Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Four — Escape Velocity
Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Four — Escape Velocity
Deep in the night, I startled awake from a nap that wasn't very satisfying. For one, I'd collapsed on top of my bed while clad in full armor. I'd slept like the dead; hadn't even pulled the covers up — but now I was sore where my gambeson had dug into my back, and my shoes had smeared grime on my quilt. And for two, there was a burning kernel of stress in my tummy that made me feel a little cramped up and icky. That didn't lead to good sleep.But I had slept, at least a little bit.Stress could keep me awake, but the battle had taken a lot of energy, and it had been late at night, after a long, full day, and I really needed the nap.Blinking, I reached up and wiped some eye crud away, then vanished it with a bit of Cleaning magic. That was a good sign that I'd slept a bit. It was still dark out, though, at least through the porthole in my room.I'd slept enough, I figured, so I might as well get up on the main deck and see how things had turned out.I was still tired, but I could push through. This was important, after all.Leaving my room, I checked in on the other bedrooms around mine. Amaryllis wasn't in hers, nor was Caprica, but Awen was cuddled up into a small ball, hugging a pillow, and Calamity was in the kitchen, sitting cross-legged and staring at a magical hot-plate which had a kettle on it. "Hey," I said."Hi," he replied. "Up already?""Can't sleep," I said."Hmm," he replied. The silence stretched on for a moment before he groggily raised a hand, slowly pouring warm water into two tin mugs before adding in a tin tea-ball.I filled my own with tea leaves, then I took a sip, the warmth pushing down my throat and banishing a lot of the weariness. "Thank you," I said."No problem, captain," Calamity said with a grin. "Not really how I expected to be spendin' my New Year's Eve, nya know?"I blinked, my brain grinding slowly through the fog of drowsiness. I counted the days in my head. "Oh. You're right! It is!" a little bit of pep returned to my smile. "Happy New Year's Eve!"Calamity laughed. "Same to you too, Cap'n.""What'll it be, 759?""Think so."I sipped my tea, weighty thoughts momentarily distracted by lighter ones. "759 years, huh? Counted from what?"He shrugged. "Dunno, try askin' one of the girls. They're all book-smart."Maybe I would ... after I dealt with more important things. Adjusting my captain's hat, I asked, "Any word on the pirates?"Calamity nodded. "They're still after us. Or they were, last I checked.""You didn't take a nap?" I asked.I had told as much of the crew as I could to rest a little. The fight had been exciting and loud and my heart had beat fast for twenty minutes afterwards as we made our escape out of ballista range. But after that there wasn't as much to do."I'll take one later," he said, but I felt like that was maybe a bit of a lie. Maybe he just didn't need it as much? I could believe that, what with being a hunter and all. That had probably called for a few long nights."Okay," I said. "Make sure you take care of yourself though, alright? Do Catboys like you need as much sleep as, uh, others?""We like our naps, but we're not so set on sleeping the same amount every night. Mhm," he replied. "I'll be on deck in a few. Just wanted to warm up a little first."I nodded, then shuffled over to give him a hug. Calamity froze a little at the contact, but I think he needed it. When I let go, I smiled, then took the mug up with me, sipping from it every so often as the Beaver swayed gently underfoot.I made it to the main deck, then squinted into the night. We'd left most of our running lights off, though there were a few shuttered magical lanterns here and there, where people needed them.Staring into the night, I tried to spot the pirates, and eventually located them up and above. The ship had a bunch of lights on, including searchlights aimed our way. They were far enough back that the light was diffused, though. I supposed that it was still enough to prevent another tricky maneuver like what we'd done earlier.I watched them for a while, but they never seemed to get closer or farther away. I guess we were both flying about the same speed."Captain," Bastion said as he came over. Caprica was with him, walking with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl and a faint blush on her cheeks."Heya," I said. "Any changes?""Not particularly. It seems like they've spent the night running repairs. They did lose a fair bit of height over night, but they've been climbing slowly. I'm no expert on airship combat, but I suspect that they're burning a lot of fuel to stay afloat."I nodded along. That was good, right? That meant that we'd done some real damage to them. The fact that they could repair it was... not as cool, but there wasn't much we could do about that.I sipped my tea, then looked at Caprica, who was being a little