"Break it off, the pair of you, before I send you to the brig!" the bellowed threat was an empty one, but there were still expectations when it came to maintaining authority. The truth was he couldn't afford to lose a single man right now. He charged across the deck and forced himself between the two crew members. What had started as an accidental bump had quickly become shoving and shouting and Peabody could read the situation enough to know that any second now there would be a full on fight. If there was bloodshed he would be forced to discipline one of them, or both of them, and that would be disastrous for morale. He had the time, while wrestling one of the men away from the other, to reflect on the last week of their voyage.

After the incident with the mage appearing and disappearing on the ship, they had been on high alert. No sleep, long shifts, armed patrols. The fact that one of their number had also disappeared, and another was seriously wounded and nobody knew for sure what had happened had the whole ship on edge. Nobody wanted to remain where these things had happened. The crew had been close to mutiny when Peabody had cautioned against them moving until Celeryx was able to resume his duties. Peabody and the captain had been forced to make a decision, then, to move on as quickly as possible to keep the crew satisfied and hopefully avoid any further attacks on the ship. There was only so much of him to go around, though, and the crew needed him during the day and at night. The captain tried his best, and it was enough for Peabody to grab an hour of sleep here and there, but he had been unable to rest. The threat of a mystery mage being able to appear suddenly and without any warning was terrifying. Three days of this passed before the kobold, Celeryx, was finally able to come above deck. His condition looked far improved, he had still been moving stiffly but his colour had returned and he was hissing orders in no time. The night crew was even beginning to understand bits and pieces of what he said, or at least they appeared to. Peabody had thought that, with the return of Celeryx they might be able to reduce the length of shifts and give the crew time to rest. Then the sails had been spotted.

Far behind them, well off in the distance so that it was barely a speck even using the looking glass from the top of the main mast, but it was still there. Another ship, following behind in the direction they had come from. The captain, being the captain, had seized on this as an opportunity. He had declared that they simply must turn right around and go after this other ship. That it was a target, not a pursuer. That taking a nice fat prize would boost everyone's spirits and make everyone happy! He spoke of all the riches they would gain if they had but the courage to go after it. The fact the crew was untrained and exhausted, and numbering at about half of what they should have seemed to not cross his mind for a second. Peabody, with a silent Celeryx, had sat in the captain's cabin with him and listened to it all. And then Peabody had advised him against it, telling him exactly why that course of action was doomed to fail and see them all dead. The captain had looked crestfallen, but seemed to understand. For all of the space of a few seconds, and then he was on to his next idea. Why, if they were undermanned and there was another ship behind them all full of trained and healthy people, why not turn to them and ask for aid? This ship had been the personal vessel of a successful slave trader. There were all kinds of valuables aboard that they could trade with this other vessel. Luxury items that could be traded for better supplies, silver that could be used to hire on a few more experienced hands. They could have a better functioning crew. Officers! At least until they reached the next port and then they could figure things out there. Peabody had been drawn in by the thought of this. It sounded possible. Like a gift sent by the gods themselves. Then there had been another shout from the lookout.

Captain Ward had gone up the to the crow's nest himself to see. He had said that, heightening his eyesight with magic and using the looking glass he had been able to confirm what the lookout had said. The lookout, a young lad who had been a slave for years before he was freed and joined them, was extremely familiar with the different signs and symbols of the slave trade. He had glimpsed, in the briefest of moments, one that he had recognised. The captain, with his magically enhanced vision had been able to confirm it. The ship was a slave vessel. A slave vessel that was behind them, after that strange attack and the mage who had appeared on their deck… It was too much to be a coincidence. Even if it had been a coincidence, nobody on board wanted to approach a slaver's ship or allow one anywhere near them. Just when they had been on the verge of reducing shifts and letting everyone get some rest…

Ever since then, four days prior, the shifts had continued. The work only got harder. As the crew grew more tired and closer to the edge of breaking they made more mistakes. Which then needed to be fixed. Or they forgot things, or took longer to do a task. Fights broke out, ranging from petty arguments to a broken arm that took another crew member from active duties. Just this morning two people had collapsed due to exhaustion. It was all because, no matter what they did, the other ship was gaining on them. It was close enough now that Peabody could identify the type of ship, analyse the way it sat in the water. If he was right, then it was slower and heavier than their own ship as it was meant for battle. A lighter warship, most likely meant for finding and taking other ships at sea. They were pirates that were chasing them. If Peabody had had a full crew, a trained crew, a crew that wasn't struggling on it's last legs then there would have been no worries. Their pursuers would never have been able to get closer. As it was, it was taking every bit of skill they had, including using the two mages aboard. They were emptying themselves, day after day, just to keep them ahead of the enemy. But it couldn't last much longer. As it was, they had a few days if they were lucky before they would be boarded. The captain, still being who he was, was on a crusade right now claiming they should stop fleeing. Take as much time as they could to rest and then meet their enemies head on. Take the fight to them, he kept saying. They were so close to Albed now, though. If they were lucky, extremely lucky, maybe they would come across another ship. This time not a ship that was looking to kill or capture them.

Peabody looked down at the man, sprawled at his feet, and sighed. He had run out of leaf and hadn't thought to ask the captain to use his magic to summon up some more. It had been a couple of days since he had last had a smoke and he was feeling the stress building up. "Get up, lad, and take five minutes to rest. We're all on edge, but we can't afford to turn on each other. Not now." That brief action had wrung him out and he no longer felt the anger burning inside of him. He glanced back at their pursuers, a familiar sight now. So close to them. The captain came running over, looking around to figure out what was going on but he had arrived too late. Judging by the worry on his face, though, he could see that Peabody wasn't doing too well. He came over and put a hand on Peabody's shoulder. "Cheer up, my friend. It's not like things could get any worse!" No sooner had he said the words than a rumble of thunder sounded and a strong wind began to pick up. Storm clouds began to roll across the sky, nearly black and swollen with rain. 

