by T L Ford
"Suppose they lower it and used it to slice off the mast as they go by?" Robbie suggested.
"It wouldn't be able to cut the mast. It would catch and pull the ships into each other." Angela glanced back at their masts.
Kent swore. "It wouldn't have to. It could just cut the forestays and lines down the side of the ship. Do you know what that would do to all our sails? The masts might even fall. Those lines aren't decoration."
"Go warn the Captain, Kent. And come right back." Angela turned to Robbie as Kent ran. "They wouldn't even have to attack immediately. They could wait a while for us to run out of food."
"They'll attack. The chaos from downed sails will definitely tip the balance of the battle in their favor."
Kent had reached the Captain. Their ship began to shift course so it would go down the other side of the pirate ship. Angela happened to be watching through the glass and saw the pirates adjust some of their lines. The pirate ship shifted and tilted the other direction as the lance-like object shifted to the other side. Behind her, she heard Jayden order extra lines.
"It's not going to be enough," she said to Robbie.
"No, Milady, it's not."
Kent returned. "Your father says you should go below."
"He's going to need every fighter, even me," she shrugged.
"That's what I told him. He wasn't happy."
"What if we could stop the lance from cutting our lines?" Angela said thoughtfully. She spun around and studied their lines. "How are your acrobatics?" she inquired. "Could you both do a drop and roll?"
"Is this your idea of hanging out at the back and only coming forward if needed?" Kent asked dryly.
"We could climb the frontmost line, leap across as soon as the ship is close enough, disable the lance."
"And be three against twenty-five," Robbie summarized.
"Kent can cut the lance's support lines while you and I protect his back. He'll know which ones and we're the better fighters. By time we're done, my father's crew will have joined the fight." She rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. The headless specter of Davies seemed to hang before her, whispering, "You're just like the rest of us. You kill just like us." Angela shook her head to clear the vision. "I can't take you with me if you can't do the drop and roll. Can you?"
They both said they could. "We go where you go," Robbie grinned. "I predict they're not going to be happy they chose this ship."
"Ok, then! To the foredeck!"
* * * * *
Captain Thomas saw his daughter head off toward the front cabins and was relieved. Kent must have finally gotten some sense into her. She was a willful child and likely got that trait from himself, he thought morosely. Out of necessity, he dismissed her from his attention.
He watched his men pulling up redundant lines with Jayden organizing their efforts. As the lance passed down the length of the ship, his men would run out with the extra lines and secure them. Perhaps they could save the masts. Timing would be critical. Men who were busy tying down lines would not be busy with swords. No wonder the pirates were confident enough to attack on a clear day. If Kent hadn't warned him about the lines... he shuddered.
Jason's men were just stringing up the last extra line as the pirate ship started its first pass. The long blade dropped horizontal, supported at its back end by several lines, and secured against cutting resistance by another quickly tied forward. His crew was armed and prepared to defend against boarders, some ducked down, hidden. He saw one of his men fire off an arrow and hit someone's arm. Jason braced for impact, holding the rail with his non-sword hand.
"Hold her steady, Matthew," he shouted over to the doctor, who was at the steering wheel. He needed everyone else for defense. Matthew had a sword hanging at his waist, but resolutely refused to use it. One man wouldn't make much of a difference. His crew's combat skills would be enough if that blasted lance didn't destroy their ship. With determination, he quickly stomped out the memory of how most of his crew had acquired combat skills before it could slip in and overwhelm him. He needed to focus on the moment, not relive old nightmares.
Jason saw movement on the foredeck and it took a moment for him to comprehend what he was seeing. His daughter and her two companions were climbing into the fore-rigging. What were they doing? He swore. The ratline they were on would be the first cut due to the angle of the ship. Pirates shouted a battle cry. First, Robbie jumped toward the other ship, quickly followed by Angela leaping, and lastly, Kent. Robbie and Angela disappeared behind the rail as they landed on the pirate ship. Kent smacked into the outside of the ship and miraculously managed to grab a portal and hold on.
