Chapters I stepped off the ship onto the dry sand of the southern desert. I glanced back at my armor: there wasn’t a single trace of the Storm King’s logo left on it, in fact I had gone as far as scraping all the paint off of each piece. The sight brought a small smile to my face; a fresh start.
Celeano had docked her ship at an old smugglers den in one of the canyons east of Kludgetown, the spires of Kludgetown were just beyond the rock spires hiding the canyon. The place had been abandoned years ago, it still had plenty of old ramshackle buildings here ready to be fixed up and used as housing. Including an old warehouse. There was a small stream that ran through the middle and provided water, didn't look drinkable though.
Defensible, livable, and far enough from town to not draw attention, I thought.
“We best head down to the underground and meet your new gang,” Celeano commented, stepping off her ship.
“Capper and I will go, ” I stated. “You and your crew…” I stopped, catching the look on Celeano’s face, and I had to remind myself that I wasn’t her commander.
I cleared my throat. “I...suggest you explore and fortify this cove. I have a feeling we are gonna be using this place a lot in the coming months.”
“Hmph,” the pirate captain shrugged. “I suppose we could. Having a storehouse might be beneficial.” She turned to address her crew. “Alright, boys, we’re gonna set up a camp, make this cove a proper smugglers den again.” She looked back at me. “You two just watch yourselves in there, Verko is likely looking for you.”
I nodded in acknowledgment. Capper and I started the mile-long trek to Kludgetown. I had a lot to think about on the way there. Like how I was gonna turn a bunch of disorganized thugs into a police force.
And how I was going to get Capper to shut up. Does he ever stop talking?
Every creature was avoiding Capper and I. Keeping our presence a secret from Verko might be more difficult than we thought.
Capper led me to a dead-end street corner and pulled back a sewer drain over a hole just large enough for me to slip through. “Ladies first,” he gestured, trying not to show how scared he was.
I smirked. “You a scaredy-cat, Capper?” I asked.
His eyes flashed, but I saw his tail twitching. “That’s kinda speciesist,” he grumbled as I slid through the hole into the catacombs.
It was poorly lit with lanterns of glowworms, fireflies, and glowstones. Water dripped from everywhere, and the stone was slick beneath my boots. What struck me as surprising was the citizens passing by as we headed down the narrow path. Sick, malnourished, and very close to death; the sounds of their coughing and wheezing echoed off the tunnel walls.
“This is horrible,” I said aloud.
“This is what happens when Verko’s thugs extort every last bit from others. When the Storm King started his conquest, it made things this much worse,” Capper explained to me.
“So who is this gang leader I am about to challenge?” I asked.
“His name is Mort. He's a particularly nasty Diamond Dog. Verko put him down here to keep the underground population under control. Mort has been demanding gems in exchange for food, medicine, and protection.” Capper dodged around an old bucket filled with vomit. “They have to go into the mines beneath here to find them. Most who go down there don’t make it back.”
“So this is about more than just getting some muscle behind us, this is about cutting off Verko’s primary source of income,” I stated. Good. Cutting off the enemy’s supply would help weaken them.
“Precisely,” Capper said stepping through a tattered curtain.
We stepped into a huge cistern, with sunlight shining down from a massive hole in the roof. This place was old and was definitely part of an ancient city that was long gone now. Sandstone bricks held up this level and four more below us. There were empty buckets on a chain coming from the hole in the rock above, going down into the water below, and going back up full.
As impressive as the ancient earth pony engineering was, it wasn't enough to distract me from the populace. Every bit as bad as it was walking down that pathway, this was worse. The dead lay rotting in corners, polluting the water and making the air stink so bad that I almost vomited. The sick were left drinking the filthy water, and inevitably getting sicker; they were huddled in small groups or wandering around by themselves, shivering and grasping the rags that passed off as clothes or blankets. I looked around more as we walked. Offshooting from the cistern were what looked like hallways of prison cells. Judging by the lack of rust on the bars, these were put here far more recently than the water features.
As we walked down level by level I noticed more and more non-pony creatures. Diamond Dogs, likely Mort’s enforcers, had a number of young dragons in chains, I estimated at least a dozen. They were muzzled, and shackled together to prevent them from flying. A number of bird-like creatures like Celaeno, were being ushered into their cells for the day.
Quiet sobbing caught my ear. There was a small unicorn-griffon hybrid, hiding behind some rubble, I estimated a young teenager by her size. Her horn had been sawed off at the base… recently. Dried blood still stained her face. A passing Diamond Dog barked loudly at her and she squeaked in fear and tried to dig herself further into the rubble.
“Leave her. She is not why we are here,” Capper said, trying to get me to follow him further down.
I stopped, looking at the child. Step by step, I slowly approached her, my hooves seeming to move on their own. She tried to hide from me, shielding her face.
“Easy…” I whispered. “I won’t hurt you.” She seemed terrified for a moment, not that I blamed her. I was tall, scar-eyed, missing a horn like her, and stood in scratched up armor.
But the filly slowly looked up and met my eye with her own baby blue ones. Slowly, she seemed to relax a bit. “Who did this to you?” I asked, crouching down to her level.
