Chapter Two: The Legend
The ship creaked and groaned as it sailed well into the night, the ocean waves tossing it to and fro; much to Ezzara's dismay as she covered her eyes with her arm trying to find some rest. The chain holding the singular lantern to the ceiling clinked repeatedly as it was jostled, adding even more irritation to her as she grumbled softly and rolled off her bunk. She landed softly on her feet and looked down to Moirr who was snoring blissfully, a streak of drool hitting his pillow. She rolled her eyes with a soft smirk, 'You can truly sleep through anything, my friend' she thought to herself as she stretched softly with a light groan and left the room. She wasn't one to get motion sick often but looking down the hallway as she twisted and turned with the ship's movements made her feel a bit queasy as she stumbled her way down the hall to the stairs leading to the upper deck.
There were a few sailors on the deck carrying out various small tasks; raveling up rope, cleaning weapons, one even making quick-work arrows and placing them in a barrel beside him. One of the sailors saw Ezzara as she stepped onto the deck and scoffed, "The deck isn't no place for a lady, miss. Best you head on back down to your ball of yarn…" The sailor spoke to her in a rough, gravelly tone and chuckled loudly as he turned to finish his chore. Ezzara only gave him a soft growl and clenched her fists; she had to try her best to not stir up drama for herself, especially since the captain already had her on thin ice. She looked on over the railing to the churning ocean in hopes of calming her frustrations. Clouds covered the night sky, and the wind was a bit heavy. They were in for a storm it seemed. Ezzara's ear twitched and she turned to see the captain walking down the stairs leading to the ship helm.
"Trouble sleeping, cat?" He said softly as he leaned on the railing a small bit away from her.
"I have a name." She hissed in response, "Ezzara."
The Nord scoffed with a smile and spit out a bit of chewing tobacco to the ocean, "Name's mean nothing to a sailor. Too many ports, far too many faces," he looked over to her, "but if it bothers you so, then I suppose I can make an exception for now. You are a paying customer after all."
Ezzara rolled her eyes and turned back to the ocean, "Yes… trouble sleeping." The last time she was on a ship like this she was with the slavers still, so her mind was busy battling old memories.
"Well give it time, lass. We've quite some time to Aldmeris. I wager a few days at least. What of your husband? Or… mate? Whatever the hell you call him…"
Ezzara clenched her claws on the railing but didn't dig into the timber, "We're not betrothed… he's a friend. Save your assumptions for other things."
The man chuckled softly, "Now you sound like my own ball an chain," he spit out more tobacco.
"You have a wife?" Ezzara asked him, genuinely shocked that any woman would fall for this man.
"Had is more accurate. She passed to sickness many years ago." He spoke as if it didn't bother him much anymore, but Ezzara could see in his face that the pain was still there.
"I'm sorry to hear that… I'm sure she was wonderful," She replied with a soft tone and her ears back a bit.
"Aye… she had a fire that one. She was the one who named the ship; the original captain, and I her first mate. She could tame the very seas, by Talos." He sighed and cleared his throat before turning to her, "The name's Dain by the way, since we're exchanging formalities and all." He chuckled and turned back to check the crew, battening down the ship for the rough waters.
Ezzara just remained silent and smiled, turning back to the ocean. She let out a soft gasp as lightning cracked the sky, spreading across the blackness like a spiderweb. The thunder boomed and echoed across the ocean. Dain noticed her reaction and smirked, "Not used to storms?"
Ezzara turned to him, "No I am but… it just seems so much closer out here," she said turning back out to the sky, another streak of lightning stretching across the void.
"Aye. We're entering some dangerous waters, but it's the quickest route to Aldmeris. Many sailors refer to this stretch of water as the 'Maw'."
"How did it earn that name?"
"How do you figure? Ships sail through here and they never return… swallowed by the sea. Of course, I'm not worried; this girl has been through her share of scraps. One sailor managed to sail through and live to tell the tale… spewing nonsense of dragons, that whole lot."
The mention of dragons caught Ezzara's attention, "Dragons? With events In Skyrim, I'd say the mention of dragons is worth a listen…"
"No lass… not like the one's in Skyrim. He spoke of one in particular; the size of a mountain and had scales of a purplish hue. Able to bend the very flow of the water to its will and light the sky with hellfire." He spoke as he walked towards her as if telling a ghost story.
"A purple dragon? Is that even possible? And if so… doesn't particularly sound frightening by appearance alone…" Ezzara scoffed the story off and turned away to the ocean once more as the ship rose and sank.
"Well, that's what he went on about. Load of hogwash if you ask me, probably drank too much seawater," Dain leaned on the railing once more. He spit out some tobacco and looked down to the ocean below them. Suddenly the ship jerked to the side as if it bumped into something causing both Dain and Ezzara to fall into the railing, "What in Oblivion?" He cursed out loud and looked up to the crows nest, "Oy! What did we hit?!"
