The Raiders of the Scarlet Sails (IC)

[BreezySnow]

Amlugeth was not a drinker, she usually had tea in a glass to make it look like she was drinking. The wine was getting to her head as she drank some more that Wulf was offering her. As Wulf was talking about helping her, her independence took over and she went to stand up to tell him she could do it on her own, but when she stood the wine took over and the room started spinning. She lost her footing and fell right onto Wulf's lap. She was shocked, but then started giggling uncontrollably.

"I am not much of a drinker" she giggled. "I am (giggle) sorry and would get off of you, but I (giggle) don't think I can stand up" as she finishes speaking she breaks into a fit of giggles.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf looked at the woman and knew that she really wasn't a drinker. If only that slight amount had sent her into this state then she must really not have been drinking much on any of her voyages. he wondered how she had been getting away with it as most sailors drank together to build up camaraderie and she did not seem unpopular so obviously she had been going out with her crew mates. Well that was none of his business, what was was how to handle this situation.

He could take advantage of it of course but he knew he wouldn't. One he was not that sort of man in the first place, and two because it was just not done aboard ship." I think maybe you should go to bed little one, and sleep this off. You will feel better in the morning and we can finish our discussion then. Oh and I am pretty sure I know what you were going to say considering the look you had on your face and I know you can do it all by yourself. However where is the fun in that? Wouldn't you like at least someone to talk to at night while on your journey? I promise You can kill them all if you want, I will stand off, well unless it looks like you are going to be killed then all bets are off."

He smiled as he stood up with her in his arms and then holding her easily in one, he pulled the covers back and placed her in the bed. He then took of her boots and covered her up. He was going to turn to leave but he could not resist it. He leaned down and kissed her. "Goodnight Amlugeth."

 

[milkmaiden38]

Albatros Isle

The sun had made its way above the horizon and pushed away the beautiful colors of the earlier tropical sunrise. Blade had warned Nya and Captain Red he had sighted land to the north. But as the sun added more light, everyone aboard could see the breathtakingly beautiful tropical island. The island looked like two very different round islands pushed together to form one. The western half was a tall ancient volcano with its peak touching the thin clouds above it. The eastern half was a low gently sloping mass of tropical jungle with palm groves nearer the shore. A wide stream fed by a beautiful waterfall meandered south from the cliff face of the volcano to empty into a lagoon that was protected by the coral reef that surrounded the island. The outer edge of the reef was dotted with small sandy islets covered with palm groves. The lighter blue water transitioned to the deeper blue of the ocean further out.

There was a nice tropical breeze which blew along the white sand beaches. As the Scarlet Dragon sailed closer, thoughts of sipping rum and pineapple drinks while listening to the melody of calypso music filled Red’s head.

“Albatros Isle … it is beautiful” She said to Nya.

“Yes … if you like isles … that are cursed, filled with hungry head hunters, and was the place an evil sorcerer lived!” Nya replied.

“Nya … you really need to lighten up. Most of those stories are BS. This isle is a tropical paradise. Look at the lush greenery everywhere! The exotic flowers exploding with color. The wildlife. I might want to retire here someday.” Red replied.

“Your head would be shrunk and shriveled up within a week!” Nya estimated.

“Ok … I’ll be sure to tell Wulf to send our hunting parties with extra men and plenty of weapons.” Red conceded. “Sail up the river, I don’t want anyone to see us” She ordered.

The Scarlet Dragon made its way up the river, the thick tropical forest hid the ship from the lagoon.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf woke up early and dressed and headed up onto the deck. It was just before shift change and the crew was a little lethargic but his presence got them moving again. He noticed that they had made it to their destination and he examined the island.

Tropical forest on one side, Volcano on the other.He groaned. Albatros island, bloody Albatros island. What was Red thinking. Sure they were beat up and needed repairs and supplies, but this place was a nightmare.

Well actually he had never been here but the stories he had heard of the place. Then he did a double take. The stories. He thought about it and started to think. How many people did he know who had actually been to the fabled Albatros island. He came up with none. Every sailor had a story about the place but none had ever been there. Perhaps this wasn't such a bad idea.

Oh sure some must be true but all of 'em. He doubted it. He would just have to be careful and maybe triple the guards and make the hunting and gathering parties larger than normal. So thinking he walked back downstairs to rouse everyone out of bed. He wanted the whole ships crew awake when they made landfall.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Nya and Captain Red piloted the ship to anchor along the bank of the wide fresh water river. On the Captain’s orders Wulf sent forth the heavily armed hunting parties into the surrounding jungle to gather food and fresh water. As the last of the hunting parties left the ship, Red walked over to Wulf and Amlugeth. The two were discussing where to store the fresh supplies once the parties returned. Wulf had a slight worried look on his face, as the parties entered the deeper jungle and could no longer be seen.

“Don’t worry … they will be alright.” Red said with a good deal of confidence about the hunting parties safety.

“I know” Wulf answered “I told them to be extra careful.”

“Besides your warning … there is no threat. There is no curse on this island. There are no hungry head hunters … In fact, I’m pretty sure no one lives here.” Red said. “The rumor and stories are just that … stories … designed to keep people and the head hunters away from this island.” Red explained with a knowing smile on her face. Jabnil and Jura walked over to join the Red and the others. Blade slide down a rope, from the crow’s nest, and stood next to Red as the former Solar Angel corrected the Captain.

“The story about the evil sorcerer is true however” Jabnil added.

“Long dead … only his broken tower remains.” Red countered.

“Not quite dead … but harmless, unless distributed” Jabnil agreed

“Where is this dead conjurer?” Jura asked, his bull nostrils flaring. The minotaur did not like magic or magic users.

