Chapter 30

Velus’s grin vanished as the crew of The Scarlet Bitch ignored the massive sleep spell and kept coming across the bow of their ship toward her. The mage must have warned them about the spell, but for such a large group, she found it odd that none of them even stumbled. It then occurred to her that the dust on the women and mage didn’t glow as it should have.

That meant they knew about the spell and the ambush. Only two explanations occurred to Velus. Either the mage was a Diviner, or The Gazelle was no longer under Darrow’s command. She knew which was more likely.

“The Gazelle has been taken!” Velus shouted as the male magic-user stepped onto The Bitch’s foredeck. Instead of readying a spell, he picked up the cat next to him and launched her toward The Dauntless’s mainmast with inhuman strength. The rest of the crew continued across the foredeck, bearing down on her with murder in their eyes.

Velus jumped backward onto The Dauntless’s slanted deck and slid down to the starboard deckrail. Over on the maindeck, men screamed as the cat stood on the mast and rained daggers down onto the mercenaries. Velus noted the cat-girl wasn’t aiming for the men directly but instead cut the ropes looped around the soldier’s waists tied to the port deckrail. The men knew that falling into the water meant death and that knowledge came through in their terrified screams as they tumbled down the listing ship. The lucky ones hit the starboard-side rail and stopped, but their uncontrolled fall often left them with injuries. Those who missed the rail or tumbled over it barely got time to call for help before getting dragged underwater.

The mage shivered as she remembered the Dauntless’s crew warning her away from the deckrails as they entered The Spine and told her about the sharks and other large fish swimming alongside the ship hoping for an easy meal.

Velus glared up at the women staring down at her from The Scarlet Bitch’s bow with weapons at the ready. With the failure of the sleep spell they had the Dauntless at a disadvantage, but the crew seemed to be waiting for something.

“Kashka!” yelled a small voice from the top of the mainmast.

The cat sent one of her daggers spinning toward the water where it impacted a falling bottle. The resulting loud pop made Velus wince as the air surrounding the potion instantly filled with a dark purple gas. The cloud swirled for a moment before the wind swept it away. In its wake, the mercenary’s leader hung limp from the rope securing him to the mainmast while a few of The Dauntless’s crew lay slumped against the starboard deckrail where they chose to ride out the impact. Archers among the mercenaries used the cat’s momentary distraction to brandish bows and chase her into the crow’s nest.

Velus gritted her teeth. The bitches tried to do the same thing Darrow wanted her to do, but whoever dropped the potion from the top of the mast didn’t take the ship’s lean into account and nearly dropped it into the water instead. If it had landed on the deck this fight would already be over.

The Dauntless slowly righted itself as The Scarlet Bitch shoved it out of the way, bringing the decks of the two ships together. As soon as they regained their footing, the soldiers tugged the ropes’ ends and unraveled the knots holding them in place.

A large cow-woman picked up a pale white monster girl and launched her onto The Dauntless. Her body unraveled as she flew through the air, carrying her over the mercenaries’ heads. She looked like she was about to sail completely over the boat when a few tentacles shot down and grabbed the far deckrail as more launched backwards, extending to an impossible length before slapping into the backs of two men. Like a loosed slingshot, the tentacles retracted violently, lifting both mercenaries into the air, over the squid-girl’s head, and off the ship. More soldiers ran forward with weapons drawn but the woman squeezed through the tiny gaps in the railing and disappeared over the side.

Women on The Scarlet Bitch’s maindeck tossed a host of grappling hooks onto The Dauntless then looped their ropes around the anchor’s capstan, locking the two vessels together.

Velus stared in amazement as the crew of monster girls prepared to board her ship. This was not at all how this was supposed to happen.

By the aft wheel, her employer screamed at the men on the maindeck. Many of the mercenaries stood ready to repel the attack, but a significant portion appeared to be waiting for orders from their now-unconscious leader. A shout from one of The Dauntless’s crew informed them of their commander’s condition. Just as quickly, a mercenary called out that their second-in-command’s rope had been cut and he fell into the water. One of the men shouted toward the stairs belowdecks as the first women leapt across the gap.

