"WHERE DID ALLOY GO??!!" Damion shouted in frustration. Learning his lesson on letting his captain go free. They had just arrived at the commander's office, right outside the steel door labeled 'Commander Poke' when Damion learned of Alloy's disappearance.
"Who's shouting outside my door??!!" A coarse voice grunted from inside the office. A chill was sent down their escort's spine.
"Uh… this is where we part ways, I'll find your friend and bring her here, for now please enter." He said as he took two long steps back and dashed away.
Damion and Tasue stared at each other before he turned the doorknob to open and enter the door after Tasue. They were greeted incredibly warmly by the captain who had taken Spire into custody. "Welcome!! Welcome!!" Yukio welcomed.
The office space didn't seem like much, there were a couple chairs, two couches on each side of the windows on the left and right, a wooden table in front of each one, and only two people were in the room. Said commander, and the captain Yukio. The office was built well, but it had a few cracks of brick on the walls, a wooden roof and a brown desk where the commander sat. There were papers filled with pictures on the sides of the window behind him, some crossed out, others new, others old. Damion noticed, and was curious about them.
"Refreshments are on the way. Please have a seat." He added.
Damion sat down, Tasue jumping on his lap. Both set aside their weapons next to the chairs.
"Sir, this man's guild is the one that saved the town of Gami!!"
"Is that so??" The Commander asked.
"Yes, yes, they brought down Spire before we managed to arrive!!"
"It's not my crew." Damion interrupted.
"Then who and where is your leader?? And the rest of your members??" He asked.
"We're the only members, our captain is…"Just then, they heard a knock on the door.
"Refreshments are ready sir!!" A man spoke from the other side.
"Get in." The commander replied.
The man in a simple white apron atop his sailor-like outfit walked in, setting a few cakes, biscuits and tea on the table. Not long after, Alloy walked in, fully unaware of what was going on, she just went straight to the table and picked three cakes, stuffing them in her mouth. She had gone too fast and had began choking. Clutching her throat and looking for water, Damion stood behind her and caught her stomach, yanking hard and making the cakes pop out and shoot straight to the commander's face, hitting him since he was caught off guard. He stood up in anger.
"D… Damion?? You're here??"
"Yes, you idiot. You disappeared again!!"
"Sorry… heh… thank you…" She said as she coughed and tried to catch her breath.
"Who is this disrespectful idiot??!! This is an important meeting, leave at once!!" The justified commander demanded as a small piece of cake dropped from his cheek.
Alloy stopped crouching to see where she was. Given that food was her goal since she couldn't explore the entire port, she was a bit nervous since Damion caught her, or rather… she found her way to him by mistake. The shout broke her train of thought, making her stare at the 6 foot 3 tall man who wore almost nothing like a commander would, he sported a black tunic vest with tactical black trousers as well as black steel-toed shoes. She noticed that he held no weapon on him, which made sense, considering he was in his own office. Another thing that stood out was his Syndicate symbol, placed on the right side of his vest. So she pointed it out. Ignoring his demands and questions.
"Spire had a similar symbol on his coat," She said, pointing at it quite literally.
"His had a grey pin though, what does it mean??"
Her ignorance brought great despair to the room as the commander began boiling, his face turning red and his black kempt hair beginning to frizzle. He raised his fist to signal his anger. Yukio had had this experience before, he and the man who brought the food began sweating when he decided to act.
"Please, leave… Commander Poke-san is very irritated by unwelcome visitors."
"She's our captain." Damion mentioned, breaking the unease in the room.
"This careless girl is your captain?!?!" The commander bellowed.
"Yes!! I'm Alloy, nice to meet you!!" She said with a wide smile, her eyes even shut, extending her hand toward the commander and walking toward him.
"Agh…" He grunted as he put his hand down to greet her. Damion noticed this sudden change of personality.
"So, what do they mean?? The pins…" She asked again.
"Ah, yes." He sighed as he looked at his vest's right chest and touched his silver pin with his index finger.
"These pins signify our ranks in The Arcane Syndicate. They are six." He said as he took them out from his top drawer. Like nothing happened, he began introducing three of them as he explained them.
"Bronze. This is the entry level pin for our members, once the recruits become troops, they are handed a bronze pin. Some of them in Gami had them but they were missing when we arrested them. They include messengers, scouts and the troops themselves.
It was a plain circular pin with small engraving of the symbol of the Syndicate at the center.
Iron. These are members who proved their loyalty and competence, meaning they're trusted more. The pin represents strength and resilience, their roles include task managers, minor enforcers and resource gathers.
It was shaped like a shield with the same symbol engraved on it at its center.
Steel. Middle-ranking members, they are trusted to oversee teams and manage minor operations. It reflects durability and adaptability, qualities needed when taking control of squads. These are squad leaders, strategists and field operatives. Spire had one of these, unfortunately, he misused his power for personal gain. It has been stripped from him. Yukio here also has one.It was shaped like a crescent and polished to show progression from Iron.
Next, Silver. The one I hold. Hard workers for The Syndicate are promoted to officers/elite members. The silver signifies refinement and rarity. Commanders, such as I, diplomats granted power by the syndicate and high-profile enforcers hold these dear to them…"
"The design looks so cool!!" Alloy interrupted. It was a starburst-shaped silver pin with intricate engravings around a small clear gemstone that lay in the center.
"Thank you. It represents leadership and prestige." He continued.
