by C Woodward
I heard some raiders searching around in the cargo hold. The five of us quietly waited. One invader came fairly close to us. My heart was pounding inside my chest.
A voice boomed from above, “Found anyone?”
The raider near us shouted back, “No!” The first voice yelled, “Then get back up here!” The raider near us muttered something but I couldn’t make out what he said. A moment passed before we heard them climb up the stairs. The door closed behind them, plunging us into more darkness. We all sighed a little.
We heard them walking above us in the crews quarters. “Hey! Check out this armor! Bet it’s worth a bundle!” one of them cheered. I frowned; they better not take my armor.
“Hey! There is will be plenty time for looting when we get this ship to back home!” We heard my armor being dropped on the floor. Feeling very dizzy, I leaned back on a crate and closed my eyes for a bit.
There was not enough room for us to lie down. I might have rested for ten minutes. None of us uttered a word. Everyone was stunned and tired. We heard the voices of a few raiders above us. We couldn’t make out what they were saying but they were moving all around the ship. As my eyes became more adjusted to the darkness, I could actually see some shapes.
We continues waiting. One of the three crewmen whispered, “They shouldn’t hear us if we talk quietly.”
Another said, “I think we are the only survivors. The blasted raiders.”
Jerak asked, “How many do you think are up there?”
A crewman answered quietly, “It takes at least three men to sail this ship, but they might have a few more so they can sail it wherever they are taking us.”
After a moment of silence, Jerak again whispered, “I might be able to take care of them.”
I warned, “We don’t know how many there are on board and besides, the other ship might be following us with more men.” Jerak nodded and let out a sigh.
“We should sleep in shifts so we can alert others and make sure we all keep quiet” one of the men whispered.
Jerak agreed, “Well, in another few hours, the sun will rise.” We waited in silence. I kept falling in and out of sleep, so much so that it didn’t matter whose turn it was to sleep. The sun was rising and we saw a little bit of light through the tiny gaps of the floor above us.
“I can see your wound is healing nicely,” Jerak whispered. I carefully touched my face. If I didn’t keep getting banged around, the wound might actually close up. Jerak reached around in his belt and whispered, “Want me to get rid some of the stitches? You don’t seem to need them anymore.”
I whispered, “Your knife is inside a raider’s collarbone.” One of the crewmen cracked a smile. “Shh. I think one of them is coming down here.” a crewman whispered. A raider casually whistled as he climbed down the stairs. We waited while he wandered and then chuckled joyfully.
We could hear him picking something up and yelling, “Hey, I found a keg!”
He waited and no one responded, “Well then, guess if you don’t care, there’s more for me!” He laughed to himself as he walked back up the stairs.
After the door closed Jerak whispered, “Good, if they get drunk, we might have a chance.” Another whispered, “Chance for what?” Jerak smiled and replied, “Someone can sneak up there and do all sorts of damage.” He grinned at me.
I looked back, “Why are you looking at me?” Jerak looked at the three crewmen, “Blake would be ideal for the job. He once disguised himself as a Shaden and got inside their base and burned the place down.”
The three crewmen stared at me in surprise. One asked in amazement, “Are you really ‘Blake?’”
Another whispered, “That’s just silly. There’s no way the man that defeated Xum’gol would be hiding away in a ship with us.” I shrugged.
Jerak smiled and whispered, “Oh, you better believe that he is here. Not only that, the legendary Jerak is…”
A crewman interrupted, “If you are Blake, you might be able to sneak out here after they get drunk.”
Jerak sighed about being interrupted. I sighed as well and whispered, “I don’t think I am the best man for the job.” Jerak interrupted, “Blake, I’ll admit, you are much cleverer than I am. You might not be as good as me in combat but you can do amazing things. I have faith in you.” I smiled and actually felt inspired. Jerak folded his arms and closed his eyes and engaged a confident grin.
