Raiya- Early Game

by Russell Wilbinski

  “The rules. No abilities, just swordsmanship. No healing magic and no killing.” She explained without a care in the world. Skree wondered if she ever got serious.

  “No killing? Seems obvious for a duel.” He said.

  She dropped the light tone, her expression serious. “Come on, think about it. Two people locked in a struggle, each trying to best the other? Once your fires burning hot and you start getting whelped, you might find you want to kill someone too. Trust me, it’s worth saying and repeating.” She slashed a hand through the air. “No killing.”

  “No killing.” He said earnestly.

  Slipping effortlessly back into her carefree demeanor, she drew the blade and gave it an appraising look. “Try not to hurt him.” She said to her sword. With casual ease, she dropped into a fighting stance. “What about a friendly wager?”

  Surprised at yet another wager, he stammered, “What do you want?”

  “If I win, you let me open the first and only tavern on your new island, once you buy it.”

  “And if I win?” he asked.

  “I’ll give you a kiss.” She said, puckering her lips with a kissing noise. “Sound fair?”

  “Throw in a bottle of wine and you’re on.”

  She nodded and the grin that spread across her face reminded him of a hyena. “When you’re ready.”

  Hefting the blade, he dropped his center of gravity and smile. “May the best man win.”

  “I hope you know, I take offense to that.” She said, waggling a finger.

  He watched carefully for any movements that would alert him to her attack. He met her eyes with a grin, and she returned it, beautiful sword held out before her, eyes following her every motion. He watched the raven strands of hair that had slipped from her bandanna flutter in the cool breeze, looking every bit the dashing pirate captain she undoubtedly was. She threw her arm forward, releasing a small throwing dart that whistled through the air. He whirled away from it, the strands of cloth trailing it gently brushing his cheek as it passed mere inches from his face.

  He let his momentum carry him into a spin and he felt the second dart sail over his shoulder. He spun to face her, charging forward, swinging in a wide horizontal arc that forced her to jump backward. She closed the distance on the back side of his swing, driving a shoulder into his chest and throwing him off balance. He stumbled back a few steps as she turned casually away.

  “Too predictable.” She said, sauntering around him. Skree smirked then tried his attack again and met with the same result, she dodged his strike and dashed in, this time striking him hard in the midsection. He reeled back, struggling to catch his breath. The crew that were watching all chuckled at his misfortune.

  “Two in a row?” she said, letting her sword drop lazily and carelessly to the side. “If you will not take this seriously, then you’re relieved as my dancing partner.”

  He growled his frustration. She knew how to cut deep when she wanted to. “I am trying. You just won’t stand still.”

  “Stand still?” she asked with a snicker. “Maybe these boys enjoy getting eviscerated, but it’s not high on my list of things to try. You have been brute forcing your way through every battle so far, but now you’re facing a fast, mobile opponent. Out think me, out maneuver me.” She explained, emphasising her words. Skree thrust forward as fast as he could, trying to catch her while her guard was down, but she just stepped out of the way again. She made it look easy and that frustrated him all the more.

  “How are you so fast?” he asked, slightly winded. Swinging a heavy ass great sword around was hard work.

  “I am not that fast, you are just so slow. Just like all men, swinging your big stick around.” She taunted, ducking under a swing and bringing her blade to his throat. “There’s more to a fight than just thumping your opponent into submission.”

  Skree slowly reached up and pushed the blade away from his neck. “I yield.” He said. Around him the crew booed and jeered, all in good fun but still, it stung his pride.

  She took a few steps back, allowing him settle his footing on the swaying deck. “Again.” She said, thrusting her blade forward with outrageous speed. Skree barely parried the strike, then dodged her lazy backswing. He saw his window of opportunity and took a chance. He kicked, catching her midsection with a solid blow that sent her staggering this time. He swung the blade up from the deck, but at the last moment she deflected it, leaving a small gash across her inner thigh.

  Her eyes lit up with excitement as the pain flowed up her leg. “Now you’re getting it!” she exclaimed, unleashing a devastating flurry of strikes that wore down his stamina quickly. Heaving the massive sword back and forth frantically, He blocked the attacks he could, doing his best to evade the one’s he couldn’t. She easily scored several shallow cuts on his arms and chest, stinging pain radiating from each one. He checked his stamina and saw he was under forty percent at this point.

