The Isles of Ice Book One: The Corrupted Kingdom

Clear Skies and High Temperatures

Xavier's eyes snapped open and the sound of cicadas filled his ears. He looked around and found that he was in a bed inside a hut made from trees and leaves. Rose was fast asleep on the bed next to him and judging by the sounds of the jungle, it was nighttime.

Xavier didn't remember passing out, the last thing he could remember was firing that flare into the sky. Well, it must've worked, looks like the Marok people found us. He mused.

Xavier tried sitting up but felt the sharp pain in his shoulder sting it again. "Damn!" He hissed.

At the same time, Arvirdi walked into the tent. Arvirdi was the village chief of Marok. The chief was a man with no hair on his head but a long gray beard that came down to his chest. He had large and wistful brown eyes.

Arvirdi's skin was dark brown and he was a fairly muscular man. He was also a bit taller than Xavier and carried himself with an air of wisdom and professionalism.

"Xavier! Glad to see you're finally up!" Arvirdi said as he approached Xavier's bed.

The pirate nodded. "Aye. I'm guessing you guys found us passed out."

"Indeed," Arvirdi confirmed. "I'm not certain why you decided to skip the main entrance and go through the jungle but it's a good thing you had that flare on you."

Xavier slowly sat himself up, careful of his shoulder injury. "Why's that, exactly? Can't you guys talk to the forest?"

Arvirdi sighed. "Well first off, it isn't speaking to the forest. That's a bit of a silly way to put it. But, we've lost our ability to communicate with the island."

"What happened?" Xavier asked. The entire thing was beyond Xavier but he couldn't fathom how the Marok had lost contact with their island.

"It started with the teleportation zone to Muerend on the island being blocked off by a plant. We allowed it to grow because we wanted to respect the island but it grew so out of control that it took hold of the island and cut off our communication from it." Arvirdi explained.

Xavier shrugged. "I don't quite understand, but tell you what. I'll gladly help you resolve this problem tomorrow in exchange for lending me a boat that I can take to Kingston."

Arvirdi wanted to protest but Xavier explained everything. Including the attack he and his friend had suffered.

Arvirdi began to scratch his chin. "A Shade you say? Hm. Well, I'm happy to accept the help. With the island out of our control, we haven't been able to easily bring cargo in and out. For now, though, I'll let you and your friend rest and we'll head out tomorrow."

I gave him a thumbs up and laid back down. "Thanks, Arvirdi, good to see you again."

Arvirdi nodded. "It's certainly nice to have you visit us, Xavier. Now get some rest."

Arvirdi didn't have to tell Xavier twice. The pirate shut his eyes and let himself drift off into sleep.

The next morning, Xavier awoke to the pain in his shoulder being even worse. He mentioned it to Arvirdi as they were getting ready and a healer swung by to finish the treatment Rose had started.

The sensation of having your wounds healed was one Xavier always enjoyed after a tough battle. "That feels so much better!" Xavier said as the healer finished.

"You know Xavier, maybe you should learn a healing spell or two?" Rose suggested. "Could come in handy when I'm all worn down."

"No thanks." Xavier immediately replied and he began to prepare to set out.

Rose tilted her head. "Why not? There's no harm in learning a new trick."

"Oh boy, here we go." Arvirdi sighed.