Chapter XLVI: Running Blind

“Ye got a problem with me ship?” Arvin asked, and by his tone he was quite serious about the question.

Jinxie struggled to keep her tongue still. Yes, she did have a very distinct issue with the bucket of warped boards and rotting lumber bobbing up and down on the waves of the Gugru Blue, looking like it would fall apart at the seams at any moment. The Proteus appeared to be held together with little more than rusty nails and wishful thinking, and on top of that it was completely filthy. Muck and bilge stuck to every corner, slime caking the deck and hull, with everything from rotten seaweed to rat carcasses draped over the sides. Even the sails, which she imagined had been white at some point, were so stained and dirty that they looked more like a patchwork mess of grays and browns. She could not imagine what had happened to actually leave the sails in such a state.

Arvin peered at her intently, and she saw beyond him to Akisu, his youthful face grinning reverently at the floating death trap in front of them. The scrawny boy was loaded down with Arvin’s luggage, carrying the Dread Corsair’s personal items in a number of cases that obviously weighted him down. Still, he was beaming like it was his birthday and he’d gotten a brand new chocobo as a gift. His attitude was at once worrisome and mystifying to Jinxie, but no matter what menial, back-breaking chore Arvin sent him on, Akisu seemed thrilled for the opportunity to serve the Captain. Now he stared at the Proteus like the decaying vessel was some holy thing risen up out of the waves. Actually, Jinxie thought, she wouldn’t have been surprised if Arvin had hauled it up from the bottom of the Gugru Blue.

“It’s . . . it certainly suits you,” Jinxie said honestly. The pirate gave a crooked grin, staring with bared teeth at his wretched vessel.

“She’s pulled me outta more scrapes then a pretty head like yours can imagine,” he boasted. “Proteus here is the fastest ship on the water. Ye got any chance at all a’ slippin’ outta here, it’s with me.”

Jinxie bit back her words before they could form. Her stomach was flip-flopping at the mere thought of stepping foot on the floating shipwreck in front of her.

“Whoa,” came a voice from behind them, and she turned to find Speed staring open-mouthed at the Proteus. “This place looks just like my house.”

“Aye, lad,” Arvin agreed, clapping the warrior on his bare back so hard that the lanky mercenary swung his arms wildly, then fell forward to the ground as the pirate chuckled, “it do be like home indeed.”

“It looks magnificent, Captain,” Xaerus remarked as she stared at the ship, walking past the scene with a single bag of belongings in tow. “It will do quite nicely.”

Akisu smiled as Xaerus walked by, the oversized grin looking almost comical on his youthful face. “That lady sure knows a good ship when she sees one,” he agreed, taking a step forward, struggling to keep his balance as he juggled the weight of Arvin’s belongings.

Jinxie looked around desperately for a sane voice to be heard, but as Isset walked by with Shoki, she offered only a shrug. Beneath her, Speed began snoring, and the Red Mage let her shoulders droop helplessly as she let out a sigh.

The day passed in Nashmau, giving way to a muggy evening on the wharf, not at all improved by the stink of sweat and brine thick in the air. The crew of the Proteus had been gathered together, nearly two dozen burly, thick-necked men sporting various degrees of facial hair and body odor. Some few of them had skin as dark as the night, others had only the color the sun had baked into them. By and large they were dressed in a manner befitting the crew of a ship like the Proteus; breeches spotted and torn, some seeming to have more patches than they had of the original fabric. They wore vests or shirts that reeked of liquor and cigars, and to a man the ones which were not shaved bald had hair which looked like it had never felt any water besides the ocean spray. Of all the men aboard, Akisu was the only one not laden with tattoos.

A bearded Galka whose face was dotted by a dozen different piercings served as the ship’s cook, and no sooner had he deposited Arvin’s luggage in the Captain’s quarters than Akisu was darting back and forth hauling sack after sack of carrots and potatoes from the dock to the galley. No one offered to help, though several of the sailors were already lounging about indolently, barely even taking notice of the scrawny boy doing the work of three men. Jinxie’s attitude towards the youth was quickly changing from astonishment to outrage at seeing how he was taken advantage of. Quietly, she reminded herself of the urgency of her mission, and bottled the swell of power she felt rising within her. She had no time to right every wrong she came across.

