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The Slave Trade
Topic Started: Aug 23 2011, 08:54 PM (2,448 Views)
The Karlminion
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180-proof Redneck
Down below, Jareth woke up, feeling fuzzy but otherwise fine. Getting beaten up was a bitch, and getting over it was worse, but in the land of the Green Moon (patron satellite of healing magic!) he recovered quicker, not to mention the grudging charms they cast over him to speed it up; Kokyrie doubtless had use for him yet, after all, or he wouldn't have been allowed to come along.

Rolling out of the plain but comfortable cot that had been his home for who-knew how long, he picked up his heavy, ornate saber and ran through a few fencing drills, the familiar actions stirring his blood into wakefulness. "You're the only reliable presence in my life right now," he told the trusty blade, sliding it back into its scabbard before getting dressed and slipping the belt and bandoleer over his shirt. He no longer wore the tattered old clothes from before, instead he sported a khaki shirt and trousers borrowed off a bored Nasrean marine in exchange for being allowed to fire the massive Stalsmark revolver some days back.

As usual the gun had an immense roar and recoil, and the others overreacted a bit and the marine had to explain things while Jareth laughed in the background, but a deal was a deal and he walked away with a new outfit. The man had been about his height, although a little heavier, but that wasn't anything a belt couldn't fix and it didn't look any looser than his regular clothes did.

After that the day was spent in anxious pacing, waiting for some boarding action or a chance to shoot some pirates, anything to let his arms work and distract him from the voyage. Night fell and they were moving on, and the Valuan went up on deck, overhearing Nixie complaining to the helm. "Why not send the Nasrean ships ahead?" he asked, his tone polite and reasonable. "They're faster and have more firepower than the Mononoke, after all."

For once he knew what he was talking about; he'd never served on a Nasr vessel, but he'd studied them in Academy and fought a few during his stint as a proper Captain. It was good to actually know his business for once.
Edited by The Karlminion, Sep 9 2012, 01:15 AM.
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Gordreg
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Jel followed Kokyrie’s footsteps briskly, stepping through the tangles of tree-routes that lined the dappled forest path as they led back the way she’d come, her path slightly illuminated by the readied glow-rock clutched tightly within her fingers. But this slight light-source of hers soon started to pale as they came closer to the town again; a glow of yellow light shining beneath a broiling smoky haze. As Jel glanced about she could see that town buildings were ablaze, illuminating the vicinity with orangey lighting whilst drowning out the glow of the moons in the sky above with the coils of smoke.

Or at least, Jel had assumed it all to be smoke. But without warning bright bursts of light spat out across star - obscuring mass in the sky, briefly illuminating the outline of a vessel in the sky for a fraction of a second before a rippling burst of explosions from the tree line cast yet another set of new lights and shadows across the island sky-front.

The shock of the barrage of cannon-fire caused Jel to jump, hands pulled toward her body in reflex as her motion stalled. But nearly as quickly she started moving again, scampering after Kokyrie’s disappearing footsteps as her captain raced off into the darkness, toward the fire and smoke.

She wrinkled her nose as she followed Kokyrie’s approach back toward the army, the smell of burning buildings distinctly pungent as it mixed with the aroma of burned flesh. Just a brief glance around the ranks of the army showed a number of wounded men and women, so Jel lost no time getting to work, the viridian glow of her moonstone winking pale illumination in the darkness as she started knitting the wounds of the injured, her lips tightly pursed in concentration. The battle might have swung against them, but the faster she patched up the injured the faster they could get back into the fight; all she could do for now was to keep her head down and to do her job as ably as she could.
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Jet Blackbeard
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"Why don't you go back to sleep and stay..." Nixie snapped as Jareth emerged onto the deck. But after considering his words she turned away and bit her lip in frustration. "Yeah, I guess that would be the best thing to do. "But still..."

Nixie knew that the desire she was harboring was selfish. Kokyrie had sent HER to bring the warships around the island to attack the pirates. SHE wanted to be the one to arrive just in the nick of time to save the day. But Nixie also realized that Jareth's plan would be for the best. Every moment was precious and the sooner the ships arrived the fewer casualties the Ixa'takan army would suffer.

