Chapter Text
'Another boat, another adventure.'
Adol once again stood above deck on a traveling ship, gazing out towards the never ending blue sea; the adventurer was voyaging out to find an unmapped island in the Esteria region. It had been a while since the swordsman had been in the area, it was almost nostalgic in a way.
Him and Dogi had run into their old friend Ladoc in Altago, who had offered for them to tag along on his trip to find the island. Rumors had been on the rise that it was cursed by a demon god of sorts and anyone who set foot on it was never seen or heard from again. As such, locals had begun to warn any travelers to steer clear of the place.
Upon hearing the warnings, the swordsman jumped at the opportunity, any mention of an undiscovered island, especially one with such rumors, made his adrenaline run wild; all of the possibilities one could find on such a place as that. Dogi was much more timid about the idea of running onto a haunted island like it was some sort of resort, but after some convincing he willingly gave in to his friend’s pleas.
The young man yawned and stretched out his arms as he watched the ocean waves crash into the ship as they sailed. It was nearing sunset, and watching the waves battle the exterior of their transportation started to make him sleepy.
"Tired already, huh?" A familiar voice could be heard from behind; his brawny blue haired companion approached from below deck.
Adol nodded in reply, letting his eyelids droop to emphasize his energy levels dropping. Dogi walked to the left of his friend and leaned on the deck's railing; letting a loud exaggerated sigh escape his mouth as he leaned on the wood.
"Yeah, I get that. You've been through a lot these past few months.. First the whole ocean debacle with turning into a sea creature, and then the whole getting transported to a different world with those robots you told me about;” He patted Adol’s back as he responded. “You should get some rest man.”
The swordsman agreed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Dogi was right, he had been through a lot. His mind drifted towards the two robots he had formed a friendship with on his past adventure; he wondered how those two were sometimes. The adventurer never got to fully explore their world to his liking. Sometimes he wished he could have stayed there longer to explore. All the possibilities and things he could have seen…
His thoughts being brought back to the present hour, Adol wished his friend a good night and playfully punched him in the arm; telling the brawny blue haired man to not stay up too late either. “Yeah, yeah, thanks dad, ” Dogi retorted, rolling his eyes as he spoke. “I'll go to sleep soon too.”
Adol chuckled and meandered his way down to the ladder that led below deck; his feet dragging across the floor as he walked.
Once on the bottom floor, he shuffled his way to the room Ladoc had assigned for the two to sleep during the trip. In one corner laid a couple hay piles with blankets over them, as well as another blanket on top to sleep with. In another part of the room, was a bucket and ladle filled with water, and an end table made of bright birch wood that could only fit one or two items on top. The rest of the room was rather barren aside from the occasion strand of hay that had escaped the corner. It wasn't much, but he was grateful they even got hay piles to use; he'd slept on much worse before.
Adol took off his metal armor platings, as well as his undershirt and shoes, placing all of it by the end table. He scooted his way back to the hay bale and flopped onto it, feeling a wave of relaxation rush over his body once under the free blanket that had been provided. He hadn't felt this kind of relaxation in so long he almost forgot what it was like; not having any immediate danger surrounding him felt almost abnormal. His thoughts melted into nothingness as he closed his tired eyes and listened to the rhythmic noises of the waves hitting the ship; his consciousness slowly drifting away as he fell into a much needed deep sleep.
The next morning started very casually. He awoke to see his companion, Dogi, still passed out on his own pile of hay; his body spread out as if he was some starfish. Adol rolled his eyes and quietly chuckled to himself as he sat up in bed, his partner only ever slept that hard when he spent the night prior drinking.
He rubbed his eyes and hopped out of bed, sliding his shirt back on and lacing his shoes on his feet. It was never a good idea to walk barefoot on a ship, even if you had socks on; the thought of all the splinters one would get made his body shiver. Adol stretched out his arms and legs for a few minutes; a daily morning routine he had come in the habit of doing every morning. He found doing stretches every day prevented a lot of muscle aches and pains. After finishing his morning stretch, the swordsman made his way over to the dining hall not far from the living quarters.
