Chapter 9: The Savaged Siren
That night, the Kooluk ship drifts slowly into the fog. Komaru puts on his robe, cluttered about are large beakers - retorts - and other strange devices of an alchemist's laboratory. Komaru sits himself in a high backed ornate chair and closes his eyes, the muscle on his face tautening in intense concentration, and chanted in his spell book.
Komaru: (Chanting) (Chanting Continues) Komaru! Komaru! Komaru! Rune of the Black Arts, Do thy doing.
On the Dauntless, Jeppe walks up to the figurehead at the prow of the ship, smiling at it. Komarru's eyes closed, totally lost in a trance-like state - now reaches a fever pitch with his mystic occult mutterings. Then the figurehead's arms moved. Jeppe thought that he must be seeing things. But then the figurehead started to break off from the wood. Jeppe felt frightened and then fled back inside screaming:
Jeppe: It's alive! It's moving! It's alive! It's alive!
A crewmember heard this as hee Jeppe scuttle away below, and went to investigate. He saw the figurehead turn on him and grabbed him on the neck, strangling him to death. Dario and Bartholomew saw this and saw the figurehead throw the crewmember into the water.
Dario: Man overboard.
Bartholomew: Call everybody!
Bartholomew points his spear at it, but it pulls it away from him and the two fled. Komaru struggles to control it. Arista' eyes are wide open in fright. She has heard the strange noises coming from the deck area. Another ominous crash confirms her fear.
Arista: (half whisper - half shout) Lazlo!
She gets out of bed and hurries to the other cabin. She hurries in, goes over to Lazlo and tries to wake him.
Arista: Lazlo. Wake up!
Lazlo opens his eyes - still half asleep.
Arista: Listen!
There is another ominous cracking sound. They freeze - and then there is a terrific sound of tearing, breaking timber. Lazlo reacts - hurries to the door.
Lazlo: Stay below.
The figurehead walked toward the bridge, and then smashed both front walls, and then takes the chart to Lika-Natu.
Komaru: (inner voice) Bring the chart back to your master.
Dario Comes with his battle axe and hack on its chest, but it stucks on it. The figurehead knocks both Dario and Bartholomew down, they fled back.
Lazlo, Kika, Snowe, Paula, Hervey, Theodorus, and Ted came outside to investigate, And saw the figurehead heading for the ocean.
Kika: How is it moving?
Theodorus: Komaru's Rune power.
Lazlo: For the love of Leknaat ! The chart!
Snowe: It's taken the chart!
Lazlo: Never mind the chart! Fight it with fire!
Lazlo, Hervey, Ted, and Paula grabs some torches, walked up to the figurehead and attack.
Lazlo: Burn it! Burn it!
The figurehead fights back with the battle axe, but drops it after being startled by the flames as it shoos them away that pushes trio farther against the deck. Then it grabs a iron harpoon to attack. Grunting and Groaning Lazlo is forced to use his special rune: The Rune of Punishment.
Lazlo: Eternal Ordeal!
And it weakens it. Just as the figurehead was about to kill them, Komaru said.
Komaru: (Komaru's Voice) Return. Return. Return.
Komaru grunts and the figurehead walks back, crashes through the deck railing, and splashes into the sea. Lazlo collapses and Snowe runs to him.
Kika, Paula, Hervey, Theodorus, and Ted rush to the deck to that the figurehead has sunk.
Paula: She sunk straight to the bottom.
Theodorus: Impossible. Wood floats.
Hervey: The harpoon was iron.
Theodorus: It took the chart.
Kika: Ah, but I still carry the course... (She points to her head.) here.
Soon they throw there torches into the sea.
The figurehead hits the bottom of the ocean bed the harpoon to which stll clings. The hand holding the chart is still tightly clenched. Komaru continues to chant with Royce and Maximilien hiding in the darkness.
Komaru: Return. Return. Return. Return now.
The figurehead begans to float up to the surface, and begins to float away from the Dauntless.
Komaru (In pain): Return! I breathe life into you. Return! (Then collapse.)
Maximilien: Master.
Royce: Master.
Maximilien looks at his master as Komaru's face is old. Heavy lines wrinkle his mouth and brow - his hair is turning a shade of grey. Then Komaru's face begins to move. His eyes open.
Maximilien: Your face... it's aged. Master, you are ill.
Komaru: You and Royce saw everything.
Royce: We came when I heard your cry.
Komaru: Then you and Maximilien know.
Maximilien: Enough, master.
Komaru: Yes. Yes. (He stands up.)
Maximilien: You will die if you go on this way with that rune.
