Chapter 22: Rats of the Sky
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Understanding dawned, the figure before her
couldn’t be Nia, understanding met the realisation that she was falling,
slicing through layers of vapour. Fear was absent, only a sense of serenity
could be found, the apparition with Nia’s form was now a dot in the distance,
and still she gained momentum.
A harsh thump shunted her into wakefulness.
At first, her moan was muted, then as the room came into focus the alarmingly
unfamiliar creaks and groans of the ship screamed to the forefront of her
awareness. She moved to rub sleep from her eyes and discovered that she was
lying on the hard cabin floor, surely the cause of such was being thrown from
her bed. The sound of Marlo yelling above heightened alarm, his swear words were
bad, even for the vilest cutthroat pirate’s grandma.
“Can’t a girl get some sleep!” Morgan
yelled as she leapt up from the floor. Armed with a night shift, a cutlass, and
an irritated demeanour, she departed her cabin. Once outside Morgan searched
for any sign of attack or direction of a scuffle, a slurry of her crew spilled
out onto the deck in various stages of dress, weapons at the ready yet no
attackers could be heard or seen, instead an eerie silence greeted them. Feeling
out of sorts Morgan waited frozen in uncertainty.
“Get
back to your cabins, until the ship is more stable,” Marlo bellowed. The odd comment coloured with a tirade of
rude language.
Feeling silly, Morgan dipped the point of
her cutlass and wobbled towards the quarterdeck. It was as she was ascending
the stairs, that she felt a bizarre sensation for the middle of the night; the
feeling of heat upon the back of her neck sent her gaze upwards, “Somebody
needs to pinch me!” She exclaimed, her utterance was the direct result of a
column of fire coming out of a hollow tube which used to be the main mast above
her, a sail of some kind had been turned into a huge balloon. The balloon
itself was secured with ropes and nets. Dumbstruck by the sight, a sharp pain
from Sha pinching her brought her back to the present. “Ow, why did you do that
for?” She grumbled, Sha responded with a grin, she rolled her eyes after
realising the answer to her question, “You better get below decks,” she
commanded.
The ship suddenly swung to port, sending
her hard against the stairs, Sha followed afterwards, bracing with his arms to
stop himself from colliding with her, and protecting at the same time. All the
while he wore a grin that advertised the fact that he was thoroughly enjoying
the whole experience. Gripping onto the rail, she watched her cutlass as it
slid a fairway down the deck, as reality mirrored her dream, the bewildering
sight was followed by a sharp cold sensation upon her check. Her eyes now fully
past sluggish took in the sight of clouds slowly descending onto her ship and
masts trailing lines in the night sky. The eerie sight of one of Mierma’s moons
came into full view just above the vapours that had replaced waves.
Sha beamed at her, the moon mocking in its luminosity,
“You heard the man, get off the deck,”
Morgan growled, wiping the smile from the prince’s face. When the ship finally righted
itself, Sha sauntered away like a wounded puppy, and she finished making her
way up the stairs.
After planting herself in front of Marlo,
she released all pent-up annoyance in the form of a panicked rant, “What have
you done to my ship? How are we flying? Is that fire coming from the mast? Are
we dead?” Morgan used a word in the middle that she saved for rare occasions,
it seemed fitting, however.
The giant looked at her through bushy
eyebrows, his voice raspy and showing signs of stress, “I built a fire chamber,
which is fuelled by Dragon’s Fire. The ship is flying because I have designed a
way to funnel the energy created in the fire chamber, and no we aren’t dead.”
Morgan’s anger was stolen by the sight of Marlo’s pale face, his white knuckles
gripping the wheel for dear life, a fresh pool of vomit at his feet. She was speechless,
Marlo took advantage offering further explanation, “I’m sorry, I was going to
put this through more testing, but Piper’s life is in danger. If you give me an
hour to do some calibration and make some fine adjustments, then you can yell
at me for as long as you like.”
Morgan felt her senses being numbed by the
unfamiliar but calming sway of the ship, a yawn escaped her lips, “I’m going to
level with you here, for someone who has a fear of heights this wasn’t your
best idea,” She affirmed. Marlo looked at his feet, his embarrassment clear, “I’m
tired and past the point of grumpy, your inventions have not let me down.” It
was Marlo’s turn to stare in bewilderment. Morgan stifled another yawn, before
releasing her parting words, “See you at dawn Marlo. Don’t wake me, I will be
getting some sleep, even if I must tie myself to the bed.” On her way back to
her cabin she noticed Bella on lookout, high up in the ships rigging diligently
staring out at the darkness in front of her as if nothing was amiss, the woman
didn’t give up a shift at the crow’s nest for anyone, even in the absence of a
crow’s nest.
