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<blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 2815377" data-attributes="member: 5203"><p><strong>Slow Boat</strong></p><p></p><p>Destiny, as it turned out, took a long time to get out of the harbor.</p><p></p><p> Their iron-shod ship was heavy and cumbersome, and the entire crew had to man the oars to get it moving. The fact that a ship of the Armadillo’s size wasn’t built to accommodate oars didn’t help, as the angle of the oars wasn’t optimal. In their favor was the fact that few other ships wanted to get in the way of their metal monstrosity, and the party was given right-of-way.</p><p></p><p> Two hours later, they were out in open water, and the crew was starting to raise the main mast and tie up the rigging. By noon, they were under sail and heading south along the Tlaxan coast.</p><p></p><p> “Never, ever make me do that again, Kyle,” Lanara said, rubbing her aching shoulders. “It’s a good thing I thought ahead and brought a masseur.”</p><p></p><p> The voyage settled into routine quickly. With a full crew, the party had little they had to do to help sail. Even Kyle was free from spending a great deal of his time being captain, though he had to spend it making magic and alchemical items instead, as well as absorbing the information from Andariel’s book.</p><p></p><p> “It’s a biography,” Kyle told the party one night, after he’d finished reading the book through thoroughly. “It’s about the spirit dragon Auxariel.”</p><p></p><p> “Spirit dragon?” Razael asked.</p><p></p><p> “It’s how they describe white dragons sometimes,” Kyle explained. “See, it turns out that the reason scholars can’t agree on what it is dragons are supposed to be doing in the world is that they have lots of different jobs. White dragons are in charge of regulating the flow of negative energy back to Erito so that she can continue to create magic.”</p><p></p><p> “I take it this Auxariel isn’t doing such a great job,” Osborn commented.</p><p></p><p> “No. Apparently he’s been purposely hoarding the energy for about the last century. Whoever wrote the book thinks that Auxariel was adapted by Erito to the cold because he’s supposed to be regulating the death cycle for arctic creatures.”</p><p></p><p> “So, why should we care?” Razael said.</p><p></p><p> “We should care because without negative energy flowing back to Erito, magic will decline, and the entire life and death cycle could be thrown out of whack,” Kyle explained.</p><p></p><p> “Right now?” Razael asked.</p><p></p><p> “No, not right now,” Kyle said. “But eventually yes.”</p><p></p><p> “So, again, why should we care? It’s not going to affect us.”</p><p></p><p> “Because we can stop it before it gets to that point,” Autumn said sternly.</p><p></p><p> “Well, if you still think you can kill a dragon, that’s your own bit of craziness to deal with,” Razael stated.</p><p></p><p> “If you’d like, we can put in at the next port,” Kyle said, “and we’ll send you on your way.”</p><p></p><p> “Not while she’s here, no,” Razael said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder to Maddie.</p><p></p><p> “Then stop griping about it,” Autumn said. “If we can find a way to stop this dragon without fighting it, we will. But we have to get there first.”</p><p></p><p> Three and a half weeks after setting sail, the Armadillo caught the last glimpse of the continent, marking the farthest any of them (save Xu) had ever been from home. Maddie marked the occasion by announcing a special dinner for the party.</p><p></p><p> “Maddie, we appreciate the thought,” Kyle said, “but the supplies are pretty tight. And, to be quite honest, you’ve never been the best cook.”</p><p></p><p> “Well, none of us are, really,” Arrie pointed out.</p><p></p><p> Maddie smiled. “I’m not the one doing the cooking tonight.” Maddie unfolded a fine-looking white tablecloth, and unfurled it on the long table in the captain’s cabin. The instant the cloth settled on the surface, a large quantity of food appeared.</p><p></p><p> “It’s not exactly gourmet,” Maddie explained, “but it beats sea rations.”</p><p></p><p> “Where did you get this?” Kyle asked.</p><p></p><p> “I made it. You’re not the only one who knows how, you know. I bought a few scrolls of create food and water to make it with while you were getting the ship ready. It only works once a day, but I figured that will get us by when we leave the ship and head out over the ice.”</p><p></p><p> “Wow, great thinking, Maddie!” Arrie said.</p><p></p><p> “Yeah, wonderful!” agreed Autumn.</p><p></p><p> “No bacon?” asked Osborn.</p><p></p><p> After three more days, the ship turned to head southwest. Directly below Affon was the Great Southern Reef, which they would have to go around to avoid running around on the coral. Though it added weeks to their travel time, it was unavoidable; no one had charted the reef, and so a direct route was out of the question.</p><p></p><p> Another week passed before anything else happened. The lookout called down to the first mate, a grizzled human named Parkes who was missing his left ear.</p><p></p><p> “Ship ahoy! Seventy degrees to port!”</p><p></p><p> The crew moved to look for the ship, with some climbing into the rigging, including Razael. The rest of the party waited on deck.</p><p></p><p> “What’s a ship doing this far out here?” Osborn asked.</p><p></p><p> “I don’t know,” Arrie said, “but it’s usually not for good reasons.”</p><p></p><p> “She’s bearing this way, sir,” the lookout called down. “Gaining fast.”</p><p></p><p> “There’s a huge surprise,” Lanara said.</p><p></p><p> “Has anyone see their colors?” Kyle asked.</p><p></p><p> “Nay, captain,” Parkes said, “she’s too far out yet. Could be one of the elves will spot them afore long.”</p><p></p><p> “This is why I wanted a ballista,” Razael grumbled. A few moments later, as the ship came into view to the rest of the crew, he squinted and shouted out to the crew. “She’s flying a black flag. White skull, with two crossed kukri’s behind it.”</p><p></p><p> A fearful murmur began to ripple through the crew, and Parkes quickly went to work getting them back in line. “That’s not good,” Lanara said.</p><p></p><p> “Please, explain before my crew starts jumping overboard,” Kyle said.</p><p></p><p> “Those are the colors of the pirate captain Starke. He sails the Youth’s Vengeance. He’s well known in these waters. He’s known for being a decent fellow, as pirates go, as long as you’re not flying a Medosian flag. Those ships he leaves with no survivors. The big concern is his crew. They say he used to have a human crew, but not any more.”</p><p></p><p> “Who’s his crew now?” Osborn asked.</p><p></p><p> “The stories vary. Some say celestials, other demons. There are stories of the undead, of shapeshifters, of half-humans, and other fantastical beasts.”</p><p></p><p> “Well, we’re not going to outrun him or avoid him in this tub,” Arrie said.</p><p></p><p> “He’s sailing out of the Southern Reef,” Kyle observed. “I wonder how he did that?”</p><p></p><p> “I say that we should just make a show of looking competent,” Arrie said, “and hope they decide we’re not worth it.”</p><p></p><p> “This is why I wanted a ballista,” Razael repeated, this time out loud.</p><p></p><p> They continued on course as the other ship approached, pausing occasionally to get another ‘pep talk’ from Parkes or to check on their preparedness. Maddie went below, and returned a few minutes later. Osborn used his ring and turned invisible. The other ship came up behind the Armadillo, crossing through her wake and up along side. As it approached to within hailing distance, they all saw the name painted on the vessel’s bow; Youth’s Vengeance.</p><p></p><p> Their attention did not stay on the ship’s bow for long, as they got a good look at the crew. They noted that the helm appeared unmanned, though there were sailors manning the rigging. A blue-skinned ogre mage was on deck, as was a large, gruff-looking minotaur. Looking up at their main mast, Razael saw a flash of orange fur. He removed his goggles, rubbed his eyes, and looked again.</p><p></p><p> “Well, I’ll be,” he said. “I haven’t seen one of those in forever.”</p><p></p><p> “What?” Lanara asked.</p><p></p><p> “It’s an orangutan.”</p><p></p><p> “You’ve actually seen one before?”</p><p></p><p> “In five hundred years, you see a lot of things.” Razael strung his bow, and placed a pair of arrows on the string.