"Captain! There's a ship on the horizon!" The lookout called from the crow's nest on the
Notturno.
The tall Captain Barone walked to the base of the mast. "Would you care to give any more details?" He sounded annoyed, but a little amused as well.
"Well, sir, it looks like she's got a standard flying on her mast!"
The pirate leader stroked his chin. "Is it something you recognize?"
The lookout shook his head. "It looks... purple and black. Can't make out much more, sir!"
Barone looked at his first officer, Patrice. "How about we go find out who's aboard?"
The short first mate nodded, a grin on his face. "If they've got a standard, they must have some good treasures."
The captain had the same thought. He raised his voice for the crew to hear. "Ready sails, get ready to run down that ship."
As they got closer to the ship, there were some murmurs among the crew. It became apparent that the ship they were chasing was larger than the
Notturno.
Even though it likely wasn't a fighting ship, there was a good chance its crew would outnumber that of the pirates.
Barone could feel the concern as the ship loomed in front of them. "Steady," he ordered. He had a trick up his sleeve. He just hoped the trick would be worth its while. "Do you remember the box that one merchant gave us? The one who took Elizabeth off our hands?"
Patrice nodded. "Mmhmm," he wasn't entirely sure, but he knew Barone didn't really care one way or another if he remembered.
"I think it's time we tried it out," Barone strode across the ship to his quarters, where he kept his favorite prizes from various expeditions. And of course, some special weapons. There was a small crate that was heavily padded both inside and out. He picked it up - it was incredible how powerful these were for something so light. He brought the box back to the deck and carefully opened it.
Patrice frowned, he peered in at the little dark spheres. "What are those?"
Barone grinned confidently. "Stun grenades, I believe they were called. That merchant was a tinkerer with sedatives and other drugs. He claimed each one of these could knock out anyone standing within a couple meters."
The first mate and some of the other crew waiting nearby took a reflexive step back.
"I see you understand how they could be useful, no?" Barone looked around to see impressed looks on the crew's faces. "They're said to be balanced well for slings, so Marc and Agnus, get ready to start launching these when we're within range."
Two of the pirate warriors nodded, taking one of the small bombs in their hands to get a feel for how they would fly.
It wasn't much longer before the other ship noticed them approaching. The dark sails and accelerated rowing let them know they were being approached by pirates. Men started gathering near the bulwarks, arming themselves.
Those aboard the pirate ship weren't strangers to being unwelcome guests. Most of them thrived on that. A few men on the royal ship were armed with bows and eagerly began to shoot at the oncoming pirates. The arrows clattered harmlessly off the bulwarks or the shields that had the rowers wore on their shoulders. The two pirate slingers stayed ready, loading up a bomb and picking out their targets. Once they judged themselves to be in range, they quickly whirled the slings around and let loose - both had picked an area with a crowd of enemy troops.
A thick blue smoke rose from the deck where the bombs had shattered. There was confusion among the troops, nothing really happened. But then the pirates heard the clatter of weapons and armor, and men fell to the deck without a fight.
"Again," Barone called softly. He had since armed himself and stood ready with a boarding party, crouched low to vault over the bulwarks when the ships came together.
Two more bombs landed on the ship, and more soldiers and rowers slumped over where they had been standing. In just a matter of seconds, the pirates had rendered almost half of the enemy force unconscious.
There were two more grenades, and the slingers picked their targets quickly before the enemy troops could think to spread out. At least another 15 men went down from afar. The pirates let out a battle cry as they closed the last few meters between the two ships.
There was a soft crunch as the bow of the
Notturno
rammed into the starboard side of the royal ship and it turned to draw alongside it. The boarding party leapt over, their mouths and noses covered with bandanas.
The remaining defenders tried to form up and provide resistance to the pirates, but they were confused and in shock at the sudden attack that rendered the rest of the crew dead? Asleep? They weren't sure yet. The defenders were brushed aside, cornered into the stern of the ship.
The pirates quietly and methodically searched the ship. In their search they found a decent haul of treasure. A small box of precious gems, some fine arms and armor, and gold. Barone let out a low whistle as he watched his men loot the ship. Barone looked over the men aboard the ship - none of them looked or acted like royalty. He'd gotten good at sniffing that out over the years.
