Raven focused his blood powers to listen in on Adrian and Captain Kells. Their conversation came through clearly despite the tavern noise - a new trick he hadn't expected.
"Are you crazy?" Kells whispered angrily. "Bringing a Blood Seeker to Furge? Calonian sensors will spot him before we even leave the harbor!"
"We've got ways around that," Adrian said. "That's why I needed you. Your ship still has those special modifications from last time."
Kells paused. "That was different. We were moving objects, not someone actually using forbidden magic."
"I'll pay triple the normal rate."
"I don't care about the money, Adrian. Last time I helped the Third Guard, I almost lost everything. The Calonians have better detection systems now."
Adrian lowered his voice. "This isn't just Third Guard business, Mira. It's about what's on the Tempest Veil. We think they found 'Whispers of Shadow' from the Misted Isles."
Kells gasped. "That's impossible. That temple sank hundreds of years ago."
"About as impossible as a Blood Seeker existing, yet here we are."
After a long silence, Kells spoke again. "The weather's been strange, Adrian. All along the Calonian coast. Unnatural storms appearing and disappearing too fast. Currents flowing the wrong way."
"Even more reason to catch the Tempest Veil before whatever they found causes more trouble."
"The Calonian navy is searching every ship, especially ones from Nefaria. They're specifically looking for blood magic. It's like they know what you're planning."
"They can't know." Adrian's heart beat faster - Raven caught this little tell. "We need to move fast."
"Fine," Kells finally agreed. "But I don't want gold this time."
"What do you want?"
"That magic compass you carry. The one that always points to what the person holding it truly wants."
Adrian's pulse jumped dramatically. "That's not available, Mira."
"Then find another captain willing to risk execution for helping a Blood Seeker." Her footsteps moved toward the door.
"Wait." Adrian sounded stressed. "The compass, then. But only after we finish the job."
When they came back, Raven pretended to study the table, though Captain Kells gave him a knowing look.
"We leave in an hour," she announced. "My ship, the Obsidian Tide, is at the eastern dock. Look for black sails with red trim." She stared at Raven with her strange eyes. "Keep your... abilities under control until we're far from port. The Tide has some special features for unusual cargo, but they're not perfect."
Adrian nodded. "We'll be there."
After Kells left, Adrian turned to Raven with narrowed eyes. "You were listening, weren't you?"
Raven didn't deny it. "My blood sense works better near water. I didn't know I could hear through walls."
"Great,"Adrian stood up. "We should get moving. The Calonian patrols change soon, which gives us our best chance to board without being noticed."
As they left the tavern, Raven felt something strange pulling him from the direction of the open sea—like something was calling to his blood from far away. Whatever this artifact was, it seemed to be reaching for him already.
The eastern dock stuck out like a black claw into the steaming water where hot volcano met ocean. Unlike the main harbor with its checkpoints and patrol boats, this area served smaller, private ships—those whose captains preferred less attention on their cargo and crew.
"Keep your head down," Adrian said quietly as they passed some Calonian officers. The men in blue uniforms barely noticed them, busy inspecting a merchant ship unloading boxes.
Raven pulled his hood lower, but his attention was elsewhere. The closer they got to the water, the more his blood responded—pulsing under his skin in rhythm with the waves. He felt his control slipping, like trying to hold sand in a tight fist.
"There," Adrian nodded toward the end of the dock.
The Obsidian Tide lived up to its name. While most ships had bright colors or shiny wood, Kells' vessel was dark all over. Its hull was polished black wood with strange symbols carved into it that seemed to move when you looked directly at them. Three masts held deep black sails with crimson edges the same color as Raven's eyes when he used his powers. The figurehead was a woman looking up with arms outstretched like she was commanding the waves.
"Not exactly subtle," Raven said.
Adrian almost smiled. "Kells likes to be dramatic, but there's a reason. Those hull markings are protection runes—they hide magical energy. The black wood comes from the Veiled Forest, treated to resist elemental magic."
As they got closer, Raven noticed crew members working efficiently on deck. Unlike the loud sailors in port, these people moved quietly and with discipline. Several wore weapons openly—normal for ships that traveled through pirate waters, but their watchful stance suggested serious training beyond regular sailing.
