Chapter 331: The Iron Orca

Chapter 331: The Iron Orca

Aboard the Iron Orca, Captain Annie swirled the rum in a half-finished bottle, drank down two inches of the potent drink, then cursed and threw it at the crow's nest. The lookout, a veteran of many voyages, not only avoided being hit with the bottle but snagged it in midair and yelled her thanks to the captain.

"Bad Rum?" Her first mate, Stompy, was a little concerned. Her captain drank anything from boot polish to fermented seaweed, and normally never turned down anything, let alone rum. The lookout was a drunken sot that was usually asleep most of the time they were in port. So Stompy was concerned about her captain's uncharacteristic generosity.

"Something's happening, my leg hurts."

"Which one? The one you broke wrestling in the pit against Beluga Belle, or the one you lost to that Kraken thirty years ago?"

"The one the Kraken ate, of course. That's my 'Trouble Leg'. The damned things only starts to ache when there's trouble coming to the ship. The other one barely hurts, and I'll get Belle next time."

"Not likely, she's got two good legs and gets bigger every year. Hell, she outweighs you two-to-one, Annie, and if she keeps winning she can keep buying all the rum cake and brandied apples she can stuff into her face. She'll be even bigger by the time that you can get that cast off."

"Shit, you're probably right, but I was getting bored of letting the damned Sharks take my coins at their crooked card tables. How the hell they can cheat right in front of me gets my goat. I was cheating at cards before most of them were born, but I can't figure out their system."

"You wagered a goat? When the hell did you get a goat? You know there are Engineers and miners running around if you're lonely. Granted, some of them smell worse than goats, but I'd still prefer a spanner-boy in my bed in the morning. I've never heard of a goat bringing a girl breakfast in bed."

"Breakfast in bed is a myth the grannies tell their little granddaughters to make them starry-eyed with romance. Doesn't happen."

Stompy had a smug look on her face that made Annie suspicious. Her first mate had been too damned cheerful lately.

"Wait! Did you find one that can cook? Where is he? I want to meet this wonder." The pain in her phantom leg was forgotten as Stompy revealed the existence of a mythical creature.

Normally, the ship only carried a quarter of that amount, but Annie knew better than most that idol hands led to mischief, and mischief led to exploding boilers. She'd kept her mechanics and crew busy in the machine shop making ammunition for all the guns, replacement parts for the boilers, and extra armor plates to make repairs after a battle. The crew was carrying up enough ammunition to keep the guns running for a full hour, and half that ammunition was made from Dark Steel, acquired from the Engineer's Guild for a handful of magi-tech components looted from a half-abandoned sunken city. Annie had plans to return to that place and get revenge on the fish people and their damnable tame Kraken. They owed her a leg.

"What are you seeing, Stompy?"

"Problems, Captain. The eels are chasing something across the bay. Can't get a good look at it, half in the water and kicking up a spray. But moving fast and heading this way along with half the dragon snakes in the ocean. And Pike is heading here with every bit of sail he can muster. He must smell lunch."

Annie hoped the Ogre was hungry, and that he made it here before the critters did.

===========

In Light's End, Squint opened his eyes where he'd been napping on his throne. "Milo's back! Can you feel it Cats? We don't have to be bored anymore! I love the smell of chaos in the morning!"

The two monstrous cats looked at each other and feigned indifference. Boring meant full bellies and time to nap. Their job was to keep Squint alive and every time he got excited their job got harder. The latest gang war with the Scavenger Clans had tired them out. Squint was determined to keep the drunken dwarves out of the back half of the city and several times that had led to fighting, and nearly losing his life twice. Fighting Players was one thing, but the dwarves fought to win and didn't mind using pistols, bombs, and Molotov cocktails to gain victories. Despite his cat's misgivings and advice, the lord of the Kulags was already bounding down the hallway and out the front door, yelling for everyone in his gang to follow.

As they crossed the last bridge and saw the boiling mass of eels heading their way, Squint took his gang across the docks to the area where the last unburnt houses of the fishing families stood. The constant fighting between Kulags, Players, Scavengers, and Pirates too often ended with a building or two burnt to the ground. "Spead out and protect the houses if they get out of the water and head this way. Where's my Water Mage?"

"Here, sir!" Tobias came out of his family's home, staff in hand and ready to fight. He looked out at the army of eels coming across the bay toward the city and reached out with his senses. The minds of the eels were filled with rage and revenge. They weren't stopping for anything. "They are really upset with whoever they are chasing. I can see it in their minds. Some old enemy who attacked and hurt one of their ancients."

Squint smiled. "Hear that, cats? Milo picked another fight with something big. That's what I like about him."

If the cats had any opinion, they kept it to themselves.