And here is the next chapter, fresh from the oven! I hope that you enjoy it!

 

 

I've Been reincarnated as a Bunny Girl?! (Chapter 8)

 

 

by

 

 

Elite Shade

 

 

 

"Alright, Kiana," Geth said as he led the bunny girl in question down a long hall. The walls were mahogany, each door and window frame carved to depict serpents in various poses, all in exquisite detail. There was a soft teal carpet that they walked along, a color that matched the same shade as Geth's fancy-looking outfit. Kiana had been surprised when Geth had entered her room back at the inn they were staying, dressed in what Kiana recognized as a men's kimono. It looked tailored just for him, with the teal coat and the flowing pants part, the hakama if Kiana was remembering correctly, matching. There was a gold-colored belt with several small pouches attached to it. The undershirt was black. What surprised her the most was the bundle of clothes he had handed to her and stated that it was necessary attire for their meeting. Hence why Kiana was walking along wearing a bright pink women's kimono.

 

"Tell me again why exactly we're dressed like this?" Kiana's voice was low, but the orc heard her well enough.

 

"It helps when doing business with Tuan to wear something that doesn't make you look like a hobo," Geth said under his breath.

 

"So do you always travel around with a woman's kimono in your luggage? And if so, how many other pieces of women's clothing do you also regularly carry with you?" Kiana asked. She saw Geth roll his eyes.

 

"I picked it up earlier today, after I picked my own outfit up from the cleaner," Geth explained. "As an adventurer of a platinum-ranking, there's going to be plenty of times where you'll need something to wear that isn't just shorts and a tank top. We'll be getting quests directly from nobles and aristocrats, government officials, and even monarchs."

 

"Ugh, I hate official stuff like that. Why can't they just post it to the local guild job boards or send messengers with the quest papers?" Kiana asked, slouching a little. Geth sighed.

 

"They do. However, they just as often also summon specific adventurers that they want for their quests. This is often done to show the local citizens, the nobility, and others that an issue is being handled."

 

"Yeah, well... are we meeting anyone like that today?"

 

Geth started to look a little uncomfortable, and averted his gaze. "Eh... not exactly... but she is a very important and powerful person, and a valuable connection to have made. And I want to make sure that this meeting goes well. We're going to need her help and her influence with the damage control."

 

"What damage control?" Kiana asked, confused, and a little worried that Geth had found out about her involvement with the accidental desecration of the Temple of Alustriel's holy fountain. Since that was a different god completely, she was sure he wouldn't have heard about it, at least not as soon as the day after. Geth turned and stared hard at her.

 

"Shuta? The city whose wall you casually smashed in? A large number of whose guards you fought and injured? Before vandalizing, breaking and entering the local Duke's manor?" He counted a finger for each event listed off. Kiana breathed a sigh of relief, having expected another lecture.

 

"Oh, that!" Kiana said, waving a dismissive paw. "Everything I did that day was to apprehend a known criminal."

 

Geth growled just as they came to the door at the end of the hall. "Look, just let me do the talking, and try to look sorry." Kiana mimed zipping her lip as Geth gently knocked on the door.

 

"You may enter!" a light and chipper female voice sing-songed. The door opened of its own accord, gliding on well-oiled hinges. Geth entered first, followed by Kiana, the door quickly, but gently, shutting behind them. The room was well-lit. There were numerous plants lining a large windowsill, all of them flowering in a rainbow of hues. Off to their immediate left was a pond set into the wooden floor, ringed by charcoal gray rocks. Inside was what looked to Kiana to be a large octopus, its skin the color of solid gold. It briefly raised up its body out of the water upon their entering, its large slitted eyes twinkling with an almost mischievous glint, at least to Kiana.

 

To their right was what looked like the largest bonsai tree Kiana had ever seen. It was when the tree moved in its little patch of light colored sand, that she realized that the tree was growing out of the back of the shell of a very large tortoise. It ignored them as it munched on some large leafy greens set in a bowl before it. All around them, the walls were painted a light blue with a red trim. Before them was a large cherry wood desk with to leath chairs in front of it, and a large, soft-looking one behind it. In it sat a woman, a black feline beasta, who was wearing a shimmering silver kimono. She was finishing up writing out something on the papers before her, that she quickly organized into a neat stack and put in one of the drawers.

