One Piece: The Skull Pirates
Chapter Thirty: Darkness Around: The Island's Under-Belly!
Once Jack had caught back up with the party (and given his two crewmates…well, just Gerald, a glare that dared him to begin a single joke about misdirection), things started off smoothly. True to her word, Ikki moved at the front like the jungle was a second home, and the path was well trodden. Her Devil Fruit probably had something to do with that.
That didn't mean every obstacle had been rid of, though. Frank let out a yelp as his foot struck a root snaking through the trail, only stopped from taking a tumble by Gerald sticking out one hand. "Ah, t-thank you Gerald."
Nearby, Gloria sniffed. "You'd probably see better if you took that foolish thing off your face, you know." For her part the swordswoman's stride was measured and professional.
"Take it off?" Frank echoed. He adjusted it, chuckling. "I'm afraid that I cannot do."
"...hmph," Gloria muttered, and eyed up Gerald. "I'm surprised you're keeping up this well. Looking at you I would have thought you'd be sucking in air a long time ago."
"Has anyone ever told you you're terribly charming?" Gerald asked with a smile. "I'm admittedly mundane compared to my crewmates, but my legs are still quite well-traveled. I won't have any problems keeping up, I assure you."
Gloria seemed like she had another comment in her, when the line came to a halt. "Ah, now who put that there?" Jack asked. 'That' turned out to be a great pile of trees scattered in the middle of the path, reaching twice even Cadmael's height.
"And I do mean who," the captain added, jerking his thumb to the left and right of the path. The treeline on either side was entirely unbroken. "'cause unless there was a really crazy storm lately, no way could these have just fallen on their own."
Gerald nodded thoughtfully. "If we know they're smart enough to tame animals and kidnap people, setting up barricades isn't an awful stretch. Maybe they knew someone would come looking?"
"Yes," Ikki murmured, inspecting the wall, "I have seen evidence before of them cutting down these trees for their own use. They retain heat exceptionally well, even cut down-" she reached out and grabbed Jack's wrist, "-making touching them barehanded unwise, if you will recall."
Jack shrugged once she let go, looking like a child caught talking by the professor - a metaphor he would have appreciated more had he ever been to school. "Guess it's not a problem for you, then. But what, it's just supposed to waste our time?"
Ikki frowned. "Perhaps. I can clear it without issue, but it will take-"
"No time," a voice rumbled. They turned, stepping aside as Cadmael stepped up to the wall. "We have better opponents to face than trees." He raised one great hand in the air.
Pirate and scholar alike quickly got the message. The very instant they were clear Cadmael's hand came down in a vicious chop, smashing apart a chunk of the trees like they were mere sticks. The rest of the party took cover as heated splinters rained everywhere.
Before his hand had even come to rest from the strike, Cadmael swung again, and again. His breath had picked up into a feverish rush as he moved forward, attacking the barrier without a single pause. Jack felt bad about comparing him to Drake in his mind: the fishman always kept his head no matter the situation, but it was like this giant had thrown it to the wind on purpose.
Finally it was over, and if not for the debris littering the ground you wouldn't know there had ever been a barrier here at all. Cadmael stood in the middle of the wreckage, breathing in and out, looking oblivious to his bruised hands. "Done," he finally spoke, walking back to his position. "We move on, now."
"...what the hell do you make of that?" Jack whispered once the group had resumed.
"A few possibilities," Ikki replied as they picked their way up an incline in the path. "Where I come from there were tales of warriors who could work themselves into a trance that reduced the world down to them and whatever was in their way. I have never seen it myself, but his demeanor just now matched those legends."
Jack gulped. "Think he's dangerous, then?" the captain whispered.
"All warriors are dangerous to something," Ikki muttered. "But yes, keeping an eye on him would likely be wise. If he is a berserker, though, in some respects that is a simpler problem than the alternatives."
The pirate tried not to make a face. "Alternatives like what?" he asked after a moment. He didn't really want to know the answer, but it was better than letting his imagination come up with one.
"Ah, forgive me," Ikki cleared her throat. The scholar looked apologetic, which was a first. "That was a vague statement. What I meant was that a warrior of that sort can hypnotize themselves to win a battle or a duel - but there are other people in the world who will do far worse while fully conscious, and even think they are in the right for it."
