After what felt like way too short of a rest, Balthazar had woken up to the noises of pans and grills as the captain and the others moved around the , preparing a meal to soothe their r stomachs.

  While his body wasn’t ag as muymore, the crab still felt like he could have slept for another half a day if he was allowed. But just like when he had a trading post to open in the early hours of the m, duty called him there too, and there was a quest to be finished.

  And more importantly, rewards to be cimed once he did.

  This crab hadn’t goally soft yet. Helping out someone in need and righting some wrongs with new friends might be all nid good for most adventurers, but Balthazar was still a mert looking out food trade deal—and a glutton looking for free pie.

  Reminded of what really motivated him, the crusta’s stomach grumbled with a furious hunger. As it turns out, leaping, swimming, and climbing were great at w up an appetite, especially after a night’s sleep without some proper supper first.

  The smell of cooking fish enveloped the crab as he got up, reminding him that while humans might have a lot of strange habits that baffled his uanding, pg fish over a fire was certainly not one of them.

  Golden brow sizzled against the grill over the lit coals of the fire pit as white smoke billowed out and filled the with a tantalizing aroma that made Balthazar’s mouth water.

  Druma was carefully handling the grill, his toig out of the er of his mouth while keeping full foaintaining a perfectly eve distribution on both sides. Blue sat oher side of the pit, helping him by using her nostrils as a bellows, blowing air into the fire whehe goblin gave her the signal.

  Balthazar quietly chuckled with amusement as he watched their teamwork.

  Over by the side door of the , Leander sat on a stool over a bucket full of freshly caught catfish, gutting and ing them before passing them over to the two girls boung around the small kit area.

  Olivia was trying to show Suze how to properly season the fish, gently p a mix of herbs over the pte about to be handed over to Druma for cooking.

  Balthazar stretched his eyestalks above the ter, his eyes jumping at the beautiful array of seasonings sprinkled over a rge filet. A generous dose of rock salt covered the rosy meat, apanied by a few touches of bck pepper and more herbs than the crab could t. A little thyme, a fair amount of parsley, some leaves of basil, dried ano, and even a few touches of garlic.

  Balthazar’s stomach growled even harder as he pushed down a loud gulp.

  “And then you top it all off with a good squeeze of lemon juice,” Olivia said to the little girl while holding a lemon half over the fish and pressing it in her hand.

  “This is a lot more work than I thought,” Suze said with some skepticism.

  “A fisherman’s daughter should know how to and prepare a fish, young dy,” Leander casually said from his seat by the open door as his knife split another catfish open.

  The street rascal frow him. “You knew my dad?”

  “By reputation only, but yes,” the captain responded, eyes focused on his task. “He was a fine and brave seaman. Was a sad day when I heard his boat went down in a storm.”

  “Yeah, it was…” the little girl said with a hint of glum.

  “I also heard about how you ran away from the orphanage five times before they just decided to stop b taking you back,” the man said, giving her a side gnce as he casually wiped his bde oowel draped over his knee.

  “Not my fault their windows didn’t lock properly,” Suze respohe morose expression suddenly repced with her usual sass. “They were holding me bayway. There was busio be had out oreets!”

  Olivia cocked an eyebrow at her as she handed ae to Druma. “Are you sure you’re not reted to Balthazar in some way?”

  Both the crab and the kid gave the young woman aical scowl at the same time, making her crack a smile before breaking into amused ughter.

  “Fishy is ready!” Druma proudly announced, hopping from side to side with the grill in his hand.

  Shortly after, all of them huddled together at the only table the old had, which was far too small for the six octs.

  Ptes were passed around, along with some cutlery, for those who . Balthazar tried to teach Suze how crabs skillfully use their pio cut a fish, but the little rascal seemed more ied in Druma’s method of eating with his hands. Even Blue seemed to be impressed by the delicacy preseobbling it down with as muthusiasm as she did red meats.

  Sitting at the top of the table, Balthazar looked over the group with te.

  He had always eaten by his lonesome back at the pond, back when he was just a lone crab snatg little fish by the water. The idea of having a meal with others, especially humans, would have sounded io him. Yet now, sitting there watg his friends’ faces smiling, ughing, and joking around as they had a hearty breakfast together—ae their current predits—it all felt sht.

  “You know, I’m really enjoying having this meal with you guys…” the mert said.

  Olivia smiled and him. “That’s actually very—”

  “But we should discuss how we’re going to get those mangoes baow,” Balthazar added.

  “Aaaand never mind, the moment is gohe young woman said, rolling her eyes.

  Pulling at his backpack, the crab retrieved a rge roll of paper from it and started unceremoniously opening it over the already cluttered table, knog over a salt shaker and making Suze scowl at him as she retreated her pte to safety.

