Soldiers of the Crown

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “Nice timing,” Aiden called up to her, understanding that she had dismissed the whirlwind. She focused her continuing efforts onto the pirate wizard as the ebb and flow of the battle aboard the Redoubtable pushed towards them, forcing Aiden and Sayana into the melee once more.

  With Ronan supporting them with his bow from the upper deck, they held the line against the encroaching pirates, preventing them from breaking through to the lower deck as the crew of the Redoubtable pushed back against the onslaught. Even Captain Sherrard had taken up his cutlass and personally joined the fight, rallying his men in their time of need.

  The crew held firm against the assault until the pirates morale broke, and they started to retreat back to their own ship. Royal marines peppered them with arrows as they fled, taking down a few more and giving the defenders respite. Aiden wanted to find out more about what was behind this attack, and realised they needed to take some captives to question.

  Holding his shield steady, he took aim at the nearest fleeing pirate and charged forward, slamming the glowing shield into the man’s side and knocking him to the deck. Aiden quickly used the hilt of his cutlass to crack the man in the face, rendering him senseless for a little while at least.

  On the other ship, the pirate wizard watched the fight as arrows from the Redoubtable bounced off her magical protection. She raised her hands in preparation for another incantation, but was interrupted as a ballista bolt eight feet in length struck her body dead-on, exploding with fire and blasting through the wizard’s protective magics. Her broken and burning form was sent over the rail, falling into the ocean below. Aiden turned and saw Nellise standing at one of the ballistae, looking satisfied with her work.

  “Mister Masterson, are you injured?” the captain called as he wiped blood from his cheek. There was no immediate reply, and Aiden couldn’t remember what had happened to the young officer.

  “Sir, he’s dead, sir,” one of the sailors eventually answered, his weapon and tunic bloodied from the fight. “Took a blade to the neck sir and bled out on the deck.” Captain Sherrard hesitated for a moment, and then nodded his understanding of this bleak fact.

  “I’m sorry for the loss of your crew, captain,” Aiden called to him from his position next to the mainmast, “but we’re not done here yet.”

  “He was the last of my officers,” Sir Denholm replied solemnly, wiping the blood from his sword.

  “They’re attempting to break free, Captain,” a marine called from the bow. “What are your orders?”

  “The punishment for piracy is death, sir!” he roared, his fury focused on the situation once more. “See to it that His Majesty’s will is carried out, if you please.”

  “There’s more to this than some random attack,” Aiden pointed out. “Wizards with the skill to get involved in a fight like this wouldn’t come cheaply, and they’re certainly rare enough that encountering two in three days makes me suspicious.”

  “I don’t doubt your assessment Mister Wainwright but we are spent, and I will not risk further lives attempting to assault that vessel with inferior numbers,” Sir Denholm retorted. “The best I can offer you is a promise that ship will soon be ash and cinders. Balistae, fore and aft, use our remaining ordnance to burn that ship to the waterline!” he ordered. “Marines, continue shooting at their crew to give our men cover. Simons, get any men you can spare to push that ship away from us!”

  “Aye aye, sir,” Simons, a seasoned-looking man with a greying beard yelled back, then grabbed two men from nearby, picked up some long wooden beams and attempted to lever the ships apart. The wood creaked ominously as they put all their strength into the effort with hardly anything to show for it. The rest of the crew were either busy or wounded from the fighting so Aiden and Ronan rushed over to give them a hand.

  “Heave lads, heave with all your might!” Simons roared. The five of them pushed with all their strength, with Aiden turning red in the face from exertion. The stricken pirate ship started to move away ever so slowly, but flames were already licking at the upper mast and they just didn’t have the manpower to push her away in time.

  “I can help,” Sayana offered, rushing over to them.

  “Beggin’ your pardon, ma’am, but this is no job for a lady, even if you can throw a bit of magic around,” Simons admonished her, looking at her diminutive frame dubiously. The sorceress moved to the rail and looked down at the hull of the other ship, then raised her hands up as if pushing it away and suddenly went sliding backwards on the deck.

