As I'm saying on all my fics currently, I have a week of planned for my work event and expo that I need to organise, speak at, etc. I now have the dates finally. I shall be off from Sat 23rd to Friday 29th. What this will mean for Forged Destiny is that there will be no update on Monday 25th March, but that things will continue as normal from the 1st of April.

Or will they? Aprils fools?

Nah, they'll continue.


Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Dishwasher1910

Book 8: Chapter 5


Blake saw us when the sun rose.

I assumed she did anyway, as we saw her on the horizon, and, with the sun rising into the sky from behind her, she would have had a clear view back. I wasn't sure if she would know it was us, but Captain Anders cursed and ordered his men for full sails and to take out to deeper waters where we would be faster.

We were closing in. The Wind's Fury was much faster than Shelia on the open water. Anders had promised as much but seeing proof of it was heartening.

Moving out into the deep sea meant taking a tangent, however. Instead of going directly for Blake and challenging her in the shallows, we had to sail diagonally out, away from the coastal waters. It gave her a lead once more and I found myself clutching onto the railings with white knuckles.

"We caught up once and we'll catch up again," Weiss yelled. "Stop gawking and help us!"

"Sorry!" Abandoning the railing, I hurried back to the hold where the others were busy scrubbing and cleaning or carrying supplies. Only Ren was spared the inglorious duty, and that was because he was the ship's cook.

Cleaning wasn't exactly what we'd signed up for, but according to Captain Anders it was important if we didn't want to have the food rot and see us turned around. Only so many fish could be caught while sailing at speed – most using a harpoon or a net, since the hull was cutting through the waves too quickly for fish to get interested in a line and lure. Most of the food was dried biscuits, soup and stew, and those ingredients were kept in wooden barrels on a wooden ship prone to becoming damp and waterlogged.

Running out would see us turned around and Blake gone.

"I don't see how Blake is managing to run that thing on her own!" Yang grumbled, knelt on hands and knees and running a sponge across the wooden floor. "We've got a whole crew and we're still having to chip in."

"Trade-offs," Pyrrha said between pants, lifting and running a cloth along the supply barrels to both dry and clean them. "We can sail faster with a bigger crew, but they need more food, more care and cleaner living quarters."

"Could have used a bloody portal…"

"Yes, if opening a portal on a moving vessel in the middle of the ocean were even possible. I'm the only Mage here, and while I could open one back to Vale, it would be swept away in a second. We're just moving too fast."

I guessed that was why Miss Goodwitch only opened portals with the aid of a lot of other Mages, and to set locations. Come to think of it, Archmage Ironwood's actions of opening portals both to the top of the Fang in our battle with Merlot, and to Vacuo via the enchanted scrolls, would probably require more skill and finesse than most Mages ever achieved in a lifetime.

"Don't argue, guys," Ruby mumbled. "We're closing in…"

"I know, sis. I know." Yang rolled her eyes. "Just let me bitch, okay? I was all set up for a relaxing day and a visit to a spa today. Now I'm getting blisters on my blisters scrubbing some deck and this bloody salt water is doing nothing for my skin!"

"Take it out on Blake," Nora groaned.

"I intend to!"

I laughed along and got back to scrubbing, knowing that they were all just trying to keep their spirits up. As I was. We were going to be in for hell once we got back to Beacon. Blake would get it worst, but we wouldn't be spared for sneaking out after her.

Beacon would know by now, too. They'd have noticed our absence after only a few hours, but the letter sent back to Beacon along with our mounts at Kingsport would all but confirm it and our destination. Or our perceived destination. They probably thought us stupid enough to sail all the way to the Mirage Isles.

With a sigh, I turned my thoughts away from Blake and back to the task at hand.

Thinking about her wouldn't solve our current problem.

/-/

Day passed and the sun fell once more.

We were still closing in, at least according to the Captain, but it didn't feel like it and it wasn't fast enough to my liking. Blake's ship didn't seem any closer as the sun set, and once darkness fell completely, I couldn't see it at all.

"She's cut lights," Anders said.

"Should we do the same?"

"Don't see why. Either she knows we're following, or she doesn't. If we cut ours, too, she'll know it for sure. No normal vessel cuts lights during the night."

"But she'll see us for miles!"

"And she'll what? Hide behind a tree?" Anders spread his arm out, gesturing to the wide and open sea. "You said she's a faunus; dousing the lights ain't gonna make life any harder for her, but it'll have my crew stumbling around by moonlight. If one takes a tumble, we're turning this thing around to pick them up, and that'll cost us even more time."

