Chapter Eleven
Oversized Firefly
Stuck in the soupiest fog he has ever been in, a twenty-one year old Linebeck wondered how in the goddesses' name he ended up in this mess for the thousandth time.
The he glances out the porthole, squints and then lets out a long swear of curse words as the single most creepy ship sails out of the fog in front of him, seemingly just sliding into existence.
With a gulp, Linebeck remembers his drunken proclamation that he would be the first sailor to find, board, and get the mountains of gold and treasure rumored to be on this so called Ghost Ship from a week before hand.
"Well... They got the ghost part correct." Linebeck internally gulps.
Not for the first time, Linebeck curses himself out as he starts up the ship and steers himself towards the desolate ship.
Sure he could just turn right back around and save his own hide, but the thought of one more failure to add to his ever growing list, steels the captain's nerves and keeps the S.S. Linebeck's prow steady towards the Ghost Ship.
Though... if he was being completely honest... The rumor of the mounds of treasure on board kept the prow steady as well.
After some time passed, (Linebeck had no way to tell with all this fog.) Linebeck looked down to check his ship's engine, then looks back up to check where the Ghost Ship is.
Or was, since in that miniscule amount of time Linebeck took to glance down, the ship had disappeared into the fog.
"Shit," Linebeck blanches. He stops the ship and runs out onto the deck, spinning around in the fog to try and spot the ship. "Shit, shit, shit!"
Linebeck grips his hair as he tries to frantically squints into the fog, searching for any kind of trace that would lead to the Ghost Ship.
Retreating back into the engine room in defeat, Linebeck leans against the helm, beginning to review his options.
Really, he could only see three of them.
One, stay where he was, wait for the fog to dissipate and get his bearings back. (And pray he wouldn't run out of supplies before then.)
Two, turn around the best he could in this fog and sail back the way he came and not get hopelessly lost.
Or three, continue forward and pray he doesn't hit anything big.
And who knows? If he took option three, Linebeck might spot the Ghost Ship again and this time, catch up, board it and get his mitts on the treasure.
With a gulp and sigh, Linebeck starts back up the steamboat and sails on in the fog.
After another long period of an unknown amount of time, Linebeck started noticing that the fog was letting up, that a sun was beginning to peek through. Stopping the ship again once all of the fog was gone, Linebeck strides out into the fog, letting the sun warm his tan skin.
Turning, Linebeck ends up doing a double take when he spots an unfamiliar land mass on his horizon, only a few hours away, with what looked like a small town peeking from the other side. Linebeck frowns at the island, thinking that he was sure there wasn't an island marked on the maps he owned for a fair amount of nautical miles.
"Must have gotten more off course than I realized." Linebeck says to himself, striding back to the engine room, intending to start up the ship and head to the island.
When Linebeck finally reaches the island and is finishing up tying the S.S. Linebeck to the dock, he suddenly noticed something that unnerved him greatly.
His ship was the only one docked in deathly silence.
For a town of this size, Linebeck expected at least five or six other ships to be docked and all sorts activity to be occurring.
Yet the town's dock was a bona fide ghost town, with the town looking like it was going to follow in the docks footsteps with only having a few residents puttering around.
Turning back to the rope anchoring his steamship to the dock, Linebeck gave it a few tugs, making sure it was sound. Then, nearly kneels over in fright when he hears a soft, awestruck sigh coming from behind him.
Nearly tumbling off the dock as he swirls around in a fearful panic, not, mind you, was the twenty one year old going to admit that to a single soul. He still had his pride, thank you very much. Linebeck sees a man dressed in a blue shirt staring in wonder at the S.S. Linebeck, quite obviously being the owner of the sigh.
Linebeck steps forward and waves a hand in front of the man's face. "Erm... Hello there?" He says, raising an eyebrow.
The man gives no attention to Linebeck, being completely enamored with the steamship.
Linebeck simply leans back, giving the man a weird look complete with his one eyebrow quirked, before quickly side-stepping behind the man and walking towards the array of houses and businesses.
Looking for a bar, Linebeck again notes the few amount of residents for a town this big and how fearful the whole lot looked.
