Ice Fall

by Bluespectre

Chapter Twenty Five - Beat to Quarters

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

BEAT TO QUARTERS

“Steady as she goes, Mister Haggis”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n”

The wind here was strange, unlike anything Gretel had even experienced before. The visibility was down to little more than one hundred yards at times. The lookouts had been doubled with extra crewponies on the bow, but it didn’t do much to dispel her concerns. She didn’t like this, the way the clouds swirled and billowed, it was almost as if they were inside the lungs of some huge beast. And that sound! It was a low, moaning, groaning sound on the edge of hearing which had she’d noticed not long after entering the cloud sea. That, together with the background stink of sulphur, had her noise itching as much as the hairs were prickling along her back.

“Strange weather, Captain.”

Stock trotted up the steps to the quarterdeck, wiping the damp from his muzzle.

“Aye, Master Stock,” Gretel said, tapping the hilt of her sword, “Thoughts?”

Stock shook his head, “None of them helpful, Captain. The crew are as ready as they can be.”

Gretel nodded, more to herself than her officer. She still couldn’t help but feel there was something off about this venture and her nervousness reverberated through the Revenge whenever she let her feelings bubble to the surface. Still, life onboard had been a lot better since Cyclone and Stock had ‘made up’, for want of a better word. The mint green pegasus mare had wasted no time moving into the cabin with Stock, much to the scandalised delight of the crew. Gretel had approved of the pairing of course, if for no other reason than the final removal of the constant tension that had existed between them since Eve had been killed, but the reality was, she genuinely felt like the two were meant to be together. Cyclone and Even Song had come to her broken and tortured souls, and she’d given them a home aboard ship, but Eve was….Gretel shook her head. It didn’t matter anymore, Eve was gone, and at long last Cyclone was happy and, surprisingly, so was the usually monotone hulking mass of a stallion called Stock.

The Captain raised an eyebrow at the thought of the huge Stock and the slender form of Cyclone and giggled to herself at the crude and altogether far too graphic thoughts entering her head. She leaned her head back and sighed. Goddess above, she really missed Chalky.

A shout from the crows nest made the whole crew pause what they were doing and look up,

“LAND HO!”

The lookout called down to the Captain,

“Land! Two point to port.”

Gretel shouted down to the helm,

“Mister Haggis, bring us in nice and easy.”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n.”

Stock lifted up his telescope and focussed on the dark shadow the Revenge was now cautiously approaching,

“Looks like a mountain, Captain.”

“No…” Gretel replied quietly, lowering her own telescope, “Not this, it’s too big.” She shook her head slowly in wonder as the large land mass became increasingly more defined, “I’ve heard of floating islands before, but never thought I’d see one in Equestria.”

“Pegasi?” Stock asked.

The Captain shook her head, “My guess would be Griffins”

The brown stallion scratched his neck, his brow furrowed, “But the magic needed to make an island float would be incredible. From what I understand, griffin magic isn’t like the stuff unicorn’s use.”

“You can say that again!” An enthusiastic voice announced beside them, “My horn’s itching like mad!”

Gretel jumped back in surprise, “Gah! Bloody hell! Where do you keep popping up from?”

“As much as it’s thrilling to explore your incredible vessel, Captain, I was getting a little bored stuck down there all the time,” Strata explained as he walked up to the balustrade, “besides, every ship needs a good unicorn on board. It’s common sense!”

“Now, just a minute!” Gretel began, but she was interrupted by another shout from one of the lookouts,

“Cap’n! Looks like a griffin approaching from the landward side.”

Clucking her tongue, she pushed the smiling unicorn aside and trotted down to the main deck, nodding to the Bosun whose silently waved directions were all the crew needed to understand what was required: to be ready for anything. Whether the approaching griffin realised it was being tracked by dozens of crossbows apparently made little difference to the creature as it flew up and alighted boldly upon the main deck.

It was a silver-grey beast with a viciously hooked beak and copper eyes that flashed menacingly. Several of the crew backed away, intimidated by the strange and aggressive manner of the newcomer, whilst others reached for swords or levelled their crossbows. Gretel by comparison, nonchalantly trotted down to the deck and bobbed her head in greeting. The creature stared at her,

“Who are you?”

