Three days. Three days and Qrow was getting really tired of being on this boat. The amenities were nice, the booze was good, and the people were mostly agreeable; but it was the waves he could not stand. On the first day the rocking of the boat only slightly bothered him, on the second he started to feel a little light headed but calm, by today he was feeling every pulse of the waves hitting against the side; and each one caused him to gag just a little. The number of times he had his food come up was too much for Qrow to handle. He thought he had it rough when he rode Tenatus for the first time, but the incessant nature of the waves colliding with the proved to be a more challenging ordeal. Qrow stumbled around the deck hoping for some bit of relief but all around him was fog and people hustling and bustling to the next thing. Nothing seemed to alleviate his struggles. He tried drinking away the sickness but it only came back worse. He tried pickpocketing to take his mind off of things, but he had become more sloppy since succumbing to the waves. He finally decided to just lay on the deck and let the waves of nausea come and go. He laid on his back looking up at the fog and sails above. He thought about his dad, and his life back in Fearsh. He thought about the anger he had for him since the center isle, he thought about missing Haldrin, but mainly he thought about the time without him; the times he spent on the streets. It had been many years since Qrow had become a reformed ruffian, mainly through the efforts of his brother, but he still found that he longed for those days. He may not have had fancy clothes, a palace to call home, or all the things money could buy in Fearsh, but he did have a people he cared about greatly; and Tenatus. As he laid on the deck, he felt the wind coming off the sea hit him in the face with slight speckles of mist from the water. It reminded him of running through the streets, evading guards and beast, trying to navigate the best way around a bustling city with a smile and a pack of stolen goods on his back. He felt the wood against his back and it reminded him of the tables at the Drowned Monarch, they too were soaked from the underground lake the bar was next too. He beat on and destroyed many of those tables in moments of reverie with friends over a pint or at the end of a successful heist. He heard the calls of the birds above, reminding him of heading down the cost on Tenatus. He loved wasting afternoons laying on the sand and watching the floating islands drift. All of these memories came in waves of nostalgia that made Qrow feel calm and at peace. He even grinned as he laid on the deck, letting the nausea be drowned out by pleasantness and peace. Qrow slowly let himself drift back to the beaches of Fearsh, his eyes began to slowly close and he got carried away with the memories in his mind and the beckoning of the voices of his distant friends.
"Hi!" a jovial voice said. Qrow's eyes shot awake and instinctively he tried to phase away. He became one with the shadows and allowed himself to be taken by the hidden dark world below. He swam through and emerged behind Lia who had been standing over him only moments before, and put a dagger to her throat. Qrow took deep breaths trying to regain his composure as reality began to set in.
"Well I remember being in this position before," Lia said laughing.
Qrow shook the tiredness away and realized what he was doing. He released the knife to Lia's throat, "Sorry…sorry I was just getting some rest," He said as he sheathed his knife.
"On the deck?" Lia asked questioningly, "I feel like a bed might be more comfortable/"
"Sometimes it's too comfortable. I haven't been able to get much sleep between the nightmares," Qrow felt the urge to throw up once again, "and the waves."
Lia still laughed at him. Normally Qrow would find that annoying but he did not hate it when she did it. "Maybe I can help," Lia said. Lia stuck out her hands and the runes on them began to glow. Qrow backed away a little bit as her hands came forward. He was not afraid of healing magic, he had it used on him many times, but he was afraid of the effects Lia could have. Last time she had used her magic it seemed to not go as planned. But Qrow gave in, if not just for himself but also because he did not want to make her upset. She laid his hands on his arm and her eyes started to glow yellow as she closed them letting the glowing light show through her eyelids. At first, Qrow felt nothing, just the warm embrace of her small hands on his arm which for some reason made him feel calmer, but then he started to see the effects of the magic. He felt as if lines of energy were coming from his hands and traveling through his bloodstream. Where there was once nausea and sickness came comfort and peace. His world stopped swaying and his fatigue began to melt away. He felt calm on the sea, like he was adjusted to it rather than against it.
