Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-Six — There is Only Open Fire and Reload
Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-Six — There is Only Open Fire and Reload The fight between the Beaver and the Red Whale continued on, and with every passing moment, it became a tougher struggle.“Watch your eyes!” Amaryllis warned before she levelled her wand at the ship again.There was another powerful crack of thunder. This time, I only covered my eyes a little, so I got to see her spell strike at the bigger airship.It collided with a shield a few metres away from the Red Whale, but Amaryllis’ magic was so strong that the shield bowed and the spell went on to burn an arcing line across the ship’s bow. Bits of the ship’s canvas were torn open now, letting us peek into the gasbags within.“Damn,” Amaryllis muttered.“That was still a good hit,” I said as I blinked the spots away. Aimed as best I could at the other ship and fired off a brace of little fireballs. None of them slipped into the opening Amaryllis had cut, but if I kept firing, eventually one would, and then there would be damage within the ship.“I was aiming for their ballista,” she groused.There was another distant thwang and then a hard crack as something struck the Beaver.I ran up and leaned over the side to see what had been hit. There was half of a metre-long bolt sticking out of the side, just about where the sleeping quarters for the crew were. One of the planks there was smashed in by the bolt.“Oh no,” I said. They were actually hitting us now, and we didn’t have the sort of fancy magic needed to really block their attacks.“Captain!” Clive called from the helm. “Hard turn to starboard!”“Got it!” I shouted back.The Red Whale had been slowing down for a little bit, and now we were practically within shouting distance of each other.The other two pirate ships, the Red Scourge and the Firestrike were still coming in hot, but they were further back and trying to turn towards us.The Beaver banked into a turn, putting us nearly on a collision course with the Red Whale as they angled toward us as well.Clive gunned the engine.Before the pirates could get their forward ballista reloaded, we were outside it's firing arc, hurtling past them, parallel to one another, nearly close enough to touch.If we both kept up our turns, we'd trace out a fall circle in the sky and approach head-on again. It would give us breathing room once we were past them.But we weren't past them yet, and the side of the Red Whale's gondola opened up and the pirates within started to arm up a smaller ballista.“Full broadside!” I shouted.Caprica, Amaryllis, and I flung spells at the larger airship as fast as we could form them, recklessly burning through or mana reserves. The shield sparked and flashed under our bombardment, then half of it shattered and our bolts of light started hitting home.Calamity added to our barrage, specifically targeting the pirates manning the ballista and forcing them to take cover. Half his arrows glittered with spell-threads that exploded, or ignored armor, or set exposed wood on fire.Then Awen joined in.So far she’d kept her big rapid-firing crossbow turret in reserve, but on my order she opened up.It was clear within a second that she’d improved the design a whole lot lately. The turret had four large repeating crossbows. They fired in sequence, one every half-second like clockwork, four shots, then a second’s long pause as the first bow finished reloading, then four more shots.Each bolt she fired was as long as my arm span, a long piece of magically-crafted glass that glinted in the morning sunlight as it zipped across the space between our ships. Some of them exploded.I wasn’t sure how many of them, but maybe one in four had some sort of incendiary glass tip, and when they struck the Red Whale they’d burst apart with a tiny bang, sending fire and glass shards all over.The Red Whale’s side was peppered with small bursts of fire, bolts, and arrows. I could see the crew running around through the many porthole windows along its bottom gondola.