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Post by FC4 on Jul 17, 2008 22:52:56 GMT
"I want lanterns on every hook!" Murry shouted, his strong voice cutting clear through the commotion of the crew as the fog settled in. Those on one end of the ship could not see their captain on the other, but could hear him.
Within minutes the fog was pierced by faded orange glows, and those glows gave rise to shadowed shapes within the opaque air. Throughout the ship the lanterns lit, making the merchant vessel becoming a beacon of sorts in the gloom.
It was an advantage that came with a disadvantage. The pirates could see them now, and now they could likely see the pirates when they came. He'd tangoed with pirates before, and knew they weren't as stupid as people made them out to be.
Easiest would have been to remain dark and try evasive maneuvers, but that ran the risk of running them severely off course, as they would have no idea exactly where they were. And they weren't exactly transporting food on this merchant ship.
So Murry would take the most blunt and brutish path, but one he trusted his men to handle well enough. "Arm yourselves, lads! Prepare for their coming! Meet them head on!" Murry shouted, his own hands moving to the two cutlasses at his hips. The steel rang as he drew it and the metal shined in the lantern lights. --------------------- The horizon suddenly became a hazy orange, as the ship they were chasing lit up in the fog. The Nord captain grinned, though only those immediately close to him could see the smile.
"Alright... git ta boardin' planks readee. We be only ah smidgen lower in the water than 'em. An' ready them ropes. Throw 'em the moment we come up ta the boat. Lay the planks wen we be beside 'em." He said -rather than shouted- to his men, and they passed the orders on by word of mouth.
All that could be heard as each party fell silent, was the creaky of the rocky ships. But even that stopped as the water stilled, the waves dying.
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Post by webster52402 on Jul 17, 2008 22:58:57 GMT
Perur turned and looked over his shoulder to Semira, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. She would go out of her way to help him, because he couldn't swim? She had a good heart, and Perur was VERY thankful that he wouldn't die in his most hated element. "... Thank you." He said to Semira, turning once more as he heard the order being shouted to arm himself. He had already done that some time ago, so Perur simply returned to his vigilance, waiting for the enemy to board them.
All that he could hear was... was... Nothing. For a moment, Perur was confused, before he began to look around, noting that there wasn't any sort of creak coming from the hull. No waves against the side of the ship. No rocking of the boat. The boat had become dead still, as though they were sailing across glass instead. There wasn't even the sound of WIND. Perur shivered uncontrollably at that, racing up his spine and causing his entire body to jitter uncontrollably. "Ugh... I don't like this at all..." Perur said, the familiar fear rising in his heart. Again, that claustrophobic sense was starting to close in...
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 18, 2008 11:29:21 GMT
Semira didn't respond to his thanks. To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure why she was doing it- she never was sure about why she did things for others. All she knew was, that when the moment come when she had to make a choice, she couldn't turn someone else away. Perhaps it was her noble blood. She didn't want to think on it further, because she sensed some darker underlying reason to it.
The boat lit up like a beacon, and they were surrounded by orange light. "Shit..." Semira murmured. Pirates would certainly see them now. Then suddenly, the boat became eerily still. She couldn't hear the waves lapping against the side of the boat. She couldn't hear water moving at all. And the air was so still, it seemed to be hovering around them. "Double shit..."
Semira felt very strongly that they were under attack somehow. The same sort of feeling she'd had in Kvatch when the gate had first opened.
Like everything was about to be destroyed.
"Perur, I'm gonna grip your shoulder, okay?" she said, seeing that he was in a bad way. Once her hand was there, she closed her eyes and began murmuring, her voice echoing eerily in the strange silence. Buoyancy and Water Breathing rolled off her tongue and flooded through her arm into Perur. After a pause, Swim followed. She removed her hand. And waited, feeling sick with tension.