“There is a black tower on the west side of this island. He is inside the tower.” Red explained. “Does anyone want to go visit the tower … and check it out?” She asked in a cheerful voice looking at those around her.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf looked at Red in surprise. Was she mad or just getting reckless. They had no magic users of their own save maybe Jabnil, that could counter the sorcerer and if he was reading her warning correctly he had turned into something else.

"Captain if I may be so bold, Are you out of your sea faring mind! A powerful mage who is dead but not dead, does that not remind Ye of anything," he looked at her in puzzlement then at those gathered around him.

"It be a Lich, and I have heard that if the Sorceror was powerful before his supposed death he can be twice if not more powerful as a Lich. Do you seriously want to go after something like that with the crew we have. Granted Jabnil may be able to harm him being a former Angel an all. The rest of us however are going to have a really rough time and some of us may not make it. The payoff may be worth it I grant you, I have heard tell of the treasures these things gather, but would it not be better to gather a few more specialized troops for the battle and come back later better prepared. We still have a large battle to come and we already have wounded and dead."

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade

He was certain that he'd follow Red if she decided to check out the tower, but Wulf did have a point. When he spoke it was in a soft voice, far removed from his usual loud and cheery tone.

"You know that I will follow your lead Red, but an undead wizard seems a bit much for us to take on now. With Sea devils prowling about, we have enough evil to cope with and after those attacks, losing more men for treasure which could be cursed and sink the ship will kill what little morale is left."

He glanced at the others, "I say we repair and gather as much food and water as we can and get out of here as soon as possible."

 

[milkmaiden38]

“Fine … ye bunch of squatting seagulls.” Red said. “I’ll need all hands to help with the repairs. That means you folks as well!” She ordered looking at her friends around her.

“We have no shipwright or carpenter, but we’ll just need to do the best we can.” Red explained.

“Aye, Aye” Everyone replied.

“Start measuring for how much wood we will need. I want the portholes repaired. We’ll need to find some spare glass on the ship we can use, unless anyone has a better idea. Let get started.” Red directed.

By the time the sun was setting, the Scarlet Dragon had been fully repaired. The hunting parties had all returned safely to the ship. The ship again had plenty of fresh food and all the water barrels were full. Nya order the anchor pulled up and slowly the Scarlet Dragon started down river again heading for the lagoon.

“This feels good … our ship is replenished to include our good luck! Next stop Tidewater Rock” Red said to Nya with confidence.

That was when the Blade called out from the crow’s nest.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade

"Nya! Anchors! Now!"

He kept his voice as low as possible, but the urgency was clear. Though a stupid and dangerous move, the anchors were dropped and the Dragon came to a halt as the anchors caught on the rocks on the river bottom. Blade braced himself and kept a sharp eye on the masts which have popped up behind a thick bunch of tree tops. They didn't move, there was no alarm and he knew that as long as their sail and flag stayed out of sight, they were rather safe.

With the agility of a monkey he slid over the side of the crow's nest and scampered down the mast. He motioned Wulf, Jurra and Jabnil over as he made his way to Red and Nya. Once everybody was there, he spoke in a soft voice, "We need to be very quiet, there's a pirate hunter in the cove, waiting for something. They have not seen us and so far they have not heard us either."

He glanced at Red, "It's a Cleliax warship, three deck four masts and enough catapults to give an attacking army a hard-on. The way I see it, we have two options. Either we hold this position and lower the mast as you have intended it to be able to do, then we use the current to carry us passed the ship, but the problem come when we hit the open waters, we will need our sail and then they will see us. Or..."

He grinned wickedly.

"We wait until dark, slip a small group over, put a few cogs in the pulleys and cut the steering ropes and cables and then make a run for it. I like this idea, because I can give Jura specific directions as to where the ship is and as we flee he can fire one or two pots of the dragon fire into the ship. It is the perfect surprise attack."

 

[milkmaiden38]

The Scarlet Dragon lurked to a stop. The anchor chains straining.

“Blade better know what he is doing …” Nya whispered to Red.

“He does … you can count on it” Red said with confidence. The Blade came down from the crow’s nest and explained what he had seen. Red rechecked the mast heights and the Scarlet Dragon could not be seen from the lagoon yet.

“Hopefully, they don't send any scouts up the river." Red cautioned. Then she switched gears "Sounds like the Dominator” Red suggested and Blade smiled is agreement.

“Aye … That is what I was thinking too but I could not see the stern to confirm.” Blade agreed.

Red turned to Wulf “I like Blade’s plan … a small team. They sneak on board and disable the ship. Who would you suggest be on the team?” Red asked Wulf.

Wulf thought for a second and Nya filled the silence with her thoughts on disabling the ship.

“I’d go for the rudder. Take it out and she’ll be down for several hours. We’ll be long gone by then. The Dominator has a stern helm … and therefore a series of pulleys and ropes to her tiller. A team could slip a small boat under the elaborately decorated stern of the ship; the guards would not see them. Break into the cabin above the rudder and damage the pulleys and ropes … and get out of there as the Scarlet Dragon floats silently by. It is a moonless night tonight. The timing would need to be prefect.” Nya said thinking out loud.

“Nya, Wulf knows all that. Now be quiet and let him pick the attack team.” Red scolded the octopus woman.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf smiled. He had a lot of ideas actually and wanted to use all of them to make sure that at least one of them worked to disable the ship.

"I think a small four man team to sneak on board and disable the rudder. One to keep a look out while three disable the ropes and pulley's. At the same time I want Nya to come with us and slip into the water and try to disable the rudder from outside the ship. Maybe she can damage it in some way as well, we do have carpenters tools she could use."

