It took a week’s travel before the city of Fale Nalore came into view on the horizon. It first appeared as only an abnormal cluster of enormous trees, sprouting up from the delta of many small rivers that had splintered through the swamp and now rejoined into a massive, sprawling wetland. The smaller trees that made up the bulk of the swamp grew less dense, now divided by wide swathes of water and joined by a new variety that stood in the water on densely packed roots like a mess of stilts.
Long before any details of the city came into view, the captain ordered the ship’s flag lowered. The black canvas marked with the white drawing of a shark’s open maw was replaced with a blue flag bearing a nondescript crest of a shield and sword. Iris didn’t know the purpose of changing the flag, but she imagined it must be out of desire not to announce themselves as pirates upon their approach.
As the city grew nearer, it became clear the Gaping Maw wasn’t the only ship in the sky. There were a few crafts that loosely resembled ships, but in place of their sails were large, balloon-like structures above roaring open flames. Another ship, much smaller than the Gaping Maw, rose and fell with the currents of the wind on long, elegant wings that flapped almost like a soaring bird’s.
The city’s nature as a hub for sky ships soon became clear as ships docked and departed from just beneath the crowns of the enormous trees. Through her spyglass from her perch on the bow, Iris discerned there were two different types of docks, both were affixed high up on the trunks of the trees and suspended by long slanted supporters and chains connecting to the overhead branches. Some were merely flat platforms that extended outwards for the balloon ships to float up next to, while others were deep trench-like structures which the faster, wing driven ships would sail into and somehow slide to a stop before they could slide off the other side.
Upon closer inspection, Iris began to wonder if the trees that made up the city were actually trees at all. They trunks gleamed brightly in the afternoon, and through her spyglass they appeared to be white marble towers rather than trees. She soon noticed that the white bricks extended up into the canopy, parting only for the branches that spread out to form the crowns, leading her to believe they were truly trees but had been almost completely encased in man-made structures. After a while, many doors, windows, walkways and balconies could be seen crisscrossing the towers with no small number of people moving in and out of them like ants in their tunnels. In all, there were six of these tower-trees, roughly forming a ring.
The first mate lined the ship up for a sliding-dock on one of the towers. As the ship approached, activity in the tower rapidly increased. People popped in and out of doors as they hurried to descend, while a few people — merely dots in the distance — flew from the other towers and the ground below to converge on the dock the first mate had chosen. Bells rung out across all six towers, and cannons boomed in the distance. The first volley flew wide to the port-side, punching through low flying clouds.
“Captain?” the first mate asked casually from the helm.
“I’m thinking,” he grumbled.
“I told you we needed a backup plan,” she sighed.
“They had no way of expecting us! I've never even attacked them from this ship before!” the captain cut himself off and growled for a moment, “fuck it, bring us in for the landing.”
Meredith paused to shout urgent commands to the crew, who promptly swung the sails to match her orders. The ship tilted hard to one side, veering sharply to dodge the next volley of cannon balls now aimed directly at it.
“They’ll cut the ropes so we slide right through,” she huffed, having seen this manner of dock before.
The captain thought for a moment, “can you spin us around?”
At Meredith’s orders, the ship dodged another volley. She paused for a moment to stare at the captain blankly. The tower was fast approaching and they both knew there wasn’t time to argue. The captain smiled wide.
“Prepare starboard broadside!” he shouted loud enough for the cannoneers on the deck below to hear him.
“Full spin port side!” Meredith shouted.
Even her well trained crew was caught off guard by that command, a distraction further exacerbated by the first cannon balls slamming into their hull. Most failed to penetrate past the first layer of thick redwood planks, but a few poked holes in sails as they turned to meet the first mate’s command.
Iris was nearly thrown from the ship as it groaned and twisted abruptly, only a desperate blip saved her from falling overboard. Already having had enough of the danger, she blipped below deck, appearing for only on instant on the gun deck as cannons were frantically loaded before disappearing again. She arrived in the crew quarters balancing on one foot as the spinning ship did its best to topple her. With nowhere else to go -- and still precariously balancing -- she blipped into the galley.
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“What’s happening?” Autumn asked as Iris appeared and promptly caught herself on a nearby rack of shelves.
“We’re under fire,” Iris answered hurriedly, “by the city.”
“The city we’re supposed to land at?” Autumn gawked.
“Fale Nalore hates pirates,” Killup said casually as he continued scrubbing dishes, "especially shark pirates."
