The Serpent and the Dragon
-
Amon Kretus Debriza Loulenze, the only son of Amy Debriza and Oni Loulenze, was an ironic saint. He pillaged the coastal villages, raided seaports, sunked ships after ships and murdered lives. Yet Saint Amon was remembered as a saint, remembered only for his good and beautiful tales sung and poems written about him. Little did many know the evil deeds Amon Kretus Debriza Loulenze had caused and fewer remembered the tragic lives that was lost during that madness.
Pellio, a trading seaport, was the mother of many mighty warships of the great kingdom Dimons. Amon Loulenze, the kid with a fast dagger and the faster rapier, was rallying men in Pellio. Amon was notorious, notably for being the only criminal to walk the streets of Dimons without being confronted by any bounty hunter nor the town guards. He was no giant but he stood a fair six foot three, lean and probably the fastest and most agile warrior in the Kingdom. A duelling champion for three consecutive years, Amon had a dark complexion, probably due to his brooding nature and love for the sun. At the age of twenty three, Amon was the most fearsome fighter in the entire kingdom of Dimons. Beside him stood an edgy man, with a crooked nose, sharp chin and large eyes.
The ugly man, with the distinctive features who stood two heads shorter than Amon, was Vicar Merris Jameson. Vicar was also had a reputation to match Amon's, he was notorious for his destructive ways. The last time he had an argument with a farmer, the entire farmland was torched by fire and all lifestock roasted. Huge reputation of his own, he was feared by many and no one dared to go to the local magistrate against him. Vicar, in his late thirties, was full of compliments on his partner. They needed men and words reached the underworld faster than the runners of the kingdoms. Men gathered and rallied to their cause.
Few knew what mischief these two men were up to, but none dared challenge them. Over seven hundred cutthroats, murderers, bandits, crooks, thieves, robbers, highwaymen, assassins, bullies, pirates, killers and poachers were recruited. There was a job to be done and they had a crew for it. Within the week, crooks all over the country gathered while traders fled for their lives. Words spreaded like wild fire and even the crown had sent men to guard the bastions.
No one knew what Amon was up to. -
Four loud thuds sounded and bolts took the four guards near the Imperial Sea Serpent, the latest addition to the Navy. However, the new warship was not going to sail with the navy. The two hundred and fifty heavy ballista giant warship, was going to fly jolly roger and was captained by an inexperienced sailor. It was a pure madness but the sails were unfurled and the Sea Serpent took flight into the uncharted waters in its maiden voyage.
Immediately, Captain Amon made Vicar his deputy, and the old pirate Lispar Gill the first mate. Then he appointed Parn Regal, an experienced mapper and whose trade was recognising lands, as the chief navigator. And he deployed the helmsmen, and assigned roles for boarding crew, lookouts and gunners. Seven hundred and sixty men were still short of numbers needed for the ship but that was all they needed in the mean time. Everything went smoothly until the bell sounded.
The dead bodies were found, the ship missing and the Navy was activated to recapture the biggest warship made. Seventy ships from the navy sailed out in a chase to fight the biggest thief in the waters - Amon Kretus Debriza Loulenze. Twenty four war galleys, warships with more than a hundred ballistas that housed more than a thousand sailors, were amongst the seventy ships. Fourty six medium sized battleships, armed with more than fifty ballistas, were the remaining warships sent out. The strongest navy had sent their best forces, led by Admiral Gales Willspark to chase the thief who stole the Sea Serpent.
In the middle of their journey, the Sea Serpent was being hunted down, chased by a big fleet. The first warship, the fastest war galley in the Navy known as Narrila, named after the second princess, was fast on the Serpent's tail.
The rudder of the Sea Serpent jerked to the right as the Princess Narrila approached and the Sea Serpent spat its first venomous attack at the approaching ship. It was a chain shot and the entire riggings of the Narrila was torn to shreds and its main mast broke leaving the Narrila sailing only by the oars. The Sea Serpent then made a massive leap towards the Princess and gave the bow of the Narrila a full broadside attack on its hull, totally sinking the weakened ship. The Narria sank, and was swallowed whole by the Serpent and the sea. -
The second ship that engaged the Sea Serpent was Vengeance, the war galley with seventy ballistas on portside and eighty on starboard. Few know why Vengeance did not have even number of ballistas on each side but Vengeance had never failed to capture its victim.