She looked away. "But you are a pirate, of course. You must have met one or two people like that in your lifetime."
"Mmmm," Jack grunted, falling silent a moment. "Yeah, for sure." Plenty of other questions came to mind now, but asking any of them seemed comparable to walking across a frozen lake: you could, but why?
"Let's see now," Mary began, inspecting the specimen in front of her: one of the hot trees that littered the island. The girl had never seen anything like them, which meant Martin surely hadn't either. Getting records of any interesting plants seemed like a fine souvenir to bring back for him.
"Here we have the…" she trailed off, tapping the pen on the page expectantly. Come now, she couldn't get stuck on this. After another half-minute of thought, she finally wrote 'Fire Wood' down, and put a question mark next to it. Surely she'd come up with something better eventually.
"Its main characteristic is the severe build-up of heat within its trunk," Mary murmured to herself, "perhaps due to adapting to the volcano on this island?" She craned her neck, peering at a bird's nest within the tree's branches. "The animals here seem to make great use of them, no doubt for warmth."
She took a step closer to inspect the tree's roots, when she felt a hand grasp her shoulder, tugging her swiftly backward. Gasping in surprise the fruit user twisted for an attack, only relaxing once she was her 'assailant'. "I assume you've got a good reason to be sneaking up on me of all people, Drake? I'd hate to give you a thorn through the hand, even if it was on reflex."
"I do," the fishman said darkly, pointing near where her foot had been. Mary blanched.
Sitting there nestled among the grass, hidden from view until far too late, was a vicious razor-jawed trap, the kind you'd use to keep large animals still while you prepared to move them somewhere else. Like onto your wall. From the look of it though, even the slightest tap by a mouse could be enough to set it off.
"I saw another one nearer to the village," Drake explained. "We didn't exactly sight-see yesterday, but I didn't see any traps like this then. The village didn't strike me as people who'd use this, either."
Mary nodded. "Ikki didn't seem like the type to use any tool but her bare hands - and you don't set something like this if you want the victim to walk away after. Which leaves one monsieur who will need to explain himself."
They found Chase west of the village, stooped over a third trap that hadn't been set up yet. With a heave he pressed down on either side of the jaws until they spread apart and went click. Then he began carefully arranging the island's nearby debris around it. "You two need something?" he whispered in a detached way.
"Exactly when were you going to tell us you had set those up?" Mary asked. Her tone was perfectly level, and her crewmates all knew what that meant. "They might be meant for animals, I hope, but they'd take a limb off a human or fishman with no trouble either."
Chase didn't move from his work. "I did say I was going to set traps around the village, if it slipped both your minds. After what our visitor rode in on, did you expect them to be made out of rope?"
It was always dreadful when someone shaping up to be a bad person made a good point. "You think the natives would be willing to talk with us if one of them ends up losing a leg?" Drake asked. "We're not hunting animals here."
The hunter came to a halt at what he was doing. Then Mary (though not Drake) flinched as he undid the trap in one swift motion, a clang ringing through the trees. Birds flew off in the distance.
"I'll switch out the ones I have, then," Chase said calmly. "I keep a special variety for the squeamish, or the bleeding-hearts." He cracked a smile. "In the meantime watch your feet, I guess."
As he walked away Mary was motionless a moment, before snapping her leg quickly. Then she sighed. "Alright, you can let me go. I promise not to crack him in two."
Drake did so. "You don't usually lose your cool like that. He strike a nerve?"
Mary adjusted her beret, looking embarrassed. "Thank you for the compliment. You're right, I usually do, particularly when hotshot men like that are concerned."
She whirled around and struck out with a thorn-leg, smashing part of a boulder in the field behind her. "But I really don't like being called squeamish like I'm some harmless waif." The girl retracted her leg and huffed. "If I were either of those things, I wouldn't have a bounty."
"Mmm," Drake murmured in agreement. "Personally, even if we haven't spoken much, it'd be hard to imagine you not being on this crew - or you being harmless. I'm sure the others agree, too; and that boy you've mentioned oh, once or twice."
