Ugh this chapter was a bear to finish. It's one of those things where I wanna get to the good stuff but need to make sure I do the work to get there, and it felt like work indeed. Still I'm excited for you Guys to read and leave me your thoughts.
On with the show
Chapter 3: Dirgelaff, the Mysterious
Elsa gazed out over the fjord, staring passed the mountains into the open ocean. With her hands holding her elbows she reflected on the upcoming journey.
This was a bad idea, she repeated to herself. But it didn't matter how many times she told, Anna, Kristoff or Olaf, in the end this was their final option.
For the past week she had been hoping and praying that someone, anyone, would respond to her calls for help, but there was none, and her people continued to worsen. While some were getting better with the wormwood treatment, others were still getting sick and they were quickly running out of the wormwood. The kingdoms reserves for food and water were diminishing, and people were beginning to go hungry.
She couldn't wait any longer. They had to find Dirgelaff's island.
While Anna was hell bent on Elsa competing, they had finally reached an agreement when it came to this journey. Instead of competing they would go and simply be spectators, like traveling to a sporting event. If this was a competition then surely others would travel to watch the events unfold. Once there they would make connections with other kingdoms and, hopefully, be able to find someone who can offer help.
That was the hope at least.
"My queen?" She heard caprian Ezrem coming, but didn't bother to acknowledge him until he had spoken.
"Yes captain?"
"We are ready to set sail."
She nodded apathetically. "Good."
She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn't bother to meet his gaze. "Forgive me, but you don't seem all too thrilled for this voyage." That's an understatement. She laughed to herself. "Full disclosure I'm none to thrilled myself." She turned her head. "You've earned my trust, my loyalty and my friendship, but you must know I'm often distrustful of magic, and those who use it." He met her gaze with warning in his eyes. "No good can come from this."
I know. "As of now. It's the only thing we have. We might as well do something besides sit around and wait."
He nodded his understanding.
"Elsa! Captain Ezrem! Come on!" They turned towards the ship finding Anna leaning over the railing of the ship, waving them aboard. Unlike her sister, Anna lived for adventure and was bubbling with excitement ever since Elsa relented to this journey. Elsa had to keep reminding her that this was a business venture, not a vacation.
Elsa and the captain joined her on the ship, the Crocus, and Captain Ezerm began shouting orders to his crew. Elsa joined her sister on the wooden railing and both began taking in the image of their kingdom. Both dressed casually in their travel outfits, where they forwent the dresses for tights, coats and boots, they were ready to set sail.
"Where's Kristoff?" Elsa asked.
"He's with Sven saying his goodbyes. I told him he didn't have to come, but he's adamant on coming with us, but Sven won't be."
Elsa took her sisters hand and the pair began waving to those who had come to see them off. "The kingdom is in good hands. Kai, Gerda, Bjorn, and even the trolls will be helping out with the sick. They'll be fine." Anna squeezed her sisters hand. "And this is gonna work."
Elsa's head dipped slightly. "I know, because I don't know what I'd do if it doesn't." The two nuzzled their heads together before being interrupted by captain Ezrem.
"Your majesty? Do you have the map?"
"I do." Anna dipped into her sachell and removed the green arrow. It took them a while to actually find the map, but thankfully Olaf's curiosity helped solve the puzzle. Pressing the tips of the arrowhead and the feathers into the shaft turned the arrow into a rod that had clicked open, revealing a rolled up map inside.
She passed it to the captain who took it to his navigators, and after another hour or so, and Kristoff and Olaf had joined them, the ship set sail. Leaving the once bright kingdom of Arendelle behind them in the hope that they could save it.
—:0:—
The Crocus was a wonderful ship to travel by, crafted as both a cargo ship and a passenger liner complete with cabins, a dining hall, a sitting room, and a smoking lounge. Beneath that was the servants quarters, kitchen, and cabins for the crew, while the captain stayed in a cabin located in deck. Elsa's cabin was the largest of course, which she shared with Anna and Olaf, while Kristoff had his own. It had been a day and a half since they left Arendelle and it didn't take long for the separation of his best friend to affect him. He didn't have much of an appetite since they left so he had skipped dinner, but once Anna had finished she and Olaf went below to keep him company.
