The Raiders of the Scarlet Sails (IC)

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf sighed. He guessed it was one of the Perks of being a Captain but leaving all the work to him was so unfair. Still it had been done so there was no use bitching about it.

"Right you Son's of Bilge rat's," he yelled. "You heard the Captain. First things First. I want the ships made ready to sail. All bodies to be stripped of anything useful then thrown overboard. Bring everything to the Dragon to be catalogued by Nye and she will sort it out and provision the crews evenly. Now get to it."

The men jumped to their work and soon a steady stream of weapons and loot was piling up on the deck of the Dragon. Both Nye and Jabnil began sorting through it, picking out the decent weapons and sorting out the money.

While this was going on Wulf went aboard the Dominator and examined her. Hardly any damage had been done to her below decks or to her guns and truth be told he would not mind being the Captain of such a vessel. She would need a firm hand though and someone capable of utilizing her capabilities.

There wasn't much damage to her rigging but her sails were shredded in places, but she had spares in the hold and new ropes and he got men working on replacing everything. It would take hours and be a patch job in some cases. She would probably only sail at half speed until full repairs could be made, but that would be enough.

Wulf took a few of the Dominator's crew and the Wormwood's to fill out their losses and then assigned several good men to the Dominator to act as officers. he also had the remaining men of the Dominator and the Wormwood select one man each to be an Officer as well. However he would leave it up to Red to appoint a Captain, that was not his place.

Finally both ships were as seaworthy as they were going to get. The loot had been sorted and distributed. Everything that could be salvaged had been. All wounds had been attended to and the dead disposed of. Wulf sighed in exhaustion and walked to Red's cabin. Knocking on the door he called through. "Everything ship shape and awaiting your approval Captain. Also the Dominator needs a new Captain. I think you should appoint them. It would look better coming from you."

 

[milkmaiden38]

Red smiled at Wulf.

“You ready to be captain?” She asked him with a naughty smile on her face.

“What?” Wulf asked back in a bit of shock. “It’s the most powerful ship in the Shackles … you should be her captain.” He reasoned.

“Nope… I like the Scarlet Dragon.” Red said in a flippant way.

“But I’m Lord of Tidewater Rock.” Wulf stated

“You can be both.” Red answered “Now follow me” She ordered. She grabbed a line and swung over to the quarterdeck of the Dominator.

Red walked forward to the railing on the quarterdeck. Her eyes scanned over the tough crew of the Dominator. Many of their leaders had been demon worshipers, but many of the crew members were just forced labor. Many of them just like Gruntel Kilmore, captured in some Cheliax port and forced to work on the ship. They were not intrinsically evil, they just followed the bad examples they had been given. Her eyes fell on the huge orc storm troopers. They were ugly, brutish, thugs taught to ravage the enemy. But they were no more evil than some humans she knew. They would always be brutish and of low intelligence, but they could be taught to be proper pirates. But it would take lots of work. Wulf would have his hands full and he needed a good second.

Who would be good? … Jura could keep everyone inline, he could even scare the orcs. Nye would also be good as would Blade. But she wanted them both on her ship. Then the perfect choice came to her mind. Jabnil!! A former Solar Angel who loved sex. Perfect to help Wulf tame this crew with love as well as strength!

It was like a one of those epic tales a bard’s tells around a camp fire. Red stood on the strong oak deck. The sky glowing orange behind her as the topical sun began to set. Gentle wind blowing her hair. Flanking her was Jabnil and Wulf, as the beautiful red haired pirate, looked into everyone’s eyes. On her shoulder, Lennix “the shock lizard” stared too.

“Crew of the Dominator… It be done” She said in a loud clear voice. “You are now free of the devil worshipers… those that forced you to serve them.” She stated definitively. Lennix shook his head in agreement.

There was an odd silence that followed her statement. The crew of the Dominator did not know how to react to her statement.

“Freedom means you can cheer or not cheer. Depending if you are happy or not to be free” Red told the crew.

A few cheers were heard from the crew.

“That sucked. Let’s try this again” Red said. “Crew of the Dominator… It be done. You are now free of the devil worshipers that forced you to serve them.” She stated again.

A louder better cheer rose from the crew.

“Again… cheer your freedom … CHEER IT” Red told them

A huge cheer came from the crew this time.

“That is better. Being a pirate is all about freedom. Freedom to sail where you want … and do as you please. To break the rules if you wish. It is a great life.” Red explained.

“You have been told so long what to do, you do not know how to be free. You have been slaves. Always scare someone will rip you in two if you do something wrong. Let me tell you a trick that will help you in the next months to understand how to act.” Red explained and then looked at the Orcs. “and maybe for some … this will help for the rest of your lives”

“close your eyes” She ordered everyone. Crews members started to close their eyes. “Some now … everyone … close your eyes.”

When everyone eyes were closed. She continued. “Now listen to the voice inside you. Listen to what it is saying …It is always right there to advise you. You are free now. Look inside yourself that voice is there… Like your oldest friend, just trust that voice within you. You'll find the strength that will guide you on the right path. Follow the voice and you're gonna see brighter days. It is hard… people will tell you to not follow your voice … but stand your ground and look inside to your soul. That voice will make you strong. Sometimes the voice will whisper to you... sometimes sing to you, sometimes it will scream to you, but always listen to it.” Red told the Dominator crew.

“Now open your eyes.” She said. Everyone was looking at her. Many with more serious expressions on their faces, her words and their internal voice had spoken to them. They were ready for a change.

“Good” she said to them. “As free men and women… you get to choose your path ahead. But not all choices are available today. The Dominator is in the middle of the Shackles. She needs a Captain to start sailing again.” She explained. Then she looked over to Wulf.

“Wulf will be your acting Captain until you make a port call. Those that wish to leave can do so at that time. Those that wish to stay abroad, become pirates, and elect their Captain can make that decision as well. Until that time, Captain Wulf deserves your full loyalty. You will find him a fair and just captain. His first mate will be Jabnil. A former Solar Angel, she is good, just, and fair. I warn you, that both of them will be as loyal to you as you are to them. Should you be disloyal… may your god protect you. You have seen them defeat Commander Kain and Luccaria. Need I say more?”

