As I did, I began to remember, the kidnappings, the huge Yuda, and the ridiculously huge fleet of sea kings that I had had to face.

I inhaled deeply in surprise as I looked at what looked to be a severed head of an octopus like fish with a collection of deep gashes on its forehead. On its side I could see one of my daggers wedged in between what looked to be a rib like bone structure that protected its skull.

The only reason I had not sunk yet, as I found out from further observation was because a sea king had been used as a float to keep be on the surface of the sea.

The creature was bigger than the usual infant and faint memories from the previous night revealed it to be the one that had caused my failing, having wrapped me in its huge and gritty scaled tail, it had proceeded to choke me, had it not been for the fact the Terrick had just finished his own end of things I might not have survived.

Speaking of Terrick however, I was once again struck with a dilemma, in that I could not see him anywhere around me.

The man was surprisingly absent from the ensemble that was my surroundings. It would not do to a.s.sume that he had died, because the last time I saw him, he had been perfectly fine. A collection of shallow bruises were his only take away from the deadlock that the fight had proved to be.

He could not have been a.s.saulted after my falling unconscious because of the simple reason that I was fine, next to me the s.h.i.+p still stood stock still. Untouched save for the brutal violation that it had suffered from the foggy guest that had alighted onto it.

So that left only a single option, though it wished to all things holy that it was not the case.

"That motherf.u.c.ker, he went after them didn't he?"

***************

Terrick tucked into the rancid scented flesh of the sea king as it swam through the waters. After the battle that had occurred the previous night, he had already made up his mind to go on a foolhardy rescue mission.

However capable his captain was, he would only prove to be a burden if his plan was to be followed. That coupled with his weakness to water battle had made Terrick sure of his plan of action.

As soon as he had saved his captain he had begun to pack all the things that would be required to safely sneak into the stronghold of his poison wielding foe.

He had made sure to double check his collection, sure that a failure like the one he had suffered sneaking onto this very s.h.i.+p would not be a good outcome.

As he prepared to employ one of the smaller safety rafts that existed on the s.h.i.+p to serve as his vessel on his chase however, he was met with a happy coincidence.

A sea king that he had faced somehow still survived. The gashes to its side, Terrick was sure were lethal to most creatures of its ilk, but had only incapacitated the creature for a small period of time.

The creature had been very cooperative, it had been more than happy to ferry him to his kidnapped crew.

He still couldn't believe it. He had known from Angella's lectures that Sea kings were smarter than they looked but still.

As the creature had raced through the current less waters, Terrick had made himself comfortable in a huge scar that existed on its torso. Observing the type of would he could be sure that the huge blue monstrosity had faced off against either another sea king or a monstrously huge Yuda.

A sweat rotting fruit stench made Terrick lean towards the latter.

As he neared his destination, he looked through the dark satchel that he had worn on his hip. In it was a collection of liquids. These had been a few acids that he had made in his time with the captain and the doctor.

The captain had introduced him to the idea, and the doctor had helped him synthesize the mixtures. Each had a specific strength and could be used for a variety of functions.

That along with a small collection of throwing needles and metallic thread gave Terrick some measure of confidence.

As the beast went forward, the fog around them thickened. A faint pink hue began to permeate the air as Terrick felt a small bout of lightheadedness.

This was the same level of toxicity that the s.h.i.+p had been affected with. This lead Terrick to a frightening conclusion. The venom in the air was being spread unconsciously!

With a sudden bob, the creature began to go underwater. As it moved inward, Terrick fixed his form in a small gap in the sea king's scar. A small air bubble formed around the wound as the sea king's jagged mouth curved into a natural and frightening smile.

The creature had used a special method of submergence to provide its alley a bit of breathing room. ( If the creature had a sense of humor it would have laughed.)

As the creature neared the huge monolith it could not help but shudder a little. Its herd had tales of this mountain they spoke of it as the 'hollow mountain' a natural outcrop of jagged rock around a stagnant pool of water, also known as the Yuda den.

As the entire of the calm belt was the place of sea king pods, this mountain was the home to the Yuda young, that being the case however, the Yuda young and old lived together.

As the young sea king pa.s.sed through the outer walls, it could not help but feel a tinge of pride, for it had infiltrated a territory that no one in its clan had done before.

As its beady eyes breached through the surface of the water, it could not help but widen. For before it was a floating human city. Built using the shed skin of the Yuda, on a hibernating nest of the bests.

The sea king had to leave, it had never felt this fear before in its life. For before it, it could see a Yuda as long as the fake mountain around it and as big as to make the sea king feel like an insignificant tadpole before it.

It was large enough to house the entire island on its back!