United Dragons

by Calista Lambrechts

  As I ate I heard another voice above me. It wasn’t the voice of John or Curtis. It was someone new. An old sea captain perhaps? I looked through the hole and noticed the shadows of a man dancing about in the lit dock house.

  “What took ya so long?” he asked. His voice sounded kind, though as old and salty as it was.

  “Apologies. Matters of my own business, captain…?”

  “Shaddock for the last toime!”

  I was in shock. I knew the voice of the second. I knew it! It was Thomason! I’ve also learned that anything Thomason does on his own terms is bad. Perhaps there’s some good in me being trapped here in this godforsaken barrel after all.

  “Is everything in order, ready and accounted for?” Thomason asked most formally.

  “Aye. All we need to do now is load the cargo and ship em’ off to Mihindri and tha Parnos Isles.”

  Oh boy. I had a feeling that I was part of the cargo. My heart started to race with worry and apprehension. I couldn’t afford being shipped off to some other foreign land or country! I had to find a way to get out of here! If only they could lift this barrel on top of mine … I hope to goodness the lid wasn’t stuck again.

  “And you can make the journey?” Thomason enquired.

  “Of course I can. Hail to Brendwin.”

  “Are you saying that only because I bribed you?”

  “Hey! If Oi’m goin’ to betray my country, better do it good and proper.”

  Shame on you, Shaddock!

  “Good. I expect the cargo to be gone by dawn before patrol decides to investigate. In the meantime, I’ll be off. I hope you were able to sneak my soldiers into Krea unnoticed.”

  I gulped. Soldiers?

  “Aye. Twas easy. I only hope you pull this off, because Oi wasted a lot of money in doin’ so.”

  “The ambush on the palace will be successful. Don’t you worry your little head about it.”

  “Good. Alrigthy then. I’ll be shovin’ off now to make tha last preparations and rally up my crew.”

  “AMBUSH?!” I squeaked in a whispered tone, “By the great beard of the great wizard of the great tower, I better get out of here and make my way to the ball! Wait, I feel pretty now. Like some beautiful elven princess late for the ball… Ugh, never mind that now. I have to warn the master about this! This is bad! This is possibly very bad!”

  Though I didn’t know what the purpose of this ambush was, I was pretty sure that the intention was a far cry from good.

  Thomason exited the dock house and ordered Curtis and John to attend to their duties according to his will. “I want to see those crates up and loaded by the time the captain gets back. These supplies are essential for the war. Possible sieges may stand.”

  With Thomason off to go and wreak his daily havoc, the two loons decided to be obedient.

  “Come on, John. Last one.”

  “Got it. Let’s get em’ on board. Mihindri is a long way from Ysellian.”

  Once again, my heart skipped a beat at the terrible realization. They simply couldn’t ship me away! Not now anyways. Someone had to warn the castle and that someone was me. It was my patriotic and possibly most vital duty so far!

  “I will not fail! I hope…”

  The barrels were loaded onto a far bigger ship. It was ready to set sail. As the barrel on top of me was taken away, I punched at the lid, but, by my luck, it was stuck and there went my hope. I panicked and hoped for that last second strength, but alas they loaded me onto the ship. I gritted my teeth in great panic and kept on punching with the most force I could possibly muster, but it was still wouldn’t budge.

  I switched to plan B and leaned against the barrel. I constantly threw my body against the side of the barrel until it finally fell over. I tried to position my body so that my legs could face the lid, but before I could kick, I felt the ship starting to move underneath me with the faintest of tugs. The ship was extremely rocky and sent my barrel rolling around deck until it crashed through the railing and fell into the deep, dark, freezing waters below. I yelped as it fell. The hit was most unpleasant and I soon noted my barrel to be sinking. Water leaked in through the cracks and poured in through the small hole near me.

  With tremendous panic I kicked, but nothing. I knew my oxygen was running out and I would soon be sleeping with the fishes. My barrel was filling up, fast. I kicked and I kicked until the lid finally burst open and sent a force of water ploughing in against me as the barrel filled up. I pushed myself out of the barrel and looked down to see it sink even deeper into the water until finally planting itself on the bottom, caught in the coral reefs.

