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Splintered Light Chapter 10.5, Welcoming Party

There were many times in his life where Alistair felt powerless. He felt powerless every time he lost a family member; he felt powerless when he was moved around from boarding school to boarding school; he felt powerless when the Wave Rider pulled into a foreign port only to find out about some new levy, tax, or embargo; he felt powerless when he saw the 'Into the Unknown' entangled by a half-dozen tentacles. The situation was made worse when the Tiger came to a realization: cephalopods had eight limbs.

No sooner had the thought entered his mind than the Wave Rider gave a faint jump and was pulled closer to the 'Into the Unknown'. Two arms lined with suction cups had latched onto the ship and were in the process of wrapping it in a rubbery embrace. Suddenly faced with something he could combat directly, Alistair's encounter with powerlessness was not to last long. "To arms! Show this beast we are not without claws!"

Despite wanting to keep track of events on the 'Into the Unknown', Alistair was required to focus more on the attack against the Wave Rider, and so he drew a pistol with his left paw. By reflex his right paw went to the epee at his hip but he realized that he'd need something with far more heft to cause any damage to the sea creature's rubbery hide; he pulled a second pistol free instead. By that point the rest of the crew already had weapons in paw and were hacking, slicing, chopping, and firing at the grayish-pink flesh encircling the deck mid-ship.

Cocking the firing hammers of his pistols, Alistair fired two shots at the log-sized span of flesh only a few yards distant from his position; the lead balls impacted but seemed to have no real effect. The Tiger stepped closer, pressing each trigger again to rotate the four-barrels and line up the next loaded chamber before pulling the triggers a third time to fire off a second shot. The results were the same as the first, though his keen ears heard the distinct sound of a pistol round striking metal... inside the creature's flesh.

Although each individual strike dealt little or no real damage, the Captain was pleased to see that they had added up and the creature elected to let go of the ship. The moment he saw the arms slackening their hold he shouted out his order. "Back away! It's coming loose!"

The sailors hopped to and backed away, those with missile weapons continue to inflict what limited damage they could. A moment later the arms were pulled free and retreated back into the water... but not before lashing out; their reach was far too extensive to escape and, although most crewmen jumped free, the arm that had been reaching over the starboard side had latched onto two of the sailors; Mr. Flax and The Boar were pulled beneath the waves so quickly that they had only started to scream by the time they were gone.

Mr. leBlanc was amidst the mulling crew at once, shouting out orders. "Stand ready! Cutlasses, machetes, and broadswords up front! You there-- cat, with the halberd! Take up position behind Mr. Jibb here. Mr. Veektur, since you're up here, how do you feel about putting that cleaver to use?"

Since the ship's master-at-arms had everything handled insofar as the crew was concerned, Captain Jacksoni turned back to the 'Into the Unknown' just in time to see it begin to tip; it was taking on water, and wouldn't remain above the waves for long. Moving to the railing, the Tiger was just in time to help Mr. Lews back across. He questioned the Dog immediately. "Where's everyone else?"

Mr. Lews shook his head. "Just me, Cap'n... that thing got everyone."

The creaking of the ropes holding the two ships together was not a good sign, especially with the 'Into the Unknown' going down. Alistair made a snap-decision; motioning to the lines further down the bulwark he directed the Dog even as he grabbed a hatchet from where it lay by the gunwale and hacked down on one of the ropes. "Cut the lines."

Arty nodded definitively and was off with machete in paw. "Aye, sir."

By the time the Tiger looked back to his own deck he saw two well-formed battle lines, each facing outward on either side of the ship. Once Mr. Severna saw what the Captain had ordered of Mr. Lews he quickly took up the call and directed others to help. The Prong Horn pointed toward the port side and the ropes there attaching them to the 'Into the Unknown'. "Jonsey-- Grant-- get to the rails and cut us free!"

The Spotted Genet and the Serval complied, racing across the deck with cutlasses to help Mr. Lews with the task. Aided by the three sailors, the captain managed to separate the Wave Rider from the 'Into the Unknown' just in time, as the other ship passed the point of buoyancy and began to sink in earnest. Unfortunately, at that point the sea creature brought all of its tentacles to bear on the Wave Rider, and things became infinitely worse; two grabbed hold of the body of the ship while two launched up into the rigging; two more grabbed the deck, one of them pinning Jonsey and Grant to the wood.

The Bosun shouted, pointing to the two fallen sailors. "Tetsuo, Vopello, Se--"

The order came to an abrupt end as the tentacle tightened its hold, summarily silencing the cries of the trapped sailors as every bone was crushed like a roach beneath a boot. The Prong Horn winced, a sneer appearing on his muzzle as a fiery fury ignited in his eyes. "...make it bleed."

The sailors on the deck approached the tentacles in their battle formations, ordered along by Mr. leBlanc and they began hacking, slashing, and chopping at the fleshy bonds. Up above in the rigging Viktor was guiding the sail and line crew, who were armed with crossbows, all except for Nikolay, who was raining down throwing axes with surprising accuracy. Another set of tentacles arose from the sea, lashing out along the deck with savage strength, smashing boards where it hit wood, and crushing bodies when it encountered sailors.

