Chapter 9: Trouble in the Karagol
The next day, in the palace King Raniel, the three Djinn hunters set out for the Karagol. Although it was only a lake, the Karagol held many misteries, for example, it's salty water, and it's overall sea-like appearance. Not to mention the Island that didn't appear on any map, and that no one could find, Crossbone Isle. It was undoubtely the fastest way towards the Western civilizations, such as Anemos and Ankohl, and the passage to Magma Rock and Gondowan.
"Go, brave Djinn hunters. But remember that the enemy already knows about you three, and will hunt you down, wherever you are".
King Raniel smiled again. Instead of sending three warriors to fight against some impossible odds, he felt like sending three kids to see the world with their own eyes. And He knew that the dangers of the road were great. But He trusted them, even if He had met them for the first time.
"I hope that we meet again, Max. That joke about the priest and the sacrificial goat was hilarious."
Max nodded and smiled. He knew that the King considered him a friend. And He considered the King as a friend too.
"Leng, my dear friend and loyal messenger. Remember, those demons will hunt you down. This message is very important. King Shinryuu must receive it before the enemy makes it's move. Don't let anything get in your way".
Leng nodded. His mission was simple: Make Shinryuu remember the alliances of old, and come to the aid of Vale. The four lighthouses were important, but the Stone of Sages was .
"Joe, remember my advice. Although I'm no Jupiter Adept, the blood of the Dragon Clan runs in my veins. And it tells me that you three will need help. It doesn't matter how strong you are, you cannot fight this war alone".
Joe looked at the King with those calm eyes for a second, and then nodded. The wisdom of many ages was in King Raniel's blood.
"All that I can give you are these Shirts and these boots. These will greatly increase your speed". They put them on. They had the sun god, Sol, engraved in gold in their chest, surrounded by the four elementals, each engraved with a gem of the corresponding element' color: ruby for mars, sapphire for mercury, opal for venus, and topaz for Jupiter. Luna was woven exactly where the sun was, with ithildin threads. In daytime, Sol would appear with all his might, and in nightime, the faint light of Luna would light their way. It was truly a magnificent work. The boots were of different color each .
"Farewell, my friends. May the Golden Sun watch over you".
They left Vault at sunrise, and set out for the Vale River. It's current still held golden reflections, and it's waters were pure. There was no doubt that it began in the mountains around the Golden Sun, which nourished everything, including the four elementals. Turning south, they came across the second drawbridge that King Raniel had built, and turned East to the lake. They got there at the sixth hour since sunrise (which was undoubtedly a first for anyone), and the ferry had just arrived. The next one would leave half an hour later.
"There's nothing like the smell of the Karagol to lift your spirits, my friends" said Leng "I have to say that this day looks promising already. I hope that nothing goes wrong".
"And why would anything be wrong, Leng?" said Max, who was looking overboard.
"Well, the captain seems worried about something" He answered "And there were some sort of scars on the ships hull. I think that they ran into monsters".
"Monsters? Well, no problem. Max the Great is here to hunt down any monster that dares to come near the ship".
"And what would you do against this underwater monsters, Max?" said Joe. He was on the deck too, sharpening his sword with a black stone. Sometimes, he casted a fire orb and put his sword in it for some time, and then sharpening it again, as a portable forge.
"Well... Well what would YOU do, Joe?" Max said, grinning "These monsters are strong against fire, or so I've heard".
"Mars and Mercury are both strong and weak against each other". said Joe, calmly "It all depends on who attacks first".
"That's true, Max" said Leng "And let's not forget that these monsters may be possessed by Lower Demons".
"All right, All right". Said Max "I get it. But then again, what kind of monsters would attack ships and leave those marks"
There were bumps all along the right side of the hull, and some sort of black tint covered the ship's name "Purple Island". Also there were signs of teeth and claws under the floating line. Max called one of the sailors and asked him about it. The sailor looked around, and said, clearly horrified:
"These marks were done after some krakens and serpents attacked our ship. They were looking for some Really powerful warriors, it seems. The captain told them that there were no passengers with that descriptions, only the usual merchants and travellers. After that they left peacefully. I don't want to travel in that ship again, but I have to, It's the only job I'm good at, and my wife works selling tickets, so we're never that far away" He sobbed "What's the world coming to, when a man can't travel around the Karagol lake peacefully?"
"No problem, kid. We're the ones they've been looking for" said Max. The sailor looked at the three of them, smiling.
"You don't look very powerful. Thank you, but I hope the real warriors come soon". And with that he left.
"Don't we look powerful, Leng?" He asked, checking his armor and weapons.
"Only to those that can feel our power" said Joe. Leng nodded.
"He's right. That man couldn't feel our power". He paused thinking. "He doesn't look like it, but I think that He comes from the Shaman Tribe".
"Shaman tribe? I thought they were dead." said Max.
