Chapter III: The Land of Ice and Sea
Act 1: A Chilly Reception
Also known as
“Your most sacred duty in life is to eat food?”
Adventurer’s Log
4th Day, 6th Month of XX11
Two weeks have passed into the trip. There’s nothing of real importance to note. Last week, the bandits appeared, though Tiwaz and his friends easily kept them away from the caravan and the trails. It’s been smooth sailings since then, and this has probably been the smoothest ride I’ve been on. You know, figuratively, since these dirt roads are far from smooth. They’re more rocky than smooth, and my butt can attest to it.
Mistress Cher finally realized that Cogweg isn’t attracted or even interested in her. Can’t say I blame him. You could say he threw a ‘cog’ in her plans. You can expect her to come back to the guild in two weeks; be prepared for ranting and a lot of thrown objects. Double make sure that you keep her away from sharp objects. There are now enough holes on one of the caravan sides that I can feel the breeze coming in. That’s not coming out of our paycheck, right?
We’ve safely arrived at Seagulls Port, too. I hope I don't end up with anything white on my shell while I'm here. Nice and breezy over here, and it doesn’t look like there’s any trouble or anything going on. We’re just hanging around while the boat gets prepared and the cargo gets boarded. That must be boring, considering they have to ‘bored’ them all up. I’m glad I didn’t volunteer to help like Pavamana, but if that’s what he wants to do, then I’m not going to stop him.
Anyway, this will be the last log I’ll be able to send over in a while, since we’ll be on a boat. And I don’t think there are any post offices in Frostholme. So yeah, don’t expect another one anytime soon. I haven’t been on a boat in a while. I wonder how the other guys feel. I know for a fact that Pav and Odie have never been on one. I don’t think they’ve ever even seen the ocean. I wonder if I can go and ‘sea’ the look on their faces. It would pretty cool to catch that moment with my memory.
As for the others, Tiwaz is with Kaleth and Cogwej. They had to restock their supplies and find a place to stay. Man, just Tiwaz and Cogwej can eat for about ten Digimon! It makes me wonder how they get all their money. Either merc work really is that profitable, or one of them is loaded. I’m putting my money on the latter. Meanwhile, Fenrir seems to have wandered off by himself. I don’t know what he’s up to – apparently no one really does – but he always seems to find them again sooner or later. Probably has something to do with his nose. I wonder if it’s the same as my memory, like he remembers all that he smells. I’ll need to ask him about that.
Also, yeah, if you haven’t gotten it by now, it’s not really Kaleth that’s writing this, but come on, Rise, you know how he can be. You’re just lucky I’m here to actually remember to make logs for him. Give Ashemon and Rickshana my regards!
Taranis Valthor
standing in for
Kaleth Sigismund
-
The ocean. It was insurmountably vast, full of so much mystery that no single Digimon, even those that dwelled in it, could hope to know every single secret it kept. Despite that, hundreds of Digimon still tried to achieve that almost impossible – or perhaps it really was impossible – task every day. And sometimes, that was how the man that was gazing at the skyline of the sea felt, like he was trying to do the impossible.
Fenrir sighed and shook his head. Even if it were, he would still try. He had the capability of living long enough, after all. He grunted, realizing that he wasn’t the only one with the characteristic, although he didn’t think he would bother telling the person in mind that. He would only be another face that he would eventually leave behind as he tried to solve his problem.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice behind him asked. Slowly, Fenrir turned his head to see who was speaking with him.
The owner of the voice was about two-thirds Fenrir’s height, but he made up for it with a stout body and very long limbs – eight limbs, in fact. It didn’t take a second for Tiwaz to note the digimon’s octopus-like shape. The limbs were red tentacles, and two most anterior ones had metallic tips that were divided in a way that formed three fingers. Another one looked like it as on its way to becoming the same. The rest of his limbs looked unchanged, although he held a paintbrush and a palette of paints in two separate tentacles. His head was covered by a pot, which had a cracked hole at the center for his yellow eyes to see through. All over the pot were barnacles with two glowing spots – probably eyes – inside them. Jutting from more holes on the top-side part of the pot were black-striped horns of varying sizes. Lastly, on the top most part of the pot was a formerly white, paint-splattered beret. Fenrir recognized him as an Octomon, although this one seemed to have forsaken the path of undersea treasure hoarding for a more artistic lifestyle.
In front of the Octomon was a wooden stand that held a canvas, although Fenrir couldn’t see what was painted on it or if it had been painted on at all.
“Well? What do you think?” the red mollusk asked as he placed the tip of his paintbrush against a blue colored paint.