  Once her furious attacks ceased, he went on the offensive, swinging with all of his strength. Overhead strike. Horizontal swipe. Block the counter, kick the leg, push the advantage. Muscles burning with exhaustion, he leapt into the air using gravity and his weight to empower the swing. The sword fell in almost slow motion in his eyes, his adrenaline sharpening his focus. This was it, he had beat her. When his sword cut through the empty air where Fenna should have been, he stumbled, thrown off balance as the blade bit deep into the deck.

  The point of Fenna’s sword came to rest in the small of his back. He felt the sharp tip resting against his leather armor. With a growl he let go of his sword hilt. “I yield.”

  She sheathed her sword, eyes twinkling with mischief. “You had me worried there for a second.”

  “Yeah, well, you said no abilities. Just skill.” He said while wrenching his sword free of the deck. “You teleported away or you would have lost. That’s called cheating.”

  She frowned, poking out her bottom lip. “Oh, did the beautiful pirate maiden cheat in a sword fight to win a bet?” She patted him on the cheek. “She did. You should always expect the unexpected.” She tapped her lips thoughtfully. “Is a pirate cheating really that unexpected?” She asked sarcastically. “I hope you will come visit me at the Sackless.” Skree gritted his teeth as she walked away, casting a healing spell on her. She didn’t look back, just yelled “Thanks!” and kept walking.

  His eyes went wide when it finally clicked what she had meant about visiting her at the Sackless. She would own a tavern on his island and she wanted to call it the Sackless.

  “Wait, what did she say? The Sackless? Oh no. No, no, no.” He rushed after her, catching up before she disappeared into her cabin. He grabbed her shoulder gently, forcing her to stop.

  “You can’t open a tavern on my island named the Sackless.” He nearly screeched.

  “I certainlycan. That was the bet.” She said, smiling happily. “I get to open a tavern in Skreeville.”

  “Sure, but you can’t call it that!”

  “Sackless stays.”

  “But it’s so…” he said before she cut him off.

  “Accurate?” she said, cocking one eyebrow. and patting at her crotch.

  He burst out laughing at the notion and realized it was appropriate, and totally Fenna’s style. He held out his hand, and they shook on it.

  “Sackless it is.” He said, rolling his eyes. Fenna disappeared into her cabin and shut the door. A light mist of salty seawater stung his cuts, and he cast Minor Restoration, exhaling as the stinging sensation faded away.

  Chapter 8

  “Reporting as ordered.” Skree said, snapping a salute as Hawkins appeared on the bridge. It had been three full days before Hawkins had finally allowed his training to continue. He would not make the same mistake again. He had arrived an hour early, waiting for his instructor in the dark. Staring at the horizon, he watched as the black sky slowly lightened into a beautiful purple hue, before the sun broke free of the twilight, bathing the world in a warm golden light.

 
; “At ease.” Hawkins said before exchanging notes and information with the second helmsman. “I hope you came prepared and distraction free.”

  Skree nodded. “Yes Sir. About last time, I…”

  Hawkins held up a hand, silencing him. “I have no time for apologies or excuses. Today, I will pilot the ship and you will call out instructions. Listen to the sea, hear and see the story. Guide me and I will guide the ship. Do you understand?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir.” He replied, moving to stand beside the veteran sailor. Together they stood in silence as Skree watched the waves and the movements of the wheel under Hawkins steady hands. It amazed him at just how easily Hawkins could anticipate the patterns of the waves, never out of sync, even when the wind picked up and the sea became more aggressive.

  “When you’re ready, Mister Skree.”

  He gulped nervously, knowing this was the most important part of mastering sailing and that any mistake might end his lessons immediately. A wave swelled off the starboard side, and he called for a change, hoping to ride over the swell before it crested.

  “Fifteen degrees starboard.”

  Hawkins spun the wheel and the ship shudder as it crashed through a wave. “Incorrect.” He righted the wheel, sailing smoothly over the next wave. “Your correction should have been ten degrees. The swell was moving too fast to ride over, you needed to catch the shoulder of the wave.”

