Chapter 15

It was midafternoon by the time they reach the ship. As Varden looked around he noticed the faces of the Sailors all seemed to harden as they saw him. He didn't think much of it at the time, so he didn't bother to mention it to Drayden. He continued looking around and he noticed that the ship wasn't anywhere close to being ready to leave port.

Then he realized the captain may not know that they needed to leave port right away so the first thing they had to do was get ahold of the captain. They went on board and then down below to the captain's chambers.

Sabol was right in the middle of writing in his log when he heard a knock at the door. He said, "You may enter."

As Varden in Drayden entered the room Sabol could tell that there was a problem. He said, "Sit and tell me what's the matter." Varden took the seat in front of him, and Drayden stood at his side like always.

As they sat there Varden explained to Sabol everything that he had learned from his father. Sabol listen to the story very carefully and then told them that they would leave as soon as the rest of the cargo was loaded. It should only take two days to get the rest of the cargo loaded.

Varden was stunned by that, and he knew he needed to leave tonight. Varden thought for a moment and said, " Is there any way that we can before that?"

Sable replied, " We have to wait for all the cargo to get loaded. There are people waiting for their supplies and have already paid good money to get them on time. I am just the captain of the ship not the leader of the freight business."

Varden reminded the captain of the oath that he made since he had saved his life and the life of his daughter. Then he said, " You said all I had to do was ask and you would do it, so I am asking you to leave with the tide to go back to the island. So that we can save everyone I will make up the difference in what it costs out of my own pocket. My parents' lives are at stake, and I will do anything to make sure we get there in time."

Sabol nodded his head and said, " I will honor my were and we will set sail with the tide."

Varden knew that this would cost him but at this time he didn't care he just knew that he had to get back to the island and the faster was better no matter what the cost.

Drayden stayed with her father and explained all the details about what she had seen in the village in what was so important to him to return so quickly.

Sabol understood so he called for a crewman. In a minute the crewmen came running through the door and said, " You called for me sir?"

Sable said, " Tell the men that we set sail tonight. They need to finish what loading they can within that hour. Make sure to stow everything else away and be prepared with the tide."

The sailor said, " But the cargo isn't loaded yet."

Sable said, " Just make sure all the provisions are loaded properly for a roundtrip and to drop off whenever cargo we have already loaded."

The sailor said, " Yes sir." Then went back to the others and told them what to prepare for.

In a couple of hours, they were ready to set sail and as they left port, they noticed the sale on the horizon. No one thought anything of it because of there had not been pirates around those parts in 40 years. The waters were always filled with dangers if the treasures that were carried were big, but the ones that they were carrying were very small, so it was very unprofitable to be a pirate in those waters. As the evening wore on, they noticed the ship was closing but they lost sight of it as it became too dark to see.

They awoke as the sun came up; they noticed that the ship was a lot closer, but they still couldn't see what type of ship it was. As the day wore on the ship steadily closed the gap between them. Just after lunch, the lookout called out that he was able to see a flag, it was a pirate ship, and it was gaining on them. By nightfall, the ship was right on top of them, but they would have to wait till morning to attack.

The captain tripled the watch at night to guarantee that they didn't attack and catch them off guard. As soon as it was first light the alarm bell rang out and everyone knew what that meant. There was a scramble to collect their swords and prepare for the coming attack. Varden took more time than the others to prepare, putting on the top half of his armor and making sure he had his sword and shield.

When he got to the deck and looked around, he saw that the entire crew was up there and set in various positions spread out across the deck. Then he noticed that Sabol and Drayden were standing at the aft of the ship, he headed to them to take his place and protect them. Varden walked up to him and asked, " What is happening?"

Sabol said, "The pirates are about ready to attack make sure you are ready. I don't want any harm to come to Drayden.

Varden looked over at the other ship, it was about even with the Windstruck and he could tell that they were about ready to swing across. He really wished that Argus and his magic were here for this one. When it started things in Varden's mind seemed to slow down he saw 5 men swing across and they were quickly surrounded and killed but soon there were men dropping down all over the ship at once.