Ed clung desperately to the railing, fighting the urge to vomit everywhere. Time had ceased to have any kind of meaning inside of the storm. There was no sunlight, the cloud coverage being far too dense. The rain came down at them in torrents, the wind whipped it in all kind of directions. One moment it could be coming straight down at you, the next it could be hitting you almost horizontally. On top of that, there were the waves. Monsters that were throwing them around, sending them crashing down just to lift them right back up again. The sound was awful, drowning out shouts and orders alike. Ed suspected they had lost at least one man over the side during the storm, but there was no way to know until things calmed down. If things calmed down. Peabody and the kobold were an unstoppable force, pushing everyone to limits that just… Yesterday, the day before? He had no idea how long it had been. But they were surpassing limits they didn't even know they could. After Twinkle had nearly gone over the side while attempting to use her magic to help them it had been deemed to risky to allow the mages on deck. There was just nothing they could do against forces like this, but their magic could be used to push the water out that was risking flooding the ship. Ed had thrown himself at Twinkle, using every bit of magic he could to catch her in midair and bring her back safely to the deck. She had frozen, still as a statue. But she was safe now. At least, as safe as any of them could be. Lightning flashes occasionally illuminated their surroundings, revealing the slave ship to be even closer than before. Aboard their own ship, someone had found a little bottle somewhere. The bottle had been opened and magical lights had come out, giving them a clear source of light to work by that didn't run the risk of falling over and setting a fire. Or going out in the middle of something important.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the wind stopped. The waves became perfectly still. The rain lessened and then ceased entirely. Ed remained where he was, clinging to the railing and looking around. "What… The…" Peabody came striding over and helped him to his feet, looking equally confused. "The eye of the storm, perhaps? Except… No, I don't think so…" The two of them looked around. Save the clouds that still hung above them there were no signs of there having been a storm. The sea itself was almost like a lake. And right over there, close enough to see and hear the sailors aboard, was the slaver ship. Ed swore, reaching for a weapon that wasn't at his side. Perhaps they could see past their differences, both ships having survived such a terrible storm together. Or perhaps they wouldn't. If they didn't have any mages aboard then Ed and his ship had an advantage and could still get away…

Ripples began to form, close to the other ship, growing larger and larger. From the center a mass began to form, growing, rising out of the water. Ed watched, jaw hanging open as he watched a head appeared. Eyes, nose, mouth. Ed bit his lip, watching a giant appear out of the ocean. He had never seen anything like it, never even heard of anything like it. The thing was huge.

"Peabody?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Get Twinkle and the girl. We need to leave."
"Yes, sir."

Ed remained rooted to the spot, watching the giant as it stared down at the other ship.

"GIVE ME A BARREL!"

The other crew rushed about. There looked to be two parties forming, one rushing to obey the command and another rushing to mount some kind of attack against the giant. Arrows were launched and ignored. One lone fireball trailed up, up, up… Collided with the thing's shoulder and did nothing further. The giant just remained silent, watching and waiting. Eventually a barrel was produced and Ed watched as the giant picked it up. Well, was that all the thing wanted? Maybe now it would leave. The giant used one massive fingernail to pry the lid off of the barrel and then emptied it's contents on the deck of the ship. It then began using it to scoop water from the ocean, pouring it on the deck of the other ship. Peabody returned to his side.

"Ah, I have heard of these. Legends, spoken of on long voyages… Like so many things I  had assumed it was just a legend. The other ship, it's doomed. It isn't going to let them go until it has flooded them, sir. We can try to escape but… The creature controls the storms, sir."

Ed was silent, then, mind working furiously as he tried to think his way out of the situation while watching with horror as their once pursuers attempted to bail the water out of their ship. The giant, though, was flooding them far too quickly to allow them to make much progress. With the two mages, perhaps Ed and his crew would do better. Could they convince the giant to give up? The enemy ship was getting lower and lower in the water. Sailors were beginning to abandon  ship. And then, an hour or two later, it was over and the giant was turning it's attention to them, discarding the barrel it had been using. Were they safe?

"GIVE ME A BARREL!"

Balls. Ed sighed, turning to his crew. There was nothing they could do to stop it, so they would just have to get it a barrel and see what they could do to stop their ship from sinking.

The days where growing longer and more unbearable. The sea itself wasn’t the problem but instead it was the many other factors. The lack of space was the biggest one. Sailing was difficult for many, Kamri included.
Not everyone took well to it. Some hustled about like it was their calling; others did their part only to try to contribute.
The food was edible. Mostly. The current Chef had no love for his job and often threw something together that counted as ‘food’, though there was some talk of a man who wished to take the job himself. That might be interesting to see.
Morale was low. Shifts started and ended at abrupt times, but usually they were much longer than the intended runtime.
You could see the bags form under the eyes of those who stood in charge, and ones began to darken on the crew as well.
Morale got worse when the ship appeared.
A small blip on the horizon at first, easily glossed over and forgotten. Possibly a large rock? Small Island? But they hadn’t passed anything of the like for a while. With some observance, it was evident it was not getting further away; it also had shape to it that was not easily recognizable before.
Kamri remembered being on the deck when she first saw it. News had spread about it a few hours prior but being the shut in she was, the news had not yet reached her.
She saw the shape of sails and small, miniscule movements. She wondered if they had been friend or foe. Rather it be a patrol ship or something sinister, it did not matter. If it was following, it meant it was hostile. A normal ship does not follow someone for days to see how things are going. They do not exchange pleasantries.

Celery had recovered almost fully. Kamri wasn’t the first to greet him, but would have been if it wasn’t for her shift being so long.
She had met him once he had risen out of bed. She tried to convince him to stay in bed a bit longer to rest but he had adamantly marched back to take his fair share of work. She admired him for that, but also worried.
She didn’t tell him of the mark on her wrist. She didn’t tell anyone as a matter of fact. It pulsed dim light, blue and green. She was going to tell the mustached man, Deebody, but last time she was brushed off by someone else butting in.

By this time, she had tried thrice. The last time she had been perseverant as he was dragged away by a crewmember who needed him more. She called and told him it was important but the crewmember insisted it was an emergency and she was left again to wait. Maybe it wasn’t such a big deal after all. She should just ignore the Captain until she could get off, ask Celery to come with her. She would find a new way to travel across the sea if it happened she needed to return to the water.

