>Aboard USS Sampson, US Navy Destroyer, unknown location_
Captain Drake once again found himself standing in the Destroyer's bridge, surveying the horizon with his binoculars. A horizon that, to its credit, was much clearer than it was before they entered the storm.
Which was odd... as the Northeastern Atlantic wasn't exactly known for being clear this time of year. Regardless of whether or not a storm was brewing.
It also wasn't known for being this warm.
It reminded him of his time in the Pacific fleet actually, back when he was a lieutenant on a Heavy Cruiser stationed off Hawaii.
Until Pearl Harbor was bombed, and the US entered the war properly.
Which, somewhat ironically, led to more direct Navy involvement in the battle for the Atlantic.
Which is eventually how Robert found himself in this position, captain of an escort group assigned to protecting a high-value convoy transporting fuel, oil, various vehicles and infantry equipment across the North Atlantic.
One would think that such useful and comparatively expensive cargo would merit a bigger escort group, bigger than a handful of USN and Royal Navy Destroyers, Destroyer escorts, and Corvettes, Robert sometimes mused to himself. But after the sinking of the Bismarck, German surface raider action had seen a drastic decrease.
On top of that, the recent deployment of U-boat hunter-killer groups had started getting results. So the need for heavy escort groups was beginning to diminish.
At least that was the case for convoys like the one that he was protecting, which were not actually that big in the grand scheme of things.
Robert shook himself from his internal musings, there are more pressing matters to focus on.
Such as, for instance, the radio still not working. The techs still haven't picked up on virtually any background traffic. Just ambient static noise coming from space.
Which was concerning to say the least.
While it wasn't unheard of for storms at sea, especially electrostatically charged ones, to interfere with radio transmission, the storm had not only passed, but had dissipated behind them.
They should be picking up on radio traffic, especially since, at their current heading, they should be getting closer to the British Isles.
Or maybe they are a little off course, given the compasses not appearing to be working properly either. But then they would be getting closer to either the Scandinavian or Spanish peninsula. Either way, getting closer to land in general. Thus closer to radio transmitters.
An equipment malfunction was of course possible, but the Sampson wasn't the only ship picking up only static. All of the ships, including the civilian haulers, were reporting the same problem.
So either they were victims to perhaps one of the most statistically improbable malfunctions in history, or something else was afoot.
On a more positive note, however, several ships including his own had reported catching sight of a landmass on RADAR, so hopefully they won't have to wait long to figure out what's going on.
Which is good, Robert though as he glanced back to the various supply ships in tow. Those old wheezers won't run forever.
The cargo ships that supplied the Allied war effort were notorious for being old dilapidated junk-traps as much as the U-boats that hunted them were infamous. Between the hastily-built Liberty ships to the woefully outdated civilian steamers, the merchant-marine vessels weren't much to write home about as far as performance and reliability were concerned.
The Liberty ships in particular were only built to have a 5 year operational life under the best circumstances.
It was nothing short of a miracle that all of the ships in the convoy had already made it this far without any breakdowns, and that they all had made it through the storm relatively unscathed.
Robert didn't want to push their luck by being at sea any longer than they needed to.
To that end, it looked like, at their current speed, they would probably reach land by nightfall, all else being equal.
Which also meant that the possibility of U-boat attack was significantly unlikely, as they rarely struck so close to the English coast, and any boats that were shadowing them likely lost track from the storm, anyway.
Hopefully all will be well. Robert thought, hoping that his decision to endure the storm would prove worthwhile.
***
>Deep SeaWing enclave, on the outskirts of The Kingdom of the Sea_
["Sea monsters? scavengers? Are you dragonets alright?"] The enclave's tutor, Mako, asked somewhat condescendingly, as much as a visual language could even convey contempt, anyway.
["YES!"] Oyster flashed, a bit too brightly. ["Well, probably. We know what we saw!"]
