The Chronicles of Rapina
Chapter 8, Training and Battle
The next day was almost identical to the first minus the race and weapons selection. More time was devoted to the physics of sailing and the finer points of cleaving your enemies' skull in two.
Again Kent struggled through combat training, although he excelled at the more cerebral activities. Drake did well as did Edgar. Towards the end of combat practice, Arms master Hock called everyone together.
"Well now ye've got tha basics down it be time fer seeing how well ye fare against a real foe. Killin' dummies is easy. Killin' people isn't. People hit back. We'll be usin' wood swords an' shields fer now. We can't 'ave too many of ye dyin' on yer second day 'ere now can we?" He snickered and doled out the weapons.
The recruits paired off and went at it. For the most part it was a sorry sight. Fishy's movements were more agile and graceful than a lot of the recruits. The winners of the first round paired off and fought again while the losers did the same. This happened a few more times until only a few recruits were left in the winners group.
Among the winners were Jake, Edgar, Tim, Drake, and four other recruits. Hock paired them off. Jake fought a recruit named Jonas. Jonas was strong and dexterous, but just wasn't fast enough to stop Jakes lightning fast strikes. Jonas quickly fell. Tim fought a recruit named Wilden, Drake fought Ducretes, and Edgar fought a loud mouth called Jink. Edgar's bout was by far the most interesting of the four.
Edgar hefted his wooden sword and stepped into the circle. He had met Jink the night before and already he didn't like him. Jink had a big mouth and a bad attitude. He had said some nasty things about Edgar, but a couple pirates had prevented him from pounding on Jink. "Ready to get your face pounded in Jink?" Edgar asked as he circled him.
"I'd ask you the same thing, but it looks like somebody already beat me to it. By the gods I HOPE your mother isn't THAT ugly," he retorted. Jink shrugged, "She's probably worse. I don't even want to think about your father! Ugh!"
Jink was muscular and agile and had a handsome face. He leered at Edgar as they circled each other. He was going to enjoy beating Edgar down. Edgar's lunge caught Jink off guard, but he recovered in time to block the attack and trip Edgar up.
"You'll pay for that!", Edgar hissed as he stood up. Jink attacked this time and landed a glancing blow on Edgar's cheek. Jink was tougher than Edgar had expected, but no matter he would just have to use more skill and less brute force to defeat him. Well maybe not MUCH less brute force.
"Well, you coming at me or do I have time for a nap here?" Jink taunted. Why wasn't Edgar attacking? He just kept circling and watching. "Enough of this play. It's time to finish the job!" Jink yelled as he lunged at Edgar.
His training had paid off! By watching Jink's stance and the way he switched his weight, Edgar knew that the lunge was coming. He deftly parried Jink's lunge and smashed an elbow into Jink's face. Jink stumbled back dazed and bleeding. He looked at Edgar incredulously. Edgar just smiled a wicked smile and pressed his attack.
Jink parried a few of Edgar's blows, but far more of them found their mark. Soon it was all Jink could do to keep his sword in his hand. "You have a big mouth Jink. I don't like people with big mouths," Edgar said. With a quick strike he knocked Jink's sword from his hand. Time seemed to slow as Edgar began a graceful turn that brought his sword to bear on Jink's head. A loud crack pierced the air. Jink's head lolled to the side in an unnatural way as his body struck the ground.
The camp seemed silent for a long moment before Hock spoke, "Now thar's some'un who's been payin' attenshun! Good work me boy." He motioned to a few of the recruits. "Drag Jink's body to Dulgar. He'll dispose of it. Well watchya all starin' at!?!? Get back to yer trainin'!"
No one paid too much attention as Tim and Drake won their fights. Everyone was still thinking about the death of Jink at Edgar's hands. The reality of a pirate's life was beginning to settle in on the recruits.
Rapina had been glad to get some rest while watching the bouts take place. Arms master Hock seemed always to pair her with one of the smaller boys who had the greatest endurance. Rapina wondered what the arms master was up to. She tried to save her limited supply of magical energy for when she really needed it, but she knew she was using more than she was replacing, and that did not sit well with her. Now that she had a little time at the end of the day to talk to the pirates, she hoped maybe she could find one or two more to help her beat arms master Hock's game.
Seeing Edgar murder the other boy did not sit well with Rapina. She was a desperate woman hunted by the nobility. Drake and Kent were naive boys who wanted to escape a life of farming, but Edgar was truly bloodthirsty. He _enjoyed_ killing. Rapina shuddered. Before long, Edgar would fit right in with the most murderous of the pirates.
