Legacy of Death_Revenge

by Thomas J. L. Green

  “Were my speeches also this dull an uninspiring?” Zerae asked Astril as Allicia was having her speech.

  “Nah. They were great… most of the time,” Asril smiled warmly.

  You are such a bad liar, Astril. I do appreciate it though. Being told the truth is one of the most overvalued things in the world. People keep saying they want to be told the truth. They are lying. They want to be told what they want to hear, just like everyone else. They just like to delude themselves that the lies they hear is the truth.

  “Zerae… they are saying we are launching an ambush on the sea. How exactly are they hiding there? Because last time I checked, you can see really far on the sea,” Astril asked Zerae.

  “I’m not the War Leader anymore, you will need to ask someone else,” Zerae refused.

  “Excuse me, War Leader, but how do we hide on the sea? Since we do an ambush I suppose we will be hiding,” Astril raised her hand and shouted.

  “We will be diving so only our heads are above water. That will keep us hidden,” Allicia answered.

  “Have you tried that on the sea? In the ponds it’s easy, but sea has waves that keep hitting you. I tried it yesterday; it’s kind of exhausting to move like that,” Astril tossed up.

  This is why I run all my plans by Astril, Leena, Sonja and two randomly picked warriors. There is always a ton of bullshit details that a single mind shall miss. Details that just might prove lethal.

  “We are warriors, we can handle a little discomfort,” Allicia refused.

  “What’s the plan B? I mean, if we get caught, we will not have where to hide,” Astril continued.

  “We will dive and escape underwater. Our mounts are faster than their ships,” Allicia countered.

  “After we are exhausted from being mostly submerged? Can we get ten minutes to change? I feel like I need a swimsuit rather than my armor for this,” Astril evaluated.

  “You want to go into a battle in a swim suit?” Allicia exclaimed.

  “What battle? We are going swimming, there will be fighting only if all goes right, at which point I will rather be fresh and naked than armored but exhausted,” Astril evaluated as she turned to go change. Half of the warriors turned as well.

  “I haven’t said you could leave!” Allicia shouted.

  “It’s just ten minutes. It will be fine. Come on girls, let’s go,” Astril stepped out. Most of the warriors looked like they wanted to follow, but a glance at Mathilde convinced them otherwise. Nobody followed her.

  “What the fuck, Zerae? Are you seriously undermining me like this from my first mission? You are not the war leader anymore, get over it!” Allicia spat at Zerae as she walked to her.

  “Astril has a mind of her own, I didn’t make her do anything,” Zerae refused.

  “Lies! You are just vengeful about being rightfully demoted. Stop it!” Allicia didn’t let up.

  “It’s the War Leader’s role to handle the warriors, not mine,” Zerae smiled.

  “Fucking hateful bitch!” Allicia barked and whirled to return to her post. “Seriously, just let it go. You had never been cut for this, devil’s bastard, just let others do what you couldn’t,” Melania, Allicia’s best friend told her over the shoulder.

  Devil’s bastard. I hoped I would never be called like this again. It hurts every bit as much as it always did.

  Astril and the warriors returned half an hour later. Astril wore a swim suit, over which she had the basic harness that held sheaths of her swords.

  “You really should have changed as well,” Astril told Zerae as she returned.

  “I have a different role to play, one that requires me to look the part,” Zerae revealed.

  “Got any mission for me?”

  “Help others survive,” Zerae ordered her.

  “Got it.”

  21

  Luna

  “Alright, ladies, listen up!” sergeant Red thundered and the unit fell silent.

  “Is he a bit tense?” Bull whispered to Luna.

  “How the fuck would I know?” Luna made an awkward face.

  “Dunno, we can’t tell so I figured you just fucking might,” Rod pitched in. Luna just shook her head.

  “We are heading out. Now. Since we pulled the best straw, we go first. That means we don’t stop at the first ship. We don’t stop at the second, third or fourth ship. We fucking row forward to the furthest ship. This is a SILENT mission. SILENT! No laughing, no shouting, no cheering, no swearing, no roaring, no explosions, no loud spells and again… NO LAUGHING! We take over the ship and dig in. SILENTLY! Got it?”