There was fighting going on all over and from where Varden stood he noticed that there was a one-eyed man in a helmet that was directing the attack. He knew that if he could get to him the battle would be over. But his primary job was to make sure that no harm came to the captain or Drayden. At the time that Varden noticed their captain, he was seeing Sabol on the bridge and started directing all the fighting toward them.

The first pirates that reached Varden were a pair of them with the first jumping down at him sword coming straight at his head. Varden had an easy time blocking it with his sword. Using his shield, he slammed the pirate in the chest. The sound of the hit echoed across the ship catching everyone's attention for a minute. Everyone stopped fighting and turned to look to see what it was. As the pirate went flying and slammed into the main mast 20 feet in the air and then fell to the deck. He was unable to move and all he wanted to do was to be able to catch his breath.

Varden saw the hesitation in the second pirate's eyes as he continued. The pirate saw that he didn't want to get hit by the shield so he attacked from the other side so he would have to block with it instead.

Varden did block it with his shield then made a swing with his sword the sword cut through the pirate's shield and threw his armor biting into his chest.

Stunned, the pirate looked at his half of shield then dropped it to the deck and decided it would be better to go fight someone else.

Varden let him go, he knew that he had to get to the leader to end this.

The leader had been watching Varden since the sound caught his attention. So, he called for 10 of his best fighters as guards and set everyone else toward Varden.

Everyone on the ship noticed the change in tactics. When 20 men started heading for Varden. So, Drayden and Drake started for him to see if they could do anything to draw some off. The surprising thing that caught everyone off guard was that Titus joined in at Varden's side. As they prepared for battle Drake caught sight of one of the pirates and yelled, "RYAN is that you?"

A tall slender dark-haired man turned around and stopped where he was then said, "Drake is that you?"

Varden asked, "Who is that?"

Drake shouted, "Yes Brother. It's me."

Varden had his answer but wondered why Drake never mentioned it before. But now was not the time to question him about things like that.

Ryan turned and started attacking two of the other pirates that he didn't like anyway. He was able to disarm one and hold his own against the other.

Drayden got close to one and nailed him with her mace.

Titus grabbed two pirates and slammed them together knocking them both out cold.

Drake blocked the swing of a sword and managed to kill another with his dagger taking the pirate by surprise.

Varden was frustrated and upset by this time. He had wanted to be attacking the leader to end all this by now. So, this time when the pirate came at him, he used the corner of his shield to scoop him up and threw him overboard like a toy that was no longer wanted. He decided he was not going to hold anything back and get to the leader no matter what. As he moved forward the pirates tried to stop him. Varden grabbed one of the pirates and used him as a shield and just kept moving forward knocking any of them that got in the way down.

Any of the pirates that could get out of the way scurried out of the way wanting nothing to do with him. While a few of them surrendered quickly to avoid being killed. When Varden got close he threw the pirate that he had off to the side like an unwanted rag with no care or concern.

Varden crossed over to the pirate ship and the 10 guards rushed to the attack quickly circling him so that there was no escape for him. The first that attacked Varden was carrying two swords and he was good at using them. Varden had never fought someone that used two swords before. Varden thought that the guy would have to be very fast and that he would be agile in attacking from any direction, but he wouldn't have the power behind his attacks. So, his best option was to hit extra hard with his sword so that it would take both hands to protect himself.

Suddenly he attacked Varden and was easily able to block it with his shield, but the second sword came a lot faster than Varden thought it was possible to hit with no way to block it hit solidly on his chest armor putting a thin line dent in the armor. Varden thought to himself that he was glad that he took the time to put on at least half of his armor. That last hit could have been deadly.

As Varden swung his sword the pirate jumped back to dodge it but didn't make it quite in time. He missed most of it but didn't quite miss all of the blades as caught his left arm and sliced deep. The pirate let out a scream in pain and dropped a sword.

Just then the second stepped up ad was attacking with a large two-handed battle axe. The pirate swung downward at Varden's head. Varden saw it coming and he was able to move just far enough that the axe hit his shoulder instead of his head but sank deep into his shoulder.

