Meradol—a notorious tropical town located in the Midwestern Isles. If you are a sailor, dare not enter. If you are a merchant, dare not approach. But if you’re an adventurer? It depends on how much you’re willing to court death and leave your fate to the unknown. From kidnappings, theft, mugging, assault, and many more horrendous things that take place, the port city garnered fame among people as a pirate haven, and even then it wasn’t so haven-like for them.
Inside the famed Oreclam tavern, a few hundred paces far from the dock, there gathered the scum of the seas and the Midwestern Isles. Mercenaries, pirates, criminals, and fugitives alike. The tavern itself reflected the patrons that frequented it, with old and creaking wood, cheap and broken tables, and trash loitered here and there along with mold infesting the corners of the walls. And the ambiance was no less foul.
A strange stench lingered in the air, spittoons were placed at nearly every table, the gossip and glares of the patrons pierced into one’s soul, and the uncaring and brain-dead gaze of the bartender served as quite the welcoming surprises for a new patron.
Such was the case for a hooded young boy who quietly entered the tavern, but couldn’t quite escape the glares of the customers regardless. His long green hood hiding his face couldn’t veil the visible unease in his rigid movements and voice as he approached the bartender and ordered in front of the gazes of everyone else.
“Um…can I have two fruit punches?” The boy asked.
“Huh?” The bartender squinted, picking his ears. “You better speak louder, what you said?”
“Fruit punches, t-two fruit punches, please.” He repeated.
“Fruit punch?” He looked disgusted, “What are you, a child? We don’t have fruit punch.”
“Mocktail?”
“No.”
“Um, then can I have-”
“If it isn’t alcoholic, get the fuck out.”
“So…what do you serve?” The boy looked down, trying to cover his flustered face.
“Beer, rum, gin.”
“I’ll have two beers, please.”
With a fixated glare, the bartender crouched to fetch two iron tankards and a beer bottle. He pulled the cork open and poured the contents of the bottle into the two tankards.
“How much do I owe you?” The boy asked as he fetched for a leather pouch and rummaged for the money.
“Two Valns.”
“Here, thank you-” Just as the boy extended his hand to give out the money, the bartender caught his wrist. His grip was strong and unwavering as he pulled the boy closer to him, feeling the smooth surface of his hand before he took a good look at his face. A nasty grimace crept up his face before he licked his lips.
“This isn’t the place for you, boy.” He said, “Are you alone? I can keep you company if you want.”
“N-no, I’m with someone.” The boy said, trying to pull away.
“Oh no, I insist.” He said, moving his other hand to hold his chin steady.
However, a tall man draped in the same green hood intervened and slapped the bartender’s hand away before reaching for the other that caught the boy’s wrist and squeezed it into releasing him. He took the two Valns and gave only one to the man before returning the other to the boy.
“What the-”
“One more word and I’m shoving the Valns down your throat.” The hooded man threatened, “And you better keep your hands away, since there will be no next time.”
With a dissatisfied grunt, the bartender stepped back as the two hooded figures walked away. They took their seat at the farthest table near the corner, with the man sitting with his back to the wall and the boy with his back to the bar. They laid down the drinks, and the man breathed out a sigh before taking a large gulp from the tankard.
“Yuck, Meradol’s beer is always so bitter.” The man complained, “Would it kill them to make a proper one someday? Sheesh.”
“Tommy-”
“You can just leave your pint, Adrian. I’ll drink it and buy you some pineapple punch later.” Tommy said.
“No, that’s not what I mean!” Adrian retorted, glancing behind him. “Why are we here, Tommy? Meradol is the worst place in the Midwestern Isles, and this bar is the worst place in this town! Why are we here?!”
“Easy, Adrian. We’re here to investigate.” Tommy explained.
“I know, you said that before. But I just can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t know anything and this place is making me nervous!”
“Come on, Adri! We’ve been through worse!” Tommy said, trying to cheer up the boy. “Besides, I’m here with you, everything will be alright-”
Before he could finish speaking, a pirate intruded into their conversation and slammed his hand on the table, driving their chat to a momentary halt. He glanced at both of them and with no shame leaned towards Adrian’s pint and spat a disgusting blob of mucus into it before stepping away with a snarky smile along with the approving laughs of his comrades.