Upon finally spotting the milk bar, near the other end of town, Linebeck makes a beeline for it, wanting more info on this near ghost town.
And a drink wouldn't hurt either...
Walking into the bar, Linebeck sees only one man, the bartender who was in the middle of cleaning a glass that looked spotless.
When the bartender spots Linebeck, his face splits into a wide smile. "Greetings! I never thought I would be so glad to see a stranger! With that Ghost Ship hanging around, travel has all but stopped!"
Linebeck raises an eyebrow at the bartender's words, walking over to take a seat in front of the man. "Where am I, exactly?"
"Why, you're on Mercay! Strange, almost all travelers have heard of Mercay island... It's only the most populated island in the King's Ocean. Short of Molinda Island, of course" The Bartender states.
"If this is well populated, I'd hate to see a barely populated island." Linebeck comments, while taking in all the foreign name. Mercay? Molinda? King's Ocean? Just where the hell did he sail off into in that fog? It made him want a drink... Speaking of which... Linebeck pulls out a few rupees. "A Chartui Romanii please."
His request is met with a black stare. Eyebrow quirking again, Linebeck changes it to a whiskey. At that, the bartender leaps into action. As he prepares the drink, the bartender continues the conversation.
"Mercay is missing residents, that is true. Like I said earlier, with the Ghost Ship sailing our seas, many residents of our town have gone missing. It's what stopped travel and more worrisome, trade." Setting down Linebeck's drink, his voice takes on a worried tone. "We are okay at the moment, but in the long run..." The bartender gives a shudder. "Bad times."
Linebeck nods, taking a generous sip of his drink.
"So, what is your name, stranger? And what island are you from?" The bartender inquires, picking up another glass to begin cleaning.
"Names Captain Linebeck Brante." Linebeck easily replies. He hesitates for a moment before answering the second part of the bartender's question. "I come from Farqay Island."
"Farqay?" The bartender gives a low whistle. "You are a long way from home them for the name Farqay is unfamiliar upon my ears."
"Must be..." Linebeck mummers after a moment. He takes a swig from the glass of whiskey to quell the sting at the word home.
"So what brings you so far away from Farqay?" The bartender inquires, giving a look towards Linebeck.
"To be honest, the Ghost Ship itself. I'm hunting it, and intend to board the vessel.
A look of fear crosses the bartender's face as the glass slips from the man's hands, shattering on the wooden floor. The bartender opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off by a female voice scoffing from behind Linebeck.
"Another washed up sailor going on a fool's errand? And here I thought this newcomer would have some good tales for me."
Pride prickling, Linebeck turns, intending to set this woman straight, but instead gets only a face full of bright sparkly white light, and barely seen under all of it, the small form of a tiny woman with pale, translucent wings extending from her back.
Not expecting this, Linebeck gives a yelp, falling backwards off his barstool.
Groaning, Linebeck dimly notes the white sparkling ball of light move to be floating closer to his fallen form.
"I hope you realize... that you're pathetic," came her voice again.
"Bah!" Linebeck growls, swatting her away. "Shut up, you oversized firefly!" Grabbing for handholds, Linebeck rights himself with little difficulty. Immediately, he begins smoothing out wrinkles and brushing away imaginary dust. Out of the corner of his eye, Linebeck noticed that the bartender was trying (and failing) to keep a straight face. Upon noticing the look on Linebeck's face, the man retreats to the back for a broom and dustpan.
"You know, Grandpa has warned off plenty of you morons from the Ghost Ship, yet you come back like chu-chus," the fairy states. Her tiny form lights upon an overturned glass. her wings stilling except for the occasional beat of her wings.
Linebeck draws himself up, pride stinging even more. "Alright, listened up, Sparkles!" He points a finger at the tiny woman. "The name is Linebeck. Captain Linebeck for you. I've traveled all over the seas, seen things that would consider you smaller than a crumb. But, I have never seen defeat!" Linebeck strikes a pose, hands on his hips, a smirk firmly planted on his face. "Sparkles, you're standing in the presence of a true man of the sea. One that will board the Ghost Ship and will get the treasure on board, because this captain has faced worse!"
