‘The Chase’ is on its current voyage to Almaria, the city by the coast and sand. We aren’t the only traveler on this trek. There are countless others and Carim was keen enough to know those who came out of the rough.
There Torik Proudsmoor, a mercenary from another guild. I saw him once by the topmost platform and the man was a humongous beast. His muscles bulk up most of his body mass and every bulk is tattooed with art depicting battles and war massacres. The most striking of his tattoos is the large falcon-like creature hooked on his back as if the ink will come to life at any second. He says he’s coming back from a mission but he isn’t specifying what kind of mission it is.
On the platform, I met a nice young lad named Ulrich Herrington. So far, he’s the first elf-boy I met since I was transported to this world. He looks the same age as me but he swore that he’s half a century old. Elves age slower than humans and it’s a beauty and a curse. He lives long enough to see the wonders of the world but the wonders brought by human relationships are gone in the blink of an eye. He also mentioned that he’s going to Almaria as an envoy for the Elven Kingdom of Fiore. A land directly below Almaria. If one looks at the clear skies below, you could see the five faint fires where the Five Spires of Fiore blazes its eternal flame.
Aylwin, on the other hand, met an interesting fellow and two of his cohorts. His name is Wu from the Oriental Sea on the far side of the world. He’s seeking glory and power that couldn’t be found in his homeland. When he reaches Almaria, he’s going to participate in one of its many blood coliseums and fight for glory. Behind Wu are his squires, Li and Su. Male and female, respectively. They are pretty quiet and they don’t talk unless allowed by their master.
Lastly, there’s Hamud - a warrior clad in Almarian armor, Cinta - a mage with green hair and strapped with loose mage clothing and Illaoi - a strange woman whose attention is solely focused on the box she’s carrying. The party is fresh from its mission to acquire an Artificer's box - the one in Illaoi’s possession. It cursed the gal with an over fixation with the item and they’re seeking a mage that could break the curse once they get back home.
We told these band of travelers to Temerius and told him, there’s nothing strange with the bunch. Their goals are pretty far from attempting a mutiny with Temerius’ underlings. But he just laughed with an ale in hand.
“HHaw! ye, mah mukkers, ur failing tae see th' picture 'ere. Th' mercenary kin be paid wi' coin, ye know thaim tae well Carim. Th' elf wid stage a mutiny fur th' legitimacy o' his visit. Th' orientals wid murdurr me fur glory. And dae ye seriously believe that Almarian laddie? He’s th' maist suspicious o' thaim a'. Th' cursed box mah bahookie . That thing cuid be a weapon tae tak' this ship doon tae th' abyss. Pish be wi' th' lot o' thaim .”
So during the night, Carim talked with me over a silent dinner inside Edward’s quarters. He’ll ask Aylwin to turn Edward into a mask and wear him so that Temerius won't go looking for him. He could also ask the sailors themselves since they have respect for Edward. As for me, I'll use my powers to pick one of the bunch of travelers and find out who’s going to stage a mutiny among them.
I chose,