DF240 - Pull Up To The Bumper (Patreon)

The Elitrans ended up sailing through the night after all. At least some of them, for some of the time. When morning came, the lead elements of the fleet were visible from the tower.

“They’re being cautious,” Duke Ariman said as he looked out over the water. “They want to lure out Whiskerwind with a few ships before springing their trap.”

“Maybe,” Kelsey said. “But I think they’re trying something different.”

The Duke’s eyebrow twitched at being contradicted so casually by a commoner. He controlled his reaction, however, and kept his tone polite.

“Oh? What do you think they’re trying?”

Making Kelsey the Master of Ordinance really had helped her integrate with the court, just like Elara had said it would. Anton shook his head with bemusement and looked out to where Kelsey was pointing. A single ship had separated from the fleet and was heading straight towards them. As they watched, a white flag rose to join the Elitran banner flying from the mast.

“They wish to talk,” Duke Ariman growled.

“Not they, I’ll bet,” Kelsey said. She went over to the telescope, freshly cleaned of gunsmoke from the previous battle, and looked through it. A moment later she had her answer.

“Called it.” She gestured at Anton. “Take a look.”

Anton stooped and looked through the device. Kelsey had already adjusted the focus, but lining it up on a particular patch of sea could be tricky. It took him a moment to find the vessel, but he found what he was looking for soon after that.

Al-Kadir was standing on the prow of the boat, looking, for all the world, as if that boat’s only purpose were to deliver him to his destination. Anton used Delver’s Discernment, just to be sure.

Salim al-Kadir, Level 40, Courl, Champion of Denasti, Scion/Duellist/Champion/Champion of Denasti, S: 47 T: 47 A: 59 D: 49 P: 50 W: 25 C: 31

It was probably just the fact that al-Kadir was staring fixedly at Kirido that made him seem to be staring down the lens at Anton. Probably.

“He hasn’t levelled,” Anton commented.

“It’s hard to at those heights, and he’s had nothing but losses recently,” Kelsey said with more than a trace of smugness. “How are you going to handle him?”

Anton stepped back from the telescope and looked at the Duke and the rest of the war council. “I guess I’m going to talk to him.”

*

An audience was out of the question. Whatever the cost was to his kingly dignity, Anton didn’t want al-Kadir setting foot on Zamarran soil. Fortunately, he was able to claim that there were tactical considerations to consider. One didn’t invite an enemy in to view the troops right before they started a siege.

Prince Mazir had been an exception, of course. A power move that Anton was not willing to emulate. Elara had wanted to pull on their family bond, and Kelsey had taken the opportunity to scare them. It had worked, but he wouldn’t be repeating it. Elara had a level of trust in Mazir that Anton didn’t have for al-Kadir.

So they met on the water. Whiskerwind had been ready to sail, so all it took was a brief argument with his councillors.

“There you are!” al-Kadir called out, the second they were in speaking range. That was a little closer than Anton would have liked, but it couldn’t be helped. What did help was the nervous glances that the Elitran sailors gave to Cheia as she carefully kept the Decksweeper not quite pointed in their direction. Al-Kadir might be able to survive a burst, but his crew sure couldn’t.

“You’ve grown, I see.” Al-Kadir ignored the almost-threat of the Decksweeper and grinned savagely at Anton. “That’s good! Where is Soraya?”

“Somewhere safe from you,” Anton replied.

“From me? From all this?” Al-Kadir gestured at the ships behind him. “I think not.”

“You brought all this, just to capture a girl who wants nothing to do with you?”

“Hashtag Notallguys,” Kelsey murmured, reverting to nonsense again. Anton glanced down, irritated, but al-Kadir was responding.

“They are here for many reasons. For revenge against you. For wealth and battle and glory. To chase off the Tiatians who dare to think they can sail in our hunting grounds. Even I have another reason!”

“Regardless, you can’t have her. And your friends will find only death.”

Bravado wasn’t Anton’s strong suit, but he thought that was pretty good.

“I see, I see, it does appear that you are well defended,” al-Kadir admitted. “New walls, and they are lined with soldiers. Very impressive!”

He chuckled. “You have that sorcerous boat too, and who knows how many surprises were supplied by your deceitful patron?”

“Have you worked out who I am, yet?” Kelsey taunted. “It’s hilarious that you haven’t guessed.”

A frown flickered across al-Kadir’s face, but he pushed it aside. “Defended as well as you are… I wonder how many men are left for the rest of your coast?”

A chill ran down Anton’s back. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, I think you know. We can get some of what we came for elsewhere, can we not?”

“You wouldn’t.” This was what Anton’s advisors had been worried about. In fairness, they hadn’t neglected the possibility; there just hadn’t been anything they could do about it. Spread out, their force couldn’t defend against a raid of that size, and if they tried, they’d find themselves vulnerable to the Tiatians.

Even so, Anton could only blame himself for the situation he found himself in. If he had only found a way—

“We won’t!” al-Kadir declared. “Because you will duel me for her.”

“What?”

“A duel! That is how matters are settled between civilised nations. Two champions meet between the armies. One rises in triumph and the other falls, plunging his side into dismay. How can they win if their champion has fallen? And so the battle is decided with just one life.”

Al-Kadir made to draw his sword, but thought better of it and just pointed instead.

“Anton Nos, champion of your people! I challenge you to a duel for the life of Soraya!”

Anton felt something stir within him at the words, but he pushed it down. He wasn’t going to gamble with Soraya’s freedom.

