Evolution: A Warlock's Rise To Power

Milocara and the three Willow players slowly crept through the second pirate ship. DarkX_XAssassin had retreated into stealth and Bubblegumfairy was hidden somewhere amongst the crew.  The cryomancer led the three players as the opened the trap door and peered out from the storage hold.

After only a moment, the trap door was shut again.  Heading out of the storage room without a distraction wasn't possible.  At least not right now.  There must have been at least thirty pirates on the level above them.  With only four or five people on their side, the players would be surrounded in an instant.  With no way to escape they wouldn't last long.

Thinking about it, Milocara decided to stay in the hold with the others for now.  There mission wasn't to kill all the pirates, it was to stop them from overwhelming the player's ship.

"Alright, everyone, empty out your bags.  Let us see what we have when we combine our inventories.  Hopefully, someone will have an idea."  The cryomancer suggested.

***

Bubblegumfairy stood next to Captain Dos as he surveyed his crew.  They had lost a few pirates in the explosion and a handful were injured.  The worst part was that the rear mast had broken and fallen into the sea.  He sighed and shook his head.

"Higgs, make sure the men are ready to fight."

"Get your asses moving.  You heard the captain.  Keep your blades sharp and your powder dry."  Said Bubblegumfairy.

Captain Dos nodded before stepping forward.  "Men, you all know why we are here.  Fleet commander Richard has a lead on the pirate kings hidden treasure.  This will be the haul of a lifetime.  We all know that we will only get scraps compared to what his men will receive but even your grandson's grandson will be able to live like royalty with our share of the scarps."

The pirates below began to whistle and holler as they turned into a rowdy bunch.

"Yes, yes, I know you all are excited, but we can't let the outsiders get even a whiff of this treasure. If the secret becomes known…"  He then trailed off while gazing around at his men.  "Then you and your descendants will; be harassed, chassed and targeted until the end of time.  Even if others learn that you no longer have the treasure, there will still be those who believe you do have it.  If we want to get paid and not run for the rest of our lives, not a single outsider can know.  So men… get ready to fight."

"Let's give those dogs a sea burial!"  Bubblegumfairy shouted out from beside captain Dos.

"Yeah! Let's kill them all."

"Death to the outsiders."

The pirates cheered and shouted while putting in twice the effort to make sure the ship wasn't damaged.

Bubblegumfairy then turned to the captain.  "Captain Dos, is the plan still to complete the turn and then fire on them using the cannons."

Dos stroked his beard before nodding.  "I think it would be best.  Yes, we could try and get closer now and raid like Uno did but look, the fight isn't going well for him.  The cannons will keep us safe. We have already gotten rid of the vermin who snuck on."

"But…"

"What is it Higgs?"

"But Captain… what if there are more of them on the ship?  They have already taken our rear mast down, if the disable the main mast, or trash our sails, we will be dead in the water.  Do you think that Fleet Commander Richard will wait for us if the men have to pull out the paddles and row?"

A frown flashed across the captain's face.  "Don't worry, we can never be sure about anything.  We should have more men guard the main mast, just in case.  Get half the men in the lower levels to come up to the main deck."  The captain then turned and put his hand on Bubblegumfairy's shoulder.  "After that, I need you to stay with the cannons.  If those outsiders can't destroy our mode of transportation, they will try to dismantle our ability to attack them from afar.  You saw the lousy shots they fired earlier.  Trading cannon balls will result in our win, we mustn't let them take away our advantages.  I am counting on you Higgs, don't let me down."

"Aye aye Captain.  You can put your trust in me."  Said Bubblegumfairy as she slammed her fist into her chest to perform a pirate salute.

She then rushed below deck and started shouting at the men who were standing around.

"What are you slackers standing around for!  We are in a battle; they have already attacked once and you lot are just sitting around."

"We don't have anyone to shoot at.  What are we supposed to do?"  One of the pirates whined.

"Get topside!"  Bubblegumfairy/Higgs yelled.  "Captain wants us to run a skeleton crew down here.  Each cannon will have a loader and a shooter.  Aimers and packers will head to the central mast to prevent any surprise attacks."

"But then how will we aim."

"Who will pack the powder."

"Damn it! Do I need to spell it out for you?  Loaders will pack before they load.  Shooters will aim before they fire the cannon.  It isn't that hard.  Now get your asses moving the captain is waiting and I am not going to get chewed out because you all wanted to drag your feet."

"But Higgs, why are you staying?"

"Captain wants me to watch the black powder, he is worried that the outsiders may still be slinking around or…"

"Or what?"  Asked another pirate.

"Or maybe someone on the crew is helping the outsiders."

"Crazy."

"Nonsense."

"That is impossible."

"Hmpf, I think it is a load of crap too.  So, let's not give the captain any reason to doubt us.  Move your asses and don't make me say it again."

This time the pirates sprang into action and over half the people on the cannon level ran to the upper deck.

In the center of the level were several barrels of the black powder that was to be loaded into the cannons before they were fired.  Bubblegumfairy began to move around the barrels.  She took off the safety seals and looked into each one, before closing the barrels back up.

"What are you doing Higgs?"  Asked a pirate.