"What did you do to me?" Qrow asked in astonishment.
"Oh I'm sorry, did it not work?" Lia looked upset. Qrow noticed that sweat had started to form on Lia's forehead. She looked a little woozy after the magic faded.
"No it worked perfectly, I just did not expect to feel a sense of relief while on this boat," Qrow said.
Lia smiled contently, "I am glad. The spell won't last forever but it should give you a moment of respite!"
"What spell is that? I have never heard of a spell that gets rid of fatigue," Qrow asked.
"It's a restoration spell. Alhayaa taught it to me when I became her acolyte. I don't imagine you would have seen it unless you have met another life cleric," she said.
"Can't say I have had the pleasure. Most of our healers are druids, we don't get many clerics in Fearsh…or any really," Qrow said.
"Well I'm glad to be the first one you have met," Lia said. They sat with each other for a while, listening to the waves crash and the birds above cry. Qrow was perplexed by Lia. She was elvish like him but that didn't explain her sudden civility towards him. She had kinda been standoffish but now she was taking the time to be by his side. It was odd.
"Why are you helping me?" Qrow asked, "it seems like the only people you want to be around are the Penzamites, why come help me?"
Lia looked off into the distance, the wind blew through her golden hair. "You are the only one who has taken me seriously. Everyone deals with me with kid gloves. They treat me like I'm some sort of fragile princess. So far you are the only one who took me seriously enough to not hold back, even when it came to displaying your powers." She said,
"Really?" Qrow said, "I assumed you would be offended by that. I'm going after the only girl in our party."
"It was the opposite actually," Lia replied, "sure I was scared, I didn't expect it to happen, but you chose to go after me even when my guard dog was standing right next to me. You decided to take that risk, seeing me as a threat. I liked it. I didn't feel helpless, I felt… important. Like I was a threat."
Qrow found Lia to be odd. If he was being honest he did not know why he chose to go after her. It just made sense to him. In some ways he felt like she could handle the scare, the intimidation, he was not interested in oppressing her, more like testing her resolve. Lia reminded him of his friends in the Drowned Monarch.
"I honestly don't know why I decided to pick on you, you just looked too adorable to not mess with," Qrow deflected.
Lia rolled her eyes, "whatever your reason, that is how it made me feel. I just appreciated not being taken lightly, that's all."
Qrow scoffed, "glad I could help." They were silent for a moment, "so…Fuju, what's his deal?" Qrow asked. He has been perplexed by the man since he first saw him at the meeting on the center isle. Unlike other wizards Qrow had met, Fuju had a way about him that was more jovial, more sporadic, he took more risk than other wizards were willing to and he did not have a high and mighty sense to him like every other archmage.
If someone wanted to be a mage, wizard, whatever it may, they had to be officially trained and join a school of magic in Midoku. Despite the war and hostility it was the one thing the countries of the world agreed to. Because Midoku held the starlands, the blacksands that contain the star fragments, they had become adept at creating magic and researching new incantations and spells. The College of Tennock, named after the first archmage of Hize, was founded in order to teach magic to people who possessed the ability to wield magic or to those who had the capacity to handle arcane processes. While Qrow was what would be called an arcane trickster he did not ever attend the college. His father did not trust the place even though it was considered neutral because he did not like the idea of his son being in Midoku. Especially after Haldrin attended and returned home a month later out of fear he was being 'watched'. Fuju had called himself the archmage of demolition which means he held status in Midoku as well as within the school, and yet he was sworn to an elvish Penzamite; this was odd to say the least.
"What is his deal? What do you mean? Did he say something to you, I really need to talk to him about his intervening attitude," Lia said.
"He has said no more to me than he has anyone else," Qrow replied, "I just find your situation odd is all."
"Odd?" Lia said inquisitively, "how do you mean?"
"Well an archmage from Midoku is looking after royalty from Penzamen…" Qrow felt like his inquiry was obvious but found that Lia did not feel the same.
