Hello, everyone, I hope ye all fare well on this fine day (or night, whenever you happen to be reading). Here we have it, another exciting, fun filled, action packed chapter, on the Karagol Sea!
Just before I start, I'd just like to give a big thank you to anyone how has reviewed thus far. Your thoughts, opinions, reflections, questions, suggestions, criticisms, etc. have all been a great encouragement for me to continue writing. After all, writing is a symbiotic relationship between writer and reader. If no one read, there wouldn't be no show, and if that was really so, then that would really blow. So thank you all.
Well, here's your chapter, then. Enjoy!
PS: Another thank you to my mate, Josh, who once again suggested another good chapter title when all I could come up with was a mediocre one. Thanx mate!
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE DANGERS OF THE KARAGOL
They paid one of the large sailors on guard to let them on board, ascending the ramp. Standing on the deck felt somewhat uncomfortable for Isaac, and not very safe. The boat rocked slowly back and forth, so the deck was unstable and he had to continuously keep shifting his weight in order to keep balance.
"Is the boat meant to be doing this?" he asked in a concerned tone. "It doesn't feel too good."
"Relax, Isaac, its fine." Ivan replied. "The boat's just rocking with the waves. You'll get used to it eventually. Either that, or get sea sick."
"That doesn't sound too good…" Garet moaned. "What's sea sickness?"
"Getting sick from the motion of the boat." Ivan explained. "I've been on plenty of boat trips, so I know what to expect. What about you, Mia?"
"I've been on boats before, but not for a while." she replied. "But if either of them doesn't feel well, I'm confident I can heal them. It's quite simple to do, really."
All about them were dozens of passengers and sailors milling about the decks, the sailors were working to get the ship ready for sail, the passengers seemingly getting in the way. Every few seconds, they heard a sailor curse a passenger for being in their way as they stalked the deck with heavy bits of rope. The deeply tanned men seemed to move about quite normally, as though the wave like rocking of the boat didn't affect them.
Still, some of the passengers seemed to be getting impatient to be going, several times Isaac had already heard one of them ask a sailor when they would get moving, always getting a gruff reply that went along the lines of "When the captain says so."
"Let's go down below deck and find somewhere to sit." Isaac suggested. "We have a while to wait, it seems, and we're only getting in the way here." The others agreed, and they headed for the wooden doors that would take them to the passenger's cabins.
Inside, the cabin was quite crowded, as dozens of passengers sat at tables and chairs that were nailed to the floor, while waiting for something to happen. There were all sorts of varieties of people, from Kalayan merchants, to warriors of Xian, to Koliman lumberjacks and even some rough individuals that looked as though they were thieves from Lunpa. Everyone had their travel packs with them, apparently there were no rooms to stay in while sailing.
The four of them found an empty table and sat down to wait.
"So, how long will this trip last?" Isaac asked as they sat down.
"Should only take us a day to get to the others side, with any luck we'll be there by nightfall." Ivan answered. "Trust me; I've been this way with Master Hammett many times. Although, they do seem to be delaying a bit… if they don't set sail soon…"
"How much longer is this going to take?" a voice from behind Isaac asked out loud, making him turn to look. A large man dressed in blue clothing, who appeared to be a warrior, was confronting one of the sailors.
"It won't be much longer!" the sailor snapped impatiently at the blue warrior, in a tone that suggested he regarded the question as a waste of his time. "The captain say's, when our replacement boat from the other side gets here, then we'll be moving!"
"We've been waiting forever!" the blue warrior's companion complained, a man in orange clothing who appeared to be an even bigger fighter than his friend, "Tell the captain, if this ship doesn't get moving, we're going ashore and walking there!"
"So how much longer is 'not much longer'?" The blue one demanded.
"I don't know, it's hard to say!" The sailor answered.
"That's it, Ouranos! Let's get moving!" The blue one declared.
"Right you are, Sean! We'll get things moving ourselves!" The orange partner, Ouranos, replied.
"Where are you going?" the sailor asked in mock curiosity, "You'll never reach Colosso in time if you walk!"
"We aren't walking there!" Sean snapped indignantly, "We're persuading the Captain to move now!"
"Yeah! He sounds like he just needs a little encouragement!" Ouranos smirked.
The two fighters moved before the sailor could stop them, leaving him chasing after them, pleading not to hurt the Captain.
"Those two goons are going to start a fight, I just know it." Mia said.
"I'm going to check things out." Isaac declared. "If they lose their temper and fight the captain, I don't think we'll end up anywhere..." The fate of the world depended on their swiftness, and he couldn't risk it because of the impatience of a couple of idiots.
"I'm coming with you!" Garet told him. "You'll need some muscle to back you up if things get ugly."
Isaac and Garet headed for the door, with Ivan and Mia trailing behind them wordlessly. Isaac stepped once more out on the deck, still a little unsure of his footing on the ever moving wooden floor, and looked around. Sean and Ouranos were right ahead, looking about the deck for signs of the boat captain, who was apparently not around.
"Look, you can leave the captain alone, or we'll throw you off the ship!" the sailor warned, but neither warrior heeded him. Already most of the passengers were inside.
Isaac saw the boat captain first. An old, sea weathered man with long gray hair held back by a leather cord in more elaborate clothing than the other sailors Isaac had seen. He had to be the captain! The Captain stood with another man above the cabin roof behind them.
