-Breaking Things-
“Captain, we’re taking on too much water to make it back to harbor, what should we do?” Winsom asked Darr loudly. Darr was quivering under the bright orange colors of the cap’, and Yinc stifled a laugh.
He always said he’d make a good cap’ and all.
Darr looked like he was swallowing marbles as he battled to speak. “We… we should see if anyone aboard this vessel is able to help us return to shore,” he barked out.
“Excellent idea, Captain, you always were the brains behind our great ship,” Winsom boasted, grinning wickedly, speaking loudly enough that the lifters had to know they were here now.
About time. Yinc wasn’t big on sneaking. Or not breaking things. But not sneaking and destroying things intentionally? It brought a similar grin to his broad face. As Winsom continued his banter with the increasingly uncomfortable Darr, he silently indicated it was time for Smiley, Callan, and Yinc to go.
Good ol’ Smiley was showing off his pearly whites as usual as though they were preparing to scale a mountain to picnic somewhere nice. But, Yinc mused, Smiley finds positivity in things like old age and breaking things you’re not supposed to, so…
Thoughts for another time. Yinc stretched his ample muscles and shook out his shoulders before taking a grappling hook and rope from Smiley and hurling the hook at the edge of the top of the boat, far above them.
Apparently he’d misjudged his strength, because the hook not only caught on the side of the ship, but tore a chunk off as the hook and rope plunged into the dark water.
Oops.
Cap’ would probably give him a talking to later, given that he hoped to take in the ship as one of his own, but the cap’ had been around Yinc long enough to know he was a strong, powerful occupational hazard.
Callan threw his own grappling hook and missed, and soon the two of them were reeling in their hooks and ropes as quickly as possible. If Cap’s loud voice hadn’t tipped off the marauders, the bite taken out of their precious boat would probably do it. And if the three of them didn’t get to the top of the boat, the boat would probably leave without them… which meant no breaking things.
Unacceptable.
Smiley, on the other hand, even though he was little more than skin and bones compared to Yinc and even Callan, who wasn’t terribly scrawny, threw his grappling hook and secured a hold the first time, casually climbing up the side of the big black ship as he continued to beam from ear to ear.
Must hurt his face to smile so much. Maybe that’s where all the muscles are hidden in that skinny body. How they help him lift his whole body weight as he climbs is a mystery though.
Unwilling to be outdone by such a silly member of the crew, Yinc held back as much as he could as he threw the grappling hook once again. This time it caught and only partially tore through the wood, which he considered a success. Callan was only moments behind, securing a hold about as gentle and tame as Smiley’s.
They set to climbing, and Yinc easily outpaced his two companions, pulling himself up with ease.
Being strong was easy when most things bored him to tears. Building and maintaining his muscles gave Yinc time to make up little stories and tales of adventure in his head, and eventually he might write them down in a little book and become a famous teller of funny tales.
And if not, being the strongest person in the room didn’t hurt anything.
In moments Yinc was clambering over the side of the boat, dropping instantly to a crouch to disguise his height as he removed the massive battle ax from his back. It was too dull to break a person, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t do the job as they chased down the wily lifters and tied them up. Yinc had thick cords and ripped fabric to use as gags tied around his large belt, although when it came down to it he would probably leave someone more detail-oriented like Smiley or the new guy to the tying and gagging. Much more delicate than tackling and capturing the rogues in the first place, which Yinc was confident he could do, and well.
Callan and Smiley arrived at the same time, the second man’s smile almost lighting up the space around them. They were conveniently behind some large barrels, probably stolen from some other boat for some reason.
Cap knew the details, and that was good enough for Yinc. Not that he wasn’t bright enough to follow the intricacies of the job, he just didn’t care. He was busy working out plot holes in his latest story.
