“Brute force against the beast is useless.” Blackblood stated. “I have seen this beast push trees over with its bare hands. Its strength is unlike anything I have ever encountered in my travels.”
The group stood inside a grass hut that had a small makeshift table. Laying on the table was a crudely drawn map of the island they were on. The map indicated the cave to the north leading to the now isolated pirate village, several spots that were marked as fallen trees, and of course the temporary camp. Nearby Taylen paced back and forth, Kaiten and Iyouboushi watched unmoving, Kurando shook with worry, Taylen’s parents whispering to themselves, Vinard writing feverishly in a book in the corner of the hut and Sang, sitting with his eyes closed.
“Hope is not yet lost,” Blackblood continued. “The beast seems to have very low intelligence. As I tried to escape from it when it saw me, it ran into several trees and became confused before giving up the chase.”
“At least we have this going for us” Taylen said.
“Perhaps we can confuse it.” Kaiten said, glancing around the room. “Get it disoriented.”
“And then do what with it?” Vinard stopped writing for a moment. “Offer it tea?”
“Kill it?” Kaiten glared. Vinard shrugged and resumed writing. “If it’s confused we should have an advantage in combat. It’s hard to hit what you can’t see straight.”
Iyouboushi looked at Kaiten. “It’s a nice plan but it may prove difficult and should the beast become oriented again, we would have ourselves a very big problem.”
“Indeed. We will have to fight it fast.”
Blackblood gave a hearty laugh. “This is the best plan yet. I like it.”
Kurando gave off a yawn, starting a chain reaction around the hut.
“It is late, we are tired. If this is the plan we have settled on then we should sleep and be well rested” Sakura suggested.
“Aye. Sleep in any tent you choose. They may not be the most comfortable, but they are safe.” Blackblood turned and left the tent.
Vinard snapped his book closed and stood up. “This has been a most dreary experience.” Without another word he left. Sang remained unmoving in his meditative pose.
“Come on Quaram. Let’s go sleep. We have a big day in the morning.”
Iyouboushi nodded and left the hut, followed by Kaiten. Taylen and his parents stood behind with Sang. “I am so glad you came Taylen” his mother started, nodding to her husband.
“I am just glad you are safe” Taylen said. He sighed.
“We are sorry to worry you” Gasper said. “We were delivered an emergency letter and were required to head to Bikko without any time to tell you.”
“What happened in Bikko?”
“We were only informed that a tragedy had occurred there and that our healing abilities were needed.” Sakura stepped forward and gave her son a hug. “When we finish here we must continue on our path there.”
“If we survive.” Taylen said.
“We will. I have faith in those here” Gasper adjusted his glasses. “In any case, let us get some sleep and come back fresh in the morning.”
Taylen was left alone with Sang, who remained motionless. “Good night strange monk.”
Much needed sleep came to all across the island except for Taylen, who tossed and turned. He sighed and sat up. Opening his hut he saw the star-filled sky and a bright moon, three-quarters full reflecting light upon the ocean. “Such a beautiful night.” He paced around the beach. The whooshing of the waves made him smile and think back ten years ago, when he was just eight.
“Mommy, mommy. What’s that thing?” The eight year old Taylen sat on a beach next to a red animal with pincers.
“That’s a crab, dear.” Sakura looked much younger, despite still having her silver hair.
“Crab?” he reached over and tried to pet it. It snapped its claws around his fingers and pinched, bringing him to tears in pain. “Owwie. I don’t like crabs.”
The grown Taylen laughed at how naieve he was. He yawned and returned to his tent. Finally a wave of sleep overcame him and he drifted off into his dreams.
They were all awoken individually by Blackblood who gathered everyone except Sang in front of the huts. “I have some bad news,” he stated. “Sang came to me in the early hour of dawn and informed me that our plan would not work.”
“What?” Taylen rubbed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Monks have highly developed third eyes,” Vinard said snobbishly. “Even dogs know that.” Taylen shot him an icy glare.
