86 Vol 2. pt. 23 Patch 4.0: The First Round (2/2)
”Grab onto something!” Oleander shouts back before cutting the engine and bringing in the sails again.
The Shoebill enters another drift, but this time, it is far sharper and completely reverses their course.
”Portside cannons!” Fenrir orders.
Bonekraka, Corwin, and Cassiel man the cannons opposite of the ones they were just at. All three volleys so far have been shot from the starboard side of The Shoebill, and now it's time for the port side's cannons to get in on the action.
”Seven seconds between each shot, starting with Bone, anndddd… fire!” Fenrir shouts.
The shots are just regular cannonballs now, but their target is now a ship aflame that has been repairing itself heavily over the past ten minutes.
Each shot tears through the longship's starboard side. Fenrir sees two of its crew get directly hit!
”Great shots! Now, Olly, hard right and then full speed ahead!” Fenrir shouts the beginning of his plan's final phase.
Rock has been desperately clinging onto the mast this entire time trying not to get flung off the ship with all of the drastic turns it has been taking, and this latest turn is no different.
”Serra! Reel it in and don't stop!”
With sails unfurled, Tabitha's engine firing at full power, and Serra reeling in the ballista's line, The Shoebill jerks to a near stop.
But only a near one.
Tabitha's engine continues propelling the ship forward, refusing to stop.
”What do you think is going to give up first? The engine, the line, or their mast?” Fenrir asks Tabitha.
”I don't see my signature anywhere on their mast, so ain't no way my toys are gonna give up before it!” Tabitha answers.
The longship's crew has been too busy trying to put out the flames on the ship and themselves to get it unstuck from The Yellow Minnow. Both ships are now getting pulled by The Shoebill now, but the longship's crew hear their mast starting to crack and bend.
”Don't ya dare give up!” Tabitha shouts at her ballista.
Serra, still sitting in the ballista's seat, pats the weapon a few times to try and encourage it not to surrender.
The top half of the longship's mast cracks off from its bottom half, being yanked into the air and splashing down in the water off the ship's portside!
”Take that ya pointy-eared bastards! Nothin' beats the engineerin' of Tabitha Strism!” Tabitha shouts while waving her fists towards the longship.
”Alright, we can cut the li—” Fenrir starts, but gets interrupted by Tabitha.
”Don't! I've got an idea. Bring that mast of theirs in. Ya don't just want to leave our biggest catch of the day behind, do ya?”
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”Alright, alright. Serra, reel it in. The rest of yo—”
This time he gets interrupted by Cassiel jumping onto him and hugging him. ”We got them!” she happily announces. ”And I think I got like, three new skills during that!”
”Yeah, we got them,” Fenrir says, patting her head. ”Since when are you so affectionate around everybody?”
Cassiel realizes what she's doing. With a huff, she pushes him away and straightens her clothes out. ”I - I mean, good job. Your plan was smart.”
”Thanks, Cass Cass. You all did a great job – like, seriously. That went perfectly. I honestly don't think it could've gone any better, so you should all be proud of yourselves.”
Fenrir hears the engine starting to sputter below deck right after he stops talking.
Tabitha rushes down there.
While she takes care of that, Fenrir walks over to Morven and the other two crewmembers. ”You guys alright?” Fenrir asks.
”Aye, thanks to you. We owe you our lives, Mr. Wolf. We lost some good men… but that's just how this world is. Can't expect anythin' to last,” Morven answers.
One of the men next to him speaks up. ”My brother… they – they just… killed him without even looking at him. What did we do to deserve this?”
Fenrir looks down. Even if these three men were saved, at least four still died.
Even though he knows that he couldn't have possibly saved any more than he has, he still feels responsible for it. He knows that it's irrational. He knows that it's unhealthy. However, he still feels like it's his fault.
”I'm sorry for your loss. I promise you that once this is all over, I'm going to try and help you and all the others as much as I can. You have every right to enjoy this world as much as us adventurers do,” Fenrir says.
”That's a mighty noble goal of yours, Mr. Wolf, but how the hell do ya plan on doin' something like that?” Morven asks.
”What can I say? I have a habit of taking on the biggest challenges there are.”
”Fen!” Serra shouts from the ship's stern.
Fenrir hurries to the back and looks at what she's pointing out.
The bottom half of the longship's mast is already regrowing, and most of the flames have been put out. At least a dozen men are still alive on the longship and are now using its oars to take them backward out of The Yellow Minnow. As soon as their ship breaks free from it, The Yellow Minnow begins its descent to the bottom of the harbor.
Morven, now standing next to Fenrir, salutes as his ship sinks.
Fenrir, Serra, and Oleander join in saluting the sinking vessel.
”Damn good ship she was. Most men like to upgrade to bigger and better ships when they can, but I stuck with 'er from the beginnin',” Morven says.
”I'm—” Fenrir cuts himself off when he notices the longship turning to face The Shoebill.
”Tabs! How's the engine?” Fenrir shouts, rushing to the stairs.
”She's out! Gotta dock and get some new parts to fix her up!” Tabitha shouts up to him.
”Shit.”