Yalli saw the archers raise their bows toward her and curled into a ball as she soared across the gap between the ships. Arrows bounced off her plates just in time for her to unroll and land on the deck. Mercenaries raised their swords only to be gutted by the armadillo’s massive claws designed for digging through hard dirt and clay. Those that did strike discovered their swords were no more effective than the arrows against her armor plates. Bludgeons were worthless against her and the few blades that did get through barely stung and only seemed to enrage the armadillo-girl further. Within seconds of Yalli touching the deck, the soldiers were back on their heels trying to keep the ferocious monster girl at bay.

Roka landed in a crouch behind Yalli but turned to make her way around the other side of the mainmast. On one arm she wore a kite shield, while in her other hand she wielded a scimitar as big as most the men in front of her. She usually needed two hands to hold the large blade, but Kal’s strength spell made it seem no heavier than the smaller sword she usually practiced with.

Roka saw the archers nocking another arrow and brought up her shield, which looked more like a buckler in her hands. A fraction of a second later both men dropped clutching the elven arrows protruding from their chests. The bovine gave Tavorah a quick salute of thanks before swinging the huge sword in front of her. Wooden shields splintered and swords bent or flew from their wielder’s hands as they tried to block the cow-woman’s mighty swing.

She felt more than heard more women jump across from The Scarlet Bitch and smiled as she flipped her blade around and wound up for a powerful backswing.

More women jumped across the closing gap and took up positions next to their crewmates while the.

It all seemed surreal to Veles as she watched the elf loose a steady stream of deadly accurate arrows and the cat in the crow’s nest joined in again with her daggers. These women’s sheer ferocity and strength were decimating the men on deck. As the ship continued to level out it brought The Scarlet Bitch’s mage back into view. She watched as he cast a strength spell on a silver-furred vixen with murder in her eyes before the monster-girl leapt across the gap and into the fray. The strength spell explained how these women were cutting down a trained fighting force so easily.

But the battle wasn’t over. Arrows streaked toward the cat, elf and cow-woman from the stairs belowdecks. The first two women barely moved to the side and let the arrows pass while the bovine stopped the one fired at her with her shield. As the archers stepped aside and nocked another arrow, a flood of men began pouring out from belowdecks to bolster their struggling forces.

Darrow screamed at Veles to help the mercenaries, but The Scarlet Bitch’s mage had her complete attention as he cast a few more strength spells then began walking towards her. The Dauntless had fully righted itself and the two ship’s main decks were side-by-side but that had pulled the bows away from each other. A small glowing sprite hovering above the mage appeared to be reporting the progress of the main deck’s battle as he jumped off the deckrail and floated across the gap to The Dauntless’s foredeck.

“Tavorah and Kashka have taken out the archers and she’s coming down the mast to help the girls below, Kal. Scarlet’s joined in and Ratt just swung over. It looks like the rest of the girls still on board are throwing more grapples or trying to furl the sails,” said the sprite. “Those on deck are barely holding their own and our side has taken a few losses.

Velus and the mage both glanced down at the maindeck where a couple of women were stumbling back from the front line clutching wounds and at least one lay unmoving on the deck.

Kal grimaced. “Then we’ll have to finish this quickly. Ria, staff.”

As the staff appeared in the man’s hand, Velus said, “Liru, store my robe.” The burgundy robe vanished into a mote of light as she reached up and pulled two curved daggers from a harness on her back.

As the daughter of a noble she was raised with the understanding that she would forever be a target for kidnappers, ruffians, or those just jealous of her wealth. Velus trained extensively with twin daggers growing up and had honed many of those skills since leaving home on her current quest.

But her quest was the problem. She was certain this man was the one she had been looking for. But he needed to prove himself first and with her largest crystal depleted she only had enough mana in her remaining two for some minor spells. It was nowhere near enough to test his proficiency with magic.

Gritting her teeth, she returned the blades to their sheaths. “I yield.”

“A ploy?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No. I think you are the person I seek, but I cannot test that here and now.”

“Interesting. If you move from this spot before the battle is over, your life is forfeit.”

Velus nodded while seething inside at being ordered around, but understood. Only a fool threw caution to the wind when turning their back to a magic-user.

