Two days had passed in the intervening time after their departure from the hidden city. Still they sailed through mist, slowly crawling their way through the ruins of the Eternities Crossing bridge. The unrest and doubt of the crew that had set in before their discovery had all but gone. Something had changed in the past two days. They were getting close to the edge of the mist, they could feel it as much as see it. The stillness that was a marked trait of the area was vanishing; waves were showing once more upon the water, small ripples in the endless stillness. The wind which had all but died the closer to the center they had gotten, was now gentle, tousling their manes ever to lightly. All signs that they were closer to escaping the oppressive mist that pervaded in the area.
Although while many were happy about this the sluggish cantor of the crew could not be broken. Many of them still went about their work slowly, well done as ever, but slow. Those in charge did their best to spur them into motion better but the doldrums of the days stuck in silence were still ever-present. The only crew member that showed any high spirits and excess of energy was that of little Nightspark, Pips unplanned-yet-officially adopted son. The colt in the couple of days since joining them, had been energetically learning about every part of the ship and ship life. He was proving to be a quick learner indeed. Even now he was listening intently to Nixx explain the maps and charts they used to navigate the seas, absorbing it like a sponge. He was quiet as ever though, rarely speaking to anyone but Pip, and recently Dinky.
The little colts antics and learning kept the crew in better spirits as well, as they found it humorous to see the youngster flitting from place to place during the day. It was good to see the spirits of the crew lifted. Anymore at meals the crew was a little more lively, and more importantly, there were no more doubt filled questions and stretching silences. They were almost back to normal.
That normalcy was broken near the middle of the day though. After some hours of sailing with nothing but the sound of wind and small waves a new sound suddenly crashed into their eardrums, and it wasn't one any of them had expected.
The crew was going about their practice routines when suddenly there was a great angry explosion that ripped across the water. At first the gun crew looked at one another thinking someone must have actually loaded one of the guns and then set it off, but upon quick inspection all the cannons were found to be empty. Confusion settled in for just a split second. Then more angry crashing of gunfire assailed their ears from forward. Unmistakable. Then it was as if the whole world popped into existence once more. First the bow spirit and prow broke into open air, followed closely by the rest of the Bonnie Lass. At last they had found their way out of the fog. What they came out to was not a warm welcome in the least. There before them not more than a minute or two of sailing in the favorable wind were 5 ships going at it full bore. The sound of the guns and shouting crews carried over the water in violent bouts. Two of the ships Pip noticed were Equestrian Royal Navy vessels, the others, were haunting images of their quarry. Three Draquus ships harried the two Equestrian naval vessels. They were holding their own, but the battle was turning unfavorable quickly.
At first the crew had been excited to finally escape the mist, then they had froze at the scene before them. But only for a second before commands were being thrown across the ship to prepare for battle. Pip noticed movement at the chart table beside him. Nixx had gathered the map and charts they had been given and at once levitated them over the side of the ship. He took one last study of the charts and before anyone could protest he used his magic to shred the charts and then the shreds promptly burst into flames, the ashes of the map and charts vanished in the sudden wind. The only place their information resided now was in the Techs mind.
Their luck held as they approached the fighting ships, they were as yet unnoticed by either the crews of the Equestrian Navy, nor by those of the Draquus warships. Radko at once had risen their flags so that when they were spotted they were at once identified as part of the Equestrian Navy and not as more Draquus, or rouges bent on helping the winning side. Pip shouted over to little Nightspark whom now stood bolt upright, quivering in fear at this new sight, "Get to the cabin and stay there till it's over! Nixx! make sure he gets there; now go!" he yelled.
Nixx ushered the little colt forward quickly and soon had him locked in Pips quarters. The rest of the crew had begun their preparations for battle. Pip was at once glad to see that even with all the time spent lost in the mist they still held their skills with the guns. Already they were loaded and ready for action, even the Blaze Cannons had been fresh loaded, their crews had their goggles in place ready for action.
The Bonnie Lass came up fast on the fight, they moved to the other side of the Draquus ship closest to them. As they made their move the first shouts of recognition sounded from one of the Equestrian Naval Ships. By this point their sudden approach was now noted and the crew of the ship they pulled up to quickly was made aware for their presence. But even so it was far too late for any quick response. The Draquus ship was caught between the Bonnie Lass and the other Equestrian ship. They fired at the same time from both sides. The cannons thundered down the length of the Bonnie Lass, shortly after they spoke the blaze guns followed suit. The roaring flames leapt from the guns in angry red torrents. Steam rose from the churning sea below them from the heat of the fire. The Draquus ship was caught completely from both guns and both ships, the damage was catastrophic. Fire tore through the exposed holes that were blasted through the hull by the cannons. The top deck itself was an inferno as well. Wood, Barrels, and crew alike were set aflame by the angry gouts of fire. Screams of pain and splashes could be heard as the crew unlucky enough to be caught up in it burned alive or dove into the sea in hopes of dousing the fire. The smell of burnt wood and rope was drown out only by that of burnt flesh and singed hair.
