Tongue of the wise ones you must seek.

"Ackbl nda itewh ixedm ogethert in armonyh.

Erewh ereth is ackbl ereth is itewh, nda erewh ereth is itewh ereth is ackbl.

Ouy illw indf eth neo ithw othb ereth."

 

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dolum | trick

 

 

The third island in sight was a large one. It was covered in trees that seemed to touch the sky, and from Baekhyun’s ship Cirrus wondered whether or not villages even existed there. But then again, Niteo had mentioned that the island was his hometown.

 

When the ship reached the seashore of the island, the crew descended. Cirrus was surprised that Baekhyun had allowed her to accompany them, and when she asked him about it he told her, “Well it wouldn’t be very wise to leave a poor, defenseless, and vulnerable princess all alone in that big, bad old ship, now would it?”

 

Clearly he was mocking her. Cirrus decided not to ask him any more questions for the rest of the day.

 

When she stepped onto the beach, she noticed that the sand beneath her feet was orange and not tan. “Is this sand… orange?” she asked herself.

 

“It’s what makes Dolum famous,” Niteo chuckled behind her. The pirate walked next to her, crouched down and gently dug his hand through the soft sand. He picked up a handful of it, only to let it leak from his fingertips back to the ground. Niteo stood up, clapped his hands together, and said to Cirrus, “Dolum is a bit of a strange place. Stay close to me if you wanna stay safe, princess.”

 

“Alright, so what are we doing in Dolum again?” Ardent asked.

 

“To ‘seek the tongues of the wise ones’, according to the map,” Baekhyun sighed. “Niteo, do you have any idea what the riddle could be talking about?”

 

Niteo his lip and furrowed his brows. He had left Dolum a long, long time ago to join Baekhyun’s crew, so there were a few aspects about his hometown that weren’t as vivid as before. “I think we have to search for a troll,” he finally said.

 

“A troll?” Ardent exasperated. “Like the short, green skinned creatures with pointy ears who demand women for their first born child?”

 

“Well, yes Rumpelstiltskin was a troll,” Baekhyun said with an obvious eye-roll. “But unless we’re looking for a creature straight out of a fairy tale, I’d say we keep our minds a little more opened.”

 

Niteo smirked at Ardent and mouthed the words, “You’re an idiot” to him. Then, he proceeded with his explanation, “Trolls are very intelligent creatures, who do not live under bridges, mind you. I’ve never met one myself, but apparently they pick up on things very quickly. Some are said to be able to speak every language that’s ever existed.”

 

“Do you think they’d know Coelum? The dead language the princess speaks?” Baekhyun asked.

 

“Not sure,” Niteo said with a shrug. “Those are just rumours though. There are also rumours about trolls eating humans.”

 

“Lovely,” Baekhyun sighed. “What do these creatures look like?”

 

“Like I said, captain, I’ve never met one myself so this might be wrong, but I’ve heard their faces resemble humans. They don’t have green skin that’s for sure,” Niteo replied. He chuckled at the last bit of his sentence and glanced at Ardent. The first mate scoffed and kicked some sand at him.

 

“What’s the plan, captain?” another crewmember asked Baekhyun.

 

“They wouldn’t live in the human villages, would they?” Baekhyun asked Niteo.

 

“Probably not. They’re a pretty civilized species, so they probably have their own villages somewhere in these woods,” Niteo replied.

 

“Alright then,” Baekhyun said confidently. “We’re going to explore these woods together. It’s too risky to split up right now, because our surroundings are still a mystery.”

 

“Aye, captain!” the crew exclaimed in unison, causing Baekhyun to grin.

 

When Ardent noticed Cirrus had remained silent, he gently nudged her arm with his own and whispered to her, “You should really join in on the cheer too. Baekhyun gets hurt when we’re not enthusiastic.”

 

“Stop telling her lies, Ardent,” Niteo said with a scoff. “We all know what really gets Baekhyun upset is when someone touches one of his precious books without his permission.”

 

“You know what really gets me upset?”

 

Cirrus, Ardent and Niteo gulped and their heels slowly. The trio came face to face with a rather impatient-looking Baekhyun, who had his arms crossed and was thumping his foot on the sand.

 

“When I find my crew mingling with the princess and telling her things about my personal preferences,” he said snidely.

 

“You’re not denying it though,” Niteo snickered mischievously.

 

Baekhyun gawked at the remark, then he ruffled through his hair and said, almost nervously, “Well I mean, I think it’s normal for people to have one or two things they don’t want others to announce to the public.” After that, he cleared his throat and straightened his back. “Bring the princess with you. We’re going into the woods.”

