“What in the depths is that?”

The near unflappable master, or masteress of arms former inspector Lirina hissed to her captain.

Crixim had a wolf’s smile on his face as the ship a visage of the damned surged out of the stone passageway, the screaming wind filling her sails.

Her cannons bellowed, ringing against stone and carried on water.

Parts of the two ships nearest here were torn to shreds as her shots accurately devastated their bows and ran up into their hulls.

“That, that’s a pirate killer Miss Lirina!” Crixim said as he moved to the bannister of his galleon. The Noose was a dastardly simple ship, thick of timber, heavy of sail, carved and enchanted by the old man Roberst himself.

“Load port cannons, double teams!” He yelled as impacts gouted water and struck timber.

Men and women yelled at one another, teams working together to ready the cannons for their next volley.

“You ‘eard the cap’n! Reinforce the port side! Wounded to the back cabins!” Thalios voice rumbled over the cannons Crixim couldn’t have asked for a better first mate in the heart of everything as he corralled people and sorted issues with quick efficiency.

“Odds fire!” his commands rang down through the three cannon decks as the odd cannons fired in rough rippling fashion.

“Mesurial is taking on the three ships to our rear!” Caelum yelled from his place in the nest, the lad had grown, his voice taking on a deeper timber, hanging by a hand as if gravity held no sway over him.

“Mesurial?” Lirina’s eyes flashed in recognition and back up to Crixim.

He grinned at her, pulling a spyglass from his belt to study the ship over the back railing.

Its cannons tore through the second ship that had been waiting for them, angling away under mana driven wind and water for the last ship.

“Third and fourth ship has gone quiet!” Caelum yelled. They’d numbered the ships from port to starboard across the wall. “I can see fighting on their decks.”

There was a grim undercurrent to his voice, of one that knew the possible cause.

“Evens fire!” Thalio’s voice cut through the noise of crews reloading.

The resulting thunder cut off any chance of communication.

“Mutiny in this?” Lirina muttered.

“No,” Crixim closed his spyglass. “The undead come to take their pound of flesh.”

“Necromancers are a thing of lore Crixim, tales of old seafarers and fishing wives,” Lirina’s chuckled slid from her face at his expression.

“You were aboard her ship Lirina. Don’t worry, she’s on our side.” He gave her a nod. Damn if it didn’t give him the chills, but he would sleep soundly knowing such black hearted bastards would no longer walk as the living anymore.

“First ship is firing at us!” Caelum’s voice rising in apprehension and hope.

“Wind mages!” Crixim bellowed. They turned their efforts to making a wall of wind that blew the cannon balls into the water.

Two hit the lower decks but the noise was that of cannons balls hitting off, not going through. Crixim felt it through his bones.

“Focus all on the fifth ship!” Crixim bellowed.

“Fifth ship! Focus on the fifth ship!” Thalios growl passed on the order.

“Bring us ten points starboard helm!”

“Aye Captain!” The helmsman said, unable to keep the nerves from his voice. It would open their ass right to the first pirate ship.

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Cannon fire rumbled across the water.

“Mesurial is giving them a pounding,” Caelum yelled. Crixim checked with his own spyglass. Cannon balls of ghostly white reached out to the hull--he blinked.

Did that cannon ball just go through the hull? There was no marking to show its passage, other than the spray of wood inside the ship.

Several other cannon balls made impact, going through the timbers that his own crew had been fighting against haggardly for near two hours.

He turned away and focused on his battle.

“Fifth ship putting on sail, they’re trying to get away!” Caelum said.

“The currents are with us and the wind is at our backs!” The helmsman called out. Crixim looked around, it was too fast to be natural. He glance over to Mesurial.

“Well lets put it to use!” Crixim barked.

***

“That’s the last starboard ship taken care of,” Mya’s voice carried through the ship. “Looks like the galleon is laying into the remaining port one. Sending a few shots to help.”

To raise the dead against their old shipmates. Petor amended.

A set of cannons fired, Petor continued to reload and moved through the ship. He carried on his task, moving through the decks.

“Who’s in the galleon?”

