Rise from the Depths: Shackles of Qahara

Chapter 5: The Pirate Route

"Lower those iron pipes first; it'd be a shame if they went off because your hands are shaking," Jack smirked, not at all bothered by the steam rifle muzzles just inches from his nose.

The lead Ogre soldier hissed, hot steam venting from the slits of his iron helm. "Escaped slaves. Human and Elven. Hand them over, or your head gets crushed."

"Geez, so aggressive. Don't you see what's in the sky?" Jack pointed toward the red clouds pulsing ominously in the heavens.

Agrasuuman's Blood Pulse ritual had begun to form the pattern of a giant eye. A sense of dread crawled over the skin of every living thing on the dock. Caver gripped Karla’s arm tightly, trying to stand even though his legs still felt heavy from the fall.

"Leo, we're out of time," Caver whispered softly. "Karla's Elven blood is being tracked."

Leo gave a slight nod, his hand surreptitiously moving to the hilt of the sword hidden beneath his royal cloak. "Damn it, the magic sensors are getting stronger. Jack, are you going to help or just watch us die?"

Jack tossed his cigarette into a puddle of melting ice and pulled a small gas launcher from his pocket. "I'd like to help, but my rates aren't cheap. No such thing as a freebie in these hard times. Hold your breath, kids!"

Pshhhhh!

A thick purple gas billowed from Jack’s device, instantly blinding the Ogres. The sounds of coughing and angry shouts in the Ogre tongue filled the air.

"Run through the left alley! Now!" Jack commanded, grabbing Caver by the collar.

The group scattered immediately. They darted through narrow gaps between cargo warehouses already encrusted with ice. Behind them, the pops of steam rifles echoed in succession, shattering the wooden crates where they had landed moments ago.

Their footsteps echoed on the slick pavement. The icy valley along the coast began to crumble under the shockwaves of energy from the sky. Sharp crystal shards rained down from the cliffs above.

"Easy, Karla!" Caver caught his wife just as she nearly slipped at the edge of a shallow ravine.

"I'm okay, Caver. Keep moving!" Karla cried, her breath coming in ragged, white puffs in the frigid air.

After nearly fifteen minutes of running to avoid the blind patrols, they reached a small bay hidden behind a massive ice wall. There, a mid-sized wooden ship with a hull plated in thick iron sat tilted at an angle.

"There she is, The Iron Crab. Beautiful, isn't she? Just like her mother," Jack patted the ship's hull proudly.

"Quit the yapping," Leo interrupted, looking back. "Agrasuuman will send bounty hunters if we don't weigh anchor soon."

Jack stopped admiring his ship, his relaxed expression turning cynical. He turned to Caver, his eyes sharp behind his messy bangs.

"You're the husband, right? The one whose hands are used to a mining axe?" Jack asked.

Caver nodded firmly. "Yeah. What of it?"

"I've got bad news. My ship's steam engine needs an extra supply of Mana Cores if you want us to outrun the reach of that dark sorcerer's eye. Problem is, my stash was just seized by an Ogre patrol an hour ago," Jack said, looking completely remorseless.

"What are you getting at?" Caver asked suspiciously.

Jack pointed toward an Ogre patrol ship named the Grumar, anchored only about two hundred meters from the secret bay. "Grab the supply crates on the lower deck of that ship. I know there are at least three Mana Cores there. Get them, and I'll take you wherever you want to go. If you don't have the goods, you might as well swim for it."

"You're crazy! That's a heavy-armed patrol ship!" Leo protested. "Let me go; I know their systems."

"Can't do it, pal. That uniform of yours is a dead giveaway. Those Ogres would recognize you as a royal traitor in a heartbeat. Let the Mine Rat here handle it. His slave look is perfect for a cleanup crew if he gets caught," Jack smirked at Caver.

Caver clenched his fists. Anger and wounded pride made his blood boil. He felt like he was being treated like property or a sacrificial pawn all over again. But when he saw Karla's pale face and the fear in his baby's eyes, that anger turned into cold determination.

"I'll do it," Caver said curtly.

"Caver, don't. It's too dangerous," Karla held his hand, tears beginning to well up.

"Don't worry, honey. I'm used to sneaking through dark tunnels full of hungry Ogres. That ship is just a floating trash heap compared to the Moar mines," Caver replied, trying to soothe his wife, though he wasn't so sure himself.

Jack handed a heavy canvas sack to Caver. "Three Cores. No more, no less. Don't go playing the hero; snag the goods and get back."

Caver took the sack and tucked his trusty mining axe into his belt. With agile movements, he began to crawl through the snowbanks toward the Grumar.

