Sons of Gailland: chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kalin stretched his arms as he rolled out of his bunk. The last two days had been stressful and full of work. They were now only an hour or so from Darkspire pass and Braydin had issued an all hands on deck order for the entire crew. The pass was a shallow stretch of ocean that was rarely traveled for the danger that the short cut presented. The pass is littered with large stones jutting up out of the water in every direction resembeling the teeth of a long forgotten monster ready to consume anything or anyone who happens to be unlucky enough to pass between them. It has also been said that a tribe of vicious water trolls live in the spires and prey on ships as they pass near. Kalin knew that Braydin's orders were not over cautious.

Kalin rubbed his injured shoulder and muttered a few word Airicka had taught him at the beginning of his training. A dull yellow glow imminated from his hand and Kalin sighed from the soothing warmth washing over his strained muscle. "I think I love that woman," he said to himself as he rotated the now loosening muscles. He quickly dressed and made his way toward the galley to find something to eat before reporting to the main deck.

Braydin paced the bridge nervously awaiting the call from the crows nest. Cade and the twins sat against the bulkhead throwing dice to entertain themselves occasionally making accusations and laughing loudly. Airicka leaned agianst the bull rail of the bridge watching the schools of fish dancing along the side of the ship hoping for scraps to be tossed overboard. The first mate seemed carefree and relaxed as he moved the tiller slightly from right to left, keeping the ships heading as true as possible.

Kalin approached from the lower decks and came to stand next to his brother. The sun glinted harshly off of the water's surface as the salty wind blew his hair up off of his broad shoulders. Kalin stared wide eyed into the ships rigging as he watched the men going about their duties climbing ratlines and mending sails on the main deck. "Like a well oiled machine," Kalin said to his brother.

Braydin nodded in agreement as he watched his first mate's knuckles turn white from the grip on the tiller.
Braydin was about to comment on the efficiency of his crew when the call came down from the crows nest.
"Black sails off the port stern!" called the man over watching the ships progress from above.

Braydin and Kalin both rushed to the rail and saw five black sailed ships two hundred yards off of their stern. "How did they get behind us, and so close so fast?" Braydin asked allowed.

"Must'a passed 'em last night Cap'n!" shouted the first mate from the tiller.

"Can we out run them?" Kalin asked his brother

"Only until we reached the pass and then they will surely catch us. We can not let them catch us before then," Braydin said as he put his whistle to his lips.
. . .

Jessykah leaned back against the wall as she sat on her straw bed. She had no idea why the orcs were treating her so gently while they crammed the other women in the crowded cargo space of the ship. The leader had given her his quarters for the duration of the trip and whatever she needed, she merely had to ask. Had she not been a prisoner with no idea why she had been procured by these vile creatures and their human slaves, this would be a nice experience. "Almost as nice as..." she thought aloud and gasped as she reached the conclusion. "There's no way he could know!" she thought as she felt the ship lean hard to the starboard indicating a change of direction to the port. She sat in disbelief hugging tightly to her knees as the ships list leveled back out.

The knock at the door startled her awake "Yes?", Jessykah replied to the knock. Two girls she had picked from the raid entered the room with fresh clothing and a wash basin for her to freshen up. She stood calmly and disrobed as she had for weeks now but she would not let the girls bathe her. She took the cloth and washed her body, it felt good to remove the salty layer from her skin she thought as she finished cleaning and then began dressing. She thanked the girls and gave them both a loaf of bread and some cheese from her platter to divide among the women in the cargo hold below.

Less than an hour after bathing General Hornklaw came into the room to escort her to the galley for her daily meal. She sat across the table from her captor and watched him eat greedily from his plate. Suddenly she grew the nerve she had been waiting on for so long. "Why have you taken us from our home?" she demanded of the beastial man.

Hornklaw looked up from his plate with surprise on his face. His surprise changed from shock to humor as his mouth spread into a toothy grin showing off the size of his pig like tusks. Jessykah could only describe his expression as horrifying, as his murderous eyes raked over her body. Finally he said, "The others are of no importance to me, my lady. You were the prize I was seeking, the others were to merely gain the kingdom's attention. They will likely be sold into slavery upon our return to my fair lands." He paused to take another bite of his lamb hock, "You will be my new consort and with some time we will sire children to take my place when I die," he continued with his mouth full of meat.
Jessykah was in shock at this revelation, "If this is some plot to join our two nations under one banner I'm afraid I gave up my rights as princess to the kingdom many years ago, when I married my husband, Roth."