“It is what it is,” Fenrir said noncommittally.
“Now that’s not what I asked,” the eight-legged Digimon replied as his tentacle made a long slow stroke along the canvas. The Beowolfmon regarded the painter in silence, trying to think of a reason why he would talk to a stranger, especially someone like him, so casually. But even in his lack of reply, the Octomon still asked, “Come now. What do you think of the ocean?”
The wolf knight looked back into the ocean horizon once more. “I prefer lakes,” he said shortly. “Less glare,” he said as he started to turn away from the scene.
“Less glare?” the Octomon asked, turning his head to compare his painting with the real thing. Blinking, he realized what Fenrir was talking about. The sun was already reaching the low point where the light coming from it reflected on the water surface. “Ah, you mean the sun’s reflection!” the octopus said with obvious satisfaction at himself for understanding what Fenrir meant.
And then he realized that Fenrir had suddenly appeared beside him, and with a surprised yell, he turned to the wolf Digimon. Unperturbed by the sound, the Beowolfmon only looked at the Octomon’s painting.
Fenrir could tell that he wasn’t an amateur. The painting was well done, and the different colors that made up the ocean all blended into themselves seamlessly like how it did in real life. The pavement that made up the pier was also quite detailed. It looked complete, but he felt like the piece of art was missing something, although he couldn’t tell what. At the very least, he did find something that might help.
“Too hard,” the Beowolfmon said.
“Excuse me?” the Octomon said, blinking as he registered what the wolf warrior said.
“Your strokes are too hard. Use softer and more fluid strokes. Especially for the sun reflection.”
The painter looked back at his canvas with a thoughtful look. And then he smiled behind his pot-helmet. “Perhaps I shall, my friend!” the mollusk said, turning to where Fenrir was standing. Except Fenrir was no longer there. Blinking, the Octomon turned his head just in time to see Fenrir’s profile walking past his canvas.
“Wait! I did not get your name, young man!” the red painter called out with a wave of his tentacle. He was unwilling to stray away from his position, lest someone of lesser honor came and pilfered his materials. “At least tell me if you’re a fellow artist!”
Fenrir stopped for a moment. He then looked over his shoulder, a somber expression on his face. “In the past.” Without a single explanation, the Beowolfmon turned away and continued his walk, wondering what possessed him to answer the octopus Digimon’s question.
Maybe it was nostalgia. After all, even after all those years, he could still remember painting the same ocean and the same setting sun…even if he so badly wanted to forget.
Even as he walked away, the Octomon painter kept his yellow eyes on his back. He studied the wolf knight Digimon’s back up until he could no longer see the fine details on the white Digimon’s armor. He burned the figure in his memory, already knowing what he wanted to do with it.
“What a strange man,” he noted as he raised his painting tentacle to see what kind of picture the stroke that the Beowolfmon told him to do will make. “But I’m positive he must be a good man.”
-
“Just a lil’ more! Put yer backs into it, maties!”
From his place on the a deck, Pavamana looked at the source of the loud, rambunctious voice. It wasn’t that hard, since the man shouting was making a show of himself at the crow’s nest of the ship.
The man was humanoid in shape, and his body was long and gangly at best, although Pavamana did not doubt that there was a lot of strength behind those thin limbs. He wore a white shirt, the sleeve ends of which were tied with a simple thread just before the elbows, and a pair of white cloth shorts. Over them, he had a battle-scarred gray breast plate that fit his lean body. The sides of the breastplate were green and had a scale design, much like the adjacent armor pieces that lay loosely against his thighs and the loin cloth hanging between his legs. More gray armor adorned his shins and his forearms, though he kept his hands and feet bare. Around his neck was a bead necklace much like what a monk would wear, although these beads seemed to have a sinister face etched on the surface. Most of his face was covered by his long blue hair, but his bright yellow beak and red, metal-plated headband was hard to miss. And for all of his hair, the top of his head was completely bare of it, revealing white plate.
He was definitely a species that Pavamana was not familiar with. If Tiwaz or Fenrir were around, he would ask one of them.
“Don’t mind the captain much,” one of the shiphands said from behind him. The PileVolcamon turned his head to look at him.
“Shimon,” Pavamana greeted with a nod of his head. He was acquainted with this one; he couldn’t help but want to be since the shiphand was a familiar species to him: a Gotsumon. The rock-form Digimon grinned at him, the image reminding Pavamana of his young apprentice. His heart tugged at the memory, reminding him of how much he missed his friends and family back at Bakhu. “He is the captain?”
