The Labyris Knight

by Adam Derbyshire

  “This is Thomas Adam’s ship.” Miguel replied, climbing over the rail after them and leaving Kaplain struggling to follow him and not drop his ledger in the process. “He won’t let you take control of his ship lightly.”

  “He has no choice.” Scrave replied icily. “He marooned me and left me for dead. He owes me now.”

  “Now, now boys!” Justina replied sarcastically. “Let’s play nicely. Now what did you say this captain looked like.” Scrave started to recall his memories of Thomas, only for the ship to suddenly lurch beneath them, her deck timbers creaking in protest as the net holding the ship suddenly came free along one side. The galleon surged to its starboard side, the stone pillar looming closer until the El Defensor’s hull collided roughly with the ancient stone, sending tremors vibrating through the ship and making a cloud of stone dust fall from the archway.

  Scrave reached out reflexively to steady Justina, gripping her slender waist as she staggered, only for the sorceress to push him roughly away and turn with a twirl of her cape that almost took his last remaining eye.

  “There’s your captain!” she remarked, pointing high up, past the crumpled sails to the top of the archway where a pyrotechnic display of flashing lights appeared to in progress. Justina paced swiftly across the deck towards the aft-castle access ladder, leaving Scrave struggling to keep up as he angrily rubbed his forehead where her swirling cape had struck him.

  So much for being the chivalrous type, the Elf thought. He admired her sensuous figure as she moved calmly across the deck, blasting anyone who got in her way with a mere flick of her wrist. She had such a mastery of the art. Oh the things they could do together. This woman was either going to show him the time of his life or end it! He climbed the ladder after her, only to find that Justina had come to a stop, staring out across the deck at the helm where Rauph stood.

  Rauph…? Scrave swallowed hard. How could he have forgotten Rauph? All eight-foot tall, chestnut coloured hair, thick as two short planks, longsword wielding… The Elf paused, taking in the scene again. This was not the Rauph he once knew. This one had short hair, gleaming armour and a scowl that spoke volumes.

  Justina continued across the deck, causing Rauph to become agitated. He did not know what to do. Thomas had instructed him to stay at the helm but how could he when enemies were running rampant about the lower decks and now this strange woman was walking towards him? He tried to take his hands from the wheel but as soon as he did it started to turn, pushing the ship further against the stone pillar of the archway. He turned the king spoke straight up, signalling dead ahead then moved to draw his swords. The wheel spun as soon as he let go, leaving him with one sword in his hand and the other still sheathed at his back.

  “Oh my, aren’t you simply magnificent.” Justina stated, recognising the fact that the Minotaur was unable to move.

  “I am a Labyris knight.” Rauph replied. “I must ask you to surrender or leave this ship.” The navigator’s eyes glanced past the strange woman and took in the eye-patched person standing behind her. He sniffed barely believing what his eyes told him. Was that…?

  “Scrave?” Rauph asked. “Is that you?”

  “So quaint.” Justina moved closer, making Rauph release the wheel and reach for his other sword, only to find the wheel turning beneath his hands as soon as he let go. He fumbled with the weapon, dropping it onto the deck so that he could wrest the helm back to midships, whilst struggling to pick his blade from the floor.

  “It’s so difficult to choose in situations like this.” Justina mocked stepping nearer. “Let go of the wheel to attack me and you crash the ship, stay still and I will get close enough to…” She reached into her robe drawing forth the golden snake dagger letting it writhe around her wrist, the snake’s head on the hilt hissing enthusiastically at the prospect of the sacrifice about to be offered.

  Justina shivered inside knowing how Pelune, the head of the serpent order would relish a killing of something so strong. How the power of their life force would surge through the blade into the wielder, making them more powerful and with so much energy in this creature, the rush would simply be delicious. She eased closer, taking the darting eyes of the Minotaur to be those of someone afraid and relishing the power she held over such a magnificent creature.

  “I told you to leave the ship.” Rauph stated calmly, causing Justina to raise her eyebrow in surprise as he continued to fumble with his blades and also attend the helm.

