Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Four — Chaos and Anarchy and Other Sorts of Fun
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Four — Chaos and Anarchy and Other Sorts of Fun “You... you rapscallion!” I said, with one arm raised so that I could point right at Golden Rogers. “You mean, no-good pirate.”Golden Rogers blinked, then he had the temerity to actually smile and look to his crew. “Did you hear that? The miss thinks that I’m a no-good pirate.”“That’s exactly what you are,” I said. “You’re the worst kind of pirate there is. I bet all you do is go around and steal things.”“That is generally what a pirate does, little bun.”“No, no it’s not. Pirates are meant to be free! They’re meant to go where no one’s gone before just because they can, and they’re meant to put their names in the history books for being grand adventurers. You’re just a petty, no-good mean... person that kidnapped my best friend. I... I really want to do mean things to you.”Golden Rogers laughed, though I had the impression that at least a couple of his crewmates felt a little bad.That probably wouldn’t be enough.I was about to demand that he surrender Awen back to us when the door behind him slammed open and a wide-eyed Awen stumbled out and into the middle of the Roger’s group, soon followed by two dishevelled pirates.One of them immediately tried to grab her, but Awen planted a boot on his foot and rammed her elbow full-force into his chest.Golden Rogers grunted in displeasure and grabbed Awen by the hair.She screamed as he dragged her forwards a ways and held her up, calloused fingers tangling with blond locks. He grabbed one of her arms and yanked it back behind her. Her free hand scrambled at the hand grabbing her hair to no avail. “Let her go!” I screamed.Awen started and looked up. “Broccoli?” she asked.“Let her go,” Amaryllis said. “You’ve already incurred the wrath of the Albatross family, and I’ve no doubt the Bristlecones will fail to appreciate the way you’re handling their scion.”Rogers scoffed. “The Bristlecones? Those filth?” He shook Awen and she winced. “Do you have any idea how much I loathe them? Abraham Bristlecone cost me a ship and half a year of my life in some backwater penal camp. This girl? She’s going to be my payback for all the trouble that bastard gave me.”“Awen never did anything to you,” I said. “If you want to fight with Abraham, then go ahead. At least he’s someone your size.”“Oh, shut up,” Rogers bit out. “You four, get the harpy. You guys, get the sylph. And someone toss the bun’s head over the rails. She’s no one important.”“Bastard!” Awen yelled.Her hand came up, and as everyone looked, a wicked knife materialized in her hand with a crackle like glass being stepped on.It swung down with all of Awen’s desperate force, and even Golden Roger’s attempt to duck the blow didn’t stop her from planting the blade to the hilt in his thigh. Then the hilt shattered, leaving only a centimeter of jagged glass poking out of his leg.He grunted, letting go of Awen to grasp at the wound.Awen landed on her knees, then shot up to her feet and started running towards me. One of the pirates tried to grab her, but a thunder crack sliced the air and he went flying back with a howl.“This way!” Bastion yelled.Awen crashed into me, hugging me tight and close. “I-I I thought... awa!”“It’s okay,” I said. “But we need to go.”Bastion waved at something over the side of the ship, and it didn’t take a genius to figure that the Manatee was there waiting for us. Still, I couldn’t jump to it without seeing it, so I pulled Awen along with me towards the edge even as the ship started to bump and lurch.“I destroyed the engines,” Awen said. “The ship’s going down.”I laughed. “Awesome work!” I said as I reached the rails.The Manatee was some three dozen meters away. Far enough down that I was sure I could make the jump. I wasn’t sure about Awen though.“Do you know how to swim?” I asked her.“Awa? I mean, no. I’m from a desert, Broccoli.”