Open Wardrobes

Here we are at last, November 30th. It had been 30 days of writing and writing and writing, and in the end I reached a grand total of 60,000 words in that time. The story is clearly coming to an end, though not quite there yet. I will definitely finish the draft, and soon, but when I checked my word count and found that I was at 60,000 exactly, that seemed like a good place to end my official NaNoWriMo endeavor. It's been a great experience. Even if I do nothing further with this story, to just sit and write this month, with little though about whether or not it's any good has been wonderful. If you've been following this, I hope you've enjoyed this tale, and will enjoy the end soon to come. Thanks for reading.




"What now?" Howl prompted.
Red crossed the cavern to study the marker. The rest of her crew entered the cavern and Red pressed her hand against the marker and it shifted slightly. Behind them a stone sealed the entrance shut. Red pulled out the map again and read it frantically.
"There is only one way out," was all it said, no less cryptic than the hundred times she had read that before.
"There must be another exit," Red told the others, "one which we are meant to find if we have come this far. Search for it!"
They did as their torches began to burn low. Red examined the far wall of the cavern carefully and noted that it bore some signs of wear, but it appeared as solid as each of the other ways. If there was no way forward, and there was no way back, then...
Red looked up and pointed. "There!" The other pirates followed her gaze and in the dim light they now saw the rope that dangled over their heads. Red handed her torch off and experimented with the corner nearest the rope. The walls were rough and jagged and she managed to work her way up the wall to a point where she could grab the rope. Climbing it she soon found herself on a ledge that opened up into another tunnel. The rope contained some slack and so Red lowered it until it reached the cavern floor below. One by one they climbed, managing to keep their torches lit.
The map now bore only one last instruction, "You will find it in the water. Beware," and so Red knew they must now be close. They marched down the tunnel until they came to the final chamber. It too allowed several shafts of light from a great distance above and Red could see well enough now without their torches. This cavern was of a good size with many rock formations. There could be a thousand places to hide the Heart here but Red headed straight for the sound of water. From the heights of the cavern and the ground far above a small but steady stream of water trickled its way underground and beneath one sunlit crack it gathered in a quiet pool. As Red Foxx approached it the light caught something within the water that and let forth a blaze of Red. They had found it! Howl, close on Red's heels, had also caught the reflection and ran forth into the water. Red called after him to show caution, to remember the map's final word, but it was too late. As soon as he entered the water his foot landed upon one of the many hidden knives at the pool's bottom. With a cry Howl slipped and fell upon many more. By the time Red reached the pool's edge Howl lay motionless, stuck fast to the bottom.
The other pirates gathered when they heard the cry. Red Foxx carefully made her way around the pool's slippery edge and reached down into the pool and withdrew the Heart of Destiny. The large black opal took both hands, but as she raised it up the light caught it now even more and it burned a deep red. Red Foxx felt the warmth of the stone within and she held it. She felt the smile of her father upon her as she at last reclaimed for the pirates what was theirs. Smiling, Red closed her eyes and looked into the Heart...

*****

Lemuel Drake stood in what cover they could find as they faced the pirates at the mouth of the cave. Red Foxx was no fool and had chosen an ideal place to set her men for such a stand. After several exchanges of gunshots Lemuel and his men had taken the worst of the fight, and the prisoners they had obtained on the top of the cliff did nothing to soften the pirates' resolve. Captain Blackfoot had taken charge of the pirate force and however much he might plot against Captain Foxx he was not about to yield to this rag-tag bunch. To prove his complete refusal to negotiate Blackfoot even shot dead one of the pirate prisoners himself to show how little their welfare mattered to him.
"I be ready to do battle with the last of ye," Blackfoot boasted, "and with a handful of such men as I have we be more than a match for ye."
"Will you think so when starvation finds you?" Lemuel retorted and in reply a bullet whizzed past his ear.
"Ye be sayin'?" Blackfoot growled.
Things were at a standstill and Lemuel cursed the delay. Red Foxx would surely find the Heart before he could even set foot within the cave. And yet, she would still have to return somehow. The standoff continued for another hour at least. Lemuel had sent a man back to the ships to ask for further men, but for all he knew the pirates had been prepared to do the same. After all, he had seen himself more than once how Red Foxx and her crew could walk unseen if they so desired.
A crack of branches in a nearby tree broke in on Lemuel's ruminations. He had thought through this all a hundred times already. If he were to make a move it must be soon, before Red Foxx returned with the Heart and the added men that had gone with her. Voices came from farther in the cave and though Lemuel could not understand what was said he heard the note of excitement. This was it! Red Foxx had returned. Lemuel quickly signaled his men. They had to attack now while Captain Foxx's assistance gave the pirates some measure of distraction.
Lemuel and his men fired as many shots as they could, after which several dozen men stormed the entrance. It was a bloody battle and Lemuel rued the losses he would surely receive. They made some headway and through force of sabers pushed their way a few steps into the cave at last. Lemuel prepared to join them with the rest of their force when suddenly shots came from all around them. Bullets rained from the trees and Lemuel lost a dozen men in that first volley. He gave a cry as he realized at once Red's plan. Unseen bodies hit the ground and invisible swords cut a deadly path through the air.
"Jat Stevens!" Lemuel cried and he felt a sword meet his.
"How long I be waitin' for this!" Jat's voice hissed at him out of the air.
Lemuel aimed a kick at where he guessed Jat must be and made contact. She became visible suddenly as the opal flew from her and fell to the ground. She sprang back to her feet at once and locked swords with Lemuel. They exchanged all their bitterness with one another blow after blow while around them Red Foxx's invisible army cut through Lemuel's force. Dimly Lemuel was aware of the pirates pushing his men back from the cave entrance. Before Lemuel knew what had happened he and what few of his folk remained stood surrounded by the pirates, Red's crew visible now. Jat's sword rested upon his chest and Red Foxx addressed him, holding in her hands the Heart of Destiny.
"Did I not say you would not survive our third meeting?" she said to him. "You would have been better to leave well enough alone."
"Was it not you that would have me fulfill my oaths?" Lemuel mocked.
"I would have had you try," Red corrected him. "I never thought you would succeed." She turned to the other pirates and ordered, "Bind them."
"Prisoners?" Blackfoot growled.
"We shall carry our their sentences soon enough," Red assured him. "I would have Captain Drake's folk watch."
A sound came from around them and Red turned suddenly to see a ring of folk in silver and scarlet surrounding them.
"Lay down your weapons," a voiced ordered them, "in the name of the Sorcerer."
"I do not take orders from the likes of him!" Red declared defiantly. "A coward that hides in his tower while sending others to do his spywork!"
"A coward am I?"
The voice was familiar and Red looked to see the old man who emerged from the trees to face her.
"I could not miss such a moment," he said to her with a wicked grin. "The Heart revealed at last!"
"Never shall you lay your hands upon it," Red said and seethed with anger. It was then that he heard the faint click next to her ear. She turned her head slightly to see see Blackfoot holding the pistol. "Do you think I did not know you to be a traitor?" she said to him.
"I be carin' little what ye think of me," Blackfoot said in a voice filled with scorn. "Ye will be handin' me the Heart now, I think."
"I think not," Red said and stood firm. She gave a quick glance around that Blackfoot followed. A number of Red's crew had vanished once again. "You shall be dead if you pull that trigger," she said to Blackfoot. "Do you think any pirate shall follow a snake such as you as their king?"
"Better be me than a woman," Blackfoot sneered and his words sent a murmur through the pirate folk.
"It is true," Red stated before them all, "and I shall not deny it." Would that Howl could stand with her now as he had promised. "But does that change a thing?" she asked her men. "Every hand that serves on board the Arrow is a woman," Red Foxx declared, "and who can say they are not the most valiant crew to sail the seas?"
Most of the pirates seem to agree to this, much to Blackfoot's dismay.
"Ye be Captain Foxx," one said, "man or woman, and the one we have sworn to follow." He spat towards Blackfoot.
"I am my father's daughter," Red declared to Blackfoot's face. "Do you think to dare challenge the line of Foxx, even if I am a woman? I am more a man than you!"
Blackfoot nearly pulled the trigger but an unseen shot took him down like the dog he was.
"Do any others here share Blackfoot's thoughts?" Red demanded of the pirates and if any did, they did not dare answer so. She turned now to the Sorcerer. "As for you, be gone from here at once and you may yet see your own life spared."
The Sorcerer did not quail, nor did his own men, and he laughed.
"I am not a mongrel of the sea that you can chide me so," he spat at Red. "Blackfoot was a useful tool, but only a tool. You are surrounded, Captain Foxx."
"By loyal men," Red retorted and the grim faces of the pirates appeared to back her up.
The Sorcerer laughed again. "Only because they serve the name of Foxx! But you are not of the line of Foxx! You are Princess Amarantha, daughter of King Ottotorius, ruler of the Ruined Kingdom, or do you not know your own parentage?" he mocked.
Red Foxx did not argue with him, for it was not to the future that she looked when she first stared into the Heart of Destiny, but to the past.

As in Red Foxx's dreams she looked up into the face of Grey Foxx, the old pirate, with a fear mingled with sudden excitement. Her father, the king, had told her many tales of the pirate-folk and their evil, adventuring ways. But as she looked into the kind, grizzled face that lifted her from the savage water she did not think him evil. As he set her on deck, dripping cold water, and knelt down to take a close look at her, she looked into his face and loved him.
"Be ye hurt?" Grey Foxx asked her.
She shook her head.
"What be yer name, child?"
"Amarantha," she replied.
"The king's daughter?" Grey asked, surprised.
Red, Amarantha then, nodded again. "Where is he?"
Grey Foxx looked sad and when he could answer told her, "He be gone, child. Dead."
Amarantha looked down and could not fight the tears. Grey Foxx set his hand upon her shoulder.
"I be sorry, child, that I not be in time to save him also."
Amarantha looked into the old pirate's eyes again. Her father's eyes had never held such warmth. She clung suddenly to his coat and whispered,
"Am I to stay with you now?"
Grey Foxx had no answer to that at first. He had not expected such a request. He looked out to sea where the remnants of the once-proud Shipwright's Kingdom lay ruined. In the distance he saw the ruins too of the castle and saw now future there for any child. He looked back down at the young girl who buried her face in his worn clothes.
"Aye," Grey told her, "if that be yer wish." He gently touched her bright red hair. "Ye shall be my daughter, if ye wish it. My name be Grey Foxx, little Red."
And so he always called her until she forgot her name had ever been anything else. She learned of the sea and its ways as if she had been born a pirate, and the life she once had known in the kingdom now Ruined faded away until it was forgotten, except in dreams.

It had been a bitter blow to Red Foxx to have this fear so confirmed. She had loved Grey Foxx dearly, ever bit as a daughter should her father. The Heart had stirred dormant memories of King Ottotorius, her true father. But she remembered in him a coldness that she had never been able to penetrate. The love Grey Foxx had shown in raising her for his own was the truest bond of kinship she had ever known. She looked around at those that watched her, pirate, Ruined folk and Sorcerer's man.
"It is true," she told them all. "Grey Foxx never had a child of his own, save myself, but I will face any in single combat who doubt that I am true to the name of Foxx," Red challenged. "If there is a pirate here who doubts me now as your Captain and king, then set down your arms and I release you from all your oaths. I will take no unwilling subject."
Red waited, but not a single pirate laid down his arms. One or two in their hearts thought to do so, but found new courage in the steadfastness of their comrades.
"Do you have any other such news?" Red Foxx mocked the Sorcerer. "I am Captain Foxx and you stand even now in my dominion. There is nothing here for you but doom if you do not yield. I have seen it."
But the Sorcerer did not intend to back down now.
"I know the power of the Heart," he told Red, "of its ability to see things past and future. I would not be here myself if I did not intend to claim it for my own."
Here Red's crew revealed themselves again and they launched their charge. The rest of the pirates took up the cry and rushed forth to meet the Sorcerer's men. The Ruined men fought as well, pirate and Sorcerer's man alike, all they considered to be enemies. The Sorcerer himself withdrew to let his servants fight on his behalf and Red instead found herself face to face now with Lemuel Drake. He fought well with the sword and matched Red's every stroke.
"You know now the truth," he said.
"I do, but it changes nothing between us," Red said. "I have sworn oaths like to your own. We cannot both live."
"Did the Heart show you that?"
"No," Red admitted, but did not say that had been one thing she had not dared to see.
"It need not be that way," Lemuel pleaded. "We were the best of friends once."
"If it is so, I do not remember it," Red said. "The Princess Amarantha is dead. I am and shall always be the pirate Red Foxx."
"Then if this must end with one of our death," Lemuel began, but did not finish. He pulled his sword aside as Red thrust hers and so she struck him deep.
Lemuel fell to the ground. Red dropped her sword in surprise.

