The Vengeful Tide Ch. 07

Truly, they be a despicable bunch. I see some of them make sport of throwing knives by tossing them at captive male prisoners. If that is what is happening to the men, then I don't need to figure out what's happening to the captive females, human or otherwise.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Maeloson unnerved by the sight. His grip on his bow is tight and so are his eyes on the scene. Ah right, I'm sure as an elf, he's probably seen something like this happen to his people throughout the years of his life. I repeat, elves are highly sought after merely for their beauty, and some people...can't contain themselves when they see that beauty.

Aesteal is...more relaxed than I thought she would be. She looked upon the scene with disgust, but she nonetheless kept a leveled gaze. It was that gaze that did not prepare me for her words.

"Sir, are you...going to save them?" she asked.

What surprised even me was that I didn't completely write off the question. To be honest, whether they lived or died, didn't matter to me. However, it apparently mattered to the elves. I would akin that to the typical gentle elven nature and sense of peace that define most of their type but...maybe that's not completely true.

"I be no hero, Aesteal. Neither are the two of you. I'm here to take what I want and then leave. How does saving them benefit me?" I asked her.

I already knew this would be hard for her to answer because I knew the Hilvir in my time and nothing changed about it. It was not changed into some grand place that thousands would go to day in and day out. It was simply another piece of land that held no interest to me.

"Information and prestige first and foremost, Sir. There's no pirate that doesn't want their name heard through the echoes of time. It might just be a small start, but if you let them all die then there is no established credibility," she said.

I thought over this for a moment and, while I was thinking it over, she continued to speak.

"Next is information. Hilvir might not be the most directly beneficial lands that you could aid, but there are underlying advantages granted to you. Many ships pass by Hilvir when riding to the east. It's normal to stop here. If you were to set up a reliable information negotiator then that would grant you an even grander hand in the world's affairs. Is it not so similar to how Ilzahold spreads her own influence?" she then asked.

I hate how smart elves are sometimes. However, I knew the loophole to her little theory about what I wanted against what I needed. Maeloson and Aesteal had no knowledge that I was trying to work on gaining Ilzahold for myself. I wanted her and, from her, what I needed would come in hand. Though, this only serves to make me more suspicious of these elves, but I would hold it for now.

I stood up from where we had been hiding. "Fine. We be doing this upon your request, Aesteal. However, if I don't get what I feel I want or need out of this, then I hope you're prepared for the consequences," I told her.

"Yes, Sir," she replied.

"Good girl," I said.

I then proceeded to raise my right hand into the air. The sky darkens and the clouds gather. The merriment of the raiders ceases when they look up at the sky. If only I were capable of establishing a mind reading spell then I'd love to hear their thoughts when they watched the gathered sky crack and crumble while the clouds twist and turn into shapes that boggle the mind.

From the sky, drizzles of water turned into a massive downpour with enough force to rival a great waterfall. Aesteal and Maeloson were in awe of my abilities while Liara remained silent. However, there was no question that I held all of the witch's attention.

Water from the trees, air, and grass, I took it all where I could feel it.

"Impressive me with your archery, you two. There be no experience like this every day," I told them.

I pulled the rushing torrent of waters toward us. With the mastery that I had spent over thirty years perfecting, I wrapped myself, the elves, and Liara in the embrace of the tides. Then, I flew my hands into the air. The waters grabbed a hold of us and propelled us all into the air. A roaring shake of the crashing rivers of life that I had taken drummed through the air as I wove my hands back and forth to keep us coursing for the raider hideout.

As I peered down upon my suspecting victims, I was graced with the fear that I had wanted. Never in their wayward lives could they have foreseen the mighty storm that rode its way towards them like an impending waterspout blasted from the maw of a dragon.

Now one would ask, was this entire entrance necessary?

I be answering, you're damn right it be! Even before my time as a pirate, I be a man with a particular fondness for the dramatic. It be a beast that need be satiated.

I break off the waterspout into four separate water towers. I push Maeloson, Aesteal, and Liara to the top of three of them while I continue my way through the fourth. I drive it down to meet my prey.

