Serena's scream contained a trace of arcane power in it as it expanded to envelop every inch of Alana's Regret, waking and alerting all of the ship's inhabitants. Farmer didn't have to think too hard to know that there was surely a large group of his crew heading to this very room in response to it. He imagined, for a moment, the loss of reputation he would experience if he was caught completely undressed and apparently trying to join a young maiden as she slumbered; this couldn't possibly look good. In fact, it looked anything but good.
Thus, he flashed off the bed and grabbed the first item of clothing he could find: a pair of worn leather breeches that had a hole on the right side. Farmer had barely enough time to put them on when Lampa kicked the door to his chamber open and rushed in brandishing a metal tonfa in each hand. With a flick of his wrists, he ignited all the candles inside Farmer's chamber and prepared himself for action.
"What's going on?!" He asked furiously. How dare anyone intrude into his captain's abode?! Mentally, he swore to tear the culprit into a thousand pieces. Then, he noticed that something was off about the scene in front of him.
Serena was staring at him, completely dumbstruck and blushing bright red. She was holding the blankets up to her neck and, upon noticing Lampa's confused glances, she covered herself up entirely. In that very moment, she wanted nothing more than to jump into the sea and sink into its depths.
Lampa then turned to face Farmer and when he saw him standing beside the bed wearing nothing but a ragged pair of breaches, he smiled a devious smile. In Farmer's eyes, Lampa's grin bode nothing but terrible teasing and humiliation. At least Serena didn't appear to have noticed he was naked but a few seconds earlier.
"Captain, when did you get back?" Asked Lampa, chuckling shamelessly. "Are you busy? If so, I'll leave right away."
"You WILL leave right away and tomorrow you and I will converse at length as to why you allowed someone to come in here without my express permission." Sternly remarked Farmer. "And Lampa, hear me well. If you breathe so much as a whisper of this to anyone, I vow to Naosh herself that I will rip the skin from your body and fling you into the salt water. Am I understood?"
Lampa laughed awkwardly. Although this was an oath that would typically cause one's hair to stand on end due to its severity, he didn't take it to heart. Farmer was known to make similar statements at least twice a month. "Aye, captain. But what should I tell the men?"
Farmer frowned for a second. He could hear the footsteps of his men approaching their position. In a matter of moments, he would have some hard explaining to do and he simply didn't want to concern himself with such triviality. "I don't know. You can think of something. Tell them the young Lady had a nightmare, for all I care."
"As you command, captain." Saluted Lampa. Following which, he vacated the room and called out the false alarm. He indeed followed Farmer's instructions to the letter, as he twisted the facts and described that Serena had woken up from a dreadful nightmare and had shouted out as a consequence. A few of the men cursed out loudly, but none doubted the veracity of Lampa's statement.
Little did they know of the hilarity of the situation within their captain's quarters. If they did, who knew what expression they would make.
Sighing to himself, Farmer waited until he could not hear anyone outside in the corridor. Just to be doubly certain, he sent out his spiritual sense and, sure enough, there was no one nearby. Only then did he speak.
"You shouldn't have been in here." He chastised.
Serena poked her head out of the blankets and took a series of deep breaths. After which her gaze became serious and she glared at Farmer. He was taken aback by this. "I thought you said I could come and go wherever I wanted; that there were no forbidden areas for me on this ship."
Farmer was at a loss for words. Never had he expected that this girl would use his own promise against him in such a dubious context. Firstly, this was his room. Secondly, it shouldn't be needed to be said out loud that it's outside the realm of civility to sleep on another's bed without them knowing about it; especially when you're their guest! He felt the indignation bubbling inside him and, for a moment, he wanted to curse her out of his room. However, he saw something strange in her eyes. Some strange emotion he couldn't quite recognise and decided it was best if he just kept quiet. After all, he didn't truly want her to leave.
