The Damaged Soul by Troy Calkins
Chapter: 13

The ship spots us, but it’s too late we spread out to trap it. It’s a smaller merchant ship with a single mast. The gunners prepare the ballistae to snag the other ship as it attempts to turn, but we cut off its retreat as Einar and Throst circle it while Koll and our crew move in to board.

There’s nothing it can do, but draw up a white flag. Just as we board the ship, another ship comes out of the fog.

“Thorkel!” Varin howls as Thorkel and I walk the planks over to the other ship with our shields leading the way.

“I see them. They sail a black flag. Pirates!” he says as we storm the deck of the other ship. It’s a bunch of merchants, and they do not put up a fight.

We rush through the merchant ship, taking the crew as slaves, and raiding their supplies and goods. I replace a very shiny pendant on a crew member and take it from them to give to Arni. It has a huge white crystal inside it. However, suddenly five more large ships come out of the fog behind the pirate ship.

“Thorkel!” Varin shouts from our ship. “Those are Golden Elf ships!”

Thorkel turns to the rest of us. “Grab what you can, let’s go!”

The men and I frantically take whatever we replace and rush over to our own ship as the Pirate ship closes in on us with the elves chasing not too far behind. We take their cargo and the sailors for slaves along with the slaves they held while rushing back onto our own ship. Thorkel sounds the horn for retreat and the other ships go to turn around. Koll’s ship pulls away and follows.

“We won’t be able to get away,” Varin says, continuing to watch the elven ships as they sail towards us.

Thorkel blows the horn several times. Signaling for the others to scatter. Einar draws off one of the elven ships as he sails east.

Throst takes two with him as he heads west, leaving two more as the pirate ship reaches us. It flies a black flag with a red dragon on it. It doesn’t stop, but continues on.

Thorkel looks into my eyes and puts an arm on my shoulder. “Take care of my wife and child.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask. What is he talking about? Tell me he doesn’t plan on doing something stupid. He’s the captain! He can’t sacrifice himself. I can’t lose my brother.

He turns away from me and to the men. “Who’s ready to go to Valholl with me? I need three who are ready to die with me.”

Styrkar and Saksis Hreinsson look at each other, giving each other nods before they step up. “We’ve got sons ready to take over our legacies.”

Varin steps up. “I too have my legacy set with sons and grandsons. Besides, I’m getting too old for this. Most of my friends and kin are already in Valholl.”

“Varin, you’re too important. We can’t lose a navigator,” Thorkel says before he gives Styrkar and Saksis an apologetic look. “No offense.”

The two old brothers shrug, but Varin seems to have taken offense. “You can’t deny me Valholl. Besides, I’ve taught Skardi everything I know. He’s ready to take over. And you’re more important than I.”

“Fine,” my brother says.

“What are you planning?” I ask.

“We’re going to ram that merchant ship into the elven ship left. That will let you all escape,” Thorkel says as he walks over to the plank.

“You’re the Captain. You can’t sacrifice yourself. Who will take charge? Let me do it.” I argue.

He turns to Rognvald. “Rognvald will take command. And you know I can’t condemn men to die in place of myself. As father said, never order a crew member to do what you couldn’t do. Besides, I planted another seed in my wife and I know I have a son on the way. My legacy is secured.”

“For the sake of the gods, Thorkel, let me go in your stead,” Rognvald says. What is Thorkel thinking? He can’t do this. It’s… Stupid. This is suicide.

“No! I will not allow it. I will not order my crew to do something I wouldn’t do myself. Besides, there is no greater honor than to die so your men can live,” Thorkel says.

“But…” I start to ask.

He doesn’t let me finish. “We all have to die, little brother. What better way than to go out than in glory like this? Look after my family for me.”

Varin says his goodbyes to his son Sigvid, his grandsons Solmund and Griotgard, and his brother Grimwald, before giving Skardi some last words. They all argue with him, trying to convince him to stay. Styrkar and Saksis also argue with their own sons, Ulf Styrkarsson and Gizor Saksisson.

But they can’t convince them to stay any more than I can convince Thorkel. He, Styrkar, Saksis, and Varin all walk over to the other ship and kick off the planks before they turn it around and aim it straight at the elves.

I watch helplessly with the sons of the others while the rest get our ships turned around and sail off. Thorkel and the others man the merchant ship and turn it around on the elven ships. The large elven ship tries to turn and avoid them at the last minute, but it is too big. It only allows them to ram right into the side of the frame. I watch, helpless to do anything, as my brother and the other men charge\ with weapons drawn, leaping from the ship’s stern onto the elven ship to engage the elves. My brother slits the throat of one and stabs another, fighting furiously as dead elves fall into the sea to be eaten by sharks or killer whales.

