Nocturna League- Season One Box Set

by Kell Inkston

  "R-rodger, sir," a bewildered Dunklestein says as he rows with two other sailor's help back to The Nocturna.

  The people are filed upon the decks of Her Dark Lady with admirable efficiency. It's obvious to the survivors that this isn't the first time that The Nocturna's saved people.

  The folks are put into the mess hall where it's warm, and already Boris has a wonderful soup ready; wonderful being a subjective term, of course.

  As the other crew members attend to the majority of the survivors, The Captain carries the terrified young lady up to his office, gets the fireplace toasty, and offers her one of his very own towels. She takes her place on one of The Captain's large, comfy leather chairs and drinks the hot chocolate he provides in between her tremors.

  "Well then," The Captain says, laxing back into his personal chair with a glass of Dugal's, "I suppose you have some questions, don't you?"

  After a few seconds, the wide eyed girl nods.

  "Well, I'll do my best to explain your situation." He takes a sip before beginning. "You're in a new land, very new to you. I spotted your ship's flag, and you're from one of the unfortunate realms that has a part of your ocean connected to The Eversea. The Eversea is what we're on right now, it's a nearly endless amalgamation of islands and arpeggios... 'sown in' to one another. You see, where you came from was probably a perfectly normal place, without all those things waiting below, but your ship probably blew off course and entered, what we on The Eversea call a 'layline'. It's a spot that merges the common realm with The Eversea and all the other oceans within it. I'm very sorry for the tragedy. Do you have any family?" He explains this, watching the girl's souls carefully, one perks up.

  "They were pulled down," she says, staring blankly at nothing.

  The Captain takes a long sip. "You have my gravest condolences, young lady... but at least you have some company, yes?"

  The girl jolts, as if introduced to a new horror. "You... you know?"

  The Captain nods. "So, do the two of you have names?"

  She takes a deep breath. "My parents never believed me. They said one of us had to be a demon... My name's… Beatrice." She coughs. "And Pertalaine," the girl says in a calmer, more amiable tone, "A pleasure, sir."

  "How fascinating." He leans in; there should be no problem in his asking. "Perhaps... perhaps you two know why there's two of you in the same body?"

  There's a pause while the girl keeps silent. The Captain assumes this is them talking to each other.

  She nods. "Mother told us we were sick. It was just I back then, Pertalaine. Father got a special doctor, then the next day there was both of us."

  The Captain's grip tightens on his glass. "Do you remember the doctor's name?"

  The girl brushes her wet brown locks from her face. "We don't."

  “Are you certain? Think hard.”

  She just shakes her head.

  He leans further to them. "Please, you must remember.”

  She’s silent.

  “You’re not just trying to protect this ‘doctor’?”

  “Tell me!" He's practically looming over them by this point.

  "We really don't, please believe us, sir!" she peeps.

  He slams his glass onto the side table. "Dammit! What did it look like, sound like? It wasn't really a person, was it?"

  The girl bunches up into the chair as best she can to stay away from The Captain. "You're... we don't know!"

  He hovers over them a moment more, and sighs before drawing back. "Please… please excuse me, ladies. I shouldn't get so riled up over something so... unimportant." He crouches to their level and offers his hand. "You may call me Lewis. I'm the captain of this ship."

  Her eyes brighten. "That's... that was father's name." She takes his hand and shakes.

  He smiles. "What a coincidence... well don't worry, I'll... I'll make sure you're well taken care of. Do you have any next of kin?"

  She shakes her head.

  "Ahh, yes, and even if you did, I doubt anyone in the mess hall would know what your dimension's name is... I suppose I'll just have to take you under my wing, mmm?"

  She looks aside. "Well, we don't know."

  "Would you like some more hot chocolate?" The Captain asks.

  She nods quickly and presents her cup.

  It was not difficult to persuade her, not that she had anywhere else to go, or anything.

