Huddled in the dark, Edan strained to hear what was happening outside. The shallow breathing of his family and companions was little more than a whisper at the edges of his awareness. The muffled shouting from above carried on, the words themselves difficult to hear.
“The City Watch is attempting to board,” Marcus whispered, his voice barely audible to Edan. “Gem is not happy.”
There was the thunk of wood on wood and Edan instinctively looked up even though he couldn’t see anything.
“They’re insisting.” Marcus continued, probably for Edan’s sake, as the others likely had the perception to hear it. There was a pregnant pause before Marcus said, “They’re boarding.”
The sound of boots on the deck above accompanied Marcus’s words.
That's a lot of feet Edan noticed with some concern.
Sinking lower in the darkness, Edan took slow, shallow breaths. The thudding of boots coming down the stairs rang out, followed by voices, close enough even Edan could hear.
“...I said, we were fleeing the Leviathan. Not sure if you saw it? Big honking thing with more arms than brains and a stomach big enough to ram my ship through.” Edan heard Gem complaining.
“I find it strange that you would take to the sea when fleeing a Leviathan. What, with it being a sea creature. Most ran inland.” A low bass voice answered.
“Well, most of them didn't have ships to worry about. You saw the damage it did in the bay. All the wrecked vessels.” Gem’s tone was confrontational but friendly and showed not an ounce of nervousness. “I’d make a wager that's why you’re using a Merchant Guild’s vessel and not your own. Did it get destroyed?”
“There were…damages. The Merchant Guild was nice enough to lend us a vessel.”
There was the sound of feet moving about on the floor above Eden's head, as more boots came down the stairs.
“And they told you I was smuggling criminals? Ha! They do love messing with independent merchant vessels.”
“Merchant vessel?” The same voice responded, this time sounding skeptical. “I suppose these are your goods?”
Edan heard the scrape of a boot above his head.
“Captain, the crew quarters are empty.” Someone else called. This was a different voice, coming from further off.
“You don’t look like a Captain,” Gem said.
“Watch Captain, not a ship Captain,” Answered the voice before he barked, “Go check the galley!”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Scoops is shy! Be nice!” Gem called out.
“Captain, I can assure you, my men are professional.” The original bass voice said, attempting to calm Gem. “Can you tell me what's in the crates?”
“Mostly beast hides. I have a contract with the Hunters Guild. They have outposts up the Kentushi River. If you want, I can show you the manifest. It’s in my cabin.”
“Would you mind if my men open a few of the crates?”
It was asked politely, but Edan knew it wasn’t really a request. Gem sighed loud enough that they could hear her through the floor.
“Fine, go ahead. The sooner you get this done, the sooner you can get off my vessel, and we can all move to shallow waters.”
“Peet, check the crates, but be gentle about it!”
“Yes, Sir!”
There was the thunk of something being jammed into wood, followed quickly by the groaning creek of wood being pried apart. From their voices, The Captain of the Watch and Gem were standing almost directly above Edan’s head. He assumed they were leaning up against the crate that covered the hole.
“Why did you move to deeper waters?” the man asked. “It made me think you were running.”
“I was,” Gem answered, not skipping a beat. Edan was very impressed. “I told you, the merchant guild likes to mess with us independent folk. Throw their weight around. I figured if I made it risky enough, the Captain would just pass by.”
“Sir, it’s just animal hides, looks like-”
The rest of his words were cut off as a shriek split the air and screams rose from outside. The sound of wood splintering and panicked shouting filtered through the top deck to those in the hold.
“What the fu-” Gem started to say before the Sea Crystal rocked violently.
Edan lurched in the darkness, slamming his head against the floor and then spilling sideways as smelly salt water splashed across his face and got up his nose.
There was thudding from above as crates fell over. Violent swearing mixed with the rapid thudding of footfalls as those above Edan's group ran up the stairs.
The shriek came again, sharp enough that Edan instinctively covered his ears in the vein hope of stopping the stabbing pain.
“The fuck was that?” Sanik barked, thoughts of hiding long gone.
The ship rocked, and more people screamed from above. There was a thundering boom, that reminded Edan of thunder. More booms followed before the shriek drowned it out again.
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“Something's attacking the ship! Tali, we need to get out!”
No sooner had Marcus spoken than Tali punched a hole in the floor above them. Withdrawing her hand, weak light filtered down. The light cut off as Tali shifted, her bulk blocking out the hole. With the tortured groan of wood, she pushed her way through, the floorboards and planks giving way to her strength.
Marcus shoved her from the back, eager to be out of the cramped space. The ship bucked wildly, and a crate slid across the floor smacking the wolf man in the face. Barely fazed, Marcus pushed it aside and moved out of the way so Sanik and Reema could pull themselves through next. Edan shoved the two cubs through the hole before extracting himself last.
Moving swiftly across the room, Edan slammed into the wall as the Sea Crystal tilted dangerously. Crates slid across the floor, tipping dangerously and bouncing off each other.
There was the sound of splintering wood, and something heavy crashed against the decking above.
One of the cubs went sliding past Edan, before turning and running on the spot as it tried to get back to them. The ship tilted again, and the cub shot forward, bumping into Edan.
Squinting against the sunlight, Edan followed the rest of his group up the stairs and out onto the deck.
Chaos reigned.
The Merchant Guild vessel had pulled up alongside the Sea Crystal, its greater bulk overshadowing the smaller vessel. Someone had dropped a solid gangplank down, and it acted as a bridge between the two boats.
A bridge that was barely holding on.
One of the masts from the Merchant vessel had broken off and now lay across the Sea Crystal's deck. The break had not been clean, and it was still connected to the large vessel by a few fibres, making the whole thing tilt dangerously.
Snapped rope and loose sail covered the deck of the Sea Crystal.