“That’s King Anton Nos, to you,” Kelsey called out. “And we’ve already got Soraya, so what do we get if we win?”

“King?” Al-Kadir’s eyebrows raised, then fell as he considered how likely it was that Kelsey was telling the truth. His gaze flickered over Cheia and the other crew, who hadn’t reacted. “I… apologise for the disrespect, Your Majesty. I see that your kingdom can at least recognise and reward talent.”

His eyes flicked back to Kelsey. “If I lose, I will be dead, so you may claim all my lands and possessions.”

“What good does that do us, with all of those things being in the Empire?”

“A fair point. What do you propose?”

“What are you doing!” Anton whispered. “I’m not going to do this!”

“Trust me, I’ve got this,” Kelsey whispered back.

She called out to al-Kadir, “Can you turn this fleet around?”

Al-Kadir smiled, slowly. “I think I like where this is going,” he said.

He looked thoughtful. “Today, at this time, I think I could. While I am not in command, there are enough here that either respect or fear me that I could have my way. When I am dead, though… I can make no promises for then.”

“Fair enough,” Kelsey acknowledged. “Can you get the person who is in charge to stake the invasion on this duel?”

“Interesting!” Al-Kadir laughed heartily. “Perhaps! But you will need to stake more than Soraya.”

“All of Kirido,” Kelsey said. “Including Soraya. The whole town surrenders.”

“Kelsey!” Anton protested. But even as he did, he felt the feeling rise in him again. He wanted to take this deal. He needed to.

His Class wanted it.

Kelsey ignored him. But al-Kadir was still speaking.

“Only the town? I thought he was the King?”

“It’s contested,” Kelsey explained. “The Tiatians have taken half the country. The Queen and the army for the other half are bunked down in here. I can get her and the ranking Duke to agree to the deal. With them surrendered, you can have your pick of half the country.”

“Hmm. What sureties do we have?”

“I can negotiate binding agreements,” Kelsey said.

Al-Kadir frowned. “You don’t look like a Demon or a Fae,” he said warily.

“I’m not.”

“You’re not human, though.”

“That would be telling. Want to test?” She held up a single coin. “I’ll trade you one of my coins for a coin of roughly the same value.”

Al-Kadir thought it over, looking for tricks. “Will this do?” he asked, holding up a coin of his own. Kelsey nodded.

“Try and hold back from giving it to me,” she said, and tossed her coin over. It was a perfect throw, and al-Kadir snatched it out of the air with ease.

“Hold back, you say? I—” he groaned and clutched at his side. He lasted only a few moments before tossing his coin over.

“Impressive,” he admitted. “I think I have what I need. I may not be able to make this work, but I will do everything in my power to make it happen. Assuming they agree, I will return tomorrow with the Admiral.”

“And we’ll bring the ones from our side,” Kelsey said.

“Ahh, this will be glorious. Ready your arena, King Nos, for surely it will never see a battle as magnificent as this one!”

“We don’t have an arena,” Anton said sourly.

“You don’t? But where do you—oh, I forgot, you are savages. Well, I suppose the ground outside the walls will serve. We’ll have to make arrangements for the witnesses to land safely, but—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kelsey said. “I can host it in my arena.”

“Your arena?” Al-Kadir looked puzzled. “But where?”

“Kelsey! If you do that, he’ll find out what you are?”

“Who cares? It’s not a secret; it’s just funny that he hadn’t figured it out.”

“I have questions…” Al-Kadir said.

“It will all become obvious at the time,” Kelsey said. “Don’t try to take away my amusement at your expression when you realise. We can hold… let’s say two hundred guests from your side and an equal number of Zamarrans.”

“You want the townsfolk to go down there? The nobles?” Anton couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“It’ll be fine,” Kelsey assured him. “I can’t guarantee safety, but I can put a lot of precautions in place. And I’ll be there, which should put a stop to most accidents.”

“Fascinating,” al-Kadir said. “I can’t wait to find out what you are all talking about. Until tomorrow, then.”

He jumped off the prow and waved to the captain. The whole boat erupted in shouts and curses as the galley began the intricate process of turning around. It was easier for the Whiskerwind; they just put the engine in reverse until they were out of bowshot, and then quickly turned to head for home.

“Kelsey. What made you think I’d agree to this?”

“Let’s not fight in front of the kids, dear,” Kelsey said. She laughed at his expression. “Seriously, I’ve got a lot of convincing to do, and I don’t want to do it twice.”

“You might just have to live with that,” Anton said, “Because what you’re proposing is insane! I’m not going to risk the lives of everyone in town on a brawl!”

“First of all,” Kelsey said, “You want to take this deal, don’t you? Your class was leaping at the chance, I’ll bet.”

“It was,” Anton admitted, “But I don’t really know why.”

“It’s because you’d be fighting for the freedom of everyone in Kirido,” Kelsey explained.

“But if I don’t fight, their freedom wouldn’t be at risk,” Anton objected.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Kelsey said. “The Elitrans have got a winning hand here, and you know that. Once they start raiding down the coast, our support is going to melt away like snow. We still have to face the Tiatians, and we’ll have to do it with fewer men, and outside of Kirido. Once we’ve emptied the town, the Elitrans can sweep right in.”

“So Soraya should have run?”

“Nah, al-Kadir would have just gone after her on his own. Who could stop him? There’s nowhere she can run and she’ll be easy to track. How many courl are there in Zamarra?”

“Then—” Anton started, but Kelsey kept right on talking.

“The important thing is, we’re not risking anything. We’ve lost, and this fight is double or nothing.”