The dragonets had just arrived back at the enclave, and frantically got to explaining what in the currents they saw to the first adult who would probably listen. That dragon happened to be Mako, the enclave tutor that the trio had been inadvertently avoiding by going on that expedition to look at storm aftermath in the first place.
It was pretty clear that she wasn't exactly buying their spiel, however.
Which is probably understandable, to be honest. Cuttlefish reflected to himself. He didn't flash that out, as both Clam and Oyster were getting pretty animated over the whole thing.
["YEAH! WE DO!"] Clam added, ["A bunch of sea monsters came out of that storm that came through earlier, like, A LOT of them! And they were HUGE! Way bigger than a blue whale! And- and one of them was swimming underwater! It snuck up on us! Well, not really, it kinda just- we sort of... that's not the point! You gotta believe us!"] He flashed and gestured frantically.
Frankly, he probably wouldn't have believed it either.
["Was that the one with the scavengers riding on it?"] Mako said with a smirk.
["Listen dragonets, this all sounds... interesting... but it's absolutely ludicrous. You all should be a bit old to be making up stories like this."]
Before any of the dragonets could protest, another set of flashes came from their peripheral vision.
["Hey now, what's going on here?"] The relaxed lights came from Grouper, one of the enclave elders, his faded dark blue scales making him blend in well with the dim lighting.
The four dragons all turned and regarded him. Elders were figures of respect in SeaWing enclaves, mainly due to the wisdom they accrued through their long years.
Grouper in particular was an interesting figure. While he was rather large in regards to any other dragons present by virtue of being as old as he was, he was still smaller compared to other dragons his age. He also didn't really possess the grim bitterness and general moodiness that characterized old dragons.
Mako was the first to answer the dragon.
["These dragonets claim to not only have seen a sea monster, but several. A whole pod of them, apparently."]
["Really now? That certainly would be quite the sighting. Well dragonets, what was it that you saw?"] He said, seeming amused.
It seemed the old dragon was willing to humor them, even if only for entertainment value.
Therefore, Cuttlefish decided to butt in and tell him the whole story from the beginning, as both Clam and Oyster were getting a little hysterical.
["Well, it all started after that surprise storm swept through."] Cuttlefish started calmly. ["We were swimming around the area looking for anything the storm might have carried in, or scattered around the seafloor or surface. Until we saw a great shadow in the distance."]
Grouper nodded, seemingly appreciating Cuttlefish's professional demeanor. Clam, Oyster, and Mako all stayed dark.
["Clam saw it first. We at first thought that it might have been a whale, given its large size and general shape. We also wondered if it was dead, since it was on the surface. But as we got closer, we noticed that it was moving.
Slowly, but definitely moving. I'm also pretty sure whales sink when they die."]
Mako nodded emphatically. Apparently that was a part of their curriculum.
Grouper nodded again, with a cocked eyebrow. He didn't say anything, however.
Cuttlefish took that as a cue to continue. ["We also noticed, as we approached the shadow, that it was not alone. There were more. Potentially dozens more. All huge. Some of them were visibly different from others in terms of size and shape, but all generally similar. They were also facing and moving in the same direction."]
Cuttlefish paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. ["They didn't seem to take notice of us, except the one we saw initially, which was also the closest one to us. It broke off from the... pod... and came towards us. It didn't do anything, though. Just kinda hovered on the surface over us and seemed to... wait. Now that it was closer, we could see that it didn't seem to have much in common with a whale. For starters, as Clam said, it was much bigger than any whale I've heard of. Also, it didn't have fins, not even a tail fin. But it did have a stream of bubbles coming out the back of it. Oyster speculated it to be something similar to a thing Cephalopods use to move around."]
["Well? What happened next?"] Grouper flashed, enjoying the story. His facial expression, which before only betrayed casual bemusement, was showing some genuine interest.
