Captain Croc sat on his desk, reading job offers brought by his messengers.
His red long coat with golden buttons and trimmings hanged loosely over the back of his chair, leaving him in his black waistcoat, long-sleeved white button-up shirt, black trousers and shiny black boots.
He reached for his cigar, inhaling a puff. The current listings weren't much. A couple were daylight robberies with stolen properties that weren't huge. There were some offers that required investigations like clearing the client's name from a framed murder…
Some of his men would probably tell his ear off to look for more exciting ones and he wasn't looking forward to it. A favorite of the crew was relic hunting. The last one similar to it was the Diamond of Luna which he had given to Raz.
He lifted a parchment for an offer from Count Morno. Normally, he'd throw out any useless options but, for some reason, he wanted to give the son of a bitch a hefty reply and a present.
Would lumps of coal be sufficient? The captain wondered.
Just then, a knock came from his door.
He checked his desk clock and decided not to answer it. He merely waited for the other party to barge in like she did every morning.
"Captain Croc, I must speak with you." He heard from the other side.
His hands froze, his head turning to the door. How peculiar, he thought. He hadn't heard wrong, right?
Immediately, the Captain put out his cigar and arranged his papers. Clearing his throat, he called out, "Come in."
The door creaked and in came his one of his sergeants at arm, a young lad who was once a beggar outside the academy at Celios.
Captain Croc sighed to himself as the young lad entered the threshold. His footsteps didn't make a sound. His arms didn't swing either. One hand was on the hilt of his rapier and another was clenched into a fist. His facial muscles was as stiff as his movements.
Behind Scrooge was Deelah, carrying two cups of coffee. She walked over to his desk at a faster pace and gave him his morning coffee. At first, it was compensation for hanging around his quarters. Now, it became a routine. If Deelah didn't come in with his coffee, it meant there was new food inside the kitchen.
"Morning, you old dog," she greeted him, a wide smile on her face. She sat on the edge of his desk, with one leg up and the other steady on the floor.
Raising her cup, she said, "Coffee?"
Captain Croc's eyes remained on Scrooge. The young lad took one of the seats on the opposite side of the desk, awfully quiet compared to his chatty second-in-command.
Scrooge looked at him in the eye. One glance and the Captain knew.
"Something's wrong," Captain Croc frowned. He intertwined his fingers and rested his forearms on top of his desk.
Deelah blew on her coffee, unsurprised by the Captain's intuition, "How did you know, Cap-cake?"
"Scrooge is back early."
"Sure is," she snorted and took a sip, "Interrupted my breakfast while he's at it."
The corner lip of the Captain perked up. He grabbed the handle of his cup and lifted it up to his mouth, "No wonder you're late this morning."
"Yup, everything is Scrooge's fault."
Captain Croc's face contorted as the bitter black coffee enter his mouth. His tongue stinged a bit from the burning hot liquid.
Scrooge snorted, the first sound he made since he came in. He leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms, a glare trained on the crew's second-in-command, "We would have come earlier but Deelah insisted on eating first."
"Aye!" Deelah glared right back, "Can't start a serious discussion on an empty stomach, cupcake. You wouldn't want me h-angry, trust me."
"It's true. She'd be asking for food every minute."
"Speaking of food—"
"Work it out with the budget you have," he replied without a second thought and continued to sip from his mug.
"I see," Deelah sighed, her eyes on her coffee as she swirled it with her wrist. Then, she lifted her other hand that held a fire opal studded ring and beamed at the Captain, "How about we go to an all-you-can-eat buffet tonight?"
Captain Croc choked on his coffee, reaching out to grab the ring, "Give that back."
He tucked it in a side pocket his vest. How the woman managed to snatch it bewildered him.
Scrooge reached into the inner breast pocket of his long coat and pulled out a folded piece of parchment.
He handed it over the captain, saying,"I found this on the tree where Raz and the others should have been."
The Captain placed down his cup. He took the parchment from Scrooge and unfolded it. He held it up and flipped it over, stroking his newly shaved beard with his free hand. The edges were burned to crisp and both sides of the paper were empty.
"An encrypted message."
Scrooge nodded to affirm their Captain's suspicions and gritted his teeth. His heart drummed in chest but his eyes stared hard at the paper.
Deelah placed her cup down and leaned over to get a good look of the parchment, "Are they in trouble?"
