by Jeff Kish
Voices soon sound out from the main deck above. The stowaways hide behind some crates just in case anyone decides to come down to the hold. After a short time, the ship begins its movement out to sea. The rocking of the boat in concert with the flickering lanterns creates an ideal situation for slumber to overtake each stowaway. Lying silently in the dark hold, each finds it impossible to resist drifting off to sleep.
After a time, a flurry of footsteps from the deck above startles Era from his slumber. As he groggily rubs his eyes, the commotion above continues, enough so that Jem and Di also stir.
“Are we here?” Di quietly asks with a yawn.
“It’s only been two hours,” Era says with a glance to his pocket watch. “That’s far too early, right?”
Jem stretches and asks, “Would the waves be this strong in a port? It feels like we’re still out in open water to me. Maybe there’s a storm rolling in?”
The comment doesn’t sit well with Era. “I’ll go check.”
“I’m coming too,” Jem predictably adds.
Era creeps to the stairs and glances up. Though he can only see up to the next deck, it sounds like the entire crew might be on the top level. He crawls up with Jem in tow, hoping to keep the creaks to a minimum, and he’s again grateful for the ship’s natural groaning. It disguises their movements well.
He sticks his head up just enough to scan the area. The second level is also poorly lit, but sunlight streams in from the stairs leading to the main deck. The movement above sounds frantic. Voices are shouting out as sailors scurry about. He signals to Jem and makes his move, swiftly escaping the hatchway and moving into a nearby room while Jem darts into a room across the hall. He moves to the porthole and looks out, finding nothing but the open sea. There is no storm coming from this side of the ship.
As he turns to leave, the sound of footsteps running down the stairs echoes all around. Era runs to one side of the doorway and presses against the wall, but they fortunately head in the opposite direction.
The stowaway peeks out the door to find Jem doing the same from her entryway across the hall. He glances toward the stairs, but, with the sailors moving about, a dash to safety would be risky. Jem catches his eye and signals him to wait, and he acknowledges the sign. They remain quietly hidden while the crew seems to frantically move about between the decks. Era can tell they’re anxious about something, and he continues to wonder what it could be.
A sailor calls out to one of his buddies, and Di’s shriek cries out amidst the sound of a scuffle. Era glances out the doorway in alarm as sailors stream down the stairs. Jem fake-punches the wall next to her and shoots Era a dirty look, as if it were his fault.
“Stowaway, eh?” one calls out as the sailors drag her up the stairs to the upper deck. “Search the hold! Search the rooms!”
Era scrambles for a hiding spot. The room is filled with vats of supplies, and he dives behind one too late as a sailor runs in. “Found another one!” he calls as he jumps at Era, snagging his feet as more sailors rush in.
“Here too! An Allerian!” The cry causes an uproar among the men as they drag Jem and Era up the stairs. The sailors form a path to the quarterdeck, and the two are thrown down next to Di as the men knock on the captain’s cabin door.
Jem wastes no time in grabbing the collar of Di’s blouse. “Di! What in the world was that!?”
“I-I’m sorry! I was worried about you and came looking!”
The door swings open, revealing a woman wearing a long blue overcoat with normal sailor’s garb beneath it, and she has a captain’s hat covering her long, dark hair. In similar fashion to Fire, her hair bears a dark highlighting.
Towering over the trio, she glares at them with blue, penetrating eyes. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Stowaways, ma’am!”
“I can see that. I mean how the blazes did you allow stowaways on my ship!?” she shouts, her face turning crimson as she glares at Jem in disgust. “And an Allerian? There’s an Allerian on my ship!?” She turns to her second-in-command and screams, “GIARVA, why is there an ALLERIAN on my SHIP!?”
Jem smirks, but the gesture is short-lived as a sailor grabs her neck from behind and shoves her face into the deck. Era lashes out to aid her, but two sailors jump on him. They hold his arms and force him to stay on his knees.
The captain grabs Era by the chin. “Is this it, or are there more of you?”
Era meets her gaze defiantly, but Jem laughs from her position next to him. “There are twenty more of us down there! Your crew must be incompetent to let so many onboard.”
