Chapter 16

  The sailors on the ground erupt in celebratory cheers. The Atlantean threat has been defeated. They have survived a terrifying encounter and can escape the island now. Minot nearly collapses from the exhaustion. Velophine and Iv rush over to him to hold him steady. They exchange short words of victory. For a moment, their heartbeats are louder than the wind.

  After their short moment of relief, excitement and rejoicing they face the next challenge: The ship is still in the dirt. On top of that, the cloud bubble keeps shrinking. The once somewhat smooth surface is now unrecognizably messy and disfigured. Dark tendrils reach out to the island like a stormborn kraken.

  They all have been in the rain for quite a long time, so Rain Fever is becoming a factor, too. On the sailors' faces small dark patches are appearing. Their arms are getting shaky, but they try to keep the symptoms down.

  A sailor and mechanic takes a look at the ship's hull. "Well...", he reports, "The bow of the ship's several meters underground. Stern's around 24 degrees in the air. One look an' I can tell the engines and machinery ain't cuttin' it to dislodge the ship and get us outta here." He turns around with an anxious expression, scratching the back of his head. "I ain't likin' being the bearer of bad news, but... yeah..." The high spirits from before gradually sink to abyssal depths. They have won against Vasso, but are still stuck inside a collapsing storm bubble with a ship that's firmly in the ground and probably won't be able to sail.

  "Oi, Fairy!", the other sailor, a younger man, calls out to Iv. "Ya think ya can get the Cloudbreaker outta the ground like ya did with the cannon?" He chuckles nervously, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

  Iv feels honored to be called for help regarding her dearest ship, but: "That is waaaaay beyond what I can do..."

  "'S fine, guessed as much..." The man lowers his head. "Still I'd like to know how in the dark abyss ya managed to do that. What do you eat to get this strong, haha."

  Minot ignores the jokester. He gets up and carefully walks over to the Cloudbreaker. There were still people inside when Vasso attacked it. He needs to know if Schalk is fine. His legs feel like he is treading through tar in winter and rain, breathing gets heavier, every muscle screams in pain. Still he has to board the ship and find his friend. He approaches the large hole Vasso ripped through the hull, intent on entering.

  "Oi, greenhorn!", the older sailor calls out to him. "Ya can't get inside! Too dangerous, plus ya look like ya'd drop anytime soon." Minot ignores him and proceeds. But he feels a very strong and impossible to overcome tug on his shirt. He looks back and sees Iv, her face overcome with feelings of sympathy and worry. Small beads form under her eyes.

  "I know ya want to look for Schalk, Minot." She sniffles. "But ya're just gonna get yaself hurt more. Just... sit down and rest for a bit..." He doesn't know when the last time was he has seen Iv this worried about him. As he thinks about it, he must've made her worry quite a few times in the past. Getting into fights at the harbor, hurting himself from hauling heavy crates, nearly falling off the ship, actually diving off the Cloudbreaker to save another sailor. He has done a lot to make his fairy friend stressed about his well-being.

  Minot bits his lower lip, then exhales. He steps back from the ship and almost stumbles. "H-hey! Hold yaself!" Minot sits down on the wet grass and dirt.

  "I get how ya feel, mate", Mons comforts Minot. It has been a while he has said anything. The fear has mostly subsided, but worry of the impending collapse still stirs within him. "But Minot got a point." He speaks to the rest of the group. "We gotta go inside, just to protect ourselves from the Rain. The Cloudbreaker should be able to handle the storm, even in this state." He pauses. "I hope."

  "Hrmm, ya right. But gettin' on her ain't gonna be easy...", the mechanic replies. "Maybe if one of us goes inside the hull, through the engine room and gets a rope ladder out..."

  "No need!", a voice interrupts the sailor's string of thought. They look up in surprise, almost startled at the sudden response. Even Minot gets up in a hurry, only to slip and fall onto the ground. Iv anxiously flutters around him, trying to get him into a less uncomfortable position.

  "Schalk, mate!" The sailors shout, happy to see their fellow crew mate alive, even if injured. He has cuts and bruises on his face, some patched up with bandages, but his radiant smile always stays. "What the stinkin' depths happened inside?!"

