Chapter 48: Stormy Weather
Entry 49:
Day 76:
We finally got a break in the weather. The sky was sunny, the sea was calm, and we had a good wind. But that does not mean all was calm on the ship today, far from it. TNA found out that the crew was taking advantage of them doing work so I could care for Tally. But the weather was nice and Tally was feeling well so the rest of them were free to exact their revenge. Thankfully Merry and I were exempt so we could wash our hands of the situation and let the others reap what they sew. All we had to do was stay out of the way.
Man was it hectic. Of course you have the problem children in Su, Sara, Nip, and Tiki but it seems that the usually calm Annie, Abigail, and Sis do not take it well when you take advantage of their sister being ill. Oh, and let's not forget that TNA build on each other's energy the more you have together. So that's nine rambunctious imp's all encouraging each other to not just play but specifically get back at the rest of the crew. Had Tally decided she wasn't content cheerleading the whole escapade I honestly think more than a few of the crew would have thrown themselves overboard.
Where to start? Fir
[The writing on the page abruptly ends.]
…
[At the time of the writing.]
The day is coming to an end and TNA has finally put a stop to their rampage I finally find time to pull out my journal and begin writing. But before I can even get more than a few paragraphs in Felisha calls out: "ALL HANDS ON DECK! ALL HANDS ON DECK!" I have never heard Felisha so serious. Merry and I took one look at each other before rushing out the door. Felisha already had a very rough day dealing with TNA's revenge; her coat was soaked, her fur was sticky or missing in places, and several of her claws were chipped; but that all seems forgotten by her now. Before everyone was even gathered we were told the reason for the urgency. "Look alive ladies! A storm's a comin'!"
That was a difficult statement to believe. The sun hasn't set yet so it was easy to see that the sky was completely clear and the sea was calm. I know I have not had much experience reading the sky but with nothing to go on I don't see how anyone could. "Are you sure?"
"I never doubt Una on these things." Felisha confidently states as she motions to Una next to her. "How long do you think we have?"
"Minutes." Was Una's short and dry answer. She seems to have had various things written all over her with ink but seems unaffected otherwise. I don't exactly see her taking advantage of TNA, being unwilling to trust her job to the imps, or her reactions being very amusing to them so I guess she got off easy.
"You hear that? We don't have much time." Felisha suddenly pauses as she notices that some key members of her crew are still missing. "Where are Michaela and Spindla?"
"We haven't found where the imps have hidden her head." Riona answered with a laugh, her hair is even messier than normal and she is covered in bruises."She is probably stumbling around below deck. As for Spindla…" Riona finishes her statement by simply pointing up.
To our astonishment we look up to find Spindla bound and gagged with her own webs as she is suspended from the main mast. I can't imagine it would be too comfortable to be hogtied like that but she seems to be enjoying herself, TNA have been busy. Felisha rubs her temples for a moment before waving her hand out as she commands Una to: "Cut her down! We need those sails reefed!" She then looks back at Riona. "Make sure everything is secured for rough water and for lord's sake find Michaela's head!" Next she glares at Kelsey's pot where she is hiding from view. "Kelsey!"
With a yelp Kelsey pokes her head out from the pot. Her face is flustered and she now appears to be completely naked in her pot. "Y-yes?" It does not take much of an imagination to guess what happened to her.
"Pull yourself together and put out your cooking fire!" Felisha commands as Kelsey skittishly runs off. After shaking her head a bit, she brings her attention to us. "Merry, how long does that water breathing spell last?"
"About a day, maybe a little longer." Merry swiftly answers.
"Recast it on all of the crew!" Felisha answers with a chuckle. "If any one falls off my ship I want them to live long enough for me to kill them myself!" Taking a more serious tone she yells out her final command. "The rest of you take your place on the rigging!" She got a wry grin as she faced the clouds now looming on the horizon. "We are going to ride this storm!"
Things quickly got hectic. By the time Spindla was cut down and Michaela's head was found the storm was already upon us. The sky was blacked out almost immediately and the rain was soon to follow. The howling wind quickly turned the once calm sea into a choppy mass of growing waves. With the sun set the only source of light became the near constant flashes of lightning. But like the captain said we were not taking refuge from the storm. Instead, we will be riding the strong winds to hasten our trip. Getting to our destination early sounds nice, clinging to the rigging as we all follow Felisha's instructions to keep the ship from capsizing doesn't. According to Una, the storm should not last for more than half an hour. But considering the torrential downpour within the first few minutes it is looking to be the longest half hour of my life.
