12 Part 11

It isn't the first time being wanted by a particular government or group of people for a rewind of money; I remember the time when I was in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. The operation was a response to the eleventh of September attacks. In basic terms, Operation Enduring Freedom was the Global War on Terrorism. My team, which consisted of three additional operators, were deployed behind enemy lines, posing as a paramilitary unit. We were tasked with Direct Action missions such as small scale raids on enemy strongholds, sabotaging enemy ammunition depots, ambushes, etc.

The sun started to set on the horizon, and as we made it up a hill, the city came to our view. There were multiple houses made of bricks and stone and with light piercing through the windows. A large structure deep into the city that resembled a church which had a balcony on it; and an odd-looking tower, which resembled the towers we found before. In the distance, there were ships made of wood, sailing on the horizon with a few parked at the port.

"We've finally made it. For real, this time. I don't like the looks of that tower, though." Trace commented.

"Let's spend as little time as possible, Trace. Bad things always seem to happen to us when we're in these human cities." Flora stated.

"Agreed," I announced.

After spending two nights in two cities, and all of them ending in unfortunate ways. We recognized the significance of staying as little time as we possibly could. We were a wanted group and as to be excepted; we could run the risk of being detected by anyone.

"That's the least of our problems! How do you guys expect to get a ship?" Keith said. "You three are wanted by the humans. And a traveling group of 'animals' with a guy with mysterious technology and a guy with blue hair isn't exactly what I would call "inconspicuous." Unless there's some huge distraction, I don't see how we're getting in."

Suddenly, we caught a loud BOOM like sound from the sky above us, which was followed by the surrounding area being illuminated by an array of blue light. We all glanced up and noticed a unique configuration of light that slowly expanded before vanishing into thin air.

"Is that a firework?"

Indeed it was a firework. But why would anyone set off a firework in the middle of the night? Unless there was a festivity going on. This means, there's going to be tons of people prowling the streets, celebrating whatever this festival is. Before we step foot into this place, I detected a figure walking out of the church like structure and onto the balcony. I could make out the person was wearing a dark blue cape that covered his back and reached to his feet and wore a dark blue robe with gold linings. "Greetings, citizens! Today marks the one hundred and seventy-first annual Festival of the Beasts. As you can tell, I am not Guild Master Tarron. He has suddenly fallen ill, and won't be joining us. I will be taking his place. My name is Edmund Sirus Templar VIII. It has been over three hundred years since our ancestors first met and feasted with the Keidran, right here in this very village. And though the rest of the nation would rather forget this event, we embrace it. For tonight, we welcome our bestial brethren to join us once again, and for one night only, in our joyous celebration and feast! Let the festivities begin!"

The Festival of the Beast was an unusual name for a celebration, but it did sound appealing. This world has a history that was so much distinct from what I'm more used to back home. We advanced into the city and made our way through waves of drunk people. But there weren't just humans partying. Occasionally different breeds of Keidran like dogs, wolves, tigers, etc. All the Keidran that were celebrating didn't have any restraints on them; neither did they have clothes. Instead, they had colorful ribbons around their fur-covered bodies.

"Wow, everything is so colorful!" Flora chirped.

She was right. Everyone was either dancing or drinking ale while music plays. The same goes for the Keidran here. But something was off with the Keidran here. They seem to be interested in anyone that wanders by them. What I mean is, they appeared to be blushing, their tails wagging slowly whenever a random person passes by, but I didn't think much of the situation and moved on.

"Everyone's celebratin' so we just have to keep our heads down and make our way to the docks," I stated.

"I still don't like this... That guy said there were wanted posters put up... But I haven't seen a single one..." Keith announced.

Keith was right. There weren't any posters of our faces with the words WANTED. It was strange and odd. But it gives us the advantage of staying undetected by anyone, so I didn't think much of it. I heard Natani and Flora speaking Keidran, with Keith joining them shortly after. I didn't know Keith could speak Keidran, so Trace and I were the ones who didn't know nor speak Keidran. Soon, we finally got to a place where there weren't crowds of people at every corner. "The coast is clear, guys. Come on, pick up the pace..." Trace said. When we spun around, Keith, Flora, and Natani were nowhere to be found.

"What the- where did they go?" I asked.

Suddenly, they stepped out of the crowd and Flora was, well she was naked and had golden ribbons around her, which was getting the attention of everyone around her. "Trace, look! Ribbons!" She cheered happily.

