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Ride the Winds!

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
Hey, friends! It's time for a brand new Zelda prequel fanfic! "Another one, Az?!" I know, right? This one isn't going to be as long as The Hero of Spirits was, though. It's maybe half as long, at least from what I've planned. This time I'm doing a Wind Waker prequel. First Spirit Tracks, now Wind Waker. I'm sure that's just a coincidence. At any rate, unlike The Hero of Spirits, which took place in the distant past long before New Hyrule was established, Ride the Winds! is a prequel by 50 years. Also unlike The Hero of Spirits, this one will mostly be contained in Wind Waker's world instead of crossing over into other games and even other types of media. We will be seeing some new and familiar faces in this story, and it will set up for a lot of the events of the game's story. Ride the Winds! pulls from a concept I had way back in the day while I was in the process of writing The Hero of Spirits, but it never got off the ground back then. I started planning it again last year sometime, but once again it never took off. And then the other day I was suddenly struck with inspiration and an urge, and now here we are. It be like that sometimes.

At any rate, I hope you enjoy this story! It may take me a while to get through it, what with me being a working adult and all. But I will try my best to at least get a few words down each day. Without further ado, let's let the tale of Lana Kaimi, voyager of the Great Sea, begin!

[FULL NOVEL on Google Drive here with more up-to-date edits]

* * * * New and returning readers are encouraged to instead read on my AO3 for the most up-to-date version.





Ride the Winds!

On the Great Sea, there lives a young girl who was born on different waters. She lives the humble life of a fisherman with her parents, and doesn’t want for much, but she hears tales of the land she came from when she was still in her mother's womb. She dreams of her roots, and one day she decides she is going to find them. This is the tale of her voyage across the Great Sea, into unexpected adventure and unlikely friends. A tale she tells to her kids and her grandkids until she’s old and wrinkled. A shanty of pirates, of talking boats and enormous spirits, and of riding the very wind.



Prologue
A Hazy Memory of Drowning in the Sea​


It was a foggy day. It was hard for Manolo to see the clouds, so he couldn’t tell for sure if a storm was brewing somewhere nearby. But, nonetheless, he needed to go and fish. He made a face that his wife thought looked amusing, and her laugh made him feel more at ease. At the very least, he knew Sofia would be fine, but his daughter was a different story.

Little Lana was a growing girl, and always hungry. They didn’t make enough money to buy fish at the market, and the people there didn’t like dealing with Manolo’s family. He could swear he once saw the fishmongress sell a trout to a man for 20 rupees, and then turn around and charge him 50 for the same kind of fish. Most of the food on his family’s table came from his own rod. The rest came from Sofia’s basket weaving, but they never sold well. Not like they did back home.

Manolo knew the reason for this. He knew it like a bitter feeling in his gut. Sofia knew it, too. But he would be damned if he let Lana feel hungry because of it.

He trudged into the shallows, gave his fishing dinghy a great shove, and off it went into the water. He quickly climbed on and began to paddle it away from the shore. He turned his head back and caught a worried look from Sofia. He gave her a smile with weak confidence to try and assure her that he’d be fine. Then his eyes scanned the beach around her, and was surprised that he didn’t see his daughter waving goodbye to him like usual.

* * *

“You little sneak...” Manolo scolded.

“Come on, Papa! You never take me fishing! I wanna be on the sea, too! It’s not fair!” Lana protested.

That daring daughter of his stowed away. Manolo hadn’t noticed she was hiding on board until he was well out to sea with his rod cast and waiting. The little trouble maker popped up from inside a box and scared the living daylights out of him.

“You know... It’s really not a good day for this, my little gull.” Manolo said.

“Stop calling me that! I hate seagulls! They’re mean and they keep trying to steal our fish!” Lana pouted.

“Right, sorry. You used to like it when you were a wee babe...” he sighed. “Look, the weather may not be the most stable right now. All this fog is making it hard to tell of any sudden changes. It’s not safe for a little one like you out here today.”

“I’m already five! I can help! Just you watch when you get that first fish of the day! Just you watch!” Lana said.

Manolo sighed. His daughter could sure be stubborn when she wanted to be. He checked his rod, and found there were still no bites, not even a nibble. That made him feel a bit uneasy, so he stood up and tried to get a better view of his surroundings.

The fog hung low and thick over the seawater. The clouds could barely be seen through a haze above his head. He had to keep wiping the back of his neck to get that sticky fog feeling off his skin. He noticed Lana was doing this frequently, too. Then he looked toward the water, and felt unnerved when he saw it starting to get a little choppy. The breeze was beginning to pick up.

“Hey, Papa? Something doesn’t feel right with the wind...” Lana said in a small voice.

That was all it took for Manolo to grab the paddle. He knew she was right. His chest began to tighten up. He didn’t like this feeling. Not one bit.

Before he could even get his paddle into the water, it hit. A horrific gale knocked him on his bottom and caused Lana to shriek as she fell onto the railing. Freezing rain splattered his skin and drenched his clothes so much he was struggling to breathe. The sail caught the wind so fast the whole ship tilted dangerously.

Manolo struggled to reach the rope to furl the sail. The squall was hitting them too hard too quickly. He could barely hear Lana’s cries over the wind and rain. He skinned his knees on the planks as he crawled closer to the rope. Poor Lana was hanging on for dear life to the railing, crying and gasping for breath.

The boat lurched violently as the water churned and churned. Manolo hit his head on the mast as he toppled forward. He grabbed the rope, and just as he started to tug, the worst thing that could have happened started to happen. A large wave rose up just at the head of his dingy. He could feel it coming. Manolo let go of the rope to grab something more important, but it was too late.

As the wave crashed, he shouted. The boat shook. And she fell.

Lana fell into the sea.

* * *

Greatfish Isle was in sight once again, finally. But that didn’t feel like it mattered anymore. Nothing did. The world might as well have ended back there in the squall. Manolo paddled around for hours, searching and searching and stripping his lungs bare from all the screaming of his little girl’s name. All for nothing. She was lost.

Manolo hung his head in a disgusting sense of shame. The closer his boat floated to the shoreline, the closer he came to having to tell his wife that, not only did he not notice Lana had snuck on board until it was too late, but also that he lost her over the side in a sudden storm. A sudden storm he knew might be possible when he left.

His heart wrenched and acid stung his throat. He constantly played back the event in his head, searching for anything he could have done differently. He should have turned the boat around the minute Lana showed herself. He should have grabbed her the minute the squall began instead of going for the rope. He should have done this, he should have done that. Every new thought cut through his mind with a new type of pain.

He could barely bring himself to look toward the shoreline. He was terrified of seeing Sofia standing there waiting for him. He pictured her waiting, wanting to tell him that she hadn’t seen Lana all day. And then he’d have to tell her that she was with him and now she’s gone forever. The very thought made him want to rip out all his insides.

Finally, through tearstained and bloodshot eyes, he looked up. He looked to the shore. And then his heart jumped into his throat. Then, he jumped out of his boat. Choking and coughing, he furiously swam to shore, unable to believe his eyes.

There she was. There was Lana, laying right there on the beach as if she’d been there all day. Manolo dragged himself ashore and crawled to the little girl, hyperventilating and gasping for air. Her clothes and hair were soaked, and wet sand stuck to her skin. Otherwise, she was none worse for the wear.

He carefully picked her up in his arms, listened to her heartbeat, and at last hugged her tightly and cried with great relief. She was alive. His daughter was safe.

“... Papa?” a tiny voice squeaked out.

Manolo jolted and pulled himself away to look at Lana’s face. Her eyes were drooping open, and she looked very confused.

“Lana! My gull, are you alright? Are you hurt?” Manolo said in a rush.

“Stop calling me a gull!” Lana said, trying her best to pout.

Manolo didn’t respond. He just hugged her again. The sense of relief he felt was immense. It was as if his shattered life had been gently pieced back together by some miraculous benefactor. The elation he felt was almost indescribable. The heavy shame hanging over his heart melted away into pure joy. He couldn’t wait to take Lana home and hug his wife with her in his arms.

“Where am I? Am I home?” Lana said. “I thought I fell off the boat...”

“You did, you did, my little one. I’m the one who wants to know how you ended up back here!” Manolo said.

Lana made a strained face, like she was trying to remember something. “I think... I saw a red boat... And I heard a weird voice. But it was a nice voice. And then I woke up here.” she tried to explain.

A red boat? A nice voice? Was she rescued by someone? As Manolo thought this, he looked over his shoulder and back out to sea. Other than his dinghy haphazardly floating toward the beach on its own, there were no dots on the horizon. He knew no one on Greatfish Isle owned a red boat. He wondered how this mysterious savior knew where to bring Lana, but he was too overjoyed at her safety that he quickly stopped thinking about it.

“Hey, Papa?” Lana began. “I... I don’t think I want to go fishing with you again.”

Manolo let out a snort as he lifted his daughter up. “Yes, well, I think we both need a break from the sea. But fishing is my trade, and so I must go back again soon. As for you... Maybe we’ll try again when you’re ten.”

Lana smirked. Her blue eyes still held the vibrancy that reminded Manolo of the sea. He knew this girl would one day voyage across the waves. It was written in those blue eyes of hers. Not even drowning could change that luster. There was no helping it. She was bound to leave one day.

That’s why, the least he could do was make sure she knew how to make the wind her ally for next time.
 
Last edited:

MapelSerup

not actually Canadian
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
Great job! The part where Manolo thinks he's lost Lana reminds me of Pet Sematary, with a character going through that pain of being so close to saving their child, but failing. Luckily, this piece ends a lot happier. I'm excited for more, and good luck!
 

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
Thanks for the comment! It really makes me feel happy to see people enjoying my writing. That's such a great feeling. :) Now it's time for the first chapter of the story. I spent most of the morning writing it since I had a day off. Hopefully I can start chapter two just as quickly as I did with this one. Enjoy!





Chapter One
The Voyage Begins​


Lana felt at peace. She enjoyed the casual swaying of the boat. It was a very relaxing feeling to be gently jostled around on the water’s surface. It was a kind sense of stimulation that helped her concentrate. Her focus was on the line cast from her rod into the waves. It was very slack now, but she felt a few tugs. She knew one was interested in her bait. Just one more fish, she thought.

- Just one more fish, and I’m done.

She felt a sharp yank, and the line became taut. Aha! She quickly spun the reel and stood up. She fought against the fish who didn’t want to become food. The water splashed and rippled from the fight. She moved her rod with skilled precision, guiding the fish closer and closer to her boat, until finally...

Splash!

The fish jumped out, wriggling and struggling. Lana swiped a net under it before it fell back in.

“Yes!” she said aloud.

Lana brought the fish, still squirming in her net, onto the deck of her father’s dinghy. She removed the hook from its lip and placed it inside a basket weaved by her mother. Then she reeled in the rest of the line, set her rod down, and wiped her brow.

“All done now... ” she said to no one but herself.

- That should be enough fish. Now there are other things to take care of...

Lana looked up at the sun. It was almost noon by now, with how high it was over her head. The clouds were moving in the direction of her home, Greatfish Isle. She could feel a westerly wind blowing through her hair. She tucked a strand back behind her ear and sat down next to the steering gear. She pulled on a rope to unfurl the sail, and adjusted it until it caught the wind.