"Didn't I tell you the captain is worried about the outsiders?  Then do I even need to tell you what he is worried about?  You should know what would happen to all of us if someone were to mess with our black powder."

"Here I can give you a hand."  Said the man who was just earnestly trying to help.

Higgs flashed a dangerous glare towards the pirate who volunteered.  "Stay away from the powder! No one touches it but me.  You lot double check the cannons and make sure everything is ready for when we get in range."

"U-understood."  Said the pirate who didn't want to be mistaken for a traitor.  The rest quickly got to work and kept their heads down and focused on what they were supposed to do.

As Bubbglegumfairy kept shifting the barrels around and checking inside, no one noticed that there was a hollow space in the center of the pile of barrels.

DarkX_XAssassin emerged from stealth in that hollow space where none of the pirates could see him.  He winked at Bubblegumfairy to tell her that the others were ready.  She checked the last barrel and then took a seat on top of it while watching the pirates work.

"You boys can relax, nothing was wrong with the powder.  Just keep your tasks in mind and don't let the captain down when he calls on us to fire.

"Aye, we will do our best."  One called out.

DarkX_XAssassin held a dagger in his hand and pressed it into the wooden floor before he began to slowly rotate it.  The blade started slow, but then it began to spin faster and faster.  Thirty seconds later, a hole had been made.

DarkX_XAssassin then took his dagger and placed it on the side of a barrel near the bottom and repeated the process.  When he got through the barrel a stream of black powder began to pour out like water.

First it was a single barrel, and then another, followed by another until eight barrels were being drained into the hole in the floor.

***

Milocara and the three willow players coughed.  The three had there mouths covered in wet rags while Milocara's mouth and nose were covered in ice.

A poison gas floated through the air.  DarkX_XAssassin had released the gas through the sleep quarters before letting Milocara and the other know that they were safe to come out. Unfortunately, the assassin didn't' have an antidote because he had already built up such a high poison immunity. The four players had basic antidotes and took proper precautions, which was the only reason that they weren't passed out on the floor like the pirates who had been caught unaware.

Once Milocara got the signal, a stream of black powder began to pour down through the ceiling. The players put a bucket under it and then started to carry the buckets and pour out the black powder all across the sleeping quarters.

For a good explosion, a few things were required.  Oxygen was needed to burn.  A whole barrel wouldn't explode at once unless it was super-heated.  There wasn't enough air in the barrel to cause a big explosion a bit would burn, then the next bit and so on.  Spreading out the black powder would make it easier for everything to catch at once.

The next key was compression.  If the black powder caught on fire it would burn but it wouldn't explode.  When the powder burned, the force needs to be contained until it reaches a certain threshold, which would then cause an explosion.

The next thing that was need was objects or debris.  The explosion need to push those object and accelerate them to high speeds.  An explosion could only do so much damage on its own.  It would be even more potent if the explosion pushed objects into other objects.

In line with these three principles, the players spread black powder all around the sleep quarters. After that, they let the stream of powder fall into a barrel they cleaned out.  Once that barrel was two thirds of the way full, Milocara sealed it.

On the level above, Bubblegumfairy was order the pirates around.  "Yes, yes, set all the cannon balls next to the powder, it will be easier to retrieve what you need when the situation arrives."  She said while helping the pirates move the cannon balls to surround the powder barrels.  Even though Dark had emptied a good number of barrels, there were still ten left.  It was next to those barrels that the cannon balls were placed.

"Good, good.  I will make sure the captain knows that it was you lot who helped me out.  Expect double meat at dinner tomorrow.  Now get back to work, we should be almost in position to fire.  I will head downstairs and get the next shift up, if this turns into a long fight, we will need extra hands to help with the cannons."  Bubblegumfairy said before heading down.

When she arrived below, the three willow players had already entered the shadow tunnel that appeared in the center of the ship.  She sprinted through the gas while holding her breath and entered the tunnel behind Milocara.

DarkX_XAssassin took one last look before he lit a match and stepped into the tunnel.

Bubblegumfairy was waiting for him.  "It will work right?"  She asked.

He nodded.  "The fire will heat the barrel.  When it gets hot enough, it will explode.  The explosion should be enough to cause a chain reaction above.  The barrels we left on the cannon level will then explode.  You got all the cannon balls in position, right?"

She nodded.  "You bet; I had those dude move them for me."

They both hurried through the shadow tunnel.  When they stepped out, Millocara and the three Willow players were being treated by a priest while Lucan stood waiting for them.  He raised an eyebrow as if to ask, 'Did you succeed?'

"Results should be reported very soon."  DarkX_XAssassin said to the warlock.  He kept his answer simple and to the point.  He knew that even though he was stronger and a much higher level than this person, the warlock wasn't to be underestimated.  He didn't have to be polite, friendly or kind, but he could, under no circumstances, be rude.

On the deck above shouts could be heard.

"Damn it!"

"That cowardly Captain jumped over board"

"Should we chase him to the water?"

"Leave him be."

*Boom* *Boom*

An explosion rang through the air.  A moment later, a much large explosion rocked the ship.  It sounded close and made everyone's heart skip a beat.

DarkX_XAssassin turned to Lucan.  "The results have just been reported."  He said with a smile. Then he and the others scramble towards the window to see the results of the explosion.