“Awen! Target those engines! The rest of you too! Split fire with the gondola, we don’t want them firing back!” Amaryllis shouted.I nodded and aimed my next brace of fireballs a little lower. It was a lot easier to aim when they were this close, so only a few of them zipped past under the ship, and most of them flew into the openings on the side of the ship’s gondola where the pirates were still prepping their ballista. They mostly just struck the floors and maybe hit some random tools, but it seemed to work well enough to spook the pirates.Awen, meanwhile, walked her shots across the surface of the ship until she reached the engines. Her glass bolts punched through the thin metal sides of the engine cowlings. I had no idea what broke underneath, but she must have nicked a fuel line because the frontmost engine burst into flames.The Beaver and the Red Whale continued to fly past each other. Soon enough the pirates got things in order and started to fire back. Some opened portholes and flung spells out at us, and I winced every time a fireball or an unfamiliar spell struck us. Then their ballista opened up, and long lines were drawn between our ships.“They’ve got grapples!” Caprica shouted.“Calamity, can you cut them?” I asked.“Aye capt’n!” he said before aiming more carefully.The ropes went taut, and the Beaver shook. It looked like there were some pirates ready to use them as ziplines to get across, but Calamity was a darned good archer and he managed to slice the first two lines apart with a quick shot each.“Clive, give us some distance!” I called back. Over the twang of lines snapping apart.“Aye aye!”The Beaver and the Red Whale parted a little. Awen kept firing and one of her shots planted itself firmly in one of the ship’s rearmost engines which made it stutter to a stop.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.I glanced around, lowering my casting arm and taking a deep breath. My mana had run... not low, exactly, but I’d used up way more than half of it. But that was a small problem compared to everything else. A look up revealed a couple of holes punched into the starboard side of our balloon, and some of the spells fired at us left big scorch marks on the Beaver’s flanks.“Scallywags!” I shouted. They were supposed to be below deck, taking care of things down there. “We need some holes patched, quick!”The trio came running up and took in the situation at a glance. Joe already had a toolbox with him that had a bunch of tarp and glue and the materials we’d need to plug those holes before we lost too much gas.“Awen, can you give everything a look, see if everything’s still functional.”I spun around and looked into the skies around us. The Red Scourge couldn’t turn as tightly as we could, but it was coming around.I swallowed. The Firestrike had turned hard and was now flying straight towards us.The Beaver now had the Red Whale behind it to the right, and the Firestrike was cutting in ahead of us.If we turned to port, we might be able to temporarily fly away from the other ships, but they were all faster and would soon catch up. Or... maybe the Red Whale would be left behind, but the other two would definitely be able to catch up, and it looked like they were both a lot scarier.If I had to guess, the Red Whale was more of a transport ship than one designed for fighting. It had some weapons, but the overall design wasn’t great, with terrible arcs of fire and it wasn’t a very manoeuvrable ship.The Firestrike seemed like it was built as a warship from the ground up, and the Red Scourge was just so massive that it didn’t matter how unmaneuverable it might be, the thing was covered in turreted ballista and could probably carry hundreds of pirates.“This isn’t going to be fun,” I said. “We can’t outrun them, and we can’t outfight the other ships.” They weren’t turning away either. I’d harboured a bit of hope that if we gave the Red Whale a few bruises the pirates would decide to turn around and leave us alone.“We need a little luck,” Caprica said. “And some time to escape.” She was glaring at the pirate ships, her gaze steely and determined and more than a little scary. If the pirates could see that look they’d definitely turn tail.“Luck is something that we’re in short supply of, right now,” Amaryllis said.Suddenly, there was a loud, high pitched whistle. We all turned to look at where the sound was coming from. It was The Shady Lady. Abraham’s ship was charging out of the thinner clouds above, a streak that was only gaining speed as it dropped.Its target was obvious, the Firestrike.The pirate ship opened fire, and ballista bolts streaked through the air to intercept it, but they were essentially shooting from the hip and the shots all went wide as the Lady dove in.I picked out the tiny, distant form of Abraham, standing at the very front of the Shady Lady with his body twisted around and an arm cocked by his side. “HAAA!”Then he threw.It was impossible to see what he flung, but I imagined it was just a few pebbles or something small like that. “Hah!” his shout washed over us from afar, followed a split second later by the echoing boom of several projectiles crashing into the Firestrike with meteor-like strength.The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the sky, and we could feel the reverberations even on the Beaver.The Firestrike faltered in its trajectory, a plume of black smoke trailing behind it as it began to list to one side. The pirate crew scrambled, desperately trying to regain control, but it was clear the ship was severely damaged.The Shady Lady flew past it, then started back upwards in a gentle arc, the entire ship tilting a little as they started to turn back in our direction.