Stella wiped the sweat from her brow as the last skeleton fell. Working her way through puzzles, traps, and skeleton ambushes wasn't easy. The heat wasn't helping either. And most certainly neither were Flameheart's taunts. "Almost there, Stella…you can do this!" Stella reassured herself as she threw down a level, opening a stone door. As she stepped into the clearing, she saw two other stone doors. "Ali, Zhen and Koa mustn't be finished yet." Stella muttered, "No time to wait. I have to stop Jim!" Stella rushed through an opening in the wall and skidded to a halt upon seeing what was in front of her, "What the…?"
A ghostly galleon with Flameheart's symbol on its sails floated ominously in a lake of lava, the symbols glowing brighter than any flame.
"Behold, the galleon that once ruled these waters!" Flameheart's voice boomed, "My ship…my Burning Blade…her time will come again…"
"Fat chance. I won't allow it." Stella growled back. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted movement. Stella glanced to the side of the lake where she spotted a familiar face. There on a ledge by a large stone door was Stitcher Jim. He threw open a chest – which Stella assumed was where the souls of the Blackwyche crew were being held – as a brief plume of fire flared up. "The return of the Ashen Lords - it's going to be spectacular!" Jim yelled as he went to reach into the chest.
"Jim, wait-!"
Too late. Flames erupted from the chest as Jim stumbled backwards, clutching his arm as he let out a bloodcurdling scream, "My arm... It's burning... What have you done to me?!"
"…An unwitting sacrifice!" Flameheart laughed as Jim fell to his knees, his arm writhing in pain. "M-master, why...?" Jim choked out.
"What the hell happened?!" Stella heard Koa yell as he, Zhen and Ali finally arrived. "No time! We need to get over there!" Stella replied as she scrambled down to the lake and hopped across stones floating in the lava until she reached a ladder leading to scaffolding by the ledge. As she reached the top, Jim seemed to finally acknowledge her presence and shot her a regretful look before something seemed to catch his eye from the cliff above. Stella looked up to see the Wanda watching from the cliffs above. Jim looked up at her pleadingly, but she just stared down at him from behind her mask before simply walking away. Jim felt his heart shatter before gripping his arm tightly, "You...you tricked me! We were supposed to be in this together!" With that, he got to his feet – still clutching his arm, which had now begun to glow a faint orange – as he dashed through the stone door, with it beginning to close behind him. "Jim, wait!" Stella tried to run after him, but the door closed right before she got to it. She tried to pry the door open with her hands, but to no avail as the rest of her crew caught up.
"What a contemptible little man." Flameheart muttered.
"You…what the hell did you do?!" Stella yelled out, her voice brimming with anger.
"He should be grateful for what I have done to him. Soon he will possess true strength - the strength of an Ashen Lord!"
"He cursed him?!" Zhen exclaimed. Stella's eyes went wide in fear as she turned her attention back to the door. There was a slight crack in the rim where she could see inside. "C'mon, please work…" Stella focused on the area on the other side of the door and…
*Whoosh!*
Stella disappeared into a cloud of mist which darted through the crack, causing her to reappear on the other side. "It worked? It worked!" Stella exclaimed before calling through the crack, "Get the chest to Pendragon! Hurry! Before it's too late!"
"What about you?!" Ali called back through the door.
"I'm going after Jim. Don't worry about me, just get the chest to the surface!"
"Ok. Be careful!"
Stella nodded before taking off down the tunnels, hoping to catch up with Jim. "Please don't be too late, please don't be too late…" Stella muttered as she ran. Eventually she reached a large chamber. Slumped against one of the walls was Jim, barely conscious and still clutching his arm. His arm was still twitched in pain as he breathed heavily, eyes squeezed shut. "Jim!" Stella ran over to Jim who tried to get to his feet but fell back down. "Stella…run…" Jim managed to groan out as he drifted in and out of consciousness. "I'm not leaving you here!" Stella went to help Jim to his feet when a plume of fire burst from the ground in the centre of the chamber.
"And who said you were allowed to leave?"
