Chapter 205 - 203

"How do the summons even do that? I can't hear a bloody thing with the snap of the sails and the roar of the wind, but they know exactly what sail needs what trim the instant the order is given." One of the Rogues complains with a frustrated waving of his hands. 

"They don't need to hear her. I can hear her, and they can understand her through me." Cain laughs. 

"Unfair advantage Captain. Unfair I tell you." The wind mage, a lithe Wave Rider who could almost be the Captain's younger sister, given their similarities, insists. 

"You just want out of cleaning duty. But it's happening either way. Now help the clones get the product unloaded and over to the warehouse." Captain Selah orders her crew and the summons, the identical pairs grabbing a lot of attention from the other Sailors.

The Wind Mages and the one pair of female Warriors in particular. Dark Elves might be a more common sight among the Port Cities, because of the Wave Rider Clan, but twin beauties among them are enough to turn many heads in appreciation. 

As Cain had learned with his Companions, no matter where you go, twins will garner attention. Especially among the actual transfers, many of whom have an unhealthy fascination with the idea of twin demi-humans. 

"Question for you Captain. Back in the Beginner Valley, they call everyone with a system interface a transfer. But that doesn't work for the people born here, does it? What do the Wave Riders use to make the distinction?" Cain decides to get a few answers to esoteric questions while they wait. 

"Wave Riders are a bit different than most cultures. Our lifestyle essentially requires the System at this point, but we don't get any new arrivals from it, only those born with an Interface. So we send those rare few born without it to one of the Underground cities to be with the rest of the Dark Kin or to work at land-based businesses that the clan owns. Unlike other groups, most of us do get an interface, we believe it's part of our blessing from the Spider Goddess.

Those without it are Classless, we're the Wave Riders. The Eastern Continent calls those born with access to the system the Blessed. The North and South both call them True Born. Transfer works anywhere until you know more about the person though."

That's an interesting take on it. They don't get transfers, because they're Elves changed by their Goddess, so it makes some sense they've got a different way of doing things than others. They might truly be blessed by their Goddess though, after seeing her influence in Muzz, and hearing that most Wave Rider children get an interface, it's easy to believe that the Spider Goddess keeps a close eye on her creations. 

"Thanks for the explanation. Here I was worried I'd seem too much like a country bumpkin using the word Transfer as a general term." Cain responds with a lopsided grin and Selah gives him a look as if to say he's delusional if he thinks that's the only problem with him and his speech patterns. 

Cain's supporters choose that moment to send a message that they're in trouble at the warehouse, something about Customs officers trying to break in. It sounds urgent, so he decides to relay it to captain Selah. 

"The summons says there is a problem with customs." Cain begins as the First Mate appears from the water beside the ship, climbing aboard, followed by the others. 

"Someone tipped them off. We got out, but the clones didn't know the secret passages." He says in a hurry and they can hear the smashing of wood in the distance as the officers breach the warehouse. Going on his first instinct, Cain dismisses his Supporters and smiles at Captain Selah. 

"Problem solved. The clones are gone. But I'm afraid your cargo might be lost."

"Thank goodness, they looked just like us, we'd have been screwed. But the cargo is already gone. Swapped out for a legitimate crate of cloth." The First Mate says with a grin.

"Go change. Get dry before they get here and we can deny everything." Captain Selah informs her crew and pulls a bottle of Rum from her inventory that she hands to Cain.

"Drink up. When they ask, you bet me we couldn't make the Point Rock loop in an hour." They share drinks from the Rum bottle until the customs officials arrive, looking positively irate.

Cain decides he definitely needs more of this Rum. It's an easy liquor to drink straight, slightly sweet with notes of apple and something Cain can't identify. Not sweet enough to be anything but hard liquor, but not so harsh he'd want to mix it with anything and risk ruining the flavor. 

"Behar Customs, prepare to be boarded." The customs officers announce as they march down the pier.

"We have it on good authority your vessel has been importing illegal Frost Giant Vodka. We will be searching the vessel. Where are the crew?"

"Down below freshening up. I bet the captain here that she couldn't make the Point Rock run in an hour, so they got a good workout today." Cain smiles at the officers, the sweet smell of good Rum strong on his breath. 

"And what might the stakes have been?" The lead investigator asks. 

"One crate of assorted cloth from inland. I've got Guild Houses in Montauk and the Beginner Valley you see." Cain explains and the man steps back at the smell of his breath.

