Chapter 16; Taking a chance
Isabela Captain of the Siren'sCall II, admiral of the Felicisima armada (self-appointed)
Oden Ironborn sailor
Yara Greyjoy Master of ships on the small council of the south kingdom, commander of the royal navy, Queen of the Iron Islands
It was another night. She had found herself unable to sleep, instead walking the camp. She saw one of her crew seated before a fire that had gone out, his chin on his knees. He had been there for a while and looked to have fallen asleep. Sleeping outside a tent without a fire to warm you in this weather was not a good idea, so she went to wake him and have him relight his fire. But when she shook him he was limp, falling on his back on the ground. He had fallen asleep as she had thought, but after many hours in the cold that sleep had deepened into death, unnoticed by any others in the crew. Yara sighed. They needed to be more careful than this. This had to stop. She would have to start organizing her people into groups of twos and threes, so they could watch over each other and ensure this did not happen to any more of them. This had been such a young fellow too, with his whole life ahead of him. A true shame…
She called another crew member to help her, and they carried the dead one to the edges of the camp. He would remain here until they could carry him to the edge of the ice and give him a proper sendoff to the Drowned God's kingdom come the morning. Once they were done Yara remained behind, looking at the body. This one was the sixth one they had lost while trapped here. She had to wonder if the rest of them would be joining them in time. At least she had heard it was one of the better ways to go. After a certain point you did not feel the cold anymore. You just fell asleep, never to wake. And as your body sent the last of its heat to the surface to fight off the end you could actually feel rather warm in your final moments.
Those were still her musings when she noticed something. There were lights, in the opposite direction from the camp. Too bright, too low, too close together and of the wrong color to be stars. Most importantly the lights were moving together as a group, never varying in their distance from each other. The lights of a ship. They had to be.
That realization sent her running back inside the camp.
"There's a ship, there's a ship! Look." She shouted to the crew, waking those that had been sleeping.
"We need to catch their attention. Light torches and get ready to shout as loudly as you can." She told them as they gathered around her.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Ma'am? Might not be friends out there. That could be a Qunari ship for all we know." Oden cautioned.
It was enough to make her pause to think. "…If it's an enemy ship this is going to end real quick. But if we stay quiet and let that ship go there is a very real chance our ship will sink or remain stuck exactly where she is now. In which case we are all going to freeze to death eventually. I'd say we might as well take our chances. Besides, they might notice us anyway, what with our campfires and all." She said finally.
They crew did not object to that sentiment and went to gather the torches. She herself picked up one and lit it from one of the campfires. Then they hastened to the edge of the ice as close to this new ship as possible. Once there she began waving her torch and shouting as loud as she could, hoping that her voice would carry far enough over the water: "Here! Hey! Over here! Heere!"
The other crew members joined her effort filling the night with clamor. For a while it seemed that nothing was happening. Then Yara noticed the lights shifting as the ship changed course. It was hard to say for certain, but it looked like the ship was heading straight for them now. As the ship came closer she was able to make out more of its shape. She was relieved to note it was not a Qunari vessel. Wrong size and shape to be even one of their smaller transport ships. The others had come to the same conclusion, their shouts turning to cheers.
"Alright, spread out a little, along the edges of the ice so they can see where it goes. We don't want them to crash."
The ship slowed as it came closer, then dropped anchor just as it reached the edge if the ice. Now that the ship was here she realized there was something familiar about it, though she could not put her finger on it. It was not until a familiar individual appeared in the torchlight that the realization hit her:
"Isabela!?"
"Hey there! Heard you needed some help! We came as quickly as we could!" The pirate said, grinning. A rope was thrown over the side of the ship and Isabela slid down it, then strutted to Yara, still smiling widely. The two embraced briefly, Yara taking a moment to return it, Isabela unexpectedly showing up here not quite computing properly. When they parted Isabela noticed Yara's expression and her smile vanished. "What?"
