Tortuga is actually a real island. For story purposes, it is not located in the Carribeans. It is a place where lots of information gathered. Illegally of course.
Chapter 10: Ex-paragon at Port
The lords rallied their well rested troops and headed out towards Port Tortuga. Along the way, they stopped by to pick up Mark. He was happy to see them and already had everything packed.
"So Mark, tell us why you ran off."
"Well Eliwood, funny story that. I needed time to sort out my mind and accept things so I needed time alone. Also, I wanted to be near the trees and stuff."
"Geez, now you're just sounding like Lyn," said Hector. The sentence earned him another slap from Lyn.
"Well, it was that and that the infirmary had a whole bunch of silver. If I am a werewolf, then it would make sense that I am afraid of silver now."
"Okay then Mark, but why did you give me back the ring. It's yours after all."
"No Lyndis, it is no longer mine. I just don't feel right hanging on to it. You should keep it. I feel… safer if it was with you."
"Okay then Mark if you wish. Do you want your dagger or book back? I still have it."
"No you can hold on to those. Besides," Mark paused right there and took out a new book. "I'm going to start a new book. Anyway, where are we off to this time?"
"Port Tortuga," came the simultaneous answers.
Though three voices answered him, Mark felt his head swirled and he heard echoes of the words "Port Tortuga" over and over again. He shook his head and banished the thought. Still, he didn't want to go there.
"Uh, are you sure that you want to go there?"
"Why shouldn't we. I heard them mention it in my dreams."
"Please Lyn, for the love of Bejeezus don't go there."
"Um, okay Mark. I think that you should go and lie down again. You're saying strange things."
Mark was breathing hard and started to hyperventilate. He looked up at them like a maniac and spoke with such calmness that it was impossible to not feel the air dropping in degrees, "Why are you all looking at me like that? I-am-not-a-freak!" He went back to hyperventilating.
Eliwood came up to him and patted his back calming him down somewhat. "Now, now Mark, no one's saying that you are a freak. Out loud." The last part he whispered and it was directed at Hector.
Mark calmed down somewhat and decided to go and prepare for the next battle that was sure to come, in his mind anyway. It took another day to reach there and Mark spent his time walking and filling his new book with whatever he was filling it with.
The journey to the port was relatively uninteresting. Mark was acting weirder than usual but he just got back so maybe he was the same and they were just out of tune with him over that long period of Mark-less adventuring.
Port Tortuga was a relatively new port. Most maps still don't have it labeled and who would have. When they arrived, they saw what freaked Mark out so much. The whole area was crawling with pirates. These pirates acted civilized enough though. One stepped aside for Serra and bowed. This didn't help deflate her ego so Erk was left with Serra going on and on about her beauty.
There were also female pirates. They are very stoic at a distance though up close, they were just normal girls that stole for a living and lived on the open waters. Sain found this out when he approached on and after a couple of drinks, the girl was under his hypnotic flirts. Kent dragged him away from the girl to his displeasure and back to the group.
After entering for no longer than 45 standard minutes, they came to a rather unwelcoming sight. No, she wasn't ugly; it was just that they didn't to want to encounter her again. Floating above them was Tamara. Some of the guys were under her influence again but some resisted. Serra was staring intently because she was wondering about the last comment that Hector made. Compared to Tamara, Serra was still a little girl in relative size.
She looked over them and lingered slightly on Mark where her expression softened. She took a breath and spoke to them in a slightly perky voice, "So you've come. You'll never make it to the library. My group will be there before you and we'll destroy your bad intentions for Mark. MUWAHAHAAHA!"
She then took off to the opposite end of the area. As she was flying, wolves came out at the oddest places, like barrels and one came from one pirate's drink. After getting over their initial shock, the pirates were rather upset so they picked up their weapons and headed out.
Mark looked around and viewed the surroundings. "What's the situation?" He asked Lyn.
Lyn closed her eyes and saw the field in chaos and cacophony. "There are too many minds out. I can't organize them." Her face screwed up in concentration.
She felt gentle hands hold her shoulders and Mark's voice drifted into her mind. "Concentrate Lyn. Give a banner to each group. Think blue for us, red for our opponents, and green for those who don't wish to fight."
"Okay Mark. What do I do about the pirates?"
"Give them another banner then. You are not limited to a certain number."
Lyn opened her eyes and saw Mark's hands were still on her shoulders and his eyes were closed like they were asleep. She couldn't help but blush at the closeness that Mark was with her. Mark opened his eyes and she saw the determination in them.
Lyn gave the briefing to Hector and Eliwood. Mark listened but didn't contribute much. Eliwood looked through Mark's book and found a good enough strategy. It wasn't one of Mark's but it was loosely based on it. Loosely being the key word.
The library was in the center of the port. It was kept there to keep it safe from the tides and wet winds. They had to get there before any reds got to it. The pirates were scattered here and there but many wouldn't attack until they were attacked or you got into their range. Some were hungry for blood though and are moving about so each unit had to be careful. They didn't care who they come for whether they are friends or enemies or each other.
They had to move quickly yet carefully. Time was of the essence. If one of the other opponents reached the library before them, it was likely that it would be torched. With that, they were off.
Meanwhile, Tamara was watching with mild enjoyment. It's been a while, but her fangs are still as sharp as ever. If it wasn't for him and his sake, she would have declined the offer, but ever since that day. Well…
No, she had to concentrate. Her troops are doing well. Most are fleeing after the battle so that was a good thing. They were not cowards; they would lay down their lives for the greater good so this was more like a strategic retreat.
