Chapter 16. Dangerous Waters

After visiting the city, Kylen found a place to stay and settled in. He was tired of the constant rocking of the sea, and even after coming ashore, the feeling remained. After two days of rest, the ship and crew were ready to set sail again.

As he watched the city fade away, Kylen wanted to remember it as it was; he would gather many stories to tell his son. Returning to his small room, he prepared for meditation, placing a glass of water nearby. He took a small drop and held it in the palm of his hand.

In a meditation posture, he stared intently at the drop, trying to freeze it. The gift did not respond, and the drop remained warm.

"Come, I know you're in me, come to me again," Kylen whispered.

The drop in his palm began to form a slight frost pattern, and the temperature suddenly dropped. A blue flash flickered in Kylen's eyes. Sweat poured from his body and a sharp pain throbbed in his head. The humming grew louder with each passing moment, making it impossible to concentrate. Unable to stand it, he stopped trying to freeze the drop. The divine artifact of Ornn was doing its job well, absorbing most of his power and blocking the rest.

"Just a little more," Kylen whispered, believing he was close to regaining his strength.

Losing hope and continuing to strive for improvement was all Kylen had left. Each day his anger grew, finding no outlet, always lingering within him. Sooner or later he would find a way out, and as always, at the wrong moment.

The ship moved steadily along its route and would soon reach open waters. The next destination was Bilgewater, where Buck said he had some problems to solve and a special cargo to deliver. Kylen couldn't help but wonder what that cargo was. Once, using his excellent stealth skills, he managed to sneak into the restricted area of the ship, where he found white logs of some kind of tree. Looking at it, he guessed that it was antimagic wood that allowed Demacia to dominate magic.

Maybe it was for pirates, or maybe it was for Noxus, but Kylen didn't care, especially since he had no magic at the moment.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his cabin door.

"Mr. Sub-Zero, the captain is calling for you," came a sailor's voice.

Kylen rose from his bed and went to the captain's bridge. Gilbert was at the helm, while Buck was watching something in the sea. With his keen eyesight, Kylen saw a dark silhouette approaching them.

"They might be coming to rob us," Buck said without a trace of panic.

"Why do you think that?" Kylen asked.

"Trust me, I have a feeling," Buck replied with a smile. No surprise, since he was a pirate himself and had plundered ships before.

"What's the plan?" Kylen inquired.

"If it were easy, I wouldn't have called you. My ship is one of the fastest, but the problem is that our holds are filled to the brim. We can't outrun them with such a load," Buck said. He put down the spyglass he had been using and turned his eyes to Kylen. "To answer your question before you ask it, I can't unload this cargo. So I'm asking you to help me defend against the boarding party and find the rat who betrayed me."

"The rat?" Kylen asked, not understanding.

"Yes, the rat, the scum who leaked the information. Everyone knows it's useless to rob me, since I can escape like the wind. But only a few knew what I was carrying and how much there was. That means someone betrayed me, and it looks like it's someone from my crew," Buck said, looking at the sailors.

"How long before they catch up with us?" Kylen asked.

"Oh, it will take a while. With their ramshackle schooner, it will take them forever to reach me. Maybe two or three hours," Buck replied.

"How many pirates are usually on a ship like this?" Kylen asked.

"About thirty, but if I was betrayed there could be as many as fifty," Buck added.

"That's a lot," Kylen said, confirming his suspicion that Buck was a pirate. He knew crew numbers well.

"Yes, but it's not all bad. I have twenty sailors, and there's armor and swords in the holds. We're fully armed," Buck said confidently, though his eyes betrayed a hint of fear.

"If that's the situation, I can't stand by and do nothing," Kylen said.

"Thank you, my friend, for saving me once again," Buck replied.

Kylen returned to his room to get the clothes he had been working on during the whole trip. After rejecting the armor, he had walked around in whatever he had. Now that he had access to good materials, he had made himself an outfit. It was light and loose-fitting, with some leather elements to protect vital parts of his body.

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Now that he was without magic, his main weapon was the sword. He carried it on his back.

After putting on his new clothes, he examined the sword he had acquired. It was poorly balanced, the blade too massive, which significantly affected the efficiency of his strikes. For a knight in full armor, this wasn't a problem. But for a warrior who relied on speed and agility, it was a significant drawback. Finding a perfectly fitting blade was nearly impossible; it required custom crafting. Previously, he had had no need for that, as he forged his own weapons from ice.