Veronica and I have had enough training to be trusted to handle the aft sail. Merry has no training with the rigging but is kept on board in case someone 'needs their ass dragged back on board.' Captain Felisha has chosen to take the helm but in the strong winds it will be our ability to follow her directions in controlling the sails and rigging that will truly determine whether we make it through the storm or not. Only Kelsey and TNA remain below deck. Well, most of TNA. A few members thought that because everyone was gathering on the deck that it might be fun. They quickly regretted that decision.
"Okay! This isn't fun anymore!" Ina shouted as she clung to the rigging in the strong winds and heavy rain.
"I'm not afraid!" Annie shouts as she tightens her grip after a lighting flash. "I just don't want to be here anymore!"
"C'mon everyone!" Nip shouts as she holds her head high in the strong wind. "I think this is great!" Seems she doesn't share her sister's fears.
As a sudden strong gust hits the ship and the small imps have their grip tested. "I can't hold it!" Abigail cannot maintain her grip on the wet rigging and is carried off by the strong wind. "Big bro!"
"Abigail!" Before I realized she was being blown away she was out of my reach.
"Hold on, little one!" Thinking fast, Spindla shots a stand of her web into the wind. The light webbing is carried by the wind and to Abigail as she tries to regain stability in the air. The web simply had to make contact with Abigail for it to stick to her and allow Spindla to pull Abigail back on board. "Catch!"
With a quick jerk Abigail slams into my body, the webbing sticking us together as Abigail continues to quiver with fear. Thankful that she is back in my arms I give Spindla a thankful nod. She could have held a grudge for being tied up, I'm grateful she didn't. "I owe you one!"
"I know how you can repay me!" She giggles as she takes hold of her rigging again.
Must everything come back to that? I grumble a bit but I almost lost Abigail there, what's a sexual favor or two? "I'll consider it!" Spindla just flashes me a smile and a wink before getting back to work. Taking a moment to check on Abigail I ask, "Are you ok?"
Abigail calms down and pulls herself away as the sticky webs cling to us. It is difficult for her to move with the white strands dangling off of her. "This feels familiar." Abigail sniffs the white stands before giving them a curious lick, but as expected the strands cling to her tongue. "Ehh! Ith sthithy an athleth!" She quickly wipes the strands from her tongue with a few spits.
"Best send the brats inside." Felisha states as she seems eager to face the coming storm. "It's only going to get worse from here, the sea's giving us everything she's got."
Slowly moving from rigging to rigging, Merry approaches the imps. "Let's go everyone. I'll take you inside. I'm sure Tally is having a terrible time right now."
"Just get us out of here, big sis!" Abigail shouts after another flash of lightning.
I really wish I could have gone below deck with TNA. Taking care of Tally is nothing compared to braving this storm. But I'm not about to abandon Veronica to handle this by herself so I just have to tough it out. It's only a half hour right?
Felisha pointed the boat with the wind and even the reduced sails propelled us through the water at frightening speeds. Under her precise command we rode the ship over the top of the waves to keep the ship on a steady course. However, we were still being propelled faster than the waves and every time we crested over the five foot waves we would crash into the back of the leading wave. Sometimes the waves would break over the bow of the ship and soak the deck. Veronica and I were at the back so it was not as bad but judging by how much mist was sprayed to us I would say the ones closer to the front were holding on for life. But the terrifying situation was nothing to the usual crew of the Swift Victoria. Rather they seemed to relish in the thrill of it and none more so than Felisha. She would laugh manically every time a wave would break and the mist would spray her face. Seeing her in this storm made me realize that she was certifiably insane. Finally, after what seemed like hours of wind and rain and waves, the storm letup.
"Remain sharp ladies." Felisha commanded to her crew. "This is a short respite, that's all. She has more in store for us." This time it was clear she was right. The sky cleared so the moon could light the sea, the storm clouds racing toward us were clearly visible. But it would be a while before they got to us, giving us time for a much needed rest.
Finally free of the demanding task of managing the aft sail for the moment, Veronica collapses against the railing with a long sigh. "I've never worked so hard in my life."
"Can't call you spoiled this time." I mutter as I take a seat next to her. "I haven't worked this hard before either."
Veronica glares at me as I sit next to her. "Yeah right, I am the one doing all the work."
"Give me a break. I don't have the supernatural strength you have." I let myself collapse against the railing for the ship. I was soaked to the bone and physically exhausted. I was thankful that the water breathing spell protected me from the cold, made things a lot easier. Regardless, my muscles were sore and I was gripping the rigging so tightly that it took a conscious effort to extend my fingers. I figured I would walk around the ship to stretch out my muscles before the next storm. "You wanna take a walk with me?"
