An Adventurer's Voyage II

## An Adventurer's Voyage

"An Adventurer's Voyage" is a fictional adventure written by a novelist born in Umbraton. It tells the story of a young man who sets out to sea with his kingdom's navy, encountering all manner of monsters and mysteries, eventually finding a legendary treasure and defending his kingdom from a monster from the depths. There are many chapters in the story, but only the following are left in the first volume.

## Introduction

The kingdom's heroes begin their exploration of the islands in search of treasure. "The Seven Islands", the second chapter of the story, tells of the team's harrowing experience with a dragon on the second island. However, upon retreating towards the first island, they find that it has completely disappeared…

## Volume II: The Seven Islands (II)

The second island was occupied by flying dragons, more than any of the men had ever seen in their lives. Guarding a secret treasure deep within a cave, they swoop down in droves on anyone foolish enough to approach. Despite the warriors' proficiency in combat, when faced with an insurmountable number of flying dragons, they decided to retreat for the time being.

The dragons, however, were not so accommodating. They doggedly pursued the heroes to the island shores.

Provoked by their persistence, one warrior turned to the draconic horde and shouted, "Is this how you repay our mercy? We chose not to slaughter you, but now you leave us no choice! To arms!"

He drew his blade, the furor of battle raging in his eyes.

But Colin the Brave took hold of the man's arm, pointing in the direction of the mountain at the center of the island. Before the warrior had a chance to retort, loud rumblings and violent tremors began to spread from deep within the mountain.

Suddenly, a colossal shape emerged from the peak. It was no mountain, but a volcano, and the home of a titanic dragon, no less!

The warriors, knowing they stood no chance against such a massive foe, pushed their vessel back out to sea, and away from the dragon-infested island.

The warrior turned to Colin the Brave, and asked him, "How did you know a dragon would come crawling out of that volcano?"

"I didn't," Colin responded. "I just sensed the vibrations in the ground beneath us."

The warrior, however, was not satisfied with his answer. "The shaking only started when that great beast started to emerge! What is this nonsense you tell me, then?"

Colin politely asked the warrior to avoid jumping to conclusions, then listened intently for a few seconds before saying, "The ship's cook will be coming up to the deck in a few moments."

Sure enough, just seconds later, the cook made his way up to the deck.

Colin began to explain himself once again, but the warrior had finally understood: Colin the Brave was capable of sensing vibrations that ordinary people could not, and could even discern the approximate size and form of an incoming object. As such, he was only able to foresee the dragon's massive form approaching. The cook, hearing of their experience and Colin's amazing ability, jovially invited the men down for drinks and his special rabbit jerky.

The Grand Parrot sailed for another half-day, but upon arriving at its destination, the passengers were utterly shocked. The first island they landed on, which they had decided to retreat to, had all but vanished into thin air!

A puzzled adventurer looked upon the crew and asked if they had read the map incorrectly.

The crew scrutinized the map and consulted their navigation tools, and after a spell of bickering, they concluded that no error in navigation had been made.

Suddenly, Colin felt yet another mysterious vibration. He ran out to the bow of the ship and looked out to sea. After a few moments, strange waves began rippling out towards them, causing the Parrot to rock harder and harder.

As the heroes speculated on the nature of the phenomenon, a few of them peered out into the horizon. They noticed the sea was getting darker and darker out there, as though a huge shadow had cast itself over the waters.

"This happens all the time," one man said as he chuckled to himself. "The clouds block out the sun from time to time, and they leave a shadow like this on the water's surface."

Every man looked up into the sky, but to their dismay… There was not a single cloud above them. They realized that this could only mean the shadow was beneath the water's surface, lurking in the depths.

Not long after, the surface of the water began to bubble all over, and small, white objects began to float to the surface. One of the men pointed his telescope towards a cluster of white objects. Horrified, he whispered, "Those are the rabbits that we found on the first island…"