-Jade-
I should never challenge any pirate to a one on one duel, if a three way was that hard to survive. I had a stab wound in my right side, the left side of my bleeding face still hurts where Celaeno slapped me with her sword and there were nicks and cuts along my arms.
I couldn’t rest or relax yet. There was a big problem that I hadn’t considered when we were setting terms, I was now acting captain of The Double Dare.
Just because I had ownership of my own airship through being the last one standing, it didn’t actually mean I could hold onto it. Say if I were suddenly attacked by pirates and it was taken from me right now, then that would have been the shortest ownership period ever.
“Congratulations on your victory, now hand over the ship and yourself to some real pirates!” One of the four griffons from captain Gash’s ship said mockingly as he turned his sword on me. “You’ll not survive a tussle with us.”
I inhaled while tapping in my fish scale necklace. This was going to hurt a whole lot, but I was going to keep this ship after a fight like that. If it required putting my blood, sweat and tears into it... then I would do that literally. I scooped up my sword that I forced Celaeno to drop and held it unsteadily.
“Jacky I don’t care what problems you have with Gallant or Eir, just get me and Celaeno to the tavern for medical help after I’m done with these guys. That’s an order first mate!” I looked back at Celaeno’s friends, they get so messed up in the future. Yet they were still capable of smiling because they had Celaeno to follow. “I hope you parrots are honorable pirates, sky or sea! Celaeno did right by me and I owe her one, help throw Captain Gash overboard after I’m done with his penguins.”
“Penguins… well I guess we are being a bit cold!” I turned back and blocked the sword coming for me while my head was turned away, I struggled against the blade held by the griffon. I think it was Gaylord, I couldn’t tell as I was tired from the fight and my right eye was swollen shut.
“Do you know why your captain had no magic as his term? He feared what my magic could do and this… is why!” My open wounds exploded into four blasts of blood, I knocked the surprised griffons off the side of the ship and into the bay.
Blood was quite thick and hits harder than water when projected.
Okay, that… had seriously hurt a lot... bad idea. The pain was indescribable, I would never do that again unless it was to save someone’s life. It was worse than the… worse than the ears.... I was so dizzy, probably from the massive blood loss. I stumbled about and then I saw the deck coming up to meet me. Hello deck, meet darkness my old friend. Let’s have a tea party!
Jacky was shouting something, was it my name?
-Jacky B. Chickadee-
I… what in the locker… did my captain just. All that blood just came flying out of her body like it was typhoon season on Turtle Toga and then she just collapsed.
“Captain La Perm!” I didn’t care if the other pirates turned on me, I ran down to cradle her body. My captain was a tough one, she just had to live! My curse couldn’t take her from me like this… it just couldn’t. I didn’t want to be stuck here in Turtle Toga, I wanted to explore the world! Orders, she gave me orders… and she even called me her first mate. She probably wouldn’t have done that if she were in her right mind, but Gallant and Eir? I… it was captains orders, I’d just have to swallow my pride and turn to them. “Who knows how to land an airship?”
I know how to get an airship into the air, but I never learned how to land it. One of the parrots came forward raising a hand.
“Please land it and help me carry my captain to the tavern…” I didn’t care about the ship or getting off the island, my captain needed me!
-Eir-
My piano playing was not the best, but I am being happy here on dangerous island with husband! Pirates were like yak, strong and violent! They all be needing good healing and Eir is always happy to help friends of husband.
Wait… is that… it is! It’s the lonely cursed Chickadee and is that… what has happened to friend of husband?! She looks one step from Yakhalla, if she is dying she’ll need an escort. She has certainly earned her rest from a recent battle at least. No… she’ll live. She’s quite close though, she has suffered a major loss of internal vitality.
I am seeing Jade as being worthy enough for a wonderful afterlife of battle, food and drink. What more can she be needing if she doesn’t come back from the brink with my help? Death is not always a sad thing, it is a grand honor for the brave to die from the wounds of battle!
“Help her...” You didn't need to ask Black Jack. I am a yak, I would've helped without prompting.