Most of the surrounding rooms were already empty; the ship's corridors bustled with life as Adol roamed towards breakfast. Crewmates could be heard above deck yelling commands at one another. Laughter could be heard through the halls as well; a lively ship all in all one might say. There was no such thing as sleeping in while out at sea. By the time Adol waltzed into the cafeteria room, most of the crewmates had since eaten and left, leaving the place rather empty aside from a handful of people; Ladoc was among the few still there.
There were multiple long dark oak wood tables sprawled across the room and one long stool on each side of every table. They seemed rather old, splinters could be seen beginning to form on each one. On the far corner of the room, laid a large end table which housed all of the dirty dishes from the morning’s breakfast; multiple flies could be seen circling the pile.
Upon seeing the adventurer, the captain motioned to sit next to him; to which Adol pleasantly obliged. Some people greeted him as he passed by, others simply nodded in acknowledgment upon making eye contact. Once at the table, Ladoc gave the swordsman a huge pat on the back; nearly knocking the young man down. He wasn’t expecting such a powerful welcome this early in the morning.
"Ay, you're just waking up, huh?" The pirate chuckled as he spoke. “Good thing I saved ya a plate of food; they were tryin’ to throw it away already,” Ladoc handed the plate to the young man as he sat down. Oatmeal and an assortment of berries; a very basic but nice breakfast Adol thought. The oatmeal looked old, as it most likely had been sitting out a while, but he wasn’t one to complain. As long as he could eat it the swordsman was fine with a little old food.
He thanked the captain for saving it, and began to eat the serving. While eating, Ladoc would occasionally spring up conversation. The two conversed on their latest adventures, where they had been and the things they had seen. Ladoc had relayed about a treasure hunt not long ago where they ran into a woman claiming to be a doctor who was accompanied by a Roo. ‘An odd companionship,’ was how the captain put it.
Eventually, the topic of Adol and Dogi’s destination got brought up.
"So this island you two are tryna get to," Ladoc's hand drifted up to his chin and scratched it as he spoke. “I’m sure you know there is no solid information on it laddie. I can’t guarantee what you’ll find there, but I’m positive it won’t be anything good; especially with the rumor of a demon haunting it.”
Adol thanked the captain for his concern, and acknowledged how unknown the island was; but he rebutted the statement by saying it was right up his alley. He enjoyed going into undiscovered areas; you never know what you might run into, albeit danger or a paradise. Demons and ancient gods just happened to be thrown into the mix most of the time; it wasn’t anything he wasn’t already used to.
“Ay. I suppose you’re right. At least you’ll have Dogi with ya too.” Ladoc gave a firm nod. He admired the determination the young swordsman carried, it often reminded him of his younger years. “With you two I’m sure that island won’t stay undiscovered for long,” the captain laughed at his own statement.
The adventurer nodded in agreement as he finished the last bite of his breakfast. Excusing himself from Ladoc’s company, Adol cleaned up after himself with a nearby napkin, and took the dirty plate to a pile of other dirty dishes in the far corner. After saying his proper goodbyes to the captain, the young man went to work on the upper deck.
Adol had agreed to help out with some of the crew duties while staying on the ship; spending the morning scrubbing the decks floors, wiping down the inner windows–anything that needed to be worked on the swordsman was eager to help out. He didn’t mind doing miniscule things like cleaning the floors, it helped give him a little sense of ease. Adol was so busy adventuring and risking his life he hardly ever got to do normal day to day things; like doing dishes or mopping the floors.
Dogi had gotten up shortly before lunch began to be served which the blue haired giant was happy about; he was not a fan of breakfast foods. Lobster with shrimp and mashed potatoes was the food option; some of Adol’s favorites. The two friends grabbed a plate and sat down together on the same table to consume their meal.
Finally having time to talk, the swordsman teased his friend for waking up so late, poking his side as he did so.
“Hey! I’m just getting all my beauty rest now, because I know the moment we step off this boat we’re bound to get in some sort of trouble; and will I be sleeping well at that point? No!” Dogi rolled his eyes after his rebuttal.
