by Jamie Davis
“They’re all in poor health, Cap’n. Most of them can barely walk.”
“Then have your team carry the weakest of them and run if you have to. None of us are getting out of here if we don’t get moving.”
“I’ll do the best I can, ma’am.”
Two sultanate soldiers ran from an alley across the square with swords raised to attack the defenseless hostages.
Cari drew the last of her two pistols, leveled it at the leading guard, and fired. He fell backward and dropped to the cobblestones.
2,500 experience
She flipped the pistol around in her hand so she could wield it as a club with her off hand and charged at the remaining guard with her sword held high. Behind her, Rodrigo worked to move the hostages faster behind her.
She parried the heavier scimitar to one side with her blade and delivered a crushing blow to the side of the man’s head with the brass-capped base of her pistol stock. His eyes rolled up in his head as his skull caved in under the blow and he crumpled to the ground.
2,500 experience
Stefan and his men and women joined her and formed a thin defensive line across the square. Cari noted the gaps in the line left from the dead crew members left behind on the street between here and the compound. Stefan was down to half of the thirty with whom he’d started.
“We’re almost there, folks,” Cari said. “Then we get aboard the Vengeance and sail away from this place. I figure we need to hold off one more charge then we can make a run for it.”
The glances shared between the remaining crew in the square told her they didn’t think much of their chances to survive another charge.
She tried to think of something else inspiring to say and then she ran out of time.
At the far side of the square, barely fifty yards away a double line of Sultanate troopers stepped out of the darkness of the main avenue. The first line of ten stopped and brought muskets to their shoulders.
“Take cover!” Cari yelled.
The muskets went off as one when the officer yelled fire.
Bullets ripped across the square. When the smoke cleared, three more of Cari’s crew were down, leaking out their life’s blood all over the cobblestones.
The second rank of the troopers moved forward. These were all armed with scimitars and small metal buckler shields, each the size of a dinner plate with a handle attached to the back.
They advanced forward at a quick march, maintaining their line, then the turban-wearing officer beside them shouted something that must mean charge in the language of the southern empire.
With a battle cry, the line surged forward to meet Cari’s rear guard.
Rodrigo pulled out the last two grenades Cari used her crafting skill to create. He pitched them at the charging enemy line, the sizzling fuses leaving a thin gray trail in the air. They each bounced once before exploding in a flash of fire and skin-tearing shrapnel right in front of the charging sultanate troopers.
Four went down right away and two more kept going a short distance, clearly injured, before slowing to drop out of the line of charging troops.
Then the remainder of the Sultanate charge crashed into the ragged line of sailors and Cari found herself too busy fighting to stay alive to care much about what went on around her.
She ducked under a swipe at her head and spun in place, launching a roundhouse kick at the chest of the trooper in front of her. She felt a crunch resonate up her leg all the way to her head as her booted heel caved in the man’s chest with the force of her kick. He fell back gasping for air from lungs that would no longer expand.
2,500 experience
A flash of burning pain came from her back as another trooper slashed at her with his scimitar.
Health damage — health -8
Cari dove forward, tucking and rolling to one knee facing the opposite direction. She brought her rapier up just in time to parry the attacker’s follow-up blow.
The mustached guard growled at her and leaned into the parry, trapping her blade against his as he pressed downward at his kneeling opponent.
Cari used her free hand holding the pistol barrel to swing the brass-capped butt at the guard’s left knee.
The leg buckled inward from the blow as the ligaments tore under the mighty swing.
The guard grimaced and lost his leverage, falling over as his leg ceased to bear his weight.
Cari pressed back knocking him over backward until she lay atop him their swords trapped between them. She raised her free arm and brought it down on his head once, twice, three times, until the man stopped moving.
2,500 experience
She rolled off the body and looked around. Stefan stood over the twitching corpse of the guard officer. The lieutenant’s left arm hung limply at his side. Despite the injury, he gave her a broad grin.
It looked like they were down to eight crewmen still on their feet.
“Let’s pull back while we can still disengage, Stefan. Gather the wounded and head for the harbor. If we wait here and get hit like that again, we’ll never get out of here.”
“What about the hostages?”
“Hopefully they’ve made it by now. All I know is we won’t be able to stop the next charge so it won’t matter anyhow. Pull back.”
Stefan shouted orders and his crew helped the few of their crew lying on the street still alive back to their feet, draping their arms across able-bodied shoulders to help support injured comrades during their escape back to the ship.
Cari brought up the rear, checking to make sure they weren’t caught by surprise from behind. It seemed as though they’d succeeded in fighting off the attack from the compound.
Another ripple of gunfire came from behind her and Cari knew Mr. Bowcott was engaged with another force of some kind. She hoped it was only a small unit set to guard the harbor.
Cari’s hopes were dashed when she reached the small harbor. The gap between the buildings opened up to a pair of wharves bordering the lagoon.
There was a pitched battle going on there. Both Stefan and Rodrigo were struggling to maintain order and keep the sailors of the shore party organized and fighting as a unit. The big surprise though was seeing Helen standing next to the line of sailors armed with muskets.
