darkSpyro

Maverick simply nodded, not knowing what to say. Latnok's presence also made him uneasy, so he didn't want to engage into another conversation and make the young Guardian think the worse, not to mention that he already vented enough with Raclaw earlier and wanted to leave him alone. He reciprocated the beagle's love before he left, thinking that the fur dragon was right. He should talk to Angora, but with whatever happened still so recent, he decided it was better to wait a while until Angora felt better before talking to her. She already had Shade comforting her, so he would wait for his turn.

The fog made the atmosphere gloomier, something Angora wasn't welcoming. She found it so predictable for those two annoying merpeople to enjoy such humid environment. She proceeded to ignore them and everyone else, and simply curled herself like a ball besides Shade, hugging her knees in despair. She still tried to understand why Sere was so hostile to her. What did she say to make him think she was challenging him? Shade knew what he meant, so why couldn't he? Was he simply mean to her? Was she his personal punching bag now? Or were her words destined to be taken the wrong way? Like she did on occasions like these, she bit her lips to avoid the tears from falling. She didn't want to talk to anybody, not even Shade or Maverick. She just wanted to be left alone for this while, using the dragolet's belly as a pillow and her only comfort zone. She was still trying to comprehend why Sere was so against her now. Latnok was starting to mellow down a little, but now it was the old Guardian the one being a jerk to her. When will she ever catch a break?

Latnok shrugged, but gave a small smile. "As well as I need to be," he answered. "Seems the weather's already being a hassle, isn't it?"
"Well, I think I might be able to help somewhat in that regard..." Ilasi offered, a little nervously.
"Really? In what way?"
"Through the water and the more humid air around us, I can divine some information about the area around us," Ilasi explained. "That, and I can dispel some of the fog in one direction for a period of time - it's something I'm still working on, however."
"Well, we'll appreciate whatever help you can offer us," Latnok said. The unknown - something Latnok always despised, especially in such an unfamiliar environment. He had faith in his fellow crew members, however - especially Raclaw. The fur dragon's telepathy and extrasensory perception were an invaluable asset in such a situation, especially with the telepathic connection between them facilitating the rapid communication of such information.

Maverick accidentally overheard Ilasi talking when he walked around the deck, and it was nice that she would try to take some of the spooky fog away. Despite having lots of hair, it wasn't good enough to retain heat, so Maverick was starting to feel a little cold. But despite his shaking, he headed to the crow's nest to see just how much the visibility was limited. The sailor guarding it had gotten down, becoming too cold for him. In his pirate days, Maverick learned to developed his senses very well, and he could very much feel he the water and environment were just by feeling the wind and it's velocity. He also had his trusty compass, which has never failed him before. From the crow's nest, he couldn't see much of the sea, but he had a perfect view of the deck and the giant Shade, still surrounding the downed troll. It made Maverick so miserable seeing her feeling that way, and since he didn't know what happened, he didn't know what to do to try and make things better...

As the fog continued to roll in-- Raclaw's extra senses allowed him to 'see' further than most on board could. While his eyesight alone may have been limited by the reduced visual field, his telepathy and related senses were unaffected thus still allowing him to detect crew members and the like. He felt bad for not saying more to Maverick about what had gone on between Angora and Sere, but didn't want to get into that awkward mess any more than he had to. "That should prove useful and if need by-- I may be able to extend my senses out and help to detect any potential danger depending on what it is.," he said looking at both Latnok and Ilasi. He had done something similar in the dark lands, albeit using corruption rather than pure telepathy. Still-- it was the same concept and should theratelly work the same.

With Maverick in the crow's nest, Angora only had Shade. She had wanted to be completely alone, but she knew it would've only made her feel even more depressed. She was so sick and tired of everything. Why was she always the target? Why was she always the one they bullied? Not even her genuine attempts to change and be polite was enough for the Guardians to stop gaining on her. The hypocrites were always worried that she would badmouth them, when that was exactly what they were doing to her, maybe with the help of the not-so-sweet-anymore Ilasi. Why else would people like Leoquin be so mean to her and the chivalrous Maverick when the jerk didn't even knew them personally? They have completely shattered the possibility of her and her hybrid companion making friends on that ship. Those Guardians knew nothing but how to abuse their power and authority. Now Angora started to think she should've gone through with that letter after all...

