XXVIII
It was inevitable, but I followed the guilds out of the hospital and into the soaking, cold water. Recalling the same suffocating feeling of breathing underwater, I endured through the journey and ventured towards a large, underwater structure. Upon entering an airtight environment, I was greeted by an enthusiastic King Fulcan that firmly shook my hand and patted me on the back. Famming stood near the back and came to greet me as well.
“Good to have ye back, pirate.”
“Thanks for s-saving my life. I owe y-you one.”
“Call it even. Ye found my pin, and that’s as important as a life.”
She patted her chest, revealing the priceless gold-diamond medallion. I remembered finding the pin on the sandy floor, recalling the exact incident.
“There’s somethin’ ye don’t know about this pin. I’ve already told the king ‘n his army. This pin crafted by my father wasn’t just to boast pride to other sea dogs, no, its actual purpose was a key to activatin’ a large weapon my father had made. My brother told me in the past that the weapon was to destroy pirates, and that’s partly a reason why he gave it to me in the first place when he joined the Vindors. But when Helterium became overlord, he left the pin with Kamui because he didn’t know where this weapon actually was, so he instructed Kamui to search the sea surface while he looked underwater.”
“Do you know w-where this w-weapon is?”
“I know my father better than Helterium. Though he may have gotten father’s praise, I still had a winning edge against him. My search party’s just confirmed the location, my first guess. If we can activate this weapon, we can decimate Helterium’s army.”
“Army? What h-happened while I was out?”
“A lot has happened, pirate. We’ve been spendin’ the last week defendin’ all the residents underwater from his army. Remember when I mentioned statues a while back?”
“Vaguely.”
“Well back in the days, when a valiant fighter on this island died, he would be buried and represented by a stone statue that would be erected right outside the palace. Over the years, there have been over two thousand statues created, a stone army guarding the underwater castle. When Tyrannust came to grant powers to my brother, he gave him the ability of turning inanimate objects alive. It was a slow process of awakening the statues, but that’s how Helterium’s been creatin’ his army. Before ye and the king came here, the Vindor’s been trying to fend off the Leviathans from gittin’ back the pin. Kamui is only the captain of one Leviathan fleet. But there’s a whole lot more than those ten ships. Thankfully ye came right on time.”
“More fl-fl-fleets?” I questioned, spitting everywhere. “How many L-L-Leviathan pirates are there?”
“Five captains, which makes fifty ships. It’s odd, but it’s the Pirate Empire. I guess more ships meant more power to me brother. There’s only one fleet of Vindors, if ye were wonderin’.”
“So Helterium’s got a s-s-stone army and fifty Leviathan ships?”
“Yep. This past week, he’s been sendin’ out his statue soldiers to decimate the capital city. For the entire week, we were forced to defend the helpless and needy. And it wasn’t pretty. Blades and knives are ineffective against the stone. And our pistols just dent those rock golems. We be needin’ gunpowda. A lot of gunpowda.”
“But what will g-gunpowder do if your g-guns are ineffective?”
“The gunpowda ain’t for our guns, it’s for the weapon. Me father’s weapon is our savin’ grace, our only hope of defeatin’ me brother’s army. I’ll let the king debrief ye the rest, I gotta hurry with me crew to retrieve the weapon. Godspeed, pirate.”
The captain grabbed her famed scimitar and swiftly exited the tent. Fulcan turned towards me and slapped me on the back again.
“Thought I’d never see you again. Glad you’re back, and right on time, too.”
“Glad to b-be back.”
“What’s with the stuttering? You trying to talk like Famming?”
I chuckled, exchanging smiles with the king.
“Becoming a pirate is the l-l-last thing I’d do. I guess I’m still r-recovering.”
“Well the good news is, you didn’t miss the war yet. We didn’t want to leave you out from the most exciting part.”
“Thanks,” I replied, raising an eyebrow. The king gave a low laugh.