"We've been stranded here… our ship damaged. Days of just trying to survive. Part of me was so sure we would not make it. Some of us didn't. And suddenly… here you are… to save us." Yara explained. "Where did you come from? The last time we spoke you were going to Bear Island. And then you were to hunt the Qunari. How did you know to come here instead? Even if you knew what had happened already, how did you know where to look? Or that there was anything to find?"
"That's… going to be a rather weird explanation actually. There is this mage advising King Jon that tipped me off. I don't rightly know how it all worked but someone else had somehow… seen what had happened and informed him. And he told me. He told me that you needed help and where to come look for you." Isabela said.
"Someone had seen it? And second hand information like that was enough to bring you all the way here?" Yara asked. She had heard rumors of the King's cousin having abilities like this, but until now she had not paid attention to what sounded like wild tales.
"I'll admit it was an odd source that I didn't know what to think of. But the King for his part seemed to take it seriously. And considering what I was told I couldn't just leave this be without looking into it. I had to be sure. I figured that if it was all hogwash I'd lose a bit of my time, that's all. Based on what you said coming here was the right call." Isabela said.
Yara gave a dry laugh. "Without a doubt. We were seriously at the end of our means here."
"Thank you." She then added sincerely.
"Can your ship fit us all? It's not as big as the Seadancer." She asked next.
"Well I'm not going to be leaving anyone behind because there isn't enough room. We'll fit you in somehow. Might get a little cramped though." Isabela said. "Plus… we might not have to cram you all on my ship for very long. There is another option. You see, on the way here we came across something very interesting. Something I want to show you.
Yara raised her eyebrow, wondering what the pirate was going on about.
Isabela insufferably wanted to keep it a surprise, so she did not learn it before dawn. In the morning Isabela had one of her boats bring them to an area dotted with icebergs amidst the fields of ice, clumped together by the storms. What they found there took Yara's breath away.
"A dreadnought?" She asked, cautiously peering over the lip of an iceberg they had climbed with a bunch of others from their crews.
"Yep. Stuck, just like your ship. Only their hull looks to be intact." Isabela said.
"In all probability this is the same dreadnought that chased us here." Yara said. "They have no idea we're here?"
"They probably have seen my ship when we came here. At first I thought this might be your ship, so I came to investigate. I realized my mistake soon enough to keep out of cannon range. But we were running with lights on and everything, so if we saw them they probably saw us. But they lost sight of your ship a while ago. They have no reason to think you're anywhere here. And I don't think they're expecting my ship to come back. What lone ship would be stupid enough to take on a dreadnought on its own after all?" Isabela explained.
"You didn't bring me here just for show. This was the other option you mentioned. You're not actually suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Yara said.
"It would be extremely risky, I know. But if we manage to take their ship intact, think what a prize it would make. And it's not just the ship that we stand to gain. Their explosive powder is something that no other nation has been able to figure out how to make, though many have tried. But if we managed to secure some of it… I'm sure there would be people smart enough to figure out the formula from there. Their ship is alone, stuck in ice and most likely not expecting an attack. We might never get a better chance to hit the Oxmen."
Yara bit her lip, considering. "That would be quite a prize indeed. One could even say game changing. Still… it's a big ship, with a crew of hundreds. Odds are they outnumber even our combined force. And even if only some of them are the actual horn heads, many of them will also be tougher than you average human. And they have cannons, which they can fire on anyone and anything attacking from the outside. All that could prove too much even for both our crews."
"It could, aye. You're very right about that. This is a high risk, high reward situation if ever I've seen one. It's your war, so it's up to you if you want to try this. If you think the risk is too great I'm all for just sailing away and getting you home. I just thought you should know that this was an option." Isabela said.
"But if we choose to try this you and your crew would be with us?" Yara asked.
"I could hardly let you do this on your own after sailing all this way just to get you. And I already promised to help you fight the Qunari. So long as this is not a suicide proposition I'm might as well start it with these ones." Isabela said. "To be honest, if I was asked to make this choice I'd say this is too risky, but I'm selfish and have no particular stakes in this war beyond personal gains. But I know what this could mean for your Kingdoms, and I know it matters to you. If you want this... I'll help you." She added.