Gretel smiled politely, trying not to show her irritation at the griffin’s lack of decorum,

“I am Captain Gretel of the King Sombra’s Revenge. Who may I…”

“-You are violating territory of Lord Rapere,” The griffin cut in, “leave here immediately.”

“No.”

The creature’s eyes bulged, clearly one who was used to getting their own way through intimidation. It opened its beak to speak but Gretel was there first, advancing on the creature,

“If you would care to read this,” She hoofed over the scroll from Hay Wain, “I think you’ll find everything to be in order.”

The griffin stared at the scroll for a moment, clearly deep in thought. Silently, Gretel glanced across at Stock who gave an almost imperceptible nod; So far, so good.

“I will need to present this to the elder,” the griffin said in its squawky tongue, “follow me down to the dock and wait. You will not leave your vessel unless specifically instructed, do you understand?”

Gretel nodded, “Oh, I think so.”

Without another word, the silver-grey bird like creature flapped its large wings and leaped over the side of the ship.

“Follow that griffin, Mister Haggis.” Gretel smirked. She’d have to remember that line for her log, maybe even for her memoirs one day.

The Revenge slowly followed the griffin down to a large docking area, complete with a timbered jetty that lead up to a set of equally grand buildings. Gretel scratched her rump in thought, not very lady like, she’d admit, but by the goddess…what a sight! She’d heard of floating islands before of course, it was always a popular subject for stories when everypony had sunk one too many drinks, but nopony really believed they actually existed, did they? But this…this quite literally was exactly what it appeared to be: an entire island, just sitting there, floating in the sky. Gretel stared in amazement. There was grass, rocks, even some small trees and bushes. The sight was simply breathtaking, and probably would have been even more magnificent if it hadn’t been for the ever present cloud that covered everything in damp, including her fur.

Stock and Cyclone quickly had the crew stationed and the ship prepared for a fast departure if things went awry. Gretel looked out at the buildings in the distance. Every one of them was a potential goldmine of bits, each producing, she suspected, an exotic array of goods that were both expensive, and deadly. Griffins weren’t fussy who they sold death to either; nearby a large airship was docked, with a number of peculiarly large hairy beasts busily engaged in loading crates into the heavy looking gondola that was suspended beneath a thick network of cabling and ropes that connected it to the immense air bags above. Stock walked up to her,

“Yaks. Don’t see them very often.”

“Don’t want to either,” Gretel replied dismissively, “brutal, ignorant beasts.”

Stock sniffed, “I hear they pay well.”

“Not well enough for my liking,” the Captain said shaking her head, “they’re too unpredictable. You thought the Legion was bad, that lot make minotaurs look like fuzzy bunnies in caparison.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever look at another rabbit the same way again”, Stock chuckled.

Gretel couldn’t help but smile. It was still hard for her to imagine the gruff Stock even smiling, let alone chuckling! Yet here was was, doing exactly that. Not that long ago, getting more than two syllables out of him at a time was a marathon task. How he actually managed to do his job while barely speaking was a miracle in itself, but since he’d been ‘re-united’ in a manner of speaking, with Cyclone, well…he was certainly a lot more animated. The crew had noticed the change too, and the mood on the ship had become a lot more ‘jolly’ somehow. She leaned her hooves on the railing, watching a small party of griffins walking towards them. ‘Jolly’ she thought to herself absently, was certainly not a word she’d use to describe these miserable looking sods. Every one of them looked like they’d been steeped in misery and vomited out when they’d become thoroughly pickled in bitterness.

The silver-grey griffin bowed his head to the large golden one who walked up the gangplank and onto the deck as if he belonged there,

“You are Captain Gretel?”

“Apparently” The red mare smiled cheekily, “And to whom am I speaking?”

“I am Head Constructor Trill. I understand you wish to speak to us regarding an business opportunity?”

“Indeed”, Gretel replied, “Would you care to join me in my cabin?”

“I…” the griffin paused as another of his companions, a dark blue and black speckled griffin whispered something in his ear. Trill cleared his throat, “Thank you Captain, however negotiations will be carried out in my office.”

“Very well.”

