The talk about whether to accept the invitation or not wasn't something that they could just decide on their own, so Dan just told them that he would bring it up at the skyline later on for everyone to vote on. He even had Keith make an announcement through the speakers about that.

  Dan himself wasn't against the idea of going to the meeting location, making contact with the Dynasty was one of the reasons they came there after all. But again, it wasn't his choice only, he needed to take into account what his crew thought.

  At that moment, he was heading to the bridge with a few books and copies of the pictures that Mrs Raily and the others had taken from the library. His aim was of course to hand them to Freddie and Keith. There were two main reasons why that needed to be done. First, the two were their navigators, they needed to get the most accurate maps and see what they were dealing with as soon as possible, doubly so now with Freddie's World Map skill. And second, whether they agreed to accept the invitation or not, they needed to study the surrounding area and see about the forbidden zones, if any of them were useful as a grinding ground, or a place to hide.

  Dan wasn't looking forward to accepting that invitation because of how weak they were. He was hoping for most of them to hit tier 2, and at least a few to hit tier 3. That still wasn't strong enough for the front they were going to put on, but the tier-ups and the strengthening would be more than welcome.

  Dan entered the Bridge, greeted everyone there before making his way to his first and second mates.

  "Let's see what you got us this time," Freddie said as he clapped his hands in anticipation.

  "Let me send you the pictures we got." Dan first put down the few books he had with him before getting his phone out. "We weren't able to get our hands on all of them as hard copies, for a few we only managed to take pictures."

  "It's alright," Freddie said absentmindedly, already holding one of the books and flipping through it.

  "I take it the mission went well," Keith asked. They had been there when Dan was contacted by the group, so they knew everyone was alright, but they didn't know what had happened exactly.

  "It went well." Dan nodded. "They even got their hands on a paper that seems to be an invitation from the Dynasty to us."

  Dan then went on to explain what had happened with the group and how the mission had gone.

  "So that's what the next meeting is going to be about?" Freddie said thoughtfully, the book still in his hand.

  "Yeah, I will tell everyone what happened and see what we are going to come up with."

  "Well, we need to go through this fast then," Freddie said as he waved the book he held, already understanding what Dan was going to ask of them. "Let's get started then, no time to waste."

  They then sat down and went through the specific books and pictures, the one dealing with the waters and forbidden zones.

  To Dan's surprise, there seemed to be quite a few of those in the surrounding waters of the Dynasty. Like the Eternal Hailstorm at the North that had huge pieces of hail that were tens of meters big falling constantly forever since it was discovered ages ago. Weirdly enough, the area where the storm happened wasn't covered by ice even through the continuous rain of gigantic ice pieces. It was as if as soon as the ice hit the water, it disappeared, returning to the ever continuous cycle.

  No one ever dared get near that area, even some passing Behemoths were said to have avoided it, taking a detour rather than passing through it in a straight line.

  While southward, you would be met by Siren's Lair, one of the most mysterious areas out there. It was said that whoever passes by that area loses their consciousness, falling into a deep dreamless sleep while their vessels continue on their own. Sometimes, there were a lucky few who appeared on the other side, their drifting ship passing the area and reaching safety due to luck.

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  They would be extremely weak and dehydrated from sleeping for so long without any water or food, but other than that, they'd seem fine. Weirdly enough, many of those who survived said that they felt as if they had forgotten something, their memories feeling foggy and messy.

  There were many other forbidden zones between those two too. Some that seemed to be too dangerous even for their group, like waters where certain Behemoths were known to live. Dan was quite glad that they didn't find themselves amidst one of those areas as they sailed mindlessly, realising that luck had been with them for a long time.

  "This one seems feasible," Keith suddenly called while Dan was still reading about forbidden zones.

  "What is it?" Dan asked in interest. Even though there seemed to be quite a few forbidden zones, it was surprisingly hard to find one that wasn't dangerous for them.

  "This one." Keith passed him the open book she was reading, "Might be worth looking into."

  Dan felt Freddie standing next to him and both of them read what was on the page.

  "The Corroding Basin..." Dan read the area's name.

  From what the book said, this forbidden zone was a huge area where the waters were acidic, reducing the bodies of ships and whatever organic matter that comes into contact with it into mush in just a few minutes.

  As Dan read on, he saw the reason Keith had singled out the Corroding Basin. From the experiments done on the waters extracted from that area, the acidic nature of the forbidden zone doesn't affect metals, just wood and organic matter. As for the reason why the waters were that acidic, it appeared to be due to there being some weird fungi inhabiting the area.

  "It appears to be worth looking further into," Dan murmured.

  "It does," Keith agreed, "There are still a few things we need to make sure of though. Mainly if it truly doesn't hurt metals at all, and also whether the air around that area is even safe for us."

  "Truly." Freddie nodded. " I don't want to suffocate due to some acidic vapor."

  "Well, that's at least one area we can look into," Dan said, "It's around time for lunch now, let's head out, we can't keep everyone waiting."

  Waving goodbye to Keith who remained on the bridge just in case, they made their way to the Skyline for lunch and the coming discussion about what to do next.

  Dan was happy to see that they weren't the last ones there. He first had everyone know that the discussion was going to be after lunch, so they could have their food first before they focused on the other matter.

  When Dan saw that everyone had finished their lunch, with most people either on their phones or talking to each other, he went and stood in front of them. Dan noticed Nulara and the young blacksmith looking a bit uncertain whether they should leave or stay, but he just smiled and nodded at them, he didn't see a reason to ask them to leave.

  "Can I have your attention everyone?" He clapped, continuing once he saw that everyone was looking at him, "Thank you. Now, as I'm sure all of you know, we've sent a group to the mainland of the Dynasty to gather information, see how things are there, and if they are good enough for us to consider a relationship with them."

  Seeing everyone nodding or listening attentively, Dan continued:

  "Now, I'm going to tell you what we've found out and what happened in that mission..."

  Dan then explained all that had happened and what the group faced, including the piece of paper of course, and how they had activated it and what it held inside.

  "So I need your opinions right now," he continued after giving them time to digest all he had said, "Should we take this invitation and accept this olive branch given to us by the Dynasty, or ignore it?"

  Dan watched as the people in the Skyline fell into a heated discussion. They talked to each other as they considered what to do and the best course of action.

  "Of course, we are in no hurry to make our choice," he added, "We will be as careful with it as we always are, considering everything and coming up with the best possible plan. Now just think through this carefully and give me your choice at dinner, that's all for now."

  "What do you think they are going to choose?" Robert asked him after he returned to his table.

  "I think most would agree," William said before Dan could even answer, shrugging carelessly, "We all know that we can't remain on our own forever, there will come a time when we will need to link ourselves with someone. It might as well be the Dynasty, our dealings with them were good, and from what Mary said, the people seemed happy and the way their governing body was treating them seemed good."

  "I think the majority will agree," Dan echoed, "It's just as William said, it's the rational choice."

  And just as Dan and William had expected, at night, it was decided that they would accept the invitation.