Now it was Hornklaw's turn to be in shock, he then began to laugh hysterically. "I captured you to avenge my father woman!" he roared between laughter "Your husband shamed my father and I raided your village in hopes to lure your husband out to face me in glorious battle. Roth is the bane of our existence accourding to the teachings of my father and he must be destroyed." Hornklaw cleared his throat and calmed himself before continuing, "However your gallant husband never showed his face so I decided that we would capture you and goad him into a confrontation."

Jessykah looked at him with tears in her eyes. "You destroyed an entire town, possibly including my two sons, for a chance confrontation with my husband?" The orc nodded before she continued. "Roth died when the boys were young from an attack on our farm. The infection from a wolf bite spread to his heart and he died in agony as my son watched."

Hornklaw's laughter was heard throughout the ship as he tipped back in his chair and began rolling on the floor clutching his stomach. Eventually his laughter subsided and he regained his composure. He stood and said to the crying woman "In a pursuit of personal honor I have managed to foil the plots of a dead man and take hostage the daughter of the king. This could not get any better."

Jessykah choked back tears and said "You vile thing, my father had informants planted in the town. Why do you think you lost so many men? The king knows who you are and will probably have the entire armada waiting on you when we return."

"Let us hope so my lady," Hornklaw said as he began to wring out his hands. "The single ship following us is an insult to my vast superiority of the kingdoms armies."

Confusion washed over Jessykah's face,"One ship?" she asked looking puzzeled.

Hornklaw nodded "One ship bearing the mark of the steed, your husbands mark."

She sat back in her chair and pushed away from the table, her face set as still as stone. Hornklaw tried to judge her thoughts as she asked to be taken back to her room. The same thought rushed through her head over and over. "I hope Archy knows what he's doing."
. . .

The king paced the floor before the throne. Archy stood quietly beside the oversized chair watching the king wear the fur off of the rug on the floor. "It's been three weeks, Archy," the king said as he readjusted the crown on his head. "What if something terrible has happened and they couldn't get word back? Should I send the assembled armies to finish this business once and for all?"

"We mustn't be hasty, my leige. The boys most likely haven't even landed in Klostonian let alone made any progress against the feind. Hornklaw is still running and he most likely doesn't even know who is following him yet. Tarn will be ready to spring on him when he lands with his men. If the plan doesn't work we lose more than we should have risked, but the kingdom will continue on no matter what the outcome." Archy took a long pull on his pipe and walked toward the king.

The king stopped pacing as Archy approached and said, "We hope, Archy. The only reason for this ruse is the weakness of our armies. Should my grandsons and this traitor not stop a full invasion I fear the kingdom may be lost. The Brotherhood of the Stallion is still active but they are past their prime and I fear they can no longer work together without Roth's leadership. Now is not the time for legends, no it's the time for new heros to claim their destiny."

"I have a really good feeling about these boys, your highness," Archy said between puffs of smoke. "They are making good progress in their training. Their magic is improving and Cade has made excellent progress in their hand to hand and weapons training. The twins are the best among the rats and they will teach the boys to become invisible before long. Braydin and Kalin have the best we could possibly offer them without giving them the command of the armies of the east. They will finish what Roth started all those years ago, majesty."

The king pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "I hope you're right my little friend. Our fate rests in the hands of babes."

Archy nodded his head and replied, "Yes your majesty, but those are two of the most well equipped and dangerous babes I have ever seen."
. . .

The men on the ship snapped to attention as the sharp tone of the whistle. Braydin rushed to the rail of the ship's bridge and screamed, "All hands on deck! Prepare for battle from the aft!" After a short pause to let the orders sink in the men began to scramble across the worn oak deck to defend their home. Kalin ran to retrieve his sword and dagger from his room as the twins made their way up the rat lines. Cade and Airicka took their places on either side of Braydin.

"Are you ready, Cap'n?" the first mate asked as he held tightly to the tiller.

Braydin nodded as he rested his hand on the hilt of his cutlass. Kalin came running up the stairs as the first mate spun the tiller hard and made for Darkspire Pass.