She had stayed awake most the night even though she was tired. Work, eat, and sleep was the entire life of a crewmember. And now that she had decided to step up and work along with the crew, she was caught up in their schedule too.
She had stared at the ceiling, trying to plan for what to do and when. She leafed through the pages in her journal in the dim candlelight. Symbols, messages, and scribbles littered the page.
She had slowly been deciphering more. She found that some symbols related directly to letters in common and if she could crack it she could find more information.
She blew out the candle and placed the wax stub on the floor. She hugged the book to her as she fell asleep, hoping to grab a few hours before her shift began.

- - -

She was thrown from her bed as the tides rocked the ship in disarray. She stumbled on the floor, trying to get to her knees before she was thrown against the wall again.
Her fingers grasped around the spine of her journal and she forced it snugly in her pocket.
She scrambled to her feet, catching herself as she almost fell when the ship rocked once more.
A rough storm hu? Well, it was only a matter of time.
She clambered to the door in a mad rush, finding herself standing on the deck looking up to a grey sky. Water washed across the deck, coming up to Kamri’s shins. She gasped as the boat rocked and swayed, knocking her off balance. She froze the water around her, keeping her steady. If she had to melt it, she could, but right now stability was important.
She flicked her wrists and made a sweeping motion, lifting water from the deck and into the air, pushing it back into the sea. But with each wave, the ship would rock once more, and wash more water onto the deck.
Others where in a hurry, trying to keep on board. Some held others steady, others tried to help push water back into thesea. Orders where being barked, but it was too loud to hear what was being said.

Kamri closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to focus.
Cel. Where was Cel?
The ship rocked and lurched. Kamri tried to counter it but it was no use. One inexperienced mage against the angry ocean was no contest. She fell backwards, melting the ice as to not break her ankles. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea.

She hit the ground in a dizzying rush, her head hitting something behind her and she slumped into the water. She blacked out.

- - -

She sat up, coughing and gasping. A woman held Kamri in her arms, looking down at her worriedly. She ship had stopped rocking and the sky had lightened. Mages where now scooping up the last of the water.
“How long-“
“Only a couple seconds, hun. You really hit your head.”
The water rocked the ship one more time, the light being blotched out by something out in the ocean. Kamri turned her head to see a large figure standing in the water, towering above the other ship.
Her ear rang, but she was able to make out its demand.
‘Give me a barrel.’
The woman gasped, brining both hands to her mouth. Kamri stood up and watched, bewilderment obviously displayed on her face.
People nervously chattered, watching the other ship slowly sink. Others tried to come up with plans but nothing would seem to work. Could they slip away? But in this storm…
Kamri walked to the edge of the ship, not noticing Peabody nor the captain standing a few yards from her. She swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to think. But nothing came to mind.

The thing turned, watching. Its white eyes staring down at the people on their ship. Kamri saw white, flat teeth as it spoke down to them.

“GIVE ME A BARREL.”

No attack Kamri could manage would do anything but make it angry. She glanced around, hoping someone else had a better idea, but they all stood in the same situation. The ship would be sunk.
She noticed the captain standing just a little ways away. Great. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t be in this mess!
Idiot! Out of the frying pan…
She clenched her hands into fists. Well, if anything, no one was stupid enough to give it a barrel.

Ed ran his fingers through his sopping wet beard and tried to think of a new plan. He had given an order to survey what barrels they might have available to them, an order that Peabody had repeated when nobody had moved. It seemed they were all too scared to move, bless their hearts, but Peabody's hoarse commands set them to it. Good man, that Peabody. Maybe, if they could give it a smaller barrel they could then just bail the water until it got bored and moved away. There was merit in that thought, he was sure of it. He turned to speak with Peabody, to ask him what his opinion on it was, but the man was gone. All that left was the mage girl. Standing there and gaping at the giant creature. Well it was an impressive sight, that was for sure. It was probably the biggest giant Ed had ever had the displeasure of ever seeing. Currently only it's head and shoulders were visible above the waterline. The head itself must have been at least one hundred feet tall. It's skin was purest black, reminding him a little of Twinkle's except without the veins of colour beneath the surface. It had pure white eyes which were currently locked onto Ed and his crew as they scuttled about, ears flattened against the side of it's head and not  a single strand of hair on it's head. It was an ugly, wrinkled thing and if Ed hadn't just watched it sink another ship then he would have told it as much. As it was, he stood still and ran his fingers through his beard and thought, waiting for Peabody to return so he could run his idea by him. Until then, though, perhaps he could run it by the girl.

He turned to face her, opening his mouth to call out when one of the crew trundled into view, hefting a large barrel. It was a little bigger than Ed had hoped for, but he had no real way of telling exactly how it compared to the size of the barrel the other ship had given to the giant. Ed looked it over and tried calculating the size and volume of water it might be able to hold, but such sums were beyond him right now. It looked like it wouldn't hold that much water. Perhaps they could bail that much water in the time it took the giant to refill it again and pour it back onto the deck. Maybe even without the use of the mages to aid them. Ed hummed a little, retrying the math. Maybe, but he wanted to wait to reserve judgement. Ed looked from the barrel to the giant, wondering if it would just grab it and set to work or if it was going to wait for the barrel to be offered to it. From the lack of movement right now, it looked like the latter was true. This set him off on another train of thought. If they didn't do anything, didn't offer a barrel or attack it, then what would the creature do? Would it leave them be, or would it attack them? It hadn't really done much of anything to attack the other ship until they had given it a barrel. So there wasn't really much evidence to help come to a conclusion. Ed sighed. He needed to act, and soon. That giant could smash them to pieces, he was sure of it.