The Proteus was flanked by a score of other vessels all anchored at the same port, held in Nashmau by order of the Imperial Navy. Amongst the rows of ships all trapped in place until the ban on sea travel was lifted, activity was constantly going back and forth as traders of varying degrees of legitimacy scurried the wares off of their ships and then brought things on in anticipation of being able to set sail again soon. Some of the docks were empty, a sign that either it had been an Imperial vessel moored there, or the owner had come across a significant enough bribe to get his ship on the water again. Arvin scoffed at the idea of paying his way out, insisting that the Proteus was more than a match for anything the Imperial Navy could come up with. To cover the boarding preparations, he’d had his crew stagger their arrivals, even ordering a few to leave and them come back later, so no one watching the ship would see more than the usual couple sailors not wanting to pay for an inn and choosing to bunk in the cabins of their ship. By the time the sun had become a sliver of red and gold quickly fading along the horizon, Arvin’s ugly craft was fully manned and prepared.

The Captain himself came up on deck from his cabin when the first sign of stars began showing in the evening sky. Jinxie and Isset were both standing on deck in disguise, a pair of drab and heavily hooded robes concealing their faces and figures. The Dread Corsair brushed by them as if they weren’t even there, leaning against the port side railing and looking down into the sea churning against the stone and granite dock below.

“When th’ moon’s high in th’ the sky, we’ll be takin’ off,” he said, not looking at either woman. They neither acknowledged he had spoke nor looked at each other. “Th’ ship’ll stay dark ‘til we get t’ open water. We’re flyin’ black sails tonight. If’n th’ clouds stay ‘n our favor, we’ll be past th’ Navy a’fore they know it.”

Jinxie let her eyes cast a look upwards. The evening sky was already turning overcast. It looked like luck was with her.

Arvin turned and began walking past them. As he did so, Isset gave an involuntary start, then went stock-still as the Corsair began whistling on his way back to the Captain’s cabin. Isset stared daggers after him, and once he was out of sight put a hand on her bottom sorely.

“He PINCHED me.” She growled indignantly. “Like some serving wench in a port bar.”

“Let it go,” Jinxie said, putting up a single hand to restrain the Puppetmaster as she took a step forward, her fists clenched. “Once we’re back in Nashmau with Kkel Solaar beside us, then he can get what’s coming to him.”

Isset caught herself, regaining her composure and trying to appear normal as she could. Knowing the Empire was watching every ship in Nashmau wasn’t making things easy, but within the hour it would be completely dark, and they’d be able to move freely. Even if that didn’t mean they could give the Dread Corsair what was coming to him quite yet.

Then, as the night grew dark and still, an anchor was slowly raised on a ship without a single light to be seen on it, and the Proteus began drifting out to sea.

Jinxie had chosen to remain above deck, as had Isset. Xaerus and Speed were below as Arvin, his silver eyes adjusted to the dark, manned the steering wheel. Akisu was in the crow’s nest, wearing all black and barely peeking out. They had rigged up a system in which the young boy could pull a string which sounded a faint bell beside where Arvin was steering a number of times indicating whether or not it was clear up ahead. Jinxie got the distinct feeling this was not the first time the crew had fled a port under cover of darkness. She heard two tiny peals, lost almost as soon as they came under the constant crashing of waves against the docks, and Arvin adjusted his steering to guide the ship away. Out in the distance, the Imperial blockade looked like a small town on the water, each ship lit up and active. In comparison, the Proteus seemed almost a ghost ship adrift at sea.

She held her breath as the black sails, crowded on only enough to get the ship moving, caught the night breeze and the Proteus started picking up speed. The crewmen started pulling and adjusting various lines, communicating with each other only with the briefest of glances, working on instinct more than anything. Some few would stop and deliver rudimentary hand signs to others, who would look at the signals and adjust what they were doing accordingly. The muscle-bound sailors were surprisingly silent in their task, working with the kind of stealth only a dishonest life can breed. The Imperial blockade was growing closer, but even as it did Jinxie could make out gaps between where the ships were settled. Arvin was aiming for one of those openings, hoping to drift by unnoticed long enough to get by them completely. The closer they grew, the quieter the ship became, until even the sound of Akisu’s bells had ceased. To all sides of them were Imperial cruisers, watching the oceans. In the pitch-black night, the Proteus was all but invisible to the naked eye.