High-level transfers, especially the more durable classes, don't get drunk easily due to their constitution, and this Rum lingers on the breath so much that it's making the Customs officer's eyes water.

"His story checks out Detective, Darklight Host Guild holds three Guild Houses plus a Guild castle and one other property. His first order of business in town was trading Cloth with the King." A Customs officer with a clipboard says. 

The crew has been brought topside, and the officers are using a checking device like the one used in Assah to verify that none of the prohibited items are in their inventory. The search of the ship also seems to be turning up nothing out of the ordinary. 

They're not giving up yet though, hoping someone slips up. "Why might you be interested in trading vessel speed all of a sudden, Mainlander?"

"I traded high-end silk for the Queen Rose, there a few berths down. But I had never been on anything like it before." Cain shrugs. 

"That thing is yours now? If you'll promise never to leave that pink monstrosity on my docks again I'd die a happy man." The dockmaster with the customs team grumbles.

"The idea of making it not pink did come up in conversation." Selah winks, discretely signaling her crew to play along. 

"Aye, blood-red might be a good color for her. With some black sails. She'd be a beauty." The First Mate adds and the captain and Wind Mage both laugh, while the Dock Master growls unhappily. An odd noise coming from a human. 

"Word to the wise boy, those are the Wave Riders raiding colors. If you don't want ports to think you've come to conquer their city, don't follow that idiot's advice."

Honestly, that just makes him want to do it more. It's a terrible idea, but the Oath Breakers have dozens of ideas on how it could be amazingly fun. 

"I'm no Wave Rider, it just wouldn't work anyhow. Plus once they see the Seraphim in my crew it would blow our cover." Cain shrugs off the idea with a slight slur, doing his best to appear drunk and harmless. The Oath Breakers insist the effect he's creating is closer to just being a Buffoon, but that's still good enough for him. It doesn't give the Customs officers any additional reasons to doubt his story. 

As if mentioning her Summoned her, Evangeline flew overhead at just that moment, carrying Laura on her shoulder. "Cain, are you done playing? We want to set sail, the other ships told us about a beach with coconut flavored crabs and we want to go."

"Miss, um HI." The young blonde customs officer who interjected needs to stop at this point to clear his throat. He's still in his mid teenage years and his voice cracked under the influence of Evangeline's Aura. Even at level two, the effects of the Aura are too much for the apprentice Customs worker. 

"My apologies. As I was going to say, coconut crabs are coconut shaped, not flavored." He informs her apologetically. 

"Well, that sucks. I wanted some coconut crab." Evangeline pouts, cranking her Aura up to about half. 

"I know a good restaurant that has coconut flavored crab. If you just go down four blocks then turn left, you'll see it near the hill." Another officer says in an eager tone.

"Keegan's Crab Shack it's called." A third man adds helpfully.

"Thank you, lovely gentlemen. I'll check it out once we're all finished up here." She smiles at the lead investigator, who blushes from his nose to his ears under her gaze and his eyes keep dipping lower before returning to her face. 

"I believe we're done here. Sorry for the trouble. Get a move on everyone, all this talk of food is making me hungry."

The investigators all pack up their equipment and make their way down the dock to check on another shipment, sneaking frequent glances back at Evangeline, who is now hovering over the dock with lazy flaps of her wings. 

"I thought Seraphim were Paragons of virtue." Captain Selah says, giving Evangeline an incredulous look. 

"We are, but both patience and punctuality are virtues and I'm not a fan of being late to dinner." She shrugs. 

The Wave Rider Captain laughs and shakes her head. "You lot are naturals at this I tell you. I've got to go now, but if we meet again, feel free to call on me."

"Thanks for the advice, and the forms for the crew. I'll see if I can find you some good Rum next time we meet. Since it sounds like Vodka is hard to get."

"Only the good stuff. Cheap Vodka is all over the Northern Continent, but the Frost Giants make theirs differently. It's not a liquor at all, but a potion that makes you immune to cold, with the added benefit that it will get even a Dragon hammered in a couple of shots." The First Mate says solemnly.

No wonder they restrict the import. 

"We'll be off then. Good luck with your next shipment." Cain says his goodbyes to the crew and hops back to the dock to go reinspect his new pink ship, now that he's had a while to watch a similar vessel under sail and see the basics of what is needed to operate such a ship properly.. Watching Captain Selah in action really let Cain know how much he doesn't know about sailing.