Petor drew in the cold salty air in a deep breath as morning began. He shifted his scarf against the wind filling the sails.

He checked on the other ships, the crews were moving about nursing cups of something warm. He let out a yawn, blinking back the tears as he checked the direction they were heading.

“Demon’s Rest in my sights. Bunch of grey stone sticking out of the water and clouds the color they’d be before releasing a storm covering most of them.”

“I’ll let the others know. Keep an eye out for ships moving. Doubt that many are going to be at this hour,” Mya said.

“Gotcha.” They’d pushed harder through the night to arrive in the early morning. The sky still dark while the horizon brightened.

Petor shivered. Dunno how many are in there, or even the path to them.

They continued to close with Demon’s Rest, Mesurial leading them around to a patch with a column just beyond the fog and another in it creating a passage through.

“Alright, lets go for a ride,” Mya said.

Petor dropped down the levels of the mast, reaching the deck in just a few minutes.

Waves lapped up against the grey stone columns and rocked the ship.

Noose and Reckoning moved to either side of the channel, their broadsides facing its entrance and down.

“This is the only entrance around the columns,” Desari said as all the horsemen met at the bottom of the main mast. “There isn’t an island in there that I can tell. Just columns of stone sticking out of the seabed.”

“That fog ain’t natural,” Petor said.

“No it isn’t its like its being kept in stasis. My senses can barely pierce it. I was hoping I could figure out a route this close,” Desari said.

“So we’re going to have to go through it,” Valter said, studying Demon’s Rest.

“Sneak in, sabotage their ships and drive them out into Crixim and Thalios’ waiting guns,” Mya said.

“Guess we should get started before the pirates all start waking up,” Petor said.

“Are they ready?” Mya asked Desari. She talked but no noise reached Petor’s ears as he drew Mirradon out of storage.

She shifted her hooves on the ship unused to the roll of the water.

“Going for another ride across the water,” He patted her neck.

Valter took out Ignus and Desari Rezzie.

“They’re ready,” Desari said.

“Okay, then lets ride,” Mya said.

Petor mounted Mirradon, the others except Mya doing the same.

Valter started casting silence on each of them and their mounts. He nodded to Mya who held out a rune encrusted bottle.

Petor squeezed his legs, getting Mirradon to move forward across the deck, gaining speed with the others as the ship turned incorporeal and then disappeared. Petor’s stomach lurched as they dropped to the water. Mirradon’s hooves stepped upon the waves and continued to pick up her pace.

Desari and Rezzie took the lead, Petor glanced back to see Mya riding Mesurial at the rear.

He turned to face Demon’s Rest, looking at Reckoning. Bet this is a different kind of sight to them.

Mirradon was silent as the spray of the water ran down his armor. He followed Desari between the columns and into the fog that hung just a foot above the water.

His mana sight let him track her as they rode. Fricking creepy. He could hear the waves crashing into the columns at different distances the further they went in, the quieter it became till the sound of crashing waves was behind them.

Desari waved to Petor, signalling to move to the side. Wood creaked and voices drifted over the water, oars creaked slowly.

Petor signalled to Valter behind him, following Desari’s movements. The wind shifted slightly with the passing of the ship being hauled out of Demon’s Rest by the row boats.

Curses followed him as he passed other ships.

The fog rose somewhat as Petor followed Desari behind columns and came to a stop. He moved up to her on Mirradon.

Beyond the Pirate’s cove was revealed. Ships were moored at a crazed star of docks. Buildings made out of hulls, decking and masts dotted the docks, ropes used to hold them together, a web of them reaching out to the central building. Formed of lashed masts it reached up higher than the ship’s masts around it.

Thick ropes connected it to the columns around the roughly circular opening, the fog thinner here and the sun getting through.

The ropes dripped with the morning rain, groaning as the tower pulled them tight or released them. Each was covered in lichen hanging thick.

Valter and Mya moved up next to them, looking at the place. At the base of the ropes holding the tower in the center of the cove, buildings had been lashed in place.

Desari signalled to Valter. He cast a spell. “We can talk now without them hearing.”

“Half dozen ships heading out to Crixim and Thalios, those row boats are going to take them some time, but we got maybe thirty minutes,” Mya said.

