Wandering Agent
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Chapter 153 Against the Leviathan
🕑 Added 2022-06-27 01:40:35 +0000 UTCThe crew wasted no time getting to work. Every man on board ran too and fro readying harpoons, making sure the sails were in proper proportion and battening hatches. As the hive of activity roared the captain approached me where I stood near the wheel with a bit or rope.
"Pardon me miss, but you might be needing this." He wrapped it around a nearby piece of railing and then gingerly helped me tie it around my waist. "Can't have you getting swept away. If, something goes terribly wrong and you must pull this line here, it'll undo the knot I put in. Better safe than sorry." He checked his work over, it was pretty impressive, the way he'd done it up in mere seconds.
I watched as all of our casters were done up similarly to myself. We were guests, but in this case there was no getting around needing to fight. Glen was the only one who refused, as our physical user he was stronger than any rope anyway and he wanted to be able to move if needed. I also noticed that the stocky young man had appropriated an entire bundle of harpoons for himself, and having seen him throw things before I felt confident he'd use them well.
The different bards were assigned crewmen to help them with their magic and as one our ships turned. The three vessels made for a wedge formation, our own leading. This would keep us as close to a bubble as possible, and make it much easier to keep the wind and shields going.
It was a very much 'hurry up and wait' situation as once we were all in position we still had to make it to our enemy, who was not at all close. As minutes passed and the stress level kept up you could see the cracks starting to form, waiting for contact with the monster we had no choice but to fight but all wanted to be done with.
Closer and closer to the storm we sailed and as our two forces prepared to clash I couldn't help but feel like we'd made a horrible mistake. As the storm bared down on us the clouds soared, the wall of black looking insurmountable as we approached it. I had to crane my head up to see the top as we moved to the border.
In the last few moments before we broke the wall of clouds spell roared to life. A glowing shield appeared over each of our ships, doming up to protect us from the worst of the wind and rain. A ball of light or fire roared at each bow so that we could keep track of one another even through the massive mess we were going into, and everyone who was using one got their combat spells working up. I was told in no uncertain terms that my job was to keep our wind right and nothing else, since we didn't know how long this would take.
The edge of the storm looked almost solid, the wind and rain loud, but not reaching out of it, like it was constrained by a wall within only that area. As we breached that wall the change was immediate. The sea which had been getting rougher and rougher swelled, the waves growing quickly to massive heights. Around us the sky blurred from the rain smashing into our shields, everything outside hardly visible, but still we persisted.
I could feel the resistance of the storm to my own magic, but it was minimal. I got the feeling that whatever had made this wasn't actively managing all of it like I was with my wind. The majority of the power didn't seem to be focused on immediate control, but rather keeping the clouds and rain contained, and just building them. It was like the Hurricane Whale was heading up the inside like a kettle, a barrier, and then the rest of the energy pumped into building the tempest.
Everyone on the ship was looking outwards out to try and find our enemy. We all scanned, but none of us, not even our veteran captain knew exactly what to expect as the minutes in the storm passed. As we crested each massive wave all we could see were more, more coming to sink our ship, more coming to take us from these small vessels and into the gullet of the beast.
I flinched as lightning struck near us, old memories surfacing once more to try and break my concentration, but still resisted. Quite suddenly the difficulty of maintaining the wind started to ramp upwards, becoming harder and harder to manage by the moment. I could even see the shields around the ships change as the rain increased to torrential levels, the wind throwing it like bullets nearly sideways at us.
"Something's happening!" I informed Captain Tom, only for the twins to yell the same moments later as their shield came under more assault.
The storm reached a fever pitch as before us it breached. The Hurricane Whale jumped, flying higher and higher into the air, accepting the challenge of its prey. It hung there for a moment, back-lit by a dozen streaks of lightning and for an instant every one of us froze in fear.
This beast was massive on a scale I could hardly process, easily as long as a football field with a horn sticking out again half of that. Around its weapon the aura it let off was visible and roaring like a swirling torrent of water.
At the peak of its ark both sides let loose. From our ships a dozen spells rocketed forward to slam into the massive beast. Projectiles of red, blue and green leaving trails through the sky as they flew forth. The physical users were not to be outdone through and several harpoons as well flashed in the dim light on their way toward the beast at ballistic velocities. I doubted they'd survive as more than sharp scrap metal when they finally stopped. These left several visible, but likely not fatal wounds in the creature's thick hide.
The monster, not one to leave such a message without answer hurled an absolutely monumental bolt of lightning at one of our sister ships. The streaking mass of plasma found one of its masts and super-heated it, the wood becoming a bomb as the water inside vaporized in an instant. I couldn't hear the screams except in my head, something I was grateful for.
Then the chase was on. I saw the shift in color as shields were changed to prevent another of us being struck like the first and we sailed after our enemy. It had us in raw power and size, but like a flock of sparrows chasing an eagle we were not to be denied.
The monster, after having taken damage made to get more distance from us, but that was not to be. We sailed after it as fast as we could, ships cutting through the high waves like knives as we tried to track the whale. It had underestimated us and we couldn't allow ourselves to be hidden from. Our plan was simple, to chase, to harry, to run it until it could run no more. Importantly we couldn't allow it to back away, since if it did, it could let its storm fight us instead.
