Journey to Kaer Y Seren

11 Birke 1208

In one of the rooms of a ship sailing with the wind, Saibus is lying against the railing of his bed. He is reading a book about the history of the Continent. Of course, this book contains accurate information and not the lies dictated by the kings and queens of men. The story is about the extermination of the Vran people by Men and Elves. The Vrans, who, together with the gnomes and dwarves, are the first people to live on this world, or at least in this part of the world.Saibus' mother wrote this bookr during her numerous research on the history of this world. Saibus is interrupted in her reading by the slamming of the door on the wood of the wall she is knocking on. Looking up from her book, Saibus sees a sailor.

"The captain asked me to call you to the bridge," the sailor says before leaving the room without waiting for a response from Saibus. Saibus put the bookmark on the book to avoid losing his page. He gently places the text on the table and whispers something inaudible. He then leaves his room and crosses the corridor leading to the staircase to go up to the deck. He hears sailors playing cards, singing, and drinking. As he reaches the tier, he sees the weather clearing, a cloudless sun, and a strong wind rushing through the sails. The ship is moving at full speed.

"Ah, wizard, we will need you and your witchy companion. We are coming into the pirate sea." A deep, cheerful voice comes from the upper deck. The ship's captain is at the helm. He looks like the cliched pirate in fantasy books.

"Alright Captain, I'm going to the bow to look at the sea and enjoy the cold sea air," replies Saibus as he walks towards the front of the ship. Passing the masts and ropes where some of the crew are busy, he can see on the bow deck Lyndis performing some unknown sword movements. Assuming that these are the techniques of the Griffin school, Saibus approaches without much thought.

Settling down on the boat's hull without making a sound to not disturb Lyndis. Saibus looks at the horizon. The blue of the sea as far as the eye can see, the white of the foamy waves. The flying fish jumped out of the water. The few birds were flying and heading for warmer lands.

He gazes out to sea until he is challenged by Lyndis.

"Weren't you supposed to be reading in your room?" questions Lyndis.

"I was, but the captain called me. According to him, we are returning to the area of the sea taken by the pirates. So he asked me to stand by on the bridge so we can deal with any pirates that might want to board the ship." replies Saibus as he looks back at Lyndis.

"You don't need me. You can sink the ship before it even arrives."

"Yes, I can do that, but I don't know if the pirates already carried prisoners. I prefer to avoid innocent casualties when I can."

"That is the rule I respect and approve of most in you, Assassin. If only the other schools would continue to follow the Way more. But I can see why they've been doing it less and less in recent years."

"It's everyone's choice. The Griffin school follows the code while others adapt it to survive against wild and human-skinned monsters. This is why the League was created, to protect the innocent from the most treacherous Humanity. That's why we work together. Assassins take care of Men while Wizards kill monsters." Saibus said, looking Lyndis in the eye.

"Hmm. Yes, and that's a shame, in my opinion. All the things we can do. All the things to do no more harm than good." Lyndis sighs and replies to Saibus.

"I..." Saibus speaks but is interrupted by the sound of a bell.

"DING DING DING"

"PIRATE IN SIGHT RIGHT AHEAD" A shout comes from the lookout calling out to everyone on the ship.

Looking ahead at the bow, Saibus can see the Jolly Roger Pirate hanging on to the mast of a ship heading straight for them.

"Time to work your magic, magician. I leave the ship's safety to you and your colleague!" The captain yells from the helm.

"Don't worry. Your ship won't be damaged," Saibus retorts, stepping to the edge of the bow.

The pirate ship is sailing straight at the boat. It seems to want to ram them to break their hull. As it floats, sounds of air being sold echo. From the front of the pirate ship, archers shoot arrows. Some fall into the water, sinking to the bottom of the sea. Others land with precision on the boat. But Saibus takes care of them. He summons small arrows of fire that break or consume the hands.

The archers see fire arrows destroying their arrows and scream at the ship.

The pirate ship tries to turn to starboard, but its speed does not allow it to change course so quickly, and the ship passes by Saibus' boat.