How does she find out she should be going on the quest in the first place? And should I use the classic ‘old man gives advice’ thing? Why does it have to be a man in the first place? And one at death’s door. As though a young woman or granny couldn’t give sage advice too for this quest business… or maybe it’s an old man because he’s eager to share all the smartness inside before he croaks, and an old woman would have already spilled the beans on everyone she met…
It was difficult work, and didn’t leave much time to worry about something as silly as whose cargo had been taken and why. But Cap’ would be angry if he found out Yinc had been plotting instead of breaking things and getting him this new fancy boat.
Shaking his head, he scraped his thick black hair into a tight tail to keep it out of his eyes and face and listened for the signal from the cap’.
Yinc was just about to return to the dilemma of the girl on the quest when he heard the cap’s boisterous voice boom out, “When do you think we’ll get an answer, Captain?” and Darr’s less bold voice answering, “Now.”
Now sounded good. Yinc stood up, towering over Callan and Smiley as they joined him.
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And even though the boat had seemed empty when they were in Cap’s ship, it was clear the lifters had been biding their time. Thirty black shapes rose out of the deck like ghosts, and the image was unique enough that Yinc made a mental note for a future story he thought up.
They rose like liquid night, a sea of shadows to compete with the churning darkness below.
Yes, that sounded pretty good. He’d save it for later.
Now, time to break some things.
The battle ax felt light in his hands, but Cap’ had assured him it was the heaviest one the blacksmiths made. Oh well, it would do. Cap’ seemed convinced that the new guy was pretty strong, strong enough to take the place of Sareth and Red. Yinc had his own personal doubts on the matter, but he wasn’t the cap’ and it didn’t matter to him. More for him if the new guy wasn’t quite as powerful as they’d heard.
There was a nice group of six of the biggest lifters, each wielding thick swords and unfriendly expressions. Yinc strode over to them, swinging the battle ax like a little girl or boy would swing a rag doll.
“Hey friends, mind if we take this ugly boat off your hands?” he asked in a friendly tone. Two of the men grunted, and the other four just glared at him with squinty eyes and fierce expressions, like someone had woken them up in the middle of the night.
“Come now,” Yinc chided, “just because you’re the largest and strongest of the group doesn’t mean you have to be brainless too. It’s been done too many times.”
The two grunters looked at each other, as though deciding whether or not to be offended by Yinc’s statement. The four squinters made up their minds faster, raising their swords in obvious shows of mindless anger.
“We’ll have to have a talk once I’ve gotten one of my friends to tie and gag you. You give warriors like me a bad name!” And then Yinc was swinging the ax, not toward the men’s swords or heads, but at their feet. With a satisfying crunch, the deck under them suddenly wasn’t solid anymore, and four of the six lifters fell into the broken wood, pinned in place, their legs dangling belowdecks as they grunted and squinted at each other, waving their swords precariously.
“Now now, we wouldn’t want one of you to break one of your friends because you’re upset.” It was a simple matter to remove their swords and hurl them over the left side of the ship, where there was nothing but sea.
Cap’ would be pretty livid if four massive swords came raining down on the Wanderlust, and Berren would probably have a fit. And if Yinc wasn’t there to see it, it didn’t count.
Four down, twenty-six to go. Only one squinter and one grunter were left now out of the six hulking offenders.
“Would you like to join your dense friends?” Yinc offered, pointing with his battle ax at the four men caught in the broken deck.
Yinc wasn’t sure how the squinter could see anything with his eyes so tightly shut, and the grunter was actually a woman, although there was little to clue him in, beside the bright green beads woven into her black hair.
“No? That’s okay, more breaking for me,” Yinc grinned, holding the battle ax out in front of him to ward off the two thick swords aimed at his torso. “Any interesting stories to share? I’m always looking for tidbits to add to my stories. Gives them a realistic flavor you know.”
“Behind you,” Smiley suddenly said, running past Yinc toward a group of five lifters who were approaching Yinc from behind.
