They split briefly to chat with the few people they knew. Everyone returned with the same basic story. The townsfolk remembered seeing them just days ago. Nothing unusual had happened while they were gone. Yet no one seemed to notice the shift that was so obvious to the crew.

“You know what?” Riv suddenly said, as they hunkered around a hastily purchased lunch and watched the square with all the paranoia they could muster. "I figured it out."

“No offense, but no way,” Elisa said between bites. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything. I’m currently debating between three to four different theories and trying to see which one fits the best.”

“No, really. Hear me out. It's too quick for the whole town to have changed, right? Not without everyone else noticing whatever caused it. But it looks different. Right?”

"Right," Marco said. “That much is true.”

“If it's too quick for the town to have changed, then it must mean that we’ve changed. Like maybe we got cursed or something. Towns just look worse to us now.”

“There's a problem with that, Riv,” Aethe said. “What would have cursed us? The ball of energy? The rafter? The water? We would have noticed something like that.”

"Maybe the island?" Riv offered. "The nightmare fog. Maybe it did it."

Marco knew that wasn't quite right, since the effects of the fog should have gone away when they destroyed it. But just thinking about the sequence of events finally made things click.

"Riv's right," Marco said.

“Impossible,” Elisa said. "I refuse to accept it."

“No, really. Think about it. We destroyed the fog, and it changed us. That happened.”

"That was a beneficial effect, though. We resist mental effects now."

"Exactly," Marco said. "The town didn't change. It couldn't have. There wasn't enough time. We changed. The lie isn't what we are seeing now, it's what we were seeing before."

"So you are saying…" Elisa thumped her forehead on the table as she caught up. "Damn. I can't believe you two got there first. Yes, that's it. We are now resisting some effect that makes this island look better. It's the only thing that makes sense."

Before anyone could add more, two figures appeared in the square. Marco saw them first, mainly because it was hard to miss them. On an island where there just wasn't much to do, the brothers tended to be on task. They were usually the only people around that were always one some sort of mission, which made them stand out like a sore thumb against the calm backdrop of Quillton.

They spotted the crew almost immediately. Marco saw a moment of unspoken conversation pass between the brothers before they changed direction, heading straight for them.

“Well, look who’s back,” Bhul called, grinning. “Didn’t expect to see you all so soon.”

"Things went quickly." Marco stood but didn’t return the smile. “They do sometimes.”

“Business go well?” The guard scanned the group. “You’re all in one piece, so I’m guessing yes.”

“Depends on your definition of ‘well,’” Riv said with a half-smile. “We got what we went there for, I think.”

Bhul chuckled. “Good enough. Listen, you might want to check in with Quill. He’s been waiting to see you. All worked up over whether you'd succeed or not, if you believe that. And he’s the one holding your payment, so there's that too.”

“Payment would be good,” Marco said with his best impression of a greedy smile. "We'll get there in a few hours. Taking a break right now after all that. It’s fine to just walk up and knock on the door?"

“If he doesn't find you first, sure.”

The brothers wandered off then, presumably in search of something else to do. The team huddled up closer towards the center of the table, their faces close enough for a more whispered conversation.

Elisa put her bread down. “Everybody be normal. Riv, do your best.”

“Quill's looking for us,” Aethe said. "Interested in us. That's not good."

Macro made a fist with his hand. “It's complicated. Not good, but not unexpected. And they are right. We do need to get paid.”

They made their way through the town not long after that, reaching the outskirts without incident and moving forward through the hills to Quill's house. Not being led and moving at their own pace made the process faster, though Elisa slowed them down a few times to look at a building or warehouse by the side a little closer.

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“What's going on?” Marco whispered. “What do you see?”

"It's not what I see, it's what I don't. Quill owns a temple, from what your system says Marco, right? It's the whole reason we are here," Elisa said.

"Right."

“And they aren't small. But have you actually seen it? Or even anything that could be it? I haven't. His home isn't shaped right to hold one unless it's a lot different than what we've seen from the temples so far. Where is it? It can't be another island unless the island itself is hidden. There's none close to here.”

