More dirty work

My dear Frederic,

I write you from the cabin of the second ship I have acquired this day. The vessel could not hold a candle to the Jiu-shi, of course. It has neither her graceful lines nor her incomparable speed. Its greatest deficit is the complete absence of you (or any other crew).

For a short time this day, I was the indisputed commander of the Lung Feng herself. A circumstance which resulted from a series of heroic feats which were so astonishing and improbable, that I would not blame you for scoffing at my tale.

Four days previous, Captain Tiberius stole Lieutenant Pellew's ship, HMS Arabis and sail due west from the island, thinking to reach an isle of the Pilipinas within a week. Imagine his surprise when a due west heading from the island brought him to the east shore of same, an eventuality you, or Sam, or myself could have warned him of, if only he had thought to consult us. Alas, he did not.

He sighted a British warship, HMS Icarus, at anchor near the pit of Di Wu Feng, and turned north, whereupon he ran into yet another British warship, HMS Skylark. Skylark had been sent by my captors hosts to search for Arabis. Tiberius decided to masquerade as Pellew, which strategem worked for a time. Tiberius was obliged to return with Arabis to the harbour near the ruins, where we were anchored.

Tiberius tried to flee. Our ships prepared to intercept, but we beaten to the punch by yet another vessel.

The dwarves have apparently taken a liking to Pellew's gir bo child, who is fascinated by machines, and had left the designs for a new type of steam engine lying about. The dwarves transformed Pellew's half-finished schooner into this fantastickal vessel. It sucks the very sea water like a ravenous leviathan, heats the water to steam, and then shoots it out the bow. Which propels the ship at a truly awe-inspiring speed. Pellew had decided to bring his crew, the passengers, and all the members of this mad band of adventurers to us by steam-impelling themselves around the island.

Pellew had seen and recognized his own ship, and moved to intercept. Watching him leap from the careening nightmare to the rigging of the Arabis was an inspiring sight. He would be a truly formidable pirate if you put his mind to it. He engaged in battle directly with O'Flaherty, while his other child kept Curry busy.

By the time we had come alongside, much of the work was done. The young man who bears such an uncanny resemblance to Tiberius went along with the boarding party and has arrested Tiberius. O'Flaherty's nephew seemed considerably more ambivalent as to how he should feel and act toward his Uncle. Tiberius and his remaining crew were transported to Skylark.

There were a great many questions to be asked. Fortunately I was able to enjoy a bit of a very nice brandy with Sir Spencer while we discussed the strategic situation. The reports we had indicated that Wu Chang and his fleet had sailed round the south end of the island, but had not sailed up the west coast. Further, it seemed that Wu Chang has learned of our little camp near the mouth of the river there. It seemed not unreasonable to conclude that Wu Chang was anchored along the south shore, possibly at our camp, and if we were lucky, we might catch them unaware.

We had, now five ships: Skylark, Foxglove, Arabis, Selene, and Slice. All with varying amounts of weaponry, and all faster than a typical sailing junk. With a cunning and daring commander, such a fleet could defeat Wu Chang's flotilla of eight junks. Pellew, Wooster, and your brother all agreed it could work. The captain of Skylark was less certain, though he hasn't seen these madmen in battle.

I volunteered to take temporary command of the Slice, which I felt was quite accomodating of me, given that the ship is untested and unconventional. However, Wooster was given that command, while Pellew took Arabis. I was to remain on Selene, to advise Sir Cosmo's crew during battle. After a bit more moving people from one ship to another, we finally sailed south.

We just sailing past the colossus when we found flotsam and jetsam in the water. I recognized a sail spar, and pointed it out to the observers. Wooster had a bit of wreckage hauled aboard Slice, which is where several of the mystically-inclined ladies were. They performed some magickal rituals on the wreckage, and determined that the ship had been one of Wu Chang's, and had been destroyed by a none other than Nemo.

The rumours would appear to be founded.

We continued. Sir Cosmo made preparations, assembling some sort of wooden framework on the bow of his yacht, then bringing one of his rocket devices, a number of "cinnamin" bombs invented by the Wonka fellow, and some other things. I long bit of fuse was threaded through the wooden box attachment he built on the side of the rocket, connected the fuses of the individual bombs.

As we rounded the crater, observers in the crowsnests of both Foxglove and Skylark sighted our targets. The ships were all anchored around the mouth of the river. There was some sign that we may have been spotted. When we were still well over a mile away, Sir Cosmo fired his rocket. I did not know these things could travel so far! There it was, spinning across the sky.

The cinnamin bombs started flying free, scattering over the fleet, where they exploded.

All our ships had, meanwhile, picked up speed.

Several people equipped with the extraordinarily long rifles were aboard Slice, which zoomed ahead, then veered aside. Bullets were fired into the fleet. As we moved within cannon range and began firing, it was clear that many of the sailors on Wu Chang's ships had been incapacitated by the cinnamin bombs. The fleet was in disarray.

