P-Rodentia Chapter 48

Read Table of Content | +Kyla Scurchio
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                   This was such a bad idea; I thought it over and over again as my head lobbed over the deck of the ship. The constant tossing of the vessel was leaving me so sick; I could do little more than keep myself on track with my maps. The sun beat down on my face and the salt dried me out, so I was miserable.
                    On top of the ship bouncing around on the waves, my supplies were slowly going missing. My food stock had dwindled in the past few days on the boat and I was sure there were a few stowaways under deck. I set out traps but nothing worked; stolen bait each time. Perhaps I should have purchased a hydro trap.
                    I did enjoy the stars though. I had spent so much time underground it was like I had forgotten they existed. I was guided by them; I spent the evening with my head in the maps, making sure I wasn’t drifting too far off course. The last thing I needed was to end up on some distant shore like Zugzwang had done.
                    Unfortunately the lack of proper rest left me careless. I fell asleep one night, with my face stuck to the map in the main cabin. As I slept the mice I had been unable to catch made their way to me. I woke up to their shuffling feet near the food stock in the corner. Startled by them I jumped to my feet and shouted at them. The Buccaneer mouse grinned at me and drew her sword.
                    Out of the shadows of the room came two or three more, each armed and approaching me. Still groggy I took a few steps back. The mice were joined by a few pirate mice who fell back in the ranks as one more mouse approached from the shadows. The way the other mice followed it’s every move made it clear he was a Captain.
                    “I believe we do have a problem” he said with a throaty laugh. “You see, this is my ship hunter.” He eyed me and drew his blade. Hoping this was just a dream I said nothing.
                    “What should we do with the trespasser captain?” asked one of the Buccaneer mice.
                    “Oh, I have an idea or two for this young hunter.” His eyes shifted to the shelves above my head where the cooking supplies were held. When I looked up it was all too late.
                    A cook mouse sat crouched waiting for me to turn. When I did I saw him flick me a wink then smacked me over the head with a heavy cooking pot. I felt an intense pain throb in my head before I blacked out.
                    I woke up with a throbbing in my skull and a longing for dry land. I was tied off to the mast, the sun had already cooked my pale skin to a crisp and my mouth was as dry as it could get. I watched groggily as a mouse swabbed the deck in front of me. Just a weak little thing something me and my traps could have handled. A Buccaneer mouse approached me, kicking the Swabbie mouse to the deck as she passed it. She flicked the end of her blade at my chin.
                    “Awake now are you eh? Looks like we can have us little fun then!” Her accent was strong and I had a hard time following as she spoke. I resorted to just glaring her down too weak to speak just yet. I tried to think up a spell or two to free myself but my thoughts were jumbled and my head was still spinning.
                    “CAPTAIN!” shouted the Buccaneer mouse, making my head throb again. I heard the captain’s approach from behind me. When he came into view I felt very vulnerable tied off and weaponless. It seemed ridiculous that I could end the fate of the Acolytes but mere sea mice could capture me. From inside the Captain’s jacket a small pistol was pulled. He pointed it at my face.
                    “Where is the other?” he questioned me.
                    “There is no other.” I spat, throat raw from the salt and the wind. The Captain roared with laughter. I didn’t care, it was the truth, Zugzwang was missing and I was alone.
                    “Too bad.” said the Captain without really meaning the words. I closed my eyes and looked away as he prepared to shoot his pistol. Nothing happened though and it had just occurred to me that another mouse had approached panting.
                    “Captain, Captain Sir…” squeaked this pathetic little mouse. His body was covered in ragged clothing and he was wobbly on his feet; almost insane. “Sir, the Leviathan, it is near.” I sensed fear from the mouse as his eyes grew wide and he scampered away quickly, muttering to a coconut as he did so. Captain mouse stared me down before placing the pistol back onto his belt.
                    “Everyone on deck, prepare yourself. Toss overboard any cheese, any crumb. If I find one scrap of food on this vessel it’ll be your hide!” he took off in a flash leaving me tied to the pole and confused.
                    “It’s your lucky day hunter.” said the buccaneer mouse glaring at me. She spit at my feet before taking off into the chaos on deck.
                    I could do nothing but struggle against the ropes binding me. They cut into my wrists as I struggled but refused to loosen. My brain was still jumbled and the runic language was lost to me for now so spells were out. Mice from everywhere appeared and were tossing cheese overboard, as the captain had ordered. Too bad they didn’t know about my secret stash deep inside my pockets. The spell still intact kept them from finding it.
                    I wasn’t sure why the mice were panicked but it didn’t matter to me, I was left alone without a guard and that gave me time to think of an escape. Because we hadn’t searched the ship thoroughly before I set sail I was left with more mice than one man could handle. So taking over the ship would be impossible but if I could just make it to the little row boat on the side of the ship then I could lower it down and get away. Of course by myself I would need spells to lower it. My head started to ache some more. Before I could stop the spinning in my head I heard a squeak of panic nearby.
                    “IT’S HERE! BRACE YOURSELVES!” I looked over to the source of the voice and saw a pirate mouse leaning over the deck pointing into the waves below. I couldn’t see what he saw but it soon didn’t matter. Out of the water soared a massive water bound mouse. Like a massive water snake it loomed over us, water dripping from its body.
                    While we were all focused on its front the Leviathan had wrapped its long body around the ship. Mice everywhere did nothing but grab hold of any solid object and for a moment everything stood still. I stared up and the massive creature as it focused on me, smelling my bait. Its head came smashing down upon the ship and the tail end of it crushed the front of the ship in half. I felt the deck vibrate and crack sending mice and supplies flying. The pole I was tied too snapped in two when the Leviathan swiped its neck across it. The beam crashed down onto the deck smashing the mice beneath it.
                    With one more swipe of its powerful neck I was tossed free from the pole. I felt the splintered wood fly all around me, but one jagged piece stuck me in my right arm. I felt a searing pain where the blood started to pool. I grabbed the large splinter and tugged it out. The Leviathan vanished from our sight as it dove back under water. I ran for the small boat, hoping the Leviathan wasn’t returning anytime soon.
Just as I reached the side of the ship that was untouched I heard a creaking and moaning from below. The beast was under us. Panic swept through me as I jumped into the little row boat. Using basic magic, I lowered myself into the choppy waters below. I felt relief for a second before I realized I was in a much smaller boat and probably would be a nice snack for the Leviathan when it was done destroying the ship. I rowed faster.