Angels Blood

by Gerard Bond

  “They saw well over two hundred ships in and around the Port.”

  “Two hundred?!”

  Night couldn’t help but blurt it out, she immediately knew what it meant, so many men, so many troops.

  Prince Alard had been doing some calculations.

  “It means we face a force of well over twenty thousand men and we have not the firepower or the resources to attack such a large presence.”

  Alard’s mind was ticking over, things were serious indeed and he dispatched the cutter immediately to other boats to spread the word to all necessary contacts. Hopefully the military would get mobilized very soon and stop any movement of enemy forces inland, but what could he do out here on the water? The enemy had already landed all their supplies and men. Night spoke up,

  “I will endeavor to contact Wollfen and see if I can get through. He might be able to give us some crucial information, I will return to my quarters and meditate.”

  The Admiral nodded his approval and Night moved off. Loranda decided to stay and discuss things further with Prince Alard.

  “It would seem all that you spoke of is perfectly true and much, much worse. This is no southern incursion for booty or a quick conquest for gaining concessions from the Kingdom as I had been thinking up to now.” Prince Alard addressed Loranda in a very serious tone, “This is a full scale invasion to conquer this nation and they have gotten a foothold of great importance there in Cholandra.”

  Loranda gasped,

  “What can we do?”

  Prince Alard had been thinking about it for a good half hour. The ships he had here could be used to make a quick attack and inflict some temporary damage, but that in turn would expose the fleet to great danger and also tip off the enemy when realistically the Kingdom had nothing prepared. He had thirty ships here at his disposal most of them quite capable of putting up a good fight. But it also meant he would have to sacrifice his two largest ships as they could not move fast enough when it came to withdrawing. They didn’t even have enough supplies on board for a protracted battle having come straight from war games to here. He really hadn’t expected such a huge enemy naval force.

  “I need scouts on the ground. Unfortunately I don’t have any skilled enough to handle the job on land,” Alard looked at Loranda. “Are you and Nightwing capable of handling such an endeavor?”

  “Quite so Milord, we have been doing similar things for years. It would not trouble us much at all.”

  He didn’t doubt it.

  “Well then I will provide some supplies and get you to shore to allow you to go and scout a bit inland of the city itself. Then you can report back to me on what you see, do you accept this mission?”

  As Loranda was nodding Night came rushing in.

  “I have news!”

  Alard and Loranda stopped turning to Night. The admiral signaled to her to speak.

  “I tried to get in contact with Wollfen, but for some reason he is far away. I can sense his presence, but cannot receive any messages from him. He is not in the city anymore. None of the four are, but I did manage to get contact with Keera one of the other three. It turns out they escaped Cholandra and are right now in Port Valderus south of Cholandra. They are evacuating the port to move to another deep water port further south.”

  Alard looked on quizzically.

  “There is no deep water port south of Cholandra.”

  Night spoke again,

  “I get the feeling from the message it is something new. I can also add that a Lord Raz is organizing a resistance, ships and ground troops as we speak but they are short on much. Those are the main points.”

  The Prince pondered this new information. If there was a deep-water port south of Cholandra and it could be defended, then it would prove to be invaluable to the Kingdom. This news changed everything. It didn’t take long at all for him to make his decision.

  Moving from his desk he called his adjutant in and told him to set signals for the fleet. They were now going to sail due east for a half day then run parallel to the coast, out of sight of Port Cholandra and any possible shadowing ships. They were going to Port Valderus to link up with Lord Raz.

  It was a couple of hours later that a message reached Admiral Alard of news, a navy cutter was seen hightailing straight for them and had signaled, ‘Enemy in pursuit, five ships directly astern.’

  “Call for full sail to the fleet, stations at the ready. Direct five frigates down the coastline to stop the enemy ships from hugging the coast once they turn around to retreat. I want to be able to corral them out into deeper water so we can maneuver around them.”

  Alard walked out onto deck and stationed himself near the ship’s helm, he nodded to the first mate who started crying out orders to the crew. It would be another hour or so before they caught sight of the enemy and he would wait before ordering action stations. There was plenty of time for that. Night and Loranda came up onto deck having noticed all the commotion.

  “There is news my Prince?”

  The prince looked to the two women.

  “Yes we have made contact with some enemy ships. Right now they are chasing a fast cutter of ours that had been spying on the enemy forces. There are five Man O Wars. It is imperative we either capture or sink them all. We cannot allow any information getting back of our location or size.”

  “Contact! Bearing Port!” The Admiral turned at the sound from above in the crow’s-nest, he took his telescope and looked far ahead to the horizon being a couple of miles off the coast. The enemy ships were closer to land on the port side. At first he saw only two sails, but after another minute a third appeared, then a fourth and a fifth. They were too late. The five frigates that were traveling down the coastline weren’t far enough ahead to be able to dictate terms to the enemy ships. Knowing the speed of the Man O Wars being only a little slower than his frigates, the Man O Wars would manage to get back and signal long before they could be stopped. He swore under his breath. This had gone sour very quickly, there was nothing for it but to simply give chase and see what happened.

