"Aye cap'n," said Davek. "Aye captain!" Korelyn said simultaneously, and then two of them went through the process of ordering the other sailors below-decks. The surface of the Seawolf was soon bare save for Skye herself, the fearsome woman covered in a concealing brown cloak.
The pirate vessel drew up alongside the other ship slowly, allowing Skye a few moments to observe the other vessel's crew. Unlike the last bunch she'd attacked, they all wore the same uniforms and seemed to have the same equipment. Each of them had a saber hanging from a black leather belt that held up their crisp blue trousers, and thick blue overcoats each with some sort of insignia on the shoulders signifying each man's rank. On the bridge of the ship was a man clad in a full suit of blue steel armor, a rare sight at sea, and he was the one who answered Skye, in a firm, commanding tone; "Under what flag do you sail? Imperial, Privateer, or Local?"
He ignored both the desperation in Skye's tone and anything she might say until she had answered those questions, and when she did the speaker brazenly demanded; "What ails you?"
Skye was not impressed by these uniformed men. In fact, she frowned upon it. It just meant they were mindless fools unable to think for themselves or to stand up for their own freedom and liberty. She didn't let them see her disdain though, and the hood further helped to hide any sort of expression she may have had. The captain kept up her act of an earnest sailor, thinking quickly through the implications of the man's question.
"Oh thank you thank you! Gods praise thee good sir! We fly under the flag of the privateer. Please gods help us. Our poor captain and the whole crew, they've been overrun with the foul mindrot! They lay below decks at this very moment praying for recovery because that's all we can do out here. Please! We need a doctor, medicine, a blessing of the gods, Elric perhaps? Anything good sir! We're at your mercy! I'm sure the captain would be ever so grateful..."
There was a pause, a look of noticeable contempt on the armored commander's face, before he said; "We will send over our physician to give what aid we can, escorted by four of my sailors. They are not to be touched, as we will not risk the contagion spreading to our vessel!" The man climbed down from the bridge, which Skye noted was guarded by a pair of guards also clad in metal armor at each of the two stairways leading up, before heading bellowdecks. He emerged once again a few minutes later alongside a thin figure clad head to toe in thick clothing, complete with a plague mask with a long beak. The doctor carried a bag under one arm, and was followed by a quartet of men in standard uniforms wearing wraps around their faces.
At any point, Skye could signal for the ambush to begin, but if she waited the doctor would clamber across a gang plank that was quickly lowered between the two vessels, followed by his four guards. "Where is your captain miss? I'd like to treat the officers first before seeing to the enlisted men," the doctor said in a muffled voice as they approached Skye, their sex indeterminate even to the half vampire's sharpened senses. From there, Skye was free to reply however she wished.
Skye raised her hands to placate the opposing captain. "Why we wouldn't dream of such a thing good sir! I assure you that you're doctor will be safe and sound in my care." That was the only thing Captain Skye was willing to assure this disgusting filth wrapped in sugar coating. The SeaWolf could use a doctor after all!
The masquerading vampire almost laughed when she saw the doctor's get up as well as the masks worn by the sailor escort. She did manage to keep a calm, welcoming expression on her face however. Skye prided herself on being quite the actor when she needed to be. It was something of a hobby really. As the masked escort came upon her, Skye clasped her hands over her hips and smiled. "Thank you for coming so quickly! Please come. We haven't much time. The captain will be so relieved to see you I'm sure."
Hunched over in her cloak a bit, Skye led the group toward one of the entrances to the lower decks before stopping and turning toward the doctor with an apologetic look on her face, really very much too apologetic. "This won't be a sight for the faint hearted my dears. I'm afraid that most of us will be beyond your care, as skilled as you may be. Our depravity is just that great you see."
Smirk curling at her lip and a gleam in her fiery copper eyes, Skye suddenly grabbed the doctor, pulling him or her back against her fiercely, securing them with her arm, and thrusting the point of her badarian revolver against the doctor's head. "One false move and the doctor dies noble filth!" If her men hadn't yet started charging out of the decks, Skye would roll her eyes. "Don't just stand there and enjoy the show! ATTACK!"