“Don’t let his antics fool you. The captain might not seem like much, but everyone in his crew, myself included, trust him with our lives,” he told him.
Pavamana nodded. “What’s his species?” he decided to ask.
“Well, I guess he is somewhat a rare kind. He’s a Shawjamon,” Shimon replied. “Anyways, we’re almost done with the boarding, so we’ll be setting off early in the morning. Are you finished with your share of the load?”
The PileVolcamon gestured to the crate beside him. “Last one,” he said shortly.
“Well, you seem to be busy looking at the sea,” Shimon said with a grin. “I can take that for you if you want to continue your sea gazing. Besides, you and your incredible strength pretty much helped enough when you didn’t have to.”
“No, just give me a moment”, he replied, tinting slightly red at the compliment. Back at home, his kind of strength was normal, although he was often told that he was stronger than most. He was also reluctant to let someone else do work that he was supposed to do. He could always continue watching the bright sun setting behind the big blue ocean some other time. It was a magnificent sight for someone who had never seen the ocean before.
“Are you sure? One of your friends came over to bring you back to the place you’re staying,” the Gotsumon said, gesturing behind him.
Pavamana blinked and moved his head slightly to see what the mineral Digimon was pointing at, but he only saw more shiphands finish tying the heavier and larger cargoes down. “Um…who?” Pavamana started, turning to look back at him.
“Huh?” Shimon sounded as he looked over his shoulder. “Where did he go? I told him to stay behind me! This boat’s big enough that he could get lost for a whole day!”
The PileVolcamon frowned. He could only think of one person who would get lost so easily, and he really hoped that they found him before he could cause them any trouble.
“Hey there, landlubber! What’re you doin’ on my main mast!?” the captain’s voice ran loudly.
“Oh no,” Pavamana muttered as he looked up. “Cog, what have you-“ He stopped in midsentence, surprised to see that it wasn’t the person he was thinking of.
“I-I-I-I-I’m s-sorry!” a familiar Shurimon yelled back, hanging from one of the ship posts. “I g-g-g-got lost, s-s-s-s-so I thought-“
“I dun care what ya thought, scallywag!” the Shawjamon said as he expertly jumped and swung himself down from the crow’s nest and landed on one of the yardarms of the ship so that he was directly across Odysseus. “Just git down ‘fore you hurt yerself!”
“Y-y-y-yes sir!” Odie replied quickly and rushedly, letting go of the post that he was on and started falling down.
“Gah! Not like that!” the Shawjamon captain shouted, quickly jumping towards of the rigs of the sails. He quickly untied it and turned to where Odie was falling, about to jump and swing using the rope to catch the Shurimon, even if he calculated in his head that he wouldn’t get there in time. To his surprise however, the Shurimon righted himself in midair and landed himself lightly on his feet and hands.
“Hoooooh,” the demon man Digimon said with a light tune and a single raised eyebrow behind his hair, pleasantly surprised at the turn of events. “There’s more to this kid than meets the eye, eh?” he wondered as he retied the rigging and jumped.
Down on the deck, Pavamana was running over to the young ninja in concern. “Odysseus!” he called out, Shimon and a few more of the crew following him to see the commotion.
The ninja Digimon turned his head to look at him. A relieved expression took to his face as soon as he saw the approaching PileVolcamon. “P-P-P-Pavamana, I-”
“So yer name’s Odysseus, eh?” the captain’s voice said from behind the young ninja.
“Ah!” The Shurimon jumped forward, turning to look at the Shawjamon in surprise. His shock was twofold; he didn’t even hear the sea traveler land or walk towards him, and that was a feat against his trained senses. Other than that, he was also very embarrassed for accidentally intruding onto the Shawjamon’s personal space, so he did the first thing that came to mind. He bowed and said, “I’m s-s-s-sorry! I got l-l-l-l-lost, so I thought I’d s-s-s-see where I was from the t-t-t-top!” he said quickly, his voice very repentant.
“Well, ya got yerself down safely, so no harm done, eh?” the Shawjamon said with a large grin.
“Um…I don’t think,” Odie said, looking himself over.
“I’m glad,” Pavamana said, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder.
“And yer the big fella that’s been helpin’ with the cargo movin’, eh?” the frog demon said with a large toothy grin. Pavamana didn’t even realize that he could still have teeth with a beak. “Nice goin’, by the way. You worked jus’ about as good as five of me men! And this scallywag is prob’ly a better climber than the rest of my crew combined! Either of you fancy workin’ on a ship, maties?” he asked the young ninja and the blacksmith, an encouraging gleam in his eye.
