Elusive Prey

by Cheek, Jason

  “Who ever heard of a bridge being in the front of a ship?” Hollysharp shouted in frustration, as she pounded her head against the Black Coral hull she was working on. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she pushed herself away from the solid stone hull while gingerly rubbing at the sore spot on her forehead, before going back to work as she continued bitching up a storm.

  One of the very few convenient things about working in the water like this was that she could reach every portion of the hull without the use of any specialized cranes or scaffolding as she wielded the bulbous-tipped wand in her hands like a pro. It was a common magic item that allowed the user to change the appearance of any material to make it transparent. It was basically the same technique that Gnomes used in their cities for buildings. Although this work didn’t exactly need to be precise, she wasn’t about to let some fish-elf ruin the technical marvel she was creating. “Especially when these idiots can’t even name a Transmogrification wand correctly!”

  “You do know that I’m right here and can hear everything you’re saying, right?” an annoyed voice sounded from behind Hollysharp, as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Oránn was the “Sea Elf Master Builder”, the Gnomeling snorted in derision at the title, that they’d stuck her with when she’d started working on the ship that Star had asked her to build.

  “Do your people call this a Transmogrification wand or not?” Hollysharp sharply asked, as she meaningfully held up the wand over her shoulder without turning out about. Smiling at the heavy sigh that came from Oránn’s lips, the Gnomeling answered for the Sea Elf. “No, you don’t. That’s because you call it a Transfiguration wand which is an entirely different tool altogether.”

  “That’s because it’s a-” Oránn began to say, as Hollysharp held up a hand to cut her off.

  “A simple no would have sufficed,” she abruptly said, before going back to work. “Quiet, I need to focus on this next part.”

  Oránn’s finned arms reached out as if she wanted to strangle the small Gnomeling. The internal struggle was clear on the Sea Elf’s pixy-like face for all to see if anyone had been watching the two women work. This time though, the internal struggle to murder the Gnomeling engineer went on much longer than normal as Hollysharp worked in silence. By the time Oránn got control of her emotions and lowered her hands, she was panting from the exertion of willpower it took not choke the little bitch to death. While she wanted to honor the word of Queen Naeris, Prustine Hollysharp was so arrogant that it was a constant struggle not to grab her by her pink pigtails and bash some common courtesy into her thick head. Not that Oránn actually thought that would work. It would, on the other hand, make her feel so much better.

  “He’s such a pompous supercilious asshole,” Hollysharp’s tirade continued, as she carefully completed the window to the lower bridge. “Seriously, how could a Half-Elf like him even know a sliver of this crap?”

  She’d completed the hammer-head design of the front of the vessel as Star had requested. The housing structure rose up above the surface deck as tall as a typical trader ship’s main mast and went just as deep under the waterline. Even so, the upper bridge itself was approximately at the same level of a typical aft deck. Also unlike a regular ship, this vessel had a lower deck that went well below the water line. The set up would give the Captain and Pilot of this magical vessel a nearly one hundred and eighty degree view of everything ahead of the ship.

  The raked, hammer-like shape of the front end wasn’t even the most bizarre part of the overall design of the vessel. The shark-like fins that went down each side and the elongated tailfin that formed the rear were like nothing she’d ever seen before. At least, not until she’d arrived in this underwater city. In the first day of her stay, she’d seen numerous sea creatures with similar structural designs swimming around the city like birds flew around a city on the land.

  From that observation alone, Hollysharp was able to grasp the functional practicality of the fins and tail for a vessel moving through the water. And, even though she was an artificer, she well understood the reason that Queen Naeris had assigned Oránn to assist her on this project. The Sea Elves were intrigued by the ship’s natural design and the possibilities it might open for her people. If the vessel truly worked to travel and fight underwater as Star insisted it would, it would open up new trade and defense opportunities for the Sea Elves that would enhance their society like never before.