Her expression changed as quick as clouds blowing away from the sun. "Ah, oui oui! That training certainly made you a wish shark, Drake. I shouldn't be spending energy thinking on idiocy like that." She popped open her book. "Now, where was I…"
Drake snuck a look at the boulder. Her kick had practically smashed it in half. "Her beau is going to have his hands full when she makes it back. Not that that's any of my business."
"Oh, great."
Jack stared at the river in their path like it was there to personally upset him. The path had leveled off a while back, giving them an easier hike until now. It looked about ten feet across, and was traveling about…well, too fast to be safe. It also wasn't nice enough to have any convenient footholds across like rocks or logs.
He sighed. "Guess we look for another way around. What a pain."
"What's the matter?" Gloria smirked. "Scared of a little water? Typical Devil Fruit user."
The captain sneered. "You want to try fording that with no Fruit, you can go right ahead, right Ikki? Ikki?" He turned to see the scholar had stepped up to the river's edge. "Hey Ikki, no way that's happening. We gotta find another way-"
"No, we do not," Ikki said calmly, slipping off her parka. "You do not appear to recall, but I had this river on my map. It is no great obstacle." She moved as close to the water as she could without tumbling in, and concentrated.
Even from a foot away, Jack felt the tropical heat of the island fade as Ikki's fruit went to work. Ice gathered on body once more, much thicker than last time and spreading further, until she was practically wearing armor. Even the ground around Ikki became dusted with frost, and a moment later the beginning of a swift river that had been before her was now frozen solid.
She took a step forward and the ice held. "Please follow close behind me," she said, turning to the rest of the party. Her hair and skin shimmered in the sun. "It will only stay frozen so long as I am nearby. Also, please do not touch me - it would be quite painful for you. Oh, and would someone please bring my coat?"
Jack did so again, and was also first to work up the nerve after Ikki had taken another step forward. He placed one foot gingerly onto the ice, which seemed rock solid and remained that way as he shifted his entire weight onto it. Then came Cadmael (Jack gulped nervously, but the ice held), followed by Frank, Gerald, Ricardo, and Gloria in the rear.
It took longer than you'd hope given the circumstances: Ikki had to make sure the water was properly frozen and that the people behind her were close enough. True to her word, by the time they were halfway across the ice at the start of the make-shift bridge had cracked and faded, just behind their feet. Ultimately the span of about ten feet took ten minutes.
But they made it, all the same. When Ikki finally stepped onto the far shore and moved aside, no-one waited very long to join her. The scholar expelled one final breath of vapor before switching off her fruit; a puddle quickly formed around her as she slipped on her parka again.
"You've really d-done that before?" Jack asked, rubbing his hands together. How cold did you have to make yourself to freeze water with that fruit? School or no school, he knew now: really freaking cold.
"With Stanley and some others watching," Ikki said casually. "Though I have done it alone before." She cast a glance across the rest of the party, who were currently imitating Jack in some form or fashion. "Ah, please excuse me. I should have made it clear how cold I would become."
Ricardo flashed a weary grin. "C-Can you believe that's not…the first I've heard that from a lady?"
"Hm. Yes, I can," Ikki murmured. "We can afford a brief break, given the circumstances. Make sure to stretch, it will warm you up faster."
Even without the sudden cold snap, the group would have been grateful for the break: they'd been walking nonstop since leaving the village. They unhooked their supplies for the time being and fell into various lounging states. For Ikki, naturally that meant popping open a book.
"That's the one you were reading last night, right?" Jack asked after a moment. He had stretched out to let the sun hit as much of him as possible, and he craned his neck at the title. "'Truths that were Hidden: The Unofficial Biography of Montblanc Norland.' Never heard of him."
"Pardon?" Gloria had brought out a small whetstone from her own supplies and had been in the middle of sharpening her sword. "You're actually reading that pack of lies made up to defend him? I thought you were supposed to be a scholar."
Ikki kept quiet and didn't move an inch. Jack wrinkled his nose. "So who was he? Sounds important if he has his own book."
"He has two, in fact, but the first was all anyone ever needed to know about him," Gloria sniffed. "Montblanc Norland was once a famed explorer working for the Lyneel Kingdom, but decided to throw that all away one day and deceive his king." The swordwoman's words were practically laced with venom.
