Harrold woke to the sound of panicked shouting.
I knew it. This airship will be the death of me.
That's when he noticed the violent motions of the ship.
Huh, we're not in the air yet. Maybe just a bad storm then.
He quickly got up to make his way to the deck. He started at a normal pace, trying to maintain his balance, until he encountered a couple of sailors. They clearly didn't have time to explain what was going on, but their faces showed the situation was serious. Even Peggy hopped on by without so much as an angry glance, which was probably the most telling of all. As Harrold arrived at the stairs, he could make out the Captain's voice shouting orders.
"Man the cannons! Grab the muskets! Kraken inbound! This is not a drill! Not a drill at all!"
Harrold paled and instantly stopped in his tracks, almost knocking over a sailor running right behind him. A kraken? A damn kraken? This job just started and it's already a mess.
Harrold now very much regretted signing up for the mission. He had never been the adventuring sort. The risk of it was simply too large. Too much could go wrong, as demonstrated right this moment, and it all took way too much effort for his taste. It wasn't particularly enjoyable either, usually it was just a miserable experience. He had always dreamt of becoming a wise and powerful wizard, but in reality it wasn't at all what he expected it to be. It became something he despised instead. As a result he refused to do 'proper Wizard' work at the Towers and took to adventuring instead. It paid the bills.
This is the last time though, it's time to accept my fate. If I even survive this encounter.
"Out of my way!" the almost knocked over sailor yelled, shoving Harrold against the side of the hull and running past him with a musket in hand.
Harrold snapped back to reality and quickly followed him. He was hit by a heavy downpour of rain as soon as he made it on deck. The dark skies lighted up for a moment, soon followed by the loud crackling thunder. The ship rocked back and forth as the large waves hit the sides, spilling more and more water onto the deck. The kraken was a massive problem on its own, they really didn't need this storm for the extra challenge. He spotted the Captain behind the helm, wildly rotating the wheel in a desperate effort to keep the ship under control. Pat was standing next to him, making the balancing act of remaining upright seem effortless once again.
Suddenly someone shouted, "It's here! The kraken i-"
A large tentacle shot out the water and went straight through the ship's railing. It hit the sailor dead-on with terrifying force, sending the man flying off the ship. Harrold went wide-eyed and everyone visibly panicked.
"Fire at will! Cannons to portside!" the Captain shouted, trying to get his men into action.
The tentacle made a loud slap as it landed on the deck, before slowly slipping off and disappearing back into the water. Several sailors with muskets ran past Harrold to look over the, now mostly destroyed, railing. With muskets at the ready, they waited for the monster to show. The ship suddenly shook heavily. That wasn't a wave.
Harrold froze as he realized what the beast was doing. Two more tentacles suddenly shot up into the air. Harrold was both awed and terrified by the size of them. With incredible speed, the tentacles struck down upon the deck, like two massive hammers, and instantly crushed one of the sailors. An undiscovered stowaway was crushed as well, which was a shame as the woman would have eventually led Harrold and Pat on a much greater adventure than the one they were currently on. The other tentacle struck down close to Harrold. The force of the hit knocked him over, chipped wood and broken planks flying everywhere. The tentacles ripped apart the deck as the kraken pulled them back slowly until it managed to get a strong hold onto the ship. The sailors fired their muskets, some of them didn't even work as the gunpowder had gotten wet. Harrold had no clue if they could actually see their target above water or if they were panicking. He realized he had to take control of the situation or things would end badly.
"It's useless!" he shouted, before realizing that sounded horribly demotivating.
One sailor was indeed horribly demotivated by the words of the wise master of magic and decided to act on it by jumping overboard.
"Stop shooting it, you buffoons!" Harrold decided to shout instead, hoping his voice would be heard over the cacophony of panicked shouts and heavy storm, "Focus on the tentacles! Cut the tentacles!"
The remaining sailors either couldn't hear him, were busy jumping overboard, too panicked to listen or declined to listen due to the quite offensive and unnecessary buffoon remark. They kept reloading and firing their muskets wildly with little effect. Harrold fell once again as the kraken tightened his grip on the ship. Pat was the only one that seemed to get the message as he left the Captain's side and quickly made his way towards the tentacles with sword in hand. The slightly dazed Harrold remembered that Pat had once asked him to name the sword, because, as Pat explained, every hero needs a cool and unique sword name. He couldn't quite remember what he came up with though.
As Pat stood next to the tentacle he raised his sword high in the air, the lightning reflecting of the metallic blade. Harrold would never admit it and he wasn't sure if what he was seeing was real, but the sight was truly befitting a hero. That moment he saw what his friend could become... or, more realistically, what he could have been had he not been so unlucky in the gene pool. In that one moment, he saw Patricklus the Great in all his glory. "You will die at the hands of Patricklus the Great!" he would shout, as only a hero could. Harrold looked in anticipation. Was his friend actually capable of becoming this? Becoming such an inspiring and powerful figure? Was there more to his simple friend?
"PRIIIIIIIICK!" shouted Pat, his voice breaking, before hacking away at the tentacle with an effective, but not particularly impressive looking, fury.