“Good point,” Marco said. "We'll talk about it later on."

Captain Quill opened the door for them seconds after they knocked. He had been waiting for them, all right. He looked about the same as he had before, though Marco thought he picked up on a little tension around the edges of the man’s otherwise calm demeanor.

“Back,” he said, and smiled. “Good. All went well, I trust?”

“Well enough.” Elisa spoke before Marco could. “There was some kind of ball of energy out there, though it wasn't clear what it was or did. It was damaged by the time we got there. Destabilized. Some sort of enormous monster was leaving the area through the water when we got there. We figured that’s what damaged it and the monster itself wasn’t a thing that we could take. If that monster’s your problem, then you’re gonna need someone much stronger than us to deal with it.”

"You did nothing, then?"

"We put the finishing touches on it." Elisa shrugged. "A couple shots from the cannons broke it apart. We all got good experience from it. Marco’s sword can make him braver for twenty seconds now. It’s a neat trick though nothing too useful. But that's about it."

Marco wished he could reach over and shut Riv's open mouth for him. The Sturdy was so shocked by Elisa's lies he looked dumb, and Marco could only hope that was how Quill took it. It appeared to be a non-issue, considering he only had eyes for Elisa and Marco at that moment.

“Well, I suppose we can't help it. I have the next job lined up, if you are interested.”

Quill launched right into the next potential gig, unrolling a parchment and pointing to an island several days sail away.

"It's haunted." Quill waved his hand dismissively. "Or something. The usual garbled reports are coming in about it, that it's surrounded by wraiths or specters or any number of possibilities. I have no idea of the risk as of yet, though I sent out some scouts."

"What did they say?"

"Nothing. They have not yet returned." Quill appeared annoyed at that. “I expect them in the next few days and they’ll bring back more accurate news. When they get here and the risk isn’t too high, I want you to leave immediately. Are you interested?”

“That depends a bit. We haven't been paid for the last job,” Aethe said. "We don't really know if this one will be worth it."

“Ah,” Quill said in a way that almost sounded disappointed at how Marco and his crew weren’t just jumping on the opportunity. "Then wait just a moment."

Quill walked over to a side table and pulled a few leather pouches from it. The first was, when opened, boring. It was filled with gold pieces, which they didn't really need at this point in their journey. The other, opened and dumped, contained jewels. As they hit the table, Elisa gasped.

"Crystalline skills?"

“Quite,” Quill said. "And quite the gamble."

"I'm sorry?" Marco asked.

"It's a rare treasure, Marco. Just read the description."

Marco picked up a red crystal about the size of his pinky finger, one that glistened like a ruby.

“So it might just be a dud?” Marco said. "I want a new skill, but what are the chances it works?"

“Some people get them every time, Marco,” Elisa said. “Mostly people with bad classes. The system seems to treat these crystals as a way to bolster your way into a better situation, though even people with great classes sometimes get something out of them.”

"There's a lot here. How many can we take?" Marco asked then realized that they were in negotiation mode. “Doesn’t seem very useful for us. We get plenty of skills already.”

"One," Quill said. "Just one. Ask your Scholar why."

Elisa winced and shook her head before explaining. “They aren't cheap. In all honesty, this is a generous level of pay for what we did.”

“I’m glad you see it that way,” Quill said as he spread the crystals around with his claws. “I know it seems strange to give such an extravagent reward but I can't use them. Not productively. I absorbed five before this. No hits.”

Elisa tracked the crystals that were being pushed around by Quill before pointing at one. “Marco, I was thinking this. It's specific, but I think you'll see why.”

“We'll take it,” Marco said. "And one other thing, if we can."

He had been thinking about what Elisa said on the way there, and had some ideas. Vague ideas, but ideas all the same.

“Oh? Name it,” Quill said. "I'll decide right now."

"We want to go camping. We've been a long time at sea. I figured it could be fun while we wait, and we need a rest."

"Camping?" Quill raised his eyebrows. "What do you need from me to do that?"

“Just permission to roam the island,” Marco said. "We didn't want to run afoul of any laws."

"That’ll be fine. But be back in two days. We'll need you then."