Where Loyalties Lie

Chapter 21 - Starry Dawn

“Sail starboard!”

Elaina threw the rope she’d been fixing aside and leapt to her feet. She sprinted to the starboard side and reached for her monoscope. Sure enough, there was the tell-tale white of a sail at the very edge of visible range.

“Change course, put us on her,” she shouted to Ed the Navigator. “Pollick, The moment you get a glimpse of what she is, you yell.”

“Wouldn’t ya rather it be a surprise, Cap?” Four-Eyed Pollick called down from the nest.

“Don’t get smart with me! Remember where the Hells we are and keep all four of your eyes peeled.”

Elaina went back to her rope. It was tangled, frayed, torn, ripped, and mouldy, but if there was one thing she’d learned growing up in the Pirate Isles, it was that no matter how much like shit something seemed, it could be made near good as new with a lot of hard work. She sat back down on the deck and took one of the knotted sections in hand, working it back and forth against itself to loosen the salty crust that formed on all knots. Some captains didn’t like doing this sort of work; they preferred to distance themselves from their crew and sit in their cabins, staring at charts and pretending they were busy when really they were just plain lazy. Elaina was not one of those captains. If there was a job to be done, she was the first to sign up for the task, and her cabin was little more than a place to sleep. She preferred to be up on deck, to be able to see the ocean and the sky.

Corin hovered nearby, watching and chewing on his lip. Elaina had noticed him even before she sat back down on the deck, but decided to wait for her quartermaster to make his move.

The knot in the rope loosened just enough for Elaina to start threading it through, and within a minute she’d untangled it entirely, leaving only a stiff, salt-encrusted kink in the rope where it had been. Unfortunately the kink would need to be ironed out before the rope could be used again, but that was a task for later, once all the knots had been removed. The loosening of the knot had also revealed yet another mouldy strand of rope that would need to be cleaned. Elaina pulled out her boot knife and started scraping away at the green-blue filth.

“Elaina…” Corin said after what seemed like an age of waiting.

Familiarity with the crew was something her father disagreed with, but whatever his misgivings, he let Elaina run her ship as she pleased, and she preferred to breed trust through friendship. Most of her crew still referred to her as “Captain”, but Corin had known her since birth; they had in fact both fed off the same tit as babies, after Elaina’s mother had run dry. An unfortunate consequence of having eight previous children, Elaina wagered.

“Your concerns, or the crew’s?” Elaina interrupted him

The quartermaster squirmed a little, then walked to the aft railing to stare out at the sea. “Mine. Crew would follow you into the port of Sarth if you led them there. Probably.”

“Because they know I never would,” Elaina countered as she cut away a decaying thread of rope. She heard Corin spit over the side of the ship. “Point is, they trust you, perhaps more than they should.”

“Have I ever done wrong by them before? Haven’t I earned that trust?”

“Earned it and more, Elaina. You know that. But I got responsibilities, as quartermaster, to them, to you, and to the ship. Ya know?”

“It’s OK, Corin. Out with it.”

There was silence, a little too long a silence. Elaina looked up to find her friend staring out across the blue behind them with a vacant look on his face that went beyond peaceful and into serene. Elaina was up in flash, the old rope once again discarded. She grabbed hold of Corin and shook him hard, until his eyes came back into focus.

“Are you using on board my ship?” Elaina hissed as she held the man close. Close enough to smell it on his breath.

“Um…” Corin glanced downwards, and Elaina realised she was still holding her boot knife – only now it was pressed up against the quartermaster’s neck.

With a curse that was more fury than words, Elaina drove the knife point-first into the aft railing and took a step back from Corin. She could feel a choking rage inside that was attempting to blot out all rational thought, but she took control and refused to let it out. Her temper was a horrible thing, and it ran in the family. Hers was second only to her father’s; even so, it was nothing in comparison to his.