  “SIR, YES, SIR!” the unit answered like a single man.

  “SILENTLY! Remember, SILENTLY!” sergeant Red repeated.

  “I’m starting to get the feeling our unit isn’t the best at silent missions,” Luna looked at Bull.

  “We excel at them. Anyone who tells you otherwise is straight up lying,” Bull smirked.

  “Haaa… the best straw is the shortest one, isn’t it?” Luna realized.

  “Fuck yes,” Rod nodded.

  They got on the rowing boat, this time they used all the rows.

  “Save your strength, you will need it later!” sergeant Red ordered as they started moving.

  Bull and Rod instantly turned serious.

  “What the hell happened?” Luna asked.

  “Last time sergeant said that we spent eighteen fucking days holed up in a fucking sewer. There are no sewers here, but still,” Rod answered in a dead serious voice. They didn’t see much due to the fog so they just kept rowing. They were fast and silent. Mostly silent. After some time, they were passing what looked like a shape of a boat. It was much smaller and lighter than Angry Judith. Then again, Angry Judith was a four-story galleon with over five hundred men on board. Rumor had it that the ship’s original name was Judith, by admiral’s wife. One divorce later, it was renamed to Angry Judith. Luna was sure these rumors were unfounded.

  Ugghh… this stench. Rotten meat and demons.

  “Can’t see shit,” Luna evaluated.

  “How do we even navigate?” she added. It was night, they had no light and the fog was more than thick.

  “Beats me. Rod?” Bull asked.

  “The currents. He’s got a hand in the water to feel it; we sail by it. I just hope he knows how many fucking ships there are,” Rod revealed.

  “Why?”

  “To not miss the fun,” Rod smirked.

  “And I thought I was bloodthirsty,” Luna chuckled.

  “We meant looting, but whatever floats your boat,” Bull smiled.

  “Might loot yourself a sweet new dildo,” Rod added, “the current fucker will soon get fucking broken from how much you fuck yourself with it.”

  Luna turned red and hit him in the shoulder. I guess I’m not as silent as I thought I was. This is really, really awkward.

  “BWHAHAHAHA!” the soldiers burst out laughing.

  “SHUT THE FUCK UP!” sergeant thundered. Everyone stared at him for ten seconds of amazed silence.

  “BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA,” exploded the whole boat.

  “ROW FASTER, DAMMIT!” sergeant shouted.

  “SIR, YES, SIR!” the soldiers answered while shifting it up a gear.

  DING! DONG! DING! DONG! DING! DONG!

  Behind them sounded an alarm from the first boat. It quickly disappeared into the fog. The alarm bell soon sounded from their side and front as well.

  “Sounds like six fucking ships,” Rod remarked.

  “We just passed the fourth one, almost there,” Bull added.

  I saw just two. Orientation on the sea is way harder than I thought. Then again, I am on a boat with seventy-nine soldiers who know how it works around here.

  “SHIELDS UP!” sergeant commanded. All soldiers who weren’t rowing raised their shields. Luna did too. Apparently, one couldn’t really be a soldier without having a shield. Luna hated the huge pavise as it was clumsy, which didn’t fit her style at all. But there was no space for compromises. Soo
n enough arrows started hitting their shields.

  “Think they got slings or ballistae?” Luna asked.

  “They do, but anti-ship ones. They can’t aim them low enough to hit fucks like us,” Rod smirked.

  “You know an awful lot about these guys,” Luna realized.

  “It’s the Storm fucking pirates. I sailed with them fuckers for quite a few years, so I fucking know their ships,” Rod revealed.

  “I really don’t know anything,” Luna sighed.

  “It’s not a flaw to be young,” Bull smiled at her.

  Why… thank you.

  “OIL!” sergeant shouted.

  Four soldiers moved shields aside and pointed a hand upwards. Each shot out a bolt of fire, lighting up a pot of oil the pirates were readying. Luna turned to Bull, raising her eyebrows.

