Time to get into that outpost.
I sailed the Ballista a couple miles from Black Rock Basin, then right on cue, Hind's hull emerged from beneath the dark waves, damn even though I was expecting it, that entrance will always freak me out. I started frantically turning the steering rack, almost bumping hulls with Hind since neither of us could see well in the dark. She fired her bow chaser cannons at me, but (deliberately) mistimed her shots, missing my ship by a few feet. I club-hauled the Ballista in an acted out panic, heading as fast as I could back to the castle.
Our plan was a fairly straight forward one; since Lord Vickers now knew that Golden Hind had chased me, he had ordered his forces in the area to assist me if I ran into her again, so the men in that outpost would probably have the same orders if they thought Hind was in the area. I was going to use that fact to get into the castle. Hind and I both exchanged fire from our chaser cannons as I tried to 'get away' from her. Hoping the men in that fort would take the bait.
I rang the ship's bell to indicate distress to the men in the fort as I got closer, I could hear clamouring and shouting from the top of the fort's walls, men carrying flaming torches ran back and forth across the stone bulwark, and I could hear the tell tale signs of cannons being wheeled into place.
"So far so good." I thought, as I steered the Ballista towards the portcullis behind the fort. A cannonball from the Golden Hind hull zoomed over the deck, slamming into the wall of the fortress before embedding itself there. Hind was a good shot if that was meant to miss, but also look like she was trying to hit me, pretty scary stuff.
"Captain! We're rasing the gate! Get inside hurry!" I hear an officer shout from above me. I look up and give him a salute.
"Oh thank God! Get this bitch off my back before she tears my ship apart!" I shout back. The roar of the fort's cannons threatening to drown out my voice. I look behind me to check on Hind. Her hull surrounded on all sides by the splashes of cannonballs, a few of them find purchase, but simply bounce off her unnaturally strong armour. She fired back at the fort, smashing parts of the stonework with her own projectiles, I saw one punch straight through the wall like a knife through butter.
Her firepower and durability was incredible, she was fighting a fortress probably meant to withstand sieges from entire fleets, and it was the fortress defenders that were breaking a sweat trying to fend her off. No wonder the Tempesta are so well respected in these waters, makes me wonder just how tough the other Tempesta pirates were, since Hind didn't consider herself the strongest.
The portcullis was fully raised, allowing the Ballista inside the outpost. I could still hear cannons being fired from the tops of the castle's walls, and the sound of men yelling above me. Orders, weapon statuses, even casualty reports, thankfully no one had been killed, but debris from the impacts were knocking men out of the fight. Once the Ballista was past the steel gate guarding the entrance, it slammed closed with a metal screech. Through its bars I could see Hind's hull still circling the fort, still taking punishment from its cannons.
But once she realised I was inside, Hind stopped firing and turned away, pretending to give up on the pursuit. Upon seeing her turn to leave, the navy men gave a roaring cheer at their victory, even though the fight had only lasted a few minutes. I start panting, as if still in shock after that close call with Hind, pulling up in the fort's internal dock, almost crashing into its pier as I do so, well at least it will make my state of frantic terror look more genuine.
As I get down from the ship, one of the fort's officer's came running over to me. Trying to act as scared as I could, I fall to my knees and put a hand on my chest, trying to catch my breath.
"Easy boy, you're safe now, she's gone." He assures me, putting a hand on my shoulder as I try to calm down. Hook, line and sinker! I try to 'calm down' as I take deeper breaths, leaning on him to really sell the 'just escaped death' act.
"T-Thanks for the save...phew that was terrifying..." I reply, following him through the main doors into the fort proper.
"I suggest you rest here for the time being Captain, your ship needs patching up, and you seem very shaken, its understandable if you want to stay until we're sure she's gone." He tells me kindly. I actually feel really bad for tricking these guys, he sounds so genuine, and these men were fighting for their lives trying to save me from Hind, its still much better than the both of us tearing the place apart for real, but I still felt a little guilty.
"I appreciate the offer, sorry I'm being rude now, I'm Captain Robin, my ship is the Ballista." I tell him, gesturing back to my ship as we walked. "What's your name?"
"Commodore Harrington, of Black Rock Outpost." He replied, shaking my hand. "Normally we don't get that much excitement, so at least you've given my men something to talk about besides what Black Rock wenches they wish to fornicate with." He joked, I politely laugh with him as we make it to his office. "I've already sent a message to Lord Vickers to be informed that Golden Hind was here, his fleet is less than a day away anyway."
Oh crap...
"Wait...he was already on his way here?" I asked him, trying to mask the anxiety in my voice. He looked back at me confused, I guess I didn't hide it as well as I thought.
