Blake had expected more comfortable quarters aboard the ship, particularly when they paid for their passage in gold. If those coins were what they looked like, they would probably be worth several thousand dollars each. They could've flown first class around the world for so much money.
Instead, the quarters provided for them had only bare pallets, separated by a short distance. Even worse, there was no larger tank for Kaelynn. The machine holding her had chains to attach to the wall, along with pipes that trickled and gurgled as it exchanged liquids with the ship. But at least she had a waterbed.
It was a testament to how tired they were that they managed to get any rest at all. But dragging that cart around, climbing through Klugetown twice, all that had taken its toll.
Once he was done tossing and turning, Blake went out like a sack of rocks. He slept so soundly that he barely felt it as something wrapped gently around his mouth. Then he shook, twitching abruptly to one side. He jerked upright, or tried—and found two pairs of hooves holding him down.
Jordan and Ryan both, pressing a cloth over his mouth and a hoof to his shoulder.
The room behind them wasn't as he remembered. There was another creature with them, a griffon who resembled the crew of the Bright Hawk. Though if she were crew, she'd been through a far rougher tour of duty than any of the birds they met so far.
"Don't make a sound. We're in serious danger," Ryan whispered, directly into his ear. He might've thrown the little bug-thing off, if Jordan wasn't there. He could look at the bat without feeling that instinctive sense of dread. He nodded.
They let go, and Ryan continued. "This is a slave ship. They locked you in after you went to sleep. I was outside, heard what they planned to do. They're selling us to a mine, along with some other prisoners." He gestured at the bird. "This is Galena, she was locked up too. We're in this together."
"I expected more from your friends," she whispered, her voice high and harsh just like the other griffons. Her accent was almost identical, in fact. "A bat and a weird pony covered in scales. We can't win. Ponies are too soft, Ryan. They have a few who can fight—but most just curl up and wait for their princess to save them."
Jordan reached into his satchel, then flicked something out from within. A long, folding trench knife, which swung widely, then clicked into place. "Yeah, screw that. I'm not getting sold into anything, especially with this body. Hell no."
Galena's beak fell open, and she stared blankly. Disbelieving. Finally, she managed to shut her mouth. "We've traded ponies a few times," she whispered. "Maybe the stories about Equestria are an exaggeration. But I've never heard any talk like that."
"She's right," Blake agreed, rolling to the side, and getting his hooves under him. "Er, he's right. Sorry." Jordan shrugged one wing ambivalently. Galena only seemed more confused. But none of them volunteered just now.
They already knew they had no weapons. What could they use? Callahan lied to us, he thought, frustration boiling in his chest. We paid for this trip, and he turned around to try and enslave us. How unlucky could his little group possibly be? He just wanted to get them home safe. They were supposed to be taking illegal videos under Paris, not escaping human traffickers and slavers.
He found his own pocket knife in his bag, but ultimately slipped it back inside. It was too short to be useful for fighting, even if he had known how. "What else do we know, Ryan? Anything we can use?"
The bug nodded weakly. "There's another cell across the way. There are five more prisoners in there I was going to go to next."
"Ponies," Galena said, as though that was supposed to mean something. "They're a waste of time, Ryan. You'll see what I mean. Barely even fought when they were brought in."
"I don't like how much you know about that," Blake muttered. But now was a bad time to start rejecting allies. No matter what this bird had done, she was also taller than he was, and had claws and beak as sharp as the ones they would soon have to fight. "They'll help us. With them, we can outnumber Callahan and his crew. If we're quiet enough, maybe we can separate them and fight in two groups. Then they're toasted."
"It's a waste of your time," Galena whispered, insistent. "At least this pony has a horn, and this other one has teeth. That's more than they usually offer. What about the tank? At least a hippogriff is half griffon."
"She needs water to breathe," Ryan whispered. "Blake, you wanna help me with these others? Haven't seen a guard come to patrol, they probably think we're still asleep. But if we move around much more, we're bound to get something. You two stay in here, come up with a plan."
"Oh, sure," Jordan muttered. "Have us come up with the plan while you do the easy part."
"It's not," Galena said. "Asking ponies to fight? They don't do that. Too nice."
Blake bit back the current of rising anger in his chest. He wanted to break something, but he wouldn't start with this bird. They would get even for this betrayal soon enough.
Ryan was first to peek out the hallway. Blake followed close behind, as the bug scuttled across to the other side. Now that he thought about it, it did seem strange that all the quarters had heavy locks on the outside. But how were they supposed to know what customs were just different in this world?
The hallway led towards the stairs to the crew quarters just ahead. Blake could hear at least one quiet conversation up there. The words were distant and the accent strange, but he could make out a few. "Pay... soon. Celebration."
