Fallen Sepulchre

by J D Franx

  “What?” Shasta barked. Her voice cracked as she continued. “Eamon! Five seconds, and we feed the deep blue.”

  “Eight seconds, actually,” he replied, “but then you ain’t an engi—fire!” His shout rolled out across the ship, and the crew responded. The remaining seven cannons on the top deck roared to life, and the whole ship careened under the stress of the detonations. Dominique glanced to his right just in time to see the scout sail into the hail of metal. The smaller shot balls pelted the ship from bow to stern. One struck the mage and jerked him overboard at the same time as a second metal ball hit the rudder man in the face. His head evaporated, and his body slumped forward as splinters, cloth, and chunks of wood splashed across the ocean.

  An eerie quiet settled over Dominique’s ship while everyone stared at the obliterated scout ship. Moments passed before Eamon laughed.

  “Feck, yeah,” he hollered, and the crew followed suit. Cheers and yelling bounced across the deck from all sides of the ship.

  Dominique shrugged. “I’ll take that over the deep blue. We’ll sink the bastard, instead.”

  Shasta’s laughter reached his ears as she howled and pointed across the water. “The Bastard’s got his ships clustered in order to protect the flagship,” she said and looked back at Dominique.

  “Good thing we doubled the side cannons then,” he said. “One broadside shot can drop his strength in half as long as the chase cannons take out their sails before we're surrounded.”

  Shasta gave him a quick bow and screamed at her men. “Let's go, boys! Swab the hot metal and get us into deep water!”

  “Heavy shot this time!” Eamon yelled as he returned to the bow to prep the chase cannons.

  “You heard him,” Shasta continued. “Let's show Bauro BlackSpawn what these new babies can really do. Drop every ounce of cloth and load every cannon! I want all sixteen monsters on each side ready to fire on my or Eamon’s order. Castaine, be ready on that anchor, I want the Reaver spinning like a top if we need 'er to!”

  Extra sails dropped on all three masts and caught the wind as they left the calm waters of the bay. Both the Twilight Reave and the Reaver's Curse lurched forward and went straight for the Suns of Blood armada.

  In a matter of minutes, both of Havarrow's ships were within ballista range of the oncoming fleet, and Bauro BlackSpawn wasted no time. The air filled with dozens of flaming ballista bolts. Most of Bauro’s ships only held two or three of the large ballistae, but they fired metal bolts inlaid with hollow obsidian, both to lighten them as well as to hold an extra gallon of pitch to splatter and ignite on impact. Dominique thanked the sea god the bolts could only be launched one at a time or else the torque would damage the enemy ships. Of course, if even one ship had a mage or wizard aboard, all the ballistae could be fired at once if magic reinforced the ship. He frowned. Bauro always had at least one magic user on his flagship.

  “Now, Castaine!” Shasta yelled. Castaine McGraw immediately kicked the lock pin out of the windlass, and the massive anchor plunged into the shallow waters of the bay. A handful of other sailors pulled the sails, and the Twilight Reave groaned to a rough halt as the Reaver's Curse cut hard across their bow. The ballista bolts fell short while Havarrow spun the wheel to port and turned the Reave hard. As Castaine and his men worked the windlass to pull the anchor from the sea bed, the sails dropped and filled with wind once more. The Twilight Reave raced forward, hot on the stern of the Reaver's Curse.

  “Fire!” Shasta screamed when Eamon gave her the sign. All sixteen cannons belched flames. Cannonballs soared across the distance and smashed into several of Bauro's ships. Captain Innac’s ship roared as her cannons let loose a volley of heavy metal. Three ships on the outer edge of the fleet peeled away from the cluster and made for deeper water. The ships at their side caught the full force of Innac’s cannons and broke apart under the hail of cannonballs. Bauro’s flagship and three others continued straight for Dominique. The six damaged ships burst into flames when the destroyed pitch ovens set them on fire.

  “Swab and reload!” Shasta ordered while she paced the row of cannons on the top deck. “Bottom deck, ready?”

  “Aye, first mate!” a voice called up from below her feet.

  Smoke billowed into the air around Bauro’s burning ships, and Dominique lost sight of the last two enemy ships closest to the bay’s point.

  “First mate,” he barked. “Where are the rear two ships?”

  “Scag!” she roared. “Fleet position?”

  “Three ahead, first mate!” he yelled back down. “Four coming at us from the starboard side and the last two will be on our stern in minutes.”