Peabody rushed down the stairs and onto the crew deck, then continued down into the cargo hold below. He had done an inventory of the ship's stores himself and he had thought.. He had heard the stories of the creature before, of course. The Umi Bozu, or as people to the west called it the Water Monk. Tales said these giant spirits appeared on stormy nights, or created storms if some of the stories were to be believed, and either they attacked ships with their massive strength or tricked the crew into handing over a barrel so they could flood the ship. Obviously recent results pointed towards the barrel story being pretty accurate. How could such a large spirit exist out here, though, without more sightings? The stories he had heard had been from decades before, from only a couple of sources on different ships. It wasn't as common as stories of giant whales that swallowed ships whole, or beautiful merfolk who lured sailors to their death against rocks. He was actually surprised he remembered as much about the stories as he did. There was one version he had heard, perhaps the first time he had even heard of the Umi Bozu, when he had been a mere cabin boy. The storyteller had insisted that there had been one devilishly clever captain who had outwitted the giant. Who had used his brains and come up with a way to trick it. The answer was obvious, really, if it would work. How could the ship be sunk if the barrel couldn't hold water? The story had gone that the captain had removed both lid and bottom from the barrel, giving it to the Monk who had exhausted itself in it's attempts to sink the ship. Something bothered him about that story though. If they did that, would the Umi Bozu accept the barrel? What if instead, they poked holes in the side of a barrel… Made it so the barrel couldn't hold water, but less obviously. He thought about the way the giant had held the barrel, large finger and thumb pressed against the barrel, covering most of it's surface. Perhaps… Not. He only had one shot at this, only one chance to save the crew. Should he go with his own idea, his own twist on a legend? Or should he stick with a classic? And what was the captain doing up on deck while he was down here trying to decide? He grabbed the arm of the nearest crew member, sent down here to grab a barrel. Peabody knew what he needed, there were large barrels down here that were empty already. They had no lids, and all that needed to happen now was for the bottom to be removed and they would see how much faith could be put into legends.

Celeryx stuck close to the girl, a spear gripped tightly in his hand. He didn't want to crowd her, giving her some space, but he was ready to jump in at any second. He knew he had no hope of fighting the giant, a spirit from the smell of it, but if it looked like it was about to attack then Celeryx was determined that he would find a way to get the girl away. Maybe in the small boat, or maybe he would have to swim and find a way to help her. He had a net, maybe it could be used to drag her along. He would need to keep to the surface, not exactly where he could swim the fastest… If there was another storm the girl would be doomed. If they couldn't make it to land in time, she would be doomed. If they stayed aboard this ship, well, they would both be doomed. It all came down to how he could best protect the girl. He felt so helpless. There were shamans in his tribe, powerful kobolds who could shape the weather, raise the dead, consort with the demon gods. Celeryx was not one of them, despite his bloodline. He was a simple warrior, but had survived to be considered an ancient at the age of twenty one. He had been chosen by the demon gods themselves to protect one of their own, and for almost a year he had traveled with one. Then, after one cruel mistake, it had been taken from him. That was how he had ended up a slave. That was how he had found the girl. He would protect her, now, as he had been unable to protect Mari.

Twinkle crouched down in the hold, Stubble clutched tight in her arms. She would protect him, him and her new mouse friends. She wouldn't be going back up on deck though. It was dangerous up there. The ship was no longer rocking, and there had been a thunderous cry not too long ago. But here she was safe, and here should could protect Stubble. Fieri appeared out of the darkness of the hold, coming up to Twinkle and crouching down to look into her eyes. Twinkle didn't want to leave her safe place. Fieri wanted her to though, she could tell.

Ed drew in a deep breath and looked up at the giant. "You there! Giant, creature.. Thing! We have a barrel for you!" Yes, this was where he excelled. In action.

Kamri glanced down at Cel who now stood at her side. Through this entire debacle, he’s been loyal. Even now, the way he stood, she could tell he was standing defiant to protect everyone. She admired that.
She stood a little taller, too. Inspired by his resolve. Indeed, this looked daunting and may very well be the end, but she wasn’t going to go down without fighting.
She squared her shoulders and looked at the thing in the eyes. If it was her death, then so be it! She wouldn’t cave! She wouldn’t hand it the very thing that would give them their own demise! Who would be idiotic enough to-!
“We have a barrel for you!”

Kamri snapped around, facing the captain, who had a large barrel with him.
How stupid could he be?!
The creature groaned, lifting one massive limb from the sea and grasping the barrel. It smiled, its eyes growing wide with excitement, it’s enormous, flat teeth showing the bits of planks and flags between its gums.
Kamri had kept her tongue tied down until this point. She had been patient. She was tricked, sold, threatened, and injured only to be stuck on a ship for so long. Through all that, she held her tongue and even attempted amends. And here he was, the same empty headed captain who sold her, throwing away the entire crew’s lives. Fine! If she was going to die, she might as well finally tell him what a mess he was.

“Hey! What in the entire hells do you think you’re doing?” She stormed over to Captain with a fury in her eyes. She grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, pulling it down so he could look her in the eyes.
“I’ve been quiet! I’ve waited! But this… This is lunacy! You’re trying to get us all killed!” She felt the knife weigh on her person. In a stroke of anger, for a moment, she thought about slitting his throat- but decided against it, if only for her own sake.

The thing plunged the barrel into the ocean, filling it with water. It lifted it and held it just above the deck. Everyone’s muscles tightened. Kamri didn’t seem to notice.

“I’m sick of this! I’m sick of you! I should have killed you on that beach!” She pushed him back, letting him stumble.

The monster stopped, holding the barrel in midair, watching Kamri. A small hand raised itself out of the water and fruitlessly covered the thing’s mouth.
“Oh, snap…”

“This would have been over! We might not even be in this storm! If anything, I wouldn’t die because some idiot gave a giant ominous sea bastard a means of our demise!” The water around them rose abruptly as she took a few more steps toward him, gently rocking the boat.
“And you know what the worst part is? I don’t even know why you’re keeping me! I don’t know what your plan was! You got what you wanted by selling me, right? But even worse, you’ve now doomed everyone here to the same fate. You’ve doomed the lookouts, the cleaners… You’ve doomed Cel!” She stood inches from him, face scrunched in a bitter anger.

Ed stood tall and proud as the creature reached down it's massive hand to pick up the barrel, a slight breeze ruffling his overcoat, making it flap dramatically in the wind. He held the pose, knowing how inspiring a figure he must be cutting for his terrified crew. Truth be told, he was a little scared himself, but he was the captain. It was his job to keep the crew calm and focused, and he was going to do that.