His daughter popped up and looked over the side. Pirates ran toward her and Jason didn't have time to shout. She wouldn't have heard him anyway. She leaned over the side and reached for Kent, her back exposed to the pirates. Stupid or brave? Just as Jason was about to lose his daughter to a pirate sword, Robbie appeared and deflected the blow. The odds just weren't in their favor though. They only had daggers, not swords. And five men were bearing down on them. The first pirate near Robbie fell.
Jason's grip on the rail was white. He couldn't do anything at all to help her. Angela pulled Kent up and turned just in time to block a sword with a dagger. She shouted something he couldn't quite make out, dodging between two pirates. Both pirates stiffened and toppled. Jason saw Kent jump onto the railing and run toward the lance, a show of dexterity he knew even he couldn't match. Jason watched as his daughter and Robbie, staying on the deck, mirrored Kent's progress and blocked attackers. He couldn't quite see how they were doing it, but the pirates kept falling and did not get back up. Kent cut the lance's supporting line and vaulted over to the mast. His daughter disappeared onto the other side of the ship while Robbie stayed on the near side, still defending Kent. Robbie threw a dagger that landed in one of the pirate's throats.
The lance hit the first of his ship's lines - the same ratline that his daughter had climbed. The lance pulled backward, but cut the line nonetheless. Jason's ship shuddered. His first man prepared to cross over, as one of his men ran forward with the replacement line. The lance cut another line, but then suddenly dropped, unsupported, smashing into his ship's rail with a loud crack and balancing precariously a moment between the ships before the angle and moving ships caused it to drop into the sea. The men holding the redundant lines let go and ran for their weapons.
"Go over!" Jason shouted to his men. It was unlikely that he and his men would get there in time to save his daughter, but he knew she and her men had just saved his ship.
* * * * *
Onboard the pirate ship, Robbie Dale was busy doing what he did best. Open combat wasn't quite as stylish and elegant as he usually preferred, but at least the bodies falling to his poison convulsed nicely. If this were paid assassination, he could live like a king for several years using the payment. He'd have to find an opportune moment to point this out to his Dauphin.
Kent finished disarming the lance which meant Robbie was free of his geased order to protect Kent. A fine bit of logic there - he was geased to the Guildmaster to protect his Dauphin, and she redirected that to Kent, by saying that she would likely die if the lance were to destroy her father's ship because she would be taken by the pirates. This was still skewed, because he doubted she'd allow herself to be taken by pirates.
Several years ago, Robbie had been in the Guild when the scrawny kid had shown up and opened the trial box. Robbie figured someone had shown her. The kid hardly ever entered the guildhall and no one was even aware of her, and most, including Robbie, forgot about her. Then, last year, his Guildmaster had taken her on as an apprentice, and still, no one had paid much attention. She was at least able to throw a dagger. Most assumed his Guildmaster was merely bedding her. Then, his Guildmaster started requiring public skill demonstrations from her, as all Guildmasters did of their apprentices. Robbie wished he had even half of her natural dexterity. He'd never seen anyone better with a throwing blade, locks seemed to
melt when she touched them, and she climbed, stole, spoke thieves' cant, all with equal ease. Yet, she rarely said anything, never flaunted it, never bragged. She just quietly, competently, did as she was told, and even seemed to go out of her way to cultivate the aura of a common servant.
Or at least, she used to. During the time she had disappeared for several months, she changed and acquired a dangerous edge. No one quite knew the truth about that. Rumors ranged from her being kidnapped after the death of her mother (not likely, given her skills), to her mother being murdered and his Dauphin begging to be allowed to kill those responsible. Robbie's personal theory was that the Guildmaster had ordered her to slay her mother and take out Davies and his sycophants to prove both her loyalty and skill as the test and price of his naming her Dauphin.
