Copyrighted to Christer Paloini. Please let me know your opnion.
Chapter 1
The lone ship graced the eerie day as she sailed cautiously almost hoping not to fall prey to a faster clipper. Her three mast sails shone brilliantly as did the well-polished wood on her hollow and a blue flag with a green dragon marked her as Alagaesian. The Raven's Wind tore through the water graining a steady speed playing predator to the merchant ship, Vanessa, the solitary ship ahead. The Raven's Wind black sails reached the bright blue sky the clipper in darkened wood. She was made perfectly for high speed, schooner turned clipper and she could turn as quickly as a dragon flying through the air also she had oars in case the wind was too slow. "Morgan are the guns ready?" Asked a deep commanding belonging to Captain Claudio Albus.
My voice reflected my mood –anxious to the new battle, "Aye, sir. They're ready!" The whole of the crew went to their stations waiting for the captain's signal knowing they had at least some of the best pirates one could hope for.
It seemed eternity to wait for the Vanessa to come close enough to disable her. Are we going to force others to join? I thought. I join or rather pressed into Albus' crew as a gunner around 9 and for 7 years I did my job of manning the multiple guns, educating the crew to use them, you know the usual. The small, swirl gun I manned at the moment was nothing like the musket on my back fully loaded, ready at an instant. The bayonet on the muzzle hungrily waited for new blood while the remaining three seasoned pistols on my person calmly watched. "Loki manned Morgan's gun. Morgan take out her captain."
The elvin boatswain immediately swirled the gun to point at the Vanessa I jumped up to quickly raced along the familiar ropes leading to the crow's nest. Once there the movements I took went automate from years of use. The flintlock arm's sights lined up to a man walking on the deck barking out orders then the sights flickered to another man talking to a navigator. Suddenly our flag went up behind me, it was black with white skull grinning sinisterly as two red roses made a cross under the skull. The two horns rose from the skull giving our flag the nickname, 'The Rosy Devil'.
I squeezed the trigger praying the round traveled to its target, the exposed neck. Luckily the round flew, this time, to the juggler vein scaring the Vanessa's crew as some turn to see the Rosy Devil. Maybe today will be another bloodless day. The clipper turned facing the Vanessa releasing chain shots, bar shots, and grape shots pulling the rigs down with sails and all. The slivers rained down the on helpless crew running to cover themselves or arming for the imminent attack.
I put the musket down I leapt from the crow's nest employing a rope to swing me over to the Vanessa uniting with the Raven's Wind crew. "Fight!" An order over when Loki tossed a cutlass to me compelling the other crew to assault.
"Die pirate!" A sound snapped behind me as I spun around cutting a sailor in half. Metal met metal otherwise flesh, the casually bang from a flintlock mixed itself into the battle. I saw Loki, in his ordinary neutral gray pants lacking a shirt or shoes, cutting playfully at new elves. His hair was slivery water reaching to his mid-shoulders, muscles rippling under the tanned skin to formed a toned body, and eyes were fearsome emeralds. Out of instinct my right hand crocked the hammer of one pistol, took aim and squeezed the trigger to hear a satisfying bang as the round hit its mark.
A giant Urgal throw another pistol at me. The old quartermaster Asa was a one-legged Skull with two missing horns and his skin was akin to black than the usual gray. Unlike Loki who enlisted into the crew Asa and I were pressed, he was closer to the grave than any of us however he was easily the toughest amongst us maybe the whole pirate community. Whatever his handicap he still could win in a battle. The light cream shirt covered by a straight cut navy jacket and ripped pants only add to his tough demeanor. "Vrenshrrgn!" My shout forced the mighty dwarf swinging his boarding axe to a sailor he missed, the poor soul got caught in between his legs screaming a high-pitched one finally the axe pulled out his organs for all to see.
Shot after shot, sword fight after sword fight the Vanessa's crew slowly became submissive bodies littered the once proud deck only about a handful of the crew survived mostly elf, one or two humans. The single person in our crew shooting at them was I, funny how the crew trusted me more with guns than anything. Right now I search for anything for the weaponry from her magazine a lot of virgin ammunition could turn the tables against us. "Hey Morgan," called one of the twins, Galtoxir and Brinz. Both were blondes and blue eyes the most stupid on our crew. "I want you two to carry half of the rounds, all the gunpowder."
"You two heard him get workin' dogs!" Barked Mari Bonny the female human on the crew. The lieutenant Mari Bonny was only out-ranked by the captain. Loki and I were next in command as equals while Asa the quartermaster was next and doubled as the ship's cook. Fortunately the two idiots went to work without saying anything more terrified of Mari.