“Well, there goes the pint.” Tommy chuckled, “Sorry about that.”
“Tommy, please, I don’t feel safe here.”
“It’s okay, everything will be alright. Just bear with me, we have a target to spot.” He explained before fetching two pieces of paper from his pocket and handing them to the boy. Once he unfolded them, his eyes fell upon two illustrations-one of a man and the other of a woman. Though the quality was not so great, their features were visible, and they were none other than Pura and Yeli.
“Who are they?”
“These are the two pirates that put a bounty on me,” Tommy explained, sipping on the pint. “I don’t know if they’re part of a larger crew, but all I know is that they’re accompanied by an orange-haired girl from La Manca.”
“La Manca? Is she their slave?” Adrian wondered an undertone of worry in his voice upon hearing the name of that place.
“Not that I know of, the pirates that I interrogated didn’t know. Which means that these two are cooking something in the dark, they’re very secretive from what I’ve heard.”
“And we’re waiting for them here?”
“Of course not, they don’t appear in public places often, and surely not in Oreclam of all places.” He explained, “I don’t care about them or the pirates they intrigued with the bounty. I’m interested, and concerned, about that girl in particular.”
“The orange-haired one? Why so?”
“She’s from La Manca, you know what happened there last, don’t you?”
“…The massacre.”
“Exactly! The massacre!” Tommy replied, “I know for a fact that that’s not coincidental, and I know for a fact that no pirate or scum of the seas would raid that city. It’s a slave haven, the focal point of sins that even Meradol is afraid to commit. So that leaves only one option.”
“That they did it?” Adrian’s eyes widened in shock. “That can’t be! Why would they even do it for some girl?”
“Only that she’s not just some girl. What I heard is that she herself was never seen nor mentioned in public records in La Manca. Which means?”
“She’s too valuable to let anyone know or get hold of?”
“Bingo.” Just as Tommy said so, his gaze shifted towards the entrance. “Don’t make it obvious, but our targets are here.”
Adrian cautiously gazed back to see who had entered. Much to his surprise, a group of a dozen veiled men, dressed in peculiar gowns and armor barged into the tavern with sheathed jambiya daggers mounted onto their hips. A dozen men wore black scarves over their heads, while their apparent leader wore a red one that diverged from them.
“Mercenaries?” Adrian whispered, his voice shaky.
“Exactly,” Tommy replied, his eyes fixated on the men who sat down at the counter as their leader conversed with the bartender—the latter visibly intimidated by the man’s presence. “From everything I’ve gathered, the bounty was never taken seriously except by them. They’re confident that they can capture me, and I’m much more than obliged to honor their request.”
“You’re letting them capture you?”
“Of course not…not now, at least.”
“Tommy, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“What I mean is, I could unveil myself and let them capture me now. But you’re here, and you’ll stay unprotected.” Tommy sipped on the pint, “That aside, they’re not fools. If they saw me suddenly coming to this bar the day they did, surely they’d be intimidated. I want to frequent this place alone for the next couple of days if not weeks. Until they feel comfortable in trying their chances to capture me. The only reason why I came here today is to confirm that they do come here.”
“But I don’t understand why you want them to capture you?”
“Well, catching the ones that put a bounty on me is too hard since they’re always on the move and keep quiet most of the time. Hence why I’m letting the mercenaries take me right to them, much easier that way.”
“And this is all just to capture those pirates? This is ridiculous, Tommy.”
“No, this is an adventure, Adrian!” Tommy remarked with a smile, “And stopping the pirates is not my main goal. That orange-haired woman seems too valuable to be in the hands of pirates. I also want to know what happened in La Manca, something about that ordeal is just…bugging me. And the leader of those two pirates seems to be knowing what he’s doing, for the most part.”
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“…I miss Dreya.” Adrian sighed in defeat.
“That’s adventuring, boy!” Tommy said, “Now, let’s get going before we-”
Right as Tommy stood up, the Mercenaries swarmed the pair’s table. The dozen men stood glaring at them with their hands gripping their sheathed daggers, while the leader stood back with the bartender cowering behind him.
“That’s the one that robbed me!” The barkeeper said, hiding behind the mercenary leader.