Yet the Sea Serpent was different, the Sea Serpent was a monster in the seas, far larger than the Sea Dragon, Admiral Gales Willspark's flagship. The Sea Serpent was different from Vengeance's enemies. The Sea Serpent was a mobile fortress in the waters, the Sea Serpent had a large Serpent figurehead and had more ballistas than any other warships. The Sea Serpent was a giant compared to the puny Vengeance. The Sea Serpent had an appetite for war that was matched by none. Vengeance feared the Serpent for Vengeance had already seen what Serpent could destroy within a short thirty minutes.
Naval battles were long affairs and the Sea Serpent could afford no time with the Vengeance. Vengeance knew that and slowed down the chase, keeping in sight with the Sea Serpent. Vengeance need support for she knew she would be taking water if she engaged the monster of the waters. She knew time would help her destroy the Sea Serpent.
Sea Serpent could not wait any longer. The bow was turned in a difficult and slow manoeuvre to turn the tip towards Vengeance. Vengeance hesitated. The Sea Serpent thrashed and glided across the waves, likened that of a possessed and scary sea monster. Vengeance hesitated for reinforcements. Fear gripped the entire deck on Vengeance. Fear rippled through the waters into the Captain's cabin on Vengeance. Fear danced in the thoughts of the sailors in Vengeance and that flicker of a moment, the Sea Serpent was on them. One by one the ballistas unleashed their fury and the Vengeance took water. And like Narrila, the Vengeance took in water very fast and Vengeance captured its last victim. The Vengeance itself. -
The crew on the deck cheered as the Sea Serpent defeated the second hunter. However, danger lurked in the horizon, across the pale boring waters. The majority of warships in the entire fleet of the Navy was racing towards the Sea Serpent. Amon spun the wheel to turn the rudder.
'Trim the sails, tighten them!' Amon screamed his orders. 'All hands on deck! We're taking flight! Lispar take the wheel! Vicar, I need the fog now!'
'Alright scurvy bastards, we'll lose these buggers!' Lispar shouted encouragement to the crew as he handled the wheel. Vicar stood on the upper deck, his hands widely apart and waving frantically, chanting verses of an ancient fire spell. Amon paced across the deck, staring into the distance with his telescope. 'Bad,' he cursed in his breath as he watched the enemy fleet moved in unison towards them. Then he turned and shouted, 'Boarding crew, get your blades, your pikes, axes, rapiers ready! Those mother sons are gonna climb our decks once they come in! I want the ballistas ready to fire chain shots, I don't care if you're not a damned sailor. I want you to be faster! Get off the masts you fools, we're not boarding them, they are going to board us!'
Chaos reigned the deck of the Sea Serpent. Though a notorious bunch of crew, they were not used to orders, far less from someone being twenty three of age. Many grumbled, but none dared to challenge for they knew Amon was a devil at the blade. The new captain may not have the crew following his orders, but mutiny was impossible at least for now. They knew they had to do something and Amon was right. The fog was masking their trails but the enemies were creeping on them. The fire had smoked for a while but it was less than sufficient to hide the massive, gigantic, Sea Serpent.
The crew panicked, the captain lost, the deputy drained, and only one man was confident of winning this impossible war. Afterall, piracy was his trade. Lispar was grinning. -
This is getting interesting.
-
Real good!
Write on.....!
-
'We need fire,' Lispar mentioned to Amon as if it was a norm for a First Mate to give advice to his Captain. 'The barrels of naphtha that I got the lads to load into the storage before we sailed off will do just fine.' Lispar grinned, waiting for Amon's reply.
Amon knew what Lispar meant. It was not honorable to use naphtha in a naval battle, nor was it wise to keep those combustibles in their own storage. Looking over to the horizon, Amon knew he had only one option left. He would not delegate his survival through luck but through wits and courage. 'Alright lads, we'll torch their sails! Get those barrels of naphtha out from the storage now! Anchors down now!'