"You... go... in," Ryan mouthed, after clicking the door open. "Otherwise... scared." He opened the door a crack, edging just a tiny bit at a time. "I'll... copy Galena... while talk."
Blake nodded, then slipped his head into the room. There were five of them, just like Ryan had said. How had he known that, exactly?
It was almost identical to the way their bedroom looked, with threadbare pads for sleeping and not much else. There was a privy against the wall in the same place, and a basin that slowly trickled water. But that was all.
As he entered, the horses looked up from their beds. A few curled up against the wall, eyes closed against whatever terror he would inflict. Curiously, they hadn't been bound. He found no restraints on their hooves, or even a gag. They were free to move around as much as they wanted.
These birds really think they won't fight, he thought. It went further than that. They thought the same thing about us. They were so confident they hadn't even been searched for weapons.
He pushed the door shut behind him, then stepped right into the center of the room. He would've liked to get a better look at these creatures—even in the dark, he could tell they came in quite the range of colors. They also had tattoos, in the same place as Jordan.
But discovering more information about their condition would have to come later. It was time to escape. "Hey," he whispered. Anger still raged in him, warmth that got warmer the more it festered. Normally when Blake started feeling this pissed off, he'd go for a run somewhere. Maybe he could run his hooves over some faces.
But not these. Like it or not, these were his new brothers in arms. "Please be as quiet as you can," he whispered. "We're breaking out of here."
The horses sat up, watching. None of them moved, even to get closer. Had they just heard?
"My friends and I got locked up like you," he said. "We're breaking out. But without your help, we aren't sure we can do it."
That did it. At least one of the horses, without wings or Blake's own curved horn, sat up. "You're a Kirin," he whispered back. "I thought you were extinct."
Ryan would probably not be able to resist learning more from a comment like that. Even Blake was curious—you know what I am? But that would have to wait.
"I'm not," he said. "But if we don't fight back, we will be." He flicked his tail back the way they'd come. "Listen, my friends and I are going to fight no matter what. But there's a decent chance we get our asses kicked. These bird things are bigger than we are, and they're better armed. If we fight and lose, you're screwed too. But if you help us, we outnumber them two-to-one."
The first one approached him. He was a little taller, with a body of sturdy muscle. The others followed his lead, standing behind him. Each looked weary with exhaustion and fear. Who knew how long they'd been imprisoned here, waiting for some way to escape?
Galena was clearly wrong about their passivity and fearfulness. But even so, they were smaller than their enemies, and lacked any natural weapons. Two had horns, but like Blake's they didn't seem particularly useful in combat. They'd have to rely on speed and accuracy with their hooves against bladed weapons.
"Your friends are as brave as you?" the first pony asked. "Other kirin?"
"Yes," he answered reflexively. "But no, not kirin. One of them has bat wings, and we have a griffon. I guess... two of them. One of them is a bug, but he's going to be a bird for the fight, they're the strongest."
"Changeling, thestral, kirin, griffon," another of the ponies said. "Are you sure we have to fight? The griffons said they were taking us back to Equestria. They're going to... ransom us. I've heard of that before."
"I'm sure," Blake said, as confidently as he could. "We overheard them talking. They're going to sell us to a mine. I don't know the details, but... it's obvious enough. There are only six of them. With all of us, we'll outnumber them."
And we can only pray to god they don't think to come back for Kaelynn while we're fighting.
"What were they thinking trying to capture you?" asked their leader. "Kirin, if we're going to fight together, I have to ask: please don't burn the whole ship down. The griffons can fly away from this, but we only have Gentle Drift. She can't carry all of us to safety."
Burn the ship down? Blake nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." Probably not the best time to ask them how I actually do that. He probably would have asked anyway, regardless of any risk to losing them as allies. But none of them were “kirin,” so they didn't seem likely to know regardless.
He heard the shout from behind, echoing from a few feet away. "Wake up!" they yelled, voice piercing the ship like the call of a predatory bird. Which it was, obviously. "Prisoners are free! Wake up!"
He didn't even think. Blake spun, kicking open the door with a slam so forceful it banged into the wall.
Or it should have. Actually, it smashed into a bird who had been standing there, shouting. He was out the door a second later, just as the griffon was wobbling to their feet.
Up the stairs, he heard motion. More voices, banging doors, more shouts.
The door across the hall was still open, and stunned faces watched, unmoving.
Blake didn't wait. Before the nearby bird could get his claws under him, Blake tacked into him from the side, smashing him up against the wall. Wood crunched and buckled under the force, and something cracked under him? Ribs? He didn't think, just smashed both hooves down on the top of the bird's head.
The sailor squealed once, then stopped struggling. Blake didn't even look to see if he was still moving, just kicked the sword backward along the ground towards the ponies.
"There!" he yelled. "One down! Five to go!"