At archery practice Rapina did better and she was tempted to nibble Fletcher Arzael's nearly pointed ear when he was close to her helping her with her stance. Rapina's relationship with the archery trainer was quite the opposite of her relationship with the arms master. Whereas the arms master was cold and acted a bit like Rapina was a waste of his time, the Fletcher could not help but give Rapina a little more attention and much more contact than he gave the other recruits. Her arrows did not fly as far or go as straight to the target as the arrows of the boys because they wielded much heavier bows. Nevertheless, Rapina was intelligent enough to calculate her range and arc of fire to make up for her weaker bow when ranges were not extreme. She was already showing that she had what it took to be a competent archer.
While being tempted to nibble the handsome Fletcher's ear, Rapina realized that Arzeal must be partly elvish and whispered, "The wild elf in the cage told me, "thÚau luneah," do you know if that means anything?
"ThÚau luneah you say? Hmmmmm." Fletcher considered the words for a few seconds, "I'm not quite sure. That savage-elf must speak a different elvish tongue than I do, but I do have a guess. Most of the elvish tongues derived from the same language millennia ago so...thÚau sounds like it was derived from thÚaulai which means 'shining'. And luneah...now that one's a bit more difficult. But if I had to venture a guess I'd have to say it means 'moon' or 'moonlight'. So he either said 'shining moon' or 'shining moonlight'. Now what that means in elvish isn't the same thing in means in your 'crude' human tongue. Elvish isn't as literal as common is. We tend to say things in a more...beautiful way."
Noticing that Rapina was getting annoyed that he wasn't getting to the point he continued, "Basically it means 'thank you'. You see? It sounds much better in our language. Don't you agree?"
The fletcher seemed to be subtly flirting with Rapina which was quite a change from the rest of the pirates. Most of them probably didn't even know what subtle meant, much less how to behave that way.
"Shining moon means thank you? It is more beautiful, but I find the connection between moons and gratitude so abstract it's difficult to grasp. Perhaps Brackston would see a clearer connection," Rapina smirked.
The next three days went by in a flash. The boys were unusually well-behaved after Brackston's horrible demonstration, but Rapina only saw them on two of the three nights because Captain Red Jack had her over on the first and second nights. Not surprisingly, Brackston gave Rapina no trouble for being invited to sleep in the captain's luxurious bed, though he was quick to tell the boys they were lovely and soft, just the way he liked boys. This had the effect of making them all try to seem extremely tough. Rapina had to hide a smirk. The brutal Brackston knew how to handle boys.
Rapina put the time in the captain's library to good use. She was currently reading words beginning with "q" and was still convinced that the dictionary was a way scholars and noblemen maintained an intellectual superiority over commoners. Rapina found Leech Kennon's books nearly as interesting as Captain Red Jack's large dictionary. She was digesting them as rapidly as she could. Thankfully, Rapina had also been able to locate the herbs she needed to keep her from conceiving and was hoping she was not too late.
During the day, arms master Hock continued to beat Rapina down by assigning her to the indefatigable Beck, and the nearly equally tireless Emery. Both took turns sapping her energy faster than she could replace it and making her dip deep into her limited stores of magical energy. By the second day Rapina knew she needed a plan and needed one fast.
On the third day she had to stifle a smile. She had to be subtle and very careful of Hock's roving eyes, but Rapina began to subtly change her body language. Mentally she pulled at her opponents' lust all morning and into the afternoon. They became distracted, prone to more errors and somewhat easier to deal with, but they were nearly as tireless as ever and seemed almost to be purposefully trying to exhaust her. Rapina's plan had largely failed. She was scared what might happen if she did not come up with something better. She had thought about telling the captain, but she felt it would be impossible for her to prove that Hock was really assigning the most tireless boys in her size range to practice with her. She didn't want to seem like she was whining.
---------
Rapina was tired and sitting by the fire talking to the men at the end of her third day when Beck looked at her from the other side of the fire. His lust was palpable. This was not surprising given what Rapina had subjected him to during arms practice. Suddenly an amorous smile lit Rapina's face. She stood and walked around the fire. On her way past Beck she drew her thigh across the seated boy's back and gave his lust a tug.
Rapina wandered to some bushes she'd seen behind the pantry shanty. Before long, Beck appeared from the shadows. She smiled at him and embraced him. Already she could feel his hardness through the fabric of her short, sail-cloth skirt. In minutes, Rapina had his pants down and he was taking her beneath the bush. He did not last long before he filled Rapina with his energy. Rapina drank him in with the same kind of enthusiastic gusto he used to tire her with during arms practice. Unwittingly she brought him more ecstasy than he had ever imagined possible. She had pulled firmly at his energy, and she had developed much better control than when she had last fed deeply at the hands of the despicable reverend Evangeline.