Elsa meanwhile kept to herself through the trip. If she wasn't with Anna, she was reading books hoping to find more information on Dirgelaff, but found little. Now that Anna and Olaf were with Kristoff, Elsa had to find something else to do to pass the time. She grabbed a cloak and decided she wanted to spend some time on the deck.
Wandering the ship she nodded to the members of the crew with a smile, and headed up the wooden stairs to the deck. With the day coming to an end, Elsa had emerged just in time for the day crew to be changing hands to the night crew. Wanting to stay out of the way she went to the railing to watch the sun set.
She took a deep breath of the sea air, a smile spreading across her lips. She missed this, she missed the freshness of the ocean and the wind blowing against her skin.
I'd rather be flying, but this will have to do. The thought of flying made her smile widened, but It vanished thinking about the fact that her kingdom was poisoned. This had to work, she had to find a way to save her kingdom. How to do that, she had no idea. If only she had an ounce of Anna's optimism.
She sighed when a sudden jerk of the ship brought it to a stop. She gripped the railing, freezing it over her hands to keep herself from falling over. The boat didn't ease to a stop, didn't coast, just abruptly stopped all movement. The men around the deck began scattering in all directions, captain Ezrem stepped out of his quarters and began shouting.
"What was that!"
His question was directed upwards to the man in the crows nest, high amongst the ships sails. "I don't know sir!" He shouted back. "There was nothing for miles, I swear!"
Ezrem turned to his other men. "Get below deck. Check the hall, make sure we didn't hit a reef and aren't taking on any water."
They responded with a curt nod and took off. "But sir. Even if we hit a reef, or anything, we wouldn't have stopped so suddenly." One of them mentioned.
Ezrem glared. "You think I don't know that? Check anyways! We stopped for a reason!"
While the men followed orders, Elsa made her way to the cabins to check her friends. Luckily they were already above deck and asking the same questions everyone else had.
The sisters ran to each other, glad the other was okay. "What happened?" Anna asked.
"I don't know." Elsa responded, "we just stopped."
"Hey there are plants growing on the boat!" Elsa and Anna saw Kristoff and Olaf looking over the ship railings. Olaf happily Waving at something while Kristoff appeared horrified.
The sisters joined them peering down into the ocean. "What do you mean pla—oh." All eyes were now as wide as dinner plates.
"Those aren't plants Olaf." Kristoff cringed.
"They're—"
"Tentacles." Three enormous tentacles began slithering up the side of the boat, and was likely more on the other side of the ship as well. "Captain Ezrem!"
He and his men were already scrambling for harpoons, axes and swords, positioning themselves at the sides of the ship, waiting for the tentacles to attack.
"Anna, Kristoff, take Olaf and get below deck." Elsa removed her cloak, her hands already glowing with blue frost.
"No, no, no! Your not getting rid of me that easily."
Kristoff noticed the tentacles now arching over the railing and began creeping onto the ship. "Maybe we should let them handle this."
Elsa used the two arguing as a distraction to position herself beside Captain Ezrem. "What do you need from me."
Ezrem, who had armed himself with a harpoon, held it aimed at the approaching tentacles. "Sit back and wait for my command. You can freeze them and we'll cut them into pieces. Then calamari for dinner tomorrow."
She raised her hands with a grin. "Sounds good to me."
Just as Ezrem was about to make the order to attack, a sudden ear piercing whistle hit the air. The sound of which caused the tentacles to stop their advance.
"Sir!" The man from the crows nest shouted. "Off the starboard side!" They all turned to the right side of the boat as another tentacle emerged from the ocean, but atop this one stood a man with a metal whistle in his hand. With another tweet the tentacle maneuvered over the boat and lowered man onto the deck. He certainly wasn't dressed for the ocean, or riding an animal. He was dressed professionally, in a white high collared shirt, necktie, black tailcoat, trousers, shoes and white gloves. He was bald with hard features and a scowl, His small eyes, almost covered by a thick brow, scanned the ship before flitting to the highest mast at the Arendelle flag.
He snorted, but kept a firm frown on his face. "Arendelle? Now what business does Arendelle have here?"