“Cap’n, they have other things to do than be sailors on a simple cargo ship like ours,” Shimon said as he shook his head, remembering a talk he had with the PileVolcamon.
“Shut yer blowhole, Shimmy. Jus’ cause yer me navigator doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do,” the captain replied with folded arms and an audible humph.
Odie rubbed his cheek nervously. “W-w-w-well…”
“We have to decline,” Pavamana then said for them. “We have important objectives to do, and we can’t do that working on a ship,” he said, offering the captain a small smile.
“W-w-w-we’re flattered though,” Odie decided to add, twiddling his fingers.
“See, cap’n?” Shimon said with a smug grin.
“Bah, mutiny, that’s what yer doin’,” the Shawjamon muttered, looking considerably miffed.
“Awww, come on, cap’n, you know I just love messing with you,” the Gotsumon said with a light tone.
“I-I-I-If it makes you f-f-feel better, I can help the crew on the way t-t-t-to Frostholme,” Odysseus then said, not wanting to feel ungrateful for the ride towards their next destination. He also wanted to be able to see more of the ship, and he thought that helping around would let him explore the entire ship easier.
Pavamana glanced at the Shurimon and nodded. “Me too, then,” he said simply.
“Really?” the Shawjamon said with a large grin. “That means more chance for me to convince ya then! Welcome to the crew, maties!” he then said, lunging with exceptional speed to grab their hands and shake them energetically.
“A-ah! Y-y-y-y-you’re welcome?” Odie replied, trying to keep up with the demon man’s shaking speed.
“We didn’t get your name,” Pav then noted as he forcibly wrenched his hand away from the unusual Digimon.
“Wha? Shimmy, you din’t tell them who captains this here ship!?” the frogman then yelled, hopping over to the Gotsumon and giving him a forceful whack behind his head. And then he started shaking his hand, letting out a garbled cry of pain.
Unaffected by the Shawjamon’s strike, Shimon folded his arms at him. “Because they’ll find out when you make a show of yourself tomorrow. How did it go?” the Gotsumon said, rubbing his rocky chin. “Ah, now I remember. ‘All right, ya landlubbers! Ya better put on yer sealegs, cause we’re headin’ for the great unknown, but don’t ye worry, cause I’ll have ya back on land,” Shimon said, trying to copying the Shawjamon’s voice and manner.
“Or I ain’t Captain Iskandar!” the rest of the crew said along with him in perfect unison.
“What is this, a show boat full of singing sissies or a sailing ship with men!?” the captain named Iskandar yelled, swinging his arm about.
“Er, actually cap’n, about one-eight of the crew are women, so-“
“One more word out of ya, Shimmy, and I’m makin’ ya walk the plank again,” the Shawjamon said with a serious tone in his voice. The Gotsumon sighed and shook his head.
“Er, w-w-w-walk the plank?” Odie asked, suddenly worried.
“It’s worse than it sounds,” the Gotsumon muttered to the Shurimon. “But it doesn’t really hurt,” he then said.
“What was that, Shimmy?”
“Nothing, cap’n. I’m going to go start charting out our course for tomorrow morning,” Shimon then said loudly. He turned back to Odysseus and Pavamana with a large smile. “I look forward to seeing your friends tomorrow,” he said before walking inside the boat. As he walked away, the rest of the crew dispersed back to their chores…except for the Shawjamon captain.
“So there are more of ya, huh?” the Shawjamon said with a large grin, folding his arms.
“U-u-um, yes,” Odie replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
“How many of ya are there?”
“Seven,” Pavamana said simply.
“Hoho, quite a big number, huh? We have five guest quarters down in the ship, so two pairs of ye’ll have tah share one room,” Iskandar then told them, hands on his hips.
“That won’t be a problem,” Pavamana replied. He knew that one of them will probably end up rooming with Cogwej. The next pair wouldn’t be a problem. He just kept note one thing: Tiwaz and Fenrir should not be allowed to room together. It wasn’t an impossible thought that they might bring the ship down if they got into an argument.
“Good then. We set sail two hours after the sun rises. Be late, and ye’ll be left behind.”
“We won’t b-be late,” Odie said, allowing the barest hint of his excitement show. He couldn’t wait to explore the ship during the trip. Beside him, Pavamana nodded.
He wondered how different the next town would be.
-
“So you and Taranis have been friends since you joined the guild?” Tiwaz asked Kaleth, who was seated beside him.
The EmperorGreymon and the Knightmon were both sitting in front of a bar, which was beginning to get more and more patrons. It was also slowly getting louder with each new occupant, although they seemed to be leaving the two knights alone.