The pair kept up the playful banter as they ate, enjoying the time together.
The rest of the day passed relatively fast; everyone was staying so busy with doing their daily duties, keeping the ship in tip top shape as they sailed the sea, the time seemed to simply fly by. The daylight was fast escaping the sky indicating things should be getting finished up for the day. Adol put everything he had been using back to their respective areas, and cleaned himself up. The adventurer had decided to take a bath and allowed himself to relax in it for a while; all the cleaning made them feel grimy and gross. Though he wasn’t one for baths as much nowadays, being in the ocean and getting cursed with turning into a sea creature every time he touched water ruined it for him a bit.
The swordsman was beyond used to it now, but every now and then he’d still see Dogi see a glimpse and still be caught off guard whenever his friend saw it take form. After filling the tub, Adol plopped into the fresh hot water. Like clockwork, his body transformed into his scaled sea form. Webbed feet and hands, a powerful paddle-like tail, and crimson orange scales replaced his skin; his hair was replaced with large scales that took the form of his hair. He let his eyes droop as he relaxed in the water, his scaled tail subconsciously curling into a spiral; today was a good day.
The swordsman eventually got out of the bath and dried himself with a personal towel made of cotton; each crew member was provided with their own towels for baths, and they were all responsible for cleaning it themselves. Once completely dry, Adol’s scaled form disappeared like magic, as it usually did, and he once again returned to normal. He put his clothing, belt and sword sheath back on afterwards.
With how much danger the swordsman usually got into he tried to keep a weapon on him as much as possible; not that it stopped any of the danger from happening, but at least he’d be more prepared for such danger in the long run. ‘No harm in being prepared’ Dogi would always say.
Exiting the washroom, Adol began to make his way over to his room to sleep for the night. Though it was rather dark now, candles were brightly burning illuminating the halls, and several crewmates could be observed making their rounds across the sailing ship.
Most members were busy bodies during the day, but Ladoc's crew also had a handful that would work the night shift; keeping things orderly throughout the dark hours and making sure no danger overtook the ship by surprise.
On the walk, Adol had stopped to say hello to a few of the night shift folks; he hardly ever saw the men as they would tend to sleep during daylight hours. The swordsman and the crewmates had got into a conversation about Romm, and how Adol was technically a wanted man still.
"...That's what I heard though, but you don't seem all too dangerous to me," one of the crewmates pointed out. They were rather short, no taller than five feet tall. Their hands were riddled with calluses; they were one of the crew members that cared for ship repairs, and over the years their hands had become rough and rigid to prevent anymore blisters forming due to their line of work.
"Nah, Adol isn't dangerous. If Ladoc trusts him, you know he's a good guy," the other pitched in. He had short but wavy hair, his clothes tattered in stains. His job was being a chef for the night crew. A simple, but fulfilling job was how he liked to put it.
The swordsman chuckled, agreeing with the latter. He mentioned Romm has been on his tail for a while. Even though Cardinal Lindheim gave the okay a few years back for him to adventure as he pleased, the Romun empire still tried to stop his travels nonetheless.
Adol mentioned it was rather annoying technically being a wanted fugitive still.
"I can't imagine. Being on the run like that?" The first crew member responded, ending their sentence with a dramatic sigh. “That sounds like such a hassle, having to constantly dodge the soldiers.”
The three continued to talk for a while longer, though eventually Adol excused himself, stating he was rather tired and needed some sleep. They all said their goodbyes, and the two crewmates returned to their designated stations while Adol finally returned to his room.
Dogi was already asleep in his hay pile, snoring occasionally. In an attempt to not wake his companion the swordsman rather quietly removed his sword, shoes & assorted armor pieces before going to his own bed; plopping down into the hay and finding a comfortable position to lay in. He yawned and closed his eyes, letting his mind drift into the deep void known as sleep.