The captain steps on Jem’s head and presses her forehead back against the deck. Era struggles against his captives, but he can’t escape their grasp.
“So are the three of you spies?”
“Spies? On a cargo ship?” Era asks in disbelief. “Why would we be spying on a cargo ship?”
“Then what’s an Allerian doing here?”
“W-What’s that got to do with anything? We were just trying to get to Canterin!” Era pleads, not knowing what else to say. “We stowed away because we couldn’t afford transport. That’s the truth!”
“Canterin?” the captain repeats in confusion. “What made you think we were going to Canterin?”
Era looks around, locating the crates tied down against the main mast. “W-Well… the obelite. We thought that since you were carrying obelite-”
The captain crouches to get in his face. “You three have no idea what you’ve gotten yourselves-”
“Captain!” the scout in the crow’s nest calls down. “Ship off starboard!”
The captain excitedly rushes to the ship’s edge. “It’s early! Could it already be him?”
“Hard to say, captain,” she replies. “But it matches the description as best I can tell from here.”
“Stay on course!” she orders as the crew starts murmuring. “And stay focused, men! Prepare yourselves!”
A crewman arrives with the handcuffs. “Could only find two, ma’am.”
“Well then?” she huffs in annoyance. “Put them on and get them to the brig! We’ll deal with them later.”
“Yes ma’am!” He turns and clamps one set on Era’s wrists with the help of those holding his arms, and he turns to the other two with the remaining set. Placing one shackle on Jem’s right wrist, he stretches it out and clamps the other end onto Di’s left.
“Now get them out of here!” the captain barks as she watches the incoming ship. The crewmen force Era, Jem, and Di to their feet and begin carting them off toward the stairs.
“Captain! They’ve raised the black flag!” The entire crew rushes to the starboard side to get a glance, dragging the three captives along with them.
“Time to make it look good,” the captain calls to her helmsman. “Pull hard away!” Turning back to the rest of the crew, she shouts, “Hoist the mainsail! They’ll outrun us, so we don’t need to hold anything back! Secondary crew to the below!”
Cast aside amidst the distraction, the three stowaways watch as the abnormally large crew goes to work, and half the sailors retreat down the stairs. Given a window of opportunity, the three slide toward the crates tied to the middle of the ship, ducking in among them and hoping to stay hidden.
As the pirate ship continues to gain ground, the crew becomes visibly anxious. Jem watches them carefully from her vantage point, trying to gauge what might be transpiring. Whatever the case, it seems this crew wants to get caught by someone in particular.
“Okay, enough!” the captain calls out, trembling with anticipation. “Lower the mainsail! Hoist the surrender flag! Everyone, be ready!”
It doesn’t take long for the approaching craft to pull up alongside the surrendering cargo ship, its pirate crew cheering and jeering, their swords raised. Their tanned skin and facial features makes it evident the crew consists entirely of Allerians. The group grows quiet as a burly pirate steps to the forefront of the crowd. His head wrapped in a bandanna, he wears a white
shirt with a dark vest and dark brown knickers. He grips the sword sheathed at his side while raising his other hand in the air. “Step away from the port side!”
The cargo crew obediently backs away as the pirates lower thick boarding planks between the rails of the two ships, using small hooks and latches to secure them. The planks lock the vessels together, making it impossible for the cargo ship to hoist its sail and escape. The surrendering crewmen place their hands in the air as a large group of pirates crosses over with swords drawn.
The pirate leader follows his subordinates to the other side, a pleased grin planted on his face. His men hold back the crew with their blades drawn while he examines the crates in the middle of the deck. “Obelite! Ah, what a great find this is.” His voice is husky, and the guttural Allerian accent is thick on his tongue.
As he looks over the crates, he spots Jem, Di, and Era hidden among them. Surprised, he beckons them to come out. “Is that a fellow Allerian I see? Excellent! I was beginning to think the obelite was the only treasure.”
A pirate forces the three to come out from their hiding place, and the captain takes notice of the bindings. “Wait, are you captives on this vessel? Captives on a cargo ship?” He calls out, “Where is the captain?”