It breached again, nearer to us and by the ship it had already damaged, and again fire was exchanged. This time I could see how the men aboard had all launched harpoons at the creature, not just us who had better range. It responded much as it had before, but to little effect, we had enough trained mages to shield against lightning if that was it's game, the bolt scattered across the surface of the targeted vessel like rain on a windshield.
As it fell back into the water a massive wave arose from its point of departure. The wall of water bore down on all of us, hitting hard even through the shields and sweeping across our decks. Everyone had to hold on tight as it threatened to take us from our little wooden fortress. My hands slipped and the rope tied around me snapped taut, jerking me harshly but keeping me in place long enough for the water to pass.
I coughed and spat seawater while I tried to rise.
"You good lass?" I heard the captain say from his spot, gripping the wheel for dear life.
"Yeah!" I yelled in return.
"Good, forward then! Let's get this beast."
"Aye aye captain."
"Hah!"
As I rose I looked to see several men from the ships had been swept overboard. It took me a moment, but only one such to see to my horror that they were all pulled by an unnatural current away from us and together.
"Ropes! Get them ropes!" I yelled, but too late, as the Hurricane Whale came up from below, the men pulled into its gullet.
I wanted to puke as I saw them swallowed by the massive creature, lost to us now. It didn't escape with that for free though, as more and more attacks pelted it from the survivors.
This process repeated itself several more times as our battle continued. We'd learned it's tactic though and when the next wave came only one or two men fell into the dark waters to be consumed. It was bloody, and horrid, but we all watched, hoping against hope that some would make it.
It took a toll on us though. The mana to keep so many spells going was exhausting, and as the battle wore on more and more of the rain was let through the shields in favor of keeping the lightning away. I was managing but only barely, my mana slowly ticking away from all the continuous use, gestalt or no.
While we were waterlogged and exhausted the whale was bloody. It looked like a horror movie as it came up, trying again to hurt us. After it's fall and wave came again it stayed down for longer than before, and I tried to hope that it had finally fallen.
That was not to be though. It had seen our weakening defenses and had opted for a new attack. This time as it came upwards it slammed into the side of the most damaged ship, its horn leading. It was sickening to see the massive spire of bone pierce the other vessel, breaking wood like wet paper.
"More harpoons!" I heard the call go out from Glen, him launching the last of his own.
The cabin boy Elian ran towards him with another bundle. He'd been running those back and forth to the men as they used them up, otherwise trying to stay out of the way. As he did I heard the cracking of wood splintering from the damaged ship as the beast turned its head, flinging as much of the destroyed vessel at us as it could.
Our shields had been too focused on lightning prevention and the slabs of wood were not small. Some broke or deflected on what was left of the physical defenses but too many made it through, hitting hard into the rigging and making the wood of our two back masts crunch. I was nearest the back mast and saw it leaning like a tree in the middle of felling, with clumsy fingers I pulled on the knot the captain had shown me and released myself.
I jumped down to the nearby lower deck not a moment too soon as the spar of wood crashed down, wood and thick ropes landing where I'd been mere seconds before. It took us all a few heartbeats to regain our composure and look but when we did we saw a most welcome sight.
The titan had destroyed one ship, but in the process had caught itself in the wreckage. Ropes bound to the hull now wrapped around its horn like a net and I nearly cheered as I saw the massive beast struggle against their bindings, held fast to the mess it had created.
We were nearly dead in the water but our other sister ship had no such issues and while our attackers pelted with what they could the final vessel closed in to kill our enemy. They made up aside from it and flung spells and projectiles in equal measure, the already bloody side of the monster torn and shredded beneath their angry onslaught.
The creature though would have its say and with a painful keening expelled more mana than I'd seen it use yet. Its final spell pulled inconceivable quantities of energy in and loosed them as one final storm of lightning against the other ship, wracking it and setting it well aflame.
The storm didn't stop of course, and as I stood on the deck, stunned that the beast had finally been taken down a massive wave hit us, taking me, and several others by complete surprise.
I tumbled, thrown like a doll in the water only to come up with one hand latched onto something. One of the many, many ropes from our own ship hand made its way into my hand and on instinct I must had held fast to it.
I could see Elian though, the cabin boy had not been so lucky, and in the chaos he was floating free. He tried to swim, but the waves and wind weren't helping, and it was clear he had little chance. As another wave made to break upon him I had a choice, I could try to save him, and perhaps we both died, or I could let him go.
There was no choice, I couldn't watch this child die, or drift off into the storm to an inevitable end. As the wave came down I sang a note. This spell I'd only ever used in private, and here I had hope it would remain unseen. Below him I made space contort and twist, forming a passage through the water and foam to my side, and as I planned he disappeared beneath the breaker, only to surface by me.
I nearly swooned as my mana reached nearly zero, thankful for one thing I learned. It seemed that distance didn't effect how much mana was needed in any meaningful way at this range, something I'd not really been able to test back home.
Even as my head swam I managed to wrap the boy with my legs, holding on to him, and the rope for dear life. Everything hurt and my vision blurred as I felt someone pulling first gently and then upwards.
In a brief moment of lucidity I looked up and saw Robert. "The boy?" I asked.
"He's alive." As the answer registered I felt the darkness take me.