"Kaja, are the oarsmen ready?" he asked the man next to him, a huge hulking fellow with a shaved head and thick beard.
"Aye, captain, they be ready to face the sea without fear." Kaja answered. "But if we're attacked by those… things, then we may have a bit of trouble, I can't defend them all on me own."
"This sea has grown more dangerous in the past couple of weeks." the captain gloomed. "I'm beginning to fear that our replacement may have been sunk along the way."
"In which case, the Karagol is far too dangerous to sail!" Kaja replied gruffly. "We haven't got a hope if we're attacked, we'll have to hire any warriors or mercenaries on board to help us fight!"
"And what if a rower is injured?" the captain asked. "Or more than one? We will be unable to proceed and be sunk. We cannot proceed, it is too dangerous."
"But if we hire some of the potential Colosso fighters that are onboard, we might stand a chance!" Kaja protested.
"Well… it would be a waste to let so many passengers and so much profit be lost…" the captain mused.
"Excuse me!" Isaac interrupted, as he climbed the stairs to join them by the wheel that was supposed to steer the ship. "What were you saying about this trip being dangerous?"
"Haven't you heard?" the big man, Kaja, asked. "The Karagol Sea is infested with Sea Monsters!"
Sea Monsters? Since Mount Aleph erupted, scattered Psynergy Stones had warped many animals around Angara into dangerous monsters. Could that be what had happened here in the Karagol Sea?
Before he could reply, Sean and Ouranos bustled up into their little spot, rudely pushing Ivan and Mia out of their way, with the same sailor as before trailing after them.
"When are we going to start sailing?" Sean demanded.
"We don't want to be waiting much longer!" Ouranos informed the captain. "Some of us passengers are beginning to get restless! We need to be in Tolbi in time to join Colosso."
"Relax; we're planning to set sail now." The captain said calmly, unperturbed by their attitude.
"Oh, ok then… I guess maybe we were a little hasty…" Ouranos muttered.
"But, there is one thing however." Kaja began.
"What! Not more delays, is it?" Sean asked impatiently.
"No, but the sea is dangerous, and we'll need warriors to protect us." Kaja explained, clearly holding back his anger.
"What do you mean by dangerous?" Ivan asked, and for the first time everyone looked down to him.
"Yes, you asked me that just a moment ago, didn't you?" the captain asked.
"Actually, that was me." Isaac informed him.
"Sorry, my apologies, but yes, the sea is dangerous." was the captain's answer. "Monsters infest the water, and attack sailing vessels regularly. They're very dangerous."
"We heard you talking," Mia began. "You said you need warriors to protect the ship while it sails?"
"Yep, but I'm the only one available on deck." Kaja answered. "Are any of you willing to volunteer?"
"I'll help you protect the ship, then!" Sean offered.
"Me, too!" Ouranos added. "We're preparing to enter Colosso, so this should make good practice."
"Well, then, we're almost ready to go!" The captain said. "However, if you three are protecting the deck, who will guard the rowers inside the ship? We need more."
"We'll give you a hand there!" Garet offered without consulting Isaac.
"Sure, we desperately need to get to the other side in time, so we'll do whatever it takes!" Isaac added.
"Only two?" Kaja questioned doubtfully. "We'll probably need more than that in there… We'd better ask some of the other warriors on board if they're willing to help out also."
"Hey, us two will be helping out our friends too!" Mia told the big sailor.
"We might not look it, but we just as good warriors as our friends here!" Ivan added in a somewhat stronger tone than Isaac was used to seeing from the Jupiter Adept.
"Well… if you're willing, then… we do need all the help we can get." Kaja shrugged, "But it is dangerous work." Then he turned to the captain, whose name Isaac still hadn't caught. "Just to be on the safe side, we'll see if we can get any others to help out anyway."
"Good idea, Kaja." The captain nodded. "But what if one of the rowers should be injured? We can't risk being trapped in the middle of the sea."
"I'll see if some of the passengers will be willing to help out with rowing as well." Kaja replied.
"Good work, step on it." The captain smiled, and then Kaja left. "All right, then. With three warriors on deck, and four down below, plus whatever extra volunteers Kaja can get, we should be safe to sail."
"Finally!" Sean sighed. "I was waiting to hear that."
"I was getting worried we'd never leave." Ouranos agreed. "This is great! We can get in an extra training session against these sea monsters before Colosso! This shouldn't be too hard." The two of them walked off to the deck, talking with one another.
"I can't believe we just volunteered to fight on this ship!" Mia sighed. "I was hoping for a more peaceful ride! Oh well, I might still be able to help out by seeing if I can heal anyone who's getting sea sick."
"I think you'd better try and save your Psynergy." Isaac told her, looking around to make sure no one heard him using that word. "If these monsters really are warped by Psynergy stones like the ones we've seen so far, then we'll need all the strength we can get."
"There's a storm coming out on that sea." Ivan noted, looking out across the waves of water. "I can feel it in the wind." There were thick black clouds above the water, and thunder peeled ominously in the distance.
"It's true." Mia agreed. "There is a lot of water in the air… here the water and wind Psynergy must be mixing together to make these monsters and that storm. But I feel that it shouldn't be too bad."
"Yeah, well, let's get down stairs and check out this area Kaja wants us to defend." Garet said, moving for the door.
"Garet, the correct term is 'below decks'" Ivan corrected.
"Ah, whatever, same thing."