"Nothing captain! The sea's clear of anything be it wreck or rock!" the crewman called down to him.
"Hmm…" Dain looked around the ship to see some of the crew asking the others if they had seen anything. Just then the ship bumped again, sending some of the crew to the deck with panicked gasps and yelps. Dain quickly grabbed the railing before tumbling himself to the ground.
Ezzara had dug her claws into the railing to prevent much falling, her fur standing up as she scanned the water. Lightning filled the air, and she caught a glimpse of a shadow in the water… it was massive, "Captain! Look here…" Dain walked over to the railing and looked into the water.
"What did you see?"
"A shadow. A big one." She told him softly so to not incite a bigger panic with the crew. Dain growled under his breath and turned up to the helmsman steering the ship.
"Mr. Karthik! Hard to starboard! Take us out of here!" The crewman nodded his head and spun the wheel hard, the ship starting to turn itself.
"What? What is it?" Ezzara asked him.
"I don't know, lass. Get below decks. Now." He ordered and went to secure the ship with his crew. Ezzara watched him run off and ran down the steps to her room, almost tripping as she got to the door.
"Moirr! Wake up!" She tried to alert him.
"Nrrgh… I'm sorry for waking you up before but please don't return the favor…" Moirr rolled over and placed the pillow over his head. Ezzara growled and gripped his side, yanking him out of bed and onto the floor with a loud thud, "Ow! Owaz, what in the hells are you doing?!" He growled softly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Get. Up!" She growled back, grabbing her bow and quiver and slinging them on.
"Wha-what? What's going on?" Moirr groggily stood up and strapped his sword to his waist.
"There's something in the water. Big enough to knock the ship about. We've turned course to get out of the area, just be ready for anything." She demanded as she looked out the window of the cabin to the ocean waters outside. In the near distance she could see what looked like a tail leaving the water only to submerge once again. They were being chased.
"What are you on about, Ezzara?" Moirr asked her confused before the ship got knocked once again, now with the force to send the both of them to the floor. Various items fell from the shelves and the lantern fell to the floor, the flame sitting on the wooden floor, "Oh! Well, that's the opposite of good…"
"YOU THINK?!" Ezzara groaned as she stood up and tossed a bowl of water onto her blanket to douse it before throwing it on the fire. It still smoked and she stomped on it with her boots to put it out, "Moirr get some more water!" She demanded as she tossed the burnt blanket off to reveal a smoldered flame but still smoking.
"Right!" He responded and ran out of the room just in time for an even bigger knock, sending him into the wall of the hallway, "Ziss!" Moirr hissed loudly and rubbed his temple, "I'm gonna need a strong drink after all this…" he stood up, "Who's driving this damned boat!" He bellowed up to the deck. But what he was met with was a choir of screams and shouting. His ears flew back, and he turned to Ezzara, "Owaz! The deck!" He took off running to the stairs.
"Moirr, wait!" She hissed as she realized he was gone already. She looked down to the smoldering floor and she growled, It's fine for now… she thought to herself, and she took off running after him. "Dain! We have a situation below deck!" She exclaimed as she reached the top of the stairs.
"WE HAVE ONE HERE TOO!" He roared back to her as he drew his sword. Off the side of the ship was what looked like huge tentacles shooting up into the night sky, one slamming down on to the deck of the ship onto an unfortunate deckhand, crushed under the sheer force of the blow. Ezzara's eyes widened as she gazed up at the spectacle before her, motionless for a moment.
"OWAZ! YOU'RE BOW!" Moirr shouted to her, his sword drawn and hacking into the tentacle that had fallen on the deck. Crimson blood spattered his face as his sword sliced into the flesh, a deep growl heard from below the ship.
Ezzara gained her composure and drew her bow, nocking an arrow and shooting up into another of the tentacles. Other deckhands drew their bows as well and volleyed arrows up at the various tentacles, some retreating to the ocean below. One managed to grab hold of a crewman and hurl him into the ocean, her body breaking as it smacked into the water.
In a flash of lightning the remaining, arrow-ridden tentacles retreated below. All was still for the moment and Dain looked around at the state of his crew, "Ready yourselves, lads! I'm sure we're not out of it yet!" He walked over to Ezzara and Moirr, "What's wrong below deck?"
"The knocking loosened the lantern, and it started a fire on the floor. I managed to douse it but it's still smoking a lot." Ezzara explained, relaxing her grip on the arrow that was ready to fire, "What in Alkosh's name was that thing?!"
"I'm not sure lass, but one thing's for sure, it's not happy we're here," He turned his attention to the helmsman, "Mr. Karthik! Stay the course, get us out of here as soon as possible, you hear?!" He demanded. The crewman only nodded again and turned the wheel starboard once again to steady the ship in its new course. Dain turned back to the two Khajiit, "Once we're clear we'll chart another course to Aldmeris," He turned away and started walking, "I should have asked for more coin…" he cursed under his breath as he joined his crew.