“Of course I will help her, she is friend of husband and Eir!” I bustled over to Black Jack and took the wounded one from her. Jade would live, I’m a great healer! I saw another injured carried in by parrots. Celaeno is being friendly and strong too, I will gladly help her as well.
-Jade-
“Ugh… my body.” I blearily opened my left eye and looked about, my other was covered in bandages. “Am I dead Valkyrie?”
“No, you are not currently visiting Yakhalla. Not any time soon if you are taking medicine!” Okay Eir was taking care of me, that’s good. She may sound airheaded, but she was definitely a goddess of healing in her own particular weight class. “It will be helping inner vitality come back to you swiftly, I am happily choosing life for you! Friend Black Jack is being quite the worrier.”
I felt Eir force something down my throat and it tasted awful. Like a horrible cross between sweaty gym socks, a rotten egg, a half rotten fish barfed up by a regular bear and guano that’s been out in the sun for several days and was festering with maggots. Eir held my nose and mouth shut while rubbing my throat until I swallowed.
“Don’t take this the wrong way Eir, but I think I’d prefer the Elysium Fields.” She squeezed my cheek quite hard and cooed over me.
“I am not being upset. If it is where you wish to go in death, then you might end up there. Just know that you are always being welcome in Yakhalla, I have deemed you worthy of it personally!” I almost find the yak form of Valkyrie to be hard to take seriously, but knowing that she was ‘The Eir’ caused me shivers.
I haven’t seen her fight yet, but Eir’s medical talents were proving quite effective. I felt livelier in a few minutes after ingesting whatever it was she just forced down my throat, I didn’t even feel like asking what it was and I’m quite sure I didn’t want to know.
“So… I know I didn’t bring this up in front of Gallant previously, but does he know you’re a goddess?” I see Eir turn away from me to inspect an out cold Celaeno with an ice pack on her forehead.
“Husband is not needing to know. As long as I am being good wife to him, it is not mattering anyway.” The yak finished checking over Celaeno before coming back over to me with a smile.
“How long have I been out for?” If she wasn’t going to discuss it, then I wasn’t going to press the issue. She seemed quite cheerful despite me bringing it up. I stood up shakily, Eir quickly braced me and comfortingly rubbed my back.
“You are being down for three hours, that you are already up is saying something of my skills in tending to mortals." She held her head up proudly with a brighter smile. "Is also personal record!”
“Been in any good fights lately?” I asked conversationally as I started stumble and move forward, I needed to get out of Turtle Toga today. I didn’t want the rest of Gash’s crew to come at me too.
“I am enjoying many various tavern brawls, smashing chairs over the heads of idiots is quite fun.” Ah, she’s the fun type of Valkyrie who took violence in a less than serious manner. “Protecting cute husband is keeping Eir’s battle skills quite sharp!”
“Am I good to go?” I might be a bit wobbly, but I was standing on my own strength as Eir had stopped bracing me thirty seconds ago. She shoved my pack into my chest and grinned. “That answers that… do you know a goddess named Sekhet?”
“The sphinx? Eir is knowing of her, she is said to be fierce and strong! I am never meeting her though.” She pushed me through the door into the tavern and Jacky was instantly moving towards me for big hug. Jacky was grabbed out of the air by a standing Eir, the yak had caught Jacky by the scruff of her neck before she could tackle me. “She is still healing Black Jack, be more responsible of her health. Also Celaeno will be completely fine.”
“One last question Eir. If a unicorn has a broken a horn, could you possibly fix it?” There was an odd silence as Eir gave me a searching look. I gave her a clear serious expression.
“That is not a very easy thing to fix, is like growing a new limb… only much harder. I will try to find information and will give it to you if you ever come back to Turtle Toga.” After Eir’s words, the pirate parrots started talking to each other as I sat down and gave Gallant a friendly wave.
I paused and thought of something… I needed to write a note and leave it with Celaeno. I was going to warn her about the misfortune malachite, hopefully she takes my warning seriously. The misfortune malachite was an Abyssinian treasure that the storm king definitely deserved to have, mostly because it’ll end him trying to use it.
