It pained Kaden to delay rescuing his party, but there was a time and place to be the hero and a time to be cautious. Pirates wouldn’t hesitate to kill. Any chance of rescue relied on careful timing, even more careful planning, and a point or two of [Luck].
The [Luck] probably wouldn’t happen. So Kaden followed Ragman, who had his party’s possessions, through the streets of the pirate town. The servant was quick to stare at women who passed and slow to pass a vendor selling fish stew, giving Kaden a break. He sent a trio of messages, detailing where they were, the issue with Harrigan’s Tidal Lock, and an explanation of what he planned. Because even though he might not succeed, Kaden would rather die trying than live abandoning them.
With only a command through the soul bond, the [Drill Fish] began its work, attacking the largest ships first, while Kaden focused on [Stealth Aura] and keeping up with the [Rogue]. He knew Trella like he knew himself, but Kaden had listened over and over to stories told in the Guild. The most trustworthy rogues could be trusted to look out for themselves.
The man attempted to engage [Stealth], something Kade was used to dealing with from growing up around his mother. He kept close, just footsteps behind until the man, in a fit of frustration, stepped through the back door of a [Tanner’s] workshop.
It was probably a trap, but Kaden held his place just outside—then ducked through the doors. The break in eye contact had allowed [Stealth] to engage, but Kaden wasn’t a unclassed commoner. Instead of staring, he studied the room of vats filled with caustic chemicals and soaking hides.
The key was the place where the System pushed his attention away, the west corner. With slow, careful steps, Kaden approached—then sprinted forward, slamming into someone.
[Stealth] evaporated and loot clattered to the ground as Kaden grappled.
Over and over, the [Rogue] stabbed him in the gut, but he hadn’t taken [Limber] and Kaden’s grip was absolute, as was his hand, clamped over the man’s mouth.
Critical strike! You have been heavily wounded!
Critical strike! You have been heavily wounded!
Kaden activated [Destruction Aura] and spun the man up against a red-hot vat, forcing his head backwards further and further. The man’s head brushed the top of the liquid and he screamed, a muffled cry, and slashed at Kaden’s hand.
A mistake. It let Kaden push with both hand until the boiling vat fluid crept up to the fear-wide eyes of the man. At the last moment, he slashed out, laying Kaden’s cheek open—and the man’s head slipped under the liquid.
Now Kaden ripped the man’s jaw open and drove his knee into the [Rogue’s] crotch.
You have slain the [Rogue] Ragman Smithson.
You have gained experience.
Kaden stuffed everything into Inventory and then quickly dismembered the body and fed it into different vats, all the way to the bottom. Then he slipped out the back and headed toward the docks. The docks lay in a state of panic as ship after ship began taking on water. As soon as the crews stabilized one, another began to sink with holes drilled or gashed in their hull. Perfect.
Next stop? Pulchor’s. Kaden didn’t bother healing. He headed straight in. “You. How do I get an audience with Harrigan?”
Pulchor shook his head. “You don’t want to do that. Only those who have committed crimes against him get to see the Pirate King. You need healing. And sleep. And possibly a [Mind Mage] because you have the look of a madman.”
“Where is Harrigan? I’ll only ask you once.”
The [Leecher] shifted, looking at Kaden in a new way. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m a very dangerous enemy. If you’re so damned eager to march to your death, follow the road inland. A few centuries ago, a storm washed Harrigan’s flag ship onto the island. He holds court there.”
Kaden nodded. “He’s got an assassin, woman, name’s Arden. Where do I find her?”
The shop grew silent as Kaden took off his disguise charm and let Pulchor study him. “She’s a favorite of Harrigan’s. I’ve seen her kill a man from across the street without breaking stride. She’s six levels above you and fueled by sheer hate. But I’ll send her a message. If you leave me out of this, I swear before the System I’ll only message her. I don’t know what a [Beast Master] is and I’m not eager to find out.”
“I’m leaving, and when I do, I’m taking Rey with me.”
Pulchor nearly choked. “How? You can’t leave this island without Harrigan’s permission. No one can. It’s why he hasn’t been erradicated. There’s no escape without Harrigan personally granting your ship leave.”
