Stranded!

RYAN woke up to soft, warm lips against his mouth and pressure on his chest. He sat up suddenly, then coughed up a cup of water out of his windpipe. Around him was Simon, Christie and Jasmine, "Welcome back to the land of the living." Christie said, then she punched him on the arm, "if you ever do something like that again, I'll kill you." 

He coughed, "Okay got it."

Simon helped him up.

"You scared us there for a second bro." he said, "After the wave hit, the shed kind of tore apart, we all managed to swim to shore, and you washed up a few seconds later, you weren't moving, you weren't even breathing, Christie had to give you mouth-to-mouth."

"She did?" He said then looked at Christie, who looked away, "Thanks for giving me the kiss of life."

"Y-yeah," Christie said, her voice betraying how embarrassed she was.

Ryan got up, and looked around. Bits and pieces of their improvised raft were scattered on the beach.

He looked inland and saw a rich green jungle with a volcano sticking out high above the trees.

"So," Simon said, "Anybody know where we are?"

Ryan gestured towards the volcano, "Well, clearly, we are on an island."

"We should scout the island," Jasmine said, "Look for supplies, we might be able to build another gateway, or at the very least a raft."

"Good idea." Ryan said, "I'll try to get up there, see if there're any ships in the area."

"I'll go see if I can find anything we could use in the Jungle." Simon said.

"Wait." Christie said, she reached into her bag of supplies and pulled out the box of flares, "If anybody gets into any trouble, we send one up, there are five charges in each flare."

"Right," Ryan said as they each grabbed one flare. Ryan walked towards the volcano, Jasmine walked down the beach, Simon walked deeper into the Jungle and Christie started trying to build a shelter.

… )]≥( …

So far, Jasmine was regretting coming along. She had fallen off a balcony, barely survived a killer tidal wave and was now on an island that would probably get them killed.

She had gathered several logs that had washed up along the beach. She had been gathering for about half an hour, when from the jungle, a green flare shot up, she immediately dropped her sticks and ran into the jungle.

Reaching the spot where Simon fired the flare was difficult because the jungle had surprise cliffs, bottomless chasms, random mudslides, quicksand and other sorts of nasty surprises.

Lucky enough for her, another green flare was shot into the air, closer to her than the last one. So she changed her course and continued.

She came to the base of a large tree, high above, the green flare burned out, but Jasmine knew this was the place. She walked around, then from somewhere to her left, she heard rapid skittering, like a lot of feet moving at the same time. She rushed to one of the trees which had enough space for someone to hide in. She was surprised when she found Christie hidden in one.

"Where's Simon?" she hissed

"I don't know," Christie whispered back

Then a large elephant sized spider came, and Christie pulled Jasmine into the root cavity, "It can't see us if we hide in the trees." She whispered

The spider was huge and red but its upper torso had huge pincers, and a huge scorpion tail stuck out of its thorax.

Jasmine brought out her crossbow then whispered to Christie, "I'm gonna distract it, you make a break for it, you run straight to the beach understand?"

Christie looked hesitant, but nodded, and Jasmine left their hiding nook. She got some distance away, before she started shooting at it with her crossbow. The spider seemed very annoyed by this and ran after her, snapping its pincers at her, she dodged but then tripped on a root and fell on her back, the spider looked at her with all its five eyes then was about to strike when a bolt of green energy blasted through its thorax. It screamed in pain as green slime spilled out of the wound.

Jasmine took the opportunity and aimed for one clean shot right where she figured the brain would be, she pulled the trigger and a red tipped bolt shot out and landed right beneath the spiders jaw, the spider stopped thrashing as its head was flash fried. Then the spider crashed on the ground, dead. Smoke curling from its maw and eyes

Jasmine looked to her side and saw Simon, holding up a bazooka.

"Are you okay?" he asked, she nodded

Christie ran to him, "Simon, thank god."

She hugged him, releived

"Is everyone okay?" Jasmine asked

They nodded,

"Simon why did you light your flare?"

"I was walking along when a pack of small lizard-piranha things chased me, that's why I lit the first flare. I lit the second flare when I ran into the big spider, I managed to distract it and ran off, and almost got killed a couple more times, this island is crawling with ravagers."

"No, not ravagers, look" Jasmine gestured to the spider carcass which was still there. "it's not disintegrating, and there's no miasma here, these aren't ravagers."

"Of course," Christie said, "these are cryptids, rare magikal beasts. This must be one of the wild cryptid sanctuaries."

"We're still stuck on a monster island," Simon clarified, "great."

