by Sam Ferguson
Kelden nodded.
Sorbiy turned around and waved his arms. “Garret, you come with me, the rest of you back to Admiral Crillion, now!” he bellowed. The men all scrambled off the ship instantly. Sorbiy and Garret, a large man with an axe in one hand and a cutlass in the other, came toward Kelden. “You need at least two men to row a longboat effectively. We’re coming with you.”
Kelden nodded and he and the dwarves clambered over the railing and into the longboat. Sorbiy jumped into the front of the longboat and nodded to Garret. “Cut us loose.”
Garret moved to the rear of the longboat and he and Sorbiy simultaneously cut the ropes attached to the pulleys that held the longboat in place. The boat fell the ten feet to splash into the water, but amazingly, it held together. Then Garret swung out over the railing and dropped himself down to the longboat.
Sorbiy and Garret rowed the boat out to the next ship. It took some work to steady the longboat against the rocking ship. Garret hoisted Sorbiy over his head and Sorbiy slowly stuck his head up over the railing as he pulled himself up. He clambered over the side and a moment later a rope descended down to the others. Sorbiy fastened the rope to the railing and then turned to defend the position while the others climbed up onto the ship. The five of them tipped the balance of the battle on this ship and soon it was clear of enemy sailors. There was little time to celebrate, however, for one of the Zinferth ships creaked and groaned as its hull split and the ship sank into the depths. Men wailed and screamed as they were flung into the sea below.
“What a horrible way to die,” Pinhead said.
“Don’t worry,” Garret replied. “Zinferth sailors have sea salt running through their veins. They can swim until help arrives.”
“I’m not the best with flags, but it looks like help isn’t coming for us,” Redbeard said. He pointed his bloody axe out to the north. The men all stopped to see a group of more than twenty ships sailing for their position.
“They’ll be here soon,” Sorbiy said.
“So will the squall,” Garret groused. He turned Sorbiy to look east. “The gods are not in our favor today.”
Kelden looked and saw the purple and black clouds rushing toward them. “Well then, let’s move on to the next ship.”
Sorbiy shook his head. “Even if we manage to save the others, none of our ships are in condition to sail.”
Another two sailors joined them as they made their way back down to the longboat. This time, they kept the rope and attached a grappling hook onto the end so they could board more quickly. They rowed out to a pair of ships entangled in a bitter battle. As they neared them, a small schooner came around from the other side and a crew of ten men lined up with bows.
“Get down!” Kelden yelled. Arrows riddled the longboat, but none of them were struck. “We have to move faster!”
Garret dropped over the opposite side of the longboat and disappeared under the blue waters. Kelden moved to go after him, but Sorbiy stopped him.
“He’ll be alright,” Sorbiy said with a wink. “Let’s make for the starboard side of the ship, boys. Let the schooner turn to come after us.
Kelden and the others put everything they had into rowing. A volley of arrows sailed out from the Zinferth ship they had just left, raining death down upon the schooner’s crew. A few moments later, Garret appeared from the depths and climbed up the rear of the schooner. Kelden stopped rowing and watched with mouth agape as the large man used a pair of knives to cut down three men in the blink of an eye. He then cranked the wheel so that the schooner turned away, aiming directly for an enemy ship. Other sailors rushed up to stop him, but he made quick work of all of them. At one point he picked up a slain enemy and used the body to shield-rush the final two sailors. Once they had fallen, he descended on them with his knives. After it was finished and the schooner was set on collision course, he leapt from the schooner and swam for the longboat.
“Slow down,” Kelden told the others.
“No,” Sorbiy corrected. “He would take it as an insult. Keep rowing, he’ll catch up.” They brought the longboat alongside the next ship and made their way up. The fighting was intense, but it was all on the main deck. Only a couple of wounded Zinferth sailors, and a trio of archers, stood on the quarterdeck. The archers moved to help Kelden and the others onto the ship.
“We could use more than seven,” one of them said.
“Have you ever seen a dwarf fight?” Kelden quipped. Redbeard and Pinhead leapt down the stairs and joined in the fray without hesitation. They hacked and bashed their way through as Kelden and the others followed. Kelden soon lost sight of them as another enemy ship approached close enough for a wave of Shausmatian sailors to board the Zinferthian ship.
Cries and shouts filled the air, nearly drowning out the approaching thunder. Kelden and Sorbiy were swallowed by a score of Shausmatian sailors. They parried and countered, dropping each man foolish enough to come within reach, but for every one they slew, two more took his place. They fought for hours, till their arms and legs burned with fatigue. The sheer numbers of enemy sailors still surrounding them confirmed that the other ships had joined in the battle. As if their circumstances were not bleak enough, rain poured down upon them from the heavy clouds.
A great wind rushed through, snapping the mast and dropping it down like a great oak. Men scurried out of the way, but not all escaped its crushing weight. Others were trapped under the thick sails. Lightning flashed down, striking the ship and setting it ablaze. The flames rose up quickly, despite the rain, devouring the ship and creating thick, black smoke that blinded the men aboard.
A pair of hands grabbed Kelden’s shoulder. “We have to go,” Sorbiy said.
“Not without Pinhead and Redbeard,” Kelden shouted back.
“There’s no time,” Sorbiy said as he tugged Kelden toward the side.
Kelden ripped himself free and charged back into the fray. He ducked his head low under the smoke, ignoring Sorbiy’s warnings. Something massive collided into the side of the ship, pitching it onto its side. Kelden tumbled down the deck, bouncing off corpses and ultimately landing in the water next to the floating center mast. The weight of his chainmail dragged him down quickly. Kelden let go of his sword and used his arms to pull himself out of the heavy armor. His shirt went along with the chainmail, but there was no time to prevent that without being dragged deeper into the water. Kelden then kicked off his boots and furiously swam up toward the surface. He scrambled to cling onto the floating mast like a wet cat. Others did the same. He called out for the dwarves.
“Here, Kelden!” Redbeard shouted out. Kelden looked up and saw the two dwarves dangling from the starboard rail, which now towered over him in the air. The flames on the deck spread while at the same time water began to find its way into the ship. The bow slowly rose up from the surface. The ship groaned in protest until it finally split apart. The bow fell crashing down to the water. Flaming boards and bits of rope showered the area around Kelden. The heavier half of the ship rolled over and threatened to crush him into oblivion.
Kelden dove and swam toward the ship, aiming for the small space between the two halves and trying to stay deep enough to avoid the planks and bits of wreckage that pierced the water around him. Orange flames sizzled and hissed as the sea enveloped the wreck. A heavy chain fell and snatched Kelden’s ankle, dragging him down. The light from the dying fires was just enough to aid him as he turned to untangle his ankle from the iron links. As soon as he was free he shot straight towards the surface. His lungs burned and the need for oxygen nearly caused him to open his mouth despite his clenched jaw.
He broke the surface and gasped in a breath of hot, fetid air rank with smoke and blood. He couldn’t see anything. Steam and smoke rose from the surface as rain and clouds rolled in from above. It was all he could do to keep his head above the water as he hacked and coughed. A few moments later, a pair of massive hands grabbed him and hauled him up over the side of a longboat. He schlopped onto the boat and looke
d up to see Garret and Sorbiy towering over him.
“Grab an oar, we need to clear out of here,” Sorbiy said.
Kelden turned over and pushed up to sit on a bench and grabbed an oar.
“Row!” Sorbiy shouted out to the others. They all dug the oars into the water and propelled the boat through the sea. Sorbiy tapped Garret’s shoulder and the two moved to the other side of the longboat. “Grab him!” Sorbiy shouted.
Kelden glanced over to see a very wet mat of black hair plastered onto Redbeard’s face. The dwarf coughed and sputtered, spewing sea water from his throat.
“Pinhead!” Redbeard shouted through a mouthful of water. “Where’s Pinhead?” Redbeard wiped the hair from his face and shoved the others out of his way. “He’s down there, you have to grab him.”
Garret leapt over the side without a word and disappeared into the depths. Oars hung stationary over the surface, dripping water. No one moved. Their gazes all fixated on the widening ripples where Garret had entered the water. The man was gone for what seemed like an eternity. When he finally came up, everyone let out a sigh of relief when they saw a stout body held up for Sorbiy to grab.
Redbeard jumped up and slapped his brother in the face. “Pinhead, can you hear me?”
Pinhead didn’t move.
The longboat pitched to the side as Garrett pulled himself into the boat. The big man reached out with one bear-like paw and pulled Redbeard out of his way. He flipped Pinhead onto his back and moved his head in close, tilting his ear down to Pinhead’s mouth.
“Don’t just sit there, row you blasted curs!” Sorbiy hollered.
The others set to the oars, propelling the longboat out from the middle of the battle. Kelden didn’t row. He let the oar slip from his fingers and he stumbled over to watch as Garret pressed his hands on Pinhead’s chest and pushed. The little dwarf jolted and a bit of water gushed out. Garret pushed again and again. Redbeard stepped forward, but Sorbiy held him back.
“Give him space,” Sorbiy said. “He knows what he is doing.”
The large man continued to work fervently, but the dwarf showed no response. Pinhead lay still and his skin lost its color. Soon, Garret sat back on his haunches and shook his head. “It’s no use,” he whispered. “He swallowed too much water.” He turned and placed a hand on Redbeard’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. There is nothing more to be done for him.”
Redbeard started shouting unintelligibly and he balled up his fist and decked the large human square in the jaw. Garret took the blow and shook his head. Redbeard lunged in, punching and kicking Garret in the chest. Garret made no move to block him, he let the dwarf work out his fury until the sopping wet, black-haired dwarf fell on his brother’s body, sobbing and wailing.
“Garret is the best there is,” Sorbiy told Kelden. “If anyone could have revived the dwarf, it would be him.” Kelden nodded and watched helplessly. “Go back to your seat and help the others row,” Sorbiy said softly.
Redbeard shoved Garrett aside and yelled something in Peish, the language of the dwarves. He raised his fist high into the air and came down hard on Pinhead’s chest. The dwarf convulsed and then made a gurgling sound as a rush of water erupted from his throat and splashed across Redbeard’s face.
“Do that again!” Garrett ordered.
Redbeard punched his brother in the same spot. More water came flooding out.
Pinhead opened his eyes and rolled to his side, vomiting up copious amounts of sea water and gasping for air.
“Pinhead! Can you hear me?” Redbeard shouted.
Pinhead nodded and turned slowly to look up at Redbeard. “I don’t much like the sea,” he said.
Everyone shared a quick, light hearted laugh of relief as Redbeard scolded his brother saying, “Well, ya ain’t supposed to drink it ya dumb oaf!”
Kelden moved back and set himself to the oar. The cover of the rain and smoke helped them row out from the middle of the battle. All around them ships collided together. The Zinferth vessels broke apart with great force, sending wood and men out into the water as the deafening thunder above masked the screams and shouts of the battle. Arrows flew in all directions, but none of the ships seemed concerned with the longboat that Kelden and the others were using.
A flash of lightning struck the sea water, illuminating the massive waves driven in by the winds. The longboat rose up over the crest of a giant wave and then crashed down into the trough between waves, throwing all on the boat to the floor between the benches.
“We need to make for the coast,” someone shouted.
“The winds might help drive us there, but we’ll have to put our backs into it!” Sorbiy shouted. “Oars in!”
CHAPTER 11
It was late afternoon when Queen Dalynn heard the alarm bells ringing throughout her city. She went to the window in the tower she was in and looked out, spotting the ships as she looked out over the sea. She looked down to see her soldiers rushing to get into place. A moment later, a porter burst into the room.
“We are under attack!”
Queen Dalynn turned and waved him away. “The officers know what to do,” she said.
The man bowed respectfully and rushed from the small chamber.
Within a few minutes she could hear the shouts of the catapult crews as they began firing once the enemy ships came into range. Thunderous booms erupted as the stones struck their targets, exploding the wood and kicking sailors up into the air. Five of the enemy ships now had large holes, crippling them and halving their speed. The other ships sailed past and toward the docks, but Dalynn smiled with confidence. Even if the ships reached the docks, she had a surprise waiting for them. She had had her men set ten large wooden barrels on each of the thirteen docks, and each wooden barrel was large enough to conceal one soldier, armed with a deadly crossbow. The enemy would not be ready for such a surprise.
More booms erupted as the second volley of stones was loosed from the catapults, hitting three more of the enemy ships. This time, each of the struck vessels broke into pieces and sank into the sea. Queen Dalynn smiled, but it was tempered by her knowledge that her men would not be able to fire a third volley. Even from her tower she spotted the long, solid missiles fired from the ships. Two of the great catapults were struck directly and crumpled to the ground in a pile of rubble and dust. She could hear the shouts and orders of her men as they scrambled for cover to shield them from the large missiles of the enemy ballistae. A minute later a large cloud of arrows rained down on the remaining catapult crews, killing nearly all of them. The soldiers on the wall stood ready, far out of range of the invading armada’s arrows. They watched carefully, waiting for the right moment to give the signal to their hiding counterparts.
The Shausmatian ships pulled into the docks and men jumped over the railing and down to the wooden docks. They rushed on, ignoring the many barrels nearby, ready to crush their foe. A bugle sounded from the wall and all of the hidden crossbowmen opened their barrels and fired into the opposing forces. Queen Dalynn heard the call of “charge” from her soldiers. Thousands of Zinferth men rushed down to the docks to join their struggling comrades.
Cries rang out as soldiers fell left and right. The queen turned her head to avoid watching the utter carnage that had started, but she could still hear the clamor. She had seen just enough to know that the barrel strategy had worked extremely well. Each crossbowman was able to fire twice, and some of them managed to fire three times before having to abandon the crossbow and engage their enemy with the sword. It had devastated the morale of the enemy. Some of them had refused to leave their ships, and some were too surprised to react quickly enough to escape death.
She could hear the thunderous hooves of her knights riding fast and hard to join the fight. Dalynn raised her eyes and surveyed the docks and warehouse district below, searching for Sir Alexander’s banner. She saw him, along with his knights, tearing into the southern flank and trampling over the Shausmatians with ease. She breathed easy when she saw the enemy soldiers
turn and flee from before him. The invaders had not even made it more than twenty yards into the warehouse district before being turned back. Dalynn’s soldiers fought fervently to protect their beloved homeland, and with the knights entering the battle it was beginning to look like an easy victory.
The scene of blood continued for the space of an hour, and then the Shausmatian troops were defeated. The invading army had been utterly destroyed, although not without heavy losses on the Zinferth side. Nearly an hour passed before the queen received the official report. Of her ten thousand valiant warriors, four thousand were slain, another fifteen hundred were wounded, and forty seven were unaccounted four. Of the enemy they had taken thirteen prisoners. During the battle, most of the enemy ships were damaged and would require heavy repairs in order to use, but the soldiers were able to salvage three of the larger ships and bring them safely into the docks. The damaged ships were unloaded of their provisions and any usable equipment that could be found. Then, the bodies of all of the dead were put onto the damaged ships and set adrift with a steady wind at their backs, driving them to the south. A flurry of flaming arrows were then shot at the departing vessels to ensure they would not crash onto the shore nearby. It was not the funeral service Queen Dalynn would have normally arranged for her fallen warriors, but it saved a tremendous amount of time that would have otherwise been spent trying to dig graves for thousands of bodies.
Victory had been a blessing that day, yet she felt sorrowful instead of joyous.
Karmt looked at her with sober eyes and spoke softly. “The ships came in from the north,” he said. “If that is the case, then it is almost certain that Admiral Crillion has been defeated at sea.”
Queen Dalynn’s head hung low as she let the parchment slip from her hand and fall to the floor. It seemed as if her heart fell with that parchment, for she understood that if the enemy had made it to her city by sea, then Kelden was dead and lying at the bottom of the sea, and her letter for Governor Pixier along with him. “So it would seem,” she replied.
