"I made a pact with Lady Fate of course! People often misjudge fate as just a concept but fate is an actual deity that gives no favors. By asking fate to secure our future battle we have entered its trail to see if we are worthy. You're stuff is in my cabin."
Said Silas before he ripped open the locked door to Reiji's cage.
"Follow me, we must endure this trial together!"
Silas turned and started to walk up the stairs. Reiji stood in his cage, thinking for a moment.
This is a great opportunity to escape, somehow.
Reiji then followed Silas up the stairs but before he could reach the deck a massive wave rocked the ship, causing Reiji to roll back down the stairs.
"Ugh…damn that hurt."
He got up and this time he slowly, more carefully made his way up. He pushed the door at the top of the stairs open and it was like a different world out there.
Rain, thunder, lighting, wind, massive waves in the distance and already injured crewmates.
He gripped the wooden frame and pushed himself out onto the deck. That's how intense the wind was. He climbed up to the quarterdeck where Silas Thorne was standing behind the helm, holding it tightly.
"I was wondering where you were. Be careful, a strong enough gust of wind might blow you away, AHAHA!"
Silas Thorne laughed at Reiji. Days without food had made him a lot slimmer. The ship rocked once again, slamming him against the quarterdeck railing.
"Ugh, come on!"
Reiji pushed himself up.
"I HAVE A BETTER IDEA. I'LL GET SOME FOOD WHILE YOU DEAL WITH THIS MESS!"
Reiji yelled at Silas who didn't respond. Without waiting he made his way down the stairs to the main deck. Making his way down the stairs means he immediately slipped on the wet wood and rolled down.
He just lay on the main deck for a moment in defeat before turning on his stomach and crawling to a closed hatch and opening it up, crawling down the ladder into the lower deck and hiding behind a few crates.
Reiji left the hatch open which caused the water to pour in. A crewmate ran towards it and closed it. After climbing down the ladder they muttered words in another language under their breath.
The crewmate heard a sound and turned, only to see Reiji right in front of him, startling him. He took a few steps back.
"Where's the food?"
Reiji asked the man, who shook his head slowly and looked at a sword that was resting on a nearby barrel.
"Don't do it."
Said Reiji, shaking his head. The man, however, turned and ran to the sword. Reiji took off after him and touched the back of his neck, manipulating his life force to throw him to the ground with one arm before he could ever get to the sword. The man was knocked out in the process.
"Well, let's do it the dumb way."
The crates were labelled but Reiji didn't know the language so he went one after another, breaking them open with his fists. Yes, Reiji was still strong enough to do that even though he didn't eat anything in days.
After a short while he found beer and food, that being dried beans and hardtack. The hardtack was infested with weevils but Reiji was just too tired to care and just bit down and swallowed, the bugs squirming in his mouth. Eating and drinking weren't easy since the damn ship couldn't stay still for a moment.
After he finally ate enough to not feel hungry he stood up and stretched. The ship rocked once again, throwing him against a pillar in the lower deck.
"Damn it, that was the most disgusting thing I ate in my life."
He then stepped over the knocked out man and climbed up the ladder, pushing the hatch open. The second he did that his face was hit with so much rain, it felt like someone threw a bucket of water at him.
Knowing better, he awkwardly climbed out and closed the hatch. He carefully moved across the main deck and up the stairs to the helm where Silas was still steering the ship with a large smile.
Reiji stood up and held onto the railing.
"Is this the trial?!"
Reiji screamed, barely heard because of the thunder, rain and yelling of crew members.
"Yes, it is! The only thing we can do now is pray we make it!"
Silas Thorne yelled back at Reiji. This answer made Reiji less than happy.
"Are you out of your mind?! Oh, right, you don't have one!"
Reiji screamed once again before awkwardly making his way to the double door located on the quarterdeck. Reiji didn't care what he broke or who he knocked out, after all, it was the storm that did it all.
Because of that, he tightly gripped the wooden frame and started kicking the door. Sometimes he would kick it and set himself flying backwards, slipping and falling.
This happened a total of two times before the doors flew open on his eighth kick. He got inside, turned around and slammed the double door closed.
He turned around, keeping one hand on the door to barely keep it shut and was met with a sword that was pointed at him. The cabin was guarded by one man. The man spoke in a foreign language, the tone coming off threateningly.
Reiji sighed and dropped his hands down to his sides. The door flew open behind him, letting in rain and wind.
Reiji tried to swat the blade to the side only for the man to bring it back around and strike Reiji's back, making a shallow cut before he got a punch square to the jaw, knocking him out.
"Agh! Thought I could fully stop a sword. Good to know I can't."
Reiji then initiated the search for his items, having to take a total of four steps to reach the only table where his knife, sword and pouch were. It was a truly tiring endeavor.
With the doors still open, he put his things on the ground and flipped the table on its side. He didn't care for the spilled ink or the scattered papers that were once on the table.
He put the table close to the door, closed it and kept it shut with one hand long enough to pull the table closer with the other. The wind caused the door to violently hit against the table when he jumped behind it but he quickly pushed it against the door, forcing it shut.
He dragged the body of the unconscious man over and used it as a weight to stop the table from moving, also using his body weight by sitting down and pressing his back against it.
Reiji took a breather, he was soaking wet which was always great. He quickly retrieved the katana and knife, leaving the pouch on the floor, wet blue prints weren't ideal. He returned and sat down against the table again and pulled the katana out of its scabbard, checking for any damage.
Finding nothing severe, he did the same with his knife before putting it into his obi and the katana diagonally across his back from his left hip to his right shoulder, like always.
I can't just go out there. I always slip and fall. That captain has a crazy strong life force. It's something I also noticed with those two cloaked magicians. Is it tied to their power?
The whole ship was once again rocked, but it was different this time, more powerful. Then came…nothing. It was calm, like the ship just stopped and the seas suddenly calmed down. Of course, the wind, rain and thunder remained.
Reiji dared to go outside, moving the body and the table. What he found wasn't comforting. Giant tentacles had risen from beneath the sea, wrapping around the masts and moving across the deck.
"This whole ship is in the air."
Reiji muttered, since they weren't moving and the waves in the distance weren't any less weaker.