"So we sit here and wait for the enemy to kill us," mused the captain, "or we try to sneak past them during the night."
"If I remember the channel correctly," Chanz shook his head, "that won't be possible. He is half a day away from us. If we started sailing towards him right now, it would take us six hours to reach them. That is well past the point where the channel narrowed up on us. There is no way that we could sneak past them. I doubt that we could pass him without one of us running aground."
Captain Gomery sighed and nodded his head. "You are correct," he conceded. "What about the weapons that Max Caber installed for us?"
"We would need to maneuver to use the harpoons," replied Chanz. "Even the bow harpoons cannot be fired straight ahead. You might be able to get one shot off before you ran aground, but run aground you would."
"That is what I suspected," stated the captain. "That only leaves one alternative."
"What is that?" asked Chanz.
"Max installed a steel edge on the bow for ramming," explained Captain Gomery. "I had hoped that we would never need to use it, but I see no choice in the matter. It should be nighttime when we meet the Zaran ship. If we run without lights, we should impact them before they know what is going on."
"If they do see us at the last moment," posed Chanz, "they might be inclined to dodge us. That would leave them aground while we race for the open sea."
"That would be a fair outcome," nodded the captain, "but I don't fancy trying to outrun a warship. I'd prefer to sink them before they can tell their friends that they found us. We still have to be here to pick up Garth and his people. That would be hard to do with a warship chasing us."
"I will have the men get ready to set sail," stated the mate. "I will also have the harpoons loaded in case we get a chance to use them. What do we do with Keltin?"
"Gag him and tie him to the bow pulpit," ordered the captain. "If their archers do see us before the collision, let them use him for target practice. One other thing," the captain added as Chanz started to walk away. "The Rangers left some jars of fire glue with us. Have them handy when we meet the enemy ship. I not only want to cut them in two, but I also want them dead so they can't send for help."
* * *
"Another one of our men just scurried in with the same story," reported the thief captain. "I am not sure how many friends that merchant has, but they are destroying our business."
"How do they know our people?" asked Cracker. "How can they possibly know all of us?"
"I don't know," responded the captain, "but everyone is getting caught today, and the message is always the same. Today they will play nice, but tomorrow the killing starts. Each one also says that they are willing to meet privately with you to discuss it, but they aren't leaving until they have their goods back."
"This is unacceptable," snapped Cracker. "We must have a spy in our midst. There is no other way they could know who our people are. Put a stop to anyone leaving the caves until further notice."
"I already did that," reported the captain. "I figured if you disagreed it would be easy enough to let them go out again." The captain sighed anxiously as if wondering whether he should state his mind. Eventually he took a deep breath and blurted it out, "It might be best to just give them their goods back. Even you said that it looked like junk. Why risk the organization over it?"
"It is junk," scowled Cracker, "but do you have any idea what it will do for morale around here? We will look like fools who can't even handle a few bumpkins from out of town."
"One of the reasons I stopped the trips into the city," stated the captain, "is that we already look bad. Word of the attacks has spread throughout the caves. Some of the men think that the newcomers mean to challenge you for the top spot in the organization."
"And what do you think?" snarled Cracker.
"I know better," shrugged the captain. "I don't know who these people are, but we shouldn't play around with them. They are far too skilled to be interested in a small city like Olansk, so I don't give any heed to the rumors, but I think that either we give their stuff back, or they are coming to get it."
"Let them try," Cracker boasted. "They will never leave here alive."
"So how do we prepare a welcome for them?" sighed the captain.
"You did good by keeping everyone inside," replied Cracker, "but we have to take it a step further. Give the men something to do to take their minds off the rumors. Assign groups to each section of the caves and have them develop strategies for defeating the newcomers tomorrow. Come morning, we will be ready to fend off the entire Federation army."
* * *
Captain Gomery was staring ahead, straining his eyes to make out the narrow channel, when the cloudbank moved across the face of the moon. A sudden sensation of panic gripped his heart as the Remora continued to move forward at maximum speed into the unknown.
"Chanz!" he called softly.
The mate responded instantly and hurried to the helm. He looked expectantly at the captain, but the man appeared frozen at the wheel.
"You called me?" asked Chanz.
"Aye," the captain exhaled stressfully. "We are going as fast as the winds allow, but I can't see a blessed thing. We are sailing blind."
"Just maintain the course," Chanz urged anxiously. "The channel is fairly straight here."
"We had best hope so," replied the captain, "because if it is not, we are going to run aground hard. If that happens, we won't need the Zarans to kill us."
"I know," Chanz swallowed hard, "but we have no choice now. We must be close to them unless they did decide to anchor for the night. We cannot afford to slack off now, or we will not have the speed necessary to rupture her hull."
Squirt dived out of nowhere and landed on the captain's shoulder. Captain Gomery flinched so hard that the fairy was almost thrown off his shoulder. Squirt glared at the captain for a moment and then seemed to completely forget the episode.
"The enemy has been sighted!" chirped the fairy.
"How far?" asked Captain Gomery.
"Only minutes away," answered the fairy. "They are not traveling anywhere near as fast as we are."
