Tales of the Pearly Kingdom (Pearly Tales Vol. 2)

18. The Three Piratettes

"You get off on challenging everything anyone knows about anything, don't you?" Elsdith gave him a wry smile.

"During my days as an adventurer, back before the migration, I learned that every adventurer has a story and the simple ones are often too complex to tell and the complex ones are often simpler than you expect." Cal answered.

"The migration? Just how old are you?"

"I guess it depends on who you ask, but one source says I'm at least older than Shayley. But if you ask the assistant guildmaster, she'll probably say that I don't act that old." Cal smirked mischievously. "but you can't trust age too much because Ellie is three times my age."

Elsdith gasped and then looked at the little girl who smiled and waved up at the bodacious lamia woman who looked three times her age physically.

"Are you really that OLD! Is it because you're a ghost!" Loca grabbed her hand and looked really excited.

Cal crouched down to Loca since Ellie looked too anxious to answer. "She's not a ghost short stuff-"

"I'm not short." She spat but Cal kept talking.

"-She a Goddess. But she hasn't hadn't any friends or peers her age for all her life. But if you stay her friends she'll grow up alongside you and Ophelia."

Ophelia walked up behind Ellie and took Ellie's other hand. "Ellie is the loneliest goddess. She is always forgotten."

"What? That's not nice!" Loca protested.

"It's true," Cal looked at Loca. "She's called the forgotten goddess because she's the goddess of things that get lost at sea. Which is why I have this." Cal pulled out the soul stone he showed off earlier. "If I bind her to me with a spell like this, I won't forget her. And since I bound her to the ship I use and made its name infamous, other people might remember some part of her. This way the crew can talk to her. Otherwise as soon as everyone turns around, everyone will forget her just like they'd forget something lost at sea."

"NOO!" Loca screamed as she wrapped her arms around Ellie. "I'll never forget her!"

Cal smiled at her sadly.

"Don't worry, Loca." Ophelia said. "I'm an oracle, and you're a Fatebreaker. We won't forget her."

"Fatebreaker?" Cal asked and opened Loca's status menu. "Well damn. She's right."

"Uncle Cal what does that mean?" Loca asked.

"It's why you survived all the assassinations. Fate can't touch you, you're like papa. Now both of us can be her friend and grant her wish." Ophelia smiled.

"Really?" Ellie asked. She held her hand over her mouth and looked like she was about to cry.

"I'm a Pirate Oracle, let's be friends for a long time." Ophelia smiled.

"I'm a Pirate Fatebreaker!" Loca stood proudly, "Let's be friends forever and ever!"

Ellie began crying, "I'm a Pirate Ship, please don't forget me. M-my friends."

The three mini pirate girls all embraced and cried in a lump of colorful hair and tiny arms.

"Well that's a thing." Cal stood up brushing off his hands like he'd just casually solved world hunger.

"Cal what did you do this time, what's a Fatebreaker?" Elsdith asked.

"Aren't you curious today?" Cal responded.

"Cal, what is a Fatebreaker?" Shayley pressed.

"Your highness!" Fauna appeared next to them in a ninja crouch.

"Fauna, what is it?" Shayley was annoyed about being interrupted.

"There is trouble at the castle." Fauna answered.

"What kind of trouble?" Shayley asked.

"It's... it concerns the guildmaster."

Everyone turned to look at Cal who scowled. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Somebody left you a type of message." She answered.

""Show me."" Both Cal and Shayley said with the same intensity.

"Right away," Fauna answered.

"Kadoka!" Cal shout before leaving. "You are in charge of the girls!"

Kadoka peered over the bow of the ship. "Aye aye, Captain... Loca, who is that red haired girl, did you make a new friend? Is she staying for supper?"

Elsdith looked at Kadoka in horror, she had very clearly met Ellie at the same time that she had, but had already forgotten. She fretted about it as she followed the Queen back to the castle but halfway there she couldn't remember what she was worried about...

*

"Gaia preserve us." Shayley exclaimed.

The horrific sight of a disfigured body hanging from the Brother Calloway stature out in front of the palace was haunting. His blood was strewn about covering everything with bloody handprints and drag marks. The man's body was broken almost beyond recognition.

The area was roped off and guarded by the royal guard and the palaces earth elementals. The earth elementals had blocked off the view with tall thin shale walls. Only Elsdith, Shayley, Clera, Fauna, and a handful of Fauna's elites were allowed in.

"This was found on the man's body." Fauna scowled as she handed the note to Shayley while glaring at Cal.

Shayley read the note out loud.

"Guildmaster of the city, I have heard of yer hubris. If ye mean to reclaim me sea ye'll have to take me crew to do it. I welcome yer challenge, and I'll take yer soul when ye fail.

-Captain Scourge

Don't keep me waiting..."

"Motherfucker!" Cal cursed when he saw the body hanging from the tree. Bloodlust pooled around him. "Oh fuck this shit!" He pulled out his cleaver finally able to vent some of his frustration from earlier to make the show more believable.

[Wind slash]

He cut the man down and cradled him for a long moment. "You will be avenged." He whispered to the elemental the body had impersonated. He closed the man's eyes and laid him on the ground.

"Deliver the body to my crew when you're done with your investigation." Cal ordered ominously as he set the body down on the ground.

He began to walk away trying to cool his bloodlust.

"Cal, what are you going to do?" Shayley asked.

"First, I'm going to make sure my daughter is safe. Then before I ship off, I'm going to 1v20 against Dakota and the Valkyries for training. The ones responsible are going to pay."

"Cal are you still planning on taking Ophelia with you on the raid?" Shayley asked grabbing his arm.

"For better or worse I'm going to need whatever edge I can get." Cal only stopped for a second.

"But it will be dangerous."

"Are you doubting me?"

"No, I'm just worried."

"I'll take every precaution, but between leaving her here and taking her with me, I'd rather keep her where I can see her." Cal stunk of death and anger.

"At least take me with you." She pleaded.

"You are a queen, and I am a pirate. Your place is to be the guiding light of the kingdom. Mine is as a shadow in the wind. We each have a role to play." The ground cracked a little under his foot.

She let go out of fear. But Cal took a deep breath and the cracks vanished as if they were never there.

"Do not belittle the light nor the shadow," he looked between Clera and Fauna. "We'll need equal parts of both before the curtain falls again."