"What a beautiful Keidran!" A random civilian commented.

"A pure breed, for sure!" Another civilian stated.

" Flora, what are you doing? You're naked... why did you take off your clothes!?" Trace interrogated her.

"You're gonna tract attention!" I said.

"Hehe, I'm having fun!" She chirped.

"We're trying to stay undetected here, Flora. You being naked isn't going to help!"

"Oh, relax, Marcus. Just look around! Nearly all Keidran here are either naked or getting there now." She stated and approached Natani, blushing. "In fact, I think you're making us look suspicious! Let's see what you have under those robes, Mr. Wolf!"

Flora tried to take Natani's robes off, but Natani resisted and said something in Keidran and soon, Flora pounced on her and was acting like a horny teen who couldn't control their hormones. "Flora, don't-! Oh, what's the use..." Trace muttered.

We were then approached by a civilian with blonde hair and wore small circle glasses. He had light blue eyes, wore a gray robe and dark gray pants. " Excuse me... that's quite an exotic Keidran you've got there. Might I inquire where you obtained such a creature?" He asked.

"Ya see, Flora? This is the attention we didn't want!" Trace said.

"Er, sorry... Would you, your friend and your Keidran consider joining me for a drink? I'd love to learn how you acquired such a variety of Keidran."

"Sorry, bud. As much as we'd love to have a drink, we can't. We gotta head to the docks." I announced.

"Flora, leave Natani alone!" Trace ordered her.

"Looks to me like you won't be getting there very fast. Trust me, a few minutes out of the scented air will do them some real good. And maybe I can help you get to the docks." The guy said. I didn't trust this guy one bit. But after seeing Flora and how she's been acting, it's only a matter of time till someone will recognize her and blow our cover.

"Goddammit... Fine. But only for a minute. Then we're outta there." I announced.

"Keith, come on. Give me a hand at breaking those two up." Trace said, but Keith didn't seem to respond. He was sweating, his cheeks were red and his ears flopped down. "Keith?" He then snapped out of whatever thought he had and Trace pulled Flora up from Natani, who looked like he had cuts on his robes.

"Come on, Flora..."

"Oh, Trace! Sorry, I don't know what came over me..."

"Hey, hey! No nuzzling!" Trace ordered as Flora gently nuzzled his cheek. I sighed and turned to Keith and Natani. Keith offered him help, but Natani rejected it and crossed his arms while speaking Keidran.

We proceeded to this guy's tavern and entered the main room. It was dead empty inside, with a bunch of empty chairs and tables around. I sighed and threw my carbine to my side, letting it hang there. "Here we are! Those Keidran should feel better almost instantly." The blonde guy said.

"How do you feel, Flora?" Trace asked.

"A little better, I guess... I'm sorry I couldn't control myself... it was like my head was in a fog..."

"Oh, you speak very well! Great! I sure wish I had a Keidran like you in my... eh... collection... I'd love to learn more about you and your history..." Blondie announced, which had me raising an eyebrow.

"Well... I'm nothing special, really..."

"True, you'd be better if you were a bit more shapely and well-endowed... Now that would be the perfect Keidran...!"

Flora then fell to the wooden floor with a loud THUD. I just sighed and continued to scan our surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a normal tavern.

"So, we're inside. We appreciate the help, but we're in a hurry. We need to get to my island." Keith stated.

"Ah, yes, the Basidian Islands. Don't see too many of your type here these days." The guy said and took off his glasses. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Eric. I'm what you'd call.. a collector. If you haven't guessed, I'm a slave trader. Obviously, my occupation gives me many opportunities to travel to far off places. I don't believe our encounter was a chance. I think that I can help you. You see, you'll have a very hard time trying to find any kind of boat during this festival. But perhaps if you're willing to stick around 'till tomorrow, I think I could arrange one of my own ships."

"Aw man, we have to spend the night here? I have a bad feeling about this... Something bad always happens to us when we're in a human city..." Flora announced.

"Dammit!" I barked.

"Trace, Marcus, I don't trust this guy at all. Someone is organizing these events, I'm sure." Keith said.

"You think this entire thing is a trap?" I asked.

"I'm actually not sure... Somehow, I think someone knows what we're after. What's the chances that we'd meet a guy who happens to have a ship?"

" I dunno... this guy seems pretty harmless." Trace uttered.

