Thankfully, other than Stelios, the others looked a bit green at the idea as well, and when they told Kel all of their ideas, he was helpful and knowledgeable enough in ship-to-ship combat to give Aiden some good direction. In truth, Aiden didn’t know how to do a shield and while he had an idea on the propulsion, he didn’t feel like experimenting on their only transportation would be a good idea.
It also turned out there were several types of ballista bolt the ship used. Other than regular bolts, there were some that could be set aflame and others with wide scythe-like blades that could clear decks and cut ropes.
It was these latter ones Kel thought would be better to use once Gavin demonstrated his sword and how easily it sliced through a piece of wood. Not only might they take out men and ropes, but they could easily take out a mast. If they could do that, it could keep a ship from ever closing with them. If the ship couldn’t keep up with them, then it would be no threat at all.
“I think they’ll be coming at us the day after next. Most likely mid-morning,” Kel finished, looking questioningly at Aiden. “It will take them time to locate us once it’s light and then track in on us. Can you build us some of those scythe-bladed bolts and then several suits of armor and short swords, Aiden? If we can’t drive them off with our long range weapons, then it will be down to ship-to-ship fighting and having a good one or two squads of soldiers equipped with that, it will guarantee a huge surprise. Breaking their morale will be a huge win.”
“I can, but can you bring me one of those bolts?” Aiden asked, looking over his shoulder as he turned toward the stairs that led to his small room. “And Stelios, can you get me some shirts and an example of a weapon for your men? Having a model will help, I think, especially with the shirts.”
“I’ll do that right now,” Stelios said grinning at the idea of getting his hands on one of Aiden’s weapons. His was already made out of glimmer steel, but in comparison to one Aiden made, it was like a dull stick.
Kel began to move off as well. “I’ll also have some water and food brought to you so you don’t have to go looking around.” He turned to the other three. “Will one of you be sitting with him? You can bring up items when they’re done. I’ll also let the Captain and Father know what is going on. I suspect it will make them both happier than they are now.”
“I will take the first watch,” Chari said, flicking her eyes at Ashrak for a moment before turning to follow Aiden. “It will give Ashrak time to go talk to the pretty sailor.” She sniffed disdainfully before they lost sight of her.
For his part, Ashrak just blinked and looked around at the two brothers. “Did I do something? What did I do?”
Chapter 13
The next morning came as a shock to the Captain, crew, and passengers of the Gerevat. They had changed course several times during the night but in the morning, the small fleet of mismatched galleys and schooners was right on their tail as if they’d followed every move. As a result, they were catching up faster than expected.
“By the deep trenches and their unholy children, how did they manage?” Valeran swore, lowering the spyglass and handing it back to Captain Grell.
“I don’t know.” The Captain said, raising the spyglass to his own eye and taking a long look at their pursuers. “But it’s plain they are after us now. No question about it. Looks like a bunch of mercenaries and pirates, as well. They aren’t flying any colors, but I’ll be honest, they look like they are from local ports to me.”
“Dolgren,” Valeran cursed the name out, grinding his teeth as if it were a piece of meat he was chewing. “I’d thought we would see the last of him until we got back to Terek, but apparently, Duke Feldar’s price has gone up even higher to interest five full ships.”
“And more,” the Captain sighed, lowering his spyglass and looking grim. “Those ships are full of scum. I’d bet at least six hundred between the lot of them. If they all came at us together, my two hundred wouldn’t last long. I do hope Lord Wilthorn comes through on his surprises.”
The Duke shared a predatory grin with the Captain and nodded. “I’ve seen the bolts he’s made. They’ll do the job. Chari told him they tend not to have as much range due to their larger and heavier heads, so the boy made them lighter. I think they’ll be an even bigger surprise than we thought if we can lob them further than expected. When they start to close with us, I would bet we will knock most of them out of the fight before they can even answer.”
“How many did he make?” the Captain asked, frowning. “This whole process makes me nervous, Your Grace. I’ve never even seen how these shirts and swords he’s made work. I’ve heard what you say, but I’ve yet to see it myself.”
“Oh ho!? Not seen it yet! My goodness Captain, I thought I’d shown you! I had the boy make me a shirt and sword on the island. Demanded it after I watched what it did. You will be astonished!” The Duke pointed to the long dagger at the Captain's side, grinning like a school boy. “Take your dagger out and stab me in the gut!”
“Your Grace!” the Captain said, offended and astonished at the same time. “That…that’s most improper, sir!”
“Come on, have a go! Right here!” Valeran said, pointing to his ample stomach. “It won’t do a thing to me.”
“I can’t, Your Grace! What if it fails for some reason? And it would be most improper for the crew to see the Captain stabbing their Duke, sir.”
Duke Valeran rolled his eyes but finally took his own dagger out, then proceeded to stab himself gleefully. The Captain stared at the dagger as it repeatedly stopped moving when it made contact with the shirt. There was a very dull thunking sound but it was clearly not penetrating to the flesh underneath.
