《Prelude to a quest for employment》


 Niccolo

    Both boats were on fire, the pirate captain was escaping and a massive river snake had just risen from the L?ne, looking for prey to devour. A grin spread across Niccolo¡¯s face. Today would make for a great story.


    #


    Niccolo had always dreamt of becoming an adventurer. As a young noble, he spent most time lying around and drinking, but when he hadn¡¯t been doing that, he¡¯d been practicing his swordplay. That had led him to become the stellar duellist that he was today.


    However, his father hadn¡¯t supported him in this new career move. It was not fashionable for a noble to travel around, selling his sword for noble in service to someone else. The di Falcone never served, or at least not for something as common as money.


    In the end they¡¯d reached a compromise. His father would not disinherit him, as long as Niccolo went abroad for his adventures. After all, it would not do for the rest of Taluan nobility to see him doing common people¡¯s work.


    So that was how he had found himself in the neighbouring country of Chara?ne and more specifically its capital, Lazanne. Lazanne wasn¡¯t a bad place. There was plenty of entertainment to be found, even if their wine was inferior to the Taluan vintages. The men and women were both delightful too.


    Niccolo had even found himself a few companions willing to assist him in his quest for glory. Admittedly, they had been inspired by more basic and duller desires such as escaping poverty and famine, but no one was perfect.


    Therefore, when they had been contacted by baron Valoix to return his pleasure barge, the Esprit, they¡¯d jumped at the opportunity. The boat had been stolen by river pirates when the baron¡¯s eldest son had been touring the L?ne with it. While no one had gotten hurt, the slight had demanded for vengeance.


    To make matters worse, the captain of the pirates was a man named Diego Reyes, an Aranian. After the war between Chara?ne and Arania had finally come to an end, Reyes had travelled to Chara?ne to continue harassing the local population. Clearly, Reyes was still angry about the admittedly horrendous peace terms.


    Thus, the four of them were currently on a smaller boat, searching the L?ne for Reyes and the Esprit. Niccolo had taken the liberty of hiring a local crew to man the boat. No matter the numerous qualities of himself and his companions, maritime skills were not one of those.


    Instead, he could stand at the stern and gaze at the L?ne, looking for Diego Reyes. He hoped the pirate was not hiding. To further entice him, Niccolo had hung a massive Chara?ne flag from the mast and had four musicians continuously play the Chara?ne national anthem. While the musicians weren¡¯t very talented, they did play loudly.


    ¡°See anything yet Niccolo?¡± Irina asked, shouting to be heard above the music.


    Niccolo turned to her and smiled. He liked Irina. It was hard not to like anyone who had the guts to wear a chainmail while on the boat. While Niccolo considered chainmail pointless in this time and age, rapiers slipped right through the rings and muskets shot straight through it, he had to admire someone who stuck to her principles.


    ¡°Nothing yet, but it can¡¯t be long. From what we¡¯ve heard, Reyes has been prowling these waters for some time now and we do make for a very tempting target,¡± Niccolo chuckled.Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°True enough. Are you sure the music is necessary though?¡± she asked, casting a look at the musicians who redoubled their efforts, clearly inspired by the attention.


    ¡°My dear Irina, nothing is ever necessary, but I do think it improves our odds of finding Reyes significantly. I can ask them to play a different song though. I will admit that after having heard it ten times in a row, the Chara?ne anthem has lost some of its glamour,¡± Niccolo said as he walked towards the musicians. ¡°Alright everyone, time for something different. How about another typical Chara?ne song?¡±


    The musicians paused, sticking their heads together. The violinist and the tuba player argued briefly, while the drummer and cello player used the opportunity to rest. Eventually the violinist turned to Niccolo.


    ¡°How about ¡®La Triomphe¡¯? It should greatly anger Reyes as it is new piece about our glorious victory over the Aranian scum, present company excluded of course,¡± the man rapidly added when he saw Aitor approach.


