Pola shook Alexander in another failed attempt at waking him up. Once the sounds of battle ceased, she had carried Pengu down to see how everything ended. She had seen most of the battle up until Alexander and Thomas told her to take Pengu and go hide. She witnessed her brother recklessly charge at the enemies with a seething rage she had frankly never seen in him, and she also saw him bleed, an uncommon occurrence in all the years she had spent with him. She couldn’t quite understand why, but Kai fought savagely today. Thinking more about it, she could vaguely remember tears streaming down his face.
*Smack* Pengu slapped Alexander with her flipper. They had been trying to wake him up for a few minutes, and Pengu had begun smacking Alexander after she saw Pola do it, mistaking the activity for a game. *Smack* Pola followed it up with a slap to his other cheek. “Put your back into it, Pengu. We need him to wake up to move my brother and Thomas.”
Pengu stared blankly at Pola before slapping Alexander with both flippers at once. This time, Alexander winced a little bit, giving Pola some hope he was close to waking up. “Go all out, Pengu! If we let up, he’ll just go back to sleep!”
Alexander woke up to a barrage of blows. He tried rolling away, but the slaps followed. Did Kai and Thomas lose? But why is the captain resorting to torturing me? Raising his arms to cover his face, he noticed the hits had stopped. Moving his arms away, his eyes saw only a brown fluff of feathers. “Pengu?”
A light squawk was the only response as the little penguin waddled away. Behind her, Pola pulled on Alexander urgently. “You have to help my brother and Thomas! They’re in bad shape. I tried to drag them to the boat, but they were too heavy.” She pleaded for help.
Looking around, he realized they had won, but their current situation was dire. “Okay, run to my backpack on the boat. I have some cookies in a bag on one of the outside pockets. Bring them to me. I’ll take care of everything here.” Watching as Pola sprinted away, Alexander dragged himself over to Thomas. His friend had third degree burns all over his body.
As he activated scan, he was surprised to find lightning mana running rampart within his veins and arteries. With no time to lose, Alexander began to heal Thomas starting with his head, lest the lightning cause any brain damage. Pola soon brought the bag of cookies allowing Alexander to ramp up his healing strength. After ten minutes of full-power healing, Thomas woke up; he was still being actively attacked by the lightning mana, but Alexander was able to decrease the quantity of it left.
“Morning, sunshine.” Thomas smiled lightly as he woke up.
In no mood for jokes, Alexander responded firmly. “Not right now, Thomas. You’re still in terrible shape, and I haven’t even started healing Kai yet. Help me move him back to the boat.”
“Oh, man. Sparky took a hell of a hit here.” Thomas promptly stood up and placed one of Kai’s arms over his shoulder. With Alexander carrying the other arm, the two moved Kai and laid him down over the picnic table.
Atop the sand boat, Alexander began his healing by examining Kai with his scan ability. Expecting lightning to also be ravaging Kai’s body, he was perplexed when he saw it seemed to be nourishing him instead. Kai was unconsciously devouring the lightning mana attacking his body- inadvertently healing his wounds. When Alexander activated his white flames, the elimination of lightning mana proceeded at breakneck speed allowing Kai to regain consciousness quite rapidly.
Kai attempted to suppress a painful groan as he gripped his thigh. “Agh, my- my leg. I don’t think I can move it, Alexander. It’s so bloody. Are those my bones jutting out of my shin?”
The soft warmth of the white flames descended over Kai as Alexander began to heal him. “Don’t you worry about anything, Kai. I’ll take care of this. Your leg is gonna be fine; it’ll just take me a few hours at most. You have a compound fracture on your tibia, but that’s nothing I can’t handle. You and Thomas’s injuries, I can take care of them all.” Speaking in a calm, even tone, Alexander reassured both his friends.
In the southeastern coast of Kedra Island, a large red and white lighthouse stood as a beacon of light out into the dark ocean. Along the shoreline, a motley group of ships entered and left a still busy port despite the lateness of the day: sailboats, ships, even battleships rested along its docks. Developing out of the port, a large city sprawled into the nearby terrain. It was cold, frigid even. The final days of summer prevented any snow, but Port Talan was too far south to be anything close to warm. Out in the distance, the desert was still visible, rising like a wave blanketing the horizon, but surrounding the city, a grassy terrain filled with tall orange flag trees brought color to the city’s surroundings.