"Maeloson, Aesteal, now be a pretty good time to try out the runes sewed in your clothes. Intercept anyone who crosses me!" I told them. A glance back showed me that the elves were still trying to come to terms with not only what was happening to them but what was happening around them as well.

"MAELOSON! AESTEAL!" I shouted, gaining their attention quickly.

"Yes, sir!" They said as they tried to nock their arrows. I could see they had trouble in finding their balance so I clenched my fist and attempted to steady the waters beneath their feet enough for some appropriate balance. It must have worked because they seemed more stable now.

I curved my waterspout upwards enough to steady my fall to the ground in the center of the raider camp. Dozens of eyes stared at me in utter shock as I continued to pull the water that I had taken from my surroundings.

I broke what little silence there was. "Know the power of the Son of Poseidon," I spoke to them all.

With a mighty cry that would make any pirate captain proud, I thrust my left hand arm forward and the waters obeyed. A raging torrent sailed through the air and into the bodies of those unfortunate souls that were too slow to move out of the way. Such pressure instantly crushing against the body must have been unimaginable pain for them as the blast struck the side of the entrance of the cave enough to break rock.

That attack must have been the signal for everyone to get their heads out their asses because someone shouted.

"INTRUD-ACK!"

I turned my head to the person who screamed and noticed one arrow stuck in his throat and another in the middle of his head. Since I knew why this was the case, I couldn't stop a grin from appearing on my face.

What followed after was the sound of a horn. I turned back to see at least another fifteen to twenty people rush out of the cave that they had been in. Some were women, and most were men.

"Thanks for the interruption asshole. I was just about to break in a new toy and now I'm out here watching a young mage think he's the Nathoria Empire's royal court magus. You've impressed me, Brat. Become my underling. Serve me and become the fourth mage under me. If you do, I'll let bygones be bygones here. I also quite like those three up there. I've never tamed a male elf before. What do ya say?"

By average male size, the one who said this was at least twice the height. His body be like chiseled stone lined with numerous battle scars. His enormous hands held a sword forged in delicate steel. It's shape was pretty damn big. It didn't look like one could cut anything with it. Hell, it be more of a blunt weapon to me, but I didn't care much.

One of the man's eyes had been gouged out. I assume this from the large slash across it while he keeps the other one open. His lackeys surround him like wolves over an alpha male. I figure him to be unimportant since I don't know who he is, either from my past life or this present one.

"And what be the name of the one I be serving?" I asked.

"Saviara from the Twin Mountains,"

...Nope. It does not jog the memory. Thankfully, for whatever reason, Aesteal gave me clarity.

"Saviara from the Twin Mountains, a brutal man who has pillaged, raped, and murdered over a hundred men and women with his raiding group, Locust. It's said that he tortured a dwarven village for two months into fashioning him a blade from the bones of his victims. The bounty on his head is said to be 30,000 gold coins dead, and 60,000 alive," she said.

Saviara looked up at Aesteal and licked his lips. "Only 60,000? I must be slipping! I'll have to get on that when I get the time. So what do you say, boy? I haven't got all day!" he exclaimed.

I raised my hand. "Well, Maeloson? Tell the man how you feel," I said.

No sooner than those words expelling from my lips did an arrow graze past Saviara's cheek. He touched that cheek and as he expected, there be blood to the touch.

"Looks like Maeloson decided for me. Leaving here, I'll be 60,000 gold coins richer," I replied. Apparently, that wasn't the answer my walking bounty wanted to hear because he quickly got angry.

"Have it your way. I look forward the elves, and the gorgeous woman up there while your head becomes my new drinking cup," he retorted. Well, that sounded fun.

"Kill him," he said.

The three mages Saviara had under his thumb stood before me.

"FEIRA!" the three mages hollered. Circles of magical energy engulfed their palms before flames hot enough to rival a burning furnace were shot at me.

I hardly paid the fire spells any mind, though it was a bit obvious that some of the others did.

"You idiots! Why are you fighting a water mage with fire?!"

...They said it, not me.