</p><p></p><p> As the Youth’s Vengeance came up on the Armadillo from the starboard side (putting the reef to port, Kyle observed), a handsome, well-dressed man leaned out from the rigging, apparently supported only his feet. There could be no doubt that this was Captain Starke.</p><p></p><p> “Ahoy!” Kyle shouted.</p><p></p><p> “Ah, good day, sir!” Captain Starke shouted back. “And welcome to my waters!”</p><p></p><p> “Your waters?” Lanara asked.</p><p></p><p> “Why, yes.”</p><p></p><p> “So, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Arrie asked.</p><p></p><p> “Well, I do like to know who’s traveling through my waters, of course.”</p><p></p><p> Lanara cast a quick glibness spell, and was ready to feed Captain Starke a line about their purpose so far south. But as she started to open her mouth, Captain Starke interrupted.</p><p></p><p> “No, no, dear,” he said, waggling a finger at her like he would a child, “No fair. I know that trick, I’m afraid.”</p><p></p><p> Lanara shrugged. “You can’t blame a girl for trying, right?”</p><p></p><p> “I suppose not. So,” Captain Starke said, clapping his hands together gleefully, “who are you, and what are you doing here?”</p><p></p><p> “We’re travelers, and we’re going south,” Lanara said.</p><p></p><p> “Actually, you’re heading southwest right now,” Captain Starke observed. “You’re not very good travelers, are you?”</p><p></p><p> “Reefs are not our favorite method of stopping a boat,” Arrie said. “It’s effective, but not if you want the boat back.”</p><p></p><p> “That I can understand. Still, it doesn’t really answer either of my questions, does it?”</p><p></p><p> “We’re on a exploration mission to the south pole,” Kyle said quickly. “You know, look at ice.”</p><p></p><p> “Oh, how terribly exciting,” Captain Starke said.</p><p></p><p> “Well, no, not really.”</p><p></p><p> “No, not really at all. Well, sir, in exchange for safe passage through my waters, my crew and I do require a few trifling items from you; things like food, and water, and perhaps some of your handsome young men.” The captain’s brow arched as he spoke.</p><p></p><p> “Yeah, my ass,” Razael grumbled. Lanara elbowed the tracker and glared at him.</p><p></p><p> “Well, captain,” Kyle explained, “I’m afraid that due to the size of our ship, we’ve barely been able to stock enough provisions to make the voyage to the pole and back.”</p><p></p><p> “In other words, <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> off,” Razael muttered again, this time drawing dark looks from both Lanara and Arrie.</p><p></p><p> “Perhaps we could make other arrangements here,” Kyle offered, “or if safe passage is a problem, then you could inform us of the extent of your waters and we’ll simply sail around and no longer intrude on your territory.”</p><p></p><p> “Well, perhaps an arrangement can be made,” Captain Starke said. “But tell me, oh handsome young man, who am I dealing with?”</p><p></p><p> “My name’s Kyle Goodson.” Kyle said. Behind him, Razael muttered another ‘quiet’ epithet, which drew stares from Autumn and Arrie and a backhand slap on the arm from Lanara.</p><p></p><p> “Did you say Kyle Goodson?” Captain Starke asked.</p><p></p><p> “Yes,” Kyle said, suddenly very nervous. After all, the last people who’d known him specifically were the Scion-Watchers, who had wanted to kill him.</p><p></p><p> “Ye gods, man, you’re famous! Don’t you know that? You’re part of The Legacy!”</p><p></p><p> The party looked at each other in confusion. The Legacy?</p><p></p><p> Captain Starke was very excited by this time. “Are all of you aboard? Ariadne, and Madrone, and Autumn? Tolly and Lanara… you know, The Legacy!”</p><p></p><p> “Well,” Kyle said cautiously, “Tolly’s not with us anymore. He’s moved on to other things.”</p><p></p><p> “Damn,” Starke swore, “I never get to defrock the priests.” The look of disappointment vanished from his face, and he addressed Kyle again, sweeping his large hat off his head in a brand bow. “Say no more. Allow me to offer my sincerest apologies. May I come aboard as a friend?”</p><p></p><p> Razael pulled the arrows in his bow back farther in response, but Arrie gently lowered his aim. Kyle waved Captain Starke over. One of Starke’s crew tossed him a grapple and line, which the captain then tossed into the Armadillo’s rigging. He swung over, and landed on the deck with a flourish of his cloak.</p><p></p><p> “Thank you, thank you ever so much,” Captain Starke said, enthusiastically running up and shaking Kyle’s hand. “I do apologize again. Had I known who you were I never would have tried to rob you or swindle you.” He moved around to each of the party, grasping their hands and greeting them warmly. He seemed genuinely thrilled to meet each and every one of them. He even offered a cordial tip of his hat to Razael, who was still standing with an arrow strung on his bow.</p><p></p><p> “Forgive my rather abrupt demands earlier,” Captain Starke said, “however, the reason I made them is that my crew is in fact running low on food and water.”</p><p></p><p> “Have you ever tried just purchasing supplies?” Lanara asked.</p><p></p><p> “Well, we wouldn’t be very good pirates if we did that, now would we?” he replied with a smile.</p><p></p><p> “I thought pirates were after loot,” Lanara said.</p><p></p><p> “Booty,” Starke corrected, “the word is booty for us.” To emphasize his point, Captain Starke suddenly reached out and grabbed the nearest behind, which turned out to be Kyle’s. “Booty.”</p><p></p><p> “Yes, I’m familiar with the word,” Lanara said, “and its many meanings.”</p><p></p><p> “You know,” Razael said, “if we shot him, then his crew would have food for at least a day or two.”</p><p></p><p> “But we’re not going to do that,” Arrie said to him quietly.</p><p></p><p> “Well, I appreciate your honesty and sympathize with your plight, Captain Starke,” Kyle said, “but what I said before is true. Our ship only barely holds enough to get us where we’re going and back.”</p><p></p><p> Maddie cleared her throat to get Kyle’s attention. When he looked over, she pulled a corner of her new magical tablecloth out of her pack, reminding him that they did in fact have extra food.</p><p></p><p> “Oh!” Kyle said, “I’d forgotten!” He turned back to Captain Starke. “Actually, we might be able to provide you with a small amount of food after all. Not enough for all your crew, I’m afraid.”</p><p></p><p> “Well, some of my crew can fend… a moment, if you please?” Captain Starke leaned over the railing between the two ships. “Edgar!” he shouted, “have you found anything yet?”</p><p></p><p> There was a splashing noise below, then the sound of something climbing up the metal hull. Flopping over the rail came a very large, very wet otter, roughly as long as a human was tall. Razael immediately spun his aim toward the new creature, though again Lanara discouraged an immediate attack. The otter chattered at Captain Starke.</p><p></p><p> “Ah, good, he found a little something after all,” the captain said.</p><p></p><p> “Great Feesha, where did you find that?” Lanara asked.</p><p></p><p> “Oh, he found me.”</p><p></p><p> “You have quite an interesting crew,” Kyle commented.</p><p></p><p> “Yes, I do, don’t I?” Starke grinned.</p><p></p><p> “Is that really an orangutan?” Lanara asked, pointing.</p><p></p><p> “Oh, up there in the nest? Yes, that’s Sebastian. His brother Harold takes the night shift.”</p><p></p><p> “Wow.” Lanara turned to Razael. “Hey, Raz, they’ve got two orangutans!”</p><p></p><p> “I have enough arrows,” the elf muttered.</p><p></p><p> “You’ll have to forgive Raz,” Lanara said to Captain Starke, “we traded Tolly in for him, but not by choice.”</p><p></p><p> “I see.” Starke turned back to Kyle. “So, you say you’re heading for the southern pole, correct? Well, as you might imagine, I have much better maps of the reef than you. In exchange for the food you can provide, I would be willing to guide you through. It would shave significant time off your voyage.”</p><p></p><p> Kyle nodded thoughtfully. “It’s an interesting offer. If you’ll give me a moment to confer with my friends and officers?”</p><p></p><p> “Of course,” Captain Starke said, bowing, “I will withdraw to my own ship.” He reached up and grasped the rope he’d used to swing over, and made the return trip effortlessly.</p><p></p><p> “So,” Kyle said as the party gathered together on deck. “So how bad does this reek of an ambush?”</p><p></p><p> Razael held his hand up to about nose level.