Chapter 27: Calmaria Island - Entry
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The swift changes happening inside Picodras were noticeable by the citizens where the gossip of the week was about how Vlad would depart, a notion that escaped from the Market, where certain merchants discussed how they sold him all sorts of supplies.
This gossip was confirmed when they saw the sailors bring inside a medium-sized Caravel various furniture and large bags that were filled with supplies, which attracted the curiosity of the city as to how Vlad would be able to sail without his sight.
The people inside the Market were most vocal about this idea, and were debating about who will accompany Vlad on his adventure, however when the final day on his stay arrived, they were shocked to see Vlad by himself where behind him, 2 old men accompanied by a lot of people from girls to boys walked alongside him.
"Old Dugar, you shouldn't have bothered yourself with watching me depart. I've left some of my recipes for the healing potions to old Patrick. I will not forget about the kindness you've shown me, and by the right justice you've placed upon the ones who challenged the safety of the Island and City."
The one Vlad, who was wearing his casual clothes with his hair tied down was talking about was in fact the one holding a lot of influence in this Island, the Lord of Justice, Dugar.
"Ahhh, there wasn't even a problem, young Lord. This is just my duty to see off one of the Island Lords, giving them all my well wishes on their journey. Still, have you not reconsidered taking my grandson, Darz with you?"
"Sorry, Elder, but this journey will be only for myself."
"Sigh, it is unfortunate. However, be careful. The sea can always show her ugly side when you expect less."
Vlad nodded while walking side by side with those elders, where Patrick instead remained quiet, only when he reached the harbor did he stop to tell him some of his words.
"Well child, I guess the time also arrived for you to spread your wings. I've taught you everything I know, from the medicine, to navigation, while the rest of my knowledge wasn't much of a need for you. Always be alert on the sea, and don't lower your guard."
"Mhm, I will be careful." mentioned Vlad, who gave Patrick a hug, patting the back of this adoptive father who had a pleasant mark on his growth as a person.
A small head made its way out from Vlad's pockets, revealing Titania, who watched Patrick with some tears on her eyes.
"Young lady, I will leave him in your care." whispered Patrick when noticing Titania exit to bid her farewell.
"Don't worry, mister. Also, thank you for the candies."
*Chuckle* "My pleasure."
The people gathered around looked confused for the reason Patrick was laughing since beside the small inner circle of people Vlad thought positively, only they knew about Titania.
Then, the rest of the people in his inner circle began taking their farewell from Vlad, from the Herbalists to the Sailors such as Jervis and Nelson, then followed Lagos and Arik who took their time, nagging Vlad about the dangers of the sea, and how they would want to join him.
Vlad waited calmly before stepping inside his ship, as if he was expecting someone to arrive.
"Hah, it seems she didn't want to see me off." remarked Vlad in a calm voice, starting to turn toward his ship, yet to his surprise, there was a voice of a woman calling out.
"WAIT! Vlad wait! Don't go yet. I still didn't tell you what I wanted to share with you!"
The people turned to watch Mary run, holding her breath, panting from the effort she took, and making way for her, she appeared in front of Vlad who dwarfed her.
With a smile, he opened his abyssal eyes in an attempt to watch this beautiful girl, whose brown hair grew in the past 4 months since the incident with Revil, making her more stunning.
"I thought you didn't want to talk with me since I told you I will depart."
"It wasn't because of that, you dummy! I was just preparing something for you. A memento, to keep you aware that someone will wait for you at home. This is for you."
Mary took out from her bosom a small toy in the shape of a girl, with a figure similar to her own which made it look rather cute in this mini-form. However, Vlad couldn't enjoy this appearance with his eyes, instead started touching it carefully in his hands.
And before he could say something, Mary in a daring manner went and gave Vlad a deep kiss on his mouth, which left the sweet taste of her, as if she wanted him to remember her fully.
"I don't want to hear your answer! Just know that I will wait for you home."
"Mary … Fine, I will not say anything else. Just … stay healthy and be a good girl. Also, don't burn my house down." replied Vlad, who caressed her face while his expression was of a serene calm.
With the small toy in his hand, Vlad separated from Mary who looked at his wide back, trying to hold her tears, and once stepping onto the main deck, he began preparing his ship for departure which to the outlookers surprise, he completed without even feeling challenged.
