Waves Breaking, Chapter Eight
The Kraken Unleashed
Harrow opened his eyes, staring down into the water between the two battling ships, knowing the Sea Wolf was reloading and would be hitting them again in moments.
He heard yelling, screaming, guns firing. Crew members dying. He couldn’t move, couldn’t give orders, couldn’t say anything, his hands gripping the railing with white knuckles, unable to look anywhere but down.
It’s over.
He saw a dark shape moving in the water.
Something burst from below, spraying water, a huge dark tentacle reaching up, up into the sky high above the deck.
Harrow fell back from the railing.
The crew stopped, looking at the towering tentacle.
The crew on the other ship too, were looking up at it, aghast.
There was almost a hush, a moment of quiet, everyone in shock.
Then the tentacle came down, slamming down into the Sea Wolf.
Wood crunched underneath the strength and weight as the tentacle wrapped around the entirety of the ship.
The Sea Wolf’s crew screamed.
The crew of the Deathwish could only watch as another tentacle rose high into the air, on the far side of the Sea Wolf.
The crew of the Sea Wolf were fighting now, slashing at the tentacles with swords, firing their guns at it.
The other tentacle came down hard, smashing one of the masts as it struck, wrapping itself around the hull.
“My god, it’s the kraken,” One of Harrow’s crew whispered and made a religious gesture.
Harrow stood, grabbing the railing, unable to look away.
There came a horrible wrenching sound, as the two enormous tentacles, wrapped around the Sea Wolf, began pulling away from each other.
Some of the Wolf’s crew were throwing themselves overboard. Others continued to hack at the tentacles uselessly, while still others ran below decks or curled up in corners, crying.
With a great, agonizing crash, the Sea Wolf was torn in two.
The two tentacles released their hold, slipping back into the waters.
The two halves listed and tilted, beginning to sink. Some held on, climbing to stay on top, while others jumped into the water to join their comrades who had already leaped.1
“Captain…” Kaito grabbed his arm. “What do we do?”
Before Harrow could speak, the tentacles returned. More, half a dozen, rising into the air and slamming down onto the remnants of the Sea Wolf, or down onto the crew members in the water, dragging them under. Again and again, they would rise and smash down, turning the Sea Wolf to timbers and killing those who still thrashed in the water.
Bloody hell, let it be over!
At that moment, the tentacles receded into the water and did not rise again.
The Sea Wolf was gone, remnants and debris littering the water, survivors swimming or clinging desperately to flotsam.
Harrow stood in front of what was left of the Sea Wolf’s crew, a dozen or so people, huddling together on deck, hands bound, Quentin Grimshaw among them. The Captain of the Sea Wolf had not been found.
“You are my prisoners. Should you behave, you will not be mistreated. Should you attempt to fight back, escape or free yourselves, you’ll be thrown overboard. Is that understood?” Harrow asked, his voice cold. “Should you prove of worth, some of you may even be allowed to join my crew.”
The prisoners gave quick nods, likely still in shock from the kraken attack.
Quentin didn’t nod, staring at Harrow.
“Take them below,” Harrow said. “But leave him.” He nodded at Grimshaw.
The others were taken below, leaving Grimshaw with Harrow and Kaito, as the rest of the crew worked on repairing the ship and getting it ready to move on.
“Grimshaw,” Harrow said.
“How do ye do it?” Grimshaw asked. “How do ya call the beast?”
Kaito glanced at Harrow.
Harrow shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Grimshaw spit on the deck. “Oh yes you do. You called the Kraken down on us.”
Harrow shook his head. “I didn’t. I don’t know-”
“Bullshit. We had you dead to rights and you called it up from the deep. How?”
Harrow snarled, drawing his dagger and holding it to Grimshaw’s throat. “Enough,” he said. “You are on my ship. You are my prisoner. Nod if you understand.”
Grimshaw nodded slowly.
Harrow lowered the dagger. “Now, what do you know about me?”
“You really don’t remember anything, do you?” Grimshaw asked. “Roland?”
Harrow stared at Grimshaw. “Is that my name?”
“Aye, Roland Graves, or at least, that’s what you told me.”
Roland Graves.
Harrow felt as though that should have meant something, triggered a memory, but nothing came. “How did we know each other?”
Grimshaw shook his head. “Why should I tell you anymore? What can ye offer me?”
Harrow held the dagger up. “Your life.”
“Ya won’t kill me. Not while I’ve got knowledge you want. You’ll need to offer more than that.”
Harrow sheathed his dagger. “Kaito, take him below with the others.”
Kaito nodded, grabbed Grimshaw and escorting him below deck.
“Uh, Captain?” one of the Deathwish’ crew, Elizabeth Gray, spoke up from behind him. “The Deathwish is barely holdin’ together.”
Harrow nodded, pushing Grimshaw out of his mind. “Let’s take a look.”2
A couple hours later, Harrow leading some of the crew and the Deathwish looked in better shape, sea-worthy at least, although it was clear it was still damaged.
