by Jamie Davis
Cari struggled against the urge to fall asleep and give in to the pain’s call. She had to let her weary, overtaxed brain rest. She watched as the ship raced out of the gap and passed through the final portion of the glittering gold path she’d followed.
Quest completed — navigate the Maelstrom Shoals
10,000 experience
Seamanship skill to master status
Navigation skill to master status
The crew let out a resounding cheer as they cleared the Maelstrom Shoals.
Cari forced a grim smile on her face. She’d done it.
Something pulled at her hands, prying them from their white-knuckled grip on the ship’s wheel.
“Let go, Cari. Katie’s got it from here,” Helen said.
“Yes, of course. Perhaps someone could help me below. I think I need to lie down for a bit.”
Helen pulled one of Cari’s arms over her head, pulling her captain close and helping her down the steep ladder to the passage leading to her cabin. In the midst of the haze over her mind, she scanned her personal stats as she stumbled down the passageway to her cabin.
They’d done it. They’d made their escape.
Name: Cari Dix
Class: Duelist
Level: 11
Attributes:
Brawn: 12 - +2 to hit/damage
Wisdom: 10 - +1
Luck: 10 - +1 to all saving throws
Speed: 22 - +7 defense
Charm: 16 - +4 personal reaction
Health: 26/110
Skills: Two-Weapon Combat, Acrobatic Dodge — 2, Multi-Foe Tactics — 2, Feint — 2, Taunt, Bladesmith — Master, Prescience — 3, Taunt, Ambidexterity, Seamanship — Master, Navigation — Master, Aimed Cannon Shot
Master Duelist Bonus — Projectile Dodge (50% chance of activation)
Experience: 286,500/300,000
Chapter 13
It took almost a week for Cari to recover from her exertion during the passage through the Maelstrom Shoals. During that time, they started north with minimal sails aloft while they repaired the damage they took during the run through the rocky straits.
Cari moved about the ship once she was well enough to walk without aid. She found the crew almost deferential to her, treating her with a level of reverence she had not seen in them before the passage.
Cari asked Helen about the crew’s reaction in a private moment in her cabin.
“There was always talk about you being the Lost Princess returned to Fantasma, but for the most part, it was a bit of a joke and a point of crew pride. Now, after what the crew witnessed crossing the Shoals, what used to be a joke is now taken as gospel. The crew believes you are the Lost Princess Cari Dix.”
“What do you believe, Helen?”
Helen met Cari’s eyes and searched them as if seeking some sort of proof there before she answered.
“I don’t know what to think or believe, Cari, but I know you’re the best captain I’ve ever served under. If you’re the Lost Princess returned, as they say, it doesn’t change that. I think that’s the way the crew feels as well. They would’ve done pretty much anything you asked before we crossed through the Maelstrom Shoals. Now, they’ll go to hell and back again on your say so. I’ll be right there with them.”
“That’s good because now we have to take the Raider families back home to the Cairn Island chain.”
“But the Raider captains have put a price on your head, Cari. They’ll sink us on sight. I always thought you’d put the families ashore and send the council of captains a message through a neutral party of their whereabouts. Why do we have to take them directly home ourselves?”
“Because the Raiders are helping to tear apart the Empire and it is my hope we can break the Duke of Charon’s hold on them. Do that and the Western Sea’s merchant lanes return to the peaceful trading routes they used to be. The only people who will stand up to the Duke are those here in the west. With the Raider captains on their side for a change, there might be a chance to wrestle away his hold on the Empress before it’s too late.”
Helen laughed. “If you’re not the real Lost Princess, you sure act like her.”
“I just want to make the world a better place. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing’s wrong with it at all, your Highness.”
Helen’s grin spread from ear to ear, and soon the two of them broke into laughter as Cari shook her finger at the older woman. Helen had become one of her closest friends here in Fantasma.
A tap on the door broke through their laughter. Cari called out.
“Come in.”
Percy stepped into the captain’s cabin, followed by Rodrigo and Stefan.
Rodrigo cleared his throat, apparently a little uncomfortable with interrupting whatever had Cari and her first mate laughing.
“Cari, I just came from helping the carpenter and his mates. They’ve finished patching the sprung planks in the hull. He said it will hold well enough, but the ship will need a dry dock eventually to fully repair the damage.”
Stefan chimed in with his report when Rodrigo finished.
“The rigging lines that broke apart during the passage have all been replaced with fresh lines and the bosun has personally checked all replacements to ensure the sails and masts will hold.”
“Good news. We’re finally ready to head north at a better pace than we’ve been using so far. I’ll chart out a new course and bring it to the helmsman. It’s time we were on our way.”
“Way where ma’am?” Stefan asked.
“Cairn Island, Mr. Claridge. It’s time to take these poor people home.”
Stefan and Rodrigo exchanged alarmed glances.
“I know you both are concerned about the reception we’ll receive when we get there. Let me worry about that. I think once the raider families share the lengths to which we went to free them, we’ll get a different welcome from the council of captains.”
