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The Novel

The fog laid low on the water. Kiji, the young pirate captain, had difficulty seeing across the ocean. The Wolf’s Tale had been sitting waiting for its prey for several hours. The men on the ship were getting uneasy. Clel, who stood two heads taller then Kiji, glanced over at the young captain.

 “It has been over four hours. Are you so sure that they will be coming this way?” Kiji smiled without looking at him.

“I am positive. I got the information from a very reliable source. I overheard the plans from the horse’s mouth, you might say. “Clel looked out at the water.“ Are you sure that you want to go up against them like this? One schooner against four fully rigged ships? These are their strongest ships! “Kiji turned and looked at Clel. “ The Seaplayin Navy are the ones who are going to destroy the ships. We are only going to aid in their defeat. After all, they are the ones who are awaiting Burns arrival in the bay just ahead.  I heard it from the Seaplayin Admiral himself. Their plans are to take down the Burm clan and end child slavery in Seaplay for good. The last straw is when they kidnapped the King’s grandson and held him for ransom. That is all it took for the king to get involved. It’s a shame that they did nothing while hundreds of other children were taken from their families and forced into slavery.”

Clel put a hand on Kiji’s shoulder. “Like yourself, you were kidnapped from your family in Stargaria and sold to a army across the Sea in Ares. What is your real name again? Ah yes, I remember now Yara Swen.”  Kiji turned away from Clel and looked down at the waves that were attacking the hull of the boat.

“It was in Ares that I learned the skills of a thief. I worked as a spy. They would send me into enemy lines to retrieve information or take care of a target.  It was the Burm family that killed my Mother and sold me to the Ares army. “Kiji clutched his fists at his side and continued.  “I have to do this Clel, for my Mother and for my friends who were also sold to the Ares army, and for the hundred of other children who have been separated from there families.” He turned and looked into Clel’s eyes and held them for a moment. As for myself, I am glad that you and the others have chosen to stand at my side. All of this has been a far cry from the normal stealing of jewels in the past. The past several months you and the crew have helped me save so many children from an uncertain future. With all of your help, we have been able to take out many of the Burm’s family ships. We have made them weak. I know now that the Seaplayin Navy is taking a stand in this cause; we can not lose. We will destroy the last of Burm’s ships, as well as Burm himself. Tonight will be the deciding factor for the future for so many. “

A call from above in the crow’s nest drew their attention upward. The man far up in the rigging had been keeping watch.  He was making a bird-call to warn everyone that the Burm ships were close at hand. Kiji glanced over at Clel.

“So it begins” with that Kiji started moving toward the bow of the ship.

“How can we be sure that it is truly Burm’s ships in this fog? “Clel asked following his captain.

“We will not attack until they are on top of us. Our schooner is far faster than their heavy full rigged ships. We will wait till they are upon us and we will fire and run. We will lead them into the bay. Without seeing, they will be unaware that we are having them follow us in to the shallowest part of the bay. They will run aground and will be sitting ducks. The Seaplayin Navy will be able to destroy the ships.”

Clel smiled. “So that schooling you had when you were in the Seaplayin Navy does prove to be useful from time to time.”

Kiji quickly pulled out his compass. “No, I learned these cheep tricks from the old man himself. After all, when I was released from the Ares army it was a pirate ship that I took home, but never ended up going straight home. The old man took me under his wing and taught me every cheep trick he knew. This just happens to be one of them.” Kiji held his compass in the palm of his hand.

The fog now seemed only to have gotten thicker. The wolf’s Tale laid waiting, hidden by the depths of the fog. The hull of the schooner was long, its deep blue color camouflaged in the water. The two long masts disappeared into the evening fog.  Kiji could hear the sounds of waves being cut short. He knew that the ships were coming close at hand. The Wolf’s Tale was dark and not a single light was lit. The men on the ship remained quiet as they brought up the anchor. The small cannons on the stern lay ready. The crew held the halyards to the sails ready to hoist, at the signal. The tension was as thick as the fog in the air. The crew had been in tight spots before, but none as hard as this. Kiji thought to himself. This is the first time we have gone up against more than two ships and fully equipped to boot. I fear we will lose some life in this battle. Kiji sighed and clutched his compass.

The sound of loud voices coming from across the water from approaching ships broke the silence. A fully rigged ship was passing them closely. It seemed as though they would collide. Kiji did not take the time to wait and see them. He held up his hand and he gave the command to fire. The sound of cannon fire reverberated across the water. The other ship was caught off guard. They had not been prepared for a surprise attack. Kiji did not waste any time signaling for another salvo of fire. The Burm’s ship seemed to waver from the attack as the ship past by.

Kiji turned quickly to his men “haul away, get the sails up”. The other ships will know our position from our cannon fire. “

The sound of the sails being let loose muffled the screams coming from the wounded ship. Luck was on the Wolf’s Tale’s side as a strong breeze made the ship surge forward. Kiji watched out over the water. As the breeze grew stronger, the fog was moving out. Kiji new that time was now on his side and he was hopeful that his plan would work. But at that moment hope, was fleeting when he heard the sound of children. Kiji’s heart dropped.

“There are children on those ships!” Kiji screamed running across the ship. At that moment, the sound of cannon fire muffled his scream. Only one shot reached the schooner. It just blew across the deck of the ship blowing away the railing. Kiji fell to the deck, black smoke surrounded him. Coughing, he tried desperately to catch his breath. The compass he was holding fell to the deck. He scrambled trying to find it. A hand on his arm pulled him up. Clels deep voice helped bring him back to his senses.

“There are children on one of those ships. They are using their slave ship with children as a shield. What do we do? The Seaplayin navy will not care about the children.”

