Chapter 3 - At Sea

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Ace had never seen one before, but the legends he heard were true. A weapon capable of killing someone in an instant, even from a distance, had just taken his mentor and guardian’s life. It seemed so otherworldly, magical to him. He felt like he was hallucinating, and wondered if there was anything he could have done against that unstoppable power. He wondered what else he did not know about the world, and for the second time in his life, truly felt weak. He had failed to protect his family from slavers not once, but twice.

The brigands managed to subdue all the men on board and Luna in ropes, then shoved them into the brig of their ship. All the women and children ran away from the docks, but their wails could be heard from inside their captor's ship. The slavers then set sail away from the home Ace grew up in, and he wondered if he’d ever see it again.

The men gathered in the brig and wondered what would become of their fate. Worried glances were shared with each other, not much else was said until Rook spoke up.

“I can’t believe Joel is dead. We’ve had peace for so many years that we grew complacent. I should have been more cautious. If it wasn’t for my poor choices as a leader, Joel would be here right now.”

The brig was damp and cramped, ten of them shoved into a space meant to keep just a few. After his regretful testament, Rook then was silent, a hateful sorrowful look on his face spoke louder than any words could.

Rook had spent most of his life with Joel and didn’t have a closer friend in the world. As an only child, rook considered Joel a brother. It was Rook’s responsibility to keep the village safe, and he failed them. Ace burned with resentment, he would find an opportunity for revenge, and murder every last one of the slavers when he had the chance.

“It’s my fault too. If only I was stronger… I should have been able to protect the village. I could have stopped them. I should have trained more, practiced my fighting skills. If I could have done more, Joel would still be alive.” he said.

Rook looked at Ace and thought for a moment.

"Listen, Ace. Strength is not just about the size of your muscles or the sharpness of your blade. True strength comes from here." Rook said, pointing to Ace’s heart "It's about courage, honor, and the willingness to protect others. If you really want to protect the people you love, remember, a warrior's greatest weapon is not his sword, but his spirit. Keep your heart strong, and you will protect those you love, no matter what challenges come your way. We can’t let this ruin us, we have to return home to protect the village.”

After about a day at sea, a tanned slaver with long black hair approached the brig with some bread. He threw it inside and told them to eat.

“You’re not worth anything if you starve.”

Ace and Luna looked at the bread and then back to the guard.

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“Could we have some meat, we can't eat that.”

“Pfft, I hardly get meat, deal with it.”

There was hardly any bread to be shared between the ten men, and so Ace let everyone else eat. He couldn’t stomach bread anyway. Another day passed. They mostly sat in silence. Ace spent most of his time embracing Luna, praying nothing bad would happen to her. Whilst holding each other Luna spoke,

“Ace, if we get out of this, do you think we can go home? I'm scared, I want to see our family in the village again.”

“I’ll get you out of this, I’ll find a way.” he assured, “we’ll get out of here, and we’ll go home, I promise.”

Suddenly, Ace’s instincts were triggered and he let go of his sister. He jumped up and leaped over her, coming down onto the neck of a skinny black rat. It had climbed under the door of the brig, in search of food perhaps, or for a place to stow away. Ace ripped it in half and presented half to Luna with a smile.

“See? Our luck is looking up already.”

He forced a smile. He was feeling terribly sad and weak, but put a smile on for his sister. He remembered what Rook told him. He had to have a strong heart, or Joel and the other’s deaths won’t be the last.

Ace swallowed the rat carcass in one bite since he was as hungry as he’d ever been. He looked over to his sister to see her licking her lips after swallowing it too. It tasted like a moldy shoe, but he didn’t have the liberty of being picky. Since he and Luna couldn’t eat bread, they were as hungry as ever.

Another day passed. One of the men injured by a sword in the fight complained of pain and had a high fever. Rook diagnosed that the wound in his arm was infected. With herbs and clean bandages, he would make a recovery. When the black-haired man came to give the prisoners their daily bread, Rook asked for medicine and bandages.

“We don’t have any of that to spare on you lot, you’re lucky enough you get bread. You bastards killed five of my friends. If it was my choice I’d stab most of you myself.” the black-haired man spit, then closed the door behind him.

The next morning was quiet. The man with the infected wound cried and screamed in pain all night, until deafening silence filled the air. He died just as the sun was rising. The guards took his corpse and threw it overboard. Rook led a short sermon in remembrance of the man.

Their voyage continued; Ace and Luna caught another rat on their fourth day at sea and shared it. It didn’t satiate their hunger, but was better than nothing. Ace even had a passing thought about having a bite of his dead comrade the other night, but the desire passed when he saw the looks on his fellow men’s faces, especially Rook’s.

On the sixth day of their voyage, without pretty smooth sailing, Ace could hear seagulls and commotion above the deck. The man with the black bandana and a few more thugs came into the brig and commanded them all to sit except for Rook.

Nobody had any words of protest, since they knew how their captors were. However, Ace looked for opportunities to free himself and his friends. Starting with Rook, the man with the bandana had them stand and shackled each prisoner. The sounds of a busy port came to Ace’s ears. Bandana Man had the prisoners line up and walk out to the front of the ship. Ace was scared; he looked at Luna and wondered what would happen to the two of them.

When he left the brig, the light stung his eyes. Once they were adjusted to the bright light, he gazed upon something he had never seen before. A massive castle stood in the distance.It looked strange to him, it had a pyramid shape but it seemed like an older structure made up its base. Surrounding the large structure was a great stone wall with towers every fifty meters or so.

Beside the castle, on a hill, was a grand and looming structure, Ace couldn’t understand what it was. Houses and shops littered the area outside the castle walls, some looking foreign to him. Ace assumed these strange buildings were remnants of the world before the Great Calamity. He had heard about such places but had never seen it himself. Spanning as far as he could see, a busy and lively city impressed him. Ace was struck with awe at the size of this city, since he had only ever experienced his small village.

The port was massive too. About twenty enormous ships were docked, and twenty more ships about the size of his captors’ were parked there too. He could see hundreds of people, all seemingly busy with important tasks. Loading and unloading cargo, fishing, and filleting, barking orders, and hurriedly carrying out tasks. Ace’s sharp ears could hear that most people there were shouting in a language Ace had never heard before.

“Where are we?” Ace asked Bandana Man in shock.

“Aah,” Bandana Man grinned, “Welcome to New Cancún!”