“I hope you’re right,” Rodrigo said. “It’ll be a very short journey if you’re wrong.”
Quest accepted — return raider families to Cairn Island
———
Cari caught herself standing with her fists clenched at her sides, each hand gripping a hilt, sword on one side and dagger on the other. She forced her fingers to relax and pulled her hands away from her weapons.
A fifth raider ship had sailed up to join the others escorting the Vengeance into the harbor at Cairn Island. Cari forced a smile on her face as if there was nothing to worry about. She did steal a glance upward to ensure the white flag still flew from the top of the mainmast.
So far, her luck held.
The first raider ship to approach had not fired on the Vengeance, honoring the white flag. The captain had pulled alongside and insisted he and a large boarding party come across to Cari’s ship.
It was a good thing she’d made sure to have all the adults from among the former hostages on deck. One of them rushed forward and threw her arms around the raider captain’s neck.
It was his wife.
“My love, you must honor the truce and assist Captain Cari and her crew. They saved all of us, at great cost to themselves. Many of their crew were lost in the rescue.”
“This woman has hunted down and destroyed several Raider ships, Jackie. I cannot simply let her get away. The council of captains would have my head.”
Cari stepped forward to interrupt the couple.
“Captain, all I ask is you offer us an escort to take us safely to Cairn Island. I have an urgent need to talk directly to the council of captains. If they insist on taking me prisoner after I have had my say, all I ask is that my crew be allowed to leave in peace.”
The black-bearded raider captain eyed her as if he tried to decide if she was crazy, suicidal, or both. He made up his mind at some point and held out his hand.
Cari reached out and clasped wrists with him.
Charm Attempt Successful
“I’m Captain Hitchcock. You are the famous Dread Raider
Cari, though I have to admit, I thought you’d be a lot older.”
Cari chuckled. “I get that all the time, Captain. So, you accept my terms? On your honor?”
“I accept your terms. Your crew will be spared, regardless of the decision of the council of captains on your fate.”
Cari heard Helen grumbling under her breath behind her. Her first mate had not liked the plan. She’d expressed her displeasure at length in Cari’s cabin the night before.
In the end, Cari had required the first mate to swear not to mount a rescue. She was to use the safe passage earned under the flag of truce to safely sale away back to Tandon.
Captain Hitchcock nodded at Helen and the rest of the ship’s officers standing behind Cari. “Judging from the looks on the faces of your crew, they are not happy with this arrangement. What is to stop them from failing to uphold your end of the bargain?”
“My crew will follow my orders, even if I’m not here to reinforce them. Isn’t that correct Miss Doolan?”
“We will honor the words of your pledge and your orders to us, ma’am,” Helen said in a loud, clear voice so the whole crew could hear her.
Cari nodded. “Will that suffice, Captain?”
“It will. I will take my wife and children back to my ship and we will proceed to the island. Stay close to me, so it is clear I’m your escort.”
“Will do, Captain. Let us hope all your comrades are as agreeable.”
They’d reached the harbor and the five raider ships each headed to a berth at one of the piers while Cari directed Katie at the helm to head for the one Captain Hitchcock indicated to her from the deck of his ship. He had her dock directly behind his vessel.
Now it was time to test her luck. She’d never given much credence to the importance of luck and hadn’t done much to improve that particular stat. Cari hoped that wasn’t a mistake because luck was what she needed now more than anything else.
Before long, the pier beside the Vengeance was filled with raider sailors and captains. Wives and husbands rushed down the gangplank with their children to rejoin their loved ones on the docks. Cari watched until all the rescued hostages had been reunited with their families ashore.
“Helen, you have the command of the Vengeance until I return. You have your orders.”
“Aye, ma’am. I do have to report two members of the crew who asked to be put ashore here to leave our service.”
“Who?” Cari asked.
Rodrigo and Stefan stepped forward, their weapons at the ready, their few belongings in packs on their shoulders. That answered that question.
“No,” Cari said.
“I’m sorry, Cari,” Rodrigo said. “We are no longer on your crew. We are just private citizens now.”
“Yes,” Stefan agreed. “And, no matter what you say, we’re accompanying you to the council of captains to ensure your safety.”
Cari’s emotions warred within her. Part of her boiled with anger at them for defying her orders. Both lieutenants were needed here aboard the Vengeance, especially if she didn’t return.
Another part of her wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. It would be good to have at least a little backup in what she would soon face ashore.
Rodrigo stepped over to the gangplank and pointed to Captain Hitchcock waiting for them on the dock. “Shall we go, Cari? We mustn’t keep the good Captain waiting.”
Cari gritted her teeth at the smug smile on his face. He and Stefan had found a way around her orders. She vowed to make them pay for disobeying her if she survived to do so.
“Very well, come along.” Cari pushed past Rodrigo and strolled down the gangplank as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
Captain Hitchcock, joined by a large group of other captains and raider sailors, waited for her at the bottom.
It was time to see if her plan worked.
