PreCursive

  When I swabbed the game room the day, there were some bloodstains on the floorboards. After having a night to dry on the wood, I almost couldn't get them up. I had to scrub pretty hard in order to do so. I almost wondered if Morlow and Curloch had killed Laryn, but I saw him in the galley for lunch. He looked pretty beat-up, but not in a way that would expin the blood stains I saw.

  “Oh, they took me eye,” He said offhandedly when I asked him about it, pointing to a bandage over his left eye. When I stared at him, aghast at his nonce, he smirked back at me mirthlessly. “I deserved it. Had a bit too much to drink, I did, and started talkin’ about things I shouldn’t’ve. Me mates were le on me. And it ain’t a big deal, anyway. I’ll get it grown bace we get back to port from this here business.”

  Okay. Well.

  I don’t think I would be that rexed about someoerally carving out my eye. But maybe it was because I came from somepce where you couldn’t just go to the equivalent of a doctor a grown back.

  After that little episode, it retty smooth sailing for the few days. I did my assigned duties, spoke to my friends when I could, and even tried to learn a few things about sailing. With the way that Grey had spoken about having a ship somewhere down south, it might be helpful. You know, what with being his apprentid everything.

  I…don’t think I was going to follow too closely in his footsteps, though. I wasn’t ied in being a full-on pirate.

  Excuse me.

  Privateer.

  However, on the fourth day after that little i, I was called to the Captain’s quarters after hours. When I got there, I found my entire party in there, along with Pete. You know, I hadn’t actually seen him over the st few days. Weird. It wasn’t that big of a ship.

  Bel impatiently waved me in. “Close the door, will ya?”

  I did as she asked, raising an eyebrow in a wordless question at the closest person to me. That turned out to be Sylvia, who just shrugged at me. I decided to wait for the expnation instead of just b people with needless questions.

  “All right,” Bel started in a firm tone. “Now that yer all here, we start. We’re getting’ close to the Seahorsemen’s huntin’ range. I re we expect them to start tryin’ to hit us soon.”

  The mood in the room grew much more serious. I stood up straighter, and paid even closer attention to Bel.

  Said Captain leaned over the map table, where one was id out. She waved roup closer. When I approached the table, I saw that the specific map she had seemed to be of a long stretch of coast where some locations were marked.

  “This,” Bel said, pointing to a spot on the coast. “Is where Marrowmist is. And this,” She said, moving a fio a point on the open sea maybe half a hands length away from Marrowmist. “Is abhly where we are.”

  Grey cleared his throat politely, and used his fio move hers down slightly. At Bel’s dirty look, he just smiled at her, as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.

  Bel snorted, but tinued. “Over here,” She said, moving her fio point at a small spit of ro the map. “Is where Caer Drarrow is. Now that’s where I’m takin’ ye, but first we’ll have to deal with the Prime and his herd. Now, I talked to some of the other Captains ba port, and we figure that their range is somewhere around…here.” She said, making a rge circle on the map.

  Inside said circle was the isnd of Caer Drarrow.

  Grey’s attention sharpened. “Wait,” He said, raising a hand. “That ot be right. Such a rge hunting ground is unheard of. Even for a Prime. Especially for a Prime. They’re not known fing far and wide in search of prey. Why would they? They’ve already reached the apex designation for their species. Their bestial instincts tell them that all they need now is to defend their territory, and trol their underlings.”

  “I don’t know about that, but this is what I’ve been told,” Bell said stubbornly. She stabbed a finger down at the map, farther from where we were, but still within the circle she had indicated earlier. “I was around right here when I was attacked and lost me fleet. I know they range farther than they should.”

  Grey stroked his bare ptively, while I sidered the problem. “Is it possible,” I spoke slowly, drawing everyone’s attention. “To trol monsters?”

  Grey’s stroking stilled at my question. “Eborate please.” He said, direg an intense gaze at me.

  “Well,” I said, a little un the strength of his stare. “I already know it’s possible to influence monsters, through the Breakage Effect. If this Prime and its herd are ag unusual, maybe they’re being pelled somehow.”

  While Bel was mouthing the words ‘Breakage Effect’ to herself in fusion, Grey’s frown grew deeper with every word I said.

  When I finished, he was scowling. “Damn,” Grey said in frustration. “It’s possible, if not difficult, to influehe behaviors of monsters.” He heaved a sigh. “You ot ht trol them, but…”

  “Are ye sayin’,” Bel said slowly, dangerously. “That I lost me fleet because someone’s been pying silly buggers with a bunch of damn monsters?”

  Grey gave a short nod. “Isabel, whereabout on this map is the current blockade line, separating the north and south of the ti?”

  Bel narrowed her eyes at Grey, but hunched over the map again. She studied it for a moment before she ht scowled. Wordlessly, she drew a straight line across the open waters of the map.

  Right through the bottom portion of the range circle she had drawn earlier.

  And near Caer Drarrow.

  Grey heaved a long, drawn-out sigh. “Damn,” He said finally. “The Loyalists are direg the herd.”

  Aurum spoke up hesitantly. “How is that possible, Headmaster?”