    Aitor was the third member of their little group and, sadly, from a farm in Arania. Not only did that mean he did not appreciate the merits of the fine arts, it also caused quite some embarrassing moments. With the war still so fresh in everyone¡¯s memory, Aranians weren¡¯t that welcome in Chara?ne. Niccolo didn¡¯t fully understand why Aitor had chosen to come Chara?ne of all places, but he didn¡¯t mind. He was good enough with a sword to be worth the occasional diplomatic incident.


    ¡°Hello Aitor, feeling better?¡± Niccolo asked.


    ¡°I no longer spend all my time sick if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking,¡± Aitor responded. ¡°Who knows, maybe I¡¯m getting used to boats.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. While I do not doubt we are also capable of handling Reyes without you, I would not want you to miss out on our very first adventure. Speaking of missing people, where¡¯s Sophia?¡± Niccolo asked, realising it had been quite some time since he¡¯d seen the last member of their group.


    ¡°Reading in her cabin. She had grown weary of staring at the river,¡± Aitor said.


    Niccolo had to admit Sophia had a point there. The L?ne, while pretty enough, wasn¡¯t that exciting. Just an endless stream of water with forest and fields all around them and the occasional fish getting scooped up by a bird. At least the scarecrows on the field made for some pleasant diversion. The Chara?ne put a lot of effort into them.


    So far, Niccolo had seen several rather unflattering depictions of Aranians, all of them with red heads, drooping moustaches and oversized hats. There had also been one that seemed like a cross-breed of a donkey and a Chara?ne noble. Niccolo had to admire whichever farmer put that one up. Most local nobles flayed people for that.


    With a loud squawk a big bird landed on the deck and stared at Niccolo. It had a fish in its mouth that it spat out, tried to swallow, spat out again and then tried to eat once more. Niccolo gave the bird a doubtful look, one it returned with much more pride than a bird choking on fish should.


    ¡°A common Chara?ne seagull, or Larus Canus Caraina. Known for its big yellow beak, white feathers and annoying habit of chasing boats while squawking loudly. I wonder what it does here, so far away from the sea,¡± Sophia said as she walked up to their group. ¡°The lack of music made me hope we had found Reyes, but alas.¡±


    The musicians took that as their cue and started the new piece. It immediately sent the bird scattering, the poor creature so scared it even abandoned its half-chewed fish. Not even the bravest of birds was a match for their tuba player.


    Like Niccolo, Sophia was a Taluan and that alone made her an invaluable member of their group. She was the only one he could discuss politics with, even if she preferred more academic subjects.


    Moreover, she was also a mage. Why she bothered adventuring as a mage, Niccolo would never get. Usually mages became academics at the renowned Taluan magical universities, or a court mage, though the latter had a relatively short lifespan. Last year, the Bianchi court mage had been poisoned by order of Niccolo¡¯s father. No one had discovered their involvement, mostly because the mage had been crushed by a falling chandelier before the poison could take effect. The Andreotti had not been able to deny their guilt in that one, mostly because their duke would not stop bragging about ¡®dropping a chandelier on that annoying twerp¡¯s head¡¯ for three weeks straight.

 Aitor

    As they crossed the river bend, a second ship came in sight. Aitor rushed to the side and peered at it, shading his eyes from the sun. The hull was adorned by the name ¡®Esprit¡¯. His countryman hadn¡¯t even bothered to repaint the ship, confident that no one would challenge him. Clearly, he hadn¡¯t been in Chara?ne long enough to realise how stubborn their nobles could be about things.


    The ship was coming their way, proudly flying an Aranian flag. The Esprit wasn¡¯t as large as Aitor had imagined, only slightly bigger than their own.


    Both ships were heading towards each other, as the orchestra finally ceased its activities. The instruments were rapidly packed and the musicians went to hide below decks. The rest of the crew focused on steering the ship, while Niccolo gave them what were probably very unhelpful instructions.


