The Flock

"I made it to the deck of the ship... only to find the source of the commotion still hasn't shown its face, yet. It must be planning something..."

As you make it to the deck, you call out over the storm to the girls.

"Brace yourselves! We've got a big monster on our tail!"

The three of them stare at you in bewilderment. Then Gilda looks back up at the clouds and rubs her chin in thought.

"Sea monster capable of manipulating weather? How the hell are we gonna handle that?!" she asks.

You punch your fists together. "By working together! My injuries are weak, but hindering nonetheless. Gilda, I need you to check this ship for any cannons and cannonballs! If you find some, bring them up here, one at a time!"

She salutes you before rushing into the Crew Deck. You then turn towards Greta.

"Greta! I need you to get to a safe spot and carve out more Fire Runes! I'll need a lot of them if we are to bring this creature down!" you command.

She nods her head and rushes into the Crew Deck as well.

Finally, you turn to Gabby, who's still shaken up by the storm, as well as the news of the nearby monster.

"And Gabby! I need you to be brave... the water will keep rising unless someone keeps bailing it out! Can you keep bailing the water for us?"

She quickly nods her head. "Y-yeah... but... p-please be careful, you three!" she adds, before hurrying into the Crew Deck with the bucket in her claws.

Meanwhile, you look around the ship for anything that can be of use. You end up finding a large pile of ropes, and an idea springs to mind.

You hear the girls returning back up, and pass them ropes. "Here, tie these to your waists! If you get thrown off the ship, you're going to need these to return!"

They eye you curiously for a brief moment before nodding their heads and doing as instructed. You follow suit and do the same, before hurrying to the central sail and tying all three ropes to the base.

You then spot Greta coming up towards you with a few more Fire Runes. "Do you need anything else, Regol?"

With a nod of your head, you motion towards the back of the ship. "I need you to carve Air Symbols onto the back of the fencing. Right now, the creature can move faster than us... so we're going to have to match its speed if we are to take it down."

She nods her head and heads towards the designated spot, doing as instructed.

Gilda then hurries up to you with a frown on her face. "Bad news, Regol! This damn ship doesn't even have a cannon!"

You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose. "Well then, we'll just have to rely on the 'Runes Only' approach to handle this... you can help Gabby bail the ship, then. I'll handle the beast."

Gilda groans, spreading her arms out in a questioning manner. "Now hold on, Regol! Ya know I'm not the type of griffon that sits around, right? I wanna help you fight this thing!"

"You were bailing water out when I woke up." you counter.

She nods her head. "Yeah, and it was boring! C'mon, let me help you hunt this monster, instead!"

You're about to respond to that, when the ship starts to shake again.

Gilda looks over the ship's railing, only for a pair of huge green eyes to open beneath the water, staring back at her... followed by another two shorter pairs.

She yelps and backs up, right as the massive creature breaks from the ocean barrier and leaps directly over the ship.

NAGAROTH

You hear Gilda gulp as the creature's tail finally reaches the other side of the ship.

"W-well, now th-that I get a c-c-closer look at it, maybe Gabby could use an extra bucket!" she stutters.

You draw your sword and hurry towards Greta, who just finished carving Air Symbols on the back of the ship.

"Everyone hold on! We're about to move fast!" you call out. The girls quickly stop what they're doing and hunch down, clawing into the ship on all fours.

You then place your left hand over the runic symbols, and they start to glow. Finally, in one thunderous shout, you chant the magic words.

"Hiif... Whis!" (Great Wind)

And in the blink of an eye, the ship propels forward, dashing through the ocean floor like a great fish.

Greta yelps, as the sudden movement catches her off-balance. She slides over the railing, but you quickly catch her arm and pull her back onto the ship.

This makes her weakly smile and blush at you. "T-thanks, Regol..." she stammers.

You nod your head before turning towards the back of the ship. The creature rears its head out and roars loudly, before giving chase.

"I need a Fire Rune and an Air Rune, please." you ask her.

She quickly reaches into her bag and draws out the two runes as you asked. You take them and nod your head gratefully before leaping onto the railing.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Greta asks you.

Rather than voice your response, you take the Air Rune and leap into the air, flying off the ship, while the rope starts to unfurl.

"Whis!" you chant, causing the wind to pick up around you, and send you gliding towards the Nagaroth.

It opens its mouth and lunges after you, while you in turn sheathe your sword and reach your hands out, palms facing its direction.

