Chapter 15

  Forks of lightning shot down from the maelstrom of blackness up above, slicing into waves riled up by the storm. Crashing waves rocked the Jormagand from side to side and whipped up sprays of white water that drenched most of the pirates on deck. Sannan clung desperately to Khanrea’s right leg, using the artifice as an anchor to prevent himself from retching.

  “Stay on course!” Erbosa yelled, but even her voice was drowned out by the storm half of the time. Of all places she chose to station herself at the bow, one foot planted in front of her as torrents of water slammed into her at regular intervals. The golden tassel on her forehead was in danger of flying off at any minute.

  “Full throttle! We have dealt with worse before, push harder!”

  A muted voice reported from the crow’s nest. “Captain! I think I see something!” Erbosa immediately reached for her looking glass and positioned it over her left eye.

  “There’s an island ahead of us all right,” she announced. “Something else as well. Enemy ships?” Amidst the raging torrent it was surprising she could make out anything at all. As the storm continued to buffet the vessel, Sannan threw up everything he had eaten that day. He could only hope they arrived at their destination in the next few minutes. Just when he felt another wave of nausea coming on, it seemed the ship’s rocking had subsided. Sannan heaved a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. The sound of cannonfire filled the air, and fire exploded out the starboard side of the Jormagand.

  “It’s them,” Erbosa growled. “Men, prepare for battle!” In the distance were three sizable warships loaded with inhuman pirates. A good number of them let out wordless battle cries as some of their comrades dove into the water. All around Erbosa’s fleet, the relentless pounding of the waves ceased, though rain and lightning continued to fall from the blackened sky. The Pirate Empress’s cannoneers picked up their already loaded weapons and fired at the approaching warships. Crossbowmen held their shooters at the ready for when the Sea Snake’s crew would enter their range. In the heat of battle, everything appeared sped up. Before long, the Sea Snake’s main warship had closed in on the Jormagand so his crewmen could board.

  Hundreds of crossbow bolts were loose, slashing and puncturing enemy pirates as they made a frenzied attempt to climb onto deck. Two of the three approaching warships shook from unseen shots coming from the underwater ironclads. Sannan tried his best to ignore the lingering nausea and hefted his cannon. “Khanrea, defend!”

  The bronze artifice immediately got up and drove a metal fist into the skull of an attacking pirate with barnacles sprouting from his face like warts. In the same interval, Sannan fired two shots straight at a horde of mutant pirates, reducing them to a hapless mangle of bloodied corpses. A speedy woman with tube coral growing out of her mouth managed to close the distance in a matter of seconds, and lunged at Sannan with a shortsword. Instinctively he dropped his cannon and drew out his own. He slashed at the pirate to keep her at bay, but she dodged seamlessly and knocked Sannan’s feet out from under him. Before she could bring her blade down for the kill, however, Khanrea grabbed her by the waist and threw her at the ship’s mast, knocking her out.

  Sannan barely had any time to recover from that exchange. Just a few paces to his left stood a brutish man staring back at him through reef shark eyes. Thavion, he vaguely recalled, was the name. His human mouth curved upwards in a malicious smile, lined with rows of serrated teeth.

  “You really thought that girl’s lightning blast was enough to do me in?” Thavion said in a throaty voice. He clenched his gauntleted fists, lighting up the inlaid blue orbs contained within. “She can join the rest of her old crew soon enough, once I’m done with you.”

  Sannan wasted no words on the shark man and sent a metal shell flying towards him. Although Thavion was able to evade it, the shell landed on one of his fellow crew mates trying to board the ship. Khanrea lunged forward to strike, but Thavion only had eyes for its creator. Unfortunately, Sannan did not have time to react until his assailant was inches away from him. With a desperate swing of his cannon, Sannan slammed Thavion’s reef shark head forcefully enough to knock a few teeth out. Thavion recovered from the blow almost instantaneously and bit down on Sannan’s left forearm, causing him to drop his cannon. Clenching his teeth, he endured the pain long enough to drive a dagger straight through the shark man’s abdomen.

