Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"No signs of burning. It was a clean shot and very powerful. Whatever fired this was very large so the ship must be weighed down." Fiona said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"But you saw no other vessels... The sailor you brought said it was small, fast ships, each with one weapon he'd never seen before. And some had swiveling contraptions that shot these... Whatever they are," Ulfric muttered, looking to the small shot. "They're made to kill, it seems. Whereas the larger ones are meant to cause damage to the ships. It sounds to me like the Empire has invaded out waters despite our best efforts."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Invah and I can scan the water to make sure that you are not in immediate danger." Fiona offered, knowing that more worries had been heaped on them all. "It might not solve the problem, but we can at least give you peace of mind for the rest of the journey."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You have my full permission to burn and sink any suspicious vessels without banners," Christopher told her quite seriously. "The Triad and the isles know of our dragon allies, so their allegiance will be clear especially in wartime."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Understood." Fiona said with a nod towards Christopher as she turned to have a talk with Invah.

"Are you alright with this?" Fiona asked her softly, knowing that her dragon didn't want any blood to be on her conscience.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Invaders are not to be trifled with... As much as I would rather you stayed out of any fighting... I know that there is work to be done and you are capable. But we must be certain of who we strike and who we let go." Invah had steeled her expression at that.

 

[heartofcourage]

"We're in this together." Fiona said softly as she donned her helmet again and climbed into her saddle once more. "We'll head in the direction that the ship was coming from. A ship that weighted down couldn't possibly move quickly."

 

[KieranSoares]

"With only one gun each, they could." Invah took off once more and rounded back toward the burning ship to begin scouting. They searched all along the route the ships would be taking, finding no trace of Imperials until close to noon when Invah caught sight of a ship far larger than what they were looking for. When they drew closer, Invah doubled her speed as she saw the large galleon's Norwegian banner and heard loud explosions. Four schooners with front-mounted culverins were circling the vessel, turning inward to shoot every so often.

"Your longbow!" Invah instructed. "Aim for the cannoneers!" She tucked into a dive when Fiona was ready.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona immediately pulled her longbow free as Invah went into a dive. Her belly was in her theist at the sudden drop, but she kept her wits about her and steadied herself with her legs tightly gripping the saddle. She pulled her bow string back, sighting in the target before she let the arrow go. It struck true and it was very clear that attention was soon on herself and Invah.

 

[KieranSoares]

The large longbow arrow whistled down out of the sky and struck the lead cannoneer aboard a vessel with dark sails and Imperial soldiers in dark-colored light armor. The man struck down made no sound beyond a soft grunt before he hit the deck and fell still.

Shouts of 'dragon!' in multiple languages directed all attention upward, and men began pulling and loading crossbows. Invah waited til the last second to suddenly turn the opposite way, a few bolts striking harmlessly into her thick scales while most missed and Fiona was completely defended.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona ducked to the side as they were peppered with arrows from the volley that had come. She was protected as Invah turned sharply. She clung to the saddle tightly, the force of the wind whipping at her harshly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Lock your feet in, keep your hands free," Invah instructed, knowing her saddle had flat stirrups with the ability to lock in when needed for just such an occasion.

With a round back, Invah struck the vessel's main mast and jumped off of it, causing it to rock violently and turn the ship's gun away from the galleon. With the danger of setting off a shot at the ship averted, Invah let out a massive gout of fire that turned the ship's sails to ash and set the deck on fire. The heat caused the cannon to go off, sending a wild shot dangerously close to another schooner. Knowing this ship wasn't going to recover anytime soon, Invah moved on to the next.

Seeing this and seeing a crest on Invah's saddle displaying the blue and white of Scotland, the galleon rallied and turned to help defend, ramming a schooner with the galleon's reinforced hull and completely overturning the small craft.

 

[heartofcourage]

It was hard to think clearly when everything was moving so quickly, but Fiona soon had her hands free, sitting high in the saddle with her legs locked in as the other shops joined in the fray to defend themselves.

 

[KieranSoares]

Invah gave another ship similar treatment, but caused it to tip over completely, the cannon falling into the water. She leveled out to let Fiona take a few shots before swooping over the ship they were protecting to get a look. Some of the sailors aboard already lay dead, but the others looked able and willing to fight. With another gout of blue flame toward a schooner, Invah snapped off the masts of another and landed on it, the craft barely supporting her weight as she cuffed sailors off into the water and took a look around them. She raised her wings once more to defend Fiona against more bolts. "I have a plan," she muttered. "You have a torch, don't you?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sam never lets me fly unprepared." Fiona called back, reaching into her saddlebags to pull out the torch that Invah had asked for.

 

[KieranSoares]

Invah turned her head, a tiny puff of flame setting the torch alight when Fiona held it out. "I don't think I can get fire into the ships' holds flying past. But you can aim with that. It'll set their powder alight in the cargo holds." She took off before more bolts could pelt them, and then took an upside-down dive past a ship for Fiona to throw.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona stretched into her stirrups as Invah went upside down, locking herself in place and trusting that Invah would catch her if something went wrong. She waited for her to get into position before she threw the torch into the bowels of the ship, leaning into the saddle as Invah pulled away violently.

 

[KieranSoares]

Invah got away as fast as she could, and for good reason as the ship outright exploded and sent shrapnel everywhere, killing it's crew instantly. The other schooners began to pull away and flee, but Invah knew they couldn't allow it. Surrender was welcome, but not escape. Another gout of flame and another ship down, and the last two began screaming surrender and peace in every language the crew knew.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona felt mildly sick at the speed which Invah flew away from the ships before they exploded. She stayed seated but it was certainly a test outside of what she had gone through in training. She took a deep breath to steady herself, straightening back up as the ride smoothed out.

 

[KieranSoares]

Invah watched as the remaining imperials were taken prisoner by the galleon, and she slowed down to circle a while. "How are.you, my love?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll be fine." Fiona said softly as Invah slowed her circling. "Are you alright? Not hurt?"

Fiona's head was spinning slightly, but it was getting much better. She sat a little straighter, moving to remove her helmet to give her more room to breathe.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Bolts are no more to me than sewing needles are to you," Invah assured her before coming to land in the water beside the galleon. The sailors aboard welcomed Fiona up the ladder and many crowded round to shake her hand or lean over the railing to gaze in awe and call thank-yous to Invah. It was all in Norwegian. Finally the crowd parted and Fiona came face-to-face with a man younger than most of the sailors, dressed a bit better and with a fashionable feathered wide-brim hat. He had a fine mustache and trim beard, and he was tall and tan with long dark hair.

Seeing a lady before him, the man swept off his hat into a respectful bow, addressing her in Norwegian.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sir, I am sorry, but I do not understand you." Fiona said softly as the men greeted her and Invah.

 

[KieranSoares]

Looking up with a smile, the man certainly understood her and switched to English. "Lady Rider, I believe I have been looking for you," he addressed her with not a Norwegian accent, but Spanish. "It's an honor and a privilege." Replacing his rather fashionable hat, his expression faltered a bit. "I'm afraid the captain and first mate fell. I took over mid-battle just as you arrived."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Looking for me?" Fiona asked, slightly confused that this man might have been searching for her. "And what do you need me for?"