Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry it has taken me so long to update I hope to make it up to you, well here we go.
Karl sat in a tavern in some town in the middle of nowhere. It had been a fortnight since he and Wilhelmina had dealt with the necromancer. After they had returned to the ghoul village, where he had retrieved his swords and kept his promise to the creatures, they had parted. She had had other business to attend to and she had no orders from Marx for him at the time.
He had offered to accompany her, something he would never have done before, and she had smiled gratefully at him but had declined. After she had left Karl, who now remembered that every time he made plans they seemed to attract trouble, just picked a direction and started walking. Not even bothering to determine what direction he was headed he just went and was promptly lost in short order. Or would have been, he told himself, if he had been going somewhere specific, since he did not care where he was going he was not lost, he told himself that a lot in the days that followed.
Rather to his surprise he was neither molested nor attacked the entire time he was in the woods. And the town that he had stumbled upon appeared peaceful. He had arrived shortly after sunrise and had headed straight for the tavern for the tavern and ordered sausages and beer. As he ate his meal he looked about the room; the locals seemed, if not an overly friendly lot, at least not overly hostile. He had told them that he had been attacked by wolves and his horse had run off, this had seemed to satisfy them and he had been left to eat in peace.
As he ate he considered his options. He was tired of wandering around in the woods and was ready for a change. As he had come near the village he had seen that it was situated by a large river. Enquires among the villagers had informed him that it was connected to the Aver River, which flowed northward to join with the River Reik at the city of Nuln.
That settled it for Karl; he decided he would return north. He would seek to procure passage on the barge he had seen docked as he came into the town and spare himself the walking. Finishing the meal he got up and headed towards the docks. The barge was about fifty feet long and low, no more than five feet above the water line. Clearly the thing was made to carry cargo and cared little for the comfort of those aboard.
The crew was in the process of loading the barge with supplies under the watch of a man of middle years. The man was dressed slightly better than those around him, his shoulder-length blond hair was streaked with gray and his skin was darkened by years of sun and weather. He turned to look at Karl as he drew near.
"What do you want?" He demanded of Karl.
"Could you use another man?" Karl asked him.
"You ever been on a river barge before boy?" The man demanded, in a tone of voice which suggested that he already knew the answer.
"No sir." Karl responded and the man snorted.
"I thought not. Normally I would tell you to be off but as of now I am short of men. They say that there are pirates on the river, worse than usual. That scare you boy?" Karl slapped his long sword.
"No." He replied simply. The man smiled thinly.
"No, I didn't think so. Alright, you're hired. I am Albrec, captain of this scow. Now go help the others load up and if I find I made a mistake by hiring you I'll correct it by throwing you overboard. We clear boy?" The wolf growled in anger and wanted to attack the man but Karl held his peace and simply nodded and got to work.
They left the down headed upriver shortly before sundown. Karl had never been on a boat before but he quickly got used to the constant feeling of motion beneath his feet. The crew, most of whom had worked together for some time, were a rather insular lot and did not seem eager to let Karl into their circle. This was fine with Karl who did not intent to sail with them again once they reached their final destination, Marienburg; the only concession he made to them was to let them cheat him out of a small amount at dice. For all the talk of pirates the only people they saw the first week of the trip were other barges and a river patrol craft. That changed during the second week.
A cry from the lookout in the middle of the night roused the crew, many who slept on the deck, from sleep. The current took them near a bend in the river and from the heavy foliage on the bank several small craft emerged and made for the barge. Albrec appeared on deck, short sword and dirk in hand, cursing and bellowing at the crew to arm themselves. While all the crew was armed in one form or another and most had been in fights before, the barge was no warship and the crew not soldiers. Most were armed only with daggers, long knives or clubs and Karl's pistol was the only black powder weapon on the craft.
Karl ran to the edge of the barge and put his pistol to good use. Using his wolven eyes to see far better in the dark than the eyes of the human crew he aimed his pistol at the nearest craft and emptied all the barrels into it. Smoke flew back into his eyes and several figures fell from the boat but they kept coming.
"Stand by to repel boarders!" Albrec yelled at the crew.
Karl, not having time to reload, thrust the pistol back in his belt and drew his swords. The crew on either side of him backed away to give him room. The men in the craft, seeing one figure alone on the barge, made for him. As the boat came alongside Karl thrust and slashed at them as they attempted to jump from their craft and pull themselves aboard. Karl was still learning to use two blades and occasionally cursed as they banged against each other; still, they usually found their target and soon the air was filled with the screams of the wounded and dying.
Elsewhere on the barge things were no going so well. Albrec was doing fine, having cut down several of the attackers and several others of the crew were doing well but must were not. They were tough men but they were not trained for combat and the pirates clearly the more experienced. Also, the pirates were used to fighting as a team and the crew were not. This enabled the pirates to separate the crew from each other and take them down one at a time.
Having dealt with the ones coming at him Karl barreled into a group of pirates that were finishing off the crew they were fighting. They did not see him coming and he crashed into them before a warning could be given. He lashed out left and right with both weapons and head-butted those in front of him. The pirates were fierce and dangerous but they were nowhere near as dangerous as the Orcs and ghouls that he had faced in the past. Also, these men fought for profit and when it became clear that there was no profit in the fight those that could fled to their boats and made good their escape. The crew cheered and then turned to the wounded. Their own they treated as best they could, the wounded pirates had their throats cut and were thrown overboard.
The rest of trip was without incident and two and a half weeks later they arrived Marienburg. It was the strangest city Karl had ever seen. It was the first time that he had been to the coast. The whole place smelled of fish, oil, tar and smells he could not recognize. But what captivated him the most was the sea. He had never seen the sea before and he stood near the harbor for a while just staring at it; it was so vast it seemed to go on forever. He decided then and there he would travel by sea. He did not care where he went he just wanted to go somewhere.
