The Unknown: A Game of Fear, Ignorance, and Adventure

[Dragonearl]

"Let them come!" Alexis roared as he charged across the deck with his sword. He dodged a blow from a pirate and countered with an upward thrust catching the blade of the weapon on the ribs of the unfortunate victim.

"Didn't think a dwarf could wreak havoc did you?" he smirked as he cut down another pirate. Slowly but surely he made a bloody path towards Grummond who was himself busy with the pirates.

"Say Captain" Alexis puffed as he dodged a wild thrust by a pirate, "Just how many more of these bastards are there?" he queried as he cut the arm off one pirate and grabbed the fallen pistol.

"I have your toy now!" he grinned as he shot across the deck towards more pirates that were climbing aboard. On the far corner of the deck he spotted Raven being surrounded by pirates.

"Gotta help the lad out!" Alexis muttered as he stabbed another pirate in the knee.

 

[Saskwach]

Jonas drew his sword and thanked the gods above that he had remembered to take it from his cabin. He cast about him to see where the fighting was hardest, where a comrade might need assistance. Across the deck, he saw three pirates moving in on Raven as he seemed to utter something towards them - what precisely he said was lost in the tumult around them.

It didn't matter though. Jonas lumbered over to them. On the way he was intercepted by two pirates. The one to his right lunged towards him and Jonas sidestepped the amateurish thrust, placing the tip of his sword where his stomach had been a moment earlier. The pirate, already off balance, could only look in horror as he spit himself on Jonas' sword.

The second pirate crossed over behind his dead friend and made a long head-height swing in an attempt to decapitate Jonas. Jonas ducked, spun, and thrust his sword out at the end of his pirouette, slashing across the man's back. He howled in pain and Jonas continued on, sure that this was enough.

Even though this had taken mere seconds, Raven looked to be in far greater trouble than before; the pirates were only feet away. Jonas sprinted and rammed his sword through the back of one until it emerged out of his gut. The pirate's earsplitting scream soon died, but not before Jonas had pulled the sword from his body and kicked him forward.

Facing to the next man, who had just turned towards Jonas, he swung downwards as if with an axe, lopping off the man's outthrust swordarm. Blood jettisoned from the wound and the pirate slumped to the ground placidly.

The third leapt at Jonas, his dagger extended below a clenched fist as if he intended to puncture Jonas' flesh with a downward punch. Jonas pivoted full around as his sword rose, cutting through the man's arm at the wrist. The man's stump swung over Jonas' shoulder, weakly flapping onto his chest. Jonas extended his sword arm, reveresed it, and plunged it backwars into the pirate's gut.

He then began to retract his sword from the squirming man's torso when-
The pirate, the one Jonas had left for dead with a slash across his back. He was charging forwards with murder in his eyes. Jonas kicked away the man slung across his back and extended his sword into a guard, but he knew it would be too late...

 

[Zombie_Fish]

Mareck was still lost in his thoughts when he heard the call from across the deck.

"Pirates!" He turned as a reaction, a look of caution on his face as he ran to the decks and noted a series of small boats heading towards them with some speed. Instinctively, he drew his lucky hat and put it on. He doubted that he would need luck for this battle but he decided that if he had it, may as well use it.

As soon as they boarded, he ran to the nearest pirate that wasn't occupied by someone else as he started to draw his sword. They made a valiant swing at him, but he was nimble enough to dodge and punched the pirate in the stomache, before nicking the guy's sword to turn on the attacker. He swooped the sword from the pirate's hands and swung it at the guy's chest, slicing nicely across the man's torso. The pirate fell to his knees as Mareck analyzed the sword now in his hands, fresh blood still dripping from the blade.

"Hmm. Not bad, really. May keep this." He turned and drove the sword into another pirate's chest, before dragging it out with the same level of might. "I need a sword actually."

He then ran at the next pirate. This pirate tried to come down on the dwarf with a dagger, but failed as Mareck moved to the side and dragged the sword across the man's chest from left to right. He then turned around, to be punched in the face by a powerful uppercut from the first pirate. He fell to the floor as the enemy smiled, took a few seconds to bathe in his glory, and reached for his sword, to only be faced by a punch in the shins from the already recovered Mareck. As the fighter fell, Mareck then headbutted the human in the face and took the sword back.

