Chapter 97: Strategy Meeting

Trying to outmaneuver William Oh is an exercise in futility. He invented the art of strategy thousands of years before he was even born. He has forgotten more about underhanded tactics than he will ever know.

He can read thoughts from actions, discern meaning from absence, and punish ignorance like the smiting of a vengeful god.

-          Jason Salazar

Anna gaped as the stormclouds rolled over them far faster than she’d thought possible, the wind whipping and clawing at the furled sails like a feral thing.

“Don’t just stand there, cut the lines!” Reese shouted, the emaciated sailor’s bare feet were thumping across the deck as he wielded a machete with reckless abandon, trying to sever the lines mooring them to the dock, but finding that Loth’s ropes were not made to be easily cut.

“Don’t we have to-“ Anna asked, pointing at the furled sail.

“What!? NO! you’d snap the mast like a twig! We just need to shove away from this dock and turn into the wind!”

He pointed towards the interior of The Flotilla.

“We’re on the edge of The Flotilla and the wind is pushing us into them! Right now our huge bulk is acting like a sail and jamming us into them! We have to minimize our profile and let the wind go past us and push them away from us faster than we’re being pushed into them! Now help me cut these ropes!”

Anna’s knees went wobbly as she realized that there wasn’t anyone there to take the responsibility off of her shoulders. She liked being in charge of the food and washing, it was simple, it served a valuable purpose, and it wouldn’t sink the ship if she made a mistake.

But now Bee and Ria were gone, and Jean with them, all of the versions of her that bore a hard edge were away, as well as the rest of the party. Anna could tell through Hivemind that they weren’t going to make it back before the storm scattered them…It was all down to her.

Okay, you can do this…

Ex Uno Plures

40->0 Charge Remaining.

Anna had become somewhat accustomed to splitting and then reabsorbing copies in order to  perform an outsized amount of work before her clones got hungry. This was no different.

Just a lot more at once than I’m used to.

In a few heartbeats, no less than forty copies of Anna emerged from her, each of them accompanied by a visceral popping sound as their bones detached from hers.

It was gross, but at the same time, it felt strangely…good, sending a shiver of release and disgust down her spine as each copy emerged from her skin like a cancerous twin, ecstatic to finally be free.

Each copy had a connection to Anna, an intangible string that connected their minds to hers, just like hers was connected to Jean’s through the Hivemind Ability.

It all traced back to Jean, like the spokes of a wheel, and they all instinctively knew that if Jean was lost, they all would be.

Anna leapt into action, each of them frantically searching for something to cut Loth’s spidersilk mooring ropes as thick as a man’s wrist, until one of the more enterprising copies thought to use the enhanced claws from the gauntlet whose effects Jean passed down to them.

Anna was not a fighter, and it took her a moment to discover the best use of her claws, frantically sawing through the stubborn ropes keeping them attached to the now-wildly rocking dock which was beginning to slam into the side of the ship as the waves grew larger and larger in the staggering winds.

Thankfully leviathan scales were stronger than wood.

“OKAY! NOW-” Reese shouted, turning away from his rope and waving for an instant before he paused, frowning. “Were there always three dozen of you?”

“What now!?” Anna demanded.

“Poles!” Rees said, leaning down and picking up a massive wooden pole some forty feet long that’d been stowed alongside the railing. Reese deftly hooked an ankle on a nearby bit of rigging, keeping his feet even as the ship tilted precipitously, causing most of Anna to lose their balance and nearly fall overboard.

When the waves dropped them back down, slamming them to the ground like a toddler throwing a fit, Reese took his pole and stood on the starboard prow, facing away from the wind.

“Grab the others and help me get our nose turned!” He said as he lowered the pole down between them and the dock that was currently being crushed to splinters between Shimmer and the floating warehouse.

The next wave that tossed them would throw something substantially bigger than a dock at them, and Anna had no idea where the limits of Loth’s shipbuilding talent were.

