Free Chaos Descending by Toby Neighbors

was a ploy to draw in target vessels so that the pirates under her command could board and steal the cargo from other ships.
    She felt Crest Dancer begin to shift beneath her, and she adjusted her weight over the wooden peg she used for a leg. Learning to walk with a fake leg was difficult for anyone, but Roleena had been forced to learn to walk on a moving deck that shifted with the sea. Despite being born into a noble household and having a promising future in Shupor, Roleena had been drawn to the sea. She loved the sense of freedom and excitement that being a sailor offered. Of course, Ladies weren't supposed to go to sea. They certainly weren't expected to command ships or lead men in combat, but Roleena had never been content to simply sit back and be a spectator in life. She wanted to live, to embrace every opportunity that came her way. She didn't respect the laws that were crafted by men in the high halls who thought of women as property, so she had no qualms about breaking those laws.
    “Is everyone armed and ready?” she called down to her first officer when he reappeared on the main deck from down below.
    Slice wasn’t what many would consider officer material. His nose was crooked from being broken and he had a cruel look that would make most people nervous. Roleena knew she had a wild animal in a position of power on her ship, but as long as she kept Slice and his band of ruffians well fed with a steady diet of ill-gotten goods, she could trust him. If that ever changed, she wouldn’t hesitate to cut his throat and toss his filthy body overboard.
    “Aye, and hungry for blood,” he called back.
    “Good, get to your ballista and await my order. Make sure you've got plenty of cable.”
    Slice nodded and then hurried to the bow of the ship. The ballista was essentially a large crossbow that was mounted on a pivoting platform. The bowstring was as thick as a grown man’s first two fingers and took four men to pull back. It fired long bolts that had various tips. One was a penetration point that was honed razor sharp and used to puncture a ship’s hull. Another looked more like a grappling hook and could be used to tangle up in the rigging of a ship. Both had long cables that were made of leather, not hempen rope. The leather was more difficult to cut away, even with sea axes, giving Crest Dancer time to pull the other ship close enough to board.
    “Everything is ready, Captain,” called a tall, stoop-shouldered sailor named Daak. He was in charge of connecting the ships with a ladder that had hooks on either end to catch on a ship's railing. Most of Roleena's crew waited just below the main deck and would come pouring up to cross over onto the merchant ship. Her sailors were tough men, well armed and eager for plunder. She had delivered it to them before, first by taking control of Crest Dancer , but also by overtaking a smaller ship that had been full of goods which she was able to sell in the northern ports. She had kept the lion’s share of the profits, of course, but she had used the money wisely, buying weapons for her crew and building the ballista.
    Slice had asked if she had plans, and the truth was she had many. She had no desire to be a queen locked away in a castle, or even to rule a kingdom herself. She wanted not only the freedom and adventure of the high seas, but she wanted to be the master of every vessel that ventured into her domain. And she wanted to kill the wizard Zollin, but that would come in time. First, she needed more ships, more men, and most of all, more gold.
    The merchant ship was signaling to them. Roleena could see the vessel had changed tack and was sailing toward Crest Dancer .
    “They want to know what's wrong,” said the man at the large ship's wheel.
    Roleena knew the seafaring language of colored flags and the signals they conveyed, but no one on her ship knew that. She liked the idea of knowing more than her crew, and she wasn't quick to share her own secrets, so she