  “Too much weight,” she muttered to herself as she came to a halt and ran back over to the rail to make another attempt.

  “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but—” Simons began, but Sayana ignored him.

  “Tie a rope around my waist and lower me over the side,” she instructed Aiden. He wasn’t sure what she was getting at but nevertheless grabbed some rope and tied it in a knot. He dropped the loop over Sayana’s body and as soon as she tightened it, she jumped over the side and a surprised Ronan quickly grabbed the rope to prevent her taking an unexpected swim.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Aiden called, leaning over the rail to keep an eye on her. The gap between the two ships was barely enough for her to fit, and any sudden change in their position could crush her between them, but she went about her task, regardless.

  Bringing up her hands, she used a sort of telekinetic push against the side of the ship with the hull of the Redoubtable at her back, keeping her in place. The pirate ship slowly began to move, and the wooden hulls creaked and groaned from the force she was exerting upon them.

  “Blow me down, she’s doing it,” Simons breathed. “Let’s give her a hand, lads! Heave!” Aiden rushed back to give the sailors a hand, pulling down on the makeshift lever with all of his strength. With glacial slowness, the two ships began to part, with everyone straining to maintain the pressure just a little longer.

  “By God, you’ve done it!” Captain Sherrard cried in triumph moments later, “We’ve caught a fresh wind, and we’re pulling away.” Pausing to catch his breath, Aiden could see he was right — the Redoubtable’s sails were billowing with resurgent winds.

  “Woulfe, retrieve that splendid lady from over the side before you drop her in the drink,” Simons ordered as Aiden helped Ronan pull the sorceress back on deck. To their dismay, she was dangling from the rope, limp and unmoving.

  “Is she okay?” Ronan asked, as Aiden quickly checked her pulse.

  “Yes, she’s passed out,” he replied, relieved at the steady heartbeat he detected just beneath her skin.

  “We owe her a debt,” Simons remarked with a shake of his head. “That was a proper effort.”

  Sailors at the front and rear of the ship had brought up more ballista bolts and loaded the weapons while all this was going on and began shooting at the tattered and flaming remains of the pirate ship as she slowly fell behind in the dissipating fog.

  Each hit spread the fires even further and any remaining pirates chose to leap over the side and swim for shore, rather than risk dying to save their stricken vessel. After half a dozen more hits, the ship was ablaze from bow to stern, creating an eerie red glowin the thickening fog.

  “Excellent work, all of you,” Captain Sherrard offered in thanks as he approached them across the deck, with Nellise close behind. “Take any surviving pirates down to the brig and see to the wounded.”

  “Yes, Captain,” Simons replied, touching his forehead in a salute before he and the other nearby sailors scurried off to follow his orders.

  “In all my years of service, I have never seen anything quite so remarkable,” Sir Denholm observed, looking at Sayana’s prone form. “She will recover, I trust?”

  “Yes, she’s done this sort of thing before,” Nellise explained, kneeling down to examine her closely. “Exhaustion, as I suspected. I shall take her back to our room, and see to her recovery. If I could have some help?”

  “Right here,” Ronan volunteered before a
nyone else could speak up.

  “Captain, do you have any idea how that ship caught us by surprise?” Aiden asked as Sayana was taken away.

  “The wind was gentle and the fog was thick this morning,” Sir Denholm explained. “We were practically becalmed, but I felt secure in the fact that any ships nearby would be suffering the same fate. Such arrogant presumption on my part! Somehow that vessel had a strong wind to propel it while we languished in calm seas. Man was not meant to play with the laws of nature, Mister Wainwright, and yet that is precisely how that damnable scow managed to creep up on us.”

  “It must have been an accomplished wizard to affect the weather like that,” Aiden remarked sourly.

  “The talents of those arrayed against us are formidable,” Sir Denholm uttered with contempt, looking out over the sea. “To think that such people dwell within our own Kingdom, and yet hold His Majesty’s law, and indeed the life of his only child in such callous disregard beggars belief.

