Ike Lazarus was trembling as he locked himself in his room. It was early in the morning, and his town just got attacked. He only had about 50 soldiers remain in Newchance, one of whom has woken him up ten minutes before or so. Pirates, the soldier said. An old, grey ship that has bck sails with pierced hearts. But of course! Heartbreaker was an infamous vessel, and it was known that Carlos Wayne had it now. Ike didn't really even think about where that ship was, he sort of assumed that his prized Annabelle was obviously more appealing, even to pirates. Carlos might have given rid of his old, battered ship and switched to the majestic Annabelle. But Heartbreaker was here now.

  “Damn you, Carlos Wayne!” the minister mumbled, closing the curtains of his window.

  Whatever was going on outside, it didn't sound like his men were winning. He heard screams, yelling, and barbaric battle cries that certainly weren't his soldiers' voices. Swords cnking, windows breaking, fires cracking. He gulped, and peaked out carefully, seeing the dusty main street of Newchance in the dawn light. The building on the other side, which was a storage house, was abze. There were a bunch of dead bodies lying around: some soldiers, some settlers, perhaps a couple of pirates. A few men were fighting right beneath his window, then a group of additional pirates arrived from the sides, and Ike's st guards were soon defeated. Then, someone looked up. Even though he was watching through just a small gap between his double curtains, he could swear that someone was looking right at him. A tall, pale man, thin and balding. Ike closed the curtains quickly and stumbled back. Panicking, he turned left and right, then grabbed his magic mirror which he still had on his drawer, and stared into it. It was just bckness, and a faint sound of underwater. It's pair was still deep in the sea somewhere.

  He grabbed a dagger and tried to climb inside his closet, but all he achieved was breaking off its door. He couldn't fit under his bed either, his body was too rge. Footsteps were now heard on the corridor outside. Ike pushed his drawer and crouched down behind it, shaking. Someone tried to open the door. Then it was broken open with a single strike. The tall, pale man stepped in, his eyes already fixed on the minister's fat limbs which were barely concealed by the furniture. Ike closed his eyes and tried to stay quiet. A long hand reached for him and pulled him out of there with surprising force. He dropped his dagger and screamed.

  “Shut up, Lazarus. Look at me,” said the tall man in an eerily calm voice, and he let go of the minister's arm.

  Ike got on all fours, still panicking, but as the infiltrator just stood above him, he slowly looked up. “Carlos...” But no, the man wasn't Carlos Wayne. He could tell, even though he only ever saw Carlos briefly through the magic mirror. This guy was a little simir to that pirate, but his aura was much more cold, his face was clean-shaven, his eyes dark and undeniably evil. Just looking at him made Ike's heart sink, and that wasn't quite the case with Carlos, admittedly.

  “I'm Warren Crown. I'm sure you heard about me,” the man said.

  “W-warren?” Ike kneeled up and wiped his sweaty forehead. “You... aren't you an enemy of Carlos Wayne? I am an enemy of his too! If that's the case, we could...”

  “I'm no enemy of that man, not anymore. I work for him.”

  “You... no...”

  “Yes. He baited you into sending your men away, and now here I am. He never killed me. He did defeat me, and so I bowed down to him, admitting that he is stronger. He spared my life in exchange of my servitude. It's only now that it's time for me to reveal myself again. It's all his pn. He fooled you, didn't he?”

  “I... please, we can make a deal too, you don't have to...”

  Warren unsheathed his sword. “Do know that there is nothing personal in this for me, Lazarus. I barely even know who you are. As I said, it's his wish.”

  Ike squealed and turned around, desperately reaching for the window, but he slipped on his purple robe and fell forward on the floor. He closed his eyes and put his shaking hands on his ears. But one of his hands was grabbed and pulled away, then he heard the quiet voice of Warren from up close.

  “Is this how you wanna go, Lazarus? Filled with nothing but fear?”

  The minister couldn't answer. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he was aware that he soiled himself, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered, he couldn't think straight, all that existed for him in this moment was terror. But it still wasn't over. Warren was just kneeling besides him, pausing once again. Slowly, very slowly, Ike opened his right eye. Was this man wanting something from him, after all? Is there a chance there is a way out? And then the cold voice continued.