I grit my teeth and nodded.

"Trust in those that know the sea a little. I'm not letting her out of my sight."

He meant the ship, Shelia, not Blake. I nodded anyway, taking what comfort I could. Anders did know more than me, and if he said we were closing, then we were closing. Everything just felt so much slower on the sea. Everything took longer.

"Assuming things continue as, how long do you think it'll take us to cut her off?"

"Hmm." Anders crossed his arms and gave me a look that said he was annoyed with the line of questioning but determined to get me to shut up. "Hard to say for sure. Things take time out here. She's going to loop around the north-east coast of Mistral, and we'll have to go wider to stay in deep water. It'll look like she's getting away, but she won't be. Sooner or later, she has to take Shelia out away from the coast. At that point, we'll already be in a position to cut her off."

"How long?"

"Two days. Maybe three."

"Three whole days!?"

"Days don't mean much on the ocean. It takes that long to get from Vale to Atlas. How fast do you imagine looping around the northern edge of Mistral is? We're gated by wind, weather and the amount of sails we have. We're going as fast as we can and faster than she can."

"The longer it takes, the more at risk we are from the Mirage Isles…"

"You think I don't realise that? We're not cutting any corners, lad. I've had your Mage give us some extra wind in our sails today, but the ship isn't made for her to go all out. If the mast or boom snaps…"

"We're screwed. I get it."

"Jaune!" Nora skipped up the steps leading up to the helm and wrapped both arms around one of mine. Her smile split her face in two. "Come on, Jaune. Renny needs to speak to you about something important~"

"Can't it wait? I was talking to the Captain-"

"Nope."

"Go." The Captain waved a hand. "He's not listening to a word I'm saying as is."

I made to argue that I was, but Nora dragged me away before I could. A Barbarian's Strength was no laughing matter, and although mine could probably be close enough to match it, she had the advantage and pulled me off-balance, dragging me down the stairs and into the hold, where Ren was busy cooking dinner.

"Found him!"

"Good." Ren stirred the pot and looked at me as I was let go.

"Fine…" I rubbed my arm. "What is it you wanted me for?"

Ren shrugged. "I didn't."

"What? But Nora said-"

"I lied." The Barbarian giggled. When I made to head to the door, she stepped in front of me, cutting off my only escape. "As Ruby would say; nope!"

"Nora…"

"Nope. You're not helping anyone like you are, Jaune, and you're getting on the Captain's nerves."

"But-"

"Nope! No buts!" Nora pushed me behind the counter next to Ren and took a position on my other side, trapping me. A knife was pushed into my hand and a carrot in front of me. "We're going to stay here and cut vegetables for Ren. If it keeps you busy, then the sailors can stay busy on catching up with Blake. All you're doing is slowing them down."

My hands gripped the table's edge hard enough to make it crack.

"She's right, you know," Ren said, not once looking up from the bubbling pot. "You're distracting them. Anders has already said we'll only cut her off on the east coast, when she has to sail out into deeper water for the Mirage Isles. Expecting us to close the distance when we're still on the northern edge of Mistral is not only pointless; it's against the plan."

Growling to myself, I took hold of the carrot as if it were Raven's throat and held it down, stabbing it with the knife. As much as I hated the idea of waiting, they were right. I wasn't helping anyone and was just being a pain in the ass.

I didn't apologise.

But I think they figured out I was sorry.

Later than night, we sat in a rough circle eating the stew and telling tales to keep our spirits up.

"These carrots are really chunky…" Ruby complained. "Ew."

Tch.

No appreciation.

/-/

Having been told off for my impatience, I spent the next two days at sea staying silent. At least around the crew. I talked to the Guild obviously, and we continued working, cleaning, the ship, clothing and even scrubbing barnacles off the ropes. The weather remained calm for the most part with only a few blustery winds to deal with. Probably for the best. While Blake was experienced, she couldn't handle a storm on her own.

What was more impressive was how she kept going on her own regardless. It had been three and a half days now, and she must have slept at some point. Short naps, I had to assume, because Shelia hadn't once crashed or changed course, and the coast of Mistral wasn't exactly a straight line.

On the third evening, we overtook her.

Not close enough to do anything of course, we – further out at sea – got ahead of her as the north-east tip of Mistral appeared. When Blake cut the sharper corner across it, she was in the lead once more, but we were further out to sea. It took us longer to loop around, but now we were behind and off to the east, ready to swoop in and cut her off the moment she made a move for deeper waters.

