To Silence a Siren

Agnes took a deep breath before taking stock of her companions and the crew of the Pahari. The haunting melody of sirens hiding out somewhere in the nearby cliffs ensnared everyone except her and the brigantine was racing directly toward a reef of jagged rocks. Rocks Agnes suspected were much more than large enough to shatter a ship of this size. Those who were lucky enough to be strong swimmers that fell safely would have trouble making it to the scarce stable ground available, and that would assume the sirens making the odd choice to not attack.

She wracked her brain to figure out a plan. What spell could get them out of this? She'd spent a little time during the days blowing wind into the sails or goading wood to repair small cracks, but this was an entirely different scale. Maybe she could nugde the ship from the side...but there were too many rocks and she'd be fighting the ship's momentum at full sail. At best that would only buy a few more seconds before impact. Attacking the sirens and shutting off the song at the source? Maybe if there were a sole opponent on deck, but Agnes had no idea how many there were and they were likely much too far away. And commandeering the ship's wheel wouldn't help either. Even assuming she could control the angry crowd, spells like her Rug Flip would damage the ship as much as the hazards.

Agnes ran through every spell she knew, every potential application, each moment inching her closer and closer to panicking. She knew she couldn't, she knew everyone was depending on her as they cheered the breakneck race to their demise. Then something clicked. Agnes's body moved almost without thought, without effort. She raced over to the gunwale and thanked the gods this wasn't a larger ship, leaning over as far as she dared and dipping the tip of her shepherd's crook into the silver waters below. With a wide sweeping motion she pulled it out and a jet of seawater followed. Like a conductor, she waved her staff to direct it back towards the surface of the water.

Timing was critical here. Not only did the force of the water raise a bit of the ship, the displacement created a pocket of space Agnes could switch up and fill with air. Water was an extension of the boy's motion, air from the breath. They can go different ways if she just focused a little, fundamentals Agnes had practiced for years. This also gave just a little bit more time for the ship to drift closer to the shore. The buffer of air making the ship wobble and skate on the water as it drifted closer to a huge rock were enough that recoil from second jet of water Agnes pulled were able to make the Pahari wheel in place completely to port.

The men cried in shock and protest, some realizing Agnes had something to do with the jolt and hurling insults. They stopped as quickly as the ship had just turned when a deafening crack rang out from the ship's bow, echoing off of the nearby cliffsides and halting the song of the sirens. Agnes turned in a panic thinking the ship had snapped only to see Chloe holding that strange weapon from her family's house pointed toward the sky.

“What kind of motherless sea dogs,” the girl purred in front of the audience she had stolen the attention of. “What kind of craven, halfwitted barnacle-brains would turn on their gran for such a cheap date?”

Agnes made a note to commend the little cat burgular for doing such a good impression of the wicked pirate in the play they saw. Hektor was the first to snap out of his daze and rushed to claim the steering wheel of the Pahari. With the ship no longer sailing straight into ruin Agnes knew she still needed to deal with the sirens, who were starting to muster near a prominotory high on the cliffside. Too high for Agnes to hit with a spell, not that she thought the fireball that would have the best chance could do much in heavy sea spray. Then one of the birds fell as the terrible crack rang out again. Louder this time. Before Agnes could recognize how much closer it was she was Chloe slump to the deck, pulling out a thin metal rod and tinkering with the weapon.

“Nice one Granny Agnes!” She said, deft hands and attention absorbed in whatever she was doing with the contraption. “I can hit them this close, but it takes me a minute. Got an idea to keep them from rushing me?”

Whatever she was doing, Chloe seemed finished as she popped back up over the edge of the ship and fired her weapon again. The sound wasn't quite so bad when Agnes was ready for it, and knowing what to look for she thought she understood the basics. Something sparked a big flame in a small space, flinging a tiny ball a great distance quickly. The effect reminded her of an old-fashioned sling some men around her village would still hunt small game with. Chloe was quite accurate, and the weapon seemed quite powerful to be able to drop a second siren at this range.

Agnes dropped down against the side of the ship with Chloe this time as she tinkered with her device. “You three!” she barked at a trio of nearby sailors who didn't seem to know what they should be doing, waving them over to join the two. With a gesture to Chloe she instructed them to “Pop up when this one does, act like you have the same toy.” Then she began to chant, manipulating the air with her fingers in one hand while she searched for any loose debris with the other.

Chloe finished reloading and gave the signal to the sailors, all four rising as a unit. The sailors were a little more worldly and knowledgable of the new weapons appearing in the region, or at least aware enough to mimic Chloe's marksman stance. This time when the girl fired, the shot echoed off of sheets of heavy air Agnes had hanging near her elbow and the witch released her own barrage of a few loose nails she was able to find.

Her accuracy was nowhere near the crack-shot pistolero, but the sound of several guns firing as a third siren fell and the impression of several shots hitting the cliffside were enough to force the sirens' retreat. Flying inland in a tangle of feathers and nasty shrieks that likely translated into uncouth language. When it was clear the danger had passed the crew erupted in a mighty cheer, rushing to applaud their heroes Chloe and Agnes. Joy turned to terror as the latter failed to respond. Still slumped against the edge of the ship. After a tense moment, a wave rocked the ship and another sound cracked the air with the same force of Chloe's gun. A long, coarse snore and a rest undisturbed by the cheer it evoked.

Agnes slept the rest of the way of the three-day journey until the Pahari pulled into Vinvintin Harbor. She awoke the day of their arrival feeling like it was the best nap she'd had in decades, though something nagged at her as they disembarked. It felt like she'd had some sort of dream, the vivid type like the golden doe in the Wood of Artemis but something about three girls. Try as she might, she couldn't recall so much as a single detail and decided to focus on enjoying this charming coastal town.