The Butcher of Gadobhra

The ring of Thunderheads moved toward the eruption at a steady pace, dropping moisture as they went that cooled the smoke. Behind them were massive clouds of steam carrying the heat upward. The gap between the cyclones was half what it had been when Splinter had first encountered them, making it harder to run between them. The only hope the ships had was in speed and the strength of their shields. The Cyclones knew they were coming, and the two nearest them slowly moved together to block them. The Thunderheads had been told to cool the smoke, and the flaming sails on the ships were an insult to them.

One of the Cyclones was larger than the other. Ozzy dubbed them Frick and Frack. Frack was bigger, but Frick was faster. As Dauntless bore down on them, the two waterspouts almost seemed to be arguing as they bumped into each other, and lightning flashed between them. Finally, Frick tried to move forward, only for Frack to knock him backward. After that, the smaller Cyclone moved to the rear.

Ozzy was getting a strange feeling like someone was watching him. He concentrated on the feeling. I seemed familiar, and finally, he realized it was his Herd Sense, but he wasn't the dominant personality this time. Something nearby was aware of him and aware of Dauntless. It was like he was a dog being told he was a 'Good Boy.' He wasn't worried about the Thunderheads anymore. His job was to move straight ahead and lure them down. His protector was nearby, directly below him, hiding in the shadow of the ships and keeping pace.

Frack took the bait, coming lower and dropping rain. The moisture hit the shields and slid off them, draining a little heat from each of the Captains. Angered at this, the Thunderhead unleashed a lightning bolt at the main mast. The bright flash lit up the sky, but nearly all of the energy was absorbed by the combination of Aura and Shielding. Ozzy bore the brunt of what was left, but Monstrosity negated some of that. He took the rest on himself rather than let it hit the other Captains or damage the ship.

Frack tried to fry the ship with lightning twice more before giving up. Each time, Ozzy absorbed the damage. The ship's doctor stood behind him, casting spells that renewed his smoke and negated the damage done. The old healer was tiring but gamely kept healing him. Angered that it couldn't hurt Dauntless with rain or energy, the Thunderhead gained altitude and dove down to shatter the ship's shields with its tornado winds. Ozzy knew it was coming and knew he had to turn the ship. He did so without hesitation, and every sailor followed and cooperated, hearing the same soothing voice that he did. Dauntless turned hard to starboard, and somehow Splinter turned with her, staying under the shields and keeping the same distance from her larger sister.

Frack was off-center of Dauntless and lightly grazed the shields, still doing quite a bit of damage but far less than a direct hit. Ozzy took a hard blow but held on to the ship's wheel, holding to a steady course. Cavendish and the other captains were hurt but still able to stand. All of them except Woodrat had grim looks on their faces. The ex-ship wright grinned and shook his fist at the Thunderhead as it bounced off the shields and hit the smoke next to the ship.

With a roar, Sharthezel surged upward from where she had hidden below Dauntless. Her little ones had done a splendid job of baiting her prey, and now it was low enough for her to pounce. She inhaled, drawing the living winds into herself. Her tentacles grasped the Thunderhead tightly, enveloping it entirely and not letting it dump its moisture in an attempt to escape. Frack struggled but couldn't break her grip as her hundreds of tentacles fully enclosed him, ensuring she could consume all of him. She sank lower and lower, disappointing the smaller Kraken that had followed her when she allowed them no scraps. They swam after Dauntless in hopes another Thunderhead would be equally careless.

Every sailor on the ship stared in astonishment as the Kraken broke the surface and attacked the Thunderhead. It was over in seconds as the two creatures sank beneath the smoke, and the ships sailed onward. Thunderheads to either side moved further away or gained altitude. Only Frick stayed nearby. The smaller, faster Cyclone seemed undecided at first, moving back and forth. Pride fought with caution, and pride eventually won. It moved to attack Dauntless.

Frick had learned something from Frack's failed attacks. Instead of coming down straight onto Dauntless, the more nimble Cyclone came in at a forty-five-degree angle, aiming for the main mast and sweeping across the ship. Turning the ship wasn't going to throw it off course the way Frack had been duped and might do more harm than good. The Cyclone's winds hit the shield, and it let loose with a small bolt of energy before sweeping back into the skies. Behind them, the line of Thunderheads moved on. Frick seemed determined to sink them and not worried about shirking its duties.

Four of the ballistae on Splinter opened fire the second time it made a pass at Dauntless. The javelins passed straight through the Thunderhead, but it swerved aside as if it had some worry about them. The blow to the shields was far less that the first. Ozzy noticed and yelled to Woodrat. "Can that thing be hurt? It jinked aside when Moriah shot at it!"

Woodrat was watching it and pointed. "Look there, where the winds swirl around its center. You can see a brighter spot? A little bit of light? That's the thing's core. It's mostly wind and waves except for that core. Not a chance in hell of hitting it. It can move the bolts aside with its winds. But I don't fault them for making a try. It got worried and dodged. But it will know now how to counter the weapons."

"Take the wheel, Woodrat! Go hard to port before it hits, and let it slide past us." Ozzy jumped to the deck and ran to the main mast as the Cyclone prepared for another pass.