Chaos reigning on the SeaWolf now, Skye shifted her eyes toward the doctor in her grasp looking prepared to enter into a nuclear wasteland. The captain couldn't help but smirk. They were either super prepared or afraid with such an outfit, maybe even a little of both. Of course, Skye didn't really know what the mindrot was, just taking Davek's word for it that the plan would work better that way. Maybe even she would be afraid enough to wear a mask like that. Somehow she doubted it, but one never knows. Skye couldn't help but feel curious who exactly she was holding hostage and by extension offering clemency. "Let's see what we have here, hmmm?" She whispered as the arm wrapped around the doctor's shoulders and neck slipped fingers up under the mask, quickly pulling it off, revolver still pressed on their head the whole time.
Skye: HP = 74, PP = 38, EP = 64, Status = Fine, Grappling
Rolls
Attack: Hit. Yon doctor is grappled.
Twenty pirates against four guys isn't really worth rolling in my eyes, so I won't bother doing so.
"I'm sure I've encountered worse," the muffled voice of the suit-clad medicine person replied at Skye's false warning, their lack of suspicion readily evident even if the armor clad man was still glaring at her from across the gap between their two ships. "Just open the door so that-" the doctor began, but was then cut off as Skye suddenly grabbed him, pulling them against herself and pressing a gun to their head. They went still suddenly, and the captain of the other vessel immediately shouted; "Traitorous curs! I knew it! Ready the guns!"
Skye's men storming up from below-decks and making short work of the four men sent to guard the person now held in Skye's arms. "Wh...What are you doing?" the muffled voice asked as Skye moved to pry off their beaked mask, and when the protective garment came away it took the hood with it, the two pieces attached. When it came away, Skye found herself holding a person with auburn hair, and a pair of fox-like fuzzy ears sprouting from the top of their head in the same color. They had fairly soft, angular features that edged towards feminine but were still near enough to androgynous that Skye couldn't tell for certain whether they were male or female. Not until they spoke, their frightened squeaking far too feminine to be coming from a man, did Skye realize that it was a woman that she was holding; "No! Don't show them... Are you trying to get me killed?"
Her men, having mopped up the four men on their deck in short order, started toward the gang plank, but were forced to dice for cover as a volley of rifle fire came from their opponents. Bullets splintered over the deck of the Sea Wolf, some even coming within a few feet of where Skye stood with the doctor, and several of her men went down under the hail of gunfire. Davek came bounding up the steps, pausing momentarily as he spotted Skye and turning to her while moving so as to not block the way up as more of Skye's crew came pouring out onto the deck only to take cover as another sweep of rifle fire came sweeping across. "Captain! We've got to thin their numbers or we'll get shot to pieces!" he said, and then turned his gaze to the strange woman that Skye was holding, "What are we going to do with her?"
Skye's men, in the meantime, were starting to shoot back at their foes haphazardly, but they were using handguns and handcannons, weapons ill suited to accuracy compared to the rifles of the men that were crouched beside their own railing while others scurried about behind them, readying their cannons. The man in armor was still standing on the deck, his gaze fixed on Skye even as bullets occasionally sailed his way. One even pinged off of his armor, bouncing off of the steel plate harmlessly, something that shouldn't have happened given that the rounds had been made to pierce heavy armor. The armored guards also stood by the stairs despite the carnage and the rounds that occasionally smacked into the wood around them, likely the man's personal guards. Lightning flashed overhead, and thunder cracked the sky as it began to rain harder, the sea beneath them beginning to roil and tumble more furiously than it had during their approach.
Skye's eyes widened when she saw the furry fox ears atop her captive's head. The mystery doctor turned out to be more interesting looking than she imagined! "You're my doctor now Foxxy. Don't worry about your little ears or that silly oaf of a man in the blue armor. He is going to die. No one will harm you so long as you're completely loyal to me. Now don't try anything stupid."
With a quick twirl, the half-vampire pulled the doctor behind her, shielding the foxgirl from the battle with her superhuman body. Skye's hand was still fixed to the doctor's wrist to keep her from running away. Eyes darting around her, the Captain called out to one of her crew. "Jenkins! Come here! Take the doctor here to Bertrand below decks. Tell him to watch her, but she isn't to be harmed then return to the battle."