She hesitated but spoke. “My… my parents couldn't pay their debt to Verko. So… so Mort killed them, took my horn, and told me that I “inherited” their debt. Then they threw me down here to work.”
I felt my stomach churning. “Well, we can't let them go unpunished can we?” I asked her instead. She blinked, but shook her head.
“Where is that bastard, Mort? I'd like to have a few words with him,” I actually smiled. A very wide smile.
She seemed surprised, pointed with a talon down a corridor. “Thank you,” I said to her giving her a confident smile.
“You okay?” Capper asked me, as we made our final approach toward Mort’s chamber.
“I'm fine. I'm actually looking forward to this,” I grinned and rolled my shoulders, relishing the feeling as my joints popped. Finally an enemy that deserves what he's about to get.
We stopped outside the corridor that led to Mort’s chambers. “Capper, I need you to do something while I’m in there,” I said.
“What is it?” Capper asked.
“We are gonna need some fresh muscle. Those prisoners we saw as we came down, particularly the dragons, we need them on our side if we want to take control,” I explained.
“Completely agreed,” Capper nodded.
“While I’m fighting Mort. I need you to get the guards away from the cells any way you can, and spring the prisoners, see if you can’t convince them to join us,” I instructed.
“Can do. But how do you plan on fighting Mort? He’s a mite bigger than you,” Capper said, holding his fingers a couple inches apart.
I did tell him I fought an Ursa Minor when I was a filly, right? “I’ll figure something out,” I smirked.
As Capper walked away, I took a moment to collect myself; can’t go into a fight with emotions clouding your judgement. After a few deep breaths, I stepped through into his cavern. My nose was assaulted by the stench of moldy water and wet dog. In the back of the cavern, laying on a massive cushion guarded by two more diamond dogs and snoring so loudly I thought that the cavern might collapse, was Mort. He was no bigger than some of the creatures I had fought as I was growing up. Definitely smaller than a Titan Timberwolf, now those are a challenge.
“Hey, asshole!” I shouted at him. Mort started awake, and his guards both turned towards me. “You awake?” I asked as he began standing to his full height. He was fat, and moved about as quickly as a slug that had just woken up, but the muscles on his arms were as thick as steel pipes.
I’m gonna need to be faster, and more agile. “You and me, princess. Let's go, winner gets to lead your gang,” I taunted.
“Mort is challenged? By a… pony? Aha!” He threw back his head and started laughing, his guards quickly joining in. I felt like laughing a bit, too: this dog had no idea who he was dealing with.
Mort finally began ending his laughing fit and smirked at me, wiping a tear from his eye. “Mort tell pony what. Pony make Mort laugh. Mort forget this happen and let her go.” He turned around to go back to sleep.
There was a decently sized rock at my hooves. I kicked it into the air, turned, and bucked with my hind hooves, sending it flying across the cavern right into the back of Mort’s head, knocking him face first into his pile of gems. He didn’t get back up. Well, that was disappointingly easy.
Mort’s guards were shocked, it took them a little time to react, but they charged me with their spears. The first guard coming from my right, was holding his spear in front of him rather than beside him. Rookie mistake.
I kicked it down into the rock floor, where it stuck into the ground. Unable to stop, the dog wound up pole vaulting over my head and crashing into the wall in a heap of flailing limbs and crashing armor.
The second started swinging his spear wildly at me; clearly, Mort didn’t hire these guys for their brains. I waited for him to stab at me, then grasped the shaft and punched at the wood, snapping off the end in a loud crack. Taking the broken spearhead in my mouth, I drove it deep into his gut: his blood washed over my face, hot and stinking, and I felt his breath leave his body as he fell. He was dead in seconds, blood from the overgrown dog was pooling at my hooves on the cave floor.
“Still think it’s funny?” I sneered, feeling the hot, wet blood dripping off my face.
Mort was standing back up. The smile gone from his face. He looked down at me standing in the pool of his guard's blood.
“Pony die now!” He howled sending an echo through the cavern and out into the tunnels. He surged down the pile of gems and across the cavern to me.
“Oh shit!” I shouted as I leaped out of the way of his jaws. He was faster going in a straight line than I expected.
“Hold still pony!” He barked and snapping at my legs.
As he pursued me again I drove me hoof down hard into his nose, as he recoiled, I stepped on the his foot, hard, and then kicked at the joint snapping it.
As he howled in pain the smacked me aside and I slammed into the cavern wall. I wish I was wearing a helmet, cause I hit my head pretty hard.
He was hobbled a bit but not out of the fight. I was getting back to my hooves as he bared his teeth at me. I wouldn't be able to take another hit like that, I needed a weapon.
What I wouldn't give to have a crystallization bomb right about now. I scanned the room for those spears. The one I had used to kill the one guard was buried in his gut, so that was unavailable.
The other spear was laying a few yards on the other side of where Mort stood. I had to get to it, it was my best option. I charged to the left, Mort attempted to cut me off, that is when I used my speed against him. I jumped over to the right and got around him.
