Breakfast was served before dawn the next morning, giving the Captains time to eat and assemble at the meeting hall one hour after first light, as was the Floating City's tradition. Cain's guide for the day arrived just before the meal was served to inform them of all of the schedules and make sure they arrived on time since she had been informed that there was a chance he would be asked to speak before the council.
They had just begun eating, with Cain cutting up bits of pancake to feed Cyrene when he noticed that the Guide really wanted to say something.
"Go ahead then. There's no point in keeping secrets, I could read your mind if I wanted to." Cain pointed out, causing every Wave Rider in the room to give him a shocked look.
That was simply an unfair advantage in negotiations. If they could know what the enemy was thinking, how much better could they do? What new bargains could they make instead of resorting to violence? An ally who could read minds was an incredible asset.
"Um, is she your daughter? The juvenile Lamia?" The guide stammered, making Cain and Nila laugh.
"No, but sometimes it's like that. She's actually the daughter of a Noble from Skyview that I helped out some time ago. She had never seen a large part of the world, so we are traveling together on this journey." Cain explained.
"I just thought that you know, since you cut her food and feed her, that she was your daughter. I was going to comment on how adorable it is that you take such good care of her." The elf was blushing bright purple now, and a number of the guests in the restaurant were hiding laughter.
Cain took a moment to pat Cyrene's head and feed her another bite of fruit. "A Lamia doesn't have teeth you see, so they can't chew. Everything they eat needs to be bite-sized. Since she's wrapped around me, it's easier for me to just cut everything."
"Waia, it's best not to try to understand the mind of an Eldritch being. That's a sure path to madness." One of the guests tells Cain's guide with a smile at Cyrene.
"You will need to set her on her own chair for the meeting though, there is a rule in the council chambers about sharing a seat." The same man informed Cain.
"I'm sure there are many more things that I don't know about the Council rules, but can anyone here think of an obvious one that I might run into today?" Cain asked.
"Don't speak unless directly addressed, don't touch anyone else unless restraining them, don't leave your seat. Let's see, what else. No sharing seats was covered, don't mention the Goddess unless you're speaking directly about her, no insulting other ships unless you want to fight an honor duel. Does anyone else have anything?" Waia said, checking off the items on her fingers.
"No food or drink in the council room. You must wear boots or go barefoot. No covering your face or hands. It's considered polite but not actually a rule to roll up your sleeves." One of the others pointed out a few things the Wave Riders viewed as extremely obvious.
"What's the sleeves thing about?" Cyrene asked, not understanding.
"Most experienced sailors have a number of tattoos and scars on their arms. It helps identify each other and helps to reveal anyone who is trying to fake their identity with a facial illusion." Waia explained.
Cain dismissed the gloves that he customarily wore and rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt, showing off the mass of tattoos that appeared when he shifted forms to a Wave Rider. Like the ones in his human form, they shift around daily, but as a Wave Rider, there were a few that were more constant. A tattoo of a rose on his right forearm, and a black and white shield crest on the top of his hand, that Cain assumed was meant to represent the Guild.
"Since you're a shapeshifter, I'm sure the gesture doesn't mean as much, but it will help you fit in with the crowd, even if you insist on wearing centuries-old formal wear." The man who gave the advice laughed.
"I thought it would be a bit odd to look like every other Wave Rider Captain when I'm not actually a Wave Rider, but it would also be strange to show up as a random species, and showing up as an Ancient would be a whole other problem." Cain smiled, making the sailors laugh.
"Wouldn't it be fun though?" The Elf laughed, mischief sparkling in his eyes.
"They will all know who you are no matter what you look like, so you might as well be comfortable. Just remember, Cyrene has to travel on her own today, no wrapping her around your waist as an accessory until after the meetings." Waia declared, getting to her feet as the first light of morning shone through the hotel windows.
That seemed to be everyone's signal to finish up their meal. Plates were cleared and flagons of tea finished quickly, to be stacked in the kitchen to soak while everyone was at the meeting.
The whole Floating City basically shut down for these events, which only happened every few years and often lasted less than a week. Nobody wanted to miss out on knowing firsthand what was so important that all the Captains needed to come back to help make the decision.