Elaina had once witnessed her father beat a man to death with his bare hands, and keep on swinging until there was little left of the man’s head but bloody mush and bone. Even then, he’d ordered the corpse strung up so he could continue to beat it. The mere memory helped Elaina to calm her inner rage.

“I don’t care what ya do on your time, but I told ya not to use that shit while on my ship.”

“I don’t,” Corin protested. “Not usually. I mean, I just… I needed something to take the edge off before I came to speak to you.”

“Take the edge off?”

“It helps me relax.”

“You weren’t just relaxed.” Elaina gave him a hard shove before sitting back down with her rope. “You were one shitting step away from being asleep.”

“I wasn’t. I was…” Corin paused, fiddling with his locks of matted brown hair. “Contemplating.”

“You ain’t boarding.”

“Elaina, that ain’t…”

“No,” she said firmly. “You just damn near fell asleep during a conversation. What happens if ya do the same during a fight? You ain’t going anywhere near a fight till that shit is out of ya.”

Corin made a whining sound, but didn’t argue any further. After a few moments Elaina looked up to find her friend chewing on his lip again. He looked very much like he had something to say.

“Concerns,” Elaina prompted.

“You sailed us south-west, Elaina. Towards Acanthia.”

“I’m well aware.”

“What if that’s an Acanthian ship?”

“I hope it is.”

“And what if it’s one that’s got protection? Not even your da goes against the Guild.”

That was precisely why Elaina had ordered the crew to sail towards Acanthia. She needed to regain her father’s favour, to prove she had stones as big as his own. That wasn’t something Corin needed to hear. He, like the rest of the crew, was a pirate, and the language they spoke was loot.

“Acanthian merchants are pretty much hands down the richest in the world, right?” Elaina said as she used brute force to try to work a knot free. The salty rope didn’t budge.

“Right.”

“Because those bastards over in Truridge don’t just trade in normal goods. They have access to exotic shit, the likes of which can’t be got anywhere else. I don’t know how they do it, but they sell and ship Drurr-made items. Glass swords that glow with the light of a candle and don’t ever chip or break. Leather armour harder than steel. Cloth that changes colour depending on who’s looking at it. Shit like that is worth more than its weight in gold, and they’re the only ones that sell it. Guess they must trade with the Drurr, or something. That’s why they’re so damned rich, and that’s why they can afford to pay the Guild for protection.”

“But the Guild…”

“Fuck the Guild,” Elaina spat. “If that ship’s a trader, and if it is from Acanthia, and if it is one with Guild protection – who’s gonna tell the Guild it was us that took ’em when all their throats are cut? We kill everyone on board, no exceptions, and whatever fancy loot we take off ’em is gonna make us all rich. Even my da will have to be impressed then.”

“I don’t know, Elaina…”

“Well I do,” she snapped. “And as it fucking happens, I’m captain. We’re taking that ship, and you aren’t going anywhere near the fight. Get yourself below decks and don’t let me see you again until that shit is out of your system.”

Corin opened his mouth to say more, but quickly closed it when Elaina shot him an acid glare. With a nod, the quartermaster turned to slink away. It was a harsh way to deal with a friend, Elaina knew, but she wasn’t about to have her decisions questioned – not over this, and especially not by a man so drugged up on Lucy his teeth likely shone in the dark.

With a growl, Elaina threw the tangled rope aside and leapt to her feet. Feeling the need to expend some energy all of a sudden, she ran all the way to the forecastle as fast as her bare feet could carry her.

Three hours later, and not only had they confirmed the ship was a trading fluyt, but they were quickly gaining on her. The Starry Dawn was not the fastest ship in the isles, nor the fastest in Tanner Black’s little fleet, but she was sure as a watery grave fast enough to outrun a merchant vessel that was clearly riding low in the water. Elaina’s crew had piled on as much canvas as they dared tie to the ship, and she was cutting her way through the waves in leaps and bounds.

