Crossbones: Episode 1

by Stefan M. Nardi

  There was silence for a moment and then a voice shouted back.

  ‘Yes, we need help, the ship’s taking on water.’

  Janos started to panic, he wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to go get the others, if it was just a false alarm they'd think he was an idiot. But what if the ship actually was taking on water? Then they might all drown because of him. He decided he’d go down and take a look and then get help if he needed it. He drew his sword and moved towards the door.

  ‘Alright, stand back against the wall, I’m coming in.’

  He fumbled with the keys and managed to get them into the lock. As he pushed the door open the last thing Janos Salt saw was a column of flames rushing towards him. The flames engulfed the unsuspecting sailor and burnt him to a crisp. And thus, ended the life of Janos Salt. Sailor, guard and imbecile.

  Eldric stepped through the flames and over the charred corpse of the dead guard. Dean and Erasmus followed a few steps behind, as he passed Dean nudged the body of the guard with his toe.

  ‘Not the brightest chap, was he? It’s a little hard for the ship to take on water three decks above sea level.’

  Erasmus grunted his agreement.

  Upon hearing the commotion created by the death of the guard, the rest of the crew had come running towards them. Dean, Eldric and Erasmus stood, surrounded by the slavers with their backs to the door from which they’d just emerged. The sound of dozens of swords being drawn filled the warm night air. Dean stepped forward.

  ‘Gentleman, My name is Dean Whittaker, Captain-’ Eldric cleared his throat loudly from behind Dean. Dean rolled his eyes pointedly. ‘Sorry, co-captain of The Black Phoenix. Now, seeing as you so rudely boarded our ship and placed us in chains, we’ll be borrowing this ship. If you lay down your weapons, you will be allowed to live.’

  There was stunned silence for a moment and then raucous laughter filled the night as the realization of what Dean had just said sunk in. One of the sailors stepped forward, he was a big, brawny fellow and he had a confident smirk on his face. He held his sword loosely in his right hand and his left rested on the butt of a pistol that he had stuffed through the sash around his waste.

  ‘My name is Domenico Carbara and I am first mate aboard this vessel and if you think that you’re taking this ship, then you are sorely mistaken.’

  Dean grinned, ‘So, I’ll take that as a no then?’

  Before the words were barely out of his mouth, Domenico swung at him. His sword blade gleamed in the moonlight as it tore down through the air. Dean leapt backwards, his feet landing nimbly on the wooden deck. The blade flew past him, missing by millimetres. He laughed as a glittering blade of ice formed in his hand. Domenico hesitated, his eyes growing wide at the mystical sight before him. Dean seized the opportunity; he thrust the now fully formed blade through Domenico’s chest. The blade disappeared into the man’s Chest, reappearing in his back. A look of confusion spread across his face as he looked down at the growing flower of blood spreading across his chest. Dean pulled the blade back and the man fell to the deck, a pool of blood quickly forming around the corpse.

  It was at this point, that all hell broke loose. The sailors were too stunned by what had just happened to notice that the other slaves were now gathered in the doorway. The slaves, heartened by the death of one of their captors at the hands of their savior, let out an almighty cry and surged forward. They fell upon the sailors with the ferocity of men who no longer had anything to lose, the only weapons they had were the broken chains from which they had been freed. They used the chains to belt and bludgeon the slavers, the sounds of battle filled the air as the sailors fought back. The clash of metal on metal, the screams of dying men. From somewhere, an alarm bell began to sound and more of the sailors rushed up from below decks. A bloody mist filled the air and the deck became slick with blood and gore as slavers and slaves alike, fought for their lives.

  At the centre of it all, Dean twirled and twisted, his blade flickering and 3, cutting down man after man. From his free hand wispy blue balls of magic flew, patches of ice forming where they struck. Eldric grabbed the sword from the deck where Domenico had dropped it. He swung the sword at the nearest sailor, cutting a large arc through the air. As he did a fiery scythe blasted forth along the arc, it cut down anyone in it’s path. Both friend and foe alike. Eldric stood in shock at what had just happened. Erasmus snatched the sword from his grasp.