The third pirate was using a very thin blade that was made for very fast combat and he was not heavy armor. Seeing Varden in armor and the others attacking him he looked for a small place that he could stab between the plates. When he found what he was looking for he tried it he managed to get an inch in when Varden turned and bent the tip before it yanked it out of his hand and made it go flying.

The fourth carried a sword and a dagger and he was an expert in using both. He made a fast slash with his sword and didn't get past Varden's shield. He wanted to make sure he did some damage, so he sliced low and caught Varden's leg, and drew blood.

The fifth came from behind with a sword and shield. So, he tried to stab him in the back with his sword and slammed his shield into the back of his head. And at least it looked like the blow to his head did a little good.

The sixth carried throwing knives and was an expert at throwing them. The first knife he threw at Varden found a weak spot in Varden's armor and managed to stick in, but only the tip found its way to the skin. As he threw the second blade Varden rotated a little and it was enough to make it glance off and sink deep into the first pirate killing him on the spot.

The seventh carried a large war hammer and he hit Varden from behind nailing the center of his back sending him a couple of steps forward. Varden felt himself stumbling and managed to keep his balance just barely.

The eighth had a long wide sword. And he had swung it just at the time that the seventh had just made him stumble so he missed Varden completely and the sword sunk deep into the hammer.

The ninth carried a mace and was very fast with it he managed to get in three quick hits before Varden could even move. The first hit was to Vardens right side but didn't even make a dent in his armor. The second hit was to the back of his head, one of the sharp points made it through the helmet and made Varden dizzy for a brief moment. The third hit was Varden's right arm. It managed to put three small holes in the armor but didn't do anything more than that.

The 10th was taller than the rest of the pirates. Varden knew that he had to get him out of the way quickly. The pirate had a magnificent sword that was equal to his own, but the pirate only carried a rusty old shield with it. When the pirates swung hard Varden did his best to try and knock the sort out of his hand, but it did no good and sent sparks flying in every direction.

Varden knew he had to act fast, so he grabbed the second sailor and hurled him into the 10th knocking them both off their feet.

The third pirate tried to straighten the tip of his sword and he managed to bend it back a little bit and then made a feeble attempt to attack with it but couldn't even get it past his armor.

The fourth attacked with his sword first. As he swung at Varden's head it was very easy for Vardens to block it with a shield. The pirate using his dagger quickly went after Varden's leg again. Varden saw him going after his leg again and brought his sword down on top of him killing him instantly.

The fifth took advantage of where he was standing again and slammed his shield into the back of Varden's head again, trying very hard to knock him out. Even though he had him very solid he didn't move Varden an inch. The pirate almost broke his arm and wound up with a major sprain to the point that he couldn't use his arm anymore. The pirate noticed that attacking his armor did little to no good, so he saw that attacking his legs actually did something, so he attacked Vardens other leg slicing it wide open.

The six threw three more knives and made sure that he took more time to get really good aim. The first hit dead center in his back then it dropped to the deck it only made the small groove in the back of his armor. The second caught Varden's elbow as he was moving his arm and as he moved it the knife loosened and fell out. The third one that the pirate threw was a quick underhanded shot that sank deep into Varden's hip. Varden had a hard time staying on his feet with that one, but he knew that if he fell it was all over for him, he would never get on its feet again.

The seventh hit him hard with his hammer knocking him forward again, only this time his necklace was dislodged from underneath his armor.

That eighth swung his long sword down at Varden's head, but Varden moved in the blade only hit his shoulder but that wasn't all it hit it cut the chain of his necklace in half. As the gem touched the deck a brilliant flash of light lit up the entire ship. Every eye on bold ships turned to see what it was.

Drayden knew what the flash meant and that Varden would be needing their help. If he was going to be able to hold on and get to the captain. So, she called Drake and Titus to go and help Varden.

Drake quickly called for a brother Ryan, and they finished off the one they were dealing with and then headed straight for Varden.

The ninth took advantage of the dagger and Varden's hip and gave it a hard push driving it deeper into his hip and knocking him down.

The 10th in the second pirate managed to climb to their feet and started heading back toward Varden.

Ryan was the first one to make it to Varden's side. He was able to block the axe that the second pirate was swinging at Varden.

