Good gracious. This chapter was quite delayed because of that major seizure of pain I was struck by, and on top of that, the chapter also turned out to be quite lengthy. But here it is! Possibly one of the most action-filled chapters to date. Wesley, Gary and Raksasha managed to locate a seaworthy vessel that can bring them to sea - but unfortunately, the crew doesn't approve of the unexpected visitors. Does our heroes have what it takes to defeat the hordes of ruthless sailors? Read now and find out!

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Chapter 51: Diplomatic violence

My fist clenched around the hilt of my curved sword, after I equipped my defensive shield, preparing myself for the inevitable battle that awaited us. The armed sailors were approaching us from all directions, with seawater dripping from their dirty clothes. Gary and Raksasha were standing on each side of me, and my focus was switching from one sailor to the other, in my attempt to predict who would attack first. Not even the sight of Raksasha made them hesitate, and judged by the scars on their exposed arms and faces, these were experienced men that had survived many battles in the past. One of the sailors clearly sensed that we were swayed by their numbers, and he released an ominous chuckle, revealing that some of his teeth had rotten away due to neglect. Having scanned my surroundings with a single turn of my head, I could conclude that every escape route was blocked. Our only option was to fight our way through these men. A feisty sailor suspected that he found an opening, and launched a swift attack from Gary's left side, rising the tension with a fierce war cry. Gary immediately blocked the attack by raising his dagger vertically, and then he spun in a circle to slash his opponent with the second dagger, leaving a deep wound across the sailors torso. A moment after the man fell lifelessly to the ground, the rest of the crew attacked us from all directions, releasing their anger in loud intimidating shouts. With no hesitation, Raksasha took a step ahead of me, and swung her mighty axe horizontally. Her long range and devastating power, should be able to cut down this crowd fast. But the sailors showed excellent evasion by anticipating this attack, leaping backwards and ducking to avoid the lethal blow, before advancing against their opponents again.

Raksasha's attacks are powerful, but awfully slow. Four sailors armed with sharp cutlasses charged forward to strike our female barbarian, before she could prepare her axe for another attack. These men were extremely ferocious and dangerous. Without worrying about my own security, I leapt into the fray and blocked their way, buying Raksasha time to recover. The sailors apparently didn't anticipate this, so with a single swing of my shield, I managed to knock two of them back. As I had hoped, the other two sailors now directed their attacks towards me, and left Raksasha alone. They both attacked me at the same time, swinging their cutlasses vertically, revealing that they had already located the weak points in my armor. But surprisingly, I was able to block both the attacks by holding my Shamshir horizontally, using my strength to keep all three blades locked for a brief moment. While the sailors struggled to overpower me, I caught them off guard by spinning around and releasing a circular kick, that knocked them both out of my way. Gary suddenly leapt towards me and bounced against my shield, changing direction in mid-air to land with both feet on the chest of a defenseless sailor. Gary's weight toppled the man roughly, but Gary just performed an elegant back flip, and landed skillfully upon his feet. With both daggers equipped, the cloaked thief plunged into the crowd of vicious sailors, releasing consecutive attacks at tremendous speed.

After a few minutes of battle, I found myself engulfed by the crowd of sailors. They were everywhere around me, forcing me to dodge and counter attacks constantly, till I felt drops of sweat slide through my fur underneath my armor. I was being pushed to the limits, and the ray of moonlight reflected in the sweat on my forehead. My eyes switched focus every second, and the exhaustion lead me to pant. Despite that I managed to block and dodge countless attacks, my retaliate strikes were too imprecise to deliver any lethal blows. I managed to leave wounds behind on a couple of sailors, but they just kept coming back for more. It felt like we were fighting an endless tide. But since the enemies were apparently gathering around me, Raksasha saw this as an opportunity, that she wouldn't dream of missing out on. And she wasn't showing any sign of hesitation, despite that I was stuck in the crowd myself. My eyes grew wider, when I felt the ominous tremors in the ground, caused by Raksasha charging directly towards me. Having realized that I was located in a bad position, I focused my strength into pushing my enemies away, and creating space for me to move. In the last possible second, I managed to leap out of harms way, before Raksasha rammed into the crowd like an ox on the rampage. By bashing into the sailors with her shoulder at high speed, the great weight of her body alone was enough to topple seven men, sending them flying in various directions. Some of them crashed hard into the shallow water of the sea, before rolling through the foam and seaweed. Raksasha released a roar to mark her victorious assault, exposing her sharp fangs dripping with saliva, her eyes lost in feral rage. The roar echoed back and forth, causing small rocks to fall from the nearby cliffs. With her large hand clenched onto the shaft of her axe, she directed her fury towards the next unfortunate sailor.

