Chương 38: 37 Titancrab Reef

"Absolutely useless," Vurel said, shaking his head. I glanced over the helm at the tangle of rope and bodies. Three Kobolds cursed, thrashing as they grappled with a rope. The line snaked around one of their ankles before crossing around a neck and knotting two of them together.

"We should throw them back to the sea," Othess said, serpentine eyes narrowing. One of the tangled Kobolds swore as the one with a line around his ankle tripped and sent them both crashing to the deck. The edge of my lip quirked up. While not particularly useful, their antics somehow lifted something from me. The novelty of my new role as Trident Bearer helped me lean into my masquerade. Slaver captain? Just as ridiculous as the King of the World.

By playing one role, I felt myself slip more naturally into the other. I reached up, fingers grazing the fork dangling from its cord around my neck.

"Hey!" I barked, and the Kobolds went stiff.

"I want this line untangled and coiled. You have five minutes. Do it now." They scrambled, religious fervor spurring them into getting more helplessly intertwined with the cord. I smirked. Of all the small folk, gnomes were the most industrious. They tinkered, drew blueprints, and experimented. Alchemy, clockworks, and gunsmithing—they all lived for that stuff, and they were really good at it. Brownies were the sweetest and most domestic of all the small folk.

Get three on your ship, and you'll never scrub a deck or mend a button again. Should you be blessed to find one with a knack for cooking, say goodbye to stale rations. Kobolds, on the other hand, were at the opposite extreme. You didn't want Kobolds in your house. They were a blight you sent on your enemies, tricksters who had no concept of a joke taken too far.

If they had any affiliation with the Seelie Court of fairies, they'd braid your bootlaces, plant weeds in your garden, and soil your laundry before it could dry. If they'd been touched by the Unseelie Court, they might skin your dog and turn him into boots. I didn't care; I had a band of fifteen that worshiped me, and I made it my personal challenge to convert them into a cohesive team. I cast a wary glance at Vurel, the Dwarf, far less amused than I.

While I could tolerate the Warriors of the Trident, the novelty had already worn off for the others.

"We'll whip them into shape," I said to appease my Master Gunner.

"They effectively doubled our crew all at once." Othess glanced over, forked tongue darting past black scales.

"Crew up, efficiency down."

"I'm not letting them anywhere near my cannons," Vurel grumbled.

"Kobolds in the magazine, that's how you turn your ship into a pyre."

"I appreciate their clockwork toys," I said.

"I wonder if William could improve on them." I thought back to the toy boat, loaded with an explosive charge, considering the possibilities in a proper naval battle.

"Disturbance in the water!" Ezio hollered from the elevated fighting deck on the mast. Glancing up, I followed his pointed gesture. We were passing through Titancrab Reef, of course I was expecting something in the water.

"Looks like debris!" I went to my toes, squinting at the waves. Debris? That called for a closer look. I angled our heading and luffed the sails.

"Sliplock, take over!" The ship turned, the air spilling from the canvas, and Sliplock hurried up to the quarterdeck. I handed the wheel off to the helmsman with a nod, then headed down the steps. Mudlock, one of my new Kobolds, hurried over to me.

"What's your order, Trident Bearer?"

"Stand by," I said, scratching my cheek under my eyepatch. Mordisco climbed from the hold, rushing to my side. Pulling my spyglass from my jacket, I gave the waves a preliminary sweep. Patches of light blue shimmered through the waves, marking areas where the water became abruptly shallow. At a few points, coral split the surf, breaking waves misting as they crashed against the shoal—Titancrab Reef. My head swept one way, then the other. A suboceanic wall blocked the path with almost deliberate placement.

A thin gap slightly to our starboard allowed passage—Mariner's Canyon. Thin and narrow. We'd slip through the gap nice and slow. My eyes narrowed at the specks bobbing on the surface. I raised the spyglass, focusing through the lens.

"What is it?" Mordisco asked.

"Bodies," I said.

"All hands to stations."

"All hands to stations!" Mordisco called, and my crew sprang to action. Their movements were still unpracticed, but at least now, everyone had a place. Two Kobolds collided sharply as they scattered to their places. Wanting more hands for cannons and not trusting the Warriors of the Trident anywhere near gunpowder, the Kobolds made up most of my deckhands. I swept the scene. Grey-tinged, bloated bodies bobbed around Mariner's Canyon, with a few slumped over jagged coral.

