Approaching Enlmoon

Approaching Enlmoon

The thick fog inundated the venturing pirates, elf, and dragoon; the repetitive rocking caused by the weakened storm eased the slightest hint of annoyance. Strenuously, the crew attempted to maintain control over their slightly not-so-dear meals; they did well for the time being; Charity, on the other hand, failed. After her mishap, Charity took the helm—her hair retaliated before her face; Cless balanced on his head in a leg-crossed position right over the tip of the bowsprit, facing forward—his hands in a praying sort of way; Marina sat out of sight somewhere right upon the anchor—one leg hanging down; Bonnie, lastly, occupied the captain’s quarters—her hand grasping a pencil. Each and every lamp they lit; each and every candle they used; the never ending darkness of night weighed heavily upon the venturing pirates, elf, and dragoon.

Upon the center table of the captain’s quarters, a small model of the planet earth (about the size of an egg) rolled back and forth. When it reached inches from falling, the boat would rock the opposite direction, forcing the globe to roll to the other side of the table. Before Bonnie sat a map squiggled with shady shapes and hoarded by unhandy handwriting. Bonnie traced a line from the shores they departed to the charted area which Cless designated as Enlmoon. She did it slowly as to gain a course as accurate as a mortal could get. The line she wrote, natural, traveled due south; so, she checked the compass positioned at the corner of the map. She spotted it, noted the direction, peered at the line written, and in this order she noticed one strange thing: the compass needle started turning slowly toward the “N” of north. She watched it ever so closely, and as it circled a full 180 degrees it stopped. While holding her chin, she flipped the pencil upside-down to its eraser, tapped it thrice upon the leathery paper, looked from one side of the room to the other, stood up, grabbed the compass, and walked out the door.

Charity turned the helm in succession to the waves in order to maintain a straight path. She peered over a glance at the captain’s quarters’ door after it opened and slammed shut, noting her crew mate, Bonnie Spinner. Bonnie looked around like she had lost her way. Bonnie walked over by the starboard side, looked all around, and then likewise at the port.

“Oy, did you turn around?” Bonnie asked with every bit of confusion riddle about her face.

“No. . .” Charity replied with a hint of confusion as well. “Why are you outside? You’re supposed to stay in; otherwise the cold will make your shoulder worse.”

Bonnie searched for something hidden in her pocket, pulled out the compass, pried it open, read it as unchanged, smacked it shut, scratched her chin, peered at the confused Charity, and viewed out at sea again. . .

“Bonnie, have you gotten into the rum again?”

“Who, me? Of course not!” After making a sheepish expression, Bonnie hiccupped. “Never mind, guilty as charged . . . But that doesn’t explain this bloody compass! It can’t drink rum . . .”—she took the compass near her ear, shook it about as if to listen, and peered back at Charity—“well, as far as I am concerned, anyway. . .”

With a giggle hidden behind her speech, Charity exclaimed, “What do you mean?”

“Well, according to this gory compass we’re heading a course of due north as flat as Will’s head.”

Then an unexpected voice came from the bowsprit, “It means we’re getting closer.” Cless the mysterious dragoon said this.

“Eh, what?” Bonnie pronounced.

“The Dark Trepidation has a course scrambler; I noticed it when Flint took Render. This is exactly what Flint wants: he wants us to think we’re lost. Therefore, north is south, and south is north.”

Bonnie then exhaled a long “Ooooohhhhh,” confirming that she understood. “Wait a minute, why didn’t you tell us before?”

“My hypothesis needed confirmation—I didn’t know if I had a correct guess—and now that the compass has done a topsy-turvy again I have that confirmation.”

“This means we need to be cautious!” Bonnie marked. “Quick, draw up the sails, we need to go slower!”

After her command, both Cless and Bonnie went straight for the mainsail and followed accordingly to the other sails. With the help of their experience and Cless’ telekinetic abilities, they achieved a slower pace in the equivalent of ten minutes. Their newly accomplished speed exaggerated the eeriness of late: the ever-growing silence made every sailor uneasy. At a point of overwhelming proportions, Bonnie decided to distract herself from the fact that an enemy sailed out there, somewhere.