"People of Picodras, I wish you only prosperity and stability. Until I return, stay safe and I will make sure to fill you with my Saga."
"Young master, be careful!!" shouted Elias when seeing the lightship slowly drift from the harbor.
"DON'T FORGET TO VISIT THE ISLAND OF GARDENS AND STEAL THE FLOWERS OF THE MISTRESS!" shouted the other Herbalists in a shameless manner, making the others give them a weird look.
Nevertheless, Vlad only frowned slightly, before chuckling, waving his hand at the people of the island, where with Titania's voice, understood that they were getting distance from the harbor.
"You know, Vlad, I wouldn't be angry if you allowed Mary to come with us."
"You've changed your mind about her?"
"Didn't you also change your mind about her?"
"Sigh … She indeed did a splendid job in changing herself, acting like herself, however, she is still young, not ripe yet and I don't want to watch her grow into what I desire. I want her to figure out what I desire in a woman.
Besides, until I return home, she might find someone else better than me, who will give her all the attention she desires. Right now, I am only her sweetheart, and this will always be changeable."
"What if it will not change?"
"Hah, you silly dolls, in all my years I've encountered so many people, from men to girls. I can tell those changes of the mind rather easily."
"Still, what if you are wrong?"
"... I don't know. I am still not bothered about that, a love relation. It will simply constrain me from achieving my goal of reclaiming my sight."
Mentioning that, while his hands were on the steering wheel, he began listening to Titania's words, relating to him about how things stood on the map, and where their first location will be.
"Our first stop according to mister Patrick, should be on the Calmaria Island, from there we can journey toward Bulge Island, Athkatla, and then going toward Sorbet Kingdom."
"Understood, just remind me of the coordinates so we don't lose the path." reminded Vlad, who looked leisurely behind the steering wheel, with his white shirt fully open, revealing his upper body muscles.
"Don't worry, I've got the hang of the compass. We'll not lose our way. I promise."
"Heh, you can promise me all you want, if you aren't focused we'll get nowhere. Yet, I guess we'll touch some island shore, hopefully inhabited by people."
"Hey, show some trust. Don't be always so pessimistic about everything happening around us."
"This is our first challenge, Titania. We have to constantly work together, you with your eyes while myself with my ears and nose."
"There's also birds that might help us. We can't really fail."
"Right, right, how could I forget. You have the ability to communicate with creatures around us."
"That's right. I told you I am the best." boasted Titania puffing out her bosom in a proud manner, making Vlad chuckle around.
Like this the duo spent their first day on the sea without encountering any problems, instead it made for a great practice to both Titania and Vlad who put their theoretical knowledge on practice.
What did that mean? They began reading around different signs of the nature, where both Titania and Vlad showed great adaptability to the sea, with Vlad using the cries of the birds and the sound of the waves and wind to guide himself, along with other parameters.
Meanwhile, Titania tried communicating with the birds that were initially spooked by Vlad's somber nature, sharing quite the important information to the Fairy.
"Vlad, we are on the good path. Those friends told me that they are coming from Calmaria and the weather is nice without any rains or storms."
"Okay, but let's not rely that much on what some birds might say."
"Tsk, you don't trust them?"
"Indeed, I don't. However, I took their information as a version and I'll compartmentalize it with the rest of the information. Besides, prepare yourself to watch the night sky and train your eyes on finding Polaris and Orion."
"Ahhh, not again. Can we do it tomorrow?"
"... Fine."
Feeling the slow dropping in temperature, he closed his buttoned shirt and took in the atmosphere of the night sailing, which was indeed a unique experience he never experienced.
'If I recall correctly, this is the first time I actually stepped on a ship and sailed it. How things have their own ironic twists.'
'So far all the signs of the weather are showing favorable weather, meaning I can take a small break from watching over the steering wheel.'
*Sleep*
Titania on the other hand was fast asleep, trusting on the words of the passing birds that assured her the journey ahead to Calmaria was without bad weather.
"I guess I can also take a nap."
Saying that, he used his hands to touch around the steering wheel, until he found a device that was similar to the wheel stoppers used at wells.
Taking that device made by Nelson at his insistence, he now secured the caravel's steering wheel to only take them forward, to the point where he went to the Captain's Quarters.