  “Fire bros,” Bull said as if it explained anything.

  Right… army. We have so many people that there is someone for everything. No… there are at least ten people for everything.

  “HOOKS!” sergeant ordered. Six soldiers threw hooks to latch onto the ship.

  “Sergeant! Permission to engage?” Luna asked.

  “Granted, give them hell, Nigh’,” sergeant confirmed.

  Luna leaped off the rowing boat to sink her claws into the ship. The wood was soft.

  This thing’s old. It doesn’t feel right… why would they put precious cargo on a ship as ancient as this? Meh, whatever. There are others to figure this out. I’m here to eat.

  Luna clawed her way up the ship. She saw a shooting hole in the side. Luna slid through it and introduced the men standing by the ballista to her claws.

  Uggghh… these guys look so disgusting I just lost my appetite.

  The other men started shouting. Luna plowed through them with boring ease.

  These guys are pathetic. This is really fishy.

  Luna dashed through the ship. Everything she met died a horrible death by her claws.

  Lepers, old men, cripples… there isn’t a single soldier-caliber person on this ship. This really fucking stinks.

  Luna went to check the cargo of the ship.

  Old rotten fish… there is nothing of value on this ship.

  This is a trap!

  22

  Zerae

  “Booring… booooring… booooooooriiiiiiiiing,” Astril exclaimed. They had been waiting in the water for hours. Submerged to the point of only their heads peeking out.

  “I know right,” Zerae agreed.

  Astril was right. Staying motionless in the sea is seriously exhausting. I feel like I could sleep for a week and we haven’t even really started

  DING! DONG! DING! DONG! DING! DONG! echoed from a distance.

  “The alarm bell! Head out!” Allicia ordered. They kicked the sea drakes to move. It was refreshing to finally get out of the water. The water made Zerae’s coat heavy, too heavy.

  I really wish I could not have taken it; I might pass out of exhaustion before I even make it where I need. Anyway. I can’t see almost anything due to the fog. The front ship caught on fire, but it was doused rather quickly. The shouting and screaming were also silenced quickly. Whoever is taking the ships is spending only a few minutes with each of them. That’s almost comparable to our warriors.

  Why has it gone so quiet? We were hiding about ten minutes away from the ships. It’s not even been five and everything is silent already.

  “ATTACK!” Allicia commanded and the warriors roared a battle cry.

  Attack who? Zerae kicked the sea drake to make it slide up the ship. It was littered with corpses. Corpses and nothing else.

  Where are they? The blood is still flowing; it’s been mere minutes since these men were killed. Where are they?

  “CLEAR!” sounded from the ship they reached first.

  “CLEAR!” Zerae shouted. Where are they? There tons of tracks around, marks of hooks being caught to the railings. Where are they?

  “CLEAR!” sounded from two more ships.

  They are not here! Where did they disappear to? How? We are a few minutes away; there is no way they could make it far enough to not be seen. The fog isn’t that thick. Where are they? We saw underwater, so not there.

  “CLEAR!” echoed from the fifth ship.

  Is something wrong? Something has to be missing… Sound! Sound of sea is distorted.

  “Nirie! Send a full powered blast east! NOW!” Zerae commanded one of the Faye warriors.

  “You don’t give orders around anymore, Zerae!” Allicia shouted at her angrily.

  “JUST DO IT!” Zerae ignored her.

  Nirie focused her magic on sending a large blast of force east. It exploded with a boom. It was as if it hit an invisible wall of glass. The wall shattered. Beyond it were dozens of rowing boats frantically rowing away. A burst of magic exploded through the air. The fog disappeared. Beyond the rowing boats was the entire Palai fleet. It was positioned to fire.

  “DIVE AND RUN!” Zerae shouted.

  “DON’T LISTEN TO HER! I AM IN CHARGE!” Allicia shouted.

  “LOOK UP, IDIOT!” Zerae snapped and kicked her sea drake to move down. Allicia looked up. It looked like the sky was falling. Hundreds of burning projectiles were descending upon them. With a corner of her eye, Zerae caught the second salvo being fired from the Palai fleet.

  “RUN!” Astril shouted and followed Zerae. The projectiles soon landed. They crashed the ships, sunk into the water and battered all they touched. Ten seconds later they exploded. The explosion shattered Zerae’s drake and threw her into the sea.

  Plan B! Zerae bit her tongue to not fall unconscious. She clenched forced all her body to swim. Swim forward, swim toward the Palai fleet. She swam under water so other Faye don’t see her. It was tearing her apart. The second set of explosions behind her almost broke her soul. It threw her around like a ragdoll. Zerae swam up to catch a breath, then submerged again.

  What’s the point if everyone dies here? But I can’t help them by going back. I can’t help them in any other way than swimming forward.

  Her entire body was on fire. Every single muscle, every single fiber of her body was in pain. She ignored it and swam forward.

  Fuck! I wish I weren’t so fucking useless. Fuck! I hate this fucking curse that doesn’t let me use my magic. It’s not that I couldn’t teleport to the enemy ships. It’s that I can’t put the fucking mark to aim it because I need to touch the place beforehand. Fuck! Meanwhile, my sisters are dying. Fuck! FUCK! FUCK!

  23

  Luna

  “ROW! ROW! ROW!” sergeant Red kept shouting. They all did. Behind them was the apocalypse, in front of them their fleet. It wasn’t hard to figure out which direction they all want to go.

  “ROW! ROW! ROW! The last boat to the ship pays the round! ROW! ROW! ROW!”

  “Bull, remember the fucking rowing tournament we never fucking attend?” Rod tossed up.

  “Think we should have?” Bull asked back with a smirk.

  “Oh, hell fucking no,” Rod laughed. Luna was forced to laugh as well.

  “ROW! ROW! ROW!”

  “Did you guys know we were the bait?” Luna asked.

  “Nah. It’s the nice part of being in an army. You don’t bother with the general strategy. There are others for that. Just keep going until it’s won and you go home,” Bull smiled.

  Luna wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On one hand, it was bad to be the bait without as much as knowing about it. On the other hand, it made things a lot easier. Almost too easy, actually. Luna just did what she was told, went with the flow and things happen. Things like baiting an army of Faye warriors riding sea drakes. Things like escaping behind an illusory wall while the enemies got obliterated by the bombardment of their ships. She knew it would sound really cool when she will be telling it as a story. Much cooler than it was to be a part of it. She always thought it’s the other way around.

  “ROW! ROW! ROW!”

  “Guys… don’t tell me we are recovering the siege balls from
the sea tomorrow,” Luna asked as it popped into her mind when the sound of explosions stopped.

  “Depends. If the sea is more than sixty feet deep, then no. Otherwise, well, we’re gonna do a lot of swimming tomorrow,” Bull described Luna’s fear.

  “COMMANDER ON DECK!” thundered the sergeant. Beatrice Hellwind, the commander of the 14th legion, appeared on their boat out of nowhere.

  “At ease. Nigh’, take off your armor. You are going swimming. I will explain as you do,” the commander ordered Luna in a no-bullshit tone.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  24

  Zerae

  How far are those fucking ships? I’ve been swimming for what feels like an eternity and they are still so… so far away.

  Zerae was losing strength. Fast. She was tired from the waiting on the sea drake, shaken from the explosions and now the last bits of her strength were leaving her.

  I can’t give up! My sisters are drowning behind me. I can’t stop. Even Astril might… no. I can’t give up!

  Her clothes felt so, so heavy. Her ears were ringing, her head lightly spinning. The bombardment stopped. That sunk her hopes.

  Were three salvoes all it took to kill us? To kill five hundred of our finest warriors? No. They are alive. They must be!

  Zerae noticed something swimming underwater toward her. Really, really fast. Zerae focused, but her vision was getting blurry.

  Is that a woman? How does a human swim this fast? She’s faster than a fish! I am too tired to fight even if we were on land. Underwater, I don’t think I will manage as much as drawing the blade.