Chapter 14: Long Time, No See

He walked into the room, expecting to find Maxwell busy at the wheel. But as he closed the door behind him, he saw that the wheel was unmanned. The room was empty.

Wolfgang looked around the captain's quarters. It was a rather small room, which was lit by the windows that revealed the bright light of ther sun. To one side of the room was a desk full of papers and a few quills and ink, with things such as hourglasses and map charts laying on the desk. To the other side of the room was a cabinet and bookshelves full of old books. In front of the steering wheel were clear glass windows, where the sea and the view from out front of the ship could be seen. In t middle of the room, there was a lush blue carpet with yellow inscriptions and patterns along the side.

He walked closer to the wheel, hoping maybe he'd come into sight. But as he stepped onto the rug and looked around, he couldn't see the captain anywhere. So Wolfgang turned around and was about to leave.

"It appears we have a nosy one on board..."

Wolfgang saw Maxwell standing at the entrance as he turned, his arms folded. He didn't see him coming into the room and was caught red handed in his quarters. He hoped that he wouldn't have to meet him this way, but he knew what he had to do.

Meanwhile, Maxwell stepped up to Wolfgang.

"You don't look the type to be a spy or something" he growled. "But I bet that's what spies these days look like. Strange...unpredictable. What are you doing in my quarters? Trying to steal my precious charts?" he accused. Wolfgang then took a deep breath and made his revelation by removing his mask, something he had not done in front of someone for years.

"It's me...brother" Wolfgang said quietly. There was a lingering silence in the room upon Wolfgang's revelation. Maxwell's eyes opened a little, before they darted about, examining Wolfgang's face. As the seconds went by, the realisation hit him. His face turned into one of compassion.

"...Wolfgang?" he said quietly. "...Is that really you?"

"It is, Maxwell" Wolfgang replied. "It's been a long time" He extended his hand, to which Maxwell observed for a minute before shaking, still in shock of seeing his brother in front of him. Such a long time had passed since they had last seen each other, the atmosphere was brimming with excitement. It was like finding buried treasure, or finding a precious object washed up upon a shore after years of it being lost at sea.

A few minutes had passed and the both were sat down near the desk. Maxwell had brought out the wine in his cabinet and served a glass for Wolfgang and himself. They started talking.

"It's been...what, thirty years now?" Maxwell asked.

"That is correct" Wolfgang replied. "Thirty years since I left home to start my training as a knight"

"And you look to be one as well!" Maxwell commented. "I heard passing rumours about you being the first-in-command of Zanskar's armies. I didn't really believe them at first, but seeing you now, I have no choice but to believe them!" he noted.

"It had been rough up until about three years ago. You remember Gustav, right?" he asked.

"Argh, that fool" Maxwell replied. "My sea trade suffered because of that man. But he's gone now, gone and hopefully quite forgotten. Were you part of his downfall?"

"Yeah, although Princess Blaze was the one who really delivered the coup de grace" Wolfgang added. "So this is what you've been doing, is it?" he asked, looking around the ship.

"Well, ferrying people across the Badon Sea is my new job" Maxwell explained. "If you remember me as a kid, I always dreamt about being some sorta knight. But I couldn't cut it; I was scared of deadly fights and stuff. So I became a cartographer, then a sea charter. I made my life on travelling the seas and making maps, but I came across buried treasure, can you believe it? Besides, with the money from that, I started my own business as a fisherman, buying a bunch of boats to get the fish. As of now, I have taken up the new job of being the ferryman across the Badon Sea, ever since the old guy who did it died. He was an old, but lovely chap" Maxwell explained. "That's about 25 years of history there for you in a nutshell!"

"You've kept yourself busy, it sounds" Wolfgang remarked. Maxwell laughed and sipped his wine.

"So tell me, what business do you have across the sea?"

"...I don't suppose you've heard about the floating castle, right?" Wolfgang asked. The friendly atmosphere died suddenly as Maxell's eyebrows dipped. His smile turned into a slight frown as he looked about.

"Indeed I do" he said, with a more serious expression, putting his wine down. "I've also heard about its attacks"

"Me and my companions are in pursuit of the castle" Wolfgang explained. "Blaze is on board this ship, but I want you to stay quiet about it. We're keeping a low profile, her lover was captured about a week or so ago, so we're trying to rescue him and take that castle out of the sky at the same time" he explained. Maxwell nodded his head in contemplation.

"I understand..." he said quietly. "My guess is you're seeking to save your man and take the castle down, right?" he asked.

"That's right" Wolfgang replied. "We're still in the situation of trying to find out how to board it. I figured if it runs on fuel, it has to land at some point, so our pursuit will continue until we can board it and do what we must do" he explained. "If you could offer assistance in any way, that would be great, brother"

"As far as manpower goes, I'm afraid I cannot help" Maxwell explained, looking down into his wine glass, near empty. "...But my books are full of knowledge and ancient lore" he added, looking towards the bookshelves behind him. "They're all I can offer, but if they can assist you, then I'll let you have any of them"

Wolfgang stood up and walked towards the bookshelves, examining the books. Maxwell was right; there was a lot of lore and philosophy, but also mechanical books and such. Maxwell stood up and went to stand beside his brother.

"...The variety of these books is vast" Maxwell added. "That young man, Milos, the man who asked to use the broken oars for material...he strikes me as a kid who likes his books. Perhaps if there's something in these books that can offer explanations concerning the floating castle?" Maxwell suggested. Wolfgang turned to his brother, smiling a little.

"I'll go and get him now" he said.

EDIT: Big thanks goes to Disney Villain for pointing out a slight gramatical error in the use of the word 'fiancee', it has now been changed to 'lover', the misinterpretation of the word would have confused the plot had it stayed, so thanks! :)