There was silence from the crew, as her statements sunk in.

“Captain… what happens now?” A man from the Dominator crew asked.

“Captain Wulf and Jabnil will need to select the other acting officers, but more broadly, tomorrow morning … just before sunrise. These three crews, Bonadventure, Scarlet Dragon, and The Dominator, are going to become the riches three crews in the Shackles. We are going to recover Captain Cyrus Wolfe’s treasure hoard!” Red stated. There was huge collective gasp from the Dominator’s crew.

"they were learning... they are free to gasp" Red thought to herself.

http://forum.literotica.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1597747&d=1416977400

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Now what, Wulf thought to himself. He had never really had aspirations of becoming a Captain, let alone of the most powerful ship in the entire Shackles. Now it had been thrust upon him and he had to figure out what to do.

He had a crew who had been ravaging for all the wrong reasons for years. Like the Captain, No like Red had just said, they had been slaves for all those years and he was going to have to teach them how to be pirates.

That would not be an easy task, especially with the orcs. They only knew one way of doing things. It was not their fault of course, it was just the way they had been brought up. Still if Jura could learn then so could they. It would take time and patience and at time a hard hand, but he would whip them into shape.

Once the had been though, by god he would have a crew to be feared as much as his ship was. Along with the other members of both ships, they were all battle hardened men and women. With the taste of freedom in their mouths and knowing they were fighting for themselves and a share of the loot, they would become truly formidable.

Looking at Jabnil he smiled. It would be good to have her as his second in command. On the one hand she was a truly capable fighter. On the other a loving and caring woman. He would need both those aspects, and if they happened to fall into bed together occasionally, well all the better.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade

As the stripping of bodies commenced, he had recovered as many of his silver blades as he could find. One was missing, but that didn't bother him much. They always found their way to him. He also gathered a few things that the mages had on their person, of course nobody saw him take it, so nobody could actually say anything. It was disturbing though, things best shown to Red.

He was sitting on a crossbeam, back against the mast and looked at Red as she did her thing, setting a crew free and wooing them with a promise of good things to come. He had to admit though, her words was never empty. So far she had delivered on everything that she had promised. But he was not sure about this one. The beast that cracks ships apart...

He looked at the blade he was polishing with an old rag and then sheathed it on the vest again. The vest would need a full clean and rub down later on. But first he had to get Red in private and no not for the reasons most men would want to get her into a private corner, she needed to see what he found.

 

[milkmaiden38]

It was early twilight as the Scarlet Dragon slowly approached the cove. Red was on the bow, as Nye was on the quarterdeck at the helm. Red kept repeating the verses Blade had found on Captain Inkskin’s body.

From the blue embrace
Spy the grave lady’s prized tooth
With the dawnflower’s first kiss
Climb the captain’s wayward orb
The claim old king’s hoard ​

She also remembered the tales and rumors that Captain Cyrus Wolfe had summoned a demon to protect his treasure. The beast could destroy ships. Red glanced back at the Dominator and Bonadventure, which were following them into the cove.

“Maybe this demon can destroy a ship … but we have three ships!” Red whispered to herself. Thoughts like this gave her confidence.

There was just enough light to see into Mancatcher Cove. The cove was almost a prefect round bowl in the side of the jungle cloaked island. The water in the circular bowl was a deep indigo hue compared to the turquoise of the water surrounding the island. The color change hinted at the extreme depth of the cove.

“From the blue embrace” Red repeated to herself. The color of the water…matched the verse. They were entering the right cove!! Red looked at the cliffs surrounding the cove which covered all the sides of the cove, except the small opening where a ship could enter. The cliffs were very steep with only a few small beaches where the water and the rock face met. The jungle at the top of the cliffs was very thick and massive trees spread their branches over the top of the cove. From these trees a series of interlaced vines have grown like a loose net canopy 100 feet above the water, giving the cove a cave like quality in the shadows of predawn. More vines and creepers, and roots extend down the cliffs, creating a dense maze of twisted tendrils that shroud numerous dark hollows in the rocks.

Slowly the Scarlet Dragon entered the cove; she was followed by the Dominator. The Bonadventure did not enter the cove but turned sideways at the entrance. Thus she could provide covering fire, with a full broadside if required.

“So far so good” Red said to Nye as the Scarlet Dragon came to a stopped near the middle of the cove. The Dominator also came to a stop moments later near the Scarlet Dragon. They had arranged the ships in a "T" formation. Each could provide covering fire for the other. Red had been impressed as the Dominator sailed and operated with the skill of a seasoned captain and crew. Wulf had the former crewmembers working well together, considering they had just surrendered the night before. Red gave the thumbs up signal to Wulf and Jabnil. Both gave the thumbs up signal back.

“Now we wait for dawnflower’s first kiss” Red said to herself. They had guessed that "dawnflower’s" was sunrise… at least that is what they all thought it meant.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf stood at the helm of the Dominator and looked around him. So far his ragtag crew had performed well. There had been hiccups of course. The Orcs had not taken kindly to working with the crew from the Wormwood. They had taken some convincing but eventually with the help of Jabnil he had got it done.

Eventually the situation had proven easy to solve. He had simply promoted one of the Orcs and one of the Wormwood sailors as well as one of the human sailors from the Dominator to Lieutenants. Then he pitted them in a series of tests. One of brawn, one of skill and one of intelligence. Of course the Orc had won the brawn,and come close in the skill but come far behind in the intelligence. The men had been evenly matched but the man from the Dominator had won.

However it had brought all of the crews together showing them the skills each of them had and now they worked well together. In fact after a bit of rearranging of skills on the fly during their travels to the cove he now had a very competent ship. Give them a few more weeks and he was sure they would be moving like a well drilled unit. Well he intended to make them one anyway.

As they glided to a stop thanks to their sea anchor he had the men stand down, but put on watch. Half were to watch the cliffs while the other half were to watch below. He had posted men into the rigging for that duty and he knew most were a little on edge. Everyone knew the riddle and the legends of this place.