The cannons tore into the ship's hull once more as they passed by. Large holes now gaped in the sides of the ship. Entire decks below could be seen awash with blood and fire. She was taking on water quickly, many of the crew were either dead or dying. They were close enough to see the effects of the two broadsides from both his ship and their ally on the other side. Pip at once recognized the work of the other ships guns. The first volley from them must have been used to break holes only in the hull, for there was no doubt as to the makeup of the second volley. Canister shot. Everything within the affected deck was shredded, wood, guns, and bodies alike. It was a gruesome scene to behold but it had gotten the job done well. In the few minutes it had taken to see this already the ship was up to its top level gun ports in water, sinking quickly. Soon they watched as it's deck vanished below the churning sea forever.
The rotating gun at the front of the Bonnie Lass had not stopped here though. Its design allowed for a longer range and it used this to its best effect. Peppering the next ships side with solid shot and explosive shot. Already they could see holes being punched in the sides of the ship, small ones, but its rate of fire made up for that in the sheer amount of hits the well trained gunners landed. The tides had turned in the fight quickly and now the two remaining Draquus ships were on the defense.
The Bonnie Lass moved in closer to the next ship, the rotating gun on her deck firing steadily all the while. They were joined by the same ship that had helped them sink the last Draquus vessel. She was a larger ship than the Bonnie Lass by another whole level. Together the two ships sailed forward, gaining with every moment towards the larger of the three Draquus craft. As they closed in both of them moved to either side, bent on repeating the same maneuver that had worked on the last vessel.
This time the Draquus were ready, although still taking a beating from the forward gun of the Bonnie Lass. They turned sharply, preventing the Bonnie Lass and her sister ship from closing in on both sides. The large ship was now turning sharply towards the Bonnie Lass, an impact between the two ships would not fare well for Pips crew. There was a sudden lurch that sent many of the crew stumbling, some falling completely, the shot from the front cannon strayed wide as the Bonnie Lass was pushed to her limits in an attempt to match the turn of the other ship.
The beams groaned under the force of the turn, the rigging above was pulled tight against the strain. There was a resounding snap as one of the cables gave way under the stress and went snapping into the sky. The Deck skewed sharply up, many of the more experienced crew were able to keep their hoofing, Pip himself among those who still stood, but even with the experience the turn was almost too much. It seemed to last for minutes, then all of a sudden the deck began to level out quickly, random loose items, and some crew, went sliding across the deck as it leveled out. The rigging above groaned and moved to the other end sharply, no cables snapped this time.
The Bonnie Lass was now sailing next to the Draquus vessel, here the experience of both crews showed. In the intervening moments that both ships leveled out and the crews gained their feet there was a moment of quiet as both gained their decks as fast as possible. Luckily it was the Bonnie Lass that fired first, They were nearly point blank with the other ships gun deck when they opened fire. The guns roared sending a shudder along the side of the Bonnie Lass. Holes were ripped into the Draquus vessel, another volley from her guns came shortly after, the Draquus as yet had failed to return fire. The two ships sailed neck and neck, the Bonnie Lass raking the side of the other ship over and over. Finally after the third volley the Draquus returned fire. It was not a full broadside as it should have been, thankfully, yet damage was done none-the-less. Pip could hear the sounds of splintering wood below, could feel the shuddering of impacts through his hooves the smell of blood rising quickly with the smoke and dust.
One crew member on the top deck was hit in the fire as well, Pip watched shocked and sad as the gunman took a direct hit from a cannon ball and was blasted from the ship into the sea, broken and torn. The crew however continued their work, the guns roared again, strafing the gun deck that had just fired. The wood shattering under the newest round of cannon-fire from the Bonnie Lass. One of the two Blaze Cannons on that side also opened up, spraying its burning munitions in through the holes of both cannon balls and gun-ports. Flames roiled inside the ship now, crew screaming as they burned alive. The Draquus ship turned away sharply from the Bonnie Lass trying to escape but instead it was met with the other ship that had tried to move in earlier. There was a resounding crash as the two ships collided with one another. The Draquus ship turning so sharply so suddenly had surprised the other Equestrian ship which was not as quick moving or as fleet as the Bonnie Lass and had been unable to move in time.
