Info Shopping Covet

Strikers were in the middle of the sea, anchored. Waiting to decide a way to go to the Phoenix-Eye. Noah was bored and slacking off near the rudder controller. Knightin Gale, on the other hand, kept watching the area nearby, standing on the plank holding the Main topgallant sail. Nick, Michael versus Sabrina, Zumi fighting for deciding the path. Strike came out of the below deck. “What were you doing down there, mate?” Mike asked. “Some planning…Oh GOD! Do I have to be the referee of this brawl?” Strike annoyingly asked. “Think you should…Breakfirst is ready!” Kaecy came out of below deck with a tray full of roasted fish, salted seaweed and lots of vegetables. (this makes me hungry…). “FOOOOOOOOOOOOD!” Mike and Nick came; mouths watering with saliva. Michael stood up and closely looked at the meal after it was set on the table. “This is all we have left, right?” he asked. “YUP!” Kaecy accepted grinning and that made the crew throw out the beer they tried to drink. “YOU USED THEM ALL?” the crew questioned. “What’s the big deal? We going to get provisions so I used them all” Kaecy ignored the point. “Excuse ME! We don’t know how many hours or days it’ll cost to reach Phoenix-Eye!” Nick informed. “We’ll manage this day to reach there. You guys have never done travelling sea routes I see. My, my” Strike sighed. Nick, Michael, Sabrina and Zumi stopped eating. “That’s impossible!” all four said at once. “It’s possible! You are saying the route in the book, aren’t you Strike?” Mike asked. Strike nodded. “I follow whatever your decision is, pal. Lead the way.” Mike said ignoring Nick, Michael, Zumi and Sabrina’s astonished faces.

“Okay then, what’s the route?” Sabrina smashed the map on the food table. Strike tore off a fish from his mouth and pointed the path on the map with his finger. Zumi and Sabrina were stunned. “You got to be KIDDING ME!” both of them said. The route depicts to advance between the Sebarnik island and Drangle isle. “Strike! That place is too narrow for this ship!” Sabrina pointed out; Dragle isle sure is their home island. “You amateurs keep crying. I and Noah got this!” Strike said in confidence while smirking. Noah heard his name and stood up. “Strike, believe me. No one in history was able to live after going against the rapid currents in between Kurv and Dragle islands and Kurv and Sebark islands” Zumi tried to stop Strike from his actions, but Strike didn’t reply. “If no one has done it, we’ll be the first. Right captain?” Michael understood and supported Strike. Strike nodded. “Noah! Full speed ahead; to the alacrity currents!” Strike ordered. “Aye captain! HOIST THE SAILS YOU scallywags” Noah shouted, pretending to be the ship’s captain. All the crew looked at Noah with narrowed eyes. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Knightin Gale asked while scouting. “Just needed to hear my sound as the captain…” Noah excused grinning.

( Part one: Rapid crusade )

“Everyone listen! In about thirty seconds, we’ll be entering the alacrity currents. Prepare the ship quickly!” Knightin Gale slid down by means of a rope and came down to the deck. “Counting from twenty-five seconds… Raise the sails, secure the below deck stuff, tight those ropes, hurry up!” Knightin Gale kept giving orders and everyone was rushing to get things done quicker. Meanwhile, Strike went towards the ship’s stem and grabbed the rope of the flying jib. “Noah, await my orders. Michael and Nick prepare the anchor and stay there. NG keep checking the surroundings after we enter; tie yourself up to the main mast. Naomi, Mike with NG. Kaecy, Zumi with Noah. Sabrina stays between NG and Noah to pass my orders. Ten seconds left!” Strike placed the crew in positions. “Tell the side you want to turn the ship. NOT the rudder.” Noah shouted to Strike.

The ship entered the alacrity currents and it fast-tracked with immense speed, almost making it impossible for the crew to control the ship. “Ten-degree port, thirty-degree starboard, STEADY SHE GOES!” Strike yelled directions to turn the ship and made it closer to the end. “We are done for…” Kacey said. “YOU DARE TO GIVE UP WHEN STRIKE LEADING?” Noah questioned back and Kaecy got speechless. Strike saw the current dividing. “DROP THE PORTSIDE ANCHOR! NOAH, HARD TO PORT!” Strike shouted. “AYE!” Nick and Noah shouted. “SHIFT THE SIDE SAME ORDER!” Strike said. Nick pulled the portside anchor, while Michael dropped the starboard anchor and Noah turned hard to starboard. The current and ship’s turns brought them behind the Kurv island and flowed them towards the sea stacks near Sebarnik island. “Available hands on deck, hoist the sails. It’s not over. Noah hard to port; hundred and fifty degrees!” Strike ordered and the crew followed. The winds coming from the sea stack area picked up and slowed the ship and accelerated it toward the Phoenix-Eye. Now it was a direct trip. The crew sat where they stood from exhaustion. “Nice work guys.”