The healer had a musket herself and put the butt of the stock to her shoulder while she barked an order at the rest of the line.
All the muskets came up, and a second later, they all fired as one into a mass of sultanate soldiers surging forward, trying to get past them to the ship.
The hail of musket fire forced them backward and Helen turned. She barked an order to a line of men standing behind her, also armed with muskets.
They’d just finished loading, and they brought their guns up to fire as the first line filtered back between them to stand about ten feet back where they started reloading.
Again, Helen barked a command and the second line fired into the surging Sultanate troops forcing them back once again.
Cari ran towards the Vengeance with the remainder of Stefan’s troops. She wondered where her first mate had gone.
Helen and her musketeers performed their maneuver twice more until they were back even with the bow of the Vengeance.
Helen turned and pointed to the ship, yelling at the top of her lungs as the angry sultanate troops howled and surged forward again, determined to catch the enemy who’d inflicted such damage on them.
“Fire.”
Cari didn’t understand what Helen planned at first. Then she saw the activity on the bow of the ship.
Gun crews on board had angled the two bow chasers to point down the wharf. As soon as Helen called out her order, smoke and fire belched from the two guns.
Instead of cannon balls, Cari realized they’d loaded a few of the canister shells, basically tin cans filled with musket balls, turning the two big cannons into giant shotguns.
The blast tore into the charging men of the harbor guard garrison. When the smoke cleared, not a one was left standi
ng. The devastation was complete.
Cari shook herself and looked away from the carnage at the end of the wharf.
“Get everyone aboard. Now! Cast off, Mr. Dawkins. Let’s get this ship out to sea.”
“Aye, ma’am,” the bosun called back to her.
Helen joined Cari at the bottom of the gangplank while the remaining crew members ran up it and onto the deck.
“The first mate?” Cari asked, knowing the answer before she asked.
Helen shook her head. “He went down in the first assault on the barricade he’d built at the edge of the harbor square. The crew almost lost the position until I got there and rallied them again. Otherwise, they would have overrun us and taken the ship.”
“You did very well. Where did you learn to do that?”
“My father was an archer with the local militia when I grew up. They trained to move and shoot the same way. I figured it could work for muskets, too.”
“Good work. Get the wounded situated as soon as you can and then come see me on the quarterdeck.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be back up on deck shortly. Do you want to meet in your cabin instead? That wound on your back’s gonna need stitches I fear.”
“That can wait until we’re safely out of this lagoon and back in open water. Just come see me when you’re done.”
Helen nodded and started to coordinate getting the wounded crew members, scattered all around the main deck, down to the infirmary below. Her assistants were already at work, so Helen started below to begin the hard work of putting some of her shipmates back together.
Cari climbed up to the quarterdeck. The helmsman had a bandage tied across his forehead and down over one eye. Blood seeped through the linen to stain the fabric over his wound.
He smiled at Cari when she arrived and nodded as if to tell her he was fine to remain at his post.
Cari smiled back and noticed everyone on the quarterdeck was injured in one way or another. The rescue had been a good deal bloodier than they’d expected.
They’d managed to get the hostages free, though, and all of those who’d survived were safely aboard. It would have been a hard pill to swallow if they’d taken the losses they did and didn’t manage to pull off the rescue.
“Rodrigo, get me a final count of the hostages we rescued. Stefan, I want a list of casualties among the crew, dead and wounded alike. Mr. Dawkins, make sure anyone we send aloft is in a proper condition to do the work. I don’t want an injured sailor trying to do work up there and get injured or killed because we didn’t know they were hurt.”
A chorus of nods and “Ayes” sounded as they all rushed off to fulfill their orders.
Cari returned to her position standing next to the helmsman and watched as she steered the ship back out to sea through the lagoon’s narrow inlet.
“Where to once we’re clear, ma’am?” she asked as she spun the wheel to bring the ship through the final turn.
“Set our heading North-Northwest. We’re heading back home to the Empire.”
Quest completed — rescue the raider hostages
8,000 experience
Chapter 11
Cari scanned to the south with her spyglass. The tops of three ships became visible as they just crested the horizon line in the distance. The triangular sail configuration almost certainly made them Sultanate ships.
For five days, they had seen nothing but open sea. Cari hoped that meant they’d successfully escaped.
The ships to the southeast behind them told her their course north had been anticipated, at least by some in the Sultanate navy. She gauged the wind and currents for a few seconds and shook her head.
Maybe her estimate of their situation was wrong.
“Can we outrun them, Mr. Dawkins?” Cari asked hoping for another opinion to counter hers.
“They’ve got the angle of the wind on us, ma’am. If things continue as they are, they’ll catch us in a day, maybe less.”
“That’s my estimate, too,” Cari agreed. She turned to her new first mate. “Miss Doolan, can we put on more sail?”
Helen shrugged and shifted her feet before answering. Cari knew she was uncomfortable with the promotion, despite earning it with her heroic actions commanding the rear guard during the rescue of the hostages.