Busy day today so I only managed about 1000 words (just over 57,000 total). This will make it difficult to hit my revised goal of 60,000 tomorrow, but at least I feel like I'm starting to approach the end.




The first of Red's men fell and many started to return fire. Red Foxx warned them to cease, but they did not heed her until their bullets, lacking the speed to reach the top, began to return to them. Red burned to hear the laughter from above that greeted the sight of the pirates running from their own shots. She nearly stopped to think of some way to retaliate when from the corner of her eye she spotted a dark place against the cliff.
Red hurried towards it and found the entrance to the cave, marked again by the makers of the map. This was it! She signaled to her men to hurry ahead. None of their enemies had started down the cliffside yet. Once inside the cave they would be well ahead of Lemuel Drake and his folk. By the time they reached the cave Red might well already hold the Heart.
Red dove inside, followed close behind by Howl. They had paused only long enough to make for themselves some rough torches. She ordered also that only a few dozen, her own crew of course among them, were to join her and Howl as they explored the depths of the caves. The rest were to remain just inside the entrance, giving them a strong position to defend. Red led Blackfoot in charge of those men, knowing it would gall him to remain behind but also that he could refuse such a critical duty.
Red led the way and they proceeded into the dank caves. There was only one way in which they could so far go and Red had become used to the map giving no directions beyond the bare bones ones needed. Here and there they did see rough signs scrawled on the rock that assured them they headed in the right direction. Red could still faintly hear the voices of the men she had left at the mouth of the cave.
At last they reached a larger cavern from which several tunnels issued. Red and the others looked around, but they saw no clear signs as to which of the paths to take.
"What does the map be sayin'?" Howl asked Red and she consulted it.
"Inside you shall find several choices," the map read. "Choose that which makes no promise of wealth."
"That be not much of a help," Howl grumbled, but nonetheless joined Red as she examined the entrance of each of the tunnels. There were four all told, and the first Red held her torch up to glittered in the light.
"Gold!" exclaimed one of Red's crew.
"No," Red said, examining it more closely. "You could buy nothing with this. It is fool's gold."
"But it makes a promise of wealth," Howl pointed out.
"It does indeed," Red agreed and she checked the other three tunnels.
Two of the other tunnels made similar promises, and so they chose the fourth. One of the other pirates, however, decided to examine another tunnel further and took several steps inside. Red heard the dull thud as the booby trap was sprung. She frowned and cursed the pirate's foolishness. His body would signal to their enemies one tunnel, at least, not to take. Red continued down the chosen tunnel, noting that all but Howl help back for several moments, and no such trap struck her. The rest began to follow once they were certain of that fact.
This tunnel led them deeper underground and Red hoped that their torches would hold out until they could find the Heart and return. They had not, after all, had much time to gather much wood. The air was thick and still and as folk of the open seas none of the pirates was overly fond of enclosed spaces. A short time after passing the choice of tunnels Red caught the sound of voices behind. She ordered everyone to a halt and listened. The sound of several cracks confirmed that Lemuel Drake, she had a growing certainly that he led them this time, and his men had reached the cave entrance. She continued on as the sound of gunshots came in bursts. Such a battle would delay Drake for a time yet.
Suddenly the narrow tunnel that had been traveling through opened up into a vast underground cavern. The sounds of water could be heard, though Red could not see it, and their torches barely penetrated the gloom. A dozen steps forward, however, did bring the bridge into view. Red had to admit that she had become impressed with those who had hidden the Heart. They had done their work well. She gazed now upon a narrow rope bridge that spanned a great crevice. The bridge did not look like it could hold more than one or two at a time. Here again Red left a number of her people behind to guard the tunnel entrance and the bridge. She took with her now but half a dozen, all of her own crew save Howl who would not be left behind for anything.
Red crossed the bridge first and it held her weight well, though she would not have wanted to share the bridge with another. Howl came second, and one by one the chosen men (or women, rather) followed. On the far side of the bridge a crude marker again showed their direction and on they went. Soon they traveled around a bend that hid the light of the others from view. Red checked the map as they walked and guessed they had a couple traps left before them. They passed through another narrow tunnel and into a small cavern that surprisingly bore its own light. The cavern was tall and it appeared that a few narrow cracks extended up to the surface, enough to give the cavern a faint illumination on its own. A marker stood at the far end, but only that told them they had come the right way for at the far end the cavern ended and they saw no other exit.

It is the final weekend of NaNoWriMo and I am still hopeful that I might finish the draft with just a couple more days left to go (at about 56,000 words now). I managed about 3,000 words today, which included a stop at the Tea Source, and feel that I'm finally nearing the climax. I'm hoping for another 3,000-word day tomorrow, and then just have Monday left!




She had thought them safe enough as they sailed through such remote places, never once thinking that even without the map some points along it might have been known to their enemies. And as she watched their ships make their partial retreat she suddenly felt certain that Lemuel Drake stood upon one. Had he expected this attack to succeed? Or was it simply an attempt to test out their strength and vet their secrets?
Back on board the Arrow Red Foxx met with the other captains and appointed new ones as she could. It was not uncommon for Captain Foxx to place members of his own trusted crew in such vacancies, but Red Foxx did not yet have that luxury. Howl had suggested a few trusted men and Red gave them the ships commanded by Blackfoot's late cronies. She gave them a private warning of the dangers they might face, but it eased her mind to know that would at least blunt Blackfoot's plans. Through all these proceedings the Ruined fleet remained at a safe distance, watching by taking no action. Red thought she saw the repaired Savage among them, but it was too far off to be certain.
Red had no choice to to lead her fleet onwards, using the last heading so dearly bought. The Ruined fleet followed as she knew they would, but they was no way in which they could hide their direction. And undoubtedly the Sorcerer had spies enough to know as well their progress. Red's hopes of finding the Heart unknown ended and she and Jat began to make plans for the fight that would surely come when they found it.
Red spent most nights now listening to the Sorcerer's device, although it seemed he was more guarded now in his speech, and studying the final piece of the map. When they reached the final island the Heart looked to still have some protection, to prevent it from being too easily stumbled across she supposed. But like the instructions so far it was difficult to learn much about what they would face without standing there themselves. Red had to admit that the map was most cleverly done.
The next stop was less than a day's journey from the last and they arrived still early in the morning and the sun had not yet risen. Red found herself weary. They had won the battle on the beach in part through determination and skill, but mostly by luck. Just as they had escaped Captain Drake's first trap. Red had not proven herself able and seeing such traps before they were sprung, and she knew she could not rely on luck to hold her forever.
Red decided to make landing at once, not waiting for first light, but took ample precautions this time. She brought several times the men with her with many more ready to make a landing at short notice. The ships were set in a protective formation against whatever Lemuel (if he indeed led his fleet still) might do next. She sought their next heading as quickly as she could, surrounded of her own crew bearing their own stones. The darkness made things more difficult, clearly the makers of the map had not intended that, and every moment felt to Red an eternity and she thought that a hundred unseen eyes and more watched her.
But no attack came. Red and all the pirates returned soon to their vessels without incident. The Ruined fleet had not even ventured within the range of their cannons once since their first appearance. And so they set sail again and again, until they were at last on course to the Heart's final resting place.
The night before they reached it Red forsook her bed and poured over the map until long after midnight, though she could make no more of its final instructions than before. The Sorcerer's device hissed behind her. She hardly paid attention to the voices she heard anymore even when they emerged, so little now did she learn. And so she at first gave no response when a hissing voice called to her through the static.
"Red Foxx. Calling Captain Red Foxx," the voice said and paused.
Red Foxx continued her examination of the map, having already tuned out the sound so effectively.
"This is the Sorcerer of the Stone Kingdom seeking the pirate king Red Foxx."
Now it began to penetrate and Red started. She swung around to look at the device, wondering if she had heard correctly.
"This is the Sorcerer calling Captain Red Foxx," the voice repeated. "If you are listening, I have things with which I would speak to you about."
Red Foxx considered whether or not to even try and respond. She guessed of course that the Sorcerer knew she had one of his devices, but to answer was to confirm it. The Sorcerer repeated his summons several more times and at last Red decided to answer, though it took her several more summons to learn how to do so.
"This is Captain Red Foxx."
A pause answered. Perhaps the Sorcerer had not expected her to reply even if she was listening. It was not acting in character for her, she supposed.
"I thought you might be listening," the Sorcerer said at last. "I understand you are close to recovering your heirloom."
"We are not concealing much tonight, I see."
"I hear much," the Sorcerer replied and Red could hear the smug smile without seeing it.
"Meaning that you have many spies among my people," Red retorted. "Clearly you are a man of honor."
"I know much that passes," the Sorcerer conceded. "Including what you have done to two of my vessels now."
"I carry out justice where it is required," Red answered, "do you not do the same in your own realm? And if not, what then do you consider a just punishment for spies?"
"I cannot say I would not do much different," the Sorcerer admitted, "but you would also do the same as I in exacting a just retribution for the such acts."
"Perhaps that it is also so," Red admitted, but she grew tired of such bantering. "What is it you want with me?"
"I demand an apology for your actions against my ships."
Red laughed. "That is all?"
"It may be all, unless you refuse me."
"What if I do?"
"Then I shall exact retribution," the Sorcerer replied angrily, "you may be certain of it."
"Let us speak plainly to one another," Red said. "You want the Heart of Destiny for yourself and are even now working through your spies to obtain it."
"You speak of spies, Captain, but I have merely listened to what you and others have said in my hearing."
"I do not speak of your devices," Red snapped. "I speak of those whom you have corrupted to serve your ends. Do you think I do not know who they are?"
The Sorcerer did not answer at once. "I cannot think of who you might mean."
"You mean you will not admit to it," Red scoffed. "Let us be clear: I have nothing to apologize to you for. Nor would your actions be any different than they are even if you had no such excuses for your so-called retribution."
"That is true enough," the Sorcerer conceded. "So be it, Captain Foxx. I can see that neither of us will change the course we have set for ourselves. Do what you must do, I cannot in truth expect any less from you, but understand that I will get what I want and it is you that will suffer for it."
"You do not frighten me, Sorcerer," Red told him. "I have seen in your ways more of science than magic."
But Red received no further reply but the usual background hiss. She turned off the device and gave it no further thought. All their plans were already in motion regardless, the Sorcerer's, Lemuel Drake's, and her own. Red did not pay too much heed to things before her if they could not be changed. Whatever her enemies sought to do to her, she would meet them as best she could and give no quarter until one side or the other lay at last defeated.

*****

Lemuel Drake stood once again on the deck of the Savage as he watched the pirate fleet follow the map's course to the Heart. As Dain Melthew lay in the stocks back on Antilla, Lemuel had found a fishing vessel that accepted his promise of gold and bore him back to sea to find his ship. Dain had told him where some others of their kingdom could be found and with their help he rejoined his ship, repaired now in full, as Red Foxx pursued the map's course. From the other lords of the Ruined Kingdom he also learned that the knowledge of one island far along that course had been passed down for the purposes of an ambush if it became necessary. The time it took the pirates to trace the map's route gave Lemuel the time to gather as much of his fleet as possible at that very place, and so their met their foes on the shore of an unnamed island. Lemuel in truth had expected to take Red Foxx by surprise and hold her prisoner as she had done him as he then finished the quest for the Heart. Clearly he had underestimated his foe. Lemuel now had to be content to trail the pirates and take them to battle wherever the Heart itself finally lay. He had learned from his earlier encounter with the Arrow not to goad the pirates into battle too quickly, for they indeed fought fiercely. He hoped instead to bide his time and wait for a more opportune moment, with all luck holding the Heart of Destiny as his final bargaining chip. His desire to see Red Foxx dead had indeed waned since his conviction that she was the lost Princess Amarantha.
As Lemuel as his fleet followed the pirates he became aware that they in turn had their pursuers. They remained far off, and though Lemuel could not see the flags they bore he knew them to belong to the Sorcerer. He trusted the Sorcerer's motives no more than Red Foxx did, but he did not think them to be of great concern. Perhaps he might even convince them to side with him against the pirates.
Lemuel had no way of knowing when they would reach the end of the journey. He could only watch the pirates as they made landfall on each island, readying his men in the event the pirates did not soon leave the island again. If they proceeded further inland, then he would know they had reached the final stop. At last they reached an island where the pirates, once on shore, remained for a great deal of time and appeared to be searching for something. Lemuel Drake put all his men on alert and prepared to lead the landing party this time himself along with Tom Flint. At length Lemuel spied as the pirates, led by Red Foxx, moved up the beach and past the line of trees. Lemuel ordered the boats set loose and they rowed with all haste to shore to follow the pirates trail.