  “You know, souls sometimes linger around as ghosts, especially here on the Scorched Lands. Aside from that, some believe that our souls reincarnate after we are gone from this world, or that our essence lives on in some form. Angels and demons overlook us from above and below, while us mortals are destined to run our circles over and over. But even if we are gone for good, don't you want to have some dignity in your final moments? Don't you want to leave this world with a purpose in your heart? Tell me, what do you believe will happen to you after I end you?”

  Ike replied with a whimper.

  “Carlos Wayne is your enemy, you said so. He certainly got the better of you. It's my hand that will bring you death, but it's his will and his trickery. So tell me, if the way you go leaves even the faintest mark behind, what kind of mark do you want to leave here? Do you really want to go out as nothing but a coward?”

  Ike rolled over to his back and grinded his teeth. Wayne pointed his bde at his face. “Your final words?”

  “Damn you, Carlos Wayne!”

  The way back to Murky Bay took Chio and her friends longer than their journey down south to the haunted city. The main reason for that was that they lost their donkey, Momo. The frightened animal was in a frenzy after their battle against he manticore. Terry gave his all trying to calm her down, but he couldn't even untie her, she was kicking and twitching so much. In the end, Chio had to tear apart the rope that tied Momo to that tree trunk, after which the donkey ran off to the south-east immediately. “Hopefully, she will find a herd of zebras to take her in,” Porco patted Terry on the shoulder.

  They decided to rest until the sun comes up, while Chio was healing Arabel relentlessly. Of course none of them could sleep anymore, they were still anxious and wary of the darkness around them. But as the angel finally y down on the sand, feeling exhausted by all the healing and her magical push-and-pull with the manticore before, Arabel sat up. She was much better already, her leg was back to normal. She reignited their firepce, grabbed Porco's hand and y down on Chio's right with the young man on her other side. Terry got on Chio's left side, and Friska sat by Chio's head, caressing her hair and beginning to hum, then singing a mencholic song. Terry joined in too, and even Arabel. The angel just smiled, but she was too tired to sing herself. It was like a spontaneous group-wide calming ritual with all of them bunched up, all of them being in physical contact with at least one other. After that spine-chilling experience, they really felt like all they have is each other. And each other they had.

  A few hours ter, as the sun finally appeared on the horizon and they could get a better view of the world around them, their hearts started to feel lighter. Porco got quite restless by then; holding hands for so long with her succubus lover had its effect. She and Arabel got under a bnket and fucked like rabbits, barely even concealing themselves from the others. Not that anyone minded it, not even Friska. At the moment, the fairy felt like it's just a celebration of life. All of her friends were alive and well, perverted as ever. It even made her smile, just a little bit, but she wouldn't let Chio and the others see that.

  At st, they got going, but they now had to carry all their baggages again. Once they were walking, Arabel told them about the demon lord in the cave system briefly, saying it's better if they just all forget such a being exists here. The others found it quite shocking, but they kept themselves from question the succubus, who didn't seem too keen on talking about her experience. The poor redhead was in a pretty miserable state when Chio brought her back, and they all felt sorry for her, even if she was mostly good now. They did discuss what that horrible monster could have been though. Friska said it was a manticore, a monster that's created by mutating multiple living things together. The exact mechanic of the method isn't really known anymore, it's a quite taboo thing after all, considered abhorrent all around the world. Originally, it was an ability possessed by some archdemons, but it was rumored that they taught it to a couple of mortals too, from those few that ended up joining their side in the great demonic invasion for whatever wicked reason. These days, manticores were just a legend. Their creation was forbidden, demonic dark magic, pretty much unheard of in the test centuries. As Arabel crified that the demon lord killed the monster and saved her, they agreed it's very unlikely it was created by him. And therefore, it was fairly obvious to all of them who did it. It must have been Warren Crown's work.

  “That head... don't you think it looked familiar?” asked Porco at st. It was a rather morbid thought, so much so that they were hesitant to say it out loud, but as it turned out, all of them had the same hunch. The manticore's humanoid head looked very much like Connor, that ill-tempered sailor who Warren Crown maniputed on Annabelle, who bullied Terry, got “put back in his pce” by Arabel, and who they ultimately left on that uninhabited isnd.

