'It's likely the best opportunity we'll get.' said Ulric over the familiar link while they went down the street after the meeting. Oglevie offered them jobs he thought suited them, and the girls and Ulric said they'd wanted to think it over first.

'I think between the positions offered to all of us, we'll have pretty much their whole organisation covered.' said Elzbieta.

Ulric nodded. 'We'll wait a little before giving our answer so we won't seem too eager and haggle a little about our pay to let them think we're in it for the money.'

'But what about if they ask us to do anything to innocent people, Master?' asked Kaui.

Ulric glanced at another fight between two pirates in the side street they passed. A big one tried to cut his smaller opponent with an axe, but the latter one was quick on his feet and left a dagger in a fatal spot of the big one's body. 'We'll have to deal with that when the moment comes. Luckily there are barely any innocent people here.'

***

'Wait here.' said the servant and left for the regional navy commodore's office.

Tarrence had already taken in the decoration of the regional human navy headquarters abundant with touches of frills, gold, red, and statues and paintings relating to anything to do with the navy, but he pretended to take interest in a depiction of two ships riddling each other with cannonballs during a storm. "Gaudy." he thought while listening carefully to the sounds around him. He'd heard two guards arriving and waiting around the corner of the hall and a whisper between two servants about the chills down their backs when they saw him. He let himself loose and curled up one corner of his mouth because no one saw him.

The servant returned a little later, his expression professionally blank but Tarrence smelled the disgust he had for other species and the disappointment that he couldn't throw the canine demon out. Tarrence briefly thought the servant was lucky that he couldn't, but expected the man to die violently at the hands of a disgruntled demon in the future anyway.

The servant gestured for Tarrence to follow him. 'Commodore Wallace will see you now.'

Tarrence was led into the wide chambers of the commodore, who outdid the garish interior, even without wearing his official jacket and hat, thanks to his thin and upwardly curled black moustache. Tarrence thought he could use it to poke someone's eye out if he treated it right and had the smarts for covert self-defence. Renhard Wallace scratched his signature on a document, dried it, and laid it aside before acknowledging his visitor. Tarrence thought it funny how people in perceived power always needed to look busy with something important when they received visitors. He figured an inferiority complex came with such positions.

Renhard wiggled his moustache like a small rodent. 'I was told you had a request for the navy's help and a proposal that would benefit us. Something concerning Red Cove.'

'Captain Sharktail has something in her possession that belongs to my client, and she's not very forthcoming in returning it. Unfortunately, she is too well protected to retrieve the goods through a covert manner and thus some force is needed. Something like the size of the fleet you command here.'

Renhard poured himself a drink. 'Even thought they're just a bunch of rabble, those pirates have enough ships to present quite some trouble if I send the fleet. It's not really worth for the occasional plundering they do of foolishly unescorted vessels. Why would I go through the trouble of losing a lot of ships and men?'

'Why would you indeed.' said Tarrence as the commodore took a drink. 'Especially when you have a deal that gives you a cut of the profits.'

Renhard's moustache froze for a moment, then the owner finished his drink and put his glass down calmly. 'Baseless accusations will find you inside a cell, mister.'

Tarrence gazed directly at him. 'I have my sources, and they know about your private courier exchanging items regularly with the courier from Sharktail. Like on Linlao a short while ago.'

Renhard pinched the base of his wine glass. 'I'm still not tempted to assist you.'

'Even when you would be heralded as the one clearing the sea of those pirates, see yourself promoted, and on top of that, taking over the lucrative trading routes that Sharktail used on the side?'

The lure of legitimate profit grabbed Renhard's attention. Maybe gained by a little coercion, but legitimate enough to be reputable. He did look forward to a less dangerous occupation in his future. 'You'd better have something really good in mind to give us the advantage of them.'

Tarrence smiled slightly. 'I can scrounge up some support.'