  “I know you asked nicely.” Justina smiled, “but I simply don’t want to.” She lunged forward with the dagger; her eyes bright at the excitement of the strike. The Minotaur met her blade with his own, causing sparks to jump from the ceremonial weapon and causing the dagger to hiss angrily in frustration, the snake’s head striking out repeatedly but unable to reach its prey.

  Justina looked down at her weapon in shock, stunned as to how the Minotaur had managed to parry her, when just seconds before he had both hands full. Rauph flipped the dagger out of her hand, easily disarming her and sending it flying back over her head. Then he stepped away from the helm and Justina realised what the clever Minotaur had done. The helm tried to turn of its own volition, then became caught on the dropped long sword, now firmly wedged between its spokes.

  “I asked you to leave!” Rauph growled, his brows creasing as he let his ire be known. “You will do as I ask or face the consequences. I am a Labyris knight and I have a badge to prove it.”

  “I’m sure you do dear.” Justina shrugged, then fired off a magical spell in his direction, sending two energy bolts streaking out from her wand to hit the Minotaur at close range. The magic hit Rauph’s breast plate then fizzled and died.

  “Was that magic?” Rauph growled, as the sizzle of the magical residue died on his breast plate leaving a small spiral of smoke. “I don’t like magic.” He stamped forward towards the sorceress and raised his sword to strike her, just as a huge shadow fell over the navigator’s shoulder.

  “Rauph, look out!” Scrave warned as the second lizard, Cornelius pounced, his tail whipping up around the Minotaur’s neck as it tried to yank his body backwards. Rauph snatched the tail as it coiled over his left shoulder and pulled hard, in a move the giant lizard simply did not expect. The monster squealed as the tail pulled tightly, its claws striking the back of Rauph’s armour as it was dragged over his shoulder and slammed onto the deck.

  Cornelius was up in a moment, wriggling around with an agility that even caught Rauph by surprise. The lizard jumped back onto Rauph, the two huge creatures now grappling with each other upon the deck, two titans wrestling desperate to find and exploit any weakness. Rauph tried to push the lizard’s head up and avoid its snapping jaws but its tail kept whipping in and slapping at the side of his face, knocking his sword from his hand.

  Justina stood back, letting the two monsters fight it out, recognising the second lizard, the one called ‘Cornbread’, as her ally. She suddenly remembered that Rauph had disarmed her and spun around, her eyes darting about the ship, desperately seeking the weapon. Justina’s gaze fell upon another woman slowly getting up from the deck, her long blonde hair spilling across her slender shoulders, her face a mask of complete concentration. One hand raised behind her using magic to keep a crackling magical gateway open, the other struggling to hold a dull rune-etched sword.

  “Interesting.” Justina muttered to herself. Scrave had not told her there was another mage to contend with. Her skeletal familiar rushed across the deck and clambered up her cloak chattering loudly in her ear. “Don’t’ worry Hamnet, I have this in hand.” The creature continued to chatter loudly but Justina was not concerned where her golden dagger was, not at this time, not when faced with such a potential threat. It was time to find out just how big a threat she was.

  Justina summoned magic from her wand, building a small charged sphere of crackling energy to life at its tip, then sent it streaking across the deck towards where Colette stood. The spell dissipated as it struck
an energy barrier shielding the young mage. Justina frowned, annoyed that her spell had been countered so easily and released a larger globe of energy that howled as it shot across the space between them.

  Colette winced as the magical energy cascaded around her shield, licking at the edges seeking entry but dying out before it could do so. Her head was pounding! She risked a quick glance back at the archway and noted that although the port side edge of the galleon was almost through, the skewed course of the ship’s travel meant the starboard side was even further back through the gateway than before. If she dropped her spell now the El Defensor would be crushed to kindling! She could not lose her concentration, she had to maintain it no matter what the cost!