Stock brushed Gretel shoulder with his hoof, his voice low as he spoke,

“Captain, I don’t like this. That blue one’s got a look about him.”

Gretel nodded, “I know what you mean. Stay here with the ship, I’ll take a couple of the crew with me. At the first sign of trouble, get the Revenge out of here.”

Stock stepped round until he was face to face with her,

“Gretel, I won’t leave you behind! I…”

“Master Stock,” the Captain said levelly, “You will follow my orders. The Revenge will answer her helm to you and Cyclone, I felt the connection as I know you did too.” She clopped him on the shoulder, “Now, stop being a bloody worry wart, you’re making me nervous.”

Minutes later, Gretel, along with two of her crew acting as escorts, followed the griffins back down the gangplank and headed off towards a set of buildings further along from the dock. Here, the air was fresher, clearer, and devoid of the cloying dampness of the surrounding cloud. Birds flew overhead, their melodic calls a welcome musical counterpoint to their unspeaking hosts. The party walked in silence up to the steps of a whitewashed building that appeared to be an unusual mix of military and civilian architecture, as if the designer had had a change of heart halfway through the construction. It certainly looked functional though, especially the large multi-shot catapults that sat atop the small towers.

Trill lead them up a flight of stairs to a brightly lit lobby and bade them sit whilst he himself disappeared through a large set of black wooden doors. Gretel and her crew sat and stared about themselves in silent fascination. The room they were in was surprisingly grand considering the lack of people in there, but it was quite clear from the wear on the seating that the spaciousness of the lobby had been intentional…and practical. Large columns, potted plants and paintings of various landscapes gave the impression of barely restrained opulence and was no doubt intended to impress upon those waiting of the sheer power and wealth of the griffins they were dealing with. Gretel could only wonder at the deals that had gone on here over the years; the ponies, yaks, llamas and the goddess knew how many other peoples who had traded for more and more interesting ways to kill one another. She dropped into one of the hard seats and rubbed her face with her hooves. Suddenly, the prospect of all that money didn’t seem to have quite the same appeal that it once had. One of the crew tapped her on the leg - Trill had re-appeared,

“Captain Gretel, this way please. Lord Rapere will see you now.”

Lord Repere’s office was more like a reception room for a palace. Tiled floors, marble pillars, statuary, it was all incredibly ostentatious. Gretel’s crew stared open mouthed at the sight, while she herself walked on, self assured and smiling to herself. If all of this worked out, they could probably afford to buy this island, and the factories even. She could see herself now, sitting behind the huge marble table covered in gold and ivory ink wells and quill holders, rather than the beady eyed black feathered griffin that was peering at her over the top of Hay Wain’s scroll.

“My Lord,” Trill bowed, “Captain Gretel of the King Sombra’s Revenge.”

Rapere waved him off absently, his attention fixed on the scroll,

“Captain Gretel, this…missive, does not appear to carry any description of the goods I presume you are here to ‘purchase’.” He drummed one of his claws on the table, producing a drumming sound that made the Captains ears twitch.

“That’s right,” She said nodding to the scroll, “It’s a promise of payment for safe and full delivery, into the hold of our ship, of two hundred barrels of magical explosive.”

The black griffin froze, his claw stopping in mid drum. He stared at her, his eyes narrowing,

“That…is a lot of ‘product’, Captain.” His voice suddenly sounded a lot less self assured than it had a moment ago, “To produce such a cargo would mean reneging on other agreements which we have currently. Now, should you wish to return in a month or two, I may be able to…”

Lord Rapere’s eyes went wide as Gretel banged her hoof on the edge of his desk,

“Forgive me, Lord Rapere,” she said smiling broadly, “but I am in rather a hurry. If you cannot help us, we will have to conclude our business here and seek our ‘product’ elsewhere”

Rapere laughed, his squawking voice echoing around the large empty room,

“There is nowhere else! You will need to either come back in a month or else…”

“-Well, I guess that concludes our negotiations.” The Captain leaned forward and snatched Hay Wain’s scroll from the desk, “Come on boys, we’ll tell Mister Wain we couldn’t do business and return his note. I’m sure he can provide us with other profitable work.”