They entered the room where they had been sitting before, and quickly found Kaja who was with two other would be Colosso warriors. The man quickly showed them to the rowers room, where rows of oars sat parallel to long wooden seats. At these seats sat rows of powerfully built, sailors with huge upper body muscles, two to an oar, awaiting the moment to set sail.
Despite the fact they knew that they were heading into sea monster territory, they didn't seem the least bit concerned. They were probably used to this by now.
"So, you kids, this is where you will defend the rowers. Just stay here and attack any monsters that get in." He motioned to another warrior that had joined them. This man looked a bit like Felix, Isaac thought, with the green cloak and long brown hair. "This is Lance. He volunteered to help out with defending this place also, so try to work together with him. I'll be on deck if you need anything. By the way, try not to die, will ya? Bad for morale, y'know, and the lads are already feeling a bit down about the trip." With that he turned to leave, but Mia stopped him.
"Excuse me, but do you think that storm forming out there will be dangerous?" she asked.
"Not at all!" Kaja grinned wolfishly. "We've come across far worse storms than that little one and come out in one piece. We'll be fine, so just relax, okay?"
As Kaja left the crew and Isaac's group, as well as their new 'partner', Lance, they heard a lot of shouted voiced up ahead, sounding like they were getting ready to set sail. Soon, Kaja was heard bellowing orders. A few more moments, then they heard Kaja shout from upon deck, "All right, sea dogs, start rowing those oars!"
All of the oarsman started rowing their oars in perfect synchronization, which only years of practice could grant. Men with huge muscles and deeply tanned skin moved the heavy oars in a steady rhythm. With a slow lurch, the ship began moving off from the shore into the Karagol Sea. The ship continued to rock slowly, yet unpredictably. Isaac and Garet still had trouble keeping their feet, while Ivan and Mia quickly gained their 'sea legs', as the sailors called it.
"Hey, you guys." Lance spoke up gruffly. "We'll come up against some pretty tough stuff out there. Our best bet is to co-ordinate our efforts. Just do as I say, and you just might survive. Honestly, inexperienced kids such as yourselves shouldn't even be fighting."
"Hey, we aren't 'inexperienced' and we aren't 'kids'!" Garet retorted. "And I'll have you know that I take orders from our group leader, Isaac." Isaac didn't like being called 'leader', but then, he didn't really like the idea of this guy taking control.
"You know, arrogance like that could get you into trouble one day." Ivan warned in an unusually strong voice.
"Oh, come on, you honestly think you have the skills and experience necessary to handle a situation like this?" the warrior sneered. "Look at you! You fight with a wood cutting tool! And that kid barely looks old enough to handle a sword and this guy-"
"My name is Isaac." The Earth Adept cut in strongly. "And we do know how to handle ourselves in combat."
"How would you know if we're experienced or not." Mia spat, incensed by his words. "I can personally testify to how well our group fights."
"My lady, you needn't e here with us." Lance spoke in a suddenly smooth voice. "You clearly have no means of defense, if you stay by my side, then I can ensure my protection…" He took her hands in his, as though to offer her a vow.
She snatched it back, coldly shrugging off his advances with, "As a matter of fact, I 'can' defend myself, and if I need protection, my friends can be counted on."
Lance regarded the four of them spitefully. "Fine then, have it your way. I don't need your help anyway; I can defend this room myself!" With that, he stalked off to the other side of the room, near the entrance.
Isaac and the others seated themselves in wait. If these sea monsters were going to attack, it seemed they probably had a wait ahead of themselves.
"That one needs to learn a thing or two about teamwork." one of the oarsmen remarked with a chuckle, "If you can't rely on your teammates to help out in a critical situation, you're as good as dead, and'll wind up on Crossbone Island haunted by Deadbeard."
"Who's 'Deadbeard' and what's 'Crossbone Island'?" Isaac asked curiously.
"An old legend amongst those in the region around the Karagol." Ivan explained.
"Aye, lad. They say way back in the Lsot Age was a terrible pirate, feared by all, who went by the name 'Deadbeard'. Used mystic powers to steal many incredible treasures, the likes of which you can't imagine. Buried it all on Crossbone Island, and cursed it all they say, so any who tried to steal it was killed. They say the ghost of Deadbeard still guards his horde upon his shipwreck. Any who finds this mystic island and slays the ghost may keep the horde."
"That's just a tale told to kids, mate." another oarsman scoffed.
"Aye, true enough, but just imagine if someone did find Crossbone Island, and it's buried treasure?"
"They wouldn't." his mate replied seriously. "It's just a legend. Just like Lemuria." Now there was a legend that Isaac was familiar with in stories told to him by his father. The fabled city from the Lost Age that still existed, hidden from the world deep out at sea. Now there was a myth!
"I dunno about that, mate." another oarsman mused. "Rumor has it, old man Babi has sent out ships before in the past the search for Lemuria. Can't be that much of a myth if he's searching for it."
"You can't believe all you hear in rumor, mate." His friend shook his head doubtfully.
For a few minutes, the journey was pretty straightforward. They sat amongst the oarsman in idle chatter, waiting for the ship to arrive at Tolbi Docks. At one point, Ivan made a comment about how they should use sails to utilize the power of the wind, but was told that the winds in the Karagol were too unpredictable to be relied upon.
Then something happened. Upstairs, they heard a commotion up on deck, the sound of the crew shouting, of monsters growling threats in incomprehensible tongues. The 'Sea Monsters' had attacked.
