The number of men who were conscious had their mouths wide open, they had never seen a mere girl take down someone as strong as Otto before. They all silently expressed their shock before the sound managed to reach their mouths.
"HUUUHHHH??!!??!!" They all yelled.
"Otto was taken down!!!!" One of them mentioned.
"Who is that girl??!!" Another.
"Wait!!" Another began. Glancing at the brats who stood beside the unconscious and defeated body of their boss. The beaten but strong girl and the target they were given, exhausted from their interference with his alone time had glanced at them after taking a few deep breaths.
"YOU GUYS!!" Damion called out to them. "Take him, and leave this island."
"What do you mean??" One stepped in front of the rest and began waltzing toward them. "We're a thieves Guild. When one of us falls, we rob them and leave them for dead." He arrived at the body who's blood had soaked a small radius around them. Looking back at the small multitude of men…
"Men!! Our boss is weak!! He has been defeated!! I will take over from now!! I will take his head and bring it to Spire!!" He chanted. The men were a bit confused, others questioned him, but most were still unconscious. Alloy's teeth grit. "We will become a new guild, and our first mission, is to kill Otto and claim his position!!"
He turned his head to begin his mission, a wicked smile was plastered on his face as he finished his speech, however, his smile turned to surprise when he found an ebony blade and a gun on his face, from both brats. They stared at him with a higher intent to kill than he's ever experienced.
"The only thing you will do…" Damion began.
"Is leave this place." Alloy finished.
His smile had turned to surprise, then to a nervous smile filled with regret for the words he spoke. 'Oh no!! They'll kill me!!' He panicked in his mind, his body visibly shook and beads of sweat ran down his face.
"Uh… you guys…" Another came from the crowd. Alloy and Damion glanced at him with a similar intent and he stood, frozen. He decided to say what he wanted to say from where he was. "We will take Otto back…"
"TO KILL HIM??!!" Alloy asked, pointing her blade at him this time. He shrieked before his nervousness and fear for his life caused him to spill everything.
"Nononono!! You've got it all wrong!! That man is the newest of us, and now we know his true intentions. We'd like to take Otto to get him somewhere else, and not kill him."
"Is that true??!!" Damion demanded from the crowd that all began nodding their heads in agreement with the man's pleas. Just then, the brats' stances changed to an eased position. Alloy's sword disintegrated from the blade that was on the threatening man's neck all the way to its hilt. Deactivating her abilities. Damion did the same, holstering the gun and walking a short distance behind Alloy to a close tree. The men rushed to Otto and began scrambling to attend to him.
"Wait!!" Damion remembered something. Due to their newfound fear of the two, they stood, ignoring Otto for the moments Damion spoke.
"Where are you headed??"
"Tavira… SIR!!" One of them answered, shaking in fear.
"Where is Spire??" He added.
"In Tavira, sir!! We are to report to him!!"
"Don't any of you have com-crystals??" Alloy asked.
"They don't work here." Damion answered her, "This is a strange swamp, its not easy staying here if it's just a pit-stop. Communications are cut the minute one steps in here."
"Oh… okay… then why don't they give us a ride??"
"They tried to kill us…"
"We beat their leader, they have to listen." She smiled. "Look, even some of them are bowing."
"That's too weird…" Damion replied. "Where is Tavira??" He asked the men.
"It's in the North-Western direction from here." They answered. "It takes only two days to get there!!" They added.
"GREAT!! LET'S GO!!" Alloy yelled in excitement.
"Why are you so happy??" Damion asked.
"I'm about to get my first member!! Of course I'm excited!!"
Damion sighed as he let out a smile. Wondering what he was about to get himself into.
"Let's go."
"YES SIR!!" The men quickly picked up Otto and began running to the northern side of the island, where they had left their ship. Alloy and Damion were not far behind. However, Alloy noticed something. Someone had stayed behind.
"Why is he staying here??" She asked.
"He tried to take over the guild, he no longer has a right to be one of them. I thought they'd kill him, actually. This is a mercy."
"Oh, I just thought he left something…" she smiled nervously.
"You are an odd girl…" Damion added. Soon after running for quite some time, they arrived at one of the edges of the island that held their anchored ship. As small as it was, Alloy marveled at it with her entire being.
Her breath caught the moment her eyes locked onto The Lucky Treasure. The ship, owned by Otto and his men leaned against the docks, its olive green hull chipped and weathered, but towering compared to anything she'd ever seen. It wasn't exactly grand… more like a bruised relic with a spine of black along its edges, but to her, it might as well have been a small floating fortress.
She stepped forward, craning her neck to take in the full length of it. The masts stretched high, sails painted with a symbol she didn't recognize—vines and a green jewel scrawled across the white canvas. It was rough around the edges, but there was something about it that made her pulse quicken.
"Haha!! This is fun!!" she yelled at Damion, barely hiding the grin tugging at her lips.
Damion, standing beside her, whistled. "Never thought I'd be sailing on something like this."
Alloy's fingers brushed along the wooden railing as they climbed aboard. The faint scent of salt and old wood filled the air, the deck creaking beneath their boots. She caught the curious glances of Otto's men… those who remained loyal, attending to their captain and helping him however they could.
It was busy. Loud. Alive.
A ride to Tavira wasn't what she expected, but she couldn't lie if she tried. Standing on this ship with the breeze picking up in her hair, she felt something stir inside her.
"Are we ready to leave??" Damion asked them. As they ran around, taking their positions, finding medical supplies and whatnot, one of them arrived in front of him and answered.
"Yes, we are!!"
"Then let's set sail!!"
The men scrambled more as they climbed the mast to free the sails, the helmsman who definitely had no idea what they were doing took his spot, someone with an odd looking device stood next to him to direct him. The anchor was raised as the sails picked up on the wind and the ship began moving. The breeze, the freedom she felt in that moment was something she longed for for too long.
"I could get used to this…" she smiled as she glanced straight into the only person's eyes that saw and heard her, Damion, when she noticed that his pupils weren't just black, they had a dark red ring around them. She chuckled. Tickled mentally by the fact. The next words out of her mouth forced him to smile as well.
"You're gonna be my first mate, Damion, I know it."