Elemental Thief Part I : Child of Calamity

The Hunted

Kethan was idle, and when he was idle, his anger, his desire to cause pain, would grow and grow until it reached a breaking point. Combine that with the constant fretting and dark muttering of Lord Corvin, and Kethan was ready to snap before they had made it past Clairval.

He couldn't see the land, hadn't been able to see it since the first day, but the simple, yet oddly stubborn, Captain had made a point of indicating their progress on a map whenever Kethan asked him how much longer it was going to be.

The man seemed to have not a care in the world, no stress or concern with either of his two guests, as if he was oblivious to the danger each one of them presented to him. Lord Corvin, still barred from using either of the larger cabins, had sworn that the man would be killed the moment they reached Clairval with his armies.

Kethan wondered, privately, if he could make the man come to realise of his danger, his impending death, through the slow application of pain. Not because he was angry at the Captain, but because it would give him something to kill other than his benefactor. He needed Corvin for a little while longer.

Planning out that murder soothed his soul, even as he maintained the appearances of an easy friendship with the man, who seemed oblivious to the world, but had an oddly firm control of his ship.

None of the sailors would speak with Kethan, beyond a casual comment or brief greeting. None of them appeared willing to take any sort of bribe or say anything about their captain, good or bad. It disconcerted him, as the two things together were contrary to what he knew, but they were already on the ship and he had no hope that they'd survive if they tried to take control of it.

Dawn broke in grey, though the warmth of the summer was already thrumming through the air as the fog disappeared on the sixth day at sea. According to Captain Oliver, they would be in line with Clairval, which loomed out of sight to the north.

Suddenly, from the soaring heights above him, Kethan heard a yell, and he noticed the crew turning to look out to sea, directing his attention to the stretch of ocean to the north. He strained his eyes for a moment, before finally seeing the form of a ship take shape, appearing to be heading straight towards them at full speed.

He hesitated, unsure of what to do with himself for a moment, seeing the ship he was on spring to life, sailors appearing out of the woodwork. They were working as a unit, following the calmly issued commands of their captain, though for all the movement he couldn't say that the ship was moving any faster.

With a curse at his own confusion, Kethan sprinted down the length of the deck to where the Captain stood at the wheel, his expression calm.

"Is it chasing us?"

"Looks to be flying the Clairvalan navy colours. Is it supposed to be chasing us?" The Captain asked idly, unhelpfully. "Don't we have a Clairvalan Lord on board?"

"Yes. But he's not interested in stopping in Clairval until his return journey. We covered that." Kethan growled sharply, his hand finding the closest blade it could, feeling the reassuring cool metal in his fingers as he glared at the man. "We hired you to avoid any sort of interruptions."

"Ah." The captain nodded, calling out a couple more orders, shifting the wheel slightly, and it was then that Kethan noticed the ship picking up speed. "She's a fast one, though. There may be trouble if she catches up."

"If she catches up, we remove her from the equation." Lord Corvin interjected, striding across the deck. "Obliterate her, so there's no one left to explain what happened to her."

Captain Oliver nodded to his second in command, who left the deck they were on and began calling orders, leading the sailors in what appeared to be preparations of the cannons, before he turned and looked at the two of them. "This sounds like a little bit more than a pleasure cruise to meet a friend. Sounds a bit more expensive."

"You'll have enough money to command the entire Clairvalan Navy if you do as you were hired to do." Corvin said dismissively with a wave of his hand.

"Imagine that. Me. Admiral for Clairval." The Captain chuckled at what had to be an inside joke they weren't privy to, shaking his head slowly. "Very well. She's a beautiful ship, though. It's a shame to sink her."

"There are plenty of beautiful ships in the world. Just get me out of here." Corvin said tensely, giving Kethan a look, before pacing down the deck, one hand on his ornamental, possibly useless, sword.

Corvin would have to pay him extra if he killed the captain, but Kethan would take pleasure in it after so long with nothing to do.

Kethan turned to look at the Captain, narrowing his eyes. "You're in this with us, Captain. What we're endeavouring isn't copacetic with the Regency, if you get my meaning. And that means that you're aiding traitors, and more likely to hang than the two of us."

"I see." The man gave him a sharp, knowing expression, an odd smile playing over his features. "That puts us in a bit of a conundrum, doesn't it? Me trying to help you out, and you threatening me."

"I'll show you a threat." Kethan growled, though his next words were cut off by the yell from the crow's nest.

"Wings!"

Kethan looked out at the horizon, to see how close the other ship was, hearing Corvin yelling, knowing the man was running back up that way.

He then heard the Captain yell a strange sounding order. "Drop sail."

Because of his lack of sailing experience, Kethan wasn't initially certain what that order meant, wondering if it was an order for something they would do for speed, though he could swear he had heard it before and couldn't place it.

And suddenly there was a shift of movement, and the canvass that had been helping them run from their pursuers was suddenly being folded, removed from the equation, and the large, five masted ship coasted to a standstill.

Kethan growled, the knife in his hand, metal up against the Captain's throat in an instant, pushing the man backwards to the edge of the railing. "What are you doing?!? Get this ship moving, now!"

"Cap'n." The man's second was a few feet off, watching the exchange tensely, sword out, but not approaching.

Corvin was yelling across the small expanse of ship between them, telling him to get the ship moving faster. Or at all. Panic was making his voice become shrill.

"It's alright." The Captain's voice was calm, slightly more intelligent sounding than Kethan remembered.

The man's expression was cool, appraising, as if Kethan were looking at a completely different person than he had been sailing with for the past several days.

"It's not alright. I'm going to slit your throat and feed you to the sharks, before the Queen's navy can board." Kethan snarled at him. "Get your men fighting, get this ship moving!"

Corvin yelped suddenly behind him, and he heard the faint sounds of feet landing on the deck, as if someone had jumped down from one of the crow's nests, but that was behind him, and he wasn't taking his eyes off of the man in front of him.

"Oh, it's not the Clairvalan's you should worry about." The Captain offered a terse smile, one hand grabbing Kethan's wrist in an iron grip, his surprising strength pulling the blade back from his throat, moments before Kethan was grabbed roughly around the throat and lifted into the air.

He had a few moments to kick, helplessly, as he tried to drag in a breath and then his vision went dark, sending him into unconsciousness.