Dagger: Chapter Six

Chapter 6

With the sun rising up over the horizon, the sky was bluish orange, ripped and ready for a new day yes it was. Ariam, Raewyn, and Kelvin come within reach of the Grateful Dead by the docks tired and weary. They had spent the whole night underground, their clothes were dusty, their eyes were red, and Raewyn kept stop yawning. And sitting leisurely waiting for them above deck was Captain Bernard, while Obadiah was walking in circles, worrying about Ariam’s safety. Within sight, Bernard and Obadiah jumped off the ship and move toward the exhausted teens and help them get onboard.

            “Are you alright? There was an earthquake, I thought the city was about to crumble,” Obadiah checked rather warily at Ariam’s body, seeing if she has any bruises or bones plucking out her skin, but all was fine, his worries her met to no alarm. “Are you safe? You’re not hurt are you? Always drink the potions when you have injuries, you may be a Dagger and have great healing abilities, but it doesn’t mean you can’t die. Everyone is capable of falling into death.”

            “I’m fine, Obadiah,” Ariam remarked moderately humiliated, as the Grateful Dead’s crew, Raewyn, Kelvin, and Captain Bernard saw how Obadiah treated her like a small fragile child. “We got the relic, but Kelvin’s mage, Jodeline, she didn’t make it.”

            Obadiah muttered out his condolences to the young Seeker without a second to waste.

            Once everyone was on the ship, Bernard commanded his first mate, John Lockeheart to set sail to Tmavy Woods, “Aye! As you command, captain!” Lockeheart whipped the crew to action, and soon they were away from the city of Baixo and back on the Basirigi River.

            Kelvin and the girls had no idea how long they were in down there, maybe it was because of Jodeline’s presence that time seemed like it had no gist for the young Seeker. To Kelvin, hell was having his love one being next to him in one second, and gone the next. “You guys look horrible, what happened down there,” asked Bernard, to which Ariam replied, “A lot happened down there.”

            Kevlin urged Obadiah that he wants to join in on the quest, and the senior Dagger found no flaw in that proposal and accepted him. Kelvin didn’t see the point in going back to the Sepulcher, Jodeline died because of this, the least he thought to himself was to immense in what she worked hard in. The Titans should not return, Sajib should be taken down, and the gang needs all the help they can get, especially from a huge muscular Seeker.

            As soon as everyone was settled, with the relic secured in the captain’s cabin, everyone took the time and prepared for their arrival to Tmavy Woods, which took about a full day. Bernard and Kelvin spent the hours above deck by the handrails looking over the body of water, while the girls and Obadiah had their rest in their respected cabins. There was a strong silent ambiance coming out from Kelvin, it marked that he did not want to talk, but Bernard wanted to swooped in and dig Kelvin’s story for that was his nature. “You okay there buddy?”

            “No,” Kelvin replied the pirate captain’s question dryly. Bernard noticed ever since Kelvin came on board and join the crew he had a gloom of a face, and Bernard did not like that at all. He hated it when people on his ship were having a hard time. Now, “No,” was a short simple answer that required no further explanation, and the pirate captain should have decided it was best not to bother the Seeker again, but stubborn as he was, Bernard went on.

            “You didn’t find your girl down there, is that why? Jodeline was her name was it.”

            “Please, let’s don’t talk about it.”

            “Why? I’m sorry buddy, things happen,” Bernard opined. “Sometimes I think the best way to forget about a girl is to find another one.” See, with Captain Bernard, he has learned that the best way to not get his feelings compromised was to pretend like he had none, but by the Gods my, he has the most ardent feelings. When Bernard loves, he loves hard. When he cares about a person, he doesn’t simply be nice to them, he immense himself into them. Upon hearing that piece of advice, Kelvin got enraged, and in one quick motion strangled the captain with one hand.

            “I don’t want to forget about her!” Kelvin belted furiously. He was angry, his face was red in flares, and the veins of his necks were pumping out. John Lockeheart and all of the Grateful Dead’s crew immediately pulled out their crossbows and swords, aiming at Kelvin who was hurting their captain.

            As his hands were shaking, and face about to burst, Bernard warned his crew to stay back and put their weapons away, “Stay calm, men. No need to be alarm. The Seeker had a rough day. He has his right to treat me this way. I was being pesky.” The voice came out in squeaks as his throat was in clasped.

