Open Wardrobes

About 1600 words today and now just over 24,000. Not bad for a work day! I should definitely hit the halfway point tomorrow (though it remains to be seen if that's anything like the halfway point of the story), several days ahead of schedule. I'm hoping to keep ahead in order to get as far beyond 50,000 by the end of November. I'm fairly certain the complete rough draft will be 60,000 words easy, but we shall see.




Come the morning Red Foxx stationed himself on the prow of the ship, the spyglass fixed to his eye and he watched the vessel they pursued. He could not yet tell if they had seen the Arrow. Jat joined him after taking a brief moment for something to eat.
"What do ye think, Captain?" he asked.
"No sign they have yet spied us," Red answered, "nor any change in course. They seem to be making for Montegal."
"Aye."
Out of the corner of his eye Red saw Jat gaze uneasily at the sea surrounding them.
"What is it, Jat?"
Jat did not answer at first, as if wary to commit his thoughts to words. "Nothing, I don't think, Captain, it just be that 'tis not so easy to hide in open water, yet the Savage has not so much as given a signal that we be known to it."
"You fear a trap?"
"Aye, Captain."
"It seems unlikely," Red said, "for Drake did not know he would find us in Harbarrow and he has met with no other vessel since."
"Aye, that be true enough," Jat acknowledged. "I can only be sayin' that something does not feel as it should."
"Normally I would be more inclined to pay heed to such feelings, but I cannot say that I see anything amiss. We are alone on the water, save the Savage and the Sea Wolf. We shall be more than ready if Drake tries anything."
Jat nodded and let the matter be, but he could not shake the feeling that unsettled him.
The day wore on uneventfully. They kept the Savage just within sight and it remained steady on a course that would take it to Montegal, if that indeed was their destination. Red did not like to so quickly dismiss his first mate's fears, but all reason told him that the Savage had neither time nor opportunity to lay any sort of trap. Unless...
As the afternoon light began to fade, Red called Jat.
"I have given more thought to what you said earlier," Red said to him, "and one such thought occurs to me. If Drake had planned before ever finding us what to do if we ever met up..."
"Aye, that be it exactly!" Jat exclaimed. "That be the thought I could not find words for. The Admiral was a man with many such clever thoughts, and I be not doubtin' he taught his son a thing or two."
"Signal the Sea Wolf," Red ordered. "Have them close the distance between us by half, in the event you are not mistaken."
Jat carried this out speedily, making for the aft of the vessel and through reflected sunlight signaling their fellow pirates of the Captain's desire. Darkness falls quickly on the seas, once the sun hits the horizon and it would be several hours yet before the moon emerged to aid them. Red still remained at the fore of the ship keeping watch with the spyglass, doing his best to keep in trained on the faint glints of light that marked the location of the Savage. It was hours yet before midnight, while the moon remained hidden, that Jat joined Red in haste.
"I think it be as we feared," he told the Captain. "The men be seein' lights in all directions, faint yet, but closing fast."
Red swore. He had underestimated Drake's foresight. Clearly this was an ambush set in advance for just such an occasion. How pleased Drake must have been to so easily trace the whereabouts of the new Captain Foxx.
"Signal Howl to make all speed ahead," he said to Jat. "There is no purpose is trying in them trying to hide any longer."
"Aye," Jat confirmed. "And what be our course?"
"Same as present," Red said, "but full speed to intercept the Savage. Let us see if we can arrive at their location before their allies."
Jay relayed the orders and they watched as the shape of the Savage grew larger ahead. The Sea Wolf grew closer as well, though slowly, as they pushed the Arrow towards top speed. The lights around them grew clearer as well, and looking through the spyglass Red could start to make out the other vessels.
"Load the cannons," Red ordered Jat. "All hands to battle stations. It will not do for them to catch us unprepared."
As if to echo this sentiment they heard from behind the faint boom of cannon fire. The enemy ships closing the rear of the trap had at last determined that the Sea Wolf was not one of theirs. More cannons answered. It was too dark for Red to tell who now fired on who and he cursed the foolishness of trusting his plans to only one other ship.
The Black Arrow made excellent time through the water, with all its speed unleashed, and soon Red realized that they drew ahead of the enclosing ships such that only the Savage remained before them. They would outrun the others so long as they did not have to pause too long when they reached the Savage. Howl would have to trust to his own resourcefulness.
"Douse the lamps," Red ordered and they proceeded with only the dim starlight to illuminate them.
The sounds of cannons continued in intervals behind them. Red guessed that Howl, having deduced the nature of the trap, now himself sought to break free of the circle and lead his pursuers on a chase away from the Arrow. The enemy ships, likely expecting only a single vessel, would not know for certain which to best pursue. The pirates had long built their ships first for speed and in a race could best any ship the Ruined fleet now possessed.
Red ordered the helmsman to divert their course slightly so that they would come alongside the Savage and not directly behind, the better to fire their own cannon. The Arrow did boast one trick that the Savage could not: a single cannon mounted underneath the bow to give them a single shot from the rear. The ship groaned and creaked as the men pulled the cannon into place and loaded them. Swords and pistols they placed into their belts in the event that Drake's men should try to board the ship. They drew close enough now to the Savage to start to hear the sound of the crew's voices over the water, by all accounts making the same preparations for battle as they. The sound of cannon aft had paused for the moment and Red hoped that Howl had broken free of the enclosing ships. If so Red figured they would likely only follow for a time and not waste cannon shot until more certain they could take the vessel. Howl could easily outrun them, but it would mean separating his course from the Captain and Red would not be able to count on his assistance for the foreseeable future.
The first shot came as a surprise. The Savage had turned suddenly to starboard in order to fire, sacrificing speed in the maneuver but giving it the opportunity to strike first. It missed, but Red heard the sound of it slicing through the air. He had taken the helm himself now and kept their course dead on so as to make for the smallest target possible. Jat had already prepared the crew for a quick change of sail so as to make a sudden turn once Red was ready to open fire. Another shot sounded. It passed them on the other side and hit the water not far from the ship. In coming into firing position the Savage had allowed the Arrow to bear down on it all the more quickly. Red ordered the crew to slow and make ready to fire the bow cannon. He could see the ship more clearly now, even in the starlight. He saw a figure standing on the enemy ship's bow and knew it to be Drake. He had given Drake quarter once and vowed it would be for the last time. But such a victory then, only a night ago, would have felt too hollow. This was a meeting much more to Red's liking. Fitting that the heirs of their fathers' commands should test themselves in this, like to be the first of many such battles. Finally Red gave the order to loose the bow cannon and it ripped into the aft of the Savage. The damage, Red guessed, was not great but he relished taking first blood, so to speak. The Savage answered quickly with a salvo of several shots. Two missed again, by a hair, but the third struck the deck midship and splintered wood shot in all directions. Red gave the signal and the Arrow swung hard to port, opening up its starboard cannons to the enemy. Four shot in rapid succession. One cut through the fore rigging some, while another just barely cleared the deck. The third went wide and missed entirely, but the last struck the keel low. They would take on water now and Red grinned in small satisfaction as it would serve to distract the crew from the battle.
The Savage turned to come at them head on. Red suspected Drake mostly wanted an opportunity to deal with their wound and Red was not about to give it to him so easily. He swung the ship around at the same time to keep their starboard sides facing one another. Two more cannon sounded from the Arrow, with as many answering the call from the Savage just moments later.