I looked back over at the stairs. The archer was laying there dead from a large cut. Likely Vyper and his purloined sword. The other guard was fleeing back up out of the belly of the ship.

  25 XP!

  We swarmed up the stairs, stepping over the body of the first guard. Rose’s skill had run out. That had been very useful. I would remember to try to keep heads undamaged as much as I could.

  The stairs led us directly to the open air. Looking around it was ocean waves from horizon to horizon. At the escaping man’s cry, the deck became chaos. The sailors weren’t expecting trouble from below and were disorganized.

  We hesitated getting our bearings, all be Dekka who shot past us and into the largest grouping of sailors. She was a wrecking ball, pushing any down that stepped in her way. She grabbed one of the elite guards in her jaws and tossed him overboard like a discarded chew toy.

  Good girl. I smiled as battle lust began to fill me. Armed or not, I sprinted across the deck to join her.

  I punched a sailor in the gut, and the world got simpler.

  Cries of the sailor sailors filled the air as my friends joined the fight and my heart swelled with pride. My friends. I had friends. And they were awesome. I grabbed a sailor by the face and cracked his skull into a mast.

  Suddenly the ship listed hard to port, and I slid all the way across the deck, my feet scrabbling to find purchase. A sailor cracked me on the side as I slipped by, he seeming to have no issue with the sudden change in deck’s plane.

  I managed to catch hold of a rope and stop myself. Then the ship tossed the other way, and an enormous wave of water crashed over the railing. Looking up, I saw black clouds moving in, called by a mage standing aft.

  That fucker.

  Friends? Did any go overboard? I looked around. They were all still on the ship, but they were struggling. The only ones not seeming troubled were Dekka, who was holding onto a sailor with her teeth, and Copperbeard, who was up in the rigging swaying with the ship with ease. His voice rose over the wind.

  “Mind the roll and hold your ground. "

  Then he paused.

  “Stick your footing else be drowned. "

  He paused again. What was up? Silly friend. I had to let go of the rope to dodge a sword thrust and was sent sliding along the deck again. A body got in my way, and I sprawled headlong on the deck.

  “Come on, ye land-lubbers raise yer voice!”

  He sang the next line very loudly “Hey Ho Hold fast!”

  To win this fight, yer got no choice.

  “Hey Ho Hold fast!”

  “Atop the mage cursed sea we stand. "

  Barry’s voice joined in with the “Hey Ho! Hold fast!”

  “Tossed and battered and craving land,”

  This time Rose and Barry sang “Hey Ho! Hold fast!”

  Getting to my feet was easier this time. The deck was tilting around, but my feet stayed steady. There were three sailors attacking Dekka with their backs to me. I punched one in the kidneys and smiled as he went down, groaning. I then stomped on his head.

  25XP!

  Shit. I was supposed to not do that. Small friend wanted bodies with heads intact.

  0.25XP!

  "Find yer sea legs steady and strong"

  "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  "I’ll buff yer dex stat all fight long"

  "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  A sing along! Fighting and singing? This was my kind of party. The look on the sailors’ faces as I ran at them made me laugh. Silly men thought their ship could shake us.

  Armed sailors were pouring out of a hatch. Not the one that led to the brig and cargo. Another one. Oh good. Even more people to bash. I felt a pain in my side. I had been stabbed! Rude!

  I moved with a swiftness he wasn’t expecting and grabbed his arm. I flung the silly man and his knife over the side. A group rushed me. Where was my hammer? The first of them to reach me grappled at me. I dodged him, his breath was terrible, and walked into the sword of another. That hurt.

  A tingling cool sensation washed over me, and my wounds knit together. Elf friend!

  25XP!

  "Swing and slice to fell our foes"

  I joined in with everyone "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  "Punch and stab, avoid the blows"

  "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  25XP!

  25XP!

  25XP!

  A sailor lurched in front of me. I went to punch his face when I noticed he was already missing part of his lower jaw. Zombie. I pulled my punch. The undead thing went past me and stabbed at a crewmate clumsily. Our Zombie. Good.

  25XP!

  “Could use some help over here!”

  I looked over. Sparkle friend was being cornered by a dwarf sailor. That wasn’t ok.

  Charging over, I pushed and shoved anyone who got in my way. I got there just in time to kick his nasty little legs out from under him as he was about to hit her with a hammer.

  Thank you. I told him and ripped the hammer out of his hands and, spinning around with the momentum, I brought it down on his head, which exploded in a very satisfying way. Small friend already had a zombie.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  25XP!

