(no subject)
Fandom: Golden Sun
Author: Yoru Ryu
Rating: K+ (PG-13)
Shipping: Mudshipping and various others
Summery: Deadbeard has always been the scourge of the seas but his defeat means a new pirate leader shall rule the open waters.
"Legend said that Crossbone Isle could be found in the middle of Karagol Sea."
"Ah… Crossbone Isle… Wait, did you say "could"? Is it not there anymore or something?"
"Well, it's still there, but there's no point in going. Someone named Isaac picked it clean."
"What, he took all the treasure?"
"Yeah. And apparently, he even defeated the ancient ghost pirate protecting it…"
"What about the stories that if you beat the ghost pirate, you would become the leader of all pirates?"
"Well, you see, that means that Isaac is our leader now."
"Wow… just like that? I'll bet he's pretty tough."
"No doubt. But you know, he must be a reliable guy, too…"
"You think?"
"You'd have to be to beat that ghost. That's why we're looking for him now, remember?"
"If he's looking for a pirate crew, he can count me in!"
Felix watched the two men as they pushed by him and continued towards the stairs and down to the ground floor of the inn.
Jenna stared at their retreating backs too, with a barley concealed scowl. "Are they pirates? Just what has Isaac been doing to associate with pirates?"
"They haven't met with Isaac" the elderly voice of Kraden said. "Gathering from what we caught of their conversation they are still searching for him."
"Still!" Jenna frowned, "why would they be looking for Isaac? He must have done something…"
Kraden nodded lightly. "Of course. It seems he has defeated the ghost of Crossbone Isle. Folk lore tells of the man who fells the ghost shall be the Prince of Pirates… their sworn leader."
"But, but, that's not good" the fire adept stumbled for words.
"I'm sure Isaac didn't know about it" Sheba spoke helpfully. "Right, Kraden?" She looked at the old man for reassurance to her statement.
The scholar nodded again at her. "Exactly my thoughts. The "Prince of Pirates" is a tale told only in the Eastern seas among the groups of remaining pirates and perhaps sailors. There is a very slim chance Isaac and his companions could have found out." He smiled, "and I'm sure it would not be an occupation our Isaac would willingly choose."
As the group left the inn and walked the streets of Alhafra Jenna sighed and spoke up again. "So, what is this "Prince of Pirates" thing anyway?"
"It's an old, old tradition held by all men of the sea." Piers answered after a pause. "The ghost, Deadbeard, was a terrible man when alive…" he trailed off.
Sheba held a concerned expression towards the water adept as the group continued through the streets. The townsfolk were not especially warming at the present time. After loosing their ship the mayor had poisoned many townsfolk's minds to the adepts in a surprisingly short period of time. There were still many who held on to their beliefs that their mayor was a selfish man and held the adepts in high regard for their efforts towards the ship even if it had been taken shortly after. And of course none of the adepts were willing to explain what Briggs had done with it nor were it was currently being stored away.
Eventually the silence had stretched on long enough and Sheba cleared her throat before speaking in a small voice. "You know more of this ghost?" she speculated.
"I know of the tales surrounding him" Piers nodded. "According to folk law Deadbeard was branded the "Prince of Pirates" because he was the most talented yet fearsome sailor to sail the Eastern seas. Not unlike us he ventured to the further most tips of the sea searching for anything to aid him."
"Aid him? That… sounds suspicious" Jenna hummed thoughtfully.
"He was an adept" Piers continued, "a water adept to be precise."
Jenna snorted indignantly. "That makes sense."
"It seems most people we learn about seem to be adepts" Sheba put in, "or, at least, they seem to possess some psynergy."
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence" Felix sighed.
Kraden tapped a finger to his chin. "Yes, or that adepts just seem to attract more attention to themselves. A lot more than your average man. People with unique abilities will draw another's attention whether they want it or not."
"Deadbeard certainly wanted the attention" everyone looked towards Piers. "He'd do the most inhuman things to gain people's interest. When his career as a sailor waned and he became just another man of the sea he turned to piracy. Gathering crew members only on nights with a crescent moon he assembled the roughest pirate group of his time… and as far as I know; our time as well."
"Sounds like a desperate move to stay in the public eye" Jenna said bitterly.
Piers nodded at her. "But the public hated him for it. They were, after all, his primary targets. But I guess he has accomplished his goals if even now people talking about him."
"Ha! But now he's been beaten" Jena sniggered then frowned at her next thought, "by Isaac."
"If you don't mind me asking" Kraden spoke up seriously, "how do you know this, Piers?"
The Lemurian sighed and frowned slightly. "He pillaged our city once, and stole one of our ships…"
"Seems a lot of people steal your boats" the fire adept laughed but winced as Sheba stomped on her foot.
The wind adept scowled back at her friend then composed herself to look at Piers. "How did he even get in Lemuria?"
"We don't know" the water adept admitted after a short pause. "He just sailed in through the gates and attacked the city taking all he could until our people drove him away. It was very sudden and he was only called "Prince" by his men, not captain like any other would be. We later discovered his name was Deadbeard from Lunpa when he ventured into Lemuria. Lunpa told us a lot about the outside world."
"I suppose many people have never heard these stories before because Deadbeard never left the Earsten seas?" Kraden suggested.
"Most probably" Piers agreed. "Lunpa said Deadbeard were the Prince of the sea and himself were the Prince of the land" the water adept recalled with a faint smile on his face. "Deadbeard was rendered useless on land so I don't see how he really could leave the Earsten sea."
"So that's another group of people Isaac will have to watch out for" Kraden announced then chuckled lightly. "But I can't help thinking what would happen if he did decide to become a pirate."
Jenna waved the old man off as the group passed the gates of Alhafra. "Isaac would never become a pirate."
Scrub the deck. Rinse the spare set of sails. Clean the telescope. Chop the firewood. Gather the ingredients for the meal. Scrub the deck again because that thoughtless red head just trudged across it in his boots for the fourth time in the morning.
A young boy no older than fourteen glided across the wooden boarded deck of his pirate ship with a mop. His long blue hair pulled into a tight ponytail blew in the salty breeze of the ocean. Rolling up his sleeves again he tightened his apron around his plain green tunic decorated with only a few golden tassels hanging from his shoulders and travelling across his front. Kicking a bucket of soapy water across to the other side of the deck and gliding after it with the mop he'd soon soaked his tatty brown trousers and boots with the mixture.
The pirate ship, the Element, was speeding along the western coast of Gondowan after a daring raid on the village of Loho. Now three years after the lighting of the Elemental Lighthouses the world was a different place indeed. With Alchemy's return to the land and the regeneration underway the forests had had an explosive growth spurt and doubled in size in just over four months, invading small settlements and even established villages. Mount Alph had become more and more active over the months; spewing hot ash into the atmosphere and lava onto the land. The village of Vale had to have been entirely relocated. The sea itself was expanding as Alchemy's energy surged across it and the lands where drifting further apart and following the new tide. It was getting more and more difficult to remain in contact and stay in trade routes unless ships or even small boat were deployed. People were becoming unruly and only those in towns or cities large enough to have an army truly felt safe anymore.
