Expedition

Lloyd reached into the mech's compartment and tossed another bag to Jay. "That's the last one," he said as he shut the compartment's hatch with his wet, numb fingers. The storm that had been brewing when they left the mainland had decreased to a steady drizzle by day four of their journey.

The islet that they stood on was rather small, being roughly forty feet long by twenty, and was made out of one solid piece of rock that jutted a good ten feet above the water.

"I'll start on dinner," Jay offered as he opened the sack Lloyd had tossed. After five days out at sea, it became easy to pick out a routine for when they landed to rest. They were fortunate enough to have been able to find tiny islets to rest on three days out of the five they had been flying.

Lloyd stretched his arms with a grunt. "Don't get me wrong, Nya," he said. "But after twenty-four hours of nonstop flying, it feels nice to stand on wet, algae-infested rocks."

Nya looked up from the tent that she'd been busy setting up and scowled. "Nice to know that my life's passion lands itself below standing on slimy rocks in the middle of the ocean," she said.

Lloyd shrugged and offered an apologetic smile. "Just being honest," he said. "If it makes you feel any better, I like your mech better than escargot."

Jay scoffed as he pulled out a few chunks of dried meat. He chucked one into Lloyd's stunned face, where it then fell into a puddle of water in a cleft in the rock. "Dinner is served," he said dryly. "And you don't know a thing about talking to women, do you?"

He turned to where Nya stood and gave a gracious bow before handing her a hand-sized piece of beef. "Here you are, m'lady." He said. "Would you like some bread to go with that?"

Nya took the strip from him and smiled. "Yes, thank you." She turned and looked at Lloyd. "Watch him closely," she said. "This is a true gentleman, and you could learn a lot from him."

"True gentleman?" Lloyd snorted. "He just threw a fist full of cow at my face."

The thief nodded cooly and grabbed three bread rolls from another sack. "A man's first and foremost duty is to protect women," he said. "You were using words to abuse a noblewoman, and I was simply protecting her."

Lloyd growled exasperatedly and threw his arms into the air in defeat. "Sorry," he said. "I guess it's this rain. It's putting me in a foul mood."

"You're forgiven," Nya said. She handed Jay a sack with her free hand and took a bite of her roll. "You can set up the other tent."

"All right," Jay nodded and grabbed the sack. "How many days until we reach the Dark Island?"

Nya let out a groan and hugged her red cloak closer to her body. "Too long," she said. "Maybe three more days, two if the weather clears up."

"Perfect." Lloyd said tartly. He grabbed his pack from where it sat on the wet ground and stomped over to where Jay stood. "I'm ready for bed, can you hurry up with that tent?"

Jay chuckled and patted Lloyd's head condescendingly. "Patience, your majesty." He said. "Help me out, then we can all go to bed sooner."

Lloyd leapt backwards and pushed Jay's hand away. "Quit calling me that," he grunted. "I can't stand all the formality."

"He's only teasing you," Nya said. "You should lighten up a bit. At least he's talking. It's a huge improvement over two days ago."

"Hey," Jay pulled the collapsed tent out of its sack and tossed the strings to Lloyd. "That was just a bit over-exaggerated. I've always talked, just not as much as I do now."

"No," Lloyd shook his head, allowing a tiny smile to lift a corner of his lip. "But I like the articulate Jay much better than the old, disconnected Jay." He sighed heavily and began untangling the strings with his cold, stiff fingers. "Does anyone else feel like they have rigor mortis?"

Nya raised a hand. "Yep," she said with a nod. "But please, let's not talk of death, even as a joke. We need to keep up out morale, not pull it down."

General Malian's hands were trembling and cold with sweat as he ran down the dark stone hallway, gasping for breath as his feet pounded the floor. He stopped in front of the dining room door and nodded to the two guards, who gave him a nod and a concerned look. They had not heard the news, and could not figure out why their general's skin was so blanched.

Malian stepped up to the doors and pressed both palms on the wood, pushing them open on silent hinges. "M'lady," he said in the most confident voice he could muster, though he rather felt like a mouse in a lion's den. "A word, please?"

The dark haired lady looked up from her meal, dropping her fork the moment she saw the pallor of her general's skin. She got to her feet slowly and took a step in his direction. "What is the matter, Malian?" She asked. After receiving no answer, she took another step, stomping her foot. "Speak, man!" Her voice was authoritative, but a tremor was fixed soundly underneath the facade of anger.

Malian cleared his throat and bowed at the waist respectfully. "M'lady," he repeated. His body straightened, and he cleared his throat. "You...you might want to sit down. I have some news pertaining to our lord Kaytake."

Driniah gasped softly and let her hand run up to clutch her stomach as the dread hit her. "What is it?" She asked, fighting to keep her voice steady. "My goodness, Malian! Open that blasted hole of yours and speak!"