“You heard the captain. We were out defending Awk Roluun while you were asleep. I found my scouts, by the way. They had been adopted by some other pirates, the Taniwhas or something. When I sent more scouts to talk to them, they gave me some intel about the Leviathans. Apparently, Tyrannust was rumoured to be aboard one of the Leviathan ships at one point in time. Another account said that Kamui had been seen personally talking with the high lord. All in all, there have been many eyewitnesses confirming that the Leviathans are in league with the dark lord.”
“No s-surprise. So what is this ‘weapon’ F-Famming keeps talking about? How is it strong enough to defeat an entire army of s-stone?”
“It’s some high-tech upgrade of a normal cannon. I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, but from the search party’s report, it’s a massive, powerful, long-ranged launcher that can shoot even the heaviest payload at ease. Just think about its original purpose; to take out pirates on the sea surface from the ocean floor.”
“Well if it’s as remarkable as you s-say it is, how is the captain planning on r-retrieving it?”
“Beats me. But she does have the pin on her. Perhaps she’ll be taking out a few of the statues when she gets to the cannon on her own.”
“Your majesty King Fulcan!” A pirate proclaimed as he barged in, bearing the Vindor insignia on his chest. “Hestia wishes for you to come at once!”
As the king left the tent, something within alerted me. Something was odd about that stranger, but I couldn’t tell what. I decided to follow the king and the pirate, making sure none of the two knew I was tracking them.
It was hard to flail through the water in a concealed manner, but I managed to catch up to Fulcan. The pirate led him behind a strange outcrop on the seafloor where there was a small rusted submarine idled. I rushed around the dense underwater vegetation and passed the king and the pirate. Climbing down the hatch, I entered an airtight chamber and immediately swung to the right, ducking under a seat and enclosing myself in a tight space. In the single, swift movement, not a member aboard noticed my presence.
The heavy blades of the propeller groaned as the king entered the small submarine. Slowly, the vessel rose from the rocky outcrop and began its ascent to the surface.
The only thing I could see were two legs that dangled in front of me. The floor beneath me vibrated as the propellers brought the submarine upwards. There were at least two other pirates in the vessel; a total of five members aboard the small submarine including the king and me.
Fulcan sat silently beside the pirate that led him onboard, who sat on the seat I was hidden under.
“What does the captain want from me?” The king started, disrupting a long period of silence.
The pirate ignored him, sitting still in his seat.
“Do you know who I am?” Fulcan questioned, a tone of anger evident in his voice. “I demand an answer!”
The pirate remained silent, but his legs started to shake. Was he nervous? Why didn’t he answer the king?
Fulcan immediately stood up from his seat.
“Stop the vessel this instance!”
No one on board obeyed his command. Instead, the submarine sped up its ascent before abruptly stopping at the ocean surface, the sudden cease of motion sending the king tumbling down onto his seat. Peeking out the small window, the submarine was calmly docked beside a larger vessel. As the hatch of the submarine opened, a familiar voice greeted the king.
“Long time, my lord,” the voice snickered.
Achoro Kamui jumped down into the vessel and grabbed the king forcefully. Fulcan shook him off and threw a punch at the Leviathan captain, but he was immediately restrained by the three pirates in the submarine.
“Achoro Kamui, I hope you understand that you are committing a criminal offense!”
The captain laughed. There was fear, but he forced the laugh out.
“Looks like there’s no one to help you now, your highness. It seems the high lord was right in describing how helpless you were without your army.”
The enraged king burst out of the six arms holding him down and lunged towards Kamui, knocking the captain down and breaking his nose. Blood started pouring down the angered captain’s face as he stood up and regained his footing, only to be knocked down again by the powerful king, who threw a series of blows to the unprepared captain’s skull.
The three Leviathan pirates hastily leapt on top of the king, pinning the struggling king down. Fulcan managed to break free again, only to be greeted by more pirates that began to come into the submarine. The Leviathan fleet was evidently surrounding the submarine holding the king captive.
