Captain Lorlux took a banana to the face stoically. Nobody could hear over the din of the feast. The [Broth of Mending] effect Brufo had laced into the gazpacho immediately began to soothe my wounds. That was thoughtful of him. I tried to catch his eye and he winked at me. He stood off to the side with some of the monkeys that had been denied a seat at the table.
When the monkeys finished Kola bellowed and they scattered. He picked up the table and threw it out the broken window. I watched it sail into the abyss.
“Kola-Make-Big-Explosions. Kola-Read-Book-Called-Chemistry-301. Kola-Teach-Monkeys-To-Put-Exploding-Mushrooms-In-Tree-Air-Sacs. You-Apes-Not-So-Smart. Kola-Has-Ship-Now.”
He crossed his arms.
I leaned over to Valietta. “So is he a sky pirate?”
“I suppose he is,” she muttered.
“Kola-Has-Ship-Now. Now-You-Go-Or-Kola-Punch.”
Brufo cleared his throat. “Jungle King,” he said loudly. “Before we go, allow me to serve you dessert.”
The room fell dead silent. “You-Stay-With-Ship-Chef,” Kola said. “You-Bring-Dessert-Now.”
Brufo bowed. “As you wish.”
He left and returned with a dish of tropical fruit covered with sugar. He picked up a toppled chair, set it where the table had been, and placed the dish there.
“What I have prepared for you today we will call a tropical creme brulee. It is missing only one element, which I shall add now.”
Then many things happened at once.
Brufo spewed fire with an ability called [Flambé Rush] all over Kola. Lorlux fired [Shadow Essence] from a pistol I had not noticed him draw. Valietta activated her pulse hammer. I ran at him. After Brufo spewed the flames, he smacked the monkey that had stolen his toque with a serving spoon. He put his hat back on and turned to the developing melee.
King Kola was on fire. I punched him, though it didn’t make much of a difference. Still, [Adaptive] built up my strength when I hit. I didn’t know how to use any weapons, but everybody can use their fists I guess. If I punched him enough maybe it would get pretty strong?
He kicked me and I smacked into the wall. I saw stars, and Tamiro briefly, looking surprised.
When I sat up, I saw Val hit the Jungle King on the back of the head with the pulse hammer. A shockwave went through everything and he wavered for a moment, smoldering.
Then his metal hand opened up into a chainsaw.
“Oh, aether,” Val said as he lifted off with his turbines and charged her. She dodged, rolling as he slashed with the chainsaw, then darted into the corridor. He roared and followed her. I took off and flew after them too. It was just faster to fly than run. As I chased them past the kitchen I saw the monkey with the telescope and decked him as I flew past. I promise I had the purest intentions of simply charging [Adaptive] further.
I punched a few other monkeys on the way. For her part Val did her best, and [Dodge] saved her a few times. When we reached the starboard halls where most of the crew cabins were located, Val set out down the long hallway running with nowhere to hide really. And I realized that this would be when he catches her.
King Kola grabbed a nearby monkey and yeeted it at her. she [Dodged] the monkey missile, but it came screeching back at her and grabbed her. Kola’s laugh boomed down the way as his turbines revved. I had to distract him!
“Hey, Kola!” I shouted.
He rotated toward me in midair, grinning. He beckoned to another monkey, which reluctantly hopped into his hand.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
I held up Val’s blue dress, which I was still carrying. “Val wear dress?”
I could see her face flushing. She glowered at me as she threw the monkey grappling her into the wall. Kola rotated back around to Val, who shrugged.
“I wear dress.”
Kola dropped his shoulder thrusters, jumped, then flipped so he was upside down and facing me. Thrusters fired again. He rushed me. This time I was ready. He was easy to read. He was massive and scary fast and strong but he had the subtlety of an ox.
I jumped aside just in time, landing a punch as I did so. Kola roared. How much health could he possibly have? He went barrelling down the corridor, reversed. I ducked into my room. I had just enough time to grab the sleeping moss kitten.