Foxgirl secured and handed off to Jenkins, Skye's gaze turned back to the burgeoning battle about her. Even though they'd taken the Gerestral ship by surprise, the Captain could tell that her men were at the disadvantage. They were pirates, mercenaries, and brawlers. Strong, frightful, and cunning, but ill-prepared for a fire fight with trained, outfitted soldiers. Unfortunately for the Gerestral ship, pirates do not play fair. Skye had an idea that she thought could tip the odds in her favor.
"Aye Davek, but we're just getting started!" Skye replied to her first mate, signature crooked smirk curling at her lips. "I'm going to give them a taste of the swarm. Order a volley of grape shot to thin the enemy ranks once I'm upon them then charge in while they're distracted. See if you and the stronger men can push some of those blue armored bloaks into the sea." Skye grinned wickedly, copper eyes beginning to gleam. "They'll sink like a stone!"
Skye's stare burned right back into the eye sockets of the opposing captain. Shedding Davek's ratty cloak, the bandanna-clad redhead pointed right at the armored man, slowly dragging her finger right across her tan-skinned neck - from ear to ear. As she taunted him, Skye's eyes suddenly went totally black like a pair of onyx stones.
Smirking like a crazed woman, Skye's newly onyx eyes continued to stare at the man blankly. She thrust her hand toward the stormy sky, a single vampire bat appearing there in a puff of black smoke. It fluttered there for a moment, flapping its wings wildly and sent an ear piercing shriek into the night. The shriek sparked a cloud of rippling black smoke that engulfed Skye's whole body until she disappeared into the rain and darkness.
The black cloud grew amorphous as it shot up into the pelting rain, filled with a horrible buzzing sound and hundreds of flapping, leathery wings. As the cloud hurtled upwards, it spread out until it dwarfed the entirety of the Sea Wolf. Spread out across the sky, it became obvious that the cloud was composed of thousands of bees, giant wasps, hornets as well as hundreds of shrieking bats. The swarm hovered for a short moment as if taunting the opposing captain when it short forward toward the Gerestral ship, descending right at the captain and the rest of his soldiers!
It filled the enemy ship with a cacophony of shrieks and buzzings, terrorizing the pampered noble enemy with the size and number of scary creatures. Stinging and scratching, the wasps, hornets, and bats swarmed about as many enemies, including the captain of the ship, as it could, potentially engulfing everyone on the deck that carried a weapon. They went mainly for the heads, necks, and shoulders, of the enemies, only sparing those that were unarmed and seemed non-threatening. Tonight, House Gerestral would experience a new kind of rain, terrible and demonic, filled with a legion of bats and bees.
Skye assumes form of the swarm and then provides her distraction. Grapeshot sweeps the enemy deck, killing or wounding a full third of the enemy. Her troops come storming over during the confusion.
Resistance: Enemy wins, Skye is reverted back to her normal form.
The fox girl's ears gave a quick twitch when Skye referred to her as "Foxxy," but she paled and stiffened at the half vampire's casual proclamation that the man in the blue armor was going to die. It was in that state that she was handed off to one of Skye's crewmen, Jenkins, who responded with a crisp "Aye captain!" before grabbing the terrified woman by the arms and manhandling her down the stairs and out of the line of fire. Luckily, Skye didn't end up having to take any bullets for the comparatively fragile physician, and thus turned to Davek with her crooked grin without a blemish on her despite the chaotic exchange of gunfire that her crew and the men across the plank continued in the background. Davek, ducking as a dozen or so rounds smacked into the wood in his general area, dove for cover before giving Skye a nod. "Aye captain!" he said, and then turned to the crew and barked; "Get a volley of surprise ready boys, we're gonna clean the deck on the captain's signal!"
It could be said that the Gerestral sailors were clearly disciplined and experienced men, skilled at both seacraft and combat, that much was plain to see. Their officers, crouched out of the line of fire, commanded them sharply and efficiently while their captain watched unphased by the battle unfolding before his eyes. They were brave men all, perhaps a match for the courage of Skye's own soldiers even. That much was clear.
