147 Splitting Up

"How are they still behind us?" Atau asked, more to himself than to anyone. Even so, his first mate gave his dutiful answer.

"They might have learned their lesson after last time," a smooth voice answered him. "Although we managed to run rings around them back in the day, even the Bornish would learn their lesson. I think they might have come up with some trick to cope with our superior navigation techniques."

"While I do appreciate the thorough answer, first mate Orin, I wasn't really looking for one."

Only a shrug answered the captain's terse answer. After years of co-dependence, the captain and his first mate had developed a proper understanding beyond the stiff command structure. Rather than bother with his smart-ass subordinate, Atau looked through his spyglass for another one of countless times. In the distance, the enemy ships had gotten closer again.

"Damn it, since when do the Bornish build their ships this well?" Orin cursed. When Atau looked to the side, the sailor had raised his own spyglass, to follow his captain's example.

"It's a problem of dimensions," Atau said. "Before we left for Medala, we increased the size of our fleet by a lot. In that process, we couldn't really pick and choose the type of ship we'd end up with. After all, we didn't have the time to commission a whole batch of new vessels. So we ended up with the refuse of the Arcavian lordships. Some of ours were already old when you were born and are only held together by rope and laquer. Even worse, some of those ships carry a heavy load of grain right now. On the other side, the Bornish have only sent their sleekest, fastest ships after us. Look how elegant that vessel's bow glides through the waves. Of course we would be slower."

"It appears as if Captain has great respect for the enemy."

"The Bornish might not be much in terms of character, but they can build one hell of a ship. Once Saniya's new shipyard starts to launch our newest vessels we'll overtake in a heartbeat, but for now they are still number one in the world, and it's showing."

A call of thunder returned Atau's attention to the ship behind them. Not even halfway between the two vessels, a fountain sprayed into the air. For one awkward moment, the captain shared a look with his first mate.

"Well, they're number one in terms of ship building. Never said anything about marksmanship."

"Even if they are terrible shots, we can't assume that they will waste all of their powder before they come within firing distance," Orin warned.

"Yeah, I got that," Atau sighed. "I'd rather not do this."

"Do what?" First Orin's eyes narrowed, as he stared down his captain. After only a few seconds of silence, the first mate's eyes widened back to normal size, and then kept going.

"Oh no, you're not... that's not your plan, is it? That's ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous?" Atau smirked. "I didn't even say it yet."

"Captain," Orin stared down his captain hard, "do you plan to split the fleet in two? You want to sacrifice half the fleet to guarantee the arrival of the cargo ships in the south?"

"Hey, that's a pretty good idea." Atau slapped Orin's shoulder. "I think I will listen to the advice of my first mate for once."

After the first mate had looked over his shoulder to make sure no one listened in, he leaned closer to the captain. "It's little more than suicide! What are we doing, giving up half the fleet to save the other?"

"First off, it's hardly suicidal. We can save both fleets, just not if we stick together. After all, our problem is that our cargo ships aren't fast enough to get away from the Bornish. If we split our fleet, we solve all our problems: Without the Bornish on their trail, the slow cargo ships can travel south in safety, while the faster ships get chased by the enemy.

"Setting it up is easy too. Those guys have no spyglasses, that much they have made abundantly clear. More likely than not, they can only just see the tail-end of our formation, if that. So long as we manage to break line of sight for only a moment, we can pull all the fast ships to the back. When the Bornish find us again, they run after the tail, while the head breaks off into a different direction."

After he had heard Atau's plan, Orin stood up straight again, his voice loud once more.

"In that case, I will volunteer as commander of the fast fleet."

"Are you kidding me? I'm not giving up command of the Homeward."

"But-"

"Stand down. That's an order! So what if the Bornish have a few new ships? Even if they catch up to us, we can still wipe them no problem." Of course, Atau's words were nothing more than bravado. Those ships behind them had made quite the impression on him, but he would be damned if he let his crew face the dangers of war without him.

"Aye, captain." Orin showed a crisp salute, the kind Atau had become used to. However, only a second later his first mate's frown had returned. "All this time, we've sailed out on the open sea, so where will we hide from the enemy to rearrange our formation?"

"Isn't that easy?" Atau smiled a dangerous smile "We have the perfect hiding spot just up ahead."

"No, wait, you mean-"

"Tell the men we're headed due east. We're going for the Serpent Reefs. Let's show those Bornish just who owns the sea around here."

__________________________

After he had watched his first mate swing over to the neighboring ship, Atau reorganized his crew. For one, he needed a new second in command. Improvised as their plan was, he also had to give Orin enough time to set up a proper command structure. All throughout their fleet, fires were ignited to drive out the oncoming fall of night. With their new morse code system, they managed to organize their fleet and prepare their plans as they waited for day to return.

For now, they were stuck within the Serpent Reefs. Though in truth, there wasn't much to see. Most of the time, the reefs were almost fully submerged. Only a few large boulders stretched all the way from the deepest depths of the sea to the light of day.

Still, the Serpent Reefs were the most dangerous place along the eastern shores of Yakuallpa. Here, the ancient serpent had tried to lead the ancestors to their doom, but they had remained steadfast and followed the stars instead. Atau intended to do the same. In the shine of his oil lamp, he leaned over the maps his men had worked on for the past year. Ever since their return, they had spent a lot of time sailing up and down the shoreline. By now, they had mapped much of the area to a satisfactory degree.