The two ships ground into one another, the Draquus ship tried to move away but the sheer force of the impact had entangled her rigging with the Equestrian ship and now they were held fast together. The fires below deck were being extinguished quickly as possible but before they were wholly put out the Equestrian vessel unleashed its entire facing guns on the deck at point blank range. The cannonballs hammered through the deck, blasting holes and continuing out of the Draquus ships other side from sheer force. The solid shot had been accompanied with canister rounds as well, the resulting impact at so close a distance proved disastrous for the crew of the Draquus ship. Many crewmembers that had been on the deck when the guns went off were wholly blasted apart by the canister rounds. A fine red mist was forced out the holes in the other side as the cannonballs tore through. It was a gruesome scene to behold.
The Equestrian ship raked the deck of the Draquus vessel with more canister rounds, effectively clearing the deck of almost all opposition. The floor was awash with the blood of the crew making it slick. This didn't stop the next phase though. Pip watched in triumph as the boarding crew swarmed unhindered onto the deck of the Draquus vessel, cutting down any survivors that so much as lifted a sword. Soon the captain himself at the wheel abandoned his post and lifted his own sword to join the fray, before he could do so much as charge down the stairs though he was shot clean through by a sharpshooter from the deck of the Equestrian ship, he fell dead where he had stood. The ship was taken as a prize, the remaining battered crew were lined up on the deck and chained for holding.
Before they had the prisoners locked away, Pip looked to the third and final ship as it squared off with the other Equestrian vessel. Already she was sitting low in the water, the Equestrian ship had dished out a thorough beating and continued to hammer the Draquus ship with volley after volley. The last ship was making its final stand, unwilling to surrender, even with their lack of remaining cannons. There was another full shot into her side, this one was soon followed by a thunderous explosion. A great fireball erupted out the sides of the Draquus ship. The munitions had been set off.
The resulting explosion was massive, the Equestrian ship was making haste away when it went off. Another great explosion ripped the ship in half, and it vanished beneath the waves in seconds, leaving behind a flotilla of broken wood and shattered bodies.
The remaining crew of Draquus were promptly taken below and locked up. What they would do with them once back to port was unclear, they were both an enemy, and an oddity. Even many of the crew were unsure of what to think of them, regardless of their exposure to little Nightspark who was himself a Draquus. The thought jarred Pip from his though and he made haste to his cabin to check on the youngster.
Inside he found most of the things in the room had been tossed about in the melee. Nightspark was nowhere to be seen though. Pip looked high and low as worry began to settle in. Before he could really panic though there was a shuffling to his right, Pip looked over and caught a glimpse of the little colts hooves. He was hiding beneath the bed. Pip knelt down and was greeted by a shaking colt who promptly reached out and latched onto Pips neck. Pip pulled him out and set him down, sitting next to him for a moment. Nightspark was scared out of his wits but sitting in the quiet room next to Pip he started to calm down. A shuffle drew Pips attention and he looked to the doorway. Dinky had come in looking for Nightspark as well. She sat down on the other side of the colt, the two of them creating a comforting encirclement about the little colt. Dinky did her best to sooth his fears, nibbling on his wings and humming a little tune. Being the daughter of a Pegasus Dinky had learned how to preen wings as second nature, granted Nightsparks wings were mostly devoid of feathers but they were covered in a very fine velvet along their leading edges and the imitation of preening seemed to calm him down well enough.
Dinky winked at Pip and then nodded her head towards the deck outside, her meaning clear. She would stay with Nightspark, he had business to attend to with the other Captains.
Shortly the three Equestrian naval vessels had promptly joined together, allowing the Captain of each vessel to meet with one another. They all agreed on boarding the Bonnie Lass, as they were the newcomers in the area.
In their impromptu meeting room below decks the Three Captains spoke in detail of the recent events. Pip himself did most of the listening as the other two spoke at great lengths of events leading up to their fight and the Bonnie Lasses sudden return. It was apparent that in their absence things had grown worse with the Draquus. More sightings, more fighting and more lost ships.
Skirmishing had become a regular occurrence in Equestrian seas, a few ships had even been lost. Not sunk, but vanished as the captains put it. Some though had been recovered miles from where they should have been. The recounting of their recoveries were as grim as Pips own findings...
News had traveled fast on the last harbor attack and the role the Bonnie Lass had played in drawing the Draquus Flagship away. Many sailors had speculated that the Bonnie Lass had been lost at sea. Many unwilling to believe that they'd willingly sailed into the mist that surrounded the ruins of the great Eternity Bridge. The pressed for a recount of their time spent lost, Pip willingly obliged the two, though leaving out some detail.
