"3 - Project Talon" by Ben C. Brannan

“You called for me, sire?”

After yesterday’s court, Kael had graciously ‘donated’ his clothes to a charity. With the money earned from his last venture, he was able to buy himself new, comfortable clothes as well as other apparel. His new armor was finely crafted and custom made for his frame. A well forged breastplate was clamped around his torso, bearing a muscle motif. His shoulders were donned with matching guards, with thick leather running down above his elbow. Around his wrists he wore hard bracers as a substitute for a cumbersome shield. At his belt hung an exquisite scabbard that looked far richer than the lackluster sword inside. It was his first sword ever given to him, retrieved by Aran in Surallua, and bore a simple wooden handle and a short, slightly broad blade that tapered into a long and dangerous tip.

“I believe you meant that to be a question,” said King Landis, looking up from the paperwork spread across his oak desk and raising a dark eyebrow.

“Afraid not, your highness,” said Kael with a slight grin. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on the wall behind Landis’s head. “If you hadn’t, I doubt I would have been allowed in.”

Landis let out a thoughtful hum and turned back to his paperwork. After a few moments of silence, Kael coughed politely. Landis put his papers down and leaned back in his leather-bound chair, squeezing the bridge of his nose. “Have it your way, agent. I called you here to receive instructions for your next mission in my name.”

Kael looked to the ceiling in resignation. “What fun. I should have known your friend Ambrose wouldn’t be anywhere around here.”

“That is definitely one of our problems. You see, the last I heard of Ambrose was that he was living on one of the Cursed Isles.”

Kael’s jaw dropped. Ignoring formalities all together, he marched forward and placed his palms on the desk. “The Cursed Isles?”

“Quite. He’s actually living on a smaller island off the coast of Bimenta proper. You should have no trouble finding him once there, though chartering a ship to sail to the island will prove difficult.”

“You have a navy at your fingertips, sir,” Kael growled. “Why can’t you order one of your captains to sail to Bimenta with a message requesting Ambrose’s presence?”

There was an audible sigh from Lambrose. He turned his chair so that he sat looking out the large bay window that overlooked the harbor of Cyril, the capital city of Altaras. It wasn’t exactly a beautiful city, but over the centuries it had been refined until now the inner city was filled with nobles of differing rank and rich merchants. There was the occasional commoner who had somehow managed to find a place inside, but the rest lived outside the old walls that so conveniently hid their dirty shacks from the palace while protecting the rich mansions.

Men and women thronged the streets, dressed in numerous fashions across the continent. Merchants could be heard on the cusp of hearing, shouting out their wares. King Landis sat, surveying the populous with a keen eye. “There are times I wish this city were filled with good men of modest social standing and armed soldiers. Other times I am glad Cyril is instead filled with pompous nobles. Today is not one of those times. To the common eye, we have an expansive navy that constantly patrols our shores. The truth is that we do not. All my ships are owned by merchants who transport goods to and from Altaras. The only armed vessels are inside the bay.”

Kael stepped slowly back from the desk and followed the king’s gaze out to the window. “You could still use one of their ships?”

“And waste even more gold on you?” Landis laughed. “No. I will give you the gold to hire a captain yourself, but that’s all.”

Kael opened his mouth to voice his complaint but fell silent under the king’s gaze. Finally Landis smiled and dismissed his agent. Kael grumbled all the way down to the docks.

Cyril’s docks were expansive. Altaras may not have a large fleet, but because it was the only major seaport in the west and had safe roads throughout the continent, it had become a popular destination for traders. No matter the hour, men of all nationalities swarmed the docks on one errand or another.

Kael had checked the slips for every ship moored in Cyril, then marked the names of the people who captained the only ships capable of getting him to Bimenta safely. It was nearing midday and so far eight of his ten intended contacts had refused his offer. His most recent attempt to buy his way to the Cursed Isles resulted in a round of laughter in the entire inn. His ears still burned as he thought about, his anger swelling up inside him.