"What are you just standing there for?" She asked him angrily when she noticed his lack of reaction. What is wrong with him? She thought. In her mind, Farmer should have either apologised or fought back against her. Maybe he didn't really care about her, she pondered sorrowfully.
"You… What am I to do?" Farmer was exasperated and threw his arms into the air. Women were far more complicated than anything he had ever known before.
"There's a maiden clothed only in her undergarments in front of you. Turn around so that I may dress myself." She commented austerely. This startled Farmer because he hadn't even begun to consider if she was wearing anything or not. "Or are you so despicable and shameless that you want to watch as I do so."
"No, no!" Exclaimed Farmer as he spun around as quickly as he could. Serena was delighted to see a shadow of embarrassment on his face before he turned. Perhaps he did care in his own way, she thought.
Making sure Farmer wasn't peaking, she came out from under the blankets. If Farmer had been looking, he might not have been able to keep his hands to himself. Serena's skin was flawless, and her body was perfectly sublime. Her muscles weren't overly pronounced and were firm without an ounce of fat covering them. On her chest were two stunning breasts which could muddle the mind of the most chaste of priests. Her legs were long and rose to a hypnotising buttox that could only be dreamt of by the most lustful of poets; and even they would feel reverence to such a wondrous sight. Truly, Serena's physical appearance was godly.
The Heavens wept that night when she ceremoniously pulled a silk robe over her body. It wasn't enough to be considered as fully clothed, but it was far less revealing than just wearing her undergarments. Sitting back down on the bed, she told Farmer he could turn back.
"You broke through?" She asked him as soon as he found a silk shirt to wear. Everyone had heard him shouting a day earlier and it was easy to recognise it as a sorcerer's proclamation of successfully ascending to the next realm. It wasn't strange for her or anyone else to ask this of him.
"Aye. Quite unexpectedly, really."
"Congratulations!" She smiled warmly. Truthfully, she was immensely curious to find out exactly what realm Farmer had attained. However, to ask this of someone was incredibly impolite and she knew Farmer didn't want to talk about it. She had asked around during his absence and was surprised to find out that no one actually was aware of this particular piece of information. Farmer was a secretive person in general, and particularly so with this matter.
"It's nothing, but thank you for your encouragement." He replied nonchalantly. "How long was I in seclusion?"
"Tonight is the fifth night since you left."
"I see." Mumbled Farmer to himself. "I wasn't away for that long, then. That's good. We can resume our voyage come morn. And, with the provisions we took from Krieg's ship, we haven't suffered a dent in our supplies. It could even be said they've increased. I was initially planning on stopping at an island to resupply in two or three weeks. But with matters as they are now, we might be able to wait a whole month before being forced to do so. We may even be able to raid a few more ships well before then and avoid docking alltogether…"
Serena listened without interrupting and observed as Farmer placed a few maps on his desk and calculated distances using strange nautical instruments she knew not the name of. From time to time, he would walk to the window carrying a sextant and would check the stars in the night sky. After about an hour of pacing back and forth, Farmer nodded to himself in satisfaction and slumped down on a chair.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he turned to face Serena. His expression was like he had just remembered she was there. He wanted to ask her why she was sleeping in his bed when he had given her his office to live in; but he was afraid that she would reprimand him again. Furthermore, he was at a loss with what he should do now. On the one hand, he didn't think it was appropriate for him to spend the night in the same room as a young woman; on the other, he didn't want to be rude by taking his leave. Truly, he didn't know how to conduct himself.
"If you want me to leave, I will." Sensing Farmer's dilemma, Serena took the initiative to speak.
"No, it's alright." He replied awkwardly and closed his eyes.
Farmer wanted to change the subject as soon as possible, but he wasn't a great conversationalist and struggled to come up with a suitable topic to talk about. He considered telling her about the compass he'd obtained, but eventually discarded that notion. He still didn't fully trust her and, even if he did, he wouldn't have told her about it to keep her out of any possible danger. There was no doubt in his mind that, despite his precautions, someone would eventually come around in search for the compass. When that happened, a harsh fight would ensue. He told himself that that was a bridge he would cross when it came. For now, he pondered in silence.