Elaina grinned into the spray as it whipped up in front of the ship and washed over the deck. With her black hair plastered to her skull and a rictus grin distorting her features, she no doubt made a terrifying sight as she hung onto the front of the boat. Elaina didn’t care. The thrill of the chase would be over all too soon, and she intended to enjoy it while she could. They only had a few hours of daylight left and would need to catch the fluyt before it disappeared, or they’d lose her in the night. A single, slight course change and the two ships could pass within a hundred feet of each other and never know it in the dark. Or even worse, the two could collide, and they could both be dragged down into the depths. No, night-time piracy was a fool’s game, and Elaina was brave, not stupid.

“Cap.” Elaina didn’t have to turn to know it was the bosun, Mitsurgory. He was the only one on the ship with an accent from the Dragon Empire.

“What is it, Surge?” Elaina shouted as another wave of spray hit her in the face. She laughed away the salty water and turned. “Can we get another knot out of her?”

The bosun flinched. “Actually, Cap, I was hoping we could slow her down. She’s straining at the mizzen. Wind is up and she’s catching it fine, but… too much is dangerous.”

Elaina felt her mood darken a little, and another wave of spray hit the back of her head; this time it did little to lift her spirits. “She’ll hold, Surge. She’ll fucking hold. We have precious little time left to make this catch, and we are going to make it. Keep the canvas up, and make certain my ship doesn’t falter. Good?”

“Aye, Cap.” The bosun sounded anything but in agreement.

“Sail!” Four-Eyed Pollick’s cry came from the nest. “Port side.”

Elaina turned back to the sea just as another sheet of spray whipped up. She fought to wipe the ocean from her eyes as she scanned the port horizon, looking for the tell-tale signs of a ship. She saw nothing.

Shrugging off another sheet of froth, she took a deep breath and shouted up to the nest as loudly as she could. “I don’t see it.”

There was a moment of palpable hesitation before Pollick replied. “The sail is blue, Cap.”

Elaina let out a groan and found herself swallowing a mouthful of seawater – one more thing she’d blame her brother for when she saw him. Tanner’s eldest living son, and a permanent thorn in Elaina’s side, Blu Black was the only man alive self-obsessed enough to sport blue sails on his ship, the Ocean Deep. He claimed they masked the boat’s existence at a distance, allowing him to close on potential prey long before they knew he was coming. In reality, the man was obsessed with himself and with his own name. He even went so far as to dye his beard a horrid shade of blue.

Elaina pulled out her monoscope and scanned the port horizon, moving away from the bow of the ship to avoid the spray. Now she knew what she was looking for, it didn’t take her long to spot the sky-coloured sails.

“Cap?” Rovel the Weird was so named because he preferred the company of other men, and made no attempts to hide it. It had caused a few problems with some of the crew when Elaina had made him first mate, but the man was big enough and tough enough to crack the skulls of those who expressed those concerns.

“He’s onto the same prize we are,” Elaina said without lowering the monoscope. “And he has a better line on her.”

“Ocean Deep ain’t near as fast as Starry Dawn,” Rovel said confidently.

It was true, and then some. Blu’s ship was a juggernaut, heavy and slow, but with a crew compliment like no other pirate vessel sailing the waters of the isles. Blu liked to claim he’d stolen the ship right out of Land’s End while the local Five Kingdoms navy men slept. Elaina knew the truth though; he’d commissioned the ship out of his own pocket and had never so much as set foot in the Five Kingdoms.

“He has a better line on her,” Elaina repeated. “If the wind keeps up like it is, Ocean Deep will catch that ship long before we’re in hailing range. We need her to turn.”

Elaina snapped her monoscope shut and tossed it to Rovel. She leapt down onto the main deck and sprinted across to Ed the Navigator, at the wheel. The man had a wild grin on his face as he watched his captain approach, which only made his abnormally large chin appear even bigger.

“Fifteen points to port, Ed,” Elaina said.

“Aye, Cap.”