“This tavern is ours.” The leader spoke with a rough, deep voice. “Which means you robbed from us.”
“Apologies, but that man is the one that started it. I can give you back your Veln however.” Tommy spoke with a calm voice as Adrian was frozen in his chair, looking back at the men with a terrified expression.
“Maybe if you give us everything,” He turned towards Adrian, “And him as well.”
“I don’t have anything of value other than Velns, sir-” Adrian stuttered.
“No, you don’t understand.” The leader interrupted, “I don’t want your belongings, I want you. You’re working your debt off.”
“You really want to try that?” Tommy chuckled, lowering his head so as to not be seen by the mercenaries. “I would advise against it. You still have a chance to walk away with two Velns in your pocket.”
“But you don’t.”
The air grew thick, and the tavern fell into silence. Everyone’s attention was directed at the unfolding feud between Tommy and the mercenaries as the dozen men unsheathed their daggers. Much to his dislike, Tommy couldn’t cause a scene or spill anyone’s blood, as much as he wanted to, for it would ruin his plan and the weeks he had prepared for it. Thus, he tapped Adrian on the shoulder and gestured for him to stand up before he stepped towards the mercenaries.
“Kill him!” The leader shouted.
“All Freeze.” Tommy retorted.
Right before the daggers of the dozen mercenaries could reach Tommy, they froze in place, a few inches from his face. Not only the daggers, but their holders, and everyone else in the tavern. Their expressions were frozen, and so were their movements, except for Tommy and Adrian.
The boy felt weak in his knees, breathing a sigh of relief as collapsed back onto his chair.
“Goddammit, Tommy!” Adrian exclaimed, “You could have done that so early!”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Tommy laughed, “Anyway, let’s get out of here quickly. This spell doesn’t last for long.”
And just like that, the hooded duo stepped away from the commotion and out of the tavern. However, before Tommy exited, he pickpocketed the leader for two Velns and put them in his pocket.
“I told you could walk away with two Velns. Well, too bad!”
Only then did he walk away and leave the tavern’s patrons frozen for many more seconds before the spell wore off. As the pair stepped out of the bar and made their way towards the dock, Tommy couldn’t help but chuckle in a cheeky, but triumphant manner.
“See? I told you we’re gonna be fine!”
“By fine, I meant keeping my heart in my chest,” Adrian argued, breathing a shallow sigh. “Damn it, Tommy. You always do that.”
“But I never let you get hurt, have I?” He wondered, already knowing the answer. “I will always protect you, never forget that.”
“But what if there comes a day when you can’t?”
“Trust me, I always will. Through thick and thin-”
“Through mud and blood, through rags and riches, through happiness and sadness. Yes, I know. I’ve heard it for the thousandth time.”
“Well, if you heard it for the thousandth time, you should believe it for the thousandth time, because I will do it!” Tommy said, comforting the boy with a pat on his head. “And hey, even if worse comes to worst, you have your jetpack! You can just fly away whenever it gets to hectic to bear! Until then, I will be with you…okay?”
Adrian paused for a moment before sighing in defeat. “Damn it… Okay, fine. I believe you.”
“Yeah! High five!”
Tommy’s words rang truer than both of them knew at the time. The sudden emergence of a threat unbeknownst to the latter shifted the tone of their adventure, of their situation, as a whole. While Tommy was left fighting the pirates alone in their ship, Adrian took to the forest, sprinting as if his life depended on it.
His jetpack ran out of coal at the worst time possible. His feet could only take him so far with the weight of the unconscious orange-haired girl on his back, and his eyes could only navigate so far into the pitch-black darkness of the forest as he ran toward the unknown.
‘Damn it, Tommy. Why did you have to leave me like this.’ Thought the boy as he felt his leg growing sore and his breath running short.
Before he could realize it, the little boy slipped on an exposed tree root, slamming onto the ground with the weight of the girl on him. He groaned as he sat up, his body aching and covered in dirt. He rubbed his eyes, his vision blurry as he searched for his glasses.
Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps hurried towards him. His panic boiled over as his hands shook in terror while searching frantically for his glasses. Upon finding them, he quickly put them on before turning towards the source of the sound…before it suddenly went silent.