*****

Those of the Sorcerer's ships likewise watched and waiting for the Ruined fleet to make their move to pursue the pirates onto the island. When at last they did, the Sorcerer's servants knew also that here at last lay the resting place of the famed Heart of Destiny. They launched their own boats to bring their forces to land.

*****

Red Foxx led a force a hundred strong into the forest of the final island, one so remote it had barely earned a mark on the pirate's maps. With Howl's help Red had manned their expedition with many fine pirates who she knew she could trust. Nearly two dozen of the pirate force comprised of Red's own crew, for she felt that they would come on this island to the point when they would have to prove themselves once and for all. Blackfoot she included with a few of his own men to keep him under her eye. He would not make his move now without her being aware of it at once. The map's instructions led the pirates deep into the forest where no man dwelt. But it remained vague on what they would encounter there, leading them only on a specific compass heading to a place Red guessed would be clear once they arrived.
As the pirates marched through the trees Howl brought the news that another force came behind on their tail.
"They've numbers to match ours," he told her quietly.
"They are not here for open battle as of yet," Red replied. "And I have made some plans for this contingency." Not all of Red's remaining crew remained on board the Arrow, but that she kept to herself for the time being.
"Aye, I thought it so. But that we all be carryin' rocks such as yers," Howl said with some trace of envy.
Red smiled. "I have not that many, but I do reward those who are faithful to me." And she slipped Howl an opal such as all her crew carried, black as pitched and cracked with red. "It will aid your sight, as you have seen, and remove you from others, though I should warn you the art of using it takes some practice."
"I thank ye, Captain."
"Howl, never think I have forgotten your great service to my father, nor all you have done so far for me," Red said. "When we have the Heart, I am to decree that in the absence of my own heir you shall be next in line to me."
"I be not so sure I be the one for that," Howl said, touched though he was.
"And that is part of why you would be so fit for the office, if it came to that," Red replied. "But let us worry not of that until we are certain we shall both survive this day."
Howl agreed and on they marched.
At last they came to a stone marker that could only be meant for those on a quest such as theirs. It stood on the edge of a cliff that led down into a deep river valley. On the far side the forest continued on. Red studied the marker, comparing it to the map, until she determined from the two what their next course of action was to be.
"From here," she told the assembled pirates, "we must travel down the cliff, the only trail there is so marked," and she pointed to it. "At the bottom another marker shall take us on our next step."
Many of the pirates, upon seeing the sheer nature of the cliff, expressed reluctance in the attempt of such a feat.
"Those who do not wish it may remain here to prevent our foes from following us," Red told them. "The rest who desire the glory of helping me reclaim the Heart shall find in this their own reward."
Most on hearing this found further courage, although a handful did consent to remain behind and hinder those who would come after. Red Foxx led the way down the trail, wide enough for only one to walk abreast, and slowly they descended. It was a treacherous path and should any enemies wait below it left them vulnerable as well. Their progress was slow enough such that even when Red Foxx reached the bottom, the last of the pirates still stood halfway up the cliff. Red used the time to study the next marker.
"It directs us that way, downstream," she told Howl.
"We be easy marks from above," Howl observed as he looked back up the cliff. "How far think ye we have to go?"
"The map does not say, but I gather we are looking for a cave of some kind, which shall offer us better shelter once we reach it," Red answered. "Send the word back to make haste and follow."
So Red trudged downstream along the bank of the river. There was no proper path along it and she could not move nearly as fast as she would have liked. She often glanced upwards to see if Lemuel Drake had yet reached the top. Soon enough she heard voices above and knew that her men confronted their enemies. Red motioned silently for those behind her to make faster time, but she still saw no sign of a cave and did not hope much that they could escape notice and so hide the map's trail. Shots came from above and one man fell from the great height and fell broken in the river. Red looked back for a moment, just long enough to know it was one of hers. More shots came. Her men had known the danger they faced, and she thought no less of them that they preferred to face an open enemy that the heights of the cliff.
Silence then followed and Red knew that her men were either dead or made prisoner. The voices she heard suggested that at least a few were of the latter. No pirate could be easily made to talk. They were safe so long as the Ruined folk did not think to simply look over the cliff...
Shouts came. They had been spotted and Red gave the signal to run. They needed not worry now about what noise they made and Red did not wish to give Lemuel Drake too easy a target.
The first shots meant for the pirates below began to rain down. Despite their lack of cover they still made for a challenge from such a distance, though bullets bounced off the cliff wall near them and struck the river close by. Red glanced at the map. Where was the cave?

Red ordered Jat to send the signal. It would alert their enemies that they needed reinforcements, but nothing else cold be done. In the meantime the pirates sought out a more fortified location. They found one just up the beach where some rocks rose up from the surrounding sand. They reached it just as the Ruined folk took their first few shots, but fortunately they did not have Red or Jat's aim. The pirates set up a defense as quickly as they could and it would be enough to do some damage to their enemies as they made their approach. Wherever they landed they would have to make their way across a good stretch of sand to reach the pirates. All of the pirate pistols had been reloaded and Red and Jat were prepared to demonstrate their skills again. But for the moment the Ruined folk made landfall further down the beach and remained there, deep in discussion. Red was more than happy to give them all the time they needed, for the longer they delayed the sooner they would have to deal with a fresh wave of pirates as well. Far from shore Red could see through her spyglass as her fleet began preparing another landing party, but it would take them many long minutes yet to arrive. And now the Ruined folk began their march towards the pirate stronghold.
Howl sat next to Red and Jat, ready to hand them the pistols again one by one. The others stood ready to help reload and to take on their enemies with their sabers. Red kept half an eye on Blackfoot, wondering if he would use this as an opportunity to strike her down, but reminded herself he would not act until doing so put the kingdom into his hands. For the moment at least he remained her ally.
When the Ruined folk came within range Red and Jat began firing again with deadly accuracy. Their enemies had nowhere to hide themselves and many cast themselves down into the sand, but that proved only to make Red and Jat's job all the easier. But they had only so many pistols among them, and once the barrage ceased, those of their enemies that remained began to charge. Howl, Jat and a few of the others hurried to reload. Red had saved one lat bullet and so picked off the man who dared run ahead of the others. That bought them a few moments as the rest tried to take cover again, but when no more bullets came they kept up their race. They attempted some shots of their own, but the pirates had the advantage of some real cover and simply ducked back behind the rocks.
Red and Jat only managed to let off a few more bullets before the enemy landing party reached them, then it became a battle mostly of swords. Red soon stabbed two who had saved their bullets and thought to fire at close range. The pirate king proved herself the faster. The better position gave the pirates advantage in the fight to start, but it still did not fully make up for their lack in numbers. Captain Longboot soon fell, as did one of Blackfoot's cronies, but each had first take out several of their enemies. Red and Jat fought back to back upon a rock with half a dozen men surrounding them. In the distance Red saw a few more boats make landing, and hoped they were indeed her own.
Soon the pirate force had been whittled down to a small but determined company. Red and Jat stood fast, though perhaps with a few new scars in the making, as did Howl and Captain Blackfoot (Red had secretly hoped this fight would at least rid her of that problem). The rest lay piled up with their fallen enemies, though still a good dozen or so of the latter remained. The situation had become more than desperate and Red decided it time to use her most secret of weapons.
The four pirates stood on the rocks as their enemies regrouped below and Red motioned for Jat to fall behind the other three. She did so and Red saw Blackfoot frown.
"Is there something you wish to say?" Red asked him quietly as they held their sabers towards the men below.
"Ye do as ye will," Blackfoot said simply and he kept his eyes either on her or his enemies ahead. That was all Red had wanted anyway.
As the Ruined men prepared to launch their next strike one suddenly fell dead, and though the spreading blood could clearly be seen from the wound, none of them could see from where the blow had come. It put the rest of his comrades in some confusion and Red led the two captains beside her down from the rocks and into their enemies midst. They slew several in the confusion and another fell strangely dead besides. The pirates now stood face to face with what remained of the enemy force, three to their nine, for Jat now was nowhere to be seen.
Red's eyes blazed with fury as she faced the leader of their foes. She had hoped to find Lemuel Drake among their number, but she did recognize any of those who had attacked her. The Ruined men before them look less certain than before in their numbers now, but did not back down. They paused to size up the pirates who remained and so lost another to their mysterious attacker. Their leader however had his wits about him enough to make a strike in his fallen friend's direction. They all heard a cry and saw fresh blood on the sand, but it still seemed to have no source. The lead man guessed now what was up and made to strike again near the bloody sand, but Red Foxx engaged him. Still outnumbered nearly three to one Howl and Blackfoot again joined the fray and before long the last handful of men had started running back to their ships. There they met the pirate reinforcements.
Their leader remained, now kneeling before Red Foxx at her mercy.
"From whom did you gain your intelligence?" she demanded of him, but he made no answer. She ran him through after a short time of such questioning, seeing little purpose in him as a prisoner. Jat then made her reappearance.
"Why Mate Jat!" Howl exclaimed as he helped her up. "Ye be but full of surprises!"
"Aye," Blackfoot growled and guessed more than he said.
Jat bore a heavy wound upon her sword arm which Red and Howl helped to bind. She had lost much blood already and would not fight anytime soon, but she would live. When the other pirates arrived Red ordered their fallen to be buried with appropriate markers. The bodies of their enemies they burned. Out to sea the Ruined fleet fell back, now that their surprise attack had failed, but they did not depart completely and remained on the edge of fire.
Red had lost five captains in the assault, plus some other men, and cursed her own foolishness for landing with such a small party.

I wrapped up a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with a stretch of NaNoWriMoing and am now at 52,000 words. Hoping for around 60,000 and a complete draft by the end of the day on Monday (the 30th).