“That’ll put us on a course to intercept your brother,” Rovel said, coming up behind her. “Can’t say I know what ya planning, Cap, but that don’t seem wise. The Deep has to have at least twice our crew – no way we can take her. And besides, ya brother…”

“Don’t be simple, Rovel.” Elaina sneered. “We ain’t taking on Blu, just trying to get the fluyt to change course. A few more points starboard and we can get as good a line on her as my useless fucking brother, and then the bitch is ours. We’ll be in and picking the carcass clean before he even knows we’re there.”

“What if he decides to treat us like the prey? A lot more folk on that ship of his.”

“He won’t.” Elaina was confident. “Blu’s got no stones. Hates a real fight, too much chance of losing, and that’s exactly what we’d give him, outnumbered or no. He’ll do what he always does – tuck his mangy tail between his maggoty white legs and tell our da I stole his toys.” Nothing would give Elaina greater pleasure than Tanner Black’s favourite son running home to his father to whine about how his younger sister had stolen a prize from him.

It didn’t take long for the merchant ship to take the bait. Within ten minutes the cry came from above that the fluyt was changing course, swinging further to the starboard side, and Elaina ordered Ed to put Starry Dawn between the fluyt and Blu’s ship. Thirty minutes later, Elaina’s ship was cutting through the waves parallel to Ocean Deep. Squinting though her monoscope, Elaina could just about imagine Blu making obscene gestures her from the deck.

They were moving much faster than Ocean Deep now, and Elaina wagered they would catch the merchant fluyt in a few hours, long before Blu’s ship caught up with them.

When Starry Dawn was just a few hundred feet away, almost within hailing distance, the fluyt gave up its impotent flight and its sails were brought in. No doubt the captain would order his men to stand down and allow the pirates to loot the ship unmolested. It was quite often that way at sea; piracy was more about the chase than the battle.

“Ocean Deep will be on us in no time, Cap,” Rovel said, joining Elaina at the railing as they sailed alongside their prize.

“Best stake a claim quickly then. Get aboard, find anything worth having, and take it quickly.”

“Aye, Cap.” Elaina could now see down onto the smaller ship’s deck, and as predicted the captain had ordered his crew up on the main deck, where they were huddled together, unarmed and at the mercy of the pirates who had just caught them. She allowed herself a savage grin.

“Pull her close and get some planks across,” she ordered.

As always, Elaina was one of the first to board the captured vessel, and with her came half of her crew. Pirates swarmed onto the fluyt, some of the men immediately heading below decks to see what was worth stealing while others took to harassing the surrendered crew, shouting challenges and waving sharpened swords at them. In a real fight it would be embarrassing, but this was anything but, and right now intimidation and fear would serve the pirates well.

She found the captain of the fluyt hunkered down with his men on the main deck. The man’s two front teeth could rival a goat’s, and his eyes seemed to bulge out of his face. It was clear that he was in charge from the worried glances his crew kept sending his way. That, and the ostentatiously large hat he wore. Elaina abhorred hats, for the way they obscured her vision; she much preferred to wear a bandana to keep her hair in line. Aware that she had limited time to do what needed to be done, Elaina decided the direct route was better than the cat and mouse game she usually liked to play.

“You.” She pointed at the man. “You’re the captain?” He took a step forwards, his eyes still bulging in a way that made him look more than a little hostile. One of Elaina’s crew moved closer and waved his sword at him. Elaina laughed and gestured for the pirate to stand aside.

“You’re in control of these men?” the captain said.

“Aye, I’m their captain.”

The man glanced down quickly and ran his tongue across his overly large front teeth. Elaina felt her lip twitch in disgust.

“A word if you please, Captain,” he said, looking up into Elaina’s eyes.

Elaina pretended to think about it for a moment before nodding and stepping backwards, waving for the man to follow.

“I’d make it quick if I were you,” Elaina said with a grin. “That other ship ain’t here to help you.”

“But is it here to help you?”