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Morgan woke at the crack of dawn, the cloud
filtered morning light peeking through her window, confirming the night’s
events. With no real time for dressing, she threw on the nearest shirt and
pants. She didn’t bother to don a weapon, keenly aware that it was impossible
to be attacked when you were floating at such a high altitude, she was however finding
a sudden need to rethink her definition of the word impossible.
It was as she was stumbling into her day
room while shoving on a boot, that an unexpected visitor caused her to trip and
find the wall for equilibrium. She sat there uncertain, one boot half on, the
other gripped in shaking hand, then Meena spoke, the sound of her friend’s
voice righting a topsy-turvy world, “Seems like you have been letting Marlo
take liberties with your ship again.”
Morgan shrugged, threw the boot, and shuffled
over, engulfing Meena in an exuberant hug, she ignored the stiff response,
knowing that her friend was uncomfortable with such, “Boy, do we have a lot to
catch up on, a flying ship is, however, the craziest. Are you feeling, okay?” She
asked.
Meena blinked clearly unsure how to reply,
“It was the strangest thing, Morgan. One minute I was dreaming that I was
floating on clouds, the next Nia was shaking me by the shoulders and suddenly I
was awake.”
Morgan smiled at her friend, offering
calming words, “It’s okay, there is a lot of strange things going on around
here, and I get the feeling that we are not done yet.”
Marlo chose that moment to stride into the
cabin, a goofy grin quickly replaced his pensive look when he set eyes upon
Meena. “Nope, you two need to talk, I am going to get Morgan’s coffee, she
looks bad, real bad. I’ll make it a double,” Meena announced, leaving as if she
had never been sick in the first place.
Marlo watched Meena’s departing form,
disappointment evident, clearly, he felt that a source of support was exiting.
Morgan performed a controlled breath, her words considered, “Look, I can’t say that
I’m happy about this. Let’s talk about your punishment later. Right now, tell
me how does this ship work, you are going to need to speak baby words please.”
Marlo spent a chunk of the early morning explaining the inner workings of the
new ship. The biggest change was the fact that the ship was now decked out with
a fire chamber which belted out hot air, and the hollow tube that had replaced
the mainmast was now used as a mechanism to lift the ship into the sky. The
portholes at the stern of the ship were outfitted with more tubes which helped
with direction and thrust. Although it was rudimentary and would require
upgrading, the ships new design should more than halve their traveling time. When
Marlo had finished his instruction, Morgan was quick to outline his
chastisement in a business-like manner, “Right, your punishment is in two parts.
First, you are going to give similar instruction to every single crew member on
board. Your second punishment will be explained later.” Before Marlo could
complain, she added, “Yes, everyone, and if you think that you are hard done by
remember that Rorg would have cut off an appendage that he felt you didn’t need.”
Marlo hands moved in a protective direction
then he left her, grumbling under his breath as he did so. Morgan watched the
giant leave, the vision of him explaining complex concepts to Cheese, the ships
most dim-witted crewmember, gifted her with no end of amusement. Soon Meena was
back coffee in hand, she gratefully took the offering, cupping the tankard
protectively she took slow sips. It was a few moments before Morgan released
words, “I’ve got something for you, but I wasn’t sure if you would want it.” Her
friend said nothing, instead she shrugged. Taking the shrug as acceptance,
Morgan continued, “I have your father’s swords. I didn’t know if you wanted
them.”
Meena’s eyes were fixated on the distance,”
let me see them,” she asked. Morgan obliged, handing them over. Meena felt the
weight of each sword, then she executed a few movements. Finally, she lifted
the longest sword up, her friend peering keenly at the writing upon the blade.
“It’s the same writing as on your swords. I
wish we knew the language or what it says,” Morgan lamented, confusion joining
them momentarily.
Meena nodded, flicked the swords once more before
handing them back, her words firm, “These swords are for use, nor are they for
me, the balance is made for someone else. I will leave it to you to decide what
to do with them.” Morgan was dumbstruck, pondering the immeasurable strength of
her friend, she finished her coffee leaving them in comfortable silence.