  "Sorry for makin' y'all worry!", Schalk awkwardly scratches his cheek. "Lemme run down the situation: Most of the crew's fine! Engine room has been pierced like from a giant harpoon, all but two engines are outta commission. There is scrap 'n parts everywhere. Three sailors are injured, one critical, one's missin'. And...", Schalk pauses, looking slightly away from the group below him. "One sailor dead. Cap'n Temperal is handlin' the disaster response right now."

  "Who died?! Tell me!"

  "... Mate Ronny did."

  "Motherfucker!", the mechanic screams. "Where is that ugly fish guy?! I will kill him with my own hands!"

  The other sailor holds the infuriated man down. "Calm down, Silva! The enemy's gone! Ronny's death has been avenged!"

  "Not until I killed this piece of shit myself! Let me go, Timeus!", Silva fights back, tears streaming down his face. His eyeballs are getting noticeably darker.

  The situation outside the ship is deteriorating fast. If anything, everyone has to get on board now. Velophine steps forward and asks Schalk: "If the ship was to be dislodged from the dirt, would it be able to sail us out of here?"

  "Can't say for certain", Schalk replies. "Two runnin' engines are barely enough to keep the ship stable, let alone move."

  "I see..."

  "Y'all, let's discuss this inside! Silva is gettin' hit with Rain Fever and if this goes on, y'all will too!" Schalk orders everyone to get on board and throws a rope ladder for them to climb.

  Inside the Cloudbreaker. The sailors are gathered in the meeting room at the stern of the ship. Given the uneven ground some of them lie on the floor, hold themselves on the walls or stand around, balancing their weight with their legs. A total of 15 people are in the room. Small groups of people are spread out across the large hall. The impact of Vasso's attack has thrown furniture, equipment and decoration all over the place.

  Everyone who has been in the rain an extended amount of time is given medication for Rain Fever: an amber stone, warm and soothing, to be grasped in one's hands and a bottle with a sweet liquid inside. The stone is channeled with sunlight that combats the rain's effects as the warmth spreads throughout the body; the liquid is harvested from fruits that grow at high elevations, calms the mind and complements the stone. The latter is often substituted for alcohol.

  Minot and Iv are fiddling with the artifact that is still on his chest and the pouch where it has been stored in. Minot carefully pokes the golden object that is still faintly glowing; it clings on stubbornly. Iv is sitting on one of the warm stones while investigating the pouch. It is crafted similarly to the Cinzite clothes to contain magic. Upon closer inspection the pouch has been cut, probably by Vasso during the fight, but also parts of the sewn fabric appears "unraveled". As if the Cinzite Threads have loosened up to let the artifact escape. Iv looks at Minot with a puzzled look, he replies with a shrug.

  Velophine is tending to the injured sailors with her magic. The medic room has been damaged by Vasso's assault, so they are being treated in the meeting room. In this gloomy lighting Velophine's magic illuminates the surroundings in a calming and friendly yellow. The hurt sailors thank the scholar for her help.

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  Schalk is near the windows on the far side of the room, observing the encroaching clouds. Mons is distributing the food rations they have. Rui has recovered from the Fever and is trying to fix a broken cable; probably as a distraction from the situation. Hagen sits depressed in a corner, head low and arms on his lap. He hasn't spoken a lot since entering. The fight against Vasso hangs heavy in his mind. The Captain is in his office trying to communicate with Gate 5, the harbor and the capital for a rescue mission.

  There is no conversation. At most whispers are exchanged. Prior to this the crew members inside the ship have been informed about what has transpired on the island. The encounter with Vasso, Carton's death, Hagen and Minot's fight, the female sailor - whose name was revealed to be Stefanie -, the artifact.

  The wind continues to howl outside, encircling them like a swarm.

  The door opens slowly, as if to not disturb the unspoken dialog inside the room. Timeus, the ship's nurse, enters with an update. The sailors turn around to him. "Silva is fine and recovering, but he is not doing too well about Ronny's passing... He needs some time for himself."