He didn't have to worry for long, however, because Wolfie started howling from somewhere on the ship. Instantly, Farmer sprang to his feet and ran towards the upper deck of Alana's Regret, leaving Serena wondering what was wrong. This was the first time she'd witnessed this. Just in case, she brought out her armour and began gearing up.
Outside, Farmer was preparing for battle as he rushed to the ship's helm. One of the reasons he always voyaged with Wolfie was because she possessed the uncanny ability of feeling danger approaching. Whenever she howled, Farmer knew that something evil was afoot. Not once had her ability disappointed him and many were the times this had saved his and his crew's life.
By the time he arrived to the helm, Lampa was already shouting orders to the rest of the crew. His men, much like himself, were familiar with the meaning behind Wolfie's howling. Proud of their disciplined actions, Farmer sent out his spiritual sense in a two-hundred-mile radius. Instantly, he detected an enormous creature speeding towards them at an alarming rate.
"Lieutenant!" Farmer projected his voice over his ship so that his orders boomed in everyone's ears. "We're under attack! Prepare the cannons, ready the men, and take battle stations!"
Instantly, Alana's Regret erupted with even greater action. Sailors emerged from the ship's interior armed to the teeth; none dared remain idle. Lampa began coordinating their movements and rose to the helm to direct them accurately. The anchor was weighed, sails were released, and weapons were handed out to everyone.
Everywhere, sounds of rushing crewmen could be heard as they either fidgeted with ropes or pushed cannons towards the gun ports. Shouting could be heard on every corner of Alana's Regret. They didn't know who or what they were up against, but every man there trusted their captain completely. Only Serena's warriors kept silent and observed the entire process with their young mistress within their midst. Each one would lay their lives for her if they had to.
Meanwhile, Farmer moved to the rear of the ship and boarded his own personal dinghy. His intention was to intercept the creature for as long as he could to allow his crew to ready for battle. Preparation was the key to success in any armed conflict, but in naval warfare especially. The only way he could ensure the survival of everyone was to buy enough time for Alana's Regret to shift to a position where the cannons could blast the oncoming beast to smithereens.
Thus, he cut the ropes dangling the dinghy above water and fell into the sea. This particular vessel was something he had personally designed with speed in mind. It was narrow and shaped like a sword, to cut through the waves swiftly and with ease. On the back was a paddle-like device which would rotate when arcane energy was sent into it. The more energy one sent, the speedier the dinghy would sail.
Not wanting to waste a single second, Farmer input a massive amount of energy and shot out into the direction of the oncoming beast, quickly leaving Alana's Regret as a small dot behind him. All the while, his spiritual sense was investigating the true nature of the beast. With each passing moment, a clearer image of it formed in his mind.
When only a few miles separated the two, he finally understood what was coming. The beast was shaped like a snake. It had no limbs, but its body was covered in thorns from head to tail that emitted crackling lightning bolts which danced on the beast's surface in strange patterns. Its head was that of a dragon and its mouth was filled with hundreds of razor-sharp fangs as big as a full-grown man brimming with deadly poison.
Farmer took a breath of cold air. This beast was a sea-dragon. A sea-dragon as large as a small mountain!
It was so enormous, that he could spy its cat-like eyes poking from the water's surface from a mile away.
"What human dares cross my path?!" A booming, metallic, voice filled the air.
Farmer shuddered. This wasn't a simple sea-dragon. The fact that it could talk meant that it was a class nine beast! An emperor amongst beasts! As mighty as a human arch-sorcerer. Perhaps even more powerful, given that they were about to battle within its domain. In addition, members of the dragon race were immensely arrogant and no matter how one tried to negotiate with them, once they chose something as their prey, there was no other option but to fight.
Farmer was about to face a genuinely tough opponent. There was a good chance he wouldn't survive this.
Realising this, he grinned madly.