Veronica debated it for a moment but eventually gave me a dismissive wave. "Normally I would, but think I'll stay here." I can certainly understand her decision, everyone prepares for a difficult task in their own way.
As I walked down the steps to the main deck I was greeted by Merry. "You alright, darling?"
I gave Merry a weak smile as I nodded. "I'm fine honey. Just tired, but that's to be expected. How are you?"
Merry's smile was even weaker than mine. I thought that the rain would not bother her, guess I was wrong. "I never thought I would have to endure a storm at sea above water. The rocking boat is bad enough but the crashing waves makes it impossible to stay on my feet." She gives a short, weak laugh. "Frankly I would rather be swept off the boat, but I have a job to do."
"Just keep at it." I chuckled. "We can retire to our room once this is over." Bidding my fiancée a farewell for the moment I walk to the railing to appreciate the few minutes of calm sea we have remaining before the storm. The sound of waves was calming so I rested my head on the railing. Suddenly I noticed something next to the boat. It is lightly colored and moving about. As I focused on it I began to notice darker patches mixed in with the lightly colored object. As I try to figure out what it was, part of it emerged from the water. It's a face! A pale white face under a dark triangular head. For a moment we just shared a blank stare, neither one expecting to find the other. But once she recognized what I was her eyes widened as she stretched her face into an elated grin. I don't know what this girl is yet but I know this is not going to be good. "Captain!" I dashed away from the side of the ship as tentacles erupted from the sea and latched onto the ship.
The railing of the ship broke under the pressure the tentacles were putting out. Growling at the damage being done to her ship, Felisha yelled out one word: "Kraken!" The ship immediately began to lean under the immense pressure the kraken was putting on it. The kraken knows I am on the ship and is willing to bring the whole ship down to get to me. With each passing second the ship got closer to capsizing, if nothing is done the ship will sink! Felisha realizes this and immediately lashes out at one of the tentacles holding the leaning side. Her claws rake deep into the tentacle but her dulled claws were not enough to convince the stubborn tentacle to release its hold. "Damn it! Of all days!" I'm sure she was cursing TNA at the moment.
"I got this captain." Michaela shouts as she rushes the tentacles with her sword drawn. Michaela gives a loud shout as she slices her sword through one of the tentacles. Blood spills onto the deck with loud monstrous yelp echoing from below the ship as the severed tentacle is jerked away, leaving the tip behind. With one of the tentacles removed from the leaning side the ship jerks in the opposite direction, throwing everyone off their feet. As Michaela struggles to get to her feet to finish the job, a tentacle wraps around her leg. "Shit!" Michaela is suddenly thrown high into the air.
"I got ya!" Spindla quickly calculates Michaela's trajectory and, using her webbing as a sling shot, propels herself off the ship. She quickly catches Michaela between her spider legs before a quick tug on the strong and highly elastic web, still attached to the ship, yanks them back on board.
Felisha watches her crew member be saved but has no time to be thankful for it. Even without capsizing the ship the kraken can pull the ship down with pure strength if she gets a good enough grip on it, which she is currently doing. "Where is Riona?!" Felisha shouts once she notices the missing crew member.
"Getting weapons!" Una shouts back, for once a sense of urgency in her voice.
Felisha has no time to state whether or not that was what she intended her to do and immediately moves to the next command. "Merry! Can you fight?!"She shouts as she quickly faces Merry.
"I can! But…" Merry pauses for a moment as she flashes me a glance. "But I have a better idea!" Without waiting for orders, Merry dashes into our room.
"Wai…! Shit!" Felisha has no time to go after Merry and instead turns her attention to those present. "Veronica! Una! Buy us some time! Pry those tentacles off! Work together, the ship must remain stable!" Lastly she glares at me. "As for you, stick close."
By this time, Michaela and Spindla have safely been lowered to the deck. "Captain! Orders!" Michaela shouts.
"Pick a tentacle on that side!" Felisha shouts as she eyes the tentacle she damaged earlier. "On three! 1! 2!" Her claws dulled from some prank TNA pulled, she opens her mouth and bares her other natural weapons. "3!" Like a savage beast she sinks her teeth deep into the tentacle; pulling, gnawing, and tearing until the tentacle finally releases as Michaela lops the tip off another tentacle.