_____
From the starboard side cannon ports, the towers of Fale Nalore came into view. Cannons fired in a burst, and Cameron winced with each blast as he balanced against a pillar. In recent days they had done test fires of his newest invention, boomrock-core cannon balls, but this was the first full volley of them to be fired and their first use in combat. He allowed himself a short breath after none of the cannons exploded, but still observed nervously as the cannon balls soared through the sky. Many passed through the branches of the tree harmlessly, but the ones that impacted a solid target exploded into dazzling blasts that shattered stone and obliterated wood. He smiled wide, and nodded to the lead gunner to continue ordering more to be loaded.
At the helm, the captain and the first mate clung to the quarterdeck railing for balance as the ship completed its spin. Its stern was now facing the tower that it would reach in only moments. The captain stumbled forward awkwardly on his peg leg, reached out and yanked a chain beside the helm, initiating the mechanism to expose the ship’s rearward thrusters while Meredith continued shouting frantic commands to steer the backwards ship towards the dock. The yank of another chain retracted the wings, and the ship momentarily soared through the air aided only by its momentum.
The first branches passed over the ship, casting shadows across its deck. Flames lit within the thrusters before jets of fire erupted outwards. The ship came down hard in the docking trench, jostling its crew and all its cargo as the wooden keel scraped across the stone trench. The ropes that would normally be strewn across the width of the trench to slow incoming ships had indeed been severed, their remains were quickly incinerated by the perpetual roaring blasts of the thrusters. The ship slowed, but not enough. The far edge of the trench was quickly approaching.
Vines shot out from the branches overhead and wrapped around the ship’s masts, railings and anything else they could grasp. Many were severed by well placed arrows or bolts of magic from the well guarded dock, while others simply snapped under the tension. The captain was laughing hysterically.
“Drop anchor!” his order boomed between bouts of joyous laughter.
The anchor fell, crashing into the stone and leaving a crater in its wake. It was quickly pulled along by the sliding ship, but its hooks dragged across the stone with great complaint, carving a deep ruts behind it. More vines wrapped around the ship, and the captain pulled one final chain — the roar of flames behind the ship doubled in size, belching out thick black smoke and burning the lowest hanging leaves above the dock. The blast was short lived, and the flames soon fluttered out as the last of the oil in their tanks was burned — but it had been enough, the ship came to a rest with only a few dozen feet between its stern and the edge of the trench.
The bow of the ship was roughly in line with the docking platform, where the center of the ship would have lined up in an ideal landing. The dock was rectangular, with the broad side lined up with the trench. On either side of the dock were sheer drops with no rails or walls along the edges, while the back side curved around the encased trunk of the tree.
The captain leapt the length of the ship in a single bound, landing only for an instant near the bow before leaping again towards the platform. It was crowded with armored soldiers and robed mages that stood behind three figures who stood closest to the ship. The Shark Titan cracked stone as he landed among the trio, splitting his jaw wide and enveloping the torso of the closest figure. His teeth crunched down just above the hip bones, instantly severing the man in two.
Cannons fired from the ship at any angle they could find, barreling through and exploding among the assembled soldiers. Guns fired from pirates crowded on the bow, and streaks of white magic shot down from somewhere in the ship’s sails.
Arrows, javelins and bolts of magic pelted the captain as he turned his head high and repeatedly chomped his jaw to swallow his meal. Even as he swallowed, he swung a wide arm that slammed into the chest of another of the trio, flinging him a dozen feet away to slide across the dock. The third, a swamp elf woman in gleaming gold armor, drove a spear deep into his gut. He looked down on her in surprise for an instant, and laughed as he reached out and grabbed her by the neck. He lifted her high and continued laughing in her face.
“These are the titans are Fale Nalore?” He roared, “babies! Infants! Yet to even glimpse godhood!” he opened his jaws to devour the woman.
“Enough!” the titan he had thrown aside shouted from behind him, speaking in the ancient tongue, “we’ll parley!”
The Shark Titan paused with his teeth looming on either side of the woman’s head, then slowly twisted to face the man as the exchange of fire ceased from other side — the elves at the titan’s mention of parley, and the pirates at the order of their first mate. The man was a green skinned elf as well, and wore similar armor to the woman in the captain’s grasp. An emblazoned crest adorned his chest plate, depicting a towering tree inside a circle of vines.
“Theomon!” the woman gasped.
“What choice do I have?” the man pleaded with her.
“To defend our city with honor!”
The captain turned back to the woman, his breath warm on her face as he spoke in the old language, “he has invoked parley, and so we shall.”