“Uh huh,” the shiny Digimon said as he took a short swig of his mug. He had removed his helmet to reveal a human face. He had short, scraggly brown hair on the top of his head, along with a prominent nose, high cheek bones and a square jaw. “I don’t know when he started, but he helped me with my first mission. If it wasn’t for him, I would probably have gotten lost,” he told Tiwaz sheepishly.
“I can see how he would have helped you a lot,” the dragon man replied before glugging down his own drink with gusto. “Ahh, it’s been a while since I’ve had a good drinking partner!” Tiwaz then announced as he wiped the traces of beer from his lips.
“Really? I’m not really that good at holding my liquor,” Kale replied, a blush on his cheeks.
“Then all the better!” Tiwaz bellowed with a laugh.
“Uh…maybe you’ve drank too much already, Tiwaz,” the Knightmon said, only then realizing that the number of mugs that Tiwaz had finished was at least four, judging by how many empty glasses were over to his side. That didn’t even include the ones that the bartender took, cleaned and reused.
“If I’m not passed out on the floor yet, then no I haven’t!” the dragon man said, reaching over to give the Knightmon a one-arm hug, which seemed to have the opposite effect in the other Digimon. “C’mere! I need to make sure you’re as soused as I am!”
“Um…I think…uh…”
“Oh, Kaaaaleeeeth!” a familiar voice suddenly called out, although faint. He hoped he was hearing what he was hearing and that he wasn’t hearing a hallucination. That meant he really did drink more than he should have.
“Ah! Looks like Taranis is calling me!” the Knightmon said, only too eager to get away from the soon-to-be-drunk dragon. He got out of his seat quick enough to escape the EmperorGreymon’s grab, and he subsequently ignored Tiwaz’s attempt to call him back. Kaleth really wasn’t in the mood to be drunk, nor was he keen on getting a hangover for tomorrow’s surely rocky trip.
He followed Taranis’ voice towards another room adjacent to the bar room by a hallway. He found just as many tables, chairs and patrons, but this room looked more like a busy diner than a packed and rowdy bar. He could still faintly hear the sounds of drunk sailors singing in the bar room.
“Ranis?” he called out.
“Over here!” the big blue big answered in his Beetlemon form.
“Oh, thank goodness. I wasn’t hearing things. Or drunk,” Kaleth muttered to himself as he looked over.
He was waving a hand in the air, which made it easier for the Knightmon to find him. Or as much as he could find of the Beetlemon. He was sitting on a round table that had plate upon plate stacked over each other. In fact, the plates were so numerous and stacked so high that he could barely see the top of the Beetlemon’s head. Kaleth’s jaw dropped at the alarming amount of fine china on the table. He never realized – or maybe he had forgotten, much to his chagrin – that Taranis had such a huge appetite.
“Did you eat all of that!?” Kale asked in surprise just to be sure.
“Hey, I don’t eat this much,” Taranis retorted as Kaleth started walking towards him. Taranis did, however, look down at his body self-consciously. It hadn’t escaped him that he was the least fit in their group even compared to Cogwej. That he was beat by an old guy in terms of physical prowess didn’t do any wonders for his ego.
It hurt even more when said old guy was eating at least twice his weight and still outrun him.
“These vittles are absolutely scrumptious! Like wonderful delicacies from the hands of a seasoned master chef! I must have more!” Cog’s loud and full-of-praise voice said from behind the towers of plates.
“No! You’ve eaten enough!” Taranis said. “You’re not even paying for all of this!”
“Much more reason for me to indulge myself, Tatniss.”
“Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around!?”
“I-it’s okay, Taranis. The guild can afford it. I think,” Kale then said unsurely, walking around the table to look at the two more easily. He blinked when he saw the Wisemon,; if what Taranis said about Cogwej’s eating habits were true, then it surely didn’t show. The aged Digimon looked just the same as if he didn’t eat anything at all for the past half hour.
“See? I should get another help-“
“Oh, no, you aren’t,” Taranis said, grabbing the Wisemon’s hand, which was about to raise itself to get the attention of the waitress. “I’m locking up in your room and not letting out until morning! I don’t know how Tiwaz and Fenrir haven’t hogtied you yet; you definitely eat like a one!”
“Well, I never! I should- get your hands off me right this instant, you abrasive, annoying arthropod!” he said as Taranis, who digivolved into his MegaKabuterimon form, pulled the Wisemon over his shoulder.