The mage immediately dashed away and jumped down into the melee. The cat from the mast materialized beside him and together they pierced into the mercenaries. The other women formed up behind them, taking positions as directed by the red-haired human who matched the description of the other ship’s captain. Within minutes, the last mercenary fell to the blood-soaked armadillo girl.

“Get them! Get them!” Darrow screamed at The Dauntless’s crew. “Captain! Order your men to fight!”

The ship’s captain just shook his head as the mage and The Scarlet Bitch’s captain climbed the stairs to the quarterdeck. “If your soldiers couldn’t stop them, my men have no chance,” he said then darted to the side as his enraged employer drew his sword.

Darrow lunged at him. “Order your men to fight or I’ll cut you down myself!”

“You should probably be more worried about me than chasing after your captain,” said the mage.

He spun toward the magic-user and raised his sword.

Runes lit up on the mage’s arms as he quickly closed the distance between them. To Darrow’s surprise his sword didn’t immediately slice through the man’s wooden staff. The mage used the moment to spin the staff around and smack the inside of Darrow’s leg, forcing him out of his stance. The Dauntless’s owner was skilled with a sword and managed to mostly block the next few blows as he regained his footing but the mage still scored some hard hits on his upper arms.

With a burst of strength the mage knocked his sword wide but instead of going for a killing blow brough the staff down hard on Darrow’s arm. It didn’t break the bone, but the pain stole the strength from his grip and his sword clattered to the deck and he clutched his arm.

The mage whispered a word to his staff and the silver cap on the end grew into a wicked looking blade.

“What’s your name?” said the mage, holding the spear at his throat.

“Crowell Darrow,” he said as his face went pale.

“How much is your life worth?”

“What?” Darrow asked, confused.

“I have no reason to let you live,” the man explained. “So I’m asking, how much is your life worth? All your possessions, contracts, and estates. Every, coin, concubine, and ship you own, give them all to me and I will not kill you.”

Darrow smiled inside. He merely needed to play along until he could contact some of his people and any contract this man forced him to sign would be null and void. Then he could worry about getting revenge on The Intrepid’s crew and the bastard in front of him. “Fine. If you don’t kill me you can have it all. My land, ships, contracts, all of it. You can even have my whore of a wife for all I care.”

The mage half-turned and shouted shouted, “Captains?!”

“Witnessed and heard,” the mutinous captain of The Intrepid called out.

“Witnessed and heard,” echoed The Dauntless’s captain.

“Ria, is that good enough?” he asked, seemingly to the air around them.

“I think so,” said the glowing sprite from the battle.

“Good, store his clothes,” said the mage.

To Darrow’s horror his red, gilded robe vanished from around his shoulders along with the rest of his clothing leaving him in nothing but his underwear. The man smiled as he stepped back and lowered the spear. “That’ll do.”

“Kal?” Asked the large cow-woman as she stepped up next to the mage.

He turned and began drawing a rune on the woman’s arm. “I’m letting you know that I am a paying passenger on The Scarlet Bitch,” he activated the red, glowing rune. “I’m not affiliated with its captain or crew and I do not speak for them.”

confusion warred with humiliation and anger on Darrow’s face. “Then what—”

“It means he won’t kill you,” said Roka. A swipe from her shield sent the man flying over the side of the ship, screaming in terror until he hit the water below. “But I still can.”

Kal looked over at Kashka. “What the hell did I just do?”

The cat stared back at him with a look of surprise. “You didn’t plan that ahead of time, did you?” she asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.

“If what Darrow said is binding then you just became owner of the largest slave trading enterprise in The Great River and Eastern Ocean,” said the captain of The Dauntless. “You’re also, coincidentally, my new employer. Captain Kolas, at your service.”

“Oh my...”

“Let me guess, you didn’t think this through at all,” Scarlet asked.

Kal blushed. “Nope.”

A loud thump from the direction of the stairs made everyone jump. The women standing nearby moved away to reveal Yalli collapsed on the deck. Kal rushed over and immediately began healing the woman. His eyes glowed blue as he watched the flows of magic heal her wounds. None of them seemed especially deep or life threatening but she did have quite a few cuts between her plates and even a few places where swords managed to pierce through.

