The scene was an ancient desert city partially sink into sand dunes. The sky is blue and the few white clouds up there don't bothered the sun who shine down onto the scenery. Sometimes only ruins of tall towers can be seen above the yellow sands. It tell that a story that in some time in history, there was a well know city of famous healers. If we look around, we can notice that today structures on the hill are mainly just simple houses build atop of what was left. Plus the palm trees, bushes and even grass managed to put down they roots on places, where you will expect a roof of some castle, citadel and such. Once a famous city, now a village atop a hill.
But the current citizens of this place, keep the legend of they former glory alive by talking stories to the youngsters and travelers. This place, even after its was covered by a blanked of dunes is still alive as the lake next to the ruins sometimes still show a lonely simple ship or two. It can be native fishing boat made from palm leaves, planks or such, or a wooden caravel of a traveling merchants, suitable for a shallow coasts or calm sea. This lake is actually connected onto a bay, by a narrow passage between the dunes and ruins. The passage is wide enough for a ship to pass it, as if it was hand made, like a gate. By comparing the lake to the lost city one can imagine that it was the city who actually sink onto the ground and the dunes only covered the fallen companion by a blanked. For that the elders warn the youngsters and travelers from the idea to explore underground, if they found a stairs leading down onto the cold shadows. Because many tried and never returned. That means that many entrances and holes was sealed away by villagers or by the time, or hid behind a secret door or a bush leaves.
.
Right now a curious girl was hasty descending some stone stairs-way deep onto the shadows, expecting some wild adventure in the land of ancestors. Because we had been worried about her, we went right behind her to stop her and drag her out onto the sun. But she is fast and she find a crack into the wall at the bottom on end of the road. What seems to be a dead end soon show to be a hidden passage way onto the wold lost in history.
The curiosity wins over us and we began to explore the buried halls and passage ways, illuminated by a gloving plants life that grow from the walls and puddles of waters. This place was left behind the present of the world above, still had some magic in it, still offering a sanctuary to any visitor that will be passing there. We continue to walk, to explore, lead by the girl, as if she was searching for something or followed a dream or distant memory. But we quickly realize that the former city was a big one. Despite of being gnawed away by the ravages of time, many streets, houses and halls was still standing. Many levels, squares and terraces still awaits to be useful once again.
Then as we descend lower to the bottom levels, we found that we are not alone.
.
Bandits…
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Deep down, there is a forgotten trade route, that was already underground, long before the city sink. It was a former safe passage that connected this city to other places. Citizens used the underground river network to transport goods like medicine; quickly and reliable. But after the rivers/ canals and caves network get reshaped, and previous occupants abandoned the routes; the baddies come in. They replicate the ships designs and manage to utilize the network for they own use. We even found they secret base and learn something about they history and plans.
However they found us and they was not happy about our sneaking around theirs camp. They somehow recognize the girl and they boss decide to capture her, angrily shouting that is the most important thing to do.
So~o the chase begun.
Because they had a numerical advantage, we abandon the chance of going back the route we arrived and decide to seize a ship from the port. We jump onto some boat/ raft/ Drakkar [Old Wiking ship that can sail a meter deep river] or what ever you will call this ancient looking design that seems to be nearly effortlessly flow the underground rivers. We depart quickly, hasty following the flow of the underground river.
Of course the bandits do the same and a few ships got onto our tail in a race where they know, that they have a more experience in it. They were sure that they will eventually catch on us. We though that we may have a solid chance if we reduce the fight into a small groups skirmishes. Letting one ship to hang out and quickly deal with boarding party, before next one manage to do it.
Yet as we pass a small cave lake, we realize that this harbor don't have a single port. A glance at the sheer size and capacity that place, we only imagine how busy the underground harbor of former ancient city was during its peak.
Our pursuers was not the quite type and soon everybody knew what going on.
The next time we look back while on run, sailing the cave river, there was like fifty ships on our tail. In simple terms; it was a fewer of a hunt. The bandits were like a pirates drunk by the excitement of chasing a high value treasure. A wolf pack dashing the panicking rabbit had better organization that those who enjoyed the wild race after a trophy. We know that they will not give up.