Any other city, and his head would have been rolling on the ground, Kael thought to himself, kicking the ground. His thoughts continued to rage inside him, unchecked, as the thoughts of young, embarrassed, men tend to do. Overall, it had not been a good day.

He looked once more at his list and checked it twice over to ensure he had the right address. Then he turned sharply down a small lane that ran up a slight hill to the manor beyond. Captain O’Connor lived up there, just inside the city wall and with a beautiful view of the harbor.

Kael trudged up the path to the heavily lacquered, mahogany door. He spared a few moments to make himself presentable, straightening his hair and reluctantly polishing his armor slightly. He never liked armor that gleamed.

Finally he judged himself worthy enough and knocked loudly on the door. He only needed to wait a few seconds before the door opened and he was looking directly into the eye of Captain O’Connor himself. There was a gasp and the door slammed closed abruptly.

Kael knocked again. “Captain O’Connor! Open up! I’ve got a business deal for you!”

His next knock missed completely. The door had opened so fast Kael hadn’t even realized it. “A business deal, you say? Well don’t just stand there, lad! Get in here quickly, before anyone sees you!”

Kael didn’t miss a beat as he ducked in quickly. His first impression of the room was isolation. The blinds were drawn and every door in sight closed. Several candles were alight around the darkened room with its high ceiling, along with a roaring fire that was gloomily crackling away in the hearth. Above was darkness, accompanied by faint creaks of rusty iron. An apparently unused, ornate chandelier hung from the ceiling just in front of a second story landing. There were stairs up to the dark landing, covered in rich and well cleaned carpet, but the inky blackness that permeated every inch of the large room above Kael’s head made the landing look ominous. There were no other lights that he could see anywhere else in the house. Only after the front door was closed did he bother to ask about the captain’s strange behavior and the state of his house.

“Never you mind about that,” he grumbled, sitting himself in a chair by the fire and indicating for Kael to sit as well. “I have a few men looking out for me, but they’ll be dead before they get into this room, rest assured. Now what business have you with me?”

The captain grinned greedily and Kael sagged slightly. Without even asking, he knew how this would turn out. But he had to ask. “I need to charter a ship to the Bimenta island.”

The captain’s greedy smile disappeared as quickly as the door had opened. He paled slightly and shook his head. “I take it you mean the second of the three cursed islands in the Exsevari Gulf?”

Even after so many rejections, Kael had to smile. “The one and only, Captain. I’ve got good gold if you are just willing to-”

“Willing? Willing? No captain in his right mind would take this job! You’re insane to even consider it! Dark powers thrive around those islands. Any ship that heads into that gulf is never heard from again!”

Kael stood up, his temper once more getting the better of him. “You call yourself a captain! If no one has ever come back, how do you think we got maps of the place? And the names? Pirates sail through the area all the time!”

“Then hire yourself a pirate!”

Kael went quiet. He sat down, looking into the fire blankly. “I’ve got good money for your trouble. I will admit that few pirates come out of the gulf, but some do. As an experienced captain, you should be able to sail through without any trouble. Unless you like being upstaged by a pirate?”

Captain O’Connor was motionless as he contemplated the risk to reward ration. Finally he nodded. “All right. You have yourself a deal.” He stood up, proffering a hand to the young king’s agent. Kael gave a relieved smile to take the hand. He was inches away when the captain quickly withdrew it. Kael looked up in a slightly annoyed countenance. “Captain?”

The Captain’s face paled. He turned and ran across the room, slamming a door closed that led into the hallway. This was quickly bolted and a bar ran across it. Then O’Connor unsheathed his sword and backed away, taking up a position near the window. “Can you fight boy?” the captain asked in tones of worry.

Kael raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What kind of question is that? Of course I don’t! This armor is just for show.”

“Quit being a smart ass,” the man growled. “Unsheathe your sword and guard the front door! Quickly! Else I won’t take your deal.”

