Clearwater Hole: 08:00 in the morning, day 75.

Clearwater Hole, located on the cliff walls that surround the Gargaran subterraine lagoon, was known throughout the continent as the city of thugs, assassins, buccaneers, spies and all the bad things that one wanted to find going down its streets excavated and sculpted directly in the same rock.

It was not a strange destination for all those who knew the city, because when you build a city on the walls of a subterranean lake, having as only natural light that fell through the hole. When you live in a city where the sun only comes out to illuminate the lake, ignoring the homes and buildings, you develop a natural ability for bad actions.

And there, where humans are still just words, is where our story begins.
9 Pirate ships had arrived at the ports through the underground channels, loaded with treasures and stolen booty. Which meant that hundreds of sailors had enough money to get drunk and for their perversions, which caused no one to be surprised that the bars were full so early.

The ship that concerns us belongs to the infamous captain Ogden Swail, an Iloa of the sea tribe who embarked with a mission directly from the previous Djinn and certain circumstances led him to become a pirate. Ogden was famous among the inhabitants of Clearwater Hole, and of any Iloa city on the margins of the tribes, for three reasons:

- He was much more decent than the rest of the pirates, always making sure that their sailors paid their debts and always paying just for repairs, supplies and another needs.

- Even being an Iloa of the sea, he was much smaller than average, measuring scarcely 40 feet tall. (Without going any further, some of their sailors from the same tribe measured 51 and 53 feet). But his smaller size was nothing more than an addition, because Ogden was known to be a tactical genius, a famed warrior with his twin sabers and a renowned historian.

- The Nights Nation, his ship, was famous among all pirates for being one of the few ships built to house Iloa of all the tribes, counting among its commanders with a hunteress of the mountain tribe as the highest member of the crew.

All together, gave name to one of the most feared pirate crews throughout the seas of Terre dell'alba. Nobody dared to attack the Nights Nation if he wanted to live to tell it, nobody dared to bother or betray the Ogden pirates, and above all... nobody used his name in vain, because many have known the cold steel of the consequences.

Among her sailors, and being one of her favorites (to the point of treating her as her "daughter"), was Lyre "Night fang" Seawatcher, an Bad Blood Iloa from the plains and a member of the assault team and the general manager of the ship. 

When she was young, Lyre lost all her family at the hands of a Grystel attack, becoming infected a little later with the disease of bad blood. Her history is well known among the members of the crew, who respect her as much as the captain.

Terredell'alba-dex:

Hello again! Fee again here for this time explain another monster! Today, the Grystel!

Grystel: Another species that inhabit the continent, The Grystel remember the squids of the Earth, but with a larger size (Up to 10 feet some variants) and being able to live both on land and the sea.

His body is covered by a rough and sharp skin to the touch, which allows them to crawl effectively by any type of soil, and although the natural is only to see them on the coasts and lakes, some variants of Grystel venture much further, living in mountains preferably snowfall.

They have a small mouth at the base of their body, which while it is too small to eat and consume meat from animals of its size, is perfect for getting the Grystels preferred food, blood.

Inside their small mouth, the Grystel have a tongue covered with sharp teeth and holes that they use to pierce the skin and introduce the tongue inside their victims, beginning to suck as much blood as they have in the body.

This practice is very common, and taking into account that a Brystel consumes almost at the moment the blood that sucks and that its hunger is practically infinite (some researchers dare to say that the Brystel feels authentic gluttony), a single Grystel is enough to end a little protected forest village.

For all these reasons, which added to their great aggressiveness and their tendency to live alone, are sufficient for fighter departures to be organized only and exclusively to exterminate any Grystel that has been sighted.

It should be noted that eating Grystel meat can lead to the disease known as "Bad blood", which forces the carrier to consume blood as a Grystel to appease hunger, and also modifies forever its victims, deforming the teeth of the poor Iloa affected to be similar to those of a Grystel and pale skin to a whitish-white all.

Every Grystel corpse must be stripped of its teeth before being burned, and its teeth must be purified in salt water for 10 moons before giving them any use.

This is just a point of mine, but I would like to emphasize it. The "Bad Blood Iloa", as they are known to those who have consumed Grystel meat either by accident, consciously (only God knows why) or have been infected by a non-lethal attack by Grystel, until recently they were Executed in public.

Some villages defended it saying that it was a method to ward off bad spirits and the Grystels, others said it was an act of mercy, because Bad blood would never be able to join the society and others did it simply as a preventive punishment for any crimer they could commit to appease hunger.

 
Be that as it may... nowadays it is completely forbidden the preventive killing of the Bad Blood, and in their place the leaders of the tribes recommend the sending of the affected ones to the "Bleeding Swamp", where the waters turn red and their flavor it is similar to blood because of an Alitian curse.