We needed a quite a big twist in a story, to turn the favors in our direction. So when we noticed a crossroads with a river going up: we make the turn. We went onto a narrow tunnel, where the river stream grabs the boat and carry it upwards to the hills. We look back and there was a pirate caravan pursuing us in a line. They boss had a confident expression, glaring at us with the eyes of a hunter staring its pray dead. The river climbed up in such rate that we fell like if we was pulled up into a tube. Turnings was not an issue, the stream carried the boat on its own.
Then, we saw a wall of a reverse waterfall and the boat crass to it. No!, it pass it like it was a magical curtain covering some unnaturally natural anomaly.
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After the splash, we opened our wet eyes. The next thing we saw was a reflection of the sun on a water surface. We arrived at the lake next to the ancient city ruins. The bandits in a pirate mood was not to far behind us and we dint make a significant distance when the caravan start to pop up on the lake through the hidden exit. At first glance it seemed that we have nowhere to run, because there was some ships ahead of us that just now flow onto the lake through the narrow passage.
But, our gamble payed out. Those ships was not belonging to the bandits. Those were this country military Carrack. [Sailing ship of the 14th–17th centuries that was usually built with three masts, the mainmast and foremast being rigged with square sails and the mizzenmast rigged with a fore-and-aft triangular lateen sail.] They must arrived to investigate and search for something, someone. We used our telescope to learn that the Captain in charge of those war ships was someone who we knew. We already knew that certain baddies was a thorn of pain in a foot for a country and something that fit that description was pursuing us right now. The Captain was using a telescope binocular to observe the sudden situation, reading ours flag signals message and quickly give out order for a battle. The trio of Carrack spread to cover the wings, turning they ships to show its sides. Then on all of them a two windows opened-up on it wooden frame and a barrel of a bronze cannon peak out of the opening.
With a loud roars, the trio of military Carrack, with a six cannons on total, began fire on the pirate Drakkars's pursuing us.
At first, the hitting of target was sporadic, but soon the trained guns crew got the right grip on distance and maneuverability of the boats that they start effectively snipping them out of the lake surface. Quite soon they overwhelming fire power and rate got to the point that they were snipping the baddies right after they pop out from the exist. They were on destroying everything that come out.
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Except two ship. The bandit boss was set on us, giving up on escaping. Under the unceasing fire of cannons and whistle of cannon balls above the lake, its Drakkas ram onto owns. The hook struck onto the side, locking both vessels onto each others. The weapons was drawn on both sides, the bandits skipped the gap and the battle began.
Even if the boss was skilled, the rest of the bandits was not a problem. So we will certainly win.
Boss make its last attempt to capture the girl and drag it with itself onto the bottom of the lake, not wanting to give us any form of victory; only a despair of defeat.
But a gunshot echoed…
...in clear shock, the boss glanced at the bleeding gun shot wound, lost the strength in its limbs, fall over the edge and quickly descending onto the deeps. As we staring: for a moment, there was this feeling that the boss was going away with it an important secret or a clue.
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But our attention instantly turned into the direction from where the gunshot arrived. The middle Carrack was already approaching us in a steady speed. Its Captain was handling on its side, standing on the wooden railing and holding onto the rope ladder that leads onto the crow nest on the top of the most. Captain was leaning to the side and a smoke was coming out from the barrel of a flint pistol in its hand. The captain sniped out the boss to protect the girl and it look like a master level of marksmanship on the maximum fire range of the pistol.
As we look back on where the pursuers was meant to be, we saw only the debris of the boats floating around. The Carrack cannons were silent. The threat of bandits/pirates was gone as if they voluntarily chose to descend onto the lake floor. The battle was over.
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The captain let us to climb onto the deck. As we talk, we got a feeling that the Captain got a suspicious glance in its eyes as if it recognize the girl or at last realize the girl seems to hold some secret wort of a treasure. Anyway that Carrack head to the simple port of the villagers where it dock. We went onto the village on the hill to investigate.
Siting around a campfire we talk a lot with the locals about the former ancient city of healers, the bandits and they obsession with the girl itself. As the sun falls after a horizon, the elders give a permission for the girl to go onto another adventure and join us onto our travel to the capital with the Captain.
[Based on dream]