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Post by webster52402 on Jul 18, 2008 19:30:50 GMT
Perur relaxed when Semira's hand touched his shoulder. Slightly. He relaxed a bit more, though, when she put a trio of spells on him, feeling the energy of magic flow from her, forming a brief electric current that seemed to spread from her hand throughout his body, that refreshed him. It was enough to cause the claustrophobic sense to back off again, retreating just behind the veil of his mind, to await a moment when Perur's defenses would again be weak enough to step in and rekindle the fear in his heart.
Perur again looked over his shoulder, a gratefulness approaching the extent of 'You just saved my life' appearing in his eyes. "Thanks again..." He muttered, though he felt sheepish about doing so. She was holding up very well, and it was Perur, the one that was supposed to be a cold blooded assassin, that was ending up freaking out about the possibility of the boat sinking, and about the fog. He had to get a grip on himself, it was just embarrassing...
But still, his breath shook when he took it, shifting his grip around his dagger slowly. Whatever it was that would happen next, Perur was ready. Even if he fell off the boat, now.
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Post by Vrek on Jul 18, 2008 20:06:30 GMT
Watching the orange glow in the fog unnerved Jacen. However, it seemed somehow fitting to the eerie silence that fell in. Yeah, that was it, too. The silence. As any self-respecting Bosmer, he grew up in Valenwood, surrounded by life. There were always noises, the birds and beasts, the sounds of Bosmer and the lesser woodland races going about their lives. Silence was not normal.
All across the boat whispers echoed about, unaffected by the fog, amplified by the quiet. Jacen strained his ears, thinking the he could even hear the murmurs of the other ship, cross the impossibly still waters. But they had rowers as well to propel them. But in the silence it would make them known as much as the glowing ship they were chasing.
Not being the avid sailor, Jacen didn't have the slightest clue how close they ships were. Still hiding behind his barrels and crates, he whispered to whoever might be nearby, "How much longer till we're close enough?"
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Post by Tom Bombadil on Jul 19, 2008 1:55:59 GMT
"We've got pirates."
Aldarilon frowned at the sailor's words. He had been through a few run ins with pirates before, but not many, thankfully. He followed the sailor up the stairs and onto the deck.
Greeted with a thick fog, Aldarilon shuddered briefly before trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. Fog made him feel constricted; he hated it. Impulsively he felt his belt for his weapon. "My scimitar!" He exclaimed in a half-panicked voice, realizing he had left it in his cabin.
Swearing, he turned and literally sprinted below deck, nearly tripping as he rounded corners to get to his cabin. While he ran, he had to press himself against the wall several time to get out of the path of the various passengers and sailors either moving up deck or panicking.
Throwing open the door of his cabin, he looked around wildly, hardly able to concentrate. His focus was distorted somewhat by the combination of the adrenaline of the situation and the anxiety of finding himself unprepared. Of course, it wouldn't be a raid if everyone was prepared for it.
He found his fairly plain, weathered scimitar behind a crate in his room, where he had left it previously. Along with it, he took the lamp from the nightstand in hand before rushing back toward the deck, not bothering to even close the door. The woman, of course, was no where to be seen.
He stumbled back onto the deck at the same time as one of the Orcish sailors, both of them breathing heavily from the dash to the point of attention. Looking around wildly, he saw that the sun was piercing through the fog, illuminating the ship against it.
The enemy ship neared, and the sailors prepared for a fight. Aldarilon readied his own scimitar, pacing the deck anxiously. The last moments before two ships engaged one another always seemed like eternities.
His eyes flitted around occasionally to see what the other sailors were doing. He did a double take at the sight of the Dunmer that seemed to have horns sprouting from her head, but he didn't think anything of it at the moment, given the situation. He had seen her, and the Imperial with her, on the ship before, but he hadn't said more than maybe one or two passing words to either of them. Right now, however, his mind was focused on the impending threat of the ship coming ever closer.
OOC: Agh, sorry. I've edited it accordingly.
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Post by FC4 on Jul 19, 2008 2:37:04 GMT
OOC: The fog did not clear. However, the water has stilled and all is silent.