As she had offered, Ilasi moved to the side of the bow, where she would begin to focus a spell while closing her eyes. Attempting to create somewhat of a bond with the wet environment around her, Ilasi concentrated intently on noting anything different - anything that wasn't the ship, or the typical wildlife in the sea. She would remain there for a few minutes; however, she could sense nothing unusual, and returned to the others.
"I haven't been able to find anything," Ilasi said.
"Well, I wouldn't be too worried about it," Latnok replied. "Fog isn't anything special - not all of the time, anyway. We'll have to be a lot more careful once we start approaching the perimeter of the so-called danger area of the seas around Falcon's Beak."
Leoquin was rather nervous about what could possibly lie around the island; however, he didn't show it. He had trained to be prepared for the challenges ahead; he had no intent to let them stop him.

Angora glanced discretely at Ilasi, watching with anger how well she was treated despite constantly goofing off her magic. Of course, treat the pretty mermaid like royalty while everyone was allowed to treat the ugly little troll like trash. She wanted to cry so badly, but wanted to keep containing herself, fearing that crying would only be more leverage for them to keep mistreating her. Getting tired of the scene, Angora signaled Shade to lower his head towards her.
"What can I do Shady? Everyone in this ship that isn't you or Maverick hates me! Everything I say is always wrong! Raclaw claims he doesn't hate me, yet he never lifts a claw to defend me and just lets the abuse go on and on. What else can I do? I have tried everything I can. These Guardians... they obliterated every chance for me to make new friends, to see the new, real me! Everyone on this ship hates us for what they have said about us! Sure, let know the bad! Does anyone here knows what I did with Darkmatter? That I was imprisoned twice for crimes I didn't commit? How about all this abuse? Have you seen me lift a finger to get revenge? Why are they doing this to me?" Angora said to Shade in an angry whisper, wanting to keep the conversation to themselves, but deep inside, using a loud enough voice in the hopes that somebody would listen and understand just how misunderstood she was and how much pain she felt.

Before letting Shade reply or even give some time to see if anybody had listened, Angora just couldn't imprison the tears anymore. She had to cry or else she felt like she would lose her mind. Knowing her dragolet friend would be too distracted with her venting, in a moment of pure desperation and despair, Angora jumped into her giant friend's mouth, pulling his palate to close it... but her intention wasn't to fulfill the punishment from earlier. The sorrowful Angora felt like this was the only private place where she could cry without anybody seeing and make fun of her. Within the jaws of the dragon is where she could finally feel herself. Now in her new, private room, Angora sobbed quietly, not caring anymore about licks, or drools, or anything else for that matter. This was something she had never done before despite trusting Shade. She felt too miserable to care about anything else. This new place, it was where she she could finally let out all the tremendous misery she was feeling.

Angora quickly rubbed her eyes as soon as she was out, not wanting anybody, not even Shade, to see her crying. She tried to resist it more when he hugged her.
"I... I want to believe that... but I just can't anymore Shady. Why us? Why me? I risked my life to save us from Darkmatter, I nearly died in Redwater. We were almost killed by that crazy blue dragon! Is our suffering never going enough for them? Why was Sere so mean? What did I say wrong? Is it because I'm a troll? It's not like I had any control of what I was born as!" Angora said, unable to contain more tears, but she hid her face with Shade's paw as she rubbed her eyes yet again. His hostile behavior was something she would've expected from Latnok, but not him. This had been the second time he has been so hostile to her. Just what did Ilasi said to Sere back then that made him so antagonistic towards her? Why was Angora always the target for her anger? At this point in time, she wondered if she would ever find happiness...

It wasn't much to make her feel better, but Shade managed to get a little chuckle out of her.
"You know, that's kinda like blackmail." she said, not feeling too well yet but acknowledging that Shade was improving. The least she could do was try to keep a positive attitude in order for the dragolet to be more motivated.
"But I guess that's fair. Only one thing though. Don't ever let me get into your mouth again. It's disgusting in there!" Angora said with a frown, but a side grin indicated she was joking. Maverick was usually the one who consoled her in times like these, but she was glad that Shade could finally make her feel better about herself, even if it was just a little.