"Hey Jareth. Um...I'm not a soldier or anything. And I should stay here on the Mononoke." Nixie began, swallowing her pride to do what was best for everyone. "Do you think you could lead the ships ahead?"

Nixie stared expectantly at Jareth for several seconds. She felt uncomfortable with asking something like this of a man she barely knew and wasn't all that happy with his request in the first place. But the Ixa'ness were her people and her place was onboard their flagship.

But there was one other person on board who wasn't bound by such circumstances. "Midori!" Nixie cried out the name of Tsukiko's sister, suddenly tearing herself away from Jareth to hide her disappointment from him. "Midori! Jareth is going on ahead! Do you want to go with him to look for Tsuki?"

~

"Are all of the battles you have fought like this?" Shandala asked in an uncharacteristically humble voice. Her back was pressed against the trunk of a tree and her eyes were cast down at the ground to avoid looking at the pirate ships that hovered above the forest.

"A lot of them are, yes. But I've always had a ship of my own so they usually went a little more smoothly than this." Kokyrie's voice came from the other side of the tree. Hidden from the sight of the Ixa'takan men she was in the process of changing her clothing.

"Do you think we can win when our own ships arrive?" Shandala asked her. Kokyrie's arm snaked around the tree's trunk to hand her the pirate's garb she'd been wearing and accepted a new set of tribal gear.

"The odds are two-to-one but the king's warships are Nasrean military." Kokyrie answered as she slid her long, supple legs into a pair of brown leather shorts and cinched them tightly around her waist with a matching tie-cord. "That'll even the odds for sure. Trust me, military ships are nothing to take lightly."

Shandala nodded, accepting Kokyrie's judgement of their situation. She had realized back in Kortela that her childhood rival had broadened her horizons after leaving Ixa'ness and gained a whole world of experiences that even the tribe's War Chieftain could never even imagine.

And at this moment Shandala was forced to recognize her own shortcomings. Back when her life had revolved around raiding other tribes and proving her own dominance among the Ixa'ness she had felt like the queen of the world. But out here in the lands beyond Ixa'taka's borders Shandala could see just how small and insignificant her little world had truly been.

But in taking a step back from her world Shandala was also able to see the bigger picture and how Ixa'taka fit into the grand scheme of things. Her horizons were beginning to broaden now just as Kokyrie's had. Perhaps Kokyrie was right and that the way the Ixa'ness went about doing things needed to change. Shandala wasn't certain what those changes would be but she was more open to suggestions now than she had been only a short time ago.

"So how do I look?" Kokyrie asked as she stepped out from around the tree. She tugged the sleeveless green halter-top down across her breasts, causing her ample mounds to quiver. Standing there clad in the green and brown leathers of a forest-dweller and bearing the tattoos of a tribal warrior she was no longer at risk of being mistaken for a pirate and being riddled with arrows.

"Like an Ixa'ness." Shandala smiled. Kokyrie's spear, the symbol of the War Chieftain's station, rested against the tree. Shandala picked it up and tossed it into her waiting hands. "Here you are...My Chieftain." She said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she voiced the last words.

"What was that?" Kokyrie arched an eyebrow at her. "Damn cannon fire. I can't even hear myself think." She grumbled, glaring up at the warships overhead.

"I said to get your butt in gear!" Shandala spoke more loudly, turning away to hide the embarrassed blushing of her cheeks. "We've got a battle to win!"

~

"They have no hope of winning." Darius chortled. His eyes flashed in the light of the flames that were beginning to spread out beneath him. Both the town and the forest were slowly being consumed and he relished the heat on his face, of soaring above the world below and spreading destruction in his wake. He hadn't felt this thrill in many years; not since leaving the Armada. Darius' only regret now was that this battle would likely be ending far too soon for his liking.

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't be so hasty my darling." Kaia looked up at him with concern in her eyes. "Such a large force could not have gotten this far without a sizable flotilla of their own. We should be wary of~"

"Of what? Canoes?" Darius cut her off with a bark of laughter. "We'll blast them from the skies!"

