Tale 9: “Two Truth’s, One Lie.” – Part 12.
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Once the crew were in their places, Ruby commenced the attack on ‘The Providence Princess.’  Steering her ship so that every volley she ordered hit the masts, Ruby made quick work of the overloaded galleon.  Unsatisfied with the ease of which she stopped the enemy ship, Ruby suspected that there was more going on than she could identify. “Patricia, prepare to fire.  I am going to angle us so we can see the gun ports a wee better, I want her guns destroyed.”

“Think’n an ambush, Captain?  Fake’n their wounds as it were?”  Medusa questioned. 

“Something like that, let’s find out for damned sure.”  Ruby retorted and waited patiently for the word her cannons were ready. “Natasha, they didn’t fire a single shot…”  She paused, “...that is worrisome.”

With a few clicks and a whistle Nerice rubbed her chin and then replied. “Captain… it’s like rocks are falling off the ship.”  Nerice rubbed her temples trying to make sense of the ‘vision’ she had. “You know how sometimes a coastline with rocks in the water confuses my senses?  It’s like that.”

Intrigued by her dymate’s confusion, Ruby looked through her spyglass once more. “Oh shit.  Shit, Shit, Shit.”  Ruby quickly gave the order to fire. “They are dumping the cargo and you won’t believe what it is.”

“Try me.”  Nerice commented as the volley of cannonballs raced away from The Dancing Dagger in a foray of loud explosions.  Without the panic of an actual firefight, her cannoneers hit their mark with astounding accuracy and destroyed the galleon's defenses easily, ripping the entire side of the ship open. “Medusa, get our marines ready.  Let’s take that ship.”

“Aye, Captain.”  Medusa readily agreed. “Are you stubbornly coming with us again?”

Shaking her head and a sly smile on her face, Ruby nodded. “You know me well, Patricia.  Just be aware that the cargo they are dumping overboard…”  Ruby frowned, “...are people.”

“So a slaver?”  Nerice sighed, “That explains what was confusing me.”  Nerice made her way over to her navigation station and after feeling around for a small barrel, sat down. “Captain, the best thing we can do for them is sink the ship.”  Nerice shrugged, “They are intent on killing every last one of them, I suspect that they will start shooting the people that they can’t toss overboard.”

Noting a disgusting look on Medusa’s face, Ruby addressed both women at the same time. “They are saving the gunpowder.”  Ruby denounced, “I want every last sailor on that ship strung up by their arms to die in the sun.”  She looked at Medusa. “Slavery through marriage, or slavery through work…is still slavery.”  Ruby steered directly for the broken side of the ship. “Bring me their captain.  I have a special place for him.”

Without so much as a shot or warning cry, Ruby and her marines boarded The Providence Princess and found it completely silent. “Where is everyone?”  Ruby commented quietly. “Spread out in groups of three and report on each deck.” 

It was the waiting that bothered Ruby the most.  One at a time, runners came from the depths of the ship and announced no resistance and no crew on board.  A sudden yell from Patricia spurred Ruby into action and with the help of a marine, made her way down to the lowest hold where an iron door barred their way. “Iron?”  Ruby posed and touched the metal. “Shit.  Shit, Shit.”  She added, then looked at Patricia. “Everyone out.  Up one level.”  Ruby waved her hand, and the marines retreated up one level. “I suspect the crew is behind that door armed to the teeth.”

“A final stand.”  Patricia added and folded her arms. “Captain Ruby, with your permission, let me get a swivel gun.  We can blast our way in and the sound alone should give us enough shock value.  Although we will kill a healthy chunk of them in the blast.”

With a simple nod, Ruby approved Patricia’s plan and before long the gun had been quietly set up.  With a wave of her hand, the fuse had been lit and the tiny cannon blasted through wood on the right side of the door to a litany of screams as the iron door fell to the deck in a thunderous crash.  Intent on taking advantage of the surprise, Ruby ordered her sailors through the hole.  Intent on using her element of surprise, Ruby stepped through the hole with the complement of her marines behind her.  Initially feeling waves of heat, Ruby quickly backed out of the space, “Fall back…fall back…it’s a trap.”

Flames shot out from all directions and Ruby witnessed the fire sticking to the wood walls though it had found puddles of oil to burn.  Once the initial flash cleared from Ruby’s eye, she watched a pair of hands sweeping through the room, with wide streams of fire coming from every finger.  Satisfied that whoever it was killing the remaining crew, Ruby held her hand up to her marines. “Let them burn.”

Howls and screams came from the remaining slave crew as they burned into small mounds and then charred skeletons.  Stepping out of the remains and into the partial sunlight, an older woman peeled off the iron chains around her wrists and dropped the molten metal to the ground. “Greetings.”  She calmly spoke and ran her hands through her cherry red hair and gazed upon Ruby with a pair of equally red eyes. “Thank you.”  She paused and kicked a smoldering skeleton, “I am Hestia Frye, a gypsy out of Greece.”  She stepped clear of the wreckage. “I am an invoker…and…I owe you a debt for my freedom.”  She saluted Ruby, “Orders Captain?”

“Captain Ruby One-Eye…”  Ruby offered her hand to the gypsy woman. “...Welcome aboard.”

 Having paced around the campfire during her three little stories, Ruby finally stopped and drained yet another bottle of rum like it was water, and gave a pleasing purr after its nutty flavors passed over her tongue. “That be the sum of it all, methinks…aside from this.”  Focusing her brilliant yet intense hazel eye on the group one at a time, Ruby flashed her hallmark sly smile and then unbuttoned her pants to reveal the large scar on her leg. “Aye, come on you three.  Be serve’n your piece and let Ol’Ruby hear which one is the falsity, as it were.”

Ruby softly walked and sat down with Nerice as the three discussed the stories that they’d been presented.

{-You think they will get it, Ner-Ner?-}

{-You know Tanya, if they are smart…each one will pick a single story.  When you pick the winner, then they will know for certain.  You wonderful crazy pirate woman.-}

{-Heavenly black witch, don’t give them any hints.-}

{-What do I get if I keep my mouth shut, Tanya?-}

{-Nerice, my love…you will get a kiss, which as you know are worth an absolute fortune.-}

I intentionally left the answer out of the tale.  The fun of the Tale is the not knowing.  Feel free to post which one you believe is the lie.  I hope everyone enjoyed the Tale, as well has a little fun in the end.

-Gabrielle

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