This got Kael moving. His blade was out and he was by the door in a matter of seconds. Both men stood in silence.

Time passed and Kael grew impatient. “Who’s after your life?” he whispered across the room. The captain just waved him away, keeping his gaze on the window. After five more minutes of silence there was a muffled curse and before Kael knew it, he was under attack.

A dark shadow had fallen from above, apparently from the loft of the second floor. Kael caught a glimpse of the man, deeply tanned and sporting dreadlocks and loose clothing, before steel began clashing.

His mysterious assailant was fast and agile, two ornate daggers spun between his fingers as if he were a circus performer. Unfortunately, the tricks he know were lethal ones, and the man seemed to be employing them all in a quick kill.

Just before the captain closed in, the stranger looked up with his lucid, silver eyes, staring directly at Kael. “What kind of bodyguard are you? You should be dead.”

“I’m not a bodyguard. Captain!”

The stranger looked up with a confused look. “Wh-?” He began, just as Captain O’Connor caught him from behind. The man barely avoided a lethal cleave to his back as he stumbled forwards. Again, he barely avoided a stab from Kael, his stomach actually sliding across the flat of the blade as he fell first forwards, then sideways.

The attacker was quickly on his feet. He raised both daggers, the light of the candles glinting off the single sapphires encrusted in each dagger handle. He blinked slowly, his strange eyes surveying the scene. Then he smiled.

Kael charged, bringing his sword back and relying on his armor to protect him more from the daggers than his parrying skill. Instead of taking the bait, the man dived to the ground and did a perfect roll underneath Kael’s legs. Kael stumbled, missing a man who should have been there, before colliding heavily with the wall.

Captain O’Connor tried his hand with his heavy cutlass. He managed one solid strike that glanced off both the stranger’s daggers. The captain was down in one swift kick to the groin by the darker colored man. “Here’s your reward, you backstabbing dog!”

“Catch!”

The assailant looked up. He saw a coffee table hurtling towards him at high speed. With almost uncanny reflexes, he was able to duck under the table, only to be hit across the shoulder with a chair.

Kael threw a stool which missed as the man staggered back almost drunkenly. He cursed both his aim and luck before picking up a vase and lobbing it.

The vase smashed across the man’s back and he let out a cry. A plate missed his head, but Kael ripped a shelf off the wall with nothing but his bare hands. The thrown shelf caught the man in the side and he staggered into a wall.

“Stop throwing furniture at me!”

Kael had no choice but to go toe to toe with the obviously faster man once more, as the only furnishings left in the room were too heavy to just pick up and throw. He spared a glance at the captain who was slowly regaining his feet, wincing as he did so. “Cheap shot,” whimpered the captain.

As O’Connor and Kael advanced, however slow it may have been for the recovering O’Connor, their opponent’s eyes were running around the length of the room, apparently looking for something. Just as Kael made a lunge, the man leaped backwards, landing on the banister of the stairs behind him. Kael noticed the man had bare feet, a sure sign that he was accustomed to the sea, though at present he was more interested in murdering the swine for coming in and trying to ruin his deal with possibly the only captain willing to take him where he wanted to go.

The strange man ran up the banister as if it were a balance beam, Kael charging up the stairs and hot on his heels. Just as the man reached the junction where the slanted banister met the horizontal railing along the landed, he jumped. He planted his feet on the wooden barrier and jumped.

Kael’s eyes widened as he watched the man fall into the darkness. Surely by the way he fell, he would be found on the floor below with a broken neck. But instead of the sickening crack Kael was expecting, there was a loud creak.

Straining his eyes, he was able to make out a large form moving in the darkness. The chandelier!

The assailant let out a whoop of joy. Kael was busy judging the distance between the landing and the large mass of candle-bearing iron when the man swung back out into the darkness with practiced ease.

The man landed in a roll and made it halfway to the window. He turned, finding O’Connor’s back facing him as the captain hurried up to Kael’s side. Opportunity must be utilized when given.

