The Curse

Chapter 3 - What Walks These Waters

Off the Coast of Grave Bank

POV: Stepstool, Man of Wonder

As I played the drums, I looked at Bradshaw and saw an eldritch, purple tentacle. I looked at Anthony, and he nodded his head. I had no idea what he was doing, but he ran off. Then, the creature revealed itself, it was a purple-ish colossal sea creature. Its head was triangular and it sat back. It went back into a stationary position, hiding its mouth and its tentacles floated out of the water. Water dripped from them, as the long, purple tendrils loomed over us. The tendrils were covered in spikes on the underside.

That was when the first strike came down. One of its many tentacles smashed down on the ship and got stuck. The other pirates evacuated quickly, leaving me, Genomia & Aero. Aero began to float and conjure Fae Magic.

"Aerospace Shield!" Aero shouted as Genomia & myself were covered in bubbles. As she yelled, the limb that was stuck in the ship pulled up, bringing wood with it and threw it at Aero. Aero fell into the water.

"Aero!" I shouted, and threw my drumsticks down and pulled my sword out. It was a small dagger, but it always got the job done. I climbed the Crow's Nest and made the dumbest decision of my life, as I jumped from the Crow's Nest unto the creatures' skin. As I grappled the creatures' slimy skin, so I didn't fall off. I stabbed it with my dagger and pulled it out. It wailed in agony, as threw me off. I looked at the dagger which was covered in what I assumed to be blue-tinted blood.

I fell into the ocean, but I was unharmed as Aero's spell covered me. I looked around and I saw Aero swimming towards the top. I looked down and saw the underbelly of the creature. Its gnarly mouth was filled with teeth, row by row, and a beak of two pointy pincers. Then I looked down to see it's two primary tentacles, realizing that what was above were its arms.

I quickly swam to the top. Aero floated towards the top.

"Aero!" I shouted once again.

"Stepstool!" Aero cast more magic and I soon began levitating onto the ship.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, as you should be too." Aero smiled and kissed me before turning. "Genomia, how are we going to defeat this thing? It's blocking our path to Grave Bank."

"Aero, I have no idea-"

As Genomia tried to speak, someone bolted by her and jumped off the ship, throwing their sword towards the squid before landing back on the ship. We all looked to see, that bolt was Kane.

"Take that, you oversized squid!" Kane smiled.

"You know what this thing is?" I asked Kane.

"Yes, this is a Kraken. They are mystical sea deities that like to cause trouble for seafarers. Usually, they stay deep underwater but certain individuals summon them to protect their homes sometimes." As Kane finished, the Kraken threw another limb onto the ship, this time crushing Kane. Blood splattered onto the wood surrounding him.

A blood-curdling scream came from Aero, and Genomia looked horrified. All I could think was of fear. Kane was just murdered in front of us by a sea god. The Kraken then threw another arm onto the ship and I rolled out the way and then stabbed it. It flinched releasing both arms, and Kane's body laid on the ground.