by Jamie Davis
“Great, while you do that,” Cari said, “I’ll see if I can round up any more survivors below. Keep an eye out for Percy. He went to fetch the princess.”
Cari walked over to the hatch. Her heart sank when she saw water flowing by below. The ship’s lower decks had filled with water. A woman’s body floated by, the lifeless eyes looking up at her captain. Cari just stared until the body drifted out of sight.
Shaking herself, Cari called out into the rapidly filling void below.
“Abandon ship! If you can hear me, rally to the main deck. Abandon ship!”
A shout answered her, and a few seconds later Francesca walked through the waist-deep water pulling the carpenter’s mate behind her on a makeshift raft made from a broken cabin door. Another crewman walked behind supporting the other end.
“Have you seen anyone else?” Cari asked.
Francesca shook her head. “There isn’t anyone else. We’re it.”
Cari had difficulty believing her crew of nearly eighty souls were all dead or dying below decks. Shaking herself, she reached down into the hatchway.
“Here, bring him over here and I’ll help you pull him up.”
Francesca and the other crewman lifted the carpenter’s mate up until Cari was able to grab the man under his arms. Luckily, he was a small fellow. Cari leaned back and hauled him up onto the main deck.
Francesca and the other man, Cari thought his name was Tanner, climbed up in turn and lay staring up at the blue sky for a few seconds, catching their breath.
“Come on,” Cari said. “Bring him forward. Miss Doolan is readying a boat for us.”
“We’re gonna row away, ma’am?”
“No, Francesca, we’re gonna sneak off into the sunset. We’ll be gone by the time they manage to turn around and come back to search the ship.”
The other woman smiled. “I like it. It might just work.”
“Of course it will work. Now get this man up to the boat and get him situated. Help the First Mate get the boat ready. I’ll do one last search for survivors and be right behind you.”
Percy was just coming out of the main passageway to her cabin when Cari went to search for him. He led the young princess by the hand. She’d been crying and was shaking with fright.
“Good man, Percy. I knew you could do it. Come on, both of you. We are getting off this tub.”
“We are?” Percy seemed confused.
“Yes, we are. She’s done all she can for us. Hopefully, she’ll last a little longer and hide us while we escape, but she’s done her duty and brought us this far. Come on.”
Together the three of them headed to the forecastle. Helen had already lowered the boat over the side with Tanner and Francesca’s help. Tanner was down in the boat and helped lower the carpenter’s mate down to lay propped up in the boat’s bow.
Francesca climbed down next and then helped the princess down, followed by Helen who had trouble due to her broken arm. Percy followed and left Cari alone on the deck of her ravaged ship.
The Vengeance, her home for the last year on Fantasma, had served her and the crew well until this final fight. This time, though, it was just too much. They’d taken fire from six other ships. She crippled four of them and damaged the last two. There was no shame in going down after a fight like that.
Cari nodded a final goodbye to her ship and climbed over the side where she took her place between two of the three pairs of oars. Francesca and Tanner sat with the other two pairs since the three of them were the only people in the boat in any shape to row.
Helen sat at the tiller and steered them due west aiming directly into the setting sun. Hopefully, anyone looking their way would be blinded by the bright glow and not see the tiny boat bobbing between the sea and the light.
Cari pulled at the oars as hard as she could, setting the cadence for all three of them with a steady voice. Her back to the sun, she could see the last two Sultanate ships turning about and trimming their sails to come back to where the Vengeance drifted at the mercy of the current.
They’d rowed for nearly a half hour before Percy spotted the first of the new fleet of ships to the west.
“Ma’am, there are more ships coming up ahead of us. They’re flying the Duke’s colors.”
Cari craned her neck around to try and see what Percy was talking about. A desperate lump rose up in her throat as she saw the approaching vessels. There had to be four or more ships in the flotilla coming their way.
“The Duke certainly covered all his bases. He assumed we might slip past his double line and situated a third fleet to the west. I’d call it overkill for just us but what’s the point?”
Francesca raised her arm her finger extended behind them as the first Sultanate ship caught up to the Vengeance. They didn’t stop and grapple alongside as Cari had hoped they’d do.
It was apparent they’d spotted the small boat despite Cari’s hopes.
Here they sat, midway between both enemies and Cari for once was at a loss for what to do. Her shoulders slumped as she stared at the bottom of the boat and the water sloshing around there.
Her dad had always told her there was no such thing as a hopeless situation. He’d raised her to know the legend of the Kobayashi Maru scenario. Captain Kirk cheated on the test because he refused to believe in failure. There was always a way out.
Cari snarled deep in her throat, angry she was going to die out here in the middle of the ocean and fail at her mission to save the little girl. She’d never get to grow up in this wonderful and fantastical place, denied the opportunity just like Cari.
Growling Cari lowered her oars back into the water and started rowing again, continuing west.
“Cari,” Helen said. “It’s over. You can stop now. You did your best.”
“No. This is the Kobayashi Maru. We can never give up. It’s a fake test.” Cari pulled harder on the oars. The other two soon joined their captain.