“Tommy?” His shaky voice asked but met with no response.
He was quick to realize, the two pirates chasing him had halted to take him by surprise. And as if they were confirming his doubts, a rustle resonated from the bushes nearby. The hairs on the back of his neck rose in terror. His body quivered as his trembling hand reached for the last pocket on his bandolier.
He yanked out a tiny, golden glowing object in the shape of two wings. He wrapped his hands tightly around it, glowing in a brighter light as it shaped into a two-handed sword handle, rich with intricate details and engravings before the tip extended further up into the blade—a sharp and mesmerizing edge to it.
The glow ceased, and the darkness commenced. Adrian, despite carrying the weapon with ease, felt a terror he never imagined nor felt before. He couldn’t even cry as his eyes were open wide. His knees were barely standing, and even his spine felt as if it were going to collapse.
It was a first for him. Adrian, for most of his life, never felt terror. Unnerved at most, but he never felt as if his life was in danger. Tommy was his beacon of hope, the pillar of strength always supporting him. Never a day passed without the boy feeling as if he stood on the pinnacle of life, living like an immortal prince, spoiled to his heart’s content.
What made him feel afraid now of all times? Was it Tommy’s expression, was it the pirates after him, or was it…that man? Whatever it was, he couldn’t tell. But he knew one thing: His life was truly in grave danger, for the first time in his life.
“How do you want to die?” Yeli spoke, his voice resonating from a bush far behind.
Adrian hurriedly turned around, his eyes fixed on the yellow-haired man slowly making his way from the forest’s darkness. One of his sleeves was torn apart, the skin on half of his face and his entire arm burnt away from the explosive that Adrian tossed. He carried a sharp saber in his uninjured hand, grazing the soil with it as he stood facing the boy.
“…I’m-…sor-” Before the boy could finish speaking, Yeli sprinted towards him with his saber ready.
He swung at the boy, grazing his cheek as the latter stepped back. Adrian raised his sword and shielded against a hail of swings, each stronger than the other. But the sword seemed to move on its own as Adrian countered the last swing by flicking Yeli’s saber and slashing him under the arm, leaving a deep cut.
Yeli groaned and stepped back before Pura leaped from the bush behind, her knife aimed at Adrian’s neck. The sword once again moved on its own and shielded against the knife from overhead. Pura stepped back, her face twisted with furious anger as she swung once more. Aiden shielded from the knife before pairing it away, following with a slash across the girl’s torso.
The two pirates stood back, circling the frightened boy as they stood injured and bleeding, in pain yet emanating a frightful presence and grave danger. Adrian was nearly in tears, his eyes rapidly shifting from one to the other. He wanted to run away, but outrunning them was impossible, for his legs could barely stand up at that moment.
Pura dashed from behind and leaped towards the boy right as Yeli made his way with his sword ready. The sword took action once again and paired Yeli’s saber towards Pura’s leg, puncturing through it before the boy rolled away from between them.
“Ah! You little shit! I’m going to kill you!” Pura screamed as she held onto her leg.
Yeli, wasting no time, turned to Adrian and dashed towards him at an absurd speed. The sword moved to pair, but Yeli countered with a hail of stabs from his saber, the velocity of which was incredible, nearly outmatching Adrian’s strength and speed with the mystical sword. The strikes quickened and gradually grew in strength in an animalistic rage and ferocity before the final strike—breaking through Adrian’s defense.
The boy ducked right under Yeli’s swing, slashing away several rows of trees behind him. Meanwhile, Pura stood up after wrapping her leg with a torn part of her sleeve. With an explosive jump, she leaped towards Adrian before slashing a cut into his shirt.
Yeli followed with a slash stretching across the boy’s back and downing him. Adrian, in great fear, released hold of his sword as he turned towards the two pirates—the blade retracting to the glowing gold object once again. Luckily for him, the cut on his back wasn’t lethal, nor was it even bleeding. But the fear it caused him was enough to hinder his movement.
“Your vision’s not good, that’s why you got glasses, aye?” Yeli asked, “Then let’s make it worse.”
He placed the tip of his saber on the boy’s forehead, slashing a light wound horizontally across it. But the sword couldn’t cut through the boy’s skin no matter how much force the former applied.