  “Flank speed! Send the signal! Also get a few fast cutters to get around them and harass as best they can, we just might be able to slow them a little.”

  The First mate nodded and barked orders to the signalman who then started waving different flags to the fleet, each ship passing on the orders from one to the other.

  Then a curious thing happened, all five enemy ships turned to their port out towards the deep ocean.

  ‘What is this?’ Alard looking through his telescope kept an eye on them studying their movements. Yes they were definitely turning around a good one hundred and twenty degrees then sailing away out towards the ocean. They had made a grave tactical error.

  Barking orders Alard directed a change of tactics.

  “I want the five frigates to make a beeline for the enemies ship’s current position then to continue directly down the coast until they have drawn past them line astern. Also I want four more frigates to travel out wide to starboard and cut them off before reaching too far out to sea. I want the last three frigates to plot a course for direct contact.”

  Again the first mate nodded with an ‘Aye aye’ and he was barking orders to the signalman.

  Now all they had to do was wait some more, Alard continued to watch the enemy ships through his telescope. Low, long and black they were, built for speed and ability to do light raids. Although they were a bit inferior to the frigates of the fleet in firepower and speed, they carried many more men, about a hundred and in close quarters combat they were very effective. Perfect for coastal raids and capturing supply ships.

  They would take about another hour to close up the gap and Alard spent his time thinking of possibilities to consider during combat. He couldn’t get too involved in plans for once the fighting started who knew what the enemy would do? Already they had surprised him by taking an angled escape to his direct route that allowed him to close, what were they up to? Were they playing a tactic other than just
running? Alard focused on that one point, what would he be thinking if he pulled such a tactic?

  He imagined a flat area and saw from above his ships moving and theirs reacting. Thinking from their position, there had to be something else, could it be? He lifted his telescope again, looking carefully. Yes he saw something, they were slowly changing their position making for deep ocean by a more and more direct route, he was sure of it.

  Looking back at his own fleet he calculated where they needed to be to fulfill the desires of the enemy. Alard surmised that by close to evening a second much larger enemy fleet would appear behind them and cut them off from escape back up the coast.

  These Isogorreans were better than he gave credit, the five Man O Wars were being sacrificed to catch his entire squadron. So what now? Turn tail and run? That would save all his ships and he would have the ability to properly re-arm for full combat mode. Then he could return in a couple of week’s time with a much larger force.

  It would be the prudent thing to do, safe and risk free. It also meant the enemy would be better prepared too. Then there was Lord Raz just south of Port Cholandra, an unknown factor lying there and he had ships too, but how many? How safe was his port? Too many unknowns, it was then he made his fateful decision. He wasn’t turning back, he turned to his first mate next to him and gave new orders,

  “Signal our sister ship we are changing course to the right flank.”

  The first mate interjected,

  “But that will mean we will fall further behind initially.”

  Alard simply responded,

  “It is what I want.”

  The first mate nodded and barked some orders. The ship turned a little to starboard. The Admiral looked across and saw the other ship follow suit.

  It was late that afternoon when contact was finally made, the three frigates had managed to draw to the side of the Man O Wars and fired their first salvo directly into the midst of them. Flaming clay pots arced through the sky and most splashed into the ocean but a couple managed to hit. The first caught the top edge of the bow of the lead ship and exploded in a fiery ball that engulfed the forward deck, men running to the rear. The second pot caught the third enemy ship square at the base of the center mast, the ball of flame shooting up and engulfing their sail. It immediately slowed and came to a stop in the ocean. Men were running about like ants on the deck splashing water on the fire but it was to no avail. The tar mix kept the fire alive and was spreading slowly outwards.

  The other four Man O Wars kept their course leaving their comrade behind as did the attacking frigates. The Man O Wars replied in kind with their own much smaller salvo but all missed save one pot that exploded against the side of one frigate. Men moved forward and dropped buckets of water on the fire as a volley of incoming arrows hit the deck, two men went down.

  Again the frigates fired a full volley and this time they had only four targets, three pots hit home. One pot exploded on the helm of one ship and it careered out of their line. Control was lost and the fire was consuming the guide ropes coming from the ship’s wheel. The helmsman could be seen writhing on the deck covered in flames. The ship wouldn’t be able to do anything before the rest of the fleet caught up. The other two pots both crashed into the first ship already burning at the bow and this time its sail caught fire too. It fell behind just like the others and still the two remaining Man O Wars continued on.

  Tactics dictated they should have all stopped together at this stage as a large fighting unit, but these ships were ignoring all sense. It made it easy for the three frigates to close on the two remaining ships, then a flaming pot from one Man O War managed to catch the deck hatch of one frigate. The oil poured in below decks and a huge gout of flame shot into the sky. Something had caught fire below and the fire spread quickly. The ship pulled away and lifeboats were lowered off the edges, it was obvious she was lost.

