“We go by Inevitable,” Aclysia introduced them.

“Urgh,” Reysha let out a displeased cry in the background. “By the Hellroots, ‘Clysia, the fuck you saying? That’s not how you introduce us. Apexus, go!”

“We are Inevitable,” Apexus stated.

Aclysia’s lower lip quivered a bit, as she looked at her darling. The swooning was interrupted when Reysha grabbed her pale arm. The black dress that she wore, a physical gift of her divine nature, did not hide anything about the snow white skin, nor the state it was in. “Aha, goosebumps!” Reysha declared victoriously.

“You are a terrible person!” Aclysia shot back.

“That’s why I keep getting what I want.”

“A matter resolved without honour is a matter revisited with a sword.”

The two party members continued going back and forth, leaving two very confused pirates, a mildly blushing kobold, and a passive hulk. “They just do that sometimes,” Korith assured them.

“Who are you people?” one of the pirates, a woman with jet-black hair and tanned skin, asked. The bald man next to her nodded supportively. He was of a broad build, with a bit of a belly that was less the consequence of a good diet and more his build.

It was the second time they had asked the question. Apexus glanced once more over to Aclysia. Typically, she was the one to talk to strangers. Still involved in one of her many fights with the redhead, that was not an option. “I am Apexus,” the humanoid chimera took over. “This is Korith. Aclysia. Reysha.” The tiger woman grinned and waved, when he pointed at her. “We are adventurers.”

The words caused mild surprise, despite the obvious off-world nature of the quartet. “You come from beyond this Leaf?”

“Yes.”

The flat answer brought the conversation to a grinding halt. Like all people they had met so far, the pair of pirates were of a size the group would regard as below average. That was relative to whatever Leaf one was on. For the two tall women and the very tall man, these people were tiny though. Even the broad man barely made it up to Apexus’ shoulders.

Korith cleared her throat, stepping out from behind Apexus’ thigh to extend a proverbial hand to the pirates. “Apexus is a bit very direct so you’ll have to ask detailed questions if you want a response.” The humanoid chimera tilted his head, wondering how he should respond to people talking about him while he was right there. His blue eyes kept staring at the woman who had taken the helm. He remembered to blink. “D-don’t mind his manners, he’s really friendly.”

“I mean no harm, if you mean none to us,” Apexus supported.

A minor reprieve for the pirates, who still weren’t sure exactly how to deal with this. They had started defensive preparations when they had seen the giant of a man flying towards them. It was rare to see people travel using this land route. It was unheard of that someone could fly. It was unthinkable that they would be adventurers.

Yet there they were, approaching a pirate crew of two dozen unafraid and that put all the terror it could into the two people who had been sent to parley. Other pirates could be dealt with, authorities from the nations of the Walled Ports were always enemies, but these unknown elements were terrifying.

Apexus measuring them up constantly did not help.

Aclysia finally noticed the degradation in the negotiations. “We will continue our eternal discussion about your lack of proper manners at a later date,” she told Reysha.

“There’s so much more fun stuff we could do with our tongues though.”

Turning away with a blush, Aclysia stepped back in front of her darling. “My apologies for the confusion. We are… lively.” She cleared her throat. “We entered this Leaf 30 days ago, approximately. Many tales were presented to us about the current state of the Leaf and the founding myths of its civilizations. So far, we do not hold any stake in it and we do not intend to change this stance needlessly. I understand fully that…” Aclysia came to a slow halt, when she realized both of the pirates were looking at her with onsetting confusion. “We are neutral and mean you no harm. We would just like to talk and learn more about the state of this world,” she surmised her words in more plain language.

“…I suppose,” the woman responded carefully and turned around. “We’ll let them into camp!” she shouted. To the adventurers, she said, “Follow me.”

The quartet did as instructed and followed a curving path through the rocks down to the bottom of the cliff. The wooden barricades were left and placed back with the other crates. It wasn’t the most efficient defence, but it was a well-studied one.

The party stepped into the bay. A green area near the cliffside had been gradually trampled into submission by the constant movements of the two dozen crewmen. Clear paths of wet dirt connected various areas of the camp. Tents and hammocks were scattered about, assuring a minimum of privacy for those who cared about it.

Of greatest interest was the vessel that laid sideways in the mud. Where the ebb retreated and only shallow water covered much of the greyish brown seafloor, the boat lied. Chunks of algae, barnacles, and rotting wood, too heavy to be washed away, laid around the vessel.

“What are you doing with it?” Apexus asked.

“Careening,” the woman answered with a single word. Apexus shot her a confused glance and she looked back just as confused. “Never encountered boats before?”

“Only as a passenger. Most Leaves we visited did not require much oceanic travel. What is careening?”

“Well, when you’re on the ocean, stuff gradually attaches to the bottom of the ship. Barnacles and such nasty stuff – not to mention the worms that eat the wet planks. Every so often, you gotta go ashore, turn the ship over and give the planks a good scrubbing. Maybe change out some of the planks, if necessary, or just seal some weak spots with lead and tar paint.”

“Interesting,” Apexus stated.