Saibus jumps onto the pirate ship despite the distance to the last Lyndis. He lands on the upper deck. His eyes glow slightly before returning to their ordinary green glow.

"Don't leave any of them alive. They have prisoners in their hold," Saibus says coldly.

Then their slaughter begins. Cutting, twirling, burning, punching. The pirates have no chance despite their numerical superiority. The pirates' war cries give way to their pleas and screams of agony. Saibus and Lyndis killed all the pirates without leaving one alive, either on the upper or lower deck.

Saibus rips the sails to stop the ship from moving. Firing a line of fire into the sky to prevent the captain from coming for them, Saibus and Lyndis go down into the ship's hold.

The hold is a large room where food and goods are stored. In the cargo hold are five cages with a dozen human beings inside. There are seven women and two men, and a small boy. All are chained to the cage by their hands and feet. The women and men are bruised, very thin, and pale. They lie on the floor in lethargy.

Saibus slowly approaches them and kneels.

A woman raises her head with difficulty through the cage's bars.

"Ai..de." She articulates with enormous difficulty.

"I can help you all, just give me a sign, and I'll help you get better," Saibus says softly.

The woman pulls her hand over the rags that serve as her clothing, revealing her upper torso.

Saibus closes his eyes and whispers a word in the ancient language.

"Groin."

The woman closes her eyes and lowers her hand. The exact process is done to each man, and woman Saibus speaks to. Lyndis watches this unfold and notices the look on the young boy's face. A sad, bitter, but also remorseful look.

She approaches his cage and kneels on the creaking wood.

"I can help you stop feeling remorse. I can make you live and find you a new family. But in return, you will become like me, hated by many and ignored by others. Never praised for your work, but you can live your life with the strength to save others like you and prevent others from going through the same situation as you." Lyndis looks into the child's eyes as she says these words. She hears Saibus move closer to her, but she does not look away from the young child's eyes.

"Helping..." The little boy states in a fragile voice, breathing heavily.

Lyndis closes her eyes, and a small tear drips from her eye.

"...Other." The boy finishes his sentence by laying his head on the ground and looking Lyndis straight in the eye.

"Yes, helping others." Lyndis smiled softly and looked at Saibus.

Saibus obeys Lyndis and melts the lock. Lyndis opens the cage door and takes the child in her arms. She holds him gently and slowly climbs up to the upper deck.

Saibus follows behind.

Lyndis sees that the transport ship is moored next to the pirate ship on the bridge. She slowly approaches the ship's railing. Seeing her with a child in her arms, the crew members put a plank between the two boats so that she could get back on board.

She cradles the child and moves gently on the board. She nods to the crew with a small thank you and descends into the lower deck without delay.

"I can see that you have found some dark things in this ship, wizard." said the captain with a grim look.

"Indeed Captain, Lyndis wanted to save it. Unfortunately or fortunately for the other people, they decided to sleep," replied Saibus as he turned towards the ship and raised his hand.

"They will rest in the arms of the sea, resting in a quiet place for their eternal rest." the captain said before ordering the crew to remove the ropes and lower the sails.

Saibus, still with his arm outstretched, watches the uninhabited pirate ship sail away. On the boat, flames rise and embrace the boat as it slowly sinks into the sea.

When the ship is no longer in sight, Saibus goes down to Lyndis' room. In the room, the boy is lying in bed under the covers. Lyndis is sitting next to him with the ship's doctor.

"According to the tests, he is malnourished. He does not appear to be carrying any diseases, but I would still advise isolating him in your room and having him inspected by your wizard friend," the doctor says before leaving.

Saibus approaches their side of the bed and sits down on a stool. He looks at the boy and begins to cast diagnostic spells.

"He reminded me of me as a child when I lost my sister in"

"I didn't say anything," replies Saibus as he tends to the young boy.

"I know," replies Lyndis softly.

AN:

I thank ArtoriasPendragon for allowing me to use his creation Lyndis in my story.