4

Aldren

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James looked down at the marked map, his eyes focusing on the third marked island, which wasn’t much of an island but a speck.

“Are you sure this is an island, Seamus?” He asked as he looked up at the designated map reader. Seamus nodded, rubbing his tired eyes as he yawned.

“It’s called Aldren. And yes, it’s a hidden island my fa- Yorn owned. He had cartographers mark the area as a dead zone, with nothing but rocks and water for kilometers,” Seamus explained. He had nearly let out his connection to the island to everyone around. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice.

“Let’s hope we can find it,” James muttered. He sipped at his steaming mug, his expression quickly turning to a grimace. “Does this tea have to taste so bitter?” He looked over at Dahlia, who was sipping and frowning at her concoction.

“Well, unless you can brew Horcus tea that tastes good, you’ll have to deal with it,” she answered, downing the rest of her mug. James looked down at his tea, which still had floating herb leaves.

“Just gonna put it out there. Please consider putting honey in your concoctions,” James said as he picked out a leaf.

It was late morning on Frostbite’s decks, with almost all the crew beneath the deck as the rest maintained the ship and steered it towards its destination. It had been a couple of days since their last venture to the other islands, giving everyone enough time to recover as they neared their third stop. James looked around the deck, lit by the peering light coming through the nearby windows and hatch. Almost everyone was drinking Dahlia’s medicinal tea, and all had the same reaction as James. Still, they were all wide awake, a big improvement from their groggy selves earlier that dawn. James himself could feel the effects of the tea warming up his body, easing away the pain in his sore muscles and bandaged wounds.

‘Bitter or not, it’s doing wonders for your body. It’s even waking me up,’ Faust commented as James sipped at his mug again, trying his hardest to ignore the taste of the steaming tea.

‘Easy for you to say. You can’t taste this crap,’ James replied, frowning as he placed his tin mug on the table.

“So, let’s get to the simple part,” James announced. “The group, we still need to figure out who's coming onto the island with Seamus and me.”

“You’re going? After what happened?” Dahlia asked, standing up from her comfortable spot on a crate.

“Sure I am,” James answered, gesturing towards himself. “I’m ready for another round, plus your ointments and tea have been very helpful in restoring me back to full strength.” James grinned as he forced another sip from his mug, his grinning facade faltering from the bitterness.

“James, those are for aiding you as you return to full strength, not restoring. That tea will wear off in less than an hour, and you’ll return to your usual sore and exhausted self.” Dahlia crossed her arms.

James shrugged in response. “Then I’ll guess I’ll take some tea to go then,” he joked lightly.

The shaman sighed, shaking her head. “Fine, do what you will. I’ll also be coming to make sure you don’t die out there.”

“Oh no, you’re staying,” James responded with a shake of his head.

“What, why not?” Dahlia furrowed her brow, confused.

“Did you forget about the fact that you nearly blew yourself to kingdom come last time? Not to mention your current head damage situation and multiple wounds. You’ve taken way more damage than me. Even after a few days of recovery, you’re still too banged up,” James reminded her.

Dahlia narrowed her gaze. “I will ignore that weird saying and get to my initial question. How did you–?”

“Miles told me,” James interrupted.

Dahlia blinked at James’ response, looking over at the mentioned masked man.

“You little sni–”

“Anyway, that brings us to the third member of our little entourage. Miles will come with us to handle the healing side of things,” James interrupted again, gesturing towards the strange mercenary. Thankfully, Miles was one of the few who suffered the least damage during that day’s events, making him an obvious choice.

“As for our fourth and fifth…” James looked at the rest of the men, examining their injuries and current states.

‘Brant and Finn are out of the question. They can barely walk across the deck with those injuries.’

The young man looked at Edmund and Archibald, who grimaced at their mugs as they watched James.

‘Both were in bad shape after the fight with that thing, but Dahlia’s treatments have them looking pretty fit to go. Also, Archibald’s castings would definitely come in handy. Especially that barrier spell he used to protect himself and Edmund.’

“Archibald, Edmund, you’ll be coming with us.” He could see how both men looked hesitant, but none of them said anything more.

‘It’s a miracle they haven’t asked for raised wages. After what they’ve been through,’ Faust commented.

‘It’s a miracle enough that they haven’t bailed yet,’ James added before looking over at the last of the men. Bjorn was pouring the contents of his flask into his mug of tea, not realizing that James was watching.

‘Is he… Is he pouring liquor into that tea?’ James realized, squinting at the dwarf.

‘That’s genius, how did I not think of that?’ Faust suddenly commented, wowed by the sight.

“Uh… Bjorn?” James called, catching the dwarf’s attention.