"According to him he had found a city practically filled with gold on the Grand Line," she went on, "but when they arrived all they found was a dusty strip of land and an incredible waste of the king's time. Naturally, the fool was executed, and good riddance in my view."
Jack whistled, while Ikki remained as silent as a tomb. "Wow." He thought a moment. "So why'd he do that?"
"Why, because the king felt betrayed and righteously furious at-"
"No, no," Jack interrupted, waving a hand. "I mean why'd he make up a lie like that? It's not like he'd get away with it or anything."
Gloria's eyebrow twitched. "Why? He was a fiend and a cad, that's why!"
The captain's face looked impassive. "Well, if he was both those things how'd he get hired by the king to start with? He had to be good at something before then."
"...exactly, which shows the depths of his treachery!" Gloria spat. "He toiled hard for the kingdom, but only with the intent to betray it later on."
Jack stared. "So, okay. That means he traveled all over on expeditions for however long it took this king to notice him, and then he traveled through the Grand Line and back, twice, just to play a dumb prank that'd get him killed?"
Nearby, Frank looked over at Gerald. "Are you still cold, Gerald? You're shaking."
"Oh - oh yes, still a tad chilly," Gerald said in a neutral tone. "It'll pass, surely."
Gloria didn't notice. "Hmph," she sniffed, appearing to calm herself. "I suppose it's only in the nature of a pirate to doubt authority. What do you suggest happened, then?"
"Eh, I dunno," Jack shrugged. "Maybe he did something to cheese the king off but he didn't want to say what. Not like anyone's going to contradict the head honcho of the place, right?"
For a moment the swordswoman's face twisted, like the head it was attached to was about to explode. "Again you prove your place. A king would never lie to his people, and if you insist otherwise I see no reason to continue this conversation."
With that she stowed away the whetstone and stalked off, stopping a ways away from the rest of them. Jack whistled. "What got up her…sheath? You ever heard of that book she mentioned, Ikki?"
"Sadly, yes," Ikki replied, speaking again. "'The Tale of Montblanc Norland', a tale for children about the dangers of lying; the plot is as she described. But the man was very real."
Jack stared. "So I just got into a debate with somebody over a kid's book? I'm not sure who ought to be embarrassed."
"I wouldn't worry," Gerald remarked. "I'm not entirely sure she understands the concept of embarrassment."
Ikki gave a non-committal grunt. "An opinion like that is far from uncommon, so it likely was a waste of effort if not time. But did you know, Mr. Bones," she added, glancing down at him, "that many of the arguments you made are echoed in this book? Or at least the spirit of them."
The pirate blinked. "I just said what came to mind. Maybe I'm in the wrong business, then." He thought on it a bit, and then tugged his hat down over his eyes. "Meh, I ruffle people's feathers just fine with my bare hands anyway."
Once they resumed after warming up, and a quick meal, the terrain was smooth for a short while. In fact, when they stopped next it was on a normal patch of ground. "W-Wait! Stop right there, please."
The voice was stammered, but it came from someone who had been mostly silent so far, and that was enough for Ikki to listen. "Frank, correct? What is the matter?"
Wordlessly the shinobi came forward, and at a gesture from him Ikki stepped aside. Retrieving one of his talismans, Frank threw it forward at where the scholar had been about to tread. It exploded like the rest - but none had ever done it with enough force to collapse the ground.
Carefully the party approached the new depression in the earth. It was a hole about ten feet deep, but about half of that was taken up by pieces of wood all sharpened to a fine point. A fall into it would end in a short and very painful way.
"Hm, thank you," Ikki said vaguely. "Before anyone asks, no, this was not here when I passed through the area last. How did you notice it?"
"Oh, that's simple," Frank said cheerfully. "You can't dig a hole that deep and not have it show on the surface. We used to dig these all the time back home as kids. Well, the others did, and I mostly just - but um, you learn the signs after a while."
No-one voiced any objection to letting him walk in front for the next while. Sure enough, there were similar surprises to be uncovered and moved carefully by. While all this was going on, Ricardo sidled up to Jack. "Quite a crew you got there. Most of them like this in West Blue?"
