Weapons and intrigues

Rafferty is sitting on a ferry with a ferryman, who promised him to bring him to a gun store for a small fee.
Even if Rafferty doesn't have a lot of money, he always has enough with him for something like this.

Rafferty has been bored when shopping for clothes only, so he just left.
He'll just buy something quickly, and before the rest of the crew notices, he'll already be back.
He doesn't know yet that his plan already failed.

Meanwhile, the crew argues about where to search for Rafferty.

That idiot definitely went for weapons.

Yeah. Must be guns of course. That's what he wanted to buy most, right?

Bombs as well. But I haven't seen any bomb shop somewhere around here.

But can he really afford this?

I think I just found a ship that might sell what he wants.

But maybe the ferryman will bring him to a proper market. One that spreads across multiple ships.

He doesn't act like most people, but he's still predictable. We'll notice when he found something. I'm sure about that.

Not sure if it's such a good idea to wait for something to happen.

Yeah, we don't want to get into trouble again.

So we agree that he must be in some shop that sells bombs or guns? Or more likely both?

Yes. But there might be more than one.

We could also split up. The ferries aren't that expensive.

No, we'll stay together here on the ship.
Else this only means more trouble.

Okay...

In the meantime, Rafferty already reached some gun shop.
They have classic revolvers there with real bullets. Not just some of these modern energy weapons, that can be very dangerous and are still boring at the same time.

Can I have this one?

Do you even have enough money?

Rafferty looks at the price.
He isn't good at math, but he knows that this is definitely more than he has.

Sure. My friends are very rich. They'll pay you later!

The weapon seller makes a serious expression.

You'll even get a little extra. Trust me, bro!

Maris and the crew dock neat some weapon market area.
They have all kinds of weapons there.

As they explore the shops, Kael immediately spots something interesting.
It's some metal device which you can put on your hand.
These must be the brass knuckles they were talking about earlier.

Can I try them?

Sure, here we have some punching bags for you to try.

Oh, nice, thanks!

Kael approaches the next punching bag and tries his brass knuckles.

Something feels off.

Are there any others I can try?

Sure, we have a bunch of them.

The owner shows him.

Thanks.

Kael takes a few more which interest him with him and tries them.
They all feel like this. So this must be normal.

But then he tries one that feels different. They don't really look that dangerous, but Kael likes them.

I want these! Do you still have enough money, Maris?

Yes, but are you sure you want them?
You could also look for other kinds of weapons first. Brass knuckles were only a quick idea.
And even when it comes to brass knuckles, you only tried a few. You don't know anything.

Don't worry. They are great. I know it.

Okay, we'll take them!
But then let's look for Rafferty again.

Rafferty is now cleaning rusted scrap.
The vendor managed to lock him away after he tried to steal some stuff.
His main mistake was that he forgot that this is just a ship, even if it almost looks like a small swimming mall.

He will have to stay until everything is clean. And he won't even get anything in exchange.
Maybe he could have convinced him if he didn't break some crate and some table while struggling to escape. But now it's too late.

He already tried to escape, but it seems there is no chance.
So he just cleans the scrap as the vendor told him. This might be his best option right now.

The rest of the crew is already back to their ship.
Kael is still happy about his new brass knuckles.
He really would like to try them.

Maybe we should go to one of the islands?

That's a great idea. There are a bunch of ships around, but rather few islands. Maybe if he doesn't find us anymore, Rafferty would go to the closest island.

Exactly. Most of the islands are pretty far away, but this one is very close.

Zenna points to the island.

Okay, then let's go there!

Rafferty already cleaned half of the scrap right now, and nodiced a revolver, that doesn't seem that rusty and complete.
He cleans it more rigorously, and soon it clicks.

Rafferty grins widely.
He has a working gun now!

Only ammunition is missing. He looks around in this chamber and finds a few dirty but intact bullets and puts them in.
Should he try it right now, just to be sure.

And then there's a loud bang. He's almost deaf.
But he can still hear some voice.

What was that? You idiot!

He notices a wide hole in the wooden wall of this room.
The vendor will come in any moment. Maybe he can break through this wall.

So he pushes against it with all his force, and the hole quickly gets bigger, the planks bending outward, soon causing him to fall through.

On the other side, there's another small ship below him.
He falls onto a big guy lying around.
A few other people are on the ship, too, and move away in shock.

Who are you, moron!

Everybody seems nervous.

We have to escape. Everybody get a helm and row. You, too, stranger. If they notice us, it's over.

Rafferty does as they say. He doesn't know who they are, but they are definitely less dangerous than the weapon seller.

You'll pay for this!

After rowing for a while, it already started to get dark when they reach a small island with a bunch of shacks.
The other people carry some boxes from their ship into one of the shacks. Rafferty helps them.
As they are carrying in the boxes, he sees a bunch more of these boxes.

Maris and Zenna entered some island, too.
Kael walks ahead, watching out for threats.
He really wants to try his new weapons, but he also knows that starting a fight without reason would be very stupid of him.

There are a bunch of shacks on this island.
It's very dense.
Most of them seem like they aren't open for the public, but there are also a bunch of shops.

Soon they enter one of the shops and look around.

Maris, look! That symbol! It's that symbol that's also on the Ellis scrolls!

But Maris isn't listening. Her eyes are locked on a familiar ornament next to the symbols, identical to the one Rafferty stole.
So did Rafferty still have it? Why do they have it now?
Did he use it for payment? Or did he get robbed? Maybe even worse?
But it might also just be a different one.

Where did you get this?

Actually it's pretty useless.
But some say it's from the outside world and might be more valuable there.
But here it's only there for the looks.
If you want it, I can make you a special offer.

Maris doesn't want to ask more questions. This might be suspicious.

Late in the evening, Rafferty is sitting around with a bunch of guys in a comfortable room in the same building, drinking some beer.
They are all thieves and smugglers, and wanted to rob the weapon vendor.

Since Rafferty helped them without asking, they started to have some basic respect for him. And when he told them what he did at the weapon seller, they started to trust him.

Wanna be one of us?
You sound like you already have the right mindset. You only need some training.

Sure, this would be a honor.

Soon they leave one by one, so Rafferty leaves, too.
He doesn't know where they went. He follows one of them to a huge sleeping room, where some of them are already sleeping, and just lies down.
He'll be one fo them now. At least until he can escape, likely in one or two days.

Maris, Kael and Zenna went back to the ship.
Maris didn't want to buy that ornament. It would only make her suspicious. It has been stolen after all.
But she bought a bunch of other stuff that seems valuable, which they might sell later.

Maris is really worried, so Kael sits down next to her on the couch to calm her down.

Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find Rafferty again.
Personally I don't think that we really need him. He might just be an obstacle to your mission.
But he's part of our crew, so it's our responsibility to get him back, right?
I don't think anything bad happened to him. He seems like the kind of person, who always manages to find a way out when he gets himself into trouble.

You're right. I haven't even told you how I got to know him, did I?

I don't think so.

As Maris tells him about that day, her mood lightens up.
Even if it was a dangerous situation, she can now laugh about it.

Zenna doesn't even notice them.
She bought some interesting notes and documents from her own money, and is focused in reading them.

Maris soon falls asleep leaning against Kael.
Kael is happy, but would have wished for more. He doesn't want to sleep yet. But he still keeps sitting there, enjoying how close Maris is to him.

Soon Zenna notices them. She isn't envious.
She already knew that a relationship with Kael would never work out for her.

So Zenna goes back to her room and lies down in her bed on her own.
But she can't sleep and just keeps reading some interesting book for the whole evening.