Kaia sighed and pulled herself out from beneath his arm and made her way to the hatch leading belowdeck. "You shouldn't underestimate my people." She called back to him over her shoulder.

"Need I remind you that you severed your ties with those dirt-eaters?" Darius shot back, his exhilaration rapidly draining in the face of a lover's quarrel. "And where are you going?"

"There's something I need to do." Kaia's voice called back from the hatchway.

"Women." Darius scowled, shaking his head at his lover's flighty mood swings. He turned his attention back to the battle but couldn't help but to cast the occasional glance out across the skies now.
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Daiohma
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The Ice Fang
Midori was busy looking at some notes that she had taken down from the people she had met in Ixa'taka.
She was seated in the corner of a room on the lower deck of the ship.

She had become lost in her own thoughts for a moment as she read the notes to herself.
She had learnt so much more about the Green Moon Stones and their magic but not as much as she would of liked.
Thinking back Midori knew it was the right decision to help anyone in need and at the time the man she had taken into her care needed her help the most.

She looked up for a moment at the bed on the other side of the small room.
It was not easy for her to understand why the man had refused her offer to take him to Valua for help but she respected that it was his own decision.
Many of the men in Yafutoma where the same, they would fight till the end and so maybe this man from Valua was just the same.

Midori lowered her head and went back to reading but just as she did there came movement from the bed.
Jareth, the man she had been looking after awoke and sat up for a moment before getting out of the bed.

The Yafutoma Shrine maiden stood up and held her Green Moon Stone in her hand, but only watched as the man got himself up and gathered his items.
He did not seem to notice her, or he just did not feel like talking at that time.

As soon as he was ready he went on his way and Midori found herself alone.
She put her notes away and replaced her Green Moon Stone around her neck.
With a smile she walked over to the bed and folded the sheets before leaving the room.

~

Midori made her own way onto the deck of the ship.
Without having to watch over someone she could now taking in what kind of ship she was on.
It was like nothing she had seen before but in a way she liked it.

Just as she walked onto the deck she spotted Jareth and Nixie, the girl who was originally with Tsukiko when she took the Valuan into care.
She could not understand what the two of them where talking about and it was not her place to listen in to another conversation and so she turned her head away to watch some one the other people on the ship at work.
They did things in a different way to what she was used to but their goal was the same and they managed to get the same results.

''Midori!'' Suddenly Nixie called out across the deck after seeing the Yafutoma woman.

''Hello there.'' Midori put her arms together as she bowed at Nixie with a smile.
''How may I help?'' She always presumed that if anyone wanted to talk to her it would be for any kind of healing help.

''Jareth is going on ahead! Do you want to go with him to look for Tsuki?'' She asked as she came over to greet her.

''Tsuki?'' Midori muttered to herself as she had never once heard anyone shorten her sister's name.
''Yes please, I would very much like to go, that is if I am not needed here.''
Midori may of only been a healer but she could see that they where getting ready to go into battle and that she could be of use to them, however she could not help but want to make sure that Tsukiko was safe.
After all she had already gone and put taking care of a complete stranger ahead of looking out for her.

It did not take long for Midori to gather what little she had with her and quickly found Nixie once more.
''I am ready to go.'' She said as she held onto her necklace.

~

The sound of cannons did not stop and it was clear in Tuskiko's mind that a war was now going on.
Already she had dropped back to distance herself from seeing any of the fighting or ships.
She knew deep inside of herself that if she was to ever get into a situation where there was fighting going on around that she would probably end up using her Moon Stone to end it, in a way she did not like.
Using the Silver magic to heal and give life was a gift to her but to take it away was something she did not like and had only been forced to do a few times.
Secretly she knew she was the kind to snap like that but it was so rare that she herself did not want to believe it.

As she looked around she realized she was back with most of the injured and fallen slaves.
Reaching up she held her necklace, ''I can help..'' She said in a soft voice that was almost a whisper.

She sat down next to a woman who was clearly in need of help.
''Curia.'' The Shrine Maiden spoke the words as her moon Stone shone bright sliver.

