They sailed away from the citadel with a bag full of information, some gibberish while some buried a valid hint, and Morinfair embraced them back within its turbulent waves—the storm stirred the ocean, and the occasional high billows played the deadly game of tag. The other warships flew for the nimbus clouds, the class-s giving way for the class-m, their cottony trails imprinted in the gloomy sky, but Stormfalcon rested on the waters on Ewan’s call; the absence of the hovering thrust at slower speeds saved the valued drops of Rigen, even against the squall.

  Stormfalcon, Bridge.

  Stefan checked the chart of the ocean with Nyte’s assistance, barely holding himself up with his Ryvia, heaving deep breaths at times, while the rest sprawled on their seats, groaning.

  “Can't we fly too…,” Kidd muttered, staring at the other warships with a jealous pout and a wrinkled nose, rubbing his rounded stomach.

  “Save what we can, when we can,” Ewan said, meditating on the captain’s chair, lost in his concentration, focused on keeping his food down—the deluxe breakfast had fed them too much…

  “Vraan….” Lance moaned, lying stretched on two seats, the buttons struggling to keep his shirt together.

  “What?” Ewan asked, his eyes shut tight.

  “Nothing…just wanted to say it,” Lance said.

  “If I could move right now, I would’ve punched your stomach,” Ewan said.

  “We ate too much.” Nana grumbled, draped in her seat. “That Seigneur was trying to kill us with food.”

  “Don’t talk about food, Havanna,” Stefan said, stifling his retch. “I might dump it all out.”

  “Aren’t you done yet, you blind bat?” Kidd asked.

  “Yeah, it’s done,” Stefan said, tapping the screen to expand the map with quick short breaths, and collating the slotted crystal ball against it—the coordinates potion floated inside it and spiked towards the front, guiding Stormfalcon to the mine. “We won't need to detour, one of the islands in the list is just a day eastward from the mine coordinates, we should reach it first.” He circled two small dots that pulled a gap speckled with tiny lines and grains. “These should be rocky isles, its better we fly when we reach the area, else we might risk contact.”

  “Okay then, we beeline for the mine,” Ewan said, and the thrusters adjusted to his decision, they went from a hiss to a roar. “How long will it take?”

  “The estimate of the location of the island is from the intensity of the potion’s extension,” Stefan said. “So, if its accurate, it’ll take us two to three months with a clean sail.”

  “Ugh…too many words,” Kidd grumbled.

  “If the island is valid, I’ll need to get anything out of it,” Ewan said. “On the way, we’ll hunt for blood for my Elementalist.”

  …..

  The nameless island of interest in the search of the vestige met them before the mine, with its old-growth woods and rolling hills, and with a mesh of caverns running through its core that connected one side of the ocean to the other.

  Stormfalcon softly landed on the shallow waters with quick sprays of downward thrust, and when the warship lit up with security measures, the five scattered to comb the island after syncing their bracelet.

  The serenity of its nature greeted them with the usual chirps and the howls, but alas, it could neither answer their common tongue nor Kaaleria. And while the rest probed the surface, Ewan went for the network of caves, scouring each turn and corner, every exit and dead end. But beyond an age-old statue of half a man almost buried in the wall, the web of tunnels only had his echo in reply.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Ewan, there’s nothing here,” Nana said from the bracelet.

  “Nothing on this side either,” Kidd said, and the rest confirmed the negative too.

  “Stefan, mark the island,” Ewan said, his echoes accompanying the resonating drop of water. “I found an old statue, just not sure of its relation to what we need. We’ll check it out once my subtype is complete.”

  “Alright,” Stefan replied. “Do we search some more?”

  “No, even if we find anything, it won't lead us anywhere without my .” Ewan exited the cave and stood on the verge of its cliff, the enthusiastic waves expressing their blustery hellos against the wall. He faced the east, and far off in the distance, beyond the false horizon was the mine—their next destination.

  …..

  Stormfalcon, Top Deck.

  Ewan’s instinct tingled a mild alarm and choked his breath when they reached the island with the mine. The ilk of this warning differed from the past—he rubbed his neck and opened another button of his inky shirt, but the hint of suffocation surged instead as the island neared.

  “Ewan, I don’t feel good,” Stefan said, his face contorted as he groaned and covered his ears.

  “What do you hear?” Ewan asked, commanding Nyte to hover where they were. The rest were fine and looked at them in confusion, only he and Stefan responded to the island.

  “It’s garbled,” Stefan said. “But its very loud, its ringing my ears.”

  “What’s happening? Is it problematic after all?” Kidd asked.

  “My instincts rang an alarm, it’s suffocating me,” Ewan said, squinting at the island that lived, as usual, with the browns and the greens, and the beasts and the birds, in harmony.

  “Let’s back off,” Nana said. “We don’t need the mine; we don’t need a windfall.” She grabbed Ewan’s sleeve.

  “Yeah,” Ewan said. “We’re backing off. Stefan, throw out the coordinates potion, and get rid of everything it touched, wash everything we can't throw with several rounds of Anima. We’ll take turns doing that.”

  “Is it that serious?” Lance asked.

  “My instincts have gone off for a much worse enemy before, the World Eater, but it never smothered me,” Ewan said. “I don’t like the change; we don’t need to risk it.”

  “There goes my dream of riches, I knew it was too good to be true,” Kidd said and cursed, hurling his pickaxe into the water. “What nice guy gives out mines of Anima Crystals for free anyway, that moth fucker!”

  “Vraan, do we fight the Seigneur?” Lance asked.

  “No, not yet,” Ewan said. “Fallsard still has a lot of value, we’ll use it for its worth. And we won't need to do anything, Merwyn will have a war at his doorsteps when the market crashes, and it’ll crash soon enough with these mines he gave out. We’ll just be there to plunge a blade through his heart at the end.”