"Maybe this will show you." as he thrusted the sword into the man's chest "That playing dead does have some potential." He removed the sword from the corpse, before wiping the dry blood off it and moving on to the next pirate.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

The pirates stalked his steps menacingly saying nothing. One of them pointed at Raven's sword and indicated for him to drop it.

"Oh my sword?. You want this?. It's not really in the best condition but I guess you don't care do you?." There still was no reply from the aggressors, just wicked grins and blood lust eyes .

Raven grasped the handle tightly for a second debating what to do when suddenly a sword erupted through the stomach of one pirate. There was a stunned paused as the other two pirates turned to see what happened. The stabbed pirate slumped to the floor dead, revealing the figure of Jonas standing behind, bloodied sword in hand. The man spun around and made short work of the second and soon the third pirate.

Raven exhaled loudly, "Thank you, you have no idea how unpleasant that situation would have gotten if you hadn't, argh!, look out behind you!!" he spotted an injured pirate make for Jonas with an outstretched sword. Raven's warning it seemed was unnecessary, as Jonas had already spotted the threat and reacted by taking a defensive stance, but it appeared to be a bit too late as the pirate closed the gap with amazing speed and aimed for a killing blow.
Time slowed down for Raven, the sound of sword clashing against sword and the sound of gunfire became muffled static to his ears, he tightened his grip on the sword, the renegade pirate was drawing. There was little time to act for Jonas, even less so for Raven who was further away.

"Do something you fool, he tried to save your life"

His thoughts shattered his time illusion bringing him back into the present. Raven took a deep breath.

"GET DOWN!" he yelled at Jonas suddenly clenching his fist.

"Avannyel!"

Raven called out aloud as he unclenched his fist in the direction of the charging pirate. Instantly a giant fireball, wreathed in white flames erupted from the palm of his hand and hurtled over Jonas's head connecting solidly with the pirate mere seconds later before exploding in a shower of flames. The force of the impact shattered the flesh and bones of the pirate as smoldering bits of intestines, limbs and burnt fabric was sent splattering through the deck.

Raven extinguished the flames from his hand before walking up to Jonas.

"As I was saying earlier, thanks for helping me out!" he commented with a nod.

"How is everyone else doing?"

 

[Saskwach]

"As I was saying earlier, thanks for helping me out! How is everyone else doing?"

Did he just? Jonas stared at Raven, gobsmacked and totally lost for words. This hooded man Jonas had found distasteful on first meeting had saved his life, and with powerful magicks no less. Clearly there was more to him than met the eye. The raucous clatter of battle pushed him back to action.

"My gratitude for the assistance, and you're welcome for mine. Everyone else seems to be holding up admirably. This isn't a surprise: pit a hand-picked group of adventurers against a scum of river pirates and you'll find the former beating the latter every time."

Deslock clearly selected a solid group of cutthroats.

 

[Zemalac]

Click

A swift pull on the trigger launched the hammer, with its tiny piece of flint clutched solidly in its grasp. Sparks flew as the hammer hit the flash pan and the powder inside ignited, the flame burning through the touchhole and to the charge...

Bang

The bullet flew from the pistol, travelling only about eight feet through air before plowing to a stop in flesh. Then it was a splash of red on a filthy white shirt, and a charging pirate tumbled to an ungainly halt.

Deslock shook the smoke away from his first flintlock and fired the second into the unwary back of another pirate before fading back into the passage leading down to the hold and beginning to reload. He did have a blade, and he was fairly good with it as well, but he'd learned the hard way that it was best if your enemy didn't get close enough to fight back. Sometimes that didn't work and you had to fight close up, and that was when you went for the soft spots and prayed that you broke your enemy before he broke you.

Deslock tore open a cartridge with his teeth and carefully poured a little powder into the flash pan. The rest of the powder went down the muzzle, followed by the remains of the cartridge, and one pistol was ready.

He was just starting on the second when a huge grinning shadow filled the door, a sword in each hand.

__________________________________​

On the deck of the ship the fighting was fierce, but the tide was already turning towards the side of the Cepolada. The crew, after recovering from their initial surprise, followed the lead of their captain and snatched weapons from lockers. They had battered swords and bucklers and poorly-made but well-maintained pistols, and they by themselves might have held their own against the pirates.

It was the Expedition, however, that was breaking the back of the assault. The Expedition members each carved their own bloody circle around themselves, killing the boarders like sheep to the slaughter. They didn't fight together but they fought well, and against the overwhelmed pirates that was more than enough.