"He's doing an inspection of the forts around the Thalassopolis sea before he commits to hunting the Tempesta pirates, why do you ask?" He wondered, sitting down at his desk for a moment. I awkwardly rub the back of my head, laughing nervously.
"Oh uh...no reason, its just a strange coincidence, I met him in Thalasso before sailing back out here, I still have some trade to do." I honestly replied, it always helps to sprinkle a bit of truth over what you're saying whenever you're talk to some in authority, it hides any tells you have that you're lying.
"Small world it seems, anyway we must-" Harrington was cut off by a rumble from outside, it sounded far off and muffled due to the stone walls around us, but we both knew that it had to have happened in the fort itself. Harrington raised an eyebrow at me, I just shrugged in response, just then another officer ran into the room, clearly distressed.
"Apologies sir! But the East wall has collapsed, we have wounded trapped in the rubble!" he shouted. Harrington sighed and got to his feet.
"Excuse me Captain Robin, I must see to this, wait here for my return." Harrington commanded as he walked away. Damn, how much damage did Hind do out there? As soon as Harrington was out of sight, I close the door to his office. Now was my chance to get some intel.
I pull out the camera device that Hind gave me and look around the room. I open drawers and look in cupboards for anything that could tell me Vickers' plan. A map, maybe a message to Harrington, or some other document that could shed some light on his movement.
Then I saw something that I overlooked at first; an envelope that had been left on the table, with a partly broken seal. Harrington must have just been in the middle of opening it when Hind attacked the fort. I wasn't sure if it was what I was looking for, and Harrington would likely notice if I looked inside. But I needed to be sure, hopefully I wasn't prying into a letter from his wife or something. The seal looked easy enough to break, so hopefully he'll think he did it before the fight.
Carefully, I broke open what was left of the seal, and open the envelope. I take out the paper inside, my heart pounding as I try to be as stealthy as possible. I didn't want to be caught doing this after all. Once I get the whole document out of the envelope, I realise its a letter to Harrington. I quickly read the bottom of the letter to see who its from...
Its a letter from Vickers...score!
Greetings Commodore
I have received intelligence that notorious pirate: Golden Hind has been sighted in the Thalassopolis sea, I have dispatched my entire fleet to hunt her down and will be alerting every town and city in this area of the new bounty I'm placing on her head:
1,000,000 coins.
She is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Your orders are as follows:
Do not attempt to engage her alone; By all means defend yourselves and any shipping nearby if attacked, but retreat if possible.
Alert me of her whereabouts ASAP.
Keep track of her movements, but keep your distance.
Any and all other pirate activity in the Thalassopolis sea is now considered a secondary priority, that includes Echo fleet.
I have a plan to catch Hind, but I would prefer to discuss this in person, I will make haste to Black Rock basin. Godspeed Commodore.
Lord Vickers
I guess this was as good as I was going to find, I quickly take a photo of the letter, before putting it back in the envelope. As I put away the picture and camera, I accidentally knock something off the desk, hearing some scraps of paper flop to the floor, I flinch, hoping no one heard me. After a minute I see one of the guards leaning into the doorway.
"You alright mate? I heard something." He asked a little concerned. I must have looked a little pale for him to say that. I laugh nervously and rub the back of my head.
"N-nothing...I uh...just a little shaken by that fight that's all." I tell him, going over to the other side of the desk to retrieve what I knocked off. The guard gives me a small grin, looking around the room a little as he replied.
"Yeah I would be too kid, I must say nice work getting away from her like that, you're a good sailer to successfully pull of a club-haul without breaking your ship in half." Yeah I admit it, I was a little flattered by that comment, now I'm really glad we didn't just raze this place to the ground.
"Thanks, you guys were really brave to stand up to Hind to save me, she didn't...kill anyone did she?" I asked with apprehension, a little worried with what he would reply with. The guard chuckled a little before shaking his head.
"Nah, just a few bumps and bruises really, a few new holes in the walls, but nothing that a little TLC can't fix, don't worry we're all fine." He tells me. I sigh in relief, glad Hind didn't do any serious damage, then again fighting the fort wasn't her real objective, if it had...well I imagine she could just rip this thing apart if she really wanted to.
"Great to hear, hopefully I'll be able to go home soon." I tell him, putting the pieces of paper back on the desk. Thats when I realise that his face had gone red with...embarrassment? I look at him confused until I follow his gaze...it was a wanted poster on the floor, with a sketch of Golden Hind's face on it...she was doing an ahegao expression, probably teasing the poor sketcher who was capturing her mug shot at the time.
"Damn...does she ever NOT think about sex?" He asked, slightly annoyed by the poster. I almost blush with him as I look at the poster myself, tempted to comment something that might give too much away. So I just go with a safer response.
