by Pedro Urvi
“You’re pretty impressive at a distance,” Ingrid said to Nilsa.
The redhead shrugged. “I’ve got a good eye for long shots, don’t ask me why, or why I haven’t got it for medium and short range.”
“Keep shooting,” Viggo said. “See if you can lighten the load a bit.”
Nilsa winked at him. “Done,” she said as she aimed again.
“This time I’ll get him too,” Ingrid said.
Both arrows flew, and two pirates at the bow were hit squarely, one in the chest and the other in the stomach. They fell backwards on to the deck from the force of the impact, and a moment later they were dead.
“That’s the way to do it!” Viggo said.
“What amazing marksmanship!” Astrid exclaimed.
Gerd had a broad smile on his face. “One day I’d like to be as good an archer as you two are.”
“One day, he says,” Viggo teased him. “Not in a million years, with those great mitts of yours.”
Gerd smiled, looking down at his big hands. “What can I say? At least they’re pretty useful for smacking people around.”
Nilsa and Ingrid released again, and once more two pirates at the prow were hit and fell into the sea.
“They’re only four hundred paces away now!” Ingrid said. “Want to try?” she asked her partners, with a definite touch of irony.
“At your command, captain,” Viggo said. He, Astrid, Lasgol and Gerd armed their compound bows, nocked and aimed.
“We’ll release at the same ship,” Ingrid said. “We’ll cause the most damage like that.”
Lasgol nodded in agreement. “The one on the starboard?”
“That’s right, all at once. Aim! Release!”
The six arrows sped to the enemy ship’s foredeck. The pirates tried to seek cover, but there was not much space to hide in. Three of them fell, either wounded or dead. Three arrows fell short.
“Well done!” Ingrid said. “We’ll do it again! At my command!” She was gauging the distance and the swaying of the other ship. “Now!”
The six released at the same time, and the arrows flew straight at the pirates as they retreated to the center of the ship, some even as far as the stern. The pirate captain was going hoarse as he barked orders to his men, who did not seem too willing to obey them.
“Row with everything you’ve got!” Olsen’s voice was heard encouraging his sailors. The pirate ships were already three hundred paces away and would soon catch up with them.
“We need to shoot at the oarsmen!” Ingrid ordered.
“That’s complicated,” Viggo said. “They’re sitting down.”
“At three hundred paces, if you miss a sitting man you’re a disgrace as a Ranger!”
“My thing is close-range weapons, and in case you haven’t realized, their ship and ours go up and down at different rhythms, so it’s not exactly an easy shot.”
“Shut up, you numbskull, and just aim!”
They released again, and though it was a complicated business, their shots were all accurate. The front oarsmen fell dead on their rowing benches.
“The ship to port is mine,” Eicewald said suddenly. “I’ll deal with it.” He began to cast a spell with his staff raised above his head, intoning strange words of power as if in an ancient chant.
“We’ve got to stop them getting any closer,” Astrid warned them.
“We’ll get rid of their oarsmen,” Ingrid said. “That’ll delay them.”
The six went on releasing again and again, as fast as they could, each one trying to hit the men on the front benches. There were only six of them, but the quantity of arrows that fell on the bow and center of the enemy ship were wreaking havoc among the pirates.
“They’re only two hundred paces away!” Ingrid called in warning.
Suddenly several archers appeared on both pirate ships and ran to the bows in readiness.
Viggo gave a superior chuckle. “It looks as though they want to compete with us.”
“Well, it’s going to go seriously wrong for them,” Nilsa said.
“Show them what a Ranger’s worth!” Ingrid roared.
Before the first enemy archers could aim and release, they fell dead, struck by Nilsa, Ingrid, Viggo and Gerd’s arrows.
Lasgol, on the other hand, did not release. He had noticed that nobody was covering the archers on the other ship. By now Eicewald was finishing his spell. He had begun conjuring at a prudent distance, expecting to have finished by the time the ship was two hundred paces away. It was already there, but he had still not finished his spell. They needed to cover him, or he would be shot by the archers on the port-side ship.
“We need to cover Eicewald!” he shouted, and went to his side. Astrid, who as usual was alert to what Lasgol did, went to stand beside him. Their arrows hit two archers, who fell into the sea. Two arrows passed close to Eicewald, who without even flinching went on conjuring, with his staff held above his head.
“Viggo, Gerd, help to port,” Ingrid shouted. “Nilsa, with me. We’re going to finish off all those archers.”
“Done,” said the freckled girl.
They both released, and two archers met their death as they aimed. They had not been given enough time to release. Astrid, Lasgol, Viggo and Gerd began to shoot at the archers, who were already a hundred and fifty paces away. They released again and again, without blinking, concentrating hard, sending the enemy archers to the kingdom of the ice gods with their accurate shots. Viggo hit one in the center of his forehead and was congratulating himself, when two enemy arrows nearly hit him. He had to hurl himself to one side in a sudden leap.
“Be careful,” Astrid warned him. “Don’t let yourself get distracted …”
“Protect Eicewald!” Lasgol cried. He was sure that by now the Mage was about to finish his spell.
Luckily he was not mistaken.
