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Chapter 24 The Broken King, six hours north of Altain Island Bae leaned against the quarterdeck railing watching the sunrise with dread. The sky ahead of the sun was growing an ominous hue of red. Something bad was going to happen today. He felt it, and so did everyone else. Today was their last day at sea. A voice called out from the crow’s nest. “Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.” “Stow it, we can all read the sky,” shouted Lord Tares from the helm. Father was in a foul mood. Laki sat on the deck next to Bae with his back to the railing. “Kale’s mad at me because I didn’t mutiny.” “I won’t let anything happen to you,” replied Bae. “What happened to Rin?” asked Laki. “I think we passed him in the dark the first night, the seaplanes will have to go find him.” “Do we have to fight?” “I don’t know.” “Why can’t we use the paintball guns?” “Father wants to, but Mara got stupid and changed the rules of the game, so I’m not sure what we’re doing now.” Bae turned back to look out at the sea. Mara had always been his favorite brother. He had never failed to remember a birthday or festival day, and had always been there for any little emergency any of his brothers had. What had gone wrong? A flash of light from the corner of Bae’s eye caught his attention. He turned his head towards the stern, but the only thing back there was the yacht they were towing. He walked back to the stern and looked at the yacht. He furrowed his brow as he noticed the sail tie-downs were undone. That was odd, Kale had prepped the yacht for towing and he didn’t usually make mistakes like that. “Ship, two-points off the stern,” the voice from the Crow’s Nest shouted. Bae shifted his gaze to the horizon and saw the sail. He must have seen a reflection off the ship coming towards them. Lord Tares told Laki to take the wheel and went to stand next to Bae. “What do you got?” asked Lord Tares. Bae cupped his hands over his eyes. “Still too far away to see clearly, but the sail is an odd shape.” “That would be Jon then, I wasn’t’ sure he would make it.” “How did he catch up with us?” “Mara finished that new boat he was building…” Lord Tares paused and narrowed his eyes. “Hmm, that’s odd.” Bae glanced up at his father. “What’s odd?” Lord Tares waved a hand at the towed yacht behind them. “The sail tie-downs are undone.” “Oh, yeah, I saw that,” said Bae. “We were in a hurry to leave, Kale must have forgot to check them.” “I tied them myself when we arrived at the castle,” replied Lord Tares. “I can climb down and re-tie them,” offered Bae. “No, leave it, I’m going to need the yacht in a few hours anyway. But I don’t think I’ve ever had one of my knots come loose before.” Lord Tares turned back to the helm, then paused before turning back to the yacht. He tipped his head to the side and scanned the yacht with his eyes. Bae watched as a slight grin played at the corner of his father’s mouth. “I’ll be damned.” “What’s wrong?” asked Bae. Lord Tares turned away without answering and went to a storage bin next to the helm. He lifted the lid and retrieved a paintball musket. “I think I’ll go over to the yacht and check those sail tie-downs afterall. I think we have a mouse.” “A mouse? I’ve never heard of a mouse untying knots,” said Bae. Lord Tares patted at his pockets. “Where’s my phone, I’m going to need it.” “I think you left it in the Captain’s Cabin on your desk when you… told us about Mara.” “Ah, that’s right. Okay, make sure Laki keeps the ship steady, I’ll be right back.” Bae cocked his head to one side as his father headed down to the Captain’s Cabin. Father was up to something. Bae went back to the railing and looked down at the yacht, and then he saw it. The mainsail halyard had a halyard shackle attached at the end of the line. Father never allowed halyard shackle’s to be used, there was too much risk of a jammed shackle inside the mast if the line were to give way. Father only allowed a bowline knot to be used, that way there would be no damage to the mast, but only a little inconvenience climbing the mast to re-run the line. But who would use a… Bae’s mouth dropped open. “No way!” Bae spun around and ran to the wheel. “Laki!” Laki looked up at Bae. “Yes?” “Look, I’ve never lied to you before, and I’m not going to now,” said Bae. “I’m about to go rogue pirate and stop Father from cheating again, but I need a favor.” “You want me to do something against Father?” asked Laki. “I know you’re Father’s favorite son and everything, and this is a horrible thing to…” “You’re stupid,” interrupted Laki. Bae’s face reddened. “Okay, I’m sorry, never mind, I shouldn’t ask you to go against Father.” Laki shook his head. “Brothers are supposed to come first. Mara forgot and that’s why he’s dead.” “Oh, Laki, it’s not that simple,” said