Coming of Age (3) : The One Whose Surname Is Dare

A/N: Extra this week 1/2

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"Jon! We arrived!" Hafthor called for me.

"Good! That's our win then!" I said.

"I am afraid we'll have to put that aside now!" Vladimir said and pointed out. "Bloodsails Ship!"

"... What are they doing here?" I asked.

"They seem to have sent their hatchlings to hunt Ice Wraiths!" Hafthor came and said.

"They seem to have spotted us too." Wulfur said.

"By ancient traditions, the clans that have animosity between each other are not allowed to attack each other's young ones unless it is an open battle else they would face the wrath of all the clans combined!" Vladimir said.

"I see..." I pondered a bit and thought. "... so sixteen years ago."

"An exception, Jon. You still are." Vladimir said.

Hehe! I am officially the number one wanted by the Dominion, the Empire, and all those who are afraid of my clan.

"Anyway, we should wait until Uncle Vali arrives. They may try to provoke us so hide Vilkar away for now." Hafthor said.

"Wha! Why me?" Vilkar became angry all of a sudden.

"Because you are a damn idiot! Go to the back! Ragnar, watch him."

Ragnar nodded and dragged Vilkar away.

Vilkar is a foolhardy and an honest person. The moment he hates someone, then it's war.

Sigh! But it would be a problem if the 'Bloodsails' started moving on us.

I need to make a call.

I opened my bag and took out a scroll, something that Nurina created herself, which means its value is crazy too. She said it was a failure though. This spell is a Telepathic spell that can contact two minds with each other.

I unrolled the scrolls and activated the rune circle on it then surfed with my mind until I found the person I want to talk to.

{Ongeim!}

{... mmmm!}

{Ongeim!}

{... just one more minute, Boss!}

This son of... he is sleeping this late?

{ONGEIM!}

{Woah! Wow! That was one hell of a nightmare! The Boss has left for two weeks and I thought I would laze around but my conscience is tormenting me to the point I hear the Boss's voice.}

I can hear that idiot's thoughts! That's why Nurina said the spell was a failure.

{Ongeim, this is me, Jon! I am talking directly to you with magic.}

{Maaan! This hallucination of mine became so vivid. To hear the Boss's voice this close! What did I drink last night?}

Sigh!

{Ongeim!}

{.....}

{Look above your head!}

{Huh!}

{This is the way your soul will take! Look beneath your feet!}

{Huh!}

{This is where your corpse will be under.}

{.....}

{.....}

{B, B, B, B, Boss!}

{It seems you have been lazing a lot lately, Ongeim Scar-Mouth!}

{Boss! You are talking from my head! Ysmir's Beard! I am not going crazy, am I?}

{Ongeim!}

{Shor, Mara, Kynareath, Akatosh, Dibella...}

{Ongeim! One last warning!}

{Yes, Boss! By your orders! By the nine, he is so scary to the point he can enter my head already!}

Stop thinking, dammit!

{I want you to do something for me...}

***

It looks like we have really made a number on this girls this time. They arrived six hours later than us alongside the Firemane main ship.

"What's up, Losers?" Hafthor was already picking lines from me.

"....." The girls were in a heavy mood.

"It looks like there are some 'Bloodsails' ahead." Uncle Vali came down.

"Yes! We didn't move in alone!"

"Good! Follow my ship and land when I give a signal." Uncle said.

We all nodded and did as he said.

Uncle Vali's ship sailed and approached the Bloodsail's ship. It a very calm approach and no one even showed hostility to the other.

I started activating my magic to eavesdrop on whatever was being said.

"Vali Firemane, so it is you this year! What, the old dogs finally died out?"

"Ljot Bloodsail! You, old bones, aren't a Drauger already?"

"Not before every one of you goatfuckers gets killed by my blade!"

"Hehe! Heard that one before and yet you sons of bitches are falling like flies. Heard that your nephew fell in Winterhold three weeks ago. What was his name? Styr, right?"

"... you little prick! His head was cut by one of your people!"

"Yes! The Thane of Winterhold left him to die slowly roped to the sail if I remember! My sister showed mercy to the boy, you know!"

"... The Thane, huh! We will kill him first then come after you! Don't think the Moonblades will be there forever. Their time will come too."

"Heh Heh! Just the talk of a dying dog!"

"Dying! Speaking of which, how are the kids you brought? You think they are ready to face our boys on the island?"

"....."

"Your little Firemane Clan has a few to no people compared to us? How much did you bring this year? Twenty? Thirty?"

"....."

"Our clan has sent two hundred youngsters this year! The moment your young whelps get on to the island, they will be swallowed!"

"....."

"Turn around and come back next year, boy!"

"... This is all you have to say?"

"....."

"Vigbjord! Signal the kids to land! Tell them they are going to have some fun!"

Hehe! Uncle Vali's tone carried a hint of bloodthirst. I can tell what he wants us to do now.

"Guys! It seems there is a big party on the island!" I said.

"Big Party?" Hafthor asked.

"Two hundred Bloodsail boys looking for trouble!"

