Chapter 6

Beryl woke up the moment she smelled acrid smoke wafting in through her windows which was accompanied by a multitude of screams and shouts of anger.

Instinctively, she reached for her prized pistol-sword on the bedside table. It was a gift from her late husband which he probably thought of as a joke since she was never the adventuring type, at least back then she wasn’t. What he probably never intended was that Beryl would eventually become quite skilled in its use, having taught herself how to fight during her free time after his death.

It was a fine weapon, weighed to her hand. Her husband wanted something that she could theoretically use well, if she got around to it. It was essentially a two-barreled pistol with a bayonet blade one and half hands long. It would make a poor weapon for a soldier but in the dark confines of ships where combat was quick and brutal, it was quite effective.

She slid out of her room and into the corridor, still dressed in a night gown, moving stealthily in the twilight of dawn.

Then there was a loud crash as Prince Gaius, dressed only in his underpants, burst through the doors of his room, struggling with a donkey who was holding a dagger to his throat. Despite his size though, it was clear that the prince was at the losing end of the struggle as the donkey was on top of him. Based on the way he looked, he had only recently woke up and didn’t have time to get dressed in proper clothes.

Without hesitation, Beryl shot the donkey in the back, the loud report almost deafening.

The donkey fell over dead on top of Prince Gaius.

Beryl walked up to them and, using the blade of her pistol-sword, lifted the donkey’s sleeve to reveal his tattoo which depicted a solid black sailing ship.

“Pirates,” Beryl said thoughtfully. “Grim Sails, to be precise.”

“Thanks for the information,” Gaius said, struggling with the donkey’s corpse. “But could you please help me up.”

+++

Prince Gaius and Beryl got dressed in leather armor, with the prince taking up his saber and pistol while Beryl took some of the dead donkey’s weapons including the dagger he tried to kill Gaius with and one crude pistol.

“You sure?” Gaius asked as Beryl inserted the donkey’s pistol into one of her bandoliers. “You trust pirate weapons?”

“A weapon is still a weapon Your Highness,” Beryl said, after making sure that the pistol was secure. “Besides, when fighting pirates, I’ve learned that you should use any weapon available if you want to win.”

Gaius was about to reply when three men who, based on their dress and armaments, were also pirates. One was armed with a flail; the other was armed with two pistols which he had aimed at Gaius and Beryl and a third carried a blunderbuss. With firearms, they had an advantage over the two.

That was when a large crocodile, armed with a scimitar and wearing a fez stepped between Gaius and Beryl and the oncoming pirates. With a sweep of his tail, he knocked over the pirate with a blunderbuss, causing him to discharge his weapon uselessly into the ceiling. He then caught the head of the pirate with pistols in his jaws and twisted hard, snapping the man’s neck instantly.

The man with the flail was about to strike at the crocodile but Beryl immediately shot him with the donkey’s pistol earlier.

As the pirates fell over, dead or incapacitated, Gaius smiled.

“Using the pirates’ weapons against their own, eh?” the lion grinned. “Sounds good to me.”

The crocodile immediately turned to Gaius and Beryl.

“Captain Meralco, Your Highness, we’re under attack by pirates!” the crocodile said. “I think they’re here to free Admiral Sebastian!”

+++

Beryl, Gaius and Khayyam the crocodile moved through the corridors of the Black Stegosaur to look for their respective crewmen and allies.

“So what can we expect from the Grim Sails?” Gaius asked. “What are their combat tactics?”

“Admiral Sebastian’s ship, the Storm Talon and its crew are known for their discipline,” Beryl said. “But the same cannot be said for the crews of the other ships under his command. If anything, they’re similar to any other pirate fleet out there being scoundrels and thugs to a man. The good news is that without Sebastian’s leadership, they won’t be organized and can be easily routed with enough resistance.”

They hadn’t gone far when they heard a scream from somewhere ahead of the corridor. They ran at it at full speed, knowing that it could be one of the crewmen or allies they were looking for. They came to another corridor where Zobel the rat, McGrath the scorpion, an old cobra and a centipede were trying to fend off a bunch of pirates. Immediately right behind them, an old female panda, an equally old tanuki and a middle-aged donkey were throwing things like dishes and glasses at the pirates, contributing in the effort. Directly behind them, huddling in fear were several others, mostly civilians and children who either couldn’t or wouldn’t fight.

Beryl, Gaius and Khayyam immediately joined the group fighting off the pirates.

