Skylanders: Found

17. Legacy of the Phantom Tide

The plan was a simple one: Thumpback, Squalo and Stump Smash would depart on Bowhead to the Mushroom River, whilst Chill, Cali and the rest of the crew would go to the Shattered Island to get supplies. Squalo had insisted that he come with Stump and Thumpback, the Astronave already being quite stocked in the fish department. He was filled with glee when, after his pleading, Luci allowed him to take the trip.

"So," was Squalo's first words to the great whale, "you think y'self the greatest angler in all Skylands?"

"I do," was Thumpback's response as he shook his hand. The moment took Squalo by surprise and it did not surprise Stump to see him literally glowing after that moment. "Though, I hear you're something of a fisher, yourself."

"That I am," Squalo replied, taking out a little book wrapped in a small lobster basket. He threw it to a random page and showed Thumpback. The left page depicted sketch of a rather small fish, whilst various statistics were written on the right, with a tick presented in the top right. "I keep m'self a record of all the fish I've caught," he continued, "this lil' one's th-"

"The venomous wigglesnag," Thumpback stated, "I've caught dozens of those in my time." The consequential look on Squalo's face was one of envy and admiration. He placed his book away and sat quietly for a while. It was Stump who spoke next; he was sat on the side of Bowhead, hanging his feet over the edge. The breeze was quite appealing to him.

"So, you still haven't told us how you got in such trouble with the pirates," Stump identified, rolling back onto deck and turning to him. It was quite a tight squeeze for the three to all fit on board, but they just hoped it would be enough for a fourth if their mission was a success.

"Ah, yes; was quite the sea pickle, wasn't it?" He chuckled loudly, startling Squalo, "Well, I think it comes back to my time on the Phantom Tide." He paused and thought. "It was a fine vessel, though it was designed with a nasty purpose. I look back on those days with nostalgia and regret. But, old boy," he said, turning to Squalo mainly, "you should have seen the fish I caught. Enough to feed the crew and then some. The biggest, the rarest. I bless my soul there's hardly a fish this old whale hasn't caught!" He began chuckling again.

"Caught a lobachnid?" Squalo quickly asked. The whale nodded. "A dreaded star?" Thumpback thought for a moment before landing on a humorous memory and nodded. "A leviathan?" Thumpback frowned and shook his head.

"Well, that was my goal until those pesky marauders arrived," he answered, "I was close, too!" He thought back to Stump's question. "A few years back – and you'll recall this, I'm sure – ol' Dreadbeard returned from his crypt to continue his ol' tricks, right?" Stump nodded. "Well, it was I who ratted him in. Me and the gang got on Flynn's ship and gave chase. Treachery of that kind is never forgiven in the pirate's code."

"And Squidbeard? Rustbeard?" Stump asked, eager for more.

"Well, we dealt with those brutes before the final showdown with the Pirate King himself; suffice to say that they were a little sore to make the party," he explained. "We had to leave them for the sake of the chase, but we found Rusty later and sent him to Cloudcracker."

"So, y'went up against Dreadbeard, by y'self?" Squalo quickly interrupted. With a face full of pride, Thumpback nodded.

"I whacked him really good," he enthused, "though we mustn't have closed the chest quite tightly enough, for he freed himself a couple years later, damn he." Thumpback then diverted his attention to controlling the ship for a little while, making sure they were heading in the right direction. The Mushroom River was somewhere Stump had never ventured, but always hoped of doing so; he'd seen some pictures here and there and they always gave him a sense of excitement. It was about time he visited, so he certainly wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

The clouds were darkening. Would the ship be able to take fierce weather, Stump wondered. Though, it was becoming clear Squalo was having similar concerns, taking his fishing line from the water at once. He, instead, resorted to making a few notes in his notebook. The notebook posed a new side of the fisherman that Stump had never seen before, not that he'd seen a great deal of him anyway. He'd always assumed Squalo a very practical person with little concern for theory. Yet, his assessment was clearly incorrect. How curious, indeed.

"It all takes me back," Thumpback said, "we were a small party during Dreadbeard's return. Let's see... Dino Rang was there, I know that much. Ah, and Sonic Boom, of course. There were others, but they slip my mind. There were about 10 of us, plus Flynn and Hugo as well as the others we picked up along the way- Oh! And Shroom Boom, of course." He shook his head slightly, "We all grew closer, working hard to send Dreadbeard on his merry way; and, of course, we had back-up by the end."

Squalo stepped forward suddenly, placing a hand above his eyeline. "Land ahoy!!" he yelled, noticing the mushrooms appearing in the horizon. As if a cue, rain began to pour from the sky. By now, the day had withdrawn into night, darkness encircling them. It was no matter, for the glowing mushrooms would light the way for the heroes.

"Say," Squalo asked, "d'ya think there's good fish in the river?" He looked up at Thumpback, who was concentrating mainly on directing the ship in the weather.

"I would hope so," Thumpback eventually replied. The vessel moved through the sky, jolting side to side until – at last – it touched the land's side. Thumpback tossed the ship's anchor into the soil and took a step onto the land, ducking below a great mushroom. Stump looked out on the land and smiled; this was going to be a memorable trip.