I took a deep breath and whispered, “Alright, I’ll go do it. Now, we do need a plan.” I pondered a moment and came up with a quick plan. I heard some of the raiders laughing and making a racket above us. It was clear; they had already gotten into the booze. I looked around and whispered, “Let’s see now. I will climb out of here and sneak upstairs. Um, I bet only a few of them will get drunk since someone needs to be able to sail the ship.”
A crewman whispered, “So, at least three of them will be up and about.” I sighed, “It might be best to try and see how many of them there are first, and what can be done without drawing any attention to myself. So killing any might is a bad idea, though if I get caught…”
Jerak continued, “Then, you can call for us and we will rush up to aid you.” I looked at the three crewmen, they all nodded.
I glanced at tiny gaps in the ceiling, looked around and then whispered, “Is there anything that can be used as a poison?” The crewmen looked at each other. One whispered, “There is lantern oil but I don’t know how poisonous that is. It would be hard to get them to drink any of it.”
I sighed and Jerak whispered, “I guess setting a fire wouldn’t be a good idea, right?” We all gawked at him. It sucked being so cramped up. Hunger and the need to make waste had occurred to us more than once. We carefully opened the side of one of the crates and found some glass containers packed in straw. These, at least, would solve our bathroom problem. We worried that the smell of the growing number of used containers would draw unwanted attention.
It had grown quiet up on deck; the raiders had been celebrating for what felt like hours. I took a few deep breaths and slowly climbed over and outside our little barrier. I turned back and saw them looking at me with hope in their eyes. My legs felt like they were made of rubber from sitting so long. I looked around and saw my axe. It was still bloody from my last use. I saw a few pikes, but the axe would do nicely. I was still quite sleepy, but excitement was keeping me awake. I quietly climbed the stairs, gently pushed on the door and took a deep breath. It’s show time!
I opened the door a crack, heard a slight creak which scared me. The only thing I could hear were the sounds of the ship and snoring. Two of the raiders were sleeping away on cots with another on the floor, passed out by the keg. That’s three, so far. I quietly snuck around. I saw my armor lying by one of cots.
There were drops of blood all over the place. I guess they looted the corpses before they dumped them overboard. I scanned around to see if there was anything useful to create some chaos. I guess there was nothing to do except use my axe on them. I saw the severed finger I bitten off. I still can’t believe I did that. Footsteps caught my attention; they were coming in.
I froze for a second, then decided to dart to the other end and duck behind a cabinet. If a man decided to walk in that direction, he will most likely spot me, but I had nowhere else to hide. A raider came in, looking down at his drunken buddy who was already passed out. He muttered and went straight to the keg. I watched him gulp down some liquor. I lowered my head when he looked in my direction. He just walked right back outside. I let out a sigh as I heard the door shut behind him. So, there are four now. I might as well do an accurate head count and then work my plan.
Once outside, I saw that the sky had grown cloudy and grey, making things look darker than normal. I assumed that one man had to be controlling the ship, so that made my count; five. I saw a man taking some swigs of booze, as he climbed up the first mast of the ship.
Looking up, I observed a man coming out of the captain’s quarters. I quickly closed the door and
waited. He was yelling at the guy going up the mast; so that made six. I went back to my hiding spot and hoped he wouldn’t come in. A minute passed and I heard nothing. Maybe he was too busy working to come in and rest.
It is going to be hard to get a head count because I had no easy way to pass to the other side without having one of those two spot me. I thought about the three who were passed out. None of them are wearing anything that looked like a uniform. Most were dressed pretty shabbily, for the most part. I did see one who wore a large coat and a leather cap and that gave me an idea.
I quietly slipped through the door leading outside to get another look. The men were busy getting the ship on their course. Just to be safe, I decided to do most of my work below. I walked back past the drunk, whom I was going to use after taking him out. I hit him hard on the forehead with the blunt side of the axe. Well, one down, at least five to go.