Kaden didn’t believe that for a moment. “Regardless, I’m taking Rey.” Kaden walked straight into the back room. “I’m sorry, Rey.” Before the [Healer] could react, Kaden drew [Remembrance] and chopped the healer’s hands off, one after another, then fed him a healing potion and held the stumps in place while Rey screamed through gritted teeth.
“You were never here,” Pulchor said as he handed Kaden a metal card with contact information. “I never saw you. But if we need to fight, I’ve pulled so many diseases—”
“I have [Resist Status Effect] and I’d love to put levels on it.” Kaden waited for the man to fall silent. “Rey, you’re with me. I’ve got a [Shadow Blade] to kill. Who can fight?”
“Mick, Cato, but they’re in the mines. Because they could fight,” Rey said.
“Stick with me.” Kaden strolled out into the city as an ever-growing panic at the harbor drew more and more men to help. One [Drill Fish] could not sink a fleet, but one [Drill Fish] and a clever bone behemoth could wreak havoc. For now, he ordered them to stop. Skully, he sensed, lay down in the muck, crawling along the floor of the bay. The [Drill Fish] nibbled at a stray arm stuck through Skully’s rib cage.
Kaden hesistated a moment. What he was doing was wrong. Trella would be furious. Kaden could live with that. It took him an hour to find a ship set up the way he needed, but a man working with hammer and nails in the chaos was basically invisible and one more hole in the side was like one more spot on a [Shadow Leopard].
The Sisters didn’t often use written communications, but Kaden had watched Trella write her reports, and knew enough to dash off the short message he needed. The boat rocked heavily to one side, and Kaden let himself down into the hold, the largely empty hold, where he laid out the parts of his simple plan. It was barely a plan, but it was enough.
“She’s got five levels on you, not two,” Rey said as Kaden prepared to shut the door. “That shadow bitch is at least thirty five if not higher. She disguises everything about herself. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I am.” Kaden shut the hold door and waited. It was possible Arden wouldn’t come. It was possible she’d send an army of [Pirates]. If so, he’d hack a hole in the hull and walk away. But something about Arden’s tone told Kaden different.
It was time for the [Drill Fish] to get to work again, starting close to Kaden and then working its way outward, this time hitting the rowboats alongside the big ships.
With each passing moment, Kaden’s worry grew. Every scrape of wood was the bootsteps of a [Pirate] army, every creak the herald of his doom even through [Stealth Aura]. Kaden tensed as the cargo bay door swung open. But nothing came down the stairs.
Then Arden spoke from the darkness. “I should have known they’d send an older sister to watch Trella. Come out. I’m not afraid.”
“Good.” Kaden drew a [Mana Dart] and tossed it down the empty hold. “Trella did tell you, after all. That I was hunting you.”
“The [Beast Master]. The Sisters keep an entire scroll section on you. What is it about you that has the Council terrified? And you dare challenge me without any beasts. How have you not died?” She stepped forward.
“I get by.” Kaden kept his back to the hull. He knew how [Shadow Step] worked better than anyone other than a Sister. He also knew Arden’s Deceptions wouldn’t have mutated and grown.
The slightest whisper of darkness, and Kaden twisted to avoid a stab from his right. His counter strike was measured to draw Arden’s Deception, his second to draw her Deception Echo, and then he activated [Moment of Speed].
The backhand strike wasn’t hard, Kaden couldn’t afford to put that much force into it, but impact was everything Kaden needed to ensure it was safe. The ship lurched further right, and Arden leaped lightly to the side. “Lucky hit.”
“No luck involved.”
The hold door slammed shut, then wood splintered above them. Rey had done what Kaden asked, on the signal they’d agreed.
Arden looked back, momentarily unsure. “What’s your game?”
Kaden drew Remembrance and backed to the wall, bringing it down on the floor as a [Drill Fish] broke through. “I can breathe water. More importantly, I don’t need to breathe at all.”
Water began to swirl around his feet as Kaden drew Thorn Caster, aiming at Arden.
“You have got to be the stupidest man on earth. You think you can shoot me?”
Kaden loosed an arrow. “No.”
An [Agony Cloud] potion hidden in the hull rib beneath her exploded—then another. Kaden used the single moment of distraction to hurl a crate at Arden—a crate she dodged with her Deception. “That was your mistake,” she whispered from behind him. “[Back—”
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Kaden stomped the potion right under him and twisted to dodge the blades she drove toward his back with [Split Second]. His health began to burn away as multiple [Agony Clouds] engaged, but Kaden could take a health potion. [Harvest Wind] meant Arden couldn’t.