Bae. “What do you want me to do?” asked Laki. “I’m going back to the yacht and taking it,” said Bae. “As soon as you see me raise the sail, I need you to turn the ship into the wind.” “That’ll lock us in irons, the ship will stop,” said Laki. “Yes, I know, and it’ll take at least ten minutes for the cousins to get up on deck and turn the masts to get us moving again. By then I’ll be away, but I have to go right now, Father went to get his phone, and he’ll be back any second.” “No he won’t,” said Laki. “I used it to call Mrs. Tarous to say hello. I left it on my hammock.” Bae grinned. Mrs. Tarous was Laki’s nanny. “Thanks Bro,” said Bae, and ran back to the stern. He grabbed a belaying pin and climbed over the railing, then put the belaying pin over the tow line, and holding on to each side of the stout wooden club-like pin, leaped out over the water. He slid down the line a little faster than he intended and slammed hard into the bow. *** The Pirate King’s private yacht, two hours earlier. The beeping from his watch brought Rin slowly awake with a groan. His mouth tasted sour of bile from throwing up last night. He knew why he’d gotten sick, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Three days enclosed below deck and unable to see the horizon and let his mind, and inner ear, make the adjustment for the rocking motion of the yacht had finally brought on sea sickness. He’d started feeling sick the day previously, but it hadn’t come to a head until last night. He needed to go outside, and night would be the best time to do so. He splashed some water on his face, grateful the yacht had a large enough fresh water tank to last the three days of confinement. There was a water-maker, but he didn’t know how to turn it on. He made his way through the dark to the companionway, and peeked outside at the big galleon in front of him. He watched for fifteen minutes and saw nobody, then carefully pushed the companionway door open. The fresh air that blew in was the best air he’d ever smelled. He left the top hatch closed and crawled out into the cockpit. As long as he stayed in the cockpit and up against the companionway, he wouldn’t be visible to anyone that might look back at the yacht. The moon was full and bright, and he could easily see the horizon. He gulped deep breaths of the fresh air and slowly the seasickness abated. For the first time in two days, he felt good again, and with it he was overcome with fatigue and wanted to fall asleep. Just a half-hour, that’s all he needed. He set his watch and lay flat in the cockpit. The light spray of water coming from the ship towing him was cool, and a welcome relief to the stifling heat inside the yacht during the day. He fell asleep. He never heard the beeping of the alarm on his watch, and would have kept sleeping if not for a little larger wave than normal spraying just enough water into the cockpit to wake him. He bolted upright and checked his watch. He’d over-slept and only had a half-hour before sunrise. A quick peek over the top of the companionway hatch showed him nobody was out yet. This would be his only chance to get the yacht ready, and he’d almost blown it. It was time to take a chance. Rin stood and hurried to the mainsail first and untied the sail tie-downs so he could raise the sail quickly when it was time. He untied the jib tie-downs next, then went back to the mainsail and untied the halyard line and moved it into position. He tried three times to tie a bowline knot, but couldn’t get it right. He’d have to use a halyard shackle. The shackles were stored in the cockpit and he retrieved one. He put the halyard line through the shackle and managed a halyard knot. He repeated the procedure on the jib, then moved back to the cockpit. He saw someone up on the quarterdeck of the galleon and ducked back below deck just in time. He’d made it, the yacht was as ready as he could get it for a quick get-a-way. He went to the galley, but it was too dark to see well enough to make a sandwich. There was still about six hours to go before they’d get to Altain, so he decided to just go back to bed and rest. The boat rocked against a wave and he put his hand out to steady himself against the wall, and accidently pushed the interior lighting switch. The bright lights of the galley came on. He slapped at the switch and turned the lights back off. He stood frozen in fear, what if someone had seen the lights. No, they wouldn’t be able to, the curtains were closed tight over all the windows. Then his breath froze as he realized he hadn’t put the companionway door back in place. He jumped up on the step to see out the little window that faced the galleon. Someone was looking at the yacht. It was a little difficult to tell who it was through the sliver of a crack between the curtains, but he didn’t dare move the curtain or he’d