Midnight,
Dragonstone Harbor
The entire harbor had come alive in the last hour.
The hooves of hundreds of horses were thundering, racing from one stable footing to the other. Their eyes were flashing red, reflecting the burning ships.
Fire. It was everywhere.
Ironic however it was, the fire hadn't played favorites with those who had recently changed their faith to the Lord of Light. It was merciless. Cruel and hot. Masts creaked, splintered, and then became ashy-black before snapping into hundreds of pieces. But the guards had nothing to do with killing the fire.
They were searching for the white-haired boy who had committed this arson.
Seaman Desmond, the escapee from the Black Betha, and wanted by the guards since then for not only traitorous acts but also for being ungodly. Traitor, impious, and now as cursed by many folks and seamen alike, a fool.
Who would, in their right mind, declare where they were running off to after lighting up a good part of the trading harbor? Not anyone sane and just, of course. For the young, insane, and godless boy had done exactly that.
Pentos was his destination, his hooded friend had declared with a blazing torch in his hand, because the boy was mute himself, or so was passed from mouth to mouth.
The boy's insanity hadn't ended there, though.
The group of two had seized a Cog at sword point, instead of a galley. How foolish could one be? All had commented, but when someone from Black Betha slipped out the dark tales about the boy, they sewed their lips together in case the shadows were to hear them.
All agreed on one point, though. Even though a single runaway wasn't important enough for Lord Stannis to dispatch his galleys after the cog, forgiveness wasn't in his nature.
Dragonstone was jammed with traders and freeriders who would gladly go into the sea and bring the boy's head for good coins. They could hear it, the agonizing screams of a boy getting burned alive because it was the fate that awaited seaman Desmond if caught.
Of that, there was no doubt.
*
*
Miles into the narrow sea, a 20-25 meter long, single-masted ship was sailing towards the distant Pentos at a steady pace.
The word Actaea glistened at its stern, proclaiming its name.
It was constructed largely of oak and was propelled by a single, enormous, rectangular sail.
At the tip of the mast, just above the crow's nest, a black flag fluttered ceremoniously, announcing the ship as pirate's; a proportionally large human skull embroidered on the cotton flag, sitting atop two white crossed sabers upon a black background, and a white serpent was running in and out of the skull's mouth and eye, its mouth open wide, brandishing its fangs.
This was the Jolly Roger of the newly formed pirate crew — White Serpent Pirates.
The pirate crew had only two members as of now.
A 16-year-old, 1st-Set Contestant as the captain, with a Glitch. The second-in-command was a fallen 13th-floor Contestant, ex-priestess of the Temple of Hastur, the personal disciple of Konan, one of the founding members of the infamous organization, Akatsuki, and the Grand Disciple of a legendary Sannin, Jiraiya.
The crew had no reputation and no bounty to boast about.
But it was a start, and Kai was damn well content with it. For now.
Captain Red looked at the billowing flag, the white serpent on it slithering with the gusty winds as if it were alive. A smile crept up across his face.
Kai had long forgotten the usual dreams of boys, and all pretenses about becoming someone other than a messiah, and then later a demon, in his previous life. But as he saw that flag, some kind of primal joy welled up in his heart. It felt like he had achieved a goal he had never desired. He had gotten no Title, Milestone, or any power up because of this as of now, and yet, Kai couldn't help but take pride in that flag, fluttering high above everything and everyone.
Almost as if some unknown dream had come true, Kai's feelings bordered on these thoughts.
He wanted to shout, give orders, and command the men. Stir the ship with his hands, and bellow the curses at the crew. A captain's voice had charm and power enough to sway the hearts and minds.
But Kai was mute.
The fact brought back bitter memories and his helplessness.
Something must be done about it. Something soon. But only he knew how much effort he had been putting daily in trying to get his voice back. The inevitable presence of the hisses at the tip of his tongue was like time, however. An Elite Ability wasn't something to be trifled with. Kai had learned his lesson.
"Magnificent plan, my lord!" Petyr barked. "Cog is a single-masted vessel associated with sea trade. Generally, it takes a galley in good condition to sail across the narrow sea and reach Pentos in 5-7 days. But this ship, given its size and crew, would take twice that time. Yet, you purposefully stole this one so that your pursuers could catch up to you before sighting the land. Truly magnificent. Even I couldn't have thought of it. Not without deliberate considerations."
Petyr was standing by his side, giving orders to the captured crew of Actaea now and then. The rest got taken care of by the ship's ex-captain, who was too scared of what Kai had done and what he could do. Kai had given them only one choice — Obey and live.
The mate, though, was a different breed from the other traders. He was a hulk of a man like a swarthy volcano about to burst out with glowing magma. Kai ignored the man. For now, at least.
After the Faceless man's departure, Kai and Meg hadn't wasted a single second idling in the inn. He already had a plan to follow. First, he would make a commotion on the trading side of the harbor. Big enough to get noticed by the Highborn lords, but small enough to not get pursued by their war galleys. In that case, Order would issue missions related to his capture to the 4th-floor Contestants.
The sea was already the playground of the Golduck-Kai.
All this was to complete his Kill Count, otherwise, all the haste would be pointless, he knew.
This wasn't all that was to it, though. If Kai hadn't gotten Elementary Seamanship, then things would have ended there. Yes, he would have had his fun in killing, but it would have been almost futile too. Now that he had the Ability, more doors had opened themselves to him.
It was Meg's idea to set up his Jolly Roger and turn the cog into a pirate ship.
Once the bounty hunters fail in taking you back to Dragonstone, my lord, she had told him, then the crown would most definitely put a bounty on your head, calling you a pirate. All that seems ordinary now will become magical after reaching Pentos. You would get a Title, or even a Milestone, too. I am sure. It will become the official rise of the White Serpent Pirates.
-/Order them to maintain a steady pace,/- Kai told Petyr. -/Then follow me to the captain's cabin. Let's see what Item and news Meg has brought us. I also need to tell her a few things./-
"Yes, my lord," Petyr bowed.
Kai gave a last look at the black flag, which looked as menacing as he could ever hope it to look, and then turned around. It was time to look at the bow and a prophecy. All Items must serve their purpose, and this was the most important reason for Kai to keep Meg by his side during the entire mission.
Meg was an Item for him, and if something unnatural were to happen within the blood-world during Blood Prophecy, then by nature, disposable.
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Yesterday Power Count: 44
Bonus Chapters: 0
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