 

Once again, Cirrus had no idea that the pirate captain could make such an expression.

 

The Lux Pirates stepped into the forest, with Baekhyun at the front of the line and Cirrus at the middle. Ardent and Niteo were keeping her company, as per Baekhyun’s request.

 

If Cirrus thought the orange sand on Dolum’s beaches were the only strange thing on the island, she was in for a much greater surprise. As the crew ventured deeper into the forest, the princess started seeing peculiar things; purple mushrooms that were twice the height of her, red grass that was growing off of the bark of trees, and the cries of animals that she had never heard before.

 

Niteo took a deep breath of air and cheered, “Woo-hee! That Dolum air is as fresh as the day I left!” Then, the brunet pirate pointed towards one of the giant mushrooms Cirrus had been staring at, and asked, “Never seen a giant purple mushroom before, princess?”

 

Cirrus shook her head furiously as she continued to stare at the giant fungus with wide eyes. “I’ve never even seen purple, regular sized mushrooms before.”

 

Niteo threw his head back and let out a laugh. “The stuff gets even weirder the closer you get to the heart of the island. These purple mushrooms are pretty common here.”

 

“What else is there?” asked Ardent.

 

“Have you ever seen a mouse whose tail is a snake head? Or maybe trees that are as soft as cotton but dandelions that are as sharp as cacti? Pink bears, and butterflies that turn into birds? There’s a lot of strange things here,” Niteo replied. “To be honest, there’s probably a lot stranger things nowadays. It has been a long time since I last stepped foot on this island.”

 

“How long has it been now?” the first mate asked.

 

Niteo pondered the question for a while. “7 years?” he hummed.

 

“7 years?” Cirrus echoed.

 

“Would you believe it if I told you that Baekhyun established this crew 8 years ago, when he was only 17 years old? It’s unheard of, but he did it,” Ardent beamed with pride. The first mate looked in front of him, his eyes focused on Baekhyun’s back. “I was 19 at the time, and when he first came up to me and asked me to join his crew I laughed in his face. Little did I know I’d be standing by his side 8 years later.”

 

Cirrus was in awe at the news. When she was 17 years old, she spent her days in the palace getting translations mixed up and earning scolding’s from Queen Ciel. She knew nothing of the world at the time, granted, her situation made it that way, but she couldn’t help but develop a newfound respect for Baekhyun. She felt crazy for thinking in such a way, because the Cirrus from a month ago would have never dreamed of harbouring respect for a pirate. But something about him changed in her eyes, and try as she may she couldn’t deny that he was a good leader who cared about his crewmates.

 

“Why do you respect him so much?” asked Cirrus curiously. She had always wondered why his crewmembers obediently followed him.

 

“It’s not something I can really describe with words,” Ardent started to explain. His entire face looked like it was in deep concentration, and he was trying his best to give Cirrus a proper explanation. When he couldn’t think of anything, he asked Niteo, “What about you? What would you say is the reason behind our loyalty to Baekhyun?”

 

“I’ve never really thought about it before,” Niteo said through a sigh. “You can’t really describe a feeling with words, you know? It’s something you experience.”

 

Ardent nodded his head in agreement. “True. I guess the closest analogy I can make is this: You know that feeling of desire that you get when dawn breaks and you get the itch to just run outside? Or, maybe when you’re stuck indoors and you see the Sun shining in the sky outside, and you just want to drop everything and step outside?”

 

Cirrus nodded her head, because it was a feeling she knew all too well. When she lived in the palace, she’d always stare at the beautiful Sun-basked scenery from the other side of her room. She always longed to go outside, and when she finally stepped into the Sun during her weekly visits to the village, she felt a sense of bliss that was second to none. In those moments, she was prepared to chase after the Sun until it set.

 

“It’s that feeling!” Ardent exclaimed and pointed a finger at her. “Baekhyun is exactly that!”

 

“Exactly what?” Cirrus inquired.

 

“He’s sunlight,” replied the first mate with a look of assurance.

 

.::.           .::.           .::.

 

The Sun was beginning to set, and the Lux Pirates had no idea where they were going. They had no leads on the trolls, and Baekhyun was just about to slaughter someone if he saw the same tree that he had marked for the fifth time in a row.

 

“I think it’s official. We’re lost.” Niteo whistled nonchalantly with his hands behind his head, staring up at the orange and red clad sky.

 

“Thanks for the update,” Baekhyun said with heavy sarcasm. The captain heaved a deep breath of air, then announced to the crew, “We’re going to have to set up camp here. It’ll be impossible to get back to the ship in our current state. We might as well call it a night.”

