(RoS) He's Back... - Ch 48 (Patreon)

Maya rubbed the bridge of her nose. She sent a sidelong glance at Cyll and Patty, but both of them shrugged.

“I’ve never been there, and we both know Patty hasn’t,” Cyll said. Patty nodded.

“Yeah, but he’s only following us because he thinks we have the treasure!” Maya said, exasperated.

“We do have the treasure,” Patty said.

“That’s not the point. He seems to think that we’re friends because we didn’t turn him into fish food,” Maya muttered.

Patty cocked her head to the side, considering her captain’s words.

“Isn’t that how it works? Friends don’t kill each other” She asked.

“No!” May said. “Well, maybe, I guess. Friends don’t kill each other, but that doesn’t mean that sparing somebody makes them your friend!”

“Why not?”

Maya sighed. She glanced back up at Humbol, who was flying in pace with the Wavedance. His ship followed behind, but just far enough to make them difficult to hit with a cannon.

The man was clearly planning something, but telling him to get lost would probably just result in Humbol pursuing them even more. If they fought his crew, people would wonder what happened to him and might start looking for Maya. Humbol had unintentionally locked them in a trap.

“Why would you even offer? We nearly just killed you, and now you want to be friends?” Maya asked.

“The key point is that you didn’t kill me,” Humbol replied. Maya got the feeling he was grinning. “And what more are friends than people that don’t kill each other?”

Patty’s face brightened and she nudged Maya in the side.

“See?” Patty said. “That’s two of us versus one of you, so we’re right.”

Maya rolled her eyes.

“Am I right about where you’re headed or not?” Humbol yelled.

“You’re right,” Maya finally called out, her mind made. “We are heading to Greenhill, but why would we need an escort? We can handle ourselves.”

“They won’t let you dock,” Humbol yelled back. “They’ve been raided by pirates too many times recently, so newcomers aren’t welcome. My crew is known to them, so they won’t stop us.”

Maya turned to look at Cyll.

“Do we really need to stop at Greenhill?” She asked.

“Need? No. But… you remember those fancy new clothes we bought at Bulsen?” Cyll asked.

Maya’s face paled slightly.

“Goddamn it. We never got those back from the sunken Ashwind, did we? Do we have any change of clothes at all?” She asked in horror.

“Nothing,” Cyll replied. His voice was downcast. “I was so busy with the Wavedance that I forgot to ask Akrun for new ones. We’ve got food and water, but no clothes other than what’s on our back.”

Maya glanced down at her tattered clothing. She massaged her forehead. Patty patted her on the shoulder and gave her captain a nod.

“I’ll keep an eye on them,” Patty promised. “But we really do need clothes. If we can stop at Greenhill, I think we should.”

Maya nodded.

“All right,” Maya called to Humbol. “You’re welcome to escort us to Greenhill!”

“Fantastic!” Humbol replied. He flew back to his ship with a burst of white air.

His sails lurched outwards as wind filled them once again. Maya’s crew watched as Humbol sped his ship towards them. Despite Wavedance’s incredible speed, he still caught up with them in only just a few minutes.

Humbol stood at the wheel, several bandages covering his face and body. However, aside from the captain, the ship was completely empty. The bejeweled pirate raised his hand in greeting once the two ships were side by side.

“Hello again!” He called, quieter this time. “It’s good to make your acquaintance.”

“He’s going to pretend we never fought, isn’t he?” Patty whispered.

“Oh, absolutely,” Cyll agreed with an amused nod.

Humbol left the wheel and strode across the deck until he was standing across from them. The ships were so close that he probably could have jumped across without using the wind to aid him.

“Ah, can I come aboard?” He asked.

“What about your ship? You don’t appear to have a crew to steer where it’s going,” Maya observed.

“Oh, I’ve got a crew,” Humbol said. “They’re just very shy. And the wind will steer my ship for me, so there’s no need to worry about that.”

“Well…provided you don’t start bothering us about a treasure that doesn’t exist, you’re welcome to board,” Maya said, letting out an amused sigh.

Humbol hopped aboard. He gave Patty and Maya a slight bow, then inclined his head towards Cyll. The immortal pirate raised an eyebrow. His head tilted imperceptibly down, but it was impossible to tell if it was a greeting or Cyll just looking slightly downwards.

“Can I at least ask what you were doing on the island?” Humbol asked sheepishly.

They let out a collective groan.

“If it’ll shut you up, then fine,” Maya said. “I was told by an information broker that I could find something valuable in the island.”

Humbol’s face froze. An eyebrow rose.

“It wouldn’t happen to be a broker based in Bulsen, would it?” He asked slowly.

“Under the Blue Swan,” Maya said, nodding.

“Did he ask you for your life story in exchange for directions to the treasure?” Humbol asked.

Maya nodded, realization flashing across her features.

“He told you the same thing?” She asked.

“Five years ago,” Humbol replied, his expression taut with anger. “I have a crewmember whose Life-spark was stolen when she was very young. We’ve been searching for a replacement for years, and that bastard told me we could find it on the island.”

Maya tried not to look guilty. She nodded sagely, scanning Humbol’s empty boat once again for any signs of life. There were none.

“So, what now?” Maya asked. “Are you giving up on the island?”

“Might as well,” Humbol replied, shrugging. “It was more of a formality than anything else at this point. The crewmate that needed the Life-spark died on our first voyage into the island. We all wanted to get it in her honor.”

“You spent years chasing after a single treasure just to honor your crewmate?” Maya asked.

Even Cyll glanced at Humbol, shocked. The gold laden pirate pursed his lips and shrugged.

“We would have sold it once we found it,” he admitted. “It would have made us all very rich pirates. But enough is enough. It’s clear that we aren’t strong enough to get it. Just one of your crew wiped the deck with me, so I can’t imagine we ever had a shot.”