He was not sure where the ship suddenly came from; it could have fallen from the skies for all he knew. The cries from the crew were clear enough though. As the Pricosine came out of the strait, the short grey ship was upon them. Its sails had the colour of the water and from its bow protruded a kind of ram that approached the hull of the Pricosine at speed.
Lidrin, on the bridge, cursed his entire vocabulary out loud as he tried to turn the giant ship in an attempt to make the damage as small as possible. Avoiding the ram, he knew, would be impossible. This was all he could do.
Daniel ran to where the pirate ship would reach the Pricosine first, blessing his enhanced body for making it a quick trip. As he reached the spot, the ram dug itself into the hull, making the large ship shudder. Several sailors toppled over as the impact was harder than was expected. Daniel spotted men up in the assailant ship’s masts, swinging blocks on ropes, throwing them over to the rigging over his head. The men swung over to the Pricosine, uttering loud screams. The first one to land on the deck was close to Daniel and had every reason to regret that. Daniel drove his armoured fist into the man’s chest and did not even take the time to watch his victim fall.
A total of thirteen men swung over from the pirate ship. Daniel noticed that there was a small positive thing about their attacked: it was focussed on one spot, so there was no need to protect the whole ship. It also delivered the problem however that the attack was fierce and massive.
The sailors fought well. Daniel however made all the difference. Even when one of the pirates, who had landed high up in a mast, threw down handsful of some strange dust that made the sailors sneeze and gasp for air, Daniel continued the battle. His body simply shut off the intake of external substances and functioned on the air in the pockets of his arms and legs.
He grabbed a piece of rope and flung it upwards. It hit the pirate in the stomach. The man’s descent to deck was fast and ended hard. Only three pirates remained, and they made their way back to their ship. Daniel watched them go. Going after them was an option, but he was curious what they were going to do. The battle was won, after all.
The pirates quickly released a kind of bolt at the front of their ship which unlocked the ram. The current that came from the strait immediately pushed them away from the Pricosine and seconds later the gap was already larger than a man would be able to jump.
Daniel turned and looked at the state of the men who had fought so well. Nine of them were wounded but able to walk. Ulaman, who had left the bridge, was covered in red spots, clearly coming from the now dead pirate that lay at his feet. The other men were not injured at all, as by some miracle.
As they started to tend to the wounded, a loud noise, as the tearing of wood, made Daniel look up. He walked to the side of the ship and was just in time to see the remains of the ram fall into the water. It had left a large, gaping hole in the hull, just above the waterline.
“Ulaman, we have a problem,” he said.
The captain agreed. “We have to do something about this. If we leave this the way it is, the scum only has to wait for heavy weather and they can fish us up for ransom. Or worse.”
“Will we have that chance?”
“In this area the weather is almost as unpredictable as-” the captain looked for Xandree “-a woman.”
“That bad,” Daniel understood. His mind was already running. “We’re to fix that. Have Bilk and Stroro bring hammers and nails or whatever you use to fix up a ship.”
“Daniel, don’t be a fool, we have not enough material on board to fix a hole that big.”
“Just you wait.” Daniel ran off and made his way into the cargo bay that held the large Polychlon chests and trunks. He methodically started to tear up four of them that would supply the largest pieces. He hauled them up and dropped them onto the deck, where Ulaman stared.
“Where did you- Don’t tell me-”
“Don’t ask, Ulaman.”
The men put together two pieces of plating that should be large enough to cover the hole. As one group went below deck, making space in the cargo bay so they could reach the opening from the inside, Ulaman arranged for a life boat to be lowered.
One man was up in the mast, keeping an eye out for the pirates, but they were not to be seen. Daniel and Brinno lowered themselves into the life boat and waited for the second plate to be lowered towards them. They manoeuvred the boat to the opening and started to close it from the outside.
A wave hit the life boat as Daniel was reaching out to make the last connection, which threw him off balance and into the water. Brinno helped him scramble into the boat and they laughed, despite the situation.
It did not take them long to close the hole from the outside, and as Daniel had changed into dry clothes again, the men who had worked on the inside had also done their best there.
Ulaman had gone in also, and assessed the situation. “We can’t go on like this. I dare only hope we make it back home with that patch.” So the ship was turned, the route around the strait was plotted as there was no way they would be able to sail up the stream, and they started the journey back.
As they were going, Daniel was extra alert for another attack. Another of those, with the ship damaged like this, and several men down, would be a terrible thing. There also was a continuous watch in the cargo bay to see if they were taking in water. Buckets were already in place for that occasion. At one time during the trip back, the life boat was lowered again, as the outside patch was loosening because of the constant beating it got from the water. By then they had reached relative safety though, being not too far from shore.
Pirates would not attempt anything here, Ulaman assured Daniel who remained vigilant despite that. The fact they had never done it so far did not mean they never would. Nothing happened, though.
“After the night we’re almost back,” the captain said. “Half a day at best then. The Seigner will not be happy we failed to deliver the cargo, but at least the ship’s not gone under.”
That was something to be grateful for, Daniel agreed.
Towards the evening Daniel felt sick. It felt like a fever was spreading inside him and he could not explain it. The people around him noticed that he was doing poorly also and commented on it, suggesting he should hit his bunk. He agreed eagerly and staggered down to his cabin, tumbling onto the bed.
Not much later Xandree and Ulaman came down to see him. Xandree had tea with her, and her small medical kit. The tea was the best she had to offer though, nothing in her kit seemed to be the cure for Daniel’s situation.
Ulaman thought it was the fact he had fallen into the sea. “Those chemicals do rotten things, Daniel. You should be okay in a few days.”
“I hope so. Don’t like this a bit,” the ex-soldier muttered. The tea made things more bearable for him, and Draiky the cook made it her personal mission to supply him with copious amounts of it, sitting by his bed and talking with him if he was not sleeping.
As he drifted in and out of sleep, the Pricosine reached port. Daniel was aware of people coming into his cabin and lifting him out on a stretcher. As they were carrying him up the stairs, Stroro’s voice warning someone to be careful or else, he passed out again.
“Mr. Zacharias? Can you hear me?” The voice was gentle and female.
“Yes, I can.” Daniel was quite certain. He opened his eyes slowly and stared at a friendly face with brown eyes and a white cap in tucked back dark hair. Beyond the face everything was white.
“Wonderful, Mr. Zacharias. Good to have you with us,” the nurse smiled.
Daniel was not so sure about that, but probably she was more coherent than he was.
“How are you feeling, Mr. Zacharias?”
“Somewhat better. Not so hot,” he determined. “A bit numb too.”
The nurse looked away from him. He tried to follow her gaze and discovered that he couldn’t. It was as if his head was held down by something, like an anvil. “I am in a hospital, aren’t I?”
“Yes,” said the nurse, her attention back with him. “You are taken care of as well as we are able to, sir.”
Somehow this did not fill Daniel with a lot of confidence. “What’s wrong with me?”
Another voice, male, spoke. The owner of that, a balding man with a short white beard, bent over him. “You are packed in ice, Mr. Zacharias. We have to admit that we are not all certain with respect to the cause of your affliction. It may have to do with the rather unusual substance your body is made of, so we have contacted your seniors in order to determine a treatment.”