"Ah, well Fuju went to train as a mage when he was around 10. He came back four years later and was regarded as an archmage. It was quite laughable to be honest. He left all bright eyed and bushy tailed and came back more so annoyed by his status rather than pleased," Lia laughed a little at her friends 'misfortune' as he would put it.
"Fuju was upset at being appointed as an archmage? Isn't that like the dream when you go to Tennock's?" Qrow asked.
Lia shrugged, "I am sure for most people it is but Fuju wanted to be the official mage to the Court of Sunflowers, my house. Being an archmage meant he now had to have allegiance to my family and to the school he now resided over." Qrow thought back to the clothes Fuju wore regularly. His robes had both the insignia for the Court of Sunflowers shown boldly and the symbol for Tennock's, though the Sunflower insignia was far larger.
"Why accept the offer then," Qrow asked, "Why not turn it down and be a normal wizard?"
"Because he could not," Lia answered, "It was one of those 'damned if you do, damned if you don't scenarios,' he either had to be recognized as an archmage and serve the college as well as my house; or refuse and not receive his accreditation. He would not be allowed to serve me or be in my household anymore."
"So he chose you," Qrow said suspiciously, he felt a tug on his heart like it was being pulled down into the pit of his stomach but pushed it away.
"I would not put it that dramatically," Lia said, "He chose his home. We grew up together. For him to not get accredited would not just mean having to leave me completely but also leave his home. The place where he grew up."
"Seems like a difficult choice," Qrow said.
"It wasn't actually," Fuju said from behind Qrow. Lia jumped a little, Qrow had heard Fuju waking up from the lower deck so he knew the man would show up eventually. "I had to choose between leaving Lia or staying with her. When I thought of the choice that way it became very simple."
Qrow stood up and dusted himself off from laying on the deck. He looked Fuju up and down. While the man had a chill demeanor about him, there was a tension that laid underneath the surface. When observed properly it was easy to see that his manner was more of a front. Qrow just did not know why.
"How very noble of you to stay so loyal to your 'best friend'," Qrow said with air quotations, "you must be very dedicated to your 'friendship'." Qrow looked smug as he spoke, he wanted to break Fuju's demeanor. Fuju didn't bite however, with a sly smile he shrugged off the comment and seemed to move on. He patted Qrow on the shoulder and looked down at Lia.
"Lia if you look off the bow of the ship you can see Penzamen," Fuju said. Lia stood and looked forward, only to see a thick cloud of fog in front of her.
"Wow, very beautiful…" Lia said. Qrow chuckled.
"Haha," Fuju said sarcastically, "just wait, I called in some help with the fog." Heavy footsteps came up the stairs and stormed onto the deck. Rijin walked up carrying his trident in hand. In size alone Rijin was already a sight to behold but when holding his ten foot trident it became even more clear how much of a terror he truly was. Rijin lifted his trident into the air and wind began to coalesce around the three tips. Rijin spun the trident around in the air softly, but the small rotations were enough to see a big change in the environment around them. The fog began to spin with the trident, creating a cyclone that went around the ship. The wind started to spin faster and faster as Rijin spun his trident. With one strike, Rijin sent his trident in an arc towards the deck. A burst of air sent forward slicing through the fog as light began to pour in. The fog dissipated and the sun began to show through. After everyone's eyes finally adjusted to the suns, they got their first glimpse of the land before them: Penzamen.
The landscape was like something out of a dream, unlike anything Qrow had seen before. Mountains piled high across the landscape of the country, the multi-colored flora could be perceived even from this far out, a river led from the sea into the landscape itself that showed the beauty of the suns. But the main thing that took Qrow' attention were the trees. Massive, 500 meter tall trees dotted the landscape. The closest one towered so tall Qrow could not even see the top.
"One of these trees could reach even the highest of the floating islands in Fearsh," Qrow said.
"They are a sight to behold aren't they?" Lia said, "I grew up with them but especially your first time seeing them, they are breathtaking."
