Post by strider on Jul 13, 2007 8:57:56 GMT -6
Kaaru stood pensively at the 
of the ship, his long platinum hair flowing with the strong breeze as he stared into the horizon. The ship’s crew milled about as the ship sailed on calm waters, as it was a relatively uneventful trip. The ship was slightly smaller than a merchant vessel, just large enough to carry the crew of eight and the necessary supplies for the trip. Kaaru had volunteered to lead the recon expedition into Elona, although he did not reveal his personal reasons for going. They were to be the harbingers for the guild into the new continent.
Lilith stood at the helm at the ship’s stern, holding the ship steady on its course. Morrigan stood by her as the two sisters conversed. Grendel walked about the deck, ensuring that the sails were properly drawn. Angel, the volunteer monk for the mission, leaned by the ship’s port, enjoying the ocean view and the breeze. Voodoo, Ice, and Carinae were handling matters below deck.
Morrigan left Lilith at the helm and walked slowly across the ship.
“Strider,” she said as she approached him.
“Captain Strider,” he said jokingly as he turned his head slightly. She chuckled.
“Captain Strider,” she corrected herself.
“Aye?”
“There’s a ship approaching us from behind. She’s closing the distance fairly quickly.”
“Oh?”
“She’s waving a black flag.”
Local pirates…
“How big is the ship,” he asked.
“By the looks of it, not much larger than ours.”
He thought for a moment.
“Have Lilith maintain our heading, and bring everyone on deck. Tell Grendel to let up on the sails. Let them catch up to us.”
“Are you sure?” she said, puzzled.
“Quite.”
“Aye, aye.”
The crew did as the strider had instructed, and the pursuing ship soon came up along their starboard side. As Kaaru had surmised, the other ship’s haggard crew was heavily armed and looked very eager to board. They launched hooks that latched onto his ship, connecting the two ships and preventing any means of escape. A large group of the pirates boarded, yelling battle cries and waving their weapons as they came on board. They were met by the small team of eight.
“Well, well… What do we have here?” said one of the pirates in a coarse voice. He surveyed the strider and his crew, and he noticed that there were more women than men. He bellowed a deep laughter. “We were just going to take your gold and valuables, but now I think we’ll be taking your women too!”
“Okay,” Kaaru answered calmly.
“Ha… uhh… what?” the large
looked confused, not having expected such a compliant answer.
“You can have them.”
“Hahaha!” the man laughed. “That we will!”
“Ladies?” Kaaru motioned. As he finished, an arrow whizzed past him and struck one of the boarding pirates in the chest. He fell back in pain, tripped over the railing, and fell to the sea with a splash. In that time, Lilith had already drawn another arrow and fired at another one of the pirates.
Before the shocked pirates could respond, Morrigan had already rushed past Kaaru with amazing swiftness. She had her sword drawn and drove it deep into the large who had been speaking. The pirates were frozen in terror, evidently caught in one of Carinae’s cursed spells. In turn, Ice rained large jagged shards of ice onto the attackers, while Angel kept Morrigan protected with her spells.
Grendel was about to draw his sword as he walked past Kaaru, but the strider placed a hand on his arm and stayed his weapon.
“Let the ladies handle this,” Kaaru said amusingly, as he watched Morrigan rip through the’s boarding party. Judging from their reactions, the pirates were obviously ill-prepared and no match for a team from SMS.
“Fine…,” Grendel sighed as he sheathed his weapon. Voodoo stood at the back by Ice and Carinae, silently laughing at the misfortune of the would-be attackers.
“Get our things across,” Kaaru said to the two men.
“Roger,” Grendel said as he and the ritualist moved to pick up packages that were readied on deck.
Suddenly, Kaaru dashed across the ship with blinding speed and leapt across the gap between the ships. He landed on the ship as the remaining pirates stood in shock at the slaughter. A man rushed at the strider with a drawn sword. Kaaru easily sidestepped the swing and countered with a heavy blow with his fist onto the man’s diaphragm. The man fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
Kaaru strolled across the ship’s deck and disappeared into the doorway as he went below deck. After some time, he reappeared back on deck. By then, his own crew had transferred onto the ship with a few of their important belongings. The remaining crew had been tossed overboard, except for their captain who stood at the side in terror.
