NOVEL NEXT 2.57 - The Nightsail
Pirates, brigands, and buccaneers, all ye who plunder treasure and strike fear in the hearts of honest men, listen close and listen well. In the dark of night, when you think it's safe, that's when the nightsail comes. With blackest cloth and sharpest blades, you'll fall to the depths of hell in the blink of an eye. Beware ye who cross the shadow of Minenblum
-Excerpt from an old pirate's tale
They passed around the northern coast of Derridas on their way home without an issue. Rose had almost expected a small fleet to pursue them for revenge after their attack on Eastfel Bay, but it seemed that they had struck too fast for the enemy to formulate a response.
With just two days of sailing left until they returned home, she finally allowed herself to relax. Rose knew that the war was far from over, but striking the first decisive blow against their enemies had brought a lot of peace to her.
Her mother's death was far from avenged, but she had taken the first step towards doing so. All that remained was taking out the top brass.
She was aware it was a lofty goal, but you had to aim high if you wanted to succeed. That was something her father had taught her from a young age.
The advice was mostly to do with fishing, but it held true in more than one area of life. Although it had also let her catch some pretty damn big fish.
The day passed without incident, save for a few soldiers throwing their guts up over the edge of the ship. Not all of the natives of the Emerlan Isle were fisherfolk and for plenty of them this was the first time they'd been at sea.
It wasn't as comfortable for everyone as it was for her. She'd spent most of her downtime drawing or writing, allowing her to bring her skills closer to giving her the next trait and her occupation towards completion.
She brought up the whorls to check the progress, both pleased and annoyed at what she saw. Although she knew most people only completed one—maybe two if they were dedicated—occupations in their lives, she knew she needed to be better.
She vowed to carefully think about her next occupation and ensure she picked one that would grow with everything she did. Something that suited a pirate, rather than a librarian.
Skill up!
Drawing 36 > 37
Writing 27 > 29
Reading 22 > 24
Your occupation has advanced!
You have earned a new trait!
Exquisite Insight: Having taken time to learn about the world around you and how it works, you are able to glean more about the phenomena you witness than an average person. Your ability to absorb knowledge is increased.
It was a pretty useful trait, Rose had to admit, but with how often she found herself putting her life on the line, something that helped her fight harder would be more suitable. All in good time.
The night passed peacefully as the others did. She'd slept twice, but found herself needing rest less and less the more powerful her core became. Even less so after she'd nurtured a few sparks of divine energy.
It replaced the need for sustenance too, though food was a delight Rose knew she would never give up. Even if she became a damned goddess, a delicious meal was a delight worthy of the pantheon itself.
With just two days left until they sighted the coasts of home, the soldiers were in high spirits. Despite their jovial mood, everyone spent the journey practicing and making sure their skills were sharp.
They all knew there would be many more battles to be won before the war was done. Minenblum was not likely to let them off easy after their attack, but it was worth it all the same.
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Rose thought back to the odd sight she'd witnessed when they sailed around the northern coast of Derridas. Highbream had lit all the torches along the wall and Rose could see hundreds of shadows atop them.
It seemed that everyone was preparing for war. Derridas knew that Minenblum would not stop with the Emerlan Isle, but no one wanted to strike the first blow.
Rose hoped that their actions in Eastfel Bay might be enough to tip the scales. If the Derridans and even the Zorians joined them against their imperious overlords, it would even the playing field.
However, she knew little of diplomacy and had no way to make the offer herself. Perhaps she should talk to her uncle to see if he might send a message to the leaders of the two countries?
She was broken from her idle musings by a swelling of the waves. Any other person would have dismissed such a sound as the natural churning of the ocean, but Rose was deeply connected to the depths.
She felt the oddity for what it was—an ambush. Whoever it was had timed the attack well. The moon was absent from the sky and a thick cover of clouds blocked most of the light from the stars.
Only the few flickering torches on deck allowed those on watch duty to see their surroundings. However, apart from Rose, no one had realised what was about to happen.
Rather than wait for her attackers to take her by surprise—or at least, what they thought was a surprise—she slipped over the edge of the ship and dropped into the water below with a muffled splash.
The ocean was ice cold tonight, but she barely felt its frosty caress as she shot like a dart towards the nearest object. Apart from a shark a few hundred metres away, she was the only living thing in the dark waves.
She heard a few soft thuds. Boarding hooks attached to grappling lines. Suddenly she froze, doubting her own senses. There were seven ships surrounding them. That was far too many to have silently crept up without anyone noticing a thing.
Something odd was going on here, but she could only find out by being patient. Unfortunately for the soldiers on deck, her patience might cost them their lives or at the very least some nasty wounds.
None of them had noticed a thing yet, but Rose couldn't shout to alert them without giving away her position. Instead, she opted for a flashier method.
Gathering arcane energy from her core, taking a single drop of divine energy and infusing it into the mix, a swirling maelstrom of power took shape above her palm. It lit up the black depths, a beacon for any nocturnal hunters seeking a midnight snack.
The moment it grew too chaotic for Rose to keep control over its twisting and writhing, she tossed it towards the closest ship. The raging energy tore through the wooden hull with ease. A second later, it imploded on itself.
The implosion caused a massive explosion that lit up the night. The sound of splintering wood and screams was drowned out by the deafening shockwave that followed.
The light of the blast briefly turned night to day. All of the night watchmen immediately shouted out loud. Unbeknownst to them, dozens of masked, black-clad figures had swarmed the deck and were caught in the act by the unexpected flare.
With the sound of the exploding ship combined with the yells of the soldiers, those below deck woke up abruptly. Rose had to trust in her companions to defend themselves.
Her task was to make sure that once the tides turned on the attackers, they would have no ships to return to. In an instant, she fired off two similar blasts, decimating a further two ships.
Three down, four to go. Unfortunately for Rose, even the chaos that followed her attack wasn't enough to mask her position.
Her attacks left sparkling trails which guided those left to guard the other four ships directly to her. "There, fire!" she heard the cry.
Her arcane senses flared as a dozen shimmering tracers raced at her. Half of them shot wide, but the others had aimed true.
Skill up!
Arcane Attunement 31 > 32
A splashing whorl accompanied the pulse of energy that coated her skin. Four of the arcane bullets crashed into it, shattering and dispersing back into the air.
However, they took her barrier with them. Rose couldn't avoid the remaining two shots. One dug into her shoulder, carving open flesh in a spray of blood. The other cut through her thigh, severing a tendon as it exited through her hamstring.
They're well coordinated and fairly strong. I'm sure that they're from Minenblum, but how the hell did they catch up to us so fast and so silently? Rose cursed to herself as she patched her wounds with energy.
Skill up!
Arcane Field Medicine 3 > 4
A second volley echoed out and she was forced to rush downwards. Only one shot grazed her this time, leaving a gash on her cheek.
She thought she was safe, but the third volley was even more accurate than the previous two. As the arcane bullets trapped her in a cage, Rose panicked.