Daxton - Episode 1

The 5th Compass | Tales of Stonehaven [1,959 words]

Daxton is the first book in the 6-book series, The 5th Compass, which takes place in Stonehaven. Released in serial form, two episodes each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The audio version is coming in the future for paid subscribers only. Visit the table of contents for a list of previously published and upcoming episodes.

It was a sound familiar to more than just pirates. And yet those asleep in their hammocks and strewn upon the wet floor of the Shadow, did not stir when the first cannon ball sailed dangerously close. Water splashed onto the deck from its impact which missed the ship by mere inches. Several of the men on deck who were sprayed assumed it was just another choppy morning on the water and ignored it. There was one pirate, dozing in the pirate’s pit, was meant to be on the lookout from such an attack. He opened his eyes with a start when his head fell over to one side suddenly. Cripan was more tired than he thought, as were all the men.

For more than a fortnight the Shadow and all who sailed alongside her had been put through multiple battles. For a time far longer than Cripan had been alive, King Rowan of Gaspar had been relentlessly pursuing Captain Silverblade. He loathed and despised the woman pirate who dared steal from his ships. She had been doing so successfully for years without retaliation, but King Rowan hoped to reach beyond his station. Something he could not hope to do as long as he had Silverblade hurting his chances. Up until now his attacks had been unsuccessful. Every one of his ships met with a swift and immediate defeat, some were even commandeered under Silverblade’s orders and repurposed to wave her flag. This was the ultimate insult, one that he would not take lightly. And it appeared King Rowan would not be stopped this time. His plan to attack Silverblade and her men while they slept appeared to be working. The second cannon fired, this time hitting the far side of the ship, but the men did not wake.

Cripan knew captain Silverblade would not be pleased if her ship was overtaken while on his watch. It was common knowledge to all who sailed with Silverblade, or knew of her, that she hated King Rowan and all he stood for, which wasn’t much according to her. His only passion was power, of which he has precious little of as a mere king of Gaspar. Compared to other kingdoms Gaspar is the smallest and one that no other kingdom or king feared or paid attention to. Truth be told, if not for Silverblade professing her hatred to just about anyone who would listen, Gaspar and King Rowan would continue to go unnoticed. The fact that Silverblade had become a household name in kingdoms far and wide, and Rowan was barely respected or acknowledged as king by his own people, managed to fuel their feud for a long, long time.

Without a moment to lose Cripan slid down the post that stood taller than the Shadow’s sails and missed his landing, his backside colliding with a thud. The rest of the pirates who slept below deck continued to snore, none of them bothered by the steady rocking the ship began to do under the fire of another cannon. Cripan shouted obscenities to the men as he gripped the railing made of rope that led below deck. Water sprayed with more intensity onto the ship, making the steps wet and slippery. He managed to get down just three before he decided turning around and heading towards Silverblade’s quarters would be a better use of his time and what little leg strength he had left.

“What is that boy on about?”

A pirate yawned and stretched an arm above his head, shoving the person who hung just inches above his head in another hammock. Before any response could be returned, a cannonball crashed through the side of the ship, leaving a gaping hole in its wake as it rolled past them. The men scrambled to their feet quickly and shoved each other to peer through the hole at the ship headed their way at breakneck speeds. They all groaned at the sight of the all too familiar flag it carried.

Before Cripan reached the landing, pirates began to rush the steps, knocking into each other to get to the top. Cripan was five feet and only if he craned his neck. It was no wonder he was no match for the men who managed to knock him off his feet. His head collided with the floor of the ship, knocking him unconscious.

Without a captain to lead them and a quartermaster to guide them, the men were left to figure out what to do for themselves. Under normal circumstances the orders would be so clear and simple to follow they wouldn’t need any guidance at all, but this was the eighth day in a succession of grueling days of attacks. The men were tired and frustrated. But none more than Silverblade who heard her men shouting and moving about her ship like lost boys at sea.

“Get up!” Captain Silverblade shouted to Wendynn, her quartermaster. They had both fallen asleep in each other’s arms only a few hours ago. This was something she had never allowed to happen before and had been very careful about how long Wendynn spent in her bed, but the fight they endured that morning left her thinking clouded. “Can you not hear something is happening? That bloody man! Where is he finding these men and ships to constantly throw at me? You would think he would stop.”