The was a tinkling of broken glass falling on stone and the man was gone, running off into the night. Kael made his way down the stairs, taking them two at a time, until he reached Captain O’Connor, sprawled across the first few stairs and just inside the pool of light created by the fire.

Kael didn’t have to check his business associate to be sure he was dead; the seven inch blade of the dagger protruding from his back was evidence enough. Still, Kael turned him over to look into his dead eyes. “Damn,” he whispered. He looked around the room, spying the window that had been broke. “Damn.”

He grabbed the dagger and wrenched it from the corpse’s back. Without giving a second glance to the late captain, Kael ran for the window and was through it in a head-long leap before he even thought of wondering what was on the other side of the window.

It was a thorn bush. It wasn’t a small, nicely pruned thorn bush, but rather a sprawling bush that grew up the sides of the house with thorns as long as two inches. Kael cursed as he rolled through the plant, each thorn tearing skin and scraping against his breastplate. He got to his feet and looked around the dark courtyard curiously.

There, reflecting so brilliantly the light of the moon, were the shining silver eyes of this assassin. Kael ran after him, the man dodging into the shadows and running out into the street.

The man took no obvious effort to hide as he hurried away down the small road. Kael stuck fast to the man’s tail, unwilling to simply allow him to run away. After ten minutes of chasing, both men were fatigued and breathing heavily. Kael had no idea where he had been lead.

He glanced up, realizing that in his reverie he had ended up farther south than he had ever been before. He silently execrated his luck; he was now running along the streets of the poorest section of Cyril, well outside the protection of the city’s walls and it’s well enforced laws. In fact, Kael was sure patrols in this section were kept at its minimum to keep the lives of the watchmen and soldiers safe.

Kael sighed theatrically. The men recruited into the watch weren’t half-wits. They would overlook crimes that would earn a man his life in the Inner City, simply because it was easier than trying to track down the culprit and then kill whatever gangs protected the offender in this rough part of town. This specific part was run by the Dock Men, former sailors, dock workers and pirates who had banded together and formed a formidable and extensive fighting force. He entertained the idea of pitting the Dock Men against some of the more powerful city gangs with a genuine smile.

While Kael knew all about this part of the city, like everyone in Cyril did, he had never walked its streets and he was at a loss where his target had gone. The man had just disappeared into the night.

Something at the back of Kael’s mind was trying in vain to catch his attention. He was dimly away of the voice, but ignored it, concentrating on walking and finding the murderer, or at least getting back to a place he recognized.

The voice in the back of his mind was screaming. Kael slowed his pace. The man had stayed in sight for the past twenty minutes and now, through fatigue, he just happened to escape? No, he must have been able to escape all along. So he was playing with him?

The final pieces of the puzzle slammed into place with a sound akin to lead slabs dropping down onto one another, with a much similar weight also falling suddenly on his mind. He had been tricked.

Something behind him moved. It could have been a boot scraping against cobbles, or the small exhalation of breath. Either way, Kael ducked. A dagger sliced the air where his neck had been only a second before. Kael felt the wind of the arm as it moved above him and he rolled away, avoiding a vicious kick.

“When a man dressed up in such pretty, and I’m guessing expensive, armor just waltzed into our territory, I thought he was a stupid man,” growled a voice behind Kael. “Maybe he isn’t stupid after all.”

Kael stopped short, only a few feet from the wall of a building at the street’s edge. Turning around, he saw five men, dressed roughly and with grins on their faces. “I’m a trained soldier dressed in armor,” replied Kael, resting his hand on his sheathe. “You are a simple brigand in rags and wielding a blade a good thirty, forty inches smaller than mine? I would have thought you were the stupid one.”