“Haha, now watch this!” Valeran said and with a flourish and pulled out his sword. Still grinning excitedly, the Duke cast around himself before picking up his empty mug and holding it above the blade, then dropped it. The Captain’s eyes widened as he saw what looked like the mug miss the blade and continue down to the floor, but instead of a whole mug clattering around, he saw two pieces neatly cut in half. Picking up one of the halves, he ran his finger over the inhumanly smooth cut and shook his head.
“This is… astonishing, Your Grace. Is this what that young boy has been making for Captain Stelios and his men?”
“Absolutely. No one’s cut their legs and arms off yet, but I expect it will only be a matter of time.” Valeran said, carefully placing the point into the sheath and then sliding it home. “Sheathing the things are incredibly delicate too. I keep expecting to miss and be walking around with the thing stuck in my leg without even realizing it until I pass out from blood loss.”
The Captain frowned further but looked once again at the half mug he held in his hands. “Let's hope it is far later than sooner, sir, and no one drops their weapon either. It appears these wouldn’t even notice falling through several decks if there weren’t handguards. Still, if the scythe bolts are this sharp, it could be a game changer for a battle. We could remove masts instead of just rigging, couldn’t we?”
The Duke grinned and nodded, watching the thoughts bounce around in the older Captain’s head as he imagined the possibilities. “Indeed. I am looking forward to seeing their faces when we lop off some of their masts at the longest range.”
The Captain paused, raising the spyglass to his eye once again and taking a measure of their pursuers. “Well, however they managed to stay on our course, I don’t think they’ll be able to close today. It will be tomorrow at the earliest.”
“What about that, Captain?” the Duke said carefully. “They managed to stay on our course during the night. The moons weren’t out enough to give them enough light to see us by. You and I both know scum like that wouldn’t just charge in on a warship without some plan and this lot don’t seem to be slowing or waiting for a fog bank.”
The Captain paused but finally nodded. It was peculiar and he’d never seen the like. Even at three-to-one odds, his men were better trained and disciplined and there would be
a lot of bloodshed to take his ship. “I do not know, Your Grace. I normally wouldn’t think it would be possible, but if they had to adjust their course by a single degree in the morning I’m my mother's handmaiden in disguise. I’ll triple the watch tonight and have arms and armor issued to the men before they sleep. Do you think Captain Stelios will have his men outfitted by young Master Withorn before the evening?”
“I think so but am not sure he can get two squads done. I’d like to have a squad of your marines outfitted as well, but at the very least Stelios and his men will have the advantage. They’ll be the best fighters we have.”
“I think we’ll need it, Your Grace. I have a feeling our friends out there feel they have the advantage. We’ll just have to show them they’re wrong.”
***
Aiden collapsed back against the wall of his cabin and rolled his eyes at yet another sweat stained shirt. Apparently, Stelio’s idea of bringing samples of shirts for his men involved lots of dirty laundry. The stench in the close confines of the small room he was in hadn’t been something he’d enjoyed.
“I swear, I’m glad I figured out using the shirt to focus the glimmer steel was quicker than just doing it all in my head. At least I’m able to get rid of the stink that way.”
In point of fact, it had gone beyond that for most of the shirts of armor he’d made. After the third smelly piece, he’d rather vehemently included the fresh smells of the washroom back in Breen into each piece. Strongly. It had helped offset the smell of the other shirts more and more as the dirty ones disappeared.
“How many shirts do you have left, Aiden?” Ashrak asked sullenly, picking up the new piece and testing it by placing it against the bed and stabbing it with a normal dagger. They’d had to implement the testing late last night when Aiden had lost focus enough that the last shirt he’d made had proven about as protective as a dull sneeze. Three other shirts hadn’t been up to snuff, so they’d called it a night and started again this morning.
“I think there are two more shirts for Stelio’s squad, and then their swords. Then he wants me to do the same for a bunch of marines.” Aiden slumped further on the bunk looking forlornly at the pile of shirts and weapons. “I don’t know how much more I can do. The ballista bolts were easier, but doing twenty of them took me hours yesterday. I’m not sure how much more I can keep up. It’s exhausting me and who knows what other mistakes I’ll make.”
Ashrak joined him on the bunk, grinning. “You know what I always say, as long as you’re alive…”
“…There’s hope,” Aiden finished for him, not looking overly thrilled with his friend's good cheer. “I know that. I mean we don’t even know when they’ll attack, but losing them in the night sure didn’t work. I was up there this morning and they were right on our tail, happy as little tarfin babies on their mother’s back.”
“True. I heard the Captain and the Duke talking earlier and they were just as surprised. Right before the Duke started stabbing himself with a dagger. The crew was a bit wide-eyed at that.” Ashrak paused for a moment before continuing, his voice softer than before as he drifted in thought. “They think they have something that lets them see in the dark. I don’t know anything about ship battles, but that can’t be good. If they come at us in the darkness, then all those bolts you made are going to be useless.”
Aiden frowned as he friend went quiet. That was going to be a problem, at least as little as he could tell. “What if we could see in the dark too? Maybe with light or something?”