“They’re very well stocked,” Kaaru said as he emerged. “This should be enough.”
He walked over to the cowering captain.
“Who… who are you people!?” the man managed to squirm.
“That shouldn’t concern you,” he commented with a smile. “Your ship’s faster than ours. So, I think we’ll be taking her. Thanks.” He placed a hand on the man’s chest and shoved him over the side of the ship.
“All hands on deck!” said the ship’s new would-be captain. “Full speed to Elona! Lil, man the helm please. Morri, can you take down that black flag? We wouldn’t want the authorities at the port to think the wrong thing.”
“I can’t believe we just stole a ship!” exclaimed Ice in disbelief as they sailed away.
“I suppose that makes us pirates too, doesn’t it?” Carinae commented with a laugh.
“Arrr!” Voodoo shouted in a mocking imitation of stereotypical pirates. The crew laughed merrily.
“Still,” Ice said as she eyed Kaaru. “That was quite the maneuver you thought of.”
“Not quite,” Kaaru said modestly. “I’ve traveled on these waters before. I knew that they would be ill-prepared for a battle with us. Scum like that don’t chase another ship down unless they think it’s easy prey. They most likely thought we were traders or merchants.”
“Well, they were in for quite a surprise,” Grendel added, still visibly disappointed that he could not partake in the battle.
“Aye,” said the strider. “Now, we have ourselves a faster ship.”
“Oh no!” Angel yelled suddenly. They all turned to her and saw her distraught expression.
“Angel, what’s wrong?” said her sister as she moved to calm her.
“The docking papers… I left them on the other ship!”
“Don’t worry about that,” Kaaru said, seemingly as calm and collected as ever. “I’ll take care of things at the port. Don’t worry your pretty little head off.”
*****
When they finally reached an Elonian port town, Kaaru had them stay on the ship as he disembarked to speak with the officials on the docks. He was greeted by two dark skinned men wearing pristine white armor. On their backs, they each carried a spear and a long shield. Kaaru stopped to speak with them, while the others looked on from the ship.
“I wonder what they’re talking about,” Voodoo speculated.
“Well, they’re not female,” Ice said with a slight note of mockery, “so I highly doubt Strider can just charm our way into this one.”
They saw Kaaru pull out a small note which he showed to the two men. The men nodded to him and began to walk away. Kaaru then turned back and waved to his crew, indicating that they could disembark.
“How did you get us in?” Angel inquired.
“A strider’s ways are shrouded in mystery, my dear,” Kaaru answered with a sly wink.
The team walked through the busy streets of the port town, marveling at the new sights of the continent. For many of them, it was their first time on Elona. The women were easily distracted by the many shops that lined the streets, while Grendel and Voodoo ogled the Elonian women they passed.
“Wow,” Grendel exclaimed as he turned his head to look back at a group of women they had just passed. “The women here are beautiful.”
“Yeah,” said Voodoo with a slight laugh. “It’s a good thing we volunteered for this. The others are missing out!”
“Welcome to Elona,” Kaaru said, “where the weather is hot and the women are hotter.”
“Ugh. Men…,” Ice commented with an exasperated roll of her eyes. Kaaru let out a light laughter.
“Come on, Ice,” he said. “Enjoy the sights a little. Perhaps you could purchase a necklace that can compliment your attractive eyes?” Ice was quite used to his charming personality. She jokingly rolled her eyes at his meager attempt, but she let out a slight smile. The team continued to walk through the town.
“Alright,” Kaaru said after some time. He made a turn and began walking away from the group. “Go ahead and find lodging and supplies. Make the necessary preparations for the trip. I’ll catch up with you all later.”
“Wait,” Ice exclaimed. “Where are you going!?”
“I have some business to attend to,” he answered as he walked away.
“Wait! Strid…”
“Let him be,” Morrigan interrupted. “I don’t know how much you know of his past, but he’s quite well-connected. He just might do something useful for us.”