The mugger who had spoken motioned around him, dagger in hand. From the recesses of an alley came burly men, bashers not unlike those employed by Aran in Surallua. Unfortunately, each of these bashers had the thick beards and grungy hair of those born in the far north. Simpletons by nature, they somehow managed to thrive in their harsh environment and beat back every invasion thrown at them, save one. Gods, it had taken the entire might of the old Empire to crush these barbarians. Now he would have to face eight of them, plus the five city men around him.

He realized he had grossly underestimated the Dock Men. “Don’t you even want to know why I’m here?” Kael didn’t even wait for an answer. “There’s a dangerous man running free on these streets. He could be a very big threat to your gang.”

The leader of the assembled criminals, the man who had so far done all the speaking, looked around. “Dangerous man? I see thirteen dangerous men.” He paused for effect. “Get him.”

“Thirteen’s an unlucky number!” Kael bellowed, unsheathing his sword in one fluid movement. He stepped sideways, keeping to one side of the road with every intent to turn and run when given the chance. The first few men who ran at him died swiftly as Kael’s skills with the blade became evident to the muggers, or more to the point, to the two corpses on the ground in particular.

They attacked in turns, each man trying hard to stay out of the other’s way. They were able to prolong the attack, Kael knew. He was one man, and they now numbered eleven. It was more than enough to wear him out and kill him quietly in fatigue.

Kael lashed out again and again, striking daggers, swords and clubs. When his blade met with steel, sparks would shower the area around him, briefly illuminating the road. He became aware of the three men who had drifted off from the main body, making their way behind him. In a daring move, Kael parried a dagger and thrust the point of his short sword deep into the throat of his opponent. Ignoring the man moving in from his right, Kael spun around expecting to deflect a blow.

Yet the blow never came. Instead he found himself staring into a pair of unmoving silver eyes. There wasn’t even a glimmer of surprise from them, though the voice that belong to them said, “Watch it.”

For a moment Kael stood unsure of what the man meant. Then he remembered the men behind him. Quickly Kael rolled off to the side, hearing the dagger scrape along the back of his breastplate. He allowed himself a brief moment of self satisfaction before bringing his sword up.

The strange man with the silver eyes was on the back-stabber in seconds. With his one remaining dagger, he was able to slash the aggressor between every rib that lined his right side.

Kael ignored the feat, focusing on keeping himself alive. With the odds two to seven, they were still at a high disadvantage. Kael could only take two, possibly three at a time, and he wasn’t going to rely on the man he had set out to kill to help protect him in this fight.

The street thugs had encircled Kael and the other man. A hand was held out towards Kael. “Give me my other dagger and we both get out of this alive.”

Kael glanced over, seeing the man’s silver eyes staring at his intended opponent. “Tell me your name, and you will get your wish.”

“I am Bahari, captain of the Silver Runner and feared pirate throughout the Infinarre Sea! Remember my name for the rest of your short lives!” Bahari’s last comment had obviously been directed to those who surrounded him. Satisfied, Kael tossed the dagger over just as the seven men attacked at once.

The men to Kael’s right reached him first. He struck the daggers, deftly batting them away before ramming his shoulder into the sternum of the attacker. He broke from the circle and managed a swift stab into the back of a second man.

Bahari hadn’t needed to break from the circle at all. In fact, it seemed to work to his favor as he spun first one way and then the other. His speed was almost unnatural, his ability to block attacks without even seeing them uncanny. With each pass he parried and sliced a man until the three who were trying to press their attack fell from long slashes through their ribs.

Kael looked over the last two Dock Men, daring either to make a move. They seemed to consider freedom for the merest second, a second which cost them both their lives. To the right, Kael’s short sword brushed past his opponent’s guard and pierced his stomach. On his left side, Kael brought his heavy bracer into the head of his other opponent with a sharp crack. Both men slumped to the ground.

Kael smiled grimly to himself, wiping his sword tactfully on the clothes of the nearest corpse. The blood on Bahari’s dagger’s seemed to slide off the steel as Kael watched.