The docks were made from cool grey stone bricks and slates, and the rest of the city’s buildings followed suit. Formed as a semi-circle around the beach, the stone bricked architecture gave the city a grim character. The only accent found within the city was a central white palace, identical to the one in Kalas and once more guarded tightly and blocked off by a pair of golden gates. The only difference between this one and the palace found in Kalas was a proudly waving Green Mamba flag rising from its top, standing over every other building.
Another distinct feature of the city compared to Kalas was the presence of paved roads. The traffic from the port continued throughout the entire city, giving Port Talan the feel of a metropolis as opposed to a small town. Carts pulled by beasts, bicycles, and the occasional Sabian scooters zoomed through a mass of people crowding the roads. Interspersed between the buildings, brick watchtowers maintained some semblance of order within the chaos of it all. Due to the economic importance of Port Talan, the Green Mamba pirates invested their own people to enforce security- or what the pirates considered to be security- by manner of intimidation. Each and every one of the watchtowers boasted a large Green Mamba flag as a means of dissuading crime, for anyone who dared mess with the flow of the city would bear the full wrath of the pirates.
In the middle of the night, five cloaked individuals walked along the city’s streets. “This way. I know a good inn on the beach that’s very out of the way. No one should look for us there.” Using a staff made from ice as a support, Kai led the group while limping along, his leg still severely injured. Alexander had managed to heal the party’s most serious injuries, but everyone was still running on fumes. At Kai’s behest, they had dumped the sand boat and began the trek to Port Talan after mentioning he had detected some signs of communication in the air. Unwilling to risk another battle, everyone agreed to press forward despite their current state.
On the northern end of the port, the group rented a suite at a large log cabin at the beachfront. Windows surrounded the walls of the room, allowing guests to peer at the ocean at any time, but in the name of safety, Alexander had decided to close them all. There was one bedroom with two beds which the siblings and Thomas would be taking, while Alexander would sleep in a long sectional couch in the living room of the suit. A small kitchen adorned one of the walls of the living room with a stone fireplace beside it.
After Kai lit the fireplace in the living room, Alexander got to healing Kai once more as he began to discuss the next steps of the plan. “Well, against all odds, we made it to Port Talan. What do we do now?”
Laying on the floor, Thomas was sporting bright red skin appearing like the worst sunburn in the world. Most of his burns were healed, but the heat had effectively cooked his skin. “That lady from the troupe said she spoke with an old man to get the story. We need to find him and see if there’s any additional details he can tell us.”
Intermittent blue flashes could be seen in Kai’s calf as he circulated his mana to boost his natural healing. He was sitting on the couch with Pola and Pengu napping beside him. “You’re looking for an old man? For what?”
“We are gonna slay a dragon!” From behind him, Alexander cheerfully pointed out as he poured more white flames into Kai’s body.
“Alexander, we haven’t discussed if we are even gonna tell him!” Thomas protested.
Staring questioningly at Thomas, Alexander narrowed his eyes. “Ummm, he literally just fought to the death against the Jupiter clan… for you. I think he’s more than earned a right to know why we are here.”
An exasperated sigh escaped Thomas, “Need I remind you he was hunting me a few hours ago? I am thankful he fought beside me, and we definitely kicked some ass together. But that doesn’t take away from the fact I don’t think he should know exactly what we are doing.”
Inclined to speak, Kai attempted to put in his two cents. “I’m not some piece of trash, you know? I’m a bonafide Lord-tier Elementalist. There will be plenty of groups who would kill for my services. Mercenaries are on demand all over the galaxy, especially strong ones.” Grabbing his chest as if he was deeply wounded by Thomas’ disinterest in him joining the group, Kai spoke emotionally. “I don’t need to stay where I’m not wanted. I just need to be with you until Alexander has healed Pola.”
“Look at how you’re hurting him, Thomas, and think about Pengu. She already loves him and Pola. Are you gonna seriously make them leave her?” Alexander rested his hand on Kai’s shoulder as he stepped around the couch. “I made a promise to heal Pola, and we have to honor that. Don’t you think him knowing what we’re doing will make it easier on everyone while he’s with us? Not to mention he’s our friend now.”
Smiling toward Thomas, Kai prodded. “I do seem to recall stating we were friends, and I’d say you jumping into battle to fight beside me was your acceptance to my friendship.”
Alexander added the finishing blow. “And he hates the Jupiter clan!”
Smacking his lips, Kai made a disgruntled face. “I despise them. They raised me like a weapon, treated me like trash and blackmailed me into doing their dirty work by using my little sister. I will fight them on sight.”
