Chapter 20: Dark Wings of Fortune

By the time Captain Astora was brought to the separated bunk area, Hana had returned to her normal self, making swift use of a nearby bucket that Calla had kept nearby. Lucius’ skin still prickled with cold uncertainty at Hana’s chilling words. The phrase itself was worrying enough, but what truly got to him was the way in which they were delivered. She said them with such plain certainty, as if she had already seen it happen. Her words hung in the air like lead, weighing down his shoulders as he waited with her for the captain to arrive. Hana was unusually quiet as the hammock swayed beneath her, gently rocking back and forth as one might do a child who was unable to sleep.

“Lucius…tell me again. What did I say, exactly?” This was the third time she had asked him to repeat her words, after it was made known that she had spoken. According to Hana, she had no recollection of saying anything at all and she was quite surprised to find Lucius in her sleeping quarters. After hearing her own words, she sat down heavily in her hammock and stared off into space in disbelief. Lucius had never had the experience of saying things without knowing, at least not while sober, so he could imagine it was just as unpleasant. In the end, all he could do was sit nearby and repeat when asked, feeling largely unhelpful.

Several minutes later, Astora pushed her way into the increasingly cramped quarter, briefly exposing the shapes of Calla and Blacktern just beyond the curtain. Astora strode forward and knelt before Hana, who raised her head to meet the captain’s steady eyes, though she had trouble meeting them for long,

“So, you say death is coming to my ship. That right?” Hana nodded shakily, clearly stressed by throwing the mood of the voyage into the veritable gutter. Lucius felt a pang of sympathy for her; saying that death is about to visit the ship that you’re on typically isn’t the best way to make a good impression. Astora’s tone was level and direct, and there was no obvious indication that she was either upset or dismissive of Hana, despite being a complete stranger.

Astora questioned again, “How are you sure of this? The sea is a fickle mistress at the best of times, and death is a constant companion out here. What makes you say today, of all times?”

“I…I…” Hana stammered, unsure of how to explain something she likely didn’t understand herself. Unwilling to watch her fall apart further, Lucius stood behind where she sat and placed both hands on her shoulders, which trembled beneath his grip. He caught Astora’s eyes and turned her attention on himself,

“If Hana says that something bad is going to happen today, then I believe her.” The captain raised an eyebrow, “Oh? And what makes you say that? Don’t tell me my beautiful little bird over there beat you out of your senses?” He forced a smile at the comment, “Well, she certainly did, but even if I was nearly mad, I would still trust her words. Hana is a lot of things, but she would never do anything to cause worry for others.”

“That so? Hmmm…” Astora gave both of them a steely once-over, then shouted back towards the curtain, “Oi, Blacktern!” The response was immediate, “Aye, Captain?” Astora stood to where she scraped her head against the upper deck, “Full sail, immediately! I want that canvas as taught as a drum when I get up there! Alter our course by six degrees, south by southwest. Get us in sight of land!”

“Aye, as you say.”

“Calla, you still lurking back there?” “Ah! Ah, yes. I mean, aye Captain!” “Good, spread the word that foul winds might be heading our way, get everything tied down and stored. Bring out our defensive measures as well, on the double!”

It took seconds for the ship to suddenly come alive with action, the sounds of a dozen booted feet dashing about carrying out their captain’s orders mixing with calls to action. Astora swept back the curtain, “When you two are ready, join me on deck. I’ll show you personally that nothing messes with my ship!”

Left in a moment of relative calm amidst a storm of action, Lucius beathed out heavily to try and relieve the tension building in his shoulders. Hana likewise let out a shaky breath and turned to him, her eyes brimming with relief and gratitude, “Thank you. I…I didn’t know how to convince her. I had no idea what to say. Do…do you believe me?” Without hesitation he replied honestly, “Frankly? I have no idea. But what I do know is that you believe what you said, and that you would never do something like this to hurt others. If you say something’s going to happen, then I’ll trust your judgement. But I’d like a better explanation once we’re all good here. Fair?”

She smiled broadly, shaking off uncertainty, “Deal!” Lucius nodded an affirmation, standing to show his readiness to head topside. Hana took a minute to steady herself, and when she showed readiness to follow, he extended a hand to help her up. The gesture took her by surprise and she stared at his hand, seemingly unaware of what to do with it. This moment of innocence clashed a bit with the damning statement she had made moments ago, yet he could to help but find it oddly endearing. He gestured with his fingers,

“Take my hand, if you need. Don’t want you stumbling around too much in all this ruckus, after all.” Hana’s mouth formed a small “O” in mock hurt, “I will have you know I have gotten much better at moving on this wooden abomination!” She still gingerly placed her hand in his and allowed him to carefully guide her back into the blinding sunlight. They emerged onto a deck in the middle of a frenzy of activity; sailors dashed from bow to stern carrying materials between decks and calling to each other for updates or changes in status. From the stern where the large wheel that controlled the ship’s rudder, which Lucius had heard referred to as both the quarter deck and the poop deck (Hana had her preference as to what to call it), both Captain Astora and Blacktern stood resolute against the infinite blue sky.