  I looked up. The shine of Ysellian’s three moons danced upon the water’s surface. It was beautiful and soothing to the soul… until one’s breath runs out.

  I swam for the surface until finally submerging with a maniacal laugh, for I couldn’t believe that I had actually pulled it off. I had escaped the Great Barrel at last! Perhaps even the greatest task I had undergone yet! Over exaggeration? Yes, maybe, but I was still pretty relieved. I was a prisoner no more. Screw Mihindri and screw the Parnos Isles. I made it! I was as victorious as I was soaking wet.

  Snapping back into reality, I swam for the timber jetty.

  CHAPTER 28

  I FREEZE KING NEPTUNE

  CARLAYLIN

  I WOOZILY OPENED MY eyes, feeling as though I had been asleep for a long time, but I guess it only lasted the trip to the fish palace at the end of the kingdom.

  I looked up at the great palace towering up above me, adorned by rays of lights shining from below to emphasize its magnificent glory. It was massive, rounded off by a large crystal dome up top. Only then did I feel the hangover piercing my head.

  It was quite the hangover.

  My daydreaming was interrupted by the palace guards who unlocked my cage and yanked me out and forced me to my feet. Of course, I wasn’t really in the state to stand on my own, so before long I found myself being dragged down the royal halls and down the blue royal carpet.

  My hands were in shackles, my foot tied to a heavy metal ball and chain, which I found to be highly impractical. It was a heavy piece of metal and not at all good for my fortitudes. Well, at least being dragged meant that I didn’t have to use my feet.

  “Are you serious? A ball-and-chain?” I asked, looking up at the two guards who were dressed in the finest, strongest armour I had ever seen.

  One of the men looked down at me and simply answered with, “Yes.”

  I sighed out loud, but kept my composure. I have already been through this. I wouldn’t let these guards irritate or get on my nerves again with their plain one-word answers and literal actions and intentions. Instead of arguing, I resided to keeping my mouth shut and just go along with the procedures. I could’ve broken free, but now I really did see the effectiveness of the ball-and-chain tugging along at my ankle. Great. Now I really feel like a fugitive. Upset a tavern and you go free, but upset a sheriff…

  This was high-level corruption, but not that I wasn’t used to it…

  Our path led down the long hallway until finally reaching two gigantic double doors of stone. It was opened for us and I was brought to my knees, at the king’s feet… or, well, flipper? It was an actual merman with a large blue tail and thick beard.

  His skin was light blue. His eyebrows scrunched into a deep and curious frown.

  Altogether, the man was a lot bigger than I was and it made me more cautious of the words I chose. The king’s throne room was rather sinister, for there was little light in the stony darkness. Braziers were lit with blue flames and I could smell the dampened scent of long since wet furniture. Beside the king’s throne stood smaller thrones on either sides. They were occupied by the king’s beautiful wife and stunning daughter who seemed to be a teen. Their thick hair was beautifully done with shells, fishing wire, hooks, starfish and you name it! The little clothing they had on had sure as hell been done with the sole purpose of being made for the royal family. So much detail and elegance�
�� I think I’m going to faint.

  The king stood and towered over me as I looked up at him. He hit the back of his trident on the ground. It sent the hairs on my back to stand on end. This was no funny business. I was in deep trouble. I really did it this time… Curse the mug. Ah, the mug. The item that had brought purpose to my life so many times before, including the start of this entire quest. At least it got me out of the tavern and back into the game.

  “Who dares enter my city unannounced!” the king bellowed with a deep voice, looking down at this feeble little mortal down on her knees before him. I could feel as the room shook. It took my breath away. I could only imagine what ought to happen if this guy really got upset.

