After hearing the words of warning from Captain Lionheart, the Redflower Pirates wasted no time heading further into the dockyard town in hopes of finding a place to rest.

The cobblestone roads of the town were empty and in surprisingly good condition. Although the houses were packed together, completely curtained off so that nothing could be seen inside, and oftentimes the doors were barricaded with wood, this town was the closest thing to luxurious safety they had experienced ever since they set sail.

"This doesn’t seem too dangerous." Jackson Heavy-Hands pointed out as he looked around. "There aren’t even any pirates around here."

The roads opened up into a small town centre. Here was where the church was located, standing on the furthest side of the centre alongside numerous homes, stores, and a tavern.

"I don’t think pirates are what we should be worrying about, Jack," Lavender pointed out as she looked at the church, noticing the brain symbol carved into its face, before tapping her temple.

"Lavender’s right," Blodwen added. "Highstorm Island never used to be a civilised place like this. Whenever the storms came, creatures would manifest out of the lightning. These creatures would destroy any attempt at civilisation being made."

"It seems that’s changed since the Templars arrived," Kruger added.

Roseus felt the urge to reach for his Greycloud Longsword. Instead, he reached for the tavern door.

They had arrived at the Stormshield Tavern. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The first thing they were met with when they opened the door was the delicious aroma of cooked fish and ale. The room was warm from a fire burning in the fireplace on one side of the room. The tavern was spacious, lined with numerous chairs and a bar.

Being captain, Roseus was the first to enter, so he was met with the eyes of numerous men and women.

There were at least twenty people occupying the seats, none of whom seemed to be pirates, but rather natives. He could tell this by the fact that they all had similar features: reddish skin and black hair.

The tavern fell silent, except for the music being played on a piano in the far corner of the room. The natives, who were dressed in standard attire consisting of trousers and shirts with the buttons open, stopped their chatter as they glanced at the pirates who soon filled the room.

Roseus kept his face straight, although he knew that he likely drew most of the attention. After all, he had a deadly sword on his back. Blodwen was likely the truly most noteworthy one, due to the shark carcass that he wore.

The Redflowers approached the bar counter, where they met a man standing with an unbothered look on his face. It seemed that seeing such people wasn’t surprising to him.

He was clearly the tavern keeper.

"Looking for rooms?" the server said, nodding towards the staircase. "We are running out of space, so I hope you don’t mind some of you sharing. Hehe, unless you want to spend the night in the streets and fall prey to the storm."

Roseus ignored the snarky part of the tavern keeper’s question.

"How many rooms are left, and how much is it to stay per night?"

"A Halo for a room each night. That includes breakfast. Only got four rooms left though."

"We’ll take them," Roseus said as he nodded to Silius. The man reached into his pocket and withdrew four Halos, which were small ring-like coins and the official currency of the Empire.

After buying the rooms, Roseus sent his crew members upstairs with the keys to go and settle down. However, Roseus lingered behind and leaned on the counter. The tavern owner looked at him questioningly.

"Any news on the island or at sea right now?"

The man rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment.

"Other than the recent news about that navy commander sailing into the Translucent Sea, not much."

That navy commander? The way he said the words made it seem as though it was someone everyone should know.

Roseus couldn’t ask more, as it would reveal that they were new to the Second Ocean and might lead to them being taken advantage of. So instead, he thanked the man and headed upstairs.

The entire time, he was thinking about the news.

A commander was the navy rank directly above lieutenant, and two whole ranks above an Executive Officer, which was where Aeros was ranked.

He wondered just how powerful such a man might be, and more importantly, how the Templars would react to this.

Would they try to force their religion onto the navy ships too?

...

It didn’t take long for the Redflowers to decide who would share rooms.

Petyr and Silius shared a room, as the pair had known each other before joining the crew. Pip, Adriana, and Lavender shared a room since they were younger women.

Kruger, Blodwen, and Jackson shared a room. The two more experienced men looked forward to sharing tales with the young man.

And finally, Roseus and Dawn...

This pair had shared a room many times in the past, and the idea naturally came to them when the question arose. It was only when the others shot them sideways glances that they realised how strange this might look.

Still, they sat in the room together, unbothered. It was a modest room, with only a single bed and a set of drawers. It had a window; however, it had been barricaded off from the inside with wooden planks.

Roseus sat on the bed whilst Dawn undressed. He was paying no attention to her, as he was more focused on the hat in his hand. If he had looked up, he would have noticed the blush on the cheeks of his blonde childhood friend.

"I think I should put on my father’s hat. We are far enough away from the sea for it not to attract any dangers."

"S-sure," Dawn said, now dressed only in her long white shirt and undergarments. It was natural sleeping attire for her. "Right now?"

Roseus nodded his head and lifted the hat above his red hair.

"Yes. Keep an eye on me, will you?"

Dawn nodded at him before taking a seat on the bed beside him. She made sure to keep her cutlass close.

Then, without further ado, Roseus placed his father’s hat on his head.