Greatfish Isle was already in her sights. She hadn’t been that far out. She allowed the wind to do most of her work, carrying her along comfortably across the waves. She could hear the fish still wriggling in the basket, so she tied it shut with a string.

Lana took this time during her cruise to look around. There were a handful of other boats out on the sea around Greatfish Isle. The village on the island, Goponga, was a fishing village by trade. Many of the men owned boats and went out to fish, and then sold some of what they caught to their fellow villagers. However, things were a bit different with Lana's family.

Lana herself was the only woman on the island who went out to fish. She was also the youngest fisherman there, as well, at only fifteen. She often had to listen to crude remarks about a woman’s place on a ship whenever she went into town. Not to mention her family was not very welcome in the town proper.

People always raised their prices whenever they dealt with her family. They got a lot of odd looks from the villagers; they always have. The kids Lana’s age often teased her, too. They liked to call her an icicle or a fishwife. Lana’s parents told her this was all because they were from a cold, faraway land that was a long ways away from Greatfish Isle. She didn’t really understand why that mattered.

All of this simply fueled her desire to get out to sea. She was happiest in two places in the world; her family’s home on the edge of town, and on a boat out on the open water.

Lana’s boat pulled up to the shoreline. She furled the sail and hopped off. Her boots went up to her knees, keeping her feet dry even as she waded through the shallows. She grabbed a rope and pulled her boat close to a peg on the side of a low grassy cliff. She tied it securely so it wouldn’t drift away.

Then she climbed back on board, lifted up the basket with her catch, and carried it in her arms to her house, which was only a few feet away from this spot on the beach. She felt a weird sensation from all the squirming that was coming from inside it. She let out a few giggles.

With a grin on her face, Lana skipped through the braided straw curtain that made up her front door. She spotted her father resting in his armchair, and her mother was sitting at the table weaving a basket to try and sell at the market.

“Ah, you’re home, my gull!” her father said with a huge smile.

- Ugh, why does he keep calling me that? I’m not a baby anymore...

Lana’s mother laughed when she saw the grimace on her daughter’s face. “Come on, dear, you know how special today is. Let your father indulge a little bit.”

Lana didn’t answer. She kept that pout on her face and strode over to the table like she owned the place. She set down the wriggling basket with a sense of grace.

Her father grabbed his walking cane and stood up. “Now, let’s see your haul for today!” he said.

He limped over to the table, and helped Lana untie the string that kept the basket closed. They took off the lid together, and began counting the fish inside.

Lana always felt a twinge of pride whenever she showed her father what she caught. He had been a fisherman his whole life. He knew all there was to know about the business, so when a man like that told her she did good, she felt good. It also helped that he was her dear old Papa.

“Wow, you caught twenty today? You’d better slow down or there won’t be any left in the sea!”

- Eesh, he’s such a dork.

Lana thought that, but her cheeks were still a little red. “I wanted to make sure you guys had enough while I was gone. Just a little head start, you know?” she said.

“Oh, honey, you didn’t have to do that.” her mother said. “Your father can still fish after you leave and I can still sell my baskets. We’ll do just fine. You don’t need to worry about us like that.”

Lana’s mother said this with a sweet smile and placed her hand on her daughter’s cheek. Lana could feel herself being studied by those mom eyes. She would do this often; a gentle hand on her cheek, a finger brushing over the beauty mark under her left eye, a gaze upon her dark brown hair and deep blue eyes, followed by a sad smile.

Her mother would do this because of a day ten years ago. Lana didn’t really remember it clearly, but apparently she’d almost drowned at sea. She did sometimes have nightmares about sinking to the bottom of the ocean, but it certainly wasn’t enough to keep her off a boat. There was a different recurring nightmare that was far worse, anyway.

“Alright.” Lana said. “I’m gonna take a walk through town and see if there’s anything else I need to grab before I leave, and then I’ll have one last meal with you guys here. Okay?”

Her mother’s smile got sadder, but she only nodded. Her father did the same. And so, off Lana went to town.

Goponga Village wasn’t very big. The island itself was rather small. Including Lana's home, there were ten buildings total. A few of them lined a main street of sorts, which made up the marketplace. There were a lot of fish stalls there, all family-owned. Lana’s mother had her own spot to sell her baskets, but most of the townsfolk avoided her because she wasn’t born on the island. There was actually just a single old man who bought her baskets.

As Lana walked by, she could already feel cold stares and unwelcome eyes all around her. It made her really uncomfortable. She looked around until she spotted the stall that sold leather products. She wanted a new satchel to bring with her on her trip, as well something to protect herself from the weather.

“‘Hoy, my good lady!” Lana said in a bubbly voice.

The woman behind the stall just smirked. “What, you need something?”

- Why else would I bother talking to you, you unfriendly sea slug?

The lady’s name was Margo. She was one of the ones who always gave Lana's family a hard time. However, Lana didn’t break her smile. “I see you have a lovely satchel here, as well as a very well-crafted raincloak. It must have taken a lot of time and hard work to make these! I’d ever so love it if you told me the price.”

“Ah, yeah, you’re leaving the island today, aren’t you?” Margo said, making no attempt to hide the satisfaction in her voice. “In that case, I’ll make you a special deal. 200 rupees for both.”

- Special deal, my butt. You’re just trying to take advantage of me again.

Lana didn’t sigh, and she didn’t drop her friendly smile. But she also didn’t answer immediately.

“Here, allow me to pay for it.” a creaky voice said.

Lana and Margo looked to see the village’s kindly old man, Oshus. “Oh, hello!” Lana said, and smiled a genuine smile.

“Wha? Oh, Oshus, I can’t-” Margo started.

“What’s the matter? You’re not going to say you’ll charge me differently than this upstanding young lady here, are you? I’m sure you wouldn’t do something so uncultured and crude.” Oshus said, eyeing her suspiciously.

Margo looked as if her cheeks felt hot. Serves you right, Lana thought. Oshus set 200 rupees on her stall counter, and Lana happily took the satchel and raincloak into her arms. The two of them continued walking down the road, and had a friendly chat.

“Thanks for that, Oshus! I appreciate the save. I’m sorry you had to spend so much on me, though.” Lana said.

“It’s no trouble. Making her feel guilty for charging so much from an old fogey like me is repayment enough.” he said with a mischievous grin that belied his age.

Just then, Lana felt a whisk in the wind behind her head, and ducked. A dead fish sailed over her head and hit the street.

“Aw, she dodged it again!” said a young boy from behind.

Lana turned on her heel and glared at the boy. “Renny! Stop wasting food!” she shouted.

“Shut up, you fishwife! If you care so much, why don’t you just eat it off the ground right now!” Renny said back.

Oshus glared hard at the boy, and like Margo, he too shrunk down a peg. “Whatever. Hurry up and leave already, you icicle!” he said as he ran off.

The adults in the stalls didn’t say anything. They pretended not to see what just happened, which was better than joining in like they often did. Oshus was the main deterrent that kept her family from being harassed daily.

“I’m sorry you and your family have to put up with their nonsense.” Oshus said sadly.

“It’s okay. Some people just don’t know how to treat others, I guess.” Lana sighed.

- But it still really sucks.

Oshus could tell Lana was hurt. “So, today’s the day you set sail, then?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m gonna have one last dinner with my family and then set out.” she said.

“I see. Then I’m glad I caught you today. I wanted to tell you something before you left.” Oshus looked Lana square in the eyes and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure you know this already, but the Great Sea is vast and dangerous. I want you to remember that it’s not always the weather that makes it so. There are monsters and people that make it just as deadly. The sea is a vast place, and there are all kinds of people out there. I hope you keep that in mind, and be safe on your voyage.”

Lana’s chest tightened up. She choked back a little tear, and smiled her best smile. “Thank you. I’m gonna miss you, Oshus. You’re like the cool grandpa I never had!”

It looked like Oshus had felt the same way toward Lana, because he sounded a little choked up, too. “That makes me really happy to hear. Oh, before I forget, I think you should come with me. There’s a place you should visit before you leave the island.”

- Oh. He’s talking about there, isn’t he?

Lana nodded and followed Oshus out of the village’s main street. The two trekked a dirt path around a fair-sized cliff, and came to a small cove. Lana had come here occasionally, mostly out of curiosity, but she didn’t really believe in the thing that supposedly lived here.

Inside the cove was a massive stone wall. It looked as if it were blocking some kind of cave. On the wall, there were large spiral patterns that evoked a whirlpool. This place was considered sacred ground to the village. It was said that a guardian spirit named Jabun lived in there and watched over the seas in the area.

“Please, Lord Jabun, watch over young Lana as she departs on her voyage tonight.” Oshus prayed.

Lana didn’t say anything. She had never seen this guardian spirit before, and she doubted its existence. She thought that any benevolent spirit would make the villagers stop harassing her family, but nothing like that ever happened.

- Still, Oshus believes. He brought me here because he wants me to be safe. He’s really a great guy. I’m lucky to have met him.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set. The light sparkled on the water’s surface, which had smoothed out to look almost like glass. With the dark of night approaching, it was prime time to set sail with the stars as her guide.

Lana stood on the beach with her parents. Her satchel, full of money and extra clothes, was already in a brand new boat her family bought from the town. With help from Oshus, they scraped together enough to get it ready for her departure. One of her mother’s baskets held cooked fish wrapped in salts to keep them fresh, as well as two jugs of fresh water. Her new raincloak was folded neatly on board, as well as a sea chart to help her find islands to stop at on the way.

- Well, I’m about as ready as I can get.

Lana turned to face her father and mother, Manolo and Sofia Kaimi. They looked very sad, but also very proud. The light from the setting sun illuminated them. Their tan skin was almost glowing. Their blue eyes were starting to glisten.

“Remember,” her father began, “our ancestral home is far, far to the north. It was a very cold land, frigid and hard to live in. You’ll probably know it when you see it.”

“We left that land because we wanted a better life for you, our dear little one. As soon as we found out I was pregnant with you, we started planning the trip. We wanted to find somewhere warm, with plenty of fatty fish to feed you.” her mother said.

“But unfortunately, we didn’t find the paradise we dreamed of.” her father continued. “Sure, it’s warm here, and there’s plenty of fish, but we’ve had to face discrimination every day just because we weren’t born here. That wasn’t the life we wished for you.”

“I always knew you would set sail one day.” her mother said. “You were such a force, always running around and getting hurt and stubbornly looking for something. You could have never been satisfied on this tiny island.”

“I knew it when you could sense the slightest changes in the wind when you were only three. I knew it when you memorized the stars when you were four. And when you were five and almost drowned and still came out of that experience unafraid of the water, I knew for sure you’d leave one day.” her father said.

“Whatever you’re searching for, I don’t know if you’ll find it in our roots. But nonetheless, I hope you find it.” her mother said.

Lana had that tight-chest feeling again, but worse. She couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. Finally, after listening to all this, she leapt forward and hugged them both tightly.

“I’m really gonna miss you.” Lana squeezed out through a few tearful hiccups. “Thank you both so much for everything.”

