"So…what's this?" Vyse asked, staring at the steely box that was taller than he was. He had never seen anything of its sort in a ship's galley, let alone anywhere for that matter. It hummed softly with electricity.
"It's a brand-new invention," Enrique replied, grinning. "They call it an icebox. It uses purple moonstones to keep food cool, and is powered by the ship's electricity. The left side is cooler than the right and can actually freeze things."
Vyse blinked and continued to stare. "…I don't get it."
"Open it and look inside," Enrique said.
Slowly, Vyse turned the handles of the two doors on the box and swung them open, and was immediately hit with a blast of cold air. He peeked inside to find bottles of wine and other fancy Valuan finger foods on the right side, and strange desserts he had never seen before on the left.
"What? Where's the loqua?"
"I don't drink loqua. It's too strong for me," Enrique replied. "I'm sorry, I didn't consider what you might like when I prepared the ship for you. If there's somewhere we can stop for supplies, I'll buy you anything you need."
"Aw…I don't want to be a mooch…" Vyse shook his head.
The prince only grinned. "Vyse, you lost all your treasure when your ship sank. Besides, what else am I supposed to do with all that gold in my name? You said I had to sail as a Blue Rogue, right? Blue Rogues help others, always. So I'm helping you."
Vyse only laughed. "You've got our dogma down, Enrique!"
"Our beliefs are very much the same," Enrique said with a smile. "Well, I guess that concludes the tour of the ship. I believe Gilder said he wanted to talk to you when you were done searching everything."
"Oh, that's right." Vyse nodded. "What about you?"
"I, er…I think I need some fresh air…" he replied, and for the first time Vyse noticed that the prince was looking a little pale. "I'll be out on deck…"
"Haha…airsickness…" Vyse grinned sheepishly. "You do that."
Vyse helped Enrique out onto the deck, then went back up to the bridge where he had left Gilder. They had been sailing for three days now, and Vyse was utterly shocked at how far they had gotten. Even the Claudia hadn't been capable of making the time they did. It was an understatement to call the Delphinus a powerful ship; it was nothing short of a technological revolution, a modern miracle. It had taken Vyse all three of those days to explore every nook and cranny of the enormous vessel, and Aika and Fina were still gone looking it over. Fina had cooked them meals for all three of those days, content to find that the kitchen in the galley was very distantly similar to the kitchens she had at home. Aika in the meantime was more interested in the sheer immensity of the ship's guns.
Back up on the bridge, Vyse found Gilder at the helm, gazing out the window. Up until a few hours ago, Clara had been latched on to his arm and had refused to let go, but Aika had convinced her to go explore the lower decks and for the moment the rogue captain was free. When Vyse entered, he quickly whirled around, but immediately relaxed when he realized who it was.
"Praise the Moons. I thought you were Clara for a second," he said with a grin.
"Heh. Thankfully, no." Vyse grinned and stepped forward. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Well, first of all…" Gilder reached behind the main console and picked up a rough and rowdy looking kid by the nape of the clothes. "I caught this little bilge rat scampering around the ship. I was wondering if you wanted to deal with him."
Vyse's eyes went wide. "Marco! What are you doing here?"
"Did he just call me a bad name?" Marco demanded, swinging idly in Gilder's grasp. "I don't understand Meridian."
Vyse chuckled and grinned. "Not…by sailor standards, no. But what are you doing here?"
"Heh." Marco grinned slyly and folded his arms across his chest. "I'd heard that the Prince's ship had been finished and that he was gonna leave Valua soon. So I snuck on board. The Grand Fortress may be tough, but they don't expect little kids to go sneaking through there. Anyways…I'd heard the Prince was really nice and all…he's snuck down to Lower City before to help people…so I figured he wouldn't kill me for trying to escape Valua." The boy immediately perked up. "But I never expected you to take the ship! Now I don't have to go through the trouble of finding you!"
Vyse got a bit of a warm feeling inside his chest. He was reminded of Jimmy back at home, though Marco was far rougher around the edges to say the least. He smiled. "Well, so you found me. Now what do you plan on doing?"
Marco looked at him pointedly. "I heard the Prince say you were the captain of the ship because he can't sail. He said it when you were all talking here after you left Valua. I heard him! So you're gonna hire me onto your crew whether you like it or not, and I'm gonna be a sailor." And that, apparently, was that.
Vyse laughed. "You're pretty pushy there, kid. All right, I'll make you my first crewmember! And as Captain I order you to find Fina so she can get you some nice, warm clothes that fit. After that, ask her or Aika what you can do to help us out. Alright?"
