aFireFist
A Life in Westeros
Chapter 13 - Part 1
The Narrow Sea was never kind, but this crossing felt personal.
Adian stood near the prow of the sleek Braavosi smuggling skiff, his cloak pulled tight against the constant salt spray that whipped across the deck. The vessel was fast and low-slung, built for slipping through dangerous waters rather than fighting them. Its hull was painted a deep black that blended with the night, the sails dyed the same dull shade to avoid catching moonlight. But speed had its drawbacks. They were cutting through the waves hard, and that kind of haste left a wake others could follow.
Three days out from the Neck, the air still carried the faint stink of the bogs behind them. Adian kept his eyes on the horizon, one hand resting on the rail. He felt sharp and focused, feeling the steady roll of the sea beneath his boots.
Then the lookout's voice cracked through the wind like a whip.
"Ships astern! Three of them—low sails, pirate colors!"
Adian's jaw tightened. He had expected trouble on this route, but not this soon and not in these numbers. He turned sharply and moved down the deck, boots thudding on the wet planks. His voice stayed calm but carried clear over the rush of water and creak of rigging.
"Arm up! Archers to the rails, now. Spearmen ready on the starboard side. No panic. We've done this before."
The twelve-man crew sprang into action with the grim efficiency of men who had run these routes many times. Half were crannogmen—small, wiry fighters who knew how to move quiet and strike hard. The other half were Braavosi hires, lean and scarred, used to knives in the dark. They grabbed bows, spears, and short swords without wasting breath on questions.
Adian snatched up a round shield and his sword, testing the edge with his thumb. It was sharp enough to shave with. He glanced back. The lead pirate ship was gaining fast—an ugly, heavy bastard with a reinforced ram at the prow and tattered red sails that looked like they'd been through a dozen raids. The other two were spreading out wider, trying to flank and trap them against the wind.
"Captain," Adian called, voice steady. "Hold course straight for now. Let them think we're running scared. Don't give them an easy angle."
The captain, a grizzled Braavosi with a missing ear, nodded once and barked orders to the helmsman. The skiff surged forward, cutting through the choppy waves. Behind them, the pirates closed the distance with ugly determination.
The first volley of arrows came whistling out of the darkness. Most flew high or splashed into the sea, but one punched into the deck just inches from Adian's boot, quivering there like an accusation. He didn't flinch. Instead he raised his shield and signaled the archers with a sharp gesture.
"Return fire! Aim for their sail handlers and the men on the ropes. Make them pay for every foot they gain!"
His archers loosed a disciplined volley. The crannogmen were especially deadly with short recurved bows, their arrows flying flat and fast. Screams echoed across the water as a few pirate crewmen dropped from the rigging. One sail started to sag as ropes were cut.
But the lead ship kept coming, its ram cutting through the waves like a knife. The pirates were close enough now that Adian could make out their faces—dirty, snarling men with wild beards and eyes hungry for easy prey. They smelled of piss, cheap rum, and weeks without washing.
"Grappling hooks!" one of Adian's men shouted.
Hooks flew through the air, trailing ropes. Most missed or were cut away by quick sword work, but three caught solid on the skiff's rail. The pirates roared and started hauling themselves across, cutlasses and axes clenched in their teeth.
"Push them back!" Adian roared, charging forward.
The fight turned ugly in seconds.
The first pirate to swing across was a big brute with a jagged scar across his cheek. He landed heavily on the deck, axe swinging in a wide arc. Adian met him head-on, shield raised. The axe thudded into the wood with a loud crack, splintering the edge. Adian twisted inside the swing, drove his sword up under the man's ribs, and twisted hard. Hot blood sprayed across his arm as the pirate gasped and crumpled.
Two more pirates jumped across right behind him. One went straight for Adian, cutlass flashing. Their blades rang together sharply, steel scraping steel. The pirate was stronger, swinging wildly with brute force. Adian parried twice, then stepped in close and slammed his shield boss into the man's face. Cartilage crunched. As the pirate staggered, Adian kicked his knee out and drove his sword through the man's throat.
"Keep the rails clear!" he shouted to his crew. "Don't let them get a foothold!"
All around him the deck had become chaos. A crannogman speared a pirate through the gut and shoved the body overboard. A Braavosi hire was trading furious blows with another raider, both men slipping on blood-slick planks. Arrows still flew from both ships, one catching a crewman in the shoulder with a wet thunk. The man screamed but kept fighting.
Adian spun toward a new threat. A pirate with a wild black beard had just hacked through a defender and was charging him with a boarding axe. Adian caught the heavy blow on his shield, the impact jarring his arm. He countered with a low slash that opened the man's thigh. Blood poured down the pirate's leg. Before he could recover, Adian smashed his shield into the side of his head and finished him with a thrust to the chest.
"More coming!" the captain yelled.
Another wave of pirates surged across the ropes. Adian grabbed a fallen spear and hurled it hard, catching one man in the shoulder and knocking him into the sea. He met the next boarder with raw efficiency—parry, step, elbow to the jaw, then a brutal sword thrust through the belly. The man folded with a gurgling cry.
The deck was now a mess of blood, broken wood, and dying men. The smell of salt mixed with the coppery tang of fresh blood and the sour reek of fear-sweat. Adian's breath came hard as he fought.
