I blinked, staring down at the small crossbow that Captain Isabella had shoved into my chest. I clutched it with my one remaining arm. “You’ve got to be joking.”

The frazzled-looking pirate Captain turned away from her far eye long enough to growl at me. “Ye can still shoot. Ain’t like you’ve got no arms.” I could barely hear her over the shouting and bustling on the deck of the Thorny Reef, her ship that I and my companions were being ferried on.

“How am I supposed to reload it?!” I shouted over the din of the ship’s crew getting ready for battle. I flapped the pinned sleeve that covered the stump of my lost left arm uselessly in demonstration.

“Ye’ve got at least one shot,” Bella said flatly. “Better make it count. Now get in line, they’re gonna be in range soon.” She nodded over the railing, in the direction she had been previously looking at. I followed her gaze.

On the horizon, I could see two ships relentlessly pursuing us.

They were definitely larger than the Reef.

It had been two days now since we had departed Caer Drarrow with our rescued hostages on board. The mood on the ship had been pretty somber despite the nominal success of our mission. There had been a number of casualties both from Bella’s crew, and…among my own companions.

I pushed that thought away. I didn’t want it lingering even in one of my other thought streams wrought from my skill, Ringed Mind. I didn’t have time to be maudlin right now.

Instead, I did as I was told and hurried down the steps of the helm deck and onto the middeck. There, most of the crew was gathering for the battle that was likely to happen when the ships pursuing us caught up. Many of them had pulled out bows and crossbows like my own, in order to rain death on the enemy once they were in range. Not far from our line, the ship’s ballista was being prepped by a few crewmen that I knew, Morlow and Laryn. They were looking decidedly bloodthirsty as they loaded the oversized crossbow. I guess they hadn’t gotten their fill of death for the loss of their friend, Curloch. Woodrick was standing off to the side, rapidly creating short wooden javelins that I suppose he was intending to throw. I exchanged a nod with him. The wooden Sculpted had been a little quiet over the last few days. I think he was feeling responsible for Aurum’s death. After all, the now-deceased healer had only come on our mission in order to help free him.

However, among my group were both some other familiar faces, and one that I was rapidly getting to know.

Sylvia was holding a longbow for the first time since I had met her, my Sculpted friend standing eerily still with luminescent blue eyes fixed on the pursuing warships. Her nodded shallowly in my direction at my approach, before resuming her vigil. Azarus was there too, holding a much bulkier crossbow in his broad dwarven arms idly. He smirked at me, eyeing my comparatively tiny weapon. I just rolled my eyes at him.

The third person standing with us was Renauld, the Gnoll that I had rescued in Caer Drarrow. He was surprisingly nonchalant at the aspect of more battle, idly twisting the mage's staff he had procured back and forth. He grinned at me, looking much more presentable after having at the chance to clean and replace his prison rags with a set of robes. “Hey friend, how ya doing?” He asked me cheerfully.

I snorted at his question. “Could be better,” I said wryly. I nodded at the fast-approaching ships. “I could not be about to get into another fight, for one.”

Renauld literally waved my concerns off. “Oh, them?” He said dismissively. “They’re nothing to worry about. I’m sure old man Greycton will scare them off, no problem.”

I wish I shared his confidence. “It’s not us I’m worried about,” I nonetheless conceded. “It’s the ship. They have to know that Grey is with us. If they were smart, they’d just start punching holes in us until we sank and the sea claimed everyone on board.”

Some of the other archers turned to give me dirty looks at my doomsaying. I winced, and decided to keep my mouth shut.

“Ah,” Renauld said, pausing the twisting of his staff. He cast a wary gaze out at our pursuers, who were close enough now that we could see soldiers frantically getting into position with bows of their own. “I…didn’t think of that.”

Speaking of Grey, my mentor was back up on the helm deck with Bella. Something about him was odd, though. The older man looked completely relaxed. He didn’t look like he was preparing for battle at all.

In fact, if anything, he looked a bit amused.

I tilted my head up at him, confused. He must have caught the movement, as he looked back at me and did something unexpected.

He winked.

I blinked.

What?

I was startled out of the odd exchange by the sound of a door violently slamming open nearby. Jumping, I and everyone else on deck turned to look.

The door leading to the private rooms under the helm had been thrown open so violently that it was splintering. Stalking out of the now-open entryway was Honoka, dressed in a nightgown.

I…didn’t even know she had woken up yet after passing out on Caer Drarrow. I hadn’t seen her since. But she sure as hell was, and she looked pissed.

She proved she was.

“WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS RACKET?!” Honoka bellowed loud enough that I was sure the enemy ships could hear her, a haze of heat surrounding her form. “I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!” The varnish on the wood of the ship was starting to peel around her, from the searing aura she was emitting.

A little afraid to speak, I simply pointed over the railing of the ship at our fast-approaching pursuers. I could see that I wasn’t the only one. A number of other people, Azarus and Renauld included, were copying me. Sylvia though was just watching Honoka with a faint smile on her Mithril features.

The older woman followed our pointing. Honoka sneered at the sight of the warships and spat off to the side, spittle flash dissolving from the heat of her aura. She turned to give the gathered forces of the Reef an evil eye. “Bunch of pansies. If you’re just going to quake in your booties, I’ll deal with this.”

With a flick of a hand, she conjured the massive flaming wings she had displayed back at Caer Drarrow. Sweeping them downwards, she shot high into the sky with a burst of flame that billowed out from her position. Several of the crewman scrambled to stomp out the resulting fires.