"Good. Thanks." Yara said, then turned her attention back to the enemy vessel. She remained deep in thought, contemplating the choice before her.
"…If we can have the Qunari ship and their powder for our own, to make use of and to take a closer look at so we can learn to make it ourselves… that could change everything. Not just in this war, but in every war we might have to fight in the future. That's worth the danger." She finally decided. Isabela nodded grimly.
"We will need to plan this very carefully. We'll need to get most of their crew before they spot us. By the time we are spotted we should already be amongst them, so we can fight them while they're still confused and disoriented. Without that this could end up a disaster. Surprise is the key. We'll hit them in the night, so the darkness can mask our approach." She added.
"The biggest problem initially will be how high the hull is from the ice. These damn ice rafts will keep my ship from getting close enough to board, so we'll have to go in on foot. It will be like scaling the walls of a castle." Isabela commented.
Yara turned to the other crewmen nearby. "Take a look around. Find out about as much as you can about the area surrounding the dreadnought. But be sure you aren't seen when you do. No need to put the Oxmen on alert."
"Isabela, if there is anything else that can help us, knowledge or equipment, now would be a very good time to share." She told the pirate.
When their scouting was done they returned to Isabela's ship to inform their people of their intent. That day until nightfall they spent planning and preparing for the battle. They tried to think of every possible thing that could give them an edge in this fight. They considered all the stages of their assault with care, planning for every possible development that came into their mind. Isabela for one was someone who preferred to make plans on the fly and go with her gut, but even she understood that this time it would not be enough. So she too did what she could to help.
At nightfall their plan went into action. The Siren's Call II brought them as close as possible without risking being noticed. The rest of the way they walked, keeping as silent as possible. A skeleton crew of Isabela's remained behind to watch over the ship, accompanied those few of Yara's not in a state fit for fighting. Everyone else had been brought on the mission. Yara hoped it would be enough.
The lights on the dreadnought were there to guide them to their target, other than that they moved in darkness. Some might have thought the enemy's lights to be a problem, but Yara knew that for the moment they were actually an advantage to her side. They robbed the crew of the ship of their night vision, blinding them to everything beyond the perimeter illuminated by the lights.
As they got closer Yara became more and more convinced the enemy had not noticed them and were not expecting an attack, just as Isabela had predicted. Had they seen them, she was certain the Qunari would have taken a shot at them by now. And she saw very little movement on the upper deck, a handful of night guards probably. She tried to see if there was movement in the dreadnought's crow's nest, but saw no one there. One more indication that the enemy was not expecting company. It was a good beginning. Now if only they could keep it that way for long enough…
She stopped her force a respectable distance away, then set forward with a smaller group armed with bows and grappling hooks. These were the best shots from both crews, vital for what she had planned. They climbed the iceberg from earlier, daggers and the special shoes that had made while stuck helping them ascend. From the top they had a clear line of sight to the enemy ships and were well within the range of their bows.
"Nock arrows." She told them quietly.
Yara took a look over the edge of the iceberg, counting the number of guards patrolling the upper deck. Five, six, seven, eight, all of them the horned Qunari. She continued to observe for a while longer, to establish the patrol routes of the enemy and ensure there were no guards she had missed. Then she turned to the closest archer, an elf from Isabela's crew.
"First one from the right. Wait for my word." She whispered to him, pointing out the enemy she wanted targeted.
"Second one from the right. Wait for my ford." She told the next archer, again pointing out the target. And so she continued on until each archer had been assigned a target to take out.
"…Now!" She then whispered sharply. All the archers moved as one, drawing their bows and firing on their enemies. She had picked these archers well. Not of them missed their target. The deck guards were dead before they had a chance to utter even a syllable in warning.
Yara allowed herself a brief smile. A good beginning indeed.
"You, go tell Isabela to start moving the main force onwards." She told one of the archers, keeping her voice low as before. "The rest of you, let's get moving. We need to get onboard and establish a foothold before anyone happens on the corpses we made."