All gun crews were on high alert but in his heart Wulf wondered what good that would do if the beast truly came from below them. His new ship may have the most weapons he had ever seen, but none of them could shoot straight down.

While everyone went about their jobs he sent Jabnil to glide above them to keep watch as well. From a significant height perhaps she would be able to see something a long time before anyone aboard ship could.

Wulf also had a sneaking suspicion that they might be looking in the wrong place. If it was so obvious then others should have found it by now. Then again if this monster was as bad as everyone said maybe they were in the right place and it was just because no one had survived that the treasure had not been found.

With that pretty thought running around in his head he continued to scan his surroundings and his crew. He needed to be ready to give orders at a moments notice that could save his crew or Red's.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade

He used this lull in their expedition to swing down from the crow's nest and landed close to Red. She of course turned to him, but before she could ask anything, he had his hand on her elbow and was busy moving her to the furthest point on deck, he glanced around, making sure nobody could overhear and then he moved close to Red.

"Cap'n, I have something that will explain a lot."

He glanced around and then removed a folded parchment from inside his vest, holding it close enough for her to touch it.

"That is human skin."

He unfolded the parchment and the archaic letters seemed burned into the skin he held.

"Demon writing. They talk of a mutual agreement and of stopping us before we can liberate more ships."

He folded the parchment again and tucked it away, then he produced a black piece of glass. Only it wasn't glass.

"Black diamond Cap'n. I found dozen of them on the wizards. Six each. This worries me. If these demons are keeping watch, they may attack us when this creature that we were warned about does its own attack."

He glanced around and then back at her, a slight grin on his face, "Why don't you hold on to this one for me and think about this."

He dropped the diamond between Red's bountiful breasts, kissed her soundly on the lips and within moments he was busy climbing up the ropes to the crow's nest.

 

[milkmaiden38]

The Narrator. Don’t you hate it when an author is trying to be clever and jumps the story forward, only then to fill in the detail missed with a flash back? I hate that. Let me demonstrate. Here is a scene involving Red and the monster tentacle plant attacking both the Scarlet Dragon and the Dominator.

The burning of plant tentacles and the resulting sound of the screeching plant monster filled Red’s ears. She had just managed to avoid all the tentacles and press the leverages on the Scarlet Dragon maidenhead. The maidenhead sprayed out a great wash of fire that burned the plant monster in front of the ship. The tentacle plant screamed in pain. But the aft section of the Scarlet Dragon and the whole Dominator were surrounded by tentacles!

Red suddenly realized that the monster had another trick up its sleeve as a chuck of rock hurdled towards her and The Scarlet Dragon. She deftly dodged the rock, but the collateral damage was almost worse. The rock crashed through the main deck and the deck below. The rock almost crashed through the bottom hull of the ship!!

Red was desperate. She needed to stop this new attack as a few more of those rocks and everyone would be swimming in the shark and Sea Devil filled waters!

The Narrator: An exciting passage… no question about it, but the reader needs to figure out on his/her own that the tentacle plant was not summoned by Captain Cyrus Wolfe from hell as the legend goes. The wily Captain simply transplanted an exotic and deadly animated plant from the southern continent. Having no natural enemies on the small island in the Shackles, the tentacle plant grew huge basically taking over Mancatcher Cove. The fact that the Sea Devils also use the cove as their main base of operations is also missed by the reader. The Sea Devil tactics to deal with intruders is simple and elegant. Disable the rudder of visiting ship and let the tentacle plant finish off the crew. Sink the ship and no one is the wiser. So here are the parts that the Author skipped over.

Nye was watching Red and Blade as Blade slipped something in between Red’s big breasts. “Humans!” She whispered in disgust. Then there was a signal whistle from the Dominator. Wulf was pointing into the water below the Scarlet Dragon.

“Captain … you have the deck … I’m going for a quick dip” Nye told Red. Red nodded in agreement as Red was busy with one of her hands between her tits trying to fish whatever Blade put there.

Nye slipped over the side of the ship, using her suction cups to hold on to the side of the ship and silently enter the water. Once in the water, she was no longer the awkward Cecaelia you see on land. She was now in her element. Her eyes adjusted to the low light in the cove, as the sun was still below the horizon. But Cecaelia have excellent vison and she saw the three Sea Devils tempering with the Scarlet Dragon’s rudder before they saw her. She swam quickly at them, arming three of her tentacles with her daggers on the way. Her attack would have been over in a second, had not one of the Sea devils looked up at just the wrong time. He saw her approach and dodged her dagger attack. The other two Sea Devils were not so lucky and had their throats slit before they knew what had happened.

The remaining Sea Devil shrieked a warning as it pulled its trident from its back. Nye was quick and one octopus push and she was all over the Sea Devil tentacles wrapping it up before it could get the trident out. The three daggers repeatedly stabbing the devil until it was dead.

Nye attack was necessary but now there was now blood in the water. Sea Devils used great white sharks as mount. Blood drives great whites crazy and Nye knew this. She darted towards the Dominator as fast as she could, because there were three Sea Devils working on their rudder too!

Jabnil

Jabnil had been sent aloft. She was flying lazy circles above both ships. It was boring and so she studied the cliff walls. The walls were rough and covered in vines. But they were also pocked with naturally occurring shallow caves. Jabnil assumed that the treasure was hidden in one of these crevices. But there were so many, without a map, it seemed hopeless. Weeks of systematic searching would be required to explore all of them.

Then she noticed something alarming. Some of the vines seemed to be moving. She was not sure, and so she looked at a big section of the cliffs and to her surprise ten plant like tentacles attacked her. She needed to duck and dodge, barely escaping the attacking vines. Her hands were shaking—her chest pounding as her body became flushed with adrenaline.

“THE PLANTS ARE ALIVE” she yelled to the ships below. She realized it was kind of a dumb thing to say. Of course plants are alive. DUH! But she hoped Wulf and Red knew what she meant. Jabnil pulled out her trusty blades.

“TIME FOR A HAIR CUT… WEED!!” She screamed as she dove in to attack. She made some mighty swings at the tentacles and lopped off a few of them with sharp slices. The plant tentacles fell to the surface of the cove, as they continued to writhing about.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Definition of a Hero

A hero is a person who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through impressive feats of ingenuity, bravery or strength, often sacrificing his own personal concerns for some greater good.