Wulf scratched his chin. "I would love to take Jura with me, but I think Blade's idea is a good one. He would be better suited to be ready on the catapults to fire the Greek fire pots. Likewise I would love to take Blade but you will need his skills to help guide you if I am going to take Nya with me. I think I might take a couple of my raiders who are very handy with knives and axes and Jabnil. When we have finished She can fly up and come back and signal you to begin to creep pass. She can also pick up a few pots of Greek fire herself and drop them herself to add to the confusion. Those of us who do the sabotaging can meet you further out instead of trying to row back."

 

[milkmaiden38]

Pirate Commandos?

The Scarlet Dragon when cold, dark, and quiet, not wanting to make any actions or sounds that would draw attention from the much larger ship.

After Wulf had picked the team, the Scarlet Dragon’s remaining long boat was quickly painted completely black. The team’s captain Wulf and members Jabnil, Silver Tooth, and Plankton were soon dress in solid black outfits as well. Even their weapons were covered to hide any glint.

Strangely Nya did not change her clothing, but did cover her weapons in black. Jabnil asked her quietly about it.

“Nya … aren’t you going to change?” she asked in a whisper

“No … there is no need.” She answered as she pulled off her blouse. Her beautiful naked human upper half … and lower octopus half began to shift. She changed her skin color and texture to blend into the planks on the deck of the ship. It took just moments and it was actually very hard to see her.

“Wow … that is amazing!” Jabnil whispered in surprise and asked no more questions of Nya.

Jura joined Jabnil on the upper deck of the ship.

“Here to wish me luck?” Jabnil asked quietly

Jura shook his head “yes” then he spoke “It is customary for minotaur bulls to butt head before battle” Jura explained as he got ready to give Jabnil a nice head butt.

“Ahh … let’s do it the minotaur way another time … let do it the human way this time … a nice good luck kiss” Jabnil proposed. The two kissed as a few of the watching men giggled. Jura broke off the kiss and grunted quietly “I like the human way!”

By 10:00 pm the moon had set for the night and darkness on the remote island was thick. The long boat was lowered into the water and silently set off in the direction of the Dominator. Wulf’s original plan had been accepted by Red with one important modification.

“I’m not waiting here for your return. The Scarlet Dragon will start drifting down the river after about 30 minutes. This is in case you are discovered. I don’t want the Dominator blocking the river. We’ll all be killed if that happens. I’d rather take my chances on an open ocean chase then be bottled up here. You have 30 minutes Wulf … that’s all.” Red explained.

The long boat floated directly toward the Dominator. There a few lights on the ship but none illuminated the stern area. It was not the most advantageous circumstances for the small team from the Scarlet Dragon, but it would work if they got lucky.

The mission almost failed before it started as the long boat hit a submerged rock about 80 yards from the Dominator. But Nya put a few of her tentacles into the water and pushed them off the rock silently. A few minutes later the long boat was underneath the elaborately decorated stern of the ship. No guards had sounded the alarm.

“What now?” Jabnil asked Wulf in a whisper. She was hoping he would not ask her to fly up and unlock the window to the rudder pulley cabin.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf gestured at the big ship. "Okay we take the easy way in, up the anchor chain and then over the guardrail. Then take out any guards silently and we slip into the tiller room and cut as many lines as we can as silently as we can. Luckily it is a calm night so what we are doing shouldn't be discovered all that quickly."

He turned to Nya and smiled. "Give us a good ten minutes then you begin your own sabotage efforts. Cut as much off the rudder as you can. Even if they fix the ropes a broken rudder is going to hamper them a lot until they fix it."

Wulf then turned to Jabnil. "You are our back up plan. If we are caught or things start to go wrong I want you to take the two pots of Greek fire you are supposed to use after our escape and fly up and use them straight away. This will not only cause confusion and panic on the Dominator, but will also alert the Dragon that something has gone wrong and they better hightail it it out of here. If you have to do this I want you and Nya to go back to the ship immediately, do you understand. We will get out somehow."

He glanced at his boarding crew and smiled. "Okay let's go," he said as he grabbed the large chain and began to swiftly climb up it.

 

[milkmaiden38]

The anchor watch on The Dominator was doing his duty. Checking every hour to ensure the ship was not dragging its anchor. Dragging an anchor in a calm lagoon was uncommon, but not impossible. The wide fresh water river that ran into the lagoon could catch a large ship and push it into the shallow part of the lagoon, grounding the ship. The anchor watch checked the anchor chain and position of the ship in the lagoon to make sure it was not moving.

Gruntel Kilmore was the anchor watch. He was a half-orc, whose mother was an Orc and Father was a human. He had grown up in the Cheliax city of Westcrown. Westcrown was the largest city in the Cleliax Empire. He had been a Wharf Rat most of his life … helping to dock ships at the piers. A few weeks ago, he had been “pressed ganged” to forcibly enlist into the service of the Chelish navy.

Gruntel had just checked the anchor chain and was walking forward to the forecastle when Wulf, Silver Tooth, and Plankton started to climb the chain. He saw the chain move slightly and heard a small noise … like leather scraping against metal and decided it needed to be checked. But instead of going to the anchor chain, or raising the alarm, he ducked behind some barrels and watched what was climbing up the chain.

A few seconds later, Wulf peered through the anchor hawsehole and saw no one on the deck of the ship. There were a few sailors amidships but no one on the stern. The giant human pulled his 7 foot tall body onto the deck silently. His black outfit concealed his sudden appearance on the deck of the ship. The lighting was limited and the anchor hawsehole area was in deep shadow. Only his golden hair and twin braided beard were visible from limited oil lamps forward on the ship. Wulf was soon joined by two other black clad figures, Silver Tooth, and Plankton.

Gruntel Kilmore was pretty smart compared to most of the orcs aboard the ship. He was a half orc after all. Gruntel knew these three were trouble … the kind of trouble that would get you killed. Gruntel had been “pressed ganged” into service and had no love for the Chelish Navy. He, in fact, wanted to get off this ship as soon as possible. These men might be a way to do that. But he knew nothing about them. In the Cleliax Empire, where demon worship was the national religion, men dressed in black were common. These men might be returning from a secret mission to report to the Captain. Or they might be even worse, even more evil, than the Chelish Naval Officers he served now. He decided the best thing to do was stay silent and watch.

