Ocean Of Broken Dreams

After some hours, with quiet a lot of boats everyone was able to come ashore. Nameless was wondering if it was a good idea to leave the ship with absolute no one on the board but the one covered by bandages only patted him on his head while James laughed loudly acquiring everyone's attention.

He pointed towards Captain. John took out a transparent marble. He looked on the ship through the marble and the moment after the ship disappeared only to appear inside the transparent sphere.

After that, ignoring the gasps of the temporal crew members he pushed the small glass ball on his forehead, and it went in without leaving traces.

Nameless stood there with his moth wide open for some moments.

'How's it even possible?'

While he was still staring blankly on the spot occupied before by the ship other crew members, temporal and official, started moving towards the northern part of the beach.

"Come on boy! Quit spacing out." – Someone called for him and Nameless snapped out from his vacant state.

He looked around. The beach was very long and probably encircled the entire island. It wasn't very large though. After a few hundred meters the sand was abruptly limited by a steep, extremely high wall of gray rock. Nameless looked up but still couldn't see the top.

He quickly followed the long line of people who already was some distance away.

They walked for entire hour before arriving in front of a staircase. It was directly carved in the gray wall.

"Be careful on the stairs. Sometimes some small beasts come here from the first island." – Said Captain. – "For us they are harmless, but for unawaken people the encounter can be lethal."

With that he started climbing the stairs followed by everyone else.

It was like if they've entered a completely different world where reigned silence and shadows. Nameless could hear the heavy breathing of someone many meters away from him.

The only light source was up at extreme distance where was the stairs end.

At the start someone still talked among themselves but after some time everyone went quiet.

Nameless was towards the end of the line and the oppression in the air was even more noticeable here.

'I wonder what we're here for? None of the temporary crew members had to do something…So they need us here…But for what? So many people, but without any capabilities compared to the official crew. The only thing we have…is, essentially, our life!'

He didn't like this possibility but still couldn't stop thinking about it.

'That's right…why would someone want so many useless people to join them…I need to find the solution, overwise…'

Suddenly a sea of sounds drowned him.

He didn't even notice than the staircase came to an end and they exited in the middle of the jungle. As he looked around it seamed that everything was moving and making some sort of sounds.

"Prepare the camp for the night." – Ordered Captain to everyone. Old Hound went directly inside the forest and shortly after the bandaged man also disappeared in the green sea around them.

Other crew members stood on the perimeter of the camp. Nameless didn't know what to do, but strictly speaking his help wasn't necessary when more then a hundred people are already working together.

Nameless sat down then suddenly he saw a shadow in the bushes nearby.

He went closer and spread the bushes but there was nothing. 'Probably only my imagination.'

He was about to return when a figure appeared beside him. – "Pretty perceptive, boy."

Doctor stood just in front of the bush in his left hand there was a green dart, while in the other one he held an elegant long dagger.

It's blade suddenly went inside the bush and was accompanied by a single short scream.

'I'm sure that there was nothing where!'

Nameless looked inside another time, expecting to find a corpse. '…and there is still nothing. But I clearly heard a scream."

Meanwhile Doctor already vanished.

The boy could only return to where he was before.

He sat under a tree in the center of the camp. He had a feeling that something was about to happen. Everyone of the crew members around the camp were highly alert and tense. Occasionally Nameless heard some, very similar to the one before, screams from the depths of the forest.

Slightly after midday the camp was ready, and Old Hound returned from the jungle. On his cloak there were a few blood stains.

He nodded towards captain and went towards his tent.

John stood up. Suddenly the whole forest went quiet and became motionless. He became the center of everything.

He raised his head. Some berserk aura appeared around him. Then he left out an ear-splitting howl. Behind him appeared an enormous crow phantom and cawed with him.

It was full of arrogance and challenge to every creature.

Immediately everything came to motion once again. But after a few minutes everyone heard some strange sound. It was rapidly approaching their camp.

Captain grinned. – "Just obliterate them all." – In the same moment James extended his right hand. Some snake like lightning was dancing around his whole figure.

"[Thunder Purgatory]"

And then he pushed down his palm. *BRROOOOOOM*

A storm of white lightning mercilessly crashed down on the portion of the forest in front of him. Trees became flaming torches before directly dissipating into finest ash.

Any living being became charred black skeletons.

On the sides some similar situation could be seen. Burned by flames, frozen by ice, withered by time, submerged by sand or water. Many different methods, but the devastation was the same.

For a second many screams could be heard from the obliterated parts of forest but ceased immediately.

Once the various abilities stopped, Nameless was shocked. 'What power…'

Near two kilometers around their camp no more existed. There was only flat ground burned, covered by ice sand, water, black skeletons and other rests.

*Dum* *Dum* *Dum* *Dum*

A sound of war drums appeared from a distance. In was coming near and becoming more intense.

A short humanoid figure exited the forest. He had a green skin and had two horns on his head.

He was hitting fiercely a big, as himself, war drum. In normal situation It would be considered somehow comical but not now.

The green man started shouting something, but suddenly stopped.

His head slowly fell on the ground and his own shadow darted from the corpse towards the camp. Once it arrived Doctor directly emerged from it.

"I didn't like this one." – He mumbled.

Meanwhile other two-horned green man with war drums appeared.

After them, a huge mass of one-horned appeared. The horn was on the left or on the right side of their head.

All of them held some primitive stone spears and swords. Some of them even had bone shields.

More and more of them were arriving.

Everyone was looking towards the direction of the camp with furious expression.

In half an hour the space around the camp was already filled with green. The hostility they were emanating became nearly corporeal.

A wave of commotion spread in the green sea and all of them started moving, giving a way for someone.

One some sort of a road was formed another group appeared. All of them were taller than average and had three horns.

In the middle of this group Nameless saw a towering and very muscular figure. He had four horns and a fifth one not fully grown. They formed some sort of crown on his head.

On his back there was a stick with a strange skull attached.

"Ohh, only a half-step King, but to compensate he is a Shaman. Quite good." – Commented Captain grinning. – "It's a pity though."

There was absolutely no suspense in the things that happened afterwards. Instead of trees, this time, the ones to be burned, frozen, disintegrated and withered was the army of green people.

The one to attack first was John himself. He suddenly appeared in the air above the green King and slashed down with his sword.

Nothing could resist this slash.

Strangely the little people didn't leave any corpses after their demise.

"It's because they are some sorts of spirits of this first island. Once dead, they return to island, and after some time they are reborn."

Explained James then Nameless asked him about it.

"They are guardians of the first island and until a great number of them is killed, one can't go to the Second Star Island. The Old Hound went to kill every single female and child in their tribe to provoke them. After that Captain attracted their attention to wipe them out in one go."

'So that was the reason why they were so enraged.'

Meanwhile returned the bandaged man. – "Cap, I found where the passage is."

John nodded, satisfied.

"Well, we will rest here tonight, and tomorrow morning we will move towards the next island. Everyone must recover. The native tribes there a more difficult to deal with…"

Everyone nodded.