Jinxie’s stomach was a butterfly nest as they ghosted past two of the Imperial galleons. She saw tree-like masts and realized that the occupants of the ships would notice that the lights from the adjacent craft would be covered up by the Proteus, even if they didn’t see the ship itself at first. If anyone was paying enough attention tonight, they would be spotted for sure. Her power began coming to her by instinct, and she hastily bottled it in fear of some Imperial wizard becoming aware of her. Despite the breeze of the ocean, she was beginning to sweat.

Then, just like that, they were through. The Proteus cut across the gap in an instant, and Jinxie had to struggle from letting an explosive breath of relief escape her lips. The crew, for their part, looked as focused as ever. They weren’t out of the woods yet. There was another ship behind the two they had made their escape through, a patrol vessel slowly skimming across the water. If they went unnoticed for just one more minute, they would be past it, but on their current course they were running perpendicular to each other, putting it practically on top of them. Jinxie found she couldn’t dare even blink as she watched the other ship bear down on them. Just a few more seconds was all they needed.

The clouds overhead continued flowing by, and then, without warning, the moon was plainly visible, casting pale light down upon the reflective ocean. The crew of the Proteus went dead silent, no one even daring to breathe as they were betrayed by the night sky. A moment later, the moon was concealed again, darkness gliding back across the sea. The tension was suffocating. A second passed and no alarm was raised. Jinxie allowed herself to inhale. They had made it.

A shout came from the other ship, and then another. She heard Isset gasp to her side as the Imperial cruiser began changing course suddenly. Jinxie was unable to restrain her gasp when she realized it was speeding up, and trying to pull up alongside them. Threats and warnings were shouted across the intervening distance, and the crew of the Proteus suddenly abandoned stealth, letting loose the sails and shouting orders back and forth at one another. Confusion began to overtake the ship as men darted across the deck, struggling with rigging and sails, not knowing which order to listen to first.

“Walahra,” Arvin cursed, spitting on the deck as he growled, grinding his teeth together. “They’ve spotted us, lads! Get ready f’r rough waters!”

The Proteus banked sharply starboard, and Jinxie heard Arvin curse behind the wheel as the masts creaked from the strain. The Imperial ship behind them compensated to close in, and missed by a space so thin Jinxie doubted she could have dropped a sheet of bast parchment freely between them. The dilapidated ship surged forward on a wave as shouts of activity sped across the wind from the Imperial vessel, shouts to cut off the Proteus and man the cannons. The crew began drawing their swords, preparing for a fight.

There was a jarring boom as the imperial ship launched a barrage of cannon fire towards the Proteus. Shrapnel and splintered wood burst up as lead tore through the ship’s hull, causing the entire vessel to shake. Arvin spun the wheel hard, and in response it began to tip over to one side, the force of impact and weight of the mast making the whole ship begin leaning in the direction of the centrifugal motion. The wind in the sails and sudden stress threatened to tear the ship apart, and it creaked out its distress as the Imperial ship readied another volley.

“Steady th’ blasted ship!” Arvin shouted out over the din. “Trim th’ sail or we’ll break th’ mast in two!”

“Find something to grab on to!” Isset cried, clutching on to the ship’s railing. “We’ll be tossed overboard!”

Jinxie’s feet went out from under her as the ship corrected itself, throwing her forward like a child’s ball. She tumbled head over feet, landing sprawled out on her back and acutely aware that the stars she saw had nothing to do with the sky she was suddenly staring into. The flaxen-haired Red Mage struggled to gather herself and rise, but the motion of the boat was playing havoc with her balance. She heard shouts begin to escalate and was aware that the Imperial ship was now closer than ever. In the moonlight, the featureless forms of Aht Uhrganian sailors preparing to board the Proteus were taking shape.

Clutching at the grim-encrusted deck, she scraped at the deck until she could right herself, trying to decide what to do. With enough wind she could throw the other ship off-course, but as close as they were they would likely collide with the Proteus and send both vessels to the briny deep. If she used lightning or fire, she could potentially kill the Imperial soldiers. She wracked her brain for some solution, trying to imagine how she could possibly stop that ship.

