Chapter 247

It doesn't take them long to find a high-end sushi shop, recommended by an old lady at a store where Cain stopped to pick up some Inscription supplies. In her words, "You've got to show a woman she won't ever do better than you. After that, she's yours forever."

He's not sure about that logic, and Misha is already his forever, but the restaurant looks fantastic. It's a good thing they changed clothes because the current diners in the small shop all seem to be royalty of some sort, going by their elegance and jewelry.

Seeing how they're dressed, Cain updates Misha's jewelry a little, changing the collar to a Long, wingless-type Dragon-shaped golden choker to match her bracelets and make it visible. The body and tail wrap around her neck while the head sits above her cleavage with two large diamond eyes. Even if it weren't an enchanted item, it now looks like it's worth a fortune, which Cain hopes will help their appeal for a seat without a reservation. 

Oddly, the chef seems to be judging the worthiness of everyone but Nila, whose Wave Rider appearance met his standards with just a glance. They must have a good reputation here. Either that or Beastkin don't, and the chef is concerned about the party acting boorish. Finally, he gives his approval, and the waiter seats them.

"Any special requests?" The waiter asks with a meaningful look between dinner and dessert courses. 

"Something with strawberries. And Frost Giant Vodka." Cain answers, and the cook grins at them from the back. When he accepted the presence of Nila without question, Cain had a feeling the Sushi Chef had the good stuff hiding in here somewhere. 

A single shot each is enough to get the whole group feeling good. They pay the bill and start making their way back to the dock, singing songs as they walk, the crowds parting in front of them, nobody wanting an incident with a group of drunk Nobles. 

"We'll head out in the morning. I suspect that the rocking of a ship in motion will not be good for our condition, and I'd rather not waste the effect by cleansing it away."

Being drunk and amorous, the fine upstanding crew of the Queen Rose entirely forgot how well sound carries over water, causing a great deal of envy among their neighbors and spreading even more outlandish rumors about the nature of their Guild.

The first light through the portholes wakes Cain, who decides that Misha can sleep a little longer. He has discovered that roughly two hours of sleep a night is more than sufficient for an Ancient, but she is bound to be exhausted, and he's not sure that any spell can undo that. 

As he's sipping Rum and enjoying the morning sunshine, the ferry makes its first round of morning patrols through the bay. 

"Ferryman, do you know of a Shaman or Cleric spell that can refresh fatigue, say for someone who hasn't had time to sleep in days?" He calls over. 

"Aye, the [Refreshing Wind] Shaman spell. Crews on the run use it a lot, but eventually, it will stop working, and you'll collapse from exhaustion."

"Perfect. If they've got one in town, I'll grab it. What's on the much-needed list today?"

"Mostly armor. The battles along the central coast are picking up, and the wars in the East are too, so anything they can get their hands on was emptied yesterday. The Armor racks are bare."

"I'll come ashore then. Vala, you're with me." They both hop aboard, unaware of that everyone around them heard the commotion their crew made last night until they get to the next ship that flags down the ferry.

"Ah, it's Duke Cain. Kudos to you, good sir. The bay stands in awe of your prowess." The Captain says with a mock bow. Cain instantly realizes what the man means and begins to laugh, returning the bow before the Captain boards the ferry with a few of his crew, and the boat starts heading to shore. 

"Find anything good at the auction?" The weather-beaten human asks with a hint of anticipation. 

"I did, but it went a bit too rich for my blood. What about you?"

"I managed a good deal on some Wind Stones to cut down on the casting cost for our next voyage. We're going to make the Run for the Southern Continent." That sounds like a title, and Cain has heard that the seas in that direction are filled with monsters. 

"Your ship does look like she's up to the task. I'm not sure my crew is ready for it yet; we're going to round the south end of the central continent then head back north up the west coast, see what we can gain out of the chaos."

"Ha, I'll take the sea monsters any day over the land type. Fair winds to you." They've reached the docks, and the Captain hops off, not waiting for the ferry to stop, his crew members a step behind him. Cain and Vala follow, and the ferry turns away to begin another loop, keeping to whatever schedule the ferryman has in mind. 

He makes his way to the Armory again, having forgotten to sell off most of the lower level equipment yesterday, and meets the same attendant at the doors. 

"Welcome back. How might I guide you today?"

"I need a Refreshing Wind spellbook for Shamans, and I've got Epic Armor and weapons to trade."

