“That sounds fine. My zombies should be able to match the pace you set once I have a better feel for the ships they have to crew. I may also bring in a few more zombies to pull the ships.”
“Pull the ships?” Travers growled at a soldier who seemed more interested in flirting with one of the healers who had come aboard than in working. “What do you mean?”
“The island we’ll be stopping at is often frequented by whalers. If I can procure some corpses, we can use zombie whales to pull our ships. It should increase our speed, and the magic involved is subtle enough to avoid detection until we are much closer to our destination.” It was one of the main advantages of necromancy: it was difficult to detect from long range unless there were a lot of zombies involved or the zombies involved were extremely powerful.
Travers nodded crisply. “Very well. If we can increase our speed without increasing our odds of being detected, we should do it.”
“All right then.” Timmy saluted the captain. “Excuse me, but I want to speak with some of the other officers too. I like to know who I’m working with.”
“Fair enough.” The captain waited until Timmy lowered his hand and then tugged him into a handshake. His grip was like iron. “They all know who you and the others are. They won’t give you any problems. They’re good men and women – trustworthy and reliable – but they’ve not worked with your like before. I imagine they’ll warm up once they see how handy your zombies can be and once they realise that you have no interest in turning us into zombies.”
“They definitely don’t have to worry about being turned into zombies,” Timmy said. “I’ve got enough zombies as it is.”
Five hours later, they had left the harbour far behind and were making good time across the open sea. Timmy had picked out a nice spot on the deck to enjoy the sea breeze. Oh, he’d help out – there wasn’t room on the ship for people who wouldn’t help – but he’d enjoy this for a little bit longer first.
One of the only downsides of living in a nigh-impregnable fortress atop a huge outcrop of rock was that the winds he usually encountered were more like tearing gales than breezes, and they didn’t come with the fresh smell of the ocean either. To make better use of his time on deck, he read through the book he’d acquired. As he’d suspected from some comments that Amanda had made, there was some suggestion that the cult responsible for the original shrine leading into the chasms below Black Tower Castle had been a variant – possibly even a successor – of a cult that had once flourished in the Eternal Empire more than a thousand years ago before being wiped out in a series of purges after they’d nearly brought about the end of the world.
Timmy generally wasn’t in favour of purging people, but trying to bring about the end of the world hadn’t really given the authorities much of a choice. It was also exceedingly stupid. What was the point of ending the world? It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty decent. A better plan would have been for the cult to use all of its power to claim a nice patch of territory to rule. It was what his predecessors had done with Black Tower Castle, and Timmy was more than happy with the results.
He wasn’t the only one enjoying his time at sea.
“This takes me back.” Old Man was up in the rigging. The sailors had been wary of him at first. They were experienced warriors and mages, but not all of them had seen through his feigned frailty. Once he had demonstrated that he was willing and more than able to pitch in, they’d accepted him readily. Indeed, Old Man was more limber and agile than almost any of them as he scampered up the rigging. “I remember doing this when I was a boy. Our ships were different, of course, but many of the tasks were similar.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Timmy shouted as Old Man followed one of the sailors who was showing him how to handle the rigging. “Were you a sailor before?”
“Amongst other things, and in another life.” Old Man didn’t shout his reply. Instead, he murmured it almost too softly for Timmy to hear. In fact, if Timmy hadn’t been able to read lips, he might have missed it entirely. “But you know what they say. A rolling stone gathers no moss, and I am a stone that has been rolling for quite some time. Perhaps I will tell you more another day. But for now, I am simply enjoying the chance to do something I used to take great pride in.”
Timmy smiled. It was nice to see Old Man so lively, and he’d even left his bonsai tree next to Timmy to make sure it didn’t come to harm. “Don’t push yourself too hard. We’ll need you when the fighting starts.”