“Hey, boss, can I talk to you for a moment!” A member of the crew shouted across and waved urgently. The woman, the boss by means of election, shot the party a glance, before slowly walking away. “If we’re going to have to feed those four too, we’ll have to send out an extra hunting party.”

The words were muttered, but Apexus heard anyway. Without any further words, he leapt at the nearby cliffside, then bounced off it to gain even further elevation. The stunned and confused pirates could only watch as the giant humanoid took off towards the ocean.

“He’s going hunting,” Reysha explained, having heard just as well as the rest of them had.

“Darling is always so proactive.” Aclysia let out a dreamy sigh.

“Want to play a game to pass the time?” Korith suggested.

Games were a matter the pirates knew all too well, at least. A set of four crates, pushed together, served as a large table. Korith and Reysha sat down around it. Aclysia preferred to hover above the camp, waiting for her man to return. Something she only got to start doing after giving the kobold and the tiger girl some gambling money.

“Standard poker, would you look at that,” Korith chirped, checking her hand.

A couple of rounds were played and Apexus eventually returned. Not on his wings, but marching up from the ocean. Behind him, he dragged a large reptilian body. Holding it by its tail, as much as his own held onto one of the relatively short hindlegs.

The pirates were gawking at him, when it became apparent that he was dragging a saltwater crocodile behind him. It only intensified when they realized that, not only was he entirely unharmed, but also that the creature had been killed by a skull-crushing punch between the eyes. The knuckles of his fist were engraved into the shattered scales.

“I hope this is edible,” Apexus stated, the two metre long cadaver now in front of the woman’s feet.

“Uhm, yes,” the pirate responded. The crew had sometimes eaten crocodile before. Typically, at this size, the crocodiles were more likely to eat them. “Could you help us get it over there?” she requested, pointing at a bloodstained table.

A few men were already getting into motion. All of it unnecessary as Apexus just picked the body up and carried it effortlessly over to the table. Then he left the stunned cook of the crew with the bloody work of gutting and skinning.

At the poker table, Korith happily giggled as she took what little hard cash the crew had. “Do you truly need copper?” Aclysia chided.

“Hoard needs all,” the kobold responded with zealous conviction.

The pirates may have been of a mind to grumble, had Apexus not been right behind the sitting shortstack. Unbeknownst to them, assailing the blonde would have gone just as poorly as the giant. Unintuitive for those who were used to the typical humanoid limitations.

The crew consisted of nineteen men and three women. All of those three were part of relationships, which were all the reasons why they were there in the first place, as the party soon learned. Over the course of their meal, they listened to the state of the Leaf from the perspective of these pirates.

The woman and the stout man were from the Walled Port of Hebero, the one in the centre of the map. He had been an overseer, she a slave working in the production of canvas and other fabrics. Ultimately, he had not been able to live with his participation in the system. Together with a few others, he organized a small revolt, which saw them break out during the night, grab a ship, and make out northwards.

That had been four years ago. By their own admission, the pirates had plundered the shores of Mayana and Elaya each twice and sometimes attacked trade vessels to gain additional goods. Some people they had lost in those raids, others they had gained.

“We’re trying to scrounge together enough to settle some island in the east or west,” the woman, Laima was her name, finished off the retelling. “Of course, most pirates have the same idea… and few of them are as humane as we are…” She looked Apexus dead in the eye. “You wonder about the perspective of us pirates? There is none. Every ship is its own group. Some of them are as bad as the Walled Ports would make you believe. Some of us just want to live.”

“And you need what exactly in order to settle?” Reysha asked.

“Seeds,” Laima responded immediately, then continued to rattle down a list in her mind. “Tools to till fields with and build houses. Weapons to fend off pirates that steal from us. Money to pay off ships from the Walled Ports that would harass us. Nets, livestock, clothes and the means to make them. Metal.” She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. “That’s what comes to mind right now. We can’t exactly buy any of the stuff. Smugglers are our best bet, but they don’t deliver in huge quantities. Even if they do,” She turned her eyes to the ship. “This boat can’t carry everything needed to start a good life.”

“Why not start an acceptable life?” the humanoid chimera asked.

“That’d be good enough for me… but I don’t want to have children on an island with nothing on it.”

Apexus halfway understood. To give one’s offspring the best chances was understandable, but the children could expand on the mediocrity of the situation, certainly? Generations of success had to start somewhere. Where exactly was that? A difficult question he pondered over.

“So your plan is just to keep on plundering until you have a lucky break?” Korith asked.

“Essentially.” Laima shrugged. “What else could we do, really? It's either this life or getting put into chains.” She clutched the bowl of crocodile stew. “I’ll never suffer that again.”

The broad man next to her put an arm around her. “It’s not the most honest life, but it’s not like they gave us much choice.”

Nations rich in fertility, keeping the power close to their chest. City states that kept the trade flowing and their citizens rich by exploiting those that had nothing. Pirates that were in discord, some of them terrorizing the stable realms, others just staying alive with no achievable visions for the future.

A deadlock.

‘Change is inevitable,’ Apexus contemplated. ‘Are we the change?’