Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Three - No Plan, Just Survive Contact With the Enemy

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Three - No Plan, Just Survive Contact With the Enemy

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Three - No Plan, Just Survive Contact With the Enemy

We didnt have a plan.

In fact, I felt surprisingly weary, as if all of the excitement of the last few minutes was finally catching up to me, and for a moment, even thinking felt hard and sluggish. But that had to be set aside, at least for the moment.

I huffed and puffed, breathing hard as I felt my stamina slowly depleting away with every thrust of my leg against the pedals.

Were going to slow down, just a little, Bastion said. Youll need your stamina.

I nodded, and when he slowed his pace, I followed suit. Do you have a plan? I asked.

Bastion looked at me. Youre the captain.

Im a very new captain, I said.

Amaryllis looked back at us, but she seemed just as uncertain as I felt.

This is such a disaster, Joe muttered.

Alright, Bastion said. If you dont mind, Captain Bunch, then I suspect I have a bit more experience with these matters.

Youve boarded ships full of enemies before? Amaryllis asked, her tone biting and more than rude.

As a matter of fact, yes, Bastion said. As a Paladin of the Royal Inquisition, its my duty to ensure the safety of the crown and the sovereignty of the Sylph nation. Ive fought pirates before. That has included boarding their ship. Once at night when they did not see us coming, once in a pitched battle. I suspect this will be more like the latter.

Thats awesome, I said as I looked at my friend with a new light.

Bastion just nodded once. Do you think youll be able to negotiate with the kidnappers?

I bit my lower lip. Do you think I can? That would really be the best case scenario.

No, he said. Youve surprised me before, but even your diplomatic skills will be hard-pressed when boarding anothers ship to take away a prize they already think theyve won. That, and we dont have anything to negotiate with.

We have violence. Thats often a very useful tool when it comes to negotiating, Amaryllis said.

Bastion grinned. That it is.

I wasnt sure I liked that idea. Not at all. But then Amaryllis twisted something and we were rocketing up towards the ship above.

Well jump off once were above the ship. Aim for the main deck and clear out the area. Keep moving, dont let them gang up on you. Toss them overboard if you can manage it, Bastion said. He turned his attention to Joe and the other Scallywags. Keep close to us. Below their line of fire. We might signal you over at the last moment.

R-right, Joe said. Oda and Sally tried to look determined, but they looked just a bit too scared for it to be genuine.

We cant take over the entire ship. We find the VIP, we grab her, we leave. If you can damage the ship enough to make a chase difficult for them, then that would be for the best. Got it?

I nodded. Got it.

I heard you, Amaryllis said.

The telltale electrical snaps around his body hinted at who made that happen.

Head in the game, idiot! Amaryllis said.

I nodded. She was right. No matter what, the one thing I couldnt do was nothing.

Something caught my eye, and I found myself grinning as I rushed over to the side, rolled past a man with a club, then picked up the perfect weapon out of the sopping wet bucket it had been left in.

The mop head splashed some soapy water across the deck as I brought it up and brandished it at the three men that had followed after me. A glance to the side and I saw Amaryllis firing bolts of lightning at a few sailors while another, connected to her by electrified strings, was whaling into a comrade with little finesse and less skill.

Bastion, for his part, was holding his own against five men at once, spinning and twisting out of their path and leaving shallow cuts through clothes and skin with the tip of his sword. It looked almost as if he was just toying with them.

Maybe I should have Inspected his level at some point.

Drop the mop girl, one of the pirates said.

I spun the mop around and gestured with the head of it in their general direction. One of them even moved out of the way of the splatter of water I sprinkled his way. Im warning you, Ive got expert cleaning skills and I know how to use this. Just give us back our friend and we wont have to do anything drastic.

One of them didnt take my warning seriously, he raised his bat and came at me with a roar.

I slid my foot towards the bucket, then flung it up so that it smacked him between the legs with a wet splat. Then when he started to trip forwards, I hooked the mophead around his neck and pulled him down.

I let go of the mop with one hand and started to concentrate on the first spell that came to mind. I was halfway into building it when the next pirate rushed me. I smacked his hand aside with the end of the mop handle, then poked it against his throat.

He stumbled back with a gurgle and cough just as I raised my hand towards the remaining pirate, now with nine fireballs spinning around it. Mass Fireball! I called.

The pirate eeped and jumped out of the path of the balls of fire. They shot out, spinning around like balloons losing their air. Four went over the edge and burst in the sky, but the others smacked into the ship and sails and spread sticky flames across the wooden surface.

Oops, I said.

The door to the cabins at the back burst open and a dozen more men rushed onto the deck. These werent just sailors with whatever they had on hand though, they were all carrying proper weapons. Swords and studded clubs, a few long spears with hooked spikes at the end and...

Crossbows! I cried before ducking to the side and behind a barrel.

A bolt thumped into the wood right next to my head. I looked over to Amaryllis to see her hiding behind the man she was puppetting and Bastion... sliced the two bolts fired at him out of the air with a motion of his sword so fast it was little more than a blur.

Those are arbalests, not crossbows, he said.

Oh, I said. My bad.

No matter, he replied before shifting his shoulders and letting his wings beat a few times. I could use some support. Distract a few of them so that I can take the brunt without having to watch my back.

Youre kinda scary, I said.

Who in the world are you? I peaked over the barrel and watched as a very angry Golden Rogers stomped onto the scene. You three, get those fires under control dammit! And you idiots, who do you think you are, boarding my ship?

I swallowed, then stood. I was about to give this bully a piece of my mind.

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