The Starlit Wanderer Series – Chapter 1
We’re not pirates!’ The hefty orc captain swung a fist that barely missed Inugela’s head. He quite liked his face the way it was, so pranced back a few steps. The behemoth of a sailor stamped his feet like a sumo wrestler and cracked his knuckles just by tensing his hands. The mighty ship’s deck groaned beneath his weight, every floorboard straining to keep the man from stomping through to the lower deck. Inugela knew that they had reinforced those boards with iron after that happened once before.
‘All I’m saying is that sailors don’t all talk the way this entire crew do–woah!’ Inugela slipped beneath another fist, then made for the edge of the boat.
‘Watch yer mouth, laddie!’ the captain bellowed.
‘Right there! You just used pirate-y words!’ Inugela teetered on the edge of the starboard side. He couldn’t have kept his balance quite like this just a week or two ago, but twelve days at sea gave him time to get used to the tilting and swaying.
‘Get ‘im cap’n!’ cried some members of the crew–all of them rough ladies and gentlemen with a rather obsessive interest in lemons. The crew, though working, stopped occasionally to watch the spectacle that was the captain finally blowing his top at the new guy.
‘And look!’ Inugela grabbed the sides of his baggy white shirt and kicked the rough buckled boots up to show them off. ‘These are cabin boy clothes! You made me a pirate cabin boy!’
‘We’re not pirates, star face!’ the captain jeered with a smile. His crew laughed along with him, but Inugela didn’t quite understand the joke. The man just described his face.
Again, Inugela dodged swipe after swing. He considered drawing his sword, but doubled back on the thought. The properties of his blade would surely tempt a pirate to steal it. As he made for the stairs to the quarterdeck at the back of the ship, a couple of feet stretched out to trip him. Inugela leapt over them, stumbling up the first few stairs.
‘Oops.’ One elvish man and his twin stifled their smiles with their hands. Crew members sometimes got in his way, even mopping directly across his path to make it difficult. The nerve! Inugela stumbled to the back of the ship, swirling water thrown aside crashed together in the ocean below him. He was about to be cornered.
‘Oh Inu,’ cooed a sultry voice. Hanging from a loose rope above was a woman with mostly human features, but a pair of grey canine ears sprouted from her head instead of human ears. This was Ulindra, the first mate. To Inugela’s understanding, she and the captain were together, but something about the way she acted around the rest of the crew suggested some questionable loyalty. ‘Is my blue boy in trouble again?’ she asked. Oh, there was that too. My blue boy.
‘Ah, quite the opposite!’ Inugela fibbed. ‘I’m just having a chat with your cap–the captain.’ He braced as the stairs filled with the captain and his onlookers. That deck swabber was also inconveniently blocking the only other stairs, taking his sweet time polishing them. Villains, the lot of them.
‘Are you sure?’ Ulindra smiled, hanging from the looped rope by one leg. ‘It looks like we’re about to see how well that skin of yours will blend with the depths of the Gitrian Ocean.’ She held her hand out, as if assuming that was enough to convince Inugela.
‘Ulindra, I’m not finished with ‘im!’ The captain stomped across the deck–hands poised to grab hold of Inugela.
Inugela considered taking the accusation back and moving on with things. That’s what happened last time. There was a small part of him, however, that told him to keep prying. He was simply curious, and he had no intention of selling the crew out to authorities.
‘Blue boy.’ Ulindra beckoned. ‘I’d hate to see those nice teeth of yours disappear.’
Upon the mention of teeth, Inugela snatched her hand. That would hurt and really just not look great. The rest of his adventuring party would have a lot of questions if he came back with a gummy mouth. He waited to be yanked up to the sails, but they didn’t go anywhere.
‘Well,’ Ulindra began, ‘climb.’
Oh great. It was clearly one of her ploys, but Inugela carefully climbed up her until he could reach the actual rope. He couldn’t help feeling he’d fallen into a trap. He would deal with that when he reached it.
‘Ulindra! I’ll count this as mutiny!’ The captain shook his fist and came eye to upside-down eye with his first mate.
‘Oh, come off it, Kelvin. You love it when I play games with you.’ Ulindra winked and swung herself up to climb the rope. She must have had iron core muscles to do that so easily. The captain’s face turned red, but it was unclear if he felt embarrassed or angry. Likely, it was both.
‘Get back to work!’ he blubbered with a swinging fist. One of the elven twins was too close, and they received a clean blow to the head.
