by Riker Kane
“So… Where are we headed?”
Clayton pulled out his compass. With nothing but the open sea in front of him, there was no telling what to expect. It was a feeling he had not too long ago.
“I don’t know where we’re going. But I’ll find what I’m looking for. I know I will.”
Chapter 16
The Hilamau Islands quickly disappeared in the distance. The horizon returned to nothing but the Great Sea in every direction. Clayton basked in the openness of it all, standing at the bow of the ship and inhaling the salty air.
Kailani appeared to enjoy it even more. She stretched her arms out to her sides. The wind blew against her and the sun shined down on her golden skin. Clayton was grateful he wasn’t as alone on his journey as he could have been.
“Do you miss it—”
“Don’t start with that.” She kept her eyes closed as she basked in the sea and air. “It’s only been a few hours. No point in getting sentimental. You already know how I feel about being stuck on an island, even if I was born there. We’ve got a great, big journey ahead of us.
“We sure do.” He laughed at her enthusiasm. “But it looks like we’re gonna be on this boat for a little bit. We might have to find something to occupy ourselves with.”
She peeked an eye open at him. “Boys,” she sighed. “Do you ever get your mind out of the gutter?”
“I’m just trying to pass the time.”
“It’s no wonder you ran into that kraken. You’ve got no eye for sailing.”
“What are you talking about?”
She pointed in the distance. “There’s something up ahead.”
He put his hand up to block the sun and squinted. He could just barely make out a small mass of land in the direction they sailed. “That thing is so tiny… How were you able to see it?”
“Try focusing, BB.”
The two worked together to sail toward the land. As it came into view, it didn’t appear as big as Clayton thought it was. The island was so small he could see all around it, even as they neared it.
“Hmm… White sandy beaches… Palm trees… It looks pretty inviting…”
“I leave the island for the first time in my life and end up in the exact same place. Just great.”
“It’s not the same place. It’s a different island. You know what that means?”
“No…”
“All kinds of loot. Let’s just hope the locals are friendly.”
“Doesn’t seem like there are any locals at all.”
Clayton pulled the boat to shore and set anchor. His feet back on solid land, he surveyed the small island for any sign of danger.
“Welp… We’re on an island. Now what?”
“It’s not very big,” Clayton said. “I think I see something down there.”
He had no idea what was waiting for him but his heart pounded with excitement. He kept moving with Kailani trailing behind him. The two came upon a cavern entrance.
“It’s always a cave,” Clayton sighed.
“This isn’t just any cave… Look…” She moved close to the walls and ran her hand over the stone. “Something is carved into it.”
“Yeah… I see it…” Clayton squinted at the intricate carvings and shook his head. “Doesn’t look like anything to me. The whole entrance has carvings though.”
“And this isn’t any ordinary cavern. You see that? That’s not the natural face. Someone chiseled the walls. Like they wanted to make it more formal.”
“You ever hear about anything like this?”
“I’ve read a lot of stories about people who made caverns their homes. Sometimes they would carve the walls to signify who lived there. We had similar places back in Hilamau, before our people moved out into the villages. That was ancient history though.”
“Maybe this is part of your ancient history.”
“Or maybe someone’s down there and we’re trespassing.”
They stared at one another, considering their options. It only took a second for Clayton to smile.
“Even if my friends aren’t down there, I’ve gotta find some loot.”
“Who am I to stop you from gathering your precious trinkets?”
“That’s the spirit!”
Clayton ignited his sword and moved through the cavern. It wasn’t as dark as the caves on Hilamau, holes on the ceiling providing space for the sun to shine through. The ground was damp but surprisingly clean.
“I can hear water,” he said. “But I don’t know if it’s coming from outside or not.”
He moved forward, taking note of how polished the floor was. The more they descended, the more open the space became. More sunlight shined down as the ceiling opened up. He looked up to see the trees, the island rest of the island visible above them.
“It looks like there’s another way to come in here,” he said. “You can climb down from there.”
“Sure, if you’ve got a 40-foot rope. Nobody is dropping down from the ceiling to get down here.”
“You never know…”
Clayton stopped talking when he heard something. He put his hand up and looked at Kailani. She nodded, holding her breath to listen just the same as him.
He looked up and watched as spiders suddenly appeared. They spun their webs and descended down to the cavern ground.
“Great,” Clayton sighed. “Spiders the size of cows and I’ve got just the right armor for it.”
“Do you always have to say something clever before a fight?”
“No… But let’s rock.”
Kailani rolled her eyes as she pulled her bone daggers from her waist. Brown spiders, their legs and bodies hairy and their teeth bared, surrounded the two of them. Clayton lost count of them but didn’t care. He’d been through this before.
“Make sure you don’t get any of that venom on you,” he said as he charged forward and sliced a spider in half.
“Yeah, yeah…” Kailani leaped into the air and flipped over the spiders, landing on one of them with a vicious stab. There was nothing quite like the visceral squeal of a spider in pain. Clayton would’ve been unnerved if he wasn’t so busy fighting them off.