“Right.” No throwing her into the sea to pick her up. Not that that was really an option to begin with. “We’re going to jump together,” I said as I grabbed onto the rigging. Awen swallowed, but pulled herself up with a similar rope and came to stand on the rails next to me.Amaryllis ran past us and vaulted the rail. “Move!” she said.Bastion backed up near the rail. He was holding off a few of them all on his own. “Jump!”I nodded, bent my knees, grabbed Awen, then jumped.Awen screamed, even as I held her close, but the noise of it was drowned out by the passing wind.And then something wrapped around my foot and yanked me back.I had just a moment to react, a fraction of a second to put two and two together.I threw Awen ahead and towards the Manatee.The rope around my ankle turned my jump into a swing, and I found myself rushing towards the ship. It was only pure luck that had me twisting around enough to hit the side of the Golden Grove’s Revenge with my untied foot. The bang made my teeth rattle, and hanging upside down wasn’t the best for my sense of direction.Looking up, I followed the cord to the rails above, where a couple of pirates were leering down at me. Bastion was already in the air, flying towards the Manatee.At least my friends were safe?They started tugging me up.I couldn’t cut the rope. Not with nowhere to go but splat into the sea far below. And I couldn’t allow them to pull me all the way up either. They were already seeing way too much leg for my liking.Another tug, and I was suddenly much closer to one of the portholes on the side of the ship.I grinned.Three fireballs appeared in my hand and I aimed down my body and up the ship towards the pirates looking over the edge.They ducked as the balls of fire zipped past them and slapped into the balloon above.I groaned and focused against the blood rushing to my head.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.The next salvo had one fireball hit the rope, singing it a little and lighting it on fire. Perfect! I tugged down, grabbing the edge of the porthole and pulling closer to it until I was able to punch the window open.When the rope finally snapped, I almost flew off, but a lurch in the ship helped me grab the edge of the window and I managed to slip my head and arms in. My back still bent awkwardly-and painfully-over the rim, but I was in.In... a cabin? I scrambled to the floor next to a small cot and used a tiny desk to break my fall a little. The cabin was cramped, with barely any room to move. But that was just fine for me. It gave me a spot to rest for just a moment and catch my breath.I was in a bit of a predicament. I couldn’t exactly hide forever, and the ship’s constant lurching hinted that Awen had done a great job sabotaging it. The pirate ship going down was good. The ship going down with me in it was decidedly not.Looking around, I tried to find something to use as a weapon. “Sword, no. Musket? No.” I muttered as I looked around. “Ah!” Sitting on the corner of the desk was a heavy iron candle holder. It had a big blunt bottom and a long stem. Perfect.With a small pause to rub the ache out of my back a bit, I opened the door and poked my head out into an empty corridor.The Golden Grove’s Revenge looked like a ship with three decks or so. I was pretty sure I was on the bottom-most. Unless the keel space counted as a deck? I needed to brush up on nautical terminology.I bent my ears back for extra stealthiness, and started tip-toeing along the corridor, candleholder in hand.The ship rocked under me, swaying violently to one side and throwing me against a wall.I realized too late that I wasn’t bumping into a wall, but a door.It slammed open and I tumbled into a large, low-ceilinged room filled with hammocks and five very confused pirates.They looked at me.I looked at them.“She’s one of them that attacked us!” one of them shouted.I ducked back out of the door, but not before flinging a couple of fireballs across the room. One splattered against an oil-lamp next to the hammocks, breaking the glass and splashing burning oil all over the hanging beds around it.I didn’t have time for caution, so I darted down the corridor, and when I arrived at a staircase at the end I ran up three steps at a time. The deck above was sorta split down the middle. Part of it was filled with cargo. Crates and boxes and barrels all neatly stacked and held in place by nets. The other half was partially walled off, with a large engine in its middle that was being fussed over by a pair of very distressed young men.“It’s still heating up!”“What do you mean it’s still heating up? We’re nearly out of coolant!”“The coolant’s pissing all over the floor... wait, there’s glass in it.”“Glass?”“Like, sandy glass bits? The radiator’s a mess.”“We need to flush it.”“We’ll need to flush the fuel too. Wait.. the fuel line’s been cut. Right here.”“That’s not right... if it was cut, then why isn’t it leaking?”“Look, it was spliced in here. That’s... that’s the oil reservoir.”“No wonder it’s running hot. We need to cut this out and drain both the oil and the fuel, and the radiator too, for good measure.”