“We didn’t get to do much of anything out here,” said Joe, carrying a big box along the sand. “After getting married, I really wanted to come out here and do something, you know? Make a name for myself.”
Lorca, who was helping him with another box, wasn’t quite so disappointed.
“For a former carpenter and stonemason, I reckon we’ve done pretty good for ourselves. No injuries to speak of, and we’re heading home with a surplus of loot. It was us against two thousand, Joe. Two thousand. Our wives are going to be stunned when they hear that we beat the odds and came home unscathed.”
“Yeah, I know, it’s just... For us it was a lot of heavy lifting and behind-the-scenes work, you know? We didn’t actually go toe-to-toe with anybody. And I know we got some juicy intel to go with our spoils, and that’ll come in handy down the line, but still...”
“‘But still’ nothing, my friend. It was good enough. More than enough. Maybe we didn’t stand out, but we put in the work, we earned some valuable info, and we’re going to take it back to Lord Dias to help him out. It’s what we’ve always done, and you know as well as I do how important intel is—Juha drilled it into us both. So what’s gotten you all bothered this time?”
“It’s just a feeling, I guess. I just feel like Lord Dias is going to soar to all new heights again, and we’re going to be left behind in his wake.”
“Look, Joe, that’s never going to... I mean, really, it can’t... Okay, I’ll be honest, it’s more than possible. Still, worrying about what hasn’t happened yet isn’t going to get you anywhere. And you know Lord Dias, Joe. The slow and steady path, the behind-the-scenes work—he rewards and acknowledges it all so long as you put your heart into it.”
“Yeah, look, I know,” said Joe, “and I’ve no complaints when it comes to getting paid. He treats us really well, he really does. I just... I hope next time I get a little taste of center stage, you know?”
He let out a sigh, and Lorca chuckled at his friend. Lorca hefted his box onto a waiting raft, then ran back for the carts—it seemed he didn’t like the feel of the water soaking into his boots. Joe did likewise and followed after his friend. It was then that an onikin raised his hand. He’d been on concealment duties, and he’d spotted somebody approaching.
Everybody stopped talking in a heartbeat and stopped in their tracks. They scanned the area around them and eventually noticed a number of men approaching in dirty, tattered rags. Their eyes were misted over, their gazes distant, and while they had a certain violent aura, they lacked spirit and were terribly gaunt. It looked very much like they were all starving.
The men looked human at a glance, but parts of their bodies retained characteristics unique to beastkin—a sign that they were lostbloods. Iluk’s residents knew it because of all the time they’d spent with Seki, Saku, and Aoi. Aruharu had been treated like a lostblood long enough to know too.
The expeditionary party watched on as the lostblood vagrants looked around and, upon finding nothing, wandered off elsewhere. Everybody stayed silent long after the lostbloods had disappeared, returning to work only after Aymer let out a whisper to say that the coast was clear.
“It’s quite likely those men are bandits,” she said. “They’re so thin, and with winter soon to arrive, I have to assume that crime is their only remaining option. We can’t leave them any weapons, but we can leave them a little food. They may return, and hopefully they’ll find what we’ve left when they do. That’s the most we can do for them.”
Any food left on the beach meant less for the trip home, but nobody spoke up against Aymer’s suggestion. After some time the last onikin party arrived, the remaining supplies were loaded, and some rations were left on the beach.
Then the expeditionary party began the journey home—across the sea, through the wasteland, and on to Iluk Village.
It was just as they set off, however, that a number of boats arrived from the west. In them were crews of rough- and rowdy-looking beastkin, all of them powerful and muscular. When they saw Aymer’s ship sailing away, they took up their oars and gave chase, but they soon gave up when they spotted the goblins around the ship.
It was the strangest sight. They simply turned around and returned whence they came as if they’d seen nothing at all.
Joe and Lorca were standing at the edge of the ship, scratching their heads, when a goblin popped its head out of the water and explained.
“Nothing to worry about!” said the goblin. “Those sailors know us well, and they wouldn’t dare lift a finger against us! I’ll bet that they don’t even say a word about seeing us either! They know that if they do, they won’t have work on the open seas anymore!”
That was enough for Joe and Lorca, who thanked the goblin. They added that particular fact to the list of things they would report to Dias, including what they’d learned of the lostbloods. To make sure they didn’t forget, they even took some paper and charcoal from their pockets and jotted it all down in detail.
Neither Joe nor Lorca knew if their intel would truly be of use, but they wrote it down all the same, not even fearing the potential seasickness it might bring as they sailed for home.