  While that was all well and good, it didn’t explain how her new liege lord had been able to combine his in-depth knowledge of sea creatures and physical science into the structural design of a magical underwater vessel. This insane concept went well beyond even the most radical ideas she’d ever heard come out of the Gnome capital of Tulduroc or the technical city of Haldale. It was freaking embarrassing to the Gnome inside of her to be so thoroughly outclassed in magic technology.

  The worst part of it all was that she’d initially ridiculed the concept to her contemporaries. That was until she’d built the small models to test Star’s initial thesis while she waited for the hull to grow out. To her utmost disgust and excitement, it had worked just as Star had said. After that, she’d been forced to test the whole idea of front, rear, and middle ballast tanks. Talk about being frustrated. She been forced to study the effects of the small chambers on keeping the balance of the underwater vessel. Each subsequent successful test just proved Star’s theories that much more. It was downright insulting to a Gnomeling of her stature!

  At the same time, the new concepts and ideas she was learning were truly amazing. The functional practicality of the fins and tail assembly quickly became self-evident as Hollysharp grasped how the sea creatures used the natural design to easily move through the water. It worked even better when the magic propulsion was placed directly in front of the fins. Who but a Fish-Elf would have thought that a shark-tail would have worked so well for steering a ship?

  After a week of living under the Strait of Icelus, Hollysharp understood that the design was based off of a common monstrous predator that roamed the seas. While the city of Auris Shaeras only had the creatures’ smaller cousins swimming through the city, Oránn had assured her that the larger specimens were deadly hunters of this underwater realm. It also gave the Gnomeling a better understanding of the type of vessel that Star was going for.

  The design of the underwater vessel was obviously a cross between a warship and a trading vessel at a hundred and fifty feet in length. Surprisingly enough, the cargo hold would be able to hold up to at least six hundred tons, which was half the capability of a ship like the Wind Dancer. While not small, it would definitely cut into the profits if this were only meant for trade. At the same time, the ship’s complement was planned to be twenty-five sailors and forty Kayden Troopers to act as Marines. Additionally, the vessel could easily hold up to ninety people, including paying customers.

  While all of that was well and good. The thought of having a group of sailors onboard whose only job was to defend their ship from attack or attack of another vessel seemed like such a waste that it was almost unfathomable. Obviously, it was a concept that only a lordling would come up with.

  Besides the hammerhead bow and tailfin stern, the body of the vessel had three decks. The first was the main deck which was open like a regular seagoing vessel. While that sounded odd for an underwater vessel, Star had said he wanted air or water runes set up with a mana accumulation crystal to create a barrier that was almost like a shield to keep the water out. Though an odd request, it was more than doable and she’d already drawn up the plans as to where the barrier should be positioned, which was approximately twenty feet above the main deck.

  Star had also explained that he wanted four fire shooters setup on the surface deck with the modified design that she’d come up with to spray out fire at enemy targets. Although, these would have a sealed housing for the person firing the cannons and a defensive half-wall for defenders to use as fighting positions in case of boarding. The surface deck also had a
hatch for loading and unloading the main cargo hold with something Star called a winch-wheel boom crane that could be unpacked. Another incredible odd but well thought out design that beat anything in the Gnome cities. There was even a side note for setting up a mana accumulation crystal for the loaders to use if needed. It was truly the most wasteful use of mana she’d ever seen.

  Of course, there was the regular pain in the ass boring crap that was expected to be part of the middle and lower decks design. Once again, the design wasted lots of mana due to the fully enclosed hull of the vessel and had a number of odd rooms that Star wanted to be made available. Odd and normal stuff like a chart room, galley, pantry, lounge, head, storage, noble room, armory, guest and crew cabins, officer and crew quarters, and a companionway that led to the main bridge.

  The most incredible stuff was the magic devices being incorporated into the ship for everyday use. They were old concepts but designed in a way that she’d never seen before. Stuff like the head having unique water pipes to clean and expel the waste from the ship or every corridor and room having internal light crystals. Even more annoying, she had to work in a flow of air by the use of another mana accumulation crystal for both the middle and lower decks. The waste was just insane.