Wulf and the other two moved silently to the hatch which led below decks. In what seemed like only seconds they were gone. Gruntel decided to continue to wait, at least for now, in his hiding spot.

Wulf and the others made it to the tiller room door, opened it and entered.

Nya

Nya whispered to Jabnil “Its time … good luck”. Not waiting for a reply she quietly grabbed the side of the long boat and slipped over the side, entering the water of the lagoon. The lagoon's surface was only lit by the few lights on The Dominator and starlight. Below the water’s surface it was even darker. Nya followed the anchor chain and at the right depth veered towards the rudder. She found it right away and it was a huge thing. The rudder was at least 20 feet tall and more importantly the rudder post was thicker around than her waist. She had planned to cut the rudder off at the post, but that looked too hard now. It would take too long and be too noisy.

Her back up plan was to disconnect the post from the rudder. The rudder was attached to the post by a metal ring and a series of large bolts. She had two large 3 foot long dogging wrenches, in two of her tentacles. But when she went to place the wrenches on the nut and bolt head … the wrenches were the wrong size.

Nya stared at the rudder and rudder post for a second doing nothing. Then she said one word in her native Cecaelian language … “Lokksins!” which translates to “AHHH ... SHIT!”

Red and Blade

Red on the Scarlet Dragon stared out into the dark night, worry all over her face.

“It almost time to weigh anchor.” Red whispered to both of them. Both did not reply, they knew she was nervous.

“I want you to check one more time for any stray light on the ship. If you see a sailor with smoking material on them … take it. Nervous people will light up without thinking … and one light will doom us all.” She told them.

“I will check … again” Jura grunted back quietly and left to check the ship one more time.

Red turned to Blade and looked into his eyes. “I loved your plan when you first suggested it. It was daring and reckless. I have always reckless … But I’m a Captain now. I need to change. I need to play it safe. Why did I agree to this?” Red confessed to Blade out of frustration.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf Guided his two men inside the tiller room quietly and looked around. They had spotted no one coming down, but he was not going to push his luck much further. Luckily the room was empty but was packed full of ropes, pulleys and cogs. It was much more complicated than the set up aboard the Dragon and Wulf hardly knew where to begin.

"Right Plankton, you are on watch.Keep an eye on that door and if anyone comes in I want them dead before they know what is happening. Remember silence is the key, so quick and deadly then get them out of sight."

"Silver Tooth lets try to make some sense of these ropes. I only want us down here for ten minutes, half an hour at the maximum so we have to do the most amount of damage we can in that time. Look for the ropes that come from the wheel first and work from there. I will look for the ones from the rudder and work my way back.Remember if you get to a pulley or a cog smash it."

So saying Wulf moved to the back of the room and quickly saw where several ropes exited the hull through water tight holes. Grinning he raised one of his large hand axes and chopped clean through the first one and moved on to the second. If they could cause enough damage then the Dragon should have no problems slipping by and avoiding even a large ship like this. As he cut the next rope he grinned and set about finding his next target. He hoped Nya was having as much luck as he was.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade

He gave her that rakish grin of his, the one he reserved just for her and usually when he was teasing her to the point where she would practically pin him down and shag him senseless. "Aye, you're captain Red, but you are also a pirate." He motioned about them.

"These men don't follow you just cause you have a nice ass or nice chest, they follow you 'cause you really embrace what it means to be a pirate and that means being reckless and taking the chances when they're there. Hell if you stopped doing what you usually do, you'd make a poor captain. So far I have not seen you falter, so don't start now."

He leaned closer to her, his captain, his closest friend and lately his lover, "And come on, since when has it been fun to play it safe? Remember that one time in the Kaleesh port? When you took on a bar just cause some guy pinched your butt? You won didn't you? Sure you had some help, but you won. And here you are again, overwhelming odds, but you have help and if I may say so myself, you have pretty good help. Now pull back those shoulders and be the captain."

He stole a sneaky kiss from her full lips, winked and sauntered away towards the mast, it was almost time for him to take his position in the crow's nest.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Red

Red pulled back her shoulders. The Kaleesh port fight had been rash and thoughtless. But damn had it been fun! Blade was right … she was a pirate, a reckless, crazy pirate. And the captain of the Scarlet Dragon, deserved no less than the most reckless crazy pirate. This plan was crazy … but if they pulled it off they would be famous for it.

“Weigh anchor mates and prepare to give that Chelish Pirate Hunter a nice broadside!” Red ordered her voice full of confidence again as the men quickly pulled up the anchor.

The Scarlet Dragon was carried downstream with almost complete silence. The ship entered the lagoon and all eyes on deck were on the huge Clelish warship. But the Dominator, remained quiet, as if sleeping. The whole crew let out a sigh of relief. If the ship had seen or heard them, they would have been attacked by now. So far the plan was working. Red, Blade and Jura however were still concerned … getting past the Dominator would still take 5 minutes and that was only a partial victory. If the pirate saboteurs had not been successful, the warship would chase them down and kill everyone. The saboteurs needed to be successful. Lastly she was worried … about her team … why wasn't the long boat returning to the ship?

Jura made his way to Captain Red. As he approached her, he stepped on a deck plank that creaked. Captain Red and half the crew looked at him as he carefully lifted his foot. There was no additional creaking. He stepped on other planks and made it to the Captain.

“All is ready” Jura told Captain Red.