Once there, what awaited him was a well-equipped room, with an office to write his notes, and also a library with some books inside, at his choosing. Beside the office, the piece of resistance was a luxurious bed similar if not better than his own bed.
'They really exaggerated about this bed. This one should cost the whole price of 500.000 𝔅. And I specifically told them to be efficient with my funds.'
'At least I got a fast ship. That can reach on an average 8 knots with a top speed of 12 knots. If the calculation is right and what Patrick has given me in his map, with a distance of 560 nautical miles, it would take me 3 days to reach Calmaria at my average speed.'
'I've passed 128 nautical miles. Plenty to go.'
Fishing out Titania from his shirt pocket, he placed her on her own bed, which was made for dolls but fitted by Mary to make it comfortable for the Fairy, while he took out his shirt and boots and got inside his bed, instantly sleeping, as if he was trained to force himself to sleep.
.
.
*Seagull Cry*
"Already?" remarked Vlad getting up from his bed after he touched the clock tongues finding out that he slept 4 hours.
He went out of the Captain's Cabin, and checked out the situation outside, where the night sky still ruled over the sky, with the veil of stars covering the horizons, yet the seagulls were still crying from inside his ship's main mast.
"Let's check around the winds."
Saying that, he walked toward the main mast, and started climbing the rat's web, until he reached the crow's nest, standing at a high 20 meters height taking in the entire nature in his sights while hitting the annoying seagulls with small stones, stopping them from disturbing his hearing.
"Ahh, far better. Those annoying birds kept bugging my ears since I woke up."
Spreading his hands while on the crow's nest, he embraced the entire wind blowing around his shirt behind his back, while his ink-black hair was dancing with the wind.
"A splendid night. I can't wait to reclaim my sight and fully enjoy these moments."
Jumping from the crows nest from the height of 20 meters, he landed gracefully on the main deck, testing in this way the sturdiness of the repairs his boys did to Revil's hogsty.
"It didn't crack. Splendid, this will shorten up the amount of time it will take me to furl the sails or unfurl them."
To be sure about his initial thought, he tapped again with a cane that appeared magically in his hand, and once Vlad found nothing wrong with the structure he walked up to the Captain's Quarters, to the displeasure of someone.
*Buzz*
"What? You don't like getting transformed into my walking cane? This should be a privilege you should take kindly, being used by the Great me, to walk."
The cane shook a bit, showing that it didn't agree with Vlad's idea, but it still didn't have a choice but get turned into his cane that he left inside the cabin.
"You'll miss those moments when I will use you so intimately to be my eyes. Take this as a precious experience, because the people will learn about you as the mighty weapon of the Dragon."
*Buzz*
"I'll be arrogant since my abilities allow me to be. I'll lower my head when someone greater than me steps before me. To make it clear, I don't consider that master of yours as some great being. Even if this entire challenge inside the book is his Tomb, this doesn't change the fact you are my weapon."
The shake from the cane lessened a bit, as if it was a sight in defeat against this crazy man, whose arrogance could be said to reach the skies, similar to a person that had a maniacal laughter, which resembled Vlad's when he was going all crazy.
Returning back to the captain's cabin, he went to nap again 3 more hours, to the point where both Titania and himself went out on a watch, while the Fairy nagged Vlad about the indicents between him and the seagulls.
"You shouldn't hit them! They are our friends!"
*Seagull Cry*
The birds that were carrying Titania, nodded their heads, while giving Vlad a certain look, as if they were mocking him, later on doing their annoying cries, which were like laughters to Vlad, making him frown.
"Stop them or I will kill them." mentioned Vlad with his voice turning colder than Titania expected.
She touched the heads of the seagulls who also sensed the somber atmosphere around the tall man.
Afterwards things calmed down, with Vlad being able to enjoy the breeze of the wind, and the sound created by the waves hitting the caravel, shaking the ship ever so slightly.
He kept quiet for the entire day, only talking with Titania in the third day, where he expected for the ship to reach the shores of Calmaria Island, and all the predecessors who built the map.
His calculations according to the speed of the ship and the time required, he passed by a distance of 580 nautical miles without any incidents.
.
"Vlad, I can see land!" shouted Titania excitedly from Vlad's head, with the horizons showing the sight of an island.
"Mhmm, it was about time. The map is the hard work of old Patrick and other sailors who composed this map inside Valent with the locations of their own homes."