They descended from the iceberg and started running towards the dreadnought. Once they reached the edge of the hull it was time for their grappling hooks, the hooks wrapped in cloth to help reduce the noise brought from throwing them. Soon enough they had the first rope lines attached and began ascending their shoes as useful climbing on wood as on ice.
Yara was the first to reach the deck, seeking cover from potential hostile eyes immediately. Once out of sight she removed her boots, leaving only foot wrappings on her feet. It continued to be unpleasantly cold to do this, but this allowed her to move more silently. The others of her vanguard team reached the deck as well, following suite. She and a few others spread out, moving to cover the entrances leading to the lower decks of this enormous vessel. Others set about turning off the lanterns, extending the cover of darkness here. The rest were helping the main group still approaching over the ice. The first of the main group to come onboard brought rope ladders, helping the less able climbers along, hastening the process further. The more of their people they could get on the dreadnought without being noticed, the better.
The process was undertaken in complete silence. No one uttered a word and sought to avoid making loud noises at all costs. Their plan of attack had been thoroughly discussed amongst the crews, so all of them knew what they were required to do nevertheless.
She was still guarding one of the entrances when he heard footsteps coming from behind the door. Someone ascending a flight of stairs. Walking, not in a rush. Not attempting to die either. She immediately took position to be behind the door.
The door creaked open moments later, a young human man in Qunari gear stepping through, yawning. That yawn died in his throat when his eyes met the scene on the deck. For a split second he was too confused to do anything. In that brief instant she darted to him from behind, one hand clamping over his mouth, the other brought a dagger to his throat. She cut his throat to the bone and as his body became limp she lowered him to the deck. The man was alive for a few moments longer, looking at her with frightened eyes, trying to speak without success, while a pool of red grew around his head. Then he was still, the light leaving his eyes. Yare looked at the entrance to see if others were following in his footsteps, but there were none.
Yara sighed. That was a close call. Being discovered right now would have been too soon. Good thing they had been watching the entrances. She regarded the dead man for a moment longer. This was the first time she had seen a human fighting for the Oxmen, though of course she had heard that the Qunari had other races working for them. A young lad. Calling him a man was almost an exaggeration. She wondered why he had come here? Had he heard something, not suspecting the cause and had come to investigate? Or had he merely arrived for his watch, to relieve someone else so they could get some sleep? She also found herself wondering if this was someone brought here from the Qunari homeland, or if he was one of the people from Bear Island, recently converted to the Qun and pressed into service here?
She supposed those questions didn't matter anymore. Wherever he was from, he had ended up on the wrong side of this war and that had now cost him everything. Not the first young man her blades had ended. Most likely not the last either.
After a while Yara decided enough were present to proceed inside the ship. "Let's get going. Get as deep inside the vessel as you can and take out as many enemies as possible without raising the alarm. Don't bother to try taking prisoners. Not going to happen this time around. Remember to make use of the potions Isabela gave us to give you an edge. And make use of any Qunari weapons that could help us in this fight. Most importantly locate where they have stored their powder and secure that place."
Isabela had told her how much the Qunari valued their weapon. The philosophy they lived by demanded they protect the powder to the last of them to keep it from falling into the hands of any other nation. If the Twin Kingdoms forces in this battle managed to gain the upper hand, the Qunari might be driven to desperate measures. Isabela had also visited the story of what the Qunari had done when their ship was beset by a Kraken. It had been glorious to know that the creature House Greyjoy had chosen for their sigil had made an appearance, but it also showcased how far the Oxmen were willing to go. So controlling the access to the powder storage was not only about securing their prize, but potentially a question of life and death as well.
They proceeded below decks, one group coming with her, the rest going through the other entrances on the ship. Without incident they passed through one of the gun decks, where rows of cannons waited. Next they came to a room full of occupied hammocks, the snores of sleeping crewmen all around.
Yara stopped and crouched. From her belt she took out a vial wrapped in cloth. She nodded to the closest four of her people who did the same. As one they opened the vials and sent them rolling across the floor. The liquid inside the vials spilled onto the deck and started to transform into a gas with a soft hissing sound. Even a small whiff of the gas was enough to make her feel woozy before the antidote in her veins kicked in.