My chest feels like it’s being bashed by a giant warhammer and broken. Why didn’t I stop him? Why did I let him go like that? I should’ve taken his place. I should’ve been the one on the merchant ship. My heart feels as if it has been ripped from my chest as I watch Thorkel get impaled by an elven blade. He decapitates one elf and slices open the chest of another before the one with fire-red hair uses some kind of magic to hold him in the air before he sticks him through. I can see his eyes glow as red as his hair from here. I fall to my knees as my brother falls into the sea. They killed him. They killed my brother. My eyes rain with tears. I’ll make them pay. I’ll kill them all.

I mesmerize every detail of that ship. The flag, the elf with fire red hair and burning eyes. I’ll kill him. I swear it! Swear to all the gods, I’ll kill him. I’ll make him suffer.

Skardi and Solmund put their hands on my shoulders. “Come on. We have to get to work.”

Another ship still follows us.

“We can’t lose them,” Rognvald says.

It feels like there’s a void in my chest as I pull myself up. I look back at the ship following us, and I know what Thorkel would’ve done... “Let’s sail closer to the coast of the Woodland Realm. They’ll run aground if they try to follow us.”

Rognvald nods and gives out the orders. We get the ship turned towards the coast and they continue to pursue as we reach shallower waters and continue north. Just as father mentioned, the other ship finally runs aground, getting stuck. We head back to the deeper water.

We replace the pirate ship that fled the elves passing one of the Golden Elven ships that’s burning in flames as it sinks. The pirate sails by our side to the east as we both sail north. Three of the elven ships have been taken down or incapacitated.

The pirate ship is much bigger than ours and from what I can tell, the crew is mixed races between people like us, dwarves, elves, and two other races I’ve never seen before. There are two green-skinned creatures hulking in size with big tusks coming out from their bottom lip. The other race are cat-like people with fur covering their entire bodies.

There’s an elf woman with red hair and a fancy hat. I look up to see their flag again, a black one with a red dragon. I remember my father mentioned this one in particular. He called her Captain Azariah. She nods at us before she sails to the west once we reach the edge of the elven shoreline. Throst and Koll’s ships eventually rejoin, leaving the ruins of another elven ship, but there are no signs of Einar’s ship, or the elves chasing him. I feel defeated without Thorkel.

“We’ll get our revenge,” Solmund says to me as he claps his hand against my shoulder. His eyes show burning hate in them. The face of the boy I grew up with is gone, buried beneath a beard. Like myself, he’s been forced to become a man. Griotgard buries himself in work, as do Ulf, Sigvid, and Skardi. “I swear, we’ll kill those elves.”

I only nod. I make my way up to Rognvald as he stands by Skardi at the steering paddle. He talks to Fridmund and Grimwald.

Grimwald speaks animatedly. “We should circle back to see if we can replace Einar. Maybe we can catch the last of those bastards and make em pay!”

“That’s not what is planned for these situations. We ought to head back to Stormfront,” Fridmund says.

“And just leave Einar’s ship to themselves?” Grimwald says.

“We will hail Koll and Throst to discuss this with them. Koll is still the Raid leader,” Rognvald says.

Fridmund nods and Grimwald grunts. Grimwald grinds his yellow rotten teeth as Rognvald blows the horn and waves the flag to meet. Over on Koll’s ship that’s sailing to the east of us, Koll returns the gesture and we sail closer to each other before we slow down and connect our ships. I follow the three older men onto Koll’s ship while Throst does the same on the other side of Koll.

“What a bloody disaster,” Koll says, running his hands through his black peppered hair as we board his ship.

“What’s your orders?” Rognvald asks. He pulls off his helmet and rubs his bald head. The sun glares off it.

“Let’s circle back and see if we can replace Einar. Maybe we can trap the elven bastards,” Koll says, running his hand through his matching peppered beard. “Maybe we can still bring home enough resources to salvage this raid.”

“We should go back to the elven ship we left stranded and kill the bastards that murdered my brother,” I spit out.

“No,” Koll says, his eyes have sympathy, but his voice is stern. “Who knows how many more elven ships were sailing in behind the ones we saw? There will be plenty of opportunities in the future to avenge our fallen. Right now, we need to replace Einar and get what little loot we can before we head back.”

Throst says nothing, just nods in agreement.

Rognvald nods. “If that’s your command, we’ll follow.”

Koll looks out at the water. “Einar shouldn’t be far. Let’s head northeast.”

Rognvald nods again. “You heard em. Back to the ship.”

We follow Rognvald back to the ship and set sail to the east, following Koll.