Their first day of sailing went better than Keizeron expected, but it was far from perfect. Aka and Sola were the only two experienced enough to be left at helm without Keizeron's assistance, so the helm shifts were tedious. At the very least Willow and Zero could keep the deck running, though Keiz noticed very quickly that Willow avoided being near the railing. She had not looked over the side of the ship since they had taken off, which Keiz found just as amusing as he found it vexing. A cleric of the earth on an airship must be a harrowing experience. He doubted the pay would be a great enough incentive, what could be motivating her to be here? Mea on the other hand was proving to be a difficult case. She seemed to be uninterested or unable to learn any of the basics of working on a boat. Keizeron was debating if they should try to find a new quartermaster at their next port when Mea went below deck to cook lunch for the crew.
Soon the smells of roasting meat and spices were wafting above deck, and Keizeron had Aka take over the wheel so he could go investigate. Mea was humming to herself as he entered the kitchen, twirling the blade as she chopped up several root vegetables and added them to a creamy soup base. In a separate pan two large cuts of meat were browning nicely.
“Hello Captain!” Mea said cheerily as she turned, and he noticed some bubbles popping out of the soup base. Well, that explained why the smell was so prevalent above deck. “Everything should be done stewing in about half a hour.”
Keiz nodded, unsure if he should praise her unusual cooking methods when he felt a pull from his magic, and Duchess leapt from his earring and onto the cook top. She mewed up at Mea, obviously trying to get some of the scraps of meat she was smelling. The captain turned to reprimand his familiar when Mea let out a delighted squeal.
“Oh a cerade!” Mea exclaimed upon seeing the elegant creature. “What an adorable familiar! I have a familiar too, would you like to meet him?”
She held up her hand before Keiz had a chance to respond, and an opaque bubble swirled forth from her palm. It popped loudly, and suddenly there was a large orange crab with furry claws in her hand. It gurgled in confusion as it was brought into a new environment, its eyes blinking slowly. “This is-” ((“You may not name it that.”)) “This is, uh, Mittens,” Mea said, lowering the crab onto the counter. Duchess hissed at him as he reached a claw towards her, and jumped back onto Keiz’s shoulder. Her quest for food momentarily forgotten in light of a new enemy appearing.
Keizeron pulled her down into his arms, lightly scratching the feline behind her ears so she would calm down. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a cuddle crab familiar before, how did that come to be?” He asked curiously.
“He’s not a cuddle crab, how silly! Or, I suppose he’s not always a crab,” Mea rambled as she cooked, completely ignoring the drama between the familiars. “He can change his shape, but it’s mostly fish and that doesn’t help much when we’re not close to water. But my magic has been so much easier to control since he came to me! So I just let him stay in whatever shape he wants.”
Duchess rumbled with curiosity as Keizeron held her, but he was no longer paying attention. A fish familiar? What an odd thing in a world where the most water was found in a few sparse lakes and the even fewer rivers and streams that connected to them. Of course it was most likely Mea came from Ocaes, most aquans did. The continent was over fifty percent water, with a large flowing river that flowed over the edge and through the cloud layers below. It was only thanks to Aria’s blessing that it kept flowing after continuously losing so much water all the time. A familiar like that might have been helpful on her home continent, but hardly seemed practical anywhere else in the world.
After lunch Sola took over at the helm for a brief amount of time. The country side sailed beneath the ship in a view that he could never get used to. They had long since left behind the busy city of Sahale, and now flew over vast woodlands and the beginnings of rocky outcroppings that would be mountains by nightfall. In clear weather you could see for miles over the land, but the clouds had rolled in creating a gloom that lowered visibility. Aka stood close to him, relaying topographical info as it became relevant even though he never asked for the help. Sola quickly surmised that they didn't want to be around any of their other crew mates. He didn’t mind, with the wind in his hair and his home a distant memory he was the happiest he felt he could be.
Sola barely listened to the navigator as they told him the first day should be nothing but easy sailing, though he did start to pay attention as they warned him about the upcoming mountain range. Their stint through the Elluin mountains should be brief enough, but if they couldn’t reach it before nightfall they would have to stop for the night; It was too treacherous to try to navigate in the dark with such an inexperienced crew. Sola already had impaired vision, he wouldn't be much help after nightfall no matter how well lit the boat was.