Ah, right. Prick. That's what I called the sword.
Harrold got up and tried his hardest to maintain his balance. His clothes were completely drenched and he had a hard time keeping upright. The ship kept being rocked by both waves and the monster. They needed the help of the others. Patricklus the Great might've been able to do this on his own, but not plain old Pat. He slowly made his way over to the helm. If my voice won't reach them, maybe his will.
"Captain!" he shouted as he came closer, "Tell your men to focus on the tentacles! It's trying to crush the ship!"
The Captain quickly did as asked, using the most passionate, motivating and confident voice he could muster, "Men! Cut that filthy monster's tentacles! Teach it why no one dares touch the 'Bon Voyage'! No one, indeed!"
Harrold wasn't sure if the Captain simply had no meaningful bond with the sailors or if the, now somewhat ironic, name killed any chance of it working, but his words had as little effect as Harrold's had. The tone wasn't bad though, solid attempt overall.
Leading by example, Pat did manage to convince several of the sailors to join him in his efforts. Harrold, feeling even more useless than usual and somewhat willing to put in effort to save his own life, asked the Captain for his sword and made his way over to Pat.
"Everyone focus on the same tentacle!" he shouted as he arrived.
He raised his sword high above his head and clumsily swung it down, missing the giant tentacle entirely and wedging his sword into the deck. This time the deck fully had the right to creak and complain, though the single sword cut was the least of its problems. Even Peggy and the remaining sailors on deck had now joined them in their effort. They kept hacking away at the tentacle, trying to keep their balance as the ship was violently shaking. Soon their efforts paid off as the kraken had enough of the annoying sensation and pulled back its tentacle.
"Yes! Good job everyone!" Pat yelled triumphantly.
His voice was drowned out by the sound of the cannons firing beneath them.
"Aha! Take that, foul beast!" the Captain yelled from behind the wheel, clearly feeling like he was being left out of the fun.
The cannons seemed to have scored a hit, as the kraken rapidly pulled down the second tentacle in response. Now everyone on deck joined Pat in his euphoric shouts. Harrold wished he could share the feeling, but he knew it wouldn't last. The cannons might hurt the kraken, but one of this size wouldn't go down so easily. He quickly tried to make his way back over to the helm, but before he could get there the two tentacles once again rapidly shot out of the water. One grabbed onto the deck, this time its grip was even stronger. With its other tentacle it tried to slam the sailors.
"Captain! The ship won't last, we need a different strategy!" Harrold said after he arrived at the helm.
"This ship doesn't go down that easily, Master Wizard! We've fought worse than a lousy kraken!" he yelled, almost seeming irritated by Harrold's remark.
Then a third tentacle shot out of the water, curled around the front mast and broke it in half with scaring ease.
"But... I'm all ears," the Captain added in a soft, almost imperceptible, tone.
Harrold took a moment to think. This situation required a calm mind instead of rushed responses. The people dying in the background didn't entirely agree with this sentiment, though they could see the arguments for it. Harrold knew they couldn't defeat the kraken, not in time anyway. They couldn't outrun the kraken either, especially now that they'd lost a mast. Or...
"Alright," he said, "I have a plan. It's a risk, but it's our only chance now."
The Captain gave a firm nod in response. Harrold ran back to the deck.
"Change of plans! You four!" Harrold said, as he pointed towards a group of men, who luckily happened to be sailors, "Go downstairs, prepare the wings for release!"
The sailors looked at each other in confusion. One of them spoke up, "Are you mad? We can't fly now!"
Pat stepped forward angrily. "Do as he says!" he yelled with a commanding voice.
The four instantly turned around and ran below deck. Harrold pondered for a moment on who he should give this next task to. He came to the conclusion that there was only one proper choice.
"Peggy."
The monkey looked up with equal surprise and anger at the fact that Harrold was giving her an order.
"Make sure the people manning the cannons shoot at the same time and at the exact same spot! We need to make this hurt, so it better hit! Fire as soon as possible!" he said.
Though clearly unhappy, she did as he said and too went below deck. Pat tapped his shoulder.
"Anything I can do?" he asked.
Harrold closed his eyes and sighed. "Pray to the Maker that this works."
Because this plan is horrible.
"Also, you might want to hold on to something," Harrold added after a moment.
Harrold could almost hear the ship groaning under the duress. This needed to happen quickly. A loud bang interrupted his thoughts.
The cannons! Did it hit?
The tentacles instantly released their grip and were quickly pulled back by the kraken.
Yes!
Harrold quickly dropped to his knees, sticking his head through a hole in the deck left by the tentacles.
"Drop the wings now! Keep them vertical!" he shouted.
The wide wings shot loose on both sides, instantly picking up the stormy winds. The ship suddenly lurched forward at incredible speed, sending several people on deck flying backwards. Harrold did his best to hold on.
"Reinforce the wings!" he shouted, before giving up and rolling backwards on the deck.