These vials were Isabela's crew's contribution to help win this fight, imported from Thedas and saved for exceptionally difficult circumstances, which this certainly was. There were several different sorts for different situations. This one was made to make an opponent fall asleep. When used on someone already sleeping it deepened their sleep almost to a coma, ensuring they would not wake no matter what. It was perfect for this scenario. Isabela's crew had assured her that against humans, elves or dwarves the substance worked like a wonder. They were less certain how it would affect Qunari physiology, but the hope was that it would at least make them less effective. Thankfully Isabela's crew also had the antidote on hand, so their side would not be affected.
They waited for a while to let the gas take effect, then set to work cutting the throats of the sleepers. Most of them never stirred, their sleep ending up being eternal. But as they had half expected some of the Qunari reacted somewhat differently. Many of them slept as deeply as the rest, but others woke. Fortunately even those that did had been made slow and groggy by the gas, barely able to comprehend the situation much less fight back. They too were cut down without any trouble at all.
Yara had just started to think they might be able to take the ships without actually having to fight when it all went to hell. Killing the half-awake Qunari must have caused more noise than they had thought. A dozen more of them suddenly barged into the room through the opposite door, armed and alert.
"Teth-a! Bas! Bas! Vinek kathas!" One of them shouted as loud as possible on seeing what was happening in the room.
"Shit! Attack! Attack!" Yara shouted, drawing her weapons. Sneaking about had yielded all that it could for her side. Now it was time to fight.
She blocked the blow of the first Qunari to attack her and jammed her ax in his chest. The Qunari did not have their usual warpaint on so that blow was enough to kill the Qunari outright. Next to her one of her side went down from a thrown javelin. She cursed and snatched another vial from her belt, this time picking one not wrapped in cloth. She threw it at the Qunari, the fragile glass shattering on impact. The cloud thus released made the enemy fighters stumble back, covering their face with their hands, howling as their eyes burned with what she had been told felt like vinegar poured in your eyes. She knew the substance to only have a brief period of effectiveness, so she closed the distance and hit the closest on the head while they were disoriented. She killed two more that way. The others with her got the rest. One of the Qunari managed to recover just in time to kill another one of her crew before being killed in turn.
With a moment to breathe they could hear shouts and sounds of fighting all around him. The battle had definitely started in earnest now.
"Let's get moving! Plenty more where these came from! Let's take 'em out!" She ordered and rushed forward.
As shipboard battles often were, fighting on the dreadnought proved to be chaotic business. Her groups moved from area to area, battling the enemy when they encountered them occasionally running into groups of allies, joining forces with them. Even caught completely by surprise the enemy proved to be an imposing opponent. Unless incapacitated each of the horned Qunari were able to take down several fighters before falling. With the other Qunari crewmen things were a bit more even, thought they too were well trained and putting up a spirited defense. Many more from her side were lost. Had their foe been prepared Yara suspected their attack would have been crushed in short order. She was more than grateful that Isabela had had these alchemical concoctions to contribute. They had saved many lives already and were keeping the enemy off balance, allowing her side to press forward. Such useful substances. Maybe she should see about importing more from Thedas later on? Perhaps make them standard equipment on all Iron Islander ships? Yes, that would be very good…
Little by little the forces of the Twin Kingdoms started to get the upper hand. The enemy began to become sparser as more of them fell to combat, deck after deck cleared and secured by the attackers. The remaining opposition was pushed towards the bottom of the ship. Yet Yara knew they could not relax until the dreadnought was completely cleansed of enemies, down to the last sailor.
They finally fought their way to the lowest reaches of the ship, where the Qunari had stored their supplies as well as several rooms loaded to the brim with stones to ensure the ship displaced enough water so winds would not knock it over. As they worked their way through the crates and barrels they caught no immediate sight of the surviving enemies. Their pace slowed a fraction. Sight lines were limited amongst all this cargo. A good place for their enemy to stage an ambush.
Suddenly there was a rolling sound from the right. A metal ball with a flaming cord attached to it came into view from behind a stack of crates. She had already seen enough of Qunari weapons to guess the purpose of this one.