It was no simple victory, however. It was a glorious battle. Swords, pistols, rifles! That devil, Li Tsin, was with Wu Chang, and summoned the black-scaled sea serpent--the very same creature that swallowed me and carried me away from you months ago. I made my way from the rigging of one ship, to the deck of the next, trying to reach Li Tsin so I could liberate the serpent's pearl and turn the creature back on them.

Wu Chang had been shot several times, but he was still causing trouble. I had engaged him myself, though we were separated for a few crucial moments. It was during this interval that Wu Chang was shot several more times, and fell to the deck, insensible.

A sorcerer who is travelling with these people convinced the very durable man to throw him over one of the ships and into the rigging of Lung Feng. He broke his leg in the process, but he won the mystical battle despite it.

O'Flaherty's nephew had been wrestling with the serpent before the sorcerer had taken control of the creature. But the serpent was fighting the control. And then someone struck the sorcerer a blow from behind, and he lost the pearl!

Fortunately, I happened to be swinging by at the moment from a rope from the rigging, and I managed to catch the pearl. It took but a moment's concentration to bend the beast to my will. Or so I thought. Things would have surely gone better if my own alleged allies had not begun shouting at me to give them the pearl and let them deal with the sea serpent.

I tried to get the beast to swallow some kegs of powder from Lung Feng's magazine. Unfortunately, just as the wretched beast was surrendering to my superior intellect, some inconsiderate oaf shot me. My concentration broken, the beast change direction in midlunge, scooping up Wu Chang's body and swallowing him hole.

I lost the pearl.

It landed in the water. I followed it. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it in the gloom. I was pulled from the water by my allies, and informed that the serpent had swum away with Wu Chang inside him.

But we had captured Wu Chang's ship! The remaining pirates were surrendering. And, true to her word, I as offered Lung Feng.

I had to be bandaged, and there were many other wounded people needed attention. And O'Flaherty's nephew had taken possession of one of the other ships. Unfortunately there was fire in the rigging, and we were then kept busy putting it out.

At last I had a chance to begin surveying my new ship. Until someone knocked over some of the grenades in the magazine. Somehow half or more of them were ignited. And a score or more went tumbling down into the lower decks. As everyone else was evacuating, I rushed down, gathering the grenades and running up onto the deck. I threw an armload over them in the last possible second.

Except there were still more of the flaming things below decks. So in the last second I gathered more of them and threw those overboard. There was only a second left to spare, and there was a considerable sputtering and burning noise coming from the magazine. But I managed to gather them and threw those overboard as well.

Except I apprehended, as the grenades were falling toward the water, that one was missing. And I then recalled, vaguely, the sound of something bouncing down the stairs when I had run out of the magazine during the previous last possible second.

With no time to spare, I rushed down one deck, and the next, and the next, into the boiler room. I could here the fuse sputtering and burning. I had just located the grenade when flame reached the end of the fuse.

I dropped to the floor, and was shielded from most of the explosion by the bronze frame of the firebox. Unfortunately, nothing had shielded the large pile of coal, or the two barrels of oil. Everything in the engine room seemed to be ablaze!

While there is always time for one more last second, the wise man knows when it is better to use that second to flee.

I barely reached the rail when the larger explosion shattered the deck from below, and hurled me over the side. I surfaced some distance away, and watched the ship which had so briefly been mine sink into the waves.

The rather fetching and quite ruthless Lady Cowperthwaite, who had promised me a ship to as part of our negotiations earlier, admitted that she was had accidently knocked the grenades loose, and so she offered me another ship. So now I sit in the captain's cabin of my newest ship. Yao Ying is not nearly so fine a ship as Lung Feng, which in turn is hardly half as fine a ship as my own beloved Jiu-shi. However, once we are reunited, it may prove an able companion. Perhaps it is time that Captain Will Sparrow became Commodore Will Sparrow.

I certainly have the hat for it. I do not have crew, as yet. But I am sure that something can be done about that.

Everyone is so busy looking through Li Tsin's papers and questioning the survivors. They're all quite determined to find this magic sword before anyone else does. And now that they know that there are actually Five Lords of the Four Quarters of the Wind, they are just as intent upon finding the Book. They already have the Shield. They know who has the Star. I know who has the Path. Tiberius has hinted he knows the location of the Book, and seems to be willing to trade this knowledge for his freedom. We are very close, indeed, to the summoning of the Lords and the coronation of a new King.

It is too soon to count Wu Chang out. And if Nemo has become involved, this could become very interesting, indeed. I begin to wonder if I can be reunited with you before this comes to pass, or will it require the convening of the Court to bring you to me? Your absence is a constant weight upon my heart. My spirit grows more despondent each day that I am separated from our fine and noble crew. I know my ship could be in no more skilled hands than our esteemed comrade, Sam. Just as I know he could find no finer assistant than yourself. I remain confident you are in good health, and that the distance between us will be bridged in the fullness of time.

May a favourable wind accompany you, and if the fates cannot smile upon us, may they grant us time to seize our own fortune from opportunity. Until we are reunited, my good and beloved friend, I remain faithfully yours,

W.S.

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