He came to a stop next to Pat, who hadn't taken the advice to hold on as seriously as he should have. The ship maintained its immense speed as the gap between them and the kraken rapidly grew. Though they weren't out of the woods yet, which was a strange thing to say being so far removed from any living tree, Harrold couldn't help but smile. He managed to solve the kraken problem for now. It shouldn't be able to keep up with a ship gaining such a large push. Harrold could only hope that the wings would hold out in the stormy weather. They weren't meant to be used as sails and definitely not supposed to be used in these conditions. The current state of the hull was also an issue. It would be a rough trip, with the ship almost jumping from wave to wave, but Harrold, with desperate optimism, assumed an airship's reinforced hull would be able to take it. It might actually come in handy that this ship wasn't originally an airship.
The last, and most definitely not least, issue was the kraken itself. Harrold wasn't as informed about the creatures as he would've liked to be at the moment. He recalled they were relatively clever and vengeful creatures. It would more than likely keep following the ship. He had no clue how fast the average kraken could go though. With the wings in action the ship should be considerably faster, but would it be enough to prevent the kraken from catching up before the ship could take to the skies? Everyone knew flying in a storm was an easy way to get yourself killed, but outside the storm their speed would drop considerably. They needed to get a large enough lead now and go airborne as soon as possible. Pat stood up next to him and offered Harrold a hand, which he gladly took.
"Thanks buddy, you really saved us there," Pat said as he pulled Harrold upwards.
If Harrold was a smidge less worried, he would've gladly bragged about his flawless plan. Instead, he couldn't help but be realistic.
"We're not done yet, I'm afraid. Can you find me a spyglass somewhere?" Harrold asked.
Before Pat could respond, Harrold felt a tap on his back. He looked behind him to see Peggy holding up a spyglass. Harrold was stunned by the gesture. Pat tried to grab the spyglass in his stead, but this resulted in an angry screech from Peggy and a swipe with the spyglass that barely missed him.
"Fine, fine! I won't touch it!" Pat quickly said, "I'm not sure what I did, but she really hates my guts," he muttered to Harrold.
Harrold could think of many reasons why someone would dislike Pat, but in this particular case, he too was stumped. Harrold took the spyglass and gave Peggy his thanks. He quickly went over to the back of the ship and held up the spyglass.
Oh no.
He lowered the spyglass, slowly turned his head to check behind him and see if anyone was looking at him. He stealthily turned the spyglass around and held it up once again.
Oh no.
He called over Pat and the Captain.
"We have a problem," Harrold said as he pushed the spyglass against Pat's chest.
Pat used the spyglass and looked around for a moment, before spotting what Harrold was referring to.
"It's... jumping?" Pat asked in a confused tone.
He went to hand over the spyglass to the Captain, but the Captain had already adjusted his visors to see the problem for himself.
"By the Maker! It's jumping from wave to wave, just like us! A problem indeed!" The Captain said.
Harrold was defeatedly staring towards the sea. He had no clue how the kraken was able to do it, but it was jumping from wave to wave and going just as fast as they were.
"So, what do we do now?" Pat asked.
"Well, the good news is we're going at the same speed so at least it won't catch us right now," Harrold answered, "The bad news is that we're reliant on the storm to maintain that speed. That thing isn't, it'll probably only accelerate as the storm dies down."
"So, we can't leave the storm and have to get rid of the kraken before the storm is over?" Pat asked.
Harrold nodded in response.
"This might be a stupid question, but isn't this supposed to be an airship? Can't we just, you know, fly away?" Pat asked.
Harrold and the Captain looked at him, before looking at each other.
"No such thing as a stupid question, dear sir, no such thing at all," the Captain answered. Harrold vehemently disagreed.
"However," the Captain continued, "I'm afraid that taking off in this weather would be incredibly dangerous. Suicidal even."
Harrold pondered for a moment as he stared in the direction of the kraken.
"The ship is quite damaged already, so even with ideal weather going airborne would be incredibly dangerous," he said as he leant down on the railing, looking down at the unruly sea.
He sighed. "Regardless, and I hate to say this, I think you're right. We don't really have a choice but to try and go airborne... Is it even possible around these parts?" he asked as he looked towards the Captain.
"There should be one nearby, maybe twenty clicks away or so. It was supposed to be our original take-off point before the storm started. I'd have to consult the map for the exact location," the Captain said.
He turned around to retrieve the map but stopped after a few steps, and faced Harrold again.
"While I like the boldness of your plans gentlemen, I had hoped that magic would be able to help us in situations like this one. Surely Master Wizard, someone of your skill must be capable of some spell or the like to aid us," he said.
Here we go again. It was only a matter of time before someone ended up questioning why they didn't see any displays of magic. Sometimes Harrold almost wanted to tell the truth.
"I'm afraid magic is situational and also highly dangerous. It shouldn't be used lightly if other options are available," he recited in a jaded tone.
The Captain nodded in response. Harrold thought he noticed a hint of disapproval in the Captain's expression, though he was tough to read with those visors blocking half his face.
"Anyway," Harrold said, "we should proceed quickly. This storm is the only thing keeping us alive and we have no clue how long it'll last."