Herera - Stories of The Purple Pearl

10. Fairy dust

As planned, Idir was waiting with one of the rowboats at the other side of the tiny island. I didn't have to ask anything. He immediately provided me with what I wanted to hear.

"They're tired, famished and wounded, but they're all safe under the lovely care of our dear carpenter. Elias will be alright as well."

I smiled. Kailynn was both carpenter and surgeon for a reason. She loved handling chisels, saws and hammers for no matter what. But I was glad to hear that Idir managed to bring everyone to safety.

As safe as they could be at least, on a ship that we were going to use to attack Hachi. I trusted Eryk knew what he was doing. The boy had proven himself very able these last few days.

"You look," Idir continued, but he changed whatever he was going to say when I raised my eyebrows, "... not very well."

"I had a little confrontation," I said as I grabbed the other set of paddles to join him with the rowing.

The name was almost visible on his lips.

"Not with Yui," I assured him. "He helped us."

He tried his best to hide a skeptical look and for a few minutes we continued rowing in silence.

I welcomed the new ache in my shoulders as I was rowing over the Shockwave. Yui had helped me bind some sheets around my arm that made the bleeding stop. I could still feel the cut sting quite severely, but it was better than constantly feeling the disastrous burn wound on my leg. Walking on it had hurt so much that sitting down now felt like a blessing.

I didn't know exactly how I was going to manage to get onto The Purple Pearl, but I figured a new dose of adrenaline would kick in, it usually did at the moment I needed it most.

Catharina would later chide me for it. "Your actions under adrenaline are depleting my healing powers," she would say. Then she would make me suffer for a few more minutes, before she would actually patch me up again with that soft and caring magic that was the counterpart of her epic fighting skills.

I missed that woman. Our mother shell. We needed her and I hoped with all my heart that Rhea and Mitsu would find her in time.

The roaring sound of a pirate battle was rumbling through the Thunder Isles. People were shouting and canons were blasting. We found a way around one of the rocky islands to reach The Purple Pearl from behind.

Thanks to the tracing spells, the cannonballs were indeed only falling on Hachi's people in places where my ship could handle it, but it still wouldn't be able to take that many blasts anymore.

Water and dust, fire and smoke, a complete mixture of physical fighting and magical power thundered over the gap between our rental ship and The Purple Pearl.

Eryk really did know what he was doing and Kailynn was indeed cradling chaos as if it were her second child. Her actual child, Ruby, had joined the fight as well. I truly wondered if I would ever be ready to see the full potential of those two.

Idir and I managed to sneak up behind The Pearl and crawl on it before anyone even noticed.

A sharp pain struck me at the sight of the Leafstorm. Not the pain in my arm or leg or back, but in my chest. My heart felt like it was crumpling under the pressure of my beloved ship falling into rubble on the cerulean water.

Idir seemed to feel it too. The power surrounding The Pearl, its faltering magic nearing depletion.

We weren't granted much time to ponder over our destroying home. Two dwarfs of Hachi's had spotted us and immediately started charging towards us.