A single whirlpool, or an eddy, was a common occurrence in the ocean, but a pair of whirlpools was something that only existed in myths. Or at least that was what common people were made to believe.For decades, people have believed that a pair of whirlpools which was known as a modon, was possible. However, while experts in this area have predicted for decades that they might form in the ocean, nobody had ever seen one; or rather, there was no living soul yet that could tell the tale of its wonder.Captain Styles remained unbothered even after their ship was surrounded by raging currents and whirlpools. In fact, he just shrugged his shoulder when he saw them appear. His action implied that this was not something to fuss about. Likewise, he did not see the point of explaining anything since he reckoned that even if he tried, given that they were in the middle of a fight or flight response, Audrey and her friends would still not understand a thing from what he will going to say. Henry
It was no longer that hard to guess that the leviathan that tried to abduct the group was no other than the same Kraken that was rumored to be working under Romanov's command. As a matter of fact, it already became an established belief that the beast was the contracted spirit animal of the said captain. One of the common themes that could be observed among multiple accounts of varying sailors whenever they were asked to talk about this infamous tandem was that of how the Kraken was only acting in Captain Romanov’s stead; it was basically taking orders from its master. So whether this tentacles-ridden, creature of the deep blue sea would bring forth nightmare or bestow salvation upon the unwitting person that ended up crossing them, it was all highly dependent on the other party’s mood. In the past, it was made known that Alec Romanov had once received the noble task of ferrying the soul of those who died in the open water and apparently taking them with him to the other side. It
Audrey's group was offered to stay in one room mainly because that was the only accommodation left, to begin with. Nevertheless, their room was not in any way disappointing because they were given a huge space that could house more than a dozen people at once. In fact, they would not be surprised if Captain Styles would go on and tell them that this was one of the largest cabins he has on the ship so far; probably only second to his personal chamber.On the other hand, the captain claimed that the reason behind his decision of putting them together inside one room was that he was trying to be considerate of them. He figured they would prefer it this way."Youngsters tend to stick around with their mates nowadays. Besides, I noticed you guys always stay in a group. So I figured you would like this setup." The captain told them.Well, to begin with, it was not like they have anything against it. The thing was, their room was spacious enough to accommodate the whole group comfortably,
Captain Styles was curious to see how David would get away from the grave he dug for himself. So at first, he did nothing to clear the awkward air. Meanwhile, everyone was waiting for someone to clear up the current confusion, yet they got no explanation whatsoever. Apparently, no one has the intention to try and speak out. Initially, Captain Styles was determined not to say anything. However, when the silence became unbearable, even to him, he gave up and fished the trinket out of his pocket. Afterward, he casually put it on top of the table. "You don't know what this is, do you?" Rather than gracing David’s previous query with an answer, Captain Styles asked him back instead. On the flip side, it did not occur to them until much later on that this was the same keepsake that once belonged to David. They did not recognize, at first glance to be the same thing that the captain took from them as a form of payment prior to granting them access to the ship. In fact, even David who u
The voyage was uneventful but it was in no way tedious, unlike their previous expedition where they almost died of boredom. As a matter of fact, the only reason the author chose to describe Audrey’s current situation as such was due to the lack of the usual misfortunes that used to plague the group’s every quest. So far, they have not yet met any mishap throughout their journey, and that was ever since they met Captain Styles. It was as if his presence alone could ward off any bad luck. Thus, time flies and those three days passed by so quickly in just a blink of an eye. The sun comes and goes without their days being marked by any exciting or interesting event. At this point, they were already sailing for three straight days and within those days, they got to know more about everyone. First on their list was Captain Henry Styles. Over time, they had built this impression about him as a beer-loving lad and his huge beer belly spoke volumes of how true it was. At the same time, he al
This was how they would spend their leisure time. It was evident from how naturally they carried themselves that they sure knew how to have a good time. Whenever they have free time, they would talk about woman and their dream of drinking all day as well as going on various adventures. Likewise, whenever they would talk about these things, one who kept their eyes pealed for changes in reaction would be quick to notice the gleam of excitement in their eyes. Actually, it would take a blind person not to see the shine reflecting from those pair of orb-like peers. On the other hand, the captain only have one rule he wanted to impose strictly for the group to follow and it was something he advised them to take seriously. Otherwise, they were told that chances are, they will regret paying its consequence. However, when Luna went missing one night, Niccoli ended up breaking the rule thinking that he could get away with it if he would just be quick and take extra caution. What he did not