quiet. "Want some? It'll warm you up?"You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author."No, I'm well. Bastion wrapped me in this to keep me warm," she said. She tucked her head into the blankets a little more, looking very snug."We don't need you catching a cold," Bastion said.I giggled, then looked out to the convoy ahead. We were keeping pace with them, and were a bit off to one side of the single-file formation. It looked like things were pretty quiet on that side of things too."Under normal circumstances," Bastion started. "I suspect that the convoy would have held off until morning, then surrendered some of their goods.""Really?" I asked."It's cheaper than fighting and losing one or more ships. That pirate vessel is larger, better armed, and better crewed. It would win in a straight fight against those three. Their best bet is to surrender some of their cargo to the pirates. I think some do it by dropping lower, then tossing the goods overboard. Others are boarded outright.""I imagine," Caprica began. "That a ship that tossed junk overboard will not be given a second chance by the same pirate crew if they're encountered again.""Just so," Bastion said. "There's a strange sort of... barbaric civility in all this piracy."So weird, but I guess it made sense. "And what about us? Do you think the convoy might pay their way free now?""No," Bastion said. "We gave them a black eye and a bloody nose. The pirates aren't going to take kindly to that. They'll want revenge now."Darn."Is there a way we could convince them not to?" I asked."Shoot them some more?" Caprica suggested.Bastion considered it, but then shook his head. "Other than that, nothing comes to mind. Though by the time the sun rises and they're ready for another battle, we will be closer to our destination. Pirates rarely operate over civilized airspace."We continued to chat as the sky lightened and the sun crested the horizon, painting the sky in pale pinks. Suspended in the rays of the morning sun was the backlit silhouette of the pirate ship, about three kilometers behind us.The engine Calamity had shot was still smoking, and its props were entirely immobile when I looked at them through a spyglass. The 'skin' of the airship was marked by dozens of patches that hadn't been there before, and yet a lot of holes hadn't been covered up yet.It looked like we'd really done a number on the ship, especially on its port side.There were still tiny figures crawling over the ship's rigging, patching over the holes with cuts of tarp.I couldn't guess at the mood of the pirates, but I imagined that they were a lot more tired than we were. Making emergency repairs all through the night must have been exhausting, and as much as I didn't like thinking about it too much, we had probably injured a few of them.There had been a lot of spells and bolts flung at the pirates. Some must have struck at or near the crew.The ship was in a rougher state than they'd probably expected, but it was still a fully armed and operational pirate vessel. That wasn't something to ignore.I read the semaphore signal from the ship ahead. We were increasing our speed by a few knots. So the convoy picked up the pace, going to flank speed, even if it meant maybe taking a risk and burning more fuel. The signals didn't say why. It wasn't like the pirates were speeding up or anything, but I didn't argue. Maybe the other captains knew something I didn't?I picked up my own flags, sent an affirmative back, then ran over to the helm-currently manned by a sleepy Oda, and pushed the throttle up a bit.We'd only been accelerating for a few minutes when the pirates seemed to catch on that we were once again building more space between us and them. At that point, they picked up the pace a lot.They were going to catch up. The merchant ships of the convoy were just not as fast as the pirates, even with their ship partially damaged.My anxiety began to build.And then Bastion chuckled. I looked at him, then followed his gaze. Out ahead of us, in the distance, were more ships. Several of them, and as we approached, the thin morning fog began to burn away, and I saw a distant city under the ships.We'd made it to civilization, or close enough to it that things might get a little dicey for the pirates.A yawning Calamity came up onto the deck, squinted around, figured out why I was in a better mood, then shrugged. "Want me to plant a last couple of arrows in them? It's one long shot... but I bet I can do it one time in five. Won't be long until they're back inside my maximum range.""That might anger them," I said."If they even notice a random arrow striking their ship," Bastion said."Yeah, but it'll remind them that we can fight back, and that we're probably a bit tougher than they're used to," Calamity said."Hmm..." I thought about it, then shook my head. "Best not! Let's see about making it to Southerfell. I'm sure the city doesn't appreciate pirates and someone will be willing to help!"