  ‘Give me that, this isn’t a sword boy, it’s my staff. You’re lucky you didn’t kill all of us.’

  Eldric grabbed another sword from the deck and launched himself back into the fray. There would be plenty of time to have questions answered later. Amongst the confusion of the battle, Eldric saw another, smaller ship sliding up alongside them. The sound of gunshots rang out through the noise of battle as the crew of the second ship fired their muskets into the fray. Eldric grinned, he’d recognise that beautiful ship anywhere, it was The Black Phoenix. A blast of light lit up the night as Erasmus fired back with a column of scorching flames.

  ‘Hey, watch it, that’s my ship your burning, and besides, get your own tricks. Fire is my thing.’

  Erasmus scowled at him. ‘I’ve been doing this since you were in swaddling clothes.’

  Eldric grinned and took off towards the railing. Erasmus bolted after him. Eldric ran towards the railing and without skipping a beat, he jumped up onto it. He used his momentum to launch himself off again. He leapt across the gap between the two ships and came down on the deck of the smaller vessel. As he came down, he continued into a roll and sprang up next to the group of gunmen as they were hurriedly trying to reload their muskets. He grabbed the dagger from the nearest of them and flicked it across the sailors neck, blood bubbled up out of the mans throat and he fell to the deck with a gurgled cry. Eldric twisted and thrust the dagger through the neck of the next man, as he did he used his free hand to grab the pistol from the mans waist. The sailor grabbed at the dagger in his neck as blood spurted from the wound and he quickly followed the first man to the deck. Eldric barely took any notice as he swung around and pointed the pistol at the next sailor and prayed that it was loaded. A sharp crack cut through the night air and their was a spray of blood as the pellet hammered through the man’s skull. Blood and gore sprayed out onto the deck behind him. The last sailor had already given up on his musket and had drawn his sword, he rushed at Eldric. Eldric turned and ducked under the mans desperate slash, he brought his hand up and into the chest of the man. Using his magic, Eldric sent the sailor flying backwards in a fiery explosion, his charred body falling to the deck with a dull thud.

  Eldric stood up straight just in time to see Erasmus land behind him in an awkward roll. He offered his hand and pulled the mage to his feet. Erasmus looked around at the bodies of the fallen sailors.

  ‘You could’ve at least left me one.’

  Eldric grinned at him. ‘Next time I’ll ask them to wait until you arrive, maybe they’ll share a cup of rum or two while we wait.’

  Erasmus chuckled at him.

  ‘Did you happen to see Dean as you were coming over?’

  ‘Not exactly, the last I saw of him, he was tearing those slavers to pieces. The man’s unstoppable with that blade.’

  Dean cut his way through the slavers. His sword darting back and forth, slashing and stabbing; it’s icy blade coated with blood. His feet moved with the grace and dexterity of a dancer as he twisted and turned, tapping lightly on the deck with an almost hypnotic rhythm. He dispatched his latest adversary with a flick of his wrist, the sword slashed across the man’s throat spilling more blood onto the deck. And then suddenly, for what seemed like the first time in hours, all was quiet.

  Dean stopped and looked around the ship. The deck was coated in blood and various other liquids. It was littered with the bodies of dead slaves and slavers alike. There were still some men fighting but, for the most part, the former slaves had prevailed. Suddenly there was a cry from behind him and he
whirled around to find one of the slaves standing a few meters behind him. From the middle of the mans chest, The blade of a sword protruded, surrounded by a growing circle of blood. As Dean watched, the blade retracted back into the man’s chest and he fell to the deck. Where the man had stood, now stood one of the slavers. The man was tall and carried an air of confidence that none of the others had. Dean instantly knew who he was.

  ‘I presume you are the captain of this ship?’ He said acidly.

  The man took his eyes off the body of the dead slave and looked at Dean. A strange look came into his eyes, Dean could’ve sworn it was fear. He guessed that he must look pretty terrifying by now, he was splattered with the blood of the men he had killed and his wicked blade gleamed in the moon light. The man stood staring at Dean.

  ‘It can’t be you,’ the man breathed ‘you’re dead. I killed you years ago.’

  Dean gave him a puzzled look. ‘Well, last time I checked I was still alive, but you’re welcome to try again if you like.’

