The|MULTIVERSE

EPISODE 5: Grimjaw'd II: Versus!

"Me thought me seen it all," said Redgar. He eyed the sky as if he just saw a wild man riding full rodeo on a vicious dragon into the cloudy sky. "Thee lad rides upon thee back o' death wit' a fool's smile on his face!"

"Right. You're witnessing Ricven on a damn good day," Cornelius said. The stuffy air of smoke and ash continued to cloud his sights, but he managed to see those who managed to survive the dragon's rampage. Scarface and a grimy Azuren crept into view. The blue pirate not the best of looks.

Azuren looked worse for wear. Well, he did end up beneath the belly of the beast, only to get bombed into the meadow by an angry dragon blast. His hair and beard a hot mess; dirty, spattered with ash and twigs, and his coat scorched along their edges. He wasn't the only one busted up, for the rest of his group looked like a pigpen straight out of hell.

"D-did we kill'it?" Azuren asked, still a little woozy.

"Ricven'll do," Redgar replied, and Cornelius stepped ahead of him—unsheathing his twin pistols as he vanished into the jungle, heading for Ricven. There was no time to wait around and keep the jaws down. They had to move, and Redgar rallied his men onward.

They stuck to the straight and narrow, piercing the leafy labyrinth like before, and with haste. Cornelius took the lead, Redgar close behind. Scarface and Azuren pulled in third, and the remaining pirates advanced with them.

"Got me runnin' through these bloomin' trees n' ye mean to say that Ricven gets to ride thee dragon!" belted Azuren, fully aware and back to his regularly scheduled bickering.

"Why're ye bitchin'? Grimjaw nearly bellied ye ass like a bug!" Redgar retorted. "If ye'd been smart to shoot than run about swingin' yer damn hooksword like a dimwitted jackass..."

Azuren grumbled. His bickering grump cost him a bushy sock to the face as a low branch, thrust by Redgar, caused said branch to snap back and whip above a dodging Scarface, ultimately flogging his dirty-faced brother.

Azuren grunted as he careened onto his ass; his men rushed to his aid. Scarface attempted to help him up, but the addled Azuren shook the pirates off in a cold fit of cursive fury, all for Redgar's ears. The red pirate relished the moment.

Then Cornelius halted the charge. He ducked low and raised his fist in a full-stop gesture. "We're being watched."

"What it be—is it thee dragon?!"

Cornelius said nothing. The pirates started mumbling in fear.

"Dragon, or worse... Thee ghosts o' thee Dirty Queen!"

"Or, worse-worse—cannibals!"

"Cannibal ghosts!"

Azuren growled and whipped around and yanked the closest pirate by his shirt collar—near ripping the fabric as he jerked the poor pirate into his livid face and scowled pure doom. "I promise ye, wimpy fool, ye speak another damn dumb word about thee ghosts n' flesh eatin' wildlin's, n' me swear, I'll send ye straight to thee vaults o' Dawson Von Drake!"

The pirate's face turned pale. He gulped then nodded his head rapidly. Azuren wasn't one for silly horror tales and after having to suffer a near death experience and a bushwhack to the face—with the additional Ricven riding a dragon—Azuren wasn't in the best of moods.

He didn't like ghosts, either.

Azuren shoved the pirate to the ground and snapped his tight face to the others. "Thee rest o' ye shits pipe it all to hell! There be no dirty goddamn fuckin' ghosts on this wretched bug-bit'n island!"

Redgar snorted at him. The sudden outrage from bumbling brother smuggled a telltale shiver of an old fear well known. Azuren. Hated. Ghosts. His skin shivered from the word alone—as worse as his own knicker-shivered men. What an oddity to have in a brother who faced the jillion backs of Kal'Maro without an ounce of fear, but the tiny mention of ghosts sends his spine a rattling. "There be no giant sea beasts thee size o' twenty Killamandooms, but ye learned that day, ye fickle'd dolt!"