Pirates & the Strange

[Levyathyn]

Spoiler

Show

=( I got ninja'd, and then it wouldn't let me edit my post; It still won't, so I'll just run with it.

Johnathan, standing a couple of feet in front of Desmond, looks at him strangely. "What? Nevermind. Whatever your name is, I doubt the captain means to let us go. Especially since we're in the middle of the ocean and he still needs rowers. I aim to kill the guards. All of them. The pirates aren't here for treasure, so there has to be some reason behind this attack, and I'd rather not anger them, at present." John says this quietly, making sure there's no guards around. Forming a plan in his head, John looks around for The Ghost.

[An Enemy Spy]

"You do that. I'm just trying to survive."

[Levyathyn]

"So am I." John says as he waits for an opening to turn on the guards.

[MrEdwardNigma]

The guards had gathered with the captain, the drummer and the helmsman on the elevated part of the deck, where the helm was. Several guards had appeared from belowdecks as well and there were now all in all fifteen guards, plus other crew. Two of the guards had taken positions on the stairs to ward off any attacks. A lot of the prisoners had taken positions in front of them, believing it was smart to be backed by the artillery some of the guards wielded. There were only two guards left on deck, by the cannon at the front, which they were turning towards the pirate ship.

The ship was clearly visible now, gaining on the galley by the right side, especially now that everyone but three bearded gentlemen on the seventh row had stopped rowing. On the deck of the pirate ship were a large number of freebooters, most of them armed with much more vicious weapons then the cutlasses given to the prisoners, such as axes, longer and better blades, spiked cudgels and even guns. There were at least twenty of them on deck, which meant they were far outnumbered (there being 104 prisoners and 18 guards) but still them seemed quite confident. There was a blast from the cannon on the deck and a hole was torn into the pirate ship, just above water level. The guards started reloading as this didn't slow the pirates down in the least, but it was too late: the two ships crashed into each other, side by side, shaking both but only managing to throw a bunch of prisoners to the floor. There were loud cracks as the oars on the right side of the ship broke and splintered or tore through the bowels of the pirate ship.

"Ready, aim, fire!"
A first burst of artillery fire from the guards shot down several of the pirates as they made the jump between the two ships, sending them plummeting in the gap between. Some of them made a splash as they landed in the water but others never even made it down, being crushed between the ships with a sickening sound.
"Reload!" the captain yelled. Unfortunately reloading was a long process, and a whole bunch of the pirates boarded. It was established quite quickly that they were in every way superior in skill to most of the prisoners, as they had no problems fighting several of them at once. Prisoners were dying by the bunches.

Xan had found out that cutting one of the enormously thick oars was impossible with a cutlass and would take days, but by a matter of luck the two ships crashing had delivered him an end of oar just a bit longer than his arm. It was unfortunately too thick to hold with one hand though, and almost too heavy to wield.

Carker, Leigh and Nose were too late to get to the weapons in time. Nose, however, dove into combat unarmed with a roar when he saw a pirate laughing at his nose. The only other things lying around the boat were the whip, the drum with a set of drumsticks and the shackles new prisoners were brought in with.

Masik was grabbed by the arm before even considering to take a weapon. The former soldier, now prisoner, looked him in the eye.
"We'll need a healer when all this is through. Come with me, they'll let us on to the upper deck with the guards"

The Ghost (the wounded man) seemed to have disappeared in the confusion and was nowhere to be seen.

The large man seemed to be the most useful of the prisoners so far in a fight. He was holding his ground bare-fisted, though occasionally he did use one of the pirates as a weapon. A bunch of prisoners had gathered behind him, watching his back.

Scarlet Will (the very piratey gentleman) joined Samantha in a run for the weapons, but they were too late to get to any. Surprisingly, Will was tossed a gun and a cutlass by the pirates, which he immediately employed to shoot down one of the guards. Samantha grabbed a cutlass from one of the prisoners, who was subsequently stabbed by Will. It seemed clear what side of the fight they were on.

Silme was the only one of the prisoners to get hold of two cutlasses, mainly due to Jennifer giving him hers. She seemed content to fight with her fists instead. Either of them had yet to join the fray.

Patrick was the only one that seemed to have decided he absolutely didn't want to fight. He fled to the only place he could flee: belowdecks.

Belowdecks:

Spoiler

Show

Patrick ran down the stairs and into a large room with hammocks for the crew. There were bottles of rum lying around, some extra guard uniforms, dice and cards, a pack of blankets for some reason, two kegs of gunpowder, a bunch of thick rope and a table with some cutlery on it and some pieces of bread. There was a hatch leading to the cargo hold and a locked door leading to the captain's room. It was very quiet and calm compared to the chaos above. There was something odd that Patrick couldn't quite put his finger on... as if he wasn't entirely alone.

[Dallas-Dakota]

He takes some of the cutlasses, and weighs them with his hands, checking for a proper weighing one. Not finding a good one, he looks around to see if he could quickly find the two scimitars and small knife that they had taken from him.
He ducks his head out and sees many people dieing.
He takes Jen's sword and the best cutlass he can find.
I don't like the odds of us fighting on the deck. I think our best option is just killing anybody who go's down. What do you think?

