Here be Dragons!
Chapter 10
It took Rick a moment to figure out just what the hell was going on. Most of his mind was screaming Black Dragon. Until all he saw was water and couldn't immediately figure out which way was up and which way was down.
He needed to not drown so he had to get his hand on his potion of water breathing. Then his mind went to his bow which had his left hand moving into front of him so he saw it. Next he saw a potion vial in front of his face.
He really wasn't thinking clearly so he drank all of it even though he probably didn't have to. That wasn't how the potion worked. Putting it to his lips was easy; he sealed his lips around it and swallowed.
A quick check showed that he was breathing water. Now he needed to orient himself and found he was sinking and sinking fast. Next came out a swimming potion that he drank all of and released the vial. He swam for the surface.
Kate knew how to swim and she wasn't carrying all that much save that she still had her staff in one hand. Thanks to Rick's coaching her first potion was water breathing and since she was panicked over Rick she drank all of hers as well and released it. Next she needed to swim better so she drank that one, too.
Kate was on the wrong side of the Pirate ship since their ship and Rick had been on the other side so she dove deeper and went under the barely moving Pirate ship. She kept her eyes open for both Rick and that damn Black Dragon.
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Rick broke the surface and looked around. Their ship was gone and he didn't see anyone he knew or anyone really. He also didn't see that stinking Black Dragon.
What he did see was the Pirate ship and it looked to be trying to add sails.
"Dog!" Now he was worried about Dog. "DOG! DOG!" Rick was swimming in place and kept his head above water. Then he saw a splash of water, followed by another one. Suddenly Dog was dog paddling like crazy and trying to bark at him but kept swallowing water when he did.
Rick put his bow over his shoulder, reached out to grab Dog and hold him with his head above water while he kicked like mad to stay above water. He pulled out another water breathing potion and force fed it to Dog then let go of him.
It took Dog a minute to figure out he wasn't drowning when he barked at Rick, very happy to see him. "I'm happy to see you, too. …Now where is Kate?" That had Rick spinning in place though the Pirate ship was still really close. For all he knew she was still on it fighting Pirates.
Then suddenly she erupted out of the water right in front of him. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" Kate jumped at him to wrap her arms around him which forced both of them under water. She kissed him for all she was worth. She'd been scared out of her mind that she'd lost him, that her heart was going to break. They'd been married for such a short time.
Then she figured out what she'd done and let go of him. Both of them kicked for the surface. "DOG!" Kate was happy to see him, too. She didn't want to swamp him like she had Rick so his kiss was going to have to wait.
"Where did the Black Dragon go? Where is everyone else?" Kate looked around and didn't see anyone. All she saw was the Pirate ship sitting there.
"I haven't seen anyone or the Black Dragon. Someone on the Pirate ship blew a horn and the damn thing showed up and broke our ship in two. I'm afraid everyone is drowned." Rick wasn't sure but it was looking like it.
"SHIT!" She was starting to like them. The captain maybe not so much but his crew, while a little rough around the edges, weren't so bad.
"Now what?" All she saw was the Pirate ship and water. She thought she saw a glimpse of land in one direction but that was it.
"I may not have enough swim to reach land. I drank all of my breathe water potion and gave one to Dog. That leaves me with two of those but no more swimming potions." Rick thought he had a problem.
"I drank all of mine, too. I still have two water breathing potions though." Kate wasn't sure what to do, either.
"You jumped onto the Pirate ship!" Rick still wasn't sure what to think about that.
"I'm a Monk. I can only do close hand-to-hand combat. I thought up a way to get onto their ship so I took it. One potion of Spider Climb and I was in position. I was doing pretty good too until that damn Black Dragon showed up. So give me a break." She had been kicking ass until then.
They both watched as their two ropes are pulled back onto the ship as a balista bolt started going up the side of the Pirate ship.
"I've got an idea." Rick kept kicking to stay above water, reached into his backpack, and took out his rope. It worked just like Kate's rope that was gone now. He commanded it to reach out and wrap itself around the tiller and tie a knot.
"Grab hold of me and keep one hand on the rope. I'll hold onto Dog with my other arm." Rick moved over to Dog, wrapped his arm around him, and kept kicking.
Rick felt Kate grab hold of him and saw her grab the rope. "What are we doing?"
"We're going to let the Pirate ship tow us to their base then we'll sneak in and capture the base. Hopefully find a small enough boat even if it is a row boat and head for land."
"Eliminate the Pirate base that almost killed all of us. I like it. Hopefully our water breathing potions will last long enough for this." Kate approved his plan and waited.
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They were still being towed by the Pirate ship. Since it was a sailing ship it kept zigzagging back and forth to make headway.
"How are you doing?" Rick questioned as he took a peek at Dog who looked to be smiling and had his tongue hanging out. Leave it to Dog to be enjoying this.
"Still fine. Not sure I ever want to do this again, though." Kate tried for a joke and heard Rick laugh a little.
