The master spy or Puss in the boot adventures

The blockade, Part 15

The sun was setting, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple, as the Sea Wolf ship was cutting  through the waves . The Queen stood at the bow, her golden hair whipping in the wind, a determined look on her fair face. The Duke was at the helm, his brow furrowed in concentration as he navigated the treacherous waters.

Suddenly, a cry rang out from the crow's nest. "Ships ahoy! It's the Blackbeard fleet!"

The Duke's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the approaching vessels. Their black sails billowed ominously in the wind, and their decks were crowded with fierce-looking pirates armed to the teeth. At the helm of the lead ship stood the infamous Captain Blackbeard himself, his wild beard fluttering in the breeze, his eyes glinting with malice.

The Sea Wolf, a nimble schooner captained by the cunning pirate Calico Sam, sliced through the waves like a dagger. 

"Faster, ya scurvy dogs!" bellowed Calico Sam, his peg leg thumping on the deck. "Them Blackbeard ships may be twice our size but they handle like drunken whales. We'll outrun 'em yet!"

The crew scrambled up the ratlines, unfurling every scrap of canvas to catch the howling wind. Grapeshot whistled past, splintering railings and masts. The acrid scent of gunpowder hung thick in the air.

Blackbeard's flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, loomed off the port bow, her triple gun decks bristling with cannons. The Jolly Roger snapped atop her mainmast. "Surrender the Duke and Queen, and yer deaths will be quick!" Blackbeard roared across the frothing expanse between the ships.

"I'll see you in Davy Jones' Locker first, ya mangy bilge rat!" Calico Sam shook his fist defiantly.

On the deck of the Sea Wolf, the Duke held tight to the wheel, his knuckles white, desperately trying to maintain control as the ship heaved and pitched. The Queen crouched behind the gunwale, her once elegant gown now tattered and soiled with salt spray. Her eyes were wide with terror but also fiery with determination.

"Hard to port!" bellowed the Duke as a salvo from Blackbeard's flagship Queen Anne's Revenge narrowly missed the Wolf's stern. The smaller vessel banked sharply, nearly capsizing, but managed to slip into the narrow gap between two of the pirate behemoths.

Men scrambled in the rigging overhead, trimming the sails to harness the wind. Every knot of speed was precious. Grapeshot tore through the canvas and splintered the deck. A pirate swung across on a boarding line, brandishing a notched cutlass, but the Duke cut him down with a flashing saber before he landed.

"They're trying to flank us!" cried the Queen, pointing to a pair of brigantines closing in from either side, their decks bristling with snarling buccaneers ready to board and butcher.

"Not today, scum!" growled the helmsman, spinning the wheel. The Wolf deftly pivoted into the wind, the maneuver catching the attacking ships off guard. Unable to match the sloop's agility, they collided with a mighty crunch of timbers. Masts snapped and pirates wailed as they plunged into the frothing brine.

The Queen Anne's Revenge unleashed a thundering broadside. Cannon fire erupted all around, the air thick with smoke and the stench of gunpowder. Massive iron balls splashed into the churning sea, sending foaming geysers skyward. Cannonballs screamed across the Sea Wolf's deck, felling two pirates in a spray of blood and splinters. Calico Sam spun the wheel hard to starboard, barely evading the onslaught.

Suddenly, they saw foam and snow-white waves in front of them. This indicated the presence of rocks.

"The rocks!" cried the Duke, pointing to a jagged stone outcropping dead ahead. Towering black cliffs reared up from the churning sea.