The fourth day remained more of the same. Blake clung to the coast and we stayed far out to sea – about a horizon's length from her. The crew had better terms, but they meant nothing to us. The only thing we knew was that she was always in sight.

On the fifth day, that all changed.

Blake pulled Shelia out into deeper water, cutting towards the east.

Captain Anders called us to his quarters.

/-/

We all huddled impatiently into the Captain's quarters, around the map he had drawn out over a table, pinned down on each corner by a bronze clasp fitted onto the table's edge. No knives or daggers to hold it down as the old stories would have told. This was a professional ship with a professional crew. Trying to mimic some of that professionalism for once, I refrained from telling him to hurry up as he barked some last orders to his first mate and closed the door.

Anders came over to the table, pulled out a water flash and took a long drink. Throwing it back onto his bed, he drew forth a wooden stick marked with measurements and laid it on the map, touching a thin knife to a point.

"This represents us currently," he said, "And this, our course." He adjusted the ruler slightly, then teased the map with the tip of the knife, making a thin score on it. "Your friend is over here," he said, moving closer to the coast of Mistral. "The girl has finally decided to cut out into deeper water. She's good, I'll give her that. Not many would have been able to bring Shelia this far on their own, let alone stay ahead of us most of the way. Sadly for her, experience is only half the battle. Our new ship is just better."

Positioning the ruler along Blake's path, he scored a new line, drawing it out in the general direction she was travelling. Or as close to as could be figured out. The two lines crossed at an intersection several miles out into the open ocean, far away from the coast.

"We'll cross paths here and this is where we really need to capture her. If we miss, there's still time to hunt her down, but it'll mean a chase. Could take hours, maybe even a day if she's we'll-rested and as good as she seems to be. That'll take us out into waters that aren't really understood. We'll be in dangerous terrain."

"A chance of crashing?" Pyrrha asked.

"No. Not naturally, anyway. All the ocean is chartered by ship crews and then compiled by cartographers. A good map is worth more than a man's weight in lien, and good maps travel fast. This area." He circled around where we were due to intersect, and a little further into the ocean, "Is unknown territory. Now ask yourself, if sea charts are so profitable, why would it be unknown? Why would no one have gone out there to chart it?"

"They have," Ren said. "They just haven't returned…"

"Aye. Now, it may be sea Grimm, rocks or surprise currents, but I'm not betting on it. We know a damn lot about where the Mirage Isles aren't but have no idea where they are. But we do have a great big swathe of ocean that's unknown. Convenient, eh?"

"So, the Mirage Isles are in this area," Yang said. "Makes sense. It's Blake's destination and she's just moved out into deeper waters despite us having the edge. We're going to be fighting right on the border of their territory."

"Aye. Which is why we want to be catching her on the first meeting. No fucking around." The Captain pulled the map off the table and opened a chest, drawing out a thick coiled rope with a barbed hook on the end. Not designed for fishing – unless they were fishing for huge sea creatures. "This is our tool of the trade here. Crew all has them, and you'll be getting your own."

"Grappling hooks? That works?"

"Better than you'd think. All ships have railings if you don't want your crew, passengers or supplies to go tumbling off the edge. Land this on the deck and pull it back, and you're bound to catch onto something. Once we're secured, the heavier weight of the Wind's Fury will keep her from getting away."

"She'll cut the ropes," Weiss pointed out.

"Course she will. Anyone would. That's why the moment one of these lands, you'll be needing to land more. Then you pull like your life depends on it. Once she's close enough, it'll be your job to board and subdue her. Leave the lashing of the ship to us. Without her causing problems, we'll have it done in an hour tops and be ready to get out of there before anyone from the Mirage Isles can figure out what's going on."

"Sounds simple," I said.

"Yeah? Well, you have fun trying to land these bastards on a moving ship. Not so much an art form as a guessing game. I'll be having every member of crew joining in. Quantity over quality here." Pausing, he looked to Weiss. "You got anything that can help us?"

"Not as you might think," Weiss said. "I can cast spells to keep Blake distracted, but most Atlas Mages focus on sinking enemy ships. Not capturing them. I could create mist to hide our approach, but I think that would benefit her more than us…"

"Old-fashioned way it is," Anders said. "Hooks are in crates bolted down below the helm, and again by the masts. Get some practice if you like, but keep in mind your main job is keeping her busy."

