TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 28

"Permission to join the away team?" asked Ratt.

"Denied. With Roka gone, I need you here. They'll have Kashka to handle the rigging."

"But she's still a rookie."

"Trained by you, or should I doubt your ability to teach new crewmembers how to do their jobs?"

"No, Cap'n," she said quietly.

"I understand your infatuation with your new lover, but the needs of the crew and this ship come first, Bosun. Now go help Roka get the dinghy out of the cargo hold."

"Aye, Cap'n," she muttered before casting a final glance at Kashka and leaving the room with her tail dragging on the floor.

Tavorah looked over at Scarlet. "Red--"

"Not a word out of you, elf. I'm quite aware of how bad I was when you first came to my bed. I made some poor decisions then because I was blinded by you. I'm not going to let Ratt do the same, especially for a girl that won't be with us a month from now. Kal, pull this off with none of my girls getting hurt, and you can forget about getting kicked off my ship." Just loud enough that the helmsman couldn't hear, she muttered, "Damn sluts on this boat have been whispering about mutiny ever since I said I'd boot you off."

"None of them were even remotely serious, Captain," said Kashka.

"Tavorah said the same, but it's still not something a captain likes to hear. After freeing this boat from slavers, it burns me a little to hear my crew cry mutiny over some cock, even if it is only jokingly.

"Inform Emru of your plans, then help Roka put together what she needs for this away mission. You two are dismissed. Helmsman, maintain course and heading."

"Aye, Aye, Captain," said the badger girl as everyone filed out of the room.

---

As dark fell, they dropped the dinghy over the side of the boat opposite the pirates despite there being little chance of being seen in the twilight. The small boat only had enough room for six people, five if one was a large cow-woman, and a small amount of supplies. The harness they fashioned for Emru was just a large loop of rope that went around one flipper, over her back then around the other flipper with a lead long enough to, hopefully, not interfere with her tailfin.

Hali and Naivoo were both on the team going to the other ship, despite not having much experience with actual ship operations. In the boat was Roka, the otter girl, one of the human women who often took over for The Bitch's helmsman, a second bosun's assistant to help Kashka and a quiet mouse-girl who worked with Tavorah in the galley and Kal had only seen during her turns with him.

Instead of taking up space for supplies in the dinghy, Kal and Kashka rode on Emru's back and were joined by the whale's avatar.

Emru was not aware she would be wearing clothes for the first time in her life, but her pale skin shone like a beacon in the moonlight. The elf foresaw the problem, and Tavorah had the ship's seamstress make a black shirt and trousers that had an opening in the back for the tendril to come out of. The whale did not enjoy the constant rubbing of fabric against her nipples, rear, and insides of her thighs, complaining that the sensation, along with Kal's presence, was keeping her constantly aroused.

Once the small boat was loaded, Emru darted out in front of The Scarlet Bitch and angled toward the distant pirate ship as the dinghy behind her skittered across the waves and it's occupants held on for dear life. Kal and Kashka were only doing marginally better, holding onto the rope across the whale's back as wave after wave tried to wash their feet out from beneath them.

Hours later, Emru began to tire, but thanks to her effort they were already in the path of the oncoming ship. Hali and Naivoo released the whale from the harness and then helped as Roka unrolled a black tarpaulin large enough to cover the dinghy and hide them from sight. Meanwhile, Emru continued on with Kal and Kashka at a slower pace to meet the pirate ship.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" The otter asked.

Hali shivered, visibly shaken by the question. "Yeah, they'll be fine. I almost feel sorry for the pirates."

Roka raised an eyebrow at the mermaid. "You feel sorry for the pirates?"

"Almost. Kal is calm, but you can feel this seething hatred rolling off him as if reliving something that happened in the past. But Kashka... Kashka is like staring death in the face. I'm glad Ratt didn't come along and see her like that."

Roka grunted. The mage annoyed her when he said he'd pit the cat against any three of the crew at once and still bet on Kashka. Herself, Tavorah, and Scarlet all handled themselves well in a fight, but Hali's description and the fear in her eyes made the bovine wonder if maybe she underestimated the cat.

---

"Definitely a skeleton crew," said Kal, peering down from the crow's nest as the unfortunate lookout's body cooled at his and Kashka's feet. "I'm only counting eight on deck and I expect about that many below decks or in crew quarters. Any ideas on the best way to handle this?"

"Darkness spells on my mark, there and there," she said, pointing at the base of the ship's two masts, "end them when I go belowdecks."