A moment later, Una and Veronica pick tentacles on opposite sides to pry off. However, upon touching the slimy tentacle Veronica jerks her hands back. "This is disgusting!"
Felisha looks up with blood covering her face, spits out a raw bit of calamari, and shouts "Are you fucking kidding me?!"
Veronica quickly realizes that getting her hands dirty is the least of her problems and tosses away what remains of her pampered upbringing. "Damn it all!"Una and Veronica take hold of their tentacles and give a display of their monstrous strength as they pry the strong tentacles from the boards of the ship. The slippery tentacles pull themselves free before they can be ripped from the kraken entirely.
Shortly after, Riona returns with swords from below deck. The swords were quickly passed around so everyone could effectively cut through the tentacles. Even I was given one but I did not get a chance to use it as Felisha insisted I stay close to her. The crew was split into two teams: Felisha, Veronica, and Riona on one side and Una, Michaela, and Spindla on the other. The swords made it easy to cut through the tentacles, even for those not used to wielding them, but every one that was cut would return only a little shorter. In addition the tentacles would retaliate by attempting to smash us or throw us over board. The deck quickly became a mess of splintered wood but more importantly we began to realize that the battle for the deck was a pointless one. The lengths that were being lopped off on deck were only the tip of the iceberg. Running along the sides of the ship were the bulk of the tentacles and once the kraken gave up the fight for the deck and instead decided to use the suction cups along the side she had the grip she needed to slowly pull the ship down. The crew can only fight off the tentacles on the deck, going into the water would be suicide.
"Damn it! At this rate…" Felisha slowly turns toward me and I really don't like the look she is giving me. But, before she can act on whatever scheme she has, Merry suddenly bursts out of the room.
"Go! Get those tentacles!" Merry commands as TNA flies out from behind her.
TNA quickly split up among the various tentacles and begin to tickle them into letting go. Unlike the rest of the crew, TNA can fly over the side of the ship to get to the lower tentacles and even if they end up in the water they have already proven to remain very agile. Felisha is dumbstruck by the effectiveness of the tickle attacks, two imps can convince a tentacle to let go in a matter of seconds. "Amazing. How did you convince them to help?" Felisha asked.
"Oh, you know." Merry giggled. "I just made a lot of promises regarding darling's body."
"You what?!"
"Kidding." Merry waved her hand dismissively. "You know whatever they want from you they take anyway."
I gave a long sigh. Really? A joke now? "That's a very good point honey but I rather you not point it out."
"I just told them that a kraken was trying to take you away." She gave a short exhausted sigh. "The hard part was trying to convince them they would not be able to see you be tentacle raped if she did."
It's all in the hands of TNA now. They giggle and play as they remove the tentacles. The kraken is unable to keep more than half her tentacles on the ship at any time and the tickling seems to keep her distracted. The ship constantly rocks back and forth because they don't pay any mind to the balance problem but the kraken no longer has the leverage needed to capsize the boat. It quickly turns into a war of attrition. How long will the kraken continue in her pursuit of me? I know TNA will never tire of the game they have turned it into. Unfortunately we are on the clock.
Time is up. The wind begins to pick up and the rain quickly becomes a deluge as the second storm moves in. TNA do not care about the rain and the wind is not yet a problem but the first major flash of lightning sends all but the bravest of them scurrying back inside. Nip enjoys the challenge and Sis is determined to keep me from being stolen, but as the sea becomes choppy again Tally becomes her primary concern. Without the imps, the kraken is free to resume her efforts to slowly drag the ship down.
Felisha glares at me again, but I have a plan of my own this time. I clench my sword and quickly run to the edge of the ship. I reach over the side to one of the tentacles and upon contact the tentacle jerks up in an attempt to grab me, just as I thought. I jump back to avoid the tentacle and the tentacle continues upward in its frantic search for me. "I got this!" Michaela shouts as she prepares to cut through the tentacle.
"No! Don't!" I shout as I carefully touch the tip of the tentacle to convince it to continue chasing me.
"I ordered you to stay close to me!" Felisha shouts. "Get back here!" Sorry captain, but I wager I won't like your plan. I continue to lure the tentacle further onboard until I get it to the mast and begin to climb up. "Don't lead it to the mast!" Felisha commands but I continue my way up. Growling at my insubordination, Felisha turns to Michaela. "Cut that tentacle!"