A pirate with a notched cutlass lunged at him from the side. Adian batted the blade aside, but the man was fast. In the chaos, Adian didn't see the second attacker coming from behind. A rusted axe swung low and caught him across the left shoulder, slicing through cloak, tunic, and flesh in a burning line. Pain flared hot and sharp. Blood soaked his side instantly.
"Fuck," Adian hissed through clenched teeth. He spun, ignoring the fire in his shoulder, and rammed his sword into the first pirate's gut. The second man tried to swing again, but Adian was already moving—shield smashing into the attacker's face, followed by a vicious downward chop that nearly took the man's arm off.
"Cut those ropes!" he barked at two nearby crewmen, voice raw with pain and fury. "We're not taking passengers today!"
One of the crannogmen darted forward with a hatchet, chopping frantically at the taut grappling lines. Two hooks fell away, sending four screaming pirates splashing into the cold sea. But the third line held for a moment longer as more attackers poured across.
Adian charged the last cluster of boarders, blood streaming down his arm. A lean pirate with braided hair lunged at him lunged at him. Adian parried, stepped inside, and drove his elbow into the man's throat. As the pirate gagged, Adian shoved him backward into two of his comrades, sending all three crashing to the deck in a tangle of limbs.
"Push them back!" Adian roared, his voice raw with effort and fury.
The remaining grappling ropes creaked under the weight of fresh attackers pouring across from the lead pirate ship. These men were bigger, meaner, clearly the veterans who had been held back for the kill. They came with wild shouts and the stink of rum on their breath, cutlasses and axes flashing in the weak moonlight.
Adian planted his boots on the blood-slick deck and met them head-on. A burly pirate with a missing eye swung a heavy boarding axe in a wide, chopping arc. Adian raised his shield just in time. The impact jarred his entire arm and sent fresh pain shooting through his shoulder from the earlier cut. Wood splintered. He staggered a half-step but held.
"Captain, keep us moving!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Don't let them turn us broadside!"
The captain bellowed orders to the helmsman. The skiff surged forward again, ropes straining as the pirates tried to drag the two vessels together.
Adian twisted inside the axe-man's reach and rammed his sword up under the pirate's ribs. The blade sank deep. The man let out a wet, gurgling choke, hot blood spilling over Adian's hand. Before the body even slumped, Adian shoved it backward into two more boarders, knocking them off balance.
"Spearmen! Form a line!" he barked. "Drive them to the rail!"
Two crannogmen rushed forward with short spears, jabbing viciously at the pirates trying to gain footing. One spear punched straight through a raider's thigh. The man screamed and toppled into the sea. Another pirate lunged at Adian from the side, cutlass whistling. Adian parried hard, steel ringing, then drove his shield edge into the man's jaw with a sickening crack. Teeth flew. As the pirate reeled, Adian finished him with a thrust to the gut.
The deck had become pure chaos. Steel clashed everywhere. Shouts and curses filled the air. Boots slipped and slid in pools of blood and seawater. One of Adian's Braavosi hires was locked in a brutal grapple with a massive pirate, both men grunting and cursing as they tried to stab each other at close range.
"Get off my fucking ship!" the Braavosi snarled, headbutting the pirate and finally driving a knife up under his chin.
Adian had no time to watch. Another attacker came at him low, trying to hamstring him. Adian jumped back, then stomped down hard on the man's wrist, pinning it to the deck. He drove his sword through the pirate's neck in one clean motion.
"Archers!" he yelled, voice hoarse. "Focus on their deck! Take out the ones feeding us more bastards!"
His archers responded instantly. A fresh volley whistled across the gap. One arrow caught a pirate sailor high in the rigging, sending him plummeting with a scream. Another hit the lead ship's main sheet, causing the sail to flap wildly. The pirate vessel began to lose speed, falling slightly behind.
One of the flanking ships tried to close in tighter, but a lucky shot from one of the crannogmen struck a sailor high in the rigging. The man cried out and fell, crashing through ropes and canvas on the way down. A tangle of loose lines followed, and the ship's sail sagged badly. Cheers rose from Adian's crew as the vessel lost speed and fell back, its crew scrambling to get the rigging under control.
"Keep pushing!" Adian shouted. Blood was running down his left arm now, warm and sticky, soaking his sleeve. The axe wound from earlier burned like fire with every movement, but he ignored it. "Cut every rope you see! We're not carrying these scum to Braavos!"
He grabbed a fallen axe from the deck and hacked at one of the last taut grappling lines himself. The rope parted with a snap. Four pirates who had been mid-swing across screamed as they dropped into the cold, churning sea between the ships.
The fight was turning. His crew was bloodied but still standing. The pirates, seeing their advantage slipping and their ships falling behind, started to waver.
"Fall back, you dogs!" a pirate leader bellowed from the enemy deck. "They're not worth it!"
Adian, breathing hard, helped his men haul in the final grappling hooks. One last desperate pirate tried to jump across but was met by three spears at once. He died screaming before he even hit the deck.
By the time the last pirate ship broke off, its crew cursing them in half a dozen tongues—Braavosi curses, Lysene insults, and common trade-tongue filth—the deck of the skiff was littered with bodies and blood. Broken weapons, torn ropes, and slick red patches covered the planks. The sea around them churned with floating corpses.
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