After a while, her group was thinning out. Most of the wolves have fled, though some died. Oh well, it was for the better. The ones that died wanted to anyway. All in all, this was good. Still, she hadn't had any fun for quite a while so she decided to test lady luck.
She opened her wings and flew towards the library. She managed to get there in time to block them. After some insults started to fly, she took to the sky and prepared for her assault. Her body was straight and nothing moved with the exception of her wings. She stuck out her right hand and waved it in a complex manner. From the ground, it looked like she was just moving it up and down but they didn't have time for that because after she cast the spell, shadow meteors started to fall on them.
She spent the entire time up where they can't attack. Mark didn't seem as fazed as some of the other members. The pirates were mostly retreating and the green units were rescued. Mark signaled Florina to come. Then using calming techniques, he told her of his plan. She was to take Hector on her Pegasus, which she stammered her futile objection, and he was to throw his dagger at Tamara. In the end, Mark won and moved over to Erk.
Florina took Hector to the sky blushing all the way and uncomfortable for the entire ride. There he threw his dagger at Tamara. It missed, just like Hector knew and that Mark should have known. However, at that moment, lightening came crashing down and struck the dagger as it was implanted in the ground. It didn't go straight down but curved somewhat. Everyone looked up to see the bolt strike right through Tamara. Blood fell down and showered the dagger. Tamara didn't make a sound. Her wings folded around her and she faded away.
As she faded away, her voice was heard. It was unbroken by pain or anything. It was as if she was normal. She said, "Mark belongs with us. After all, we can tolerate his condition. He is unstable now, but eventually, he will start to change periodically by the phases of the moon. A threat to all who he encounters."
Everything was silent but it was broken by the sound of a cannon. Everyone looked up to see a ship coming towards the port. It was turned broadside and its cannons fired, each shot hitting a wolf. A child that was playing with Nino, who was supposed to be protecting him, stopped to look at the ship. "Look!" He shouted, "The Wolf's Bane is coming." It was coming closer into view now and they clearly saw that the figurehead was in the shape of a giant wolf's head.
After clearing out all of the wolves, it continued on its path, not bothering to dock, and Eliwood and his companions went to the library hoping for some sort of clue. Before leaving, Canas borrowed the dagger and took some of the blood and put it into a vial.
The library was a dusty old place with books everywhere. It wasn't that the library was old; it was the books that were the cause. Some books are here by donations while others were pilfered from ships that the pirates raided. Books are easily damaged by water as many of us know, so the pirates donated them to the library. Not all pirates are barbarians.
It took three days of perusing through the old tomes that they finally found a lead. Canas called the other spell-casters to his side to talk about the plan that he formulated form reading a passage from Bending Barriers by Star Kaleidoscope.
Everyone was staying at the various inns in the port. The occasionally went to the library to ask something or look up some information that they didn't know. All during that time, Canas, Lucius, and Erk were locked up in a room they rented in the library. Lord Pent would come and visit them from time to time but other than that, they had no contact with the outside.
Eventually, on the fifth day, they finally came out. The three of them looked ragged but triumphant. They called in the lords and Mark. Serra came along because the three of them looked as if they were going to die standing and spent the time healing them. Half of the army showed up to see what was happening.
Inside of the room, a large red circle was drawn on the ground with symbols and lines inside of it. Lucius and Erk looked at Canas to explain, since he was the one who came up with the idea.
"Well then, I'm sure that everyone understands to a certain degree about Mark's condition. After much searching, I found a way to cure him. The book in question spoke of a ritual that can be used to change the species of a certain specimen. The seal needed to invoke such power must be written in the blood that is the species of which you wanted to change to. We have gone to the blood bank and purchased the necessary blood and have created the seal you see before you. Unfortunately, we ran out just before the seal was completed so we had to use the blood of the demoness from earlier. The details of how this works is much to complicated for most minds to wrap around it so just know that after it is cast, the first species that is mentioned in the presence of the specimen will change him/her to the said creature."
With that, Mark went into the middle circle and the three magicians took their circles. It was a tense five minutes. Not a single sound was made. After the casting was done, Erk looked up at the lords and nodded to them giving permission to say the word.
Lyn licked her lips getting ready to say it. "Now Mark, become hu-"
Lyn never finished because at that exact moment, Matthew bounded into the room exclaiming, "Hey everyone, I found out who our opponent was. She was a succubus."
The entire room was silent and started at Mark and Matthew. Lyn took a deep breath and moved towards Matthew with her hand on the Mani Katti's hilt.
Canas quickly took this time to tell them that Mark was not yet a succubus. "You see everyone, a succubus is female. In Mark's case, he would be an incubus." Canas quickly shut himself up after realizing what he had done.
Everyone now stared at Canas. Lyn took another breath and sighed. Canas and Matthew thought that they were safe since Lyn had sighed. Lyn quickly grabbed Matthew and tossed him at Canas. When they are close together she unsheathed her sword and her eyes glowed red.
Canas thought fast to save their hides. "Uh Lyn, do you want to hear the bad news or the worse news?"
Lyn had a face of confusion. But it was quickly replaced with a mask of anger and murderous intent.
Canas continued, "Mark can't survive as he is now…"
For those who don't know, Succubi and Incubi require doing adulterous acts with the opposite gender, of humans, in order to gather the energy needed to survive. Mark is lucky because he will have a loop-hole.
The Bending Barriers book is mainly about actual barriers. It mentions different social or spiritual barriers briefly. Also, the Wolf's Bane is in another story.
This will probably be the last update for a few weeks. I can't go on as often as I wish so, oh well. Please bear with me.