“NG…do you know how to find specific places in Phoenix-Eye?” Strike asked. The girls smirked. “Do I? Nick, bring the map of Phoneix-Eye.” Knightin Gale said. Nick brought the enlarged map of the place. “Here, look…” Knightin Gale pointed to the map. “…The islands are numbered from one to eight. Diagonal from Northwest to Southeast, read left to right, in three layers; in the same way, type diagonal separations…” Knightin Gale edited the map. “…Since we need provisions…we should go to… the fifth or,… say.., the island in the middle. The ship won’t reach that close. Noah should harbour it…on the Nameless island, close to the fourth island. We’ll use Sea-stallions harboured for customers, near the eye-lid area of the Phoenix-Eye” Naomi explained. “Think I got it. I need three without NG. NG, and the rest go where Naomi said.” Strike asked for three volunteers to come with him. “Sabrina, Kaecy and Nick will come with you.” Mike said. “Zumi will go.” Kaecy said. Zumi, Sabrina and Nick Nodded in agreement to go with the island.

( Part two: Impact and tidings )

Strikers came close to the Phoenix-Eye, eye-lid area. “Can’t you stop a little bit closer…” Zumi annoyed Noah. “Let’s swim to the sea-stallions!” Strike said and jumped into the ocean with Nick. Zumi and Sabrina had no choice but to follow. “Noah, take the ship around the Phoenix-Eye and harbour it on the place I say.” Knightin Gale said. “Understood!” Noah agreed and the ship advanced ahead. 

Strike and the team boarded four sea-stallions. The officers there offered strikers a map including island numbers and their spots. The islands one to four were vacation spots, five and six were business or rather sales islands, seven was a gambling island and eight was a sports island. Strike and the team went directly to the fifth island’s harbour; for sea-stallions. “We don’t have time for detours. Zumi, what are our targets?” Nick asked. Meanwhile, Strike took a good look around the place. Especially concerning the geography of the land. The place was full of lots and lots of stalls of different sale products; Toy shops, furniture shops, food courts, armouries, ammunitions, medicines and everything else. Just name it. The ground was of orange colour soil and almost all the shop stalls were made of wood. The place was hot as a desert and noisy as a working mineshaft. Zumi took a list prepared by Knightin Gale and Michael. “I guess by targets, you mean our provisions, to be… Here goes. Half a pound of silver-green leaves, forty-four pounds of rice, any even number of arrow stacks, dry firewood for emergency purposes, a couple of nautical spyglasses with higher magnifications. And it says ‘refer the extra list in your pocket’…what does that even mean?” Zumi ended up reading a scroll written top to bottom about provisions. Sabrina put her hand on Zumi’s pocket and took out a scroll; a tiny one. The scroll was unrolled and when Sabrina raised it up to her head, the list was up to her feet. The crew got annoyed. “Hold your face muscles, it says…hm…hm…AAHA! Some of the listed items are optional.” “Some…?” Nick asked Sabrina. “Actually, all. The list is full of…fruits and veggies.” Sabrina. “Ignore the mini-list. Get the stuff in the big one. Let’s move out!” Strike advanced with the team and began shopping.