Returning to the captain's bridge, he saw the sailors running around, putting on their gear and preparing their weapons. Bows were raised to rain arrows down on the enemy.

"It suits you. You look mysterious and deadly," Buck said, admiring the new outfit.

"Thank you," Kylen briefly replied to the compliment.

"Hard to believe you made that armor yourself," Buck said.

"Let's skip the small talk. What's the defense plan?" Kylen asked.

"It's simple. While they're not close, we'll bombard them with arrows. When they come alongside, the pirates will jump over on ropes. We need to keep them from getting behind us, so a few archers and warriors will take out the jumpers, while our main force meets the enemy head on. Our advantage is our ship. We can't let them board, or they'll overwhelm us in numbers," Buck explained.

The plan was simple, but effective. The pirates wouldn't be able to board en masse; they'd have to come in small groups.

All that remained was to wait for the battle. The agonizing hours stretched into eternity. The first clash occurred when the two ships came within striking distance of each other. Arrows flew from both sides, exchanging volleys as they continued to close the gap.

As the enemy ship drew closer, the bravest pirates began to leap onto the deck of the Retribution, only to be met with spears, their bloodied bodies claimed by the sea god for a feast.

"You old bastard, it's time for you to stay on dry land and piss yourself," Buck shouted angrily when he saw the captain of the enemy ship.

"HAHAHA, your words are amusing. I've outlived all of you and will continue to do so," the old man laughed in response, an eyepatch covering one of his eyes.

"We'll see, today is your last day," Buck shouted back.

"You can talk before your end, I'll drink a bottle of rum standing on your corpse," the old man shouted from his ship.

They continued to hurl insults at each other while steering their ships, while the sailors engaged in battle. Wooden planks were thrown onto the ship, only to be pushed back, sending several men into the water. The lucky ones managed to grab hold and climb back up furiously.

Pirates kept jumping onto the deck, and more and more of them managed to get on board. Kylen cut them down, making sure their front lines didn't weaken.

He dealt mercilessly with the pirates who had no combat training and were merely swinging their weapons in desperate attempts to strike. They were usually recruited from peasants and former farmhands. They had no military or combat skills; the pirates had simply gathered food to send forward, unlikely to survive their first voyage.

As he killed one by one, Kylen watched the situation closely. The first sign was the sudden cessation of attacks, followed by the sight of the attackers retreating. An alarm screamed inside him - something was wrong.

"Everyone, get away from the side!" Kylen shouted.

"What are you talking about? Hold the line, don't let these bastards through!" Buck shouted back, overriding him.

This turned out to be a fatal mistake. Small black balls were thrown at the Retribution. Kylen reacted by lifting a body to shield himself. He didn't know what those spheres were, but their retreat from the throw signaled danger. His fears were confirmed when a series of explosions rang out, deafening him and creating a cacophony of sound.

He felt a burning pain in his ears and touched them, feeling liquid on his fingers. Looking at his fingers, he saw his own blood. Assessing the situation, he saw that their formation was broken, with only a few survivors left. The enemy had begun boarding the deck, finishing off those who were still alive. Picking up his fallen sword, Kylen exhaled and brought himself into a fighting state. Pushing aside the weakness of his body, he clenched his fists.

Rushing into the fray, he faced dozens of swords aimed at him. Parrying their attacks, he mercilessly cut down his opponents. He bought time for his comrades to recover and organize a defense.

The flood of enemies was overwhelming, and he had to retreat to avoid being cornered. Those who stood up also retreated; there was no one to rally them into a cohesive defense.

They were crowded onto the captain's bridge. With only two ladders leading up, they managed to hold off the attackers, preventing the entire crowd from advancing.

"Surrender, Buck, save the lives of the remaining men," the old man shouted, and the pirates stopped their attack and retreated a little.

Kylen took a moment to catch his breath and finally found Buck. He had a bandage wrapped around his head, apparently injured by shrapnel. His face was covered in blood and it seemed that a considerable amount had been lost. Seeing the captain's condition, a few sailors helped him bandage his wounds, and he barely managed to stand.

"Come on, don't be a coward, show yourself, Buck, or are you dead?" the old man taunted.