As the pirates heaped on top of the king, Kamui stood up and pulled out his pistol, the same scarred gun as the one he confronted Famming with.
“The high lord said it would be a disgrace if he killed the king personally. So I’ll complete his duty for him!”
There was no time to think. I exposed myself and pulled out my dual krises, slamming the captain down and cutting his throat in one swift blow. As the lifeless figure lay there in a spreading pool of blood, I jumped to my feet and closed the hatch, slaying the remaining pirates on board. It felt good. I felt good. Something in me was different since I woke up from that deep slumber. Killing those innocent lives in the submarine relieved a proliferated rage and frustration within me, and I...
I wanted more.
I pulled the king out of the pile of deceased sailors. He stared at me in a glad shock and shook my hand firmly, expressing his gratitude.
“When did you even get on?” He laughed, patting my back.
“I knew there was something wrong when I saw that V-Vindor badge. ‘The only pirate fleet that didn’t bear their own insignia on their clothes were the Vindors.’”
“Great catch, Ulterium. I didn’t even realize that. I owe you one, big time.”
“Call it even. You let me fight by your side during Zxyx, and th-that was enough.”
“My man,” the king chuckled, embracing me in a firm hug. “Let’s get out of here. I’m certain the fleet is just outside.”
“Yeah...about that. I don’t know how to d-drive a sub.”
“Nor do I. But we’ll pull through. Like you always say...”
“Improvise,” I smiled greatly.
The king walked into the cockpit of the vessel, confronted by a series of buttons and switches.
“Okay...maybe we might not pull through.”
“Eh, what can go wrong. To heck with it.”
I walked past the king and slammed the main array of buttons below me. A series of beeps and flashes of light ensued, followed by a sudden, violent oscillation of the entire vessel.
“I’ll...I’ll be back there. Just don’t kill me, it’s a criminal offense,” he weakly laughed, doubtful of what would happen.
There was a lever attached to a socket that could move in a circle. I figured it controlled the main movement of the vessel. Now I just had to determine how to get the propeller to start.
Banging began on the hatch as the Leviathan fleet became impatient. They had no knowledge of what had happened to their captain in the submarine, lifelessly buried in the deceased bodies of their comrades.
“Ah! Stop it! Get off me!” The king immediately shouted overdramatically. “Better hurry, Ulterium, I’m not an actor!”
The clamour outside stopped as I pushed more and more buttons randomly. A torpedo suddenly released from the bottom of the submarine and sank to the ocean floor.
“Oops,” I spoke innocently.
At last, the entire vessel rumbled a familiar rumble after a period of random button-pushing, slowly descending into the ocean.
“Hey!”
Angry voices shouted outside, banging all the more louder on the flimsy hull.
I pushed the joystick forward, speeding up the vessel’s descent. The Leviathan voices faded as we pulled away from the fleet with their dead crew members onboard.
“We need to move,” Fulcan spoke. “If Kamui knew where our main tent was located, there’s no doubt the other four Leviathan captains also know. That means they also know our every move.”
“Let’s hope Famming got to the cannon before the Leviathans.”
“It’s our only hope.”
“She’s our only hope.”
As we arrived at the underwater tent, we were ushered to get to Famming by true Vindor pirates. There was also a Vindor navigator who understood how to pilot the submarine, to my relief, bringing us quickly to the captain.
We arrived to Helterium’s palace, the first time I truly laid eyes on it. It was remarkable, the grand underwater castle built like an ancient temple. Green aquatic plants embraced the stone palace, and the entire garden in front was neatly littered by an army of tall, stone statues. The lofty palace rose high above the ocean floor, decorated with many windows that poured out a dim light, illuminating the whole royal structure. It was ancient, but it was an artwork.
The statues outside were imposing. Standing nearly seven feet tall, the soldiers wore a thick stone armour and blind visors. The design was clearly influenced from aquatic species, from decorative fins to embellished quills covering the bronze armour. Each statue held a bronze trident in their upraised right gauntlet and a large, bronze shield in their lowered left hand. Everything on the statues was enlarged, from breastplate to sandals. It would be ineffective for a normal warrior to wear, but proved to be deadly for these stone statues.