</p><p></p><p> “Actually,” Lanara said, “I think he’s being honest. He talks like someone who’s used to laying it on pretty thick all the time. It’s almost like he’s so used to lying that when he does tell the truth it still sounds like a tale, but less polished.”</p><p></p><p> “He’s an ass, and deserves to be shot,” Razael said.</p><p></p><p> “Sometimes, so do you,” Lanara retorted.</p><p></p><p> Razael shrugged. “Good point.”</p><p></p><p> “So, what’s his reputation?” Kyle asked.</p><p></p><p> “He keeps his word,” Lanara said. “If he says he’s not going to kill, he tries his hardest not to kill. I’d describe him as ‘famous’ rather than ‘infamous’.”</p><p></p><p> “That’s not to say he won’t try to squeeze as much opportunity out of a situation as he can,” Arrie commented.</p><p></p><p> “And if you’re a Medosian ship, all bets are off,” Lanara added.</p><p></p><p> “Why is that?” Kyle asked.</p><p></p><p> Lanara shrugged. “Probably best we not ask, in case it’s a sore spot.”</p><p></p><p> “I wouldn’t trust him any father than I could shoot him,” Razael said.</p><p></p><p> “You can shoot a long way,” Maddie said, “so you trust him a long way?”</p><p></p><p> “No, I trust him as long as he’s in bow range.”</p><p></p><p> “You make no sense,” Maddie complained.</p><p></p><p> “Well, let’s look at the situation here,” Kyle said. “If he wanted to ambush us, we’d be ambushed already. We can’t outrun him or outsail him in this ship. He could have brought in several ships and attacked on the open ocean.”</p><p></p><p> “But if he wants the ship,” Razael said, “the best thing would be to drag us onto a reef and immobilize us.”</p><p></p><p> Kyle shook his head. “That makes no sense. This ship is a pig in water. A pirate wouldn’t be caught dead in the Armadillo. They want fast, maneuverable ships, not armored barges.”</p><p></p><p> “Could we just make them a tablecloth of their own?” Lanara asked Maddie.</p><p></p><p> “No,” the favored soul replied. “I don’t actually know the spell you need to make it. I had to buy scrolls to make the one we have.”</p><p></p><p> “What if we gave him something to buy food with?” Lanara offered. “I have that set of goblets somewhere in my bag still.”</p><p></p><p> “I doubt he’d accept,” Arrie said, “he needs food now, and the nearest port is weeks away.”</p><p></p><p> “Besides,” Kyle said, “we’ve already established that we’re on an exploration mission, and we haven’t got anything to spare. Suddenly, we’re dragging out valuables? He might start getting suspicious of us.”</p><p></p><p> “Just an idea,” Lanara said.</p><p></p><p> “I could just start shooting,” Razael offered.</p><p></p><p> “But we have no reason to,” Kyle said, suppressing a sigh of frustration. The tracker’s apparent complete lack of altruism or trust was becoming tiresome.</p><p></p><p> “So, the simple choice is this,” Kyle continued. “We could say no now, and sail away. If Captain Starke wants to get us, he’ll get us later. We can’t avoid that. If we take his offer, then maybe he does something sneaky. But we can be ready for it, and if they’re leading us through then they have to be ahead of us, which tactically is our advantage.”</p><p></p><p> “And this ship should be able to take running aground on coral better than most,” Autumn pointed out.</p><p></p><p> “We have to deal with him one way or another,” Arrie pointed out, “and I’d rather do it on friendly terms.”</p><p></p><p> “You know, he kind of seemed in awe of us,” Maddie said.</p><p></p><p> “Yeah, I want to know more about what he called us,” Arrie said, “The Legacy, was it?”</p><p></p><p> “Why?” Razael asked.</p><p></p><p> “Because some of us enjoy the company of others, and have curiosities,” Arrie replied.</p><p></p><p> “So, let’s take him up on his offer, then,” Kyle said. Stepping out of the circle, Kyle hailed the Youth’s Vengeance. “Ahoy, captain!”</p><p></p><p> “Yes?” Captain Starke called back.</p><p></p><p> “We accept your offer,” Kyle said, “guide us through the reefs, and we’ll share what provisions we can.”</p><p></p><p> “Most excellent!” Captain Starke turned to his own crew. “Eddie! Freddie! Come about!”</p><p></p><p> At the helm, two dire weasels suddenly rose up from the deck, each of them taking one side of the wheel and starting to turn away from the Armadillo as the rest of crew began to put their ship to sail.</p><p></p><p> “All right, then,” Kyle said. “Parkes! Set sail and follow that ship!”</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p> The Youth’s Vengeance and the Armadillo sailed through the Great Southern Reef for the next two weeks, winding through sometimes narrow corridors between coral banks. During that time, the party was invited onto Captain Starke’s ship several times, and vice versa. Only Razael declined the offers of dining with the famous pirate captain and his equally famous crew.</p><p></p><p> The party met the crew, which consisted of a handful of humans and a variety of strange beings and awakened animals – the latter were on board thanks to a pair of merfolk druids in Starke’s crew. There was Nhura, the water naga that helped control the weather for the ship, who spent much of her time swimming alongside the Youth’s Vengeance. The minotaur Andrios stated that he was originally from the Tauric Kingdoms, a far away land where the ruling class was comprised of those beings with a mix of animal and humanoid traits. When asked about his own history, however, Andrios would only say that he was a criminal in his homeland, and discouraged further questions by glaring. The ogre mage introduced himself as Ulao.</p><p></p><p> Some of Starke’s crew were beings that no one in the party had ever seen, that the captain explained were from lands closer to the Tauric Kingdoms that to Affon. There was a humanoid with large feathered wings and bird-like features named Kiar, who referred to himself as a raptoran. A pair of humanoids, two huge men with rough, dark skin and bony protrusions all over, were introduced by the other crew as Click and Clack; the pair were unable to introduce themselves, as their tongues had been cut out some time before joining Starke’s crew. No one aboard knew the name of their race. They also saw, though they never formally met, ‘Hank the Tank’, a being that looked like a bear with hands and armor that one of the crew described as an ‘urskan’. It quickly became apparent how the legends of Starke’s crew came to be.</p><p></p><p> The party also found out why Captain Starke had referred to them as ‘The Legacy’. Tales of the party’s adventures had been slowly spreading throughout Affon, stories being shared by those they had helped over the past year. The group had never chosen to name themselves; it seemed that “The Legacy” was the name that had been given to them by the storytellers.</p><p></p><p> By the time they reached the southern edge of the reef, the temperature was noticeably colder, though not the bitter cold the party had prepared for. The two ships pulled alongside each other and dropped anchor while the crew of the Youth’s Vengeance began transferring food and water over.</p><p></p><p> “Oy, captain!” Sebastian called down from the crow’s nest to Captain Starke, who was on the deck saying his farewells to The Legacy, “there’s another ship heading this way!”</p><p></p><p> Starke and the party walked over to the railing. “Another ship? All the way out here?” the captain said.</p><p></p><p> The other ship soon came into view. Razael, who was coaxed aboard Starke’s ship when he was told of the new vessel approaching, described the ship as it drew near.</p><p></p><p> “It’s a bit smaller than ours, I’d reckon,” he said. “Look’s like she’s sitting pretty shallow in the water.”</p><p></p><p> “She’s built for speed, not cargo,” Captain Starke said, looking at the other ship through a spyglass. “She’s come from somewhere near here. There’s people aboard – I see five, maybe ten on deck.”</p><p></p><p> “She’s not flying any colors,” Razael said. “And it looks strange to me. The ship’s not right, but I can’t say what it is.”</p><p></p><p> “The shape of the hull’s wrong,” Starke said, “and the rigging’s not set like I’d expect for its speed.”</p><p></p><p> As they studied the strange ship, they all heard a message – inside their heads.</p><p></p><p> Surrender the Mind-Killers, and you will go free. Fail, and there will be no survivors.</p><p></p><p> Captain Starke looked around at his crew, confused at both the message and the method of delivery. The party, however, had a pretty good idea what was going on.</p><p></p><p> “They’re after us,” Kyle explained. “We’re the Mind-Killers.”