"Too late for that, my good Captain Woodrat. There is nowhere you can run from me. Not on my own ship."

Lord Peerson stood on the main deck. His coat was tattered, and his hat was missing. Long white hair steamed behind his gaunt, black face. Other than that, he seemed unharmed and in good spirits. He smiled down at them.

Thick black chains surged from the deck, wrapping around Ozzy's chest twice and dragging him to the main mast. He was chained tight against the mast. He strained to get free, but the chains didn't give at all.

Mariah turned to flee, becoming a whirlwind. Fast as she was, she was only twenty feet in the air when silvery chains pierced her and dragged her back to Lord Peerson.

"As Master of my ship, and by the Law of the Sea, I bind you."

"I told you that I would catch you, little cyclone." Mariah turned back to her human form but floated in the air, attached by one thin silver chain to Peerson's belt. Her eyes were blank and silver.

Woodrat slowly drew his sword and pointed it at Lord Peerson. "I challenge you for your ship. You against me. Sword against sword."

Peerson saluted Woodrat. "Well done. A terrible choice, but then you have no other, do you? I already have two of your crew; you can't leave my ship unless I allow it. But, as amusing as this is, why should I duel with you? I can just as easily toss you in the hold or burn your mind and leave your body a husk."

Woodrat licked his lips nervously. "But you can't leave here, can you? The weed has you stuck fast, and your crew is long gone."

Lord Peerson put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth across the deck. "True and not true. While I seem to have some problems getting my ship to the open sea, gaining a crew is not a concern." He snapped his fingers twice, and the ship shuddered. From the holds below, the sounds of hundreds of charred could be heard as they screamed and fought.

"It was a valiant effort you made. Even using weapons outlawed in seven kingdoms. I haven't felt the bite from that mist in many a century. Painful, for sure, but it helped to clear my mind. I'm sure you understand that, Captain Woodrat. The rush of fear that brings clarity in battle as your mind seeks out any clever plan to bring defeat to an enemy."

He chuckled. "Nearly brought low by a tea set. What was I thinking? I hate that woman."

He gestured to his screaming horde. "Once I bind crew to me, they aren't going to leave just because they fall to pieces. A bit of smoke, and they are ready to serve their ship as they always have been. I allow no slackers on my ship. They will serve me forever." He looked at Mariah. "Should I stick this one in the crow's nest? Or on the prow as a figurehead? And your mate, I'll take special care of him. He's a rarity—so much smoke and fire in him but still rooted in the conjunction. I just have to bend his mind a little and char him well. He can lead my hordes while I observe from my ship and enjoy my tea."

"So, the crew are not a problem. But thinking crew are rare; I grant you that. Tell me, Captain Woodrat. How could you aid me in freeing my ship? Unless you have a wager that impresses me, I see no reason to have a little duel."

Woodrat pointed at Ozzy. "That one can dig a trench in the weeds faster than ten men and works all of one day and half of the next without a bit of sleep. I have another mate who is twice as large back at my camp, along with half a dozen crew. More are roaming this island and can be gathered. And I have a ship—a sweet little thing with an auric hull. With a crew of charred, I could sweep the seas looking for those shipwrecked by the eruption. With a hundred crew, the Conquest would sail the smoke again."

Peerson clapped several times. "I was wondering how ruthless a captain with that sword would be. By losing to me and being bound, you trade a small ship and betray your crew but become my flag Captain on the Conquest. A good trade. And all it needs is for you to bind your soul to me and the souls of your crew through you. A duel is a win for you, even when you lose. I accept. Show me what you have before you lose. After all, you may have some competition for your new position when we begin to take other ships."

He walked to the mast and anchored Mariah's chain above Ozzy's head. "Can't lose track of my new slave and let her float off like a balloon, can we?"

Ozzy stared at him, and Peerson stared back. "My, what an interesting brute you are. A Butcher from the Conjunction. You'll do." He turned to smile at Woodrat. "And you might be getting a demotion sooner than you think. Keeping a Mate that strong is always a mistake for a new captain. He flicked his hand, and an inky black sword made of smoke appeared in his hand. "To the death then. It's always best to kill a man and bind his soul while he's weak. I can bring you back and send you off to gather your crew."

