Tales of the Wolf: Book 02 - Enter the Wolf

by A. E. McCullough

  One of the first things he explained was calling the Eagle a boat was a no-no. Evidently, there is a difference between a ship and a boat. Holmaan best described it as a boat can fit on a ship but a ship cannot fit on a boat.

  There were a lot of nautical terms that the sailors used that he quickly had to get use to; for example, stairs are known as ladders onboard a ship, doors are called hatches, walls are bulkheads and the floors are decks.

  But perhaps the most peculiar terms were the use of port and starboard instead of left and right. Hawkeye found out that these were relative terms. Port was the left and starboard was the right side of the ship but only if you were facing the bow. Holmaan was standing at the rudder of the Eagle as he continued his lesson on the differences and history of port and starboard.

  “Now listen here ye landlubber, a ship at sea can have an emergency at any time and it’s vital that everything onboard to be clearly identified. Left and right could lead to confusion, where port and starboard are perfectly clear to a seafarer.”

  Adjusting the ship’s course ever so slightly by tapping the rudder controls, Holmaan continued. “Boats developed from simple canoes. When the paddler steering a canoe is right handed, and the most of us are right-handed, he or she naturally steers over the right-hand side of the boat. As canoes developed into larger vessels, the steering paddle grew larger and developed into a broad-bladed oar which was held vertically in the water and permanently fixed to the side of the boat by a flexible lashing or later on attached to a swivel. Most of the original ships all featured this side-hung rudder and it was always on the right hand side of the ship.”

  Adjusting the controls of the ship slightly to port, Holmaan continued. “This rudder was further developed into the more familiar apparatus fixed to the sternpost like here on the Eagle but starboard remains to describe anything to the right of a ship’s centerline when viewed from aft.”

  Holmaan shifted his position a bit but always kept his eyes forward, looking off in the blackness of the underground sea. “Now, port was adopted to mean our loading side. Since the early designs of the side rudder would be vulnerable to damage if we went alongside a quay with that side, early ships had to be loaded with the opposite side against the quay. That was our side facing the port, hence port-side.”

  Holmaan glanced over at the perplexed barbarian and asked, “Are you getting all this landlubber?”

  Hawkeye nodded. “I understand what you are saying and why. It even helps to know where the terms come from; it is all just so strange to me.”

  Holmaan took a bite from a block of black tobacco and rolled the compressed leaf around in his mouth for a moment. “Aye….I remember. I wasn’t always a sailor you know. I was a blacksmith before.”

  Hawkeye cocked his head to the side and shifted his position. Since he was much taller than the dwarf, he was sitting cross-legged with his back to the railing. “Before what?”

  “I once lived and worked in Darkmoor but my lifemate died. So, I left that life behind and became a wanderer until one day I was captured by some slavers and forced to work in the mines.”

  “How did you end up here?”

  “Captain Forlorn bought me and started me on the oars for my first year.” Holmaan tapped his foot on the deck twice to draw Hawkeye’s attention downward. “That was twenty years ago.”

  Hawkeye’s jaw dropped. “You mean to tell me that you’re a slave?” His voice rose. “That all the rowers belowdeck are slaves?”

  Holmaan held up one hand. “But it’s not like it sounds. Yes, I was a slave but I was a slave to some very unpleasant hobgoblins before the captain bought me. She let me work off my freedom and it only took two years. Those were great years. Yes, I rowed when it was my shift but I also ate well and learned basic seamanship. When my debt was repaid, I could’ve left but I stayed on with the captain and worked my way up until now I’m the ship’s quartermaster. Only two places to go from here, first mate and captain. I don’t want either of those spots. I am happy right where I am.”

  Hawkeye furrowed his brow as he thought about that. “Is that the story for the rest of the crew?”

  “Aye, with some variations. The captain has a formula that she uses to figure out how long a bondservent has to work to purchase their freedom. She has never, and I mean never, gone back on her word in the last twenty years.”

  Holmaan nodded toward the minotaur who just came on deck. “Hell, from what I’ve heard Tok would still be working off his purchase price if the captain hadn’t varied the formula and he’s been with us for nigh on five years now.”

