Roy planted himself on the battered deck of the Nightshatter, shading his eyes against the late-afternoon sun. If anyone bothered to call this place a "fortress," Roy would've laughed in their face. It was basically a never-ending construction site, ringed by scaffolding and swarms of laborers. Freed slaves arrived every day, good for the soul, brutal for the wallet. Roy massaged the back of his neck, trying to ignore the quiet panic over finances.
"All right, everyone, haul yourselves over here," he hollered over comms. Eryndra strolled up first, calm as a cat. Warrex followed, boots thudding like thunder, while Lutrian and Takara emerged from the chaos. Several Presidroids hovered in attendance, metal faces blank. A few villagers hovered too, but Roy waved them away.
He cleared his throat, scowling at the building supplies stacked up around them. "We're gonna be broke," he said flatly. "The down payment on the fifth wall drained all but a bit of our reserves. So, we're basically at rock bottom. That means we're going pirate hunting again. The Abyssforged Alliance is basically a walking treasure chest. We hit them, we take their gold, we come back. Like before."
Takara drew her arms around herself, voice hushed. "So soon?"
Roy softened his expression. He remembered the last fiasco, Takara nearly got flattened. "Look," he said, "you've just barely recovered from the Kaelor fight. I get if you're not praying for more near-death experiences."
She shrugged, half-hearted. "Trust me, I've faced worse. The master of the magic school here was basically a spirit-sucking demon in a bathrobe. At least a dragon roars before it burns you."
Roy snorted, recalling the unimpressive professor who'd once given him the stink-eye. "That guy? A demon? We'll come back to that terror at some point, but for now—"
"I'm in," Takara said quickly, though Roy noticed her trembling fingers. "I can't just hang around and wait for the next crisis. You go, I go."
"Same for me," Warrex muttered, cracking his knuckles. "I could use something to punch. Preferably a pirate's face. Or their spine. I'm flexible."
Lutrian gave a polite cough that somehow reeked of sarcasm. "We want gold, not serial slaughter... But I'm with you either way."
Roy sighed, feeling a mixture of gratitude and concern. "All right. We'll find a mid-level target. We can't pick the top level captains or we'll get destroyed. If Kaelor's crew was nearly too much, I'd hate to face the real monsters. I could just nuke them, but guess where that leaves our loot?"
Warrex spat. "Makes sense. Captain Kaelor last time was tough, but his crew was amateur hour. We got lucky his two top commanders died in a skirmish with another Alliance crew last year."
Roy nodded. "Exactly. So we'll do some reconnaissance, see which scum might be in range, and we'll set sail tomorrow. Last chance: anyone want out?"
Silence. Warrex looked like he'd murder the first person who chickened out, anyway. Takara stayed firm.
Eryndra just rolled her eyes, bored. "You all act as if I couldn't have turned him into a real version of an animal balloon and it's insulting."
Roy's communicator beeped. "One sec," he muttered, stepping aside.
As he chatted, Warrex grumbled under his breath to Eryndra, "I'm ready for a real fight this time."
Eryndra's lips curved into a taunting smirk. "Careful what you wish for, war dog. Get too bloodthirsty, and I'll lock you in the broom closet until you learn manners."
Warrex gave her a steely glare, hands curling into fists at his sides. "Tch. I'd like to see you try," he shot back, prowling back and forth like a caged beast.
Roy hung up and waved them over. "We can't depart until morning, so we've got tonight to do the last bits of prep. The Nightshatter's in great shape after some repairs, but Presidroids will triple-check them, and don't let Warrex near the big red 'Do Not Touch' button."
Warrex sniffed, looking offended. "I break pirates, not hardware, boss. Relax."
Takara's laugh broke the tension a bit. Even Lutrian smirked.
They headed down from the deck toward the newly built Tokyo Tavern. Warrex struck up an uncharacteristic conversation, regaling Takara with the story of some bandit leader who collected beastfolk ears as "trophies." Warrex had tracked the scum across half the continent and eventually taken his head. Takara listened, wide-eyed, maybe a little horrified, but also… impressed? Warrex's shoulders tightened as he recalled each atrocity, his voice throbbing with old anger.
"That's why I don't lose sleep over murdering filth," he finished. "Rich or poor, armed to the teeth or not, if they are tyrannical, I'll come for them."
Roy, trailing a step behind, felt strangely grateful for Warrex's brand of moral clarity. The big guy might be savage, but at least he was savage for a cause.