  “Warren must have picked him up, the fucker...” said the succubus.

  “Might expin how it found us,” said Porco. “After you touched that dickhead Connor, he must have been quite affected by you. So maybe in that twisted form, he was still drawn after you, or something like that.”

  “Oh, that could be,” Friska nodded. “More than that, it was bck and hairy, having cat-like paws. Didn't you touch one of those cat-pirate guys too?”

  Arabel looked up. “I did. A bck one. So... was it after me?”

  “We will get him,” Chio said. “Warren. He is our enemy and we will get him. The world will be a lighter pce when he is gone.”

  Thirteen days tter, they finally reached the pirate town. As they entered the pub, multiple people greeted them now. They were no longer complete strangers here, their fight against the Deadly Cws was well known. “The succubus and the mage girl!” the skinny halfling named Mouse approached them.

  “Oh... yea, I'm a mage all right,” Chio said awkwardly.

  “And how about me, Mouse? Wasn't I the one who drank with you and entertained you and your friend?” Friska said, nding on the counter.

  “Oh, the little woman. Sorry, didn't see ya there.”

  “You aren't exactly a giant either, are you? At least I have a proportional amount of meat on my bones...”

  “You do have a nice bottom for a fairy,” the halfling grinned.

  “Shut the fuck up!”

  “Trust me, you better not provoke her,” Porco smiled as he pulled out a tall chair by the counter. “Shall we drink tonight, Friska?”

  “You really need to ask? Bartender, what kind of wines do you have? I'm tired of rum.”

  “We will be up in our room, guys,” said Chio. Porco nodded and handed her his bag.

  And so Arabel, Chio and Terry walked upstairs and took the opportunity to have a nice threesome, where of course only the angel was touched by the other two. Meanwhile, Porco and Friska drank in the company of Mouse, and they soon got joined by the halfling's chubby human friend too. He was part of Friska's audience back when she had that drunken presentation here about Copperdust. His name was Gary, and he was happy to see the fairy again.

  As the hours passed and the afternoon slowly turned into night, the pub got quite full. Chatter, ughter and pipe-smoke filled the spacious room, all the tables were taken. Porco inquired about what's going on tely, but Gary only had pirate-reted news, such as this rivalry between a group called the Fmingo Hearts and the Pink Unicorns. They were two fairly new pirate crews that both just arrived here a week ago or so to take some rest from their adventures and to recruit new members. However, their daring pink theme was awkwardly simir, and so they soon began having some smaller scale fights around town until Goliath himself scolded both of the groups. Mouse pointed out that a few of the fmingos are sitting in a corner – or wait, were they the unicorns? Either way, just as the halfling draw the others' attention to them, the crowded pub's doors were smmed open, and a second group of pink-clothed pirates walked in. After that, it only took about a minute for a tavern brawl to break out. At first, it was just between those two groups, but a few accidental shoves and spilled drinks ter, many more got involved, until the whole room turned into a big ball of chaotic fistfight. Gary finished his beer and got up ughing, basically throwing himself into the brawl. Mouse was gone too.

  “Haven't seen one of these in a while,” Porco muttered, then he dodged a gss flying towards him. It shattered behind the counter, making the reptilian bartender curse. “Friska?”

  “Up here!” the fairy was sitting on a beam near the ceiling, holding her little mug in hand.

  “Shouldn't we go outside?” Porco yelled over the noise of the ruckus.

  “I'm good!” the little blue woman yelled back, grinning.

  “I'll go get some fresh air!”

  He managed to navigate through the brawling, drunk, smelly crowd only receiving a moderate hit: someone stumbled onto him and elbowed him beneath his ribs, but it wasn't too bad. As he stepped outside, he took a deep breath and stretched his arms, then walked a bit away from the loud building, feeling the light buzz of the alcohol in his body, and the gentle breeze of the fresh night. He wondered what Terry is up to with the two girls. His sex-day with Arabel was only tomorrow...