"Good Lord! I have long heard of stories about you and your spectral ship. Thankfully, they are all but a hoax.""Is that so? Why? Do you mind telling me what are people saying about me back there in the land nowadays?""All sort of horror one could possibly imagine.""They said the captain of the ship is one that would give you a hellish experience of a lifetime The embodiment of dread.""Hmm... I believe we are talking about a different captain then. I hate being the man to break this to you, but there is plenty of us in the sea. I am not the only one sailing with a ghostly ship in this vast water. There was this one before me with a far notorious reputation than mine. He who add an agreeable sense of macabre in any delirium; if I might add. But consider yourself blessed that ye never had dealings with him who collects the souls of sailors and binds them to service before his ship. Maybe you've heard of it?—the infamous Alec Romanov and his accursed ghost ship. The same terrible ves
This was how they would spend their leisure time. It was evident from how naturally they carried themselves that they sure knew how to have a good time. Whenever they have free time, they would basically talk, and talk some more about everything under the sun for days on end; including but not limited to their fetishes about women in general, and also about their dream of drinking all day long as well as going on various adventures, typical men desires.Likewise, whenever they would talk about these things, one who kept their eyes peeled for changes in reaction would be quick to notice the gleam of excitement in their eyes. Actually, it would take a blind person not to see the shine reflecting from those pair of orb-like peepers.On the flip side, it was already established in our previous chapters that the captain only have one rule he wanted to impose strictly for the group to follow and it was something he advised them to take seriously. Otherwise, they were told that chances were
[Distract them for me.]“Was it not only right for Steffi to get to use to eye whenever she feels like it?? I mean, she is older than the two of you so naturally, she was supposed to have more authority above both of you, no?.”“Ehhh… She’ll be fine. I’m the youngest so they should let me wear it more.” (Meredith)“The kid is right. The eldest should have the eyeball. She is a genius” (Steffi)Steve, on the other hand, seemed to get what Audrey was trying to do, so he said something that would surely add fuel to the fire.“But what about the middle child? I am sure, Ariel wants to have her turn too.&rdqu
“Now, where are we? Right, cooking.”Steffi changed the topic on purpose, before turning to her sisters.“I need the eye to check if it's ready, who has it?”“It’s around here, somewhere,”Meredith replied as she started to rummage through a pile of disorganized drawers. She felt obliged to respond since she was the last one to use the Magus Eye. Unfortunately, she forgot where she left it.“The last time I saw it, you put it in the utensils compartment, Meredith” Steffi insinuated using a lazy tone so the other party rebutted,“Don’t use that tone with my name.”Ariel on the other hand joined in this time to inform them that the eye was nowhere to be seen.“It’s not there this time.”After a while of contemplation, Meredith’s face lit up as she recalled something.“Aha! Steffi always put it in the dish cabinet:”And just like that, she found where her sister was hiding it.Consequently, the group found it interesting to watch how the three sisters could be talkative without having t
“I agree with Ariel. Why don’t we invite them over? This way, we could continue our chat there whilst they take their much-needed rest.” This time, it was Meredith who spoke and she deliberately told her sisters this. Nonetheless, she has spoken the words loud enough to be heard by others. The students, on the other hand, were beyond ecstatic when they overhear the ongoing conversation. But decided that it would be best not to allow their emotion to show on their faces. At this point, Meredith turned to the group and greeted them with a bow. “Let me apologize on my sister’s behalf. The thing is, it has been a while since we had visitors. As such, we are no longer accustomed to receiving guests.” She insinuated before she slowly approached the bunch of bewildered youngsters; careful not to bump her toe as she felt her way through the darkness. Her blindness was made obvious by her action and it made her appear pitiful to any onlooker. Truth be told, the Grae’s current act of displ
