Adventures of the Gorguardian Chapter 1: Climactic Beginnings Part 4

“Get yer slithering hide out of that room!  It was reserved for a hero, not some accursed monster,” Captain’s voice hollered through the door.  Gorguardian could hear other voices with him.  It didn’t take much thought to realize that she’d really sunk herself this time.  Here she was, trapped in a small room with a venomous mob in front of her one way out.

There was only one thing left to do.

“I am a hero!” Gorguardian called out.

Laughter rose through the wooden walls around her.

“You, a hero?” Captain bellowed.  “No demon can ever be a hero – especially not a hideous she-devil.  Now get out of there before my boys break the door down and rip ye out by yer sleazy scales!”

A head full of resentful hisses echoed in Gorguardian’s ears.  She took a deep breath.  “No you won’t caussse I’ll turn anyone to ssstone who triesss to come in here.”

The voices went quiet.  Then Captain snarled, “Then we’ll starve ye out!  Lads, post a guard at the door and skewer anything that dares peer through it.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Gorguardian warned.

“Since when do I care about a female’s opinions?” Captain shouted.

“Sssince I have both fire and a blade in here!” Gorguardian answered.  “I can burn this cccity into the sssea.  Then I’ll jussst cut through the ash and be free.”

Captain’s tone was thick with malice.  “Ye wouldn’t dare!”

“I told ye we should have put a light bulb in there!” moaned a less-gruff male voice.  “‘Electricity is safer’ says I but noooooooo!  Yer infernal ‘Time Law’ loyalties doom us all to the inferno of Davey Jones’ stove.  Hope yer happy, Captain.”

As the voice raged on, more of those higher-pitched voices caught Gorguardian’s hearing.

“City?  What city?”

“I think she means the ship,”

“Who hasn’t seen a ship before?”

“They barely have coastline canoes in this time.  Remember?  Our ship probably looks like a magic island of the gods.”

Once more, Captain’s voice rose above all others.  “Fetch me the night goggles.  I’d rather die than allow the ChronoSloop to have beasts aboard her decks – especially of the female variety.”

Just enough time passed to allow that skittering sound to nearly be drowned out by the rising grumbling in Gorguardian’s stomach.  She swallowed hard in an attempt to keep her sudden hunger down.  Then a squeaky voice said, “Here, Captain Second, sir.”

Hinges shrieked in misery as the door forcibly opened.  In stepped a tall hairbeast of a man.  Most of him was covered in metal ornament laden cloth that hugged each limb of his body.  A lop-sided pan with an extended edge sat on his head.  The upper part of his face was covered by some strange wrapping which must be the “night goggles” that Gorguardian had heard mentioned.  Only a snarl showed through the salt colored curls which made up the rest of the captain’s face.

Malevolent creaks followed the door into its closing click.

Every crew member held their breath as the commotion began.  Slams, stomping and a few crashes echoed through the room’s walls.  There was a short series of shouts followed by a booming smash.  Captain Second knocked the door clean off its hinges as he flew through the doorway!

An angry-faced Gorguardian stood in the, now doorless, opening.  “I warned you that I was being trained asss a burial sssite sssentry.  Sssome old guy with the reflexsses of a drunkard means nothing to me.”

In the utter silence, Gorguardian took a quick look around.  Her eyes shut as she clamped her hands over her mouth.  But her snakes had no misgivings about saying what they saw.

Alongside the human members of the crew were none other than giant… furry… long-tailed…

“Ratsss!”

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