Kola smashed through the wall like Kool Aid Man, raging and flailing with his chainsaw arm. Debris showered me. I flew back into the hall at the same time that Brufo rounded the corner. Kola smashed through the doorframe behind me. From his pocket Brufo took a pinch of [Seasoning] and sprinkled it on.
“Now, Val, Daniel!” he yelled.
Val’s pulse hammer flashed past me. I did a flip move, imitating Kola, then sped off upside down but forward and caught up to the spinning hammer.
“Aghghghghhhh!” I screamed.
My fist struck first. Then the pulse hammer exploded into an aurora of [Blaze Radiance].
[Experience Gained: +2500 XP (Combat)]
[Loot Generated: Weapon/Companion]
[LEVEL UP: Daniel]
[Driften Waker: Level 8]
[LEVEL UP: Brufo]
[Black Chef: Level 9]
When the rainbows cleared, I grinned at Brufo.
“I’m catching up to you!”
I looked at my own hand, which held a silver lance engraved with roses. Was this the loot?
“Come on,” Val walked past me. “We’ve got a lot to do still if we want to have a chance of getting out of this place. First and foremost, Sleipnir…”
But when we got back to the kitchen, stepping over an unconscious flying monkey, Sleipnir was sitting up on the table. His face on the right side where his eye had broken had been smashed up considerably but Lorlux had managed to at least get it back into his head. The captain nodded approvingly.
“Sorry about the dents. We’ll get you smoothed and buffed when we get to Aeven. Welcome back Sleip. We need you get restart the engines.”
“Where’s the King?” Sleipnir asked, looking around with worry.
“You don’t have to worry about him any more,” I said.
With Sleipnir awake and seeing to the engines, we still needed to deal with those leeches. Sleipnir had told me to burn them with fire. Well, Brufo had fire. I told him about the errand and he geared up in his power suit and we both flew around the hull. He burned them while I peeled the husks off with Val’s laser drill.
When we were done, I felt a wave of exhaustion come over me. I went to what was left of my room and pushed debris off the bed and slept.
I had a very strange dream. I was in a house that looked like thunder, dark cloud walls, lightning couches. And a portrait of a family of svarks that looked just like Tamiro!
Tamiro sat on the floor beside a wrinkled little lady with pointed ears. Her hair was white with a shock of blue and up in a crackling bun. She was knitting a scarf of electricity using two bolts of lightning as knitting needles.
“It’s damp today little Tamiro. You’re going to want to have a nice, conductive scarf so you can stay charged.”
He looked up, noticing me. Hey, Daniel! I’m been trying to get in touch with you! You see, friend Dream Fish doesn’t want to go to Aetherhaven.
“Finish your sashimi, young Tamiro.”
“Who’s she?” I asked.
Tamiro beamed.
This is Nana Fizzle! She pretty much raised me.
“Where are you going then Tamiro?”
He was too busy finishing his mouthwatering tuna sashimi to respond for a little while.
Sooo tasty Nana Fizzle!
“Tamiro! I might wake up at any moment! Where are you going?!”
Friend Dream Fish is taking me to the Maw of Gaia! There is lightning more than any storm there, as well as good fishing. Hey! Maybe you guys can meet us there!
“Tamiro!” Nana Fizzle chided. “Save some sashimi for your friends!”
“Sorry,” the svark said sheepishly. “Want some?”
Val was beside me. She wore the blue, strapless dress from earlier, and a blue lace veil and hat.
“Why do I keep dreaming of you Tamiro?”
We all met friend Dream Fish last time we went fishing, remember?
“Get me out of here, Tamiro,” Valietta said quietly.
Tears glistened on her face. Nana Fizzle offered a crackling handkerchief and a hug. Val’s hair stood straight up.
“What’s the matter Tamiro’s friend Val?”
“She was going to kill me,” Val mumbled, wild-eyed. “I can’t believe it…”
“Now, now. You’re in Nana Fizzle’s thunderstorm now! No one will hurt you here.”
I awakened in the night to rumbling and tree branches scratching the sides of the ship. The Food's Errand sailed again!