"Got it." I took the hook, glad to finally have something to do. "We'll not let you down, Anders."

"See that you don't…"

/-/

Up close, Blake's ship was so much smaller than our own. Single mast and with a lower deck, it cut quickly through the water, but couldn't generate as much power as the larger sails of the Wind's Fury could. It wasn't so close that we could see Blake's face, but the single hooded figure on deck was visible all the same.

"What are the odds that isn't Blake?" Ruby asked nervously.

"Slim to none," Weiss replied. "Don't be foolish."

"I'm just nervous…"

"We all are," I said, hoisting a grappling hook by the rope, the metal hanging past my arm. "It's definitely her, though. Either that or we've mysteriously found another hooded figure single-handedly sailing a stolen ship to the Mirage Isles."

"I can't believe she's actually pushing this," Weiss said. "Does she honestly expect to break past us?"

I didn't think that she did, but there was no going back. If she retreated then we had already won and could hem her in against the shore, driving her onto dry land until we could catch and drag her back to Vale. As low as her odds were, the only way she was going to make it to the Mirage Isles was by running the gauntlet and breaking past us.

Blake had nothing to lose right now.

"Steady…" Anders yelled. "She's cut sails! Get ours down! We don't want to drift by."

Despite the word `cut`, the sailors instead leapt onto some ropes and began to drag them down, drawing the sails up until the mast was bare. Without the sails to catch the wind, the ship began to slow down and lurch in the water, dropping speed. Blake's smaller vessel drifted to the north.

"She's trying to slip by on the aft side!" Anders swung the wheel hard to port. "Port side! Port side!"

I had no idea what that meant, but everyone ran to the left – which was enough of a signal to me.

"Why don't they just call it left!?" Yang growled. "It has the same number of letters!"

"Argue later!" Ren said. "She's trying to outmanoeuvre us and slip by." Blake's sails fell back down, catching the wind and billowing. The front of her ship rose up out the water as she surged forward.

In a daring move, Anders swept even further to port, drawing the nose – or prow – across Blake's path. If she continued, she'd crash into the hull and damage us both, but Anders must have known she wouldn't accept that, for Blake dragged herself port as well to try and dodge. Presumably, her ship wouldn't make it to the Mirage Isles damaged.

The result was that our two vessels ended up roughly side by side, us higher up and looking down on Blake as she dashed between the sails and the wheel. Her black hair was visible now, though she had her face mask on like she had when we'd first met, covering her mouth and nose.

"THROW!" Anders yelled.

Hooks and ropes sailed through the air. Mine span a little longer, picking up speed before I let go.

I miscalculated wildly.

Anders had said it was hard, but my hook sailed well past Blake's ship and then was tugged back and behind as we sailed on by. The news was much the same for a lot of other people, and those that did land on the ship failed to find purchase and were lost. One connected, but Blake was quick to dart over and cut it, then hop back before Weiss' ice blast could catch her.

"Shit!" I growled, dragging the rope back. It was heavy and already swept back behind us, dragging across the hull of our own vessel.

"Just let go!" a nearby sailor yelled, both to me and the other Guild members. "Grab new ones!"

I was quick to comply and rush to the nearest crate, tossing several out onto the deck behind me. They were tied nearly, the ropes coiled and with a thin ribbon around them, keeping each separate. Ruby and Pyrrha grabbed a pair and ran back, along with several Sailors. Rather than waste my time trying to contribute with my crappy aim, I made sure the Sailors – more experienced than I – got restocked as quickly as they could.

Quantity certainly was our main advantage.

More hooks were thrown, and people adapted. Blake could no longer both steer her vessel and cut ropes and had to dash across her deck, slicing through those that caught on. With her Agility and Strength, she could reach them in seconds and cut through thick rope with one swing, but it still slowed her down. Every second meant her vessel was slowed and pulled into ours, and that made throwing hooks onto it easier.

"Heads up, girl!" Anders yelled, dragging us to port again.

Visibly panicked, Blake dashed back to the wheel and threw herself at it, swinging it to the left. The Shelia swept to the side and avoided a full-on collision, but not a glancing blow. Our hull scraped against hers, groaning and cracking as the two ships collided.

Immediately, Ruby was airborne.

"Forget the ropes!" Yang yelled, following her sister. "Go, go, go!"