“Can’t do that while the engine’s running, and if it stops running we’re going to be taking a swim.”I licked my lips and cleared my throat for attention. Obviously Awen had done a number on what looked like the ship’s gravity engine. The two mechanics were twisting and turning over the machine, only touching it gingerly on account of all the heat coming off of it. And it was a lot of heat, there was even a haze in the air around the machine.“Um, sorry to interrupt,” I said. “But does this ship have lifeboats?”The two men looked over to me.“Who’s that?”“Never saw her. I’d know if there was a bun on the crew.”“She a pirate?”“Can pirates be pirated?”“I don’t think it’s time for semantics.”I waved at them to calm down. “I just want to know if we’re going to crash or something,” I said.They looked at each other. “Probably not.”“We’re good. As long as the balloon holds its air, there’s no danger.”The balloon that I had poked some flaming holes into. I was about to ask if that would have an impact on the ship staying in the air, but the rumble of feet rushing up the stairs behind me cut off my plans to talk. “Okay, thanks and bye!” I said as I shot past them. I only paused to kick over a gallon drum with ‘oil’ printed on its side.The mechanics screamed and started rushing around to clean up the mess before it reached the engine.The far end of the room had another stairwell, this one stopped at the next floor up, but I didn’t pause to look around and just bolted up to the topdeck.It was chaos. A team of sailors were placing patches against the balloon, others were repairing some of the ropes we’d cut in our little scuffle across the deck.In the middle of it all, Golden Rogers stood tall and proud, barking orders and pointing this way and that to direct his men. “Why aren’t those sails out yet? Divert more power to turning. Make sure you don’t lose sight of them. We’re going to run down that little skiff of theirs if it’s the last thing we do.”I turned this way and that, looking for a place to hide. Maybe I could join my friends if they managed to catch up to them? But then we'll have to deal with this ship again. Maybe I could steal a lifeboat and sabotage the ship some more? That would maybe allow us to get away, and I could rejoin my friends in Needleford. Assuming I could navigate my way over.I just had to keep the shore to my left.Feet thumping behind me had me diving for cover behind some boxes. I needed a moment to plan.And then someone rude grabbed my ears and dragged me up. “If you’re going to hide, bun, then don’t leave your filthy ears poking out above cover!”I was in a spot of trouble.
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Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Five — Jumping Ship
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Five — Jumping Ship “Ow, ow, ow!” I squeaked as I got to my feet, the insistent tugging at the base of my ears not giving me that much of a choice in the matter. “Let go!”“Captain!” the very rude man holding onto my ears called out. “We’ve got ourselves a stowaway!”Through my wince, I saw Golden Rogers turning to look our way, then grinning so wide that his sparkly teeth glinted yellow in the sunlight. “What a nice catch,” he purred. The captain started walking my way, past the sailors mending their Bastion-given cuts on the deck and those carrying around rolls of canvas to patch the holes in the balloon above. “We’ll be using your hide to fix the holes you’ve made in my ship,” he said.I really didn’t want to be a patch.I lifted my candleholder before me-and taking a leaf from Awen’s playbook-stabbed down and back as hard and fast as I could.I knew it wasn’t nice, but under the circumstances it was probably just a little warranted.The meanie holding onto my ears gasped and tightened his grip. That was the opposite of what I wanted! I pushed back into him, then brought my heel down onto his foot. Finally he let go and I bounced off towards the centre of the deck where I had more room to move.“Tsk, tsk, little bun,” Golden Rogers said. “You should have just let me and my boys take care of you. Now when you die, you’ll do so tired.” The pirate captain reached to his hip and pulled out a sword. “Perhaps I’ll take your head myself?”I stared at it. “That’s... kind of disappointing,” I said.The man blinked. “Pardon?”“Is that a long sword?” I asked.Golden Rogers raised his sword to his side in a high stance. It showed off the very pretty basket hilt. “It’s a backsword, actually.”