“Good enough to get us going. Set sail,” Harrow said, giving the order. “Time to move on. Make haste!”3
Days passed as the Deathwish sailed across the waters.
Harrow, now Roland Graves, a name he wasn’t comfortable with, left Quentin Grimshaw to stew below decks, imprisoned and ignored.
He received a report that some of the food rations had spoiled, leaving them with little. He ordered the crew on minimal rations until more could be found.
He was in his cabin, perusing maps when word came of a ruin on the horizon.
On deck, he pulled his spyglass out and took a look. The low tide had revealed a scattering of open-air structures, desolated by time and war. “Let’s take a look,” he said, closing the spyglass with a snap.4
There was little left but stone walls worn smooth over time with signs of battle, pocked holes, scrapes and skeletal remains. In a water-logged chest, Harrow found a cylinder made of silver about a foot long. It was the only thing of value they found.
Back aboard the Deathwish, in his quarters, he twisted off the cap, revealing a scroll inside. Unfurling it revealed a large map of the surrounding area, including their destination, Scar Isle.5
As the Deathwish got back underway, Harrow had Quentin brought to him.
Kaito pushed Quentin into Harrow’s quarters and sat him down at the table.
“Untie him and leave us,” Harrow said, pouring a couple glasses of liquor.
Kaito did so, closing the door behind him, leaving Quentin and Harrow alone.
Harrow pushed one of the glasses towards Quentin. “Tell me what you know, and I’ll drop you off at the next settlement we come to, free to do as you wish.”
Quentin took the glass and drained it. He looked into Harrow’s eyes. “How do I know this ain’t a lie? That you’ll gut me and toss me soon as I tell?”
Harrow shrugged. “I do not know who I was when you knew me, but I give you my word as captain of this ship and who I am now.”6
“The crew as well, you let us all free,” he said.
Harrow nodded. “If that is what it takes, so be it. Tell me, everything you know.”
Quentin pushed his glass for a refill. “I will tell you what I know of you.”
“We were pirates, you and I. We served on the ship, Reforged Blade, for two years, up to six months ago. We found you floating in the water and brought you on board.”
Harrow looked into his glass. “I was a pirate?”
Quentin chuckled, a glint in his eye. “I don’t know what you were before but yes, you served on pirate ship. We did well. Our Captain was known only as ‘No name’. We were a terror on the seas. No one could stop us." He stared at Harrow. “When we were in trouble, a handful of times over those two years, guess who came to our aid?”
Harrow finished his glass and poured more. “The Kraken.”
“Yes, it destroyed our enemies when we were in trouble. We all thought it was the captain who summoned it but now, of course we both know it was you.”
Harrow shook his head. “No, I-”
“You deny it?” Quentin asked. “After you use it to destroy my ship?”
“I didn’t summon it. I had no…intention.” He looked at Quentin. “I have no control over it, now, if I ever did in the past. Did I ever speak of my past?”
Quentin shrugged and shook his head. “We were not friends. You were a quick learner, a half-decent shipwright, and good with a blade. You kept to yourself, mostly, alone. That is what I knew of you.” He looked at Harrow in the eye. “I’ve told you what I know. Will you keep your word?”
Harrow capped the bottle and stood. “Indeed. There is a settlement along the way on our journey. You shall be left there. Before we arrive, I may ask you more about our time together.”
Quentin nodded and grinned. “I can regale you with tales of our exploits and adventures.”
Harrow did not smile back. “I do not know that I will look back at piracy so fondly.”
Quentin stood and shrugged. “It is a way of life on the seas. A life not beholden to one empire or another. Is not colonization piracy by another name?”
“The Deathwish is independent. We do not sail for an empire, only for ourselves and we are no pirates.”
Quentin held his hands out to be bound. “I wonder how long that will last.”
Thanks for reading. I apologize for the lateness. Enjoy!
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Check out the Table of Contents for previous games I’ve played as well as other stuff I’ve written.
Using the Kraken Asset allows me to Take Decisive Action with an automatic Strong Hit.
Repair + Wits: 8 vs 9,6 → Weak Hit. 2 Points. Spend to clear Battered.
Undertake Expedition + Edge: 6 vs 6,2 → Weak Hit. Mark Progress (6/10) but Suffer(-2) or Face Peril. Peril(53) → Provisions are spoiled or corrupted. Sacrifice Resources(-2). Waypoint: Ruin
Explore a Waypoint + Wits: 7 vs 3,3 → Strong Hit + Match. Clear Jinx Impact, +1 tick on Bond legacy track. Make a Discovery.
+1 Progress. (7/10).
Compel + Heart: 6 vs 5,10 → Weak Hit. They agree but comes with demand or complication.
I love that he can't control this. That it's somehow part of him like the life he's forgotten.
That he takes so naturally to captaincy is intriguing too.
Can't wait for more
Better late than never. Looking forward to what is to come.