“There you are, girl,” Theonis muttered, dropping some hay into the mule’s trough. “Eat up.”

Several of the other animals in the hold, seeing what was happening, started shuffling about eagerly. Theonis chuckled and stepped back over to the hay bale, grabbing another armful. When he’d started this work, he’d grumbled about it for about a week. But now it was a familiar, relaxing part of his routine.

Once Theonis had finished, he wandered over to Kosgoris’ little desk and leaned up against it. Kosgoris’ nose twitched and he started waving a little jar of rosemary extract in Theonis’ direction. He was good at taking care of the animals, but he was not a fan of the smell.

“I think I’m done for the day,” Theonis informed him.

Kosgoris nodded, not looking up from his notes as he responded, “Thank you. You got any plans for the rest of the day?”

“Don’t think so.”

Looking up, Kosgoris continued, “Well, if you’re free for lunch, I’ve had some ideas for how we can reduce our carry weight on expeditions. I’d like someone to discuss it with.” He glanced over at the newcomer who was approaching the two of them and a smile broke out on his face. “Hello, love.”

“Hello, my darling,” Satiria cooed, leaning in and planting a kiss on Kosgoris’ forehead. Turning, she curtly added, “Hello, Theonis.”

“Satiria.”

Kosgoris glanced between the two of them, then adjusted his eyeglasses and asked, “Is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine,” Satiria said.

“Absolutely no problems,” Theonis agreed.

With a sigh, Kosgoris stood up.

“Let’s just be honest with each other, okay? What’s really going on?”

“Just a disagreement,” Satiria insisted, folding her arms.

“I just don’t think that Aylmer is the villain that Satiria makes him out to be.”

“Only because you don’t actually care about other people.”

“I stole those plans because I wanted all of us to find the treasure ourselves. Don’t you want that? Isn’t that your job?”

“Don’t get me started on you stealing when you were supposed to leave piracy behind you—”

Kosgoris held up his hands and said, “Alright, I can see that this is really bothering the two of you. Can we just sit down and talk through this before it blows up in our faces? Surely we can come to an understanding if we just agree to respect everyone’s perspectives.”

“Alright,” Satiria said, unfolding her arms. “I’m willing to talk about this.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to talk about,” Theonis replied, taking a step back. “She’s just going to keep telling me that I’m wrong until I agree with her. There’s no way she’ll actually try to understand what I mean.”

“I don’t want you to go around thinking that the things Aylmer is doing are okay.”

“I don’t want us to fight all the time.”

“I’m not going to let it go.”

Theonis groaned and closed his eyes. Why was she doing this to him? Satiria was always judging him more harshly than anyone else on the crew. How was he ever supposed to fit in if nobody allowed him to be himself?

“Alright,” Kosgoris said, “in that case, the only thing I can think of is for you two to simply not talk to each other for a while. Will you do that? Can you set the matter aside until you’ve had time to calm down? For me?”

Satiria sighed and nodded, looking away.

“That’s fine by me,” Theonis agreed bitterly.

“Good. Then when you’re both feeling a little more amicable, we can all get together again and talk about this on good terms.”

“That’s fine,” Satiria said. “I’m going to make you see what I’m talking about, Theonis.”

“I’m sure you won’t give up,” he replied. Turning to Kosgoris, he asked, “Is it okay if I go? Or do you need me for anything else.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve got it from here.”

“Thank you.”

Theonis was steaming as he climbed the stairs. Why couldn’t Satiria just leave him alone? He wanted this place to feel like home, but she had to make it so difficult for him.

As he strode down the hall toward his room, the distant sound of music caught his attention. Curious, Theonis moved closer. The noise was coming from behind a door that Theonis had thought was Kateni’s room. But she didn’t play music, right?

He knocked on the door. The music stopped. For a minute, Theonis waited for someone to come to the door. Just when it seemed like it wasn’t going to happen, the door opened just a peep and Kateni stared out at him.

“Theonis,” she said. “Did you need something?”

“Were you playing music?” he asked.

Kateni didn’t respond.

“Can I come in?”

“I don’t let people into my room,” Kateni responded, not looking directly at him.

“Oh. Can you make an exception?”

