by Kat Mandu
Richard glanced down to see Jill lying flat on her belly. “Now to see how smart you are – stay,” he ordered, pointing downwards before walking away. Richard kept moving, using the trees as cover. He could hear a quiet murmuring below him. He ignored it, making his way behind the crossbowmen.
“There was another guy, honest. We are just a small group, but he left. He’s headed to the bog,” James shouted as Richard poked his head around a tree.
“I very much doubt that,” a cold voice said, pushing James forward. One of the castaways began to thumb his blade. “Where is your fourth member? I will not ask again!” he screamed. But James didn’t change his story. All three men with swords stepped forward and grabbed James, keeping him pinned down while the spearman took out a knife.
“Now or never,” Richard murmured, rushing forward. He grabbed one man by the mouth and jaw and twisted until there was a snap. He let the body drop to the ground in favor of the crossbow. He held it up right as a scream pierced the air. Wincing, he kept himself from reaching for his ears by force of will. When he glanced over, he saw James falling to the ground and clutching at his hand. Blood spilled on the ground while he hollered at the top of his lungs.
The spearman decked him, forcing James to fall silent while cradling his hand close. “I’ll take another. Where is he, where is the man with the dog?”
“I don’t know,” he cried out. Richard counted his blessing and crept back into hiding.
“Huh, boss,” one swordsman said. The spearman stopped questioning James and turned around.
“What?” he shouted before noticing the dead body. Richard watched from the cover of leaves as the bowman nocked an arrow and began scanning.
Richard lined up a shot and fired. A low thump was all that could be heard before a second body dropped to the ground. Blood streamed out around an bolt lodged in his throat. The man was clawing at his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
“Where are you? Come out and fight like a man or I’ll cut your friends open!” the spearman screamed. As the spearman knelt down to examine the fallen bowman. “The bolt came from there!” he exclaimed, pointing into the bushes. The two swordsmen quickly moved in on Richard’s location, while the third remained to keep James pinned
Richard whistled and Jill barked, appearing from the other side. “Sic em!” he shouted, his voice echoing while the dog charged the swordsman that had James pinned. He brought the weapon around but Jill bit down on the man’s wrist and tackled him to the ground as a loud bone crunching crack came from between the dogs teeth. The spearman spun around to stab at the attacker, as James grabbed the sword they had neglected. With his blood smeared right he grabbed sword and with a level of dexterity nobody thought possible impaled the spear man
Jill barked down as Tray grabbed onto the man’s legs to pull him off his brother. Jill wagged her tail and continued to pull in the opposite direction. “Are you kidding me now is not the time,” Tray said as his brother crawled out from under the howling man.
Richard didn’t waste a second when the two stopped to attack James. He grabbed onto one by the wrist, shoving his own sword into his body. The second was a bit slow to react. James scrambling to reclaim his own all but fell his sword into the man’s gut, internal organs spilling from the wound when the blade was pulled back.
Richard tossed the crossbow to the ground, pulling the cutlass out of the last swordsman’s chest and letting him fall to the ground. The stench of blood and death filled the air.
“Jill, heel,” he ordered, feeling a bit of relief when the dog obeyed, licking her chops as she sat down. James fell to his knees as Richard confirmed his own fear showing that the man’s left hand was lopped off as Laurella quickly went to her belt to try and save the man’s life Richard grabbed one of the ragged coats and cleaning of the newly claimed sword watched as James vanished back into the tree hole to do Void tamer knows what.
Richard frowned as a pot was tossed out of the hole with a few logs being tossed out as well. “Here use this flint to light a fire I need to sterilize my needles if he plans on keeping as much of his arm as possible. Richard nodded as he set to work eyeing the man in a quick glance he was surprised the man lasted as long as he did, before submitting to blood lose.
