A/N: Hello~ part two of the Labyrinth exploration chapter will be after this one, since I've noticed the lack of sea exploration here ;A; *smacked*
Anyway, I also noticed we skipped the first sea quest. Well... I'm a noob.
Haha, so... yeah... here we go! And remind me if I skip a quest or anything, so I can add it in the next chapter! ^^
Warning and Disclaimer IN THE FIRST CHAPTER. Can I stop writting this now?
Anyway, enjoy~
Chronicles of the Drowned City.
C.9: Skandalia Lighthouse
While we leave the group in the Labyrinth to continue exploring, let's take a look at the sea-exploration group, shall we?
Rudollf decided to have a look at the map Heinrich's made so far.
...It didn't look too good.
In fact, there seems to be small droplets of what looks to be... vomit?
Eugh.
" 'Ey, did you guys decide to have someone who's seasick ride on a ship?" Cia and Adisa looked at each other for a moment.
"Well, uh...," a momentary pause ,"Heinrich...kind of made that mistake himself..." Adisa finished. Rudollf sighed. Really? Wow...
"Well," he began as he re-examined the map ,"considerin' how seasick 'yer friend is, I'd say he did a pretty nice job."
Cia smiled, and so did Adisa. "Should we go now, then?"
Next thing they knew, Rudollf is captaining the ship, heading towards a part of the map that they knew is dangerous.
"H-Hey, are you heading to that lighthouse over there?!" Adisa shouted, as she pointed at a gloomy looking lighthouse just a few miles away from where they are. Rudollf turned to her for a bit, flashed a confident grin, before turning back to look in front of him.
"Yea! I heard the details from the cap'n already!" He then stopped for a moment ,"..said there's a beast up there that'll tair up any ship that goes near it. He asked us to find a route safe enough to go past that thing!"
Adisa's eyes widened a bit. Find a route?! Ok, Rudollf must be drunk if they're really going to do this. For one; they're low on budget. Two, how much are repairs going to cost if they don't find the right route and get their ship taired to bits?!
Cia on the other hand is worried about one thing: The boat sinking and them drowning if that happens.
Luckily, being the ex-pirate he is, Rudollf managed to find a decent route that'll get them there safely. He charted the course as he looked at the map, stopping the ship as he marked the path on the map with his pen. Then, once the course is ready, and some prayers were spoken, he started the ship up again, sailing just as he planned.
Zakharia, on the other hand, stayed quiet through the other's little exchange. That memory... why did it have to pop up at a time like this?
Noticing Zakharia's odd behaviour, Cia walked up to her, standing next to her as the ship rocked above the waves.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked.
"H-Huh? Oh, I'm... okay.." Zakharia didn't bother to turn to where she is. Her eyes are locked to the waters below them –though she can't see it-, mind whirring with thoughts, but then she decided to brush it off.
"Really? You've been acting odd since this morning." Cia then put a hand on her shoulder. "You know, if there's anything you need to talk about, I'm here to listen."
This time, Zakharia turned to face Cia. A hint of a smile crept up to her face –one that no ordinary person would otherwise notice. Heh, didn't she tell herself to move on from the past several times already?
Pushing that one memory to the back of her head, she shook her head. "No, I'm alright, really. So... where are we headed?"
"To the Skandalia Lighthouse," Cia then proceeded to point up north, before stopping ,"right... here..." she muttered. Wow, that was fast. And no damage was done!
"Ya can thank me later~," Rudollf exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest, proud of the job he's done. He then turned to the others.
"We should head back then, eh?" The others nodded, leaving the beast alone as they traveled back to town.
For now, at least.
"Alright, so you managed to chart a route there? Good!" the captain then looked towards the direction of the lighthouse. "All that's left now is to get rid of that beast, and Armoroad will be one step closer to recovery!"
"It ain't gonna be easy takin' that beast down, cap'n," Rudollf began,"judgin' from the looks of things, I'd say that thing's pretty tough."
"Hmm... oh, well..," the captain then reached for a parchment in the drawer of his desk, before reading it. He then spoke.
"Well... there are a couple of people who asked for help here while you were gone," he then gives the parchment to Adisa. "Here, read these."
Adisa did as told, with the others, aside from Zakharia, peeking into the paper. One of the requests caught her eye. She read it over again.
"Hmm... says here on this one that two brothers want to use the lighthouse as a viewing point for the stars, but they can't get rid of that thing alone..."
"Wait, whoa there, there are three requests," Cia inquired.
"Yeah, so?"