 

"Well hello there, Gethy, it's always a pleasure to see you," she purred, literally, her raised tail swishing back and forth behind where she sat. The lady then turned her red eyes upon Kiana and her smile grew wider. "And I see you brought your new cute little partner with you! Welcome, sweetie! I am Tuan de LoColante." At her gesturing the two took a seat in the available chairs. Kiana frowned a little at being called cute, but let it slide, for Geth's sake.

 

"Lady LoColante, it is a pleasure as always," Geth said with a smile. Kiana had recognized it as what she dubbed his 'politician's smile'. He tended to use it with irate officials.

 

"Oh, Gethy, I've told you to please just call me Tuan. I feel so old when you use my title," the black cat said with a chuckle. "Would either of you like a drink?"

 

"No thank you, Tuan," Geth said, cutting off Kiana just as she had opened her mouth to say yes. He gave her a sharp look, so she rolled her eyes and followed along.

 

"Oh, alright, let's get down to business then," Tuan said, giving Kiana a wink. She opened a different drawer and pulled out a rolled up parchment with a wax seal on it. Kiana instantly recognized the symbol for the Nunarin family, a snail with a key in its shell pressed into the red wax seal. "I was contacted by a certain angry little Duke, not too long ago. To say that he was miffed at your... display of strength in the city of Shuta would be an understatement." She was looking directly at Kiana, who could also feel Geth's eyes on her as well. Her ears drooped as she felt another lecture coming on. "However, after some talking and a bit of negotiating, I and my fellow merchants were able to show the good Duke that had he simply given up his nephew, none of this would have happened. A bitter drink to down, but a necessary one nonetheless, especially considering the opinions of the citizens."

 

"So we are no longer wanted criminals in Vundor?" Geth asked, hopeful.

 

"Absolutely!" Tuan said, passing them the scroll, which the orc was quick to pick up. "Instead of a messy trial that will ultimately only cost more money, money better spent on making repairs to the city, we worked out a little deal. Basically, the Duke has requested the two of you for a quest. This will act as community service and thusly your crime shall be forgiven."

 

"... It cannot possibly be as simple as that," Kiana said, making Geth turn to look at her. Tuan let out another chuckle and smiled brightly.
"Pretty strong, and smart to boot. Now that's a winning combination," Tuan said with a wink, making Kiana blush and turn away. "You're right. This is a problem that's been plaguing the merchants of Shuta and a number of other cities in Vundor, mainly coastal ones and those that they directly trade with. There's a bit of a pirate problem that needs solving."

 

"Pirates?" Geth asked, clearly caught off guard, having been expecting something like fighting monsters or recovering an ancient treasure from a tomb. "How many ships are we talking about?"

 

"Just one..." Tuan said, trailing off as she sat back languidly in her chair. "It's the Shadow Moon and her crew."

 

Kiana was unfamiliar with the name, but from the grim scowl on Geth's face, she took that as a sign that the samurai paladin knew quite a bit about this group of pirates.

 

"I see... and what, pray tell, is in this quest for you, Tuan?" he asked.

 

"Oh, you wound me, brave paladin!" Tuan dramatically acted as though she had just taken an arrow to the chest. She then smiled at the pair before her. "The Shadow Moon and her crew have been affecting business as of late. So I... may have helped influence the Duke away from ordering your pretty little friend to be arrested, made more appealing since such an attempt against her would not end well for anyone involved, and more towards a solution that all parties involved could mutually benefit from. Why, I even negotiated for you to receive payment upon completion, minus my finder's fee of course."

 

"Is that all?" Kiana asked, smiling, excited at the prospect of going toe to toe with actual pirates. She wondered if they'd have a talking parrot.

 

"Well..." Tuan said, and Geth had to hold back a derisive snort. Tuan always liked to sneak little extra details in at the last minute when deals were almost completed. "The Duke wanted to be certain that you would get the job done. So he'll be providing you someone to come along who will ensure that you do your job correctly."

 

 

One Week Later...

 

 

"Welcome aboard, Sir Geth, and Lady Kiana," Archibald said as the bunny girl and her orcish companion walked up the lowered ramp onto the large sailing ship.

 

"Hey there, Archie," Kiana said, pleasantly surprised to find the human in question was going to be the one supervising the Quest. There was also what appeared to be an expert crew manning their stations on the vessel. She noticed on all of them the same crest that was on the guards in Shuta as well as on the red wax seal of the scroll for the job itself. Archibald was no exception. He was wearing a light green coat with the crest on the breast pocket. She also took note of the fact that a majority of them were eyeing her warily.