"Maybe. The two we've ran into were pretty crazy," Jack nodded. He grinned. "Just not as crazy as us."
"Good luck for this island you came across me, then," Ricardo replied. His voice dropped down to a whisper. "So, what kind of vibe you getting from the others here?"
Jack thought about it. "That woman with the sword is the kind of person you'd need to pay me to deal with - so it's good I am. Couldn't get much of a read on that guy back at town, but that's for Mary and Drake to think about." He frowned. "As for the big guy, I know not to get on his bad side, but that's about it."
Ricardo nodded thoughtfully. "How about our fearless leader? She's been pretty clammed up as far as I'm concerned, but you seem to get on better with her."
"What, Ikki?" Jack practically laughed. "I spoke with her last night, and I don't think she has a deceptive bone in her body. You really think she could be up to something?"
"Whoa whoa," Ricardo said, holding up a hand, "I'd never accuse a lady of something like that off the bat. It's just, in my experience you never trust anyone too much on trips like this. In big trips underground there's clashing egos, money, motivations, all that sort of stuff." He chuckled. "Not too different from pirate crews after the same buried treasure, although we hide it better."
He waved a hand at the woman in the parka. "Take her, for example. I believe her when she says she wants to help the village, but you can't tell me she's not also interested in these guys underground." The digger waved a hand in the air vaguely. "How much? How's it stack up against her opinion of us? Hard to know when we barely know her. Just something to consider, that's all."
Before Jack could make a reply, he'd moved away. "I may do several things that surprise you," came Ikki's voice in his head. He shook it, and the motion made him lock eyes with Gloria - the swordswoman quickly looked away.
Suddenly bringing Drake and Mary along didn't seem like the worst idea.
It was dark underground, the kind of pitch-black that could only be found in a place where even starlight couldn't reach. Even so, a few spots across it were adorned by torches, for reasons of far greater significance than ease of sight. This was one such room.
In the center, one of the masked tribesmen stood. Compared to the one Ikki had fought, they were shorter in stature, and seemed to lean on the cane they held. It too was an instrument, with three strings spread across its length. In a realm like this hearing was king, even if sight was no great difficult for those who dwelt in it.
They turned, staring at three of its kind who had just entered the room. Two were more similar to the one that had attacked the town, standing slightly behind the third. This one wore a great, colorful mask and stood a head over its fellows, which meant it stood two heads over the one they faced.
The tall tribesman took a step forward and swung a muscular arm toward its chest, producing a deep gong: across the masked one's waist a drum was strapped. It then jabbed a finger at the ceiling, before stomping with one foot and letting out a grunt. The two behind him mimicked these actions.
But the tribesman with the cane didn't appear impressed. It shook its head, speaking gravely in their speech. Despite coming out barely above a whisper, its words caused the drum tribesman's men to shift uncomfortably.
The drum player themself simply cracked its neck, before swinging both hands together in a vicious clap. It then pointed behind and above its shorter brethren, toward something at the back of the chamber. The elder tribesmen sighed.
Not seeming to notice, the warrior then turned to its men and pointed at the ceiling once more - this time in a different direction. With a bow, the two followed their leader as it stomped out. The room fell quiet once more.
Turning to what the drum player had pointed toward, the elder gripped their cane, brow furrowed deeply beneath the mask.
There had been no obstacles, constructed or otherwise, in their path for about an hour now, which didn't put most of the expedition at ease. The volcano was looming above them, an ominous sight even if it was supposedly dormant. If the island's natives were waiting below it was hard to imagine there was nothing else in store.
Seemingly oblivious to this, Ikki pushed aside a tree branch and led the way into a wide clearing. They were at the foot of the volcano now, the soil of the jungle giving way to harsher ground. "You said there would be a way inside, I believe," Gloria said, glancing around uneasily. "But I don't see anything."
"Even if they can tame animals, it makes little sense to leave an opening in plain view of any that might wander by," Ikki replied patiently. "If you know what to look for, however, it is not hard to find." She strode across the clearing and took a few steps up the volcano itself, stopping near a particular spot where the face of the mountain just about turned vertical.