“He had a vision. Saw what would happen. Needless to say, it did not end well.” Blackblood shook his head. “Death.”
Everyone winced. “I don’t want to die” Kurando said.
“Aye, none of us do.”
“Now wait, how are we supposed to know if what Sang saw willy truly come to pass?” Iyouboushi voiced his concern.
“Monks are never wrong when it comes to their visions of the future.” Vinard’s voice was growing annoyed.
“That is why we will not be going through with the plan until we can conceive something better. Any ideas?” There was no response, nor did he really expect one.
Taylen sighed. “If only we could bind the beast and hurt it at the same–” he snapped his fingers a few times. “That’s it.” A light bulb had gone off in his head. “We’ll pinch it to death.”
“Beg your pardon?” Vinard raised his eyebrow. “Pinch.. it to death?”
“Like a crab’s pincers. Yes.”
“And just how do you plan on us pinching a beast that can push trees over with hits brute strength to death?”
“I’ll invent a device that will do it.”
Iyouboushi and Kaiten smiled. “Yes, that’s ingenious” Iyouboushi said. Kaiten nodded. Nearby Eisen popped his head out of the sand and screeched.
“Quaram and I agree with the idea” Kurando said. “Though personally I think it’s lacking the fire aspect of a good plan.”
“Fire is not always a good plan.”
“So you say Iyouboushi but I disagree.”
Blackblood cleared his throat to regain the attention of everyone. “How long will it take you to build the device?”
Taylen looked around. Palm trees, huts, the boats in the distance and lots of sand is all he saw. “I’m not even sure we have the materials here necessary” he said sadly. “Assuming I can find some materials to work with, it might take me several days to get built and working.”
Blackblood sighed loudly. He was beginning to feel frustrated. He hadn’t been to his home in so long he wondered if anyone trapped on the other side believed they were ever coming back. “So be it. Me men and I will help you round up the various pieces of materials ye require. Should we be unable to find any, we will resume piracy until we get them.”
Everyone frowned. They did not like the idea of having to become pirates to retrieve materials. Iyouboushi, Kaiten, Taylen and Kurando even less so since they were told by Alus to kill the pirates and stop piracy from happening. “Hopefully you’ll find everything you need here” Kaiten said, “so we don’t risk giving ourselves away.”
“I agree” Taylen said, walking back towards the rowboat to the ship.
Everyone on the island spend the better half of the day gathering up all pieces of metal, rope, cloth and wood that they could spare. Upon looking at the very small pile of metal Taylen frowned more. “It’s not enough” Taylen said. “The rope and wood amounts are fine but we need more metal.”
“Then piracy it is.” Blackblood stood strong and marched towards his ship along with all of his men. The group stood and stared. There seemed to be little choice in the matter. Without getting the metal they needed the pirates would be unable to defeat the creature. Without beating the creature they would never be able to return home, which in turn meant the pirate attacks would never stop until they were dead. If that were to happen, the volunteers on the island would remain here and it would become their tombs.
Taylen gulped at the thought. “Come on. We have to help them. We can hide our faces with some spare cloth.”
The course of events over the next few days was very interesting for the group. They learned what it meant to be intimidating and to be a pirate. They robbed every ship blind of metal that they could find–armor, chests, weapons, other tools, anything. They also made sure no one saw their faces. After what seemed like forever, they finally had enough metal.
“I’ll start working on the device immediately” Taylen said, unstrapping a piece of cloth that covered his head and face as they reached the island.
Days and nights became a blur to him as he worked feverishly taking very little time to sleep. His tools danced gracefully in his hands as he pounded metal and worked what appeared to be magic to everyone who had little understanding of engineering. Meanwhile, everyone spent their time preparing to face a powerful beast with training, meditating, and resting.