"You have the most wonderful fur pattern, my dear!" Eric complimented Flora.

"Erm, thank you... I think..."

"I mean it! Your fur is absolutely lovely. It's neat and clean, perfectly even... Ah yes, the white fur goes all the way around." He said and grabbed Flora by the tail and lifted it to take a peek.

"Mer...!!" Flora yelped and proceeded to claw Eric, which looked painful in so many ways. Trace proceeded to pull her by the arm got her off from Eric. "Flora, stop!" Trace demanded.

"Did you see what he did?"

"P-please forgive my rudeness. I truly did not mean to offend you. I'm just used to inspecting my slaves in that way... You see, most of the slaves I deal with are traditionally much more subordinate than you..." Eric stated.

"I'm not a slave! I was one once, a long time ago, but I'll die before I'm a slave ever again!"

"Oh... I'm sorry... But.. I don't understand... She isn't a slave, then?"

"No, she's not. Flora and I, along with the others, were simply traveling together to.. uh.. here." Trace explained.

"Seriously? I must admit I'm a little disappointed. I was really hoping to buy her from you."

"Well, selling Flora is out of the question, even if I was able to. But we really need your boat... is there anything else you want in return?"

"Well... now that I think about it... Boat rides can be very boring... there is something Flora can do for me... If she's willing, of course..."

The two of them entered a room that I so happened to catch a glimpse of when Eric opened the door. I could make out paintings of... of uh... naked Keidran in odd and arousing poses. There was a wolf Keidran who stood on a hill with the ocean behind the wolf, and a couple of clouds that were scattered here and there. There was another wolf painting where it had it's back turned and was in that pose Rose did in that movie Titanic where Jack was drawing a painting of her. And last, there was a painting of a female, anthro fox in the same pose as the wolf in the second painting. Either this guy has some sort of fetish or something else, but I'm not complaining, just... weirded out.

"Voilà! These are my paintings! As I told you, boat rides can be long and quite boring. If you would model for me, I would love to paint your image."

"Wow, these are really good... you want me... to model?"

"Sure, you have quite an exotic look to you."

"Oh... thanks, I guess..."

"...and if you want, we can, ya know, have some fun afterwards. A little... private entertainment..."

I proceeded to hear a loud SLASH, like the blade of a knife cutting through flesh. I flinched when I heard the horrible noise and saw Eric, with a large claw mark on his chest and his glass broken. " O-ow... I forgot, sorry. I'm not sure I deserved that, though. Eh, well... My offer still stands. I'll take you aboard my boat in the morning if you want. If you don't mind, I need to find my healing crystals, excuse me." He said and left.

"Well, what do you think, Flora? Should we trust him..?" Trace asked.

"Eh, as much as I hate to admit it, we need him. It's the perfect opportunity... But I'm not going to enjoy posing in front of him. You'd better make sure he doesn't try anything."

"I'll make sure... And hey, we might as well make the most of tonight. We get to take a bath, sleep in a real bed... And in the morning, we'll be sailing across the seas!"

"Yeah, that does sound kinda nice..."

Later, we finally got our rooms. I got mine while Trace and Flora are staying in one room while Keith and Natani are staying together in another room. I swear those two are a secret couple, well gay couple. I kept my gear, weapons, and equipment on a desk as usual so I was just wearing my Crye combat shirt, Crye combat pants, and boots. It was relaxing to finally get out of my Seventy-five pounds gear after carrying it for almost a day.

While stretching my limbs, I realized I desperately needed a shower as I haven't had a shower in quite some time, and after getting my face on mud and crawling through dirt, I needed a shower pronto. So without wasting time, I took off my Multicam combat shirt, grabbed a white towel nearby, and wrapped it around my neck.

I opened the door to my room and to my surprise, someone was standing right in front of me. It was a Keidran, a naked one and due to its body shape, I could tell it was a female. Average sized breasts, curvy body, with white, light gray, and dark gray fur. She had light blue eyes, brown hair, and oh my god was she something. I felt my cheeks turning red upon seeing her, with my eyes widen. "Hello there, Mr. Marcus. I am a servant of my master, Eric. I have finished preparing your bath. Shall I stay and help you with your bath? You'll find that I can provide you with a variety of... services."