 

"Truly a pleasure to have you two along for this mission," Archibald said, smiling at Kiana. If he was aware of the side-long glances his crew was giving the bunny girl, he was not letting on.

 

"It is an honor to be able to fight alongside the Silver Star," Geth said with a bow towards the human man. He had explained to Kiana shortly after she had explained her encounter with the Duke's son, about how he was a famed swordmaster and a lieutenant in the Vundorian military, having served for three years, distinguishing himself in a few border skirmishes with their neighbors to the east, Pristanc. That was until he was severely injured in one of the last such conflicts before both countries achieved an agreement and signed a peace treaty, losing his arm in the process. Kiana eyed the silvery metallic prosthetic in curiosity, remembering the energy cannon that it could be used as in a pinch.

 

"I thank you. But I must say that ever since father told me of this mission, I have been looking forward to having the two of you by my side as well. Tales of the brave and bold Getholon the Mystic are spoken about by travelers that visit Shuta. And I saw for myself the sheer grace and raw power of Kiana the Maelstrom."

 

Kiana's ears perked at that. "I've got a nickname already?" She mulled it over for a second as the crew continued to move about, finishing their preparations to get the voyage underway. "I like it," she said with a smirk. It was then that orders were shouted and the anchor slowly started to be raised. The crew moved into position, different deckhands unfurling the sails, which immediately began to billow. Kiana felt a slight sway to the ship through the deck beneath her feet, feeling the excitement of a new adventure beginning to swell within her chest. She looked up at Geth and Archibald, and gave them a grin.

 

They soon moved below decks to begin discussing the mission details further. Glowing crystals flickered to life, bathing the darkened wooden space with a warm yellow light. Before the three was a large wooden table. with a map laid out on top of it. It showed the entire continent of Batallam. The whole continent looked to Kiana like it was in the shape of a rough drawing of a lightbulb. Kiana saw an illustration of the very vessel they were currently on, sluggishly moving on the map itself. They had just left the Vundorian port city of Cristo, which was also illustrated on the map, on the coast near the top of the lightbulb.

 

"Now, the Shadow Moon has hit shipping lanes that have mostly hugged the coast, but also those with vessels destined for the continent of Galla. The vast majority of these attacks were within a day's sailing from here. Based on eyewitness testimonies we believe that they're based somewhere on the Crystari Isles," he said, pointing to a series of islands to the northwest. "Several mercenary ships have already been dispatched to the islands to search for any trace of the Shadow Moon or her crew, but so far, they've managed to give them the slip. Except for one ship that reportedly never returned. That was a month ago, actually."

 

"And how long does it normally take to reach the islands from Cristo?" Kiana asked, intrigued.

 

"Well, if the wind holds, or if a crew has a wind elemental-specializing wizard like we do, then about a day and a half," Archibald responded.

 

"I see." Kiana was glad that she had listened to Geth when he suggested that they put Bolt and Mirabelle up at the local Companion Beast Boarding House, instead of trying to take them with them.

 

"But they may be on the lookout for any ships heading their way, so we'll need to be vigilant," Archibald said, reflexively touching his cutlass. They further discussed their quarry. The ship itself was a sloop, designed to be fast and hit hard. Their captain was a human man named Louis Pine. A crystalgraph image was presented to Kiana and Geth. It showed a slightly blurry image of a seven foot tall muscular mountain of a man. He was shirtless, his body pockmarked with scars and burns. His hair was black with streaks of white, matching his scraggly beard. His eyes looked out from the picture, burning with a blue intensity. Despite the picture and the knowledge of the type of ship used, there was very little other information on the Shadow Moon or her crew.

 

The rest of the afternoon came and went without incident. Kiana practiced her stances and strikes. While Geth sat in his armor on the deck, sitting cross legged in meditation, Archibald watched the bunny girl. He could see that she was concentrating hard on something, lost in her own little world. The more time he spent with the beasta, the more intrigued he became. The noble, while taking into account the seriousness and the danger of their mission, would have been lying if he had claimed not to be excited. The sun set off in the western distance, bathing the ship in its orange light, before darkness spread, the twinkling of the stars out over the sea like glittering gemstones. Geth excused himself to his private room to begin resting, while Kiana was content to stay up on deck. The pale moon up above a shining white coin amidst the twinkling gems. Kiana looked out over the railing, her ears twitching as she felt someone walking up next to her. She turned to see Archibald standing there, staring out to sea as well.