Robbie avoided tripping just barely, yet again, as he angled toward the other side of the ship and his Dauphin. He hated how the ground kept moving. Just thinking about it made him nauseous again. He saw several sailors from their ship swing across on lines. Kent moved to clear a path for him and Robbie followed. Angela was sitting on the ship's rail, holding one of the ratlines. Her good daggers (the poisoned ones) were sheathed, and she was staring at the bodies at her feet. All four had a single tiny scratch on them. The remaining pirates were across the ship, engaged by her father's men.
"Milady, are you ok?" Kent went up to her.
"Don't touch the bodies," she whispered and then repeated it louder. She jumped off the rail and shouted it across the ship. "Fools are going to get killed," she muttered to Robbie. "Help me get rid of my bodies, Robbie. Kent, you take care of Robbie's, and make sure my father's men know. They're poisoned, so don't touch any blood."
Kent nodded and went back toward the other side.
"Class A, huh?" Robbie noted.
"Yes. Be careful."
He rolled his eyes at her. "I used that stuff before you were born. The question is, though, where did you get your hands on some?" They bent to lift the first body and throw it over. They didn't even bother to loot it.
"I stole it," she replied casually.
"Naturally." They lifted another over the edge. "From?"
"Maybe I bought it."
"Again, from who?" He knew for a fact there wasn't any Class A poison in Merryweather. As they worked their path backwards, they saw the remaining pirates had been corralled at the ship's bow, and the sails had been loosened until they no longer caught the wind.
"Might have been given to me, too."
"Hardly." They reached one of her earlier kills. Blood pooled underneath and went nearly the length of the body. Class A contaminated blood. He swore. "That was stupid."
She frowned down. "It wasn't intentional."
"There's not going to be any way to get rid of that. If we move him, it'll drip and spread. Even dried, that blood might kill. And now it'll be soaked into the wood."
"Why do you think I asked you to help me? Surely you've dealt with messier cleanups?"
He scoffed. "I don't clean up."
Angela's mouth twitched. "Naturally." She closed her eyes and rubbed her chin. Opening her eyes again, she said, "Ok, I'm going to go get a board we can roll him on. Make sure no one touches this mess."
Before he could disagree or comment on the danger of running around with potential hidden pirates ready to attack, she spun around and jogged off. Bloody geas. He stood there, uselessly, and waited. If he truly believed she was in any danger at all, his geas to the Guildmaster would free him to follow, but Robbie knew she was more than capable of defending herself. One by one, he saw the pirate ship's sails begin to lower, with their lines left to swing free in the breeze.
Kent stomped over to him. "I can't believe it! That bastard!"
"What?"
"That bastard is going to let them go free!"
"Watch your step there, Kent. Don't step in that," Robbie advised dutifully. "Now what is it you're talking about?"
"That moron. We're going to go back to our ship and sail away while they try to fix their rigging. He's not even going to take anything and he's just going to let them go free. He's over there negotiating with them right now."
Robbie shrugged.
Kent inhaled sharply and shook his head. "They attacked the official transportation of Lady Merryweather. They can't be allowed to live. Can you imagine what would happen to her reputation if word got out that she let anyone get away with that?"
"Ah. Guild forms," Robbie said. He ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back out of his eyes. "Isn't there a way to sink this ship that would give us time to get off?"
"You mean scuttle it?" Kent said thoughtfully. "That could work. It would have to be a small, unrepairable crack, somewhere deep down where it wouldn't be noticed until it was entirely too late. Come help me."
"Geased to make sure no one steps in this."
"Argh."
"Yeah."
Robbie and Kent spotted Jamil at the same time and a knowing look passed between them. Jamil appeared to be on his way back to the board now propped and secured between the two ships. "Hey, Jamil! Come here a moment?" Kent called out.
Jamil frowned disgustedly, but came over.
Robbie pointed at the bloody mess on the deck. "Class A. Don't touch that."
Jamil swore. "I wondered how you three managed to kill so many. I'll go tell the Captain we've got to secure this before we leave."
"Wait," Robbie said. "Angela has gone below and there could be hidden pirates. We've got to go check on her and make sure no one hurts her, but someone has to stand here and make sure no one steps in or touches this."
