The Legend of the Scarlet Blade
"Excuse me, sir? Are you in here?" a figure said looking into the half opened door.
The man at the desk closed his book and looked up. "Of course I am, why would I not be? What can I help you with? And quit looking in from the doorway, get in here and talk like a normal person."
The one in the doorway took the advice and strolled in. "Ah, yes! The Captain wants to have a word with you, something about a mission."
"Is that so?" the man said as he stood up, revealing his rather tall stature. "Well, let's not keep her waiting, shall we?"
The two of them left the office and headed off down the corridor. A quick glance outside the windows in the hallway revealed that the recent storm was starting to clear up. Without a word to each other, the two silently reached a grand set of doors at the end of the corridor. The messenger reached out to knock on it.
"Enter," a voice called from the inside before the door was even struck.
The two proceeded inside, with the messenger staying behind, as the taller one approached the lady at the desk.
"Ensign Ghaleon, reporting for duty!" The tall one called out.
"Oh come now, there's no need for formalities around me Lunord," the woman said with a bit of a smirk.
"Well in that case, how are you today, Axiz?" Lunord replied, returning the smirk.
The messenger came forth, "Captain Starson, don't you have orders for Ensign Ghaleon here?"
"You always were a straight to the point kind of guy, Issac," Axiz responded with a look that clearly matched her dislike for formal titles.
Issac scratched his head and grinned. "Guess it just runs in the whole Crane family."
Axiz turned back to Lunord. "Well, as Issac did say, I do have orders for you. Ships have been arriving in shambles, and some have been disappearing altogether. We've traced the source of the problem to the Frontier, but we're not quite sure what it is. The way that whole patch of sea is, I wouldn't doubt it if it was another uncharted reef. Your job is to go find out what it is."
"Is that all?" Lunord said with a boastful grin. "I'll have it done in no time!"
"Good to hear it. I've already taken the liberty of having your ship ready to set sail," Axiz stated. "Oh! Before I forget, you've a new transfer into your crew. She's a very skilled navigator, better than most of the new recruits I've seen. She's already aboard, and you can meet her then."
"Is that so? Well I look forward to looking with her," Lunord then turned to Issac, "Mr. Crane, shall we?"
And with that the two headed out of the Captain's office and down to Fortune Harbor, the most prestigious port on Victoria Island. It also happened to be the capital of the island, the home of Fandango palace.
Lunord and Issac maneuvered their way though the docks until they came to a ship painted with scarlet paneling and silver siding. This was the Scarlet Blade, Lunord's personal cutter, and one of the most notorious ships in Fandango.
"Ahoy sir!" the sailors aboard the ship called as Lunord and Isaac hopped aboard.
"Ahoy everyone!" Lunord returned. "So, where's the new one?"
A young madam stepped forward. "Hello there Mr. Ghaleon. I'm Fopah. Fopah Sforzando."
"A rather unusual name, but then again, aren't they all?" Lunord chuckled. "All humor aside, pleased to meet you."
"Ehh…I'm not really fond of my name. They say it means 'Mistake' in another language."
"Is that so? Well I can assure you, you are far from being. Anyway, I suppose I'd better introduce you to the rest of the crew." Lunord pointed over to the cannon Issac had wandered off to. "That's Issac Crane. Very formal, goes right to the point. He's our gunner."
"You mean the one that's asleep on the thing?" Fopah questioned.
Lunord turned around, and sure enough, Issac was out cold. Lunord walked up and asked, in a soft voice, "Issac, are you asleep?"
No response.
Lunord took a quick look into the cannon, and then a look in the direction it was pointed. "Good, it's loaded, and there's nothing to worry about hitting." Lunord took out a bit of flint from his pocket.
"Wait! What are you doing?" Fopah said with a very noticeable amount of alarm in her voice.
"It's called a wake-up-call," Lunord said as he sparked the fuse.
The cannon fired, and the entire crew watched as Issac jumped clear into the rigging, shaking rather violently.
"Good morning Issac!" Lunord called.
"G-G-Good morning, s-sir," Issac responded feebly.
Lunord turned back to Fopah, "Okay, moving on…"
"Hey, what about the guy in the rigging by choice?" Fopah said pointing upwards.
"Ah, that'd be Vivi Ornitier, our crew sail master. One of the better ones I've seen," Lunord responded with a proud look.
Vivi slid down a rope next to the two. "Oh come on Lunord, you're embarrassing me…"
Lunord continued, "Well, there's Mr. Crane, Mr. Ornitier…has anyone seen Danet?"
At the sound of the name, a head popped out of the hold. "Danet Adelbert, at your service!"
"And he's our craftsman. With all the other spots taken, I guess that makes you our helmsman," Lunord explained to Fopah. "I'll let you take it when we're just sailing about, but should we engage another ship, I'll take over."
"Got it! Any other policies I should know about while we're on the subject?" questioned a curious Fopah.
"Here's one. I've managed to pull some leverage with the Captain regarding our weapons. You are allowed to use one of your own choice. Danet brought along a nice wooden maul, Vivi currently has a whip in tow, Issac has a rather wicked spear, and I myself have a simple cane. It gets the point across without actually killing the person."
A look of enthusiasm came to Fopah's face. "Hey, I can use the bandit's dagger my Granddad gave me."
"Indeed you can, but there are two conditions. The first, you must be able to use your weapon skillfully. And the second, you must still carry around a Fandango issued sword," Lunord explained. "Well, it would seem all our formalities are taken care of. Full sail, Mr. Ornitier! To sea we go!"
"Aye aye, Sir!" chorused the crew.