  An Expected Start (Truly, a Memorable Evening: Part One)

  Mayor Irefall folds her hands calmly upon the table as she looks over The Captain; this is it. Her eyes are like brilliant gateways to hell as she smiles with such beautiful pretension one might think she considers herself divine.

  "Having a good evening, Captain?"

  The Captain takes a sip of wine with one hand, his other hand already reaching into his right leg, holding one of his firearms. "Wonderful, my dear. You've been nothing but a magnificent hostess."

  "Yes," She scoffs, "a charmer up until the end, I see. Now I suppose it's no surprise to you considering your infamy that I would want you away with, yes?"

  He wonders if he's supposed to act surprised. "Well... I am The Captain, after all." He wins a few muffled snickers. "I am not at all surprised you'd have me done away with to your bed chambers."

  Even though he raises a laugh, The Captain is sorry for the off-color joke; he's better than that.

  Miss Irefall, instantly envisioning earlier today, almost breaks her facade, almost. "Now, Captain, that's a bit far, don't you think? I was actually talking about killing you. Or... well, as killed as you could really be, I suppose."

  "He's quite the hardy one," Moriss butts in, raising a glass in recognition of The Captain's prowesses.

  People nod with Moriss in some form of weird admiration as Irefall tinks her little glass with a spoon. "If you please, Captain Moriss."

  The seafoam man bounces back to professional height. "Of course, ma'am."

  She nods in thanks, and slowly looks back to The Captain. "You know, this night has been all that I've dreamed of. I've wanted you here so long, Captain, or should I say, Lewis."

  A few whispers are exchanged, a few people claiming they were sure his name is something entirely different.

  Irefall continues. "Having all these wonderful people here to see your eternal downfall," she says as she wins over a few cheers from the table. "-to strike such a black mark from The Eversea's history," she adds as more and more people raise their voices in excitement. "-to bring mankind back to the number one spot of import here in Wreckwind, and everywhere else upon our fine dark sea. You have been so bullhardy with your juvenile demands to monopolize trade that you have proven yourself to be an obstacle that must either be surrendered to... or removed altogether!" At that, the cheering reaches its fever pitch, half of the table genuinely excited about The Captain getting what's coming to him after all these years, and a few just playing along because that's what the others are doing.

  The Captain scoffs, considering his response as Irefall continues.

  "As the shining, ingenious star upon this dark lake, I don't need you around here casting any shadows." She snaps her fingers.

  From the doors burst a swarm of armed guards, with assault rifles of all things. Just like a to common human, fire from these steam-powered weapons would tear The Captain apart in a matter of only seconds. They run through the lines, and aim directly at The Captain, who scowls under his bandages.

  "Get out th'way! File to the edges of the room, please!" A guard shouts, rousing guests from their seats and pushing them to the walls for safety. In only a minute, the ballroom has become the stadium for The Captain's and Mayor Irefall's great battle. Boris, Jim and Luisoix are all held at gunpoint at another corner for safe keeping. Cheers ring out from both sides of the room as Irefall finally gets up from her seat.

  "Any last words before we begin?"

  There's an anticipating silence. "Actually, yes." The Captain pushes forward his wine glass. "Your taste in wine is terrible. This white
does not pair well with the red meat of the course at all. You should have taken that into consideration."

  Irefall raises a brow. "Ahh, but isn't that a matter for my chef?"

  "You are the hostess. It ultimately reflects on you. Anyway," He leans forward, joining his hands calmly and professionally. "I suppose if I were to say anything, it would be to voice my disappointment."

  Irefall hums. "What ever could you mean, Captain? You're surrounded, you have no means of escaping, your crew is all under my thumb, just waiting for my order to be killed, and you..." She steps forward, her hands held at dignified rest. "You're just waiting for me to divide you in half, blow you into smithereens, and collect you in a cute little jar for posterity. You're literally going to be a piece of my sentimental collection, for the rest of your days."

  The Captain hums as Irefall pulls up the seat right next to him, and sits down gracefully.