“Be safe out there, my darling voyager.” Sofia said, starting to bawl herself.

“Before you go, I have one last present for my little gull.” Manolo said.

Lana’s father climbed aboard the new boat, which was tricky with his bad leg, but he got on. He unfurled the sail, and Lana was surprised to see an enticing, fluffy swirl design that reminded her of the ocean breeze.

“This emblem comes from our ancestral home.” Manolo said as he returned to the beach. “We call it a huarere. It represents the good fortune of the wind. I hope it keeps you safe on your travels.”

Lana had now gone from sniffling to full on sobbing. She buried herself in her parents’ arms one last time, holding on tightly. There was a part of her that wanted to stay there with her family. She was going to be terribly worried about them after she left. With her father’s bad leg and her mother’s struggles with selling, she couldn’t help but feel like they’d starve if she left.

And yet, she wanted to trust them when they told her it was okay. Her parents knew well that burning inside her heart that drove her out to sea. They knew it and supported it. They had gone through so much to get her a brand new boat and plenty of food and clothes. How could she deny their loving support, especially when deep down this was what her heart wanted?

- I really don’t deserve them, seriously... But thank you. Thank you so much. I love you.

At last, Lana parted from the warm embrace. She raised herself up onto the deck of her new dinghy. She checked all her belongings one last time, and once she made sure everything was okay, she untied the rope that anchored her to the only home she’d ever known.

As her boat began to sail, Lana took one last look at her parents. Their tears were spilling over now like a flood, but they kept right on smiling and waving. Lana wiped her eyes one last time, and gave them a huge grin and an energetic wave. Finally, she turned her attention back to the Great Sea. The water was starting to get a little choppy. The stars above were starting to peek out into the darkening sky.

- Alright, here I come. I’ll find it, whenever it is.
 
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Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
Wow, two chapters in one day! This productivity belies my schedule. I wish I could write like this all the time. At any rate, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. I know I had a lot of fun writing it. :)





Chapter Two
The Story’s Already Over​


It was over. Everything was all over. Lana’s story had ended as soon as she set out to sea. Just like that, her story was already over.

Hugging her arms and sitting on her knees in the corner of a cold, damp cell, she shook and hung her head. How did it come to this? Why did this happen? A chill ran down her spine and she tensed up. An unusual wind was blowing around this place. It unnerved her. As if she could have been any more unnerved by her situation as it was.

- How could this have happened? What am I supposed to do now?

Depressing thoughts ate away at the poor girl as she played out what happened in her mind, over and over.

The sun had barely finished setting. Lana was sailing smoothly, headed north. The wind wasn’t the best it could have been, but it was enough to keep her moving. She occasionally glanced up at the stars to make sure she was still headed straight. It had barely been half an hour since she set out. Greatfish Isle was already out of view. Now she was really out on open water.

The Great Sea. It gave her chills to think about. She’d looked at maps and sea charts, but she had never strayed far from Greatfish’s local waters. She was excited to make stops at other inhabited islands and meet other people. Maybe they wouldn’t be as mean as the people from back home. At least, she hoped so.

Lana stood up and stretched her arms. She cracked a few bones. Then she turned, and went pale as a ghost.

There was another ship. A ship headed right for hers. It was flying a skull and crossbones.

- Don’t tell me... Pirates?!

Lana made for the oar immediately and started to turn her boat to catch the wind better. This she did without trouble, but the other boat was far bigger than hers. It had multiple sails to catch more wind. It caught up to her in a heartbeat.

She tried steering and paddling like mad to keep her boat away, but the pirates threw grappling hooks to snag her railing. She tried knocking them loose, but there were too many being thrown at once. They tugged and pulled, and her boat slid right up alongside theirs. She was caught.

Now that she was this close, Lana realized that these pirates were monsters. Monster pirates! That was worse than regular pirates. There were a lot of bokoblins on board. They looked like little ogres, with green skin and devilish faces. There were some big ones on board, too; moblins, most likely. They had the pigish faces, at least. They were also muscular and tattooed, and carried spears bigger than themselves.

Lana shook with terror. Her heart was doing somersaults in her chest. Two bokoblins jumped down on her boat. She was certain they were going to kill her right there. But, they didn’t. Instead, they tied her up and tossed her up to their pirate ship. Next, they grabbed everything Lana had brought with her and climbed back aboard.

There was nothing she could do. She had no weapons, and she didn’t know how to fight even if she did. A quick count told her there were about twenty of them. There was no way she could get away from that many. She’d be skewered on those spears for sure. All she could do was stand there and shiver in fear.

Her whole body heaved into a cold sweat. Stealing her stuff was one thing, but they were taking her with them, too. She didn’t want to imagine why. As if all that weren’t bad enough, as if Lana needed a little something extra to make this the absolute worst day of her life, a few bokoblins tossed some molotovs over the side and onto her boat.

“No!” she’d screamed.

She was jabbed hard in the gut by the pommel of a moblin’s spear for that. She watched helplessly as the boat her parents slaved to buy for her was burned. Her eyes were transfixed with grief, watching it sink below the waves until the tears in her eyes clouded her vision. At last, they shoved a bag over her head and took her below deck, and the pirates sailed away.

It was a very long time later before they came ashore somewhere. Lana could tell by feeling the wind when they took her outside that she was nowhere near her home anymore. They kept the bag over her head as they led her off their boat, onto some kind of island. They didn’t remove the bag until they reached a jail cell, which they then promptly shoved her into and locked the door.

It had been many hours since all that happened. It may have even been a whole day. Lana would occasionally see a moblin or two pass by her cell, but they never did anything to her. Sometimes they would speak monsterese at her, and she could swear they were jeering or taunting, but that’s all they’d do.

- How long will it be before they finally do something to me? What are they going to do to me?

Thinking like that made her feel like she would have been better off if they had just killed her. She squirmed herself into a corner behind some empty barrels, under a barred window that was too high for her to reach (she tried). She wanted to make herself as small as possible. Maybe they wouldn’t notice her anymore and they’d forget she was ever in there.

Of course, that was ridiculous. She knew it was. But what else was she going to do?

Her mind inevitably wandered back to Greatfish Isle. Her sweet mother and father’s faces as they saw her off made her gut start twisting up inside her. They had no way of knowing this had happened. They would never know. That thought somehow hurt worse than any ideas she might have had about what the pirates wanted with her.

And poor old man Oshus. He prayed for her, he spent so much money on her to help her prepare for the voyage. He even helped her parents buy the boat. And what did Lana do as thanks? Get them burned and stolen. All of their kindness and support went to waste. And what of that guardian spirit, Jabun? He was supposed to protect people in the seas, at least from what she heard. If he did exist, he didn’t lift a finger to help Lana. Some guardian spirit he turned out to be. More importantly, her dear Papa had given her the huarere on her boat’s sail as a good luck charm, but even that had failed her. She hated herself for thinking that way.

Her boat was at the bottom of the Great Sea. Her food had probably already been eaten by those pirates. She’d never see those rupees again. She didn’t know what they would do with her clothes, but she imagined pirates wearing her shirts all torn up over their scaly chests. There was no way she could get any of that back. She had no money, no food or water, no clothes except what she wore, and no boat. Even if she got out of the cell, where would she possibly go? How could she get off whatever island this was?

- It’s hopeless. This is completely impossible. I’m never going to get out of here. I’m sorry, Papa. I’m sorry, Mama. I’m sorry, Oshus. I tried, I really thought I could try. But who am I kidding? Why did I ever think I could do this? What kind of a voyager gets captured by pirates the minute she sets out to sea? I’m hopeless. I should have just stayed on that stupid island and fished for the rest of my life.

These depressing thoughts just dragged more and more tears out of her. She thought she wouldn’t have any tears left to shed at this rate. Now that she had gone through all these thoughts, there was nothing else for her to do but go through them again. And so, she did. Again, and again, and again, and again.

Lana thought about her family again. She thought about fishing again. She thought about her delusion of being a voyager again. She thought about Oshus again. She thought about the pirates again. She thought about how she’d never get off this island again. She thought about...

- ... Wait a minute.

This time, something new occurred to Lana. She’d never get off this island again. But, what island was this, anyway? She racked her brain and tried to picture the sea chart in her head. Maybe she could figure out where she was.

She knew this island had to be well-fortified. Whatever cell she was in looked to be part of a big, secure structure. She remembered how it felt to walk here. She climbed lots of stairs and heard lots of doors being opened and shut. She didn’t remember hearing any grass or sand footsteps. It was all stone.

All stone. That was her first clue. What kind of island was all stone and full of pirates? She tried to remember the trip here on the pirate ship. She couldn’t be sure, but the way the ship had been swaying made her believe they were following the wind. She recalled it had been a southeasterly breeze, which meant they had sailed northwest.

Northwest. That was her second clue. A pirate stronghold in the northwest. As if on cue, she was hit with a memory of a story she overheard in the market a while back. She heard there had been a big sea battle nearby between two pirate groups. One of them was said to be an odd group that didn’t really pillage anything, but still did whatever they wanted. The other was said to be a group of monsters, and they were based in the northwest at a place called...

“The Forsaken Fortress!” Lana exclaimed, shooting up to her feet.

Her heart felt like it had finally started beating again. The pieces all fit together. A stone stronghold filled with pirates in the northwest. No other island she knew of fit that description. She finally figured out where she was.

- But still... Just knowing where I am isn’t going to get me out of here...

Lana slumped back down, her excitement over. But still, it was a start. She knew where she was in the world. And if she knew where she was, she could figure out what was nearby. She thought back to the sea chart. She’d studied it carefully many times in the days she spent preparing for her departure. She could picture where the Forsaken Fortress was easily enough; she remembered looking at it on the map often after hearing that story. It was all the way in the top left corner, almost disappearing off the edge of the paper. Then she tried to remember the islands around it.

There weren't many. There were a few very small, uninhabited islands in the vicinity. There was Star Island, the Mother and Child Isles, Spectacle Island...

- Wait... Windfall Island is right near here!

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. She sprang to her feet once again. Her heart was beating even faster than before. She was practically shaking from adrenaline. Windfall Island was one of the islands she’d planned to stop at on her way north. It was home to the largest town on the Great Sea.

- If I could just get to Windfall Island somehow...

Lana was certain she’d be safe if she could reach Windfall. She’d still have no food or money, but at least she’d be away from the pirates. Maybe she could even get more food and money there, somehow. Maybe even a boat!

- ... Nah, this is still impossible. This will never work. I’m doomed.

And yet, her mind was made up all the same.
 

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
Alright, time for Chapter Three! This one was also a lot of fun to write. One more chapter after this will tie up the preliminary arc. But, don't worry; there's still a lot left of Lana's tale to be told. :)





Chapter Three
The Impossible Forsaken Fortress Escape​


This was impossible. It couldn’t be done. There was no way Lana could escape from the Forsaken Fortress.

That was the mantra that played in her head on a loop. It was a fight to get herself to stand up and look around. She had already tried to reach the window above her head, but to no avail. Even standing on a barrel and jumping, it was too high. Even if she piled the barrels up and climbed, the window had bars that were too close together to squeeze through. The window itself was also too small. Maybe if she were actually the gull her Papa liked to call her, but it was too small for a person.