“What the hell?!” He exclaimed with anger and dissatisfaction.
As soon as Yeli raised his sword to deliver a blow to the boy’s neck, Adrian reached for the golden wing object, squeezing it hard before it transformed once again into a sword. And right as the blade shaped into existence, Adrian thrust it deep into the pirate’s abdomen., the latter collapsing in shock and pain as he glanced down at the blade.
Still alive, he spat out blood as he turned to face Pura, who leaped towards Adrian with explosive power and speed before thrusting her knife deep into the boy’s shoulder. The knife snapped in half much to Pura’s dismay, but the boy was so instinctively terrified that he let go of the sword as he held onto his shoulder.
“Tommy! Please, help!”
Before the boy could properly finish his sentence, he felt a pressure push him down to the ground with overwhelming force, forcing him flat on his stomach. Not a moment later, a strange aura hovered over him for no longer than a fraction of a second. He knew it, Tommy must’ve heard his call for help.
As he enthusiastically looked up, he was shocked to the core by the sight of the two pirates—their decapitated bodies covered in blood, leaking like a grizzly, grotesque faucet. Their heads rolled down, frozen into a mix of confusion and shock, second before their bodies collapsed to the ground along with them.
Adrian’s terror not only doubled, but it reached incomprehensible levels. He mustered the courage and energy to rise to his feet, a feat he didn’t know was capable of at the moment but was driven by a greater fear of death than the sight in front of him. It was the first time he ever had the misfortune to see the killing of another human, and he knew it wasn’t Tommy’s doing. Whatever that strange aura that hovered over him was, he knew it had something to do with the blue-haired man, especially upon viewing the area in his surroundings. Every living creature or tree that had the misfortune to be a meter or so higher than the ground was met with the same grizzly outcome as the pirates.
Gathering the strength and courage left in him, he reached for his sword again before snatching Ora onto his back, making his path away from the gruesome commotion with a limping stride. However, his energy was dealt a drastic blow from his battle to the death, now struggling to even properly catch his breath.
Right as he reached an open field out of the forest, the boy heard a deafening explosion resonate from the ship in the river. A cloud of smoke erupted into the sky and with it an object came flying towards Adrian. The object passed overhead and smashed into the soil with a thud. The boy, shaken into an alert state of cautious fear, let go of Ora as he approached the object steadily. And as the dust cloud faded from view, the figure of the blue-haired man faded in—face planting into the dirt, motionless and breathless.
The figure sent shivers down Adrian’s spine as he immediately raised his sword, and swung it downwards with every ounce of strength that every cell of his body could muster. As the sword made contact with the man’s nape, the blade snapped, much to the boy’s dismay.
“Argh…” The blue-haired man groaned as he slowly stood up, “You filthy, little, miserable creature!”
With a disinterested look and a tinge of annoyance, the man yanked the sword from Adrian’s hand before shattering it into thousands of pieces with a single squeeze from his grip. The boy was left speechless as he collapsed to the ground, slowly crawling away as his legs were no longer able to carry his weight.
“Where’s Tommy?” He asked, trembling.
“Why do you care, you sickening little pest? You will end up like him soon enough.” The man said as he slowly approached the boy, “How weren’t you decapitated? Oh, so that’s why? Did he sacrifice his arm to help you? What a foolish, foolish man. No wonder he lost. But respectable, I guess.”
The man’s words sent shivers down the boy’s spine. His hero couldn’t lose, he was the strongest that the world could offer! Could he be lying? If so…why isn’t he injured? But the boy couldn’t think as the man raised his palm flat towards him.
“No, you will pay for what he did. I won’t kill you. Actually, no, I will. But I will make it hurt. It will hurt so badly that you won’t even scream.”
All hope was lost as the boy saw the hand creeping towards him, emanating an aura of death and despair as it reached for him. As his life flashed before his eyes, the boy could only think about the beautiful and fun adventures he had with Tommy, someone no less than a family member and his favorite human being. But one thing ached at the back of his mind, a painful thought that bugged him, mocked him even, in his dying moments:
‘Why does the first bad adventure have to be where I die? I hate this, it’s so unfair. I wish I could’ve just…not been a dead weight, Tommy.’