 

Thankfully, many of the crewmembers had brought bags containing blankets and other basic survival items with them. Within an hour, the Lux Pirates had set up several tents and assembled enough wood for a fire. The only thing that remained in shortage was food and water.

 

“We’ll split up into 2 teams,” Baekhyun started. The captain was standing atop a log and faced his entire team. “6 of you will go with me, and the remaining 6 will go with Niteo. Niteo and I will be the group leaders.”

 

“Captain, that only adds up to 14 people. What about the one person?” someone pointed out.

 

“Yes, I’m aware,” Baekhyun replied calmly. He turned towards a tall, muscular man of Asian descent, who looked to be somewhere in his mid-30s. He had a shaved head, and his black dragon tattoo started from his left temple and trailed down until it ended at his left hand. “Xiao Guang, you are to stay at the camp with the princess.”

 

Xiao Guang nodded his head once, and shifted his gaze from Baekhyun to Cirrus. The princess gulped when she met his intense stare.

 

“Xiao Guang speaks English, rest assured,” Ardent whispered to her. “But it’s his second language. Mandarin is his first.”

 

“And you’ll never believe what his name means in Mandarin,” Niteo chuckled silently. “It means ‘Small light’.”

 

Small? Him? Cirrus asked herself in disbelief as she studied the large figure that was Xiao Guang. The princess shook her head, because she wanted to keep an open mind. She forced a shy smile at him, and surprisingly he returned it. He lifted a hand and waved at her, all the while wearing a reserved and timid smile.

 

After the 2 groups had been established, Baekhyun took his group to the east side of the forest while Niteo’s group ventured into the west side. Cirrus situated herself on a log in front of the fireplace that had yet to be lit. She sat with excellent poise, just as she had done in the palace.

 

Xiao Guang sat a metre away from her and made sure there was ample space between them. He leaned against a thick tree trunk behind him, and crossed his arms. The two remained in silence, and Cirrus wondered if she was supposed to be making conversation with the pirate or not. It felt awkward for the two of them to be sitting so close, yet so far, and without conversation.

 

Cirrus turned her head and was about to say something to Xiao Guang when she realized his eyes were closed. His breathing was soft and paced slowly, which indicated that he had fallen into a deep slumber.

 

Cirrus rose slowly, and stayed on her toes. She quietly snuck away from the log, but didn’t dare venture out of the camp. Instead, she chose to study the various plants around the perimeter of their base. She squatted down and examined a tiny, pink flower with orange freckles not on its petals, but rather its stem.

 

What a marvelous flower. I’ve never seen anything like it, she thought in wonder. The princess reached her hand out to touch the delicate plant, when someone’s voice stopped her.

 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

 

She shot her head up and looked around her. The voice didn’t belong to Xiao Guang, and it was far too early for anyone in Baekhyun’s crew to have returned.

 

“Up here,” the voice said, mischievously.

 

Cirrus looked up and met the dark eyes of a young male. He had a sharp jawline, and lips that curled up in an amusing way. His long, disheveled black hair barely hid his pointy ears, and a thin, black tail with a tuff of fur at the end protruded from his behind. The stranger was sitting atop a thick tree branch, with his legs dangling in front of him.

 

“That’s a dragon weed, mademoiselle. Extremely toxic little fellas,” he told her. “One touch and you’d be 6 feet under.”

 

“Wh-who are you?” Cirrus spoke. The man clearly wasn’t human, so what was he? Could he be a troll?

 

The man swung his body backwards, and Cirrus was afraid that he’d fall. Much to her surprise, he stayed afloat in the air. His tail had gripped onto the branch and he was dangling upside down in front of her.

 

“Who are you?” he asked slyly. He pointed his finger in between the area of her eyes, and grinned at her. He knew she was not from the island, and was intrigued by her presence.

 

“My name is Cherie,” she replied. Being a princess, she couldn’t trust a stranger with her real name.

 

“That’s a dear name,” he snickered in amusement. “Even more so because Cherie means dear in French. But why not Queridoa or Cara? You don’t fancy Spanish or Latin?”

 

“It’s my name,” she said with little confidence.

 

“Is it now?” he asked her inquisitively as he gently swung his body on the tree branch like a monkey would. “What about Agapitos? Qin-Ai?” Then, the man smiled teasingly at her and laughed, “Or what about Hime? It suits you perfectly. Welcome to Dolum, land of tricks; where all is a jest and all its people jesters, hime.”