Out in the distance, a faint light was shining through the fog.
"Lighthouse? Hey, Leoquin, do you know about any lighthouses around here?" Latnok asked.
"There shouldn't be any," Leoquin said. "Not unless an island popped up out of nowhere and some people built one. We seem to currently be on the path that the captain charted, so I don't see it very likely that we're near an island."
"Well, for now, we won't worry too much about it," Latnok said. "We'll keep an eye out, however - I wouldn't completely discount islands popping up out of nowhere, given our history." The wind picked up slightly - nothing major, however.

From the crow's nest, Maverick had gotten used to the cold for the time being. He could also see a light. At first it did looked like a lighthouse, but with the way it shimmered, it wasn't anything of the sort. The light almost looked like a giant firefly. He was about to get his binoculars, but he then remembered he left his hyperspace bag in his cabin. He only had his trusty compass in one of his pocket for immediate access. He didn't have a map, not having planned to stay up there for too long. He couldn't see what the light was about, but with the fog, he doubted he could see anything even with the binoculars. Navigating through fog wasn't anything new to him, but that didn't make him hate it even less. It wasn't very noticeable, but the waters were slightly more restless than earlier. He wondered just where the Guardians were planning to go. He thought that this journey was to train Shade alone, but he then remembered they wanted to go someplace. Something about a peak? He didn't remembered well, but the journey felt like it was taking an eternity...

Quote: Spyroconvexity

Shade chuckled. “Hehe I won’t.” He then brought out one of his toys. “Why Don’t we roll a ball back and forth?”

"Oh, I forgot you had that. Roll it back and forth? Heh, sounds like a game Raclaw and his dog would play. But there isn't much we can do, so let's do it. Although you do realize we'll probably have to get rid of that ball after we're cured, right?" Angora warned, accepting to play but telling Shade beforehand that they couldn't keep objects like that after they were cured of fungus. Non magical things, especially non living, weren't easily infected, but since Shade had the toy on him all this time, the risk afterwards could be greater.

"Well, good luck with that. They barely want to cure us. Imagine how hard it would be to convince them to cure objects, toys no less." Angora stated l not wanting Shade to get his hopes too up.
"We can always get new toys." she then said as she returned the ball, knowing these were quite common toys and replacing them would be easy, especially for a traveling merchant like Maverick.

"I guess so." Angora replied, not knowing of anything else to say. Despite still feeling sad, she didn't feel as miserable as before. At least she wasn't alone anymore. She had Shade and Maverick, willing to receive the scold and abuse of the Guardians just to stand up for her. Their playtime didn't last very long, for Angora soon noticed the brief light cutting at the fog, and felt very uneasy.
"Where is all that light coming from? A lighthouse? Another island so soon?" Angora exclaimed, not wanting to imagine an island resting in the middle of this ominous fog. She slowly kicked the ball to Shade, though not paying much attention to their game. She wanted to try and see what the light was all about from that spot...

'Falcon's Beak-- that's right, we'll getting closer.,' Raclaw thought to himself as Ilasi did her thing. "Indeed we are-- that's what you wanted after all. Are you ready?," the voice of Damon could be heard over the links seemingly responding to one of Raclaw's thoughts. "I am. Damon-- be prepared for anything. We don't know what is awaiting us.," Raclaw responded via the links. "Don't worry-- do what you have to do and I won't let anything happen to you.," Damon responded seemingly reassuring his host. One could never be entirely sure what the collar entities ultimate end goal was, however. It still remained true that Raclaw was unable to access any of the entities memories and was only told want Damon wanted him to know. At least for the time being; Damon still appeared to be on their side. After all, without Raclaw behind the collar-- there was no Damon.

As the ship moved, the mysterious light source became more visible through the fog although its source wasn't any more clear than it had been before. Raclaw watched the light, knowing that they were still some ways from Falcon's Beak and that this light source had to be something else. As they sailed, he expanded his senses as promised and kept an 'eye' out for any 'signs' of danger-- be it sea creatures or pirates or anything else. Should something come within his expanded telepathic range, he should've theoretically been able to detect it. As the wind picked up ever so slightly, his senses came back empty other than his shipmates and the like. "Nothing so far on my end.," he reassured still keeping an eye on the mysterious light.

