Stella's Inn and the intruders

Baterilla was a small, fairly well-known island located in the South Blue. The island boasted a lovely mountainside with lush, green forests, offering excellent hiking routes for visitors and inhabitants alike. Baterilla town, the only human settlement on the island and home to a few thousand villagers, was a bustling port, regionally renowned for its exquisite seafood.

The town's harbour was the sole docking spot for ships sailing through nearby waters, making it an unavoidable place to rest. Sol's and Raon's boats were no exception.

Tonight, after the sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving the sky to the moon and the starts, Dick, the lighthouse keeper, spotted a pair of boats still on sea. 

"Blimey(1)! Still some folk sailing at this hour!"

He exclaimed, put down his binoculars and hurried off in order to safely guide both boats to the pier.

Sol, as light on his feet as always, was the first one to jump onto the dock, where he secured his boat in a swift and well-practiced motion.

"Roku-ron-ron-ron-ron!(2) Made it in the nick of time, didn't we? How lucky we must be."

His voice was strangely filled with excitement as he called out to Raon, no sooner he tied the knot. Raon followed Sol's example finishing just as swiftly despite his larger body. He replied, visibly and audibly a lot less amused:

"You call this lucky? I can count on one hand how many times in my life, the wind has been as adverse as it was today. Just grab what you can't leave behind and follow me to Stella's inn."

Both men packed their leather bags and walked briskly into town. The narrow streets were alive with the sounds of evening—fishermen calling out their catches, children playing, and the distant melody of a street musician's tune. The smell of saltwater mixed with the savoury scent of grilled fish, made Sol's stomach growl despite him having eaten just recently.

After a few twists and turns, Raon stopped in front of a three-story wooden building. Even before entering, the sounds of lively chatter and clinking glasses could be heard.

From the outside, Stella's inn had a charming, artistic appearance, with various types of wood incorporated into its design. It was 3 stories high and had a small sign hung above the entrance: "High-Sea-Inn."

"High-Sea-Inn."

Sol read aloud, following Raon inside. As he pushed open the door, the chatter grew louder, enveloping them in the warmth and bustle of the inn. Patrons filled the tables, some were laughing, while others were deep in conversation. The air was thick with an aroma of hearty stews and freshly baked bread, which successfully stimulated both brothers' appetites.

"Raon, which one of these people is Stella? Tell me quickly so I can order whatever those guys over there are eating."

Sol urged his brother to find the woman in question while intently staring at a bald-headed, middle-aged man, who was too busy stuffing his face with lobster, to notice that he was being glared at.

"Guess it's your good fortune that Stella is actually pretty easy to spot. I just saw her over there."

As Raon said, she was indeed hard to miss even in this crowd. Standing tall at nearly 2 metres, paired with a lean figure and an inborn authoritative air, she stood out in this crowd, like a right thumb would on a left hand. Her dark brown hair fell straight below her shoulder blades, framing a small, round face. Sol estimated her age to be between forty and fifty, judging by the number and depth of wrinkles around her tiny mouth, pointy nose, and light green, fiery eyes.

Despite not being conventionally attractive, there was something undeniably compelling about her, proving the old saying "Beauty is only skin deep" wrong.

Raon quickly approached her, offering a respectful nod as a greeting once he was sure she has seen him as well.

"Raon?"

Her usually stern expression somewhat softened into a surprised one, matching her tone of speech.

"Why are you here? Didn't you leave just yesterday?"

"I did indeed. I came back because I met my brother at our parents' house."

A glint of understanding twinkled in her eyes as she finally turned to Sol, mustering the handsome young man from head to toe.

"So that would mean you are Sol? Nice to finally meet you, I am Stella, owner of this inn and wife of this brat's master."

"Yes, nice to meet you. I am Sol, the brother of mentioned brat. He told me a lot about you two just yesterday."

Sol responded in kind, though he couldn't help but notice a few details right away.

'Raon told them about our family as well as about our plan to sail for a while. Otherwise having met me wouldn't suffice as an answer to why he was back already. Ergo he trusts these people a lot.'

"I'm sure he has. Come and sit, you two look like you could use some real food."

Stella, feeling amused by this sudden encounter pulled them towards a table in a corner of the hall. She waved one of her employees over, ordering a lobster meal and lots of booze to go with it. Though they didn't plan on drinking again so soon, no one spoke up or refused her gesture of goodwill. After all it's just some drinks.

"Now Raon, do tell. Are you finally going on that big adventure you awaited so eagerly? Do you feel ready yet?"

As usual the inn owner didn't beat around the bush and jumped straight to the topics she was actually interested in, to which Raon simply nodded.

"It is high time we set out to fulfil our dream and thanks to your Thompson's training I became the perfect helmsman for this adventure. You should know through how many storms and waves I steered my ships to safety."

Raon had indeed done a more than magnificent job during his stay on this island. Enough to earn him a title as a legendary helmsman among the local fisher-men. 'Unsinkable' they would call him, making Stella's husband pridefully boast about his genius trainee whenever Raon was mentioned.

"True. Your reputation as a helmsman now even rivals my husband's.

Stella spoke with a little schadenfreude in her voice but quickly changed the topic by engaging Sol in their conversation.

"How about you young man? Have you finished your training?"

"I did though not as specialized as my brother. You could say I am a jack of all trades since I know a bit about everything."

The inn owner raised a brow in confusion. 'Jack of all trades' was something she didn't expect to hear from Raon's brother yet he said it so nonchalantly as if it was normal. Her change in expression didn't escape Sol's watchful gaze no matter how slight it was so he kindly elaborated further:

"No need to look at me like that, I'm aware what it sounds like. It's just temporary until we find experts of their respective fields to join us. After all our destination is no ordinary sea."

"Thank the gods."

Stella exclaimed, visibly relieved to hear that.

"It is indeed a place of great danger. Many go but few return, so you must be prepared for everything that might happen out there."

She reminded them sternly, to which Sol and Raon exchanged quick but determined looks.

"We know the risks." Raon said. "But we are ready nonetheless. We even have-"

*BAM*

Suddenly the inn's door was slammed open with a loud bang, causing conversations to halt and heads to turn. A group of rough-looking men, each dressed like a rag-tag mercenary with a short sword already in hand, entered and scanned the hall not bothering to hide their hostility at all.

Sol instinctively moved his hand to the hilt of his dagger, while Raon discreetly turned his fingers into a tiger's deadly claws. Both were prepared for whatever may come next.

Meanwhile, one of the men, dressed in newer and better leather gear then the rest, stepped forwards, barking loudly his reason for appearing out of nowhere:

"We are looking for a young man named Raon! He owes us a big debt, and we are here to collect it from him!"

---Silence---

(1) An expression of mild surprise.

(2) One piece style unique laugh. Let some website generate it for me and I'll just stick with that.