“Oy,” she started, “do you ever get sick being upside down like that?”

“This is a practice dragoons have formulated to strengthen balance. If one loses his balance, in turn, he loses his fight, his defense, and his life.”

“Wow, deep. . .” she replied. “I wish I could do that.”

“To be honest”—Cless rolled backwards now sitting up and facing Bonnie—“it hurts the top of one’s head after a while.”

“Ah . . . wait, where’s Marina? Where is that dark-haired elf?”

Soon a feminine voice answered from the starboard side of the boat. It said, “Down here!”

Bonnie swung around to face that side, “Uh, what are ya doin’ down there?” She approached the right-front corner of the Golden Dawn and spotted the elf sitting on the anchor.

While shaking her head and looking upward to see Bonnie’s face, she said “Oh, just thinking.”In the time she had, Marina braided the top front of her hair.

“Well think up here! It wouldn’t be good for you to fall in!”

Marina looked up, grabbed hold of the top left portion, heaved, and with one bound, she flew straight up to the main deck.

“Now, what have you been thinking about?” Bonnie requested.

“About Levi, the only thing that could have happened to him is that the Delkanis stone was used against him. . .”

“Well, that is self-evident. I mean there aren’t many things that can take down that little green-robed wizard and his vast steed. Anyway, we have confirmed that he is missing; he did pass our deadline. . . That would only mean he’s been taken just like the others. The three Major Dragons have been collected, too, and I fear the worst for our fates. . . Each and every one of them. . .”

A short pause passed by. . . Marina soon added, “Has anyone noticed that each dragon is gone now? I mean, Grit stole Miya, and like Bonnie just said, ‘all three major dragons have been collected, too,’ and so is little Moss: he must be with Levi. . .”

“Don’t wig out!” Charity commanded. “Good always triumphs!” The air suddenly blew harder, and a freezing chill emerged from the depths.

“‘Goo’ point. . .” Bonnie added and then whispered: “The prophecy. . .” An epiphany suddenly hit her like a cannonball! She raised her voice, “Wait! What did you say?!?”

Marina glanced back while taken hold of her newly braided hair, “All the dragons are gone. . .”

“No, no, no, before that!”

“Moss is with Levi. . .”

“THAT’S IT! Moss is with Levi! He’s their ticket out of there, and the best part is, Flint has no clue Levi has him!!”

 

The wardens abandoned their prisoners; nothing but darkness, the salty sea-air, and each other surrounded the three dragons, and the three riders. A long room they sat in. A long line of iron bars separated the riders from the dragons. Each dragon had a fireproof muzzle guarding their blazing mouths; each rider had their hands unshackled—their legs, on the other hand, were a deferent story. A couple of water jugs rolled in sequence to the rocking ship, and the temperature dropped dramatically over the past couple of hours. Render drew his hood and dwelled within his self induce shadow, excepting the blood-freezing air; Will, on the contrary, covered his hands with inferno-dust he kept handy—he blew inside his clasped hands, and a glowing fiery light emanated from somewhere inside them; Levi worked on some sort of strange, powerful, yet very long spell. Naturally, the spell preformed no effects, for the grobdenite chains still grasped Levi’s ankles, yet “practice makes perfect” as Levi always put it. Render sat closest to the door, Levi sat next to Render, and Will sat even further, all aligned by the wall; likewise, their dragons sat across from them, each to his own. Render stared silently at their two single exits: the brig’s door and a small knot-whole fit for a tiny kitten. Not one cheerful thought gleamed in their sorrow-overwhelmed heads. . . All of the sudden the silence disappeared as the single blast of a deep-throated organ clamored about the corners and planks of the whole ship. A very complicated sophisticated, elaborate, melodramatic song formed out of that single blast a beat and a half afterward, soaring up and down octaves hitting flats and sharps alike, creating the harmony of a sad song. Its emotion struck ultimate grief into any man’s soul, making them long for sunlight.

“SHUT IT UP!” Render yelled at the top of his lungs. “It’s not flippin’ funny!”