Elsewhere on the deck, Risar was watching the light as well. "If light is a lighthouse-- it's not moving like it should. Or at least, not like any normal lighthouse.," Risar spoke standing near Latnok and the others. The light seemed to simber in an usual pattern and didn't rotate or spin, as one would expect an lighthouse to. And indescrepencies aside-- what would a lighthouse be doing out here anyway?

"Well, the Guardians did say we were going to a scary place. Stay on your guard Shady. We don't know what fiends are hiding beyond this hideous fog." Angora warned, getting her senses active. They didn't have any magic, so they had to rely on their own physical strength. Maverick has told her about some of the creatures he faced on his father's ship, including a sea dragon. She wasnMt there when it happened, and the creature in question was still a baby, but still almost as big as the ship itself. The hybrid didn't have any reason for lying about that, so that was a creature she hoped they never encountered. She had also heard about krakens, but Maverick has never seen them, and neither has she, so their existence was questionable. Even so, whatever creature or overall danger was out there, Angora wanted to be ready.

As for Maverick, he was getting off the crow's nest, not able to tolerate anymore not knowing what that bright light was. He returned to the deck and headed to his cabin to get his hyperspace bag, not knowing what he would need in this new environment, so it was better to just have everything at once...

As the ship continued on its path, the light appeared to move closer to the port side of the ship - eventually, however, it disappeared suddenly and completely.
"Doesn't seem to be any sort of lighthouse I know of. Think maybe it was a beacon of some sort?" Leoquin asked Latnok.
"You would probably know more about that sort of thing than I would," Latnok said. "I can't quite think of what they would be signalling."
"Perhaps a call for help?" Ilasi suggested.
"Doesn't seem like it to me," Latnok said. "They'd probably be flashing the light on and off in that case in order to better secure attention. Though I can't say for sure that they would do that. I'll be getting the captain soon. Did you sense anything about what the light possibly could have been, Raclaw?" Whatever the light was, it would be Sere's decision whether to investigate or not.

"I sensed-- something, although I couldn't quite make it out.," Raclaw admitted slightly ashamed that he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Something had drawn his senses towards the light, but he couldn't for the life of him make out what it was supposed to it. "All I can tell you is that it's no originary lighthouse, but it is.. something. Whatever it was-- my senses felt drawn to it, meaning that someone or something is out there. I cannot tell you rather it is safe or not though... or if it's even worth investigating.," he then explained trying to find words or the strange vibe he got off the mysterious light source. Try as he may, that was the best explanation he could come up with and there would only be one way to find out more. Chester whined, having gotten an uneasy feeling from it. Risar watched with concern as the light flickered out of existence.

As uneasy as Latnok felt, he wouldn't show it, not wanting such feelings to rub off onto the rest of the crew. "The decision is not mine to make," Latnok told Icestorm. "Besides, I have no intention of retreating. Whatever it is, we can handle it." There were some things they could do to prepare, however. The weapon components - the ballistae could be readied. He decided to set his focus on doing that, not knowing if anyone else had the knowledge to conduct the appropriate assembly.

As the creature screeched, Raclaw shuddered and stepped back-- as if being pushed by an invisible force. "Whatever it is-- it's.. it's almost resisting me. I can feel its presence, its mind. It's almost alluring, but at the same time-- it's not letting me get to it.," the telepathic fur dragon said clearly more affected than the others onboard. Although some creatures had been harder to connect to than others, not very many had ever tried to block him. It was almost as if the creature itself was somewhat telepathic or perhaps simply had a very strong willpower. He couldn't be entirely certain.

Suddenly-- the ship started to rock and Raclaw's attention was immediately turned elsewhere. Risar prepared to shout orders, depending on what Latnok and Godfather Sere wanted to do about the situation.