  "And what of my two young ladies?"

  "If either of them had anything I would have been alerted. They're being held below most likely, or dead. Doesn't matter all that much now, does it? You don't care about them all that much, anyway."

  The Captain stretches his black sand neck about. "Quite the contrary, I'd be notably perturbed if one of them died... But less so with you, Pertalaine. I dare say you were, in all my years, my least favorite apprentice. You weren't even inventive like Beatrice. It is obvious from your new contraptions that you barely had a part in creating them... Likely why you hired Tidealane and so many others to help you. All you are, my dear, is a brutish coquette."

  There's a ring of whispers as Irefall shrugs. "What's the matter, Captain, no more ammunition? Can only hit with words now that you can't hurt me?" She leans in. "Has my dog lost it's bite?"

  "Oh my," The Captain sighs. "-so you haven't noticed?"

  Irefall looks about the ballroom, all appears as she planned. "No."

  "You keep telling me how difficult your life has been, and I won't detract from that, but you cannot know the experience, the pain of other people; I, however do. What you consider to be the very highest of human achievement and ability I consider to be playing of children. Truly, your reckoning of what 'good' and 'evil' are, is so warped that you can't even tell if you've done a good job securing me. Your mistakes yesterday and today have been numerous, and you'll soon discover the fruits of your incompetence."

  Mayor Irefall yawns.

  "And though your superiority in a fight should pose no question, you will still find that insulting my intelligence with a plot as thin as this was ultimately what proved to be your downfall."

  She grins and, in a blink fast movement, kicks him from under the table. Her sinew, enhanced with inhuman strength, impacts and explodes his left shin instantly. Amidst the shock and awe of the onlookers, The Captain retains his composure perfectly, as if it were a simple quake of the ground. "Why don't you enlighten me, then? Just how did I fail?"

  The Captain nods. "First of all, I admire your attempt at reducing the spread of my sand as much as possible."

  She coos. "Yes, I did expect you'd try to do something like that, so I had a ventilation system put in that filtered the air in every single room you'd be in during our stay. Of course, I'm quite immune to your sway, but I was worried for my guests and employees."

  "Yes, it was thoughtful of you, but did you know that my sand can, for lack of a better word, grasp onto things?"

  Irefall smiles pleasantly. "Now, how precisely would that be a problem?"

  The Captain looks to the window again.. "I'm shocked. You truly didn't notice anything amiss?"

  She shakes her head. "No, Lewis. Not at all."

  "Even though you ventilated the rooms I traveled through, with every step I left a trail of sand, waiting to be picked up by anyone passing by... but what's more important is that my sand can cling to most anything... including people."

  Irefall understands, and brushes along the back of her neck, her scalp, her feet in a calm and collected fashion. "I don't see them, Captain."

  "Why would I place them anywhere other than a point of maximum contact, my cake?"

  She quickly lifts one of her sleeve, inside the hemming is ring upon ring of The Captain's black sand. She's been spreading it everywhere she's gone.

  Irefall scoffs. "Good show, Lewis, but you forget I was just as isolated as you! I spent the entire time with you!"

  The black sand once forming his shin slowly gravitates back to The Captain's leg. "If that were truly the case, you would know one of your greatest failings."

  "Which is?"

  "Incredibly simple. You gave me a room with a view over a port with a breeze."

  She shrugs. "And yet my barrier will have prevented any exit of your nasty little specks."

  "Of course, but I wasn't going for that, was I? Can you guess what quite-frequented place is on the manor grounds?"

  Irefall feels a chill as she looks to the security guards. "My word."

  At that recognition, The Captain moves the security guards, each having unknowingly consumed nearly a collective pound of The Captain's black sand, behind him in support.

  The crowd goes wild as Boris, Luisoix, and Jim are all released.

  Irefall takes a stand, realizing this will be a little trickier than she expected. "I see," she says, looking over her two dozen guards, completely out of their mind and out of her control.