Wulf had been clever to place the Dominator at battle stations as they entered the cove. He had been observant to spot the Sea Devils under the Scarlet Dragon and to warn Nye of trouble. He was brave as he waited until the last moment before ordering his catapults to fire at the huge mass of plant tentacle approaching the Dominator. The fire power of the Dominator had sent plant pieces everywhere. Unfortunately, there were even more tentacles coming! Finally Wulf was strong as he wielded his giant two handed war hammer with no concerns for his own personal safety as he tried to save crew members. His golden hair braid flying in the wind.

All of this did not make him the hero of this battle. As plant tentacles were everywhere on the Dominator. He saw one wrap around an Orc crew member and started to strangle the Orc. He mashed the tentacle flat, the Orc fell to the deck gasping only to be wrapped up in another tentacle and pulled off the ship. Another member of his crew, not more than 10 feet away was impale by a tentacle. He saw other crew members die as larger tentacles cut down by Jabnil, fell from above and crushed them. Wulf knew that in order to be a hero, someone needed to survive the battle, to tell people about all the smart, brave, and strong things you did. He was not sure anyone was going to survive this encounter.

Meanwhile above the Dominator, Jabil was having her trouble. After cutting down a few huge tentacles, a monstrous tentacle the size of a small house was trying to smash her.

“HEY BITCH… YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO ME” her silver sword yelled at her as Jabnil dodged another whipping attack.

“BUSY!!” Jabnil screamed back.

Suddenly Jabnil was hit from behind and tumbled head over heels, as she crashed into the cliff wall that surrounded the cove. She hit the cliff wall head-first with a crack like a ruptured tectonic plate. It was at this point that she lost her gripe on her silver sword, which fell from her hand.

“YOU STUPID CUNTTTTTT…” was all that Jabnil heard fading away from the sword as it fell. Then she was wrapped up in another tentacle which drove the air out of her lungs. Her vision blurred as she tried to stab at the vine that held her with her remaining golden sword, but she knew she would be dead soon.

Under the Dominator things were not much better Nye was fast in the water, VERY FAST. She arrived under the Dominator’s keel just as the Sea Devils got their tridents out. Her tentacles wrapped around two of the tridents as the sea devils were defending themselves from her dagger attacks. Once in control of the tridents, the two sea devils could not defend themselves at all from Nye daggers. They both died gutted from their crotch to their mouth.

“Time to ram my big stick in you, OctoFUCK” the last Sea Devil yelled as its trident was trust forward. Nye twisted and avoided the trident attack and then the two liberated tridents ended up going up the last Sea Devil's ass and came out his head. “Now that is how you ram someone” Nye exclaimed as the dead sea devil floated into the dark depths of the cove.

Her joy at saving the Dominator’s rudder was short lived as she was quickly surrounded by 40 Sea Devils all riding great white sharks!

Same story for the Scarlet Dragon. Jura’s gunners were bravely battling the plant tentacles. But the tentacles made sushi out of them. It snapped his main gunner’s spine so violently that the man’s vertebrae erupted through the man’s stomach. The human twitched and flopped obscenely, only inches away from Jura as the minotaur in a fit of revenge breathed acid on as many tentacles as he could. His rear gunner was gutted by another tentacle and the bow gunner was tore in half by two vines fighting over the man's body.

Blade had made it to the crow’s nest before the plant tentacles attacked. He was skipping and dodging and leap between yardarms trying to cut down as many tentacles as possible. But there were too many, he just could not get all of them. He saw on the main deck, Petty Officer Smedley head pulled off by a vine and Smedley’s body just stood swaying for a moment, like an indecisive drunk. And then a bright, hot jet of blood fountained from the stump of his neck. Blade remembered the man had always loved his rum and now he was dead. Everyone was going to be dead soon, if things did not change quickly.

That was when a silver sword plunged into the yardarm he was standing on. The foul mouth silver sword yelled at him ‘Hey you, fucking jumping bean, pick me up. It’s time for you to be a fucking hero!!”

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf gets Dominated

Wulf was not having a fun time.

He had placed the Dominator in the perfect position to defend against any normal foe. Only problem was they were not getting attacked by any normal foe.

The first they knew of the attack had been when he had spotted the Sea Devils approaching the Dragon. He had let out a load yell to Nye and seen her acknowledgement and had immediately put several of his men to work looking out for the devils below his own ship.

Of course that had let the next threat get a might too close for comfort. The lookouts had been too busy scouring the waters near the ship to continue watching further afield, until one glanced up and spied the tentacles of some sea creature fast approaching them.

Again Wulf calmly ordered the gun crews who had the things in their sights to wait. There was no need to fire yet. They were too far away. He ordered grape shot, Greek fire and chain shot loaded. They would cause a lot of damage and he would see which caused the most before ordering a second volley.

Finally when they were almost upon them he had the batteries open fire. The sound was deafening and the devastation amazing. Even the Dragon could not match this. Still it was not enough. For all the destruction they caused more rose out of the waters to replace them.

He ordered the canons to reload but knew they wouldn't be in time and had the crew ready to fight.

Suddenly tentacles were everywhere and he finally saw it was not some beast they were fighting but a plant. He roared into battle swinging his warhammer, squishing tentacle after tentacle, but for everyone he did another seemed to take it's place.

His crew fought valiantly, cutting down tentacles by the score, but he saw them defeated one by one. Some were caught and dragged from the ship screaming. Others pierced through, but still the rest fought on.

If they were to die here they would sell their lives dearly.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade

There were a few things that Blade was not good with. Following loud orders laced with swear words was one of them. For a moment he debated about doing as the sword...a godamned sword!!... asked him to do. He grabbed the hilt of the sword as he ran passed it, as it drew free from the wood, he grabbed a rope and used it to swing free of the seeking tendrils.

"OK listen up. That dumb cunt of an angel didn't understand that I am not just some fucking healing talisman."

Blade used the blade to slash at some of the vines, they actually shrunk away from the edge of the blade.

"Fuck you are as stupid as she is..."