It's sad to stop and think about the fate of those poor people... sick and abandoned in a swamp where they only have a way to appease their hunger for blood, but not the food or thirst ... but then I see a funny video in the Crystal network and I forget to be sad!

Lyre, among the corpses of the people she loved, and the remains of the Grystel, survived for days waiting for help, but in the end, although her mother had warned her of the dangers of eating these beasts... the hunger was too much for the little one, who tried to roast the creature to eat it...

When she crossed the next commercial caravan along the way, her body was already half converted, and hunger and thirst were added to a sensation that the little girl could not understand. One that burned her inside and made even the smallest movement hurt.

The caravan debated their next steps, and decided to leave the girl in the harbor, where the tribe of the seas would take care of her and send her to the "Bleeding Swamp". The plan worked well, but destiny wanted Ogden to be in the city fulfilling the last part of his original mission before going back to the seas, and there he met little Lyre, who had been tied up to the next boat that was the North.

Ogden, hurt by the fate of the little girl, decided that before abandoning her to her fate in a swamp, she would find a better place in her then small crew. Spending the money from his mission to buy barrels of animal blood, Ogden abducted Lyre before leaving the city, causing great chaos in the port.

(One that led to the destruction of one of the shipyards to avoid a chase that the then Ogden ship would not have managed to win)

Lyre grew up among pirates, appeasing her hunger with barrels of animal blood and with the corpses of the fallen, turning from an innocent and ill girl, after 17 years, into an intelligent, powerful, respected and above all feared woman.

Lyre "Night Fang" was one of the big names that formed the crew of Ogden Swail.

Even with all her reputation and her intimidating aspect, Lyre was the right person to contact if you wanted to do business with Ogden, since the young woman was in charge of the administration, the ship's business and any contract that was offered to them.

And for that, Lyre was the first person that Brolx looked for when he approached the Night Nation.

Brolx was just the contact they had sent to contact Ogden, which didnt make him very happy. Only in the first hours in Clearwater Hole, they had already tried to steal him 5 times, and two of them had been children who didnt raise a foot of the ground! This city was hell for someone of good breed like him, but Ogden was the only pirate with whom it was possible to speak like good adults.

And when little by little, Brolx approached the Night Nation, it was clearer what kind of man Ogden was.

The Night Nation was completely whistling in white, with all the details in gold and dark blue. Its design reminded the largest cities of the tribe of the seas, with rounded edges and made of white sandstone. Three buildings covered the deck of the ship, two in the back and one lower in the front, the latter being the one that Brolx deduced would serve as a navigation room. Climbing on the top of one of the footbridges, an Iloa too pale to be from the plains pointed to everything the sailors were raising in barrels and boxes.

Without a doubt, that was the person that the owners of the bars had recommended him to look for.

"Excuse me!- "Even before Brolx could say anything else, dozens of sailors released their charges to take out their spark guns and point it at him. The Iloa of the forest trembled like a custard, before trying to run... although he ended up falling on his ass to the ground.

"FOOLS! He has only caught our attention! Keep the weapons until I give the order!" Lyre, got up from the railing where he leaned, jumping and falling to the dock with enough strength to shake all the wooden boards of it. "Who are you and what do you intend to come to Clearwater dressed as if you were going out for your cousin's wedding?"

"Wedding...? It's called style, so you know!" Brolx stood up slowly, trying not to touch too much. "I come to represent my people, Faydenn, I would like to hire the services of the infamous Captain Ogden, and before you even think about it, I have plenty of money to pay for your asses"

Lyre smiled sideways, analyzing the little bitch "Either you're brave enough to let go of these words even if you just fell to the floor like a babe... or you're too stupid to understand how to negotiate." Lyre took a quick step forward, causing Brolx to fall back to the ground in fright. The bad blood laughed, as she unbuttoned her right boot and dropped her bare foot on the moneyed coward.

If something had been taught to her for so many years at sea, it is that the size was a sign of power, and the Iloa of the forest writhe like no one else. To win a business conversation... you have to make the other party feel helpless.

Brolx tried with all his might to remove the huge and stinky foot of the Bad Blood, but the difference in size was not only corporal. With only one foot as big as the entire chest and part of Brolx's legs, Lyre had him completely immobilized. "I know they say pirates dont bathe, but I expected it to be an urban legend! You smell like..."

"Do you realize that without doing anything of force you are unable to flee, little coward? Now imagine... if little by little..." Lyre dropped the weight of her body a little more on the small Iloa. "It was letting me fall more and more... until I just crushed you as if you were just a little tomato..."

Brolx was becoming more and more difficult to fill his lungs with air, partly because of the increasing pressure of his foot, and partly because of the smell of rotten cheese and sweat that was filling his lungs. "I HAVE... 10,000 Ivenings to spend on you!"