The next five days blew by rather fast. Adol and Dogi kept themselves busy doing odd jobs, anything that they could help out with. Dogi tended towards helping with whatever required heavy lifting, anything from transporting barrels of food from storage into the kitchen for the chefs, to helping out with the cleaning crew responsible for picking off barnacles on the exterior of the ship. Adol leaned more towards more miniscule tasks, varying from scrubbing floors to helping the chefs cut up vegetables and fruits for the crew’s meals. Occasionally Ladoc would meet up with the two in the captain’s cabin and inform them of their journey’s progress, which the swordsman was always thankful for.
“....Give it about, one or two more days and we’ll arrive at the island ya two want to explore,” Ladoc chimed. As he spoke, his fingers traced over the opened map on the table, indicating where the island was and where the ship was currently. The captain’s quarters weren't very large, but it was a good fit nonetheless. An old mahogany chair and table was the main focus of the room as that was the first thing one would see upon walking through the door.
Aside from the chair and table, there was also an old rusted full set iron armor, that according to Ladoc, once belonged to a Romun empire years ago who attempted to infiltrate his ship.
On the walls were old treasure maps from the captain’s glory days, reminders to himself of all the ventures he had gone on. There were circle windows littering the walls as well, letting one see the waves crashing into the helm of the ship as they sailed.
“So we’re almost there! That’s a relief,” the blue haired giant sighed. “I love your ship Ladoc, but I’m starting to get a bit sea sick the longer we stay out in the ocean. I can’t wait to set foot on solid ground again.”
The swordsman chuckled and pointed out it could be worse, they could have gotten in trouble by now; resulting in a belly laugh from the captain.
“Ay, careful what you wish for lad,” Ladoc responded, rubbing his nose in the process. “That island is completely unmapped, you two will be going there completely unprepared for what might be in that place.”
Adol thanked the pirate for his concern, but brought up the fact it couldn’t be as bad as the primordial ridden island they were trapped on a few years ago.
“That’s true. Man, I do not miss that place,” Dogi shuddered at the memory of the Isle of Seiren. “It sure was pretty but it was very difficult to enjoy the scenery when we were constantly on the verge of death.”
The adventurer agreed; perhaps one day they would be able to go back and actually enjoy the island without the fear of getting attacked.
The trio continued to converse, Ladoc gave them the rundown of what was going to happen upon reaching the island. He’d give them plenty of things to survive off of during their time there. Food, water, and materials in order to build a shelter for them to use. Ladoc would return to the island roughly two months afterwards to pick them back up; in the hopes nothing would go wrong.
Dogi stated that knowing the swordsman something was bound to go wrong, but he doubted it would be anything they couldn’t sort out. They all agreed on the plan, shaking their hands on the matter. The two guests excused themselves from the captain’s room, and made their way back to their own quarters.
The swordsman removed his shoes and armor before plopping back into his designated hay pile. Dogi stretched out his arms and shoulders as he spoke up.
“Hey, since we’ve done everything for today I’m gonna go out and get some drinks with a few of the crewmates. Wanna come?” Adol shook his head, stating he was rather tired and just wanted to relax for the evening.
“Fair enough, get yourself some rest, yeah? I’ll see you later Adol.” The blue haired giant acknowledged. After some goodbyes he made his way out of the room, closing the room door behind him.
Adol stretched out in his makeshift bed, sighing as he extended his arms and legs. He then rummaged through his few belongings and pulled out his journal and pen; he always tried to write at the end of each day, even if nothing of importance went down.
~~~~
‘Today was another peaceful day. I did some scrubbing on the deck’s rails today, those things were nasty. You should’ve seen how nasty the soap water got!
Dogi helped out with moving empty barrels back to storage. I never really knew how much pirates love to eat until now. They eat a lot.
We talked to Ladoc today too, we’re almost to the unmapped island! Can’t be more than another day or two now. I can’t wait until we get there. I wonder what the scenery is like on the island. Forested maybe? Jungle? Or maybe plains. A jungle would be nice, I’m quite tired of plains and deserts if I’m being honest.
We’ll be there for roughly two months, and Ladoc will be back to pick us up. I’m planning on writing a letter to Credo to let him know how long I’ll be gone, and giving it to the captain to send off once he reaches land himself.