"I uh...I wouldn't know, I'm just glad she didn't catch me tonight." I tell him with a nervous chuckle, which he returned before turning around.
"Well the Commodore should return in a few minutes, he'll let you know what you can do next." He tells me before leaving. I breath a sigh of relief once he was out of ear-shot, I take a look at the picture I took, good, its clear enough to read the text on the letter, Hind should be able to work with this. I put the picture away and wait for Harrington to come back. After a few minutes he returned.
"Well, it seems Golden Hind has headed North, I suggest you head South-East for a day or so before turning back to Thalasso, she'll hopefully go far enough away for you to get home son, you're welcome to stay the night if you want to wait longer." He tells me kindly. I smile and shake my head.
"Thanks again for the save, but if she's gone I'd like to get moving as soon as I can, I hate tying up other people's resources and you guys need to fix up the place, the least I can do is get out your way as fast as possible." I reply to him. He shrugs at me with pursed lips, but gestures to the door.
"Suit yourself, we've patched a couple holes in your ship for you however, so safe trip Captain Robin." Harrington tells me as I leave. I look back and wave at him before heading back to the Ballista.
Its still night as I prepare to leave, so I wonder how far away Lord Vickers will be. There's no way he'll not be suspicious that me and Hind were in the same area twice in a row. I can't risk running into him again under these conditions, hopefully Harrington doesn't care too much to tell Vickers about me being here. Though with how badly that Lord wants to catch Hind, its not out of the question he'll want to know everything about why Hind is after me. I need to warn her...and fast!
"RAISE THE GATE!" I hear an officer yell as the Ballista approaches the portcullis. The massive metal gate creaks and groans as it rises, the sound scouring through my ears, damn this thing needs some oil badly. I sail through the entrance and give the men manning the portcullis a thumbs up as ?I sail by, the return the gesture, and I hear the gate close behind me as I clear the fort.
First I had to go South-East, if I went in any other direction they'd probably get suspicious very quickly. I deployed the sails and caught the wind, heading that way as quick as I could. I looked around the dark waters, seeing if I could see the tell-tale signs of Hind's hull under the water, bubbles, strange waves, anything. I don't think I could really them that well even if they were there, then again maybe she really did head North and is waiting for me, we didn't discuss what we'd do if the navy told me to go a specific direction.
I started to worry about the Pact if I got too far from Hind, would its magic declare me deserting her? I didn't have time to worry about that, I need to get moving before I attract attention. I just have to hope Hind doesn't think I'm trying to escape her. I set course for the South-east, keeping my eyes on the North. But I can't stay awake forever...eventually after about an hour of no contact, I set the self-steering and turn in for the night.
Later on...
Sleep didn't come.
I don't get it, I had a drink, my sheets were freshly cleaned, it wasn't cold tonight, why couldn't I get to sleep? I toss and turn on the bed for a few minutes, noting that my whole ship seemed a little too...empty. Why did I care? I've been alone at sea hundreds of times by this point and it never bothered me before.
I started to notice other things, or more specifically; I noticed things that weren't here. The smell of fresh food cooking, Hind's morning humming, the warmth of her body against mine...even the ooze that she'd leave on everything around her...no...I couldn't be...surely I wasn't...missing her already? I quietly gasped as I realised something horrible...was I developing Stockholm syndrome? This can't be happening...
I get up, and I immediately feel like I'm freezing, I knew the temperature wasn't low enough to do this so quickly, this had to be something besides just being cold. Normally when I thought of Hind, I just get annoyed, or even slightly scared. But tonight, the Ballista just felt...empty, without her around. The feeling was starting to eat at me, I could feel my anxiety and guilt start to rise the more I thought about it. I'd only been separated from her for half a day, was I going to feel like this every time we get separated? This could make any escape attempt much harder.
"Thats assuming you still want to escape her." I heard a voice tell me internally. Suddenly the idea of getting out of that Pact was looking less and less appealing by the hour. Was this the Pacts way of making sure I didn't break it?It seems Hind has other ways to restrain me besides her tentacles... those... big... strong tentacles, wrapping around me...holding me close to her...oh wow...her silky smooth skin, those big, soft, brea-~
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" I suddenly yell out loud, snapping myself out of that trance. This can't be happening, I can't actually be falling for her...can I? She's my kidnapper for Gods sake! These feelings can't be real, I need...I need a way out. I need to get the hell to the Fountain of Youth, solve the mystery of the Echo fleet, and get the hell away from Hind before I get corrupted any further. Then when I get back home, I'm going to punch Dad in the face for making me work with her.
I lay back down, and attempt to go back to sleep.