Harry and the Kraken

Harry the hairiest strongest pirate and his intrepid crew are off to battle a Kraken and other hairy adventures

 

Harry and the Kraken

Harry the Pirate Captain Book 1

by Philip L. Hutson

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure

 

Harry, the strongest, bravest, and hairiest pirate, is the legendary captain of the Flying Dragon. He is always on the hunt for adventure and treasure but never at the expense of his crew or the target of his pirating. One day, while celebrating a large haul in their favorite pub, a stranger stumbles in. He tells them he lost his whole crew in a heroic battle against an evil, man-eating kraken. Harry and his loyal crew don’t hesitate to avenge the crew and remove the threat. Before they even get out to the open ocean they encounter a mysterious stranger. The stranger, who isn’t quite what he seems, keeps the ship's crew guessing what he will do next. The flying dragon starts the voyage by trying to avoid detection by spies or pirate hunters. They are surprised to find a Royal Navy pirate hunter in a Spanish port where it does not belong. The crew prepares for a fight and a certain defeat. In what appears to be dumb luck the stranger causes a cannon to fire and make an incredible shot that disables a Royal Navy man-o-war. Harry and the Kraken is a lighthearted fantasy and an introduction to Harry’s magical universe.

EXCERPT

Micah, Harry’s cabin boy, was in the hold with Bob when the crew brought down the fish Jacques had caught.

Four crewmen came through the hatch door and lined up on the stairs so that they could try and pass the fish down the stairs. By doing it that way, they thought no one would go sliding down the stairs riding a fish or, worse, a fish riding a sailor.

On a ship, the ropes and sails are massive and heavy, and moving them takes a lot of strength. Because of that, every sailor on the ship was very strong. So even though the fish were heavy, the sailors would have no problem handling them.

“All right, I’m ready.” The sailor at the top of the stairs yelled up through the hatch. He had his arms out, ready to catch the fish as they were passed down.

The first fish came through the passageway.

“Ooph.” The first fish came through, hitting him in the chest and knocking the air out of him. “Uh Uh. Oh no,” the sailor said, waving his arms to try to keep his balance. He was unsuccessful and fell into the second sailor.

“Ow,” The second sailor said as the fish and sailor hit him. “Ahhhh,” he said as he fell down the stairs with the fish and first sailor. The ball of fish and sailors hit the third sailor before he knew what was happening.

The last sailor on the stairs, being a little quicker, tried to jump out of the way of the oncoming chaos. “Ouch,” he said as the fish's tail hit him on the backside. The assistance from the fish’s tail ended up propelling him not just a few inches out of the way but now a few feet. He went flying up with his arms cartwheeling and his legs running. His less-than-graceful vault ended with him landing headfirst into a large barrel of salt.

“What’s all this? Where did the fish come from?” Bob asked when he saw the slapstick comedy routine. “While I appreciate a good show, especially when it involves a tumbling routine, this is not the right place for this. We are trying to work down here.”

Micah and Bob went over to the sailor who was getting a salt facial to see if he wanted to get out or continue to enjoy his sailor’s spa.

“Would you like help getting out?” Bob asked the sailor.

“Mhm mff,” The sailor responded.

“So, what do you think, Micah? Was that a yes, or was he saying to leave him?” Bob asked.

“I think he’s probably had enough curing time. If we leave him too long, the salt will scrub his face raw.” Micah said.

“Good point. Let's pull him out.” Bob said.

Micah, being a cabin boy, wasn’t very tall, so pulling him out was not possible for him. “Bob, I’ll hold the barrel while you pull him out. No point in continuing the comedy show.”

Bob’s day-to-day job entailed moving very heavy objects, so lifting a sailor was not a difficult task. He wrapped his arms around the sailor and started pulling while Micah held onto the barrel rim to keep it from tipping. Bob pulled and pulled and even grunted to make sure everyone knew how hard he was working to get the sailor out. Bob was pulling so hard he lifted the sailor, barrel, and Micah off the deck. He started shaking the sailor up and down to try and loosen him. Micah, still hanging on, was bouncing up and down with every shake. “I uff. Think uff. He’s uff. Almost uff. Free uff.” Micah said, interspersed with breaths of air as Bob shook him.

“Wow, how did you get so stuck?” Bob said.

“Mmr grs yr,” The sailor said. There was a pop, and the sailor came free. “Hurting me.”

The sailor came out of the barrel. Bob and the sailor trapped in his bear hug went stumbling back. Bob took a couple of steps backward and then fell over a wooden crate, with the sailor landing on him. The barrel crashed down, and Micah landed in a heap. It wobbled and then rolled around on its bottom, trying to decide if it wanted to fall over and spill salt everywhere or land upwards. The barrel made a couple of slow spin rolls, then gave into the whisperings of gravity and fell over. The salt was thrown out, covering the floor of the hold. The last piece of pork that had been in the salt flew out and landed in Bob’s open mouth.

