Novel 3. The Last Autumn

— With the time we have left, the ship will prepare for a breakout. "Elena" will try to pass between the ships of the Iolian squadron and reach the coastal waters of Elvart. There is a chance that there we will meet a patrol of the ducal fleet, from which we can ask for protection.

— But then the whole northward march was a mistake, — de Gorazzo frowned. — We've only trapped ourselves.

— Not at all. — The elfess looked at the don's face and smiled after all. Her violet eyes danced with light. — You, Armando, will not be part of the breakthrough.

— What? — The former bailiff didn't understand. -What's that?

— Just before we set sail, you and Anya will quietly go ashore and get lost in the city, — she explained, lowering her ears. — Thankfully, the locals are polite enough not to have guards on the pier. The Iolians will either go after the "Elena", capture it, or sink it. It's not certain they know the names and faces of everyone they're supposed to catch. If they think of you at all, we'll try to convince them you were killed in action. Either way, you'll have a head start on getting overland to the other side of Zeerige and leaving the archipelago on a merchant ship or by other means. You'll end up in Elvart, where you'll be taken care of. I will give you all the necessary contacts and papers to prove your status.

— And you? — The dumbfounded don looked round at the mercenaries. Master Carlon grinned crookedly, Lady Maria supported him with a shadow of a smile. Valria shrugged nonchalantly:

— Well, we'll get captured. Some will die, most likely. The survivors will escape and somehow make it home. Maybe we'll even break through.

— But why me and Anya?

— Because Anya is part of the bluff we're scaring Auguste with. — The elfess rested her palm on the corner of the table. — She can't be given away. And you're the master bluffer among us. No one can pull this off better than you. Not even me, ashamed to admit.

Armando was silent for a moment, digesting what he had heard. He asked:

— A laptop?

— We'll smash it to pieces and drown it quietly before we leave, — replied Master Carlon. — We don't need it ourselves. We need Auguste to believe that we have it with Anya. Anya will show herself to the king's spies when she gets to the Empire, and that will be enough.

— Neither I nor Anya are local, — de Gorazzo made a last attempt to argue. — Perhaps one of you could come with us? Lady Maria? Master?

— We have to assume that the ship will be captured, — the girl guard shook her head. — An enemy might not notice the disappearance of a couple of men, but not half a squad. And then, it's easier for two to blend into the crowd than four. Armando, don't worry. The only innocent and defenceless here is Miss Anya, whom you can protect. Everyone else knows what they're doing. I was born, after all, to die for my mistress one day. — Master Carlon gave the guardswoman a sullen look, and the pale girl smiled weakly at him once more.

— Anyway, go back to sleep, don. — Valria walked over to the former magistrate and put her hand on his shoulder. — You will need all your strength, all your wits. Take the beautiful Lady Anya to the Empire and return home. Donna Vittoria is waiting for you, or maybe we will be, in the dungeons. You'll save me once more. If we're lucky, we'll meet in Elvart, at the duchess's palace.

It is not difficult to guess that after such admonitions Don de Gorazo could not sleep. For the rest of the day he tossed about the ship, unable to find a place. He was distracted only for half an hour when he went into Ana's room to discuss his forthcoming escape. As darkness fell, Armando climbed into his hammock, but even there he could not relax. His shoulder blades itched, and he wanted to jump up and start pacing the room. He thought about asking Maria for a sleeping potion, but dismissed the thought — he didn't want to fall asleep on the move when it was time to get off the ship. He tossed and turned in the tight netting of the hammock until he heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

— Gentlemen! — exclaimed a sailor, who entered the cabin without knocking. He held in his palm an earthenware saucer with a lighted candle. — Gentlemen, wake up! You are called on deck, urgently!

De Gorazzo, uncomprehending, lowered his feet to the cold floor and hastily found his boots. Next to him, Master Carlon grunted as he climbed out of the hammock. Together, the men made their way to the upper deck, where Valria and Dorlt and his daughter were waiting for them. The dawn was barely breaking, and the harbour of Odisyotl, clenched between the forts and quays, was filled with a dull grey light. Long, oblong clouds crawled across the sky.

— Take the spyglass, you round-eared moles! — The captain shouted excitedly, grabbing Carlon by the sleeve. The girl's ears stood erect, touching the brim of her hat. — Come on!