  “Alright. Oops. Mind the er there,” he said as he finished unfurling the map. “Here we go. These are the floor pns I got from the guildmaster of the thieves st night.”

  “You met Clovis?” Leander asked from the other end of the table.

  “Yes,” said Balthazar. “And—”

  “You know he’s a criminal, right?” Olivia interjected.

  “Yes, I could deduce that from the fact that he’s the leader of a guild of thieves, Olivia,” the mert said with a roll of his eyestalks. “ we get on with it now?”

  “Did he tell you who is trolling the bandits and the guards?” asked the captain.

  “No, not even they have mao find that out yet. I do have a suspi, involving someone I met before, but I need more to back that feeling first.”

  “Oooh,” said Suze, with a devious smile on her parsley-covered lips. “Is she a firlfriend of yours?”

  “No, don’t be silly!” the flustered crab said. “But I learned where they are most likely taking the stolen cargo, which is also the mystery figure’s hiding spot. It’s called Damask Manor.”

  “Hmm, that old house?” the seasoned man said, biting on a sed serving of fish. “I thought it had been abandoned fes.”

  “Well, she seems to have taken residehere,” Balthazar tinued. “So we o e up with the best way to get in, find the stolen mangoes, and front the string puller.”

  Captain Leander eyed the manor’s map with a thoughtful expression.

  “Shame the river does not pass here, or we could set a naval assault.”

  “I say we just kick the door down and start dishing out some hurt until we get to the bottom of it,” Olivia decred.

  “Oh! Oh!” Suze said between a mouthful of catfish filet. “Or I could sneak in through a window, past any bandits, tie their shoeces together, and find the mangoes before aices anything!”

  “Maybe Druma fly over roof with Blue!” the goblihusiastically suggested.

  Balthazar smacked both eyestalks onto the table. “You’re all terrible at this, you know that?”

  “Well, excuse us, Mr. Genius Crab,” said the flippant Marquessa girl. “Do you have aer ideas?”

  “Of course I do!” He poi the manor’s blueprint with his pincer. “There are four floors…”

  “Hey, how e these maps didn’t get all soaked when you fell into the river st night?” Suze suddenly asked.

  “Magical backpack,” the crab said with a ft stare.

  “Oh. Alright then.”

  “As I was saying…” Balthazar tinued, returning his gaze to the paper. “There’s the ground floor, two more above, and one below. The lowest one seems to be a rge celr and the most likely pce for the mao be. The floors above appear to be living spaces, with the master bedroom at the very end of the third floor.”

  “That’s where the boss will be,” the street ur said with a knowing nod as the others looked at her with raised eyebrows. “e on, guys. It’s obvious!”

  “This is all nid good,” Olivia said, “but what about the part where we get in? You got a pn for that?”

  “Sure. I… Uh…” the thinking mert started. “We could have Suze climb in through a window and unlock the door for us. She seems pretty good at that.”

  “Oh, now that idea isn’t terrible anymore?” the young woman said.

  “Balthazar is right,” said the smaller girl. “He just knows when tnize someone has a better idea than what he could e up with.”

  The crab nodded. “Thank you, Suze. I was—Hey, wait, what?!”

  “Kig the door down works just as well or eveer!” excimed Olivia.

  “Flying! Flying! Flying!” Druma started ting over the discussion while fpping his arms.

  A sudden sharp whistle echoed through the , making the ruckus cease as the group looked at Captain Leander with wide eyes.

  “Alright, enough,” he calmly said, bringing his fingers down from his lips. “You guys have been w well together, but you clearly still o work a lot on your team unication. If you were my crew, I’d be sending you off to scrub the deck right now.”

  “Sorry, Leander,” said Olivia, her eyes going down to the floor. She seemed genuinely upset about the captain’s disapproval.

  “But,” he tinued, “you are not my crew. Mr. Balthazar here is teically the one in charge of this operation, so let's go with his gut. From what I uand, it tends to serve him well.”

  The crab looked at the veteran with a hint of surprise but nodded in aowledgement.

  “Well, my gut is telliwo things right now,” Balthazar.

  “Is it saying you want dessert?” asked Suze.

  “Alright, maybe three things then,” the mert ceded. “But the other two are that this pce is likely going to be crawling with bandits and guards. No floor pns are going to show us that. So the other is that we o get eyes on the building before we figure out how to ehese rooms.”

  Balthazar stood up and pced the tip of his pincer on the ter of the blueprint as his friends around the table looked at him.

  “Let’s go finish this, get those mangoes back, and reveal who’s behind this whole mess. Tonight we strike at Damask Manor!”