  The words rang true in his mind as soon as Hawkins had pointed his mistake out. He had overshot the change, and the ship had slowed dramatically. Focusing on the water, letting the motion travel through the ship and up his body, he made the next course correction. This time the boat drifted lazily up the flow, losing even more speed than before.

  “Caution can be a good thing, but too much and you under correct.” Hawkins said, readjusting the wheel and bringing the ship back to a smooth line, his actions punctuated by the snap of the billowing sails fully catching the wind. “You didn’t account for the wind direction. As soon as you turned to port, the sails sagged, and the ship slowed.” Hawkins explained, casually spinning the wheel as the Typhoon raced along.

  “Got it. Wind, water, ship, the holy trinity.” He replied. A strong gust tore at his clothing and Skree could smell rain on the air. “Are we expecting a storm?”

  “You tell me.” Hawkins said.

  Behind, a dark gray cloud bank was rolling toward them. Lightning flashed deep within the billowing clouds. “Looks like a bad one.”

  “Should be a proper storm. Best time to learn.” He said.

  Skree’s eyes went wide with shock. “You don’t expect me to steer the ship in a storm do you?”

  “Today is your pilot training. Storm doesn’t change that.”

  The idea horrified him. Steering the boat on a calm sunny day was hard enough to do well, but now the crazy bastard wanted him to do it in the middle of a powerful storm. “Hawkins I don’t think I can do that, I won’t put the crew at risk.”

  With a growl, Hawkins spun the wheel fully to starboard, causing the ship to list hard as it cut a hard line back toward the storm. He stepped away from the helm. “There are no half measures when you sail Mr. Skree. If a storm comes, it comes. If pirates come, they come. A Captain does not get to choose when he is in charge.” He gestured to the wheel, “Take the helm.”

  He nearly froze as the ship came into alignment with the storm, the massive wall of dark clouds imposing as a tsunami in his eyes. “Sink or swim.” He said, then grabbed the wheel. As soon as his hands made contact, a notification appeared.

  You have been assigned the ship role: Helmsman.

  Current Role Bonuses: None

  Caution: Without the Sailor profession, all ship stats reduced by 20%.

  Top Speed: 9 Knots (Max: 11 Knots)

  Hull: 800 hit points (Max: 1,000 hit points)

  Not only was this his first time at the helm, his lack of a profession reduced the ship’s stats significantly. A wave of nausea forced him to lean hard against the wheel. Hawkins rested a hand on his shoulder, giving Skree one of his all too rare smiles. “Do not wreck us. Now, sail through that storm.” Hawkins reached up and rang the brass bell that hung near the wheel, sounding all hands on deck. Men and women poured from hatches, scurrying along the deck to respond to the call.

  Hawkins leaned on the railing of the bridge, looking down at the assembled crew. “The ship is heading full speed into that storm.” He pointed a finger toward the oncoming wall of gray and many of the crew turned to see what they were barreling into. More than a few murmurs spread through the crowd. “Mr. Skree here is getting some on-the-job experience, so prepare yourself for a rough couple of hours. Batten the hatches, secure the cargo and may Hakora send us luck.”

  “Aye, aye sir!” came the crew’s response as they broke from the deck in every direction, sprinting to secure the ship. Skree moved the wheel gently back and forth, doing his best to avoid smashing through any of the rapidly growing breakers. His heart was racing and his palms were sweating profusely, making his grip on the wheel even more tenuous.

  He was having a hard time catching his breath when he spotted Fenna sprinting up the stairs to the helm. “Report.”

  When Hawkins remained silent, Skree realized she was expecting him to explain their current situation. “Captain, heading into a real big one. Winds coming from the northeast at thirty knots. Maintaining northerly tack to catch the wind.”

  “Current speed?” she asked.

  “Steady six knots, hoping to push eight by the time we hit that storm wall.”

  Fenna smiled at him, not a hint of fear in her eyes. “Thank you Mr. Skree, maintain course and get us through.” She turned on her heel, rushing away to help the crew, leaving him at the wheel with Hawkins by his side. And so, they sailed on toward the storm with Skree guiding the ship with minimal competence. As they drew ever closer, the waves continued to grow in strength and speed tossing the ship about in great sweeping motions.