  “Gross, but thank you,” Sparkle friend said. I ignored her. This was a nice hammer.

  25XP!

  25XP!

  A wave crashed over the side of the ship. My feet did not budge, and I was now cold and wet. Annoyed, I slammed my fist down on the wiry sailor who was running by.

  25XP!

  Dekka leapt over to me and looked up at the sails. I followed her gaze. There were foes climbing up to stop the song! Fuck, they were almost at my friend.

  Dekka stopped me when I went to run to the mast. She was holding my arm in her mouth. I looked into her red hellhound eyes and got the feeling she was trying to tell me something. She bopped me with her nose and then got small.

  Silly dog. She can’t fight when small. Then she jumped up at me. Like when she wants me to catch her in my arms. Then the thought came through. She wanted me to throw her up there.

  Ok. I tossed the football shaped dog up into the sail. Just before she hit the netting where they were climbing, she turned big. Hitting the highest climber with her hellhound mouth wide open, she bit a chunk out of his torso. Screaming, he hit the deck.

  0.25XP!

  She clung in the ropes and netting, snapping at the others, keeping them back. The bard kept singing.

  Of dual purpose now I sing"

  "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  "To raise our spirits, ‘tis the thing"

  "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  “These waves are going to swamp this boat!”

  Another wave crashed over, washing the bodies on deck out to sea. Another crashed again, and I heard timber break. This one took a couple of the sailors with it.

  25XP!

  25XP!

  “Stop the mage!”

  I looked over at the sea mage. She was hovering over the quarterdeck. Too high for me to reach. I could toss Dekka at her. No, almost friend was doing something. The figure robed in blue wove power with his hands. The sea parted away from the ship, the massive waves speeding away, leaving behind a pond still ocean.

  This made the privateer mage angry. She motioned with her hand, and from behind her a crossbowman stepped out and shot at our water mage. Grabbing one of the sailors I was exchanging blows with, I tried tossing him in front of almost friend. He was a bad projectile and fell short. The crunch his neck made was good though.

  There was a scream. It wasn’t our mage. It was sword friend who had tried to grab the mage and pull him down out of the way. An arrow shaft stuck out of him … I shook my head. Friend. Friend was yelling. In pain.

  Rational thought fled my skull as I rushed to the back of the ship.

  “Cover her!”

  “She’s going for the mage.”

  “Vyper’s dead.”

  “Fuckers. Ok, on our Barbarian. "

  "Now, our spirits feed our rage"

  "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  "For this is war now we wage"

  "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  “Where did they come from?”

  “That asshole and his invisibility.”

  “My cooldown is off. Someone make me a body at that end.”

  There were more people at the stern. One moment the mage was alone; the next, now there were four.

  "Death runs to wrest asunder"

  "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  "Kill them all and pull them under"

  "Hey Ho! Hold fast!"

  A beam of water shot past me. A guard was knocked overboard. I was aiming for him. He wasn’t smiling now.

  He would never smile again.

  He scared my dog.

  “The one on the left!”

  A knife sprouted from the neck of one of the men. He had been aiming his crossbow at me.

  25XP!

  “Good shot! That will work nicely.”

  There was one man with a sword facing me as I reached them. I brought my hammer down, and he was gone. I felt a burning wetness. I looked down. My thigh was bloody. I stumbled and fell.

  Rolling I missed being skewered by the bad swordsman. A sparkling circle formed around me, and the distant pain in my leg faded away into nothing. The mage, who had been hovering out of reach, dropped to the deck lightly, their hands glowing a deep violet.

  The swordsman was still trying to stab me. I brought my hammer down, and he blocked with a small shield. He staggered back but still stood between me and my goal. I swung and pretended to stumble and let go of the hammer with my right hand. The hammer missed the man, who had dodged back. But when he moved in to slice at my neck, I swung my fist up and into his jaw.

  25XP!

  The mage let loose with a crackle of electrical storm. Same as the binding spell, I now knew who to blame. They snapped and jumped their way across the wet deck. Pain. Excruciating pain. My lungs spasmed. I couldn’t breathe. My jaw clenched one of my teeth cracked. My back arched so hard I could only see the sky.

  I felt more than saw a blur of shadow to my left. There was a muffled scream, and the electricity was cut off. Friends? I looked around. My dog?! Where was my dog?

  Ignoring the evil man, I ran over to the railing at the back of the ship and looked down. Dekka was small and hanging by her teeth to a rope.

  “At least you will die before you find freedom.” A voice said behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the evil man had a dagger right by my cheek. I didn’t have time for this. But if I moved, he would kill me.