‘Oh my,’ Inugela sighed. He scrambled for the sake of good dental care, letting the rope lead him all the way to the top of the mizen mast, the backmost mast. Resting in the crook of a wooden arm, he awaited his next challenge, Ulindra. She deftly landed on the same arm as him and crouched with a sly smile.
Inugela kept his guard up, as he knew this woman was dangerous. Not the she can fight ten men kind of dangerous, but more so the fact that she was impossible to read. Several days back, their ship battled against pirates, actual pirates, and Ulindra had strung up a cannon with ropes to fire it in mid-air. She claimed it was the best way to get the most range from a cannon. That act set a sail alight and earned her the captain’s wrath. Yet somehow, the crew never heard a single word of punishment. Most said she just wooed the captain into letting her get away with it… again.
‘Thank you,’ Inugela said. He hoped the simple gesture of the words was enough for her, but there was just no way she would settle for that.
‘Mhm,’ she drew a cutlass from her belt and jammed it directly between Inugela’s legs. The edge of the blade clipped his pants.
‘Woah!’ Inugela panicked, but went for the it can’t see me if I don’t move approach.
‘So,’ she began, wrapping her legs over the mast’s branch, ‘why the sudden proclamation about us bein’ pirates? Surely ye knew the consequences.’
‘Yes, I did.’ Inugela breathed slowly to still the heavy crashing of his heart. ‘I guess I thought it was obvious, and it’s kind of exciting to be on a ship full of sailors who do what they like.’
‘Ah.’ Ulindra played with the blade, widening the cut in the mast with every jiggle. ‘You’ve only heard the romantic stories.’
‘What?’
‘Pirates aren’t all freedom and treasure thievin’, that’s just a glorified robber.’ She yanked the blade free and twirled it with questionable practice. ‘They kill, blue boy. Pirates kill off those who fight back, and’ll take anyone of status or even if they’re just pretty.’ Her face wrinkled from a grimace, eyes clogging with something reminiscent of disgust. She dangled the blade toward the deck, let it fall, and then caught it just as swiftly. Sheathing the blade, she smiled with a wild look in her eye.
‘You wer–’
‘None of yer business, star boy. I’ll tell you this, though: very few pirates survive in Hophreda’anian waters, but those who do are like animals. They’ll track down their prey even if it takes ‘em weeks.’ Ulindra adjusted her belt and slipped to her feet. She stretched, keeping her footing even as the ship lurched over a large wave.
‘I feel I should come clean to you, after you’ve been so kind.’ Inugela didn’t stand. His footing was good, but being this high up twisted his stomach even as he sat still.
‘Mm?’ Ulindra eyed him, yawning all the while.
‘I refused to tell everyone why I’m here when I joined except that I needed money.’ He chose his words carefully, and struggled to find the best ones. His head swirled more than the sea surrounding them. ‘I left some friends behind, and someone important. I was scared to make a decision, and needed space.’
Ulindra laughed with a crack in her voice that was more charming than her kindest words. ‘I get ya! What better space than the open ocean?’
‘Well, I’ve never been at sea before.’ Inugela grasped something inside his pocket. It was smooth and unevenly round like a poorly made plate. Calmness took hold of him. ‘I guess I wanted to change my surroundings before wandering to find my answer.’
‘Good idea,’ Ulindra said. ‘Always good t’ try somethin’ new before ye make choices.’ Her eyes waxed dull, like something dark and exciting crossed her mind.
Inugela took that as his cue to change the subject. ‘So, the captain will be quite mad if I don’t do some work. He told me to check on the status of the cargo before I got him all riled up.’
‘Of course.’ Ulindra slouched, disappointment turning down the corner of her mouth. ‘Shall I get ye down?’ She drew up the rope they had used to get up this high.
‘If you don’t mind.’ Inugela pulled himself to his feet, clutching the mast. Before he could get his footing right, Ulindra slung her arm around his waist and pulled him off the edge. ‘No, no!’ Inugela choked on his cries and clamped down on the wild woman who took them on a full loop of the mast. The feeling was exciting, terrifying and everything Inugela had imagined when he had thought about sailing. This was the romantic thrill he wanted to experience. It just needed nearly two weeks of sailing and a crazy lady to get him there.
Some crew members whistled and barked jokes at the pair, but their crude intentions were no match for Inugela’s natural innocence. He busied himself thinking that he simply must learn to swing around like this before they made port in the coming days.