  The man snapped out of his reverie and charged at Dean. It was a reckless move and Dean easily side stepped, bringing his own sword around as he did. The sword cut through the cool night air, speeding towards the captain’s neck. Despite his initial recklessness, the man was good. At the last second he twirled and brought his sword around, parrying Dean’s cut. The sound of ice striking metal sung out across the deck. The two men stared into each others eyes as they locked swords, each weighing up their opponent. Dean grinned and leapt backwards, landing nimbly a few feet away. This was going to be a good fight.

  In his left hand, Dean used his powers to form a dagger. The captain smiled and drew his own dagger. The two men circled each other, each waiting for the other to move. Dean grew tired of waiting, he leaped forward, thrusting his sword towards the man’s chest. The captain batted Dean’s sword aside. The two men closed on each other, their weapons blurred in a flurry of movement. Once again the clanging of metal on ice filled the air.

  Their blades shone in the moonlight, they spun, twisted and twirled as they fought, each trying to find a hole in the others defense. The blur of movement stopped as the two men locked swords again. The captain was good. Dean was better. Dean twisted away from the man, as he did he sliced his dagger across the man’s leg. The captain cried out in pain and staggered. He swung blindly out to his left, Dean caught the blade on his own.

  The Captain regained his footing. He twisted around to face Dean. He thrust his dagger up and under Dean’s sword. Dean shoved him backwards. The blade missed it’s mark but still managed to glance across his side. Dean roared in pain. He leapt forward again, quickly closing the gap between them. Dean was furious. He struck at the captain with a renewed ferocity, raining blows down upon him. The man retreated with each blow. The fear returned to his eyes. With a roar Dean swung his blade downward. The captain caught the blade on both of his. He struggled under the weight of the blow, the blades slowly inching closer to his body. Suddenly he keeled over and fell to his knees. He looked down to find Dean’s Dagger protruding from his stomach. His sword fell from his hand and clattered to the deck. Dean stood over him, his sword now hung loosely by his side. The captain made a feeble attempt to slice at Dean with his dagger but dean swatted it aside and it too went sliding across the deck.

  The captain raised his head to look up at Dean, the fear had returned to his eyes.

  Dean stared down at him. ‘Tell me your name.’

  The captain stared at him with a look of confusion on his face. He coughed as lines of blood formed at the edges of his lips.

  ‘How can you be here?’ he whispered weakly, ‘I killed you. 12 years ago, I stabbed you through the heart and threw you overboard.’

  ‘I believe you are mistaking me for someone else; 12 years ago, I was a child. My name is Dean Whittaker and I have never seen you before in my life.’

  The captains eyes widened. ‘Did you say Whittaker? You’re his son!’

  He began to laugh but it instead came out as a horrible gurgling sound as he choked on his own blood. He fell to his back, gasping for air. Dean froze at the words. This man knew his father. The memory of his dream came rushing back to him. Dean dropped to his knees beside the man and rolled him onto his side.

  ‘No you can’t die yet, tell me who you are mistaking me for? What do you know of my father?’

  The man just lay there gasping for breath. He choked out one final word, ‘Hibernis.’ And with that his body went limp.

  Dean stayed where he was on the deck, exhaustion washing over him. It was some time before he moved again, as he raised his head he realised that it had begun to rain. Someone came and hauled him to his feet, he turned to find himself staring into the face of a young man. He recognised him as one of the slaves that had been chained near him. The man didn’t say anything, he just smiled at him. Dean looked around. The battle was over, they had won. The deck was slick with blood, but already it was beginning to melt beneath the cool shower of rain.

  Dean realised that he was moving, he had one arm around the other man and they were walking towards the back of the ship. He wasn’t sure where they were taking him. Really, he didn’t care. The last thing he remembered was falling into a soft bed and then sleep took him. At least he hadn’t been knocked out this time.

  Dean awoke to find himself in a small cabin. He was sprawled across a large comfortable bed, his wounds seemed to have been dressed and sunlight crept into the room around the edges of the curtains covering the large window. He groaned and sat up, the cut in his side wasn’t nearly as painful as he had thought it would be. He threw back the covers and was startled to find that he was naked. The blood rushed to his face as he realised that someone else had undressed him.

