The ship left the shores of the great forest behind little by little.
At first, the children could still see the endless trees stretching across the horizon, but after enough hours passed, even the forest disappeared behind the sea.
Kijaga hated the ocean immediately.
“I don’t trust water that moves this much,” he muttered while gripping the railing tightly.
Bruknash laughed.
“You’re scared.”
“I’m not scared.
I just think the sea is strange.”
“You threw up twice already.”
“That happened one time.”
“Twice,” Jugashar corrected quietly.
Kaizer stood beside them watching the waves crash against the side of the ship.
The ocean was different from the rivers back home.
It never stopped moving.
Even when the surface looked calm, something about it felt overwhelming.
The ship itself was crowded.
Sailors carried crates between decks while merchants argued over cargo and passengers tried finding places to rest.
Humans, beastfolk, demi-humans and races the children had never seen before moved across the vessel constantly.
Most people avoided the ogre children.
Even as kids, they were larger than most races their age.
Their heavy footsteps alone made people nervous.
But Kaizer attracted the most attention.
Not because he spoke loudly or acted strangely.
People simply kept staring at the white mask covering his face and the fact that he looked far more human than the others beside him.
Captain Tigi eventually walked over during the afternoon carrying dried meat in one hand.
“You four settling in alright?”
“We’re fine,” Bruknash answered.
Tigi nodded before looking toward Kaizer.
“And you?”
“I’m alright.”
The captain leaned against the railing beside him.
“You don’t say much.”
Kaizer looked at the ocean again.
“I talk”
That made Tigi laugh.
Jugashar sighed quietly.
“That also sounds like him.”
The captain studied the group for a moment.
“So why are ogre kids traveling alone to Felaris?”
“The adults told us to go learn,” Bruknash replied.
“That simple?”
“Yes.”
Tigi narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You’re all terrible liars.”
Kijaga immediately looked away.
Kaizer answered honestly instead.
“We really are going to learn.”
The captain chuckled before looking at him again.
Kaizer tilted his head slightly.
“Different how?”
“You don’t fully look like an ogre.”
“…I don’t know what I am.”
The answer came naturally.
No sadness.
No anger.
Just honesty.
Tigi stopped talking for a second before one of the sailors shouted from above.
“Captain!
Ships approaching!”
Everything changed immediately.
Sailors grabbed weapons.
Passengers rushed below deck.
The relaxed atmosphere vanished almost instantly.
Three ships were cutting across the water toward them.
Pirates.
Tigi’s expression hardened.
“Get the passengers below deck and protect the cargo.”
The pirate ships slammed into the vessel minutes later.
Hooks latched onto the rails while armed men climbed aboard shouting wildly.
Steel clashed across the deck.
One pirate rushed toward the children with a blade raised high.
“Grab the little monsters!”
The man never reached them.
Kaizer stepped forward calmly and struck the pirate’s wrist with the side of his axe.
Bone snapped loudly.
Before the man could scream properly, Kaizer slammed the back of the axe into his face and dropped him onto the deck.
Another pirate attacked immediately from the side.
Kaizer ducked beneath the swing and drove the axe straight into the man’s shoulder.
Clean.
Fast.
Precise.
Nearby sailors stared briefly.
Kijaga blinked.
“He started already…”
Bruknash grabbed another pirate by the arm and slammed him onto the deck hard enough to crack wood beneath him.
Jugashar moved more carefully, helping sailors whenever openings appeared.
But people kept watching Kaizer.
Not because he was reckless.
Because he adapted frighteningly fast.
Every movement around him seemed to teach him something.
One pirate attacked from the front while another circled behind him.
Kaizer threw his axe toward the first man.
The pirate flinched instinctively.
Several sailors froze.
He appeared beside the spinning axe just before catching it and bringing it down across the pirate’s chest.
The second pirate stopped moving entirely.
Even Tigi stared for a moment.
That movement felt wrong in a way he couldn’t explain.
The pirates started losing ground quickly after that.
Some tried retreating back onto their ships while others fought desperately to escape.
Most didn’t make it.
When the fighting finally stopped, bodies covered parts of the deck while exhausted sailors leaned against crates trying to breathe properly again.
Only one pirate had been kept alive.
The vice captain.
A scarred human man chained tightly near the mast.
Tigi walked toward him slowly.
“Who are you working for?”
The pirate spat blood onto the deck.
“Go to hell.”
“I was hoping you’d cooperate.”
“Not happening.”
Tigi stared at him for a few seconds before sighing.
“Fine.
Lock him below deck.”
The pirate laughed while sailors dragged him away.
“You’ll regret that!”
The captain ignored him completely.
As the crew cleaned the ship, several human passengers quietly watched the ogre children from a distance.
Earlier during the voyage, some of them had whispered about kidnapping the children once they reached land.
Young ogres sold for enormous prices in underground markets.
Nobody spoke about that anymore.
Not after watching Kaizer fight.
The masked boy sat near the railing calmly washing blood from his axe using seawater like nothing unusual had happened.
One merchant looked away immediately after meeting his eyes.
Night arrived slowly over the ocean.
The wind pushed against the sails while the ship continued toward distant lights appearing far ahead across the water.
Felaris.
The Demi-human continent.
Kijaga leaned against the railing excitedly.
“So that’s really it?”
Tigi nodded.
“That’s Felaris.”
Bruknash stared ahead quietly while Jugashar looked toward the lower deck where the captured pirate had been taken.
“What happens to him?” Jugashar asked.
“I’ll hand him over to Spartan after we dock,” Tigi answered.
“Pirates are getting too bold around these waters.”
Kaizer looked up slightly.
“Spartan?”
“The empire controlling most of the trade routes around Felaris.”
The ship continued forward beneath the night sky while the coastline slowly grew larger ahead of them.