The captain was no fool; he knew straight-away the two newcomers were difficult opponents, especially the girl. That speed! “Kill him, boys with me,” he said as he pointed at Skitters but turned to the Seekers.

Orion sourly regarded the captain and the eight men who had heeded his shout. From their movement, it was obvious they would be easy kills. Regardless, it would still be needless blood splattered across the deck boards.

He couldn’t see Kora’s face but the reactions from the lamplit sailors told him she had smiled, putting them on edge. She burst from her spot, her steps flicking droplets as she twisted around the first sailor, toppled him by kicking his shin, ducked under a swing, then stabbed down. The man gurgled to death, blood spluttering out of his mouth. Uncaring, she clashed her bloodstained sword with another, heightening the madness.

The captain and his men had turned their backs to Orion, caught up by the monster in their midst: a mistake. Orion darted across the deck, saw a man spin around, saw him raise the hammer he had hastily picked up. Skewing his sword’s path by the hairs of the hammerhead, Orion slashed into the sailor’s neck, the teary image of a murderer reflected in the man’s eyes.

With no time to consider his actions, Orion leapt out of the way of another blade, rebounded off the mast and struck down with momentum. It cut into his next victim’s shoulder blade, causing the man to drop the… What was that? A steel pole? Nipping his thoughts, the pale Seeker swiftly finished the job.

“ARGHH!”

Orion heard a shrill scream sound through the battle roars. He saw Skitters falling back with a limp arm, his dagger useless against the metal pole and cutlass his adversaries had. Spinning past another attempt at his life, Orion bucked the sailor in the arse like a horse and hared to the higher platform, leaping up to catch the handhold. Noticing Skitters was moments from death, Orion flung his shortsword at the thief’s soon-to-be-killers, causing them to recoil back.

He used this extra second to pull himself up to the platform and roll away from the soon-to-be-corpse who tried to whack his unarmed hands. The metal pole grazed his knuckles but that was manageable, so much so Orion used that very fist to uppercut the soon-to-be-corpse.

Noticing his friend’s failure, the cutlass sailor slashed at Skitters’s calf, forbidding the thief from escape while he ran to his death. Orion glared at the coming enemy, side-stepped as the sailor thrust, stepped back as the sailor swung in an arc, then booted the man’s wrist, causing the blade to thud against the wet wood. While the sailor cringed over his wrist, Orion uppercutted him too, then picked up the dropped cutlass.

Moments later, he walked over to Skitters and threw the bloodstained cutlass away, picking up his sword. He crouched and looked at the thief’s cuts in the lamplight: a long slit through his jacket on his arm and a gash on his calf. Shaking his head, Orion turned and jumped over the railing, landing on the lower deck.

Kora was busy completing her collection, crimson-dyed corpses strewn around. A few seconds later, she faced Orion and his grim expression.

“Hmm?”

“Skitters is injured. Can you…” he stopped amidst his sentence. It sounded dirty considering what they had just done to a dozen innocents.

She shook her head and pointed to the shadowed doorway below the higher platform. “A Mage is coming,”

She didn’t have to say anymore as Orion ran up to Skitters and knocked him out. He didn’t want to kill the thief, but he would have no other choice if the thief witnessed the fight. Kora moved to the edge of the ship and leaned over the side, scanning the fray below.

“At least a few more minutes,” she shouted back.

“A few more minutes for what?” her reply came, the creaking of stairs accompanying the shrill pitch.

Orion gulped as he heard the creaks. While Mages were a lower species, he doubted he could handle anything as lard-filled as the creaks gave image to. Hopefully, the stairs were just rotten.

“Answer me, you filthy plebeian. Not only do I have to use such a dirty ship but now I have to handle you specks of dirt? Ughh,” the Mage growled as she entered the lamplight, followed by another sailor who stopped star-struck at the scene on deck.

The Mage was a woman with a plump belly as if she was 6-months pregnant. Not that the Seekers were dumb enough to believe that, or that the wisps of golden light racing her figure added to that illusion. She had a bob cut and held a carved staff, more for style than for stability. It seemed the stair boards had been rotten. Perfect.

“An impudent mute, it seems. Well, I’ve got ways of making you talk. You, go and block her,” the Mage said as she clanged her staff against the floor, once again for style, and began muttering with focus, fists of fire growing at the skin of her golden barrier. Her eyes simultaneously got lighter.

The surviving sailor gulped and pseudo-charged Kora, raising his sword but stepping back once he was in striking distance.

At this moment, Orion peered from the higher platform at the animal oblivious to his presence. Killing innocents was wrong and wasteful, but at least they knew their place, unlike Mages. They hadn’t learnt their standing yet, so he was more than happy to teach them. His eyes blanched, appearing yellow tinted due to the lamplight, and ice bloomed out of his right hand.

The Mage only realised her mistake as she sensed the cold at the back of her head, rotating to face the pale Seeker. But it was too late as shards of ice barraged against her golden shield, the fireballs collapsing as her focus broke. She gritted her teeth and turned to her barrier, pouring energy into it as it struggled against the icicles. If anyone with an eagle-eye looked past the obscuring golden haze, they’d be able to see the layers of fat on the Mage sink, albeit slowly, showing inexperience and inefficiency. This was what separated the Houses from mages.

Orion hopped from his spot and landed on the Mage, whacking her against the floor. Not that it hurt her though, instead, the floorboards had dented inwards under the barrier. He placed his left hand on the paper-thin barrier and felt its pulse, fuelled by the Mage’s own heartbeat. The cracks started wide but then connected, shattering the golden barrier. Before she could even catch her breath, Orion punched her face.

“…Zakari…,” she croaked, her fear reflected in her eyes.

This time, Orion felt no pity. “Inferior species,” He brandished his sword and chopped. Silence.

Kora pushed aside the latest addition to her collection as she walked over to Orion. “Jax, let’s find a med-kit,”

He stared at her, past her, then followed as they made their way down the stairs.

They ransacked the kitchen, the panty, the sailors’ rooms where they found a med-kit, the Mage’s embellished room where they pocketed 15 gold coins. They were about to leave when a squeal sounded through the hatch at the end of the corridor.

Orion headed to it while Kora shook her head. “Alright, Jax. You save how many ever slaves you need to clear your mind and I’ll patch up Skitters,”

Ignoring her sassy comment, Orion pulled the hatch open and climbed in…