“Friends, I love what you’ve done with the place! The blood splatters and the dark red sails, it just screams home and comfort. Maybe you could help us with our ship? It’s relatively nondescript right now, but it still has a charm all its own.” Unlike Yinc and Callan, Smiley didn’t have any weapons on his person. His overwhelming positivity and smile were plenty. Honestly, in most cases it was overkill. Glancing around briefly, Yinc noticed the thin man had already managed to talk nine marauders into bonds and gags. They sat littered throughout the deck, either with eyes wide in confusion or shock at having been taken down by a man’s words and grin.
The new guy had an impressive green battle ax in his hands that shimmered like a torch. Orenda. Unlike most Trucesans, Yinc didn’t fear the magical colors. Apparently, like him, the Forlorn were very adept at destroying things with the stuff, which earned Callan a begrudging level of respect.
Yinc blocked the blows of the squinter and grunter as he watched Callan trade blows with three or four lifters at once, emerald light breaking around him like unruly waves. Yinc could feel the heat from here, and even though he was certain Callan’s magic weapon could cut just as easily as a physical battle ax, it was clear the new guy was restraining his powers, subduing the marauders without chopping them up.
Cap’ wasn’t so wrong then about this Callan fellow, Yinc thought begrudgingly. And if I don’t get moving, he’ll capture more of the rogues than I will!
There were already five bound and gagged at Callan’s feet, one more than Yinc. The cap’ hadn’t even shown up yet, but when he came aboard deck Yinc’s chances would sink even further. Cap’ was good with that skinny sword of his, and even though he wasn’t nearly as strong as Yinc, he was as fast as Darr in the breakfast line.
“Sorry to be in a rush, but I have appearances to keep up,” Yinc said, blocking the grunter’s sword with his battle ax while reaching out to the squinter and grabbing him by the collar. The man went down fast, and Yinc set the heavy battle ax on his chest to keep him on the deck while he faced the muscular woman with beads in her hair. She kind of reminded him of Red, but this woman clearly had only one thing on her mind—breaking people—and such small-minded thinking and focus didn’t fit Red at all.
When the broad sword came his way again, Yinc reached out with his hands and clapped them around the sword, stopping the woman’s momentum so quickly that she stumbled, letting go of the weapon. Yinc cast the sword aside and sighed as he fumbled with the rope and gags at his waist.
It took longer to tie up the two than it had to disarm them, and by the time Yinc was grumbling and looking for his next opponents the cap’ had arrived, donned once more in his vibrant orange cloak and that hat which Yinc thought made the cap’ look mysterious and confident at the same time.
He secretly wanted one too, but wearing a hat like that was strictly for caps’, and Yinc wasn’t interested in commanding and directing a pile of planks for the rest of his life.
He hadn’t bothered looking for the Rustedheart’s captain up to this point, but now that Yinc’s cap’ was on deck, he knew it was only a matter of time before they had a dramatic showdown, and Yinc didn’t want to miss it because he was too busy taking down more people than Callan. Competing with Smiley was a lost cause—the man was already at fifteen—but Yinc could take down more lifters than the new guy. He was already at six, and Callan only had five.
Easy.
Until emerald light pulsed over the ship and three more went down, blinded by the potent brightness.
Dang it. There aren’t enough rogues here for me to even the score!
There was only one lifter left, and that had to be the boat’s cap’. Smiley had already tied and gagged the four unfortunate marauders Yinc had almost sent belowdecks, and Darr had finally joined them on the large boat to help lift the captives and stow them belowdecks for the voyage back to Trucesa.
That left Callan and Yinc to watch Cap’ in action, and as the three of them looked for the Rustedheart’s illusive captain a shadow streaked down one of the blood-colored sails, landing silently right in front of Cap’.
The man was dressed head to toe in fitted, stylish black clothing, except for the bright red cloak, a garish contrast to Cap’s own cloak. And when the Rustedheart’s captain smiled, it sent chills down Yinc’s spine.