Marco flashed him an enormous grin and a thumbs-up. "Aye aye!" he shouted. Vyse nodded at Gilder, who set the boy down, and Marco scampered off excitedly.
"Didn't even think about that," Gilder said with a smirk as he watched Marco leave. "I remember you telling me about that kid, but I never thought he would be the same one. Ah well. It's good to see that we were able to help him out too…though unintentionally. Heh!" He then turned to look at Vyse. "Anyways…I wanted to tell you that…I'm leaving."
Vyse gasped. "What? No, Gilder, you…you can't! We're all gonna miss you…"
Gilder smiled. "Kid, I wish I didn't have to leave, but I've got to get back to my men. They're no doubt getting restless without me, and I'm not about to leave the Claudia. Besides…this might be my only chance to escape from Clara."
Vyse grinned guiltily. "Well, I know you said you weren't ready to settle down."
"'Sides, I've got another woman on my mind." Gilder winked, then sighed. "You've got to understand a captain's duty to his crew…they're like a family, Vyse. And now that Enrique has made you his captain, there are some things you've got to live up to. I don't doubt that your crew will be happy with you though. People love you. For some reason, everybody follows you…myself included. That's because, no matter what, you never give up! Everyone knows they'll be protected with you. And with that attitude, in this ship…" He grinned and gave the wheel a spin. "…You're gonna sail around the world. You don't need me, kid. You're plenty successful on your own."
Gilder strode forward then, and leaned against the table in the center of the bridge, which currently had a few maps and navigational equipment rolled out on it. "Before I go, though, I have three pieces of advice -- from one Captain to another. First of all…you'll need a crew. With a ship this size, you'll need more than just Marco to keep it running and in top shape. You'll need some engineers, a good cook, some gunners, watchmen…think of all the crewmembers your father had. Valuan ships are far more complex than your normal sailing vessel, so you'll need some experienced people with you, but I'm sure there are plenty of folks out in the world who are willing to join the fight against Valua.
"Second…you're going to need a base. You need a place where you can repair your ship and plot your moves, and your crewmen will need warm meals and warm beds every once in a while. I'm based in Cape Claudia…and you said your father was based on Pirate Isle, right? Hmm…Meridia would therefore be too conspicuous for you…" He paused, rubbing his chin in thought, then grinned in sudden enlightenment and snapped his fingers. "I've got it! That island we found you on…Crescent Isle…that will be the perfect place for you to set up a headquarters. Nobody ever goes out there. Yeah…head out to that island, and I'll leave a surprise for ya.
"Third, and most important…never give up. You've proven that anything is possible, Vyse, and you've even bested me in your accomplishments. You're gonna be a legend just like Daccat if you stick to this, kid…I can just feel it. If you follow these three words of advice, you can do anything."
Vyse smiled, feeling absolutely overwhelmed. "Thanks, Gilder. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us. If there's ever a way I can repay you…just let me know."
"You don't need to repay me. Know why?" Gilder grinned. "My entire life, I've been searching for fun and adventure. But the time I spent with you…is the most fun I've ever had in my life!" He laughed. "Keep it up, kid!"
Suddenly, they heard a woman's voice calling Gilder's name. It was distinctly Clara's. Gilder's eyes widened and, turning around on his heel, he dashed for the door. With a call of "good luck!" he disappeared down the hall and then was gone. Vyse watched sadly as the Claudia pulled away a few minutes later. The Primrose was hot on her tail.
The next two and a half months were full of traveling. Vyse took the Delphinus south to Sailor's Island to pick up supplies and hire a few more crewmembers, then went northeast to Nasr to head back to Crescent Isle. During that whole time, Aika and Fina got themselves acquainted with the controls on the bridge, while Enrique spent most of his time out on deck, horribly airsick. Marco, in a new pair of sailor-style clothes Fina had tailored for him, ran around the ship keeping everything clean and in great shape. What bothered Vyse, however, was that they hadn't encountered a single Valuan ship since their escape. He had expected to be hunted, but even as they flew over Nasrad, there was nobody to be seen. Either they were too afraid to send anyone out after the Delphinus, or Valua had some horrible plans in store for him. Either way, he hadn't fired a single shot from the Delphinus' cannons since leaving Valuan airspace.