Even after having leapt to safety, it didn't take long for danger to find me. Yet another sailor had fixed his attention on me, and silent as a stalking predator, he intended to cut me down from behind. Once his sword was raised high into the air, I sensed his hostile presence and turned around, quickly raising my shield to block his attack. The blade struck against the iron of my shield, and purely by reflex, I stabbed the man in his stomach with my Shamshir. Curved blades like these are not designed for thrusting attacks, but due to the sailors lack of protecting, the blade penetrated his soft flesh with ease. Once my sword was retracted, the blade was stained by fresh blood, and the sailor fell dying to the ground. It felt relieving to finally finish one off effectively. But the moment of excitement came to a sudden end. As I was standing somewhat close to the ship, a sailor leapt down from the deck above, and landed with his feet in the shallow waters behind me. Before I was given the chance to react, he grappled me from behind and seized my freedom, before pressing a curved cutlass against my throat. My eyes grew wide and I gasped, having realized that I had lost control of the situation. The sailor was strong and by no means gentle, as the sharp blade had already penetrated by skin, drawing blood from the small wound left behind.

Sailor: That's enough! Surrender yer selves, or enjoy watching me, as I slash the windpipe of this worthless little canine.
Gary: Wesley, no!
Raksasha: Hey! Don’t you dare hurt him...
Wesley: A-argh...
Sailor: Good, good. Now lay down yer weapons.
Wesley: Don’t listen... to him!
Gary: Hmph. Fine.
Raksasha: I surrender. Just don’t hurt him.
??? : So tell me - what is all this bloody fuss about?

A somewhat familiar man suddenly leapt from the deck of the ship, and landed in the middle of the battle zone, while still having his cutlass sheathed. Despite of the great fight that just took place, he seemed unusually calm. It took me a brief moment, before I was able to recognize the man. But once he turned his head, and looked towards the sailor keeping me hostage, I noticed his missing eye. It was the captain.

Sailor: These dirty miscreants were sneaking around our vessel, captain. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were planning to steal it.
Captain: Is that so? I find that quite amusing. Only a thief with a tremendous death wish, would attempt to hijack the ship of a pirate.
Wesley: A pirate!?
Captain: Aye. What did ye think we were, gypsies traveling by sea? Don't play dumb with me, boy. It's not going to work.
Sailor: Captain, we await yer order. Shall we cut their throats?
Captain: Hmm...No. Bring them on board. They wanted a cruise by sea, so that's what they will get. It's going to be a long trip to Spain, so we may need a little entertainment for the crews satisfaction.
Sailor: Aye captain!

Good gracious. Of course, the one and only ship available, belongs to a hoard of ruthless pirates. By the looks of it, our current objective had lead to nothing but failure. And if someone didn't come up with a genuine backup plan, then this could bring our entire quest to a tragic end. I definitely didn't fancy the thought of going to Spain, while eternal death and decay threatens to corrupt our own country. But this was just the beginning. Once our country had fallen, Lord Zervas and his dark minions would find a way to cross the sea, and conquer the entire continent. By then, his forces could be expected to have grown significantly, after having been bolstered by the earthly remains of our own troops. My intuition told me, that no matter what those pirates were scheming, we'd be long dead before the ship would reach any port in Spain. After having confiscated our equipment, the pirates forced us aboard the ship, and lead us across the wooden deck. The vessel released a weak creaking noise, as the waves of the ocean made contact with the hull. Once we were aboard the ship, it quickly became clear to me, that we were only fighting a fraction of the crew on the beach. Many more rugged sailors were found on the deck, minding each their own business, while preparing the ship for the coming voyage by sea. It felt like I literally shrunk in size, once the sailors directed their attention towards us. Their eyes revealed that they loathed us by first sight. Before having us board the ship, the crew pulled our arms behind our backs, and left our wrists bound by rope. So if they had any plans about punishing us for attempting to steal their ship, we would be completely defenseless. To distract my mind from the crew's attention, I raised my sight to examine the tall masts. The sails had yet to be hoisted. The height of those masts made me nauseas. I pitied the scout assigned to occupy the crows nest.