  Dripping with blood, Thavion staggered backwards before ripping the dagger out with a cry of pain. Swirls of water enveloped his gauntlets as he readied himself for a counterattack. Too injured to jump out of the way, Sannan had to rely on Khanrea to shield him. So sorry, my friend.

  Blades of sharpened water exploded out from the gauntlets only to be blocked by the Pirate Empress. Slamming Leviathan’s Bane into the ground, she mustered up a swirling shield of raw elemental energy just in time to neutralize Thavion’s attack.

  “I do wonder how you lot were able to anticipate us coming to your island,” Erbosa inquired.

  “It was our benefactor,” Thavion uttered through pained gasps. He clutched his still bleeding abdomen.

  “I suppose you won’t tell us who that is.” Rather than respond, the shark man made a move to lunge at Erbosa. The Pirate Empress swung her greatblade in a wide arc to let loose a crescent shaped wave of ice, freezing Thavion where he stood.

  “Are you alright?” Erbosa asked. Sannan nodded his head in gratitude, then turned to stare at Thavion’s petrified visage. Through it all, he could not help but think these monsters were people once. No, they were human once, he was certain of it. Nearby, an electrified fish resembling a barracuda engulfed the claw armed pirate Sannan remembered seeing before Azala was abducted. Recoiling from the impact, the crab pirate’s mouth continued to foam as his eyes rolled back into his head. His limp body landed on the deck with a loud thud.

  “Scalda!” Sannan traced the familiar rasping voice near the bow of the ship, where the Sea Snake stood. Zevros gnashed his snake fangs together in frustration.

  “Gah!” The Sea Snake spat. “I am only interested in you, Erbosa. I cannot have any of these brats getting in the way of our rematch!”

  “Revenge,” Erbosa said, her voice tinged with disgust. “That’s what this is about.”

  “I still remember the day you blew up my ship and my crew like it was yesterday.” Zevros grinned. “That would have been the end for me, but I was saved, Erbosa. Saved! I got a second shot at life, and I don’t intend on wasting it.” He reflexively ducked his head as an electric arrow flew by overhead.

  “Quit running your mouth!” Zari’s eyes were full of anger. “Today, I will have you answer for all the murders and kidnappings you have committed.”

  Erbosa charged forward and stabbed her blade at the Sea Snake, but he evaded the attack. The two exchanged a few more blows before the Sea Snake abruptly disengaged and made a run for the sterncastle. When Sannan saw that Zevros intended to target Zari, he and Khanrea moved to block his path.

  “An artifice,” Zevros said in surprise. Khanrea swung down on the Sea Snake, but the arm joint caught, and Zevros ended up cutting off both the robot’s arms.

  “You’ll pay for that!” Sannan cried out, knocking Zevros back with his cannon. Zevros snarled, managing to dodge out of the way as Erbosa swiped Leviathan’s Bane in a downward arc. As she was about to follow up with another attack, a trio of mutant pirates swarmed her, slashing at her with their cutlasses.

  Zevros slid between Khanrea’s legs and clambered up the sterntower’s steps to get at Zari. Right before he could reach the apex, multiple charged electric shots sent him tumbling back down before crashing into the ship's helm. Strange. No archer should be able to get off that many shots at once.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The impact knocked all the air out of Zevros’s lungs, but just like Thavion, Sannan anticipated he would recover quickly. Rushing over to the helm as quickly as possible, Sannan attempted to subdue the Sea Snake before he could get back up. A flash of lightning lit up the deck right as the Sea Snake shot out with his rapier and pierced Sannan’s thigh. Stumbling onto the wet planks, he struggled to get up, clutching the forearm that was still bleeding from Thavion’s bite. Zevros’s head extended, mouth outstretched to sink his fangs into Sannan’s neck when Khanrea slammed a foot down onto the serpent man’s back. The Sea Snake was finally at his mercy, though he would not say he felt triumphant.

  “Azala is on that island, isn’t she? All the people you kidnapped.” Sannan crawled away to maintain a safe distance from the range of Zevros's neck.

  “Ha!” The Sea Snake rasped. “Of all the people I send over to…it, none have returned. I don’t know what will happen to them.”

  “Liar!” Khanrea pressed its foot down harder on the serpent man’s back.