"... Two hundred!" Hafthor raised his brows and held his chin. "Two hundred you say! It seems the news is true!"

"What news?"

"After you defeated the 'Blood Horkers', their influence in the sea got shaken. The East Empire company tried to sack the Headquarters of the Blood Horkers but the Bloodsail clan made sure that never happens, for a high price of course."

"The East Empire Company and the Bloodsails fought?"

"It was a matter of time anyway! The peace in the northern waters was already too shaky. Once a new player arrived and tilted the advantage against the 'Blood Horkers', now everyone is trying to eat a piece of the Sweetroll."

What? The Blood Horkers are on the defence?

But wait! That's my Sweetroll.

Winterhold gave thirteen of its sons to reduce the Blood Horkers to that size and you are telling me cockroaches already want to take the advantage of it.

Damn! But the East Empire Company is the biggest cockroach in the sea! They have the Imperial Legion at their back and the Manager of Skyrim's branch is the Emperor's Cousin.

"So, for the Bloodsails to send their youngsters all at once must mean they want to get rid of us, the younger generation of their Archenemy." Vladimir said.

"I agree! Compared to the others years, the number of the sixteen years old representing the main family is the highest, there are ten of us!" Ragnar, who rarely speaks, spoke up this time.

"I see! To tell the truth, I am not worried about myself. I even dare to reveal my identity to them as the Thane of Winterhold they all fear too much! What about you guys?"

"... Jon, Jon! There is no way we lose to you in valor. Don't take us lightly!" Vladimir said in a cool manner.

"Hehe! Sorry to doubt you guys. Fine, here comes our signal!"

"The signal! Finally, where is my axe?" Hafthor laughed and started preparing, everyone was already getting ready.

The longboats sailed to the east of the Serpentstone Isle and we all landed there.

"Frejya! The situation is like this..." Hafthor told Frejya who acts as the leader of the girl's group the situation.

"So we are killing these poor souls?" Frejya smiled widely. I can see how much she reassembles Njord when he gets excited.

We started moving to the heart of the island as one team after that. We were prepared to go all out once we spot the enemy.

*swoosh* I heard the sound of an arrow cutting through the air and heading directly to us.

I moved as fast as I could and moved my arm. The arrow that was coming from the afar was caught by me.

"... a surprise attack!"

Seems these enemies are too cowardly yet they have a very interesting archer. The arrow was heading directly to Alina.

"Shields!" Hafthor called and all those who carried shields made a shield wall formation.

"Senior, thank you!" Alina who was always collected broke into cold sweat as she realized she was just about to be a goner a second ago.

"Be careful! Keep your 'Scan' spell always on when you enter a hostile territory."

"Yes, Senior!"

I now need to see which prick tried to harm my precious junior!

They are so dead!

The answer came just when we walked forward a bit. We ended up meeting a large number of people.

"Their number is big! Will the Ice Wraiths in the island fit for all of us?" Wulfur asked.

"Not if we kill all of them!" Jullanar gave an obvious answer.

The group ahead of us was indeed over two hundred indeed, yet compared to us, some of them looked rather young. We were standing over a thirty meters away from them.

Ahead of them, I saw a large fellow holding a girl from her arm as if he caught her doing something wrong. From her looks, she is an archer. Do I assume this is the one targetted Alina?

"Jull! Kill that girl." I said.

"Mhm!" Jull gave a nod and readied her lever-action crossbow.

The large fellow let go of the girl and walked ahead.

"Hafthor Firemane! I know you can hear me." He shouted.

"Mord Bloodsail! Cheap as ever!" Hafthor spoke and walked out with his shield and axe.

"Don't blame me, you brought Alina Moonblade to us. She is a blood name!"

A blood name? If I remember, these are the names for the people that the Bloodsails Clan want dead no matter what! These names get written on the sails of the Bloodsails ships until they are killed.

So Alina got to be a blood name, huh!

Alina stepped forward and stood beside Hafthor. She didn't speak.

"So you came, Alina Moonblade! The news from what you did in Winterhold against our clansmen reached far and wide. I promised on my brother's grave to kill you with that Thane of Winterhold." Mord Bloodsail was speaking like some kind of a manga hero of justice.

"Oh, spare me the crap! You want to face Senior Jon Dare? The one who annihilated all the goons you sent at Winterhold single-handedly in few minutes?" Alina started showing her senior off.

"Whose names written with blood on our sails will be killed as long as there are Bloodsails in the Sea of Ghosts." The guy said with heated emotions.

"So you are telling me that I became one of the blood names like the 'Bloody Hilda' and the 'King of Ash'? They are my aunt and uncle, you know!" Alina said with an amused voice.

"You murderous whore! You killed my father and you will die by my arrow." The girl behind Mord Bloodsail acted on her own and shot an arrow at Alina.

Alina was ready but I was told to keep an eye on her by nearly everyone I know so I cast 'Grab' one the arrow and stopped it midair.

"Who dares stop my arrow?" The girl shouted.

"Who dares, huh?" I said and walked forward. "I am the one whose surname is Dare! Jon freakin' Dare!"