06-12-2017, 11:21 PM
The Sage vaulted over the edge of the porthole, tumbling into the dimly lit room with the surprised dwarf. He had managed to escape the bolas, but he was not expecting an attacker to reach him in here. The Sage scrambled to his feet, fatigue ebbing in the face of desperation. He needed to get to the top of the deck before the imperials blew the engine block. The Sage rushed towards the dwarf, dueling cane out, and unleashed a rapid series of strikes that the dwarf could only endure as he pulled out a long knife. The burly seaman settled into a comfortable crouch and began to take experimental swipes at the Sage.
The Sage didn’t have time for this kind of a fight. He dove feet-first, feigning a kick at one of the dwarf’s knees. The sailor had the wherewithal to evade the attack, and took a swipe at the Sage as he came through, though it was deflected off the Sage’s dueling cane. He kept the momentum going, swiping once at the dwarf as he sprinted away towards the stairs. Again, the dwarf dodged, then cried out in surprise after his suddenly fleeing opponent.
The Sage raced down the rows of cannons and supplies, his foe trying to keep up on shorter legs. The ceiling was low and cramped, but even slightly ducking the Sage managed to put distance between himself and his pursuer. The Dreadnought seemed remarkably empty of crewman, Only a skeleton crew. This ship isn’t ready yet. You shouldn’t have let that Imperial track you Daedlin. It’s going to cost you dearly. Only a few other dwarves looked up as he raced by, though had he taken much longer, he doubted he would have managed to slip past them. He would need to do something about the now several dwarves that were chasing him. There was a crack and the splintering of wood as a flintlock shot pinged off a nearby crate.
Reaching the stairs, the Sage sprinted up them, barely glancing at the floors as he ran. Another shot exploded through the wood directly where his foot was about to land, causing him to jerk his momentum backwards and almost stumble back down the flight of stairs. He wheeled around, noting several barrels nearby that he hoped he could shift. He grabbed one and heaved, knocking it to its side. A foamy ale began to seep from the top of the barrel as he strained against it, finally managing to send it careening down the stairs after his opposition. A chorus of surprised cursing followed the resulting crash, and the Sage raced up the rest of the stairs without opposition.
He reached the deck of the ship and came to a quick halt. Standing there, arms crossed on the hilts of two flintlock pistols, was Carmen, the pirate who’s ship he had sunk in a desperate bid to avoid… What was it she was suggesting anyway, just planning to kill me? he was admittedly confused as to her initial plan, since killing a prime like him seemed like a pointless waste of resources. She looked a lot more haggard then he remembered too, her outfit was faded and her signature red hat drooped slightly more than she likely wanted it to.
“No response?” She asked with a smirk, “Are you so surprised to see me again?” staring him down with a visible glow of exultation.
“Not particularly. I’m afraid you’ve overplayed your hand.” The Sage said straightening slightly. The Imperial ship was barely visible from his position, but he could see its collision course. He needed to make sure that nothing else stopped that from happening.
“It was the touch with wall that gave it away.” He said nonchalantly, dropping into a more relaxed posture, the polar opposite of Carmen’s keyed-up anticipation. She didn’t look pleased. “Not many people are idiotic enough to put themselves in a wooden box. It can lead to a bad case of drowning. An accomplished smuggler like your dwarf friend,” he gestured towards Daedlin who was out of easy earshot at the helm of the ship, “wouldn’t suggest that as a first course of action of his own initiative.”
He shrugged, waiting for Carmen to interject. She seemed to have been utterly derailed, her anticipation giving way to confusion and hesistation.
“Then why did you let…” she trailed off as she began to put pieces of the puzzle together. Too late, I’m afraid. The Sage thought with a hint of smug satisfaction. She pulled out both flintlocks, training them on the Sage. “Even so you can’t stop me!”
The Sage opened his mouth to protest, and two bullets flashed, one skimming his shoulder and the other punching into his gut. His retort died in his gasp and he sucked in a sharp breath, doubling over in surprise and pain.