"Screw you, you old devil, you fought unfairly," Buck replied.

"HAHA, you made me laugh. We're pirates, we have no honor," the old man retorted, in a good mood, unlike the cornered defenders.

"Tell me one thing and I'll surrender. Who betrayed me?" Buck asked.

"What makes you think you were betrayed? I easily found out about your ship and your cargo, so I did it all myself," the old man replied.

"We both know how you get information about ship cargoes, and I have taken precautions. How?" Buck insisted.

"I'm sorry, Captain, but you've become too soft. You have become more like our prey than the conqueror of the seas," Gilbert said, stepping out of the enemy ranks.

"You? I thought we were friends. We've known each other for so long," this news devastated Buck, and his will to fight to the last faded.

"Just surrender and you'll live," Gilbert said.

"Sure, just like that," Buck replied, looking at his handful of sailors. "Drop your weapons," he ordered.

The rest of the sailors immediately dropped their swords. Kylen hesitated; in the past, he wouldn't have worried about such numbers and could have easily dealt with them, but now he couldn't stand against them, they would simply overwhelm him. Trusting the pirate's words wasn't an option either; they were just waiting for him to drop his weapon so they could stab him in the back.

"Sub-Zero, drop your weapon. He may be a bastard, but he won't kill us," Buck pleaded.

"Right, I won't kill you, but I won't let you go free either. I'll sell you as slaves," the old man replied.

Kylen thought for a moment. For the first time in his life, he chose to lower his sword rather than fight and die. He could not die now. There was a chance that his son was still alive, and he believed that he could return. The sword slipped from his hands and fell to the deck.

Then they were tied up and gathered on the deck.

"Now that I'm rich again, it's time to get rid of the extra rats and throw the traitor overboard," the old man shouted. His men grabbed Gilbert and began tying a rope around his feet.

"No, no, we had a deal, I was to be captain of the Retribution," Gilbert screamed.

"You? A scum like you belongs overboard," the old man said. The sailors finished tying him up, dragged him to the edge, and threw him into the water. "Too bad for you, you got double-crossed," the old man said to Buck. The former captain was in bad shape; he was shivering and his face was pale.

"What do you mean?" Buck asked, shaking.

"How do you think you were discovered in Demacia? He just wanted to take your place, that's all," the old man replied before walking away.

"So that's it," Buck said, stunned. He had trusted Gilbert, thought they were friends and comrades in arms, but it seemed that gold could change even the most loyal of people.

Later they were all thrown into the hold and locked behind bars under the watch of several guards. Buck's remaining crew consisted of only eight men, and his condition was worsening. It appeared that the wound had become infected, and he was slowly dying with no one able or willing to provide proper medical care.

Kylen decided to try to help him. Knowing roughly how to help his comrade, he approached the bars and called to the guards:

"Bring some clean water and a cloth," Kylen requested.

"Maybe you want some rum and gold, too?" one guard joked, shaking his head.

"No, he's in bad shape and will die without help. He won't survive otherwise," Kylen said.

"Good riddance," the guard replied.

"Your captain wants to sell us. Why lose the profit?" Kylen added, keeping his cool.

"Fair point. All right, you'll get your water," the guard agreed.

After a while they brought water and cloths. Kylen started to clean the wound on Buck's head. It wasn't as bad as some of the wounds he'd seen inflicted by beasts, but back then they had remedies that could save someone on the brink of death. After cleaning the wound, he pressed a piece of clean cloth against Buck's head and wrapped it with the remaining material to hold the bandage in place.

"Sorry, I won't be able to show you the beautiful beaches of Ionia," Buck muttered.

"That's all right, no one said it would be easy," Kylen replied, comforting Buck. He understood that the world was full of dangers and that life didn't always go according to plan.

Kylen wondered if he would be able to make it if they escaped. He remembered Buck's movements for picking locks and had practiced them in his spare time. It wasn't perfect, but with time and effort he could open a lock. The real question was how to deal with the whole crew - kill them all secretly at night? It was possible, but he had to bide his time and act decisively. They had two ships, which meant they had to split the crew, reducing the number of men on each ship. The ships couldn't sail too close together, so help wouldn't come immediately.

Closing his eyes in thought, Kylen made a decision: to try to escape rather than accept slavery.