"I think that is wise," Red agreed and decided to bring up another subject that plagued her. "And what of Blackfoot, do you think?" she asked Howl. "It has been clear to me that he is brewing some scheme, though I cannot say what it is."
"Aye, I have been thinkin' the same," Howl said. "He be wantin' yer throne, that I think be known to all, yet I cannot think how he be thinkin' to gain it. There are but one or two other captains all told who would e'er accept such a thing, even if Grey Fox himself had decreed it."
"Then he cannot be thinkin' to ask any to accept it," Jat pointed out. "He must have a plan that he thinks will make him king whether any others like it or no."
"Then what can it be but he looks to steal the Heart of Destiny for himself?" Red asked.
"With respect, Captain, I think not," Howl said. "If ye remember, he be but the last to believe such tales. He will not think such a thing could make him king, at least not on its own."
Red thought that over. "Yes, Howl, I think you are correct. He wants the Heart, but not for its own sake. It is but the price he must pay for what he seeks."
"I cannot say I follow ye, Captain," Howl said.
"Blackfoot may care nothing for the care of itself," Red explained, "but it is still a jewel of great value whatever other virtues it may possess. Blackfoot seeks to trade it to one who he believes can grant him the kingdom."
"Aye," said Jat, understanding at last, "and there can be only one such person who might be convincin' him of it, be it true or no."
"The Sorcerer," Red finished. "That is why he is so intent on following all our movements as of late. And while I have heard him over the device discussing many of our captains, not once has he mentioned Blackfoot."
"Because he need not worry about him," Howl said, "because they be in league already. Aye, that I can see."
"It may in fact have been Blackfoot who put the Sorcerer on the trail," Red said. "The Sorcerer wants the Heart, and Blackfoot wants the crown. I am certain the Sorcerer put many a pretty word into Blackfoot's ear that gave him the belief the Sorcerer could deliver on such a promise. But whether or not the Sorcerer intends to do so..."
"We must be keepin' an eye on him," Howl said. "It be no secret he be itchin' for a look at the map."
"Then we shall give it to him," Red said with an air of triumph. "Howl, you and Longboot must keep watch on Blackfoot for me. He shall expect such vigilance from myself, but perhaps he shall not look for it elsewhere. In the meantime, I shall give Blackfoot what he desires. But first I must make a copy of the map, one with some alterations."
"Aye, Captain," Howl grinned, "that be the trick."
"We shall invite other captains as well, but those we can trust shall be in the know," Red said. "Then we shall see what action Blackfoot takes next."
Red Foxx put her plan into action at once. She sent Howl to work with Longboot and other trusted captains and reveal to them the plan. Few had much love of Blackfoot and would surely welcome the chance to put this threat out of the way. Red and Jat meanwhile created a copy of the map with a few of their own inventions. Much remained the same, but in the last few steps Red altered some crucial details. She relied on Blackfoot to become too bold and attempt to complete the course on him own.
When all was prepared she invited on board the other captains, all those interested in seeing the map for themselves. She explained that the map, being as old at it was, had been too delicate and required the making of a copy that might better stand up to the rigors of their journey. They had but half a dozen steps left to take which Red walked the captains through in great detail, enough so they might carry on should anything happen to the Arrow or to otherwise separate the ships. She wove a cunning tale using Lemuel Drake as her villain, painting the Ruined fleet as the greatest obstacle between them and the restoration of the Heart to its sacred place.
Red watched Blackfoot carefully all the while and saw as he let each detail of the map engrave itself upon his memory. Later, as the captains returned to their own vessels, she saw him whisper much with the couple others who had clearly given him their loyalty. But Blackfoot also gave Red and Jat strange looks at their departure, as if some new fact had recently become known to him. As he prepared to swing down to the rowboat below, he gave Red a leering grin.
"Always be a pleasure, Captain," he said. "I know I be as eager as ye be to find this treasure."
"I do not recall you being so eager at the start," Red told him, "but I am glad you have come to my way of thinking."
Blackfoot slid down the rope without a further word, but he continued to watch Red as the small craft rowed its way back to his ship.
The next morning saw the pirate fleet, a dozen ships strong, arrive at the next stop on the map. Like most of the others it was a remote island with few to no inhabitants. Howl met Red and Jat on the shore, as had been the case at the past few stops, several other captains joined them as well. Blackfoot and his cronies were of course among them. They found their next heading with no trouble, but as they prepared to make for the ships they encountered their first real obstacle. Red looked back out to sea and saw at least half a dozen ships bearing the banners of the Ruined Kingdom off the shore. As best she could tell they had been hiding themselves in a small bay, hidden from view, but now revealed themselves as the pirate captains stood on land separated from their vessels. Most of the stops on the map had in fact been placed such that the ships themselves could not approach the shore too closely and rowboats instead must be used to land. It was a clever move, Red realized, for it forced the seekers of the Heart to place themselves in more vulnerable positions. Dain Melthew or some other Ruined lord must have sent word to their ships that the pirates were on the trail. Clearly the secret of at least one stop along the way had been passed along such that the Ruined folk could lay just such a trap.
The Ruined fleet did not confront the pirate ships direct, but they placed themselves between the pirates and the island and now Red saw them send many rowboats filled with men towards the shore. The pirates had brought but a few, not thinking to need many men or even to land for long and Red cursed their own lack of foresight.
"Well this be a pretty sight," Howl rued. "What be the plan now?"
"Jat!" Red called and the first mate came to her side. "Let the stone guide you and we shall take out who we can. Perhaps that shall deter them."
Jat nodded and Red instructed Howl and the others to prepare their pistols, all barrels loaded, and hand them to Jat and herself one by one. Red removed the Captain's Stone and Jat fingered the similar stone she carried. Red aimed her pistol at the first of the approaching boats and then, to the surprise of the others, closed her eyes. Jat did the same. After a brief pause Red shot off both barrels of her pistol and Howl was astonished to see that both hit a deadly mark. Jat did the same and so they went through all of the pistols the pirates had on land. In such a way they cleared the first such boat of all their enemies, a few more besides, and the others held back. Red Foxx had given them unexpected to consider. She ordered the pirates to reload as quick as possible, should such another volley be necessary.
"That be amazing!" Longboot exclaimed. "I have never seen the like!"
"Then you never listened much to my father when he spoke about the Stone," Red informed him. "Like the Heart it offers great benefit of sight."
"And yer first mate alike," Blackfoot growled. "I ne'er have heard tell of any other bearin' such a jewel."
"How I choose to arm my crew is my concern," Red stated. "They serve Foxx, king and captain, after all."
Blackfoot nodded with a grunt, but a new light was in his eye.
"Howe'er much we be surprised," offered Captain Longbeard, "it be a matter for another time. We still be much outnumbered should all these men out there be makin' a landin'."
"That is true enough," Red agreed. "Can we signal the ships?" she asked Jat.
"Certainly not in secret," Jat answered, "but it be worth it, I should think. They be not lookin' to turn away quite yet." And sure enough, the boats armed with many a Ruined man resumed they course to shore. They had fortified themselves as best they could against the marksmanship of the pirates and still outgunned the pirates four to one.

...victory!!! This afternoon (in fact, just minutes ago) I crossed the 50,000-word mark in the great quest that is NaNoWriMo and am now officially a winner! It's been an interesting, crazy experiment this month (and not really over yet), and I'm still amazed that I've made it this far. Even if nothing further ever happens with the pirate Red Foxx's adventures, it's been a great way to get writing and keep writing, not worrying so much about how good it is. That's difficult to do, but I think it's always important in the first draft of anything. It's so easy to let the worry of "Is it good?" keep you from putting anything down on paper. And really, it's only once you have that you can truly judge how good something it is. One of the hardest things I've had to learn as I writer is to be OK with writing something that isn't any good. We are all going to create things that aren't as good as we like, but the key is to let those be practice and learn from them. Even if only one word in a hundred is the right word, you still need to write the other 99 to get there.




They continued in this manner for many more days, making several more stops and along the way gathering a few more of their own vessels. Red Foxx had risen high already in the estimation of her people, being now so close to the end of a task even the great Grey Foxx could not complete. Red Foxx wished however that this made her feel more secure in her position, but in truth the knowledge that the Sorcerer knew her secret continued to gnaw at her. It forced her hand to make such knowledge public far sooner than she had intended, and this was not the time she would have chosen for such a revelation. She hoped that since the Sorcerer had kept his silence this long he would do so long enough for Red to reclaim the Heart.
Another problem in the form of Captain Blackfoot irked her as well. He and a couple other of the captains persisted in a desire to see the map for themselves. Howl Matton had seen it, as well as Jat, but so far they remained the only two. Red Foxx knew better than to trust Blackfoot with even a glimpse of it, lest he seek to continue on the path ahead of her with whomever would follow. She had put him off so far, but was not certain she could do so forever.
Red Foxx sat up in the crow's nest contemplating such things as they sailed towards the sixth point on the map. Blackfoot plotted, the Sorcerer plotted, somewhere no doubt Lemuel Drake plotted as well, and all their plots centered around her. Even since her ascension as the new pirate "king" the thought of finding the Heart had consumed her. Now she realized that perhaps she had neglected other matters in its pursuit. Could she rely on the Heart to see her through these other challenges? Or would others see their plans into motion before she held it? She and Jat had discussed many times how best to reveal their secret. Jat urged her to wait until the Heart was in their possession, for such a sign would surely, so Jat thought, quell all doubts of a pirate queen. As for Blackfoot... He was a fool, but a dangerous one. Red Foxx knew that the other pirates, most at least, would never follow him as king. But it was little comfort to Red Foxx if Blackfoot discovered that only after she herself was dead. A fool indeed, but still one she could not predict. How then to counter whatever scheme he had devised?
When Red slid down the riggings to deck hours later she had decided upon at least her next step. She ordered a signal sent to the Sea Wolf asking for Captain Matton's presence on board the Arrow. She brought Jat into her thoughts as they waited for Howl to join them, and for the first time since Red had know her first mate, Jat sat and said not a word.
"What think you then?" Red asked her. "We shall need the support of someone such as Howl who the others all trust."
Jat nodded slowly. "Aye, I suppose that be true."
"You object to something else then?" Red pushed. She needed to know her first mate's thoughts.
"Not as such, Captain," Jat began, but then faltered.
"What then?"
"I cannot rightly say, Captain, what it be that bothers me so."
"It is not without risk," Red admitted, "but would you have me wait until the Sorcerer does the job for us?"
"Of course not, Captain," Jat said. "But..."
"Howl shall be here in minutes," Red reminded her. "I trust your instincts, Jat, but I must take steps I believe necessary if you cannot show me any reason to act otherwise."
Finally Jat looked at Red direct, and it seemed that her mind was more easy now. "I think, Captain," she told Red, "it be the loss of our secret I think I should miss more than anything. The others, you cannot say they will not look at us different, be they acceptin' ye or no."
"I suppose that is true," Red said, "and I think I see your meaning. But in the end, should we not be known for what we truly are?"
"Aye, perhaps that shall be for the best," Jat admitted. "And I think ye be right that Howl is the best of them to aid us in this." Jat's eyes twinkled. "I cannot help but think that he shall be a mite surprised."
"Yes," Red grinned, "I think that much certain."
Soon one of the crew came to announce that Captain Matton had arrived and Red had him shown into her cabin.
"Afternoon, Captain," Howl said to her, "what is it I can be doin' for ye?"
"There is something I must share with you, Howl," Red began slowly. "It is a secret I and my crew and guarded for some time. But it has become known to me that the Sorcerer knows it as well, and I would not be held hostage to his knowledge."
"Wise enough," Howl agreed.
"As such I think it is time that you, at least, be brought into this secret," Red continued. "When the time comes for all to know I would have you at my side."
Howl nodded. "Ye know ye can count on me for anything, e'en as yer father did."
"I certainly hope that much is true," Red said, and after a moment's hesitation she undid her hair and removed her heavy coat. "My father Grey Foxx never had a son," she told Howl, "but a daughter."
Whatever Red had expected Howl's response to be, it did not match the reality.
Howl simply nodded again. "Aye, Captain."
Red and Jat stared at Howl openmouthed, for he looked at them as if he still expected the revelation to come. After several moments Howl broke the silence.
"And the secret be, Captain?" he prompted.
"But that is it!" Red exclaimed at last. "Do you mean to say you knew already?"
"That be all?" Howl asked and on seeing it was so laughed long. "Oh my young captain," he said at last, "ye be underestimatin' yer own father's wisdom!"
"What do you mean?" Jat demanded.
"Captain Grey Foxx knew that one day ye needs must tell all this secret," Howl told them. "He broke it to me some time ago so that I might be of aid to ye when the time came."
"Then you have known along about Jat and I?" Red pressed, still not quite able to believe it had been this easy. "And the rest of my crew?"
"Aye," Howl said. "I must say I be a mite surprised when he told me, but ye are a fine captain, and yours be one of the finest crews I e'er seen. And if the old Grey Foxx thought it right, who be I to think any different?"
"Howl," Red said to him, "never do you cease to amaze me. I thank you that you have faithfully kept this secret for us and they you will be there to help us see the others accept this truth as well."
"No one can doubt ye are yer father's child," Howl said to her, smiling, but something in that struck a nervous chord within Red.
"And what if that was not true?" she said before having time even to think it over.
"What de ye mean, Captain?" Howl asked, more serious now.
And so Red told Howl of Lemuel Drake's belief, and of the strange dreams she had had of late that did not seem to fit with what she had always believed of herself. When she had finished Howl thought it over carefully.
"It is possible, I think," he said, "but if ye think it changes my view of ye as our Captain and king, ye be mistaken."
"And yet, if true, will all think that way?" Red asked sadly. "It may be one thing to ask them to accept a pirate queen, but if it should be that I am not truly the old Foxx's daughter..."
"There be more to kinship than blood," Howl reminded her. "I be always behind ye, Captain. Though if ye ask me," he added, "I would not say any of yer parentage until these mangey curs we call pirates have accepted ye first as a woman."

Well, the end is now in sight. I managed nearly 2,000 words today, bringing me to just over 49,000 total. 1,000 words to go and I achieve the goal of NaNoWriMo! Of course, the draft will not be complete just because I hit the 50,000-word mark and so I'll keep plugging. I hope, with any luck, to complete the draft by November 30th, but seeing is I have no idea how far there is to go for that, it's hard to say how likely I'll accomplish that.




By now they had the complete map, of that he was certain, and the Sorcerer would need to move quickly in order to ensure that the Heart of Destiny reached his hands in the end. He spent the night communicating with as many of his servants as he could reach. They would converge in the area near Antilla and there catch Captain Foxx's trail. Red Foxx may have learned his tactic for gathering information, but she could not find all the marks placed on all her people. He would learn where they went next and he would be waiting.