  Another magical detonation raked across her shield. The dark witch seemed very confident in her manner, not appearing to be in a rush, clearly taking her time testing Colette’s magical defences. The mage swallowed hard, knowing all too well, that whilst she was struggling to hold open the gateway, she had no means to retaliate to the spells being hurled towards her, she was simply not powerful enough.

  A streak of lightning jumped from the sorceress’s wand, scrabbling across Colette’s shield and making Colette close her eyes against the glare. As the spell sputtered out, the air around the mage shimmered brightly then cracked apart. Colette’s heart sank. Her magical shield had failed.

  She quickly scanned the deck, noting the strange figure in the distance dressed as if he had just stepped from somewhere dusty and desolate, discarding him as a potential ally, as he had accompanied the long-haired sorceress and her disgusting skeletal pet gargoyle.

  Rauph was still wrestling with the huge lizard, rolling about the deck throwing punches and struggling to reach his sword but being constantly outmatched by the lizard’s muscular tail which tangled with any limb he had free, pulling him back, dropping him to the floor, snatching his hand away from the sword and slapping him about the head each time he tried to gain an advantage.

  Weyn was up in the rigging dealing with the twin of the monster struggling with Rauph and everyone else was down on the main deck facing the boarders. There was no one else left on the aft-castle to turn to. Colette was all alone. One lone mage with the long sword of a man she loved, pitted against a sorceress armed with a powerful magical arsenal and a condescending smirk plastered all over her face.

  Colette extended her lower lip and puffed upwards, blowing a stray golden ringlet of hair from her face, her normally warm gaze from her cornflower blue eyes now chilling to tundra ice. The mage turned side on as Aradol had taught her and pointed with the blade.

  It was time to show this bitch how a real mage fought.

  * * * * * *

  Aradol plunged his father’s sword into the breast of a charging hound, then slashed with the blade to take the claw from another, catching a third across the snout with his backswing before disengaging. Yet for every creature he wounded, three more seemed to take their place. It was like facing a never-ending flood, despite the determination he showed, no matter how many corpses fell to the deck about him and no matter how much blood was spilt across the decks of the ship, the remorseless tide of slashing claw and snapping fang would ultimately overwhelm him.

  He caught another Scintarn in the throat, leaving his left side exposed and the hound to that side of him immediately closed its jaws about his arm and tried to drag him down with its weight. Aradol smashed at the creature’s skull with the hilt of his sword, thumping the monster several times before it dropped him and spun away, turning almost instantly and curling its lips back to expose its blood-stained fangs. The young warrior launched a kick in the Scintarn’s direction only for two more hounds to barrel in from his blind side, teeth snapping and paws raking across his armour.

  There was no way he could keep this up! His breath was becoming laboured, the dogs were yanking at his limbs, trying to drag him down to the deck. An armoured tail whipped around, the flint-like ridge slashing across Aradol’s forehead, causing blood to drip down his face and further excite the hounds as the copper scent reached their sensitive nostrils. He staggered back across the deck, blinking rapidly, trying to clear his blurred vision, Scintarns bowling over each other in their stampede to claim this wounded prey as their own.

  Someone came up alongside him, swinging a blade, cleaving a hound from throat to abdomen, beheading another on the backswing. Armour glinted in the corner of the warrior’s eye as a fighter approached from the other side, slapping one creature down to the deck, dazing another, then plunging a blade deeply into the side of one more Scintarn making it howl in its death throws.

  Aradol watched the two knights walk past him then realised he had no idea who they actually were. He risked the opportunity to turn around and noted several other knights climbing out of a book laid out on the deck. They turned to a man who knelt beside the book, a man wearing robes similar to those of Marcus. Aradol frowned. He did not recognise this person either. The fighters nodded as if receiving orders then drew their swords and advanced purposefully towards Aradol, two peeling away to either side to engage the Scintarns and push them back whilst the last one continued towards him. Aradol stepped forward relieved only for the mysterious knight to lunge at him with his sword.