be seen for sure. Then a second person was at the stern and looking down at the yacht. They must have seen the light. He could run outside and throw the tow line off and try to get away. No, that wouldn’t work, they could swim back here before he could get the sails up. His whole plan had centered on the Broken King being anchored when he made his escape. He should just surrender, there wasn’t anything left he could do. He was about to turn away from the window when the taller of the two people turned and walked away. The other stared at the yacht for another minute, and then also walked away. Was he safe? He kept watching, and then someone came back to the stern and climbed over the railing. It was over, one little mistake had lost him the game. The person slid down the bow line and banged into the bow. Ouch, that had to hurt. Then the person… it was Bae? Bae had caught him? Rin left the window and sat down at the table. All the sea sickness and boredom had been for nothing. He heard Bae’s footsteps on the deck, and then Bae was crouching in the companionway looking at him. “This was really clever,” said Bae. “Father figured it out a few minutes ago, you shouldn’t have untied the sails.” The sails? That’s what had given him away, not the light? “Come on, we only have a minute before he gets here,” continued Bae. “You untie the tow line, and I’ll get the sails up.” Rin was confused. “What?” Bae rolled his eyes. “I was supposed to be a rogue pirate, remember, but you left without me. I’m kind of mad at you for that, now get up, we got to go.” Bae disappeared from the door and Rin heard his footsteps on the deck again. Rin jumped up and ran outside, he hadn’t lost yet, Bae was going to save him, again. Bae was already working on the mainsail. “Why’d you use a shackle?” asked Bae as Rin ran past. “I couldn’t remember how to tie the knot,” said Rin. “Oh, okay, we’ll work on your knots later, but you should never use a shackle, the pin can get wedged inside the mast aperture. Knots are safer.” Rin knelt at the bow and tugged at the tow line; it was wet and had gotten really tight pulling the yacht. “I can’t get the knot undone,” said Rin. “Cut the line,” replied Bae as he pulled the mainsail up.” “I don’t have a knife.” “There’s one in the helm storage box.” Rin ran back to the helm and found the sheathed knife, then ran back to the bow and started sawing at the rope. A safety boat pulled alongside the yacht. There was a safety officer watching him, then the man turned his head and looked up at the stern of the Broken King. Rin stopped sawing and rolled to the side just as a paintball round hit the deck where he’d been. He looked up and saw Lord Tares glaring at him, then turned away and disappeared from sight. Rin went back to sawing at the rope, but kept an eye on the stern of the ship ahead of him. Lord Tares returned a second later holding a long paintball musket. He wasn’t going to be able to dodge twice, Lord Tares wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Rin winced in anticipation of the paintball hitting him, but the second before Lord Tares pulled the trigger, the big ship swung hard to the left. Rin saw the splash of the paintball round in the water just in front of him, then the tow line broke free with a hard snap and the big ship continued to turn left without the yacht. Lord Tares turned around and shouted at someone, then disappeared again. The yacht caught the wind as the Broken King moved aside. Rin jumped up and ran back to the helm, careful to watch where the boom was. The Broken King started to turn back to the right as Bae spun the wheel and the yacht started to pass. “Dang it,” Bae spun the wheel harder. “Looks like Father took the wheel before Laki could stall the ship.” “Go faster, go faster!” Rin jumped up and down and slapped the wheel. “Trim the sail,” shouted Bae. Rin frantically spun the handle on the sail winch. “It’s coming back around, it’s going to hit us!” The Safety Officer held up an air horn and sounded a warning that the big ship was too close to the smaller yacht. Rin saw people climbing into the rigging on the Galleon, and people in the Crow’s Nest with musket rifles. “Get down!” screamed Rin. Both boys ducked into the cockpit as a volley of paintballs struck the deck. The Safety Officer waved a green flag and used a bullhorn to shout. “NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE, NO HITS TO CREW.” The Galleon continued to turn towards them. “Rin, fire a broadside at them!” shouted Bae. Rin ran to the tandem mounted paintball cannons that would fire from the three mounted cannons, simulating the twenty-three cannons a schooner with a full crew could fire. Rin pulled the trigger and a large cloud of smoke rose between the ships with a boom. The Safety Officer held up a red flag and shouted. “JIB