The woman then managed to stand up, grateful to the young girl she hugged her for what seemed forever to Tsukiko as shown acts of affection where not something she was used to.
After seeing this many of the other injured people around her seemed to reach out for their own help.

Tsukiko managed to smile as her thoughts of the war quickly vanished as they where replaced with knowing she was helping.
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The Karlminion
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By the Moons! Someone in this forsaken backwater was actually agreeing with him! Tell the Emperor, call out the brass bands, declare a worldwide holiday! I was right for once!

Then Nixie turned it around on him, and Jareth paused in his private elation. "Lead them ahead?" he replied, his voice subdued. Could he? Certainly, without question he was capable of commanding a military vessel. Would he, though? Should he? He was a Valuan, and those ships were crewed by Nasreans and Ixa'takans; they thought he was a novelty, sure, a passing amusement with oversized guns, but they wouldn't accept his command.

Not readily, in any event.

"I..." he began, although the girl had apparently already decided for him and was yelling for that healer woman to accompany him. She was the one who had tended his injuries, and he was grateful for that, but her swarthy Yafutoman features had put him off for a time; not that he'd let on, of course.

He sighed and pinched his nose, wishing for a drink. "Prepare the raft, then," he declared, "and send us to the Grendel's Fist. I will take over command there." Accordingly the raft was launched, with Jareth and Midori aboard, and they floated the short distance over; the other sailors received the raft and helped them down, and Jareth eyed the vessel with new eyes; the eyes of a captain. Been a long damn time since I've done this, he thought. Hope I don't screw it up.

"What's up, Jareth?" one of the Nasr officers asked. "Thirsty again?"

"Yes, but..." He shook his head and put a hand on the hilt of his blade, gathering his wits. "I'm to take command of this ship for the upcoming battle. I have the most experience in ship to ship combat."

The man spluttered at this news, but Jareth was already pushing past him. "Captain Khells, you are relieved of command and are ordered to surrender your vessel to me immediately," he said authoritatively as he came onto the bridge, his Captains' Medallion glinting on his chest. "Hesitation is not an option."

The Captain started to laugh, but he saw the Valuan was serious and grew indignant. "Just a minute, this is our ship!" he retorted. "You can't-!"

"I can and I will!" Jareth countered. "How many ship battles have you commanded, eh? Do you know the maximum range of your torpedoes? The reloading speed of your guns, the main cannons' recoil? Come on, out with it!"

"Wh- I'm no gunner! Get off my-"

"There's no time!" the Valuan shouted, punching the man full in the nose in his impatience. "Now stand down and let me do my job!" The rest of the bridge crew were too shocked to intervene, and that was all the opportunity Jareth needed. "Full speed ahead!" he roared as he stepped to the wheel. "Ready the guns, make sure the torpedoes are warm, signal the Quet'ya's Calm! Battle is at hand!"

His tone of voice brooked no argument, and his orders were swiftly carried out; the two ships moved ahead of the Mononoke, Jareth's new command slightly in front, their decks swarming with sailors preparing for battle. "We'll take 'em by surprise and cripple or sink as many as we can!" Jareth declared. "Concentrate all firepower on the nearest enemy vessel as soon as effective range is reached! Launch torpedoes! Bring me a draft of loqua!"

The torpedoes had an outdated but effective radar system for targeting and guidance before engagement range could be attained, useful for coordinating attacks for greatest effect; Jareth had shown them its intricacies during the voyage, not having anything better to do. Hopefully the gunners would remember the superior range of Nasrean cannon, he didn't want to have to leave the bridge. The defeated Captain, yanking at his nose to fix it, got to his feet and stood at Jareth's elbow; any other time and he would have made a fight of it, but he had to reluctantly accede the Valuan's greater experience. Infighting among the officers was bad for morale anyway; they could settle things later.

