to teach, not enforce or lambast. "Bram, I told you I needed you back on Logistics. You could have signed to Rio for these customers, then headed there sooner. Do so, next time."

Bram bow his head, still holding his mug of tea. "Aye, Captain. I will."

Taking his leave, the dwarf places the mug over near a stack of similar mugs, although these are clearly full of beer.

Seeing my gaze at the mugs, the Captain says. "Those are for when we leave port; keeps moral up for the start of the voyage."

She then takes a seat. "Onto why you wish for passage to Bounty, and payment. That is why you are here, yes?"

Ashes elbows a silent Gabriella towards a seat, slowly finding her words. "I am Gabriella, Priestess and Sister of Ariel, God of Martyrdom. I am to be the newest Emissary of his line; and you may see by his Alma atop my stave."

"Oh my." The face of the snake woman stays mostly stone-cold, but her tone certainly changes. "Free passage for you, then. The others must tell me why they are passing; for better or worse for their coin purses; or lives, should I dislike their answer."

As Gabriella leaves her seat, Ashes looks to us: at first a bit unsure, then hops into the seat with gusto. "I'm following these guys while I see new places!"

"Hmm..." Thrusk looks into the eyes of our antsy artisan, saying. "There's more... tell me. Before you complain, I've had all sorts of bad folk try and use MY ship to do bad things. You may notice the statue to your right."

The statue of the dashing man sitting on the barrel twitches slightly. "He's a smuggler, trying to get some of his contraband over to Bounty. The town guards let me choose his punishment, so I've been letting him think about what he's done for the last few hours. It could have been years, but his traveling companion was so gentlemanly; and paid a large sum of gold. So please, do tell me why you want to make use of MY ship."

Shaken, Ashes slowly regains her normal vast energy as she says. "I... I'm Ashes, and I wanna be like my Ma. Fight monsters, and make weapons and armor from their parts, and eat lots of food!"

The snake's interest seems to have been peaked. "Oh... so you must be of that clan from the Ramzu desert, the Mohun. Do you have that special little tattoo?"

"Not yet, but I will, once I get to Sozis one day." Says Ashes, a determined look in her eyes.

A little smile graces Thrusks features. "One gold, and you can come along. A tenth of my going rate; I've one of your kind in my crew, you see, and she needs the company."

Ashes dances back towards us after handing over her a coin from her pocket, Zana slowly moving to take her spot on the seat, holding tightly on the brim of her hat in fear.

Our mousey mage whispers something so quietly even I can't hear her, so the Captain asks. "Do speak up, darling. I won't hurt you."

Clearing her throat a bit, Zana says. "I-I'm Ashes friend, a-and I'm st-studying our friend over there. His n-n-name is 'Monster' and he..."

"I see, what a funny way to say you're his lover." Thrusk says coyly, causing the frightened girl to suddenly pop into her hat.

Her hat shouts out in indignation. "NO! He's v-very unique, and I-I'm a scientist! That's all!"

Laughing, the Captain says. "I'm joking, dear. I know a little thing like you wouldn't be able to manage all of that. Free of charge, for being so fun to tease."

After Zana is done crawling out of her hat, she hides behind Ashes, her face red as an apple.

Cilla takes the seat, pronouncing clearly. "I am Cilla, Runacathy Intermediary. I am protecting my charge, 'Monster' as he has named himself, as he walks among the Light."

Thrusk looks closely at Cilla, and perks a brow before asking. "Remove your patch, and it will be free of charge for you both."

Lowering her hood, my guide reaches for the strap of her eye-patch, undoing it, and letting it fall into her lap. Where I would think a mangled eye, or empty socket would be, there is instead a fully functional eye; the iris of which is a blood red. It's pupil is star-like, four points going up, down, left, and right from a central dot.

"Priscilla, Heiress of ****, First Daughter of Maxwell... I had heard of your turn to the Light. May I ask why? It's the tastiest mystery for us 'Dark Ones' these days." Thrusk says, her snakes writhing about under her hat in anticipation.

Cilla stays silent, donning her eye-patch and pulling her hood over her head, returning to us at a slow pace, gauging our reactions. Ashes seems unworried, instead going over to hug Cilla; whose mood as certainly dived down into the depths. Gabriella seemed... mixed on this revelation; seeming to want to comfort her ally, but almost disturbed to look at her. Zana... she looks to Cilla with some newfound level of... familiarity? A look one outcast would give to another.

I give a glare to this damn snake woman, and walk over to her desk.

I stare her directly in the eyes, my arms shaking in rage, my voice warped into a dark, course, and nearly feral tone as hiss out the words...

"Fuck you."

"Oh please do." She mocks, licking her lips with a forked tongue, pushing up her rather large breasts with her arms as she crosses them.

I storm out of the cabin and wait for the others, pulling out my coin for comfort...

This had better be a short trip... Or someone might die.