Sitting on the front of Morning Glory, Adef stared at the distant city of Mephis with longing. The last 7 days at sea had been some of the roughest in his life. He had always been susceptible to motion sickness but the unique feeling of the rocking boat had left him unable to keep anything down but water. He was starving, bored, missed hot baths, he was forbidden from spell practise and he was lonely. The crew didn’t talk with him due to his damn green hair. At least they had stopped him from going overboard when he was mesmerized by the sirens they had encountered on the trip.
Anchoring himself to the front of the boat he let the sounds drift over him. The creaking of the timber and ropes, the grunts of the sailors and the rhythmic pounding of the waves had become a companion of sorts during the passage. If he strained he could now make out the cry of the famous Giant Mephis Gulls, their mighty cries audible even from several mi –
“CREW, SHAPE UP, MY NOSE IS TINGLING” came a cry from Captain Dagner as he hunched over the helm. Adef, slowly uncoiling from the guard rail after the scare, recalled what the Captain had mentioned earlier about being able to smell magic. Maybe he had been serious. “What a useful ability” he thought. “It’d make the entrance exam easy”.
Shaking himself from his thoughts he noticed the captain had left the helm and was walking forward, sniffing intently. Half-way along the deck he froze and with a panicked expression yelled, “THEY’VE GOT THE BUBBLE ON US. CUT WIND AND GET AWAY FROM THE BOW”
Adef scrambled to his feet but before he could take a step the ship came to a violent halt. There was a sickening cracking noise and Adef went sailing over the guard rail, his attempts to catch a handhold failing miserably.
The cold water hit him like a hammer in the chest and pain filled his eyes as the salt water assaulted them. He fought off panic as his gut churned. He’d never been a strong swimmer, and the tides near Mephis port were strong. He could feel himself getting dragged around like a leaf in the wind. Desperately he tried to get his bearings, only to get swamped by a massive wave. Unable to sort up from down, he could feel consciousness fading but couldn’t find the surface. As the edges of his vision dimmed he felt nothing but regret that he’d never made it to the academy. “I was meant to do so much more for this world”…
-
“Got a read on them?” asked Franz as he commanded the tub out of the harbour, glaring at the horizon. Morning Glory might not have a black mark against its name, but any ship owned by Captain Dagner got flagged for investigation by port authorities. Especially ones that they had no legal grounds to search. The wily smuggler always used new boats for his most valuable and illegal cargo.
Aggy shook her head, purple hair whipping in the wind and bells chiming gently. Putting her eye back to the spyglass she continued scanning the open ocean looking for the dark smudges that would reveal their mark. The wind whipped the sails of Terrier, aptly named according to many caged rats rotting in the city prison, as they rocketed past the harbour fire throwers. The dock master had received word just hours ago that Dagner was moving something big this time, something that might finally stick in the courts. Word had been sent to Captain Franz who had woken his best for the job. That would be me.
The mage duo of the docks were growing a reputation for themselves but had never bagged a seasoned rat before. This was their big chance. Aggy’s legs jiggled with nervous energy. Franz chuckled at her but she couldn’t contain her anticipation. If they could stop Dagner it would be their ticket to the bigtime. Party invites, private contracts, maybe even advancement to the navy or investigation unit. Everything they had been working towards since joining the city-sponsored dock protection unit.
After several minutes she noticed a faint dark spot where the sea met the sky. She signalled to Franz and he gently lifted her on a column of wind. Refocusing the spyglass she could make out a clear mast but couldn’t identify the type of ship. She leapt from the conjured pillar to avoid being spotted and slid down the mast of Terrier. Franz stared at her expectedly.
“Yeah, there’s a ship coming. Couldn’t get a confirmation but they didn’t have company identifiers and the sails looked new. Could be our guy”.
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Rather than reply Franz just pointed. Aggy nodded, confirming the direction she had spotted the sail from. Franz made a clicking gesture and the wind picked up behind them, filling their sails. She heard the ropes and mast creaking under the load. She grew concerned. “Aren’t you pushing it a bit too hard? We have them sighted now and there’s no signs of them trying to run.” Franz didn’t show any sign of hearing her. He continued to drive the boat onwards at breakneck speed. “Franz, you need to slow down or you’ll give us away. I’ve heard people say that Dagner can detect strong magic and you’re using enough of it to make the gulls scream!”
