"What do you mean, it just opened?!" Cria paced before him, walking a line into the sand

"It just opened," Seko said again, "I picked up the thing, and it opened."

"Well whatever the case," Yan said, "It doesn't matter, this is it! This has to be the treasure of Dotan Depairyo!"

"Has anything like this existed before?" Seko turned to Vel, who was similarly stupefied by the massive slot now open just ahead of them

"A pocket dimension..." She muttered "That's what it meant,"

"Seko, that doesn't answer the question." Cria said

"This is incredible!" Reeves shouted, "That must be the reason for the strange sensations everyone's had, we're at a literal bonding point. Of course, things would feel strange!"

"It was always just a theory..." Vel continued, "No one thought it possible."

"We should get the ship!" Yan said, "Get the crew and see if we can find the treasure."

"Vel?" Seko shook her shoulder, "Is it safe? Has anything like this been tested before?"

"Like this?" She looked over the green energy trickling out and into the water, dissipating into nothingness moments later, and laughed. "No, nothing."

Reeves circled the assembled group as more of the crew arrived to view the strange portal. The call went out to wake those that were slumbering and soon the entire crew of 38 were staring, mouths wide in awe at the strangeness before them. Cria slowed in her pacing and merely adopted a concerned posture over the events.

The ship was anchored, thankfully, but Seko had feared the waves would carry her into the gap without a second thought. He hadn't expected the portal to create waves! Once it had opened, the still surface of the lake instantly shifted to the crashing of deep ocean waters.

"What about the... the..." Reeves snapped his fingers, trying to force the thought out, "the... The Instruction set!"

"Instruction set?" Seko asked.

"This thing came with a manual?" Cria asked

"I'm grabbing a longboat and some crew and heading in." Yan called

"Wait!" Seko tried to stop him, but the man was well underway in his undertaking. "Damn it."

"You think it would have to do with this?" Vel asked

"It would make sense, it mentions sizes of objects."

"I'm not sure..." Vel pulled a page from her pile and handed it to Reeves, "But if you think it's something."

"Look, right there!" He pointed to a section on the upper half. The words were merely pictures to Seko "It mentions weight, and collapse."

"Collapse?" Seko asked

"I wonder if he hid it here then..." Cria muttered

"I'm not sure whether that has anything to do with this though," Vel said, "It's massive, weight should have little to do with it."

"Unless it means ships."

Vels eyes widened with slow realization. "Oh."

"Indeed."

"I'm sorry," Seko said, "but someone tell me what's going on!"

"The portal, it'll likely stay open for as long as we want." Reeves said

"But if we put too much weight through it, then it could collapse, possibly destroying the path back."

"Meaning?" He was growing annoyed with the double-talk

"Simply put, we shouldn't take the ship through." Vel said

"We wouldn't," Seko said, "or won't, rather."

Three longboats, loaded with four men each, rowed their way towards the gate, with Yan at the head. As the boats crossed the threshold, they disappeared into the void beyond the door. Seko felt a pit form in his stomach, but as he ran to the side to get a better view he saw that the trio of craft were still rowing comfortably towards a mirrored version of their island, only something seemed strange about the sand so far away.

"We should join them," He said

"I agree." Eado, ever the silent presence, pulled the small boat closer to the beach and let the rope fall. "Which is why I prepared this."

"Ah, good man." Seko said, "Where would I be without you?"

"Dead, likely from betrayal."

"Right..." he tried to keep his smile for the sake of appearances and climbed into the seat to row. Vel, Cria, and Reeves climbed in alongside as Eado pushed the small craft back into the waters.

He needed to do very little actual rowing, as it turned out the stream of water was now flowing strong enough that with only a little encouragement they were able to pass through the gap and into a strange mirror of the island. The Pasongunan was gone, and the sky was a more brilliant orange and burgundy, but the oddest was the land. There seemed to be no sign of anything green, in fact, the light that was cast from above bathed everything in a bronze hue. A massive ship, larger than theirs but smaller than the towering galleon, was beached and destroyed on the shore. Sections of the aft and forecastle were strewn about, giving hints at the vessel that one terrorized the seas.

It was Dotans ship, or one of them anyway, from his prized fleet that had pillaged and plundered for almost fifty years. He couldn't make out the name, but memory told him it had been a fierce contender for control over the ocean.

"The Judith..." Cria sat in awe at the vessel and fixed her gaze on the Quarterdeck and helm. "This was his ship, his first ship. He was given command of that vessel when he first set out from Niruk."

"So what's it doing here then?" Seko asked

"Especially if there's a threat of closing the portal." Vel said, "That shouldn't be here."

"Unless it closed the portal the last time." Reeves said

Seko pulled the orb from his pocket and fiddled with it. The thing was essentially dead and done, its purpose having been served, but he felt the need to keep it with him. Perhaps if they got trapped within, then they could use it to open the way again.

"Brother!" Yan called from the shore, waving his arms wildly. He threw large chunks of clumped sand towards the boat as they approached. From the distance, it almost looked like the sand was actually...

"Gods..." Eado whispered "Bless us on this journey for we have been graced by your wisdom."

"Its... Gold." Cria said, "It's all covered in gold."

The closer they got, the easier it was to see that everything, every aspect and area of the island that was present, was covered in chests of gold, silver, copper, and mountains of other items. Plates and forks, chalices and cups. Seko jumped out from the ship and crashed through the waters until he landed on the sand of the beach, which was difficult to find.