And then a screaming little harpy appeared out of nowhere, tugging and pulling, shouting in his face. He was taken aback, wondering where this apparition of furious vengeance had appeared from… When he realised it was in fact the girl. Her grip upon him was forcing him to bend low to look into her eyes, threatening to overbalance him and send him sprawling on top of her. What had got her so worked up? Was it just the fear from the situation she was in? Some people couldn't handle stress, perhaps the girl had snapped? It certainly sounded like she was having some kind of breakdown. She pushed him, suddenly, screaming about how she should have killed him on the beach. What in the name of Lokir's hairy danglers was the girl raving about? When had they ever even been on a beach, apart from that day of the rescue? And then, why would she have wanted to kill him then? He had risked his life and those of his people to save her, done everything in his power to correct his mistakes! He had been opening his mouth to question her, to figure out what she was talking about and calm her down but falling backwards it was all he could do to remain upon his feet.

He held up his hands in supplication, in an attempt to calm her down as she continued working herself up. Vaguely, he wondered why there was no sound of water cascading down onto the deck but this wasn't very high on his list of priorities. The boat was beginning to rock as waves formed around the ship, the frequency and strength increasing with the shrillness of the girl's voice as she worked herself up more and more. Rambling about lookouts and cleaners… Was she talking about the crew? Such strange attachments she must have made. As she stormed back up, getting up into his face, or his chest due to her height with her face all scrunched up as if she was about to burst into tears, he realised this couldn't go on any more. She was going to put them all at risk if she kept this up.

"Calm yourself, girl! This isn't the time for you to lose your cool! We have the situation under control, why don't you go back down and rest?"

He wasn't sure if they really could manage without her magic when the water needed bailing, but in this condition she was likely to trigger the giant monster into a murderous rage. Best to let her calm down, rest for a couple of minutes and compose herself.

Fieri stood, bow clenched in her hand with an arrow already drawn. She was on edge, ready to draw and loose at the girl if she continued threatening the captain. She had no idea what was going on here, but that girl seemed dangerous. Unhinged. Close to the edge. She wouldn't allow her to harm any of the crew, especially not the one who had saved half of them. Maybe she should have taken care of the issue on that beach, much like the girl was saying she should have done. Funny, that. If only that kobold hadn't got in her way… Speaking of which, she glanced around and found him, standing close to the girl and captain with a spear in his hands. He seemed at a loss himself, obviously torn between loyalties. What was it with these people? At leas the stone one was made sense. She turned but even the stone one had disappeared. Her eyes widened as she tried to find the golem, catching sight of her wandering over towards where the giant spirit was stood, barrel in it's hand poised to tip the water but it's large eyes fixed on the drama unfolding on the boat. Then the captain said something idiotic.

"Pssst"
Twinkle spun her head, looking back and forth for the source of that sound. It was loud, but the argument happening was loud enough that most people wouldn't have paid attention to it. She looked up to see the giant gesturing with it's free hand as their eyes met, trying to call her over to that side of the ship. She considered asking Fieri for her opinion, but she was focused on the argument too. Oh well. Wandering over, she wove through the people stood on the deck, staring at the captain and the mage as they shouted. 
"What's the scoop?" the giant was obviously trying to keep it's voice low, but the excitement in it's voice was obvious even to Twinkle. It seemed like the giant was a bit of a gossip. Silly giant. With a shrug, she began telling the giant about all that had happened this last month. Or as much of it as she was aware of.

Peabody stood back, surveying his work. It would do. With the help of a couple of the crew they loaded up the bottomless barrel and set to getting it onto the deck. There weren't any sounds of panic, not yet, which meant they still had time. 

She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes but she forced them back. She had been holding all this in for weeks and when she had finally said her piece she was told ‘calm down’. No ‘sorry’s, or explanations… Sure, there was a giant about to drown their ship but judging by the actions of their so called captain, he didn’t much care. She felt her nails dig into her palms, turning red.
“And what exactly do you mean by Calm Down?!” She threw her hands back, pointing to the crew. The water became unsettled, jostling the boat.

“What about them? If one of us survives, what will we tell the families of those here? ‘Sorry, but our childish captain drown us at sea by giving a monster the tool needed to Sink. Our. Ship!”
The Boat tilted dramatically to the left as waves began to form.

“Miss Kamri, please-“ A crewmember pleaded, stumbling. Kamri ignored him.
“Oh! Here’s a good one! How about ‘Sorry that your beloved is dead at the bottom of the ocean. A bald idiot took him straight from the labor intensive slavery and decided to sacrifice him on a guess!”

The monster was eating something. Some sort of kelp like substance. It crunched and swallowed, leaning in closer to the ship. It whispered to Twinkle. “oooh gurl it’s getting good!! Think she’ll murder him? Gosh I hope not. I don’t want this episode to end just yet.”


“I don’t even know your godamn name! I don’t know the name of the man who gambled my life away, and stood still as he watched me beg for help as I was dragged off to be a slave! Do you even know mine?! Do you know ANY of our names?!” She screamed, a few tears finding their way through her shut eyes. She was so busy yelling, she didn’t hear the worried murmur of crewmembers who were pointing out at sea.
Kamri held up her wrist, showing it to the man who had ruined her life.
“I’m marked. I don’t know exactly how but I didn’t have this before I was placed in that camp. I’m marked as a slave, asshole. For the rest of my life!”

The ship was encased in shadow. A large, looming wave stood above the ship, threatening to collapse on top of it in a matter of seconds. Kamri looked up at the wave, anger being flushed out in a moment’s notice, replaced by the ache in her stomach that housed fear.
Yelling and panic was all she could hear as she stood, frozen, looking at the wave she had created. She knew she had created it, she was vaguely aware of doing something while she was yelling- but something on this scale, she had never managed before.
She was about to drown them all.

The wave came crashing down, the seconds feeling like hours. Kamri felt a few drops hit her forehead as the ship lurched.
What had she done? She was just so angry, so scared but blinded by rage. She had created this.
The captain wouldn’t kill anyone.
Kamri would.

