The Silver Light Legion had completed their preparation and by orders of Argos, two hundred of the legion members went to assist in the protection of Verteron Citadel. The remaining twenty went with Argos in boarding the Atreian airships in the journey to Poeta.

These airships looked like galleons with wooden hulls, mast and rigging, and large sails at the top as well as at both sides making these vessels look like fish with fins. These sails control the navigation of these transports and keep the vessels float even without the presence of Aether. The stern part of the ship is fortified with cannons that could fire over great distances and is deadly towards anything, daeva or monsters alike. The control bridge has a big steering wheel which was being driven by daevas in charge of the vessel and was assisted by the ship's crew of daevas, humans, and shugos.

Every time these vessels depart and leave the docks, people on the harbor would never stop looking at these transports. They would still get perplexed at the grandness of these flying behemoths. They would look at the way the mechanisms work. The stevedores and the merchants always get busy whenever a ship would depart since it would mean another one is heading their way. They would get themselves busy for the clearing of the docks so to allow some space for more trading materials and goods to be delivered.

The busiest part of the docks would be at the main office where the dockmaster would continuously monitor and facilitate the handling of transported goods as well as the safety of the passengers. The shugos would then ensure that the boxed goods and items would be of good quality before these were being brought to the stockades.

One shugo, in particular, did not bother attending the trade goods; he had his own people who would do it for him. He also no longer bothered in clearing the docks of goods; again, he had people who would do these and that. He is a stout creature with a tail that has its fur groomed with locks of rings. He also wore a suit of light clothes and a tie on his neck. He has a monocle on his left eye and his whiskers were arranged in such a way that it would seem like a mustache on his small face.

He walked towards the bosun who is just finished barking orders on the crewmen so they can speed the vessel in their travel to Poeta. The shugo stood at the hip level of the stout daeva and said, "Master daeva, I just like to know if my calculations are correct that we would arrive tomorrow after nightfall, nyerk."

His squealing sound and sharp voice caught the attention of the middle-aged bosun. The bosun wore a sailor's top overall but a thin piece of chain mail underneath for protection against any bandits that might harry their voyage.

"Arieluma, master shugo," he greeted with respect as he lowered his head. He still, however, clasped his muscled arm on the steering maintaining the direction of the vessel's heading. "Well if you ask as to when we would arrive at Poeta, it would be tomorrow morning. I had my crew speed up the voyage so we will get there early. I have an inkling that they all want to get done as soon as possible so each of them can go home."

"Master daeva sure understood how I have always wondered, nyerk!" said the shugo. He fixed his monocle so he can look at the daeva more clearly. "The voyage indeed is shorter, thanks to your hardwork. I want to get to Poeta before my traded goods get spoiled due to the natural forces. We shugos make sure we get to deal marketing and trade with the best quality, nyerk!"

The daeva nodded his head as he understood. He had been a bosun for a full five years now and he had been dealing with people every now and then. Each of them would have requests and whatnot. But this shugo did not ask anything of him, which is a first. Many shugos would nag him here and there about their wares, welfare, money, everything.

"Worry not, master shugo. By my honor and reputation, we will get you there even before you know it," he promised.

The shugo felt content at the assurance. He took a few little steps backward to give the bosun whatever space he required to properly control the vessel. When his tail felt the furthermost wall corner, he heard a deep husky voice of a man.

"Master bosun, I am Argos, and it is a first time for me going to Poeta. Does this vessel go to the capital of the region, Akarios Village, was it?"

The shugo looked at the speaker and looked a bit surprised at the shining armor of the daeva. He stared in awe as the glowing white cape with the wing emblem embroidered on it. The shugo noted that this cape is only worn by daevas who held a high office in the legion or in the Elyos Army.

Argos got a bit anxious as he had not yet been to Poeta, he feared that he might not locate Akarios Village right away if this airship will dock anywhere beside this village. He asked his legion members who boarded with him on this vessel and not a single one of them know of this region. Illyna, his deputy commander heard a bit of Poeta and only knew of the capital of the region which is called Akarios Village, but she also did not know where to find the place.