  Hawkeye studied the first mate. He was impressive. He was obviously a warrior. Of course saying a minotaur is a warrior is like saying a sparrow is a bird. The massive first mate seemed more like a falcon than a sparrow. Minotaurs are the children of Minos, the god of war. It was obvious in the way he moved; Tok was a warrior-born.

  “Why? What’s his story?”

  “I can’t say I know his whole story, he doesn’t talk much about his past but from what I can tell, he was accused of some terrible crime in his homeland. His best friend was ordered to kill him but refused. In doing so, he signed both of their fates. His friend was exiled and Tok was sentenced to fight in the gladiatorial games until his death.”

  “From what we have learned, he was good…real good. We were at port in Minos one summer five years back. Nothing special about the trip, that was until the captain returned; Tok was with her and we sailed immediately. Of course, we haven’t been back to Minos since.”

  Holmaan took a step to port and stared hard into the distance. Moving back to the helm, he grabbed the lanyard, or rope, that was tied to the ship’s bell and pulled twice, quickly. The bell sounded with two clear rings.

  Hawkeye noticed that the oarsman had shipped oars, or pulled them in. The Ebony Eagle was still moving forward but only coasting at the moment. He was about to say something when Holmaan held up a closed fist. The barbarian slipped on his enchanted goggles and looked in the direction the dwarf was staring. At first he didn’t see anything. Then something slightly warmer than the rest of the water floated into view off their port bow.

  Holmaan blew three notes on a strange looking brass whistle; low, high, low and the crew of the Ebony Eagle leapt into action. Every ablebodied seaman was immediately on deck, some running to the weapons stored on deck, some immediately clambered up the masts, while some ran forward and some aft. Everyone seemed to know where to go and what to do…except Hawkeye. Seconds later, Ronin and Master Pau joined them on the bridge.

  Captain Forlorn scrambled up the ladder to stand beside her quartermaster. As soon as her hands touched the wheel she said, “The captain has the con.”

  Holmaan took a step to starboard and replied. “The captain has the con, aye..aye.”

  She glanced over at her passengers. “Don’t you three have somewhere better to be other than my bridge?”

  Master Pau shook his head. “No captain. At the moment, we are still landlubbers without a duty station. However, if I may be so bold, Ronin and I would be best suited to stay here on the bridge since my obvious limitation,” he pointed to his scarred face and missing eyes, “but I have it on good authority that Hawkeye is an excellent archer.”

  Captain Forlorn’s right eyebrow rose slightly. “Seriously?”

  Hawkeye nodded. “It’s how I gained my name of manhood.”

  She smiled. It was a beautiful thing…but slightly chilling at the same time. It was a smile that kind of reminded you of how a cat looks at the mouse it is playing with right before it kills it. “Grab your bow and get to the crow’s nest.”

  He was about to ask what that meant but Holmaan pointed at the very top of the main-mast and Hawkeye saw a small basket-like structure. Nodding his understanding, he grabbed his gear and climbed up the ratlines, or the rope ladders, which lead up to the top of the masts.

  Tok had moved to the very front of the ship and was actually standing on the pole which stuck out
a few feet past the actual bow. This spar was known as the bowspirit and was used to anchor the forward sails to it when they were employed. The first mate was holding a crossbow and looking over the side. Without taking his eyes off the water, he called back. “Brace for collision.”

  Hawkeye noticed how the two seamen on the shorter mizzen-mast masthead had wrapped a rope several times around one leg. He could only guess that if they fell, it would slow them down or stop them all together. Since their hands were taken up with crossbows, it seemed like a logical precaution, so Hawkeye copied them and readied his horn bow. Now that he was secure and steady, Hawkeye had a better chance to look over the area.

  Since he was at much higher position than before and wearing his enchanted goggles, he could see that there was debris all over the water. Later, he would learn it was properly called flotsam and jetsam. The difference being that flotsam is part of a ship, while jetsam is free floating cargo. There were also bodies floating in the water. He didn’t see any movement but he scanned the area anyway.

  Captain Forlorn rang the bell once. Its clear sound echoed in the deathly silence. The rowers unshipped their oars and began rowing in a slow, steady rhythm.