***

A half amused smile appeared on Iphigenia's face when Ulric walked into the corner of the tower assigned to be their home. 'I honestly never imagined you'd wear a uniform, but I'm glad to be surprised, Wolfie.'

He rolled his shoulders. 'They'll have to adjust it further. It's a little tight around the shoulders and chest.'

Conchim pulled the collar of his dark red shirt straight and slid her fingers down the front of his black jacket with the embroidered guard signature. 'If mother had seen you like this, she'd have made me queen and went off with you, my wolf.'

He chuckled. 'I used to wear a suit on occasion in my old world, but this feels too flashy for me, even with these colours.'

Elzbieta stroked his ear. 'Some women back home talked about men in uniform, but I think there's something about a wolf in uniform instead, darling.'

Iphigenia giggled. 'You have no choice now that you're part of the special guard, Wolfie. It means everyone will have to recognise us as an authority.'

'And here I hoped I could do that with a well aimed snarl.' sniggered Ulric.

'This way will reduce the number of victims to your snarls, darling.' giggled Elzbieta.

Kaui blushed a little while she gazed at him. 'I think you look great, Master. You could have been one of the main families back in orc territory if you were an orc.'

He smiled at her. 'Well, as long as all of you girls approve, I will endure it.'

Valdys ran her fingers through the fur on the back of his head and leaned her head close to his ear. 'I'd like to show how much I approve at our next rest, my love.'

He chuckled and pat her rear. 'I think I'm beginning to appreciate these clothes.'

***

Conchim walked into Sharktail's chambers later. 'You needed me?'

The high captain of all pirates turned from the window she was looking out of to address the harpy with a smile. 'Yes. Did Oglevie explain why we wanted your services?'

'You need a messenger.'

Sharktail chuckled once. 'Not just a messenger.' she said, moved to her desk, and sat back against it. 'There are plenty of people who can take a message around, but none of them can fly like you do.'

Conchim nodded. 'I've never heard of a harpy leaving the home nest to live somewhere else.'

'You have an extra ability to dodge an ambush when you're up in the air, unlike a man on the ground or even a messenger pigeon. Something like that is an invaluable advantage when it comes to keeping others reading confidential messages.

Conchim nodded again. 'True.'

'How far can you fly?'

Conchim pondered for a moment. 'I'd say from here to Fiskural.' she said, thinking that would be sufficient without revealing the true distance thanks to her strong wind magic.

'Excellent.' Sharktail said and rounded her heavy wooden desk. 'I have regular contact with people there and not needing to wait until Joris returns will be a great boon. How long a rest would you need before you can return?'

'I think a light meal and a short nap will suffice, depending on the weather.'

Sharktail picked up a sealed letter and put her finger on the chart of the area on her desk. 'Take this to the captain of the Broken Fish. Usually I wouldn't send any last moment changes of orders because it takes too long to send a small boat after a ship at sea, but you make that possible. She's not too far out, so can you do it?'

Conchim quickly studied the map. 'At that distance, yes.' she said and took the letter.

'All right. Take care.' said Sharktail and watched Conchim leave in slight amusement. 'The first pirate captain to have a harpy in her crew. How wonderful.'

***

The cabin boy of the Broken Fish walked up the quarter deck and halted at the top of the stairs, staring out to sea. Syou, the first mate noticed the entranced boy. 'Will! What're you doing?'

Will looked at him and pointed into the distance. 'Mister Syou, there's something flying this way.'

'Never seen a bird before?'

'Not a strange one like this.'

Syou went over to the railing to see what the boy was talking about and scanned the sky. As he thought, it was a bird.

A big bird.

A big black bird with an unusual body.

He pulled out his spyglass and took another look. 'What in the darkest depths is that?' he said when he thought he saw a human face.

'Do you think it's dangerous, mister Syou?' asked the boy.

'I don't know but it's better to prepare. Call the captain.'

Will hurried to the captain's cabin and almost panted in excitement. 'Captain, something's flying this way!'