So, the window wasn’t an option. Next she looked at the components of the cage that kept her in the cell. It was latticed wood, and pretty thick. She had nothing she could use to chip away at it, and even if she did, it would take too much time. There was no way she could break through it before the patrol returned. Even if she did escape, the patrol would inevitably find out and raise the alarm, but that was an issue she needed to save for later.

There were lit torches across the room on the other side of the wooden bars, but she had no way to reach them. Even if she did, setting fire to the bars would probably just trap her in a huge cloud of smoke. And there was no way that would go unnoticed by the pirates. Lana needed a quick and quiet escape that gave her as much time as possible before the alarm sounded.

- Can I really do this? At this rate, I’ll never get out. This really is impossible.

Lana sighed and grubbed her brow as she thought things through again. The window was too high and too small, the wooden bars were too thick to break and too risky to burn, and obviously she couldn’t open the locked cell door without the keys. Was she missing something, or was she doomed? She decided to give the room another thorough comb.

Lana looked inside each of the barrels. They were all empty. There was a small bed in the corner, but it had no sheets or cushions. There was nothing under it, either. There was a bucket in the corner, probably for her to do her business, but she was not going to do that in a place like this. There was also a small stool in the room, and upon inspection, it had some nails holding it together. However, they were too small to be useful.

Nonetheless, she broke off a leg and pulled out a nail anyway. The wood was old enough that it just flaked apart without much trouble. She put the nail in her pocket, just in case. Although, she couldn’t really imagine how a little nail would come in handy. It would never suffice as a weapon, and something that small couldn’t cut through the wooden bars.

Lana sighed again and rolled her shoulders as her head bobbed back listlessly.

- ... Huh? Is that...?

Lana caught notice of something she hadn’t noticed before. It was a slot in the wall next to the cell bars. Initially, there were barrels against that wall, but she moved them to search through them. She was too busy searching inside them to see it at the time, but now that the barrels were all strewn about, it was easy to spot.

- Is this some kind of air vent?

She almost couldn’t believe it. It was covered by wooden planks, but they looked very old and worn. She gave one a hard tug and, much like the stool from earlier, it splintered right off. Lana fell on her bottom from the recoil and chafed her palms, but it was off all the same. It looked like a tight squeeze inside, but she was certain she could fit through it. Although, where it led out to was another matter.

- To think something like this was inside the cell... Do those pirates even know about it? I find it hard to believe they’d put me in a cell with such an easy way out if they did... Or maybe they didn’t expect their prisoners to be able to fit though it.

Lana felt another shiver. She stared hard at the vent and thought. If she were to crawl through it, there’d be no turning back. She would have to keep going until she got off the island. If she got caught, they’d kill her, or lock her up even more tightly than before. She did not believe she’d be able to recover from that.

She thought hard. She thought back to her dear parents and kind old Oshus. She thought about her goal of finding her roots. And then she thought about her life. Her very life itself. It was so simple, it should have been obvious. She wanted to live. She didn’t want to die. What more reason did she need?

- I have to go. I have to take this chance and press forward, even if it’s impossible. I’ll do it even if it is impossible!

At last, Lana had gained a measure of courage. She gritted her teeth and got on her hands and knees. After letting a few more shivers pass, she pulled the rest of the boards off and began to crawl.

Lana made herself as flat as possible, keeping her arms out in front. She pulled herself inside the vent, and immediately felt cramped. She was able to inch forward at a decent pace, but the further along she went, the more she started thinking about what would happen if she got stuck.

- That might actually be worse than getting caught...

After several minutes of skinning her knees and forearms, she came to a stop. The vent went from going straight forward to going straight up, at a 90 degree angle. After grimacing, Lana bent her back as much as she could and squeezed through until she was standing. She looked up, and saw another wooden grate high above her head.

Lana forced her back against the vent’s wall, and put her feet up on the other side. It being such a tight fit actually came in handy. She was able to shimmy up, slowly and carefully. After almost slipping a few times, trying her best not to let a sound pass her lips, she reached the grate. She could barely see through it, but the space above it looked very dark. There was no noise except for the wind and some distant chatter.

The grate looked more rotted than the one in her cell. After a small bout of hesitation, she forced her arms through it, closing her eyes from all the wood pulp that began to fall on her face. She clung to the edge and pulled herself up, and finally wriggled all the way out.

Lana quickly dusted off her face, being careful not to open her eyes until she was sure they were clear. When at last she did, she found herself outside. All around her was open air, with the stars shining brightly above and the wind playing with her hair.

She stared blankly into space for a moment to take this in, until finally a great welling in her chest rose up and she had to choke out a few tears.

- I’m outside again! I really made it this far! I can’t believe it!

She allowed herself a few moments to enjoy that blissful feeling before she shook her head and stood up. This was far from over. Now that she was on the roof of the cell building, Lana had the perfect vantage point for getting a lay of the land. She crept toward the edge on her chest and observed everything she could.

The first thing she noticed was that the entire fortress was encircled by a large wall. There were big chunks of that wall that looked like large rooms. She was on top of one of them. It seemed like the wall contained corridors that led to each room in the fort. In the center was a large courtyard, and that was where she spotted the pirates.

They had a big bonfire going, and she could hear lots of laughter and monsterese echoing through the night. She was too far away to tell, but she could swear they were eating the fish they’d stolen from her. There also looked to be a lot of alcohol being passed around.

- Ugh. How crude. Well, hopefully most of them stay out there while I find my way off this rock.

Lana made to stand up, but something touched her head. Her blood turned to ice as she imagined some awful bokoblin grabbing her from behind, but when she looked up, that fear turned into annoyance.

“What the-?! Get off me, you stupid seagull!” she said, mistakenly out loud.

The pesky bird just gave her a sideways look. Then it puffed out its back, like it was about to-

“DON’T YOU DARE!” Lana yelled as she shot to her feet.

The seagull honked at her and flew away. All of a sudden, the laughter from the courtyard ceased. Lana’s skin clammed up, she clasped a hand over her mouth, and dove back down onto the roof out of sight.

After several minutes passed, she finally heard the laughter and monsterese resume. She let out a great sigh, allowing herself to breathe once again.

- Good grief. Now I really hate seagulls.

She already didn’t like how they always tried to steal fish from her baskets, but now one had almost gotten her killed. She threw her fist on the roof in frustration, and got to her feet to continue.

Lana knew she would never get off this island without a boat. There had to be some kind of harbor around. Where else would they anchor the ship they’d brought her there on? From what she could see, the perimeter had nothing but rocks. Not even a single grain of sand for a beach. Naturally, no docks, either. She figured no self-respecting pirates would leave their boats out in plain sight. That’d just be asking for them to be sunk.

As she wandered along the top of the walls and the roofs, she saw what looked like some kind of cove, or at least an opening in the rocks. It was at the foot of an especially large building. She thought that would be the perfect place for ships to come and go. She saw what appeared to be wooden doors blocking that cove. In order to be sure, she had to climb down and get a better look.

Lana got down on her knees and peered over the edge. It looked like blocks of the stone wall jutted out enough for her to climb down to a lower window. So, she took a deep breath, turned around, and started lowering herself down.

CLANG CLANG CLANG!

Lana yelped, and was so startled by the sudden noise, she let go of the roof’s edge. The sudden panic of falling shot her full of enough adrenaline that she was able to snatch hold of a jut on the wall. Her fingers almost bled from trying to support the whiplash of her fall’s momentum. With a tear in her eye and fingers that stung with friction burn, she dangled helplessly on the side of the building as the alarm went off.

- No! They found out I escaped already?!

The inside of the fortress came alive with a seriously frightening clatter. She could hear shouts of monsterese and a lot of clamoring around. They were certainly looking for her. Lana’s heart began to thud rapidly in her chest. Her fingers were pulsing from the pain of hanging on to the edge. She clenched her teeth and tried her best to secure footing.

She hurriedly glanced around, and saw that the window she had been aiming for was closer than ever. If she could just drop down and to the right, she’d be there. After swallowing some excess spit, she inhaled and gave it her best shot.

Her left foot pushed off from the wall to the right, and she let go of the thin jut that saved her life. The feeling of rushing through empty air twisted up her gut as her eyes fixed on the window she was trying to fall toward. Her arms flung out and-

“OOF!” she grunted.

She’d made it. She clung to that wall for dear life as her arms hung on the edge of the windowsill. This window had no bars, so she heaved and pulled her body up until her chest was inside. At last, she let out a long-held breath. She was okay.

Lana looked around inside the room before she pulled the rest of herself inside. As she suspected, this was indeed a harbor. There were a few small boats hanging from the rafters under the ceiling by ropes and a pulley system. Below that was a wooden dock with the pirate ship that had captured her. A large wooden gate kept the whole space enclosed from the outside.

- There are boats here! I could never get that big one underway by myself, but the little ones would be no problem. I just hope there are some oars up there.

Lana slid the rest of the way through the window. Luckily for her, it was in the perfect spot for her to jump to the rafters, and so she did. It was a much easier leap than the one she had to do outside. She shuffled around her body until she was laying on her stomach on top of the wooden beam, and then she began to crawl across to the nearest boat.

There were indeed oars resting on the floor of the boat. Just as Lana thought her luck was finally beginning to turn, the doors below burst open and a group of moblins flooded in. Lana felt her heart stop. She clung to the beam and tried to stay as still as possible.

- Of course they’d come in here! Why did it have to be now?! How impossible does this escape have to get?

It was only natural the pirates would post guards in the only room Lana could escape the island from. She had really been hoping she could get out before that happened, but now she was trapped in a room full of vicious moblins while hanging from the rafters. She couldn't be in a worse position if she tried.

As Lana struggled to come up with a way out of this situation, it occurred to her that none of the moblins were looking up at the rafters. They were watching the ship. A few were watching the doors. It didn't seem like even the windows had their attention, much less the rafters.

After observing the room some more, Lana had an idea. Looking at the position of the boat she was next to, she could... But, with what? As she shifted around, she felt something in her trousers poke her thigh. She reached into her pocket, and remembered she’d taken a supposedly useless nail from the stool in her cell.

- Hey... This could actually work.

It finally all came together. She inched as close as she could to one of the ropes holding up the boat. Trying to be as slow as possible so none of the moblins below would catch her movement out of the corner of their eyes, she took the nail to the rope and began to tear.

It didn’t take long for the rope to snap. Just like everything else in this fortress, it was in very poor condition. That only made Lana’s job easier. The full weight of the boat suddenly losing half its support caused the other rope to snap, too. It came crashing down on the heads of a small cluster of moblins.

All according to plan, although the blood spatter still made Lana wince. However, what happened next was not part of her plan at all. The boat shook the dock, causing one of the torches to spill over. The hot coals spread out over the wood, and the rest of the moblins stared in disbelief as everything started to burn.

- Oh... Uh... Oops.

She only intended to scare the moblins off, not set the whole room ablaze. The fire spread quickly, likely because the wood was so rotted and poorly maintained. Not even the humidity in the room was able to slow the flames. The moblins threw up their spears and began to panic. For all they knew, this was a freak accident. Some of them ran outside to call for help (presumably, as Lana could not understand monsterese), while the rest tried to find anything they could use to put out the fire.

