by Robe
A cry from Argain saved Joan, and the Black Commander left her at once. She turned to see the being rushing away toward Veese as he slowly, and with much effort, crawled toward Argain. Getting to her feet, Joan stumbled slightly and pursued the Black Commander. Veese looked up to notice its advancement as Joan outstretched her left hand again to spray water at the black knight’s feet, causing it to slip and fall.
With a furious shout, she dove at the Black Commander, intent on ending its servitude toward the Evil God, but too quickly it rolled, and Joan instead received a boot to the stomach. She fell, moaning in agony as she tried without success to rise. She could only watch as the black raider turned again to Veese; by this time, Argain had managed to claim refuge behind his minion once more, and Veese’s face twisted in frustration. The Black Commander poised its sword toward the hero, but before any harm could be dealt, Veese used the last of his willpower to push himself backwards with a gust.
Snorting, the knight followed its prey, and Joan watched as Veese went overboard off the ship. Quickly, the raider turned to see Joan had not moved, but before it could advance upon her, she felt another powerful breeze. The wind pushed her so incessantly that she merely had to lift her legs from the floor to be dragged to the railing of the ship. Noticing that its second victim was escaping, the Black Commander went directly from walking toward Joan to dashing toward her, and its sword fell just as she cleared the railing.
The ship drudged onward through the sea, and as it passed, Joan saw Veese barely wading above water. Summoning the last of her strength, she encouraged the water to bring him to her, and together they stayed afloat. Before them, Argain was reaching Lon Gairdas, and behind them, their friends were struggling to survive the serpent attack. The water churned slowly around them as they held one another, and in that moment, all seemed lost.
25
Captain Benard emerged from the depths of the ship with his arms full of pikes. “To your feet, lads! We will not lose our lives to this beast yet!”
The men holding swords and bows and the men struggling to remain unnoticed by the massive serpent rose at once, throwing down their weapons and each taking a pike. Each pike was a long, thin, wooden pole with a thick blade at the end, not unlike a spear, but much longer and less gainly. However, the weapons were perfect for such a fight, and the sailors were hardly relunctant to take up the new armament.
“I’ve killed men! I’ve killed pirates! I’ve fought armor that moves all on its own! Today, we kill ourselves a sea monster!” Benard shouted, and the sailors cheered before turning back to the snake. In the chaos of the battle, the serpent had wound itself around the Paragon Pelinum, separating the ship hands from the passengers with its massive coils.
Benard led the charge, releasing a battle cry. With all the strength the men could muster, they plunged their pikes into the thick hide of the beast. The sea monster quickly noticed that a dozen sharp edges had entered its body and swung its head over the attackers, its great neck flaps extending in a terrifying display. After an ear-splitting screech, the monster struck, and while the sailors braced themselves against its wicked speed, there was little defense for them as it lunged, tearing into men and snapping others up in its jaws.
There was nothing Benard could do as he watched the beast dominate his men, and he readied himself when its gaze found him. Just before the beast struck, one of the men beside Benard lost his wit and, dropping his pike, ran screaming. A much more appealing choice of prey presented, the snake’s yellow eyes locked onto the fleeing man, and it attacked.
Benard threw himself forward as the screaming man was pinned by the beast’s jaws. Knowing full well he could not reach the snake before it lifted the man away, Benard threw his pike, and its point plunged into the gum of the beast’s mouth. A shriek of unbearable pitch rang from the maw of the snake, and Benard thought his ears would bleed as he grabbed either side of his head and fell to his knees.
The cry of the snake filled the ears of everyone on the Paragon, and Auric looked up to see the beast swinging its head in pain. He quickly finished tying off a makeshift bandage around Thraun’s leg before looking at his friend.
“Go,” Thraun spoke, pretending he hadn’t almost lost his leg. “I’ll be fine.”