  The Captain dips his finger through the air like a professor correcting a student. "Perhaps now you're getting a taste of the truly flavor of the night. It was prudent of you to have them wear masks and never come in contact with me, but you did allow my one opportunity to affect them before they met me, which I took full advantage of, as you can see." The Captain waves his head to the door and has the full force of guards rush out of the room. "As you and I have our dance, they'll work on releasing my apprentices."

  Irefall smiles. "I'm certain they'll have difficulty with that."

  "If you say so, but they'll try all the same. I'm not so foolish as to throw them at you. I know you wouldn't hesitate to kill your employees if it benefitted you," he says as he begins re-wrapping his leg, the black sand holding the shape of his shin to let him secure the mold with his linen.

  Irefall's right begins to liquefy and contort. "I suppose you also would be too noble to have your little cohorts join in on dance?"

  The Captain laughs. "You consider me a nobleman? I will absolutely take that company. Boris!"

  "WHAT IT IS, CAPTAIN?" The giant lobster roars from the other side of the room.

  "You remember all those times you say you wanted to eat Pertalaine?"

  Boris gurgles in thought. "WELL, YES, CAPTAIN, BUT I'M NOT SEEING WHY THAT WOULD BE OF THE PERTINENT RIG-"

  The Captain gestures over to Irefall in a “She’s right here” fashion, and Boris gasps in joy. His claws shoot right up to where his cheeks would be if he had them.

  "SO I CAN BE OF THE EATING?!"

  "Of course, Boris! Come over and let's gut this cod together!" The Captain says this in a way that pisses Lady Irefall off with excruciating ease.

  "So be it," Irefall says as Boris rockets over. She looks to the crowd and spots Martaine, somehow still standing. "Mister Vangair, you're alright?"

  He stands at attention. "Yes, ma'am!" He says through his gas mask.

  "Shoot these bastards!"

  "But what if I miss and hit you, ma'am?"

  "Don't worry about me, dolt!" She says just a second before Boris' claw zooms for her neck. Martaine pulls out his gun. "Yes ma'am!" And aims down The Captain, who vault behind the huge table and, with hysterical strength, pushes the whole thing over to provide cover.

  Irefall's hand forms into a razor-sharp glave, just after she meet's Boris' lunge with a swift kick, sending the lobster flying to the other side of the room.

  Cries, cheers, and drunken celebration rage on from the crowd as the four engage in a vicious battle.

  Elsewhere, there's another, more vital operation taking place.


  Through the Looking Glass (Truly, a Memorable Evening: Part Two)

  Colette makes her move. She's not sure how many eldritch there are, but the one from Irefall's chamber and the one in the holding room look too much alike to be coincidence. The moment she hears the dense clash between The Captain and Lady Irefall from above, she opens the janitor's closet from whence Luisoix left her just an hour ago.

  She's been patient all this time, and now she's ready to succeed.

  She rushes down the hall, up the many flights of steps, and all the way to the manor's secret area without problem. There, she meets Grancis, pacing back and forth through the halls uneasily before they see one another.

  "C-colette?" Grancis' arms limp in shock.

  "Howdy, Gra-" Colette stops the second her best friend dives into her space and gives her a big hug.

  "I had no idea what happened to you. I was terrified! You could've been dead and I wouldn't even know!"

  Colette smiles awkwardly as she sort of reciprocates the hug. "Glad to see you... too?" Colette wonders how Grancis seems to be in such good shape emotionally if she thought she were dead- "maybe she doesn't care about me much after all," she wonders.

  Colette pulls her clinging friend away. "So what are you doing here?"

  "I'm looking for a secret passage The Captain briefed me on, but I have no idea wher-"

  Colette reaches in under the lurid portrait of Mayor Irefall, and her hand goes through the wall.

  Grancis pauses a moment and then nods. "Ahhhh, of course. Should have thought of that... I was thinking it was like, notched out wallpaper or something."