    Aitor already drew his swords, testing their balance. Niccolo claimed it was ridiculous and that a proper swordsman only needed one sword, but Aitor had known plenty of success with them already. Irina took place next to him, longsword and shield at the ready. Her eyes were closed and she was whispering softly to herself in the Kirchheim language. While Aitor wasn¡¯t too good at it, he caught words like ¡®father¡¯, protect¡¯ and ¡®God¡¯. He was reasonably sure she was praying.


    Sophia took place behind him. She had no visible weapons, but if she was even half as good a mage as she had claimed, she wouldn¡¯t need any.


    ¡°Rather exciting, wouldn¡¯t you say Aitor?¡± she said. ¡°Our very first fight.¡±


    Aitor nodded. He didn¡¯t feel much like talking. His throat always dried up before a fight and he had a hard enough time keeping the shaking under control. As soon as he was fighting, all that fear slipped away, but the anticipation was always horrendous.


    On the Esprit, several men and women were positioning themselves at the side, some of them sporting muskets. Aitor counted about twelve in total. Judging by their dark skin, they were all Aranians. Clearly Reyes had found plenty of angry fellow countrymen willing to stick it to the Chara?ne.


    Aitor couldn¡¯t fault them for it. The peace treaty had been a disgrace and had only been signed because the Chara?ne were perilously close to capturing the Aranian capital. The Chara?ne had not been generous victors and the terms imposed would hurt Arania for years to come. It was a small surprise that Reyes had sought out other ways to get revenge.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Reyes himself was hard to miss. He stood on the stern, hands folded behind his back. He wore a massive black hat and raised a cutlass in their direction. Niccolo, never one to back down from a challenge, walked to the stern of their ship, took off his feathered hat and made a deep bow. Reyes reciprocated the gesture and then signalled his men, who raised the muskets.


    ¡°He¡¯s no gentleman. Relying on muskets to pick someone off from afar is cowardly,¡± Niccolo complained.


    ¡°He¡¯s a pirate for something I suppose,¡± Aitor responded.


    ¡°Nonetheless, he should hold himself to a higher standard. Sophia, are you taking care of that?¡± Niccolo asked, gesturing at the muskets.


    Sophia nodded, raised her hands and a soft glimmer began to surround the ship. A few seconds later, the pirates fired. The shots sped towards them, but slammed harmlessly into a barrier surrounding the ship. Even from the distance, Aitor could hear the amazed cries from the other ship. He had to admit that having a mage on their side was great.


    As the ships drew closer, the pirates got out grappling hooks. Sophia grinned and gave the rest of the group a questioning look.


    ¡°Should I let them?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Sure, we need to get our hands on them anyway. Might as well let them come to us,¡± Niccolo said, drawing his rapier and main-gauche.¡± Let¡¯s handle this with sufficient style, shall we? We do have an audience,¡± he added as he gestured at the ship¡¯s crew, who were still staring at Sophia in awe.


    The grappling hooks flew from the Esprit and attached themselves to the side. The ships were drawn level and the pirates jumped across, screaming obscenities. Aitor grinned, feeling the familiar surge of adrenaline. He let out a loud cry and rushed at them, his blades a blur.


    Aitor found himself facing three pirates. All three of them were a bit hesitant, but whether that was because they were suddenly facing a fellow Aranian, or because Aitor was so loud, he could not tell.


    He unleashed a flurry of strokes and slashes at them. Despite being outnumbered, he easily took the offence. The pirate¡¯s cutlasses and axes were batted aside as Aitor fell into a rhythm. He moved with the swaying of the boat. He struck high, then low, then jumped backwards before launching himself at them once more.


    He couldn¡¯t help but grin. He loved the thrill of a fight. Still, these people were clearly no match for him. Their technique was sloppy. While Aitor had received formal training, these pirates had at most gotten some practical experience in the war. Indeed, given their age and the amount of scars they possessed, it was almost a certainty they¡¯d fought for Arania.