They slammed into the mast, Ulindra hammering her feet into it to soften the blow. Then, she let Inugela fall the last couple of meters to the deck. With that, the excitement faded. He needed to make for the lower decks before the captain got hold of him again. Thanking the first mate for her swift drop off, he hurried toward the back of the ship.
Inugela wound down a staircase and strode past rooms full of hammocks and bedrolls. A few crew members slept, so he chose his foot placement carefully and then raced for another staircase. Upon reaching an even lower deck, the light dimmed to almost pitch-black. His eyes adjusted so that he saw the room in various shades of grey. Crates and long containers filled the room—a few looked like someone had pried them open. Great, someone’s been picking at things again.
‘Goodness,’ Inugela muttered. He moved to the nearest crate and pushed the lid aside. Piles of textiles lay inside, uncut and ready to be turned into fine clothing or maybe a bedsheet. He put a hand inside. The top layer was velvety, like the cloth had a billion spines that fell under the space of just his hand. He noted that there had to be at least a few missing pieces. A few minutes passed of silent counting.
‘Them pirates from the other day,’ began a voice that bellowed from the floor above. Inugela stopped his work to listen in. ‘What do ya think their game was? They boarded us outta nowhere.’
‘Dunno,’ responded a second voice. ‘Seemed a bit funny that they only had a few fellas board us. And where was their ship?’
‘The bloke I knocked into the ocean was laughin’ like I did somethin’ stupid.’
‘What? He musta just seen ya face!’
‘Oi!’
Inugela laughed to himself. The voices faded, so he returned to work. So far, he’d counted that at least five pieces of the goods were missing. Definitely the work of one of their own crew members. He didn’t like the idea of ratting someone out, but at least it would turn the captain’s wrath elsewhere. A cruel thought, to say the least.
Something bumped a crate in the back of the room.
Inugela instinctively drew his sword and pointed the bright blade through the space. He swept the metal to and fro, not entirely sure where the sound came from. He opened his mouth to speak, but his lips clammed shut. His throat dried and his chest fluttered.
Something moved again.
‘N–uh, not funny.’ He gulped. If it was another one of those giant rats, he would soon report to whatever health and safety group was responsible for ships. He crept a little further, pushing into the dark corner. Something back there glowed for just a second.
‘Uh.’ A woman tumbled out from behind the crates, making Inugela jump so fast he heard his shoulder click. She was difficult to make out in the dark, or was it the dark? No distinct features defined her face for a second. Whether it was Inugela’s eyes adjusting or something else, he wasn’t sure, but she was easier to see when she made eye contact with him.
She wore simple clothes, no design or particular style to signify their country of make. Inugela recognised the colours–the missing fabrics. How did she make clothing so quickly? Where did she come from? What? He realised his brow had settled into a very uninviting frown. He formed a gentler smile and prepared a rather witty question.
‘Excuse me, but where did you find such nice clo–’ he choked. The woman had wild and long black hair that ran to the small of her back. Green eyes like a jungle’s deepest parts stared out of a grey elvish face. She rolled her shoulders back with a confidence Inugela recognised all too well. The longer he stared at her, the more she became familiar.
‘I had to borrow these, sorry,’ the woman said with a smooth voice that melted the last of Inugela’s defences. She tugged at the side of the very lavish green and white fabrics.
It took Inugela several tries to get his sword back into its sheath. His eyes never left hers, and something in him told him it would be best if he kept it that way. His lips parted, and he said, ‘Cousin?’
The woman was quiet, like she didn’t quite understand the term. She knitted her fingers and shrugged. Inugela immediately knew this wasn’t who he thought she was. The resemblance, however, was unbelievable.
‘You’re a fey elf, then?’ he asked, taking a ginger step closer. The woman just shrugged again. ‘Why… what?’ He checked to be sure nobody was with them. ‘How do you not know? Who are you? When did you get on board?’ He withheld the rest of his onslaught of questions as he realised she was drawing away.
‘I am what you wish to see,’ she replied matter-of-factly. Her hands strained together, and so Inugela moved a few paces away.
‘Makes sense,’ he muttered. ‘Sort of.’ He gestured for her to come forward. ‘It’s alright, I’m probably the best person who could have found you.’
‘Why?’
That question took Inugela off guard. He muttered a scoff, then said, ‘because I won’t throw you overboard for using our expensive cargo.’ It then hit him: why didn’t she have clothes in the first place?
