Sineater

The ship exploded into action.

Zist, the Thizzer, looked like a giant man-sized serpent with arms. The green and blue scaled reptilian was actually native to the planet, but had been exiled by his people. Unlike the rest of the crew, he didn’t have feet and I’d seen his mouth open so wide that he would have been able to swallow Garm if he’d really tried.

Forst, the WereCrocodile, had been one of the few humans on the planet before he’d been bitten and turned into the giant reptilian. His former Alpha hadn’t been part of the Guild, who magically bound almost all Weres to the organization, and had barely escaped with his life after the Guild Weres destroyed his pack. The scaly brown man had found a home on our ship and we’d never been worried that he’d try to turn one of us.

Minx, the three foot tall blue reptilian, had been a fanatic of a Leviathan from another world. After the Leviathan had been killed, the surviving Kobolds had been dumped on the planet instead of being executed to stop them from just finding another giant serpent to serve. Without a master, most had simply killed themselves, but Minx had found a new purpose aboard the ship and now served Garm with the same fanatical devotion that he had given to his former master.

All three jumped into the water. The reptilians would be able to provide interference if the pirates had any aquatic races. They would also be able to cripple the pirate ships if they didn’t.

Frosu the Frigazi, a Dwarf-sized penguin looking sailor, began weaving his arms, slowly encasing the hull of the ship in ice. While most ships had a mage on board to create a barrier, Vin would have grounded out that magic, so instead we had to rely on our demihuman’s racial abilities over magic.

Hyer, the white feathered Griffon, spread his wings and took to the air to scan for aerial threats. His claws were out and between those and his beak, he didn’t need a sword. His mastery over air also allowed us to travel faster, by fueling the wind behind our sails even when there wasn’t a breeze.

Uziah, the yellow Cyclops, began charging electricity in the white horn on the top of his bald head. We had a few ballista, cannons were something that only the rich had. Explosives were a rarity, especially when there were mages who could replicate the same thing. Those same mages made sure that most explosives stayed out of the hands of the common people, leaving us to rely on string projectiles.

Vin and I took off to where the harpoons were stored. We could do some damage with the projectiles, but the initial blast of electricity from a Cyclops would do a lot more damage.

“Get those ballista ready!” Storbek grabbed the spyglass from me to look at where the ship was coming from. “There’s not just one, there are two of them!” The Minotaur turned to the Goblin behind the wheel. “Get us to land! Head west and see if we can’t make it to Crylus! Their towers should be able to cover us!”

I felt the ship turning as Vin and I each grabbed one of the ballista. There were platforms for them to rest in and if the crew needed to fire them, then between Hyer, Uziah, Phlek, Forst and even Garm, one of them could pick up the ballista and put it in the stand. But for more precise shooting, none of them held a candle to the strength, vision, and heat resistance of Vin.

The Camadt picked one of the ballista and aimed it like it was a crossbow. Vin loaded a harpoon the size of a spear into it and walked over to where Uziah was standing and waited. As soon as the ruts in the water were close enough, both of them would start shooting.

I began loading another ballista. Once Uziah unleashed his blast, he wouldn’t be able to discharge another one that big for almost half an hour. He would have to use ballista, which meant he needed them loaded and more ammunition close.

“What’s going on?” Starna followed Garm onto the deck with the princess right behind her.

“Pirates.” Storbek handed the spyglass to my father, who looked at where the invisible ships were splitting the water. “My lady, I think it would be best if you went back below…”

“I’m already running.” Princess Alessa pulled a slender sword out of its sheath on her hip. “I will not hide too. I am not a helpless dame.”

The Minotaur glanced at our captain, who shrugged and looked over at me. “Sectum! You’re with the princess. Keep her safe.”

I nodded and walked over to where Starna was starting to cast a spell. I could tell she was having difficulty by the sweat on her face.

“Incoming!” Hyer dropped onto the deck and threw out both hands. Air swirled around the ship, picking up a mist from the sea and coating the six flying beings that were just above the ship. The water shorted out their invisibility, revealing six orange, hairless humanoids with black leathery wings flying around us.