Woodrat and Lord Peerson began to fight. Woodrat with desperation and flair, Peerson with graceful negligence. Ozzy wondered what level Peerson was. He couldn't even tell by looking at him.

Admiral Lord Peerson, Captain of The Battleship, Conquest, Level ??? ???

Pride of the Fleet, Traitor to the Crown, Ship Chained, Forever Serving for his Crimes

Ozzy had noticed one thing; he wasn't all-powerful. Bringing back his crew had cost him. The dark shiny wood of the ship that Woodrat so enjoyed looking at was lighter in places and not as smooth. Peerson had drawn on the smoke in his ship to bring back his charred crew. Ozzy didn't like this ship.

He really didn't like this ship at all.

As Peerson played with Woodrat, Ozzy grasped the chains that held him tight and drained the life out of them, eating their smoke while trying to break them. He felt hundreds, then thousands of smoke pour into him. Ozzy had gained rank 10 in Smokestealing, and his COR was at 20. When fighting other creatures, he was able to steal 310 smoke. But he really didn't like this ship, and over 1200 smoke was stolen from the chains and drained into him each second. He strained at the chains, expending that smoke and trying to weaken them.

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Woodrat saw Peerson flinch, and his guard dropped. Woodrat risked a slash that exposed himself. His sword sliced along the Admiral's arm, leaving a deep gash. Peersons return stroke was clumsy, and Woodrat dodged it, but not the backhanded slap that sent him reeling toward the railing.

"Excuse me; I need a word with your first mate." He made a fist, and the chains around Ozzy tightened enough that he couldn't move and shouldn't be able to breathe. The chains became thicker, and Ozzy saw a part of the hull become brown and rotted. Peerson admonished him, "I don't like interference in a duel. A few broken ribs will remind you of that."

He turned to Woodrat, who was walking back to him. He'd lost his hat, and there was a fire in his eyes that wasn't there before. "I never did hear the tale of why you were sentenced to sail forever. I'm sure there's a story there." He lashed out with three quick slashes, all were expertly parried, and then it was his turn to back away and dodge as Peerson unleashed a series of fast attacks against him.

"Oh, nothing exciting. Simply politics. The old Queens wanted to keep their heads on their necks and disagreed with the nobles who wished to rule. I think I said I'd support them out of sheer boredom while at some fancy ball or cocktail party. It never occurred to me they'd actually try to pull off a coup. So there were the Queens, with only a little bit of evidence against me, and still needing the support of the fleet. They couldn't let me stay on land and be recruited again. 'Once a traitor, always a traitor.' etc., etc. So they compromised and bound me to my flagship. A turn of events that I didn't mind at all. What Captain ever wants to leave his ship? You'll get used to it too. Enjoy your little freedom while you can. Once we have a whole crew, the real fun begins.

Ozzy was having trouble moving but not breathing. The constricting chains held him tight, but an armored hull kept his ribs intact. His next move needed to be a good one, something to give Woodrat an opening. Pulling more smoke would earn him a slashed throat to keep him quiet. The chains were tight on him, and he didn't have good leverage on them. But they did hold him tight to the mast...

He thought about Suzette, Ben, and Rolly. He wasn't getting back to them if Woodrat lost this duel. Despair started giving way to anger, and he used that anger to take hold of all the heat he could from around him. The air was stifling, still bearing the heat from the eruption. His Furnace was near to full. He pulled heat from the ship, and it became a flood of fire racing into him as if the ship was a living thing. His Furnace was far past overload, and his mind was on fire.

The main mast of the Conquest was broken off two-thirds of the way up but what was left of the mast was still over 150 feet of wood with an average thickness of two feet. It weighed just over 80 tons and was secured only by a few thin chains. Ozzy was held tight to the mast, but he could still lift. His normal STR was 28, letting him lift and carry over 20 tons. With too much heat in his Furnace and too much anger in his mind, it moved a good bit north of 28. And shipbreaker amplified that STR by a factor of four times.

As he pulled heat from the ship, he lifted and tore the mast from its supports.