It wasn’t long until the support beams holding up the rafters started burning, too. Lana knew what that meant. She stopped caring about being seen and got to her feet. She dashed and jumped across the beams, trying to get as far away from the fire as she could. By this point, the smoke had begun rising to the ceiling. Running and jumping without breathing any in was starting to become just as impossible as the escape plan.

The beams cracked and splintered, falling onto the pirate ship below. Now that started burning, too. The other boat caught fire, as well, and fell with a loud thunk onto the dock and tumbled into the water. The rafters themselves then began collapsing all around Lana, and they knocked over the pirate ship’s mast on the way down. That fell and knocked open the gate that kept the harbor closed.

Lana didn’t waste a second. She leapt from the burning ceiling down into the harbor below with all the fire and wood crashing down around her. In all that chaos, she furiously swam beneath the water and out from the harbor.

Finally coming up for air outside, she splashed her way to the rocky perimeter of the fort, gasping for breath. After gulping down that crisp night air, which was starting to smell of smoke and burning wood, she moaned in frustration.

“Ugh! There go all the boats! Some great idea that was...” she said.

“Wow, so you did all that?”

Lana’s body jolted up when she heard that unfamiliar voice. To her great disbelief, she was staring at a young woman in a small lifeboat, floating right in front of her.

“... Huh?” Lana said, unable to fully process what she was seeing.

“‘Hoy. I’m here to rescue you, I guess? But it looks like you did a pretty good job of handling that yourself.” the girl said.

Lana could not believe her ears. She thought she must be hallucinating or dreaming. Nonetheless, her eyes welled up with tears and her chest tightened up with glee. Someone, whoever they were, had come to the rescue. Perhaps they’d witnessed her kidnapping? Whatever the case, Lana was too overjoyed to think about it further.

“Well? You comin’, or what?” the girl asked impatiently.

Lana had such a lump in her throat that she couldn’t even speak. She just nodded her head like a madwoman and leapt into the girl’s boat. And so, pushing off the rocks with the oars, they started away. Lana and the girl left the Forsaken Fortress behind them.

And she was so relieved to be rescued that she didn’t stop to wonder what kind of ship they were returning to.
 

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
Thanks for the comments, friends! This chapter officially closes the first story arc. I hope it leaves you wondering what Lana is going to get herself into next. :)





Chapter Four
Pirates?​


Lana gulped nervously. She again thought her eyes were playing tricks on her for a moment. But alas, there it was, clear as day above the ship the mysterious girl was taking her to.

A pirate flag.

“U-uhm...” Lana began. She became afraid to speak. All of her relief had turned to terror.

“Hm? What’s wrong now?” the girl asked.

“You’re... pirates?” Lana managed to squeak out.

The girl started to grin. “Heh. Yeah, we are. So? What, are you gonna go back to the Forsaken Fortress? It’s us or them, kid.”

Lana felt herself shrink down in her seat on the boat. She wasn’t sure what she should do. At the very least, the girl said she’d come to her rescue, but she was a pirate. Could Lana trust that she was telling the truth?

They reached the girl’s ship before Lana could make up her mind. She started to shiver, which the girl found amusing. A rope ladder was tossed over the side, and the girl climbed up to the deck. Lana found herself hesitating again. She took a look around, and saw that this new pirate ship was anchored behind large rocks to the south of the Forsaken Fortress. They appeared to be well out of view from the fort. She had no idea if any of the moblins had seen her dive into their harbor, but it didn’t sound like they were sending any search parties out of the fort yet. Perhaps they were too busy dealing with the fire.

- It’s just one thing after another... I might as well see what I’m dealing with this time.

Lana sighed a deep sigh and grabbed hold of the ladder. Shakily, she climbed aboard the pirate ship. She was greeted by a lot of rugged looking and buff men, and in front of them was the girl from before. She looked a lot shorter than the men, but no less buff. Her sleeveless shirt showed off some impressive biceps. She had golden hair tucked under a red bandanna, with a small bun in the back. Her brown eyes looked very arrogant. She had a tan, but it seemed more from being in the sun rather than naturally dark like Lana’s skin.

The girl grinned. “Welcome aboard. We’re Emilia’s Pirates! I’m Emilia, by the way. I’m the captain here.”

Emilia’s Pirates? Lana knew that name. They were the ones who didn’t pillage but still did whatever they wanted and got in a fight with the monster pirates. She couldn’t imagine why they’d want to rescue her.

- So first it’s monsters, and now them. What do they want with me?

Lana’s heart beat faster as she imagined them selling her off somewhere. But, something Emilia said caught her attention.

“Wait... You’re the captain?” Lana asked.

Emilia started to frown. “What, is that a problem?” she asked, not hiding the accusation in her voice.

But Lana had no accusation to make. In fact, hearing this reminded her of all the times the men back home told her she didn’t belong on a ship. And here was Emilia, the captain of a ship full of burly men who were almost twice her height. She couldn’t help it; her next words just slipped out.

“That’s... awesome.” she said with a look of awe plastered in her eyes.

Emilia looked surprised. Lana could even swear a hint of color had appeared on her cheeks. She quickly turned around.

“Yeah, you’re damn right I’m awesome. Don’t you forget it.” Emilia growled.

Her men started to laugh, but they quickly straightened back out when she glared at them. “Alright, boys, let’s split. But you know what we gotta do before we leave. You got the note ready?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“And the arrow?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Emilia grinned that mischievous grin again. “Heh, perfect. Then let’s leave those chumps in the fort a little gift.”

The burliest of the pirates nocked an arrow, and Lana noticed it had a little piece of parchment tied to it. That must have been the note Emilia asked about, though she had no idea what it said. The pirate aimed his bow high, high up and let it fly. Lana watched the arrow trail away and over the fort’s walls.

“Nice job, now weigh anchor!” Emilia yelled.

“Yes, ma’am!”

The pirates all started getting the ship underway. Emilia waved at Lana and pointed to the door that looked to lead below deck. “Come on, you.” she barked.

Lana felt anxious, but she followed Emilia to the door all the same. As they walked down some stairs, Lana expected to be taken to a brig, so she was surprised when Emilia brought her into a cabin room instead.

“Here, change your clothes. You look like a ragged mess.” she said, pointing to a dresser.

- Wait, huh? What is this all about?

“Um... What’s going on, exactly?” Lana asked, confused.

“I’m telling you to change clothes, that’s what. You can wear some of mine. Take your pick, I don’t care which ones you want.” Emilia said, as if that made everything obvious.

- She brought me to her room to change my clothes? That’s... weird.

“But... why? Aren’t I your prisoner?” Lana asked.

“Hah, what? Why would you... Oh, right, I guess you would assume that, huh?” Emilia laughed. “No, you’re not our prisoner. We’re rescuing you. Wait, I told you that already, didn’t I?”

“I guess you did, but... I don’t understand why.” Lana said.

“Does it matter? You got saved either way, right?” Emilia said. Lana gave her a sideways look, and she sighed. “Okay, fine, I’ll tell you. We just did it to mess with them. The Forsaken Pirates, I mean.”

“To mess with them?” Lana asked. She was beginning to think Emilia never had to explain herself to someone before. She was awfully vague about everything.

“Yeah. Us and them, we’re bitter rivals. So when we saw you get captured yesterday, we thought it was the perfect chance to get back at them for picking a fight with us last month.”

Lana figured she was referring to the sea battle she’d heard about. “So you saw me get captured?” she said.

“Yeah. That was hard to watch. You sure looked like you knew what you were doing with that boat. It was just that theirs was bigger. Sucks for you, right?”

- That’s an understatement.

“So you only saved me because it would make them mad?” Lana asked.

“Pretty much, yeah. That’s what the note we shot over there was for. We were lettin’ them know who’s boss around here.” she said, flexing her arms.

- Well, that's awfully whimsical of them... At least they aren’t going to hurt me.

“I got no idea what they wanted with you, but who cares. What’s done is done.” she continued. “So anyway, you’re from Greatfish Isle, right?”

“Huh? How did you know that?” Lana said.

“Wow, you answered awfully fast for someone talking to pirates. You should be more careful. Anyway, that’s just where it looked like you were sailing from.” she said. “So, good news for you. We’re gonna take you home.”

“Huh?!” Lana exclaimed.

She couldn’t believe it. Emilia’s Pirates were going to bring her home, safe and sound. The terrifying ordeal was over. She’d be safe back home with her sweet family again. Back to that familiar house on the shoreline, where she could fish every day and chat with her friend Oshus.

Lana thought she should have been happy about that, but she was anything but.

“... Please don’t do that.” Lana said quietly.

“Huh? Why not?” Emilia asked.

“Please, can you take me to Windfall Island instead? That’s where I was trying to get to after escaping. Please?”

“What’s up with you? You don’t want to go home?”

Lana bit her lip. She did want to go home, especially after a horrible event like being captured by pirates. But she’d lost everything. The boat her family paid for with almost all of their savings. All the food and money they’d sacrificed to give her. The clothes her mother spent all that time making. The huarere her father painted on her sail. The kindness and support from her parents and from her dear friend Oshus was all at the bottom of the sea and in the bellies of pirates.

If she were to go home barely a day after leaving, after having lost everything not even half an hour out to sea, her family would never live in peace again. The villagers would viciously mock her and her parents to the grave. Not even Oshus would be able to stop them anymore. She couldn’t afford to put her family through that. She had to keep going.

“If I go back now, everything I’ve been aiming for will be sunk. All the love and support from my family would have been for nothing. I can’t let all of that go to waste. I have to keep going forward. So please, take me to Windfall instead. Please.”

Emilia studied Lana’s desperate face for a bit, and then sighed. “Well, personally, I think you’re being really stupid right now. Pride is meaningless when your life's on the line. But hey, it’s not my problem what you do now that we saved you, so sure. Whatever. We can leave you there instead.”

Lana felt a bittersweet relief. “Thank you.”

“It’s not wise to be thanking pirates, kid.” she said.

“I’m not a kid. My name is Lana, I’ll have you know.” she frowned.

“Heh, yeah, okay. Whatever you say. Just hurry up and get changed.”

Lana walked over to the dresser and found a swathe of clothing inside it. She didn’t think too hard about it and just grabbed a sleeveless tunic like the one Emilia was wearing. This one was white with blue trim down the middle and on the collar. She also got some tan trousers, too. She kept the knee-high water boots she was already wearing.

She set the clothes on Emilia’s bed. She waited for Emilia to turn around, and was about to unbutton the fisherman’s tunic she wore, but something caught her eye. She gazed up at a large, framed painting on the wall above the bed.

The painting seemed very old. The parchment looked stained and worn, but the painting was still very clear. The background appeared to be showing a vibrant sun with rays of light shining everywhere. The focal point was a boy with a sword. He had an odd green tunic and hat on.

“What’s that painting?” Lana asked.