Best not test them, Anna thought, rushing to grab the other half-dozen or so poles stowed across the deck.

“Over here!” Reese said, motioning them to him. “Nose first!”

Reese hauled back on his pole, but didn’t seem to accomplish anything other than bending it a bit. The man weighed less than she did, and he certainly wasn’t as strong.

“Take mine!” the emaciated sailor said, shifting out of the way as six of her took the pole out of his hand and began hauling back on it, shoving the nose of the ship a few inches away from the dock and the warehouse they were crushing into.

That gave the other teams of Anna the opportunity to shove their poles down between Shimmer and the obstruction the wind was slamming them into.

In a matter of seconds, the prow of the ship began to slide into the wind.

“WHOOOO!” Reese whooped, his bare feet thumping across the deck at a sprint as he went for the steering wheel, hauling the rudder to the side and turning into the wind as the team of Annas pulled their poles out of the water and set them against the side of the floating warehouse, shoving it away from them, and pushing their nose further into the wind.

“I think it’s working!”  Anna shouted as the rest of The Flotilla began drifting away, gradually creating more and more space between them and the others.

“Of course it’s working!” Reese shouted. “WAVE!”

The ship nearly flipped over as an enormous wave caught the prow and lifted it straight up, leaving all of Anna clinging for dear life to anything they could get their hands on for a breathless instant before the swell picked the rest of the ship up and shoved them hundreds of feet in the air in a matter of seconds.

Reese’s shrill cackles were the only thing she could hear over the roar of wind and water.

I think I’m gonna throw up, Anna thought as the wave disappeared from beneath them, dropping them another several hundred feet, vanishing as quickly as it had arrived.

Another six waves later, and Anna had long since lost her lunch.

“It’s easing up!” Reese said, grinning at her from where he kept the rudder stable. “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

A pair of massive jaws manifested out of the dark and clamped around Reese, dragging him screaming into the sky.

**Saint Jainus**

“That right there is William Oh,” Jainus said, peering down from his commanding view atop the quarterdeck, where the one-armed boy, his pet kobold and the other members of his Party were conferring.

“Wha?” Joshua gave him a slack-jawed look. “Him?”

“Yes, him. Don’t point and lower your voice. He’s Acuity focused. His whole Party is here, too, which is why I didn’t press the issue earlier. A fight would surely have casualties. Casualties that would make it much more difficult to enact our current mission. The boy is at a disadvantage here, but according to reports, he thrives on disadvantage.”

“So…we just don’t apprehend a Deciever? A seed of chaos in human skin?”

“I didn’t say that,” Jainus muttered. “We must simply ensure the disadvantage is systematic and insurmountable.”

“So, make sure the lashing leaves some permanent damage?” Joshua asked.

Jainus looked over at his assistant, reeling in the urge to raise his voice.

“No. I don’t believe that would work out in our favor. It would create premature conflict between his Party and the church. Until the final piece is in place, let’s keep things at a low simmer. There were no traps found aboard the ship. Let’s maintain an air of geniality. We are the better men, after all.”

“I…see?” Joshua said in a tone that implied he did not see.

“William Oh’s entire Party is here. The vessel they sailed in on is unguarded. Finding it and sinking it is easily bundled with the duties our missionaries have already assumed.

“I see.”

“Without his vessel, William Oh will be forced on the back foot, drifting from ship to ship, working odd jobs and going where the wind takes him rather than charting his own course.”

“Umm…Saint?”

“What?”

Joshua winced as he spoke, reluctant to make his superior seem stupid.

“According to the report, William Oh left the Fifth Floor three weeks ago, and arrived here one week ago with his Leviathan ship. Everyone knows no one made it for him, implying that someone in his Party has the Ability to make entire ships within two weeks. If we sink their ship, won’t they simply make another?”