*****

Red, Jat, and Howl studied the map long into the night. Those in the Ruined Kingdom who had hidden it had done so well. It was no wonder that Red had not been able to glean much information from the one half of the map she had previously possessed. The map traced a complex path from island to island, all of which were unnamed, with many notes on how to plot a course from one to the next. Likely it would take several weeks of travel yet to retrace the steps of those who made this map and had been the last to see the Heart of Destiny.
"And here I'd been thinkin' we'd never see the Heart again," Howl said as he poured over the map. "And here we be, but a few steps away."
"More than a few," Red said, "if I read this right."
"Aye, aye," Howl acknowledged, "but we have here the place to be startin'." And he stabbed the map with a finger.
"That we do," Red agreed, "and we may as well make the best time we can. Is the Sea Wolf read to set sail?"
"That we be, Captain. Just say the word."
Captain Longboot met them on the Blue Thunder as they set out from Antilla. Longboot had been searching for Dain Melthew himself, his assigned name from Grey Foxx's list, but had run into a slight delay in the shape of several ships from Captain Drake's fleet. The three ships set course together for a small island on the edge of Captain Foxx's kingdom: the Isle of the Hundred Wrecks. It was the only island on the map identified by name. The rest could only be found once at the island preceding it along the map's path. The Isle of the Hundred Wrecks was well-names, for it was a rocky island only a few hours sail off the coast of the Sorcerer's kingdom and just as treacherous as the wizard's own coastline. It had once been used as a secret meeting place of the pirates, as few others dared venture to it, but so many of even their own vessels had been dashed to pieces on the rocks that surrounded it that the pirate folk too had abandoned it. As such it made for an excellent starting point for anything you wished to keep hidden. Nearly a six day journey from Antilla, Red Foxx had little to occupy herself with besides eavesdropping on the Sorcerer as he spoke with his servants. He was a shrewd master, for he did not give away any more than he needed even to those whom he trusted and so Red Foxx had to fill in his plans with her own guesses. At the least she could tell that the Sorcerer knew of the complete map and was seeking to find her once again. How long it would take, Red Foxx could not guess, but as they were heading straight towards his realm, she feared it would not take long.
During their journey to the Isle the pirates met up with three more of their own vessels who had been about the search, and Red Foxx was glad to have greater numbers as they entered this stage of their pursuit. She was less glad, however, that one of the ships, the Horizon, belonged to Captain Blackfoot. He listened eagerly to the news that the map had been found, and did not seem to remember his earlier doubts that it ever could be. Red found him a little too glad to be a part of the chase now for the Heart. She could not refuse to allow him to be a part without loss of honor herself, but she kept an eye on his ship and its doings. He meant to be the one to lay hold the Heart first, and Red Foxx could guess at what he would next seek to accomplish.
They came within a few leagues of the Isle of a Hundred Wrecks without any sign of the Sorcerer's ships. Red Foxx had chosen Howl and Jat alone to join her on the Isle itself to determine their next heading. She put it out that it was best not to risk any more men than necessary too near the island, but in truth she did not want Blackfoot anywhere near the map. Red had a made a copy of it already and entrusted it to Howl, in the event of any such treachery. As the ships all waited outside the worst of the gnawing rocks, Red, Jat and Howl made for the island on a small craft that could better navigate the rough waters. They landed safely enough, though Jat's teeth ground as much as the rocks did on the boat's keel. Once on the Isle they followed the map's next instructions.
"On the southernmost point, face back north and see there the arrow before you."
They did so and once they reached the aforementioned point along the shore turned to see what they would see. A single stone reached up a ways before them and stood like a finger pointing towards the horizon.
"Well now, that be simple enough," Howl observed.
"Indeed," Red agreed.
They walked over to the stone and Jat made a careful observation of the heading to which it pointed. The map gave directions to the next island from there, lacking only this heading to send them in the right direction. As they rowed back towards the ships, Red saw a sight upon which she swore.
"Captain?" Jat asked.
Red pointed in reply towards a ship some distance away that bore the silver star on red.
"Aye, now that be a mite not to my likin'," Howl growled. "Ye can be sure they be not here to lend a hand."
"No, Howl, that much is certain," Red said. "But perhaps we shall give them more than they bargained for."
Back on board the Arrow, Red sent word to the other ships to encircle the Sorcerer's. It had not been a policy of her father's to interfere with the Sorcerer, but here Red Foxx decided the time had come for a departure from her father's ways.
The Sorcerer's ship came to them willing, as they always did, and it did not seem to notice the activity of the other vessels as it hailed Red's.
"Good day to you Captan Foxx!" the messenger cried.
Red had come to hate the sight of these smug servants who believed that no harm could ever come to them as long as they sailed underneath their master's flag.
"You are not welcome in these waters," Red informed the messenger as his ship sat just off her bow.
The messenger let go of his smile and addressed Red in a tone of somewhat less courtesy than before.
"It can be debated who these waters belong to," he said to the pirate captain. "Nevertheless, I come on an errand of peace from the Sorcerer."
"You come to spy for him," Red said bluntly, "and I will have no more of it."
"Oh? And what shall you do?" Even now he did not see his own doom before him.
"You shall surrender your vessel and its crew to me," Red stated. "If you attempt to flee, your lives shall be forfeit."
This the messenger clearly did not anticipate. "You would not dare fire upon one of the Sorcerer's vessels," the messenger boasted. "None have ever dared do so!"
"I have sent one already to the depths of the sea," Red said calmly, "and shall think nothing of the second. What is it to be?"
The messenger held a hurried conference with the ship's captain before turning back to speak with Red Foxx.
"We defy your decree," the messenger told her. "If you attempt to hinder our departure, you shall pay dearly for it."
"Your master is little more than a spy," Red told them in return, "and I shall no longer give him any quarter in my realm unless he first make recompense. I give you one last chance to yield yourselves to me or else pay the price."
"Since you do not find yourselves in a mood for peaceful bargains, we take our leave of you," the messenger said haughtily and gave orders for the ship to be turned around.
Red gave the Sorcerer's vessel a short distance before letting loose the bow cannon. It struck the Sorcerer's vessel mightily on the aft where it began to take on water quickly. It was not a ship built for war and it not take long before it began to sink, its crew unable to bail water fast enough.
"You shall rue this action!" the messenger cried out.
Red paid him no heed and instead calmly gave orders to Jat that the crew was to be rescued before drowned and placed in exile on the Isle of a Hundred Wrecks. What supplies they had were salvaged as well and sent with them.
"The Sorcerer is already close upon you!" the messenger shouted after the pirates as they left their captives behind. "He shall be avenged upon you for this!"
"These snakes at last show what their true colors be," Jat said to Red as they left the Isle behind them.
"They have hid too long behind mystery and fear," Red said. "We have now torn that veil away and shall soon see what remains."
The pirate ships took now their next course to the map's second marker. Jat took their heading and the map' instructions and compared it to their own charts. She guessed that the map now directed them towards another less frequented port, that of Barnacle Bay. A two days sail that also kept them on the fringes of the Island Kingdom. Red suspected they would find most of the stops to also be outside the usual lines of travel. Whether this was simply to keep the course hidden from most eyes, or because other eyes would be watching, remained to be seen.
The instructions they received at Barnacle Bay were similar to those on the last Isle. Only by standing in the place instructed was it possible through the map's directions to determine what the next heading should be. There was no mystery in their course beyond that, which led Red to wonder why so many points had been chosen along the way. She began to fear that not all of their stops would remain unchallenged.

"You will still let me live?" Dain ventured.
"All I care for is the map," Red said bluntly. "If you hand it over quickly, you may yet be fortunate enough to have me overlook this transgression."
"Aye, but Captain," Howl lamented, "'tis been so long since we be able to draw and quarter ourselves nice prisoner."
"And we be starved for some real amusement," Jat chimed in.
Dain looked to be considering this carefully, then suddenly asked, "Who is that?"
"I am Captain Lemuel Drake," Lemuel said stiffly as he picked himself up from the dust, "and I am in a position little better than yours."
"What have we done to you that you must hunt us all so?" Dain demanded.
"You withhold that which is mine," Red said, "and you are being given now your last opportunity to yield it up without great pain."
"Yes, yes, I understand," Dain said, more bent and less proud. "This way then."
"Not so fast," Red snapped. "You will tell us where it is first."
"Word came of your hunt," Dain explained, "which is how this map came to me, but a short time ago."
"That much we are aware of."
"That is why I set such a trap," Dain continued, "and to further protect the map I did not attempt to hide it in my own dwelling, but rather have buried it just outside the town in a place only I know." Red looked at him with a skeptic's eyes. "It is the truth!" Dain insisted. "And it is in an open place, there shall be nowhere for any assassins to hide, if I even had more such men. They were good men," he added.
"Who chose a poor master," Red said and prodded him with her pistol, Kelt having now bound Dain's hands.
"Come then," Dain said and led them from the alley and out of the town. He brought them to the base of a tall tree surrounded by many rocks. Dain spent several minutes examining the rocks carefully until he found the one he was looking for.
"Beneath here," he told Red, "buried in an iron box."
Red nodded and Jat and Kelt set to work. It was a large rock that clearly had needed two men to push it into place. Jat and Kelt with some efforts moved it aside and Red saw underneath signs of recent digging.
"It is not deep," Dain added as the two pirates scraped at the dirt.
Soon, as she dug with the butt on her pistol, Jat struck metal. With Kelt's help she extracted the metal box and opened it. Red withdrew the parchment inside and examined it eagerly.
"It is the map," she said at last. Carefully, she folded it and hid it deep within her coat.
Jat grinned as she wiped the dirt from her hands. "Then it be done!" she exclaimed.
"Aye, well done indeed, Captain," Howl agreed. "Worth, I think, a shot of lead to the shoulder."
"You have what you came for," Dain said, a hint of his former bravado returning. "I assume our deal remains?"
Red laughed. "If by that you mean the island in exchange, most certainly not! You have sought to betray us and as such I do not consider that agreement binding."
"And my life?" Dain asked between gritted teeth.
"Of that I still have to decide."
"Might I still put in a vote for drawin' and quartertin'?" Howl inquired.
"I have given you what you asked," Dain insisted, "and in so doing have betrayed my kingdom. Can you blame me for the attempt?"
"It is what I myself would have one," Red agreed, "but that does not alter the fact you attempted to assassinate the King of the Islands in our own lawful realm. Did you think that would escape punishment?"
Dain pleaded no more and allowed Kelt to lead him back into town. The others followed as they made their return to Dain's residence.
"I trust I have better abided by our agreement?" Lemuel asked Red as they walked.
"Indeed you have, Lemuel Drake. You have served the pirates with great distinction," Red told him and was glad that Dain Melthew should hear of it.
Lemuel scowled. "I have been brought low enough as it is without further mockery."
"And yet your sense of humor has not improved," Red noted.
"Simply say whether I have my freedom or no."
"You shall," Red said, "once we have finished dealing with this one. Then stay or go as you like."
"Aye," Jat added, "and I be hopin' ye enjoy the catching of fish." She and Howl had a long laugh at that and Red could not fully suppress her own smile.
When they reached Dain's house again Jat and Kelt search it for any further items of value, but found nothing save a small purse of coins.
"Consider your life a gift," Red told Dain. "You shall not suffer the punishments my folk would dearly love to visit upon you. You shall, however, be delivered into the care of the harbormaster and stand five days in the stocks. Your home and belongings are forfeit to our kingdom."
"And I suppose you ask thanks for such a gift?" Dain sneered.
"I do not expect it, no, though if you value your life I would think such light punishment deserved thanks." She turned to Lemuel. "As for you, Captain Drake, you have fulfilled the terms of our bargain and I release you." And so Red unlocked Lemuel's chains. "Be reminder, however, of further oaths you have sworn for I have no doubt they shall come to their conclusion in one way or another."
"So it would seem," Lemuel said.
"You have been given the gift of life twice by my hand, and that is the limit of my mercy," Red continued.
"I understand perfectly the situation," Lemuel said testily. "But I might remind you of your promise today, should I join this party."
"I have not forgotten," Red said. "Howl, you and Kelt may take the prisoner to the harbormaster and see his punishment fulfilled. Jat and I shall meet you on the Arrow in a short while."
"Aye, Captain," Howl said and with Kelt's help dragged Dain from his home and onto his just rewards.
Red sat next to Dain's table and laid out the second half of the map. "You may peruse it as you wish," she told Lemuel.
Jat stood by as he did so, not taking her eyes from Lemuel for a moment, certain he still had some treachery left in him. But if he did, Lemuel made no sign of it. He studied the map carefully until he handed it back to Red, satisfied.
"I cannot argue that you have kept to your word," Lemuel told her, "but now I ask one thing more."
"Which would be?"
"Release me from my oath to seek your death," he pleaded.
"Because you believe me to be someone else," she said.
"I still believe it to be," Lemuel confirmed, "and though all the years have passed between us I would not be made to do such a thing."
Red's demeanor grew cold. She could not comprehend what device this might possibly be. It seems only possible that he truly believed all he said, but it was not a truth Red was prepared to accept.
"I shall not release you," she told him and she returned the map to its hiding place, "and I look forward to facing you for the third and final time." With that Red left the house and strode towards her ship.
Jat remained a moment longer to add, "That be if I do not be findin' ye first." And she joined her captain. And so they left Lemuel alone. Heremained sitting where he was for awhile yet, unsure of his next direction.
Red and Jat made their way quickly back to the Arrow and there met Howl. In Red's cabin she rummaged around and drew out the first half of the map. Seated around Red's table the three of them put the two halves together.