"You can control plants."

For a while the sentient sword was silent, "You fucking knew??"

"I figured as much when the vines drew away from you. So how does it work?"

"Envision and I do."

Blade hopped into the crow's nest and looked at the sword, "You better be right."

"Just fucking do it."

Blade looked at the vines and thought about them attacking the Sea Devils and cease the attack on the ships. In his hand the sword grew warm and then unleashed a bright light. Immediately the plants stopped attacking the boats and turned their attacks on the demons.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Blade

Blade could feel the power of the blade flow through his body and take control of all the plants in the cove. The energy was so powerful it made him look down at the blade once more as the light from it dimmed. The light had come from the green gems embedded in the cross guard which were in the shape of a growing plant, a subtle sign of the weapon’s power.

Blade looked up and saw all the vines had stopped attacking their two ships and hung in the air for a second. Then with a speed that was hard to understand the vines suddenly plunged into the water around the Dominator. Huge fountains of water flew high into the air from the force and speed at which the vines entered the water of the cove. Then in the low light of dawn’s twilight, Blade saw the water darken, darken because of all the blood in the water.

The vines slowly came out of the water, still wrapped around pieces of great white sharks and sea devils. Nye head popped out of the water at about this time too.

“Those vines just saved my life!” Nye exclaimed as her octopus tentacles stuck on to the side of the Scarlet Dragon's hull and she climbed back on board.

“That stupid 8 legged, piece of sushi does not know we just saved her. I’m not sure how you put up with all the stupid cunts on this ship? You should go down there and let me give her a piece of my mind!! ” The silver sword told Blade as the vines returned to the cove cliff walls and remained still.

As was pointed out before, there were a few things that Blade was not good with. Following loud orders, mixed with swear words, was one of them. He had had enough from this god damned sword and he was going to teach it a lesson. He grabbed a line and swung down from the crow’s nest to the main deck. “Ok I’ve had enough from you…” he said to the sword while he placed it; point first, into the fire drums used for the catapults.

“FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK THAT HOT” the sword screamed

“Oh sorry…” Blade laughed as he pulled the blade out of the fire and then banged it on the ship's capstan.

“Ouch, OH, OUCH. Stop that you FUCK… you’ll damage me!!” The sword yelled at Blade.

“Fine have it your way” Blade laughed louder as he thrust the sword into a barrel filled with dirty soapy salt water. The water had been used to clean up this morning’s breakfast plates. The sword was yelling at Blade. It was really swearing at him, but no one could understand it, as the sword was under the dirty soapy salt water.

Red came over to Blade “What are you doing?” She asked.

Blade smiled “Washing someone’s mouth out with soap!” He answered.

Dominator

Wulf was still trying to understand why the plant vines had suddenly stopped attacking his ship and all plunged into the waters of the cove near his ship when Jabnil landing with a “PLOP” at his feet. It was the same sound a dead fish makes if you throw it and it lands flat on the deck. Jabnil looked a bit like a dead fish, pale, mouth open, glassy eyed. Wulf leaned over with concern “Jabnil, are you ok?”

His question seemed to revive her. “Oh… sure” She answered “if you consider getting the air squeezed out of your lungs and falling 250 feet and landing on your back on a hard wooden deck… ok” Jabnil answered.

Wulf looked at Jabnil big breasts “That must have been a lot of air” He surmised.

“Not funny” Jabnil answered as she stared up at him but then her eyes shifted looking at the cave wall. “LOOK” she said.

As the first light of dawn peeked into the dark cove from the east, the jungle wall came alive with a pattern of shadows and light in a thousand fanciful, ever shifting shapes. Then as the sun rises, it’s rays seem to steady for a few seconds and in the shadowy half-light a group of caves and crevices on the cliff face take on the appearance of a grinning skull. As the morning sun gets a little higher, the rays illuminate the shadow that resembles the skull’s mouth, a large glint of gold sparkles brightly in the sunlight as if the skull has a gold tooth!

Wulf whispered the rhythm Blade had found on Inkskin's back

From the blue embrace
Spy the grave lady’s prized tooth
With the dawnflower’s first kiss
Climb the captain’s wayward orb
The claim old king’s hoard​

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade

He held the sword in the water as it kept at the complaining part, then looked at the cliff face as it clearly struck a note with the crews of both ships. "Well I'll be... Can you believe that Red? We seem to have actually found the tooth, now we just need to figure which one of those eyes are holding the treasure."

He glanced at the sword immersed in the water, "I wonder if the sword could ask the plants if they can sense gold since they seem slightly sentient..."

He drew the sword from the water.

"You filthy dog earned land loving son of a..."

Blade dunked the sword back into the water. "Perhaps we should ask Jabnil to scout for us."

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf leaned down and helped Jabnil to her feet slowly, making sure she was not injured in the process. She was made of Stern stuff but even an Ex Angel could still be hurt by such a fall.

Still she appeared okay and both of them gazed up at the rock wall as the sun continued to shine onto it.

"So which eye do you think the treasure might be in," mused Jabnil?

Wulf had been thinking the same thing. The 'Wayward Orb' line struck him as the clue. A lot of pirates lost eyes and perhaps Cyrus Wolfe had been one of them.

"Jabnil, are you recovered enough to fly up and have a look around in those sockets," he asked her.

Jabnil puffed out her chest (Truly a formidable sight to see) and looked at him with scorn. "Of course I am alright. it would take more than that to harm me."

Smiling Wulf held up his hands in mock surrender. Chuckling he pointed towards the Dragon, "Easy now, I was only concerned for you. Okay then, go first to the Dragon and see if Red knows if Captain Cyrus wore a patch and if so on what eye. Then search that eye first. I have a feeling you will find the treasure there."

Jabnil's eyes lit up with understanding and she took off towards the Dragon in a hurry.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Shadow Demons

Huzti soul reaper was huge compared to chief assistant, Basram. However, Basram knew his duty and reported on the battle in the cove above them.

“The plants killed the bulk of our defensive forces. I have set up some ambushes with the remainder of our forces. But if the heroes get past them, you, Luccaria and I must fight them.