Franz didn’t reply but he made another gesture and the winds backed off a bit. It was still a stiff breeze but it no longer threatened to destroy their mast. Aggy sighed before laughing. “Looks like I’m not the only one who is nervous! What’s gotten into you? You’re meant to be the confident calm one.”
He looked behind before replying “Sorry. Just looking forward to getting this over and done with”.
She followed his eyes and realised he was probably glancing at the flame throwers in the harbour which were now thin pillars. They’d moved so far from the port! Possibly even past the spell net. Her unease grew. “Are you sure we should be this far out? We can wait for them a bit closer to our turf”.
He finally met her eyes, and alarm bells went off. Before she could move he swifty cupped his hands and Aggy felt something bind her legs and arms together. A fierce wind tugged at her clothes and hair, drowning out all sounds except the rushing wind. She yanked at her bindings but only managed to lose her balance and fall on the deck. Franz knelt down beside her and sighed heavily. Refusing to meet her eyes, he said “Dear Aggy. Sharp Aggy. No wonder the Dock Master was looking at promoting you”. He left her field of vision but she could still hear him speak. “I hope you know this isn’t your fault. You were a good partner. No, a great one. I’d say you’ve earned that much. It’s unfortunate that I need to do this. Didn’t have a choice. I hope you can avoid the noose.” Aggy felt hands gently lift her up onto a seat. She saw tears streaming down the face of Franz before her eyes were drawn to a vessel in the distance. The Morning Glory.
That’s the ship that Dagner bought at the last port!
Franz started speaking again while making a round shape with his hands. “My life was never really mine. Not after Ma passed. They said I’m an inspiration, a street rat going clean. Truth is you don’t escape the Lords of the Understreets. They can drag you back whenever they want, and they’re not afraid to spend a life to further their own ends.” Flecks of salty water stung her eyes as she watched her partner of the last few years. His hands slowly expanded the circle, using his arms to make the shape larger. She gasped as she realised what he was attempting to do.
She opened her mouth to plead for him to stop but her mouth was locked open by a firm wind and she was unable to get any noise out. He began shuddering with the effort, straining to widen his arms. A distant yell rang out from the direction of the vessel. Franz muttered a name under his breath, the breeze carrying it to her ears before dying on the wind. He clicked his fingers then went limp, falling forward onto the deck with a thud. Aggy felt her bindings disappear and started to scramble towards him but was stopped by a sudden crunching noise.
Looking up she saw the Morning Glory shudder as a force suddenly held it captive. One lucky person was thrown from the railings and into the ocean, narrowly escaping the radius of the spell. Planks began to grind together as the ship began to crumple, a solid ball of wind slowly closing in on it and crushing it. She watched in horror as the other sailors, realising what was happening, began trying to jump from the boat only to be held captive by the wind. They desperately threw themselves at the invisible barrier but were forced into an ever-tighter ball. She could hear the wailing as they were forced to come to terms with their own mortality. Curses and cries filled the air to go along with the crunching wood, followed by gunshots. At first they were aimed at the Terrier, but the wind could not be bypassed by bullets, and some crew members decided to end it early rather than be crushed against their fellow men.
Unable to watch anymore, Aggy finished crawling to Franz and turned him over. His face was a nauseating grey blue and he was gaunt. He had spent his life casting the bubble. Even using his life force he shouldn’t have been able to cast such a powerful spell so effectively. She searched the corpse and saw that he was clutching a small bird necklace so tightly that it had cut into his hand. She hadn’t seen before but took it to investigate further. Finding nothing else of note she steeled her resolve and looked back out to the ocean. There was a 5 meter sphere of debris floating in the air, bits of wood and metal mixed with bones and gore, all red with blood. A few unlucky people remained alive at the centre, having not been armed at the time the bubble went over them. No sound escaped the dome. She was glad she couldn’t make out their faces.
She remembered that someone had escaped the bubble and scanned the ocean but didn’t see anyone. She took bells in her left and right hand and gave them both a ring. The left bell was the only one to make a noise. Satisfied with the results she jumped into the water and began swimming down, occasionally ringing the bells for guidance. She quickly caught site of her new quarry and dragged him back to the Terrier. You’re not getting away that easily. I’m going to find whoever did this and make them pay.