Malian was taken aback by her language. The stress of losing Kai and Nya had hit her hard enough to drag her poise and grace through the mud. What would this pretty little tidbit of news do to her? A bead of sweat dripped down from his blond hairline and snaked to his eye, making it sting. He blinked once in a futile attempt to ease the pain before speaking. "Our lord is...missing, my lady." He managed to stutter out.

If Driniah still had any color in her face before then, it was gone as soon as those words left his mouth. "Wh...what?" She whispered. "When? Where?"

Malian shook his head once and stared down at his feet. "We aren't sure, my lady." He said. "I offered to escort him to the docks, but he refused. He said that he'd done it a thousand times before, and he was adamant that he would be fine doing it alone today. He has not been seen since he left this afternoon."

The Southern noblewoman cleared her throat. "Any leads at all?" Her voice regained a bit of her former confidence, and she quickly returned to being the second-in-command that Malian knew he could count on and trust.

"No, M'lady." He replied. "Even his horse is gone. We inquired at several of the west ports, no one has seen him. He's...vanished."

Driniah strode toward her general, who offered an arm in support as they began their short trek down the echoey stone hall. "Any suspects?" She asked. "Do you know who might have done this?"

Malian thought that her hand seemed warm, although it might have just been that his were cold. "It is too soon after Kai's disappearance to be a coincidence," he said. "I am confident that this was not Sir Cole, If that's what you are asking. We think that it must be another one of the Overlord's allies." He hesitated before adding, "either that, or one of Cyrus' men. I have sent messengers to both the Middle and the Northern realms with the news, along with orders to keep this under wraps until he is found."

"Good man," Driniah said brusquely. "I agree; the public should not know about his disappearance yet. That would only fuel the rebellion. Although if this is Cyrus' doing, he'll undoubtedly find a way to spread rumors blaming the Overlord for this mess, no matter how careful we may be."

"Yes, m'lady." Malian agreed. "In the meantime, I have to request that you go to a safe place until this blows over. You are the Southern realm's last hope, and we cannot lose you."

Driniah only hesitated a moment before nodding. "Kaytake asked you to do that, didn't he?" She asked.

"Yes," Malian replied quickly. "On the day when we found Nya with lady Pixal, Kaytake gave me direct orders to keep you safe, should something happen to him." His brows furrowed, and he hummed thoughtfully.

"What is it, Malian?" Driniah asked.

The general felt a glimmer of hope ignite in his chest as he recalled another portion of that conversation with his lord. "He told me that he was going to look for weapons to help destroy the Overlord's men," he said slowly. "It is possible that we have nothing to worry about and that he is simply out there looking for them."

"Without contacting me?" Driniah asked in disbelief. "No, general. You know as well as I do that he would not leave without at least giving us a day to look for his return."

Malian shrugged. "Perhaps you are right," he said with a heavy sigh. "I was just throwing that theory out on the table."

The Southern noblewoman nodded in understanding. "Of course," she said as they reached the end of the hall. Malian realized right then that they had no idea what their original destination had been. They had simply started walking, sidetracked by their discussion.

"I would suggest taking a few men with you tonight," Malian said after an awkward moment of embarrassed silence and stillness. His voice echoed down the hall; the red draperies did nothing to stifle the reverberation of his voice. "Run your horses as fast as you can, and get to the Garmadon mansion. They will be able to shelter you better than I ever could."

Driniah turned on her heel and started walking back down the hall, toward her bedchamber. "A wise plan," she said grimly. "I need to pack a few things; have my horse saddled and warmed up for a long run within two hours, with a four guard escort. Can you do that?"

Malian nodded, grateful to see that her face, albeit still pale, had a calm determination that helped calm him down considerably. Kaytake truly was lucky to have such a strong, reliable wife. "Yes m'lady," he said. "Right away."

Kai's heart was thudding harshly in his chest with anticipation as he helped Cole prepare for their escape. Although he still had his doubts as to whether or not Cole had actually 'gone straight,' he would have to admit that the man had changed at least a little bit since Kai's suggestion to escape. Granted, he was a little jumpier, but he had a firm determination in his green eyes that gave Kai hope. However conflicted and unstable Cole may be, he would not go down without a fight.

After much discussion, they had agreed to go several miles inland before they attempted to leave the ship.

The raging storm was a small slice of luck. Because of the loud winds and thick rain, they could leap over the edge of the ship easily enough with a minimal chance of being caught by Cole's men. Kai had been concerned about them hurting themselves in the jump, but Cole had reassured him by saying that he would lower the altitude quite a bit so they wouldn't get hurt.

"Problem solved," Cole snapped angrily. "Now stop asking questions. This is my ship, my prisoner, and my island."