*****

In his tower the Sorcerer lay deep in thought. He had listened to Howl's meeting with Red Foxx and knew now that the pirate captain was but an inch away from reclaiming the map. He had underestimated the Foxx's cunning. She had figured out the mark far more quickly than he ever could have guessed. Fortunately she had not thought of the possibility that Howl Matton might have one until it was too late.

Over 45,000 words total, with eight days left to go!




The pirate vessels, those at least used more as vessel of war, rarely came here. The same went with ships from other kingdoms. Most of those that traveled here did so purely for purposes of trade and this, frankly, was much to the liking of the people of Antilla. Their island, so they prided themselves, was one quiet and untroubled but the larger political affairs of the Five Kingdoms.
As usual Red ordered their flag furled as they sailed into the harbor. Flying the pirate flag usually attracted more attention than it was worth, to fly the banner of the flagship even more so. Howl did the same, though it was clear enough to most that these were vessels used to doing battle and word soon spread through the port. Once ready to disembark Red paid a visit to Lemuel Drake.
"We have arrived in Antilla," she told him.
"Yes, that much I could guess," Lemuel said dryly. "I did not think you would be heading anywhere else."
"Once I have the map our deal is complete and I shall release you to your people," Red reminded him. "Do you feel so inclined to aid us in tracking down Dain Melthew?"
"He may be gone, or he may have the map no longer," Lemuel pointed out. "What then of my fate?"
"We shall discuss that if such an eventuality arises," Red said, hopeful it would not. "No vessels shall leave this island until I order it. If he is here, he shall not escape."
Lemuel considered his options once again. They had rolled around in his head ever since their departure from Montegal and did not feel any better now. He could do his best to aid Red Foxx and hope somehow that he would gain useful knowledge of the map in the process. Yet if the second half alone could be of great help his people would likely have made use of it already. If he declined, if indeed this truly was an offer, he might at least keep his conscience somewhat clean. At the best, by withholding his assistance he might make the different between Melthew's capture or escape. Yet he did not honestly hold out much hope of that. What then was to be done?
"I shall come with you," Lemuel sighed, "but I ask for one further condition."
"You are not in such a position," Red noted.
"At least hear it," Lemuel said, exasperated. In that moment he could not see the young princess in the stern pirate before him, so annoyed had he become with her and her ways.
"Speak then."
"I ask to see the second half of the map, for ten minutes at least," Lemuel requested.
Red laughed. "You still think to find some way to beat me to the Heart?"
"If my request is so laughable, it cannot be much to grant," Lemuel said.
"Very well," Red said, amused, "if you think it shall be of such great assistance. Your countrymen have very like studied it close already."
"Perhaps so," Lemuel conceded, "but I thank you nonetheless."
Red released Lemuel was his cell, keeping him chained however as he had been on their last excursion, and led him above deck where they met Jat, Howl, and Howl's first mate. Cutthroat Kelt.
"Mornin', Captain," Howl greeted Red. "It be a fine mornin' for such a hunt, do ye not think?"
"Excellent, Howl," Red grinned. "Shall we set to it?"
The five of them crossed the dock and entered the small town that lay there. Jat had spoken to the harbormaster at length already who, like most men in his position on the pirate isles, too smart to hide anything. The healthy handful of gold that Jat presented him with for his troubled did not hurt.
The long and short of it was that Dain Melthew, to the best of the harbormaster's knowledge, dwelt still on the small island and kept a humble residence not far from the port itself. This made sense, Red thought, as he was like to be ready to depart at a moment's notice if a bad wind reached him. Red remained confident that they would take Melthew quick and unawares. She had brought Drake more as a bargaining chip than anything else, if matters came to that. She had only expected to be able to use him once to betray a countryman, as she had forced him to do with Sir Mot. If he hoped to somehow turn things to his own advantage, let him occupy himself thus.
They found Melthew's home easily enough from the harbormaster's instructions. Dain Melthew dwelt here under a different name, of course, but the harbormaster knew his trade well and made it a point to know the true identities of all who stayed here long. Melthew was, perhaps, a touch too open about his visits from other former nobility of the Ruined Kingdom which had caught the eye of those loyal to their pirate masters.
Red knocked on the door, planning no subterfuge this time, and soon her summons were answered. Dain Melthew came himself. He was not so old as Sir Mot, having been but a young lord on the rise when the destruction had driven him from his home. He looked at Red with a proud eye and quickly studied both her and her companions. If he recognized Lemuel, he did not show it.
"Can I help you?" Melthew said gruffly. It did not appear that he had shaved his beard in some days, much less pass beyond the boundary of his own door.
"I am Captain Red Foxx," Red announced. "You will allow us to enter."
Dain nodded and ushered them all in.
"I cannot say I thought to have the pirate king himself pay me a visit," Dain said as he sat down in his own chair. "At least not so soon after assuming your father's throne."
Red watched Dain carefully and he gave her a grim sort of a smile.
"So now, Pirate King," Dain continued. "What is it you think I can do for you?"
"I have come for the map."
Dain made no sign of recognition, but his eyes passed quickly from one person to another. "And what map is that?" he asked Red.
"I shall make this simple," Red told him. "You shall give us the map and in return I shall allow to live."
Dain laughed harshly. He was no so easily cowed. "That explains why you have brought with you this small army, I suppose. You must think me a fearsome foe indeed."
"Where is it?" Red demanded and the pirates around her looked as grim as she did.
Dain stared hard at Red. "I see you are not one easily deceived, Captain Foxx. Yes, I know of the map. And yes, it is here on Antilla." Here he paused.
"And?" Red prompted.
"What do you offer me?" Dain asked.
"I have offered you your life already," Red stated.
"Yet without me you shall not find where I have hidden it," Dain shot back in return. "No man save myself knows."
Red smirked, not quite so easily taken in. "That I doubt," she said, "but I shall hear your request regardless."
"An island of my own."
"And that is all?" Red asked in a mocking town.
"You have so many, pirate lord, shall you miss just one?" Dain scoffed in return.
Aye, but he makes a point there," Howl offered. "I can think of many an isle I be more than ready to set this one down upon and sail away."
"Granted," Red told Dain, "and I shall in truth reward you even greater than this, should you prove yourself faithful."
Slightly surprised at how easily the pirate captain had agreed to his proposition Dain nodded and stood. "Then follow me, Captain."
Dain led them back into the streets and soon they walked through the darker alleys Antilla had to offer.
Howl whispered in Red's ear, "I cannot say I like this, Captain. This one has plans of his own."
Red merely smiled. "But of course," she whispered in return. It was then that Howl realized Jat was nowhere to be seen.
Dain led them into a dead-end alley and upon coming to the far end stopped and turned to face the others.
"We have come to the end," he told Red Foxx.
"Indeed. The map?"
Dain smiled. "Yes, I do indeed know where it is, but I have no intention of giving it into your hands."
Three pirates drew pistols and aimed them at Dain Melthew. Red furthermore withdrew her saber and pointed it at Dain's chest.
"You are outnumbered here," Red said. "I advise you to rethink your course and hand over the map."
Several clicks surrounded them and Red whirled around and looked up to see the muzzles of several pistols pointing out of the windows above.
"I did not think to have the great Captain Foxx himself come looking for the map," Dain said smugly, "but this is indeed a quarry well worth the trap."
"Do not think you shall deter us so easily," Red said coldly and she neither moved her pistol or sword elsewhere.
"I have half a dozen men above," Dain stated. "You shall not escape here unless I grant it."
"Ye shant escape either," Howl growled, "remember that."
"I will," Dain said, "because you shall lower your weapons now, or else I shall have my men open fire."
"If you do," Red said, "you shall not make it a single step before we shoot you dead."
"Well, it seems we are at something of an impasse," Dain conceded. "Perhaps none of us shall leave this alley alive."
A slight noise from above attracted Red's attention. Out of the corner of her eyes one of Dain's hired pistols drew back suddenly for a moment, only to return a moment later. Red took two steps towards Dain. The point of her sword now sat an inch below his neck. Dain shuffled slightly on his feet.
"I will order my men to shoot," he told Red.
"You will not," Red said firmly. "You may be brave enough behind your hired guns, but you are not ready to risk your own death." The sword tip pressed in harder. "I can end it before your men even take their first shot."
"I am warning you, Captain..." Dain said, but he seemed less sure.
"No, I am warning you," Red hissed. "I grow tired of this! You shall tell your men to drop their weapons, or I shall see you do not die here and now but suffer greatly at the hands of my crew. Where is the map?"
Dain did not move. Red made a quick gesture to Howl and Kelt. They pointed their guns upwards towards two of the armed windows.
"You are still outnumbered," Dain said.
Red closed her eyes for a moment and then raised her pistols upwards. One shot and a man fell dead from the window. Red dropped her pistol and swung Dain around in front of her, the sword now across his neck.
"Do not shoot! Do not shoot!" Dain cried and his men held their fire.
"Less outnumbered now," Red hissed in Dain's ear. "Would you care to reconsider my offer?"
"You are still not in a strong position yourself," Dain told the pirate. "But perhaps we can come to an arrangement to both our advantages."
Another sound came from above and Red tightened her grip on Dain. Red looked up and nodded. A shot came from above, followed by two from below from Howl and Kelt. More shots from above answered, but in the end all of Dain's men lay dead, either slumped over their window or bloody in the alley below. Howl had suffered a bullet to the shoulder, but that was the greatest of the pirates' injuries. Lemuel had wisely cast himself to the ground when the fight began. Their enemies dispatched, Jat climbed down from her perch where she had taken two of the men from behind before shooting a third across the alley. Red Shoved Dain forward into Kelt's custody and reclaimed her pistol.
"That be fine work, Mate Stevens," Howl said to Jat as he inspected his wound. "I barely notice meself that ye be at work up there. Ye should be learnin' to count," he spat at Dain who had now found a quieter tongue.
Jat helped Howl bind his wound while Red addressed Dain once more.
"Must I ask you again, or are you at last prepared to cooperate?"

Kelly and I spent the afternoon and Nina's Coffee Shop: she knitting and me working on NaNoWriMo. I managed about 4,500 words today which brought me to over 43,000 with nine days left now to complete this NaNoWriMo adventure. I'm hoping to get to the end of the rough draft around November 30th (which I expect to be more than 50,000 words), but we'll see where I am next Monday. Kelly and I also stopped by Lakeshore after church to pick up my script for Doubt, hurrah!