“I said YOU CAN’T stop me!” Carmen yelled, the look in her eyes growing wild, “You got on board somehow, but you won’t get past me! We’ve learned this already! I’m better than you!”
The Sage winced as he straightened back up, his strange inky blood was already starting to pool in the holes, slowly pushing the metal ball back out. “How much Omnilium did it cost you to summon this vessel?” he asked, his tone more serious than before. A bullet wound did that.
Carmen looked unsettled by his question, and she fingered her smoking guns. She wouldn’t be able to reload the flintlocks quickly, but they both had to know that her pointing the unloaded weapons at him made her look foolish. She wasn’t threatening to kill him with those blades on the end of the pistols, was she?
“It doesn’t matter.” She said after a moment of silence, “You can’t stop it! This Ship is the strongest on the sea!”
The Sage gave a sort of half cough half laugh as the metal ball dropped out of his repaired gunshot wound. Carmen stared at it as the Sage planted his dueling cane on the floor of the deck. “Strongest in the sea? That’s a claim that would need some testing, my dear!” He could hear several of the crew waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Clearly Carmen had ordered them not to interfere. “Or was that what this little excursion was? The Imperial Galleon certainly threw a catch in those spokes.”
“But we handled it!” Carmen retorted angrily. “You snuck on board this ship to avoid sinking with the others!” The Sage just shook his head.
“No, I snuck on board this ship to make sure I was sinking with the others.” He said with an even simplicity.
There was a horrible sound of splintering wood, as the trading vessel struck directly into the engine of the dreadnought, spraying fire and splintering wood. The deck rocked less than the Sage would have hoped, neither he nor Carmen had to do more than take a step or two keep their footing. Daedlin swore loudly and abandoned the wheel, running to the edge of the boat to see how bad the damage was. Carmen watched the Sage, who gave no signs of any intended action, then risked a glance back at Daedlin
“How bad is it?” She called with a noticeable edge. The Dwarf looked grim
“we’re taking on water!” he shouted running towards the stairs. His crew raced to try and combat the damage, He fixed the Sage with a hard glare as he passed “What did you have them do, you madman! Set their own ship on fire?”
Actually, no. the Sage thought, That one wasn’t my idea. He shrugged. “well we had a hunch…” he fixed Carmen with a significant glance, and the color drained from her face.
The Sage didn’t have time for this kind of a fight. He dove feet-first, feigning a kick at one of the dwarf’s knees. The sailor had the wherewithal to evade the attack, and took a swipe at the Sage as he came through, though it was deflected off the Sage’s dueling cane. He kept the momentum going, swiping once at the dwarf as he sprinted away towards the stairs. Again, the dwarf dodged, then cried out in surprise after his suddenly fleeing opponent.
The Sage raced down the rows of cannons and supplies, his foe trying to keep up on shorter legs. The ceiling was low and cramped, but even slightly ducking the Sage managed to put distance between himself and his pursuer. The Dreadnought seemed remarkably empty of crewman, Only a skeleton crew. This ship isn’t ready yet. You shouldn’t have let that Imperial track you Daedlin. It’s going to cost you dearly. Only a few other dwarves looked up as he raced by, though had he taken much longer, he doubted he would have managed to slip past them. He would need to do something about the now several dwarves that were chasing him. There was a crack and the splintering of wood as a flintlock shot pinged off a nearby crate.
Reaching the stairs, the Sage sprinted up them, barely glancing at the floors as he ran. Another shot exploded through the wood directly where his foot was about to land, causing him to jerk his momentum backwards and almost stumble back down the flight of stairs. He wheeled around, noting several barrels nearby that he hoped he could shift. He grabbed one and heaved, knocking it to its side. A foamy ale began to seep from the top of the barrel as he strained against it, finally managing to send it careening down the stairs after his opposition. A chorus of surprised cursing followed the resulting crash, and the Sage raced up the rest of the stairs without opposition.