“Huh? Oh. That’s just something that’s been passed down in my family for forever.” Emilia said. “I’ve got no idea what it’s supposed to be, but my mom, and her mom, and her mom’s mom have been handing it down to their daughters all the same. The story is that one day we’re gonna need to find a boy who looks like that, or something. But, if you ask me, that sounds like a lot of work, so I hope it doesn’t happen in my lifetime. After all, we’re pirates. We do what we want, whenever we want. The last thing I want is some responsibility like that, but I guess passing down a lousy painting won’t do me any harm.”

Lana found this all to be very odd, but she didn’t think she’d ever understand it if Emilia didn’t understand it herself. So, she just let it go and began to change her clothes.

Her old clothes were soaking wet and covered with soot and grime. It wasn’t until she got them off that Lana realized how utterly gross she felt wearing them. She really wanted to take a bath, but obviously that would have to wait. She put on her new clothes and found they fit rather well. Emilia seemed to be a lot closer to her size than she originally thought.

After getting changed, Emilia herded Lana back to the deck. “Just hang out up here until we get there, I guess. HEY, RENAZO! CHANGE COURSE, WE’RE GOING TO WINDFALL INSTEAD!” she shouted.

“Huh?! Why? I thought she was from Greatfish!” asked Renazo, the man at the helm and the burliest of the pirates.

“That’s where she said she wants us to leave her, so that’s where we’re gonna go.” Emilia said, shrugging her shoulders.

Renazo grumbled and started to turn the wheel. “Hey, Ivan! Make sure those sails catch the wind!” he called out.

It suddenly occurred to Lana that this was her first time watching the crew of such a large ship do their work. She had never been on a large ship like this before, either (except for the last pirate ship she was on, but she wasn’t going to count that awful experience).

Her wondrous eyes darted from person to person as she observed their work. One man was mopping up the deck. Another was carrying boxes around. Another still was maintaining the sails. She also spotted one far up in the crow’s nest, with a telescope to his eye. And of course, there was the man named Renazo at the helm. She watched him very closely.

Eventually, she found herself drawing nearer and nearer to him. He seemed to notice this, because he started looking more annoyed by the minute.

“So, uh, you want something?” he asked.

“No, I’m just watching.” Lana said, not taking her eyes off him.

“Watching what?”

“How you sail.”

“What, you a sailor or something?”

“I was a fisherman. And, um, I set off to be a voyager. I was trying to find my ancestral home, but, uh, yeah... I got captured instead.”

“You tried being a voyager and you got captured as soon as you left? Hah! That’s the lamest thing I’ve ever heard!” he laughed.

Lana frowned. She decided to stop watching him.

* * *

Dawn had started to break over the horizon when the ship reached Windfall Island. Emilia’s Pirates pulled up at the docks, and got a chuckle when the townsfolk started running for the hills.

“Hah! I love it when they scamper off just from the sight of us. Never gets old.” Emilia said.

Lana didn’t appreciate how amused she was by that. “Well, thank you for bringing me here.” she said.

“Hey, remember what I told you. Thanking pirates is gonna get you in trouble.” Emilia told her sternly. “Now, come here for a second.”

“Huh? Why?” Lana asked, walking over to her.

Emilia sighed. “You know, you need to work on that. I also told you to be cautious. And now, you’re going to pay for it!”

Emilia’s arms shot out, and before Lana knew what was going on, she was hoisted into the air.

“Wha?!” Lana yelped.

“Have a nice fall!” Emilia shouted as she tossed Lana over the railing and onto the beach below.

Lana hit the sand with a dull thud on her side. She skidded a bit and scraped her arm. She moaned in pain and glared up at the ship. Emilia was grinning down at her with that arrogant look in her eyes again.

“Goodbye, loser! Hope I never have to see your sorry face on the sea again!”

With that remark, Emilia and her pirates began pulling away. Raucous laughter coming from their ship filled the air as Lana stood up, fuming and humiliated. She dusted the sand off her arms and clothes, being mindful not to hurt the scrape that was already starting to bleed.

She stood on the beach, watching the pirate ship shrink away into the horizon. The sun was coming up in all its glory, and with the new day, she held onto her life. And now, with nothing but the clothes on her back, she stood on the beach of a new town; broke, hungry, and shipless.

- Now what am I going to do?
 

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
Alright, time for the start of a new story arc! I think you guys will find this one interesting. Enjoy! :)





Chapter Five
Lana is Discouraged​


Lana stood on the beach, watching Emilia’s Pirates sail away until they were out of view. She stared out to sea, clutching her bleeding arm. All kinds of thoughts whirled around in her head. She had no food or money. She was a stranger on this island. She had no idea how she would get a boat and supplies to continue her journey. She was at a dead end.

“E-excuse me, miss?” a voice behind her stuttered.

Lana turned around and saw a small group of people. They all looked very afraid.

Another one of them spoke. “You’re... not a pirate, are you?” she asked.

“No...” Lana said.

The crowd sighed with relief. “Oh, good. I didn’t think so, but I wasn’t sure. You did arrive here on a pirate ship, but you don’t look much like a pirate.” the lady said.

“I told you so!” said a man. “Did you see the way Captain Emilia tossed her over the side? She was obviously not one of them!”

“I guess you’re right.” the lady said, looking a little ashamed.

“Do those pirates come here often?” Lana asked.

“All the time. And every time they do, they raid our bar and make us serve them all night long! And then they leave without cleaning up after themselves or paying for any of it! It’s a nightmare!” the man groaned.

“Wow, that’s awful.” Lana said.

“Well, I’m just glad you’re not one of them. I’m sorry for the confusion.” the lady said.

The group dispersed, leaving Lana by herself on the beach once again. She began to think about Emilia. What kind of person was she, truly?

Emilia’s Pirates were an odd group that never pillaged, but still did whatever they wanted. Emilia had said so herself. And now Lana heard they often came to Windfall and made good on that creed to do whatever they wanted, bossing around the townsfolk and raiding their food and drink. Emilia had saved Lana not out of the goodness of her heart, but just to mess with her rival pirates. She also mocked her and threw her off her ship. Lana felt angry about all of this.

And yet, there was something bothering her. The townsfolk didn’t mistake Lana for a pirate because they saw Emilia throw her overboard. Could that have been intentional? Emilia had also given Lana clothes for free. She agreed to take Lana where she wanted to go. Aside from throwing her, she didn’t lay a finger on her. It also sounded like she and her men never actually hurt any of the townsfolk on Windfall, even when they were bossing them around. Although, that was Lana’s own speculation. She figured the townsfolk would have mentioned it if Emilia’s men had killed people for disobeying them.

Lana then remembered how Emilia tried to hide the fact that she was blushing when Lana said she was awesome for being a captain. She had even given her advice about being cautious around others. She wondered if Emilia had another side to her, one that she didn’t show to people easily.

- Well, thinking about this isn’t going to get me fed. I’m probably never going to see her again, anyway.

Lana shook her head to clear her thoughts. She had more important things to do than think about Emilia. She had to find some food, before anything else. She hadn’t eaten in over a day. She was very hungry.

At last, Lana turned and took in the sight of Windfall Island. She stood on a beach next to a modest grassy field and harbor. There were many ships of all sizes docked along the shoreline, and beyond that area was the town proper. It was very big; far bigger than anything on Greatfish Isle. Her jaw almost dropped.

The entrance to the town was an impressively large gray stone gate, nestled between natural rocky hills. The dirt road trailed along beyond it, and from what Lana could tell, there were far more buildings along that one road than in the entirety of Goponga Village. Next to the gate was a natural slope that led up to another part of town and other buildings. It seemed like much of the town spiraled higher and higher above sea level.

The most impressive sight of all was the windmill, seemingly at the heart of the whole place. It was bigger than every other building by more than three times. The sails on the windmill caught the wind and spun along at a relaxed pace. There were even gondolas on each one. On top of the building was a large canopy and what appeared to be a lighthouse beacon. Lana was certain that massive structure was the island and town’s namesake, Windfall.

With such a large town, Lana thought there had to be food and money to spare around somewhere. Maybe even an old boat no one wanted anymore. She was going to try her best to stay positive. She would find help here for sure.

* * *

“It’s no use...” Lana moaned.

She huffed out a sigh as she huddled on a corner of the stairs by the windmill. She had walked around all day long, blistering her feet and making her legs sore, and not one person wanted to give her any help. The stars hung in the sky once again, making it two days since Lana last ate. The scrape on her arm wasn't hurting any less since the morning. The night air was very cold. The wind wasn’t being kind to her this evening, sending chills all over her tired body.

Windfall was a massive town compared to the humble Goponga. It was bustling all day long. People came in and out of every shop every minute, carrying goods back and forth from their homes. Friends chatted on the side of the road. Mothers and fathers ushered their children through the market. Clothes hung on lines cast between buildings, drying in the air. A lovely scent of freshly baked bread and brewed coffee tickled Lana’s nose as she walked around.

She asked many people if they would help her, but no one wanted to so much as stop to listen. When she asked a few ladies who were standing around talking, they shooed her off and called her rude for interrupting them. One of them even accused her of trying to eavesdrop. No one in the market wanted to hear a word from her without any rupees. Lana tried to ask the people in the cafe for scraps of food, but they simply asked her to leave and told her it didn’t look good for their business to have beggars hanging around. Lana thought about fishing on the shores of the island, but she had no rod, and couldn’t get one without rupees. She asked a man if she could borrow his for a few minutes and he just laughed at her.

And so, Lana had nothing to show for her efforts that day. She sat outside in the cold night all alone, exhausted and starving. She was beginning to think it was a mistake to have asked Emilia to leave her on Windfall. Or maybe the real mistake was to have left home in the first place.

- Why did I ever think I could do this? I’m never going to find that place, much less get off this island. I’m gonna starve to death in the streets here...

She sat with her head in her arms for several minutes, quietly thinking about how hungry she was. And then she had an idea. She’d seen the cafe servers dump half-eaten scraps of food in the garbage cans behind the building. Perhaps she could...

Lana shook her head to get rid of that nasty thought.

- I am not going to root through trash cans. No way.

If she wasn’t going to do that, perhaps there would be other food she could find. Fresh food. There was sure to be plenty of that in the cafe’s storage. If she could only get inside without anyone seeing...

Lana shook her head even more vigorously than last time.

- What is wrong with me?! No! No, no, no! I am not going to become a thief!

Her stomach growled painfully. Lana jumped to her feet and kept shaking her head to get that evil, tempting thought out of her brain. She started clutching her stomach, squeezing as hard as she could to make it stop rumbling. Her nails started to dig into her skin and tears started to drip out of her eyes.

At last, she couldn’t hold in a sob any longer. She’d had enough of being hungry. She wanted to be in her comfortable home eating the delicious fish her father caught and helping her mother weave her baskets. She wanted to be in her warm bed where she only had to worry about what the weather would be like tomorrow and where she could fish for the best haul. She missed home. She missed it terribly.

Lana fell to her knees and continued gripping her stomach. The pain wouldn’t go away. Nothing would. She was utterly miserable. Dreadfully hungry. Very cold and very, very lonely. She desperately wanted someone to help.

- Why did I ever do this to myself? Please, someone, anyone, help me...

“Excuse me, young lady, but you don’t look okay. What’s wrong?”

