Battle raged the whole day. The sun was almost touching the horizon. Only two warships and half the merchant ships remained afloat. Meanwhile, the cultists still had seven operational ships. The four more had destroyed wheels, so no one counted them. However, it was impossible to disable or sink even one more. Both warships were sitting ducks because of the destroyed sails. They have spare sails in the holds, but replacing them requires sailors and time. They don’t have either of these. Most of the crew were dead or wounded. And the last seven cultist ships are slowly and clumsily maneuvering to kill them. Merchant ships weren't any better.

  Captain Esmee lost her right leg and had a nasty scar on her face. She almost lost her left eye. Despite this, after the healer gave her only basic care, closing the wounds and wrapping the stump in a bandage, she stood up and went on deck. She held onto the compass stand and watched as two cultist ships approached her ship.

  “It was an honor to sail under your command, Captain.” Said the sailor standing next to her.

  “And you all are good sailors,” Esme answered with difficulty because of the wound. “The preparations?”

  “We have two teams of four. They will jump inside the wheel and try to do as much damage as they can. They should be able to immobilize those two ships. I also told them they should see if they could make a hole below the waterline in the hull. If they're lucky, they might even be able to sink one of them.”

  “Hopefully.”

  “Looks like someone has a similar idea to us.” Sailor pointed at one of the merchant ships. The crew managed to change the main sail and catch good wind. They were sailing straight on one of the cultist ships, still maneuvering helplessly. Everyone could see that they wanted to ram them. It was difficult to predict whether they would succeed in sinking them, but the wheel will be destroyed.

  That means there will be four left. Esmee squinted her tired eyes to see other ships. Sailors on both tried to repair some sails. Most likely, also try to ram enemies. With some luck, there will be only three ships left. It’s too few to attack any major port. Fishing villages will be at risk, but most don't have a real port. People should be able to run away if they spot cultists. And because of the warning, coastal waters will be full of patrols. Three ships don’t have a chance against any coastal squadron. Esme smiled. They win.

  Suddenly, a fountain of water erupted next to the cultist ship that was about to be rammed. It was tall, almost as the mast of the merchant ship. From within something enormous and wriggling emerged and slammed the cultist ship, almost sinking it. The merchant ship barely managed a hard turn to avoid collision.

  “What in the name of all gods is that!” Shouted the sailor.

  “The Lady’s wrath.” Esmee grinned vengefully. After the first tentacle, a few more appear, attacking and sinking cultist ships.

  “Search people in water. Help the wounded. Prepare for the night.” The Captain ordered a terrified sailor.

  “Yes, Captain. At once.” He stuttered and ran to convey orders.

  The port city of Altou was beautiful. Walls built in ancient times from white stone still shine and stand firm. At the entrance to the busy harbor stood a three-hundred-foot-high lighthouse, also built of the same white stone. On top was a place prepared for enormous fires, which burned through the night or when there was a storm. The top floor was also used as a lookout to see approaching ships.

  “A single ship from the north west.” Shouts one of the observers. Runners waiting to deliver news to the port authority get ready. The observer pointed a big spyglass on a tripod in that direction. “They have a church of the Sun banner, they are the official messenger.” One more runner gets ready to inform the temple of the Sun. “Oh gods!” Observed gasped. “They were attacked! Raise a warning flag. Pirates are near!”

  The merchant ship's name was a Dancing Beauty. It was a sleek and relatively small carrack, built for speed rather than volume of goods. The elven captain jumped from the deck before anyone started securing the ship to the pier.

  “I’m Captain Tareal. I was tasked by Captain Esmee to deliver a warning about the invading fleet, heading this way.” He stated, presenting his path and scroll with a letter from the halfling captain.

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  “How many ships?” Simply asked the commander of the harbor guards.

  “Probably not too many right now. They had at least twenty ships. We had ten warships and a similar number of merchant vessels. They will sink as many as they can.”

  “I met Captain Esmee. I wouldn’t be surprised if she sinks them all. However, there could be another invading fleet. All squadrons need to be sent for patrol. We also need to warn other coastal towns.” Commander decided.