The next one to arrive was Drayden she caught up with the ninth one and tripped him with her mace.

Drake caught the sixth when he was going to try and retrieve one of the knives he had thrown and stabbed him in the back with his poison dagger. The pirate let out a screen as he fell to the deck and pain.

Titus took on the fifth and seventh pirates. He not the fifth one down with his shield and attack the seventh with his sword.

That just left the third in the 10th for Varden to deal with. The third was hovering over Varden trying to find a good place to stab him.

Varden saw him circling, leaving himself completely open; he gave a hard swing with his sword and cut the pirate in half.

By the time the 10th pirate got to Varden, he had already gotten back to his feet and was standing there waiting on him.

The pirate swung his sword and Varden easily blocked it with a shield. Varden swung his sword at the pirate and did his best to block Varden's sword with a shield, but the sword sliced right through his shield leaving him with only a small piece of it still in his hand.

The pirate threw down what he had left of a shield then used both hands on his sword to try and double his strength. He made a desperate strike at Varden's head which Varden just ducked out of the way. But he returned the swing and caught his chest and sliced right through the armor as if it was not even there.

Varden knew that the sword must be magic in nature and had more power than his armor did. It did more damage than just cut through his armor it sliced his chest open as well. Varden knew they had to get rid of these pirates quickly. He was getting too much damage, so he gathered all the strength that he had left and slammed his shield into the body of the pirate. The pirate flew up in the air and over the side of the ship, the only thing that saved him from dropping into the water was that his feet get tangled in some of the lines of the ship's sails. So, he was left dangling over the edge by ropes that were tangled around his feet.

Now all the way was cleared for Varden to be able to get to the leader. But he was really in no shape to do any more fighting. He carefully pulls the dagger out of his hip while trying not to scream out in pain. As Varden dropped the dagger on the deck he noticed his gem lying there in a pool of blood. There was something strange about the blood it was moving around in a circle surrounding the gem. It was moving very slowly and if he hadn't been sitting there watching it, he would not have noticed that it was moving at all. As he touched it a tingling feeling went through his entire body.

He almost dropped it right then and there. As he held onto it, he had a feeling of some icy fingers running down his spine. He jumped a little when he felt someone touch his shoulder.

Drayden desperately asked, " Are you alright?"

Varden looked down at his chest and said, " Well."

When Drayden looked down, she almost wanted to screen. They both knew how seriously he was hurt. Varden made Drayden help him to his feet. When he finally got stable enough the leader of the pirates approached them.

The leader drew his sword and was about to strike the two of them when Drake, Titus, and Ryan joined them. The leader backed off a few steps and looked for a way to escape but he was quickly surrounded with no way out.

Varden stepped forward and asked, " Why did you attack our ship?"

The leader replied, " I was told to by a great white dragon and that if I did not it said that it would come and destroy my ship and everyone aboard it." The pirate's face dimmed as he realized that he was beaten and that he would still be losing his ship.

In a few minutes, Sabol came over to see what was going on the pirate ship because the fighting had finished all over.

Sabol reached the others just in time to hear Varden questioning the leader and didn't like the leader's answer.

Vardens started asking the leader about the dragon, but Sabol interrupted him. Sabol drew his sword and was going to kill the leader when Varden grabbed his arm and said, " Wait we can learn a lot from him I still need him alive."

Sabol said, " Let's get rid of this scum before he does more damage to any more ships." Everyone could see the hatred in his eyes, and it was understandable he had lost men in this battle friends that he would never see again even though the losses were minimal it was still more than he wanted to lose.

Varden understood why he was so much against the leader, but they could learn a lot from him yet. And they needed to learn everything they could about the dragon and its ability so that they could fight it better when they actually met.

The leader said, " Release me and all my men that are left and I'll tell you everything I know you have my word of honor on it."

Sabol's face took on a deep frown at the thought of releasing any of the pirates let alone the rest of them that we're alive. But after a few minutes of going back and forth, they decided that it would be okay to let them go if they agreed to give up pirating.