Komaru: To summon the demons of darkness, there is a price. And each time I call upon them, it consumes part of me.
They began to walk outside.
Komaru: Come Royce and Maximilien. We have no time to lose.
The Kooluk pull up the figurehead.
Soldier: Haul in that rope. Easy, easy.
Komaru walks to it.
Komaru: Your sword Maximilien.
Maximilien hand Komaru his sword, and he chops the figurehead's hand holding the chart. a soldier hands the chart to Maximilien.
Maximilien: Bring us back on course, Captain.
Samuel examines the chart.
Katarina: Lazlo...
Lazlo awakens in his cabin with Arista and Katarina.
Arista: you're all right.
Katarina: That rune again...
Lazlo: So you know.
Arista: What is it?
Katarina: One of The 27 True Runes, a rune that represents atonement and forgiveness and is always borne on the left hand of its host. Its the Rune of Punishment.
Arista: Rune of Punishment?
Lazlo gets out of bed.
Lazlo: This rune is parasitic in nature, and it feeds off its host with fatal consequences. One year ago, I was just a young knight of gaien, protecting a ship from a pirate named Brandeau, he used the Rune to try and escape, but I bested him in combat. As Brandeau died, in passing the rune on to me, my commander Glen stepped in the way, and the rune passed on to him, instead. We returned back to Razril, but the commander did not bear the Rune long before he was forced to use it against an invading fleet, led by Dario. Although he tried to keep everyone away from him when he did so, circumstances did I saw the same close to Glen when he died, and the Rune transferred to me this time around.
Arista: What happened after?
Lazlo: I was Exiled from Razril for being allegedly responsible for Glen's death, but I became embroiled in a war that started due to Kooluk's expansion progress, but continued due to Graham Cray's desire to obtain the Rune again. During this time, I survived using the Rune's power a total of four times, before the power of the 108 Stars of Destiny moved the Rune into its little seen Forgiveness Phase, where it no longer drains the life of its bearer.
Arista: 108 Stars of Destiny?
Katarina: The name of warriors who are a group of 108 outlaws to fight a war.
Lazlo: And the Forgiveness Phase s a very rare ability of the dreaded Rune of Punishment, once the forgiveness phase has been activated, the rune will no longer ebb away at its bearer's life force, thus allowing them to use the True Rune to its full power and force without fear of instant death. This happened due in part to his ability to forgive his close childhood friend, Snowe, who had betrayed him out of jealousy and anger. With my forgiving actions coupled together with the spirit of the 108 Stars of Destiny I had gathered around him, Leknaat was able to help me move the Rune into this less dangerous phase.
Arista: Leknaat?
Lazlo: The "Keeper of Balance," The enigmatic figure who is the keeper of the gates between worlds. The one who watches the great scales of Fate. She a god.
Katarina: And what about you?
Arista: I have nothing. I have family. Except for my mother.
Katarina: What was she like?
Arista: She was a member of the reputable family. I was just nothing but a burden to the family, but my mother protected me. Then one day she issued a warning about the Kooluk Army's sneak attacks on the Scarlet Moon Empire, but they did not listen. She was dishonored and immediately banished from Scarlet Moon Empire. To keep me safe she prepared a boat for me to go to Tamhil, and for eight year that's was the last I saw her, and now I'm just an 18 year old slave.
Katarina: Was your mother... Elenor Silverberg.
Arista: Yes... then you i'm Arista Silverberg.
Lazlo: We did known your mother Arista, she was a good master of war, and a good strategist. She gave her life ending this war.
Arista sobs.
Arista: My mothers... dead.
Karatina comforts he in her arms.
Karatina: Arista... Your make you strong to live through this war. But now you must help us with this quest. Will you?
Arista: Yes.
Lazlo: Let's go outside for some fresh air.
Later on the deck of the Dauntless, Jeppe is playing on the lute.
Jeppe: You like the lute, Kika?
Kika: Very much. You must play me a tune some time.
Men laughs.
Jeppe: I was playing a tune.
Kika who strides the far deck, a proud and swashbuckling figure.
Nico: Land ho!
The party went to see the island, Lika-Natu. The island itself is almost silhouette, barely able to be seen through the shrouded mist. It has an air of mystery about it with an exotic coastline, jutting above the level of the sea. No sign of human habitation - overgrown with vegetation and perhaps a region where man has seldom before set foot. As Kika and Theodorus continue to gaze at the shore Jeppe joins them.
Theodorus: Lika-Natu, where we are destined to find our answer.
Kika: We go ashore at daybreak!
Keneth: (mutters) May good fortune accompany us too.
A/N: Happy Thanksgiving!