Kiji looked up at Clel “then we take the slave ship.” It was a struggle for him to speak.  “We have no choice; we cannot let those children get harmed at any cost.  “Kiji stood up on the entrance of the men’s quarters. “ We do as we planned and have the ships chase us into the shallow part of the bay. But we will not be done there. We need to capture the slave ship and get those children away from the battle that is at hand.”

The schooner ran across the waves like a bird through the clouds. The Burm ship not far behind them, with the slave ship leading the charge.  Kiji stood at the stern of the schooner watching across the water. The fog had all but lifted and he could see the men on the slave ship bring the children on deck. Dirty rats Kiji thought to himself. Hofu, you will pay for this action. Kiji looked back at his men. He knew that they would more than likely lose the schooner.  He only hoped that the loss of lives will be few. The sound of cannon fire made Kiji turn quickly back toward the approaching ships. The Wolf’s Tale darted from side to side not allowing the approaching ships to have an easy target.

“Sir, we are approaching the bay.”

Kiji smiled at the young man who stood in front of him, regarding for a moment before responding.

 “When we start approaching the shallow water, start to slow down so they can catch up to us. When we reach the shallow water, drop the sails at my command and let them blow past us. Do not fire on the slave ship, only the war ships. While we are passing the slave ship five men, including Clel, will board the slave ship and take it. I will stay with Wolf’s Tale and we will take the other war ships on until the slave ship is safely out of the bay.” Clel, who was standing behind him, could not keep his feeling to himself concerning his captain’s plans.

” That is absurd, you and the Wolf’s Tale will be committing suicide.”

Kiji put a hand up in front of Clel’s face. “ Hofu is on one of those ships, why else would they be using such important cargo as their shield? I will take him.” He turned to the young man standing at his side. “I will not command anyone to stay with me, I will only ask. Anyone who stays has my thanks now because I may be unable to present it to you later.

Clel grabbed his friends shoulders “let me stay with you.”

Kiji looked up into his face and was somewhat taken by his eyes. Pure concern was all that could be seen on Clel’s face.

“No Clel, I need your skills as a captain to get the children out of here.” Clel held his eyes for a moment without another word; he grabbed Swenyar in his arms for a short hug and quickly pulled away leaving Kiji behind without a glance.

As the schooner was coming into the bay, the crew let down a few of it’s sails letting the schooner slow down. The Burm ships were on the Wolf’s Tale and began to catch up at full speed with all their sails up. At the command of Kiji, all the sails were dropped and the Wolf’s Tale let the slave ship pass them by. Without much more than a backward glance at his friend, Clel led the large group of men on the slave ship. Meanwhile Swenyar looked ahead at the shallow water. Signaling to the few men left on the schooner to get the other war ships to follow them. As Swenyar looked across the bay, he noted the Seaplayin navy approaching. He knew there was no time. He had to get the other ships to follow the Wolf’s Tale so the slave ship can get away.

The Wolf’s Tale fired all cannons on the ships as they drifted past them. But the Wolf’s Tale was being fired upon. Cannon balls scraped across the deck of the ship setting it on fire. Kiji scrambled to get the fires out. The crew remaining on the Wolf’s Tale quickly pulled their sails up just as the wind picked up. The Wolf’s Tale made its way swiftly across the bay with the slave ships in quick pursuit. Kiji used extra sails to get the fire out on the deck. The wind was breathing fuel into the fire. Kiji did all he could to keep himself from being set on fire. Looking up from his task, he could see the slave ships had gained on them and just behind them the Seaplayin navy.  As the slave ships were all but on top of them, a loud scraping sound came. Kiji could not help but notice it was as if the ships themselves were crying out. The Wolf’s Tale glided swiftly away under a siege of cannon fire. Kiji looked across the horizon and found that the ship that had the children on it was waving a white flag. He knew that Clel had succeeded. Kiji turned to look over the Wolf’s Tale and most of the ship was on fire. Kiji knew that she was lost. He screamed out to the remaining crew to leave the ship. As the men jumped ship, Kiji just stood for a moment taking in what was happening. The Wolf’s Tale was to be no more. Kiji reached to his cheek feeling water. Hoping that it was rain he was surprised to find that it was his tears.

The sound of his crew below him brought him back to the realization that his ship was burning. Without much thought, Kiji dived into the cold dark water below. As soon as his body hit the water he was sadly aware of the truth of the situation. Trying to swim clear of his beloved ship, he could hear the voices of men calling out to him. Looking up Kiji could see men in Seaplayin uniforms scrambling across their decks. Kiji had no wish to be captured, but the water was too cold for him to survive in. Kiji had no choice but to surrender himself to the rope that was thrown to him. Two times they tried to heave Kiji’s weary body onto the ship and twice he simply could not hold onto the rope. The water was so cold Kiji was having some difficulty moving but he knew that he had to survive no matter what. He curled the rope around his wrist and simply let them pull his almost limp body to the deck of the ship.

Once Kiji had made it to the deck of the ship, he rolled over and could see one of Hofu Burm’s ships along side the Seaplayin ship. Quickly getting to his knees, he jumped up and made his way across the ships deck. Without hesitation, he leaped to the Burm ship and landed rolling along its burning deck. Men were all around him and the sound of cannon fire and the smell of smoke made the situation difficult.  Kijis sword was all ready out making contact with Burm long swords. With shear ease, Kiji beat four men twice his size with the technique that only an Ares soldiers would know. Looking through the smoke, Hofu himself caught his eye. Anger and revenge filled Kiji heart. Shear determination crossed his face, as he cut his way across the ship to Hofu. Seaplayin and Burm soldiers surrounded him. Hofu was known for sword ability. With ease Hofu took out several Seaplayin men. 

Part of Chapter one By Jennifer Gallagher.