Chapter 4 A Chimera Attacks
Richard brushed his hands off while James stood to his feet, hands stained with blood. “Feeling better?” Richard asked, looking away from the body. Laurella looked green in the face and her body trembled. “Well, I’ve killed enough time here. I need to get going,” Richard said, grabbing the scabbard for his cutlass and sliding it into the red sash. It was serving as a temporary belt.
“Richard, wait,” James said.
“Perfect,” Richard thought to himself, sighing.
“I was – I was screwing you over, and I am sorry,” James said. “I shall escort you to the bog. At least from there, you should be able to get where you are going,” he said, clearly not thrilled about his position.
“Yeah, you’re only saying that because of the doctor and your brother,” Richard thought to himself. “I would very much appreciate that,” he said instead, a cool smile appearing on his face. “By all means, you have the map,” he said, ushering with his hands. James slumped his shoulders.
“So, how did you get stuck here?” James asked, folding his hands behind his head.
“It’s not a very interesting story, to be honest,” Richard admitted. “I was forced into service and I found a way to spite him,” he said. “I am more interested as to why the doctor is here. A good surgeon is not something you want to waste.”
“True, but an untrustworthy one is a lot worse than any armed pirate,” Laurella retorted. “I worked my intern on a small navy ship. If you must know, it was attacked and any specialist, no matter how poorly trained, is useful. But being a woman made things difficult. Rather than be walked all over, I made it a habit to fuck people over who tried to do the same to me. After the Pirate Lord Morgan “Deplume Fingers” Smith got his forbidden power, I wasn’t all that useful anymore. Luckily, I found my shocky stick here or else we wouldn’t be talking.”
Tray shook his head, making a quick ‘X’ motion with his hands. Richard raised his eyebrows but Tray stopped when Laurella looked at him. “Shocky stick?” Richard asked. Tray smacked his forehead. Laurella reached over her shoulder, pulling an angled object from its sheath. It had a long hilt and a forked end with two spheres on the adjacent rods. Lightning jolted between them while Laurella cocked her hips to the side.
“And if you give me any trouble, I zap you. Like this,” she said with a smile, touching Richard gently with the rod and slamming him on his ass. His heart rate spiked for a minute while he sat dazed on the ground. “Any questions?”
“Why is the rum always gone?” Richard mumbled out, his vision swimming. He shook his head, breaking the daze and standing shakily to his feet. “So much for do no harm,” he grumbled. Laurella only winked at him. He grimaced, his mind reevaluating the threat levels of the group.
“Mwaha!” a scratchy voice cried as the parrot dropped into view.
“Give me that spear,” Richard said coldly, glaring at the bird.
“Okay,” James said, handing him the spear. Richard threw it at the bird but it fell a few feet from his body. The bird flew off, cawing what sounded like a very cruel laugh. “I hate that bird.”
“That was sad,” Laurella commented. Richard ignored her while James took point.
“I feel bad taking you to your doom, but it’s your choice,” he said after a moment’s quiet.
“Better to die a hero than live long enough to become a cannibal,” Richard replied, glancing behind him.
“If a tree falls in the middle of a forest, and no one is around to hear, does it still make a sound?” Laurella asked, glancing at Richard.
“It’s a matter of ethics. If one can be so easily cowed into giving in, does he have a right to his freedom?” Richard asked, face brightening.
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“What good is freedom if you die before you use it?” Laurella asked.
“Life is fleeting,” he replied.
“Break it up,” James said. “We don’t need the attention your big mouths are going to drag in,” he grumbled. Laurella and Richard both shot him a hard glare.
“Get him later?” Richard asked in a low whisper.
“You can take him with you,” she replied. James only shook his head.
“So, you want to know how my brother and I got stuck on this island?” Tray asked.
“No, but it would be a good way to pass the time,” Richard admitted.
“Well, I am a shipwright. I love big boats, I cannot lie. And I love building and crafting them. My brother here is the carpenter. Both of us combined, we could make just about anything, given the time and resources,” he boasted.
“Shh,” his brother hushed.
