The reinforced sailboat slowly made its way through the blizzard, the sails were tattered and the ship held together with scraps. Its brown wood made from an unknown species of tree and its sails made from hemp, the tears in the sailcloth would ruin it and make it impossible to restore. Additionally the canons, if there had been any, had been tossed overboard so that the ship wouldn’t sink from their weight. The sole member of the ship watched as Blackwater Grotto’s docks came into view, it was salvation from the horrors and brought tears to her eyes. She straightened her mercenary coat and used her headband to pull her hair away from her face. She stepped off the ship and onto the dock, before collapsing from hypothermia. The ship crashed against the dock behind her and split in half, sinking into the waves.
Valenzuela awoke lying upon a red couch, the blizzard still raging outside but the warm fire kept the room toasty and refreshing. Some of her deeper wounds had been given salves and wrapped in bandages. Samuel was eating his dinner as she awoke.
“So, what happened to your captain’s Frigate? Even most navy ships would run at the sight of the Blood Moon’s flags,” Samuel ate a spoon of broth, most likely a courtesy of Gerald.
Valenzuela took a second to sit up, she couldn’t feel some of her fingers and toes still. She looked around, the room was adorned with very little, it was hard to own anything in a criminal town. She regained her voice and spoke, still in a state of shock, “I can’t remember,” this was worse than knowing, having her memory blocked.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me,” He didn’t seem like he believed her. “So how far was the ship in when it was attacked?”
She looked at him, “Somewhere around the 4th ring I believe, that’s the last thing I remember.”
Samuel sighed, “Well, then how did you get out?”
She sat up on the couch and took a second to think, “On that sailboat,” she thought about it, “Wait, how did the sailboat not sink?” She got off the couch, her feet still cold and painful to walk on. Samuel didn’t stop her. Valenzuela needed to look into something.
She grabbed her jacket that had been hung up and her boots at the front door before flinging open the door and heading out. A black ketch had docked and the crew was beginning to unload some sealed chests for Samuel to open.
Valenzula took a sip of some ice-cold beer watching a brig come into harbor at Sailor’s Lodge. Captain Dragomir was quickly gaining fame after supposedly killing Garvin Firesage. The Navy and a lot of people saw him as a hero. She was here to find out if what he said was true. She had even gone as far as to cut her hair and act like a guy to hide her identity of being the only survivor of the Blood Moon.
Dragomir’s ship was known as ‘Depth Strider’ meant to sail into deep reaches of the dark sea where he supposedly killed Garvin. Its wood and sails were black with additional dark steel supports. Its deck used bright white wood so the crew could walk around, but the ship couldn’t be seen in the darkness. His brig’s design was smart, she gave him that much. But he would die for saying he killed her captain.
She stepped out of the lodge, a purple band wrapped around her head. The sun blazed far above and seagulls were trying to steal some unlucky sailor’s food. She took a moment to survey the terrain, most of it was wood and would splinter easily plunging people into the water, it was of no concern to her. So she took a moment to look him over. He supposedly used Earth magic but he also had that large warhammer on his back, he wore a captain’s jacket, dark shoulder pads, blue iron boots, and kept his longer hair tied back. His hair was an unnatural shade of blue, even his shaved beard which proved he likely wasn’t dyeing it.
She approached him, he stopped giving orders and turned to speak to her, “A fan, would you like-” Valenzula cut him off with a punch to his gut and then went in for a kick with her leg, launching him backwards and knocking him down. The wood creaked from the blows, but he stood up looking unfazed and launched a blast of stone, She nimbly dodged and crashed into him, plunging him into the water through the deck.
He surfaced a fair bit away on the dock wiping blood from his nose, “I recognize you now, thought you’d stay away.” She dashed across the wooden dock and went in for a grab, he set off a stone explosion at his feet, destroying the dock and plunging them both into the water. Sailors had begun to gather to watch this fight, some even placing bets. She jumped out of the water and landed next to a sailor, Dragomir used a stone leap to jump out of the water and aimed a magic circle at her.
The sailor died choking on blood as a spear of stone pierced his chest, splattering blood on the girl behind him. She pushed the body into the water and went in for a grab, launching him up into the sky and then towards the lodge. Dragomir recovered himself and made a stone barrier to block her next attack, her skin cracking against the rock but destroying the barrier. Valenzula stepped back as a blast of rock skimmed past. She noticed that he wasn’t going all out, she would take him out before he decided to get serious. She dashed onto the roof, hiding herself with the dust that had been kicked up.
He took a breath near the lodge wondering where she went, he hadn’t expected a fight as soon as he docked. Suddenly he heard her land behind him and go in to snap his neck. Valenzuela almost made it when a new magic circle appeared, it confirmed that Dragomir could’ve, in fact, killed Garvin and his Inferno magic. The lodge was rocked by a powerful explosion, white light and black shadows combined to devastating effect. A shard of glass had ended up piercing one of her eyes, thankfully not going further. She also felt like her skin was on fire from the explosion. Even knowing he had probably held back to protect the sailors, she could barely believe she was conscious.
Dragomir turned around to face her, thrown through a window, wood splinters and glass surrounded her, “Have you forgotten?” he walked up to her as she ripped the glass shard from her head, her eye went with it. “There needs to be someone who knows what I am.”
“You killed my captain!” she screamed, launching herself at Dragomir as a one last stand. He stepped to the side and tapped the back of her head. The memories of the Blood Moon’s demise returned.
Valenzula regained her senses, chained up in one of the Grand Navy’s ships, the darkness comforting. She wouldn’t be executed since no one knew who she was, but she would be imprisoned for longer than she would like. Once she got out, she would get stronger. Then she would kill that monster, even if it was the last thing she did.