Harpoons slammed into the back of our vessel, linking us to the Ravager ship. Captain Sprin had warned us about them early on in our voyage. Typically, the group was kept in check, limiting their pirating to less populated inlets. However, with the expansion of the Temple Aramaz, the Ravagers could pirate wherever they pleased without fear of punishment from the snake god.

Callin and Reika moved instinctively, meeting the pirates as they jumped from their ship onto ours. Berthold rushed below deck to grab the Captain while Gemma threw whatever wasn't bolted to the deck at the invading swashbucklers. As the Ravager vessel inched closer, I noticed a dingy wrapping around the front side of the ship.

"There's more coming from the bow!" I shouted out.

Nev dropped from the crow's nest, wrapping a branch around the railing that went taught when they were only a foot off the ground. I followed suit, hopping down below while constructing rope as I fell to break my fall. I touched down on the deck to absolute chaos.

Nev, Reika, and Callin held Dozens of Ravager pirates at the ship's stern. Waves of smoke rolled across the deck intermittently as Leif was attempting to avoid friendly fire in the form of a contact high. Gemma had already made her way to the front of the ship and began throwing off the smaller boarding party one by one as they attempted to climb aboard. Bert finally arrived above deck with the Captain, looking disheveled and slightly moist.

"Mercy!" The Captain called out to me. "I need you, m' boy. There's a job only you can do."

My heart swelled before I went below deck to see what the Captain was referring to. Holes pocked the ship's underbelly, allowing water to rush in from all sides. Sprin didn't need a hero. He needed a shipwright.

The sounds of battle raged above as I walked from hole to hole patching. The process was simple and made even simpler through my abilities. Step one, find a hole. Step two, put some wood over the hole. Step three, secure the wood. Usually, the last step would be the most investive, but all it took was manipulating razor-thin wire through the wood, effectively sewing it onto the ship. The process was simple but infuriating. By the time I finished patching, a stray cannonball or spike would puncture a new hole, forcing me to start back over. After about thirty minutes of this vicious cycle, I decided to head above deck to check on my team. Somehow it was much worse than before.

Dozens of Ravagers boarded our ship and were spread throughout the deck, pockets surrounding each of our crew members, now separated by their presence. The pirates weren't stronger than us, but they had us beat in sheer numbers. For every five our crew struck down, ten would return to take their place. In the distance, two more galleys headed our way adorned with a scarred goat, a symbol of the Ravagers.

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"Mercy!" Captain Sprin shouted while using his rapier to fend off pirates. "I need you downstairs patching!"

"It's a numbers game, Captain," I said, gesturing to the pirates' backup.

"Don't you dare sink my ship, boy!" Captain replied.

"If it does, we'll just make you a new one," I joked while crafting a harness onto myself.

I tethered a rope to my harness as I passed Nev above deck. A single branch extended from their arm, twisting to chase and skewer every unwelcome guest aboard. I fastened the rope to Nev's arm as I passed. They nodded in response, seeming to understand the implication.

"I need to get aboard their ship!" I shouted out to any of my team able to help.

Berthold answered the call. Four arms held two great shields side by side, forming a plow. He pushed across the boarding plank with me in tow, launching any Ravagers attempting to cross off into the slurry below. After I was safely across, Berthold returned, and I deconstructed the plank. I paused momentarily as a crowd of Ravagers surrounded me on deck.

What was the plan again? I asked myself. "Hey, Broke, what's the quickest way to sink this ship?"

Water-based vessels tend to suffer when struck with irreparable holes.

"Keep it simple. I like it," I replied.

A gang of pirates rushed me as I contemplated my next move. As the group brandished swords and aimed bows, I took a defensive stance, deconstructing enough fabric to sling the lot of them overboard. However, a thick cloud of smoke absorbed the group before we could scrap. At first, the sound of confusion came from the smoked-out pirates. As the smoke dissipated, one Ravager erupted into uncontrollable laughter while another two began fighting one another. The remaining were rendered unconscious.

"Hey dude, need a hand?" Leif offered.

The bohemian man floated down to my level on a cloud made of smoke. He lounged on his side with his baseball bat-sized blunt held aloft. I would have been impressed if it had come from anyone but my romantic rival.

"No, thank you. I'm fine," I lied, deconstructing the artillery mounted to the front of the Ravager vessel.

Despite my protests, Leif kept the pirates at bay long enough for me to create a massive spike from two artillery and their ammunition. I constructed it five feet above the deck with a rope tethering the spike to the railing of the Ravager ship. After I finished crafting, the metal nail dropped, crashing through the top of the deck and the hull below. The rope tying the spike to the railing dissipated quickly as the ship slowed rapidly and began leaning forward.

I moved to the front of the ship and stood on the railing staring at the fifteen yards of water that separated our two vessels.

"Need a lift?" Leif asked, effortlessly hovering next to me.

"No, thanks, I came prepared," I replied, gesturing to the rope and harness I had strapped around my person. "Nev!"

Once the rope became taught, I jumped from the railing and felt Nev pull me closer to our ship. Unfortunately, the force wasn't quite enough, and I crashed into the drink below. I skirted across the water's surface like a human-shaped inner tube before Nev slowly lifted me onto the deck. As I was hoisted up, I saw the other two Ravager vessels stop at their friendly sinking ship.

As I settled onto the deck, sopping wet and exhausted, Leif effortlessly glided down to join our group.

"Woah, dude! That was a cool jump."

You should have taken the lift.