When they stepped out, there were six middle-aged Elves waiting on them, and the patrons of the Inn. Each of them was a Captain of their own vessel, and they intended to go to the meeting together but weren't all assigned to the same hotel.
"During the Council of Captains, everyone is introduced by their ship's name. It's like a title for Wave Riders, and if you don't have one, you don't have the right to speak. Some of the names are fleet names, for the truly successful who have multiple Captains under their faction, but those are mostly old Council Members, so they will be seated in the middle anyhow and you won't have to interact with them much other than to answer questions if they ask them." The guide informed Cain as they walked.
"The ship names also often sound alike, but try not to mess them up, because the Captains get really upset. Nobody remembers them all though, so you will notice that speaking without directly addressing others is pretty common. Naming a dozen ships to say who all you mean would burn up all the time you've been given to answer." One of the Captains added.
So there was a time limit per speaker, which was also valuable information. Cain didn't know how long, but it would be easy enough to guess, even if it wasn't specified.
"It's so strange moving across this metal grate," Cyrene muttered as they moved. Unlike a ground-based city, this one had multiple levels, and the roads were metal mesh. It let dirt and such fall through the road, but it also saved a lot of weight up high on the floating city, helping to keep it stable.
"It tickles a little on the bare feet, but you have to be careful not to get a toe caught in the holes. That's why most of us wear boots to the meeting, but I guess that's not an option for Lamia." Waia shrugged.
"Well, I usually just wrap around Cain when we're together, so I kind of forgot what it was like to experience new textures under my scales," Cyrene told her sheepishly, making the other Captains burst into laughter.
"Elder Nema is like that. But she's missing both legs, so she has a servant to carry her these days. I don't think I've ever seen her go anywhere on her own, even though she could use air magic to make herself float." Waia explained the source of the Captain's mirth.
That made sense, but Cain could fix her up in a few seconds if she wanted. He might have to make the offer later if he gets a chance to build some goodwill with the Wave Riders. They might not have the open spaces to pull a lot of them into the Guild, but if he can get a few Captains on board with joining them it would be a great victory.
They wouldn't have to stop being Wave Riders or betray their Clan, so there was no real loss to them. But they would gain the summons from the Guild skills and a Guild Tag that would give them priority access to a handful of locations. Though that number might be expanding rapidly these days, as the Guild gains more influence all over the Central Continent.
Along the way, they met a great number of new people, many of whom already knew Nila from her honeymoon adventure with Mythryll. They had visited dozens of new cities, trading small amounts of valuable items to help keep the Guild Bank from overfilling, and had made quite a name for Queen Rose as a trading ship.
They even got to see Elder Nema, though only from a distance, as her escort was carrying her into the meeting hall.
"See how pompous it looks, having someone carry you? A lot of Captains thought it was a great show of power, that's why the rules against carrying people or having them sit in your lap have been made." Waia explained.
That's right, Cain realized. Having a Lamia in his lap that he fed snacks to could easily be misconstrued as some sort of Demon harem flex, not exactly an appropriate action for what was theoretically a meeting of equals. Yes, some were more equal than others, but from what he could gather, each Captain's voice counted equally in the final vote.
Only the Captains though, nobody else had the right to vote, their opinions were deemed to have been presented through the Captains, so in a way that made them a lot like Senators, only instead of representing regions, they represented ships of the fleet. Though they might also represent regions since they all had different trading routes so their opinions represented what was best for the routes that they ran.
Politics always made Cain's head hurt, and he was glad he didn't need to do things like this every day. But dealing with the issue of Giants raiding the Northern Continent needed a group effort, so there was no ducking out of this responsibility.
Seven Elders of the Wave Rider Clan entered as a group, with Elder Nema actually using her wind magic to float herself to her chair since her escort wasn't allowed to carry her inside the building or accompany her to the round table in the center of the room where the Elders sat, facing outwards to look at the assembly.
It was a rather unique setup, and Cain saw that the platform that their torus-shaped table was placed on could be turned so that the one being addressed or speaking could face whatever direction they wanted to, while the others simply swiveled their chair to face the desired direction.
"Everyone Shut Up. The Council of Captains begins now." A booming voice declared from the Elder's table and the room went silent. It was time to get down to business.