"Now the next one I hope to get is the Gold Pin. It is given to the elite leaders of The Syndicate, they are second to the highest authority. It symbolizes wealth, influence, and power. I don't have an illustration but you'll see it in your travels. It is shaped like the sun and it has more jewels than mine does.
At the top of The Arcane Syndicate, the Platinum Pins are rarely seen, they are reserved for the most powerful and influential people. It represents rarity, purity and unmatched authority. The heads of major departments, syndicate rulers and ultimate enforcers of The Syndicate's will. Ultimately, the major and main ones are four of them, the Arcane Sovereigns. The only thing I've heard about it is that it looks like a compass. If you lot are lucky, maybe one day you'll meet one of them."
Alloy and Damion were listening but Tasue was knocked out right on the couch.
"I had no idea he had such a high rank," Damion sighed.
"That is why we are grateful for your intervening, I have been busy dealing with kidnappings around The Calm Gale… I also despise Syndicate vs Syndicate politics so I didn't mind his presence until we got word from panicked civilians."
Yukio glanced down, slightly ashamed, the clear reason what that he hated one of his own harming innocents, so they noticed, but didn't mind it, but the truth of the matter would come to shock Alloy, Damion and Tasue.
"No problem. We beat him for different reasons." Alloy said, picking another cake as she looked for tea so she couldn't choke again.
"Are these posters bounties??" Damion asked, embracing his curiosity.
"Yes they are, many people out there are hard to get, so naturally, bounties were placed on them by the syndicate. They consist of various group leaders, from rogue guilds, to pirates, even people who escaped from the syndicate, fugitives. A group of notorious criminals who once swore loyalty to the Syndicate but betrayed us and escaped, bounties help keep them from relaxing so we can get them when they slip up, however, some of these bounties are in the tens of millions, these are people the Syndicate can't ignore. Like this pirate." He pointed at one picture on the wall. The man in the picture had a very distinctive face, he had prosthetic metal jaw, his expression very serious, with dark blue hair and a white top hat on his head.
"He looks funny!! Who is he??" Alloy asked.
"This pirate is named Ironjaw Beckan. He rose from the Western side of the world, the Setting Tide sea. He arrived here at the South recently, beating at least three other pirate crews and one guild. I have word that he's close to these waters, we will be ready to take him into custody when he shows his face again. He might be the cause of these kidnappings as well."
"Alright then." Damion said. Sitting down next to Tasue, and waking her up by nudging her.
"Well… we need a smaller boat, one that's easy to use for the three of us, we don't know how to sail any ship, a small boat will do for now." He added.
"Why don't you take another ship and some of my men?? They'll help you get where you're going then they'll head back."
"Really?!?! Thanks!!" Alloy exclaimed.
"We have already prepared it. You only have to take your things to it and at your leisure, you may set sail. It is the least we can do to thank you lot."
Not long after, the commander and Yukio began walking them to the dock, where their ride was.
"It's not that big." Alloy noticed.
"Yeah." Damion agreed.
The ship was a small sleek and agile-looking vessel. By the name 'The Enforcer', it was a personal ship for Syndicate captains. It was 40 feet long, a single triangular sail. The hull was sharp and narrow for speed and stealth. It was painted dark blue with black streaks to blend in the night. Upon climbing on with the side ladder, they had spread out to see what was on the ship. Alloy opened the door to the cabin below the deck, it looked like a desk filled with maps and logs. 'Our navigator will have a room just like this, one day.' She thought. Damion had gone to the sleeping quarters, it had hammocks for up to five members. Tasue had stumbled upon the kitchen filled with food. In her mind she truly wondered how Alloy wasn't here first. But she found a jar of passion juice and poured herself a cup. The ship seemed like one used for personal missions, maybe some reconnaissance and overall, to enforce Syndicate rules. It seemed fast enough to escape problems on the sea or even help make surprise attacks.
"So… who's coming with us on this cool ship??" Alloy asked from above the deck. Looking down at the commander who had his hands crossed.
"I am." Yukio said, right below the ladder as he began to climb along with four more troops.
"Great!!" She said, helping them up into the ship.
"So you're a navigator??" Damion asked.
"Yes. All captains are required to know navigation, as leader of the crew, one must be able to bring their crew back safely."
"I wonder what ours will be like." Alloy commented.
"Yukio!!" Commander Poke spoke. "Be back within two weeks!! If not, I will send others to find you with the tracking crystal!!"
"YES SIR!!"
"Alloy!! You're a little loose, but you are strong, thank you once again!! Have a safe journey!!"
Alloy chuckled, owning up to his statement. "YEAH!! Thank you for helping us!!"
"Men!! The wind blows to the North-west!! Hoist the sail!!" Yukio began, startling the three crew members. One of the men unfurled the sail, untying the ropes that held it in place, switched ropes at the bottom of the mast and lifted the sail. Another man was using ropes connected to the sail, they didn't know what he was doing but the result was a barely loose sail ready to depart. The third man was where the anchor was at the front of the ship, he asked for help to pull it up and Alloy volunteered, looking at the heavy chain, she held it and singlehandedly threw it on to the deck, breaking just a small part of the wooden deck as it landed. This shocked the men but not for long. The ship had a tiller on the inside of it, not too far in as the tiller changes direction so it was just barely on the entrance of a room close to the deck.
"We are leaving Tavira island now." Yukio said. "At your command, Alloy."
"Huh??" She wondered.
"Set sail. Shout 'set sail'" Damion whispered next to her.
"Oooooh." Alloy realized she was the overall captain of the ship.
She jumped to the top of the aftcastle on the deck and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"SET SAIL!!"