"So they didn't anchor," Chanz commented. "That means we will hit her bow on. That may destroy both ships, Captain."
"I was hoping the moon would hold bright a bit longer," the captain sighed nervously as he gazed skyward. "There is no way that those clouds will clear the moon in the next few minutes. They will never even see us."
"I thought that was what we wanted," the fairy frowned in confusion. "Aren't we supposed to be sneaking up on them?"
"We are sneaking up on them," explained Chanz, "but it would be ideal if they saw us at the last minute. They can't see the channel any better than we can, but if they saw us heading towards them, their captain would try to maneuver out of our way. That would give us the chance to avoid their bow head on."
"Would a lantern suffice?" asked the fairy. "I can create a fairy lantern, but it won't be too bright."
"They would mistake the light for a stern lantern," Chanz shook his head.
Captain Gomery still had shivers racing up his spine from when the fairy landed on him unexpectedly. He gave the fairy a quick glance before returning his eyes to the darkness before him. He really didn't question the need to peer over the bow in the total darkness; it was just his habit to watch where he was going, even if he couldn't see it.
"Can you sneak up on their helmsman like you just did to me?" asked Captain Gomery. "I mean without getting caught?"
"Certainly," boasted the fairy. "I can sneak up on anyone."
"What are you thinking?" asked Chanz.
"I'm thinking their helmsman probably has the same case of jitters that I have," smiled the captain. "No sailor likes to maneuver in a narrow unfamiliar channel when he cannot see the bow of his own ship. If Squirt can get her voice low enough, I think she could shout a command and the helmsman would naturally respond to it."
"What type of command?" asked Chanz.
<
br /> "Oh," grinned the captain, "maybe something like hard to port?"
Squirt put her hands on her hips and puffed up her chest as she bellowed the command with as low a voice as she could manage, "Hard to port!"
Captain Gomery laughed despite the tenseness that was coursing through his body. "A bit high for most sailors," he said, "but I think it will do. Can you time it so that he turns just before we collide?"
"I will have to hurry," answered the fairy as she leaped off the captain's shoulder and disappeared.
A sense of dread lashed through the captain as the fairy's words registered. He looked forward into the darkness, trying to detect the enemy ship, but couldn't see it. He could, however, hear someone shouting out depth soundings, and it wasn't anyone on the Remora.
"Tell the men to get to their stations," the captain whispered to Chanz. "We are about to collide."
Chanz raced forward to inform the crew, but everyone was already in place. Each man stood along the sides of the ship near one of the fire glue holders that Max had installed along the rail. Chanz glanced quickly to make sure that no one had removed the small jars from the protective holders. If someone had, it was fair odds that the jar would fall during the impact and ignite the Remora. Chanz moved to his own station and stared ahead. While he could not see the enemy ship directly, he knew it was close because of what he could not see. A large section of the sky before the Remora suddenly had the stars blink out of existence, as if a sail had just come between Chanz and the stars. He grabbed the rail and braced himself.
Numerous shouts split the still of the night just before a sickening crack thundered through the air. Chanz's eyes grew wide as he saw the starboard side of the enemy ship just before the Remora's bow. He realized then that the enemy had run aground, and the crack had probably come from one of the masts as the enemy ship instantly halted its forward movement. The thought was gone in an instant as the bow of the Remora slammed into the Zaran ship. Planks flew through the air, and timbers split as the steel edge of the Remora's bow plowed its way through the enemy's vessel. Several crewmembers of the Remora fell and slid towards the bow, but the screams that filled the night were from the Zaran ship.
As the Remora crunched its way through the hull of the Zaran warship, Chanz picked a jar of fire glue from the holder and hurled it at the enemy. It instantly erupted in a ball of flames. Other crewmembers followed his lead, and panicked cries echoed from both sides of the Remora as the two halves of the Zaran vessel burst into flames. One of the jars exploded as it hit the side of the Zaran ship, and fire spread across the surface of the water. Chanz turned and watched the carnage as the Remora broke free of the other vessel and continued downstream at a much slower pace than they had been traveling before the impact.
"Lower the mains," Captain Gomery shouted the moment the Remora disconnected from the other ship.
Chanz raced to the stern and gazed back at the burning channel. He had been concerned that the captain's call was premature because they were still within bow range, but there were no archers to fire upon the Remora. The only figures visible were human torches diving into the fiery water. The mate swallowed hard and prayed that swift deaths would be granted to the enemy sailors.
* * *
Garth opened his eyes and sat up. For a few moments he sat silently trying to remember his dream, but he eventually forced it from his mind and rose to his feet. He walked to the window and gazed up at the sky. Judging it to be several hours before dawn, he lit a candle and woke the others.
"It is the middle of the night," complained Natia. "What are we doing up?"
"It is time to have a visit with Cracker," Garth replied.
"I thought that was going to be in the morning?" questioned Tedi.
"It is morning," grinned Garth. "Or at least it is the new day. Get your gear on and let's get moving. If none of you expected us to arrive this early, surely the thieves won't either."
"You just like working in the dark," chuckled Kalina. "Normal people know that the dark is the time to sleep."
