Chapitre 104: Storm Warning
We had spent two days on the ship when we saw a storm on the horizon. The clouds were thick and stewed with ink black whisps that seemed to hum with energy.
A distant rumble in the sky told us all that those clouds were filled with lightning. A crackling bolt here or there could be seen even though they were on the horizon.
The seemingly peaceful waves began to rise getting bigger and faster by the hour. The crew drew the sails up into bundles to save them from the waves and possible wind drawback. Crates were quickly tied down and cannons secured.
We the passengers were told to remain in our cabins till the storm passed. Everything within the cabins was already secured to the floor or walls. The only thing we had to worry about was our luggage and any items we brought with us.
On the third day of being in the storm Kyle looked at me. "Is there anything you can do about these waves?"He said as his face was deeply green and he was obviously seasick.
He ran to the bathroom within our cabin and I heard him hurl. Val meanwhile rested in her cot as content as could be. The waves of the sea didnt bother her at all.
I let out a little sigh. "Who knew that dwarves could get seasick." I groaned to myself as I went to the door.
"I'm going to talk to the captain. I'll be back soon." I called into the bathroom. "Ok! Huurgh!" I heard come from beyond the door.
I grimaced a little as I left. There wasn't really anything I could do besides wait for the storm to calm. Some would argue that as a god I had free reign. This is actually wrong. Aed explained to me a while after I ascended that each god has a domain type. Kookoo likes his storms. Vara has her seas and ice. Aed has his fire and smithing. And so on.
So me screwing with another gods domain was another way of declaring war. And consider Kukulkan controls storms I figured Vara's protection already had it's hands full without me aggravating the situation.
As I ascended the stairs I felt a chill roll down my spine. I turned to find noone behind me. As my mind filtered through what I had felt I understood what it had been. Killing intent. It wasn't necessarily aimed at me. But it had been palpable nonetheless.
I let out a small sigh as I kept my senses on high alert. The boards creaked noisily as I walked up the stairs. The wooden door seemed to rattle violently with the force of whatever was beyond it. The wood thudding heavily with each time it touched its frame.
I opened the cabin doors to find wind howling and rain beating against our vessel. The rain whistled past as the waves crashed against the ship.
Sailors were doing their best to keep themselves standing against the raging waves and wind.
Seeing all this didnt even phase me oddly enough. I stepped out and my clawed feet clung to the deck with each step. A man stumbled into me holding a roll of rope. I caught him before he could fall and stood him upright brushing him off and kept leisurely walking though the storm. A wave crashed into the deck but not a drop of water touched me.
A shield of air kept the water away in a sphere around me. And I decided to help a little as I went. A sailor that almost washed overboard found himself suddenly grasped by a tendril of the same water and chucked further onto the deck.
(We dont need the annoyance of losing crew members or I'd never hear the end of it.) I thought as I willed a few things to happen. The waves crashing into the boat seemed to meet a small amount of air resistance. But not enough to actually mess with the storm. I had formed the smallest air bubble around the ship in an attempt to make thing easier on the crew.
But unfortunately I wasn't able to do anything about the waves. They rose 10 to 20 feet about the ship and crashed down mightily. Thanks to my help the crew never touched the ocean. But the ocean could certainly touch them.
I heaved a sigh as I walked up more stairs to the Captains Quarters and knocked loudly.
"Enter!" I heard a lilting voice call from inside.
I opened the door and quickly entered so as to minimize the water I brought in with me and her eyes locked onto me.
"It would seem you've run into a storm captain." I said as I noticed bottles rolling left, right, and center. "A storm of water without and a storm of liquor within as well it seems." I said as I raised an eyebrow.
She cocked an eyebrow at me in irritation.
"Having a godling aboard my vessel does little to settle my nerves I'll have you know. And his storm I assume is not your doing?" She grunted out in a slight drunken lucidity.
I shook my head in response. "Though my powers are potent my presence alone is not enough to aggravate the waves and winds to battle against our voyage. I would almost wager another game is being played with your vessel at stake." I rumbled out.
Her head nodded in response.
"Thought as much. This entire scenario reeks of Melran Sorcery. Manipulating the elements is their specialty after all. And they are our first stop. I would almost say that this storm is pushing us in a different direction. Towards the northern continent." The captain said as I stepped toward her map table. I held my hand over the map and quietly muttered a few words.
A spell for diving our final destination and possible arrival situation.
