A rough crash threw Mariel out of her bunk. As she scrambled for her weapons, she heard running steps outside the door and loud voices shouting for someone to hurry up. Seconds later, Siravin burst into her cabin.

“Get up Mariel! The weather is about to do us in! We need help from everyone!”

“W-what!? Are we sinking!?” She could not believe what she was hearing. To her relief, it seemed Siravin was not ready to abandon ship.

“Not yet at least, but we just might, so the crew needs everyone’s help!”

She threw on an extra layer as protection. The cold cabin and limited heating forced her to sleep in almost full gear, save the more edgier and bulky parts. And together, they rushed towards the hatch leading up to the deck.

“Good morning Mariel.” Daristan greeted her with his usual self-confident tone. He was surrounded by several other sailors, around his shoulders and legs had been tied a makeshift harness. A couple of nearby sailors were also harnessed in a similar fashion. They were weighed down by sacks, and metal loops akin to the type used to tie horses at rest stops.

“Sail is largely torn to shreds, rigging is flying around out there, the wards shielding this part of the ship has failed, and there’s a need for spares. Saryssa is keeping us up for now, but she can’t hold forever, especially because we… No I wore her out with our last trick.”

“So what do you need help with?”

“Eh, you need to keep an eye out for us while we cross the deck, if we get into trouble, you have to get them to reel us back in, or whatever remains of us that is.”

“Alright, here’s a small respite coming up, get ready!” One of the sailors shouted. The small group of four, including Daristan braced. The sailor shouted at them to get going and they leapt up and out of the hatch.

Mariel climbed up the stairs and looked outside. Though the view was limited, she could tell the horizon was gone, hidden from view by the largest waves she had ever seen. From it sprung great white sprays of seawater, and the wind howled with the ferocity of a starved wolf. Out on the deck, Daristan and the sailors were struggling to move forward. Occasionally they stopped, and appeared to put the metal loops into the slots in the deck.

She only caught the movement in the corner of her eye. A moment later, one of the sailors had his head torn off by what seemed to be a heavy pulley from the rigging. She immediately announced that one of them had died, and the sailors below deck began to reel in the decapitated corpse.

The ship began moving skywards, riding up the back of a big wave. Daristan suddenly lost his grip and began to slide backwards. Before she shouted to haul him back, one of the sailors out on deck got hold of his hand, allowing Daristan to pull himself back on track with great effort. The ship stopped its ascent, hung for a few seconds, and began its dive back down along the back of the wave. Daristan and the sailors clung on for dear life as they were lashed with sea spray and nearly sent overboard by the flooding water which forced the sailors behind Mariel to momentarily close the hatch. Immediately upon opening it, she shouted for the sailors to pull. He had lost his grip completely, and only swift reeling in prevented him from tumbling over the side. Meanwhile, the remaining two sailors appeared to have crossed the half way point. They rested for a bit, securing themselves to the floor loops, as the ship jumped and then fell back down.

Daristan was hauled back to the hatch, and carefully lifted back down to safety.

“Argh… I almost had it too…” He grumbled, holding his arm.

“Daristan, are you injured?”

“Heh, I’m fine Siravin, just really bruised is all… Hng!” He groaned as he tried to upright himself. For a moment, he considered to press on, but relented and slumped back down on the floorboards. “Might have cracked a rib or something…”

“Mariel, focus on the sailors outside!”

She looked back outside, only to find that the sailors appeared to have vanished. The two next to her had already ordered their roped pulled back in, and soon, two mangled, lifeless bodies fell through the hatch.

“That didn’t work… Who’s next?” The lead sailor asked his fellow sailors, none appeared ready to meet the challenge.

“What about the ballistae? Can one of those be used to get the rope across the deck?”

The sailor thought for a moment. “No. Those are meant to shoot holes in things… We use that, we’ll just shoot the fore-end and kill whomever is unlucky enough to be remotely close.”

“It’s worth an attempt though. I think Mariel’s idea will work.” Siravin began tying himself to the lifeline and adding another coil of rope around his shoulders and waist. “We just have to turn it around, adjust the tension, and tie a rope to the other end of the bolt.”

“Kid… You’re crazy, but it’s sink or swim time so… We’ll attempt it… But I swear, someone’s out to get us tonight…” The sailor began tying himself to the lifeline, and making the preparations.