‘You have stars on your face,’ she once again remarked with a dry tone. ‘Are you a spirit of the night?’
‘Uh, no.’ Inugela had to stop letting thoughts distract him. He didn’t see his own face very often, but he’d had it as far as he could remember. He often forgot that he looked out of place, even compared to the most fantastical people walking the face of Igharias.
‘A star spirit,’ she said with a gleeful expression.
‘No.’
‘A fairy.’
‘No, but sort of close. I come from the same realm. Heard of Feyvia?’
The woman nodded her head like an excited child.
‘I’m an elf from that realm. I believe you are, too.’
She shook her head.
‘Then what are you?’
‘Oi!’ A voice cried from the deck above. Inugela scrambled to the bottom of the stairs, then hissed back at the woman as if shooing a cat. Thankfully, she had already vanished by the time a lanky elf had reached the bottom of the stairs.
Inugela quickly stood in front of a crate missing fabric and pretended to struggle to close it. He whirled on his heel and put on his best smile. ‘Ah, Civran! Where’s your brother?’ Inugela enthusiastically looked around for Civran’s twin, which was a pretty believable act, as the two always seemed to work together.
‘Helping the cap’n. Big man sent me to see if ye needed help with countin’.’ Civran’s eyes never met Inugela’s, and kept darting across the deck. He was looking for something. Did they know about the strange woman?
‘Oh, why thank you!’ Inugela folded his arms, then refolded them and then tried to lean casually on the crate. ‘But I’m almost finished. Just got one crate to go.’ He slapped the wooden box.
‘The one you were just closin’?’ The man’s hawk-like eyes narrowed in on the half-shut box.
The first beads of sweat rolled down Inugela’s temple. ‘Yes, just realised I miscounted.’
‘Right.’ Civran waltzed into the room and threw his hands into his pockets. ‘I’ll be straight with ya. The cap’n can’t find his first mate. Personally, I don’t care what she gets up to, so just tell me if she’s ‘ere or not and I’ll believe ya.’ He finally made eye contact with Inugela, and those dark eyes nearly bored a hole right through him. Inugela nearly said she was, but thankfully his better judgement kicked in before he could make a mistake.
‘No.’
‘Thanks.’ Civran trotted back to the stairs. ‘She’s probably hiding up in the crow’s nest or something.’
‘Right.’
Something clattered at the back of the room, again, and it couldn’t have been worse timing. Civran looked at Inugela as if to say, well, I can’t ignore that. He pushed off the stairs and made for the back of the room.
‘Whoops, just a… a mop,’ Inugela said, trying to see if the woman had moved. She hadn’t. In fact, she was standing up to reveal herself. No, no! Come on, why do you have to be tactless?
Despite what he thought, this woman gave him the most convenient surprise yet. Her form was dark again, rippling like she was made of the deepest water in the ocean. Her hair turned blond, shortening to a sideswept cut, and her form became more masculine. The top she wore earlier was missing, and a crate hid her lower half. Simply put, she looked strikingly like–
‘Zalon?’ Civran’s jaw fell as his twin brother looked back with a sheepish smile. He leapt away with a start, throwing his hands up. ‘I thought ye were with the ca–but… what… oh.’ Civran slapped his own face. ‘I never actually saw ya with the cap’n. You were just keepin’ this a secret. I remember ye said there was somethin’ ya wanted t’ tell me!’ He walked backwards to the staircase and smiled at Inugela. ‘Very happy that ye bagged a pretty one, Zalon. I’ll go make sure nobody comes in for a bit, but maybe save the rest fer shore.’ He winked at his brother and quickly left.
Inugela’s face burned. How did he get into this mess? How did he get into any mess? When he’d imagined romance on the sea, he didn’t think he would actually get pinned as someone gallivanting around with the crew. He had no choice but to pray that Civran would keep his mouth shut. Inugela wanted nothing more than to get off this vessel without some sort of name as a player, or whatever word was used to describe one such person.
‘Why me?’ he groaned. For the first time on his journey, he felt despair. It was such an innocent endeavour, really. So, why did he have to end up in one mess after another? What weaver of fate suddenly decided they detested a single poor starlit fey elf? Really, it was a very rude move. The rudest, in fact. Maybe he should have stuck with his friends, after all. Not just his friends, but the very person he ran from.
