SarthDarah, Jorn, and Kuru stood slightly away from the road and the other survivors. There were only eight of them plus Anunt who was still administering healing to the injured.

“Well, that was definitely something. We have another issue at hand already though, so your next reward will have to wait.” Kuru said.

SarthDarah was glowing with energy, her aura bright and radiating. Jorn looked painted green with as bad as he was covered in plant matter. His weapons still gleamed in the bright light of the afternoon though. He looked ready to fight all over again. Kuru was pleased at the success of the two, she had been right when she scouted them.

“What's going on?” SarthDarah was just starting to scan the water where the ship had been.

“There were a bunch of explosions, the cannons stopped, then two of the ships that were laying siege to the port exploded.”

Kuru pointed towards the city where thick dark smoke rose up. There were still three more ships quickly turning to leave the bay area. The way they were turning would bring them out near where they stood. SarthDarah was already trying to figure out if she could jump aboard when they passed by.

“We gonna go out there and do something about them? Looks like they trashed the town.”

“You read my mind SarthDarah, I think it best if we at least learned who attacked innocent civilians behind our backs. Jorn, I’ll open a gate, we can take that way. Sarth, I think you could easily land somewhere in the main mast area and do some damage on your way to the steering deck.”

SarthDarah smiled and gave a thumbs up, this was getting to be a lot of fun. It was all fast paced and coming at her in heavy waves, but she was enjoying the hell out of this game. It felt real enough that the sense of danger her real body would be having was starting to go off now. She could feel the nerves tingling and saying in her head how dumb she was for attacking a pirate ship.

Jorn was standing next to Kuru, waiting for her to open a gate. Anunt still tended to the wounded, it didn’t look like any of the rest of them would be joining them. As the ships came closer, taking evasive moves when another explosion rocked the water around them, SarthDarah saw the dark sails and shapes of dozens of heavy cannons on the decks. There had to be around two dozen people aboard each ship on the top decks.

One ship in particular had a curious man waving flags from near the front of the ship. After watching for a moment, it seemed he was passing orders on to the two other ships. SarthDarah decided to hit that one.

It had a tall middle mast and three forward masts that were each shorter than the last. One rear mast and an elongated sail reaching out to the back. Just below the rear mast was the large wheel, she could already see a couple people on the deck.

“The one with the big silver trimmed black flag!” Kuru shouted as SarthDarah leaped.

The ship was starting to pick up speed as it came parallel with the coastline. SarthDarah had jumped fast enough to feel tears turn to steam as her eyes lit into blazing red coals. The trails of flame traced back to her ears, steam rose off the tips of the flames.

The ship she aimed for was right below her, several people already seeing her and panicking. Most of them ran away when they saw her tear through the main mast’s sail. Her momentum, and heat, made ripping through it like cutting butter with a hot knife. When she was about to land, her aim taking her straight for the steering deck, SarthDarah lit her right fist up with fire.

It was engulfed in white hot flames, her battle cry echoing outward as she reached out to punch the one person who hadn’t run from her as she came in. SarthDarah felt her fist connect, the heat billowing up and causing a small explosion of heat with the impact. She also felt how hard the impact had been on her hand, and how very little her target had moved.

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, SarthDarah could see she had hit what looked like a little girl. A little girl with a big black pirate captains hat on. She was looking up at SarthDarah with a smirk, like she hadn’t even felt the punch.

SarthDarah backed up a step, ready to start a serious fight, when a black and blue portal opened up behind the girl. Kuru and Jorn stepped through, both had weapons drawn and ready. Jorn had both the hammer and ax raised. Kuru was holding a small pistol, something Sarah wasn’t expecting to see in this world.

“Who are you?” Kuru asked with a sharp tone.

The girl slowly turned her head over to look at the two new arrivals on her ship. SarthDarah saw it then, where her blow had landed. There was a singed bit of her yellow dress near where her neck met her shoulder. The skin was a very dark green that SarthDarah had mistaken for a burn or a tan at first. Now that she was given a moment to look closer, she could see that it wasn’t a burn, but instead hard scaling.

“Shouldn’t guests announce themselves before boarding a vessel? And who gave any of you leave to address the Captain of the Porosus?” Her voice was smooth and her accent made her appearance seem off.

Jorn stepped forward, his hammer already in a big back swing as he raised his ax upwards. Before he could take his second step, the girl twisted herself around and pulled out a firearm. It was pointed in the face of the large Jorn, the barrel was almost as long as the girl herself was tall. SarthDarah had twitched, thinking she could make a move to stop the girl, but a shiny needle of metal was aimed right between her eyes.

SarthDarah followed the length of metal, from inches in front of her face, down to the arm of the little girl holding it. The rapier dripped at the hilt, a slow but steady pattering of water starting to pool at the girls feet. In less time than SarthDarah or Jorn had been able to react, this little girl had put both of them in checkmate.

