Chapter 16 - All Aboard

The duo opened the door to their room and peeked out. Shuien had his sword lifted across his chest, thankful he can use his arm again. Archer had the head of Prides End in his right hand and the shaft extending from his left. The light downstairs was still flickering as they finally hit level floor. Luckily the tavern didn't appear to be damaged so far, however; nobody was present.

In a low voice Shuien muttered, "They must be hiding or headed to their families."

Archer nodded in agreement. "How long till it would've been time to depart?"

"A couple of hours maybe. Probably nor even that long."

"Master, he said he was going to spend the night getting everything together, so I would assume he's still at the dock. We need to make our way there and leave, and do it quickly."

Sweat was already beading across Shuiens head from the anticipation of a fight. Nodding in agreement, they both walked towards the door, being careful not to make too much noise. The sounds of the beasts outside didn't seem to match them though. Snarls appeared right outside the tavern, giving away that they had obviously slaughtered their way into the town. Cracking the door and looking outside, they immediatly saw a wolf hovered over a body, feeding. It appeared to preoccupied to notice the creaking of the door opening as they stepped outside.

The streets didnt give off much light, but it wasn't unbearable. The large moon was casting light that blending with the flickering of several torches. As they walk around the corner of the tavern, away from the wolf, there another howl that split the air. A voice echoed through their heads at the conclusion of the sound.

"Don't resist and you will be spared. We don't intend to take your life, but will not hesitate to do so. We are only claiming what was snatched from us."

A shiver went down Archers spine. The way the monsters reacted to the howl, it was obvious that their attacks were becoming coordinated. It wasn't a mindless slaughter as it had been in Draconvale. Turning their tails to continue down the alley, they heard a growl behind them followed by a couple of yelps. The sound of a body crashing against the side of the tavern surprised the pair as another sounds grated through their minds.

"Capture. Don't needlessly kill our prize."

The shadows of the creatures bounced off the wall of the house, allowing Archer and Shuien a glimpse of the wolves that were there. Luckily, they were out if eyeshot. As they took a couple more steps, the shaft of Archers hammer knocked over a pile of stacked crates, cause the shadows to immediately shove their noses in the air, alert. One poked its head around the corner and almost appeared to smile in the moonlight , showing the full length of its long fangs as it spotted them. The monster let out a couple of deep throated growls that appeared to grab the attention of its partners.

Shuien went to step in front of Archer again, but Archer grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"We dont have time for heroics Archer." The master snapped at the prince. "You need to get to that boat."

"We've bested better odds together. We kill them and go, together."

Hearing the exchange between them, the wolves cackled out loud. "You talk as though we are bumps on the roads. You're insects. You were bred to serve us."

At the finish of its sentence, the first wolf lunged forward, its claws extended toward Archer with intent to kill. Quickly shoving Shuien aside, Archer planted the head of his hammer onto the ground as an anchor and rotated the shaft of hammer to connect with the wolves side. As it made impact, the wolf bounced off the side of the wall, stunning it for a moment. Recovering, it stood back on its hind legs.

"You know, that is always your kinds mistake." Archer spoke out loud. Using the momentum from swinging the shaft of the hammer, he spun, lifting the head of Prides End from th ground with incredible momentum that connected with the inside of the wolfs left leg. There was a loud crunch as the head of the hammer split the skin and shattered the bone. A loud whine echoed off the alley walls as the wolf cripple over to the ground. Archer spun one more time, still never losing momentum and redirected the hammer above his shoulder, to the top of the wolfs skull. The body followed the hammer down till it was on the ground, sandwiching the skull between to stone ground and the metal hammer. The head exploded in a similar manner to popping an engorged tick and the body no longer moved.

Shuien stared large eyed at his pupil, watching Archer work with the hammer in a way he had only seen Jacobi wield it. Archers limbs were on fire again and his eyes glowed their fiery color in the dim lighting. The two wolves behind the body snarled and stepped forward. The one on the right made a leap and dug its claws into the stone wall, causing it stay suspended in the air. Shuien readied his sword at the sight of the beast doing this. Archer readied his hammer and eyed them both. Without any notice, the beast jumped. The one on the ground bounced to the opposite wall and spring boarded itself over Archers head, straight for Shuien. Archer watched the first wolf do this and the second wolf that was attached to the wall took advantage of Archer lack of attention and lunged towards the prince.

"AGHHHHH!"