It was a far cry from what the crew on the boy's ship had hoped for. Such was the nature of life. The boy did consider the Element his ship. She may not belong to him as a possession, but she was his home. She was a beautiful sight to behold. An elegantly carved work of genius and not unlike one of the famous Lemurian sail boats. The Element relied on her sails and the direction of the wind, not the power of men like the Tolbian fleet. Thinking about it, he didn't mind all the hard work the Captain put him through and he'd even grown accustomed to the Captain's First Mate and all his quirks, annoying or not. The whole crew was his family, the few of them there actually were. He was happy.
"Hey, watch what you're doing with that mop!" the First Mate said he strolled past the boy again.
"Sorry, sir"
"Leave Guy alone, Garet. And stop walking across the deck while he's trying to clean it," a voice said lightly from above them.
"Whoa, sorry there Guy," Garet said in earnest looking down at the mess he'd made. "Didn't notice my boots were so dirty!" he heaved a laugh and looked up to his Captain. "Say, Isaac, can I take the wheel for a while?"
"No!" A girl shouted from the bow of the Element. "Don't let him Isaac! We're already late getting back to base, and god knows what'll happen if Garet gets his mitts on the steering."
Garet huffed and crossed his arms across his chest. "But I am the Commander around here."
"First Mate, Garet," Isaac corrected absentmindedly. "But Jenna is right. We do need to be getting back as soon as possible. We're weighed down with the cargo after the raid on Loho. We can't risk being out in the open when our biggest advantage has been hindered."
"But, Captain," Guy murmured " the Element is still faster than most ships even when she's loaded down, right?"
Isaac looked back down at the boy. "She may be agile, but that was no meagre raid. We have taken a lot of things and must return home to unload and secure it. The Element is a good ship but we should never get complacent."
Guy looked down at the handle to his mop, then to his Captain and the two other Adepts on the deck. Isaac was stood at the wheel of the Element on the section above the entrance to the innards of the ship. He was still wearing his golden scarf even as it looked tattered and old and his tunic was the same shade of blue as the old ones he'd worn during the journey of The Wise One. His hair was still the unruly mess it had always been and his sapphire eyes had not lost their vigour. To say he was the Captain of this small group of pirates he didn't dress it up. Just a plain blue tunic littered with little red ties down the arms to hold the sleeves together, and many tiny silver buttons down the front. Simple black leather trousers and scruffy brown boots adorned from his waist down.
By contrast, Guy noted, Garet was wearing bright, yet dirty, peach and orange colours on his tunic. An odd spattering of green and blue added a more exotic look and his red hair was still stood on end and very colourful in it's own way. He was wearing dark brown trousers and the same style of boots as Isaac, and had a small cape that reached the small of his back that was torn from the battle in Loho.
Across at the bow of the ship was Jenna; the only female in the crew. Apparently even in these new and dangerous times many females still didn't have the ambition to travel. There were women back at the base but Jenna was the only one to have a permanent spot on the ship. In the three years since her journey she hadn't changed at all (as far as Guy was told) and still favoured her old fashion sense. Donning an all purple attire her outfit was only altered by a new pair of trousers under her tunic and the short red scarf tied neatly around her neck.
As everything was silent Guy started mopping the wooden planks again. Sometimes he liked to think he was an Adept like his higher-ups, but he only had the ability to freeze small amounts of, practically, stagnant water. He believed both Garet and Jenna could control the very Sun if they wanted while Isaac could move the Earth itself. And he could make icicles out of rain drops. Great. It was a depressing thought. He wasn't even a full Adept like them; but had only made contact with a Psynegy stone. Like a lot of people they'd met, Jenna had told him once. Garet had laughed and made some remark on Water Adepts, and Isaac had said he'd like to help him get stronger but really couldn't comprehend water. None of them did. He sighed.
"What's wrong, kid?" Jenna asked, startling him. "You where scrubbing the deck like a madman earlier. Lost your enthusiasm?" Guy shook his head.
"Oh, it's nothing, really," he said clutching his chest in feign shock. "I was just thinking."
Jenna laughed. "Well, you're already more help then Garet then," she joked to lighten his mood. She looked over at the man to see him still hanging around Isaac trying to get control of the ship. "I'm sorry about the mess," she motioned to the floor, "he just doesn't think before he does anything. It's a problem, but he's also saved our hides without giving anything even a first thought. I can't say anything bad about him and reallymean it."
Guy grinned inside at the girl's blunt personality. If something was on her mind, she'd damn well say it. And he admired that about her. He admired her strength and determination and he admired her will. "I was just thinking about water."
Jenna sighed and leaned against the railing on the ship. "I travelled with two Water Adepts and didn't pick up a single thing that could help you," she stated sourly.
"No, it's fine really!" Guy jumped up at her sudden down mood and dunked the mop's head into the soapy water with a bright smile. "I'm gonna work on it myself! I've been reading some books I found in the Tolbi palace when we where last there."
"Oh, so you did sneak off then!" she declared with a grin. "I knew it!" She walked around the boy and shook his shoulders from behind. "You'd make a good spy, you know that? Sneaking off and making alibis up!"
Guy looked over his shoulder at her then across at Isaac and Garet. They were both watching him discreetly. "U-um, yea-yeah I guess. But I like scrubbing the deck."
"You can't be serious!" Garet bellowed over. "Even Isaac couldn't get me to do that job."
Jenna stomped her foot and glared at the male Fire Adept. "Don't be rude, Garet! You know what? Just for that I'm gonna make you scrub the deck!"
"What?" Garet laughed. "You can't tell me what to do, you're below me."
The female Fire User ground her teeth together in rage and tried to catch Isaac's eye to make him assign the deck to Garet, but he was pointedly keeping his eyes averted. After a minute or so of failing to catch Isaac's eye she eventually threw up her arms and stormed into the cabins, slamming the door after her causing the planks under Isaac's feet to wobble.
Guy eyed the deck, the other two pirates, his mop then the deck again, unsure of what had just happened. Garet leaned back on his heels and crossed his arms behind his head with a huge smile.
"I love this ranking system."
At that cue Guy dunked the mop again and pushed it across the planks before Isaac cleared his throat.
"Garet, clean the deck," he said in a clear but quiet voice. Garet's face fell.
"Captain! Seagulls! We're near land!" one of the crew members shouted from the crows nest.
Isaac nodded at the man and gripped the wheel tighter. "Almost home," he whispered to himself.
"How long 'till we see land?" Jenna asked, standing next to Isaac and watching Garet swab the deck.
Isaac shook his head. "I'd give it half an hour."
"I wonder what everyone'll think when they see all this stuff we got," she smiled. "I bet they aren't expecting all this gunpowder and weaponry from Loho!"
"I still say we should've gone to Alhafra and gotten some more food," Garet piped up.
Isaac laughed lightly. "As much as I don't like Alhafra I still wouldn't like to raid them."
"They're almost as bad as Tolbi" Jenna added. "But not bad enough to earn themselves a raid from the Element! Though, if we could intercept a Madra bound ship we'd be on easy street for food and medical supplies for a long time."
Madra wasn't in the bestlocation for obtaining supplies. Their only constant supply of food was fish from the sea nearby and with the lands growing the coast was getting further away from the town. And an all fish diet wasn't very nourishing or exciting. Alhafra was the Capital of both Indra and Osenia and as such had taken on the responsibility of supporting the smaller towns and other settlements. Alhafra itself was a well armed and guarded city with the only weakness the Element could take advantage of were the many merchant vessels travelling to and fro.
