“I asked him to. That’s it.”

“And he agreed? Just like that?”

Joe shrugged. Whatever reasons Xander had (Alchfrid’s help aside), he wouldn’t tell them to the person he met roughly an hour ago. He furrowed his face and hoped that the message he was sending was clear enough.

The captain of the ‘Bloody Bane’ appeared to have understood. George sneered and changed the theme of the conversation.

“So, this ‘Nature’s Bane’ thing… and Hans… Hmm. Are you sure he is involved?”

“We have some solid clues,” Ralf interjected before Xander could open his mouth. “This proof is not a metal-forged sword, but this ain’t a wooden mockery of a weapon either. There is a good chance that Hans is buying and reselling the gas, using Ghastly Wail as a midpoint. Quite convenient, honestly - having a lawless, but well-maintained settlement at your disposal. Useful for making profit and smuggling weapons of mass destruction at the same time, don’t you think?”

George didn’t answer and slouched back in his chair. Joe could not get a read on his feelings, no matter how hard he was trying.

“We’ll see if he shows up.” He heard Rayk’s voice. “But who cares?! Let ‘em buy all they want, let Hans sell all he wants! We have no strictures here, this is a Left Market, for Kon’jar’s sake!”

Xander, Ralf, George, and Joe himself stared at the captain of ‘Rolling Suns’. Rayk reeled back. His eyes reflected a deep inner confusion.

Does he really not understand?

“How would you like to die, Rayk?”

The orange rhevalian locked his gaze on the black-bearded man who asked the question.

Joe glanced at three empty bottles. Why didn’t Xander bring more beer?…

Rayk blinked several times. His mouth opened, making an ‘Oh!’ exclamation without the actual sound. He hit himself on the forehead with his paw.

“Well, bollocks. Didn’t think about ‘at. That was dumb of me, wasn’t it?”

The non-sympathizing council nodded in unison.

The energetic music reached Joe’s ears. The words of a song hit him the next second.

Ho!

How would the Emperor trudge the abyss?

Why, locked in his room and taking a piss!

The Metal Empire is no match for us!

Then true kings of Threshold are thus?…

We! The seekers of Freedom from taxes and war,

That the bloodthirsty ravens are calling us for!

With Death the next second, our heads on the line

We Cross The Threshold with our Fates intertwined!

The monsters of Paradox are all in our way,

Unshaken by fire and itching to slay!

The bullets are useless and so are our sticks,

But men of the void always got tricks!

And then we return to a hideout and stay

To reap the rewards, because as they say:

“Today you emerged from the Fire and Steel

Now, pray to the Booze and sharpen your Will!”

No Deity can save you within the abyss,

And Daemons will rip you a new hole with a hiss!

But we have a goal, more worthy than gold,

To Reach to the End - To Cross the Threshold.

To Cross the Threshold, you say?…

Joe sharply inhaled.

Laughter, encouraging shouts, and loud drinking filled the tavern. Ralf joined in, shaking his fist. Rayk grimaced, but after a second of thinking, shouted “Death to the Emperor!” into the crowd. Xander took a sip from his cup, froze for a moment, turned it upside down, and stared at it.

Joe felt a piercing stare from his right.

“Didn’t like the song?”

He shrugged.

“Is this truly possible to cross something with no borders?”

“You think the Threshold has no limits?”

Joe furrowed his brows and tilted his head, looking at George. The black-bearded captain took off his tricorne and scratched the top of his head.

“While the Threshold might not have horizontal borders, one can always explore other directions. Simple idea, right?”

Joe nodded. George continued.

“Besides, the void is not explored fully still. There are mysteries abound that the lucky man can always discover. And even ones that have been discovered might not be understood.”

“Got an example?”

“An example?” The man touched his lavish beard. “How about the Tearing Wall up to the north, beyond the territories of both Sumeilien and Hora-Hrothgar? Ever heard about that?”

“No.”

George grinned.

“Really? How long have you been with the ‘Morning Star’, sailor?”

Joe lingered on thinking up the answer.

“Barely a month.” He decided to half-truth it. He hadn’t been part of the crew for that long, but he had no obligation to tell the exact amount of time.

George nodded.

“Thought so. You look very lost, friend. This is an image you don’t want to show to the world, believe me. Especially not in the Threshold.”

Makes sense. Joe acknowledged his words with a nod, straightened himself (while the bearded captain was looking at him, grinning), and decided to ask further.

“So, this Tearing Wall… is it impossible to bypass at all?”

“Who knows? I haven’t heard of anyone who could make it through and come back. Maybe they are stuck on the other side… if it exists. There is a lot to learn about this phenomenon - in all of the known Threshold there is nothing else that has the same concentration of Tearings in one spot, changing at unpredictable intervals. Curious place, for sure.”

George’s eyes filled up with fog. His voice slowed down.

Joe noticed one small detail. This man sure loved using big and smart-sounding words - the quality that nobody else, besides Roth (and even then the Good Doctor was doing it very sporadically), had demonstrated to him. Combining it with George’s dreamy expression that showed up the moment he began talking about mysteries of the Threshold, Joe guessed that the man received a decent education and had some sort of interest in the unknown.

