Caught Between Worlds

Following lead from the Commodore I am rotating shifts for battle. Bullseye is at the helm and it is my turn on shore to battle these beasts from Hell. There is a nagging wound in my leg but if I ride none will notice, nor will I. These beastly fire traps that continually burn have become most annoying. Even with the mages healing and the ointments and salves the burning sting is proving to be more of a distraction than I am willing to tolerate. My ire is stirred and now vengeance will be exacted. Low deep within my gut I feel the song we once sang before battle, ironically enough it was the song sung before battling the Navy with whom now I fight. My own alto voice carried across the water as we made way back to shore joined with a few others of my crew who remember the days and the rally cry. The teasing almost mocking song of pirates who have nothing to lose but life and are too tired and angry to give a damn now rise above the evil din of demons and imps. Our feet touched the shore and blades joined the song with arrows adding their staccato thuds and electric zap. Focused on our job and with bloodlust in our eyes we ravaged the already scorched landscape felling demons and imps from all sides. The hissing steam and high pitched screech from the death throws only intensified our song.
We were beginning to make headway when I saw across from the gate a flash of blue from Admiral Martin’s blade. He was alive and doing fairly well although was being flanked. The demon that was stalking him suddenly fell over, an arrow protruding from its back as Fleet Captain Lyra came to retriever her arrow. Precious ammunition cannot be left on these beastly corpses. Our eyes met as we nodded the salute of acknowledgement to one another. Inching closer our troops began to merge around the gate. The song that started low and quiet was now beginning to take on renewed vigor and aggression as the demons spewed from the rift in the gate.
Surrounded by the foul smell of sulfur and burning trees a bright light flashed absorbing us in its heat. I reached for my com crystal to contact Bullseye the Light Demon was on the way and to ready the attack. As the fiendish beast emerged from the gate stray arrows, several blades and a vicious stream of fireballs pummeled its thick hide. As I was yelling not to attack it so close to the rift it exploded in such a ferocious display of searing white, blue and yellow smoke and ash that it broke my crystal into pieces. When I went to retrieve it a blinding flash swallowed the Admiral, the Fleet Captain and I into its void. For a moment I was blinded and stunned so much so I thought I was dead. When I could move again we were yet in the fray so I continued to battle.
The next break in the action I went to search for my broken communication crystal. It was lying next to the shattered ruin of a gate. The crystal seemed to glow as if in the midst of sending a message, and yet had a wave that surrounded it as if it were blazing hot. I reached for it, and indeed it was hot, but the thing that caught my eye was the gate. It seemed to me balanced on the com crystal as if in some circus trick. I could see on the other side of the gate, or what seemed the other side, but as close to the battle as it was it seemed so far away.
Our battle was over, but the one I watched seemed to be heating to a fever frenzy. The voice I heard behind me reminded me I was not alone, but was indeed stuck. It was the Admiral and Fleet Captain was close behind him. Uncertain where we were all of us tried to join the skirmish to no avail. Suddenly we heard from behind us the deep growling of a chaos demon. Releasing an arrow over Lyra’s head it fell at her feet, and again our own battle was back in full swing.
Back to back Lyra and I stood flying arrows to fell the heated beasts. At one time I looked to the splintered gate and saw what looked to be one of the deckhands from the Commodore’s ship stand in utter amazement staring at us. His face was sheet white as if he had seen a ghost. Another volley of arrows released into the air relieving demons of their piteous souls. The next glance I saw the young woman Commodore had taken such a shine to earlier. She was barking orders, I could see from her expression, but not hear her words. Suddenly I heard a brief part of her sentence to the deckhand.
“Tell… brother…. Greyy and Lyra…. NOW!” was all I could hear. That was enough to understand we must have fallen through one of the mythical shards from the crystal of immortality. I knew it existed, but thought it was only in myths and legends. Apparently the Gem of Immortality indeed exists and the Void has control of some part of it.
Leaping to the crystal I reached for it to retrieve or perhaps hoping it would return us to the other half. What I got for my effort was a ferocious shock and a kick that knocked me into a smoldering tree. Roland laughing at my unexpected flight came to make sure I was unharmed, considering we were still in battle, and apparently alone. Our own battle short lived we had a moment respite.
“So, Admiral, just couldn’t leave the Savage Ale outta your sight could ya, just had to follow me Here. Too bad its back on the CAROLINE, on the other side of the threshold to the Abyss.”
“Well you are the one with the recipe; I could never get it right. Now we just need to figure out how to get back there.” He pointed back to the splintered gate standing between us and our home.

~The End~