The attack took Archer by surprise but he had managed stop the wolfs jaws with the shaft of his hammer, almost like reins on a horse. The stench of the beasts breath made him him wanna gag, but he resisted the urge. The beasts claws wrapped around the backs of Archer shoulders and began to dig in, the monster almost seemed to be trying to pull himself to Archer. Screaming out, Archer flipped the wolf over his head, feeling the claws retract from the back of his shoulders in the process. The prince stood up and readied himself again, the feel of warm blood trickled down his triceps and back. The wolf had recovered and began walking towards him again. It paused for a moment and lifted its now bloody claws to its maw and lapped the blood off with his tongue.

"You taste.. familiar." Its eyes grew slightly larger as though a realization hit him, but Archer didn't hesitate and took advantage of his lapse of focus and connected his hammer with the side of the monsters head, breaking its neck. The body fell over and Archer looked over to see his master shoving his opponent off of himself and then removing his sword from the heart of the creature. More howling came from up the road and it grabbed the duos attention.

"Let's go!" Archer yelled.

Dashing out of the alley, they pair ran into a couple of the fanged demons and without stopping Archer anchored his hammer to the ground again and jumped, connecting his knee to it face and allowing the momentum to carry him forward till his knee met the back of the monsters skull and blood splattered across his knee and the side of the house. Shuien simply swiped once with his sword, allowing the body to fall and the head to roll down the street. Blood covered the street as though a dam of wine had been ruptured. Mangled bodies littered the streets behind them and the beasts were occupied feeding off of their scores.

Grabbing Archers arm and tugging, Shuien urgently said, "Go. Go, go, go, go, go."

They took off at a full sprint, not stopping to look back. They made it to the marketplace where the stalls were line up and they hear a yell. The captain was standing at the back of his ship, staring at the two.

"Get your asses over here!" He yelled.

As if they needed to be told that, they both thought in unison. They rushed down the creaking dock, the impact from their feet made it seem like the dock would break from under their feet at any moment. Finally they climbed up the ladder and onto the ship.

"PULL ANCHOR AND SET SAIL! NOW!" The Captain screamed to the top of his lungs.

The groaning of wood sounded through the air as is shouldered the weight of the heavy iron anchor. The noise had attracted the attention of a small mass of creatures that had already started to make their way to the dock area. The ship began to pull away from the dock as the wind finally caught onto the sails, making the big boat lurch back. The deck of the ship two large masts that had a mainsail attached to each. At the top of each was a main topsail. There were three cannons on each side of the boat, evenly spaced among each side. There was a man in the crowsnest of the rear mast who yelled,

"CAPTAIN! SWIMMERS!"

The voice from the crowsnest grabbed the Captain attention and he walked up to the rear cannon on the port side of the boat. He angled it toward the dock they had just left, where creatures were beginning to gather. He lit the fuse and covered his ears.

*BOOM*

There was a slight delay and then the dock they had just left exploded in the air in a splinter of wood. Cries and screams came from the monsters as the cannonball ripped through bodies and splinters of wood impaled others. The couple of monsters who had took to the water turned tail and swam back to shore, not wanted to match their fortitude against what just fired at them.

Archer and Shuien took a slight breath of relief. They had made it, but now the real fight was about to begin and they both knew it. They gazed off the sides of the boat at the purple hue on the horizon of the sun finally trying to poke its head into the world. The screams from the city seemed far away now. The Captain walked up to Shuien and Archer, "It appears you weren't wrong old timer."

"There's more than just that too. That is the reason for the urgency."

"No need to tell me twice. However, now that we're here. Your on my boat, and I expect your obedience just as I would from any normal member of my crew."

"You have our word. Your help is appreciated."

Grunting, the Captain turned around walked up the steps to the wheel. He had a concerned look on his face and kept to himself for the rest of the night. Shuiem walked to Archer and rested a hand on his shoulder, "Lets take a look at your wounds." Removing his vest, Archer turned his back towards the master.

"Interesting."

Panic shot Archer, "What?!"

"The wounds are no bigger than small scabs right now. Harmless little spots."

Awe went through Archers mind, "how?"

Not questioning his luck, he put his vest back on. "Ill need whatever luck I can get it seems," he said, turning back to his master. Nodding his head in agreement, Shuien looked towards the peeking sun. Admiring its beauty as it began to reflect off the waters surface.

"Archer.. We can't lose this."