Elaina laughed at the man’s arrogance. “Do I look like I need the help? But before ya go thinking it might be some sort of saviour in disguise, it happens that my brother is captain of that ship.” Her smile vanished. “Ya wanted a word, time ya spoke ya piece.”

The man nodded. “My name is Captain Marvle Tel’touten.” An Acanthian name, and no mistake. “I sail for the Bal’rio merchant family.” Elaina nodded along sagely, as if any of those names meant a damn to her. “The head of the Bal’rio family is the Lord Merchant Dellin, a long-time supporter of Thom and contributor to his cause.”

Finally, a name Elaina did recognise. She plastered a conspiratorial look onto her face and winked. “Ah, the Guild.”

Tel’touten nodded. “Indeed. So, you see, we are… guaranteed against situations just such as this.”

Elaina knew she shouldn’t string the man along, but she just couldn’t help herself. “Got any proof?” She made it sound hopeful, as if robbing the ship blind was something she really didn’t want to do.

“Well, no. Of course not.” Captain Tel’touten looked worried for the first time. “While any sort of proof would help to facilitate the immediate cessation of hostilities just such as this, if we were to carry any, its discovery by a naval vessel or even by a legitimate port authority would mean almost certain death, as well as confiscation of the ship’s wares. Not to mention, the implication towards the Bal’rio family would be a scandal.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” Elaina agreed. “Only problem is, without proof, how do I know you’re not just some two-bit Acanthian pissing himself and trying to worm away from a rightful robbing?” Tel’touten took a step backwards, fear now plain on his face, and opened his mouth to speak just as Rovel appeared from below decks.

“Not a bad haul, Cap.” Rovel's grin was as wide as a mast is tall. “Some interesting shit down there. Got the crew hauling it over to the Dawn as we speak.”

“This all of them?” Elaina said, gesturing to the crew of the fluyt huddled together on the main deck.

Rovel nodded. “Checked all over, this is the entire crew.”

“Good.” Elaina grinned at Captain Tel’touten. “No survivors.” She lurched forwards, drawing a dagger from her belt and plunging it up to the hilt into the captain’s belly. The man stumbled backwards, his face caught between shock, horror, and confusion. He collapsed onto the deck, his blood spreading over the planks. His last few breaths came out as an undignified moan. Elaina knelt down, pulled the dagger from the man’s belly, and used it to slit his throat, while her pirates set about the murder of the fluyt’s crew. In just a couple of minutes they were dead to a man and already being hauled over the side of the ship.

Rovel joined Elaina by one of the boarding planks set up between the two ships. “Dirty work, that.”

Elaina shrugged. “Couldn’t leave any of them alive.”

“Ah,” Rovel said, pointing behind her. “Your brother.”

Elaina looked up to see the Ocean Deep pulling alongside them. Up close, the ship truly was monstruous. Blu was looking down at her from the upper deck, and even from a distance Elaina could tell the bastard was grinning. Blu Black swung down onto the deck of the fluyt from a rope tethered to his own ship. He was tall and broad, just like their father; unlike Tanner Black, however, Blu sported a scraggly beard dyed blue and a wide-brimmed hat of foolish proportions complete with a sapphire cock feather. He also had a nasty habit of showing his teeth when he talked, as if everything he said was a challenge to everyone around him. It made Elaina dream of punching the idiot so hard he’d swallow those teeth.

“Ho there, little sister,” Blu said as his boots hit the deck, followed quickly by another couple of pairs as two of his crew flanked him. “I see you’ve taken me prize.”

Elaina squared up to her brother, annoyed as ever that he was so much taller than her. “Don’t remember givin’ ya permission to come aboard, Blu.”

He smiled down at her. “I don’t remember askin’.”

“Ya really wanna make this a fight? Don’t ya remember what happened last time? Dyed that fluff on your face red, didn’t I.”

“Crude, little sister.” Blu showed his teeth. “You always wanna be takin’ it ta fists. We ain’t supposed ta fight no more. Da says we’re ta work together.”