Three days came and went before Taylen finally wiped his brow and smiled. Laying on the ground before him was a round donut-shaped device that hummed. He bent down and picked it up. “Perfect” he said and exited the hut where he worked.
Everyone was found and gathered. The sun was high in the sky. “Taylen, have you finished the device?” Blackblood asked.
He presented it to everyone. No one spoke except Vinard. “And what is that, exactly?”
“Observe, you disbeliever.” Taylen walked over to a small palm tree that stood half his height and placed the donut-device around the base. Within a few seconds the device began to spin and constrict, ending with the tree being sliced in half. “Ta-da!”
“I’ll give you this one” Vinard said, scribbling madly in his book.
“Excellent, son” Gasper said. “I knew your engineering training would pay off one day.”
“There is just one problem though” Taylen said, nodding to his father and reaching down to pick up the device. “Someone still has to put the device on the beast.”
“Not I” Vinard said, not even glancing up.
“Like we would even ask you, you coward” Blackblood said.
“I will put the device on the beast” Kaiten said. Eisen screeched in objection and Kaiten put his hand up to silence him. “I can leap the highest and force the device over the beast’s body. The beast will have to be standing still though.”
“Which means we need to confuse it, right Quaram?” Kurando held the helmet up and looked at it.
“Kurando, Blackblood and I can do the confusing” Iyouboushi said. “If we all dash in and out, all around it the beast may become confused on who to chase and stand still long enough for Kaiten to place the device on it.”
“And Sakura and I will stay close and out of sight in case something goes wrong” Gasper said.
“Aye. Good plan. Let’s do it.”
The trek across the island was a tense one. Kaiten held the device close with his polearm strapped to his back. Eisen flew close by, silently. Every few minutes everyone would stop and listen, trying to hear if the beast was nearby. Each time was silent.
“It must be in the cavern that leads to the other side of the island” Blackblood stated.
The cavern entrance was well hidden on the island. Even Blackblood was confused at first on where to find it. When they did find it and peel back the brush hiding it, the group saw that it was dark and damp. Taylen used his light to see better but there was very little to see. A breeze blew through from the outside in, creating a howl that made Kurando jump.
“Now what?” Kaiten whispered. “There doesn’t seem to be enough room to jump in here.”
“Simple. We get it to chase us out” Iyouboushi whispered back, stretching. “Go wait outside the entrance.” Without another word, Iyouboushi took off running into the cavern disappearing into the darkness.
“So much for the plan” Taylen said. Everyone backed out of the cavern and hid in nearby brush. Kaiten held the device tight. He had to be ready to leap at a moment’s notice.
A loud echo roared in the cave and Iyouboushi ran out of the cavern wide-eyed. “Kaiten, now!”
Kaiten jumped into the air as a massive dark-brown colored minotaur charged out of the cave after Iyouboushi. The minotaur was a massive beast standing at least seven feet in height with two massive horns sitting on top of its bull head. The rest of the group jumped out of the brush and yelled then ran every which way. The minotaur stared, confused as to who to follow.
With a crash, the device had been slammed down upon the minotaur’s body. It roared in anger and began to flex, trying to break the device. Kaiten ran back to the rest of the group who stopped to watch. The device came to life and began to spin and hum loudly. It became a fight of strength. The device tried to constrict and the minotaur was flexing. Smoke poured out of the machine as it worked harder and harder, fighting the massive strength.
“This is bad” Taylen said, “the device may not last at this rate.”
The minotaur began to roar in agony, as the device cut into its skin, pushing tighter and tighter. Tried as it might, it was not able to stop the device. It constricted tighter and finally the beast collapsed. The device sparked and fell dead, unable to cut completely through the minotaur that lay unmoving on the ground.
“Is it dead?” Blackblood asked.
“If not, it soon will be” Iyouboushi said, drawing his katana.
With the deed done, Blackbeard give a cheer while picking up the head of the minotaur. Taylen bent down and looked at the device. It was completely burned up and unusable. He shrugged and stood back up. “We are free of the beast. We can go home, finally. Let us go back to camp and you all will be free to go.”