Of course I'm still his prisoner, Kai though as he turned his back to Cole so he could roll his eyes without being caught. And I sort of thought that he was a prisoner on this blasted island, not its master.

Kai grabbed a small gunny sack of supplies from the counter, mostly in the food form, and slung it over his back. He hoped that he did not need to carry it too long, because it wasn't exactly full of feathers. "Won't the stone warriors become suspicious when you slow the ship down and lower its altitude?" He asked as he shifted the heavy pack on his shoulders.

Cole whirled and slammed a kitchen cabinet closed. "I told you to stop asking questions," he snapped. "I know what I'm doing, prisoner."

Kai gave an exasperated sigh and threw an arm up in defeat. "Fine," he said. "But don't judge me for doubting you, because your last escape attempt wasn't that great." He averted his eyes from Cole's venomous glare and ran a hand through his brown hair, brushing a strand behind his ear. "Just my opinion, of course."

Cole slung a pack over his back and put a black cloak over all. "I suppose you are entitled to your own flawed opinion," he said with a sigh. "We're probably far enough inland by now. Follow me to my room, I've got to pick up a few things before we go."

Kai followed him into the dining room, unable to decide of the retort had been sarcastic or not. "Your ointment?" He asked.

Cole opened the door and hesitated a moment before walking out into the rain. He ran across the deck, nearly losing his footing once as the warm wind lifted his cloak and blew his hair into his eyes. The two men ran down the stairs to below deck, then entered Cole's room.

The bright-eyed man rummaged through a drawer and withdrew a grey cloak, which he threw unceremoniously in Kai's direction. "Put this on," he said in a hoarse whisper. "Not like you'll really need it in this climate, but it'll conceal the packs until we get off the ship."

Kai caught the large cloak with both hands and unfolded it. It smelled like a sweet soap, as if it had been washed recently. "Great," he said. "I don't mind the warm weather, though. I grew up in the South."

Cole snorted dryly as he grabbed a few small items out of another drawer and shoved them in various pockets on his person. "The South will feel like a respite after a few months here," he said. He got onto his knees and pulled a small box from under his cot.

So he thinks we'll be here a few months, Kai thought. Optimism was never his strong suit. He came close and peeked into the box as Cole opened it. "What's that?" He asked.

The Dark Knight scrambled to shove the lid back on the simple wooden box and shove it into a large pocket in his cloak. "Mind your own," he growled lowly, turning his back to Kai and walking toward the door. "Let's go."

Kai stared after him for a few seconds before regaining his composure and following the man. "It was a simple question," he called loudly down the dark hallway. "You didn't need to-" A hand clamped over his mouth, and his heart forgot how to beat for a long moment.

"Shut your trap," Cole hissed. "We're kinda in the middle of a huge law infraction. I don't care if the wind is screaming outside, we need to keep our mouths shut." He let his hand fall from Kai's face.

The Southern nobleman tried to act as if the iron grip on his mouth had not phased him in the least, though he was sure he had not quite completely pulled it off. "Sorry," he whispered softly. He followed Cole back up the steps and onto the dark, stormy deck.

Cole pressed his back against the outside wall, signaling with a hand for Kai to follow him carefully.

With his heart rising into his chest, Cole peered into the darkness for any signs of activity. In the few hours that had followed Zane and Pixal's plummet, the storm had calmed considerably, although the wind was still a bit dangerous. Traveling across the deck would be an adventure all on its own.

With one last nod in Kai's direction, he ran across the deck, slipping once in a growing puddle of water near the edge of the ship. Cole skidded straight into the railing and let out a gasp as he gripped the rail tightly with both fists. The wind seemed to be screaming in protest of his escape attempt.

Kai was much more fortunate. He had not been toppled by that gust, and ran on light feet over to where Cole stood, panting heavily as he stared down at the thick brush of the Dark Island perhaps fifty yards below.

"It's still too far!" Kai shouted over the winds. "How will we get down there?" He was feeling trepidatious about their circumstance. Even if it were possible to survive a fall from this height, it would be painful as a trip through hell.

Cole released the railing with one hand and reached into his cloak with shaky fingers. He was vaguely aware of the tremor, and reprimanded himself for showing such frequent weakness. His cold hands wrapped around a thin rope hanging in a coil from his waist, and he held it up for display. "Did you seriously think I was going to make you jump to the ground?" He asked.

"Your inhumanity knows no bounds," Kai snapped back.

"I won't argue with your there," Cole grunted as he pressed the rope into Kai's hands. "Tie a good sledge knot on the railing while I slow the ship down," he said. "I'll be right back, please don't get caught."

Kai took the rope hesitantly and nodded.

"Good," Cole said. "I'll be right back." He ran off in the direction of the Bridge.

Kai stared after him for a long moment, suddenly full of more than just trepidation. "Sledge knot?"