  “Whoever is behind this has deep pockets, Mister Wainwright, very deep pockets indeed,” the captain continued brusquely, noticing a few of the captured pirates being taken away. “Wait, I want to have words with this one,” Sherrard said to one of the sailors, the man Aiden had knocked down. He was a scrawny man whose age was difficult to determine due to his wounds and generally rough appearance.

  “Who was your captain, and why did he attempt to assault a ship of His Majesty’s navy?” Sherrard demanded of the pirate, who grinned a bloody smile back at him.

  “Not tellin’ you anythin’,” he growled.

  “You’re for the gallows, man,” the captain warned. “If you cooperate, perhaps you will live to sail another day.” The pirate seemed to somberly consider this for a moment, then his devious grin returned.

  “We did it for the money, and the chance for a little revenge against the Crown,” the pirate said, spitting on the deck. “Was ordered to snatch a special cargo you’re carrying, real precious.

  “Who was that wizard?” Aiden asked, suspecting the answer but wanting to hear it aloud.

  “Our employer,” came the response, confirming Aiden’s guess. “Don’t know where she got all the money from and I really don’t care. It’s all going to the bottom now of course, a bloody shame it is. But she ain’t the one what was in charge, she had someone sendin’ her messages with magic or somethin’. Us lowly buggers weren’t privy to what was goin’ on between her and the cap’n, but I’ve been truthful with you, I swear it.”

  “I’ve heard enough, take him below,” Sherrard instructed the sailor, who continued on his way. They waited for him to be out of earshot before Aiden and the captain spoke again.

  “I thought as much,” Aiden suggested. “That’s why we’re seeing a wizard with each of these attempts to kidnap Criosa. Someone is using them to communicate quickly over vast distances. I’ve read of spells that allow for such feats, but we’ve no idea where to find the source, it could be anywhere within a hundred miles.”

  “Given their desire to capture Criosa for their own purposes, and their persistant knowledge of her whereabouts, I suspect it might be closer than you think,” Sherrard responded quietly so as not to be overheard. “We shall ponder this later, Mister Wainwright. You look like you could use a meal and some rest. I must see to the repairs of old ‘doughty, and ensure that we arrive at Fairloch as quickly as possible.”

  “I want to check in on the others, then if it’s all the same to you sir, I’d like to help out for a bit,” Aiden offered. Captain Sherrard gave him an appraising look.

  “Have you ever worked on a ship?”

  “I used to help my father make wagons back in my home town,” Aiden replied with a tired grin. “How different could it be?”

  “I accept your help, sir. Go about your business and I shall do likewise,’ Sir Denholm remarked. Aiden gave him a nod of thanks and went below to check on Criosa, Sayana and the others. They appeared well enough, though Nellise was so busy tending to injuries that Aiden didn’t want to disturb her.

  Nellise was busy tending to the crew who had been wounded during the short, fierce battle with the pirates, and many of them owed their lives to her ministrations. Just over a dozen men had been slain outright, a difficult loss to maintain on a ship already struggling with a reduced complement. Pacian helped her by carrying supplies and preparing water for cleaning wounds, and since they seemed to have the situation under control, Aiden went back upstairs.

  He set to work alongside the crew of the Redoubtable, pitching in where he could and using the experience to take his mind off the perilous fight he’d just survived. These things were becoming a little too frequent for his liking, and his lack of training was starting to become a problem. Still, he could use a hammer well enough.

  Over a year had passed since Aiden had last tried to fix anything, and it had been a bittersweet experience due to an unforeseen hammer-related accident. It had been a last-ditch attempt to win favour from his father, who disapproved of his son burying his head in books for hours at a time. Ever since Aiden’s two older brothers, Brogan and Kieran had perished guarding a caravan, his father had taken on this sort of thing alone, in spite of repeated attempts to enlist Aiden, who had proven less than talented with his hands.

