Startup 99: Export Authority

Lamashan 15

Syl’s lips were curved into a strange half smile that looked wrong on her face, and downright ghoulish when combined with the stark terror in her eyes. She’d already thrown away her weapons, no doubt scared that Nendra would force her to attack someone. I knew for a fact that she could. I’d seen her force an assassin to beat his own friend nearly to death right in front of me.

It’s a big effort for her to do something like that, but it’s an area spell. She could really fuck up the crew if her range is this long. Might as well see what she wants.

“Let her go, Nendra.” I said, my voice as steady as I could manage. “We can talk, but not like this.”

“I can’t hear you, dear husband.” Nendra said through Syl’s mouth. “I want you to come over to this ship. Alone, preferably. We can talk once you’re here.”

“Fuck that.” I growled. “Rowe, Sandara, get the ship ready for a broadside.”

We didn’t have many proper cannons, just four on each side, but what we did have was Rowe and her team. Each of the shots we did fire would be guided exploding rockets loaded with alchemist fire. They were better for hurting personnel than damaging the ship itself, but scattering hot shards of metal across the deck and starting a fire would be a great opening salvo if it came to that. Hopefully it wouldn’t, since the Magpie Prince was an actual military grade frigate with 20 cannons. In a firefight they’d mop the floor with my refitted merchant ship.

I marched up to the bow, squinting through my shade lenses, and picked out Nendra tracking my movements with a spyglass. Another woman in black held a parasol over Nendra, blocking the sunlight from her eyes, and looking directly at me.

I felt a twinge of guilt when I recognized the servant as Jan’Nai. She’d regained some weight since the last time I’d seen her, but she was practically stooped over with weight. I hadn’t had much of a plan when I promised I’d help her. It had been an improvised thing, one part fishing for an embedded agent to two parts trying to give her hope. Even now, I mostly needed to focus on Nendra first.

You want to show off your powers? I can play that game too.

I let out a long, low whistle, and pushed my weather control to its limits. A shimmering field of orange transmutation magic pulsed out of my body, rapidly sapping the heat from the air. Frozen raindrops clicked against the deck, and a faint patina of frost crept out from my feet. Once I saw a few flecks of frost on the Magpie Prince, I knew she’d be in range of my new Whispering Wind power. It allowed me to talk to anyone within the area where I was controlling the weather.

“No,” I said quietly. “I think I’d prefer to stay right here. Let go of Syl, Nendra, and we can talk.”

I heard a gasp of breath from Syl, and when I briefly looked at her her face was back to normal.

“Oh, very nice, Emrys!” Nendra said, and I heard her voice as if she were right next to me. “That’s a fascinating trick! I don’t think Carys knows this one.”

“What can I say. I’m an innovator.” I replied, deadpan. “What do you want, Nendra? I was having lunch with a business partner and I’m a bit busy.”

“Is that any way to speak to your wife?” Nendra asked, her voice very cool.

“You’re right.” I said, “Thank you for your concern. I didn’t need an extra ship, but if you’re here for a fight I’m sure the Magpie Prince will have excellent resale value. Maybe even enough to finish out the contract.”

It was a bluff. I had some ideas for how to deal with the old ball and chain, assuming her powers worked the way I thought they did. If I was even partially wrong, she could plausibly turn my deck into a bloodbath. She also wasn’t the only threat on her ship. As we spoke, I swept the spyglass across the deck. Just counting the people I knew, Nendra had brought along Sinkitah, Xenobia, and Vorys. I even spotted a couple goblins that I thought might be Gobron and his lackey Lafloo posing near the bow.

So there’s Nendra the body jacker, I think Vorys was a necromancer, and Gobron was a pretty solid melee fighter with a teleporting pocket bard. I don’t actually know what Xenobia or Sinkitah contribute, but I doubt they are here to sightsee.

“You should be so lucky.” Nendra said. “As I said, I’d prefer not to fight, so instead I’ll ask for one little thing. A trifle really, and I won’t be forced to kill your crew.”

“Oh? How generous.” I said sarcastically, “Why should I give you anything, Nendra? Especially given that anything I give you will count towards my debt, what with you being a representative of House D’Lann. I worked that much out with Dovnu.”

They flew the flags of Shenchu, a set of ports near Port Peril ruled by Tengu. I didn’t know anything about them except that they shared a name with a Chinese tea my mom drank when she had an upset stomach. Autopilot told me they were essentially a classier, more Asian version of Goatshead. Anything goes capitalism, with a cut throat bird man at the top making sure everything goes smoothly so he can get his cut.

“Of course, dear husband.” Nendra said, “I only want a single thing from you. You see, I’ve recently acquired a very interesting spirit on my travels. He was bound to an old shipwreck, you see. The Saber’s Kiss, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. He told me of a fascinating set of three horns, and I have reason to believe you have one of them. Give it to me, so that I might acquire the treasure myself.”

And in doing so, block me from getting the treasure. Classy. Alright, time to stall while I ask some important questions.

“And what’s to stop you from taking the horn and immediately turning on me?” I asked, though I knew the answer.

I tuned her out for a moment while I opened up another channel within the area of my magical zone of cold.