Dashing over, I jumped over the rails as well. Blake's ship was trying to pull away again, but it had only managed a few metres. Thankfully, I'd jumped outwards and not just down, so I didn't fall into the small gap between the ships. My boots hit the deck with a loud thunk and I reached for Crocea Mors, pausing at the last second and leaving it sheathed. Blake was on the helm, hissing angrily and drawing her knives.

"Stop it, Blake!" I yelled. "You're caught. Give up and no one has to get hurt!"

"You just had to come!" she screamed back, deflecting Ruby's first attack and grabbing the Reaper by the collar. She could have stabbed her then and there, but Blake knew as much as anyone else what that might do to Ruby. Instead, she spun and hurled Ruby into Yang, who was charging up the stairs to the helm.

The Brawler caught her sister in the chest and fell back down with a cry, tumbling down and forcing Ren and Nora, just trying to climb it, to dodge back or be bowled over.

"You could have left me! Should have left me!"

Ignoring the staircase, I leapt up for the helm and caught the decking. Blake's foot stamped down, crushing my fingers, but I already had my other hand up and hauled myself over the railing. Blake's elbow caught me in the chest and knocked me back. The railing cracked.

"We're not leaving you to get yourself killed!" I rolled aside while standing, sliding along the railing and away. Blake would have followed, but had to contend with Pyrrha, who landed on the helm itself and charged in, rope in hand.

"I have to save the Mirage Isles! I have to!" Blake ducked the rope, tripped Pyrrha and kicked off her back, sailing over both my head and the helm's railing, landing back on the deck. I made to follow, but Ander's voice reached me.

"Behind the wheel! Drop the anchor!"

Behind…? I looked back and saw some strange cog-shape wooden block with poles stuck out. I'd seen the one on the main deck of the Wind's Fury and knew it both dropped and raised the anchor. Being a smaller vessel designed for minimal crew, the Shelia had hers on the helm itself.

I had no idea what to do with it, but a solid kick to the lever holding it locked in place seemed like a winning strategy. The lever snapped back, and the wheel began to turn violently, forcing me back. A loud splash off the back of the ship and a rattling of metal chains against wood told me I'd done good.

Nora and Ren guarded the way back up to the helm, leaving me to walk to the broken railing and look down on Blake, who had been pressured back to the prow of her ship by Yang, Ruby and, still on the Wind's Fury but aiming down, Weiss. I could see the anchor of the main ship being dropped as well. With a lurch and an ominous groan and creaking of wood, the two ships began to slow down, twisting to the side and drifting thanks to the tugging of the anchors.

"It's over, Blake." I said. "We're going back to Vale."

The Assassin looked like a trapped rat. Angry, spitting and obviously exhausted, there were rings around her eyes, and her eyes themselves were bloodshot. She was panting harshly, shoulders rising and falling as she waved a dagger before her, preventing any approach.

It didn't matter. With the two ships locked in place, Blake wasn't going to get to the Mirage Isles unless she wanted to swim there.

"Why?" she asked, wept. "Why couldn't you just leave me to do this? Why did you have to interfere?"

"Uh. Because it's a suicidal Quest?" Yang rebutted.

"It's my decision to make!" Blake shot back. "The Mirage Isles are my home! I have to do this! I know it's dangerous; that's why I wanted to do it alone! Why did you come? Why didn't you stay back in Vale where it's safe!?"

"Because you wouldn't sit back and let Jaune walk off to his death," Ruby yelled back angrily. "Why should we do the same when it's you?"

"Because I have to do this!"

"And we have to do this," Pyrrha said, approaching cautiously. "I hope you can understand."

Blake's hands tightened around her weapons. She could fight, but she was the only one using naked steel. Against all of us at once, she'd have to draw blood if she wanted to win. She'd have to take the step to kill or incapacitate us all. If she could go that far. For a long moment, I thought she might.

Then, with a defeated drop to her knees, Blake let her daggers fall.

"I'm sorry," I said, joining Pyrrha in binding Blake's wrists behind her. "I really am sorry."

Blake remained silent, eyes down, teeth clenched behind her mask, biting down on it and refusing to say a word.

I hadn't expected any less.

A ladder was dropped down from the Wind's Fury, and several sailors climbed down and began to attach the grappling hooks more securely, and with more care so as not to damage the other ship. Getting Blake up wasn't as big of a problem as would have been fought, as Pyrrha climbed on first and held her in place, and Blake made no effort to escape. Not that she had anywhere to go. The ladder was pulled up with Blake on it, then lowered down for us again.