"Down!" She shouted, throwing herself and the ally closest to her to the ground.
The explosion of the grenade was not large, but the shards of metal that were sent flying nonetheless slew several of those that were with her. By some dumb luck she escaped with a few cuts and momentary loss of her hearing. The one she had pushed down was alive as well. She was just picking herself up from the floor when another grenade made an appearance. Thinking quickly she snatched this one and tossed it back the way it had come and took cover behind the crates. Her hearing had not yet returned by the time it went off, but she did see a flash of light around the corner.
Those that had survived pressed on and saw the effects the tossed back grenade had done. Two Qunari soldiers lay in a pool of blood, their bodies shredded by shrapnel. A third one lay next to them nursing his wounds, too injured to fight or flee. For a moment Yara considered taking pity, then thought better of it. If this one survived his wounds he would only cause trouble later. No prisoners, that had been agreed on. She gave him the mercy of an ax to the skull instead. With that done she stopped for a moment to inspect them, searching for something useful. She had used up all the remaining alchemical vials fighting her way this far, but with luck…
And true enough, her search turned up two more Qunari grenades, as well as flint and tinder to set them alight. These could come in handy…
Isabela found her then, appearing with more of their crews in tow. "There you are. Good. Thought you should know everything above and behind us looks to be secure now. Just the stuff ahead left now." Said the pirate.
"Then we have almost done it. But it looks like the Qunari are starting to get their shit together at long last. They sent these few here with grenades, probably to slow us down. I expect we'll find a more organized defense of some kind ahead for their final stand. Let's put an end to this." Yara said.
Isabela nodded and they proceeded forward. They arrived to the final section of the hold still in Qunari hands. The Oxmen had hastily put up a barricade from available cargo, stretching from one side of the hold to another. The space in front of the barricade had been largely cleared of cover, though the Oxmen had not had time to clear all of the cargo. In front of a reinforced door that had to lead to the powder store Yara spied a Qunari soldier taking cover behind the barricade, pointing a hollow metal cylinder at them. It looked like a Qunari cannon, but small enough for a lone Qunari to handle it.
"Damn! Clear the line of fire! Out of the way!" Yara shouted as she saw the soldier get ready to fire.
She and Isabela dove for cover just as the cannon discharged, making her ears ring for the second time that night. She would have expected a single cannoball to sweep through the ship. Instead several small holes were blasted into the woodwork all around, and into the attackers closest to the cannon who didn't take cover in time. Others from their crews followed, trying to rush the cannoneer while he was reloading. But the Qunari had handed his weapon to someone out of view, lifting a new cannon its place, firing it immediately.
The floor was now littered with their allies. Silence descended, the moans of the dying the only sound to be heard. A mist of foul smelling smoke lingered in the air, limiting visibility. Yara and Isabela remained huddled behind the crates they had taken cover behind. Some distance to the side Yara spotted a couple others, too afraid to move. All others had withdrawn out of sight of the cannon.
"Oh, bugger it all." Isabela snarled quietly, her hand on a red mark that had appeared on her arm.
"How bad?" Yara asked, concerned.
"I'll live, I think. Just a flesh wound. Stings like mad though." Isabela replied through clenched teeth. "Now what? How are we getting past that? We can't just force our way through. We'd lose too many, if we could do it at all." She asked then.
Yara considered, then remembered the grenades she had taken, showing them to Isabela. "These might do the trick. I'll need to get them right where the cannon is, on the far side of the barricade. Can't risk missing my throw, or we're fucked. I'll need to get closer."
"How? You'll be shot the moment you show yourself." Isabela protested.
"The gunner can't see everywhere. There are blind spots. Especially with all this smoke. And for the moment they don't know either of us are alive." Yara said.
"Maybe I should go? I'm quicker than you." Isabela suggested.
"You're injured. I'll handle this. I'm not going to argue about it." Yara said. "But you could make this easier by providing a distraction. Shout at the Oxmen or something, keep the attention on yourself while I sneak in." She added.
Isabela took a deep breath. "Ok. I'll do that."
