As I arrived on deck, men were rushing from the hull below, all of them weapon ready to defend our ship. I noticed immediately that the man in the Crow’s Nest had fallen and was writhing in pain on the deck floor, his throat raw from screaming. As I drew nearer it was clear that he had injuries that were more than fall-related. Severe burns lined his neck and face and his clothes were singed black in places, exposing skin, the acrid smell of burning flesh emanating from him.
An Apolake Warrior yelled from the bow. “There’s another man down over here!”
Hurrying over, I examined the man whose screams were slowly dissipating. His arms were missing and blood was pooled on the deck around him. His death was minutes away. I looked around for his arms but didn’t see them anywhere.
I signaled out an Apolake Warrior and said, “Go! Make a thorough census of every man. I want to know if everyone is accounted for.”
He ran off to fulfill my command.
The attack had come in the middle of the night and it was difficult to tell the cause of it. A few more torches were lit and placed in sconces around the ship. This helped our situation to a degree. We were anchored for the night and it felt like we were a sitting duck, waiting for the next assault.
Suspecting the Tonrar’s influence in the attack, I turned around and yelled into the atmosphere. “Wraiths of Dwarkaa, I summon you! By Casimer’s great name, come and receive your due! Your disdainful and rebellious ways I will not tolerate! By all that is true, your work I will obliterate! Lord Casimer’s commands you have ignored. Now come and face his wrath outpoured! Come now – by Casimer’s vow!”
The atmosphere quivered strangely and I braced for the Tonrar’s approach. I gripped a pistol in my left hand and my sword in my right. My weapons would do little to stem the fury of the Tonrar but I couldn’t show any sign of weakness if I was to be successful in their discipline.
Andrei appeared beside me, his weapons drawn. “Shouldn’t you have spoken Casimer’s assistance vow first?”
“Maybe.” Casimer’s assistance vow was a request for help in dealing with any rebellion from the Tonrar. I should have thought of it sooner and kicked myself for not implementing it.
Andrei said, “You could do it now. It can’t hurt to try.”
I nodded, too on edge to reprimand the man for instructing me. I was still his captain and he beneath me. I lifted my face to the darkness and spoke the vow into the howling wind.
“Great One of the Earth, Casimer, I ask you to come. The Tonrar have rebelled and need to be undone. Assist now and defend your warriors, I plead. We are faithful in the face of the Tonrar’s furious greed. Our goal is to live for your glorious fame. Come now and remove this blatant shame. Hurl the Tonrar into dungeons of gloom. Finish them off and douse them in doom. Send faithful ones to finish the task. It is in your Great Name that I dare ask.”
A heavy oppression weighed down on me and I knew the Tonrar were coming. I only hoped that the vow would bring Casimer’s help in time.
A dark cloud formed before me and soon a shape began to appear. The half wolf/bull apparition stood before me, the face of a wolf staring daggers at me and snarling in fury. His gravelly voice caused the air to quiver violently. “Your fear is palpable. I could kill you where you stand.”
The dark thunder of his voice sent slivers of fear up my spine but I pushed it down and said, “You have overstepped your boundary and your doom is on its way.”
“Casimer will not come nor will any other Tonrar be sent,” he threatened.
The Tonrar’s voice sent waves of terror that soaked through my clothing, my skin and I was certain pierced every warrior’s heart. The way the wolf apparition stared at me, eyes black and full of hate, I knew every man on my ship was in danger of being destroyed.
“You will return to Dwarkaa Farrin and face your punishment! Decades in Casimer’s dungeons is your lot now! No Tonrar is allowed to touch a Dwarkaa Apolake Warrior. You have not only touched a man but you’ve killed one!”
The apparition chuckled wickedly. “I have killed more than one. I’m not afraid of you or of Casimer’s punishment.”
He’d killed more than one? I didn’t think the burned warrior’s wounds were enough to do him in.
A warrior came up from behind me and said, “There are four men missing, one dead and the one with the burns is in the throws of death. His fall from the Crow’s Nest must have caused internal injuries.”
Six men were gone. We couldn’t afford to lose any. I kept my gaze on the wolf creature before me. I knew there were other Tonrar in the vicinity around us who hadn’t made an appearance but they were near nonetheless. There was only one option to a ship captain when dealing with fractious, murderous Tonrar. Only in numbers did we have any power against them. I made the signal, lowered my chin and raised it again.
My warriors came in behind me, standing man to man in numerous rows, creating a shield of protection.
The wolf apparition laughed in derision, his chuckle creating terror scurrying over my flesh. “Nothing can stop us, you fool. I will kill every one of you.”
With my men backing me up, I yelled into the atmosphere, “Casimer, Casimer, Casimer, Casimer, Casimer, Casimer….” My men chanted his name with me until our combined screams reverberated and echoed all around us.
The Tonrar apparition before us visibly shrunk in fear of imminent doom. The heaviness of the other Tonrar in the general area lifted as they retreated in terror of Casimer’s revenge.
An unearthly sound drifted down from above. A sound similar to a clap of thunder, as though a bolt of lightening were directly upon us, echoed loudly from the dark sky. But there was no flash of light and the sound was somewhat like a multitude of people shouting in unison. I highly doubted Casimer was responsible for what just happened.
The wolf apparition cried out in terror and vanished into dark cloud and smoke. At his departure, the air became immediately lighter and easier to breathe. I sensed no replacement in Tonrar approaching. The atmosphere remained oppression free as the evil wraiths left the area. I hoped chanting Casimer’s name was enough to rid us of their danger for good.