  The young knight barely dodged the weapon, swinging his blade to parry the attack with just enough contact to alter the path of the knight’s thrust, it still struck his shoulder, scoring across the metal of his armour and leaving his left arm feeling numb. The warrior spun around, bringing his sword back down low, trying to sweep Aradol’s legs but the young fighter recognised the move and dropped his own sword, intercepting the swing and moving inside of the knight’s reach, bringing his own weapon up and slamming the hilt hard under the warrior’s chin. Aradol did not hesitate, bringing his weapon across between them and swinging it down across the knight’s outstretched arm, cleaving it away at the wrist, only for the sword and hand to magically transform into loose pages of manuscript that tumbled about the deck.

  Paper! What manner of creatures were these? Aradol stepped back, disengaging from the fight, leaving the wounded warrior to scramble about, trying to gather up the paper sheets that had once been his limb and weapon. This made absolutely no sense. The young fighter risked a quick glance over towards the blue robed priest still kneeling upon the deck and then realised with some concern that even more warriors were climbing out of the book, apparently at the behest of the acolyte.

  He moved to engage with them, realising this man added another threat to the dangers the crew were facing. A bright flash caught his eye from up on the aft deck, followed by another and another in sharp succession, bringing the young man to a stop. That was magic being cast up on the deck where… Colette was up there!

  Aradol hesitated, torn between trying to stop this mysterious priest from calling more supernatural fighters from his book and wanting to assist the young woman he had spent so many training sessions with. His logical mind told him to attack the priest but a feeling deep inside his chest told him he needed to protect Colette.

  “Damn!” Aradol cursed, then turned and ran towards the ladder. Colette needed him and his sense of chivalry, nay his honour, demanded that she was the priority.

  * * * * * *

  “Get off me you damn dog!” Commagin cursed, shoving with all of his might, pushing the huge Scintarn from his body. He struggled to extract himself, finally getting to his feet with every intention to leap to the aid of anyone who needed his help, only to realise that the ship’s deck was now a scene of total chaos and that the choices of target were simply too many to prioritise. There were ragged fighters charging towards the crew with mad glazed eyes, Scintarns piling onto the deck from the prow, ripping apart any crewman unlucky enough to find himself near their jaws, knights hacking at the hounds the crazed fighters and the El Defensor crew. Knights! Where in the seven hells did the knights come from?

  He snatched his crossbow from the deck and wound back the mechanism
, his fingers numb, his mind racing. His tired eyes trying to make sense out of the bedlam within which he stood. There was a priest wearing blue robes out on the deck apparently summoning the knights but he did not look like Brother Richard or Marcus. The crew were falling back under the relentless onslaught, being pushed away from the sides of the galleon towards the centre of the deck.

  A piece of shredded sail rippled down from above, dragging the Dwarf’s gaze back along its path up towards the rigging where two people appeared to be fighting on the top mainsail yard. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, one of them appeared to have a tail!

  Another piece of sail crumpled onto the deck causing the crew beneath it to split in different directions. There was no discipline here. It was everyone for themselves. The galleon slammed into the gateway pillar sending groans and shrieks of torment through the hull of the ship. Commagin turned his gaze towards the stern, instantly realising that there was no one manning the helm and that the ship had not yet cleared the portal. Where was Rauph?

  A loud clang sounded amidships as Violetta used her skillet with devastating effect. Rowan was there too swinging her wrench and connecting more often than not, breaking jaws, sending teeth spinning across the deck and making any hounds near enough shy away from her deadly swings, their tails flicking angrily back and forth.

  The ship shuddered again as a loud rattle sounded and a length of chain crashed to the deck. The El Defensor surged valiantly forward again, only to be snatched back as the net tightened its grip about her once more. Commagin looked at his friends then back towards the helm. He needed to be there, needed to keep the ship safe. The engineer pushed his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose and marched off, firing his trusty crossbow at anyone that dared get too close.

  One quarrel took a hound in the shoulder, another lifted a fighter from the deck punching into his chest just as he was about to swing his weapon at Austen. Everywhere the Dwarf looked someone needed his help. He just hoped that the choice he was making was the right one.