Elsa lowered her hands, letting the ice around her hands vanish into the wind. She stepped towards him, remembering her status and kept herself high and regal. "I am Elsa, queen of Arendelle. We received and invitation to join one, Dirgelaff the mysterious, in a tournament he is hosting," She motioned to the captain to fetch the arrow and map. "We wish to accept his invitation."
The man rose a brow, but remained passive until Elsa received the arrow from the captain. The man examined it once she handed it to him, before doing something quite strange and horrifying. He folded the map back into the arrow, closed it and changed it back into it original arrow form. In one motion jabbed the point into the side of his head.
Everyone leapt back, screaming and cringing at the sight, and yet the man seemed relatively fine. His eyes started darting side to side as if reading something only he could see and after an agonizing moment, removed the arrow from his head. Not leaving behind a scar, or blood to speak of.
He tucked the arrow into his coat and brought the whistle back to his lips and tweeted three times. The tentacles slid off the ship and back into the water, as he stepped back onto the tentacle that delivered him. "I must ask that you hold on. We like to go fast." The tentacle took him to the front of the ship and with one long tweet, the ship suddenly jerked and began speeding along the water. Everyone grabbed onto the nearest thing that was nailed down and hung on for dear life.
"Okay what the heck is happening!?" Anna shouted over the wind now rushing passed them.
"Somebody turned the speed up!" Olaf shouted. "I didn't know this boat could do that!"
His head flew into Kristoff's arms. "I think those tentacles are taking us."
Olaf giggled. "Why didn't we think of this, this is way faster!"
Elsa didn't join in the conversation, she kept her eyes forward as the ship continued to be pulled by the man. It wasn't that she felt unsafe, just unsure about everything, and she didn't like being unsure. The boat being pulled continued for at least another hour, but by then they had gotten used to the speed and were now wandering the ship again. As the hour came to a close the ship began to slow down to a leisurely pace. Wherever they had ended up, it was shrouded in mist unable to see much of anything at all.
"Whoa!" Olaf gasped, "do you see that?" The mist began to thin, giving them a chance to see a variety of different islands scattered around them, each varying in size and height. Some were large enough to have a small town, while others were only big enough to have a small building. Some were eye level and some they had to look into the sky to see the top. Each was fitted with a bridge leading to the center of something they couldn't see yet.
"There's got to be dozens of them." One of the crew noticed.
"Yeah, but which one is the one we're looking for?" Another asked.
"Well I have a pretty good idea." Kristoff said as he was pointing up.
In the center of the islands stood a structure that reached into the heavens until the top was covered by clouds. The building was perfectly square on all sides, decorated with windows, statues and balconies and seemed quite capable of housing hundreds of kingdoms in one place.
Since they were staring upwards into the sky they didn't notice that they were approaching a dock six other men waited for them. Six men that looked exactly like the man leading them on the tentacle.
Anna counted the men, her face twisting into confusion. "Okay can this get any weirder?"
"I wouldn't be surprised." Kristoff groaned. The ship pulled into the dock and the ship's crew, despite the strangeness, worked to prepare the boat to port. Once a ramp had been lowered onto the dock they were met by the six men, one of which stood in front of the other five. Even though his features were as rough as the man on the tentacle, there was still a semblance of a smile. Elsa made sure she stood at the top of the ramp to meet him, ready to descend as needed.
"My master bids you welcome." He greeted. "It has been so long since Arendelle has graced his islands with their presence."
Elsa Walked down the ramp towards him, a wary smile on her lips. "I am queen Elsa of Arendelle."
His smile widened. "The snow queen? My master is especially excited to meet you. Your gifts are...curious." He bowed at the waist as soon as Elsa was near. "I am Bernard, the head of this house."
"House!?" Anna stepped up beside Elsa. "This isn't a house, it's like a hundred houses stacked on top of each other."
Bernard followed her line of sight to the building. "I suppose. And this is…?"
Anna gave a small curtsy, difficult since she was in her travel clothes pants. "Princess Anna of Arendelle."
"Hmm delightful." Bernard snapped his fingers to the men behind him. "Please help them with their luggage and anything else." They nodded and stepped passed him onto the ship.