I was silent for a moment, trying to assemble words in my head to say. "Uh... I... n-no thanks... I can t-take care of myself..." I said and quickly walked away. I took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm myself, however, I couldn't stop thinking about her. God, what is happening to me. I didn't look back, but I heard an audible sigh from her, which was strange.

I walked past the first bath and found Flora standing outside, crossing her arms and looking pissed as ever. I didn't question it and chose to walk past her and decided to use the other bath. I opened the door and found Keith and Natani together in the same bath with Natani on top of Keith. "What the-"

Natani immediately pressed his chest against Keith and had his arms wrapped around Keith. Natani yelled something in Keidran and I just stood there like a statue, with my jaw ajar while sweating profusely. I quickly closed the door and held onto my chest, trying to catch my breath. Flora must've seen me because she immediately approached me after I got out. "Is everything okay, Marcus?" She asked.

"Keith... Natani... Inside..." I tried to speak but couldn't and just pointed at the door. She took a peek inside and had the same reaction as I had. She slammed the door, looking shocked. I shook my head and just used the last vacant one.

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It was in the middle of the night. Everything was as quiet as death, outside and inside. Everyone was already in a dream world, but not me. I usually wake up around four o'clock and I was too busy cleaning my carbine rifle to make sure there won't be a malfunction. During my period in the military, I discovered that my gun is the most important thing I could ever hold. If there were any break time, I would use it to clean my gun as I've remembered some teammates who've been killed amid a firefight because their weapon suffered a malfunction.

As I was cleaning my carbine, I heard two knocks on the main door of the tavern. I raised an eyebrow and asked myself why would anyone come here this early in the morning, the sun isn't even out. My heart raced and I slowly got up from my chair and picked up my M9. I took a pistol magazine from the desk and loaded it into the pistol and racked the slide.

I slowly tiptoed my way to the door and pressed my ear against it so I could listen in. I heard someone walking down the stairs, probably Eric who was going to answer the door. "Alright, alright! Coming! Who could it be this early in the morning?" Eric asked.

I heard the main door being opened, followed by loud cracks of thunder. "Oh, hey Roderick! What are you doing here at night? Another Templar night mission?" Roderick? Templar night mission? Yup, this is unquestionably bad. They must've recognized us entering the city or else they wouldn't be here.

"Hey, Lil' bro. Yeah, they're killing me! We spent all night looking for five people supposedly in this city, but no luck..."

"Eric, who was at— O-oh, it's you..." A feminine voice said and I recognized it was that Keidran that I encountered and got a... nevermind.

I slowly opened the door, while aiming my M9 and peeked left to right before stepping out. I made it down the hallway quietly and once I reached the stairs, I saw the three of them, especially this Roderick. He was much taller than Eric and the Keidran, and much stronger. He had the same blonde hair as Eric, wore a red cape, black shoulder pads, and a black robe. I stayed out of the light and aimed Roderick while keeping my finger on the trigger. "Hey, if it isn't my favorite slave, Spots! Come down here." He said and grabbed the Keidran by her hair and pulled it really hard. "Alright, now go that way and fetch me a drink."

"Ow, stop! Okay, okay, I will!"

"Rod! I told you not to boss her around anymore. I bought her from you fair and square." Eric announced. "And don't call her "Spots". Her name is Kathrin"

"Eh, Spots is better. Relax. You're too uptight." Roderick said and released his grip off the Keidran or Katherin. She rubbed her head for quite a bit before walking off out of my sight. I swear I just wanted to pull the trigger and put a bullet in this guy's brain but decided not to. I don't want to risk giving away our position. "Anyway, let's sit down. Here, see if you recognize anyone."

They both sat down and Roderick then whipped out a rolled-up paper and gave it to Eric. He opened the piece of paper but I wasn't able to deduct what it was, however, I could tell it was one of them who wanted posters. And if that's the case, he's going to see the amount of money off our heads. This isn't good.

"We don't have a lot of info on the second pair, especially the guy with black hair. All we know he's very skilled and dangerous. But it turns out the blue-haired one is Trace Legacy, the former Grand Templar himself. It's strange, I never knew what he looked like before now. For the last four years, he's generally been working in the shadows. We suspect he's been captured and brainwashed by the striped Keidran."

Then I saw Kathrin coming out of the kitchen holding a tray with a full glass of ale. She approached their table and placed the tray with ale in front of Roderick. "Here's your drink, sir." She announced.

"Heh, thanks, kid."

"N-no problem."