Gem was yelling and pointing to the side of the ship, gesturing down towards the water. Lem stood beside her, a cut over one eye bled profusely, and Edan noticed the man's left arm hung slack at his side.
A young man in the blue uniform of the Stratta City Watch stood next to them. He was yelling as well, the words hard to make out, but he was pointing in a different direction, back towards the Merchant Guild vessel.
Something surged beneath the waves, its scaled back brushed against the guard rails near Gem, making her curse and stumble back. The Sea Crystal bobbed violently and Edan staggered trying to keep his balance.
“We need to separate!” The man in blue was yelling, jabbing a finger at the gangplank.
Most of the other City Watch members were back on the vessel, the few stragglers remaining were helping their friends up the wooden plank.
“What about your fucking mast?” Gem yelled back, pushing the man and pointing at the mast strewn across her boat. “How the fuck do you plan on separating that?”
“We’ll cut it free from our side!”
“It'll weigh us down. We’d be sitting ducks.” Lem said, his voice much quieter and calmer than Gems.
“Cut it free,” Tali said, appearing behind the man in blue.
Suddenly finding himself cast in shadow, the man looked back at the cause. “Whowhathewhoa!” The man's words stumbled over each other as he back paddled, taking in Tali’s massive figure.
“You’re the Titan! The one they mentioned! You are a smuggler! I knew it!” The last was said to Gem with a pointed finger and triumphant smile accompanying it. The smile vanished from his face as the creature smashed into the two vessels again.
Regaining his balance, the man cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted towards the Merchant Vessel “Cut the mast free!”
Tali motioned to Marcus and the two of them moved over to the fallen mast. Sanik appeared next to them in a trail of lights, his fencing sword out. With a few quick slashes, he removed the rigging, leaving the large wooden beam free of entanglement. Tali nodded her thanks.
Squatting down like a powerlifter, she hoisted the mast onto her shoulder, the deck creaked alarmingly under her weight but held. Marcus grabbed the other end, keeping it stead as the City Watch cut the bits of wood still holding it in place. It broke free with a crack, and the Sea Crystal rocked violently as the weight fully rested on her.
Moving slowly, Tali made her way to the edge, Marcus adjusting as needed.
Shifting the beam around so it rested against the upper swell of her chest, Tali braced both her palms against the underside of it. Marcus shifted to copy her. The nails on his fingers grew into talons to help his grip, as he lacked the size needed to stabilize the mast.
“Heave!” He called.
With a grunt, Tali launched the mast away from the boat. She pushed so hard that the Sea Crystal actually tipped before rocking violently. The mast flew out over the ocean in a large, lazy arc before splashing into the sea.
An answering splash came from next to the boat as whatever was below them thrashed about in shock. Edan saw a tail emerge from the depths. Long and thin, like a whip, it ended in large webbed fins that reminded him of a fishtail. The dark blue scales covering the tail glistened in the sunlight as it slammed back into the water, sending sea spray everywhere.
“Go away!” The man in the City Watch uniform yelled desperately, holding out his hand to the sea creature.
Another boom sounded out, loud enough to make Edan’s ears pop and rattle his bones. The sea serpent snaked its head out of the water and shrieked. Littles fins behind its head, where its ears should be, flicked out and shook with anger. Its face was thin and bony, with a stubby snout and forward-facing yellow eyes. Two nostrils on the end of little stalks rested above a wide mouth that opened wide to showcase some truly terrible teeth. Rows and rows of needle-like bone picks, designed to catch and hold prey.
“Does that even do damage?” Gem snarled at the City Watch.
“No, it’s a crowd control skill. I was hoping to scare it away.” The man had the good graces to look embarrassed.
“Well, you just pissed it off, genius!”
“At least it's not attacking the boats!” He retorted.
“It was only attacking yours!” Gem said, her voice turning shrill with indignation. “All the damage done to my baby was from your mast!”
“Perhaps now is not the time to be fighting?” Lem butted in calmly. “It looks to be preparing an attack.”
The serpent arched its neck, its mouth falling open wider than Edan thought was possible. A soft blue glow travelled up its neck, dying the roof of its mouth before a blast of concentrated water shot out. It hit the deck of the Merchant Guild vessel with all the strength of a cannonball. The crew screamed, diving aside, as wood was splintered and sent flying. Turning its head, the serpent whipped its breath across the length of the vessel. Those from the crew and the City Watch with defense skills jumped forward, forming shields to help blunt the blow. The scribed hull of the Merchant Vessel buckled under the attack where it was hit but held.
Not stopping, the serpent turned its head towards the Sea Crystal.
Gem swore and threw out a green crystal. Foam burst from the point of impact. It bubbled up like a geyser, before freezing and expanding. In seconds, a wall, as tall as Gem, had grown on the deck.
Sanik appeared before the makeshift wall, his rapier stabbing out and leaving behind a single glowing dot. His hands blurred and more dots appeared. Edan recognized his father's defensive skill.
Marcus stepped in front of Sanik, creating another layer of defense, as he crossed his arms before his face. Edan saw the hair along his forearms grow long and shaggy before taking on a reddish tint.
Lem threw out an arm, a gust of wind buffeted the stream of compressed water shot from the serpents mouth, but it had little effect. The breath attack hit Marcus hard enough to make him slide back into Sanik’s bulwark. He stopped there for a second, sandwiched between the two skills, before cracks appeared between the dots of light.
The cracks grew and with the sound of glass breaking, Marcus broke through the shield of light. Slamming into Sanik, the pair were thrown back and to the side.
The water crashed into Gem’s makeshift wall and tore through bit by bit before connecting with the deck.
Much diminished, the attack had just enough force to crack the planks of wood but not break them completely.