Among his new crewmembers were a few sailors of somewhat noteworthy stature. First there was Lawrence Navahl, a mercenary for hire that Enrique had to dig out ten thousand gold for. Regardless, Lawrence had proven his competence, working as both a skilled helmsman and an excellent raider. Second was Polly, who Aika had convinced to become their cook. Polly joined on the condition that they search for her husband, leaving her daughter Anne to care for the tavern until she got back. Third was Hans, who had since returned from Ixa'Taka with Centime, and who had a curious Tika Tika sailing with him to explore the "Eastern World". The hunter was working hard to learn Meridian, and though his speech was broken and thickly accented, he seemed to be picking it up quickly. As they doubled back through Nasrad, they landed and rescued a few survivors, including a burly Nasrean soldier by the name of Khazim al-Shiihad and his entire squadron to man their guns as well as a once powerful but now ruined merchant named Osman Jakiir who promised she would make them money and manage their cargo.
When they landed at last on Crescent Isle, they were met with a surprise. Waiting for them were two old men, a grizzled, short and fat one, and a lanky, tall and skinny one with a long beard. The small group stepped off their lifeboats and onto the island, surprised to see them there.
"Island-hoppers?" Aika murmured.
"Eehh-heh-heh-heh-heh!" the tall old man laughed. "Well howdy, howdy! Good to see y'all here. We been waitin' fer ya ever since Gilder told us about y'all!"
"Er…you're the 'surprise' Gilder left for us?" Vyse asked, cocking an eyebrow. Fina immediately bowed to them both.
"Yep! Eheh!" The tall old man rubbed at his bald head and grinned – showing that he had quite a few teeth missing. "Brabham Loomis at yer service! You won't find a better engineer un'ner the six moons!"
"Actually…" Hans began, but Lawrence silenced him with a look.
"Ba-baaaaamm!" The shorter old man cried. "And I'm his buddy, Jessup Izmael, the greatest carpenter ever! Ya want something built? I'll build it! Ya don't want something built? I'll build it anyway!"
"We're here at the request of Cap'n Gilder to join yer crew!" Brabham continued. "We'll also be buildin' ye a base, and he paid for it! What do ya say to that?"
"He paid for it?" Vyse's eyes went wide again. "How…much did that cost?"
"A mere seventy thousand gold," Izmael replied, beaming. Everybody sort of choked. "You can see behind me that I've already started. I've got most the place cleared out and a few bases down and see-mented in."
"And I been workin', too!" Brabham added, grinning again. "Gilder said yer hull and engine needed some work, so while ye were gone, I took the thirty thousand gold 'e gave me and made some upgrades for 'em both! I can install 'em for you tomorrow and then you can fly through both stone reefs and sky rifts without a hitch! Hoohoohoo!"
"Gilder spent a hundred thousand gold on us?!" Vyse cried.
"I'nni't great?" Brabham asked, beaming. "Good to have a friend like that, aye?"
"Anyways, we was cookin' dinner when you showed up in the distance." Izmael grinned. "S'all ready for you. So you just eat up and we'll pitch some tents for you to sleep in. Alrighty?"
"Er…thanks!" Aika replied, blinking.
The crew scattered to go claim their individual tents and eating spots as Vyse, Aika, and Fina, who was tending to the queasy Enrique, settled down by the beach. The prince looked positively miserable, though she sent pulses of soothing silver light into his body as she gently rubbed his back. He flopped down on the sand with a long groan and just sort of lay there.
"Haha…somebody's a little seasick." Aika grinned guiltily. "Are you gonna be alright, Enrique?"
"I'll be…erb…fine…" The Prince replied. "I just never realized that sailing could be so…so rough…"
"It takes a while to get used to it. Especially if you're usually a landlubber." Vyse mirrored Aika's grin. "Just give it some time."
"I just hope he can get up in the morning without the help of any servants," Aika teased, watching Enrique with a sidelong glance. "He's lived such a sheltered life…"
"Hey!" Enrique cried, though he made no move to turn or sit up. "I don't need servants for anything!"
The three laughed.
"You know…something's been bothering me, speaking of Valua…" Vyse stared down into the campfire Izmael had started for them. "We haven't seen a single Armada vessel since we escaped a two moons ago. Why haven't they sent Ramirez back out to catch us?"
"That's because the Delphinus uses moonstone frequencies to bounce back the radar waves we use to track other ships," Enrique replied. "She's invisible to the systems of our most advanced vessels, so searching for her is futile. They simply can't find us."
"Wow…" Vyse just blinked. Such a thing was beyond his comprehension.