"My home village had a similar approach to hiding food," Ikki went on, stretching her hands and reaching out. "The key is to make it look identical as far as they are concerned, but with something that stands out to you. Like so."
She gripped a part of the rock and tugged. Common sense dictated that anyone trying that would give way long time before any part of the mountain, but they watched with surprise as the rock shifted and Ikki's hands came away with a large, circle-shaped chunk. Behind it was the opening of a wide tunnel.
"I noticed this some days ago, but Stanley felt it was too dangerous to explore alone," Ikki explained in her usual tone. She propped the fake piece of wall on the ledge carefully, turning to them. "I will concede that he was likely correct now. It should be large enough for us all in single file, provided we crouch. I will go-"
Jack opened his mouth to shout, but the look on his face was enough reason for Ikki to whirl around, quick enough to stop jaws that would have torn through her back and chest at the same time. The beetle that had emerged from the tunnel let out a confused chatter as its mandibles were stopped by two powerful hands, followed by its prey sliding away down the incline. As it skittered out from the tunnel the party could see its rider crouched in a harness upon its back; they held a pan-flute in one hand.
"I dislike bugs," Gloria hissed, drawing her blade. Or at least attempting to. She glared across at Frank, who had grabbed her by the wrist.
"Ikki, you're up," Jack called. "Hope you weren't just blowing smoke about knowing how to talk to these guys."
Ikki adjusted her glasses as the beetle picked its way down the slope toward them. "That will not be a problem. Please give me a moment."
Gerald cleared his throat politely. "I'd hurry up, if at all possible. Incidentally - are you much good at public speaking?"
He'd turned to look at the trees behind them. Creeping from there were a trio of more giant-sized animals: a fierce-looking tiger, a boar that looked one slight away from charging, and a coiled snake which swept its gaze across them all. Each had a rider and a different instrument.
But they were all afterthoughts compared to what approached behind them. Bending two trees out of its way came a massive gorilla, taller than Rolento even crouched, and bearing four arms. Perched in a pouch across its chest was a tribesman bigger than the rest, and judging by how the other animals moved out of the way, one with authority to match.
They raised one hand and slapped it onto a drum strapped across their chest, producing an aggressive gong that spread throughout the clearing. At the sound of it the other tribesmen spurred their mounts, spreading into a circle around the now clustered-up expedition. Ikki backed up into them, the beetle-rider joining formation with the others.
"Do something, scholar," Gloria said, shoving Frank's hand away and gripping her sword, "or I will!"
Barely looking at the swordswoman, Ikki pushed past Jack, stepping forward and eyeing down the lead tribesman and their great mount. Every eye behind the masks turned to her. The captain had a distinct feeling that compared to Ikki, the rest of them were basically small-fry.
To start with, Ikki made the same motion she'd done the day before, lifting one foot and stamping it on the ground. Then she spread both hands and sent them together in a hard clap. Though nowhere near a match for the drum in volume, it held the same meaning.
Then Ikki spoke. Not in any language Jack had seen a human speak, and certainly not spoken in the deliberate, calm way the woman had their own until now. If Jack had to compare it to anything, it was like hearing an animal speak: harsh and rapid. Ikki's words only sounded like a few sentences, but they came out clipped and practically rushing after one another.
Whatever she said, the masked ones looked taken aback, glancing to their leader. They seemed surprised themself for a moment, before leaning forward and spitting a sentence in return. You didn't need to speak a word of it to tell they sounded angry.
Before speaking, Ikki cracked her knuckles with a pop louder than normal flesh and bone. Jack listened hard to the next sentence: it still meant nothing to him, but it sounded like she repeated herself a few times. As she ended, Ikki held up two fingers, motioning to herself and the party.
The lead tribesman was silent a moment, before lifting back their head and letting out what could only have been laughter. They pointed at Ikki, then at themselves, barking out a few words. Without a word their allies backed off slightly.
"Move away as well, please," Ikki murmured to the party, not budging her gaze by an inch. "They have agreed to a one-on-one match with me. If I win they shall release their hostages."