"Stay where you are, lads." The head oarsmen called out. "If they come down here, these here warriors will take care of 'em."
Suddenly, it occurred to Isaac that they had no plan, yet.
"Hey, everyone, we need to think about what we're gonna do." He told his friends. "Remember, we can't use any Psynergy." He whispered the last word, so that none of the oarsmen heard him. "So… Garet, me and you should go in first and take out whatever we can. Ivan, it's probably best you stay behind and fight whatever gets past us. Mia… uh, can you fight with that staff?"
"Um… no, I don't think so." she replied uncertainly.
"Well then, maybe… you should hold back and see if you can heal anyone who gets injured." She seemed almost eager for this role.
"I'd be happy to." she smiled. "That's something I know I can do, even without… you know." She left it unsaid, but they all knew what she meant.
"Sounds like a plan." Garet grinned.
"Whatever you say, Isaac." Ivan nodded. They couldn't say anything more, as creatures burst into the room. A blue, scaly amphibious lizard like humanoid thing burst in followed by several others.
Lance was up like a shot, swinging his sword while dodging swipes from the lizard man thing's sharp claws. Whatever his attitude, Isaac had to admit he was good with a sword. Maybe Lance really would do well in Colosso.
Isaac and Garet quickly joined in, axe and sword held ready.
"Take the ones on the left; I'll go for the right!" Isaac called. Garet threw himself at one of the blue monsters, severing its head with a powerful swing of his battle axe, spinning around straight away to face another.
Isaac jumped at another, expertly stabbing it in the heart with his sword before it could react. He tore it out and spun around, severing the head of another of to his side. As Lance and Garet finished off the last of their foes, Isaac turned to face his.
They circled one another, sizing each other up. The lizard moved like a striking python to slash Isaac's face, but Isaac, his senses much faster to react after many battles like this, quickly swung his blade to remove the monster's hand at the wrist. Not wasting a moment, he swung again and scored a killing blow to the creature's blue, scaly chest felling it like a dead tree.
All those amphibious lizard things were dead. Even Ivan, it seemed, had somehow gotten one when Isaac wasn't looking.
"Perhaps you're not as bad a swordsmen as you look." Lance remarked beside him. Isaac wasn't sure whether to be thankful or insulted, so instead settled for a neutral grunt in reply. But it seemed it wasn't over yet.
"Damnit, some of those cursed War Squids are crawling along the roof!" someone, probably an oarsmen, shouted. Even Isaac knew that squids belonged in the water, not climbing around boats. He looked up to see yellowy, oversized squids crawling along the roof like spiders. About two dozen of them.
"Don't let 'em sting ya!" someone shouted. "Their poison is quick and deadly!" Several of the deadly looking things dropped to the floor with a wet slopping sound. Isaac had to step aside to barely avoid having one land on him. He immediately sliced it open with his blade, cutting it like a piece of fat.
A few of them actually landed on some people, including Lance. He tried frantically to rip it off, but it stuck to his skin like glue. Suddenly, shocked agony swept across his face, then his skin turned a pallid white, and he fell to the floor with short, sickly breaths. The thing let go, and crawled away seeking new prey until Isaac stabbed his sword through it, blade through to the wood, killing it.
"What are these 'things'!" Mia shrieked, provoking Garet to tell her to get back as he slammed his battleaxe into another squid crawling along the wall.
Isaac noticed that a couple of the oarsmen had also been struck down by the venomous, yellowy squids crawling along the floors and walls like slugs.
If only we could use Psynergy, then we could annihilate them all easily!
"Mia, get the injured out of the way and see if you can help them." Isaac called out, giving an order only because the situation called for things to be done quickly.
The blue haired healer scurried along to drag away limp, unconscious bodies to the back to the back of the room while Ivan protected her with his short sword, Shaman's Rod temporarily useless and tucked into the back of his robe's belt. Meanwhile, Isaac and Garet focused on hacking up the monstrous squids with their respective weapons. The squids were slow and very weak, easy to kill, so within a minute Isaac and Garet had finished them all off.
The oarsmen continued rowing with single minded determination, their pace picked up slightly out of panic, but they showed no fear or thoughts of stopping.
"Can you continue rowing all right, there?" Isaac asked the oarsmen.
"We'll be right 'ere, mate, you needn't worry." one of them answered in a rough voice. "We'll continue rowin', no matter what. But we will need a few replacements for the ones that went down, if we want to go at full speed." Isaac looked around to see that there were, in fact, four oarsmen as well as Lance knocked out by the killer squids.
"Those damn squids!" Garet growled.
"I'll go and see if I can find any passengers to help row!" Ivan said, and then darted up the stairs like a shot.
"I'll go with him to make sure he's safe." Garet added, before chasing after Ivan, battleaxe in tow.
"Will they be alright?" Isaac asked, grateful for the brief lapse in danger.
"It's nothing serious." Mia assured him, as she took the symptoms of the victims. "It doesn't appear to be a very lethal poison. A small dose of anti-venom potion should fix them up. They'll be fine after a while."
"That's good." Isaac nodded. The last thing he wanted was the lives or livelihood of others on his conscience because he wasn't good enough. Of course, it they'd been able to use Psynergy, it might have been different. But then, it might have left them with some awkward questions to answer.
Mia administered some medicine to each of the victims from her pack, which seemed to help ease the taut muscles in their immobile bodies. After a few more minutes, they heard some heavy footsteps running down the stairs, and then Garet's large frame appeared in the doorway, fresh blood on his axe blade.