The mage looked up at those gathered around. “I don’t know why she collapsed.”

“She collapsed like this after we took The Scarlet Bitch,” said Roka. “She may just be exhausted. I know once your strength spell ran out I certainly was. I also had to drop my sword and grab one of the soldier’s because I couldn’t lift mine anymore.”

Kal looked down at the maindeck where the elf tended to the wounded. “I’ll worry about what I just did later. Tavorah needs my help,” he said before vaulting over the quarterdeck railing and running over to the elf.

Watching him reach down and shove his hand between her breasts, Scarlet snarled, “This isn’t the time for—Oh,” she finished lamely.

“He was just giving her a mana crystal, Cap’n” said Kashka as Kal moved to the next woman and began healing her. “Tavorah’s hands were busy so he needed somewhere else to put it.”

Scarlet’s expression softened when her eyes fell on the body of the silver vixen lying in a pool of blood. “What happened to her Roka? I wasn’t on the ship yet.”

“I think she went mad, Cap’n. We all know she was good with a blade, that’s why she was with the vanguard. But before she went down she was holding her sword with both hands and chopping at them like they were firewood. I couldn’t get to her in time to pull her away. As feral a she looked, she might have attacked me if I had tried.”

“See if Kal can get her cleaned up, then send Emru back to The Gazelle to get Naura. Those two have been lovers for some time. She should be here.”

Scarlet turned to the captain of The Dauntless and motioned for his sword. “Captain, order your men to the brig. We’ll be down as soon as we can to speak with you about the future of this ship and its crew.”

“I told me men to not lift a blade against you. I hope that counts for something,” he said, handing her the weapon.

“It does,” said Scarlet, “but some of us spent time on this ship in cages, and we haven’t forgotten that.”

“Fair enough,” he said. Tipping his hat at Scarlet he began shouting for his crew to gather belowdecks as two armed women stepped up beside him. Most of his men were already in the ship’s belly, only a few stayed above to trim the sails as needed. His escorts directed the former captain over toward Kal where they asked the mage to refresh their strength spells before dealing with the rest of the ship’s crew.

With both ships’ sails furled, the tethered ships drifted gently through The Spine until they passed near a thick spike of rock jutting out of the water. Emru swam one of the heavy mooring lines around the spire and back to The Dauntless to stop them from drifting further. The whale then had the somber task of fetching Naura from The Gazelle.

The crew of the smaller ship had dropped anchor to prevent crashing into the rear of The Scarlet Bitch or any of the surrounding rocks. But as Roka stated there was not enough crew aboard to lift the anchor again. They were effectively stranded.

The waters around The Dauntless frothed as sharks and other predators fought over the mercenaries’ bodies. Where the crew was shown leniency, the soldiers were not. Any found wounded but still alive were dispatched and tossed overboard. The mercenary leader woke up long enough for Roka to show him what happened to the rest of his troop before throwing him overboard without the courtesy of killing him first.

Kal used his magic to clean the blood from the battle and arranged the fox’s body in a resting pose. Tavorah sewed her wounds closed as Ratt fetched some of the fox’s clothes from The Scarlet Bitch to cover her.

The elf looked up at Kal as they pulled her shirt down over her torso. “Any of those were deep enough to kill her. That she continued fighting long enough to get the rest of these ... I can’t imagine what was going through her head.”

Naura’s arrival was a solemn moment. The otter cradled the fox-girl’s head in her lap howled for many long minutes as the rest of the crew stood silently by. As the intensity of her anguished wails faded, some of the other crew came over and hugged Naura or rested a hand on her shoulder or back if there wasn’t room, their sobs joining the those of the grieving otter-girl.

Naura gave Kal a half-smile as he knelt beside the fox’s legs. “She said she would never be put in a cage again. I guess she was right.”

“Captain Scarlet said funerals had to be quick at sea, but hated that her final resting place would be beside those who killed her,” he said, then looked at the sprite on his shoulder, “Ria?”

The avatar floated forward. “I normally wouldn’t do this, but I can keep her body as it is right now until we get out of The Spine and have a proper burial.”