“Morrigan’s right,” Angel chimed. “He got us in, after all. Let’s go take care of the preparations.”
of the ship, his long platinum hair flowing with the strong breeze as he stared into the horizon. The ship’s crew milled about as the ship sailed on calm waters, as it was a relatively uneventful trip. The ship was slightly smaller than a merchant vessel, just large enough to carry the crew of eight and the necessary supplies for the trip. Kaaru had volunteered to lead the recon expedition into Elona, although he did not reveal his personal reasons for going. They were to be the harbingers for the guild into the new continent.Lilith stood at the helm at the ship’s stern, holding the ship steady on its course. Morrigan stood by her as the two sisters conversed. Grendel walked about the deck, ensuring that the sails were properly drawn. Angel, the volunteer monk for the mission, leaned by the ship’s port, enjoying the ocean view and the breeze. Voodoo, Ice, and Carinae were handling matters below deck.
Morrigan left Lilith at the helm and walked slowly across the ship.
“Strider,” she said as she approached him.
“Captain Strider,” he said jokingly as he turned his head slightly. She chuckled.
“Captain Strider,” she corrected herself.
“Aye?”
“There’s a ship approaching us from behind. She’s closing the distance fairly quickly.”
“Oh?”
“She’s waving a black flag.”
Local pirates…
“How big is the ship,” he asked.
“By the looks of it, not much larger than ours.”
He thought for a moment.
“Have Lilith maintain our heading, and bring everyone on deck. Tell Grendel to let up on the sails. Let them catch up to us.”
“Are you sure?” she said, puzzled.
“Quite.”
“Aye, aye.”
The crew did as the strider had instructed, and the pursuing ship soon came up along their starboard side. As Kaaru had surmised, the other ship’s haggard crew was heavily armed and looked very eager to board. They launched hooks that latched onto his ship, connecting the two ships and preventing any means of escape. A large group of the pirates boarded, yelling battle cries and waving their weapons as they came on board. They were met by the small team of eight.
“Well, well… What do we have here?” said one of the pirates in a coarse voice. He surveyed the strider and his crew, and he noticed that there were more women than men. He bellowed a deep laughter. “We were just going to take your gold and valuables, but now I think we’ll be taking your women too!”
“Okay,” Kaaru answered calmly.
“Ha… uhh… what?” the large
looked confused, not having expected such a compliant answer.“You can have them.”
“Hahaha!” the man laughed. “That we will!”
“Ladies?” Kaaru motioned. As he finished, an arrow whizzed past him and struck one of the boarding pirates in the chest. He fell back in pain, tripped over the railing, and fell to the sea with a splash. In that time, Lilith had already drawn another arrow and fired at another one of the pirates.
Before the shocked pirates could respond, Morrigan had already rushed past Kaaru with amazing swiftness. She had her sword drawn and drove it deep into the large
who had been speaking. The pirates were frozen in terror, evidently caught in one of Carinae’s cursed spells. In turn, Ice rained large jagged shards of ice onto the attackers, while Angel kept Morrigan protected with her spells.Grendel was about to draw his sword as he walked past Kaaru, but the strider placed a hand on his arm and stayed his weapon.
“Let the ladies handle this,” Kaaru said amusingly, as he watched Morrigan rip through the
’s boarding party. Judging from their reactions, the pirates were obviously ill-prepared and no match for a team from SMS.“Fine…,” Grendel sighed as he sheathed his weapon. Voodoo stood at the back by Ice and Carinae, silently laughing at the misfortune of the would-be attackers.
“Get our things across,” Kaaru said to the two men.
“Roger,” Grendel said as he and the ritualist moved to pick up packages that were readied on deck.
Suddenly, Kaaru dashed across the ship with blinding speed and leapt across the gap between the ships. He landed on the
ship as the remaining pirates stood in shock at the slaughter. A man rushed at the strider with a drawn sword. Kaaru easily sidestepped the swing and countered with a heavy blow with his fist onto the man’s diaphragm. The man fell to the floor, gasping for breath.Kaaru strolled across the
ship’s deck and disappeared into the doorway as he went below deck. After some time, he reappeared back on deck. By then, his own crew had transferred onto the ship with a few of their important belongings. The remaining crew had been tossed overboard, except for their captain who stood at the side in terror.“They’re very well stocked,” Kaaru said as he emerged. “This should be enough.”
