Shrouded Seascape

They didn\'t even need to unleash their navy; they only had to say a single word to sever all trade ties between the World\'s Crown and other islands. Without trade, an island was as good as dead.

"Did I… say you… could leave?" Bandages\' voice sounded from the contraption again, causing Smith to freeze in his spot.

He had already given in once, so another show of submission meant little now. He closed his eyes hard for a brief moment before opening them wide again. Forcing a plastered smile on his face, he turned around. The ever-so friendly governor of the World\'s Crown had returned.

"Please let me know what you need. As a fellow island of the Northern Seas, we are gladly at your service," Smith said in a painfully humble tone as he bowed his head low in submission toward the communication device in Aliya\'s hands.

Having already been fully briefed on the situation by Dipp, Bandages asked, "Why…do you…worship… this thing? Who… made you… do it?"

Smith was clearly reluctant to answer. He hesitated for a moment but he realized he had no cards on hand to not answer. "No one forced us. It is our tradition. We must find our great god and serve Him wholeheartedly. We are willing to pay any price to fulfill this goal."

"Stop spouting nonsense," Aliya cut Smith off in a sharp tone. "The World\'s Crown ain\'t some newly discovered island. I even raided this very dock when I was still a pirate back then. Why have I never heard of any tradition like this?"

Smith didn\'t even bother to spare a glance at Aliya. His eyes remained fixated on the communication device.

Accompanied by a buzzing sound, Bandages\' voice came through once again. "What does… your god… look like? What\'s… the name?"

"I don\'t know." Smith\'s blunt and unexpected reply caught everyone off guard

"You don\'t know? Are you trying to tell us that you don\'t even know what the god you worship looks like?" Dipp regarded Smith with a hint of disbelief. If not for the latter\'s perfectly normal mannerisms, he would have thought that the man had gone completely bonkers.

"Yes. We don\'t know what She looks like or even Her name. However, every clue and trace on both islands indicates that we had once worshiped Her. It\'s just that She had disappeared now, but the records stated that we were living the best times of our lives when we were worshiping Her.

"That\'s why we\'re determined to find Her again. Only by bringing back our God can we find true fulfillment in our lives," Smith concluded.

Dipp\'s brows furrowed together slightly as something came to mind. "Wait, Bandages, doesn\'t that strange description remind you of—"

"Quiet," Bandages cut Dipp off immediately. He was uninterested in the specifics of the god they worshiped. Scarcity was common in the Subterranean Sea, yet strange and bizarre cults thrived with abundance.

"You can… leave now… As for your offense… toward my friends… it will be reflected… in the trade orders… for the next quarter…. And this island… is a property… of Hope Island… I will send my men… to take over."

Smith didn\'t dare to display the slightest hint of protest. Placing his right hand over his chest, he bowed respectfully to the communication device before retreating with the rest of the islanders.

Soon enough, only Dipp, Lily and Aliya were left in the empty city.

With the confrontation finally settled, Dipp\'s excitement was palpable as he rushed toward Aliya. His full attention was on the smoking communication device as he reported, "Bandages! What did I tell you! I\'ve found a clue about the Captain!"

With that, his words tumbled out in a rush of enthusiasm as he tried to relay everything that he had learned from the hybrid creature.

"But… that doesn\'t… mean anything… It\'s just… a lead to… Sparkles\' whereabouts…" Bandages\' voice remained steady and unhurried.

Dip was clearly unimpressed by Bandages\' calm response. "How can you say that it doesn\'t mean anything! Once we find Sparkle, we\'ll definitely find the Captain! You don\'t believe me? How about we make a bet then!"

Bandages didn\'t want to prolong the conversation topic. He gave his next instructions, "You should all… leave the island… as soon as possible… It\'s still… not safe there…"

"Fine, fine, fine. If you don\'t believe me, forget it. Wait till I find the Captain and let\'s see what you have to say then!" Dipp huffed out before striding ahead with Aliya.

"Hey! Wait! What about it? Are we just going to leave it here?" Lily called out, making Dipp turn around to stare at the massive hybrid creature behind her.

Dipp pondered for a moment before a trace of dilemma appeared on his face. "Are you really sure this thing is the Captain\'s offspring?"

"I don\'t believe it either, but that was what Sparkle told me. I don\'t think she\'d lie about something like that." Lily reached out a hand trying to pet the creature before stopping short. She was still a little apprehensive.

Dipp clenched his jaw in a firm determination. "If it\'s the Captain\'s offspring, then we can\'t just leave it here. It\'s too dangerous. Let\'s get it aboard the ship first and we can figure out where to take it later."

When they returned to the docks, clouds of gray spores were still tumbling and swirling in the air. The islanders, with their heads and hands wrapped in cloth, stood like silent statues as they watched Dipp and his group pass by.

Even when their eyes landed upon the towering monster behind Lily, their expressions remained eerily vacant.

Without any further complications, the group made it back onto the deck. Just as Dipp ordered for the crew to prepare for departure, Bandages\' voice came through the communication device once more.

"I\'ll send another fleet…to meet up with you… Use them… to search for… Sparkle…"

Dipp was stunned for a brief moment before a smile of gratitude surfaced upon his lips. "Thanks! Now that\'s the first mate I know! Let\'s grab a drink when I\'m back!"

"Let\'s hope… You need to understand… we have rich island\'s resources… but…we can\'t afford to splurge them… again… and again… this will be the… last time…"

"Don\'t worry! I\'ll find the Captain and bring him back!" Dipp declared, his voice filled with conviction.

Thick black smoke billowed out of the smokestacks of the Narwhale as she slowly pulled away from the spore-riddled dock and headed into the vast darkness of the sea.

***

A commercial plane slowly taxied to a stop on the airport runway. As the door opened, Anna, wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat and dark sunglasses, stepped off the aircraft. Following her were Wang Sheng and Li Long.

Behind them, a group of others followed and alighted from the aircraft. They were the men and women who had been partying with Wang Sheng previously. Some of them had joined voluntarily, while some were terrified of what Anna might do to them if they didn\'t come along and were half-forced to board the plane.

Regardless of their reasons were, they were all here now.

"Wang Sheng, how much cash can you gather from your family accounts?" Anna asked as she descended the stairs.

"Erm… that\'s hard to say. It depends on how quickly my father catches one. If I may ask… Why do you need so much cash?"