Corsair (44 page)

The neogi ended their argument as soon as Sergen and his soldiers appeared. “Lord Sergen, this is a disaster!” one of the creatures hissed at him. “You let your enemies follow you here, and they have ruined us! Your carelessness has cost us a very valuable station!”

“I regret the inconvenience,” Sergen retorted. “If you help me throw back the Hulburgan attack, we won’t have to give the place up.”

“Unthinkable!” The spider-monster recoiled in horror, and Sergen snorted to himself. Neogi were cowardly creatures, unless the hope of a rich prize inflamed their avarice and drew them out of their habitual caution. “That would entail exposing ourselves to physical danger! There is no profit in that!”

“Then what use are you?” Sergen retorted. He didn’t care much for the neogi. They were valuable trading partners, of course, since they eagerly bought up any goods the Black Moon carried off from the seas of Faerun.

Years ago they’d sold Kamoth the starry compass that made him the master of Neshuldaar, and they’d reaped the benefits of the Black Moon’s depredations. Their spiderlike ships called at the keep from time to time to deal with the human corsairs, and Kamoth was only too happy to let them use the place as a storehouse and port of call. But they were detestable, untrustworthy creatures, and they had no love or loyalty for anyone but themselves.

“Fighting is for slaves,” another of the neogi answered him. “We will take shelter in the moon’s forest and await our clan’s next tradeship. Deal with your foes yourself.”

Sergen started to retort in anger, but he bit back his words. There was no point in antagonizing the creatures … and it might be that he hadn’t found the right way to ask for their help yet. “Fine,” he said. “You need not fight. However, I would like to hire the services of your umber hulks for the day, and I will pay handsomely for them.”

The neogi looked at each other and then back to Sergen. “They are very valuable servants, and there is an excellent chance they might be damaged or killed in battle,” the first one answered him. “Moreover, we cannot be certain of your success. We must reserve several for our own protection in case you fail.”

“Then it is simply a matter of determining how many of your hulks I can use, and fixing a fair price for them.”

The neogi grinned at him, showing a mouthful of needle-sharp fangs. Sergen sighed. The one thing for which neogi could be counted on was to try to exact every loose copper piece in your pocket if they thought they could sell something to you. It took several minutes of hard bargaining, but they soon struck a deal that gave Sergen the use of four of the monsters at an exorbitant rate, which Sergen directed his guards to pay from the chest they carried. He would have struck a better deal with more time to negotiate, but he tried not to concern himself with the details; he was quite possibly buying his freedom, after all, and he might even be able to recoup his expenses by selling the neogi passage on whatever ship he managed to capture. The neogi pulled aside the umber hulks in question and spoke to them in their own language for a moment; the monsters looked at Sergen and bowed their huge heads.

“We have instructed these four to obey your orders,” the neogi said. “They will serve you to the best of their ability until sunset, or until we instruct them otherwise.”

“Very good,” Sergen said. He’d delayed here as long as he dared, but consoled himself with the thought that adding the umber hulks to his improvised little army drastically improved his chances of success. He inclined his head to the small creature. “1 think I hear the fighting drawing closer. If you mean to depart the keep, now would seem to be a good time.”

“We will wait and watch from the temple ruins,” the neogi said. “Remember, we expect our property to be returned before we part ways.”

“I understand,” Sergen said. The last thing he intended to concern himself with was returning any remaining umber hulks to their neogi masters, but he didn’t see any reason to tell the horrible little creature that. Then a sudden thought struck him. “One more thing before we go. Do you know the two captives I brought back from Hulburg? A tall, black-haired female and a young, dark-haired girl?”

The neogi peered at him. “I know those two. The small one was badly frightened when she saw us. I told her guards that they should cut out her tongue if she kept making sounds like that. What of them?”

“They escaped from their cell. Have you seen them?”

“Yes,” the monster admitted. “We saw them here at the gate an hour ago. They managed to elude us and flee into the jungle.”

Sergen suppressed his irritation. No doubt the neogi hadn’t bothered to tell the Black Moon about their escaped prisoners because they intended to catch the Erstenwolds and sell them back. Still, he might as well see if he could encourage the neogi mercenary instincts. “They are of some value to me. If you recapture them, 1 will pay you handsomely for them. Two hundred pieces of gold each.” That was several times the value the neogi would expect for routine slaves; perhaps they’d actually make an effort to track Mirya and her daughter.

