Meditate with his Code Piece, huh?

He felt the barrier give as he materialized on the sandy beaches of the Isle. The salty breeze ruffled his hair as he tied it up into a ponytail and observed his wonder. Everything was just a little damp, as though the sea around the Isle had swelled up to cover even the tops of the palm trees. A few fronds from the palms lay on the sand, under which a group of crabs were huddled. It was humid and he removed his jacket. The Isle, for all that it was tropical looking, usually didn’t hold onto the wet heat like you’d expect. Probably due to the fact that the Isle itself wasn’t that large, and most of it was either beach, town, or ship. Not much standing water except for the ocean around it, and the cove.

Guess the barrier held onto some of the moisture.

It didn’t seem too bad, all things considered. The small town already looked to be drying in the sun, now that the barrier was gone and the trees hadn’t been uprooted. A few low shrubs looked a little worse for wear but otherwise… It looked, well, fine.

Not at all the level of chaos he’d been expecting given what the Code had said.

The Siegfried sat where it always did, standing as a beacon of bleached white wood among the trees. The old frigate creaked occasionally as the ocean beneath it shifted, rocking it ever so slightly. A few pieces of seaweed hung off the railing and back edge, though it too looked no worse for wear.

He righted the gangplank that had been dislodged - well that was a lot of dead barnacles attached to the bottom, yeesh - and boarded the ship with little fanfare. For a moment, he saw a flicker of a memory, long gone crew members overlaid against the white wood.

Maybe he was on the right path? If he was starting to see memory flickers?

The main deck held no Code piece or indication of one. Not by the wheel, not at the front, not even up on the crow’s nest. He did find an oddly random Neptune symbol set into the mast.

So… not around the wheel. To be honest, he’d probably have known it was there if it was. It wasn’t like there was much to hide it.

The captains quarters and below decks - what still remained - didn’t provide anything either. So if… the Code piece wasn’t on the ship… what actually determined what his wonder was then?

Siegfried let out a huff as he exited the captain's quarters. It was very nice, if dusty and musty for having been closed for so long, so he left the double doors open in both the front and the back of the room. It was also very pirate-esk. Lots of tarnished gold objects, faded and moldy paintings, a bed large enough for all three of them to sleep with space besides. He’d have to change out the bedding… and the mattress… and maybe the drapes on the damn thing. Made him wonder what the prior Siegfried was like…

Wait, wasn’t… he the previous Siegfried? Was that how that worked? He certainly hadn’t seen a ghostly apparition floating about judging him for his lack of attention. So… maybe he was more pirate than knight at the time? Not that it really mattered to Siegfried, in all honesty. Whoever he was in the past, whether that was five years ago or five hundred, didn’t really matter to the him of now.

Still, that left some questions he probably never was going to get answers for.

Like where past him put the damn Code piece!

Something flickered in the corner of his eye, and he blinked. It was the color of the ocean, shifting like the tides and waves in front of him. As he watched it ripple, white foam curled on the top of the, what did he even call it, a trail maybe? It seemed to coax him forward.

Well, this was better than stomping around the Isle trying to figure out where this thing was.

The trail of ocean waves and tides lead him from the frigate and into the town proper. It didn’t move faster than Siegfried did, and paused at corners or turns for him to catch up. It guided him through the town and beyond it, into the hills on the west side of the Isle.

Why would it lead him here?

The times he’d come here, he’d only really been focused on the town and frigate. The hills were there, obviously, but weren’t exactly calling ‘come see me!’ when you looked at them. He frowned as the trail led him further away from the town and into thicker brush. He frowned even deeper when he came to a cave mouth, tucked in the valley space between two hills.

The ground sloped down some towards the entrance, and plants had long overgrown whatever path or stairs may have existed. Barely visible further inside was something wooden.

The trail of the tides floated to the mouth of the cave and waited, curling as if it was impatient. Siegfried raised a brow at the trail and rolled his eyes. Impatient little thing, it reminded him very much of the Code’s sass. Summoning his cutlass with some effort, he slowly made his way down the slope, beating down plants as he went. The trail could wait for him to not end up a** up in a bush.

The wooden something barely visible at the top of the slope came into view as he finished freeing the stairs - actual stone stairs hot damn - from their vegetation jailers, and he snorted.

Past him absolutely was a pirate.

Set some feet into the hillside, using the naturally formed stone cave as it’s structure, was a wall of wood and a door. Unlike the wood of the town and the frigate, the wood here was old but still held its deep brown color. The roof of the cave sat a few feet above his head, maybe ten, eleven feet at most, and the wooden wall reached from floor to ceiling. The door looked to be relatively normal height, with good iron hinges that hadn’t rusted out. A faded piece of cloth hung from the wall next to the door, the symbol of Neptune stark against the black background. There was another symbol on the flag, entwined with the Neptune symbol, but he couldn’t make out what it was. A dark lantern sat next to the door, slightly consumed by sand.

The trail floated through the door, and the lantern sitting on the ground next to the door flared to life. A flame flickered inside, flickering from sea glass green to teal to deep blue, and spilled light of the same across the sandy floor and wall.

Pirates.

Siegfried pushed the door open gently, surprised when it swung inward with little noise. As though it was constantly oiled. Still no ghostly ancestor floating about so it wasn’t… that. The trail glowed, casting the stone walls in a sea green light, and guided him forward. The passage wound around this way and that, always slightly downwards until it opened up into a much, much larger room.

Lit by the natural sky light some tens of feet above him, a large cavern sprawled in front of him. The ceiling was broken up by roots and in one case a whole a** tree that had grown down into the space.

