Limitless Seas 2, Chapter 30.

Chapter 30.

“Sail off the port bow!” Quix called out from the crow’s nest. They were only a day out from the pirate stronghold, and this was the first ship they had seen. This close to their target, it was likely a pirate vessel. The course Larson had set took them in a wide arc away from any of the well-traveled shipping lanes. He had hoped to make it to their goal without any warning, and the chase was on to see if they could catch the ship hovering near the edge of the horizon. Signals were sent to the Lost Soul and already more canvas was going up as Tarley ran all the sail he could to increase their speed as they turned toward their prospective prey.

“Raise sail and man the oars,” Larson ordered.

The Sea Venom only had a single main mast, but a while back they had added a bowsprit that held more sails and he had plans for a mizzenmast once they had more time in port. For now, he kept the team at the oars on standby, they would tire quickly, and he didn’t want to wear them out early in the fight if it was unnecessary. Instead, he could feel Cassia working harder, moving the sea around her to smooth and speed their passage while adjusting the incoming wind to fill the sails to their fullest. Larson could also channel his ability to help Cassia’s efforts, but he might need all his mana if this was a pirate and it turned into a fight.

“They’re putting on sail and running,” Quix called down. Just because the other ship was running didn’t necessarily mean they were pirates. If this was an innocent merchantman, they would likely think that Larson’s ships were pirates and do everything they could to stay away. The other ship slowly hove into view, and when Larson turned his spyglass on it, he could see the distinct lines of a small sloop, fast, but were they faster than his ship?

Despite being able to rig more sail, the Lost Soul slowly fell behind the Sea Venom. The sloop was still quite a ways out, but even at this distance, he could see she wasn’t running any colors. Most ships would fly the colors of their home port, like the Stratwall Harbor flag both his vessels sported, but this one was hiding theirs, another indicator this might be one of the pirates they were after. Larson wanted to take this ship, or at least send it to the bottom of the sea. The last thing he wanted was for it to escape and spread the word of their presence. He could handle several small sloops, but not half the pirate fleet if were somehow warned and gathered together to stop him.

“I think we might be losing her,” Quix called down from the crow’s nest. All afternoon and into the evening the halfling had kept at his post. Only relinquishing it briefly to eat and relieve himself. Chases at sea developed slowly when the vessels were closely matched in speed. The afternoon had turned into evening, and now the other ship was slowly being hidden by the fading light.

“She’s heading where we're going, keep our course steady, and set a sharp watch tonight. Furl some of the sail and let the Lost Soul catch up to us,” Larson ordered. He hated to give up the chase, but they weren’t going to catch a ship that they couldn’t see. He could just make out the lights of the Lost Soul, Tarley signaling that they were joining up again, and would take up their position at the front of the formation. As the night fell around them, Gilroy cooked up a meal that was one of the crew’s favorites, a rice and egg dish with spicy chicken that they all enjoyed.

A cook is one of the people most in tune with the mood of the ship, and one of the few that could really influence it. Gilroy must have known everyone was disappointed that their prey had escaped and by cooking one of their favorites, helped to alleviate some of that frustration. It had been a long day, and most of the crew began to finish up their tasks and head to the hammocks below.

“We’ll catch them tomorrow, Captain Larson, if not at sea, we’ll pin them into their harbor and blast them to pieces,” Ibn offered before turning in, many of the crew mumbled their agreement. They would be ready and eager for a fight in the unlikely event the ship was still out there come morning. Larson took a few moments to lie down in his cabin as the night watch was set. He only needed a few seconds of “sleep” to feel fully rested.

He made his usual rounds, chatting with the sailors on watch. They had set an extra watch, which meant that instead of the usual two or three sailors prowling about, they had six and a marine at all times. It wasn’t much of a difference, but extra eyes were always needed when the enemy could be lurking about. Larson liked to use the quiet time to think and plan what he wanted to accomplish. In the short term, he would build his fleet, making them the most potent force to combat piracy in the area. That plan would only last for as long as the pirates were a threat and if he did his job, they wouldn’t be for much longer.

To prepare for a time of minimal piracy, he would need to see about using at least some of his ships for trade. Lucian had helped him in Stratwall Harbor, but the man didn’t know much beyond the goods he ordered to import for the store. Larson would have to make an effort to meet these importers and exporters, and hopefully work with them as he learned the ins and outs of trade amongst the Free Isles. There was an opportunity out there, and as much as his mind remembered about combat, it remembered just as much about growing a shipping empire.

“My Captain, the enemy approaches, a spell shields them from view, but I can feel them closing to port, beware!” Cassia shouted into his mind. Larson looked to port and while it was dark out, there was more than enough moonlight to have spotted any ship closing in on them. Still, Cassia was part of him, and he trusted her instincts.

“General Quarters, prepare to repel boarders on the port side!” Larson shouted, startling the watch on deck for a moment, but they soon began to take up the call and he heard movement below telling him the crew was roused and arming themselves.

At that moment several grapnels flew from seemingly nowhere to land on the railing. Ropes attached to the grapnels pulled taut as, just off to port and only a few meters from the Sea Venom, Larson could see another ship pulling itself alongside, decks seething with pirates. Knowing his crew needed more time to prepare and get organized on deck, Larson drew his weapons and charged toward the first of the boarding planks that was going across.