"Gods damn it... Aelinon wasn't generous enough to give us any cannons, Icestorm," Latnok said. "We'll have to settle for the weaponry the islanders made for us, at least until we find a place with more effective equipment production." Indeed, with how expensive they could be, Latnok could see why they weren't provided - and why Sere didn't feel that anything more than what he brought would be needed. "But... we might be able to improvise some other weapons. Go to the armory and get some explosives and some of that unquenchable fire that Godfather Sere's brewed up. I'm sure he'll be on the deck soon enough himself - but I know what we'll do."
Sere soon came onto the deck himself, as if on cue. He saw that Latnok was already preparing the weaponry they had - it wasn't as heavy as he would have liked, but it would have to do. Though Sere had men prepared for combat, he figured that the dangers would be other ships and the weather - not sea creatures. He had no reports of sea creatures in the area, and there weren't any as far as he knew - but he was quite obviously being corrected at the moment. "Have our men get the harpoons ready," Sere told Risar. "We'll make this work."

Angora wasn't sure whether to go downstairs in her condition, but knowing Maverick, he probably went to check on Dahlia or something.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's probably with Dahlia or in the kitchen." she said with a shaky voice, trying to assure herself more than Shade. He was too big to go through the hallways of the ship, so it was better if they stayed there or the time being.
"Oh great. An otherworldly creature is never a scent when an ominous fog comes by." she sarcastically commented after the ship shook, knowing that whatever did so, it had to be ridiculously enormous to move around such incredible vessel...

Maverick hold on to one of the walls of the highway, just done getting his hyperspace bag. He didn't know if Dahlia would be safe in her enclosure or better off on the main deck. He still went to her anyway, and found as he suspected, she was restless and nervous.
"Come on girl. Get's get you to a higher level." Maverick said jumping himself, knowing that they were in perilous territory. He at first thought the shaking was the ship crashing into some rocks, but the screeching he heard earlier wasn't the wind, so now he wasn't very certain...

Risar nodded and started shouting orders. Raclaw, meanwhile, was following the mental presence of the large creature-- and turning his head approviately. "It's-- it's under us and moving...," he said changing his glance and speaking as if he was in slight discomfort from the telepathic interaction. Chester whined and remained close to Raclaw.

Ilasi once again attempted her divination, closing her eyes and focusing. The creature itself wasn't hard to track - or at least, not until it suddenly vanished. "I'm sorry, Latnok - the creature just seemed to completely disappear," Ilasi said apologetically. "Whatever it is, it seems to be using something to avoid detection."
"I intend to be ready when that thing shows its face again," Sere said fiercely, as he helped deploy the ballistae himself. "There have been no reports of anything like it here - something is amiss."
"We'll get it done," Latnok said. "Icestorm, basically, what we're going to do is find some means of launching those materials you've gathered at very high speeds toward the target. There are several means I'm thinking of - we might be able to secure them to the ballistae bolts somehow, or we might make a giant slingshot, or something of the sort. But we'll have to be crafty. Can you handle that for me?"

"It's-- it's gone. For now.," Raclaw comfirmed losing contact with the large creature's mind.

"What? We'll be wasting so much time if we do that..." Latnok said - for once, however, his voice lacked the confidence it usually held.
"...he's right, Latnok," Sere said reluctantly. "We'd be foolish to try to take the ship through the danger area in a condition like this." Looking around for Maverick, Sere soon located him. "Maverick, chart a course for the nearest port in our current direction," Sere ordered. "Leoquin, go underneath the ship and assess any damage there. If you see that thing, stay the hell away from it, get back on board. We'll see what we can do above here."

Angora had taken her position atop of Shade's head to get a better view of everything. She couldn't see much with the fog, but she did managed to catch a glimpse of the creature's crimson eyes before it disappeared without a trace, the fog along with it.
"Why do we always have to encounter very giant creatures in our journeys Shady?" she said with a mixture of joke and concern. First was Darkmatter, then the mountain sized behemoths, and now whatever thing was out there. It was impossible to tell it's size from the eyes alone, but seeing this claw marks, it was something most likely bigger than Shade himself, maybe something behemoth sized.

Maverick was struggling with the panicked Dahlia when Sere found him.
"Sure thing captain Sere. But..." he started to say, but decided to leave the questions for later when he saw how busy he was. He was using his whole strength to calm his mount down, who was always pointing at something and shaking off Maverick's attempts to calm her down.
"Señor Raclaw, what was that all about? Dahlia is losing her mind here. What just happened?" Maverick asked as he tied the restless ruminant to one of the beams of the ship to start the chart, having missed the entire ordeal due to dragging the indomitable animal through the spacious halls.