What caught his eye, though, was the horde of treasure that covered the floor of the space. Piles of gold and silver and precious gems, marble sculptures, a whole wall of just weapons… A few paintings, in almost pristine condition, and that was absolutely a throne.

Bloody pirates.

The trial of ocean waved at him like a tsunami. Clearly whatever it was leading him to, it was more important than the treasure in this chamber. Or it thought so, anyway. Siegfried trailed a hand over the piles of gold pieces, palming one with ease. Nothing about it was recognizable, but it felt solid and had a bit of weight. Priceless treasure, all this was now, but treasure nonetheless.

He passed around a rather provocative statue of a senshi who’s face had long been broken off, and quite suddenly he stood in a much smaller room. He looked back, finding the path still there, if dimmed. False wall maybe? Interesting… he turned his attention to the room in front of him.

The soft roll of the waves echoed in the small space, muted as if the sound was coming from far away. The back wall was lit from a pool of water, gleaming like sea glass as it rippled gently. The pool curled around in a crescent, mimicking the shape of the Isle outside. Centered in the arch was a small stone monument. Above it floated the thing he was trying to find, a dim orb of light somehow listing to the left.

His Code piece.

The floor in front of the monument looked like someone had come through and smacked things off of it. Several candles actually found their way into the pool, now that he looked at it. He fished them out, along with a ring. It was a thick band, with a large flat top with a symbol pressed into it. Recognition flashed as he thumbed over the top and he slipped it on without much thought.

Who would have thought he’d also find his signet ring here too.

Quietly, he cleaned up the small monument, replacing candles and coins and even a very nice if useless cutlass inlaid with red gems. He set it back on it’s plaque, hanging behind the monument above the pool.

“Cap’n?”

He turned, eyebrow raised as the young boy made himself known in the space. He liked this kid; not the least for the fact that his bright red hair reminded him of her. The boy, named Rio if he remembered correctly, had a sharp mind, and even sharper wit. He didn’t quite remember when he’d picked up Rio, but he was glad for the boy.

Plus, he showed promise. Tides, Rio had found this place, and only the Knight of the wonder could do that. Siegfried put the cutlass down - wait hadn’t he already done that - and regarded Rio with full attention.

“Boy,” he said, deep baritone echoing off the walls. Rio stepped to him. When had he gotten so tall… tides how old was Rio now? Sixteen summers? Eighteen? He was well within the range to be handed the mantle…

“Crew’s getting antsy again,” replied Rio, green eyes pointed towards the exit without turning his head. Not alone, be wary.

“Aye, we’ll be off soon enough, gots do the rites for calm seas,” he replied, silver eyes scanning over the passageway as he turned back to the monument. One moment. Activating wards. He moved one of the candles idly, straightening up the top of the monument. With a silent flick of his wrist, he traced the Neptune symbol hidden in the rock before stepping back.

“Blessed be, queen of seas and waves. Stars be our guide, provide calm seas and safe passage beyond the shoals. Blessed be, queen of seas and waves, may we strike true, strike fast and take no quarter,” he recited, tracing another symbol on the front of the monument. The glowing orb that floated above the candles slipped into a small opening that had appeared in the top of the monument. Once inside, he replaced the candle in it’s place.

“Blessed be,” echoed Rio and they covered their hearts with a fist.

A beat later, sound echoed down the passage and he felt the heavy weight of the wards settle in his bones. Silence filled the space, broken only by the low ripple of water. Rio silently slipped back down the passage, returning a moment later with a nod.

The Code piece popped out of the monument and wiggled at them. Siegfried let out a soft breath, silver eyes hardening.

“Things move faster than I anticipated,” he said quietly. Wards or no, he preferred his words not echo across the Isle.

“Aye. First mate has been hearin’ talk against you and the Princess,” Rio replied in kind.

“Won’t be more than talk when I’m done with ‘em,” said Siegfried after a moment. He slowly rubbed his thumb against his signet ring. He looked at Rio, down at his ring, and over at the Code piece.

He didn’t need his knighthood to end those that would mutiny against him. No, that would be easy, if it was just the crew. This wasn’t his first time around the world, nor his first crew. If it was the whole Isle, it certainly would help though…

Rio was certainly old enough, and half a knight already. Could the Isle handle only having a page though? Could Rio handle the Isle just as a page? During his training, Siegfried had his captain to guide him along the way. Rio would have no one, except those who wished him ill.

“Cap’n?” Siegfried’s attention snapped to Rio and — He saw his bloody face, his throat slit, his body left to rot in the sun —

“... You died… before he… I… could pass along the mantle…” he said, shakily, blinking as Rio flickered in and out, in and out, in and out.

The world snapped back into clarity as the glowing orb flared briefly and wiggled in greeting. Then it simply floated quietly among the candles - when had they been lit - that flickered around it.

“Did… did I do it?” he asked, before summoning his cutlass as easy as breathing. Water rippled down it’s blade and he felt energy rush his limbs. Then energy rippled down him, and he moved with a grace he was not accustomed to.

Oh… Oh he’d done it.

Somehow.

Siegfried looked down at the ring on his hand. “Rio, you deserved better. I’m sorry…” he said softly.

The Code didn’t seem to call him back once the task was completed, and so he began to clean up the treasure vault and ritual space.

It was some several hours later by the time Siegfried felt comfortable enough with the state of the wonder to go home. Or at least, back to Earth before the Code invariably dragged him to the Moon again.


[ WC: 2410 ]