The Captain's Stand

by Kat Mandu

  “So, anything to report?” he asked, clearing his throat and hunching forward. He seemed to have shaken off his antics. She didn’t respond at first, merely shaking her head. With a sigh, she began to speak.

  “I have fallen so low,” she muttered before clearing her throat. “Anyways, they have been slowed down – badly. A lot of the crew are now holding positions on the beach and even they’re moving at a snail’s pace to the final places.”

  “Hmmm,” Richard said, stroking his goatee and mulling over the information.

  “You know, if you stop holding your cards so close to your chest and actually give us an idea of what you are planning, we might actually be able to help,” Laurella called, crossing her arms.

  “Hold up, everyone is just following his orders? And yet, nobody but him knows what he is up to?” Boss voiced.

  “Basic human mentality,” Laurella replied, sighing.

  “I have an escape route in the main tent under ma chair. I plan on using this place as a rally point if it stays safe. Or as a place to put us down as dead and make it safer to run around,” Richard informed them.

  “So you created a win-win situation if anything goes well in either situation,” Boss asked. “Could work, at least in the base outcomes – win or lose – even if there are a lot of smaller determining events.”

  “True, but that’s the risk when meeting force with force. Which is also why I am nay high-tailing it to Brendan’s ship and forcing enlistment. I have nay way of knowing if enough of us will survive the encounter,” Richard added.

  “Risky business, all of this. But what is our next move?” Madison asked.

  “I plan on keeping a close eye on the ship and altars and wait. Once they are down to one, I plan on booby trapping it. If we get attacked, that plan will stay strong with us being thought of as dead. That makes things a bit easier, considering the luxury that comes with being considered dead,” Richard explained.

  “I see. Not much we can do but get some sleep. Who is keeping watch?” Laurella asked.

  “I will keep an eye out. Madison, I would recommend you getting some sleep. I believe you have pulled your weight and then some,” Richard said kindly. She gave him a relieved smirked before clasping him on the shoulder

  “So, where did this guy come from?” Laurella asked, looking at Boss.

  “Your guess is as good as mine. If you don’t mind, I would like to talk with Richard alone; something’s been bothering me,” Boss responded.

  “Sure; look, I am good on the drink. I’ll help keep watch since it will also give me time to think on your plan,” Laurella told them.

  “Do whatever you want, Doc,” Richard replied. She eyed them both before walking off into the camp. Richard turned to Boss. “So, what is up?”

  “With the supplies and castle, we could build our own ship and leave. That escape route is also a way back to the castle without the fog – why go through all of the trouble?”

  “Because I know if the offer up, people will take it. People always take the easy way out. And to be honest, I don’t like the idea of Brendan getting magical powers. I’ve worked under him, watched him force others to serve on his ship and for once, I want that to burn. I want to see some fucker get burned for forcing service on people. The government gets away with and now, every man with a simple desire to fuck others over and wants cruelty can do it. And I just want to squeeze the life out of him for fucking me over,” Richard replied, gritting his teeth.

  “So, it’s vengeance?” Boss asked calmly.

  “Well, if you want to boil it down, I’ll call it what it is,” he replied, grinning.

  “You do realize that if I wanted to, I could end that right here and now by telling everyone. Then your leadership would also be destroyed,” Boss pointed out, calmly staring at Richard.

  “Yeah, probably,” Richard admitted, releasing a sigh and remaining silent for a time. Neither one moved while the silence loomed over them.

  “You don’t think they would care, do you?” Boss finally asked.

  “I have reasons to think that the majority of people on this island wouldn’t care much and, in fact, are more than happy to fight back,” Richard replied. “But I have a feeling that there are people who would use that information to make a power play.”

  “I figured as much maself. At least with you in charge, I can know what to expect,” Boss admitted, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders.

  “But just in case everything does go south, I say we lean a bit closer to Tray and James. Then we can go with a more long term plan,” Richard advised.

  “And a boring plan that is,” he said with a grin.

  “I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of fun,” Richard said. “Anyways, I better start walking around the camp.” They each picked up a torch, making their way around the camp’s walls. “So, any luck in remembering?” Richard asked after a time, glancing over at Boss.

  “No, which is troubling. I’ve talked with Laurella and she told me that amnesia never lasts for any long scientific terms.”

  “Magic is tricky business; even if most of it’s outlets have been severed, it can still impact people. That means you’re stuck nay knowing.”

  “Hmm, I can deal. It means I can try out all of the fun things a second time,” Boss replied.

  “True, but most people have responsibilities – those may come back. But in all fairness, worrying about something you can’t control does little good,” Richard said.

  “You said the outlets were severed; what do you mean by that?” Boss asked, glancing back over at Richard

  “Ah, of course. In the last two hundred years, we’ve had two wars – the Mage War and the Great Magic War. The first was between two groups of mages. One side was destroyed and the other was all but destroyed and they were based out of Britania. The first war destroyed a lot of homes and because of that, thanks to some Queen who rallied a lot of magical beings – nay to be confused with mages – into a second war of revenge. At the end of it all, a lot of magic users – both natural and nay – were destroyed. While there are pockets and plenty of things, we are still sorting through all of the fallout,” Richard informed.

