Author's note: Thank you to everyone who's reading! I've been creeping on my stats cuz and shoutout to the reader from Denmark-I like you, my main man.

Also, thank you so much for reviews, and follows/favorites! Anytime I get a notification email I grin like a dweeb. Special points to Will Turner, BlackShaftedArrow, and Ranger nr. 7 for their reviews. Especially you Ranger nr. 7. Ten out of ten on Ranger nr. 7, would recommend to a friend.

The next chapter will be up September 16th.

Away we go, folks.

Hal had never felt so cold in all his life. And it wasn't just because of the icy wind and spray whipping across his face.

He and his brotherband had faced danger and death many times but never before had Hal felt so icy cold with fear. Peril had always occurred in the heat of battle or in the moments afterward. Never had they been captured and held by their enemies. Enemies who, Hal was terrified to think of, they did not know and had never seen but still had known about the Mangler.

The form of the captain was still at the helm, his face creased with shadows from the lanterns. The was tall and wiry, head shaven bare. His skin was dark, almost as black as his ship, and his teeth flashed in the lamp light when he spoke to his crew. He was older than any of the Heron's brother band but certainly younger than Thorn. If Hal had to guess, he'd say he was a touch older than Ranger Gilan-the captain certainly exhibited the same confidence.

Even after three days, Hal had never heard the man's name. His crew merely called him 'Captain' and he had never addressed his prisoners. That was what truly scared Hal. They were being treated as livestock; fed well enough, given no beds, and given no demands. Hal had not been asked any questions, hadn't been threatened. He hadn't even been properly looked at in the past three days.

He, Ulf, and Wulf were tethered by their ankles to the main mast of the pirate ship Wavestalker and so sat shivering and sleepless amid ships. The three sat close together for warmth, speaking rarely and then only in whispers. Hal's uneasiness was only made worse by the stiff silence.

He stared into the darkness off the starboard side of the ship where he knew the Heron and the rest of his brotherband sailed. He could see just two specks of light from the lanterns the enemy bowmen had lit.

"Can you see them?"

Hal started and turned to see both twins looking off as he had been. "No," he murmured back after a moment, "Only the bowmen."

Ulf let out a snort of derision. "Like three pirates with crossbows could really stop us if we wanted to get away."

"Yeah but 'we' are now 'us' and 'them'. That's the whole problem, dimwit." Wulf hissed back.

It spoke to the gravity of the situation that Ulf only rolled his eyes in response.

Hal smiled a bit. "If Stefan was here he'd imitate the Captain's voice and send the whole ship into a frenzy."

Wulf snickered. "Ingvar would just flatten all of them."

Ulf elbowed his brother. "Jesper would've cut us out these ropes with some tiny knife already and then slunk off the ship, all focused, like this." He screwed up his face like Jesper did when he was messing with his locks.

Hal felt his grin slip from his face. "But it's just us."

Ulf grimaced, "Right."

"Right," his twin echoed.

The moment passed, and only the creaking of the ship and the gentle slap of waves on the bow remained.

Stefan could clearly see the three who were tied to the mast, surrounded by lanterns as they were. Kloof was sitting silently next to him; he looked away, but she did not.

"Don't stare too 'ard," one of the guards said, sidling up behind him, his breath stinking of the wine the Iberians favored. "You may be able to see zem, but zey may as well be miles away," he chuckled.

"What are they doing now?" Ingvar called, uncowed by the guards. He was considerably larger than all three of them, and they were wary of him for it. They were well aware that if there weren't captives on the other ship he could kill them in a heartbeat.

"Sitting. Talking. Staring over here now and then," Stefan called back, eyeing the guard as if challenging him to shut him up.

The bowman turned away with a snort.

Unlike their counterparts, the crew that remained on the Heron was free to move as they wished. They were gathered around the helm, sprawled in a semi-circle around Edvin, who was gripping the tiller. It was odd that it wasn't Hal steering them through the night. Edvin was staring intently ahead; soon it would be Jesper who spelled him. Silence stretched between the crewmates.

"What are they doing now?" Ingvar asked again, squinting into the night.

Stefan glanced over. "They're still sitting like they were-there's no use checking every few seconds."

"Well I can't look for myself, even with these on." He held up the turtle shell disks. "It'd be a lot less intrusive if I could just glance over every now and then."

"Gorlog, I wish Hal were here!" Edvin burst out, grinding his teeth. Kloof turned her head to stare at the normally calm boy, the surprise in her face mirrored by the rest of the crew.

Jesper raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I don't think I've ever heard you curse, Edvin."

"Well, this seemed like a pretty good time for it."

"I agree with that," Ingvar grunted miserably, twisting the leather thong of his spectacles absent mindedly.

"He'd be planning a way for us to get away from them. He'd know exactly how to get them off that ship and back here," Edvin sighed again.

"I wish Stig was here. And Thorn and Lydia," Stefan muttered, glancing back to where their guards were huddled in the stern of the ship. "We can do anything if we're all together."

"Which means these pirates are pretty smart; I didn't like how that captain promised one of us would die for every day ransom isn't paid." Edvin frowned. Kloof moved to lay around his feet, her eyes still trained on the pirate ship where she knew Hal was being held.

"He sounded serious," Jesper agreed.

"Did you see the girl with the horses though?" Stefan asked. "She was riding away as soon as those pirates hit the pier."

"Really?" Ingvar asked.

"You mean you didn't see that?" The other three shook their heads. "She was at the back of the crowd, with two horses. When they pointed their crossbows at the townsfolk, she mounted up and galloped away." He kept his voice low. "The pirates must've missed her cuz she got away clean. And she was riding towards Hallasholm."

Ingvar grinned. "She went to warn them. When we get there, they'll have a plan already." He pounded Stefan's back heartily, beaming. "We haven't lost a thing yet."

His optimism was contagious. If the Oberjarl and their families already knew, there was no way they wouldn't get out of this. Even Kloof seemed to perk up, wagging her tail as the boys grinned at one another.

"Take the tiller will you, Jesper? I think we deserve some hot coffee and a nice stew," Edvin stated, heading for the stores once Jesper was steady; the thief was relatively new to steering, and knew that if he strayed out of sight of the Wavestalker Hal and the twins would be hurt. He kept his eyes trained on the pirate ship and the pirate ship alone, adjusting to stay with it.

He did not notice when they began to turn south instead of east.

All seven captives remained wrapped in their thoughts of escape and safety that no one, not even Hal, noticed when their course shifted.

They were no longer sailing for Hallasholm.