He refuses to admit it to me or anyone else, but I know how much Credo worries for me. I can always see it in his eyes, every time I meet up with him and let him know I’m going somewhere. I always remind him Dogi is with me, so I’m never actually alone.
I’m gonna miss Credo. I need to visit him again after this adventure.’
~~~~
Adol jolted his eyes open, examining the room. His journal had fallen to the floor, its pages open and a bit wrinkled. His pen had rolled across to the other side of the room.
‘Did I fall asleep?...’
He slumped out of bed, rubbing his eyes awake. He picked up his journal and put it back with the rest of his belongings, as well as his pen. Upon looking around the room, Adol noticed his companion was nowhere to be seen. How late had he slept? It couldn’t be morning as looking out the window in the room revealed pitch black skies, the only light being the moon illuminating the ocean waves. Maybe Dogi was still out drinking. Adol figured he’d get his gear back on and find his partner.
It was rather dark in the lower deck. There were no candles or torches lit this time like there normally were, and on his way down the hall he didn’t see a single soul bustling about, which he found rather peculiar. Normally there were still crew members well into the night, but there was nobody around this time. Something felt… off, about the situation. It was a nagging feeling in the back of his head. It was so quiet. Not even the sounds of the night crew above deck could be heard. Maybe he was losing his mind. Maybe he was dreaming. Adol pinched his arm; ow. He was definitely awake.
The adventurer’s conclusion was to search the rest of the ship; particularly above deck. Just to make sure everything really was okay. Adol grumbled to himself, rubbing his face in an attempt to shake off the grogginess from his unexpected nap.He snatched one of the nearby wall candles and lit it for some light through the halls, then proceeded to make his way towards the ladder that led above.
It was all so quiet. The swordsman never saw or heard a single soul down as he made his way. Maybe everyone was in the cafeteria? It made little to no sense, that never happened. There were always at least a few crew members keeping watch throughout the ship. Maybe he missed some important announcement that there would be a group meeting at this moment in time. The young man reached his destination on the ladder, looking above to the exit. The entrance to the deck above was met with the near pitch black night sky, the only illumination being the distant stars scattering the heavens. He always found it so fascinating how one was able to use the stars to travel reliably.
He began climbing the ladder, when a hand entered from the void above and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, bringing him up above deck. "We found him!" The candle fell back down the hole below deck, leaving Adol in the pitch black until his eyes adjusted.
This didn't sound good.
Without a single moment to process what was happening, Adol sprang into action. As soon as he felt his feet hit the wooden floor he dropped down and twisted his body, causing his assailant to lose grip on the shirt. With the short moment he had, the adventurer quickly unsheathed his sword and swung it horizontally in the direction of the hand as a form of self defense. It seemed to have worked, as the hand was no longer seen close by.
As his eyes adjusted, he began to see shadows of multiple people forming a circle around him; it was safe to assume all of them were armed. Adol knew attacking first would be bad with being outnumbered like this; instead he took a defensive form. From the corner of his eye, something lunged. A quickly approaching sword twinkled in the moonlight. The swordsman positioned his sword as a form of a shield, parrying the oncoming danger. Once repelled, he swung his sword in an uppercut attempting to knock the sword out of whoever was attacking. No success. The sword simply disappeared back into the night.
With Adol’s eyes now fully adjusted he was able to see his assailants. Romun soldiers. Great. He sighed in annoyance. He waited for another soldier to make their attack, blocking it with another parry. This back and forth banter felt like it was going on forever. Everyone was taking their turn trying to strike down Adol’s defense. And unfortunately, it worked.
After another parry, a soldier from behind quickly jumped in and thwarted the back of his head with the butt of their sword. Adol saw stars, his vision gone completely blank. His sword was dropped, his body fell to the floor unconscious.
-----
He woke up with a splitting headache. He tried to raise his hand to his face but quickly realized he was unable. His hands were bound tightly together by rope. A soldier was holding him in place. Adol remembered what happened. Romm. He examined the deck. A few crewmates could be seen, also captured and tied up; they looked so defeated. But Ladoc was nowhere to be seen, neither was Dogi. He heard chuckling erupt.