The ships following threw up more canvas than Braydin had ever seen and corrected their course to intercept the "Mare". They closed the distance quickly and began unleashing bow fire on their target. The arrows from the five ships filled the air.

Airicka readied a spell and was about to let it fly in turn, but Braydin's hand on her arm stalled her for a second. She turned to see what was wrong and saw Braydin shaking his head. "They're short." Braydin said as the arrows disappeared into the water. She nodded and let her spell build as two more flights of arrows sank to the depths. The fourth flight came into the sky like evil birds of prey bearing down on a defenseless mouse. Airicka looked desperately at Braydin, and still he shook his head. Once agian the arrows fell short only this time a few stuck into the hull of the ship. Bryadin raised his right arm and lowered it quickly and then repeated the motion with his left. The twins both began working the rigging and another sail bloomed out and filled with wind as the crew on the deck returned fire with their bows, littering the deck of the lead persuer with dead bodies and feathering the sails. The lead ship dropped back as "The Braying Mare" entered the threshold of the pass.

A call came down from the crows nest. Braydin gave the sign for the spotter to repeat what was said as the navigator took the tiller from the first mate. Twice more the call came and twice more Braydin couldn't hear, he motioned to Kalin, and the younger brother jumpped the rail and began scurrying up the ratlines to the crow's nest. Braydin waited patiently as Kalin reached the bottom of the crows nest. He pulled himself up over the edge of the roost and the spotter began pointing. Kalin scanned the spires that they were passing. After a moment Kalin nodded and began sliding back down the lines he had just climbed, as he mounted the stairs Braydin noticed the fear in his eyes. Kalin shook his head and said one word to his brother, "Trolls."

Braydin blew his whistle again and the bows were ready as men began to scan the spires for the feared creatures. The ships chasing were just now coming into the spires in rows of two. Bryadin smiled to himself knowing that the ships giving chase have just made a grave mistake. "They aren't going to be able to turn broadside. We can pick them apart slowly as we make our way through this pass." Braydin said to Cade as he took out his spyglass. Braydin gasped as he noticed the trolls climbing out of the water scaling the port side of the lead ship. The trolls had taken to the water and gone under the ships to attack from below while the crew scanned the high rock spires on either side of them. The black sails collapsed from the mast as the grey skinned horrors flooded over the rail of their enemy and began tearing its crew to pieces.

Braydin screamed "They're in the water!" as the trolls reached the rails of his ship. Arrows flew through the air and trolls dropped dead into the water splashing like stones kicked into the edge of a pond. Kalin threw himself over the ledge once again, this time followed by Cade and Braydin. The three men charged headlong into the mix as the trolls began to mix with the crew.

Kalin was the first to reach a troll, with his sword drawn he sized up his new opponent. The troll stood half again as tall as a man with coarse gray skin and canine like face. The hair on its head was thick and matted and razor sharp claws half the length of a daggers blade protruded from the things four fingers. The beast smelled of rotten fish and overwhelming musk. Its body was lean and muscular, most likely due to the exercise of swimming which placed him on the ship in the first place. Kalin guessed its weight to be around three hundred and fifty pounds and it moved instinctually. The large eyes were solid black and seemed to have a film overthem, likely to protect them from the salt water and its nose, pointed like that of a shark, had tiny feeler whiskers like that of a cat. The troll let out a high pitched scream exposing the dual rows of sharpened teeth as he charged toward Kalin.

Kalin rolled quickly to the left as he barley dodged a life ending clothesline from the creature. He regained his feet as the monster charged past. Kalin chopped hard at the troll's back and his blade sliced lengthwise severing the creatures spine. The troll collapsed into a pile on the oak deck, and Kalin made ready to finish the job when he notice the wound on the creatures back resealing. To his amazement the wound closed and the troll regained its footing. Kalin was so astonished that the troll was able to grab him digging his claws deep into his right side causing his arm to go limp. His sword clattered to the deck and slid toward the port side.

