The Battle of Herumor Bay

A couple of weeks had passed since Rowtond and his fleet had set off from East Port, following the coastline towards Herumor Bay. The most significant point of joy amongst the assembled sailors and marines was when they had connected with Agora’s forces at their agreed-upon rallying point on the fifth day.

With their forces working together, they maintained joint protection with each other. Rowtond used his heavy weapons to dissuade sea monsters from going ashore, and Agora prevented ground-based forces from launching sabotage assaults.

Stepping out from his cabin into the light of a full moon, Rowtond saw an assembly of officers standing at attention with a salute already held up. Each was a representative of the various naval forces placed under his command.

They were here mainly to aid cohesion between the ships, but Rowtond saw them as nothing more than noble boys playing sailors. Considering many of them still had trouble with seasickness told him enough to understand he had been given a bunch of novices.

“At ease!”

The officers all relaxed and left for their chosen positions. The only one remaining was Henry, the captain of his flagship, ‘The Heavyset’. The old Man’O’War had been Rowtond’s flagship for years. He had even overseen her creation and looked upon the ship like a father would their child. Running a hand along the bannister of the stairs up to the helm, he spotted the captain smirking. “Something amusing, Henry?”

“No sir… just lost in thought, is all.”

“Pray tell, what thought would cause that kind of smirk?”

“If you would treat a woman like you do this ship, you’d be married already.” Rowtond himself couldn’t help but grin at this observation.

Amongst the many naval officers of Locketurn, he was recognised as one of the greatest. He had no shortage of suitors after him and his credentials. But they had never looked at him, only at what he could offer them. So he had always politely turned them down. This had inevitably led to rumours he was married to his job.

“So Henry…If I were to stick a slew of Dwarven Bombards to a woman, she’d fall madly in love with me?”

“Heh… I’d like to meet a girl who would like that,” Henry replied, hiding his mouth behind his hand.

“Shame Lokirum only had enough for the Heavyset. If we could’ve decked out the whole fleet, I have no doubt Port Staines's naval defences would fall relatively quickly.”

“Yes, sir, but then the ground forces would have no way in. Regardless, we don’t have enough marines to take a fortified city.”

“That is true,” Rowtond nodded, leading the way up to the helm to get a better view of the rest of the fleet. Taking the spyglass offered by the helmsman, he looked out across the waters to see the ships following his lead.

“Have the sloops returned?” Rowtond asked as he mentally tallied up the ships.

“Only the deep sea sloops have, sir. The ones sent to scout ahead along the coast haven’t returned yet.”

“I see… Suppose saying we were expecting smooth sailing would be rather hopeful.”

“Yes, sir, but even a couple ships lost will not hurt us. We still have close to forty ships, and we can-” Henry’s explanation was cut off by a rough slap to his face.

“Those ships had men… lives on them, Henry!” Anger burned in Rowtond’s eyes as he glared at his second.

“Apologies, sir. I forgot myself there. It is a shame to have lost them.”

“It is fine… I’m sorry for striking you… it’s just… well, you know how I get.”

“Yes sir… So how confident are you?”

“Confident?”

“Yes, are we expecting the likes of the Barbury Pirates, or should we be making prayers to our relevant pantheons?”

“I hope for something as easy as the Barbury Pirates. With all the studying I did on the coastline of the Dark Continent, I hope it will be so. But with the size of the fleet stolen some years back, I am afraid we may be facing an uphill battle.”

“Uphill… Got to say, sir, ships don’t do too well uphill.” Rowtond and Henry shared a smile at the joke.

“A-admiral!” an Ensign called out as he rushed up, saluting the pair. “The Commanders’ twilight meeting is ready and waiting for you.”

“Ah, yes. I suppose I am in need of a headache today. I’ll leave you in command while I am in the meeting.”

“Yes, sir!”

Following the young officer back down the stairs, Rowtond entered a large meeting room. Typically it was used for storage as it rarely had any other use, but the Theocracy had provided the fleet with communication crystals to allow for smooth coordination. The only issue was how mana intensive running it was. Sitting in his chair at the head of the table, several ghost-like forms began to take shape in the other chairs.