Amanda was below decks, sleeping the day away. Timmy was surprised that it had taken her so long to fall back into this particular vampiric habit. Sure, she was an ancient vampire, so sunlight wouldn’t kill her, but it was simply far more convenient for her to be out and about during the night. Having Amanda more active at night also meant they wouldn’t have to worry about anything happening in the dead of night when sentries were at their most tired. However, not everyone was pleased. Amanda had proven to be quite popular amongst the crew for her charm, poise, and wit. Timmy wondered how much of her behaviour was genuine and how much of it was an act. She seemed to find her effect on people inordinately amusing.
That left Katie, Gerald, Avraniel, and Spot.
Gerald had taken to sailing about as well as he’d taken to flying, which was a kind way of saying that he hadn’t taken to it at all. The poor fellow had been horribly seasick almost from the start, and the only thing keeping him on his feet was the potion he’d chugged down not long after they’d cast off. Hopefully, he had enough to get him through the rest of the trip. It helped that he had something to occupy his mind. Gerald had discovered that the captain’s paperwork was not in order, which simply could not be allowed. In a stunning display of strength and bravery, Gerald had dragged Travers off to get the paperwork done properly. The burly captain had been utterly taken aback, but he wasn’t about to turn down a free chance to have someone help him with his paperwork, especially when that someone was a Council bureaucrat. Gerald had set a swift pace as he slogged through the paperwork. He also kept a bucket close by in case his seasickness got the better of him.
Avraniel and Katie were at the bow of the ship arguing about… something. It didn’t surprise him. His apprentice and the elf both had strong opinions, and neither of them liked to lose. The only surprise was that Avraniel hadn’t threatened to set Katie on fire yet. Clearly, they were getting along better than before. From the sound of it, they were arguing about the best way to kill a hydra without ruining the corpse. Katie advocated the use of a specially brewed, hydra-specific poison whereas Avraniel’s suggestion was to burn it, but not too much.
And then there was Spot. The dragon was still little by draconic standards, but he’d grown to almost five feet long. He’d picked the sunniest spot on the deck to nap in. He snored quietly, and his black scales gleamed in the sun. Every now and then, his wings would stir before he settled them into a more comfortable position. The sailors had started off by giving him a wide berth, but their curiosity had eventually gotten the better of them. None of them had ever gotten the chance to see a dragon up close before without worrying about being eaten, so Spot fascinated them. A few particularly brave men and women had even volunteered to give Spot a good scratch on the back when he’d been awake earlier.
All in all, it was quite peaceful, and Timmy was glad for a bit of peace and quiet. Once the fighting started, things would get very nasty very quickly. Until then, they should try to relax and gather their strength. Naturally, things couldn’t stay peaceful forever. A day after leaving Chesterton, a little after lunch, a cry rang out from the crow’s nest.
“Pirates!” someone bellowed from the crow’s nest. “We’ve got pirates off the port bow!”
“Pirates?” Travers threw his head back and laughed. A distinctly toothy smile crossed his lips as he and Timmy made their way up to the quarterdeck to take command of the situation. “They couldn’t have picked a worse ship to attack.” He raised his voice. “How long until they ge
t here?”
“If we hold to our present speed and course, another half an hour, captain!” There was a pause, most likely so whoever was up there could cast a scrying spell. “They’ve got a big ship, captain. It looks like a dreadnought.”
“A dreadnought? That is big, but we should be able to handle it.” Travers nodded to himself. “All right!” he shouted, his voice booming across the ship. “Sound the call to arms. I want all soldiers and mages in their assigned positions. They have a dreadnought, so I want all of you to be ready to fire from long range. They might have a bigger ship than us, but there’s no way they’ve got a better crew. The rest of you, get ready. If we end up needing to do any healing or repairs, I don’t want there to be any delay. Remember, we belong to the greatest navy in the world. We’re going to give these pirate bastards hell!”
“Does this happen often?” Timmy asked as cheers rang out, and the crew moved into their positions. “We’re not even two days from Everton.”