I dragged him further downstairs. His body made a thump with each step. I was in no shape to lug around a corpse. At the bottom of the stairs, I gently put the axe down and began to remove the jacket and other pieces of clothing. His boots were much too big, but I put them on anyway. The only thing I didn’t put on were his pants and shirt. His jacket was a big on me as well but it would cover me well. I put on the leather cap. It smelled a bit but it was a good disguise. I searched his pockets and found a coin pouch which I added to my belt. He had kept a short sword on the left side of his belt, so I mimicked that habit. Up close, you could tell I was not this guy, but if I kept my head down low and kept my distance, I could pull this off. I hoped.
I gave my allies a wave before going up stairs. I was not sure if they saw me. The place looked just as it was before I did my damage, except a few extra blood splats. I looked over at the cot where the guy I was impersonating was sleeping. There was a wooden stein-type mug lying just under the cot. It reeked with the odor of what they been drinking. I held it and took a few deep breaths as I reached the door to the deck. Here goes nothing.
I lowered my head and tried to act like a drunk. Instantly, I heard a voice calling to me, not in a tone of alarm but in a mocking tone. I swayed my arm at him, acting like I just didn’t care what was being said. I heard him laughing. I staggered a bit and went toward the side of the ship, dropped my mug and faked a heaving cough. “Serves you right!” joked one of the raiders above me. I ignored them, coughed a little more and then walked toward the other side of the ship. That worked out well.
On the other side of the ship was the kitchen with an outside stairway leading to the captain’s deck. I was fearful of encountering someone in the kitchen and I was in no position to sneak in without the two men taking notice.
I worked my way up the stairs. I was light-headed again, but it aided my drunk act. I pretended to slip a little and caught myself before I fell on my face. I heard more laughter. As I climbed up the stairs towards the door, I scanned the water for the other ship. It was a fair distance ahead of us, which gave me hope. I sighed and grabbed the hilt of the short sword as I opened the door into the captain’s quarters.
I heard a noise as I came in which turned out to be someone snoring. The captain’s lodgings were quite nice, and not overly decorated. There was a large bed on which a raider was snoring away. He might not be a passed out drunk, so I needed to be careful. I made a mental note of the current headcount. That made at least seven, er six. I walked to the sleeping raider while holding the sword. I nearly yawned, seeing this guy sleeping. Alright, I couldn’t go into the kitchen yet because there might be more of them in there. I already killed one and kind of sealed the fate of the rest who eventually would be taken out. I felt drained from so much thinking, but the excitement and the element of danger kept my mind from slipping. I heard doors opening from the kitchen below and froze.
It was quiet, so he might be heading to the other end. The raider on the bed mumbled and turned over. I quickly ducked out of sight. I heard him yawning and he sat up in bed. Oh crap! I looked around me. I figured that using the short sword would be too messy, plus he might make a racket.
I glanced around looking for anything. I saw a cloth handkerchief lying on the night stand by the bed. I quickly grabbed it and dropped down again. The raider let out a loud yawn and put his legs over the other side of the bed. He leaned down and started putting on his boots. I quickly grabbed opposite corners of the handkerchief and swing it in front of his face. He muttered half a word before I began to tighten the handkerchief around his neck. I pushed my knee into his back to help me gain leverage. He tried grabbing at me. I gritted my teeth and twisted tighter. He made one last jerk before going limp. I took a few heavy breaths and put him back to bed, as if he were sleeping. Another one dead; at least six more to go.
I peeked through the door. The new guy was nowhere in sight, but now I saw the man steering the ship. The raider up on the mast was moving around and the one on deck was making adjustments to some ropes. He would be a problem since he was close enough to see through my disguise. I watched him work a few minutes. He stretched and yelled something to the guy above and walked toward me. I waited to see if he was going down to the kitchen or not. No such luck, he was climbing the stairs, toward the captain’s quarters.
