Rage and Rebellion (Histories of Havenhearth)

6.1 Wynemere

When they set sail again in the dark red dawn the sun was mounting the horizon clouds, sparking upon the dew on the rising wheat and mullet, many did so with groggy heads, wishing they could have another hour or two of sleep. The second gorge was wider than the first, the walls a little less steep but equally as rocky. Several caves were cut into the rock, troglodyte houses. Fork-tailed swallows could be seen dipping and diving above them, on their patrols for insects.
As usual Wynemere was on the wheel, and Tobina was nearby, giving her usual and constant spiel of pointless orders interspersed with anti-foreign remarks, when a whizz of air near her head stopped her mid-sentence, an arrow landing on the deck ahead of her. "Attack! We're under attack! To oars!" She yelled, as a round of arrows fired from somewhere along the cliff tops rained down onto the deck's woodwork, and into the canvas of the sails. Wynemere dropped to deck, trying to use the wheel itself as a shield, as she felt the lurch forward as the rowers got to work- at least they would be safe down there below deck, she thought. Tobina decided not to counter attack, which appeared to Wynemere to be a rather prudent decision, as they neither would have had time nor impact on the invisible enemies along the cliffs. Harrier however, took a different approach, returning arrow fire and manning their catapult, which had previously remained hidden. But the long-anticipated attack was not sustained, and the arrows from the sky stopped after the third round.
Then, there was nothing for a few moments until a Cassioni threw herself into the water and somehow, managed to pull herself up onto deck, a blade clenched between her teeth. She made a dash towards the helm, right towards Wynenere, who watched in fascination, as if she were dreaming. The woman's eyes were wide-open, her nostrils flaring, anger and blood-lust across her face. One of the protectorate hurried behind her, drew her sword, and swung, slicing straight through the neck, the head falling to the ground and rolling slightly, it's eyes still as wide-open and angry as they had been upon the body. Wynenere stared at it, while the combattant simply picked it up by the hair, tossing it overboard, and called for help with the body which soon followed the head. A quick survey was done to ensure no more attackers, and a deck hand was tasked with cleaning away the blood.

Wynemere, who had just tasted her first acts of battle, breathed a sigh of relief. She had not experienced the blood-lust and adrenaline rush she had heard of, instead feeling terrified and helpless as she had made herself as small as possible behind the minimal protection offered by the big steering wheel, feeling now relieved that nothing had happened, in the grand scheme of things. But something like this could happen again.
Some of the Cassioni arrows had found their mark however: two aboard Sparrowhawk were hit, including Tobina herself who had received an arrow in her thigh, but not deep enough to do any damage, just enough to make her complain about it a lot. The other sadly received an arrow right through her neck and had fallen overboard backwards, from the impact, her body drifting downstream past Harrier before they could have considered retrieving her safely.
Brackenridge had not known the girl, but she had been young, only sixteen, but had completed several missions already- but her life was now ended before it had even begun, and from an attack which seemed like it was not a real attack at all- was it a warning maybe? It was sadness, to lose a crew member, a life, for nothing. And with no body to show for her sacrifice.
Fortunately, due to being behind, Harrier did not sustain any injuries or damage and the rest of the trip through the gorge occurred strangely without any cause for concern. Crew aboard Sparrowhawk kept a sharp eye out, and at one point the bird's nest thought she spotted imperial protectorate uniforms inside one of the cliffside caves, likely there to quell any uprising.
"Time for rest Brackenridge. The worst of the waters is behind us now and we don't know what's coming." Wynenere rubbed her eyes. "I'll have someone replace you.
"Yes Capitaine. Hettenhausen."
"Certainly not Hettenhausen, Greenmount perhaps,"
"I mean that Hettenhausen wanted to speak to you."
"Bloody jaeger. Where is she?"
"I can't see her Capitaine,"
"I shall send for her when I am ready," Tobina turned and walked towards the ladder, finding that Hettenhausen was already on her way up it.
"Capitaine? Can we speak?" Tobina sighed.
"I'm a bit tired, can we please wait until-?" She opted for the polite route.
"It's a matter of duty."
"Until after I've had a short rest?"
"But Aren't Capitaines always on duty?" Hettenhausen haughtily flicked back her yellow hair away from her face.
"Sleeping is also duty. Now kindly leave me be," she glared at her.
"I won't keep you long Capitaine," Hettenhausen drew out the last syllable, as if on purpose to further annoy her. Subterfuge was fuming, Wynenere could tell, but just as they moved beyond Wynenere's hearing, she heard Tobina's mumbling "Bloody foreigners,"
Wynemere felt embarrassed of her land's people and their opinions. How could they not see the prejudice and hypocrisy of their ways?
The problem Wynemere foresaw was that the capitaine's inherent and unfounded dislike of anyone not Tainish, which she was neither afraid to make publicly known, was likely to heighten tensions and enhance the difficulty of any existing sensitive issues relating to interland relationships. Or it might even cause an entirely new problem where one might not have previously existed. Wynemere was certain that a mission like this, would proceed far more smoothly with someone a little more open-minded and informed about other cultures at the head of it. Subterfuge would be less likely to do any damage were she confined to the removal aspect of the mission. Unfortunately, it seemed as if she thought she had been tasked with representing all Tainish on any issues of legation, and personally responsible for expansion of the Tainish empire. Wynemere asked the spirits to guide her Capitaine and the other anti-foreigners well.
It was not long until her replacement arrived and she went straight to quarters, falling asleep without even removing her sailing garments.