    ¡°If you want to surrender, just say so,¡± Aitor said between two strokes. ¡°I have no intention to kill anyone, especially not any countrymen.¡±


    ¡°Quiet traitor!¡± one shouted back as he struck with his axe at Aitor¡¯s head. Aitor easily turned the blow aside. ¡°We have no time for someone who works for our enemies.¡±


    ¡°The war¡¯s over. But fine,¡± Aitor sighed.


    He ducked under a blow and lashed out with his knee that sent his attacker stumbling. As he righted himself, he was met by the pommel of Aitor¡¯s right blade. The man let out a pained cry and dropped to the deck.


    ¡°Are the rest of you two as stubborn? Or will you surrender?¡± Aitor asked, lowering his blades briefly.

 Sophia

    As the pirates clambered aboard, Sophia drew her magic to herself once more. The familiar hum of power ran through her veins. She extended her right hand and conjured a blue orb of crackling energy. She tossed it in the air, caught it with her left hand and hurled it at the nearest pirate. It slammed into him and exploded, crackling. The man dropped to the ground, unconscious.


    Sophia looked around for another target, right on time to see a woman with a cutlass rush her. She brandished the blade and was mere meters away from Sophia. For a second she froze. Then Sophia¡¯s instincts took over. She extended her hands and conjured a gust of wind. The air drew together and sped towards the woman, hurling her away until she flew over the railing.


    Sophia let a soft curse escape her lips. That had been a close one. A shiver ran down her spine, but she fought the feeling back. She looked around the ship. Most pirates were fighting her companions. She could not lash out at the pirates without risking harming her fellow adventurers and she imagined none of them would appreciate getting hit by a stray spell.


    However, two pirates had hung back on the Esprit and were currently reloading their muskets. A smile slipped across Sophia¡¯s face. She would show them the dangers of playing with gunpowder.


    A small fire appeared in her hand and then flew across the ship towards one of the two muskets. Sophia guided it towards her target, making motions in the air. The pirate had just about enough time to look up before it flew at his powder horn and exploded. The woman was hurled backwards and looked dazed, but otherwise unharmed.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The other pirate looked up as well and saw Sophia, who decided to wave. He continued reloading, now more harried than before. He dropped the gunpowder horn and rapidly picked it back up. All things considered, Sophia was beginning to feel bad for them. These pirates were clearly just beginners and only used to preying on unescorted nobles.


    Sophia conjured a second flame, this one a bit bigger than the previous one and once more sent it speeding towards her enemy. However, a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She cast a quick look sideways.


    The pirate she had thrown into the water had crawled back out. She was soaked and looked positively murderous. She drew a throwing axe and hurled it at Sophia. Sophia jumped aside, throwing up her hands to break her fall. She rolled to the side and got back up as she heard a loud scream in the background.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± she shouted.


    She sent a crackling lightning bolt at her opponent. It struck the pirate with a loud crack. The woman let out a pained cry and dropped to the ground, sizzling slightly. Sophia frowned and then realised the woman had fallen in the water before. She hoped she hadn¡¯t overdone it.


    A continued series of screams drew her attention back to the fight. The Esprit was burning. The fire was rapidly spreading and not just across the Esprit, but also their own boat. Right, the fire spell. In her panic, she had forgotten all about the spell and clearly not just relinquished control, but let it run wild as well. As a result, the Esprit was rapidly turning into an inferno and risked devouring their own ship as well.

 Irina

    The fight had been going well. The pirates were untrained and even if they had been better fighters, Irina would have doubted their weapons would have been able to do much damage through her chainmail.


    Indeed, most trouble flowed from taking them down without hurting them too much. From what she¡¯d heard, these pirates weren¡¯t bad people. They hadn¡¯t killed anyone so far, not even the baron¡¯s prissy son from whom they had ¡®liberated¡¯ the boat. They were just working through some lingering resentment after the war.