"We aren't doing anything to Alhafra. We'll only get ourselves arrested, or worse," Isaac finalized. "Besides, we have plenty of supplies left and we aren't adverse to growing our own food."
Garet groaned and whipped his forehead of sweat. "I don't know how that kid does this all day."
"Yeah, why does he clean the deck all day, Isaac?" Jenna asked curiously. She'd never noticed before, but all Guy ever did was scrub the deck and clean other things.
"It gives him something to do," Isaac replied simply. "He wanted to help out any way he could to thank us for saving him; so I let him scrub the deck."
"Poor lad should've stayed back on the island. He could've been a farmer or anything. That's gotta be more interesting then cleaning wood all day" Jenna said.
"Safer too," Isaac mentioned. "But he wanted to do something on the ship and that was all I could think of at the time."
"He could've replaced Cook," Garet suggested brightly. "That guy needs some serious cooking lessons."
Isaac smiled, "I had no idea he could cook so well, but I don't have the heart to fire Cook."
"But the guy's useless!"
"You only have to put up with it when we're on the ship, Garet. It's just too bad Melody won't come aboard and cook," Jenna sighed.
After a long silence Isaac started looking around at the ocean with a worried expression.
"S'up, Isaac?" Garet asked leaning on the mop.
The Earth Adept shook his head and turned his attention back to the wheel and searching the horizon for land. "I just get this feeling this was all too easy. I mean they did put up a fight in Loho, but they don't try to follow us? It all seems too strange for a town in strong contact with Alhafra…" he trailed off in thought. Garet tilted his head in an interested way.
"You're right, Isaac, but maybe they justdon't see us as a threat so they didn't follow."
"Well that's a kick in the teeth," Isaac said out of character.
Jenna nodded, "maybe, maybe not. I think it all depends on different people's views on pirates. Back home we're heroes, to Tolbi we are mere annoyances and to places like Daila and Mikasalla we're… well, evil."
"I do hate going to Mikasalla," Isaac sighed. "It's far too close to Garoh, but where else are we to get livestock from?" he asked the rhetorical question.
No one replied and a nervous air began to build as the Element gained ground on their home island.
"Maybe we're being followed by a spy," Garet blurted to interrupt the silence. "If Ivan where here we could get him to do that mind frequency check… thing."
"Nice way to put everyone at ease, Garet" Jenna shook her head.
"I guess they could use birds or something intelligent to track us and lead them to out island, but Hank would have noticed. You can see for miles up in the crows nest" Isaac tried to reason positively.
"And who is it that'd be following us anyway?" Jenna asked.
"You people talk too much!" Hank shouted down from the crows nest. "After all! Ya'll are Deadbeard's better! Give ya selves more credit, mates!"
The female Adept beamed up at the man, "thank you, Hank!"
"What're you listening for anyway?" Isaac smiled.
"Just think, "Hank started, "if I hadn't've 'eard of you, ya wouldn't 'ave all this freedom!"
"Yes, yes, and we thank you for that, "Isaac shouted back up, "but did you want anything just now?"
The pirate leaned back into the crows nest then back over to see the Adepts. "Land ho! One 'o clock!"
"It's Arcane!" Garet shouted, pointing at the thin strip of land on the horizon. He tossed the mop to the floor, charged up the small set of stairs and barged his way in between Isaac and Jenna. "Homeward bound!" Isaac closed his eyes and Jenna turned her head at his bellowing voice. "So we really did get away with it."
Jenna slapped her forehead. "Now you've gone an' jinxed it, Garet."
"Aw, come on Jenna! You can't seriously think that we'll get attacked this close to home."
"If we do we'll have to… kill them, " Isaac said with regret. "They'll find Arcane otherwise."
"And then everyone will suffer," Jenna frowned.
The male Mars Adept waved his arms behind them. "Do you see anything around here? At all?" he placed his arms around each of his friends' shoulders. "Lighten' up, guys. We're home."
Jenna shifted her shoulder to get rid of his arm and grabbed the handrail in front of her. "I hate to say it; but Garet's right. We are home now."
Isaac kept his eyes fixed ahead of him. "Almost home… then why do I still have a bad feeling about this?" he asked himself. "Clearly there's nothing around and Hank would've reported anything out of the usual. I must be getting paranoid. I've never had so many lives directly in my hands before… if anyone is tracking us everyone on Arcane will be killed. We can't let that happen. Ever." So many thoughts were racing across his mind.
"Hank, anything about?" Isaac smiled inward. Jenna must've been thinking the same thing as himself, just taken action on it.
"Nothing, Lieutenant!" the man shouted back.
Checking around once more while approaching Arcane Island at a steady speed it would be time to harbour soon. "Drop the weight, Lou!" Isaac ordered of another man stood off to the port side.
"Right, Cap'n" the seaman nodded and carried a large rusted weight made from iron across the deck to drop over the port side. As the clump of metal fell into the water Lou let the rope tied to the weight slip through his hands and counted the distance the weight was falling in his head. "Sixty fathoms, Cap'n!" he reported back quickly.
The door to the cabins creaked open slowly and Guy popped his head out to look up at them. "Are we almost back, Captain, Sir, Lieutenant?" The three Adepts nodded back at him and he closed the door again.
Garet eyed the wheel under Isaac's hands. "Hey, Isaac. Your hands must be sore. Why don't I take her the rest of the way…" he stopped when Jenna's glare burned into the side of his face.
"Fifty fathoms, Cap'n!" Lou shouted.
"Take her down a notch, Garet," Isaac said.
The red head gave a joke salute and moved to lower the sails when he was knocked off his feet by a sudden tremor. Getting to his hands and knees he looked back at Isaac, red faced, as Jenna sniggered behind her hand.
"What's wrong, Garet?" Isaac asked.
"That wasn't funny at all, Isaac." He got up and pulled at his now damp tunic. "Casting tremor on me. Sometimes I wish you and Felix had never traded secrets… Jenna won't share any with me."
Jenna pointed at him. "I'm not staying in a room alone with you!"
"Forty fathoms, Cap'n!"
"Garet" Isaac started, "I didn't do anything. What knocked you off your feet?"
"Oh, I dunno then." The taller Adept scratched his head, "I thought it was you."
Jenna stared. "Doesn't sound good."
Isaac took another glance around the ocean. "Nothing. Lou, are you sure we didn't hit a reef or anything?" The man nodded back at the Earth Adept. "Hank, anything up there?" The man shook his head. "Damn, what could it be?"
"You don't think it's a Summon Spirit, do you?" Garet suggested. "Like, maybe Neptune or something."
Jenna stared at him blankly. "Well, unless Guy suddenly gained godly power to summon a spirit without any Djinni; then no."
As the other Fire User opened his mouth for a retort another tremor shook the boat, this time strong enough for all to feel. After a quick moment of panic the crew began searching the open waters for any signs of an attacking ship. Nothing.
"What the hell keeps doing that?" Garet fumed.
"There's nothing out here, Cap'n. I can't see what's doing that!" Hank shouted down.
"Thirty fathoms! We're over the fishing pool now, Cap'n!" Lou shouted his report.
"Right, that's it," Isaac stated. "Stop the ship!"
Every man on the deck ran to their posts at their Captain's order and made it their best effort to halt the Element as soon as possible. The glorious wooden ship came to a steady stop over a patch of clear blue water in the otherwise murky water drifting from the shore. Lou looked over the side of the ship but couldn't see any of the many species fish that usually roamed the clear water. He turned to the nearest commanding officer.