"We're missing someone," he mused to no one in particular. His eyes lingered on the cornered troops. "Come now, you must know better than to fly a standard when you're all by your lonesome!" None of the men met his eyes.
Barone looked around the ship, walking over to a small door leading to something below deck. "Captain's quarters, no?" He turned and grinned devilishly at the defeated men. One of the soldiers jumped to his feet to protest something but was stunned by a swift blow to the head from a pirate.
Barone drew his dagger and kicked at the flimsy door. It swung open and he peered inside the room. Before he even processed who was in the room, a young woman stumbled at him. He caught her. A voice from deeper in the room blurted "Take her instead!"
The pirate looked down at the plainly-dressed young woman in his arms - she must be a servant. She looked offended, but not at him. The dark-skinned girl turned her eyes back at the unseen woman in the room who tried to give her up. "Stefan, come here and hold this one," Barone called over his shoulder. One of the other pirates came to hold the young servant back.
Captain Barone stepped into the room, his dagger out. There was a well-dressed woman standing against the wall of the room, looking very much as if she wished she could melt into the wood. The tall pirate lowered his dagger and smiled at the noblewoman. "I won't hurt you," he lowered his head in respect - the pirate could be quite charming when he wanted to. Barone held out his hand.
Tentatively, the woman stepped out of the shadows. She was surprisingly short - Barone judged her to barely come up to his shoulder. Despite the low light, her gray-blue eyes were piercing. She smiled weakly at the pirate but accepted his hand.
With snake-like speed and precision, Barone drew his dagger and swung it, the hilt connecting against the noblewoman's jaw. The piercing gray eyes were suddenly dull and unfocused, crossing slightly before straightening out. She opened her mouth to protest, only letting out a quiet undignified grunt before her knees wobbled beneath her and she staggered forward, slumping against the pirate.
He cradled her easily in his arms, turning to leave the room. One of his crew offered to take the woman's limp body from him, but he was happy to do this work himself. He jerked his head behind him. Search the room for anything else of value. Then set sail for Verdona." His voice carried on the last sentence and he looked pointedly at the cornered soldiers. "If you aren't going to fight for her, you should at least try to buy her back at the markets there!" His voice was sing-songy.
Barone hefted the noblewoman's body over his shoulder as he crossed back onto the
Notturno.
He dumped the dark-haired woman unceremoniously on the deck, her elegant clothes rumpled. The captain gestured behind him as Stefan brought the servant girl aboard. "Knock her out too, she can keep her lady company."
There was a sharp "no!" in protest from the servant girl, followed by a soft thud, a gasp, and a louder second thud. Barone looked over his shoulder to see the dark-skinned servant girl knocked out, draped across the slumbering form of her lady.
"Let's get out of here before they regain their courage," Barone called to his crew. The last of the boarding party backed onto the ship, and the rowers shoved off with their oars. The royal ship floated listlessly, no one at the oars, her men now trying to regroup and wake up their comrades.
This would be a profitable day. Barone smiled to himself as the enemy ship grew smaller in the horizon. His smile widened as he looked at the two women piled on top of each other on the deck of his ship. A very profitable day.
—
Jade woke up slowly, her head still pounding a little. She blinked a few times, not immediately recognizing where she was. There were purple and black fabrics, as she raised her head more, she began to put the pieces together. Underneath her was Queen Amanda, her eyes closed. "My lady?" She shook the older woman's shoulder gently.
The noblewoman didn't stir. Jade shook her head off and sat up more. She looked around - this was not the
Raven
. The men on this ship were unfamiliar. Slowly, she remembered what had happened aboard the
Raven.
There were the sounds of fighting, then a man burst into the Queen's room. Amanda had begged the attackers to take Jade instead, and the young woman's face soured as she remembered that detail. There was the vague memory of being brought aboard another ship, but then... nothing.
"Captain, the girl's awake!" A voice interrupted her thoughts.
The shadow of a tall, lanky man approached behind her, and Jade turned to look. The sun was directly behind the pirate, and Jade had to shield her eyes.