There was silence for a few seconds. I could see Eric was surprised he was harboring wanted people like us. I guess he didn't know we were wanted before. Even though Eric didn't utter a single word, his face says it all. Roderick grabbed the glass of ale and took a sip of it but recoiled shortly after. "Bleh! What the heck is this?! It's piss warm!" He barked.

"Heh, be thankful it isn't piss," I whispered.

"I-I'm sorry... We have no ice or magic to cool it." Katherin stated.

"Sorry, Roderick. I didn't see any of these guys at the festival yesterday or last night." Eric said and gave the wanted poster back. I sighed out of relief quietly.

"Aw dang. Well, thanks anyway."

"Just means they'll probably send me out some more today," Roderick announced and stood up. "Well, they'll expect me to report back. It's good to see you again, bro. Stop by Dad's house tonight, we're having a party." Suddenly Roderick decided to be an absolute dickhead by intentionally spilling the ale on the floor.

"Sorry Rod, I can't— hey, what are you doing?"

"Heh, gotta give Kat something to do around here. You're too soft. Right, Furball? Hey, I'm talking to you. Get over here."

"...No." Kathrin said while she stood there, ears flopped down, her hands both and just pure sadness on her face as if she was on the verge of tears.

"Wha... no?"

"Kathrin!" Eric called out.

"No huh... Eric, you're aware of the Templar laws. So what is this? You know that it's against the law for traders to have slaves not bound by control spells. She shouldn't be able to say no."

"I'm aware of the laws, Roderick. I also know what they do to Keidran! It kills them inside! I do use it for my slaves, but... I couldn't do it to Kat. She's been in our family since we were kids."

"Since you were a kid. I'm not going to argue with you. Run your business how you want. I've got to get going. Just be careful Eric, other Templar might not let you off if they notice. Oh, and Kat... I've known you for 9 years, and that's the first time I've heard you speak up for yourself. I hate to admit it, but I'm honestly impressed."

Roderick finally marched out of the tavern and I lowered my pistol, Relief we weren't discovered. But something tells me that Eric over here might sell us out. So instead of returning to my room, I stayed and listened to their conversation, while staying undetected. "Hm, what should I do? It would be crazy to get on a boat with five wanted people. There's an awful lot of gold on Marcus's head. I could be set for life..."

"Son of a bitch..." I whispered.

"Eric! ...Er, Master... You aren't going to turn them in, are you?" Kathrin asked.

"Well, why not? I'm a businessman, you know that. No one in their right mind disregards that kind of money."

"But... you're already rich."

"That's beside the point. Why do you want to help them, anyway? You don't know them."

"Erm, well... I've seen how they act with one another. I don't think any of them are capable of being criminals. And, um... I've seen how Flora looks at Trace. It kinda reminds me of... of myself, sorta."

"You've never been this outspoken before. Why are you so adamant about me taking them? Why should I go out of my way to help wanted people?"

"Well, you wouldn't really be going out of your way. After all, you were planning on traveling after the festival anyway."

"You're always going to other towns, visiting... your other servants. I was thinking maybe I could go with you this time, and help you out..."

"So, let me get this straight... You want me to travel out to sea on a boat for a month with a couple of criminals... All because my slave wants to come along?"

"Oh... sorry, Eric. You're right, that is stupid. I-I shouldn't have said anything..." I then heard soft whimpers from Kat, as if she was going to break down into tears.

"Oh... fine. Go check if they're awake yet."

"Yay!"

I sighed and lowered my gun, knowing Katherin just saved our asses. I turned around and quickly made my way to my room, trying to not make as much noise as I can. I swung open the door and threw myself in and slammed the door shut.

I made my way to the desk where my equipment and gear was and laid my M9 on it. As I was about to sit down, knocks came from my door. "Hey, Marcus. I know it's early, but we need to get going. We want to get on the boat before ten." Trace said from the other side.

"Okay! I'll be ready!" I said and heard footsteps fading off. I sighed and grabbed my plate carrier and wore it. I took my pistol holster and strapped it onto my right thigh and grabbed my M9, sliding it onto the holster. Then caught my carbine rifle and a magazine from the desk and loaded them into the carbine. I pulled the charging handle and took a peek at the chamber and released the charging handle. I placed the gun down on the desk and took the three magazines on the desk with one hand and placed one of them in each pouch. After that's done, I grabbed the carbine and wore the two-point sling, after which I took the pistol magazines and slid it into the pistol magazines on my plate carrier and I was set.