The Sea Serpent was anchored to the beds of the sea while waiting for the approaching fleet. The port side of the Sea Serpent was facing the fleet while the strong currents rocked the hull. The four catapults, the only catapults they had on the deck were deployed by Lispar. Barrels of naphtha would be flunged across to the enemies' deck. They were deployed and instructed by the old pirate himself so that the barrels would not be wasted. They waited and Lispar gave his Captain a nod to show it was time to heave the anchors up.
'Anchors away! Tighten the sails! We're flying!' Amon bellowed to his crew as the Sea Serpent was like a giant rosing from its slumber, moving slowly across the waters and slowly picking up speed.
The Sea Serpent threw out flames at the sails of approaching fleet. Five ballistas were fired consecutively and two of the flaming missiles took the sails. The entire fleet panicked and their formation broke by their fear of the falling masts of the burning ships. Balls of fire landed on the decks of ships. Burning missiles pierced the decks and torched the sails. The ships nearest to the Sea Serpent were all blazing with fire and other warships sailed away from these burning mess, a few of these ships were too slow and had caught flame from their neighbours. The Sea Serpent was raising hellfire from the waters and the fire cracked the ships. Eight warships sunk and more than ten other warships lost their sails to cinder. Chaos erupted within the strongest Navy and the victorious Sea Serpent was escaping unscathed. -
The smoke in the distant sea became a mask of fog in the pale blue sea. The Sea Serpent slowed down as its crew cheered truimphantly. The luck, the winds and the currents flowed in the direction of the Sea Serpent on its maiden voyage. They never expected it to go so smoothly for them. The cheers died off when a large vessel appeared from the screen of smoke and was closely behind the stern of the Sea Serpent.
It was the flagship of Admiral Gales Willspark, the magnificent Sea Dragon, the champion of the Navy and the second largest bastion in the waters besides the Sea Serpent itself. The Sea Serpent, however, like a overfed beast, lay comfortable in the waters, when the smaller creature pounced on it hungrily. The missiles pierced the hide of the Sea Serpent when the Sea Dragon slid to the Sea Serpent's side. Soon, a mast had fallen from the Sea Dragon and the boarding crew of the Sea Dragon charged towards the clumsy Sea Serpent. Yet, the slumbering Sea Serpent retaliated viciously, returning its volley of missiles as the swords clashed.
The Sea Serpent was undermanned and inexperienced in the naval combat while the Sea Dragon was fully equipped and made of veteran sailors. Amon led the boarding crew against the Sea Dragon's crew and fought with his rapier. A thrust, parry, riposte, thrust, jab and several exchanges of the fine rapier had slaughtered many. Amon was fighting far below his usual standards. He seldom needed to parry, and seldom needed so many blows to kill. He was wasteful, not suited to the suddenly rising and lowering of the decks, the rocking of the ships but he was fast, good and efficient. He became weary, he became weaker as the pikes were levelled against him. He never fought more than three to four veteran sailors before and he hardly fought against pikes. Amon Kretus Debriza Loulenze was struggling as he dodged the pikes pitted against him. His rapier was less effective than the curved blade of his companion Lispar who seemed to be enjoying the fight.
The crossbows proved efficient, for sailors wore nothing but leather vests and those armour piercing bolts effectively killed many of the crew from the Sea Dragon. Many wasted their quarrels of bolts in a short time but they held the advantage as their opponents from the Sea Dragon only had melee weapon. Still that advantage was insufficient as the defying odds were stacked by the numbers of their enemies. The bolts ran out and the enemies still clearly outnumbered them by three to one.