Without a word of explanation, the mercenaries rolled down the gangplank and practically ran along the shore. The elven woman took them to a familiar lookout point, which gave them a good view of the approaches to the bay. She pointed her finger:

— You see? You see?!

Armando stared, and a couple of seconds later he realised. The number of ships in the harbour had doubled. Another squadron, led by a mighty galleon, had approached the harbour during the night and anchored opposite the Republic's flotilla. De Gorazzo raised spyglass to his eyes. Yes, he had not imagined it. White and blue pennants were flying over the galleon and its retinue.

— The Elvartian fleet! — A glowing Valria clapped her hands together. It was surprisingly sonorous, considering she was wearing gloves. — Here!

— A galleon, four nau, a large caravel, — the black-bearded mage nodded. — A solid force.

— They got our letters. — The elfess clenched her fists, shaking them in front of her chest. She was still overwhelmed with emotion. — We're good! We're good, aren't we? Carlon?

— Well done, — the mage said with a grin. — I don't think the squadron knows we're here, though. They were just coming towards us, heading west, and stopped by the harbour on the way. They saw the Republic colleagues and decided to watch, to wait for them to leave.

— They'll know when we leave the harbour and the Iolians will try to intercept us, — Armando grinned, ready to join the young elf. A tight knot unravelled in his chest as well. It wasn't over yet, but it looked like the desperate plan to escape on foot was not going to work.

— We'll give them a nudge. — Valria put her arm around the frowning mage's shoulders. — I know how.

"Elena" left the northern harbour strictly at the agreed hour, when the lower edge of the sun's disk broke away from the horizon line. The ship proudly parted the waves with her bow, a blue-and-white rag made from two of the skipper's shirts fluttered in the wind on her flagstaff, and the triangular sails on the foremast and mainsail were decorated with hastily drawn pictures. A long-eared face smiled from the mainsail, framed by lush hair, and a broad sword, a narrow sword and a stylised crossbow crossed the foremast. The sailors of the "Elena" were to be commended for their ability to paint these crooked but recognisable pictures in record time.

The caravel's departure from the harbour did not go unnoticed in both squadrons. The Republicans were the first to react. They hastily began to rise anchors and set sails. With some delay, the Elvartian fleet also came to life. The crew of the flagship galleon simply cut the anchor ropes, and the three-masted giant immediately moved towards the "Elena". The smaller ships were not so hastily removed from the anchorage.

— I recognise her, — smiled Lady Maria, standing beside the helmsman. The whole company had assembled on the companionway to watch the breach. — This is the "Fearless". The third and newest of the ducal galleons. It's nicknamed "Fearless Emilia" in the navy, by the way. I'll tell you why later.

— Lady, how do the Elvartian nau's differ from the Coalition's carracks? — de Gorazzo asked, just to keep quiet. — They look alike.

— They differ in dialect, Don, — the girl-guardian said eagerly. — They are the same type of ship, but in the north-east they call it a nau, and in the south-east and west they call it a carrack, that's all.

Amagi flew off the bow of the "Elena", carrying Akira on his broad back. The lizard didn't rush straight for the galleon, but began to cut a narrowing circle, as if sneaking up on the ship. It was impossible to predict how the Elvartian crew would react to the approach of the island dragon, so the rider and her partner acted cautiously. But the multi-barrel guns mounted on the sides of the "Fearless" were silent.

Meanwhile, it became clear to the Iolian admiral that his ships could not approach the "Elena" before the galleon. On the masts of the flagship the colourful signal flags flew up. The three Republic carracks, which were travelling first, made a turn to the left. Instead of going towards the Elvartians, they began to stretch out in a line, turning to the ducal squadron sides.

— Get off the quarterdeck, now! — Skipper Dorlt suddenly shouted, shoving Alex, who was next to him, in the shoulder. — Get down to the main deck!

The "Fearless's" energy shields have been activated. A soft bluish glow enveloped the galleon, from the waterline to the tops of the masts. Looking closely, one could see that the transparent shell was made up of a dozen rectangular plates, like the scaly armor of a steppe warrior. Armando didn't have long to admire this beautiful sight — a volley rang out behind the stern of the "Elena". The caravel shuddered as three or four cannonballs struck the forecastle. A couple of shells whistled above, punching holes in the sails and rigging. But fortunately the bulk of the enemy's fire went to the galleon. The "Fearless" forward shield erupted in bright blue flames, reflecting about a dozen cannonballs in all directions. White fountains of water and foam surged left, right, and on the giant's course. The galleon made no reply, though it had three or four guns on its bow. The ship's force shields began to shift forward from the sides.