"So what is our next move?" One of them asked.
This surprised Pip and he responded in kind, "Have no other ships found medallions?" he queried.
The two captains looked at him with blank expressions.
"Wait here." Pip said as he rushed to find Nixx.
The Tech ambled along with his findings, charts, and most importantly, the Medallions. They made their way quickly back to the meeting room. Once arrived Nixx unceremoniously dumped the charts and graphs upon the table where he spilled into a detailed description of the information they had gathered. Pip, after a moment of watching the confusion deepening, gently interrupted.
"Nixx, the medallions. Show them the Medallions, and the map." He said gently. The tech stopped, reorganized the map, and brought forth the medals. He set them down, pressing their corresponding corners together for the captains to view. Then instead of explaining he sat back and let them study the clues themselves.
The tow leaned forward and stared at the map and medallions for a few minutes.
"Bad Wolf Bay." They said almost in Unison, concern in their voices.
"You know of it then." Nixx prodded.
"Know of it. Yes." one replied, "It's a mountainous Island, pock marked with caves and tunnels, it even has its own shipyard. Though it's been long abandoned."
"But that would also explain the smoke."
"And the ships." They said almost right after each other.
"Smoke?" Pip asked.
"Yes, smoke. Ever since our first encounters with these....Draquus as you call them....There has been a steady billowing smoke reported about the island by the few ships that dared get close, what with those two behemoths patrolling the waters there." The second captain said.
"Ships? What do they look like?" Nixx dug deeper.
"Giant, by all reports. Much larger than any one of the three sitting here." The other Captain replied, "You must know yourselves after the stories I've heard."
"Yes, but we only thought there was one." Pip trailed off.
"Well we know there are two by all accounts, both equally large and equally strange in their build. Any ships that have neared the waters around Bad Wolf Bay have never been heard from. The ones that do survive have stayed on the edge of the area, not daring to enter." Replied the first.
"I think it's apparent what we must do. We need to gather support from the admiralty and the first fleet. Go and clear out that Island, rid ourselves of these Draquus for good. I just hope the Admirals will listen." The other said skeptically.
"Oh, I'm sure they will. We had our run in with them just before we got lost in the mist. Needless to say, in the attack of Stableside we happened to be meeting with one of the Admirals, the only one that would meet with us, that is. But besides that, I think he got word through after he got a first-hoof taste of the truth behind the attacks. We shouldn't have a problem with gaining the help of the first fleet." Pip responded, looking pointedly at NIxx.
They adjourned the meeting, quickly returning to their respective ships. A new gathering point was decided upon, it was an old Naval Yard, still kept in operation in case of need. The small island it occupied was roughly a full day of sailing with favorable wind from their current position. Pip was rushing around with his crew as they outfitted and resupplied one of the two other ships for a return voyage through the mist. Pip was sending Nixx to fetch the First Fleet. Nixx was hot on his hooves, "Captain, I just don't understand why you must send me as well. I can make a chart for them..." He continued in his rambling protest at being sent the opposite direction.
"It's simple. The First Fleet needs a guide through that mist. They cannot navigate through it easily as we can and were going to need them sooner rather than later. It just so happens that there is only one pony in the whole empire that can navigate t he shroud in a straight path without crashing and sinking. Another part to this important task is to upkeep a promise that we made to some very endangered friends that call that place home...without you who knows if the fleet might not happen upon them..." Pip said roughly to the tech.
Nixx made to argue but promptly clamped his mouth shut as a new angle made itself known in the argument. "I'll grab what I need, give me just a moment." The tech replied and rushed off to gather his needed items. Pip was glad he was on board now, so to speak. If there was one gift the tech had it was that he was able to switch his stand on things in very short time with new information. Nixx was soon loading his small trunk into the other ships hold, he shouted over to Pip, "I'll bring the fleet as quickly as I can push them! I promise!" He then galloped off in search of the Captain of the vessel.
They soon were underway, Pip and his crew watched as the ship was swallowed by the oppressive mist, vanishing in a blink. Once gone the Bonnie Lass and the other remaining vessel set course for the island harbor where the smaller second fleet made berth. They were under way with good speed, sails full of wind and crews full of anxiety.
Within two days after their arrival at the port Pip would be expecting the First Fleet to meet up with them and the Second Fleet. They would leave for Bad Wolf Bay at the dawn of the third day. There would surely be a confrontation with the Draquus that day as well. What they could be sailing into was yet unknown to them but Pip had an uneasy feeling they would need both the First and Second fleets to contend with whatever the Draquus would throw at them.