Mort corrected faster than I expected and snapped at my tail ripping out a few hairs. I took the spear in my forehooves and held it up at him. It sank into his chest and blood gushed from the wound, it hardly stopped him though, he was still trying to bite my face.
With every attempt at biting me the spear sank another cenimeter farther through him, he was using his claws to pull himself further down. He was only an inch away, I was out of options. Instinct took over and my horn sparked with uncontrollable magic. It happened so fast.
A magic explosion manifested in his mouth and sent bits of skull and brain flying around the cave. Some bone shrapnel managed to find it’s way into my skin. But otherwise, I was fine and he was dead.
I let his body fall to the side, some diamond dogs had apparently been watching the ordeal as they were starting to surround me with spears. I thought for sure Capper had deserted me. Right before the Diamond Dogs got within striking distance they were blasted from behind by a stream of ice immobilizing them.
“Woo! That was close.” Capper said from behind the pupsicles.
“I was wondering if you were coming back!” I called. I stood up and moved around our first prisoners.
Standing with Capper were three adult dragons. A pale blue diomond-scaled stone dragon female. A flat white ice dragon male. Finally a black and blood-red winged fire dragon, he appeared to be the leader of the group.
“We understand it was by your order that we were freed?” The large black dragon asked.
“It was.”
“I am Agreh, Harbinger to Clan Hilk. We are in your debt.” He moved to bow to me.
“Stop, I don’t want any of you to be in my debt. Rather I’d like to employ you.” I said quickly.
Agreh seemed confused. “What do you have in mind?”
“I need soldiers. We plan on making this slimeball town into something big, and we need help, in this way you can repay that debt. Work with us, and not only have honor to your names, but treasure too.” I persuaded. Agreh looked to his brother and sister, they responded with a nod.
He smiled, “We accept, General.”
My crew and I had been hard at work pulling down the old buildings that we deemed unfixable and using the scrap wood to reinforce the useful ones. We also set up a water cleaning cauldron; clean water was going to be essential for this place.
I was standing near the fire we had built outside the warehouse with my first mate Boyle and his little brother Grin.
“You think this new bearing we’re headed in is a good one Cap'n?” Boyle asked.
“It's gotta be better than where we were before we were servants of the Storm King. Getting by on mere scraps is not how I wanted to live,” I answered.
They nodded in agreement. “Then again, at least we knew what we were doing back then,” Grin stated.
“I'll give you that one. Capper’s plan is... ambitious,” I admitted. “But I feel like we have the best way out of this deal should it go south.”
“Are we really trusting the whole basis of this deal on whether or not that pony bitch can kill that diamond dog? I trust her less than Murdock could throw her,” Boyle pointed his hook over to Murdock, who had found a tarantula to play with. “Which isn’t far at all.”
“You were saying something about the bitch?” a very familiar oily voice came from behind us. Oops.
We turned to see Tempest with company. She and Capper had two dragons following behind, and a number other creatures following behind them. A good number of them were Avians like my crew and I.
“How’d things go?” I asked.
“The General killed that mutt, blew his head clean off!” the big black and red dragon answered excitedly before Tempest could.
“General?” I asked.
Tempest shrugged. “Captain Celaeno, meet Commander Agreh, and Harbinger to his Clan Hilk. They have agreed to be our first warriors.”
“And the rest?” Grin asked.
“Some are of his clan, and the rest are the civilians from the Cistern. We are turning the Cistern and mines into a prison, for the right ponies this time. One of Agreh’s clanmates is working on tunneling their way here, and we are gonna start on this end to meet in the middle.”
“We are gonna need to expand this little canyon getaway, I for one don’t plan on being cramped here for long,” Capper commented, stretching and laying down next to the fire.
“What are we gonna call it? Clifftown?” Boyle joked.
“If that catches on, I’ll eat a live scorpion.” Agreh laughed. We all laughed.
I sighed. “Well, Agreh. Am I saying that right?” I asked, he nodded. “If you happen to have a healer among your clan, we best get the sick into one of the shacks for healing.”
“That would be wise,” he agreed. He signaled to the creatures behind them and started to lead the sick and injured into the closest shack. There were...oh. Wow, there’s a lot of them.
“Set up a two dragon watch for the night. Shift change hourly, I want every creature to get as much sleep as they can,” Tempest ordered. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“This isn’t enough,” the healer dragon grunted. Her name was Vahraan. I’ll never understand dragon names.
I had just finished bringing in the last of the medical cargo I had on my ship. “What isn’t enough?” I huffed, rubbing my knee above the peg leg. Damn leg still feels like it’s still there sometimes.
“The medicine from your ship. I can stabilize some of the patients who are worse at most, but without more medicine, most of these sick will die before the end of the month,” she explained, still sorting the medicine into piles.
I looked out across the sea of sick faces, some sharing similar features as my crew; a chick who couldn’t have been more than five coughed up black spittle and shivered.
As a captain, I’ve always known that the crew is everything; take care of your crew, and they’ll take care of you. Well, now these creatures were my crew. And besides, I can’t just stand by and let these creatures die, especially kids.
“We want these creatures on our side. Do what you can for now, we’ll find you more,” I told her. She nodded and set to work.