“Sorry,” he whispered back, rubbing the back of his head. “But our father was a master of both building and repairing. My brother and I each took a side and decided to work from one end to the other in order to replicate his skill. While still being able to go into business as soon as possible, of course,” Tray said, keeping his voice low.
“Fascinating, you completely avoided the original question,” Richard said, placing his thumb and index finger on his goatee.
“Oh, sorry. My brother and I were working on our first ship. But the boat was attacked,” he admitted.
“Pirates?” Richard asked, glancing over at him.
“No, mermaids. The damn creatures somehow managed to destroy the underside of the boat. It would have been manageable but anyone who got too close was dragged underwater. So we slowly took on water. We did manage to make some makeshift repairs but they kept undermining any progress we made. We made it to land but the ship crashed into the beaches here. We lost a lot of good men in more ways than one. You got lucky; these waters are not safe. In some cases, people have been dragged out of their boarding parties,” Tray explained.
“This island seems to be built as a death trap,” Richard surmised.
“You have no idea,” Laurella said over her shoulder.
“I bet. So, how far away are we?” Richard asked, leaning forward and trying to make out what was in the distance.
“Long enough,” James said. “And hush, the lot of you. This place has enough ways to kill a man. I don’t need you attracting anymore,” he hissed.
“Caw!” roared a voice, which clearly something bigger than your average parrot.
“Everyone, scatter!” Tray cried out. The group split, Tray and Richard heading to a thick of trees in the right as a massive animal crashed into the ground behind them. Richard spotted the head of a bird, the body of a lion, the tail of a snake and a pair of striking bat wings.
“Shit, it’s a fucking Chimera!” Laurella cried out. The creature roared into the air with a hungry look in its eye.
The beast turned, looking right at Tray and Richard, a long tongue touching its lips. “I think it’s hungry,” Tray admitted. The two slowly backed away but the creature still moved in on them. “I don’t like this, not one bit,” Tray said, slinking back until he was pressed into the trunk of a tree. Richard grimaced, drawing his blade and ready to defend himself.
“Bro!” James shouted, rushing the creatures from behind. But the snake’s head tail hissed and snapped at him. James swiped at it with his sword.
Richard frowned, still backing away. “Tray, is there anywhere we can climb up?” he asked, not daring to take his eyes off the creature.
“I got nothing. The roots are too big to climb over and the nearest branch is a little out of reach,” he admitted, moving to Richard’s side and jabbing at the creature with his spear.
“Well, I don’t know if I should hate myself for not checking for an escape route or admiring the eagle-cat thing for being able to outfox me,” Richard grumbled.
“Maybe a bit of both?” Tray suggested. Richard nodded in agreement while the creature growled at the two.
“Okay, we have two heads that bite. I think we get far apart and let this thing choose who to attack and who to let slit its throat,” Richard advised. Tray nodded before inching away. The eagle’s eyes flashed at both of them before glaring at Tray and making him the initial target.
“Just great, it’s always the fat guy,” Tray growled, clearly not thrilled with the creature’s decision.
Richard charged, bringing the blade down and ready to aim for the creature’s underbelly. The cat flashed in impossible speed, given its size. Richard’s vision blacked for a second while he fell to the ground. He heard a horse scream and thought for a moment it was Tray.
“That’s the last thing I need,” he thought, his vision clearing. He saw the cat falling back from his spot on the ground. He grabbed his cutlass and kicked off the ground, looking for something to steady himself.
“Eat lightning, you son of a bitch!” Laurella cried, her shadow flashing over Richard. He watched her land on the creature’s back while her stick sent a paralyzing amount of electricity into the creature’s body. Richard watched as the creature thrashed, the bird’s head biting at her. Richard glanced around before dashing out of striking distance.
“Ahh!” she cried out. Richard barely had time to spin around before her body slammed into him. His vision was already unsettled but the world seemed to spin again. He white-knuckled his blade as he slammed into the base of a tree.