Walking down to one of the taverns near the docks to look for work. Entering a large, crowded tavern he looked around. The place was full of men dressed in sailor's garb, many drinking heavily. Navigating his way to the bar he flagged down the barman and ordered beer. As the man placed the drink in front of him Karl tugged at his sleeve. "You know any captains looking for crew?" The barmen looked him up and down.
"If you don't mind me saying so, you don't look to me much like a seaman."
"I am not," Karl admitted; "But I have some experience fighting pirates on the river and wondered if you knew anyone who was in need of that." Again the barman looked him up and down, paying particular attention to his weapons.
"Aye, you have the look of a fighter about you. Lots of captains looking for marines, Manann-cursed pirates grow bolder by the season. Make yourself comfortable, I see what I can find." Karl dropped a coin on the counter and the man nodded his gratitude. He sat there for about an hour nursing a few beers and eating a fish stew, which he decided he did not like as much as beef and sausages. Finally the barman signaled him to come over. The man took him to a table where several men were sitting. The one on the right was a thin faced man of about thirty with thinning red hair and sun-browned skin. The one on the right was a mountain of a man, Karl guested that when the man was standing he would be near seven feet tall. His hair was blond and fell in braids past his shoulders. In the middle sat a man of about fifty with thinning black hair and a great bushy moustache, streaked through with gray. He wore a doublet of bright red velvet, stretched over a protruding belly.
"So," the man in the middle said; "Ludwig here says you looking to sign on my ship."
"Yes sir." Karl responded.
"Ha," the small man said; "He looks like a nancy boy to me. I bet those oversized razors he's carrying are just for show." The large man chuckled in response to the other man's jest. Karl saw this for what it was; they were waiting to see how he would respond to it. Without a word he lunged forward, allowing just a little bit of the wolf out. He grabbed the man by the collar and jerked the man out of his chair and slammed him down onto the table. As he held the man down with his right hand he pulled his short sword from its scabbard and held it to the man's throat.
"Trust me," he said quietly; "I know how to use these razors." The other two men had remained in their seats; they now grinned in unison.
"Not bad boy," the large man said; "You're strong, but you need more than strength, some better eyes for one." Karl was confused, till he looked down and saw that the small man was holding a knife against his stomach. Karl released him and the man scrambled off the table and resumed his seat.
"Olaf?" The middle man asked. The man looked at Karl for a moment and then nodded his head. "Heinz?" The middle man said to the small man. The man shrugged and then nodded. "Alright, you're hired." The middle man said. "I am Henry Holtz, captain of the Wave Dancer. This man," he said indicating the large man; "Is Olaf, he's in charge of the ship's fighters, your boss. You cross him he buries his axe in your head.
"This is Heinz," he said indicating the small man; "My mate." Karl nodded.
"Karl." He said simply. Holtz nodded in acknowledgement.
"Alright Karl, the Dancer sails in the morning for Tilea. Be there drunk or sober. Now leave us to our drinks." Karl nodded again and departed.
The following morning the Wave Dancer left port. She was a three mast square-sailed craft. It did not seem possible that it would resemble a dancer in any way. But whatever else could be said about Holtz he was a master at the helm and it seemed he could find even the smallest puff of wind and make the ship skim across the surface of the water. Karl wished he could say the same about his stomach. He soon discovered he was not a natural seaman and spent the first day heaving his guts over the side. This drew some ribbing from the rest of the crew, most of it good natured.
In addition to Karl there were about a dozen other men hired as marines; for the most part men of Marienburg though some, like Olaf, had the look of more exotic lands to them. Some kept to themselves but Karl soon struck up a friendship with Walter, a man a few years older than Karl. He was a native of Marienburg and had made this trip several times. While he had laughed at Karl's seasickness but he had done so without malice and he and Karl had started talking, it soon became apparent that they both shared a fondness for adventure. Walter told stories of the sea, of fierce storms and battles with pirates. Karl told a highly altered version of his own adventures.
Things went smoothly for the first week out of port. Then a heavy fog rolled in and the wind died down. Karl could not tell why but the air seemed to grow tense and he had a very bad feeling about the situation. Walter came up to him as he stood at the railing of the ship.
"I don't like this, something doesn't feel right." He said to his friend.
"Ba," Walter said with a dismissive wave of his hand; "All you land-lubbers are the same. If it isn't sunshine all the time you assume that the hurricane of the century is about to break." He broke off chuckling and shaking his head. Karl wished Walter was right but he could not shake the feeling that there was something in the fog watching them, something not at all friendly. Then wind came up bringing with it a new smell. He did not recognize the smell but he did not like it. Looking around he saw that the other members of crew seemed to have caught his uneasy mood.
Then the fog cleared and a cry of alarm was raised. Off to the side of ship was a second vessel. It was as different from the Wave Dancer as it was possible to be. It was sleek and low in the water with a single mast sporting a triangular sail. The sail was raised at the moment and it was being propelled by oars coming out of the hull. The ship was pitch black and gave off and air of cold malice. At the sight of it the crew raised cries of alarm and began rushing about in a frenzy fueled by fear.
"What is it?!" He asked Walter as they ran to their posts. "Who are they?"
"Druchii!" He responded, his eyes wide and his face pale. "Dark Elves!"
Author's Notes: Hello everyone. Sorry that it has been so long since I updated. I always got annoyed at people who started a story then left if for long periods of time and now I have done it to, busy with school and work among other things. Well, now I am back and will try to get these out sooner. For those who don't know think of Marienburg as Holland; Manann is the god of the seas. Well that is it for now please pray for the Americans held abroad and all who need it. Bye and may Jesus bless you all.