I went out to speak with Capper and Tempest, who were standing in the shack that they’d set up as their command center. The walls and tables were covered in maps, sketches and notes, and the General and future Mayor were both bending over a map on another table.
“Well Capper, I’d say step one of your plan was a success. But whatever step two you had cooked up, needs to be getting the people on our side. Starting with getting these people better,” I commented.
“The guards in the cistern are working on cleaning out the water supply, but it’s gonna take some time. Time we likely don’t have,” Tempest informed us.
“We need medical supplies. Mount Aeris is nearby; maybe we could get Queen Novo to help out.” Capper suggested. “We only saved her people from the Storm King, after all.”
“Long term, that is a good idea, but we need something now,” Tempest argued.
“Excuse me!” a voice came from one of the medical tents. A young dragon-pony-griffon looking creature was trotting towards us with an eager expression. He had green-grey griffon on wings, similar color on his dragon body and hind hooves with pony fur sticking out between the scales going down to his claws, a pony face mane and a Griffin thin tail.
“Yes?” I asked.
“We have a medical supply issue, right?” he asked. “I overheard some of Verko’s thugs say that he’s brokering a particularly large shipment of medical drugs for some crime bosses around the world. It is making a rest stop here in Kludgetown, then heading north to the badlands.”
“Well, that’s a golden opportunity if I ever heard one,” Capper purred, tail swishing.
“My crew and I will take it,” I stated. “Tempest, we need you here. Capper, you need to convince the Hippogriffs to send us some aid.” I suggested.
“I thought I was the General?” Tempest commented with a raised eyebrow.
“We’re all partners here, right?” I smirked. “Tempest, any way one of your dragons can give him a lift?”
“I’ll ask for a pair of volunteers,” Tempest nodded.
“I’ll recruit more hooves for my ship, and then set sail. You.” I pointed to the odd mutt of a creature suggested going after this cargo. “You're on my crew, go to Boyle for your assignment. We've got work to do.”
Ten additional pairs of claws and talons on deck, including the hybrid that set us after this shipment. One Shadow Dragon from Agreh's clan, two teenage Abyssinians, two Griffons, a very battle hardened Buck, a Kirin, and three more Avians had been added to the crew.
I had to learn their names, but for now I could settle for knowing where they were working; the shadow dragon was working the riggings with Grin. The buck and kirin were working in the kitchen with Lix. The Abyssinians and Avians were all under Boyle and mine's supervision on the upper and lower decks.
I was at the helm, Boyle was basically running a class on how to tie knots and tighten the life lines if necessary.
“If you can't tie a simple knot, how do you expect to have a future aboard this ship sailor!” Boyle shouted at a young Abyssinian girl. She yelped and scurried off below deck with her tail between her legs, ignoring Boyle’s shouting.
I tuned out the rest of Boyle's spiel. “Murdock! Come over here and hold our bearing,” I called the brainless bird over. He may be dumb, but he knows how to follow orders.
Murdock squaked and came over in a hurry to take the wheel from me. Once he had it, I made my way down into the hold to find that upset Abyssinian girl. The kid that had given us the info before setting off was at the bottom of the steps rearranging some cargo, making room for the haul to come.
“Did you see the Abyssinian girl come by?” I asked.
He nodded. “She hurried off to the bow, Captain. She seemed upset.”
I nodded back. “Yeah, say what’s your name again?”
“Everyone calls me ‘Mutt,’ on account I’m three different creatures rolled into one,” he explained. He frowned for a moment. “I...don’t really like it, though.”
“Mind if we call you ‘Reese?’” I suggested.
“I’d like that, Captain, thank you,” he smiled up at me.
“Alright, Reese, keep up the good work, it looks good so far. Be sure to secure it tight.”
“You got it Captain!” Reese said as I headed toward the bow.
As I got closer I could hear, the quiet sobs. It sounded as if she was trying to hold them back, to no avail. I peered over a crate. She had her back to me and she was wiping the tears from her eyes.
“He was a greenhorn once, too, ya know?” I said, startling her.
“Oh, I’m sorry Captain, I didn’t hear you come up,” she stammered, trying to calm down.
“Really? I have an emerald pegleg, I’m not exactly stealthy,” I joked, gesturing to the limb. She cracked a smile.
I coaxed her out of her little hole and into some better light. She was orange and white furred, looked kinda like a tiger. The hair on her head was longer than average as well, she had blue eyes, bringing her look together.
“Well, aren’t you a pretty one. Lix Spittle is gonna have some competition,” I told her. She laughed and looked up at me. “What’s your name?”
“Cybil,” she answered.
“‘Cybil?’ Nice name, simple, I can remember it.” I tapped the edge of my hat. “So Boyle was giving you a hard time?” She nodded. “It’s okay, I had a hard time getting my knots down too. It takes practice and we only have a few hours before you lot are gonna be in the thick of it.”
“I’m scared,” she admitted.
“I’d say you were lying if you weren’t scared. Come with me, I have something that I think you might be better at,” I said, leading her back to the helm.
“What?”
I smiled down at her. “Navigation.”