  Shasta waved him off and rushed up the stairs to Dominique’s side. “We’re nearly surrounded.” She gasped. “The port side is the only way open to us for now.”

  “We’re too heavy with the cannons. We can’t out run him. Half sails,” he ordered, and she nodded, relaying his orders to the crew. As his ship slowed, he watched the sails on Captain Innac’s ship come together and drop to catch the full winds. With their sails full, her ship cut hard to the left, and he saw her port side cannon doors were closed. “Good plan,” he muttered. “That’s my girl.” Her thoughts had to be the same as his. The moment her bow swung full around and her ship barreled toward him, he knew what her strategy was.

  “Let them come!” he bellowed across the deck. “Let the Curse come to our starboard side!” Turning to Shasta, he added, “Tell our port side gunners to drop the doors until told. Hide the cannons.”

  “Of course,” she replied. “If we switch sides with the Curse, Bauro won’t realize there are cannons on both sides of the ships. If we can hold out that long, that is.”

  “Put up a token resistance, first mate, and then raise the white flag once the Curse is alongside,” he commanded and spun the wheel to port so Captain Innac could pull alongside them. Both ships’ port side cannons were hidden by closed doors, and there was no way Bauro would know they had cannons on both sides. He hoped the risk would pay off. He frowned when the first flaming ballista bolt slammed into the top deck railing and tossed burning pitch to the deck. Two crew members dumped sand over the fires and covered them with small sections of dampened canvas before returning to their assigned positions. Each took turns glancing back to make sure the fire stayed out.

  Dominique smiled at his crew’s efficiency. His pride was short-lived as Bauro’s fleet slowed and surrounded them and the Curse. A single flaming bolt struck the side of his ship just below the water line. They were just out of range.

  “You won’t be able to challenge if you surrender,” she reminded him.

  “We are not surrendering, just buying time,” he snarled.

  “What else does a white flag mean besides to surrender?” Eamon asked, climbing the stairs to the helm deck.

  “It’s a ploy to draw him in closer, Eamon,” Shasta replied curtly. “Surely, you’ll be able to target more accurately if they are closer, and Sandra, too?”

  “That’s...” Eamon began but his voice faltered for several seconds. “That’s like kicking a man in the swinging stones. Ain’t there like rules against shyte like that?”

  Shasta stared at him with her mouth open, but she remained wordless.

  Dominique snorted. “By the sea gods wrinkled nutsack, Eamon,” he said and burst out laughing. “We’re fucking pirates. The only rule we have is to survive the day to plunder another.” He deliberately slowed his words as he stared at the Irishman. “Let the Bastard get close, and then, fire your fucking cannons. Is that clear?”

  Eamon shrugged. “Perfectly clear, boss, but that won’t get them all,” he said. Dominique frowned, and Eamon nodded. “We’ll be ready.” He turned and rushed to the port side row of cannons.

  “We have two ships on each side of us,” Shasta said as Captain Innac’s ship arrived and slowed. His men pulled all sails up and the Curse did the same. Both ships came to a rest in the rolling waves only thirty feet from each other. Captain
Innac nodded to Dominique, and he returned the gesture. “Bauro’s ship is hidden behind the two at our starboard side. Innac won’t get him.”

  “Always the bastard coward,” he muttered.

  “They are nearly in position to—” Shasta’s words were cut short as several more flaming bolts landed in the middle of the main deck, and his crew rushed to contain the damage. “Pull all our sails and drop anchor,” he yelled. “Raise it, first mate. Now!”

  Shasta waved up at Scag. “Raise the white flag!” she screamed. The crow’s nest spotter obeyed and tied a large flag to the main mast. The white cloth peeled open and snapped in the wind. The flaming ballista bolts came to an end, and Bauro’s remaining fleet closed.

  “Eamon?” Dominique shouted.

  “Almost… a few more seconds,” he replied

  “Make sure Sandra knows to run if we get out of this alive.”

  “Already done,” Shasta replied.

  “Now!” Eamon hollered, and Shasta waved at Captain Innac. The port doors slid back on both ships.

  “Fire everything!” Shasta screeched. Dominique closed his eyes and covered his ears as the sixteen cannons roared, and Sandra’s ship followed a second later. The two vessels to Dominique’s port side exploded, smashed to splinters by the onslaught of metal cannonballs. As he glanced to the right, he saw the two on Sandra’s right had fared a bit better. Without Eamon to aim, the ships remained intact but listed heavily from the fires racing across their decks and up their masts. Bauro’s ship was untouched.