Commander Kyan Kain

Commander Kain was the best. He was undoubtedly the best fighter on the Dominator … maybe he was the best fighter in the whole Chelish Navy. It was certain he thought he was the best fighter in the whole Chelish Navy. He had the best armor on the ship as well. Masterwork full plate magical enhanced armor fit perfectly to his human body. He looked good in the armor, even better with the Chelish naval officer gold-embroidered sash, epaulets, and bicorne hat.

He was the Dominator’s Boatswain and Captain of the marine detachment aboard the ship. He was on his inspection rounds with two marines of his massive “shock” troop Orc fighters. He popped open the tiller room door with such speed and swiftness that Plankton, who was watching the door, was startled.

Plankton cutlass thrust forward a second later however it just glanced off Commander Kain armor. This surprised Plankton as his blow had been hard and true, but he was not surprised for long. Commander Kain’s sword removed his head from his body in one graceful backhanded motion.

“Saboteurs!! ATTACK” The commander grunted.

He rushed forward to engage Silver Tooth as one of his shock troops rushed towards Wulf. The other large Orc blocked the door to prevent anyone from leaving the tiller room. Surprisingly … although if you knew Commander Kain it would not have surprised you … the arrogant man had not grunted loud enough raised the alarm on the ship.

How do you stop a warship? Answer: The way it was meant to be stopped

Nya was completely stumped. She was supposed to be the smart one. However, she could see no way to damage the rudder from the outside. It was just too big. Everything she thought of would either make too much noise or take too long or both. Her internal clock told her the Scarlet Dragon was already floating down the river trying to quietly slip past the huge Chelish warship. She was running out of time. She needed to think of something and fast!

“How do you stop a warship?” She said to herself “THINK” she told herself. As she stared at the rudder, nothing came to her mind. “Lokksins!” she moaned again. She had run out of time. She turned around to swim back to the Scarlet Dragon’s long boat hidden under the large stern of the Dominator when her eyes fell on the anchor chain.

“The Anchor … that is it!” She gasped.

“How do you stop a warship? … with its anchor!” she answered her own question. Nya jetted to the lagoon’s sand and coral sea floor as she followed the Dominator’s anchor chain. Visibility was very low due to the lack of light. But by follow the chain she found the large anchor right away. The anchor was caught on a large piece of coral and rock formation. An evil grin appeared on Nya face, as she pulled the slack anchor chain over and around the large rock formation. Entangling and entwining the chain. Then she took her large dogging wrenches and wedged them into the anchor chain, basically forming a slip knot which would get tighter if the Dominator pulled up on the chain. The foul anchor would hold the Dominator to the lagoon until someone swam down here untangled the mess she had made.

“Good enough …” She gasped as she sped back up to the surface.

Jabnil

Jabnil sat in the long boat and listened. She heard nothing. She remembered Wulf’s words "You are our back up plan.”

“Being a back-up plan sucks!” She whispered to herself. She glanced down at the two pots of Greek fire waiting at her feet, unlit. She was to use these to cause confusion and warn the Scarlet Dragon. She looked at her swords on her sides. She knew a better way to warn the Scarlet Dragon, she would order The Beacon to light up the whole ship. That should blind everyone for a bit, Orcs hated bright lights.

She’d toss the Greek fire for good measure and bug out with Nya. She was not to wait for Wulf and the others. Wulf was being heroic with this last order. “We will get out somehow." He had told her. Humans and heroic last stand bullshit. She began to think about an alternate approach to “bugging out with Nya” when she heard a faint creaking sound on the other side of the lagoon.

She peered into the dark night and could see almost nothing. But she did notice a few of the stars just above the tree line blink off and then on again. It was the Scarlet Dragon mast! They were out of time! Where was Wulf, Nya and the Others??

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf had spent ten minutes cutting ropes, fouling wheels and generally making a mess of the room with Silver tooth. He did not know how much damage they had done but he hoped it was enough as it was time to go. He was just hacking a final line when the door sprang open and he saw poor Plankton's head go bouncing into a corner of the room.

A large human in full plate, and two orcs in basic armor came at them. Luckily one of the orcs stayed at the door while the other rushed him. The larger warrior for the larger target he guessed. Well that was his mistake. Stepping forward into his path he saw the surprised look in it's eyes. No one charged an orc. Wulf hit it square between those startled orbs and while it was reeling chopped first his right then his left hand axe into it's neck, severing it's head.

With the orc taken care of he turned to the human to find Silver tooth having a very tough time. The wily man was blocking and dodging well, but every time he counter attacked his blows bounced right off the armor the man was wearing. Damn thing must be magical. Wulf attacked the man from behind going for his head, but something must have alerted him and he turned in time and blocked his downward thrusts. Silver took the opportunity to try to stab him under the armpit, but again his attack had no effect.

This was not looking good so Wulf began to rain blow after blow on the man, trying to distract him from Silver tooth. "Get out of here man if you can and get back to the ship. I will try to hold him as long as I can. If you can get to Jabnil tell her to launch her attack, they know we are here now anyway. Now go and may your God's go with you."

He hoped Silver could get passed the orc at the door but he couldn't think about that just now. He had to keep all his attention on this man. He was a superb fighter and is these cramped conditions he had the advantage. Wulfs height made him crouch over a little and he could not bring his true strength to bear. The man was quicker too and although Wulf had two weapons and knew how to use them well, his blade always seemed to be there to block them. Even when he did get through that damn armor protected him although he grunted from the strength of the blow. Wulf was steadily tiring yet he still seemed fresh somehow.