My body inflated slightly and some of my original form returned. The flowing magnetized metal around my wrists appearing once more. And to make things even better. The spell worked!
The metal around one of my wrists turned into a couple balls that rolled about the map till it settled somewhere. A small island in the middle of nowhere. One of the balls formed a circle, another formed a flat scythe shape, and the last formed a model of our ship.
The circle surrounded he island while the scythe placed itself on top of it. Our ship was facing away from the island but was being forcefully drawn to it.
"It would seem that we have run into pirates." I said as I came to understand what was happening.
The captain facepalmed and rubbed her eyes.
"Of course. The one time I get a nice ship is when I am transporting royalty, a god, and have to face pirates." She said as she took out another bottle of rum and took a large swig.
I shook my head. "You really should look after yourself better. Pirates are a nasty bunch and your men will need you sober for this." I sighed in disappointment.
The metal liquified and lifted back around my wrists once more. A dull hum could be heard from it like a content kitten's purr. I smirked a little at letting loose a unique spell so casually.
Unique spells in and of themselves are hard to do. They set their own requirements and possibility of activating it isnt always 100% certain. A book I read on divination actually told me a story of a mage who tried divining his death.
He was shown a compass and a cliff. Not understanding it he tried again. This time to be shown an arrow and the same cliff. The third time he tried revealed nothing.
So to his own merit he thought it meant adventuring was going to kill him. So he stayed in his tower and safely lived out his days. But in the end his love of women won out and he slept with a Hunters wife.
He came home one day to find them and hunted the mage down. The mage was using his favorite compass to figure out his way through the forest. Unfortunately he found himself at a cliff. And the hunter shot him with an arrow so strong it threw him off it. And thus he fell to his death.
Such was the story at least. But I'm not one to completely believe the tales. I had tried a few time to divine things but they rarely worked. Some can say it really takes a talent and some know how to make it work.
As I felt the metal settle around my wrist I shifted back to my civilian form. The power I had felt toned down with me. And once again I looked like a semi-normal dragon man.
I shook my head a little and cracked my neck to relieve some pressure in it. "Hmmm. Cant quite seem to get used to this." I hummed out as I turned to face the captain.
Captain Amanda had pulled out a sheet of parchment and was examining it thoroughly.
And judging by the size of the parchment it was a ship schematic. A blueprint of sorts.
It listed the cannons and various functions of the ship as well as emergency procedures.
I'll admit. I was impressed. Everything was very detailed and outlined very clearly so even a normal person could understand it. A master designer had drawn it it seemed.
I felt a slight jealousy at the handiwork as I sat down across from amanda again. "You haven't had a chance to completely learn the ship yet have you?" I stated.
She glowered at me. "I was given this post recently and this is a newer vessel so no I haven't." She said as her gaze returned to the parchment before her.
I suddenly felt the ship rock as a large wave crashed against us. I felt my claws dig into the wood as I stood up. The ship tilted dangerously to one side and I felt the push of the waves.
"Sorry Vara. I'm borrowing the ship for a moment." I said as I angrily turned my right foot and forced my power through the ship. An energy rippled through every board and plank till the ship seemed to ignite with brilliant light. A rainbow of colors danced through the surrounding water before a unseen force blew it back.
A group of mages sat on a distant shore collapsed suddenly as their mana was exhausted. "Damnit!" A large man shouted as he threw a wooden mug. "Get more mages! I want that ship even if you have to sink the damn thing!" He roared as he stepped from the shadows. His bare chest was hairy like a bears and his size was like a troll's. His height made his head almost touch the eight foot tall ceiling. His arms were the size of small children and bulging veins ran along them angrily.
"Right away Captain!" A rat looking man squeaked as he ran away on all fours his tail trailing behind him.
The man turned and sat with a heavy thud on a chair made of beast bones. Skulls for its backing. Hooves and claws were used for its feet. While femurs and spines were used for its arms and seat.
It was a grotesque throne that only one man could sit on. The self proclaimed ruler of the sea. Ivan The Sea Dragon.
"I have hunted that princess to kingdom come and now she falls into my lap! If only I had the patience to wait I wouldn't have spent so many resources to get her." He mumbled as he pulled out what appeared to be a pocket watch.
It was actually a photo holder. Every possible photo of Princess Val he could get his hands on. From her birth all the way to her teenage looking self. His breath quickened as his cheeks flushed with excitement.
"I will have you. No matter the cost." He rumbled
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone