Accidental Champion Boxed Set

by Jamie Davis

  “Sylvie get below and check on damage. Make sure that cannonball didn’t spring any timbers in the lower hold.”

  “Aye aye, ma’am.”

  While Sylvie headed down below, Cari continued steering them directly toward the coastline ahead of them. She could just make out the smudge on the horizon that announced their arrival at the Imperial mainland.

  Cari looked back over her shoulder. She didn’t think the stern chasers would have the range on them for another shot.

  She was right. They fired, but the two cannonballs fell harmlessly into the sea behind them. A cheer went up from the crew.

  Sylvie came back up on deck from one of the hatchways. She was smiling.

  “What’s so funny?” Cari asked.

  “Captain Wheldon is going to be a little perturbed with you, ma’am. That last cannonball didn’t do any damage to the hull, but it smashed the wine storage on this prize schooner of his. I think there were some very nice vintages stored in there.”

  “Once we get Jaycee to her great-grandmother, I’ll make it up to him. He can have as much wine as he wants.”

  Cari checked behind her one more time.

  The Imperial vessel was coming about, turning in a painfully slow arc. There was no way they were going to be able to catch the Sailfish. They’d made it past with only minimal damage and the schooner still raced on towards the shoreline ahead.

  Quest completed — Dodging cannonballs

  18,000 experience awarded

  Chapter 5

  As they raced away from the naval ship, Cari called out to Sylvie on the main deck. “Come take over the helm. Have the crew in the tops keep a sharp lookout for any other ships. Keep heading towards the shore dead ahead of us. Helen, join me down in the captain’s cabin. We need to look at the charts one more time and figure out where we’re going to put ashore.”

  Sylvie came to the small quarterdeck and took the wheel, continuing their heading towards the distant smudge of the shoreline ahead of them on the horizon. Helen and Cari headed down to the captain’s cabin.

  As Cari unrolled the charts on the table, she scanned the shoreline represented on them. She placed a paperweight at the corners and took a pencil and marked two positions far apart on the shore on one of the charts. “Based on what I can figure, we are going to land somewhere between these two markers. The question is, where?”

  Helen leaned over the table next to her and scanned the shoreline. “There are no villages it appears. But I’ve seen this portion of the shoreline before.” Helen shook her head and stared at the coastline. “I wish we had our old charts from the Vengeance. These aren’t very detailed.”

  “Me too. Still, there’s no sense worrying about stuff we can’t do anything about.” Cari thought for a few seconds and then pointed at the section of the shore Helen indicated. “Isn’t this the area where we landed in that cove to get to the old silver mines?”

  “I think so, but I don’t see the cove marked on the chart.”

  “Hmm, these charts might not be accurate enough to show a small inlet like that one. Captain Wheldon used this schooner mostly around the Cairn Islands. He probably didn’t bother stocking decent charts for anywhere else. It would’ve been too expensive.”

  “So,” Helen asked. “Where do you think the cove is on this chart?”

  “I’m not sure. We’ll probably just have to get to the coastline and then sail along until we find it.”

  “If we do that, it’s going to give those Imperials a chance to catch up with us.”

  Cari shrugged. “I don’t see any other solution. If we can find that cove, it’ll give us a chance to get away from the ship and onto dry land before anyone can organize enough to follow us. Plus, there’s always a chance they might sail past the ship altogether if we are hidden in the cove. That would give the rest of the crew a chance to keep the schooner and sail onward once they’re back on board and the danger has passed.”

  “There’s a slim chance of that happening,” Helen said. “But it’s the best option, I suppose.”

  Quest accepted — Land at the secret cove

  “After sailing around that Man ‘O War and keeping at the wheel for an extended period of time, I’m pretty exhausted. Do you think you can take command while I get some rest?”

  “I was hoping you’d come to your senses. You’re not superhuman, you know.”

  “What, I’m not Supergirl?”

  “You’re super, but you’re not superhuman. Get some rest Cari, we’ll wake you up when we get closer to land. That should give you a couple of hours to sleep at least.”

  Cari nodded. “Thank you. Wake me up as soon as we get close enough to the shoreline to start scouting for that cove.”

  “Will do.”

  Helen left Cari alone in the cabin and Cari walked over and laid down on the captain’s bunk. She didn’t even bother to get undressed. She was so exhausted, she fell asleep immediately.

  Cari awoke with a start as someone poked her shoulder. She looked down at her arm to see Percy standing there.

  “Miss Doolan sends her compliments, ma’am. She told me to tell you we are close enough to the shoreline that we’re ready to start looking for that cove.”

  “Thank you, Mr. McShea. Tell Miss Doolan I’ll be right there.”

  As Percy left, Cari got out of the bunk and walked over to the washstand where she poured some water from the pitcher into the wash basin and splashed some on her face to freshen up. She looked up in the mirror and brushed a stray strand of hair away from her eyes.

  She was still exhausted and looked it, but she had a lot to get done and they had to get away from the pursuing naval ships. That was the first order of business. Hopefully, once she was ashore, she could rest some more.

  By the time Cari got up on deck, the shoreline was close enough that she could make out details on the beach. Most of the coastline was made up of rocky stretches of cliffs and shoals that would not offer a safe place to land, even in their small boat. “Sylvie, turn us to starboard and let’s continue southeast along the coast. By my best reckoning, the cove we’re looking for is in that direction.”

  “Aye, aye, ma’am.”

  Sylvie spun the wheel and the Sailfish came about onto its new heading, paralleling the coastline. Once again Cari wished she had a proper spyglass to scan the shoreline ahead of them. It would’ve made things so much easier. She turned and checked the horizon behind them. There were no signs of any sails. That was good news.

  “Helen make sure that the stores Sylvie stocked in the longboat are still fresh and ready to go. Once we find the cove, we’re not going to have much time to do anything but put ashore.”

  “Will do, Captain.” As Helen went off to her work, Cari continued to scan the shoreline, trying to figure out how long they had until they reached the place they were looking for. She knew the naval vessels were closing in. It was only a matter of time until they reached the shoreline, too.

  All they needed was a little more time.

  It ended up taking the better part of an entire day for them to find the cove leading up to the mine. She recognized it right away as the place where they’d sheltered with the Vengeance while Cari led a party ashore to track down the source of Tandon’s poisoned water supply.

  It all seemed so long ago. Francesca and Helen had been there with her. It was where the bosun had lost her eye. Cari observed as the one-eyed sailor, despite her handicap, deftly handled the ship into the sheltered anchorage of the cove.

  “Well done, Francesca.”

  “Not a problem, ma’am. Actually, it’s kind of nice to be back. Maybe I’ll find my eye,” she said with a grin, tapping her eyepatch.

  “I’m sorry we never managed to get you to a proper healing mage or priest to get that looked at. They might have been able to regenerate your eye and you’d be able to see with both eyes again.”

  “Don’t worry about it, ma’am. I kind of like the way it gives me a fierce look. It also helps to keep
unwanted attention from men away from me. I don’t mind it so much anymore.”

  Cari smiled. Francesca always had a good attitude. “Drop anchor,” Cari called out to the crew. “We’re all putting ashore here.”

  Some of the crew raced about, lowering the anchor into the sandy bottom of the cove’s waters as the Sailfish slowed to a halt. Several others lowered the longboat until it was alongside the schooner. Percy had brought Jaycee up on to deck and even equipped the girl with a small backpack he’d scrounged from the ship’s the stores. The little girl was dressed a lot like Cari. She wore trousers, little knee-high boots, and a white cotton blouse. She had a leather vest cut down to size just for her to wear over the blouse and there was even a small knife shoved in her belt. Cari smiled. The girl had a sort of fierceness about her that she liked. Jaycee smiled up at Cari as she approached.

  “Percy gave me this knife, Cari. He said he thought I was old enough to start taking care of myself a little. What do you think?”

  “I think it suits you, just be careful with it and don’t cut yourself. Are you ready to go ashore? This is the first step toward taking you to your great-grandmother.”

  “I’m ready. It will be nice to be back with her.” The girl paused for a second, looking away beyond the cliffs ahead of them before returning her eyes to Cari. “When I get to great-grandma, you aren’t going to leave me, are you?”

  “I might have to, Jaycee. There will be people looking for me. Don’t worry, though, there will be plenty of people around who will protect you once you reach the Crystal City,” Cari said.

  She hoped she wasn’t lying to the little girl. Dangerous things were waiting for her as well in the Crystal City. She didn’t think it was worth worrying the little girl about it though. They’d cross that bridge when they got to it.

  “Everyone over the side,” Cari called out. “Bring everything you can carry. We’ll make two trips to get everyone to shore along with all the supplies we’ll need.”

  “We are not coming back?” A crewman named David asked.

  “No, we are not. There’s a chance you and Sylvie and the rest of the crew will be able to get back on the Sailfish and get away. But that’s only if the naval vessels sail by without investigating this cove. But, I fear that chance is small.”

  David gave her a grim smile and nodded.

  Cari knew it wasn’t the best of news. They’d all become fugitives the minute they left the Cairn Islands and that wasn’t going to change now that they were ashore. “Don’t worry, I’ve left plenty of supplies to bring out to the shore. There are some cabins up on the cliff overlooking the cove. You’ll be able to find plenty of things to do while you wait. And you’ll have plenty of time to get away inland if the navy stops to investigate this Cove. Either way, you’ll be set.”

  David and the other crewman nodded and went about the tasks of loading the supplies into the little boat.

  Once the first load was down and stowed, Jaycee was carefully helped over the side and down the ladder to the longboat. Helen and Francesca were already down there to help her. Percy followed Jaycee down next. Cari climbed down followed by David and another crewman. The two crewmen settled in at the oars while Cari took the tiller. They rowed towards the sandy beach at the base of the cliff.

  Once they pulled the boat out onto the beach far enough to unload, Cari sent Helen and Francesca up the path that wound up the side of the cliff. “Make sure you check the buildings. I want to be sure no one else is nearby. Once you’ve scouted around, set Francesca to watch from the cliffs for any ships. Then you can come down and help us bring the rest of the stuff up from the beach.”

  “Will do,” Helen replied. She and Francesca started up the winding path. Cari, Percy, and Jaycee sat with the unloaded supplies and weapons while the two crewmen headed back to the Sailfish to unload the rest of the supplies and the remaining crew members.

  It didn’t take that long. Soon the rest of the crew stood beside a small pile of supplies next to the longboat.

  “We’ve got enough stores here to last several months, especially if we are able to do some hunting up there,” Sylvie said.

  “That’s true,” Cari said. “Hopefully you won’t have to wait that long, though. Once the Naval vessels sail by, I’m hoping you all can return it to the Sailfish and take her back to the city. You may be able to make it to Tandon. If you do, I want you to take a message to Duke Korran in the palace there.”

  “Anything you want, ma’am. Even if they do find us in the cove, me and the others can certainly head cross country towards Tandon. I’ll make sure your message gets delivered either way.”

  “Good woman, Sylvie. I knew I could count on you.”

  It wasn’t long before Helen came back down the path. “There’s no sign of anyone in any of the buildings or signs of any of the naval vessels from the cliffs. So far, I think we’ve gotten away.”

  “Good. Let’s get the supplies hauled up to the top of the cliff. We’ll store them in one of the buildings up there. Once we do that, we can figure out what we’re going to do next.”

  Helen nodded and began giving tasks and orders for the crew to start loading up and carrying supplies up to the top of the cliff. Meanwhile, Cari, Percy, and Jaycee started up the winding path towards the top. It was time to see what sort of place the mine had become since she and the others had liberated it from those who sought to poison the city of Tandon. She hoped everything was alright up there.

  A lot can change in six months.

  Quest completed — Land at the secret cove

  15,000 experience awarded

  Chapter 6

  It was a few hours later, as Cari prepared a meal with Francesca over a camp stove, that shouts of alarm drew her attention. It came from off to the side, near the tree line. As she got up to see what it was, she realized it was David and another crewman pointing at the tree line as they rushed back from where they’d been gathering firewood to grab weapons from a pile by one of the cabins.

  “What is it?” Cari asked

  “I think I saw a troll skulking at the edge of the woods, ma’am. I’ve heard there were trolls in these mountains, but I figured they’d been run off years ago.”

  “A troll? Are you sure?”

  “That’s got to be what it was, ma’am. It had to be nearly eight feet tall and was kind of gray and green, with scruffy black hair on his head.”

  Cari nodded. That was, indeed, a troll. The good news was, it was probably a troll belonging to Chrrrak’s tribe. She made friends with the troll chieftain on her last visit here. It gave her a sudden idea of how she might be able to get Jaycee away from the coast safely. “Leave the weapons here, David. I’ve made acquaintance with the trolls in these parts. I think we may be able to get some assistance from them.”

  “Friends with trolls, ma’am?” David asked skeptically.

  “Don’t be a hater, David. Trolls are people too. They want the same things you and I want. A home, a safe place to raise a family, and food to eat.”

  “If you say so, ma’am.”

  Cari shifted her sword baldric in place at her hip but didn’t draw her weapons. She kept her hands open, palm outward and plainly visible as she walked toward the trees. While she couldn’t pronounce the troll chief’s actual name, she gave it the best approximation her mouth could form using a character from an old animated movie watched once with her father when she was younger. “Chrrrak,” she shouted. “Are you there?”

  She waited about twenty yards from the tree line. A few seconds later, a large, shambling figure emerged from the trees. It wasn’t her friend. The troll chief was even larger than the troll standing before her. She thought he was friendly, though. He wasn’t carrying any weapons in his hands either, though there was a knife in his belt.

  “Chrrrak?” Cari pointed to the trees behind the troll

  “Chrrrak not here.” The troll’s English was nearly unintelligible. Cari did manage to make out enough to understand. She pointed
at the tree line, “Get Chrrrak.”

  “Yes.” The troll nodded once and disappeared into the trees once again.

  “That was amazing, ma’am.”

  Cari turned around to see David and several other crew members standing a dozen yards behind her. All hefted weapons. She resisted the urge to yell at them for bringing weapons along when she told them not to. She knew they were just trying to protect her.

  “I told you. I have made friends with the trolls in these parts. Now put your weapons down. We don’t want to offend them when they return with their chieftain. Let’s finish putting together a bit of a feast so we can share food with them. That’s the best way I know to make sure everyone knows we’re all friends.”

  The crew set about cooking up a significant portion of their food and having it ready for when the trolls returned. It didn’t take long.

  Once again, a shout alerted Cari to the trolls’ presence. She turned away from where she was tending the fire and saw a group of six trolls emerge from the wood line. She crossed over to where several of her crew members stood with their hands at their belts, ready to draw their weapons.

  “Stand down. I won’t tell you again. Remember, these are our friends. See, they’re not acting aggressively, and they don’t have any weapons drawn either.”

  The crew relaxed as Cari walked past them. Cari saw Chrrrak immediately. The chieftain was a good twelve inches taller than any of the other trolls. He opened his mouth and a big toothy grin revealed a row of blackened teeth inside his gaping maw. Cari held her hands out to her side, palms facing forward and smiled back at him.

  “Greetings, Chrrrak. It has been a long time.”

  “Agreed. I not think see you again. Everything all right?”

  Cari shook her head. “No, everything not all right. We are being chased and I need to get a friend of mine to safety. I am hoping you can help me find a way through these mountains towards the east.”