Noticing their arrival, Astora motioned for them to approach, which they did so while dodging around the hyper focused crew. After some creative ducking and weaving, they arrived at the ship’s wheel where they were soon joined by Calla, who saluted the captain smartly,

“Land’s almost in sight, Captain! Ballista are in place as well! We’re ready for anything!” Astora gave her a winning smile, “Well done, Calla. You did well, getting everyone off their asses so quickly. Would you like an ear rub as a reward?” Calla blushed furiously, hiding her face in her hands, “Captaiiinn! Stop! You’re embarrassing meeee!!” Lucius rolled his eyes; partially at the captain’s lecherous undertones, but also at Calla’s furiously waving tail. It seemed that it was hard for all Beastkin to hide their true intentions.

Blacktern narrowed her eyes at Calla who went scampering down the steps under the force of her glare. Astora sighed with a just a bit of longing at being left behind, then regaining her focus as if nothing had happened,

“Alright you two, let me break this down for ya quick. My Wavecutter is a fine ship indeed, but she ain’t cut out for a real fight. Now we’ve faced down a few terrors in our day, but our best hope fer survival is our speed. Ain’t no ship in the hemisphere that can outrun us at a full clip. If somethin’ does get too close, we got those beauties down there.”

She gestured down towards the rails on either side of the ship, where Lucius spotted some new additions that had been affixed to the ship’s rails. Six ballistae, three per rail, were in the process of being bolted down and each manned by a crew member. Nearby each of the war machines there was placed a heavy bucket of bolts, each the size of Lucius’ forearm. It made sense to him, fast ships couldn’t carry heavy weapons and relied on making themselves too tough a target for any would-be privateers.

“And if something isn’t scared by those…things?” Hana pointed at the ballistae with a questioning gaze, Lucius nodded along to back her up. It was a solid question. Astora flashed a wicked grin and patter the hilts of her cutlasses, “Then we deal with things personally.”

A shout went up from near the main mast, “Captain! We’re losing the wind! The jib’s gone flaccid!” Astora frowned and called back, “Then stroke it a bit and get it back up! And if that don’t work, then find it again! We need speed right now, not complaints!”

Moments later another shout rang out from the crows nest high atop the main mast, “Captain! Something’s coming from the starboard side! Looks like a lot of somethings!” Astora clicked her tongue in frustration and held out her hand towards Blacktern, who reached into her pouch and pulled out a collapsible spyglass. The captain received the instrument and opened it up, placing the glass to her eye and peering off into the distance. Lucius and Hana both squinted hard, but were largely blinded by the reflecting of the sun off of the waves.

Calla had dashed halfway up the rigging, holding onto the heavy ropes as she leaned as far out as she could go. It was her that shouted, “There! Thirty-four degrees off the starboard bow! Looks like wyverns, Captain!”

“Aye, I see them! A full dozen of them, coming in like bats from the depths of the hells! Did we run into them when they were coming back from hunting?” She turned halfway towards Hana, “Looks like there was somethin’ to your words. Wyverns like these are foul-tempered at the best of times. They’re aggressive and territorial, and they’ve got a powerful bite and worse venom. You two best stay safe, they’ll tear you to pieces.”

He turned to Hana, looking to gauge her attitude on hiding during the encounter. Her eyes went wide with fear, but it didn’t seem to be directed at the oncoming beasts. At the prospect of being sequestered away in the dark hold, she vigorously refused, pleading with her eyes to not take the captain up on her offer.

“We’ll be fine up here. I trust your crew, and there’s no way I’d let those things get close to her.” Astora gave him an appraising eye, “Good lad. Prepare yourself, they’ll be on us in moments.”

Lucius drew his rapier and dagger, finding comfort in their familiar weight as he and Hana withdrew from the wheel towards the aftmost part of the quarterdeck to give Astora as much space as possible. The Wavecutter groaned under the strain placed upon it, some of its sails drooping as the wind began to lessen in strength. Astora’s smile had tightened into a grim line as her ship slowed significantly, Blacktern standing protectively nearby. Below on the main deck, her crew made their final preparations, training what ballistae they could on the oncoming swarm while others pulled out personal weapons such as hand crossbows and shortbows. All they could do was wait in silence as the swarm of beasts grew larger and larger, swinging ominously in their direction.

Then, like a storm, all hell broke loose.