They fought brief, intense, highly personal battles, each wrapped up in their own tiny sphere of combat and survival. Occasionally those spheres would intersect, and they would nod or glare or speak.

At one such intersection, an attacking pirate was grabbed roughly, spun around, and hurled toward Reeko Jalbrook. Reeko spun away from a pirate bleeding red across the deck, hearing the smallest sounds of someone behind him.

Reeko shouted, "Mind the Painted Elf you oaf!" He ducked under the pirate's wild swing and ran his dagger through the man's stomach, rolling him over his back and over the rail. The pirate fell to the water, trailing red droplets. Reeko stood up and licked the blood off of his dagger, then looked in the direction the pirate had come from.

"Don't worry guys, I got that one."

He was somewhat disappointed to see no one there.

__________________________________​

Click

A desperate pull on the trigger launched the hammer, with its tiny piece of flint clutched solidly in its grasp. Sparks flew as the hammer hit the flash pan and the powder inside ignited, the flame burning through the touchhole and to the charge...

Bang

Deslock laughed triumphantly as the pirate with the two swords fell away, a solid chunk of his head blown off by the bullet. The explorer once again began reloading, as the battle continued to rage on deck.

The deadline for secret actions is now past. I'll be running them during the remainder of the fight. In the meantime, keep battling pirates.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

"My gratitude for the assistance, and you're welcome for mine. Everyone else seems to be holding up admirably. This isn't a surprise: pit a hand-picked group of adventurers against a scum of river pirates and you'll find the former beating the latter every time."

"I guess so, though it would depend greatly on the skills of both parties involved" Raven replied as he ducked under a pirate blow before countering with a slash across the enemy's neck.

"Speaking of skills, I must get to the captain and see if he has a plan about these pirates or we might end up being here for quite a long time" he said as he maneuvered around a dwarf and a pirate engaged in a duel. "I do not wish burden you good sir, thus, I shall leave you to your own devices." he called back at Jonas before scanning the deck.

Grummond was far off, near the wheel deck of the ship battling pirates next to another dwarf he recognized as Alexis. The path before him was littered with pirates that kept swarming onto the decks, getting to Grummond would involve a lot of tactful maneuvering, dodging and fighting.

"There is no time for this!" he muttered under his breath as he began parrying the attacks of pirates near him.

Raven continued to block and counter with his sword and occasionally when he saw a gap where he could not harm the ship's crew or damage the ship itself he would summon a volley of fireballs before sending them hurtling towards the pirates.

Within second he had managed to carve a half bloodied and half charred trail towards the Orc captain Grummound.

"So!" he said in a nonchalant manner watching Grummond cleave yet another pirate in two. "Do you have a plan for this pirate problem we are having?."

 

[Zemalac]

"So!" Raven said in a nonchalant manner watching Grummond cleave yet another pirate in two. "Do you have a plan for this pirate problem we are having?."


Grummond grunted at the question and glanced around. For the moment, at least, it seemed that the area was clear of pirates. He peered over the rail before answering, seeing some pirates with largely empty boats rowing mightily away from the ship, but a disconcertingly large number still launching off the shore.

"Deslock had a plan," Grummond said, and spat over the rail. "He was planning on covering any pirates we came across with clinger. Not such a good idea now, eh? That stuff'll burn in water and you can't get it off--if we try and burn the pirates now, we'll set the ship on fire as well." He squinted at the shore and the pirates scurrying along it. "I'd say our best bet would be to get rid of the ones on the boat and then try and outrun the rest. With a bit of luck and a little wind, we could do it."

Another grappling hook smashed into the rail, and the captain removed it with a negligent slash. "Knew it was a bad idea to come this way," he muttered.

 

[Dragonrabbit]

Reeko sighed, disappointed that no one had heard his quip. "Alas, my genius doesn't even fall on deaf ears, but it falls on no ears at all." A voice came from behind Reeko, "Hehe, you talk funny Paint Elf." He turned around to find that standing behind him was the largest Orc he had ever laid eyes on.

"Oh my, I hadn't seen you there friend, you gave me quite a fright."

The Orc seemed apologetic, "I sorry little Elf, I did not mean to scare, only kill."

"Ah, I see so it's like that is it? Well let me do one last thing before I die, I'd like to give executioner a hug."

