Enzo breathed heavily in pain as he tried to maintain the wall of water preventing the Thalassic Terror from pushing forward. Magnolia grit her teeth tightly as she reached her limits. Rep and Zalan swam as fast as they could with one hand, the other occupied with their drawn blades. The Thalassic Terror wiggled ominously as it broke through the net of sand. Enzo screamed in exertion; the last thread of energy before their captain was dragged away.
“I got it!” Rep managed to swim close enough to the monster to attack. He imbued his blade with searing hot flames then stabbed it into the creature.
The Thalassic Terror twitched in pain and redoubled its efforts to break through the water wall. Zalan finally caught up and drove his own sword into the creature with all his might. The creature flinched with enough force to throw Rep away from it. Zalan was still gripping tightly to his hilt. He tried to pull it out to stab the monster again, but found his sword was stuck. The Thalassic Terror was absorbing the blade into itself. Zalan pulled hard against it, his grip tight.
It shook violently and broke through Enzo’s wall of Elemental Water. It bashed Enzo to the side, sending him flying into the air and crashing back down into the water. The monster darted forward, swimming freely into the open sea. Zalan was dragged along, gripping onto what little of his hilt still stuck out. The sword was still being absorbed, along with Rep’s next to his. Zalan panicked and thought quickly.
“Sorry, captain!” Zalan screamed, sending a bolt of electricity through the blade and into the monster.
Captain Buttonwillow’s eyes went wide with pain. The Thalassic Terror flinched wildly and bucked. Zalan flew high into the air, shouting in frustration. He tried to aim another bolt of lightning at the monster, but he couldn’t tell up from down. Xavier reached out with his Elemental Air and granted him a gentle fall back onto the deck.
“Quickly!” Rosemary screamed, filling the holes of the ship. “We must go after them!”
“No we do not,” Nold said. “They are headed for open water. You heard McKittrick, it is more dangerous out there!”
“But he’s trapped in that thing!” Zalan said immediately. “He’s gonna die!”
“We cannot abandon him!” Rosemary added, frantically creating another piece of wood to hammer into place.
“He has been taken by a massive creature. Be grateful it was just one of us who was lost!” Nold said.
“They are making a great distance!” Xavier announced, climbing the shroud to keep an eye on the Thalassic Terror as it swam away. It moved like a speedboat under the water.
“We can still catch up! Use your wind and water!” Rosemary ordered Enzo and Xavier.
Enzo was floating in the water, breathing heavily after having pushed himself to his limits two days in a row. Xavier halfheartedly began casting his Elemental Air to turn the ship in the direction of the fleeing monster. It was easy to do, as the sea water was still in its eerily calm state. Rosemary stared in terror and disbelief as the distance became even larger between them.
“Enzo, get back on the ship! We need to move!” Rosemary demanded. “And bring Rep with you.”
“Perhaps Nold is right,” Enzo rolled over in the water, sounding nervous. “I cannot imagine catching up and saving our captain. And imagine the monsters we will see on that end of the sea.”
“Now is not the time Enzo!” Rosemary said. “Your fears of the sea need to be ignored while Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick is in danger!”
“This is exactly why I fear the sea!” Enzo exclaimed. “Look what lurks in the waters!”
Zalan looked at him in shock. He didn’t realize that Enzo was afraid of the open sea until that point. The mention of this being his fathers’ dream was a lot more clear to him. Enzo was here more out of obligation than of any want to be here.
Rosemary whipped her face between her fellow crew members, enraged at their defeatist attitudes. She broke the piece of wood she held in half in frustration.
“We can see the captain in our view and you just want to give up? Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick would never leave us behind, and you know it! What makes you so comfortable to treat him worse than he would ever treat you?” she demanded of the ship.
None of her fellow crewmates responded to her, instead looking down in shame. Xavier stopped turning the ship that was now pointed toward the escaping creature. The Thalassic Terror swam further. Nold scoffed, feeling as though he had succeeded in keeping them focused on the Island of Remains. He spun up Elemental Water from the sea and brought both Enzo and Rep back to the deck.
“He was a good man, that McKittrick,” Nold said to the fading monster. He was trying to sound like he was delivering a eulogy, but couldn’t help but come off as flippant. “He got us through many miles of water safely. A good captain. Now, let us be on our way. The greatest insult to his memory would be not to complete the journey he started us on.”
“He is not dead!” Rosemary said, looking as though she had snapped. She dug for something in her pocket.
“Certainly,” Nold agreed, once again trying and failing to sound truly genuine. “And he never will die so long as we retain him in our memories. I know I will. He gave us the means to make it to the island. His sacrifice will not be in vain… What is that?”
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“Is that an Artifact?” Rep asked, looking interested.
Rosemary held a blue medallion tightly into her hand, the end shaped like a crescent moon. Her hand shook with adrenaline and rage. Her face was inscrutable, a series of ideas running through her head.
“Rosemary, we need to save that in case we see Leviathans,” Enzo told her, fear in his voice.
“Saving Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick is the most important thing right now,” Rosemary said firmly.
“What kind of Artifact is it? What does it do?” Nold demanded, taking a menacing step toward her.
“That looks to be a Wavebinder,” Rep said, peering at it.