“So. Bahari.” Kael glanced at the man to confirm it was indeed his real name. There was an immediate reaction, Bahari turning around to see what was needed. “Tell me. Why shouldn’t I kill you where you stand? I had a very important business deal going on with Captain O’Connor until you came along. Why in Sortutha’s name did you kill him?”

Bahari watched Kael’s face begin to flush and he laughed. “Calm down, boy. I just saved your life incase you didn’t notice. I guess we can call it even.”

“No!” Kael strode forwards, grabbing Bahari by the collar of his shirt and forcing back into the wall of a building. He lifted the man up until they were eye-to-eye. “Explain it all to me and I might let you live.”

“Or you will let me live!” Bahari spat to the side, apparently unperturbed by the rough handling he was enduring. “Put me down and I’ll explain it all.”

Kael hesitated. Slowly he let the man slide to the ground, but kept his short sword pointed at him as a constant reminder of who was in charge.

“My name is Bahari Dual-Blades. I am a… man of negotiable loyalties.”

“A pirate?”

Bahari couldn’t suppress a grin, flashing his silver teeth to match his deep eyes. “If that’s what you want to call it. I’ve been sailing the west coast of North Marentia for nigh on six years. Been a sailor, captain and pirate for the best part of twenty-eight years. All me life!”

Kael turned to lean against a free area of the wall beside Bahari. He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “Look. You killed off my only chance in getting to Bimenta. I don’t care if I have to force you to-”

“Bimenta?” Bahari interrupted. He turned to Kael, this time grabbing him by his shirt collar. “You seek to travel to the Cursed Isles? Why in blazes… Just who exactly are you? I doubt you just want to visit the most reputable series of islands in the known world.”

“I’m a circus performer who has a sick aunt living on the island and I must see her!” Kael scoffed. “It doesn’t matter about my name. You’re going to work for me.”

Bahari paused, his face immobile. His eyes slowly worked their way down to stare at his own hands pressed on Kael’s chest, then back up to Kael’s almost impassive expression. Then his face split into a grin. “I told you my name, it’s only fair you tell me yours. The way I see it, you need to get to this island. And there’s no way you can force me to do anything, even if you were to threaten my life. I am a pirate, after all. I risk my life every waking hour.”

“You can call me Kael,” he mumbled. “I can’t tell you the business I have in Bimenta, even if I wanted to. All I can do is ask you to take me there, and for a reward you will be paid handsomely. Is it a deal, friend pirate?”

Bahari’s grin stayed plastered on his face. He backed up and held out a hand, shaking vigorously as Kael clasped it. “Follow me to my ship, friend Kael.” The last words were half mocking, half jest. Nevertheless, Bahari maundered down the road, each move looking as if it had been carefully choreographed beforehand to make him look as ridiculous and drunk as possible. Kael sighed and reluctantly followed.

As it turned out, Bahari was drunk. He had downed a small bottle of wine which he had pulled form the depths of his billowing white shirt. Kael stayed a half step behind the pirate, allowing him to lead them out of the Outer City Docks in the quickest route possible. Soon the two were trudging through a small park, possibly the safest place in the city found outside the walls.

“Let me guess,” Kael said gruffly. “You’re got a four inch model ship floating in the pond?”

“We’re not going to the pond!” Bahari shot back. “Just follow me!”

Bahari took one step to the left, another to the right, then tried a simultaneous step forwards. It took either immense luck or Bahari’s unnatural reflexes to pull off the sudden twist that enabled Bahari to right himself and continue down the road. Kael marveled. What a character this man was turning out to be. He was most unlike any pirate Kael have ever set eyes on. They should be bloodthirsty, lice-infested and greedy, not relatively good, clean, and greedy men.

His circuitous route took them all through the park and out the northern gate of Cyril. Kael had to smile. The guard house was completely run down and unmanned. He made a mental note to remind the King of the risk to their security. After another mile of walking, Bahari made a sudden and sharp turn off the brick road.