"What do you want to do?" Moirr asked her, sheathing his sword.
"Help wherever we can. He doesn't seem too worried about the smoke in the cabin, so we'll put a pin in that for now." She said before walking to the railing once again and assessing the damage. The side of the ship was badly scratched and as she looked down the railing further, she saw a few parts where the railing was crushed, some parts strewn with stray arrows. She began constructing a plan of action just as the ship was knocked into once more, sending her overboard into the water.
"EZZARA! CAPTAIN, SHE WENT OVER!" Moirr shouted, steadying himself from the knock. Dain looked over and gasped softly as the female Khajiit was indeed no longer on the deck.
The shock of the fall caused Ezzara to panic as she flailed her arms to reach the surface of the ocean, but her weapons and armor were too heavy. She quickly let loose her bow and quiver of arrows, as well as her boots to allow her to kick better. She managed to emerge out of the water, coughing up salt water and gasping for air, "MOIRR! MOI-" She went under the waves once again over and over, her head popping up every few moments.
Moirr ran to the back of the ship and saw Ezzara bobbing in and out of the water. He looked around frantically for a way to get her when he noticed a length of rope. He tied an end of the rope to a banister on the railing and the other end around his waist, "HOLD ON EZZARA!" He called out to her.
Ezzara gasped for air once more before she was tossed under the waves again. As she went under her eyes opened, burning from the salt, but what she saw made it impossible to close them. The head of a massive sea serpent, laying so far under the water that only its face was visible to her. It slowly retreated into the void of the water, instilling a level of panic in her that she had never felt before. She kicked once more to the surface of the turbulent water and gasped for air loudly. Through the burning of her wincing eyes, she saw Moirr plunge himself into the water, the rope still attached to his waist. He used the momentum of the dive to reach her rather quickly, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into him.
"I got you, Owaz! Don't worry, I got you! Captain! Captain pull!" He called up to the ship, Dain and some of the crew holding the rope and pulling together to drag the two Khajiit.
"Mo-… Moirr it's a monster. Like nothing I've ever seen…" Ezzara said between gasps, her eyes full of tears from the burning. Now closing them hurt almost as much as keeping them open.
"Let's just get you on the damn boat, okay?" He told her, grasping her tightly in hopes she wouldn't slip away. As they approached the boat Moirr used his claws to help hoist them out of the water, their conjoined weight causing his paw to bleed as the claws were pulled. He winced and groaned through the pain as they started getting pulled up onto the deck. Soon they both fell over the railing to the deck and Ezzara laid their breathing heavily as her eyes were painted red from all the salt.
"Did you see it, lass? What was it?" Dain asked her, kneeling on one leg beside her.
"Cap-captain… we need to get out of here… now. Quickly!" She warned him.
"You heard her lads! Loose all sails, get us the hell out of here!" He commanded over the storm sending his crew to their stations. Suddenly a low bellow was heard underneath them that shook Dain to his core. A loud crash was heard behind him across the ship, and he looked on to see what looked like a massive reptilian hand had gripped the ship, breaking one of the masts in half and sending it to the deck below.
Soon after the serpent's head emerged from the ocean, pulling itself out of the water and causing the ship to tilt to its side. Many of the crew fell overboard into the water, some impaled by falling arrows that had been stored in the barrels. The creature let out a menacing, blood-curdling roar as lightning flashed, igniting its bright blue scales and white, pupil-less eyes.
Dain roared in anger as he drew his sword and ran to the edge of the deck, leaping off of it to the creature's head. He stabbed into it to hold himself there, "TO OBLIVION WITH YOU DEMON!" He shouted. The creature roared as its head tilted down to the ship in response, shaking rapidly only to fling Dain off onto the deck of the ship. The creature hissed, one of its tentacles emerging from the water to grab hold of Dain. He repeatedly stabbed the flesh of the beast but to no avail. Another tentacle arose from the water to wrap around Dain's torso. "Agh! I'm on my way, Lilith!" He shouted as he threw his sword at the serpent's eye, impaling it into the beast. The creature roared in pain as blood sprayed from its eye, and in a flash the captain was torn in half from the tentacles, each half being tossed to the side.
Ezzara only saw blurs of what was happening and felt the captain's blood sprinkle on her face as his body was thrown. The remaining deckhands continued their useless onslaught on the creature, only to be met with the gnashing of teeth and the crunching of bones under its other hand as it slammed it down onto the ship. With a forceful blow, the serpent dropped its head onto the ship, splitting it at the center. The lightning lit up the sky again and again, the rain pelted the sinking ship and as a light covered Ezzara's gaze, her eyes soon closed, the sound of Moirr beside her calling down to her fading as her vision went completely black.