Even as he knelt, his knee pressed further into the layer of coins that coated the would-be-shore, sending trails falling and spilling similar to the sand dunes they were mimicking. Few spoke, aside from the guttural chants and whoops of joy, everyone simply took in the surroundings. The famous island of Dotan Depairyo. The Island of a thousand pirate hordes. The consolidation of half a centuries worth of expert raiding and plundering.

He'd hidden it all here, everything he'd stolen and looted, all together in one place and all but wrapped up in a tidy bow.

"Its real..." Seko ran his hand through the coins and let them spill through his fingers. "You were right, Yan."

"Haha! How about that! Captain Seko admits I was right!" Yan called, eliciting a resounding cheer from everyone involved.

There weren't enough longboats for the crew to travel four at a time, so many began piling in, up to the maximum. Others ditched the concern and simply dove into the water and swam for the far shore ahead. Everyone ran from end to end collecting and throwing what chests they could into their ships, some rowing back to unload and start the process again.

"It's really here." Seko repeated. "I can't believe it."

"Believe it, lad, the gods be true and so do miracles." Eado patted his back and stepped out onto the metal shore.

Shimmers of gems and gold ran from the beach down into the depths of the water, being washed away into obscurity but still glinting a prospect of interest before they went. There was more gold here than the entirety of the Empire combined! He couldn't imagine how Dotan had managed to amass such a fortune over his lifetime.

"Incredible..." Cria lifted a hand to cover her mouth, a motion seemingly done from shock, more from horror. "Then it really is here, she hadn't lied."

"Who?" Seko asked, but before he could get an answer, the woman was dashing towards the aft quarterdeck of the wrecked vessel.

"Go after her, we don't know if it's safe or not." Yan said, "I'll make sure we start loading this up. Don't worry."

"Hardly would," Seko said, chasing after Cria in a full sprint.

The rear of the Judith was as large as any vessel Seko had stepped foot on, or at least any vessel bearing the impressive captain's cabins of the early ages. He had to crouch to enter through the door, the broken mast of the ship having collapsed atop it and grown to hold there. He followed the disturbances that Cria had made on her journey in, using his experience of hunting as a guide. He found her leaned over a partially decayed wooden desk and staring through a journal.

"Is this what you were after?" Seko asked

"No, but it has the answer." She said, "We need to find a cave, there's something within it that I need."

Seko stopped and stared her down, "No farther."

"What?" She looked confused

"I won't go any farther until I know what you're after."

"And why would it matter now, after over a month without bringing it up? Not to mention, I didn’t need you to find the journal once we arrived here. Why would it matter?"

"Because we're here," He motioned to the room, "And because I'm curious. If you want my help, then tell me what you're after."

"So you can steal it for yourself?"

He laughed and shook his head, "Do you honestly see me that way?"

Cria pulled the journal to her chest and looked around. She lowered her right hand, likely preparing a spell, and spoke slow, clear words.

"I said I was from the Free Merchants, right?"

"That you had a hold there, I believe." Seko said

"Well, that's not entirely true, but also not entirely false."

"It's politics, dear, if the system worked, then we wouldn't be here."

"I'm the descendant of Dotan Depairyo and Zusea of the Free Merchant pirates."

"So the journal on the ship,"

"I was there to retrieve it. I had gotten caught the night before, and they'd chained me to question me."

"Huh," Seko sat on a nearby chair and ran through their time together. "Well that fits. I don't know that I like it, though."

"I Don't expect you to trust me any more now than you did."

"If you're his great great something or other, then I feel like I might trust you a bit more. At least, now I know for a fact that this is real, and there might be more that I can learn from you."

"That's a better attitude than I was expecting."

"Well it comes at a cost,"

"And that would be?"

"I'm coming back with you to the Free Merchants,"

"Excuse me?"

Seko shrugged, "It's the offer on the table. I'd prefer to work legitimately to regain my families position, even if it means changing alliances."

"Well," She paused, "You'd be no further aligned than you are now, but for family honor? Really?"

"There's more, but honors the best lie I had."

Cria set the journal down and seemed to give the prospect some serious consideration. Seko could see parts of the gears moving within her mind as she worked out her best course.

"Fine." She said, "But you're helping me in exchange."

"Further than this now?"

"When we arrive, I'll need an ally I can count on. There are certain elements within the court that have aligned themselves with the Void Expanse Invaders and are trading their lands away for safe passage from something."

"Sounds fun." Seko said, "What does that have to do with you?"

"I'm next in line to rule,"

"Ah," He shook his head, "Should have realized it was too good to be true."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, I hoped you were a little less..."

"Conspicuous" She folded her arms

"Obvious." He said, "But we do what we can. Fine, then, I'll help you find this item on the island , and then we'll make sure that you get back home safe."

"At which point you'll hand over captaining the Pasongunan to Nakyan?"

"That would be the way of it."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Yans a fine captain, but I don't expect him to live forever, if that's what you mean. He'll make a name for himself, and that'll satisfy him. I'll start rebuilding a life, and that'll satisfy me. You'll have your sword, staff, thing, and that will satisfy you."

"Well if you're going to help than we better start searching."

"Okay? What for?"

"There's a cave on the east end of the island, apparently there's a passage there into the side of a hill. It's apparently some sort of armory."

"Ancient portal to a pocket dimension," Seko said, "Perfect spot to store your weapons."

She rolled her eyes and closed the journal, sliding it into place under her jacket, "After you."