“You bastard!” She choked out. “You’ll die too.”
Kaden risked dipping his head to take a breath through the water that rose higher and higher, while Arden—and her Deceptions—banged on the hold door. “I can get out through this porthole. You can enjoy dying.” Health was at less than six hundred and still dropping.
He leaped toward the hole he’d made in the hull.
Arden’s Deception blocked him a hand’s width away as Arden [Shadowstepped] in front of him and leaped, pulling herself through the hole.
Kaden stumbled toward the cargo door, which swung open as Skully stepped off them and pulled them open. His skin was covered in burst blisters, bright red, his hair was gone, his health at eighty of twenty eight hundred. Kaden swallowed a health potion as Rey activated [Major Mend], but now wasn’t the time to stop. He rushed to the side and swung down to pry at the nails which held Neganta’s Larder to the hull of the ship.
“You look near dead,” Rey said, as Skully folded up into his rolling trunk form. “You need to slow down and heal.”
No, they needed to go faster. Skin could grow back. Kaden headed down the ramp, stumbling past workers. “There’s something in the holds. Some sort of shadow woman setting explosions.”
[Pirates] rushed onto the ship—then out of the ship as the lingering [Agony Clouds] struck.
Kaden headed inland with Rey at his side. The [Healer] continued to work, raising Kaden’s health every few moments as they made their way against the crowd. As long as Rey left Kaden’s face and hands blistered, pirates veered out of their way. The stumps of trees swept sideways stood everywhere, the footprints of the storm surge from long before.
“Shit.” Rey stopped cold, staring.
The largest ship Kaden had ever seen sat nestled between a pair of rocks. All three of S&K Holding’s ships together wouldn’t have been a match for this one. Built of solid black wood that had aged to white in places, the hull alone was wider than a city street in Verona, the top of the deck wasn’t visible from below, but atop all the towering masts stood crow’s nests. With iron cages hanging from them.
Kaden handed Rey his disguise charm. “Stay close but don’t get involved. Does your heal work from a distance?”
“Fifty feet. My hands are barely functioning or I could hold a dagger.” Rey hunched over, using the same bent walk everyone else did.
“Good. I can survive any attack as long as I have two points of health. Small heals are better than big heals.” Kaden pointed to a line of servants carrying goods. “That line goes on forever. Stand in it. Stay near, I don’t know how this goes.”
Wrapped in [Stealth Aura], in the warm morning sun, Kaden veered side ways toward the Pirate King’s ship. The wood was warped, the enchantments worn, and Kaden began to climb, hand overhand until he could peek over the edge of the deck.
Harrigan, the Pirate King, was a strong, wide man with graying hair. Identify sparked and fizzed, but showed a level, fifty, and a class — [War Wolf]. He sat on a garrish throne made of broken ship’s wheels, and above it soared the cut off prow of a ship. And hanging there, was the rotting corpse of Cutter Karn, like a figurehead from hell.
On the actual ship masts, vast iron cages hung like bells. Kaden studied the masts not only for their captives, but for which were least guarded, and made his decision. The Pirate King didn’t worry much about being attacked at the center of his hidden island, and the guards kept their eyes on the King (and the men arguing in front of him).
Which left a nice window of opportunity for Kaden to begin to climb the rotted rigging, slowly, steadily, focusing on quiet movements and relying on [Stealth] to keep him hidden. Higher and higher he climbed until the deck below made Kaden dizzy if he looked down. But just above him, across the spar, hung a cage, and in it sat Ashi, plucking a tune on her mana harp.
The spar wavered as Kaden ran along it and jumped up to grab the bars, wrapping them both in [Stealth Aura]. “Ashi.”
She startled. “What are you doing here?”
“Rescuing you. Rescuing everyone. Maybe.” Kaden explained about retrieving Rey and dealing with Arden. “Where’s Trella?”
“The foremast.” Ashi pointed behind her. “The aft mast? That one. Our skills are locked behind these manacles. I can cast no spells. Beware the king, we were compelled to speak the truth in his presence. Sara is there. He holds Eve close, planning on how to ransom her.”