"This vessel would dock at the Akarios Village docks, Argos. You relax while you can and let me handle the rest," the bosun assured him.

Argos felt glad and thanked the bosun. He then turned to face the front of the vessel as they already flew above the wide sea that separated Sanctum and Poeta region. Moments later, Argos heard an almost squealing voice just behind him.

"A daeva with a high office, perhaps? Akaka-kak!"

He heard the shugo was almost laughing. He looked below him where the shugo only stood about the height of his waistline. Noticing that the shugo was talking, he bowed his head further – his already lowered head had to be lowered further to show respect.

"Arieluma, master shugo. I am sorry I never noticed you were standing there," Argos apologized.

The shugo waved his arms as if disagreeing on something that the legion commander said. He then shook his head while holding the monocle in place.

"No, no, master daeva. I am already used to the fact we shugos always are not noticeable until it's too late, nyerk!" He then sneered at his little yet factual joke.

Though he is not sure if this is a joke enough for daevas, he cared nothing about that. He cared about his own taste for such a jest. He cleared his throat and asked, "You daevas are not much of pranks or jokes, are you?"

Argos at first is not sure if he should answer or not. It took him a while and when he decided that he will answer, the shugo continued his words.

"I get it: daevas, especially you, are not into humor much, nyerk nyerk! Anyway, I am Brasninerk. And you'd do well to remember my name, nyerk!"

Argos answered, "Arieluma, Master Brasni... Brasninerk", he stuttered and immediately corrected himself. Trying to sink the name into his head. He is not much into names that are not much of his concern. Being a legion commander, he had enough of names to remember all in.

"Sweat not, master daeva. It would suit you well if you would heed my words. My own self-had enough knowledge and memory of the place, nyerk! I take it that you are not familiar with Poeta? It's a large country for a shugo like myself, nyerk! But that should be small enough for people with wings like you", Brasninerk said as he pointed at the awe-struck daeva.

This ashamed Argos a little bit. He had not expected that of all the creatures that would sermon him about capabilities, it would be the shugos. He would understand if it was someone who has a higher rank or reputation that he is. Thinking of reputation, he did not have much to boot. He may be the legion commander of the Silver Light Legion but his legion had not traveled far and wide much to be able to know all regions of Elysea.

"I had traveled a lot of times to Poeta and my trading caravan sometimes take me to Verteron or the Abyss, nyerk! I had met a lot of daevas during my travels, but I haven't met one like you," Brasninerk commented while thinking behind those shugo ears. He clasped his whiskers. "Were you someone who had not been to Poeta? I was right, wasn't I, nyerk?"

The shugo beckoned him to walk along with him to the mess hall. Brasninerk felt hungry after he had spent much of his morning on facilitating their goods and placing these accordingly so these would not get damaged in any situation. Argos felt obliged to follow him as he answered the shugo, "Yes, you are correct, master shugo. I have never been to Poeta all my life. I only reached Verteron, and my ventures would take me further beyond, even to the Abyss."

Hearing this, the shugo looked at him and somewhat got excited as he said at a fast pace, "Oh! The Abyss! The place where riches of vast amounts can be found. If only it is not filled with so much bloodshed, we shugos would have loved to venture there and hoard all the resources we can find, nyerk! That would mean more kinah!"

Argos stared at the shugo walking beside him and smiled a bit. He felt that this creature has not many problems to deal with, except when it comes to money. He shook his head in amusement while listening to the shugo talking about his businesses and travels and how he earned much more money while at the Abyss.

He thought to himself while listening, If only I do not have any other problems like what these shugos have. I would have loved to spend my life relaxing than fighting off those traitorous Asmodians.

They arrived at the mess hall where the other passengers are eating their fill and some are buying their drinks of wine and whiskey. The hall was not crowded by the time they arrived, which was favorable for the shugo. The shugo would often comment that he did not like standing inside a hall where it is filled with people, with the exception of shugos. He would only break the norm if the person would discuss money matters with him.