Before long Morgan was headed to the
quarterdeck, it was time to steer a flying ship, as if order had been restored
to a relatively crazy world.
Marlo continued to
tinker with his projects, he hadn’t slept a wink since the ship had taken
flight. His brain in overdrive, there really was too much to do, topmost, worry
about those he loved. Worse still he was experiencing a recurring memory, one
that involved the placement of a crossbow bolt against his skull, and so he
worked if only to drown out the insensitive noises in his head.
“You asked for me?” The demure face in
front of him when he glanced upwards belonged to Bella.
Smiling he replied, “I did, I have upgraded
your spare bow to replace the one that you lost in Astrom, and of course, I
have made a few modifications—mostly to the quiver, see here it will allow for
easier access to the arrows and here on the back of the quiver are two sheaths
for your new butterfly swords.”
“Thank you, you didn’t have to,” Bella stammered.
“Yes, I did, you are an important part of the
crew. Now, will you grab Castain for me Skylark?” Bella smiled shyly, then she
left, the red flush of her cheeks displaying embarrassment.
A short time later, Castain bounded in,
bare chested and glistening with sweat. He had clearly been hard at work, at
the ropes or swordplay. Marlo had no time for chit chat, his words gruff, “I
know, you are nursing a lot of injuries, and we need to be ready. Also, I don’t
want you to come to my rescue armed with only shuriken’s.” Castain raised an
eyebrow, “I have designed a special crossbow for you, it is light weight and
easy to cock, and the bolts automatically load so you will be able to fire very
quickly.”
Marlo continued at his work, not bothering
to look up. Castain’s harsh words rousing him, “I appreciate this, but a little
bird told me that you haven’t had a break in days, if you don’t get to bed, I
will tell the albatross!” He continued mercilessly, “Yes, I know your nickname
for Morgan, you haven’t followed her instructions. We need you to be at your
best, and a cross bow Marlo, I mean really!” The pirate captain’s comments were
boarding on personal which is probably why he left as soon as they were spoken.
Marlo grumbled as he worked, Castain couldn’t
talk, the man was beyond driven. Before long words had aligned with thoughts
and thoughts had aligned with weariness, sighing he put his hammer down and
took off his apron.
Marlo was still in a grumpy mood when he
stumbled into Sha who came bounding down the stairs, the prince’s exuberant words commanding
attention, “Hey Marlo, do you need anything else, or can I go and train?” Instead
of replying he moved aside to let Cheese through. Sha was not one to let a
moment past, without asking a question, his exuberant words once again making
Marlo wish for a diversion, “Marlo, why is his name ‘Cheese’? What mother would
name their son ‘Cheese’?”
Marlo sighed before replying, “His real
name is not ‘Cheese’, it’s Kieran. You will need to catch me another time for
the story behind that. I’m off to bed so you can do what you please.” He got
his legs moving before another question could be asked, thankfully they took
him past Sha, onto the next level, and away from incessant questions.
The duke of
Rollston watched the birds flying in and out of the castle’s rookery. In
Aiden’s absence the unpleasant task of fetching messages had fallen to him. Pigeons
were dirty, smelly creatures that had a singular purpose, the rats of the sky
would bring him news from Sirillia often, today was no different. He cringed; a
particularly smelly bird moved in his hands as he removed a tiny note from a
sheaf on the tarsus. Because the fancier
had been paid a handsome sum, he knew that it was safe to peruse the message.
When he leaned against the wall the scar in his hand stretched, a sensation
that always brought distasteful thoughts of the harpy who gifted him utter
failure. His feelings however turned from annoyed to vengeful when he read the
message. Kurja was dead and operations in Astrom were in disarray, all because
of that woman. A cruel smile crept onto his face when he remembered that the troublemaker
in question would now be dead, problem solved. First burning the message using
the candle he had brought, he then started his descent, the tower steps steep
and long. The duke’s thoughts turned to the fact that his plans would need to
escalate, his nephew could still be alive, if so, he would be on his way to ruin
a lifetime of careful planning. The duke pondered on the best time in under a
month to kill his brother, not to mention his brother’s family including the
elusive Jaiera, after all the master demanded such. As he reached the last step
on the twentieth flight it stuck him, it had been announced that the King would
see his court in a little over a week’s time, this to show the masses that he
had come out of his prolonged sickness. Fife Dallinger found his smile once
again, a lot needed to be done and he was eager to get started, there were too
many stairs in this tower and regicide was on the cards.
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