As he feared, the gloomy weather gradually became rain that pittered across the deck of the ship. Keiz took over the helm, but it was quickly apparent to all that even with his lead they would not be reaching Elluin in time. The hours crawled by as the rain became more intense, driving even Mea off the top decks. It grew dark as they stopped near the foot of the mountains, the rain now coming down in sheets. Unwilling to put a new crew through such a challenging maneuver on their first night, Keiz called that they would anchor here before the storm got any worse. They were too far from any port to change course, and it would have been out of the way regardless.
Sola once again worked the lev stone, while Zero helped Willow to lower the anchor. With no actual place to attach the anchor, Zero opted to wrap it around a particularly sturdy looking tree. Keiz brought them down as soon as it was secure, while Aka and Mea worked together to lower the sails. Typically Keiz would have wanted the sails down before they started to lower the boat to avoid swaying during the descent, but he didn’t want to risk the storm getting worse and blowing them off course after they entered the tree line. Some corners needed to be cut and it was his job to make sure the risks they took were worth it.
Once the boat was a mere twenty feet off the ground they stopped, and Zero and Sola attached additional lines to nearby trees to avoid any swaying in the night. Their captain made quick work of his inspection of the lines, and as Sola watched he raised a hand and made a circular motion with his pointer finger. There was a brief purple glow, and one of the ropes retied itself to be slightly more secure on the branch. Sola felt something buzz inside him, something familiar and uncomfortable, but he shook it off. That discomfort was not something he wanted to deal with again. Keizeron seemed like a trust worthy individual, so Sola was sure he had a reason for his unusual magic. If it needed to be talked about it, it would be. But not right now.
Below deck Keizeron took off his rain soaked coat and shook it out as he addressed the crew. “While the weather is not ideal, we need someone to keep watch tonight,” he said, very plainly not expecting to receive a response. Instead, both Sola and Zero spoke up at once. They looked at each other for a moment, and Zero gave a laugh that sounded like two pieces of metal being struck together.
“I could do the watch if you wanted cap-e-tan,” Zero offered, his voice clip glitching slightly. “It would be quite easy for me, since I don’t need to sleep!”
Keiz considered this. “You don’t sleep? Surely you have to rest at some point, no one can go forever.”
“Well, I suppose I do need to take a rest if we have been in a scuffle. But really only if any of my parts get damaged. Otherwise I can keep going, no break needed!” Zero informed him cheerfully.
“That seems unfair,” Willow said, tilting her head curiously. “Everyone should get a break when they need it.”
“I will take breaks when I need them,” Zero assured her. “I just don’t need them as often as organic beings do. I shall take the first watch.”
As he turned to leave Keiz stopped him, waving to Sola. “You should both have the first watch. Send for someone else when you get tired Sola, and ring the bell if anything happens.”
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Sola gave him a nod, and the two of them climbed back up onto the deck as the rest of the crew scattered to do their nightly routines. Since he had not be given a specific crew mate to call upon when his shift was over, Sola figured he’d just wake whoever was the most convenient. He glanced behind him to get a quick stock of the rest of the crew; Aka had already disappeared into their room while Mea and Willow stood in the hallway chatting quietly. The entrance to Keizeron's room was on the deck, so the captain followed them up before hastily making his way through the rain and into shelter.
Now alone, Sola and Zero walked the deck together as the weather showed no signs of stopping any time soon. They made a quick circle around the edge of the ship to take in their surroundings, Sola keeping a lamp held high as he walked, though it did little to penetrate the darkness beyond. This is why he was terrible at sailing at night. The weather was certainly going to mess with his senses, but theoretically it would also deter anything from trying to board the ship in the night. At least, that’s what Sola hoped as they finished their lap and he took to leaning on the balcony near the bow.
“Are we not going to keep walking?” Zero asked, leaning next to Sola. The rain dripped down his metallic body, completely drenching his yellow poncho.
“Nah, we don’t need to be circling constantly, just every so often,” Sola waved him off. He had been on night watch enough times to know circling the whole time was a fools errand. All it did was make him more tired if there did happen to be a fight. Instead he turned to look at Zero, now was a good a chance as any to get to know the automaton. “Are you fine to get wet like this? Nothing inside of you is going to rust?”
