A Shogun's Fall

Chapter 13: New Beginnings

It was a frightening morning that day. The ship rocks violently, swaying left to right as the winds direct it with much force while the seas themselves were roaring. The forks of lightning ravage the dark skies and the heavy rain that follows soon after. 

"Come on, lads! We can still outrun this storm!" From the deck, the captain of the ship yells as loud as he can at the stormy waters.

All of his crewmen struggled to get to their stations. They were all wet from the rain, normally this wouldn't be a problem for them but it was now. Behind the ship itself, a huge whirlwind follows them as the ship and its crew try so hard to outrun it. The crew cuts a lot of ropes to increase the speed of the sails. From below the deck, two children. Holding on to real life with their mother who tries her best to silence their fears by comforting them and telling them that it's alright.   

Watching from the opposite side of the room, Kaiden looks at the woman who continues to comfort her children. Standing up and gaining everyone else's attention there. Kaiden apologizes to them and then walks away.

"Where are you going, lad?" One of the elderly people on the ship asked.

"Just want to stretch my legs," Said Kaiden and walks away. The elderly and everyone else wondered what he meant. Then they saw him opening the gates towards the deck. They wanted to stop him but it was too late. 

As soon as he left, Kaiden was then greeted by tons of the ship's crew trying their best to survive this encounter. The Captain was next to the Helmsman as he continues to instruct the rest of the crew, he then saw Kaiden approaching.

"You! What in bloody blazes are you doing here?" 

"I'm here to help," Kaiden said. "You're passengers below deck are now worried." 

The Captain then looks at the Helmsman and he shrugged. "Well, do need all the help we can get." 

The Captain then sighed. "Fine, I'll assume you're quick on your feet, yes? Run towards the foremast and cut the rope there." 

"Got it." 

"Mr. Smith! To the main mast!" 

"On it, Captain!" 

Mr. Smith and Kaiden ran as fast as their legs could while trying not to slip and fall due to the slippery ground they stepped on. Kaiden climbed on one of the ropes leading up to the foremast and jumped as soon as he found the perfect timing, he walked to the edge of the surface and used his tanto to cut the rope. Once he managed to cut the rope, the sails were released and the rope that once held it all together between the white sails and the wooden surface was sporadically just flying around in the direction of the winds.

Then from up above, thunder hits the main mast which impeded their progress, not to mention that as soon as the lightning hit the main mast, the body of the main mast itself split in two and falls, Mr. Smith, who was still cutting the rope then grabbed on for dear life.

"Help! Help! I'm slipping!" He cried out for help and no one even bothered to even look up as they too were struggling with their own problems. Kaiden saw this and ran as fast as he could and as soon as Mr. Smith loses his grip and almost falls, Kaiden managed to catch him and the two landed on the crow's nest. "Thank you! Thank you so much, sir!" 

"No problem..." He panted and then noticed something in the water. "What is that?" 

"What is what? Sir?" Asked Mr. Smith.

From the distant waters, Kaiden saw some sort of snake, it was long yet it felt short to look at. He also saw it not as a scaly body but more watery. It's as if the water created a tentacle of sorts but before he could get a good look again, the weird water tentacle thing submerged and Kaiden didn't get to see anything else.