The legends spoke of the Shaman tribe as the people that did not accept the gift of the gods (Psynergy) when the Elder tribe appeared, and they didn't fought in those wars. The Shaman tribe were fierce physical warriors, who created many of the magical items of the world, such as the Bramble Seeds and the Weasel claws. They had not been forgotten by the people around them, though. A thousand years ago, some renegades from the Dragon Tribe invaded Shaman territory. The war, if war can it be called, was extremely short, resulting in half of their cities being destroyed. The Anemos hurried to their aid, and even if they defended the Shamans, they were feared, because they used the same power that the dragons, Psynergy. Since then, the Shaman tribe has only established relations with Ankohl. They pick up all kinds of metals and items that only exist in their lands, and sell them to Ankohl, which in turn makes equipment which sells to everybody.
"No, they aren't" said Leng "There's only one shaman town left in Hesperia, and it's location it's a secret. I hear that it's very difficult to find, even if you know where to look".
The ship was ready to sail. The captain was an old Jupiter Adept, so he controlled the winds to sail through the fastest and safest way around the Karagol.
An hour later they were sailing peacefully on the waters of the Karagol lake. The clear waters were rippling with large fishes, and the sun was high. It was another routine travel for the Purple Island, until the moment that they saw that all of the fishes had vanished. Suddenly, the waters grew dark, an instead of clear water, they felt like sailing in a giant lake of black ink. Suddenly, the sky grew dark as well, and the ship was the only thing visible, while all around it there was a complete darkness. And then the ship began to rock. Then they saw it. A giant Serpent, with the body as thick as the mast, and longer than the ship began to circle it. And there was also a giant kraken, the biggest one ever seen in the lake, with it's pink tentacles moving like snakes. But when all hope was lost, three warriors began to battle the creatures, amidst the most terrible storm that anyone could remember.
"Now, serpent, you'll see what we're made of!" cried Max "Stone Spire!" Several spires appeared out of nowhere and fell on the serpent. With a huge roar it was sliced in half. But then the tail closed its wounds and grew a head. The head grew a tail, and both attacked the ship. One of them attacked Leng with its tail, but his reflexes were enough to jump over it.
Meanwhile, Joe faced off against the Kraken. It's attacks seemed to come from everywhere, but Joe always parried or blocked where He had to. He stabbed one of the tentacles, and then He focused a fireball in his sword. The resulting explosion was enough to burn it away. But many more surrounded him. He knew that the longer the fight continued, the more damage the ship would take. And so He decided to take a risky decision.
"Liquifier!" Several bolts of fire shot out from his body. He had to focus or the attack wouldn't hit the Kraken, and it would burn the whole ship. The bolts were sent straight into the sky, and then back down, and entered the kraken's body. Burned from the inside, the creature fell overboard.
The second serpent lunged at Max. He had no problem ducking the attack, which hit the mast. Max looked at it for just a split second, wondering how would they sail without it, but that was enough time for the serpent to attack again. It's tail trapped him in a thight and deadly embrace. But when the serpent drew closer, a sudden flow of Venus psynergy formed a giant sword in the sky. The sword came down with incredible speed and cut the serpent's head from the rest of the body, which releasedd Max. He quickly smashed it with his Mace, the poison that came from it was enough to corrode the rest of the body.
But the first serpent was still alive, and fighting Leng. His powers were very dangerous to use in such a situation, as a simple tornado would destroy the ship, and a thunder would fry them alive, so he had to be careful. He parried several lunges, and ran towards starboard, forcing the creature to surround the ship entirely. When it's body was totally off the ship, he attacked.
"Spark Plasma!" He cried. Several flashes of lightning fell on the creature, destroying it completely.
But those weak monsters were the least of their worries. Suddenly, a tall figure appeared from under the lake. It wore a mythril crown, which hid part of his face, except the eyes that were a bright silver. Half of it's body was like a giant man, muscular and powerful, but from the waist down, it was like a fish's tail, with it's many reflections of blue and green.
It was Poseidon, Ruler of the Seas, and King of the Sea-dwellers tribe.
"Poseidon!" shouted Leng"Stop this! You must listen to me!"
"My orders are simple". He Answered. His voice was deep and loud "To destroy the three Djinn hunters. Die".
He pointed his trident at the ship. Suddenly, Giant bubbles began to crash against the ship's hull, severely damaging it. But Joe would not give up without a fight.
"Inferno!" He cried. Hundreds of fireballs formed and attacked the powerful King. The explosions were huge, but the mighty King of the Oceans appeared to have taken no damage.
"Pretentious human. You can't hurt me with that. Take this! Ocean Fist!" a giant tornado where Wind and Water seemed to join each other struck Joe. He tried to block it to no avail, and was sent flying towards the dark waters of the lake.
"Joe!" cried Neo.
But the assault didn't end there. Poseidon casted a giant wave against the ship, until finally it's hull gave in. It sunk with all of it's passengers, save for two, to the bottom of the Karagol lake.