The two sat on the table close to the bar. Argos ordered for a serving of purgos stew, while the shugo ordered a bowlful of mixed nuts and fruits that looked like a salad of greeneries. Argos at first wondered what it tastes like, but he didn't bother asking. Shugos, to his knowledge, are different creatures that have their own different and peculiar characteristics.

"So you like to travel to Poeta to search for a particular person, nyerk?" Brasninerk spoke first after he munched a fresh green carambola fruit. Its juice spewed out of his small mouth that he immediately wiped off with a tablecloth.

Argos cleared to the shugo what his intention was when the shugo asked why he wanted to go to Poeta. Poeta, as the shugo explained, is a region seldom visited by daevas, and only ordinary humans thrive there. Daevas are elsewhere and tend to not be bothered by the troubles that the inhabitants of that region face. He slacked a bit to relax. For quite a while now, he noticed that he is not feeling the weight of his armor. Most of the time he wears armor especially when he ventures out of Sanctum. But sitting here while traveling to Poeta, he did not wear armor. Instinct would have dictated that he wear one, but Poeta is a relatively safe place for a daeva.

"Yes, I am going there to look for that particular person. I have some important news to tell him," Argos answered.

"Do you have his name? Maybe we traders know about him."

This struck Argos with surprise. He never thought about knowing the name in the first place. He was so intent on bringing the news that he forgot to know the name. It would be difficult to find the person. Even though the person he is looking for is a member of a distinguished mercenary group in Poeta, he knew too well that the Kalios Mercenary is a big group with many members. He didn't even know the name of that fisherman who saved the brigadier general to begin with.

He was left speechless that he failed to hide his expression. The shugo noticed him and commented while arranging is monocle, "I see that you do not even have a single clue, nyerk."

"I, unfortunately, don't have a clue, master shugo." Argos felt helpless. He looked down in disgust.

"I can help you out, kakaka-ak!" said the shugo. He raised his little arm and signaled the waiter for an additional plate of fresh sweetened mela fruit.

Argos stared at him quite surprised that the shugo could still order another plate of food. The shugo looked at him and noted his expression.

"Yes, yes! We shugos don't eat much, but I easily get hungry. You don't mind, do you? Nyerk!"

Argos hid his laughter. He nodded in agreement.

That done, the shugo set aside the bowl he finished and said in a clear yet low voice, almost a whisper, "We go to Daminu, master daeva. You will get the answer there yourself. That old elim definitely knows who you are looking for, nyerk."

"Would we be just a burden to you, master shugo?" asked Argos. He knew that the traveling shugo had a lot of wares and business to attend to on their way to Poeta. They had just met and it would be too much of a favor to ask to accompany him and his legion in their search for a particular person.

The shugo laughed, sounding that usual sound of laughter, akakak. When he was calm, he said, "We shugos honor daevas much that we would not mind helping those who are in need. You still need our help, after all nyerk!"

With that the legion commander thanked him. They then waited for a while until the plate ordered by Brasninerk arrived and the shugo ate his fill.

When all was done, a few hours later, the airship arrived. Argos went back to his quarters to brief his men. They were waiting for him with their equipment and gears ready. They stood out among the rest since they are the conspicuous band. All the passengers were mostly either human traders or shugos. A minority were individual daevas. Argos' group is a legion of 25 daevas, including him.

"Illyna, you and your group go to Akarios Village and look for a man named Kalios. He is the leader of the mercenary. I need you to get any information we can find about the son whose father is a fisherman in the citadel of Verteron," Argos commanded.

Illyna bowed her head in agreement. She fixed her stare on Argos, though wondering something.

"What about you, commander?"

"I will go to this elim Daminus and get any information I can from him."

The deputy commander understood. She said, "To Akarios Village it is. We will see you there at the Village, commander. In the meantime, if anything goes wrong, just let us know." She slung her longbow on her slender shoulders and motioned her troops to disembark out of the ship.

The airship docked on the eastern side of the walled town center where many people were waiting. Argos held his polearm with one hand and his pack on the other. He stood beside the trading shugo who held his walking cane.

The shugo grumped, "Such crowded place for a small Poeta town center, nyerk!"

Argos couldn't agree more.