            After a minute or two, the Seeker let go of the captain, and apologized. “I had her, she has there. Right in front of me, and I lost her. Damn the Gods,” Kelvin opened up to Bernard who was massaging his neck delicately, never again will he be ungrateful for breathing. By this time, the crew had found there to be no danger and went back to their stations respectively, Lockeheart was manning the ship’s wheel of course as he always do.

            Bernard was a good man. He might be a pirate, a robber, and many titles that would deemed him a bad person, but no one can say he was not compassionate towards the feelings of other, especially the ones on his ship. He listened to Kelvin, instead of trying to relate with the Seeker’s pain with his own troubles, all Bernard did was attend to Kelvin’s problem. Bernard knew that sadness was not something easily cured, and he doesn’t want to compare his sufferings to another person’s suffering, because that is just by the Gods damn rude.

            The captain went on listening as Kelvin continued telling him stories of Jodeline. Stories like how they met, how they fell in love, and how they had planned their life together. Kelvin told Bernard, if his children were mages, he would not be ashamed, he would be proud, but it seemed that won’t happen anymore for the death of Jodeline meant the end of his future plans. “That’s rough buddy,” Bernard bawled.

            “How about you, captain?” finally Kelvin asked Bernard. “Do you have anybody special?”

            “Me?” the captain was thinking of ways to get away from this topic, but it was only fair he shared bits of his life, since Kelvin spilled his. “Well, before I was a captain. I met a girl and she’s extremely important to me then, or maybe now still. She taught me everything from running and fighting, she was a great woman. But if you are talking about anybody special at this very moment, the Grateful Dead would be the answer and also her crew.”

            As soon as they were properly acquainted, they shared good laughs and drinks below deck with the rest of the pirate crew. “You’ll need to watch the sunsets and sunrises, and it will be better watching it on a ship. You’re going to need to listen to a lot of songs, create songs, and sing those songs, and it will be better when you’re with pleasant company when you do so. But most of all you need time. You will need these to survive,” said Old Maurice to Kelvin. For some odd fearlessness reason, the Seeker took the advice very keenly. “And what better ship than the Grateful Dead, and what better people than her crew to spend your time with,” Maurice finished.

            Old Maurice Rudlern was one of Captain Bernard’s most loyal crewmembers. He was old, about sixty of age perhaps. He has with him thinning silver hair and tall slender body, gangling with wrinkles, and he has small hands and feet. Of all the people, he knew how to mend a broken heart, why, because he broke his heart countless of times. When people asked Old Maurice if being betrayed or if life had been cruel to him, he would say, “Oh, I’m used to it,” and if that’s not the saddest and valiant thing ever, then nothing is. The first time he got his heart broken was when he was a teenager working in a farm. His first wife got raped and killed. The second time was when he was in his twenties. His second wife took his children away from him. And it goes on and on, and every time his heart got broken, he would always find ways to mend it.

            “Then it’s settled,” Bernard cheered, lifting his cup as he said the words of invitation. “Kelvin, I, Bernard Unto, Captain of the lovely pirate vessel, the Grateful Dead would cordially invite you to become one of her crew. Do you agree? If so, say aye!”

            “Aye!” Kelvin agreed. All the crew praised and hoorayed, drinks were swallowed down the throats, hugs were shared, mirth was omitted joyfully, music was played and dances were grooved. Just like that, Kelvin the Scarred Seeker had become a pirate of the Grateful Dead, but most of all, he had found him another family. His title still remained however, because the Scarred Seeker seemed pretty badass, and he was indeed one.

            “But I don’t think I would be much help, considering I’m no sailor or pirate,” Kelvin voiced out his weaknesses. “I’m not even a good swimmer. If you deem me unusable, you can throw me anytime.”

            “Oh, buddy. Mallord over there,” Bernard pointed a plump man eating and drinking at the corner. “He was a painter before, great lad, and when he first became one of the ship’s crew, he couldn’t drop anchor properly, and he still couldn’t. By the Gods, he is horrible at his job, I’m telling you, one of these days he is going to kill us, but here is the thing, he is happy here, and who I am to take that joy away. The way I see it, everybody has them the right to do what it is necessary to make their life meaningful. Me? I want to be free, and if possible, I would free others. I don’t neglect or reject, buddy. And to deny a person is to be ugly, and buddy, have you seen my face? I’m no ugly person. I’m sure in time you will get the hang of it, I know you will.” And it is true, the Dreaded Pirate Bernard was not ugly, to be quite frank and no homo, he is very beautiful for beautiful people will always see the beauty in others. To find someone lacking and unworthy of your attention is to be foul, and to think you are better than anyone by being a total rude artless son of a motherless loggerheaded goat with poop for brains is fouler. 

