Skylands Historia - Duality

Chapter 4 - The Meddling of the Undead is a Pain in my Side

The hull was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Kaos held his breath as the footsteps came to a stop, followed by the quiet clinking of keys in the lock. He heard the distinctive click of the lock, then watched as the latch turned excruciatingly slow, the door creaking open at the same pace. The more the door swung open, the more ghastly features Kaos began to make out. A lanky figure with bony limbs, translucent skin plastered to his features like a soaked cloth. Kaos felt his stomach drop. He would have recognized that hunk of reanimated junk anywhere. The pilot of the ship itself, Ezio. Kaos had to admit, he had had far too many run-ins with Ezio, to the point where he could recognize the undead pilot by scent alone. Ezio had learned to recognize Kaos' handiwork almost immediately, making it extremely hard for him to get away with anything the moment Ezio got involved. Even if Kaos looked the slightest bit conspicuous, it was always Ezio who ushered him off to the cockpit to keep a close eye on him.

Ezio shambled into the room, turning their gaunt face around as they surveyed the surroundings. Their beady eyes came to rest on Kaos, staring straight through him, before turning away as they walked further in. Kaos trailed his gaze down to the device they held in their hand, a tranquilizer; the kind he saw his father use all too often when hunting beasts like slobberwarts or rogue lava golems that wandered onto the property.

"Alrighty, who's the bugger who's messin' with me ship?!" Their voice carried a heavy Irish accent, waving the tranquilizer to punctuate their words.

Kaos held back a yelp as Glumshanks ducked down, pulling him with him, his body twisting to lay flushed with the floor. Ezio's head whipped around, their body following. They took a step towards the duo, bony fingers fumbling to grab a lantern that hung off their hip.

"Stay still." Kaos whispered, moving his arm carefully so he could hold onto Glumshanks' hand. "If we don't move they can't see us"

"That only works for Fire Vipers," Glumshanks whispered back. "I'm pretty sure that's not a-"

"Just trust me Glumwad."

Glumshanks pursed his lips, scrunching his eyes closed. Kaos held his breath, watching Ezio's shadow creeping closer and closer. He watched it sway there for a moment before slowly moving back, a silent sigh escaping his mouth.

"H-How-"

"Trust me, Ezio's blind as a Sugarbat." Kaos muttered, slowly trying to sit up, as to not make a sound. "Unless he's finally gotten some glasses, we should be fine as long as we're quiet."

Kaos peered over the box they were huddled behind, watching Ezio shuffle around the hull, tranquilizer grasped in one skeletal hand and lantern outstretched in the other. It was a miracle how someone as blind as them managed to not crash the ship on every trip, but they seemed to have luck (or at least memory) on their side. That given, they would need to have their crooked nose pressed up against one of the trolls to see them as anything more than a misshapen blob of background noise. Only proving that point was the fact that they were staring directly at the trolls in question, who were as still as statues, clutching the battering ram in mid swing. Kaos could tell Zhoark was struggling not to sneeze all over his likesized brothers, who were both too wrapped up in staying still to notice. Thropp seemed to be the calmest of the group, aside from the frantic darting of his gaze. It would have been amusing if he wasn't stuck in the exact same situation.

"Come out wherever you are, you bilge rat!" Ezio rattled.

"They're..." Kaos noticed Glumshanks raise an eyebrow as he spoke, gears grinding in his mind.

"An Irish pirate, yes."

"Why...?"

Kaos shrugged, looking back to the undead in question, who had begun to circle back around. They grumbled under breath, masking Kaos and Glumshanks' whispers for the moment. If the two of them could deal with the ropes, they could make a break for the door, but one wrong move and they'd be caught. Tranquilizer pressed against either of their heads and cover blown. Kaos squinted, trying to think, listening to the rhythmic pattering of Ezio's skeletal feet, picking up on a soft squelching noise every few steps...