  "Who was Ronny to him?", Velophine asks.

  "Like an adoptive son", Timeus replied, his throat aching from uttering those words. Velophine lowers her head. "Both had a rough upbringin'. They met at a harbor somewhere east of the Empire. Despite havin' initial differences they grew close and became inseparable. When Silva joined the Cloudbreaker crew he insisted on bringin' Ronny along."

  Every sailor in the room knows the story. Quietly they mourn the loss of their friend and feel for Silva's grief. Velophine feels bad for having asked that, but Mons puts a hand on her shoulder, telling her it's alright. He hands her a bowl of chicken soup. The smell of poultry spreads throughout the room and alleviates their heavy spirits a little.

  The crew is used to losing a sailor every so often. Working in the Storm comes with its dangers, and they all know it. Still, losing three crew mates, nearly four, in one day is beyond abnormal. She wishes she had done more. With unsteady hands Velophine flips through her notebook again.

  Heavy footsteps approach the meeting room. Despite knowing who they belong to, they don't sound as firm and steady as they normally do. They are more careful, softer. Captain Temperal lowers his head and enters the room. The sailors expect any kind of bad news by now, still they carefully listen.

  "Wasn't easy, but I got a message through", he clears his throat and begins. "The Storm put a lot of static in the communication. Still, I informed Gate 5 on our situation and that they should dispatch a large ship to come get us. In the worst case we gotta leave the ship behind." The captain looks at everyone inside the room. Their reactions are reserved at best. Iv seems the most disheartened. He sighs. "Sailor Schalk. The clouds?"

  "In around 8 minutes they'll hit us and we'll be inside the storm again."

  "Understood." Captain Temperal scratches his beard. He looks noticeably tired and unkempt. "We ain't gettin' the Cloudbreaker off the ground. We gotta hope the sudden blast from the Storm ain't throwin' us off the damn island."

  The air inside the room is cold. The crew's sorrow and hopeless spirits haunt the atmosphere. The howling wind outside, begging to enter, and the quiet air inside, resigned to its fate.

  Velophine grips her notebook tightly. She bites her lip. With her head lowered her eyes dart across the ground quickly. Finally coming to a decision, she stands up. "Captain Temperal", she asks, "May I... suggest something? While we still have time."

  The Captain looks surprised and raises and eye brow. He crosses his arms and replies: "What's on yar mind, Miss Velophine."

  "Yeah, you kinda owe us a few explanations", Minot adds from the side. Iv rushes over to his face and pokes his cheek, visibly annoyed by his passive aggressiveness.

  "You're right, Minot", Velophine agrees with him. She fidgets with her fingers. "The whole situation is my fault. I never would have thought we'd encounter an Atlantean here. If I knew beforehand I wouldn't have you all visit this island."

  "Then what are those things?", Mons asks. Hagen looks slightly up from his lowered position.

  "As I said before, they're creatures from the abyss, born in the Night Ocean. They created the Storm and try to cover the sky in darkness. The sun itself, and by extension humans, is their enemy." She points at the amber stones. "That's why those stones, which are warmed by the sun, cure Rain Fever. Falling into the Night Ocean would not only mean a fatal case of Rain Fever, but also..." Velophine struggles with that part.

  Timeus stops her from continuing. "Don't say that part. We can probably imagine." The sailors silently agree.

  "Right", Velophine continues and composes herself, choosing her words more carefully. "Since the Sun is their sworn enemy, there is something that can carry us back to her." Puzzled looks meet her as she walks over to Minot. He stands up, trying to stand steady in the slanted ship. His fairy friend carefully observes his moves, in case he does something stupid. "This artifact once belonged to the Deity, an envoy of the Sun herself. Long ago, in the past that our history books struggle to depict, she... used a powerful spell to create the Frontier. These artifacts are spread out across the islands in the habitable zone to keep the Frontier stable. It has been holding back the Storm ever since. But over time, the Frontier is weakening. And with a weak Frontier the Atlanteans have now begun appearing."

  She pauses and lets the sailors process the information.

