"Finally!" Vota shouted, as he jumped off his big griffin, stretching his thick body.
"Port Ortus..." Spes, still on his griffin, closed his eyes, a smile forming on his face as the sea breeze and the warm sun above hit him.
"You should get down, the griffins are exhausted," Decus said, approaching Spes with his griffin following behind.
"I-I'm sorry... This is the first time I'm seeing the sea..." Spes got down from his griffin, his eyes glued to the beautiful blue scenery in front of him.
"Beautiful, huh? Sadly, this port has seen better days."
"This used to be as bustling as the Royal City... Races from each corner of the world getting here to trade their exotic wares. Now this is what is left..." Decus sighed, his eyes passing by the dilapidated wooden pier, where a single ship was docked.
"What happened?" Spes asked, noticing how the surrounding buildings were also barely maintained.
"War... always war..." Decus mumbled before leading his griffin away, leaving Spes alone.
Spes raised an eyebrow, recalling that the most recent war was when he was but a child. He recalled how angry his master was at the futility of the war.
"It was against those of the East," Liber said, seeing how Spes was struggling to remember his history lessons.
"Right!" Spes embarrassingly scratched his head.
"Spes! Leave your griffin here! Don't just stand there!" Vota waved, where everyone was already gathered on the wooden pier.
Leading his griffin and leaving it with the others, Spes joined Vota and his men.
"What's going on?" Spes asked, seeing how nothing was happening.
"Crystal, she's talking with the ship's captain." Vota chuckled, pointing at his side. Crystal and an old man stood next to each other. The conversation didn't seem to go well, as there was a frown on Crystal's face.
Spes got closer, the content of their argument reaching his ears.
"What do you mean you refused the battleship gifted by the Inquisition?!" she grumbled, staring angrily at the single ship docked at the port.
"Me can't sail without me baby!" the old man shouted back, his saliva spraying all over as he spoke.
"Anyway, me the only fella wh'knows da Eastern wata better than otha ol'bones," he added, a smirk forming on his face.
"So y'all coming or nah? Me toenails still need sum cuttings!"
Sighing deeply, Crystal nodded reluctantly, signalling the group to board the ship.
"We'll have one hell of a ride!" Vota laughed loudly, clutching his fat stomach as he brought his men to the ship. Spes quickly followed along, boarding the ship along with everyone.
Once they all stepped on the ship, they immediately knew why their captain had been fighting words with the old man. The ship looked more like a fishing ship than a ship meant to bring travelers. There was even a strong fishy odor all around, which wasn't even the worst, as on multiple areas of the wooden ship, green mold was starting to form.
The ship's captain boarded the ship last, multiple mops and buckets in his hands.
"We leave when me baby's shining bright!" he shouted, tossing the bucket to the group, sat on the ground, and started clipping his toenails.
Everyone's eyes were now directed at Crystal, as what they would do now depended on her.
"He's the only one that can bring us to the Alliance's continent..." Crystal sighed, waving her hand at everyone to start working.
The Inquisition knights immediately took the tools and went on to clean the ship. As for Vota's men, they smiled wryly, gazing at the one who employed them.
"The ship ain't gonna clean itself!" Vota shouted, imitating the old man.
Them being respectable knights they were, they had looks of objection on their faces. Still, there was nothing they could do about it, as they set their pride aside to go on and dejectedly help the Inquisitors.
"Spes! There are enough men! You can come and chill next to me while waiting!" Vota shouted, seeing Spes grabbing a mop and starting to clean.
"I don't feel comfortable seeing so many people working and me doing nothing!" Spes shouted back, slightly scratching his head.
"More snacks for me then!" Spes grinned widely, taking a comfortable corner before throwing pieces of dried meat in his mouth.
"I'll go help a bit. Can't let Spes have all the fun." Decus smiled, seeing the hardworking Spes.
"Do what you want," Crystal said coldly, materializing a map out of her spatial ring, then headed towards the ship's captain.
After a long while under the blazing sun, the 'ship' was finally starting to look more like a ship. The group had cleaned both the interior and exterior of the ship, the captain staring lovingly at their work.
"Me baby! As pretty as back in da days!" he shouted, tossing his nail clippers overboard.
"Okay! Listen here y'all! Me name's Capt'n Oblitus! Since y'all did such a decent job with me baby, y'all can just choose y'alls cabins down there." Captain Oblitus laughed as he jumped to the ship's helm, ready to take off.
"Ya lil' dwarves! Get the hell out me cabin and let's sail!" he shouted, tapping his foot below him, where the captain's cabin would be.
Multiple rumbles could be heard within the room, before the cabin's door flung open, seven little figures emerging out, walking in sync. They yawned, before immediately running to various posts needed to make the ship functional.
"Why did you make my men clean when you could've made them maintain your filthy ship?" Crystal glared at the captain, seeing the little men with skin the same colour as tree bark running all around the ship's deck.
"Dem wood dwarves don't clean! But they be good sailors!" Oblitus laughed, waving at one of the dwarves, who, after seeing the old man's sign, ran to the ship's long wooden mast and climbed to the very top of it.
"We sail, me boys!" the old man shouted. The wood dwarf on the mast unfurled the ship's sails, making the ship finally move, distancing away from Port Ortus.