  “Pull the anchor and raise all sails,” Dominique barked. “Straight ahead. Eamon, target the two ahead of us.”

  The Irishman saluted and went to work while Dominique glanced back in time to see the Reaver’s Curse race after the two ships at his stern. The targets raised sail and separated as they turned toward the deeper waters of the Sea of Storms. Havarrow spun the wheel and pursued.

  “Don't let them get away, Eamon. The chase cannons!” Shasta yelled. Cackling like a madman, Eamon ran to the front cannons and kicked their lock pins free.

  “Load them!” he barked to two sailors, and they poured black powder down the throats. He took a step back and spun two flame sticks like swords. The tips flared as the two crew members eased the cannons into place. Eamon lit them both, and they discharged, vomiting lengths of heavy chain attached to small cannonballs. The spinning chains hit hard, tearing the cloth sails and smashing the wooden masts on both of Bauro's fleeing ships. They were left adrift in the deep water. Eamon cheered and pumped his right fist in the air.

  “Yes,” Havarrow hissed.

  “Bauro is running, Captain,” Scag called down from the crow’s nest. “He split the gap ‘tween us and the Curse.”

  “Hard to port,” he yelled and spun the wheel hard. The ship groaned as it leaned in response. The crew adjusted the sails, and they sped away, hot on Bauro’s stern.

  Bauro's ship jumped ahead and accelerated unexpectedly.

  “Shit.” Havarrow cursed. “The BlackSpawn Bastard has a wizard aboard. Shasta, we need to get him before he's out of range!”

  “Eamon?” she snapped.

  “Need to be closer,” he growled back, but grinned suddenly as he carried on. “Wait! Use the angle to cut him off when he swings wide to clear the point on the bay’s far side. That should get us close enough.”

  “Dammit, Eamon! I love you, you little shit,” Shasta exclaimed.

  As Dominique eased the wheel toward starboard, the main deck cannons aboard his other ship roared. In the blink of an eye, the second deck cannons spewed fire and smoke as well. Bauro’s last two ships each fired a ballista shot off as Captain Innac’s ship turned hard. The ship headed for him, but he realized she was not coming to his aid. With her sails and masts on fire, she managed to come full about as her speed slowed. Her sixteen cannons fired while she came to a halt less than a hundred feet from the last two enemy ships. The hail of cannon fire ripped through both ships. They shattered and broke apart, beginning an agonizing descent to the sea’s floor.

  Dominique returned his attention back to Bauro’s fleeing ship. Its bow swung out as Bauro BlackSpawn tried to edge past the shallow waters of the bay’s far point.

  “Closer!” Eamon barked while glancing to Dominique.

  “We won’t get much closer,” he shot back. “Bauro knows these waters as well as I do.” He held his breath as he watched his old commander clear the shallows. “That’s it. He’s clear.”

  “Fire, Eamon. Now, dammit!” Shasta screamed. Eamon lit the cannons once more and turned his back as they erupted. Chains whistled through the air. Both ball and chain smashed into the side of Bauro's ship and did minimal damage but not before taking out the main and mizzen masts. With only the foremast remaining, Havarrow's ship quickly caught the BlackSpawn Bastard and, once alongside, his men tossed hooked lines over the rails of Bauro’s ship to tether the Reaver secure.

  Dominique grabbed his sword from its sheathe as his crew scurried onto Bauro’s ship. Fighters jumped from the shrouds and dropped on the men battling along the deck. Considerably outnumbered, Bauro's crew fought to the last man. In the end, only Bauro, his sorceress, and a single crewman survived.

  Havarrow tore free his new gift from Sythrnax from the last of Bauro's crew. The forged obsidian cutlass sliced through flesh and bone with surgical precision. Dominique took the stairs up to the helm deck two at a time and came face-to-face with his old captain. Shasta and Eamon were right on his heels, so he had only a moment to take in Bauro’s female wizard. The gaunt woman held a hatred in her eyes Dominique knew all too well, but it was not aimed at him. The lone surviving crew member was frighteningly familiar, but he could not place the thin, scraggly-haired man out of the hundreds of pirates who sailed under the Suns’ flag. A chill ran up his spine, but he shrugged it off and turned to Bauro.