— Ha-ha-ha! The sly one! — Skipper Dorlt laughed. The elf was now holding the tiller, and his daughter was bandaging the helmsman's head, who had been hit by splinters. — He's thrown the side shields over the bow! Clever!

The "Helena" and the "Fearless" missed each other at full speed. The Elvartian giant swerved to the side, covering the damaged caravel with its hull. Contrary to de Gorazzo's expectations, she did not turn to the enemy side. On the contrary, the galleon continued straight for the line of the carracks. The smaller ships of the ducal squadron followed her in column. Armando saw the dragon take advantage of the opportune moment and descend to the deck of the "Fearless" — though there was no longer much need for the message Akira was carrying.

The Iolians fired all their guns again. Now all three ships were aiming at the galleon, and to no avail. The bow shield was extinguished, but the flagship's bowsprit was covered by two more transparent plates that moved from the sides. They faded, but stood firm. The Republic commander suspected something amiss — unfortunately for him, too late. On command from the flagship, the line began to break. The fourth carrack, which had not had time to take its place in the line, moved closer to the sea. However, the distance was too short — "Fearless" pierced into the enemy line like a spearhead. Galleon swept between the two carracks, gave a volley from both sides. Thirty guns in one direction, thirty in the other. The aft superstructure of the Republican flagship was covered at the last moment by a shield cap, which reflected part of the cannonballs, but the force of the salvo was so great that in a moment the protective field dissipated. The other ship was even less fortunate — the longitudinal salvo literally shattered its bow and knocked down the foremast. "Fearless" steeply shifted the rudder to the left, and her place has already taken the second ship in the column, a large nau. Another volley from both sides, weaker — but the enemy flagship had nothing to defend itself with. Heavy cannonballs, fired at point-blank range, crushed its stern to rubble. The carrack with a mangled bow received a second devastating blow, and the fire started on her. The galleon moved along the enemy's scattered formation, firing cannon from the port side at the third carrack in the line, and from the starboard side at the lagging ships.

— It's breathtaking, — Skipper Dorlt confided to the passengers back on the floor. — I'm itching to get involved. But with dozens of cannons talking, we've got nothing to do. Hah!

The core of the Republican fleet was doomed — two ships sank, a third was smashed by volleys at point-blank range, a fourth was pushed back into the sea. This was soon realised on the remaining ships. The fifth carrack, which was in a hurry to take its place in the formation, abruptly changed its course and turned away into the sea. The Iolian caravels, which had not engaged in battle, hurried after her. The Elvartians did not pursue them, concentrating on finishing off the already damaged enemies. It was all over before noon — three of the Republic's caravels were just wrecks on the water, the last one lowered her flag and sails and was boarded by two nau. From the galleon, their "Elena" was signaled to approach.

— How things in life sometimes change, suddenly and unpredictably, — said Skipper Dorlt, as he gave the order to go to the "Fearless". — We were just about to die, and here we are on top, ha-ha!

— Not so unpredictable, — Valria smiled at him. — I'll bet whatever's left in my purse against a wisp of your beard that the flotilla is here for a reason. Our letters, the one from Erdo and the one from the Northmen, were obviously not without fault.

— Ha ha! — Dorlt pulled a few hairs from his beard with one tug and held them out to the girl. — Just take it, no need to bet!

The "Elena" and the "Fearless" stood side by side, exchanged hawsers for safety, and clung to each other firmly. The side of the galleon towered above the deck of the caravel like a fortress wall, and its crew had to lower a rope ladder for the guests. The whole company climbed up it, Valria first, followed by the rest of the company. In the middle of the main deck, they were greeted by only three men. Akira, a tall young officer with a long sword at his side, and a petite brown-eyed girl in a blue uniform and brown Elvartian Guard thigh-high boots. A burgundy beret with a white feather barely clung to her curly brown hair.

— Welcome back, my friends, — said the little girl in a ringing, youthful voice that was in perfect harmony with her appearance. — Her Highness Christina sent me to meet you, but I never thought I would see you so close to home.