  “I am telling…the…truth…” Zevros let out in a strangled voice. At that point, Sannan quickly seized a nearby sword from a deceased pirate and slammed the flat end of the blade into the Sea Snake’s skull, knocking him unconscious. Zari rushed over to his side and prepared to aim an arrow at Zevros’s neck. Pulsing yellow veins radiated through her body, and she hardly looked strong enough to pick up her own bow. Nevertheless, she raised her weapon, hand quivering as she drew back on her bowstring and fired. Once the arrow was in, Zevros drew one last gasp before his eyes glazed over. Zari went down on her knees, shaking with…joy? Regret? It was hard to tell.

  “Zari…I could not do it. I just could not bring myself to do it.”

  “It’s alright.” Zari leaned her head backwards, tears streaming down her cheeks mixed in with the rainwater. “All that matters is that it is over.”

  …

  By the time Erbosa’s crew arrived on the island, the rain had subsided to a steady drizzle. The sky was now a gray haze broken up here and there by splinters of sunshine. Hair still matted and wet from the downpour, Zari was one of the first to land on the mysterious island’s shores. All across the beach, the sand was crisscrossed with footprints no doubt belonging to Zevros’s crew. Though by now most had faded away such that few traces remained. Palm trees swayed ominously against the howling wind, and Zari had to shield her face as it nearly blew sand into her eyes. She still felt hollow despite their victory over Zevros’s crew. Almost an hour since she ended that snake’s life, and she still felt…empty inside. Killing the man was not going to bring her crew back, she had known that. But she wanted to believe it would do something to ease her grief. If anything, her crew’s funeral made her feel better in comparison. Upon arrival, Erbosa set her crew to scour the island for any hostages. As much as she wanted to be part of the search operation, Zari contented herself to be sitting on a flat rock near one of the palm trees. A shame Sannan could not join her; he was being treated by Huoyan for his wounds at the moment.

  Minutes passed, but in truth they felt like hours, before a pair of caraseers emerged from the forest carrying an olive skinned Zaran with four colossal spider crab legs in place of human ones. On closer inspection, his face was distorted with crab eyes and mouth parts, the top of his head covered with a hard carapace.

  “They are already gone,” the spider crab pirate hissed. “All the hostages…taken away. They knew you were coming, Pirate Empress.”

  Erbosa stared daggers into the spider crab’s emotionless eyes. “Who is they? Who is this benefactor that has been requesting all those hostages?”

  The spider crab’s human mouth, lodged between the mouth parts of the crab, smiled knowingly. “They say they come from the Erebus.”

  Pirate Empress Erbosa, who braved countless ocean storms, who would pick a fight with the Abyssal Leviathan for the fun of it, paled. “Impossible!”

  “That is what I was told.”

  For a second Erbosa stood frozen in place, eyes seeing something horrible yet distant. When her attention went back to her hostage, she barked an order. “Take him into custody.” The pair of caraseers nodded and proceeded to drag the crab legged man back to the Jormagand.

  “Our business here on this island is done.” Erbosa said. “I believe what he says.”

  Zari protested, “surely there is a slim chance someone might–”

  “Enough! My decision is final.” With a pained expression, Erbosa turned on her heels and strode back to her ship.

  …

  Throbbing pain wracked Sannan’s head the moment he opened his eyes. That rush of energy he felt during the fight with Zevros’s crew had left him, replaced now with pain shooting down his left forearm and right thigh.

  “Where am I?” A familiar bluish green flame orbited around him, slowly but steadily closing up his wounds. Huoyan laid a hand on his left forearm, which was still covered in dry blood. Armless Khanrea stood right behind her, standing so still one would have thought him to be a statue at first glance. Considering the subtle sway to the small room, they were in a ship.

  Huoyan murmured, “you need rest, Sannan.”

  “Did we find anything on the island?” Sannan clutched his head with his right hand as if that would do something for the pain.