"I do my best work in the still of the night," Garth grinned as he woke Bitsy. "Besides, we won't have to let our eyes adjust to the caves. Bitsy, go on ahead and verify our path to the chamber where you heard Cracker talking. We will be along shortly."
"Don't enter the cave until I return to you," warned the fairy. "There are several entrances, and I will choose the best one for you."
"We will wait up on the riverbank," promised Garth.
Bitsy dove out the window, and the Knights of Alcea fitted themselves for battle. Garth opened Kalina's pack and extracted the myric quill quivers.
"These might come in handy tonight," he said as he handed them out. "Is everyone ready?"
Everyone nodded to confirm their readiness, and Garth led the Knights of Alcea out of the inn towards the river. When they reached the riverbank, Garth led them into the darkness of a stand of trees. There they waited for Bitsy to return.
"I checked all of the tunnels," Bitsy reported as she landed on Garth's shoulder. "One is much better than the others. There are only three people awake on that route. Should I put them to sleep?"
"You will need to guide us," replied Garth. "You can direct Button to the enemies that need to be put to sleep."
Tedi woke Button, and Bitsy reveled in the role of leader of the expedition. She gave explicit instructions to the other fairy and then led the Alceans to an opening in the riverbank. The Knights of Alcea walked quietly in single file with Garth in the lead. The caves were indeed a maze of immense proportions, but Garth noticed a peculiarity about the path they took. Some of the tunnels were lit by dim torches and some were not, but the path that the fairy took avoided the lit passageways. Not once did their path pass by a lit torch. He filed that tidbit of knowledge away for potential future use. The group passed by three unconscious guards in their winding journey that took over half an hour, but eventually they came to a dead-end in a large circular chamber. There were two torches set in stands, but neither was lit.
"Is this it?" Garth asked softly.
"This is where the Cracker meets his captains," Bitsy reported, her face beaming with pride.
"But where is Cracker?" asked Kalina.
"He is not here," Bitsy answered as if that fact was obvious.
"We want him here," Garth declared. "It was not the chamber that we came to see. Find him and find a way to get him here without revealing yourself."
"I can do that," boasted the little woman. "I shall return."
The fairy was very familiar with the maze of tunnels, having spent a good deal of the day mapping them. She knew that there were only a few sleeping chambers nearby, and she searched them all, but there was no person wearing a hood. Frustrated, she sat in the chamber of one of the captains she had seen earlier. She ran through her memories and suddenly grinned broadly as a mischievous scheme came to mind. She levitated one of his boots high over the sleeping form and let it drop. As she had expected, the thief woke with a jolt, and when he did, the fairy presented an image in the center of his small chamber. It was the image of Cracker ordering the man to wake him near dawn so he could check the preparations for the expected assault.
The captain was disoriented, but he sat up and stared at the image as it dissipated. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, wondering what the hour was. One of the problems of living underground was that one had a tendency to lose track of time, and the thief had no desire to trek to one of the exits to see for himself. He pulled on his boots and strode from the chamber. The captain made a small journey to an area where other thieves camped out. He woke one of the men and instructed him to determine the hour. The lower-ranked thief groggily obeyed and ran towards an exit. He returned much sooner than possible for a trip all the way to the exit and the captain stared at him questioningly.
"Guards have been found sleeping on duty," the thief reported with alarm. "Section three is like a beehive trying to figure out what is going on because the men had just w
oken from sleep before starting their shifts. They think it is magic."
"Wake everyone and prepare for battle," ordered the captain as he moved quickly out of the chamber.
Bitsy silently followed the captain as he ducked into private sleeping chambers and woke other captains. Eventually he woke a man and called him Cracker. Cracker rose quickly and threw on his hood even before his boots. With the captain following him, Cracker strode swiftly into the meeting chamber. While Cracker walked across the chamber and took his place of honor on a plush rug, the captain lit the torches. When the captain had finished lighting the two torches, he turned towards Cracker and halted with a puzzled expression on his face. The leader of the thieves was staring past the captain with an expression of disbelief. The leader's mouth was wide open as if he were trying to say something but couldn't. The captain turned slowly and saw the four Knights of Alcea flanking the entrance to the chamber. It was obvious that they had been waiting in the darkness for Cracker to arrive.
Chapter 36
To Morro
Three other captains raced into the meeting room before Garth nodded to Kalina. The mage erected an invisible physical shield blocking the only entrance to the chamber. The three new arrivals were confused as to what was happening until they too turned around and saw the four Knights of Alcea.
"We had asked for a private meeting," Garth said gravely. "I suppose we can allow your captains to join us."
"How…" Cracker began.
"Where is the appropriate question," Garth cut him off. "Where are our belongings?"
One of the captains moved slightly behind another, as if to remove himself from Garth's view, and Natia's eyes immediately locked onto him. When the thief captain slid a throwing knife from his waistband, Natia didn't hesitate. Her throw was smooth and casual, but her knife sliced deep into the thief's neck. The man gurgled and dropped to the floor, his knife clanging loudly. Garth's eyes didn't even waver from Cracker. He continued talking as if nothing had happened.
Final Voyage of the Remora Page 44