“WAIT!” Rapere said, jumping up from his chair, “Damn it, pony, why does everything need to be done right now?” he paced angrily, “Trill, come with me for a minute would you. Captain, please take a seat while I discuss matters with my…assistant.”

Gretel waved a hoof, “Aye, you go right ahead.”

The Captain settled herself back into the seat,

“May as well get comfortable boys,” she said happily, “we may be here for a while.”

The three of them waited. Gretel stretched her legs and yawned, looking about the plush room. It was magnificent, if a little big for her tastes. She liked the plants, the big green ferns looked delicious and the paintings of landscapes were especially nice too. Not that a cabin was really the best place for ferns and paintings that were half the size of the room, but a pony could dream couldn’t she? Soon, Gretel’s mind began to wander, the boredom of just sitting around wasn’t something she liked to do, especially when in unfamiliar surroundings. Certainly, on long voyages, that was often what you just had to do…hang around, but here it was more noticeable somehow.

The door opened.

“Captain Gretel,” Lord Rapere began, “I have spoken with my assistant and checked our work schedules. If we re-schedule some of our work, then we could have the two hundred barrels to you by this afternoon. This is, I hope you understand, highly unusual and we wouldn’t normally be making such a…gesture, to just anypony.”

No, Gretel thought to herself, and it had nothing to do with a promise of payment from a prominent trading figure by the name of Hay Wain, a fellow griffin no less. She always thought there was more to that sneaky old sod than met the eye.

Gretel nodded to him, “Thank you, Lord Rapere. I’ll have my crew make preparations to take the cargo aboard.” She hoofed Hay Wain’s scroll to him, “You’ll be needing that. I’ll add my ships seal to it once the cargo is loaded.”

“Good.” Rapere nodded, “A pleasure doing business with you, Captain Gretel.”

The red mare swept a bow, giving one of her crew a sly wink as she straightened up. It was time to go, and by the goddess, the way her heart was pounding she would need half a bottle of brandy to get her nerves back under control. Trill opened the doors and Gretel and her two crewponies trotted out into the waiting spears and loaded crossbows of a group of earth ponies.

Nopony moved a muscle, the tension in the air building at a terrifying pace until the dark blue griffin appeared again, this time with another all too familiar face,

“Impulse.” Gretel hissed, “You lousy rat, what are you doing here and what’s this all about?”

“Hello Gretel!” The cream earth pony smirked, “A pleasure to see you again! How longs it been? What, three years? Four? I can’t remember, but it seems like only yesterday.”

“Not bloody long enough, you old snake.” The Captain growled, “I’ll ask again, what’s this about?”

“About?” Impulse asked curiously, “Oh! Well, let’s see. Yes, that was it!” he clopped his hooves in all too obviously mock excitement, “I wanted to ask if you’ve reconsidered Captain Aeon’s generous offer!”

Gretel’s eyes narrowed, “Offer? Try ‘ultimatum’, Impulse, that was no bloody offer and you know it. Now,” she placed her hoof on her sword, “Get out of my way or I’ll finish what I should have four years ago.”

“Ooh! So exciteable!” Impulse laughed clopping his hooves together. His voice suddenly dropped to a leaden, deadly tone, “You are my prisoner, ‘Captain’, and if you or either of your companions make any sudden moves, I’ll kill the lot of you. Now,” he motioned to the crossbow holding ponies surrounding them, “Drop your weapons if you please.”

Gretel felt like she was going to be sick. What the hell was this scumbag doing here? Damn it all! And now the little piece of snot had the drop on them. Worse still however, was that wherever Impulse was, the Wind Wraith and her weasly Captain, Aeon, wouldn’t be far behind. A cold chill ran down her spine; The Revenge, the object of that scum’s insatiable avarice was just sitting there in the dock, unaware of what was doubtless lurking somewere in the cloud sea. She huffed out a breath and removed her sword; her two crew ponies following their Captain’s lead and dropping their weapons onto the tiled floor.

“Jolly good!” Impulse chirped happily, “Now, off we trot and we can wait for the Captain without any further unpleasantness. Won’t that be nice!”

“Delightful” Gretel rumbled, following the armed ponies off through the maze of corridors.

