We're the Maestros Who Lead the World

Act 1 - I Endure the Pain, I Try To Be Strong

"Was that all of them?"

"Pretty sure it was. Mercenaries rarely ever travel in large groups, so as to avoid drawing attention. Still, be careful when checking out the hold – they're the cunning, slippery types, and one might have tried to hide amongst the merchandise."

It certainly wasn't the first mercenary ship the crew of the Twilight attacked, and Wooyoung doubted it would be the last. They were the type of people pirates like them hated with a fiery passion, because mercenaries were nothing more than dogs with very long leashes – they lived for the easy gold, not for the freedom of the sea, and that was a very important difference to make.

It was the first time they encountered a mercenary ship cloaked by a magical device, though – had it not been for Yunho's skills as their navigator, they wouldn't have noticed the unnatural amount of mist in the far distance. For a mercenary ship to even be able to afford such a device could only mean one thing: they had a very rich employer who obviously wanted their goods delivered in full and in perfect condition.

In other words, the crew was surely about to make a quick fortune now that they'd taken down the guard dogs.

Wooyoung headed down to the hold with San while Seonghwa, Yunho, and Hongjoong found their way to the Captain's cabin to raid his personal cabinets. Mingi made a beeline for the kitchens, intending to refill their supplies, and he roped Jongho into it. Yeosang did something similar for their medbay, since you could never have too much medicine.

Upon reaching the hold, Set let out a low whistle. "Wow... Jackpot, huh?"

"I'm not even sure we can fit all of this stuff on the Twilight," sweatdropped Wooyoung.

There were dozens of crates and barrels, each of them filled with something different. Gold and jewels, but also perfumes, carpets, maps, weapons, spices, and all other sorts of riches that instantly made them realize they hadn't just made a quick fortune – they'd just become filthy rich.

They hadn't had a haul like that one in a very long time. They'd definitely have enough to afford all of the upgrades Mingi wanted to do on the ship, and then they'd still have enough for a long, well-deserved trip on a tropical island somewhere in the warmer waters, since the cold season was starting to creep in.

"Let's do an inventory first," suggested San, rolling up his sleeves. "We'll have to leave some stuff behind, so let's figure out their value and pick what's worth bringing with us."

Wooyoung nodded in agreement, and San went back on the upper deck to inform the Captain of their findings – and also fetch some paper for the inventory. In the meantime, Wooyoung started roaming the hold, curiously checking out everything. He didn't fully understand how a mercenary ship could have this much. Did they just have very generous employers? But in that case, what could be so valuable to said employers to be worth all of those riches? Maybe they—

'CLANG'

Wooyoung stiffened as a loud, metallic noise echoed from further in the back. He slowly looked away from the crate of spices to glance in the direction of the noise, and found a much larger crate covered in a thick piece of dark cloth. Before he could do anything, a low growl echoed, making him tense up.

They have a wild animal onboard?

Wooyoung's curiosity won over his wariness and, slowly, without a noise, he made his way toward what he guessed to be a cage. The closer he got, and the more he heard the little noises he hadn't noticed up until now – the small growls, the rattling of chains. It was most definitely a beast, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was what the mercenaries had been sent to recover.