As the pirates clambered aboard, Sophia drew her magic to herself once more. The familiar hum of power ran through her veins. She extended her right hand and conjured a blue orb of crackling energy. She tossed it in the air, caught it with her left hand and hurled it at the nearest pirate. It slammed into him and exploded, crackling. The man dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Sophia looked around for another target, right on time to see a woman with a cutlass rush her. She brandished the blade and was mere meters away from Sophia. For a second she froze. Then Sophia’s instincts took over. She extended her hands and conjured a gust of wind. The air drew together and sped towards the woman, hurling her away until she flew over the railing.

Sophia let a soft curse escape her lips. That had been a close one. A shiver ran down her spine, but she fought the feeling back. She looked around the ship. Most pirates were fighting her companions. She could not lash out at the pirates without risking harming her fellow adventurers and she imagined none of them would appreciate getting hit by a stray spell.

However, two pirates had hung back on the Esprit and were currently reloading their muskets. A smile slipped across Sophia’s face. She would show them the dangers of playing with gunpowder.

A small fire appeared in her hand and then flew across the ship towards one of the two muskets. Sophia guided it towards her target, making motions in the air. The pirate had just about enough time to look up before it flew at his powder horn and exploded. The woman was hurled backwards and looked dazed, but otherwise unharmed.

The other pirate looked up as well and saw Sophia, who decided to wave. He continued reloading, now more harried than before. He dropped the gunpowder horn and rapidly picked it back up. All things considered, Sophia was beginning to feel bad for them. These pirates were clearly just beginners and only used to preying on unescorted nobles.

Sophia conjured a second flame, this one a bit bigger than the previous one and once more sent it speeding towards her enemy. However, a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She cast a quick look sideways.

The pirate she had thrown into the water had crawled back out. She was soaked and looked positively murderous. She drew a throwing axe and hurled it at Sophia. Sophia jumped aside, throwing up her hands to break her fall. She rolled to the side and got back up as she heard a loud scream in the background.

“How dare you!” she shouted.

She sent a crackling lightning bolt at her opponent. It struck the pirate with a loud crack. The woman let out a pained cry and dropped to the ground, sizzling slightly. Sophia frowned and then realised the woman had fallen in the water before. She hoped she hadn’t overdone it.

A continued series of screams drew her attention back to the fight. The Esprit was burning. The fire was rapidly spreading and not just across the Esprit, but also their own boat. Right, the fire spell. In her panic, she had forgotten all about the spell and clearly not just relinquished control, but let it run wild as well. As a result, the Esprit was rapidly turning into an inferno and risked devouring their own ship as well.