 

"I would like to say that I am really glad that you and your partner decided to take this job," he said.

 

"Thanks," Kiana said. "Geth was more than happy to take it since this would help make up for the... damage to the city." Kiana's ears then drooped as she looked away. "I am sorry about... breaking down the city walls and all that. Sometimes I can act without thinking first, especially when I get excited."

 

Archibald looked over to the bunny girl, and gave her a warm smile. "It's quite alright. You didn't kill anyone, those that were injured were seen to by healers, and the damage is on its way to being repaired. Also, my father should never have tried to protect my cousin like that."

 

"Still... it's something Geth's been calling me out on and, while I'm not a fan of the lectures... I do see his point... and I try to be better about the collateral damage."

 

Archibald smiled some more and opened his mouth to speak, when he froze. His left orange eye began to glow, and he turned to look out into the darkness. Kiana watched as his formerly relaxed demeanor shifted, becoming tense. "There's a ship coming right towards us," he said, blinking a few times. Kiana heard a familiar faint whirring nose, but this time it was not coming from his metallic arm. It was coming from his head. She immediately realized that Archibald's arm was not the only replacement he was sporting. "I have to alert the crew now. You and Geth get ready for a fight."

 

Kiana wasted no time running back below decks to the private rooms she and Geth had. The bunny girl grabbed her tetsubo and woke a lightly sleeping Geth. He was quick to don his armor, and soon he and Kiana were rushing back up the steps to find the deck alive with activity. Cannons were being loaded, the sails being turned with the elemental wizard chanting and turning the direction of the gusting wind. A couple of soldiers grabbed similar-looking tubes to the one that Kiana remembered seeing back in Shuta and pointed them into the air, angled slightly in the direction of the oncoming vessel. With two loud pops, two bright yellow balls of bright, almost blinding, light shot into the air, lighting up both boats. With the gap closing fast, Kiana was able to see a black flag flying on the other ship, with a skull face on it.

 

"Oh yeah, those are pirates," Kiana said, a smirk creeping back onto her face. The two ships came abreast of one another in the light, and Kiana could see the excited sneers of the pirate crew, dressed surprisingly in uniforms. Black tunics with three diagonally red claw marks on the chest. She could hear them hurling curses at them and even howls. Then the order was shouted on both boats.

 

"FIRE!" To Kiana's ears, and being so close to them, the thundering roar of the cannons was uncomfortably loud. But she wasted no time in running forward to the railing, the world slowing down for her once more. In quick succession, she smacked three incoming cannonballs, each letting out an echoing ding, sending them right back towards the enemy cannons that fired them. Said cannons practically exploded from the force of the impact, those manning them being blasted back as well. Unlike with the bandits in the fort, however, she saw that most of the struck pirates were quickly getting back to their feet, some swaying. More cannonfire, and she knew that their own ship had taken some hits, but she was surprised to see that the majority of these appeared to be attached to some thick metallic lines that were quickly growing taut. Both vessels turned, circling each other, growing ever closer together.

 

"Dammit! They have us speared on grapple hooks!" Kiana heard the grizzled voice of the sailor near her. She looked down at him confused, so he felt the need to explain further. "They plan to board us," the older elfish man said. Kiana nodded in understanding as she looked to Geth, who already had his katana drawn and engulfed in the purple flames. He was standing next to Archibald who also had his weapon drawn. She wondered why neither ship was firing any cannons, until it hit her. If one of the ships were to sink while still attached to the other, then it would surely drag the second boat down as well.

 

She turned to face the pirate vessel once more, and that was when she saw him. Captain Louis Pine stepped forward on his deck, smirking. The photo did not do the human giant justice, as he easily towered over the rest of his crew. He looked up to the full moon and let out a deep, inhuman howl. This was joined by a chorus of almost half his crew, while the other half let out roars. Kiana saw the worried glances the soldiers near her shared with one another, and caught more than one shaking. She too felt some kind of pressure on her from the howls, like something pressing down on her from all sides, but she shook it off the moment she concentrated on her inner power. And then, the crew of the other vessel began to change. Their bodies twisted and cracked. Their flesh flowed and reshaped as dark brown fur began to grow on half of the pirates, and orange and black striped fur on the other half. That was when Kiana had a sudden realization.

