Smash and Grab

Chapter 25 - Smash and Grab

It was an hour to midnight when The Briny Hydra came into port, two hours behind schedule. Akaja had nearly fallen asleep as she waited for the ship on a small rowboat beneath the dock, suddenly stirred by Joon’s warning.

“It’s here!”

Being nocturnal, the moth boy made for a good lookout. He had been standing at the bow of their boat, eyes facing out towards the open ocean, like a statue for hours now.

“Finally…” Akaja pushed herself up, moving to stand beside Joon as they watched their quarry sail into the harbor. “Alright, Joon! Get ready… I need you on standby in case we have to dispel the magic in the alarm bell. Just follow my lead and we should get through this just fine.”

Morrigan…

She called on the power of her shadow, summoning a jet-stream that propelled the boat along the water. Covered by the darkness of night, they creeped ever closer. A handful of lanterns illuminated the deck of the ship. Akaja counted at least a dozen sailors on deck. There were probably more below…

As the ship docked, Akaja carefully maneuvered their boat to its starboard side. Using a hook and some rope, she attached the boat to the side of the ship to keep it from drifting away. She didn’t think they would need it later, but it was best to keep one’s options open.

“Alright,” Akaja whispered. “We best most quickly to avoid our chances of being spotted.”

“I have something that will help!” Echoed Joon’s voice, his wings shaking with anticipation. His wings parted slightly as he held one of his slender arms out. A small ball of shadow formed in his palm, swirling like a cloud of darkness before suddenly collapsing in on itself. The deck of their rowboat was quickly enveloped in this darkness, which seemed to cast away the dim lights of the lanterns above, and dampen the creaking of their boat against the waves. While they weren’t completely invisible, their silhouettes were now barely distinguishable when glanced at from a distance.

Akaja grinned at the Moth, giving him an approving pat on the shoulder, which triggered an excited twitch of his antennae. “Good work,” she whispered. “Now follow my lead.”

She propelled herself upward with a torrent of wind, the sound of which was muffled by Joon’s spell. She flew high enough to reach the railing, grabbing onto it with a firm grip before climbing aboard. Joon followed not too far behind, propelled by his wings. He glided down onto the deck. The two of them quickly took cover behind a stack of crates.

The sailors were already unloading their cargo, and Akaja heard whom she assumed was the captain conversing with Andros.

“I was told we would have a bigger escort,” The Captain, a rotund goblin, spoke with a gravely voice.

“And I was told you would arrive in a timely fashion,” Andros retorted, his arms crossed. “The others went to sleep. We nearly joined them.”

The goblin grumbled. “Fine… let’s just get this over with…”

Scanning the deck, Akaja spotted the alarm bell by the mainmast of the ship. “Think it’ll have to be dispelled?” She asked, turning to Joon.

Joon’s eyes shimmered for a moment, then he nodded. “I can disable the magic from here…”

“Go ahead and do that. Afterwards, I’ll remove the bell from its post.”

Joon extended his arm forward, eyes closed. With her head peeking over the crates, she awaited a signal from Joon or the bell. Her hands tightened into fists as she waited with anticipation.

“It is done.”

How anti-climactic. And here she thought magic was always flashy.

“What?” Akaja frowned, turning her gaze onto him. “You sure?”

“Yes.”

Taking in a deep breath, Akaja carefully approached the alarm post while the crew were mostly distracted by their cargo. The bell itself was attached to the post by a small hook and it didn’t take much finagling to remove. Once that was done, she quickly made her way back to Joon and tossed the bell overboard.

Time to get things started… Akaja took in a deep breath, and set forth a powerful gust of wind towards the mainmast of the ship, causing the vessel to suddenly sway to and fro and briefly turning the crew’s attention away from her companions.

---

As Akaja’s signal rocked the ship, a sly grin crept its way onto Andros’ face. The goblin captain now turned away from him, Andros pulled a card free from his deck. It hovered just above his palm, spectral motifs of clockwork engines orbiting around it just before he crushed it. The card shattered into a dozen different pieces as small ethereal clocks and gears shot towards the sailors.

Six sailors worked on the dock, loading the ship’s cargo onto a nearby wagon. Suddenly, time in their immediate vicinity slowed to a crawl. They moved as if they were at the bottom of a lake of gelatin, and many of them. The deep strain on his mind to maintain the spell was apparent, like a thick fog that clouded half of Andros’ focus. Thankfully, the spell didn’t need to be maintained for long. Kuana made quick work of the sailors, helplessly caught in their bubble of slowed time, knocking each of them out with a firm blow to the head. The sailors, knocked out of the fight, slowly fell to the ground.

There were five more sailors on the deck of the ship. As they reached for their weapons, Yukiko called her familiar forth. The long ferret-like creature slithered through the air, wrapping itself around one sailor. Its fur discharged a blast of electricity, shocking the sailor into unconsciousness (at least Andros hoped so), before unhinging its jaws to breathe out a wide gout of flame at the rest. The remaining sailors scattered, hiding behind masts and crates to avoid the oncoming fire.

