"Your swordsmanship is very nice. Now what?"<br/><br/>Crane turned to Celris, his eyes emotionless.<br/>"I would've preferred a more..."  Crane paused, watching a pool of blood near the rails drain into the ocean.  "Diplomatic approach.  But hey," he said, turning to his companions.  "We have to do what we have to do right?"  Crane spun his short-sword in an arc through the air, before putting it back in it's sheath.  Crane steadily walked to the rails, eyeing the captives.  Each looked haggard and scared, their eyes full of fear.  "Be calm." Crane said assertively to the crew.  "I'm going to free you all now.  However, if anyone attempts to stop us or turn us in at the next port... " Crane paused for effect, although he knew each and everyone of them knew very well of what he was capable of.  "I'll kill you myself."  This was very unlikely, as he had no intention of spilling anymore blood on that day.<br/><br/>After the crew had been freed from their uncomfortable positions along the rail, many disappeared below deck, to check on the remaining cargo.  The others kept their distance from the stowaways with the exception of the captain, who thanked each one of them in person.  Crane enjoyed a nice meal of crackers and soup from the Galley chef, who also felt the need to treat each of them to the remaining food supply.  The next few minutes seemed to go on as if nothing had even happened.  Many of the crew members eyed Osbourne suspiciously, and Crane even once heard them guessing about his true nature.  Crane even suppressed a chuckle at this, as some even had the nerve to guess he was some sort of divine angel.<br/><br/>Fifteen minutes later, the ship pulled into it's dock, it's crew scurrying off of it like it carried the plague.  Crane was the last to leave the boat, his mind wandering about the day's events.  As he walked across the flimsy gangplank and onto the wooden walkway that lead to shore, he immediately felt outnumbered.  Powerless even.  The abundance of Feral in the area seemed to unnerve him, and for the first time he began to appreciate having at least one of them on his side.  Unlike the Alune dock, this one was much smaller, with much less to see.  The wooden paths all led to the sandy desert ahead, with one exception, as one of the paths lead to a nearby stable.  Crane nodded in satisfaction, as he knew it would be easier to travel by horse.<br/><br/>The stable owner, a small grey Feral, female by gender, gave him a skeptical look as he approached.<br/><br/>"What do you want?" She asked him.<br/>"Two horses, of finest quality available."  The stable owner laughed in his face, or at least did the equivalent, which sounded like a mixture between a choking child and a howling dog.<br/>"There aren't any<a class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="67170609141e4a27" href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection">[email protected]</a>$$ horses here.  We only sell Rhenho." She sat back in her seat, returning to a stack of paper work.<br/>"What are those?" Crane asked calmly.  He meant it too, as he had never heard of the beasts before.  The lady rose from her seat exiting the building through a rear door.  Crane sat puzzled for a few moments before she appeared next to him holding the reigns of a massive beast.<br/><br/><a class="postlink" href="http://www.african-safari-pictures.com/image-files/white-rhino.jpg">[ img ]</a><br/><br/>Crane sat open mouthed for a few seconds, before handing the lady a small sack of gold.  She seemed genuinely pleased, and returned to her kiosk, but not before handing over another beast.  His Rhenho eyed him suspiciously, sniffing his garments.  Crane chuckled, as it even seemed to tickle for a few minutes.  Not without hesitation, Crane boarded the animal and turned to the infinite expanse of sand and stone in the distance.<br/><br/>"Celris, Osbourne, we have a ways to go.  We'll make camp tonight somewhere out there, but in the morning we will be there."  Crane tossed the reigns, and his beast moved forward, hesitantl at first, but faster after some time.