  Overall, it was an unheard amount of space for the inside of a vessel, let alone one with so many amazing magic-tech enhancements. It truly fit a lordling like Star perfectly, Hollysharp sourly thought, as she finished up the last window. Thankfully enough, the boring work was counterbalanced by her interest in designing the rune based Water propulsion and Air Canon system. Unfortunately, to successfully do any of that level of work, she was going to have to work with two Beast Kin of all things. Talk about a race of magic-tech losers. What the hell did Beast Kin know about magic-tech anyway?

  Putting the last touches on the lower bridge’s transparent wall, Hollysharp floated out to the tip of the semi-blunt ram in the middle of the hammerhead front of the vessel to look over her work. The ram was her addition to the design, besides fitting the look of a true War Hammer. Looking over the vessel’s sleek design, she proudly muttered. “Wait till that pompous Half-Elf gets a load of this beaut.”

  “You do know that the front of the vessel is going in the completely wrong direction in comparison to the body for a hammerhead, right?” Oránn asked with an amused tilt to the side of her lips. By now, this had become a daily ritual between the two of them.

  “It’s supposed to be a War Hammer,” Hollysharp irritably snapped.

  “Oh really,” Oránn replied with a knowing chuckle, “is that why Lord Ironwolf designed the stern end of the vessel to look like a shark’s tail?”

  “Who did Star entrust with this project to?” Hollysharp demanded, as she suddenly whirled around to face the other woman. “Besides, what would a Fish-Elf know about designing ships?”

  “Fish-Elf!” Oránn voice rose in outrage at the slur. This response was completely off their normal routine. “Listen to me, you obnoxious little runt. I’ll have you know that Sea-Elves have a proud and distinguished history of-“

  “Humping fish,” Hollysharp interrupted with a nasty smile.

  “Gah!” Oránn let out a strangled cry, as her eyes flared in anger. “Well, it’s better than having a history of humping rats!”

  “Ha ha haha ha,” Hollysharp mockingly sang out, as the Sea Elf’s mouth snapped shut. “I got you to admit that Sea-Elves hump fish!”

  With a thought, Oránn reached for the Water around them as she created a small school of silvery Water Blades. In that moment, she was sure she was going to kill the annoying Gnomeling. To the Sea Elf’s surprise, instead of being concerned in the face of certain death, Hollysharp’s eyes widened in sudden excitement.

  “Wait, you’re a Water Shaman! Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” Hollysharp’s dismissive façade disappeared in a heartbeat, as she urgently grabbed the Sea Elf by the wrist and began pulling her towards the ship. “With your help, I won’t have to wait for those smelly Beast Kin. Come on, we’ve got work to do!”

  “Wha-what smelly Beast Kin?” Oránn stuttered, as her silvery school of Water Blades instantly dissipated. “And what do you need help with?”

  “I need your help to create the vessel’s propulsion runes,” Hollysharp excitedly said as Oránn let herself be dragged towards the massive shark tailfin. The bemused expression on the Sea Elf’s face bespoke the confusion in her heart as the Gnomeling blathered on about how Water magic would propel the vessel through the water.

  Embarrassingly enough, most of the concepts about using the tailfin as a rudder was beyond Oránn’s area of expertise. It’s not that she didn’t understand that tailfin was going to steer the vessel, because that’s what it did for fish. How the Water runes would make the vessel move and why they needed to be placed behind the tailfin itself was a concept that she didn’t fully grasp. Nonetheless, she dutifully listened to the knowledgeable Gnomeling.

  “Star said that to increase the movement of the vessel and to enhance the tailfin’s turn radius, the Water runes should be placed at the non-moving base of the tailfin here,” Hollysharp explained, as she showed the Sea Elf the runic patterns she’d already prepared. They were surprisingly large circles that were wider than both of their combined heights.

  “Star?” Oránn ventured in confusion at the unfamiliar name.

