Once the Spitfire had been secured to the dock, a team of workers brought over a wide gangplank and began to set it in place. The gangplank was made from a dark, smooth wood with yet more gold edging.

“Seems to be the theme around here,” Caleb remarked. “The real question would be: is it real, or a strong preference for gold paint?”

“I’m puzzled as to what it means,” Sienna said, as she came to stand at his side. Shaw and Tavia were already in place, flanking the two humans.

“Could be that this place is pretty well off, or they like to pretend that it’s so. Then again it could be the current ruler’s taste. One client of mine, Alejandro Ugalde, had this thing for all-white clothing. I think his mind got stuck on his nickname, ‘Prince Snow’ and it went from there.”

“I cannot argue with this ruler’s taste,” Tavia said, as the sun glanced off her palomino form. “Gold is a very comely shade.”

“Aye, ‘tis true,” Shaw agreed, with a flick of his golden leonine tail. “Mayhap he has seen a griffin from afar.”

The gangplank settled into place with a wooden clunk.

“Okay,” Caleb said quietly, “It’s showtime. Make it count.”

He made his way down to the dock at a deliberately slow pace, taking in everything with unhurried glances. A squad of soldiers wearing purple outfits and purple-feathered helmets remained at each side of the dock. Some carried flintlock rifles, while others held skinny conical brass tubes.

Next to him, Sienna matched his pace, her face impassive. Tavia’s hooves made delicate-sounding clops on the wood. She held her head high, allowing the breeze to show off her newly restored mane. Similarly, Grimshaw had little trouble projecting nobility and strength between his lion’s body and stern eagle’s head.

A young man dressed in a purple and green page’s outfit stepped out as soon as Caleb’s group stepped onto the dock. He cleared his throat. Then he spoke in a high and clear voice.

“Oyez, oyez! You are now in the presence of King Edward Nevin the Third, Sixth of his glorious line to rule the isle of Gilarska, the streets of her capitol, and the blessed boundaries of the Nevin Dominion. It is he who controls the dragons, who brings the fire, and who calls down the lightning upon our foes!”

At the conclusion of his announcement, the page bowed low. The soldiers holding the brass tubes brought the narrow ends to their mouths. They trumpeted a triplet of rather flatulent notes celebrating their ruler’s presence.

Caleb’s mind raced at the implications of the page’s pronouncement.

King Nevin, of the Nevin Dominion? Well, one thing’s for sure. This place isn’t all that big on creativity. Still, he must be a wizard of some sort if he does the ‘fire and lightning’ thing.

Once the page completed his bow, Sienna stepped forward into the silence. Luckily, as Keeper of the Books, she knew at least a smattering of Jaladrian court protocol. He’d given her free leave to make whatever announcement put them in the best light.

“We greet the grand King Nevin, of the Nevin Dominion,” she stated proudly. “We are the Arrenmar, those captured by the servants of Myr and freed by the hand of Lir and Danu. His instrument is our leader, Captain Caleb Ledger. He is the Corsair of the Dark, the bringer of Light and Fire and Wind upon the Waves, and he is the Master of Monsters!”

At that, Tavia stomped her forehooves with a solid clack. Shaw let out a cry that was somewhere between a eagle’s shriek and a lion’s roar. Tavia’s hoof stomp got a few raised eyebrows. But Shaw’s display made the soldiers take a step back in fear.

“Show off,” Tavia grumbled, under her breath.

Shaw chuckled. “If one doth have it, one must show it.”

King Nevin put his hand to his mouth and cleared his throat. At that cue, the page scurried out of the way. The soldiers straightened back to attention. He strode forward and gave Caleb’s entire party an appraising once-over. His jaw worked as if in thought before he spoke.

“Captain, would it be a surprise if I said I heard of you before now?”

Caleb’s eyebrows raised at that. “That would be a yes, your Majesty.”

“Komtur Ozul of the Myrkur told me that Lord High Captain Delacroix and Lady Ravencrow were sending his entire garrison into battle. Specifically, they were to sink or otherwise destroy a sloop commandeered by the biggest threat to them they’d seen in over a decade.”

Caleb exchanged a glance with his friends. Tavia’s looked worried, as if trying to warn him to downplay things.

“I’m sure the Myrkur have as many enemies as friends,” he replied. “Unless he gave out specific names, there’s no telling that we were the ship being referred to.”

Nevin made a motion to dismiss the comment. “Spare me the false modesty. It does not suit a Captain who reacted with such speed to the bombard trap my men set up in the Myrkur’s fortress.”

So it was you. Nice to see that my hunches were correct.

“Your Majesty–” Caleb began, but Nevin cut him off with a wave of a hand.

“Ozul took a rare fire-drake from these shores, a move that was suicidal but sure to achieve the desired outcome. And yet here you are, with a fire-damaged sail but an otherwise intact ship. Tell me: is Ozul dead?”

“He went looking for something on the seabed,” Caleb said. “As to whether he found it, or shall come up for air again, I can only guess, your Majesty.”

The edge of Nevin’s mouth rose for a moment. “Good. He was a tiresome man. And as the Master of Monsters, I can guess how you ended him and the dragon sent.”

Caleb smiled. “Thank you, your Majesty. Well, since we are not enemies, and we have rid you of an annoying pest, we were hoping to trade for some goods we need.”

