My hands shook as I drew my spear and pointed it at him. Vark laughed. I took an involuntary step back, bumping up against the railing. Then he charged, easily parrying my strike with his own, then striking my hand with the flat of his rapier, causing me to drop my weapon. He kicked it away, and I took the opening to stomp as hard as I could on his foot. "Bitch," he snarled. Snickers leapt out of my bag, bounded over Vark, and tried to slash at his legs. He didn't land a hit, but at least Vark was distracted.
I heard swearing from below me. Liona and Kala were still trying to climb up the side. We were on our own for now. I pressed forward, weaponless, trying to cut Vark with the shark teeth adorning my armor. To my surprise, I drew blood, cutting a deep gash in his collarbone. The sailor looked staggered for a moment, then turned his head and shouted "Burn them! Burn them all! Do it! Now!" before lunging at me shoulder-first. He caught me in the chest, and the railing snapped behind me. For a moment I hung in the air, watching him crumple into a heap, Snickers standing over him triumphantly with a sap in hand. Then I fell.
The impact knocked the wind out of me. I landed on my back in the water, getting a mouthful of seawater as I briefly plunged below the surface before floating back up. I got to my hands and knees and vomited. Everything hurt. I guess my protective magic doesn't help against gravity. Good to know.
There was a splash next to me. I realized Liona was calling my name. She laid her hands on me and the pain instantly went away. "Come on, Annie, we can't let him destroy evidence!" she said. "Get your invincible butt up there!"
"Right," I said, gathering my senses, and swiftly climbed back up onto the deck where Snickers was currently going through Vark's pockets. The sound of shrieking monkeys and parrots welled up from belowdecks, followed by a terrible crash, a woman's high-pitched scream, and a strange, shrill keening.
"There are animals down there being hurt!" said Kala, leaping over the railing onto the deck and running for the staircase leading into the hold. I grabbed my fallen spear and followed on her heels. Inside, we saw a living nightmare. An enormous spider-like monster the size of a horse stood over the body of a female sailor. Its immense mandibles chattered and clacked with obvious hunger as it turned toward us.
"We have to get those animals out of the cages!" Kala said urgently, pointing. All manner of exotic animals were trapped in cages, some of which were on fire. But the spider-thing—I wracked my brain trying to think what it might be, but I came up blank—wasn't going to give us time. It charged toward us. Kala tugged another flower off her necklace and tossed it at the monster's feet, screwing up her face in concentration. Then the beast was on her. She dove out of the way just before it could catch her in those massive jaws. "Snickers! Where are you? We have a situation!" I yelled, jabbing with my spear and managing to draw blood. The creature keened again and turned to face me. "Aw crap," I said.
A crossbow bolt sprouted from the wood floor next to the monster. "Snickers not coming down there!" came the kobold's voice from the grate above us. "Shoot from here, please and thank you!" Then Kala finished her spell. Oversized bees started pouring out of her flower, swarming over the monster as it keened again in pain. It flailed wildly, trying to get them off. Taking advantage of its temporary distraction, I moved into a flanking position and struck again, but the sound of a monkey's screech threw me off-balance, and I missed. Another crossbow bolt hit the floor next to the creature.
Kala moved to one of the cages, trying to free the animal inside without losing her concentration. The bees had started stinging the spider-thing's eyes, but it lunged blindly at my position—and its oversized front legs grabbed me, pulling me into the swarm with it. "FUCK!" I shouted. I felt its powerful mandibles crunch down on my torso, and I screamed in pain. The protective field around me strained and started to crack. It could only take so much. Now the bees were coming at both of us indiscriminately. I shut my eyes and strained to escape, but it only grabbed me harder. There was a sudden crushing agony as it finally snapped through my wards. Then everything went black.
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