 

Cirrus stared at the man with complete disbelief. She had no idea what he was going on about, but she had a strong feeling that he was the troll they were searching for. “You’ve yet to tell me your name, but I gave you mine. It’s not very polite to leave someone hanging like that,” she told him.

 

He released his tail from the tree branch and landed on the ground with his feet. He stood mere inches away from her, and now that they were on level ground she found that he was much taller than her. He smirked, then took a deep breath of air and exclaimed, “Ding dong ding dong ding dong!”

 

Cirrus had to cover her ears from the sudden increase in volume, and she turned around to see if the noise had woken Xiao Guang up. The Asian pirate was still fast asleep, and Cirrus didn’t know whether she should be relieved or upset by the fact.

 

“That wasn’t an answer,” she told him in a hushed voice.

 

The young man lowered his volume and asked Cirrus, “Why are we whispering?”

 

“Because we were being loud. Can’t you tell someone is trying to sleep over there?”

 

“You know what else are noisy?” he asked her with a grin that resembled the infamous Cheshire Cat. He peered closer to her, and whispered, “Jays.”

 

“You’re dodging my question,” she said with a huff. “I asked you for your name.”

 

“And I gave it to you,” he replied with a pout.

 

What…? she thought.

 

“All the pieces are gathered, hime,” he chuckled.

 

“You mean the bell-ringing and jays?” she scoffed.

 

He clicked his tongue and waved a finger in front of her face while he shook his head. Then, in varying tones he sang, “Dong dong dong!” Following his short song, he imitated a bird’s cry then said, “Jay jay jay!”

 

Cirrus furrowed her eyebrows at the man. Clearly he was trying to tell her something, but the princess had no idea what. Or maybe he’s just nuts, she told herself.

 

“Hey, do you like jokes, hime?” he asked her with a look on his face that indicated he had suddenly remembered something of great importance.

 

“Sure…?” she answered unsurely.

 

When he didn’t say anything in response, Cirrus raised a brow at him. “Where’s the joke?”

 

“You can laugh,” he told her.

 

“But there was no joke,” she said in a slightly frustrated tone. “I don’t get what’s supposed to be funny. What’s the joke?”

 

“My life,” he cackled, but Cirrus didn’t find it very funny at all. Judging by the cracked smile on the man’s face, it was evident that he didn’t find it funny either, but he continued to laugh. It was almost painful for her to hear a laugh laced with such loneliness and emptiness.

 

When Cirrus heard the bushes behind her rustle, she turned her head around. Baekhyun emerged from the bushes carrying armfuls of green plants. Behind him, the crewmembers emerged carrying rabbits and other game, and canteens of water. Baekhyun looked surprise to see Cirrus standing up, and asked her if she was plotting an escape.

 

“No, the troll,” she started, pointing a finger towards the spot the mysterious male had been standing in. When she turned her head around and saw an empty patch of grass in his stead, she gawked. “He was right here, the troll!”

 

“You saw a troll?” Baekhyun asked. He threw the plants he had gathered on Xiao Guang’s lap, effectively waking him up. “Xiao Guang, did you see the troll too?”

 

“What troll?” the Asian pirate mumbled while rubbing his eyes.

 

“What did he look like?” Baekhyun ran up to Cirrus and asked.

 

“Like a human, but with pointy ears and a black tail. He had black, curly hair and lips that always made it seem like he was smiling,” she replied as she dug through her brain to find the tiny details about the stranger.

 

“How do you know he was a troll? Are you certain he is one?” the captain asked.

 

“I don’t know, but it just seems so right. He said a bunch of things in other languages too,” she said as her voice trailed off. “He kept calling me hime.”

 

“Hime?” Baekhyun muttered the foreign word. “And did he tell you his name?”

 

She shook her head in response. “He kept repeating the words ‘Dong’ and ‘Jay’.”

 

Dong dong dong! Jay jay jay! Cirrus recalled the voice he used to say those words, along with his broken laughter.

 

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A/N: I've decided to relocate the crack chapter for April Fools to a blog post, which you can find here [CLICK ME]

Also whoa how are we already at 300+ subs and 41 upvotes you guys are amazing <3

 

Who do you think this new character is? Also, enter Xiao Guang! This'll be the end of OC's in Baekhyun's crew (unless I think of more)

 

Pun of the update: (ty xoxoExotic10)

CHANYEOL MADE IT TO BAEKHYUN'S SHIP JUST TO SAY CHOGIWA I LOVE THE DE-DECK-ATION RIGHT THERE LMFAO

 

\\ xoxo