Suddenly he slipped and the man was all over him and it was all Wulf could do to protect himself. He received many minor wounds but was able to keep him away from getting to any vital organs. Then with an almighty kick, the man sent him hurtling into the side of the ship just near the porthole. Wulf heard an ominous crack but righted himself and charged back into the fight. However a minute later he was again thrown back into the same spot only this time the whole side gave way and he fell out into the waters of the bay. He had just enough time before he hit to throw his axes away from him and then he hit the water and started to sink after having the breath knocked out of him.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Tiller Room

Gruntel Kilmore, a Wharf Rat from Westcrown, had to make a decision and make it fast. He had silently moved below deck to follow the three pirates. He had watched as Commander Kyan Kain and his two Orc Shock troops entered the tiller room. There was a big sword fight going on … he needed to decide to stay loyal to his enslavers … or take a chance on the pirates.


Silver tooth scrambled out of the way of Wulf and the human armored fighter. First Mate, Wulf, had ordered him back to the long boat. Now all he needed to do was get past the massive Orc guarding the door. But as he approached the large Orc's smile grew bigger. Silver tooth knew, and so did the Orc, that he had little chance at defeating this massive warrior.

“Time to die …” The Orc grunted … but then his speech was stopped as suddenly a sword tip came out of the massive Orc’s mouth.

“Shiver me timbers!” Silver Tooth gasped as the Orc fell to the deck dead. Standing behind the now dead Orc was a half orc, Gruntel Kilmore. He had made his decision.

“Aye … I killed him. I request safe passage off this tub” Gruntel Kilmore asked.

“Granted” Silver Tooth answered quickly. The deal struck, both of them made their way top side as quickly as possible and leapt off the stern of the ship.

Jabnil

“Where were Wulf, Nya and the Others??” Jabnil thought. Suddenly, a part of the stern of the Dominator gave way with a mighty crack and Wulf body came flying out.

Jabnil said nothing at the surprising event … but if anyone could see her face it had a huge “?” on it. Before Jabnil could come to grip with Wulf's appearance, Silver Tooth and another figure dove off the stern end of the Dominator. Silver Tooth yelled to Jabnil as he was falling “ATTACK”

Jabnil pulled out Beacon.

“Ok … LIGHT’EM UP Beacon, The Dominator only and FULL INTENSITY PLEASE!” Jabnil told the sword.

Suddenly a column of super bright light bathed only the Chelish warship. The light was intense … and the sudden change from the pitch darkness to the light caused screams of pain on the Dominator. As those crew member still awake shut their eyes.

Commander Kain had to shut his human eyes as well to allow them to adjust. But before he had, he had peered out of the hole in the tiller room. He had seen the long boat and the angel like figure in it. She was dressed in black but he was certain she not a devil! Therefore, she was an enemy of the Chelish nation. He was getting ready to jump out of the hole and kill that enemy when a large barrel filled with liquid smashed into him.

the collision with the barrel had bounced him back into the tiller room. It had also saved the Dominator from a very deathly fire as the barrel was bounced back out of the tiller room and fell into the water. Upon hitting the water the barrel broke open and burst into flames.

Jabnil’s second barrel throw had landed on the quarter deck and exploded. The fire and bright light had the effect Wulf had been hoping for. The crew of the Dominator was in massive confusion. Jabnil was in a little confusion herself, however as the first barrel had lite the surface of the lagoon on fire. She needed to leave quickly before the fire reached the long boat. Lucky in short order, she was joined by Silver Tooth, Gruntel Kilmore.

“Where are Nya and Wulf?” she grunted as everyone in the boats grabbed oar and got ready to row.

Nya was speeding to the surface when she saw Wulf’s body sinking. A small alteration of her accent and soon her arms were wrapped around the big man and pulled him to the surface. She used her extra tentacles to grab his axes before they sank as well. Her head and Wulf’s broke the surface of the water next to the long boat.

“Get In” Jabnil gasped.

“No … I can help push the boat faster if I stay in the water. Just start rowing!” She said.

Wulf’s special attack team started to row like crazy, making their way towards the Scarlet Dragon.

The Scarlet Dragon

Blade’s sharp eyes had seen the light reflecting off sword blades battling in the tiller room before Wulf was thrown through the stern of the ship. He cleverly used night bird song, to warned Red and Jura. The Captain had decided not to attack yet.

Jabnil's column of light and greek fire barrel change that decision.

Red yelled to the crew. “Jura … Lock and Load!”

“Aye Captain” Jura yelled back. “Firing team lock and load” A second later all the firing teams yelled back “ready”

“FIREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” The Captain yelled.

Jura did not need to repeat the order as the Scarlet Dragon gave the Dominator’s stern a full board side. The Scarlet Dragon might be a smaller ship, but all her catapults and ballistas hit the mark. The aft part of the much bigger ship took a beating. As the fire team reloaded, a question came from the deck hands “Captain, shall we unfurl the sails?”

“No … we shall wait for the long boat to return” Red ordered firmly.

There were a few gasps at her decision. Everyone knew as soon as the Dominator got organized and returned fire, the Scarlet Dragon would be doomed. Even now, Red’s crew could see figures trying to turn the ship enough to open up its port batteries. But for some reason, no matter how many turns they gave the wheel, the rudder of the great ship did not seem to respond. Orcs could be seen trying to use the little bit of wind to turn the ship by lowering a single sail on the starboard side of the Dominator. But this would take time. Meanwhile, the Dominators two aft catapults returned fire … but both shots missed the Scarlet Dragon by a wide margin. Then darkness returned to the lagoon as the column of light over the Dominator disappeared. The fires on the ship and water produced enough light to see the Dominator … but the Scarlet Dragon was much harder to see.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf gradually came to and found himself neck deep in water, being held up by strong arms and a tentacle around his waist. He looked up into the lovely face of Nya and smiled. He refrained from speaking as it looked like the helmsman was concentrating really hard on something and he did not want to distract her. However he knew that he owed the woman his life and he would have to find some way to repay her.

From his vantage point he could see behind them and what he saw brought some joy to his heart. The Dauntless was on fire and the crew was running this way and that in an effort to put it out. Good luck with that you bastards, he thought. It would take a miracle for them to put those fires out quickly, and he could see by their frantic efforts to turn the ship and having no luck that their mission must have had some success.