"Are their any more of them sea monsters down here?" he asked in a hurry.
Isaac shook his head. "Not yet." The Mars Adept let out a sigh of relief.
"Good, there were a few along the way, and a whole lot on deck fighting the crew. I really wish we could go up there and help 'em out…" Ivan pushed past him followed by a few of the passengers who had volunteered to help. Fit, young men, one of which looked big enough to have been a full time oarsmen. The head rower made his way up to them, and immediately began shouting orders.
"All right, you, here." He locked eyes with one man and pointed to a vacant seat. "The rest of you, there, there and there." He pointed to empty rowing seats. "And start rowing for your lives – which you are, by the way – to get to Tolbi Docks before the sun sets, or I'll have your flamin' hides!" The men quickly moved to their seats to begin rowing to keep the ship moving for all that they were worth.
"I'll leave you to look after the fighting aspect." he then said, turning to Isaac. "You've shown that you're more than capable of leading a group into battle."
"Yes, I guess I am." Isaac replied modestly, unsure of how to respond.
"These people will be fine." Mia stated matter-of-factly. "There's nothing more for me to do here. What are they doing with the wounded up on deck?"
"They're taking them to an unused cabin…" Ivan began.
"Where? Take me there!" she interrupted. "I can help out more over there."
"She's right, Ivan. Show her, please." Isaac sighed. The Wind Adept quickly disappeared with the Water Adept up the stairs, leading to wherever.
The ship continued sailing at a steady pace, while up on deck they heard another clash take place. Kaja was heard bellowing orders and cursing loudly, while sailors shouted and monsters growled.
"I wish we could help them." Garet moaned. "I feel useless sitting here doing nothing."
"Well, someone has to make sure the ships keeps moving, otherwise we're all gone."
A few minutes later, Ivan returned with a panicked look on his face.
"There are a whole bunch of monsters, right behind me. Get ready." In a second, Garet was up with his battle axe ready, next to Ivan, who stood with his short sword. Isaac quickly arrived with his own sword held ready in battle position. A few moments later, the monsters arrived.
Three of the blue, scaly, fish lizards leaped in, claws out ready to slash anything, followed by only a handful of the yellowy, venomous squids and a dozen monsters that looked like overgrown crabs, uniquely shaped for battle.
Garet immediately stepped forward and with a powerful swing with the long reach of his arm, slammed the sharp blade of his axe into the crocodile-like snout of one of the lizard men.
Another made a swipe for Ivan's face, but being small and agile, he was able to duck and swipe his blade across the creature's belly. Isaac leapt at another and viciously attacked with his sword, killing it quickly. The three Adepts then had to quickly step back, to avoid having their legs severed by the crab like monsters.
Isaac swung his sword expertly, killing two and keeping the rest at bay. Garet did the same with his axe, even managing to kill a couple of squids. Ivan wasn't doing so well, but managed to keep from getting injured.
It was then that they received a welcome surprise. Sean and Ouranos, the two would-be Colosso warriors, appeared in the doorway armed with a sword each, and tore into the monsters from behind. The other three wasted no time in joining in and in no time at all, they had slain all the squids and crabs.
"We saw them come down, and thought you could use a hand." Sean explained when asked what they were doing there.
"Thanks for that." Garet smiled. "We thought we might have a problem with them for a moment there."
"Hey, no problem." Ouranos replied, smiling. Then the ship gave a sudden, violent shake and shouts were heard up on deck.
"Looks like we're needed, again." Sean sighed.
"Sounds like something big." Ouranos noted dryly. The two of them quickly left, racing up the stairs, leaving the Adepts alone once more. They waited for several minutes with nothing happening except the continuous rowing of the oarsmen, the sound of fighting up on deck and the ship's violent rocking, which worried Isaac.
Why wasn't anything attacking? What was making the ship rock so bad? Isaac voiced his concerns to the other two.
"Yeah, you're right, I don't know anything about ships, but even I know it shouldn't rock like this." Garet said.
"Maybe we should check out what's happening." Ivan suggested.
"Let's go." Isaac declared, getting up to move to the deck, followed by the other two. As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, they ran into Mia.
"I was just going to get you!" she practically shrieked. "We're under attack by something really big! We're going to need Psynergy to kill it! Quick, follow me!" then she led them out onto the deck, where they found the unconscious forms of Sean and Ouranos, severely beaten and bruised. The party didn't have to wait long to find out what had done this to them.
Suddenly, Kaja was thrown over them and slammed into the mast with such force that he was knocked unconscious. Isaac turned to see a massive purple octopus-like creature with glowing yellow eyes, and resonating with powerful Psynergy. This was the worst Psynergy mutated sea monster yet.
"It's a Kraken!" Ivan shouted in horror. Isaac held his sword ready.
"Let's bag us some sea food!" Garet grinned, raising his axe. The four of them charged for the Kraken.
The Kraken immediately attacked, unleashing a thick blast of water from its vicious, hungry looking mouth. Mia raised her staff and, focusing her Psynergy, deflected the water, preventing it from knocking anyone back.
Garet responded with a powerful fireball, slamming into the creature's purple, jelly-like hide. The Kraken shrugged off the attack with no visible damage done.