Back up on the main deck, we closed ranks around Blake lest any of the crew thought it an idea to disparage or attack her. Sensing the mood, they wisely chose not to.

"If you're looking for somewhere to keep her, there's a hold in the brig." Anders said. "We're not a military vessel, so it's not a cell. More a room with a lock. She'll be comfortable enough there, and more importantly, she'll be safe."

Blake didn't say a word.

"Thank you, Captain." I nodded to him. "Will we be heading back home?"

Blake stiffened.

"Aye. Back to Mistral first, I think. We'll pick up some supplies for the journey back and I'll commission some crew to lead Shelia home. Or sell her in Mistral. We'll see. Shouldn't take a day or more – and I'm sure you can keep an eye on your friend."

"We can." I said. "We'll be fine."

"Good." He fished in his pocket and came out with a bronze key. "Here. It's down in the hold. Door by the kitchens. You can't miss it." Pushing by, he said, "I'll see to getting Shelia lashed up. Won't take an hour and we'll be on our wa-"

"CAPTAIN! SAILS! Off to Starboard. Eastwards!"

"WHAT!?" Anders rammed Ren aside and dashed to the starboard railing. The man who had yelled out, up on the crow's nest, threw down a telescope, which the Captain caught expertly. As he drew it out, the rest of us ran up to the railing, forgetting about Blake for a moment. Tied and beside Pyrrha, she too looked out over the horizon.

Evening was setting and I might have missed it but for the dancing lights. The ship's torches were lit and moving in strange patterns, almost like they were attached to a loose strip of wood being waved about. It was too far to make out details, but in these waters, I could only imagine it being one thing.

"Pirates…" Anders hissed. "I don't fucking believe it…" Leaning back, he yelled. "CUT HER LOOSE! LEAVE SHELIA AND GET BACK ON BOARD!" Throwing the telescope into my arms, the Captain ran back up to the helm and began to pull the wheel towards starboard, away from the lashed ship, which the crew were desperately trying to saw loose. "Raise anchor! Raise it!"

"How?" Ruby whispered. "We're not even close…"

"We are," Blake said. Eyes closed. "We're very close to the Mirage Isles."

"How!? I don't see anything!"

"It's called the Mirage Isles for a reason."

"Damn it." Yang cursed and stomped the deck. "Looks like we're fighting after all. Good. I've been itching to pound something's face in, and Blake didn't play nice and attack me properly."

Blake looked away, subdued.

I drew the telescope out and looked down it. The ship was closer through it. Larger than ours with three sails – two big ones and a small triangular one at the front. It had a long-nosed prow on the front that poked up above our railing by several metres. I could just make out people lining the prow, all in uniforms.

Greycloaks. A lot of them. Easily seventy. Possible more below deck. A flag hung atop the mast, a white flag with two black symbols on it. One, a curved blade not unlike Raven's, and the other a flaming torch. The flag was ringed with a black border line.

"What are they doing on the front?" Weiss asked. "Are they waving torches?"

Adjusting the telescope, I saw that my earlier guess had been right. There was a person at the front of the ship who did indeed have a torch attached to a long wooden pole. He waved it back and forth at us, then brought it down and up again suddenly. The motion repeated. "He's doing something with the torches," I said. "I don't know what."

"Signalling us." Blake was quiet. "It's a warning."

"A warning of what? That they intend to attack? What's the point of telling us?"

"So that we can signal back if we're allies and we don't attack one another. It's to stop accidents at sea between allies pirate crews."

The telescope came down. "Mirage Isle Pirate signals?"

Blake nodded.

"Do you… Do you know them?"

Her eyes closed. "Yes."

"Will you co-operate in dismissing them?" Weiss was quick to ask, voice laced with suspicion. "If you were to signal back that we're Greycloaks, we could escape unharmed. Unless you wanted us to be captured by them."

"Blake?" I asked nervously. "I know you want to save your homeland, but there's a good chance we'll be killed here. They don't have to fight us. Just sink us from a distance and we'll all drown in time."

"Or be food for the Grimm," Nora said morbidly. "Or sharks. No Qrow to save us this time…"

"Blake, please!" Ruby begged.

I felt Blake shiver through the hand I had on her shoulder. I squeezed it, trying to show my feelings through the motion. If Blake let us down now, we might be able to fight our way out, but it was a big, fat, maybe.

"Cut me free…" she whispered.