‘Sorry to cause trouble.’ The voice of that woman, now with the body of a man, faltered as she spoke.
‘Oh no, not at all!’ Inugela swung around to him with hands raised. The man’s form was fading, but he wasn’t becoming the familiar grey woman again. This time, they transformed into a feminine form with long silver hair that flowed off her shoulders. Golden skin refracted the small drapes of light in the room, and emerald green eyes drew in everything that Inugela was. He was in a state of complete enamour. He couldn’t break free of the awe.
Come on body, move. Say something, before it’s too late!
‘Y… g… uh.’ His tongue felt like iron and his lips twitched in the wrong direction. ‘Please, not her,’ he begged. The form immediately faded and returned to the grey woman from before. His face loosened up so he could speak again, but the beating in his chest still drummed loud enough for him to hear. ‘So, you’re a shapechanger?’
‘Not really. It’s hard to explain.’ She threw the simple clothing back on and bowed lightly. ‘Sincerely sorry if my form frightened you. Was it someone important?’
‘Yes.’ Inugela found his hand bundling up his shirt into a scrunched mess. He let it out and straightened the delicate fabric. ‘The most important.’
Silence strained the room dry of even breath until Inugela’s head finally stopped slushing about. He recalled his millions of questions for the strange lady and sifted through them. Finally, he asked, ‘do you have a name?’
‘No, I do not. But I understand the importance of names, so how about calling me Ocean?’
‘Just Ocean?’ Inugela shook his head, taking up a seat on a crate. ‘What about… Oce… an… us? Oceanus! That sounds pretty,’ he said with a gleeful smile.
The woman smiled back with a titter. ‘I’m not quite sure I’ll go by such a name for too long.’ She sighed. ‘But for you, I will take it on.’ She sat on a container opposite him and swung her legs from side to side.
Inugela blurted out his own name and quickly explained his position as a temporary cabin boy on the ship. They got onto the topic of sailors and people who sailed the seas. Oceanus had to be some sort of sea fairy or spirit, from the way she spoke of the ocean. She was very familiar with these waters, and the many sea battles she had seen take place.
Before he knew it, an hour had passed, and the afternoon waned toward evening. Inugela realised he would be in big trouble for not reporting his count to the captain sooner, so he left Oceanus for the time being. He promised to return in the night, once the crew was asleep, and exchange more stories about their lives and what the world had on offer. He had to lie about the count, as any inconsistency would warrant the captain making an investigation for himself. Thankfully, the day went smoothly, and Inugela rested with the crew for a while. He found himself a hammock and tried to close his eyes.
‘Here, ‘ave my bed,’ whispered a harsh voice. Civran was holding his hands up to the hammock beside Inugela’s. ‘You two can sleep closer, that way.’
Zalon–the real Zalon–frowned in utter befuddlement. He folded his arms and accepted the offer, but confusion contorted his face into something unrecognisable. Jumping into the hammock, he glared at his brother with a look that could scrutinize the thoughts of a fish.
‘You like each other, so it’s okay to be near one another.’ Civran gave a thumbs up as he crawled into bed. Zalon’s face scrunched with befuddlement. He glanced at Inugela, then back to Civran. He suddenly wrapped himself in the hammock, vanishing entirely. It might have been the poor light shading him strangely, but it looked like there was red in his cheeks.
Thank goodness, Inugela mouthed to himself. Even if he wasn’t too confident that he would get off this ship without being asked on a date or something, at least the secret of Oceanus was safe. He let his eyes fall for a moment, confident that he would wake soon when the snoring started. It was really quite difficult to sleep when one of your crewmates was a hulking half-giant who practically had a small lion up his nose. The only thing that ever made it bearable was when the crew would shove dirty clothes in his mouth or roll him onto his face. According to the latest gossip of the day, tonight would bring their most ingenious prank yet–nose whistles. The stupidity of it all let Inugela fall asleep with a smile, grateful that he had indeed gone on this journey.
Silence.
Peace.
The sound of nose whistles.
Quiet again.
A thud.
Inugela sat upright with a prickle that gripped his spine like tiny claws were clamping him. He immediately switched to high alert. Ten paces lay between him and a box. A purple cloth covered it and his personal possessions within. Should he be ready for a fight? No, he didn’t have time for that. Part of him longed to check on Oceanus, but the rest of him gripped his sword and leapt to the floor.
