Beneath the sun, turquoise waters shimmered, captivating Ria as she leaned against the boat's railing. The warm breeze tousled her hair while she watched Rory maneuver the galleon, his focus unwavering. "Aye, there's a boat ahead," he remarked, glancing at Ria with a furrowed brow. His voice was steady, but carried a note of caution.

Ria squinted into the distance, a tingling unease spreading through her. "They're not signaling anything, but it definitely looks suspicious," she replied, her tone dropping as she pushed off the railing. Eager for a better look, she moved toward the bow, her heart racing. The approaching ship was larger than the Sirenia's Call, but it appeared that only three figures stood on its expansive deck.

"I'll check with Odessa to see if she notices anything from below deck. You take the wheel," Rory said. He rolled his shoulders, shaking off the tension as he headed toward the cabin, leaving Ria alone with her thoughts.

Gripping the wheel tightly, Ria's pulse quickened as she kept her eyes fixed on the ominous boat. As it drew nearer, the underbelly of the other ship began to emerge from the misty waves. Her breath caught in her throat as she spotted something through a grime-covered window: haunting impressions of desperate hands pressed against the glass, as if pleading for salvation. A chill ran down her spine, and her stomach plummeted. "Rory!" she shouted, urgency flooding her voice.

Ria glanced over her shoulder just as Rory came back up with Odessa. "What?" he narrowed his eyes at her, looking tense. Ria let out a shaky breath. "I think they have someone kidnapped down there." She gestured towards the window below deck.

"Well, what the hell do we do, Ria?" Rory huffed, rubbing his temples in frustration. "They'll kill us if we try anything. That boat is fuckin' huge; I guarantee they have weapons."

Just then, Niko popped up. "Hey, are we going to kill that boat? Can we?" Niko exclaimed, their eyes wide with excitement. "I can!"

Despite immense protests from the other crew members, Niko ended up crashing the other boat, knocking out the 3 men, and pulled some random merfolk out from the bottom deck, somehow managing to escape safely as their boat floated past slowly.

Ria sighed as she helped Niko pull the mermaid onto the deck, grabbing her under the arms and placing her down on a small crate. Niko peeked over her shoulder curiously.

"Hey, mermaid." Ria tilted her head. "You got a name?"