I suddenly heard the door behind me open so I turned around and saw Kathrin with a folded black robe on her arm. "Oh, it's um... It's you. What do you want?" I asked.

"Eric wanted me to give you these. You'll want to wear these robes on the way. It's going to be... uh... cold once we get out on the ocean."

"It's fine, really... I uh... I already have something for the cold." I said as I tugged the sleeve of my Crye combat shirt.

"Oh, if you insist..."

I thought to myself why would he want us to wear these robes. I know it's for the cold but, it looks good for us to stay undetected. But why on the way? Is this a trap?

I must've dazed out because I didn't realize I was still looking at her. "W-why are you staring at me?" She asked.

I quickly shook my head and raised my hands. "Oh- I am so sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just... nevermind, give me the robe."

Ten minutes of preparing our stuff for the long trip later, we're all set for the haul. It was cold. Like a witch's tit cold. Trace, Flora, and I had black robes concealing every bit of ourselves except for the faces, which felt great. I had my plate carrier, gear, and weapons all tucked in underneath this warm silk of a robe. This reminds me of times where I used to wear robes in the mountains of Afghanistan during covert ops. Eric wore a robe but instead of a black one, he wore a white robe and has a black cape. Kathrin also wore a black cape but wore a light green robe while Keith and Natani wore what they usually wore.

"Everyone ready? Just give me a minute to put a seal on the house." Eric stated.

"Aw man, I really hate robes! They really mess up my fur." Flora pouted.

Just be happy you aren't carrying Seventy-five pounds of gear. I thought to myself. I looked around and saw Natani nearing a wooden cart with the words 'Crystals' on top. There was a person in front of the cart, mopping dust away. It was a guy, with blackish-grey hair and a patch of hair on his chin. He was roughly about as tall as Natani and wore black robes. Natani approached the person and spoke to him in Keidran but he didn't seem interested. After Natani was done talking, the guy said, "No Keidran." Natani looked defeated and Keith had to go up to him, I guess Natani does understand a bit of English.

After a long walk to the docks, the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, giving off the clouds above an orange color and making the sky dark blue.

"Well, we've made it," Eric said. "There she is, the Na'Rella. She's not huge, but there should be plenty of room."

The ship he was talking about did look stable and looked like it was able to support the crew members and us. I just hope I get a private room and somewhere I can workout. We got on board the ship and I looked over at the horizon and saw a couple of large passenger ships sailing out to sea while Flora leaned over at the railing just at the edge of the ship.

"It'll be another hour or so until my crew is ready. Feel free to have a look around meanwhile." Eric announced.

"Thanks a lot, Eric. We really appreciate you taking us along." Trace stated.

"Eh, no problem. I was planning on sailing anyway. The Basitin Islands are as good a place as any. Just don't forget that deal we had. I get Flora to pose for my artwork on the way there. Speaking of Flora... I have to ask... This trip is going to take nearly a month. Flora's not in any danger of.. you know, going into heat during the trip?"

"What?! Eh... no, she's not. She went through that a while ago."

"Ah, good. Kathrin's safe too. That rules out all female Keidran."

"Yup, all females here."

"Indeed. Just the two."

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"Trust me, it's just not a good idea. In a small area like this ship, it affects everyone." Eric said.

"Oh... Damn."

I didn't like that we had to wait an hour for the crew to get ready. It made us vulnerable to any attacks. So, like the good soldier I am, I stood guard. Scanning the town behind us to make sure we aren't being followed or spied on.

An hour passed by and I was still on the deck, with my weapon underneath my robe and my eyes trained on the town. Until Eric shouted, "The harbor's permitted us to shove off. Alright, boys, let's get some wind under our sails and get out of here."

I turned around and saw two additional Keidrans. Both of them had metal collars around their wrist and neck and worn-out clothes. One of them looked like a dog type and the other looked like a fox type. I guessed they were slaves of Eric and I wasn't too sure what to feel about that. Sure I rescued slaves back in Afghanistan, but this is different. They pulled the sails and I felt the ship move along with the waves of the sea and before I knew it, we were off. I dropped my guard and decided to let my carbine hang, but as I was walking back to the cabin, I could hear faint meowing from the docks. I didn't think too much about it and went about my business. "A month in this shithole... Can't get any worse." I said to myself.