"Lieutenant," Jenna walked over to him carefully. "The fish are gone, you… don't think it's something underwater that's following us do you?"
Jenna watched the pirate for a short moment before dashing to the door leading to the cabins and ripping it open. "Guy! Guy!" after apausethe boy warily poked his head out into the corridor.
"Y-yes, Lieutenant."
"Have you sensed anything in the water around here?" Jenna demanded.
Guy pulled his body out of his cabin, shaking with fear. His eye dilated as he shook his head. "N-nothing. Wouldn't you or Captain sense it be-before me?"
The Mars Adept growled under her breath and withdrew to the deck again, leaving Guy stood alone in the small corridor. She looked up at Isaac to find him watching her. "Well, I'm all out of ideas," she sighed.
"I don't think pulling Guy into this will help,"the Earth Adeptsaid. "He can only cast Frost and I don't think he can even see a Dijinni either. I'm not leaving this wheel, so send Garet down to check on the men."
"Okay Isaac. Hey, Garet! Get inside and check on everyone!"Jenna yelled across to the red head. Garet jumped and skidded across the damp planks to the cabin door.
As he passed Guy, Garet waved lightly at the boy. "He looks scared stiff. Why did Isaac even let him onboard anyway? He must have done it for a reason. There are plenty of people back on Arcane Isle who could clean the deck and not start panicking the moment something happens." He rubbed his chin as he descended the stairwell at the end of the corridor and ignored Guy's gaze. "And why won't Jenna stay in a room alone with me?"
As he opened the door to the cargo hold he was knocked back with the smell of sulphur and salt. "Oh, god. What's that smell?" He covered his nose with his hand but soon he noticed he was walking in water.
The entire cargo hold was flooding with seawater and the remaining group of pirates that weren't on the deck were scrambling around trying to block the source of the problem; which Garet noticed, was a gaping hole in the hull.
He dashed further into the mess. "What the hell happened down here?" he shouted over the other men's voices and pushed a barrel up to the splintered wood.
A lanky man looked over his shoulder at his superior. "It was a strange metal tube, Sir! It came from nowhere and made this hole here! Thar be another t'over there!" He jolted his head in the direction of another hole withanother group ofmen trying to fix it.
By now the water level in the hold had reached their knees and everyone was wading about trying to gather wood and hammer it over the holes. Garet waded over to the instrument of the damage and examined it. It was only about two metres long and seemed to be made of a heavy metal, and the strong smell of sulphur was radiating off it. Standing back, he knew the odour of fire very well.
"That has got to be from Loho," he mused as he grabbed a thick wooden board and held it against the hull of the Element as another man hammered it into place. "But, how did they follow us unseen?"
The door to the hold swung open and Jenna threw herself into the room. "Quick, up on deck Garet! We've spotted it!"
He looked back at the men and they nodded at him; the majority of thewater had been stopped and all that remained was maintaining the preassure on the boards. Nodding back he ran up the stairs and followed his childhood friend up to the deck.
"There it is" Jenna said, pointing at a long dark oval object floating at the surface of the water.
Garet frowned. It had to be half the size of the Element yet it had punctured her twice without anyone noticing? It was ridiculous. It didn't even have any sailsor space for oars, so how did it move? There was nothing on it save for five small circular windows on it's sides and a fin like apparatus on it's tail. It was even made from metal.
He pointed at it. "How can that thing even float? It's made of metal."
"It came at us from underwater; that's how it sneaked by and no one noticed" Jenna explained.
"Bah, that stupid rock shouldn't have followed us. Now we'll have to sink it and it can stay at the bottom of the sea where it belongs."
"Don't be so hasty, Garet" Isaac said gazing at the object. "I've never seen anything like this before…"
"Oh who cares?" Garet replied and stalked to the bow of the ship throwing his hands out.
"No, Garet, don't!" Jenna jumped at him when she saw the dull red light radiating from his hands. "We don't know what it'll do."
Garet dropped an arm. "Well, if we don't do something we'll just be stuck here watching each other forever!"
Isaac…" Jenna looked back at the blonde.
The Captain of the Element bowed his head and closed his eyes in thought for a long moment. No sign of life came from the object and no one on the Element did more than breathe. Slowly Isaac lifted his head up and looked at Garet.
"We have to find out if they intended to harm Arcane Isle, and they refuse to communicate."
The Fire Adept grinned and cracked his knuckles. "I think a little Heat Wave should do the trick." Raising his arms again he curled his fingers to hold the heat of the Fire Element growing in his hand.
Jenna stood back and frowned at the grin on the man's face. She could understand that the fire coursing through her body when she was attacking gave her a safe feeling and spurred her reactions to the things around her, however, she'd never let it get to her head. Arguably the Fire Element was the wildest of the four Elements, and the hardest to control. Often when both her and Garet were little they'd be setting things ablaze while Isaac ad Felix merely watched. Though, maybe that was because neither of the Earth Adepts did much to peek their emotions to a Psynery level. Felix liked to practice his swordsmanship and Isaac like to help his father in the fields, while Garet and Jenna… argued to a fever pitch. But it was all in good fun.
Garet lowed his eyes to focus on the metal ship and opened his hands to unleash a wave of fire towards the opposing object. He threw his arms back and wiped his hands at his sides as the attack raged forward. Jenna leaned forward and Isaac squinted at the fire made contact with the shiny skin of the ship only to fizzle out into the air. Garet crossed his arms in a sudden (and understandable) huff.
"Not a damn thing. That thing really does belong at the bottom of the sea!"
"Maybe if we do it together…" Jenna suggested. "Isaac can you do anything?"
"Sorry. If I try anything I'll destroy the seabed, or at least ruin it."
Hank climbed down from the Crows nest. "Aye. Being Earth based is no good at sea unless ya want to kick up a tidal wave," he nodded twice. Isaac glanced sideways at the older man.
A harsh creaking noise brought everyone's attention back to the metal ship. A trap door on the top was opening and a man stood out of it. He didn't look particularly intimidating, but he didn't look happy either.
"You pirate scum!"
"Who're you calling 'scum'!" Garet shouted back quickly.
"As if we don't have enough trouble from bandits as it is; but now you sea rats have to invade too? We'll have you hung, drawn and quartered for what you've done!" the Loho man spat.
Jenna was fuming. "And I suppose enslaving the dwarfs is the right thing to do?"
The man punched the air in front of himself in a violent gesture. "Quiet, wench! Didn't you know it's bad luck to have women onboard?"
"W-what did he just call me?" Jenna whispered in rage.
"Simmer down there, girl," the man cackled. "You're the ones in the wrong. Stealing is baaaaad, didn't you know?" he taunted.
Isaac held up his hand then lowered it when the man spotted him. "Let us past, we don't want anymore trouble."
The man scoffed, "you can't be telling me you're the Captain of this wreak. You're just a kid!"
"This is Deadbeard's better!" Hank shouted across the way. "We all are."
"Deadbeard, eh? Well, he can't have been thatdangerous if this bunch of kids beat him."
"Deadbeard must be rolling aroundin his watery grave" Jenna hissed.
A moment of eerie silence hung in the air before the man flung his am out. "I am Colonel Showgun of theAlhafra Military, and you, Isaac of Vale and the crew of the Element, are found guilty of the crime of Piracy and are sentenced to death! You will be taken to Alhafra and executed."