“Too many ships in here for them to deal on their own,” Valter said.

“Then we hit them hard and throw them into disarray. I can bring down a hurricane in here which will mess them up, though it will require some setup,” Desari said.

“I can work my way through the ships and get some volunteers to help us wreak some damage,” Mya said, taking out ritual circles from her armbands and replacing them.

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Valter looked up the column they were next to and the building there, a rope ladder swinging from pitons. “Petor, could you get my breastplate to the top of that?”

Petor glanced up at the moss up the wall. He moved around Desari to touch it, he went up a few centimeters and dropped into Mirradon’s saddle again. “Yeah, has roots and it’s a plant so shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I can get that over to the tower and do something about the ropes securing it. Though it will be visible when I do it,” Valter said.

“Mya if you take one side I’ll do the other. Between my spear and my plants I should be able to hinder them pretty good,” Petor said.

“Okay. I’ll hit them from the left side, you get them from the right?” Mya asked.

“Can do, though I’ll need an invisibility spell to get there if you could help out Valter?” Petor asked.

“Easy enough to do. I’ll set them up on their own enchantments to keep them going,” Valter looked to them both. He took out one of his spell plates, cast a spell onto it and tossed it to Petor. “When you get my breastplate ontop of the rope building above us, use this to cast invisibility on it. Keep it on you, if you store it then the effect will stop.”

“Gotcha.” Petor looked up again and then down. “Got that breastplate?”

Valter’s breastplate disappeared and his old Mithril one appeared. “Use the crystals when you’re in place and hold onto the breastplate. It’ll be as heavy as me.” Valter took out his Dimantium breastplate from his storage and tossed it to Petor.

“Gotcha.”

Petor stored the armor and enchanted metal plate and touched the moss running up the side of the column. He jumped up the column, his hand on the surface as he looked for the next place to go. A series of teleportations took him up above the house. Bands were rapped around the column, the house attached to it and the thick rope secured to the banding.

Petor extended his legs and jumped to the roof of the building, right next to the rope. He took the impact of the slight fall with his legs, not making a noise.

People talked in the house, low tones of those waking up. Petor peeked through the broken slats. Cannons hung back from the walls facing the tower and ships.

Petor took out the breastplate and his crystal, letting mana flow through it.

“V here.”

“Ready,” Petor whispered, looping his arm around the thigh-thick rope.

The Armor tugged as Petor held it steady, greaves appeared, drawn towards the breastplate.

If it hit then it would make a lot of noise. Petor dug his feet in and released the rope, he grabbed the greaves and fought them closing together too quickly, letting out a little noise as they connected. The Breastplate pulled more.

It was as heavy as Valter, though Petor’s Yellow core mixed with Green handled it as he focused on catching the parts of Dimantium armor rushing for the breastplate in his hands.

He let the helmet settle in place.

“You hear something?” One of the gunners asked.

“Ropes creaking, wood moving about and you, you idiot.”

The first snorted but didn’t say anything more.

The armor turned its head to Petor, pointing to itself and then the rope. Petor lifted it up, worried for the roof, spreading his feet between beams.

The armor grabbed onto the rope and gave him a thumbs up.

Petor took out the invisibility spell enchantment and touched it to the armor, it disappeared. Then the rope started shifting so very slightly, some water coming off the top as the armor moved out over the open water and towards the tower.

Lets get the fuck out of here.

Petor hooked the enchantment to his belt and touched the wall. He jumped down the column, using the moss in reverse. And that was just the first part.

Petor dropped into Mirradon’s saddle. Mya was gone and Desari stood on a protrusion of stone coming out of the back of the stone column. Valter kneeled on a far part of it, watching the pirate cove.

Petor took off the invisibilty enchantment and passed it to Valter who was wearing his Mithril armor.

“So how did you get the rest of the armor up there?” Petor asked.

“Soul bound ain’t it?” Valter said. “I had the soul binding in the armor summon the other bound parts. It sucked them up there.” I just had to hold onto the column here to make sure I didn’t get pulled up and toss them out in a way they wouldn’t smash through that building.”

“About those buildings on the columns. They hold cannons watching the ships.”