</p><p></p><p> “I see,” said Captain Starke, “I must say I rather prefer The Legacy.”</p><p></p><p> “Well,” Kyle said, turning to the party, “shall we respond?”</p><p></p><p> “Most definitely,” Arrie said. “Captain Starke, those people want to pick a fight with us. If you wish to participate, you may.”</p><p></p><p> “We will discuss it,” Captain Starke said.</p><p></p><p> The Legacy returned to the Armadillo. “So,” Lanara said, “are we sailing over there to meet them? Are we going to ram them?”</p><p></p><p> “No,” Kyle said, “I see no reason to risk the lives of my men. We can take the fight to them.”</p><p></p><p> “How so?” Arrie asked.</p><p></p><p> Kyle cast a spell, and suddenly everyone in the party was buoyed by the power of flight. “We go over there and give them our answer.”</p><p></p><p> “Kyle, you’re the best brother in law ever,” Arrie said, grinning.</p><p></p><p> After casting a second fly spell on Razael to allow him to separate from the group if he wanted, Kyle began flying toward the strange ship, the others spreading out around him. The ship was still several hundred yards away. As they gained altitude, they saw what had made the ship look so odd. There were several crystal protrusions all along the hull, which seemed to glow slightly. There were a few people on the deck, as Captain Starke had said, but none of them seemed to be manning the ship itself. They could also see five figures being towed behind the ship by ropes, skimming along the surface of the water. The five people were very large, and wearing full plate armor.</p><p></p><p> “Are those some of them rocky people, like Click and Clack?” Razael shouted up to Kyle.</p><p></p><p> He shook his head. “Half-giants. I’ll explain later. Just don’t get close enough to let them hit you.”</p><p></p><p> “Not a problem there,” Razael said, loading his bow.</p><p></p><p> The party closed with the ship. The psions made the first move, launching balls of energy onto the air and blasting the party with electricity. Singed but alive, Kyle quickly cast a spell to protect the party from further electrical attacks. The psions responded with blasts of fire and cold. Lanara tried to respond with a fireball from her wand, and after a few fizzled attempts a moderate-sized fireball blossomed on the deck. Kyle also cast a spell, channeling it through his metamagic rod to create a much larger explosion.</p><p></p><p> “Showoff,” Lanara said.</p><p></p><p> The psions switched to defense. A bank of fog rose up in front of the party, and a wind gusted behind them, pushing them into the cloud. Strange tentacles made of solid cloudstuff battered those who were unable to fly out of the way. Maddie had to fly back and forth among the party, using her healing wand to repair injuries to herself and other members of her party.</p><p></p><p> Finally, they came within a few hundred feet of the psionic ship, and started descending rapidly. Lanara cast a spell with the aid of a new magical mandolin she’d picked up, accompanied by her inspiring music. Several of the people on deck had gone below, apparently tired of being hit with fireballs. The half-giants had pulled themselves in, and were climbing onto the deck. Razael, who had been firing a few test arrows at the crystal protrusions to see how fragile they were, aimed at the armored foes on deck. Kyle cast another spell, and summoned a defenestrating sphere, though he found that the half-giants were too massive to be flung overboard by the ball of wind. Xu, who was toward the front of their formation, pushed her speed and leapt onto the deck, delivering a flying kick to one of the half-giants.</p><p></p><p> From the stairs at the rear of the ship, two robed figures emerged. One of them pointed, and Arrie was suddenly hit with a blast of frigid air, sending her flying backward. The other one sent out another ball of cold into the party members still flying up to the ship. The half-giants closed around Xu, even as Lanara blasted a few of them with a sound burst.</p><p></p><p> “Kyle!” Arrie shouted, “what happens if I get out of range?” The wizard had warned them on the way over that the mass fly spell would end for anyone who got farther than ten yards from another person.</p><p></p><p> You’ll fall!” Kyle warned, as he finished casting a haste spell, “but slowly at first!”</p><p></p><p> “Fabulous,” Arrie said, and she immediately flew as fast as she could toward the rear of the ship. She felt the magic keeping her aloft fail, but it dwindled slowly, and her momentum carried her over the railing and onto the deck. She whipped her spiked chain out and pulled one of the psions off his feet. Razael put a few arrows into the other psion, which seemed to have trouble penetrating his skin, although the psion winced at the sting of both cold and fire energy. Xu tumbled out of the cluster of armored half-giants, aided by the fact that she could still fly, and ran to the back of the ship to assist Arrie in assailing the psions. But suddenly, there was a shimmer in the air, and a cluster of daggers flew at each of the psions, killing them outright. The now visible Osborn, floating in midair, smiled and waved.</p><p></p><p> Kyle, seeing an opportunity as the half-giants that had been attacking Xu were looking for new targets, swooped down directly in their midst and released a blast of force that pushed them all back. Unfortunately, the blast was not quite strong enough to push any of them overboard, though it was a close thing. As he flew up and out of the range of the half-giant’s claws, he was smacked in the back of the head by Autumn.</p><p></p><p> “What happened to ‘don’t get close enough to let them hit you’?” she said, before flying down to attack the half-giants herself. Maddie also flew down to attack them, and even Lanara lent a direct hand, jabbing at one with her rapier.</p><p></p><p> A battle cry echoed out from the hold, and a half-dozen people came up, each with a pair of energy blades in their hands. They tumbled and leapt about, surrounding Arrie and Xu.</p><p></p><p> “Soulknives!” cried out Kyle from his aerial vantage point, recognizing the blades the men wielded. Maddie broke away from her combat with the half giants and dropped a sound burst into their midst. The close confines of the ship’s deck meant that the soulknives were packed closely together, and several succumbed to the sonic blast. Xu’s quick strikes rendered two more senseless, and then she and Arrie began using the same tactic that had served them so well against the two psions, knocking them off their feet to keep their enemies from mounting an effective offense.</p><p></p><p> Razael, high above the ship, was still raining arrows down on the half giants closest to Maddie when a movement on the water caught his eye. Looking down, he saw two merfolk climb out of the water and up the side of the psion’s ship. The pair leapt over the railing into the midst of the soulknives, transforming into large wolves as they landed. The two wolves began savagely tearing into one of the psionic warriors. Glancing over his shoulder, Razael saw that the Youth’s Vengeance was approaching rapidly, and several of her crew stood ready with grapples.</p><p></p><p> By the time Captain Starke’s crew boarded the other ship, however, the battle was mostly over. Over half the soulknives had been killed, and only two half giants remained, one of whom was now missing his armor due to a metal melt spell from Kyle. The party did get to witness some of the unusual combat maneuvers of the famous pirate crew, such as when Andrios grabbed Nhura by the tail and flung her over to the other ship, where she wrapped herself around one of the soulknives and began savaging him.</p><p></p><p> “Well, well,” said Captain Starke, swinging over to the ship as the last opponents fell. “It seems that your reputations are well deserved.” He glanced around the ship. “I say, this is rather an unusual ship, isn’t it? What purpose do those crystals serve, I wonder?”</p><p></p><p> “It, er… is some kind of magic, I’m sure,” Kyle said, not wanting to get too involved in explaining psionics.</p><p></p><p> Starke raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure. Well, what do you plan to do with her?”</p><p></p><p> “Captain, perhaps I could suggest something?” Arrie said. Both Kyle and Starke turned to her.