Lyre doesnt need anything else to lift her foot and kneel to lift the Iloa from the forest. "10,000... Ivenings?... You better make it true, the captain doesnt like to be disturbed during his reading time"

Loading Brolx on his shoulder as if it were another sack, Lyre returned to the ship, leaving her boot forgotten for all the emotion of the money.

The Nights Nation, outside the captain's room:

15 minutes later.

Brolx was leaning against the wall, trying not to breathe anything of the smell that emanated from his shirt. It had only been 3 minutes, but that stupid Bad Blood had left all its stench for Brolx's new clothes... and it was a clothes Iloa liked a lot...

"How can someone have such a bad smell of feet? It has to be because of the bad blood disease... I refuse to believe that anyone, however much they do not bathe, develops such a bad smell..."

The captain's office door opened wide, Lyre coming out to receive him with a small bow. "Captain Ogden is willing to welcome you and hear your offer, but you will only have 5 minutes to express it, are you prepared?" Brolx nodded, going through the side of the Bad Blood.

As Brolx imagined, Ogden Swail's personal room was full of shelves, with only one wall in sight. Each shelf contained dozens of books, telescopes and compasses (and other instruments that Brolx assumed were navigational) and some even small souvenirs, like a replica of the great lighthouse of Linde. Captain Ogden was sitting in a "little" rocking chair, reading through what looked like the cover a copy of the peace treaty between the Iloa and the Carpagos.

As he had been described, Ogden was a seagoing Iloa pretty bald, with a majestic grayish beard. His eyes were fierce and direct, surrounded by scars all over his head, proof of his innumerable battles. He was missing half a left ear, probably the result of combat against some sea beast that could hardly interest Brolx.

All that matters to Iloa is that Ogden not only had not received him, but had not even stopped reading. Brolx cleared his throat, in the form of warning for Ogden to focus on him.

"Captain Ogden Swail, it's an honor to meet you... My name is Brolx from Faydenn, and I come in the interest of my people to try to hire your ser-"

"Hire my services? boy, I'm not a prostitute to talk to me like that!" Ogden's husky voice shook the whole room and Brolx, who cursed again and again his choice of words. "If you have a contract that interests us, say it clearly, we are not mercenaries so you can hire us that way"

Brolx gritted his teeth, struggling to contain his bladder. "Mr. Ogden... my people would like to offer you a contract to stop the construction of an illegal city." Ogden under his book, squinting. Brolx interpreted that as a signal to continue.

"As someone of your renown will have heard... they have arrived at Novaterrae, specifically our continent... a new species called "Humans"... these for some reason have the blessing of our leaders to build their cities without respecting our land!

Not only that... but one of its cities will be built in the territory of Faydenn! Territory that historically belongs to us for more than 400 years! For that reason... we would like your men and you to stop the works of such unjust, unnecessary and horrible city! That land belongs to Faydenn and only we have the right to own it!"

"I see... it's not an issue that interests me at first sight, but my daughter told me that you offer us 10,000 Ivenings for the work, is that true?" Ogden left the book on his desk, bending down to look closely at the bag of coins Brolx took out of his bag.

"Well... I would need a few coins to go home... but yes! 9998 Ivening for that work-"

"10,000, or I will be forced to refuse and ask you to leave the ship in these moments"

Brolx trembled with fear, knowing that if he returned home without hiring Ogden his chance to return to his previous lifestyle was minuscule... but with no money to return home... they were more than 4,000 kilometers away... In the end, the decision was logical.

"Sir ... here you have, 10,000 Ivenings"

Ogden smiled as he took the small bag between his fingers and gestured to Lyre. "You've made the right decision, boy, and before you leave, what's the name of the city I'm going to stop?"

"Bahia del Sol... it's all written in this-" Brolx took out a small notebook that was immediately snatched away by Lyre before Bad Blood picked him up by the collar of his shirt and threw him out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"10,000 Ivenings! with that we will be able to buy new sails and renovate all the furniture in the kitchen and bedrooms! This is the best job of our life, father!" Lyre jumped up to Ogden's desk, grabbing the bag and emptying it on the table to count them one by one.

No matter how bad Blood Lyre was... deep down she was still a prairie Iloa, and giving a bag of coins to a prairie Iloa was to make them happier than anyone else in the world.

"I was looking for an excuse to meet those humans... and look where, now we have 10,000 more for our coffers... and the perfect excuse. Lyre, when you finish go to give Ylsan the order to prepare everything to embark us this night, I want to set course for Faydenn before dawn!"

But Lyre was too focused counting coins, to which Ogden could only smile as he stroked the back of the Bad Blood and returned to his book. There would be time later to give the orders.