Chapter 03 - Celebration!

Pirates are attacked! Bace and Novar prove useless in battle!

Chapter 03 - Celebration!

 

            After a blindingly brilliant burst of light, Bace, Novar, and Rayn found themselves aboard a ship. On the deck, a dozen men tugged at riggings, hoisted barrels, and mopped the ships' wooden deck. Three thick masts of various heights soared into the sky, each wielding a glorious sail that propelled the ship forward. A cabin with stairs on either side led to the helm, where a Human female stood, powerfully gripping the spokes.Several pirates looked like flies caught on rope webs that scaled upwards in every direction.

            Bace noticed something different about the ship, something that doesn't appear on just any ship. First of all, there were four large pistons towards the stern, each hissing with steam. Second, the sound of the ocean waves was absent. And finally:

            "Are those... clouds?" Bace wondered in awe.

            Novar said, "They sure look like clouds ta me."

            "Oh, sorry. That's my bad," Rayn said softly. With his arms spread wide, he said boastfully, "I am a sky pirate. This is my ship. What do you think?"

            Bace had to shake his head and blink a couple of times. He had always heard about sky ships, but never had he seen one, let alone been aboard one. "It's... It's amazing," he said slowly.

            "I thought you'd like it!" Rayn giggled and then winked at Bace, "Do you want the grand tour?"

            "Wait, didja say this's your ship?" Novar said.

            "Yes, sweetie. I'm the captain.

            "How did we get on board?" Bace asked, "I don't know much about spells, but I do know that it's impossible to teleport more than a couple hundred feet."

            Rayn gave the two a huge smile and said, "Let's talk about it inside. It's awfully windy out here, don't you think? Make's it hard to hear."

            Bace raised an eyebrow. Sure there's a breeze, he thought, but it's not that bad. Nevertheless, he followed the Drow into the cabin.

            "It wasn't really me who teleported us here," Rayn informed once the door was closed. The cabin was stuffed with a menagerie of different gold and jeweled artifacts, most of which were eating devices. Rayn continued, "The one responsible for getting us aboard was Levi."

            "Levi?" Novar cocked his head to the side, "Who's Levi?"

            "The ship, sweetie! She's called the Leviathan, but I like to call her Levi. She seems to like it too. Don't you, sweetie," with the last remark, Rayn began rubbing the ship as if it were an enthusiastic pet begging for attention.

            "So why did you help us, exactly?" Bace said, "I doubt Orcs are of any concern to Elves."

            "Oh, I don't care about your race. Or your gender, for that matter..." Rayn muttered, biting his lip, "Anyway, it's not me that wanted to save you from the Dragon Army. Believe it or not, I'm following someone's orders. Someone who wants you alive."

            "Who is it?"

            "That's not important right now," the Drow picked up a golden fork and started fiddling with it.

            "How's that not important?" Novar demanded, "We oughtta know who wants us safe just as much as who wants us dead. And we already know who wants us dead."

            "You'll find out soon enough, sweetie," sitting down in a throne-like chair in front of a wide table, Rayn replaced the fork to its original location, "You'll be meeting him soon enough."

            Bace, sitting down across from Rayn, asked, "Are you taking us to your boss?"

            The Drow scoffed as if he had been insulted, "Boss? He's not my boss. I'm simply being payed for this one job. Quite a lot of money, I might add. Nearly doubled the amount of gold I had in the first place, and that was just the down payment. I'm going to get an island all to myself, fully equipped with--"

            "That's great," Bace interrupted, "You still haven't answered my question."

            "Oh, right. Sorry about that, sweetie," Rayn sighed, "Yes, we're taking you there. It'll take about a day. We've got enough fuel to get us there."

            "Where're we goin'?" Novar inquired.

            "You'll find out."

            "Is there anything to do on this ship?" Bace grumbled, "You know, for fun? If we're going to be here, we might as well be entertained."

            Just as he finished speaking, an explosion resounded from outside. One of the pirates burst into the door, shouting at the top of his lungs, "We've been hit, Cap'n! Port bow! Looks like a Drakonican ship!"

            Rayn leapt from his seat, a lust for battle gleaming in his dark eyes. "Return fire!" he commanded, "We'll show them who really owns the skies!" And with that, he darted out of the cabin, drawing one of his swords in his right hand and one of his pistols in the other.

            Bace followed Captain Firestorm out to the deck where sure enough, a battleship with a dragon branded on the side was opening fire. Sky sailors in tattered leather armor launched grappling hooks onto the Leviathan's booms and masts, then swung across onto the deck, beginning a melee with the pirates.

            Meanwhile, pirates below deck fired cannons at the opposing ship. The cannonballs, unlike the ones that hit the Leviathan, burst into mini supernova, setting the ship ablaze.

            Rayn joyously took part in the thrashing the pirates were delivering. Throats were slit. Limbs were severed. Guts were torn open. Heads exploded. The armor served little to no protection against the pirates' onslaught. All the while, Bace and Novar stood in shock watching the battle take place in front of them. Before the last of the Drakonicans were finished off, one of their members screamed a retreat, sending the survivors into a panicked flurry back to their ship. The enemy ship began sailing away, leaving behind a trail of charcoal smoke.

            "That'll teach them," Rayn said triumphantly, sheathing his weapons.

            Bace scratched the back of his head, "Well that was... Exciting."

            "Do it again!" Novar giddily shrieked.

            "No, not today, sweetie," Rayn laughed, bending over to ruffle the kid's hair, "I only partake in one battle per twenty-four hours. Gotta have rules, you know."

            Bace looked at Rayn quizzically, "That doesn't make any--"

            "Sure it does," Rayn interrupted, "At any rate, we'll be at our destination soon. Hopefully we don't come across any more Dragon Army ships, otherwise we'll have a problem!"

            The sound of an intense collision resonated up to the ship, followed by hurrahs from the crew. "Sounds like we crashed their ship!" Rayn chuckled, "We've got ourselves a wonderful victory!"

            The crew cheered. The captain addressed the pirates, "Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between! Tonight, we celebrate! Bring out our finest wines and ales! We're going to get hammered tonight!" With much whooping and hollering, the crew applauded the captain's speech. Rayn turned to Novar, "Sorry, sweetie, you're not quite old enough to drink. Lucky for you, we've got plenty of grape juice!"

            Besides repairing the ship (which took little damage from the Dragon Army's cannonfire), nothing much happened. Night rolled in like a storm and the party began.