Scientific? Plain curiosity?

And what could lead such a person to piracy in the first place?

George looked at him. Joe shuddered, realizing that he was glaring at his conversation partner for quite some time.

“Something interesting in my eyes?”

Joe tried to assume the pose of an innocent idiot.

“No, I just got lost in thought…”

That was true as well. He coughed and went back to the topic.

“What about West, East, and South? Anything interesting?”

“Beyond Empires and Lower Reaches? Islands, more islands, and some more islands. And then some nests with the nastiest abominations known to a man. Or Anomalies. All of them have surprises, similarly to any other spot in the Threshold. The map expands its borders every day, you see. As far as I am aware, we have not reached the edge of the world quite yet, in any direction. This is why when one speaks about Threshold, he usually refers to known territories. Roughly a thousand kilometers in each direction, except for the North.”

For obvious reasons, Joe finished in his mind. Then another thought visited him.

“Would you travel beyond the Tearing Wall, if you knew that there is land behind the danger, even if the chance of surviving the trip is small?”

Joe asked the question with honest interest. But then he realized that the answer could give him more insight into what kind of person George presented himself as.

The captain of the ‘Bloody Bane’ twirled his hat on a finger.

“Interesting question… Would I? Perhaps. If there is a land in the North, there might be something worth looking into. Yes, I probably would. Would you?”

Joe couldn’t answer that question with an unbreakable conviction, but his line of reasoning would be similar to George’s anyway.

“Sure, why not? If there is a chance, I would take it.”

He saw a satisfied grin on the captain’s face.

“The crew might not like your decision, friend. Would you sacrifice their lives for the unknown?”

“We would discuss it first.”

He could find an answer for that, at least. George frowned.

“Man of honor, aren’t you? That’s a good quality. But you might need to watch your back. Who knows, a knife might end up there one day.”

“Will do.”

Xander stormed into their conversion like a battering ram.

“What are you whispering over there for? And why between yourselves?!”

Joe and George showed their best innocent smiles.

“I and the lad were just discussing the prospects of the Threshold exploration, Zan. What’s wrong with that? The three of you got a moment for yourselves with that song, so we just got to know each other a little bit closer.”

The quartermaster moved his stare to Joseph. Joe threw his hands up and rolled his eyes.

“Leave the lad alone, Zan,” Ralf grumbled. “George is alright. We still have a lot to talk about, but it might be too late for that.”

The rich, red ray of sunlight very clearly demonstrated what Ralf was talking about. George nodded and stood up.

“Good point, Ralf. It was nice seeing you again, gentlemen,” he paused for a moment. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe we’ll get more folks together to talk about this Nature’s Bane and the Pardon.”

“That would be ideal,” Xander nodded.

“Have a good night, lads.”

George Firebreacher left the tavern. Rayk followed him with his eyes and yawned.

“Tomorrow is another day… Shit… Knight, have you seen Iliana?”

The quartermaster pondered for a second.

“At the gates, yes. About an hour and a half ago.”

“Which ones?”

“The triple-port ones, southwest.”

Rayk got up from the chair.

“Thank ya. I’ll tell lads and others about this gas of yours. Meet me tomorrow here or at Kon’jar.”

Xander gave him a nod. Rayk turned around and exited the place, doing his best to avoid looking at Ralf the entire way.

“What’s the matter between you and Rayk?” Joe was curious about that bit.

The cook scratched his neck. His eyes were looking elsewhere.

“Who knows, kid?… A little thing in the past. A stupid thing, honestly. Involves a girl and a gun. I am not saying any more.”

Joe moved his gaze to Xander. The quartermaster threw his arms up.

He had no idea either, Joe guessed.

“So… now what?”

Ralf tapped his shoulder with a motivation of a bear.

“The night! We are partying tonight, kid! Take off your coat and streak in your full glory on-”

“Ralf!”

“I’m joking, I’m joking! Take it easy, Joe. Drink, buy something, find yourself a girl… like the one you were staring at some time ago.”

“You noticed that?!” How?! Joe could swear this drunk old man was busy downing drinks the entire time!

The triumphant grin was unbearably annoying. Xander sighed.

“As much as I don’t like to admit it, Ralf has a point. Take your time to rest in both spirit and body. Go back to the ship when you feel like it’s enough for you. Don’t sleep in the hub itself - bad idea.”

“Are there any reliable merchants with useful stuff?”

“Depends on what you are looking for,” Ralf shrugged. “I can show you some places tomorrow. Most Zink-hoarders are done for today, and the ones that are open for a night are shifty at best. Don’t bother.”

“Sure.”

The black dragoncat stood up from his chair.

“I am going to take a walk. Enjoy the night.”

Joe and Ralf watched Xander leave. The cook coughed.

“Maybe I should take a walk too, for personal purposes, hehe… Well, be on your guard, kid. Stay safe.”

Ralf put his hand on Joe’s shoulder and followed the quartermaster to the exit.

Joe was left all alone at the table.