“I’m right here, Captain Turk!” Now standing tall at the edge of the quarterdeck, she crows, “It’s so good to finally meet you. My name is Captain Marin.”
Perplexed yet entertained, Turk raises his hand in respect. “Well met, Captain! I see my reputation has preceded me in these waters.”
Her fists clenched tightly, Marin glares down at the invader. “You’re a scourge on this sea, Captain! You’ve raided countless vessels and escaped the Valvoran navy for over a year. You deserve a slow and painful death!” Turk looks proud of her analysis, but Marin draws her sword and points at him. “Captain Turk, your time has come! I hereby order your execution at the hands of the Valvoran Navy! ATTACK!”
Raising a loud cheer, the crew draws weapons and engages the bewildered pirates in battle. Blindsided by the assault, Turk calls to the rest of his crew on his own ship, and they cross over to assist. He bellows to his nearby crewmen, who are trying in vain to contain the soldiers on the starboard side. “Men, MOVE!” The pirates all dive back as Turk raises his hands and extends his palms, producing a massive rush of water from his hand. The large torrent rages forth, colliding with the mass of soldiers and sweeping them over the edge of the ship.
The pirates let out a cheer at the sight of half their opponents getting tossed over the rail, but their cheers wane as they realize that most, if not all, of the soldiers start grabbing the water and shaping it, working together to create makeshift ropes to pull their companions back up.
Not giving up, Turk unleashes another barrage of water, but this time the naval sailors are ready and meet the water with open palms of their own, immediately shaping the water into a large barrier. Turk stops his attack, realizing he’s simply providing ammunition to these shapers.
Turk glances up at Marin, who has a devilish grin on her face. “These are the best water shapers in the navy! Your power is useless against this crew!” Cupping her hands to her mouth, she barks, “ENGAGE!” At her order, the rest of the crew emerges from below deck, raising a cheer as they meet the pirates in combat. The sailors behind the wall of water shape weapons from the mass before releasing the rest of it to the deck.
Her trap sprung, Marin leaps from the quarterdeck and lands in the thinning pool of water. Reaching her hand into it, she shapes the liquid into a whip and cracks it before striking at Turk, who barely manages to deflect the shot. Marin whips again, this time enwrapping Turk’s sword and tugging as the two face off.
Once again hidden amidst the crates, the stowaways find themselves flabbergasted by the situation. Jem looks down at Di in disbelief as the sound of dueling swords rings out all around her. “How do we keep finding ourselves in these absurd situations!?”
“Fire was right about our luck,” Di laments.
Era tugs at his handcuffs, but they hold tight despite being well-rusted. “Freeze these chains, Jem! Then I should be able to snap them!”
“You’re crazy! Those are made of tempered steel. Ice won’t do anything but frostbite you!”
“Then let’s find Fire and get off this ship!”
“And then what? We’re in the middle of the Lidoran Sea!”
Di looks back and forth between her two guardians. “Can I just say-”
“NO!” the two cry in unison, angry with her for getting them into this mess.
Era looks back at Jem. “Look, we at least need to go get Fire.”
“What good will that do?” Jem asks.
“Would you rather stay here and get skewered?”
“Of course not! But I-”
“Then come on!” Era shouts, grabbing Jem’s free arm as best he can while wearing the cuffs. He pulls her out of their hiding place to find a pair of pirates overwhelmed by three naval sailors. Crouching to stay low, they make a dash for the stairs amidst the chaos. Just as they get close, someone gets kicked toward Era, who can do little to brace himself as he gets tackled.
“Era!” Jem runs up to her partner, dragging Di alongside her as she crouches to pull the unconscious officer off her partner. As she works, someone backs into her, and he spins and brings his sword to Jem’s neck. She finds Captain Turk, still engaged with the naval captain, looking down on her in surprise. Without warning, he grabs her arm and pulls her along as he dashes back to his ship. Handcuffed to Jem, Di shrieks and stumbles along, barely managing to stay on her feet.
“Get back here!” Marin cries out as she gives chase, but her path is cut off by a skirmish.