He reached the deck of the ship and came to a quick halt. Standing there, arms crossed on the hilts of two flintlock pistols, was Carmen, the pirate who’s ship he had sunk in a desperate bid to avoid… What was it she was suggesting anyway, just planning to kill me? he was admittedly confused as to her initial plan, since killing a prime like him seemed like a pointless waste of resources. She looked a lot more haggard then he remembered too, her outfit was faded and her signature red hat drooped slightly more than she likely wanted it to.
“No response?” She asked with a smirk, “Are you so surprised to see me again?” staring him down with a visible glow of exultation.
“Not particularly. I’m afraid you’ve overplayed your hand.” The Sage said straightening slightly. The Imperial ship was barely visible from his position, but he could see its collision course. He needed to make sure that nothing else stopped that from happening.
“It was the touch with wall that gave it away.” He said nonchalantly, dropping into a more relaxed posture, the polar opposite of Carmen’s keyed-up anticipation. She didn’t look pleased. “Not many people are idiotic enough to put themselves in a wooden box. It can lead to a bad case of drowning. An accomplished smuggler like your dwarf friend,” he gestured towards Daedlin who was out of easy earshot at the helm of the ship, “wouldn’t suggest that as a first course of action of his own initiative.”
He shrugged, waiting for Carmen to interject. She seemed to have been utterly derailed, her anticipation giving way to confusion and hesistation.
“Then why did you let…” she trailed off as she began to put pieces of the puzzle together. Too late, I’m afraid. The Sage thought with a hint of smug satisfaction. She pulled out both flintlocks, training them on the Sage. “Even so you can’t stop me!”
The Sage opened his mouth to protest, and two bullets flashed, one skimming his shoulder and the other punching into his gut. His retort died in his gasp and he sucked in a sharp breath, doubling over in surprise and pain.
“I said YOU CAN’T stop me!” Carmen yelled, the look in her eyes growing wild, “You got on board somehow, but you won’t get past me! We’ve learned this already! I’m better than you!”
The Sage winced as he straightened back up, his strange inky blood was already starting to pool in the holes, slowly pushing the metal ball back out. “How much Omnilium did it cost you to summon this vessel?” he asked, his tone more serious than before. A bullet wound did that.
Carmen looked unsettled by his question, and she fingered her smoking guns. She wouldn’t be able to reload the flintlocks quickly, but they both had to know that her pointing the unloaded weapons at him made her look foolish. She wasn’t threatening to kill him with those blades on the end of the pistols, was she?
“It doesn’t matter.” She said after a moment of silence, “You can’t stop it! This Ship is the strongest on the sea!”
The Sage gave a sort of half cough half laugh as the metal ball dropped out of his repaired gunshot wound. Carmen stared at it as the Sage planted his dueling cane on the floor of the deck. “Strongest in the sea? That’s a claim that would need some testing, my dear!” He could hear several of the crew waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Clearly Carmen had ordered them not to interfere. “Or was that what this little excursion was? The Imperial Galleon certainly threw a catch in those spokes.”
“But we handled it!” Carmen retorted angrily. “You snuck on board this ship to avoid sinking with the others!” The Sage just shook his head.
“No, I snuck on board this ship to make sure I was sinking with the others.” He said with an even simplicity.
There was a horrible sound of splintering wood, as the trading vessel struck directly into the engine of the dreadnought, spraying fire and splintering wood. The deck rocked less than the Sage would have hoped, neither he nor Carmen had to do more than take a step or two keep their footing. Daedlin swore loudly and abandoned the wheel, running to the edge of the boat to see how bad the damage was. Carmen watched the Sage, who gave no signs of any intended action, then risked a glance back at Daedlin
“How bad is it?” She called with a noticeable edge. The Dwarf looked grim
“we’re taking on water!” he shouted running towards the stairs. His crew raced to try and combat the damage, He fixed the Sage with a hard glare as he passed “What did you have them do, you madman! Set their own ship on fire?”
Actually, no. the Sage thought, That one wasn’t my idea. He shrugged. “well we had a hunch…” he fixed Carmen with a significant glance, and the color drained from her face.
If history is to become legend, it first must be recorded.