What a highly repulsive crew. Their clothes were dirty and soaked with sweat stains. Most of the men were very unhygienic in more ways than one, and the smell of the salty sea was dominated by the foul stench attached to the crew. My snout would never be the same again. But judged by the current situation, I would apparently need to get used to it. As we walked across the deck with our hands tied by rope, my stomach suddenly turned, followed by an uncomfortable tickle in my throat. It wasn't because of the fact, that I was surrounded by such disgusting scum. This was the first time that I had ever been aboard a ship. And my stomach was quick to inform me, that it didn't approve of the rocking motion, provided by the waves splashing against the ships hull. I was convinced that my condition wouldn't improve, once the vessel actually started sailing. The three of us walked to the center of the deck, and found ourselves positioned between the two great masts. Then the crew suddenly left their posts, and gathered in a large circle around us. Gary, Raksasha and I just stood still, remaining quiet. My eyes scrolled from left to right, examining their creepy expressions. They were clearly having their minds browse through various horrifying ideas, about what kind of tortures they should put us through, during their voyage by sea. But in the end, I guess the final verdict were the captain's to make. In my heart, I kept praying for a miracle. But it was not looking too good. Heavy footsteps were heard upon the wooden deck, as the captain pushed his way through the crowd, to make an appearance inside the circle.

Captain: Before we set sail towards Spain, I demand an explanation. What madness lead ye to this foolhardy attempt, of stealing me vessel?
Wesley: We did not mean to steal it, sir!
Captain: Of course not. Just an avid admirer of fine ol' ships, aren't ye?
Wesley: No. We've come a long way, on a quest to oppose the approaching war, against the emperor of death and his legions of undead. But our hope of standing a chance against Lord Zervas, can only be reached by sea. We were hoping that you could be persuaded, to assist us in our quest and bring us to our targeted location.

A shiver of guilt went down my spine, as I realized that I was not being truthful. Since the ship seemed abandoned, we certainly did contemplate to steal it. But for now, I was more interested in protecting my life than my dignity. The captain burst out in a deep and scornful laughter.

Captain: What an outrageous but amusing tale. Ye must expect us pirates to be ridiculously dumb, if ye think we'll believe in this. We are preparing to leave this accursed country, before we get caught up in the approaching mayhem. This country is history, boy. Ye hear? No one can defeat that wretched lich king. Ye can't kill what is already dead...
Wesley: We can. And we will. If you want to flee like a hunted gazelle, feel free to do so. But we and our allies will stand ground and fight! Even if our empire falls, our honor will be preserved in death...
Captain: Feh! Honor is what leads young men to throw away their lives so easily. But that is none of my business. Say, that ugly mug of yers look kinda familiar. Have our paths intertwined before, pup?
Wesley: You may remember me from the tavern, Sir.
Captain: Arh yes, now I remember. So ye were spying on me. Why, are ye yet another ruthless assassin seeking to claim the bounty on me head?
Wesley: What!?
Gary: He is no spy, captain. And most definitely no assassin either. Trust me, that fox couldn’t sneak up on a sleeping cow.
Wesley: Hey! I heard that.
Captain: I don’t recall having asked for yer opinion, ye cloaked buffoon. And if there is one thing that I can’t stand, then it is to be interrupted in my conversations. Who do ye think ye are?
Gary: Somebody that you used to know... Captain Russel.

The captain’s one eye starred sharply at Gary, while a brief moment of silence invaded the floating vessel. The crew seemed to be caught in confusion. The same counted for Raksasha and I. Had they met before? The captain suddenly drew his jagged cutlass and stretched his arm out, pointing the sharp tip towards Gary’s throat. Gary didn’t even flinch.

Russel: Hmph... so ye know me true name. That alone could swiftly lead to yer demise. So what are ye - friend or foe!?
Gary: Find out yourself. Oh, and one more thing...
Russel: What?
Gary: Don’t let a brainless baboon tie the prisoners knots.

