“Captain Olinko wants everyone to have an early breakfast. The storm is heading out of our way.”
Quint would have admitted to having nerves, but no one asked him. He ate his breakfast next to the doctor, who asked him to help him with casualties when he was finished on the main deck.
The waiting wasn’t fun, but Quint was a veteran of two land battles where he had to wait for the action to begin.
As the sky turned pink with dawn, a seaman in the rigging spotted a ship approaching from the direction of the rising sun.
“It’s on its way,” the captain said, looking down to Quint standing on the main deck. “We have another hour before it catches us, and we are prepared.”
The ship finally approached. It sported banners at the top of the two main masts, a red pennant with a black line told the crew it identified the vessel as a pirate ship.
“That’s no pirate, sir,” the first officer said quietly to the captain, but loud enough for Quint to hear. “It’s a military ship.”
Olinko grasped the railing. “You are right about portents, lad. We will have to see how this plays out. Since the pirate pennant is showing, we will treat it as such.”
The tension began to build. A ballista shot a burning bolt across the gap between the ships. It skidded across the deck, spilling sailors to either side. Sand and water buckets extinguished the fires the bolt had started.
With the pirates making the first move, the captain ordered a hail of arrows shot from the deck and the rigging. Fire arrows followed and the exchange continued as the pirate ship approached.
Quint was surprised when a spear of flame left the pirate ship and hit the rigging. An archer fell to the deck. Quint cast a string bringing a ball of water from the ocean and teleported it to the burning mast. The pirates had a wizard-on-board. Quint immediately cast a shield string.
The pirate ship was drawing closer. Both ships traded fire as crews rushed frantically to quench the flames.
Quint felt a blow to his shoulder, and something skidded ahead. He turned to see Calee frantically winding the wheel of a crossbow. She had just tried to kill him again!
That was too much. He cast wind and blew her into the railing close to where the pirate ship slammed into the side of the ship. His eyes were still on Calee as Fedor, with a large bag, pulled her up and tossed the crossbow overboard. He ran along the railing, dragging his daughter, and jumped aboard the pirate ship.
Quint followed. He was ready with his fire spear, and then he felt the force of a string. Sailors dropped around him. Quint was the only person standing on the ship. Fedor went directly to the captain of the pirate vessel and pointed at Quint. It was a difficult decision to make, but Quint cast his fire spear. An ice spear came from the other side of the pirate ship and slammed into Quint, knocking him against the mast. The blow almost made him faint, but Quint closed his eyes tight and focused on remaining still as his senses returned.
In the meantime, the pirate ship disengaged and headed away from the Narukun vessel, putting Quint’s ship in the lee of the pirate’s sails. Quint’s ship slowed as the pirate ship headed east. Quint looked up and the sails were fluttering in the wrong wind.
Captain Olinko sat against the railing on the quarterdeck. An arrow had pierced his thigh. The wheel was spinning, so Quint ran to the quarterdeck. He worked with the wheel until it slowed. All Quint could do was try to put the ship closer to north. He had no idea how to steer the ship other than to keep it going straight. The sails took on the wind, but Quint was the only one awake. There would be no pursuit.
Quint turned to the deck and saw most of what he had seen in the portent. He hadn’t expected the Dankos to escape on the pirate ship. He lashed the wheel so it wouldn’t spin and ran from person to person, making sure none were stuck in a position to make their injuries worse before working on the fires. A few sleeping men were entangled with the rigging high above him, but Quint wasn’t the person to save them.
Men began to wake within half an hour and continued Quint’s work to save their shipmates. Finally, an officer was able to take the wheel. With the situation in other’s hands, Quint could help take the captain down to the doctor’s cabin.
Quint returned to the deck and used his magic to put out any remaining fires that were difficult for the seamen to reach. Looking east, he could see a column of smoke being spread by the wind, but it was losing its strength. Both ships had survived the fight.
Despite the armor, Quint had sneaked into Captain Olinko’s cabin to look in the captain’s dressing mirror to see the massive bruise from the ice bolt or whatever it was. Everything had settled down in a remarkably short time. By morning of the next day, the ship was almost normal. Sailors were scrubbing the decks. New sails and line had already been fitted and the ship was headed toward Narukun after checking their heading with compass and sextant.
Quint was summoned to the captain’s cabin, where Captain Olinko rested his leg on the seat of another chair. It didn’t look comfortable, but the captain was busy with paperwork.
“Yes, sir,” Quint said, touching his forehead like he’d seen other sailors do.
Olinko laughed. “Officers salute,” he turned to the purser who was at another writing table. “Show him, Horenz.”
Quint knew how to perform a nautical salute and did so.
“That’s better. Danko left a letter,” the captain said tossing an open envelope to the other side of his desk where Quint stood.
Quint didn’t want to touch the letter, but he forced himself. The Dankos were not his friends and were plainly enemies. It was all Quint could do not to cast his fire spear at Danko rather than the pirate captain as ordered.
Captain Olinko,
Thank you for getting me out of Bocarre. As you know by now, I had also planned for another ship to take me on the next stage of my mission. It is a vital assignment for our glorious cause. Our cover will be as victims of a pirate attack. I hope your losses weren’t too great.
If Quinto Tirolo survived the fight, something I dearly wish does not happen, arrest him and hand him over to representatives of the green army, who will be waiting at the dock when you arrive. As you know, he is a danger to Narukun and to all North Fenola.
Best wishes from your friend in the cause,
Fedor Danko.
Quint dropped the letter back on the captain’s desk. “Am I under arrest?” Quint asked.
“I’ll be honest with you, Tirolo. Fedor Danko and I are not friends. He is aligned with the greens, and all aboard my ship are crimson sympathizers. I pretended to be a green to make the voyage to Racellia and back less contentious. His ‘glorious government’ is filled with people who want to make the world a darker place. You noticed he didn’t care if my crew were killed or not. It might have helped his story if my ship had sunk. Danko is a devil.” The captain spat on the floor.
“Narukun isn’t united? Danko had told me that Narukun was a land of peace.”
The captain laughed. “Not at all. We would be no better off than the Racellians if there was an empire growing on North Fenola ready to swallow us up. If anything, we have more factions ready and willing to fight any time they are provoked. This letter proves that Danko continues to be engaged in making things worse for all Narukuns.”
“What will I do?”
Olinko shrugged and grinned at the purser. “You have a berth on any ship I command, but I think, as Danko does, that you are destined for greater things. Danko, however, thinks your actions will disrupt the world, and in my opinion, I think the world needs a bit of disrupting. I think the better course for you to follow will be to spend some time at a Cloister.”
“Where wizards live in seclusion all their lives?” Quint asked.
