The Aegeusson rode the massive wave summoned by the Wavebinder. It flew through the sea, going faster than any boat Zalan had been on before. They were on a direct course for the Thalassic Terror holding Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick. As the wave decreased in intensity, the ship was finally allowed to level out, giving the crew enough confidence to let go of the pieces of the ship they were hanging on to. They stood with wobbling knees and one arm on something to keep balance.

“Was that the Homeseeker that fell out of the boat just now?” Rep asked loudly, the rushing wind making it difficult to hear.

“Yeah, we’re stuck out here!”

“Then we had better be extra careful with our ship!”

“It is working!” Rosemary declared. “We will be upon the monster in moments. Be prepared to strike!”

“Are you insane?” Nold said. “You wish to provoke the monster again? You barely did enough to repair the ship last time! What if it sinks us this time?”

Rosemary ignored him, knowing not even Nold could stop the path the wave took them on. Using her Elemental Plant Power, she created a few rudimentary pointed weapons and tossed them to Zalan and Rep to replace their lost swords. Magnolia began to create several sand bullets to fire at the monster. They would be upon the creature in seconds.

“The water is too high! We are going to fly over the monster!” Enzo pointed out.

The Thalassic Terror was still swimming underwater. It could dodge the ship entirely by letting it soar overhead. The wave would pass over harmlessly.

“That should be fine! It does not appear to be changing direction. We can get in its way ahead and it will have to confront us. We can ambush it with all of our powers this time. We will have one more chance!” Rosemary said.

The Thalassic Terror’s eyes swiveled from the front to the back of its head, witnessing the chaotic wave approach it. It jittered, startled at the sight. The Thalassic Terror hated waves in the sea. It let out a low gong.

With a burp of mist, the wave that The Aeguesson surfed on disappeared from under them. Zalan stared in confusion, suddenly feeling his stomach go up toward his throat. In a moment of dread, all the passengers’ feet rose from the ground. They were in free fall, descending directly toward the monster.

“Brace!” Rosemary screamed.

Zalan and Rep wrapped themselves around the mast in the second they had to spare. The Aegeusson tilted forward, barrelling towards the monster. The bowsprit exploded into a thousand pieces and the bow cracked into the Thalassic Terror. The Aegeusson hit the monster at full speed, destroying the hull at the bow.

The force was too much for Zalan, and he found himself flying off the deck. As he flailed around in the air, he saw Rep soaring next to him with a determined expression on his face. He was also flung off the boat. Holding on to the weapon that Rosemary crafted for him, Rep looked ready to stab into the Thalassic Terror. Zalan didn’t have much time to match Rep. Zalan fumbled with his weapon to do the same.

With all their Strength, the two friends plunged their wooden spears into the monster’s back. They stood on it, kicking at it with their feet to try and kill it. Three bullets of dense sand shot through the monster. Magnolia wanted to target its eyes with her shots, but couldn’t get a clear shot with Rep and Zalan on its back. With her reduced vision, she wanted to make sure every attack was far enough from her captain while still dealing damage to his captor. The Thalassic Terror writhed in pain at the bullets passing through it, clearly having taken serious damage.

With a lurch, the Thalassic Terror spun Rep and Zalan off its body. They crashed hard into the water. Zalan quickly spun around, trying to get back to swimming toward the monster. Then, the surface of the Thalassic Terror’s body began to ripple with black bubbles. With a strange underwater hunch, it regurgitated a passed-out Captain Buttonwillow, spitting him out into the water. It stared at him with its large eyes for a second as he drifted unconscious in the water.

Free from its mortal prey, the Thalassic Terror was free to teleport around again. Without hesitation, it disappeared from the immediate view, a low gong indicating that it had warped hundreds of feet away. The sea began to bob a little, free to create waves once more. Zalan stared at it, astounded to see they had succeeded in freeing the captain. He was almost excited until he heard the panic in Rosemary’s voice.

“Bring him up! Hurry! Now!” Rosemary demanded, pointing to Captain Buttonwillow’s limp body floating atop the water.

Rep and Zalan swam to the captain as fast as they could. They put all their effort into keeping Captain Buttonwillow’s head above water. Zalan couldn’t tell if he was breathing. Enzo tried to bring Captain Buttonwillow to the surface of the deck, spinning the water around him with his Elemental Power, but didn’t have enough energy to bring the water to the deck of the ship. He collapsed from the effort, gripping his forearms in frustration.

“Nold!” Rosemary pleaded. “We need you!”

“Fine, just be sure not to let the ship sink,” Nold said, rolling his eyes.

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With a spin of his hands Captain Buttonwillow’s body began to ascend in a mix of water and sand. Zalan felt so much force from the two Elements, he was surprised to feel a breeze pass his face as well, spinning up with the other two powers. He stared at the captain as he was placed gently back on the ship. Zalan and Rep waited expectantly for Nold to bring them aboard as well. He kicked a rope over the side of the ship and walked off.

“I never get that guy,” Zalan said, taking hold of the rope.

“I believe he is tired. He has never shown us his failing at something with his Elemental Power like Enzo just did. I believe it is a point of pride to always look like he is in control,” Rep said.