Astonishingly, although his muffled moan of bliss lasted over a minute, and he collapsed on Rapina for several minutes thereafter, he recovered his excitement and began thrusting insistently again. Rapina thought better of bewitching him when he brought her to a magnificent orgasm just before pouring himself into her for the second time. She drank less deeply of his essence this second time, but even so, his eyes bulged, his mouth opened and pleasure overwhelmed him all over again. Rapina let him rest on her for several minutes, then the horn calling the recruits to their barracks blew and Rapina spent several tense moments shaking the boy before he came to his senses. All aglow with Beck's energy, Rapina slept contentedly while Beck slept like the dead, his body attempting to recuperate its considerable losses.
--------
Drake, Kent, and Edgar didn't get to spend too much time together any more. The pirates kept Kent busy learning how to navigate while Drake learned how to clean and care for weapons. Edgar didn't spend much time with the other two even when he had the time to spare. He was feeling alienated and humiliated by the menial tasks he was given to perform every day. When night fell things changed for Edgar.
He was on watch as he usually was, but instead of the normal uneventful watch he was used to he instead found himself confronted with a dilemma. The pirate he was assigned to keep watch with had fallen asleep almost as soon as Edgar had joined him. The pirate's name was Kipper and Edgar didn't like him. Kipper had been abusive to Edgar during their previous watches and Edgar was none too happy about that.
As Kipper slept Edgar's eyes focused on a point just over his left shoulder. There he saw a man dressed in a dark suit sneaking up on their watch post. Edgar knew that if he waited too long to wake Kipper, the man would kill him. He waited anyway and woke Kipper just in time for him to stare down at the sword protruding through his chest.
Edgar raised the alarm before lunging at the man with his sword. The man rolled to the side as Kipper's body slumped to the ground. Edgar noticed that the man's sword was still stuck in Kipper's chest. He smiled as he pressed his attack on the now unarmed man.
Back in the camp pirates were rushing around grabbing weapons and torches as they prepared to defend themselves. The pirates on the ships raised anchor and rowed away from shore lest they be boarded with too small a crew to defend the ships.
Soon pirates were rushing to meet the attack of the men dressed in black who were emerging from the woods. Arrows flew back and forth before the first combatants were close enough for melee. --
Rapina had been awakened by Brackston as were the other recruits and told to arm for battle. She boiled out of the barracks with the rest, but Brackston told her to report to the pantry with her bow. Fishy hoisted her up where she took her place lying on the far side of the peaked roof shooting arrows at the foes with various archers, Fletcher Arzeal among them.
"I know you aren't used to killing, Rapina, but if any of those men get across the clearing, they'll be up here and cutting you and the rest of us down with swords before they realize you're a woman," the Fletcher cautioned. "Don't shoot too close to one of our men, you're not accurate enough for the risk. Get the close ones that break through well into the clearing. I'll be concentrating on the far ones in the dim light and the other archers here will be dealing with the ones they can see at the edge of the clearing.
Arzeal was deadly accurate and had keen night vision. Hardly an arrow left the Fletcher's bow that didn't transfix the chest of an enemy. Fishy, though less accurate was a good archer who shot a heavy bow. Rapina was the novice of the group. Her arrows usually missed, and her rate of fire was about half that of the others. Sometimes she could not find anyone close enough to shoot at, but that meant she looked around the clearing more than the others who were intent on battle did.
Somehow five of the black-clad men had gotten through the defenses and were coming at the pantry shed from the opposite side of the clearing as the main enemy forces. A few of the five men had torches and pottery jugs with rags protruding from their narrow necks. Rapina shot at the lead man and yelped, "behind us." The arrow fell a little short and stuck smartly into the man's hip. His leg failed him and he fell forward. The jug broke to pieces, and when the man's torch hit the ground, the area in front of him erupted in flames. A second man lit the rag on his jug and hauled back to throw but an arrow from Arzael's bow shattered the jug drenching the man in burning liquid that smelled of pine resin. Fishy shot a third man in the chest as Rapina's second arrow transfixed the right shoulder of a fourth, ruining his throw.
After that, a few pirate recruits led by Hock and Froggy including, Drake, Kent, Connor and Beck finished the team of five enemies off. Beck who was still wearing a crooked smile, seemed wholly unperturbed by the battle. His unnatural calm seemed to give him an edge over the other combatants. While Kent used his wits and struck primarily at the men who were wounded by arrows. Beck maneuvered around his opponents and cut them down while they were paying too much attention to Hock and Froggy.
Rapina was quite shaky after the incident with the five men, but the battle did not last much longer.