Then Amon spotted Admiral Gales Willspark. Admiral Gales Willspark carried a beautiful curved blade and was fighting Lispar Gill. Lispar danced to the right and left as the blades crossed. Admiral Gales Willspark clearly overwhelmed the old sailor by speed and prowess. Lispar's left ear was sliced. Lispar screamed in agony and jumped at Gales Willspark like a cornered cat. He clawed out with his left hand and slashed with his sword hand but Willspark easily dodged the blows. Then the curved blade took the jaws of Lispar, slicing a part of Lispar's tongue and breaking his teeth. Lispar fell as the blade was pushed into his stomach. Lispar fell overboard as the blade was twisted out of his stomach. Then Gales Willspark turned on Amon. -
Amon danced, dodged and skipped away from the fast lashing from Gales' blade. Amon was hardly attacking. His rapier was like a needle, easily pushed away by the curved blade. Gales was attacking so fast that Amon could hardly retaliate. Sweat beaded across Amon's face as he tried a frantic thrust to push his enemy back. The rapier was easily pushed aside by Gales' metal gauntlet as the skull splitting slash came right between the eyes of Amon. Amon rolled away as the blow missed by less than an inch. A close shave, Amon thought.
Vicar Jameson had regained his posture and was tossing bolts and fighting the invaders with his long daggers. Vicar had always despised staves and wands most spellcasters had carried and deemed those clubs are nothing but bulky useless weapons. His two long daggers were his signature, his other means of killing. The long dagger on his right was wielded like a knife, the long dagger on his left was wielded like a brush with the tip away from the thumb. Vicar hardly had to fight, but he fought ferociously if required. He endured cuts while he took victims on his daggers.
Amon darted away from the curved blade. He was not injured but the waves of attack from Gales Willspark was biting, chewing him down. He was shackled by the fast glittering swordplay in the middle of the naval battle. The ballistas were still firing and the chains locked the ships together in a madness melee. The crew from the Sea Dragon were flooding in while Amon's gang of criminals fought bitter to keep them back. Planks were used to made boarding easy and Amon's crew had too much to fight that no one bothered about stopping their entry.
Gales Willspark came in again, this time with a quick left, right, left, right, slashing that pushed Amon further back. Amon, twisted away and stomped his right foot on Gales' left, crushing the toes. Amon chuckled at Gales' astonished expression of aggravated pain. And then returned his own reply of quick up and down thrust. Amon was back to his best again, finding his own rhythm to this shaky battlefield.
A remarkable quick exchange of blows were traded and Amon was getting into the flow of swordfighting. A fair quick blows were again finding their victims but both were equally good at defending. Amon feinted up and tried to stick the rapier into the left foot of Gales but Gales quickly pulled back his foot in time and nearly slashed the throat of Amon. Amon soon turned the tables on Gales Willspark when Gales made an unnecessary attack. The oppressed became the oppressor and they switched their roles for the first time. Sweat rolled down Gales Willspark's forehead as he defended against Amon's rapid attacking.
Amon believed it was not enough to defeat Gales Willspark by just attacking. He had to trap him, to let Gales believe that he would win. Then Amon repeated a similar series of attack for three times consecutively. Gales was suddenly retaliating. Suddenly, Amon lost his guard and Gales was quick to cut in. Amon turned away, the rapier suddenly appeared in his left hand a new series of blows caught Gales. The rapier pierced into Gales Willspark and the killer blow was about to land on Gales Willspark. A claymore appeared in the way and Amon jumped back away from the large blade. -
An Ensign, who was slightly taller than Amon Kretus Debriza Loulenze himself by more than an inch, quickly blocked Amon's path. The Ensign relied on brutal strength and speed to keep Amon away while the Sea Dragon crew rescued their captain from an impending death. Though not fluent in his attacks, the Ensign was fast enough to parry the thin rapier so many times that Amon feared that his fencing sword would simply break from the heavy clashing of blades. Soon the bell was rung, the Sea Dragon crew escaped, and the Sea Dragon sailed away.
The entire crew of the Sea Serpent was delighted at their survival for they knew they would be eliminated on their maiden voyage if the Sea Dragon had not retreated. The Sea Serpent's hull was badly damaged and was already taking in water slowly, half the crew were badly injured and nearly a hundred men were dead. They lived to tell their tale of their stalemate with the most ferocious Navy.
Yet the Sea Dragon was not defeated. Though the crew of Sea Serpent could boast of how they fended off the Sea Dragon, they knew well that a gambler's luck could run out one day. They must strike the Navy and cripple them or they would be facing destruction themselves. The Navy may had suffered serious losses, but they were far from being destroyed.