I crouched down behind the door as he opened it. He yelled, “Hey, get up! You take over!” I held the short sword and waited. He sighed in frustration and walked further into the room. I jumped up behind him and placed my hand over his mouth, jamming the sword into his back. He made a loud muffled sound. He turned his head slightly. I must not have hit any vitals since he struggled a bit before going down. I wiped my blade on his shirt and shoved him away from the door. I found a small stool and sat down. I might as well just kill them all.
After catching my breath, I went outside again. This time, I went down the stairs to finish off the drunks. There was a third guy in there now. He sat by the keg, drinking. He let out a big burp and spoke, “Hey, you should go downstairs and see if there is anymore of this stuff.” I pulled out the short sword and charged at him. He turned my way and stared in surprise. He let out a scream as I stabbed him and pushed me away, which pulled my sword out. I fell back against the wall. He gasped as he covered his bleeding wound. I came right back, tackling him. As the raider died with a few twitches, I heard yelling outside. I had to act fast.
I moved the keg near him and poured the rest of his cup over him and turned him face down. There was a good deal of blood but there was already blood all over the floor. I heard the footsteps right at the door. I turned away, stooped over and put my hand over my face, mumbling like I was in pain.
The door flew open and the raider yelled, “What is going on in here?” I held my short sword out of sight and muttered under my breath. He took a few steps closer, “You clumsy git! Oh, he is drunk now, too. That’s great.” I guess he was referring to the guy I just killed. He let out a big sigh, took a few steps and then turned around. My heart was racing. I couldn’t afford to wait any longer. I jumped to my feet and faced him. He stared at me, “Hey, you’re not…” I swing at his neck. He was too surprised to react. My blade slashed his neck open with a loud gurgling sound and lots of blood. He dropped to the floor and all was silent.
The two surviving drunks were still out of it. One opened his eyes, just mumbled and turned over. I made quick work of them. I could hear the last guy up top yelling something. I opened the door to the cargo storage. I saw Jerak and the three crewmen down at the base with weapons ready. I pulled off my leather cap and waved at them.
Jerak jumped up with a grin, “You got them all?” I sat down on the cot, “No, there is one left at the wheel. You can handle him.” He laughed and ran outside. The three crew men climbed up with a look of surprise in their eyes. I popped my neck and looked at them, “The other ship is in front of us.”
They looked around, “Wow! You really took care of things here!” I smiled and heard the last raider yell before Jerak beat him down. A moment later Jerak yelled, “Got him!” I removed the
smelly raider clothes and laid down in the cot. It felt so good to stretch out. The crewmen quickly took over the ship and Jerak cleaned out any valuables from the dead raiders and threw the corpses overboard. I was busy getting my well-deserved sleep. It was fair to assume that we were going to follow the ship as if nothing was wrong. The last thing we needed was to have them come back and attack our small group. I had no clue what the plan would be, but I hoped I’d be in better shape after a full night’s rest.
I slept a long time because it was evening when we took the ship back, and now the sun was up. Jerak and the crew followed the raider ship until night fell and then under the cover of darkness, headed back toward land. Jerak helped by taking over to give the crew a break. I was kind of surprised they let me sleep so long. I yawned loudly and felt quite refreshed. I saw one crewman asleep in a nearby cot. I smiled and walked up to the deck. The morning air felt great; barely stinging when it hit my face. I waved. I took over some tasks so another guy could sleep. Jerak smiled at me from behind the wheel. I laughed, “They trusted you with the wheel?”
A voice from above yelled, “Hey, I see nothing wrong with him doing that!” I looked at the cloudy sky and shrugged. I just hoped we were going the right way, at least.
It was good that we lost the other ship once night fell. It might be hours before they found out we were missing or they might think we were just a bit slow. By the time the other ship found out what happened, we would be on dry land. We didn’t care about preserving the cargo, so we ate like kings. With such a small crew we might just drop anchor and everyone get some rest. We were all in a hurry to hit dry land. One of the guys yelled out. I finished what I was doing and went to see what his problem was. He pointed behind us and I couldn’t believe it. It was the raider’s ship!