“It’s been unruly for a couple of years now.” Travers’s expression sobered. “There have been lean times along many coasts, so they turn to piracy. The route we’re taking isn’t one of the busier ones, so they must have jumped at the chance to attack us. After all, we’ve got a galleon and two smaller vessels, and we’re using magic to conceal our full strength. A fully-crewed dreadnought would have no problems with those odds under normal circumstances.” He glanced over to where Avraniel and Spot were both napping in the sun. “Do you think you could wake those two up? We shouldn’t need her help, but I don’t think she’d be pleased to wake up in the middle of a fight.”
“Can’t someone else do it?” Timmy grumbled. “Is there someone you don’t like on board? We could order them to do it.”
Travers laughed and slapped him over the back. “Someone else could do it, but I doubt that she’d let them live.”
“Fair enough.” Timmy crept over to Avraniel. Gingerly, he poked her with the blunt side of his shovel – and found himself scrambling back as she leapt to her feet, flame and daggers at the ready. Spot was right behind her, his teeth bared and black fire kindling in his jaws.
“Hey!” Timmy waved his shovel around. “Relax. It’s me.”
“You better have a good reason for poking me with your shovel, idiot. We’re in the middle of the ocean. I’m tempted to throw you in.”
“Pirates,” Timmy replied. “Over there. I don’t think you’ll have to fight but –”
“Pirates!” Avraniel rushed over to the side of the deck. “Where?”
Timmy bit back a smile. Of course, she’d be happy to hear about pirates. She was probably bored out of her mind already. A good fight would certainly cheer her up, and Spot had a hungry look about him. They might have to let him jump overboard, so he could get something to eat. He was big enough now that he should be able to kill anything he ran into, and fish might be a nice change from the cattle that Gerald had stored away with his magic. Besides, Spot wasn’t averse to sharing what he caught when he was reasonably full, and Timmy could really go for some fresh tuna right now. Having Spot share what he caught should also help the crew warm up to him.
The elf turned away from the railing. “Are you sure those are pirates, idiot?”
‘What do you mean?” Timmy moved to stand beside her. Where was Gerald? He could use a spyglass about now. “Does anyone have a spyglass?” Timmy shouted. A nearby sailor handed him one. Even with the spyglass, Timmy could only make out the general size and shape of the pirate ship. “Can you really see them from this far away?”
“I’m an elf. Of course, I can see them.” Avraniel scowled. “But I’m telling you, they don’t look like pirates. Yeah, they’ve got a damn pirate flag up, but their dreadnought looks like it’s seen better days, and there are children on deck, at least a dozen of them. Since when do pirates have children on deck?”
Timmy’s brows furrowed. Avraniel didn’t go all out against children. She had even taken it easy on Katie when they’d first attacked her. He bit his lip and poured more of his magic into the runes and seals on the spyglass to try to get a better look at the pirate ship. The spyglass thrummed in his hand, on the verge of breaking, but he finally got a good look at the pirate ship. Avraniel was right. There were children on board, and they didn’t look like slaves either. In fact, while the adults on board looked a bit on the thin side, the children looked much better fed, which didn’t make any sense. What kind of pirate crew would feed the children before the adults who did all of the fighting? “This doesn’t make sense…” He pursed his lips. “Come with me,” he said to Avraniel. “We need to speak to the captain.”
They made their way back up to the quarterdeck.
“They’ll be within range of some of our mages soon,” Travers said. “We can sink them from a distance without worrying about being boarded. I don’t think they have anyone who can match the mages we have.”
“Wait,” Timmy said. “We spotted children on board. They look well fed, but the pirates don’t. The dreadnought isn’t in the greatest of shape either. There might be something else going on here. Why don’t we have a chat with them before we sink them?”
“Are you joking? They’re pirates.”