“How hurt is the Firestrike?” I asked. The ship was distant enough that I couldn’t make out too much of the damage. It looked like Abraham’s throw had punched a few holes clear through the ship, and something was on fire, but the airship was still hovering along.Amaryllis squinted at the ship. “They're not out of the fight, but they're definitely hindered. Their mobility and speed have taken a significant hit," she said. "We need to move, now!”“We should try to make distance while we can,” I said. I turned to Clive. “Full speed ahead!”“Are we just going to run?” Caprica asked, her hands tightening on the hilt of her sword.“It’s a tactical relocation,” Amaryllis said.“Huh? I thought it was definitely running away,” I said. “That’s how a smart person should fight. At least, that’s what my parents always told me.”The Firestrike was trailing smoke but it was slowly righting itself. The Red Scourge, meanwhile, was turning to give chase, but it was slow and ponderous, taking its time. Behind us, the Red Whale was limping but its crew was still working hard to repair the damage and get back in the fight.Despite the damage we had inflicted, and Abraham's powerful strike on the Firestrike, it was clear that we were still outmatched. The Shady Lady was now heading our way but was still too far to provide immediate aid.My heart pounded in my chest as I looked at the ever-encroaching ship. The sheer size of the Red Scourge was terrifying. Its array of ballista, primed and ready to fire, seemed like a promise of doom. And yet, despite the terror, a feeling of determination filled me. We weren't going down without a fight.“We need a miracle...” I muttered under my breath.Just then, a strange shadow loomed in the distance. It was still far, but growing bigger with every passing second. It was the unmistakable silhouette of a dragon in flight.Our miracle had just arrived.
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Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-Seven — Acidic Reaction
Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-Seven — Acidic Reaction The appearance of a Dragon had a certain gravitas to it.It was, after all, a dragon.A skinny green dragon, maybe half-again the length of an adult wyvern, more or less. It was hard to tell how big it was when the dragon was swooping past like a bird of prey, only the sky behind it to give any reference to its sheer size.The dragon roared, and I folded my ears down at the sheer power of that noise. It felt like it should have been strong enough to blast me right off the deck of the Beaver. The dragon dove down, rushing past the Beaver then back up between the Red Whale and the Firestrike.I turned towards Caprica, I had to tell her something, urgently. “Contact Raynold, now! Tell him not to let Abraham pick a fight with the dragon!”“Why would he do that, it’s so stu— right, let me send them a message spell,” she said.I turned back around and refocused on the dragon. It was flying slow-looking circles around the Red Scourge. Slow-looking, because it was still faster than any airship that I’d ever seen, but it still felt as if the dragon wasn’t trying very hard, with slow ponderous wingbeats.“Wait, I recognize that dragon,” Amaryllis said.I stared at her, then snapped my attention back to the dragon. A younger green dragon... not too far from Port Royal as the dragon flies... “Cholondee?” I asked.The dragon’s head snapped around to my direction, even though it might have been well over a kilometre away. She did a final loop of the Red Scourge. The pirates onboard the airship were running around in a panic. She looked like they were trying to aim their many ballistae, but I wasn’t sure if they’d do anything to a dragon.Cholondee flew on over towards the Beaver and I squeaked as it came closer and closer without slowing down much at all.At the very last moment, Cholondee shifted her wings up and beat them once.My feet slid on the deck as I was pushed back by the wind. I had to shield my face with both arms against the blast. Amaryllis was sent tumbling back with a squawk, and my other friends stumbled back as well. Caprica was almost thrown over the edge, but she beat her own wings and flew back down to the deck.There was a loud and very discomforting crunch sound, followed by a draconic ‘oops.’I blinked, then took in the sight of a large green dragon hanging off the side of the Beaver with her forearms. The rails where she gripped onto the ship were snapped and splintered.