"Garet! The Kraken's Water Psynergy is too strong!" Ivan shouted. "Use your axe!" He was unable to say more as the Kraken's long, purple tentacles shot out and struck the small Wind Adept like a whip, throwing him back violently.
"Ivan, try and attack from long range!" Isaac shouted over his shoulder, hoping that he would be able to get up and do so. As soon as he was finished, Isaac felt a thick tentacle wrap around his body and lift him up. Only the armor he wore prevented it from crushing his ribs, although, he wasn't sure how long that would last.
Garet launched another volley of fireballs at the Kraken as he rushed at its face, trying to swing his axe at it. The Kraken extinguished the flames with another spray of water and lashed out with another tentacle and threw him back. All this time it hadn't attacked Mia, however.
A shower of ice shards assaulted the Kraken, digging into its body, blood oozing out thickly. The Kraken tried to blast another jet of water out at her, but she simply froze it with her Psynergy, leaving it with a mouthful of ice. Another of its tentacles shot out to grab hold of her. Mia tried to fend it off with another ice missile, but the Kraken paid no heed to the blood and pain this caused, and continued to wrap itself around her, lifting and constricting.
Frantically trying to free himself, and unable to use his sword due to the way it was pinned to his side, Isaac unleashed a barrage of Psynergy attacks. Several powerful stone spires were formed out of thin air and slammed into the Kraken heavily, and painfully one striking the tentacle forcing it to let go of Isaac and letting him fall to the deck.
Isaac immediately slashed at the tentacle as it tried to wrap itself around him again, severing the end of it. As the Kraken shrieked in agony, Isaac spun around and unleashed a Ragnarok right at it's face, severely damaging it but also momentarily blinding it with the intense amount of light released. In its shock, it let Mia go, dropping her with a screech of rage. Isaac turned to see that Garet and Ivan were now getting up. He turned to help Mia up, making sure the Kraken didn't retaliate. It was still temporarily blind. It didn't get a chance to strike back.
Ivan unleashed a barrage of lightning bolt strikes, powerful plasma scorching the beast. It wriggled back writhing in agony, stopping just short of falling off. Ivan finally ceased his assault to regain his strength. The Kraken was now severely burned and bleeding, but it didn't seem to be dying yet.
Garet charged at it and cut off one of its tentacles with his axe. Isaac did the same to another with his sword. If they could just remove all its tentacles, they would have it under control. But the Kraken wouldn't have it.
Unleashing a dark, inky cloud from its mouth, Garet and Isaac found themselves unable to see. Mia grabbed them both and pulled them back just in time for them to avoid being crushed by the flailing of the Kraken's limbs.
A whirlwind formed by Ivan picked up around the Kraken and blew away the toxic gas.
Without wasting a moment, Isaac lunged forward, stabbing with his sword. He caught the Kraken entirely off guard. His blade pierced right between its eyes, and sent the Kraken moaning and slithering back. Defeated, it slipped off the side of the boat and back into the ocean with a loud splash.
"We got it." Isaac managed between deep breaths of exhaustion. He turned to face the others, now standing wearily on the deck away from the edge.
Suddenly Isaac, for a brief second, felt something around his ankle, and then he was being tripped up, the deck rushing up to meet his face. The next thing he knew, he was being dragged along the deck and the ocean was rushing up to swallow him.
"What the-?" was all Isaac managed to get out before he was underwater, the shock of the feeling like cold ice, his breath caught in his lungs. That damn Kraken had dragged him down with it!
Surprisingly, he still held onto his sword tightly through all this. Desperately, he forced it down and began blindly hacking at whatever that was gripping his ankle. There was a bubbling, muffled roar of agony from the Kraken, then the tentacle let go and Isaac swum with all his strength for the surface.
My damn armor is weighing me down… he cursed inwardly. He continued struggling for the surface… for air. His chest was burning with pain… if he didn't breath soon, he was going to burst!
Weariness and lack of oxygen defeated his attempts at reaching the surface. He felt his muscles fail as he ceased rising and began slowly sinking once more, only barely continuing to hold his breath as he realized that he was going to drown.
He sensed a new presence then, a warm hand gripped his wrist tightly. He gripped back and felt himself being pulled up. Just as he was sure he was going to gasp for air and swallow the Karagol's salt water, his head broke the surface and he breathed desperately for air, his thick hair hanging over his eyes and dripping water down his face. A warm body hugged itself against him and he heard Mia's voice in his ear, "You'll be alright. We've got you."
Due to exhaustion and lack of oxygen, Isaac became light-headed and everything went black.
X
He was aware of nothing. Blackness. Emptiness. Nothingness. Then warmth. On his lips, in his mouth. Air in his lungs. Then cold again. Warm on his lips, air into his lungs. He became dimly aware of noise, his friends voices. He could feel their presence. Warm lips touched his own, air breathed into him. As they pulled away again, he opened his eyes, and began coughing up water, breathing on his own again.
"Is he alright?" he heard Ivan ask.
"He'll be fine." he heard Mia reply in a reassuring tone. "He just needs a few moments rest."
"Well, at least he showed that Kraken what for!" Garet said, no doubt with a proud grin on his face, although Isaac couldn't see.
Isaac sat up wearily, feeling so tired. Mia was kneeling right beside him. "What…?" Then he realized what must have happened, what she had just done to save his life, and felt himself blushing. "Oh, uh…. Thanks Mia…"
"Don't mention it!" she sat back, relaxing. "You're lucky I'm a good swimmer. I dived in to save you from drowning."