The kraken must have heard that order because she brought up more tentacles to knock people away from the one that was chasing me. Knowing that her prize only has one direction to escape to, she coiled her tentacle up the mast in her search for me. The storm made me terribly afraid of falling in my climb up. But if I did chances are I would quickly end up in some squid girl's bosom for a long night of sticky sloppy sex, gotta remember my goal is not to fall. I made my way to the top of the main sail with the tentacle in tow. The more direct the path the more likely this will work so I carefully lured the tentacle into unwrapping the mast to follow me out along the main sail. Once I saw the straight path to the water I dared not go any further, the wind and rain had me crawling away from the mast. I held my steel sword high to pin the tentacle to the wood and create a shortcut for the lightning to hopefully follow. I found myself hesitating to do such a terrible thing to someone I know nothing about but this time my hesitation is abruptly interrupted. I feel tingly. My hair is too wet to stand but I have a metallic taste in my mouth. I've become a positive beacon for the lightning, I have maybe a few seconds before the lightning finds its path. "Sorry about this!" I shout as I drive the sword through the tentacle and into the wood before leaping from the mast. Spindla manages to catch me and bring me safely to the deck moments before there is a bright flash and a thunderous boom. The lightning followed the path of least resistance: that being through the sword, down the kraken's tentacle, and into the kraken's body before dispersing in the water.
The ringing in my ears slowly gave way to a blood curdling scream as the sizzling tentacle fell useless to the deck before being slowly dragged into the water. The kraken apparently survived the strike but has given up its grip on the boat. As the tentacles disappear into the water and the ship bobs back to its normal sitting position in the water, it appears the fight is over. For a moment I am in disbelief that my plan worked but I slowly begin to laugh as I am overcome by giddiness at my victory. I faced this monster girl and came out victorious not through the merits of TNA or Felisha's crew but through my own. I am proud of my accomplishment and want to know if others are as impressed with what I did as I am. I quickly turn to Merry and for a moment the storm does not seem to matter as she returns my excited smile with her own. We throw our arms wide open and run to embrace each other.
"That was amazing!" Veronica shouts as she suddenly embraces me herself. "How did you know that was going to work!?"
Merry and I were both surprised by Veronica's sudden interruption. Merry puffs her cheeks in frustration as she pries me from Veronica's arms. "I'm the one who is going to praise darling for what he did!"
"I don't even care." Veronica laughs with a light in her eyes I've never seen. "You really do know how to use lightning! I've never seen anything like that!"
I would be lying if I said the praise was not buttering me up. I scratch my head with a laugh. "Well, what can I say?" But before I can get to full of myself Felisha walks up to me and slams her forehead into mine.
"You asshole!" She shouts as she picks me up from the ground and point up. "Look at what you've done!"
As I look up it is not hard to see why she is pissed. The main mast has been damage by the tentacle's frantic search for me. But even more evident is the state of the main sail. The extreme heat caused by the lightning strike burned a significant portion of the main sail that continues to steam in the torrential rain. My once proud victory was now stained with a tinge of regret. "Sorry, it can't be helped."
"Bullshit!" She shoves me away. "Why do you think I give my orders?! Why do you…" Felisha suddenly stops her rant. After a moment even I can hear the rumbling in the distance. "No, no, no, no, no! Don't tell me…!" In a panic Felisha runs to what remains of the railing, I quickly follow. What I see defies belief, it is as if the sea itself has ripped open into a huge whirlpool. "The fucking kraken knows hydromancy!" She rushes up to the helm as she shouts her orders. "Open up those sails! We are getting out of here now!"
"But captain, the sail is…" Spindla tries to warn before she is cutoff.
"I know!" Felisha shouts as she glares at me. "We will just have to hope the sail holds." Working as fast as they can, the crew lowers the sails to use the full power of the gale force winds. The ship quickly picks up speed, leaping over waves as the ship plows forward. "Hold on!" Making a hard turn to follow the flow of the whirlpool, Felisha plans to use the momentum of the ship to slingshot it out the other side. But just as it looks like the plan will work Spindla's fears are realized. The main sail, weakened from its burns, tears under the force of the winds until a large portion is ripped off. "Shit!" The secton of the sail that is intact catches the wind and forcefully turns the ship toward the center of the massive whirlpool. The ship leans at a terrifying angle as it is pulled into the vortex. Everyone is forced to hang on for dear life, everyone except Felisha. She leaps to my location and digs her hind claws into the deck to steady herself. With a horrible glare she lifts me into the air. "I will not lose my ship over a man!" With merciless strength she hurls me into the mouth of the whirlpool. I am slammed by a wall of rushing water as I rapidly spin down the funnel of water sinking deeper and deeper into the sea until the rapid spinning causes me to lose consciousness.
