Laughter resounded throughout the hull of the ship, the pair of pirate vessels had spent the last day or two escorting their prize back to base. A hidden stronghold upon one of the many rocky islands located in the north of Adrite Sea, still within striking range of both the islands of Kyrnos and Syroneika, as well as the southern Galian coast and the western coast of the Rustikan Peninsula. The Emerald Leviathan’s were by no means the strongest pirate group operating in the Adrite Sea, but they did possess some strength. Recent increases in the price of slaves to Rustikan city-states had also helped fill their coffers and grow their ranks.

Of course, there remained threats from other pirate groups, national navies, and the dreaded shades, the last of which remained an unknown factor. Stories had grown in recent months of a vessel, cloaked in shadows that struck without warning. Survivors spoke of a screams and fire, the beast belched flames which burned everything to dust, neither water nor dirt could smother them.

Multiple strongholds had been raided in recent weeks, the Emerald Leviathans themselves suffering the loss of one of their holds further south. They had even lost one of their patrol fleets, yet they could not retaliate, as the unknown vessel would dissipate back into the darkness following its attack. It was rare to find survivors, and those that did were traumatized, half-crazed, speaking of giants and monsters.

As much as the captain of the pirate squadron detested such farfetched stories, he could not deny the effect they had upon his crew. For now, his men were indulging themselves with their catch, they had women to warm their bunks, food to fill their bellies, and gold to satiate their desire. It was enough to temper their fear, enough to keep the ships sailing even in the dark of night.

“Captain Teucrium sir, the men, they spotted something. I know you be busy, but I think we’ve got a problem.” Teucrium got out of bed, throwing on his clothes. As he left, he eyed the young girl laying still in his bed, her clothes disheveled, bruising all over her body. “Worry not my dear, I shall return soon to partake in your fruit once again.” The girl although barely conscious twitched slightly in response, tears running down her cheeks.

“What seems to be the problem?” Teucrium asked but his first mate just called him forward, soon enough he got his answer. Trailing behind their group of ships was another ship and judging by the look on the first mate’s face, the distance between them had closed considerably. “Rouse the men from their beds NOW! It looks like we have some hyena’s looking to swipe our meal.”

None of the crew members were particularly happy about being roused from their sleep, many of whom had been pulled away from the captured women. Yet duty called and they were soon made aware of the bireme closing in on their rear. It was only due to the small flame upon its mast that allowed the pirates to catch wind of the scavenger, many assuming it was another pirate group looking to pouch the fat goose they themselves had caught.

Not wanting to give up their prize, it did not take much for pirate captain Teucrium to prepare his men for battle. They were focused on preparations to repel the enemy ship as it made for a collision course with his flagship. His second bireme lowered its speed, pulling away from the combat area and circling around the attacking ship, looking instead to engage the single vessel from both front and rear. The intention was clear, the enemy had foolishly pulled in too close, now that they were surrounded, they had no choice but to engage, at the same time Teucrium could add another vessel to his burgeoning squadron.

However, Teucrium and his men were so focused on the ship to their rear, they failed to notice the vessel closing in from the surrounding darkness. Two additional biremes, sporting the same flaming red motif of a charging bear emerged from the darkness. The first vessel had increased the light of its fire, drawing attention to itself, while allowing its two sister vessels to go dark and silently pull ahead.

The pirates of the Emerald Leviathan were unaware of the trap, that is until one of the ships slapped its oars into the ocean and raced towards the ship that was in the process of flanking the first decoy ship. This was closely followed by the flagship which emerged ahead of the pirate flagship and positioned itself to ram its port side.

Teucrium and his men had no time to prepare as both vessels struck their flanks, each of the unknown ships possessed a strange wooden plank that appeared initially like another mast. This device then dropped upon impact with the pirate vessel, a scream could be heard as the device came down. The iron protrusion at the end of the impacted one of the pirates standing on the deck, the pile impacted the man’s skull, crushing him into paste before puncturing the deck and locking in place. With this action a bridge had been created between the two vessels, and with it came the enemy fighters.

