Hans followed Jamie and the rest of the crew out of the pub, alongside some of the passengers. Hans noticed a young werewolf who seemed to be different from the rest of the werewolf crew. He was, for Hans, quite urban. The gray-furred werewolf was well-dressed like a city person, wearing a red vest over his white shirt that was adorned with a pocket watch chain and complemented by pants. Unlike Hans, the werewolf wore something over his paws which seemed to be leather like a shoe or a slipper, while keeping his sharp claws out. Complementing his appearance was the pair of round pince-nez glasses he wore over his canine snout. Hans thought it looked ridiculous on a werewolf, but at the same time, the werewolf looked smarter and less bestial.

Interested in knowing the werewolf more, Hans approached him and said, "Hello!"

"Oh, hello, there!" he replied cheerfully. "So, you're travelling with us, too, then?"

"Quite so," said Hans. "You know, I have never met a werewolf wearing glasses before. In fact, you do look a bit...high-class."

"Ah, well, I'm flattered, but no. It's nothing fancy," said the werewolf. "Fur helps keeping me warm, so I don't need a jacket or a coat. I do pack some in case we end up in freezing temperatures. I hope you have some, too."

Hans packed some coats, though he wasn't sure he would use it since he had his werewolf fur coat. Then again, he would not be in his werewolf form all the time.

"So, uh, I've never met a werewolf wearing reading glasses before," said Hans. "Is that a thing in the city?"

""Well, there's a lot of us in the college cities," said the gray-furred werewolf. He had a posh Tragorian accent befitting his appearance. "And in regard of me being an academic, then yes. I am from Excourt."

"Excourt? I wonder. Do you, uh...you know?"

The werewolf was quick in knowing what Hans was implying. He quickly shook his head and said, "Oh, dear me, no! werewolves are accepted in colleges and even intermingle with the humans. We even openly admit that we are werewolves. Then again, one quick glance is enough to tell that I'm one."

"How? Is there a tell? I can even tell my sister is a werewolf if she is in human form."

"It's not that hard. I'm a turned werewolf, not a pureblood. I don't have a human or a feral form. This is my permanent form."

Hans, being a villager most of his life, did not know what the werewolf was talking about. He wanted to ask, but then, he chose to just talk about something else because he had a feeling the werewolf would explain to him in detail that he might not get most of it.

"I have never even been to a big city, so I don't know much about city Lycans. Tells you how closed my life is, huh? I guess that is the prime reason for my decision to join this expedition."

"It's the reverse for me. I have been so accustomed with living in a dusty, heavily polluted city that I prefer the smell of old, musty books in the college's library."

"Really? The library in our village is not that old, but I know how musty smells. You don't want to be locked in a room full of it."

"I can imagine." The werewolf then proceeded to extend his hand. "Ulster Baldwin."

"Hans Rezmirn," said Hans as he accepted it.

They followed the rest of the crew and passengers through the town and towards the port. Along the way, Hans wondered why someone with such a good future as an academic would want to risk his life crossing the dangerous seas. He did not look like an explorer.

"What brings you to this expedition, then?" asked Hans. "You don't seem to have much experience travelling."

"I'm an anthropologist and for my research, I chose this expedition," said Ulster. "The others think it won't make a good research. It's too high of a risk and I will not see my home for maybe more than a year. My peers tried to discourage me from travelling as a result."

"So, this will be the first time of many?"

"I do hope it will be. You see, the thing is, we already know much of the continent. The college's archives hold much of the information about the history, the geography, and even the cultures of the Ternor continent, especially Tragoria. I can try and research how the rapid implementation of inventions into affordable and efficient household appliances influenced the culture on the first decade of the twentieth century, but I can be a little...ambitious in regards of my pursue of knowledge. I want to document the culture of the unknown lands instead."

"Shouldn't they just, you know, assign someone more experienced?"

"But I am experienced. The truth is, I'm doing this on behalf of my mentor. He is a well-respected anthropologist, but he is old and is preparing for retirement. When the representatives of the de Rochefort company wished to invite him to this journey, he recommended me instead. I am honored."

"That's quite impressive."

They stopped their conversation when they reached the port and saw the ship. Hans noticed that it was completely from everything he knew about a ship. For starters, the ship was illuminated by electric lights, which the village of Sidve only had on a limited, specific use, and that was for the wireless telegraph service in the post office. His home was still illuminated with oil lanterns and the fireplace, which was not much compared to the modern ship. It also made the ship brightly lit at night, making Hans wondered if it would disturb the townsfolks trying to sleep.

The ship itself was magnificent in Hans' eyes. On the way to Angla, he was expecting a big, hardy wooden ship, considering that they would be travelling through an unknown and possibly dangerous sea. Once he saw the Blackjack, however, all his expectations were not only shattered, but also turned to piqued interest.