Barefoot and silent, he winced as freezing wind ripped down the stairs to greet him. If there was anything that made him feel nervous, it was the cold. It meant far too much to him not to be superstitious about it. Too many years on that mountain.
‘Ugh.’ He snapped back to the problem at hand, hugging himself with one arm as the other readied his blade. Though it was dull, the moonlight lit his way, giving him enough vision to make out the deck. It was quiet, and honestly, a better place to sleep than the crew quarters if it weren’t for the wind.
Shapes moved about the ship. They appeared to be the night crew, but that wasn’t right–some of them were on the floor. Wait, the numbers didn’t add up. Too many people, and that meant–
‘Hello, boyo,’ a sandy voice cackled. Inugela spun to lock eyes with a human man who seemed like your regular, everyday pirate. You know, eyepatch, bandana, cutlass and a really unusual skeleton of a small fish on his shoulder instead of a parrot. Normal pirate things. There was also the dull white glow in his eyes, like tiny moons in the dark and a strange flower-like barnacle blooming from a hole in his chest. A bullet hole?
Necromancy. Inugela could practically feel the dark magic creeping across the deck like a toxic mist. There were few things worse in the world. Every fibre of him that wove little bits of magic resented those who dared toy with necromantic power. As far as he was concerned, it was plain evil. It bore no respect or honour for the dead, nor the right ways of life. But here it was, and it was probably the only thing holding this man together.
Inugela spied the lumps of crew members lying out cold on the floor. One of their chests rose slowly. He bent his blade up to the chin of this undead man, and let a little spark of anger free. ‘Get off my ship,’ he said, reigning his emotions back in. Nothing worse than losing your cool. Except necromancy, but that was beside the point.
‘Oho, li’l man actin’ like a captain. No, I’m here to see Kelvin.’ The smelly man brought his cutlass down on Inugela, but he was deft, locking blades with the undead bandit. More undead pirates climbed over the side of the ship, soggy and bearing injuries overgrown with barnacles and sea plants.
‘Why!?’ Inugela asked as loud as he could. He eyed the stairs, hoping someone heard him.
‘We’ve got unfinished business. Ya see, he wasn’t the cap’n of this here ship just a few years ago.’ The pirate gestured to himself as the little fish skeleton nodded with a loud clatter. ‘He decided he didn’t wanna do what we do no more, so he and his little band o’ loyalists took the thing by force.’
‘So you’re back for revenge. How?’ Inugela quickly checked the stairs again. No one came.
‘Me crew got a little sick a while back, and we met a nice lass who helped us. Seems she gave me and my crew a bit more long life than I expected, hahar!’
‘I see. Who was that?’ Inugela was ready to make a mental note of the name. He shuffled his feet into a staggered stance, pressing his blade against the pirate’s and preparing a decisive blow.
‘You could say she was foretold,’ the pirate laughed heartily, probably proud of his cryptic response. Inugela, however, knew exactly who he was talking about.
‘Oh, sorry, buddy.’ He felt a rising bubble of joy and satisfaction. ‘I saw Foretell die with my own eyes. A few friends of mine made short work of her.’
‘What?!’ The pirate nearly sounded like a parrot. He really should’ve had one them instead of an undead fish. ‘But she’s all-powerful!’
‘Was.’ Inugela slid into his attack, throwing the pirate’s blade aside and cutting in a wide swing. The pirate ducked, folding himself back with an inhuman snap.
‘Goodbye!’ The pirate smiled with only ten good teeth shining in the moonlight.
Inugela felt movement behind him. One of the other undead pirates leapt from the shadows and made an arc for Inugela’s back. The blade froze inches from his spine.
A rope looped around the hand of the pirate grunt, and yanked him away.
‘Ye should really watch yer back, blue boy.’ Ulindra slid down the nearby mast and tripped the grunt with an effortless kick. She drew a pair of cutlasses, stomped the floorboards and cried, ‘wake up, ya buncha lumps, we’re under attack!’
The ship came alive with shouts as crew members finally awoke and stormed up the stairs. They drew swords, pistols and planks of jagged wood. The half-giant blew his nose whistles, and they stampeded into their undead assailants.
Finally, the captain rose from his chambers, rubbing sleep from his eyes and slinging a massive blunderbuss over his shoulder. When he was awake enough to take in the scene, he locked gazes with the undead pirate captain.
‘Captain Kelvin,’ said Captain Kelvin.