"I'm sorry, can I just ask—"
"Why everyone looks like me?" He finished. "Master Dirgelaff is not a very trusting man, but over the years I was able to earn it. This being the case, and seeing as his estate is so large, he just decided to create more of me. You can never have too much of a good thing am I right?" He laughed at his own joke, but Elsa and Anna only shared uncomfortable smiles. "So may I ask how many are in your party?"
"Four," Elsa responded, "Myself, Anna," she motioned behind her as Kristoff and Olaf joined them, "Kristoff and Olaf."
Bernard counted them, but then stopped at the snowman. "A living snowman?" He raised an amused brow. "Like I said. Curious. Well would you please follow me." He turned around and headed down the docks as they followed.
They were drawn back to the ocean when they heard odd moaning coming from beneath the water. The other Bernard seeming to be working with the tentacled creature like it was a pet.
"What the heck is that thing?" Anna asked.
Bernard didn't break stride as he spoke. "Master Dirgelaff, you'll come to find, is a collector of rare and unique items, including creatures. Below us, and swimming about are two of his favorite sea beasts. The kraken and the megalodon." The Arendellians paused, peering into the water to see if they could see anything unusual breach the surface, but with night having fallen it was difficult. "You have plenty of chances to explore," he called, "but we should get inside. I wouldn't want any of the creatures of the night to find us out and about and unprotected." His words made them pick up the pace.
At the end of the dock they came to two large doors that opened on their own as soon as Bernard approached leading them into a long torch lit stone hallway. Stepping inside he continued to give instructions. "While you are here you are expected to treat this house as your own, however do not come to these lower levels unless accompanied and given permission by the master."
"Why? What's down here?" Olaf asked.
Bernard chuckled. "A better question would be, 'what isn't down here?'"
"Okay. What isn't down here?"
Bernard only smiled down at him. He made sure the doors were shut behind, before taking the lead in front of the group. "As I mentioned, Master Dirgelaff is a collector of sorts, and all of the creatures and oddities he has found are locked away down here. A zoo, if you will. It's been my experience that the truly nasty brutes come out at night, so be sure to steer clear, should you feel the need to explore."
Moving down the hall further they came to another set of doors. Once again they opened automatically, but didn't seem to go anywhere. It was just a small room, barely big enough for all of them. They hesitated as Bernard stepped inside. "Come now don't be shy."
"Why? It doesn't go anywhere?" Anna noticed.
He grinned. "Now how do you know that?"
The group exchanged looks, but of course Olaf was the first to go in, then Anna then Kristoff and lastly Elsa, and once all were inside the doors shut.
"This is called a 'moving box'. An invention by the master." On the wall beside the doors were a series of buttons. He pressed one that said "L" and the box suddenly moved. Anna and Kristoff grabbed each other while Olaf grabbed onto Elsa's legs leaving Elsa to freeze herself to the wall. There was a ding and the doors opened again, but now they were in a completely different place.
The foyer was much larger than their own, spanning the grandiose space with a double staircase similar to the one in Elsa's ice palace. On the ground and up the steps was draped a velvet red carpet but still left some of the gold marble floors exposed on either side. Under the stairs was another set of doors, leaving them curious as to where they led. In the center of the rounded foyer was a table, small enough to hold, under a glass case, a vintage and weathered chess set.
The group "oh'd" and "awe'd" Olaf in particular sliding back and forth on the marble floors with his icy feet. He stopped at the Chess set display.
"Ooooooo? What's this?" Like any child he reached towards the glass case until Bernard slapped his hand away.
"Sorry, my friend, this is not for touching. But to answer your question, this is the masters very first chess set."
They all gathered around the display. "So I take it he's always liked games?" Elsa commented.
Bernard smiled with a nod. "Indeed. As a child he always enjoyed a good game. Hide and seek, tag, cards, but his favorite was always chess. He enjoyed the sort of games that would put him in the heads of his opponents."
Elsa nodded. "My father taught me chess was forty percent knowing the game, sixty percent knowing the person you were playing."
His smile widened. "You were taught well."
Anna was still taking in the sight of the golden colored foyer when she asked. "So how did Dirgelaff achieve all this? We haven't even heard of him until a week ago."