  There was a subdued cheer from the beleaguered crew as the final repairs were completed a short time later, and Aiden was treated to multiple pats on the back as he handed his tools back to the quartermaster. He was quietly pleased with his handiwork, even if he had missed breakfast. Aiden excused himself from the main deck and went inside to put on a shirt and search for some food, leaving Sir Denholm with the difficult task of captaining the crippled vessel to the safety of port.

  Chapter Three

  The wafting aroma of beef stew drew Aiden down towards his cabin, but he stopped short when he realised the smell was coming from the ladies’ room. There was no longer a marine on guard as he approached, the poor fellow having been one of the first to perish in the battle with the pirates.

  He knocked twice and then turned the handle and entered to see all three ladies sitting around eating their fill of a hearty stew from a pot sitting on a table. What was more surprising was that Pacian was in one of the beds, covered up to his neck in blankets as he slowly sipped stew from a bowl.

  “My, my, don’t you all look comfortable,” Aiden remarked, closing the door behind him.

  “You’re talking about me, aren’t you,” Pacian retorted, his voice sounding strange. “I’ll have you know that I’m sick, and our lovely ladies are taking care of me.”

  “You’ve caught a cold?” Aiden remarked, unconsciously heading over to the food with his mouth watering. “When did this happen?”

  “He’s pushed himself too hard, these last few days,” Nellise explained, sitting at the foot of the bed. “The tonic of kahve he was taking wasn’t helping, either.”

  “Is that what you call it?” Aiden asked rhetorically, drawing a nod from Nellise.

  “What are we talking about?” Criosa inquired curiously.

  “A herbal draught with remarkable properties,” Nellise explained. “It can keep you on your feet even when you’re spent, though it can be dangerous in large doses. We made extensive use of it recently.”

  “Why hello, Aiden, would you like to have some of our food?” Criosa interrupted with exaggerated courtesy. To his surprise, Aiden noticed he was ladling into a bowl without being aware of it.

  “I’m sorry, Your Highness, my stomach seems to be in charge of my hands right now,” he apologised.

  “She’s just teasing you, Aiden,” Sayana pointed out tiredly from her own bed. An empty bowl sat on the covers next to her with another in her hands. “I’ve learned she does that a lot.”

  “Nice to see you’re awake again Sy,” he said to her as Criosa grinned impishly. “I was worried after you’d passed out earlier.”

  “As was I,” Nellise added. “I understand the situations we encounter may call for it, but you p
ush yourself too far, Sayana. Your health may suffer if you continue this way.”

  “I don’t do it on purpose,” the sorceress replied, her voice weak with the continued effort of conducting a conversation. “My abilities have grown with all the practice and good food I’ve had access to in recent weeks. I just can’t seem to eat enough to keep my strength up.”

  “It’s probably all those big, impressive things you’ve been doing,” Criosa said dismissively. “Nellise told me what you did to separate the ships. I’ve seen a few powerful wizards perform similar feats before, but never anything of this magnitude before. You must let me peruse your spellbook one day.” Sayana glanced at Aiden briefly at this request, for she didn’t have any books.

  “Anyway, we’ve at least another day of sailing before we reach Fairloch,” Criosa continued, oblivious to their silent exchange, “so you can just lay back and rest. I’ll see to it that you’ll have as much food as you can eat, even if I have to steal from the captain’s own plate.”

  “He might be a bit upset about that,” Aiden remarked with a wry grin.

  “Well he’s certainly not going to say no to me!” she smirked. “Forgive my buoyant mood, but I’m rather pleased with the heroics from all of you, today. Sir Denholm informed me that the pirate ship was in the employ of the traitorous blaggards who sought to take me captive, and once more, you’ve thwarted them.”

  “At the cost of many lives,” Aiden pointed out soberly. “I don’t know who is behind all this, but they’ve no compunctions about killing anyone that gets in their way. You might spare a thought for those that have died in your service, Highness.”

  “I’m not ambivalent to their sacrifice, Aiden,” she answered quietly. “But I am comforted by the knowledge that their skill and dedication brought about another victory for us.”

  “You’re welcome,” Pacian mumbled with his mouth full.