Eicewald ended the great spell with a few words of power, then used his staff to make a circular movement in the direction of the ship to port. Suddenly an enormous winter storm began to form above it. The sky darkened over it, even though the rest of the sky remained clear. Massive lightning bolts struck the deck and its occupants, followed by deafening thunder. A powerful wind began to buffet the pirate ship, and at the same time the temperature fell drastically. The pirates ran from one side to the other, not knowing how to escape the lightning, the wind and the icy temperatures that were falling on the ship and beginning to freeze them alive.
“Phew! Full marks to the Mage!” Viggo cried.
“Very powerful,” Astrid agreed.
“The storm’s killing them,” said Gerd. He was watching a tremendous lightning bolt hitting four men, then forming an arc which hit another one.
“And freezing them,” said Lasgol. He could see the whole ship, from the sail to the hull, passing along the mast and deck between them, was being covered with ice and frost.
“That’s it for them,” said Astrid.
The strong wind of the storm was lashing the ship from side to side. By now it was on the point of capsizing.
Gerd was staring at the few pirates who were still on their feet, half-frozen. “There’s barely anybody left alive.”
“To this side!” Ingrid shouted. “We need help!” Astrid, Viggo, Lasgol and Gerd ran to join them.
“Row! They’re going to ram us!” Olsen shouted to the crew.
The enemy ship on the port side was fifty paces away and closing in. The pirates were readying for boarding with ropes and hooks. They were armed with short swords, scimitars and knives.
“We’ve got to set fire to that sail!” cried Ingrid. “Fire arrows!”
The six searched for them in their quivers and nocked them.
“Ready?” she asked, and they all nodded.
“Volley!”
Six arrows of fire flew at the sail and mast of the enemy ship and impacted in small explosions, followed by a burst of flame. A moment later both the upper and lower parts of the sail were aflame.
Ingrid clenched her fist in triumph. “Great!”
But the enemy ship, carried on by its own momentum, rammed into them.
“Get ready for boarders!” Olsen shouted.
The crew abandoned their oars and grasped short swords and knives. Ropes and hooks sailed through the air and gripped the merchant ship. The two ships bumped several times, but in the end were held together. The pirates leapt to board their victim.
The sailors prepared to repel them. Olsen led the defense, holding a huge Norghanian sword in both hands.
“Let’s get rid of them!” Ingrid cried. She had grasped Punisher.
“Make sure these rubbishy little pirates find out who they’re messing with!” Viggo cried, and hurled himself into the attack like lightning.
Ona, with me. Camu, stay on the mast. Don’t come down.
I fight.
An attack like this isn’t your type of battle. Stay still and hidden in the sail.
There was no reply from Camu, which did not leave Lasgol feeling very much at ease. The others followed Viggo, with their weapons at the ready. The moment for close combat had come, and it was going to be a chaotic one, because the ship’s deck was far from being a clear surface where they could carry on a controlled fight. Oars, rope, boxes, barrels, sailors and their attackers would mean a tangled battlefield.
The pirates yelled as they attacked, with impressive skill and agility. Lasgol could see that they were a mixture. Among them were Noceans, unmistakable thanks to their brown skin, although there were varying shades of this as they came from different areas of the huge Empire. It was said that the further south in the Nocean Empire, the more punishing the sun, and the bigger and darker-skinned their inhabitants. There were also a number of light-skinned pirates, dark of hair and beard, slightly shorter and less sturdy than the Norghanians. These must be Rogdonians, since at the moment they were off the coast of the kingdom of Rogdon.
The pirate ship’s sail and mast, and now part of its deck, were in flames which sought to consume the entire vessel. The pirates were doing nothing to put it out, but instead had all given themselves over to the boarding, following the instructions of the pirate captain, who was shouting himself hoarse. He was a thin but tall man whose movements were agile. He was wielding a thin, elegant sword, its pommel encrusted with gems, in his right hand, and an equally thin, elegant and richly-decorated dagger in his left. He wore a strange hat decorated with red feathers. His clothes seemed to have been matched to his hat: a red corselet over black pants, and high boots, also black. He wore a large, crossed belt with a silver buckle, and on it, could be seen two other daggers.
The sailors repelled the pirates as best they could, but they were neither soldiers nor fighters, so they were falling behind. Olsen was leading them, and it was obvious that he himself had experience and skill with weapons. Many years at sea had taught him how to use them, since this was not his first encounter with pirates – although it might well be his last. In the chaos of the fighting on deck anything might happen, and it was not always the most skilled with weapons who survived. Olsen, who knew this, moved nimbly, making sure of his steps as he shouted orders to his crew.
At that moment Viggo reached the middle of the fray and began to deliver death with his two knives. He moved so fast that he killed the pirates even before they could see him. Those who tried to stab him were not even able to graze him.
Astrid gave Lasgol a swift kiss. “I see Viggo’s doing his thing. I’m going to help him. Be careful.” A moment later she was beside Viggo in the middle of the fray, and began to deliver death with him.
For a moment Lasgol feared for them in the chaos of the situation. Several pirates had now turned their attention on him, so it was time to worry a little less about the fate of his assassin friends and a little more about his own.