Huzti was surprised. "They took control of the plants?

"Yes" Basram replied.

Huzti seemed to understand. Then he said “It is good that Luccaria is so hard to kill. However, I continue to be puzzled that the heroes are still alive. With the knowledge from the Ancient Mariner they should have been killed long ago.” Huzti puzzled. Then he seemed to make a decision.

“Follow me” He told Basram as he headed towards the cave they kept the Ancient Mariner. A short while later, Huzti and Basram stood in the chamber that held the Ancient Mariner. The heavy chain from the anchor was still coiled around the skeletal of the ancient sea captain.

There was a very strong aura of despair near the skeleton.

“Ancient Mariner …wake up” Huzti ordered.

The skeleton’s eyes started to glow as the sound of the skeleton’s voice haunted the room.

“Shark Bait… and Bilge Rat” The skeleton said back to the extra large shadow demon knowing that name irritated the demon and his new name for the second in command.

“Your prediction of the future was wrong. The heroes continue to live and get closer by the moment. Tell me how this can be?” Huzti asked in a firm voice.

“Ye be as daft as a love sick killer whale!” The skeleton said back

Huzti hands glowed and the skeleton started to scream in terrible pain. “Must we do this each time?” the demon asked. The spell and screaming went on for quite some time until the skeleton’s eyes faded away. Then Huzti ended the spell.

As the skeleton came back to life Huzti ordered “Now answer my question”

The skeleton smiled a horrible smile “Those land lovers I showed ye, were never a threat to your plan. I just told ye they were a threat so ye would provoke them. Now they threaten it and it be ye own fault!” The Ancient Mariner burst into evil laughter as Huzti realized his error. The Ancient Mariner knew the future and he was not sharing it even under torture. Huzti was now second guessing all his decision as the Ancient Mariner continued to laugh.

Jabnil

Jabnil flew over to the Scarlet Dragon and landed next to Red and Blade. “Did you see what we saw?” She asked them. Red grinned “yes … and so did both crews.” Red replied. Then she turned to face the crew.

“Crew of the Scarlet Dragon, We shall be exploring the caves soon. Not everyone can come long on this part of the journey. However, to make sure no one feels cheated. I ask for 2 volunteers from the Scarlet Dragon and 2 from the Dominator to join Jura, Blade, Jabnil, Wulf, and I. I remind everyone that there may be no treasure at all. That this whole journey was based upon some sea story which got told a few too many times. I also remind you that Captain Cyrus Wolfe was mage, and loved traps! The creature he called up from hell may be in one of those caves. Waiting for us… Do I have any volunteers?” Red asked.

Nye raised her hand “I would like to join you! I do not fear traps or creatures from hell and the crew trusts me”

Red looked over to her navigator “Nye, I need you to stay on the ship. You are only officer I can spare to remain behind.”

There was some grumbling from the crew at Red’s reply.

Nye pressed her case “Red, you ask the crew to trust you, but you don’t trust them with your ship. You said ANY volunteers. I wish to join you.”

Red looked around at the faces of her crew. “It is not that I don’t trust them with the ship, it just in case of another attack, I feel better with you aboard. But I can see now, that was a mistake. Nye welcome to the group. I need another volunteer!” Red asked.

Silver Tooth and Gruntel Kilmore both raised their hands. The two had become friends and did everything together.

“I can’t take both of you.” Red protested. “I’ll pick Silver Tooth, because Gruntel is too new to the crew and is a Half Orc” Red reasoned out loud. The crew’s faces filled with disappointment. Red realized she had said something wrong again. This time Jura came to her rescue.

“What Captain Red meant to said was Gruntel can’t be picked because he will be acting Captain while she is away.” Jura clarified for Red.

The crew’s faces brighten at Jura's comment and so she went with it “Yes, Gruntel will be in charge. Just don’t run the ship aground while we are away.” Red said to Gruntel. Then Red turned to Blade “Give Gruntel one of those black diamond you have, so we can communicate with him, in case we are in trouble.”

Jabil turned to Blade "Hey, where is my sword?" She asked.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade

"Give away a black diamond? You know Cap'n I might mutiny one day on how easily you seem to squander my treasures."

He produced a flawless diamond, black as the night and tossed it at Gruntel, who almost fumbled it, so in awe he was with the beauty of the gem.

"Now listen carefully Gruntel. You cup the diamond in your hand and speak to it, I will hear you." He grinned, "And don't lose it. I can be quite unforgiving."

He then turned to Jabnil, drawing a gleaming silver sword from his waist, "You mean this one? I just cleaned it a bit for you. Had a lot of things to tell me, about how you like your sex and mates...maybe Red should invite you to her cabin some time. Sounds like it could be fun."

He gave the former angel a raunchy grin and tossed the sword at her, it turned in a lazy circle and she grabbed it out of the air.

 

[milkmaiden38]

As Jabnil caught the sword, it started complaining immediately.

“I’ll cut that tiny cock of his! He is a skinny mother fucking, that is Blade! He is a necrophiliac reddish boil on a cum guzzling rat's ass!!” The silver sword grumbled to Jabnil.

“Shut up Healer… you deserved what you got from him!” Jabnil ordered as she placed the sword back in its scabbard. “Now be quiet.” She added.

“Ok here goes” Jabnil said and she took off with a few powerful flaps of her wings. She flew to the “golden” tooth and examined it first. “Just fool’s gold” She reported to the two ships below as she flew higher to the two orbs. She examined each carefully. The one on the right was behind a screen of honeysuckle. A few large bees buzzed around the fragrant blossoms. The one on the left was narrower, with more roots and vines, but it looked accessible with some effort. “Any idea which is the right one?” Jabnil ask the two ships below. Of course there were over 100 opinions shouted up to her from the two ships. She remembered what Wulf had told her about which eye Captain Cyrus Wolfe wore a patch on.

“Red, which eye did Captain Cyrus Wolfe wear a patch on?”

“His right one… I think” Red yelled back.