  “Fascinating, but irrelevant. I do want something to happen; you think we can run around the island and find another Gargoyle or something?” Boss asked, looking at Richard with eyes bright for adventure.

  “Hmm, I’ll see if I can find something,” he said, letting a brief laugh fill the night air. The night moved with nay issue while the two of them continued to walk around. Neither one talked, allowing a comfortable silence to grow. Richard separated from Boss to take a quick look inside a tent and found that it had settled down. Anyone who wasn’t out was back in their tent. Richard thanked his own foresight in making the camp small enough so that he could still keep an eye on everything, even in the dark. At some point, he passed Laurella and Boss again while he walked – simply trying to break up monotony.

  “Finally,” Richard mused, watching the sun beginning to break through the leaves. It light up the camp, rousing a few people who happened to have nasty hangovers. He meandered past a few people stumbling out of his tent until he spotted Madison. She was looking at the chair that Richard had set up.

  “I take it it’s under here?” she asked casually. Richard watched the last person shuffle out before nodding.

  “I assume that you want to look it over, huh?” he asked, moving to the other side of the chair. It was made entirely of wood pieces and sticks. It looked rather impressive, with all of the wood and sticks seeming to lean against each other and fanning out to form a wide back. (Did you seriously create the Wooden Throne? XD)

  “It would be nice – I don’t like to be left out of things. I’ve had little enough control of my life as it is,” she replied.

  “You and me both,” Richard said, sighing and grabbing onto the chair. It slide backwards and revealed a hole containing a ladder and darkness.

  “You should consider having a l
ight at the bottom,” Madison commented.

  “Everyone’s a critic,” he quipped, dropping the torch he had been holding. It fell to the bottom right as Sam walked up, a look of confusion on his face. “Slide it back into place after us. When we get back, I will knock three times. Echo that if the coast is clear. I’d like to keep this as a rumor at the very least,” Richard instructed. Sam nodded, sitting on the ground and stroking the fur of a sleeping Jill. “Ladies first,” Richard said, grinning.

  “I am a Dame, not a lady, but it’s appreciated all the same,” she replied, stepping down the ladder with Richard right behind her. Sam slide it back into place just as Richard jumped to the ground.

  “Not a long drop; just in case we need to scramble and can’t wait?” she asked.

  “Something like that. Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to us trampling over each other,” he said, a calm smile on his face while Madison picked up the torch. A glance around told her that there were two paths: one that ran towards the center (of the island?) and the other away from it.

  “The escape is towards the ocean,” Richard commented.

  “Why not use the castle now that the Gargoyle is dead?” she asked.

  “It would come with it’s own complications. Trust me, it’s best to avoid it – even if the stone monster is dead,” he replied in a rather clipped tone.

  “Something that has to do with the fog?” Madison asked, heading in the way that Richard had hoped she would go.

  “Let’s just say that the less people who know, the better due to the personalities of the people we are working with. It’s safe to say that this is one thing you are better off nay knowing. But it’s nothing that can’t be avoided,” he said.

  “I don’t like that. I am royalty and I don’t much like your tone,” she snapped, turning on him.

  “I understand, I am asking you to trust ma judgment on this,” he replied. The shadows gave her face a very eerie look. However, the light also cast a shadow on Richard, obscuring his face while he looked up at her.

  “You get one chance. You ruin it, you’re a dead man,” she warned then stepped back and took a deep breath. “Sorry, that was a bit mean,” she said. Richard stepped to the side.

  “Hey, it’s understandable. How long were you locked up on that ship?” he prodded gently with a sigh.

  “Long enough; so, are you thinking of taking the ship as your own and going by Captain Richard?” she asked, swiftly changing topics.

  “Well, I hear taking a Dame home gets you a lot of points and I wouldn’t mind seeing if I can become a pirate maself,” he replied honestly.

  “Ah, a pirate,” she said.

  “Hey, I’d be legal. Nay to mention, that I have a very long list of targets,” he commented, noting that the sun was illuminating the end of the tunnel.

  “You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking,” she said, stopping as Richard walked out into the sunlit area. It was large and grassy and she looked up to see an opening in the ceiling that allowed light in. Madison kept walking but he continued to ignore her.

  Richard moved up to the top, glancing over the long green grass and down to a white sandy beach. There was a long dock and a second tunnel that led out into the sea.

  “I think there would be good money in hunting down pirates,” he finally replied casually.

  “You’re going to get yourself killed,” she retorted.

  “You know, I would love to have a home here if it weren’t so expensive. On that note, when I die, I wouldn’t mind being buried here. Victory or failure, but probably the latter. You think you could come back here and set me up a stone with ma name on it?”

  “I take it that’s your way of saying that I can’t dissuade you?” Madison sighed and Richard glanced over at her.

  “Anyone who gets off this island will have a death sentence, if for nay other reason than for getting off the island. I didn’t want to tell anyone since only those with a name will really have to worry. If we got off this island, it’s going to be you and I who are going to have the worst time. So, I am going to at least try and fight back.”