Amon knew what he must do. He would seek out the Navy's ships and sink them one by one till the Navy will no longer send any warships to fight the Sea Serpent. He knew what Lispar had taught him about piracy. Amon had tasted victory, and that was the only thing he wanted. He had a plan, no Lispar gave him the ideas, but he had to complete what Lispar planned for him. He had to hold the entire Navy at ransom. He had to bring them to their knees. He needed to be feared and in order to do that, he had to destroy their champion, the Sea Dragon. -
One ship against a whole Navy. This is going to be interesting.
-
Admiral Gales William Willspark was furious. He was reprimanded of his failures and those nobles who flocked to him for his support during his glory days are pointing their fingers of accusation at him now. To the entire nation, he was defeated by a child. He was outfoxed, beaten and clumsy in their eyes. He was mocked by all in the House of Calsire. The Royalists from the House were making him a joke. The papers and the rumours added to the fire.
The Sea Serpent was famous. Some rumours said it was a ghost ship. Some said the Sea Serpent was a thousand ballistas floating monster. Some said that the Sea Serpent could fly. Some said that the Sea Serpent could swim into the water and disappear from the war. Some said that the Sea Serpent could harness the weather and throw out flames and lightning. However, those were not the worst Gales had heard. Some said Admiral Gales had died in the battle. Some said Admiral Gales never sailed to battle and a coward. Some said Admiral Gales had conspired with Amon. And many said Admiral Gales was defeated, humilated and allowed to scramble off to safety.
That had been far from truth. The truth was that the Navy feared to lose him and lost their victory for his safety. His second-in-command gave orders to retreat and thus, failed to capitalise on their possible victory then. The Major simply answered, success was not guaranteed and the Navy's loss will be too great if they lose their Admiral. And for that the Admiral would be stained and that stain could only be removed by defeating the Sea Serpent.
At the meeting for the Navy, the Prince and the Chief of Staff were within the attendance list. A clear plan was drawn out, the strategy was devised, the trap was ready. The Sea Serpent might be in the waters, but Gales was confident of recapturing it. There was another plan, and it was clearly against Gales' pride. The Prince had already made plans for another warship to be constructed within a year. That was plan B but it did not matter since it would wait too long for B to be ready.
'We will break them,' the injured Admiral Gales Willspark said confidently, 'War is about information and we're dealing with someone who is definitely lacking in this area of expertise. We will track them, surrounded them and beat him down.' Then he glanced around for opinions before continuing again 'I know they have veteran killers on board. We'll need our best on board and all I need is four other warships, loaded with the best sailors. We know their tricks and we have the right measures to counter every deception, trick, strategy they have. I will oversee the entire mission. This time, the eel will not escape its trap.'
The Prince looked at him and asked, 'You're injured William and you're an important member to the House, you should delegate this mission to another.'
'I would not have my others to do this on my behalf, my lord. And I can trust only myself to proceed successfully with this.'
So it was decided. The Sea Dragon would sail again after a month of repairs and Admiral Gales Willspark would not accept a second defeat. -
The Sea Serpent was docked at a hostile harbour. Graekia was the island home of the pirates. There was a shipwright, some local constable made by a council of pirates, a casino, a weapon smithery, and several trading houses along its street. However, the Sea Serpent was an warship of Imperial construction, a stranger to the dock and Captain Amon, though notorious, was a stranger in this land.
Immediately Amon's crew was instructed to stay onboard while the Captain and the new First Mate John Hawkins were invited to their local court. The deputy, Vicar Merris Jameson, stayed on board while soldiers armed with loaded crossbow made sure no strangers from the Sea Serpent would be afoot on their dock. The militia was armed, had cavalry, and majority were footsoldiers armed with cutlass and crossbow. There were a few who carried the long bow, a fast far ranged weapon compared to the less efficient crossbow. Long bow were admired for their deadly speed and range, unmatched in war. Few carried it, but those who did were usually extremely good at it.
'Captain Amon Kretus Debriza Loulenze of the Sea Serpent? The commander of the ghost ship Sea Serpent and the nemesis of the Sea Dragon?' a pirate asked and then examined Amon, 'The crew looked like it, the ship looked like it and the captain too but protocols, cap, protocols, to inspect every god damned scurvy lads who walks the ground of Graekia. No disrespect, just a protocol, cap. I am called the Great Skull in the seas, though few remembered my name to call me Karlin Gratus. Captain Great Skull if you likened, or Captain Gratus if you wished.'