"Titania, can you describe to me how this island looks? It is that time of the day where you have to become my eyes."
"No problem."
Titania began telling Vlad a lot of information about the things she could see, and her mouth was going on in an alerted manner the more their ship approached the island, a point where he too prepared to furl the sails, and slow down the speed of his ship so he wouldn't shipwreck it.
As they were approaching more and more, Titania could see some small fishing ships with a pair of adults and young children inside, looking panicked at the sight of Vlad's caravel.
"Vlad, I can see some small boats. Those people look afraid."
"Don't worry, I'll settle them down since I don't intend to stay on this island."
.
Meanwhile, from the finishing ships, some young guys stared, shocked at the caravel.
"Dad, look at that big ship. It looks to be empty and astray."
"It's not empty, son. The way the ship is moving towards our village doesn't seem to be random. Don't tell me those pirates came back after their raids?"
"Let's get back to the village and alert the Elder."
"Get going with the rowing. We have no time to waste if the ship is a pirate one."
The small finishing ships numbering in 3 began also rushing towards the island.
When they arrived, they sounded the alarm in the village, making all the capable men gather while armed with farming tools, knives, and whatnot. Whereas the women gathered their young inside the simple wooden houses.
The villagers began assembling around the beach of their island, staring vigilantly at the seemingly large caravel approaching their island.
"Lorth, what if the ship isn't a pirate one, won't we look like bad hosts?" asked an old person, looking intently at the fisherman who sounded the alarm at the sight of Vlad's ship.
"Elder better be safe this time. I don't want to lose any of my family against those rabid dogs."
"Sigh, I understand. I also know that pain, guys."
Ended saying the elder while also watching as the sails began to be closed on the ship where the shadow of a being could be seen moving from sail to sail, furling them, slowing the ship even more, which was a signal that the one approaching didn't have bad intentions.
In some tense minutes, the villagers could see the Caravel get close enough to the shore to let the villagers see the profile of a tall young man staring at them with abyssal black eyes, while his long black hair created a protecting veil.
It was only a person, without any companions at his back, which confused the villagers who never experienced such a visit since they were born.
Some of the younger adults whispered while staring at this handsome young man staring with a cold face at them from above.
"It must be some merchant who got lost on the sea landing on our island?"
"Ssh, you guys, what if this person is like those pirates?" remarked an adult to the younger guys, making them quiet from their gossiping.
On the other hand, Titania was whispering to Vlad everything that was happening in front of him, as he was "glancing" at the gathered people, which made him sigh.
Giving them the impression he could see them, Vlad opened his mouth and calmly told them, placing their worries at rest.
"I come with no harm to your village and this will be a temporary stay for about one day until I resume my journey. You can lower your weapons. Who is the person in charge of this village?"
"It's me, young man." replied the old man while stepping ahead.
"Good. I have a simple question for you. Does this land of yours hold pirates or bandits that you struggle with?" asked Vlad while his eyes followed the old man, more specifically using the sound he received to guide himself.
What followed next was a dead silence, with the villagers and even the Elder, not expecting such a question from this tall, imposing man.
"..."
"I take that as you do. Good, I want the one in charge of this place to fill me with all the details I require, and I shall see this problem of yours finished."
"Young man, are you kidding with us by chance? Are you taking us for fools?" asked an adult from the crowd, who held a sword in his hands, tightening his grip.
Vlad released the mechanism of the anchor, assuring that his ship wouldn't move, before jumping casually already reaching the distance where the villagers were standing, making the atmosphere tenser.
"Lower your weapons. I didn't come to harm you."
"That's what the other pirates told us too before they stormed us and brought chaos."
"I guess you were too weak." remarked Vlad glancing at the adult who frowned at what Vlad responded.
"Everyone lower their weapons." ordered the Elder, when getting a closer look at Vlad, finding that something was strange about this young man.
"Please, guest, you can follow me. I will fill you in with all the information you wish about the bandits and pirates frequenting our shores."
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A/N: (Credits to Helios for proofreading and editing)
Bonus Chapter if we reach 250 Powerstones, you are close, but will you manage to claim it?
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Q: What do you guys think? We'll he find something interesting on this island? Or is just filler?
Also, I want to share with you the map of the South Blue as I envision it with all sorts of possible next islands for Vlad to adventure towards.