Kuru let out a soft giggle as she came up next to Jorn.

“Apologies, Captain, but you were the one who set fire to the town I was in charge of overseeing. I think that deserves an answer before we let this go any farther.”

Kuru kept her short pistol lowered at her side, but came up to stand next to Jorn. She gave him a soft pat on his arm, then turned to SarthDarah and gave her a wink. SarthDarah was starting to worry that this crazy NPC was about to just let them die without fighting.

That wasn’t Sarah’s preferred method of letting a story play out. If the next boss had to get a monologue out of the way for introductions, that was fine, but she wasn’t about to go down without putting up a struggle. SarthDarah looked up and met Jorn’s eye, he gave a slight nod. He must be thinking the same thing.

The small girl, yellow dress and black boots, oversized pirate hat now pushed off to the side of her head and barely hanging on, sighed. She relaxed her weapons and started to close her eyes. Jorn didn’t hesitate, he swung his ax down with a mighty yell. SarthDarah leaped to the side and away from the impact of the large blade.

“Your guards are impatient. Let me introduce myself.” Her voice came from up above them.

SarthDarah looked up, the girl was standing next to the hole she had ripped in the mainsail. Perched on a horizontal beam, the girl looked sadly at the torn fabric. With a wave of her hand, the fabric stitched itself back together.

“I am Pirate Captain, Queen!”

Her declaration almost seemed childish at first to Sarah, but the way that girl had stopped both her and Jorn made her think again. Jorn was still staring and obviously perturbed by his attack missing completely. Kuru hadn’t even bothered to lift her firearm, she just watched the pirate captain with a smile.

SarthDarah wasn’t sure if they could beat this girl if it came to a fight. It was three on one and it didn’t still didn’t seem fair. The ship continued to sail in the wind, the hole in the sail was repaired and the whole ship started gaining speed.

“All hands, full sail and to open water!” Captain Queen yelled out as she jumped back down to the steering deck.

She landed with a gentle tap about ten feet away from SarthDarah. Putting her on the front line before Jorn and Kuru behind her. If this was to be a fight, then she had better strike hard and early.

“What do you want of us?” It might work to distract her by talking first.

“I didn’t want you at all. You interrupted my retreat.”

“Your attack you mean.” Kuru spoke up, letting her voice rise above the sloshing waves.

“Your Empire masters did more damage than I did. For now let's call it even and get out to open water before we become collateral damage for their counter strike.”

The loud explosion of water behind them gave a punctual point to her statement. Several shouts from the other ships and even a few from the one they were on made it clear that they were still under attack. Mortar fire was still closing in on where they were in the bay.

“Sarth, Jorn, stand down please. I think the safest way through this is to put aside the different sides we are on and to work together.”

SarthDarah wasn’t sure, this little girl seemed a lot more dangerous than her appearance let on. Jorn simply looked back at Kuru and lifted his weapons up over his shoulders. He relaxed and let the heavy weapons rest on his massive shoulders.

“You must be the smart one, I’m not interested in killing willing and loyal persons. Remain loyal to your master, but be willing to help me.” Captain Queen’s bored face suddenly turned into a twisted smile. “Or don’t, my crew is hungry!”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

SarthDarah flinched a little at the menace of the little girl. Her cute demeanor gone, a ravenous bestial face replacing it. Her skin had gone from a tanned bronze to a scaled dark green. The teeth that elongated from her mouth made her snarl grow even larger. The eyes that never left SarthDarah became reptilian and piercing.

SarthDarah felt the aura that radiated from this girl, it was the same feeling that she got when her own power was ramping up. The more energy she had called into one attack, the more this aura had flared. The way this girl’s aura flashed out made SarthDarah step back.

“Are you a player?”

Captain Queen blinked, obviously confused by the question.

“Player? No, I am a Captain. I have vowed my soul to the revenge of my people. For too long the ships of the Empire invaded our cities and our ports. I alone was able to overwhelm them and repel their fleets from our waters. Now I am pushing to take their lands, and their ports.”

“That wasn’t an Empire controlled port.” Kuru was walking up to SarthDarah’s side.

“Wasn’t it? Why did they feel the need to defend it then? Is that not where you came from?”

“We are a neutral aligned guild of adventures that were tasked to help the free cities on this planet. The Federation is trying to work with all sides to create a peaceful future here.”

“So they attack and kill those who don’t want their version of peace?”

“Sometimes, but only if provoked and seen as defending themselves from hostile forces.”

There was a pause, soft splashing of waves the only sound beyond the shouting of the men on the main deck. The three all looked between each other, Jorn had turned to look back on the city. Captain Queen quelled her aura, letting herself relax back to her little girl look.

“Forced peace isn’t peace”

It was clear they weren’t going to agree. SarthDarah watched as the two leaders sighed and turned back to watch the city behind them. Sarah turned as well, looking back to see what she thought was a setting sun on the coastline.