  The Suns’ commander laughed and gripped his sword with white knuckles. “Now I see why the traitor ran,” he snarled. “You found the crazy alchemist.”

  “Feck you, pirate,” Eamon snapped, blatantly insulted. “My crazy alchemy just blew yer ass all over this bay.”

  Bauro growled as he continued, “Instead of bringing him to me, you kept him and these new weapons for yourself. Northman traitor!”

  Shasta smashed Bauro in the mouth with the butt of her dagger. “The only traitor here is you, bastard. We weren't keeping the alchemist for ourselves. We were delivering people to these mountains, an unexpected, but urgent paid job. You came after us, not the other way around.”

  Snorting, Bauro shook his head. “Lying wench.”

  Havarrow stepped forward. Nose-to-nose with Bauro, he trembled with rage. “I have sailed at your side for over twenty years, every single second of it faithfully. I never once considered keeping the crazy fucker for myself until you started your hunt for me. You sank one of my ships along with our paid fare’s protection ships in this very bay not two months ago while I unloaded my charges and their supplies. With no warning and no chance to parley. Had you not done that, we would have headed to you the second they were unloaded. But, instead, we outfitted my ships with these weapons. You caused this with your cursed paranoia and greed.”

  “Matters not, Northman.” Bauro grinned. “Question is, will you follow the Suns’ creed and fight me for control of the Suns’ so I can kill you?”

  “If that is what it takes.”

  “You know you cannot beat me one-on-one,” Bauro sneered. The bastard was right, and Dominique frowned while Bauro continued, “Or, perhaps, you will just kill me like the coward traitor you are, huh, Dom?”

  “Fine I challenge—”

  “No, you don’t,” the pirate standing behind Bauro growled, interrupting him. With no warning, the last crewman bent over and yanked a dagger from his boot. A snarl of hatred marred his face. It was a face Dominique had seen in battle many times.

  “Cassel,” he let out as the man viciously stabbed Bauro in the back. Ripping the blade from Bauro’s fle
sh, he kicked the back of his knee and stabbed him once more as he dropped.

  “This is for my fucking wife, you black-heart bastard,” the pirate barked. He eased the blade into the side of Bauro’s neck and spat on the twitching corpse as it fell to the deck. Bauro’s sorceress shrieked with rage and magic leapt from her hands. Shasta stepped in front of Dominique with her daggers crossed in defense, but instead, the magic gripped Bauro’s corpse. Pivoting, the sorceress lifted Bauro’s corpse into the air with magic before flinging it overboard.

  “Good riddance, you gods-cursed pig!” she snapped, earning a curt nod from Shasta.

  Dominique stared at the man who had killed Bauro. It was a face he recognized through the grime and a hundred pounds of weight loss. It was also a face he was certain he was never going to see again. The man was paler than he remembered, and his eyes hollowed from sickness, but the familiar face he knew was underneath it all. “You’ve lost weight, but I know you, pirate. I thought you were dead,” he said.

  “You fucking better well know me.”

  Dominique shook his head, repeating himself. “We thought you were dead, Cass.”

  “Close as I could get, I promise you, brother.”

  “Wait,” Shasta whispered, “Cassel Moranax? Your old partner?”

  “Aye,” Dominique said, smiling. “Where you been, my brother?”

  “Witches,” Cassel replied. “Ella the White. I think she brought me back from the dead after that Broken Blade killed me. Woke up and found out it's been almost eleven years. My Suns' mark and sailing experience got me aboard the Bled Trader. Heard rumors Havarrow had gone rogue.”

  “Damn lies,” Dominique snapped. “Bauro was paranoid. Yes, we had the alchemist, but we weren't running, just finishing a job. How'd you end up on Bauro's ship?”

  “I woke up under the care of one of Ella’s witches but managed to escape. I overheard the Twin Cities’ port guards talking about Captain Orion shipping out. I remembered Hack Orion. He was an anchor winch-man on a low-level ship a decade ago. He never recognized me, but he was short on men. It's hard to fake Bauro's magical Suns of Blood tattoo—bloody Broken Blades were good for something at least. Once Orion sailed out, I explained who I was. Bauro sent Orion back to Rejtett a week ago, so I jumped aboard the BlackSpawn Bastard in the hopes he'd actually catch up with you.” Cassel shook his head as he laughed.