After some tiring hours of shopping, the team came up with all the main necessities and tried to find a farm shop to buy some vegetables and fruits. Nick and Strike were doing the heavy weight lifting while Zumi and Sabrina carrying just small light weighted bags. “Strike, how did we come down to this level?” Nick asked while panting. “You telling me…I’m the leader, I’m the one who should be carrying less.” Strike panted also. “Don’t mention it guys! You can’t force a lady to carry such heavy stuff.” Sabrina ignored their work. “Who are you calling ladies? You two like hellhounds, instead of the ‘hound’ part.” Nick said. “Hellhounds?” Zumi and Sabrina said at the same instance and started cracking joints. “I take it back…I’m seeing the grim reaper behind you” Nick let off his death wish. Suddenly from the left side of the team, a dagger rocketed towards Zumi and hit her left arm near the shoulder. She fell down in pain. Nick was tired he didn’t have time to catch the dagger. Strike and Nick drew their weapons. Strike didn’t use the emperor’s sword because it’ll expose him. Same instance, from the right side, another dagger came and hit Sabrina’s elbow, preventing her from archery. Strike and Nick put their backs together and aimed to left and right. Nick drew his bow and stretched the arrow. Strike prepared his position as a swordsman. “Spot ya!” Sabrina said and ran towards an attacker. Zumi followed her as well. Strike spotted a few others hiding in stalls. “Nick, it’s a trap. The inverteds, shoot an arrow to stop those two” Strike whispered Nick, to stop Zumi and Sabrina. Nick’s accuracy never failed. He took aim and shot. But the arrow was misdirected by another arrow, though Nick didn’t see it. Nick was tormented by his own thoughts, saying he was a loser at aiming. Nick ran toward Zumi and Sabrina. Three of them went inside a big warehouse, while Strike got surrounded by inverteds. “Nick…NICK! COME BACK!” Strike’s words reached out to all three, but it was just too late to react. The warehouse exploded from a Molotov hit. Glasses, metal and walls got destroyed by the intense flames. Strike quickly changed his mind and drew the emperor’s sword, and rotated the chain blade to heavily injure the enemy, as he did in the isle of Ecronz. People gathered in the area and Strike jumped pushed and jumped right into the scorching flames. And successfully brought Nick, Sabrina and Zumi’s unconscious bodies, and rested them in the open air.

A little girl came with her mother and elder brother. They were kind enough to take the four strikers to their house; which was a home infirmary. “Thank you for bringing them here. The place is not secure for us.” Strike bend and said, to show his gratitude. “Mommy, look he has the same as papa!” the little girl shouted. The boy jumped to the middle. “What do you want inverted!” he shouted. “Few things actually. One, not to call me an inverted, because I’m not. Secondly…” Strike bowed from knees. “Please, heal them! If you calm down, I’ll tell you who I am.” he said. The boy settled and his mother had already begun to treat their wounds. While the boy and girl listening to Strike’s story, their mother was treating Zumi. Nick on the other bed, the right side of Zumi’s bed, lifted his right arm barely up and took out a mini-crossbow as Strike had daggers under his sleeves. Strike saw it. He grabbed and bent with the two kids. The mini-arrow Nick shot, hit an inverted who tried to backstab Strike. The Molotov in his belt broke and he was set on fire. The inverted ran with an ignited body to find any source of fire extinguisher. Nick passed out. “NICK HANG IN THERE!” Strike ran towards Nick and shouted. “STRIKE” Sabrina called Strike and signelled him to get close his ear to her. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. End the war” Sabrina whispered and became silent, because of tiredness.  

 Strike tried to head out and soon he remembered, what the little girl said. Strike went back to the kids, and bent down. “Hey, you don’t need to be afraid of any of US” Strike pointed to them. “Can you tell me what you meant by saying, ‘having the same as papa’?” Strike probed. “She meant, you have the same sword in your back” the boy interrupted. Though his answer intrigued Strike. “So my guess is correct.” Strike whispered to himself. “Who is your father anyway?” Strike probed again. “He’s the highest alpha of the Yaeries.” The boy said. “If your father is in Auslika island why the rest of the family is in here?” he questioned again. “We’re not always here. Once a week at least, we go back home.” The girl said. “I personally don’t like to see his face.” The boy said. Strike was surprised so much his eyes went big and he was speechless. “Why are you saying that? He’s your…” “I KNOW WHO HE IS! I HATE HIM BECAUSE OF HIS STUPID PLAN!” the boy didn’t let Strike finish and yelled with tears in his eye. Strike was thinking about whether to ask the next question or not. “You seemed a nice person, so I’ll explain the situation.” The kids’ mother said while finishing the basic treatments. “You know the two tribes right? Saints and Sinners…the kids’ father found out that he was passed down from the saint’s royal family. Since then he was plotting something, to earn what he called ‘his rightful place’. I told him the tribe is divided, then he planned this. The war…. said he’ll bring the whole under his command. That happened when he got a similar sword like yours. My son thought that the sword is corrupting him but, he couldn’t lift the sword one bit.” The kid’s mother explained. ‘So, the yaeries alpha is a person chosen by chimera’s emperor’s sword.’ Strike thought to himself. Strike kept wondering in intensity about what to do. His whole plan includes all of his teammates. “Can I leave them in your care? I’ll send a friend to protect you all.” Strike asked for their help. “Mom can heal them, probably in two weeks. Who are you sending?” the boy asked. Strike smirked. “How about a dragon?” he said. The boy and girl’s eyes went big. The boy fell off surprised. “D…Da…DRAGON!” the boy shouted in amazement. The girls were too surprised, she went daydreaming. Strike drew his sword, and turn around a hundred and eighty degrees. “Ragion, you hear me? Can you come to the fifth island in Phoenix-Eye? Can you then, locate me by using the sword?” Strike whispered the question. The white arrow-shaped part that Ragion mentioned previously, glowed three times in blue colour; which meant Ragion said ‘yes’ to all three questions. “Great! Thanks Ragion.” Strike whispered to the sword and put it back in its scabbard. “What did you do…?” the little girl asked. Strike bent down and said “That’s a secret. My friend will come tonight” and smiled.

