Desperately Seeking Sally
Chapter FiveAs our blades clashed amidst the sounds of the fighting around us, Iago and I both stumbled back a little from the impact.
Recovering first, I lunged for Iago, but he deflected my blade and I stumbled past him. I turned around to find Iago running towards me, and he leapt to slash at me, discarding subtlety for strength.
I smiled as I reached for my last pistol, in a holster on the back of my waist. Drawing it, I fired it at point-blank range, just in time to avoid being decapitated by Iago, who fell to the deck.
I was surprised to see him get up, albeit shakily, and I ran towards him with my sword. He deflected my sword upwards, but I managed to punch him in the chest, sending him stumbling back and wheezing.
Not allowing him to recover, I kicked him in the chest, and as he tried to get up, I pointed my sword at his chest, and he reluctantly yielded.
"Stand down!" Iago shouted to his men, who also reluctantly dropped their weapons and surrendered to my men. Then he asked me: "Who are you?"
"My name is Matthew Exeter. We're here to get back Mr. Sullivan's missing cargo." I answered, and Iago's eyes widened.
"I've heard of you – it's an honor to be defeated by one so famous." Iago said.
A few minutes later, we agreed to spare them in exchange for Mr. Sullivan's missing cargo, and Bonnie soon emerged from the below the Golden Horn's deck, followed by some of the men, who were carrying the cargo. "Ah, here's Mr. Sullivan's missing cargo! Let's get it back to him."
Leaving Iago and the crew of the Golden Horn to repair their ship, we sailed back to Port Regal, where I and my trusted associates walked to the Savoy Mercantile, where Sullivan and Gilbert were still behind the counter. "You're back. Did you find the shipment?"
"I've already arranged for it to be brought here." I answered as I nodded, and Gilbert cried: "Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen!"
"Enough, I say! Matthew, you've pulled us out of a hard spot. Here, take this as a token of our sincere thanks." Sullivan said as he handed me a bag of gold.
"Thank you, but what do you know about Mustang Sally? Have you seen her?" I asked.
"Yes, we've seen her. She visited us a few weeks ago." Sullivan answered.
"What a lady fair to see! Mustang Sally, the pearl of piracy! But I fear she's lost – oh sorrow!" Gilbert cried, and he continued on with: "Condemned to sit in solemn silence in a dull dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a lifelong lock."
"Enough! Sally came to these skies to free a prisoner from Fort Elena, but was captured and is now a prisoner there herself." Sullivan said.
"She was working with a pirate friend of ours. His ship is moored some ways from here, inside a great cave carved to look like a monster."
"I've seen the cave before. It's to the east of here." I answered. We returned to the Aquila to sail east, where we entered through the mouth of the monster into the cave.
The inside of the cave had giant stone statues reaching from the roof down into the water below, and we soon spotted a Marleybonian ship with a Cat mermaid figurehead, the brass letters on its bow reading: "Catspaw."
A white-furred Cat wearing a captain's garb and a black two-cornered hat with a Jolly Roger: a white cat face with two white paw prints to its side, stood on the quarterdeck, and he shouted: "Ahoy, Captain! Meow, meow, meow, this is quite the honor!"
As the Aquila's sails were furled, she drew to a halt beside the Catspaw, and I was invited onto the quarterdeck by her captain, who introduced himself as Catbeard, and the Dog standing next to him as his first mate, Mr. Norrington.
"My name is Matthew Exeter. It's a pleasure to meet you." I said as I shook Catbeard's paw.
"I've heard of you – you're the one who found Old Gunn's treasure. Well played! You're quite the rogue, aren't you?" Catbeard asked.
Ratbeard then pushed past the others and said belligerently: "Well, well, if it isn't Captain Kitty himself. Tell me, are you still a stinking coward?"
"Hello again, Ratbeard, it's nice to see you too." Catbeard said calmly. Then to me, he said: "Captain, I've heard you were the trusting sort, but I had no idea. Do you keep this one out of mercy or pity?"
I glanced at Ratbeard, and then I shrugged, answering with: "Perhaps a little of both?"
"I'll rip your ears off! Let me at him! Why you…" Ratbeard said, but Rena jerked him back by his coat. "Shut up! We need to focus on finding Sally!"
"Ah, you're looking for Sally." Catbeard said, nodding. "She was working with me to free a prisoner from Fort Elena. Now she's trapped there, poor thing."
"What prisoner?" I asked.
"Now that's a secret. Can I trust you?" Catbeard asked. I nodded, and I turned around to see the others nod and glare at Ratbeard, who reluctantly did the same. "I think I can. Gortez hired Sally and me to free none other than Napoleguin himself!"
All of us, especially the older ones, gasped. You see, years ago, Polaris, led by Emperor Napoleguin, launched a great war against Marleybone, Valencia, and Monquista, and Napoleguin would've won if it weren't for Marleybone's staunch resolve and Valencia's new clockwork Armada.
The war and its aftermath was a wild, lawless time in the Skyways. Colonies collapsed into anarchy or fell to raiders. Mercenary ship captains constantly switched allegiances, and in time, some of these captains refused to follow any nation, and thus, first Pirates were born.