“Huh?” the dwarf responded. He raised his tired eyes at James before closing his flask and sipping at his tea with little problem.

“Are you alright? Any hurting anywhere?” James wasn’t sure how different dwarf physiology was from humans and elves since Bjorn had seemed to recover from both a hangover and concussion over the course of a couple of hours and a lot of drinking. For all he knew, the dwarf was practically indestructible. Bjorn took a few seconds to process the question, stroking his beard as he closed his eyes.

“Hmm, I have an itch in my arse… Head’s a little hurty, but that’s just from the drink,” the dwarf responded.

“What about your injuries?”

“What about them? Miles fixed me up, and Dahlia gave me this nice tea to numb them,” the dwarf said.

“Are you good to fight? To come with us to the last island?” James asked, getting to the point. Bjorn raised an eyebrow.

“Damn right, I am, tea or not. That bear back on that island has me riled up for another bout. I’ll be damned before I’m left on the sidelines.” The dwarf took a swig from his tea, still not faltering from the taste.

James sighed but didn’t argue. “I guess that means Bjorn is our sixth member. That wraps our—”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Wait a fucking second!” someone suddenly shouted, catching everyone’s attention. It was Haggard, standing from his seat. “I’m coming as well,” he announced, walking up to the map table. James raised his hand to stop the other man but was interrupted again.

“I joined this little quest of yours to fight, not to be some babysitter,” Haggard stated. James could hear Helen somewhere behind him, catching what sounded like her muttering.

“Well fuck you too…”

James swore he heard from the ex-marauder before he focused his attention on Haggard.

“Well, if Dahlia agrees, then I guess she can look after Helen,” James suggested. He looked to the shaman, who shrugged.

“As long as she doesn’t drink, I can keep an eye on her,” Dahlia agreed.

“Then it’s settled. Guess you might get that fight you’ve been looking for, Haggard.” James patted the other man on the shoulder before hearing Dimitri’s voice from above deck.

“Friend James! You’re going to want to see this!”

“What is it?” James asked as he headed up to the surface. Feeling the cold, stinging breeze hit his face and beard, James squinted through the sudden light of the morning. He saw Dimitri looking off the bow ahead with some other crewmates.

“That,” the shipmaster said simply as he pointed his finger ahead, a large cluster of blackening clouds ahead. James squinted at the sight, seeing the raging storm brewing underneath the clouds. Flashes of lightning showed waves as big as the brig they were on, sure enough to destroy it if given a chance.

“That is where your island is. We cannot sail around it, wait it out, and surely not go through it,” Dimitri explained.

“Delphine’s tits,” Haggard cursed. James turned to see most of his group above the ship, watching the storm ahead.

“What do we do?” Dahlia asked, her face uncertain. James felt the same way, for not even he knew what else to do about a storm of this magnitude.

“We go through it,” Seamus suddenly said, stepping forward. “It’s an illusion, put in place to hide the island ahead. It’s harmless,” he explained.

“An illusion?” Edmund butted in. “That must be one damn impressive Wizard if he can brew up a storm like that.”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Bjorn asked, raising an eyebrow at Seamus, who turned to the dwarf.

“I’ve had a family who lived here, courtesy of Yorn. They originally hid the Aldren to repel barbarians during the war. He also used this island to hide one of his old vaults. I’m positive he still has the illusion up after all these years,” Seamus explained.

“Still, I’m not sure about this,” Dimitri said. “It’s possible that the illusion has worn off already, and this is the real thing. I mean, Yorn and his clan have been dead for weeks. Regardless of contract, I doubt some Wizard would still keep it up.”

While Dimitri was bringing up a good point, James couldn’t help but put some faith in Seamus. The younger man had been to the island before and knew more about it than most. His confidence also gave him some reassurance. James rubbed his bearded chin with his right hand, debating what to do.

“Alright, here’s what we’re going to do.” James looked off ahead, hiding his grin. “Sail ahead, through the storm.” He heard some hushed cursing and confused ‘huhs?’.

Dimitri sighed as he stepped up ahead. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m sure of it. I trust Seamus,” James confirmed. “Let’s just sail into the least serious part of the storm, just so we can try to retreat in case we’re wrong.”

‘Planning for failure. Not very much faith in Seamus?’ Faust asked

‘Nothing wrong with being careful,’ James responded as he watched Dimitri order his men around, to which they all complained, some even pointing out the storm.

“It’s an illusion! An illyuziya!” Dimitri explained as he argued with some crew before they finally complied, moving to get the ship in motion. James watched as they moved around before looking down at Seamus.

“I really hope that’s an illusion,” James commented. He nervously rubbed the back of his head.

Seamus glanced at James. “Believe me, James. I’ve put far more faith into your antics than you have with me and this storm.”

