Two trips were not nearly enough. Cira made the executive decision to leave Captain Wick with nothing which laid within her reach. The commandeered food cart was wheeled through the stairwell and beyond the pantry’s wall six times already as they brought the final load through. At this point there was only gold left, and they piled on as much as the cart would carry.

A few spilled off and rolled away here and there, but that was nothing of import. Still, her crew picked them up and stuffed their pockets until their pants nearly fell down.

One last sweep revealed naught but furniture, and Cira hopped onto the bed to take a couple test bounces, “I kind of want to steal his bed. It’s quite soft.” She fell onto her back and it was like tossing herself onto a cloud.

“Or maybe don’t.” Jimbo looked at her funny and she couldn’t determine why.

Even James had the same look in his eyes, “You don’t want that bed. Trust me.”

“What do you mean…?” Cira pressed into it with her hand and the softness was consistent. Yup, still good. “But I do want it. We can leave the bedframe.”

“That’s not really the problem…” For some reason he was sweating like he just couldn’t articulate the damn problem.

“What is going on with you guys?” She panned over the whole crew, and they shared the same awkward expression, even refusing to meet her gaze.

“If I may,” Olive spoke up, “You don’t want this bed… Uh, Wick doesn’t bathe often. That’s why. And he should be on his way here in around an hour, if there’s anything else you need…”

They weren’t too pressed for time, but an hour was cutting it close. The plan was to be gone in much less than that, but it was never a good idea to prepare for everything to go smooth. A little urgency was wise every once in a while.

“Ah, I see. At least he doesn’t have sponge maidens.” Surely, he sweats all that beer out all over this mattress. I must not be able to smell it because of this peculiar incense. Like berries and dried fruit. “I guess I’ll pass. Let’s go.”

“What’s a sponge maiden…?” Olive’s question went unheard as they made their way back to the ship.

“This better be it.” Shores looked increasingly concerned with each heap of treasure they brought in even if the last one was small, “I feel like we’ve been here too long.”

“Eighteen minutes.” James said quietly.

“Well good thing we’re done here.” Cira hopped onto the boat and let her crew move the goods over. Everything from the pantry was already on board and just for kicks, she had them load up the cart too. Cira glanced at her unexpected recruit, “Is the armory still downstairs?”

Joe’s information was a little outdated, so it was good she asked, “It’s in the second tower now.” Olive was being cooperative even though no compensation had been discussed yet—she was a keeper.

“Who even is this girl?” Shores asked.

Cira clasped her fingers together for a moment in thought, “Wick’s wife or something.”

“Oh. Nice.”

“I-I am not his wife!” She desperately cried.

“Man…” Cira shook her head. “Tough break, Wick.”

“Hang on.” Something didn’t sit right with Joe, and he squinted at the girl suspiciously, “I know I haven’t been here in a while, but what if she’s lyin’?”

“Yeah, she could lead us right to him.” There was no doubt on Jimbo’s face. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

Everyone simultaneously looked at the girl, and Cira cast her an inquisitive look.

“I swear, I’m telling the truth.” Olive took a timid step back, “W-why would I risk my neck for that bastard? I’m just trying to make a living. He didn’t want people coming into the building with all his treasure every time they needed to get weapons.”

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

It checked out as far as Cira was concerned, and the price of her being wrong was the same as if Joe was wrong. They could go downstairs where the armory used to be and run into a legion of pirates. This was no more than a coin toss.

“I trust her. Get us moving, Shores.” She seems sincere, and I don’t think she would lead us straight into our enemy with that look in her eyes. Cira thought this girl looked one wrong step away from death, and there was no reason she should believe Wick could overpower them fast enough to retrieve her.

With a shrug, Reverand approached the helm while the rest of her crew hoisted the sails. They were moving again in short order and backed away toward the hillside to come in at a different angle without passing the courtyard. Their camouflage seemed to work, but it wasn’t something she would trust to push her luck on. If one focused on the shrouded ship, even against the night sky, Cira was sure they would be noticed.

“Why…” Olive shook like a leaf and had trouble looking Cira in the eyes. “Why did you spare me?”