"Yara." She said just as the Iron Islanders arm just as she was about to get going. "Good luck."
"Thanks. Going to be needed." Yara said.
As Yara was circling around the far side Isabela shouted around the corner at the cannon: "Hey! Assholes! I think you missed a few of us."
Alerted by her shouting, the gun fired for a third time. Yara took cover from the flying bullets and the chips of wood that were sent flying, then started crawling towards the barricade under the cover of a fresh blanket of smoke.
Isabela meanwhile was laughing mockingly at their enemy. "You really ought to learn how to aim that thing better. How many bullets per shot in that toy of yours? Twenty? Thirty? And you bloody idiots still can't land a solid hit on me! You'd think your precious Qun would train you better. Show's what that is worth."
"Basra scum! Your attack on this vessel will not go unanswered. The Qun demands your lives for this offense!" A shout came back.
"Yeah, yeah! Qun demands this, Qun demands that, blah, blah, blah! Do you people have any notion how tiresome it is to listen to you yammer on and on about that? The demands of your bloody Qun don't meant squat now." She retorted.
"The fact is I've beaten you tonight. Only a handful of you left I'd wager. You'd have attacked us already if there were more of you. True, you might hold us off for a time with that thing of yours. But eventually we'll get you. Or maybe I won't have to. If I decide to just walk away it's not like the few of you would be enough to sail this ship anywhere. Maybe I'll make sure of that. Have my people smash all the boats onboard and axe the bottom of the ship, leave you here to drown? Not like you could stop us. Whatever I decide, I've already won this. Messed up your people and your plans gloriously. The second time in this life I've managed to do that." She continued.
"The second time? Explain yourself Basra!" The Qunari demanded.
"Oh, that's right! With all this sneaking about and murdering your crews in their beds you probably did not have time to figure out who was attacking you. Well, I wouldn't deny you the chance to learn the name of the one who kicked all your asses. It's Isabela. As in Captain Isabela. You've heard of me, right? Sure you have! The one that stole your so called tome of Koslun? The one your Arishok tried to chase down, only to have his dreadnought smashed against the rocks? Who was then trapped in Kirkwall with what was left of his crew? Most of whom he got killed in a stupid attempt to take of over the city? Who himself was cut down by Hawke? That's right, you stupid lumps. That's me. I'm right here. And I've cost your Qun another dreadnought and crew. What say you to that?" She taunted.
"You… it's you!" The Qunari gasped. "Animal! You will pay for your crimes! All of them! We will make it so!" The Qunari shouted.
"Will you now? Let's see how that goes for you." She replied with a smirk.
While this exchange was going on Yara had managed to sneak close enough. She lit both grenades and tossed them over the barricade, then dove to the floor again, covering her ears. There was a shout of warning in Qunlat before the grenades went off. Immediately afterwards she stood up and vaulted over the barricade.
Isabela had guessed correctly in predicting that only a handful of the Qunari were left. Caught in the blast of the two grenades, most of them were dead or dying now. One was just coherent enough to make a clumsy stab at her with a spear, but she easily turned aside that attack and buried her ax in his chest.
"The cannon is down! Move forward!" Yara shouted, hoping to catch the attention of her forces.
That was when she spotted movement ahead of her. One last Qunari stood in the doorway leading to the powder store, bloodied but alive. There was just enough time for their eyes to meet before the Qunari slammed the door shut.
"Danm!" She shouted and charged in after him. Fortunately the door could only be locked from the outside. Barging amongst the rows of barrels she caught no sign of her enemy. Cautiously she moved amongst the rows, her weapon at the ready, eyes searching for her target. She had to find him, and quickly.
Despite her caution she had no time to react when the Qunari soldier rushed at her. He slammed her head painfully against the nearby support column, and she crumbled to her knees. Twice she tried to wipe at him with her ax, both attempts blocked by his sword. Then a sword pommel hit her collarbone, hard, leaving her sprawled on the floor. She lay there stunned until a large hand picked her by the throat and lifted her up. Her feet weren't even touching the ground.
