“What’s the city name, anyway? I forgot already!”

“It is Crila. Crila is one of the biggest cities, which means we can find some ways to earn money there. At least I hope so.”

Arthur and Kai had been flying for one day and a half. Their destination? Crila. The first step to have a ship with a strong crew was money. Kai said Crila was one of the biggest cities he knew, so it should contain ways for them to earn the money.

They rode on Sully’s back all the way to Crila. Sully could fly above the clouds, so none of the ships sailing beneath them saw a thing.

Kai, who sat behind Arthur, suddenly pointed forward and down.

“Look, we arrived!”

As Arthur followed Kai’s finger, he saw Crila. It was a large city, yet different from the rest Arthur had seen. It had a few tall buildings, most were houses. The only tall buildings were the important ones.

Crila felt like a large city from the countryside. Well, they were on an island, so the things they could build and do were limited. It was surprising enough they built this incredible city.

The first problem was how to land without them noticing Sully. Barely no one could tame beasts, especially not beasts as strong as Sully. They were just arriving in the city, so it was the best if they stayed low, and caused little troubles.

“All right. First, we need to land. We will go around the island and land outside Crila. Everyone is fine with that?”

“Everyone? As if there’s many people here… but I’m fine with it!” said Kai.

Crila was a large city, but it did not take the entire island. There was still a lot of wilder land near Crila, and that’s where Arthur wanted to land.

.

~~~~

The water beneath them was crystal clear, and all the vivid forest made an unforgettable scenery. Flying all the way until Crila had been fun and beautiful at the same time.

Sully circled high in the sky and looked down for an open area in the green forest. He found one, and as he did, it was time to dive. Sully shot down like an arrow, and within seconds, he landed.

Arthur was still somewhat afraid others could have seen it, so he asked Sully to turn into his minor form and hide inside his pockets. After that, Arthur scanned the surroundings to see what direction lead to Crila. With the right direction in mind, they walked fast towards the city.

The forest was not dense, as not that far from Crila. After walking for fifteen minutes with little troubles, they entered the city. Now, they had to earn money, and what was the best place to get information? The inn.

They stopped at a small shop to buy new clothing. The ones they had weren’t common in Crila, and wearing them could be troublesome. Arthur bought a silk clothing that had some parts of leather, like a small compact armor. It looked exactly like the clothing the pirates Arthur knew wore. Both he and Kai had similar clothing, and a black-hooded cloak as well to stay hidden.

After leaving the shop, Arthur said, “I’m sorry, Kai, for using some of your saved money. I promise we will get it back.”

“Don’t worry, boss. You saved my life, so this is nothing.”

They headed towards the inn afterwards. Crila’s streets had many people, as it was a central outpost for almost all pirates. Trading between pirates usually happened in large cities, like Crila.

Another thing Arthur noticed were the stalls. People sold not only food but all kinds of strange items in the streets of Crila.

“I should be careful around here. This place smells like scam.” thought Arthur, and he was right.

It was common for people to sell mysterious things, saying they were magical, when in reality it was all bullshit. After they walked for some time, and avoided the people trying to sell things to them, they finally arrived at the inn.

This inn was not the biggest or luxurious in Crila, but it was a pleasant inn, all built with fine wood, wood that was presumably from the nearby forest. Once inside, Arthur noticed there were lots of people drinking beer and talking to each other.

Some people inside gazed at Arthur and Kai as soon as they stepped through the door, but returned to what they were doing right after. People came and go of that inn a lot, and two people wearing black hoods were common around Crila.

Arthur chose the table farthest from everyone. It was at the corner of the inn. A good-looking lady went to check on them as soon as they sat.

“Hello, would you like something to eat or drink?”

“Both, please. We don’t know the menu, so choose for us, sweetie.”

The woman’s cheeks turned red, and she said timidly, “I’ll be right back.”

Now that no one was around, Kai could not help but to task.

“Boss, we are here to get information, right? How will we listen to their conversation this far?”

“Relax, I have good ears.”

Arthur was not worried, as he had acute senses. He was a dragon, so how couldn’t he listen to a conversation a few meters away?

While the waitress did not return with their food, Arthur listened to the conversations inside the inn and found some interesting information.

“Did you hear? Captain Claridge is hiring people for a treasure hunt.”

“Captain Claridge? As Claridge the White Beard? Haha, now this is interesting.”

“That’s right. Rumor said he found an island that has some strange buildings, possibly with treasures, but he couldn’t get inside without the help of powerful people, as the place has lots of magical beasts.”

“But how did he find this island? Do you know it?”

“I’m not sure, but some say one of his crew members had a map his father gave him, and that’s how he found it.”

Arthur focused all of his attention to listen to the conversations that he did not see the waitress in front of him carrying plates of food and two beers.

“Sir? Sir?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Thank you!” Arthur said. He tossed her a coin, and she left with a bright smile.

The plate she chose was meat, something that looked like rice, and some vegetables. It was tasty, as both Arthur and Kai ate like starved beasts.

“So, did you find something? Kai said.

Arthur was eating non-stop, but he mutter a few words Kai could understand.

“I did, we will go out in a treasure hunting.”

“Wait? Really? That’s awesome!”

They kept eating until an older man walked into the inn. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the old-man with scared looks.

It was Captain Claridge, the one they just talked about. He wore a simple pirate clothing, but what stood out was his huge cloak made of beast fur. It was white, and a proof of strength.

Claridge looked around, seeking a table for himself. He did not want to get near these other people because usually they came to him asking favors, and he hated those types of people.

He looked at the corner and saw two young men sitting at a table. Claridge saw how all the other tables around that one were empty, so he chose one. The same waitress went to take his order, but she was visibly way tense than she was with Arthur. The people seemed to respect and fear Captain Claridge.

Arthur did not see him as a threat. Claridge had the number 25 above his head. It was only five levels higher than Arthur, but he was probably way weaker.

“I’ll go talk with him about the treasure hunt. He’s the one hiring people.” Arthur said.

“What? That scary guy right next to us?” Kai stopped for a while as he remembered his boss was even scarier. “Yeah, he’s not that scary, actually.”

Arthur got up from his table and walked in Claridge’s direction. Everyone gazed at them, and they whispered among themselves.

“Who is the youth? Is he not afraid of death?

“I don’t know. Maybe he is from Claridge’s family? That could explain why he had the guts to go there talk with him.”

Arthur listened to everything on his way to the table.

“Why am I going there? Because I’m not a coward like you.” he thought.

Once he was in front of Claridge, who barely looked at him, Arthur tried to get his attention.

“Excuse me? Hello?” Arthur waved, but Claridge was acting like there was no one there. He was ignoring Arthur.

“Are you hiring people for the treasure hunt?”

Claridge’s eyebrows moved after hearing those words, but he still kept ignoring Arthur.

“All right, old man. I heard you are hiring powerful people for this shit treasure hunt. But now you’re ignoring me because you think I’m too weak? I mean, you’re the weak here for not seeing my greatness.”

Claridge was visibly angry after hearing what Arthur said, but as he was about to say something, Arthur stopped him.

“Don’t talk nonsense, please. Let’s fight, you and me. After I beat you up, then I can go on the treasure hunt, right? Or you could hand me your crew and I can become the temporary captain. You’re too old, anyway!”

Everyone went silent after hearing that. They never thought that youth would say something like that to Captain Claridge.

Claridge slammed the table and said, “What did you just say?”

Arthur thought about some words to make him angrier, but before he could do that, Claridge got up and sent a punch right into his face. Arthur did not see that coming, but his body was unmatched. He grabbed the punch with one hand, smirked, and said, “is this all you got?”