The Orc smiled widely and opened his arms, "I can let you give me hug, I like hug." Reeko smiled and walked up to the Orc, and spread his arms wide for the hug. He hugged the Orc, and the Orc hugged him back. Moments later the Orc fell to the ground dead, Reeko bent over and pulled his dagger out of the Orc's back. "Well friend at least one of us got to hug their executioner."

 

[Shapsters]

"Haha, nice job there Reeko! Atta way to take out that dumb brute!" Derlan cheered as he was hit over the head with a large fist, "Ow! Son of a-"

He looked up and saw a large painted elf, exceptionally large for a painted elf.

"Ah, fellow tribesman, you aren't going to harm a fellow Elf are you?" Derlan asked as the Painted Elf stared blankly, "C'mon, its a fellow member from the Sunset jungles, you arent going to."

Derlan was interrupted by the elf sticking out his tongue, or lack thereof. Derlan stared at him as he slowly backed away. It was silent for a few seconds of the elf sticking out his tongue, Derlan realized the elf must have some odd tradition. The silence was broken however by the crunching of the Pirate's skull and the grappling hook being embedded in the skull.

"Well, this sure is coming in handy!" Derlan laughed as he tried to reef the hook out of the skull, but to no avail, "Ah well, looks like I will have to find somehting else."

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

"I'd say our best bet would be to get rid of the ones on the boat and then try and outrun the rest. With a bit of luck and a little wind, we could do it."

"You don't say?" Raven rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "I might be able to help you with that but it might take some time to set about. I also will need some covering support from pirates, so any help will be much appreciated" he said to the captain and to the nearby crew.

Turning out to the river he saw several new boats emerging from all directions from the sandy shores of the island cluster that surrounded them. More chants filled his ears, more pirates, each with bloodlust in their eyes. Each speeding towards one objective, the Cepolada.

They will show no mercy!. They will not relent!. They will not tire till they get what they came for!

Raven took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He began to utter incoherently to himself at first but with each passing second his utterings grew louder and louder till he suddenly raised both hands towards the sky and chanted;

Nimo rimmen o Ferios!
Fenras edro i ammen
Arelos ae mun dushika
Nimo rimmen 'aur Ferios!​

An ominous clap of thunder rang through the sky, the waters of the Ferios began to churn, swell, crash and bubble mysteriously. The pirate boats began to bob in the churning waters like a series of corks caught in a torrent of pond ripples. The ripples soon turned into waves and the waves began forming in all directions; some crashed against the ship, the others crashed against the sandy shores of the islands. The small pirate boats slammed against these waves bringing them perilously close to tipping over.

Raven spoke again, this time with greater intensity;

Setuk arila dan cae!​

The waters swelled as Raven commanded it, the waves began emanating from the center of the Cepolada as it began to grow in height and intensity. Waves that were now taller than the prow of the ship began to form and flow outwards, toppling the tiny pirate boats as it went past before crashing in a heap on the islands themselves. The massive waves managed to disrupt most of the pirate fleet by crippling their boats as it cut a path through the river and undoubtedly reigned havoc on the beaches from whence they came.

Raven suddenly dropped his hands by his side, exhaustion was beginning to spread over his body. The waves immediately ceased to form and the waters settled to resume its orginal slow winding course. The debris of broken pirate ships and cloth masts began to emerge on the water surface, a few pirates lay clinging onto floating crates as they were pulled along by the river currents. Raven turned to Grummond;

Avala nimmen!, he commanded simply with the wave of his hand and the wind suddenly rushed from the four corners of the skies to fill the sails of the Cepolada.

"Get us out of here!" he whispered with a weak smile

 

[Zemalac]

Grummond stared at Raven, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. The few pirates remaining on the ship were either fighting desperate last stands or sprinting for the rail and diving over: it wouldn't be long before the deck was clear.

Grummond tried to speak, but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Deslock.

"Well done," the explorer said briefly to Raven. "I thought we had a mage somewhere around here." He peered at the debris floating in the river and the sudden lack of any further boats. "Captain? You might want to start steering again."

"What?" Grummond finally noticed that on their present course the ship would soon plow into the bank of the river. "Right." He leapt for the wheel, dropping his sword to the deck and leaving Deslock to appraise Raven.

The mage was exhausted, that much was obvious. Such a display of magic was not without price, and in Deslock's professional estimation Raven was on the verge of collapse.