The Vindor navigator led us through the unmoving army of stone, weaving through the organized upright statues until we arrived outside the west wing of the underwater palace. There was a hidden door that slightly extended out of the wall, tilted sixty degrees from the seafloor. The Vindor pirate opened the hatch and led us down a staircase into a dark unknown.
After silently stepping down the blind tunnel, we approached the growing light at the end and reached some sort of balcony. Famming stood on the edge, crouched behind a short wall.
“If ye peer down, ye’ll know what I mean when I said army.”
Fulcan and I crouched down beside her and slowly lifted our head to look over the balcony wall that concealed us.
Below us was a grand auditorium filled with the same statues as the ones outside. They were also in an arranged in an organized fashioned, but this time, the statues moved. The smooth actions from the rigid rock warriors terrified me; each statue moved in unison with each other. In front of the entire army stood a man with a cloaked figure beside him; the corrupted Overlord Helterium in his blue and black flowing robe and a tainted crown with his Hydromancer. I recalled my confrontation with it back in the Chamber of Mancers, and shook off the thought of Kadava drowning.
The army of stone moved whenever Helterium gave a gesture. His hands were glowing black, evidently the power granted to him by the high lord. A plan started forming in my head, taking account of all of Helterium's troops and everyone on our side.
“Do you know what he’s planning to do once he awakens all the statues?”
“March to the main island to take out Tenebris. When yer capital falls, all hope is lost. Apparently all these elemental wars are helpin’ the high lord buy time to prepare his own legion. But if me brother takes ye out before that, the high lord automatically wins.”
“So our only option is to take him out before he turns the tables on us.”
“Yep.”
“I’ve always wondered what Tyrannust was planning to do with his own legion.”
“Not the right time to ask. We gotta go now. Look down.”
The army of stone began to exit the auditorium in a single file, marching in complete unison. As the last statue left, the first statue returned, carrying a petrified statue from the garden outside. One by one, the auditorium was replaced with non-moving warriors that were slowly given life by Helterium.
“Me brother is nearly finished. I hope me scout brought ye to the garden before comin’ here, because the ones in the gardens are the last to be awakened. After that, their conquest begins.”
“Let’s go back and talk. I got a plan.”
We returned to the large tent, only to find it destroyed. There was a note in front of it, words messily scrawled on a thin piece of bark tied to a large stone.
“Give us our captain back or our entire fleet will declare war on yours. Five fleets to one. Signed, the Leviathans.”
Famming wore a sullen look after reading the note. She had discovered what had become of Kamui after entering our body-filled submarine on our return trip.
“This ain’t good. If the Leviathans find out what Kamui be, we’ll be destroyed fer sure. And we don’t even have ships anymore.”
“What can we do?”
“I don’t know. The Leviathans are the deadliest sea dogs out there now. With all our ships sunken, there’s no way fer the Vindors to defeat the Leviathans. And like they said in their note, we’re outnumbered five fleets to one.”
“And the overlord is pressing forward. I’d get my army to assist you, captain, but then there would be no one holding the stone statues off.”
“There is one solution.”
“What do you propose, Ulterium?”
“We’ll need more fighters. More manpower.”
“That’s impossible. No one’s on our side.”
“It’s impossible now, but it’ll be our winning edge in this war.”
“Keep talking.”
“The ‘Pirate Empire’ determines which of the most powerful fleet rules the oceans, right?”
“Yep. And it looks like the Leviathans finally be holdin’ that position.”
“Not until they lay hands on that,” I spoke, pointing at the pin on her overcoat. “With that, we’ll convince every other pirate fleet out there to join our cause. We’ll turn the Pirate Empire into a Pirate Confederacy. And then we’ll outnumber the Leviathans. A couple hundred fleets to five.”
“I like yer idea, but it ain’t that easy.”
“Then we improvise.”