Chapter 53

The pirate Skullbeard jerked up from his position and sat up.

"Who dares intrude." He said, lighting out a light hiccup after.

"What did you do with the king of Dewsbury?" I tightened my grip on my sword.

"We didn't do a damn thing to that fucking lard." Skullbeard gritted his teeth.

"Where is he then? Where is everyone?" I said.

"No idea. We came to raid the village, but no one was here. Not even in the castle. This is our castle now."

"It's not. It belongs to the king of Dewsbury. You need to leave here and return to the sea." I demanded.

Captain Skullbeard seemed to unphased by my demands.

"You look familiar." He said, squinting his eyes as he studied me.

"You kidnapped me. Held me for ransom." I said.

"You got to be more specific. We never stop doing that! Ahah!" He laughed.

"King Zander Bray of Lafayette. I was with King Samuel Skyes of The Mullis Islands."

He flicked his eyebrows down. His casual demeanor had faded to something harsher.

"You two. You two escaped! No one escapes Captain Skull beard! I should have skinned you both when I had the chance."

I thought about all the things that never would have happened if the pirates had killed both of us. We would have never freed the dragon. I would have never loved Samuel in the way that I did. My parents would still be alive. Lafayette would still stand.

"You should have killed is when you had the chance. Would've made everything easier." I said.

He stood up off the throne and tossed his empty chalice to the side.

"No one gets away from Captain-. Hick! Captain Skunk Beard!" His unsteady hand explored the sheath of his sword before pulling it out.

He charged at us, his run was wobbly and unsteady.

"Men! We have intruders!" He yelled. The fiddle stopped. Several other men joined him from a room behind the throne. Most of them were even unsteadier than him.

"Did you expect to come to Dewsbury to fight drunk pirates?" Orion said.

"I shouldn't be surprised at the shit we've run into."

They attacked us with poor precision. They loosely swung around their swords and daggers, which felt more of a safety hazard to them than us. Galen pushed several pirates down despite being weaponless. Captain skull beard pushed his sword against mine. I raised it to block him. Orion kicked him from behind.

"Leave our captain!" A pirate swong at Orion and missed, almost hitting his captain.

"Watch where your swinging that thing, fool!" Skullbeard hissed at his cremate.

It almost felt too easy. They were well beyond a couple drinks. It seemed like they had drank the entirety of the castle.

It only took a few more swings and pushes to ensure all of the pirates on the ground. We may have been outnumbered, but our sobriety gave us a high advantage.

Orion and I kept the pile of pirates together at sword point. Galen rushed to the dungeon of the castle in search of chains or rope.

"Let us go! Feel my wrath!" Captain Skullbeard roared at us.

A crew mate next to him let out a hearty hack, followed by a gag. Alcohol and fluids spilled out of his mouth and down his shirt.

"Get away from me, you disgusting pile! This is ridiculous!"

"What are you doing here? Tell us where the king is!"

"I told you, you damned fools! No one was here! The town, the castle. Everything was empty!"

"But why? Was it the disease?" I asked.

"If it were the disease, we would find bodies. Or at least signs of sickness." Galen said, returning with chains.

Orion and I tied up the circle of pirates.

"Galen and I will search the castle for any others. Will you watch them?" I asked Orion. He agreed.

Galen and I searched the castle. From the dungeon, to the tallest tower. There was nobody. The rooms were destroyed. The pirates had raided all of the food, wine, and treasures the castle had. There was no blood, there were no bodies.

"Why would they leave? Where would they go? I don't understand." I said to Galen while browsing the king's chambers.

"Perhaps they feared Vendov. They had to have known that Vendov would be coming soon. There are only two kingdoms left that haven't chosen a side."

"He didn't stay to defend his people? Vendov may turn on the rest of the villages in Dewsbury if he cannot find the king."

"Perhaps. It'll be an easy victory for them." Galen said with a frown.

We returned to the tied circle of wasted pirates. Orion did not seem to be on high alert.

"There's no one here."

"No one? What do we do now?"

"Leave. Go to Darlington. Hope that when Samuel gets here, he can find these pirates waiting for them." Orion said.

"No! Let us go! Do not leave us here to meet our fate with the undead dragon!" The captain grunted at me.

"You kidnap and kill people. Why would we free you?" I asked, peering down at the captain.

"No! We'll do anything!" The captain begged.

"Yes! Anything!" The vomiting crew member repeated. The captain rolled his eyes.

Thoughts ran through my mind in how they could help. Would they join the war effort? Surely they were lying. Pirates only cared about themselves, and would say anything to save themselves from meeting the dragon.

"Anything?" I asked. The captain silenced himself, imagining the possibilities of what I could ask for.

"I don't think it's a good idea. We can't trust them not to just take off the second we untie them." Orion said.

"I know. I don't trust them." I said.

"Go to the captains quarters in my ship. It's where I keep all my valuables. You can take anything you like from there. In exchange, you let us go." The pirate captain offered.

"What do you have down there? Gold? Jewels? We don't need that."

"I collect much more than mere treasures." He said, pressing his eyebrows down.

"Orion, will you watch them?" I asked.

"Gladly. Check out the ship." He pointed his sword at them, peering down at each of them.

I didn't like leaving Orion without help, but I knew his sobriety gave him the upper hand against the gaggle of pirates.

The sky was still full of clouds. Galen and I walked out to the long wooden dock outside the castle. The ship was large. For a moment, it felt like it taunted me with memories of my past. It was the same as I remembered it.

We boarded and walked along the main deck. I walked past the beam where Samuel and I were tied up. Where we were tortured. Where Samuel took a beating for me. I couldn't believe he did that. Looking back on his actions, I still couldn't believe he had done that.

We went down to the lower side of the ship in search of the captains quarters. We pushed through a wooden door, inside laid a sturdy desk, as well as a bed. Maps were spread out on the table.

Wooden shelves hung around the room, displaying his treasures. His conquests.

It was what I had expected from the pirate. Golden statues, jewels, ancient trinkets, and bedazzled jewelry.

"Nothing. Just as I thought."

"Let's not give up yet. He said then room held more than treasures." Galen said.

"And you believe him?" I asked.

"There's no harm in looking."

They were right. I began to search the room with her. We found a chest under his bed, full of weapons.   I carefully dug through it to see if anything provided any use.

There was a black dagger that caught my eye. It's handle, as well as the blade, was the color of coal. The handle was engraved with a complex, red design. It was the colors of Vendov. A name was carved into it.

Vesta

It was Orion's sister's name. The sister that was beaten to death by her abusive husband. My fingers grazed the handle. It was in good condition still. I wondered if Orion would like it, or if it would just bring up painful memories.

I scooped it in my hand and stuffed it in my belt by my sword.

Galen was digging around in the pirate's desk drawers. They pulled out stacks of books and paper that was crammed inside.

"Anything useful?" I asked them.

"Not yet. Coordinates, ransom notes. Pirate things." They said, adding another paper to the stack they formed on the desk.

Galen then pulled out a piece of paper. It was damaged with water stains, and looked like it was torn out of a book.

"Zander, you may want to see this." Galen said, studying the paper with their eyes.

"What is it?" They handed the paper to me.

Dragons are known to follow commands in an unidentifiable language. The commands must be spoken out loud for a dragon to understand. The dragon should act immediately, if your bond is strong enough.

Flemio: Fire

Roshine: Rest

Soarchet: Fly