Author: Yoru Ryu
Rating: K+ (PG-13)
Shipping: Mudshipping and various others
Summery: Deadbeard has always been the scourge of the seas but his defeat means a new pirate leader shall rule the open waters.
"Legend said that Crossbone Isle could be found in the middle of Karagol Sea."
"Ah… Crossbone Isle… Wait, did you say "could"? Is it not there anymore or something?"
"Well, it's still there, but there's no point in going. Someone named Isaac picked it clean."
"What, he took all the treasure?"
"Yeah. And apparently, he even defeated the ancient ghost pirate protecting it…"
"What about the stories that if you beat the ghost pirate, you would become the leader of all pirates?"
"Well, you see, that means that Isaac is our leader now."
"Wow… just like that? I'll bet he's pretty tough."
"No doubt. But you know, he must be a reliable guy, too…"
"You think?"
"You'd have to be to beat that ghost. That's why we're looking for him now, remember?"
"If he's looking for a pirate crew, he can count me in!"
Felix watched the two men as they pushed by him and continued towards the stairs and down to the ground floor of the inn.
Jenna stared at their retreating backs too, with a barley concealed scowl. "Are they pirates? Just what has Isaac been doing to associate with pirates?"
"They haven't met with Isaac" the elderly voice of Kraden said. "Gathering from what we caught of their conversation they are still searching for him."
"Still!" Jenna frowned, "why would they be looking for Isaac? He must have done something…"
Kraden nodded lightly. "Of course. It seems he has defeated the ghost of Crossbone Isle. Folk lore tells of the man who fells the ghost shall be the Prince of Pirates… their sworn leader."
"But, but, that's not good" the fire adept stumbled for words.
"I'm sure Isaac didn't know about it" Sheba spoke helpfully. "Right, Kraden?" She looked at the old man for reassurance to her statement.
The scholar nodded again at her. "Exactly my thoughts. The "Prince of Pirates" is a tale told only in the Eastern seas among the groups of remaining pirates and perhaps sailors. There is a very slim chance Isaac and his companions could have found out." He smiled, "and I'm sure it would not be an occupation our Isaac would willingly choose."
As the group left the inn and walked the streets of Alhafra Jenna sighed and spoke up again. "So, what is this "Prince of Pirates" thing anyway?"
"It's an old, old tradition held by all men of the sea." Piers answered after a pause. "The ghost, Deadbeard, was a terrible man when alive…" he trailed off.
Sheba held a concerned expression towards the water adept as the group continued through the streets. The townsfolk were not especially warming at the present time. After loosing their ship the mayor had poisoned many townsfolk's minds to the adepts in a surprisingly short period of time. There were still many who held on to their beliefs that their mayor was a selfish man and held the adepts in high regard for their efforts towards the ship even if it had been taken shortly after. And of course none of the adepts were willing to explain what Briggs had done with it nor were it was currently being stored away.
Eventually the silence had stretched on long enough and Sheba cleared her throat before speaking in a small voice. "You know more of this ghost?" she speculated.
"I know of the tales surrounding him" Piers nodded. "According to folk law Deadbeard was branded the "Prince of Pirates" because he was the most talented yet fearsome sailor to sail the Eastern seas. Not unlike us he ventured to the further most tips of the sea searching for anything to aid him."
"Aid him? That… sounds suspicious" Jenna hummed thoughtfully.
"He was an adept" Piers continued, "a water adept to be precise."
Jenna snorted indignantly. "That makes sense."
"It seems most people we learn about seem to be adepts" Sheba put in, "or, at least, they seem to possess some psynergy."
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence" Felix sighed.
Kraden tapped a finger to his chin. "Yes, or that adepts just seem to attract more attention to themselves. A lot more than your average man. People with unique abilities will draw another's attention whether they want it or not."
"Deadbeard certainly wanted the attention" everyone looked towards Piers. "He'd do the most inhuman things to gain people's interest. When his career as a sailor waned and he became just another man of the sea he turned to piracy. Gathering crew members only on nights with a crescent moon he assembled the roughest pirate group of his time… and as far as I know; our time as well."
"Sounds like a desperate move to stay in the public eye" Jenna said bitterly.
Piers nodded at her. "But the public hated him for it. They were, after all, his primary targets. But I guess he has accomplished his goals if even now people talking about him."
"Ha! But now he's been beaten" Jena sniggered then frowned at her next thought, "by Isaac."
"If you don't mind me asking" Kraden spoke up seriously, "how do you know this, Piers?"
The Lemurian sighed and frowned slightly. "He pillaged our city once, and stole one of our ships…"
"Seems a lot of people steal your boats" the fire adept laughed but winced as Sheba stomped on her foot.
The wind adept scowled back at her friend then composed herself to look at Piers. "How did he even get in Lemuria?"
"We don't know" the water adept admitted after a short pause. "He just sailed in through the gates and attacked the city taking all he could until our people drove him away. It was very sudden and he was only called "Prince" by his men, not captain like any other would be. We later discovered his name was Deadbeard from Lunpa when he ventured into Lemuria. Lunpa told us a lot about the outside world."
"I suppose many people have never heard these stories before because Deadbeard never left the Earsten seas?" Kraden suggested.
"Most probably" Piers agreed. "Lunpa said Deadbeard were the Prince of the sea and himself were the Prince of the land" the water adept recalled with a faint smile on his face. "Deadbeard was rendered useless on land so I don't see how he really could leave the Earsten sea."
"So that's another group of people Isaac will have to watch out for" Kraden announced then chuckled lightly. "But I can't help thinking what would happen if he did decide to become a pirate."
Jenna waved the old man off as the group passed the gates of Alhafra. "Isaac would never become a pirate."
Scrub the deck. Rinse the spare set of sails. Clean the telescope. Chop the firewood. Gather the ingredients for the meal. Scrub the deck again because that thoughtless red head just trudged across it in his boots for the fourth time in the morning.
A young boy no older than fourteen glided across the wooden boarded deck of his pirate ship with a mop. His long blue hair pulled into a tight ponytail blew in the salty breeze of the ocean. Rolling up his sleeves again he tightened his apron around his plain green tunic decorated with only a few golden tassels hanging from his shoulders and travelling across his front. Kicking a bucket of soapy water across to the other side of the deck and gliding after it with the mop he'd soon soaked his tatty brown trousers and boots with the mixture.
The pirate ship, the Element, was speeding along the western coast of Gondowan after a daring raid on the village of Loho. Now three years after the lighting of the Elemental Lighthouses the world was a different place indeed. With Alchemy's return to the land and the regeneration underway the forests had had an explosive growth spurt and doubled in size in just over four months, invading small settlements and even established villages. Mount Alph had become more and more active over the months; spewing hot ash into the atmosphere and lava onto the land. The village of Vale had to have been entirely relocated. The sea itself was expanding as Alchemy's energy surged across it and the lands where drifting further apart and following the new tide. It was getting more and more difficult to remain in contact and stay in trade routes unless ships or even small boat were deployed. People were becoming unruly and only those in towns or cities large enough to have an army truly felt safe anymore.
