The winter hawk swept above us all, arcing his wing toward the first of the armada heading our way. He was a speck in a heartbeat.
…the only way to survive Thanavar’s game…
But Forge, what if I was thriving in Thanavar’s game?
Gong-gong-chunk-chunk, gong-gong-chunk.
The twelve ships were spreading out, clearly aiming to surround us, and out of the fog far behind them, a shape emerged. I could make out contours and structure, and the realization froze my blood cold. It was Bilgetown, scourge of the Sheets and thorn of the open seas.
Tales of Bilgetown were stock in the taverns of Oversea, and I’d even heard a story or two in Berryburn Yard. According to lore, Bilgetown roamed the seas without sail, oar, or even spinners, yet she was as large as any city on the continents. She traded with vessels foolish enough to play the odds and scavenged from those that inevitably lost. Rumor had it that she harnessed whales as her engines, that wyrmaids were her crew, and that even theRhi’Ahrfeared meeting her in the Sheets. As I peered toward the approaching bank of smoke, I rubbed my eyes, not sure if I could believe what I was seeing. There were no whales. There were no wyrmaids. No, Bilgetown was much, much stranger.
Neither city nor ship, she was a cityofships, a Dreadtown, formed from the hulls and decks of hundreds, if not thousands, of sea-faring craft. Brigs and schooners, caravals and clippers. Keels assembled on top of hulls, cabins piled atop transoms, rudders affixed to decks. I saw no canvas. I saw no whales. How the suns did she sail?
Within the quarter hour, the twelve were upon us, and I could see what originally had made this advanced armada so strange. Each ship was linked together by a long chain, and they moved to encircle us like a noose, so that, even if we had the wind in our favor, they would cut off all way of escape. And we were sailing straight into it, perfectly aware. Bilgetown chugged toward us, far behind but not far enough for me.
“Mr. Kit, Mr. Buck,” called Fahr. “The last raft, if you please.”
The minotaur heaved it over the bow. It almost disappearedbeneath the roiling waves before pitching upward, buoyant and free. The harpy sprang from the nest and swept to the craft’s deck, catching a rope in her clawed feet. She launched into the sky, struggling to make headway in the wind, but soon, she had pulled the raft away several lengths from us. She released it and winged back to theTouchstone.
I could see the faces of the men on their decks as the twelve ships tightened their noose around us.
“Surrender your vessel,”came a bull-horned voice all the way from Bilgetown.“Or we will sink you hard.”
I flinched as, one after the other, the twelve fired their cannons, their shots splashing in the waters around us. Warning shots all.
“Loose, Mr. Broom!” barked Fahr.
“Loose!” barked Broom. Immediately, the hands scrambled and the cannon, Lucky Lass, boomed from the deck.
As the ball struck the raft, chimeric arced and runes danced, lighting up the water like a carnival. Then, it shattered, a thousand flying shards of wood, chimeric sparking patterns in the sky before they dissipated on the wind.
Fahr pulled the bullhorn to his lips.
“Attention, Tarry Forks, magistrate of Bilgetown!” His voice carried over the rain and echoed across the waters. “This is the privateerTouchstone, and we have enough chimeric to sink your entire city.”
There was silence from the city.
Fahr glanced my way and grinned. I shook my head but grinned right back. A great game, indeed. Life on the edge of a blade, tossed about by the lee of the wind and the swells of the sea. I understood why he had shirked his crown. There was no throne on erthe that could match this.
He lifted the bullhorn once again.
“We wish to parley, Bilgetown,” he called. “In exchange forinformation, we will share the secret of Nethersea chimeric.”
We rocked and floated for several long minutes, waiting as the Dreadtown grew larger and larger. Echo peered out from the hatch below, blinking into the rain.
“Mr. Fahr,” he called. “The captain says two will suffice, three is better, but four will leave us with consequences on our souls.”
“Three it is, then,” Fahr said. “Have you got that, Mr. Broom? It may be several hours, but you must be sharp and quick on my mark.”
“Aye, sir,” said Broom. Echo nodded and disappeared back into the hatch.
Soon, the voice from Bilgetown came again.
“Touchstone, is Thanavar still your captain?”
“He is indeed, Bilgetown,” said Fahr through the horn. “Is Forks still your magistrate?”
“Permission to enter the city,Touchstone. One longboat only. Bring the chimeric but not the kelpier.”