My eyes grew wide as I heard the sound of Gary’s rope fall to the wooden floor with a soft thud. He was free! The cloaked thief moved his hands to the front and cracked his fingers. I gulped nervously in the background, as I knew things were bound to get rowdy now. Before the captain had the chance to realize what was going on, Gary leapt into the air to deliver a swift kick, that broke through the captain’s defense and hit his unprotected chest. The old man groaned in pain and was shoved back, before dropping down onto his one knee. Gary landed skillfully on his feet, keeping his focus on the captain while striking a defensive pose. He clearly knocked the breath out of the captain, but then I heard the expected shouts of angry pirates. They drew their blades and charged forward to assist their captain in peril. Despite that my hands were still bound by rope, my protective instinct lead me to assist my own comrade, by ramming into the attacking pirates with a tough shoulder bash. The weight of my body and armor was enough to topple the crowd temporarily, but then they just directed their anger towards me. A sailor lashed out at me with his curved saber, but I swayed backwards to dodge the blow, and countered by smashing my knee into his groin. While whining in agony over his crushed gonads, I knocked him to the ground with a strong headbutt, fighting ferociously with my teeth exposed. Raksasha was just about to join me in battle as well, but then the battle was interrupted by a loud shout, that caused all the pirates to stop fighting. It was the captain. He ordered his crew to seize the fighting.

Russel: Some people... just can’t wait to die. Stand back, men! This dirty mongrel is mine. The sharks will be dining on yer carcass tonight...
Gary: That remains to be seen. Bring it on!

I gulped while watching from the distance, as the captain charged forward with his cutlass raised to strike the unarmed thief. His long hair tresses was levitated from his shoulders by the breeze, and the fury in his one eye revealed a warrior of the sea, who wouldn't let anyone besmirch his pride. For some reason, I suspected that Gary expected this kind of reaction. Before the captain managed to carry out his attack, Gary quickly kneeled down and pulled out two throwing knives that were hidden in his boots. He then rose swiftly and crossed the knives, to block the blow of the jagged cutlass. Steel clashed and grinded together, keeping them locked in a short struggle, before Gary managed to push the captain away with a kick. The captain recovered slowly and smirked, before brandishing his cutlass menacingly, showing skills that I had never witnessed from such an aged man. The knives that the pirates had failed to confiscate from Gary were short, and not very fitting for melee combat. But at least they were light and swift to use. Gary and Captain Russel suddenly advanced to attack eachother simultaneously, delivering blows and evading incoming attacks, turning their fight into an impressive dance of death. The pirates honored their captain's order, and offered the two combatants plenty of space to fight. Raksasha and I remained in the crowd of sailors, as we realized this was a contest of strength that shouldn't be interfered with. But truth be told, It was against my nature to watch an ally in danger, without offering him my aid in combat. And the urge to rush in was almost overwhelming. As I watched them fight from a distance, it surprised me that the captain was almost just as quick and agile as Gary, despite of his age. And their fighting technique was surprisingly similar. Was that really just a coincidence?

The captain was surprisingly dominant in combat, and eventually had Gary stagger backwards, until his back pressed against the wooden mast of the ship. The captain chuckled triumphantly, as he had his opponent pinned in a vulnerable position. He pulled back his jagged cutlass and swung it towards the defenseless thief, with the intention to kill. But the last second before the sword made contact, Gary ducked to dodge the blow, and the blade of the jagged cutlass got stuck in the wooden mast. I was amazed to witness a blade being so ridiculously sharp, that it could penetrate wood so easily. But the captain seemed to struggle with pulling the sword back out. Gary grabbed this opportunity to knock the captain back with a strong push of his shoulder, forcing him to release his grip on the hilt of the cutlass, leaving the captain completely unarmed. Gary leapt into the air and laughed arrogantly, as he landed with his feet on the blade of the captain's cutlass, keeping his body balanced skillfully. From the higher altitude, Gary brandished the two knives to confuse his opponent, before having one of them thrown in his direction. Unfortunately, the captain was not that easily fooled. Captain Russel dodged the knife with a perfectly performed back flip, which was carried out so fast that his stylish tricorn hat remained on his head somehow. The thrown knife got stuck in the wooden deck, right in front of the captain.