Her soft voice fanned the paper, making it flutter. The captain could only respond with a sigh.
"We will find out soon enough."
With that, Captain Croc placed down the piece of paper and opened a drawer. Inside were various things but the one he wanted was a matchbox. Pulling the candle on his desk closer, he scratched the head of a match and lit the candle.
The entire room held its breath.
The Captain took the parchment once again but this time, he hovered it over the flame. Ink black cursive letters appeared from the center and towards the edge.
All the pirates recognized it as Raz's handwriting.
Once the message was completely revealed, the Captain blew out the candle and proceeded to read what was written.
"The shield has gone west but its hope remains in the east. Hope seeks those who have been lost, burned to ashes by the untold truth."
"What? A riddle?!" Deelah exclaimed then, groaned, "That could be anything."
As much as she understood the use of riddles, Deelah never became quite fond of them. For her, they were as hard as math.
"The Shield of Hope."
"The what?" Deelah turned to Scrooge who had spoken.
"Sir Hayden Darkwood." Captain Croc answered her.
"Who?" She asked, eyes going back and forth between the two men.
Their captain had a scowl on his face, his eyes rereading the message over and over. Meanwhile, Scrooge's arms and knees were crossed. His forehead was wrinkled and his jaw was locked. Deelah could almost see the gears in his head spinning and analyzing the puzzle.
"Went to west…," Scrooge thought out loud, "That would be Aurae Kingdom."
"Indeed."
Then, it was silent.
Deelah's foot tapped repeatedly on the floor. Biting her lip, she voiced out, "How is Hayden the Shield of Hope again?"
Captain Croc blinked as if awaken from a trance and looked at her. His eyebrows rose up. Her facial expression must had been enough to show that she was lost in the conversation.
"Crown Prince Tylen, only child of Queen Tatiana and King Jairo, as future King he is Teralyn's hope," he explained.
"I see." She nodded, pleased to be back on track, "Hayden is shield and Tylen is hope. Okay, gotcha. Then what? Hope seeks those who have been lost, burned to ashes by the untold truth. What could that mean?"
Deelah waited patiently as her companions pondered on the riddle. Her mind wandered elsewhere. Since their captain once again denied her a bigger budget, she'd need to hunt down for good food at cheaper prices.
Her ears heard a faint scream outside the cabin about shoving a mop on a person's face if said person pinched the other party's cheeks.
Finally, Captain Croc made a conclusion, "They're on a mission and it involves the Crown Prince."
Scrooge stood up abruptly, his eyes blazing at the news, "Without your permission? That is unacceptable."
Their captain opened his mouth to say something but the sergeant was on a roll. As he spoke, each word seethed with more anger, "A mission such as this should have gone through proper protocol. To suddenly help the monarch without your approval is a reckless decision that could not only endanger their lives but also the entire crew's!"
Both of his companions were quiet. The crease in Captain Croc's eyebrows deepened at the piece of paper. Somewhere in the words written on it was the tasks of the mission. He just needed to figure it out.
Deelah stood up as well, her initial shock from Scrooge's outburst fading. She faced him and answered his scowl with a skeptical look and a reasonable tone, "Wait a second. We don't even know why they accepted it in the first place. You can't just turn your back on a prince. It could be a kingdom emergency."
Scrooge tsked, "Getting involved with the crown was never stated out deliberately but I believed it was implied. As pirates, our hands are unclean in their eyes. To seek our help means underhanded tricks or illegality that could lead to treason."
"Or it could be as our oath says," Deelah retaliated, her hands on her hips, "To help the weak and to seek the truth. This riddle is only the surface of what's really going on. Raz is not stupid. You know that, Scrooge. We, at least, need to trust her judgement before we call them out."
She and Scrooge fell into a silent war, iron will flowing inside their veins. With eyes that would not waver and stances that would not relax, the two stood stock still and made no sound.
Suddenly, Captain Croc stood up as well. Both snapped their heads towards him but he didn't meet their eyes. His gaze remained burning on his desk. His arms shook at the revelation he just had.
"End this mission," he ordered them.
"What?" Deelah gasped out breathily. Scrooge merely grinded his teeth. He posed, ready to take off if needed.
The Captain still didn't look at them. Instead, he shared his thoughts gravelly, "One of you bring them back. If my hunch is correct, they'll be wedged into a dangerous situation that could mean life or death."
No more words was needed to be said.
Scrooge went for the door immediately.