"This is where you'll be for a bit" One of the crew members informed Elias and Kristen as they were placed in the room and untied. The rope left a bit of a mark, but they were otherwise unharmed.
Kristen and Elias looked around. It was a large, dark and dry room completely made of wood with one porthole window at the end. It faced Haden Spire, where they just were.
The door slammed shut behind them, and Elias felt like he was on the verge of crying. He tried his best to keep it together, but Kristen instinctively put her arm over his back and rubbed it.
The door opened again and their backpacks were tossed in.
"Don't eat in here.. we uh.. have vermin" the same crewman said as he poked his head in.
The door shut again and this time the locks could be heard. They were imprisoned.
"Well.. lets look at bright side of the situation, huh?" Kristen said with a weary smile.
What bright side? They were imprisoned in a pirate ship, likely to be used as slaves later on! What bright side could there be?
"We finally get to explore the world!" She raised her arms in the air and wiggled her hands. But Elias ignored her.
"What will our parents think?" He said as he trudged towards the port hole. The City-Spire was getting farther and farther away.
"That we're Dead? Or worse?" He mumbled aloud.
Kristen remained silent behind him. She had no way of responding. She leaned against the wooden wall and slid down, stopping at the floor to sit.
"I wonder if we're ever coming back.." Elias said as he caressed the rim of the port hole. His voice was monotonous, devoid of emotion.
"We will. Eventually." Kristen replied
They sat on opposite sides of the room for a few hours. Elias made sure to keep his eye on Haden Spire until it disappeared from view. About 6 hours passed before that happened. Had it been a clear day, that wouldn't be the case. Clouds blanketed the sky that afternoon, and Elias said goodbye to his home pretty early on.
He turned around to find Kristen in a deep sleep, curled up on the floor. Feeling tired himself, he did the same. Sleeping wasn't easy, but it came.
Around 5 hours passed by when Elias awoke. The silvery moonlight shone through the window, lighting up the room in a dim blue hue. It was surreal like a dream. He hobbled up, and looked over to Kristen. She was still sleeping, facing away from Elias. Her ponytailed black hair was scattered across the floor.
"Kristen?" He whispered loudly in hopes she was awake.
She shuffled a bit but no answer. Elias didn't try again. He didn't really want to talk to her anyway.
He sat quietly in the dark. Waiting for the universe to throw something else at him. Or for Kristen to somehow get them into another stupid situation. All he heard was the creaking of the ship and the wind whistling against it.
Suddenly the locks to the entrance began to click. Elias dropped to the floor and closed his eyes.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Someone was approaching him. Him specifically. Elias held his eyes closed tighter and began to shiver from fear.
The thundering boots stopped right before his face.
"Get up, kid. I know you're awake." The voice said.
It was the Captain. The man from earlier. As Elias opened his eyes, he saw the guy towering over him. His face wasn't as threatening as he remembered, but still scary.
"I need your help, kid" He lent his gloved hand over to him and Elias took it. The man helped him get up promptly, and they headed towards the door.
Looking back, he saw Kristen wide awake, still laying there. He stared at her for a second, in an attempt to read her current emotions- she seemed blank and confused. Elias shrugged to express to her that he was in the same boat. She quietly watched them exit the room.
The pirate led Elias up some stairs to the deck. A cool, refreshing breeze embraced his face as he walked. He looked around to only see star filled skies and dark clouds. The ocean as well, a thousand feet below. Just above was the balloon keeping them afloat.
"Excuse me s-sir- uh what did you need me for?" Elias tried to break the silence.
"Ill show you" the captain said as they arrived to a large room protruding from the flat deck. He opened the door to a nice room stocked with gold, beautiful fabrics and other resources. A table and a lone chair sat in the center. There was a roughly drawn map on it and there was the Maj-Compendium, opened on top.
"I need you to translate something" He said as he walked around the table and sat in his chair. He pointed to a text in the book and tapped it, awaiting response.
Elias leaned over to get a better look. Beside the writing was an intricate drawing of a creature. It resembled a Chupra- a lizard like people with thick round bodies and short tails. But this one was different. The tail was longer than its own body, and the body of that creature seemed much slimmer in comparison to a common Chupra.
Elias put his attention back to the text. Fortunately they were words Elias already knew, so he quickly spoke them aloud.
"South, on Llanafeya shores"
"Lies the art of Azsolan chores"
"King Azsol had sent his men"
"Desperate for his gold again"
"For many years the kingdom searched"
"Still no one knows where it be perched"
"A rhyming riddle?" The Captain said with a smirk. "How rich.." He leaned back on the chair and contemplated what it meant and his next actions.
He looked over to Elias again, then lent his hand over again. This time it was for a handshake.
"Name's Rae by the way" He said
"Uh..that rhyme wasn't intended." He said with a little chuckle. "Im the captain of our crew. We call ourselves the Cloud Cleavers"
Elias shook his hand. He felt somewhat ... safe with this man.
"Uh.. My name's Elias.. Elias Mockett"
"Do you want to know a secret?" Rae said, leaning over the table.
"Uh- I" Elias was too confused to answer right away.
"Too late, kid" Rae lifted the book page and pointed at the drawing of the strange Chupra-like creature.
"This! Its what every Wayfarer, Freebooter, and Librarian is after!" He said with excitement.
"The gleaming idol of King Azsol! Sculpted from pure gold!"
"E-everyone? Doesn't sound m-much like a secret" Elias replied
"It's mostly a secret to your kind.. you City-dwellers. Even your Librarians are lying to you guys! In fact, that new continent was discovered years ago!"
Elias was shocked by the accusation. Again with the conspiracy theories. But he didn't say anything.
"Anyways.. thanks for the help." Rae said standing up.
"Lets head back to your hold"
Elias stood up and he was led back passed the deck and down the stairs. They talked a bit along the way. Elias mentioned how the rhyme didn't really rhyme anymore in modern, but he took some liberties. That got a laugh out of the Captain.
What a strange experience. A friendly pirate..
Comments (0)
See all