“...So if the sun is in the north sky, and is currently setting over there, we are heading?” I pointed to the sun off the back right of the ship.
“Northwest?” Cybil said in much higher spirits than when I found her.
“Yes! We keep you on this and we’ll have you navigating in no-time,” I said to her. She clapped happily, and started looking over the maps we had out.
It’s been a day and a half since casting off. We had to be getting close to the cargo ship. Cybil was taking up navigation very well; I daresay she will be able to steer the ship soon. Boyle, Grin, and Lix have all given me their first impressions on the greenhorns assigned to them. So far, they are doing well for their first voyage. We all agreed however that they will not be part of the boarding party; at best, they’d just get in the way, and at worse, they’d get themselves killed.
Boyle and I were now trying to teach the Abyssinians and Avians all some swordplay, not enough to be good, but enough to survive this encounter. The others, especially the dragon, said a sword would be more of a handicap than a boon with their natural weapons. Seeing their point I had them work on their Claw-to-Talon work.
“Move your feet, footwork is important. You need to be steady so they can’t knock you over, and you need to be quick so they can’t out maneuver you,” I instructed the Avain I was sparring with. We took to calling him ‘Golem’ on account we couldn’t pronounce his real name.
He clashed his sword with mine, and he stumbled, allowing me to trip him and drop him to the deck. “Owch,” he grunted.
“Sloppy, but you are improving. Next!” My next student and I started to square off but we never got to the lesson.
“Ship sighted! Twenty points to starboard!” Grin shouted from above the balloon.
Looking to the horizon, I could see the ship. I got out my spyglass and peered through it. It was a oaken ship, dark hull, wide girth, large balloon. Cargo ship. Verko’s logo painted on the side.
I put away my spyglass. “That’s her! Twenty degrees to starboard, Murdock! Boyle, get the forward cannons ready to disable their engines and prep the harpoons. Grin, let loose the sails! I want every last scrap of wind! The rest of you, get ready to board!”
As everyone scrambled to their station, the dragon approached me. “Captain, I might be able to cripple the crew once we get closer,” he grunted.
“How?” I asked.
“Shadow Dragons have a sonic attack in place of fire breath that is deafening to anyone not wearing ear protection or other Shadow Dragons. We will need earplugs for the rest of the crew,” he explained.
“Right. Cyble! Get below, and find everyone something to use as ear protection!” I shouted. “Good thinking…”
He shrugged. “Call me Echo. It’s what my given name means anyway.”
“Good thinking, Echo. Now go help Grin with the riggings.”
“Aye Captain!” He flapped off to the sails.
I hurried back up to the helm and had Murdock go help finish batten down the cargo. I watched as my crew, new and old, worked together. Every one of them did their jobs, cannons were loaded proper, boarding hooks loaded into the ballistas, and every member of the crew who wanted one had a weapon.
We were approaching the enemy ship’s tail end now. They hadn’t accelerated yet which meant that they had yet to see us. Good; they were almost in range.
“Get below and tell Boyle to fire as soon as he is sure he has a sure shot,” I instructed Cyble.
“Aye, ” she nodded and ran below deck.
We all waited. That first cannon shot was always the loudest, and made everyone jump even though you expect it.
BOOM, BOOM went the forward cannons and the only indication we could hear that they hit their mark was a resonating CRACK, the sound of wood splintering.
The ship started to slow as we pulled up beside her, smoking rising from the rear. My crew gave thunderous battlecries as we pulled up beside the ship. As soon as we were alongside them, the ballistas were fired, skewering the ship so we could reel her in.
“Ear protection on. Echo, you’re up! Get ready to board!” I shouted.
Swords were drawn. As everyone swung over on ropes, Echo perched himself above and let out a spine tingling roar that I could hear even through my earplugs. The enemy crew were holding their ears and trying to fight at the same time. Trusting my crew for the next few seconds, I quickly found their captain, a slow, lumpy Molen, near the helm with his first mate, some two-legged shark thing.
Seeing me coming, the captain hid behind his first mate, who confidently crossed his blade with mine.
I started with three attacks, an attempt at his head a stab to his midsection and a swipe to his left. He blocked frantically; so he wasn’t as good as I first thought.
He countered with two stabs and an upward strike that I saw coming a mile away. I stepped aside and swung my sword through the air. A moment later, the first mate’s sword hit the deck, followed by his arm. I finished him off with a pommel strike to his head that knocked him out.
I held my sword to the captain’s throat, and he threw his arms up in surrender. Echo’s barrage of sound ended as well. I looked out the corner of my eye and the enemy crew had been subdued. I took off my ear protection.
“Boyle! Take these bilge rats to the brig, I’m sure Tempest wouldn't mind a few more workers for the mines. The rest of you, get their cargo unloaded and stored. Let’s move!” I ordered.
“Aye, Captain!” they all shouted.
I gestured to Echo, keeping one eye on the captain. The dragon flapped over.
“Is something the matter captain?” he asked.
“Quite the opposite. Instead of the brig, tie this one to the railing on the upper deck. We are gonna see if this one can tell us anything.” I gave a grin.
The little mole creature gulped in fear.