Jabnil went into the narrow cave, with the roots and vines. The narrow earthen opening ascends into the cliff above. Jabnil climbed up the tunnel and soon can see sunlight filtering in from above. The cave seemed to travel under massive trees. The tree’s root systems growing down into the rock wall. The barks and roots of the tree with their fissures and crevices resemble an old wrinkled face. The spread of roots above the face were even and looked like a crown. The roots below the “face” looked like the old face’s beard. “The claim old king’s hoard” Jabnil whispered to herself. She was positive this was the right place to start digging for the treasure!

She made her way back to the entrance and yelled down to the ships "I found it!"

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf watched Jabnil search with baited breath. When she had called down about the patch he had been surprised that she had remembered and he had watched as she had disappeared into the correct orb.

He was even more surprised when several minutes later she came out shouting she had found the bloody thing. To rousing cheers from the crews she flew back down and the ideas began to flow about how to get up there safely.

Of course they could try to look for a way up along the cliffs and then climb down, but everyone agreed that plan would take too long. Wulf suggested that Jabnil fly up and secure a rope and the lightest of them could climb up and secure another with hammer and metal stakes.

All of them had spent time in the rigging and even though it would be a long climb, it would still take a lot less time than trying to find a route overland.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Jabnil had flown back down and picked up a rope. She secured it around a strong rock formation about midway up to rock cliff. She took another rope and tied it off at the cave’s entrance. Following wulf's suggestion spike were added for more strength. Jura, Blade, Jabnil, Wulf, Nye, Silver Tooth, Borba, Aguk, and Red made the climb up to the cave.

Background on Borba and Aguk

Borba and Aguk were two large orcs from the Dominator crew. Aguk was confident, conceited and frank. He was born and grew up in a large family. At 11 years old, his family was wiped out by the Cheliax army. He survived in the brutal world by diligence and hard work. He is still haunted by memories of the past, but he hopes that the treasure will give him enough money buy a place to he can call home and finally find tranquility he has never had.

Borba had no memory of her parents. She was left to die when her father and mother were killed by a rival Orc clan. Saved by an Orc prostitute named Lolamk, Borba would eventually become a profitable whore as well. She was intelligence (for an Orc) and graceful enough to be a whore for non-Orcs. Her exotic nature allowed her to become a highly sought after courtesan by the time she 19 years old. She was sold to a particularly curious and wealthy human client named Fender. Borba was, in some respects, was treated well by the Fender. She was well educated in history, music, and the arts, but was forced to do some pretty perverted sexual fantasies as well. In the end she left him, and hired onto the Dominator as one of the ship’s pleasure women.

Jabnil took everyone to the back of the cave. The tree’s root systems, cave’s fissures and crevices made the back wall resemble an old wrinkled face.

“See, the roots above the “face” looked like a crown and the roots below the “face” looked like a beard… Climb the captain’s wayward orb, The claim old king’s hoard!” Jabnil pointed out to everyone.

“Aye…she is right!” Red gasped in joy. “Ok, we’ll work in shifts. Jura and Aguk, start digging, when you get tried, Wulf and Blade can take over. Meanwhile, everyone else move the dirt back along the cave floor. I want to keep the cave clear so we can haul all the treasure out!” Red said in excitement.

In 10 mins, Aguk and Jura had dug deep enough to run into wooden planks and a small chest resting on the planks.

“That can’t be the treasure, the chest is too small!” Silver Tooth complained

“Maybe Cyrus that tricky bastard converted all his treasure into a single valuable gem or item!” Nye suggested.

“No one touch it. It might have a trap. Blade, you are skilled in such things. Check for traps” Red suggested as everyone backed away from the small chest.

“I’m skilled in regular traps. He was an evil mage, the trap might be magical!” Blade pointed out to Red. But he careful examined the chest and found no hint of a trap. Then without warning to anyone else he flipped it open.

Inside the chest were 10 small vials with liquid in them. Each was labeled “Water Breathing Potion”

“I have a feeling the treasure is under water!” Red surmised “Ok let’s remove the planks” Red ordered. Everyone held their breath as the planks were removed. But then the cave was filled with gasps of disappointment. The removed planks revealed a sinkhole descending into the rock. It dropped all the way down to the water level of the cove. The surface of the water was still. Remnants of a wooden platform and stairs could be seen, but had long since rotted away.

“The treasure is under that water!” Red guessed. “We’ll need more rope and maybe a pulley system to haul it up.”

“Let’s find the treasure first. There may be a way to get back to the cove and we won’t need a pulley system.” Nye suggested

“Good point. I still think we need rope to get down, and back up, if that is not the case.” Red pointed out.

“I’ll get the rope, flying is faster then someone climbing the ropes to the ship” Jabnil said as she walked back to the cave’s entrance and flew down to the Dominator.

“Ok, who is willing to drink the potion and join me in finding the treasure!” Red asked.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade rested a hand on Red's arm

"You might want to be a little bit more careful cap'n. I suggest that you sent Nye down first, let her check for traps and such since she can actually stay under the water without a potion. If the way is clear, I will follow you gladly down that gloomy, watery hole."

 

[milkmaiden38]

“Blade, you make an excellent point. We will do as you say” Red declared.

Nye looked over at Blade “Traps… danger… evil mage… and me, all alone down there! I think this idea sucks!” Nye complained.

“We shall be encouraging you from up here!” Red said patting the Navigator with all the tentacles, on the back.

Jabnil returned with two long ropes and handed them to Jura and Borba. “The crew was full of questions and wondering how it is going.” Jabnil told Red.

“What did you tell them?” Red asked

“The truth. We have found nothing yet. Oh and The Bonadventure is now in the cove too” Jabnil told Red.

The ropes attached firmly in the tunnel and dropped into the pool of water below. Nye was the first one to slide down them and enter the water. After looking around a little, her head appeared above the surface of the water.

“All clear, no traps.” Nye reported, and then she added “There is very little light down here, just a few bioluminescent fungi and lichen.” Nye reported.

Jabnil smiled and pulled out her golden sword “Ok, I don’t want to hear a bunch of big words. Just make your blade glow. Thank you!” Jabnil thanked the blade in advance.

“Affirmation in the positive” The sword answered and it started to glow. Jabnil grabbed a potion and drank it. Then she slide down the rope and was in the water. Her head going under, it came back up after a while.