Auric nodded and rose to see Kandon and Ziem watching the mighty body of the snake convulse, rocking the entire ship. From the water, the snake’s many-ended tail appeared again, and Auric shouted for his two companions to duck as it swung right for them. Ziem barely avoided the hit, but Kandon was not so lucky and was thrown from the ship. The tail then spiraled upward and wrapped around the front-most mast of the Paragon. Auric watched in awe at the sheer strength of the creature as the tail tightened, and, with a loud cracking sound, the mast snapped and fell backwards into the water. Hoping that Kandon had not been hit by the large piece of falling debris, Auric rushed to Ziem and helped him up.
“Can you hit it?” Auric asked, steadying him as the ship rocked.
“I can try. I need to be closer, though,” Ziem replied, and Auric nodded. The pair turned to the body of the snake; two massive coils previously wrapped tightly around the boat and blocking their path now loosely hung above the deck and threatened to clamp back down any moment.
Auric pulled Ziem toward the first part of the snake’s body. As they passed under it, the giant belly of the snake smashed down just behind them, causing the ship to rock violently and throwing Auric and Ziem back into the beast. With the first, the second coil also collided with the deck and proceeded to slide toward Auric and Ziem.
An image of the two of them smashed between the massive coils of the snake flashed through Auric’s mind, and he grabbed Ziem by the back of his cloak. “On my shoulders! Go!”
Ziem hurriedly scaled Auric’s back and then the first part of the sea monster’s body. Finding he could grip the scales, he turned and offered Auric his hand. Auric looked back at the approaching coil and leapt onto the greenish-bronze body of the monster, grabbing Ziem’s hand. Glancing down, Auric realized that he would never clear the oncoming coil ready to smash him, and he saw Ziem slipping down with him.
“Leave me!” the leader shouted. “I’m dragging you down!”
Ziem grunted, and, with a feat of strength more impressive than Auric thought possible, pulled his leader onto the snake’s back just as the second coil collided with the first. The top of the snake was sleek, but the scales of the beast gave good traction, and the two men were able to stand. After a quick offering of gratitude, Auric pointed to the second part of the snake’s body that had almost crushed him, and Ziem nodded in understanding.
With a courageous leap, Ziem cleared the gap between the two coils and turned to help Auric, but before Auric could make the jump, the coil Ziem was standing on lifted off the deck of the Paragon and into the air. The youngest of the heroes almost lost his footing as he rose high up, and Auric watched anxiously as Ziem scrambled to his hands and knees to grip the scales more securely.
Seizing the chance, Auric slid from the first coil and raced under Ziem and back to the sailors, now wielding pikes in their battle against the sea serpent. Auric grit his teeth as the snake coil came hurtling back down against the ship with Ziem on it, causing the vessel to sway in the water. Without wasting any time, Ziem rolled from the snake’s body and joined Auric, shaking from the surprise ride.
A shriek reminded them that the snake’s head was still wreaking havoc, and they turned to see Captain Benard and what few men the ship had left above deck fighting the beast. It was less of a fight and more of a slaughter; the snake had a pike jutting from its mouth and blood pooled in the creature’s bottom jaw, but aside from the singular wound, it was the sailors who were losing. One by one, the snake plucked them from the deck, and the speed of the creature made it seem as though nothing could be done to stop it.
“Take cover until it’s time,” Auric said to Ziem. “I’m going to draw it to me.”
Auric glanced at Ziem, and the two exc
hanged a dutiful look before Auric stepped forward into the battle. Focusing as best he could amid the chaos, Auric produced a pile of dirt before him, never taking his gaze from the sea monster. Ziem remained in the distance, waiting for the right moment. When a large mound of earth stood before Auric, he walked out from behind his makeshift shelter to see the snake strike at Benard. The captain dove aside, barely escaping the fangs of the monster, and Auric put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.
Easily distracted from its previous target, the sea monster gazed about the deck until it spotted the one who had challenged its dominance. The black pupils of the snake contracted, and Auric dove behind his pillar of dirt as the beast lunged at him with jaws stretched. Instead of flesh, the sea monster took a mouth full of dirt, and its head hung idle for a moment in confusion.