It was a far cry from what the crew on the boy's ship had hoped for. Such was the nature of life. The boy did consider the Element his ship. She may not belong to him as a possession, but she was his home. She was a beautiful sight to behold. An elegantly carved work of genius and not unlike one of the famous Lemurian sail boats. The Element relied on her sails and the direction of the wind, not the power of men like the Tolbian fleet. Thinking about it, he didn't mind all the hard work the Captain put him through and he'd even grown accustomed to the Captain's First Mate and all his quirks, annoying or not. The whole crew was his family, the few of them there actually were. He was happy.
"Hey, watch what you're doing with that mop!" the First Mate said he strolled past the boy again.
"Sorry, sir"
"Leave Guy alone, Garet. And stop walking across the deck while he's trying to clean it," a voice said lightly from above them.
"Whoa, sorry there Guy," Garet said in earnest looking down at the mess he'd made. "Didn't notice my boots were so dirty!" he heaved a laugh and looked up to his Captain. "Say, Isaac, can I take the wheel for a while?"
"No!" A girl shouted from the bow of the Element. "Don't let him Isaac! We're already late getting back to base, and god knows what'll happen if Garet gets his mitts on the steering."
Garet huffed and crossed his arms across his chest. "But I am the Commander around here."
"First Mate, Garet," Isaac corrected absentmindedly. "But Jenna is right. We do need to be getting back as soon as possible. We're weighed down with the cargo after the raid on Loho. We can't risk being out in the open when our biggest advantage has been hindered."
"But, Captain," Guy murmured " the Element is still faster than most ships even when she's loaded down, right?"
Isaac looked back down at the boy. "She may be agile, but that was no meagre raid. We have taken a lot of things and must return home to unload and secure it. The Element is a good ship but we should never get complacent."
Guy looked down at the handle to his mop, then to his Captain and the two other Adepts on the deck. Isaac was stood at the wheel of the Element on the section above the entrance to the innards of the ship. He was still wearing his golden scarf even as it looked tattered and old and his tunic was the same shade of blue as the old ones he'd worn during the journey of The Wise One. His hair was still the unruly mess it had always been and his sapphire eyes had not lost their vigour. To say he was the Captain of this small group of pirates he didn't dress it up. Just a plain blue tunic littered with little red ties down the arms to hold the sleeves together, and many tiny silver buttons down the front. Simple black leather trousers and scruffy brown boots adorned from his waist down.
By contrast, Guy noted, Garet was wearing bright, yet dirty, peach and orange colours on his tunic. An odd spattering of green and blue added a more exotic look and his red hair was still stood on end and very colourful in it's own way. He was wearing dark brown trousers and the same style of boots as Isaac, and had a small cape that reached the small of his back that was torn from the battle in Loho.
Across at the bow of the ship was Jenna; the only female in the crew. Apparently even in these new and dangerous times many females still didn't have the ambition to travel. There were women back at the base but Jenna was the only one to have a permanent spot on the ship. In the three years since her journey she hadn't changed at all (as far as Guy was told) and still favoured her old fashion sense. Donning an all purple attire her outfit was only altered by a new pair of trousers under her tunic and the short red scarf tied neatly around her neck.
As everything was silent Guy started mopping the wooden planks again. Sometimes he liked to think he was an Adept like his higher-ups, but he only had the ability to freeze small amounts of, practically, stagnant water. He believed both Garet and Jenna could control the very Sun if they wanted while Isaac could move the Earth itself. And he could make icicles out of rain drops. Great. It was a depressing thought. He wasn't even a full Adept like them; but had only made contact with a Psynegy stone. Like a lot of people they'd met, Jenna had told him once. Garet had laughed and made some remark on Water Adepts, and Isaac had said he'd like to help him get stronger but really couldn't comprehend water. None of them did. He sighed.
"What's wrong, kid?" Jenna asked, startling him. "You where scrubbing the deck like a madman earlier. Lost your enthusiasm?" Guy shook his head.
"Oh, it's nothing, really," he said clutching his chest in feign shock. "I was just thinking."
Jenna laughed. "Well, you're already more help then Garet then," she joked to lighten his mood. She looked over at the man to see him still hanging around Isaac trying to get control of the ship. "I'm sorry about the mess," she motioned to the floor, "he just doesn't think before he does anything. It's a problem, but he's also saved our hides without giving anything even a first thought. I can't say anything bad about him and reallymean it."
Guy grinned inside at the girl's blunt personality. If something was on her mind, she'd damn well say it. And he admired that about her. He admired her strength and determination and he admired her will. "I was just thinking about water."
Jenna sighed and leaned against the railing on the ship. "I travelled with two Water Adepts and didn't pick up a single thing that could help you," she stated sourly.
"No, it's fine really!" Guy jumped up at her sudden down mood and dunked the mop's head into the soapy water with a bright smile. "I'm gonna work on it myself! I've been reading some books I found in the Tolbi palace when we where last there."
"Oh, so you did sneak off then!" she declared with a grin. "I knew it!" She walked around the boy and shook his shoulders from behind. "You'd make a good spy, you know that? Sneaking off and making alibis up!"
Guy looked over his shoulder at her then across at Isaac and Garet. They were both watching him discreetly. "U-um, yea-yeah I guess. But I like scrubbing the deck."
"You can't be serious!" Garet bellowed over. "Even Isaac couldn't get me to do that job."
Jenna stomped her foot and glared at the male Fire Adept. "Don't be rude, Garet! You know what? Just for that I'm gonna make you scrub the deck!"
"What?" Garet laughed. "You can't tell me what to do, you're below me."
The female Fire User ground her teeth together in rage and tried to catch Isaac's eye to make him assign the deck to Garet, but he was pointedly keeping his eyes averted. After a minute or so of failing to catch Isaac's eye she eventually threw up her arms and stormed into the cabins, slamming the door after her causing the planks under Isaac's feet to wobble.
Guy eyed the deck, the other two pirates, his mop then the deck again, unsure of what had just happened. Garet leaned back on his heels and crossed his arms behind his head with a huge smile.
"I love this ranking system."
At that cue Guy dunked the mop again and pushed it across the planks before Isaac cleared his throat.
"Garet, clean the deck," he said in a clear but quiet voice. Garet's face fell.
"Captain! Seagulls! We're near land!" one of the crew members shouted from the crows nest.
Isaac nodded at the man and gripped the wheel tighter. "Almost home," he whispered to himself.
"How long 'till we see land?" Jenna asked, standing next to Isaac and watching Garet swab the deck.
Isaac shook his head. "I'd give it half an hour."
"I wonder what everyone'll think when they see all this stuff we got," she smiled. "I bet they aren't expecting all this gunpowder and weaponry from Loho!"
"I still say we should've gone to Alhafra and gotten some more food," Garet piped up.
Isaac laughed lightly. "As much as I don't like Alhafra I still wouldn't like to raid them."
"They're almost as bad as Tolbi" Jenna added. "But not bad enough to earn themselves a raid from the Element! Though, if we could intercept a Madra bound ship we'd be on easy street for food and medical supplies for a long time."
Madra wasn't in the bestlocation for obtaining supplies. Their only constant supply of food was fish from the sea nearby and with the lands growing the coast was getting further away from the town. And an all fish diet wasn't very nourishing or exciting. Alhafra was the Capital of both Indra and Osenia and as such had taken on the responsibility of supporting the smaller towns and other settlements. Alhafra itself was a well armed and guarded city with the only weakness the Element could take advantage of were the many merchant vessels travelling to and fro.
"We aren't doing anything to Alhafra. We'll only get ourselves arrested, or worse," Isaac finalized. "Besides, we have plenty of supplies left and we aren't adverse to growing our own food."