The wave came closer, she could count the things she noticed as it began to envelop the ship. She noticed the people praying. She noticed how the knots in rope where tied to the masts. She noticed just how dirty everyone really was.
The captain had gotten a little taller, and Celery stood a little stronger.
She saw the green light filter through the wave, and a pair of giant, shadowy hands grasp the side of the ship.

They were moving, but in the wrong direction. The wave, it must have changed course.
No, the wave hadn’t moved, they did.
The wave collapsed, causing the water to ripple and sway violently. She ship, however, remained a few hundred feet in the air, above the water. Suspended by the monster.

“Nu-uh, this was just getting good. I’m not done yet. What happens next? What’s next??”
Kamri looked the monster in the eyes, relief and shame washing over her body.
“…Heh. That’s… Ironic.”
She felt her shoulders drop. The ship had suddenly gone eerily quiet. Everyone was staring at her, not the monster.
“I… I should…” She didn’t finish her sentence. She quickly walked to the stairs and headed down below to find a place to hide. To think.

The crew stayed quiet, exchanging glances and trying to judge what the monster would do.
“Well, that was some good drama. Haven’t seen anything like that in years.”
It placed the ship back down. “Ah, I’m going to need a new barrel.”

As the girl became more agitated, so did the water around them. Ed had a bad feeling about what was going to happen if she didn't reign in her emotions fast. She had shown herself quite capable when it came to water magic, and here they were in an ocean. The boat was already rocking from side to side, each violent motion she made making the waves more violent. It was strange, but he had come to get used to the stillness of the water that the giant creature had brought with it, and now it was going away. "Girl, stop this." he glanced over the side of the ship, seeing waves growing a larger a little further from the ship. By the time they reached the ship they were crashing against it, making it rock more and more violently. "Girl, calm yourself" he could feel a little bit of spray hitting him now as the waves were getting higher. "Listen to me, you have to get control of yourself." Oh, this was not going to end well. Back when he was learning magic, in those days long past when he had avoided lessons like they were the pox, he had heard stories of mages losing control of their powers. He could hear hissing and spitting coming from beside him and turned to see the kobold, spear tossed aside, trying to get the attention of the girl. She seemed to be ignoring him in favor of continuing to scream at Ed. Then she began making a little sense. She was right, he didn't know her name. He had made a point throughout the voyage of meeting and introducing himself to his whole crew, but hadn't managed to do the same thing for her. Every time he had approached her… Well, that sounded like an excuse and if he tried making excuses she would blow her top completely.

The girl raised her wrist to show off a mark that glowed faintly, some kind of magic brand from the looks of it, which became more and more visible as darkness fell. It had been pretty dark before, what with all the cloud coverage, and was it starting to rain? Ed looked up and his worst fears came true. The girl had gone and done it. She had caused a wave that was going to destroy them. Unless… He searched the deck for Twinkle and saw her chatting away… With the giant?! Could this day get any worse? Well, after the wave hit and killed them all there really wasn't anywhere to go that was lower than that. Unless there really were hells out there waiting for him. He swallowed, gathering what magic he had. Maybe he could use telekinesis to cut it in half? Right. And maybe while he was at it he could fly to one of the moons and see if it was really made of cheese. He gave up, releasing his hold on his power and waited for the wave to hit. He had led a full life, maybe a little shorter than he had hoped but what could he do about that now? At least he had enjoyed it.

The giant moved surprisingly quickly for something it's size, reaching out and scooping up their ship. For a brief moment Ed's heart sang as he felt like he was flying again. So the giant wasn't going to let a wave destroy them. Obviously it was set on doing the job itself. Ed didn't know how he felt about that. Was it better to be crushed by a wave or crushed and possibly eaten by a giant? He was going to find out the hard way how one of those felt, wasn't he? He could hear the roaring of the wave pass beneath the ship and vaguely wondered what would happen to that wave. Without anything to stop it, wasn't it going to keep on going until it hit land? So the girl had not only doomed the ship but was also going to be responsible for ruining someone else's day. He felt bad for her, truly hoping she didn't think about that herself. But, then the wave collapsed. The pressure of the collapse sent more waves rippling off but hopefully none of those would grow and kill countless hundreds or thousands of people. Hopefully the only people dying today would be them. Except, the giant wasn't killing them. It was lowering them back down to the water. Setting them down gently, even. Wow.

The girl looked up at the giant and was obviously flustered before she ran away. Ed turned to follow her, not wanting to leave things where they were but also needing to deal with the issue at had. The giant monster that had saved them but was demanding a barrel once more. Was today never going to end? With a sigh he turned away from the stairs leading below deck and back to his crew that were standing away, stunned into silence. "Well, looks like we need a barrel."

"I think I can help with that, sir." Peabody came marching onto the deck, followed closely be two crew members hefting a barrel. Well, that was perfect, wasn't it? He sighed again and waved Peabody and the other two onward. He was exhausted, and could do with a stiff drink. If the girl could produce waves like that, then perhaps she could propel them out of this situation. He just needed enough time to talk to her again…

The giant was reaching for this new barrel and Ed was jogging over towards the stairs that led below when there was the sound of a portal opening nearby. Ed skidded to a halt, spinning in place to look for the source of this sound. It looked like things might be getting worse. Was it that mage again, the one from before? He could spot a light, hanging in the air behind the giant. The portal was… Well, it was giant too. A few stories tall at least, and just hanging there in the air, not too far behind the giant. There was shouting coming from the portal. "BECAUSE, KEEBLER, YOU CAN DEAL WITH THE FUCKING SPIDERS!! I'M OUT!!" and with that a dragon appeared. Ed groaned, dragging his fingertips over his cheeks. The dragon hovered in the air, looking from the ship and back to the giant, then let out a massive roar that caused waves to rock the ship once more. The giant had time to begin to turn before the dragon was on top of it, screaming incoherently and slashing at it with claws, it's tail wrapping around the giant's throat and letting loose with bursts of icy breath. Ed stood there, dumbstruck, wondering what was going to happen next.