Anyway, as it was dinnertime, Napoleguin had invited us to his quarters for dinner, and we eagerly leaned forward a little as Mr. Norrington removed the cover off the silver platter in the middle of the table to reveal…
"Pickled herring, are you serious?!" Rena almost shouted, but I pulled her back down into her seat. "Quiet!"
"It's much tastier than it looks, actually. I know, I know, it has a reputation for being salty and overpowering." Catbeard said.
"But if you find the right pairing flavors, it can be an absolutely delightful foundation for morning brunch. Mr. Norrington and I swear by it." Catbeard said, and his first mate nodded.
Although I didn't much like pickled herring myself, I didn't want to be rude, so I made an effort to pick at my plate, and it actually wasn't that bad, although it wasn't my favorite. Catbeard leaned back in his chair with a glass of sparkling water, having already finished.
"Where to begin… Some say Napoleguin is the most dangerous mind in the Spiral. I don't know about that, but I can tell you he's a military genius." Catbeard began.
"And surprisingly short. Oh, but please don't tell him I said that! He has this thing about his height and wearing tall hats and, uh, you know what? Forget that I said anything."
"You have been to Polaris, right?" All of us except for Jack shook our heads. "No? Oh my, well, it's a lovely place if you like glaciers… and penguins… and pickled herring."
"Well, you do know that he managed to climb from shipping clerk to Emperor of Polaris in only ten years? It's true. Granted, the Penguin Revolution helped, but that's still a very impressive track record, and once he became Emperor, oh my! That's when it turned scandalous!"
"He rebuilt the Polarian navy from the ground up and attacked all of his allies at once. Valencia, Marleybone, Monquista, the greatest military powers in the Spiral. Ha! How's that for ambition - crazy, right?" Catbeard asked as he looked at me.
"By the way, I absolutely love those pants. So flattering! Where did you find them?" Catbeard asked as he leaned forward eagerly.
Caught off-guard by the question, I answered nervously with: "Um… it was tailored for me by Terrance Paisley at the Port Regal Tailors."
Catbeard nodded, and he said: "I have so much trouble finding pants that fit; they're always too tight around the hips. It's a curse. I have my mother's tail."
I cleared my throat, and Catbeard said: "What's that? Oh, Napoleguin. Well, he was betrayed, of course."
"Betrayed? How was Napoleguin betrayed?" I asked. The history books at the Radens' bookshop never did seem to go into the details.
"Oh, I'm sorry; I assumed you knew the rest." Catbeard said. "Marleybone started a revolt in Napoleguin's backyard, and Valencia unleashed that Clockwork Armada. They turned the tide. Napoleguin was captured and imprisoned here, at Fort Elena."
"Fort Elena is also where they're holding our friend, Mustang Sally and I have to say, it's an absolute beast of a prison: thick walls, stout gates, huge guns, and an army of guards."
"Gortez and I intend to free Napoleguin. It's a crazy idea, I know, but Gortez wants Napoleguin to win his little civil war in Monquista. As for me, well, my fee will keep me and Mr. Norrington in pickled herring for the rest of our days."
"So that's the arrangement. I get you into that prison to free your friend. You bring Napoleguin back here to me."
"I'm hiring you to start a war. It's a prestigious line of work, with a long and glorious tradition. You'll start tomorrow by attacking ten Marleybone ships. Report back once my countrymen are well riled up."
We thanked Catbeard and Mr. Norrington for the dinner, and we headed back to the Aquila to go to bed. The next morning, after breakfast, the Aquila sailed out of Catbeard's lair.
"Marleybonian ships are on us, captain!" Richard Clutterbuck shouted from his perch atop the starboard railing as he pointed at a Royal Navy patrol consisting of three gunboats led by a frigate.
"We'll sink the gunboats in one broadside." I said to Rena, and then to the men, I shouted: "Make ready!"
Richard's men fired their guns, and the three gunboats went down, leaving only the frigate, which exposed her starboard side to us and fired her own guns. "All hands down!"
We ducked down to avoid the cannonballs, sparks, and splinters that were flying everywhere, and the frigate passed us, we stood up to make ready.
The Aquila and the frigate circled each other like wolves as both sides hurried to reload their guns first, but we had a special surprise for the frigate.
The Aquila fired heated shot at the frigate just as she fired round shot at us, and soon the frigate was set alight, and as she burned, she fell down into the clouds, never to be seen again.
David Clutterbuck on the port railing spotted another Marleybonian gunboat sailing towards us, and it cut in front of us and fired its guns at the Aquila's bow.
The swivel guns swerved to fire at the gunboat, and she sank beneath the clouds. Then David shouted: "MAN-OF-WAR, CAPTAIN!"
I turned to look at the approaching man-of-war, escorted by four frigates. This was bad. Though we had sunk a Monquistan fleet like this one, the Royal Navy was no joke. Before the Armada came to power, they were the ones hunting down the pirates.
We turned so that the Aquila's starboard side was level with the frigate farthest from the man-of-war on the right, and fired, causing heavy damage.
The man-of-war and her escorts turned to port, so that their port guns were aimed at the stretch of sky in front of the Aquila's bow.
The Aquila couldn't turn sharp enough to avoid the first frigate's broadside, but we fired our own broadside in return, sinking her to the cheers of the men.
"Blast her to pieces, men!" I shouted to the men, who cheered again as we turned to sail towards the man-of-war and her escorts.