When the leader heard the last condition, he wasn't happy about it, but his only other choice was his death and the death of every member of his crew, so he agreed. Then he said, "It all started three days ago when we were on our ship in a freezing cold wind that came up from nowhere. In 5 minutes, the water surrounding my ship was frozen solid and we couldn't move. After a while the ship was covered by a tremendous shadow so big that it blocked out the sun. Then we heard a booming voice telling us to come and attack you and just where to find you to begin with. It also said that if we didn't do as it asked it would hunt us down and kill us all. It took hours to melt the ice enough to release the ship. Once we were underway, we caught sight of you and the rest you know."

When he had finished telling his tale they let him go as promised. The pirate leader gave his word to never pirate again the fact is he gave up sailing altogether it was just getting plainly too dangerous of a world out there.

As the ship set off Varden collapsed from his injuries.

Drayden said, " Well now will you let me fix you up?"

Varden nodded his head and said, " Please."

Drayden started healing him on the spot and Sabol started going below. Varden yelled out captain I will need to talk to you later. Sabol nodded his head and then disappeared below deck; he had plenty of things that he had to take care of. He knew they were lucky they had only lost one man the others were only wounded but it still left a hole in his heart to deal with that one.

As Varden looked around the deck he knew the crew or murmuring and looking at him and Drayden. He could tell that the crew was blaming them for the attack. And he realized that it was true the dragon was out to get him and anyone that was with him. That did include Drayden, and Drake as well. But he knew that they would blame them for stuff that they are not responsible for as well.

It took a while but Drayden finally finished with Varden so he went to see the captain while she took time to heal everyone on board the ship down to the smallest scratch.

When Varden got to the door he knocked Sabol was sitting at his desk writing without looking up he told him to come in and take a seat. As Varden entered the room he noticed that Sabol was working on some charts on his desk and shaking his head. Sabol said, " I was just looking at my charts and it looks like we're going to be in some real trouble. But what those pirates had said was we should expect a lot of trouble on this trip. I have heard it said that powerful dragons bend the wills of any creature that they come across to do their bidding they hold them under their power until they die."

Varden said, " Well we might have a problem with the crew as well. You know how old they feel about Drayden and all bad luck on board a ship."

Sabol knew at once what he was talking about but there was absolutely nothing, he could do about it, he remembers the last time they were going to throw both of them overboard.

The rest of the day was smooth sailing and by evening everyone had calmed down and didn't seem to be all that upset me more. As the crew was settling down to sleep the night watch called out since it was getting dark, he couldn't tell exactly what he had seen. He knew it was big, it was as big as the largest ship that he had ever seen in his life. The sails were humongous, and it seemed to be closing in very fast.

The alert bell rang, and everyone prepared for that battle.

Varden looked at his armor with all the holes in it and all the sharp edges and points and decided not to put it on, so he just got dressed and grabbed his sword and shield.

As Varden reach the deck he saw what must have been the largest man of the war that ever existed. It was larger than most ships and it moved twice the speed of the fastest of them.

Varden had heard that even the small ones are deadly when they catch you in the water. He knew that this one was going to be a problem.

As it closed in it just kept getting bigger and bigger until it reached the ship. As it touched the ship it was like someone slammed on the brakes and dropped the anchor everything stops suddenly, and everything went flying forward. Soon there were hundreds of tentacles coming from every direction.

While Varden was trapped by a large group of tentacles he saw one of the Sailors dragged overboard. The tentacles were stinging everyone and wherever anyone was stung their body would go numb and unmovable at that spot.

Since Varden wasn't wearing any armor anymore he made sure they didn't even get close to him. He saw five of the other Sailors had dropped down to the deck. Drake and Ryan joined forces and they were holding their own against the onslaught of tentacles. Titus was okay but he was slowly losing ground. One of the tentacles was wrapped around Drayden's mace and it took all the strength that Drayden had just to hold onto it.

Varden started chopping his way toward the center of the ship where the main part of the creature was. And it seemed like for every tentacle that he cut off it pulled back and was replaced by two more.

Drayden started losing ground and called for help. Varden saw her being pulled toward the rail and he knew he had to do something quickly. He only had one chance to save her, so he threw his shield and cut through the tentacle and then stuck into the railing of the ship.