A beat of silence.
Then the fairy gives a long, drawn out, and obviously fake yawn. "I'm so impressed, how could I ever compare to such a brave man of the sea." She drawls in a monotone.
Linebeck's face falls flat. "Get out of here, Sparkles!" He exclaims, waving his hands at the white fairy. Much like a person would with a bothersome fly.
"The name is Ciela, moron!" She exclaims, flying off the glass with a self righteous huff. "And I'll gladly leave so I'm not wasting anymore of my life with you!"
"Whatever, Sparkles." Linebeck says, in return, still swatting his hands at Ciela.
Dodging his hands, Ciela flies out of his reach. "I pray to the Ocean King I won't ever see you again!"
"Likewise, Sparkles," Linebeck spits, glaring daggers at the fairy.
She makes a movement with her fingers, which Linebeck was pretty good idea was her middle finger, before zooming back out of the door.
"Din damn fairies." Linebeck mutters, hunkering over his glass. "Who the hell does she think she is?" Knocking back the last of his drink, Linebeck sets the glass down onto the counter, his grip tightening on the glass. "She knows nothing of a life wasting away."
"I see you and Ciela hit it off splendidly." The bartender quips, returning to the bar with a broom and dustpan in tow.
Linebeck lets out a snort, before pushing forward his empty glass. "So what else have you heard of the Ghost Ship?"
..
Over the next week, Linebeck learned several interesting things.
One, he still had no clue where in the hell he is. The people on Mercay and supposedly the surrounding islands worship a fellow named the "Ocean King" who had three or four spirits that ruled with him (depended on who was telling the story, older folks leaned more towards four while the younger generation leaned towards three), the spirits being Power, Wisdom, and Time & Courage ( or Power, Wisdom, Time, and Courage, which, again depended on who was explaining).
Second, any mention of the Goddesses was a guarantee he was going to get a raised eyebrow, or an angry look. However, Linebeck never mentioned the goddesses much anymore, except in vain, so that didn't really bother him much.
Third, the temple dedicated to the Ocean King (a three hour walk from town) was somewhere you never went. Linebeck only once went up to the temple, just to investigate on what made the temple so scary, saw the skeleton by the door and immediately hightailed it back to town. (Not that he would let the residents know. He had built quite the rapport with them with his tales.)
Oh, and there is one more thing Linebeck found out.
He really, really hated a certain white fairy.
No... Not hated.
Loathed, Linebeck loathed whom he had dubbed "Sparkles." And to his knowledge, she hated him too, if the fact that whenever they encounter each other, Ciela turned a violent shade of pink and immediately shot off in the opposite direction, hatred practically emanating from her tiny body.
And that suited Linebeck just fine.
Now, after staying a full week on Mercay Island, Linebeck was heading towards a man named Oshus.
Oshus apparently being the old man on the island and having some sort of really secret knowledge of the Ghost Ship that was held in the Temple of the Ocean King. Whoever would ask Oshus about this knowledge never told any of the other islanders and they would never return from the temple, ensuring that the secret died with them.
Linebeck balked at the idea of going back to the temple, but the pull of the treasure aboard the Ghost Ship was stronger.
Thusly, Linebeck found himself walking along a stone bridge, heading towards a hut on an evaluated piece of land.
Upon entering the hut, Linebeck immediately noticed an old man, (who he figured was Oshus) standing in the middle of the room, holding a large red staff with a conch shell on the top. With the way Oshus was standing, Linebeck got the feeling that the old man was waiting for the young captain.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Linebeck nearly groans out loud at seeing Ciela fluttering by Oshus's head. "What the hell are you doing here, Sparkles?"
Ciela lets out a huff. "I happen to live here, moron. What the hell are you doing here?"
Linebeck starts to retort but is cut off by Oshus slamming his staff against the stone floor with a sharp tok. "Ciela! Language!"
Ciela momentarily stills in air, before settling into a much more subdued fluttering. "Sorry, Grandpa."