All she could hope for now, was that Stock would get wind that something was up and get the Revenge away safely.

*********************

As cells went, this one was more like a store room. In fact, Gretel suspected, that was precisely what it was. Judging by the layout of the island’s buildings she’d seen so far, the griffins didn’t appear to be the type to anticipate looking after prisoners. ‘Far more likely to eat them’, she thought to herself sarcastically. Those bloody beaked freaks! She should have known that Hay Wain would try something like this, he was one of them after all! Oh, it had all been a very well thought out plan, hadn’t it? Having them hoofed over to their arch rivals like so much cargo. She was surprised they hadn’t been damned well gift wrapped as well. The worst of it though, was that she’d lead them right into it like ignorant sheep following a wolf into its den.

“Whaddaya think’ll happen to us Cap’n?” The caramel coated mare asked, sitting in the corner.

Gretel let out a sigh, leaning against the wall, “I don’t know Butters, but i’ll do what I can to get us out of here.”

“They’ll be after the Revenge no doubt”, the pastel pink stallion staring out the door said morosely, “Those bloody griffins have sold us out, and our ship will be the price I reckon.”

As much as Gretel didn’t want to agree with the fellow, he was right, Aeon had been after the Revenge since her father’s day. He’d tried everything from attempting to buy her outright, to intimidation, and now…now he was willing to steal her at sword point? He’d stooped to a level now that surprised even her.

“Run Off, we don’t know for certain what’s going on here yet.” She replied, “Just sit tight while I try to work out some way we can get out of this mess.”

Sinking to her haunches, Gretel’s mind reeled from everything that had happened so far. Replaying events over and over in her head, she still couldn’t understand why Hay Wain would do this, other than the promise of a huge payout from Aeon. That old pirate certainly wasn’t short of a bit or two, but what she couldn’t understand was why Hay Wain would throw away the chance to make so much more money. She scratched her head furiously…why? Why would he do that? And what of Lord Rapere? He seemed just as surprised as she was! If anypony found out that he’d betrayed a client, his reputation would be…

“Psst! Cap’n, somepony’s comin’…”

Gretel moved away from the door, keeping quiet and low. Maybe…maybe if they were able to entice whoever it was near, and they could grab them, they may have a chance.

The sound of trotting grew nearer, paused, then moved, paused, then moved again. What the hell were they doing out there? Something didn’t seem right. Gretel sidled up to the door and strained to look up the corridor. Was somepony there? She couldn’t…

“Hello!”

Gretel nearly screamed. Without warning, the two large chestnut eyes of Strata appeared in front of her like dinner plates making her leap back, her heart racing fit to burst,

“What the hell?!”

“Fascinating place, isn’t it?” Strata said, levitating his notebook up as he wrote another note, “I wonder how they keep the island floating?” he took a huge intake of breath, “You don’t think this is a remnant of the Empire, do you?”

Gretel had the distinct impression the strange stallion was talking more to himself than her.

“I have to see!” He announced and began trotting off up the corridor once more.

Gretel pressed her muzzle up against the bars, “Strata! Get your arse back here!”

“Huh?”

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” The Captain hissed angrily, “We’re locked in!”

“Well that was careless.” Strata admonished, rolling his eyes, “You ought to be more careful you know.”

“Never bloody well mind that now, get us out!”

“The door’s open.”

“Wha?”

“I did it just now,” Strata lifted up a small crystal amulet and stared at it happily, his eyes gleaming with a strange inner light, “It’s incredible isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s absolutely amazing,” Gretel sighed, pushing the door open, “now how the hell did you get in here without the guards seeing you?”

Strata looked puzzled for a moment and then smiled expansively, “With the amulet! It seems to make ponies not see you. Apparently it works on griffins too.”

Gretel walked out into the corridor, looking up and down for any signs of threat,

“So how come we see you?” she whispered, “you’re not invisible!”

The indigo coated unicorn shook his head, “No, not invisible. I’ve studied it for years, ever since I bought it from a trader. The best I can deduce is that it makes people ignore you, unless they actually know you personally. I call it the igno-amulet, get it? Like…’Ignore’ and…Eep!”

Strata squeaked as the Captain grabbed his shoulders,

“Look, Strata, just show us the way out of here and I’ll show you something truly amazing, something you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Deal?”