But.... when lightning split the sky and thunder rumbled angrily above them, and the two entangled vessels tossed and turned upon the rough seas, even the bravest of hearts were made more vulnerable. The armored figured turned his head slightly as Skye gazed at him, and the man sneered back at her dismissively as she shrugged off her cloak. There was no fear on his face, not even a trace of it even when she conjured the single bat in her upraised hand, accompanied as it was by its puff of black smoke.
But.... When lightning spit the sky and thunder rumbled angrily overhead, and Skye transformed into that horrible legion of shrieking and buzzing things as the last rays of the sun illuminated the cloud of horror that descended upon them.... Well, there were few men who could handle that in all the world, and apparently none of them were on the Gerestral's ship. The soldiers screamed and flailed, many breaking from cover in order to try and dive below-decks, but none made it time. Even if they had, that wouldn't have protected them from Skye, and even the officers were caught in the vision of hell that suddenly descended upon the unsuspecting soldiers. The men in blue armor alone kept a degree of composure, each of them quickly donning a helm that managed to protect them from the brunt of it, and for some reason even Skye's smallest insects couldn't seem able to get into the armor of the other vessel's captain.
The sudden alleviation of the fire that had kept her men pinned down initially gave them a few moments of free reign in which to load up and take aim, which they did with startling efficiency as the hapless bluecoats were unaware, Davek's voice drowned out by the buzzing and shrieking and screaming. They didn't drown out the sudden roar as the Sea Wolf's canons let loose, accompanied by a twenty one gun salute. Flame and iron tore across the ship, carving holes in wood and flesh alike, and half of the men present on the deck dropped in gruesome eruptions of blood, the few pieces of her supernatural form that were sundered by the explosion of fire no real loss to Skye. Their way cleared, Skye's soldiers charged across the gangplank under cover of the swarm of dark pestilence that she had become, laying waste to those few that still stood in their way and moving to take the top of the deck.
But then, a voice round out, crisp and clear above the descending chaos; "Rally! Don't let them take the deck!" It was the other captain, the man in the thick blue armor, and suddenly a burst of magic emanated from her, reaching out and surrounding his vessel. For a moment Skye had no idea what he'd just done, but then she felt as if she had suddenly been... Constricted, the sensation akin to being caught in a net. And that net tightened quickly, dragging all of the separated portions of her inwards and forcing them together. Within only a few moments the swarm was gone, and Skye stood whole in the center of the blood-soaked deck, reverted by force to her human form by the older man's magic. "Repel borders! Now!" he called, and raised a sword that gleamed with bright blue light high into the air, joining the last rays of light emanating from the setting sun in illuminating the carnage.
There was a roar from below, and doors burst open as more soldiers came charging out of the three stairwells leading down into the belly of the ship, bayonets affixed to the ends of their rifles. They came largely from the left where many of Skye's own sailors were ready to meet them, and Davek quickly shouted; "Plug the hole! don't let them surround us!" Her men surged to his call, moving to form barriers around the two stair wells to keep them from re-securing the deck.
Skye, who was caught more or less in the middle, was left with many options in the brief moment of peace that she enjoyed at the eye of the storm. She could easily link with her own men and slaughter her way below-decks, clearing out those below before coming back up to deal with the clean up. Of course, while the brunt of the opposing men were coming from the left where most of her men were ready to meet them with blades and hooks drawn, there were still a few groups left after the barrage from the Sea Wolf's cannons, and the men streaming in from the right were linking up with them. Though the barrage had taken out many of the Gerestral officers, enough were left to at least direct if not control their men, and that could spell trouble for her own sailors.
Even so, only two of them captain's personal guard remained on deck, one of them wounded and limping, and they were staying near the stairwells leading up onto the deck. The enemy sailors seemed happy to give Skye herself a wide berth, still gazing on her in fear and horror, and she could probably charge through them to go for the guards. If she could eliminate their leader her foes might easily break before her and her men, and at the very least he wouldn't be doing any more magic (or speaking) if she went up there and cut his throat. Whatever she wanted to do, Skye would have to decide and execute on it quickly, as the battle was about to be joined in full bloody melee all around her within the next few seconds.
After throwing the cannonball, use Full Defense mode.