“Kobee-what?” Helen asked.
“Never mind, just keep us pointed west and pray. There’s got to be a way out. Some way, somehow, there’s got to be a way.”
Helen shook her head, not understanding but continuing to steer the longboat westward. Cari didn’t blame her. She didn’t understand either. She just refused to believe this was the end.
From either side, the two enemies closed on her tiny boat and still, Cari rowed on towards the setting sun.
The lead ship of the western flotilla turned ahead of them, blocking their path and still, Cari didn’t give a damn. She wouldn’t give up.
The crash of the ship’s cannons firing a broadside at them was the final blow that crushed Cari’s soul. She waited for the cannon balls to impact her tiny boat, to destroy all she’d strived to achieve here in Fantasma.
Instead, the projectiles whistled by overhead, missing her and the remainder of her crew. They smashed into the leading Sultanate ship coming up behind them. The cannonballs splintered multiple holes in the hull and took out the foremast as well. The mast and its triangular sails toppled into the sea.
Cari turned, her mouth open in shock and she saw the green and gold banner of the Duke of Charon get pulled down and a familiar red and black checkered flag run back up to fly at the top of the mizzenmast.
The other three raider ships turned as one and fired at the already crippled Sultanate ship and its companion. The lead ship almost crumpled under the blow as more massive holes blasted open in the hull. The one behind didn’t fare any better.
Cari sat there, her mouth still hanging open, and watched the two Sultanate ships sink before her eyes. Then it was too much for her and the tears flowed as a glowing alert appeared in front of her.
* * *
Quest completed — break through the fleet
18,000 experience
Chapter 39
Hal strode down the gangplank, Mona right behind him. He stepped onto the pier and looked around the town of Morton Creek.
In many ways it looked exactly the same as when he
left here, fleeing the mage hunters with Theran the Bold many years before. The baron’s castle sat overlooking the harbor at the top of the hill on which the seaside town was built.
Stefan had told him the place had devolved into little more than a large fishing village with the harbor hardly used by any significant shipping anymore.
That expectation confused Hal as he scanned the other tall ships tied up at the other piers around them.
“I thought you said this place wasn’t very busy? It looks plenty busy to me.”
Stefan walked down the gangplank to stand beside the pair on the dock.
“I don’t understand it either. Something has changed and not for the better. Look over there. Those men at the food vendor’s stall are wearing the green and gold livery of the Duke of Charon. These must be his ships.”
“If they are, they’ve seen action recently,” Mona noticed. “Check out the recent hasty patches on the hull over there and the missing sections of rail or the wooden splints holding the mast together on that other one.”
“They weren’t here when I left,” Stefan explained.
“I don’t see Cari’s ship here either,” Hal exclaimed. He clenched his fists. “Damn, this means we missed her again, all because of the Duke and his infernal plans. I think I’m going to have to have a private conversation with his Grace when I return to the Crystal City.”
“Stop going down that path,” Mona said. “If you get all tied up on your self-righteous horse we’ll end up going off on some epic quest. We’re here to get Cari back and go home. That’s it.”
“Agreed,” Hal sighed. “Stefan, you mentioned Cari had friends in town. Perhaps they know something about where she might be?”
“It’s possible. I never met them, but she said he was a blacksmith who worked up by the castle. That shouldn’t be too hard to find. Let’s keep a low profile, though. We don’t want to get bogged down with any trouble dealing with the Duke’s men.”
Mona perked up at the mention of the blacksmith. “I could use the services of a good blacksmith. I’m running into some trouble with the crafting of the portal device to take us home. I think I need a stronger, more light-weight alloy than I’ve been able to find elsewhere.”
“We can ask him about that while we’re there,” Hal said. He turned to Stefan. “Lead on. We’ll be good.”
“What’s with the ‘we,’ dear? I’m not the one who loses his temper and kills people he thinks need killing.”
“Fine, I’ll be good. Let’s get going. Hopefully, this blacksmith friend knows something.”
The trio started into the town and turned left to head up the hill towards the castle above them. The street wound around and through a district of warehouses and then through a residential area.
Hal waited until yet another unit of the Duke’s guard marched past them and leaned towards the others.
“There sure are a ton of soldiers here for a small town like this. It’s more like they’re an occupying force who’ve conquered the place.”
“Let’s keep going,” Mona said. “We’ll learn what is going on soon enough.”
They kept going until they could see the landward battlements of the baron’s castle ahead. The numbers of the Duke’s guard had increased and it was clear they were using the castle as a base of some sort.
“Listen,” Mona said. “Hear that? That’s a hammer on an anvil. Come on.”
Mona took the lead and Hal soon heard the steady hammer blows as well. They followed the sound until it took them to a small building in front of a fenced in smithy with an open forge at the back.
Hal held the door while Mona and Stefan entered the smithy’s store.
A young woman with her dark brown hair pulled back in a french braid stood behind a counter. Behind the counter was a wall rack full of swords, knives, and other sharp implements of various sorts.
“May I help you?” The young woman asked.