A shield was summoned into his left hand while the right bore the familiar twin-pronged spear he had used for so long. For the first time in an actual battle, he drew the brace of pistols, aiming them with his lower arms as the shield came up to block various missile weapons that were already streaming toward him and the few crew on watch. Two of his crew, including the man that he had just been talking to, went down to the hail of fire. The pirates were using a hodgepodge of ranged weapons, including crossbows, throwing axes, and javelins.

Larson responded with thunder from his brace of pistols, the heavy shot blasting through the first pair of pirates trying to board. It gave him the time he needed to reach the boarding plank and block it off, using a shield bash to knock off the next pirate to try the ramp. He covered himself behind the shield using it to absorb most of the missiles now heading his way as he blocked the boarding ramp leading to the foredeck. The swarm of pirates moved toward the other two boarding ramps, the ones without four-armed naga captains defending them. At the middle ramp, the marine on duty, one of the gnolls, growled at the attackers pushing them back from the ramp with wild slashes of his battleaxe.

The gnoll marine had a broken off javelin sticking in one shoulder, the wound poured blood and left his arm hanging limp, but the marine wasn’t quitting, still swiping at the attackers with the axe in his other hand. More of the crew was entering the fight from below decks, and a few that had been sleeping on deck roused themselves and gathered weapons, charging into the fray, but the pirates had the momentum as more and more of them gained a foothold on the Sea Venom.

Slow to rouse from a slumber, Larson could hear Bug Bartholomew roar in anger from the quarterdeck where he had been sleeping off the massive meal he had eaten earlier. Larson summoned a gallon of water over the head of a pirate crossing another of the boarding ramps. The sudden presence of a globe of water around his head made the man panic and miss his step, splashing into the water below. Larson didn’t have time to spare a glance downward but was certain the water around the two ships would soon be teeming with predators drawn by the scent of blood.

Unable to reload with a pistol in both hands, Larson sent one of the weapons into his void storage and started the reloading process on the other. He wanted to get stuck into the fight on the main deck, but his presence was the only thing holding back the tide of pirates waiting to cross over here on the raised foredeck. The boarding ramp on the quarterdeck was no longer a concern as Bug Bartholomew stepped into view. Grabbing the ramp with one hand the ogre heaved it into the ocean below, dropping the two screaming pirates trying to cross it into the drink. More ramps went down amidships allowing more pirates onto his ship.

Bartholomew’s head looked over at Larson, a drooling grin was plastered on the creature’s face as he raised his left arm. Where before the ogre had once mounted a portable ballista on the arm, Larson could see that his engineer had taken the liberty of replacing it with the ship’s four-pounder gun. Larson wasn’t exactly happy that the ogre had taken one of only four cannons in existence as his personal weapon, but as Bug Bartholomew raised cannon and pointed it at the seething mass of pirates on the other ship, he figured the ogre was about to earn the right to keep it.

The boom of the weapon caused the pirates aboard the Sea Venom to flinch, giving his crew a precious moment to push back, cutting several down and allowing the marines to form a cohesive line on the main deck. On the deck of the other ship, Larson watched as the blast cut down a swath of pirates waiting their turn to board. The ogre had loaded the weapon with grapeshot, and in its first test against live enemies, the smaller cannon had cut down or seriously wounded over a dozen men. Cheering broke out from the crew as they saw the results of Bug Bartholomew’s actions.

“Signal the Lost Soul to come about and board the enemy from the other side,” Larson ordered to one of the sailors rushing to reinforce his defense of the foredeck.

“Get off of my ship!”  Cassia shouted. Her magnified voice reverberated over the battle. With the strange creaking sound of wood rubbing on wood, Larson watched in shock as the giant serpent figurehead on the bow of the ship came to life. The neck curved around and elongated, striking into the foredeck of the enemy ship. Screams were heard as Cassia’s bite crushed several of the enemy and ripped the boarding plank away.

“My captain, that is all I can do for you at the moment,” Cassia said in his mind.

“Thank you, Cassia, you have done more than enough this night,” Larson thought back.

Leaving a few crew to hold the foredeck and protect the man signaling the Lost Soul, Larson slithered down the stairs toward the main deck, slamming into the demoralized pirates below. His spear went to work, impaling the first pirate he crashed into before using Shield Bash and a flick of his tail to handle others. His crew began to push the enemy back, and the pirates broke, most trying to get back aboard their ships now that they found themselves outnumbered and outgunned. Another boom sounded out as Bug Bartholomew fired the cannon strapped to his arm once more. This time, it was a solid shot and tore through three pirates aboard the enemy ship before blasting through the deck.

“Get aboard, don’t let them cast off. They wanted our ship, but we’ll take theirs instead!” Larson shouted over the din of combat.

The crew responded with a cheer, remembering the training that had been drilled into them during the long hours of practice. As they got the upper hand on the battle for the main deck of the Sea Venom, Ibn led a force of his marines, including the ones from Stratwall Harbor toward the foredeck. By now, the enemy, save for a few archers in the rigging, were clustered on the main deck. A small knot of foes stood on the quarterdeck of the enemy ship, but the enemy foredeck was empty.