He threw himself into the fray, and Ona went with him.
It was time to fight and repel the enemy attack.
Chapter 21
Gerd joined him in the fray immediately, which Lasgol was very grateful for. There were too many enemies. Both friends began to fight together, wielding Ranger knife and axe, in harmony, back-to-back, against the pirates who seemed to be leaping on to the ship from every direction. Ona made up the third point of the triangle. At the sight of the snow panther, the pirates backed off in fear. The presence of an aggressive big cat was not something they were used to, least of all in a boarding raid.
Ingrid and Nilsa meanwhile were fighting shoulder to shoulder. Ingrid was not letting any pirate near her, bringing them all down with her tiny bow Punisher, ceaselessly moving from one side to another, hopping and rolling over herself. She used every movement to avoid being hit, and nocked and aimed so quickly and naturally that it looked as though she was making no effort at all, not even appearing to aim. Nilsa followed her and helped her, armed with her Ranger knife and axe. These were not her forte, but even so, she was more skilled than the pirates, who were no more than the scum of the seas: not exactly great fighters – although certainly dangerous, because they were both treacherous and experienced.
The pirate captain boarded the ship with the help of a rope, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, shouted several orders to his men and attacked. The sailors who stood up to him died under his accurate sword-strokes and slashes. The expression on his face showed that he had had plenty of experience. Olsen, seeing that his men were in danger, went to confront him.
“To me!” he shouted. “I challenge you! Captain against captain!”
He waited by the mast with his great sword at the ready, and the pirate captain walked confidently across to meet him. It was clear that he was a dangerous man.
He gave a respectful nod. “Captain against captain.”
“For the ship!” Olsen cried, and launched a powerful two-handed blow with his great Norghanian sword.
The pirate Captain slipped to one side easily. “For the ship,” he said in turn. He launched a swift thrust at Olsen’s heart, and the captain leapt back to avoid it. They exchanged cuts and strokes, taking one another’s measure, noting one another’s styles and weighing up possible strategies. Olsen fought in the Norghanian style, seeking to end the fight with a single brutal blow. The pirate captain, on the other hand, fought with skill and finesse, with neither brusque movements nor exaggerated strokes. They were two completely opposing styles. The fights between the sailors and pirates around them were very similar, showing the differences between both sides: the sailors clumsy, the pirates with more experience.
Lasgol and Gerd, on the other hand, fought with experience and skill, which allowed them to take down their enemies and make some progress. Gerd kicked a pirate hard, so that he fell backwards over the gunwale. Lasgol wounded one in the leg and another in the shoulder. The two pirates tried to run away, but then saw that their ship was burning intensely. Lasgol by now was moving towards them with his knife and axe at the ready, and they jumped into the water to avoid confronting him. Another tried to attack him from behind, but Ona leapt on him and with one huge bite took the sword out of his hand.
Well done! Thanks!
Ingrid was fighting like a true Norghanian warrior. She had dropped her bow, and was now fighting with knife and short axe, launching cuts, kicks and punches with tremendous power. When the pirates saw that she was a woman, they mocked her. It was a massive error. Ingrid, with fire in her eyes and fury in her heart, made them pay for those sneering insults with their lives. Then she smiled as she stepped over their bodies. Nilsa went to help her, but in fact Ingrid did not really need it, because she felled any pirate in her way in three blows. Nilsa focused on protecting her friend’s flanks, just in case. You never knew where a treacherous attack might come from, and these were pirates, the least honorable and respectful fighters in Tremia.
In the midst of the fray was Viggo, with Astrid helping him. They were surrounded by pirates who were trying and failing to hit them with swords, knives and clubs. Viggo was moving with am
azing speed, agility and balance, dodging attacks and counterattacks with lethal slashes, Astrid was practically his shadow, with almost identical movements, swift and precise. Between the two of them they were wreaking havoc among the assailants.
At the bow, a group of four pirates set on Eicewald, thinking he would be easy prey. Their mistake was to cost them dearly. The Mage made a movement with his staff and conjured up Ice Stakes. A dozen stakes appeared in front of him, suspended in the air, aiming at the pirates, who were approaching at a run. The pirates stopped short at the sight, eyes and mouths wide, choking back a yell. The Mage lowered the staff, then with one word of power launched the ice stakes against them. The icy missiles pierced their bodies, killing them instantly.
Beside the mast, Olsen launched a tremendous blow diagonally downward. It would have split the pirate captain in two if it had hit him, but instead he dodged to one side out of reach. He countered by feinting with his sword, which Olsen managed to block with difficulty. Unfortunately, he was not able to stop the dagger which followed and buried itself in his right shoulder. He grunted in pain and took a step back. The pirate seized his chance and with another quick deceptive movement wounded him on the hip.
“Skill’s worth more than strength,” he said with a smile of triumph.
Olsen realized that he was lost. “Everyone fights with what he has,” he grunted.
“Very true,” the pirate said. “It’s been an honor, but now it’s time to end this duel.”
He attacked with tremendous speed, and his sword went straight to Olsen’s heart. The captain tried to deflect it with his own sword, and he opened his eyes in horror, knowing that the stroke was going to kill him.