This trips Linebeck up. "Grandpa?" He stares at the both of them. "But, you are a hylain and Sparkles here is obviously a shiny ball of light."
"I'm a fairy!"
"Same thing."
Oshus chuckles, making Linebeck feel very young again and that he had just asked a rather amusing question. "I found Ciela when she washed up on the beach around nine years ago."
"I had no clue who I was, still don't." Ciela picks up where Oshus left off. "I had no family to speak of or could remember so I started identifying Oshus as Grandpa." She crosses her arms and glares at Linebeck as if daring him to say something.
"Indeed." Oshus agrees, holding up his hand for Ciela to light upon.
"I'm going to fly around the beach, Grandpa." Ciela states, flying off after a few moments. "I'll be back whenever this moron is gone." And with that, Ciela leaves the hut with a jangle.
Linebeck snorts. "Lot of sass for such a tiny bit of fluff."
"I keep telling her she must curb her tongue but it never seems to stick." Oshus sighs, shaking his head. Then, his gaze returns to Linebeck. "So what brings you to my home, traveler?"
"I seek the Ghost Ship's treasure." Linebeck evenly states, staring at Oshus. "Word is that you know something on the doom-gloom temple up north. That it holds something for the Ghost Ship."
"Indeed, I do." Oshus says, nodding his head. "There is a clue, or info if you wish, on the Ghost Ship's whereabouts that lies within the temple."
Linebeck ponders this a moment before sharply turning around. "A way to find the Ghost Ship, eh? Thanks, Old Man! Now if you'll excuse me, I got a treasure to capture." He waves a hand into the air, starting to leave.
Another sharp tok from Oshus's staff freezes Linebeck in his tracks. "A few more things, before you go, traveler."
Linebeck heaves a sigh, turning back around. "Yeah, Old Man?"
"No doubt you have heard this warning many times before hand, but let me warn you once more." Oshus sets steely blue eyes onto Linebeck emerald green, causing the captain to almost shiver at the years held within them.
"Be wary, traveler. Those who enter the temple for selfish reasons perish instantly, their souls used for the monsters that prowl the halls. But those who enter the temple for honorable reasons, however... they find ways to perseve in the cursed temple. Think about your reasons before you go in. It could make all the difference."
"Don't think about you reasons. Don't think, don't think, don't think about them!" Linebeck chants internally, throwing up mental walls to block the images of his family. Aloud, "Got it, Old Man!"
"And forgive an old fellow for being curious... But what do you plan to do with all that treasure?" Oshus inquires. Then something changes in Oshus's eyes and all of Linebeck's mental walls seems to all but disappear when Oshus's next words come out.
"Do you plan to help your family with this treasure, Linebeck?"
And every single memory of Marlene and Linette seemed to rise up and shatter what remains of the mental walls, slamming painfully into Linebeck conscience's along with all the emotions felt with the remembrance. The wind even seemed to have been knocked out of the young sailor and Linebeck has to place a hand on the door frame to steady himself.
Trying to regain his composure, Linebeck whirls away from Oshus, clenching shut his eyes to starve off the stemming tears. Goddesses damn that old man. How the hell did he know Linebeck's name anyway? Linebeck was sure he didn't tell the barnacle.
Once regaining his normal state of mind, Linebeck slowly straightens up, keeping an even, neutral face. He slams shut on the memories of Linette and Marlene and forces out his next words in an even tone that gave off no emotion, before finally taking leave of Oshus's home, already planning to stop by the bar for a drink before heading up to the temple.
"My entire family is dead, old man. This treasure is all for myself."
...
And as you just read, Linebeck has completely given up at this point. He's not expecting that he'll ever see Linette again and has totally become to selfish asshole we all know and love, completely enamored with treasure and booze.
This chapter was kinda short, compared to the length of previous chapters but there's not a lot going on here except Linebeck arriving on Mercay Island, THE FIRST CIELABECK FIGHT OF THE REALLY SERIES, and Linebeck talking with Oshus and not written but heading up to the temple of the ocean king.
I'm giving myself a pat on the back for this chapter because I managed to type it up the same day as Chapter Ten. YAY.
~Roses