Akaja then leapt out of the shadows, wooden blackjack in hand. She quickly knocked one sailor out with a blow to the head and sent a torrent of wind at another, which sent him crashing into a nearby pile of crates. Afterwards, Kuana rushed onto the deck. Grabbing a barrel, he deflected a sword swipe from another sailor with it, then smashed the barrel over the man’s head, splintering it to pieces. The remaining sailor tried to attack the Goliath from behind. He buried a hatchet in Kuana’s back, but it did not deter the Goliath. He grabbed the sailor by the collar and tossed the man overboard.

The door leading to the lower decks swung open, sending forth three more armed sailors onto the deck. Leaping from the cover of crates and barrels, Joon fluttered into the air, moonlight reflecting off his wings as he summoned a small cloud of spores around the door. Upon breathing in the spores, the sailors began to sputter and cough. They collapsed to the ground.

Arriving on deck, Andros observed the aftermath of their destruction. The (mostly) unconscious bodies of the sailors lay strewn about and with minimal collateral damage to the ship itself. “That went surprisingly well,” Andros said.

“You doubted us?” Akaja teased, already freeing the fallen sailors of their coin purses. “Andros… I’m hurt…”

“It’s not that I doubted we would succeed… plans rarely survive past execution.”

“No, no, no!” Yukiko strode up to him, and pinched his lips shut. “You’re going to jinx us!”

Andros chuckled, gently pushing Yukiko away before pulling her back in so he could wrap his arm around her. “Fine, then…” He grinned. “Alright! We’re almost at the home stretch. Most of the coral should already be loaded up, but since I know there are those here up for a little looting…” He eyed Kuana and Akaja, who were comparing the contents of the pockets they had rummaged through.

“Grab whatever you can carry, but make it quick! We’re already behind schedule… and keep an eye out! We’re not the only group after this cargo.”

Already, Kuana and Akaja had left for the lower decks. Yukiko turned to Andros, eyes wide and pleading. “May I?”

Andros sighed. “Go ahead… I’ll keep watch out here.”

Grinning, Yukiko planted a kiss on Andros’ cheek before rushing off to join the others.

That left him and Joon alone on the deck…

“Andros?” Echoed Joon’s voice as he stepped forward, his arm extended out into a fist.

“Yes?”

Joon glanced down at his fist, then up to Andros, antennae twitching expectantly.

“Is something wrong?”

“Oh, dear… I appear to have made a social faux pas. Please forgive me, but I was told that bumping fists was a common sign of comradery on the surface. Am I mistaken? Did I accidentally cause offense?”

“No, you’re not mistaken…” Andros said, crossing his arms.

Joon glanced down at his outstretched fist as his wings began to shake expectantly. “So…?”

Andros rolled his eyes, then gave into the druid’s request, bumping his fist together with Joon’s. The Druid’s eyes squinted as he let out a happy bzzzt.

“Do you want to be helpful?” Andros asked.

“Oh, yes! That’s why I’m here.”

He handed Joon a bundle of rope. “Tie up our unconscious friends. We can’t have them waking up and sneaking up on us while we’re not looking, can we?”

“It will be done!” Joon said, taking the rope before fluttering off.

Andros leaned his back against the railing of the ship, his eyes scanning the darkness of the docks. Minutes past, and the others still hadn’t come up yet. It tempted him to go down and check in on them, but somebody had to keep an eye out for unwanted adventuring parties. He certainly didn’t trust Joon to do it.

It was then he noticed a faint cloud of… darker… darkness? A morphing blob moving along the dock like an encroaching slime, but it didn’t appear to be anything solid. It was like there was a slow-moving fog that caused any light, no matter how dim, to avoid it. And it seemed to be getting closer.

Materializing from moonlight, the spectral figure of his shadow, the Wolf Asena, appeared beside him, sniffing the air. As she spoke, she uttered a low growl. “Illusions mire our vision. Shall we banish them?”

Andros, his gaze never leaving that barely visible blob of amorphous shadow, nodded, his hands gripping the railing, turning his knuckles pale. “We shall…” He held his hand forward, his fingers tracing the movements of the blob. “Asena… reveal to me the truth!”

The wolf howled, the sound traveling across the night sky, audible even to Joon, who jumped back, startled at the sudden noise.

“Eyes on the docks, druid…” Andros said. “And observe…”

A beam of silvery-blue moonlight broke through the skies above, crashing into the docks and covering with a swirling, dancing light. Six glowing figures, armed and armored suddenly replaced the wandering darkness in a diverse array of equipment.

It’s about damn time…

“We have company.” He turned to the Druid, a wild grin forming on his face. “Get the others… now!”

“Right away!”