Stepping out of the flames was a skeleton with what looked like flames burning in its chest and skull. A lone crystal seemed to almost float in its chest amongst the flames. It had a few gold teeth, a gold ring earring hanging from the side of the skull, and a bushy black beard. It wore a red and black coat, black trousers, boots, belt and hat, a wooden pegleg replacing the left leg, and a black glove covering its left hand. Bones were attached in random places on its outfit. It held a jagged, flaming cutlass in its hand. A necklace with a gold heart hung around its neck, just peeking out from under the beard.
"Flameheart…" Stella muttered, getting her sword at the ready as she took a defensive stance in front of Jim, "I won't let this be Jim's fate. I getting him out of here and I'm healing him. And you WON'T stop me."
"Oh, really?" Flameheart laughed, "While I admire your bravado, your effort will be wasted. Once the curse takes hold, there is no reversing it."
"I don't care. I'll do whatever it takes to help him. Now," Stella pointed her sword at Flameheart, "Out of our way."
Flameheart cocked his head to the side, curiously, "Why do you try so hard to protect such a despicable excuse for a man? He'd hardly do the same for you. So why risk your life for someone like that?"
"I don't care about that. He's my friend, and I'm not leaving him behind. So, if you're not going to let us leave…" Stella gripped her sword tightly, "I'll make you!"
"Ha! Fine then! I'll burn you to ashes!"
Stella lunged at Flameheart who parried her sword with his own before spinning on his heel and went to swing at her. Stella ducked out of the way, feeling the heat of the flames from his sword as she came back up and kicked him in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. Flameheart let out an annoyed growl as he snapped his fingers, causing small flaming shards of volcanic rock to appear around him which went flying at Stella. She managed to slice through a few of them, but the rest of them managed to hit her in the chest, sending her flying into the wall. Stella glanced at Jim and gasped as she saw what looked like orange crystals beginning to form on his arm as the tips of his fingers began to turn skeletal. 'I'm running out of time. I can't afford to stay and fight here.' Stella got to her feet as Flameheart laughed mockingly, "What's wrong? I thought I was facing the incredible Glacial Dragons? I told you. You're nothing but impost-"
"SHUT UP!"
A blast of icy air erupted through the chamber, pushing Flameheart back a bit as he shielded his face from the battering winds. As the icy gale faded and he lowered his arms, he was greeted by a snarling dragon, standing defensively in front of Jim. "Let us leave! NOW!" Stella roared. The room was silent as Flameheart seemed to just stare in shock at the dragon before slowly breaking into maniacal laughter, "I don't believe it! After all of that…after all that bloodshed…I finally found you!"
Stella became nervous and confused as Flameheart pointed his cutlass at her.
"Murderer!"
Flameheart lunged at Stella who tried to swat him away with her tail, but he ducked and landed a swipe on her side, causing her to roar out in pain. "What the hell are you talking about?!" Stella exclaimed. "Don't play dumb!" Flameheart growled, "I know what you did. There's only one way someone could have gotten that power. You were the one, weren't you? You were the one who killed Captain Icewind!"
"I- WHAT?!" Stella exclaimed in disbelief. She didn't have time to dwell on it as Flameheart went in for another strike. This time, Stella managed to hit him with her tail, sending him flying across the room. "I don't have time for this!" Stella picked up Jim by the scruff of his jacket with her mouth as she charged past Flameheart and through the caves and into a water tunnel. "Run if you want…" Flameheart's voice chuckled, echoing behind her, "But there's nowhere you can run where I won't find you. Take the chest, if you still desire it. I have no further need of it now. Until we meet again...murderer…"
Koa, Ali and Zhen watched anxiously as Pendragon stabbed the chest with his Sword of Souls in hopes of reversing the curse. The chest glowed brightly before exploding into flames as three souls emerged from the flames, taking the forms of Pendragon's crewmates. Ali, Zhen and Koa let out a sigh of relief as Pendragon and his crew had a group hug before turning to the crew, "Reunited at last! You have demonstrated incredible bravery...and I will make certain everyone hears about it."
"No problem." Koa nodded.
"With that said, where is-?"