"Hey, I told you he'd be fine!" Garet grinned in relief.
"Actually, Garet, Mia said that." Ivan corrected with a wry smile.
"Well, I still agreed with her."
"How do you feel?" Ma asked softly, her blue eyes looking into Isaac's own.
"I'll be fine." Isaac replied, and then managed a weak smile to reassure her.
Isaac looked around groggily. The sailors were running around the deck like madmen, desperately repairing damaged ropes and doing things Isaac could only guess at. The Captain was watching everyone with a critical eye, while trying to steer the ship with the wheel before him. Kaja was bellowing at everyone to get a move on.
"Move, you useless bloody land lubbers! Do you want to die out here and meet Deadbeard! Get a damn move on!" he moved to a door and yelled at the oarsmen, "Put your bloody backs into it! We'll never get there at this rate!"
"Nice to see he's in a good mood…" Ivan remarked wryly.
"So, that Kraken is gone?" Isaac asked.
"You betcha!' Garet replied. "Dead and buried! Gone for good! You did great, Isaac!" Isaac leaned up against a mast. He felt a need to rest before moving again, and the constant rocking of the ship didn't help.
"Hey, why aren't there any more sea monsters?" a sailor asked, looking about worriedly.
"That Kraken scared 'em all off." Kaja replied. "Hopefully, they should leave us alone for a while."
"Lady Mia!" one of the sailors shouted, running up to her. "I was told you are an experienced healer, my lady!" Where was he getting this "my lady" stuff from, Isaac had to wonder. "Kaja, Sean and Ouranos are in deep concussion and need assistance!" Mia stood up.
"Okay, take me to them!" She left with the sailor. Isaac and the others stood up none too easily. There were many sailors up on deck once more.
"Hey, did anyone see us using Psynergy?" Isaac asked just quietly enough not to be heard by anyone but Garet or Ivan.
"No, they were all either unconscious, or below deck, away from the Kraken." Ivan answered.
"That's good." There was a moment's pause as the three looked out over the Karagol, searching for some sign of land. For some reason, it seemed strangely and unnaturally misty. He couldn't see the horizon through the fog.
"Is this… is this Deadbeard's doing?" a sailor asked.
"It's no ones doing!" Kaja shouted back. "That's all just superstitious nonsense! Get back to work!"
"Hey, do we have to go back to the rowing room to guard the people now?" Garet asked after a while, snapping Isaac's attention away from the fog.
"No, I don't think you'll need to." a voice said behind them. The three turned to face the ship Captain, who now stood before them. "They put up a good pace, and we're entering shallower waters now. The Sea Monsters should be greatly lessened. Hopefully, we can make Tolbi Docks within a couple of hours, despite what Kaja is yelling at them. After that Kraken, both its appearance and its defeat, most monsters will be too scared to attack the ship, I think. With any luck, we might just reach the Docks unchallenged from hereon out. Still, be on your guard."
"What's with this weird fog?" Ivan asked. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Oh, the Karagol has unpredictable weather patterns." The Captain answered. "It's probably just that." He didn't sound too sure of himself, though, Isaac thought. "But some of the sailors hear legends of Deadbeard and think… well, that's all just a bunch of superstitious nonsense. Nothing more." He left them to return to the wheel.
The three waited anxiously, uncertain of their safety. But, fortunately, their luck held, and they sailed the next two hours safely, undisturbed. Mia rejoined them, after a while. But still, the mysterious fog thickened.
From atop the mast, in the crow's nest, a lookout cried, "Land sighted! …But it's in the wrong direction! To our left flank!"
Isaac looked in that direction and saw, dimly in the mist, the shadow of a large island dimly. It couldn't be… there are probably lots of islands in the Karagol, it wouldn't really be Crossbone.
A few of the sailors stopped what they were doing and hesitated, showing signs of visible fear. Kaja snapped at them and they resumed their duties. "It's just a bloody island! Nothing special, it isn't Crossbone and Deadbeard aint there!"
"Still… I don't recall ever seeing any islands on our usual route." The captain mused, rubbing his chin. "Well, we were thrown a bit off, but still… and this mist… ah, well, the Karagol is unpredictable, and you just never can tell these days."
They passed it by and it began slowly moving away from them. With this fog, it would be out of sight soon. "This fog doesn't feel natural…" Mia mused. "It feels… not quite right."
"You're just getting paranoid." Garet assured her. His voice didn't have its usual confidence, though.
The shadow of the island vanished into the mist. A few sighs of relief were heard. "Like I said, not Crossbone." The captain said, smiling in relief. "Deadbeard won't come to kill us for trespassing his cursed land…"
But then, another shadow appeared behind them. And started gaining on them. It was the shape of another ship. Without a doubt, another ship. Large, long, and broad sails. But Isaac noticed that the shadows of the sails were torn and tattered.
"What is that?" Ivan asked. "I don't know about you, but I have a bad feeling about this…"
"Hmm… that's odd." The Captain mused. "Another ship. There shouldn't be any other ships out now except our replacement and that doesn't look like it." He squinted his eyes. "Sails? No one uses sails in the Karagol these days; they haven't done that in years! Centuries even, they became impractical a long time ago." The ship came close enough to make out some details. "That's an old design, very old… almost as old as…" He gasped. "No, it couldn't be…"
"Get back to work, you useless sea dogs!" Kaja yelled at the sailors. "Or I'll feed y'all to Deadbeard myself! Well, move!"