“So, Conchobar, quick question.” I said. “Have you memorized and written down the song from the Horn of Honor?”

“Emrys.” Conchobar said, “You are not considering actually giving her the horn, are you?”

“If Syl is right, then we only need the songs.” I said, “If it doesn’t work out… well, then we go up north and try to wreck Rampore’s shipping. So, do you know the song?”

“Yes, ok! Not for the Horn of Freedom though.” He said, “I’ve only really fiddled with that one for a bit.”

That’s all I needed. Now to make the most of this.

“Of course technically that word in infernal is referring specifically to pacts which are only legally rather than magically enforced, but I’m fairly certain it still applies here,” Nendra said, “In any event if either of us step foot on the other’s ship in good faith, the laws of hospitality apply until we cross the horizon. So if you don’t want me to start launching cannonballs at the waterline, you had best get over here with that horn. Now.”

“Fine, fine,” I said, “If it’s worth as much as my ship and crew, I’ll give it to you.” (Bluff 4+14+10=28)

“It’s not worth nearly that much, dear husband.” Nendra said, “It’s only a horn. Perhaps… say, two thousand gold pieces.”

Damn it. That would have been awesome if it worked. Knocking the market value of the Enterprise plus more than thirty healthy, physically fit slaves off the debt would have made this worth it all on its own. Fuck the treasure if I could have gotten that.

“Guys.” I said. “Be ready; things are about to go down.”

I shifted Weather Control’s output, and a warm downdraft enveloped me as the globe of frigid air was allowed to collapse.

“This is an artifact.” I said through the link. “If you’re going to insult me with a price like that, this conversation is over.”

Heavy fog rolled in as we spoke, along with a strong wind perfectly angled to push the Enterprise away. We had a heading that was relatively safe, out into the open sea. That would have to do for the moment.

Thankfully my initial theory was correct, and Nendra’s body control sphere relied on line of sight. I could hear her screeching in my ear, but I kept the line open just in case.

“Snowfeather! Fire the cannons! Destroy him! Kill anyone else, I don’t care! You can have the stupid horn, just as long as you don’t hurt my husband!”

The cloud of fog didn’t last as long as I’d have liked, mostly because wind and fog don’t mix well, but by the time it cleared we were mostly out of Nendra’s range and out of the firing arc of her cannons. Unfortunately, that was not at all the same thing as being safe.

I wasn’t an expert on ships when I came to the Shackles, and still had only a general understanding of ship designs. Naturally, my ability to create localized, steady, strong winds that basically only existed for the Enterprise really gave us an edge over mundane sailing ships. There were a lot of other things that could factor into how fast a ship could go, however.

For example, the fact that the Magpie Prince had one more mast than the Enterprise meant that it had more sail area, allowing it to convert more of the wind it did have into forward thrust. The fact that the Magpie Prince was longer and a bit narrower than the Enterprise meant that it had a higher realistic top speed, due to the way water displacement worked. And of course, the taut chains stretching in front of the Prince implied they were also being towed by something or other underwater. We got a few minutes as the ship wheeled around with remarkable speed, and then they were gaining on us.

“Rowe?” I said hopefully, leaning over the stern to get a better look, “Did you finish installing the engine?”

“What? No! Less than one day!” Rowe said through the connection, “We use, it break hull!”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I’d identified the engine from Laurent’s ship once things had calmed down, and put Rowe to work getting it set up almost immediately. She’d been rigging it up based on Syl’s description all morning, and seemed confident she’d have it up and running within a few days.

The Kinetic Engine resembled a large drum, and apparently operated by converting any energy applied to its flat side into forward thrust. Once it was properly installed, it would be able to push the entire ship from inside of the hold, boosting our speed massively as long as we were moving in a straight line. Of course, if it slipped and burst out of the bow of the ship, that would be suboptimal.

“See if you can get it workable!” I said, “We really need something to speed us up, now!”

I dropped a few icebergs behind us, just so I was doing something, but it wasn’t as effective as I’d hoped. Sinkitah of all people strode up to the front of the ship and started brandishing her parasol at the piles of ice, pointing at them like she was indicating which person for security to escort out. As she did, the massive lumps of ice shattered into hundreds of pieces.The resulting flotsam was no particular impediment to our pursuer.

My crew rushed around the deck, Sandara barking orders at the crew to squeeze every ounce of speed out of the Enterprise. I needed to be judicious about who to pull away. Only people who could do more good managing the enemy than they could manning the rigging, otherwise it was a net loss.

Sosima stepped out on deck, her black Ankheg plate glittering in the sun. I looked down at the taut chains leading into the water.

They have an engine, something pushing their ship beyond what it could naturally do. They aren’t moving all that much faster than us…

“Rowe, get the engine into a safe, working state, as fast as you can. It doesn’t need to be optimal, but we need the boost.” I said through the link, then shifted channel from her to a general announcement for the whole ship. “Anyone with the ability to fight underwater effectively, assemble on the poopdeck. Sosima, get up here so I can explain the plan.”