'Ya not speaking for good,' a lady pirate put a finger on the lips of Amon, she was pretty except for the scar on her lips and brow. Voluptuous yet not dainty, she was a dark brooding beauty. The female pirate judged Amon, 'Good-looking laddie, yer good with the pig skewer I heard, a soft and thin piece of scrap? I liked it thick and hard, though most of the times straight!' she tapped her cutlass with her fingers and the rest of the pirates roared into laughter at her tease. 'Now, now, tell big sista yaw not goin to bring the Navy to shore or big sista will gonna feel lonely without ya.' She touched his chin before walking away.
Then silence filled the room when a new face appeared. A tall, muscular man who wore a feather cap entered. He had a rapier by right waist, a long claymore on his back and claws on his right hand. The legendary pirate, Delefas Magnis, the ruler of Graekia had arrived. -
'Captain Amon Kretus Debriza Loulenze of the Sea Serpent, son of Amy "The Witch" Debriza. Fond memories you brought, Captain Loulenze. Amy is a distant cousin, but a famous one. Your father Oni Loulenze was more dear to me than my bloodline cousin though. He gave me this scar near my heart and god it hurts like hellfire when it rains. He haunts me even in his death but I must say he was slow, just a bit slow or he would have probably skewered me alive. Some say luck brings success but Oni would not believe. He left me alive, breathing and just leave as it is. A mocking gesture most believed, but he was injured, he could not believe I did not die from the stroke. Confident man, but he died from injuries from that fight soon after. Till this day, no one comes as close to take my life away. It is a harsh lesson I learnt, to trust your best friend. Your mother did not want you to pick up the blade, but the servant taught you your strokes, did he not?'
'He was the best teacher one could have for a lesson on skewering pigs and scums,' Amon said acidly towards the man who caused his father's death, 'Captain Magnis.'
'Aye,' Delefas nodded, 'twas right. So tell me, Amon, tell me. Are you here for revenge or personal glory or you seek asylum from an old friend of your pop?'
'A little of each, a little of each, Delefas Magnis, killer of my father. I would love to skewer you like how I could stick sausages in my rapier, I would enjoy raiding this little haven of yours and I would love to avoid the Navy, but first I would love to see my lovely lady repaired before I sail out again.'
Delefas smiled, 'You are welcomed abroad as long as you follow our protocols. Janny would love to teach you the protocols of the bed, but I think she would serve as a good guide for the protocols of this little island. Your father was not given towards wHores, and neither will your mother allow him, but I think you might be different, slightly different from your pop.' -
Janny Wurt was Amon's guide and companion. She was also the reason why Amon could walk the streets unmolested. Anyone accompanied by Janny Wurt had a reason to be on the island and anyone could see Janny was happy to be Amon's companion. 'Let big sista tell ya, the rules are simple for everyone including the laddies on yaw deck. No stealing, anyone who stole would be hanged. No harassing the ladies and pay for their services if there is a need. Any dispute is settled by duel or suicide. Ya either commit suicide or fight honorably.'
'Hey there! Jan and Cap Amon!' it was Karlin Gratus who shouted. 'Oh Jan, don't be a bore, you can have him for the night, but it is daylight now. I could steal him a while on the streets.'
'Ya know betta Karl. Mayor Magnis' instructions,' her hands was still on her cutlass, 'If yaw game for quick draw honey then I'm fine to carve your skull.'
'Sweet Jan, don't be such a siren, you have Magnis, you can't have Cap Amon to yourself. Now, Jan, now baby, maybe let me stick around?' then Karlin turned towards Amon and said, 'I heard Lispar rides your lady. He still around?'
'Checking on my mates, Captain Gratus?' Amon asked and then added, 'Lispar got a sea burial, minced by Gales Willspark.'
'Checkmate! So you came here in zugzwang?' both Amon and Janny looked at Karlin as if he asked something weird. 'Chess term. Forced to make a disadvantageous move. God, doesn't anyone play chess in this island at all?'