“Once I’m done here I’ll see if I can do something about that,” Desari said.

“Alright, well Valter, can you invisible me?” Petor asked.

Valter took out a plate and pressed his finger to it. Petor disappeared from sight.

“I though you had to touch it to the thing.” Petor said.

“If you know the spell you can use it as part of your casting like Desari and her book.”

“Get to work we don’t have long left,” Desari said.

Petor gave her a salute. “Guess you can’t see that. Huh.”

Desari shook her head.

“Catch you in a bit.” Petor rode Mirradon out over the water. He kept glancing down to see through Mirradon. There were faint wisps of fog covering the trail her hooves made on the near still water.

Any second someone is going to look over one of those ships and see me in the middle of this place like a fricking idi—

His eyes snapped to someone looking over the railing of their ship. Petor quickly looked below them. So as to not draw the man’s eyes.

The pirate rubbed at his head. Another moved up next to him. Both looking out as Petor raced by.

They turned from the railing and headed off, Petor releasing his breath. They would’ve seen him for sure. These invisibility spells are gonna take some getting used too.

He circled around the docked ships slipping towards one of the larger ships near the exterior of the docks, Mirradon slowed as he came alongside.

He gave her a pat once they were under the side of the ship, the four decks towering above. The wood was blackened with time and rot. Signs of battle marred the ship’s mottled surface.

Petor took out his spear and stabbed it into the ship at where his stirrups were. He took out a Dagger putting it into the wood about shoulder height and checked it was dug in deep.

He took a water breathing potion and grabbed onto the dagger’s hilt. He lowered himself into the water, withdrawing the dagger and holding onto his spear.

“See you in a bit girl,” Petor said and stored Mirradon away.

His invisibility fell away but he was shoulders out of the water of the ship, no one noticed. He dug his dagger into the ship’s wood, well under the water line.

Wood is from trees, which is alive right?

Petor leeched the wood he stabbed. It started crumbling rapidly, wearing away. His first thought was to put Ever-burning bramble into the space. Though to make the mat he wanted to, it would react with the water, heating it up.

Be best to do that under the docks… or inside the ships? It was always darker in the lower decks of a ship. He doubted that pirates were the kind to keep their mage lights maintained down there.

Though it didn’t help him in how he was going to move between the ships. Petor reached underneath the ship slimy things running against his hand that made him shiver.

He grabbed one and encouraged it to grow and spread. Quickly it ballooned around the ship into a cloud of seaweed.

“Okay, that works.”

He directed it towards the docks and increased the speed it grew, putting his foot against it to maintain connection. He directed his leeching ability at the opening he’d created in the side of the ship under the water-line. It withered until he felt the pull of suction.

Taking out an ever-burning bramble he fed it with mana and held it at the hole reaching into the ship, getting it to dig its roots and its thorns to the outside of the ship while its brambles pushed through the opening in the hull.

Their thorns widened the hole as he commanded the bramble to expand in every direction, topping it up with mana. He grafted the seaweed to the bramble, the connection was tenuous. Though it would allow him to control it through the seaweed wherever he was.

He stored his spear and used two daggers to pull himself along the ship to the rear. He commanded the plants to another large ship he’d seen from the column. Looks close enough.

He jumped from where he was to where the seaweed was.

He sloshed around as he dropped a bit into the water.

“Hells is that?” Someone growled. Petor moved around till he was around the back of the ship. The dock creaked and groaned, people talking to one another, going about their busieness. The rope and wood rubbing against one another.

Petor took out another ever burning bramble, jumping again under the dock. He put it under the wood and ordered it to grow, to follow the docks without pushing up to the sun.

Why am I always under docks? Petor grimaced at the smells trying to not think about what was in the water.

He jumped back to the ship he’d been next to, staying lower so he didn’t make any noise and stabbed the ship, leeching the boards till he opened up a space underneath, then force fed an ever-burning bramble through.

Where does the seaweed path lead? Petor looked for his next target and jumped under the docks, planting several ever-burning Brambles, taking out ones that were already grown. They spread faster than the seeds as he used seaweed to jump to various ships and give them some underwater presents. He worked fast, taking some risks. Anticipating the cannon fire that would send the cove into chaos.