"Ryan's in trouble" Christie said pointing at the volcano. Jasmine looked up and saw a white flare shooting up from near the top.

… )]≥( …

While Jasmine was dealing with the spider monster, Ryan made his way to higher ground. He figured that from up here he'd ba able to spot any approaching ships.

As he made his way up the volcano, he arrived at a cave, he heard a ferocious roar and the sound of fighting. Expecting trouble, he set off his first flare, as the body of a large creature was thrown from the cave. It looked like a griffon and was bleeding from a number of wounds, including the large one in its chest cavity, that seemed to have been burnt through.

Hearing whimpering coming from inside the cave, Ryan peered inside, ignoring that instinct that told him this was a stupid idea. Inside he saw another creature that was limping. It was large, about the size of a horse, yet it looked distinctly feline, its long slender body with rippling muscles and elongated limbs. It's forelimbs were thick, resembling bear arms with its large paws, and it had a long tail behind it. It looked like a leopard made of living shadows, with its inky black fur with silver fringes, which wafted like smoke, leaving a ethereal trail behind it as it moved around in with uncanny speed, nimble and graceful despite its limping. It's face was stark white, like it was wearing a bone mask and it had two large orange eyes, it also had two large horns on its forehead. It was wounded from the fight, and its blood glowed bright orange.

It speed-limped towards another of its kind that was lying on the ground motionless. This one was also covered in blood and seemed to be dead.

From how tenderly it was regarding the corpse, Ryan figured that was probably its mate. It let out a sad rolling cry.

As Ryan tried to get a better look at it, he kicked a rock, alerting the creature to his presence. It's head shot up and it turned around to look in Ryan's direction. It let out a powerful roar, and Ryan saw a bright orange glow coming from its maw, before it dashed towards its mate, with both creatures vanishing in a burst of black smoke.

Once the inky vapor had faded, Ryan took out his wand to get a better look at the cave. Apparently, this had been those creatures lair, as he could see evidence ot them around, from smoking fur sheddings, to the remains of past meals. There were also signs of a struggle, with blood and feathers everywhere, but also smoldering groves in the rock, like they had been melted. When he checked where the dead creature had been, he found smaller remains, their young. The griffon had probably come in here while the parents were out hunting to go after the cubs, but had gotten caught.

As he sat there, somberly looking at the carnage around, he head a faint whimpering. Snapping his head in its direction, he discovered that there was still a survivor. It was the size of a puppy and was a ball of black fluff with its white face and glowing orange eyes. It was covered in blood, but didn't seem badly hurt.

It whimpered quietly and Ryan picked it up gently, cradling it.

"Hey little guy. I'm sorry, but it looks like your mommy and daddy took off. " he said to the cub, looking around, 

"Aw, isn't that precious." came a female voice.

Ryan turned around and saw Jasmine Christie and Simon,

"Whoa, what happened in here?" Simon demanded

"The griffon outside tried to attack a family of these things," Ryan explained, showing them the cubs, "the surviving parent vanished with its mate, I don't think it realized there was still one cub left."

"And why are you cradling it?" Jasmine asked

"I couldn't just leave him here." Ryan defended, he was quite the animal lover.

"Do you even know what it is?" Simon asked

"Well, no," Ryan admitted, "but it looks like a cat," 

"I think that's an schadenkhat cub." Christie said in amazement,

"A what?" Simon inquired

"I've read about them, but never thought I'd actually see one." she said, "They're thought to be extinct. They're divine beasts, a rare kind of cryptid that possess magik energy. They're basically the us of the cryptid kingdom"

"Guess that explains the burns around the place," Ryan muttered

"What are you gonna do with it?" Jasmine asked

"I don't know." Ryan said, then the cub looked up at Ryan with wide eyes and then blinked as its eyes turned from bright orange to brilliant blue. It then snuggled in his arm.

"It changes color too," Ryan said, "that's cool."

Jasmine smiled, "I think it just imprinted on you."

"It did?" Ryan asked panicked as he checked his clothes for stains.

Christie laughed, "No, when a cryptid imprints, it form a bond."

"Wait, so will this thing think I'm its mommy?" Ryan asked

"Mommy Ryan," Simon laughed

"No, they're pretty intelligent even for cryptids," Christie elaborated, "this little guy will probably see you as its best friend forever." 

Ryan looked out at the sea, "Guys look."

Not too far off, a small boat was sailing through.