Men dropped on both sides as the battle ensued. The battle itself was short, but it WAS bloody. A lot of lives were lost on both sides. In the end the pirates won. They had an intimate familiarity with the immediate area that the attackers didn't have. Just when the attackers seemed to be winning Red Jack would order his men to alter their attack and would succeed in pushing the enemy back. After the last attacker was killed, Red Jack called a group of men to him.
"Listen up ye scurvy dawgs! Thar could be more of 'em out thar. Hunt 'em down and bring me any survivors. Otherwise bring me thar 'eads." Red Jack turned as Logan came running up to him from the middle of the camp.
"Captain! Sir!" Logan barely managed to say as he came up to the group breathing heavily. "The camp's secure, but...the...the...elf. He's escaped sir! He killed one of the men. I'm not sure which one..."
"What do you mean you're not sure which one?" the captain asked.
"It's his face sir...well...there's not much left of it." He blurted out. "It's like he ripped it of with his bare hands. I've not seen the like of it before captain."
The men were quiet as the realization sank in. The elf-savage was free. No one would be getting much sleep this evening.
When that battle was over, Rapina was assigned to help Leech Kennon tend to the many wounded pirates. During that time she found out that the wild elf had escaped. From what anyone could tell, in the confusion, some unlucky soul had ventured too close to the elf's cage and paid with his life. Theories of how the elf had gotten out of his cage abounded. Leech Kennon believed that the elf had ruined the dead man's sword weakening a couple of the bars of the cage that the elf had then bent apart. Somehow, he had squeezed through the modest aperture thus created and made his escape.
The next evening, Captain Red Jack gave most of the men time off so he could honor the dead and recognize the heroes of the battle.
"I've called ye all together tanight ta pay respects ta are dead and ta recognize the heroes o' last night's battle. First let's see ta the dead. Roger, read 'em off.
"We lost Kipper, Rabid, Ducretes, Tim, Jason, Artie, Bastar, Hammer, Denton, Badger, Conol and Ren. They will be missed, Roger intoned in an emotionless voice."
After a moment of silence the captain spoke again, "We got many wounded as well, Leech Kennon, who's out o' commission?
The leech read off a list.
Rapina was all too familiar with the list of wounded, though she had not seen them all. She'd heard Drake had been wounded, by some reports badly, Beck, Trevor and Connor had taken bad gashes but would likely recover fully. Kent had taken a minor wound and would be fine after a while, Roger, Piggy, Sak, Logon, Hock, and Buck had been wounded, and Arzael had been deeply grazed under the arm by an enemy archer.
"Now let us do honor to our heroes. O' them fighting on foot, Brackston teamed with 'is dog Thumper made the most kills. Give 'im a cheer!"
The pirate men hailed bloody Brackston and his mean yellow dog.
"Tween screetchin' orders and lookin' out fer the rest of ye, Logan still managed ta out do ye all save Brackston in combat. Provin' once again why he commands Red Jack's Isle. Give 'im a hand."
The men cheered.
"'O the archers, nobody touches the Fletcher. He was supportin' the men at battle way 'cross the clearing from 'im an' as usual 'is kill total is second ta none. We found a whole quiver o' his signature arrows in enemy chests and none stuck in our own. Now I know archery ain't as dangerous as combat up close and personal, but it's damned efficient killin'. Give 'em a hand. "
The pirates applauded, a few thanking the Fletcher for picking men off their flanks when they were outnumbered.
"We got us a good bunch o' recruits. I'll recognize a few of 'em here tanight. Edgar raised th' alarm and saved all of are butts. Kipper went ta sleep at the switch and paid for it with a sword through 'is chest. I know 'im well enough ta know he's a better swordsman than ta get run through like that when 'e's awake. It took a couple a men ta pull the sword out. Edgar sounded the alarm, finished the man who killed the Kipper and made more kills in the battle than any other recruit save Beck 'an Trevor. Let's give 'im a hand."
The pirates cheered, and many slapped Edgar on the back in congratulations. Edgar had suddenly earned himself a reputation that few recruits could boast.
Beck killed far 'an away more enemies than any other recruit, 'an he killed as many as some 'o me seasoned crew. That 'an he was wounded in action, first time. Give 'im a fine hand!
The men roared their approval, Beck grinned and wore his wounds proudly.
Trevor did some fair killin' as well, he's got a small commendation comin'.
The pirates cheered for a short moment.
"An in case ye've been wondering why I keep Rapina around other than as a fondlin' toy, Jack winked..."
The men laughed.