The indigo stallion’s eyes went wide, “Yes! My goodness, yes!” he tapped his amulet and nodded happily, “This way, Captain!”

If there was one thing to be said for griffin architecture, it was austere. The archways, pillars and walls were incredibly plain, yet functional. Everything had its place, each item a use. All the artistry, the carvings and display of wealth she’d seen in the lobby and the Lord’s office look like its intention had been exactly that that…display. Like a peacock displaying its feathers, the griffin Lord wanted to show off his fortune, to impress, or perhaps intimidate, potential trading partners. Gretel’s hackles went up; what had Aeon promised the griffins for this? Money? Favourable trading rights? She snarled, wishing the indigo pony would move his flank faster than a bloody trot!

“Cap’n!” Butters suddenly tapped her on the shoulder, “Armoury.”

Gretel and the others halted, all of them staring open mouthed through the archway into the largest collection of swords, crossbows and other weapons of war they’d ever seen. Gretel didn’t recognise half of the bizarre looking contraptions in the room, let alone understand their operation, but whatever they were, there was enough here to equip an entire army. Rack upon rack of gleaming weapons from small daggers to broadswords larger than any pony could hold, bows, crossbows, maces, flails…it was all sitting there, ready for packing. Their hooves echoed on the polished tiled floor as they walked in. The Captain smiled,

“Fill your boots, crew. You too, Mister Strata.”

The indigo stallion blinked in astonishment, looking about the room like a foal who’d been given the keys to a sweetshop and a trolley to fill. With no more ceremony, the four of them began grabbing weapons and gear, ramming them into brand new belts and packs which, conveniently, were also hanging up from hooks in the huge warehouse.

“My goddesses,” Run off gasped, “Who the hell is all of this for?”

“Anypony who has the bits”, Gretel replied calmly taking a pack of caltrops and dropping them into a pouch before slinging it over her head, “Death pays rather well it seems.” Her ears twitched suddenly, “Damn it! Take cover, somepony’s coming.”

Strata made a strangled noise as the Captains forelegs wrapped around his neck and pulled him into the shadows behind one of the large storage containers. Invisible to the griffins he may be, but the rest of them certainly weren’t and Gretel wanted to keep the ecitable unicorn close in case they needed to move quickly. Moments later, voices drifted in, gradually getting louder as they approached,

“…and I’m sure your Excellency will find the quality particularly fine on all of our merchandise.”

“Yak not like things that not fine, griffin. Quality need to be good or we will not trade.”

“Of course your Excellency.” The screeching voice of a griffin said, “Please, I invite you to select what you like from our stock. See for yourself, I don’t believe you will be disappointed.”

“At least until you betray these customers as well, you flying crap house.” Gretel stepped out into the light, her crossbow held in her forehooves as she balanced on her hind legs, “Go ahead you feathered freak, tell these customers how you sell out those you pretend to trade with.”

“What going on? Who this pony?” The hulking hairy creature standing beside the griffin rumbled, “What she say true? You betray us?” There was a sudden shifting of armour and weaponry as the two yaks flanking the one talking to the griffin, snorted angrily.

“NO!” the golden feathered griffin’s wings flared in panic, its eyes darting from the loaded crossbow to the snarling figure of the yaks, “I don’t know who she is! She must have snuck in here, a madmare! Guards! GUARDS!”

The griffin tried to back away behind a rack of weapons only to be grabbed by the outstretched foreleg of a grinning Run Off, “Make another sound, griffin,” the pink stallion said pleasantly, “and I’ll test the sharpness of this beautifully made dagger on your throat.”

“Yaks no know what going on here, pony. You tell yaks.” The leader of the hulking long haired beasts shook its head and leaned curiously towards the Captain. Gretel simply smiled in response and walked up to the frozen figure of the griffin,

“Why don’t we ask our friend here? He seems to know, don’t you?”

“No!” the feathered creature gasped, “Please! I’m just a clerk!”

“Then you’re of no use to us…” Gretel waved a hoof dismissively, “Dispose of him. Oh, and Run Off?”

The pink stallion looked up from his captive with a menacing grin, “Yes Cap’n?”