  “You're with the succubus, right?”

  The startled Porco turned around, almost tripping. The person who addressed him was a small, goblin-like fellow.

  “I didn't wanna bother her,” the small guy said. “She is in the middle of something upstairs with some of your other friends.”

  “I'm sure she is. Who are you again?”

  “Name's Borg. I have been waiting for you.”

  “Borg, Borg... sounds familiar.”

  “I'm an ally of Iesha Silverlight and Carlos Wayne. Arabel has met me before.”

  “Hmm. So what's up? Why have you been waiting for us?”

  “It's nothing too specific. Just to fill you in. And to warn you.”

  “About what?”

  “Carlos Wayne worries that Warren Crown might have a target on your backs.”

  “Heh. We noticed already.”

  “Have you?”

  Someone fell through the double-doors of the inn, and the chubby Gary dashed after him, followed by a bunch of others. The brawl was pouring out onto the street.

  “Maybe we should... talk tomorrow,” Porco said.

  “Fine.” Burg hurried past him, entering an alley that led towards the seafront.

  “Wait!” Porco took a step after him. “Aren't you a half-goblin?”

  “And?” the guy stopped.

  “I think we met your brother.”

  Borg, who Porco could already tell was a rather stoic person, looked genuinely surprised for a moment. He then nodded, and left without a word.

  Porco waited for things to calm down, went back in the rather trashed pub for a final drink (which the bartender gave him while cursing under his breath), then borrowed a dder to pick up the snoozing Friska from the beam. He tottered up the stairs with the little woman in his arms and knocked on what he believed to be their door. Fortunately, he believed correctly – a sleepy-looking Arabel let them in.

  “Y'all are loud as fuck...” she muttered.

  “Friska and I didn't do a thing.”

  But the Succubus was already back in her bed next to Chio, pulling the covers over her head. This time around they were renting just one room, one of the biggest ones of the tavern. It had two double beds. Porco simply put Friska down on the windowsill, and climbed in next to the sleeping Terry.

  In the morning, Borg came around to chat. He told them about Carlos' pn with Ieasha, saying that when they reached the Scorched Lands, he alone went his separate way from the sellswords, and that he has been patrolling between Newchance and Murky Bay ever since, just keeping watch. He added that he believes Iesha and the majroity of Lazarus' forces left several days ago, in fact they could have already had that battle on Scalehide.

  In turn, Chio and the others told him about their encounter with the manticore, their newfound resolve to assist Carlos against Warren, and Friska also passed that old watch to him, the one his goblin half-brother found before he got possessed by that ghost. Borg once again seemed a bit taken aback, he stared at the watch deep in thought before he took it over.

  “Is it an old family relic?” Porco inquired. “Seems a bit rge for Goblins.”

  Borg stuffed it in his pocket. “It was a gift my grandfather got from a human, I believe. Thanks.”

  “Did your brother lose it?” asked Friska.

  “He had a gambling addiction. He stole it from our sickly father to satiate his craving, and of course lost it. I heard that the man who won it from him was a shady seafarer. Could have been a pirate, I suppose. I had no idea my brother was trying to find it. All this time.”

  “He did find it, but then he somehow ended up being possessed by the ghost of Copperdust. I guess the poor guy didn't have a lot of luck after all,” said Porco.

  “I guess,” Borg repeated.

  The half-goblin left soon after that, and in the next few days, he seemed to be gone from the town.

  The Fmingo Hearts and Pink Unicorns both had to pay for the tavern's repair cost issued by Goliath. They argued that it wasn't just them, that many others have been caught up in the brawl too, but Goliath had none of it. So the unicorns left town in a rush without paying a dime, which meant they weren't gonna be welcomed back ever. The fmingos on the other hand temporarily forfeited their ship and began doing some manual bour in town, begrudgingly. They were gonna work until they make enough to pay their debt off.