“Cholondee!” I said. “You broke the ship!”Cholondee’s head reeled back. Then she snaked it in closer to glare at me. “How is it my fault that your ship isn’t welcoming to dragons?” she rumbled. The top of her spiny head was brushing against the canvas of the balloon above, and I was increasingly worried that her horns would rip through.Then I noticed that she was wearing a hat. A small-for a dragon-fedora.“Nice hat,” I said.“Broccoli,” Caprica hissed. “That’s a dragon.”“Uh... yes? Oh! Right! Cholondee, this is my friend Caprica, from Sylphfree, that’s Calamity, from way up north on the other side of the Harpy Mountains, and I don’t think you met the rest of the crew either.”Cholondee’s nostrils flared. “A princess?” she asked.“Yeah!”A large tongue rasped across draconic lips. “Broccoli, you shouldn’t have.”“Oh, uh... we’re going to Port Royal to see your brother’s wedding!”Cholondee blinked twice, then huffed, and I gripped onto my own hat to stop it from flying off. “Well, I wouldn’t be the best sister ever if I ate his wedding gift,” she said.I suspected that there was a misunderstanding at play. “Caprica’s not for eating,” I said. “She’s a friend. And friends don’t eat friends.”Cholonee tilted her head to the side to give me a piercing look with one massive cat-like eye. “Well, whatever,” she said. “So are these other ships carrying stuff for you?”“Oh, no, they’re pirates,” I said.“Are... you a pirate?” Cholondee asked.I shook my head. “No. Those three ships, with the red wing symbol on them, have been chasing us for a while. I think they want to rob us.”“You gave them a bloody nose already,” Cholondee said as she snaked her head around to look back at the three ships. The Red Scourge was still untouched, but the other two were trailing smoke.“It’s not enough to stop them yet,” I said. “The other little ship, the Shady Lady is a friend’s ship. They’re helping us, but we’re in a spot of trouble, I think.”Cholondee turned back to me. “You’re much stronger than when we last met, riftwalker. It’s hard to tell how strong little people are, though, can’t you crush them all on your own?”“Uh... well, I guess some of my friends and I are pretty strong, but we’re only so strong, and there are a lot of pirates, plus a few of them are probably strong too. They’re pirates, after all, so they probably fight and do bad things all day long, which means that they’re probably pretty good at that sort of thing.”“Hmm,” the dragon said. “Give me a moment.” She launched herself off of the Beaver’s side, splintering more of the ship’s rails and making the entire ship shift to the side.“That... might be bad,” I said.“I imagine the pirates are thinking the same thing,” Amaryllis said. “No one wants to fight a dragon. You especially don’t want to fight a dragon in the sky.”Caprica came over, then stepped closer to where Cholondee had gripped onto the Beaver. “It made a mess of the ship’s side,” she said. “You know, the Sylphfree navy have fought back dragons before. We’ve even killed a few.”I held back a gasp. Not in shock, but more in pity. It... hurt to know that people would want to hurt dragons, but then again, dragons were a little hard to befriend compared to some others.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.“What were you telling it?” Caprica asked.“Was I talking in dragon?” I asked. At their nods, I went over the discussion again. Caprica didn’t seem happy that Cholondee had sniffed out her princessness, but otherwise, there wasn’t too much bad news. Cholondee was nice, if a little... brusque, so I couldn’t see her doing anything too mean to us.The damage on the Beaver’s hull, aside.“What is it doing?” Calamity asked as he followed the dragon with his gaze.“She,” I corrected.“Right, she,” he said.“And, uh, I have no idea.”Cholondee circled around the other ships for a moment, then she came flying down along the side of the Red Scourge. Her chest puffed out, swelling even as something glowed within her and illuminated her green scales and outlined her ribs.Then she breathed down at the ship while roaring past it.Billowing clouds of green smoke washed out ahead of her and rolled across the Red Scourge’s topdeck. It was so thick and heavy that the smoke came pouring off the other side of the deck like viscous waters.I held my hands over my mouth as I watched the tiny distant figures of the pirates running around in a panic. The ship turned hard, and one of the ballistae at the back fired, but its bolt went wide.Then the crew seemed far too busy running around to take care of Cholondee. She flew around the back of the ship and spat at one of its larger engines. There was a small explosion a moment later.Cholondee returned to us, looking smug, like a cat who’d caught a mouse.