Waves Breaking, Chapter Five

Consequences

Jun 21, 2024

Everything went black.1

body of water during daytime — Photo by Clément M. on Unsplash

Harrow came to, gasping for air, splashing in water, his chest in agony. The frigate loomed above him, his blood spilling into the water.

Splashes around him. Bodies.

Kaito emerged, having jumped after his captain. He reached around to get a grip on Harrow and started swimming back towards the Deathwind. “Hold on, you bastard, just hold on,” Kaito said.

Harrow gargled water and blood, sputtering, vision fading in and out.

Above, he saw the remnants of his crew being pushed off the frigate, leaping into the water or clambering down the grappling hooks, retreating. They’d lost.

Of course they had. They followed you. Is this what happened before? How many did you get killed this time?

Death follows you. It will always follow you.

He drifted in and out of consciousness.

He came to below deck of the Deathwind, spread out on a table, Kaito over him with bloody rags and small sharp metal tools, a couple crew members assisting him.2

“Have to get the bullet out,” Kaito said, as if speaking to himself, digging into Harrow’s skin with a scalpel.

Pain exploded throughout Harrow’s body and the darkness took him.

Pain. Darkness. He drifted below the surface of the water, looking up, sunlight, weak and fading above, as he was pulled further under. He opened his mouth to breath and drank in water. He reached to swim and was pulled further, the light disappearing above, all around him dim and growing darker. He looked down. Something had his ankle.

Eyes opened in the black.

He opened his eyes and let out a groan. Will I ever not feel pain?

Kaito was gone.

A couple crew members stepped forward as Harrow woke.3

Esana and Jihun, the ones who’d accompanied him to shore before their voyage, stood on either side, looking concerned

“Captain, are you alright?” Jihun asked.

Harrow closed his eyes, grimacing. “Tell me, what’s happened. What’s the status of the ship?”

Jihun glanced at Esana, who spoke up. “The frigate has fled, the galleon helped chase it off after we retreated back to the Deathwind.”

“Our losses?” Harrow asked, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling.

Jihun looked away.

Esana gritted her teeth. “Significant. We will need more crew soon. The ship itself took minor damage but she’s holding strong.”

Harrow let out a sigh. He didn’t need to ask how morale was. “Kaito?”

“He’s speaking with the galleon’s Captain. They do seem grateful we intervened.”

“That’s something, at least,” Harrow said. He reached up. “Get me up and dressed.”

The two crew members looked at each other.

“Don’t argue,” Harrow said. “You can either help me or get the hell out of my way.”

On deck, members of the crew were tending to the wounded or repairing the ship. Nobody met Harrow’s gaze, their eyes cast down, their faces grim.

Kaito spoke to a youthful woman with a large, wide-brimmed hat, two unknown men standing behind her.

Harrow, using a piece of scrap wood Jihun had found as a crutch, thumped across the deck.

Kaito turned from speaking with the woman and looked surprised. “Captain! You should be-”

“Meeting with the captain of the galleon, yes? I agree, thank you Kaito,” Harrow said, reaching his hand out to the woman.

The woman smirked and grasped his hand, hard.

A young woman as a captain was not something you see every day and Harrow figured she had had to prove herself over and over again.

“Harrow, captain of the Deathwind,” Harrow said.4

“Isabel Silver, of the ‘Farthest Horizon’, pleased to meet you. I must thank you for your timely intervention, although I’m certain we would’ve succeeded eventually.”

She was a confident one and likely had to be.

“Of course,” Harrow said. “We saw a fellow ship being attacked by pirates, how could we not intervene.” He gestured to the ship. “Although, as you can see, we suffered for our goodwill, and we could use some assistance in return.”5

Isabel pursed her lips. “Do you have anything with which to trade?”

Harrow sighed and nodded. “Some valuable fossils and spices.”

“Give me the spices and we shall aid you in repair and supplies. And news of your ‘goodwill’ towards the Unchained Fleet will spread, as well.”6

Harrow reached out his hand once more and Isabel shook it.

Kaito ordered a couple members of the crew to get the spices.

“Tell me, Ms. Silver, do you know who those pirates were?”7

“That is the pirate ship ‘Sea Wolf’, captained by Karthik Velez, accompanied by another sailor of ill repute named Quentin Grimshaw, who goes by ‘Soulless’. They prowl these seas looking for easy prey.”

Harrow grimaced as a fresh surge of pain rocked through his body. “My thanks to you, Captain Silver. Perhaps we shall meet again, over more favorable circumstances.”

“Indeed, Captain Harrow. The Unchained Fleet thanks you for your intervention.”

Hours later, Kaito stood over Harrow, hands doing delicate work.8 “You’re doing much better,” Kaito said. “Although, you still need to take it easy.”

“Understood. The Farthest Horizon? Did they help with the repairs?”

“Yes.9 It went very well.”

“And the crew, how is their morale?”

Kaito hesitated.

“Tell me,” Harrow said.

“They are unhappy. We lost crew and gained little, in their eyes.”

“We gained an ally, or at least, a faction that isn’t an enemy.” Harrow looked away. “But I understand.”

“All we need is a little luck, Cap,” Kaito said, finishing up applying a fresh bandage. “And we’re due for that.”

Back on deck, Harrow stood at the helm, the haggard crew of the Deathwish standing below him. “I know it has not been easy. We lost crew. Good men and women, hard fighters, strong sailors all of them. They died fighting.” Harrow looked out at the sea for a moment. “And they should not have. I was not the captain they deserved.” His voice rang out.

Faces glanced at each other, eyes wide with surprise. This was an unusual captain’s speech.

“I am not the captain you deserve,” Harrow said, shaking his head. “But,” he stared out at the crew. “I believe that I can be,” he said, his voice low, the crew leaning in to hear. He pulled his iron dirk out, holding it aloft. “There were once and possibly still are those called Ironsworn, who swear unbreakable vows on iron blades. Although I know not my name, I know I am one of them, so I swear to you now.” Harrow drew the blade across one hand, drawing blood and clenching his fist. “I vow to be the captain you deserve and bring glory, renown and wealth to those who sail with me!”10

The crew raised their hands and cheered.

“Draw up anchor!” He yelled. “There is fortune to be found on the seas!”

blue ocean water during daytime — Photo by Gatis Vilaks on Unsplash

Thanks for reading and if you’ve been following the story, I appreciate you keeping up with the lackluster schedule of updates. Hopefully will be more consistent moving forward. This might feel like a short one but it felt like such a good stopping point, I had to if I was going to get this one out this week (barely).

I definitely need to start making more vows in order to gain experience. That is very necessary in the Ironsworn/ Starforged/ Sundered Isles systems if you want to gain experience. It’s all about fulfilling vows, finishing expeditions and forging bonds with NPCs.

I’m thinking about allowing Paid Subscribers to write/insert their own pirate/sailor/character into the story. So, I would send out a request for info about a character you’d like to see, this could be a name or an entire biography and I’d write them into the narrative. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Playing With Myself

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