Clothed in furs and hide armor, the men and women charged across the makeshift bridge, their axes cleaving through the lightly armored pirates. The sea turned a shade darker as bodies from both sides fell from the deck of the pirate flagship, with ferocious hand to hand fighting in the darkness. Sometimes neither side could tell who they were attacking, simply swinging into the ranks before them.

Teucrium did not how much time had passed when he began to retreat further into his flagship, the attackers had been unrelenting, their soldiers fighting like wild beasts. Soon enough only Teucrium and a handful of his men remained, his other vessel had already fallen. In addition, at the start of the battle the initial decoy ship that had been following them broke away from the fighting and assaulted the captured merchant vessel that was the first to fall.

The difference in strength was clear from the start, the pirates had suffered high casualties after the assault on the merchant ship. With their forces weakened, the attackers outnumbered and outmatched them in combat. The boarding bridges had also locked the pirate vessels in place, forcing them to engage in combat as they no longer had the opportunity to escape.

“Captain! Wh… What do we do now!” Teucrium’s men were in tatters, many were injured, they were in no state to continue the fight. Yet the screams were starting to die down, the last of their men above were being killed off. “Hurry! Barricade the door NOW!” Teucrium yelled in panic, gone was the calm demeanor with which he commanded his men. All his ships were no longer within his control, and the problem was that they knew neither who the attacker was or what they wanted.

With the only entrance to the Captain’s Quarter’s barricaded Teucrium and his men took up their positions, blades in hand waiting for the enemy’s arrival. The sound of fighting had long since disappeared, but now the men could hear the soft creaking of the stairs as someone descended below deck, which was quickly followed by many more.

These men were so focused, concentrating on what was on the other side of the door that they failed to notice the half-naked girl sneaking up behind them. The child had in her outstretched hand a fruit knife, its blade coated with a slight tint of red, a shallow wound upon one of her wrists hinting at her actions. Yet the sound of fighting and the resounding crash produced by the boarding bridges spoke of rescue, changing her mind. Opting instead to wait for her captors, for the man who had spent days humiliating and harming her. Only a knife awaited him, and she clearly wanted revenge.

While Teucrium’s back was turned the girl pounced, plunging her pitiful paring knife as deep into the man’s right shoulder as she could. He yelled in pain, but it wasn’t enough, her aim had been off, and now that the surprise attack had failed, she was exposed. Next came the fist backhanding her on the left cheek, the strike sent a couple of teeth flying and left the girl unconscious on the ground.

“Fucking Bitch! You dare stab me! I’ll gut you like a fish!” Any semblance of control was long gone, the loss of everything had pushed the man to the very edge and this assassination attempt had been the last straw. He could do nothing about those outside his cabin, but against the weak slave before him, he would prolong the pain for as long as he could.

However, before the man had any chance to act upon his thoughts the simple barricade was demolished. Bits and pieces of splintered wood flew in every direction, one of which struck the pirate captain on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. From the remains of the splintered door emerged a woman, her height matched any man, as did her muscular physique.

Her red hair resembled that of a burning inferno, with eyes that shone with a dark orange light, her bronze skin showing signs of one who spent much of their life at sea and the scars to prove it. Even among the pirates there were few who were unaware of the Blazing Fury, a woman of fiery temper and brutality. The scoundrels of the sea were her prey, and she feasted on them with regularity, often targeting lone squadrons and lightly defended coastal strongholds.

“Slap these disgusting mongrels in irons, as for the girl get her cleaned up and clothed. She will have her chance to prove herself, same as the others. Now get to work!” The woman barked out orders and the big burly warriors to her rear moved to answer. Some of the soldiers were female and grasped the young girl, with the men dragging the pirates off to wherever they would be stored.

A vicious sneer painted the fiery woman’s face as she watched the pirate captain be dragged away. The grip on her sword tightening the closer he got, yet when she saw the brutalized girl, she calmed herself and took command. There would be time to deal with the mongrels later, for now they would need to organize the ships.