Clayton did his best to preserve his stamina. Precise slashes split their bodies in two before they could get on top of him. Even when he missed, he took out their legs, making it easier for Kailani to finish them off.
The cavern floor was littered with webs and the crimson of the arachnids. Wave after wave of spiders descended. Clayton continued fighting, the flames from even a broken sword being too much to match.
Dozens of spiders surrounded him yet still more came. Clayton looked up and sighed to regain his composure, sensing his exhaustion creeping up.
“Look out!” Kailani shouted and Clayton turned around just as a spider tried to sink its teeth into him. He quickly shot a fireball right into its mouth, engulfing its insides in flames.
Kailani grew accustomed to the fight, leaping and bouncing off the walls of the cavern with an athleticism the spiders weren’t able to match. A few throwing daggers planted them in their tracks before they had a chance to advance on her.
One last spider descended. It faced Clayton without caring its brethren had all been sliced and stabbed. Clayton gripped his hilt tight and pointed the Zeal Blade at it. The spider charged recklessly. Clayton thrust and dug his sword into the creature’s mouth. It closed its fangs on the broken blade but it was only a last, futile attack.
He pulled his weapon free and wiped the blood on the fur of one of the spiders. Kailani had worked up a sweat, her body giving Clayton inappropriate thoughts at an inappropriate moment.
“That was fun,” she sighed.
“Fun… Never met a girl who thought fighting spiders in dank cavern was fun…”
“You never met a girl like me.” Kailani winked as she skipped along the path down the cavern. Clayton laughed softly to himself before following.
Clayton noticed more of the intricate carvings on the walls as they descended. He
couldn’t tell what they were, only that they matched the shapes near the entrance.
They kept walking down the path until it came to an end.
“What is that?” Clayton walked closer and saw the square of water in front of him. “A pool of water… This isn’t natural though. It’s a perfect square. Like a swimming pool.”
“And it’s got the same carvings on the entrance, too.”
He moved closer to the water.
“Careful, BB. There might be a giant squid waiting to pull you in. I don’t know if I’m gonna jump into some ink to help you out this time.”
“No… There’s no squid in there. The water’s too clean. It’s crystal clear. I can see my reflection.”
Clayton stood right on the entrance of the pool. As he peered down at his reflection, he noticed something behind it.
“What is that? It’s bright… Like there’s a light shining underneath…”
“Maybe there’s that loot you’re talking about.”
“Maybe… I can’t tell how far down it goes though…” He moved his face closer to the water until his nose was touching it. He squinted and suddenly saw a pair of eyes staring back at him. But they weren’t his reflection. “Oh, crap!”
He stumbled back just as something emerged from the water with a giant splash. Kailani quickly grabbed him and dragged him away. The creature crawled out of the water and moved toward them.
“What the…” Clayton still couldn’t believe what he was looking at. “Some sorta… sea spider.”
The beast was just like the creatures he’d killed in the previous room. But there was something strange about this spider. It wasn’t the fact that it was the size of a semi-truck. It wasn’t the menacing fangs dripping with venom. It wasn’t hairy or even brown.
“It has… scales?” The blue scales looked like something he’d find on a fish. Its scaly body shined from the light coming from the pool of water.
“Scales… Hair… Does it matter?”
“No…” Clayton reignited the Zeal Blade with flames. “It doesn’t.”
He shot a fireball at the spider. It curled up into a ball and the fire bounced off of it.
“Hmm… It looks like those scales are armor.”
“Just like a crab. You’ve beaten one of those before.”
“Right. But I don’t think this thing is gonna let me flip it over so easily.”
“Don’t give up on me now, BB.”
The spider unraveled from the ball it was in and shot a line of web forward. Kailani leaped into the air and ran across the walls to avoid getting hit. Clayton blink-dashed forward and brought his broken sword down on the spider’s body. There was some give but his swing wasn’t hard enough to cut through it.
“Piece by piece, BB! Not all at once!”
Clayton took her advice and moved around the creature. He cut at its legs, swinging into it like cutting down a tree. But with so many legs, he would have to keep his focus.
Kailani continued to leap into the air, throwing daggers from her hip to keep the beast distracted. The spider spit its webbing at her to slow her down though she narrowly avoided getting hit.
The dashes Clayton used to put himself in position to cut the spider down began to take their toll. His stamina was fading, even without having to look at it.
“You got this…” The spider advanced. Clayton dashed forward and swung hard. The Zeal Blade met some resistance against the blue scales but sliced through its leg. The spider fell on its side, its squeal of pain rumbling the entire cavern.
“Keep going! I’ll keep him distracted!”
Kailani threw her daggers to get the spider’s attention then leaped down on top of it, sinking both of her bone daggers into its massive body. It moved back and forth to try and rock her off. Clayton took the opportunity to cut down another one of its legs.
“Two down…” He reared back with another swing and sent another one of its legs flying. “Three down…”
Kailani was unable to hold on for much longer as the spider’s violent movement sent her flying off. She just managed to land on her feet but couldn’t recover quickly enough to avoid the line of web fired at her. It caught her right in the ankle and kept her in place.