“Can you please put this on the guild tab now? My card was confiscated since I got put on probation,” the MegaKabuterimon said, ignoring the pounding on his back shell. At the very least, he could say that Cog really did punch like an old guy.
“Sure, buddy,” Kaleth told the insect Digimon as he took out a bronze plated card with the emblem of the guild on it. “I should probably go stop Tiwaz from getting any drunker too.” He didn’t think he’ll enjoy that task.
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Taranis said with a chuckle. He could still remember the party back in the village of the ninjas. He started to walk out of the room despite Cog’s protests drawing attention. “Yeesh, with the amount you ate, you’d think that they don’t feed you at all.”
“I have one of the most exemplary minds of this era!” Cogwej said, folding his arms with a loud humph. “My body needs Mammothmon sized amounts of sustenance in order to bring out its full potential and functionality!”
Taranis stifled a laugh. “I don’t think any amount of food can do that, Coggie. You can’t even remember my name.”
“Then what have I been calling you all this time, Tarny?” Cog said rhetorically, making Taranis roll his metaphorical eyes.
“I can’t even remember half the names you’ve called me by now, and I half photographic memory! You never even seem to mention the same name twice, too,” the MegaKabuterimon noted.
He let out a relieved sigh when he reached the door to the room. He was so very glad that he didn’t have to room with the old Digimon, but he pitied Pavamana and Fenrir for the opposite reason. It was their turn to watch the Wisemon again.
“Here’s your room, Cog! See? It has a big bed, a nice desk for you to write on, and even a nice window to see the sea from,” Taranis as he put the cloaked Digimon down.
“Quaint,” Cog said shortly as he fixed his crumbled robe. Then he pivoted and headed for the door. “Now, if you will excuse m-“
“Gah! No!” Taranis yelled, grabbing the hood of the Wisemon’s cloak just before he started to run. “Stay put!”
“No!” The food is compelling me, telling me that it requires someone of my superior intellect and caliber to consume them! You fiend, keeping me from fulfilling my most sacred duty!”
Taranis had to regard that comment in silence for just a few moments. Then he opened his mouth to say, “Your most sacred duty in life is to eat food?”
“If I confirm that dictum, will you release me?”
Taranis had to laugh at the seriousness of the Wisemon’s voice. “Sorry, Cogwej. No can do. Who knows what kind of hijinks you’ll get into if I let you go? So why don’t you be a good old man and stay here while I go and see if Kaleth needs help bringing Tiwaz to his room.”
Cogwej sighed and then plopped to the ground. “Oh, very well…”
“Come on, Co- wait, what? Really?” Taranis had to stare – or at least point his eyeless head at him – in shock.
“I shall write down my thoughts and further improve my ideas then,” Cog said, taking out his notebook and pen.
The MegaKabuterimon then grinned widely and reverted back to his Beetlemon form. “See? Now that wasn’t so bad. I’ll come right back up and even help you once I’m done,” Taranis said as he walked out.
“Yes, yes, take your time,” the Wisemon said as he started scribbling.
Taranis closed the door with a whistle. “Hm. That was easier than it usually is,” the insect man said as he started to walk down the hallway. He stopped in midstep. “Wait a second…it’s never easy with Cogwej…”
It didn’t even take him a second to turn and go back to the door. “Cog, what are you- GAAAAH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Right before him, Cogwej was halfway out the window.
“Escaping! What else?” Cogwej said simply.
“Are you mad!? We’re on the third floor! And you don’t have wings! You’ll break your legs!” Taranis said, running over, not allowing him the time to get anything he could use to land safely. There was never any real certainty when it came to Cogweh.
“Then I will use my arms and crawl! There is no price for freedooooooooom!” he yelled as the Wisemon jumped out of the window.
He closed his eyes shut, expecting great pain. Then he landed. But he didn’t feel any pain.
“Hm…that did not hurt at all!” Cog said, opening his eyes. And found himself in the arms of an irritated Beowolfmon.
For a moment, both were silent.
“Ah! Feevil! I was just about to go-
“Fenrir! You caught him! Great! Don’t let him go!” Taranis’ voice from above called out.
Fenrir glared at the Wisemon in his arms. “Trust me, I won’t.”
Half an hour later soon found the Wisemon no longer in the Beowolfmon’s arms but within the confines of his bed and in an entirely different kind of embrace.
“Untie me from this incredibly soft and entirely comfortable bed, you fiendish villains!”
Odie looked at Cogwej and bowed apologetically. “I-I-I-I-I’m sorry, but we have to. We don’t want you t-t-t-to disappear again,” he said, hoping he didn’t tie the Wisemon down too tightly.