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Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Five — Live to Tell the Tale
Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Five — Live to Tell the Tale The pirates gave up at about the same time as reinforcements started to fly our way.The ship at the very front of the convoy, the PMS Streaker, used a strong light and some shutters to flash a signal out ahead. It wasn't very complex. "Encountered Pirates. Require Assistance." They kept sending the message over and over again, and when one of the closer ships over Southerfell asked for clarification, the Streaker explained in a few flashes that the ship behind us was a pirate vessel.A few of the merchant ships around Southerfell seemed to move back at that. Some didn't budge at all, and a few more decided to start moving our way.I think the pirates caught on that they'd lost their chance; they weren't going to be grabbing any booty.Even if they downed the entire convoy somehow, they'd never be able to retrieve anything while so close to the city.So they did the wise thing and veered hard to port, arcing toward the south and the depths of the forest.I cheered along with my friends on seeing the back of them, but the ship wasn't quite done. It used one of the searchlights on its rear to flash a final message. "Will Return."How spooky! But I wasn't too scared. In fact, I was feeling pretty confident at the moment, especially as the convoy relaxed out of flank speed and returned to a steadier, normal pace. We crossed paths with some of the ships from Southerfell, and I found myself leaning over the rails to catch a better look at them.Most of the ships around the city followed the same general pattern as the ships in the convoy. They were 'classic' airships. Big, canvas-wrapped bodies with their engines in nacelles along their middles and with a long cabin stretching along the bottom.A few were different. I saw a sleeker ship that looked like it was more boat than blimp, with a wooden structure and balloons above. That had to be a harpy design! And further back was a ship that was mostly balloon as well, only it had all of its engines and props at the very back. I think that was how Mattergrove made their ships?Ahead of us, the Streaker signaled a message via semaphore, asking for landing clearance. We received it within a minute and shifted our formation, lining up for a landing off to one side of Southerfell.To my eye, the city seemed strangely designed. The jungle beneath us had dominated the landscape for hundreds of kilometers, but now it broke against a sheer cliff that rose up to a wide plateau. Atop the cliff was a wall of stacked stones, as though the locals were dead certain that the cliff wasn't enough of a barrier.Behind the wall and atop the plateau were large, open fields, parallel lines of farmland crisscrossed by ditches and small roads and farmhouses, all leading to a short wall around Southerfell proper.It wasn't the biggest city we'd ever come across, but it wasn't tiny either. It began as a sprawl of smaller homes, building into taller structures as one traveled north, that squeezed in tighter around a central district.Looming over the city — although not in a menacing way, it was more of a friendly loom — was a large castle, settled atop a small hill overlooking the city. An uneven pentagonal layout, with sheer stone walls and a handful of broad, flat-topped towers jutting out of it. Upon each tower were some pretty large siege weapons. Maybe that was for anything hungry that came out of the jungle below?One of the fields near the city was the designated landing spot for airships. It was a large green pasture, with a few roaming sheep and some cattle that scurried away as the convoy came in for a landing.There was a second space for ships, with a small port facility, but it didn't look as advanced as what I'd seen back on... shoot, I still didn't know the name of the continent we'd just come from. I was on a new continent, right? I was sure I'd seen that on a map. It felt different.Clive guided the Beaver down, and we made a soft landing just next to one of the convoy ships. "Tell everyone to take the rest of the morning off," I told Clive as the propellor wound down. "You too."The old harpy huffed, and I had to hold back a laugh at that. Maybe huffing was more than just an Amaryllis thing? "I'm not too decrepit that I can't handle a bit of a long day," he said.