I'm a Captain again, Jareth thought to himself, watching the preemptive torpedoes streak from their tubes. Moons help me, lads. The requested draft arrived, and he had a grateful sip, but knew he had to pace himself or else he'd be useless in the upcoming fight.
Edited by The Karlminion, Sep 18 2012, 08:31 PM.
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Gordreg
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“There, there… it’ll be okay, it’ll be okay…”

Tapping her lightly upon her tattooed shoulder, Jel hoped her incoherently mumbling patient couldn’t see her face as she pulled the torquinet tight. Not only was nervous sweat now streaming down the sides of her face amidst a matting of recently-acquired dirt and blood, but a mere glance at her worried expression would have told the warrior that Jel’din of the HuLangri was lying through her tightly-clenched teeth. There were some injuries that one could recover from quickly, and could after a few days laugh about, and even show off as an old scar to impress acquaintances.

This was not one of those injuries.

Her other reason of not wanting her patient to see her face at this time was because it would have meant the Garpa-juices now coursing through her mind would have been starting to wear off. And in the patient’s current condition, Jel had reckoned, a blissful hallucinogenic coma would be far preferable to the realities of pain that her body was no doubt trying to pass through a wall of fog to get her wandering mind to notice.

And Jel’din didn’t want that kind of Agony to reach the poor woman’s mind.

Giving a small grunt of exertion, her fingers pulled the torquinet even tighter. Blood flow was slowing, and that was a good sign in this instance, but she wondered even then if it had slowed enough. There was still a pool of blood seeping out, connected by dribbles to the trail left as the warrior’s friends (or had they been family, or mere acquaintances?) had helped her stumble back to this point of temporary regroup. Jel looked up, a worried frown upon her face as her eyes passed briefly to the fire, and the glowing metal slowly brightening between the licks of flame. Would they have to pull back again, she wondered, before she could get to work? The combined Ixa’takan forces were pulling back every time the pirate guns came into range, a rearguard action shifting across the landscape as they fended off the overwhelming firepower the best they could. If support didn’t arrive for Kokyrie’s army soon…

She swallowed, and returned her gaze to the metal heating in the fire, and then for a moment to the saw, lying gore-covered on the ground. The ragged clump of charred flesh and bone lying against it were quite unsettling, and for the fourteenth-or-so time that day Jel felt her stomach start to rise.

But she swallowed her fear, swallowed her disgust, and paced across to the fire. Covering her hand with a glove, she picked up the hot cauter by the handle, and briskly scampered back across to her poor hallucinating patient. Teeth held together, she pressed it toward her patient, and against the bloodied stump that had been all that remained of her leg after the near direct cannon-strike.

Jel really, really hoped her patient could not feel the searing pain of the treatment that would likely keep her alive past the hour. And she grimaced, a tear in her eye, the rank smell of cooking human meat drifting into the breeze amidst the smoke of battle.
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Jet Blackbeard
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aka Bear
With her army in total disarray and its reinforcements yet to arrive Kokyrie found herself with very little to do. All she was capable of at that moment was assuaging the fears of her followers. For a time Kokyrie drifted amongst the soldiers and Amazons, offering them encouragement and her assurance that help was on the way. But in the face of the pirate's overwhelming firepower her words sounded empty.

Soon Kokyrie ceased trying to ease the fears of the Ixa'takans and try to ease their pain instead. She found her feet carrying her to the rearmost lines where the injured had been carried. Jel'din and Tsukiko were already there tending to the wounded. Kokyrie withdrew the Green Moon Stone from about her neck and joined in their efforts.

"I'm not much of a healer but I know a couple of spells." Kokyrie addressed Jel'din. "Ada insisted. Said I was too accident-prone NOT to need them."

Kokyrie settled down on the ground next to one of the Ixa'ness; a woman who sat against the trunk of a tree clutching a bloodied bandage to her shoulder. Her other hand rested slackly at her side, still clutching the jagged chunk of wood that had pierced her flesh. The woman head hung down but upon hearing Kokyrie's voice she raised it to peer weakly into the face of her chieftain. Her eyes were glazed over with pain and she didn't appear to recognize Kokyrie at all.

"I seldom use magic though so I'm pretty rusty." Kokyrie admitted. "Any tips for a rookie like me?"