 

"Captain Louis Pine... Captain Lupine... wow, that's practically rubbing it in everyone's faces that he's a werewolf," Kiana said with a laugh. "And I guess that the other half of the crew are weretigers." She turned to regard the soldiers and saw many horrified looks turned her way. She was about to ask why they looked so terrified, when there was a vicious snarl. She turned to see one of the werewolves run forward and leap over the gap onto their boat. He landed onto the deck with a loud thud, and turned to growl. The soldiers backed away, looking terrified. Archibald frowned, looking very concerned, and outright worried when Kiana walked over to the werewolf. The beast stood a head taller than her, flashing his fangs and razor-sharp claws. he swiped at her, and missed. Kiana retaliated with a roundhouse kick directed at his head... which came clean off, to the shocked amazement of everyone watching, which included the crew of the pirate ship themselves.

 

"GRAH! KILL THAT BUNNY!" the largest of the werewolves, Captain Pine, shouted, just as the boats slammed into each others' sides. The soldiers, who had been feeling the effects of the Captain's savage roar, snapped out of it the moment that the small bunny girl kicked the head clean off the werewolf that had leapt onboard. They returned to their formations, and the battle was on. Kiana was the first to leap onto the pirate ship, punching a weretigress so hard mid-air, that the pirate went crashing down onto the deck, her body broken and unmoving. Some of the pirates fought with swords or clubs, others preferring to use their claws and teeth.

 

Kiana, while smashing pirates left and right with her tetsubo, was focusing more on defending the soldiers that were on her side. Geth soon joined her, his katana slicing through the accursed beasts' flesh, setting some ablaze. Archibald was soon in the fray, the punches from his mechanical arm enough to stun a werewolf long enough to decapitate him with his cutlass. Archibald was making his way towards Kiana when the Captain stepped in his way.

 

"I think not, Silver Star!" Captain Pine growled. He carried his sabre, the ruby gem in the holt glowing just as his red eyes did. He swung and Archibald parried, the force of the blow enough to send him staggering. But Archibald's opponent was not letting up. He barely had time to parry another strike, and dodge a swipe of his assailant's claws. He briefly took notice of Kiana sending several werewolves and weretigers skyward to have them come crashing back down to the deck. He did see her pause and smirk about something, before his attention was drawn back to his own fight. Getholon was holding his own. While this was happening, Kiana jammed her tetsubo into the deck itself, before suddenly jumping over the side.

 

What is she up to now? Geth wondered, having seen his comrade leap over the side of the ship. He hacked and slashed his way over to the tetsubo, looking around and taking in the battle. Back over on their ship, there were archers firing arrows and crossbows into the fray, and the battle seemed to be going in their favor, but it was still a vicious fight. He noticed he was near the rear of the ship, where the anchor chain pulley system had been smashed. A thick chain led off the ship and into the dark water. It was then, in the light of the still burning balls of illumination above, that he saw Kiana poke her head up from the water. Clenched between her teeth was a link of the chain, the anchor, as large as she was, dangling from one end. Kiana waved to him and gave the orc a thumbs up. Then she turned and started to paddle back in the direction he believed they had come from, based on the constellations above him.

 

"She wouldn't," he said under his breath. Then the chain quickly grew taut and the two connected boats began to list in the direction Kiana was swimming. No longer paddling, she was swimming with full, confident strokes. "Oh yes she would!" Geth started to hack and slash his way through the pirates, just as Archibald blasted the Captain square in the chest with a green energy fired from his metallic arm, now again a cannon.

 

"Good thing I had it recalibrated," Archibald said to himself as Geth approached. He took note of the worried look to Geth's eyes through his helmet slit.

 

"Kiana's dragging the boats back to shore!" Geth called out, frustrated.

 

"What? How would she even be able to do that?" Archibald didn't have to wonder long, nor did Geth have the time to explain just how strong Kiana truly was. There was a sudden jerk, and everyone standing was then thrown to the side, as the boats were suddenly being tugged along at a rapid speed. The sails billowed but that seemed to do little to actually slow the two stuck boats. Archibald scrambled to the railing and peered over into the dark to see the rigid anchor chain, and a splashing figure in the distance. Archibald stared for a moment in open-mouthed wonder. "She is truly incredible!" There was a sudden roar, and the fight resumed, but with Geth and Archibald having the advantage of having recovered quickly. It wasn't much longer before the pirate crew was defeated. The sky started to lighten in the east, and by sunrise, the captain and his remaining crew had returned to their human forms, now clapped in enchanted irons.

 

"Lord Archibald, sir," one of the younger soldiers bowed as he approached.