Red adjusted it again, more carefully, until the voices again emerged. What magic brought their voices here out of thin air was beyond Red's reckoning, but she intently listened in.
"...sent Henron already to intercept Captain Foxx," the first voice, a man, said.
"I understand, my lord," the second voice, a woman, answered.
"He has placed the mark on her and I hope to glean something useful soon," the first voice said.
Red stiffened. He had said her in speaking about her! Was this the voice of the Sorcerer and did he already know her secret?
"We are moored not far from the Savage," the second voice reported.
This must another of the Sorcerer's servants, Red thought, and this device the means by which he communicated with them all. Red's father had long wondered how the Sorcerer was able to spread news so quickly.
"Have they made any sign as to their next movement?" the Sorcerer asked.
"Not yet, my lord. They are still intent on their repairs."
Red Foxx grinned at that, glad to know they dealt the Savage such a strong blow.
"Also, there is still no sign of Captain Drake," the second voice said. "From what we can gather Captain Drake was lost at sea during the battle with the Arrow and Mate Flint does not hold out much hope for his survival."
"I presumed as much," the Sorcerer answered. "Have you placed a mark on Flint?"
"Not yet," the second voice answered. "It would seem strange to visit him again so soon and so we have had to be more subtle in our movements. But it shall be done ere they leave port."
"Good," the Sorcerer answered. "Keep me well-informed of all their movements."
"It shall be done, lord."
The voices ceased and Red Foxx heard no more now save a faint hiss. At this point Jat returned and was most interested to see Red's discovery.
"Aye, now here's a wonder indeed!" she exclaimed. "We found naught below deck but supplies," she added, "but that be unimportant I think compared to this."
"It is most certainly a unique discovery," Red agreed.
"Aye, but what be it?"
"Of that I cannot say much, save it appears to be what the Sorcerer uses to speak from afar to his servants. I but a moment ago heard the Sorcerer himself speak to another of his vessels."
"Did he not know?" Jat asked, amazed.
"If he did I had no sign of it."
"Then he be not as all-powerful as some say," Jat pointed out. "I would be thinkin' that such magic would be hard for another to tap into, but ye seem to have done so."
"I do not think it is magic," Red said as she examined the device further, "no more than the powder in our pistols is magic. The Sorcerer clearly keeps the best of his knowledge to himself."
She leaned in more closely and suddenly the hissing sound intensified. Jat was about to speak but Red silenced her. Red moved slowly away and the sound returned to its earlier level. Red leaned close to Jat and whispered in her ear.
"I heard the Sorcerer speak of a 'mark,' which apparently he placed upon me. I believe he may use it to spy on us."
Jat nodded and they searched Red's clothing for whatever this thing might be. Suddenly Jat motioned for Red to lean in towards the device again. The hissing grew loud once again, and using that Jat deduced where exactly on Red's person it must lie. Finally she extracted a compact piece of metal from the folds of Red's coat. Red looked at it curiously. Again, however, it was a device out of her knowledge, though marvelously complex. Jat opened the cabin's porthole and tossed it into the sea.
"There now," she said, "I think that be puttin' a crimp in the Sorcerer's well-laid plans."
"This, I suspect, was the true purpose in Henron meeting us here," Red said. "Well done, Jat. Else we may have given away much to the Sorcerer unkowingly."
"Aye, ye cannot deny he be a tricky evil. Now," Jat wondered at she looked at the device, "can we take it with us?"
Red investigated this possibility. While the device was secured to the wall, that appeared to be solely for the purpose of safety on board ship. With Jat's assistance they managed to free it and the device did not appear affected by its removal in the least. The device was large enough to require several to carry it, but with the assistance of more of her crew Red saw it removed to her own quarters. She and Jat did what they could to shield it from view from any on shore, particularly the Sorcerer's crew although Jat pointed out that would do little.
"Once the crew be back on board they'll be findin' it's missin' mighty quick," she said to Red. "And it'll take but a moment to know who must have it."
Red nodded and thought for a few moments. She did not want to Sorcerer to so quickly learn of the theft.
"Clearly the Sorcerer uses this thing to spy on us," she told Jat. "Have the ship brought out to open water and scuttled, once its supplies are removed. Tell the master of the port that the Sorcerer's crew shall be held here for several days here and then released. The Sorcerer will not, I hope, so quickly then guess what we have done."
Jat grinned and went off to convey Red's orders. The Sorcerer's crew was irate at the news, but they could do little against the pirate captain's will. Henron was handed over to the harbormaster along with the rest of his crew and in particular railed against the pirate king.
"When the Sorcerer learns of this," he told her angrily, "he shall see every last ship of yours drowned!"
"He is most welcome to attempt the feat," Red said calmly, "though he may find it more difficult that it first appears."
With the Sorcerer's crew safely exiled to Montegal and their ship occupied now only by the fish, Red at last brought her ship back out into open water, their course set for Antilla. Later, in private, she shared with Jat another truth she had learned while listening to the Sorcerer.
"He spoke of me," Red told Jat, "and it was plain that he knew our secret, at least mine. He knew us to be women, Jat."
Jat swore. "That be a heavy blow to hear, after I be thinkin' us so clever in dealin' with his minions."
"Do not let it concern you overmuch as yet," Red said. "I guess he did not just learn this, and so he may perhaps have his own reasons for keeping the secret concealed. But it does mean we must prepare for its revelation, lest we wish to be within his power when the time comes."
"Aye, Captain," Jat said, "I'd rather let it be known than beg the wizard on me knees to keep it hidden."
That night, as the ship sailed through calm waters, Red closed herself in her cabin and uncovered the Sorcerer's device. To herself alone she admitted that the device itself fascinated her, beyond any upper hand it might give her in dealings with the Sorcerer. The more she studied it the more she concluded it bore no magic beyond advanced knowledge. Anyone, man or women, she thought, could do the same if they too possessed the understanding of its workings. She spent the entire night in its study, seeking for any voices, but also attempting to discern what made it function. As a child the workings of things had always brought her great wonder. When he father first began to teach her the art of sailing, the how and the why of the sailings, rudder, and riggings brought her as much joy as the learning of how to do these things for herself. She remembered spending hours also taking apart her father's best pistol just to know what made it fire. Certainly that had not been one of the moments that endeared her to her father the most, though he certainly had been more pleased when she obeyed his order to put it right again.
By midnight she had taken the device apart as much as she dared, for she did not want to put it beyond repair, but it still mystified her, particularly what caused the device to run. But while little wiser on the mechanics behind it, she had caught several conversations. Different points of the dial, she had determined, corresponded to different types of conversation. She had already come across one conversation that included the Sorcerer and quickly learned that he has only to be found here. At other points on the dial, however, she encountered various servants of the Sorcerer speaking to one another on various subjects. Most of these did not interest Red Foxx much and so she concentrated on listening in to the Sorcerer. He largely was keeping tabs on his servants and clearly did so on a frequent basis. Some of his servants he spoke to more than once that night and Red counted at least a dozen that he spoke to over the course of the night. How much then did he speak to his servants during the day? Red listened carefully to the Sorcerer's instructions, attempting to determine what the Sorcerer's plans might be. She hoped to not hear the name of Antilla, afraid that that piece of news the Sorcerer had already spied out. But she did not hear it, and at last early into the next morning Red fell asleep before the device, it continuing to hiss faintly with a sound that mingled with the waves outside.
The next day brought more stormy weather, and the ship rolled and pitched all day long. This of course did not bother the pirates much, although it meant all hands on deck and diverted Red's attention solely to the business of keeping the ship aright. The device had forgotten that day and Red cursed the skies, wondering what vital information she missed. The following day the weather calmed, for the most part, at least enough for Red to return to her spy work. And as she listened in to yet another report to the Sorcerer about how they had arrived in position and placed the mark (at least she knew know what they referred to) on the target, Red Foxx toyed with other knobs and buttons. One she pressed in and out without thinking, as she paid attention to what the Sorcerer said, not noticing the clicking sound that corresponded to her own actions.
"What is that?" the Sorcerer suddenly demanded. Red Foxx froze, and the two voices she listened to paused as well. Red realized what she had been doing and carefully pressed the button again.
Click.
"There it is again!" the Sorcerer said and Red cursed her own foolishness. The Sorcerer and his servant listened for many long moments, but as the sound did not come again they eventually returned to their previous conversation and Red's attention again drifted until the Sorcerer brought up another topic.
"Have you heard from Henron on the Lightning?" the Sorcerer asked.
"No," his servant replied.
"Nor I and his silence concerns me," the Sorcerer said. Red leaned in, interested. "Nor," the Sorcerer continued, "have I heard anything from Captain Foxx's mark. When you have finished your current errand, make all speed to Montegal and see what you can learn."
"Of course, my lord."
The conversation soon ceased and Red Foxx could find nothing save the faint background hiss anywhere on the dial. She turned the device off (having at last found that switch) and threw herself down on her bunk to think. It should have occurred to her that the Sorcerer would quickly discern that he cold hear nothing from the mark placed on her. Perhaps throwing it into the sea had not been the wisest course. They might have found a way to turn it to their own advantage. But be that as it may, Jat had at least figured out the Sorcerer's plan there soon enough to prevent him from learning their destination.
And so Red Foxx's thoughts turned to her prisoner, Captain Drake. He had not been allowed to speak to Henron, though perhaps Henron might have recognized him well enough to pass along the new he was alive. Red had not spoken to Drake since their visit to Sir Mot, but many of his words continued to eat away at her. She still puzzled over his conviction that she was someone other than she truly was. But why? What would convince him so thoroughly that the dead princess of the Ruined Kingdom was her? The scar she dismissed, such things were easy enough to twist to your own advantage and Red had no proof this princess bore any such scar as she did. But Red had to admit that her early childhood remained vague. Certainly she had not spent much time then on any ship, being still to young, and she supposed there had been other children she had played with...
The knock came sharply at her cabin door, unusual for the time of night. Red opened it at once and Jat asked her to hurry to the railing. Pressing the spyglass into her hands Jat pointed wordlessly to aft and port. Red brought the spyglass into focus and soon saw the vague shape of the other vessel. She could not tell at this late hour if it be friend or foe and for the moment it flew no flag. Certainly the ship appeared to be on the same course as they, but Jat whispered that she had been observing it for the past hour and it made no obvious signs of pursuit. Red watched it for several minutes but could learn nothing more and handed the glass back to Jat.
"Keep a watch on it," she whispered to Jat, "but I fear that it all we can do for now. Come morning we may be able to obtain a better view."
Jat nodded and Red returned to bed, finally drifting off for the remainder of the night. The morning brought fair weather and Red joined Jat in the crow's nest to take a better look at the mystery vessel. It remained far enough away that it was difficult without any obvious outward to know if it was friend, foe or ambivalent.
"I not be linkin' this," Jat said, "not after our brush with the Sorcerer and all."
"You were right when we pursued the Savage," Red admitted, "and we shall proceed with more caution this time."
Red left Jat and swung back down to deck. In such good weather, holding a steady course, there was in truth little for the Captain to do. The crew had the ship well in hand and Jat could keep an eye on the second ship well enough. It could make no move in daylight that they would not have ample warning of. Red Foxx was, if she admitted it to herself, restless and she prowled the decks with no clear view of what she sought. She avoided passing by the brig, though questions burned her. She felt drawn to interrogating him more on the young princess he had known, wanting for reasons she could not explain to prove beyond doubt that it was not she.
After snapping at more than one of the young women on her crew, Red Foxx at last confined herself voluntarily to her cabin, the best to put herself out of everyone else's way. She was hungry for action. While she loved the sea dearly, she had never been much fond of the days at sea with nothing to do but keep the ship on a straight course. That much any sailor could do with her eyes shut. It took no bravery or great skill, nor did it do much to distract the mind from other things. And so, restless of mind she took back to her bunk to think, but with the little sleep she had found eavesdropping on the Sorcerer she fell soon into an even more restless sleep.