  “T-The name is Carlaylin Thorel. Want to see my ID?” my voice was soft and somewhat weary. I didn’t feel that usual pride of mine that regularly coursed through my veins. His voice drained it right out of me. The king sat, eyes continuously fixed on me. I must have looked like a vulnerable little bug to him.

  “From where do you come, Carlaylin Thorel?”

  His voice seemed less demanding and a great deal more calming this time, but still I was almost too afraid to answer, for it might just cause him to bring the roof down this time.

  “I come from the land above.” I didn’t give any extra information. I only answered what was questioned. It was best for everyone.

  “The land above, you say? I have seen your kind before, though no one has ever discovered Ausovas before. You bring me to suspicion, mortal. You hunt down and kill our brethren and feast upon their flesh!” Even the women gasped at this one. “What, pray, is your business here if not to bring our peaceful kingdom to destruction?!”

  At this I could see small pebbles falling from the walls as his voice shook the entire palace. He had managed to work himself up. For once, I can safely say that it wasn’t I who had caused the tremors.

  “No, no, no!” I denied hastily, trying to stop his outbreaks and a possible following death sentence. His trident looked dangerous. If I was not careful, I knew for a fact that I would end up on this guy’s dinner plate like a roasted fish, and be eaten alive with that giant fork of a trident.

  “Please do understand that I am not here to harm you or burn down your kingdom! In fact, my business has nothing to do with you!”

  “How do I know that you are telling the truth?”

  “I have an honest face?” I had to give it a shot. “Plus I- err- um- I don’t eat fish!”

  “You are lying!” His voice burst off in all directions and another forceful hit of his trident almost sent me into a coma.

  “No, no! No, I promise you that I’m not!” The shackles around my wrists clanked nonstop at my every begging movement.

  “My dear king,” the king’s wife said as she gently grabbed at his arm, “I believe that she will not harm us.”

  “As you say, my queen.”

  Now, that was a tight relationship! Trustworthy at that! Kingy trusts his queeny even more than I trust Terrowin!

  “I only wish to see Marinius.” The royals exchanged confused looks. It was clear that I had some explaining to do. “You know. The big blue scaly fella.”

  The king’s eyes burst into flames as he shouted, “You wish to see our god?!” It didn’t take me long to realize that this man may have had a slight anger problem and some serious issues. To be honest, all this shouting was giving me a headache and not working with my hangover. At all. Ouch.

  “Just-” I tried, finally pulling myself to my feet and taking a few steps back from the danger zone, “Just calm down. Yes, but I have a good reason! Ever heard of the Drachem?”

  “No.”

  I see where his subjects get it from.

  “Okay… Perhaps of Thorodan?”

  “The fire god?”

  I gritted my teeth in irritation, but tried to keep myself composed or else this wouldn’t work at all.

  “He’s not a god! He’s a dragon. Not a god. An irritating dragon!”

  “Dragons… They are ancient, yes?” he asked with widened eyes and pursed lips. I could almost imagine him with a pair of glasses. My mind is amazing.

  “Yeees?” I answered, still pretty unsure why he was asking this.

  “Then they are gods.” His answer was plain and simple and he damn right almost made me believe it.

  “Okay. Okay. I want to see your god in order to ask his help to stop the rising of the fire god.”

  “The fire god will rise?”

  “Yes! And he will destroy all of the upper lands if he is resurrected!” My eyes widened in excitement, for I was getting somewhere at last.

  “Not our problem.”

  There it goes. It’s always like this, isn’t it?

  “Please!” I begged, hands clasped together, trying to ignore the painful pressure of the shackles.

  “NO!” There goes the roof again. “Never shall you be granted approval to see Marst, the water god of the Crystal Dome!”

  Well, well, well. Not so smart after all are we? Now I know where Marinius is hiding.

  “Come on! You’re just doing this on purpose!”

  “I will show you how on purpose I can be! GUARDS!”

  Oh… touché.