‘Captain Kelvin,’ the undead pirate said with a loose nod. All around them, metal struck rusted metal, wood smashed against heads and the peppery smell of gunpowder clogged the air.
‘Wait!’ Inugela raised his blade at the captain and ex-captain. ‘You’re both named Kelvin?’
‘Yes!’ the captains shouted in unison. They charged one another and did battle as a pair of grunts forced Inugela away. He dodged their swipes and made a clean cut across each of them. They didn’t falter, as if pain was no longer a concern for them. It probably wasn’t.
Inugela pushed to the side of Ulindra. She winked at him, but he barely had time to shake his head at her.
‘Swap!’ he cried. The two of them switched places and opponents, giving him enough time to come up with an idea. He spied a long cut across the body of the grunt and followed it with his weapon. The blade split the barnacles with a satisfying flick, and the pirate fell to the deck, completely lifeless. Or was it un-lifeless?
‘That’s it!’ Ulindra cried. ‘Attack their wounds!’ she announced as she took her first opponent out. The crew obeyed, and the fight turned in their favour. A small gnomish woman launched herself across the deck, landing on an undead pirate and firing a pistol at point-blank. The twins, Civran and Zalon, swirled around one another in perfect harmony. Their swords turned like an endless wall of slashes and jabs.
Inugela tired faster than he expected. It had been some time since his last battle, and it was honestly the worst time of day for swordplay. A group of pirates surrounded him, and he backed against the boat’s edge. The familiar sensation of the rushing water waiting to swallow him was unsettling, but he held his ground. Captain Kelvin–Inugela’s captain–backed against the same side, blunderbuss locked with the other Kelvin’s cutlass.
‘Not good,’ the captain grunted. More of the pirates focused on the two of them, and more particularly Captain Kelvin–Inugela’s captain. ‘Help, fellas!’ he cried.
‘Exactly, come on!’ Inugela shouted. The snarls and laughter of the undead pirates overran their calls. Inugela couldn’t fight them off much longer, nor could he tap into his combat magic with the captain so close.
Then, the sounds of battle fell silent. People still fought and snarled, but Inugela couldn’t hear a single clatter.
Oceanus rose from below. And not from the stairs, she literally rose through the deck. The grey skin of her form faded, and she revealed her true self. A feminine form made of dark waters and tiny streaks of light within. She stepped behind the undead group. Her hair lifted–seaweed strewn through it like braids.
‘Return to your resting places.’ The sound of rushing waves and storm-like winds accompanied her voice. In response, the undead pirates froze. A rush of adrenaline passed into Inugela, and he ducked between the pirates and whirled back to them. He empowered his blade with blinding holy light, cutting three of the pirates down in a single swing. Another swift jab took down another, then one last upward cut to trace the mark on the last pirate’s back. Kelvin–Inugela’s captain–fired a dastardly blast into the undead Kelvin’s chest. It matched the old shot wound perfectly. With that, the crew tossed undead pirates overboard, leaving the ship clear of assailants.
Captain Kelvin turned to Inugela with heavy breath stunting his next words. ‘And that,’ he began with a huff, ‘is why we ain’t pirates.’ He turned to the dark and open ocean. ‘Not anymore.’
•••
The next morning brought sun and calm winds, but also a sad goodbye for Inugela. After the battle, he spent as much time as he could with Oceanus. It turned out that she had truly thought Inugela was a night spirit, and she boarded the ship hoping to learn about places like the sky. It was her dream to leave the ocean, but she was stuck in that place, bound to that region by an oath to protect it.
‘So I guess you have to go.’ Inugela stood at the very back of the ship, facing the deep blue form of Oceanus as she floated above the waters with ease.
‘Yes, but I’m sure we will meet again. When you are next in these waters, seek me out.’
‘Of course.’ Inugela took her hand and bowed. Behind him, Ulindra, the captain and several other crew members cooed and whistled. Zalon looked a little jealous.
‘You are on a journey, yes?’ Oceanus drifted away from the ship. Time to say goodbye.
‘Yes.’
‘Whatever it is that you seek, Inugela, I give your journey my mother’s approval. Please accept the blessing of Searana, the Wrath and Rain, and find your success.’ With that, Oceanus burst into glittering water droplets that scattered into the sea below.
Inugela was stunned, but he smiled. He didn’t feel any different or blessed, but happy. Something in him told him that things would be okay, no matter how he felt. And that voice would never leave him, as long as it took him to wander.