  A guard walked unsteadily up behind him. Then, wrapping him in a bear hug, walked tried walking towards the railing. “Unhand me, you devil spawn,” he was spitting. He was trying to stab the zombie. Stupid. Stabbing their arms did nothing. I grabbed the zombie by the shoulder with my left hand and plucked the dagger with my right.

  Calmly, slowly, I put it in his left eye all the way to the hilt. He screamed a lot and tried to thrash, but the zombie’s grip was tight. I let go of its shoulder, and it walked over the edge and tossed itself, and the dead man in its arms, overboard.

  50XP!

  I started climbing over the railing to get to my dog when a hand landed on my shoulder. I spun, expecting a foe. But it was friend. “It’s ok. Soup is on his way down below deck. He should be able to reach her from those windows.” The friend was pointing to a bank of windows right below where my dog was dangling.

  I watched as a pair of hands reached out and safely brought my dog in ship.

  I took a deep breath, and my whole body shuddered. Thoughts slowly coalesced in my mind. I was Elizabeth. My dog was Dekka.

  Leaning over the railing, I threw up. My stomach empty of both stress and food, my legs buckled, and I sat down heavily. Rose rushed over to me. “Are you ok?” she put her hand on my forehead. “Ayerelia, she is burning up, heal her.”

  “She’s in the middle of my healing ward. She’s as healed as I can make her.”

  “Then what’s wrong with her?”

  “I’m fine.” I said.

  “I don’t think you are.”

  Dekka came trotting up the stairs of the quarterdeck. I was pretty sure I was ok now. I hugged her, and she snuggled up to my chest and let out an enormous sigh.

  “I will be,” I said, “I need to go back and bash that wizard to bits. Then we will be fine. Won’t we, Dekka?” I looked down at the terrier curled up. Without opening her eyes, she wagged her tail in agreement.

  The sun was rising as my friends dragged the bodies off the deck. I could hear the faint splashes, louder than the gentle waves.

  “Who knows how to sail?” Barry asked, eyeing the ship’s wheel as he walked over to join the others who had sat down around me.

  Silence.

  “I have no idea,” I said.

  “I sailed a little sailboat once, a Laser,” Mage said.

  “Can you sail this one? It would be cool to have a ship.” Rose was looking around the deck as if measuring its worth.

  “Are we pirates now?” Soup asked, causing Ayerelia to look at him like he was a few cards short of a deck.

  “I don’t know if I can.” Mage looked at the helm dubiously.

  “We can just fast travel back to Mare’s Meet.” Barry wiped his hands on his pants.

  “I can’t,” I said.

  “Oh right. It wouldn’t be very nice to rescue Dekka just to strand the two of you in the middle of the sea.” He smiled down as Dekka gave a soft little snore.

  “I guess we could always-“ Barry’s thought was derailed when a figure popped into existence on the deck below us.

  It was a GM. I couldn’t tell if it was our GM. The figure was the same generic plastic mannequin image with no identifying features. The GM looked up and, seeing us, approached.

  “Oh good, I am glad I found you here.” They nodded at Rose. “Is your friend still having the same problem?”

  “Yes,” Rose said cautiously, “she is.”

  The GM looked down as if they were checking a screen we couldn’t see, and then their head flew up. “Why are we in the middle of the Cargasian Sea?”

  “It’s not exactly on purpose,” Soup said. “We had to rescue the-“

  Rose cut him off. “We had to do a rescue mission, but after killing all the foes, we are stranded.” Soup frowned at her but didn’t correct the necromancer.

  The GM looked worried, even through the heavy, smooth facial features. “Human Foes? That’s not right…” They shook their head. “If you keep sailing out to sea, I will dematerialise.”

  At the group’s confused look, they explained, “The game is like a cellular network. Players can roam from cell to cell. GMs and some NPCs can only stay within their cell.”

  “That makes sense,” Barry said. “Ok how do we turn the ship around?”

  “I can’t really tell you how to play the game. I can tell you that the ship will respond to non NPC crew.” The GM pointedly looked at the helm.

  Mage went over and spun the wheel till the ship slowly began to turn. The canvas sails cracked and fluttered as they couldn’t catch the wind in this direction. But the magical sails still billowed softly, pulling the ship back the way we came.

  Now that they were no longer in danger of having the boat sail out from underneath them, they faced the group. “I just want you to know that your friend is in very real danger…” The hair on the back of my neck rose as the GM paused to make eye contact with my friends.