by Jamie Davis
Health damage health -10
* * *
Helen had managed to dispatch her attacker. Unfortunately, she was also wounded in the process. She still managed to limp over and help Francesca finish off the final attacker leaving Cari facing her man one on one.
“Go after Percy and the princess. I’ve got this guy. Get the ship ready and I’ll meet you there.”
The other two women darted off down the alley following Percy and Jaycee leaving Cari and her attacker alone.
The attacker sneered at her. “You ain’t goin’ to git away. We know what your plan is. You’ll not leave the harbor alive. That girl is stayin’ with us.”
“Better men than you have tried to stop me when I have a plan. They’re all dead now.”
“You may have killed my friends, but you won’t kill me. All I have to do is keep you busy until help arrives.”
Cari knew the man was right. She had to finish this quickly. It was likely her friends were going to run into trouble before they got to the Sailfish.
Cari feinted to the left and the man took the bait. Cari blocked his follow-up attack with her dagger using a sweeping swipe to the right. She then swung her rapier blade in from one side, cutting a broad slash across the man’s shoulder.
He dropped his cutlass as his arm went limp. He turned to run away, but Cari wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. She lunged forward and ran him through from behind before he took a full step.
* * *
2500 experience awarded
* * *
Cari turned and ran down the main street as she heard more shouts approaching from behind. She hoped to intercept her friends as they came out the alley farther down the road. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw them burst out of the alley just ahead.
Percy and Jaycee ran on towards the docks. Francesca and Helen ran along close behind them, though Helen was last and losing ground. Her pronounced limp led Cari to believe she was more injured than she had first appeared.
“Helen, are you all right?” Cari called out as she caught up to her first mate.
“I’ll be along, Captain. Catch up with the others. I’ll be there before you set sail.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“You don’t have a choice. I’ll make it. You catch up to Jaycee and the others, your responsibility lies with her.”
Cari knew what Helen said was right, but she’d lost so many friends, so many people that had counted on her to keep them safe in the last few months. She didn’t want to lose Helen, too. “I’m counting on you to get there before we sail, Helen. I’ll be very cross with you if you show up haunting me as a ghost.”
Helen laughed aloud at her captain’s words. “I promise, Captain. I’ll only haunt you in friendly ways. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, though. Keep going. I’m right behind you.”
Cari raced ahead and caught up with Percy, Jaycee, and Francesca just as they reached the dock beside the Sailfish.
They’d made it.
Cari directed Percy up the gangplank with the princess and turned to Francesca. ”Go back and help Helen. Make sure she gets here before we sail.”
“Aye, aye, ma’am.”
As the woman headed off to help the first mate, Cari turned and followed Percy and Jaycee up the gangplank onto the racing schooner. Sylvie already had things well in hand. The small crew had all the lines cast off except a single thick hawser linked to the pier. The sails were ready to drop and catch the wind coming off the shore.
This ship was small and very responsive. The coastal breeze off the island would pull them out and into the harbor.
“Excellent work, Sylvie. You’ve gotten a lot done in the time you’ve had.”
“It’s not that hard, ma’am. These sailors are all a good crew. We’ll have the ship ready to go in fifteen minutes.”
“We may not have that much time. Make it five.”
“Aye, ma’am. Five it is.”
“Percy, lend her a hand with everything and anything she needs. You know as much about what to do sailing this ship as most sailors do. It’s time you earn your keep again.”
“Aye, aye, ma’am.” Percy smiled at the compliment and ran off to catch up with Sylvie.
Jaycee stood by Cari’s side. Cari felt a small hand reach up and grasp hers. She gave Jaycee’s hand a gentle squeeze and glanced down at her ward. “It’ll be all right, Jaycee. We’ve almost made it out of here.
A shout from down the docks caught Cari’s attention. A crowd came around the corner a couple of blocks away and started towards the pier where the Sailfish sat. Just ahead of the group, Francesca had one of Helen’s arms pulled across her shoulders and together the two were half-limping, half-running towards the ship.
It was going to be close, too close.
Cari looked at the stern of the small vessel and spotted the swivel gun mounted on the rail. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was all she had. A small footlocker sat bolted to the deck next to it and Cari correctly guessed it held gunpowder and shot for the small, light anti-personnel weapon.
Running over to the position on the rail Cari opened up the locker and began loading the miniature cannon. There was a small tin can, about the size of a can of soup, the same diameter of the little gun’s barrel. After putting the small bagged powder charge in, Cari rammed the small canister of pellets down inside the barrel and turned it back around to face the docks adding a bit of powder to the touch hole at the top of the gun.
Cari took ahold of the handle of the swivel gun and suddenly realized she didn’t have anything to light it with. Someone tugged on her shirt sleeve and she looked down to see Jaycee standing there.
“Here, Cari. I think this will make a flame.” The little girl held up a small brass cylinder with a knurled wheel set on the top.
“Good girl,” Cari said taking the object from her. Jaycee was right about the device. It was a spark lighter. If she spun the wheel, the friction would light the lamp oil wick next to it. The problem was, these things were kind of persnickety. They didn’t always work when you wanted them to.