Still as he thought about the battle in the Tiller room he got very angry. That man whoever he was, was now a walking corpse, he just did not know it. Plankton deserved to be avenged and he needed his own payback. The next time they fought it would not be in some cramped room with little pigstickers in his hands. It would be out in the open where real men could fight and he would be fighting with his trusty warhammer. Let him try to best him then.

Wulf smiled and let that thought warm him as he waited for Nya to carry him to the safety of the ship.

 

[milkmaiden38]

The Captain of the Dominator

Captain Pontia Runario of the Dominator was finally on the main deck organizing the firefighting teams. The attack had caught her completely by surprise. The fire on the quarterdeck had prevented her from exiting out her main sea cabin door. She had been forced to go below deck and then come back up closer to the forecastle. Captain Runario was slightly heavyset but physically powerful human woman. She was a mixture of Chelaxian, Taldan and Varisian, with somewhat darker skin than is usually seen in the Chelish heartland. The Varisian part of her heritage showed in her wavy black hair and her grim, firm face. Captain Runario wore her armor most of the time. In this way, she was always ready for combat, and her preparedness deterred others on the ship from ideas about mutiny. Her unofficial name among the crew was “Ballcruncher” for total dislike of males … and for what she did with male prisoners.

The fire teams used sand to control and then extinguish the greek fires. Captain Runario was confident that fire problem was under control. Her attention turned to the attacking ship. It was almost impossible to see it in the darkness, but the fires provided just enough light to show the ship slowly drifting out of the cove. What could be seen more easily was the long boat rowing back to the attacking ship.

Captain Pontia Runario did not enter combat unless she expected to win. She had always preferred an easy opponent to a hard one.

“Aim at that escaping long boat, kill the saboteurs!!” she ordered her two aft catapult teams. Then she ordered a forward launch crew to fire a boarding line to the shore. The junior officer looked at her in confusion. “Once it is tangled in a tree … have the men pull on it so we can use our starboard batteries!”

On the Scarlet Dragon

The Scarlet Dragon was slowing floating out of the cove on the gentle push from the river. Red saw the long boat approaching fast but it was not alongside yet. And the Dominator starboard side was becoming open.

"Give her a bit of left rudder … I want the wind leeward… we need to present as small a target as possible to the Dominator” Red ordered to the helmsman. Then she turned to Jura.

“Are you ready?” She asked … but she knew he was.

“Aye … all weapons are locked and loaded.” Jura replied.

Captain Red cupped her hands and yelled to the Dominator. “YOU HAVE BEEN BEATEN BY CAPTAIN RED AND THE SCARLET DRAGON!! STAY OUT OF THESE WATERS AND GO BACK TO YOUR LAND OF DEVIL WORSHIP!”

She turned to Jura “fire”

Jura huge voice barked the order “FIREEEEE”

On the order of "Fire!" the port side of the Scarlet Dragon heeled over as all her ballistas, catapult shots and fire balls launched at the stern of the Dominator. The crew of the Scarlet Dragon could hear the shots rattle and tear along the Dominator's stern and upper deck. This was followed by the shrieks and groans of the wounded. Captain Red watched as splinters from the wrecked stern showered the aft part of the ship.

The Dominator had launched a return volley from its two catapults. But they were aimed poorly and too lofted. The shots would never reach the Scarlet Dragon and would fall short. Jura was the first to realize the true target of the attack.

“JABNIL … STEER TO PORT” He yelled at the long boat crew.

Jabnil pushed the tiller over in the long boat, and Nya also helped pulling the boat in the same direction. The catapult rounds landed amazingly close to the longboat, producing two big geysers of water. The longboat was drenched in splashed water, but was undamaged otherwise.

A yell from the Dominator came across the cove “CAPTAIN RED … THIS IS THE CAPTAIN OF THE DOMINATOR, PONTIA RUNARIO. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ONLY A WOMAN COULD HAVE SURPRISED ME … I APPLAUD YOUR DARING. LET US DISCUSS TERMS TO STOP THIS NEEDLESS BLOOD SHED. YOU ARE DAMAGING THE VERY SHIP YOU WISH TO CAPTURE. WITH THE DOMINATOR UNDER YOUR COMMAND … THE SHACKLES WOULD BE YOURS!”

As the firing teams on the Scarlet Dragon reloaded Red laughed. “She is up to something and I don’t like it” Red said to Jura. She turned to the boatswain mate. “Drop all sails … get us out of here”

Jura grabbed Red arm “Captain … what about our longboat”

A smile spread across Red’s lips “I think you should use them for boarding practice”

“Aye captain” Jura agreed understanding what the captain was thinking. “Fire a boarding line at the long boat”

The massive four-masted Dominator starboard side was opening up at a surprising rate of speed as the Scarlet Dragon’s sails caught the wind. Wulf’s practice of the firing teams paid off as Jura boarding line landed in the bow of the longboat. The whole scene was like a slow motion chase. But the Scarlet Dragon was fast with all her sails dropped even if she was now towing the longboat.

“NO THANKS … I DON’T WANT YOUR STINKING GARBAGE BARRAGE … UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN … CAPTAIN STUPID BITCH!” Red yelled back as the Scarlet Dragon escaped the cove.

Aboard The Dominator

“WEIGH ANCHOR, UNFURL ALL SAILS, I WANT TO CUT THE TITS OFF THAT ARROGANT CUNT” Captain Runario screamed to her first mate.

“Captain … the anchor is fouled and the rudder is so damaged it will take us at least a day to repair!”