'The waters and rum makes chess a hard game, silly Karl,' Janny Wurt laughed and then she runs her finger playfully on Amon's neck. 'Bad luck,' Karlin spat on the floor as a seagull flew past, 'the birds are flying in. Birds dont fly in at this time. A bad omen.' -
A boy, merely a teenager, ran towards Amon, Janny and Karlin. 'Oh my god, its the running dog of Mayor,' Karlin said mockingly and then looked at Janny for expressions, 'Hey doggie, what orders are you gonna bark at us now?'
'Captain Karl? No bizness for ya from Mayor, Mayor got orders for Ma and Cap Amon. Ma, Mayor wants ya to bring Cap Amon to his office right now.'
'Dang, Timmy, don't call me Ma! Ya, a disgrace! Let's go, and doncha follow me Timmy or I'll break yaw legs.' The scrawny boy ran back into the alleys quickly and disappeared. 'Your son Miss Wurt?' Amon asked but knew it was a stupid question. 'Aint me sonny if he cant swim for good, honey. He's a good for nothin land lubber. Ya not tellin folks me got any sonny, hon,' she said and groped Amon's butt. Karlin laughed while Amon followed the two.
Delefas Magnis was looked at a map nailed on a board with his back turned on his visitors. He expected their arrival but never expected Karlin to be with Amon. 'Karl, get your ass out of here before I give you the boot.' Karlin sniggered and said, 'If you got a big boot to match me, Mayor. I ain't a pirate if I am a coward.' Delefas frowned and said, 'Don't force me, Karl, your tongue is faster than your sword and if you're going to go for your sword you can't beat me, rumour monger. The door is behind you, and shut it tight when you leave and stop eavesdropping.' Karling shrugged, left and slammed the door shut.
'Words say, you fight good on land, Captain Amon but words say you're far less impressive on your deck. Still, words are nothing when I counted Willspark a victim of yours.'
'They flatter me, Captain Magnis, he was unlucky.'
'I was thinking if I should kill you before you kill yourself. Give me a reason why I should not skewer you to death and let you grow up to skewer me to death, son of my friend?'
'Because I'm lucky, killer of my father?'
'You earned your lessons with that,' Delefas laughed and they had a swordfighting lesson. -
Delefas Magnis was forty-five, going on forty-six. His beard was greying and his hair too. However, in the sun, the hair flew in rejuvenated strength and flowed with energy. They were fighting on a small ship with a deck, dragged by rowboats. Each rowboat was captained by a old sailor who knew how to make the small ship a mock imitation of a warship in the middle of a stormy battle. Delefas was no master of defence but he was a pirate. He was an attacker and he knew very well how to win with the sword.
Amon was getting the hang of the changing tides, lowering and rising of the decks, the rocking of the warship and the quick exchange of blows on a deck, yet he had little chances of retaliating against the speed and strength of Delefas' attacks. Each of his replies were cut short by multiple replies of Delefas'. Thrice, Amon was defeated by Delefas' succession of attacks. He had no answer to Delefas' skill and his inability to perform on a jumpy deck made it worse.
The rapier of Delefas was like a viper, hissing and venomous, fast and deadly. It curled and lashed, danced upon its prey, readying to unleash its deadly fangs. Amon's was like a serpent, slow, still hissing, but without venom, was strong and powerful. Though not as deadly, it still wielded a crushing blow to any unsuspecting victim. Day and night they practised, and every night, Janny would warmed Amon's bed and bandaged his wounds. His sparring partner daily would be Delefas, and late at night would be Janny.
Karlin Gratus, the pirate captain bribed other pirates that were leaving to spread rumours about Sea Serpent's whereabouts to help Amon. More crew had already joined the Sea Serpent and the riggings were changed. Amon was welcomed warmly, not because he knew Delefas, but enemies of enemies were friends and the enemies of pirates was the Navy. They accepted him because the pirates needed a champion. The Black Skull, Delefas Magnis' ship would not be sailing again and for those ten years the Black Skull was anchored, piracy was hampered by Gales Willspark. Few pirates dared to challenge the might of the Navy, and those who did never live to tell the tale. Now they had a survivor amongst them, their new champion against the laws of the sea, Captain Amon Kretus Debriza Loulenze, nicknamed 'Captain Dread Mason'. -
'You looked horrible Cap Amon, you need to look for a new patch. A hat will make a cap look good. I will get you one hat. Good ol' Karl will fetch you one from my cabinet,' Karlin Gratus said to Amon as he hurried and disappeared.