 

"Yes, Corporal?"

 

"We have checked... and double checked, and we appear to be rapidly approaching Cristo, sir!"

 

Archibald furrowed his brow and looked in the direction they were heading. He blinked and his mechanical eye whirred, activating its telescopic function. He could indeed see the familiar port they had left out from yesterday, the bunny in the water apparently having made great time and not appearing to be slowing. "Thank you, Corporal," he said, bowing to the soldier. "Spread the word that we will be arriving back in Cristo shortly... and to maybe brace for impact."

 

"That bunny is a demon!" one of the pirates exclaimed; the left side of his face was heavily bruised.

 

He was ignored by the soldiers, who quickly marched him down into the brig. They looked curiously at a solid metallic locked door near the brig, but none of the pirate crew claimed to have the key, if they even were willing to talk about it in the first place. Back on deck, Archibald found Geth lashing himself down to the main mast, with Kiana's tetsubo right next to him.

 

"Surely she'll stop once we get to the port," Archibald proposed to the samurai paladin. Geth simply shrugged.

 

"She might or she might toss us inland, depends on what's running through that head of hers."

 

Archibald thought this over for a moment. Then he called over the corporal from before. "Tell the others to tie themselves down with some rope, quickly!"

 

In less than an hour, in the morning sunlight, Kiana turned lightly, to avoid directly hitting the port. Her ears could make out shouts coming from the city, as well as from the boats she was towing. This is so cool! she thought as she headed for a stretch of beach instead. The second she touched the sand, she was up and sprinting, the chain now in her paws. Soon, the ships struck the beach, being dragged further inland. Kiana ran through some dense swampy foliage, coming to a stop at the city gates. She panted for a bit, before sitting down in the grass, before two speechless city guards.

 

"Could you guys go tell your superiors that the Shadow Moon and her crew have been captured?" she asked, then flopping down in the grass with a big smile on her face. It wasn't much longer before more guards showed up, as well as civilians and adventurers, being curious about what the guards had been shouting about. Soon, Kiana sat up to watch as the pirates were led off, still cuffed and chained together, while healers set about tending to the wounded soldiers. A pair of footsteps drew closer, and the bunny girl's ears perked up at the sound. She turned to see Geth and Archie walking towards her. Geth had his helmet off, and was swaying a little, his green skin a few shades lighter than usual. Archibald, however, looked thrilled.

 

"Lady Kiana, that was truly MAGNIFICENT!!! I absolutely must give this adventuring a try!" He laughed and smiled. Kiana blushed a little before she looked to Geth, who appeared a bit cross with her.

 

"That wasn't part of the plans," he said.

 

"I didn't realize that there were going to be so many seriously wounded soldiers," Kiana said simply, giving a shrug. Geth looked surprisded, and then thoughtful for a moment.

 

"After winning the fight, it would have taken more time to patch up the ships. Then after turning them around to face back to Cristo..." he trailed off.

 

"Those elemental wind wizards could only make us go so fast, if they didn't run out of energy and need resting first. I figured that with the battle mostly won, this would help save time."

 

Geth was silent for a few heartbeats, before a slight smile appeared behind his tusks. "You are a crazy bunny, Kiana."

 

"The best kind of crazy," she supplemented, making Archibald let out a hearty laugh.

 

"By the way, Lord Nunarin," Geth started, only for the noble in question to wave his hand dismissively.

 

"Please, Geth, call me Archibald," he said. Geth looked a bit uncomfortable, but nodded nonetheless.

 

"Alright, Archibald," he said, "just before we left the ship, I overheard one of the soldiers mentioning getting that metallic door open, but finding a huge gaping hole in the wall."

 

"Yes. They managed to get it open with an advanced lockpicking spell, and inside they found a large pile of animal furs in a make-shift bed, a writing desk, and several books written by hand in a currently unrecognized language. Based on some... odd tracks in the dirt below where the crack in the hull was, we believe that there was an occupant inside the room, held against their will, and when they saw an opportunity to escape, they took it."

 

"I take it that the crack was of considerable size then?" Geth asked, looking towards Kiana.

 

"Yes. The force of the impact from the sudden beaching... and then being dragged on land shortly afterwards cracked the hull of the Shadow Moon," Archibald casually explained.

 

"I thought I felt some give in the chain when the boats hit the shore," Kiana said. "Well, anyways, community service is fun!"

 

 

 

 

And there it is! I really hope that you enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks again for reading!