Chapter 19: Knocking the Door

Zack

Quincy placed a pint of ale on the counter. The oak gently knocked as the tankard touched it.

“On the house son, it’s the least I can do after hearing a story like that.” said the ketan bartender as he swiftly went to help another customer. Zack didn't acknowledge the pint of ale. Too caught up in returning properly to his past. It had overtaken him. Thomas sat to the left of him, he seemed to have a sorrowful, almost sympathetic face. He quickly rose from his stool and left without saying a word. Yami still sat to his right, he waited a moment before speaking.

“This Matthew bloke sounded like a good lad. I’m sorry to hear wit happened to ya mate.” Yami took the ale that was sat in front of Zack and began to drink it himself. Zack gave him a distasteful look.

“What?” Yami said innocently “You wernae gonna drink it were ya?” Zack drew his lips to a line and looked back down to the counter, returning to his sorrow. “I can see why you want im dead. But just remember what Matthew told ya. You’ll be left withoot a purpose if you seek revenge…and it might no bring the resolve you think it might.”

The three boys sat around at a table early in the morning. Quincy had opened the inn early to let them discuss before setting out to the battleship.

“Right here’s what I've got,” said Thomas as he raised himself a bit higher from the table. “Nalory is the commander who’s been stationed at that ship. Seen her with a group of soldiers entering through the bridge. I doubt Vholeria would station two commanders”

“Nalory? Bloody ell she's still kicking about?” Said Yami.

“Have you met her” Asked Zack

“Aye, got a mouth on ere but she’s Vholerias best when it comes ta wind magic”

“Is the ship setting sail?” Asked Zack

“I don't think so. It didn't look operational from when I saw it but then again I'm no shipwright. I imagine they're doing work to it and she’s been told to keep the lot of soldiers in charge.”

“I'd say that’s promising. Best case we should probably get some info oot the lass aboot Vholeria and The Dark Slayer before we finish er.” Said Yami. He stood up as did the other two “Right Zack, boots on, and let’s go. Thomas, smashing job as always, get back to the sanctuary and help out however you can. Drinks are on me when we get back.”

“What you don’t want me to come as well? I can handle myself.”

“Not for this one Thomas, could get a wee bit intense” Said Yami, lowering his voice and speaking in a bit of a serious tone - as serious as Yami could be at least - Thomas seemed to immediately understand what he meant by his tone and did not push further.

“Fair enough, see you back at the sanctuary you two” He jogged off and turned to Zack and pointed “Uhh…good luck out there Zack,” he said with a quick smile and paced out of the inn. Yami patted Zack on the back.

“I think he’s taking a liking to ye mate” Zack scoffed but smiled lightly.

The two of them approached the battleship from the harbor it sat at, just on the edge of breaking into Atlus’s border. The terrain had slowly changed from a lush green landscape to a dead rocky landscape, with no towns or villages for a few miles. A sign they were nearing the border to enter Vholeria. That country was a sight for sore eyes. Both Yami and Zack hid behind a damp rock as they surveyed the outside of the ship. Zack looked out over the rock, The Battleship was a gigantic steel titan, it almost looked the size of a city. A grey behemoth that sat in the ocean with strange-looking cannons that protruded all around the ship, almost like a giant bear that slept in its cave, waiting to strike if it was woken. He was told by Thomas that the ship was supposedly powered by crystals infused with magic. A recent invention from Vholeria and this battleship was the testing dummy for using a much larger crystal as the core to fuel the ship. That was what he was told, but he didn't understand very much of it “Aye, Thomas mentioned they'd taken up the bridges that lead up into the ship, might be a wee bit tricky to get in.” Yami said peeking out from the side.

“It’s fine, I've got a way to get in,” Zack said as moved around the rock. Yami gave him a confused look.

“You're not Vholerian assassin too are ya?”

“That would make things easier but no, I can use my magic to get in,” Zack said as he rose from behind the rock and began to approach the body of water separating the ship from the dock

“Good lad, I've got a wee trick to get up there in case you were wondering about leaving me all on my lonesome,” said Yami following to catch up with Zack.

“I was actually” Yami smirked at him

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“You wains should have a bit of respect for your elders.” He summoned four translucent blades to the side of him with no gesture. They floated in the air like swords that were hung against the wall.

“Let’s make it quick then, Dinae want to get caught by their guard” Yami approached the edge of the dock and his swords followed with him. As if they were tracking him and following his movements. As he approached, Yami ran into a full sprint and lept off the dock. The silver swords zipped quickly in front of him and formed underneath, They formed in a circular pattern and acted as a foothold. As he stepped on the swords with his right leg and pushed off, They quickly reassembled to form another foothold for his left leg. His swords repeated this pattern, allowing Yami to ascend up the footholds as if he was sprinting up a flight of stairs. With a quick motion, he made one last leap and hopped onto the lowest deck, his red cloak billowing behind him in the wind, passing over the railing as he did and landing on his feet. He turned round and looked back down to Zack who was still down on the docks. Yami waved up, signaling him to follow. Zack nodded to him and his body began to emit blue specs of light that slowly changed to purple. His body burst with a jolt of lighting that ran through his body and traced along it. A moment later, Zack zipped to stand right next to Yami. A trail of thunder trailed behind the path he took, and lighting sparked around him as he appeared. The lighting then soon disappeared from his body as he returned to his normal state. Zack gave Yami a small smirk as he appeared. Yami scoffed and passed by him, patting Zack’s shoulder as he did.