The King’s mouth returned to a flat line.

“We do not trade with pirates at this port.”

That got a scowl out of Sienna.

“Our foes are the Myrkur only. Not Gilarska. We only seek to trade for the most humble of wares. We are not rootless men and women of the waves, kind sir. We are islanders at heart, and the sea binds us by both blood and courtesy.”

“Spare me the tradition,” Nevin said. “I am aware of it. I repeat: we do not do business with pirates.”

“Then who do you do business with?” Sienna fumed.

Nevin made an oily smile. “Heroes. That is who you are, and that is what I need. No common pirate’s crew could have escaped the most heavily guarded island on Jaladri. No common pirate’s crew could send a garrison of Myr’s followers and a fire drake down to Lir’s Blue Cellar, either.”

“You said to spare you the false modesty,” Caleb said directly. “Fine. Then spare us the royal puffery. You rule this place. You call the shots. And yet here you are, coming all the way down the docks to meet our little ship. You say you need heroes. What do you want, and what do you plan to give us for our help – should we decide it’s worth our while?”

A shrug. “All I ask is a simple thing, a trifle. Something that shouldn’t take more than a day, if that.”

Tavia’s hooves made a distinctly louder clop as she stepped forward. Nevin’s brow rose in surprise and his soldiers fairly gaped as they heard her speak.

“No task can be ‘trifling’ if a man as wealthy as you, with servants as well armed as you, cannot achieve it with ease. And we shall not take this quest up if it is not honorable. I am a paladin, and I shall not dirty my horn for a disreputable cause.”

Shaw clacked his beak in agreement at that.

“Before we say yea or nay,” Caleb pointed out, “I still want to hear all the terms. We do need some very basic goods, as my quartermaster pointed out.”

Nevin’s mouth quirked up again at that.

“My terms are simple. Return my daughter to me unharmed, and I shall reward you with a thousand gold crowns, straight from my vault.”

A murmur brewed up behind Caleb, who turned to see what was going on. Apparently, Nevin’s words were loud enough to hear up on deck. Sienna’s sharp gesture cut the discussion off.

I guess it’s understandable, Caleb thought ruefully. That’s more per person than we got off that ketch. And even that haul was around three month’s wages for many people.

“That’s quite a reward,” Caleb said aloud. “Perhaps we’ll consider it, for half up front and half upon delivering your daughter. We need to buy supplies.”

“No. We do not do business with pirates. Nor do we advance money to them.” Nevin’s greasy smile came out again. “Yet if you take my offer, this is yours to keep, whether you succeed or not.”

He snapped his fingers, and a pair of pages brought out a large, wide wooden chest to the base of the dock. Nevin stepped to one side as the two young men opened the chest and heaved the contents out.

A roll of fabric landed on the clean boards and rolled out along the entire length of the dock. At first glance, it resembled a pale, off-white version of a carpet as it unrolled. Only when it came to a stop did Sienna’s breath whistle out in amazement. Once again, the crew broke out in excited murmurs behind them.

“That’s an entire mainsail,” she breathed. “One that’s made of aramyde. The finest sailing canvas you can find in Jaladri.”

Caleb’s mind went into overdrive again. Nevin was offering a way to double the speed of the Spitfire, and right up front. It both excited him and made him doubly cautious at the same time.

As if to underscore the gravity of the situation, a new screen popped up in his Quest Window.

New Veteran Adventurer's-Level Quest: Return King Nevin’s Daughter to him unharmed. Quest bonus difficulty shall be determined upon acceptance of mission. STATUS: DEPENDENT UPON DECISION TO ACCEPT QUEST.

All right, that’s another indicator, Caleb thought grimly. We haven’t had a Veteran Adventurer’s Level Quest since escaping Irongrasp and defeating the dragon aboard Campion’s ketch.

“You have our attention,” Caleb said out loud. “Allow me to confer with my associates.”

Nevin made a slight bow and stepped back a few paces. Caleb turned around and made an impromptu huddle with his friends.

“All right,” he said. “Thoughts. Now.”

“This has to be a very dangerous mission,” Sienna breathed. “And the gold is nice...but Lir and Danu as my witness, we need that sail. There’s no way we can out-sail or out-fight the Myrkur as we are.”

“Thou doth speak the truth,” Shaw declared. He bobbed his head eagerly. “Yet this danger doth add spice to the request, methinks.”

That sounded like two votes Aye to Caleb. But he still didn’t like it. He needed a more restrained opinion to balance out things.

“Tavia, what do you think? Do we pass on this one?”

“Nay, we should take up this cause,” she said firmly. “Returning a man’s poor daughter, especially if she has been kidnapped, is helping to thwart a crime most foul. A paladin would be loathe not to take up this cause.”

“If she has been kidnapped,” Shaw added, “‘Tis certain that she is being held by a dragon, given the reputation of the kingdom. In fact, I wouldst even wager a fair coin on it!”

“Let’s see if you’re right,” Caleb said, before turning back to King Nevin. “Your Majesty, we’re interested. Give us the rest of the details. My friend Shaw here believes he knows what troubles you. You need us to rescue your daughter from a dragon, correct?”

Nevin’s face crinkled as he tried and failed to restrain a bitter laugh.

“I’m afraid you have it backwards,” he finally said. “You see, you’re going to need to rescue the dragon...from my daughter.”