Captain Kells waited for them at the gangplank, her cloudy eye seeming to glow as they approached. "Keep your hands where everyone can see them," she told Raven. "The crew knows what you are, but they're understandably nervous."
Raven nodded, suddenly aware of many eyes watching him as he boarded. He sensed their heartbeats—some calm and steady, others racing with fear or excitement.
"This is Hark," Kells introduced a tall man with copper-colored skin and intricate tattoos covering his shaved head. "First mate and quartermaster. If you need anything, ask him."
Hark looked at Raven with clear suspicion. "Captain says you're needed for the job. Fine. But no blood magic outside your quarters unless she says it's okay." His accent showed he was Calonian, which explained why he was extra cautious.
"Understood," Raven replied calmly.
A young woman approached, moving gracefully despite the ship's gentle rocking. Most striking were her eyes—pale green with vertical pupils like a cat's.
"Nelle will show you to your cabin," Kells said. "We sail with the evening tide. Be ready for a rough departure—the coastal patrols have been unpredictable lately."
As Nelle led them below deck, Raven noticed her occasional glances. Unlike the others, she seemed more curious than afraid.
"You're the first Blood Seeker I've ever seen," she finally said as they walked down a narrow hallway. "I thought you'd look more..."
"Monstrous?" Raven suggested.
Her cat-like eyes widened. "Different, I was going to say."
"Blood Seekers are just people with special abilities," Adrian cut in, though he didn't sound completely convinced of his own words.
"Here," Nelle stopped at a door reinforced with metal bands. "Captain had this cabin prepared specially. The walls have dampening material—should hide your magic signature when we get near Calonian waters."
The cabin was small but decent—two narrow beds, a desk bolted to the floor, and one small window. What caught Raven's attention were the strange symbols carved into the metal floor and ceiling—similar to those on the ship's hull, but more complex.
"Containment runes," Adrian explained after Nelle left. "In case you lose control."
Raven ran his fingers over the markings. "Kells has transported blood magic users before."
"Not users. Objects." Adrian threw his pack onto one of the beds. "The Third Guard has been collecting items like 'Whispers of Shadow' for years. Kells is one of the few captains who knows how to transport them safely."
Raven sat on the other bed, feeling the ship rock gently beneath him. Through the window, he could see the ocean glittering in the late afternoon sun. Even this small exposure to water intensified the feeling in his blood—a pull, like the tide itself was calling to something deep inside him.
"We should practice," Adrian said suddenly.
"Practice what?"
"Our powers, together. If we're going to catch the Tempest Veil, we need to know our limits." Adrian held out his hand, palm up. A small sphere of darkness formed above it—not shadow, but an absence of light, a tiny void where gravity concentrated. "My power gets weaker over water, yours becomes more unpredictable. We need to find balance."
Raven hesitated, then held out his own hand. A drop of blood emerged from his fingertip, hovering unsteadily. Instead of the perfect sphere he usually made, this one pulsed and shifted, its surface rippling like the waves outside.
"That's what I was afraid of," Adrian said. "Your precision is gone."
"But look," Raven replied, focusing. The blood drop expanded, growing much larger than he could normally make with the same effort. Where he might usually form a coin-sized disk, now he created a sphere the size of an apple. "Raw power is stronger."
Adrian nodded slowly. "Interesting. Let's see how they interact."
He moved his gravity well closer to Raven's blood sphere. The effect was immediate and surprising—rather than being pulled into the gravity well, the blood stretched toward it, forming a bridge between them. Where the two powers met, both intensified, creating a swirling vortex of blood suspended in twisted gravity.
"I can feel your power," Raven said, surprised. "It's like a hallway opening between us."
"Gravity corridor," Adrian confirmed. "I can create paths that boost or direct other powers, but it's usually more controlled than this. The water is affecting the stability."
They kept experimenting, finding that while their individual powers weren't as reliable, their combination created effects neither could achieve alone. By the time Captain Kells came to tell them they were leaving, they had discovered three useful techniques that might help them in battle.
"Time to go," she announced. "Stay below until we pass the harbor patrols. We're running dark tonight."