Peerson screamed in pain and doubled over. Woodrat looked at him for a second, then sprang to the mast and brought his sword down on the chain connecting Mariah to the mast in a double-handed slash. The sword didn't disappoint. He had been feeding it his own smoke to give it the energy for a powerful strike. Mariah's eyes cleared, and she unleashed her winds against Peerson, sending him tumbling. Then she fled into the sky. Woodrat watched her go. "Good girl. One of us gets away, at least. Go save the others."

He turned back to where Lord Peerson stood, staring at Ozzy. Before he could act, the Butcher took a step, pulling the mast out further, and then he used his body to swing it against the aft mast, shattering pieces of both of them, before losing his balance and falling to the deck while the mast slammed into the foredeck, shattering it. Peerson staggered, and Woodrat dove at him, slashing with Blackfyre over and over.

Lord Peerson was hurt, but his level was far above Woodrat, and his skill had been honed over centuries. Now that he was determined to end this game and kill the lesser Captain, the only thing holding him back was the constant attacks on his ship. Ozzy was down, but he kicked at the deck, breaking the wood and sending spasms of pain into Peerson. Getting to his knees, he swept the sixty-foot stub of the mast back and forth, shattering more and more of the ship.

Woodrat cut the Admiral again and again. Deep slashes that should have killed him were leaking smoke. But always, he healed. And his ship rotted, losing more and more smoke from the wood. The charred below were silent, long ago sacrificed to heal Peersons wounds.

Ozzy strained against the chains, stealing smoke from them. Peerson had no time to reinforce them. He had more problems as sounds of hammering and tearing came up from the side of the ship. The crew of the Splinter were chopping with axes on rotted wood, and ButterBelly was tearing vast chunks of the hull from the ship.

Ozzy strained again, and the chains binding him shattered. Peerson looked at him in horror, not seeing Ozzy but something far older. Then Woodrat caught his attention by stabbing him in his eye and carving off half of his face. Peerson screamed and slashed at Woodrat. The blow was so powerful that even parried, it knocked the little Captain against the rail.

Peerson healed. The prow of the Conquest rotted and fell off. And Woodrat laughed. His hair was on fire, running down in long, firey braids, as was his beard. He danced around Peerson with a grace he hadn't shown before.

His mirth shook Peerson, who screamed at him. "You can't win. I have my entire ship to pull from. I am the Conquest, and she is me. You've won nothing but a decade of repairs." He lashed out with his sword.

Woodrat parried. "Tell that to the Butcher who breaks ships."

Peerson turned but wasn't fast enough to stop the first blow of a flaming flensing hatchet. The weapon came down on his shoulder and cleaved through several ribs. Hacking Undead. Striking Undead. Shipbreaker.

Hack Undead did 290 points of damage. Strike Undead added 195 points more damage. Enhanced by rage and Shipbreaker, Ozzy's first strike did over 2000 points of damage to Lord Peerson. His second strike came down on the other shoulder, cleaving deep. Woodrat slashed across his throat with Blackfyre. Peerson healed, and the ship tilted to one side.

"NO! It doesn't end this way."

Captain Woodrat advanced on him as Ozzy hit Peerson again. And again. "It should have ended long, long ago. But instead of fighting, you began running from battle. A coward who wouldn't risk his ship because it was part of him. You became just a parasite on the smoke, and that ends today." Faster than Peerson could react, Woodrat stabbed him through his heart, stunning him.

Ozzy brought around his heavy cleaver in a long arc, severing Lord Peersons head from his shoulders. The headless body reached for the bouncing head, but the wind picked it up and moved it away. Woodrat stuck his sword through it and moved out of the body's reach. Ozzy began hacking the body repeatedly as the ship rotted around them. The crew drew back as the last mast started to fall. The light died in Peersons skull, and it turned to ash. Ozzy kept hacking away at the body.

Mariah grabbed Woodrat and half lifted, half threw him from the ship, exhausted and unable to do more. Ozzy slashed at the body twice more and saw it turn to ash. The ship disintegrated around him. Wood falling and turning to dust. After the ship blew away, the Butcher was left standing where it had been. His anger blew, and heat blew away like the ash from the ship. Exhausted, he sat down on the large chest that was the only thing left of the Conquest and Lord Admiral Peerson. He blew out a smoke ring and watched it sail up into the Skye.