Skylanders: Found

16. Bowhead

The days that followed the pirate attack were slow. It all began when the great whale hurled himself abord the Astronave in but a single leap. He was naturally very impressed by its quality, but far less impressed by its size. He examined the doors and knew at once that a giant like himself had not quite been envisaged in the design process. "Dear Thumpback, apologies," Luci said to him, "had we known such a legend of Skylands such as yourself was coming abord, we would have made alternate design choices, I'm sure."

"It's fine," Thumpback confirmed. He inspected every aspect of the ship, particularly interested by the anchor, carved delicately from an enchanted crimson crystal. "Give me two days with your crew and I'll have a solution," he eventually announced. Luci agreed and sent her crew with Thumpback (although she still set Bam and Squalo aside) and they set about onto the shore of the lagoon. Thumpback looked like a man on a mission, a shimmer of light blazing in his eyes. He seemed determined, but it wasn't clearly precisely what his ambitions entailed. Stump and Cali discussed in depth the many things Thumpback might have chosen to do during those two days, but they were satisfied as long as the ship wasn't unceremoniously altered to fit a giant. However, it became increasingly clear that his 'solution' did not involve being abord the ship, relieving any worries that they had. Indeed, he remained unseen throughout the entire two-day period, not even returning at night.

The crew, on the other hand, did occasionally take a break, resting for a couple hours during the late hours on night. They refused to reveal anything about their project, however, which was quite unfortunate for Cali and Stump's growing curiosity. It was, perhaps, more annoying because they suspected that Chill knew precisely what was going on. In fact, they were pretty sure she had left the boat to help work with Thumpback. Yet, there was no proof in the matter and Cali somewhat doubted these ideas. After all, Chill hadn't quite been the same since Rustbeard escaped. One might say that she returned to her shell, speaking even fewer words than before. It was no surprise, then, that she spent much of her time in the cargo bay where Squidbeard was being held. Stump, nor Cali, dared go down there and disturb her.

On the morning of the third day, Thumpback returned. "You're in for a treat!" he yelled as he pulled himself back on board the Astronave. Luci, at once, gathered everyone on deck. Even Chill arrived fairly promptly. To Stump, this all but confirmed that she did not, in fact, help Thumpback and that, instead, her promptness was a statement of much interest. She was as invested as he and Cali were.

"Great Thumpback," she said, "am I to take it that your mighty fine scheme is at an end?" Thumpback nodded and smiled, slinging his anchor over his shoulder. "In that case, I command you all to follow on."

Cali did not need to be told twice and rushed to dismount the ship. Stump, of course, followed hastily after, followed by Chill and the others. Thumpback followed behind the crowd, a pleased look taking form on his colossal face. It soon became quite clear why. Anchored on the other side of the lagoon was another vessel. It was recognisable at once to have once been his small fishing boat; it was something far finer now. The hull was now carved like a whale, majestic and grand. The boat itself had been expanded to include a deck which Thumpback could sleep within, which sat within the belly of the whale. Whomever had carved such a might work of art was to be proud of themselves.

At once, it made sense to Stump; his fishing boat had been severely damaged in the fight against the pirates. And now, as if strengthened by battle, it was now prepared for greater challenges ahead. By all accounts, it was a fine piece of craft for two days' work. "This is Bowhead," Thumpback introduced to Stump, Cali and Chill, "I shall sail in her during the mighty voyage we have forthcoming! Ho ho, and such a ferocious journey we shall have!"

Desiderio stepped forward. "We've chain in our cargo that will join the two vessels; it will be like our own little entourage. Luci has authorised this, of course." Stump nodded. He had to agree with the consensus: the ship was a nice one. Yet, he preferred the Astronave in a number of ways, namely its size. He felt he'd feel claustrophobic on Bowhead and could hardly imagine voyaging in it at Thumpback's size. He knew, however, that it was a problem which wouldn't phase the great whale. He wondered, in fact, whether anything phased him; after all, he had flung Bowhead into the pirate's ship with little issue. By now, most of the pirate's ship had washed up onto the beaches, a resource which probably came in handy when revitalising Bowhead. Two days, though? Stump wondered how long the Astronave had taken to build. Weeks? Months? Years? Even decades or centuries wouldn't surprise him. There was something quite ancient about the Spirito Souls, though they also felt exceedingly new and unique. They were quite the enigma.

Later, when Bowhead had been tied to the Astronave, Luci and Cali called upon the Skylanders. "We are in multiple minds as to our course," Luci explained, "and there are no guarantees about finding any Skylanders there. Yet, here are our options."

Cali threw a vast map onto the deck of the ship and pointed to the Cloudbreak islands, "Flynn is at KRC in Woodburrow. Now, we've only seen one portal go haywire, but if Mags is anything to go by, it could be happening to them all. That means that they could all be in deadly peril. I believe we should head in this general direction."

"However," Luci chipped in, "the journey will take a number of months by ship. The train, I'm told, is a faster route, but it could still take weeks to get to the station."

"Either way," Cali continued, "there are plenty of places we should visit in the meantime. That's quite the issue, actually." She pointed to a close by island. "Shattered Island is quite close; we might be able to gather some supplies there."

"Wasn't Shattered Island, well, shattered?" Stump Smash asked.

"It was," Cali replied gravely, "but a recent KRC sent in a division to fix it up. It's quite the tourist trap, I hear."

"Then we should go?" Chill asked, knowing quite well that there was probably a catch. Her suspicions were confirmed as Luci stepped forward and pointed out another island.

"There's also the mushroom river," Luci stated, "We can't realistically go to both." Thumpback nodded.

"Shroom Boom's old haunt," he muttered. Cali's eyes widened.

"I think that makes our decision for us," she said, nodding to Luci. Thumpback shook his head.

"We have two ships, don't forget," he said, causing Cali and Luci to look at each other in deep thought.

"What did you have in mind?" Luci queried.