"If we defeat the monster now... wouldn't that... I dunno, cancel out the other two quests?"
"Well yeah, that's true...," Adisa mused.
"Well, actually, from what I heard, that bird is a rarity, but there's more than just one of it."
Everyone turned towards the captain. Really? Well, that should make things easier, then!
"Alright, we'll take this one for now!" Adisa then gives the parchment back to the captain, who nodded.
"Alright. The two brothers'll be waiting for you in the ship. In the meantime, go and get yourselves prepared!" The captain advised. The group nodded and decided to head for Napier's Firm.
Surprisingly, the lady shop owner let them in, even with Cia being with them right now. Although she doesn't really seem too happy about it...
"I really do hope the prices are a bit fairer this time...," said Cia, as she looked at the medicine cabinet. The shop owner sighed.
"Well, kiddo, if you don't like the prices at my store, then go and find some other place. Easy, right?" Cia scoffed.
"H-Hey, now, let's not start anything, okay?" Adisa then whispered to Cia ,"you might wanna save your energy for the fight."
Cia sighed, then picked up some medicine. Adisa got herself some armor, and the Buccaneer forged his weapon, which he explained before to the others already. They then paid, and went off, Cia cursing the shop owner for having "unfair prices".
Back in the port, everyone loaded themselves and everything they needed into the ship. Zakharia stood alone in the middle of all that ruckus as she lost grip of Cia upon entering the ship. One of the clients, Pollux, noticed the blind girl gropping around in the air for anything she can use as a guide to navigate, or at least move. He walked towards the girl, and grabbed hold of her hand.
"Where do you want to go? I'll guide you there," Pollux offered.
"Where are the others?"
"This way, c'mon," said Pollux as he urged Zakharia to start walking. His astrologer brother, Castor, looked at them from behind his book. He raised an eyebrow.
'A blind astrologer...?' he thought. He then sighed. 'Quite an odd band of people in this Guild...'
"Hey, I heard only five people are allowed to go at sea, including the clients if it's for a quest," Adisa inquired. She then sighed.
"Damn... but then again, there's already the crew in the ship... I guess it can't be helped," she mused.
"I-I'll go, then," Zakharia said, as she reached the others, Pollux letting go of her hand. Rudollf raised an eyebrow.
"You sure?"
"Yes." She really wanted to go for herself. Maybe it'll be a better place for her to listen to the stars, since higher places technically mean shorter distanse for them.
"Alright, then I'm going too!" Adisa volunteered.
"Same goes for me," said Rudollf as he loaded his gun. Cia nodded, albeit a bit reluctant to. "Alright, I guess I'll be staying here then." She then piped up again,"if you need help though, just shout as loud as you can until your voice reaches Armoroad~. I'll come by on another ship!" she joked. No one laughed at it.
"Hehe... yeah, good luck on hearing us from miles away...," Adisa murmured.
They then set sail to the lighthouse. While they were sailing, the group discussed about strategies on how to kill that thing.
"From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like fire attacks would work all that well," said Castor. The others sighed.
"Well, just wailing at it wouldn't work... if that thing can tair ships, then it sure as hell can tair up people..." said Adisa.
"So, then, fire is out of the list. How about thunder?" And before they knew it, they reached the lighthouse. The beast seems to notice the ship, as it glared at it menacingly.
"No time for planning now, I guess," Pollux mused, getting his mace ready.
"Everyone, stay on the defensive for now.. We don't know what that thing's capable of," Adisa ordered.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship, Zakharia is busy doing a reading. Hopefully the starts can tell them what that monster's weakness is.
She then got interupted by Castor pulling her down from where she's sitting, the bird swooping just above them.
"What are you doing?! Focus, or that thing will kill you!" Zakharia blinked a few times. Wait, the fight's already started?
Just as Adisa ordered, everyone stayed on the defensive, watching the bird's movements, Rudollf occasionally firing shots at it, as well as Adisa whom sliced at it the moment the bird swoops down to their level. Castor tried using fire on it, but just like he predicted, it didn't hurt the bird too much. But it's the only spell he's got, so he kept on using it.
The fight continued this way, until the bird suddenly swooped down at rapid speed, causing everyone to be thrown back, some even getting scratches on them. Even the boat rocked a bit.
As their backs hit the deck of the ship, a voice in Zakharia's head spoke. She then raised her hand to use the star's power, then ice appeared and headed straight towards the giant bird, wounding it quite severely.
"Ice! It's weak to ice!" Zakharia shouted, just as the voice in the back of her head told her to. Again, the stars have saved them.