“He better plan fast, I sent a bird to Queen Brunna and Mistress Scylla.” Neither Sara nor Eve were the ones Kaden worried about. Ashi was a form of royalty, but not in the line of ascension, and she could be dead before anyone in Vichor knew she was in trouble. Plus, it was highly unlikely the Pirate ‘King’ had a way to contact her mother. And Trella was a [Shadow Blade] orphan. No one but Kaden was coming for her. “I’ll be back.”
Moving from mast to mast took previous time, but killing people onboard this ship would draw attention far too fast. As long as Kaden moved slowly, he was essentially invisible. No one had reason to look up, and [Stealth Aura] was a decent stealth.
With care, Kaden worked his way to the aft mast and climbed it slowly, quietly. And wept as he saw the bruises on Trella’s face. The way both arms hung, dislocated. The gashes on her thighs. Before he could speak, she looked around, then stared his way. “Kaden?”
“I’m here.” He passed her a healing potion. “I can get you out.”
“You can’t get me out of these.” Trella drank some of the potion, but held up her arms to show bronze manacles like Kaden had taken from Hell.
She gasped as her shoulders popped back into their sockets. “Gods damned Arden. I’ll kill her myself if it’s the last thing I do.”
“About that. Arden’s not going anywhere.” Kaden took out Neganta’s Larder and handed it to Trella through the bars. “Would this make you feel better? She’s trapped in there, and she’ll stay that way until you take her out.”
Trella accepted the bag and clutched her hand. “Your face is…not good.”
“It’ll heal.” Kaden gave her her equipment. “Rey’s loose, too, but I had to cut off his hands to do it. It beat killing him. I saw Cutter’s corpse.”
Trella held up a hand. “I need my hands, so I need you to do something. Break the bones. I can slip out of these if you do.”
“No. If I—”
“You’ve got no skin on your face. I can see your teeth through your cheeks. If we’re getting loose, it’s going to cost us.” Trella held out both hands. “Do it.”
Logically, it made more sense. It was better than what he’d done to Rey and yet, it would be easier to undergo another [Agony Cloud]. Kaden closed his hands over Trella’s. “Wait. I’ve got an alternative.”
He drew the [Levicon Blade] and raked it through the chain binding the manacles. They sparked and the blade left a gash. The metal turned shiny, almost a liquid, and ran together before solidifying. “What if I just cut down the middle of your palm?”
“I need those nerves.” Trella looked away. “The sooner it’s done, the sooner I’m healing.”
She bit down on her cloak collar.
Bones crunched, shifting, shattering, as Kaden squeezed. Trella’s hand deformed, and one manacle slipped loose. She shook and shuttered, cradling one hand close, but stretched out the other even as tears streamed down her face.
He made it quick, storing the manacles and then cradling her face to help her drink from the potion. Trella had never had a dark complexion, but sweat poured down her face and her skin was a pale white as she rocked back and forth. “That’s going take a while to heal, even with the potion.”
Kaden hadn’t stopped shaking either. “Where’s Eve?”
“Below deck with the high value prisoners. It’s perfect. His guard stays at the wheel and if a prisoner does manage to break out? The hull damage alerts him immediately. How did you beat Arden? She’s level forty.”
“Several [Agony cloud] potions and a closed in location. I flooded it with water and convinced her it was my escape. I might have been able to kill her, but she put herself in the bag.” Kaden smiled at the shock on Trella’s face. “Know anyone who could help deal with a rogue [Shadow Blade] who didn’t hesitate to turn on her own Sister?”
“I do.” Trella smiled even as she winced. “Go free Sara. I’m guessing Ashi didn’t want her hands crushed, but Sara won’t hesistate. Eve…I don’t know about her. But I’m not going to leave this cage until shit’s going down. A level fifty versus even a bunch of thirties isn’t really a fair fight, but it is you we’re talking about.”
“I have a plan.” Kaden ducked away from her and slid down a rope to the deck of the ship. Sara’s cage hung from the foremast, which stood directly in front of the Pirate King’s throne. That made reaching her difficult, but not impossible. The cage itself hung so far up that line of sight to Sara was completely blocked. Reaching her, on the other hand, was a challenge.