["Well, when the creature came close, we all held still. Not knowing what it was going to do. But it just turned around and rejoined the rest of the pod after a few minutes, not doing anything to us. The entire pod then picked up speed slightly and moved off. We didn't follow it."]
Grouper, for his part, looked thoughtful, which was surprising to Cuttlefish.
["Hmm... could you point to where you saw these things on a map?"] He asked.
Cuttlefish was not expecting the question. ["I- I think so..."]
While they obviously didn't have a map with them at the time, he was pretty good with directions, and could probably make a fairly accurate guess judging by how long they were swimming.
["Good. Mako? Could you fetch a map from your supplies?"] Grouper turned to the tutor.
Who seemed to be equally surprised as the Dragonets that the elder seemed to be going along with their monster story.
["...Sure."] She answered, probably not wanting to get on his bad side by arguing, and swam off to get a map.
["Do you have an idea of where the pod was going?"] Grouper asked, turning back to Cuttlefish.
["Uh... Yes, actually. It was going directly away from the enclave, from where we were at the time."]
["Well, I suppose that's probably a good thing."] Grouper said with an amused 'snort', a few small bubbles rising from his nostrils.
["But didn't I see something about there being an underwater one? The things you just described seemed to stay on the surface, if I remember correctly."]
["Um, yes. After the pod moved off, we all started swimming back here. But on the way, we came across another of the creatures. This one was underwater. It was a lot leaner and smaller than the other ones, but still really big."]
He continued, ["We didn't move as it came closer, and it passed by us without even seeming to notice. That is, until Oyster swam back up to it and knocked on it."]
["Oh? Well, swimming up and poking the possible sea monster probably wouldn't have been my first choice, but I admire your bravery."] He said to Oyster, who ducked her head, her face contorted with a mixture of pride and embarrassment.
["It felt really hard when I knocked it, kinda like metal."] She said simply.
["Er... yes"] Cuttlefish continued. ["I should clarify; when Oyster knocked on the thing, it did something, but not to us. It just went up to the surface, and continued on its way the same direction as before, just on the surface. After it did that, we came back here, and here we are."] He finished. Opting to leave out the bit with the scavengers, as it just made the already wild story more crazy.
Grouper thought for a moment, his luminescent scales strobing slowly.
["Are you certain the creature's you saw... were actually creatures?"]
Cuttlefish was taken aback by the question, and by the looks of it, so were Oyster and Clam. They were all expecting something along the lines of; 'Are you sure those were sea monsters?' or 'Are you certain those weren't whales?' Not that!
["What... What do you mean?"]
Grouper seemed to be expecting the question.
["Well you see, long ago, well before the war, before any of you three or even your parents or even I were hatched, the Seawing kingdom had Diplomatic envoys from other dragon tribes to discuss deals, negotiate trade, damage reparations, and resolve conflict. To accommodate these other dragons, who can't breathe underwater of course, we would build these sort of special artificial structures called... What was it? Ah, yes, called "boats" made from wood that can float for a long time and hold a lot of weight without sinking."]
["The visual description you gave lines up somewhat with recounts I've heard of those boats being viewed from underwater. And I've even heard stories of scavengers, of all things, using something similar to get out on the water!"]
["However, there are some things that I'm unsure about. For example, I haven't the foggiest idea what that trail of bubbles you described is, unfortunately.
I also distinctly remember that the boats were made exclusively out of wood, and you would probably have noticed if the things you saw looked like wood.
The boat's that I remember hearing about also sounded much smaller than what you described.
Not to mention how these mysterious things were able to move around, and the one you saw that was submerged, which I also remember boats couldn't do unless they were broken."]
Cuttlefish found himself agreeing with the stereotype surrounding the elders for their propensity to monologue.
Still, if what Grouper was describing was true, that would mean... Cuttlefish had no clue what it would mean. The concept of an inanimate object not only being able to float on its own, but seemingly holding the weight of an entire dragon or more was totally new to him.