The portal above the ocean hovered for a moment in the sky, a few seconds after the dragon had appeared. A stern, annoyed voice shouted through the opening. “Get back here! They’re half the size of you, there’s no way I can-!“ The portal closed.
“Wow poor guy.” The monster remarked. “I sink ships but you just left a guy to die by spider. That’s really cold of- AUURGGHH!” The monstrosity started to fight the dragon as it made the first move. It screamed and tried to grasp it to push it under the water, but the dragon slipped through its fingers easily with each attempt. The bites where non-lethal, at least they wouldn’t prove a problem for now, but this issue would have to be dealt with.
“You’re ruining the drama! If this is how you wish to die, so be it!” It started trying to slap the dragon out of the air.

- - -

Kamri ducked into the ship, trying to hide. They were out there, fighting a monster. But Kamri? After yelling at their captain, she went inside to hide.
Coward.
She heard someone yelling, though she didn’t’ recognize the voice. She didn’t know too much what was going on out there, but she couldn’t bring herself to go and look.

There was a second voice now, a loud, booming voice. The monster, perhaps. Sounded like some sort of fight had broken out.

Her logical side wanted to go out and fight, or at least see what was going on. But through her own pity party, she couldn’t muster up the courage to do it.
She found her way down below, the only light in the room was being filtered through the window near the back wall, mere feet from the ocean’s line.

It stood maybe about two feet above her head, much too far up there to reach.
She remembered the anger she had moments ago, but also the strange feeling of power surging through her veins.
She lifted her hands, looking out the window. She took a breath and began to try and push and pull the water. The sea rose up just enough to hit the bottom of the port window, sloshing up against it. Well, perhaps she would have to get closer.
Crates, boxes, and barrels sat around the room in a mess, the tsunami she had summoned being responsible.
She started to get to work. She wouldn’t sit idly by, but she couldn’t go out, either.
She had to work fast, she didn’t know exactly what was going on out there but time wasn’t something she could waste.

She began to stack the items. Flat items and sturdy ones on the bottom, the middle and top layers comprised of creaky boxes and smaller crates.
She began to climb them, trying to reach the window.
Her fingers rapped around the handle mechanism that popped it from its latch, swinging inward.
She reached through the port with one of her arms, trying to balance on top of the pile as she did so.
First, she tried small spells, weaving the water and then forming small, one foot long waves.
Then, she tried to summon a moderate sized wave and found it wasn’t too difficult to do.
A part of her wanted to make a giant wave, one more time. She wanted to test that power, see if she could do it. But she had already made a big enough fool of herself tonight, and felt no need to continually do so.
She breathed out, placing her palms in front of her and pushing outward toward the window. The water pushed back from the boat on command, a large wave forming, though not titanic.
She breathed in, turning her hands around and bring them closer to her. The wave formed and rocked up against the boat, just as she closed the window in time.
The boat shuddered and sailed forward in a quick gust. The pile she had been sitting on top of crumbled underneath her, sending her sprawling.
The barrels, crates, and boxes tumbled around the floor, some rolling over her or bouncing off the walls.

- - -

The monster grabbed the tail of the Dragon and tried to force it below the water again, but let go out of surprise when it saw the boat sailing off.
“No! My replacement drama! Nooo I’ll never know if Jae-won and Mi Sun get together! I need to know if these two kill each other or not! Why do my stories always end in cliffhangers?”
It cursed, groaning and crying out.

—

She pushed herself off the ground, looking out the window. She could see the thing just off to the side, busy with a dragon.
She sighed, relief flooding her. Well, she had done something. By this point she should just keep her eyes down and her mouth shut. Work until no longer needed.
She had almost killed everyone.

She needed a minute. Just a few minutes to calm down. Maybe she would try talking again. Maybe.
Her head swam, she didn’t know what to do.
But a good first step would be to apologize.

Celery had been watching the whole thing with a sense of frustrating impotence. He wasn't powerful like so many of these people apparently were, he was just a simple kobold who couldn't do anything, just simply watch and hope everything turned out okay. He had lost his spear, but still had the net. If it came to it he could still probably get the human girl to safety while the giant destroyed the ship. If there was land nearby. He had a fairly good sense of direction and from where he knew they had been before the storm… Well he could give a rough guess at where they were now but in a storm like that they really could be anywhere. It would be nice if he could see some stars, they might give him a better sense. He sighed, and watched in wonder as the dragon attacked the giant. In any other situation he would have been happy to watch the fight continue. He had heard the stories of dragons, but had never seen one before himself. If they could use this distraction to get out of here, though, then they should. Hopefully the stone girl and the human girl could work together and get the ship moving. If they got out of the spirit's sphere of influence then the weather should return to normal. He clenched his fists and turned to the human girl, only to see that she was no longer there. His eyes widened in surprise, and his heart began to race with panic. She had been right there! Was there any chance that she had gone over the side? Unlikely, considering the way everyone had had their eyes on her after the appearance of the wave. Then… She must have run off. Taking another look at the dragon, probably the last time he would ever see one, he hurried off to find her. She really shouldn't be alone, not if she was feeling upset or scared. He doubted anyone would blame her for the wave, she needed to know that. Even if someone did blame her, they would have to get past him.

Celery plodded down the stairs and began a quick search before the ship lurched into movement. He stole a look back up the stairs, but he had something more important to attend to. Let the others deal with the ship. If it was going to sink then he would do what needed to be done to save the one who had risked her life helping him. He heard a crashing sound from the rear of the ship that sounded like stacks of crates falling over. There shouldn't have been anything left loose like that, it would be insane to risk damages or injuries. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. That probably meant there was someone back there…. His little legs carried him quickly the rest of the way until he was able to see the human girl picking herself up and dusting herself off. He gave her a moment before clearing his throat, mouth opening as he tried to think of something to say. What could he say to her, though? There wasn't anything, really. He shuffled his feet, heaved a sigh, and began trying to comfort her while speaking draconic.