Garet groaned and whipped his forehead of sweat. "I don't know how that kid does this all day."
"Yeah, why does he clean the deck all day, Isaac?" Jenna asked curiously. She'd never noticed before, but all Guy ever did was scrub the deck and clean other things.
"It gives him something to do," Isaac replied simply. "He wanted to help out any way he could to thank us for saving him; so I let him scrub the deck."
"Poor lad should've stayed back on the island. He could've been a farmer or anything. That's gotta be more interesting then cleaning wood all day" Jenna said.
"Safer too," Isaac mentioned. "But he wanted to do something on the ship and that was all I could think of at the time."
"He could've replaced Cook," Garet suggested brightly. "That guy needs some serious cooking lessons."
Isaac smiled, "I had no idea he could cook so well, but I don't have the heart to fire Cook."
"But the guy's useless!"
"You only have to put up with it when we're on the ship, Garet. It's just too bad Melody won't come aboard and cook," Jenna sighed.
After a long silence Isaac started looking around at the ocean with a worried expression.
"S'up, Isaac?" Garet asked leaning on the mop.
The Earth Adept shook his head and turned his attention back to the wheel and searching the horizon for land. "I just get this feeling this was all too easy. I mean they did put up a fight in Loho, but they don't try to follow us? It all seems too strange for a town in strong contact with Alhafra…" he trailed off in thought. Garet tilted his head in an interested way.
"You're right, Isaac, but maybe they justdon't see us as a threat so they didn't follow."
"Well that's a kick in the teeth," Isaac said out of character.
Jenna nodded, "maybe, maybe not. I think it all depends on different people's views on pirates. Back home we're heroes, to Tolbi we are mere annoyances and to places like Daila and Mikasalla we're… well, evil."
"I do hate going to Mikasalla," Isaac sighed. "It's far too close to Garoh, but where else are we to get livestock from?" he asked the rhetorical question.
No one replied and a nervous air began to build as the Element gained ground on their home island.
"Maybe we're being followed by a spy," Garet blurted to interrupt the silence. "If Ivan where here we could get him to do that mind frequency check… thing."
"Nice way to put everyone at ease, Garet" Jenna shook her head.
"I guess they could use birds or something intelligent to track us and lead them to out island, but Hank would have noticed. You can see for miles up in the crows nest" Isaac tried to reason positively.
"And who is it that'd be following us anyway?" Jenna asked.
"You people talk too much!" Hank shouted down from the crows nest. "After all! Ya'll are Deadbeard's better! Give ya selves more credit, mates!"
The female Adept beamed up at the man, "thank you, Hank!"
"What're you listening for anyway?" Isaac smiled.
"Just think, "Hank started, "if I hadn't've 'eard of you, ya wouldn't 'ave all this freedom!"
"Yes, yes, and we thank you for that, "Isaac shouted back up, "but did you want anything just now?"
The pirate leaned back into the crows nest then back over to see the Adepts. "Land ho! One 'o clock!"
"It's Arcane!" Garet shouted, pointing at the thin strip of land on the horizon. He tossed the mop to the floor, charged up the small set of stairs and barged his way in between Isaac and Jenna. "Homeward bound!" Isaac closed his eyes and Jenna turned her head at his bellowing voice. "So we really did get away with it."
Jenna slapped her forehead. "Now you've gone an' jinxed it, Garet."
"Aw, come on Jenna! You can't seriously think that we'll get attacked this close to home."
"If we do we'll have to… kill them, " Isaac said with regret. "They'll find Arcane otherwise."
"And then everyone will suffer," Jenna frowned.
The male Mars Adept waved his arms behind them. "Do you see anything around here? At all?" he placed his arms around each of his friends' shoulders. "Lighten' up, guys. We're home."
Jenna shifted her shoulder to get rid of his arm and grabbed the handrail in front of her. "I hate to say it; but Garet's right. We are home now."
Isaac kept his eyes fixed ahead of him. "Almost home… then why do I still have a bad feeling about this?" he asked himself. "Clearly there's nothing around and Hank would've reported anything out of the usual. I must be getting paranoid. I've never had so many lives directly in my hands before… if anyone is tracking us everyone on Arcane will be killed. We can't let that happen. Ever." So many thoughts were racing across his mind.
"Hank, anything about?" Isaac smiled inward. Jenna must've been thinking the same thing as himself, just taken action on it.
"Nothing, Lieutenant!" the man shouted back.
Checking around once more while approaching Arcane Island at a steady speed it would be time to harbour soon. "Drop the weight, Lou!" Isaac ordered of another man stood off to the port side.
"Right, Cap'n" the seaman nodded and carried a large rusted weight made from iron across the deck to drop over the port side. As the clump of metal fell into the water Lou let the rope tied to the weight slip through his hands and counted the distance the weight was falling in his head. "Sixty fathoms, Cap'n!" he reported back quickly.
The door to the cabins creaked open slowly and Guy popped his head out to look up at them. "Are we almost back, Captain, Sir, Lieutenant?" The three Adepts nodded back at him and he closed the door again.
Garet eyed the wheel under Isaac's hands. "Hey, Isaac. Your hands must be sore. Why don't I take her the rest of the way…" he stopped when Jenna's glare burned into the side of his face.
"Fifty fathoms, Cap'n!" Lou shouted.
"Take her down a notch, Garet," Isaac said.
The red head gave a joke salute and moved to lower the sails when he was knocked off his feet by a sudden tremor. Getting to his hands and knees he looked back at Isaac, red faced, as Jenna sniggered behind her hand.
"What's wrong, Garet?" Isaac asked.
"That wasn't funny at all, Isaac." He got up and pulled at his now damp tunic. "Casting tremor on me. Sometimes I wish you and Felix had never traded secrets… Jenna won't share any with me."
Jenna pointed at him. "I'm not staying in a room alone with you!"
"Forty fathoms, Cap'n!"
"Garet" Isaac started, "I didn't do anything. What knocked you off your feet?"
"Oh, I dunno then." The taller Adept scratched his head, "I thought it was you."
Jenna stared. "Doesn't sound good."
Isaac took another glance around the ocean. "Nothing. Lou, are you sure we didn't hit a reef or anything?" The man nodded back at the Earth Adept. "Hank, anything up there?" The man shook his head. "Damn, what could it be?"
"You don't think it's a Summon Spirit, do you?" Garet suggested. "Like, maybe Neptune or something."
Jenna stared at him blankly. "Well, unless Guy suddenly gained godly power to summon a spirit without any Djinni; then no."
As the other Fire User opened his mouth for a retort another tremor shook the boat, this time strong enough for all to feel. After a quick moment of panic the crew began searching the open waters for any signs of an attacking ship. Nothing.
"What the hell keeps doing that?" Garet fumed.
"There's nothing out here, Cap'n. I can't see what's doing that!" Hank shouted down.
"Thirty fathoms! We're over the fishing pool now, Cap'n!" Lou shouted his report.
"Right, that's it," Isaac stated. "Stop the ship!"
Every man on the deck ran to their posts at their Captain's order and made it their best effort to halt the Element as soon as possible. The glorious wooden ship came to a steady stop over a patch of clear blue water in the otherwise murky water drifting from the shore. Lou looked over the side of the ship but couldn't see any of the many species fish that usually roamed the clear water. He turned to the nearest commanding officer.