“Seriously, when will they stop obsessing over Cercei?”Tsking in annoyance, Steffi stealthily moved her slender fingers next to the Magnus Eye with the full intention of taking it back from her younger sister’s possession.“These people were getting on my nerves!”She purposely added this to appeal to her sisters’ sentiment so that their minds could focus somewhere else and they would not notice it once she started hogging the magic eye all for herself again. Meanwhile, her plan worked, as it always did. Ariel readily agreed to her and with a voice full of despondency, she said,“That’s how the mage community works. They fear what they could not understand and so they are set on destroying anything that they cannot control.”Ariel finished with an exasperated sigh. Meredith, on the other hand, could not help but clenched her fist as she was reminded of their good friend’s plight. Then with her brows knitted together, she roared,“The gal did not deserve all this hatred.”Meanwhile, t
On the flip side, rewinding the clock a tad, just a few minutes before Audrey’s group discovered that they unknowingly fall under a spell, the Graes were already watching them. “The eye! Who has the eye?” Meredith, the youngest, shouted at the top of her lungs. Steffi, on the other hand, stepped away from the giant cauldron before answering. “Over here. I had it with me.” She purposely put a safe distance between her and her two sisters before taking the eye out from her pocket. Afterward, she put the eyeball inside her empty socket. Meanwhile, Ariel, the middle child among the three sisters complained, “You again? You are always snagging our eyes by yourself.” “I know right? Give us a chance as well.” Meredith seconded. But Steffi only rolled her removable eye and mumbled, “Oh, shut up! Stop whining, it's because I have more use of this than the two of you combined.” Ariel no longer argued. But Meredith was different. “Give me that, it is my turn today.” She insinuated and
“But this was done in consideration of what was the lesser evil. News about how the petrifying monster has been terrorizing the Black Forest had already reached the ears of the masses and as a result, was causing mayhem among the people; both non-magic and magic practitioners alike. If it was not for that, the mage community would not make a move.” “Terrorizing, you say.” The Grae mockingly repeated Niccoli’s word that struck her noggin the most. Then with a contemptuous scoff, she added, “What an interesting choice of words considering that it was you, students, who made the first move against her. If you were to ask me, I think it is more accurate to say that it was the other way around. You all are the ones doing the terrorizing. You brought the melee with you and now that she retaliated, you turned her into a villain?” Everyone fell silent afterward but it was not because they were trying to come up with better arguments to refute the other party’s words. Rather, it was due to
Audrey was on her dormitory bed when all that happened, and she was absolutely oblivious to the problem that was headed her way. Meanwhile, the results of the examination were announced on the third day. The students gathered around the square early in the morning and crammed in front of the announcement board to check their results. They also wanted to find out which class they had been allocated to. Niccoli dragged Audrey into the heavily obstructed crowd and finally came before the Herbalist Division’s announcement board. Niccoli immediately found their names, and as expected, both of them had obtained the highest marks for the test. They were also allocated to the Herbalist Division’s violet class for that autumn enrollment. Niccoli was also excited to see the name ‘Andrew’ written on the top of the list. Everyone envied her marks. “Andrew! You are the first! You are the first!” Niccoli was extremely surprised and held onto Audrey’s shoulder. He was very excited, and it was as i
[Alright, I must admit it’s my fault this time. My bad.] “As you should!” Ultimately, Nero acknowledged the part he played in inciting the agitated hut to action. But he also did not forget to let Audrey know that he did not appreciate her tone. [Needless to say, raising your voice is completely unnecessary. Besides, getting mad at me won’t change anything, will it? You’re kind of embarrassing me, just you know.] The cat tried to reason out but with her and her friends’ lives at stake and almost put in danger, Audrey did not back away easily this time. “Oh yeah? Then swear to me that from now on, you will be mindful of your choice of words. We have to be careful with every word we are saying because it was not every time that we got a chance to take it back.” Meanwhile, Nero’s response came shortly. However, it was so brief. Moreover, it did not sound sincere either. [Okay. I promised] So Audrey prompted the cat to state the matter precisely because she did not want him to circ
“What if the Graes already took notice of us as soon as we entered their perimeter and right now, we are under a spell; making our eyes play a trick on us? What if what we are seeing right now is not real?”“Well, if that is the case, then I guess there is only one way to check it.”Audrey insinuated and without wasting another breath, she said the passphrase."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."Slowly, it dawned on the others as well what was possibly happening and so without waiting to be told what to do, they recited the same thing too."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."They whispered into the air one after another and almost immediately, the landscape changed into something else, right before their naked eyes.Everyone watched with an awestruck face as the trees turned into fences. At the same time, just a few feet away from where they were standing, they noticed how an empty lot from moments ago started to morph into what seemed to be an inconspicuou