The two watched on as the crew unfurled the black sails of Frostbite, adjusting them to catch the wind. Frostbite was now in motion, heading ever so closer to the upcoming storm.

James gripped the railing as he watched the dark clouds, his heart beating faster as sweat dampened his palms. He looked over at the rest of the crew, who all watched in anticipation as the deck rocked, making James grip the railing tightly.

“Fuck, I hope this is an illusion,” James repeated under his breath as the wind picked up. Droplets of rain peppered his face and clothing, the wind whipping around him. Lightning flashed ahead, followed by distant thunder as Liam yelled from the ship's helm.

“Screw this! I’m turning back!” Liam shouted out from the rear. James looked back at the ginger-haired steerer, who had spun the wheel. Dimitri seemed to protest but did little to stop Liam. James wanted to shout at him to keep going into the dangerous waters, but he also wanted to retreat from the storm.

“Just wait!” Seamus shouted, but the sound of rain drowned out his voice as they entered the shadow of the dark clouds.

James felt freezing cold raindrops shower over him and the deck, his hands and nose becoming numb from the sudden cold as Frostbite broke through a wave, sending even more saltwater onto the deck.

“Turn back!” Dimitri shouted over the loud sound of crashing waves.

“I’m trying!” Liam shouted back. James held onto dear life as he shut his eyes, gritting his teeth as the deck rocked and…. Nothing.

The deck was now still, the sound of the deafening storm replaced with the gentle sounds of water lapping against the hull. He could hear gulls call in the distance and what sounded like ravens. The warm ambiance of sunlight even replaced the freezing cold. James opened his eyes, looking up at the sky. It was partially cloudy, a blue sky visible as the sun shone partially onto them.

‘Did I die?’

James blinked and wiped the saltwater out of his eyes as he looked around the deck. Everyone seemed to have the same thought as him, confusion and awe on their faces.

Everyone but Seamus. The young man was smiling, pointing out into the calm sea.

“Told you so.”

James looked at where he was pointing, his eyes squinting at the lonely island in the distance. It was the polar opposite of Yorktown’s island. Instead of a gray, depressing mountain and dead trees, there was a beautiful, lush forest covering every inch of the island. The water even looked cleaner here. James marveled at the sight, especially since he hadn’t seen such greenery anywhere else in Valenfrost. At least in the parts of Valenfrost he had seen.

“That’s the island, I suppose,” James thought aloud before looking back at where they had come from. The storm still raged on, lightning flashing as Frostbite steered away from it, heading to the island ahead. James raised an eyebrow, looking around the entire area. A ring of stormy clouds surrounded the large patch of sea that held the island as if trapped within a bubble of solitude.

“And that’s the storm,” he added quietly, admiring the realistic illusion. It made him wonder what other kinds of magic this world had. His excitement grew as he imagined the things he would be able to cast once he got attuned with his own ley lines. The thoughts of Fireballs and matter manipulation clouded his imagination before he realized he was grinning like an idiot.

‘One step at a time, James.’

James mentally grounded himself back to reality as he resumed his normal, slight smile.

“There’s an isolated port on this side of the island,” Seamus called to Liam, gesturing towards the part of the island they were facing. “We should dock there. Just in case the watchtowers on the northern side are still armed,” he explained. James watched as Liam nodded, followed by Dimitri calling for everyone to prepare to dock the brig. James looked back at the island, still hypnotized by its greenery. The island was much bigger than Yorktown’s own, making James remember the long trip Seamus, Dahlia, and he took back when they traveled to Harald’s isolated home.

‘It will take a while for us to clear the entire place. Plus…’

“Seamus, are you sure the locals aren’t going to attack us on sight? You know, since we’re not supposed to be here exactly,” James said cautiously.

“Don’t worry about it, James. I’ll take care of everything. I’ve been here quite a few times and know the locals well.” Seamus seemed much different from before, a hint of nostalgia on his face as he smiled.

‘He’s probably happy at the prospect of meeting the only people who survived the Halvorson clan’s purge.’

A hint of sorrow hit James as he recalled Seamus’ quiet and meek self from before. Now, the young man seemed excited about coming to this island, even if it was to fight a possibly dangerous creature.

James frowned, recalling his conversation with that thing’s voices in the mindscape. The creature made it sound like it was planning to rebuild itself soon. The idea of it spreading was haunting. James gripped onto the railing as he watched the island grow closer. He hoped that no abominable monster would show up here, that no more souls would have to suffer that thing’s wrath today. Fortunately for James, he would get his wish.

Unfortunately, the day ahead was far from the peaceful afternoon he and Seamus had hoped for.

For at the day’s end, James would be forced to watch the island burn to cinders.