Returning from the frigid mountain range to the moderate climate of a coastal town was much like the thawing from winter to spring. Vynx welcomed the change in scenery, even if their reasons for visiting were far from leisurely. A royal summons had called for him to investigate the disappearances of several merchant vessels at sea. While such operations were normally above his pay grade, his benefactor, King Charlemald, made it all too clear that Vynx and the Alchemy Commission owed him for his 'generous sponsorship.'  

"Alfred should have my new handgun and ammunition ready after this mission," Vynx noted. He tucked the letter from the Commission into his jacket pocket after he finished scanning the details once more. Vynx had been assigned to protect one of the King's trading ships departing that morning, and unfortunately, room aboard was limited. As much as his female companions wanted to join him, Vynx had no choice but to ask them to stay in town until his return. At least they had a cushy inn room for themselves and plenty of local jobs to handle in his absence. 

The only companion he couldn't exactly leave behind was Laven. His demonic mistress gladly stayed out of sight from the other sailors, inhabiting the hunter's shadow as he boarded the full-rigged ship. "Hmph. Do you really think a gun will be as useful as my powers?" Laven scoffed in his mind. 

"Your help is invaluable, Laven." Vynx sighed internally while he tried to placate the succubus. "But when it comes to dealing with the undead, a little holy firepower certainly won't hurt." Squinting from the morning sun, the hunter ambled onto the ship's deck and grimaced as the wooden boards under him creaked. He had not forgotten his last time aboard a ship and the seasickness that came with it. While this vessel was much larger than the schooner he had hired to search for mermaid tears, he could still feel every tilt and sway of the deck under his feet.

"What's wrong? I thought you would be familiar with sailing by now," Laven jeered.

"Ugh… I'll get my sea legs soon enough. Just… give me a minute." Vynx sauntered to the Captain and flashed his royal badge. "Mornin', Captain. The name's Vynx Tusand, Vampire Hunter. The King asked me to guard this ship in case you guys run into any trouble. Have there been any reports about anything strange during your recent voyages?" he asked.

The Captain was a grizzled older man with a tanned complexion and a thick grey beard. As Vynx introduced himself, he gave a skeptical look at the hunter's badge before cracking a dry grin. "Vampire Hunter, eh? Normally, I'd say that you're out of your element here… but the men have been mumbling tales of ghost ships, and it's true that more than a few vessels have disappeared," the Captain replied. He took a drag from his pipe before puffing a ring of smoke in Vynx's direction. "If you ask me, it could be any manner of pirates or bad weather. Think you're up for dealing with those?"

"Pirates? Sure. Nasty weather? Not so much." Vynx maintained his business-like smile even as the tobacco smoke wafted past his face. "If something besides the forces of nature attacks this ship, you can count on me to deal with it."

"Hah! You're confident at least, lad," the man bellowed. "You can call me Captain Bruligan."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Captain. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to take a proper look around the ship to get my bearings." Vynx saluted the bearded fellow before heading to the stairs that led below deck. It was best to check for any coffins or suspicious cargo before they set sail.

The scent of the salty sea and unwashed sailors was one that Vynx had to get used to. Rather than a nice private cabin to himself, he was stuck rooming with the rest of the crew and assigned a dingy hammock next to the third mate. The officer was, thankfully, a friendly chap willing to entertain Vynx's questions about the state of the ship and their last few voyages. While the wealthy merchants they were escorting had personal lodgings and beds, the rest of the crew and passengers made do with the cramped spaces on the lower decks. Vynx was no stranger to roughing it out in the wilderness, but the days spent aboard the Princess Marianne were quickly driving the hunter stir crazy.

As the days marched on, Vynx found himself longing for his other female companions more often than not. Initially, he believed that he would welcome the respite from the women's nagging. Instead, he was beginning to miss the way that Sophia and Soleil always had something to harp on. He also desperately craved Hilde's embrace and waking up to her sweet voice—but he had to settle on Laven's mocking comments to keep him sane instead. The succubus seemed to relish in his misery aboard the ship, though she at least provided Vynx with her company in the dreamscape (even if it meant having to wash his trousers early every morning). Privacy and shame were no longer things he could afford in his ocean-bound prison.

Queasy and uncomfortable as he was, Vynx did not actually mind the camaraderie of the crew. While wary at first, the men soon welcomed him as one of their own after several nights of drunken sea shanties and undefeated matches in arm wrestling. When not patrolling for danger, Vynx chipped in with chores around the ship and earned his share of rum and salted pork. It kept him occupied from his worries about the ladies back on shore, and he rather enjoyed trading tales with his shipmates. By the end of the first week at sea, Vynx had settled into his naval routine.

On the eighth night, long after most of the sailors had retired for the evening, Vynx began his rounds on the upper deck. The shimmering stars were the only source of light during the moonless night, and Vynx had begun to study how the first mate used them to navigate the ship. He never paid much attention to the constellations before, but out on the open sea, they were a beautiful sight to behold. Vynx approached the rails by the bow of the ship and propped his elbows on the oak. Even with his ability to see in low light, the waters below were an endless expanse of black—a reminder of the cold grave that awaited should one fall overboard. Vynx shuddered to himself; sigil or no, drowning was not a fate he wanted to experience in this lifetime.

Dark clouds approached from the distance, blotting out the stars in their wake. He could smell the change in the air: rain was coming. Vynx was ready to call it a night and seek shelter below deck until he spotted an array of green specks on the horizon. The hunter paused and narrowed his eyes. The motes of light grew at an alarming speed until he realized they were a part of a looming silhouette in the distance. It was undeniably an approaching ship.