I shared a glance with Pyrrha. Nodding, the Champion brought out a knife and cut Blake's bonds. Weiss was quick to push a lit torch into the girl's hand. It was a metal and glass lantern with a torch burning in a bed of oil inside. Considering how dark it was becoming, it would be obvious to any of the pirate crew watching.

"Douse the other lights," Blake said, moving to the starboard railing with me beside her. "They need to be able to focus on just this one."

The Sailors close enough to hear were quick to do so. It wasn't dark by any means, but the single torch was now a little more obvious. Blake stood up on the railing, balancing easily with one hand on some rigging running down to it.

"Can we trust her?" Yang asked.

"Blake wouldn't betray us," I said, loud enough for Blake to hear me. "She did this because she felt she had to. I don't think she'd want us to die here for it."

The Assassin stiffened but didn't turn. Slowly, she raised the torch vertically above her.

On the approaching ship, the other torch raised to match it.

We all held our breath.

Down to the left in an arch, Blake traced a curve. Then, she cut horizontally across her body. Once it was on the other side, Blake brought her hand over it, not dousing it but making it blink past her hand for a moment. The torch then came up into the vertical position.

On the other ship, the torch mimicked it exactly. Then blinked twice.

It's working. I shared a smile with Pyrrha beside me. If Blake had done it wrong, they wouldn't be interacting back with us. "Is that it?" I asked Blake.

"That's a signal that we're Mirage Isle Pirates," she replied. Her eyes were on the other ship as the light bobbed up and down twice then spun a full circle. "They're asking our bearing."

"Why?"

"So we don't plunder the same waters."

"Tell them we're going back to Mistral."

Nodding, Blake brought the lantern to her left and bobbed it twice. I could only assume it was meant to represent a compass, with left meaning west. Back to Mistral. The Mirage ship bobbed left twice as well.

"They're going the same way?" I guessed.

"Yes. Apparently…"

"Tell them not to. If they get close, they might realise what's happening."

Blake made some more complicated motions and got some in return. Her brows furrowed and she turned back to us and shook her head. "They say they're set on a path. I'm not sure why. Maybe orders from Raven. They're signalling for us to keep sails down while they pass by in front of us."

"Is that safe?" I asked.

Anders answered. "It's not unusual… No one wants to collide on see and we already have our sails up. It's gonna look mighty odd if we reject them when they're already moving full speed." The Captain looked nervous. "I can have all the boys back away from the prow. They'll pass directly in front of us at this rate. If we're lucky, they'll keep going by." His eyes fixed on Blake. "Assuming she can be trusted…"

"I'm not lying. I'm fine with risking my own life, but not everyone else's…"

I trusted her, but I wasn't sure how many others did and how much my trust was compromised by my feelings. It had been so easy to tell Ruby whatever had happened between Blake and I was over and done with. That didn't make it true.

"There's nothing else we can do," Weiss decided, saving me from having to. "They're already moving full speed and they have more sails and a bigger crew than we do. If we turn and run, they'll know something is up and chase us down. We can't outrun them. Signal that we'll let them pass."

Nodding, Blake turned back and began to do so, tracing a full circle and blinking twice in the centre.

"Pull those sails up," Anders called out to the crew. "And keep Shelia lashed for now. Let it look like we've just boarded and taken her. Pull on your best pirate sneers and evil looks, boys." He swallowed audibly and whispered, "It's our only hope…"

As the ship approached, the signal bobbed twice, and Blake echoed it. "It's to say we've ended communications," she said. "Light all the other torches again. We've got nothing to hide."

The Sailors were quick to follow her orders, and, to my relief, the pirate ship did the same, lighting eight or so torches down each flank of its ship. The flag atop it was drawn down, hiding its piratical nature. It wasn't so close that it would pass by us with metres to spare. Probably a good hundred or so. But in naval terms, a hundred metres wasn't far off from a collision, or so I assumed. As it approached, I followed the lead of everyone else in backing up from the prow, trusting in the low light to keep our identities hidden.

Even if we didn't wear the grey cloaks, they could just assume that was because we'd ambushed another vessel. There was no reason for them to think we were anything other than Mirage Isle Pirates if we knew the correct signals and codes.

Approaching slowly the much larger ship cut through waves that lapped up across its hull. At its closest, it approached from our starboard side to our prow, ropes and wood creaking. Greycloaks stood on the railings looking down, but they didn't have their weapons drawn. I held my breath.

The ship began to pass by. Several of the crew on board it waved from a distance.

I let out a relieved sigh.