McGrath was armed with a flail and shield and held his own against three pirates who were simply armed with clubs. When Gaius joined him, two of the pirates ran away allowing the lion and the scorpion to make quick work of the remaining pirate. Zobel found it easy to drive back two pirates thanks to the reach of his halberd and, when Beryl joined him, became even easier. The rat and the mink dispatched one pirate and the other immediately ran away, realizing that he could not fight his slightly better armed opponents. The cobra and the centipede fought a large elephant pirate who wielded an enormous axe as a weapon. When Khayyam joined the two, the cobra immediately took initiative, biting the elephant in the shoulder and injecting his deadly venom into the larger man.

When the pirates retreated, were incapacitated or slain, the group decided to stop and take into stock what had just happened.

“Zane,” Gaius said to the cobra, then turned to the centipede leaning back against one wall in exhaustion. “Dr. Josef!”

“It’s good to see that you’re alright Your Highness,” said the cobra. “The bloody pirates attacked when we least expected it. We would all be dead if it weren’t for McGrath and Zobel here. Ambassadors Bao, Saito and Carlos helped a lot too.”

The panda, the tanuki and the donkey only laughed at that.

“It’s good to finally meet one of the princes of Delmaron,” said the panda. “Albeit in less than ideal circumstances.”

“The pleasure is all mine Ambassador Bao,” Gaius smiled. “I hope the pirates haven’t annoyed you too much now.”

“No, they haven’t,” the panda laughed. “But they do ruin one’s morning.”

The tanuki then looked at Beryl and his eyes widened.

“You, you are Beryl Meralco!” he said, impressed. “You’re the woman who captured Admiral Sebastian!”

“That I am,” Beryl blushed. “Thank you, Ambassador Saito.”

“You are a hero to many,” Saito said. “Especially to the people of Zeppon.”

“What about you Ambassador Carlos?” Gaius asked the donkey whose expensive clothes were now crumpled, dirty and torn. “Are you hurt?”

“Barely,” Carlos the donkey said. “You should check on General Rocco of the Pyrilian Constabulary back there though. I think he may be hurt or something. He’s been hiding with the others since all this began.”

“No!” shouted a pig who was huddling among the civilians. “I am okay! It will take more than a few pirates to frighten the great General Rocco “Rock” Rosalia! I merely though the four gentlemen were more than capable of handling them so I thought to stay close to them for their protection!”

The pig then uttered a feigned laugh that was quite obvious and Beryl noticed that one of the civilians, a dog woman, turn up her nose in disgust. Gaius also noticed that there was a stain of urine running down the front of Rocco’s pants. McGrath the scorpion started snickering but Zobel elbowed him to make him stop.

Then heavy footfalls thundered towards them and Rocco nearly jumped out of his skin in fright.

“Prince Gaius, Captain Meralco, Ambassadors” said a familiar gorilla, who was followed by two others. “It’s good to see that you are all safe!”

“We’re okay, Admiral Condo,” Beryl said. “But please check on some of the civilians, some of them could be hurt.”

Then, Captain Torelli the falcon and Commander O’Keefe the cat came forward right behind the large gorilla.

“So, we’re under attack by pirates?” Ambassador Saito asked. “How can there be so many of them?”

“Well Ambassador Saito, we can only wish it was just pirates,” Captain Torelli said. “There is another group of attackers whom I think aren’t in any way related to the pirates.”

“Who?” asked Ambassador Bao.

“Cultists,” Commander O’Keefe said, loading a bolt into a crossbow he held. “Servants of the Burnt King, if I’m not mistaken.”

A woman among the civilians at the back gasped at that.

“Cultists?” Beryl asked. “I’m not familiar with them.”

“Like the Sea Fiend pirates, captain,” Khayyam the crocodile said. “I believe these Servants of the Burnt King are similar, if my wife’s stories are to be believed.”

“Hah!” Bellowed Rock. “Pirates, cultists, I shall take them all on! This pig fears nothing, I tell you! Let’s go out there and teach these scoundrels a lesson!”

“No, we cannot leave yet General Rosalia,” said Admiral Condo. “We must first find Governor Duarte in this crisis. The capital is in shambles from the attack and we need him now more than ever. If our sources are to be believed, the man is still inside the inn.”

Just then, a loud explosion roared outside and rocked the inn to its foundations, accompanied by a bright green flash like lightning. Outside the windows, somewhere beyond the buildings of the city, smoke rose like a giant mushroom. The stain on the front of General Rosalia’s pants deepened as the man huddled down in terror.

“That’s the direction of Cormalen’s prison!” Torelli shouted, his eyes wide with terror. “That’s where they’re keeping the lich.”

“He’s free then,” O’Keefe said, utterly stunned. “Admiral Donato Sebastian is free.”

And above them, clouds with a sickly green tint gathered, blocking out the sun, and equally greenish lightning lit the skies.