I was more interested in what I didn't see: no floating barrels, no cracked mast or shattered hull.

"SubMariner's, I think," I said.

"There's no vessel."

"All the way out here?" Mordisco asked.

"Don't they usually stick to Upper Quadrant waters?"

"Let's get closer, but be wary," I said. Mordisco shifted.

"Sliplock, take us forward, nice and easy!" We drifted closer, and Mordisco studied the bodies through his own spyglass.

"Not SubMariner's—Deep Folk." My spine went rigid, and I did another sweep of the graveyard. Initially expecting Merfolk and Aqua-Primords, I instead made out more specific details—muddy tones to their grey flesh, and buggy fish eyes.

"Deep Folk," I agreed.

"Who raids in these waters?"

"The Ripjaws," Mordisco answered.

"Needles!" I barked, and the Goblin came, running low to the ground.

"Eye, Cap'n?" he called. I handed him the glass.

"What do you make of that?" He had to go to his tiptoes to peek over the bulwark.

"Can't say," he said apologetically.

"Need to get a closer look to stitch the story together."

"Fish out the bodies," I said, voice flat. He fidgeted.

"Sir? If they're floating, they'll be loaded with gases. Those corpses are ripe and rotting."

"Someone killed them," I said.

"We need to know who." I needed to know. The crew scrambled for the boats. Ezio, Rossa, Godalterio, and Bruno started lowering a boat. We wouldn't risk taking the Ash Zephyr anywhere near the coral if we could avoid it. As they scrambled into motion, I thought back to the docks. The attack from the Deep Folk on graduation day. Had it been a Ripjaw raiding party, or a Black Trench one masquerading? Why did they strike in broad daylight? To destroy a random powder supply, or to infect an aspiring young psionic?

I recalled Naomi's confession. Psionic whispers she couldn't explain—it all came back to what was happening with the Deep Folk, and I wouldn't pass this opportunity for answers. Getting the corpses onto the deck took the better part of an hour. One body burst as it slammed down, belching a rancid cloud of gas. Bruno gagged, retching over the side, and Ezio pulled a scarf tight over his nose. I folded my arms, then stroked my chin as I studied the bodies.

"Move that one here," I said, pointing. My convicts regarded me with disgust, but my Warriors of the Trident sprang to action, dragging the body apart from the others.

"This one," I nudged it with my foot.

"Put it in another pile." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Aye, Wielder of the Trident!" Mudlock called, struggling to drag a Deep One into a separate collection. Three more rushed to help.

"These two, with the first," I said, pointing to a pair of Deeplings. I paused at a Dagonite, an eel head atop a humanoid body.

"Second pile." I continued the separation until we'd consolidated the two separate groups.

"Needles," I called.

"Now, what do you see?" The goblin squatted low, studying the wounds, examining clothing, and body shapes. I'd already drawn my conclusions, but I didn't want to muddy the second opinion. The crew murmured in low voices as Needles conducted his assessment. He righted himself.

"Ripjaw," he said, nodding at one of the piles. My head bobbed in agreement. Two Deeplings, a Deep One and a Marrow—a monstrous blend like an ogre and a merman. Each one wore three slashes of red across their face, only the color tinged closer to brown, unlike the Deep Folk who'd attacked on graduation day. Needles shifted to the other group. This batch contained two Deep Ones, massive and tight with muscle, and a Dagonite.

One of the Deep Ones in this second group had an extra set of arms sprouting from his ribs, ending in lobster claws.

"Don't know about these, but—" he squatted, studying wounds.

"I'd say they killed each other."

"Black Trench," Brace hissed, python face shifting on its long neck.

"This is where their territory starts."

"So, rival tribes are fighting," Mordisco said dismissively as he covered his nose.

"Can we dump them and scrub the deck?"

"Um, Captain!" Jaser said, pulling away from the bulwark.

"Something is moving in the water." The deck went dead silent in a moment.

"Musket, harpoons, do it now," I whispered. They scattered, stepping softly as they headed for the gun locker. I tiptoed to the bulwark, silently easing my saber from its scabbard. There had been a skirmish here, yes, the bodies were old, but that didn't mean the battlefield was abandoned. I swallowed as I glanced into the waves.

"This is bad," Mordisco murmured at my side.

