“Hey,” Li called to get Rogue’s attention. He looked up at her as she sat down beside him, and then returned his gaze to the ocean.

“What’s up?” she asked, watching him with curiosity.

“See that island?” he asked, lifting his hand and pointing to a visible island a few miles across the water. “That’s Ashemore.”

“You’re kidding,” she said, looking to where he had pointed at.

The island in the distance was lifeless, the visible landmass consisting of mostly desert from where they were looking at it. Even from so far away, the island’s presence sent a cold wave down Li’s spine.

“Why would anyone go there?” she wondered aloud.

“Same reason I did,” Rogue said his eyes fixed on the island. “To look for the Hidden Treasure.”

“You really believe it exists?” Li asked, looking over at him.

“I have some theories,” he replied. “It doesn’t matter now, though; we’re stranded here.”

“We’ll find someway to get off this island,” she sighed, returning her gave to the far off landmass across the ocean. “How do you know that’s Ashemore?”

“Just trust me,” he told her.

“You know, bad things happen every time you say that,” she said. “I swear it’s a curse.”

“Maybe it is,” he chuckled. “There has been a rumor about my bloodline being cursed.”

Li brought her gaze back to Rogue, tilting her head to the side a tad. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Rogue replied with a nod. “It’s been said we’re cursed with bad luck, and the Rune Matter. To sum it all up, we’re cursed with trouble.”

“I can believe that!” Li laughed.

Her laughter died down, soon the only sounds being birds and the ocean’s waves. It was clear she was thinking about something by the puzzled look on her face, and Rogue spotted it easily.

“You look like you want to ask something,” he said, shifting his gaze to the sky.

Li bit her lip a little, trying to decide whether she should speak or not. After a few minutes, she looked over at him and asked, “Why did you become a treasure hunter?”

Rogue sighed and dropped his gaze to the ground. “Daiton, that’s why,” was his reply as he stood, his tone making it quite clear that he wasn’t going to say anything else. He turned on his heels, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets as he walked away.

‘Daiton?’ Li wondered, trying to make sense of his answer. She knew he wouldn’t give her a real answer, so she would have to figure it out on her own.