CH - 34 [ Fruits of labour ] 1

The night had finally broken and the dawn was gleaming across the horizon when the Black Tail pulled up to the eastern shore of the island. Captain Avarik Halcen stood patiently waiting for his ship to board. His first mate, Grey, sat on the grass, trying to relax for a few moments before the next step. Their new friends and temporary supporters, Kazuki and Bo, had taken to cleaning their weapons, an important but underrated task. The group had been through a long, dreadful, tiring night, but there was still much work to do.

The tall, dark-skinned woman, Loyola, stood at the helm of their ship, guiding it gently into the shallows where they would meet the others. She looked quite comfortable being in the spot, but she knew it was only until Valentina was returned. Jory stood below, looking eager for his next part. Bailu sat impatiently, his face already twisted up with agitation, but nobody had the time to pay him any mind. They were all clearly exhausted. This emergency trip to this cursed island had taken its toll on each one of them.

They pulled in, and Jory tossed down the anchor.

"Is everything finally done?" Halcen asked Bailu.

"Ya damn right it is. I may be old, but I can still work my fingers bloody."

Loyola chimed in, annoyed by Bailu's complaining. "We worked all through the night. The repairs are complete. The Black Tail is ready to sail, Captain." She looked around the area, her face sank in clear disappointment. "Valentina?"

Halcen looked down in shame. "They got away… but we know where they're going."

"So we're heading out?" Jory asked.

"Not yet," Halcen answered the young soldier. "We have a couple things to do here first."

Halcen, Grey, Jory, Bo, and Kazuki scavenged the encampment. Jory and Kazuki had to take it a bit easier, being that they were wounded. Kazuki had taken a decent gash to his chest from Bo's knife in their fight, and Jory was still recovering from his fight against the Anosmia Pirates. He was much better by now, but his overexertion from fighting the townsfolk had cut into his recovery. The rest of them were fine enough to go without much grief.

This camp was where Kumajin, Domian, and their cultists had been preparing for the previous night's festivities. Thankfully, their plans had been derailed, but Valentina had still been taken. She had so far avoided the modification of the Devil Fruit that they had tried to force on her in order to transform her into a goddess... but that threat lingered. She hadn't gotten out of harm's way yet, and that was at the forefront of Halcen's mind. And he had a plan to fix it.

There was plenty in the camp they found that could aid them. They stowed all the random odds and ends on the ship with quite a bit of cursing. The load was rather large, the idea was complex, and it was going to take a long time to set up. With the weigh down from all the excess items, the Black Tail sank lower in the water, and they knew it was going to take longer to get to their destination. That didn't mean, however, that it was going to be a waste of the trip.

After exhausting themselves in mental and physical prep, they were ready to set off. The crew boarded the ship. Loyola called out from the helm. "To port, Captain?"

Halcen already had the plan together. "No. There's too much risk going straight for the port. We'll sail around the northern edge of the island. That way we can come at them from behind. They won't see us coming."

The trip around the island was going to take some time, so Halcen encouraged each of the crew to eat something and get some rest. They were all so exhausted and needed to recharge and refuel. Grey took the time to whip up some eggs and ramen. It wasn't big, but it was enough to make them feel better.

"Wow, this is really good for such a simple dish," Kazuki pointed out.

"Oh yeah, Grey's a big foodie," Halcen pointed out. "He's really good at this stuff."

"It's been a long time," Grey admitted. "But once we have a little more money, I'd like to try to some new stuff. I want to try getting back into it."

"Damn, if this is any indication of what you can do with more complex stuff, I'm sad I'm not gonna be around to try it," Bo said, scarfing down the bowl without manners.

Grey chuckled. "Yeah. But that's still a ways down. We've got a lot to do first."

"Too damn much," Bailu bitched. "I'm tired of this shit." He stood up from the group sitting on the deck. "I'm turning in," he said as he walked off. "Don't wake me!"

They all watched him, shaking their heads, or cursing him under their breath. Bailu was one of those miserable old men that you just wish would die because he brought everyone else down with him. But in those cases, it did little to ever actually point out how annoying they were because it would only cause them to bitch some more.

"Fucking asshole," Halcen cussed.

"Just leave him be," Grey said. "We won't have to deal with him forever. Once we can get our own shipwright, we can get rid of him."

"Can we ditch him on an empty island?" Jory pleaded.

"Yeah, nobody would miss him," Bo laughed.

"Yeah…" Halcen shrugged. "I'm gonna turn in too," he said, standing up. He just couldn't deal with the joking right now. There was too much on his mind.