Enter the Daemonpits by Thomas K. Carpenter

Author:Thomas K. Carpenter [Carpenter, Thomas K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Five

The sharp rocks had been hidden beneath the dirtied waters, upset from the maelstrom. The Song of the Sea had avoided crashing directly into them, but they'd smashed along the broadside, tearing multiple holes in the hull.

With Gloomy Gus taking the helm, Captain Femi joined them in the hold to survey the damage. Every face was drained of color.

Song of the Sea

Hull Hit Points: 833/2,940 [-19]

The ship's hull was down to a quarter of its strength and draining fast. Water sprayed from multiple cracks in the wooden planks, filling the hold with seawater.

"Can you fix this? Any miracles left in your pocket?" asked the captain.

"I'm sorry," said Alex. "There are three times as many cracks as last time, and that whole back section looks like it's going to fall apart. We'll be underwater before I can fix it, and I drained my faez during the flight through the maelstrom. I need another ten minutes just to get my magic back."

"Get the bilge pumps working," said Captain Femi as she headed back to the deck, "and form a bucket brigade."

"How many?" asked Banrik.

The captain paused at the top of the stairs and spoke without turning around. "Everyone."

"Aye, Captain," said Banrik, who stared at the water in the hull despondently before lifting his chin and barking out, "You heard her, mates, bucket brigade!"

Alex hurried after the captain, who resumed her role at the helm, sending Gloomy Gus to the hold. The northern waters were calmer than those south of the barrier islands, but that didn't matter with the damage to the hull.

"What are we doing?" asked Alex.

The captain gestured over her shoulder. "What do you see back at the fortifications?"

At the stern rail, Alex spied the merfolk gathering. She saw a half dozen dive into the water, disappearing below the waves.

"They're coming for us," said Alex.

"Aye," said Captain Femi. "I knew they would as soon as we hit the rocks. They're a larger danger than the hole in the hull. We could at least abandon ship and head out in the jolly boat, but the merfolk will hunt us down, slit every throat and take our treasures."

"Shadows below," said Alex, the sun's warmth draining from her skin. "Then how do we get away?"

"By going to the one place they fear to swim," said Captain Femi, lips squeezed white. "The Great Graveyard."

"But the undead?" asked Alex.

"We can hope they don't notice us, or that we can hold them off, but there's no way we can fight the merfolk, not on a sinking ship," said Captain Femi. "The Great Graveyard might give us a place to tie the Song to another ship, get her repaired."

"How far is it?" asked Alex.

"Half a day, maybe more," said the captain.

The severity of their situation hit her like a sledgehammer between the eyes.

"I'll join the bucket brigade," said Alex.

Everyone except for Captain Femi and Dirty Dan, who had to stay in the crow's nest to ensure they didn't hit any more rocks, worked the bilge pumps or passed buckets from the hold to be dumped overboard.

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