But Silverblade was talking to herself. Wendynn was still asleep, dreaming of a different life. One where he and Leonara, known to all of Stonehaven as captain Silverblade, were living far away from the adventures and dangers the come with being a pirate. In his dream they had four children, all boys, and all excellent farmers. In this dream they were enjoying a lovely picnic under the shade of a large willow tree when suddenly the sound of a branch breaking overhead made him look up. The branch became a cannon ball falling straight for him. He woke just as he threw his body out of bed and tumbled to the floor.

“What is it? What’s happening?” The ship rocked back and forth even more violently as he struggled to get on his feet.

“What does it sound like? We are under attack, you fool. Get dressed. With any luck no one noticed our absence.”

For a moment Silverblade allowed herself a glance at Wendynn who searched frantically for his clothes. He stood there stark naked, but she could not remember how he got that way. And yet, a smile appeared upon her face. Wendynn noticed but she quickly stopped. She knew doing anything out of the ordinary would only make him think unrealistically about their present and their future. As the most wanted and most known female pirate in all of Stonehaven she could not afford to do anything that would contribute to the fantasy she knew he had. It was one he took every opportunity to remind her about and she took little pleasure in denying every time.

Silverblade did her best to ignore her men who were actively defending her ship to the best of their abilities without anyone telling them what to do and how to do it. But she stopped in the middle of her ship and looked at her men, pirates, behaving unlike any she had ever heard in tales during her youth. Her chest swelled with pride that quickly diminished when she heard someone cry out ‘FIRE!’ Her eyes darted about the ship but could see no signs of smoke or flames.

She saw the wheel of her ship with no one taking hold of it. With a destination in sight she ran for it, gripping the rope railing as the ship lurched, sending one of her men overboard.

“Alright, you scalawags, listen here…”

Silverblade grabbed the wheel and looked down at her men, Wendynn stood before them, giving a speech she would normally do, and she was glad for it. Although he followed her this far, she always felt there was a part of him that did not find joy in being a pirate. But whenever they were in a battle, she knew he enjoyed the fight almost as much as she did.

The wheel rotated against her grip and she fought it as best she could. The calluses on her hand stinging from her tight hold. She could see the whites of her knuckles but looked ahead at their target instead. She has always thought that pain was all in the mind and if she didn’t see it happening then she could trick her mind into not feeling it either.

Wendynn ended his speech to the men but there had always been something about the sight of king Rowan’s flag that brought up such anger within her and she felt compelled to add more.

“Men do not be discouraged. We have never lost to these blue bloods before and we are not about to today. Whatever troubles you, let it be a distant memory, for this morning we kill the dogs,” she shouted as she stared directly into the eyes of the captain aboard the other ship. “And tonight, we will feast on their graves.” Even with such a great distance between them there was no mistaking who was in charge on the other ship.

Captain Hinde wore a large hat that made his head seem smaller than it was. Protruding from the brim was a large red feather that sagged so low it touched his back as he shouted orders. The red feather was a symbol all who sailed under Rowan’s flag were forced to wear. Silverblade had yet to capture and kill a captain who professed the pride or joy in wearing it. In fact, one went so far as to say he hated it because it made him the prime target whenever he was sent into battle.

Silverblade kept a collection of red feathers on a wall in her quarters that she often would count, reciting the name of the captain who wore it if she remembered their name, till she fell asleep.

As she steered the ship away from the enemy who tried to crash into the Shadow, she again looked to her men, some as young as she was when she first decided to become a pirate, and others old enough to be her father. They depended on her for more than leadership and she knew it. They came to her for guidance and over time they become more than friends, but family. And in a way, she looked upon them as her children. She put her hand on her stomach suddenly and a sense of dread washed over her. There was this feeling of a child growing inside her. She shook the thought from her head and carried on steering the ship. Every now and then she felt the eyes of her men looking at her and she knew she had to maintain her composure. Could they tell something was wrong with her?

“Hoist the colors!” she shouted down to Cripan who was just coming to. When he heard her command, he got to his feet, gave her a nod, and pulled on the nearby rope as hard and as fast as he could. A black flag now climbed higher and higher with every tug Cripan gave on the rope, catching the wind. It fluttered open and flapped freely in the breeze; the familiar mark of a skull with crossbones behind its head. But Silverblade did not want her ships to be mistaken for the others that were more like the tales and unlike her men. To avoid the confusion, she added the image of a long-stemmed bright red rose that dangled from the skulls mouth.

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