The ship was already quite far into the horizon, and it didn't seem to draw any closer, but neither was it sailing further away. However, at this rate they wouldn't even notice this tiny patch of land, as well as the two boys stranded on it.
"Crap, where's Hugo??"
He was nowhere in sight, but he did see something else. The still unlit bon fire.
Azdin quickly ran up to the neatly arranged pile of logs, before realizing that he had no way to actually light it. Panicking, he looked around for any kind of starter that he could use, as he then caught sight of the small embers still burning on the campfire.
With speed that could only be described as superhuman, he dashed straight towards it, picking up any random twigs and combustible material before throwing them right on top of the tiny flame.
Then blowing onto it hard, the fire quickly grew back up into something acceptable.
Picking up an ignited branch, he dashed back towards the stack of logs before aiming and throwing the stick right at the top.
The dry wood breathed in the cool air, until a faint lick of the flame touched its top and hesitated. The fire crept rather than leapt, tracing the grain of the logs and slowly darkening them.
Soon the fire found it's confidence. Flames rose and folded over themselves, knitting the logs into a single roaring body. Smoke billowed upward in thick, Gray breaths, carrying the sharp scent of burning sap and old rain.
Engulfed in flames, the wood become a living blaze, restless as cinders crept into the sky, staining that vast blue sky with a black smudge.
It was a wonderful sight.
After some time passed, Hugo eventually noticed the pillar of smoke and ash from the forests depths, and quickly sprinted back to the shore.
"I saw smoke rising.. what the hell did you..!!"
Watching the blazing pyre, a slight gasp escaped from him.
'Could it be?'
When he turned to look at Azdin, there was only a massive grin on his face. Noticing that Hugo had finally arrived, he raised up a finger and then pointed out towards the ocean.
"Look! A ship!"
Tracing the point of his finger, Hugo walked closer to the ocean, allowing the water to climb up to his feet. It was then, that he was finally able to spot it too.
It was much closer than before, having turned to sail in their direction the moment they had noticed their signal. But that also meant that the two boys could see them easier too.
Once Hugo was able to analyze it properly though, a dreadful chill ran down his spine.
"Crap."
"Huh?? What do you mean crap?? We can finally get out of here!"
Hugo shook his head.
"Look at it's flag you fool!"
Focusing his vision at the very top of the ship, he spotted it's flag pole snapped high above the deck. In its painted weave, a giant red serpent stirred, it's body curved along the cloth as if it were alive, with a pair of wings stretched in a frozen beat of motion, and claws hooked into the folds like barbed anchors.
It was then, that he understood that it wasn't just any old serpent, nor an oversized lizard. The familiar symbol, echoed it's name into his mind.
It was a mighty dragon.
"It's a war empire ship!"
**
The giant wooden ship bursted forward like a living mountain, it's hull towering over the shoreline blackened by salt and scarred by countless voyages. As it surged towards the beach, the sea frothed into white fury, waves splitting and recoiling from it's immense weight.
The moment it struck the shore, the impact thundered across the island. Sand exploded outward in a roaring cloud, timbers screamed, and the ground itself trembled as though a giant rolled over in its dreams.
It's momentum carried it forward, but the oceans grip loosened. The ship dragged against the shore, grinding and shrieking as resistance grew. Each second stole more of it's speed, until it came to a steady and firm halt.
Hugo and Azdin could only gaze up from the sidelines, observing the daunting ship silently.
They didn't even bother hiding. Once they found the huge amount of resources and the tiny portion of noble creatures here, they would've done a full sweep of the place. They'd easily get spotted, and possibly killed on the spot. It was better to surrender now while they could, and then try to negotiate their release later.
"I still don't get what's so dangerous about them."
"They're all mad! Just keep quiet, and let me handle things."
A minute later, several massive wooden platforms were held down the ships sides, each one slamming into place with a thunderous crack. Ropes snapped tight, beams shuddered, and the planks bit into sand, forming steep causeways from deck to shore. The impacts sent fresh tremors through the already-shaken beach, while the platforms flexed and groaned under their weight, hanging like lowered drawbridges from the towering hull.
And then, immediately after, numerous crewmen surged down them in dense, unstoppable streams. Boots pounded the wood as figures rushed past one another, clutching axes, spears, shields and crossbows, while others hauled ropes, hammers, saws and crates of iron.
They all wore similar or matching uniforms, that being a plain white T with varying accessories.
The second they touched ground, not a single one of them even glanced in their direction. Instead, they all marched towards the emerald forest, marking the start of its demolition.
'...'
Spotting their shelter that had been expanded to a frightening size, a small group of crewmen split off from the horde, and marched towards them with their tools in hand.
After just a few moments of preparation, they quickly began to tear it down.
'Those bastards!'
Irradiated, Azdin took a single step right towards them, preparing to summon a memory. Before he could go any further though, Hugo's hands clamped onto his shoulders.
He gave him a single nervous look, while shaking his head.
Backing down, Azdin swallowed his anger.
Seeing them tear down their months of hard work like that in seconds.. it did not sit right with him. But even worse was the butchering of the creatures that had left the alone till now.. as well as their home.
Seeing them do this.. it made him feel a little.. vengeful? He couldn't quite describe it.
While all those men were finishing gathering up lumber and slaughtering whatever dormant and awakened noble creatures that were left behind, a strange group of men that stood out amongst the rest, slowly approached them.