“Dunno, ship names says its called the Noose. Ship is built for hauling wares fast and defending them. Good wood and enchantments into it. Look familiar almost,” Mya’s voice faded as she tried to draw on some errant memory.

“Well I think we owe them a round for breaking up this ambush,” Petor said.

“So worried about them they didn’t even fire a shot at us,” Mya laughed.

Petor paused his work and looked up at the decking where Mya would be standing. “Relying on luck is a dead man’s game. One that not even the undead can walk back from.”

He went back, but he felt the pause and the weight of his words settle on her, Valter too had slowed his movements to reload cannons across the deck.

Petor continued to reload those set infront of him, keeping up the break neck pace.

He’d moved to another deck when Mya spoke again. “Coming alongside the pirate ships.”

Petor pushed open a gun port, the recently dead staggered throughout the nearing ship, smoke rising from fires that had been quenched. Crew worked to repair the damage to the ship, plugs hammered into cannon ball holes. A crew hefted up a cannon, it thumped back onto its wheels before they shifted it back into position that it had been pushed out of.

Ropes were thrown out, catching on the main deck, scraping across it before it was lifted away.

Mesurial staggerd like an ox put into a brace as she took up the weight of the other ship.

The ship fell away to the rear, its sails opening as it was pulled along.

Petor let the hatch close and continued his reloading, ignoring the noises and moving with the ship.

***

The last ship in her train was tied in and secured. Mya had gone for the furthest and biggest ship and then worked her way back towards the passage.

“Thankfully it has some sail up.” Mya muttered as she turned the helm with her foot resting on it between spokes.

She shifted her spyglass across the waters to the galleon that had been fighting the ships. She owed them a great deal. It irked her the truth of Petor’s words.

The Galleon was staying well back from its two prizes, the crew setting to repairing their ship. Mesurial jerked as the last ship’s slack went taught.

“Come on now,” Desari said through gritted teeth, drawing on her power and dragging the ships along as much as Mesurial. The tension and drag lessened, their speed increasing once more, not to fighting speeds, but enough to keep them in motion.

Mya spotted the captain of the galleon looking at her through his own spyglass. He lowered it revealing a familiar face. He gave a bow.

I’ve seen him before, here, another battle? Crixim? “Small plane.” She waved back, lowering her spyglass and giving an over-the-top curtsey.

“Huh?” Desari asked.

“Captain Crixim, you remember from those trading ships?”

“The two we saved from the pirates?”

“The one and the same.” Mya put her spyglass away and roped the ship’s wheel in place.

“He came here looking for a fight with a ship like that,” Desari said.

“I would bet you’re right. I don’t think he’s a trader all the time,” Mya chuckled. “And the name of the ship makes more sense now!”

“A different kind of trading,” Desari said with dry sarcasm.

Mya chuckled along as she eyed the other ships with a new eye. If I was to trade the three decker for those two it should be about even, outfit it fully and throw in some gold?

It should be a good trade. With the last scrying it told her two things, the Mardun Traders needed ships, and Irdun was not the home she once knew.

With enough time they could turn the ships into doom cutters, but saving them was her biggest priority. Ilus was able to move a city. Why can’t I move some ships?

Valter and Petor finished their reloading and headed back up to the main deck. “Valter, going to need your help with the ships.”

“Same runes as last time?” He asked.

“Same again.”

“Got it,” He pulled out his steel book and flipped through pages.

“Also I’m thinking that we add in some protections and help on the three decked ship. Make a nice trade with our saviors,” Mya said.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“You lot okay if I buy the ships other than the big one?”

“How much?” Petor asked.

“Seventy-five thousand per. I’ll get it to you once we’ve made some sales in Coral?”

“I don’t need any ships,” Desari said.

“Works,” Petor said.

“I’ll need the runes you want on the ships for rituals again, if you mean to store these ones too?” Valter asked.

“Coming right up. Petor can you make sure that the turrets are secure back in their crates?”

“On it.” Petor said.

The cranes rotated inwards before lowering the turrets down into the hatches below. One trip to Coral will pay for both ships and make a profit.

“Things have certainly changed.”