Chapter 3

Captain Beryl Meralco, a mink privateer and captain of the Golden Bride, sat thoughtfully with the rest of her crew in the mess hall of the Confederal Navy ship, the Breaking Wind.

They had recently lost their ship in their battle against the Storm Talon, the flagship of Admiral Sebastian, the dreaded lich pirate who they now held in their custody. The battle was long and arduous and Beryl had lost a quarter of her crew in the effort. They had been very fortunate that the Confederal Navy had arrived precisely when they did for Beryl knew that they probably wouldn’t have lasted long against Admiral Sebastian when he started resorting to sorcery. A quarter of her crew wasn’t much compared to what Admiral Sebastian was truly capable of as he had been known to sink entire fleets with the use of magic.

Still the loss of the Golden Bride troubled her. Her late husband was the one who paid for the ship’s construction and had it built according to his whims and needs. It was, in a sense, a last memento from him. Worst still were the crewmen she had lost: Caldwell, Martins, Thoreau and many, many more. They had been a part of her family’s life for so long that she could not deny that they had already become part of it but now, they too, were gone.

She and her crew ate quietly after some warm porridge was served to all of them and the captain forced herself to eat even though she really had no appetite to speak of.

It was right around then that a uniformed falcon stepped into the mess hall followed by a cat with the same uniform whom Beryl immediately identified as Captain Henry Torelli and Commander Soren O’Keefe, respectively.

“We apologize for the food,” Soren said. “It’s mostly just military rations that the cook adds artificial flavoring to.”

The cook, a water buffalo, snorted and scowled at the cat and went pack to preparing dishes for the rest of the crew aboard the Breaking Wind.

“Not to worry though,” said Torelli as he smoked one of his hand-rolled cigars. “After we bring Sebastian to Cormalen, you’ll never have to eat this kind of gunk ever again.”

The water buffalo behind the counter responded with another scowl and snort, this time directed at the falcon.

“No, we thank you anyway,” Beryl said. “All our food was on the Golden Bride so at least we have something to eat here.”

“About that,” Soren said. “We’re really sorry about your ship.”

“That you arrived at all is good enough for us,” Beryl said. “We would all be dead if you didn’t come at the time you did.”

“Yeah,” Gabriel Sanchez the dog and Beryl’s first mate added. “I almost peed in my pants when the lich started throwing around his mojo.”

“You just almost peed your pants,” laughed Marx the seal. “I think Walt went and actually did pee in his pants.”

“Hey!” bellowed Khayyam, a crocodile and the boatswain of the Golden Bride. “Show some respect for the people that are eating here.”

+++

The Breaking Wind and the other escort ships that came with it arrived at Cormalen roughly two hours later.

As Beryl, escorted by Captain Torelli, descended the steps unto the port, they were immediately met with a warm welcome in Cormalen City. A small crowd had gathered at the port, waving and cheering. As Beryl, Torelli and Walt the otter walked through the crowd, they were showered with praises and flower petals. There were people who prayed and there were those who wept with joy and constantly thanked the “heroes” who had finally captured the undead horror that was Admiral Donato Sebastian.

Beryl understood what kind of threat Admiral Sebastian was to the Known World but she never dreamed of ever calling herself a “hero”. If anything, she had always thought of herself as just another “privateer”, a hunter of pirates and enemy ships. The best title she thought herself fit for was “working woman” since, much like rest of her crew, they were simply people doing their jobs as best they could. She thought for herself that if anyone should be made a hero, it should be crewmen who so willingly gave up their lives in the effort to capture Admiral Sebastian.

They were soon met by a rather handsome gorilla bedecked in the majestic uniform of the Confederal Navy whom Captain Torelli immediately saluted to.

“Admiral Condo,” Torelli saluted. “We now have the lich in our custody.”

“Indeed,” Condo nodded. “We were all praying for your safe return.”

Condo then turned to Beryl and her staff.

“And you as well,” Condo said. “We are very sorry for the crew you lost and your ship. I imagine it must have been very terrifying for you and yours. But fear not, I’m sure Governor Duarte will certainly compensate for the loss of your ship and provide support for the families of your lost crewmen. Then there’s the reward money to think of as well.”

“He can’t replace those crewmen though,” Torelli scowled. “Damn fool is the reason we arrived so late to start with. He says he didn’t want us to go without backup from the Xenjese Navy. But the truth was that he wanted the Xenjese Navy to go with us so they could hog all the credit for capturing Sebastian. If that’s his plan then that old ape has another thing coming!”

“Henry!” Condo roared and Henry stopped. “I’m going to have a few words with you later. As for you Captain Meralco, you will get your rewards after the execution tomorrow. We want to get rid of the lich as soon as we can before we settle the financial issues of this venture. You can be sure though, captain, that they are nothing to scoff at.”

“Thank you, Admiral Condo,” Beryl shook the gorilla’s hand. “I really appreciate it.”

“Oh don’t thank me yet,” Condo held up his hands with a smile. “You can thank me once you receive your reward money!”

Beryl then looked back at the Breaking Wind and saw that they began to move the prisoner, Admiral Sebastian. His prison was tailor-made for him, a large metal cube with no openings and emblazoned with runic symbols that dissipated and or blocked any form of magic. However, despite this, a dull green aura pulsed all across the cage, signifying that strong dark magic was being worked within.

The cheering crowd fell silent as four sailors, two elephants, a rhinoceros and a bear, from the Confederal Navy carried the cage unto the dockyard. When most pirates were captured and brought to justice, there were often jeers and curses from the people. Sometimes, they even threw rotten eggs and vegetables, much to the anger of the authorities who were either escorting or, like now, carrying the captives if they got hit. This time though they were completely quiet. No one stirred as the pirate admiral was carried swiftly to the city prison which was also specially prepared for him with magical wards and runes that would dampen and hopefully counter his strong magic.

As Beryl stood watching the sailors carrying Admiral Sebastian, she didn’t notice that they were joined by a baboon wearing a white suit and fedora.

“Captain Meralco,” said the baboon, surprising Beryl but not the naval officers around her who immediately stood tall in salute. “It’s good to see that you’re in one piece.”

Beryl recognized him almost immediately.

“Councilor Sage!” Beryl’s eyes widened. “It’s such an honor to meet you!”

Indeed, Beryl didn’t expect to meet one of the most esteemed members of the Confederate Islands’ Confederate Council in the flesh and immediately shook his hand. The councilor offered the naval officers around them a respectful nod before facing Beryl again. Of all the councilors of the Confederate Council, he was known for being the most approachable out of all of them. 

“Sorry I’m late,” smiled Otis Sage. “I came as soon as I could but Governor Duarte needed to have a few words with me first. Come, you must be very tired. An inn, a very luxurious one at that, has been reserved for you and your crew. It was all we could think of to welcome heroes such as yourselves.”

And so they followed the baboon out of the dockyards and into the city proper.