The War for Miogaror: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Thieves! Stop them!”
Frantically scrambling his way through the bustling people, a stout, angry Dwarf was on the hot pursue of three young men. Shoving others out his way with his chubby hands he waddled as fast as he could through the human forest, huffing and puffing. “Guards! Guards! Thieves, thieves!” he bellowed, turning his beard covered cheeks a scarlet red. Suddenly sliding out from behind the colourful stalls of the bustling bazaar, iron clad men took over the chase of the exhausted dwarf. Their steel boots clanged harshly against the cobbled stone streets, the rubbing of their armour tinkled. Everyone was quick to dash out of the way of the group of guards, much to the annoyance of the dwarf who was mumbling profanities under his breath all the way back to his stall, before anymore of his rare artifacts got stolen.
The three men were still far ahead, shouting and laughing at the top of their voices, easily winding and weaving through the customers, each clutching tightly onto a small gleaming object. “Too easy!” One of them exclaimed, excitement clear in his voice. Just before dashing down into a nearby alley, the shortest of the trio took a quick glance behind, checking if the pursuers were even close.
“Haha! You’ll never guess! We’ve completely lost them!”
The three burst out laughing in sheer joy and slowed their sprint to a quick jog, hopping over the garbage bags and pools of unidentified fluids that filled the dark alley. Seconds later, they burst out of the alley and the heat of the sun crashed against their faces, warm and loving to all, cheekily celebrating the escape from the guards. However, a gripping chilly sensation came over two of the trio's arms and they were abruptly halted. The third soon realised that his companions had gone missing. He whipped his head around, simply smiled and waved, before continuing his dash to the exit of the town. The younger two were slowly hauled away by the iron men.

The moonlight shone through the iron barred window and onto the floor of their cold stone cell. The room was hardly an impressive size, and it seemed a miracle that somehow two worn and ripped beds managed to fit inside it, never mind the small rotting toilet in the corner. Small as it was, it gave a foul stench. A cracked mirror hung on the wall, covered in a layer of dust. The walls were etched with the small scores of past prisoners counting down the days til freedom. Horribly misspelled words and names also added to the wall decoration.
“Roan, what’s taking so long?” said the taller of the two captives. He lay outstretched on the floor, not daring to go anywhere near the bed, hands behind his head, staring at the broken light bulb hanging pathetically from the ceiling.
“Quit complaining, Skylar, I’ve almost got it…” The other stood bent over next to the cell door. Golden hair falling over his eyes, he fumbled about with a few thin pieces of metal, twisting and poking them into the lock of the door. A short ponytail lay down his back, and when the very familiar ‘click’ sounded, it was whipped to the side to be replaced by Roan’s smiling face, “Got it! Lets go.”
The door squeaked open, and the two silently slid out of the cell and immediately dashed away from the dinky cell. Stealthily, they darted along the silent corridors of the small prison, embracing the confused glares of the other rough inmates. It wasn’t long until they found the entrance to the building, and to their luck, the guard on duty had fallen asleep, his iron helm tilted over his face, half eaten turkey leg still in his hand. With a cocky smirk, Roan tip-toed over to the unconscious guard and wiggled the little snack right out of his limb hand. Smaning quietly, both took their time exiting the prison.
The cool night air was soothing on their skin. The refreshing scent of cut grass and pine trees lingered in the wind. Without wasting anymore time, the pair set out along the small dirt path, leading them back into the town. Warm light emitted out of the windows of the buildings in the distance like a swarm of orange fireflies. Lonely calls of some night bird could be heard amongst the gentle rustle of the leaves of bushes that lined the small path. The ground soon became firmer, and the earth upgraded to stone, and they soon found themselves back in the town, unsure of their bearings. They let their feet lead the way, until they once again came upon the bazaar. Checking first for any angry dwarves, greedy merchants or iron men that populated the area hours before, Roan and Skylar made haste down the unexpectedly large street. Now, only the bland wooden stalls remained, sanding still like soldiers, obediently waiting until more trinkets and nic-naks could again be displayed upon their surface. From here, they clearly remembered the way. Taking the lead, Roan began to dash down the street, again through the alley where they had been caught, straight ahead, second right, across the bridge, past the blacksmith and then the third left. With that they were running under the large arch that acted as the main entrance to the town.
The moon was beginning to sink away in the west. The silhoutte of their destination could now be easily seen as it quickly approached. Running once again, they hopped through the grassy field next to the path to shave several minutes off their trip. Before long, they were at one of the many piers of the island.
“Yer late, lads!” a powerful voiced boomed from under a nearby tree.
Whipping their heads round, the two soon caught sight of a familiar face leaning against a pine trunk only several meters away.
“Haha, sorry Capt’n,” stuttered Skylar with a nervous smile, “we ran into a few problems with the locals.”
“Ach! What am I going tae dae with ye both?” the man sighed as he came out from the shadows, scratching at his bushy grey beard, “Aye, well we’ve wasted enough time ‘ere! Get on board lads!”