He's again brought to an appraisal room, where Auctioneer Sergio joins them, holding the Refreshing Wind spellbook. It's a Rank D spell, so it's probably far less expensive than Cain had thought; it simply wasn't common anywhere they had been.

"Another precious item for auction? They only run once a week, but we can arrange payment directly to your Guild Bank if you're gone."

"Small things today. In the excitement yesterday, I forgot about several Epic armor pieces and weapons our in-house Crafters had made." Cain sets them out on the table, twenty sets of armor from cloth through plate, all Epic Quality. 

"Is your Guild perchance a life skills Guild that happened to get lucky with the combat members?" Sergio asks, happily sorting the offering. 

"The opposite. A Raid Guild that got lucky with life skills members. We've got everything from Tailors, Smiths, and an Enchantress to Sculptors, all power leveled through to First Advancement."

"An actual Enchantress? Or someone with enchanting skill?" Sergio asks Hopefully. 

"A Dark Enchantress, plus another with Enchanting skill that makes a lot of our jewelry. But the Dark Enchantress is currently on maternity leave, newborn triplets."

"That's a shame. Those enchantments are a huge selling point since they add so much to mid level gear. The higher-level equipment is naturally in short supply, but with enchantment, the mid-level gear can be a solid option."

Cain looks through the Guild Bank, not finding much, but there is a stack of damage reduction enchantment tokens next to a note that says free use. Cain grabs eight, enough to do two sets of armor, and adds them to the stack. 

"That's what I can spare. Use them how you like; I saw how popular full sets of armor with balanced stats and good damage reduction are yesterday at the auction." Sergio is about to tell him that armor was anything but balanced. It was ridiculously broken damage reduction, but he decided to keep silent and use these tokens to build extra profit for the Armory. 

"I have no problem taking these all of your hands. Take the spellbook as a complimentary gift for your continued patronage. I'm sure you know we made a large sum off your previous items."

It takes a few minutes to sort and categorize the gear, and then Sergio sends the Assistants to pass a few messages, which bring in other Appraisers that take away portions of the equipment for their clients. 

"Many people are waiting for armor this morning, and it's going at a premium. Do you have any weapons left? They always sell first."

Cain sees a wide assortment of them and a pair of Legendary Scimitar. They are level 48 items, made by Rufus, son of Ragnar, according to the description. Indeed the young Smith will be overjoyed to get such a cash windfall to help buy more materials. 

"I've got these for Epic and a matched set of Legendary Scimitar made by an Apprentice." Cain sets them out, and Sergio laughs. 

"[Bloody Scimitar]. How appropriate. Decent damage, both have bleed effects, level 48. The Eastern Continent will snap these up. Like the Elves, they love the Scimitar, and they've got a war going on in a first advancement area. The low level won't be too big of downfall since the quality is good."

"Do you have a high-level mana totem book for Shaman? And a passive for increasing the duration? A little more mana is never a bad thing at sea."

"We do. I have an A-ranked [Mana Flood] totem, plus an Aura ability to increase durations of nearby Totems to double their base duration. In total, that's about a tenth the price of the Epic gear."

Cain sends the payment for the swords straight to Rufus, who floods his chat feed with messages of thanks for selling his first Legendary Swords so quickly. He's got big plans to make a better weapon, a hammer suitable to a Dwarf, and grind more levels in the dungeons. 

There are so many thanks that Cain ends up muting the young Dwarf, ignoring his messages for the next hour, much to Dimnys dismay, when she has to hear it in person instead. 

With their essentials purchased and equipment sold, Cain and Vala take the ferry back to the Queen Rose, just in time for everyone to finish breakfast. 

"What did you forget onshore? A crate of condoms?" Their neighboring Captain, a Wind Rider woman in her middle years, calls over as he leaves the ferry.

"Refreshing Wind Spellbook. Can't be having exhaustion muddling the mind." He calls back, and the Elf throws her head back in laughter. 

"By the Dark Goddess, you're intending to kill the poor woman, aren't you? Be safe out there; the coastal battles have spread well south and are starting to draw the Landis Coast Guard into the fray."

"The run to Assah is mostly clear, but we saw a pair of juvenile Armored Octopus along the route," Nila calls back. 

With that, the other Captain waves goodbye, and they're ready to go.. Nila instructs the puppets to untie them from the mooring and gets the ship turned to head back out to sea, her clone already working on an updated route that should avoid the fighting.