He walked over to the cowering captain.
“Who… who are you people!?” the man managed to squirm.
“That shouldn’t concern you,” he commented with a smile. “Your ship’s faster than ours. So, I think we’ll be taking her. Thanks.” He placed a hand on the man’s chest and shoved him over the side of the ship.
“All hands on deck!” said the ship’s new would-be captain. “Full speed to Elona! Lil, man the helm please. Morri, can you take down that black flag? We wouldn’t want the authorities at the port to think the wrong thing.”
“I can’t believe we just stole a
ship!” exclaimed Ice in disbelief as they sailed away.“I suppose that makes us pirates too, doesn’t it?” Carinae commented with a laugh.
“Arrr!” Voodoo shouted in a mocking imitation of stereotypical pirates. The crew laughed merrily.
“Still,” Ice said as she eyed Kaaru. “That was quite the maneuver you thought of.”
“Not quite,” Kaaru said modestly. “I’ve traveled on these waters before. I knew that they would be ill-prepared for a battle with us. Scum like that don’t chase another ship down unless they think it’s easy prey. They most likely thought we were traders or merchants.”
“Well, they were in for quite a surprise,” Grendel added, still visibly disappointed that he could not partake in the battle.
“Aye,” said the strider. “Now, we have ourselves a faster ship.”
“Oh no!” Angel yelled suddenly. They all turned to her and saw her distraught expression.
“Angel, what’s wrong?” said her sister as she moved to calm her.
“The docking papers… I left them on the other ship!”
“Don’t worry about that,” Kaaru said, seemingly as calm and collected as ever. “I’ll take care of things at the port. Don’t worry your pretty little head off.”
*****
When they finally reached an Elonian port town, Kaaru had them stay on the ship as he disembarked to speak with the officials on the docks. He was greeted by two dark skinned men wearing pristine white armor. On their backs, they each carried a spear and a long shield. Kaaru stopped to speak with them, while the others looked on from the ship.
“I wonder what they’re talking about,” Voodoo speculated.
“Well, they’re not female,” Ice said with a slight note of mockery, “so I highly doubt Strider can just charm our way into this one.”
They saw Kaaru pull out a small note which he showed to the two men. The men nodded to him and began to walk away. Kaaru then turned back and waved to his crew, indicating that they could disembark.
“How did you get us in?” Angel inquired.
“A strider’s ways are shrouded in mystery, my dear,” Kaaru answered with a sly wink.
The team walked through the busy streets of the port town, marveling at the new sights of the continent. For many of them, it was their first time on Elona. The women were easily distracted by the many shops that lined the streets, while Grendel and Voodoo ogled the Elonian women they passed.
“Wow,” Grendel exclaimed as he turned his head to look back at a group of women they had just passed. “The women here are beautiful.”
“Yeah,” said Voodoo with a slight laugh. “It’s a good thing we volunteered for this. The others are missing out!”
“Welcome to Elona,” Kaaru said, “where the weather is hot and the women are hotter.”
“Ugh. Men…,” Ice commented with an exasperated roll of her eyes. Kaaru let out a light laughter.
“Come on, Ice,” he said. “Enjoy the sights a little. Perhaps you could purchase a necklace that can compliment your attractive eyes?” Ice was quite used to his charming personality. She jokingly rolled her eyes at his meager attempt, but she let out a slight smile. The team continued to walk through the town.
“Alright,” Kaaru said after some time. He made a turn and began walking away from the group. “Go ahead and find lodging and supplies. Make the necessary preparations for the trip. I’ll catch up with you all later.”
“Wait,” Ice exclaimed. “Where are you going!?”
“I have some business to attend to,” he answered as he walked away.
“Wait! Strid…”
“Let him be,” Morrigan interrupted. “I don’t know how much you know of his past, but he’s quite well-connected. He just might do something useful for us.”
“Morrigan’s right,” Angel chimed. “He got us in, after all. Let’s go take care of the preparations.”