"Lieutenant," Jenna walked over to him carefully. "The fish are gone, you… don't think it's something underwater that's following us do you?"
Jenna watched the pirate for a short moment before dashing to the door leading to the cabins and ripping it open. "Guy! Guy!" after apausethe boy warily poked his head out into the corridor.
"Y-yes, Lieutenant."
"Have you sensed anything in the water around here?" Jenna demanded.
Guy pulled his body out of his cabin, shaking with fear. His eye dilated as he shook his head. "N-nothing. Wouldn't you or Captain sense it be-before me?"
The Mars Adept growled under her breath and withdrew to the deck again, leaving Guy stood alone in the small corridor. She looked up at Isaac to find him watching her. "Well, I'm all out of ideas," she sighed.
"I don't think pulling Guy into this will help,"the Earth Adeptsaid. "He can only cast Frost and I don't think he can even see a Dijinni either. I'm not leaving this wheel, so send Garet down to check on the men."
"Okay Isaac. Hey, Garet! Get inside and check on everyone!"Jenna yelled across to the red head. Garet jumped and skidded across the damp planks to the cabin door.
As he passed Guy, Garet waved lightly at the boy. "He looks scared stiff. Why did Isaac even let him onboard anyway? He must have done it for a reason. There are plenty of people back on Arcane Isle who could clean the deck and not start panicking the moment something happens." He rubbed his chin as he descended the stairwell at the end of the corridor and ignored Guy's gaze. "And why won't Jenna stay in a room alone with me?"
As he opened the door to the cargo hold he was knocked back with the smell of sulphur and salt. "Oh, god. What's that smell?" He covered his nose with his hand but soon he noticed he was walking in water.
The entire cargo hold was flooding with seawater and the remaining group of pirates that weren't on the deck were scrambling around trying to block the source of the problem; which Garet noticed, was a gaping hole in the hull.
He dashed further into the mess. "What the hell happened down here?" he shouted over the other men's voices and pushed a barrel up to the splintered wood.
A lanky man looked over his shoulder at his superior. "It was a strange metal tube, Sir! It came from nowhere and made this hole here! Thar be another t'over there!" He jolted his head in the direction of another hole withanother group ofmen trying to fix it.
By now the water level in the hold had reached their knees and everyone was wading about trying to gather wood and hammer it over the holes. Garet waded over to the instrument of the damage and examined it. It was only about two metres long and seemed to be made of a heavy metal, and the strong smell of sulphur was radiating off it. Standing back, he knew the odour of fire very well.
"That has got to be from Loho," he mused as he grabbed a thick wooden board and held it against the hull of the Element as another man hammered it into place. "But, how did they follow us unseen?"
The door to the hold swung open and Jenna threw herself into the room. "Quick, up on deck Garet! We've spotted it!"
He looked back at the men and they nodded at him; the majority of thewater had been stopped and all that remained was maintaining the preassure on the boards. Nodding back he ran up the stairs and followed his childhood friend up to the deck.
"There it is" Jenna said, pointing at a long dark oval object floating at the surface of the water.
Garet frowned. It had to be half the size of the Element yet it had punctured her twice without anyone noticing? It was ridiculous. It didn't even have any sailsor space for oars, so how did it move? There was nothing on it save for five small circular windows on it's sides and a fin like apparatus on it's tail. It was even made from metal.
He pointed at it. "How can that thing even float? It's made of metal."
"It came at us from underwater; that's how it sneaked by and no one noticed" Jenna explained.
"Bah, that stupid rock shouldn't have followed us. Now we'll have to sink it and it can stay at the bottom of the sea where it belongs."
"Don't be so hasty, Garet" Isaac said gazing at the object. "I've never seen anything like this before…"
"Oh who cares?" Garet replied and stalked to the bow of the ship throwing his hands out.
"No, Garet, don't!" Jenna jumped at him when she saw the dull red light radiating from his hands. "We don't know what it'll do."
Garet dropped an arm. "Well, if we don't do something we'll just be stuck here watching each other forever!"
Isaac…" Jenna looked back at the blonde.
The Captain of the Element bowed his head and closed his eyes in thought for a long moment. No sign of life came from the object and no one on the Element did more than breathe. Slowly Isaac lifted his head up and looked at Garet.
"We have to find out if they intended to harm Arcane Isle, and they refuse to communicate."
The Fire Adept grinned and cracked his knuckles. "I think a little Heat Wave should do the trick." Raising his arms again he curled his fingers to hold the heat of the Fire Element growing in his hand.
Jenna stood back and frowned at the grin on the man's face. She could understand that the fire coursing through her body when she was attacking gave her a safe feeling and spurred her reactions to the things around her, however, she'd never let it get to her head. Arguably the Fire Element was the wildest of the four Elements, and the hardest to control. Often when both her and Garet were little they'd be setting things ablaze while Isaac ad Felix merely watched. Though, maybe that was because neither of the Earth Adepts did much to peek their emotions to a Psynery level. Felix liked to practice his swordsmanship and Isaac like to help his father in the fields, while Garet and Jenna… argued to a fever pitch. But it was all in good fun.
Garet lowed his eyes to focus on the metal ship and opened his hands to unleash a wave of fire towards the opposing object. He threw his arms back and wiped his hands at his sides as the attack raged forward. Jenna leaned forward and Isaac squinted at the fire made contact with the shiny skin of the ship only to fizzle out into the air. Garet crossed his arms in a sudden (and understandable) huff.
"Not a damn thing. That thing really does belong at the bottom of the sea!"
"Maybe if we do it together…" Jenna suggested. "Isaac can you do anything?"
"Sorry. If I try anything I'll destroy the seabed, or at least ruin it."
Hank climbed down from the Crows nest. "Aye. Being Earth based is no good at sea unless ya want to kick up a tidal wave," he nodded twice. Isaac glanced sideways at the older man.
A harsh creaking noise brought everyone's attention back to the metal ship. A trap door on the top was opening and a man stood out of it. He didn't look particularly intimidating, but he didn't look happy either.
"You pirate scum!"
"Who're you calling 'scum'!" Garet shouted back quickly.
"As if we don't have enough trouble from bandits as it is; but now you sea rats have to invade too? We'll have you hung, drawn and quartered for what you've done!" the Loho man spat.
Jenna was fuming. "And I suppose enslaving the dwarfs is the right thing to do?"
The man punched the air in front of himself in a violent gesture. "Quiet, wench! Didn't you know it's bad luck to have women onboard?"
"W-what did he just call me?" Jenna whispered in rage.
"Simmer down there, girl," the man cackled. "You're the ones in the wrong. Stealing is baaaaad, didn't you know?" he taunted.
Isaac held up his hand then lowered it when the man spotted him. "Let us past, we don't want anymore trouble."
The man scoffed, "you can't be telling me you're the Captain of this wreak. You're just a kid!"
"This is Deadbeard's better!" Hank shouted across the way. "We all are."
"Deadbeard, eh? Well, he can't have been thatdangerous if this bunch of kids beat him."
"Deadbeard must be rolling aroundin his watery grave" Jenna hissed.
A moment of eerie silence hung in the air before the man flung his am out. "I am Colonel Showgun of theAlhafra Military, and you, Isaac of Vale and the crew of the Element, are found guilty of the crime of Piracy and are sentenced to death! You will be taken to Alhafra and executed."