[Anitra]

Leigh cursed to herself for being too late to grab a cutlass. She needed something, anything to defend herself with. Spotting the pile of shackles from the earlier delivery of prisoners she picked one with about a two foot chain separating the cuffs. She was used to slinging weighted lines to shore in order to bring a ship into dock; but the chain was a fairly poor imitation, being somewhat clunky and much heavier than a rope.

Leigh stayed as far back as possible, stretching the chain between both hands in a defensive stance.

[Cpt. Soup]

Carker gritted his teeth in exasperation and grudgingly snatched one of the prison chains that he wore as he was herded onto this boat. Yet another indignity is put upon him, if he dies here he'll die like a slave with nothing but his chains to use as feeble protection. He wrapped one end of the bonds more securely around one hand and held it tight with the other. poorly equipped, Carker eased his way sideways behind the press of prisoners until he was nearby the stairs.

Although the pirates were the major concern at the moment, he was more worried about the soon to be rapid change in the balance of guards and prisoners. The captain might keep his promise if the prisoners sufficiently outweighed the guards. Carker stepped back to allow Masik and the one he recognized as a former guard through to the stairs. The two passing prisoners gave Carker a new idea, but first he wanted to deal with the two by the stairs. He hadn't used his trump card in an attempt to get free before now, he was afraid it might have been discovered by a ratting prisoner or a patrolling guard. If he wasn't killed outright he'd at least be blindfolded and forced to suffer even more discomfort, the chances of escaping a prison afterward would be nonexistent. He carefully concentrated his eyes on the two guards several feet away, his eyes looked out at them in a much harder way then before, appearing more real then the body and even the world surrounding them. Carker hissed to the guards to get their attention.

[Levyathyn]

Johnathan finds a nearby guard who looks important enough. With a grim face and a steady hand, he slices the cutlass out of the soldier's hand. With a snarl, he grabs the man's collar with his left hand and leans in, putting the blade on his throat. "Where...is...my...stuff? Answer, and you live. Quickly, now, I haven't got all day." He says, his dark eyes inches from the guard's terrifyied face.

Spoiler

Show

What is the guard wearing? Overcoat, wise.

[MrEdwardNigma]

Jonathan runs up to the only guards left on a part of the deck he can actually get to: the ones by the cannon.
"Where...is...my...stuff? Answer, and you live. Quickly, now, I haven't got all day."
"What? Ehrm. In the harbour you got on. You were imprisoned in Irshia, right? Then your stuff's right-"
He didn't get much further than that. There was a spear sticking out of his chest. Three pirates were running in their direction, blades drawn.
"Oh, god" said the second guard, "help me turn the cannon!"

Carker tried to get the attention of the guards on the upper deck, but unfortunately they could hear him through the screams of battle. He couldn't really get closer either, since a whole bunch of prisoners defending the guards were in his way.

Leigh only just picked up the shackles when she was charged by a pirate who ran at her, axe swinging in the air.

((Since this is freeform, feel free to take some liberties in killing prisoners, pirates or even guards. Prisoners would generally be very easy to kill, except perhaps named NPCs such as Nose, the large man or Scarlet Will. Guards are generally somewhat harder but easy, but most of them have a terribly good position now, bottlenecking all attacks. Pirates would generally be hardest, but possible))

[Raz_Fox]

Samantha

Sam brought the hilt of her cutlass down on the back of a guard's head with a crack, kicking him aside before someone could slit his throat. Oh, yes! She had a sword now, and she danced through the panicking prisoners, disabling guards with a flick of the wrist and a slap to the face. Some pirates might have mocked her non-lethal style, but Father had told her once to never kill someone who wasn't doing his best to kill you.

She turned, trying to find a new threat, and saw a young woman about her age facing a pirate with naught but a pair of shackles. She lunged forward quickly, stepping between the two as quickly as she could, sword held in a defensive guard. "Belay that, mate! Get the guards - they've got the weapons!" She turned to the woman. "C'mon, lass! Now's the chance, and now's the hour! Let's get those bloody guards!"

[Levyathyn]

Johnathan

Johnathan glances at the pirates and then back to the man. Deftly, he raises the cutlass, point first, and stabs the guard in the stomach. "Nah." He says before yanking the blade out. He unceremoniously lifts the downed guard's cutlass before turning to the pirates. "Well? Don't you have people to kill?" He asks, before heading forwards.

He spots two women and a pirate, though he realizes that they seem to be ironing out some alliance problem. One of them is defending herself with chains. Walking by them, he hands her the second cutlass. "Chin up." He says, before continuing to the front of the ship.

Spoiler

Show

I have a coat on, and it's color is "turn". =)

[Fireball.Man.Guy.]

Xan, with a grunt, whirls around and smacks an officer in the back of the head with the stick, fracturing his skull and killing him instantly. From the body he takes the guard's saber, a much finer weapo than the cutlasses the other prisoners were bandying about, and leaps into the fray, impaling, decapitating and dismembering guards as he makes his way to Scarlet Will.