  Chio and her friends had a few days of rexation. Although they were all a little tense, knowing that this peace won't st forever, they still enjoyed these days. They explored the town, hung out together in their room, zed around, made plenty of love. Friska eventually got on friendly terms with Goliath: the unofficial leader of Murky Bay apparently had an interesting book collection, so she started spending some time at his pce every day, giving her promiscuous companions some privacy this way. Porco eventually went to have a threesome with the local succubus Shreya and Arabel. He was already teased a bit by some pyful touches by Arabel that day, and so as he left the tavern in her company, he was looking as excited as a teenage boy – like Terry when he had his dick sucked the first time, Chio thought. It was a windy afternoon, a little less warm than usual, and only Chio and Terry were left in their room.

  The angel opened their window and stared out at the dark clouds gathering in the distance. Terry just watched her, feeling a little excited himself. Alone time with Chio was never boring, but he didn't want to interrupt her in her musings, or whatever she was doing. It took her a while until she finally closed the window and faced the boy. She looked a little... worried, perhaps? But as her eyes met the Terry's, she smiled. She locked their door, and proposed an idea.

  “Remember when Arabel tied me up?” she pulled a long rope out of one of their bags. “You were watching. How was it?”

  “Uhm, it was good.”

  Chio sat down on the bed next to him and put her hand on his thigh. “It's pretty fun, right? Too bad we were interrupted by that Deadly Cws ordeal. But if you want to, we could try something simir.”

  “I... dunno know how to. I could try, but...”

  “I was thinking, maybe I could tie you up this time.”

  “Oh. Me?”

  “Uhum. I mean, it's strange, isn't it? To enjoy such a thing. It's about trust, Terry. You are such a good boy, and I know you have been occupied with this whole 'being a real man' stuff. So today I... I want you to let go. Let me have power over you, just this once. We can lean into it from time to time, right? I'm an angel after all, and you are just a young human. It's okay, isn't it? You know you can trust me, I will be gentle. I promise I will... I will handle you with care.”

  Terry gulped and nodded. If not for his excitement, he may have noticed that Chio seemed a little nervous herself. Even then, he might have thought it's just because this is new territory for the girl too, which it was. But he was going to be tied up! Just like Chio was back then. He wondered if he should undress, but the angel told him to stand up, and she already started tying his legs together. Was this really okay? To let a girl do this to him? If anyone would see him like this, even if it was just Arabel or Porco, that would be so humiliating. And if Friska did, she would probably think he is pathetic. But it was Chio doing this to him, the love of his life. Soon, his arms were tied behind his back, the rope was hugging his body all over. It was tight, and he could barely move, he definitely couldn't have broken free on his own now. It was a strange feeling. For a moment, he got a little afraid, but Chio seemed to notice it, so she made him sit on the bed and kissed his forehead. Her warmth, her closeness, her beautiful face, it all made Terry feel calm in no time. Right now, he was hers in the most direct sense of the word, and that felt so good. The girl then made Terry y down, and she climbed on top of him, grabbing her hard cock through his pants. They began tongue-kissing.

  Something suddenly knocked against their window, and Chio let out a tiny scream. She got up, Terry had to wriggle around to be able to follow her with his eyes. She opened the window and looked down. The boy of course couldn't see, but it was Little Borg down below, he threw a rock at their window to alert them.

  “He is on his way,” said the half-goblin.

  “Who?” Chio asked uneasily.

  “Our enemy. He is minutes away.”

  “Oh god.”

  “Good luck,” Borg turned around and was gone in a moment.

  “What's happenin', Chio?” asked Terry.

  The girl didn't reply, she just closed the window again, and the curtains too. She walked back to Terry, and grabbed the rope at his chest, pulling her to a sitting positions again. She then made him crouch down, gently pushed him back, making him lie on the floor.

  “Warren Crown is coming, Terry. Since morning, my intuition was telling me it will happen today. Seems like I was right.”

  The boy's eyes widened.

  “Please don't worry about us, okay?” Chio continued. “I know you want to help us, to help me. But I want you to stay here and wait it all out. I don't want you to get hurt.”

  “No! Please, lemme help! I can, I've been practicing!”

  “I'm sorry, Terry. Perhaps this is just me being selfish right now, but... you are very dear to my heart, my boy. I will be back, okay? Just wait.”

  “But...”

  She kissed him once more, softly, tenderly. She then rolled him under their bed and left the room.