Soon they were through the doors of the Tokyo Tavern, a cozy spot strung with rows of warm lanterns that bobbed gently overhead. The lanterns painted the space in soft golds and oranges, giving the whole place a comfortable twilight glow. An awkward elven waitress—nose buried in a menu, as if trying to memorize it—stepped forward, motioning them to a large corner booth.
Once everyone settled in, Roy slid his tablet onto the table for them to see. "All right," he said, tapping the screen. "We've got a couple of target leads on the high seas—pirate factions with decent bounties. If we—"
"Oh, sorry!" the waitress squeaked, nearly dropping her notepad. "Can I get your drink orders first?"
Roy paused in mid-sentence. "Uh, yeah. Right. One… hmmm." He quickly scanned the tavern's hand-scribbled menu. "Give me the iced matcha latte with—uh—extra matcha."
Eryndra raised a brow. "Fancy. I'll take a sakura-infused tea, please." She tapped her finger on the table. "Hot."
Takara flipped through the menu with wide eyes. "I guess I'll try this bubble tea thing? The one with the jelly cubes."
"Bah," Warrex grunted, squinting at the list like it was in another language. "Give me that… cold sake cappu-cinno?" He butchered the word, but the waitress nodded, scribbling quickly.
Lutrian fiddled with his hair, still not used to this kind of place. "U-um, just a plain green tea," he mumbled.
The waitress bobbed her head and hurried off, nearly colliding with a wooden post on her way to the back.
"Right, anyway," Roy started again, zooming in on a map of the coastline. "Here's where I'm thinking we—"
"Slow down, captain." Eryndra placed a gentle hand on the tablet, sliding it away from Roy. "We've been grinding nonstop for weeks now, building up that fortress. A day off wouldn't kill us."
Takara nodded vigorously. "Yeah, absolutely. We've barely had time to breathe since the last raid."
Warrex's face twisted in a look of utter disbelief. "Are you two serious?" He rapped his knuckles on the table for emphasis. "If we slack off, more scum slip away. That's less loot, less expansions, less everything. This is no time for tea parties."
Roy's lips twitched. "I'm with Warrex on this one. We're hemorrhaging money. We need funds if we want to keep helping people."
All eyes turned to Lutrian. Poor guy went pale as a ghost. He cleared his throat, opened his mouth—then paused as he caught Eryndra's expression. She glared at him like he'd just insulted her family lineage and threatened to punt her beloved cat. A cold sweat broke out on his brow.
"Well, I… we… definitely should, um…" He swallowed hard, yanked his gaze away from Eryndra's murder eyes, and forced a grin. "Right. A break. For morale."
Roy snorted. "Figures," he muttered, but he couldn't hide the smallest smirk. Lutrian shot him an apologetic shrug.
Just then, two small figures scampered up to their table, ex-slave kids the crew had rescued a few weeks back. The older one, a girl with wild hair, practically leaped onto Roy's lap before remembering her manners. "Mister Roy!" she squeaked, eyes shining. "Thank you again, for everything. We've got a place to stay now, and my brother's not coughing blood anymore!"
Her little brother, half-hidden behind their new mothers skirt, gave a shy nod. Roy's usual tough-guy act fizzled under their bright smiles. "Uh… yeah," he mumbled, patting the girl's head. "That's… that's great. Keep taking those vitamins we gave you, all right?"
She beamed, then hopped off his lap. "You're a real hero, Mister Roy! Definitely not a Slave Smasher like the legend says!"
Their grateful energy lingered even after they bounced back to their table, leaving the group silent for a moment.
Takara exhaled softly. "See? We could all use a day to be normal humans, even if we're not exactly normal." She gestured around the restaurant, the lanterns, the warm chatter of other customers. "Just for today."
Roy glanced back at Lutrian, who was still determinedly avoiding Eryndra's gaze. Warrex grunted something under his breath, clearly unimpressed.
"All right," Roy finally said, tapping a finger on the tablet. "One day. One. Then we get back to business, got it?"
Eryndra's grin widened, and Takara beamed. Lutrian let out a discreet breath of relief. Warrex just shrugged, muttering something about "fine, but tomorrow, no mercy."
By the time their drinks arrived, the tension had dissolved into a friendlier hum. Roy couldn't deny that the idea of an evening off was tempting. And maybe, just maybe, if it made Eryndra and Takara happy, it'd be worth the potential delay in treasure-hunting.
"Cheers," Lutrian offered, raising his green tea cup with trembling hands. They clinked cups, an odd, mismatched family in a lantern-lit tavern, at least for one evening.