Bats screeching and flapping, wasps and hornets buzzing and stinging, Skye's mind had been mostly occupied by providing direction to the swarm. It didn't stop her from noticing the sudden spark of new emanating magic about her though. At first she was confused, but the Captain quickly felt the constricting sensation about her. It pulled at the extremities of the swarm, tugging them back inside until with a final last distressed screech of a flapping bat, voicing its displeasure at the magic, Skye appeared in a poof of black smoke.
Copper eyes slowly staring about her, burning with hatred, Skye crouched on the deck. She let out a vicious hiss, baring her fangs at anyone around her. The setback, though annoying, was only that - a setback. It made her even more determined to win and to make those that resisted her to pay. And they would pay. She'd make sure of that.
Quickly assessing the situation as the battle developed around her, Skye decided that she needed to take care of the captain's personal guards, perhaps even create a distraction for the coming reinforcements while her men pushed on below decks creating havoc. As long as there was no order on the ship, the pirates had the advantage. They were the only resident anarchists after all.
Spying a loose cannonball nearby one of the ship's cannon's Skye slinked off to pick it up. Feeling the heavy ball with her fingers, Skye's toned muscles rippled. Then as soon as she found an opening, she moved straight toward a stack of barrels behind the guards, just beneath the bridge. At a run, Skye pulled the cannonball behind her head and launched it forward like she was throwing a soccer ball. She hoped to topple the barrels on top of the guards and any other reinforcements in that area and generally create chaos.
Skye: HP = 74, PP = 38, EP = 59/64, Status = Fine, +32 Body (Fireheart, from Tonja)
Skye's hurled cannonball smacked into the stack of barrels, shattering one and causing the whole tower to collapse and begin rolling out onto the deck. The soldiers on the right hand side of the ship (from the Sea Wolf) were caught completely unawares, having not suspected such a tactic, and both of the knight's primary guards were buried under a pile of barrels. Several other men were knocked down as well, but a half dozen still blocked the pirate captain's path to the bridge, having avoided the cascading barrels. That is... Until an orb of flame floated across the water and exploded just beyond the second mast, turning the dozen or so enemy sailors into piles of charred meat and setting the sails aflame. The armored man turned his gaze toward Skye's ship, and there at the railing were the two demon sisters.
Locked arm in arm and completely naked save for their hats, their boots, and their eye patches, the two demons were grinning widely at the carnage on the other deck, and the second sister flicked a hand at Skye. Power suddenly exploded through her as the demon's spell took hold, granting her enhanced strength and speed, and the demonic sorceress called out; "Don't use it all at once captain!"
Her men, now no longer flanked, were holding the deck admirably and even pushing down into the hold, the sounds of the wild melee now occurring below audible from the stairwell and the main loading hatch. The knight who seemed to command this vessel reached over his back and drew a long blade, one that he took up in both hands as he descended the stairs. Kicking aside a stray barrel, the man strode over one of his unconscious guards as he advanced on Skye, muttering beneath his breath all the while; "If you want some thing done right... You've got to do it yourself!" Even in that armor the man seemed to be fairly spry, and his face was now hidden behind the facemask of his helm, but she still had plenty of time to close in and get in the first strike. The deck was scattered with dead men and broken barrels, and its surface was slick with blood, thus making the footing very unstable.
"Strike! Haha!" Skye exclaimed, pumping her fist victoriously from the outcome of her cannonball toss. As the barrels topples onto the guards, the captain grinned. The sudden explosion of fire that followed startled her a little and made her jump but only for a moment. When she saw the sorceresses there on the Sea Wolf, Skye rolled her eyes. "You sure took your sweet time to get your lazy asses out here!" She called out, but the smirk on her face suggested the captain wasn't really that upset.
She was even less upset when she started to feel the fireheart boost flowing through her veins. Skye rolled her shoulders, flexed her arms, and stared tauntingly toward the approaching captain as he bemoaned the apparent incompetency of his soldiers. She circled him, walking carefully on the slick deck, copper eyes constantly watching his every move, smirk growing as she approached. "Afraid you're going to get hurt without that armor? It looks ridiculous ya know!? I'm just wearing a t-shirt and pants, and I bet you won't even give me a scratch!"