The ship was not made out of wood, but out of riveted steel. Parts of the top deck were still made out of wood, but it was mostly for the paneling and the deck floors. The rest were steel. Hans also noticed the lack of a sail. Instead, in its place, a tall, black chimney with partial red paint stood out in the darkness. The appearance made them look rather menacing, especially since they were not illuminated like the rest of the ship.

The ship itself was considered quite small, especially when compared with the other ships moored in Angla. However, it was clearly the most technologically advanced. The all-steel hull construction and the steam engines already made it stood out among the other windsail ships.

Ulster noticed him staring at the ship. He quickly assumed that Hans was in awe of the ship.

"The steamship's very new," said the werewolf. "It's one of several ships constructed, but the Blackjack is the first to be completed in time for this expedition. The lack of sails is due to the power of the steam turbines on the ship and the propellers at the back. The ship's small, but it's big enough to fit 50 passengers without personal rooms."

"You seem to know a lot about the ship."

"The ship is a Tragorian-Dusdolfian engineering efforts. The Tragorian half is courtesy of the Excourt College School of Engineering. The Dusdolfian half contributed to the steam engine's fuel efficiency so that we could potentially stay on the sea for more than two months. There are many experimental inventions being done on the ship. I had the privilege of checking most of it when I was helping with my luggage."

Hans could only be in awe as Ulster explained what the ship was. For him, it showed how serious the expedition team in tackling the unknown seas. It clearly was not a fool's gambit, as Hans previously claimed. They wanted to succeed, and the all-steel, steam-powered construct would bring that success.

Ulster invited him onto the ship and directed him towards the lower decks through a stair behind the top deck room. Hans took a glimpse through one of the windows to see a rather well-decorated common room, with some people, presumably the passengers, already making themselves comfortable. He would want to join them, but with all the luggage he was carrying, it would make him look rather awkward and, considering that he was a village werewolf, they might even ridicule him.

Good thing his luggage wasn't as much as the others. He was only carrying a rucksack full of his clothes, along with some books he bought on the way to Angla and the lunar cycle calendar to prepare himself for an involuntary transformation. He clearly did not have a lot of things to carry compared to the other passengers. He had the idea on how many things the other passengers carried with them when he got to the living deck and saw stacks of travel trunks yet to be put inside their rooms.

"There are vacant rooms a over the ship, so choose whichever has its door open," said Ulster. "Or, you can just take that room across mine."

Hans did so. The room Ulster and Hans chose was big and, from what Hans could tell, had a lot of amenities aside from private bedrooms. There was one shared bathroom near the door to the corridor, just beside Ulster's room, while on Hans' side, there was a kettle and a stove, with tea supplies to complement it. The middle of the room was a pair of chairs and a wooden, simple table made out of wood. The room was clearly not intended to be a living space, as the kitchen was not big enough to prepare some food and there was a very small space for keeping food. Hans assumed that there was a proper kitchen somewhere on the ship, but for now, he would just put his things away and relax.

Even so, he did not want to rest just yet, knowing that the night was still young. So, with Ulster, they walked through the living space corridor and into a spacious room. It was filled with chairs and relaxing couches, along with a stage for entertainment, complete with musical instruments and a piano bolted to the wall. Behind the room was a door and a bar, presumably leading to the kitchen and the pantry. Several people were seen putting foods into the walk-in pantry, with Hans noticing that most of what was inside were oranges.

"That's a lot of oranges," said Hans.

"So, you won't get a scurvy," said Ulster in response to Hans' remark. "It's a nasty business, scurvy. I don't know the details, so you might want to ask the sailors about it."

Hans would do so. He really wanted to know more about travel with a ship now that he became heavily invested in it.

As Hans looked around the lounge and the bar, he noticed a contraption near the bar counter. It did not look like a brewery pump and it did not seem to be giving out beer. In fact, it was labeled 'Water' instead of anything else. Hans was curious and wanted to see what it did, but he was stopped in place by a voice.

"Unless you know what you're doing, I suggest you keep your hands off the water dispenser. It's delicate."

Hans turned around to find himself face to face with a human woman. She did not look upset. Rather, her expression was that of a smile.

"O-oh, sorry, miss," said Hans as he pulled his hand away from a nearby knob. "I was just...curious."

"Aren't anyone?" she said as she put a heavy box she was carrying down. "It's an experimental piece of work so we don't need to carry too many water barrels. It's a dispenser that is connected to the water distiller up on the top deck. Did you notice the catch basin upstairs?"

"Uh...."

"If not, then that's fine. Can't let anyone too curious to accidentally break it, right? I got the spare parts to fix it, but I'd prefer to use the one we have until it inevitably breaks. Anyway, haven't seen you around. You new around here, wolf?"

"Just arrived earlier this evening. You don't seem fazed by my appearance?"