I wondered in that moment whether our close proximity to Tarman Farrin had thrown the Tonrar into a raging killing spree. Akoni and Tarman were close neighboring islands. The Tonrar were clearly terrified of the land mass that was shrouded in mystery. Being close to Tarman Farrin has a reputation for making the Tonrar act crazily. As my men relaxed their battle stance, they disbanded their tight positions behind me but waited for my guidance.
I turned to them, ready to address them when I heard a sound that sent fear racing down my spine once more.
All of us turned toward the screech filling the air around us. The sea creatures were on the move. The ship rocked crazily from side to side as something viciously scraped the underside of the vessel.
“Go below,” I said to one warrior, “and make sure the hull is still in one piece!”
He raced off to do my bidding.
A massive leathery arm appeared over the side rail, reached over and grabbed a man by his leg. He screamed in terror while he plunged his knife over and over into the slimy hide of the creature’s suctioned arm. I withdrew my sword and ran forward, ready to cut the man loose. Before I could reach him, the arm withdrew, taking the man with it and disappeared into the dark, murky water.
Before anyone had time to think, another suctioned arm came up over the opposite side of the ship, grabbed another man, lifted him off the deck and hurled him into the sea. The creature’s arm poised suspended above us ready to strike for the third time. None of our swords could reach it and we waited for the arm to descend once again. It withdrew slightly, adjusted its trajectory and flew like lightening to grab hold of yet another man’s leg. The warrior slashed at the creature’s appendage gallantly but it wasn’t enough. The men around him also used their swords and knives to injure the massive arm but nothing dissuaded the creature from hurling the man into the dark churning waves of the sea.
A horrible, howling, hissing sound filled our ears. I turned slightly to see a huge, snakelike creature rise from the water, its jaw opening wide to reveal rows of razor sharp teeth. My men screamed in terror as his head darted onto deck with incredible speed, closing on a man’s head and whipped the man into the air. We all heard him land with a mighty splash in the dark tossing waves. The creature withdrew. Every man was crouched in fear but weapon ready to fight to the death.
We’d lost a significant amount of men. Things were not looking good for the future of the mission. Losing more was out of the question and yet I did not know how to stop this murderous melee.
The snakelike creature rose up over the deck again, snapped toward us with incredible velocity and grabbed another man. Although I charged the massive snake, it was too quick and I not speedy enough. I and my men were at a clear disadvantage. I heard the man land in the water as the snake hurled the warrior into the sea.
The many-armed sea creature was back on the opposite side of the ship, grasping, grabbing and pulling a few more good men into the inky blackness of the roiling sea. Our numbers were dwindling significantly with no end of the attack in site.
“Below deck! Now!” I yelled.
The warriors who remained ran for the hatch and disappeared below deck. I was the last one to descend. Shock filled my chest. How could this have happened on my watch? These men depended on me to lead them, protect them and bring them safely back home. I’d failed miserably.
I stood before the few warriors staring back at me. The men assigned to the hull also came to join us. There were a total of ten men in the room, including me. The only man missing was the First Mate. He was still manning the ship and as far as I knew he was still alive.
Andrei walked past me and whispered. “It’s almost complete.”
I stared at him and wondered at that moment if this was what Kranti had meant in the dream Andrei was given. I turned to a warrior and said, “Go check on the First Mate. Make sure he is at the helm manning the ship. We can’t afford any more losses, especially loss of this vessel.”
He left to fulfill my command.
“I think it best that we wait below until the danger passes. We simply cannot lose any more men to the sea creatures. The Tonrar have departed and no longer offer the protection we need.” I chose four men and said, “You will man the cannons from the hull and shoot anything that moves out there. Perhaps we can scare these creatures off.” We had only two cannons aboard. Two men a piece were needed to operate them.
“The rest of us will use the weapons we have to keep them at bay. We will use bow and arrow and shoot at anything moving.”
“From the deck?” asked a man.
“No, we will use the gun ports on the sides of the hull. We need to mitigate any further loss of life.”
The men rushed to get the weapons from the hold and got into position around the sides of the ship.
The man I’d sent on a mission came tumbling into the hull from the hatch above, blood streaming from his head, breathing heavily under the burden of his wounds.
I rushed to him. “Did you get to the First Mate?”
“He’s dead,” the warrior managed to get out. He panted and moaned as blood poured onto the floor of the hull. By the look of his head wound he wouldn’t live long. The snakelike creature had taken a go at him. I wondered how the man managed to avoid being hurled into the sea.
I rushed for the hatch to get to the deck. Someone needed to make sure the creatures didn’t dislodge or cut the anchor. If the anchor was lost there was a very real chance of the ship being pushed to the nearest shore and battered into driftwood by the rocks that lined most farrins.
Andrei grabbed my arm and pulled me back. “What are you doing?”
I took my knife and swung at his face. He managed to step back and avoid the brunt of my attack. I sliced his cheek open which seeped blood immediately.
“No one questions the captain of this ship!” I yelled at him. He was way to familiar with me and his insubordination needed to be stopped.
His hand went to his cheek and he said, “You’ll die up there. Wait until the danger passes.”
“I am captain of this ship and its safety is my concern. Now that our first mate is dead the ship is in danger of being lost.”
Andrei chose to remain silent but I could see he was afraid for me. I ignored his concern and went up on deck.