“Which is why the second order of business is splitting up his Party.” Jainus said, looking down at the one-armed Deceiver. “The Deceiver’s best tactic is surrounding himself with powerful allies. We must find a counter for it.”

“Do you…have any idea how we’ll split them up?”

“Not yet,” Jainus said with a shrug as he counted the people standing around talking to Will. “But I will. The longer we have them aboard, the more cracks they’ll show us.”

Alicia Zodiac, Reginald Thatcher, Mason Lanover, June Ferrier…Which one of you has a price?

Meanwhile, Will and the four mentioned were at the fore, sitting in a semicircle, shielded from the sun by the sails as the ship cut through the water, the noise of the ocean spray creating a natural screen for their conversation. Loth sat beside him at the end of her leash, pretending to be simple-minded as she played with bugs.

Travis was off chatting with the other sailors, making his presence as thin as possible. Will barely remembered he was part of the Party, so why should Saint Jainus?

“So we’ve got a couple advantages here,” Will said.

“What’s that?” Mason asked.

“Brianna joined my Party immediately before we left to the next Floor,” Will said, ticking off a finger. “So they don’t know who she is, what she can do, and her relationship to us. As far as they know, she’s just three random Climbers that got caught up with the rest of us during the Scramble.” Will scanned the deck. “There’s plenty of others who match that description, so she fits right in, and it’s why we’re not including her in this discussion. They also forgot about Travis, and they are incapable of viewing Loth as a proper threat.”

“A dogmatic blind spot,” Loth said, still playing with bugs.

If they had known how dangerous Loth was, there was no way they would have restrained her with one warrior, rather than extensive magical bindings.

Loth was arguably the most inherently dangerous person on their team, followed closely by Alicia, then Will, Brianna, Mason, and so on…

“So the first thing we want to do is get back to our ship,” Will said. “They’re going to give me a lashing just to show who’s boss, but afterwards we can arrange passage on one of those missionary boats and try and track down Shimmer-“

Will cut off as a priest of Granesh approached in his golden embroidered robe.

“I’m pleased to report that no malfeasance was detected on the part of your kobold. Provided it remains supervised throughout your stay onboard The Floating Church of Granesh, there will be no punishment.”

The Priest gave them a polite bow and turned on his heel, heading out of earshot.

“Aw, crap,” Will muttered.

“Isn’t not getting lashes a good thing?” Reggie asked.

“in this case, no.” Loth said without looking up.

“If they thought I was a nobody, they would push a lashing just to flex on the other Scrambled Climbers on board. Enforce discipline.” Will said. “The only reason they didn’t, is because they know who I am.”

“And they’re wary of what you can do.” Loth finished.

“So since they know who I am, and they’re not interested in picking a fight just yet, what are they going to go after?” Will mused for a moment before snapping his fingers. “Shimmer! Because as far as they know, my entire Party is right here, and it’s unprotected. If they can remove our base of operations, we’ll be in a weaker position and that will make us easier pickings, individually.”

Will glanced up at June, who was idly sharpening arrowheads as she listened.

“How good are you at faking taking a bribe?” Will asked.

“How much you paying me not to take it?” June asked.

“Perfect attitude, love it,” Will said. When June’s expression didn’t change, Will clarified. “A lot. I’m offering a lot, plus a personal audience with Lord Zodiac.”

“Deal.”

“Hey…” Alicia whispered, frowning.

“Sorry, but we really need everyone on the same team.” Will said. “We also need to coordinate with Travis and the Tangled girls without anyone noticing.”

“My bugs can deliver the messages.” Loth said.

“Okay, here’s what I want to happen…” Will said, voice lowered, making sure his mouth was concealed behind the mast.

Once he had outlined the plan, it was Loth’s responsibility to figure out how to implement it.

Will stood and stretched his legs, waving up at Saint Jainus on the quarterdeck, seemingly saying ‘thanks for not whipping me!’

I know you know.

The Saint gave a nod and a gesture with his hand.

And you know I know.