  Maybe it was the fact that he was high above everyone but it seemed that he could hear everyone’s conversation. If they were on deck, he could hear them. Of course, other than a few curses and prayers from the sailors, the only real conversation was between Tok and Holmaan.

  The dwarven quartermaster had joined the first mate at the bow of the ship and they were studying the wreckage as it floated past. Holmaan said, “It looks similar to the last three.”

  “Aye. But we are much closer to Otrar than any other wreck.” Tok pointed to something in the water that Hawkeye couldn’t actually see. “She only left port a day before us.”

  “Aye, aye. The captain should know about this.”

  Hawkeye saw Tok nod and the dwarf left the minotaur and headed aft. Probably heading to the bridge to tell the captain whatever they had discovered. Out of habit, Hawkeye scanned the horizon and froze. He squinted and stared at the object in the distance. Even after using the enchanted goggles for over a month, he was still a novice at the variations that accompanied darksight. The infravision aspect always seemed to trip him up. In the distance, he could see something. What it was, he had no idea. But considering that it seemed to be moving this way, Hawkeye decided that he needed to alert someone.

  Pointing in the direction, he leaned over the side of the crow’s nest and called out. “Object to starboard! About midship!”

  A sailor named Arnaud scrambled up the rigging until he was high enough to see where the barbarian was pointing and placed a spyglass to his eye. He studied the object for a moment before calling out. “It’s a trireme. I cannot make out its colors but it is bearing down fast.”

  Since the dark elf was only a few feet away Hawkeye asked, “What’s a trireme?”

  Arnaud looked up and smiled. “I forget that you are new to this. You know how the Eagle only has one set of rowers on each side? A trireme has three sets.”

  Hawkeye immediately understood the problem. “Which means they are faster than us and we won’t be able to outrun them if they prove to be unfriendly...correct?”

  Arnaud nodded. “Aye, that’s the problem.”

  Hawkeye glanced back at the bridge, both the captain and the first mate were using their own spyglasses to try and determine the city of origin of the oncoming ship. Holmaan had assumed the helmsman position again.

  Since at the present time all they could do was watch and wait, Hawkeye used this time to ask more questions. “What did you mean about colors?”

  Arnaud pointed overhead and the barbarian looked up. A red banner with two crossed swords and a grinning skull in white flew on the tip of the main-mast.

  “Captain Forlorn is an honest pirate. She always shows her true colors in open waters. But many pirates will fly a different flag, one of a neutral color such as the banner of Avaris or Otrar in hopes that a ship will get close before they show their true colors.”

  “I see. And right now, the oncoming ship isn’t showing any colors. Which I’m guessing isn’t a good sign.”

  Arnaud shook his head. “Nope.”

  Even as they talked, the oncoming ship ran up a large black flag with a white skull and crossed bones, the standard pirate’s flag. However, this flag’s skull wore a crown of five stars. Arnaud cussed. Of course, since it was in his native tongue, Hawkeye didn’t understand a word of it but he recognized the tone.

  “Not good news, I take it?”

  Arnaud shook his head. “No. That’s the flag of the Slaver Galtero. He’s a brute without any loyalties or code. The only thing he worships is gold. He’ll do any job for anyone as long as gold is involved. He’d sell his own mother if it made him enough coin. Anyone he doesn’t kill, he forces into slavery.”

  Arnaud nodded his head toward the approaching ship. “He has about one-hundred and fifty slaves onboard. They are chained to their oars and forced to row at the sting of a whip. The slaves will row until they die or are killed in a raid. Galtero will then just discard the bodies and replace them with newly captured slaves. He is the lowest piece of scum on the Dark Sea.”

  Hawkeye learned a lot from Arnaud’s little rant. Captain Forlorn might be a slaver of sorts but she had a code of conduct. Judging from those of her crew he had talked to, they were extremely loyal to her, which in his mind was a good thing. Loyalty and respect are earned daily by your actions, not given or demanded. This Galtero fellow didn’t seem to have the same reputation. Something clicked in Hawkeye’s mind, something that Arnaud had said.

  “So, that ship has over a hundred and fifty slaves forced to work? How many crew?”