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Post by FC4 on Jul 19, 2008 12:51:36 GMT
The only noise now was the soft splash of the oars in the water as the schooner was pushed towards the inert merchant vessel. If any of the pirates were to watch the water, they would notice that the small rippling caused by the oars ceased the instant the oar left the water.
Not something it was supposed to do. The Redguard next to Jacen did not reply immediately, holding his rope anxiously. "Right... about... now." He whispered back, and as the bow of the pirate vessel passed the stern of the ship he threw the rope.
A dozen thin and lengthy shadows darted into the gloom, barely noticeable because of the lanterns throughout the ship. The shadows reached out and grasped the masts, just before larger shadows swung on them.
Following that was the sound of wood banging on wood, and battlecries as the pirates came beside the ship and made their attack. A pirate swung towards Murry to board the ship, but the captain would have none of that, and raised one cutlass to slash through the air. One of the pirate's legs lopped off, and in pain the criminal swung over the side of the ship into the calm depths of the sea.
Sailors drew their blades and charged forward towards the pirates, their numbers nearly even. But the passengers could counter that easily. Those pirates who had swung on ropes ending up charging from the other direction in a small number, attacking from the rear.
A flash of white pierced through the fog, followed by a roll of thunder.
OOC: You all can battle to your heart's content while I am off at work, and even rp Murrin. Just remain on the ships and don't let the battle end.
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RavenVW
Novice
I am an agent of chaos. And you know the good thing about chaos? It's fair.
Posts: 45
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Post by RavenVW on Jul 20, 2008 11:22:36 GMT
Brilliant. Valkien thought, a sly smile spreading across his lips. This ought to liven things up a bit.
Walking forward towards the charging pirates menacingly, his hands glowing a dark blue he closed his eyes, focusing his energy into his magic. A scream of anger made him open his eyes, just in time to see one of the pirates about to smash a sword into his skull. With the athleticism of a man half his age, he swung around in a dramatic and dangerous fashion, the sword missing his head by mere inches, and brought his hand flying into the pirates face, blue streams of magicka following.
The impact was sickening, the force of his metal gauntlets smashing into the cheek breaking bone and flesh, followed by the freezing grasp of the spell tearing and killing within the skin. It was an impact that Valkien had witness many times before, one that he knew would kill the man if he didn't get any help. But with Valkien around, no help would come.
Leaving the man screaming and gasping on the floor, Valkien began to walk forward, searching for another target.
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Post by webster52402 on Jul 20, 2008 16:55:37 GMT
Perur was an assassin, not a warrior. He wasn't used to open combat, as an assassin's job was to stealthily approach a single target, hell sometimes they didn't even have to do that if they used a bow, and then eliminate them as quietly as possible. Thus, though Perur was an accomplished killer, he was not one to be involved in any sort of lengthy battle, as was proved when the first of the pirates appeared from the mist, swinging a cutlass in a powerful downwards strike.
Perur ducked to one side, the glittering blade slicing through the air where he had been before, as Perur took a few steps to the side, trying to get into a position where he would be better defensible. This is rather hard to do in melee combat, however, and as Perur stepped back, the pirate followed, the cutlass cutting through the air just in front of Perur's stomach. "Persistent..." Perur muttered, as his back hit the railing of the ship, briefly looking back instinctively, at the water below.
Fear again gripped his heart, despite the spells that had been put upon him. He felt for sure that should he fall, the spells would fail, and he would be drug into the depths anyway... But, it was this reaction that actually ended up saving him, as he shoved himself violently away from the railing. The next cutlass strike came in over Perur's shoulder, another downward stroke. Instead of the man's blade slicing through him, instead Perur was close enough that his arm hit him in the shoulder instead, stopping the blade.
Perur may have been frightened, but he wasn't stupid. He saw the opportunity therein, with the man's guard broken, and took it immediately. The dagger blade flashed as it vanished between the man's ribs, a powerful, quick thrust instead of wide, sweeping motions like the pirate with the cutlass had been doing. He wouldn't be making another strike, though, as Perur twisted around the man, dragging the blade ruthlessly through the gap between his ribs, slicing the entire side of him open. With a cry of agony, the pirate dropped the cutlass, falling to the deck with a heavy thud. He wasn't dead... But he was certainly feeling the pain.