The night began to fall on the fifth island, the sunset looked marvellous but the whole eyesight tuned to orange and yellow colours. The sunset filled the sky with red and orange colours and so was the soil, which was also orange in colour. as for a newcomer to this island; the moment was to think ‘am I colour blind?’. 

Two hours and a couple of minutes later, Strike saw Ragion’s shadowy figure flying at full speed toward them. Strike suddenly thought of something and took Nick’s bow and an arrow, and shot it to Ragion, when it was close enough. Ragion noticed and suddenly stopped to avoid it. Ragion was just a few feet above the ground at the moment. “Strike! What did you do that for?” Ragion questioned. “If I didn’t do it, your final wing flap would’ve blown off this whole house away!” Strike shouted. “and if you saw I ignited it, you could’ve burned the house with the arrow, unintentionally.” Strike said. “You have a point there” Ragion had to agree to it, as trusting its own reflexes in combat and all. “Uh…Strike is your name? Who are you talking to?” the boy asked. “You may not see it now, HOLD ON! Ragion, where will you hide?” Strike asked since Ragion mustn’t expose itself, otherwise, the inverteds can capture it. “That’s all taken care of. I can turn into a giant rock of sand; my scales will even change their roughness too. But as a disadvantage, I can only turn my colour and skin only to rough surfaces.” Ragion said. “Right…Your abilities are absolutely weird pal.” Strike commented. “Oh, and by the way Ragion, please don’t scare them. Protect my teammates, that’s your job. I’m leaving to Nameless island, and directly to Auslika island.” Strike mentioned his path; just in case. “Understood Strike. You may go, I’ll do my part.” Ragion said and flew to the roof. “Hm…this is stable enough for me.” Ragion said, landing on the roof and trying to do night guard duty. “What are you doing?” Strike questioned, with a curious grinning look. “If I’m to protect them, I need a clear vision around the place.” Ragion explained. Strike sighed and left, saying goodbye to his comrades, temporarily.

( Part three: Poseidon’s ride )

Minutes later, Strike came to his sea-stallions, hardly bringing all the goods that they all borrowed. Strike’s sea-stallion didn’t have enough space to carry all, so he attached another sea-stallion to his, and divided the purchased items. Strike pedalled in the sorrow of leaving his teammates. Unlike what Michael repaired, the ones in Phoenix-Eye were really noisy and slower than the original. Moments later he started to hear one or two sea-stallions behind him. Strike ignored; thinking maybe they were some tourists. Seconds later, a dagger came by and almost cut the right side near Strike's right eye. Strike didn’t look back but pedalled harder and increased his speed.