"We were attacked by an unknown sea creature-- it did some damage to the sails, but it's gone now. We're returning to port for repairs and after that.. after that we'll be ready for it.," Raclaw respond answering with a slight tone of uneasyness. Whatever the creature was-- it could block him and that left him with a unsettling feeling.

Leoquin boldly jumped off the edge of the ship to enter the water, where he would soon transform and begin conducting his analysis of the damage. As he went along, he saw bits and pieces of the ship bashed in here and there; the vessel would still be seaworthy, however, especially with the sailors working to patch it up. He would stay around for a little while longer.
"We have plans for when it returns," Latnok said. "We sure as hell won't be knocked around like what just happened. It's shown its hand - but we still have a few tricks up our sleeve." Latnok wondered what supplies the upcoming port would have; whether it be good weaponry, or other usable materials, or nothing at all, they would come out on top nonetheless. He was sure of it.

Angora found it annoying how confident Leoquin was. Clearly he hasn't faced what she or the Guardians have faced in their lives. Did he even knew what a behemoth was? She believed all his bravery and confidence was a facade that she couldn't wait for it to drop.

Quote: redwes

"We were attacked by an unknown sea creature-- it did some damage to the sails, but it's gone now. We're returning to port for repairs and after that.. after that we'll be ready for it.," Raclaw respond answering with a slight tone of uneasyness. Whatever the creature was-- it could block him and that left him with a unsettling feeling.

"Sea creature?" Maverick repeated, losing some color to his lips. The worse sea creature he had ever faced that was considered giant was a sea dragon, or more accurately called, a sea serpent. It was like a dragon but without winds or paws, and back then, it was said that it was a baby. Maverick was trying to chart a course to the nearest port just like Sere had ordered using the map he had, but it was hard with Dalia's loudness.
"Señor Raclaw, can you calm her down, por favor? She's very tense and is rubbing off on me. Talk to her or something." he begged, losing his concentration. Dahlia had some very sensitive instincts, and whatever that creature was,mint was making her far more nervous than how Shade and even Veris made her feel.

"I'll what I can.," Raclaw said with a nod and gently approaching Dahlia. The dirt buffalo's mind was something else, but it had to be done in order to help calm her down and to keep Maverick's focus intact. "Dahlia... Dahlia...," he began to speak into her mind-- already preparing himself for what was ahead. "Dahlia, can you hear me? This is me-- this is Raclaw. You trust me, don't you? Listen-- everything will be alright. We've hit a bump in the road, but we got past it and are preparing ourselves for what is ahead. Mav, Maverick-- he is helping get back on that road and he needs your help. He needs you to calm down, to focus-- for his sake and for our sake. Can you do that for us? Please, just remain calm and I promise you-- everything will be alright. And we'll be right here alongside. We're all in this together you know-- you, I, Mav, everyone.," he started to to say in an attempt to calm Maverick's precious mount down. Chester laid down next to him and Dahlia, as if to help calm her down. He was prepared to be bombarded with random thoughts and partial sentences, already mentally preparing himself for it. It was understandable of course, even if not exactly ideal.

In her typical fashion, Dahlia started to respond in the only way she knew. This time, it didn't take her long to answer.
"That no bump. That no bump bumb! Big! Big beast! Giant beast! Me feel it! Ship not safe! Hairy human not safe! No dragon, not them even! Big beast! This no place for me! Water everywhere! It angry! It hungry! It furious! We tresspassers! No run! Just doom! Me gore it! No much! Too big! Moved ship!" Dahlia said relentlessly, still shaking her head in panic but at least stopping the ceaseless stomps, which was enough for Maverick to finally focus.

Using his compass and a ruler, it didn't take him long to know their closest destinations.
"Technically speaking, our closest port is the island we just left. But if we stay on course, the closest one is almost one hundred miles away. And we would have to take a detour from this spot cause this area on the right near where we are is notorious for having many whirlpools. It's a ship cemetery there." Maverick warned Raclaw, sharing with him his observations. He looked around the ship to tell Sere or Latnok the same thing. He didn't know exactly why they were taking such a risk navigating such dangerous territory, but whatever they were up to, Maverick knew his navigation experience would help all of them well, whether he liked it or not.