Naura considered the offer for a few moments, then asked, “Can we bury her ashore? She grew up in the woods and always talked about building a place in the forest with a river nearby for me. If we can, I’d like to bury her somewhere like that.”

Kal looked up at Scarlet who nodded her head. “Since we have this opportunity, we’ll look for a matching place along the Azum shoreline. Plenty of it is wooded.”

“Just let me know when you are ready,” he said before leaving Naura and the others to reminisce about their lost crewmember.

“It must be hard to be so stoic in times like this,” Kal said as he stepped up next to Scarlet and turned to watch for Naura’s signal.

“I’ll have a good cry in Tavorah’s arms tonight. But right now, they need me like this.”

Thinking back to how he leaned on those around him after his mother died, Kal just nodded in agreement.

Shortly before noon, Kal, Scarlet, Roka, Wonna, and Ratt visited the brig in the lower hold. They found most of the men sitting and talking quietly by lantern light. The brig could hold a dozen people at most and there were more than fifty seamen currently manning The Dauntless. Their guards reported that other then some initial grumbling, things had been mostly quiet.

“First of all, who here is on the galley crew?” Scarlet called out. A few men raised their hands. “All of you, back to work. And remember, you’re making food for the men down here too so no funny business.”

“Yeah, no jerkin’ off in the soup to make the monster girls like it more!” a sailor called out to a mixture of laughter and disgust from those around him.

Scarlet looked over at Kal and cringed. “Ewww,” she muttered before raising her voice again. “Topmen and riggers! You too, get back to work and prepare to set sail. I want all three ships out of The Spine by nightfall.” She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the first group to leave. “Damn I forgot about the Gazelle. Those of you previously aboard The Gazelle stand up and move to the side. You will be returning to your ship but with a new crew and captain.”

“Like fucking hell I will,” said one of the men from The Gazelle.

Kal made the motion of drawing a bow. Purple light flashed across the lower hold as a magic arrow pierced the man’s chest and sat there humming with energy as he slumped to the floor. As the commotion died down and the arrow faded away, Kal magically amplified his voice.

“Right now I am the new owner of this ship and The Gazelle. You work for me, and by working for me I mean following Captain Scarlet’s orders. If you do not follow her orders, or those of her crew, then you are just a prisoner and, in our eyes, pirates. If you haven’t heard, and I’m sure you have since Captain Kolas and many others were topside during the battle, The Scarlet Bitch ran up the black flag moments before we crashed into you and the only reason you were left alive is your usefulness to myself or Captain Scarlet. Either do as you’re told, or die.”

“You didn’t have to kill him,” shouted a sailor before those around him shushed the man into silence.

“Would have taken me seriously?” Kal replied. “Every one of the women you will be working under have been told this is how to treat you. The moment you balk at an order your life is over. We will not waste resources keeping you in prison. In return, you will be allowed to disembark at the port north of here in the middle of Azumbaho with a gold apiece. Those who choose to stay aboard will be treated as regular crew from then on.”

The mage took a small step back, yielding the men’s attention to Scarlet. “We have three ships and not quite enough hands for all of them. You will be split into three groups to man each ship under the watch of my crew. Do your jobs and keep your mouths shut and you will walk away free men. It’s a better deal than any of us women got under your ‘tender care’.

“Keep your hands off my girls unless they ask you. As slavers you know perfectly well how horny monster girls can be, but that doesn’t mean you can just fuck them whenever you want. In turn, If they approach you and you don’t want to, I expect them to respect that. I can’t tell you how much it galls me to give you the courtesy you never offered the slaves you transported.”

“You said they could kill us if we don’t follow orders. What if they order us to fuck them? Can they kill us then?”

“We are a crew of ex-slaves, nobody is going to order you to have sex,” said Scarlet. Turning to Kal she said, “By your leave I will be taking over operations on The Dauntless and Gazelle.”

“Understood. I believe this makes you a Commandant, not a Captain, if I remember correctly?”

“You do not. Taking two more ships under my command makes me a Commodore. As such,” she turned to the women behind her. “Captain Roka, you have The Dauntless. Captain Wonna, you have The Gazelle. And Captain Ratt, you have The Scarlet Bitch. Choose your crew from this bunch but make sure you have enough of our own with them to put down any potential mutiny.”

