Chapter 34: The Great Escape
Bandit was running out of mana. She couldn’t keep using magic to sabotage the steering system of the remaining few ships. While her mission was already a success, given the majority of the warships were entirely incapacitated, she still had some time left to push further. She turned her attention to a different essential component of a ship: the sails.
She wouldn’t be able to damage the masts with brute strength, but the sails themselves were supported mostly with rope and fairly delicate connectors. If she could cut through the connections at strategic places across the ships, it would surely take the crew a while to repair the damage and make the vessel seaworthy again.
This goal was more risky than her previous method. She couldn’t just loiter at the stern of the ship; she would need to travel its entire length, all the while exposing herself to any crew that were patrolling or returning early from their night on the town. This would stretch Bandit’s skills to the limit. She decided, the moment things went south, she’d shift her focus to escape right then and there, even if there were still a couple of operational ships left. She’d need to be more careful when climbing onto the deck. Previously, she’d had bad luck and ended up face-to-face with a particularly violent sailor.
Once again, Bandit climbed the exterior of the hull, pausing before lifting herself up over the edge. Not noticing any sound, even with her superior hearing, she knew there was no activity nearby. Still, the potential existed for a person to be standing or sitting quietly near where she was about to climb up. She picked a spot that allowed her to peek before lifting herself up.
While nobody was nearby, she did see a sailor walking the length of the ship, messing with the ropes as he went. She waited patiently for him to turn the corner into the least exposed area of the deck and then summoned her succubus. It tapped the guy on the shoulder, tempting him as he turned to look at her. Bandit looked one more time for any other sailors before lifting herself up and stepping over to the ensnared sailor.
“Explain the easiest way to destroy the sails so that the ship won’t be able to leave port for while,” Bandit demanded.
The sailor launched into a detailed discussion, frequently saying things that went above Bandit’s head. Several times, she interrupted him and had him explain, but after a while she had the general gist of what she needed to do. Unfortunately, she would need to climb the masts. Damage applied anywhere else would be easily fixed with replacement ropes. She needed to sabotage the connections to the yards.
She looked up at the sky, noting that the clouds were thickening up. The moon was becoming obscured, darkening the night. That could change at any moment, so she’d act quickly.
Bandit thanked the sailor out of habit and then put him to sleep, using a portion of her precious remaining mana. She dismissed the succubus and stalked toward the mast. Nobody else was around right now so she hurried up the ladder, pausing to glance around. She felt exposed but couldn’t spot any immediate threats so she continued.
She crawled along the yard, damaging the points of connection with her dagger as she went. It was slow, but since there weren’t any sails, she didn’t have to worry about large objects dropping as she worked. She managed to finish her work on the ship without incident. After climbing down the second mast, she descended the hull’s exterior and lowered herself into the water.
As she approached the second-to-last ship, she heard a conversation. Some sailors had just come aboard. Since there was so much activity, Bandit thought it was unwise to target the ship. She decided to bypass it entirely and make a final attempt to incapacitate a ship before escaping the harbor.
The last ship was much quieter, although she had to worry about people from the previous ship spotting her as well. She decided to climb near the bow instead of the stern. She made it to the deck without incident and sneaked aft. As she neared the mast, a hatch swung open from below. She took cover and waited.
Two men emerged from the ladder leading down into the hold and shut the hatch behind them. They resumed the conversation they’d been having below deck.
“…Well, they’re stupid.”
“Even the Captain gave in.”
“Yeah, well, he isn’t going to be the only one who keeps the crew aboard.”
“This aint some long voyage. We’re just moseying down to Gazahanar. The hell do we need everyone getting drunk for?”
“Eh. They probably want the discipline to be bad.”
“They? Ya mean Vosk and all them?”
“Ya. You didn’t hear it from me, but in the morning we’re being told to reclaim the capital as part of a massive invasion.”
“What!? So that’s why–“
“Keep yer voice down. It sounds like everyone’s going to move as one to get that new Emperor off the throne.”
The pair walked toward the stern, continuing their conversation in hushed tones. Bandit followed them, curious to hear what else they had to say.
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“But what happens if we lose?”
“Eh, we’re like half the fleet and we don’t know any better. Whoever wins will just want us to serve them.”
“You sure?”
“Probably all they’ll have us do is secure the harbor and threaten to flank the city’s defenders. Worst case they’ll have us bombard the ramparts.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“With all the idiots wandering Zaranar, we need to keep an eye out. I don’t know if that Emperor’s legitimate or not, but if he catches wind of what’s being planned, it won’t take much for this all to fall apart. Hell, one crafty person could probably start sinking ships with the way things are right now.”
“I can’t believe nobody’s noticed anything yet.”
“Well, Zaranar’s locked up tight. Nobody and no word gets in or out, just until we embark.”
“I’m gonna…” The last speaker’s words were muffled, and Bandit couldn’t catch what he said. Regardless, the two men separated.
She stalked the man who was in the more opportune place to take down. Approaching him quietly, she reached up and placed a hand over his mouth. In the moment it took her sleep touch to take effect, the man managed to elbow her hard in the ribs. Still, he crumpled to the deck. After catching her breath, she dragged him out of the way.