“This place is a statistical nightmare. How the fuck am I still – shit,” Richard said, freezing as his eyes went wide. Time seemed to crawl and he saw his unusual eyes looking back at his goateed face. A paw was moving down, aimed right at his face. His voice cut off and he raised his cutlass, jabbing the blade forward into the oncoming chest. The sword slid in, cutting flesh while the creature loosed a pitiful cry. Richard saw black as the body above him went limp, flesh folding around him. He winced, expecting something of that size to crush him.
The pile of flesh simply pushed him to the ground with a light thump. “Right, it flies. He cannae be too heavy,” Richard said, bouncing his hand off the side of his head. He pushed the animal off, palm pressed against the bark of the tree. But then his hand gave way.
Richard felt his heart skip a beat as his body slid out from under the animal and he dropped into darkness. “Ahhh!” he screamed, the light above him vanishing and nothing but the sound of his blade followed him down.
Chapter 5 The Goddess And The Wild Man
Richard felt whatever he was sliding down give out from underneath him. “Shit!” he roared out, coming to a sudden stop in a mass of furs. He opened one eye, quickly flashing to his feet before patting himself down. “Well, I am breathing,” he said.
“Hahahaha,” came a laugh, reverberating in the darkness. Richard shivered when a long gust of wind whistled around him. A light flickered to his left; in a snap, fire sprang from a candle, lighting a near complete circle that ended near his right. In the candlelight, he noticed tribal masks decorating the walls, some seeming like demons while others were like animals.
Richard approached one of the walls. It was made of wood worn smooth that made it seem like the room was carved from solid wood. “So, are you going to say hello? Or am I dead and just don’t know it yet?”
“I would not be laughing if you had died; no, it’s nothing life threatening,” she replied. A lone figure, draped in a bear fur, seemed to appear at the far end of the room. He couldn’t make out her face but she pulled out a long, thin pipe. A small stream of smoke trailed from it while she puffed on it. “So, you want off this island, huh?” she asked.
“Easier said than done. I have one hope, but just getting close to it seems impossible,” Richard admitted.
“Honesty is not always a good quality for a pirate,” she said with a chuckle.
“I am not a pirate!” he hissed, taking a step forward. A massive fire sprung up in the center of the room.
“Good to know. So, do you know
how big the castle is? Or how to get in? I am curious as to how you will pull it off.”
“I am guessing knocking is out of the question?” Richard asked, looking at the fire. There was no spark in it. His sword was safely in his hand because he knew that he was dealing with some kind of spell weaver.
“Ah, a smart ass, cute. It’s been a while since I’ve met a sea-faring man with a quick wit. Mind you, that is compared to the lot my services bring in,” she said, shrugging.
“Ignoring the opening, why am I here?”
“Ah, class, now that is something I could get used to. Well, since I am taking a bit of a liking to you, how about you take a seat and start with some names?” she asked. Wooden chairs moved out of the shadows, forcing him to sit down. He flinched, glaring behind him only to see empty space. When he turned back around, he saw a pair of brown eyes staring at him from under the hood only a few feet away.
“By the void!” he cried, almost leaping out of his chair.
“Hmmm, not much to look at, but in terms of circumstance, the best shot I have had in a long time,” she said, pulling back. Her body was hunched over as she walked away.
Richard pushed out of his seat, but it dug into the back of his knees, keeping him in place.
“Let us say that my reasons are personal. But you want a way off this island and that wish you are chasing will soon be available. But without a way in, it will do you little good.”
“What do you want?” Richard asked with a sigh. The bear skin hood titled. “Don’t play dumb – you’ve got information, but for whatever reason, you cannae use it. So you want something in exchange,” he said, leaning back and resting his elbow on the back of the chair.
“Well, I suppose if you could kill off the captain of the ship coming here, and maybe getting rid of at least one of the shrines, I would call us even,” she replied.