Even as she pulled herself into a sitting position, a dark-cloaked figure drifted by her, unperturbed by the activity around her. Jinxie turned to shout out a warning to Xaerus, but the Mithra stepped directly into the line of sight of the other ship. The sound of guns being readied was audible even over the crashing of the sea and the shouts from both sides. Xaerus lowered her head, her unseeing eyes directed at the floor with her hands clasped in front of her, as if in prayer. Jinxie called out a warning, but Arvin sharply threw the wheel starboard, trying not to present his broad side to the cannons of the Navy. The sudden shift threw Jinxie back again, and she found herself tumbling backwards, rolling to a stop against the mast. Xaerus was still where she stood, and beyond her there was a score of Imperials readying a deadly volley to let loose into her unprotected body. Jinxie tried to cry out a warning again, knowing Xaerus couldn’t see how close the other ship was, but there was too much noise for her to be heard, too much shouting . . .

Not shouting, she realized. Screaming.

The Imperial soldiers on the other ship were all screaming, their voices loud and fevered with terror. Xaerus, she realized, was obscured by an inky black cloud forming all around her, spreading out to blanket the ship in an obliviating embrace. She heard splashes as some fell into the icy waters of the Gugru Blue, and saw flashes of light as shots were fired into the air. It took a wild turn, tearing a section of railing off of the Proteus as the two vessels nearly collided, and then began to rotate in entirely the opposite direction. The screams rose, high-pitched with fear, and in the next instant, Arvin broke free of the deadly stalemate. The Proteus surged ahead of the Imperial ship, shooting forward like a rock from a sling.

“Now!” Arvin demanded. “Pile on that sail, ye worthless dogs! Catch th’ wind while we can!”

The sailors manning the masts and sails grunted with the strain as dozens of riggings were hastily tied into place, and the black sails of the Proteus unfurled in full force. The Proteus began picking up speed at an alarming rate, but nothing was too fast for Jinxie in that moment. She finally managed to right herself just in time to see the ship they had encountered becoming a rapidly-vanishing blot of light. The screams, however, carried far across open seas.

“What did you do to them?” Isset asked shakily as Xaerus turned, her path suggesting she was returning to the cabins.

The Mithra turned her head in the direction of the Puppetmaster’s voice, stopping in her path to gaze through blindfolded eyes with an expressionless face. The crew was leaning in as well, and even Arvin had stopped momentarily, looking at the tiny woman in their midst.

“I struck them blind,” she replied simply.

The crewmen gaped at the Red Mage as she strode wordlessly back down towards the cabin. Several of them exchanged glances, and audibly gulped.

Jinxie tossed her heavy cloak aside, her traditional red-and-black raiment clinging to her with perspiration. She grabbed on to a splintered rail and lurched halfway over the side, feeling as if the might retch. Nothing came up, and after a long period spent staring into the waters, letting her stomach stop heaving, she turned and collapsed to a sitting position on the deck.

To her side, she saw Isset and Shoki, similarly positioned. The silent puppet was furiously fanning its owner, and the dark-haired woman turned a sympathetic and long-suffering gaze on Jinxie.

“Is he worth it, Isset?” Jinxie asked, finally connecting with her breath.

“Who?”

“Kkel Solaar,” she answered, dabbing her nervous sweat off of her forehead.

Isset turned away, looking out across the deck as men scrambled like mad to correct the ship and assess the damage. Arvin was wrestling with the wheel, but grinning fiercely. Jinxie had to admit that the boorish Elvaan was right. The Proteus was indeed the fastest ship in the Empire, or at least faster than anything the Imperial Navy could offer.

“He’s the kind of man you have to see to believe, Jinxie,” the Puppetmaster finally told her. “With all the wars and attacks and the constant besieged state of the Empire, there are still people who think that the most serious blow we were ever dealt was the day the Sunserpent disappeared.”

Jinxie tilted her head back and closed her eyes, still breathing hard. Drake would be fine with Abquhbah and Naja, she told herself. She could find this Kkel Solaar and return him, and be done with Razfahd and his scheming once and for all. She longed to hold her baby, and, in a realization that made her lip tremble, to be held by Hubby. She bit back her pain, and started to rise.

The moon was once again visible overhead, but the Proteus was already too far away to be followed. They followed the stars west, heading ever closer back to where for Jinxie, it all began, and where she would bring an end to it as well.