"Hiif... Flei!" (Great Flame)

Suddenly the runes burst in your hands, followed by a massive explosion that sends the Nagaroth flying backwards, and propelling you back towards the ship.

You grip the rope and start pulling yourself closer, but due to its momentum, you find yourself landing in the water. You'll have to climb, it seems.

And so, you start to pull at the rope, while the rope tightens and shakes from the other side... you don't have to even think about it. The girls are helping you pull yourself back into the ship.

By the time you reach the top again, they cheer.

"Damn, Regol! I thought this would be a challenge!" Gilda chuckles, before patting you on the shoulder.

"Yeah... but please tell us when you're about to do something so reckless! Y-you know... before you act upon it?" Greta adds.

You raise a hand to silence them. Then you let out a sigh.

"It isn't dead, yet." you tell them. This makes the feathers stand up on their bodies.

"W-what?! But you just-" Gabby begins, but you cut her off.

"I know... trust me. I hit it hard enough to keep it away for at least a long while... but it's likely going to return someday. I'd give it about a month or so." you clarify.

Gilda shrugs her shoulders. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go kill that thing while it's weakened!"

You shake your head at her. "We can't... not yet."

"What? Why not?!" she asks, seemingly annoyed.

You sigh. "Because we aren't prepared to take it on. It's one thing to hunt monsters. A Nagaroth, however, is a different kind of monster that has to be specially-prepared for. Without a cannon, for instance, we can't get through its outer scales, and puncture its vital areas. And I can't just go inside it, because its insides are like acid, and can easily strip the flesh from anyone, Hexblades included."

Gabby raises a talon. "But, uh... what if you threw a rune inside it and activated it remotely?"

You nod your head and point at her. "Ah, good question. It's because runes activate on physical contact, mixed in with magic chants from the runic symbols. However, the one carrying the rune has to have some form of Magic within their bloodstream. Like you girls, for example, can easily use a rune if you knew the right words. 'Flei', for example, is 'Flame', 'Mex' is 'Mind', 'I'ku' is 'Water', 'Julx' is 'Lightning', 'Fis' is 'Ice', 'Whis' is 'Wind', 'Kig' is 'Oil', 'Mah' is 'Lava', 'Tul' is 'Nature', 'Tiis' is 'Weapon', 'Aki' is 'Armor', 'Klux' is 'Feather', 'Tei' is 'Time', 'Ergos' is 'Day', 'Arkos' is 'Night', 'Fei' is 'Warmth', 'Tai' is 'Reflect', and 'Va'al' is 'Void'. There are many more, but those are the basics."

Greta tilts her head while the other two simply scratch the back of their heads confusedly. Then Greta clears her throat and asks, "What about that other word you used? You know, before the ship began to move?"

"Hiif? That's actually a Runic Prefix, meaning 'Great Hex'. It's usually followed by a chant for a much more powerful spell. However, casting it guarantees that the rune will break afterwards, so it's usually best to be used in emergencies." You then motion towards the back, where the distant storm is starting to clear up. "Case in point being when we're chased by something bigger than we can chew."

"I... think I understand it a bit more, now. Thanks for clarifying, Regol." Greta says.

You weakly smile and nod your head. "Any time... got any more questions, any of you, feel free to ask. For now, though," you yawn, "... for now, I need to get some more rest. Gilda, mind taking control of the wheel?"

She smirks at you. "Aye aye, captain!"

You roll your eyes and head back into the Captain's Quarters. You don't really have another one of those odd dreams, though it has been running through your mind, despite the circumstances.

Were you starting to feel more attracted to these girls?

... Yes. Yes, you were. Perhaps, when you four make it to town, you can ask them to go out on, what you've read to be, a 'date'... but then, comes another problem.

You're a trained killer. A slayer for hire. You've hunted the lowest of criminals, the greatest of monsters, and only admitted defeat to the dreaded 'stove', and all of its vile appliance-based allies.

So then, why... why the hell is the thought of courting these three griffons starting to make you feel nervous?!

"The rest of the ship ride goes without incident. I managed to keep it to myself that I plan on courting the three of them... but even still, I can't help but shake the feeling of anxiety.

"Sure, I've slept with plenty of women in the past. Hexblades have Monster Blood, so we aren't necessarily 'Compatible' with our fellow humans, anyways... but these are griffons I'm dealing with. You know... monsters by blood. There might be a chance that I could actually get them pregnant... so I'll have to play it carefully.

"Whatever happens... I only hope I don't screw things up with my inexperience in commitment. This is, after all, going to be a life-changing moment, not just for them, but for me as well."