"Looks like that's our ghost ship. Laven, get ready to back me up." Vynx could hear the ship bell ringing frantically behind him as the officer on duty caught sight of the ominous lights. Given that the ship was speeding directly towards them, Vynx had no doubt that a battle was inevitable.

The quiet of the upper deck was broken by the urgent shouting of orders, and an organized chaos took over the ship. One very irate Captain Bruligan threw open the doors to his quarters and marched up to take the wheel from the first mate. Every man took his station, and the cannons were rolled into position. 

"I need a way to get on that vessel. Any bright ideas?" Vynx asked. 

"If you're asking if I can fly you over there, that's a hard no," Laven scoffed. 

"It was worth a try." He shoved his way to the nearest rope ladder. The wind was picking up, enough to shake the sails and force Vynx to hold on for dear life with each rung he climbed. Whether by the will of the gods or some other supernatural force, the ghost ship appeared to be leading the storm right to them. Pelting rain came down upon Vynx, soaking through his jacket while he braced himself against the howling gales. As Vynx reached the crow's nest, a violet bolt of lightning illuminated the enemy ship. Ragged black sails billowed from its masts, and a distinct flag marked with a skull and crossbones flapped against the turbulent winds. Then as if on command, cannon fire erupted from below in sync with the booming clap of thunder. 

The merchant ship rocked violently from impact, and Vynx grabbed hold of the mast with both arms before he could be thrown from the nest. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he sputtered. As if the angry waves below weren't enough of a problem. Sucking in his breath, he counted down the seconds in his mind as the ships came within boarding distance from each other. If what he knew about pirates was true, they were normally more interested in looting valuable goods than sinking an entire ship. Unfortunately, their enemy didn't appear to be any ordinary pirates, and Vynx couldn't afford to leave all the fighting to the sailors. "Three… two… one!" The hunter stepped onto the railing and then launched himself off the crow's nest. 

"What the HELL are you doing?!" Laven shrieked in his mind. As the hunter went flailing through the air, the succubus manifested herself behind him and flapped her wings rapidly. She clutched Vynx's arm, grunting in effort as his weight dragged them both down. It took all her strength to keep them from falling into the waters below, and with a strained hiss, she slowed their descent enough for Vynx to land on the opposite deck. 

"See, I knew you could do it, Laven!" the hunter laughed. He had little time to tease his fuming companion before gunfire was set loose in his direction. Vynx ducked just as two lead balls whizzed past his head. In a moment, the pirates were upon him, but the hunter met their blades with steel of his own. Up close, Vynx could finally identify the enemy for what they really were: vampires. 

Red eyes gleamed within their sullen sockets, and the vampiric raiders wasted no time surrounding the hunter. They attacked with a variety of swords and flintlock pistols, but Vynx moved swiftly through the crowd, slicing through bodies and limbs with unrestrained force. If they had been human, he might have held back and aimed to seize the ship—but these were the very beasts he had been hired to slay, and there was nothing like the stench of blood to remind him of home. 

Laven seemed as elated as he was and formed twin daggers of magic in her hands. "No need to hold back then? That's what I like." The succubus appeared in and out of sight, taking out the nearby gunmen and sowing confusion among the vampires. 

"Aim for the cannoneers! We need to protect our ship!" Vynx reminded her. While his companion silenced the pirates manning the cannons, Vynx fought off the main force and shot down any vampire he saw attempting to board the Princess Marianne. There were easily over a hundred pirates on the ship, some more ghastly-looking than others. While not literally a skeleton crew, many of the pirates behaved similarly to the blood-starved thralls Vynx had eliminated before. For there to be so many thralls in one place and still a semblance of order among the vampires, Vynx knew that someone powerful had to be controlling them—someone with status on par with a Vampire Lord. 

"ENOUGH! I'll deal with this one." 

A booming voice reverberated across the ship's deck. Every vampire froze at once before leaping out of range from Vynx. Heavy footsteps marched down the wooden steps from the upper deck, and an imposing, silver-haired vampire parted the line of crewmen. By the appearance of his lengthy ebony jacket and golden buckles, Vynx could hazard a guess that this man was their captain, and much like other vampire nobles, his visage was far more elegant than that of his underlings. Yet the lines of age were chiselled into his features, and a well-trimmed, grey beard hinted at his original age—even if the man had far surpassed such years. 

"So a Vampire Lord was at the helm of this ship all along. I didn't expect to see one of your kind all the way out here," Vynx admitted. He straightened his posture and kept his cutlass poised defensively in front of him. "The last few Lords I ran into all preferred old castles and stuffy mansions," the hunter quipped. A bold grin stretched across his face. He could easily charge King Charlemald an extra fifty percent for bringing back the head of a Vampire Lord. 

"Bah, why settle for a piece of land when I could rule the endless ocean instead?" The Captain belted out a callous laugh. "I remember you, Hunter. And I'll be repaying you for the 'gift' that you gave me." The vampire tilted his head upward, revealing a large, faded scar across his neck. He drew his sabre from its sheath and took another undaunted step towards Vynx.

Vynx narrowed his eyes. "Sorry to break it to you, but I'm not that man, and I sure as hell don't remember you."

"Is that right? Then allow me to introduce myself once more." The man performed a sweeping bow with all the grace and confidence of a true noble. "I am Captain Javier Ortega, Lord of the Seas."