  Arnaud shrugged. “Can’t be more than forty-five or fifty, I would guess. There couldn’t be room onboard for more than two-hundred, I would think.”

  Hawkeye made up his mind and climbed out of the crow’s nest and down the ratlines. Making his way to the bridge, he got the evil eye from some of the sailors; none of the crew ever left their stations or walked onto the bridge without orders. Of course since he wasn’t a member of the crew, he didn’t have to worry about breaking protocols.

  Captain Forlorn and Tok were looking over a map of the Dark Sea. One quick glance at the blot which marked their position and Hawkeye knew he was right. Without waiting or asking permission he said, “We must attack.”

  The beautiful dark elf captain looked up and lanced him with a look of disdain. “And what do you know of naval warfare?”

  “Nothing but I know combat. The choices are simple, run or attack.” He gestured at the chart. “We are in the open sea; his ship is larger and faster than the Eagle. If we run, he’ll just chase us down. Therefore, we must attack.”

  She nodded her head. “What you say is true but you also realize that a trireme’s crew complement is two-hundred men. Even with you three, we only have sixty-three men.”

  Hawkeye shook his head. “That was my first thought also but Arnaud explained that the rowers are slaves and chained to their oars. Therefore, we only have to concern ourselves with the actual crew. If you were to get the ships close enough so we could get onboard, we could overwhelm the crew.”

  Captain Forlorn cocked her head to the side. “You have a point there barbarian.” Looking up at her first mate she asked, “What do you think?”

  Tok’s voice was deep and slow. “I like it.”

  “I just had a nasty thought,” Captain Forlorn said with a grin. She glanced at her helmsman and said, “Holmaan hard to port and increase speed. Nothing that would tire out the rowers but one that will make Galtero think we’re running.”

  “Aye, aye Captain,” came the dwarf’s response. No sooner had the words left his mouth and the Eagle turned away from the larger ship.

  “Now comes the fun part, we need to draw him in closer until it is time to strike. I hope you are right about this barbarian.”

&nbs
p; “So am I captain.”

  “You realize that I could probably just parley with him.”

  “And what would that cost you?”

  She shrugged. “Probably half my crew, you three and Tok.”

  Master Pau calmy remarked, “You don’t keep thieves out of the castle by giving them the silver.”

  She looked up at the blind monk. “What do you mean by that?”

  Hawkeye answered. “You could pay him the tithe but what would stop him from taking it all? If you give in to a tyrant, he will continue to take and take until nothing is left.”

  “There is truth in that,” said Captain Forlorn as she stood up straight. “Now everyone, get to your battle stations. Tok, make sure everyone is armed and knows what to do once we grapple.”

  Hawkeye might’ve imagined it but he thought that the captain looked prouder and happier than before. The question he found himself wondering was it the upcoming battle or the thought of standing up to the slaver? Realizing that her motivation wasn’t truly important, the Highlander just shrugged his shoulders and climbed back into the crow’s nest.

  * * * * *

  The Dark Sea was different than any other body of water on Terreth.

  For starters, it was located several miles underground and there wasn’t any wind. That didn’t mean that the sea was in one huge cavern, it wasn’t. The Dark Sea filled up numerous caverns that were linked together over several hundreds of miles. However, the region that the Ebony Eagle was currently sailing in was one of the larger caverns but had several columns located periodically through the area. Captain Forlorn planned on using them to her advantage. She had kept the ruse of fleeing the larger ship for over an hour.

  The Reaper, as Galtero’s ship was called, had been steadily gaining and had even gotten close enough that they had fired their forward catapults a couple of times but the flaming pitch had harmlessly splashed into the waters astern of them.

  Hawkeye scanned the deck of the Reaper. There were lanterns burning to illuminate the area the sailors had to work in, just like on the deck of the Eagle. He could count at least forty armored soldiers standing near the railing with grappling hooks and lines in hand. They were ready to board the Eagle the moment it came in range. Looking ahead, his enchanted goggles allowed him to see the massive column just off their port bow. Hawkeye guessed that the captain was planning on skimming the edge of the pillar in hopes that the larger ship might run aground.