It had only been a day since Tempest killed Mort, and I was already feeling cramped. I actually missed my rundown little apartment in the Kludgetown windmill. At least I was alone and had plenty of room to stretch out. As future Mayor to Kludgetown, I had to have a good rapport with the citizens. So I help mend wounds, settle disputes, and when Tempest was busy, stop fights.
However, besides all that, I had my own mission to complete. I had to go ask the hippogriffs for help; undoubtedly they had their own problems, but it couldn't hurt to ask, right? That’s what friends were for, right?
Oy. Going it on your own made life easier.
I was going with a dragon and a griffon who were supposed to be carrying me. How, you might ask? A stick with rope tied to it is how. I held onto the stick, my feet dangling, and they held the rope between them as we flew to Aris.
It was fucking terrifying! I held on for dear life as we made the thirty-minute flight over to Aris, trying not to look down. Every time I did, I’m pretty sure I lost one of my remaining lives.
“You okay down there, Capper?” the dragon asked. Every creature was calling him Grump, even though he wasn't grumpy. He was a stereotypical fire dragon, red scales with black scars from fighting, especially over his belly. I’m not gonna ask how he got those.
“Whatever you do, don't look down!” the griffon, Fitz, laughed. Black fur, brown feathers, and every bit the kid that he was acting like.
“Oh, shut it!” I yelled back, closing my eyes.
“Almost there, Capper!” Grump yelled.
He wasn't lying, thankfully. Soon enough I was on the ground at the bottom of mount Aris. I looked up at the winding path up the mountain. “You couldn’t take me up there?” I asked.
“I didn't want us to be perceived as a threat,” Grump admitted.
Good point. It’s not like a dragon and a griffon carrying an Abyssinian by a rope could be perceived as a threat. “Okay well, I don't really want to be back in the air. Nice day for a walk,” I shrugged.
As we hiked up the mountain path, we could see hippogriffs buzzing around the peak, carrying building supplies for rebuilding. They definitely seemed busy. Busy enough not to notice us.
When we got to the peak, we were stopped by a pair of guards, “Hold there! State your business,” one of them barked.
“My name is Capper of Kludgetown, the hero who helped take down the Storm King. I am here to request aid from her majesty,” I purred.
They glanced at each other. “Very well. I’ll take you to her. They stay here though,” the largest guard pointed to Grump and Fitz.
“Very well.” I nodded to my escorts. They nodded and found a rock to hang out on while they waited.
I followed the guard inside. Everywhere hippogriffs were moving materials, clearing away debris, and preparing to rebuild.
“The Storm King really did a number here, didn't he?” I asked. Well, observed, really.
“You’ll find not a single hippogriff here who sheds any tears for him,” the guard said rather cheerfully.
“Yeah, I imagine not,” I agreed.
We made our way to the palace of Queen Novo. It was heavily guarded, and yet seemed to be a happy and beautiful place despite its condition. When we entered, the queen was giving orders to a few of her subjects, telling them what had to be rebuilt now and what could wait. We waited at the entrance for her to finish.
The hippogriffs she was addressing bowed and left the chamber. Before she could become occupied by something else, the guard introduced me. “Here to see her Royal Highness Queen Novo, Capper of Kludgetown,” he declared and bowed to her highness.
I did the same as I entered. “Capper. This is a surprise. Figured you cats kept mainly to yourselves,” Queen Novo stated, raising an eyebrow..
"I have come to request aid." I started. "I realize you and your people are in the process of rebuilding and have little to spare. But my associates and I are trying to improve Kludgetown. The citizens we have freed from the mines need food and medicine, anything you can spare."
Queen Novo ruffled her wings. "So, you come over here when we’re clearly in the middle of rebuilding, when we’ve got enough on our plate already, and you want us to help a bunch of strangers?" she asked.
I gulped. “Not even for the ones who helped save you from the Storm King?” I put on my best purr, swishing my tail.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Who are these associates of yours?”
"Captain Celaeno will be clearing trade routes around Kludgetown, making trade possible for you with Equestria. And…" Crap, what was Tempest's real name again? "...the pony Fizzlepop Berrytwist is attempting to secure the streets of the city."
"You mean Tempest Shadow?" she growled.
Crap. "That was the name she used while in service to the Storm King, yes,” I thought fast. “But she’s on our side now. Totally cool and all that, I promise.”
"You would trust some creature who sold out her own kind?” Novo asked me, and I just stayed silent. “What are you to do if she decides to betray you and your partners?”
I forced myself to stand tall. Rule number one of selling something: be confident. “General Tempest was formerly Commander Tempest of The Storm King’s Fleet. This much is true,” I said. “The Storm King had lied and manipulated her to get what he wanted. Once he had revealed the truth, Tempest’s actions from that point led to the defeat of the Storm King, the restoration of the Princesses’ magic, and the return of your lands to you,” I said with resolve.
That seemed to work: she looked like she was actually thinking about it. “If she hadn’t tried to sacrifice herself, I daresay you wouldn’t be rebuilding Mount Aris today,” I added.
She suddenly fixed me with a glare. Oops: too far. “If you expect us to make nice to her you are sorely mistaken,” she stated.