Lana didn’t hear anything. She was too busy crying with her face almost pressed into the dirt. The owner of the voice tapped her shoulder, and she leapt up in surprise. She turned to see a young man, not much older than she was.

“Wh-what?” she said, startled.

“I’m sorry, but you really don’t look okay. Did something happen to you? Can I help, somehow?” he asked, concern all over his face.

It took Lana a number of seconds to process what he said. And when she finally did, it was like a dam had broken. Everything came bursting right out of her. She began sobbing, almost uncontrollably, trying to tell him that she was starving and had no money or boat or clothes, all garbled into one frantic statement after another.

And finally, she passed out.

* * *

Lana’s head felt very heavy. She tried to sit up, but a woozy feeling that made her feel like her brain was full of fuzz kept her down. She gazed around, and saw an unfamiliar wooden ceiling. She slowly began to realize she was laying on top of a bed, a very comfortable one at that. She was surprised to notice that the scrape on her arm was now bandaged. And then her nose caught a whiff of something that smelled incredibly delicious.

That smell finally got her to sit all the way up, and she looked around the room. It wasn't very big, but it was still larger than most houses in Goponga. The walls were covered in paintings that looked highly realistic. Lana wasn’t even sure if they were actually paintings, but whatever they were, they were astoundingly good.

Then she saw a man sitting in front of a fireplace pot, brewing something. She finally began to recall what happened to her. She had passed out from a mix of hunger, stress, and relief in front of the first person to offer her help on the entire island. She guessed he’d brought her to his home while she was out. Emilia’s advice about being cautious echoed in her mind, but she wasn’t going to learn anything without talking to him.

“Um... Hello?” Lana said, nervously.

“Oh!” the man said, turning around. He looked worried. “You’re awake! Perfect timing, this stew is almost done.”

Lana’s nose told her exactly what was in it. “Cod and clams? And I think some onions...” she said, beginning to salivate.

“Wow, you could tell that just from the smell? Yeah, that’s what’s in it, all right.” the man said. “Come sit at the table and I’ll pour you a bowl.”

A lump got stuck in Lana’s throat and she started tearing up again. She almost sprinted off the bed, but she stopped herself. She thought there had to be some kind of catch. “... For free? I don’t have to pay you?” she barely managed to ask.

“Well, yeah. I couldn’t figure out much of what you were saying when you passed out earlier, but I’m pretty sure you said you didn’t have any money. Well, not that I’d charge you, anyway.” he said.

It was almost too good to be true. Almost.

Lana finally got off of the bed and joined him at the table. When at last a generous helping of fish stew was poured into the bowl in front of her, she almost didn’t think it was real. She kept expecting this to be some kind of sick joke.

“I can really have this?” Lana asked again.

“Please, help yourself.” he said, smiling.

Lana didn’t hold herself back any further. She greedily wolfed down the entire bowl, and started to cry from how happy her stomach was to finally have food in it again. She wiped her eyes and helped herself to a glass of fresh water and a warm roll of bread, as well. Emilia’s words of warning melted away with the relief of finally being fed.

When at last she was done eating, she and the man had a talk. Lana told him everything she’d been through; she wanted to voyage and find her ancestral home, but she was captured by pirates right off the bat, and barely managed to escape with her life before finding herself on another pirate ship, and wound up stranded on Windfall Island where everyone was very unhelpful. The tale had the man very intrigued.

“I see... You’ve sure been through a lot.” he said. “Well, I’m glad you’re safe now. I’m sorry the people here weren’t kind to you. They’re all wrapped up in their own little lives and don’t pay others very much thought. It makes me very sad. That’s part of why I do what I do.”

“Oh? What do you do?” Lana asked.

The man’s eyes lit up with a childlike wonder all of a sudden. “You want to know? Here, I’ll show you!”

He leapt up from his chair and ran to a shelf on the wall near the bed, and retrieved a strange-looking box. He returned to the table and showed it to her, glowing with pride.

“... What is that?” Lana asked.

“Here, hold still.” he said.

The man held the box up to his eyes. There was a lens on the side facing Lana. She was so curious about it she found herself staring right at it. Then, a sudden flash of light came from the box, and Lana yelped.

“What was that?” she said.

A paper was ejected out of the bottom of the box, and there was a drawing on it. The man presented it to Lana, and she couldn’t believe her eyes. It was like looking into a frozen, black and white mirror. The drawing on the paper was so good, Lana wasn’t sure it was a drawing at all. She realized all the paintings on the walls were the same way.

“How did you make this? Was it that box?” Lana asked, amazed. “This looks exactly like me... I can’t believe this is a drawing.”

“It isn’t! It’s a pictograph! I invented these.” the man said. “Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Lenzo, and I am the inventor of this pictobox! It’s a contraption that combines science and the light of fireflies from the mystical Forest Haven to imprint true-to-life images on papers, like this.”

“Wow... I don’t know what to say. That’s just... amazing.” Lana said.

Lenzo blushed, looking very pleased with the compliment. “Thank you. It was very difficult to create, but I just had to do it. You see, I wanted to show these people here on Windfall the wonders of the world. They’re all so self-centered, so caught up in themselves that they don’t even know what’s around them. You almost starved because of it. I want them to look at my pictographs and open their eyes to what’s out there. Maybe that will help them grow, or maybe it won’t, who knows. But that’s my wish.”

“That’s so admirable...” Lana said. “I hope you’re able to make a difference.”

“That’s very kind of you.” he said. Then, he looked like he had a thought. “Actually, I’m going on a trip in a few days to take pictographs of interesting sights I’ve heard about on the Great Sea. You said you don’t have any money, right? I could hire you as my assistant, and then I could pay you for helping me with the trip. Truth be told, I’m not very good at sailing, so having someone like you around would be a great help.”

Lana was taken aback. “Wait, are you offering me a job?”

“I am. I’ll pay you well; I often make good rupees selling my pictographs to the townsfolk. I’m sure the ones I’ll take on this trip will fetch a good price, and I’ll split whatever I make off them with you. How does that sound?”

Lana had to consider this for a bit. Lenzo was offering her work, and promised to pay her for her trouble. It would be work she was good at, too. She would have a place to sleep and food to eat during this time, as well. All in all, it was a life-savingly good deal. She couldn’t ask for anything better. However, it would have to mean putting her voyage on hold.

- If I agree to be his assistant, I’ll be able to make back what I need to travel. I guess I don’t have to rush myself to continue the voyage... It’s not like my ancestral home is going anywhere. But still...

“Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll be your assistant.” Lana said with a soft smile.

Lenzo’s face brightened up the whole room. “That’s fantastic! I can’t tell you how much this helps me out! Thank you so much, uh... Sorry, did you ever tell me your name?”

“I’m Lana.” she said, still smiling.

“Great! Thank you, Lana. I promise I’ll make this worth your while.” Lenzo said, shaking her hand.

- I’m sure he will. But still... I just hope this isn’t going to take me further away from my goal.
 

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
Sorry for the wait! Chapter Six is finally finished! I've been deep in ACNH since it came out, and that's probably not going to change for a while yet. I'll be doing my best to write when I can. Enjoy the new chapter, and look forward to seeing how the rest of this arc unfolds! :)





Chapter Six
Pictography Tour​


Lana woke up feeling and looking absolutely haggard. Her eyelids refused to open for several minutes after she began to stir. It took even longer before she could convince her body to drag itself up into a sitting position. Everything ached, from her muscles to her bones to her brain.

When she could finally grasp hold of some self-awareness, she looked around. Last night, she’d immediately crawled into bed and passed out before her head even hit the pillow, so she didn’t get a chance to examine the room. Lenzo’s house had two floors; the main room and kitchen with his bed, and an upstairs storage room. He’d set out some sheets and pillows for Lana up there.

Aside from the makeshift bed, the room was full of machinery parts and stacks upon stacks of pictographs. A large work table was in the corner, and all sorts of gears and gizmos and blueprints were spread out across it. The shelves were lined with stacks of well-used papers and books, and a glance told Lana they were all about engineering and science. The stacks of pictographs were piled up anywhere there was space. This seemed to be where Lenzo put together his pictoboxes and developed the pictographs he took. She could tell how hard he worked from how much was in the room.

Lana stretched, pulling on those tired and worn muscles. When she could finally stand, she wandered to the window and let in some light. The busy town of Windfall laid out before her eyes, and she realized that Lenzo’s house was right across from the giant windmill. She had a nice view of it and the street that winded through town below. She looked up at the clouds, and was surprised to see the sun past its midpoint.

- I slept past noon? That’s a first...

Lana had always made a habit of waking up very early, so she could help her parents get ready for their day. She also liked to fish in the early morning. She found herself most productive in those early hours. She had never slept past eight since she could remember, but it had to be almost two in the afternoon now. This realization made her feel frustrated, like she’d wasted an entire day.

Of course, she couldn't blame herself for it; the past two days were utterly awful. Aside from not eating for nearly forty-eight hours, she hadn’t slept in even longer. Last night was the first time since the night before her departure day. Her body had been put through the wringer, having missed out on all that nutrition and rest, not to mention the stress of being captured by pirates and almost dying several times while trying to escape. She was a physical wreck.

Lana sighed and pulled herself together. Things were going to be different from now on. She would work as Lenzo’s assistant until she had the money to buy a new boat and supplies, and then she would continue her journey. There would not be a repeat of her disastrous departure. She would make sure of it.

After reassuring herself of all this, Lana decided to go downstairs and see how the preparations for their first outing were going. She found Lenzo at the table on the first floor, and it was covered in supplies. Lots of papers, sea charts, and pre-wrapped foodstuffs were laid out in a mess. It reminded her of his work table upstairs in how much stuff was haphazardly piled on there. He didn’t seem like the most organized person.

Lenzo looked up from sorting through the supplies, and saw Lana. “Hey! You’re finally awake! I hope you got all the sleep you needed.” he said, greeting her with a smile.

“Well, I’m not sure about that yet.” Lana said dryly, her body still aching all over.

“Well, we don’t leave for two more days. Get all the sleep you need in that time.” Lenzo said. “I’ve been getting together enough supplies for the two of us, as you can see here. I’ve also already rented a boat. If you want, you can go familiarize yourself with it. It’s docked in the harbor, and it’s called The Sleeping Gull. ... What’s wrong?”

Lana couldn’t hide a grimace when she heard the boat’s name. “Sorry... I just have bad experiences with seagulls. Don’t mind me.” she said.

“Oh, well, okay. It’s white with blue stripes. I’m sure you won’t have any trouble finding it. It’s got a spacious deck, and there’s two rooms below deck, too. We shouldn’t be crowded at all.” he continued.

“Sounds great. I’ll go check it out.” Lana definitely wanted to know the ins and outs of a boat before sailing with it, especially one that was bigger than she was used to. However, a growling stomach stopped her from leaving right away. “Um... would it be okay if I had breakfast first?” she asked, feeling a little embarrassed.

Lenzo laughed. “It’s already after lunch, but sure. Eat your fill. You’re gonna need the energy.”