“Just leave him be,” Fenrir’s voice from the other side of the room said.
The Shurimon turned to him with a concerned expression. “B-b-b-but…”
“He’ll be fine come morning,” Fenrir said with so much certainty that Odysseus had to wonder if this was normal for the Beowolfmon. “My problem is the dragon,” the wolf man said, glancing at Tiwaz, who was passed out on the bed that Pavamana was supposed to occupy.
“Please tell him I’m sorry!” Kaleth said, putting his hands together and looking very apologetic. “I-I panicked! I didn’t know I’d knock him out!”
“It was an accident,” Pavamana said, putting a hand on the Knightmon’s shoulder. He had helped Kaleth bring the heavy dragon man up to his room. It was perhaps good fortune that he and Odie arrived at the inn along with Fenrir.
“I still feel bad for hurting him,” Kaleth said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Feel bad for him tomorrow,” Fenrir told him.
“R-right,” Kale said, wincing at the thought of the hangover Tiwaz would get tomorrow.
-
“Stupid…ship… Stupid…rocking…waves…rocking…the stupid…ship…!”
Hanging onto the ship railings, Tiwaz couldn’t help but let what was left of the contents of his breakfast out of his stomach and down into the ocean
“Well, which is more stupid? Those, or the guy that decided to drink ‘til kingdom come when he knew that he’d be going on a ship the early morning after?” a voice behind Tiwaz asked with a light tone.
“Shut…up,” the dragonman grunted, looking over his shoulder weakly. He grunted when he realized he didn’t recognize the person behind him.
He was a mountain of a man, as big as Tiwaz himself while he was wearing his armor. He was also covered in white fur that covered an impressive set of muscles. The only parts of his body that didn’t have fur were his large hands, even larger feet, and part of his face. Over his chest and his shoulders were durable plates of armor, although Tiwaz couldn’t tell what kind of material it was made of. On his forearms were orange armlets with a green metallic plate on the back part, and the plates themselves seemed to have a peculiar design on them. His head, meanwhile, was ursine in feature, though he had bull-like horns on the top of his head and many braids behind it. As for facial accessories, his braids had orange bandages and ended with metal arrow points, and his ears each had a small gold hoop earring. He had a brown, furless face with gray markings between his eyes and on his cheek, along with a full set of sharp teeth and a pair of happy gray eyes.
“Who…the hell…are you?” Tiwaz muttered as he pushed himself off the railing to give the Korikakumon a strong glare…or at least as strong as he could muster in his condition. He had seen the species before during one of his journeys; he had never seen one so far from snowy mountains though.
“Ehhh, that’s not important right now. I don’t think you’d be able to remember it right now, anyway, considering you look like you’re going to barf again,” the bear Digimon said with a large smirk. It was also then that Tiwaz noticed that the white bear had something in his hand.
“What’s that?” Tiwaz asked warily.
“It’s for your hangover,” the white Digimon replied as he walked over. “I could hear your moaning all the way from inside the ship’s kitchen, and you sound like you have the worst case I’ve seen in months. I figured I’d give you something and save us all the pain of having to hear your wailing.”
The EmperorGreymon grimaced and stepped back, and then he realized that his hip was already against the railing. He would have retorted, but he didn’t have the energy to.
The Korikakumon rolled his eyes and offered it to him. “Just eat it okay? It does wonders for the drunk sailors back at home,” he said with a large grin.
“Hey, freeloader, what are you doing!? You’re supposed to be making lunch!” one of the sailors called out to the white Digimon.
“Hey, I’m not freeloading if I’m working on this ship!” the Korikakumon said before turning back to Tiwaz. “Look, just try it. If you don’t like it, you can always just barf it out,” he told him as he pushed the bowl into the dragonman’s hands. “Just be sure to bring the bowl back to the kitchen, or you’re paying for it. Oh, and get some rest; you’ll need it,” he said before turning away with a wave over his shoulder.
Tiwaz kept on looking back and forth between the bear Digimon and the bowl in his hands. It looked a lot like soup, although he couldn’t really tell what was in it. He could smell the aroma that came from it though, and it reminded him that there was no longer anything inside his stomach. He let out a grumble as he raised the bowl to his lips and took a sip. And another. And then another. And the next one, he decided to just drink as much as he could from the broth. It didn’t take him long to completely finish the soup.
The dragonman licked his lips in pleasure. Already, the warmth was spreading throughout his body, and though the ache of his head wasn’t gone, at the very least he didn’t feel like showing everyone the contents of his belly again.