Just when it looked like Skye might not draw her weapon at all, her hand suddenly shot like lightning to the hilt. She swung out her scimitar in a twirling motion to try to disarm the opposing captain. If it didn't work, she'd counter with yet another disarm attempt and then follow with a strike toward the vulnerable areas of his armor if there were any. If she managed to disarm him, Skye would quickly kick at the sword to try to knock it off the deck...maybe even into the ocean!
(Lightning Strikes - Disarm - Death from the Draw: Use the first two strikes to try to disarm and the third for a regular attack. If the first disarm works, follow with two attacks. Kick the sword away).
If I'm calculating things right Skye should have 60 dodge if he has no weapon and 64 dodge if he has a weapon (Duelist/Fencer)
Skye: HP = 74, PP = 38, EP = 59/64, Status = Fine, +32 Body (Fireheart, from Tonja)
Rolls
Skye strikes!
Attacks: Disarm Attempt Hits
Resistance: Skye wins, disarming him and knocking his sword off of the deck.
Attacks: Her other tow attacks both hit.
Damage: 6 + 6 + 20 + 16 + 2 + 4 - 24 = 30 damage per hit. Total of 60 damage.
The captain, disarmed, responds using Leech Life X = 11,
Attack: Hits everyone except for Skye.
Damage: 3 + 1 = 4 * 11 = 44 damage.
Six of Skye's crewmen are killed, and he regains 2 * 11 * 6 = more than 60, so just 60.
"We were busy!" Sonja called back, and Tonja finished for her; "Just following your orders captain~ Dear Felicia won't be troubling you for a while!" The opposing captain came to a halt as Skye began to circle him, remaining in a steady position and simply watching her. It was impossible for her to tell at any given moment where his eyes were, but his footing remained sure despite the blood-slicked deck. The sounds of her crew mopping up his down below and the continued cackling of the two demons as they sadistically cleaned up whoever was left of the enemy crew up top using spikes of black energy made for an energetic backdrop for their battle, but didn't prevent the two from conversing over their coming battle.
"This armor.... It's a symbol of status," he replied calmly, his voice cold, "It shows that I am above you.... In addition to keeping you from getting off a lucky strike. Such things do happen, of course, and one must be prepared~" He moved to deflect Skye's blade when she lunged in at him, thinking that she was trying to strike at him, but with a twirl her scimitar rang against his blade instead, twisting the weapon until he was forced to drop. Then, Skye simply stepped forward and kicked the discarded weapon away, the sound of it skidding off the deck and plopping into the ocean just barely audible beneath the roar of combat now coming largely from belowdecks.
Her second and third swing, courtesy of Tonja's magical boon, found chinks in his armor, and soon the armored man's blood joined that of his minions as her blade tore into his shoulder and then into his throat. Gurgling and stumbling backwards, the man seemed about to topple over backwards, dying as so many others had before him to Skye's skill, but then a deep, dark blackness suddenly encircled him. The emanating energy washed over Skye before she could stop it, but her own supernatural power and the potent fiery magic coursing through her allowed her to resist whatever effects it might have wrought. Unfortunately, her men were not possessed of her vampiric endurance, nor her demonic magics. Six of them, the nearest to Skye and the man that she was fighting, toppled over, their bodies utterly lifeless.
Her opponent straightened and cleared his throat, rubbing at the now healed wound, and then said; "That was quite impressive... But I'll have you know that those swords don't come cheaply!" He paused and glanced about, having killed the rest of his own men on deck, and thus he was now the center of attention for not only Skye, but the rest of her crew and the two demons standing on the deck of the Sea Wolf. "Hrm...." he said thoughtfully, "How would you like a job? You and yours seem surprisingly capable... A rare trait among thieves! And your clear demonstration of fairly.... Esoteric... Rituals is a rare bonus. I can pay you two thousand now, plus ten thousand when you get the job I have in mind for you done, as this lot has clearly failed to do. What say you, pirate?"
Merely rolling her eyes at Sonja and Tonja's excuses, Skye continued to slowly circle the opposing captain like a predator stalking its prey. Her eyes took in his whole form, watching especially his footwork. Her smirk grew, black energy spikes erupting around her, demons cackling, and rain dripping from her hood. None of it phased Skye because she knew the key part of the hunt was about to start, and she would prove that she was the huntress not the other way around.