Suddenly the song stopped; the sound of stomping came from above them, around a corner, down a stair case, though a hallway, and right behind the brig’s door. The sound of a key going through a lock and the sound of gears and chains moving voiced from inside the door. The doorknob turned, the door opened, and inside stepped the angered Flint Kidd.

“Render, you’re so rude! You ruined my song! And Levi, what are you doing? You had better stop that spell this instant!”

Levi refused. “Omi-dolimno-iptoft-lifto-magnifund!” he yelled.

“I told you to be silent!” Flint pulled out the Delkanis stone. Suddenly Levi stopped and banged the back of his head against the wall; his eyes turned entirely white.

“What do you think you’re doing?” asked a voice of freezing design. A red coated man stepped out from the shadows.

“Oh, Captain Brandy, I didn’t know you were standing there. . .” Flint released his power over Levi.

“You remember our deal: Keep them ‘sane’ until we reach . . .  our destination. The more you use the stone’s power on them the more exhausted they’ll become: there wills fight against it, ultimately taking their strength from them! They need their strength for the task ahead, and taking that strength hurts our benefit as it does theirs!”

“I’m tired of being controlled by you!” Flint complained. “This plan had better work, or you won’t last a minute!”

“I am fully aware of what will happen to me, but I am not afraid of that, for I know this will work. Now if you don’t mind, it is high time we emerge from the depths; the forest of mirrors is above the water if you didn’t already know. . .”

“Yes, I know: I’ve been there before. . . Wait. . .”—Flint paused—“You’ve gone and said too much!”

Slyth realized that he gave away the whereabouts of their. . . “destination.” He started again, “Oh, the truth was about to be revealed anyway!”

Flint sneered, “Now they know where we’re going! Great, that’s just great!”

Render sat there, knowing that they headed toward Enlmoon, the legendary forest of mirrors. After a moment of silence went by, he said, “If I had the chance to fight you man to man, Flint, I’d destroy you!”

Flint laughed, “You cannot kill those without life! Now get over it! I have business to attend to with my dear Captain Brandy. . .” Flint exited the room angrily.

Slyth scanned the six beings. “I hope this doesn’t take too long,” he whispered, exiting behind Flint.

The door closed, locked, and, after the existence of sound disappeared, Render broke the silence, “Will?”

“What?”

“Do I look . . . scrawny to you?”

“Huh, why?” Will made a strange expression.

“Well Slyth called me scrawny before Levi got here. . .”

Will sighed, “No, you don’t look scrawny. . .” Honestly, Will said this merely to shut Render up.

“Good, because if I looked scrawny I would want to bulk up a bit.”

“Huh, bulk up? No, no”—Will yawned, closed his eyes, and covered his face with his hood—“you don’t need that. . .” Will seemed to fall asleep.

“Hey Levi, do I look scrawny?”

Levi gave Render a look with the slightest mixture of annoyance and anger: “Render, shut up! Don’t you get it? We’re going to Enlmoon! I hope you’re happy with your shape Render! Because by the looks of where we’re heading, there’s the slightest chance no one will ever see you again!”

Render laid back and copied Will.

Levi sat there all quiet like, doing absolutely nothing. “Hey Will,” he slapped William on the shoulder.

“Oy, I am trying to sleep here!” Will scrambled about.

“Gimme some of that inferno-dust, my hands are freezing!”

Will pulled out a bag made of a cloth-like material, “Here, keep it!” He bolted the bag straight at Levi’s face.

Levi, unexpectedly, caught it, “Thanks, dear friend.” Levi reached in the bag, took a handful of the sand like dirt, covered his hands with it, rubbed them together, inhaled, shot out a great breath of air upon his frozen hands, and, like magic, thousands of sparks shot out all over like when flint scratches against steel. “Agh, too much!” he yelled, shaking his hands all over. The sparks flew all over the room, zapping and snapping, cracking and whipping about.

“Hey, you’re getting it all over me!” Render complained.

“Sorry,” Levi said while tying the bag and stuffing it into his shirt pocket. “Now, all we need is a miracle—some sort of convenient plan to get us out of here. . .”