“Yes,” Timmy replied. “And their dreadnought is clearly from the Eternal Empire. If they’re deserters or if they’ve stolen a ship from the imperial navy, then they might be able to tell us more about what the Eternal Empire’s navy is up to. If we could interrogate them…”
“We might learn something useful. Yes, it’s possible that they’ve come from the direction we’re going in.” Travers took the spyglass from Timmy and peered at the pirate ship. “You’re right. Their ship has definitely seen better days, and those pirates are a scruffy bunch although the kids are well fed.” He drummed his fingers on the side of the spyglass. “Sinking a ship with so many children on it isn’t why I joined the navy. We can try talking to them, but I will sink them if I think we’re at risk.”
“Fine,” Timmy said. “If you think we’re in danger, do what you have to do. But let’s talk to them first.”
“Agreed.” Travers raised his voice to address the rest of the crew. “Listen up! Do not attack. I repeat: do not attack. Defensive magic only! Defensive magic only! We are going to parley with these pirates, see if we can’t learn anything useful.” There were a few cries of disagreement, but Travers silenced them with a hard glare. “Don’t worry. If they want to pick a fight, we’ll give them a fight and then some, but they might know a thing or two that we can use, understand? Even pirates can be useful.”
Timmy was familiar with the basic principles of piracy. It was something his master had indulged in during his younger days, and he’d often talked fondly of it once he was well into his cups. It was hardly a surprise to Timmy that his master had enjoyed murder, looting, and general wickedness – he’d indulged in all three as a necromancer. Timmy had also spent his fair share of time around pirates. They were some of the best sources of exotic marine corpses, and most pirates were happy to hand over whatever strange, dead animal they’d come across in exchange for some gold. Pirates were also great at smuggling certain… illegal books and artefacts past customs.
What did surprise Timmy was how close these pirates were to Everton. They must have been desperate. He raised the spyglass back to his eye. Now that the pirates were closer, he could get an even better look at them. They didn’t have any magic going other than the most basic of concealment magic, so the view the spyglass offered was barely hampered at all. In contrast, Timmy knew that the pirates would be struggling to get a good look at the galleon and its two escorts. He could feel the magic thrumming in and around the galleon to conceal it from prying eyes and protect it from incoming attacks.
The dreadnought was perhaps twice the length of the galleon, but it wasn’t in anything close to perfect condition. The magical armour that lined the hulls of most ships that size was badly cracked in many places and completely missing in others. The sails wer
e a bit tattered too, and even the ropes were beginning to fray. This ship hadn’t had a proper chance to resupply and repair in months, maybe even years. Of particular interest to him was the dreadnought’s armament. Most dreadnoughts relied on a combination of standard projectile weapons – catapults, ballistae, and archers – and magic. The majority of a ship’s mages and magical weaponry were usually housed in the lower decks, so they could fire from the relative safety offered by the portholes in the side of the ship. However, based on the number of people on deck and the number of portholes that appeared to be manned, the dreadnought didn’t have even half of its usual armament.
Timmy shifted the spyglass to a child who had managed to creep back onto the deck. She was a girl about Katie’s age, and she clung tightly to the waist of a man who appeared to be the captain of the vessel. Yes, there was definitely something strange going on here. But before he could find out what it was, they’d have to go through the usual routine: the pirates would fire a warning shot, their ships would ignore it, and things would go from there. The pirates would most likely try to flee once they realised how badly outmatched they were, but they wouldn’t get far unless Travers let them. The galleon had several mages who specialised in attacking across distances that were impossible for conventional weaponry and most other mages.
“Mages ready!” Travers roared. “And brace for impact! They’re firing a warning shot!”
The warning shot came from a magical cannon on the deck of the dreadnought. Timmy recognised the design. It was an old one that the Eternal Empire had recently begun to phase out. It mimicked the effects of fire magic by drawing off the magic of the person manning the cannon and converting it using an intricate array of runes and seals. The blast hit the water about ten yards from the bow of the galleon. It sent up a plume of steam and water. When the galleon made no move to stop, the pirates fired a second shot and then a third. Finally, the galleon stopped.
Two Necromancers, a Dragon, and a Vampire (The Unconventional Heroes Series Book 3) Page 33