“Torches?” Ashrak said, shrugging. “That won’t do. You might be able to see them once they're right up on you, but it wouldn’t help further out. If we have torches, they won’t even need to have something to see in the dark, they’ll just sail right toward us.”
“No, not torches. Like maybe the lights on the Skywitch and in the castle? They’re odd and run on that power Professor Reivus was mentioning. What if I make something like that?”
“That might be something,” Ashrak said, sitting up. “You’d have to make it so it wouldn’t blind everyone, though. If you make it like a torch, it will, but if you make it like a bullseye lantern, that would be better. Do you think you can?”
Aiden looked like he was staring at the wall, but really he was watching Glowby dance and spin in front of him, flashing from a happy blue to a brilliant white. He was pretty sure he could do exactly that, especially with the example of his light happy friend. “Yeah, I think I can. That might be a good surprise. Also, light. Who doesn't like light?”
“We can test it in here, too,” Ashrak said, grinning. “Also make it adjustable? With a handle or maybe put it on a hat?”
“A hat? Really?”
“No… it would be interesting but probably too silly. Hey, about the shirts and weapons. Do you think you could make them more than one at a time? You said using the shirts themselves helped, maybe if we hung them up so they’re all within sight of you, that would be even faster?”
Aiden gave Ashrak an uncertain look but the vision of him sitting in a small room as an old and gray-bearded man with piles and piles of shirts around him made him willing to try. Several minutes later, they’d strung line up in their small room and clipped shirts onto them. It made their already claustrophobic room seem even more stifling but Aiden quickly closed his eyes and started concentrating.
It took longer than for an individual shirt, but after an hour he had isolated and copied five of the shirts successfully. He’d tried more, but kept losing track of them and after several attempts, Aiden received a slight nudge from Glowby so had given up on the sixth. Still, after testing, they all worked and smelled fresh and clean as well. It made Aiden pleased enough they decided to go to the galley and get something to eat.
As they trooped into the galley, they spied the crumpled, green form of Markam sitting forlornly at one of the tables with a bucket. The young man had enjoyed the few days on the island but had resolutely trooped back onto the ship as they left, and promptly returned to hugging the rails. The bucket was a dubious improvement as it allowed him to go below deck and not see the rise and fall of the ocean around, but the smell of sick followed him like his personal miasma.
Ashrak and Aiden were going to leave him in peace, but the large boy gestured for them to come over after they’d gotten two bowls of stew. As they approached, he waved them off toward the end of the table away from him. “Please… the smell of the stew-“ he said, before clenching his teeth together and visibly forcing his gorge down.
Aiden and Ashrak exchanged glances but sat politely, holding their stew away from Markam in at least an attempt to shield the poor guard. For a long moment, Aiden became concerned Markam had forgotten they were there. His skin was ashen and his lips were terribly chapped as he breathed through his mouth. He was also holding onto his bucket like it was a life raft. Aiden had only seen someone this ill a few times when one of the other orphans had gotten a particularly bad case of the flu. He watched as Glowby floated over and gently bathed Markam in a pale, yellow light. He knew Markam couldn’t see anything, but he seemed to settle just a bit.
“Markam,” Aiden finally whispered, “is there anything we can get you? You should be in bed…”
“No,” Markam said gruffly, shaking his head violently. “No, it won’t help. Only getting off this damnable ship will help.” He finally opened his eyes and looked at them. Bloodshot and dry, it did nothing to help Aiden’s opinion of him even with Glowby trying to help. “Aiden, I understand you are making your special arms and armor for some of the crew.”
Aiden nodded slowly, frowning. “I am. But you’re not thinking of…”
“I will be by Gavin’s side if we are attacked.” Markam snapped, slamming one of his hands down on the table. “I have to be. I…” Markam stopped, then dry heaved into the bucket from his exertion. Nothing came up, and both Aiden and Ashrak winced at the terrible, rattling sound. After a few more moments passed, Markam willed himself to stop and then opened his eyes once again
, exhaustion blaring out of them. “I have to be. Can you make some for me?”
“You should, Aiden,” Ashrak said, putting his hands on Aiden’s arm. “It won’t stop him if you don’t, and he’ll just be easy pickings if we get into a battle on the deck. Best give him every chance we can.”
Aiden nodded slowly, still not liking the idea of Markam being anywhere but near his bucket. “Okay, I can use one of your shirts from the room? I can get it for you. Your sword, too?”
Markam only nodded, clearly not trusting himself to answer before waving them off. They quickly moved off to another table with Aiden casting worried glances back at the troubled Vacter. Glowby stayed near the sick youth and Aiden was thankful for any help. Ashrak quickly dug into his stew, clearly not bothered at all but Aiden was having a difficult time pushing his spoon in.
“He’s just going to get himself killed, Ashrak. Why should I help him kill himself? Can’t the Captain or the Duke order him to stay in his cabin? That’s where I want to be. I don’t think he can even lift a sword much less swing one.”
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 47