[Vespe Ratavo]

He takes some of the cutlasses, and weighs them with his hands, checking for a proper weighing one. Not finding a good one, he looks around to see if he could quickly find the two scimitars and small knife that they had taken from him.
He ducks his head out and sees many people dieing.
He takes Jen's sword and the best cutlass he can find.
I don't like the odds of us fighting on the deck. I think our best option is just killing anybody who go's down. What do you think?

Jen's eyes grow wide at the ensuing carnage on deck. Eep. She turns to Silme and nods. Yeah, let's go with that.

((I'm confused, we're belowdecks, right?))

[An Enemy Spy]

Desmond is standing next to one of the guards who has a gun. When he is done reloading, Desmond whacks him over the head with his sword hilt. "Sorry old chum. Just looking out for number one." He picks up the gun and prepares to shoot anyone looking to attack him.

[Anitra]

Leigh's expression grew shocked as not one, but two of the prisoners stepped in to help her out. She had been under the impression that this battle would be every man for themselves. Grinning, she spun the chained shackles twice in a vertical circle to build momentum then released them at the attacking pirate. "Remind me to bruise up the next guy who says there's no honor among thieves, eh?" she commented, grabbing the cutlass that had been offered to her and turning to go back to back with Samantha. If the pirate she had thrown the chains at hadn't been taken down, she would just have to trust the other woman to finish the job. "You got a plan?" she asked Sam, stabbing towards the gun arm of the nearest guard, "If so, now's the time for me to hear it!

[Raz_Fox]

Samantha

Samantha blinked. "I'm not sure that was what I meant for you to do... anyway, stick with me and Scarlet Will - we're trying to get onboard the pirate ship. Will because he's the captain, me because... I just need to get off the ship, and that seems the best way to do so." She deftly deflected the swipes of another guardsman, flipping his sword out of his grasp and slamming her sword's hilt into his forehead. As he fell, out cold, Samantha grinned. "So, the plan is as follows: get onto the pirate ship, don't get killed. That sound good?"

[Anitra]

"Simple. Straightforward. I like this plan!" Leigh commented brightly, finishing her guard off with a lucky stroke to the neck. Perhaps Samantha was willing to spare the guards' lives, but having spent longer on the ship than her, Leigh wasn't feeling quite so charitable. Not to mention she didn't have the level of skill needed to deal a precise enough, nonfatal blow to merely knock the guards out.

[Levyathyn]

Johnathan

John works his way near the front of the ship, where fighting is taking place. The flash of steel and the occasional boom of a pistol or rifle don't seem to bother him. He nears one guard, fighting a pirate, and raises the cutlass. He lightly tosses it up and grabs it like a knife, with the point going down. He raises it and stabs the guard through the neck. Using leverage, he pushes the man to the edge of the boat and kicks sharply, knocking him over the edge to tumble into the water below. He looks around for any trouble spots or anyone losing, pirate or prisoner.

[An Enemy Spy]

Desmond fires at a guard who is rushing him, and kills him. Another one attacks him, and having no time to reload, Desmond jumps into the sea.

[Vespe Ratavo]

While the battle rages above, Jen decides to take the opportunity to take a look around belowdecks, primarily interested in finding her stolen journal, but also interested in anything particularly shiny, deadly, or otherwise interesting-looking.

What I don't understand, she remarks off-hand, probably just thinking out loud, is why they'd take my journal. Maybe they wanted some light reading? She shrugs, and continues looking.

[An Enemy Spy]

Desmond swims around the ship until he finds an open window in the lower deck. He grabs onto the hull and climbs up into it. He falls dripping wet into the ship. Getting up he sees one of the women

Spoiler

Show

Jennifer

[Vespe Ratavo]

Jennifer stares at Desmond in horror, vaguely recognizing him as one of the prisoners. Um...there's a perfectly good explanation for why I'm down here. And I'll even tell you what it is if you give me a minute.

[An Enemy Spy]

"I don't care why you're down here. There is a very nasty fight going on on and I want to be on the winning side of it. So if anyone comes rushing down here, we join them. Understand?"

[Vespe Ratavo]

Jen nods. Of course. She then continues to search.

[An Enemy Spy]

"So what are you looking for anyway?" Desmond says as he searches for things to barricade the door with.

[Vespe Ratavo]

Oh, you know, spare change, a weapon, my journal those damn guards stole.

[An Enemy Spy]

"Journal, eh? What kind of journal?"

[Vespe Ratavo]

Oh, you know, mostly just old memories, with a few interesting bits about my piratical career. I was planning to turn it into a book at some point. She says that last bit half-jokingly, while still rooting through all the assorted stuff, trying to find it.

[An Enemy Spy]

"Would it this one?"Desmond asks after picking up the book that laying open on the table.

[Vespe Ratavo]

Jen takes a quizzical look at the book, then nods, slightly embarrassed at having missed it just lying there. Yes, yes it would be. She grabs it from him, stuffs it into an inside pocket of her coat, then buttons that pocket. Thanks.