A grin on my lips, I gathered the surrounding waters around me. I swung my right arm and a blast of the rivers clashed into the burning flames. A sharp hiss of water and fire flew through the air around us as Saviara's warriors charged at me.

They didn't get very far because a hail of arrows quickly rained down upon them.

"Athramarium," I heard Aesteal speak in her elven tongue. The spirits of magic swirled behind me as she released her an arrow imbued with the powers of the wind thus increasing its penetrating power. The arrow stabbed itself into the ground, rupturing the dirt like a small cannonshot.

"Aim for the archers!" the group's leader shouted. Archers pointed their arrows at my elves while the fire mages and other warriors turned their attention towards me.

The whistle of arrows flew through my ears. With my right arm, I swung the rivers around me into the air. A wall of the tides provided enough weight that the arrows reached neither Maeloson nor Aesteal. Both were allowed to fire freely and their blows struck true into the chest and heads of my enemies. Victims of the raiders that weren't tied to wooden posts ran for the trees as cover. I knew my elves had better control than to harm the people they had worried about saving but it be obvious that the battlefield be not the place for cowards.

"Fi'rma. Haelthira. XAVIM!"

My attention turned just in time to see the mages shift their abilities into those of wind magic. A powerful gust of air was launched at me.

A smirk on my lips, I drew in the waters around me and twirled my body cycling the waves around me like an angled carriage wheel. I increased the density of this "wheel' by about three times before it collided with the wind magic. I have to admit that the impact was greater than I had thought since it made my young knees buckle for a moment.

"How would you rate those spells, Liara?" I asked, turning back to her.

"Spells or entertainment tricks, I cannot tell the difference, Drakclaw. I understand you feel the thrill of combat, but do keep in mind that it's nearly dark. I would like to head back to the ship," Liara said to me.

"It would go faster if you show these mages who be standing in front of them," I replied.

I didn't wait for her reply. Instead, I turned back to Saviara. He and the rest of his group, having used the bodies of the deceased a shields for the elves' arrows, charged at me with as much bloodlust as I've come to expect from people like this.

I could sense how wet the ground was from the way their steps sunk into the earth. I raised my foot and stomped the wet soil splashing droplets around me. I took them all into the possession of my powers and crafted more shards than any of them could count. With a flick of my wrist, I sent the shards flying towards them. So many were there that given how clumped up they were, I could imagine just how much devastation was heading towards them.

Apparently, Saviara knew it too because he stopped.

"Barrier!" he shouted.

I assume he was hoping for a magic barrier to block my projectiles, but it never came. The only thing that came was thousands of blades of water and arrows raining down on Saviara and his group. I think I had been a bit excessive in my amount of shards and...killed my bounty.

...Fuckin' clamshit. Now, I was out 30,000 gold.

I lowered the waters for Liara and the elves which allowed them to join me as we viewed the bloodshed we had caused. "Why didn't those three mages cast that protective spell? It might have saved them," Aesteal said.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that it wouldn't have made a difference since, thanks to Liara, I knew how much pressure it would take from my abilities to destroy every category of spells known throughout the world. A barrier like the one those mages were crafting would not have been so difficult to pierce through.

"I was watching. They were creating the barrier, but...it was destroyed before they could even fully construct it. I believe only one person could do that," Maeloson said. Need I turn around to know he was subtly looking at Liara? I think not.

I signaled for Maeloson and Aesteal to release the captive men and have Liara tend to them while I journeyed inside the cave that had been their hideout.

When I looked inside this cave, it was as I thought. The treatment of the town men had given me some insight into what had happened to its female populace. I don't feel like recounting the tale of what I had seen. I only remember cutting chains and ropes from the arms and legs of those women still well enough to move. There were not many of them compared to the number of corpses that I had seen. Even then, I wondered if some of these women preferred death to living.

As I walk deeper into the cave, I find myself retracting my statements on just what the women have experienced. I see a few...more fragile-looking men who have been given no less hospitality than the ladies. I released them as well.

I'd be lying if I said this moved me or played upon my senses of empathy, but it didn't. During my first voyages at sea, I had long since come to terms with the harsh realities of the world. It didn't help that I was also from Draegnar, one of the most lawless cities the world has ever known.