The noise from the tumult of warring against a giant squid almost drowned out the call from Mr. Zuider, but the Foreman's voice was too grating to be completely ignored. "CAPTAIN! FLAGGER ON THE SHORE!"

The Tiger fired his last four rounds into the closest tentacle that wasn't surrounded by crew before he ascended the single step that led to the forecastle. He looked to the Goat, then the shore, at the human who was half-way between wave and tree line, two flags waving in the air over his head in a series of rhythmic signs. Alistair watched them move. "What are they saying, Mr. Zuider?"

The Foreman took a few moments to go over the repeating signals; the Captain knew Willem was familiar with flagging but he wasn't quite the expert that The Boar was-- or, rather, had been. The Tiger winced as he was forced to make the distinction. Mr. Zuider finally responded. "They want us to abandon ship... come ashore. The attack is by sea and ground is safe."

Alistair snorted. "I'm not about to abandon the Wave Rider-- this is my ship. Besides, being marooned won't get any of us anywhere."

As if to present a counter-point to his argument, the ship shook powerfully and there were shouts from above as a section of the rigging came loose; a boom and several spars fell into the water. As if mimicking a great tree being felled by a lumberjack, the mizzenmast followed suit, pulled over by the strength of the creature beneath them. Alistair couldn't close his ears to the sound of the sundered lumber but, worse yet, were the screams and cries of crewmen gone overboard. The splashing of those in the sea created a grizzly distraction as the beast below focused on them for a few moments, giving the ship a very brief and very costly reprieve.

Fortunately, it was also just long enough for the ship's Gunner to get his firing team in place. The Rottweiler pointed over the portside railing. The moment his cannoneers had the barrels in as low an angle as they could manage, Mr. Jak barked out his order. "FIRE!"

All four cannons echoed his shout with ones of their own; the sea exploded and huge geysers of water comingled with red and black fluids launched high into the air. Shouts from the cannon crew acknowledging hits were almost drowned out by the sound of water raining down back into the sea and onto the deck of the ship; shouts from the shore acknowledged that they had also seen the effect. Moments later, the tentacles still ensnaring the ship loosened, and the irregular shape beneath the waves launched itself away, heading back toward open sea... but one of the arms had become entangled with what remained of the Wave Rider's rigging.

The squid's mass and velocity was more than enough to cause damage as the top of the ship's main mast broke free. Ropes, lines, and sails tore as the section was pulled directly off of the Wave Rider; Offers and Moot, still in the crow's nest, didn't have a chance to escape, and were pulled into the sea along with the rest. Captain Jacksoni watched the shape disappear into the deep waters beyond the cove; he'd lost a lot of good men, and most died so unceremoniously that it almost seemed a crime. Regardless, he realized, there would be time to mourn later. Looking to the Bosun, who had just approached, he made his demand. "Damage report?"

Mr. Severna was optimistic, which wasn't abnormal for the Prong Horn, but at least he was direct and to the point. "Better than it could have been. We lost the mizzen and most of our rigging-- sections of bulwark are gone and some wear on the hull but we're not taking on water."

Alistair nodded, taking all of that into consideration, and asked the next question that concerned him more. "Casualties?"

Mr. leBlac, who was a few steps behind the Bosun was the one to answer. "Including four of the boarding party? Twenty seven. All lost."

Reverend Gustave, who was not far from the group with a spyglass up to his eye interjected. "Twenty six, I'm thinking... the men on the shore are pulling someone out of the surf."

It was good news, even if it was only a single person; hopefully they were still alive and could be saved. Unable to waste the time thinking about it, however, Alistair turned back toward the crew, just in time to hear a shout from the rigging; it was Viktor. "Incoming, aft!"

It wasn't difficult for the Tiger's eyes to go to the horizon since he was already looking that way... but he saw nothing. It took a moment for him to realize what the Hare had meant and when he did he could clearly make out three dark shapes beneath the water approaching at a high rate of speed. Off to the side Ash-Moon placed his paws on his hips and scowled. "The Feruowa punishes us today."

Alistair wasn't familiar with the Tribal word, but he assumed it was more of the Jackal's superstitions, and he didn't bother addressing the statement, choosing to be more proactive instead. "These things are sea creatures... those men ashore said it's safe on land... so that's what we'll do."

The sound of the ship's aft swivel cannon going off signaled Karl's continued intent on engaging with their aggressors, but the Captain was ready to call the engagement quits. The Bosun's question was in regard to that thought. "You're saying we should abandon ship, Captain?"

The Tiger made his way toward the communication tube leading to the engine room. Before speaking into it, he turned back to smile at the Bosun. "Of course not, Mr. Severna-- didn't you hear? It's safe on shore."

The assembled officers and crew looked at him in a confused manner but he didn't mind; things were about to become clear. Alistair glanced to the bow to verify that it was pointed at the beach, and then he announced into the tube. "Mr. Veridius-- ahead full, if you please."