</p><p></p><p> “We obviously can’t take this ship with us on our expedition; we can’t spare the crew, and even if we tow it, the ship would probably be smashed on the ice. What if we allowed Captain Starke to take possession of it for now? Even if those crystals can’t be made to work for them, the ship itself might suit his needs. On our return trip, we could meet up with Captain Starke again to discuss either reclaiming the ship or being compensated for it.”</p><p></p><p> “That sounds fine to me,” Kyle said, “if you’re agreeable.”</p><p></p><p> “Oh, most certainly,” Captain Starke said, clasping Kyle’s hand to seal the bargain – though he held Kyle’s grasp perhaps a bit longer than was necessary.</p><p></p><p> “Captain!” shouted Sebastian, “one of these large fellows is still breathing!”</p><p></p><p> “Well, correct the problem, then,” Starke said casually.</p><p></p><p> “Wait!” said Autumn, “we need information! We have no idea who sent this ship after us, or if they know why we’re out here.”</p><p></p><p> “She’s right,” Kyle said. “Captain, have your men bring the living one over to the Armadillo. After we’ve questioned him, we’ll get you the rest of the supplies I promised.”</p><p></p><p> “A fair arrangement,” Captain Starke said. “Very well.”</p><p></p><p> The members of The Legacy watched as the limp body of the half-giant was carried on board by Click and Clack. All of them had the same thought; now was a poor time for interference from the psions. But was that interference intentional? Did the psions somehow know why they were here?</p><p></p><p> Either way, the message to The Legacy was clear; their enemies were no longer content to sit back and wait.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Delemental, post: 2815377, member: 5203"] [b]Slow Boat[/b] Destiny, as it turned out, took a long time to get out of the harbor. Their iron-shod ship was heavy and cumbersome, and the entire crew had to man the oars to get it moving. The fact that a ship of the Armadillo’s size wasn’t built to accommodate oars didn’t help, as the angle of the oars wasn’t optimal. In their favor was the fact that few other ships wanted to get in the way of their metal monstrosity, and the party was given right-of-way. Two hours later, they were out in open water, and the crew was starting to raise the main mast and tie up the rigging. By noon, they were under sail and heading south along the Tlaxan coast. “Never, ever make me do that again, Kyle,” Lanara said, rubbing her aching shoulders. “It’s a good thing I thought ahead and brought a masseur.” The voyage settled into routine quickly. With a full crew, the party had little they had to do to help sail. Even Kyle was free from spending a great deal of his time being captain, though he had to spend it making magic and alchemical items instead, as well as absorbing the information from Andariel’s book. “It’s a biography,” Kyle told the party one night, after he’d finished reading the book through thoroughly. “It’s about the spirit dragon Auxariel.” “Spirit dragon?” Razael asked. “It’s how they describe white dragons sometimes,” Kyle explained. “See, it turns out that the reason scholars can’t agree on what it is dragons are supposed to be doing in the world is that they have lots of different jobs. White dragons are in charge of regulating the flow of negative energy back to Erito so that she can continue to create magic.” “I take it this Auxariel isn’t doing such a great job,” Osborn commented. “No. Apparently he’s been purposely hoarding the energy for about the last century. Whoever wrote the book thinks that Auxariel was adapted by Erito to the cold because he’s supposed to be regulating the death cycle for arctic creatures.” “So, why should we care?” Razael said. “We should care because without negative energy flowing back to Erito, magic will decline, and the entire life and death cycle could be thrown out of whack,” Kyle explained. “Right now?” Razael asked. “No, not right now,” Kyle said. “But eventually yes.” “So, again, why should we care? It’s not going to affect us.” “Because we can stop it before it gets to that point,” Autumn said sternly. “Well, if you still think you can kill a dragon, that’s your own bit of craziness to deal with,” Razael stated. “If you’d like, we can put in at the next port,” Kyle said, “and we’ll send you on your way.” “Not while she’s here, no,” Razael said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder to Maddie. “Then stop griping about it,” Autumn said. “If we can find a way to stop this dragon without fighting it, we will. But we have to get there first.” Three and a half weeks after setting sail, the Armadillo caught the last glimpse of the continent, marking the farthest any of them (save Xu) had ever been from home. Maddie marked the occasion by announcing a special dinner for the party. “Maddie, we appreciate the thought,” Kyle said, “but the supplies are pretty tight. And, to be quite honest, you’ve never been the best cook.” “Well, none of us are, really,” Arrie pointed out. Maddie smiled. “I’m not the one doing the cooking tonight.” Maddie unfolded a fine-looking white tablecloth, and unfurled it on the long table in the captain’s cabin. The instant the cloth settled on the surface, a large quantity of food appeared. “It’s not exactly gourmet,” Maddie explained, “but it beats sea rations.” “Where did you get this?” Kyle asked. “I made it. You’re not the only one who knows how, you know. I bought a few scrolls of create food and water to make it with while you were getting the ship ready. It only works once a day, but I figured that will get us by when we leave the ship and head out over the ice.” “Wow, great thinking, Maddie!” Arrie said. “Yeah, wonderful!” agreed Autumn. “No bacon?” asked Osborn. After three more days, the ship turned to head southwest. Directly below Affon was the Great Southern Reef, which they would have to go around to avoid running around on the coral. Though it added weeks to their travel time, it was unavoidable; no one had charted the reef, and so a direct route was out of the question. Another week passed before anything else happened. The lookout called down to the first mate, a grizzled human named Parkes who was missing his left ear. “Ship ahoy! Seventy degrees to port!” The crew moved to look for the ship, with some climbing into the rigging, including Razael. The rest of the party waited on deck. “What’s a ship doing this far out here?” Osborn asked. “I don’t know,” Arrie said, “but it’s usually not for good reasons.” “She’s bearing this way, sir,” the lookout called down. “Gaining fast.” “There’s a huge surprise,” Lanara said. “Has anyone see their colors?” Kyle asked. “Nay, captain,” Parkes said, “she’s too far out yet. Could be one of the elves will spot them afore long.” “This is why I wanted a ballista,” Razael grumbled. A few moments later, as the ship came into view to the rest of the crew, he squinted and shouted out to the crew. “She’s flying a black flag. White skull, with two crossed kukri’s behind it.” A fearful murmur began to ripple through the crew, and Parkes quickly went to work getting them back in line. “That’s not good,” Lanara said. “Please, explain before my crew starts jumping overboard,” Kyle said. “Those are the colors of the pirate captain Starke. He sails the Youth’s Vengeance. He’s well known in these waters. He’s known for being a decent fellow, as pirates go, as long as you’re not flying a Medosian flag. Those ships he leaves with no survivors. The big concern is his crew. They say he used to have a human crew, but not any more.” “Who’s his crew now?” Osborn asked. “The stories vary. Some say celestials, other demons. There are stories of the undead, of shapeshifters, of half-humans, and other fantastical beasts.” “Well, we’re not going to outrun him or avoid him in this tub,” Arrie said. “He’s sailing out of the Southern Reef,” Kyle observed. “I wonder how he did that?” “I say that we should just make a show of looking competent,” Arrie said, “and hope they decide we’re not worth it.” “This is why I wanted a ballista,” Razael repeated, this time out loud. They continued on course as the other ship approached, pausing occasionally to get another ‘pep talk’ from Parkes or to check on their preparedness. Maddie went below, and returned a few minutes later. Osborn used his ring and turned invisible. The other ship came up behind the Armadillo, crossing through her wake and up along side. As it approached to within hailing distance, they all saw the name painted on the vessel’s bow; Youth’s Vengeance. Their attention did not stay on the ship’s bow for long, as they