Captain Brandr looked up from his charts. 'I know that you don't drink, so that doesn't explain why you're reacting like this. What are you talking about?'

Will stood straight. 'Sorry, captain. But something's coming this way which mister Syou doesn't recognise. He asked for you.'

'Must be something then.' said Brandr and followed the boy.

He noticed a group of the men arming themselves as he went up the quarter deck. 'Mister Syou, what is this all about?'

Syou held out the spyglass. 'A large bird with a human face, as far as I can tell, captain.'

Brandr gazed through the spyglass. 'I think that's a harpy.' he said after a moment. 'But what's it doing out here?'

'Someone's going to die.'

Everyone nearby looked at the old man clutching his club.

'My grandfather told me about it. When someone was about to die at sea, a black messenger with wings would appear and perch on the ship to guide death to his victim with a terrible call.' He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. 'I don't want to believe it, but I've heard similar accounts in my life.'

'I heard something like that once from my aunt.' said another man. 'I remember her saying several black winged demons arrived the night many of the crew on her ship became ill and died. First was the cook.'

Another man stepped forward. 'Didn't some say a flock of creatures descended upon the Many Winds to take the dead? The ship where the crew had gone missing?'

A few other men nodded and began recalling things they heard in the past, and Brandr looked at Syou. 'I think we should take some precautions.'

Syou nodded. 'That's why I ordered a few men to arm themselves, sir. Just in case.'

Brandr gave him back the spyglass. 'We'll wait and see if it's actually coming for us. Maybe it'll fly past us.'

A little later, Conchim landed gracefully with wide open wings on the railing. She coughed and the group of people huddled back at the other end of the deck jumped and pointed their swords towards her.

'Excuse me.' she said. 'I think I swallowed a bug when I landed.' She cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow at them. 'Is this the Broken Fish?'

Brandr nudged Syou in the ribs, and the first mate nodded.

She smiled innocently in the hopes of easing their tensions. 'I have something for the captain.'

The last time Brandr had seen such a smile, he ended up jumping out of a window and running for his life in just his boots because the husband of the lady didn't seem like the type to wait with poking a sword in his guts until he was properly dressed again. He nudged Syou and gestured with his head to pick it up.

The last time Syou had seen such a smile, he ended up jumping out of a window and running for his life wearing only his hat because the husband of the lady didn't seem like the type to wait with poking a sword in his guts until he was properly dressed again. He nudged Will and gestured with his head to pick it up.

The last time Will had seen such a smile, a pretty lady gave him a kiss on his cheek because he helped her pick up some clothing she was pawning off, and he pulled his bandanna from his head as he approached Conchim. 'I'll give it to him, miss.'

The men jumped again when Conchim reached into her shoulder bag and quickly pulled out the letter. 'Is travelling the seas a really dangerous job?'

Will took the letter. 'Depends, miss. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. You never know ahead of time.'

She nodded. 'That could make one nervous, yes.' she said, and took off again while the huddled group sighed in relief.

***

'So, what're you working on?' asked Valdys as she peeked over Kaui's shoulder in the workshop.

'Improvements on gunpowder.' Kaui said as she weighed a yellow ingredient on a scale. 'Better protection against water, more explosive, things like that.'

A loud bang from the next chamber startled Valdys. 'What was that!?'

Kaui brushed spilled powder to the small pile at the side of the table. 'Testing.'

A burst of flames passed the doorway, followed by a scream, a hiss, and a deep sigh of relief. A moment later a man with blackened face, scorched clothes, and bandages on various parts of his anatomy appeared at the doorway. 'Number thirty-one was less powerful, and number thirty-two only burned up quickly.'

'Thanks, Pele.' said Kaui, and added a few notes to the list of experimental mixes.

Valdys tilted her head at the man. 'Isn't this bad for your health?'

'No, we don't have a bath here. For that you'll have to go to the public house.' he said, wiggled a finger in his ear, and went back into the chamber.

