Rising Thunder (Dynasty of Storms Book 1) by Brandon Cornwell

Author:Brandon Cornwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-04-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

10th Waning Grain Moon, Year 4368

The sea spray flew behind the ship as it raced across the waves. Elias had no idea that a ship could move as fast as this, but Delain was more than a competent captain, he was a master. Even the years he spent under the deck rowing hadn't dulled his skill. With a full complement of sea elves crewing this vessel, the water rushed under the bow like a roaring river, the slow bob of the waves completely muted by the speed at which they traveled.

In the distance, growing ever closer, was a ship identified by the Port Authority as guilty of piracy. Smaller than the Iron Oar, as Delain had rechristened her, this ship was barely two-thirds the length, and half the width. She had only two masts to the Oar's three, but should have been faster, due to how shallow she was.

Delain roared orders to the sailors as he manned the helm, keeping the Iron Oar's bearing true. Every scrap of sail was unfurled, and the wind was at their back. Men and elves rushed about, hauling ropes, tying them off, untying them, and all sorts of things that Elias had no inkling what they were.

Knowing what they were wasn't his job. He was heading up the boarding crew. He stood ready, rope and hook in hand, next to a dozen other elves, each armed to the teeth. Each rope was attached to an anchor on the starboard side. The ropes ran through a pulley on either side of the ship, bolted to the thick timbers of the deck.

The plan was to hook the other ship, kick the anchors overboard, and let the ropes pull the other ship into the Oar. She had been reinforced beneath the decks for this purpose, and had large rolls of sailcloth ready to be slung over the side to pad the impact of the other ship colliding with them.

Before long, the other ship drew close. Elias could see the men rushing about on deck, brandishing cutlasses and boarding axes, shouting at them. He could not hear them over the rush of the water, but it didn't matter anyways. These were the enemy, and they were about to be conquered.

The sails slacked as they drew alongside the enemy ship, and the Iron Oar slowed.

“Aim over the ship!“ Elias shouted, whirling his hook above his head, standing with one foot on the rail. He let it fly, overshooting the enemy ship by a solid twenty feet. He hauled on the rope, dragging in the slack until he felt the three-pronged hook catch firm. On either side of him, other sailors were doing the same.

“Now!”

The anchors were thrown overboard, the rope hissing across the deck like insane snakes. Both ships shuddered as the anchors hit the end of the ropes, hauling the two ships together. A few of the ropes had hooked the railing of the other ship, rather than anything sturdy, and ripped it off, sending it through the gathered pirates, bowling some of them over.

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