“Done,” the neogi answered. It hissed to the others, and the five small creatures scuttled out the door, heading for the jungle. Behind them, their umber hulks and slaves followed, leaving behind the four who now served Sergen.

Sergen looked ar the monsters. “Stay close to me,” he told them. Then he gathered his bodyguards and the pirates who had joined him, and followed the neogi party out of the keep’s rear gate. He saw the neogi and their slaves disappearing into the jungle ahead, but he turned toward the left and took the path that circled the keep just under its black walls. The situation was

not irretrievable. He thought he had enough men—and monsters—to seize one of the ships, if they moved quickly and the Hulburgans were slow to realize their danger. He’d burn whichever ship he didn’t take, which should strand any possible pursuit on Neshuldaar. Within a day and a half he’d be back in Melvaunt, safe in his palace and ready to continue his efforts against the Hulmasters with whatever tools he found ready to his hand. But there was no doubt that the breaking of the Black Moon Brotherhood was a sore setback. It had to be Geran Hulmaster behind it. Who else but his hateful stepcousin could have found a way to overthrow his pirate allies in such a remote and presumably secure anchorage?

Sergen scowled darkly. He would dearly like to make certain that Geran met a lonely death under the walls of the Black Moon keep before he abandoned this place … but stranding Geran and his handpicked crew thousands of miles from home was some consolation. Maybe he’d be stranded in the Tears of Selune for years, hunted by moon-monsters and helpless to thwart Sergen’s plans. It was a pleasing thought.

They came to the corner where the keep’s wall met the dock, and Sergen motioned for his men to halt. He crept forward and risked a quick look. The front gate to the keep stood open, but there were few soldiers on the wharf. A score of sailors busied themselves in and around Kraken Queen and Seadrake. They did not concern him; he was much more worried about the possibility of Shieldsworn and armsmen from the keep hurrying out to join the fighting once they realized the ships were under attack. He’d need to do something to block any reinforcements from coming to the sailors’ aid.

“You two,” he said to the closest umber hulks. “When the rest of us charge, I want you to go to the front gate of the keep, there. Go inside to the lower hall, and slay any Hulburgans you find there. Hold the lower hall and keep any soldiers inside the keep from using that gate until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand?” The monsters stared down at him with their bizarre insectile eyes, but they nodded. Sergen guessed that each was worth at least five soldiers in a fight; with some luck, they might pin the Shieldsworn inside the keep for quite a while before they were overcome.

He studied the two ships locked together at the wharf, and made his decision. “We’ll try for Seadrake,” he told the rest of his band. “Deal with the sailors first, then we’ll cut her free and fire Kraken Queen. Hold nothing back—this is our only chance. Now follow me!”

Drawing his rapier and poniard, he broke cover and ran for the ships. His bodyguards followed after him, striving to get in front and screen him from attack; the umber hulks lumbered out after him, two turning toward the keep’s gate as he’d instructed. So sudden was his appearance that Sergen actually reached the deck of Kraken Queen before the Hulburgan sailors began to shout the alarm. He met a cutlass-armed sailor at the top of the gangplank, parried the fellow’s clumsy attack, and ran him through. The man groaned and started to sag; Sergen unceremoniously kicked him off the point of his blade and stood aside to let his followers swarm up from the dock.

“To Seadrake!” he shouted. “That’s the one we want!”

He crossed Kraken Queen’s deck and leaped over to the warship lying alongside. Here, despite their surprise, the Hulburgans stood their ground and put up a stout defense, fighting furiously to protect their ship. Sailors, pirates, and mailed guards shouted and cursed, tangled together in a furious melee of knife, axe, cutlass, and sword that sprawled over the ships’ decks. For a moment Sergen doubted the outcome, as soldiers fell on both sides of the fight, and the attack seemed to stall, but then the two umber hulks he’d kept with him clambered across the deck and joined the fight. The creatures were horrifically strong and protected by chitinous carapaces thicker than plate armor. Worse yet, anyone who chanced to look one in the eye stood mesmerized by the monster’s maddening gaze. Rooted to the spot, unable to raise a blade in self-defense, they were torn limb from limb by the monsters’ stone-crushing claws or cut down from behind by opportunistic pirates while they stood helpless.