Everyone was cheering when Blackbeard returned with the head in hand. “Pack up, men” he said smiling. “Tonight we return home.”
The rest of the day was spent packing all the temporary huts up and preparing to head back through the cavern. When they were finished, Blackblood approached the group. “Thank you for all the help ye have provided. Trust me, one day we shall repay ye for all the hard work. And rest assured, the days of piracy are over.”
“There is still one remaining matter” Iyouboushi said, coming up out of a bow. “We must make Crim believe you are dead.”
“Aye. That would be best.”
“Let’s set this temporary base on fire” Taylen suggested.
“That may just work” Blackblood agreed. “Crim will see the smoke from one of their war vessels and come to investigate. When they arrive they will find this village burnt to the ground and go along with your story that we are dead.”
“What if they come into the cavern?”
“The entrance to the cavern is well hidden as you saw yourself and the real village is protected by the massive whirlpool on the other side. Rest assured, we will be all right.”
“Then it’s a win-win situation for us all” Kaiten said. He smiled. Eisen screeched and did a mid-air flip. “Come on everyone, let’s go.”
The Nomad Phoenix sailed away from the island. The huts were dacing with flame and smoke. Kurando stood on the deck of the ship laughing maniacally at his work. Taylen and his parents were addressing the captain.
“Now listen,” Taylen spoke. “Crim wants the pirates dead. We’ve given them exactly that. Should they find out otherwise all of us may be labeled as traitors and go to prison. You don’t want to go to prison do you?”
The captain gulped and shook his head no. “No sir, not at all.”
Elsewhere, Sang sat unmoving and Vinnard continued writing. “These dogs seemed to have overcome great adversities” he said, his pen flailing in the book. “How interesting.”
Kaiten and Iyouboushi retired to the cargo hold while Taylen and his parents spoke.
“We are so proud of you Taylen” Sakura said. “You’ve done us both proud.”
“But there is something we have to warn you about” Gasper said, adjusting his glasses. “Not everything is as it seems in Crim.”
“What do you mean?”
“What your father is trying to say,” Sakura said, “is that Alus cannot be trusted.”
“Why? He’s the king’s most trusted advisor.”
“Listen. Alus was originally in jail when Seifay chose him as his adviser. Jailed for creating a powerful potion that would cause whoever drank it to change appearances into whoever he or she wished. The kingdom felt such a powerful potion would be too dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. After all, someone could drink it and appear as the king himself and throw the country into chaos.” Gasper took a breath and then continued. “I cannot say why Seifay appointed Alus shortly after he came into the throne, only that Alus is a powerful and dangerous man. He should not be trusted.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
It was night time when the ship finally sailed back into Port Crim. Vinard left without saying goodbye to anyone. Sang stood up, bowed deeply, and also left without a word. Everyone else gathered on the dock.
“I’m sorry we cannot go with you Taylen,” Sakura said. “We still must rush to Bikko and help with whatever happened there.”
Gasper nodded. “It was nice meeting all of your friends. Perhaps we’ll meet again in the future.”
“Mom. Dad.” He gave them a hug and they walked off to a different section of the port to board a ship bound for Bikko.
“I must report to Alus,” the captain said.
“Remember captain,” Taylen narrowed his eyes, “if you tell anyone anything that we have done other than burning that village, we will all pay.”
“You do not have to remind me twice, sir. I shall keep my mouth silent.”
“Now what?” Kaiten said.
“I must really be returning to my home in Erutoru. My master will be waiting.” Iyouboushi looked up into the night sky.
“Do you really have to go this very moment?” Taylen’s stomach growled. “I’m quite hungry. Let us unwind and spend one final evening together at my favorite restaurant–the Sini-Star.”
“I could also go for a meal” Kaiten agreed.
“Then it’s settled. We’re off to the Sini-Star.”