Kokyrie gripped the arrowhead pendant she'd flaked from a Green Moon Stone with her own hand many years ago and focused her willpower into it. "Moons...heed my call." She muttered through clenched teeth and the magic within her stirred sluggishly back to life. It spilled forth from Kokyrie's hands in an emerald torrent that washed over the Amazon's wounded shoulder.

The magic was potent and the wound began to close immediately. The color returned to the Amazon's face and her vision cleared. Upon recognizing the War Chieftain she snapped her injured arm to her chest in salute, eliciting a hiss of pain from her in the process. She tried to rise to her feet but Kokyrie eased her back to the ground and ordered her to relax while she could.

The Ixa'ness warrior's eyes sparkled with gratitude for the care she'd been shown by her War Chieftain. And yet Kokyrie's face was flushed from exertion. "Whew, this isn't as easy as you make it look Jel. I don't think I can keep up with you and Tsuki."

Perhaps Kokyrie's magic was a little too potent. Her Sacres spell was more than was needed to treat such an injury. Her lack of control only worsened the situation, causing her to expend more of her energy than necessary to cast the spell. If she continued her reckless spell-casting it wouldn't be long before Kokyrie exhausted herself. But she was determined to be of use and help her people right now.

"Okay, who's next?" Kokyrie asked, swiping her hand across her forehead.

~

While Kokyrie was busy tending to the wounded Shandala was taking advantage of her presence to take a much-needed break from commanding the army. She had wandered a short distance into the night-darkened forest to collect her thoughts and calm her jangled nerves. Here the gunfire wasn't quite as loud and the screams of the wounded and dying could not reach her ears.

"Hey, you alone?" A voice hissed from the darkness, causing Shandala to start with surprise. She relaxed again when she saw that it was Xera approaching her.

"Long time no see." Shandala greeted her friend. "Glad to see you made it back in one piece."

Xera did not return her friendly tone when she replied. "No thanks to our beloved chieftain. I'm lucky to have come back at all."

Shandala's smile faded and her expression grew serious. "What happened in there?" She asked with concern.

"Nevermind that now." Xera returned. "Have you given any thought to what I said before?"

"About what?" Shandala quirked an eyebrow at her.

"About putting a knife in that @#$%&." Xera answered coldly. "With all this darkness and confusion now would be a good time to do it. I'll help you. If we can just get her away from~"

"I don't think it's such a good idea." Shandala cut her off, lifting her hand to halt the frantic flow of treasonous words tumbling out of Xera's mouth. "I have thought about it. And...I don't know. Maybe Kyrie was right in the end. Maybe we do need to reconsider~"

"Consider what?" Xera snapped, her anger beginning to boil. "Handing the Ixa'ness over to that...that woman? Since when are you her lap-dog?"

Shandala held her peace and gazed passively back at Xera. "What happened between you two in that town?" She asked knowingly.

Xera felt as if her belly was filling with ice water. That was one question she had to be certain was never answered. "N, nothing! Look...just forget it! Forget I ever said anything in the first place!"

Xera turned and stalked off into the darkness, leaving Shandala to whatever suspicions she might be harboring now. It was just one more reason why Kokyrie needed to die. And if Shandala wasn't going to bloody her hands with the deed the Xera would just have to do it herself.

~

"Captain! Ships sighted twelve points to starboard!" The Purgatory's lookout called down to Darius who was still on deck.

Darius stepped over to the railing and squinted into the darkness. "How many?" He called back, unable to see as far as the man in the crow's nest.

"Just two captain!" The lookout reported back.

Darius was confused. "Only two?" He wondered to himself. The pirate captain was fully expected a whole flotilla of war canoes to be arriving in force at any moment. But only two? It didn't make sense. Surely there were more than that. "Look again! They're not alone!" He called back to the lookout.

"I can only make out two sets of running lights captain!" The lookout returned. "If there's more I can't see them!"

Running lights? Darius felt a wave of uncertainty wash over him. Since when did Ixa'takan ships navigate by anything other than torchlight? "How are they rigged?" Darius asked anxiously.

"They look to be Nasrean military judging by their configuration!" The lookout answered. "Can't see their colors though. Who could they be sir?"