Cari didn’t have time to worry about bad luck, though. Helen and Francesca had almost made it to the Sailfish, but the crowd of angry Raiders was gaining on them. Cari spun the wheel with her thumb feeling it ratchet under her grip as the flint and steel caused a spark to jump towards the wick.
Cari worked it again and again with her thumb. Spark after spark flew towards the tiny wick just a few millimeters away. Finally, the wick caught and a small flame appeared. Aiming the swivel gun in the direction of the onrushing crowd, Cari touched the fire to the top of the small cannon. There was a loud flash and a bang, followed by a cloud of thick grey smoke.
When the smoke cleared, the first ranks of the mob chasing Helen and Francesca were down. Many of them writhing in pain on the stone pier. Four of them would never rise again. The others who weren’t injured backed away to take cover.
* * *
2500 experience awarded
2500 experience awarded
2500 experience awarded
2500 experience awarded
* * *
Helen and Francesca hobbled up the gangplank together and onto the Sailfish’s deck. They’d made it.
“It’s about time, Helen. I was about to have to come out and get you myself.”
Helen laughed. “No need for that, ma’am. Francesca here was able to fetch me just fine.”
“Sylvie, let’s get this ship out into the harbor and away before any more people think about crewing another ship to come after us.”
“Aye, aye, ma’am.”
The crew dropped the sails and they immediately caught the breeze coming off the island. The small racing schooner slid out into the harbor. It handled much more quickly than the Vengeance had. Soon they were racing through the waves towards the harbor mouth and the open ocean of the Western Sea beyond. They’d made it. They were free of the Cairn Islands. Now it was time to find a place
to put ashore near Tandon.
* * *
Quest accepted — Land on the Empire’s Western Coast
Quest completed — Escape to the Harbor
26,000 experience
Level up!
Chapter 4
Standing at the ship’s wheel, Cari looked out at the blue sky on the horizon way out where it touched the sea. The weather had been excellent and the last four days had been beyond pleasant for her. She had missed sailing the sea with a good crew. There had been no trouble once they cleared the harbor at Cairn Island. No one had been able to get a ship clear of the port in time to follow them before they were out of sight.
After leaving the Cairn Islands behind them, Cari forgot she’d leveled up as they left the harbor and she decided to allocate the two attribute points and one skill point she’d received upon reaching level thirteen as a duelist.
Cari decided she could’ve used some additional luck getting out of the Raider town and added her two attribute points to her luck attribute. This increased her luck modifier to plus two. She also improved her acrobatic dodge skill to level three.
When she was finished, Cari looked over her stats menu for the first time in a long time and was happy to see she had completely healed from her injuries.
* * *
Name: Cari Dix
Class: Duelist
Level: 13
* * *
Attributes:
Brawn: 12 - +2 to hit/damage
Wisdom: 10 - +1
Luck: 12 - +2 to all saving throws
Speed: 22 - +7 defense
Charm: 18 - +5 personal reaction
Health: 130/130
* * *
Skills: Two-Weapon Combat, Acrobatic Dodge — 3, Multi-Foe Tactics — 2, Feint — 2, Bladesmith — Master, Prescience — 3, Ambidexterity, Seamanship — Master, Navigation — Master, Aimed Cannon Shot — 2
Master Duelist Bonus – Projectile Dodge (55% Chance of Activation)
Regeneration – 1hp/sec (max 60 seconds) 1/day
Experience: 600,000/850,000
* * *
Satisfied with the changes she made, Cari saved them and closed the menu in her visual field and returned her attention to the task at hand. The Sailfish was a fast ship. She was small and sleek and quick to react to any adjustment made by the crew to her course. It was a pure joy to sail this vessel.
After leaving the harbor on that hectic first night, the crew had fallen into a routine of sorts with Helen as the first mate, Sylvie as second mate and Francesca as bosun. Percy had joined the rest of the crew as a full-fledged seaman after Cari held a small ceremony promoting him. He swelled with pride, popping his chest up when Cari announced his promotion. He was getting too big to be a cabin boy anymore anyway.
Cari was so wrapped up in thinking about the last four days, she didn’t notice the first mate approach.
“Copper for your thoughts, ma’am” Helen asked.
“I missed this, Helen. I missed it a lot. You know what I mean? I just wish everyone that’s been lost could be here too.”
Helen lowered her voice so the others couldn’t hear her. “Don’t dwell on the past, Cari. Those that have been lost are lost. You saved all you could. We have to focus on those we can save now. No one faults you for the decisions you’ve made.”
“No one but me.”
Helen laid a hand on Cari’s shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. The first mate turned away and went back to her duties leaving her young captain alone at the ship’s wheel.
Cari didn’t like to dwell on all the people who’d been lost when the Vengeance sank in that final battle as she ran from the Duke’s attempt to trap and capture Jaycee. There were times, however, when the loss weighed heavily on her.