  "Ever since the Frontier was established the Atlanteans haven't shown themselves. I feared that one day they would appear and become a threat to us again. I wanted to prevent it by visiting the islands that had an artifact and were swallowed by the Storm. To bring them back inside the zone. That, and I wanted to find something else, too, that is now gone."

  Minot looks at her, questioning. Before he can ask her how she knows so much she lifts her hand and places her fingers on the artifact that is still stuck on his chest. Velophine closes her eyes, and without resistance the artifact pops off. Minot's eyes grow wide, his suspicion does, too.

  In the meantime, the cloud bubble keeps shrinking.

  Velophine holds the artifact with both her hands. She says: "I was so relieved to see that this one still had so much power left. It helped us fight against an Atlantean. It even managed to uphold this large bubble for such a long time." She smiles as she says those words.

  The artifact's glow becomes brighter. It seems to take shape. A familiar shape.

  "Wha-", Minot and Iv gasp. A white heron emerges from the artifact. It's a lot more ghostly than physical, but the shape is unmistakable. Its ethereal form feels unstable. It is flickering like a candle flame in soft winds, close to being extinguished.

  "It was this bird that attacked you, right, Minot?", Velophine asks. She knows the answer and doesn't wait for a reply. She continues: "I am not fully sure why it did, but I feel it was a blessing in disguise. At least, for a time like this." The bird clings to the artifact and doesn't move much. It appears sickly. "It has spent a lot of its power during your fight and the fight against Vasso. But this bird will carry us home."

  She walks over to the windows. Everyone is looking at her with question marks in their heads. The storm is rapidly approaching. They are mere moments away from being engulfed in violent winds, raging clouds and pouring rain. Still, Schalk understands the assignment and opens the window, despite the protest of the other sailors.

  Velophine extends her arms and signals the ghostly bird to exit. It spreads its wings, flaps two times, then leaps off the artifact and out of the ship. Schalk closes the window again. The fiery bird is faintly flying circles around the ship.

  For a while, nothing changes.

  The clouds have arrived. The wind gets louder. The rain strikes the ship with increasing frequency. Silence has been banished, the Storm rages like a hungry dragon. Everyone clings onto something that looks rigid, expecting a violent collision.

  The ship shakes around. The strong winds slap from all sides against the hull. Fiendish whispers blow throughout the halls where the hull has been pierced. Chairs and tables get thrown around. Velophine chants a spell. A golden barrier grows from her and protect the people inside the ship from flying furniture.

  And then, as if pulled by a force greater than themselves, the ship gets elevated from the island. The heavy vessel leaves the ground, small bits of dirt fall of the hull. Despite the violence outside the ship has somehow steadied and calmed. The sailors are in disbelief. They look through the window and see a column of light where the bird is flying. It looks like a ray of sunlight piercing the clouds, beckoning them.

  The Cloudbreaker lifts higher and begins moving in the direction of the light. It even turns to face the light. The Storm outside tries to attack, toss and turn them, but the light of the bird keeps them steady. As if carried by a feather they slowly float while the bird flies ahead. The heron is pulling the ship out of the storm.

  They accelerate. They are being pulled faster through the dark clouds. The windows rattle loudly. Rain strikes them like bullets. Turbulence shakes the ship. The sailors grab on tight to whatever looks durable. The velocity pulls them backwards as the ship is pulled forwards. They accelerate more. A distance of three hours is being reduced to minutes. And those minutes feel like hours under the strong forces they are subjected to.

  The clouds rush past them and appear like a blur. Everything outside the ship is a grey mess. Only white-golden sparks are discernible. But the blur gets lighter in color. They are actually reaching the Frontier.

  In an instant the darkness gives way to bright white. The cloud barrier erupts like a sideways geyser and expels the large ship. The workers of Gate 5 look stunned at the scene in front of them. The Cloudbreaker is several meters above the island's ground, and after slowing down they begin falling. With thunderous noise the underside of the ship crashes into the stone floor and slides until it comes to a total halt. Cracking stone and hissing steam fills the awestruck silence of the witnesses.

  They have escaped the Storm.