As the ship began to enter into the river and travel down it, the rest of the party arrived on the deck, all astonished by the landscape.
"This is the fastest flowing river in Penzamen, in about half a day we will be at the blessing of love; until then, enjoy the world around you," Fuju said.
"What is that?" Varithorn asked, pointing towards one of the large trees. Coming from the trunk of the large tree close to them were what looked like little specs, but the specs had form. They were swaying around like they are alive.
"Ah those are people," Lia said nonchalantly. The others looked at Lia, partly in disbelief, partly looking for more answers. "What?" she said, confused.
"People?" Qrow asked.
"Yeah! A tree is in every single blessing and serves as a major point of commerce," Lia said, "People flow in and out of the trees constantly."
The longer Qrow looked, the more he could see what Lia meant. The tiny specks were different Penzamites riding beasts, flying, or using different apparatuses to go in and out of different parts of the tree. In fact there were many openings in the tree, what from a distance looked like a mighty giant singularly standing out in the wilderness now looked more to Qrow like a home. A structure like any other structure that exists in Fearsh but instead of being made out of stone and mortar was made out of the very living matter of Hize.
"What blessing is that?" Prometheus asked.
"The Blessing of Harmony. They are one of the Blessing of Life's main allies and trade partners," Lia answered, "they never have a problem with us coming up and down the river even though it is part of the land their deity has given them." Lia spoke with a commonality in her voice that was foreign to the other members of the party. Of the six nations, Penzamen was the only one that was sectioned into different pieces. There are other heirs to other blessings that are chosen in different ways, Penzamen is a country of regions rather than a singular ruler. The other nations were all governed by one ruler or a ruling family and were considered to all be a part of that nation but Penzamen thinks differently.
"So if you are allies with this blessing, that means you aren't with some others," Varithorn said. Lia remained silent, as did Fuju. Qrow could feel the tension once again, the tension that made this group not a collection of adventurers but more like a diplomatic procession. Everyone had secrets. As Fuju said everyone came into this for their own reason; sharing information about your country was kind of Lia but she knew that sharing too much would put her country in danger. Through all the merriment at the tavern, all the talks and sparring matches on the deck, and the close quarters they spent with one another the group had become more accustomed to being together but the thing they lacked was very clear; trust.
Fuju turned towards the group with a smile. "So," he said loudly, "what brothel are we visiting first?"
Very swiftly Lia smacked Fuju on the back side of his head. "We are here to find information, not visit brothels," Lia said sternly.
"Yes, but what if the information we need is in those brothels!" Fuju retorted.
"Fuju might have a point," Prometheus piped up. Qrow had not pegged Prometheus as the type to care about brothels.
"Not you too..," Lia said in disbelief.
Prometheus sighed, "I do not have much interest in such things but despite Fuju being possibly facetious, he might be right. If we wanted to know the comings and goings of the leader of the Blessing of Love, the ears of a courtesan hear all things."
"I don't know," Garus said, "In my time I have found that courtesans do seem to know quite a lot about the comings and goings of a nation…that was not a euphemism by the way." Qrow and Fuju both held a laugh.
"Sure, but we can just head to the Tree in their Blessing and can avoid going into brothels entirely. It seems like an unnecessary step," Lia answered.
"Unless," Varithorn spoke up, "that is what the Obsidian Smile wants us to do."
Qrow shivered. That was the first time someone had actually called this shadowy organization by that name. Before, Qrow could get away with it just being a dream or something that can be explained by other means, giving it a name made it feel more real. There was really an organization out there trying and succeeding at taking out the heirs of each country, this was not just a dream anymore.
"I will admit when I first heard about the brothels I was not too excited about the prospects but I think it makes a lot of sense. If we head to the Tree, we are essentially announcing our presence to the entire blessing. This organization clearly knows about us well enough to be able to sneak into each one of our countries. While it is doubtful they were at the meeting at the center isle they must have some idea we are coming by now," Varithorn said.