The atmosphere on the Ogre patrol ship was incredibly noisy. The raucous laughter of the green giants drifted from the upper deck, mingled with the smell of rotting meat and cheap alcohol. Caver used an air vent on the side of the hull to slip into the cargo hold.

Inside, the air was damp and reeked of engine oil. Caver moved like a shadow, leaping from one crate to another. His eyes searched for the silver lion symbol usually stamped on Mana Core storage boxes.

"Found you," Caver whispered. In the corner of the room, behind some massive chains, a small metal box glowed with a faint bluish light.

He carefully broke the seal on the box and transferred three fist-sized crystals into his sack. The crystals felt warm, pulsing like a beating heart.

Just as he was about to turn around, a heavy voice rumbled from the stairs above him.

"I told you guys, we shouldn't have left the Mana stock here. If the captain finds out we were slackin', we’re toast—he’ll turn us into snacks."

Footsteps that made the wooden floorboards vibrate caused Caver’s heart to race. Four Ogre soldiers entered the cargo hold, each carrying iron maces and giant swords.

One of them stopped dead in his tracks, his large, yellow eyes staring toward the shadows where Caver was hiding.

"Well, what we get here.. a cockroach..." The Ogre smirked, baring his encrusted fangs. "Check it out, a stray slave tryin' to swipe our candy."

Caver stood up slowly; he knew his cover was blown. There was no use hiding now.

"Well, well. Got a death wish, Kid?" a second Ogre approached, his voice sounding like grinding stones. "What kind of good eats did your master give you to make you brave enough to sneak in here?"

"Shut your trap," Caver replied coldly. His hand was already gripping the handle of his axe tight.

"Just die, you piece of trash!" The Ogre in the lead lunged forward, swinging his heavy iron mace.

BOOM!

Caver rolled to the side just in time. The mace smashed the wooden crate where he had been standing into splinters. In one fluid motion, Caver used the momentum to slam the blunt side of his axe into the Ogre’s ankle.

CRACK!

"AAAGHH!" The giant collapsed, howling in pain as his leg bone shattered.

"You little brat! Get him!" the other three Ogres shouted in unison.

Caver was trapped. The cargo hold was cramped; there was no room for him to maneuver much longer against three heavily armed monsters. One of the Ogres swung his massive sword, slicing through a support pillar in the middle of the room.

"Damn, you guys are really dead set on killing me," Caver muttered, huffing for breath. He jumped onto a pile of sacks filled with lamp oil behind him.

A crazy idea flashed through his head. In front of him, the four giants had already surrounded him from all sides. The cargo hold was growing darker, but the glow of the Mana crystals on his back provided a faint light.

"You think you can run?" the largest Ogre smirked. "I’m gonna crush your bones one by one."

Caver didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed an oil lamp hanging on the wall and smashed it over a pile of oil and raw gunpowder in the corner of the deck.

"What are you doing, you moron!" one of the Ogres screamed, realizing the danger threatening them all.

"Me? I’m just putting on a fireworks show for Jack," Caver said as he struck a match he had swiped from the ship's workbench earlier.

"Hey, are you insane?! We’re all gonna die!"

"At least I’ll die a free man, not a slave like you lot being steered by Agrasuuman," Caver shot back calmly.

The fire instantly caught the spilled oil, spreading rapidly toward the gunpowder crates. Caver immediately bolted as fast as he could toward the hatch he had used to enter.

"WAIT! DON'T!"

BOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

A massive explosion rocked the entire dock. The rear of the Grumar was lifted into the air as the remaining Mana Core energy in the hold erupted along with the gunpowder. Splinters of wood, metal, and Ogre bodies were tossed toward the freezing sea.

Caver was thrown far, his body hitting the soft but biting cold snow on the shore. His ears were ringing violently and his vision was blurred, but his hand still held tight to the sack containing those three precious Cores.

From a distance, Jack stood on the deck of his ship, watching the giant midnight fireworks display with his mouth agape. He then burst into a roar of laughter that drowned out the rumble of the explosion.

"INSANE! THAT KID IS ABSOLUTELY NUTS!" Jack shouted, pounding on the railing of his ship. "Leo! Did you see that? That’s not stealing, that’s tearing down the whole damn harbor!"

Leo could only massage his temples. "Not a single one of my friends is even remotely sane."

Meanwhile, from the smoking ruins of the dock, a blood-soaked giant figure emerged with a red-eyed stare full of fury, looking toward where Caver had fallen. The party was just getting started.

"Caver!" Karla screamed, running toward her husband.

But Karla’s steps halted when she realized that behind Caver, dark shadows created by the Blood Pulse were beginning to solidify into a shadow army ready to claim them.

Jack suddenly stopped laughing, his eyes staring sharply at the sky. "Holy hell... the ritual finished early. Move your ass, Caver! Or we’re really gonna be history!"