got a good look at the crew. They noted that the helm appeared unmanned, though there were sailors manning the rigging. A blue-skinned ogre mage was on deck, as was a large, gruff-looking minotaur. Looking up at their main mast, Razael saw a flash of orange fur. He removed his goggles, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. “Well, I’ll be,” he said. “I haven’t seen one of those in forever.” “What?” Lanara asked. “It’s an orangutan.” “You’ve actually seen one before?” “In five hundred years, you see a lot of things.” Razael strung his bow, and placed a pair of arrows on the string. As the Youth’s Vengeance came up on the Armadillo from the starboard side (putting the reef to port, Kyle observed), a handsome, well-dressed man leaned out from the rigging, apparently supported only his feet. There could be no doubt that this was Captain Starke. “Ahoy!” Kyle shouted. “Ah, good day, sir!” Captain Starke shouted back. “And welcome to my waters!” “Your waters?” Lanara asked. “Why, yes.” “So, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Arrie asked. “Well, I do like to know who’s traveling through my waters, of course.” Lanara cast a quick glibness spell, and was ready to feed Captain Starke a line about their purpose so far south. But as she started to open her mouth, Captain Starke interrupted. “No, no, dear,” he said, waggling a finger at her like he would a child, “No fair. I know that trick, I’m afraid.” Lanara shrugged. “You can’t blame a girl for trying, right?” “I suppose not. So,” Captain Starke said, clapping his hands together gleefully, “who are you, and what are you doing here?” “We’re travelers, and we’re going south,” Lanara said. “Actually, you’re heading southwest right now,” Captain Starke observed. “You’re not very good travelers, are you?” “Reefs are not our favorite method of stopping a boat,” Arrie said. “It’s effective, but not if you want the boat back.” “That I can understand. Still, it doesn’t really answer either of my questions, does it?” “We’re on a exploration mission to the south pole,” Kyle said quickly. “You know, look at ice.” “Oh, how terribly exciting,” Captain Starke said. “Well, no, not really.” “No, not really at all. Well, sir, in exchange for safe passage through my waters, my crew and I do require a few trifling items from you; things like food, and water, and perhaps some of your handsome young men.” The captain’s brow arched as he spoke. “Yeah, my ass,” Razael grumbled. Lanara elbowed the tracker and glared at him. “Well, captain,” Kyle explained, “I’m afraid that due to the size of our ship, we’ve barely been able to stock enough provisions to make the voyage to the pole and back.” “In other words, :):):):) off,” Razael muttered again, this time drawing dark looks from both Lanara and Arrie. “Perhaps we could make other arrangements here,” Kyle offered, “or if safe passage is a problem, then you could inform us of the extent of your waters and we’ll simply sail around and no longer intrude on your territory.” “Well, perhaps an arrangement can be made,” Captain Starke said. “But tell me, oh handsome young man, who am I dealing with?” “My name’s Kyle Goodson.” Kyle said. Behind him, Razael muttered another ‘quiet’ epithet, which drew stares from Autumn and Arrie and a backhand slap on the arm from Lanara. “Did you say Kyle Goodson?” Captain Starke asked. “Yes,” Kyle said, suddenly very nervous. After all, the last people who’d known him specifically were the Scion-Watchers, who had wanted to kill him. “Ye gods, man, you’re famous! Don’t you know that? You’re part of The Legacy!” The party looked at each other in confusion. The Legacy? Captain Starke was very excited by this time. “Are all of you aboard? Ariadne, and Madrone, and Autumn? Tolly and Lanara… you know, The Legacy!” “Well,” Kyle said cautiously, “Tolly’s not with us anymore. He’s moved on to other things.” “Damn,” Starke swore, “I never get to defrock the priests.” The look of disappointment vanished from his face, and he addressed Kyle again, sweeping his large hat off his head in a brand bow. “Say no more. Allow me to offer my sincerest apologies. May I come aboard as a friend?” Razael pulled the arrows in his bow back farther in response, but Arrie gently lowered his aim. Kyle waved Captain Starke over. One of Starke’s crew tossed him a grapple and line, which the captain then tossed into the Armadillo’s rigging. He swung over, and landed on the deck with a flourish of his cloak. “Thank you, thank you ever so much,” Captain Starke said, enthusiastically running up and shaking Kyle’s hand. “I do apologize again. Had I known who you were I never would have tried to rob you or swindle you.” He moved around to each of the party, grasping their hands and greeting them warmly. He seemed genuinely thrilled to meet each and every one of them. He even offered a cordial tip of his hat to Razael, who was still standing with an arrow strung on his bow. “Forgive my rather abrupt demands earlier,” Captain Starke said, “however, the reason I made them is that my crew is in fact running low on food and water.” “Have you ever tried just purchasing supplies?” Lanara asked. “Well, we wouldn’t be very good pirates if we did that, now would we?” he replied with a smile. “I thought pirates were after loot,” Lanara said. “Booty,” Starke corrected, “the word is booty for us.” To emphasize his point, Captain Starke suddenly reached out and grabbed the nearest behind, which turned out to be Kyle’s. “Booty.” “Yes, I’m familiar with the word,” Lanara said, “and its many meanings.” “You know,” Razael said, “if we shot him, then his crew would have food for at least a day or two.” “But we’re not going to do that,” Arrie said to him quietly. “Well, I appreciate your honesty and sympathize with your plight, Captain Starke,” Kyle said, “but what I said before is true. Our ship only barely holds enough to get us where we’re going and back.” Maddie cleared her throat to get Kyle’s attention. When he looked over, she pulled a corner of her new magical tablecloth out of her pack, reminding him that they did in fact have extra food. “Oh!” Kyle said, “I’d forgotten!” He turned back to Captain Starke. “Actually, we might be able to provide you with a small amount of food after all. Not enough for all your crew, I’m afraid.” “Well, some of my crew can fend… a moment, if you please?” Captain Starke leaned over the railing between the two ships. “Edgar!” he shouted, “have you found anything yet?” There was a splashing noise below, then the sound of something climbing up the metal hull. Flopping over the rail came a very large, very wet otter, roughly as long as a human was tall. Razael immediately spun his aim toward the new creature, though again Lanara discouraged an immediate attack. The otter chattered at Captain Starke. “Ah, good, he found a little something after all,” the captain said. “Great Feesha, where did you find that?” Lanara asked. “Oh, he found me.” “You have quite an interesting crew,” Kyle commented. “Yes, I do, don’t I?” Starke grinned. “Is that really an orangutan?” Lanara asked, pointing. “Oh, up there in the nest? Yes, that’s Sebastian. His brother Harold takes the night shift.” “Wow.” Lanara turned to Razael. “Hey, Raz, they’ve got two orangutans!” “I have enough arrows,” the elf muttered. “You’ll have to forgive Raz,” Lanara said to Captain Starke, “we traded Tolly in for him, but not by choice.” “I see.” Starke turned back to Kyle. “So, you say you’re heading for the southern pole, correct? Well, as you might imagine, I have much better maps of the reef than you. In exchange for the food you can provide, I would be willing to guide you through. It would shave significant time off your voyage.” Kyle nodded thoughtfully. “It’s an interesting offer. If you’ll give me a moment to confer with my friends and officers?” “Of course,” Captain Starke said, bowing, “I will withdraw to my own ship.” He reached up and grasped the rope he’d used to swing over, and made the return trip effortlessly. “So,” Kyle said as the party gathered together on deck. “So how bad does this reek of an ambush?” Razael held his hand up to about nose level. “Actually,” Lanara said, “I think he’s being honest. He talks like someone who’s used to laying it on pretty thick all the time. It’s almost like he’s so used to lying that when he does tell the truth it still sounds like a tale, but less polished.” “He’s an ass, and deserves to be shot,” Razael said. “Sometimes, so do you,” Lanara retorted. Razael