Kaia's warning suddenly flashed through Darius' thoughts. He left the lookout's question hanging between them and went in search of the helmsman. "Pull the ship back! And signal the rest of our group to form a battle line above the town!" He bellowed as he approached the helm.

"Sir?" The helmsman asked in confusion.

"Just do it!" Darius yelled back. "And be quick about it!"

The helmsman looked doubtful but obeyed. "Aye sir, coming about."

Satisfied that his orders were being carried out Darius returned to his position at the bow. In the distance he could now make out for himself the running lights of the two approaching warships.

"Guess she was right for a change." He snorted. "Looks like things are about to get messy."
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Daiohma
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The Ice Fang
Midori got into the small ship as she glanced a look over to Jareth.
She was glad that she had helped him but was not used to not being thanked.
She just took it as a cultural difference as he was Valuan and she did not know much about them.
It was her Sister who now lived in Valua, Gendeki who knew all about them.

In no time at all it seemed to her that Jareth had taken Command of the ship.
It did not bother her in any way as she had little to no understanding of these kind of ships.
The only reason she was there was to look for her younger sister Tsukiko, who she thought she had left in the care of local Ixa'taka villagers.
Turned out she had only gone and left her with a group of pirates, yet they seemed related to this group and she honestly did not see anything too bad about them.
Then again she did not know much about pirates as never coming across them like this before.
Midori knew there where two types but that was it, what those types where was something she would have to find out at a later time.

The shrine maiden like her sisters stayed out of other people's conversations but there was one part that she could not help but over hear.
Jareth, the man she had helped mentioned something about a Ship battle.
Right away Midori turned to face the talking men, wondering if she herself would be safe.

Then from out of nowhere in Midori's eyes Jareth punched the ship's captain in the nose.
She was shocked but this and almost felt a regret of helping him if she knew he would only harm others.
However she knew it was not her place to judge, only to help and so she rushed over to the fallen man and with Green Moon Stone in hand she attend to him.

~

Tsukiko stood up and looked around her surrounding area.
She had managed to help several people but as she looked there seemed to be more and more that needed help.

The young girl sighed as she knew things where going to get worse as the battle was no doubt going to get closer.
Tsukiko had decided that no matter how bad it would get that she would do what her sisters would do in the same situation and stand her ground to help them in need.

That was when she spotted Jel across from her who was also attending to people in need.

''Can I help you?'' Tsukiko asked as she walked over with her glowing Silver Moon Stone in hand.
She saw that Jel was clearly not happy with the tears in her eyes.

''I might be young but the Ishikawa family have used magic for many generations.''
She held up her necklace as she cast Curia.
Tsukiko managed to smile a small smile at Jel as she knew having both Green and Silver gave these people more of a chance.

Just then she spotted Kokyrie had come to join them too.
Tsukiko was please to see that she had a Green Moon Stone too and could only think of Midori for a moment.

''Do you know Sacrulen?'' Tsukiko asked Jel, knowing that was the one Midori would use if she saw these people.
''If only Midori was here.'' She told herself.
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The Karlminion
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"Thanks, miss," the Nasrean officer muttered as Midori helped him. "Blondie there sure can throw a punch."

"We need to get you to the others quickly, Midori," Jareth told the healer, his hands tense on the smooth wooden wheel. "Injuries are likely to be high, I doubt they know how to fight against modern tactics." The pirate vessels were coming into sight now, although he could see them arranging into a battle line; sharp eyes on the lookout, whoever he or she was. "Douse the running lights! We don't need them knowing where we are!"

"Couldn't they track by the light of our cannon fire?" one of the bridge crew asked.

"Not if we keep moving," the Valuan replied. "But that was a good question, lad. What's your rank?" Before the fellow could reply he looked away, back across the skies. "Never mind, you're promoted. We'll work it out after we blow these curs to Deep Sky!"

If he had judged the torpedoes correctly, they should have time to launch another salvo and time them both to hit simultaneously. "Starboard cannon, prepare to fire!" he yelled, eyes on the pirates. "Signal Quet'ya's Calm to fire off portside and swing to starboard, give 'em the full broadside! Focus all fire on the nearest ships!" Hopefully they knew to alternate among main cannon and the smaller guns to concentrate fire for best effect; now wasn't the time for an in-depth gunning tutorial.