“Will they be okay?” I asked.“The pirates?” Amaryllis asked. “Green dragon breath is poisonous in large concentrations. And acidic. That gob of spit probably melted the engine back there. So they have a fire, acid burns, and a poisoned crew to deal with, I’d be surprised if...” Amaryllis looked at me for a moment, and her satisfied look faded before she cleared her throat. “I’m sure they’ll be fine, don’t worry about it, Broccoli.”I sniffed. It was nice that Amaryllis was willing to lie to make me feel better.Cholondee slowed down well before reaching the Beaver this time. By the time her forepaws crunched into the rails again, the pirates were in full retreat.The Red Whale and Firestrike were still smoking, though it looked like their crews were working to patch the ships up. The Red Scourge was limping away, only slowly turning back the way they’d come.That was probably for the best.But it did leave us with a curious dragon to deal with. “Thanks, Cholondee,” I said.She shrugged her shoulders. “It was easy. Besides, I don’t like pirates much.”“You don’t?” I asked.She shook her head. “They’re bad for business. See, my guys extort people in the port, and if pirates get to people, then they bring in less stuff, so I can’t take as much from them.”“Uh, you extort people that land at the port?” I asked.She grinned, which reminded me that dragons had big teeth. “I’ll let you have a discount,” she said.“What’s the dragon saying?” Caprica asked. I explained real quick, which set Caprica to frowning. “But that’s extortion.”“I only take a percentage,” Cholondee reasoned. “If I take too much, then the merchants won’t come back.” She’d switched languages, from dragon to something my friends understood, which was nice. Talking in dragon was hard on the throat.“That... that’s still extortion,” Caprica said.“Don’t you have taxes where you’re from, princess?” Cholondee asked. She sounded genuinely curious.“Of course, but those taxes go towards improving infrastructure and keeping citizens safe!” Caprica said.“My port is very nice and strong, so that I can walk around it, and I keep people safe,” Cholondee said. “Just ask those pirates.” She gestured back with her head towards where the pirates were running.The gesture punched a hole clean through the tarp of our balloon, and a loud hissing sound filled with air.“That was there already,” Cholondee said.“Awen!” I shouted. “We have holes!”“Awa?” Came Awen’s reply from within her ball turret. “G-give me a minute! I’ll be right there.”The Scallywags were a little worried about Cholondee at first, they seemed like they wanted to hide more than help, but then the hole just continued to hiss and Clive cleared his throat from the helm. “Captain, don’t mean to urge you on, but we’re losing altitude.”That got them moving, because dragons might be a little scary, but so was crashing.Cholondee watched the crew get to work patching up the few holes we’d gotten. “You know, there’s people in Port Royal that can fix your ship up for you.”“Ah, but we need to make it to Port Royal for that to matter,” I said.She hummed. “You should grow wings. Flying is much nicer than riding around in one of these flammable airboats.”“I think I would like to fly,” I said. “I’ve flown on dragons and wyverns and of course on airships, and they all seem like nice ways to get around, though I wonder what it’d be like to fly under my own power. Maybe next time, instead of growing some ears, I’ll get some wings!”The dragon nodded, then she glared up at the balloon which was forcing her to squeeze in. “Right, I’ll fly around for a while. Maybe head back home or grab something to eat. You should add a perch if you insist on flying in this thing.”I nodded. That was a good idea. Maybe Awen could make a deployable dragon perch?I said my goodbyes to Cholondee who launched herself off the Beaver’s side. Clive came up to me a moment later. “Hmm, didn’t wanna mention anything while the dragon was here, but the weight wasn’t helping us keep afloat.”“Really? I guess that makes sense. And to think, she’s the youngest dragon I know. Her mom is bigger than the Beaver, I think.”
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