“Take your time and enjoy yourself.”

The griffin squirmed frantically, “Wait! Oh, gods…look…please, I don’t know much, only that the Lord’s wife has gone missing and then these pirates showed up. The next thing I knew is we were told to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary, but to keep your ship here.” The frightened creature hung limp in Run Off’s forelegs, “Please…that’s all I know.”

Run Off looked up, “Cap’n?”

Gretel turned to the yak leader, “Do you know anything about this?”

The huge creature shook his head, “No. Yaks know nothing about this, pony. Yaks not like it, yaks not like lies!” The creature’s heavily armoured body looked like it was virtually vibrating with aggression and he glowered down at the terrified griffin.

“Well, I don’t know about you,” Gretel said, “but we’re getting the hell out of here.”

The yak leader gestured to one of his colleagues, “Yaks…”

“You there! Halt!” Two griffins suddenly appeared from the corridor carrying crossbows.

The first of them rapidly back peddled as one of the mountainous yaks bore down on it, deftly smashing the hapless creature into the wall. The second loosed off a shot that glanced off the heavy helmet of the yak leader. In a surprisingly fast move, the long haired warrior unsheathed a sword virtually as long as his entire body, swinging it at the guard in a low, slow arc that took the creature off its feet. Whether it was deliberate or an oversight, the flat of the blade propelled the feathered creature bodily across the room to smash unceremoniously into a stand of spears that clattered noisily onto the tiled floor. Gretel nodded to their griffin prisoner,

“You’re coming with us. Any funny moves and I’ll unleash our yak friends on you, understand?” The griffin nodded, the gag in its mouth preventing any sound. Gretel patted it on the head, “Good boy. Now, I’m going to remove the gag and you’re going to walk out of here with us nice and easy.”

Strata leading the way beside the griffin, the group headed down one corridor after another until they were finally out in the open air. Thankfully, there were precious few guards around and those that were didn’t pay much attention to them. Gretel closed her eyes, the image of screaming shouting guards barrelling at them in a lethal tidlewave of sharp beaks and top of the range weaponry simply…didn’t happen.

“Captain?” Cyclone peered over the top of the gangplank, “Everything alright?”

Gretel held up a hoof, turning to the yaks,

“Your excellency, I thank you for your assistance, and hope we can look forward to trade in future.”

The strange creature huffed out a loud breath, his thick hair parting to reveal two almond coloured eyes,

“Yaks like you, pony Captain. We trade with you.”

Gretel clopped her hooves together, “Excellent! Now, I’m afraid we’ll have to adjourn our business transaction for today,” she smiled at the griffin, “I’m afraid I have some ‘friends’ to speak to about their trading partners…habits.”

The griffins eyes went wide, “No! Don’t! Captain, please, this isn’t…” he looked up suddenly, “Oh…gods…”

Gretel followed his gaze. There, high above them and descending from out of the thick cloud, was a long black hulled vessel, considerably larger than the Revenge, and heading right for her. She cursed under breath,

“Aeon…”

The Captain rushed up the gangplank, quickly followed by the rest of her party with the exception of the yaks who had galloped off towards their airship. So, this was the way it was going to be, was it? Gretel gritted her teeth and stared out at that cursed ship, the one that had been the bane of her father’s life and now it seemed, hers too.

“BOSUN!” she yelled.

“Aye, Cap’n?”

“BEAT TO QUARTERS!”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n.”

The beat of the drummers call rolled out across the deck, spurring the ponies into a flurry of activity as the sails were unfurled and the lines cast off. The Revenge’s timbers creaked and shivered as she rocked free of her moorings; she wasn’t going to be a sitting duck for anypony, and certainly not some evil scumbag like Aeon.

“Mister Stock!” Gretel shouted down, “Why aren’t we moving?”

Stock looked up at the sails and shook his head. This wasn’t good; the lack of wind here by the island’s dock was reducing them to a virtual snails pace, and the Wind Wraith would be on them any minute,

“We’ve got a problem, Captain.” He called up to her, “We’ve lost the wind. We’ll have to tack her round.”

