Saeret let out a yawn and opened up the cabin door. The two guards standing outside immediately followed Saeret from behind.
He walked up onto the deck and took a long look at the aura shield that surrounded the whole castle.
It hadn't been easy, to conjour up a large shield around the whole structure, even with the help of Mreco and the other elders. But nontheless, it still protected them from the Timberwolves.
Saeret walked across the deck of the ship and sighed. He turned towards Timber and walked up to him. Timber was, with the help of three other crew members, repairing the burner.
Timber let out a long sigh as he dropped his spanner and leaned against the railing of the ship.
"Timber, this is starting to get ridiculous, when we landed you said that a day was all that you needed. It's been more than a day now and we're not doing any better then when those monsters came after us."
Timber turned his head towards Saeret and replied.
"I never said tha' i' was going to be a easy bang o' the hammer and a twist o' the spanner, mah crew have been scavenging around to find any parts that could help but a' the moment we haven' found nothing'."
Saeret let out a groan and joined Timber next to the railing and looked over the horizon, through the aura shield.
"Well, we can't stay here, not for too long. My magic is starting to slowly drain away and unless we want all the elders on this ship to slip into a five month coma then we'll be needing to get going."
A silence hung in the air. Saeret noticed a small dot in the distance, moving around in the fog, probably a timber wolf. Timber gave Saeret a stern look.
"Saeret, do you really think that this is necessary?"
Saerets unreadable face turned into that of a frown.
"What do you mean captain?"
Timber continued.
"This search for the secrets o' the dead kingdom, this Equestria of yours."
Saeret's frown didn't change.
"Yes, I do think that this is neccarcery, we could Learn a-"
"No sir, not the prize, but the actual path. The war."
A awkward pause hung in the air. Saeret noticed that the small dot had now disappeared, probably ran off to hunt some sort of prey.
Saeret took in a small breath.
"Well, there isn't a war going on, just a few misunderstandings-"
Timber abruptly interrupted him.
"Aye Saeret, but you know that it's comin' and there is no point in hiding the inevitable, the spark has all ready been lit by Rhidana an' the dinamite is going to blow up."
Saeret was stunned. He never expected the calm and gruff captain to assault him with words of the war.
Saeret recovered and turned to face Timber.
"You're not apart of the Deachrai so you have no business to ponder on the matter of any conflict between the Deachrai or Salmaic, captain."
That last words ended with a hiss, a hiss which told Timber to back off and be silent, but the captain ignored it.
"All do respect, my lord, but I was given a contract by your mighty fine leader that I am apart of this journey, and that I will be able to speak freely o' any-"
"Aye, captain, you were granted permission to disscuss with us the plans of this journey, this mission, but the topic of war between the Deachrai and Salmaic have nothing to do with what you sighed up for."
Timber's face burned a bright crimson.
"NO, Saeret, that's where you're wrong! The Salmaic are undoubtedly searching for whatever we're searching for, and the chances are that we'll see them, that's why they're apart of this mission!"
Saeret narrowed his eyes and looked at the captain, his words nothing more than a hiss.
"Sorry captain, but I'm afraid to say that we're not going to have a full guarantee that the Salmaic is going to attack us or meet us. So get on with repairing the burner and tell your men to get a move on."
All the red from Timber's face flushed out and he replied coldly.
"Yes, my lord."
Timber straightened himself and walked back to the burner.
Mreco looked over the railings of the high up crystal balcony and through the transparent glowing shield that surounded the castle.
He saw a small dot in the distance, probably a timber wolf out hunting, move slowly towards the barrier of the shield and stop. A few seconds later the dot started to slowly move away, and then move at a rapid pace, probably sniffed out it's prey.
Within a minute the dot turned into a speck and that speck soon disappeared.
Mreco let out a loud and audible sigh, but then felt a curious tap of a hoof touch his hind leg.
Mreco turned around to see the pony that wanted his attention and saw that it was Chipper, Tulip's younger brother.
"Hello! My name is Chipper, what's yours?!"
The last two words were no more then a little squeal of excitement. Mreco smiled at the younger pony.
"Hello Chipper, I'm Mreco."
Chipper's face had a large beam of smile across it.
"Mrecko!"
Mreco chuckled silently to himself.
"No, mure-eck-oh, Mreco!"
Chipper's beaming smile turned into that of a confused one.
"Merrecko? Murkecko?"
Mreco laughed pleasantly and placed a hoof on Chipper's shoulder.
"That's close enough."
"You have a weird name, don't you?"
Mreco smiled broadly.
Yes, I suppose I do have quite a funny name!"
Chipper's broad smile came back and he giggled. Mreco leaned forwards against the railing and gestured Chipper to join him.
"But what would a young colt be doing here in this voyage with us?"
Chipper answered without hesitation.
"I'm going on a adventure!"
Mreco laughed at the colt's enthusiasm.
"What kind of adventure?"
Chipper paused for a few seconds before he came to a conclusion.
"Well... I don't know, I mean, there has to be treasure, right?"
Mreco nodded.
"No doubt, in such a large place made of crystals, like this castle, there is bound to be treasure somewhere!"
Chipper went silent for a few more seconds, intensely thinking, until he came up with a idea.
"We're going to find a castle made out of gold and diamonds! And inside we'll find lots of rubys and crystals! Then we can all live inside it!"
Mreco smiled for half a second before it turned into a sad smile.
"If only this quest could end like that, a happy ending."
A tear appeared on his face and rolled down his cheek. Chipper awkwardly stood there for five seconds, until he noticed something far off in the distance.
"Look! I think that our friends have come to help us!"
He pointed his hoof towards the distance. Mreco followed his line of sight and when he saw what Chipper had highlighted, his eyes widened in utter shock.