Blackbeard; The Legend

The King

Akahana rapidly tapped her foot on the deck, growing a little impatient as the ship slowly continued towards the harbor, the thick mist obscuring her view. All of the passengers were grouped together on the deck, as to prepare for docking, eager murmuring bouncing around them. Ryota and Takahiro stood next to her, both equally excited but also restless as her.

"Hey captain!" Ryota called. "Are we there yet?" Stormfeather didn't respond, and he yelled a command to another one of his crew members. "Ugh..." Ryota groaned. "We're so close!"

"Just wait a little bit." Takahiro murmured, but she could hear the agitation in his voice. "We have to dock first before we can step on land."

"Well, no duh!" Ryota let out a frustrated sigh. "I just wish it would dock faster." Akahana nodded in agreement. However, something caught her attention, and as she took a deep inhale, she could define an odd scent that stood out from the smell of the cold and frosty wind.

"Hey," She said. "Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Takahiro asked. Ryota sniffed the air and looked to her, concern in his eyes.

"The wind, it smells like smoke. Like a fire burning." Ryota described. "That's...a little weird."

"Well, it could be the houses in here." Takahiro suggested. "They let their smoke from fires come out of chimneys, so that it doesn't build up in their homes." He looked to the sky. "It fades in with the wind, so what you're smelling is just a faint whiff." He explained assuredly.

"But, it's more than just a little." Ryota said. "How to describe it...It's a lot more concentrated."

Akahana nodded. "It's like...multiple fires burning all at once." She explained. "Although it might just be that my nose is paranoid." She joked. The three shared an uneasy chuckle, as the fact that the smell of sulfur and ash was prevalent in such a cold land was peculiar and concerning...

Suddenly, the ship lurched forward, almost causing everyone on the deck to fall over. Akahana almost stumbled, and as she got up, she was suddenly hit with a much stronger stench of smoke, and as she squinted forward, trying to see past the thick haze, she saw the dock. Or what was left of it. Instead of a bustling harbor filled with people, there was nothing but ruin and flames, as stalls and stands lay broken or burnt. Ashes flew through the air like snowflakes, and from the ship, she could see people, but they were lying on the ground, pools of red surrounding their limp bodies.

"What the..." Akahana's hands flew to her mouth, as she gazed at the carnage that lay before her.

"What happened here?" Ryota managed to get a question out from his baffled state, but none of the passengers had an answer.

"It looks like a battle took place here..." Takahiro murmured. "Hey, captain, what-" Suddenly, Akahana felt something tightly wrap around her wrists, and she was thrusted onto the ground, with no time to utter any cry of surprise. Immediately after, she could hear Ryota and Takahiro also being shoved down, and shouts of alarm and distress rang out from behind her. Looking through the corners of her eyes, she could see that other passengers were also bound and captured, primarily the fighters of the group, while those who weren't watched, terrified as the crew members began lifting the constrained off the ground.

"H-Hey!" Ryota shouted. "What are you guys doing?!" He tried to wiggle his way out, but was yanked upwards and was forced to get up. Akahana felt someone gripping the rope that bound her wrists and she was pulled off the ground, the tip of a sword pressing against her back.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Takahiro yelled as he was yanked upwards and forced to walk off the ship and onto the dock, the other passengers forced to follow. Akahana looked up to the head of the ship, where Stormfeather watched, an ashamed grimace on his face, and he looked away ever so quickly when they made brief eye contact, the guilt multiplied in his eyes.