  “As Nathan said, it’s possible to influence monsters iain ways,” Grey answered. “I ot say which way they’re using, but the evidence avaible to us suggests the possibility. These are low tactideed, but I see the masterminds behind the Loyalists stooping to this degree.”

  “Hold on now,” Azarus frowned, and crossed his arms. “Bit of a stretch, don’t ya think? It could just be a ce.”

  “No, I see what he’s saying,” I said befrey could, studying the map. “If the blockade line is directly ih of the herd’s hunting range, why aren’t they being attacked by it? They must have some way to ward off the aurians.”

  “As you say, Nathan,” Grey said wearily. “Before we had eve Hollow Hill, the test intelligence was that the blockade was whole and undamaged. The Uprising’s intelligence agents would have noticed if it was utack by a Prime led monster herd.”

  “And those agents would have had no idea that the herd eveed,” Sylvia said in a displeased toheir mission was to observe the blockade, and not the waters north of it. If these monsters were avoiding the line…”

  “All right, all right,” Azarus said, raising his hands. “I get the point.”

  Bel took in all of our versation with a narrowed gaze, before speaking up. “I don’t care much about any o’ that. What I care about is killin’ the damn things.”

  “Then you’re in luck, my dear,” Grey said with a shake of his head. “I believe oals align. You see, if the Loyalists have been direg the herd, they must be providing a safe haven for them as well. It just so happens that there’s a ve cave at Caer Drarrow, hidden uhe water line.”

  I suppressed a sigh. I think I knew where this was going.

  “Call it fate, but that same cave has been our destination this whole time. It is from there that I access the prison interior, through a backdoor that I installed during its stru.” Grey said with a grim smile.

  A sharp smile grew on Bel’s features. “Well, well, well. Looks like we ain’t gonna have to b the waters fer the Seahorsemen after all.”

  I guess not.

  ……………………………………..

  After iently disc our target’s location, Bel had left the room to adjust our course. We didn’t o wander about through the aurian’s hunting range anymore, waiting for an attack with baited breath.

  No, we were going to beard the dragon in its den.

  So to speak.

  While Bel and Grey left to adjust our course toward Caer Drarrow, I retreated to the same room that I had pyed cards in a few days ago. It was empty at the moment, as most of the crew were either asleep or w their night shift. I should be asleep as well, but I was feeliless. I’d decided to get some crafting in to try and calm my mind. I was nearly doh my most important projeyway.

  Way back after we had escaped Addersfield, I’d hit on an idea. Bae oh, we had quered our phrough the use of a certain on. Ohat I wao see if I could recreate, with my oh-so-special Profession.

  The gun.

  I had no hope of being able to recreate anything modern from bae, but I think I uood the meism behind aremely simple hand on. I was far from a gunsmith, but it was basically just a metal tube stuffed with gunpowder and a metal ball.

  Hardly the most plicated thing I’d made at this point.

  Holy, I wondered why nobody on Vereden had made a. From what I’d seen, they certainly had the tech level for it. It’s not like they would be pletely useless in a society where nearly everyone had a Status and a Css with some bat capabilities. I think a rge amount of the monsters I’d fought here could have been killed more easily with a gun.

  If this worked out, I would get to work to advao flintlock pistols. For now, my test bed gun was just too unwieldy to use in bat. I mean, Meical Engineering was a thing on this p now, aherial Melding retty much all of the Professions bined. I should be capable of it, especially after I’d mao make my spear.

  Heh, I guess I might end up being the equivalent of Sam Colt on this p. I may not have made the people on this p, but I was firying to make them all equal. Man, I’d love a revolver.

  Pig up the finished product, I cast a gaze over it. It…pretty much looked like an iron tube on a stick. There was a hole in the side where I could i a firestarter, but it wasn’t much more plicated than that. This was really just a proof of cept.

  Setting it back down, I picked up the small bag of bck powder that I’d mao kludge together. I’d needed Grey’s help with this part, as I hadn’t remembered the corregredients. I’d remembered charcoal and sulfur, but that was all. When I’d talked to Grey about the creation of bck powder during our trip to Marrowmist, he’d actually been a little ied in it. He’d sidered my question, and then directed me to a grey, powdery substahat he said was typically used ianning of leather. I don’t know what it was called in the loguages, but Language Adaptation had tra to saltpeter.

  Which was the right ingredient. As soon as I’d heard that word, I’d remembered that was what had been missing. I’d tested the mixture several times, to the ied gaze of our party. It had worked just fine, produg a satisfying sizzle and fsh of light when ignited. Iing smell, too.

  It was time to test this. I, uh, khat most people on the ship were sleeping, but…

  I was too excited from having fihis to wait any longer. If the noise of the gun going off woke people up, I’d just apologize.

  I mean, what were they gonna do? Throw me overboard?

  I picked up my proto-gun, the powder, the simple lead balls that I’d made for bullets, the stick I’d be using as a firestarter, and a torch. I’d just light the end of the sti the torch to produce the fire I’d hen, shove it in the back hole to set off the powder. In the meanwhile, I shoved everything in ay sack I’d grabbed from the hold.

  Once I’d gathered my things, I left the room to go try out the gun on the upper deck.

  I’d make sure I was extra careful. Didn’t want to set the ship on fire, after all.