It was at times like this she wished she could talk to her mom or even her dad. That was, of course, impossible. They were a long way away, back home. At least, that was where she figured they were. If they had come after her, they would have caught up with her by now. They’d have also taken her home, or tried to, at least.
“Sail ho,” the lookout called down from the single central mast
“Where away?” Cari called.
“Well off the port bow, captain. Just over the horizon now.”
Cari lamented the fact that she didn’t have a proper spyglass on board. Captain Wheldon had taken anything that might’ve been of any value up to his home when the ship was in port. There was very little aboard other than some essential navigational tools.
She’d have to rely on the lookout’s eyes as to what she could make out. Cari turned the ship to starboard and called out to the bosun. “Trim the sails. Let’s see if we can urge a little more speed out of her, Francesca.”
“Aye, ma’am. We’re on it.”
Cari called up her seamanship skill menu, along with the navigational skill menu and studied the overlay of colored vector lines showing her where the sea currents were and where the winds blew past and around the ship. Between the two, she made an adjustment to their course, plotting the best course to take them away from the ship to the left.
It was probably only a merchant vessel, but Cari couldn’t take the chance. She knew there were plenty of the Duke’s naval ships in the area patrolling all along the western coast of the Empire. The closer she got, the more likely it would be she’d run into one of them. She had to make sure she was in a position to outrun anyone she encountered.
Cari looked down at the main deck. Jaycee was seated there on a hatch cover with two of her rag dolls next to her. She’d been upset that she had to leave her new porcelain dolls back at Captain Wheldon’s home. Francesca and Helen had managed to make a family of rag dolls for her, though, using scraps from around the ship and donated by the crew. After a while, it seemed as if she didn’t miss the other dolls at all anymore.
Cari wished at times like this she could have the worry-free life of a six-year-old. Of course, this six-year-old had seen her entire family die at the hands of pirates and had herself been captured or rescued on more than one occasion during a terrible sea battle. Given everything she’d been through, it was remarkable Jaycee was as well-adjusted as she was.
Cari called up to the lookout. “Keep a sharp eye out Alison. Make sure you watch in all directions. If it’s a naval ship, there are likely to be others in the vicinity.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
Cari probably didn’t need to tell Alison how to do her job. The woman was a capable and experienced sailor. That said, it paid to be thorough. The naval ships tended to run in packs, all of them spread out along a line so they could cover more area.
If that was indeed a naval ship to port, there might well be another one not too far to starboard. Cari adjusted course again and steered between the boat they’d spotted and where she thought another ship might be.
Helen had joined Cari by the wheel, watching as her captain adjusted the course again. “Worried there might be more of them?”
“Yeah. Call it a hunch. I figure they’ve got to be looking for us or just looking for anyone coming from the Cairn Islands. They all want to have as much information on where the princess is so they can try and take her for themselves, or make sure she’s perished at sea,”
“If we can’t get into Tandon, where do you think we will be able to land?” Helen asked.
“I’m not sure.” Cari shook her head. “We’ll just have to take our chances and find a place along the coastline to anchor long enough for everyone to get ashore.”
“Are you planning on abandoning the Sailfish?”
“I don’t see any other choice. We could put the five of us ashore and leave Sylvie in charge of the Sailfish to try and get it back to the islands. Honestly, though, I think there won’t be anything back there to return to. My guess is Captain Ivarson has taken over the council. He won’t be too happy to welcome anyone back who helped me and Jaycee escape. So, they are stuck with the rest of us, at least for now.”
“Well, it’s
nice to have a crew again.”
Cari chuckled. “It’s nice to have at least one optimist in the crew, Helen.”
“Happy to oblige, ma’am.”
“Sail ho. New ship off the starboard stern.”
Cari spun around to look behind them to the right. She could just make out the sails of the trailing ship coming over the horizon. “Damn, I knew it.”
“Sometimes, Cari, I hate it when you’re right.”
“It’s not like I’m asking for trouble, Helen. Sometimes, I feel like it just finds me.”
Helen glanced at the sails and then at their compass heading. “That new ship has the angle to push us towards the other one. It has to be a naval vessel. We’re going to have a hard time slipping between them.”
“I know. I don’t think we’re going to be able to make the turn to get into Tandon ahead of them. We’re going to have to make a landing somewhere else. We should be able to outdistance them, though. At least that will give us enough time to put ashore before they arrive to come after us.”
Cari spun the wheel again, turning them back to port again. She was going to try and split the difference between the two ships and race out from between them towards the coastline. Hopefully, there would be a safe anchorage there they could use to land and get to safety.
She hoped they had the time to pull off her plan.
The next two days on board the Sailfish saw the crew on edge and the tension showed in a few sharp words and scowls between the crew. Cari noticed it but did little to address it. She understood why it was there. They were all still doing their jobs and that was what was important.
Cari did try and keep them all busy, though. She made constant adjustments to the course, watching the currents and the wind direction carefully. Her navigational display helping her make minor corrections, trying to work out every bit of speed she could from the sleek schooner. The crew worked hard to keep the sails trimmed so they took advantage of Cari’s skilled ship handling.