"We could shoot into the water, but if they decided to peel the hull apart from underneath, there's little we could do about that." My jaw tightened. Now would be a very good time to have my Winter Artillerist and Shifter on standby instead of locked in the brig.

"Negotiate?" I asked.

"With Deep Folk?" he snorted.

"Good luck. They might decide we're not a soft target if we fight." Another corpse burst on the deck, and a breeze carried it right over to us. I gagged, covering my nose with the back of my hand. Then the sea bubbled. Something rushed toward the surface, rising beneath the bubbles, and I staggered back.

"Brace!" A blue and white shell erupted from the sea. The hull jolted and mist sprayed as pincers, each half the size of a rowboat, snapped at the air. The ship shuddered and dipped down as a massive crustacean clambered up the side.

"To arms!" I cried, scrambling back. My boot struck a Deep One corpse, and I stumbled, just barely maintaining my feet. Eyestalks appeared over the bulwark's edge first, black eyes shifting as they rose. The deck sagged, shifting to accommodate the massive crab's weight. Muskets cracked, lead balls deflecting off or embedding in its thick shell. A hiss slid from its mandibles as its pincers waved. Crewmates screamed and scattered; a harpoon sailed from the quarterdeck, then it bounced off its thick chitin.

"Vurel, get the swivel guns loaded!" I hollered as I drew my pistol. The crab snapped up a Deep One corpse, crushing it in its mandible. A cloud of rancid gas burst from the bloated body. Mordisco raised his wedge, shaped like a long, boxy razor blade. His arm snapped down as he pressed a trigger. A heavy flick knife slid down the length of the wedge like a sheath before spinning at the crab in a blur. He aimed well. The flick knife sank between chitinous plates, and a hiss of pain filled the air.

I aimed my pistol and fired. Chips blew free from its shell, but the bullet didn't even penetrate halfway.

"Tex!" I cursed as it turned to me. Brace snarled as he hurled a harpoon that got embedded between the plates in one of its knee joints. A pincer snapped at me, and I ducked low. Mordisco hacked at it, and his wedge embedded in its shell. The Titan Crab jerked its pincer back, ripping the wedge from my first mate's grasp. It skittered sideways across the deck; the ship rolling with its weight as it barreled toward us. Each spiky leg punched pits in the planks with every step. Mordisco drew a pistol and fired.

A foolish Kobold scrambled across its path and got snapped in half.

"Split!" I called and dove for the bow as Mordisco stumbled for the quarterdeck.

"Fire!" Drogo bellowed from the quarterdeck. Six muskets discharged in a volley, and the crab's spiky legs cycled as its body shifted toward the firing line. It lunged, pincers shearing. It snapped, taking Rossa, a human female, and the Rodeliel, the Feykin who'd objected to being a slaver. Heat flashed through me as the colossal crab killed my crewmembers. Teeth gritted, I lunged at its exposed rear legs. I hacked down, angling for the weaker part between joints.

Two strikes and I sheared the leg free, getting sprayed with blue Ichor. It shrieked, pivoting away from the ship's rear toward me. I stepped back, isolated with the bow at my back.

"Captain, get clear!" Vurel called, angling a light swivel cannon down at the beast's back. I dropped, covering my head. The swivel gun bellowed, jetting flame and then smoke. A whole segment of shell blasted free, exposing a bleeding patch on the crab's shoulder. It trilled, moving to shift back to the rear, but I leaped at its face, hacking with mundane windmill strikes.

"Reload!" I bellowed.

"Shoot again." Its mandibles snapped, spraying me with saliva, and its pincer swung. I paired the claw, but its weight followed through, slamming me back. The bow bulwark impacted my back, cracking along my ribs. I gasped, sweat pouring down my face. It charged me, exposing its back to the rest of my crew. My boots kicked against the planks, hands flailing as snapping mandibles closed on me. Ukark bellowed, hoofs thundering as he slammed into its back legs with a full bull charge.

The Minotaur's force smashed two of its back legs out from under it, and the crab screamed as it slid at me diagonally. The edge of its carapace caught me in the chest, crushing me against the bulwark. Had I lacked system reinforcement, my ribs would have snapped like twigs. Instead, they flexed inward, the weight of the crab pinning me in place. My saber clattered to the deck as I caught the edge of its backplate. Mandible clawed at my legs, trying to direct them into its inner mouthparts.