Their conversation having been kept silent, Kael decided now was a good time to speak. “You’ve proven to be a murderer and a friend, pirate. Before we go any further, tell me why I should trust you. For all I know, you could be leading me into a trap.”

Bahari turned with a smile on his face. “Ah, so the boy does have a brain! I was wondering when you would consider that. But just ask yourself: Where’s the profit in it? I have no reason to kill you. I get no money from it. If you weren’t the king’s first mate, as it were, I would never have trusted you.”

Kael couldn’t stop himself from taking a sharp breath. He stood stock still, staring at Bahari. “How do you know? I’ve thrown the king’s name around, I admit, but so have his other servants. But for you to name me his..”

“Agent,” Bahari finished. “I may look a fool, but I’m far from it. I’ve kept my own records. You’re the obvious choice, and of course you did just admit it to me.”

Kael was gob smacked. Not only had Bahari baited him, but he had taken the bait without realizing! The hook was in too deep by now. “… You will keep my secret safe.”

“I will keep your secret safe,” Bahari repeated. He turned back around and began walking. “We’re almost there. You’ve proven you had a brain, so tell me where I’m heading.”

Kael thought fast about the surrounding features of Cyril and where he was in relation to them. There were several choices of where to moor your ship, even around this area. He studied Bahari carefully and then broke into a grin. He understood how the pirate’s mind worked. “Tanner’s Bluff. The tide is out, so even a large ship could stay secreted inside as long as it sailed out before the tide.”

Bahari laughed. “Very good! Yes, that’s where I am. I just hope you can climb down a rope. Oh, and the crew! I have to introduce you to the entire crew!” The pirate began to ramble on as he led Kael down to the broken bluffs. Kael did his best to ignore it as there seemed to be no real point Bahari was making.

After five more minutes of walking, by which time the expansive moon had risen over the horizon, they came finally to Tanner’s Bluff. Tied around an outcrop of rock was a sturdy rope, which Bahari took without thought and jumped down. He had done it without breaking stride. Kael glanced over the edge, wondering if there was perhaps only a small drop.

What he saw almost caused him to fall to his death. The drop was more than two hundred feet, straight down into water that may as well have been solid rock. He felt his body falling forward and he sat down hurriedly. “Heights. Wonderful.”

“I don’t have all day!” shouted the voice of Bahari from down below. Kael gritted his teeth and grabbed the rope, lowering himself down. He began to go hand over hand, feet wrapped around the rope, but the breeze blew him from side to side like a rag doll. He could feel his palms sweat as he began to realize how easily he could slip and fall onto the sharp rocks below. He closed his eyes tight to stop his vision from swimming, and in the darkness heard a voice call out.

“Put your feet on the rock!” Bahari yelled. “Walk down!”

Kael hurried to comply, hating the entire idea of having to drop down two hundred feet with his very life depending on nothing more than a rope that seemed to be getting thinner and more dangerous as he went further down. He wondered how he was going to get to the ship without swimming.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Kael eased himself down with stiff arms onto a small boat. Next to him stood Bahari, deftly untying the boat from it’s anchor on the rocks. Another rope led from the boat into the large crevasse in the cliff side. “Great place, this is,” Bahari said. “There’s a small offshore reef that keeps most of the breakers from crushing my ship and this little boat into face of this bluff.”

“It’s so unfortunate we couldn’t have been provided stairs,” mumbled Kael, sitting down wearily in the boat. Bahari was still grinning. After a few seconds Kael submitted and asked the strange man what he was thinking about that caused him to grin so much to himself.

“Nothing, lad, nothing,” Bahari said airily. He seemed to be pulling a rope through a series of metal rings. “Just hold on tight.”

Kael didn’t even have time to ask why. Bahari had unlashed the last anchoring rope just as the surge of the tide was drawing back. It pulled the small boat along with it until another small breaker pushed them forwards. Kael yelled out, prepared to jump from the boat as the cliff sped towards him. Bahari put a reassuring hand on Kael’s shoulder for a brief second, then he gripped onto the sides of the boat even more fiercely.