“Mark my words … Captain Red will die at my hands!!” Captain Runario vowed in silent but total rage.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Singing ... and a plan

The Scarlet Dragon was surrounded by darkness as the long boat was brought aboard. Everyone knew how lucky and daring their escape had been. And there was great relief on the ship. In that darkness … the crew heard Captain Red voice singing a song. In no time all the members of the crew were sing along. Sing loud and proud … loud enough that the Dominator's crew could hear them as they sailed away.

Now rouse her right up boys, the bitch from devil’s town.
Hi, ho, blow the bitch down.
We'll blow the bitch up and burn her ship down.
Oh, give us some time to break the bitch’s crown.
We lay off the island, she is sought after.
Hi, ho, blow the bitch up.
Her two catapults make us giggle with laughter
Oh, give us more time to blow the bitch up.

Then we'll blow the bitch up.
And we'll burn her ship down.
Go way, way, blow the bitch up.
We'll blow her right over to devil’s town.
Oh give us more time to burn her ship down.
Ho stand by your braces, and stand by your falls;
Hi, ho, blow the bitch down,
We'll blow her clean over to devil’s town,
Oh give us more time to burn her ship down.​

The Scarlet Dragon sailed with a good wind for four days. Nya and Wulf were almost giddy at the speed the ship could reach under full sail and with such a nice wind. If anyone was following or chasing them, they would be having a hard time to keep up. After morning breakfast on that four day, Red had called an all officers meeting.

“Late this afternoon, we shall arrive at Tidewater Rock. We shall hoist the white flag of parley” Red stated.

“What? Why?” Nye asked in confusion

“Because we shall be taking the strategic keep via clever negotiations … not catapult fire.” Red explained.

“Why would the keep’s owners do that?” Jura asked.

A knowing smile spread across Red lips “Let me explain. The keep was first built by a pirate/free captain named Magna Stormeyes. It is in a perfect spot to launch attacks against shipping. You can pick out the best … richest ships to prey upon. You can also see attacking fleets approaching with plenty of time to set up your defenses. Magna Stromeyes became a very rich pirate. She eventually claimed the Hurricane Crown.”

“Hurricane Crown?” Jabnil asked.

“Think of it as the Leader of all the pirates in the shackles” Nye explained.

“She was eventually assassinated in Port Peril … but her first mate took over Tidewater Rock … and he became rich. The legend of Tidewater Rock as a powerful good luck talisman and impregnable keep was born. This continued to be the pattern with “Iron Bert” Smythee the last lord of the keep.” Red explained.

“What happened to him?” Jabnil asked.

“Well … he and his fleet of pirate ships formed an alliance with that cunt, Captain Carola Antiochus. She got him and his fleet to sail into an ambush where Captain Barnabas Harrigan was waiting for him. Captain Smythee's fleet was trapped between Carola’s fleet and Barnabas’. Out numbers … most of his fleet was destroyed and he died … but he managed to kill Carole Antiochus and sink her flag ship. Barnabas Harrigan took control of all the remaining ships in Carole’s fleet.

But when Harrigan attacked Tidewater Rock … Smythee’s widow, Lady Agasta Smythee, kicked his ass. He lost two ships in the battle. He retreated and decided to let the widow rot in the keep. This is where we come in. Lady Agasta is going to need food and supplies. She also needs ships … the Tidewater Rock is only effective if it works with ships. If we tell her … we are also enemies of Barnabas … all the better. I think she hates that fucker as much as we do.

Anyhow that is my plan … thoughts … comments?” Red asked looking at all her officers.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf looked a bit embarrassed but he cleared his throat.

"Aye Cap'n. It is a good plan. Trying to assault the rock even in a ship as good as this is practically suicide. We may have a few advantages that other pirates do not," he said indicating Nya, Jura and Jabnil,"But even with those we would take very heavy losses and may even loose. I like your plan a lot better, the worst that can happen is that she says no and we have to try assaulting it anyway," he smiled.

He then looked around and blushed a little. "I do have some additional intelligence that may be useful however. It seems that while Lady Agasta Smythee may act all prim and proper in public, she is in fact a voracious lover of men and goes through them almost as quickly as food does on a landlubber on his first sea cruise. Perhaps we could somehow turn this fact to our advantage. Find a good looking male we could dangle as bait to seal the deal as it were," he said smiling.

 

[milkmaiden38]

As Wulf finished suggesting “Find a good looking male we could dangle as bait to seal the deal as it were” The wardroom table fell silent as everyone watched Red’s eyes look at each male at the table. First they fell on Jura, people could see her thoughts as she decided “not likely” … her eyes moved on to looked at Blade. Her eyes clouded in confusion, tears were about to fall, as her thoughts seemed to settle on “possible.” Her eyes then moved on to Wulf. Her eyes brightened to “most definite”, but there was a bit of doubt in them … as she glanced over to Amlugeth. She finally broke the silence with a small smile.

“Yes … well … we’ll cross that bridge if we need to." Red concluded. She remember the night Blade and her made love ... the night when she thought of the another way to “crack the rock” … through the lady of the rock. She had a crack and the right man would know how to open it! Perhaps that man would be Wulf. But what about Amlugeth, had Wulf fallen in love with her? The two had been spending time together. She concluded there was no reason to press this now ... as first they needed to be invited into the tidewater rock keep.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade

He grinned and toyed with a throwing dart, tossing it into the air and catching it, without looking at it, "Well if she is a voracious type, we should find a man with enough experience to actually tame some of her..."needs" and so offer the cracked rock to our cap'n here."

He leaned forward, the dart lost somewhere inside his clothing again, his eyes reflecting a fire of his own, "Now the question is this. Which one of us have the most to offer this said widow to deliver our..."deepest" condolences with her loss and to offer our services to her?"

His lopsided grin spoke volumes, "I will offer my services to make this an easy conquest for Cap'n Red."

Of course Red who knew him for years knew what that had cost him, to practically offer himself up like that.