"Captain?" Damon's voice called out from the dock. "Ye comin?'"

Isra glanced down at Damon and her chattering mates on the dock. The light drizzle of rain fell on their already soaked bodies, but they were not bothered by their wetness as they were distracted by their excitement to go to town. Brassport offered many amusements and comforts to her mates, especially fresh warm meals for a change. They had visited there a few times before, making them acquainted with the area. Isra, however, preferred the quiet sandy beach rather than the bustling town; she had a need to retreat from society.

"Aye," Isra said loudly feeling a wave of lightheadedness hit her, "I'll be down there soon." Sighing, she padded tiredly to the other side of the deck hoping she would be invisible. Shouting back to Damon had made her feel weaker. Leaning heavily against the balcony rail, Isra tried to comprehend her current situation. 

Why do I feel like this? I've navigated the ship through storms for years, but I've never felt so tired before.

As she gazed up at the gray sky, there were no more raindrops falling.

A pulsating headache jabbed Isra's head causing her to wince. Taking steady long breaths, she hoped the pain would go away. It disappeared shortly after a few seconds to her relief.

Isra straightened herself and turned around to face the blue sea. The waves rolled smoothly back and forth in a constant motion. Clutching her stomach, Isra felt nausea tease her. She took sharp breaths daring not to swallow. No, she couldn't vomit now.

"Captain...?"

It was Manami's voice, but Isra couldn't answer her. Squeezing the rail, the pirate captain knew she was going to throw up any second. Sweat pressed her forehead as she heard Manami's faint voice calling her again.

Jerking her head toward the balcony, Isra spewed out the discolored sea biscuits from earlier. Everything in her mind washed away for a moment. Isra recollected herself as the vile taste of acid and biscuits lingered in her mouth. A cool hand touched her shoulder; she stared weakly at the large hand that belonged to Manami. Behind the redhead was Yasen whom looked startled at what had happened.

"Are ye okay, captain?" Manami asked softly, her hazel eyes scrutinizing her worryingly.

Isra nodded faintly, embarrassed that her vomiting had been witnessed. "I…" she drawled, "…I think I have a fever…" A warm sensation was beginning to throb in her head making everything seem slower. She could not think as clearly as she could before; faces, movements, and sounds lost their perception.

Placing a hand on Isra's warm forehead, Manami nodded in agreement. "Aye, the fever's startin' now. We better get to an inn before it worsens."

Manami helped Isra down to the dock. Yasen meanwhile treaded quietly behind the two feeling sympathetic toward the pirate captain. The brunette had stayed inside the quarter as she was told, and fortunately, she hadn't gotten injured from the moving furniture when the sea was tossing the ship around. Yasen didn't know whether or not it was a good time to depart from the woman that had offered to take her on her ship when she could had been left in Sorrel. For now, she would just tag along with them in the inn since it would be convenient to her bounty hunting.

~~~

The narrow streets of Brassport were paved with cobblestone and constructed with arches that greeted occasional horse-drawn carriages. Deserted previously in the rain, the market square slowly resumed with ambitious merchants and townsmen. The well-known, large brass smith shop stood in the center of the market, proud of its accomplishments that earned part of the town's name. Smoke puffed vigorously from the cobblestone chimney into the gray sky, showing that the smiths were still busy working despite the weather.

Yasen treaded behind Isra's crew as Damon led them out of the market square into a narrower street. It was the first time she had been in Brassport, but she didn't find anything much special about the town besides the interesting brass crafts that ranged from clocks to wind instruments. The brunette frequently glanced back at Isra whom managed to keep up walking beside Manami. I wonder if there are any herb stands around here, she thought. I can find something that can alleviate her fever….

Her thoughts were interrupted as everyone came to a halt to a three-story cobblestone inn. Damon swung the wooden door open, and everyone followed him inside. The room became silent for a moment as the pirates entered. Startled wenches stopped taking orders to look at them, and disturbed men stopped eating and drinking. Not having a good reputation, pirates were either feared or disliked by common folk. The normal activity of the inn resumed as Yasen was the last to shut the door.

"I'll go reserve the rooms," Damon offered, receiving Yasen's attention. He nodded over to Manami and Isra with a frown that didn't leave his face. He was hoping the crew could celebrate together for making through the storm, but now that the captain was sick, it wouldn't be proper to celebrate without her. Not forgetting about Yasen, he asked her, "Ye stayin' in this inn too?"

The brunette could feel all eyes on her, making her shift uncomfortably. 

"I guess I will be…" Passed the curious glances of Isra's mates, she could feel Lyall's steely blue eyes eyeing her in the crowd. Yasen didn't dare look his direction, knowing there were others like him that disliked her for staying overnight in the ship.

Damon grinned. "Ye can have a drink with us, eh?"

Yasen forced herself to smile. "Maybe later." That obviously meant no, but she didn't want to appear rude. While Isra's crew dried their clothes off, the brunette watched Damon speak with the inn owner. 

I'll reserve a room after him, she thought. How long will I stay though? It was going to take her several days to search for the man she was hunting after. Maybe staying for two or three days would sound reasonable.

Glancing at Isra, Yasen found sympathy hit her again. All soaked and exhausted, the pirate captain looked miserable. Her face was flushing from the progressing fever, and her dark brown eyes were forcing themselves to open from the drowsiness. Yasen returned her attention back to Damon whom returned with a set of keys that had room numbers engraved in them.

"'Tis for the captain's room," Damon said, handing the key to Manami. "We're stayin' fer three days, and if the fever doesn't disappear then, we can always renew our stay."

The redhead nodded understandingly and took the key."I'll go bring the captain ter her room now," she replied. As she departed with Isra up the stairs, Damon and his mates found empty tables to sit. The quartermaster invited Yasen to sit with them, but the brunette declined politely.

After Yasen reserved a room for three days, she left the inn. Right now, she had to look for more information about the man she was hunting after. If he were even in the town, it would make the searching process much easier. Removing a crumpled paper from the inside pocket of her brown vest, Yasen unfolded it. Underneath the black ink that read, 'Wanted', in large letters, there was a well-done colored sketch of Aras Linwood. He was a young grey-eyed man with shoulder length, dark brown hair that had stolen valuable jewelry from a nobleman's home. Worth a thousand gold, Linwood would be difficult to find however. It had been a week so far, but Yasen had made no progress. Before she got on Sorrel from the city, Yrianide, she eavesdropped the captain at a dock mentioning a bounty that she was sure referred to Linwood. However, she had just expected too much leaving her disappointed in the end.

Following the empty narrow street that led to the market square, Yasen hoped she would not get lost. When the market square came into view, she stopped in her feet when her eyes caught a bulletin in the corner. Wet from the rain, there were a collection of bounty posters that she could still make out.

How did I miss that? Yasen wondered. She was sure she was paying attention to her surroundings when she followed Isra's crew to the inn. Sighing, the brunette was at least glad she found them sooner than later. Skimming through the bounty posters, she found the list of ongoing hunts on the top right corner. Unfortunately, it was placed too high, and she was not tall enough to read it.

"Whoever put it all the way up there is a genius…" Yasen mumbled as she tiptoed. Her heart fell in disappointment when Aras Linwood was not listed. That meant he had already been found. Oh great, she thought with a sigh. I was too late. Guess I have to do another bounty hunt. Looking at each of the bounty posters, Yasen had a hard time deciding which one to do. She knew it would take her a whole day just to make even one decision. Keeping two names in mind, the brunette left the bulletin and explored the market square.