Mister Ratré was the worst kind of leader. He was ignorant and arrogant, a mixture that often led to the worst possible outcos. However, the scene managed to stun him, too, silencing him for the good part of a minute.
Clifford was in a similar condition. The ship's canopy didn't offer the best point of view, but the scene was so big that even the naked eye could study it. An isolated storm raged before the crew, and a gargantuan snake floated lifelessly over its tall waves.
"Is-," Mister Ratré finally spoke, his slight stamr highlighting his fear. "Is it dead?"
The two n couldn't see much from their position, and getting closer to the storm wasn't an option. The tall waves also hindered the inspection, preventing the arrival of definitive answers.
"Captain, we should leave," Clifford suggested, understanding that whatever Coravis held was far bigger than the White Mouse crew.
"Nonsense," Mister Ratré refused. "Do you know how expensive the trip here was?"
Clifford swallowed a curse. Mister Ratré was talking about Khan's money, Clifford's money, but ntioning that detail wouldn't change the situation.
"Didn't you say you had a man interested in this stuff?" Mister Ratré asked, his dark eyes glued to the scene past the canopy. "Send him out to investigate."
Clifford swallowed another curse. He had a cynical streak, but those were his n, and putting them in danger for no reason left a bitter taste in his mouth. However, his situation was hopeless.
"Hughie!" Clifford shouted. "Hop on the hoverboard and go down there to investigate!"
The sounds of the steps reverberated through the ship until a first-level warrior wearing a beanie hat entered the bridge. The man had his head lowered, wary of Mister Ratré, but he still approached the canopy to study the situation.
Needless to say, Hughie froze when he noticed the storm and the gargantuan body it contained. All his interest in the topic couldn't overco the primordial fear that sight generated. Even inside the ship's safety, Hughie only wanted to run away.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Mister Ratré cursed. "Get the hoverboard before I throw you out myself."
Hughie threw a stealthy glance at Clifford, hoping the White Mouse crew's Boss would save him. However, Clifford nodded at the bridge's door, agreeing with Mister Ratré's order.
Hughie didn't oppose the order anymore. He reached the cargo area and retrieved a circular hoverboard under his crewmates' pitiful gazes. The latter didn't know what was going on but knew it wasn't anything good.
"Hughie," Clifford called before Hughie could open the ship's side doors, giving him so hope. Yet, Clifford only put a device in his hands, adding low words. "Use this to update us on the situation, and run away as soon as sothing moves."
Hughie gulped but nodded, storing the device in his ragged trousers. The pocket had holes, so the communicator fell, sliding through Hughie's leg to end up on the floor.
Hughie panicked a bit, but Clifford promptly picked up the device before pushing a hand into the other pocket. That compartnt didn't have holes, so Clifford stuffed the communicator into it before opening the side doors.
The situation was beyond saving, so Hughie activated the small circular platform and placed it outside the ship's doors. The hoverboard lit up and hovered on its own, allowing Hughie to step on it and command it with his feet.
Hughie was a simple first-level warrior, so he couldn't imdiately adjust to Coravis' atmosphere. Yet, the place wasn't too different from Earth, so his body stabilized before he could sway off the hoverboard.
After stabilizing, Hughie threw one glance at Clifford and the peeking crewmbers before commanding the hoverboard to descend. The small vehicle flew through the calm sky, slowly reaching the storm's edge. Hughie was high enough to avoid the tall waves, but drops of their not-waters threatened to fall on him due to their violent clashes.
The storm was quite peculiar. It didn't co from the sky but simply rose from the sea due to its sheer violence. However, Hughie saw different, faint details after getting so close. Vague purple-red lights occasionally flashed among that ss of waves, adding a certain electricity to the air.
The nus on the hoverboard's surface started flickering after reaching the storm's edge, but Hughie was too stunned to notice. He loudly gulped, mustering his courage, before flying above the tall, loud waves and the imnse creature they held.
The gargantuan snake captivated Hughie's attention. He had been the one to ntion the Great Old One, and that imnse creature seed to match the rumors. Yet, a tall wave eventually made its huge reptilian head resurface and turned it to show a far more shocking sight.
Hughie couldn't believe his eyes. His brain struggled to accept the existence of such a big reptilian head, and the marks on its upper part only worsened that ntal process.
The reptilian head was littered with injuries. A big chunk of it had lost the entirety of its scales, revealing deeper layers of flesh that still leaked blue blood.
Proper craters appeared from ti to ti, revealing charred and severed flesh. Those holes weren't deep enough to reach the bone, but one exception existed.
A far bigger and deeper crater stood near the top of the snake's head, reaching as deep as its skull and brain. The burns stretched deep into that organ, as well as the many deep cuts. No liquid flowed from that hole, but Hughie could guess where it had ended.
The unwillingness to dive closer to that giant creature and the not-waters it had tainted was reasonable, but the tremor from Hughie's intact pocket snapped him back to reality. The man put the communicator on his ear, only to hear confused orders.
"What… Doing…" Hughie heard Mister Ratré's unclear voice. "… Down!"
The incomplete ssage still conveyed the order. Hughie loudly gulped again before pushing the hoverboard toward the giant head. The tall waves soon reached him, washing over him and attempting to throw him off the vehicle. However, he crouched down and held to its edge, pushing downward.
The giant head never stood still. The tall waves kept pushing it left, right, up, and down, but the limited nature of the storm allowed Hughie to reach it. He soon stood above it and clutched his hat with one hand, trying to draw courage from it, but sothing suddenly attracted his attention, making him squint his eyes.
The storms made it hard to see, but the area remained decently illuminated due to the absence of clouds. The tall waves hindered Hughie's vision, but the man eventually saw what he had spotted before, and his mouth opened in surprise.
A humanoid figure floated near the giant head, resting atop what looked like a thick cape. Hughie couldn't spot many details from his position but still recognized that peculiar attire, so he pushed the hoverboard down, planning to inspect the situation closer.
Nevertheless, the hoverboard suddenly flickered again and stopped working altogether. The ride tilted under Hughie's weight, throwing him into the raging patch of the sea. The man found himself underwater, dragged by the violent waves, and his hands searched for handholds but only found more not-waters.
Hughie panicked to no end. His head eventually resurfaced, allowing him to gasp for air, but the waves quickly subrged him again. He saw plenty of handholds nearby since the snake was simply too big. Yet Hughie didn't know how to swim, making that short distance and raging sea deadly.
Hughie kept struggling and panicking. His luck ran out, and his head failed to resurface for a long period. His lungs were reaching their limits. He was about to drown, but sothing abruptly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up into breathable air again.
The first-level warrior coughed and breathed ruggedly. His eyes were closed, and his body kept struggling out of fear of going back underwater. However, nothing reached him anymore. Even the drops of not-waters from the crashing waves stayed away, forcing him to inspect the situation.
Hughie opened his eyes, using a hand to brush them and wipe away the not-waters. He imdiately spotted a scarred hand holding his shoulder and, following it to its source, imrsed his vision in a bright blue light.
Hughie's eyes took a while to adapt to the blue light, but he recognized Prince Khan when he did. That powerful warrior had saved him from drowning, but sothing was wrong with his expression.
Khan looked more intense than usual, and his lips parted to release a hissing sound. "We are mighty."
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