“No…. I know…. Listen, go away. I’m meeting with the whale, so we will need to handle that later!” one of the ghostly figures shouted as his form finished taking shape.

“Vice Admiral Trelbect, you are aware the meeting is active?” a voice from the next figure to form asked in a mocking tone.

“It was?! Shit… I was talking about the sea creature some of my sailors kept insisting they were seeing.”

“One you are in a meeting with? I would hate to interrupt such an auspicious encounter Vice-Admiral,” Rowtond said, letting such a large grin spread across his face that even if his form hadn’t fully appeared in front of the other officers, they would undoubtedly see it.

“I’m… My apologies,” Trelbect said, his figure lowering its head.

“See, that wasn’t so hard.” Rowtond clapped his hands to bring attention to him.

“Gentlemen, I have been intensely studying the coastal maps of the region and can say with reasonable confidence we will succeed even if we meet a force of greater numbers.”

“What a relief Admiral Blo-Ahem-Bob is with us,” a captain's figure cheered.

“Yes… Anyway, we will maintain our course. The Heavyset shall maintain its frontal position. As your ships still rely on ballistae, your range is still limited compared to the range of the dwarven bombards.” A few of the figures nodded.

“What of my sloops?”

“We have yet to receive word of their return. They may have been caught in a current and are still trying to make their way back to us.”

“A current that powerful? This close to shore?”

“Yes, the Jormunganda River empties into the sea just past Port Staine. They may have accidentally hit a random shifting current.”

“I see…”

“Next up, we will continue our work with Princess Agora where the coastline permits. Currently, due to the terrain, she is unable to provide immediate assistance.” A number of the figures visibly slumped. Agora and her battle maidens had been a source of great morale for the fleet as they sailed.

“Admiral, I have a ques-” the captain who spoke up was cut off as the doors to the cabin burst open, as Henry ran in with an excited look on his face.

“We have sighted the enemy, sir!”

“We have? How many?!”

“That’s just it, sir…. There’s only one ship.”

“What of my sloops?”

“Captain Gregson, he said there was only one ship. We shall continue this discussion later. Communicate through semaphore as I imagine we will want to maintain the mana needed to run this contraption.”

Rowtond didn’t wait for a reply as he rose from his seat and returned to the helm. He was handed a spyglass to see their long-awaited enemy. Just as Henry had said, there was only one ship. The ship itself looked worse for wear, with holes in its hull that almost looked almost rotten.

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“Is this the best the Dark Continent can muster?” Rowtond muttered as he looked over the ship.

The Dark Continent had rather famously stolen an entire naval force from the Theocracy. Hundreds of ships, all battle ready. Arriving in their enemy’s waters only to find a rotten piece of flotsam was disappointing.

“Maybe they only barely survived a fight with the missing sloops?” Henry suggested looking through his own spyglass.

“I don’t know…. This seems too easy for my liking.”

“Shall we engage them at range then?”

Rowtond nodded to the suggestion. Traditionally the ships would use their ballista to hook an enemy vessel and bring the two together to launch a boarding action. But something in his gut screamed that this was a trap.

Looking carefully, he finally spotted what had set his nerves on edge. “All guns to bear bombard the area to the port of the enemy ship! Extreme range only!”

Hearing the orders from their admiral, the crew responded immediately and without hesitation, disregarding the initial order of Captain Henry to bring the ship in slowly. Behind Rowtond, one of the deckhands communicated his orders using flags.

“What is it, sir?” Henry asked, trying to see what Rowtond had spotted.

“There’s a large black mass next to the ship. I had heard the bastards had one, but I thought it a fanciful rumour.”

“Sir?” Henry asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“They have an Elder Beast.”

“An Old God?!” The fear was clear on Henry’s face. Any sailor worth his salt knew of the creatures that lurked in the deepest depths and learned fearing them was their best option.

Pulling the fleet into a long line, ready to launch their volleys of both bolt and shot, the ships waited for the signal to fire. Rowtond though narrowed his eyes, trying to spot if there were any other threats.