Quest completed — return raider families to Cairn Island
4,000 experience
Quest accepted — convince the council to adopt peace
Chapter 14
The seventeen men and women who captained the raider ships in port convened to assemble the council of captains. Now they all shouted back and forth at each other, deeply divided over the issue before them. Cari found it hard to hear or sort out what was being said.
More than one captain pointed at her in the midst of making whatever point they had. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. Cari didn’t even know if the meeting of the council had even officially started yet.
After several minutes of back and forth, the loud bang of a gunshot broke through the shouting, and everyone stopped to look at the center of the assembly hall’s central platform.
A gray-haired man, his long, white beard braided and tied off with red ribbons, stood at the podium with a smoking pistol pointed at the ceiling.
“Sit down you mangy dogs. We’ll never get anything decided with you arguing back and forth like competing fishmongers. Cap’n Hitchcock, you brought this woman here under your protection. It is for you to tell us what business she has here that is so urgent we don’t string her up and sink her ship right now.”
“Cap’n Wheldon, I encountered her vessel headed this way. It flew the white flag, and I was honor bound to offer her escort.”
“Bah! No, you weren’t. You could’ve sunk her right then and there and saved us the trouble of this council meeting.”
“I’m glad I did not, Cap’n. She had my wife and children aboard. She and her crew rescued them from the secret prison where the Duke of Charon sent them. I felt that required me to honor the flag and bring her here. More than half the captains here have now reunited with their loved ones, taken five years ago almost to the day.”
Captain Wheldon fixed Cari with his blue-eyed gaze and she found herself fidgeting under that glare.
This man held a great deal of power here. He’d decide her fate. The other captains would follow his lead.
“So, the Dread Raider Cari is here before me. The most wanted woman in these islands is standing here. You've got a price on your head not just here, but also, I’ve heard, in the lands of the Sultanate now. Today you’re here to petition this council for your life. Tell me, Cari Dix. Why should we spare your life?”
“You misunderstand my intention, Captain. I haven’t come to beg for my life. I’ve come to offer you the return of yours.”
The shouting started all over again at this announcement. Every person in the room yelled their angry retort to her statement, every person except Captain Wheldon. He nodded, a strange sort of smile beginning at the corner of his lips.
“Enough! Let the girl have her say. I, for one, am intrigued to find out how she expects to give me back something I already have.”
The voices of outrage petered out until the room was silent once more.
“Thank you, Captain,” Cari said. “I would be happy to explain myself.” She stole a glance back at the entrance to the council chamber where Stefan and Rodrigo stood flanked by four burly raiders. They’d all been disarmed on their arrival. Her two friends both stood staring back at her, expecting her to find a way out of this mess.
“Five long years ago, an Imperial fleet sailed into your harbor and took possession of many of your loved ones while the Imperial nobleman in charge of the vessels issued a set of demands, demands to be enforced over the lives of your wives, husbands, and children.”
“She ain’t telling us anything we don’t already know,” a female captain with raven black hair shouted. “I don’t need a history lesson.”
“Be still, Rayleen,” Captain Wheldon ordered. “I’m sure she will explain herself in due time. Continue, Captain Dix.”
Cari reordered her thoughts after the interruption and then continued.
“The raider clans had long been at peace with the Empire. You all peacefully traded with the communities on the western edge of the continent. Then you were told to return to the ways of your ancestors and begin living up to the name you hold, a
ll at the behest of a man determined to overthrow the Empire and take it for himself. He fitted your ships with new weapons and made it so few ships could stand up to you in these western waters. I took it upon myself to defend the western coast over this last year because it needed defending.”
“Yes, it is true I’ve sunk many raider ships and killed people who were your friends.”
The shouting started up again. Cari raised her voice and pressed on, standing up straight and proud while she continued. “That is the way it is with war. But I discovered there was a way to stop the raiding and the dying. As soon as I found it, I went to investigate it and located your captive families. With them returned to you, you no longer have to honor the orders of the Duke of Charon. You can return to your peaceful ways. It is my hope that we can begin a new alliance where you join me and those loyal to the Imperial royal line and stop the killing here in these waters.”
“What’s to stop the Duke from returning with his pet Imperial fleet and taking our loved ones again?” Captain Rayleen asked.
“The Duke will be busy trying to take the throne for himself. The Empress isn’t well and her last surviving grandson, while not my first choice, is going to rise to the throne. The Duke tried to kill him once, and he will try again, all to take the Crystal Throne for himself. He won’t be able to divert attention to the fact that you’re no longer raiding the coast under his orders.”
Captain Wheldon leaned over the podium and pointed at her. “You don’t act like you care much for the surviving grandson. Won’t he be just as bad as the Duke? I’ve heard he’s likely to bankrupt the Empire.”
“If you have a better option, I’m all ears,” Cari said. “My friends on shore say because he is the only one to survive, he is the only one who can hold the Empire together after the Empress dies. A war of succession would splinter every province from the central government and create dozens of individual principalities. That is why we must defy the Duke’s wishes. This isn’t just good for the Empire. It is also good for the people of these islands, for your people. Peaceful trade would be the first thing to fail in the face of a war that spread across the whole of the Empire.”