"Uhm…speaking of Ramirez…" Aika hesitantly looked up, over to Fina. "Fina…I hope I'm not imposing or anything, but….there's something you haven't told us about Ramirez, isn't there?"
Fina gasped and sat up straight, staring at Aika with wide, fearful eyes. Vyse felt the need to go comfort her, especially as she bowed her head miserably, but something held him back.
"Oh!…I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was so personal." Aika frowned guiltily. "Don't worry. If it's too hard to talk about…you don't have to tell us."
Fina slowly shook her head and closed her eyes, and though it was evident she was crying, she looked back up at everyone. Enrique slowly sat up and gave her a slow nod, and she wiped at her eyes with the back of her head. "No…n-no…I've kept this from you for too long…and…and I should have told you earlier. I'm sorry."
Vyse felt his worry building.
Again, Fina bowed her head. "If you couldn't tell already, Ramirez is…is a Silvite. His real name is Ramir and he was…is…my older brother."
Vyse and Aika gasped in unison. They had recognized his Silvite heritage, but that he was related to Fina was something they had never thought of. There was simply no way that cold, heartless killer was related to meek and gentle Fina!
Fina continued in an unsteady voice. "Several years ago, my mother was sent down here to gather the moon crystals…and she never returned. After two years, she was pronounced dead, so Ramir volunteered to collect them in her place. Then…then Ramir also vanished. He cut his communications to us and we weren't sure if he was still alive or not. I was afraid for the worst. Another five years passed, and the Shrine Elders called upon me to search for the crystals…b-because I'm the last of our family." Fina bowed her head and looked away. "As it turns out, Ramir was picked up by an Armada vessel when he first came here. He decided he would use the Armada to get the crystals, then steal them and leave – that way he wouldn't have to cause any unnecessary bloodshed. But the Admiral he worked for lied to him about many things and…and the biggest insult of all to my people is being lied to. Ramir turned instead to Lord Galcian and has been working for him ever since. Even then…." She had to pause for a long time to regain her composure. "I'm not sure what has corrupted him so…what made him change so abruptly…"
Everyone fell silent. They didn't know what to say. Fina was simply crying now, curled up into a little ball and sobbing into her hands, and finally Aika scooted over to her and wrapped her arms around her friend in a tight hug.
"It'll be okay, Fina. Promise," she said, in an uncharacteristically soft voice. Fina wailed and began to sob into her shoulder.
Vyse and Enrique exchanged helpless glances. Neither was very good with girls, and crying girls made Vyse really uneasy. But he also felt for Fina…he could hear the pain and hopelessness in her voice, and he realized that she had been through a whole lot recently. But what could he do? He didn't know what made Fina really, truly happy. She had been thrown into his world without any knowledge of it, except for that she was alone. If he could, Vyse would have taken her home right then, and finished the quest on his own, just so she wouldn't have to worry anymore.
Vyse found no rest that night. Fina's story upset him as well, and for the entire evening he lay out atop the levee surrounding the island lake, staring up at the stars and the blazing red moon. Brabham was all over the place in the meantime, working on the Delphinus, whose sheer length alone was a quarter that of the island itself. He wondered how anyone slept with the racket, but the whole crew must have been more tired than he had anticipated.
When morning rolled around, Vyse realized that he had eventually fallen asleep. He woke up to find Aika and Fina cooking breakfast by their camping spot on the shore, and that Izmael and most of the crew was working on the buildings and clearing out the grove. The Delphinus shone brightly with its new armor plating, and he realized just how far Brabham had gotten over the night, considering he was a one-man operation. When Vyse sat up, he saw that Enrique was there driving a wooden flagpole into the ground not too far behind him.
"Ah! Buenos dias!" the prince greeted with a smile. "I hope I didn't wake you up."
"Heh. Nothing can wake me up," Vyse replied, rubbing at the back of his head groggily. He then looked up at the flagpole and blinked. "What's that?"
"Aika and Fina got together last night and decided that the ship needed a new flag," Enrique said. "We can't be air pirates and fly the flag of Valua at the same time. So they thought on things for a while and eventually they came up with something nice. I said I'd hang it up for them. See?" Enrique reached into his vest and pulled out a large roll of blue fabric – it was the same kind and color that Fina used to patch his tunic with. Sewn into it in white thread was a diving delphin with wings. "In ancient Valuan, the word 'Delphinus' translates into 'lord of the sky'…or so Fina says. My people don't know it, but the name Delphinus was actually given to the yellow Gigas as well. Later on, 'delphin', or 'sky king', was taken out of the word and used to name the actual animal. So Fina chose the animal to represent our ship."
