Chapter Eighteen – Unstoppable Force

*** City Guard Captain Devlin ***

“Stand down!” I ordered the two dozen men that had caused a great commotion in the Turning Key tavern. “By whose orders do you expel the people from the tavern!”

The men said nothing, the look in their eyes told me that they would rather die than betray their master, it was not out of loyalty, it was out of fear. As I wondered what sort of person could create such fear in a man that he’d be willing to die than disappoint his own master a boy stepped out of the tavern. He looked to be the son of a noble, he wore fine black clothes and a strange yellow mask that hid all but his glowing red eyes. The boy was a mage.

He walked out and away from the tavern heading towards us, no not towards us, past us, we were just in his way.

“You there boy!” I called out to him gripping my sword tightly. I am a mage as well, a fire mage, but my body was yelling to me that this was not an opponent I could hope to best. My resolve was shaken. “St…Stand down! For causing a great public disturbance you…are…”

As I spoke the boy raised a hand and suddenly I felt the air at my back and above rush forward, it was only a slight breeze but my instincts told me to brace myself, his wrath had come.

I heard the boy say something before we were all blown back, actually we were blown towards the center of our formation and slightly above. “Air pocket implosion…”

My body had taken a beating after being flung around, my right wrist was broken and it felt like some of my ribs were cracked. I looked up to see the boy gathering air into his open palms, the air balled up into spheres the size of one’s head. One had a tint of blue while the other had a tint of green. I realized that today may be my last in the mortal realm.

I watched in fascinated horror as the balls of air slowly started making their way towards us as they started swirling around each other. When they reached the center of our formation I heard the trembling roar of wind and heat, we were suddenly scattered to the winds, some of my men were scattered in more than one piece. I was somewhat fortunate, I did not die immediately but I could no longer see and I could no longer hear. My tentative fingers told me my eyes were bloody pulpy messes.

I laid there for almost an eternity, or so it felt like, before I felt searing pain, unbearable all-consuming pain. I was being burned alive. The pain, however, lasted for only a moment and before I knew it I was gone from the world.

*** Leo Cazador ***

“My lord we have chasers!” the lookout at the crow’s nest informed me. I was currently on the wheel navigating the battleship.

“Take the wheel,” I said looking towards the navigator who was currently resting.

“Yes my lord,” the man bowed and stood to take reigns of his post.

I headed towards my cabin, the captain’s quarters, and started sorting through the chests I had brought along with me. It didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for, it was a chest with a shark engraving on it. Inside were three mechanical sharks with complex spell crest designs all around them, two were experimental prototypes and only the third was a finished product. I took one of the prototypes and headed for the rear deck from where I could spot the vessels giving chase. There were a total of three military naval vessels, destroyer class.

With a mental command I inserted the specific target for the shark to strike before tossing it into the air and watched it unceremoniously plop into the water. As soon as it made contact the spell crests activated and it zipped through the water towards its target without creating a single ripple.

It only took a small moment for the shark to reach its intended target, the lead destroyer suddenly seemed to erupt out of the water from its middle. The damage from the explosion caused the ship to arch before snapping in half from below the water. In less than a minute the destroyer was visibly sinking, before then the two other destroyers had long since changed course having given up on the chase.

“What will we do now?” the navigator asked. There was no charted course. In my rage I had forgotten to ask the six men where their captain would weigh anchor, but that didn’t matter I could still feel Sophia’s general direction, though instead of being the straight laser I had been following it was now a wide beam. I could miss her by miles if I was not careful.

“Just keep heading in that direction,” I said referring to the direction we were currently heading towards.

*** Lord Richard Banes ***

I was overlooking the port town from my balcony with a grimace on my face every time I spotted the blight that plagued my beautiful home. Four pirate vessels had arrived just a week ago and slaughtered hundreds of my guards and the five town mages. Five mages versus two! Even if four of them had been apprentices it should have still been a favorable fight for us, but the men were skillful and battle-hardened.

We are just a small port so there is no military garrison and we have not the strength to match their larger vessels. It would take weeks for any considerable force to arrive here, meaning we were stuck with our guests until they decided to leave of their own accord, though a request for military aid was already on its way to the closest military force.

I looked away for a moment as I remembered the sight of my mangled daughter, she had been among the mages to fight. I breathed in and held my eyes closed as the pain of my loss threatened to overwhelm me much like it had been doing so before.

Even in my distracted state I heard it, a distant sound like thunder, which was odd as there was no rain cloud in sight. Just a few seconds after the first another thunderclap went off. I opened my eyes to a scene that seemed almost too good to be true.

A ship that dwarfed the galleon of the pirates entered our bay and started to hammer the four pirate vessels. The schooner was nowhere in sight but there was a plume of smoke, I could only imagine it already on its way to the ocean floor. The main mast of the galleon was set aflame.

A projectile was launched from the large newcomer, it struck a frigate. There was a blinding flash before the damage was revealed, the entire topside of the frigate was set aflame. The last frigate also took a projectile to its topside, it was clear both frigates would soon be joining the schooner. As for the galleon, the massive vessel came right up to it, it would be a boarding battle.

The battle lasted no more than a couple of hours before the large vessel pulled away and headed for the deeper part of the port to make dock. Behind it the galleon could clearly be seen becoming a quickly growing pyre.

“Get the guard captain!” I ordered the attendants around me as I rushed out towards the stables, I wanted to be on that harbor before the massive vessel could dock.

*** Leo Cazador ***

I finally got my hands on some good intel, the roads this Captain Morgan would take, if I hurried I would be in Turanta just a day after them. A day after! Gah!

Taking any of the crew would only slow me down so I ordered them to restock and restore the ship while I was gone. I would go on foot using gravitational gliding which would make my journey shorter than riding a horse or going by wagon. While I might tire I would still cut the travel time by a large portion.

The dock hands were helpful in tying down the large vessel, incredibly their small port was designed in just the right way that the battleship could make port. As the last of the ropes were being tied off I went in search of the only weapon I would need with me. I found it after several minutes of searching, it was in a black case marked with a single yellow lightning bolt.

Stuffing this case in a sack that I could strap over my back I made sure to also grab some provisions and water before heading out.

I commanded the crew to stay on the ship until my return, with that done I went on my way.

I wasn’t even a few dozen feet away from the battleship when I suddenly found my path blocked by a dozen men on horseback, one appeared to be a noble.

“I am lord Richard Banes,” he bowed in greeting. “Humble sovereign of this small harbor town.”

“I am Leo Cazador,” I replied without giving my title. “Commander of the vessel behind me. I will not be in your town long, I have been hunting these pirates for quite a while, if you don’t mind I will just be on my way.”

“Wait stranger,” the noble interjected. “I feel that I must reward you in some way after ridding us of the pirates. I would like to…”

“I need no reward,” I quickly interrupted him. “My ship will however need supplies for repairs and provisions for the journey home.”

“Then if that is enough for you I will do my best to see that it gets done,” the noble accepted the request before turning away.

When the path was finally cleared, my feet lifted off the ground and I began to zip my way towards the exiting gate.