Not knowing of any other options Lenn, Fortune, Quickstep, and Melodious Edelweiss also paid and followed behind Braag.
Liam walked at the end. But just as he wanted to pay, the wolfkin shook his head, stopping Liam.
"We can't take more than five passengers. We are already overloaded."
Everyone was surprised. Quickstep looked at Liam, asking:
"What should we do now? Get another ship?"
Before Liam could even answer, Braag hastily shouted.
"No way! We already paid for this one."
Liam inwardly thanked the dwarf for being such a good teammate as he calmly nodded:
"Braag is right. Don't worry, I will just take the next ship. It won't take that long. At most it's six minutes back and forth."
Quickstep remained sceptical. She still had a bad premonition.
"Why don't I wait together with you? Isn't it boring alone?"
"Ahh, don't worry about me. Braag is right. We shouldn't waste our money."
"1 silver really is not that much. I..."
Suddenly the wolfkin began to move. He boarded the ship, drawing in the plank behind him. In his rough voice he announced:
"Get ready! We are leaving!"
Quickstep froze in place realizing that it was too late now. The ship already began moving. The five players looked towards Liam who stood on the pier with a broad grin, waving his hand.
"Good luck! Enjoy the trip!"
"He's behaving weirdly...", murmured Quickstep.
"Do you think he tricked us?", suggested Fortune.
"Definitely!"
The two women glanced at Braag making him flinch. He quickly defended himself:
"Don't you have any trust in Mirage? He would never do anything to harm us!"
Lenn rolled his eyes.
"Greedy idiot! You really helped him out there! Something about the situation is off. I wouldn't be surprised if Mirage thought of a way to take revenge after we left him standing in the rain."
The more the others talked, the more timid Melodious Edelweiss became. She looked around expecting the ship to fall apart at any moment.
By now they were already on the open ocean. The water sparkled under the sun, creating a deceptively beautiful atmosphere.
Suddenly Melodious Edelweiss spotted something. She pointed towards a shadow moving below the water surface some distance away.
"T...there!"
The others frowned, following her finger. Everyone noticed the shadow moving in their direction. With every meter that it came closer the group's chests tightened further.
At that moment the wolfkin captain walked towards the railing looking at the ocean. He showed a relaxed smile.
"Don't worry. The flood dragon never attacks ships!"
As if to demonstrate that the captain was right, the shadow turned around. Everyone felt relieved thinking that they avoided a catastrophe.
But suddenly the situation changed. Water surged and splashed in all directions as a massive beast broke through the surface. They players only saw it for a moment. A gigantic snake with large wing-like fins and beautiful turquoise scales.
The beast let out a noise which sounded almost happy, and the movement of its fins looked as if it was waving at the merchants. Surprisingly it appeared rather kind, but its playful jump was a horror for the ship.
"Not again!"
The captain let out an exasperated cry. He watched the snake crashing back into the water. Its heavy weight caused massive waves to spread in all directions. Against the might of the water the ship was like a helpless little shell. The waves crashed into it, ripping off multiple planks. Simultaneously water swapped over the railing, drowning the deck.
"Damn! Adventurers, we need your help, please! I promise to wave the fees for you!"
The players were drenched, wearing bedraggled expressions, regretting that they teased Liam. But now they were caught on the ship with only one way to escape. Of course they would have to help.
"What should we do...?"
Upon Fortune's question a quest was generated. The players followed instructions. They went below deck, fishing out some buckets swimming between the cargo.
While the sailors did their best to repair the hull the players formed a line and tried to get rid of the water, bucket by bucket. The fact that everything was so readily available showed that this wasn't the first time the merchant ship experienced such a situation.
Luckily the flood dragon had already swum away. The water quickly calmed down and there was no continuous damage. After a while the ship had received some rudimentary repairs, and the group managed to remove most of the water.
"My back..."
"My boots are drenched!"
"Damn Mirage for this!"
The players complained exasperated and cursed Liam. They went back on deck, either asking C to dry them or allowing the sun to do so.
A minute later an island finally appeared on the horizon. It was smaller than the dynasty's main island. The terrain was hilly, and the scenery was quite gorgeous with a faint mist hanging in the air. The buildings were scattered and it looked as if the entire island belonged to one city.
This was Flood Dragon Manor. It wasn't a kingdom but rather a sect with great power considering the short time the sect existed for.
The merchant ship slowly docked at a harbour. Quickstep instantly jumped off, quickly followed by the others.
"Finally made it!"
"I don't know if I can set foot on a ship ever again!"
"Hmpf! At least Mirage won't have it any better."
Fortune listened to the others slowly shaking her head.
"Do you really think so?"
"Well..."
Reminded by the mage, Lenn was uncertain. He considered directly messaging Liam, but at that moment something caught everyone's attention.
A gigantic ship was arriving. Its hull was painted in a royal red colour and its vast sails were of a pristine white. As the ship glided through the sea it was as if the waves proactively escorted the ship to its destination.
Soon the ship docked close to Quickstep's group. The sailors worked in an orderly manner as they secured everything before letting down planks for the passengers to leave.
Small teams of soldiers took the lead, securing the surroundings before the passengers walked down. They were mostly important looking NPCs – scholars or luxuriously dressed merchants. A few players mixed in here and there. And at the very end finally came a nephilim in sparking white armor swaggering contently.
Quickstep gritted her teeth, staring at the man with narrowed eyes.
"Mirage!"
Liam wore a natural smile. He saw his friends standing not far away, their clothes still not entirely dry. He quickly walked over while apologizing:
"Hey guys! I know what you want to say. Sorry, I only remembered that ship at the last moment! It was already too late to switch by then."
"As if I'd believe you! We saw that ship waiting in the harbour! Don't tell me you forgot it. It was impossible to overlook!"
"No, really. It happens. Sometimes you just can't see the forest for the trees. Furthermore, isn't it all good now? We are here and you even saved the fee for the trip, didn't you?"
"Well, he's not wrong..."
As soon as Braag spoke he felt the piercing glares from all sides. Finally Quickstep took a deep breath.
"Ok, you got us. I guess we are even now. Let's leave it behind and focus on the quest."
"Alright."
Liam couldn't supress the smile on his face. He hastily turned away and led the group towards their destination. Taking out their mounts they strolled through the picturesque Flood Dragon Manor, heading towards its centre.
The further they got the more people in uniform, blue robes they came across. These were the warriors of Flood Dragon Mansion, the real core. Those living at the periphery were mostly farmers and fishermen producing the food for the island.
After a while the group passed an enormous courtyard. It was protected by a tall wall brimming with magic. A gate was framed by two dragon-like pillars, strictly guarded by at least four warriors.
Everyone guessed that this was Liam's target. It looked like the living place of an important personage, perhaps even the manor leader. But Liam lead the group past the courtyard and towards a small teahouse not far away.
The teahouse itself was indeed small. It only had a few tables but no guests. However, its adjacent garden was quite popular inviting a lot of people to drink tea while playing chess. Especially scholars greatly appreciated the place.
Braag was eager to play a round, bragging that he used to be good at chess before his daughter came to the world. Unfortunately, the others wanted to finish the quest and dragged him away.
They entered the teahouse together and directly strolled into the storage. The owner looked at them strangely but didn't stop them.
The group walked down a set of stairs, entering an underground hallway leading to other storage rooms. But Liam ignored all those, heading straight to a wall on the other side. He pressed a shining crystal inlaid in the wall. Suddenly the wall moved silently, revealing a secret path.