"I don't care if she dies. It would do the world a favor." Jamil declared and then paled slightly as if suddenly realizing he was talking to the girl's bodyguards.
"Please," Kent begged, "For her father. He loves her."
Gazing out across the water, Robbie commented indifferently, "Look, we're geased to protect her so we're leaving anyway. We're just trying to prevent anyone from accidentally dying, but if you want to risk that, it's fine by us."
Jamil shook his head and swore again. "All right. Go on."
Robbie and Kent didn't wait to see if he'd change his mind. They slipped below, into the side of the ship where Angela had not gone, drawing their daggers. They were immediately assaulted with a strong, putrid odor.
Robbie gagged, "What is that?"
"Mildew and piss. And you thought just being on a ship was bad. We could be stuck on a ship like this."
"I would have killed myself."
Their eyes adjusted to the darkness and Kent led the way below. They dropped down into the crawl-space below the lowest walkway. Kent skidded on one of the slimy beams, but caught himself before actually falling.
Robbie could barely breathe. "Here?" he choked.
Kent pointed a little farther back. Carefully, they made their way over to the piled anchor chain. Using their daggers, they chipped into the wood at one of the seams. Due to the mildew and rot, the wood was softer than expected and it didn't take long for them to bore a hole through. Water immediately began to spray in through the small opening.
"Let's get out of here," Kent muttered.
They moved quickly, almost racing each other to the fresh air. At the entrance, Robbie kicked free three of the ladder rungs and took those. They arrived back where Jamil was waiting.
"Where's Angela?" Jamil asked.
Robbie answered, "She's coming with a board. Go on. We've got this from here. There are still two more bodies over where we boarded. Best to warn people to stay clear, eh?" When Jamil was out of hearing distance, Robbie turned to Kent. "Maybe you'd better go check on her? She should be back by now." Kent nodded. "She went that way," Robbie pointed toward the other part of the ship.
Just as Kent was about to go inside, Angela appeared, dragging what appeared to be someone's bunk board. Kent immediately reached down and helped her carry it. They brought it over and set it next to the body.
"Here, use t
hese." Robbie tossed her one of the rungs and the other to Kent. Together, they carefully used those to roll the body onto the board. They launched the whole thing, rungs included, over the side. "Do you suppose it'll poison fish?" Robbie asked rhetorically.
Angela beckoned to Kent. "Come with me. We're getting another of those boards to nail over that deck."
Robbie returned to his post and stopped three crew from walking through the remaining blood on their way to the next sail line. Eventually, Angela and Kent appeared with what appeared to be the top of a table and several of the nails that had obviously been previously used to secure the table to the floor. They set this over the remaining blood and hammered it down. The other two bodies went over the rail with a splash.
"Come on, Milady," Robbie said, "Let's go back to our ship. I want to wash this stink off."
"It looks like they're about done anyway," Kent added.
Angela took one last pale look around the pirate ship and nodded.
Without seeming to rush, but certainly not dallying, Robbie and Kent escorted Angela back to their ship. As soon as they landed on deck, Robbie breathed a sigh of relief at not being on a sinking, stinking ship anymore. The three of them stood at the rail and watched the final sail drop. Jason Thomas was the last to cross back over the plank. Jayden immediately issued the command to tighten their sails and the Tempestas Vinco II lurched forward. Several pirates shook their fists at them as they sailed away. Robbie and Kent glanced at each other, but said nothing.
* * * * *
Angela, Robbie, and Kent stood at the rail watching the pirate ship shrink into the distance. Angela gripped the wood tightly, because her hands shook if she didn't and she didn't want Robbie or Kent to comment.
Her father came over to them after he finished making sure everything was returning to order. "Angela."
"Father," Angela bit her lower lip. "It had to be stopped," she whispered.
"I know. I'm sorry I... You're more like me than like your mother. I should have realized that. I'm sorry I've been trying to force you into something else. I would have lost my ship today if you hadn't been here. You could have died doing that. You three saved us." He nodded to Robbie and Kent. "Thank you. That was brave and honorable."