"But if that isn't an official ship, then who could it be?" Garet asked. "I don't believe much in this Deadbeard myth, so maybe… they could be pirates?"
"Mayhap…" the Captain said in tones of concern. "But there haven't been pirates in the Karagol in years, not since the time of… well, these days, what with news from Lunpa and such… well; you can't be too careful these days. Kaja, tell the men to be prepared." Kaja began bellowing orders at everyone, yelling even harder at any who didn't move fast enough. "Isaac, are you and your mates ready?"
The four of them readied themselves with their weapons. The battle with the Kraken may have weakened them somewhat, but some low-level pirates should be easy enough. "Of course." Isaac answered, tensing his grip on his sword.
The ship was now sailing right alongside them; the two vessels seemed to float in a never ending fog of mist. Isaac noticed now a shadow of a lone figure standing on the opposite ship's deck. Only one? The ship, he now realized seemed barely seaworthy, the wood appeared to be rotting, there were holes in it everywhere. He was amazed that it was still floating.
"I have a really bad feeling about that thing…" Ivan muttered. Isaac carefully looked over the shadow of the individual standing there. It couldn't be… no person could really be that tall standing up! A single curved cutlass was held in its hand.
"Just one?" Kaja muttered. "If they really are pirates, they're bloody stupid, and I'll beat some sense into 'em myself." It was deathly silent; nobody moved or said anything, waiting for what the figure on the ship would say.
And then, all of a sudden, Isaac heard a voice in his head, like when the Wise One spoke to him. Ahoy, thar, boy! Yes, you, the one with the blue armor. Shiver me timbers, but you really are tha' one! Yep, that be the Mars Star you have, rest my soul, lad. Woulda taken it myself, once upon a time. Well, I know better now, and I know all about those elements and your quest… well, I'll leave you be, and I'll keep them Sea Monsters off your tail for ya.
And then the shadows seemed to just fade away into the mist. "What on Weyard…?" Isaac gasped. "What was… did any of you hear that, too?"
"Hear what?" Mia asked.
"Uh… nothing. Never mind." Maybe it was just his imagination. That couldn't have been Deadbeard, it couldn't have been! There's no such thing as ghosts!
There were murmurs of puzzled surprise from the crew, and Kaja snapped at them to get back to work. "If I didn't know better, I would sworn that really was… well, never mind." He muttered to himself.
"That couldn't have been Crossbone Isle we just passed." The captain muttered, as though trying to reassure himself. "That Kraken might have thrown us a bit of course, but not by that much! No sailor has ever found that… well; it doesn't even exist, anyway!" The mist surrounding them pulled away suddenly with unnatural speed, vanishing into nothing.
"I've never seen mist disappear like that before!" Kaja exclaimed.
"The Karagol is unpredictable." The captain muttered. "Especially these days."
There was calm blue sea all around them, the sky empty of clouds except for a few miles to the west where dark storm clouds brewed. If those attacks hadn't thrown them of course, they would have ended up sailing through all that.
The voyage was completely calm after that, and they relaxed on deck soaking up the sun for a couple more hours, nervously keeping an eye out for more attacks that never came.
Finally, land appeared with the various buildings of Tolbi Docks standing before them. They were much like the Kalayan Docks, but appeared more regimented than those of Kalay. The ship slowed to a stop, and docked at one of the jutting piers.
As the boarding ramp was lowered, people streamed off, grateful to have survived the trip, though many stated that they intended to walk the Silk Road around the Karagol on the way back after Colosso.
"Well, we were quite lucky; we even managed to avoid that storm." Mia said as she looked out over the water to where black storm clouds raged in the distance.
"But not for long." Ivan noted as he looked out also. "It's coming this way."
"Don't worry, we'll be snuggled up in some inn in Tolbi by the time it hits." Garet figured in his usual self assured manner. "Let's go."
Just before they left the ship, the ship captain stopped them to speak with Isaac. "Thank you for all that you have done. You saved my ship and my crew. We are in your debt."
"No problem!" he shrugged. "I wouldn't have done any less."
"None the less, we still owe you greatly; slaying a Kraken is no mean feat. If ever you need a ride across the Karagol again, we will gladly take you for free."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Isaac replied. They said their goodbyes, and left. The four Adepts left the ship and descended the ramp on the way to the great city-state of Tolbi.
Soon, Colosso would begin.
A/N: Another chapter down. Ahh, that was fun to write, hope ye all enjoyed it. I know what you're probably thinking, that there wasn't as much on Deadbeard as one would have hoped, but… well, I couldn't be bothered writing the whole Crossbone bit, so I put in this little skirmish on the seas. What can I say, that was just the way I felt like writing it. Oh well. I like this way, actually. Having them on the island would have taken too much time (in the story) anyway, for what I had planned.
By the way,for those of you beginning to wonder what's happening with Jenna's side of things (she still needs to come to an understanding with felix before the end to set the scene for TLA) you'll soon see things begin to happen on that front. I have it all planned out, just have a little faith.
Anyway, I'm sure I know what you're all looking forward to, now. Colosso, right? Yes, I know a great many of you have said you can't wait, and now the tournament is nigh! Well, it won't be getting any closer with me sitting here yammering, so I'll get to writing it out, while you go off and let me hear what your thoughts are via the good ol' review system. Your thoughts are always appreciated!
Until next chapter, adios amigos.