Perur crouched, and swiftly brought his dagger around in a short, quick arc. Blood sprayed from the man's severed throat, spreading in a growing pool around him on the deck. NOW the man was dead.
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Post by Vrek on Jul 20, 2008 18:00:00 GMT
Things didn't sound like they were going to well up there. Unfortunately, Jacen was already up there. He slowly reached back and pulled away the grappling hook he threw up and had used to pull the ships close enough to jump to.
With his right he placed the hook back onto his belt, then drew an arrow from the quiver on his hip. He moved slowly but surely, and knocked the arrow into it's niche on the bow, but didn't pull back the draw string yet.
Luckily for him the orange glow matched his complexion rather nicely, giving him some natural camouflage. He stalked forward, moving slowly but carefully avoiding any fights and loose men, all the while hitting scolding himself for even thinking of taking up piracy.
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 20, 2008 18:18:52 GMT
Unlike her erstwhile companion, Semira was pretty good at open battle- particularly as, as a mage, she liked to control the circumstances of the fight.
A pirate was quick to stake his claim in her: a redguard with a long, glittering cutlass. He lunged at her with surprising speed, but more force than allowed him to alter its course. Semira ducked under it and twisted around the redguard. She still felt an absolute conviction that she should not draw her blade, lest she lose it forever, and thus she came up behind him, on hand on his head, another around his neck. He struggled wonderfully: he was far stronger than she, but with a savage cry she twisted, breaking his neck, and he fell dead to the floor. She grabbed his cutlass: it was heavier than her elven blade, but it would suffice.
Someone came at her back: working on pure instinct she whirled, snarling and baring teeth that were far sharper than any mer's should be, and though she brought up her blade in time to parry, she was too slow to put any force in it, and she was knocked back, smacking the railing painfully and winding her. As the pirate drew back for another strike, her eyes flashed and she spat a spell, a shield spell flaring to life around her. The attack bounced off of her, fading once the attack had been made.
She was far too visible. She chanted in daedric and she disappeared from sight, cloaked by a powerful chameleon spell. That, mixed with the orange haze, completely hid her from sight.
She moved right into the middle of the fight and began to whirl and spin in a deadly pattern dance, the way in which she had learned to fight, moving faster and faster and slashing at all those around her with a speed, efficiency and accuracy which was astounding. When the spell fell away, she was a spinning blur of fury and steel, and two men lay dead at her feet.
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Post by webster52402 on Jul 20, 2008 19:58:20 GMT
Perur rose from the man he had killed, beginning to turn towards the rest of the battle, when he noticed Semira spinning like a whirling dervish in the middle of the deck, two pirates dead at her feet. He stopped for a moment, tilting his head to one side quizzically. "Heh... I see she fights like a demon, despite being a bit too pretty to be one." He muttered under his breath, grinning. The grin vanished, however, when his brief distraction cost him.
Pain flared through his side, as a Pirate's cutlass drug itself across his side, just above his hips. Warm blood spilled down his side and his leg, the steel blade letting loose a heavy flow with the depth of the cut. "AGGH! You N'WAH!" Perur growled, using the Morrowind curse that he had heard so many times in his youth, as he brought his dagger back in a backwards-gripped stab, catching the pirate that had spilled his blood in the side of the head, during his carry-through with the wide swing. The dagger punched easily through the soft spot on his temple, digging into the fleshy matter of his brain and stopping him dead in his tracks.
The blade slid sickeningly from the man's skull as he fell in the opposite direction of the forceful stab, thudding to the deck. Gingerly, Perur lowered his right hand, still clenching the dagger tight, his left hand bracing against the new wound on his right side. Damned pirates...