For the first time in 2 months, Azdin got to witness the face of another human.
A black tricorn hat shadowed his eyes, it's gold trim cracking the light as beneath it, was his dashingly handsome face, calm and collected, weathered not by age, but by command. He wore a long black coat that moved heavily around him, lined with a gold button and fine edging, with a white ruffled shirt spilled beneath, bright against the dark fabric.
Following behind him was a small group of four men, each with looks that would've stood out in a normal crowd if they all weren't standing next to eachother. Unlike their leader though, they wore less extravagant clothes, and they each held onto a unique weapon.
A spear, a cutlass, a sledgehammer, and a crossbow.
Azdin could feel Hugo's tension, as well as the waft of strength that the group of men exuded, especially the seemingly unarmed one in front.
'He's dangerous.'
Calling out to them with a deep but friendly voice, the adult male shouted,
"Why hello there you two! I saw your signal! Are you in need of help?"
Sticking out an open palm, Hugo warned them not to approach any further.
"Cautious..? I guess that's fair considering who we are... How about we start by introducing ourselves?"
That man lifted his hat with measured ease, unhurried but deliberate. He brought it to his chest, before bowing with subtle grace.
"My name is Roswell, Captain Of The Blue Lagoon, as well as a privateer for the War empire!"
Seeing the kind gesture, Hugo's tension only grew further.
"Us privateers[1] are more like scouts rather then actual infantry. So we'd like to avoid a fight to minimise loses... If possible."
That meant that they didn't have a motive for harming them. But still, anyone who worked with that empire couldn'tve been normal.
Speaking with a voice commanding his own authority, he said,
"My name is Hugo, and the one standing behind me is Azdin."
He didn't say anything else about their identities, leaving an awkward silence hanging in the air.
Eventually, Roswell did try to fix it.
"To think an island with this much bounty still remained.. truly a wonderful find! I think I'll be able to earn a pretty penny from bringing back all these resources. Lumber is scarce here after all."
Resting his hat back on his head, he continued,
"Anyhow, what would you two happen to be doing down here? You're touching the edge of the bloody Wrathful sea! You're lucky our weak vessel was even close enough to spot you two!"
Turning his head, he gazed at the still burning bon fire that blazed with brilliant flames.
"It's a good thing you made such an excellent fire.. the Sun god must be smiling upon you today."
Shaking his hand in the air to blow away the floating ash, he shouted..
"Someone put that damn fire out!!"
Coughing, he relaxed himself.
"Anyhow, would you mind explaining how you two ended up here? I can't exactly bring strangers onto my vessel.."
Of course, Azdin kept quiet, leaving the talking to Hugo like he asked. He wasn't sure how to handle people just yet, but seeing as Hugo was already being strict with their identities, he didn't want to mess up whatever he was planning.
What came out of his mouth next though, was something he did not anticipate in the slightest.
"We were sailing on a merchant vessel, but it fell under attack by a titan and sank. We managed to survive, but ended up getting washed ashore on this island."
It was an elaborate lie.
These people were privateers, so they weren't officially working under the war empire. Their minds could be changed if enough money was put on the line, so who knew if they were working with the people who kidnapped them too? Searching for escaped test subjects.
Roswell's face seemed to turn pale. If a creature like that was still nearby, then his ship may very well be next.
Of course, that wasn't true. But only Hugo and Azdin knew that.
"Hmm.. is that right."
Before he could say anything else, a group of excited voices echoed from the forest
It was a large group of crewmen, each crying individual pieces of large, heavy bones.
"Captain!! Look here!!"
They were bones.. more specifically, of the Azure bear that Azdin had slain all that time ago. Quickly recognizing it's quality, Roswell turned back to the two boys.
He asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Which one of you killed it. Are you people awakened?"
Hugo replied quickly, sounding more cooperative rather than afraid.
"I'm not, but my buddy Azdin here is."
Raising a hand to stroke his stubble, the man muttered.
"I see.."
It was then, that his attention suddenly switched right to Azdin, completely catching Hugo off guard.
"And why don't you speak for yourself, hm? It should be you negotiating with me, not this rabble."
Of course, Azdin panicked as words of what to say jumbled in his head. But Hugo quickly regained his composure, not allowing the simple insult to overcome him.
Slightly bowing his head low with humility, Hugo answered,
"I'm sorry, but his flaw has made him non verbal. My lowly mundane self must communicate on his behalf, so my apologies."
'What!?!!'
Alas he had no choice but to play along.
The captain seemed to smile a little, gazing at Azdin with a strange hint of greed in his eyes. It was almost as if he found something shiny he wanted to keep safe.
Turning his head slightly to one of the men behind him, he asked,
"How much do you think we could sell that one for?"
Azdins stomach churned.
"He's good looking and he has his flaw, so he'll awaken an Aspect in due time. We could sell him now for 20, or wait and sell him later for 30."
Roswell nodded in approval.
"The other one is mundane.. but he's quite the looker too.. we could probably catch 2 or 3?"
Hugo quickly tried to mask his shock, but his eyes still widened in horror at the disgusting talk before him.
The calm appearance Roswell maintained, quickly broke down as his voice became authoritive rather than easy going.
He gave a simple demand.
"Both of you. Get on your knees and put your hands behind your heads."
[1] A privateer is a privately owned ship or vessel that is funded by a larger organisation or government. They are a crew of randoms slapped together to do chores basically.