27

You are shocked to see the attacking ship has a large cannon mounted on its prow. Moments after the pirates fire their gun, you hear the whistle of a heavy cannonball as it hurtles towards the deck of The Pride of Sommerlund. It rips through the gunwale a few feet from where you are standing and, as you dive to avoid it, you are hit in the legs by splinters of wood (lose 1 ENDURANCE point).

Fortunately, the rest of the crew escape injury and damage to the ship is minimal. Sergeant Dryan commands his men to return fire and a volley of shots from the three swivel guns slams into the bow of the pirate ship with devastating effect. Two shots penetrate below the waterline and the third severs the bowsprit. As it falls into the ocean, it rips away sail and rigging which drag more than a dozen pirates overboard. In disarray, the enemy vessel veers from its collision course and founders in the wake of The Pride of Sommerlund as it enters the Bukimi Channel. Here your ship picks up a prevailing wind which propels it away from the second pirate raider. Soon both ships have disappeared and, when Raker is sure that the danger has passed, he warmly praises both the marines and his crew for the skill and courage they have displayed.

Later, as the ship navigates the narrow strait dividing the two Lakuri islands, you pass within a few hundred yards of the fire-blackened ruins of a beach settlement which nestles in a bay, overshadowed on three sides by cliffs. This is Kita Cove, formerly a secret base from where Captain Khadro launched his pirate fleet. As you stare at the charred remnants of the pirate settlement, you try to imagine what it must have looked like before the encampment was consumed by a tremendous fireball that sealed its doom. Suddenly, your daydreaming is interrupted when you see something moving among the ruins.

If you possess Kai-alchemy, turn to 158.

If you do not possess this Discipline, turn to 247.