  A mighty swell formed off the port side and Skree spun the wheel to meet it, hoping that their speed would take them over the top before the wave finally broke. As the ship came round, he realized his mistake almost immediately. The sails came head on with the wind and snapped into reverse, drastically slowing the ship before the wave crashed over the deck. The force of the water nearly threw Skree from his feet but he clung desperately to the wheel.

  “Adjust course, twenty-two degrees starboard.” Hawkins said calmly as if the raging sea and Skree’s failing efforts to steer the ship were of little concern. He did as ordered and the ship slid easily through the trough between two waves, returning the ship to full speed. Frustrated, Skree ground his teeth. Again, he had not considered the wind before making his course correction and it had cost them. He redoubled his efforts and steered the ship again. Each change in direction came easier to him as the waves became more rhythmic, more predictable the more he allowed himself to feel the ebb and flow.

  A monster wave was forming directly ahead of them and he marveled at the sheer size. He saw that the starboard side of the wave was shorter, so he turned the ship to race the eventual crest on that side. The ship gained a dangerous amount of speed as it reached the top of the wave and it shot over the top like a charging bull. Hawkins grabbed the railing as the ship plummeted through the air nearly fifteen feet to slam into the water below. The wooden ship groaned at the impact and even Hawkins stumbled, muttering to himself as Skree slowly righted the ship.

  In the corner of his vision, Skree saw that the impact had damaged the ship, reducing its HP by forty points, leaving the total at 760 HP. He knew things would only get worse from here. Hawkins remained quiet as Skree continued to sail through the storm with all the grace of a beached whale, crashing through waves and dropping the ship several more times. For an hour he sailed, and the storm continued increasing in ferocity until it was nearly impossible for Skree to keep pace with the rising and falling waves. Lightning struck all around them, the flashes of light illuminat
ing massive waves that were nearly invisible in the storm’s darkness.

  He checked the ships HP again and saw that the ship was suffering under his ministrations. 580 HP remained, just under seventy-five percent of the Typhoons current maximum. He was so focused on the waves he hadn’t even noticed that Captain Fenna had arrived and was standing behind him. When she shouted her question it nearly made him jump into the air in surprise.

  “Having fun yet?” she yelled over the roar of the storm.

  “Fun?” he shouted incredulously. “This is insane!”

  “That’s your problem, you aren’t having any fun with it!” She replied, moving to stand beside him and placing her hands on the wheel beside his. He glanced over at her, only for a moment, but the sight of her soaked through to the bone, raven hair plastered to her grinning face made him wonder, once again, if she was actually insane. He also couldn’t help noticing the way her wet clothing clung to her body, revealing every detail of her feminine form. Her wild green eyes sparkled with joy as she helped Skree guide the ship through the unbelievably powerful storm.

  “If you don’t learn to have fun, you will be too cautious. Unwilling to turn into a wave and crash through it with confidence. Like this!” She adjusted the wheel with a wild laugh. The ship listed as it turned directly into a wave, smashing through the whitecap just as the wave broke. The force of the impact sent water geysering into the air, but to his surprise, the ship suffered no damage. “Think of it like a fight. The waves are attacking you and the ship. Don’t always try to avoid the impact, instead, look for your opportunity to take the offensive. The Typhoon is a heavily armored Frigate, able to withstand cannon fire. The waves should pose no challenge for her.”

  She pointed out two large waves. “Look at your opponents, predict their attack and counter.” She let go of the wheel, allowing Skree to control the ship once more. This time, he watched the waves differently. He could see where the rolling walls of water were moving together. He knew where the mountains of water would crash the hardest and he understood what she meant. The two waves would eventually reach each other, closing his window of attack and crash violently into the ship. Instead of trying to avoid the wave, he needed to attack the point where they would meet. He threw the wheel with all of his might, snatching the spokes and locking in his course. The ship drove forward relentlessly, and just as the two waves joined, he felt the ship ride effortlessly over the wall of water. To his immense satisfaction, the Typhoon raced gently down the backside slope, gaining its full sail and shooting easily over the next swell.