  “Get some rest first, alright? I need to tend to some other patients.” As Huoyan hurriedly left the room, Sannan saw that his wounds were gone. The ache still remained, however. With his head still throbbing it was difficult to get himself to sleep, but he managed eventually. It helped to imagine gentle waves caressing a beach, and the sounds of the gulls calling overhead. By the time he awoke, night had fallen. Through the window hole the sea was a black expanse darker than the night sky. Khanrea now sat against the wall powered down. After a few stretches, Sannan made his way out of the room and up the steps above deck. Pirates sat around the deck nursing fresh wounds, with some playing card games such as Arcanum Duels to occupy themselves. Handheld lanterns provided pools of light for the Jormagand’s crew. Nearby, Erbosa’s first mate plucked at a diwa, a long necked lute originating from Sarhi. The Pirate Empress herself sat crisscrossed next to the base of the mast holding a giant flask of rum. Captain Fengren, Zari, and the blindfolded captain sat in a circle around her chatting idly.

  “Ah, Sannan! Would you care to join us?” Erbosa waved her flask at him in an inviting gesture. Turning to Sannan, the blindfolded captain of the fourth division smiled.

  “I don’t believe we have been acquainted yet. Captain Jural is the name. Pleasure to meet you.” She held out her right hand for him to shake, and when he did it felt calloused.

  “What were you all discussing?” Sannan inquired.

  Erbosa sighed. “Sorry to be the one to tell you, but no hostages were found on the island. They have all been whisked away to Gods knows where.” The news was disappointing for sure, but Sannan half expected as much. For now they just had to be content with ending the Sea Snake. She handed her flask over to him. “Care for some rum?”

  Sannan’s face flushed. “No, my grandmother would not let me hear the end of it.”

  “Oh, come off it. You’re a grown up now, you ought to enjoy some of life’s pleasures.”

  “Erbosa, it is his choice,” Fengren said nonchalantly. He too held a large bottle of some unknown liquor, likely Huaxia or Joseo in origin.

  Zari spoke up. “Sannan, I know Azala meant a lot to you. And…we likely won’t ever see her again.”

  Sannan shook his head. “You lost way more that day, Zari. I should be the one consoling you, not the other way around.”

  “If it is any consolation,” said Erbosa. “Once we get back to Isle Durna, we shall host a banquet to celebrate our victory over the Sea Snake. Of course, we will also host a send off for those who died today fighting his crew. I can only hope Atram and Galanine had managed to stave off U’lua’s advances.”

  “Right.” Zari attempted a cheery tone. “We can’t always be reflecting on the past, now can we?”

  “If I may?” The husky voice came from Erbosa’s first mate, on closer inspection a lithe man with a well oiled beard trimmed in the Induran fashion. “A song to commemorate our battle. A song to commemorate both our victories and our losses.”

  Erbosa chuckled. “I always thought you were bad at the diwa, Farakh.”

  “I have been getting some good practice lately.” Farakh strummed the lute to test the sound, then began to play.

  Lightning struck down as we sailed

  Whilst we forged ahead to an unknown land

  Against the Sea Snake we prevailed

  Our foe felled by an archer’s hand

  And so the Serpent Queen sails again

  A battle hardened ship was she

  Sailing to uphold her crew’s wishes

  That we may live and die at sea

  Many a comrade fell this day

  Brothers and sisters in arms held dear

  But to death we pirates say

  “What ever is there to fear?”

  And so the Pirate Empress sails again

  A formidable young captain was she

  Sailing to seize her lifelong dream

  That we may conquer this unruly sea

  Creatures from the ocean’s depths we slayed

  Born from a sailor’s nightmare they were

  Still we pressed on with our crusade

  Live flashing before our eyes in a blur

  And so the Iron Serpents sail again

  And a grand old fleet are we

  Sailing to gather allies far and wide

  To send our foes to the bottom of the sea.

  Sannan could not suppress a smile. It has been a while since Olberan’s death, but he fully understood why he would pledge himself for this woman.

  Erbosa shook her head. “‘Pirate Empress’ was never a title I made up myself. Nor one I prefer. Reminds me of that stuck up woman in charge of the Yujin Empire.”

  “My, my she is the incarnation of the Flame Goddess, Erbosa.” Fengren said with a wry tone.

  “Indeed.” Erbosa took one long drink from her rum flask. “And a real piece of work, too.”