“Cap’n, I fear we’ll snap the top of the main mast if we pile on more canvas right now.”
Cari tried to picture their location based on the charts she’d checked down in her cabin an hour earlier. There were few options open to them.
“Helm, change our heading to due west.”
“Aye, ma’am,” the helmsman replied, and she spun the wheel bringing the ship around in a ninety-degree turn.
“Cap’n, there’s nothing west of here but the Maelstrom Shoals,” Helen warned. “We’ll have to slow down to even hope to navigate our way through. They’ll have the range on us with their guns the whole time.”
“Then we’ll have to find a way to either avoid their guns while we escape or get through the shoals faster.”
“Ma’am,” the bosun cautioned. “I know you’ve got some sort of magic you use to navigate the ship, but the Maelstrom Shoals are bigger and more treacherous than a few little rocks at the base of a cliff. The shoals stretch for miles amidst a chain of volcanoes. The lava entering the sea creates a combination of fog and poisonous steam that shifts and flows throughout the whole place. Few ships survive the passage, and no one would try to navigate the passage in anything but calm seas and at a dead crawl.”
“I don’t see how we have a choice, Mr. Dawkins. You said yourself they’ll likely catch us in less than a day if we continue on our present course. We lost half the crew in the hostage rescue so we can no longer both crew the ship and the guns at the same time, crippling our ability to carry on a running battle. They’ll take us with ease with three ships to catch and surround us. No, our only choice is to take our chances with the Maelstrom Shoals.”
The bosun started to say something more, but closed his mouth and nodded.
Cari smiled and said. “I know it’s not a good choice to have to make, Mr. Dawkins, but that’s why I get the big bucks. In the meantime, why don’t you and Miss Doolan come up with a rotating schedule for the next sixteen hours? Make sure each member of the crew gets some sleep and hot food in them so everyone is rested and ready for navigating this obstacle.”
“Aye, Cap’n. We’ll get to it right away.”
“Very well, Percy, join me in my cabin. You can help me check the charts and see if we have anything that might indicate a better option once we get to the shoals.”
Percy bounced over to stand beside her and followed her as she left the quarterdeck for her cabin.
———
The cannonball splashed in the water only ten yards off the port side of the Vengeance. Cari clenched her fists, digging her fingernails into her palms.
They needed another four hours. She’d almost made it to the infamous Maelstrom Shoals before the Sultanate ships caught up with the Vengeance.
Another boom sounded from behind her, and she turned to watch a plume of smoke spout out from the bow of the leading ship of the trio from the Sultanate navy. Her eyes traced the arc of the cannonball.
This was going to be close.
Cari resisted the urge to duck. She couldn’t show any fear or break in her resolve to complete her plan. She needed the crew to believe in her if they were going to make it through the approaching shoals.
“Ware the starboard side,” Cari called out as her eyes followed the cannonball.
Men and women in the Vengeance’s crew on that side grabbed for an extra handhold if they were in the rigging. Those on the deck ducked behind the ship’s rail.
The cannonball struck the side of the Vengeance just below the rail, gouging out a chunk of wood from the hull before caroming off at an angle into the sea.
“Have the carpenter check below for any leaks or injuries, Helen.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
>
The newly minted officer hurried below to find the carpenter and check for damage while Cari stood resolute in her position by the ship’s wheel.
Stefan climbed up to the quarterdeck and stood beside Cari, watching the ships to their rear gain on them. He leaned close to speak in a low voice.
“The number one bow chaser has been moved to your cabin, Cari. It was a heavy beast, but we managed to get it mounted with the help of the ship’s carpenter. We can fire out from center window of your cabin.”
“Good work, Stefan. Is it loaded?”
“The crew is loading it now.”
“I’m coming down, I want to try something when we take this shot. Mr. Dawkins, you have the helm. Maintain this heading.”
“Aye, ma’am. Maintaining heading,” the boson replied.
Another shot fired from the leading ship chasing after them. Cari knew as they drew closer, they’d become more accurate. It was only a matter of time before they started battering the Vengeance to bits unless she could do the impossible.
Time to test her luck and ability.
Quest accepted — slow the pursuing ships
The four-man crew had just finished loading and prepping their new, heavier stern chaser gun for firing when Cari arrived in her cabin. The bow guns were more massive than the standard broadside cannons. This one could fire a larger ball farther, and that was what she needed right now. Cari’s chart table had been dismantled to make room for the cannon and crew. The assembled charts and log books had all been placed on her bed.
Cari stepped up beside the long-barreled cannon and bent at her waist until her cheek nearly touched the smooth, cold metal of the gun. Sighting along the barrel, she saw the ship behind them move in and out of view with the sea swells.
“Raise the elevation a bit more, Stefan.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
One of the crew took a mallet and pounded on a broad wooden wedge under the front of the barrel. As she hit the wedge, the barrel slowly rose up in angle until it reached the point Cari estimated was the correct one.