"Impossible," Lia said, "no one knew where we were meeting."
"But we were in our home countries for a month," Qrow spoke up, "none of you are thieves like I am, someone with my talents could be in and out of your castles and you would never even know. It is foolish to believe that our actions are not already accounted for by…" Qrow gulped, "the Obsidian Smile."
Varithorn gestured towards Qrow, "Exactly, we cannot stop them from knowing we are coming, but that does not mean they have to know we are here."
"So what do you propose?" Rijin asked, "Will we go examine some brothels? Buy some courtesans time and say 'what happened to the blessing of Althea'? That will still draw attention."
"I was thinking we would be more discreet in our approach," Varithorn said, annoyed. "Instead of coming in as one large force and heading to the tree; we split off into groups. Some of us can check out the brothels and see what might be going on there, others can check out local taverns to see if workers might have heard anything strange, and some of our more arcane members can talk to some of the clerics and druids that serve in the court. Lia should most likely attend the court since she is the only one among us who is for sure to not be questioned for being here. Each group finds out what they can about what is going on and then we meet back together to discuss." The members of the party all looked at each other suspiciously. What Varithorn proposed was a good idea, splitting up drew less attention and allowed for them to learn more things at once, but the pairing up aspect was not as favorable. In the Drowned Monarch, Qrow had many heists and choosing the best members was always critical. A team that can function together well was like a well timed incantation, but when the compatibility is lacking is when the most problems started to show.
"Since most of us are skeptical of each other, it would be best for us to form teams based on needs," Qrow said, "Garus seems to know taverns well, he should investigate the local taverns and talk to those folk. Rijin can go with him since he is big and muscley and can act as Garus's bodyguard." Rijin and Garus looked at each other but there was no objection between the two of them. Secretly, Qrow knew that Garus and Rijin would work best together since Limgren was one of the few countries that did not actively have any problems with Midoku.
"It also makes sense to put Rijin with him since Rijin is probably the best warrior among us," Fuju said, "we don't want princess getting killed and causing the end of the world." While the comment was definitely hostile, the party still nodded in agreement. Whether or not they actively talked about it, Garus's mothers ultimatum stuck in their heads especially as they were heading into their first real mission as a party. Garus looked a little down at this comment, and to Qrow's surprise simply nodded with no retort.
"I will go with Lia," Fuju said, "as much as I hate to miss out on a brothel, as an envoy from the Blessing of life, it makes most sense for me to stay with her."
"I will come with," Qrow said, "If anyone should be looking for discreet information it should be me, and the two of you can get me in the door."
"I don't know Qrow," Fuju answered, "Yes you are very sneaky but this is one of our Blessings, there is confidential information in that tree. I do not think I feel comfortable with you sneaking around."
Qrow felt the distrust, he understood the reasoning but he could not help but feel annoyed by it. "The Blessing of Love is losing their…power I guess you could call it…their leader is missing according to you two and yet inspite of this they are still holding a giant festival to celebrate love, to me that sounds like something is going on at a governmental level."
"Then we will be the ones to figure that out and report back," Lia agreed, "you are not a Penzamite." Qrow shrunk back a little.
"Then I will go with you," Varithorn spoke up, "it makes more sense for me to go, I can blend in as a cleric among your people with the proper attire."
"That is un…" Lia started but was interrupted by Varithorn.
"Do you expect the rest of us to trust that you are going into the center of governmental control in this region and let us know if you find out something that may hurt Penzamen? My coming is for assurance more than anything else. That you are working towards the interest of the world, not yourself," Varithorn said. Lia and Fuju did not look too happy about it but looking at the faces of the rest of the party members they knew they had to concede.
"That means Prometheus and Qrow will check out the brothels. They are the two who seem to have the least amount of interest in brothels as well as have the best skills for finding information discreetly," Lia said.
While he could not say he agreed, Qrow accepted the decision. The party all knew their roles, and had an idea of where they needed to go, all they could do now was wait to arrive at their first destination: the Blessing of Love.