“Potion works well. The water in nice and warm, cone on down” Jabnil encouraged everyone.

 

[Aussie_Wolf]

Wulf looked at the others. "Let me go next Cap'n. If there is something nasty down there then it might be good to have someone big down there." Drinking a potion he smiled at them all. "If not at least I can get a start on the digging."

Not bothering with the ropes he jumped feet first straight down the hole and disappeared into the depths.

Jabnil had been right, the water was rather warm and with the potion he had no trouble breathing. Because of his plunge and the large hammer on his back, he soon found himself on the sea floor and Jabnil soon swam up beside him. Grinning he looked around trying to spot anything that looked like a chest.

He didn't think it would be that far away from the platform and it should have some form of obvious mark or else how was Cyrus supposed to spot it again. Yet try as he might he just couldn't spot anything. Hopefully once the others joined them they would have some ideas.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Underwater

Soon everyone was underwater with Wulf. Jabnil’s sword provided the light, as everyone searched the bottom of the pool. It became clear, quickly, that the treasure had been on the bottom, but it had been moved away. There was a tunnel exiting the pool at the south corner. Red ordered everyone to gather around before allowing anyone to go into the tunnel.

“Ok, Nye please tell everyone, what you told me. And provide some instruction to our newer members on the art of fighting under water.” Red ordered.

Nye smiled and looked at everyone in the circle. “The water carries the smell of sea devils. Most likely those demons from another dimension took the treasure and added it to their hoard. In the water, Sea Devils have the advantage in fighting. They can get as big as ogres in size, but normally they are human size. They have webbed fingers, a tail and a back fin, so they are good swimmers. Better than humans. They will fight with tridents, a better weapon than swords, axes and hammers underwater. If you use your swords, don’t swing, thrust with them! I have no clue how to use a hammer underwater. Oh and during a fight, don’t forget the sea devil’s sharp fangs, they love to bite enemies. Lastly, remember fighting in the water is fighting in 3 dimensions. You can get attacked from above and below.” Nye told everyone.

After Nye talk, Jura laid his axe and sickles on the bottom of the pool and grabbed a metal spear from Borba. The female Orc had brought two spears as her weapons. Aguk kept his large two handed sword as his weapon. Silver tooth pulled out his sword. Red, who had given her lizard some underwater breathing potion, told Lennix, not to use his shock weapon unless there was no other choice. "Everyone will get the shock if you do!" she told Lennix.

Blade looked over to his lover with a questioning look on his face.

"He understands. The shock will get him too" Red explained to Blade. Nonetheless, everyone close to Red took a step away.

 

[milkmaiden38]

The Ambush

The ambush occurred right after the tunnel forked. Red had made the decision to take the split that headed more westward and almost immediately was set upon by a hoard of sea devils. Red, Blade, Nye and Wulf were in the front group. The fighting was concentrated and intense. The rear guard of the group was Silver Tooth, Borba, and Aguk wanted to help. Borba and Aguk came forward with their spears trying to stab at any Sea Devil they could reach. Luckily, Silver Tooth maintained his discipline to protect the rear of the formation. He screamed for help as a group of Sea Devils came out of the eastward passage way and tried to overwhelm him.

Silver Tooth was rejoined by Borba and Aguk in the nick of time. Jabnil and Jura had been in the middle of the formation. Jura knew the fighters in the back needed additional help. So he joined them to fortify the defense, but even with his skill, the rear guard was only barely holding off the Sea Devils. Jabnil decide to move forward to end that threat faster and then come back to assist the rear guard.

Red

Red graceful dodged out of the way of a thrusting trident and narrowly avoided the snapping jaws of another sea devil above her. She made a few a token swings at the one close to her, and then thrust her sword right into the jaws of the above her.

“Eat that fish face!!” She said as Sea Devil blood clouded the water above her. She turned to the devil in front of her, giving it a sly smile.

“C'mon, why don't you just save yourself the trouble and run before I slice your head open?” she mused, holding her blade in a fighting stance, its shimmering edge perfectly at her eye level.

The Sea Devil screeched and attacked her with powerful jabs of its trident. Only to come back with a stump of weapon as Red had cut it in half.

“Oops that probably expensive, sorry about that” She joked as she swam at the monster. The Sea Devil gave ground and then said “Come closer so I can devour you whole!” and opened its mouth to Red’s approach. Lennix warned Red that there was a Sea Devil behind her with a gentle squeeze of his claws.

“Sure, but first I have to deal with this asshole.” Red stated and curled up in a ball and flipped around. The trident thrust at her missed, but her sword thrust did not. The Sea Devil that had attacked from behind lost its head. The visibility went to zero as there was blood everywhere in the water around Red. “Nye, could have warned everyone about the bloody water problem!” Red said in frustration as she tried to swim out of the blood cloud before a trident caught her unaware. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her and pulled swiftly through the water and out of the blood cloud. It was Jabnil! With her wings she was a powerful swimmer.

“Stop hiding and start fighting!” Jabnil scolded Red and swam off to assist someone else.

“Where do you think all the blood came from!!” Red yelled after Jabnil but suddenly there was 4 Sea Devils on her. “SHIT” She gasped, quickly followed by a “In trouble here… need HELP!”

 

[TertiusHuman]

Blade did not like the whole underwater idea and now they were in a pickle as they had to fight in an unfamiliar environment. Since he held no sword, spear or hammer, he must have seemed like an easy target. The two sea devils slowly sank to the bottom, thin blood trails trailing after them. Blade had a trident in one hand and a slight tear in his shirt, he was lucky, but had learned.

He saw Red's predicament, but instead of throwing the trident, he drew a dagger and kicked as fast as he could go towards the group. Red was hard pressed, having to defend against the four attackers and having no way to attack.

Suddenly one of the attackers gave a loud shriek, three prongs of a trident protruding from his chest. The impact so hard that he was propelled forward and knocked away a trident of his fellow attackers. Too late the three realized that they had company as the second sea devil made a grabbing motion at its throat which had started gushing blood. Through this blood cloud Blade emerged, grim and foreboding.

"Let's make it a fair fight eh?"