  “What about the message?” Asked the priest of the Sun, accompanied by four holy knights.

  “Yes, I almost forgot. Captain Esmee has tasked me with delivering a new prophecy and fulfilling the gods' mission assigned by the new Dungeon Mistress. There are in my cabin under guard.”

  “There is a new dungeon?” The shocked priest asked. All gathered also stood still, not believing what they heard.

  “Yes. It’s fresh news, so not too much is known. We set sail immediately after receiving news. A new dungeon is placed in the middle of the great desert. As the street heralds officially announced, it has two patron gods, The Lady and The Smith. Also, four other gods are watching this place. In the chest should be a letter with details.”

  “Which four gods?” The priest asked with a shaking voice.

  “God of knowledge, Goddess of Beauty, God of Life, and God of Death.” The captain stopped to think for a moment. “Yes. I’m sure. Those four gods.”

  “Captain, you and your crew did a great deed. Even the gods decided to reward you.” The priest bowed slightly.

  “Reward?” Asked the captain, and looked at his path. He got a small blessing, the messenger of the gods. His strength and spirit will be strengthened whenever he helps to provide anything for any church. Combined with his class skill, this blessing could affect the whole crew. “I thank the gods for their blessing. I’m at the church's command.” He bowed to the priest.

  “You don’t seem to be happy?” Priest asked.

  “I’m truly grateful. And I understand the importance of my task. However, my heart is heavy because I don’t stand my ground against cultists.”

  “Remember, Captain. Sometimes, we kill servants of twisted gods personally. But mostly, it’s someone else who does that in our name. We must carry out our duties to the best of our ability, to ensure their sacrifices are not in vain. ”

  “I understood.”

  The next five days were spent in feverish preparations. There were always a few warships ready for a fast sortie to fend off pirates. That kind of mission usually took two or three days. This time, they need full mobilization. Meanwhile, small coastal vessels were sent in every direction to warn all coastal towns and even villages. Conservative estimates were that they have seven days before cultists will reach the continent. However, on the fifth day, two hours before nightfall observer on the lighthouse spotted sails on the horizon.

  “Group of ships from the north west! Seven in total. Two damaged. They sail under the banner of the…” His legs give up.

  “What happened?” The senior observer runs to him.

  “It’s the rest of the Captain Esmee fleet.” He said with a shaky voice, looking at his senior.

  He grabs the spyglass and quickly finds approaching ships.

  “We need every healer from the town. We have lots of wounded coming. And inform everyone about Captain Esmee's victory.” Senior observr shauts orders. When the last runner vanished on the stairs, he started laughing and crying from joy. “Thank you, gods. Thank you for Captain Esmee.”

  When the rest of the flotilla arrived at the harbor, piers were full of sailors and guards to help however they could. The five merchant ships were damaged and don’t have a full set of sails. However, two warships tell the true story of how fierce the battle was. Crews of each were barely one-third of the usual number. And that was only after you added surviving adventurers and a few holy knights.

  They had only two usable sails, and not the main one. Hulls were scratched and cracked everywhere. Carpenters were running constantly to patch the worst leaks and cracks.

  Captain Esmee stood stubbornly on the deck, waiting until the last of her crewmen would be taken care of. Only then did she disembark. On the pier, the crowd gathered and saluted her by placing their right hand on their chest and bowing their heads. She returned the gesture.

  “Captain Esmee. We thank you for your bravery and unyielding spirit!” Grand admiral said aloud for everyone to hear.

  “Thanks, no problem.” She waved her hand. She wasn't prepared for such a gathering, and just tried.

  “I must say we didn’t expect to see any one of you after hearing news about the invading fleet.”

  “We, too, were thinking we would die. They still had seven ships back then, and we used almost everything we had. Merchants were trying to ram them, and I was planning to take one to the bottom with me when they boarded us. If we are lucky, three or four will be left.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Gods intervened. The Lady, to be exact. Turns out our battle happened above the head of one of the guardians of the sea. And you know how animals could be pissed when they spot single cultist. So now imagine an enormous octopus big enough to crack the biggest ship. Big, pissed, houngry octopus.” She laughed hard.