374 - Luck and Pirates
Jack checked his mental map and summoned the closest crew member. This time, it was Argust Osprey.
With another flash of light, the navigator appeared. Argust materialized just beside the [Blue Tea Leaf]. Almost stepping over it.
"Captain? What's the emergency?" Argust asked. His hand had instinctively drew the steamrune handgun he carried on his waist.
"No emergency. It's just your luck. Turn around and touch the blue leaf behind you." Jack said.
Argust turned, saw the sapphire glow, and nodded. As a seasoned navigator, he knew the value of luck on the high seas. He pressed his hand against the leaf.
When the sparks were absorbed into his skin, his weathered face relaxed. A wide grin appeared on that face.
"Aye!" Argust grunted. "That feels like a fair wind at our backs. And a year full of fair wind at that. Thank you, Captain. I'll take that over a chest of gold any day."
After the fourth leaf, Rune stopped. She circled Jack's head three times and her glow turned to a dull, neutral grey. This was her way of communicating that the immediate area, and perhaps the entire island, was out of harvestable [Blue Tea Leaves]. At least for the day.
"No more? The search is over then." Jack said. "Let's head back. No point in wandering until the marks expire."
They made their way back to Teaworth Village and boarded the disguised Silent Mermaid and waited for the rest of the expedition.
The sun was beginning to dip toward the horizon by then. Painting the sky in shades of red and orange.
One by one, the other crew members returned. Some looked exhausted. Others looked disappointed.
Don, Barnaby, and the two healer sisters returned first. Showing defeated expression. Ned followed them closely with similar expression.
"Nothing." Ned grumbled as he stepped onto the deck. "We've searched three different groves. Not a glimmer."
Baroness Artheim, Moby, Ball, and Leon returned shortly after. They, too, had come up empty-handed.
"It seems the legends of their rarity were not exaggerated." The baroness said. Wiping dust from her leather outfit.
Then came Chloe...
The teenage girl was moving with great confidence. A satisfied smile adorned her face. Sparkle, her lightning kirin cub, was trotting beside her. Sparks were dancing off its tiny horn.
Aella skipped joyfully behind them. She was grinning widely and her eyes were much brighter than usual. Her round glasses were unable to dampen their brightness.
"Captain!" Chloe greeted Jack in a happy tone.
"You found one?" Jack asked. Guessing that the lucky girl must have discovered a [Blue Tea Leaf], even without his help.
"Actually..." Chloe said, rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish grin. "... we found three."
The deck went dead silent.
"Three?" Leon repeated in disbelief. "You found three of those ultra-rare leaves by yourself?"
"Well, not entirely by myself." Chloe explained. "Sparkle and I were just walking down a path. I tripped over a branch... which was actually really lucky. When I fell, my hand landed right on a blue leaf growing out of the dirt."
She smiled wider. "Then, while I was getting up, Sparkle sneezed. The lightning from his nose hit a hollow log. Splitting it open. There was another blue leaf inside! Sparkle licked it before I could stop him... So, he got the luck too."
"And the third?" Jack asked. Highly amused. He knew that as the inheritor of fortune, Chloe's inherent luck was ridiculous. But this was bordering on absurd.
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"Oh, we met little Aella some time later." Chloe said. Pointing to the grinning faewitch girl who was now sitting on a nearby barrel.
"We were walking together..." She explained. "... when out of nowhere a third blue leaf fell right onto Aella's head. It dissolved before she even knew what happened."
Aella nodded animatedly. "That's right! I got it just like that. Really, really strange. Just walking and BOOM! One year of luck comes at me."
"Wait! You actually found these leaves like that?" Leon asked. His mouth was open wide. "How can life be so... unfair?"
"Well... Mirella, Argust, Reina, and I also got those leaves." Jack said. "That means seven of us have a full year of maximized luck. That should be enough, shouldn't it?"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Leon exclaimed quickly. "The four of you also found the damned leaves? How come we don't find anything like that on our path?"
"It's luck..." Jack grinned. And then he finally admitted. "Actually, not really luck. I cheated... somehow. Rune could detect the location of the leaves. I took the first one and summoned anyone closest to the locations for the other three."
"No way!" Barnaby exclaimed. "So, we actually just need to follow this little thing to get that damned leaf?"
Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I knew this ability of hers after we decided to split up. Besides, there are limited [Blue Tea Leaves]. The seven we had are probably the last ones in this island. At least, Rune doesn't think there is any other blue leaf here."
"Seven of us are blessed." Serene commented calmly. "That should be good enough. Not a bad haul for a single day's work."
"It's better than most expeditions manage in a month." Baroness Artheim noted. "We should celebrate. Don, what's for dinner?"
Don immediately replied. "Tea-smoked tuna and savory egg curry. Just wait a moment."
The tension of the hunt began to bleed away. The crew gathered on the deck. Sharing stories of the strange plants and creatures they had seen in the giant groves.
For a moment, it felt like a leisure cruise. The industrialized world of Elrush Kingdom felt a million kilometers away. Replaced by the primal wilderness of the archipelago.
But the peace didn't last.
Just as Don was beginning to serve the plates, a low, wailing sound drifted across the water. It wasn't the sound of a beast or the wind. It was a magical siren. Jagged and urgent.
The sound cut through the peaceful twilight. Sending flocks of colorful birds out from the tea forests in a panic.
Jack was on his feet in an instant. He moved to the railing. His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the northern coast of the island.
"That's coming from the north." Argust said. His navigator's instincts was kicking in. "There's only one other major settlement on that side of the island. Greenroot Village."
The crew rushed to the side of the ship. Looking out over the Teaworth Village. Down on the docks, the peaceful atmosphere of village had vanished.
Non-combatant villagers were running in frantic chaos. Dropping crates of tea leaves. Shouting in terror. And pointing toward the northern horizon.
Thick, black smoke was beginning to billow into the evening sky. Visible even over the tall canopy of the giant tea trees. It wasn't the white smoke of a tea kiln. This was the dark, heavy smoke of burning buildings and oil.
The crew could see that not all villagers were panicked and helpless. Many transcendent warriors of the village grabbed their spears and ran north without any hesitation.
Jack leaped over the ship's railing. Landing silently on the wooden dock. He caught a running villager, a short man with a stained apron, by the shoulder. The man spun around. His eyes were wide with panic. Trying to pull away.
"What's happening?" Jack asked. His voice was steady, cold, and commanding.
"P.. Pirates!" The villager stammered. Pointing frantically toward the rising smoke. "That's... that... that is the warning siren of pirate attack! They must be... they must be raiding Green... Greenroot Village right now!"
"Take a deep breath!" Jack ordered. "Explain more! What pirates? How many?"
The man took a deep breath. "I... I don't know. But the black smoke... They're burning houses! They might come here next!"
"What about your village warriors? Where are they running to?" Jack asked again.
"To Greenroot... They'll fight the pirates." The man replied. He was already calmer now. "The warriors from every village in Gigantea will rush to Greenroot."
Jack let go of the man's shoulder. The villager immediately bolted toward the safety of the inland forest.
Jack turned back to his crew. They were looking down at him from the deck of the disguised Ocean Wanderer. A cold, predatory smile crept onto Jack's face.
"Well..." Jack said. His voice could be heard clearly, even over the sound of the distant siren. "It seems our newfound luck is already bringing us some entertainment. Get ready to sail. Let's go and meet those bastard pirates."
Jack looked at the smoke. His expression was predator-like. He didn't want to interfere much with the island's business. But he had a personal distaste for pirates.
Besides, they had taken seven treasures of luck from the island. It's time to lend some hands...
"Everynoe!" Jack said as he was back on the ship's deck. "Prepare for battle! Move to Greenroot Village! Argust, set sail!"
"Aye, Captain!" Argust acknowledged the order and moved quickly to the control room.
"What’s the plan, Captain?" Ned asked while checking the condition of his mystic rifle.
"Let's make it simple." Jack said bluntly. "Go there! Kill the pirates! Rescue hostages, if there are any. Recover whatever they've stolen. Destroy their ships afterward."
"Doesn't that seem too... simple?" Leon commented.
"We'll improvise when we get there." Jack replied simply.
The Ocean Wanderer glided away from the pier without a sound. The disguised phantom ship slipped into the darkening sea. The hunt for leaves was over. The hunt for pirates had begun.