Zero laughed, taking off the poncho and wringing it out. He looked smaller without the extra bit of cloth on, but still pretty imposing. “No, I do not rust. In fact, as far as I can tell I cannot be affected by any sort of outside weathering. I have not been hurt by rain, or by the hot sun. However, I have not been struck by lightening, so I can’t be completely sure. But from experience I can likely say I’m immortal, as I have yet to die.”
Sola shook his head in amusement. “I hope we don’t have to put that to the test. But I have to ask, how did you end up on this ship? It’s pretty rare to see an automaton on a boat like this one, I thought the queen had a pretty strict mandate on where you could work?"
Zero tilted his head the same way he had seen Willow do earlier. “I am missing something. I am quite sure you have noticed by now, but I think I am missing some key components of my core processor.”
Sola was quite for a moment before what the automaton was talking about dawned on him. “You’re missing your brain?” He asked incredulously. Sola waited for Zero to laugh, but the automaton just looked out over the treeline around them. It's face was rigid, the only movement from it a slight flashing in the eyes as it spoke. There would be no way to read his mood from his expression even though Sola considered himself to be pretty good at sensing emotions.
“Not the whole thing, just pieces. I cannot be sure, but I know I have a lot of memories that are missing. Honestly I can only remember about a year back, and not much before then. I don’t even know if I went to the sailing academy. I just remember how to work a gun and that nice blonde lady offered me a job sailing, so I can search the world for my pieces,” Zero explained. He went quite as he pulled his soaking wet poncho back on, and stared up into the storm clouds.
Sola whistled. ((“That’s a lot dude!”)) “Well my friend, if your goal was to travel the world and search for your missing pieces, then you have made the right choice.” Then the other thing that Zero said struck him. “Sorry, nice blonde lady? Do you mean miss Adelaide, our patron? She sought you out personally? I only got a letter of employment!”
“What’s a patron?” Zero asked.
“You really are one year old huh?” Sola scoffed. “She’s our sponsor, she paid for the boat and she pays our wages. Miss Adelaide is a noble from the Iwix capital city, big deal, and she’s kinda famous for her eccentric spending habits. She likes taking big risks, and they don’t pay off very often. I’ve heard quite a few of my previous captains talking about her, and how you should be careful taking jobs that she offers. I guess captain Keizeron hasn’t heard the rumors, or maybe the idea of having his own boat was too good to pass up on. Ya know?” He trailed off as he looked up, realizing he was rambling and Zero was looking a bit lost.
“If you have been warned to not take jobs from her, why are you here?” Zero asked. A bolt of lightening lit up the sky behind them, making Sola jump. Zero remained completely unphased as he focused on his companion’s reply. A clap of thunder followed up, and even this high up in the trees Sola could feel the rumble of it in his boots.
“I said captains should be weary of taking jobs from her. If nothing pans out after we finish the our first job together, the rest of the crew can just jump ship and find other work,” Sola explained. It wasn’t the most noble of options, but if the money was gone there was no shame in finding another expedition. Sola started walking towards the cover of the porch in front of the captains office and Zero followed patiently.
“I’m not sure I would want to leave,” Zero shook his head as he followed, scattering rain drops across the already soaked deck. “The nice lady told me I could find my missing pieces if I went with you.” another flash of light and a thunder crack punctuated the statement.
Sola wiped the excess water off his face once they were under the cover, though he was still getting the occasional droplet from the gaps in the wood above. Lady Adelaide was strange for sure, but she wasn’t a fraud or con woman as far as Sola knew. To offer an automaton the assurance he’d get his parts back was an oddly specific promise to make in person. Unfortunately, if it was just a verbal promise and not a written one, Sola doubted it was exactly the way Zero was describing.
“My letter only offered money,” Sola sulked.
“Well,” Zero stared down at him, and Sola finally noticed his yellow eyes were glowing slightly in the darkness of the storm. “Are you here for any other reason?”
They stared at each other. “No,” Sola lied.
