Evolution: A Warlock's Rise To Power

Lucan looked around.  It took him a moment to regain his bearing.  The last thing he remembered was that he was deep underwater with no idea which direction was up or which direction was down. He was struggling and was not sure where to go.  He had found Silent who had already passed out and held onto her tightly.

He opened his eyes to find himself wet, laying on a beach, with his wife in his arms.  She began to stir and wake up as well.

The sun was shining, the sky was a pleasant blue, and white clouds danced along the wind.  There were no signs of the treacherous storm or the giant creature.

Checking his interface, Lucan realized that less than a minute had passed since they defeated the Kraken.  He looked around and found that there were forty players who spread out across the beach.  He then realized what had happened.

After they had defeated the Kraken, they were in a certain death situation.  The game played it as 'they washed up onto shore' and at the same time the dungeon released the graveyard and all the players that had died, respawned while everyone was group tighter.

Lucan and Silent weren't the only one to wake.  All forty players began to shift around and get up. Soon enough there were excited shouts.  The players were not just excited to have defeated the Kraken.  They were excited because they weren't the only things to wash up on the beach.  There was weapons and treasure as well.

The kraken had released five pieces of top quality treasure when it died.  The players gathered around and looked towards Lucan who had previously promised to distribute the loot fairly since they had abandoned the auction system.  The players in the team dungeon may have all been rich so it was fair, but now that the willow players were involved, the auction system wouldn't work, because Lucan and his friends would buy out everything good if they wanted it.

Lucan looked at the items.  The first item, he didn't even need to think about who would get it.  It was a javelin.  But it was no longer an ordinary javelin.  Lightning ran through its metal body and once every five minutes it would disappear and then reappear at its owner's side.  It was also able to discharge lightning without being thrown.

The warlock passed this to the willow knight who had thrown it from the edge of the ship.  If the knight hadn't shown everyone that method, they might not have been able to defeat the kraken. No one had an issue with the distribution since the knight had done something that the others weren't able to.  Not to mention that before the javelin was enchanted, it belonged to the knight. No one opposed it being returned to its owner.

After the Javelin was a large piece of the kraken's skin.  It must have been big enough to be the sail of a ship.  The properties were good and later it could be made into armor.  Lucan passed this to the Willow druid who said he would make himself and the others in his organization a set of armor, at least until he ran out of supplies.

The large beak of the kraken was next.  It was also a crafting supply.  Since Super wanted it, the others didn't argue.  The man had done good work as their captain and in the end, he steered the ship and kept them alive as long as possible.  Lucan wasn't sure what Super wanted it for, but the man promised to put it to good use, so he didn't care.

The next item to be distributed was an egg the size of a watermelon. After being appraised, it was determined that the egg was a (Miniature)Kraken.  Lucan had his pet slots full and to be honest, a kraken was cool and all, but this was a mini kraken and it would only be ale to be taken out in the water.

A few people were interested, but nobody desperately wanted it, so when Super offered to buy out the interested parties they all quickly agreed and removed the egg form their minds.

The last item must have come form the hold of one of the other pirate ships because the players had never seen it before.  It was a decorative and ornate cannon that was gilded with gold and embedded with gem stones.  The information in the interface gave the statistics for its attacks and it seemed to be even more powerful than the cannons that were used on the sips.  Since the Willow players wanted it, he gladly gave it them.  If there was a dozen or more of those, Luca might have been interested in it for one of his fortress, but a single cannon wasn't worth it.  He would need to find a supply of powder, and then cannon balls.  And after that her would need to have some shadow elves trained to use it.  In the end, it was too much of a hassle.

The players had divided up the loot quickly because the raid was still going on.  The kraken hadn't been the final boss.  They now found themselves stranded on an island with no ships in sight.  Since they were being forced in this direction, the players concluded that they were supposed to explore the island.  But they weren't playing a relaxed raid.  Lucan was on a timer.  He needed to complete this dungeon in the next four hours if he still wanted had time to complete the party dungeon.

The players spotted a nearby hill that rose higher than the trees that forested the area around them.  Their first goal was to regain their bearing and try to discover the size and terrain of this island.

Full of energy, the players sprinted towards the hill and then began to job upwards.  It didn't take more than twenty minutes for the group of forty to reach the top.

Silent and a few other pulled out their spyglasses and began to scan the island.  Menta's eye wasn't as powerful as a spyglass but Lucan had no problem seeing far into the distance.

Silent tapped his shoulder and pointed.

"Over there."

Several players, Lucan included, looked towards where she was pointing.

Past the forested center of the island, on the opposite side, there was a ship in a natural harbor. The rocky cliffs of the island blocked the waves and allowed the ship to drop anchor.  Currently there were several row boats that were filled with people, leaving the ship and heading towards the sand beach that wasn't too far away.

The players had no issue recognizing the flag of the ship.  It was a pirate flag.  And it was on that they were familiar with.  It was the ship of Fleet Commander Richard.  Although it may no longer be appropriate to call him a Fleet Commander since only a single ship out of their original four remains.

Now all the players had an objective in mind.  There was still one pirate captain remaining.  At that point Bubblegumfairy stepped forward.

"When I disguised myself and slipped into the crew of Captain Dos's ship, I found that Fleet Commander Richard had a lead on the location of the pirate king's treasure.  That was the reason the pirates wanted us dead so badly.  They didn't want word of the treasure to leak out.  After I took the position of first mate I tried to get some information out of the captain, but he didn't even know what kind of lead the Fleet Commander had.  Apparently, Richard is holding his cards close to his chest."

Super spoke up next.  "When Commander Richard saw the storm move towards us and the Kraken began his attack, he must have assumed that there was no way we would survive.  He must think we are all dead."

Lucan nodded.  "Since we still have sometimes, let's try to follow the pirates and see where they are going.  Maybe we will be able to find some long-lost pirate treasure.  If not, we will track down Commander Richard and finish him off.  At that point, three pirate captains and a kraken will be dead.  That may be all the bosses we need to finish."

Since the players didn't have any objections, they noted the direction the pirates were heading and moved out while a few pets took to the skies too keep their eyes on things.