Gary bounced off the cutlass stuck in the wooden mast, performed a somersault in midair, and landed on the ground several steps away from the unarmed captain. His wet boots left moisturized footprints behind on the wooden deck. The captain snorted and swept a thin layer of dust off his left shoulder. He didn't seem too concerned about being unarmed. I watched as the captain confidently placed himself in a defensive position and motioned his index finger provokingly, encouraging Gary to attack. The invitation was instantly accepted. The cloaked thief sprinted towards Captain Russel and attacked him mercilessly, with a deadly combination of sweeps and thrusts of the short knife, carried out at extremely high speed. To my surprise, the captain was about just as quick to dodge the attacks, swaying constantly and parrying blows with his arms. Gary's flurry of attacks came to an end as the captain suddenly broke the combo, by swinging around to deliver an amazingly accurate spiral kick. His foot knocked the knife out of Gary's hand, and the knife slid far away across the deck. Even after having been unarmed, Gary's fury seemed unstoppable. Adrenalin clearly pumped in the bodies of them both. Raksasha, I and every crew member of the ship watched in silence, as intensity of battle between these two combatants raised to an even higher level. Hard blows from fists and blunt kicks were exchanged, all delivered in a swift blur of motion, but all were parried or evaded. Their combat abilities were frighteningly equal. And yet, after having pushed themselves to the limit for a few minutes, the captain's age was about to show in early fatigue. A brief inattentive moment left an opening for Gary to break through the captain's guard, landing a hard punch with clenched fist directly on his face. The heavy blow knocked the captain back and separated the two combatants. Russel staggered backwards and struggled to keep his balance. He turned his head and spat out a blob of blood onto the deck. Gary smirked as he realized his foe was growing weaker. The captain could barely stand straight anymore, and he was sagging slightly. Within a few seconds, his chin was coated with blood.

The captain's energy was fading away. I could see it in his eye, that he was already starting to become groggy because of the nauseating taste of blood in his mouth. He wouldn't last much longer, and Gary was quite aware of that. With a confident smirk on his face, Gary seized the opportunity to finish the captain off, while he was being weak and vulnerable. A loud and disturbing ringing tone occurred in my sensitive ears, as the crew close to me suddenly yelled loudly, encouraging the captain to get back into the game before it was too late. If only my hands were untied, I'd cover my ears before the noise would cause my eardrum to burst. It was sheer torture. But rooting for their captain had no effect. He was tired and defenseless. Gary suddenly sprinted towards the captain and leapt into the air, planning to knock him out with a kick delivered in midair, similar to the surprise attack he performed back at the beginning. But this triggered a turn of event, that not even Gary was prepared for. The old captain was apparently not as exhausted as he pretended to be. Because while Gary's feet was off the ground and positioned to deliver an airborne kick, the captain swiftly grabbed his leg with both arms, and swung him around in a quick circular motion. Once he let go of Gary's leg, our cloaked thief was tossed far across the ship, and crashed onto the deck with his shoulder absorbing the fall. Gary groaned in pain before rolling a few feet across the deck, until finally laying flat on his back with the black cape spread out next to his body. My heart skipped a beat, as a couple of seconds passed by where Gary didn't move. Was he even conscious? That fall would've been fatal for a man of his age. The captain gazed drowsily upon his slain foe, panting slowly, still sagging from exhaustion. To my relief, Gary finally pushed himself up into a sitting position, causing his hood to drop down. This triggered an unexpected reaction from the captain, as he opened his eyes widely and gasped.

Russel: By the sacred scales of Leviathan... is me old eye deceiving me?
Gary: Even after all those years... I still can't beat you in a fair match.
Russel: Gary... Gary Jenkins. Ye... Ye wretched cur! This can't be true.
Gary: Hmph. You better believe it, rat face...

What an odd turn of events. Were they old rivals, or something? This was definitely not their first encounter, but it was nearly impossible to read their reactions, and tell whether or not this was a pleasant reunion. But once Gary recovered and were standing back up, I noticed the captain clenched his fist hard and exposed his teeth angrily. The old geezers looked like they were about to maul eachother down again, initiating a second round that would clearly be a fight to the death. The crew was just as confused as me and Raksasha. What had we gotten into here...?