“Hey! What’s the big idea!?” Jem screams while struggling in vain against the burly pirate, trying to free herself from his grasp as he hoists her onto one of the planks between ships. He prods the two girls forward until a pirate on the other side grabs them and pulls them to the ship.
“JEM!” Era cries as he shoves the downed sailor off him and gets to his feet, only to be tossed aside by two combatants engaged in a furious spar. He hits the deck and covers his head, hoping he doesn’t find himself on the wrong end of a misaimed swipe.
Turning back to survey the scene, Turk recognizes the hopelessness of the situation. “RETREAT! All men pull back!”
“Don’t let them escape!” Marin screams as she continues to attack the pirates still on her vessel. Overwhelmed, the pirates frantically rush back to the boarding planks, but the naval sailors give chase.
Era jumps up again, only to find Jem and Di on the pirate ship. Though he first moves to chase after them, both armies are now flooding the boarding planks, and he has no choice but to back off. He seizes the opportunity to sneak away by dropping to the deck and rolling over to the stairs. He gives one final glance to his friends on the other vessel before slinking down into the stairwell, desperate to meet up with his remaining ally.
Knowing he can’t save everyone, Turk orders his crew to dump the boards. The pirates unhook the planks from the near side, allowing the platforms and several sailors to plummet to the water below. Freed from the other ship, the pirate vessel lurches forward.
Aggravated by the turn of events, Marin screams at her crew. “Hoist the mainsail! We’re not letting them get away!”
The pirate ship catches the breeze and begins cruising away, but the naval craft is in hot pursuit. Turk looks back at his former target, grimacing at how many of his men were left behind. His fists clenched, he barks, “Lower the mainsail! Engage the propulsion rune!”
As the pirates lower their primary sail, one crewman runs up to a console located behind the helm. He pulls a lever, which is tied to a rope that leads down to the aft of the ship. The rope pulls taut, and a clapper at the end connects with a large rune embedded into the hull below the water’s edge. The moment the clapper connects, the rune fires a massive volley of water, propelling the ship forward at high velocity. Everyone cl
ings to the rails to avoid flying off the ship.
Marin watches the pirate vessel accelerate with help from the rune, a smile curling at her lips. “He thinks he’s getting away. Activate the rune!”
A sailor runs to a similar console embedded near the helm and pulls a lever, but instead of producing a large gush of water, the rune below does nothing. He repeatedly pulls the lever to no avail.
Marin yanks him aside and tugs at the lever herself. She looks down along the aft of the ship, finding the rune had come loose in the raid. She slams the rail and screams, “WHO SECURED THE RUNE!?”
The crew stands silent as the pirate vessel accelerates away until, reluctantly, a crewman raises his hand. Marin’s water whip snatches his wrist in an instant, and she flings him over the edge of the ship with a yelp. As the crew members scramble to toss him a rope, she asks her second-in-command, “We can fix it, right?”
“Y-Y-Yes ma’am!” Giarva yelps with a salute. “But replacing it while at sea is dangerous and will take time.”
“Get it DONE.” The lieutenant dashes away, shouting orders as he gathers crewmen to help him install the new rune. Pointing out over the deck, she barks, “Clean up the deck! Throw all dead pirates overboard! Throw the rest in the brig!”
Marin turns and glares at the pirate ship, keeping her voice low as she mutters to herself, “Run while you can, Turk. I’m coming for you.”
* * *
The pirate vessel slows to a stop as the helmsman disengages the rune. The ship is painfully quiet as the injured pirates nurse their wounds, while others mourn the loss of their comrades. Turk walks halfway up the quarterdeck’s stairs and turns to face his diminished crew, silently noting which members are missing. “We lost good men today, but the rest of us were able to escape with our lives. And for that, we owe those left behind a moment of silence.”
The pirate captain removes his red bandanna, revealing a shaved scalp as he bows his head and closes his eyes. After a brief moment, he ties the bandanna and says to the helmsman, “They may try to follow, and we’ve no idea what their ship is capable of. Hoist the mainsail and make haste for Allerian waters.”