A crack ripped through the air as a bolt of electricity exploded from the tip of Ziem’s brilliant, yellow sword and surged into the snake’s mouth. Auric watched from below as the beast shuddered, sparks dancing around its head until it shook free of the paralysis. The sea monster’s pupils shrunk further into the yellow orbs of its eyes, and silently, it slunk backward off the ship. Soon, the rest of the body followed, and the ship swayed as the two coils and then the tail disappeared over the edge and into the water.
“Did I… kill it?” Ziem asked, pulling Auric up from the pile of dirt.
“I don’t think so,” Auric replied. “Just scared it off.”
Around the ship, the sailors were littered, wounded, dead, or dying. The ship itself was in quite a state; its front mast hung loosly off the side of the vessel and countless significant cracks were visible in the woodwork. Still, the boat swam through the water, even in its pitiful state. As the sounds of screams and monster shrieks vanished, the men who had hidden below deck during the fight slowly emerged, receiving shaming looks from those who had stayed to defend the ship.
The remaining sailors still able to stand rushed around the deck, tending to the wounds of the injured and helping to ease the passing of the fading. Auric found Dalk where he had been knocked out by a swing of the sea serpent’s tail and tended the wound on his head. He was still unconscious when Auric left him to find Thraun.
“I don’t know how you managed it,” Thraun spoke, wincing as Auric approached. “You somehow saved us all.”
“How is your leg?” Auric asked, kneeling beside him.
“It hurts,” Thraun said. “That’s as much as I know.”
“You saved us all yourself,” Auric said as he peeled the bandage from the dried blood of Thraun’s wound. The injury had been sustained while Thraun stood bravely over the weakened, trying to shield his allies when the snake managed to break through his magical barrier. Thraun hadn’t enough time to make a clean escape as he was exhausted from employing such vigorous magic, and one of the monster’s fangs managed to find his leg.
“We would have been swallowed if you hadn’t held up that shield for so long,” Auric continued, trying to draw Thraun’s attention away from the pain as he worked on the wound. “I’ve seen men do courageous things, but I’ve never seen anyone stand up to a sea monster like that.”
“You’re making fun of me,” Thraun said, smiling quickly before flinching as Auric tended the wound.
“No. I’m not,” Auric said. “I keep saying I don’t know what we would have done without you all this time.”
“Well, based on how badly that hurts…” Thraun said, squeezing his eyes shut, “you might have to learn.”
“Nonsense,” Auric said, replacing the bandage. “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. You’ll be alright.”
“Hey! Did you forget about us?” a shout came from overboard, and Auric gave Thraun a brief nod before racing to the rail of the ship where Ziem was already standing and grinning. As Auric looked down, he saw clinging to the sail of the fallen mast Kandon, Joan and Veese, the latter two looking quite exhausted. Auric found a rope and threw it down to them. He and Ziem held it tightly as one by one they climbed the fallen mast back onto the deck of the Paragon, first Joan, and then Veese.
“If you drop me, I will die,” Kandon shouted to Auric as he began walking up the slanted surface of the mast. “I’m not the best swimmer.”
“Then you got lucky the mast fell on top of you?” Auric shouted back down to him.
“I got lucky it didn’t strike me where I landed. I’m alive because it fell,” Kandon said, and as he reached the rail of the ship, he grabbed Auric’s outstretched hand and jumped on board.
“Auric,” Veese spoke, but he looked ready to collapse. Auric grabbed his arm and sat him down, Joan lying beside him, panting. Both of their faces were pale; their skin was pruney and their hair looked as if it had been damp for quite some time.
“Easy,” Auric said. “What happened?”
“We knew we could do little to help in the fight against the sea monster,” Veese explained. “Joan and I closed the distance between our ship and Argain’s, and we fought him. Rather, we fought his minions. He is weakened, from the snake, from the storm, maybe still from creating all of the black raiders. We must catch him while he is still unable to fight back. He has but one follower now.”