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 20, 2008 20:36:23 GMT
Semira continued to fight, whirling in a beautiful, deadly dance. She felt the familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach, but ignored it. She didn't want to think about what she was doing: it only caused her to be disgusted with herself, at the sick pleasure she found in seeing another's blood- amusement, even, as if it were all a joke.
But this was no joke. With a cry akin to a hawk's she stopped her whirling dance and lunged at a pirate attacking a sailor, but he was too fast for her and her unwieldly cutlass, and dodged nimbly out of the way and around her blade, much the way she herself had done moments before.
But her blade followed him with skill, landing a glancing blow on his shoulder pauldron, and injuring his shoulder. He too landed a blow: a deep cut across her thigh. Yelling unintelligibly at the pain she struck again, thrusting the blade between his legs and then upwards, slicing through his groin as if it were butter.
In his death spasm as he fell he knocked the blade from her hand: still unwilling to draw her blade, she turned to her claws. She whispered a spell, stemming the flow of blood from her wound, but it was too deep a wound for her to know how to heal. It would seriously damage her mobility, as her analytical mind determined that it would both give her a limp, and movement would risk further injury.
This effectively put her out of the fight. I could levitate... she thought. But the energy cost would be too great. I'd be helpless after ten minutes. She backed herself against the railing and crouched down, prepared to claw at the eyes of any who came near.
It was two pirates, not one, that found her crouched there. She sprang wildly at one of them despite her wounds. She slashed viciously at him, her vicious claws piercing his stomach smoothly, like a hand through water, and scooping his insides out and flinging them away. He died, noisily.
The second, horrified, screamed, "You [censored] MONSTER!", causing her to blink, a momentary pause. Then he smashed her on the head.
Her horns protected her from any lasting damage, but her vision blurred and she staggered back, about to fall over the railings into the eerily still water below.
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Post by Tom Bombadil on Jul 20, 2008 21:00:58 GMT
Aldarilon found himself in a terrible position when the two ships came parallel to one another. He was directly in front of the brunt of the assailants. As it were, he was taken on by two men, a Khajiit and a Nord, both armed with their own sabers.
Most of Aldarilon's swordsmanship came from mere experience, having received no formal training. As such, he was far below the skill of someone like a pirate, who's life required excellent use of a blade. Illusion, on the other hand, was more in the bard's area of expertise.
It took several seconds for the two to attack. They stood ready, occasionally making use of a 'fake-out' technique- pretending to attack, then backing away again. Immediately after the Nord did this, the Khajiit attacked with a thrusting motion of the sword in an attempt to end the fight quickly. What they did not anticipate was Aldarilon's Sanctuary spell.
Aldarilon sidestepped and parried the maneuver with relative ease, ending up with his front facing the Khajiit's side. Taking advantage of this during the nanosecond that it lasted, Aldarilon's right hand shot out and took hold of the Khajiit's arm, a bright green light flashing as it made contact. The Khajiit, an expression of anger frozen on his face, fell over, paralyzed. Shuffling around the fallen Khajiit, he turned to face the Nord, who was livid by this point.
With a reflexive jolt, Aldarilon dove to the side to avoid having his head lopped off by the Nord's incoming blade, which looked very small in proportion to the wielder. The Nord relentlessly attacked again, and Aldarilon had to perform the same dodge to avoid it again. The pirate and the bard went on like this, caught in a stalemate due to the bard's sanctuary spell and the pirate's ability to keep the bard moving and unable to cast any magic.
The Nord slashed at Aldarilon diagonally, and the latter jumped back a foot or so. With the pirate exposed, his arm still aside from the attack, Aldarilon took the opportunity to attack, thrusting his sword forward. It stuck the Nord in the stomach, and he fell backwards with a cry of pain. Flipping his blade upside down, Aldarilon stepped forward to finish the Nord...who promptly kicked the bard with half the force of a horse.
Slammed against the wooden wall of the entrance to the hull, Aldarilon's breath was knocked out of him, and he felt dazed. Breathing forcefully with gritted teeth, he gripped his sword and headed back into the fighting, nearly crippled by the pain of his broken ribs.
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