"You may have killed us, bas, but this ship and the gaatlock will not be you prizes. Better they be destroyed than allowed to fall into your hands. My fellow Qunari can at least take solace that the thief who stole the Tome of Koslun shall be no more." He told her. She recognized his voice as the same one that had been arguing with Isabela earlier.
He threw her down again, and she saw the lit match cord in his hands.
"No, don't…" She said weakly, unable to stop him. Just as she thought it would all be over a throwing knife severed the head of the match cord, which fell harmlessly to the floor. He stared at the remaining fragment in confusion until a second knife embedded itself in his shoulder, making him grunt.
Craning her neck Yara saw that Isabela had entered the room as well, holding a dagger in her good arm now.
Growling, the Qunari yanked free the knife in his shoulder and stepped over Yara, towards the pirate, thinking Yara still incapactated. But by that time Yara had recovered herself. She saw her ax nearby, so she grabbed it and sunk it deep in the back of his thigh. With a pained yell he collapsed to his hands and knees, dropping his sword.
"No! It cannot be allowed! I will not permit you to…" He had time to say before Isabela stepped in and cut his throat. To be safe Yara drove her ax to his back, severing his spine.
"Seriously. It's like these people only have two modes to them. Creepy silence or talk you to death." Isabela commented.
"Yara, are you alright?" She asked.
"More or less. Just a bit dazed at the moment. Bloody hells, but the Oxmen hit really hard don't they?"
"Is… is that all of them? Did we just win?" She asked then, barely believing it.
"I… think so. I think this is it." Isabela said in amazement as she came to the same realization. "Just in time too. I don't think we could have taken much more."
"Yeah, we probably would not have. But we did it. We really did it, we stole a dreadnought." Yara said.
She moved to one of the barrels and opened it. Despite her exhaustion, despite the somber mood over the lives lost, she smiled when she saw the contents. "It's here. It's really here. The Qunari powder. Barrels and barrels of the stuff. We can set aside some to be studied later and make use of the rest. And we have their ship and cannons too."
"For a while I thought we would freeze to death here, without a ship. Instead we came out of this with more than I ever dared hope. What this could mean for the war effort… there are no words. None of it would have been possible without you. Thank you." Yara said to Isabela.
"Don't forget to thank yourself. We did this together." Isabela said.
"We did." Yara said, smiling a second time.
They saw that others of their crews had gathered at the door, about to enter the room.
"Wait. Remain outside." Yara warned. She nodded to Isabela and the two exited, closing the door behind them. There Yara beheld their joint crews.
"Ladies and gentlemen… congratulations. The dreadnought is ours. We have won!" She told them, their people erupting in cheers.
She waited for them to settle down before she began to speak to them: "Right then. The stuff in the room behind me is as valuable as it is dangerous. There are some new rules I want to implement which I expect to be followed to the letter. I want at least six guards within sight of that door at all times, starting immediately. None are to enter without express permission from myself or Captain Isabela. All who wish to gain access to the room must submit to being searched first. And for anyone coming within ten meters of this room with a flame or the means to make it, the penalty will be keelhauling. Are my orders understood?"
A chorus of nods and affirmative murmurs followed.
"Very good. Your six will be the first door guards. I'll have you relieved in three hours." She told the closest. "The rest of you, search the vessel. Make sure we really are alone here."
"Listen, I could use the help of you and your crew running this dreadnought. Odds are my crew alone won't be enough to do it properly, especially when depleted." She told Isabela as the crew went to work.
"What of my ship?" Isabela asked.
"Pick a skeleton crew and have them sail it back to the Iron Islands. Once we have a chance to bring it to dock I can see about assigning this monster a full crew complement. But until then you'd all be sorely needed." Yara said.
Isabela considered, then smiled. "Sure thing. Sounds like fun. I can't wait to see the look on the Qunari's face when we turn this ship on them."
"A sight worthy of remembrance to be sure." Yara chuckled. "Hmm, I suppose now that this ship is ours we will need to think of a name for her. I doubt we want to keep the one the Qunari gave her, if they gave her one at all." She then mused.