shrugged. “Good point.” “So, what’s his reputation?” Kyle asked. “He keeps his word,” Lanara said. “If he says he’s not going to kill, he tries his hardest not to kill. I’d describe him as ‘famous’ rather than ‘infamous’.” “That’s not to say he won’t try to squeeze as much opportunity out of a situation as he can,” Arrie commented. “And if you’re a Medosian ship, all bets are off,” Lanara added. “Why is that?” Kyle asked. Lanara shrugged. “Probably best we not ask, in case it’s a sore spot.” “I wouldn’t trust him any father than I could shoot him,” Razael said. “You can shoot a long way,” Maddie said, “so you trust him a long way?” “No, I trust him as long as he’s in bow range.” “You make no sense,” Maddie complained. “Well, let’s look at the situation here,” Kyle said. “If he wanted to ambush us, we’d be ambushed already. We can’t outrun him or outsail him in this ship. He could have brought in several ships and attacked on the open ocean.” “But if he wants the ship,” Razael said, “the best thing would be to drag us onto a reef and immobilize us.” Kyle shook his head. “That makes no sense. This ship is a pig in water. A pirate wouldn’t be caught dead in the Armadillo. They want fast, maneuverable ships, not armored barges.” “Could we just make them a tablecloth of their own?” Lanara asked Maddie. “No,” the favored soul replied. “I don’t actually know the spell you need to make it. I had to buy scrolls to make the one we have.” “What if we gave him something to buy food with?” Lanara offered. “I have that set of goblets somewhere in my bag still.” “I doubt he’d accept,” Arrie said, “he needs food now, and the nearest port is weeks away.” “Besides,” Kyle said, “we’ve already established that we’re on an exploration mission, and we haven’t got anything to spare. Suddenly, we’re dragging out valuables? He might start getting suspicious of us.” “Just an idea,” Lanara said. “I could just start shooting,” Razael offered. “But we have no reason to,” Kyle said, suppressing a sigh of frustration. The tracker’s apparent complete lack of altruism or trust was becoming tiresome. “So, the simple choice is this,” Kyle continued. “We could say no now, and sail away. If Captain Starke wants to get us, he’ll get us later. We can’t avoid that. If we take his offer, then maybe he does something sneaky. But we can be ready for it, and if they’re leading us through then they have to be ahead of us, which tactically is our advantage.” “And this ship should be able to take running aground on coral better than most,” Autumn pointed out. “We have to deal with him one way or another,” Arrie pointed out, “and I’d rather do it on friendly terms.” “You know, he kind of seemed in awe of us,” Maddie said. “Yeah, I want to know more about what he called us,” Arrie said, “The Legacy, was it?” “Why?” Razael asked. “Because some of us enjoy the company of others, and have curiosities,” Arrie replied. “So, let’s take him up on his offer, then,” Kyle said. Stepping out of the circle, Kyle hailed the Youth’s Vengeance. “Ahoy, captain!” “Yes?” Captain Starke called back. “We accept your offer,” Kyle said, “guide us through the reefs, and we’ll share what provisions we can.” “Most excellent!” Captain Starke turned to his own crew. “Eddie! Freddie! Come about!” At the helm, two dire weasels suddenly rose up from the deck, each of them taking one side of the wheel and starting to turn away from the Armadillo as the rest of crew began to put their ship to sail. “All right, then,” Kyle said. “Parkes! Set sail and follow that ship!” * * * The Youth’s Vengeance and the Armadillo sailed through the Great Southern Reef for the next two weeks, winding through sometimes narrow corridors between coral banks. During that time, the party was invited onto Captain Starke’s ship several times, and vice versa. Only Razael declined the offers of dining with the famous pirate captain and his equally famous crew. The party met the crew, which consisted of a handful of humans and a variety of strange beings and awakened animals – the latter were on board thanks to a pair of merfolk druids in Starke’s crew. There was Nhura, the water naga that helped control the weather for the ship, who spent much of her time swimming alongside the Youth’s Vengeance. The minotaur Andrios stated that he was originally from the Tauric Kingdoms, a far away land where the ruling class was comprised of those beings with a mix of animal and humanoid traits. When asked about his own history, however, Andrios would only say that he was a criminal in his homeland, and discouraged further questions by glaring. The ogre mage introduced himself as Ulao. Some of Starke’s crew were beings that no one in the party had ever seen, that the captain explained were from lands closer to the Tauric Kingdoms that to Affon. There was a humanoid with large feathered wings and bird-like features named Kiar, who referred to himself as a raptoran. A pair of humanoids, two huge men with rough, dark skin and bony protrusions all over, were introduced by the other crew as Click and Clack; the pair were unable to introduce themselves, as their tongues had been cut out some time before joining Starke’s crew. No one aboard knew the name of their race. They also saw, though they never formally met, ‘Hank the Tank’, a being that looked like a bear with hands and armor that one of the crew described as an ‘urskan’. It quickly became apparent how the legends of Starke’s crew came to be. The party also found out why Captain Starke had referred to them as ‘The Legacy’. Tales of the party’s adventures had been slowly spreading throughout Affon, stories being shared by those they had helped over the past year. The group had never chosen to name themselves; it seemed that “The Legacy” was the name that had been given to them by the storytellers. By the time they reached the southern edge of the reef, the temperature was noticeably colder, though not the bitter cold the party had prepared for. The two ships pulled alongside each other and dropped anchor while the crew of the Youth’s Vengeance began transferring food and water over. “Oy, captain!” Sebastian called down from the crow’s nest to Captain Starke, who was on the deck saying his farewells to The Legacy, “there’s another ship heading this way!” Starke and the party walked over to the railing. “Another ship? All the way out here?” the captain said. The other ship soon came into view. Razael, who was coaxed aboard Starke’s ship when he was told of the new vessel approaching, described the ship as it drew near. “It’s a bit smaller than ours, I’d reckon,” he said. “Look’s like she’s sitting pretty shallow in the water.” “She’s built for speed, not cargo,” Captain Starke said, looking at the other ship through a spyglass. “She’s come from somewhere near here. There’s people aboard – I see five, maybe ten on deck.” “She’s not flying any colors,” Razael said. “And it looks strange to me. The ship’s not right, but I can’t say what it is.” “The shape of the hull’s wrong,” Starke said, “and the rigging’s not set like I’d expect for its speed.” As they studied the strange ship, they all heard a message – inside their heads. Surrender the Mind-Killers, and you will go free. Fail, and there will be no survivors. Captain Starke looked around at his crew, confused at both the message and the method of delivery. The party, however, had a pretty good idea what was going on. “They’re after us,” Kyle explained. “We’re the Mind-Killers.” “I see,” said Captain Starke, “I must say I rather prefer The Legacy.” “Well,” Kyle said, turning to the party, “shall we respond?” “Most definitely,” Arrie said. “Captain Starke, those people want to pick a fight with us. If you wish to participate, you may.” “We will discuss it,” Captain Starke said. The Legacy returned to the Armadillo. “So,” Lanara said, “are we sailing over there to meet them? Are we going to ram them?” “No,” Kyle said, “I see no reason to risk the lives of my men. We can take the fight to them.” “How so?” Arrie asked. Kyle cast a spell, and suddenly everyone in the party was buoyed by the power of flight. “We go over there and give them our answer.” “Kyle, you’re the best brother in law ever,” Arrie said, grinning. After casting a second fly spell on Razael to allow him to separate from the group if he wanted, Kyle began flying toward the strange ship, the others spreading out around him. The ship was still several hundred yards away. As they gained altitude, they saw what had made the