“Sir?” Henry asked, looking concerned at the stretching silence that had settled.

“Open fire, destroy the monster.” His calm and almost quiet order was passed along.

A deafening roar echoed as the Heavyset rocked so far to the side it was nearly capsised. Following the volley of fire and death came the more recognisable twangs of the siege ballista firing their detonation bolts. In response, the creature immediately ducked behind the damaged ship manoeuvring it to take the hits.

“Rolling shots, you fools!” Henry shouted, reminding the crew of what the dwarves had warned them when they installed the bombards.

“Damn monster is using the ship as a shield… No wonder why it looks so damaged!”

“Sir… there’s people on the ship's deck?!”

“What? Are they merchants?!” Rowtond looked confused as he looked at the ship in closer detail. Just as Henry had said, people were running around on the deck.

“We cannot afford to waste this chance. Continue firing at will,” Rowtond ordered, looking melancholy. Only to see explosive bolts launched by the ship in question. The bolts impacted against the Lucky Fortune, a frigate a few ships down the line from the Heavyset. On impact, they immediately detonated, creating wide rends in the hull.

“So it’s an enemy vessel? Clever… the monster keeps it afloat, and they can fire while shielding it. But seems like such a waste of life.”

“Sir, we have a message from the ‘Hungry Earthern Drake’. Their scouts in the crow's nest got an eye on the ship's deck. They’re undead!” the officer handling the flag communication down the line shouted over the roar of the bombards.

“Undead? I wish I could say I’m surprised. Have the priests the Theocracy provided each ship to bless the bolts and bombard shot. Undead are weak to holy magic, and I heard those Elder Beasts are none too fond of it either.”

“Yes, sir!” Henry saluted as he sent off the second mate to collect the priests from below deck.

“Still, this seems too limited a response…” Rowtond muttered, stroking his jowls as he looked out at what was quickly becoming a one-sided slaughter. “The enemy are no fools…”

“Well, maybe they are… These two certainly would’ve been a threat had they not caught our attention first.”

“Attention…” Rowtond echoed, continuing to stroke his chin. It was then it dawned on him.

Seeing an Elder Beast, any sailor who wasn’t a Bilge Heel would keep their distance. To achieve that here they would need to move out over deep water. Something his planning had been sure to avoid. He couldn’t help but worry this was precisely what they had wanted.

“Henry, send a message up and down the line. Keep an eye out. This may be a distraction to draw our attention. This is likely a tra-” Rowtond was unable to finish his sentence as four of the ships along the current line violently split in two as four triremes burst from below with their ram dead centre along the keel.

“Move! Get all ships to be constantly mobile. The enemy ships can sail below the water!” Rowtond shouted as his helmsman steered the ship away from the line. With a panicked waving of the flags, the message was spread amongst the remaining ships as they scattered across the water.

“Keep up bombardment on the new ships as well. Free fire to all!”

“Admiral, we have more ships surfacing!” an officer cried out, pointing to where the Heavyset had been mere moments ago. Seeing the new arrivals, Rowtond’s mind began to race. Fighting here, they could win, but it would be costly and would put the fleet out of action for the rest of the crusade.

Desperately searching his mind for any solution to the current situation, he couldn’t find any way to turn this situation in his favour. The enemy may not outnumber them, but they were outmanoeuvring them. In naval warfare, that counted just as much as firepower. Looking at the watch traditionally given after a first commission, Rowtond took a deep breath to calm himself. It was then inspiration struck.

“Full retreat!”

“Admiral?!” Henry looked shocked at the order.

“You heard me, full retreat… single file. We shall lead the way…. Any ship that strays from our wake will be left behind!”

“Please sir, reconsider!”

“No! This is our only chance at coming out of this!”

“By your orders, sir,” Henry replied, saluting Rowtond and passing the message onto the semaphore flag bearers.

The fleet took a while to come about and start following the Heavyset. A few even refusing to retreat in the face of the enemy, quickly facing their deaths with glory they no doubt believed was theirs.