Kalin could hardly breathe for the pain in his side as the troll squeezed his right bicep even harder with its left claw and made a swiping motion with the right. Kalin's left hand caught the creatures right wrist as it attempted to remove his head. The troll screamed in frustration as it lifted Kalin bodily into the air. Kalin could barley think for the pain burning in his side as the troll lifted him into position for a killing bite to the throat. Kalin felt helpless as he stared at the rows of teeth moving toward his throat and he gave in letting instinct take over. The stout young man brought his left knee up slamming it hard into the monster's jaw. Teeth shattered and flew in every direction. The troll lowered its head and attempted to shake out the pain. Kalin took advantage of the pause and struck the creature once more with his right knee. The troll became infuriated and began to howl and sqeeze Kalin even harder. Blackness began to close in around Kalin's eyes as his rage began to build. Kalin began to slam his head furiously into the creature's nose until black blood covered the his face. Primal instincts began to build and Kalin now bit hard into the creatures nose until blood flowed freely. The trolls grip loosened and Kalin seized his opportunity. He spit blood into the troll's eyes as he released the right hand. he quickly drew his dagger and drove it straight up through the soft chin of the troll, directly into the thing's brain.

The troll dropped to it's knees and fell heavily to the deck. Kalin quickly found his sword and cleaved the monster's head from it's shoulders. "Grow that back!" Kalin screamed in victory as he tossed the troll's head overboard.

Kalin stepped back to observe the scene around him, six of the fifteen trolls had died and were scattered about the ship. Braydin and Cade were finishing off another as a team by the mizzen mast, as the twins sent another crashing down from above. Kalin looked quickly to the bridge as he notice how fast the ship was moving. Airicka was standing over the navigator who suffered from a scalp wound and the boat was careening throught the pass, bouncing off of stone spires with noone at the tiller. She was fighting off four trolls in an attempt to save the old man's life. Kalin began running in her direction as she threw a lightning bolt through the torso of a troll exloding its chest cavity into a million pieces.

Kalin mounted the stairs slicing the ankle tendon of the final troll climbing the stairs and it fell, rolling backward past him on his way up. The next troll was within arms reach of Airicka when it was lifted by an invisible force and dashed against a passing pillar as if it were no more than a cloth rag. The final troll took Kalin's blade across its left arm cleaving it completly. The creature cried out in anguish as Kalin lowered his shoulder and pushed it over the banister to be ground to pieces by the ships contact with the spires.

"Are you ok?" Kalin asked as he approached Airicka. She nodded but was visibly shaken by the experience.

"My powers are almost exhausted and he is hurt badly." she said with tears in her eyes. "There is nothing I can do for him."

Kalin concentrated as he made the movements she had shown him merely days before. A soft yellow glow formed in the palms of his hands and small threads of light danced and swayed up and out of his hands six or seven inches high. He lowered his hands to the navigators head and they began to move over his wound weaving in and out closing the wound as they began to burrow into his head. The light left Kalin as the last of the threads disappeared into the man's cut and it sealed behind the last one. A soft glow emminated from the wound and it slowly faded out.

"That was amazing." Airicka said. "How did you learn that so fast? I've only taught you the basics of healing magic, Kalin. You shouldn't have been able to do that for another week or two at the fastest."

Kalin looked at his boots as he blushed from the praise. "The truth is I have been practicing on myself ever since you've shown me how. My shoulder has a bad wound on it from the attack on the town and every morning I treat it, and every day it gets a little better." Kalin said as he touched his sore shoulder unintentionally.

"I am impressed young Rothson. Here I was thinking you are little more than a strong back to carry my things and it turns out you are a magic adept after all." Aricka said as she now blushed at the direct attention she was getting from the handsome young man.
"Well..." Kalin began

"Look out!" Cade shouted as the once injured troll leapt up the stairs to once again attack the two unsuspecting party members.
Airicka quickly grabbed the dagger from Kalin's belt and let it fly through the air sinking deeply into the troll's snout. Once again the troll tumbled backwards down the steps and Kalin quickly finished it off with a swift chop to the neck.

Cade finished off the last troll with a swift heel to the back of it's neck and the body was thrown overboard. Twelve men had died in the ambush and everyone was injured in one way or another. The ship was quickly returned to order and the navigator once again took his spot behind the tiller. The rest of the trip through the pass was as uneventful as steering a boat through a patch of stone spires could be. Over the next couple of days Airicka, with the aide of Cade and Kalin, healed the remaining crew members and attempted to get everyone back into top shape to make up for the loss.

Braydin stood next to the navigator as they cleared the last of the Darkstone Spires and made way for Port Ugal, with only one stop ahead.
"Over there, navigator" Bryadin said as he pointed to an island not marked on his map. "Put in at this island so that we might bury the men who gave their lives in protection of my mother."