Harry Potter and the Berserker

Chapter 64

Disclaimer- Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Berserk is owned by Kentaro Miura. I own nothing.

The feel and smell of the fresh sea breeze assaulted Harry's senses after a particularly large wave sprayed over the side of the ship. Guess it would have been a little too much to ask for a smoother return, but he wasn't about to complain out loud. They owed Skull Knight a lot for all he had done and this was just another in the list.

From the bow of the ship, Skull Knight sheathed his sword which now looked like its regular sharpened steel as opposed to the behelit infused mass used to cut tears in the fabric of astral space. The skeletal knight looked as ominous as ever, the skull helm giving no indication as to what he might be thinking. Harry wondered if Skull Knight was still a human, would he feel a sense of pride or accomplishment at being back in his own world; or indifferent to all of it considering how the continent seemed to have divided since the fall of his once empire?

Harry supposed that it didn't really matter either way. Skull Knight would only give an answer along the lines of how it was all just necessary, and while that was true, he wanted to believe that there was still fragments of personality in that armor somewhere. Not just because they owed Skull Knight, but also for Guts' sake as well. If the worst happened and Guts lost control of himself within his armor, Harry wanted to believe that he would be able to somehow still retain more pieces of his humanity.

Up near the helm, Roderick grabbed hold of the wheel as if to steady the ship and to give himself a sense of comfort as well. "What's our reading?"

His grizzled old first mate pulled a spyglass from a pocket inside of his coat. "I recognize the stars, Captain," the first mate reported. "We're 'bout a weeks sail from the mainland, just about a day away from Solitary Island."

"Solitary Island, hm?" Roderick seemed to ponder that. "The winds are against us as of now. We should be able to reach there by midday tomorrow."

"You know the island well?" Serpico asked.

"Not well," Roderick replied. "About as any man of the sea knows, really. It's a small spit of rock, really. It doesn't really have all too many resources to it, save for fish, so the only village there is dirt poor."

"Hm. I see." Serpico nodded. "And I presume that their main source of income would be by offering shelter to seafaring vessels in exchange for resources."

"You'd be spot on," Roderick grinned. "Stopped there a few times myself. Never really stayed too long though, locals are pretty reserved when it comes to outsiders visiting."

Harry listened to Roderick's explanation of their current location before he looked over to Skull Knight. "Any reason why you decided to drop us off all the way out here?" he asked.

"Ships do not fair well on land, Wizard." Skull Knight replied dryly.

"He means why didn't you just drop us off right by the coast," Guts backed the reasoning of Harry's question. Harry figured it was in Guts' restless nature to want to back on land and traveling compared to the lack of space a confined ship could provide. "You usually have a reason for doing all the stunts you pull, Bonehead."

"Your entrance to the other astral plane was unexpected." Sirius had a bit of decency to look a tad guilty for that, especially under Skull Knight's glowing gaze. "Events would have been quite different had you not been summoned. While the island you sail to may be but a rock, it is strong in astral energy."

Schierke perked her head up at the mention of that bit of information. "Are you saying that we would've had an ally there?"

"Just because things have been changed does not mean the loss or gain of anything or one." Skull Knight was back to his usual cryptic way of speaking, even to them. "Out here, there is time. Do what you will with it."