Kateni sighed, then pursed her lips. After a moment, she opened the door and stepped back. Theonis walked in and glanced about the room. It was larger than Theonis’. Several weapons hung from the walls; axes and maces and swords, each one chained in place. A wooden wind instrument was sitting on the bed. Kateni walked over and picked it up.

“What’s that?” Theonis asked.

“A karamuza,” she replied. “I’ve been practicing at it for a few years. I spend a lot of time in here and needed something to do.”

“You sound really good,” Theonis said, sitting down on the bed. “Do you ever give performances for the crew?”

“Oh, no,” Kateni said, walking over to a chest and opening it to place the instrument inside. “This is just for me.”

“That’s a shame. Is this why you don’t like to leave the ship? It’s a lot of fun to explore the places we visit. I hate to think of you missing out.”

Kateni shrugged and folded her arms before replying, “I don’t really feel the need to immerse myself in the places we visit. I got to travel plenty when I was a mercenary. It doesn’t really appeal to me that much anymore. I like a simple way of life.”

“I used to have a simple life,” Theonis replied. “I’m so much happier now.”

Kateni nodded, her eyes drifting to one of the axes on the wall.

She said, “I’ve been traveling my entire life. To be completely honest, I’ve never felt like I belonged anywhere in particular. Even in my childhood, I never stayed in one place for very long.”

“I understand feeling out of place,” Theonis replied. “I want this ship to feel like home, but I get the feeling it’s going to take a while.”

Kateni finally sat down next to Theonis, confessing, “It’s hard for me to make friends. One of the things I always liked about this job is that it allows me to be alone for most of the time. But I’m glad that you’re here.”

“That’s ironic, because what I like about this job is that it’s allowed me to get to know a bunch of people who actually like me for who I am.”

“I guess we’re both lucky, then.”

“I guess we are.” Theonis grinned. “So what kind of adventures did you have before joining the team?”

For a minute, Kateni didn’t respond.

“Kateni?”

“I don’t usually share details about my past,” she admitted. “But… alright. There was this one time my crew was hired to hunt down a serial killer. So me and my partner, naturally, had to dress up.”

Theonis listened intently to Kateni’s story. Her life was simply fascinating. He hoped that he could be half as amazing as she was, one day.

Eventually, though, Kateni needed some more time to herself. Theonis didn’t mind, though. He was in a much better mood after talking to her.

That evening, Theonis and Polithea sat on deck, playing with a pair of dice that Polithea had. They were missing their best friend; Myrova was still working pretty hard. It was almost dinner time and they hadn’t seen her at all that day.

“I win again,” Polithea chimed, picking up the dice.

“This game isn’t fair,” Theonis retorted. “The dice like you more.”

“Well, I did raise them by myself. Unless you want to be their father?”

Theonis blushed and glanced away, causing Polithea to snicker. Did she know he was crushing on her? That felt weird to admit; they were just friends. It’s not like he could say anything, anyway. The last thing he wanted to do was come across as predatory.

“What’s bothering you?” Polithea asked.

“What? Nothing, it’s nothing.”

“Come on, Theonis,” she said, scooting closer, “you can trust me. What’s a pretty boy like yourself got to be worried about?”

Theonis’ heart fluttered.

“You think I’m pretty?” he asked.

“Do you want to be pretty?”

“I… I guess so. I just never thought I was allowed to be, because I’m a man.”

“I don’t see why that should stop you from being pretty,” she replied, rolling the dice lazily on the ground. “It’s your body, right?”

“Yeah, yeah it is.”

“You probably should take better care of your hair, though,” Polithea told him.

“My hair? What’s wrong with my hair?”

“It’s just obvious that you’re not washing it properly. I can show you how, if you like. It’ll make you look even prettier.”

Theonis blushed fiercely and nodded.

“So,” Polithea continued, “is there anything in particular that you’ve always wanted to do but never got to because you’re a man?”

“I mean…” He clutched at the pendant on his neck. “I always thought it was stupid that men couldn’t wear nice jewelry. No matter how wealthy I became, I’d just get made fun of for it.”

“I don’t think anyone here is going to make fun of you for that. And if they do, I’ll just get Kateni to knock them around for a bit.”