"Problem is I can't see where we are going or if we are getting close." Rick wasn't sure just when to let go or if he even should.
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"I'm getting tired. And my hand is cramping," Kate suddenly said after both of them had been silent for a while.
Rick only had two arms and two hands. One for the rope and one for Dog, who still looked to be enjoying it. "Try and hang on. We have to be getting close."
Kate felt her hand lose its grip on the rope, then frantically groped for it in an attempt to get another hand hold until she managed to grab it again.
Rick was fine still but even he had limits and knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer. Then suddenly the Pirate ship slowed way down. "About time." Rick really needed to flex his hand and arms. He was at least still breathing water and not drowning.
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Eventually the Pirate ship slowed down so much that they both had to kick to stay above water. Being this slow allowed them both to look around. "They've dropped a lot of sails to be this slow."
"I see rock." Kate nodded in that direction.
Sure enough he saw rock as well. "There low to the water. Do you see it?" Rick asked her.
"The small cave entrance? Yes, I see it," Kate confirmed.
"Good, that's where we will be swimming underwater to. Get ready." Rick commanded the rope to untie its knot and suddenly they stopped. Rick started to drop since he weighed too much and his swim potion had long since worn off.
He could still swim and with Kate's help they swam underwater while breathing water.
Sure enough it was a small opening, just large enough for them to enter one at a time. What they found was a dark cave. Then Kate brought out a stone that was wrapped up in a small skin that had a Continual Light spell on it.
There was just enough of a gap to get fresh air and a sandy space that was about ten feet by maybe eight feet wide. Just enough to give each of them a little space to rest in.
"Well that was fun." Rick laughed at himself which had Kate laughing since it had been anything but.
"Got a plan for this?" Kate queried since she had one already.
"Rest, wait for night then swim out and into their base. Then carefully and stealthily we go around and kill or capture everyone and take possession of this base. Search everywhere and hopefully find a small boat we can use since I don't have enough water breathing to reach land."
Kate was thinking of going now, however if they could catch most of them sleeping that would be better. Plus she could use the rest.
"Any meat left for Dog? We can eat travel rations and we have water." Rick watched her pull out a full fresh bag filled with meat; she gave some to Dog who initially tried to eat it whole before ripping it to pieces.
Rick got out his collapsible water bowl and gave him some water. That was followed by travel rations for himself. Soon both of them were nibbling on travel rations.
"Summoned Black Dragon, huh? Much like our Bronze Dragon?" Kate questioned since they had been doing fine until then.
"Pretty much. I'm betting it was a last result. The last thing a Pirate ship wants to do is sink the ship he wants to board and steal its cargo and maybe the ship as well," Rick confirmed. "Unless he blows it again we have nothing to worry about from him. Hopefully he can't again for a week like mine." It was the one silver lining they had save for them being alive.
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"It looks like it might be getting dark," Rick said since he had no idea which direction their opening was pointed.
"We wait. We want them asleep, not just still tired and mad," Kate added getting Rick to nod in agreement.
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"Kill the light and go take a look." Kate could swim better since he had her backpack.
Rick watched her leave. She was gone for a long while which was starting to worry him. Then to his relief she was back. She tried to make a space between them and took Rick's dagger to draw with.
"Cave opening about a hundred forty feet wide and tall enough for a ship. Out here there's a ballista with a guard on a rock. He has this little bridge to reach it behind him.
"Back here is the ship. I'm guessing it's docked but I didn't go that far. There's this cheap wood bridge from here to here. One end has another ballista with another guard. Beyond him to our left is a wide beach with a row boat.
"Now around here on our side is where the bridge ends. Here there's an opening in the rock about twenty-five feet above the water. Just around the corner is another sand beach where it looks like they're building their own ship. It's just a hull right now but I would say about the same size as our ship. It's on stilts above the sand.
"After that I don't know. The ship does have some lights in it. I saw only a few others but they were scattered. Looked like mostly torches since they flickered." Kate ended her report.
Rick looked it over and tried to think. "What I would really like is to get rid of this man on the rock first and use his bridge to get closer. How high off the water is he?"
"Fifteen to twenty feet. He's all alone with no light."
"If you can climb it silently you could take him. Dog and I will wait in the water after we take a touch of water breathing. You come and get us. Then cross his bridge and take it from there."
"I can take him. He won't make a sound. Not even a splash." Kate was sure of it.
"Water breathing potion." Rick needed to search for his last one only to find Kate handing him one.
"I still have two and you don't need all of it," Kate reminded him. She watched him force a little down Dog then sipped some for himself and handed it back to her so she could take a sip before putting it away.
"Let's go." Rick let Kate go first and once outside Rick had hold of Dog while Kate helped him swim and not sink like a rock.
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Rick and Dog waited and breathed water as Kate slowly climbed. A moment later and he saw her and up he went. Rick pushed Dog up to her then let her help him climb up, not that he needed it.