Ed gave himself a couple of moments to watch the dragon and the giant fight. Well, that was above his pay grade. Nothing he could do to help there. All he could do was figure out a way to use this situation to the best possible advantage. How was he going to do that, though? Without any wind or waves there was no moving the ship. Not without magic, that was. The girl had run off, though, and Twinkle… Was hanging over the nearest rail to the fight, trying to get closer to it to see more. She had evidently forgotten about her intense fear of the water, for now at least. He was about to head over there and pull her back when he saw Peabody doing just that. The two of them spoke, from Peabody's gestures he was obviously asking her something about moving the ship. Twinkle, however, seemed far too preoccupied with what was going on between the spirit and the dragon. Peabody had to keep moving in front of her gaze to get her attention. Ed sighed, getting a little frustrated about the hold up. How much longer did they have before one or the other of those titans won and turned their attention to the ship? Ed took a deep breath and step forwards, which turned into a stumble as the ship began to move. He spun in place to look out before the ship and saw waves forming, pushing their ship forwards. Running back, he looked down into the ocean and grinned. They were going to get away. Obviously Twinkle wasn't doing this, which meant there was only one other person who could be. Ed's grin grew even wider. He was going to have to go thank the girl.

As the ship began to move and Twinkle finally tore her attention away from the two giants fighting, Peabody began quickly putting things together. The girl had unlocked some greater power and was beginning to gain control over it, pushing them forwards, and here he and the rest of the crew were, just standing around and doing nothing. That was going to have to change, and fast. He began barking orders, setting people to man the sails, trim the ropes, all that good stuff. Twinkle he had using her magic to steer the ship, doing what she could with this fresh source of power pushing them forwards to get them moving in the right direction. Pulling out his compass and charts, he began working out the best heading. He didn't know how long this would last, so they needed to make the most of it while they could. Once the sails were down, if the storms didn't start back up again, he could even have Twinkle begin setting a wind to them. He was starting to allow himself a little hope.

From the direction they had come from, Peabody could vaguely make out some words between the roaring and screaming. He watched, unable to fully comprehend what was happening as the dragon seemed to switch between trying to freeze the giant spirit in place and trying to scratch out it's eyes. All the while it kept screaming the occasional word or threat. "Ye fucking…. I'm gonna…. Give me that eye…. Stuff your ears with…. Shit in your…. Upside down with a…. Your kids are next…. Fucking… Antelope…." None of it really made much sense, but as the two figures grew smaller with the distance he saw the giant stagger backwards clutching at one of it's eyes.

Fieri followed the kobold downstairs, listening as it tried to speak with the overly emotional girl. She rolled her eyes and walked away. Mortals.

Ed found himself wandering towards the back of the ship. According to a couple of crew, that's where the girl was now. He passed Fieri, and walked in on the kobold hissing and spitting at the girl. He waited for the kobold to say his piece, and then took a step closer. He wasn't very good in these situations, his specialty being…. Well, pretty much everything else. But he would do his best here and now. The sounds of the dragon and giant were getting fainter, which meant they were getting further away, right? That was thanks to the girl. She had been upset, and he hadn't exactly kept up with everything that she had been screaming. He wanted her to know, though, that he appreciated what she was doing now even after she had probably scared herself half to death with that wave. He had seen others loose control of their power like that and swear off magic completely, yet here she was, getting right back in it to help save them all. He scratched at his beard, unsure of himself for all of three seconds.

"So, that dragon was pretty cool, huh?"

Kamri huddled herself on the floor, up against the wall. She could hear the sounds of fighting clear as day, but slowly, it started to ebb away as the ship made distance.
She was conflicted, and felt she hadn’t gone anywhere since the beginning of the voyage. She was still hot tempered, and flighty. Not to mention her physical situation hadn’t changed, where she was still waiting to be sold again or taken advantage of.
Many of the crew treated the captain as a hero. She envied that. It must be simple.
She shouted a lot of things at him. Horrible things. Maybe she shattered the delusions of her crewmembers. If their morale was low then it wouldn’t matter if they escaped the monster or not. Everyone would willingly standby and die at sea.
God, why was she so stupid?

She ran over the scenario, again and again, only to find herself back at square one. Still angry, still scared, still confused, and still utterly useless.
Still feeling pity for herself.
What now? Would they throw her off the ship? She would have done it if someone reacted that way to her, let alone a mere slave.

Still, she did feel a small glimmer of pride at the wave, even if it had filled her entire being with fear.

Someone sat down beside her. She hadn’t noticed him come in but was glad to see him. Celery tried to sooth her, despite knowing she couldn’t understand him. She appreciated it immensely though.
“I ah… I really messed up today.”
She shifted around for a moment, feeling uncomfortable.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. Where I’m going to go. I have my reasons but I shouldn’t have yelled. I shouldn’t have openly challenged the captain.”
She looked up. “But I’m glad you’re still around. It’s almost as if you belong here at sea.”

A second step of footsteps entered the room. Kamri ignored them at first, thinking it was another crewmember or someone just glancing in. She decided to finally look up when the footsteps stopped in front of her.
The captain looked down, looking rather nervous and awkward himself. It was obvious when he forced It back, trying to seem confident.
His inquiry was nothing short of what Kamri had expected. Something about the dragon and how it sure was a thing and boy howdy how strange right?

A lot of questions raced through her head. A few hostile, a few being rather rude. Some questions where abrupt or pretty far off field. Some apologies came to mind as well as some curses. She didn’t know what to think of him. Yes, he had sold her, and she hated him for doing that. But on the other hand, she almost did something just as bad.
Maybe acceptance was the way to go. And with the amount of time she spend observing or even while they tried to break into that warehouse, she figured the only way to get a clear answer would be to set it out plainly all in a simple, blunt phrase.

“Are you going to throw me into the ocean or wait until we get to land to sell me again?”
She felt more anger rise but she had grown tired, too. It simmered back down.
“If you’re going to sell me off, tell me some info on where so I can at least prepare myself.”
The question hung bitterly in the air, but Kamri needed to know. She glanced back at Cel, wondering if the Captain planned to sell him too. She wouldn’t allow that. If he tried, she would kill him. Though, Cel had proven very useful so a permanent position on board was probably within his future. Even with the loss of Morale, he seemed happy here.