Admittedly, I do wonder why none of the neighboring Hilvir forces did something about this. It is possible that, as Maeloson and Aesteal pointed out, the town was only recently destroyed. All the men, women, and children had been captured so there was probably no way for word to get out about what happened.

I took a sharp turn through the cavern that served as the base for the raiders. Once I did, I found a set of rooms that were most likely their quarters. When I looked through them, I saw more victims. I released them and ordered them outside. There was one that I asked for where Saviara's quarters were. She told me with some hesitance. His quarters lay at the very back of this hallway.

Down that hallway I went and it wasn't long for me to see a set of double doors. I pushed them and found a bedroom filled with gold, jewels, fine stones, and treasures that I had definitely not seen so early into my previous life.

Out of the corner of my eye, I also see a woman's arms tied to a bedpost. Her hair is not as white as the elves' but there is a sheen to it that cannot be compared with what I had typically seen. Her attire is much more...refined than the simple townsfolk that I had seen in my previous walk through the caves. I can tell that she be a knight from the shimmering steel of her torn breastplate. I'm not sure which empire she hails from, but I believe her to be from Fiolomir's neighboring land, Hæňgaram. I think this due to the torn insignia on her armor. Half of that armor has been ripped off showing me her rather aroused tits.

Judging from the handprints on them, I now had begun to understand why Saviara had been so initially unhappy. I had obviously interrupted his fun time.

I took out my notebook and began writing plans for how I could transport the new wealth that I had back to the ship. Based on this alone, I have already paid Sothshore back for her investment in this voyage. Of course, I would grant her greater treasures the likes that even this could not compare to, but it might ease her worries once she feasts her eyes upon this.

I cut the woman free and her body dropped to the ground. She was obviously very weak from the way she tried to move her arms. She looked up at me and growled. She must have gotten some surge of strength because she grabbed a stray treasure blade that had been laying in front of her.

"Releasing me will prove to be your biggest mistake! You wretched raiders will pay for the suffering you've inflicted upon this town!"

The woman charged at me but I paid her no real mind. I stepped away from the swing of her blade before whipping a piece of water that I felt in a large goblet against her face. Her body staggered and she fell back to the ground.

"Stay your blade, knight. I'm not with the raiders," I told her.

I think she must have been delirious because she charged at me again. Her form was as sloppy as her hair, but I think that to be because Saviara must have done some rather unsightly things to her.

I swirled the water around and smacked it against her body which pushed her away from me. She crashed into some of the gold coins to the side of me. I thought she would take the hint and keep her head down.

...I was wrong.

I think it was after the 20th strike that I started getting annoyed. I ducked under the blade and rolled my eyes. I buried my fist in her stomach. Both the wind and her fighting spirit were knocked out of her as she fell to the ground with a hard thud. She did not get back up.

I stared at her form and found her pleasing to the eyes. She was feisty enough, I'll give her that. I can see why Saviara, or any man, would desire such a woman's company, even if it was under deplorable methods like those.

Once I finished writing everything down, I pulled the woman over my shoulder and walked out the cave. Once I was out, I noticed how many people were standing outside. There were quite a few of them. Many of them were hugging each other and bawling their eyes out. I can't say I don't see why.

"Aesteal, tie this one up. She's coming with us. Have someone throw her in the brig when we get back," I called.

My voice was like a sharp sword cutting through the ease that everyone felt. Yet, true to form, the female elf offered no retort. "Yes, Sir," she said.

I gave the female knight to my elf and Aesteal began binding her arms and legs.

While she did that, Maeloson asked for my attention. He told me that some of the people wished to become part of the crew. It would seem that some of the men had taken to Maeloson and some of the women to Aesteal. I...am unsure as to why that's the case, but I don't care to ask. Hell, it's more laborers for the ship since I had lost a few both at the start of the journey and over its course.

"Fine, but the men are your responsibility, and the women are Aesteal's. If there be trouble, then it be on your heads," I told him. Maeloson agreed. Aesteal did as well.