“I doubt Tempest would expect you to,” I agreed. “But this isn’t about her. It’s about innocent creatures who are in pain, sick, and in need of your help.”
She huffed and was silent for a few seconds, then nodded as she made up her mind. “You will have your aid. But we aren’t doing this for free,” Novo stated.
“How much are you asking for your best medicine and enough food for a refugee camp?” I asked.
“It is known that Kludgetown is sitting on top of the largest gem and precious metal deposit in the world. I’d say two chests of said gems and gold would be a good start,” she said.
That did sound reasonable; best not tell them that Tempest was in charge of that pile of gems in the underground. “It’s a deal, Your Highness,” I said with a bow. “If there’s anything we can do for you in the future, we would be glad to assist.” I took a step back to leave.
Queen Novo cleared her throat, halting me in my tracks. “Now that you mention it…” She tapped her chin in thought. Uh-oh.
“There is a garrison of Storm Troops turned bandits encamped in a quarry where we used to get our stone,” she said. “Now we have to get it from a much farther location and of poorer quality. If you and your people could look into relieving them of their station, we would be real appreciative.”
“We will look into it once we are able,” I assured her.
“My guard who showed you in will take care of you,” Queen Novo waved me off. I exited before she thought of something else to ask for.
The guard who was escorting me did indeed lead me to a quartermaster, who was surprisingly willing to give us what we needed. Healing potions, seaweed bandages, tigerfish needles. Many odd looking medical supplies, but it was gonna be well worth it. Food too, dried fish for the meat eaters, and bundles of dried seaweed. Both would last a while.
“How are you gonna carry all this?” the Hippogriff in charge of the food asked me.
I looked over the multiple crates in front of me. Crap.
“So we go back and ask for a ship?” Fitz suggested.
“We don’t have an extra ship,” I reminded him.
“Wait for Captain Celano to get back?” Grump asked.
“Can’t wait,” I shrugged.
“What if…” Grump started, and hesitated.
“If it’s a bad idea, spit it out. I’m willing to consider it,” I told him. “Hell, that Trojan Cake was a bad idea, and it worked out.”
“Well, that garrison of Storm Troops you mentioned is bound to have a ship or two right?” Grump stated.
That was not just a bad idea; that was the worst idea I’ve ever heard in my life. “We can’t fight them all,” I pointed out.
“We don’t have to, we just need a ship,” he pointed out.
I had to admit, he had a point.
“I have an idea, but I need to see the quarry before I tell you,” he said with a mischievous grin that would’ve made a changeling proud.
“Alright, but whatever we do, we have to do it quick.” I turned to the guards that were still guarding the gate. “Hey, which way to that quarry the queen mentioned?”
The guard pointed southeast.
“Thanks.”
“This is a bad idea,” Fitz and I said in unison, glaring at Grump as he smiled. There were easily a hundred Storm Troops down in that quarry. Two large cargo airships and a small escort airship were docked at the bottom of the quarry. The troops seemed drunk and out of discipline, singing and shouting and brawling with one another, but there were still a lot of them.
“So…” Fitz started.
“What’s this master plan?” I finished.
“I wouldn’t call it a ‘master’ plan. But it’s a plan. You two can get a ship airborne right?” Grump asked.
“I know the basics yeah,” I answered. Fitz nodded.
“Okay, you two are gonna get over there by the escort ship…” Grump pointed to a clump of rocks near the boarding ramp to the small ship. “Once you are there, I am gonna create a convincing distraction so you can get aboard and get it airborne. Once you have a headstart I will follow. By the time they get these other two giants moving, we should be long gone.”
“This plan is not gonna work,” Fitz said bluntly.
“Why?” Grump asked confused.
“Because it’s cliche. No cliche plan ever works, except for the first time it works and that is usually in a book or something,” I deadpanned.
“These guys are no smarter than those rocks down there. Come on, where is your sense of adventure?” Grump asked, moving into position.
“Back at home,” I answered.
Fitz and I made our way around the quarry, slithering from rock to rock. Grump was right about these guys not being very bright; they even fell for the old “throw a rock so they go investigate the noise” trick. How did the Storm King manage to take over so many territories with goons like this?
Soon enough we were underneath the small ship waiting for the signal.
“He never told us what the signal was, did he?” I asked Fitz.
Fitz came to the same realization, then shrugged. “I have a feeling it’s gonna be big.”
Ten minutes passed in silence while we hid. Fitz finally grunted. “How long did he say we’d have to…”
BOOM! FWOOSH! CRACK! The sounds echoed off the quarry walls as the cargo ship farthest from us suddenly exploded, flames bursting from the cargo hold. The balloon caught fire and exploded a second time.
“Son of a bitch!” we exclaimed, scrambling as the guard that was guarding the smaller ship abandoned his post to help with the blaze.
Boarding the ship, I started hauling up the ramp as Fitz ran to haul up the anchor. Once that was done, Fitz ran down to the engine and started to throw coal into the fires by the shovelful, and I started to steer the ship out of the quarry as we rose.