  Another volley from the two remaining frigates missed their marks, all pots falling into the ocean, the volleys of arrows they were receiving were putting the deckhands off. Another salvo of pots from the Man O Wars missed too, now the ships jinked and swerved. There was no point in running now.

  Peeling off, each Man O War was attempting to get close enough to a frigate to throw grappling hooks on to pull them close. If they could get a frigate alongside it would be easy for them to pour men over the edge and defeat them with superior numbers. But the frigates wouldn’t have any of it, steering clear and staying at a respectful distance firing clay pots as they went. One clay pot caught on the upper side of a Man O War but the flames didn’t have much effect.

  The other Man O War managed to catch a frigate with a grappling hook. Their crew now pulled hard while others threw more hooks. The frigate’s crew had small axes and were trying to cut them off, but the first four feet from the hooks were chain. More hooks found purchase and as arrows flew back and forth the two boats were pulled together. With a cry, the enemy surged over the railing onto the frigate to meet the waiting blades of its crew. The fight was hard and desperate. Cries of pain and yells of combat filled the air as each side fought for ascendancy.

  During the melee no one had noticed the shadowing five frigates had arrived and one drew to the side of the mostly empty Man O War. Cries of warnings were lost on the ears of their men in the other ship. The fresh Kingdom sailors poured over the deck cutting down what little resistance there was and catching the others from behind. The fighting was bloody but the outcome inevitable. The Isogorreans gave no quarter and asked for none, fighting to the last man.

  The last Man O War wheeling about was now caught between the five remaining frigates and it didn’t take long at all to dispatch her to the bottom. One of the enemy ships that had been left behind actually managed to get under sail again but that only delayed their own demise. The end result was one lost Frigate, the capture of one intact Man O War and a second partially burnt one. It didn’t take long to pick up the men in their rowboats from the lost ship, they were split up and given the two captured boats to bring back to the fleet.

  Prince Alard had been watching from his own ship. He had seen how the frigates had focused on the fleeing ships even as other damaged ones had fallen out of line. He liked that aggressiveness in his leaders and it had paid off well. Three frigates had taken on superior numbers and while at the end others had joined them, they had always been in command of the situation.

  Yes, there were to be citations for all three captains and awards to all the valiant crews too. There would be many stories told tonight and a lot of cheer about their first engagement with the enemy and total victory.

  It was starting to get dark and he turned to the first mate.

  “Tell all ships we continue sailing south at flank speed, scouts out front and this time to the rear as well. Have an invitation sent out to the three captains of the engagement to join me at dinner.”

  The Isogorreans will be surprised to find no Kingdom fleet heading back north on the morn. In fact he was sure they would be very puzzled indeed

  That evening at dinner the three captains, Night and Loranda were sitting with the Admiral drinking wine and toasting the day’s good fortune, the men hadn’t expected female company and were asking questions for much of the time. One even asked about the sword fight the day before. That little incident had spread around the fleet like wildfire and had grown to proportions totally beyond reality.

  “Captain Koberg I would like to congratulate you on a job well done in leading the others in battle.”

  The captain bowed his head to the Admiral who had just spoken.

  “I thank you your highness for giving me the opportunity to prove my worth, it is only through your training that I did so well.” The Admiral smiled.

  “Well said Captain, you have a bright future in politics with that response.”

  The rest of the room laughed. They all went silent and listened.

  Someone had shouted from outside.

  “Contact!”

  Hearin
g this the Admiral and the rest sprang up.

  “To your ships quickly!”

  They all rushed out to the open deck, the captains running to the side and disappearing over the rail.

  A sailor dropped to the deck from above having come from the crow’s-nest, he ran up to the Admiral saluting.

  “There appears to be at least five ships, probably more heading directly at us from the southwest off our starboard bow Admiral.”

  The Admiral thought quickly. The first mate had appeared at his side.

  “They may not know we are here. Have all lights doused. Ready archers, crossbows and Ballista’s. Catapults too but we are not to light the pots until the very last second before the order to fire is given do you understand?”

  The first mate nodded, saluted and was off. They were five hundred yards away and closing fast, there was nothing for it but to run straight into them and maneuver around as best they could. It would be too difficult a task to try and signal in the dark as the moon was hiding behind clouds intermittently and hardly a star could be seen; it was almost pitch black most of the time.

  Archers waited on both sides of the deck for orders. the crossbows had all been put in their pivots. They were loaded and ready. Alard signaled to Jean.

  “Drop pots.” He called out quietly.

  The first mate nodded in understanding and relayed the message to a couple of junior officers who in turn sent some men below, they returned and placed clay oil pots along the starboard deck side. These were different to the catapult ones as they all had a handle on each side. Night and Loranda looked on, not sure what they might do with them. Prince Alard explained.

  “We will be getting close tonight and we will be able to drop those pots alight straight onto their decks, it will make them nice and toasty.” he winked.

  It all happened very quickly. They closed the gap to not much more than a stones throw away. Alard relayed a message to the helmsman that had them lined up to run parallel to the first Man O War that came out of the gloom Then the Admiral yelled,