  He was being a complete baby about this! Nevertheless, my heart skipped a beat at the call and I knew I had to get out of here and fast! I focused my mind on both the shackles and the bothersome ball-and-chain. Bringing my hands close together, I used the magic of air in maximum overdrive to rust these puppies a few decades into the future. Without hesitation I smashed my shackled hands against the wall and they broke, falling to the ground. I hastily withdrew my dagger and hit the pommel of the sword forcefully on the chain bound around my ankle and watch it broke off. I was quick to sheath my dagger, for I was not planning on assassinating the royal family.

  Not yet anyways.

  Before the king could shock me into a golden-brown turkey leg with his all-mighty, all-powerful trident, I instinctively switched into attack mode before he could attack first.

  By the power of air and water and sheer panic, I accidentally froze the king on the spot. He was stuck in large crystals of ice like some sort of display with widened moving eyes. Both his daughter and wife slithered to his side, calling for the guards once again. I found them fairly unwise not to come after me instead, but I understood. I am pretty dangerous, eh?

  I was free and momentarily safe from any regal confrontation, but I still had to act fast because I could already hear the hurried footfalls of rushed guards running down the hall. I jumped around the room in search of another way out. Luckily my knowledge preceded me from past experiences and I pulled the blue-flamed torch mounted on the wall.

  Fortunately, it turned out to be a switch and part of the wall opened up, sliding upwards. I raced through the opening and pulled the normal-flamed torch on the other side. Just in time too, for the weird creepy slimy fish monster guards burst into the royal throne room with sharp eyes. They dashed towards the slow closing door. I couldn’t stand and pray for the wall to close in time. Instead, I ran off into the cave-like corridors beyond. The few mounted torches in here bathed the corridors in dim light.

  At least I could hear the satisfying sound of the heavy wall finally closing up. I ran for my life, but frankly I got lost easily. These underground secret tunnels were like a maze to me and from the shouts echoing off behind me I was quick to come to the conclusion that some may have caught up to the wall that, possibly intensively, closed at the slowest rate possible.

  I ran and I never stopped running. My feet carried me far and pushed me into the unknown. I didn’t quite care where I was going, so long as I just didn’t get caught. I dashed from left to right, right to left, up and down and down and up (don’t ask how). It turned into a game.

  With the guards chasing me from behind, I just kept running and turning into the passage my gut feeling was most satisfied with. Luckily I was quick to lose the confronting fish guards. They looked just as mindless as t
hat bartender back in the tavern. Only their faces were much uglier.

  Fishmares is what they’ll give me.

  Somewhere I heard the running coming to a cease as they yelled to each other in the foreign, ancient language of fish.

  Yes! They spoke in the long forgotten language of Gloop.

  Too bad I wasn’t aware of what they were busy discussing. I froze on the spot, both catching my breath and trying to listen. Though, all I knew was that somewhere someone hit a button and the calming sound of water was released. I would’ve been in my personal Zen moment if the sound of rushing water didn’t grow louder by the second. I felt the spray of water and a forceful gust of wind blowing towards me. My hair blew out of my face and I knew what was coming.

  They were literally flushing me out.

  “DAMN YOU!” I yelled as I ran faster than I had ever run before. I speeded down the corridors in hope of finding at least a single fracture of hope. The flood of water forced through the tunnels and branched out. I felt cornered, but I wasn’t giving up yet, though chances were pretty good that I’ll either get captured or drown trying to escape.

  I went on and on until seeing something up ahead. It looked like a metallic elivatitor. Or what did Imperion call it? Levitor? Eliphalant? Elevator? Yeah, that’s it. This almost got awkward fast.

  Anyways, I saw it out in front of me at the very end of the tunnel. It seemed to lead upwards into only Tarauntis knows where. It was as barren as the elevator of a mineshaft. No doors, no nothing. It looked like no more than a single platform with a red and green button and thick wires leading upwards.

  No matter. I was trapped and it was the closest I got to getting out of here alive. I picked up the pace and ran at the speed of lighting, but the water was faster and came after me like a tsunami with the utmost force, which looked like it may hurt once it hits. It’s almost like a value had been turned to open a passage for the ocean’s water to burst in.