"...She was up with the archers. She still can't shoot too good, but she's got a sharp eye an' a quick wit. The enemy sent a special little team ta take out are efficient killin' archers. Five men with fire bombs. Rapina shot the first, spoiled 'is throw an' had the brains ta tell the other archers what was up behind 'em while she was loosin' 'er first shaft. The archers took out a few more 'afore Hock 'an Froggy arrived with a band o' recruits and put the' rest down fer good. Ta her I'll grant a wee little reward.
"Now, those I mentioned 'ave a special reward comin' to em in keepin' with their deeds. Near as we could tell these men were little more than pirates theirselves. They're a band o' mercenary bounty hunters. The nobles here about must have taken up a collection, an' we got a better price on 'are heads than we did a month ago. Fer booty we got a good selection of arms and armor, an a bit 'o money. Lay out the booty there boys."
"A few trusted lieutenants spread out an array of weapons and armor."
"Now those of ye who 'ave a special reward comin' to ye, name it, boon or booty. If it's a boon ye seek and it is not beyond what ye've earned, then I will grant it to ye. If it's booty ye be wantin' then choose from what's here, if it's no greater than yer deeds, then it's yours."
"Brackston, have at it."
Bloody Brackston glanced at the booty. "Yew know, I've got me weapons 'an spares. Let's see..." Brackston scrutinized the better-looking boys who immediately blanched. Heh, heh, heh. Boon!
"What'll it be?" the captain asked.
"I'd like permission to add me own hut, er cottage, onto me end of the recruit barracks."
"Done!"
The men cheered.
"Logon, what'll it be?" the captain asked.
"Booty Sir, gold, silver as much as ye'll part with. I've been meaning to get some things for my place.
"Heh, I was anticipating that request. Consider yer palm greased with what's in the urn on the left."
The men applauded.
"Fletcher Arzael, what would ye be having?"
Arzael whispered something in Red Jack's ear.
The captain whispered something back and then said, "Done!" and chuckled heartily.
The men laughed with the captain.
The Fletcher smiled. "I'll be taking the Rapier and Main gauche."
"Now, ye recruit heroes, ye won't be gettin' out o' basic so don't even think about askin' for that kind o' boon, but thar be plenty o' good hardware here, and I'm offering ye a chance at it. Ye can have a weapon and maybe armor if any fits ye. Just remember one thing, armor on a ship is double edged. If ye fall off th' deck in a suit o' chain ye sink like a rock."
"First off, I'd like ta reward Edgar fer soundin' th' alarm and for his impressive killin'. It's true, 'e didn't have as many kills as Beck, but 'e had quite a few an 'e sounded the alarm ta boot, savin' are butts. Feel free ta consult with th' arms master er' one o' the men on yer choice if need be. What'll ya have?"
Edgar had been looking eagerly at the pile of booty on the ground for some time. A particularly stylish and wicked looking sword had caught his eye. "There will be no need for any consulting Captain," Edgar answered. "I would like that sword and...a suit of armor...although I don't know if any will fit..." He looked from suit to suit. There were a few suits of leather armor, two suits of studded leather, some padded armor, and a suit of chain mail armor.
"I like yer style, Edgar. Yer not so huge an' burly, but ye got brains, instincts an' the bloodthirstiness of a true reaver. Armor that fits yer size could be hard ta find raidin' towns and such, but I got many a suit o' leather armor here. If any fit ye, then it be yours ta go along with the blade." Red Jack had just gained a tiny bit of respect for Edgar. The sword he had chosen, a bastard sword, was small enough to be wielded with one hand, but had a handle long enough to be wielded with two. It was a very versatile blade and a smart choice for any warrior. He also noticed that Edgar had ignored the metal-based armor and concentrated mainly on the leather and studded leather armor. Anything else would be too cumbersome for a pirate. He nodded approvingly to Edgar
Next, with the help of the arms master, Beck chose a fine broad sword for himself, and Red Jack let him try on the leather armors. The men cheered, and then Trevor followed in Beck's footsteps.
"Now fer Rapina. What ye did was good. It showed a quick wit, saved a few important lives, and it proved yer loyalty, but I dare say those men ye saved will thank ye in their own ways. For meself, I'll grant ye a tiny boon. I've a special book I'll be letin' ye see, soon as ye finish that herb book Kennon's got ye on."
"That be it, Fishy, Piggy, roll out the barrel!"
The pirates cheered heartily and most of the men began drinking and celebrating. Rapina must have danced with 30 men that evening, and she snuck off with Pike, Fishy, and Emery at different times during the festivities. Emery had been rather quick, but given her need for magical energy, Rapina had not minded that at all.
-------
This ends Training and Battle, Chapter 8 of The Chronicles of Rapina.
The story continues in Chapter 9, Basic Pirates.