            While they had been chatting and drinking, the ship had been sailing on the Basirigi River for hours. They had passed tree line after tree line. The crew was loud for quite a time, celebrating their new member, and then after a while most of them took a nap including Bernard and Kelvin, and it was only in the early evening.

            The trees had turned darker and thicker, wilder than any tree could be. The woods here were mystical, now there was a hint of foggy mist clouding the air. Dark green to black earth were the colors of the background.

Ariam examined out of the window to see that it was getting murkier, but the day was only about to enter evening, but no, it seemed the sun don’t shine all too well in this part of the world. She could see that the trees had faces, gloomed one, and the forest was calling out to her. Lockeheart seemed be to slowing down the ship, Ariam could feel the ship’s current speed as she stood.

            Discerning they were about to berth the ship, Ariam woke Raewyn up and put on their equipment. Ariam checked all her potions and weapons before going above deck, she doesn’t want Obadiah to be all worried for nothing, while Raewyn just put on her mage robes and magical staff, her boot were a bit raggedy, it was unlike a regular mage Seeker boots, it was as though she was a free elf and a dissenter to wear what she wore.

            Lockeheart belted out an announcement with a strong and loud voice, “We’ve reach Tmavy Woods! And it seemed there is a settlement here, and the settlers don’t look so keen upon our arrival.”

            As the ship slowed down and finally dropped anchor, Ariam, Raewyn, Obadiah, and the just woken up Bernard ran up to the deck to cogitate Lockeheart’s regard. Once they landed on the edge of Tmavy Woods, a group of leather armored men with jagged swords and arrows greeted them. It was as though something unnatural was imperceptibly possessing them. “Halt strangers!” one of the men heeded. “Our leader, Batshibah would like to speak you. Please follow us.”

            The party consisted of Ariam, Raewyn, Obadiah, and Bernard. And they followed the strange men, while Kelvin the Seeker took his rest in the ship with the rest of the crew. Few meters away from the Grateful Dead already, the gang followed the men into the dark mystical forest through a sharp dark narrow path, dark trees covered their sides. The trees were like Raewyn had said, they had eyes and their hollowed round holes were like mouths. It was so dark Bernard was having troubles walking through the steps as he was far back of the line. “Would be nice if someone shed some light for the guy who can’t see through the darkness, I mean I don’t have animal eyes or magical powers. By the Gods,” he said sardonically as he dirtied his boots by stepping on the wet mud with a hint of inferiority complex, considered he was the only one without any extravagant prowess. All Bernard has to count for was his skills, and charm.

            Obadiah kept pestering the men about the relic, asking them if they knew its location but they ignored him, nobody spoke much on the way to wherever the strange men were leading them to.

            “We are almost there,” said the men in a synchronizing manner. Soulless was the way they said it. “Ferdan is just around the next tree.” Ferdan must be the settlement these men are living in, concluded Ariam. The next tree? How could they tell, all the trees looked the same.

            The dark thin path led them to a hill where they climbed without any trouble, and from above they could see the settlement. Sited on stable ground, small houses and campfires were positioned neatly, they were a plenty number of settlers they, this seemed to be the only place that was not dark.

            They walked down the hill to Ferdan at once, “Batshibah will be waiting all of you in the Big House, please head there at once. The Big House would be the building in the middle of Ferdan.” The men who were seven in total stopped leading them, and stood reverently near the entrance of the settlement.

            The gang followed a path in the settlement that led to the Big House and all in while the settlers abnormally paid no attention to them. The settlers didn’t even look at the outsiders. They just continued doing their work in an unfeeling machinelike kind of way. When Ariam tried to question them, the settlers shrugged her off in a rude way, not rude as in they want purposely want to be, but they just seemed too strung up on their work. They don’t even talk to each other, for they only whispered hushed chanting to themselves. Raewyn cautiously warn them, “This place feels wrong. These people, something is wrong with them.”