I would have shrieked had the weight of the crab not been pressed directly onto my lungs. Legs kicking, I desperately tried to keep my feet from the beast's mouth. A flick knife from Drogo slammed deep into its shell, but the crab's glassy black eye stalk remained fixed on me. It drove forward, rolling me onto the lip of the bulwark. Its mandibles caught my boot and drew it in, pulling it from my kicking foot.

In my panic, I reached for my inventory, hoping to conjure a weapon, but my Ring of Stat Concealment barred it from reach. Its mandibles snapped and sharp wetness slashed at my foot, drawing a hot line of pain down my ankle. I grunted, my vision darkening around the edges as its weight pressed into me. I grabbed the Ring of Stat Concealment. I couldn't blow my cover, but I also didn't want to be crab lunch. The sun glinted off something on my chest—the Trident of Destiny. A mundane fork with one tine bent down.

This had to be a joke. Releasing the ring, I grabbed the fork, jerked it, and snapped the cord. I spat blood-flecked saliva as I seized the eyestalk and rammed the utensil into its inky eye. The thin membrane ruptured, blue goo spraying me in the face. It jerked backward with a scream, and I sucked in sweet air, my ribs burning. Clinging to the eyestalk, I went with the crab, stabbing with the fork again and again. The beast crushed another Kobold underfoot as it scrambled back.

Ukark bellowed as he sheared through another of its rear legs. The crab lurched, shaking me free. I left the fork in its eye as I hit the deck, the world spinning. A trajectory cone painted the crab's back, and Vurel fired the swivel gun again. Chitinous shell and pale blue blood splattered across the deck. The crab snapped at its eye with its massive claws, far too cumbersome to remove the tiny sliver. Hands shaking, I snatched my dropped saber, chest aching as it heaved.

Behind the crab, Brace hurled another javelin, sinking it between armored plates. Flast the Lizard-kin chopped at its leg with a broad-bladed cutlass. The crab wavered as it started shifting back toward the greater threat of my combined crew.

"Hey!" I snarled. Its one good eye swiveled toward me, blue ichor dripping from the other, and it hissed with hatred.

"You climbed onto the wrong ship!" I rasped. Pistols and muskets discharged behind it, but it charged me. I bounced on my toes, saber bobbing as I studied its lopsided gait. A wave of pain rushed through my ribs with every movement. I feigned baiting a claw, then ripped myself back as it sheared through the air. I caught hold of a ridge on its pincer as it sailed past, and it ripped me into the air. The blessed air where I belonged. My Aerial Combatant feat activated, and my focus sharpened.

The crab jerked its claw, hoping to shake me free. I swung around, boots whipping behind me. Two of my fingers popped free as it threw its claw skyward. My grip slipped, and I sailed over the hulking crab. Time didn't slow, but my mind sped up. From above, I focused on two sections of the shell where Vurel's cannon had blasted the armor free. The crab pivoted, losing track of me, and redirected toward my crew. I rolled in the air, diving headfirst. I thrust my saber down as I dropped.

Angling to control my fall, I slammed my blade into the bleeding pit in its shell. It thrashed, an ear-splitting shriek causing my crewmates to leap back, clasping their hands to their ears. The ship rocked and rolled as the crab thrashed, its feet slamming down. Both claws reached back, snapping blindly. I dropped low, gripping my hilt to prevent being shaken free. Shears snapped inches from my neck, and I pressed myself tight to its back, a cry slipping from my lips.

With its armored claws in the air, Ukark took his opening and charged, hooves thundering. He let out a taurine roar. His heavy axe rose, and he slammed it down with both hands. The blade sank deep into its head. A great shudder rippled through the shell, and the crustacean dropped with a crash. My heart pounded, chest heaving, and sweat stung my eyes. I waited for it to lurch, to move, to scramble for the ocean, but the beast remained still. Panting, I clambered to my feet, rising on the giant's back.

For the Kobold's benefit, I crossed over and ripped the Trident of Destiny from its eye. I held it high, still slimy with blue ichor.

"Trident bearer!" Mudlock cried. An awed chorus went up from a dozen Kobold voices. I shifted my attention to my other crewmates, who all panted, flushed in the face.

"Well," I rasped.

"I guess we know why they call it Titancrab Reef." <<Time to Seal Collapse: 04: 01: 00: 01: 22: 00>>