"We'll have to save the comrade of the ship captain for later. Form a chain, and throw everything you have into that fire!"
One of the engineers had accompanied the captain. He was the most agile of them all, even more than the young captain. The captain wielded a billhook. The blade was of fine steel, but the iron tines had already begun to rust. They were not necessarily effective weapons, but they were the best available. Mages of fire would take up places on the ship, but they were in short supply. The swords of the strongmen were powerful, but too rough for them to use here. Water magic was all they had left. The waves of soldiers threw the ship's materials onto the deck of the ship. They added in sacks filled with water, and rolled boats over to head on land.
"Commander, fire is all over the pier. We must fight fire, but there are no water mages."
"You'll have to do it. You are the only water mage that we have."
"But if we get so near to the water we'll sink."
"If you don't do it, we'll be sunk anyway."
The captain turned back to the ship's mage. "Send in the fire," he shouted over his shoulder. "We will try to shoot it all down, but it could catch fire from the explosive missiles. Another explosion could send down the watercraft. We need to fight fire and water, and still be in no danger of losing this ship."
"Sir, what of the child that was with the ship?"
"I'm not going to leave him. He's the cousin of the captain. He might be useful in dealing with the fire."
The fire, and the magic of water, raged back and forth. The mages of fire fought as best as they could, but the crew of men fought with no magical aid. Magic was expensive. Now, though, they were battling for their lives. The young man from Ganesha was a special case; he was the only one that the captain had on board, and the ship itself could be used as a weapon. This was a symbolic weapon, sent from afar. It was the wish of the local board, after a very long debate, to win the king's warship. And he was its captain.
Somewhere near the harbor, the burning ship was caught in the rocks of the bay. Half of the crew was dead or unconscious, and they began doing their best to pray. They could feel the heat from the fire, and the massive balls of fire being launched at them. They were in an enormous fashion of ships; it was easy to get lost cause there was a lot of ships but with this as the center.
There were two of the old, white looking ships. They were fixed with black tinged red enamel. It was the long battle of one of the boats against the other. The old ship against the new ship. One of the ships had a little more power than the others. Sparks of light would come out from where the sword hit each other. The swordsman would see as the soldier swung his black sword, blocking he attack with his black sword. The swordsman let out a soft laugh as he pushed him back.
Another soldier came from the deck of the old boat. He jumped into the water, swimming as hard as he could towards the other ship. He had to hold the sword above his head. The ship was more or less carrying the sword, and he was swimming with it. He had to dive underwater, swimming underwater as much as he could. He was breathing a little hard, resting on the bottom for a minute. He could hear the sailors of the other boat coming around the ship.
"Hey! Where's that kid who was at the helm?"
"The captain sent us to find him!"
"We'll get that mysterious thing first!"
He took a deep breath and went back south. They were moving through the water, only to have him swim back. They caught sight of him, and chased him straightaway. He was not a powerful swimmer, but he was swimming and the boat was turning to follow. He swam onto the other boat, diving into the water. He swam underwater, hiding under the stairs. He breathed out his breath, and then pulled himself up and onto the ship. The captain was looking out at the other ship. He was the nicest captain of all. He didn't kill the people he disagreed with. He didn't kill the soldiers, he only knocked them out. He was a great leader, at least to the secretary.
"Captain, sir, I have news. We have need of a local ship. They will come. If we give them a picture of the mayor, they will surely take it. Me and the captain have done some shopping. We will pay in gold for such a service."
"Yes, we will be happy to do it."
"To save someone or something?"
"Even if you pay me gold, we will hunt them to the ends of the earth."
"But this is killing."
"As long as you pay, when I kill you I will bury you. I will make you a tomb, and put an offering in it. I will not steal from you."