“Maybe,” Hal said. “I wonder if it might be possible to talk to the smith. I think he might be an acquaintance of my daughter’s and my wife and I are hoping he can help us find her.”
“I’ll go and tell him you’re here. Can I have your name?”
“Hal, Hal Dix. This is my wife, Mona, and the young man over there is Stefan.”
At the mention of his name, all the blood rushed from the girl’s face and she went deathly pale. She gathered her wits about her before Hal could ask her what was going on, she held up a finger for them to wait and ran out the rear door of the shop. Hal presumed it led into the smithy’s courtyard.
Mona nodded to the rear door. “She knows who we are based on her reaction. That means she’s probably met Cari. I think we’re in the right place.”
“I hope so,” Hal replied. He picked up a sword from the rack behind the counter. “This is good work. It’s lighter than I’d expect for a blade this size.”
“Let me see,” Mona said. She took the blade and examined it, then pulled a small jeweler’s loop from her utility belt and peered through it at the flat of the blade then turning it to look at the edge, too.”
“Cari’s been here. I’m sure of it,” she said, setting the blade back on the counter.
“How can you be so sure?” Hal asked.
“There’s no way this blade and the alloy it’s crafted from is the work of a local smith. I have yet to see a blade or anything else made of it anywhere. Plus, the edge geometry shows a sophisticated double grind. Unless I miss my guess, Cari has developed some decent crafting skills while she’s been out galavanting around Fantasma.”
The rear door swung open and a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped through the door. He looked from Hal to Mona and back again and his shoulders sagged and he shook his head.
“Hello,” Hal said. “I’m—”
“I know who you both are. I had hoped Maisy was exaggerating or had misheard your names. It’s easy to see who you are, though. Your daughter resembled both of you.”
“Wait,” Mona said. “What do you mean by ‘resembled?’ You act like she’s dead or something.”
“Perhaps we should come over here and sit down.” He gestured to the corner where a round table and four chairs sat.
“I don’t need to sit,” Mona said, her voice taking on a monotone and sounding cold as ice. Her hand dropped to her utility belt. “Tell us who you are and where Cari is.”
“I’m Heath, Heath Fletcher. Cari was my friend and, in some ways, a sort of comrade in crafting.” He blinked and turned from Mona to Hal. “I can’t believe you two are really here. She talked about her parents a lot, but it was only recently that we knew who she really was and to whom she referred when she mentioned you two.”
“You’re not answering my wife’s question, Heath. Where is Cari?”
An anguished look crossed his face and tears filled the smith’s eyes, threatening to brim over and flow down his cheeks. Eventually, he failed holding them back.
“She’s gone, killed at sea in a great battle with the ships of the Duke of Charon.”
“Dead?” Mona managed to croak out through a throat tightening with grief. “I don’t believe it. We’d have known something like that, wouldn’t we, Hal?”
“What happened?” Hal asked. “What have you heard?”
“It’s all over town. The Duke’s ships came into the harbor a few days ago, two days after the soldiers took over the town. Cari was forced to flee in the Vengeance. When the ships came back, they were all badly damaged and I got the impression more than a few of their fleet had been sunk during a recent sea battle. The Baron’s guard captain is a customer of mine and he came in the shop after the ships returned.”
Heath shook his head and stopped talking. He looked at the floor in front of his chair, unable to continue.
“Out with it,” Hal said. “What did he tell you?”
“The Duke’s fleet was waiting off the coast for Cari to flee in her ship. They pursued her and managed to sink her ship in a running battle. They were a
ttacked at the end of the fight by a fleet of swift Raider ships and had to flee the area. They all told the guard captain there was little doubt they’d succeeded in killing the girl. Many claimed to watch The Vengeance sink. It was lost with all hands.”
Heath looked up at Hal. “I’m sorry, Prince Hal. I am a father, too. I can only imagine what I’d do if one of my children was taken from me like that.”
Hal, his heart heavy as grief rolled over him, tried to think of some way this young smith could be wrong. There had to be a way for him to find out if she’d somehow survived the fight despite her ship being sunk in the battle.
Then it came to him. He opened up his personal stats menu and selected quests from the options there. It brought up a new menu.
* * *
Quests:
—Active quests
—Completed quests
—Failed quests
* * *
Mentally clicking on the active quests item, his heart skipped a beat as the menu option opened.
* * *
Active quests:
—Locate Cari and take her home
* * *
Mona sat next to him, staring at the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks. Hal reached out and took her hand.
“Don’t cry, honey. She’s still alive.”
“How do you know?”
“Check your quests menu. The quest to find her and take her home is still active. If she’d died out there in the sea somewhere, we would have both gotten a failed quest notification. The fact that we didn’t means she’s still out there. Somehow, against all the odds, she survived. Cari’s alive.”
Epilogue
Cari listened to the children playing in the courtyard behind her and smiled. Turning, she watched as the two little girls sat and giggled at each other while they played with the porcelain dolls, dressing them up in a variety of outfits from a small wooden chest on the bench next to them.