* * *

Two days passed by, and Lana had spent most of that time eating and sleeping. She felt terribly bad about it, but her body was in a lot of need after her ordeal. She was able to take some time to examine The Sleeping Gull, and aside from the name, she decided she’d have no problems with sailing it. She and Lenzo took turns carrying their supplies to it and preparing their individual rooms, and it was ready to go in no time.

The morning of their departure, Lana woke up at five. She was finally back to her regular sleeping cycle, and she celebrated by doing some light exercise and stretches. The pain was almost entirely gone, and her muscles were ready to be used for sailing. She was in the best shape she could be for the outing. She was very giddy about that as she and Lenzo headed to the docks around six.

Windfall at early morning was very quiet. The only people who seemed to be out were sailors. The hustle and bustle hadn’t quite started for the day yet. The morning sky was a dull gold color, and the wispy white clouds were scarce and scattered. There was a northerly wind blowing, which made this the perfect time for the pictographer and his assistant to set sail.

After boarding the boat, Lana got behind the wheel. From there, she could steer the rudder, as well as reach the ropes to control the sail. There were oars aboard as well, for both herself and Lenzo to use together. The Sleeping Gull was more than twice the size of Lana’s now-sunken dinghy, but still very much smaller than the two pirate ships she’d been on in recent days. She was certain the two of them could handle her.

“Alright, you ready?” Lana called out.

“Ready! Set sail whenever you’d like!” Lenzo answered.

Lana nodded and, after hesitating a spell, tugged the rope to unfurl the sail.

- Here we go again, back out to sea. It’s okay. This time will be different.

* * *

“Pretty smooth...” Lana said to herself.

She was impressed at how the Gull handled on the open water. It didn’t rock around as much as the dinghies she’d sailed before, and it was easier to control with the ropes and the wheel being so close together. She also felt that familiar sense of comfort that came from being on the water. She was relieved to know that recent events had not driven that out of her.

Lana and Lenzo were sailing south of Windfall. There was a mysterious place Lenzo wanted to take a pictograph of on a tiny, deserted isle. She didn’t have the details of what exactly it was he wanted to see there, but she had the bearing, and that was all she needed.

Lenzo stood on the deck, keeping watch on the horizon for the isle. His body seemed to be vibrating with anticipation. He was bouncing on his feet, gripping the railing tightly, practically leaning all the way over it.

“You’re, uh, really into this, aren’t you?” Lana asked.

It took a few moments for Lenzo to realize he was being spoken to. His head twitched around, never taking his eyes off that horizon line to even look at Lana when he responded. “Huh? Did you say something?”

“Uh... I was just observing how excited you are, that’s all.” Lana said.

“Yes, indeed I am! Pictography is my life, after all! It’s been a while since I last got out to snap some shots of places outside of Windfall. I can’t wait to start taking some new pictographs!”

He was practicing leaping into the air with enthusiasm. Lana found herself a little amused by his zeal. He was older than she was, but he was acting like a child on their birthday. At least, the children she knew on Greatfish would act like that when getting presents from their families.

“You’re so passionate about this.” Lana said.

It was no use; Lenzo was lost in the horizon again. Lana sighed, and checked the charts. Then she checked the clouds, felt the wind, and looked at the compass set into the wheel. She kept nervously looking around, almost expecting pirates to come out of nowhere and sink this ship, too. But to her great relief, there didn't seem to be any sign of other ships around.

- All good so far. It won’t be long now.

It truly wasn’t long. Sailing due south from Windfall for a little over an hour, they discovered a small speck of land in the distance. Lenzo practically jumped off the boat in his excitement, to Lana's distress.

“Settle down, already! We’ll be there in a moment!” she chided.

“I can almost see it! What we came for!” Lenzo said, pointing to the dot of land.

After sailing closer for a few more minutes, Lana finally got a decent look at the little isle. It was so small she almost didn’t want to call it an isle, more like a largeish rock sticking out of the sea. There were patches of grass and moss, but not much else in the way of greenery. She could almost make out some kind of protrusion on the land, but she couldn't tell what it was, exactly.

As soon as the ship pulled up to the side, Lenzo leapt off like a madman. He scurried over to that protrusion and examined it carefully, with great wonder. Lana set up the anchor and joined him on the isle, and finally got a look at the mysterious thing Lenzo was so over-excited to see.

It wasn’t a protrusion, but a statue. It was in the shape of a person, only slightly smaller in size than Lana herself. It was a golden-amber color, covered in small cracks and erosion from sea spray. The face of the statue was rather eerie to look at, with two large sunken-in black circles for eyes and a crooked black indent for a mouth. It also had a strange symbol imprinted on its forehead, like wavy music notes.

“Aha, the symbol of Power! Just like the texts said!” Lenzo exclaimed. “This, my dear Lana, is an ancient artifact left behind by a civilization that disappeared in the distant past, one that predates even the Great Sea! Isn’t it just absolutely fascinating? To take a pictograph of such a wonder!” he rambled on and on.

Lana found herself interested in the idea that something so old had survived all this time. She was also amazed it hadn’t been hauled off by pirates already. Or perhaps it was too rooted to this location to be movable. She wondered why it had stood such a test of time. She observed its arms cradled against its chest, and couldn’t help but feel as thought it were waiting to receive something here.

- Nah, that’s silly.

She shook her head to perish the thought as Lenzo fumbled his pictobox out of his satchel. He took a few steps back, motioned for Lana to back out of the frame, and snapped his shot. The flash gave Lana a bit of a start. Just as before, a small paper slid out of the bottom of the box. Lenzo snatched it up and began stomping his feet in place with glee.

“Oooouuuhhhh!” he wheezed.

Lana took a look, and sure enough, the statue’s image was imprinted on the paper in black and white tones. It looked surprisingly clear, as well. Even the subtle details like the erosion on the statue’s surface were plain to see, even if the color was lost on the paper. A pictograph like that would be sure to inspire interest in the stuffy citizens of Windfall.

“Nice work. Do you want to snap some more, or are we good to go to the next place?” Lana asked.

Something besides Lenzo answered her question. A geyser of sea water began splashing and frothing off the coast of the tiny isle. The violently swishing water broke and gave way to a trio of rapidly spinning, slimy limbs. A lump of wet purplish-yellow flesh with evil eyes and hungry teeth rose up through the foam and spray.

Lana’s blood turned to ice, a familiar feeling from her time in the Forsaken Fortress. She felt her skin start to prickle up and a cold terror broke out. She was once again face to face with a monster, and a rather large one at that. It was unmistakably a seahat, a nasty sea creature that was known to bite into ships, sinking them and eating their passengers.

The initial moment of panic was brushed aside by reason. “Lenzo, we need to go! Now!” she called out.

She tugged his shoulder, but he was too enamored with his pictograph to notice.

- Oh, for crying out loud!

Knowing time was of the essence, she snatched Lenzo’s arm and yanked him roughly along toward the Gull. This finally seemed to snap him out of it, as he gave a yelp upon seeing the beast. Together, the pair climbed back aboard their boat and hurriedly pulled the anchor back up.

The limbs on the seahat’s head began spinning faster, lifting it out of the water and into the air clumsily. It let out a deep growl and began twitching the spines on its belly. The stalk on its head leaned forward a bit, and it began moving through the air in the direction of the ship.

By this point, the anchor was up and the sails were unfurled. Lana spun the wheel and pulled on the ropes, allowing the Gull to catch the wind. Her heart was racing, pumping adrenaline and fear through her veins. They had to get their ship out of the monster’s range, or else they’d be at its mercy.

“Row!” she shouted at Lenzo.

He dropped his satchel with the pictobox and pictograph safely tucked inside on the deck and clamored for the oar on the port side. He began furiously paddling the ship away from the island, turning it into the wind. As soon as the sail caught a gust, they were off.

The seahat was close behind, however. It was growling and mewling like it was hungry and annoyed. The sound generated by spinning the limbs growing out of its head assailed Lana’s ears. She gritted her teeth and kept the ship in line with the wind.

- Come on! We just need one strong gust! Come on!

The beast crept closer and closer to the boat, its maw wide open as if it were going to bite a chunk out of the wood. On Lana’s command, Lenzo continued paddling, trying to keep the boat swaying back and forth so the seahat couldn’t get a lock on it. Meanwhile, she kept moving the sail with the ropes so it could maintain its hold on the wind even with the boat turning about.

CHOMP!

A narrow miss. Lana felt her heart stop when the seahat’s teeth grazed the back of the Gull. Lenzo paddled even more frantically than before. Lana kept cutting the wheel as hard as she could, keeping the ship just out of the beast’s mouth. They could only manage this feat for so long, as the seahat’s chomping was getting more accurate every time. It wouldn’t be much longer before they were sunk and in its stomach.

At last, her skin felt just the sensation from the wind she’d been waiting for. As her heart jumped into her throat, she angled the sail as well as she could, and waited. The seahat’s maw opened as wide as it could go, closing in on the back of the ship.

- Please, get us out of here!

As if the wind could understand what she wanted, a fierce gale hit them. The seahat was startled out of its bite and the sail expanded to the max. The ship bolted forward, and Lana was almost knocked off her feet, while Lenzo hit the deck on his face. The Gull sped off across the waves, leaving the seahat behind in its wake.

Finally, the monster gave up, and lowered itself back into the sea. It eyed its escaped prey for a while longer, looking as hungry as ever.

Lana finally let herself breathe in relief. “We did it!” she said.

“I must say... That was completely and utterly terrifying.” Lenzo said, rubbing his sore face and panting. “I’m sure glad you were here, Lana. That was some remarkable helmsmanship! You’ve saved our lives!”

“Don’t thank me, thank the wind. That sudden gale is what really saved us.” Lana said, looking over her shoulder.

The seahat was still glaring at them in the distance, its beady eyes illuminated by the sunlight. Lana felt very uneasy with its hateful and hungry gaze on them. She wanted to get back on course as fast as possible. She checked the charts, and the next place Lenzo marked was much further to the southwest, a place called Diamond Steppe Island.

Lana realized this path would take them even further south than Greatfish Isle, where she started. She bit her lip, feeling like she was reversing her progress. Nonetheless, she tried to keep her eyes on the big picture. This was for the money to buy a new ship so she could get back on track. It would all be worth it in the end.

“But, wow. I must say this will make for a most exciting memory.” Lenzo said as he walked to the railing.

He held up his beloved pictobox and managed to snap a shot of the seahat before it turned away from them. Lana felt an involuntary frown spread across her face when she saw how pleased he looked as he stared at the pictograph of the monster that almost had them for lunch.

- He seems to be enjoying himself a bit too much.

Lana sighed, and turned her gaze back to the sea. If today was any indication, this little outing was going to be a lot more trouble than she bargained for. However, just as she’d tried to keep her eyes on the big picture, she tried to remain positive. Perhaps this was the worst of what’s to come. Perhaps it would be considerably less dangerous from then on.

“Alright, you know where to go next!” Lenzo announced. “We’re off to Diamond Steppe Island! It may take us the rest of the day to get there, but it will be worth it! There are rumors of a ghost ship in that area! Can you imagine if I were to snap a pictograph of a mind-boggling phenomenon such as that? Ooooh, I’m absolutely giddy at the thought!”

... Perhaps Lana was wrong.
 
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