"Well the master likes his privacy so I'm not surprised, but as to your other question, it actually involves," he motioned to the chessboard, "this very chess set." Curiosity piqued, they all gathered around him. "One day, while he and his mother were in the square doing their shopping, they came across a man, a man playing a game of chess with anyone and everyone that would sit with him. Testing his luck the young master sat across from him and the two began. Unfortunately he lost the first two games, but decided to go for double or nothing. That was when the stranger raised the stakes. If the young master won, the stranger would grant him one wish, anything his heart desired."
Anna's eyes were wide, almost like a child hearing of Santa Claus for the first time. "Wow. Anything?"
Bernard tapped her nose with his finger. "Anything."
"And if he lost?" Elsa asked.
Bernards smile wavered slightly. "Then the stranger would take his soul."
The foyer grew so quiet a pin could be heard being dropped, giving Bernard the chance to continue. "The game began, and without boring you with the details, the master was victorious in the end. His wish? Was that he'd be the greatest game master that ever lived."
"Whoa." Anna exhaled. "That's incredible."
"Indeed, but some of you may be wondering what that has to do with what will be taking place this upcoming weekend."
Olaf raised his hand. "Actually I was wondering how you play chess."
Kristoff slapped his hand down, but Bernard has ignited him anyways. "Over the years, the master grew tired of competing, so he decided to organize games were he himself was the spectator, until the last several years he's held competitions in his home to give others the same chance he was given. A chance to have a wish granted."
Without missing a beat, Kristoff added, "Or lose our souls?"
Anna scowled at him, but Bernard just laughed. "No, no, no, nothing of that sort."
Elsa slightly narrowed her eyes, not quite convinced. "When will we meet master Dirgelaff?"
Bernard grinned and motioned to the doors underneath the staircase. On que the doors swung open and another man, dressed in a long blue robe and arms out began walking towards them excitedly.
"You'll come to find that the master has a flare for the dramatic." Bernard stepped aside so that his master could address the Arendellians. He was younger than expected, granted they only saw him in magical illusion, but still. He was at best middle aged with a head full of dark hair, tanned skin and a smile capable of lighting up a barn.
"Why you've made it my friends, you've come through my doors. I've so been looking forward to meeting those from Arendelle's shores." His gaze met Elsa's. "And you must be the mysterious snow queen? My Aren't you the most beautiful creature I have ever seen?" He took her by both hands and placed a kiss on top of both of her knuckles.
The sudden action caused her to blush horribly and a sudden burst of frost covered him in a thin sheet of ice. Mortified she pulled her hands away and set about to apologize, but instead he looked down at his robes and began laughing giddily.
"Oh how excellent, oh what fun, but worry not there's no need to be sorry for what you have done." He shook the frost off of his robes. "I always enjoy seeing the gifts that my guests have, so fear not, I will not be mad."
"Wow he really talks like that—ow!" Anna slapped Kristoff in the chest when his whispering wasn't quite as low as it should have been.
Elsa composed herself. "My apologies. As you may have noticed, I don't like to be touched, if that's okay with you."
He raised a hand. "There's no need to say any more, now is it just you four?"
Elsa turned to her companions. "Yes this is my sister, princess Anna, her boyfriend, Kristoff, and our friend Olaf, and we are most humbled and honored to be invited to your home."
Dirgelaff clapped excitedly. "What fun, It's a pleasure to meet you all. Please follow me into my halls." He motioned for them to follow him toward the doors he had come from. "I understand that you've traveled for miles, so come relax in my study with my guest from the southern isles."
The group paused mid step. "Wait what? Southern isles?"
Dirgelaff turned to Anna. "Why yes, he came as the sun began to rise. He must also be excited for a chance at the prize." He opened the doors to his study, or course leaving no surprises that it was just as exquisite as the foyer, but what stood at the fireplace made them cringe in horror.
He was just as they remembered him. Beige tailcoat, high collared blue shirt with red ascot and white gloves. More notable was his auburn hair and thick mutton chops along the sides of his face, a face plastered with a familiar smug grin. In his hand was a glass, clinking with ice cubes and something alcoholic.
"He arrived early just like yourselves, I hope you understand," Dirgelaff gestured, "please welcome Prince Hans, of the southern lands."