'Yaw sailing out to intercept the Sea Dragon now hun? Will ya be careful hun? I will miss ya.'
Amon nodded. Three months had passed since they first anchored up at the island of the pirates. Amon had recruited sailors, fighters and men who can handle the ballistas. He had mastered how to fence at sea and learnt how to use a cutlass. He carried a cutlass by his side but he was still using his rapier in fights. The rapier was a master's weapon. Amateurs would be foolish to carry such a delicate blade.
The hat Karlin gave Amon was a black naval officer hat. Impressive, but rather old and had a patch to cover a cut. It felt silly on Amon's head and it was silly to the men such that Amon never wore it again. Amon kept his beard and moustache while he was at Graekia and he decided not to shave it when he was sailing. The lads liked their captain with a beard and they loved men with scars. Scars was a recognition of one's ability to live and one's worth on the waters was determined by the number of scars the person collected. Amon had no scars but no one dared to determine Amon's worth for he was the only one in so many years to be able to train with Captain Magnis. No one dared to fight Captain Magnis' sparring partner as anyone capable of training with Magnis meant that the person was excellent.
The Sea Serpent was ready to sail again and take on the Sea Dragon. -
The Sea Serpent sailed with a full deck of men. Captain Dread Mason, or rather Amon Loulenze had Janny Wurt on deck. It was more a political notion on have her on deck rather than a personnal one. Amon was not given to compromises due to personnal reasons and women are trouble on the decks. Sailors were men in waters without the love of women and pirates were men without honour.
'We will wait,' Amon said briefly, 'The winds are erratic tonight. A storm might be brewing.'
'Dark clouds,' Vicar said and then sent a telepathic message to Amon, 'you asked me to check the message Karlin left in the hat. I had gone through one of the patches and found a small note in it. It reads, "Black skull lurking, woman on board, sea dragon falls, they will attack". I supposed they would mean Delefas and his men.'
'The wind seemed to be on our side today. It's time to attack but we should be on our guard,' Amon said.
'As you please,' Vicar said and then in telepathy again, 'precautions are set in stone. Please be careful.'
The mist thickened and the waters rocked the ship. The Sea Serpent was slowly creeping on its hunters, Spitfire and the Carnage. It was a small lure used to bait them for engagement and the time had dawned for the Sea Serpent to take their enemies before the five of them surrounded the Sea Serpent.
The two ships had been tailing the Sea Serpent but they had been keeping a safe distance from the monster of the sea. Lady luck had once more favoured Amon's crew and they had turned on their hunters once the storm raged. It was a difficult manoveur but Spitfire and Carnage did not know that the Sea Serpent was the master of the waters, capable of sailing even in a dangerous storm.
Carnage was tossed about by the waters and the Sea Serpent simply appeared beside it. The storm had already damaged Carnage badly but it was not as bad as being fired at without the ability to retaliate in the middle of the storm. The Sea Serpent gave Carnage a full broadside attack and Carnage was thus shattered and crumbled in the storm.
The Sea Serpent suffered casaulties in the storm too, but it was only a few men thrown overboard. Amon grinned as Spitfire appeared within visible distance. The weather made it easy, very easy for the Sea Serpent to pick on the enemy for lethal blows. The Sea Serpent swam and slowly approached Spitfire. Liked an injured hare, it saw the big monstrous serpent hissing and slowly moving towards it.
The ballistas fired and Spitfire suffered heavy damages to the hull. It was dying but not dead, and it managed to sail away in a direction opposite of the Sea Serpent. The Sea Serpent slowly steered its rudder towards Spitfire's course but it was too slow. The storm was over, Spitfire had crept away from the jaws of death to safety and the odds would be stacked against the Sea Serpent again once the enemy warships gathered.