21. The way to follow
The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board and the crackling of the fire could be heard in the kitchen, the cheerful voice of old Rishi hummed in time with his cuts, I was sitting on a barrel with a mineral in one hand and a gouge in another .
Mr. Ignite was sitting on a chair and his feet were on a barrel, he was working with the crew's weapons.
I have already lost count of how many crystals I have wasted, my hands are full of blisters and some cuts, but I am getting closer to achieving my goal.
Fifteen nights have passed since we left the island and according to Mr. Galard's calculations we are only 20 nights from Verf Blauw.
So far we have not had any mishaps, some beasts attack us sporadically but they are not a problem.
Since we boarded the ship, Mr. Ignite has taught me everything I need to practice blacksmithing and carving, when my grandfather knew that I was learning this art he was very happy but he told me that I could not neglect my training and reminded me that once we returned to Verf Blauw would begin an intensive training so that he could learn to use magic.
Today I asked the man where he learned about blacksmithing and he began to tell me his story.
He was born in the Goldwin federation, he grew up with his aunt the concubine of a nobleman, his aunt always treated him like a son, however he became friends with the nobleman's daughter and to separate them they sent him to work for one of the most blacksmiths. famous of the federation.
His aunt did not agree but could not do anything, he was sent as a servant, however the determination of the young lord Ignite transformed the punishment into a blessing.
He learned the basics about blacksmithing by watching the old man, eventually the old man discovered his skill and adopted him as an apprentice, in a short time his name sounded in the upper echelons of the federation as a young man with a promising future.
Thanks to that, he managed to reconnect with his friend and in the end they fell in love, but the nobleman did not want his daughter to marry a blacksmith and decided to marry her with the son of one of the great families of the federation.
The inevitable happened and the young nobleman faced Ignite in a battle in which he was defeated, although he did not die, it was considered a humiliation for the family and that caused them to seek revenge.
But the old blacksmith helped them escape from the federation, while they were fleeing from the murderers sent by that family, he met my parents and they traveled together, during that trip they became friends.
They traveled together to Border City where the murderers found them and fought, when they were about to catch them, the grandfather's crew appeared and seeing that his daughter and son-in-law were injured, he killed each of the murderers.
After that he and his wife accompanied my parents on a trip across the continent and when my parents retired to Verf Blauw he decided to join Grandfather's crew.
When I heard his story my heart was agitated, the story of a child who was born in the middle of a fire and in that disaster his parents died and he was left in charge of his aunt and he repeated the same story that Mr. Ignite had told me, that was a of the many stories I read in my mother's books.
I could not contain my doubts and asked Mr. Ignite if he was the protagonist of that story and he answered me with a smile.
"Don't you know what your mother did? She is well known on the continent, she always spent her time writing and inventing stories, many of her stories are based on the life stories of her friends.
Hearing that I couldn't help but get emotional, I knew very little about my parents' past, I knew that my father came from very distant lands and that my mother was very intelligent, but that was all.
After hearing more of them from Mr. Ignite, tears accumulated in my eyes, I was very happy, knowing that my parents are so well known and that they lived many adventures throughout their lives made me very happy.
The faces of my parents flowered in my mind and unconsciously I asked
"Mr. Ignite, were my parents strong?"
Mr. Ignite was silent for a few seconds, he seems to be remembering old times, after a while he replied with his usual smile.
"Your father had very strange abilities, he came from the central continent, I don't know how he lived in recent years but his abilities were comparable to Samir's or Garald's, he even fought against the elite Bashtar and defeated them."
When I heard Mr. Ignite's words a question arose from my head.
"If he was so strong why was he defeated by that white beast?"
Mr. Ignite's face changed immediately the smile on his face disappeared and a sad look appeared on his face, he opened his mouth but the words did not come out.
I stammer for a few seconds before looking into my eyes and saying.
"Your father was strong, never doubt that, however those creatures are something that cannot be easily understood, one day you will know the danger they represent, but rest assured that your father was the most incredible person I have ever met"
Old Rishi's voice came from behind and Mr. Ignite's face showed a grateful look, I knew they were hiding something important from me, but I understood that it was something that he might not understand at this time.
"Dan, someday I will tell you about this but first you must be strong, I can't tell you more but you must train more than other people, when you are strong enough you will have the answers to your questions"
The atmosphere in the kitchen was completely destroyed and everyone dedicated themselves to their own, to distract myself I put all my concentration on carving an excellent pendant for Keira.
After that day in the kitchen things were very normal, until the twenty-fifth night, that night the bell rang while I was sleeping, at that moment I got up in a hurry.
On the deck all the crew arrived one by one, I knew that something was about to happen, it did not seem to be the attack of beasts, that situation confused me, Marcus was next to Mr. Samir and he seemed just as confused as me.
"Three ships are approaching us, there are no lights on their ship, they are pirates, all their light sources disappeared when they saw our ship"
Yurem's voice reached everyone, I started looking in all directions but I couldn't see anything.