I burnt a spell point to put the Enterprise’s personal wind tunnel on a loop, letting me use my other magic freely for the next seven minutes. By the time Sosima had joined me, Ve’ra was already rising out of my shadow to lean against the prow of the ship.

“Please for the love of god, Sosima, tell me that at least one person has managed to bind the stupid baby dragon spirit.” I said, wishing for the hundredth time that Vishgurv wasn’t a piece of shit. “We need marine fighters.”

“Not exactly, but it seems that someone had a breakthrough this morning.” Sosima said, and I could picture her strained smile behind the mask.

Naomi, her face set with grim determination, was striding out onto the deck. I checked her character sheet, frowning. I didn’t think of her as much of a fighter, but apparently she’d been the recipient of a Companion Boon, part of the reward for getting our hands on the third and final piece of the Three Reasons to Live. She’d gained a level in the last 24 hours, and from what I knew she’d keep doing so until she was one level below me.

She could bind a second spirit now, and the one she had chosen, Humble Obhai, was a more advanced spirit from the same Constellation of that Milo guy she usually summoned. He didn’t give her jack shit that directly helped her in combat, but he did give her the ability to forgo food, drink, and air.

I guess that qualifies when we are this low on options.

I pulled Laurent’s revolver from my belt and pressed it into her hands. It was enchanted to work underwater, and in a fight that was all Naomi really had going for her. I suspected that I’d be a bit busy with everything else that was going on.

“You’re gonna need this.” I said with a sigh. “Sosima, Ve’ra, keep an eye on her.”

“Captain!” Sosima barked, “They are trying something!”

I looked out, and saw Gobron’s pocket bard crawling out onto the figurehead, which was either a bird or a tengu woman. I couldn’t really tell at a glance. He was scrambling along as best he could, with Xenobia tapping him on the ass with a rapier any time he slowed down even slightly. Several others were gathered around the bow, and I belatedly realized what was about to happen.

“Prepare to repel boarders!” I yelled, only a few moments before the little guy tooted out something on his pipes and six people appeared all around me.

Their first assault was brutal, but it wasn’t exactly a surprise. We knew approximately where they’d show up; if the little bastard needed to crawl all the way out onto the figurehead to use his spell, that meant he’d need to drop the enemy off at the nearest point.

The moment I saw Xenobia and Gobron flicker in, surrounded by a boarding party of guys with short, curved swords, I let loose a blast of cold. The stern of the ship was covered in a layer of frost, but it seemed that they’d been expecting that response. They took it on the chin, and Nendra’s personal guard captain rushed straight at me.

Shit! They had the same idea! Remove the engine, and the chase is over.

“Hey, Stud,” Xenobia said, sounding more irritated than anything, “Any chance we can skip this part? Hand over the thing.”

The blue skinned elf lunged forward, swinging a long curved sword at my midsection. I barely dodged it, so close that it sliced through the breast of my jacket. She was already in the middle of a backswing by the time that my turn came up and the world froze around me.

My brain finally processed the shouting that had started the moment Gobron appeared on deck while I considered my next move.

“It’s that fucker!”

“No way! Not again!”

“Get the bastard!”

“I’m not going back!”

As far as I could tell, nearly every member of my crew who could see the little green Gaston cosplayer had laser focused upon him, and most of them were charging him all at once. I counted four crossbow bolts and a spray of shotgun pellets frozen in midflight, aimed directly at him.

If they are making the same play, the return trip is set to happen when he gets hurt. Might be the best play, actually. For them, anyway. I’ve got to get out of here.

If I was the target that meant I needed to get the hell out of dodge. I wasn’t completely useless in melee, but I did my best work with a bit more space. I backpedaled a bit, shifted my weight towards the bow of the Enterprise, and turned into cold mist. I reformed into my real body… two inches away.

Xenobia had jabbed her offhand into my Energy Leap, and while she was wincing at a bit of sudden frostbite, somehow she’d weaponized her drow magic resistance to block my teleport.

“Oh fu-“

She followed up with a pommel strike to my face, and that one actually made contact. Thankfully her blade was otherwise occupied, twisted into a block that stopped Sosima from driving a sword into her shoulder. They traded blows for only a few moments, seeming to be evenly matched, before the enemy boarding party flickered back to the Magpie Prince.

The dogpile on Gobron did what it was supposed to do, assuming they remembered how the Imp’s Gambit worked. If they were trying to actually kill him, he avoided that with a pretty hefty forcefield, just like last time.

My jaw was swelling, making it hard to force words out. It hurt, but I was pretty sure Sandara would patch it up once she finished compensating for all the crew members who’d abandoned the sails to kick Gobron’s ass.

Ouch. Good thing I don’t need verbal components for most of the good magic. Wait a second. Fuck! That was the point! They sent her after me because she’s good at fighting mages!

Obviously, I couldn’t risk staying somewhere that they could teleport right onto me. I staggered away from the danger zone, pointing emphatically over the railing. Sosima was looking at me, concern clear on her face.

“Shma! Nomi!” I mumbled, “de pan! Go!”

Ve’ra was first in the water, and I was fairly certain it was because she could read my intent through our link much better than the others. The other two followed quickly; I really hoped they could get this whole chase squared away before things got any worse.