ship look so odd. There were several crystal protrusions all along the hull, which seemed to glow slightly. There were a few people on the deck, as Captain Starke had said, but none of them seemed to be manning the ship itself. They could also see five figures being towed behind the ship by ropes, skimming along the surface of the water. The five people were very large, and wearing full plate armor. “Are those some of them rocky people, like Click and Clack?” Razael shouted up to Kyle. He shook his head. “Half-giants. I’ll explain later. Just don’t get close enough to let them hit you.” “Not a problem there,” Razael said, loading his bow. The party closed with the ship. The psions made the first move, launching balls of energy onto the air and blasting the party with electricity. Singed but alive, Kyle quickly cast a spell to protect the party from further electrical attacks. The psions responded with blasts of fire and cold. Lanara tried to respond with a fireball from her wand, and after a few fizzled attempts a moderate-sized fireball blossomed on the deck. Kyle also cast a spell, channeling it through his metamagic rod to create a much larger explosion. “Showoff,” Lanara said. The psions switched to defense. A bank of fog rose up in front of the party, and a wind gusted behind them, pushing them into the cloud. Strange tentacles made of solid cloudstuff battered those who were unable to fly out of the way. Maddie had to fly back and forth among the party, using her healing wand to repair injuries to herself and other members of her party. Finally, they came within a few hundred feet of the psionic ship, and started descending rapidly. Lanara cast a spell with the aid of a new magical mandolin she’d picked up, accompanied by her inspiring music. Several of the people on deck had gone below, apparently tired of being hit with fireballs. The half-giants had pulled themselves in, and were climbing onto the deck. Razael, who had been firing a few test arrows at the crystal protrusions to see how fragile they were, aimed at the armored foes on deck. Kyle cast another spell, and summoned a defenestrating sphere, though he found that the half-giants were too massive to be flung overboard by the ball of wind. Xu, who was toward the front of their formation, pushed her speed and leapt onto the deck, delivering a flying kick to one of the half-giants. From the stairs at the rear of the ship, two robed figures emerged. One of them pointed, and Arrie was suddenly hit with a blast of frigid air, sending her flying backward. The other one sent out another ball of cold into the party members still flying up to the ship. The half-giants closed around Xu, even as Lanara blasted a few of them with a sound burst. “Kyle!” Arrie shouted, “what happens if I get out of range?” The wizard had warned them on the way over that the mass fly spell would end for anyone who got farther than ten yards from another person. You’ll fall!” Kyle warned, as he finished casting a haste spell, “but slowly at first!” “Fabulous,” Arrie said, and she immediately flew as fast as she could toward the rear of the ship. She felt the magic keeping her aloft fail, but it dwindled slowly, and her momentum carried her over the railing and onto the deck. She whipped her spiked chain out and pulled one of the psions off his feet. Razael put a few arrows into the other psion, which seemed to have trouble penetrating his skin, although the psion winced at the sting of both cold and fire energy. Xu tumbled out of the cluster of armored half-giants, aided by the fact that she could still fly, and ran to the back of the ship to assist Arrie in assailing the psions. But suddenly, there was a shimmer in the air, and a cluster of daggers flew at each of the psions, killing them outright. The now visible Osborn, floating in midair, smiled and waved. Kyle, seeing an opportunity as the half-giants that had been attacking Xu were looking for new targets, swooped down directly in their midst and released a blast of force that pushed them all back. Unfortunately, the blast was not quite strong enough to push any of them overboard, though it was a close thing. As he flew up and out of the range of the half-giant’s claws, he was smacked in the back of the head by Autumn. “What happened to ‘don’t get close enough to let them hit you’?” she said, before flying down to attack the half-giants herself. Maddie also flew down to attack them, and even Lanara lent a direct hand, jabbing at one with her rapier. A battle cry echoed out from the hold, and a half-dozen people came up, each with a pair of energy blades in their hands. They tumbled and leapt about, surrounding Arrie and Xu. “Soulknives!” cried out Kyle from his aerial vantage point, recognizing the blades the men wielded. Maddie broke away from her combat with the half giants and dropped a sound burst into their midst. The close confines of the ship’s deck meant that the soulknives were packed closely together, and several succumbed to the sonic blast. Xu’s quick strikes rendered two more senseless, and then she and Arrie began using the same tactic that had served them so well against the two psions, knocking them off their feet to keep their enemies from mounting an effective offense. Razael, high above the ship, was still raining arrows down on the half giants closest to Maddie when a movement on the water caught his eye. Looking down, he saw two merfolk climb out of the water and up the side of the psion’s ship. The pair leapt over the railing into the midst of the soulknives, transforming into large wolves as they landed. The two wolves began savagely tearing into one of the psionic warriors. Glancing over his shoulder, Razael saw that the Youth’s Vengeance was approaching rapidly, and several of her crew stood ready with grapples. By the time Captain Starke’s crew boarded the other ship, however, the battle was mostly over. Over half the soulknives had been killed, and only two half giants remained, one of whom was now missing his armor due to a metal melt spell from Kyle. The party did get to witness some of the unusual combat maneuvers of the famous pirate crew, such as when Andrios grabbed Nhura by the tail and flung her over to the other ship, where she wrapped herself around one of the soulknives and began savaging him. “Well, well,” said Captain Starke, swinging over to the ship as the last opponents fell. “It seems that your reputations are well deserved.” He glanced around the ship. “I say, this is rather an unusual ship, isn’t it? What purpose do those crystals serve, I wonder?” “It, er… is some kind of magic, I’m sure,” Kyle said, not wanting to get too involved in explaining psionics. Starke raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure. Well, what do you plan to do with her?” “Captain, perhaps I could suggest something?” Arrie said. Both Kyle and Starke turned to her. “We obviously can’t take this ship with us on our expedition; we can’t spare the crew, and even if we tow it, the ship would probably be smashed on the ice. What if we allowed Captain Starke to take possession of it for now? Even if those crystals can’t be made to work for them, the ship itself might suit his needs. On our return trip, we could meet up with Captain Starke again to discuss either reclaiming the ship or being compensated for it.” “That sounds fine to me,” Kyle said, “if you’re agreeable.” “Oh, most certainly,” Captain Starke said, clasping Kyle’s hand to seal the bargain – though he held Kyle’s grasp perhaps a bit longer than was necessary. “Captain!” shouted Sebastian, “one of these large fellows is still breathing!” “Well, correct the problem, then,” Starke said casually. “Wait!” said Autumn, “we need information! We have no idea who sent this ship after us, or if they know why we’re out here.” “She’s right,” Kyle said. “Captain, have your men bring the living one over to the Armadillo. After we’ve questioned him, we’ll get you the rest of the supplies I promised.” “A fair arrangement,” Captain Starke said. “Very well.” The members of The Legacy watched as the limp body of the half-giant was carried on board by Click and Clack. All of them had the same thought; now was a poor time for interference from the psions. But was that interference intentional? Did the psions somehow know why they were here? Either way, the message to The Legacy was clear; their enemies were no longer content to sit back and wait. [/QUOTE]
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