The search for the magazine was only a few feet from the main guns about under the deck. The living Vanessa crew was kneeling before Halc and Loki seeking anything else as food, treasure, and weapons happily made their way onto the Raven's Wind. "Captain Albus has offer you two choices," We're pressing. I thought looking at most of crew dead bodies were everything. What do you expect when humans, dwarf, Skull, and elf against mostly elvin and human crew? "One you become a pirate, the other is death." Loki definitely lived up to his namesake of being a trickster as he taunted the elves in expressive way.
"Or third we chose." Said the Captain calmly.
"We do not associate with your kind. I am disappointed at the elf in your crew to join such a filthy life!" The female elf said in much disgust as she could muster while remaining perfect still unlike the humans experienced in sailing who shook here and there.
"Shut it! Those pirates don't care 'bout nothin'." Snapped a human leaving a frustrated elf who never sailed before let alone faced a pirate assault. Humans sailed more often then elves or dwarves for economic reasons the majority of elves and dwarves never seen a pirate before.
"Captain," I grabbed his attention, "I believe this bunch are just too defiant and chances are that the elves wouldn't have the knowledge to sail anyways." I grinned.
"Are they tried correctly, Loki?" He asked.
"Tightly,"
"Burn her down." The captain checking to see the supplies was already on board.
"Loki, please you are an elf. Remember your childhood lessons to spare life," The same elf that argued us earlier begged calmly.
"Going with it?" I patiently waited with Loki as his 'trickster' grin danced on his face.
"I have a reputation maintain. Brisngr." The fire erupted on the forsaken crew as we turned and left to find fair wind blowing away from the doomed Vanessa.
Breaker
The day turned into night leisurely, the inky sky emerging as one into the black ocean expect the stars peering out from the velvety smooth darkness. The fresh meal, with the rarely seen fruits, vegetables, and the beautifully cooked chicken never tasted so good, laid besides me up in the crow's nest escaping the noisy crew drunk from their newest victory. "You're missing the fun," A lone soul crawled into the nest.
"What fun?" The words playfully flew pass my lips. When my legs stretched before me was rudely pushed aside to make room for Loki.
"The Articles allow us to gamble after a victory." He passed a large pitcher of gin to me, which I greedily drank it. "They couldn't find any water on that damned ship!"
"Yeah well at least we got gin now instead of just rum." I replied. A pause followed as I finished the tasty meal a change from hard tack and salted pork.
"Happy birthday." He held a large elliptical object wrapped in used parchment stating something another, I did not read at all. The object felt like stone landing gently on my lap. How could I forget my own birthday? My hands pulled away the parchment revealing a dark, moody crimson stone, as white veins webbed around it.
"What it is?" An eyebrow raised itself on my face questioning my friend's sanity. He knew I want a rifle, the newest gun around that had grooves inside the barrel for increased speed and accuracy.
"A dragon's egg. I'm needed to check the ropes again!" He gracefully leapt down the crow's nest as I jumped up to the edge to yell, "You bastard! What am I going to do with a dragon's egg?"
Defeated again I shrunk back down the nest's floor to examine the egg cynically hoping it would be a joke instead of a present. My talent was in the field of guns not dragons. How impractical! My hand rubbed the smooth shell frustrated by the gift until a crack captured my attention changing frustration into curiosity.
A canine like head poked squeaking as the egg rolled over as the creature pushed itself out. Lastly it freed itself from the egg as two wet leathered wings slightly reached for the sky. It matched the moody crimson color of the egg. Two livery red, almost black, eyes looked at me smiling by pulling its corners of its mouth into a semi-grin revealing sharp teeth curving backwards and they were conical. A feathery mane from the base of the head ran down the back instead spikes ending in turf of hair at the end of the tail.
"Funny," I can't take it back to the Riders for the reward. I mean I can't be a Rider. I am a sailor but not a Rider. My hand reached closing the distance we held. I wonder how you feel. Fingertips melt the soft, welcoming soft feathers practically craving for the rest of the hand. Which gingerly touched the serpentine dragon squeaking happily until a sensation like an arrow painfully plunge me into burning fire swallowing me whole. A scream was heard but from where I could not tell as it rose higher and higher. I collapsed backwards to collide to the wooden boards of the crow's nest breathing laboriously. The little creature marched up to my chest looking beyond bliss a hand greeted it there petting it against my wishes.
"MORGAN!" A voice dragged reality back as a worried and quizzically face appeared.
"Get the captain." A whisper before darkness came.
