Advent of Eternity - Chapter 26 (Patreon)

Several hours later, once the sun was starting to set and everyone other than Knell – who had passed the time meditating instead – had been thoroughly trounced by Hau, the group set off. If they hadn’t been using pieces of straw in place of coin, Knell suspected they’d all have been in quite some debt.

“So, how are we doing this?” Hau asked as the group followed Knell into the alley.

“There is no ‘we’, if you’re including yourself,” Knell replied, making his way into a connecting alley. The streets of Blackfoot Bay still bustled with activity, and the bodies of the men he’d killed still laid where they had fallen. Either people had yet to notice, or the occurrence was so common that nobody cared. “You’re just following us.”

“Semantics,” Hau waved her hand dismissively.

“There really isn’t much plan involved with this particular idea,” Knell said. He stepped over a rotting apple and peered into the alley before continuing down it. His staff tapped against the wood ground, its muted thud punctuating his words. “We need to take a ship small enough that we can man it, but it’s got to be seaworthy.”

“Shouldn’t everything here be seaworthy?” Stix asked.

“Just because something can float doesn’t mean it should. We want something that can hold up in the ocean and through a fight. I doubt they’ll let us leave port completely unhindered.”

“Isn’t someone going to stop us from just strolling onto a ship and stealing it?” Cyll asked. “You’re the one who told me we can’t just blunder our way through everything.”

“Confidence will make up for any other shortcomings we have,” Knell replied. “It isn’t difficult to slip past a few low level sentries, and the way to do it isn’t by sneaking. Walking up like we own the place will do far more. As long as I keep my bad side pointed away, we’ll have enough time to get on the ship and we can remove anyone in our way before a real defense can be mounted.”

“You shouldn’t talk bad about yourself,” Hau said, shaking her head sadly. “A low self-esteem is bad for your mental health.”

“Not the time,” Stix told her.

“It’s always time to take care of your mental health. It’s a big problem, you know,” Hau said, crossing her arms. “You’re as beautiful as you want to be. Even you, elf.”

“Thanks, I think,” Stix said, narrowing her eyes. “I’ve got a name, you know.”

“Oh, I can use it?” Hau asked, her eyes lighting up. “Wonderful! I know elves don’t like others using their names without permissions.”

Stix blinked. “Most people don’t know that. Have you met a lot of other elves? No offense, but you don’t look like one.”

“I’m not, but I’ve got friends everywhere,” Hau replied cheerfully. “Stix.”

“What?”

“Oh, I’m just testing it out.”

Cyll and Knell exchanged a glance and shrugged. Stix sent them a pleading look while Hau cheerfully chattered with her, but nobody arrived to save the elf. They wove through the city alleys, following the slope of the ground and making their way back to the docks.

Eventually, the alleys came to a stop at the edge of a warehouse overlooking a large row of taverns. The docks stretched out right in front of the taverns, and ships of all sizes were docked at them.

Knell’s eye was immediately drawn to an enormous black galleon that hadn’t been there the previous day. It had easily fifty cannons on either side. The sails were blood red, and the flag depicted a laughing skull wearing a large captain’s tricorn and enveloped with black fire.

“Sixteen seas,” Stix breathed. “Isn’t that Dread’s ship?”

“The Fuge,” Knell confirmed, reading the gold lettered name off the ship’s side. “That’s not good. I had no idea Dread was in the area.”

“I don’t know any of the current pirates,” Cyll complained. “Who’s this Dread bloke?”

“Dread is an incredibly infamous pirate with a long list of crimes and a longer list of victories,” Knell said, squinting at the massive ship. “She’s got one of the most dangerous crews on the Sixteen Seas. I knew Dread sailed the Shattered Sea, but I had no idea she was here. If she’s also going for Mount Bloodwater, we’ll have to take extra care.”

“So we’re not stealing her ship?” Cyll asked.

“It’s too big anyways,” Knell said with a shrug. “But nothing else has changed. I doubt the Dread captain is going to bother with us anyway. So long as we don’t annoy her, she’s got bigger things to deal with. For now.”

“Why does it sound like you’re going to do something to antagonize her at some point in the future?” Stix asked.

“We’ll see,” Knell replied simply. “It’s not a factor right now. Look at that ship.”

He nodded at a skipper docked near the edge of the dock. The wood was bleached from years in the sun and the sails had seen better days. Two pirates sat aboard the ship, playing with a deck of cards while a third stood before it, on watch.

“Doesn’t look like much,” Cyll said with a frown.

“Not well defended, though,” Stix observed. “We could be on it before they knew what was happening. I’m more concerned about the other pirates in the area.”

“Most of them won’t do anything unless the figure out who we are,” Knell said. “They’re just looking out for their own skin. We should have time to get aboard the ship and get moving before anyone moves to help.”

“Anything else we should know?” Cyll asked, flexing his fingers. “I’m itching to fight.”

“Just be ready to adapt. The most important thing is that we get off Blackfoot Bay with a ship,” Knell said. “Let’s go. Remember, confidence.”

They stepped out of the alley and started down the street, passing the taverns and making directly for the ship that Knell had pointed out.

Knell turned his body, putting Cyll’s imposing form between him and the guard. Stix kept close beside him, helping block him from any other pirates that might have been watching. It was far from perfect, and he was certain it wouldn’t be long before rumor started to spread, but he planned to be long gone before that could happen.

“What do I do?” Hau asked, whistling beside them. “I shouldn’t fight any guards.”

“Nothing,” Knell sighed. “And please don’t get on the ship.”

“Can do!”

They drew up before the pirate, who put his hand on the hilt of a rapier and cocked an eyebrow. “What do you want?”

“Ship inspection,” Cyll replied, brushing past him. “Checking for some idiots bringing diseased rats onto Blackfoot Bay.”

“What? We don’t have any damn rats,” the pirate said, stammering slightly as they all completely ignored him and kept walking. Stix snapped her fingers to get his attention.

“Come on. With us,” she said, waving impatiently.

Baffled, the pirate followed after them.