Bella leaned back and shook her fists furiously at the elder Cultivator, floating far above us. “WATCH IT WITH ME SHIP, YE OLD BAG!”

I don’t think Honoka even heard her.

With an amused grin, Grey leaned on the banister of the Reef to watch the show. I set down my now apparently useless crossbow and copied him.

I didn’t have to wait long.

I watched as Honoka flew over the ocean to hover directly over the pair of pursuing warships. Fruitlessly, they tried to shoot her with their own bowmen, only for their shots to fall short. They even fired their own ballista’s at her, only for Honoka to literally catch both bolts out of the air and chuck them back down at the ships below. They splintered their way through the decks of the warships, causing them to begin taking on water.

Honoka wasn’t done, though. She flared up bright enough to become a second sun in the sky, before cupping her hands to her side and visibly concentrating. In the hollow of her hands, a bright white energy began to coalesce. By this time, the crew of the pursuing vessels looked to be already abandoning ship. While some were frantically lowering the lifeboats, others were just outright jumping overboard into the waiting waters of the sea below.

Good thing they did.

With a shout that I could hear from even this distance, Honoka thrust her hands forward. From them an intensely bright beam of concentrated Ki lanced out, lancing through the hull of the ship on the right in an explosion of fire. She didn’t stop there, though. She first dragged the veritable laser beam through that ship, neatly bisecting it, before moving onto the other. In seconds, both ships had been cut in half, leaving four hunks of wreckage floating in the ocean.

Only when she had confirmed that both ships were destroyed did Honoka cut off her attack.

I took a deep breath at the display of power. That certainly was…something. It was almost chilling, how one person could completely nullify such a large force. I think I was the only one to be taken aback though, as the gathered crew burst into cheers and laughter at Honoka’s display. Mostly in relief, I think. Nobody on the Reef was going to need risk their life today.

Honoka floated her way back over to our ship, and touched down on the deck. She dismissed her wings and then turned to glare at us. “Keep it down, you sissies,” She hissed at us, before turning around with a snort and walking through the door to the private cabins. She tried to slam the door behind her, but it fell into splinters instead. It had already endured too much abuse. I don’t think she cared though.

Honoka’s threat worked, as the crew quieted down. That didn’t stop them from celebrating much more quietly, though. I saw several different pirates dragging kegs out from below deck and cracking them open.

Bella moaned in despair from above me at the helm. “My poor baby,” She mourned.

Meanwhile, Sylvia shook her head with a fond smile, before turning to face Azarus and me. “I’ll go reassure the passengers that the danger has passed,” She told us, before leaving to below decks.

Azarus and I exchanged a glance before almost simultaneously shrugging. My dwarven friend wandered away to go join the impromptu party, not one to turn down free alcohol. I noticed that Renauld was way ahead of him, already chugging down a mug of mysterious pirate booze. I guess the guy was a real party animal.

Heh.

I shook it off, and climbed back up to the helm deck to join Grey. Honoka’s assault may have ended, but my mentor hadn’t actually moved from his position leaning against the railing. He nodded at me in acknowledgement, when I copied his posture as best as I could with one arm.

We stood there in silence for a moment, merely gazing out at the sea while the crew partied on the deck below. It looked like some of the crew of the ships Honoka had blasted away had survived. Miraculously, it looked like a number of lifeboats had bobbed their way to the surface, and soldiers were scrambling their way into them. It didn’t look like they were eager to retry their assault on the Reef, however. The full lifeboats were very deliberately rowing away us toward land, giving our ship a wide berth.

Yeah, I’d probably do the same. I’d say better luck next time, but honestly, screw you in general.

I dragged my gaze away from them to give Grey a side-eyed glance. “You knew Honoka was going to do that, didn’t.” I wasn’t really asking a question.

Grey smiled slightly, not turning to face me. Still, he nodded slightly. “I did,” He acknowledged simply.

“How?” I asked curiously.

Grey took a deep breath and then let it out. “Oh, long, long, long years of familiarity. I felt her stirring below and quite accurately predicted what her response to the situation would be.” He finally turned to face me, and leaned in with a conspiratorial smile. “The woman is a dreadfully light sleeper, you know. Quite cranky when woken up as well.”

I blinked slowly at the implication. Grey just winked at me.

Alrighty then.

“Whitegull!” I heard Bella bark from behind. The two of us turned to look at the pirate Captain. Bella was glowering at Grey with her hands affixed to her hips. “Get over here and tell me where we’re going again.”

Grey inclined his head at her and did as she bade. I followed, since I had nothing better to do. I don’t think Bella cared either way. She just unfurled a small handheld map and held it up against the helm. On it, I could see a representation of the eastern coast of the main continent.

“I believe we’re roughly…here,” Grey said, laying a finger on the map. It was lying on a section of ocean that honestly wasn’t very far from the coast. Maybe only a few days away, from my limited experience. “Our destination, as I’ve told you, is a small little fishing hamlet known as Sancthaven,” He said, moving his finger to a point on the coast ahead of the ship.

“Never heard of a ‘Sancthaven’,” Bella said doubtfully. “An’ I’ve been all up and down this coast.”

Grey held up his index and thumb, pinched together with a small space in between. “The emphasis is on ‘little’. I’m not surprised you’ve never been. Anyway, I was assured before leaving for this expedition that the Uprising will have stationed an agent in Sancthaven with the needed coaches to ferry both ourselves and our passengers back to safety. We should reach the village within the next few days.”

Huh.

I guess my time at sea was going to be ending soon.

Oddly, I think I was going to miss it.