Drayden stumbled backward and almost fell overboard on the other side as the pull suddenly stopped. Soon most of the attack turned toward Varden because he had been advancing toward the center of the creature.

Varden quickly found himself surrounded. The tentacles were coming from every direction toward him they quickly closed in making it so that he had nowhere to go. It didn't take long for them to get too much for him to handle. It seemed like for every one he cut two were replaced. Varden had one final move that he had been saving and they decided to use it now he spun in a tight circle cutting everything that came close. Slowly Varden lost speed as he got dizzy and then started to stumble.

As he stopped turning, he started to get hit by tentacles. The first one hit his leg it felt like someone had stuck a red hot knife into his leg and was twisting it back and forth. The second hit his right arm and his chest. He had never known such intense pain before it was even worse than when his arm and leg were crushed. It hit Varden's chest that he found that he couldn't move at all not even to cry out for help.

As soon as the tentacles touched him, they started rapping around him and quickly started pulling him toward the railing. As Varden fell his sword went flying out of his hand and almost struck Drayden. As Varden was being dragged over the railing he hooked the railing with his right arm. And even though he could move he still had giant strength and the creature was able to simply pull him over.

The man of war withdrew all of its other tentacles and then centered them all on Varden. The railing that Varden was hooked on along with all of its supports started to moan and groan with the pressure.

Just as it was getting too much for Varden he saw a flash of steel go by and the pressure was reduced slightly and Varden regained some of his hope. He realized that he had help and everything seemed to be getting better quickly. He was soon freed by the crew, and he thought if he could only now use his right arm, he would be able to do something.

The man of war turned its attack once again it changed it to the ship itself. It shook the ship so hard that it knocked everyone off their feet.

Drayden grabbed Varden's sword as she tried to get to her feet sliding his sword to him. Once again, the man of war changed his attack back to Varden but he noticed a weak spot and he threw his sword with all the strength that he had left. As soon as he threw the sword, he wound up flat on his face. He was unable to stop it because the rest of his body was still paralyzed. But his aim was dead on in the sword made a perfect fit in the creature quickly sank.

Drayden helped him to his feet again. Varden quickly looked for his sword, but the sword had gone down with the man of war. Varden hoped that he would be able to do what he planned to do if he tried his best to summon the sword as he had done before. So, he reached out with his feelings and called to it.

For a moment there was no sign of it. Varden had almost given up hope when someone spotted a dull glow in the water. The light steadily increased its brightness until the crystal exploded out of the water and flew into his hand. The Sailors, all watched it happen and were amazed by what they had seen. Everyone knew at that point that Varden could not be separated from his sword until his death.

After that things quickly went back to normal Varden could feel something changing in the crew. They seemed to be looking at Drayden and himself differently. When everything was quiet again Varden found a quiet place to sit in the sun and sharpen his sword, it needed it after everything that had happened. As he was sitting there in the sun the edge of the blade that he was sharpening reflected the sun into his eyes and it made him think back to the warm summer days of his childhood. After a while, the numbness diminished but all the muscles were still stiff and sore, he was so glad that nothing else was going to give him truly a little time to rest and recover.

After a while, Drayden returned to him and they spent their time relaxing in the sun looking into each other's eyes, happy just being together. As the sun went down, they kissed and went to their rooms for the long night's sleep that they bolt really needed.

Varden awoke to the sound of a sailor yelling, "THERE COMING! THERE COMING!'

Varden quickly got dressed and grabbed his sword and shield and ran up to the deck to see what was going on.

As he reached the deck, he saw a large school of fish heading for the ship. Varden looked closely at them and noticed that they were stone fish like the ones that had come before. At this point, Varden wondered why the fish and turn the water to stone.

But there was no time for wondering such things, it was time to get ready for the things that are going to happen. This time Varden had some help, and they easily defeated the creatures with no loss of life to the crew. The crew became even more disgruntled knowing that more and more things keep attacking them and they would until they get rid of Drayden and Varden.

Varden was glad when the land was finally spotted by the time, they reached the island the crew had almost mutinied three times before they got there. The only thing that truly stopped them was the fear of Varden in his new friend Titus.