"Interesting." Vyse grinned. "Delphi are a sailor's best friend…they warn you of incoming storms, lead you to the best fishing spots, and have been known to save you if you get shipwrecked. It's the perfect mascot for a Blue Rogue!" He laughed. "It may not instill fear into anybody, but it shows our good intentions."
Enrique laughed and grinned as he hooked the flag up to the pole and began to raise it. "Well, Aika thought the whole skull thing had been overdone, and Fina was frightened by them, so that was sort of out. Not your traditional pirates, those two."
"You should talk," Vyse replied, standing and elbowing him. "I'm gonna give you the nickname of the Prince of Thieves."
Enrique blushed. "Is that really appropriate?"
"Haha…I don't see why not," Vyse said.
It felt good to have his own flag flying in the warm breeze. As Brabham continued to make adjustments to the Delphinus, the others spent the next few days helping work on the base. By the end of the week, their ship was finished and the grove was cleared out enough to make room for ample housing.
That night, Fina approached Vyse, Aika and Enrique, and sat down quietly.
"Uhm…I know you all want to work on the base more, but…I…I really think we should head out in search of the next crystal now that the Delphinus is ready." She bowed her head. "I-I hope I don't seem too pushy."
"Not at all!" Vyse replied, with a grin. "I've been getting itchy to travel anyways. What's next on the list, do you think?"
"Well…" Fina smiled, looking relieved. "Far, far to the east, in the gentle light of the blue moon, there lies the land of Yafutoma. The blue crystal will be hidden there."
"Wait a minute!" Aika shook her head quickly. "That's not possible! The blue moon lies on the very edge of the world! Nobody can get there, so there can't possibly be a country there!"
"Oh, Aika." Fina giggled. "It's like I told Vyse. There is no end of the world. Yafutoma is very real."
Aika's dark eyes went wide. "There's no…end?"
"Actually, there's proof of the Yafutoman empire's existence, if Fina's talking about what I think she is," Enrique replied. "It's information privy to only my mother, Galcian and I, but it came from a reliable source. During the beginning of our occupation of Ixa'Taka, many soldiers had reported seeing ships on the other side of the Great Barrier Reef. They described these ships as being very light and flimsy looking, but they were incredibly fast and definitely not anything of Ixa'Takan design. When these reports reached Ramirez, he described to us a people who wore scales for armor and who ate their food with sticks. It all seemed very far-fetched at the time."
"Yes! That is part of Yafutoman culture!" Fina replied, beaming. "Your people are very observant, Enrique. I'm glad Ramir was able to explain some things to you."
"Whoa, whoa, wait." Aika looked positively aghast. "They have scales and they eat people with sticks?! There is no way I'm going to a place like that! We encounter enough monsters as it is!"
Vyse heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. "They only appear when you're standing in a city of gold and your hair catches on fire, Aika."
She slugged him hard in the shoulder.
"Well, okay…so we're going to Yafutoma," Vyse said, rubbing at his upper arm. He knew he'd have a bruise in the morning. "But how long will it take? How do we get there?"
"That's the problem…" Fina frowned. "There are two barriers to the world you know, which is why there is the conception that the world is flat and that there's an end to it. The Great Barrier Reef to the west prevents anyone from going past Ixa'Taka and North Ocean, and the Dark Rift to the east prevents anyone from going beyond Nasr. With your current technology, I'm not sure you can make it."
"I've heard about the Dark Rift…" Enrique said, thoughtfully. Suddenly he looked up. "Twenty years ago, during the Valua-Nasr war, we discovered some uncharted land at the tip of the Nasrean continent. We claimed it in the name of Valua and named it Cape Victory. A large city was built there, called Esparanza – it means 'hope' in Valuan. The sailors there challenged the Dark Rift in Valua's name in the hope of reaching the fabled lands to the east, but it's unknown if anybody ever made it or not. However, they may have some ideas as to how we can cross the Rift safely."
"Even my people know precious little of the Dark Rift. It is a mystery that has baffled Silvite scholars for years," Fina said. "Any information we can find will be helpful. As for the Rift itself…crossing it might take even longer than it took us to cross South Ocean. I'm not sure. We should probably get more supplies and more crew members to be safe."
"Where else can we look, though?" Vyse asked.
"Well, we're pretty big-time now, right?" Aika asked in turn. "If we can't find anyone to help us in Esparanza, let's post something and see who turns up."