DAMAGE, FOREMAST DAMAGE, THREE CREW KILLED, SIX INJURED. LOWER YOUR JIB AND THE FOREMAST SAILS, MAST UNABLE TO ROTATE, ONE HOUR TO REPAIR. “Yes!” shouted Bae. “Way to go, Rin.” The gunports on the Galleon opened, but the Safety Officer waved a yellow flag and shouted over the bullhorn. “THE SMALLER VESSEL IS UNDER YOUR MAXIMUM DEPRESSION, DO NOT FIRE.” “What’s that mean?” Rin asked. “That was a warning for them,” said Bae. “The paintball cannons can actually be pointed at us, but that would be cheating because they have to simulate what would be possible if this were a real battle. We’re so close that the cannons wouldn’t be able to lower enough to hit us.” “Oh, I thought I did something wrong,” said Rin. “No, you were perfect,” said Bae. “They have to lower all their foremast sails, which means for the next hour we’re faster than they are, we’ll have time to get away.” “Wait a minute, but doesn’t that mean our cannons wouldn’t be able to aim up?” “This size ship would only have large swivel cannons on our broadside, which can aim up at the larger ship. But, it’s unlikely we could ever do any hull damage. Aiming up into the rigging was the right thing to do.” The bow of the larger ship continued to turn on the smaller yacht. “BAE, BEHIND YOU!” shouted Rin. Bae spun around and saw one of the cousins swinging down on a rope. The cousin landed on the stern of the yacht. Bae drew his wooden cutlass and leaped at the cousin. Another of the cousins was dropping down from the bow of the big ship onto the bow of the smaller vessel. Rin drew his own cutlass. He had never taken the cutlass off, mainly just because he liked wearing it. Rin dropped into a fighting stance. The man in front of him drew his wooden cutlass and grinned at Rin. “You’re in over your head, boy,” said the man. Rin knew better than to engage in conversation and ignored the taunt. The man had reach on Rin, but reach without the proper training to use it meant nothing. Rin’s first step-lunge parried the man’s cutlass to the side, and his second step-lunge struck the man in the chest. “LETHAL STRIKE TO THE CHEST, YOU’RE OUT,” shouted the Safety Officer. The man’s eyes widened in disbelief that an eleven-year old boy had just beat him. Rin glared at the man. “Get off my boat.” “Let’s go, get over here,” shouted the Safety Officer. “You’ll never make it to the beach, outsider,” sneered the man, then jumped into the water and swam to the safety boat. Rin spun around to see how Bae was doing with his opponent. He wasn’t doing well. Rin could see instantly that Bae didn’t know how to use a sword. Rin ran back to the stern and shouted. “Bae, jump back, you don’t know what you’re doing.” Bae was already planning to jump back. The cousin had the high ground and was getting the best of him. Bae jumped back, and Rin jumped into the cockpit, crouched to avoid a swipe at his head, then brought his cutlass around in a side-arc and hit the man at the side of his right knee. Rin didn’t actually hit with all his strength, but pulled his swing at the last second. The Safety Officer held up a yellow flag. “HOLD ALL ACTIONS.” Rin stepped back while the safety boat came alongside the yacht. The Safety Officer stepped over to the yacht. He was holding something that looked like a rubber shield. The Safety Officer held the shield up. “Strike this as hard as you can with your cutlass.” Rin shrugged and swung at the rubber shield. The Safety Officer looked up at Lord Tares standing at the railing and shouted. “THE BOY IS STRONG ENOUGH TO HAVE AMPUTATED THE RIGHT LEG AT THE KNEE, AND CUT DEEPLY INTO THE LEFT LEG. MORTAL WOUND, COMBATANT WILL BLEED OUT IN TWO MINUTES WITHOUT RESCUE. DO YOU INTEND RESCUE?” Lord Tares was looking at his phone and shook his head. He hadn’t known Rin was an expert swordsman. He was looking at a Lothan website. Rin was the Golden Division Fencing Champion in the 9-10 year old Division, and favored to win at the next Golden Division Championship in the 11-12 year old Division. He should have known, fencing and horseback riding were the favored sports of Aristocracy children, just not his children. He’d spent all his time teaching them sailing and boxing, but had neglected to teach them the sword. He could probably swarm the yacht and take Rin, but doing that would anger Bae, and he didn’t want to take the chance of waking the power in Bae that he’d seen thirty-five years ago when Governor Baestar had interceded and stopped the Civil War between him and Lord Connelly. “Alright, on the boat, you’re out,” the Safety Officer told the man. The moment the Safety Officer and cousin were off the yacht, Bae spun around and guided the yacht away from the Broken King. Rin had bought them an hour, but Jon was still coming fast. At least they wouldn’t have the Broken King breathing down their neck for the next engagement.