“We need to go faster… jettison all barrels of oil and alchemists delight. Have the priests bless them before we do. It should slow them down at least a little.”

Henry nodded, wondering what Rowtond was planning. Passing the message down the line, the ships all began throwing the barrels overboard, letting the pursuing ships crash into them.

“What is the plan, sir?” Henry asked, looking over the men being patched up. The surprise attack had spread chaos, and there were a few cases where there was even friendly fire.

“Plan?” Rowtond parroted.

“Yes sir… you wouldn’t order a retreat without any reason. The Admiral Bob I know is not a man who would run with his tail between his legs. He is a wise man.”

“Hah! Wise man… A wise man would never find himself in a battle, to begin with. But you are right. I have a plan, see this?”

“The watch, sir?” Henry asked, recognised the timepiece. He had one given to him when he became Captain himself.

“Now, see the undead fleets following us?” Rowtond gestured down the line of the fleet that was being harried left and right by ships from all eras.

“Yes, sir?”

“Well, what is soon to happen?”

“Well, It’s almost…” Henry grinned as realisation dawned on him as he said only two words. “Low tide.”

“Exactly. I spent months combing over sea charts for the coastline. I know this little area we are sailing through has some nasty surprises.”

“So, the reason you ordered ‘single file’?”

“Exactly, we are following the only narrow route through the reef that won’t shred our hulls. Those bastards, though,” Rowtond gestured to the pursuing fleet that had just lost one of their ships in a flash of holy light from a blessed detonation bolt.

“Ok, we have passed Hangman Rock. Send a message down the line after the rock to spread out and be prepared. The reef will bare its fangs any minute now.”

“Yes, sir!”

Bringing the Heavyset out of the submerged channel in the reef, Rowtond himself took the helm, guiding his baby safely to open waters. Looking out at the enemy, he could barely contain himself. They had all abruptly stopped while the Theocracy fleet continued to sail.

“Gentlemen! I thank you for your faith in me and my command! Now send those damnable undead to where they belong!” a raucous cheer rang out across the deck as they began loading the specialised shells.

“B-but admiral…. They are undead… fire will only annoy them?” the ensign from earlier asked, looking nervous.

“Indeed, young man… but you seem to have forgotten something…” Rowtond plastered his most confident smile across his face.

“Their ships have been ramming into blessed oil and alchemist delight.” As if to punctuate his point, a volley from the Heavyset fired out, and five of the enemy vessels immediately went up in brilliant blue flames.

“Holy fire…” the ensign whispered, taking his hat off in reverence.

Without needing to be ordered, the following ships, which had finally freed themselves from the channel, began loosing fire bolts. Soon, more undead vessels started to burn in brilliant fire.

“We have movement across the shallows, sir!” Henry called out, rushing back to the helm.

Taking out his spyglass, he saw a swarm of undead that had jumped ship charging towards the shore. Among them, there was one clearly wearing a captain's hat. This irked him more than the fact he was undead.

At sight, Rowtond clicked his tongue. “A true captain would go down with his ship. Men aim for the shore and…” he trailed off at the sight of a charging cavalry force riding down the beach.

“Princess Agora…” Rowtond smirked. “Always showing up at the best of times.”

He continued to watch as the warrior princess and her soldiers ripped the abominations to pieces before boarding a rowboat to the shore to greet her.

“You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” Agora commented, gesturing to the now large funeral pyres.

“You have no idea… Thank you for the assistance with these ones,” Rowtond replied, grinning at the princess while gesturing to the still groaning remains around them.

“Please… we had an agreement,” Agora said, giving a big grin of her own.

“Still, the aid is always appreciated. I am sure such stunning valkyries as yourselves will inspire my men to greater feats.”

Agora chuckled at the compliment. “I’m sure they will. Though your flag man is doing one hell of a dance.”

Looking back to his ship, he could see they were repeating a message. ‘Elder beast escaped to deep waters.’

“Well, no rest for the wicked. We shall make repairs here and press on tomorrow.”

“Then we ‘Valkeryies’ shall ensure the fleet's safety from land.”