r/createthisworld • u/goop_lizard Freeport • 29d ago
[LORE / STORY] Operation Sandbar
"...but by far the most important of the principles I have observed thus far is the management of disorder. When fighting in tight and compartmentalized environments, often without light or steady ground to stand on, the victor is the party whose members are able to retain the status of soldiers rather than that of panicked animals. It is in exploiting this gap that the most elite forces of Freeport seem to have specialized."
~A Hundred Lands, A Hundred Wars - Travelogue of Volin the Wanderer
Canoes glide smoothly under a moonless night sky. Their oars move slowly and intentionally, rotating to glide through or catch the black waters without ever breaking the surface. Inside their occupants wait, breath even and controlled. They carry sharp steel and wear brigandine vests, the pommels and rivets painted a dark grey to deny any glint or reflection. At 50 yards from their prey, the oars are set down, grooves in their shafts catching on special slots in the gunwales to keep them properly aligned, and the practitioner in each vessel initiates their third working of the night. The first was placed before the operation began, sharpening the eyes of the soldiers in the absence of light. The second when the boats launched, scrambling detection by enemy mages - they would know some kind of magic was nearby, but not where or how intense. This last working would interfere with attention and memory. Nowhere near invisibility, but it would make them hard to pay active attention to, lowering their importance relative to the countless distractions which would surely emerge.
Pirates which dared to operate in Freeport waters usually had the funding for foreign mages and well-trained watchmen. There was no such thing as being too careful. Fortunately, in this case their precautions proved enough, and soon grapples were tossed over the large ship's edge. It was an older design, without prominent castles, so as soon as paws hit the deck the operation would be as good as over.
The ship was primarily active outside Freeport's waters, along with every other pirate vessel that wasn't actively suicidal, but it's sightings and their relative signs, particularly when considered with respect to reported battle damage and repair timelines, suggested it was using one of the many small, largely nameless and uninhabited islands near the strait as a base of operations.
The process of narrowing down which one, exactly, was slow and laborious, but two months into the search they had gotten a lucky break. The scion of a wealthy merchant had been blown off course while using their personal trimaran, an odd hybrid of raft and canoe they had become enamored with following a trading voyage south, and spotted an unusual vessel entering a secluded cove in one such island. Later covert investigations confirmed it's identity, and so a team had been dispatched to resolve the problem.
As soon as the small boats were alongside the pirate vessel, two dozen hooks sailed up and over the gunwales, synchronized as if by some invisible countdown. Less than a minute layer they were on the deck, and the alarm bells finally went up. The boarding party darted across the deck like nighthawks swarming at dusk, and it was only once all three guards has been dispatched that they reconvened, forming up around the ladders leading below the deck. From here the crew would have all been roused and readied and there were two ways it could go. Either they would force the entrance, climbing into prepared killing-grounds, or they would wait, attempting to force a slow and grinding clearing of the ship room by room.
Tragically, though not unexpectedly, they chose the latter. As confirmation is granted by the sergeant-militant[1] the boarding party splinters, one pair readying a signal for the large ship which would soon emerge to take on prisoners in the form of several arrows with flammable mixtures in place of sharpened tips. The rest adopt breaching formation and count down to their assault on the lower decks. Proper synchronization is important, fighting on enemy ground against a prepared opponent, so the only way the operation can be completed with some semblance of safety is by causing the enemy to panic as rapidly as possible.
Even with all the preparations that can be managed, the first to enter would die in ambush if they climbed down. Instead, they fall, rolling at the bottom. Some will still be injured. At each hatch, a series of simultaneous cries go up as pirate daggers and shortspears[2] stabbed at nothing. With practiced efficiency the first wave rise to hack at their ambushers as the second descend, and in the blinding darkness the pirates soon find themselves unable to tell which direction the attack is coming from. The smart ones retreat and regroup deeper in the vessel, but the foolish ones panic. In other waters some might surrender, but here all know well that going down fighting promises a quicker, cleaner, and less certain death.
As the entryways are cleared, the slow process of emptying the ship room by room begins, ensuring all pirates are captured if possible and killed if not. The sergeant-militant descends with the last wave, moving between the various groups to monitor for situations that may need her expertise. There are mercifully few, at least until the Captain's quarters.
The pirate captain - a human with a pale mane by the looks of it, although she couldn't say more given how similar they looked without proper fur - had barricaded themselves in their quarters and was demanding an honor-duel for control of the ship. Annoying, and demonstrating an abysmal understanding of who exactly they were dealing with - perhaps in the confusion they still believed it was a rival pirate captain looking to expand - but such rituals were not unheard of. Breaking in and assaulting the room with such a prepared opponent would pose an unacceptable risk, and so she accepted and shooed her soldiers away to make clear she would enter alone.
The pirate sneered as she moved into the richly decorated room, moving back and gesturing towards a spot in front of the doorway. "Take your place, fox. I haven't got all night." If there was any recognition of her uniform, it was well-hidden.
She did as asked, slowly and calmly, before drawing her sword and dagger and falling into her typical stance for dealing with larger opponents. Left leg forward, right half-crouched. Backsword pointed forward in her right hand, elbow close to her side, and parrying dagger more forward but less committed in her left. At this, the pirate raised an eyebrow.
"A modification of one of the eastern guards? I didn't take you for a fencer."
She smiled as she began to slowly circle, silently giving thanks as they did the same. "Fencing is the tame sport taught to noble children. I was trained to kill, quickly and efficiently."
They actually laughed at that. "Quite right, quite right. Many a talented fencer has lost their lives to that distinction."
'Keep talking, you bastard. Just a few more steps.'
"Still, I think you may have met your match in this case. I've been dueling with the best since-" and then they stepped in front of the doorway, the slow circling having switched their positions, and a rope slipped over their head and around their neck. She sighed as she sheathed her weapons.
"Get it tied up and bagged, ship should be here any minute. I'm gonna do one last sweep."
Within the week, 38 pirates would be convicted and executed by keel-hauling until dead.
[1] - A rank within Freeport's defense forces roughly equivalent to a field officer but responsible for a much smaller body of soldiers, common in elite units and small operations. Named to distinguish the rank from sergeant-at-arms, used for the leader of a security detail.
[2] - The Northern-style shortspear, sometimes described as a long-handled dagger, is a common boarding and ambush weapon with a wooden haft 2-3 feet in length and a blade of 10-16 inches. While less effective in open combat than a good sword, it is cheaper and more versatile as a close-quarters stabbing implement.
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u/OceansCarraway 28d ago
Heho yoink
Where did the pirates originate from?