“Oh. I was expecting a cutlass. You know, since you’re a pirate and all. It’s a bit disappointing.”Rogers spat to the side and shifted stances a little. “Are you going to put up a fight at all, or are you just going to mock the sword that will take your head?”“I’d really rather no-” I cut off as Golden Rogers shot ahead, his sword sweeping through the air on a direct path to taking my head off.I brought the candleholder up, parrying the blow with a ring of steel on silver and a grunt as my wrist took the hit a bit wrong. He was strong.The next swing came from above and I ducked down, only to realize that he was bringing his leg up to kick me at the same time.I tasted Roger’s boot for just a moment before my head snapped back and I stumbled onto my bum a few paces away. “Ah!” I said past a cut lip.Rogers didn’t seem the type to pass an opportunity to kick someone while they were down. Literally.I shoved his leg aside with my forearm, then noticed the white bandage wrapped around his thigh. Awen’s parting gift.The candleholder came up, and even though I couldn’t put much force into the blow, it still seemed to hurt when the silver-leaf end jammed into his wound.Jumping to my feet, I backed up all of two paces before the pirate swung at me again. I ducked the first swing, then smacked the second aside with the candle holder.As soon as I could, I glanced around.I was surrounded. The entire crew on deck had gathered to watch us fight. No, not all of it, some were still at work, but most were leering and cheering at their bit of bloodsport. I had to cut my observation short, or else my body would be short a head.“Can we not?” I asked. “Please?”“I do like it when they put up a fight,’ Rogers said.“Creep!” I shoved forwards, intent on poking the man in the chest with the candleholder, but he swiped it out of the air and held on tight to the haft of it.“You know, this was a gift from my sister-in-law,” he said.I let go of the stick, hopped to the side, then sprinted across the circle of onlookers.Something hot slashed across my back, just over the edge of my armour. I hissed, but kept on moving forwards.The pirate I was heading towards looked with widening eyes as I bounced up, then used his shoulder as a board to launch myself even higher.“You’re just prolonging the inevitable,” Rogers said as his circle of men broke up and he followed me.I landed against one of those netted ladders and hung on for dear life with one hand while the other reached up and around my neck to the warm wetness there. I was bleeding. “Ow,” I whined as the sting kept on going. I glanced at my health, and winced. I was down thirty points!Most of the time, when something hurt, it was an over and done thing. Not the cut he’d given me though. I really need a bandage. And some plasters. Maybe a hug. A hug would be good.I sniffled and started climbing up the net for a lack of better things to do. At least it would get me away from all the pirates, even if it meant hanging out on top of the balloon all on my own. “Get it together Broccoli,” I muttered as I left a trail of red handprints behind me.I wasn’t alone. Not really. My friends were nearby, they were safe. Maybe they’d grab the Beaver Cleaver and come after us? Or maybe they’d assume I was dead already?I bit my lower lip against the pain and pulled myself up higher. Soon, I was at the end of the net ladder and near to the top of the balloon. The surface above was all thick tarp, with ribs where the structure inside the balloon showed.Stepping onto the tarp, I spread my arms out and kept my balance as I pushed across to the middle.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.If a group of pirates came, I could run off the other side, or maybe down the back or middle?I wasn’t expecting to have them come up from just about every direction all at once. Golden-toothed grins and cruel catcalls greeted me from all sides as I turned around and tried to find any direction that didn’t have someone waiting to catch and hurt me.Golden Rogers took his time coming up, and when he did he stood up on the edge of the circle and slid his sword out of its sheath in a single, slow motion. “You know, this isn’t a bad place to go,” he called over the rush of wind.“I’d rather just not,” I said.“Ah, come now. The wind in your hair, the sun shining above, the sea spread out below. It’s fit for a poem is what it is.” He gestured and his men jeered and hollered their agreement. “You’re a captain, aren’t you?”I swallowed and nodded. “I am,” I said.