I could hear roaring commotion below; sounded like Grump had revealed his presence. Specifically by setting several of those troops on fire, if those screams were anything to go by. Grump’s roars were almost playful sounding as he fought the troops off.
Fitz came back up, panting and covered in coal dust. “What else?”
“We run.” I pushed forward on the throttle and the propellers in the back roared to life, signaling our departure.
As we began to put the quarry behind us, there was a roar of pain, that was abruptly ended. Fitz and I peered off the back of the ship.
Grump lay on the ground in a puddle of his own blood. There with a good ten to twelve spears piercing his sides; the last spear had been thrust through his bottom jaw and into his head. The beasts left him there like a horrid display as they tried to get to the last ship.
“No!” Fitz screamed, and started to jump off the deck in a half-assed attempt to get revenge. Or kill himself.
I grabbed his tail and pulled him back on. "There's nothing we can do now." I pushed the throttle forward more, and we sped toward Aris.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed the first three installments. I will bring more to this story.
Like & Comment.
“It was awfully kind of the princesses to rebuild your ship for you,” Capper said to Captain Celaeno as he admired the woodwork.
“She’s not the same ship. I asked for a few improvements: bigger, faster, more cannons, and a thicker hull. We also now have a full galley, and crew’s quarters, enough space for a bigger crew,” Celaeno started, moving the wheel of the ship a quarter to starboard before locking it there. “Of course my ship wouldn't have needed to be repaired if someone hadn't destroyed it.”
Tempest Shadow looked over from her seat on the deck. “I thought you forgave me for that? When Twilight asked you to take me with you?” she asked, seemingly confused.
“I sailed that ship for twenty years, I’m probably gonna be giving you a hard time about it for just as long,” Celaeno bumped Tempest’s shoulder with her fist, smirking. “Also, I forgave you. My crew hasn’t.”
Tempest looked out across the deck and caught several of the pirate crew giving her dirty looks before looking away. “Well they won't have to worry about me much longer. Once we get to Kludgetown, I plan on hitting the road to the Zebra homelands.”
“Actually,” Capper stepped in on the conversation, “if I could borrow your ears a moment, I have a business proposal for the two of you.”
“This had better not be like the time you wanted to commision my ship to run some red sand to Las Pegasus,” Celaeno growled skeptically, crossing her arms and glaring at the cat.
Capper shrugged. “I’ll admit that was a bad idea. But this is nothing like that plan.”
She raised her brow. “How?”
“Because this one is gonna work,” he purred. “As we all are keenly aware, Kludgetown is a slime infested snake den: there isn’t a more wretched hive of scum and villainy in all of Equestria. I purpose that we work to repair that.”
“How so?” Tempest asked.
Capper paused with a very smug look on his face. “We make it the centerpoint of all trade between the north, south, east and west.”
Celaeno frowned in consideration. “That does sound profitable…” she mused, sounding tempted.
“Tempest, with your military background, you could easily run our militia, make the streets a little safer,” Capper continued, deferring to Tempest. “Celaeno, you are already adept at securing cargo, and you know the trade routes, you could be the one to bring in revenue, as well as keep other pirates at bay.”
Tempest frowned, the idea turning over in her mind. “And what do you get out of it?”
“I will be the one who oversees it all. Mayor Capper has a nice ring to it doesn’t it?” he smiled. “Once we have a fleet of ships you can go by Admiral Celeano. Same goes for when we have a sizeable militia, Captain Tempest.” He smartly saluted both officers.
Tempest and Celeano glanced at each other. A small grin slowly trickled up Celeano’s beak. “How do you purpose we start?”
“Having a bit more muscle to back up our words would be a good start,” Capper mused, flicking his tail back and forth. “There is a small gang in the warrens beneath the city; griffons, zebra, molen, even a dragon or two. A Diamond Dog leads them purely on that he has taken his followers in and given them shelter. We take him down, put Tempest in place, after that we plan our next move.”
“It isn’t much of a plan,” Tempest commented.
“We took down the Storm King with less than that,” Capper said with a small smirk at Tempest.
Tempest’s frown deepened, but she sighed. “Let me do the talking, then. If I am gonna lead this band of lowlifes, I want them to trust me.”
“Good idea,” Celeano nodded. “If a crew trusts their leader they can do anything together.”
Tempest looked up at her. “That was sappy.”
Celaneo cringed. “I knew it as soon as I said it.”
Capper cleared his throat. “Perhaps it is best that we get ready to execute the first part to our plan?”
“Got any paint scrapers?” Tempest asked Celeano.
“They’re in the hold. Why?” Celeano said.
“I need to remove the Storm King colors from my armor,” Tempest grunted, glancing at the logos that were still emblazoned on her flanks.
“Shouldn't we shake hooves, claws, and paws?” Capper asked.
“How about we accomplish the first step to our little plan, then we can do that,” Celeano suggested.
Capper shrugged. “Eh, whatever.”
Author's Note
Welcome to the newest adventure featuring a highly unlikely trio. I hope you all enjoy it as I have been working very hard to get it ready. As always check out PonyJosiah13 as he was the one who proofread/edited it.
Drop a like and a kind comment on your way to the next chapter, and enjoy.