“Finally, the infamous adventurer,” A slim but muscular young man stepped into view. He sported garb that indicated he was of importance; possibly a commander in Romm’s army. Brown short hair, green eyes that seemed to pierce through your soul.
“Looks like we finally caught up to you.”
Adol grimaced but remained silent.
“Adol Christin. You will be taken back to Romm and be tried for your crimes against the country.” The commander folded his arms as he announced what was going to happen. “You will comply without any trouble or– as per Romm’s orders– we have permission to retaliate ourselves,” His arms unfolded, a hand landing on the butt of his sword; an indicator on what the commander meant by ‘permission to retaliate’. The adventurer’s head began to spin on how he was going to get out of this.
The Romun commander then pulled out a scroll and began reading off Adol’s rights to him, the usual thing that was required in situations of arrest. He blocked out all of it as he examined the area and his options. Ten soldiers littered the area, the commander included. Adol’s sword was perched by the plank of which the soldiers had boarded the ship in the first place. If he could just break free and grab the sword.. Suddenly he was being lifted up and pushed forwards towards the boarding plank; straight towards his weapon.
He waited for the right moment. Right as they began to pass, the adventurer butted his head backwards and hit the soldier restraining him, causing them to stumble backwards. With the few seconds he had, Adol swooped his hands towards the empty sword, cutting the rope free in the process.
Sword in hand, Adol parried an oncoming attack from none other than the commander himself. It was a strong blow, making the skilled swordsman stumble himself. Another parry, another stumble. The commander’s face was fierce, focused on one thing.
More parries. He wasn’t wanting to kill anyone, then he really would be a criminal. Adol parried one last time, recovering from his stumble as quickly as he could and attempted to retaliate this time.
He failed. His own attack was parried this time, the drawback stung in his hand, pain erupted up his arm. Suddenly the commander’s sword flashed forwards towards the adventurer. Not having time to react, he knew what was going to happen. Eyes closing, he braced for impact.
But it never happened. Did it kill him instantly? Was he dead?
Adol opened his eyes. Dogi was in front of him. The sword struck directly into his friend’s chest.
No.
It can’t be happening.
–
Adol watched in disbelief as his closest friend dropped to the ship’s floor. Dogi coughed up blood as he stayed down, clasping his stab wound. Directly to the heart. He looked straight at the redhead, giving off a smile out of all things. “I’ll be okay,” he breathed.
The swordsman panicked. He kneeled down to his friend, arms holding on to his body. He told Dogi he’d be okay, he was going to get help. Before he could do anything else, a soldier from behind grabbed Adol and pulled him back, re-tying a rope around his hands.
The swordsman yelled out, telling Dogi to get up, to go get help.
A tear could be seen falling from the blue haired giant’s eyes. His eyelids fading closed. Face going blank.
Lifeless. No breathing. No moving. A pool of blood formed around his body as it stayed laying there.
Adol screamed in agony, calling out for his friend to get up. His vision fell into a haze as tears completely engulfed his eyesight. He wanted to wake his friend up. Patch his injuries. Something.
But he couldn’t. He was helpless. All he could do was watch and scream as he watched the soldiers kick at his friend’s body, making sure Dogi was gone. The swordsman’s voice cracked as he yelled to his companion, begging him to get up. To be okay. Adol tried wriggling out of his restraints, but was further held down by nearby hands.
That sword was supposed to get him. Not Dogi.
A few of the Romun soldiers could be heard chuckling at the side, while a few others watched in silence. The commander sighed in annoyance. “Great. Now we have to explain why someone other than the criminal is dead. Take the adventurer and lock him up.” A few ‘yes sir!’s were heard in the background as a response.
Everything blurred together. Adol’s vision was hazy, his ears ringing so loudly he couldn’t hear anything. He gave up trying to fight back.
His friend was dead. Dogi was dead. Because of him.
He was in a cell in Romm’s possession. Hours felt like days. The swordsman wanted to disappear; completely void of emotion. His throat and eyes burned from all of the screaming and crying. There was no companion to cheer him up. Just Adol by himself.