Pleading with Thomas, Alexander continued. “Pissing off the Agni, Jupiter and Geb clans is basically our thing. He fits right in. Trust me on this, bro. He is a good person.” Leaning into Thomas’ ear, he whispered. “Like I said before, he’s a genuine person. I can feel anger towards the clan, hope for a better life, and genuine kinship towards us. I really think it’s okay to have him know.”
Thomas sat up as he began to ponder over the decision. “Hmm, fine. Given how adamant Alexander is. I’ll accept you as a true member of our squad, but I’ll be watching you like a hawk.”
“I won’t disappoint you, chief.” Kai saluted Thomas. “Okay, now that everything’s settled, I wanna circle back here. You’re gonna slay a what now?”
“A dragon, Kai. Do they not have those on Propizio? They’re basically just the progenitors of magic. Overgrown lizards with immense power.” Alexander explained matter-of-factly.
“No, stupid. Of course, I know what a dragon is, but it’s because I know that I’m wondering if you guys hit your head a little too hard. How the hell do you plan to do that?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Alexander began to focus on healing Thomas again. “I don’t know. It’s Thomas’ plan. I’m taking a go with the flow approach to life at the moment.”
Cutting in, Thomas clarified. “No, no, no. We aren’t looking to fight the dragon. What we are looking for is the dragon’s lair. My grandma told me about these ruins that can provide you with the power you need most. They are guarded by a friendly dragon in a mystical island. The goal here is to reach that island, and undergo the challenges set by the dragon.”
“And to do that, you need to find an old man?”
“Well, Alexander and I found a troupe back in Kalas who made a musical with some information matching what my Grandma had told me about. When we questioned them, they mentioned gaining inspiration for the play from a fisherman living here, so we need to find him to see if he knows more of how to reach the island.”
“I see, and what does this old man look like. Or how will we know when we find him.”
Alexander and Thomas shared a blank look. Stumbling through his words, Thomas replied, “Umm, I mean, he’s a recluse. I think he’s living in a fisherman’s hut?”
Chiming in, Alexander wracked his brain for any other details. “He lives outside of the city in a cabin by the beach!”
Kai paused as he realized neither of the two would be providing a more tangible description of their target. “Alright, then what else did your grandmother tell you about these ruins. I mean you’re the second prince of Tlaloc. I don’t imagine you were sent on such a dangerous mission in the middle of the war without any other info. Spill the beans.”
Thomas interlocked his fingers as he exhaled slowly. “Full transparency, I wasn’t actually sent here on a mission to reach these ruins.”
“I’m gonna need a drink. Maybe I should reconsider joining you guys.” Kai hobbled over towards the kitchen to pour himself a glass of the remaining wine.
“When Agni, Geb and Jupiter attacked Radhi, I was with my grandmother. Everything was fine up until there, but when the Saint of the Deep betrayed us, all hell broke loose. Because I wasn’t in the capital, she took me to the nearest gateway, one connecting Radhi to Derapen at two locations: Insinua and Kedra. In her rush, she powered both of them, and I took the opportunity to run into the one leading here.”
His curiosity piqued, Alexander questioned Thomas. “But I don’t understand, Why would you do that?”
“Because I was tired of being weak. Do you know what it feels like to lead with no strength? How it feels to walk along the infirmaries of injured soldiers, encouraging each of them to continue laying down their lives for my planet, when everyone knows all I do is stay within the safety of the capital? My brother, my father, even my grandmother all fight in the frontlines. Everyone respects them. They are leaders any soldier would gladly follow into battle, but me? No, I was the weakling of the family that was sheltered in an island, far away from the conflict. Even when the battle reached me, I was shoved into a portal as soon as possible. I grew up hearing tales of these ruins, of the great strength they would grant upon those who successfully passed their tests, so when I finally had the opportunity to grasp strength, I didn’t hesitate. Once my grandmother realized the gate I had sprinted towards, it was too late. She used her power to ensure I would land in a safe location and tossed me this necklace.” Thomas took at a leather stringed necklace with a crystal bead. It was like a miniature snow globe with magic making it appear as if it was snowing within the bead. A small hourglass lay within, the only object apart from the never-ending snow.
Kai drummed his fingers rhythmically on the kitchen counter as he slowly came to terms with the mission. “So let me make sure I got this right. You know nothing about these ruins except for the stories you heard in your childhood. Your only clue to reach them is from a musical pointing you towards an old man you know nothing about, and the only thing we have to help us if we ever actually reach the ruins is some necklace.”
Thomas looked to the ceiling as he seemed to be mentally checking if he was missing anything. “Mmhm. That about sums it up.”
A short laugh escaped Kai, as he walked back to couch. “Well, count me in!”