"A ship!" Simon said

"How are we going to get its attention?" Christie asked

"I've got an idea." Jasmine said, she took her crossbow, aimed at the sky and shot a dazzling red bolt, carrying a trail of sparkles. The bolt exploded in a fireworks display, showing the word; HELP.

A short while later, the ship sailed close to the island and then a boat was sent to them.

"Thank you." Jasmine said as they got onto the boat.

"Don't thank me," Said the boat man, "The captain made me do it. I opted we left you on that island to rot."

The boat man looked at the cub in Ryan's arms, "what is that thing anyway?"

"It's a scha-" Christie started

"We don't know," Ryan interrupted, noticing the greedy glint in the man's eyes, "all we know is its parents are dead and it imprinted on me,"

"So, you think it's worth something?" the boatman asked

"Don't even think about it." Jasmine said holding her crossbow.

The ship was a freighter with the name, EXCELENCE. It was five hundred feet long and painter a rusty red color.

They got onto the ship and were escorted to the captain's quarters. "The captain will be with you shortly."

They waited for several minutes, before the doors opened and the captain walked in. when Ryan saw him, he was dumbfounded, "He's a monkey." Ryan said

The captain was big, about as big as them, he had thick brown fur and large brown eyes, he wore a captains' overcoat plus a black turtleneck and ash colored pants. On his head was a black hat. The chimpanzee's eyes gleamed with intelligence and he grinned. Ryan had seen a lot of monkeys [once I took a summer job working for the local zoo.] but this one had a lot of human features, Ryan wondered if he was a mutant.

"Greetings Captain." Jasmine regarded it as if it was normal.

He barked in a series of grunts and clicks.

"Uh… does anyone know what he's saying?" Ryan asked in a hushed tone.

Christie smiled, "He said 'Hi'."

"You speak monkey?" Simon asked

"No, I'm good with languages –it's an internalist thing— he's speaking Abraxi, it's an old tongue, not really common nowadays."

"Oh." Ryan said.

The monkey captain continued barking and Christie translated.

"He says his name is Jax."

"Captain Jax," Jasmine said, "Where is your ship going to?"

Jax continued some more barks, "He has cargo bound for Port Swaphan."

"Well can you take us along?" Jasmine asked

He nodded then barked, Christie translated, "but we have to pay our way."

"Uh… is that gonna be expensive?" Ryan asked

"He means we're going to have to work on the ship."

"That sounds hard." Ryan said, "And besides, I'm not good at sailing."

Jax chuckled then barked some more,

"He could use us for extra security." Christie translated "He says that they are about to sail through some dangerous waters, and he could use some magus help." She pauses, "He also asks what Argus branch we're from."

"You know about Argus?" Ryan asked.

Jax nodded and barked something else, Christie looked shocked, but she translated, "He says that he's had dealings with Argus when he was friends with your mother."

Ryan was at a loss for words, "M-my mother?"

Jax nodded and barked some more stuff and Christie translated, "Your mom and aunt used to run merchandise through him, before he went legit."

"You were a smuggler?" Jasmine asked, Jax just shrugged in a 'we do what we have to' way.

Ryan looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He suspected Stephanie and his mom had a checkered past from some conversations he'd heard, but it didn't connect that they might've been actual criminals who were involved in a multidimensional smuggling ring. He found that realization kind of cool… if a little unsettling.

Ryan smiled, "Well, captain Jax, we can offer any assistance you may need on your journey, provided we're treated fairly."

Jax nodded and barked, then, he left the cabin.

"What did he say?" Simon asked

Christie looked at Ryan, "He said Ryan remind him of his mother."

… )]≥( …

For the next ten days, Ryan, Jasmine, Simon and Christie became the Excellences' nightly defenders. They passed along a specific route, travelling through several realms while at sea. It surprised Ryan how many realms there were on Earth, some were obvious, with floating islands and alien sights in the skies, while others were subtle, with the lurch in his gut being the only indicator they had entered a new realm. Now it made sense why old stories of sailors made the sea seem vast and mystical. 

After sunset, majority of the crew turned in, leaving just a small graveyard shift, as Jax guided the ship from there and the magi protected the ship from ravagers and other sea creatures that threatened the ship throughout the night. During the day, they rested in the captain's cabin.

Once Ryan asked Jax why he never rests, Christie translated, "He says 'I can rest after the cargo is delivered or when I'm dead, whichever comes first.'."

One morning, Ryan and Simon were on the bow of the ship, with the sunrise an hour away, the closer they got to their destination, the more frequent the attacks got. But surprisingly, that night was peaceful, boring in fact.

"So," Simon asked, "What's the latest?"