Inferno-dust’s main use is to make fires, warm hands, or blow things up. They had reasons why they didn’t use the inferno-dust to escape: an explosion would kill everyone in the room, and setting the ship on fire would kill them, too. It works mainly as a heat magnifier—friction activates it; fire activates it; even a warm source like a quick breath of warm air activates it. At the same point where Levi stuffed the inferno-dust into his shirt pocket, something inside panicked, squirmed, and moved all about. The inferno-dust ignited, making that particular part of Levi’s nice shirt burst into flames. A green colored bat-like creature flew out of the explosion, soaring and zigzagging about the brig. Levi made the strangest expression of panicky design, and, as quick as a flash, Render grabbed one of the rolling water-jugs, opened it, and threw its contents all over Levi, thus, distinguishing the flames. To an extent, this helped and didn’t help: one, Levi no longer feared burning to death, and two, he now sat there, drenched and freezing cold, consequently defeating the whole purpose of why Levi used the inferno-dust in the first place. . .

“Oy, what is that?” Will said while pointing at the small bat creature.

“It’s Moss, I think; I must’ve forgotten completely about him!” Levi replied.

“Eh, this is our way out, me buckos. . .” Render said.

Both Levi and Will gave Render a look of disappointing disagreement.

 “Render,” Levi started, “you are not allowed to call us that!”

“Why not,” Render looked ashamed and embarrassed.

“Well, the way you say it doesn’t . . . sound right. . .”

“Oh forget it! Bonnie can talk to Minor Dragons: can’t Moss send a message to her telling her that we’re going to Enlmoon?”

“Yeah,” Levi replied, “but we’d better wait until the ship emerges. . .”

In the time they had been given, Levi explained to the frightened Moss their current situation: he told him what to tell Bonnie if, in that case, he finds her.

 

The random gusts of wind made the crew gasp in fear; the anticipation nearly overtook them. They heard ridiculous plopping sounds obviously caused by giant, ancient fish. The fog only let them see but ten yards out in all directions.

“What is he waiting for?” Bonnie asked, referring to Flint.

Suddenly a horrendous sound of a large mass bursting out of the water blasted across the ocean. Charity spotted sails high up above, “Look up there!” She pointed at them.

“There it is: the Dark Trepidation!” Marina claimed.

Yet their observation soon died away, for the evil ship disappeared from their sight—the fog undertook their view.

“No, no, no! We lost it!”

Nothing moved but the ghostly moon-rays reflecting from the waters.

“Look there!” Cless yelled.

Sure enough, they saw the Trepidation sailing onward, and by the looks of it, there was a strange black mass it sailed toward.

“Enlmoon. . .” Cless said hauntingly.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Bonnie said as she saw another cloud of fog block their view of their enemy and the dark island. “We need to go faster!”

Naturally, setting the sails down was easier than pulling them up; therefore, it took little time to gain speed.

“What’s that?” Bonnie pointed at something small flying toward them.

“It’s a bird,” Chair proposed.

“No, it’s not like a bird,” Bonnie replied.

“It’s Moss!” Marina yelled.

“No, no, no, no, no, NO!” Bonnie screamed, knowing all too well that the Riders must have lost their only chance to escape. “Those dummies, didn’t they know that Moss was their ticket out of there?” She asked herself. “This doesn’t work at all!”

Soon Moss arrived, panting for air. Bonnie knelt down and picked him up to listen attentively to what he had to say.

“What is it? What did he say?” Charity asked.

“It’s a message from Levi. He said, ‘Don’t bother following us: we’re going to Enlmoon; it’s a trap. Keep Moss safe; he is the last dragon left. If we keep one dragon safe at all times, then maybe, just maybe the last prophecy will not come true.’” After repeating the tired Moss’ message, Bonnie paused for a bit. “No, we didn’t come this far just to turn around! We will continue! We must. . .”

Suddenly the ship bumped and came to an abrupt stop. The crew fell to their knees. Apparently, the excitement blinded them of their speed, for the ship landed on the appointed island. Enlmoon lie right before them. If the fog simply thinned but a little bit they would’ve seen the forest of mirrors, yet all too soon, that chance became a reality.