Auric nodded, but looked bleakly up at the shattered mast. “How will we reach Lon Gairdas?”
“Lon Gairdas is on the horizon,” Joan said, and she sat up to point. Seeing she was right, Auric stood, told his friends he would return shortly, and sought out Benard. He found the captain of the Paragon kneeling beside a man too far gone to save. Benard tried to comfort him the best he could but knew the splinter spearing him through the abdomen was too lethal to do anything about. Quiety, Benard took a knife from his belt and ended the man’s suffering.
After covering the dead man’s face, he stood and turned to Auric, his expression sullen. “We’ve lost more men today than any voyage I’ve been on. May they find peace, for their deaths were valiant.”
Auric nodded. “I’m sorry. I know you knew many of them well. Their sacrifices will not be in vain.”
“No,” Benard said. “Now I understand why you were so determined to catch that fiend. His blood will spill for this.”
“But the state of the ship,” Auric spoke. “Can we make it to Balistary Port?”
Benard looked at the destroyed foremast and rubbed the stubble on his chin. Silently, he gazed around at the sails and walked to the edge of the ship to look down at the water. Finally, he spoke, “I’m not sure how, but we’re still moving, and fast. This ship was not built by fools.”
“No. No it was not,” a voice said behind them, and the tone irritated Auric more than the sound of metal scraping against metal. Auric and Benard turned to see Farseed leering at them down his long nose. “You have destroyed the single most valuable asset in possession of the Docking Guild. How do you possibly intend to repair the damage done to this vessel?”
Benard left Auric to deal with Farseed and returned to commanding the remaining sailors in hopes of guiding the ship to its destination.
“My primary concern is finishing what we got on this ship to accomplish, which means chasing the Evil God to the ends of the New World, if I must,” Auric said.
“So, you will make no effort to repay the Docking Guild?” Farseed accused, his eyes growing wide.
“Not until my allies and I have saved this world from the greatest evil it has ever seen,” Auric replied.
“The Guild will be furious. They will send men after you,” Farseed threatened.
“Send them my personal apologies, but I have greater issues to worry about,” Auric said and walked away from Farseed to rejoin his friends.
“Nothing you say will help you! The Guild will have their payment! Mark my words!” Farseed called after him.
-
The companions paced the deck anxiously as they waited. Argain’s ship had slowed considerably with but one raider controlling it. Auric spied on them through the telescope, confirming that Argain did look impotent.
The Evil God sat cross-legged on the deck with his eyes shut, as if focusing very hard on something.
Dalk finally awoke, confused and in pain. Without wasting any time, Joan fetched her satchel from below deck and administered a remedy for head-related injury, and before long, Dalk was standing with the rest of them.
“Are you going to be able to fight when it comes down to it?” Auric asked Veese.
“I will,” Veese said, “but I fear I will not be as useful this time.”
“And you, Joan?” Auric turned to look at Joan where she was sitting against a pile of barrels with Kandon at her side.
“Nothing could stop me from seeing Argain’s final moments,” she said.
Auric nodded. His greatest fear was that they would not be strong enough to overcome Argain once the Evil God realized he either had to fight or die. The party was very much weakened, but in contrast, it would be quite a lopsided fight when it came to numbers.
“You,” Auric said, looking at Thraun where he lay, “will be staying right here until we come for you.” Thraun looked upset but agreed there was nothing he could contribute with only one functioning leg.
“They’ve reached land,” Ziem said.
The party rose and looked out across the distance between them and Balistary Port and saw that Argain and the Black Commander were indeed docking. Argain seemed barely fit enough to stagger off the ship, but when confronted by the men on the wharf, he reached out to touch them, and they fell.
“He is slaying the innocent already,” Dalk said, and then he turned to shout to Benard where he steered the ship. “How long until we dock?”
“Not long,” Captain Benard shouted back. “A few minutes before you can touch land.”
“Benard,” Auric called to him, “I need you to not waste any time trying to dock properly. Stay true and ride this ship into the wood of the dock. We will jump.”