    Things changed when the Esprit was suddenly on fire. Judging by Sophia¡¯s guilty expression, Irina was almost sure she was to blame. Sometimes she really hated mages.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call a truce,¡± she said to her last still standing opponent. ¡°I¡¯m confident neither of us wants to see the Esprit burn to the ground, or this ship for that matter.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Her opponent looked at her dubiously, cast a furtive look at the fire behind them and then ran off, jumping over the railing into the water. He had clearly deemed the ship beyond saving. While his survival instinct was commendable, Irina still found it rather disappointing


    Irina stowed her weapons, just as Aitor approached her. His opponents were lying on the ground, unmoving but still breathing.


    ¡°Now, this is unfortunate. Any plans on what to do?¡± Aitor asked her.


    ¡°Maybe. Sophia, think you can do anything about the fire?¡± Irina shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m not very good at water spells,¡± she stammered, still staring at the flickering flames.


    ¡°As opposed to fire spells,¡± Aitor muttered under his breath. ¡°Well, try alright?


    ¡°We¡¯ll make sure the fire doesn¡¯t consume our ship in the meantime. Get some buckets people!¡± Irina shouted at the crew, who were giving them fearful and angry looks. She could hardly fault them. Their livelihood was at risk. Then again, no doubt Niccolo would be able to reimburse them should the ship burn to the ground.

 Niccolo

    When the battle began, Niccolo went straight after Diego Reyes. The baron¡¯s son had claimed he had been a demon with a sword. While Niccolo was confident the story had been greatly exaggerated, his interest had been piqued nonetheless.


    The two of them circled around each other. The other pirates ignored Niccolo, no doubt due to misplaced confidence in their leader. Reyes at the very least had the footwork of a swordsman. He was crouched slightly and moved with the motion of the boat.


    ¡°Diego Reyes? My name is Niccolo di Falcone, scion of the noble di Falcone family from Talua. You might have heard from us. My first cousin is a pirate himself, though he mostly just walks around with an eyepatch on and that wretched parrot of his on his shoulder. I think he¡¯s in it for the ladies, rather than the wealth,¡± Niccolo said.


    He lunged, his right leg driving him forward. Reyes jumped backwards and slammed his cutlass down on Niccolo¡¯s rapier, driving it to the ground. Niccolo withdrew, raising his main-gauche in an anticipation of a riposte. Reyes just backed away himself instead. The man was cautious enough, that was for sure. Niccolo decided to rile him up some more.


    ¡°Tell me, why steal a pleasure barge of all things? Surely there must be faster options out there. I saw how slowly the dumb thing turned as you were chasing us. I think even my grandmother could outswim it, and she¡¯s dead,¡± Niccolo pressed. Reyes¡¯ left eye twitched. At least the pirate understood him, even if he refused to rise to the bait.


    Niccolo batted Reyes¡¯ cutlass aside with a flick of his wrist and lunged again. Reyes twisted aside, drew closer and slashed at Niccolo¡¯s shoulder. Niccolo caught the strike with the main-gauche in his right hand before creating some distance. Niccolo had to admit that Reyes was not that bad. They circled each other again. Behind them, the Esprit had somehow caught fire.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Your boat is burning,¡± Niccolo remarked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be doing something about that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just take yours after I kill you,¡± Reyes spat.


    ¡°Aha, he speaks. Finally,¡± Niccolo said, deciding to reward Reyes¡¯ loquaciousness with another attack.


    He lunged, feinted left and then moved his point to the right with a small gesture. Reyes missed his parry and while he still leapt back, that didn¡¯t stop Niccolo from hitting him. The point of the rapier came away bloody.


    ¡°First blood, I win¡±, Niccolo chuckled.


    ¡°Oh do you ever shut up?¡± Reyes snapped, throwing himself at Niccolo.


    Niccolo parried with his left and rammed his right elbow in Reyes¡¯ stomach. The pirate groaned and doubled over as his cutlass clattered to the deck.


    ¡°That settles that. Let¡¯s see about outing out that fire, shall we?¡± Niccolo said.


