Secrets of an Alchemist

Peril on the High Seas: Part 3

Varian's heartbeat pounded in his ears.

A prison barge? He thought. Max whinnied.

"Hey, hey, easy, Law and Order, all the bad guys are locked up," Eugene told Max. Varian couldn't help but notice that Max was staring right at him. Eugene noticed as well. "Oh come on, Max. Varian's a good guy now! He doesn't need to be locked up!" Varian gave Eugene a thankful smile. "Now come on, let's go find the captain," he continued, beginning to walk away. Max gave a whinny and followed, Varian right behind. They eventually came up to a set of stairs. Varian was on edge, and Eugene could clearly tell. "Look, trust me, kid, I'm sure this prison barge is headed to the mainland, it's got no where else to go, and we'll meet up with the gang there, easy-" Eugene was cut off as Max yanked him and Varian behind a stack of crates. The sound of men talking and footsteps rang. Two rather unsightly men, one tall and one short.

"The guards have been taken out," the taller of the two men said. "Mutiny's complete." Varian's eyes widened.

"Did he say mutiny?" Varian whispered, astonished. He, Max, and Eugene peeked over the crates. The deck was full of criminals! Just by looking for a few seconds, Varian could spot Dwayne and at least seven pirates. The pirates held assorted weapons, from a giant axe to double swords. Varian gulped.

"Ah. Okay, well, a mutiny may complicate things, but we can still-" Eugene began. He was cut off as a female voice rang across the deck.

"The ship is ours, boys!" Came a voice from a shadow in the sail. There was a shing of a sword, and a piece of the sail was sliced in two. A woman leapt down, sword in hand.

"Lady Caine, Anthony the Weasel," Eugene listed. "Pocket, and Otter, and every other bad guy we've ever put away."

"Well, this situation has just gone from 'uh-oh' to 'we're gonna die,'" Varian said grimly. Max tapped Eugene on the head and pointed at a black horse.

"Really?!? The horse too?!?" Eugene complained just a little too loudly. "This boat's like a who's-who of people who want us dead!"

"I hereby repeat my previous statement," Varian muttered.

"In fact, the only guys missing are-" Eugene began, but was cut off once more as two men swung down from the mast. "Are the Stabbingtons," Eugene whispered through grit teeth.

"Look's like the gang's all here," Varian added satirically.

🧪

Varian poked his head out from behind the crates as a group of pirates walked by.

"Okay, so we're in the middle of a prison break, obviously, it's pretty clear there's only one thing to do," Eugene thought out loud. Max whinned and picked up a sword.

"Leave and hope we can find another boat?" Varian suggested, chuckling nervously.

"Are you nuts?!?" Eugene asked Max, voice low. "No, I meant get out of here, like Varian said!" Max lowered his ears and whinnied at Eugene and Varian. "Look, I know Max the guard is supposed to apprehend the bad guys, I get it. But there's fifty of them, and not fifty of us!" Max gave an indignant whinny. "I don't care how good Varian is with a sword and alchemy!" He turned to Varian. "No offense."

"None taken," Varian replied. "Even with my training- oop." He cut himself off. "Forget I said anything." Eugene looked at him quizzically.

"What training?" He asked. Varian averted his eyes.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything," Varian deflected. Eugene seemed to still be curious, but let it go. Eugene turned back to Max.

"So sometimes, you got to put the rules aside!" He finished. Max set the sword down and Eugene patted his nose. "Now come on, let's find us a lifeboat and get off of this thing." Eugene stood and began walking away, and Max began to follow after, then stopped to put the sword away. Eugene pulled him and Varian after him.

🧪

"You hear something?" A voice came from the deck above the lifeboat.

"It's just your stomach growling," another voice replied. Max, Varian, and Eugene breathed a collective sigh of relief. Max trotted over to the switch that would drop the boat and began to yank on it. Varian and Eugene pulled on the other. After a few moments, Varian let go.

"Won't... budge," Eugene groaned, still pushing on the switch. Then, he gave a smile and pulled Varian's sword out of its sheath on his back.

"Hey!" Varian exclaimed. Then, he saw Eugene's plan. "Cut the ropes... of course." Max whirled around and stomped his hoof.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, destruction of property isn't exactly an official maritime procedure," Eugene told Max saltily. "But neither is a rusty winch." Max turned away from Eugene, a sour look on his face. Eugene sliced the ropes, and immediately, the boat began plunging downward. Varian quickly snatched his sword back from Eugene and stuck it in his sheath. Then, he squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for impact.

(Sorry this one's shorter! I just wanted to post at least once a week. Also, chapters will probably only come out once, maybe twice a week now. Ok, bye!)