Andros felt a fire burn within him, an unfamiliar sensation that pushed him forward. Normally, he was averse to necessary violence. While not unwilling to defend himself, or those he cares for, he never felt the desire to seek it out… it was… exciting! The desire to crush those who would stand before you, the thrill right before destroying an arrogant foe…

“Use that passion,” Asena told him. “Embrace it… for it is a part of you. A truth lost… now reclaimed! A chain now broken!”

Andros hopped over the railing and onto the dock. He pulled off his coat, letting it drop to the ground as he shuffled his deck of cards, his dancing streams of moonlight now fully revealing his foes to him.

Six foes. The first appeared to be a slender dark-skinned Elven man, wielding a long spear. Beside him was a Dwarven man with fiery red hair and a long braided beard carrying a bulky crossbow. The third appeared to be an Estrellan noblewoman, with smooth tanned skin and a large feathered cap on her head. She didn’t appear to have any visible weapon. The fourth was a two-tailed Kitsune woman, also unarmed.

The fifth was a crimson-skinned, Tiefling man with a hefty greatsword strapped to his back. The last adventurer looked to be an Imperial man, wielding a thin longsword in each hand. Andros stood around 10 meters across from the other group. They quickly bickered amongst themselves, drawing their weapons.

“I don’t know who you think you are,” The Estrellan woman stepped forward, a long black scimitar slowly materializing in her left hand. “But I would suggest you go home for the night. Unless you’re willing to die for your cargo?”

“I’m not with the guild,” Andros said, shuffling his deck of cards. “And I can ask you the same question…”

She laughed, shaking her head. “You’re serious? Use your eyes, friend. You’re outnumbered six to one…”

Andros spread his cards out in front of him. Even freed from his hands, they floated in a long line, then spun rapidly around him, each card emanating a faint silver glow. “Unfortunately for you… I’m a betting man…”

Skulking behind him, Asena materialized from the surrounding moonlight. “Your mind is your greatest weapon… make use of it…”

A soothing chill washed over him as he suddenly became intimately aware of his environment. Every sensation, every heartbeat, and every breath… time appeared to slow as his mind raced. Dozens of potential strategies and actions spun around in his head. Was this the power granted to him by his shadow? It was… intoxicating.

The sharp thwang of a crossbow broke Andros from his stupor. His body seemed to move on its own as he side-stepped the bolt. The Estrellan extended her blade forward, shooting forth two crackling beams of violet energy, one after the other. Andros ducked beneath the first beam and dodged the second, his heart racing with power and adrenaline.

Andros swiped one of the cards as it passed by him. As he shattered the card, six small flaming meteors, the size of ale tankards, began to form and orbit around him and his cards. Bringing his arm forward, he sent a pair of meteors flying towards his enemies. While they managed to dodge the initial impact, they exploded once they hit the ground, engulfing the Dwarf, Tiefling, and Imperial in flame. While not taken out of the fight, the Imperial and Dwarf had sustained quite a bit of damage, with half of the Dwarf’s beard catching on fire. The Tiefling, meanwhile, appeared unscathed. He, along with the Elf, rushed forward, weapons at the ready.

He grabbed another card and shattered it, causing it to explode in a radiant burst of dancing moonlight. They swirled around him; the light coalescing into a pack of wolves, ready to guard and protect their master. They rushed to surround his foes, stopping the Elf and Tiefling in their place as they turned their attention onto their canine attackers.

The Imperial leapt over the pack of wolves, dual blades threatening to bare down on Andros. Another card summoned a translucent shield around him, absorbing the flurry of sword swipes the warrior sent against him. The shield wouldn’t hold long, however. The swordsman was relentless. Leaping backwards, Andros sent another meteor flying towards him. The swordsman dodged it. Gritting his teeth, Andros hurled the second one down at the ground between them, catching the both of the in the oncoming inferno. With mild burns, and a ruined shirt, Andros’ gamble had paid off. Andros blasted the Swordsman back with the maneuver, and his wolves held him back.

Then, Andros felt a flurry of jabs break through his shield and slam into his pressure points. Before he suddenly lost control of his muscles, he saw both the Kitsune and the Estrellan had somehow managed to flank him from the rear. As he began to drop his he knees, the meteors orbiting around him turned to dust and his wolf pack faded away. His cards slowed to a crawl and slowly fell to the ground all around him. The Kitsune woman drew a red line across his cheek with a clawed finger as her companion raised her scimitar to finish him off.

“You should’ve just went home…” she said, removing her cap to hold it against her chest.

Suddenly, a chakram flew through the air and knocked the woman’s scimitar from her hand, causing it to slide and clatter off the dock. Andros turned and saw Yukiko’s familiar, Spring, dart through the air, dropping spinning strings of green energy around the dock. Both the Estrellan and the Kitsune dropped onto their knees and began to laugh hysterically, stumbling and rolling around on the ground as Spring wrapped its body around Andros’ arm and dragged him away.