After a moment she realized the sun was still in the sky off to her right. The glow of fire was the town that was now destroyed. Smoke and flame rose up to the clouds.

“Jorn, did Duerlin ever wake up and leave that bar?”

Jorn stumbled as a wave rocked the boat. He almost looked sick as SarthDarah walked over to him.

“I hate boats.” Jorn was holding his head. “And I really don’t know. I hope he did, but he didn’t come up with any of the waves behind us on the Mandragola field. He wasn’t in the survivor tent, if he went out there to fight he probably didn’t make it. If he stayed behind…”

They both looked back at the slowly disappearing town. It would have been terrible for him to have stayed. The destruction looked severe, even from several miles out. The mountains behind the town reflected the glow of the fire in the late afternoon light.

Sarah was just hoping Duerlin had found a way to make it out.

They all stood upon the open deck near the back of the ship. The captain was eyeing each of them, waiting for a reason to kill them. Kuru had relaxed and was smiling almost as if she were having fun. Jorn’s face was anything but joyful as he rushed to the side rail.

“What exactly do you three expect to become of yourselves?”

SarthDarah heard a threat in that girl's voice as she spoke. She wanted to start punching at it so badly, but Sarah knew that she would be outmatched instantly again if she did. Jorn couldn’t even manage to acknowledge the question as his head went over the side.

“We expect to be prisoners if we are so outmatched, I suppose we are at the mercy of you and your crew.” Kuru responded.

Prisoners? Us? SarthDarah didn’t want to end up a prisoner. It would surely devastate her play time, and her rise to being the most powerful player in the beta test would be shot. To be confined by an NPC would be a tragic end in her mind.

“I should feed you to my pets.”

This girl had pets? SarthDarah looked around. She didn’t see anything, the entire upper decks of the ship had been cleared out. Not a single member of this girl’s crew had stayed to watch what happened.

Did that mean they were scared of fighting? Were they falling prey to a ruse? Could she actually get the jump on this captain and maybe free herself from this situation? SarthDarah didn’t owe her allegiance to anyone other than herself. If she split ways with the Jorn she would feel bad for leaving him. Leaving Kuru behind seemed like the right choice after she simply surrendered to the girl.

SarthDarah was focusing her aura inward, she would blast a wave of heat and wind at the girl when she came close. Then jump up and away, she could propel herself through the air a good distance. Hopefully this game allowed swimming and didn’t just auto kill her for jumping into the wide open ocean.

The coastline was fading into the horizon, it would be a long way back to shore. SarthDarah the badass was ready to keep pushing herself though. A little swim might even give her new ideas on how to use her new powers.

Captain Queen turned toward SarthDarah, her piercing eyes boring into her. Sarah felt like her soul was being examined. She swallowed hard once, then twice. A few steps closer to the girl was all she needed. When she took that last step into SarthDarah’s range, the pirate would be ejected from the ship with a blast of fiery wind.

Kuru watched intensely, her eyes laser focused on SarthDarah’s building energy. This situation was about to explode into chaos, and Kuru was basking in it ready for the influx of energy. Then she had a thought, and decided to step in before this escalated further.

“SarthDarah, please stand down. I promise this isn’t the end of your journey here. It is only a minor detour and inconvenience that you must suffer through.” Kuru’s voice was firm and clear.

“I won’t be a prisoner to this little girl.”

“Then you can die.” Pirate captain Queen, with the radiance of a dark shadow, slipped between the cracks of the ship's floorboards.

SarthDarah faltered, her target had just vanished. Within a few moments of her disappearance, the emergence of dozens of oversized armored reptiles took SarthDarah by surprise. The crocodiles that swarmed the ship decks seemed to be in a frenzy. All of them turning and launching themselves straight for the spot Kuru and SarthDarah stood.

SarthDarah jumped back, trying to stay out of range of the huge jaws suddenly snapping at her. Three loud blasts rang out as Kuru danced away from the crocs that had swarmed her. SarthDarah took but a moment to notice the black barreled pistol that Kuru used. The gun wasn’t much of a surprise, but it kind of threw off the whole fantasy world setting.

With large teeth about to latch onto her leg, Sarth didn’t have time to worry about the details of the guild administrator. Jumping up, SarthDarah punched downward at the invading crocodiles. Wind blasts forced the heads of the massive creatures to turn away, but it wasn’t enough to clear them away from her.

Activating her levitation ability, Sarth took in the deck of the ship from above. The whole thing was swarming with scales. It was covered so thick that she couldn’t even try to count them. Glancing at the spot where Kuru held her ground, Sarth noticed that it was the only spot of the ship where she could see the deck boards.