- Thirty minutes later on The Double Dare-
“It was nice meeting you guys, but I have to get home. Try a different ship, I’m sure you’ll find one eventually!” Celaeno’s pirate parrots were quite friendly, they even paid for a round of cream for me and they were waving us off as we lifted into the sky. I didn’t want to stick around with Gash still being in the area after he was tossed unceremoniously into the bay. It’ll be blamed on me so that he doesn’t bother Celaeno, because her crew were the ones that actually did that. “Come on Jacky, we’ve got to get this bucket moving today! I really want to get home by this evening to see my mom’s food waiting for me.”
“Aye, aye, Captain, but are you sure you’re lucky enough to get me away from Turtle Toga?” It's okay Jacky. We've a map, a compass and a general idea of where the moving island currently was in relation to Equestria. Plus I think I can understand your curse. “I’ve been stuck here my whole life because no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get off the island! I mean I tried everything, even being a slave and that ship sunk two miles away.”
“Don’t worry about a thing Jacky, I can navigate us to my home. Did we forget anything?” I felt something rub against my ankle. I turned and looked down at the small sea turtle cuddling up to me. “I guess not.”
“Er... Captain, there’s a storm brewing and I think it’s got my number on it.” The roiling dark clouds ahead and powerful winds threatened to push us back to Turtle Toga. “What do we do?”
“What none of the other guys did when you tried to escape the island previously Black Jack, I’m going to test our luck.” I struck a pose and pointed at the churning clouds of fate before me. I probably should remind myself that I was not a captain nor did I know how to captain an airship. Right now I was trying to be captain enough for Jacky. “Fly straight into it!”
“Uh… of course Captain!” We were swallowed by rains and winds aplenty in the next two minutes and Ms. Chickadee was willing to put her faith in my leadership.
I didn’t believe I had any leadership qualities whatsoever, but I could at least beat her curse for her.
- Sekhet-
I felt her presence, it was getting close to dinner time and she was approaching from the air and at a much slower speed this time. In the next few minutes I stood up looking around at the cloudy sky.
“What is it Sekhet?” Lady Kuril asked of me.
“Priest Jade, your daughter, is back now.” Though I couldn’t see where she was coming from, because the clouds were quite thick. I could just fly up there, but it didn’t seem like Priest Jade was in any trouble this time.
“Oh thank goodness... I better get started on dinner. Knowing my daughter, she’ll be complaining about not eating my food for the last day or so.” I could feel the happiness wafting off of Kuril in waves, the food tonight would be excellent.
“Why are you always sitting so far away from the campfire Sekhet?” I turned to tell Fizzle why I was not sitting closer when my left ear perked up and I heard a faint whistling sound. It almost sounded like…
- Fizzle-
The large falling object and resulting loud crashing sound had spooked me into running inside The Witch’s Fare. I turned around at the door and saw that Sekhet had been crushed... by an airship.
What I saw next made me happy, it was Jade. She was… a bit injured, but alright enough for me! What was she wearing and who was that falling alongside her?
-Jade–
“Whoops… that’s definitely going earn me a bad riddle.” Once again Sekhet ended up taking an airship to the head, Airship Mauled would be quite aptly named if that happened a third time. Feather falling down to the ground, I stumbled a bit and saw Fizzle. “Fizzy, you’re okay!”
“Idiot I should be saying that to you! You’ve been gone for almost two days and your mother’s been worried about you. I’ve… been worried about you…” She paused in front of me looking at the ground and pawed at it cutely with a hoof. She eventually looked at me. “What are you wearing and what happened to your eye?”
“Ran into some pirate’s, got some pirate clothing. My eye will be completely fine once the swelling goes down. I got you all souvenirs and I even got Sekhet a worshipper!” I pointed to Jacky who gave me a confused look.
“Is Sekhet even alive, she looks a bit…” Fizzle watched as the paw sticking out from underneath the airship started clawing the air. “I guess she's fine.”