  He looked around the room and grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt that had been laid out on a chair in the corner of the room and hurriedly pulled them on. Fully dressed, he walked to the door and pulled it open. He found himself looking into a large and ornate study. One wall consisted entirely of a large floor to ceiling window that flooded sunlight into the room. Directly in front of the window was an intricately carved desk, at which Erasmus and Eldric were seated, munching upon a bowl of fruit as they studied the papers which covered the desk. Eldric looked up an smiled as he saw Dean.

  ‘How is it that I always seem to be awake well before you, dear brother?’

  Dean returned his brothers smile, ‘with the amount of times I’ve been hit in the face over the past several days, I need the beauty sleep.’

  Eldric gave him a knowing look. ‘Well, that’s not what the girls who bandaged you up thought.’

  Dean’s face went bright red.

  Eldric and Erasmus chuckled at him. Dean walked over to the desk and pulled out a chair. He grabbed an apple from the bowl as he sat down. He hadn’t realised how hungry he was until he began to eat it. He stared out of the window at the vast expanse of ocean behind them.

  ‘So who is taking care of the ship if you two are in here?’ queried Dean.

  ‘There were a few sailors amongst the slaves, they’re taking care of it. Some of them are aboard your ship as well.’ Erasmus replied.

  ‘Any idea where we are heading?’

  Eldric pushed one of the papers towards him, it was a map of the coast of Sitaria.

  ‘We figure the slavers were heading here’ he said as he stabbed at a point on the map with his finger. ‘Aldan, the capital city of Sitaria and one of the few civilized cities that still practices the slave trade.’

  Dean studied the map, looking up and down the coast line.

  ‘If that city hasn’t outlawed slavery, we can’t stop there. They’ll just put everyone back in chains.’

  He looked up at Eldric and Erasmus, Eldric had a grim expression on his face.

  ‘We need to go there, Dean. Do you remember hearing about the Civil war in Sitaria about 7 years ago? King Raldar was murdered by his brother, Kaldorn, who then took the crown for himself. Well Kaldor
n is one of Darius Shaide’s right hand men.’

  Dean’s expression hardened, Darius Shaide was one of the seven pirate lords and part of the reason they had set out on this voyage. Dean turned to stare out of the window again, thinking.

  ‘Fine. Eldric you and I take the Black Phoenix and head for Aldan. Erasmus, you can take this ship with the others and head for Alartas. You’ll be safe there, slave trading was outlawed there years ago.’

  Eldric and Erasmus exchanged a glance. Dean looked from one to the other.

  ‘Why do I get the feeling you two have already discussed this and come up with a different plan?’

  ‘Probably because we have.’ Erasmus said with a grin. ‘You’re right, those that were slaves can’t go to Aldan, as soon as they’re marks are seen, they would end up back in chains. However, being that we were some of the last to be captured, we haven’t been branded yet. So, I’m coming with you. One of the slaves was the captain of a merchant vessel before he was captured so he’ll take the ship and the others on to Alartas.’

  ‘You’re coming with us?’ Dean looked puzzled.

  ‘Yes, I have business in Aldan. Plus you two have some very unique powers, ones that mortal humans shouldn’t have. I want to keep an eye on you and teach you how to wield them.’

  The brothers looked at each other, having a conversation without even saying a word.

  ‘Ok.’ Dean agreed, ‘But first, tell us, when you saw me use my powers for the first time, you said it was Fae magic. What did you mean?’

  Erasmus sat forward in his seat.

  ‘What do you two know of your parents?’

  Dean looked uneasy at the question. He looked across at Eldric who seemed to be studying the ground with intense focus.

  ‘Eldric never knew them. He was only a toddler when our mother was killed, too young to remember. I was five when our village was attacked by pirates, they murdered our mother in the attack. I managed to get Eldric and myself out of the village. We escaped to some nearby caves that me and the other children used to play in. We were the only ones that survived. Eventually we were rescued when a navy ship arrived, but they were too late to save anyone else. Our fathers we never knew, all I know is that we have different fathers.’