Captain Woodrat grabbed the wheel of Dauntless and laughed loudly. He had no idea what Ozzy was about to do, but he wanted to watch. "Brace for Impact!" Behind him, one of the captains collapsed, unable to take the strain of holding the shields any longer. All of them were tiring. Cavendish watched as Captain Ozzy put his back to the main mast and ordered four sailors to secure him with chains around his waist. He was up to something and waiting for the Cyclone.

Frick could tell the ship's shields were weakening. This pass would break something, then dump enough moisture to extinguish the brightly burning sails forever. A flick of its winds would break the ship apart.

As the Cyclone came lower, Ozzy stared hard at its core, the Trammelian Chain lose on the deck while he swung the sharp meat hook on its end back and forth. The chain grew blacker and blacker as Ozzy poured smoke into it.

Frick came in hard and fast. Woodrat turned the big ship, the rudder biting hard, heat in the sails shifted to his commands, and the deck tilted slightly. The cyclone glanced across the shields with more damage done to the ship. Less than it could have been, but the blow still took off the top ten feet of the main mast. The Thunderhead's course took it lower as it slid down the edge of the shields, bringing it closer to the Butcher.

As it started to move past, Ozzy threw his chain hard. The meat hook sped toward the Thunderhead's core, trailing chain behind it. Where the spears from the ballistae were turned aside, the heavy magical chain, driven by his intent, cut through the winds and struck the Thunderhead's core. The chain wrapped around the core with its other end securely around Ozzy's arm. His other arm was wrapped around the main mast. Frick's winds screamed in a high-pierced wail as it felt its core struck. The Thunderhead had immense power, but as Ozzy had hoped, little in the way of mass. This was how they could be trapped and consumed by the Kraken, their winds easily compressed and swallowed by the deep sea creatures.

Physics, 32 STR, and Push Onward did the rest. The Cyclone's movement became a circle anchored by the chain to the main mast. Like a huge pendulm, it arced over Dauntless and barely missed Splinter before it hit the Smoke. Ozzy felt like his arm was going to be torn off. He had fed so much smoke into his chain that he felt dizzy. He held on tight to the main mast and heard a loud crack as something broke, and it leaned in his direction. He let go and drew the chain in, releasing the Thunderhead as several hungry Kraken greeted their meal. The ships had barely cleared the area before a loud explosion tore open the smoke, and the Thunderhead was torn asunder, releasing its rain.

Behind them, the ring of Cyclones moved onward. The smoke ahead of them was cool and smooth, waves subsiding, and the sea lost heat. Smoke and Steam made for low visibility as the ships moved onward, free of both eruption and vengeful Cyclones.

On the deck of the Dauntless, it took three of the hands and the doctor to get Ozzy's dislocated shoulder back to where it should be. He leaned back against the main mast, exhausted as sailors added extra chain to move the damaged mast back into place. Captain Cavendish and Woodrat came down to the main deck to inspect it.

Cavendish laughed. "Woodrat said you were hard on ships. I can see that he didn't exaggerate. Luckily, he also claims to be a better wood wright than any man on this ship. The crew are anxious to test him."

Captain Woodrat handed Ozzy a large tankard of rum. "And I'll have help. My fine mate here wants to learn more about my first craft. Between the two of us we can move it back to standing straight and repair that crack."

Ozzy nodded. "I should learn to fix a ship as well as break one. Just give me a couple of hours until my arms stop burning.

A ripple ran through the ships. Wood creaked, and chains rattled. On both the hulls of Splinter and Dauntless, a strange symbol appeared, carved into the wood of the hull. Many curve lines radiated out from the center, making an image of a Kraken. Every man or woman on board either ship heard a benevolent voice.

"Sharthezel is pleased with her clever little helpers. She goes to sleep in the deeps now, well fed, but perhaps we will hunt again in another century or two? I will call for my little helpers or their progeny. Until then, my blessing will keep you safe."

Sharthezel of the Deep Smoke has blessed the ships Dauntless and Splinter.

Kraken of all types will move aside when they pass and not threaten or hinder them. Other creatures will think twice about trying to harm a ship that has the favor of a Queen of the Deep.

Her clever little helpers are granted the following boons:

All Sailors gain 10 CSP and a shark tooth pendant to grant them quickness. (+1 to AGI)

All Mates gain 15 CSP and a tattoo of a Kracken to grant them strength. (+1 to STR)

All Captains gain 20 CSP and a ring bearing Sharthezel's image, cast in bronze to give them power. (+1 Aura)

Captain Cavendish looked over the rail to where Sharthezel's mark was intricately carved into the hull. A similar mark was visible on Splinter. He smiled. At least he had a bit of proof to back up his wild tale when he made his report to the Queen. Around him, the sailors spoke excitedly about how they would use their points as they repaired the ship. After their escape, the ships had slowed after a few leagues of sailing to give Dauntless time for repairs and a rest for the recently recovered crew.

Behind them and over the horizon, a huge plume of steam rose as the Thunderheads closed on the volcano that rose from the smoke. Dust Devils and Firenados that had come with it retreated before the deluge killed them. Water poured down until the new land was cooled. The small island was only a mile across, and the volcano's caldera was broken in one spot and flooded, creating a protected bay ringed by hills. The island of porous volcanic pumice floated in the smoke, wet and cool.

Evergreen descended from above, cloaked in a green dress of leaves. She thanked the hovering Thunderheads and released them from service. Small bits of salad appeared where she walked, breaking up the rock to make new earth. In a decade, it would be teaming with life, and men would have a new island to live on in half a century.

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