Another few seconds later, Strike missed a board saying ‘checkpoint ahead – slow down!’. So he didn’t have time to slow the sea-stallion, got crashed at the checkpoint, which was a small bridge to stop sea-stallions. The sea-stallion blew up but the items were saved. Strike swam towards the bridge, a couple of feet away, with the items. Two officers were there, lending a hand to take his items to the bridge before they sank with Strike. Strike pushed the two officers; otherwise, two daggers that were after Strike would pierce the officers’ heads. Strike was stranded, with nowhere to escape and he couldn’t shed blood in the public, because that can give a wrong idea about him. Strike saw a translucent floating deck, with the ocean. He ran and hid under it; underwater, but he managed to keep his head above the water level. Two inverteds came too close to the floating deck. “Damn it! Only if I could get away from them in sec” That’s all Strike had to whisper, the deck rocketed away from the checkpoint bridge with Strike and the items he purchased. The inverteds shot arrows and the arrows stuck on the fast-tracked deck. Strike was almost sea surfing at the moment. “You intrigued finding me, your majesty.” The deck spoke. “Ragion!? Told you to stay with my teammates!” Strike shouted. “Your majesty, I am not Ragion. But a friend, Inferine. I’m not like him. I’m a hippocampus. No wings, instead, fins. Half horse, half fish” The speaking deck Inferine said while coming to its true form. It had cyan colour scales with thick, dark blue, iron textured outlines. “Pl…please, call me Strike. A pleasure to meet you, Inferine.” Strike nervously said while grinning. “It’s my pleasure too, Strike. Where do you want to go?” Inferine asked. Strike asked Inferine to take him North-Northwest, then asked to go Northeast. And a couple of minutes later, Strike reached the other strikers, and docked the ship far close to the Nameless island’s shore.

Strike came near the ship. “Throwing out a rope ladder!” Kaecy yelled and threw a ladder made of ropes. Strike climbed it and onboarded the ship. “Uh…Strike…can you give me some sugar cubes in your bags” Inferines jumped like a dolphin and asked. Strike, to show his gratitude, threw a handful of sugar cubes from one of the bags. Inferine left happily. “Strike, why have you brought it all by yourself?” Noah asked. Strike didn’t want to reply. He desolately looked down. “Strike…STRIKE!” Kaecy shook Strike from his shoulders. “Where are the others? Where’s my brother!” Noah shouted in worry. “They…they are in an infirmary in the fifth island.” Strike said. He didn’t want to get depressed but, that didn’t play out as he intended. “What are you talking about? You may be the leader, but GIVE US THE DETAILS!” Knightin Gale yelled at Strike. All hands on board were curious and worried. Strike held it as long as he can. He thought he had no point in holding back the truth. “Inverteds, ambush. Zumi’s left shoulder and Sabrina’s right elbow; were fractured. Three of them chased, just one inside to a warehouse, and an inverted from outside threw a Molotov inside the warehouse and blew it up. All alive, a nurse in the infirmary treating. Ragion is looking after them.” Strike said the incident in detail. The crew was stunned. “Listen Strike, if anything bad happened to Nick, I’ll never forgive you.” Noah put his blade into Strike’s neck and threatened. “Strike, Noah, both of you stop it!” Knightin Gale and the others shouted. “Noah…if you are trying to threaten the team leader, with a weapon, make sure you are ready to leave all things in your life, behind.” Strike was holding a newly borrowed kitchen knife to Noah’s belly. Noah had no choice but to withdraw. Noah put back his sword.

Michael saw Knightin Gale having the small paper slip come from the beast scroll. But didn’t actually know what it is. He slowly approached; because he had hinted that he knew what it was. He approached in a really creepy way for a man to act. “NG, the slip, can I have it” Michael tried to drag it out from Knightin Gale belt. “HEY! Who do you think you are, to touch me like that! Get off” Knightin Gale pushed Michael but luckily he managed to pull the slip off. Michael looked shocked to the core. Mike bent down and slightly pushed Michael from his shoulder. “Are you alright Michael” Mike asked. “THIS IS IT!” Michael suddenly stood up and accidentally hit Mike’s nose. Mike fell where he sat. “Sorry Mike. Didn’t mean that” Michael apologized. Mike waved one hand expressing ‘okay’ while holding the nose from the other. “What is it?” Naomi asked. “I turned my back to Yaeries’ royal army, because of the commander! Commander is the war plotter!” Michael shouted. The crew was now double shocked. Strike thought for a bit. “Let’s go! Head to Auslika island.” Strike ordered. “What about the others?” Mike asked. “They can’t come on time. Even if they come, we can’t assign them any task, under their current conditions.” Strike said. “Why’s that!?” Noah asked, despite already having a ruckus with the leader. Strike also ignored that, because Noah’s actions reflect Strike’s actions when he couldn’t help Wiaeve at his final battle. “The treatments take minimum of two weeks.” Strike said. “SET THE SAILS AND MOVE OUT” Strike commanded. “Aye!” the crew went with the same spirit and went back to work. Strikers departed from the Nameless island. And set their direction and final destination with the ship as Auslika island.