Kaui turned on her stool towards Valdys. 'What is Sharktail making you do?'

'Looking for offensive and defensive spells that don't take a lot of mana and knowledge.' Valdys said and examined the row of jars on the shelf above the table. 'She wants more people to be able to use some magic during fights.'

'Any progress?'

Valdys chuckled. 'One or two festival tricks. I'm not about to reveal the good ones from the library I hold. I'll reveal a better healing spell later, and a rather harmless wind spell for defence so it looks I'm going somewhere with this.'

Kaui nodded. 'Same here. Luckily, the only ingredients they have here won't make the powder much stronger, so they won't get a big advantage when I make an improvement.'

A dull whomp shook the chambers, and a moment later Pele appeared at the doorway, his hear smouldering while it stood straight backwards. 'I thought thirty-three had petered out when I looked into the barrel. It just blew up very slowly.'

***

Iphigenia strolled along the route of her patrol through the city fortress. Oglevie told Elzbieta, Ulric, and her they'd learn the layout and the people quicker by doing some regular guard work first, and said they only needed to take action if something might cause great damage, and to ignore the rest. The fights she'd seen so far didn't involve an obvious innocent party, so she did ignore those. But not the tail she had picked up.

A casual glance around when she stopped at a shop told her two men followed her. When she needed to take a turn at a side street, a cart blocked the way. The driver shifted a barrel on the back and gestured further down the street. 'This'll take a while. You might want to take the next street.'

Iphigenia checked the street. 'All right.' she said, and went on her way.

The side street was narrow and twisted left and right, and ended at an open doorway into a large storage area. She stepped inside towards a man standing at a table on the other side with his back to her. 'Excuse me, is there a way to pass through here?'

The man turned around and grinned. 'Sure, if you pay the toll.'

Several more men appeared behind her, armed with swords and clubs. The two following her among them.

She looked around but saw no windows or doors to escape through. 'I don't suppose you meant money.'

The man licked his lips. 'You guessed right, pretty lady. You look more enjoyable than money.'

Iphigenia stepped a little forward and pouted. 'Are you sure you want to do this?'

The man approached her with a sword in his hand. 'Yes. Either the easy way, or the hard way. And we don't mind if we need to be hard on you in more than one way.' he said and the men behind Iphigenia sniggered. 'There's no one around who'll take notice of some cries, and the guard can't help you either.

She held up her hands. 'All right. What did you have in mind?'

'How about stripping first. You wouldn't want to damage your pristine uniform.'

Iphigenia nodded. 'And then?'

The man gazed at her. 'Then? We'll rape you, of course.'

'Ah.' said Iphigenia and looked back at the other men again. 'But, one at a time, or a few, or all at once?'

The leader gestured around. 'Just, like we always do. I take you first, then the others do what they want.'

One of the men held up his hand. 'I'm second, chief.'

Another turned to him. 'You were second last time. It's my turn this time.'

'No way!' said another. 'You already were second a while ago. I'm second.'

A small man stepped forward. 'I haven't been second in a long time. It's my turn now.'

The men argued amongst themselves and their chief slapped his hand in his face. 'Shut up!' The men went quiet at once. 'I'll say who can go after me when I'm done with her, got it!?'

The men nodded and Iphigenia put up her finger. 'Can't I choose?'

The men looked at one another and nodded. 'We don't mind if she does.'

The chief's jaw dropped. 'No! You don't decide what we're going to do to you.'

Iphigenia pouted at him.

He groaned loud. 'Stop that! Stalling will get you nowhere.'

'I know, but it will get Wolfie here.'

The chief gazed at her. 'Get what here?'

The men behind Iphigenia fell forward when the door behind them exploded inward.

Iphigenia smiled sweetly at the chief. 'Wolfie.'

Ulric growled deep and raised a spiked fist. 'Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. You'll just be a lifetime reminder for others that rape is unforgivable.'