Rick saw part of what she saw and let her go first. She weighed less and was far more silent. There was a larger rock that the bridge went to followed by another bridge. They went across each bridge one at at time just to be safe and not have it snap on them.
Fifteen feet down a set of stone man-made steps they were on a beach with foot prints headed to an opening in the wall.
Kate stopped him when she saw an opening about fifteen feet up the wall, however, she didn't see anyone so she went forward and waved for him follow her.
There was one step here and an opening that Kate looked into but didn't see anyone. Just inside about fifteen feet with a slight bend to the left she saw a small table with goblets on it, an unlit torch, and two openings. One to the right and one to the left.
Rick took left while she took right. Each went up a set of stone man-made steps to an opening in the wall but there was no one. "Lookouts during the day. Probably have a hand held alarm to alert the others," Rick whispered.
That left the narrow opening ahead of them that had stone steps, again man-made, that went up about ten feet. It ended in a T intersection. Rick and Dog again went left while Kate went right.
Rick saw a light and decided to rush whoever it was. He found a guard half asleep sitting in a chair, leaning on a table. He fully woke up just in time to see Rick punch his face then a dagger went into his chest. A quick look around showed him two rusted metal and locked doors that were made of rusted metal slats. A light down each side showed a number of doors just like this one. "Prison. …I'll be back later guys." Rick easily found the key on the guard.
Kate found a large open room that held two large tables and a number of crates on the far wall. There were three openings on the far wall and one to her right. She had to wait for Rick. However, Dog blinked into place next to her first and instantly growled. That was all Kate needed to know.
Rick joined her and watched her point out all four openings as they both listened to Dog softly growl. "This ship is to our right so that space can't be all that big. We go there first." Rick let her go first.
"I found a prison. Killed the guard and took his key," Rick said quietly.
Kate went as silently as she could. She looked into the dark room, then went up the stone steps for about ten feet, and inside but found no one. Rick was right behind her until Dog blinked into the place in front of her.
"Quarters for just one. We passed a mini kitchen on the way here," Kate murmured.
"Main meeting room and dining room. Probably food stuffs in the crates and barrels." Rick looked behind him at the three openings. Back out of this room. "I'll take the one on the left, you take the one in the middle. Do what you think you have to do and are comfortable with." Rick tried to be as careful as he could to the far left opening.
They each find stone steps going up about ten feet and ending in a dark room that was filled with beds. Rick saw two bunk beds with an opening to his right. Kate saw the same with an opening to her left.
Rick saw each lower bunk had someone though the upper bunk was empty. He knelt down beside the one on the left and took out his dagger. Killing someone in their sleep didn't sit well with him. Instead he placed his dagger tip first at his Adam's apple and poked him in his ribs. His eyes opened then opened wide. Instantly Rick plunged his dagger into his throat, killing him. He gave him a chance as minimal as it was. He did the same for the other man.
Kate also found someone in each of the lower bunks. Kate moved to the head of the one on the right and carefully worked an arm around his neck. Then poked him in the cheek, watched his eyes open, squeezed until she snapped his neck. And repeated it for the other man.
They met in the middle where there were four empty bunk beds. "Must have killed more than I thought," Rick said.
Kate wanted to know how he did those fireballs but now was not the time.
The other opening turned out to be a narrow tunnel just tall enough for Rick to walk though that curved to the right after about eighty feet. It opened up onto a wide beach about ten feet down. In front of them across the water was the Pirate ship. Neither of them saw anyone on deck at the moment. There was another tunnel to their left. They also saw a set of stone steps on the right that went up about twenty to twenty-five feet.
"I'm thinking the other ballista and the guard," Kate whispered. "As well as that bridge to the far side."
"Then how did the ship get in here if there is a bridge twenty-five feet off the water?" Rick was puzzled. "Go right and up first. We need to get rid of the guards first. We don't want any alarms getting sounded." Rick followed her up the stairs.
Up there they found a winch mechanism. A quick study suggested that the bridge was lowered into the water and allowed the ship to sail over the bridge. How they got the ship out now that it was in was a challenge for later.
To the right were more stone steps. However this guard was more alert and was reaching for something on his neck. Kate rushed him and took both of them over the side and splashed into the water. In the water Kate grappled with him and quickly realized he didn't have her strength, nor could he breathe water. A few moments later she let his body float down into the dark. She swam to the surface and let Rick help her up.
"That was close," Kate commented quietly. Next they backtracked to the other tunnel. Kate entered it first though her boots were still squeaking since they were wet. It was a tunnel that curved to the right and went almost 200 feet, then stone steps that went down 10 feet.
Here they found the Pirate ship docked to a wood dock with a gangplank leading up to the ship. "Ship or go around?" Rick questions. Then they both heard someone walking on the ship that had Dog growling softly and they all retreated.
"I'm betting everyone else might be on the ship except for those that might be across the way that work on building their new ship. Just getting to them means getting across unnoticed by the guard on the ship." Rick saw a problem they needed to solve.