Bandit peered around the corner, trying to spot the other sailor. She couldn’t find him anywhere. Perhaps he had gone below deck. Not wanting to waste this chance, she rushed up the mast, making as little noise as possible.
As she was about halfway done sabotaging the yard, she just barely heard footsteps. Freezing, she saw two men emerge from where she had stowed the sleeping sailor. She recognized them as the two guys who were talking before she put one to sleep a few minutes ago. The pair were walking cautiously, looking around for an intruder despite the darkness. They weren’t talking at all. If she didn’t have keen hearing, Bandit may not have even realized they were searching for her.
Thankfully, they hadn’t spotted her yet. They proceeded carefully, backing one-another up. She decided to wait patiently for them to pass, then climb down while their attention was elsewhere. She wasn’t sure if the damage was sufficient to incapacitate this ship, especially considering the damage would get spotted quickly by these wary sailors, but the situation was too dangerous to continue.
As the sailors neared the base of the mast, they stopped. One looked around in all directions while the other looked up the ladder, tracing each structural member of the mast, including the yards, with his eyes. Although Bandit had done the best she could to blend in, his gaze stopped on Bandit. He whispered to the other sailor, “We’ve got one on the mast. Keep an eye out for any others.”
Bandit took a deep breath.
“Hey.”
Bandit didn’t reply. She didn’t even move.
“Hey. What are you up to over there?”
Bandit ignored him.
“You should probably get out of here.”
Despite her efforts to remain still, Bandit tilted her head slightly. She wasn’t expecting a suggestion to leave, although it could be a lie or a trap or something like that.
“It’s obvious you’re taking advantage of the fleet’s stupidity to disable the vessel. I don’t know how you did it, but you put me to sleep without hurting me. If you go right now, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”
Bandit hesitated, unsure if she should take the kind sailor up on his offer.
“You sure that’s all right?” the other sailor asked the first.
“It’s fine if nobody else sees. Hey, you, you going to get out of here or we gonna have to come up there after you?”
Bandit stared at the two sailors as she creeped over to the center of the yard, swinging her leg around to mount the ladder. While she advanced, the first sailor continued speaking to her.
“Just to check, did you hit any other ships as well?”
She didn’t reply.
“Honestly, we were asking for it, leaving the fleet so poorly defended the night before a mission. You work for the Emperor?”
She continued descending the ladder, all while glancing over her shoulder at the two motionless men. Well, the second man was still looking around in all directions for any other intruders.
“Well, whatever. I didn’t see anything, and you didn’t see me wake back up. That’s better for both of us. Okay?”
As Bandit’s foot made contact with the deck, she spared one final glance at the sailor before sprinting in the opposite direction, toward the bow.
“Wait, stop!” the sailor shouted, although it didn’t sound like the words were thrown in Bandit’s direction. At the same time, she felt a sharp pain in her back. As she stumbled, she turned to look back. A third man had emerged from the interior of the ship, a crossbow in his hands. “Captain! She’s just a—”
She didn’t stop. Bandit dove off the bow of the ship and into the water. She swam through the darkness, not even pausing to dislodge the bolt from her back. She could hear some shouting from the pier. Clearly, her time was up.
Bandit climbed out of the water onto some rocky outcroppings and only then reached behind her to pull out the bolt. She grunted in pain and then reached for her last potion. Chugging it, she immediately broke into a run. The potion didn’t completely restore her, but her regenerate ability would.
As Bandit neared the first row of buildings, she heard more shouting from behind. Taking advantage of her head start, she found a good spot to climb up to the roof of a nearby structure. Knowing that it would take a few moments for the authorities to organize a search for her, she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, progressing northeast toward the edge of the city.
Word had not reached the wall yet, judging from how lackadaisical the guards appeared. Bandit’s current position was not favorable for approaching the wall. The gap was too large. She could progress parallel to the wall looking for a better place to cross over, but that would cost precious time. She decided to make do with the crossing available to her here.
She broke into a sprint. Several paces before the end of the last rooftop, she jumped. While there was no way she could jump over the large gap to the city’s wall, the spot where she chose to jump was obviously way too early regardless. She would just barely clear the edge of the roof before falling to the alley below. Fortunately, she had just enough mana left to use one of her newest abilities.
Bandit spawned a tentacle at the edge of the roof. The tentacle folded over itself, winding up for a slap. Just as Bandit landed on the tentacle, it launched her, greatly extending her jump. She sailed over the alley and landed atop the wall, bracing herself with bent legs and then rolling once to kill the rest of her momentum. Without pausing, she rolled back up into a run and hopped off the wall, escaping the city.
She heard shouting behind her. Even if word hadn’t arrived from the harbor yet, the city’s guards clearly noticed her maneuver. She wasn’t sure how many people the city would spare in trying to hunt her down, but she wasn’t about to let them find her regardless. Before long, she was out of sight in a place nobody would think to look. As she lay there, a new tentacle spawned and wrapped itself around her ankle, surprising her for a moment. Then she recognized the sensation. Some mana was flowing back into her.