The enemy captain's words didn't phase Skye in the least except to make the half-vampire's enigmatic smirk grow even wider. As he stood there gloating, Skye had found her moment to strike. And strike she did! Lunging forward as her fingers gripped the hilt of her scimitar, she swung it out, almost instantly wrenching the great sword from the enemy's grasp. To Skye it felt almost as if in slow motion but in reality the moment happened in a flash. It wasn't until Skye had kicked the sword into the ocean, whirling around for slashes at his shoulder and neck before she jumped back, malignant grin highlighting her features. "And that's what happens to those who feel themselves above me. First rule of combat, don't underestimate your opponent!"
She was about to lick the blood from her sword triumphantly when Skye noticed the swelling black energy surrounding the supposedly dying man. The cloaked redhead glanced about her in confusion, her smirk wavering. When she heard the last dying yelps and slumping collapses of her six dying men, Skye's eyes darkened, her smirk turning upside down into a scowl. It wasn't necessarily that Skye cared much for the crewmen that died, but they were still her men, and that meant she didn't take kindly to them being killed needlessly.
As she pulled back her hood, Skye glanced back to the demon sorceresses. "I'm going to need you for just a little bit longer Tonja, so don't run off yet!" She called out enigmatically, meaning to imply that she still wanted her to maintain the fireheart boost if she could. After that, Skye turned back to the defeated but still dangerous captain, arching an imperious eyebrow.
Lives do not come cheaply either my friend. Skye thought to herself darkly before continuing, her voice showing interest in the man's proposition. "Come now, if you wish to discuss business with me, won't you at least show me your face and tell me your name? It's only fair considering I freely show you mine. I must say though that you intrigue me. What mission could possibly be worth so much gold to you?"
Skye would wait for the man to respond to her question about the mission but regardless of his answer, she would reply by staring at him deeply, smirk twitching at her lip as her eyes turned to orbs of pure white, shining brightly like beacons on her otherwise tan face (gorgon's gaze). Someone who could kill 6 of Skye's men in one go was just too dangerous to let survive if it could be helped. Perhaps Skye would gladly take on the mission anyway if it suited her though!
Skye: HP = 74, PP = 38, EP = 54/64, Status = Fine, +32 Body (Fireheart, from Tonja)
Rolls
Resistance: Skye wins!
Skye gains 6 exp for successfully felling ye enemy captain and taking the ship for herself!
"Excellent... I knew you would be reasonable about this!" the armored man said smoothly, "But of course! It is only proper courtesy that a knight should remove his helmet in the presence of a lady...." Slowly, he reached up and removed his helmet, revealing a head that had been shaved bald save for a short stubble. His face was tanned and weathered, but it was impossible to accurately determine his age or origins through his features. A single scar ran down his left cheek, though it erred on the side of handsome rather than garish, and and a pair of sky blue eyes met Skye's with the ease and confidence that noblemen seemingly always looked upon others with.
"Now, as for the mission..." he began confidently while holding his helmet under one arm, "My task was to seek out a small island to the South and West of here! There is a man there, a madman, and I was tasked by my order to bring him to justice for the crimes of witchcraft and grave robbing. My father spared no expense for this, and I'm sure that he would gladly spare the coin for one who helped me in such a vital task! So long as the man I seek lives, he will continue to harm the innocent, backward villagers living on the island with him!"
He grinned broadly at Skye in a manner that he likely thought was charming, and it was about then that the vampire's eyes flashed white. His grin vanished, replaced by a horrified expression as his body began to harden into stone. He raised a hand and gazed at it for a moment, watching it turn to stone before his very eyes, and then looked up at Skye. "Interesting...."
His last words spoken, the captain of the enemy ship turned fully into a statue, just like the man she'd done the same to earlier that day. There were none of his own men left to see it, but with the death of their captain the crew of the opposing ship was as good as dead. They simply didn't know it yet. That said, Skye's crew had things well in hand already, and she could easily opt to start the looting early instead of going below-decks to finish off the remaining sailors. The captain's cabin was sitting across the deck from her, essentially unguarded unless there was someone hiding inside, and her own crew were now mostly beneath her feet, fighting and killing. She could issue orders to those still left on deck, though that currently didn't include any of her officers. Tonja and Sonja, seeing Skye victorious, began to dance in circles with glee, singing a pirate chanty as they flung themselves in circles. The sky rumbled and lightning flashed above, and the light drizzle turned suddenly into pelting rain, something that didn't seem to bother the dancing demons one bit.
