A fleet of boats sped through the ocean. Huge wakes were left behind as they roared across the waters, traveling at a breakneck speed. A few crew members could be seen floating in the air, tied to the railings of the boat to prevent themselves from falling off.
“Captain, I see land!” the crew member in one of the boat’s crow’s nest shouted.
The captain, a miserable-looking man tied to the main mast of the ship, groaned. “Thank the Lord.” He craned his neck, peeking at the horizon. Evidently, his crew member had a better view than he did since he couldn’t see anything at all except for the endless ocean. “Before we reach land, I think we should figure out a very serious problem. How do we stop the boat?”
The crew members exchanged glances with each other. A devil had cursed their boats, increasing their speeds and inflating their sails. Even when the wind blew the other way due to the boats’ extreme speeds, their sails remained full of air, pushing the boats forward into the headwinds. If even nature couldn’t stop their boats from advancing, how were they supposed to do the same? “What if we cut the sails free?” one of the crew members asked. “That should stop the boat, right?”
Another crew member snorted. “Once we cut them free, how are we going to go back home without them? Are you a tailor? Are you going to knit us a sail out of nothing? We can’t afford to lose these magic sails; instead, we should find a way to tame them.”
“Well, whatever we decide to do, we have to do it soon,” the crew member up in the crow’s nest said. “I reckon, at the speed we’re going, we have fifteen seconds before our boats crash against the shore.”
“Cut the sails free!” the captain shouted. “It doesn’t matter how we’re going to get home if we die on impact while landing!”
“Tsk, that’s such a waste.” The crew member who argued for keeping the sails shook his head. Then, he pulled on the rope attached to his waist, dragging himself back onto the boat from the air. He stretched his hand out and grabbed one of the ropes keeping the sail in place and cut at it with the knife he kept tied around his waist. Unfortunately, his knife seemed to be a bit dull, and the rope wouldn’t cut.
“I can’t cut the ropes!” someone else shouted. “They won’t budge!”
“Could it be, the devil cursed the ropes too?” the captain asked and stared up at the sky. All he saw were the white sails, fully extended, blown by the demonic, unending wind. He signed and looked ahead. The landmass, which he couldn’t see previously, was growing at a tremendous rate. “Brace yourselves for impact, men! Let’s pray the devil cursed the hull, or our boat will be completely destroyed.”
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“If I survive, I’m going to send my wife a note, telling her I love her.”
“You’re married?”
“There’s no woman who’ll refuse to marry me after I tell her about this.”
“It seems like he’s gone crazy from fear.”
“Keep your mouths shut or you’ll bite off your tongues,” the captain shouted. He gritted his teeth, and moments later, there was a crashing and scraping sound as the boats ran ashore. They surged up the sandy beach and continued forward before finally coming to a halt after crashing into a dense patch of trees. Even the sails stopped billowing, and the floating crew members crashed into their boats’ decks. The captain struggled to untie himself and got free with the help of one of his crew.
“What’s the damages? How’s the boat look?” the captain asked, ignoring the ringing in his head. He banged the back of it pretty hard against the boat’s mast during the collision. “And our supplies, are they unharmed?”
“Give us a moment to recover, Captain.” A crew member moaned as he rolled over. He used his knife to cut the rope around his waist and placed his hand on his forehead. “I think I broke something.”
The captain clicked his tongue. He wasn’t sure what was worse: having his men disabled by a highspeed collision or spending ages at sea with the risk of his crew mutinying against him as their rations depleted. “We made it to the New World, men. Riches and beauties await!” The captain helped his men to their feet while making his way to the side of the boat. During his life, he spent more time on a boat than he did on land, but it was still his first time making a trip to the New World. From the rumors he heard, it was supposed to be a paradise filled with gold. He stood at the boat’s railings and leaned over. The sight of dozens of people with light-brown skin greeted him. However, his gaze wasn’t attracted by their skin color; it was drawn onto the weapons they were holding.
An arrow flew through the air and struck the captain, hitting his shoulder. It was as if he had been struck by a boulder launched by a catapult. He flew through the air, over the deck and the railings on the opposite side of the boat before landing heavily on the beach. There wasn’t any pain as his body was in shock. His eyes widened as a small dot appeared in the size, growing rapidly as it descended. Sand splashed against his face as a native landed beside him, shaking the beach. The captain swallowed. “Did, did you just jump over the boat?”
The native didn’t respond. Instead, he grabbed the captain’s shoulder and flipped him over, not caring about the arrow stuck in the man’s body. The native wrenched the captain’s hands behind his back and tied them together. Then, he bound the captain’s legs.
The captain turned his face to the side and spat out a mouthful of sand. He hadn’t received any information about the natives being this powerful. Were they even human anymore? They were practically devils capable of shooting arrows like ballista and jumping over whole galleons! The only way to deal with a devil was to call upon another devil. However, how was he supposed to put the summoning stone in boiling water when he was tied up like a boar about to be slaughtered?