Is it possible the things that we saw weren't creatures, but something along the lines of these 'boats?' But that would open up so many questions! Who made them? Why? How did they move around on their own? Why was one of them underwater?
["Ah, it looks like Mako is coming back with a map, perhaps if you can give a rough determination of where you found the things and where they were going, can we reach a more definitive answer to what they are."] The old dragon broke Cuttlefish out of his internal dialogue.
Sure enough, Mako was indeed approaching, looking somewhat incredulous to be going along with this whole thing, but she had a rather large scroll with her nonetheless.
She carefully unfurled the waterproofed parchment, and laid it out atop a flat stone.
It was indeed a map, a map of the continent of Pyrrhia, with all the different dragon tribe palaces and major settlements marked. Unlike most maps that would be found on land, however. This map had the Seawing Deep and Summer Palaces and several enclaves marked as well. Including the one they lived at.
Their enclave was one of the most distant enclaves, barely within the sea kingdom's borders. Though, to be fair, they weren't exactly neatly defined. Besides the continental shore, of course. Their enclave was on the other side of the 'tail peninsula' that outlined the Bay of a Thousand Scales, which mainly comprised the Kingdom of The Sea. Far away from either palaces.
The five dragons gathered around the map scroll, and after minutes' thought, Cuttlefish pointed with his claw the rough location he guessed they found the things. He then traced an imaginary line along the direction the things were going; straight away from the enclave.
Which also happened to be towards the continent.
There didn't appear to be anything special in the direction they were heading, however.
Grouper reached up and stroked his chin with his age-dulled claws for a moment, thinking.
["You know, there actually happens to be a seaside scavenger den in that direction. A rather large one, too. It doesn't appear to be on the map, though..."] He said.
["Well of course not,"] Mako looked slightly offended, ["this is a SeaWing map, what use would we have for scavengers? It's not like they can breathe underwater and steal our treasure."] She retorted.
["How do you know about it?"] Oyster asked, looking curious.
["I wasn't always this old, you know."] Grouper chuckled.
He clasped his talons together. ["I suppose we might as well go take a look."]
["Wait, what? Surely you don't believe that these dragonets saw sea monsters!"]
["Well, maybe not... but it's still probably worth it just to go make sure. Worst case scenario is there's nothing out-of-the ordinary, and you can go scavenger-watching. It could be an educational experience! Are you not all about that, Mako?"]
["...I suppose not..."] She said,
["Good! You all should leave in the morning, be sure to let me know what you find when you get back"] Grouper said with a smile.
***
>Aboard USS Sampson, US Navy Destroyer. Off an unknown coast_
The sun was about to set. The moon was only just beginning to peak out from over the horizon, half of which was obscured by a wide shadow.
Land.
The convoy had come well into visual range of the shoreline, and held fast, not wanting to risk running aground on unseen rocks or sandbags.
There weren't any visible lighthouses that would serve to warn of such dangers, but better safe than sorry.
The geography of the land that they could detect betrayed little in terms of their location, but they could see a cluster of lights appearing on and just above the shore.
A city.
Well, a town, I guess. Captain Drake thought to himself.
There weren't very many lights, and they weren't very bright. At least by the standards of a 20th century seaside town.
Then again, they could be under lights-out curfew protocols, both to conceal from Luftwaffe aircraft overhead and lurking submarines underneath.
If so, they weren't doing a terrific job on that front.
Whatever the case may be. A town is civilization. Civilization means radios, which means they can hopefully figure out what on Earth is going on.
It was also entirely possible that the inhabitants of said town were using said radios to signal an alarm, given the entire group of ships that had suddenly appeared unannounced off their shore, many of them clearly warships. Then again, no spotlights were pointed at them, and they could neither hear nor see any signs of alarm coming from the town. Nevertheless, they should announce themselves and their allegiance to the town.
To that end, Captain Drake ordered his Destroyer to signal the town with her signal lamps their identity, situation, and request support if possible.