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience."I know! But I think we all deserve a break after last night," I replied. I certainly felt like a nap wouldn't go amiss, but there were some captain-y things to take care of and it was my job to look them over.As I looked over the side of the ship, I noticed Captain Gum walking over, accompanied by a few officers from his ship and what looked like a guard captain, a human man with a tabard embroidered with a green shield that had a white pentagon centered on it."Ahoy!" I called out."Captain Bunch!" Captain Gum called out. "Well fought! I was hoping to speak, if I may?"I nodded, then hopped over the ship's railing and fell the two or so stories down to the grass, landing with a hard bend of my knees but no injuries.The guard captain startled, one hand pressing to his heart. "By the green depths, you're quite young to be a third tier, aren't you?"I blinked. I could almost feel question marks floating around my head. "Third tier?" I didn't think what I'd just done was three-classes level, was it? "No, no, I'm not there just yet! Soon though, maybe! We do have one on our crew! He's super strong." Bastion was definitely a tier above just about anyone."Maybe Captain Gum's story holds up a little better than I thought," the guard said. He reached a hand out and we shook. As it turned out, I was right, he was the captain of the guard for Southerfell, and he had a heap of questions.After spending so much time in a hot desert, the air felt surprisingly chilly — but the plateau was high, the sun had barely started warming us up, and it was January. We moved out of the shadow of the merchantmen's huge balloons to catch the sunlight and chatted for a moment. Captain Gum had filed a report already, but he wanted me to fill in the parts that he had missed. In the dark of night, our maneuver around the pirates had been hard to keep track of.So I did just that, explaining with a lot of gestures how we'd done a loop around the pirate ship, using the dead of night to stay hidden, and how we did our best to damage the ship."But that wasn't enough to take it down?" the guard captain asked."No, not nearly," I said. "We destroyed or at least severely damaged one of the ship's six engines, and we poked plenty of holes in their gas bags, but by the time morning came they'd fixed a lot of those.""Hmpf," Captain Gum said. "That was a well-executed plan nonetheless. Did your crew sustain any injuries? The ship?""The Beaver is fine," I said. "A few scratches and dents. We were hit by a few ballista bolts as well. Nothing critical, though."Captain Gum straightened a little. "In that case, allow me and the rest of the convoy to pitch in for the repairs. It's the least we can do.""Ah, that's really kind of you," I replied.The guard captain nodded along. "This is the first indisputable proof of piracy we have.""It is?" I asked."It is, according to the nobility," the guard said. He looked a bit annoyed at that. "All the other reports have either come from ships that never made it to the city at all, or those who dumped cargo along the way.""And those weren't enough?" I asked.Captain Gum grunted. "Dumping cargo works with these pirates. Most of the time, at least. But since there's no direct interaction, the nobility often suggests that the lost cargo was actually stolen by the crew, and they're just making up stories of pirates to try to deflect suspicion.""That's silly," I said.The guard captain cleared his throat. "I definitely did not hear you say that, and I definitely would not say that to a noble's face," he said. "In any case, half the city saw the pirates, four ships reported their attack, and your vessel was very obviously damaged, as were the pirates. It will be hard to dismiss the claims and harder to dismiss the rumours.""Oh, those must be flying right now," I said.He nodded at that. "They certainly are. More so if you allow locals to assist with the repairs. Speaking frankly, as one of the captains of the guard, my official position is that if pirates do exist within our skies, then we ought to do something about them.""Mhm!" I agreed. "We'll see what we can do. We won't be in Southerfell for too long, though. We're heading a little ways out, towards a small town... ah, I can't remember the exact details, but my first mate took some notes. Hopefully we'll be out of reach of any pirates for a while."
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