The words 'What, are you nuts?' formed in Jack's mind, until the parts that remembered her fight earlier and the parts that knew what happened when you said something like that to certain women gave a veto. "It's a lot bigger than that lizard," was the compromise. "This guy seems like he's in charge, and in my experience that equals being way more of a handful."
"That is what I am planning on," Ikki replied. "If I best their strongest warrior, that should take the fight out of the rest. It was a common way of settling arguments back home."
"That why you're so good at it?" Jack asked mildly. Her answer was silence, and handing him her glasses, which he took. "Good luck, I guess."
The party backed off as she said - save, that was, for Cadmael. Jack turned back to see him standing in front of Ikki, speaking something he couldn't make out. The scholar said something in return, followed by one hand shoving him away…by a few inches, but the message was clear. With a frown, Cadmael thumped over to join the others near where the slope began. Nearby the beetle rider stirred, but they and their rider settled for a glare instead.
Ikki and the lead tribesmen moved to the center of the clearing, and Jack once again found himself watching a fight he had no part in. "What was that you said to her?" he murmured across at Cadmael. The giant shifted, giving him a frown.
"I told her I did not think she could win," was what he said. "Not against that foe."
Jack whistled. "Don't mince words much, do ya? Hope that's not just because she's the fairer sex."
The warrior didn't crack a smile: comedy didn't seem to be a battlefield he was familiar with. "Her blows the day before were powerful, but only made as a means to an end," he rumbled. "Her true thoughts were not on the battle."
"Yeah, but it still didn't really lay a finger on her," Jack replied, feeling the need to defend the scholar a bit.
"She did not lose, but she did not win, either," Cadmael said impassively. He looked over at the gorilla. "He is the strongest of them, and won't be walking away like the one before. A thinker shouldn't try to do what a warrior can."
The beast and its rider, and Ikki, had both moved to the center of the clearing, standing roughly a person's length from one another. There probably was something to what Cadmael said: at the moment Ikki stood passively like any fight was the furthest thing from her mind, let alone the one she was about to be in. The gorilla, meanwhile, had dropped into a primal stance on two of its arms, the others raised high and tense.
Suddenly the boar rider reared their mount up onto two legs, slamming the front two down with a crash. That seemed to have been the signal, for the gorilla lunged forward with a vicious blow at the scholar. Ikki twisted to the side, letting it pulverize thin air and the ground, before retaliating with a precise elbow strike to its arm.
The silverback grunted in pain, but at the sound of its rider's drum quickly went for another savage punch. This too was avoided and retaliated upon. Their dance continued for another few blows, Ikki never being touched but her opponent not appearing to take damage.
"Something's off here," Jack finally muttered to himself. A mount that size with four arms and all the tribesman could think to make it do was punch? Something else was nagging at his mind, and when Ikki avoided the next blow he finally realized why.
"Ikki, get away!" he yelled, standing up. "This whole thing's a set-up!"
She looked over, face clouded in confusion, and flinched as her footing shifted ever-so-slightly. When she looked down Ikki saw why: the rocky ground of the clearing now had cracks spreading through it from the gorilla's punches. "Ah. I suppose I should have known."
The masked ones may not have spoke their language, but they could tell when the jig was up. Nearby the beetle reared up, charging at the rest of the group. Cadmael whirled and snatched it by the mandibles, but the insect leveraged its body to force him back off the slope along with the others.
Behind their mask, the lead tribesman smirked, and gave the drum on their chest three beats. The gorilla tensed, leaping backward nearer to the trees and slamming down all four of its fists. That sent the cracks racing out doubly fast, and a rumble ripped through the clearing as the party fought to keep their footing.
It was only delaying the inevitable: you couldn't keep your footing if there was nothing to keep it on, after all. The ground fell out around Ikki first, and Jack watched the woman fall, a look of blank surprise on her face. Within the next few moments he and the others were falling as well, into a dark pit that looked endless.
To Be Continued…
Jack: These look like they go on for miles, maybe the whole island.
Ikki: This was a setback, but I still believe our mission can be accomplished.
Frank: We'll be fine so long as we stick together!
Beneath Enemy Territory. Protect the Town, Mary and Drake!
Mary: I hope you all weren't expecting a free lunch.