Cira had to suppress a chuckle, for her concerns were plenty understandable, “You were never going to die. This is a heist, not an invasion.”

The island was dark as feeble moonlight filtered through the mist, but the palace was lit up like a pyre. They tucked behind the hill and travelled around the side to aim for the second tower when Olive seemed to finally relax against the guardrail, “It will be guarded, you know. His men at the armory aren’t allowed to drink.”

“We’ll figure it out one way or the other… I don’t suppose the armory is on the top, is it?” Cira thought it was a longshot from a logistics point of view, but that would make dealing with an isolated group of pirates much easier.

“No, Wick’s hostages are at the top,” Olive said casually, “The weapons are on the bottom two floors.”

Cira thought she heard something that maybe shouldn’t be brushed over so quickly, “Hold on just a second. All his hostages are in the second tower?”

Wick’s habit of forcing men to fight for fear of their loved ones dying at his hand was downright despicable. It’s not even fair. He’s supposed to be the king, yet he relies on snatching up women throughout Hangman’s Cove as ransom to sustain his grip. Pathetic. And he had the gall to try and make me his wife? I’ll melt the bastard like butter in my hand.

“No… not all of them.” She made a regretful face, “There are a couple more storehouses across the island and one more on Plackelo… Too many to keep in one place.”

“Interesting…” She looked at Jimbo listening in with a flask in his hand and he started laughing.

“I like it. Let’s clean the son of a bitch out.” He spat toward the palace, “Serves ‘im right.”

“What are you idiots deciding?” James stood by near the helm but overheard their chatter.

“Change of plans.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder, “A great many damsels await rescue at the top of the tower.”

“No.” He formed an X with his arms, “We don’t have time for that. The armory is going to take a while.”

“Would you rather take two trips, or take care of it all tonight?”

It didn’t sit well with Cira to fly away from a bunch of locked up women on a ship packed to the brim with treasure. This may not have been part of a job or come with promised reward, but Cira the sorcerer was on sabbatical anyway. Helping those in need from someone like Captain Wick was only a matter of course. As weak as she was, this fell within her reach.

James groaned and gave her a tired look, “There’s no arguing with you… We have to make this quick.”

“Then you better go plot the course.” Cira offered a dramatic salute, and he went to break the news to Shores.

After a long drink from his flask, Jimbo shrugged his shoulders, looking off into the night as they picked up speed. A brief silence ensued, and Olive asked another question, “Why are you here…?” Her eyes flitted around like she was trying to figure Cira out.

“For this.” Cira reached into her pocket and withdrew a pearly white brooch, carved in the image of the sun. There was a fair deal more below deck, but she thought this piece was pretty. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a rather prominent Final Sky symbol, so she couldn’t wear it. “The rest is just a bonus.”

“Is that… white gold?”

“Yep.” Cira nodded, “But I’m hoping to find all the staves he’s stolen from mages over the years as well.”

“Oh,” The two looked at the approaching palace as they ascended over the trees. “Those will probably be on the second floor. You may not need to cross any guards.”

That should make things simple once the task at hand was complete. Now their ship rose up toward the clouds until they were eye level with the second tower’s peak. It was rounded and ended in a single point. A single lit candle flickered in an open window that revealed none of the dark room beyond. Shores brought them in slow, just like last time.

Everything was silent up here save for the wind. Lights from the courtyard flashed on the palace walls, but the unorthodox celebration in honor of Wick’s fleet getting demolished by a witch could not be heard from such a height.

“Does that window work?” Cira asked. “And how many hostages should I be expecting?”

Olive nodded eagerly, “It’s the whole top floor, so you can enter wherever. There’s maybe a hundred people up there if you count children.”

Oh boy, I’m responsible for children now. Maybe we should have gone to the armory first. “Hey, Shores.” Cira called out. “How many people fit on this boat?”

“Eighty or so if we stuff it.” He replied, “We’ve already got too much weight, though.”

Olive made a troubled face that Cira tried to assuage with a smile, “We’ll be fine. Kids are light.”