Another flash of lightening was what Sola needed to break eye contact. He waited for the following peel of thunder before telling Zero that he was going to do another round on the deck and he stepped back into the rain. They continued their shift for another hour in silence after that, taking turns huddling under the porch and walking around the perimeter in the pouring rain. Sola had been hoping to keep watch for two hours at least, but he was starting to grow chilly. Zero might not be affected by things like temperature and weather, but Sola could. The last thing he wanted was to get sick on his first day on the ship because he stayed out in the cold rain for too long. Sola stretched his sore limbs while Zero made a round, and thought fondly of the enchanted warming blanket he had back in his room when an unusual movement in the sky caught his attention.
Wearily, Sola doused his lamp, hoping that his eyes were playing tricks on him after being in the pouring rain for so long. While a storm like this typically drove away most wild life, the energy in lightening strikes was also known to attract a number of magical creatures. Many were harmless, like the glow darners that Sola had seen frequently in Amon, but some were far more dangerous. The sort of creatures that were also drawn towards airships, due to their inherent magical nature. A vein of light raced across the sky, and Sola swore loudly as he saw a familiar shape illuminated from within the clouds. Though it blended in well with the storm, Sola knew what to look for.
“Is there a problem?” Zero asked as he wandered over. The automaton hadn’t finished it’s lap, but had seen the lantern being dimmed from across the deck and was concerned.
Sola pointed up into the clouds, even though he knew Zero wouldn’t have a chance of seeing it. “There’s a cloud chaser. Nasty little pests, they attack travelers who are lost in storms,” He explained as he made his way across the deck. He had only seen the one so far, but those things always traveled in packs. Where there was one, five more were waiting in the clouds to ambush their prey.
“But we are not lost!” Zero protested as it followed. He was looking up into the sky where Sola had indicated, but it was clear from the way his head was weaving and his eyes were narrowing that he couldn’t make its form out from the cloud around it. No wait, he wasn't narrowing his eyes, his sockets were firmly circular. Then what was he doing? Just dimming the lights to give the illusion of squinting?
Sola shook his head, he would have time to ask the automaton what it was doing later. “Nope. And they’re going to attack when I ring the bell because they’ll realize they’ve lost the element of surprise. So get ready, we’ll need to hold our ground for a minute until the rest of the crew can get up here.” Sola explained as he glanced across the deck.
“Can we not wake our crew mates up quietly? Go down and grab them without ringing the bell?” Zero asked.
“No can do. If one of us leaves or the ship appears unguarded they’ll attack sooner. I’ve had to fight these things a few times before, two is better than nothing. Are you ready?”
Zero activated the bracers on his arms, and a heavy sheet of metal wrapped around his fists like gauntlets. “I am usually ready to go, but are you? You did not bring your weapon up with us.”
Sola smirked in response, and raised the sleeve of his shirt to reveal an intricate sword tattoo that spiraled around his bicep. As Zero watched in wonder he grabbed the inked hilt and pulled, a phantom ink sword lifting from his skin. There was a slight tearing sound and a flourish of blue magic as the outline of a weapon became real steel.
“That is amazing!” Zero exclaimed, immediately forgetting the problem at hand. “Do you think I could get one like that?”
Sola looked down at the gauntlets that had been stored in its forearms and shrugged. “Item engraving is pretty expensive, but we can look into it bud." He paused, “actually, I have no idea if it could even work on your body, but I think it would be fun to find out!”
Sola reached up and grabbed the rope and rang the bell loudly. The consequence was immediate and alarming. The cloud chasers, no longer trying to keep their numbers hidden, began to hop through the clouds in their direction.The creatures vaguely resembled a dragon, though they were much smaller than the standard adult dragon. They were closer in size to a large hound dog, and their features were much more round and soft than their more ferocious counterparts. The main difference between the two drakes was the fact that cloud chasers could blend in with their surroundings, to the point where it was difficult to see where they ended and the storm around them began. Their scales, down to the tip of their wings had a misting effect that gave the appearance of actually being made from clouds.
Now that they weren't hiding anymore Zero tried to get a decent look at them, but it felt immediately overwhelmed as seven of them descended onto the deck and encircled them. It felt better having Sola at it's back, but one thing was obvious to him; neither of them were escaping this deck while the pack lived.