“Give it to me,” Nold said, holding his hand out as he approached Rosemary.
“Stay away from me!” Rosemary screamed, taking several steps back toward the boat’s stern.
“Do not do anything rash! Give me the Artifact!” Nold ordered her.
“Nold, calm down!” Zalan said, looking between the two of them.
“Rosemary, put down the Artifact! It is dangerous!” Enzo pleaded.
Nold continued stepping toward Rosemary. Her back was to the wall next to the captain’s quarters. She held the Wavebinder as close to herself as she could.
“Nold, do not touch any members of this ship,” Magnolia warned, moving to try and get between the two. Nold shook his head at Magnolia, trying to look approachable.
“I just want the Artifact. Nothing more,” Nold held out his hand expectantly.
“Stay back or I will use it!” Rosemary shrieked.
“Rep, what does that Artifact do?” Zalan asked urgently.
“I have never seen one in person before. I believe it can make waves,” Rep said, recalling what he’d studied before.
“Massive waves!” Enzo interjected. “Taller than the boat! If we are hit with one, it would take everything not to be overturned.”
“Give it to me!” Nold was right in front of Rosemary now, malevolent intent in his voice.
“No!” Rosemary bellowed.
“Now!” Nold moved to snatch it from her hand.
Rosemary reacted immediately. She threw the Artifact as hard as she could above her. It sailed in an arc above the ship, all the passengers watching with wide eyes. It went clean over the back of The Aegeusson and landed in the water with a faint plop.
“There,” Nold said derisively. “Are you satisfied? Now neither of us can use it.”
Magnolia, Enzo, Xavier, and Rosemary all immediately gripped tightly to a piece of the boat. Zalan looked at them with concern, wondering why they were bracing themselves.
“Grab hold of something!” Enzo screamed, manic. “Nold, help me keep the ship afloat.”
“Why, are we under attack?” Nold turned around.
Rosemary smirked. The Aeguesson violently pitched forward at a thirty degree angle, forcefully throwing Nold, Rep, and Zalan face first into the deck. The ship yawned loudly as several pieces strained under the force of the massive wave that manifested beneath it. The ship continued to tilt forward as the water swelled under it. It picked up insane speed, pelting all the passengers with a torrent of racing air.
Rep and Zalan scrambled up the deck, their feet slipping as they got to the nearest mast to hold onto it. They gripped with as much strength as they could.
“What’s happening?” Zalan screamed.
“The Wavebinder must be activated by being submerged underwater!” Rep yelled back. “This is the power of the Artifact!”
The ship was now at a fifty degree angle, and the wave could be seen tall behind them. Zalan and Rep stared with wide eyes. Zalan wanted to activate the Homeseeker immediately, but to go into his pocket meant to let go of the mast with one arm. He could fall off the boat. He gripped even more tightly, fearing being separated from the deck in the middle of this massive wave.
Nold stood himself upright by creating a platform of sand under him to keep him balanced. He glared at Rosemary for a second, his nostrils flared in rage, then looked up at the towering wave. He took one glance at it, then shot a look of fear for Zalan. He held up his arms, using his Elemental Water ability to try and break the impact of the incoming water.
“Someone help me!” Nold commanded.
Enzo screamed, the exertion too much for him. He couldn’t hang on the side of the ship and use his Elemental Water simultaneously. He was totally spent. Xavier threw as much wind as he could at the towering wave curling over them, trying to create a hole so its crash landing would miss the ship. He was mostly unsuccessful, barely able to create a hole. Magnolia supported Nold by helping bolster the platform of sand under him. But Nold was alone in defending against the torrent of water that was now descending upon them.
Rep closed his eyes and ducked his head, bracing for impact. Zalan looked upon the wave. He really hoped this thing wouldn’t kill him. He could take being severely injured. At least then he would have a chance to gather all the crew and use the Homeseeker.
The killer wave bore down on them. Miraculously, a blade of air came from the deck and sliced the largest piece of the wave down. The reduced wave came down, colliding with the ship. The top of the mast Rep and Zalan were clinging to snapped off. The ship was showered in a deluge of water, covering all the occupants of the ship. Zalan and Rep shook vigorously as the wave attempted to throw them off. Nold roared in triumph as he threw the water around the ship to an angle that kept them upright. Thanks to his power and concentration, they would not flip over. They were now riding the wave, surfing toward the black blot of the Thalassic Terror in the distance.
The ship was still jittering aggressively and all the crew had to hang on for dear life. Zalan bumped into the mast for the dozenth time and gasped as he felt something escape his pocket. At first he thought he lost all of his money, then realized it was much worse.
“No!” he screamed loudly. He almost reached a hand out, but another bump of the wave made him grip tighter to the broken mast.
Rep opened his eyes to make sure Zalan was okay. He witnessed the Homeseeker in freefall over the tilted ship. It bounced once on the bow, then fell into the water. Rep and Zalan looked at one another, their bodies shaking as the ship continued to zoom toward the massive monster. No matter what happened, they couldn’t take the Homeseeker as an easy way out. The Aegeusson was the only safe spot for them on the water, and it was torpedoing forward on the back of a massive wave.
They were stranded at sea.