Before Pendragon could finish his question, a loud splash was heard from the water as Stella shot out from the water in dragon from before crash landing on the beach, Jim landing beside her. "Is that…?" Pendragon asked in disbelief as Stella reverted into human form. "No time to explain. I have to heal him!" Stella scrambled over to Jim, turning him over onto his back. "Please…I need you to work now than ever…" Stella muttered as she took Jim's now partially skeletal hand his both of hers as her palms began to glow blue, trying to heal it. The curse had spread past his elbow at this rate and Stella knew she was running out of time. "Please…I'm begging you…please work…no one deserves this…please…" Stella choked, tears threatening to fall.
…
…
…
An icy wind began to pick up as Stella slowly, unintentionally transformed into her hybrid form. Stella's eyes glowed a bright white as the icy wind seemed to gather around Jim's arm. Ice began to coalesce around Jim's arm, catching up with the curse. Suddenly, cracks began to form in the ice before shattering into blue sparkles. Stella slumped onto her side as the wind dissipated and the two crews just stared in awe. Stella breathed heavily, her crystal flickering dimly, as she hoisted herself up and immediately turned her attention to Jim's arm. No visible bones. No orange crystals. No burns. His arm was perfectly fine. "Thank you…" Stella breathed as she tried to get to her feet but fell back onto the sand. "Stella!" The rest of the Glacial Dragons rushed over to Stella, Ali and Zhen helping her to her feet and Koa lifted up the unconscious Jim. "I-I'm okay…" Stella smiled weakly, "Just…really tired…"
"Well, this was…unexpected…" Pendragon began, glancing between Jim and Stella, "Mind if I ask…?"
"Flameheart tricked Jim…" Stella replied, "He tried to turn him into an Ashen Lord and Jim's 'beloved' left him for dead."
"I see. Well, I can't say why you would risk your life to save him, but I assume whatever reason you have is a good one."
Stella nodded.
"Very well then. You should definitely get some rest. Stitcher Jim's consort is still at large, and now that they have been exposed...there is no telling what their next move might be. Let's be sure nobody else falls into Flameheart's clutches, eh?"
"Agreed on both." Stella laughed, weakly, "I could use a nap."
"My crew and I thank you. We are all in your debt." Pendragon's crew nodded in agreement before the four pirates disappeared.
"Well then." Koa began, "Let's get you and Sleepy Jim here back to the ship."
"Ha…good one." Stella chuckled. "Okay, you're not even strong enough to laugh at puns. You definitely need rest!" Zhen dramatically gasped in horror as he and Ali helped her back to the Icebreaker. As they boarded onto the deck, Koa spoke up, "What should I do with him?"
"He can rest on my bed." Stella replied as Ali and Zhen helped her to the captain's quarters.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. He's been through just as much, if not more."
"Fair enough. You're the boss."
Koa hesitantly lay Jim on Stella's bed within her quarters as Stella sat at her desk. Nevado jumped onto the bed beside Jim, looking curiously between him and Stella. "Make sure he doesn't try anything when he wakes up, Nevado." Koa whispered to the ice-cursed dog, who gave an affirmative woof in response.
"I'll have us rest up at Morrow's Peak." Ali offered.
"Not a good idea." Stella replied.
"Oh yeah…Grace might be a problem if she sees Jim…"
"Well, that. But the Devil's Roar isn't safe for us right now."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll explain later. Let's rest up at Ancient Spire instead. It's not too far from here."
"Alright. If you say so…"
As soon as the crew left the room, Stella slumped in her seat with a sigh. She glanced over at Jim who was sleeping peacefully, a few snores coming from him. She felt her mind drift to Flameheart's words.
"You were the one who killed Captain Icewind!"
'He thinks I did it…? Is that why he went on a rampage? Over mom's death? Why? Was their rivalry that strong? And why does he think I did it? Because of the powers? But why was murder the first thing he thought of?'
Stella sighed, running her hands through her hair as she began to drift off to sleep, her last thought before exhaustion overtook her being,
'What have we gotten ourselves into…?'
To Be Continued…