“It’s been one day since everyone went missing.” Tisha says, standing in Glyn’s office.

The other day Glyn, Mila, Miller, and Sam went out to sea to test a new ship. In what was supposed to be a quick trip between islands and back with plans to return during sundown. However, after a day passed, the four and their ship remained missing. With their two commanders, Glyn and Miller missing, Tisha stood up to take command, sending several of the pawns out on patrol while also trying to prevent the group from panicking. All the while, her sense of nervousness and panic grow by the second.

“There are no signs of wreckage and the fisherman hasn’t reported anything,” Zanrit says.

Pepper nods. “The fisherman can’t go out into the deep sea. But our Pieces are still active, meaning Glyn has to be alive.”

Tisha nods, putting her hand to her chest. The power flowing from the Piece inside of her was now a welcoming sensation. A sign that somewhere out there, Glyn was still alive.

“But still, what could’ve happened?” Zanrit asks. “The Warp Boat had a teleportation device on board so the group could retrieve and return to the island in case of emergency.”

“It was a test, so something might’ve gone wrong with the teleportation.”

Pepper shakes her head. “Unlikely. I examined the rune for the teleport crystal myself and it was optimal. Unless something could disable all magic in an area, it was unlikely to stop working.”

“Well, we need to figure something out.” Otso walks into the room. “The villagers are catching on and with Miller missing, it’s a big deal.”

“Is Miller that important?” Tisha asks.

“He was vice commander of our vanguard forces. With him missing, the villagers are getting worried about monster attacks.” Otso explains.

Zanrit shakes his head. “It’s a disaster for both of them to be missing at the same time.”

“For now, we should focus on trying to find them. Pepper, do you have any suggestions?”

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Pepper pauses. “Sadly, my connection to Glyn was severed. I’d need to get close to him to figure out where he is and communicate with him.”

“So, we still have to find him.”

“That should be easy,” Otso says.

“Huh?”

He holds out his hand and the Piece flows out of him. “Can’t we find Glyn with these things? The King Piece is the power source for all of these things. Can’t we follow the energy flow to find him?”

“In theory, yes. But it will take a lot of energy to reverse the energy flow, but if we can locate him, we can replenish the lost energy.” Pepper explains.

Tisha nods. “Alright. Pepper, you’re the best at controlling your Mana, so we’ll rely on you for that. We’ll take my ship and….”

Tan flies through the window, landing in the middle of the room. “Everyone's bad news!”

“What? It can’t possibly be any worse.” Tisha says.

“We have pirates!”

“Pirates!?” Tisha yells.

Otso shakes his head. “Great.”

“You guys have pirates here?”

“Why wouldn’t we? If someone has a ship and is willing to attack villages, wouldn’t that make them a pirate?” Otso asks jokingly.

Zanrit nods. “I guess they’re the same as bandits on the mainland. Although all these islands give them more places to hide.”

“So where are they?” Tisha asks.

“About an hour out. They’ll make landfall soon enough and then they’ll attack the village!” Tan yells.

Tisha grabs her bow and jumps out of the window, leaping onto the roof of the manor. Out in the distance, she sees several large ships approaching the island waving large black flags.

“Everyone prepare for battle! We can’t afford to lose ground just because Glyn is missing!” She yells at the top of her lungs.

Tan flies out and joins her on the roof. “Tan, try to figure out what beach they are landing on and let’s be there before they can.”

“Right.” She flies off, moving towards the ships.

“Otso get the others and get them ready.”

Otso climbs out the window, clinging to the side of the building. “I assume you have a plan here?”

“Yes, an easy one.” She takes an arrow and points it out towards the largest ship. The arrow flies and hits the mast of the ship, marking it. “We’re going to steal ourselves a pirate ship!”

Otso stares at her. “That’s a reckless plan.”

“I know. If you want something more logical, ask Glyn. All I know is having a new ship will help increase our chances of finding Glyn. So, I say we steal ourselves a good one.”

Otso laughs. “Yeah, this plan is reckless. But I can’t say I don’t like it. Let’s steal from the pirates!”

“Zanrit, Pepper, both of you get ready. We’re going to take them for everything they're worth!”

“Right!” The pair say in unison.

Tisha stares out at the sea with a stern expression on her face. “Glyn, don’t worry. I’ll keep the island safe. And when we find you….” She blushes and rushes forward, leaping off the roof. “I might finally find my courage.” She whispers to herself.