“Bloody showoff,” Yami said as he passed by him. The two snuck slowly across the decks, being wary of any Vholerian soldiers and keeping themselves low. The two reached the back of the ship and stopped before turning around the corner. Both of them peeked around the corner and saw swarms of soldiers standing amongst a pile of cargo, it was a large deck, it matched the rest of the ship and the number of soldiers reflected that. The soldiers wore more contemporary forms of armor. It looked more like what they wore in the Blue Swords. Not as barbaric or holy compared to Ash and Atlus respectively. Still, most were adept in magic, a vast majority were ketan which granted them additional prowess in magic so it was best not to mistake them as regular mercenaries. Zack sighed at the sight of them.

“Please tell me you have a plan,”

“Well if Thomas is right, Nalory should be on the bridge of the ship. Hmm, how about this? You sneak up through the cabins into the hull and see if you can get on the bridge. Once you find Nalory it's up to you how you want to beat that info out of her. Good plan if is say so myself”

“How is that a good plan? You want me to face her on my own?” Zack asked dumbfounded.

“Aye, you can do that right?” Yami said trying to goat Zack on

“If she’s a commander then maybe I can.”

“No maybes aboot it. You said yerself you wanted to get info oot er.” Yami said sternly. He’s right. I do, I want to find out all I can about him.

“What about you though?”

“Good question, I will keep all the soldiers company once you reach Nalory,”

“All these soldiers on your own?”

“Aye, I may be ald but I can still keep up with you sunshine.” Zack sighed

“Fine, how do I let you know once I've found her?” He asked looking back up at the ship to get another look.

“Hmm, Wave?” Zack turned to Yami in a snap with a deadpanned face.

“No!” Zack said flatly, shooting down Yami.

“Ah, it was worth a go. Nah don't worry mate I’ll know. Have a bit of trust and leave that to me.” Zack nodded and turned the other way to enter the nearest cabin. As he did, Yami grabbed his arm to stop him, Zack turned back to face Yami in response.

“Be careful mate” He said with a rare serious look to his eyes. Zack hesitated before responding but it felt right to reciprocate the feeling.

“You too” Zack entered through the nearest metal sliding doors that led to the balconies. He kept low and hugged the walls. The cabins were sterile and cold, comprised of metal compartments and no amenities. Perhaps these weren't used for barracks Zack thought to himself. He left the cabin and was met with a series of long hallways. They were lit with what looked like small crystals with a fire spell contained within. When he looked close, the flames animated and danced inside. They seemed to light the hallway better than a regular torch. How long has Vholeria had this for? Zack snuck past the Vholerian guards, he wasn’t a thief by any measure but working as an assassin taught him how to be subtle, at least for endeavors like this. As he rose through the floors. He began to get slightly nervous, It had been a while since he fought another magic user alone in a duel, especially one on the level of a commander. The promise of getting solid information about The Dark Slayer however let him see this through and stave of his worry. Zack eventually reached what he imagined was the bridge of the ship judging by the change in decor, more royal and less sterile. He ascended through the floors faster than he thought he would. The soldiers were spread thin across the large ship which made it easier. As he hugged the wall he poked his head through the doorway. It looked to be a luxurious room with a gigantic window that looked out over the deck of the boat. The room had tables and suites with fruit placed across them and large tomes adorned the walls. Among the chairs sat a woman, she was tall, with a brown bob cut and she wore a black dress. Zack couldn't see much more as she sat in a chair at a slight distance but he could tell it was Nalory, the presence she gave off and prior intel he was given confirmed this. She sat alone however in the fancy room, no guards could be seen. Come to think of it, there weren't any guards assigned to the doorway either. Even if they were spread thin on soldiers they would still guard their commander, though, this could just be overconfidence on her part. Most commanders were rather full of themself in Atlas, but this culture may have differed between countries. Zack had already prepared his entrance plan before he reached the door and was ready to act. Zack reached into his worn-in leather pouch and pulled out a smoke bomb he had purchased from a vendor in Crail. The bomb had a fuse on the top and looked to be made out of a brittle stone mashed back together judging by all the imperfections on it. Zack placed his palm above the fuse and lit it using a small spark of electricity. His roofed palm glowed purple as he did so and the fuse was lit. Sparks flew from the top as the wick began its course. He quickly rolled it into the room and as he did, he braced himself against the wall. He heard the bomb’s shell fall apart signaling the bomb went off. He turned the corner quickly and entered the room, drawing his blade as he did. That was more powerful than I thought it was thought Zack. The bomb had flooded the large room with smoke. So much smoke that Zack could barely see in front of himself, if he tried to move there would be a good chance he would trip over one of the tables. As he tried to adjust his eyes and get his bearings. He felt a small draft of wind…then a strong burst of wind that staggered him.