“Then perhaps I ought to at least give you the honours of putting some effort into ending you,” he replied easily.“Insight,” I muttered.Golden Rogers, Sky Pirate Captain, level ??I would have been better off not knowing after all. “I really don't want to die,” I said. “Not alone.”The man smiled. There was even a hint of actual pity there. “There’s always the jump, girl. Perhaps the World will give you an out and throw you to shore? But I’m afraid your fate, and soon that of your friends, will be sealed. You can thank that old bastard Abraham.”“What did he ever do to you?” I asked.Rogers tilted his head to the side. “Why, he cost me my first ship. And what a nice little ship it was. Not to mention a few good crewmates, and half my teeth.”“Did he just attack you?” I asked.Rogers shrugged. “We tried taking his ship. I, for one, think he overreacted a little. So I plan on kidnapping his niece and sending him her head in a neat little crate. Or maybe I’ll just extort him for all the gold he’s willing to part with. I’m a fair kind of man.”I licked my lips and looked around for something to grab, and sort of weapon. The candleholder was long gone. I wasn’t carrying anything. Back when I’d been adventuring on the ground I had a bandoleer with stuff in it, but that was still on the Beaver. Adventuring gear didn’t seem needed in a city.If I survived, I’d start carrying some more gear with me.That left me with only magic as a weapon. Magic that was generally pretty flashy. I didn’t doubt that Rogers could close the distance between us long before I hit him with a fireball or two. Not that that would be enough to really stop him.Then I looked down, and the slightly spongy surface I was standing on.“I guess I’ll be jumping after all,” I said.“Oh?” Golden Rogers asked. “The coward’s way out?”“Something like that,” I said.I planted a boot on one of the reinforced bands atop the balloon, bunched up my leg, then jumped as hard and fast as I could.There was no enjoying the time in the air. Instead I focused as hard as I could, forming fireballs in my hands with as much mana as I could spare poured into them, more than I’d ever dared use back at the Albatross mansion.The pirates said a whole host of rude things as nine fireballs rained down around them. A few burst apart in mid-air, some sniped by mages in the group, others falling apart, probably because they were so poorly made.Not all of them missed though.A few of the faster fireballs poked right through the gas bag, and some of them splattered onto the canvas and started eating away at it with hungry flames. Air hissed out of the ballon, and where it touched the flame, they flared and roared.Rogers started shouting orders right away while stepping toward my landing siteI hoped that the fire would be enough to stall the ship until my friends could get away.And then, just as I was about to land and Golden Rogers was about to turn my head into a pincushion, lightning tore out of the empty sky and struck the side of the balloon.I landed in a wobbly crouch, made worse when a second thunderclap rang out from below and something exploded. A glance off the side and I saw one of the ship’s paddle wheels taking off with a wild spin into the sky.And then I saw it. The Manatee, rushing up with tiny figures aboard pointing this way and that.“It was nice seeing your ship,” I told the captain. “But I’d rather not see it again.”Confusion sparked in his eyes for just a moment before I threw myself off the side. My jump was far from perfect, owing to the spongy footing and the way the ship was rocking. Still, it carried me far enough away from Golden’s ship that I had time to make it out in full as I fell past.There was smoke coming out from a few portholes, and the crew was running about in a panic on the deck while others tried to climb off the balloon in a hurry.And then I was past and falling towards the sea below.I tried to twist and angle myself towards the Manatee, but a trick of the wind and a bit of poor timing had me tumbling past my friends.I sighed, the sound torn from my lips. That was some bad luck.Nothing came to mind about how to survive crashing into water from a crazy height. Which was quite annoying.And then a pair of small but strong arms grabbed me around the waist. “Hang on, captain,” Bastion called over the rush of the wind. “I can’t fly with the both of us, but I can slow us down. Or at least soften the landing.”I started to laugh. Or maybe I was crying.In either case, I was soon too wet for anyone to tell the difference.
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