Robert watched as the rapidly flashing light signaled the town, transmitting their message visually in Morse code.
["ALLIED SHIPS. AMERICAN. ENGLISH. NO RADIO. NO NAVIGATION. LOCATION? SUPPORT REQUESTED. OVER."]
The light emitted from the ship was too dim to illuminate the town, so those on the convoy ships could not make out any of the town's features aside from the dimly glowing lights coming from it. But it was still easily bright enough for those on shore to see it.
The signal was repeated a second time. It took over an entire minute to transmit it, even given the expertise of their signalmen.
The entire convoy watched and waited for several minutes. But no response came from the town. Radio was still picking up nothing but dim static, no new lights shown from the town indicated they understood or even received the message.
They're a portside town, fishing boats are likely a major part of their economy. Surely they are used to communicating with vessels via signal lamps? Robert thought to himself.
The Sampson once again transmitted the signal with her lamps twice. Once again, they awaited a response. And once again, nothing came.
Nothing. No strobing lamps, no break in radio static, no new lights at all. Nothing to give away that they received them. The lights that glowed from the town continued to do so unabated.
Confused, concerned, and a little annoyed, Drake ordered the Sampson to this time point her searchlights upon the town to fully illuminate it so they could see what was going on.
His crew dutifully obeyed. He was certain they too wanted to get to the bottom of this oddness. The incredibly bright, directed cone of light was directed upon the cluster of lights onshore, and a few other convoy ships quickly followed suit, likely having had the same idea.
What the searchlights revealed, however, wasn't what any of the men aboard were expecting, not by a long shot.
A castle?
There, illuminated by the ship's searchlights, the source of the cluster of lights were revealed. A case. An honest-to-God medieval-looking castle.
Robert supposed it was possible, given they were probably off the English coast. But still, what?
It also didn't look much like any British, Irish or Scottish castle he'd seen in a history book. In fact, looking closer, he realized that the castle seemed to lack any of the structures that made a castle particularly dangerous to invaders. No slitted windows, no apparent moat or reinforced gate, even the archers' blocks on top seemed entirely the wrong size and consistency for archers shooting downwards. It was just a structure.
On top of that, the structure seemed to have a small village of huts clustered around it towards the water. Which was also unusual as surviving castles did not tend to have recreated medieval villages around them either.
The weird medieval reenactment of a town did appear to have piers that extended out into the water, but they looked dilapidated. Far too small and rickety to moor anything larger than a dinghy or small fishing trawler at most.
Other than that, Robert certainly couldn't see anything else in the town that would tend to watercraft.
He couldn't even see any boats anywhere.
He was broken from his pondering when a horrified cry came from the deck of the ship; some men were looking back to the horizon and pointing.
He and the bridge crew turned to look where the men were pointing, and Drake felt his spine turn to ice. His XO gave a slew of obscenities befitting of any seasoned sailor.
He nearly did himself.
...
How did they not see this sooner?
Several other men on the bridge and across the ship's deck gave gasps and cries of shock echoing the first.
One of the other convey ships pointed her searchlight towards where they were looking, the cone of light bringing it further attention from the entire convoy.
Drake swore he could hear more shocked noises echoing from other ships over the sound of the Sea.
He could feel a shocked numbness spreading from his spin throughout his veins to his very fingertips.
...
There were two moons.
The moon they had initially seen had risen well above the horizon. Behind it, followed a smaller, but still easily visible second moon. Its crescent shape mirroring the first.
Drake numbly tracked his eyes across the horizon.
There were not two, but three moons. The third was just peeking out over the dark skyline, smaller again than the second moon.
It cast its baleful light across the calm waters, coldly mocking the horror-struck sailors.
Three moons.
Drake turned to the bridge crew.
They turned to him.
They all exchanged glances.
They all saw it.
Drake turned back to the window and looked out upon the deck. The men down there saw it too. They weren't hallucinating.
...Where are we?