“I wonder if I can get seconds of this,” he muttered as he looked to where he last saw the Korikakymon walking. “He did tell me to bring the bowl back to the kitchen,” he said to himself with a large grin.
Now if he only knew where the kitchen was…
Tiwaz grumbled as he walked down hallways and corridors, looking into every room that he passed by. It would probably have been smarter and faster to ask someone for help or directions, but Tiwaz Koenig never asked for directions. Not that he could ask anyone any question; he didn’t really recognize anyone he passed by, and he hadn’t seen any of his companions since the morning that they got on the ship. And he was slowly getting irritated at the fact that he seemed to be walking around in circles. His irritation was also beginning to make his headache worse, which only made his mood worse.
“Who the hell designed the ship to have hallways that all connected to each other?” he grumbled as he looked down another corridor and contemplated walking down it. He tried to remember as much as he could from the short tour to show them where their rooms were. At least from there, he would know how to get back up to the deck of the ship. However, he could only barely make out the image of a wooden door with a sign that said ‘Guest Room.’
“Uh, maybe there’s someone…who wants to go up to the deck and needs my help to get there,” he justified as he pushed the door open.
The room was as drab as anyone would expect from a cargo ship. There was barely anything inside other than a bunk bed to the side, a hammock connected to two large posts near the center, and a long desk and chair. He spotted someone on the lower part of the bunk bed.
“Who the hell can sleep in a rocking boat like this?” he muttered as he walked over. He grunted when he noticed that he couldn’t get a good view due to the darkness and the blanket reaching up to the sleeper’s head.
Tiwaz debated with himself rather quickly on whether he should pull the blanket off. The dragonman’s curiosity always got the best of him. He reached over and pulled the cloth away.
He conveniently forgot that his curiosity usually got him into situations that he’d have rather forgotten.
“Gah! What the hell!?” Tiwaz yelped as he stepped back and dropped the bowl as he reached to cover his eyes- which was why he wasn’t able to block or even react when the leg of the interrupted sleeper suddenly swung from out of the bed and into the dragonman’s gut, knocking him on to ground.
“Oh, it’s you,” a familiar irritating voice said as Tiwaz let out a gasp of pain, not to mention that the kick to his stomach made his insides want to come out again.
“W-what was…that for!?” the dragonman growled as he pushed himself to sitting position, looking at the figure before him. And then he remembered why he closed his eyes on the first place. “Gah! Put some clothes on, dammit!”
Fenrir rolled his eyes as he stood up from the bed, using the cloth he had been using as a blanket as a loincloth around his waist. “What are you doing in my room?” he asked with a huff.
“Y-your room!? Nevermind that! Why are you naked!?” Tiwaz yelled as he stood up, covering his eyes.
“It’s hot,” Fenrir said simply with folded arms. “It’s humid in an enclosed space. This is a lousy guest room.”
“Whatever! Just put some damn clothes on! Or even a pair of pants!” the dragonman ordered as he stepped back and felt for the wall.
Fenrir only rolled his eyes. His sleep was interrupted, so he might as well. He walked over to a hidden chest in front of the bunkbed.
“You know what? I’m not waiting for a slowpoke like you to get changed – clothed – whatever!” he stated as he finally found the wall and reached the door by following it. He removed his hand from his eyes, relieved that he could see no naked people in the hallway, and he quickly went out and walked down the hallway. The only thing that kept him from running was his once again uneasy stomach. Tiwaz was so preoccupied with getting away that he didn’t even hear someone calling him.
“Tiwaz! Hey!” Taranis called out from the other direction.
“He sure is in a hurry,” Kaleth said beside him.
“I wonder why,” the Beetlemon muttered as he glanced at the room that the EmperorGreymon came from. “I’ll go check,” he said with a mischievous grin. He couldn’t wait to find out what could make Tiwaz run away like that.
Kaleth watched as Taranis walked over and gave the inside of the room a peek. He tilted his head in curiosity when Taranis suddenly retracted his head and speed walked back over to him. “What did-“
“You don’t want to know,” Taranis said quickly, grabbing the Knightmon’s wrist and pulling him away from the room. He suddenly understood why Tiwaz was so quick to run away.
“B-but Tiwaz went the other way! Weren’t we supposed to bring them to the captain’s quarters?” Kaleth asked rushedly.
“They’ll find out sooner or later,” Taranis said in excuse. “I think I’ll skip going to the meeting and get some rest,” he then said with a weak voice.
‘Sometimes I hate having photographic memory,’ he thought pitifully, hoping that sleep would erase the image of Fenrir’s nakedness from his mind.
(next post)
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