Many of Deslock's concerns--for example, why he hadn't known from the start that Raven was a mage--were overrun by the more practical matter of getting the man some rest.

"Good job there," Deslock said. "You look like death warmed over; get some sleep."

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Raven smiled weakly, he was too tired to talk; every breath was a painful affair but he hid it as best he could from the others. He simply nodded at Grummond and Deslock as if to say "your welcome" before making his way to the lower deck.

He spied Jonas standing near the entrance to the walkway. Raven looked up and patted him on the shoulder as he walked passed.
"Thanks again!" he whispred in a horse voice. At least there was someone on this boat that he could trust..sort of!

With a final look around at the deck, Raven sheathed his sword and retreated below, out of the noon day sun.

 

[Zombie_Fish]

Mareck looked at Raven, stunned after that... thing. He didn't know how to describe it, it was just far too stunning to be worthy of words explaining it. This was good news for the explorers, as it meant that the pirates were almost no more, yet bad news as well, as it showed what Raven could actually do, and how powerful he actually was.

He seemed friendly enough, but he's someone to keep an eye on.

However, he also did notice that Raven looked weak after this, and decided that that was an advantage. If he could do that, at least it came with consequences.

He then turned to see a valiant, yet foolish pirate charge at him with a sword. "Oh no you don't!" he commanded at the pirate before driving his sword into the person's front and out the other side again. He then shoved the pirate onto the floor, put his foot on the attacker and removed his sword from the man's chest, before looking at that person's sword, and taking it to help him fend off the remaining pirates.

And so, armed with two swords taken from other people, he charged at the remainder of pirates with a shred of bravery about them that were still standing.

 

[Zemalac]

As the battle with the pirates is winding down (I expect the few remaining will be dispatched in short order by yourselves and the crew) we have something of a decision to make.

The choice is this: do we roleplay another day or so on the water, or do I provide you with a nifty time-lapse montage and have the Expedition proceed directly to Tyb? One would provide you with time to glare at each other suspiciously, and the other would mean more exiting things happen sooner. I personally favor the latter, but if you feel that you need to interact with people for even more extended lengths of time feel free to argue your case for that.

Post your vote in OOC or by PM, along with any reasoning behind your decision. Tomorrow I will either continue roleplaying on the ship or skip over some time and describe you arriving in Tyb.

 

[Dragonearl]

Spoiler: My vote

Is to jump ahead. I think with no major events set to happen on this ship (I think) it would be refreshing to see what dry land offers us.

 

[Saskwach]

"Thanks again!" Raven whispered in a hoarse voice.

Raven had chosen the perfect words to cast Jonas' mind adrift. It was as if he had uttered another incantation. This man had blasted a man apart with a stream of fire, angered the water spirits - and who knew what else he could do? Murder a man in his sleep from leagues away? Dance with demons and bind devils to his command? Had he learned, from a witch doctor from a far off land, how to craft a doll in a man's likeness? To consort with such a man was to cut a caper with a killer.

And yet.

And yet Raven had saved his life. He had had no need to, especially if he were the malevolent man Jonas had suspected he was. This complicated things. Jonas would have to ponder all this.

 

[Dastardos]

As the battle winded down Mark returned back to his room. Opening the door he saw his room had been destroyed. His clothes scattered, briefcase and suitcases open and torn, but the thing that got him most was the wall. Written in black charcoal across the wall was the message "Better watch your back old man."

Becoming furious Mark made sure his pistol was loaded and made his way back to the others.

Panting and sweating he bellowed, "Who the hell destroyed my room?"

 

[Dragonearl]

Alexis was stunned silent as he watched Raven command the forces of fire, water and wind with such ease. Even as the man walked off the deck, as incinerated pirate corpses and shattered boat debris rushed past him, he could not believe what he had witnessed.

"Did he...just...??" he looked about, everyone else seemed to be just in shock. "Did he just create a tsunami and..and..oh my word!"

Alexis however couldn't pursue his thoughts any further as the old man, Mark, suddenly burst on the deck, a look of anger was written on his face.

Who the hell destroyed my room?, he yelled.

The stunned pause continued across the deck, "Calm down, what are you talking about?" Alexis began addressing the crazed man.

 

[Dastardos]

"I thought I made myself clear? Someone broke into my room, destroyed it, stole things, and wrote across my wall 'Better watch your back old man.'"