At least it would be good enough to make some initial calculations until the sunlight returned to confirm his assumptions. Throughout the night, Atau could feel an unease grab hold of his fleet. Like a sickness, tension spread throughout the men's voices outside his window. Much rather than a direct battle without time to prepare, it was the wait that killed morale. Too much time to think was never good, maybe he should tell that to Corco. For now, Atau had decided to distribute some wine among his men, the good stuff from his own supply. A shame, but at least the heavy alcohol could break the night's spell.

While the voices began to spread an air of merriment, the wine's owner preferred to take in some coffee. In fact, this was his last reserve. After tonight, they would be out of the precious liquid. When things calmed down, he swore to return back to Ak'challa for more of the brown nectar.

By the time the sun rose again, he had managed to memorize most of the maps, even though they wouldn't need them much. After all, he had used the stars to plot a solid course, safe enough that they would be fine even without perfect navigation. At once, his crew relayed the new information to Orin.

For a few more miles they headed east, until they reached an giant rock in the form of a donkey. Spread around it where several smaller formations, all of them large enough to hide at least a few ships behind. This was it, the place for Orin's cargo fleet to split off and head south after a few more miles on an eastern course.

Meanwhile, his own fast fleet would travel north right away. If the enemy wasn't blind, they would see the tail end of their fleet and follow along. If they couldn't even see them like this, they would be too blind to pursue Orin through the Serpent Reefs anyways. When Atau came back up from his cabin, little flecks of ice and rain shot into his face. Over night, a storm had raised and it had forced them into early activity. Although they were still anchored to let the Bornish catch back up, the captain could see figures clamber across the ropes above his head while shadows rushed past him from one deck to the other. A ship's crew never slept, even less so during a storm.

"Morning captain!" a spry voice came from behind.

"Good morning, Bas," Atau answered as he turned to face his new second-in-command. The lanky Bas had his head held high, unfazed by the storm around them. His weather-worn face had seen much worse than this. As protection from the elements, he wore a bandanna over his head, rather than a proper hat. It was something he had copied from the Medalan warriors, much to the captain's delight. By now, Bas had been with Atau for five years. At this point, he was the Homeward's second-lnogest serving crew. Since Orin had left the ship to commandeer the cargo fleet down south, Bas had become the obvious replacement.

Grateful, the captain nodded at the wide grin and grabbed the tin cup out of Bas' outstretched hands. Since they had run out of coffee, bitter tea with cheap wine would have to do for now. Sailor's brew, the men called it. Though before he warmed his body with the swill, he had work to do.

"How's the weather?" Atau asked as he made his way up the command deck.

"Beautiful and sunny," Bas grinned. "Easterly winds have picked up from last night, but the sails can still take it no problem. All men are on deck and ready, we can start our stroll at any time."

By now, Atau had reached the Homeward's stern. Right away he pushed the cup of swill back into his first mate's hands, before he reached for his holstered spyglass.

"And what about our friends? Will they join us on our excursion?" Through the swathes of water, he could just about make out the enemy sails in the rain. Although he had joked, the sight made him frown.

"Still right behind us. We have lit all the oil lamps to make sure the brave souls find their way in the dark."

Atau nodded and retracted his spyglass again. As if it was natural, the cup of sailor's brew returned to his frozen hands.

"Though I really don't get it," Bas continued. "Why would the Bornish be this stubborn? Trapped in unknown waters, they chased an unknown fleet of unknown strength and size through dangerous terrain, in the middle of a storm."

"In fact, it's because they're in unknown waters that they're still on our tail. First off, the Bornish are arrogant. They think they own the four seas, and they believe that no one's their match on water. When they saw us, they didn't see a potential enemy, they only saw plunder." Atau turned and marched back to the front of the command deck. Bas' heavy boots sounded on the boards behind him. "Then they followed us, and since they don't have any maps of the coastline, they blindly followed us right into the Serpent Reefs, during an oncoming storm no less. Anchors aweigh."

"All hands to their posts! Anchors Aweigh!" Bas shouted across the main deck. Like a ripple in water, the commanders on board repeated the captain's orders all throughout the ship.

"Now the Bornish are stuck here, between rocks both open and hidden, in the middle of heavy weather. If they break off pursuit now, their death is all but guaranteed. Their best choice of action is to follow the locals back out. That's us."

As Atau finished his earlier thought, he watched as the ripples of his commanders had pushed the common crew into action as well. Tiny specks of black on a dark-gray background, they scurried all across ropes and masts to ready the ship for its next journey.

"Anyways, now that we're rid of our cargo ships, I'd like to see the Bornish try and keep up with us. We'll drag them behind us for a while and shake them off halfway through the reefs. Let's hope they learn their lesson for next time," the captain smirked.

"All stations ready," the echo of his command returned. Once more, his men had breathed life into the Homeward, and the giant beast creaked under the constant teasing of its inhabitants. Despite their stiffness, the captain's rough hands brushed over the smooth wood of the railing.

"We're headed due north until further command," he said.

"Due north! Heading due north!" While Bas' voice fought the wind, the captain took his first taste of the sailor's brew. Although it had been exposed for a good while, the drink was still hot. Not even the cold would want to claim this atrocity against tea and wine. As expected, the concoction tasted bitter and sharp in all the wrong ways. When the spices and booze spread throughout his veins, a shiver ran up his spine and reinvigorated his tired body. Just like the sea, the sailor's brew was harsh, unrefined, and it made the captain feel alive.

As he watched the giant mainsail unfurl, Atau took another swig.