"Even you can't see through magical darkness," he whispered as she hopped up onto the rope connecting the two masts and walked across it as swiftly and easily as she would on solid ground.

"Sight is sometimes a detriment to an assassin," she sent back. "I don't need to see them. Just be quick about casting the spells. We don't want them figuring out they are under attack and raising the alarm before I've killed them all."

Kal watched as Kashka shimmied down the aft mast and then, like a shadow, made her way to the end of the lowest yard before dropping to the ship's railing. Using the rail to hide her, she made her way behind the pirate manning the wheel on deck. As silent as death, she glided up behind the oblivious man, dagger in hand.

"Now," she sent over the bond.

The pirate saw a dome of impenetrable blackness appear in front of him just as Kashka's dagger slipped under the back of his skull and into his brain. The cat didn't waste time trying to silence his fall, instead darting into the magic darkness and using her ears to find the next three pirates.

Kal had floated down to one of the lower yards and heard the men's gurgling death throes as Kashka opened their throats. The second darkness spell appeared, and he saw Kashka for the briefest of flashes as she darted between them.

Within seconds eight pirates lay dead or dying on the deck. Kashka ignored them and ran down the stairs to the lower decks. Kal lifted the darkness spells, then walked back to the ship's wheel and tied it off while mentally following Kashka through the bowels of the ship, looking for more pirates. Her last stop was the crew quarters, where the two men still awake playing cards were both silenced by thrown daggers embedded in their throats. She waited for the magical weapons to return to their scabbards, then made sure the rest never got the chance to wake up.

"Last one left is the captain," she sent as one of the dying card players tried to grab her. In return, she grabbed his arm and used his sleeve to clean the blood off her blades before kicking him away. "Did you want to question him?"

"We probably should," said Kal as he shuffled through the helmsman's pockets and tossed the man overboard when he didn't find anything of value. He then walked down the stairs from the poop deck to the quarterdeck where the captain's cabin was located. "I think Scarlet is right. There's another ship involved in this, and we should probably find out what its plans are if we can. How much longer before we catch up to Roka and them?"

"A few minutes," said Kashka as she joined him on the quarterdeck.

"Your last idea worked pretty well. What about this one?"

"The opposite, a blinding light. The trick is that we are going to stare at that for a few seconds," she said, pointing at the dim flame of the lantern hanging by the cabin door.

A minute later, Kal tossed a small rock into the captain's cabin and said, "Lumos," to activate the rune engraved on it.

The pirate captain roared as the bright light filled the cabin, painfully piercing through his eyelids until he covered his face with his hands. The man tried to roll out of bed but Kal grabbed him and slammed his face into the wall before pulling his hands behind his back so Kashka could tie them.

"Men! Men! We're under attack," the captain bellowed.

"Don't bother, they're all dead," said Kal spinning him around and kicking his feet out so he fell on his ass, "and if you cooperate, I might not kill you too. You're after The Scarlet Bitch. Why? And how did you and your friends plan on catching her? Remember, your life is on the line."

The captain's internal struggle showed on his face, but eventually, self-preservation won. "We were hired by the ship's previous owner to take it back and put the crew back in cages where they belong. We know The Bitch runs light and fast. This ship was just supposed to chase them. The other one, with the rest of my crew, is in or on the other side of The Spine waiting for them."

"That's a good start," said Kal hauling the man to his feet and pushing him toward the door. "We'll be down to visit you in the brig for some more details after the rest of the ship's new crew gets on board."

"Uh, Kal," said Kashka pointing at the bed.

The mage turned to see a figure sitting with their back against the wall with covers pulled up to their nose as they stared wide-eyed at him and Kashka. Looking down a little further, Kal's eyes widened.

"That's unexpected," he said.

"Don't judge, ya fucks," snarled the captain. "Not every man likes a woman's sloppy, nasty holes."

"I don't give a damn who you stick your dick in as long as the other person is willing. But something tells me he's a slave. Kashka, stay here with him and explain he's safe while I take this one to the brig. We should be getting close to Roka and the others soon.

By the time Kal returned from the brig Kashka was at the ship's rail waving at Emru, who was already swimming beside the ship with the dinghy in tow. Kal tossed town the ladder as Naivoo began grabbing supplies and carrying them straight up the side of the ship. The squid girl waited until Roka reached the top of the ladder and stepped on the deck before placing the supplies and going back for more.

"We've had some interesting developments since taking the ship, but for now," Kal bowed low to the bovine, "Welcome aboard, Captain."