Ibn threw a boarding plank of their own across the gap between the ships even as the pirates tried to remove the remaining pair on the main deck. Larson almost wished that Cassia hadn’t eaten the other boarding plank, but the ones from his ship were a bit sturdier and were secured into grooves in the deck that Bug Bartholomew had them create. The marines charged across the gap, a pair of them covering the advance with bows while the others formed a shield wall across the foredeck. Once formed, they pushed down the short stairway onto the pirate’s main deck, working like a well-oiled machine and hacking down any of the haggard pirates in front of them.

Several bright lights caught Larson’s eye as a man in robes on the pirate quarterdeck raised his hands and conjured several swirling balls of magic. Larson had seen this before, the spell would shoot several balls of light out, dealing horrible damage or killing with each hit. Instead of the magic flying out to tear into Larson’s crew, it dissipated as the man stumbled forward and slumped over. It took Larson a moment to figure out what had happened to the pirate mage. The shadow of the Lost Soul closing in on the other side of the enemy vessel answered that question, it was one of their ballista bolts and having pierced the mage, it had dug into the deck, holding the dead man upright.

A pain ripped across Larson’s tail as a pirate thrust a polearm through his guard. Hardened scales split and blood began to pour through the wound. A small symbol in the corner of his vision indicated he had received a bleeding wound, Larson was not quite sure why the system would think he wouldn’t notice it on his own without the prompt. He aimed his freshly reloaded pistol at the pirate, the boom of the weapon startling the nearby pirates and allowing his crew to get in some killing blows. For the pirate that stabbed him, the shot was devastating, rupturing his head like a melon and fling into the chest of the man behind him, a two for one shot.

Larson pulled himself from the line, giving his position to another crewman, they sensed victory and were eager to end the fight. Shada started to rush over, but he waved her away, her skills were needed to save those that might not make it without her magic. The wound in his tail needed to be bound up, and that was something he could do easily enough. Folding up a clean strip of cloth from his void storage, Larson placed pressure on the cut, tying the bandage off tightly. The icon in his vision blinked a few times and disappeared as the blood flowing from his tail stopped. It was still raw and painful, but his wound would heal quickly on this world, hastened along by his powerful body.

In the few minutes it had taken him to treat his wound, Larson could see the battle had almost reached its conclusion. His men had pushed across the planks onto the enemy ship and all that were left to defend the ship were a small knot of pirates on the quarterdeck, a man wearing a jacket adorned with what looked like homemade medals led the defense. He wielded a thin rapier in one hand and a long dagger in the other. Larson watched as the man ran through one of the Stratwall Harbor marines, the thin rapier having no trouble piercing the man’s armor, along with his heart.

Reloading his pistols to take care of the threat, Larson could see that it wouldn’t be necessary as what looked like black flames engulfed the man, his tortured screaming ripping through the air, loud enough to draw the attention of the remaining pirates. Narbos stood on the quarterdeck of the Lost Soul, which was now tying itself off on the other side of the pirate ship, her marines already leaping across to join his forces. Another glowing dark ball of magic shot from Narbos’ hands. Instead of burning into the remaining pirates, the magic seeped into the bodies at their feet.

Ibn pulled back the crew, giving the surviving pirates some space as the nearby dead hauled themselves back to their feet. Shouts from Narbos told the men that the dead were on their side, but the men didn’t look convinced, neither was Larson who made his way over to the pirate vessel. The dead, seven of them, grabbed their weapons and shambled toward the remaining pirates, who looked on in horror as they tried to defend themselves. Their stumbling gait and slow strikes made the dead seem easy enough to defeat, but fear didn’t allow the pirates to fight at their fullest.

It was strange, the sight of the undead was horrifying, but that shouldn’t be enough to turn the spines of hardened pirates to jelly. Narbos’ magic must have infused some arcane dread into the dead he raised. It was a powerful weapon, and Larson was glad the necromancer was on his side. The extent of Narbos’ loyalty was unknown, but he was grateful for his assistance while he had it. If the undead creature ever tried to turn against him, Larson was more than confident he could make the thing dead for a second, and final, time.

The pirates and dead fought, Narbos raising another six of what the system was calling zombies from the pirate bodies scattered nearby. When only three pirates were left, they tried to throw down their weapons and surrender. Narbos held back the dead, ringing in the survivors, but staying their hand at an unspoken command from Narbos.

“Captain, what are your orders?” Narbos asked. Larson moved up to the pirate vessel’s quarterdeck, the crew making way for him as he approached the trio of survivors. Larson raised his hand to tell Narbos to hold back for the moment.

“I’ll not lie to you, there is no scenario where you live through the night. The only thing you can do for yourselves tonight is deciding how painful that end will be. Talk, answer my questions truthfully, and I’ll make it painless. Lie, or try to obfuscate because of some foolish loyalty to fellow pirates, and I shall order the dead to consume you. I can assure you that is neither a quick nor a pleasant end. So, what shall it be tonight, gentlemen?” Larson asked, grinning at the pirates in front of him.