The first step was making it to the midmast, which towered above the others. Kaden paused there to talk to Ashi, who plucked at the mana-harp she’d bought in Xiao. “I got Trella out of her manacles by crushing her hands. I can do the same for you.”
“Please, no. I do not wish to seem a coward—but I am not like you. There is something I can do, something the manacles cannot stop. Uri taught me this when I was young, a spell-song of aid. A call for help.” Ashi didn’t stop playing the whole time. “He told me once that it would not fail to reach him. Uri is dead, but I remember.”
For the first time, Kaden noticed the clouds gathering. Beneath him, a circle on men engaged in a duel to the death to settle whatever argument they’d brought to Harrigan, who lay back on his throne, paying more attention to the serving maid than the men shedding blood with short, curved swords.
Kaden slid down a rope to the next mast, whose cage sat empty, clanging as the wind rose. The foremast stood not far off, and as Kaden readied to slide down to it, a silver bird landed on his arm, speaking in two different voices at once.
First, a man. “Hear now, the declaration of Queen Brunna Barrister, and obey.”
“Kaden Birch,” said the Queen. “I cannot and will not authorize you to bargain for Evelyn’s freedom. But I can promise this. If she is not released, I will come and take her myself. Do not abandon her. If all I find is your corpse next to hers, I swear before the system you will be resurrected.”
Kaden shook the bird loose. Eve was rarely pleasant, but she grew on you, like moss on a man crucified to a stone deep in the woods for years. Before the first bird could dissapate, a second one joined it, speaking in Mistress Scylla’s voice. “Kaden, leave. Swim, float, walk along the sea bed. I can use the soul bond between you and Ashi to find her, but only if one of you escapes. Abandon the party. Find me.”
That wasn’t happening.
Below him, a man screamed and blood splattered the deck as pirates burst into applause. Kaden took the opportunity to leap and catch a rope, then climb until he could grasp the bell-shaped cage that held Sara and wrap them both in [Stealth Aura]. “Good morning. I’ll be your rescuer for the day.”
“Kaden!” Sara was on her feet in a moment. Kaden couldn’t believe how strange it was to see her without the horror’s pseudopods pushing out of her shoulderblades. Cuts lined her cheeks, fine slices like someone had taken their time. “You need to get out of here. Steal a ship, sail away.”
“Not happening. Probably not possible without Harrigan’s permission, thanks to [Tidal Lock.]” The carnage at the docks would demand the King’s attention soon, since Skully and the [Drill Fish] hadn’t stopped their assault. “Your mom sent a bird saying the same thing. Eve’s mom says we’re dead if we abandon her. I’m not abandoning anyone. Trella’s free. I broke her hands to let her slip out.”
“Me, too. Now.” Sara thrust her hands through the cage until the chains blocked them.
He didn’t hesitate, squeezing one and then another until bones cracked and shifted, then pulling her hands through the manacles. Sara’s title would help her heal immediately, but Kaden gave her the last of the healing potions. “Drink up. Ashi isn’t free, but she says she’s calling help.”
“With what skills?” Sara asked. “These manacles prevent everything.”
Even as she spoke, the Horror’s psuedopods whipped out, hissing in rage as they bumped her broken hands.
Kaden shook his head. “I have no idea. Could be, she can’t handle the idea of being a prisoner for years. But she’s not going to be. Any moment now, the harbor master is going to go from upset to panicked. When that happens, we’re taking Cutter and getting out of here.”
“You have to be careful with Harrigan. He has a skill that enforces the truth around him. I couldn’t lie even though I wanted to,” Sara said. “Trella told him you were on the island. Flat out said you’d be coming to kill him. It was brilliant. He took it as nothing but bluster. The question is, how do we get out of here?”
Kaden glanced downward. “Trust me. I’m not going to abandon you, but when everything happens, I’ll only have seconds to act. When it’s time, you’ll know.” He passed her her swords and sent the order to Explodius, Skully, and the [Drill Fish].
Out in the way, an explosion rang out, and men’s shouts rose in a din.
Kaden counted seconds, clinging to the side of the cage.
Messenger birds arrived in a swarm as another explosion rang out. The Pirate King was on his feet in seconds, barking orders, shouting, screaming—and then he took off, leaping over the edge fo the ship and sprinting toward the bay.