    He stowed his weapons, picked up Reyes¡¯ blade and hurled it into the water for good measure. However, rather than a splash, a soft thud followed. It was then that a massive scaly head rose from the water right next to Niccolo. It looked like a regular green snake, only dripping wet and twenty times as big.


    ¡°River snake!¡± someone shouted. Reyes cursed and crawled up, waddling towards the other side of the boat and jumping off. The snake opened its mouth, showing sharp teeth the size of daggers.


    Niccolo smiled. This serpent was going to make him famous. He straightened his hat and stared at the beast. It stared back for a few seconds, then lashed out. Niccolo rolled to the side and could hear the deck crunch. Swift action would be needed.


    ¡°Someone, get me a few barrels of gunpowder, fire and a long rope, quickly!¡± he commanded as the beast was crunching on the wood. ¡°I have a plan.¡±

 Irina

    Irina found it to be rather surreal. The river serpent was ducking in and out of the water, laying waste to both the burning Esprit and their own boat. People were screaming. The musicians had fled the ship, the cello player using his cello case as a raft. In the middle stood Niccolo, a rope tied around his waist, a barrel of gunpowder under his one arm as he climbed the mast. Irina and Aitor were standing next to several other barrels, holding on to the rope. What they could do with that wasn¡¯t entirely clear. If Niccolo lost his balance, they could only make his fall worse by pulling on the rope.


    When Niccolo reached the top of the mast, he stood upright and grinned.


    ¡°When I say ¡®pull¡¯, you pull as hard as you can, alright?¡± he shouted. Irina raised a thumb.


    Niccolo then turned to the river snake and began waving at it, while shouting insults at its serpentine ancestry. While the beast ignored him at first, it eventually moved closer, no doubt intrigued by the noise. Niccolo lit the barrel.


    As it approached, mouth open, Niccolo jumped. For a few seconds he seemed to fly and then began its descent towards the mouth. He hurled the barrel into the mouth of the beast. Right before he himself could be swallowed, he shouted.


    ¡°Pull! Pull my friends!¡±


    Irina pulled, dragging Aitor to the ground who had been standing slack jawed. Niccolo was drawn away from the beast¡¯s mouth and slammed onto the deck. The barrel exploded and the snake let out a scream. It twisted and turned its head before disappearing under water. Niccolo crawled back up, a broad grin on his face, his left arm raised and his right hand pressed against his ribs.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°A trick I learned from my uncle. It never fails.¡±


    Then the beast rose from the river again and rammed into the boat, splitting it almost in half. The wooden planks cracked, the ropes snapped and the ship began to sink. Irina stumbled and could see what little of the crew that had remained abandon ship.


    ¡°Back for more eh?¡± Niccolo laughed. ¡°Someone get me a second barrel.¡±


    Irina grabbed a barrel, tossed it at Niccolo and soon he was climbing the mast again. It was slightly tilted, breaking at the bottom, but that did not deter Niccolo. He was humming a song underneath his breath and soon stood at the top again.


    ¡°Snake, ready for round two?¡± Niccolo shouted.


    While the serpent hadn¡¯t shown much intelligence so far, it wasn¡¯t daft either. As soon as it saw Niccolo, it lashed out. It missed Niccolo, but the mast was splintered. Niccolo decided to jump on the beast¡¯s head, holding on tight with one hand, while still grabbing the barrel. The beast shook its head and roared.


    Niccolo grinned madly, launched himself from the beast¡¯s head and flew away in an arc. As he circled the beast, he drew his pistol, hurled the barrel in its mouth and fired. The barrel exploded as Irina and Aitor pulled. Niccolo hit the ground even harder than before and Irina thought she could hear something break.


    The serpent screamed and fell flat into the water, next to the burning husk of the Esprit. Their own boat was also rapidly sinking. Niccolo stumbled up and then fell back down again, clearly dazed. Irina sighed and called out to the crew who were watching from a smaller boat not too far away. She most definitely wouldn¡¯t go swimming in chainmail.