  Chapter 17 Into The Night

  Richard jerked awake, though he was still leaning against the wall and he realized that he had fallen asleep during his watch. A quick glance over showed that Boss was still sitting there, as attentive as he had been when Richard had apparently fallen asleep.

  “How long was I out?” he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

  “Not long, about six hours,” he admitted, with a grunt.

  “Dandy,” Richard said, pausing for a moment and yawning. “Did any of the scouts come back?”

  “Nobody yet. What happens if this goes down?” Boss asked.

  “Nay a damn clue,” Richard admitted. “I’ve got a big picture and I’m trying to work ma way down from there. I have ideas but with no way of knowing how things will fall,” Richard trailed off with a shrug. “Well, I wouldn’t really call them plans.”

  “Well, no plan survives contact with the enemy. So, what’s your idea?

  “I wouldn’t mind using the natural ways of the island. Between the monsters and the crazed former pirates, it would be rather helpful using them to break up Brendan’s crew,” Richard said, wringing his hands together. “I am, in fact, counting on them already knowing about it. As soon as I can, I plan to head out with as many people as I can and stack out the area. If things fall into place, it would make ma day.”

  “If not?” Boss asked.

  “It make take some goading,” Richard admitted with a light smirk. But the rest of him was very impassive.

  “So, where did you learn to fight?” Boss asked. Richard glanced over at him.

  “I never actually learned to fight. It’s all on instinct,” Richard said, shrugging his shoulders and scratching his head.

  “And what a plan it is. Count me in,” Stefano said. Richard nearly jumped out of his skin.

  “By the void! Please, do nay do that again, you’re going to give me a heart attack,” Richard breathed out, hand resting on heart. “Damn you,” he muttered while his heart rate lowered. He glanced around, trying to find what he had just spotted. Boss noticed, readying a torch to light the signal as the three of them stopped. Richard slipped between the spiked tips of the wall, watching three people move quietly out of the woods. He vaguely noted that Madison and Eagle Eye were among them before relaxing.

  “How did the main scouts report in?” Richard asked, leaping from the platform while the doors opened up.

  “It’s happened,” Madison replied. Richard nodded slowly in consideration.

  “Well then, it’s time to get things working and implement our little surprise,” he commented. The Dame cut in before he could even finish.

  “Count me in as well,” she said. Richard glanced at her, concerned that he could see dark circles under her eyes even from the fair distance she kept between them. “The sooner we start thinning their numbers, the sooner we can get this situation under control. You may need these as well,” she said, handing some scrolls to Richard. “He only has one place left to go and it’s on the south side of the island.”

  “But it won’t be easy. That is where most of these tribes – if they can be called that – reside there,” Eagle Eye pointed out. “The trees are older and much thicker so there’s not nearly as much room for maneuverability. The area is flat and, if you have the fences, it’s a perfect place for ambushes and trap.” He adjusted the quiver that was hanging over his shoulder.

  “I take it you would be able to take advantage of that?” Richard asked.

  “To some extent. Also, I shall be joining you as well,” he replied calmly.

  “Okay then, let’s start out. Madison, as much help as you have been, I think now would be a good time for you to get some sleep. And the rest of us will start moving supplies. Feel free to use my tent,” Richard noted, giving her a wink.

  “So, what are we doing exactly?” Boss asked, following Richard out
.

  “Well, if the tribes are in the area then I have nothing to worry about. But I want to slow things down by causing some dissention in the ranks. I am going to need to see the area myself. In the meantime, we are going to go hunting,” Richard said, stroking his facial hair.

  “What do you have in mine?”

  “Dead people,” he said, grinning while Boss looked at him strangely.

  Eagle Eye, Boss, Richard and Stefano quickly gathered up their gear, leaving Madison in charge. It was just in time to see her sleeping in the main tent. They headed off with Richard staring down at his scroll in concentration.

  “We need a damn cartographer or something. This hand drawn armature stuff is confusing,” Richard grumbled, rolling it back up in anger.

  “Can I see it?” Eagle Eye asked. Richard readily handed it over. “We have some distance to go, come on. Where did the other one go?” he asked, suddenly realizing that Stefano was missing.

  “He’s around,” Richard replied. “Lead the way.” He sighed while the archer scanned the map for a second before taking point.

  The forest was humid this morning and perspiration was soon clinging to each of the scouts. Richard dabbed at his forehead and took a swig from his water skin when they paused to regain their breath. He hooked the water skin back on his belt and place his hands on his hips, letting his breath catch up to him.

  “This is the third break. You lot are bunch of light weights,” Eagle Eye commented, glancing at the rest of the group. Richard rolled his eyes at the comment. But he wasn’t the only one he was trying to bait.

  “Let’s go to a more urban environment, let’s see how well you do then,” Stefano growled. “This place is more dangerous than you realize but it can easily be avoided. With urban settings, it’s a lot harder to see who has it out for you,” he added with a wicked grin.

  “I could still manage far better than you have here. You may be good at fooling other white men but you cannot fool me.” Stefano drew fistful of long needles between his fingers.