Rhyll says with a triumphant grin, "Mister Mirko, let's take the Firewing down a few notches, shall we?"
Baj grins, canines showing prominently, "Aye-aye, Captain!" He calls, "Starboard scorpions, as she bears, fire!"
The sandbars are like sand dunes underwater. The Reckoning floats over a trough in the dunes, but could easily drift into the wrong place in these rough seas.
Ferlan's crew looses their deadly volley into the side of the grounded Firewing. They shatter part of her starboard rail, flinders flying everywhere.
The Firewing's crew, well trained, returns fire, angling their weapons at the Reckoning. But only four bolts land home, thudding angrily into the Reckoning's starboard side.
As the Reckoning glides by the Firewing, Rhyll can see that she is not truly beached. Her prow is still clear of the sand, which is loose and gravelly. Even now, her crews extend sweeps on both sides of the vessel, hoping to shove her clear of the bottom. Draco's voice can be heard exhorting his men: "Push, you scum, or I'll flay your hides off my own self and wear 'em like a coat!"
Baj yells down to the scorpion crews, "Reload! Quickly, now! Reload!"
Revas taps Rhyll on the shoulder. "Ye stand relieved, sar!"
Rhyll says, "Are you up to taking the wheel, old timer?"
Revas shakes his head. "Mister Benning, he's gi'en me a clean bill, sar! Now let a real sailor take that helm, boy!"
Rhyll stands aside to allow Revas to take the wheel, then salutes the pilot.Below, the starboard weapons crews hurry to reload. But you are empty on that side and it will be some minutes before they are ready.
Baj says, "Archers, fire at will!"
Candra takes her own Urag warbow, fits an arrow to the string, and squats near Captain Rhyll.
Forward, Prilehn staggers against Talon a moment. She drops the bow she was holding and the calico cat at her feet scrambles away in terror. A long shard of shattered timber is jutting from the woman's thigh, and blood stains her plain leggings bright red.
Talon sheaths his sword and says, "Here we go again." He drops next to the woman and starts to work on the wound.
Prilehn is badly injured, too badly bleeding to stand. She is pale and cold.
Talon quickly attepts to stop the bleeding by wrapping his belt around the thigh. Blood spills over him, staining his courtly silk shirt. He used this method of binding a wound once on a mission to As Sedrai, long ago now. The belt seems to hold.
Talon, seeing the blood has stopped flooding out, moves on to removing the arrow.
Dacien takes a smooth stone from a pouch at his belt and fits it into a sling, whirling it rapidly over his head while scanning the deck of the Firewing for a target. Aboard the Firewing, he can see Kugg laboring at a sweep, his mighty arms corded with the effort.
Spotting Kugg aboard the Firewing, Dacien grins and looses his stone. The whizzing bullet caroms off Kugg's hard head and he staggers back, falling to the deck, knocking down two oarsmen as he goes.
Dacien barks a loud, harsh laugh across the water between the two ships, "There's a lump fer y'big head, Kugg!" He pulls another stone from his pouch and puts it in his sling, looking for the Captain of the Firewing on her deck.
These shoals are treacherous and the Reckoning must now choose whether to go north or south. If north, to starboard, she will be clear of the snags on the bottom, but will be in the arc of the Firewing's port weapons. If south, to port, she will avoid her port broadside, but unable to loose any of her own until the starboard broadside is reloaded.
Rhyll shouts, "Revas, take us due north. Baj, have the archers ready to let fly a coordinated attack as we pass the Firewing."
Baj says, "Aye, Captain!" He turns to the crew on the main deck, "Archers! Hold fire! Wait until we close and let fly as we pass!"
Revas barks, "Aye, sar!" He spins the wheel hard to starboard, to take you free of the shoals.
The Reckoning can now cross the T on the Firewing as she sails past the enemy's prow, and open up a port broadside. Should she survive, the Firewing will get a shot on her stern as she crosses into her port arc.
As you pass, the Firewing's archers draw and aim their bows at the Reckoning.
Vendig yells to Baj, "Prilehn's out of action, Mister Mirko!"
Baj says, "Aye, Mister Vendig, take charge of the archers!" He turns to Rhyll, "Shall we fire the port broadside as we cross, Captain?"
Rhyll again shouts, "Mister Mirko if the boltmen are read, fire as we pass."
Baj says, "Aye, Captain!"
Unable to spot Draco on the deck, Dacien looses his stone at the helmsman of the Firewing. The slingstone raps the helsman in his skull, blinding the man a moment.
Vendig snaps out an order to the archers. "All right, all right, no lollygaggin'! Make ready! Draw!"
Baj says, "Port side! As she bears, all weapons, fire!"
On the roll, Farlan's crew opens fire on the Firewing's prow, one scorpion bolt slamming into her figurehead, a huge oaken Dragha. The others flurry into the hull. The port volley shatters the figurehead, and the timbers behind it, which drop into the sea. Three of Draco's archers follow it, shrieking and bloodied.
A volley of arrows from Vendig's archers wreaks bloody havoc among the Firewing's topmen. The ship's lookout topples from the crow's nest into the sea below.
Rhyll shouts, "Well done lads!"
Baj calls down to the weapons crews, "Good shooting! Reload now!"
As the Reckoning glides past, she slides free of the shoals, the bottom dropping away. But the Firewing still has some bite in her as the Reckoning wheels into her enemy's port weapon range. They open fire, the volley lancing across the gap between ships and thundering into the rear quarter of the Reckoning.
A stray bolt slices clean part of the rigging above. A topsail yard falls free and slams into the deck beside Rhyll and Baj, but both sailors nimbly avoid it.
The Reckoning is battered by return fire, but the Firewing's port and starboard weapons are spent. There is a moment of silence while both ships collect themselves. Smoke trails from both vessels.
The Reckoning slips clear of the narrow shoals and into deeper water, headed north now, the Queen Amoret about a mile off to the north-northeast. The pirate's port aft quarter has major injuries, many timbers there broken to flinders, but she sails on.
Behind her, the Firewing gives an enormous shudder, the mage Masryn laboring over the side, a line of energy extending from his hand into the water. Now the Firewing slips clear of the shoal that trapped her, rising up in the water, but damaged now, her nose shattered like a prizefighter in the ring. Masryn falls back, exhausted.
The Firewing, bruised and battered, is free , but she doesn't look like she plans to follow you north. Draco stands at the rail, leaning on his walking stick, and glowering at you from the distance. Kugg rises from the deck, rubbing his bony head and looking bewildered. He stands besides Draco as the Firewing recedes to the south.
Rhyll stands up tall on the forecastle and gives Draco a salute. He turns to Revas and says "Lets get that prize now, Mister Revas!"
Dacien puts a pair of fingers to his lips and gives a sharp whistle before calling across the widening gap, "Next time, it'll be yer big, green ass, Kugg!!!"
Draco turns and gives a signal to his helm, and the damaged vessel wheels to starboard, to take a long route about the shoals and southeast, away from Azora Cay.
Baj says, "An excellent result, Captain, all considered!"