Gretel slammed her hoof on the balustrade in frustration. Of all the times! She looked up at the Wind Wraith bearing down upon them. The old ship didn’t normally have the speed to be a threat to the Revenge, but she had a larger crew and in a pitched fight with the Revenge stranded they would be at a huge disadvantage. She shook her head and drew her sword. This looked it was going to...

The Revenge lurched suddenly, catching her off guard and she reached out to catch hold of the railing. The crew looked stunned, all of them, every pair of eyes turning to stare at the indigo unicorn stood on his hind legs in the middle of the deck, his horn glowing with a brilliant purple light. Whatever he was doing had filled the Revenge’s sails and she leapt forward like a carp from a stream. Gretel opened her mouth to scream in rage at the strange creature, but...from the ship she felt only…contentment…and excitement. She smiled,

“Well don’t just stand there, you lubbers, get your hides to the lines!”

As if driven by a will they’d all tapped into as one mind, the crew surged into action, the Revenge rapidly pulling away from the Wind Wraith. Gretel hurried to the stern and raised her telescope. After panning it around, she soon caught sight of the one pony she’d like nothing more than to see swinging from the end of rope…Captain Aeon. The silver coated stallion with the white mane and piercing blue eyes must have been a real mares stallion back in his prime. Now, he just looked like what he had become: a cruel and twisted old pony who’d sell his own foals off into slavery if it brought him a few bits. He was watching her ship intently, and no doubt could see her as well as she could see him. Gretel could imagine the old rat grinning at her maliciously.

“Captain Gretel!” A squawking voice said beside her, “I demand you cease hostilities immediately! Lord…”

Gretel roughly snatched the griffin’s collar and pulled him towards her so she was inches from his beak, “You are the one who started this! You sold us out, you betrayed us! This…” she waved a hoof at the Wind Wraith, “This is all your doing!”

“No!” The griffin shook its head urgently, “We didn’t have a choice, the Lord’s daughter is…”

“I don’t give a damn!” Gretel spat angrily, “You’ve endangered my crew and you’ve endangered my ship. Now use those bloody wings of yours and get the hell off my deck!”

The griffin backed away, peering over the side of the ship and then back up at the Wind Wraith. He closed his eyes,

“One hundred…”

“What?” Gretel snapped angrily, “I don’t have time for…”

“TWO HUNDRED!” The griffin screamed, “Two hundred barrels if you get my daughter back!”

“Your what? Oh goddesses…” Gretel gritted her teeth and leaned over the balustrade to the Master at Arms, “Mister Cleat, prepare for close combat. Mister Haggis, bring us about. Master Stock, Bosun Cyclone, ready the crew for battle.”

Haggis whooped with excitement as he span the ships wheel, taking them hard to port. With the wind in her sails, the Revenge all but sang her joy of life out to the world around her. This was her element, this was where she belonged! To her crew, she was a lady of grace and beauty, one whom they would defend to the last ounce of their strength, and they responded to her burst of energy in kind. The bond between them all was something that few could truly understand, but the Captain knew....she had been born to know. Gretel shook her mane out and hefted her crossbow. If only Chalky had been here, if that useless, helpless, wonderful stallion had been by her side…

“Time for some booty lads!” Gretel cried out, her voice clear and strong, “Give ‘em hell!” The crew bellowed back a cheer that made the griffin cower down in fright. Gretel glanced back at him over her shoulder, “Best get yourself below or fly home, my friend. We don’t want to lose our trading partner so soon after we’ve made our agreement now, do we?”

Comments

[Fallen Knight]

“Not well enough for my liking,” the Captain said shaking her head, “they’re too unpredictable. You thought the Legion was bad, that lot make minotaurs look like fuzzy bunnies in caparison.”

comparison i imagine, not a the fancy blankets that goes over a horses saddle/the whole horse.

The griffin squirmed frantically, “Wait! Oh, gods…look…please, I don’t know much, only that the Lord’s wife has gone missing and then these pirates showed up. The next thing I knew is we were told to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary, but to keep your ship here.” The frightened creature hung limp in Run Off’s forelegs, “Please…that’s all I know.”

“No!” The griffin shook its head urgently, “We didn’t have a choice, the Lord’s daughter is…”

He married his own daughter? thats kinky!