Zalan scoffed as he considered the idea. Nold had almost single-handedly ensured that the ship didn’t flip over when the monster wave appeared. But apparently, his pride was too fragile to look tired after that impressive feat. Zalan began to climb the rope, Rep close behind. The low gongs of the Thalassic Terror teleporting filled the space behind them, announcing the monster’s flight from the scene.

As they pulled themselves to the deck, Rep and Zalan saw Captain Buttonwillow lying flat on the deck. He was inert, and the rest of the crew gathered around him, Nold included.

“Is he dead?” Magnolia asked.

“Do not say such things!” Rosemary snapped.

Enzo felt at the man’s neck and placed his ear close to Captain Buttonwillow’s mouth. He leaned over him for several seconds. He sat up, looking deeply concerned.

“He is alive, but only barely. He needs a shock to his senses,” Enzo said.

The crew looked to Zalan. Zalan held up his hands.

“That guy is soaking wet. The lightning would be supercharged. I would probably kill him before doing him any good,” Zalan said.

“What if he was dry?” Rosemary asked.

“Yeah, maybe,” Zalan shrugged.

With a nod from Rosemary, Enzo began using his Elemental Water to dry and pull water off his captain. He wasn’t good at picking up fine details of water like drops on skin or damp clothes and barely made any progress. The Thalassic Terror chimed, faint in the distance.

“Xavier, help me with him,” Enzo said, beckoning him to assist in the drying efforts.

Xavier nodded gravely and stepped over to Captain Buttonwillow’s body. He let out only a small burst of air before he took a closer look at the captain. He tilted his head to one side in thought.

“I think he is better off than he looks. I know what kind of shock his mind requires,” Xavier suggested.

He looked to his fellow crewmates and placed a finger on his lips. They gazed at him quizzically.

“Without our captain, I suppose we have no choice but to join Captain Lexington Winchester on The Abuacamas,” Xavier said loudly, as though addressing the ship.

Rosemary’s eyes went wide, looking as though she had a rebuttal. Magnolia placed a light hand over her mouth and pointed to the captain. Captain Buttonwillow coughed. He continued a raucous coughing fit on the floor for several moments then half opened one eye.

“Lexington Winchester,” Captain Buttonwillow said through grit teeth. “That scoundrel… he is not… stealing my crew.”

The crew began to smile. Captain Buttonwillow was sapped of all strength, but alive. The crew hopped to their feet and cheered loudly, Magnolia included. Rep and Zalan smiled at the scene, glad to see the captain come around. Captain Buttonwillow used what little energy he had to wave Rosemary down and whisper an order into her ear.

“On it, Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick,” she saluted him and rushed to the bow.

Rosemary began to create new boards using her Elemental Plant Power to restore the obliterated bowsprit. Rep and Zalan looked out to the horizon where the Thalassic Terror was only a speck now.

“That has to be the worst thing I have ever gone up against after the Elemental Dragon,” Rep said.

“I don’t know. I’d still take that thing over another showdown with the Mind of Madness,” Zalan said.

“That thing may as well be the Mind of Madness of the sea,” Rep noted.

“Hey, we still beat it, right?”

“A living monster is not a defeated monster.”

“Yeah, I guess. Hey, what happens if it dies from its wounds?” Zalan asked. “Would we still get the Experience from it?”

“Most certainly,” Rep nodded.

“What if that happens like… a few months from now? Would we still get Experience because we did damage that caused it to die? Or like, what if another ship ends up killing it thanks to the wounds it suffered when it went up against us?” Zalan asked.

Rep pondered over the question.

“I have no idea,” Rep shrugged. “There may be a limit to how long you can go before you do not earn Experience. I have never heard of such a limit in practice. Few monsters die when not in the presence of those that killed them. They are not normally known to flee.”

“Hmm,” Zalan acknowledged thoughtfully. Another question came to mind. “Do you think Junill is gonna get mad that I lost another of her swords?”

“Dear God, I forgot about that,” Rep buried his face in his hands. “I lost my blade as well! How does this happen every time we leave Oriton? I hate to have to appease her every time we see her.”

“We could always go to another swordsmith,” Zalan offered.

“No,” Rep said, pulling his hands away from his face in thought. “I do not wish to pursue another.”

Zalan thought he had an interesting look on his face, but shrugged it off. He looked to Rosemary who was pushing herself to her limit in continuing to create planks of wood.

“Hey, Rosemary,” Zalan called. “What happens now? We don’t have a mast and have no idea where we are.”

“We will soon know where we are,” Rosemary said, pointing upward.

Rep and Zalan looked up at the clear blue sky. They didn’t see anything. They looked back down at her, waiting for further explanation.

“Not now,” Rosemary chuckled. “We can easily navigate by the stars.”

“Oh. Right,” Zalan said, nodding in confusion. Did naval navigation work the same in this realm? He suddenly wished he knew anything about constellations. He wanted to compare the stars of his world with the ones of the realm.

“And how will we travel with no mast and sail?” Rep asked, more worried than curious.

“Give me several hours and I will make a new one. I am adept at making flax fiber,” Rosemary said.

“That is good to hear.”

“What’s flax fiber?” Zalan mentioned quietly to Rep.

“I have not the slightest idea, but I suppose we will know in a few hours whether we are stranded out here or not.” Rep shrugged.