She sat on a hill watching the ships come in and out of the harbor. She loved this place, though in distant dreams could not remember its name. She was a child, and in the vague awareness that dreams sometimes provide knew this to be a moment from long ago. She sat cross-legged in the grass, her head resting in her hands, as she watched the work of the port. Men pulled at ropes and sails, moving cargo on and off their ships. Others, having a chance to rest from life at sea, scrubbed and polished their fine vessels until their shone proud in the sunlight. Red had loved to come here and watch this spectacle for as long as she could remember, though she mostly did so without her father's knowledge.
Strange, the older Red thought, as she watched dreaming through her younger self's eyes, why would Father mind me watching the ships at port? And I wish I could remember where it is I am...
As the young Red sat upon the hill a boy joined her. So there had been a boy, she observed. He sat silent beside her as together they drank in the sight hour after hour, one neither of them ever tired of. After awhile Red became aware that the boy watched her more than the ships and she blushed. He tried to take her hand and she pushed him away, but not too unkindly.
"You know you shouldn't," her younger self teased the boy. "My father would never allow it," she added haughtily, but Red could not remember sharing the sentiment.
The boy said nothing but smiled, then gave her a playful shove. Soon they were racing around the hill and chasing one another, the ships for the moment forgotten.
Time seemed to pass and Red, only a little older now, stood on a ship watching as scores of other ships gathered together in the same harbor. She stood next to a tall man, but time obscured his face. She knew only that she was proud to stand there beside him and be present for this sight.
"Look closely, daughter," the man said to her and the voice sounded strange. "You see the hammer that shall strike our enemies dead!"
Red shivered, for the voice was cold and hard, not at all how she remembered her father, for she assumed this must be he. The older Red shrank back in the dream from the sight, but the man pushed her forward to the railing and held her there however much she tried to resist. She looked around to the other vessels and thought for a moment she caught a glimpse of the boy on one, but another ship came between them and she lost sight of him.
She tugged at the ribbon in her hair absentmindedly. Suddenly the man next to her gave a terrible cry. She looked up at him, but saw his face no more clearly. What she remembered most was the shadow that fell over it. It was not like the shadow of night, but deep, blue and murky and seemed to come with the sound of an ever-growing roar. The ship she stood on lurched as it struck the bottom of the harbor and Red fell to the deck. The man released his grip on her and she heard him shouting to others. She pulled herself back up to the railing and looked around. The water had mostly drained away and ship sat mired in the mud at odd angles. A few had already tipped over and men ran from them like ants, back to shore. She looked out to see and saw why, why they ran and why the man had seemed so afraid.
She watched as the wall of water rapidly approached. It grew as tall as the sky itself and the younger Red shrank back, terrified of it. To the older Red it now seemed that she stood beside the child she had been. She watched the water without much emotion, for she knew she would survive it. The young girl looked up at her, still afraid, and Red did her best to give her comfort. Dreams are such strange beasts, she mused.
The water struck the ship and it tumbled over and over in the raging water. Screams were doused as water poured over her. She was just the young girl again, or so she thought, and she felt again the sense of suffocation as the water started to fill her lungs. She remembered feeling abandoned for her father, for where was his strong hand now when she needed it most? Buried deep in the water many objects struck her and the young Red struggled to find air again while protecting her face from the shards of wood that threatened to gut her even as she drowned.
At last her head found the surface and she coughed, able to gulp down just enough air before the wave drew her back under. This continued for what felt like an age, and indeed in this dreaming remembrance likely did last far longer than the reality. At last she seized upon some shred of a vessel, now crushed and its crew drowned, which kept her anchored more to the surface. She paid little attention to what took place around her, only just aware of the cries and shouts that filled the air around her. No one saw her drifting helplessly amidst the wreckage, the current slowly pulling her out to sea.
When at last the young Red found the energy to look around, she saw little but the flotsam that had such a short time ago been a mighty fleet. That and the bodies, some of which gazed upwards with empty eyes to the sky. Red shut her eyes tight and did not open them again until a kindly voice at last spoke to her.
"Now then, child, what be ye doin' so far out here all on yer own?"
Red opened her eyes and saw the ship towering high above her. She remembered clearly seeing the now-familiar standard of the silver fox on black. A rope hung down from one side and to it clung the figure of her father Grey Foxx, looking in memory far younger than Red had seen him in an age.
In dream he seemed to the young Red strange and frightening, though the older Red could not think of why that should be. The younger Red stared up mutely at the pirate who held one hand to her, holding tight to the rope with the other.
"Come now," he said to her, "ye have nothing to fear by us."
The young Red took Grey Foxx by the hand and all the love Red had born the old man came flooding back. She smiled, young and old, and she clung tight to his waist and the other pirates heaved the two of them aboard.

Red woke with a start and could not help but find the dream in some ways disturbing. How much of it was true memory and how much came from the tricks of a sleeping mind she could not quite discern. But it troubled her that the sight of Grey Foxx had at first brought her fear. And how was it that the, standing beside her she before the wave struck, was then safe and sound on his vessel to rescue her? She retained a vague memory of this dream coming often to her not long after the events, and her father rocking her gently to sleep afterwards, but it had been many a year since it last troubled her.
Red shook off the dream and stood to look out of the porthole. It was still daylight outside, though late afternoon by the looks of things. They were still a least a half day out of Antilla and would not reach it until first light tomorrow at the earliest. Eager to escape the troubled remnants of sleep she strode out of her cabin and onto the deck, grabbing hold of the riggings and climbing quickly back into the crow's nest. She found Jat sill there, enjoying the last crumbs of a midday meal.
"Afternoon, Captain," she said to Red and looked more pleased than she had in the morning.
"Afternoon, Jat," Red answered. "Anything further on the other ship?"
"See for yerself," Jat returned and handed Red the spyglass. Training it on the second ship's flag she grinned.
"You might have woke me to tell me it was nothing more than Howl Matton dragging his sorry vessel in our wake."
"Aye, that I might of," Jat said, grinning broadly herself. "But I be not wantin' to disturb ye. We've had signals already from Captain Matton and I took the liberty of tellin' him that he be welcome on board when ye be so disposed."
"I suppose that much can be allowed of such a sea dog who outran a score of enemy ships," Red Foxx consented with another grin. "You may let him know the very like."
"Aye, Captain." And Jat slid down to deck to carry these orders out.
Red was pleased to not have to give battle again so soon. She would not run from a fight, that much was not in her, but she chafed at the idea of another delay on they quest for the map. From her studies of the half already in her possession, finding the Heart even with the map would take more than a few days sail. Red relaxed in the crow's nest, signaling to her crew below that she would take the watch until the Sea Wolf came alongside. This was her favorite place to wile away the hours at sea when other matters did not require her attention. The Sea Wolf was still some distance away and would take a little time yet to approach.
When the Sea Wolf drew at last within shouting distance Red reluctantly slid down, having enjoyed her peaceful vigil in the wake of her dream, and allowed another crew member to replace her at the watch. Soon thereafter the Sea Wolf slid alongside and Howl swung a rope across.
"Well now, Captain," he said to Red, "if ye not be a sight for sore eyes!"
"I am pleased to seed you escaped as well, Howl," Red said to him. "Captain Drake is possessed of more foresight than we gave him credit for, but he came out the worse for it even still."
"Aye, for I hear he be sleepin' now where he never be troublin' us again," Howl said.
"Not quite," Red informed him, "but if you follow me I shall show you better what I mean."
Curious, Howl followed Red and Jet below deck and Red led him to the brig. Upon seeing their rather woebegone prisoner Howl let out a tremendous laugh.
"Now this be a sight to my likin'," he bellowed and laughed hard over it. Lemuel did not look much delighted by this turn of events.
"May I take it that this is one of your underlings," he at last asked Red.
"Indeed," Red answered, "for this is Captain Howl Matton of the Sea Wolf, one of the most loyal and devoted of my captains."
"Now, Captain," Howl grinned, "ye be makin' me blush."
"I can't but think that not a feat ye be capable of, Howl," Jat said, and Howl slapped her on the back. Jat and Howl had always been much alike, Red thought.
"Now how came it," Howl asked, "that such a bird is to be found in yer cage, Captain?"
"He fell into the water during our battle," Red told him, "and we took pity on the ragged wretch."
"Ye be a mite more merciful than I be," Howl admitted, "but it be a pretty sight."
"Captain Matton was with you before our battle, I think," Lemuel said.
"Aye," Howl answered, "and drew off yer ships I may say without much trouble. They were a mite disappointed when they be findin' I not be who they thought."
"Yes, I was disappointed as well to find my trap did not do as well as I had hoped," Lemuel admitted, "especially when Captain Foxx fell so quickly into it."
"If you will, Howl, Jat and I have more news for you," Red told the pirate captain. "If you wish further words with our prisoner, you may do so later at your leisure."
Howl nodded and returned with Red and Jat to Red's cabin.
"Well, Captain," Howl began, "it seems ye be havin' more than yer fair share of luck without me."
"Not without you, Howl," Red assured him, "for without you I cannot say we would have fared as well as we did in our fight with the Savage."
"That be kind of ye to say, Captain. And it be my pleasure. I must be sayin' though, no disrespect to ye, that I be surprised that Captain Drake still be livin' after so many days in yer hands."
"I can understand that," Red said, "and certainly it would not be the case if Jat had his way. But it has proved to be to our advantage."
"Aye," Jat reluctantly agreed, "thought I be feelin' better about it if I could be puttin' a bullet in his back when the deal is done."
"I have agreed to return Captain Drake to his people," Red explained, "in exchanged for his help in tracking down the second half of the map. Which, we have now learned, is to be found in Antilla, in the hands of Dain Melthew."
"I suppose that be reason enough to spare his life," Howl admitted, "but I be agreein' with Mate Stevens that it be better if he not leave yer ship alive."
"Perhaps so, but the promise has been made, and on the Captain's Stone itself," said Red, "and I will not in all honor change it now."
"Aye, aye, ye won't catch me sayin' ye should," Howl assured the Captain. "And I be pleased to here yer adventures have not been in vain."
"You mean to say you are glad you caught up with us in time to be a part of the glory," Red said, grinning.
"Ye've caught me now, Captain," Howl agreed. "And I caught word already that Captain Longboot had been makin' for Antilla himself. We may find ourselves there a merry party."
"All the better to go after the Heart with," Red said. "Good news indeed."
Suddenly Red froze. "Howl," she demanded, "have you encountered any servant of the Sorcerer?"
"Now how strange that ye be mentionin' such a thing," Howl told her, "for we came across one of his ships but a day or two back."
"Did any of its crew come aboard your vessel?" Red asked urgently. Inwardly she swore. How much had they already given away?
"Why, it be like ye be there yerself!" Howl exclaimed.
Red dropped her voice to a whisper. "Speak not a word aloud. She motioned to Jat to uncover and prepare the device.
"Now what be that..." Howl began, but Red silenced him at once and motioned that he should stand close by the device. It hissed loudly in reply and Jat searched Howl as she had Red Foxx. Soon Jat uncovered another of the tiny devices. This time Red preserved it and buried it deep within her bunk that it might not catch anything more of what they said.
"Be ye wantin' to tell me what all this is about?" Howl demanded.
Red still dared not speak too loudly. "We too met with a vessel of the Sorcerer and have learned a great deal in consequence of his operations. He sends his servants to mark those he would spy on with tiny devices such as you saw. He has ways then of hearing from afar all that is said near to one."
Howl swore. "I swear to ye, Captain, if I had but known..."
"I do not blame you, Howl," Red said. "It is but a lucky chance that we have learned as much as we did. And if I am correct, the Sorcerer must be listening to such a mark to hear anything from it. It may be that he still knows nothing of this conversation." Red paused, hoping this was true, but not quite believing it. "But," she continued, "we must proceed under the assumption that he knows of you meeting us, of Captain Drake our prisoner, and that the second half of the map is now to be found in Antilla."
Red further explained to Howl how they had obtained the listening device from the Sorcerer's ship, though they had not heard anything on it from any of the Sorcerer's "marks."
"Aye, ye have been a mite busy," Howl said as he fiddled with the device himself. "I must confess I never did like the sound of the Sorcerer. To know he had been listenin' to me this time since I met his ship..."
"Do not worry yourself over it," Red told him. "He had fooled many in this fashion. Let us know keep this secret to ourselves as long as we can, for as long as the Sorcerer does not discover we have knowledge of it, we may learn much to our advantage."
Red instructed Howl to brink the mark back to his ship, but to be wary of what he said with it on his person, burying it in some way to hide all voices when he need to discuss things the Sorcerer should not hear. Howl promised to be so vigilant and let his first mate and helsman in on the secret as well. Howl stayed on the Black Arrow to dine with Captain Foxx and the two of them talked late into the night over many stories of Grey Foxx and his exploits. Red also showed him more of the device and how with it she had been able to listen in on what the Sorerer discussed with many of his servants.
"It be a wonder indeed," Howl said as he listened. "But magic... now that I see it I do not believe it to be that."
"Nor I, Howl," Red agreed.
After Howl returned to his ship Red spent several hours again with the device, this time to see if she could learn what damage had been done from the visit Howl received. It occurred to her that she could by no means no how many of her captains bore such marks even now. All that had taken place in her meeting with the captains, indeed much the pirate had done for many years, may all be known to the Sorcerer already. So long had the pirates thought only of their enemies of the Ruined Kingdom, and all that time had this snake in the grass been listening and waiting, whatever his plans might be.
The next morning when Red awoke she came on deck to see Antilla looming before them. Howl waved to her from the Sea Wolf, not far off itself. Red smiled and stood at the prow of the ship, delighting in the feel of the wind upon her face and the taste of salt in the air. A morning on board ship was a thing with which nothing else could compare. And if they had not been led astray, and their quarry had not scurried elsewhere, Red would soon hold the map complete.
Antilla was a quiet port, busy enough from the fisherman who swarmed around the island to make their catch before coming back into port to barter with the traders over the price to take and sell the surplus elsewhere.