Drek scampered over to where Colb was pointing, climbed the stack of crates, and popped the window open. Peppersalty sea air wafted into the cargo hold.

Drek stuck his head out the window, and looked up. “Rrghegh, the pirate ship has ropes along the side. We could hop out and grab them to escape from here,” he pitched. “I hear lots of voices coming from our ship’s main deck, but the pirate ship sounds empty. I think most of the pirates have boarded this boat. It may be safer on their ship than staying here.”

As soon as he said that, a couple of pirates came tumbling down the stairs. “Aye, why arr’ these stairs covered in ice?” one exclaimed as his head smacked into the ground. They both had blood-covered rapiers in their hands.

Drek pulled out his Yiklar Bow of Returning Arrow and fired at the two humans. His iridhodium arrow clipped a pirate in the ear, then pierced the other one in the neck as it magically returned to its archer. “Rrghegh, let’s get out of here!” Drek ordered as he caught the arrow.

The goblins and elf quickly made their way over to Drek, who kept the pirates at bay with his Yiklar Bow of Returning Arrow while they climbed the crates.

27 made it to Drek first, and put his arm out the window. The pirate ship had been anchored right next to the merchant boat, so he didn’t have to reach far to grab one of the many ropes hanging along the side of the wooden vessel. Once he had a solid grip, the noble goblin slipped out the window and began to climb up.

Stibs soon followed behind. Although he was crippled in one of his legs, he had no issues climbing the ropes with his superior upper body strength.

Up next was Kashmir, whom Colb had encouraged to go before him for her own safety. The purple elf accidentally shattered the first rope she grabbed with her frosty grip – but was able to climb a different one by donning her pair of white mittens before touching it.

At this point, when it was just Colb and Drek left in the cargo hold, about half a dozen pirates had piled into the lower deck: each slipping on the icy stairs as they entered. Drek’s shiny iridhodium arrow had been keeping them at bay, but now their numbers were starting to overwhelm him.

The roguish goblin fired off one more shot, then jumped out the window, grabbing onto a nearby rope. His arrow cut through a pirate, curved around, then flew out the circular window after Drek – who caught it and stowed it in his cloak.

Colb looked at the pirates, upset about the destruction his friends had caused to them. Hmmm… this is going to make Kashmir think fighting is okay, he thought to himself.

“Rrghegh… grab a rope!” Drek called out. Colb turned, and saw the young goblin staring at him on the other side of the window. “They’re coming for you!”

Colb looked back, only to see a rapier flying right towards him. He instinctively lifted his wooden shield, blocking the thrown sword. “Hmmm, yes,” he agreed, reaching his arm out of the window.

Colb grabbed onto one of the rough, scratchy ropes. With Drek by his side, he climbed his way up, onto the pirate ship above.

When he arrived at the pirate ship’s main deck, Colb surveyed his surroundings. The area appeared to be deserted; all the pirates must have gone onto the merchant ship, not expecting anyone would board theirs during the attack.

This wooden vessel had been entirely painted black, and a sharp skull-and-crossbones design was carved into every post. A white-painted wooden plank stood out along the edge of the ship. It had been positioned like a sort of bridge between the pirate ship and the merchant ship, and must have been the connecting piece used by the pirates for their attack. Stibs pushed the white plank into the water, thus cutting the pirates off from returning to their vessel.

The goblins looked at the merchant boat they’d just escaped from. It appeared to have been completely overrun – all the human sailors had been slaughtered, and about a dozen pirates were searching for loot above-deck. The pirates were so busy ransacking the merchant boat, they hadn’t yet noticed their own vessel had been hijacked.

“Rrghegh… let’s claim this boat and sail away,” Drek pitched. “I don’t see anyone left to save on that merchant ship, so I think it’s best if we just leave. Does anyone know how to sail this boat?”

“Hurmph, survival expert here, right?” Stibs replied. “I’ll bet I can figure it out.”

“Rrghegh… then Stibs is captain. Any objections?” Drek declared. Nobody replied. “Good. If it’s okay with the captain, I’m going to check the lower deck for any threats while the rest of you help Stibs.”

Stibs nodded. Drek drew his bow, and head down into the lower decks of the pirate ship: ready to execute any threats that might loom.

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“Hurmph, my first order as captain: someone cut all the ropes along the edge of the ship, so none of those pirates can climb on-board like we just did.”

Her Yiklar Amulet of Open Ears glowing with understanding, Kashmir pulled off her mittens, and began touching all the ropes along the edge of the pirate boat – freezing and snapping each one off in the process.

“Hurmph… nice. 27, find the anchor and pull it up. Colb, find the steering wheel and hold it steady. I’ll hoist the sails and do everything else we need to get this ship moving. We’ll meet with Colb at the steering wheel when we’re done.”

“Hmmm, aye, aye, yes?” Colb replied. The three goblins then split off to complete their respective tasks.

Colb found a spiked wooden steering wheel at the back end of the ship, and held it steady against the peppersalt tides. As he did so, he carefully watched Kashmir, wary for her safety. Hmmm, we’re not out-of-the-woods yet, yes? Colb thought to himself.