The three stunned women saluted. “Aye, Aye, Cap—er—Commodore,” stuttered Roka then shook her head. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”

Kal looked around the room for a moment before finding The Dauntless’s former captain. “Captain Kolas, I’d like a word with you, please.”

Though the ship itself was larger than The Scarlet Bitch, the Dauntless’s captain’s cabin was significantly smaller. The large dining table had been switched for a smaller round table that only seated five at the most. This made room for the estate cabin Darrow used while aboard. While smaller than the captain’s cabin it didn’t lack in luxury. The bed was extremely soft with a down comforter and linen sheets. Beautiful paintings of nude or scantily clad women adorned the walls and the various trinkets in the room all looked expensive. A small desk sat in the corner opposite the bed but with a gap behind it so Darrow could face the door and not the wall. The shelves built into the wall beside the desk held stacks of parchment and scrolls held in place by nets of thin, soft rope strung across the shelf’s front. Closer to the door was a small table for two against the wall but with a hole for a third seat on the inside though it wouldn’t leave much room between plates if all three people sitting there were eating.

Kal led the former captain into the estate room and took a seat behind the desk before inviting the captain to sit across from him.

“As Captain ... Commodore Scarlet pointed out I had no idea what I was getting into by making my predecessor bequeath to me his all of his property and fortune—”

“—and his wife.”

The mage was caught up short by the comment. “That doesn’t make her my wife does it?”

Kolas chuckled. “Darrow’s estate is well north of Calfera, near the small port town of Eagle’s Point just across the Calferan border in Silvermoon’s lands.”

“That’s the city to the north that Calfera is always competing with?”

“Aye. But Silvermoon allows for buying and selling of slaves where Calfera doesn’t. If you have one they’ll let you keep it down there but that’s about all they tolerate. But according to Silvermoon law you’re out of luck, she’s your wife, and your problem now.”

Kal winced. “Obviously we have not consummated anything, so I’ll have to see about getting that annulled on paper.”

“Probably wise, Darrow wasn’t joking about her being a whore, but she’s going to fight you. She married Darrow for his money, which is all your money now.” Kolas leaned forward, “I must say, getting him to give you everything then calling on me and Scarlet as witnesses, that was a stroke of genius.”

“Why is that?”

“Because on land its all paper and contracts,” he said dipping his head toward the shelves of parchment, “but out to sea the ship’s captain is the highest authority. Having one as a witness is binding, but two may as well be law.”

“And Darrow didn’t know this?”

“Not likely, Darrow doesn’t leave his home or the slave market in Silvermoon often, and sails ... sailed even less. Been working for the man for eight years. It seems strange that he’s dead but I’m not complaining.”

“Did you not like him?”

“We got along alright, but opinions change when you swing a sword in a man’s face.”

“I can see that.”

“If ya don’t mind me asking. What are you planning on doing with me?”

“Scarlet and I talked at length earlier and for now we have a small passenger room available for you to stay in. Your crew will be in the crew quarters as usual but the women are taking up the officer’s rooms until a divider can be built. From what the girls are saying they aren’t much interested in a divider after you and the rest of you men who want to leave are off the ship.

“For now you will be acting as a liaison between Roka and your crew. I expect you to keep them in line, and thereby keep them alive. We are also giving you and your first and second mates the power to stay the executioner’s hand and argue the case for your crew if they screw up.”

“Make it the Bosun. My second mate is a right cockbiter and will just as likely let the crewman die for a laugh. I do want to say I think you’re being a little harsh saying death is the only punishment.”

“You were slavers and these women used to be slaves. By that alone you should be thankful you are still breathing.”

“And you’re right along with them.”

“There’s a reason I shot that man in the hold. Nobody will question where I stand on slavery and slavers.”

“Says the man who now owns a sizeable slaving fleet.”

“Which brings me back to why I brought you up here. Tell me a little more about this fleet, what you know of Darrow’s holdings, and what is it going to take to turn a slaver fleet into a successful merchant fleet.”