The two were quick running from the grassy ground to the deck of the Lady Arta. Her strong, metal mast reflected in the light of the coruscating stars, sending small rays of light off in different directions. The wood creaked in a satisfied, welcoming manner as they scurried around on the deck. Skylar walked forward and leaned against the metal railings of the ship. Staring down he could see the gentle purple clouds below him, lightly swirling and drifting across the sky. Small schools of shimmering silver nocturnal sky fish were darting away, back to their shaded homes to hide away from the approaching sun.
“Ah! So you finally made it back.” the only escapee of the robbery, Zayden, was striding up to the railing. He was a head taller than Skylar, and broader. He let his light brown hair hang round his face, ending just as it touched his shoulders. Hairs were beginning to sprout from his chin giving him a more rugged look.
“Yeah, eventually,” chuckled Skylar as Zayden ruffled his jet black hair, “did you get anything of worth from the dwarf?”
“Pfft I wish. I feel as if I’ve really underdone myself.” Rummaging in his pocket, Zayden brought out a thin, rectangular shaped, emerald shard and held it up. It twinkled in the light of the slowly rising sun. “but I dunno, there’s something about this. Small as it may be, its beautiful, and oddly captivating. I think I’ll keep a hold of it for now.” He smirked and popped the tiny treasure back in his pocket.
There was a soft shudder as the engines started up. The body of the Lady Arta drifted slowly, vibrating gently against the edge of the wooden pier. Inch by inch the ship was drifting away from the land and the roar of the engine bellowed from the ship as if it were a proud beast. It began to rise, and from both sides of the hull, two wings unfolded. Dragon-like in shape, they stretched over a span of two-hundred feet. The eastern sun reflected on their golden colour covering the whole ship in a gloriously bright aura. The wings were made of a rare metal from the north, mined by the dwarves of the fire region Incendia, so delicate and light, yet stronger than most other metals known to man. The wind picked up, and the large sail came unfurling from atop the lofty main mast. Pure white in colour, except for the green embroidered design in the centre; a large green sphere, pulling out into a thin line at the poles, before fanning both left and right at the end of each line. At the front of the ship, tilting upright, the mermaid figurehead smiled into the dawn as the Lady Arta ascended into the wisps of clouds above.
The land was quick to fade below them, and the Lady Arta was soaring into the violet sky; vast and open, laced with orange lined clouds and the sun climbed slowly higher. The first schools of daytime fish were now appearing; shimmering clusters of reds, yellows and greens, of all different sizes, darted and fleeted around the boat. The air was crisp and fresh with a strong current, puffing out the sail like an oversized fabric lung.

Roan came plodding over to them at the front of the ship with a grin sprawled across his face, “Have you heard? The Captains found us a real big job!”
“Haha, oh I’ve heard all about this while we waited for you two!” Zayden chuckled, “No way am I sitting through this again! I’ll see you both later.”
“Well? What is it then?” Skylar enquired.
Roan hopped beside Skylar, looking out at the vast sky in front of him, breathing in the clean air for a few moments before announcing the big news.
“We’re heading south-east of here, but not just to any old place! We’re heading to the Levitating Kingdom! We’re heading to Nare, Skylar!”
He was suddenly baffled, “Nare? Seriously? But wouldn’t a place like that capture Air Pirates on sight?”
Roan’s grin grew, “That’s what I thought aswell. Now, this is the really shocking part. You’ll never guess who’s the man that’s put out the job, and is asking for help from folk like us?” Skylar didn’t say a word, he mearly raised his eyebrows in curiosity. Roan continued, “It’s none other than the king himself. King Bartheollo! King Bartheollo is asking air pirates for help! Ha, hahaha!”
He bounced up and down in glee, mesmerised by his own thoughts, “Just think of the reward we’ll get. A reward from a king! The gold! The jewels! The weapons! We’ll be the richest pirates around!”
Skylar couldn’t help but laugh, watching his friend jump and hop around. It was exciting news. Roan was right about one thing, the reward would be something incredible, assuming they could pull off what was required of them.
“Oh!” Roan suddenly stopped jumping and turned to face Skylar, “Another thing they say about Nare, the people are meant to be some of the wisest in the world. You may finally be able to find some information on this ol’ thing here…”
Roan approached Skylar with an outstretched fingered and lightly tapped the small, pearly white horn that stuck out from amongst his jet black hair.
Skylar reached up and touched the horn with his own hand. Never in his whole life of sailing had he come across anyone else with one. He’d always craved to know more, but no one knew of anything, those he was able to ask, anyway. People commonly rejected him thinking he was a demon or monster, a deformity.
He averted his intense sapphire eyes to the ground, shrouded suddenly in a world of thought. Slowly he raised them, looking somewhere far into the distance, a solemn look, a look yearning for more.
“Maybe.” he uttered softly, “I don’t think I’ll get my hopes up too much, though.”
Skylars eyes twinkled with a glimmer of sadness as the rising sun illuminated them.
Roan shuffled his feet awkwardly, wishing now he hadn’t mentioned the subject at all.
“Hey, don’t dwell on it too much. If we do find something, great! If we don’t…well, you know you’ll always be one of us, eh?” Roan wrapped his arm over Skylars shoulders and shook him in an encouraging manner. “Anyway, it’ll be awhile before we even get there. Night time tomorrow, at least. Go lie down for a bit. Safe to say neither of us got a good rest in that dingy old cell.”
Skylar nodded in agreement, uttered a word of thanks, before heading below the decks to his cabin. It was a small room, nothing fancy. Wooden floors and wooden walls, with a round window lined with brass on the side opposite the door. A small chest of drawers, a minature shelf, and a swinging lantern dangling by rope from the ceiling were the room's only décor. Filling most of the room, laying against the left hand side wall, was a large bed. Crisp white sheets and a stack of three fluffy pillows. Just looking at the bed filled Skylar with a sleepy sensation, as if the object was casting some spell on him, luring him to come and lie down. He obeyed and plopped himself down on its springy surface, tossing his boots, weapons and other uncomfortable clothing onto the floor. Laying on his back, arms behind his head, he stared at the ceiling, watching the lantern swing back and forth, back and forth; as if its motions were a lullaby, he soon fell fast asleep.