Sailfin Scavengers: Chapter 1 Preview

The Scavenger ship came back. The massive ship with black sails and a black hull that identified it as a Scavenger ship pulled through the massive portal embedded in the mountain, pushing water around the bay a little higher. Dragons from all around the bay began to get a little more active, gathering around the lake and on the docks. A massive rope was thrown down from the ship, and a burly Snapper grabbed the loop, tying it around a tree-stump post to anchor the ship.

The ship was damaged. By this point, damaged ships were expected each time, but the damage had gotten so bad that the accompanying airship did not pull through the portal, while the Scavenger ship looked particularly crowded this time. The ship’s black sails were barely intact, the front sail ripped completely in half while the back sails had massive tears in them. The hull had severe scratches in them, parts of it ripped out, while the ships rudder was barely there at all. The paint on the side of the ship that read Lockjaw 17 was scratched off. Dragons on the bay gasped as they saw the damage of the ship, and it was certain that Lockjaw Unit 17 was out of commission.

“Coming through,” A voice growled, as a red-winged Imperial parted the crowd gathering at the dock, looking up at the ship. A team of dragons dressed in white followed him, as dragons aboard the ship began to move. The Imperial launched himself off the dock, flying up to the ship, and was immediately dismayed to see the number of injured dragons on board. “Status?” He asked.

A blue Skydancer splotched with red came up. The doctor looked at the red stains on her blue feathers questioningly, and she looked down at herself too. “Oh, this is not my blood. I’m alright, Doctor Red.” When Red’s face relaxed, she continued. “Almost everyone was injured, including all of the Voyager Airship 35’s crew. The whole airship went down, and we had to get them onto our ship. Two of Voyager 35’s crew were lost to the Otherworld currents,” the Skydancer sighed, frowning. “We have 16 injured dragons on board, including Admiral Lucius. I think he’s got the worst of it.”

The Skydancer glanced behind her as Red’s team of medics got to work, working with the on-board medics tagged with every Scavenger crew. A pair of medics were crouched by a blood-covered Bogsneak, working their magic on the unconscious dragon. When she looked back, she just shook her head. “The Otherworld is alive, and it’s angry. I don’t know how many dragons we have to lose before we decide to shut off the portal.”

Red shrugged. “It’s not my decision. Thanks for the information.” He passed the Skydancer, leaving her to fly off the ship and report to other Scavenger units in the bay, while Red went to help his team getting injured dragons over to his office.

The Skydancer was no Captain or Admiral, or even a First Mate, but she was one of the few dragons who wasn’t hurt too badly, so she found herself knocking on the door of the break room of the highest-ranking Scavengers. Beyond the door was a luxurious break room, where Captains and Admirals of the different Scavenger and Voyager ships relaxed before going through the portal. When the door opened, the Skydancer allowed herself in.

The break room was not very full, and the Skydancer found herself looking at two Admirals and one Captain. The first was Admiral Zagan of Howling Raider 11, a fierce and ruthless Imperial. Zagan’s wings were torn, his left side only at the edges and his right side pretty majorly, making him a poor flier, so he found his calling at sea instead. He often took his frustration about his inability to fly out at sea and sometimes against his crew, so Howling Raider 11 had the smallest crew, and also the toughest who could take Zagan’s harsh words.

Then there was Admiral Dygonia, head of the Sparrow 20. Dygonia was a beautiful Pearlcatcher, sometimes questioned whether or not she was a proficient pirate because she looked like the kind of dragon who had everything in life handed to her on a silver platter. These questions were often asked by dragons of other ships, and many rumours of Dygonia floated around. Her crew were also elusive, and many mysteries surrounded her, her crew, and the Sparrow, but she had many successful raids in the Otherworld, which was enough to make everyone typically ignore the rest of the strange rumours about her.

The last figure in the room was Captain Atwell, of Voyager Airship 12. Unlike the two Admirals in the room who led Scavenger ships, Captains were the heads of companion airships which followed Scavenger ships into the Otherworld and provided supporting fire, and handled most of the scouting and navigation. Often times, the Voyager would go first and the Scavenger ships would follow behind. Atwell was proud of his crew, and the Voyager 12 was regarded as one of the best, sent deeper and deeper into the unknown world.

The three of them looked up at the new individual in the room. Dygonia was filing her claws, Zagan glaring at the Skydancer from behind a mug full of rum distilled by the bay themselves, and Atwell sorting through some pictures. Atwell and Dygonia were sitting close to each other, while Zagan kept his distance. “Yes?” Atwell asked, pausing in his sorting to look up.

The Skydancer shifted her feet, looking down at the ground of the dim room. She didn’t know how to share the news of Admiral Lucius and the destroyed Lockjaw, since Atwell was close to Lucius, and Dygonia did like him. She flinched as Zagan downed the rest of his tankard and slammed it down, glaring at her.  “Well? Spit it out or get out!” The Imperial snapped. At his outburst, Dygonia stood up, her mane bristling.

“Enough, Zagan. There’s no need to be so rough,” The Pearlcatcher hissed in retort. She sat back down when Zagan said no more, gesturing for the Skydancer to go on.

She sighed, deciding to just get on with it. “The Lockjaw just came back. It’s… completely damaged. The technicians are examining the damage to see if the ship has to be decommissioned, and… well Admiral Lucius took a lot of damage too. Voyager 35 went down in the Otherworld as well.” Almost immediately, Atwell jumped out of his seat and dashed out, presumably to look for Lucius. Dygonia just shook her head, and Zagan growled.

“Another ship? What the hell is out there that’s doing this?” Zagan snarled, looking at his tankard in dismay as it went for another sip and realised it was empty. “I say they send out everyone to kill whatever’s destroying out ships and our people.”

Dygonia shook her head as she set her claw file down. “Would you want to risk more dragons? Call me a hypocrite, but I think it might be time to close the portal lest we lose all our ships, all our dragons, and everything we worked for.” Zagan clearly didn’t like what she said, for his hackles were rising, but he said nothing. He never liked Dygonia. Compared to him, she was a glass flower. Pathetic. Weak. Never willing to fight. Dygonia ignored him, looking back to the Skydancer. “Thank you, for letting us know. I’ll inform the rest of the Admirals and Captains and we’ll decide on what to do.”

The Skydancer nodded, retreating from the room and leaving Dygonia to her business. The Pearlcatcher didn’t acknowledge Zagan who was still glaring at her through angry eyes as she left, closing the door behind her with a little more force than necessary. The Admiral sighed as she stepped into the light, seeing the damaged Lockjaw sitting in the bay as technicians swarmed it to examine the damage thoroughly. In her time as an pirate, Dygonia had seen several ships come back damaged and become decommissioned. Looking at the Lockjaw, the Admiral was certain the Lockjaw was going to be added to the gallery of decommissioned ships.

Heading to the town hall, she approached a massive Snapper who was sitting by a huge horn, reading a book. As she approached, the Snapper lowered the book. Dygonia slid a coin over to him. “Call a meeting with all Admirals and Captains to the Sparrow 20. Now.”

The Snapper’s eyes drifted from Dygonia, to the coin, and accepted the coin. He set the book down and got up with a deep sigh, heading over to the horn. As Dygonia was leaving, she heard a deep and loud sound ringing through the whole of Sailfin Bay as the Snapper sounded the Admiral’s horn, to alert all Admirals and Captains. Within a few minutes, all the Scavenger heads in the bay were present on the deck of the Sparrow 20.