“Kailani!”
Even with three legs gone, the giant spider moved with a terrifying quickness. It raced toward Kailani as she struggled to break free from the web.
Clayton quickly dashed in front of her and his instinct took over. He raised his leg up like a bullet flying from a chamber and slammed his foot into the spider’s face. The spider crumpled into a ball.
“Wow… Thanks, Iris…” Clayton took a second to admire his new ability before helping Kailani out of the webbing.
The stunned spider slowly uncoiled from its ball. Blood dripped from its missing limbs and the wounds Kailani punctured it with. But the creature’s eyes were no less menacing.
“How you feeling, BB?”
“I’ve gotta be honest… I’m a little tired.”
“Cut down that last leg and it’ll fall on its side. Then finish it off.”
“Sounds like a plan… Let’s rock.”
“Please stop saying that.” Kailani sighed as she moved forward. She tossed a dagger right into the spider’s mouth. It still kept its fangs bared. Just before she ran into it, she moved to the ground, sliding underneath it. With all of her strength, she stabbed at the belly of the beast with both of her daggers. The spider let out another horrifying screech.
Kailani quickly made her way out from underneath the spider.
“My turn.” Clayton rushed forward and moved to the spider’s side. One swing cut through the last leg on its left side, knocking it over.
The spider tried to move with its other legs but it could no longer cover the distance it once did. It was disarmed and bleeding but still biting with its fangs.
Clayton moved back, tightening his grip on his hilt. He reared back then leaped into the air. He got as high as he could before the ground sucked him down like a vacuum. He crashed back down, the Zeal Blade piercing the spider’s scales. He gritted his teeth as he dug his sword in, getting deep enough to cut into the spider. The spider squirmed one last time before resting dead in a pool of its own dark blood.
Fatigue hit Clayton and he hunched over to catch his breath. Kailani tucked away her weapons and admired their teamwork.
“No problem,” she said.
“Yeah… No problem… It just took all of my stamina and every ability I have.”
“Stop exaggerating. I think we could probably take another one.”
“Please don’t say that—”
The light in the pool suddenly shined bright enough to blind the both of them. Clayton put his hands up to block it. The flash of light ended and he was able to open his eyes.
“What the…”
He looked around and saw the men and women surrounding. They were all wearing thick, brass armor. Each one brandished a javelin with two hands. But more interesting than that was their appearance. Their skin was light blue, like nothing he’d ever seen before. It wasn’t because of the light of the cave. He was sure of it.
“Kailani… Am I seeing this right—”
“Halt!” One of the pale blue men barked as he stepped forward. “Don’t move, trespassers!”
“Trespassers? We don’t even know—”
“Silence! You will speak when you are told to!”
He considered for a moment if he should put up a fight. He counted more than 20 fighters surrounding him. With a broken weapon and stamina only just beginning to recover, he knew his chances weren’t very good. The resigned look Kailani gave him only confirmed it.
“Come with us!” The man moved his javelin close enough to poke Clayton in the chest. “Do not try to resist!”
Clayton and Kailani put their hands up.
“You think they’re taking us to your loot?” Kailani asked Clayton.
Considering Clayton was still able to roll his eyes,
he was hopeful this wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
Chapter 17
“Seize them!”
The soldiers grabbed Clayton and Kailani.
“All right!” Kailani grumbled. “No need to be so rough!”
“We’re not looking for a fight.” Clayton’s pleas were ignored as he was taken by the arms.
He didn’t struggle as he was forced into the small square of water. The bright light at the base of the water grew brighter as he sank near it. He closed his eyes and suddenly the shining light disappeared.
He gulped in a deep gasp even though he’d been in the water for only a few seconds. But he was still at a loss of words when he realized his surroundings.
“What the…” Clayton turned his head around in disbelief. The room he was in wouldn’t have seemed much different from the keep in Nalore. The floors were marble and the walls were lined with what looked like gold. But the walls themselves weren’t made from brick or mortar or wood like usual. It appeared to be glass. Or something clear at least.
He blinked his eyes to make sure he was looking at it right. “It looks like there are fish flying around out there. Sharks… There’s an octopus… If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear we were underwater.”
“I think we are underwater,” Kailani said it under her breath to avoid irritating their captors any further.
“This way!” One of the soldiers poked Clayton with his javelin and forced him forward.
Kailani marveled at the sights in the water right next to them.
“It’s like being in a giant aquarium,” Clayton said. “If the aquarium is in the middle of the Great Sea…”
He took a better look at his escort. Both men and women, they were stone-faced as they marched forward. Their posture stiff and their heads held high, they could’ve passed for robots. Their skin was a pale blue with a slight sheen making them appear wet though Clayton didn’t have the guts to actually reach out and touch one of them. Along with their pale, smooth skin, their hair was a dark blue, something like the midnight sky. The contrast of their hair against their bodies made them even more striking. But their eyes… They were deep yellow pupils like nothing Clayton had seen before.