On cue he spun the wheel, presenting the gunners with their targets; he missed the Valuan swivel guns that negated the use of broadside tactics for the most part, but no captain worth his salt went without a good study of all available tactics. Many was the pirate ship he'd blown down when he was sane by charging them head on, the forward profile of his warship a smaller target and his ship's guns able to fire straight ahead for devastating effect.

"Range!" one of the dock officers declared, and Jareth focused again. "Ready!... FIRE!"

Whether through luck, training, Jareth's cajoling or some mix of it all, the combined cannon fire all converged on one of the pirate vessels, tearing her rigging out and blowing holes in her hull; one torpedo landed lucky and hit the ammo magazine, triggering great explosions that culminated in the whole thing blowing apart. The crew cheered, and Jareth grinned, but it wasn't over yet! "Anyone here know Quicka?!" he demanded as he spun the wheel again to evade the inevitable counter fire.

"Uh, one a' the boys knows it, down the deck," was the answer, after a split hesitation.

"Send him below to the engines along with whatever Magic Droplets you have aboard," Jareth replied. "Put him casting that spell full-time, it'll improve our speed."

The men blinked at each other. "You can do that...?"

"Yes!" the former Captain shouted. "Do as he says! Tell the others to do the same!" The orders were relayed, and soon enough the ship was moving faster, responding quicker; hopefully it would be enough as the pirates fired back, although without running lights they weren't as accurate as they could have been. He expected them to do likewise and douse their own lights soon enough; had to strike again quickly!

"Portside, prepare to fire!" he shouted, bringing the ship about for another round. "Starboard had better be reloading! Launch torpedoes, target the next ship!" The men responded eagerly, apparently readier to believe in Jareth now that he'd led them to a victory, and the next enemy vessel was quickly the subject of withering firepower.

For a brief moment he turned and had another sip of the loqua. "Have we got a magic cannon aboard?" he asked of the former captain as he set the mug down and turned back to the fight.
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Gordreg
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Nodding to the Yafutoman girl as she wiped the tear from her eye, Jel pointed toward one of the King’s soldiers who was staring vacantly up into the sky, a look of angished discomfort etched across his face despite his otherwise placid appearence. “I think he’d be more your area then mine…” she breathed softly, her head slowly nodding. “He was far too close to one of those explosions, though he didn’t ger wounded, per say. Nothing wrong with his body…” she gave her lower lip an anxious bite “…but he’d talking very loudly and doesn’t seem to know what’s happening. I think he might be temporarily blinded, or deafened; or both…” she admitted her suspicions.

As Tsukiko set to work upon the patient, Jel returned to tending to another of the wounded, who had taken a shot to his thigh. This, at least, was repairable; and so Jel clutched her moonstone tight to her chest, focusing intently as the glow brightened, a viridian mist settling across the torn flesh as it grew and knitted back together.

Jel gave a tired smile to Kokyrie as the chieftain wandered over, and tilted her head in slight surprise, having expected her captain to have been to busy directing the fighting. “Oh! Ah, I didn’t know…” she fumbled her words; though she hadn’t known for certain, Jel thought she should at least have suspected Kokyrie might know a few spells of her own.

“Well… um…” she swallowed “..calmness and focus help you control it. But not every wound will treat with magic…” she explained, her teeth clenched quite tight together as she recalled the too-recent sight of the amputation. “And…” she faltered as the tide of green energy spilled from Kokyrie’s hands across the wounded shoulder of the Ixa’ness, but her eyes glinted brightly as the amazoninan warrior tried to rise.

“No, you did very well, Kyrie!” Jel clasped her hands together, and nodded her head eagerly. “Yes you, um, perhaps used a bit much you could have saved for someone else. But that will still heal her, whilst not getting enough enough power out wouldn’t have… ” she started to explain, making points on her fingers as she tried to recall what Embessi had taught her long ago… and then she flushed crimson as Jel realised what she was doing, and scampered over to start treating another fresh arrival…
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