Wooden slats on the side of the ship were drawn open suddenly. Huge ballistae-like weapons were pushed out of the woodwork and aimed in our direction. My mouth fell open and I only had the sense to drag Blake down and cry out as they fired. "LOOK OUT!"

A huge metal spike drove into the prow of our ship, puncturing through the decking and locking down below in the hold. Like the grappling hooks we'd used, but bigger than a man and with thick iron chains instead of rope. Two more came, fired by the ballistae. One hit the Wind's Fury in its hull and punctured through the hold with a horrifying sound of splintering wood. The third slammed down into the deck again a little further along the left-hand side and dragged the ship into a listing position as the pirate ship pulled to Starboard, wrapping around and broadsiding us.

"BLAKE!" Yang screamed. "You said it was okay!"

"You didn't…" I whispered.

"NO!" Blake looked back, mask down and eyes wide with shock and horror. "I told them we were allies, I swear it! They signalled for peace!"

It was the look in her eyes that convinced me. Without thinking, I handed her back her weapons, which she took and stored on her person. Blake hurried to Weiss and helped her up, her being the best for ship-to-ship combat. I grabbed and hauled Pyrrha to her feet.

Another twang of the ballistae was followed by a horrifying whizzing and buzzing sound like a horde of hornets being fired at us. My eyes were drawn upward to a silvery blur that struck our smaller mast, wrapping around it and snapping the wood in two. Another shot by, missing and travelling only a few metres over my head. It was some kind of chain connected by two large metal balls, like a bola, but aimed at the sails and mast.

Judging by how easily it tore through the rigging and the drawn-up sails, I could only imagine its purpose was to hobble us. Something it had achieved in a single blow. Even assuming I could burn and melt through the chains keeping us locked together, there would be nowhere to go.

Greycloaks appeared on the railing, bows drawn.

"Weiss!" Blake yelled.

The Greycloaks fired.

"HAH!" Weiss swept Myrtenaster before her, buffeting the arrows back with a sudden gust or arctic wind. It wasn't enough to send them back by any means, but the sharp blast robbed them of momentum, knocking some down into the sea and causing others to plink down on our deck with no force behind them.

"Red flag!" one of the Sailors wailed. "It's the red flag! We're doomed!"

Looking up, I saw a new flag had been raised on the pirate ship. No emblem, no decoration, just a solid red flag that wafted in the breeze.

"Blake. Meaning?"

"Red flag for blood," Blake replied miserably. "No prisoners. No mercy. No surrender. Every member of our crew, from elderly to child, will be slaughtered without hesitation."

I drew Crocea Mors and dashed toward one of the chains. They were drawing their ship in so they could jump down and board us. If they did, it would be a massacre. Anders' crew were civilians. Traders.

"Board them first!" I yelled, climbing onto the chain and stumbling as it swayed. I held on with one hand, shimmying up. On the other chain, Blake dashed across it like she was on solid ground, weapons drawn and blood in her eyes. "Board and kill them! It's our only chance! Weiss, sink them. Kill any who try to board us!"

Ruby overtook me as I carefully made my way up the chain. The Greycloaks saw me and one aimed an arrow down at me, but it pinged off my breastplate and fell into the waves. Ruby was on them and dashing down the railing a second later, cutting through one of the ballistae before it could fire. Blake danced among the rigging, cutting it and causing the sails to swing wildly, wooden beam at the bottom swinging across and forcing several to duck for cover.

It gave me a chance to pull myself up onto the deck and take in the situation. The deck was covered in pirates and there were more down below, obviously manning the lower deck and prepared to come up and reinforce. My eyes were drawn to the helm, raised up at the back of the ship, where a single figure in a long grey overcoat drew an elegant crimson blade. He was slowly descending the staircase, his eyes locked on mine.

With Pyrrha landing beside me and dealing with several pirates at once, I raised Crocea Mors and pointed it to the pirate Captain. Looking back, he pointed his weapon towards me in turn. Immediately, the pirates in our path parted, giving me a direct line to him. I couldn't make out his name due to all the mayhem, but his Class was visible backlit against the reddening sky.

Swordmaster.

How fitting.

Crocea Mors held down and to the side, I charged in.


Argh. Pirates.

I couldn't actually give them canons with Remnant's limited technology, so I started to think of next best things, and ballistae came to mind. I'm sure ships in the Roman and Hellenic periods probably had something similar (or even catapults on some, I recall). Not sure if they had "great big iron chain ballistae bolts", but hey, creative license.


Next Chapter: 18th March

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