Ropes twanged, metal groaned and wood creaked as the boat fell towards the side of the crevasse. Something, presumably a rope, stopped them short and the two men inside were thrown forwards. Now a clear path was seen inside the crevasse, ropes having been tied to make boundaries so that the boat would harmlessly bounce from one side to the other as it drifted down into darkness.

Even without the ropes, any novice could tell that this cave was inhabited. From the darkness came the groaning of wood, water splashing noisily against the hull of a ship, and of course the boisterous laughter of the crewmen.

Lanterns were hung up across the ship, illuminating the cave that was barely able to fit such a large vessel. It wasn’t the biggest one Kael had seen by any means, but it was definitely the grandest of all the sail-bearing ships. In fact, he had never seen a ship such as this one.

There were three masts, a fact which made Kael wonder in amazement. Most ships had only one mast and sail. Sails were rolled up and bound tightly, ropes running across and between and every which way. Pulleys squeaked happily, sliding along the rigging to enable the sails to easily unfurl at a moment’s notice. The large ship rocked from side to side in the now placid waters. The entire vessel was modeled after the ships of Tharne, an island nation in the Infinarre Sea. The wood had obviously been imported from elsewhere, since Kael knew for a fact Tharne had precious little of that commodity.

There was only one thing that bothered Kael. The ship was beautiful, to be sure. It even had an exquisitely carved figurehead of a water nymph, though the effect was mostly ruined by the large metal bound ram on the bow. There were ballistae of varying sizes on the quarterdeck, and some catapults as well. The weather beaten and unsightly weapons were obviously installed by different men than those who had built the actual ship.

“It’s amazing,” breathed Kael. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It could take on an entire fleet of ships!”

“We can move through nigh on headwind!” Bahari stood up as the boat slowly drifted towards the miniature galley. “Managed to steal it from Tharne only last month. Not even the shipwrights in Altaras and Espandona have any idea such a thing exists.”

Kael blinked. An idea was slowly forming in his mind. “Bahari… Captain Bahari, rather. You stole the most advanced ship in the Tharnean Fleet, sailed away without so much as a good bye, and then weighed anchor in Altaras territory?”

Bahari knocked on the side of the ship and shouted for a rope ladder to be dropped down. He gave Kael a reassuring nod. “Don’t worry, lad. We were days ahead of them. There’s no way they could know where we are.”

Kael narrowed his eyes at Bahari’s calm demeanor. He was just a pirate, he didn’t think about other people. But if any Tharnean ship found what is most likely their flagship hidden in Altaras territory, the repercussions could be devastating.

“We’re going to have a very serious talk once we set sail, Captain.”

“If you say so,” grinned Bahari. He scampered up the ladder and onto the deck with the grace and natural born talent of an ape moving through the trees. Kael had a much harder time getting aboard. As he pulled himself up at an excruciatingly slow pace, he had to concede that climbing down was a much more enjoyable task.

They set sail just as the tide came in. Even Bahari had been sweating at the late departure, and for good reason. The ship barely cleared the giant crevasse, though the very top few inches of the mainmast had been broken away as it scraped across the mouth of the cave. Bahari had had a fit at this and spent the rest of the morning grumbling to himself and swearing to ‘beat the crew with fists and forehead’ for his own error.

Kael was given a room upon first boarding the ship. To his surprise, he found it more than ample in size, though the furnishings had been torn out and only a bed with a trunk at its foot, a table, a chair and a lamp were left untouched.

He cursed his ill-luck in such an early departure. He hadn’t packed anything, but Bahari seemed hell bent on leaving as soon as possible and Kael wagered he was the only man in Altaras insane enough to take him to Bimenta. After having been up a full day and night, Kael had put aside any animosity and collapsed on his bed in a dead sleep. The waters of the Infinarre Sea carried away his worries.