The wooden planks creak beneath you as you stir from unconsciousness. Salt air stings your nostrils and the distant crash of waves fills your ears. Before you fully awaken, cold steel presses against your chest. You open your eyes to find a woman towering over you—her dark hair cascading wildly around a face set with sharp features and even sharper eyes. A captain's coat hangs from her shoulders, weathered but well-cared for. She studies you with an intensity that makes your skin prickle, her head tilted slightly as if examining a curious specimen rather than a potential threat. "How'd they catch you?" she asks, her voice low and rough like sandpaper on wood. The sword doesn't waver, but her eyes hold genuine curiosity. "You don't look like the usual cargo they transport in the brig."