"We should reach port by noon tomorrow." Ryan said,

"What about the skull?"

Ryan hadn't thought of the skull in a while, "I don't know, Christie is doing some internalist thing. What I want to know is why was a skull in the archives to begin with?"

"Oh, the Argus collects and hoards weird stuff all the time," Simon shrugged, "a lot of them are just radioactive with unstable magik energy, and are locked away in there until the powers that be decide what to do with them."

[Apparently, there's even a set of cursed Victoria's Secret lingerie in there that belonged to this famous starlet from decades ago. Don't ask me how I know this.]

They sailed in total silence, yet Ryan felt a strange nagging in the back of his skull, like his senses were picking up something that Ryan couldn't notice.

He got up, "This nothingness is killing me, I need to take a walk."

Simon chuckled, "Go ahead, there's nothing going down right now."

He walked to the stern of the ship, where Jasmine and Christie were watching the ships back.

"Hey," He said

"You should be at your post." Jasmine said

"Yeah, I know, but there's nothing going on up there." Ryan said uneasily, "It's messing me up."

"What is it?" Jasmine said

"I have some nagging at the back of my head, like there's something I should notice, but haven't noticed it yet."

"That's the magi 7th sense, it's a danger sense all magi have, we're able to detect disturbances due to our acute senses. But…" Christie said

"But…?"

"But I'm not sensing anything."

"Me neither," Jasmine noted

Then, there was a tremble throughout the ship.

Jasmine and Christie looked around, "That's not good."

Then, out of the port, the head of a giant snake burst out from beneath the surface.

"What is that thing?" Ryan asked

"It's a freaking sea serpent," Jasmine said

The monster roared a screechy, irritating roar and a jet of high intensely pressurized boiling hot water sprayed out of its mouth and sprayed the hull. Wherever the water sprayed the hull, the metal steamed and groaned.

"Hey ugly!" Ryan yelled

The sea serpent turned its attention towards Ryan then opened its mouth and let loose a jet of water, Ryan tumbled to the side as the water sprayed all over the deck, he was splashed with water so hot that his skin turned red. Where he had been standing, was now a steaming hissing hole in the deck.

Ryan looked at the others, "That thing's water can cut through steel?"

"That things water can cut through steel if it had to." Jasmine said, "Now, attack formation. Christie get a vantage point for your rifle, you two, you're with me up front."

"As always." Ryan said as he drew Draxonn and Simon pulled out a chainsaw from his tool bag.

… )]≥( …

Christie found a perch as far away from the sea serpent as possible. She set up her rifle and adjusted the scope to face the sea serpent dead on. She reached into her pocket where she kept all her rounds and pulled out a magik round—a bullet the size of a finger. She slid the round into the chamber and took aim. She poured her magik through the gun, to the core made from the magik crystal, materea, constructing a sigil that glowed bright orange at the end of the barrel.

Once the sigil was complete, Christie pulled the trigger and the rifle roared as the sigil was instantly engraved onto the bullet, transforming it into a bolt of bright orange energy that shot out, growing from the size of a pen to the size of a spear. It hit the monster in the chest and the monster swayed, then it shook its head and roared, sending a blast of water straight at Christie. She rolled to one side as the water tore through her perch. She ran with her rifle gripped tightly in her hands.

Why didn't that work? She asked herself.

She managed to get to another perch and set up again, loading another round into the chamber, as another sigil formed along her barrel. As she pulled the trigger, it shot out a misty beam. It hit the monster, just barely, and then frost glazed over it body. The monsters body sank into the sea and they continued on.

"Christie, you rock." Ryan said, "You and that weird rifle of yours."

"It was my first time using ike-fyr," Christie said, "and it was awesome!"

"Ike-fyr?"

"Yeah, it's a high-level ordnance cast. I'm still surprised it worked so well for me."

[hi guys, ordinance cast are made specifically for indirect casters. It's for long-range weapons like magik rifles or bows, and inscribes projectiles with specific sigils scripts.]

Ryan checked his watch, "The sun will be coming up soon" He said

Christie looked at the others with concern, "Guys, about that skull…"

"Yeah?" Ryan asked

"I found writing on it."

"Well?" Simon asked

"It's in another language, one I can't translate, but it appears to be some sort of incantation."

"Well do you know how to get it translated?"

"I can't translate this language," Christie said, "but I think I know of someone who knows how to translate it."

"So who is it?" Jasmine asked

"I can't say here, when we get to port."

The rest of their shift went in silence until the sun rose over the horizon.