Tales of Meldevan

The Misadventures of Conrad and Doctane

The rapids roared around the narrow vessel as it found its way along the Eastern Current. Conrad cursed under his breath as  he saw the surface of the water turn white a mere hundred meters ahead. It was bad enough that this indicated a less than welcome collection of rocks just below the surface. What’s worse was that he wasn’t even here for his own benefit. 

Conrad kept to himself for the most part; that is, except for Caprius. Caprius was the shadow beast of the vessel, and he seemed to float along the deck. Despite his ghostly appearance, the hellhound was less than satisfied with his current circumstances. Being a fire elemental himself, he might have preferred to stay far away from the treacherous water that lie ahead. 

No, Conrad was here for the sake of his good friend Doctane. “Just call me Doc.” He would say with broad smile to those fortunate enough to cross his path. It was that relentless smile he wore as he looked back from the side of the ship, carelessly hanging over the edge with a single, soaked rope in his hand. 

Conrad couldn’t help but let his own grin break through. His old friend had a way of brightening just about any circumstance. The best part? You could swear he genuinely had no worry in any of the arguably careless circumstances they had been through together. 

That was no matter now, though. Doc was nearing the final destination for which he had been dreaming of since his early days as an apprentice. This was the day he would find the rare minerals hidden away within the Flaming Crescent. With the minerals hidden here, he could finally prove himself as a master smith. 

The Flaming Crescent was a range of volcanic mountains off the southeastern coast of Meldevan. The isles, arranged in the shape of a crescent with a larger island in the middle, were rich with mineral deposits. When combined with the volcanic activity, molten metal would spontaneously force its way from the crust of the peaks, searing its way through anything in its path.

That made the one gap that the vessel was approaching on the right the only option. Unfortunately, the heat and strong current in this gap combined to create a vicious spiral that would grind the small vessel against the rocks below. 

“Get ready!” Conrad shouted as the ship jolted at full speed and veered to the right. Doc nodded and came aboard. He pulled the rope to the back where Conrad indicated. “On three. One!” Doc strengthened his grip around around the rope. “Two!” Caprius, the stocky, thigh high beast bent low to the ground and bared his teeth. “Three!” The small crew sprang into action. 

Three things happened in the matter of a few seconds. Doc lept high into the air and landed with his feet just beyond the edge of the vessel, pulling hard on the rope and bending the metallic mast backwards. At the same moment, Conrad plunged the makeshift rutter deep into the water behind them and pushed down hard, peeling the front of the hull of the water. Finally, with the ship lean backwards and the sail at a sharper angle still, black flames erupted from the low bent form of Caprius under the sail, feeding off the ambient fire mana in this place of power. 

This heat inflated the sail leaning over the three lifeforms on the small boat. Then, as the boat entered the vortex in earnest, the its hull was lifted three meters from water level. They continued in the air as time slowed around them. Then, as they neared the water on the far side of the vortex, the light from above faded. 

The sky turned a crimson red just barely visible through the ash in the air. The water reflected this hue, and despite this threatening transition, the water was less treacherous at last. It kept a steady roil though, presumably from the thermal vents deep below the surface. 

“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Conrad asked to no one in particular.
 
“Your plan worked old friend.” Doc laughed deeply”You never do cease to amaze me.” Doc replied, slapping his companion on the back. “Now,” he began, collecting his rope-like dreads behind his head. “What’s next?”

“That depends. While I would love to accompany you to the top of this molten death trap,” He indicated the the central mountain, its peak disappearing into the ash cloud above, “we can’t get out of here without a boat, and there’s no way we’re finding a safe place to dock with this level of volcanic activity.” Conrad seemed to reach a conclusion. Doc jumped in without needing any further explanation. 

“So you’ll watch the boat, make sure nothing blows it up, and I’ll go grab the materials I need.” They were nearing the central mass of land. “Just make sure everything’s in one piece when I get back, okay?” There was that smile again. 

Conrad smiled back once more. “Right. I’ll bring you in close, but once you go, make sure you keep moving. The land will be unsteady, and you’re likely to have one thing or another fall on you from farther than you’d like to appreciate.”

They made their final approach to land, but the boiling water turned in on itself to make treacherous water close to shore. There was a mass of rock extending out over the water towards the right. Doc looked at the rope in his hands. “Bring me around there.” He indicated the outcropping. “I’ll swing ashore.”

Conrad noticed that Doc was decidedly giddy about the prospect. Doc was getting ready to swing out over boiling from a rope on a moving vessel. To make matters worse, there was no guarantee that this apparently solid mass was strong enough to support the weight of the heavily muscled smith. Still, he knew nothing he could say would dissuade his companion, and the outcome would surely be interesting regardless. 

He nodded his understanding. Conrad swung the ship about to the right and then back to the left as to pass just a few meters from the extending land. Before he said his farewell, Doc was already running towards the edge of the ship. He lept high and long, arcing horizontally from the ship.

Despite the high speeds, it seemed he had timed his run perfectly. Just as his body was about to make its way above the outstretched, black mass of rock, the roiling of the water intensified. It sputtered and popped, launching a scattered assortment of molten minerals and cooled magma from below at incredible speeds. Doc let go of the rope to gain some critical distance. He fell to the rock, dreads trailing behind him and somewhat singed from the explosion. He strong the land mass in its center and rolled to safety. 

Gripping the rutter with all of his might, Conrad turned the vessel with the explosion and the deafening crack that followed. The outstretched arm of land was falling into the boiling water below. The vessel then lurched away from shore as it was carried by the combination of forces from both the explosion and the wave that followed. 

Caprius and his master were dazed on the deck, wasting crucial moments without control of the vessel in this treacherous water. With a grim sense of foreboding, Conrad gathered himself and raised from the deck. He looked to shore. The mass of vapor that resulted from the explosion was clearing. 

After several long moments passing with their corresponding heart beats,Conrad just made out the silhouette of his friend fading into the distance. His fist was raised in the air, and Conrad knew he was smiling.