Castor, on the other hand, got confused. How did she-
That train of thought didn't last long, as the bird swoops down yet again to attack. It hit Rudollf, and again, he went flying to the deck, back hitting first.
Pollux then channeled his Qi and healed everyone one by one. The bird then swooped down, in an attempt to throw the group into the waters. Everyone was prepared for that now, though, as they dodged the attack. The bird then stopped momentarily.
"Zakharia!" Adisa called,"shoot it with ice again!"
"I can't really hit a moving target!" said Zakharia. "I might miss!"
Castor then walked over to her, grabbed her hand and directed it to the currently suspened beast. As if knowing, the bird flew upwards towards it's nest. Castor followed it, as the bird flew upwards. He then stopped at a certain point.
"Now!" He said. Zakharia immediately fired another shot of ice at it, hitting it just where Adisa wanted it to.
To their surprise though, the bird still managed to fly.
A shot then rang in the air. Rudollf had performed a follow-up attack, hitting the bird's other wing. Quickly, the brid fell onto the ground. This time, it'd have to rely on it's feet.
Adisa then jumped off the ship, along with Pollux. Rudollf fired a few more shots at the bird's wing, making sure it's completely disabled before he ran out of bullets. Castor directed Zakharia to where the monster now is, firing spells while he's at it. Zakharia's tired already from casting spells, but she mustered the last bit of her strength casting one last ice spell, aiming for the bird's head.
It hit, and the bird staggeres. It was a fatal blow to the giant avian, and now all they had to do is put it down for good. Pollux decided to go on the offensive and bring out his mace, swinging it as hard as he could, actually managing to shatter one of the beast's leg joints. It tumbled down, weak. Sword in hand, Adisa climbed at it's back, swiping at it a few times as she ran, before jumping up and stabbing it's head, ultimately killing it.
Removing her sword from the hole in the bird's head, she jumped down, panting. Both she and Pollux walked back to the ship, sinking to their knees as they reached the deck.
"I really need some sleep..." Adisa muttered. Rudollf chuckled a bit.
"Well, I deserve some booze, now, don't I?"
"I might need to call Guad back then, just in case," said Adisa. Rudollf sighed.
Castor turned to look at Zakharia, the question that popped up in his head resurfacing again.
"How did you do that?" He asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You can't see, yet you could still use their power... how?" he asked again.
"I... listen to them." At this, Castor raised an eyebrow.
"I've been able to do it since I was little... or maybe I'm just telepathic... I don't know," she shrugged. Castor heaved a sigh, smiling a bit as he shook his head. Really, an odd bunch in this Guild, that's for sure.
The two brothers then got off of the ship as the others are about to sail back to Armoroad. They waved at each other a few times before losing sight of one another. As they sailed, Adisa fell asleep on the deck, Rudollf is enjoying his victory drink, and Zakharia is reading the stars again.
After a while, they reached the docks. The jerking of the ship as it stopped managed to wake Adisa up, snorting a bit in the process.
Everyone then got off the ship, the first person greeting them being Cia.
"Heh, guess you didn't need my help after all~." A light punch then came from Adisa.
"What if one of us did shout?" she asked. The captain then walked up to them, a smile gracing his face.
"Hey, there! Looks like you managed to defeat the bird. Good job ," complimented the captain. Everyone nodded.
"Thanks," Adisa said.
"Oh, and the two brothers would also like to thank you as well. You helped them out real good, after all." A light chuckle then escaped the captain's mouth ,"haha, it sure is nice to see young people get so driven by their goals. Hopefully it's like that for you as well."
'Oh, you can tell...,'thought Cia.
"Well, again good work. Oh, and, Zakharia?" the captain called. The Zodiak turned to the direction of the captain's voice, before she felt something beig put on her hand. It felt like... a book?
"It's from Pollux. He and his brother decided to give this to you," explained the captain. A slight smile found it's way to Zakharia's face. Cia then spoke.
"Speaking of which, where's Rudollf?"
"*hic* Ova' *hic* 'ere~!"
Everyone turned to the ship. The Buccaneer desceanded from the ship, drunk. How many drinks were there in the ship?!
Oh well... time to call Guad back.
-To Be Continued-
A/N: I SUCK AT FIGHT SCENES STILL TTnTT I'M SORRY!
Anyway, ow, my back hurts... this chapter and the next one will be uploaded at the same time, and the next part of the last chapter will start at next chapter~ like I said, I've been seeing quite the lack of sea quests in this fic XDD
So yeah~
And now I shall lie down *creeps onto pillow*