Theonis chuckled, causing Polithea to grin.

“And,” she continued, “if you want, I can let you wear one of my dresses and show you how to do makeup. I bet it’d make you look really pretty.”

Theonis’ heart stopped. That sounded amazing. He’d never been allowed to wear a dress before. In fact, he’d always been too afraid to ask. But he’d had fantasies of wearing one ever since he was a child. This was his opportunity.

But was it a good idea? There’s no way that it would look good on him. He was still a man with a stupid man’s body. And people would just find out and make fun of him for it. There was no way that he could actually pull it off.

“I… no, that’s okay,” he said weakly. “I really don’t want to.”

“Oh… well, that’s alright. We don’t have to. You up for another round?”

“Yes, please.” Anything to take his mind off of what they’d been talking about.

They played a few more rounds of dice before Myrova finally appeared. She sat down right between them and grabbed them both in a quick hug. There were bags under her eyes, which she could barely keep open.

“I’m so glad to be done with today,” she said wearily. “Thank goodness we’re almost done and can finally leave this place behind us forever.”

“I’m glad to see you,” Theonis told her.

“Good to see you, too,” she replied, resting her head on his shoulder.

The next day, Myrova and Dimileios were again called off of the ship to meet with the seers. Theonis gave Myrova a long hug before she departed. She seemed so stressed out and it really hurt him to see.

Once that was done, Theonis headed down to the cargo hold to help Kosgoris with the animals. Things were a little tense between them after the day before, but Kosgoris really seemed to be trying hard not to step on Theonis’ nerves, which he was grateful for. Working with the animals helped to calm him down as well.

Theonis had just sat down to eat lunch with Kateni when he saw Myrova enter the canteen. She scanned the room until she found them and walked over. Her expression was ragged.

“Dimileios is calling a meeting as soon as lunch is over,” she informed them. “We’ve got good news.”

After lunch, the team made their way individually to the meeting room. Captain Markis was also there, standing in the corner because there weren’t enough chairs. Spread out in front of Dimileios was a collection of papers.

“Because the location of Agathula has been lost for such a long time,” he began, “the seers weren’t able to narrow down its exact location for us. However, they were able to discover where we might be able to find the information. A prominent businessman that I knew in my youth has acquired quite a collection of Apositan artifacts for himself, including, according to the seers, an old map of major Apositan cities. If we can convince him to let us study the map, we will know where to find our destination. Captain, I’m going to need you to set sail for the island of Achipitos. We’re leaving immediately.”

The entire ship was immediately abuzz with activity. Theonis sat around above deck watching the crew prepare the sails and riggings for their journey. He didn’t have the strength for that kind of job anymore or he’d offer to help, but based on his prior record trying to serve on a ship he’d probably just get in the way.

Theonis had zoned out so much that he didn’t even notice who had walked up the gangplank at first. When he saw her, he did a double take. An older woman in an ornate red robe was standing there and taking in all the chaos.

“Archmage Mariphia!” Myrova cried, running up to meet her. “What are… What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Miss Athissis. I am actually here to speak to your friend there.” She looked over at Theonis and specified, “Privately.”

Myrova started wringing her hands as she glanced between the two of them. The archmage strode over to where Theonis was standing and gave him a small smile. Then from a pocket in her robe she pulled out a small ring.

“I was thinking about you and your journey,” she said, “and I believe that this will be of use to you. I call it the Mendacious Ring. It will allow you to use violet magic even though you don’t have a magical core of your own. It’s a very valuable artifact that I treasure highly, but I believe that when we meet again you will return it safely… with interest.”

She placed the ring in Theonis’ hand and curled his fingers around it. Then she walked back to the gangplank and, with a brief nod to Myrova, stepped off the boat. Myrova waited until she was gone before running over to Theonis.

“What did she give you?!” she demanded.

“Just… Just this!” he stammered, holding up the ring. “She said it would let me use magic.”

“Let me have it,” she said, snatching the ring from him. “Knowing her, there’s some sort of listening spell placed on this or something.”

Before Theonis could say another word, Myrova turned and ran below deck. He blinked in surprise and confusion. What had just happened?