From then on, Navy and Pete worked together to lower us down to the deck of the ship. We were able to get Darwin untied and he passed out on the spot. I'm sure he used a lot of energy to create this giant bubble to protect us. He also got thrashed into an ocean wave and that certainly couldn't have felt good. Pete carried Darwin to his quarters and let him rest there. The three of us then decided to sit out on the deck and watch the storm play out just in case anything were to happen to the bubble. We couldn't really steer the ship while it was in the bubble anyways. I got bored of watching the storm pretty quickly and decided to do a little training. I started to imagine the unbreakable object once again. Then I started punching out through my way points. I started slow, and then began punching faster and faster. As I increased my speed I also increased the strength of my punches. Unfortunately, I couldn't feel any give as I struck the unbreakable wall. "Damn." I said aloud. Pete and Navy had been watching me. "What is it that you're doing young Sid? I can tell you're using your blessing, but I am quite interested in what you might be striking at." Pete said with a curious look. Navy also chimed in, "Hmm your punching form is pretty good, but like my father said, what are you even punching?" He questioned. I hadn't even realized that to other people it probably looked really strange as I punched the air relentlessly with my hands disappearing. "Oh! Well, this is the training I have been doing to get stronger. To be honest with you, I don't really know what I'm punching. I just imagined something absolutely unbreakable and my goal is to break it. So I spend time every day doing this until I can cause some kind of damage to it. They both looked rather surprised and then people started laughing. Even the stoic Navy chuckled. "Ho ho, that's very much like you young Sid. You have simple answers to complex problems. That is certainly one way to get stronger. But I wanted to mention something about what happens when you are punching. I'm sure you noticed it too Navy." Pete said, glancing over to his son. "Yeah, I did see it. He was punching so fast near the end you couldn't tell if he was using his blessing or not." Navy said as he seemed to be thinking more deeply about it. "That's right. Young Sid, if you can keep up that speed when you're striking then I believe you may be able to mask your blessings ability even further. In addition to the strength training you're doing, I think training your speed would highly benefit you. You're already quite fast, but if you can immediately strike at that high speed instead of building up to it you would be quite the fearsome opponent." Pete said with a kind smile. I hadn't really thought of it like that before. From my perspective I have always been able to feel my hands slip into the way points so it never occurred to me that it was becoming more difficult for people to perceive it as I became faster. Pete was definitely on to something. I knew that I could just hide my blessing using my pockets, but this would add on another layer of concealment that would give me the upper hand in a fight. There was no way I would be able to throw a punch at full strength through my pocket, that just isn't feasible. So if speed can be the skill that allows me to advance further with my blessing, then I need to start training that as soon as possible. Then there is the issue of my patron god. I still need to find a way to figure that out.
Soon enough the storm died down and it became almost too calm in the dead of night. The ocean went from massive tidal waves to being completely still. Navy and Pete decided it was finally safe and had headed back to sleep for a bit, but after the events of the storm I just couldn't sleep. There was something I just couldn't get out of my mind. I was still thinking about the figure of a person I saw out on the ocean. I couldn't rule out that it could be a person with a blessing, but at the same time I could have easily mistaken myself through the downpour of the rain… I had a very strange feeling in my gut. As I peered out on the calm waters that reflected the stars, I suddenly saw the slightest movement on the water far off in the distance. At first I thought it must just be some kind of sea creature breaching the surface, but eventually I began seeing the movement coming closer and closer. The ocean was only illuminated by starlight, so it was incredibly difficult to see exactly what was approaching us. I knew that Darwin's bubble was strong enough to protect us from that powerful storm, so I wasn't entirely worried if this was some kind of sea creature. But as the movement got even closer, I was finally able to see what was approaching our ship…
As if miraculously springing from the ocean itself, the figure of a person began popping up out of nowhere appearing as if they were standing atop the water. Within seconds, the figure would dip down into the water and then spring up above even closer than before. Then as the figure sprung up in a section of the water that was illuminated by moonlight, I was able to see them clearly. It was a person with thick dreaded hair that surrounded a circular white mask with strange blue markings. It was hard to tell entirely what they looked like from a distance, but what really stood out to me was the fact that they were indeed standing on top of the water. I immediately began focusing my vital energy into my eyes trying to focus clearly on them, but in that split second I took to try and focus my energy… They appeared instantaneously on the railing of the ship in front of me. I don't know how they were so fast, but I jumped back in shock and got into a stance readying myself to fight. I was about to throw a punch to try and knock them out of the bubble, but was stopped when they raised a hand in the air gesturing me to stop. The person spoke out in a gentle and yet sharp feminine tone. "Please hold on, I am not here to fight." They said as they put both of their hands into the air. This person had some kind of accent I had never heard before. "You've been watching us, haven't you?" I questioned cautiously. "Who are you?" They put both of their hands down and answered, "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you who I am. But I can tell you why I am here. I was sent here after an informant told us one of our allies had been killed in the forbidden lands. Before he was killed, an object was taken from him. It was a golden horn. Would you happen to know anything about that?" So they dodged my question huh? I don't really like that. "Hey, you realize you're intruding on our ship right? You'd better answer my questions correctly if you want to get out of here alive. I am not inclined to answer any of your questions unless you do the same. It's called give and take. I'll let you choose." I said seriously. They seemed a bit taken aback by my words. "Hmm like I said, I am not here to fight. Even if you were the one who killed him, I don't care regardless. I don't even care if you have the horn. I am here for a different purpose." They said apathetically. "You don't care that your ally was killed? That's interesting. I'm not sure you could really call them an ally then. Regardless, I don't have the horn. Even if you really did want it, there is no way that you or anyone else would be able to retrieve it. If you really don't care about either of those things, then what is your purpose?" I responded. "I wanted to confirm if you really were the one who did it, because I am in need of assistance. The person that was killed was a trusted member of an organization called the Red Order. If you had killed them, then I can trust that you are not aligned with them in any way. Additionally, I will admit that I have been watching you. In fact… I have been watching you ever since those two men arrived at that large tree. I know that you have a very special ability, one that I have never seen before. I also know that one of the men you are traveling with was a renowned knight in the kingdom of Morland. I originally believed that he was the one who had killed our ally, but I have since changed my mind." They said as they sat down on the railing of the ship. I didn't want to let my guard down for even a second. Every movement they made, I was ready to strike if needed. I didn't like that they knew the location of Darwin's home now. If this person was truly an enemy, then I don't know if his home would ever be safe. The only way to prevent that, would be to kill this person right here and now… "So you have been watching us for that long… I'm surprised you didn't approach us sooner." I said. "I would have, but that dog you've been traveling with has been steadily becoming more aware of my presence. I have needed to keep my distance for quite some time because of that." They responded. I wasn't entirely surprised by that, Dutch was a special dog after all. I'm sure that she would have alerted me as soon as she felt the presence of something malicious… So perhaps this person wasn't entirely an enemy… "You seem to already know a lot about me. I'm sure you're already aware that information can get you killed in this world. If you really want my help, you're going to need to be a bit more transparent with who you are and what you want from me. Otherwise I may just end this conversation right now." I said while exuding my killing intent. This seemed to anger the strange visitor, I suppose a death threat would anger anyone. "If you want to take it that far then so be it. I can always find someone else to help. I just hope you're fine with letting the rest of your crew members join you in death." They said as they stood back up onto the railing. That statement alone was enough to make me take action. No one was going to threaten the lives of my friends and walk away unscathed.