"I think you look rather cute with all that fur on your body," she said. "And yes. I know you're not a danger. Dusdolfians are not as scared as Tragorians when it comes to Lycans. Most of our nobles are werewolves. Ironically, the noble sponsoring this expedition is Tragorian."

She then extended her hand to Hans.

"Name's Henrietta Fischer," she said. "Again, ironically, I am an engineering on a ship that has nothing to do with fishing."

"Hans," said Hans. "You sound rather..."

"Dusdolfian? It's the accent, isn't it? I have been living in Tragoria for several years to learn the language, especially since you're going to work with several Tragorians and Tragorian-speaking Adals."

"Wow. Just a day ago I was still a Lycan from Sidve. Now, I get to meet someone from a different region."

"This is a small world, after all, so it's up to us to expand it," she said cheerfully. "Well, let's get friendly with each other in this pioneering trip. Not to say anything bad towards our captain, but you have to admit that this is clearly going to be a difficult trip."

"I mean, we are crossing into the unknown seas and possibly to the end of the world," said Hans. "So, yeah, let's hope we don't end up falling off the side of the map."

"You know that's absurd, right?" said Henrietta.

"I'm joking. I know the Earth's not like the surface of a map."

"At least you know that's a stupid idea. Anyway, we're departing soon. Captain said the last of the supplies and passengers came, and engineering is steaming the engine up. I'm on the way down there to help Victor supervise. Don't be a stranger."

"I won't. See you later, Ms. Fischer," said Hans.

"Henrietta's fine," she said with a smile. "And try not to be too formal on board this ship because we are going to stay together for a very long time."

Henrietta disappeared behind the kitchen door while carrying the box she set down earlier. Hans' sharp ears caught her steps going down the stairway behind the door.

"Lovely girl isn't she?" said Ulster. He had been seating near the counter listening to the two conversing. "Smells like coal, though."

"And you're being rude," said Hans.

"Can't help it. City's full of it," said Ulster with a shrug. "Anyway, I do wonder what we're going to face, now that we are ready to go. Jamie said this is the first time we will be travelling beyond the nearby island and into the unknown seas. Now, I have heard about the island. It is big, but no one has ever set foot on it, thinking that it wasn't worth it. They said there is a tribe living there and to be fair, I'm curious how they'll think of us outsiders visiting their land."

"Hope they don't just brandish their weapons against us."

"If our intents are peaceful, then let's hope that is not the case."

"You know, now that you mention we're going," said Hans. "I expected something...well, grand. Like a ceremony or onlookers wishing us luck. I understand that we are close to midnight and everyone is sound asleep, but not everyone is asleep, right?"

"Well...to be honest with you, this isn't the first time anyone has ever tried this expedition before. There have been many attempts before. Some failed to reach the island, while others got past it."

"And?"

"Those who went into the sea never return to tell their stories."

Hans wasn't all that surprised if that was the case. In fact, it was rather expected, which was now confirmed with the muted response from the people of the port town. They must have thought that this expedition was a fool's gambit, or even a journey done by madmen. But that was not the case, especially with the ship being an engineering marvel and the ship itself being sponsored by a noble family. Then again, previous attempts could also have the same circumstances and would still fail. That realization worried Hans.

But the explorers could have a different reason not to return. Hans could think of some, such as they stopped their travel and decided to settle somewhere, or they couldn't go home because the ship was wrecked. He tried his best not to conclude it with death. He did not want to be demoralized so early in the journey, despite all the facts.

Yet the fact remained. No one ever returned to tell their stories. Hans tried his best not to think about it too much, but his expression was too apparent for Ulster. Realizing that he might give Hans a bad impression, he quickly tried his best to change the subject.

"B-but it's not going to happen to us," he said. "The captain knows what he is doing, and he has prove that this ship is different from those that came before it. This trip is also meticulously planned, so let's put more faith in the crew, alright?"

Hans did not want to sour the mood, so he tried to let out a toothy smile. "I'll try," he said. "Thanks, Ulster."

As he said that, Hans could feel the ship started to move. He and Ulster then looked out of the window to see the ship slowly moving away from the port it was moored in a minute ago. They then heard the loud horn, signalling the ship's departure from the quiet town of Angla.

Hans knew that this time, the dreams of an adventure was no longer a dream. He was now properly travelling on a steamship going through the sea of unknown. The land that he grew up on with his sister slowly disappeared into the night as the ship sped away into the dark, cold sea.

The expedition, in total, had 15 passengers and 20 crews. It was considered one of the most diverse crew ever put on a ship, for it was not only the humans, but also the werewolves, that became a part of the team. The success of that journey would prove that such journey was possible, and in turn would lead to opportunities beyond the confines of that continent.

Little did Hans knew, however, that his travel through the sea would expose him to a world beyond even his comprehension. His first taste of it was on the island they were going to.