"Let's just stay on guard for a while Shady. Remember that we still can't do much in our condition." Angora suggested, knowing that if a sailor accidentally crashed with them while doing some work, they would be the one to blame. If Sere left his absurd stubbornness and cruelty for once and realize how much useful they were without the hexphage, maybe then he could finally give them the cure. For now, it was better to just remain on their spot.

Now that things were calmer on the ship, it didn't take long for Maverick to find the captain.
"Capitán Sere? I just examined the map, and..." Maverick started to say, telling Sere everything he had told Raclaw earlier.
"We are quite far from the nearest port if we stay on course. And this road is too dangerous to navigate. I don't know what that thing was, but it clearly isn't happy we're trespassing. Dahlia is terrified. Not even Veris scares her that way." Maverick said with concern, not knowing what Sere would do right now, but he was certain that the creature that attacked them wasn't going to remain hidden for so long. For it to shake such a humongous ship as if it was a toy, it had to be gigantic itself, and after seeing a behemoth with his own two eyes, Maverick had no doubts such a large creature could exist, especially at sea...

Sere, though unhappy with what he was hearing, remained staunch in his decision. "We will move forward," he said. "There is no saying if the creature will leave us alone if we retreat. It backed off - I don't know why, but I fully intend to take advantage of that time period. Press on." Sere reached into the bag he had left on the deck - withdrawing the green orb, which was once again glowing. "Yes - we will keep moving."
Over the side of the ship, Leoquin called out, over the sound of the waves and the sea, to be let on board. Latnok obliged him, temporarily stopping what he was doing and tossing out a raft to be pulled up with rope once he was situated. "Nothing that'll make her not seaworthy," Leoquin reported.
"Well, that's good," Latnok said. "See what else is happening on deck; help out where you can. I have these weapons to finish up."

"Yes señor." Was all Maverick replied, not particularly surprised with Sere's decision. He was a really old human, and it was predictable of his part to take these sort of risks if he has been doing it for so long. Before leaving his side, he felt like he should say something else.
"We should be fine as long as we avoid this area capitán. It's surrounded by whirlpools and I'm not certain if a ship this size could take them. We can take any other route without a problem, and hope that the creature leaves us alone." Maverick concluded, believing that even if Sere didn't like to be doubted, he would at least listened to suggestions. From her position, Angora was watching Maverick talking with Sere, and didn't like it one bit. She feared that the old Guardian would somewhat offend him as he had done her. But all she could do was hope that he was more gentle with him and pray that this nightmare wasn't going to last long...

As Maverick went off to advice to Godfather Sere, Raclaw watched as Latnok assembled the weapons-- curious as to what the final result would look like. "Anything we can do to help?," he gently asked as he approached alongside Chester. The little playful pup wasn't in too much of a mood to play anymore with the ongoing events and had placed his ball back in Raclaw's stash upon request. The fur dragon was starting to get to grip with using his tail artifact as an additional 'hand' of sorts, having previously helped Angora load the weapon materials into his stash. Between that and the stash itself-- it would allow him to accomplish certain tasks easier without entirely depending on human help or coming up with other creative solutions. In comparison, Chester had nothing of the sort and depended entirely on both human and dragon help to a degree. Raclaw, of course, was happy to oblige in the later matter.

Elsewhere, Risar shouted orders and the harpoons would be up in no time-- thanks to the urgently that orders from him carried.

"Then so be it," Sere said to Maverick, not having any issue with his suggestion. "Get us on course. There is something I have been preparing for Angora and Shade, and I wish to finish it." Sere began making his way off the deck - heading back into his room, where he had things to get ready.
Latnok shook his head at Raclaw's offer. "As much as I appreciate the offer, this is something we need opposable thumbs for," he said. The ballista was coming together nicely - the actual bow was all that was left to assemble on the first one. Latnok would begin taking some of the large bolts and charging spells on them as soon as he had the ballistae ready.
Meanwhile, up in the sky, a few strange creatures could be seen; creatures about a third of the size of a man, something of a mix between a beetle and a spider. They did not seek to approach the ship any more than they already had, however, being content to turn around and head back to wherever they came from.