Jorn was pinned against the railing. He hadn’t even seen the ambush coming in. SarthDarah had to make a decision; she could flee and save herself, or she could surrender and hopefully have a chance to save all three of them. Sarah knew herself too well, she wasn’t the bad guy.

“Stop!” SarthDarah released the levitate and fell back to the ship. “I’ll surrender!”

She landed in the few feet of space that Kuru was holding onto. Her pistol was firing blasts of energy, almost like how her fire punching worked, but they were shots of a dark purple. They flew fast enough that it was nothing more than a blur of color to SarthDarah’s eyes.

The pirate captain appeared before them, riding on the wave of the next few crocodiles coming up to the steering deck. She had been waiting for them. This girl was more than she appeared to be. Her speed made the rest of them look lethargic, and the ability to summon all of these beasts in an instant made her a deadly enemy.

Standing on Pirate Captain Queen’s ship was akin to submitting to her will. There was no mistaking that anymore. SarthDarah was infuriated at the idea that an NPC was stronger than her.

“Rex, bring them below.”

A burly man with several loops of rope hanging from his shoulders carefully picked his way through the crowd of crocodiles. He didn’t seem to be too eager to be near them, and a few even snapped their massive jaws towards him as he passed by.

Kuru simply slid her pistol into the pocket of her suit jacket, SarthDarah watched as the barrel slid in, but made no impact on the clothing Kuru wore. As the handle was swallowed up, her hand rummaged around like she was looking for something. Looking at the outside of the jacket's pocket you wouldn’t even know that her hand was in it.

As SarthDarah wondered at this, Rex began tying her hands together behind her back. He didn’t seem to notice Kuru’s fidgeting, and simply tied knots to keep them from being able to move easily.

After he tied Kuru’s hands, he moved over to start on Jorn. The crocodiles had bitten into his arm and back, one had left a tooth embedded in his leg. Rex pulled them along on a single rope he had tied to each of them like a leash.

He led them down the stairs, the whole time crocodiles eyed them hungrily. The Pirate Captain watched for only a moment as they passed her. It seemed she had already grown bored of them and was cooing to her pets. Kuru kept her aloof smile and walked along like the beasts weren’t even there. Jorn was groaning, but SarthDarah couldn’t tell if it was from the pain or nausea.

Sarah felt her heart plummet as they were led into the deepest part of the ship. The darkness swallowed everything. The three of them were pushed in, the leash rope was cut away from each of them. Their hands were still bound behind their backs.

Jorn slumped over onto the floor, his stomach releasing whatever contents he had left. Kuru turned to SarthDarah, her eyes glowing in the darkness. Sarah hadn’t really noticed before, but Kuru’s eyes had a spark to them.

“Your eyes glow…” SarthDarah spoke without thinking, trailing off as she felt herself getting pulled into the depths of Kuru’s soul.

“Yours burn with the embers of passion. Mine are being quiet for now, you lack control of your emotions. Therefore they run wild and your flame burns bright.”

“Are you saying I’m out of control?”

“In a way, but not exactly. Your soul is not yet adept enough at running this vessel. You have amazing power and ability, and you unleash them in ways that are extremely effective. However, you have very little skill in hiding your true intentions.”

SarthDarah didn’t know how to take that exactly. She thought maybe it was a warning, that burning too brightly would make her stand out. Or maybe burn out. It might be that she meant it as a compliment.

Kuru just gazed back into SarthDarah’s eyes, the fact of their imprisonment forgotten for the moment. She held their staring contest for what seemed like forever. Sarah felt her mind drifting as if it were on a sea of clouds. Her body was stone, rooted in front of Kuru.

The glow in Kuru’s eyes grew and seemed to come out to swallow her. The rush of feelings, dread and excitement, fear and passion, all of it overwhelmed her for a moment. In that moment she saw the brightness that Kuru hid behind her mask.

It was like looking into a star, the burning passion there was raging and trying to be free. Countless times larger and more massive than the fire Sarah had felt inside herself as SarthDarah.

“How?”

“I am a being far beyond what you know. As a mortal, you have limited energy to use. In this vessel you inhabit now, you have nearly infinite energy. I go beyond that and yet hold myself to a higher standard than some of my cousins would. With power comes responsibility and all.”

SarthDarah just stared in awe at the person in front of her. Kuru’s eyes looked more like azure globes with streaks of molten silver coming out in cracks. A new appreciation for Kuru began to well up in SarthDarah. The way she explained it, almost made her sound like a god.

“How do I get that power?” SarthDarah said before realizing she was having the thought.

Was that really what she wanted?

“You listen carefully to what I am about to teach you. And you take this.”

Kuru handed out the gun she had been using against the crocodiles. SarthDarah looked down at it, and was about to refuse when Jorn interrupted them.

“Hey! Sarth, look over here!”

Kuru pushed the gun into Sarah’s hand, and smiled as the two vessels walked over to investigate the corner of the dark cell.