  “You know,” Hollysharp said, playfully waved a hand at Oránn as if they were discussing a private joke. “His lordship Startum Ironwolf.” Completely missing the choking expression that came to the Sea Elf’s face, the Gnomeling continued her explanation. “Also, the larger the rune circles, the more water that is created to push the vessel forward.”

  How did water push a vessel forward? Oránn silently wondered to herself, not daring to show her ignorance in front of the knowledgeable Gnomeling. It wasn’t until just now that she’d figured Hollysharp out. At least, to a point. While Hollysharp was condescending to those individuals she was supposed to work with on projects that didn’t meet her level of magic-tech engineering knowledge, she didn’t particularly have issues with experts in completely different fields of knowledge, especially not when she needed those experts to help complete a project.

  For some reason, that bit of understanding allowed Oránn to ignore the Gnomeling’s earlier abrupt attitude and sharp tongue as Hollysharp began questioning her on how she manipulated water and what spells she could cast. Before the Sea Elf knew it, she was telling the Gnomeling all about what she could do. Things like how she could project water at various speeds, which was typically used for traveling, or in the creation of piercing water blades that were either one massive spike or a school of smaller blades. Without her even realizing it, Hollysharp had Oránn going into details about how she controlled the movement of water. It was really quite simple and based on the amount of mana she was willing to expend.

  Partially that was because Oránn was willing to do, learn, or endure whatever was needed to help strengthen her people so that the horrors of the Meer-Lizard and Sekolahian Empire’s atrocities wouldn’t be repeated and her people wouldn’t be victimized again. The other part of that was that Hollysharp had much of the knowledge she needed to ensure just that. The uncomfortable memory of what she’d endured made Oránn a little green around the gills as she placed a comforting hand across her abdomen. Whatever it took to defeat those horrors, she’d do it and more.

  While Oránn talked, Hollysharp was hard at work prepping the runes that would copy the spells that she wanted the Sea Elf to cast. Seeing the confused look on the other woman’s face, Hollysharp explained that the runic circle wouldn’t copy all of her spells, but would create a pattern that would permanently take the shape of one spell. She also warned that they’d be doing this multiple times to increase the overall speed of the vessel. Seeing the comprehension lighting up Oránn face, Hollysharp grinned like a kid. How could people appreciate your true genius if they didn’t understand what you were creating in the firs
t place?

  “Okay, I want you to place your hands at these points of the circle,” Hollysharp said to the Sea Elf floating beside her. As soon as her dark blue fingers touched the markings, the runic circle lit up as if a circuit had been completed.

  “Like this?” Oránn asked, unsure of herself.

  “Yep,” Hollysharp agreed, “now just focus on casting your spell for pushing against water to increase movement speed into the pattern.”

  Nodding in understanding, Oránn cast the spell. The effect was pretty amazing as the pattern within the circle began rearranging itself to imprint the spell. The Sea Elf was just trying to determine if she needed to channel the spell or simply stop the cast, when Hollysharp spoke up.

  “Oh, this is a spell that can be channeled,” Hollysharp exclaimed. “Go ahead and just hold the spell until the pattern stops glowing.” Ten seconds later, the rune circle stopped glowing as the pattern inside stopped moving. “That’s it, one down and seven more to go.”

  “You know this tailfin took me forever to get the Black Coral into the proper shape,” Hollysharp casually said, as they triggered the next rune circle. “Getting each piece to grow to precisely the correct size to lock in with its mate was an experience. The rudder design on this vessel is nothing like you’d see on a normal trader or bireme ship.”

  “Star just said, I need you to design this new controlling rod like it was nothing,” Hollysharp complained as they worked. “You should have seen it. He scribbles out this crazy new design in the sand like its nothing and then expects me to build it from memory without access to my normal workshop.”

  “Oh yeah,” Oránn nervously agreed, “I guess the Wind Dancer had all of your tools when it pulled out.”

  “By the Dark no,” Hollysharp said, letting out an annoying laugh as she clapped her knees with both hands and nearly rolled off the top edge of the tailfin. “I pulled everything off of the Wind Dancer before it left.”