“Da ain’t here,” Elaina hissed. Ever since they were young, Blu had always hidden behind either their father or mother. The only times he fought his own battles also happened to be the times he lost.

“Well, I suppose I’ll be the bigger man then,” Blu said, wearing a dirty smile.

“I doubt that.”

“Permission ta come aboard, Captain Little Sister,” he continued, ignoring Elaina’s jab.

Elaina nodded. “Aye. Granted. Might as well, seein’ as you’re already here.”

“How cordial. So did ya have ta kill ’em all?” Blu waved at the blood on the deck.

“Seemed prudent. You saw the flag they were flying. Some merchant or other from Acanthia is gonna be missin’ a ship and crew, an’ they ain’t exactly gonna be too happy ’bout it. Reckon the Guild won’t either.” Elaina started to walk towards the plank to her own ship, but paused. She turned to find Blu and his two crew members close on her heels. “Why are you here, Blu?”

“Huntin’. Just like you.”

“This far out towards Acanthia?” Elaina sniffed; the air smelled of lies. “Ain’t your style.”

Blu shrugged, smiling toothily. “Ain’t yours either, little sister, an’ yet here ya are. Hard to believe we had the same idea. Pickings are slim an’ all, these days. Too many pirates, not enough prizes, an’ always the crew need their pussy money.”

Elaina narrowed her eyes, unable to contain her suspicion, but Blu forged on before she could accuse him of anything. “Fancy lettin’ us have a look around? Take anythin’ you an’ yours don’t want. I’ll let ya take anythin’ ya do.”

There was a veiled threat there, the possibility that if she refused Blu might order his own men to attack Elaina’s smaller force. “What is it ya lookin’ for? Might be we already found it.”

Blu’s eyes twitched to something over Elaina’s shoulder, and she knew full well the captain’s cabin was behind her. It was fair to say whatever her brother was looking for was in there, but that meant this wasn’t a random act of piracy. He was after this ship specifically.

“Listen, Elaina,” Blu started with a wide smile. “I’m willin’ ta let ya loot the whole damned ship, an’ all I ask is…”

“Sail! Stern!” The cry went up from two different sources, almost at the same time.

Elaina and Blu shared a look, then both ran for the stern of the fluyt. When they reached the railing Blu pulled out his monoscope, and Elaina cursed herself for handing hers to Rovel and not taking it back.

“What the fuck is it, Blu?” she said after a few moments of tense waiting.

“Five Kingdoms galleon,” he replied, still looking down the monoscope. “Looks like navy. I need ta get back ta my ship an’ run.”

“Run?” Elaina scoffed. “Together we can take ’em.”

Blu looked down at his sister. “Why?” He sounded incredulous.

“One less navy vessel in the waters will make Da all sorts of happy.” Elaina grinned.

“You’re mad, little sister.” Blu snapped his monoscope shut and started towards his ship. “There’s no loot ta be had here. Ain’t riskin’ my ship or my men for nothin’, an’ neither should you.”

“Together…”

Blu stopped by the rope and turned on his sister, towering over her. “Listen ta me, ya crazy little bitch. There ain’t no together. There ain’t nothin’ here worth getting killed over, so we ain’t stayin’. Now, if you wanna fight those fuckers, go right ahead. I’m headin’ home, an’ I’ll be sure to tell Da ya died tryin’ to make him proud.”

“You’re a rotting coward, Blu,” Elaina spat, but her brother paid her no more attention as he climbed the rope back up to his own ship.

With a growl of rage, Elaina stormed back to the Starry Dawn to find Rovel and Corin waiting for her. Ignoring her drug-addled friend, Elaina pulled Rovel aside.

“Get everyone back on board and cut us loose. We’re runnin’ for home as fast as the wind’ll take us.”

It wasn’t until they were well under way and making good speed that Elaina realised she’d never looked in Captain Tel’touten’s cabin, and she still had no idea what Blu had been looking for.