"They are approaching from starboard, they are a mile away, I await your orders captain"
"We still have time, hoist the sails, prepare the cannons, Dragan changes the course, 90 degrees to starboard, since they want to attack us so let's help them, all who can use wind magic generate a favorable wind"
"Didn't you hear the captain? What are you waiting for? Move on you damn rats or your share of the loot will be reduced"
The thunderous voice of the captain broke the stillness of the night, followed by the harsh voice of Maester Roldan.
The peaceful night was filled with bustle, Marcus and I were left standing without knowing what to do, at that moment a man named Rufus gave us instructions.
Marcus and I ran towards one of the cannons, Mr. Rufus approached along with other crew members preparing the cannon.
"Do they know how to use magic?"
We both shook our heads.
"Well in this case I need you to bring bullets for the cannons, this will be a quick assault, put them aside and take cover, this will be dangerous"
At that time the ship was moving at high speed, I looked into the distance and I could see that several lights in the middle of the sea and we were approaching them.
"Dragan 20 degrees to port, everyone in their positions, prepare for the confrontation, have no mercy for the enemies"
After the cries of the grandfather my heart began to beat with force, the seconds passed slowly, in the darkness of the night I saw the silhouette of two ships, it seemed that we would crash with them, the sound of the waves crashing against the ship, the wind roaring through the sails flooded my ears.
From one moment to the next we were right in the middle of those ships, and at that moment Maester Roldan roared.
FIRE!!!
* BOOOOM *
* BOOOOM *
* BOOOOM *
Explosion after explosion covered the atmosphere in the next instant the ship shook violently, in the darkness of the night I could only see flashes that flew towards us and then the ship's shaking followed, they shot us with magic.
RECHARGE !!!
The roar of cannons reloading followed by more explosions.
"They are trying to board the ship !!!"
Someone screamed and then a groan of pain was heard, at that moment I saw that a silhouette came flying towards us but Mr. Rufus stopped it with a sword.
"Run to the warehouses for cover" said Mr. Rufus seriously as he handed Marcus a shield.
Marcus raised the shield and started running towards the warehouse and I ran after him.
"Dragan you stay to defend the ship with group A, Roldan boards the starboard ship with group B, the rest follow me we will attack the other ship"
Grandpa's order was heard and everyone took new positions, Mr. Ignite approached us, gave me a spear and a morning star to Marcus.
"Dan, Marcus take this and defend yourselves, the shield you have is sufficient for the moment, try to hide in the warehouse, don't try to fight just protect yourself, I'll take care of the bow"
With those words Mr. Ignite took out a huge hammer and ran to the bow, Marcus and I began to retreat towards the hatch to take refuge in the hold.
At that moment I felt that danger was approaching, before I could do anything Marcus moved and with the shield intercepted the attack of a man who instantly turned his sword to pierce Marcus's neck but before the point could move. of my spear moved towards him.
He withdrew back and at that moment a sword pierced his chest, I never knew who murdered the man, in that instant I understood the seriousness of the situation.
I looked around and there was only chaos, clashing swords, stabbing spears and flying magic, many bodies on the ground, some with serious injuries and others were already dead, I froze in that place and only reacted to Marcus's pull that he threw at me sideways.
At that moment I saw a sword that was directed at Marcus and without thinking about anything I used my weapon to attack, I felt the weapon sink into something soft, the feeling of cutting something.
At that moment I saw the eyes of the person who attacked my friend and in those eyes I could see that person's regret, the spear pierced his neck, killing him almost instantly.
The next thing I knew, Marcus and I were inside the kitchen covered in blood, dying of exhaustion and excitement.
When the sound of battle ceased, we dared to go up on deck again.
"HAHAHAHA, they managed to survive brats, it seems they have what it takes to grow in this environment"
Mr. Garald's voice was heard and we turned to see him, he was covered in blood and looked very tired.
At that moment, Grandpa was walking towards us and he came over and grabbed me and checked me from head to toe and then did the same with Marcus, seeing that we had no serious injury, he let out a sigh.
"How many casualties did they cause?"
"Six"
"Was it individually or as a team?"
"Marcus stopped the attacks and I finished them with my spear"
"It is good that they are well, next time they will not be allowed to shelter, they have earned their loot, now go to rest that we will soon arrive at the port"
After he finished he turned and walked away in the direction of his cabin, Mr. Roldan looked at me with a smile before turning and following him, Mr. Samir gave me a thumbs up and called Marcus to follow him and they disappeared going down the hatch.
On deck I stayed with Mr. Garald and Mr. Ignite both looked at me with smiles.
"Maybe that old man is stupid, how can someone who carries his and Bram's blood die so easily"
After that Mr. Ignite ruffled my hair and went to the kitchen, I said goodbye to Mr. Garald and followed Mr. Ignite, the euphoria was overflowing from my body, now I could see the results of my training.
This is the path I must follow to become strong, step by step until I can stand on all the beings that live in this world and never lose a loved one again.