Ilchymis sat there calmly, green eyes wide with quiet worry, as he watched Domingo gritting his teeth and shuddering; the treasure hunter's wrist was clearly broken, and the bone was jutting out of his torn and bloodied skin.
"This might hurt quite a lot, Domingo," murmured the mage in soothing tones, almost afraid to attempt a spell of healing for fear of making the wound far worse if it failed.
"Just do it," hissed Domingo, eyes squeezed shut in agony, and Ilchymis immediately channeled all of his concentration into the spell.
Miraculously the bone mended itself; the skin became unblemished and whole, and an incredulous Domingo turned his wrist to and fro without difficulty, disbelieving. Ilchymis wiped his brow with the back of his hands, smiling weakly, and dove suddenly, tackling the treasure hunter to the ground. A great grey bird, a Stonebeak, swept past with an angry sqwak, and as the two stranded adventurers struggled to their feet it soared upward to join its five fellows; even as Domingo drew out his hand crossbow, all six dove at once.
Then something very odd - but very welcome - happened.
The lead Stonebeak, ready to tear the flesh from Domingo's face with its vicious claws, was suddenly dropped dead to the ground by a violet-bladed sickle. A figure dashed past the two pirates with a wicked-looking scythe in its hands, decapitating another of the swooping, winged monsters with a mighty curving swing; around came the scythe for a backhand stroke, but the third creature managed to dive away from the blade.
Domingo and Ilchymis had at this point recovered from their shock, but their strange savior chopped down with the scythe and silenced another of the cawing creatures; the treasure hunter brought his twin kukris across and nearly killed another with the excellent maneuver. He was agile enough to dodge the flurry of claws as the injured Stonebeak attacked in retaliation, and Ilchymis' single spell "Wevles!" was so strong that it destroyed the other three with a torrent of water and wind. Domingo turned to their unexpected help.
Truly he had never seen a stranger man. He was like no other pirate ever to sail Arcadia, with a sheet of wavy, lustrous ivory hair hanging past his shoulders, skin of pure, exotic alabaster, and eyes the shade of clearest sapphire; he wore breeches and a vest of fine ebony satin, supple black boots, and a wide-brimmed black bolero atop his head, situated at a roguish angle with a single long, scarlet feather protruding from it. Domingo and Ilchymis watched him collect and wipe clean his sickle, mouths agape, then he turned, flashed them a charming, radiant smile, and bowed low in greeting.
"Felicitations!" He swept the bolero from his head as he bowed, replacing it as he straightened. "I trust you are both well, and quite unharmed?"
Unsure just how to respond, Ilchymis and Domingo merely nodded. The stranger beamed again.
"Magnifique! Allow me to introduce myself - I am Captain Sensenic Morray, the commander of the fine vessel behind you - " With a sweeping gesture he indicated the ship that had just landed behind them, " - Antediluvia."
Domingo felt that he was being quite rude, and stepped forward as he resheathed his kukris upon his belt. "I've got to admit, I wasn't expecting any help to show up, especially not so close to Valua! I'm Domingo; I'm a treasure hunter, of sorts."
"I am Ilchymis," added the mage, extending a slender hand in greeting. "I was once of the Valuan court, where I served as High mage until I caught wind of their plans to enslave Arcadia."
"How splendid that I should stumble across such worthy companions by mere happenstance!" Morray chuckled genially, leaning upon the magnificent scythe. "I travel this way quite often, truth be told, and you looked as though you were in need of some assistance. I have heard of you both in my excursions - your exploits in Ixa'taka did not fall only upon Valuan ears." Here he winked at them knowingly, and gestured for them to follow as he moved toward his ship. "But you have nothing to fear from me - I, like you, openly oppose Valua's attempts to control these skies, as do all the men aboard my ship."
They had reached the ship at that point, and there was a woman waiting for them, seated on the rail with crossed arms. She wore travelworn half-boots of brown leather and traditional sailor's garb, though it was also red, like the feather in Morray's brazen hat. She was quite pale, with eyes as gray as a storm and hair the color of raven's feathers; she was glaring at Morray with a severe expression, and a gleaming halberd was secured to her back.
"You are making a nasty habit of leaping from the ship before we have landed, Sensenic," said the woman, clearly displeased, and Morray merely laughed in response.
"Am I? Perhaps I ought to be a bit more tactful henceforth." Morray waved an arm behind him to indicate the two adventurers following in his wake. "I introduce Domingo and Ilchymis, fellow warriors against the crown! Gentlemen - my vice captain, Viola Wesker."
"Vi," corrected Morray's vice captain, though the severity had eased out of her face as she leapt from the railing to shake hands with both of them. "It's good to meet you both! Welcome to the Antediluvia, the vessel of the most unpredictable and eccentric captain to sail the skies since Daccat himself!"
Morray patted the air negligently and stepped aboard, Vi close behind, and turning back he said to Domingo and Ilchymis, "Shall I expect you to join us? You will be quite safe here, and well cared-for, and I daresay you will not once be bored!"
"Where exactly are you going?" asked Domingo curiously.
He could not have been more surprised when Morray shrugged his shoulders, as if it did not matter! Glancing at Vi he said, "I suppose a heading would be prudent... Vi, I wonder, where should we sail from here?"
"Nasrad," said the vice captain at once, as she signaled for the anchor to be hoisted up. "It has been a lunar cycle and more since we have spent a night in real beds, and our supplies are running short."
"Excellent!" Morray clapped his hands together once in jubilation. "To Nasrad, then!" And he moved for the bridge of the ship even as the Antediluvia took to the sky once more.
Author's Note: DAMN YOU REVIEWERS ARE FAST! That's one of the best things about having such a supportive fanbase. I love you guys.
Desert Lynx: Glad to see you'll be keeping pace this time around, lol! Good to see you're sticking with me.
Derek Barona: Ah, you know Gilder... he'll drink, smoke, fight, swear, and undoubtedly sleep with more than one character along the way. It should be interesting to watch.