Sure enough, he was right to think so. After only a few moments, the pirates along the merchant ship started yelling. From what they were saying, Colb could tell that they’d realized their own vessel was being stolen. They began loading crossbow bolts and firing them towards the pirate ship.

“Hmmm! Get behind me, yes?” Colb shouted to Kashmir. He pulled out his shield and held it firmly over his face with one hand, while still keeping the steering wheel steady with the other.

He heard a Yelp! from Kashmir, followed by a loud Whoosh! sound. Within a second, Colb felt pressure across his arm as the elf smacked into his shield. Colb soon realized she was firing another beam of freezing liquid out at the pirates.

Hmmm, this power of hers always propels her backwards, Colb thought to himself. She must’ve positioned herself in front of me because she knew I would catch her on my shield, yes?

Not wanting to betray this trust he’d apparently built up with the elf, Colb widened his stance, balancing himself to take on the force of the elf’s power. After about half a minute, she stopped firing, and dropped to the ground.

“Aye, there are elves on our ship!” a pirate shouted.

“Aye, stay away!” another pirate cried out. “You’ll all die if you engage an elf! Let them take our ship; there’s enough loot downstairs to buy a new one. It’s not worth losing more crew!”

Colb looked down at Kashmir. She was curled up on the ground, tiny globs of snow forming around her eyes. “Hmmm, are you crying?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”

Kashmir rolled over, showing him a crossbow bolt that had lodged in her shoulder. It had cut through part of her dress, and pierced her skin – and, of course, had immediately become covered in frost upon touching her.

“Hmmm,” Colb worried. “I’m not sure I can touch you to help. Can… can you take it out?”

Kashmir looked at Colb with her snow-covered eyes, then looked sadly at the crossbow bolt in her shoulder. With an uncovered hand, she wrapped her fingers around the tip of it, and tugged. The frigid crossbow bolt broke into shards, which crumbled to the ground. In their place, Kashmir had an open wound, through which a viscous clear liquid started pouring out rapidly.

“Hmmm, is… is that water?” Colb asked.

Kashmir shook her head. “It’s blood,” she whimpered. “The humans shot me…”

At this point, 27 had made his way back to the steering wheel. “MMmMmmmm, I heard some crossbow firing, but it sounds like they stopped, yes they did?” 27 asked.

“Hmmm, they decided to retreat,” Colb replied rapidly. “Do you have water or something, yes? Kashmir is bleeding, I want to clean around her wound, yes?”

27 patted his pockets, then pulled out the Yiklar Folding Cabin. “MMmMmmmm, one moment,” he replied. The goblin jogged over to a more open part of the deck, pushed the button to unfold his cabin, and when inside. After a moment, he jogged back out, holding a stone cup.

“Water from the kitchen,” he said, handing the cup to Colb. The chef goblin accepted the cup, and poured it over Kashmir’s wound.

“Hmmm, I think it’s good to clean it first, then we’ll try to cover it with something, yes?” he said. To his surprise, the water itself covered her wound. As it poured onto her skin, it froze, creating a blanket of ice that stopped her bleeding.

“MMmMmmmm, ice directly on the skin does not seem good,” 27 observed.

Kashmir wiped the snow off her eyes, and inspected her arm. She sniffled, then whispered, “…ice is fine on my skin, I mean look at me.” She cracked a small smile, touching the ship floor to leave behind a frosty handprint. “It feels better. Thank you.”

Colb smiled. Hmmm, as team medic, I finally feel like I’ve done something right, he thought to himself.

Suddenly, a large sail with a skull-and-crossbones design on it unfurled, and caught the wind. Colb held the steering wheel steady as he felt the pirate ship lurch forwards, off to the sea.

“Hurmph, we’re on our way,” Stibs grumbled, hobbling over to take Colb’s place at the steering wheel. “I’m worried those pirates might follow us with their merchant ship, though. They’ll probably want their ship back, so we’ll just have to sail faster than them.”

“Hmmm, there’s no need to worry about them,” Colb said. “It’s still not always the right answer to attack people,” he continued, looking at Kashmir. “Hmmm, but in this case, Kashmir’s attack scared the pirates enough to decide we’re not worth fighting, yes? I think I heard their captain shout an order to leave us alone, yes?”

Stibs and 27 looked down at Kashmir, and nodded with approval. “Hurmph, nice going, kid!” Stibs praised.

Kashmir got up from the ground, softly rubbing a hand over her ice bandage as she stood. “Um… thanks,” she muttered. The elf then tugged on her dress, inspecting the tear caused by the crossbow bolt.

Hmmm, although I’m thankful for our safety, and angry that the pirates hurt Kashmir, Colb thought to himself, looking back as they sailed away from the hijacked merchant ship, I’m getting nervous about how violently that interaction went. I fear Kashmir will hurt innocent humans on Jaiphione’s Crescent, yes? Not every person deserves to be frozen like that.

Colb then looked forwards, at the promising seas ahead. Hmmm, but then again, I’m glad to be going with her. Perhaps I can lead her down the right path when the time comes, yes? With the wind blowing on his ears, a cool peppersalt smell wafting across the deck, and a fresh new boat to carry the team, Colb started to feel like everything was going to turn out just fine.