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Then why try? Pacys's heart ached to hear the quiet acceptance in the whale's voice.
Because we must all play our parts. We must all follow our destinies.
Topside, Jherek looked at the carnage littering the slave ship's deck and felt his resolve weaken. Blood ran in rivulets across the wood, watered down by falling rain. Black Champion's crew formed a half-circle with Glawi
With a cry of warning, unable to attack the men from the back without letting them know he was there, Jherek rushed the slaver crew. He caught one man's blade with the cutlass and stopped another with the hook. Striding forward, he kicked the first man, then used the cutlass to slit the throat of the second.
Bodies rolled on the slaver's deck, shifting with the pitch and yaw of the pirate ship tethered to her. The clang of metal on metal punctuated the sounds of screamed curses, prayers, and the wounded and dying. Footing became treacherous.
Arm aching with effort but never failing, Jherek fought on. Blood splashed into his face but he distanced himself from it, from all the death around him. Malorrie had trained him to think that way, to live past the moment.
Sabyna fought nearby, using twin long knives to turn attacks, then spi
"Fight, you dogs!" Azla screamed, urging her men on. "The first of you who turns tail on me now I'll personally deliver to Umberlee!"
She fought in a two-handed style, her scimitar flashing in her right hand while a long-bladed dirk was held in her left. She blocked a thrust from a half-ogre with her scimitar, then stepped forward and ripped the dirk across the creature's throat.
Incredibly, the slaver crew backed away before the onslaught of the pirates, giving ground steadily as they retreated to the stern castle.
A tall man strode to the front of the stern castle railing, above the trapped slavers. He was deep chested and long-limbed, dressed in crimson and gray clothing, a dark red cloak riding the breeze behind him. Gold and silver gleamed at his wrists, neck, and chest-plain bands with runes carved into them.
"I am Tarmorock Hahn, son of Jakyr Hahn, and I am captain of this ship," he declared. "Who is captain of that floundering pirate?"
The fighting broke off, and the two groups formed lines of demarcation.
Azla stepped forward, and three of her pirates and Jherek stepped with her, keeping a protective ring about her.
"I am Azla, captain of Black Champion."
Tarmorock gri
"I'm standing on my next ship," Azla stated.
"Confidence!" the slaver roared. "Gods, but I do admire that in a woman."
"As captain of a slaver," Azla retorted, "I find you offer little to admire."
"And a cutting tongue as well as good looks. Would that we had met under other circumstances, I'd have offered you a di
"It's just as well," Azla said. "Offered aboard a slave ship with the stench you find here, di
Tarmorock glared at her, stung even more when Azla's crew hurled taunts at him. "I offer you the opportunity to duel for my ship," he said. "Captain to captain. I offer this as a man of honor."
"There's no honor in slavery," Azla said, "and I've no reason to fight you for anything. I've taken out your weapons, lashed my sinking ship to this one to drag about like a stone, killed over half your crew, and freed the slaves from the hold to fight against you as well. There's nothing here for me to fight for. Resist and we'll kill you anyway."
"I offer you honor in battle."
Jherek felt a response stir within him. Azla was correct in her assessment of the situation, but a need rose in him to recognize Tarmorock's challenge. He was barely able to still his tongue.
"I don't need honor," Azla stated. "Honor doesn't have sails nor cargo space. I have your ship in all but name. You offer me nothing I care for."
"Captain," Glawi
"Ah, a true warrior among you," Tarmorock said. "You, sir, are a man of the blade?"
"Till the day I die," Glawi
Pride welled up in Jherek as he watched the knight stand tall in front of the slaver captain.
"No," Azla said. "There'll be no battle for this ship. I've won her, fair and square, and I'll take her if I have to gut you down to the last man."
Tarmorock glanced at Glawi
Glawi
"I'm no thief," the paladin said. "Nor shall I ever be."
"Those are harsh words that drip from your lips," Azla said coldly. "Especially from a man whose livelihood depends on stealing the lives of others."
"And you've never spent a life or three in the pursuit of your own wealth, Captain Azla?" Tarmorock hurried on before she could respond, switching his gaze back to Glawi
"Yes," Glawi
"Then you'll fight me?"
"Yes."
Tarmorock gri
"You'll have all I own," the paladin replied, "and your freedom from this ship."
"There will be no fighting," Azla stated, staring at Glawi
The paladin looked at her, gentleness in his eyes. "Lady, I have given leave to your ways though they are not my own, and I have stood in good stead when you needed me. I ask that you give me leave to stand by my own principles in this matter."
"You did the honorable thing by helping rescue the prisoners aboard this ship," Azla told him. "This isn't just about stealing something that didn't belong to you."
"There are times," Glawi
"You're risking this for nothing."
"On the contrary," Glawi
"Damn you for a fool, knight."
Glawi
Azla waved her men back, clearing the space in front of the stern castle.
Tarmorock descended the stairs and stripped away his crimson cloak. "There is one thing further I'd ask of you." He rolled his bastard sword in his hands, causing it to dance and spin effortlessly. "Even should I lose, I want my men spared. The ones that yet live. I ask only that they be put overboard in lifeboats with provisions. This far out at sea, that's a grim prospect, and I know that, but it's the best I can do for them. They're a motley crew, but they are my responsibility."
"Done," Glawi
The slaver captain glanced at Azla.
The half-elf gave a tight nod. "For the knight's honor, not yours."