“I didn’t realize you were hungry, Bob. I would have brought some food down with me.” Micah said when he saw the piece of salted pork. “That looks like a very old piece. There must be better pieces around,” Micah said, holding back laughter. He stood up, brushed himself off, and looked over the result of the fun. The way the barrel had landed, the salt had completely missed Micah, so he only had some dust from the floor to remove from his clothing.

The sailors that had landed at the bottom of the stairs had untangled themselves enough to watch the entertainment by Bob and Micah. They now applauded, showing their appreciation for an improvised comedy routine.

“Thank you, thank you,” Micah said, taking a bow.

EXCERPT

The ship swayed a bit from a wave hitting the ship broadside.

“Who is at the helm?” Bob asked.

“Titus …” Harry said as he trailed off in the middle of the answer.

“Hmm, I’m hearing a …” Bob said. Another wave hit the ship. “What is going on up there, Harry?” Bod asked.

“Harry? Harry!” Bob said with a bit of concern. Harry had stood up and now was standing with a blank look on his face. Bob slapped him. “Snap out of it, Harry.”

The slap seemed to snap Harry out of it. His eyes seemed to change a little. The sudden sting of the strike caused just enough anger to bring out a little of his bear form. “Harry, I think we are under attack by the harpies. If you can keep that anger just simmering, you will not be affected by them. I need you to defend the crew from the creatures. They will be slow to attack until they are sure that the crew is under their control. I will send up Colson to help keep you from coming under their influence. Keep him close to you and keep him singing. You two should be able to keep them off the crew until I get up there to help.”

Harry was a little slow in moving. He was still trying to understand what was happening.

“Get up top and defend the crew from those ugly, greasy things!” Bob yelled, punctuated by another punch to his solar plexus.

“I’ve got it,” Harry said with more bear growl than human speech.

Bob ran out of the galley and toward the armory, which was on the same deck they were.

“Colson, where are you?” Bob yelled when he ran.

“I’m back here,” Colson said from behind a rack holding a bunch of spears.

“Get out here. I need your help defending the ship,” Bob said.

“ I don't want to leave here. I know what those things do, and I can’t fight them,” Colson said.

“I don't need you to fight. I need you to sing.” Bob said.

“I can’t sing. You heard my brother, I’m a horrible singer.” Colson said.

“I’m counting on that. I need you to sing the worst you can. Get up there, hide behind Harry, and sing your heart out,” Bob said. “Go now. I need to get your brother. Now run!”

“Yes, sir,” Colson said as he ran out of the armory.

Bob ran to the stairs to go down.

“Ok, I can do that,” Colson said to Bob’s back.

Colson ran to the hatch where Harry was just opening it to go up top.

“Stay behind me. I will protect you while you sing. I don’t understand how your singing will help, but if it's that bad, it might keep me from falling under their control. If I look like I’m wavering, kick me hard.” Harry said to Colson.

“Aye, Captain,” Colson said with a shaky voice.

Hearing the fear in his voice, Harry stopped and looked at him. “Colson, I'm afraid, but I know that you and I are the only ones that can save the lives of the sailors up there, so I am going up there. I hope you can find the courage to go up and fight with me.” Harry said.

“Yes, captain, I will go, even though I am terrified,” Colson said, taking a deep breath to find his courage.

Harry opened the hatch and went up with a roar that seemed to shake the entire ship.

It blew the harpies back out over the ocean, giving Harry an area clear of the filthy things. There were a few sailors prone on the deck where they had fallen, and some were still standing in a daze. Harry ran to where the largest group to protect them.

Colson followed close behind him. He bounced off Harry’s backside when he stopped suddenly. “Uhff,” Colson said, landing on his butt.

“You don’t need to kick me yet. I’m not affected by them right now, but you will have to kick a lot harder than that,” Harry said, not turning around. “You can start caterwauling, I mean singing.”

“Oh, right. Wow, they are ugly, and they smell like a used chamber pot—not just one chamber pot, but all of them I’ve ever had to clean on the Royal’s ship all at once,” Colson said.

“Uhm, are you going to sing? They are returning, and they might get control of me,” Harry said.

The harpies were getting braver, and they were circling closer, singing their horrible song. Their voices sounded like the screech of a raven combined with the yell of a cat having their tail

stepped on. As the magic extended out from the harpies, the air looked wavy and thick, like looking through a window that someone had spread Vaseline all over.

“Right, sing,” Colson said.

“Ring around the roses,

Pocket full of posies,

Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down.” Colson screeched.

Colson’s singing lived up to the hype; even that simple song was terrible, really terrible. It was so bad that Harry stopped for a moment and looked over his shoulder in disbelief. The effects of Colson's singing extended out. When it encountered the air that was transformed by the harpies ’magic, a thick, clear, viscous substance fell out of the air, leaving it clean. The sailors near the rescuers now looked like they were fighting the harpies ’control.

“Wow, your, uhm, singing is working,” Harry said. “Keep it up. I just wish I had something to plug up my ears.

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