Well worth the money, Sergen decided, watching the monsters rip his foes to pieces. Then a deep-voiced thrum rolled across the deck, and a thick black quarrel as long as his forearm took one of the hulks right between its eyes. The powerful missile split the monster’s chitin with an audible crack. It squealed once and staggered back, before it crashed through the rail and disappeared over the side. The creature sank like a stone in the sapphire waters and did not come up again.

“By all the gods!” Sergen snarled in frustration. He whipped around, searching for the source of the quarrel, and spied an old, weatherbeaten dwarf standing by an arbalest mounted on the quarterdeck rail.

“How’d ye like that, ye great overgrown bug?” the dwarf shouted. He grinned fiercely and began cranking his engine furiously, drawing back the

oversized crossbow for another shot as he eyed the second of the hulks.

Sergen dashed up the steps leading to the quarterdeck and charged at the dwarf. The dwarf saw him coming and backed away from the arbalest to meet him with a boarding axe in hand. He managed to bat Sergen’s point aside with the axe haft and lunged out with a vicious counter—but left himself open. Sergen slid back a half step and ran a foot of his steel between the dwarf’s ribs. The dwarf staggered on three more steps, swinging weakly, and then sank to the deck.

“Yell no’ get far, Sergen,” he gasped through blood-flecked lips. “Geran Hulmaster will see t’ ye soon enough.”

Sergen raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps, but I’ll get farther than you, my friend,” he said. He moved back to the rail and took stock of the fighting. Few of the Hulburgans were still on their feet, and several of his personal guards were already setting fire to Kraken Queen. It was a shame to destroy such a fine ship, but Kamoth—if he still lived—would have fired her with his own hand rather than allow her to be captured.

“Cut the grapples! Make ready to sail!” he shouted to the soldiers below. He turned his attention to the lines nearby, yanking the hooks free and throwing them over the side one by one. He paused to peer toward the main gate of the keep, looking for any sign of Hulburgan soldiers. He thought he heard the sounds of fighting from that direction, but it was difficult to be certain. All the umber hulks there had to do was keep the Hulburgans busy for a few minutes more, and that would be enough to satisfy him.

“We’re free, Lord Sergen!” his armsman Kerth called. The big swordsman slashed the last of the lines holding Seadrake to Kraken Queen.

“Very good. Now get us aloft!” he shouted at the Black Moon corsairs still on their feet. “Hurry, now!”

“Aye, Lord Sergen!” the bald Turmishan pirate answered. “But we’re sorely shorthanded for this ship.”

Sergen looked at the main deck and realized that he’d lost several pirates in the desperate fight on the deck, along with one of his bodyguards. He bared his teeth in frustration. The Hulburgans had put up a better showing in the brief, violent fray than he’d hoped. “We don’t have a choice,” he snapped. “Just get us into the air and do your best! They can’t follow us!”

The Turmishan pirate grimaced, but he climbed the steps leading to the quarterdeck and took the helm. “Raise the foresail!” he called to his

fellows. “It’ll give us a little steerageway! Lord Sergen, tell your lads to lend a hand!”

Kerth looked questioningly at Sergen. “Do as he says!” Sergen told him. The bodyguards knew little more about sailing than he did, but they ran forward to help the Black Moon sailors as best they could. Seadrake drifted slowly away from Kraken Queen; Sergen could feel the heat of the flames that were beginning to consume the pirate flagship beating against his face and hands. For a moment he feared that they wouldn’t get clear of the burning ship before catching fire themselves, but then he heard the ruffle of canvas flapping in the wind. Inch by inch, the foresail was rising into place … and as the wind began to catch the sail, the warship’s hull slowly began to lift clear of the water.

“The mainsail now!” the Turmishan mate at the helm shouted. Side by side the Black Moon sailors and Sergen’s guards lashed down their lines for the foresail and then hurried to the mainmast to begin the work of raising the mainsail.

Sergen looked back toward the wharf, slowly drawing away from them. Shieldsworn soldiers spilled out of the front gate and ran along the dock, with shouts of alarm. Some leveled crossbows or longbows at Seadrake, firing in futility at the warship as it began to climb away from the keep. Others raced to battle the flames spreading across Kraken Queen in a desperate effort to save her. He smiled in cold satisfaction. “I have your ship, Geran!” he shouted toward the wharf. “Enjoy your stay here, Cousin!”