The captain grinned widely as she watched her opponent slowly turn to stone, her eyes only reverting back to their usual copper when he was fully stone. Walking up to him with swagger, Skye patted the newly minted stone cheek of the statue. "Second rule of combat: Never trust a pirate! I might pay your friend a visit but to congratulate him on riling up your snobby family so much. Witchcraft is just my kind of thing!"
The battle was harder than she imagined for sure, but once again she was victorious. Skye grinned happily as she found one of her men on the deck, clapping him on the shoulder. "Find me a sledgehammer!" was all she said before moving to the railing where she called out to the demon sisters. "Tonja, Sonja! Good work! Come over here with me, so we can search the ship for loot together!"
Skye waited until her personal demon sorceresses came to join her before heading toward the Gerestral ship's captain quarters, wrapping an arm around the shoulders of each one as she went. "We've conquered a mighty fancy ship today. I wonder what kind of interesting treasures await us inside. Let's be the first to find out. Any guesses?"
The statue, unsurprisingly, offered no response to Skye's advice, and the man she turned to grinned and nodded, hurrying back to the Sea Wolf after he'd offered a quick; "Yes captain!" in response to her order. The two demons strode across the gang plank after the sailor had cleared it, the man slowing briefly to ogle the two naked beauties before going about his business while the sister, still nude and still smirking victoriously at her, moved to join their summoner. Skye felt the demon's magical boon leave her just as Tonja and Sonja reached her, and the latter said; "Nothing too difficult for you I expect, dear captain~ Will you be keeping him, or is such a gaudy garden ornament not to your tastes?" Tonja rolled her eyes at her sister's query, "What do you think the sledge hammer is for, dummy?"
Sonja blinked and then smirked sheepishly, "Ahhh.... I had expected she wanted it for, errr... Looting purposes!" Tonja rolled her eyes again as Skye embraced the duo, and the two of them wrapped an arm around the half-vampire's midsection. "Oh my favorite, treasure! Maybe we'll find something in our size!" Tonja said half jokingly, and Sonja quickly quipped; "I doubt he'd have anything that would look nice on either of us~ Unless he was hiding all of his jewelry in his quarters or something!"
As they strode over to the captains cabin, Tonja grinned mischievously and cooed; "Ooooh~ She's trying to get us all alone sister! I think we might be the plunder she's after today!" The more adventurous demon's hand slunk south of Skye's waist and gave her bottom a soft pinch before returning quickly to its earlier position, and Sonja just blushed and looked away.
The door into the captain's cabin wasn't locked, and the two demons proclaimed it clear with a quick glance, something that Skye agreed on by her own eyes. The room that they strode into was similar in many respects to the last captain's cabin that Skye had plundered, though it was a tad more sparse than the last. There was a bed, which Tonja immediately jumped upon while laughing, in the far left corner of the room, and there were shelves on the right that looked mostly empty. A cabinet stood in the far right corner, and a wooden desk stood in the center of the room. "Where would you have me search first captain?" the pink haired demoness asked quickly, pointedly ignoring her sister's antics on the bed. Tonja, in the meantime, was getting herself coiled up in the bed's sheets as she made herself a little nest, momentarily covering her nudity. "He likes his bed soft~ And it's so big! It must have been very expensive!"
Skye grinned as she wrapped her arms about the two demons. "Nah not too difficult at all Sonja. The trick is to out-think them. These panzy soldiers always play by the book, and a quite out-dated and well known book it be. We, on the other hand, have every option in the world available to us! Though I admit, performing all that black magick has made me kinda tired. I could go for some nice R&R when we get back to the ship, and maybe some blood... hmmm..."
The captain just smiled, rolling her eyes a bit as the demon sisters squabbled. Sometimes not saying anything was just the best course of action in situations like these! "Well if it's clothes and jewelry you want, I'm sure we can find something you like next time we dock nearby a big city. We should have enough money that's for sure, especially after this next adventure. Personally I was hoping to find more women aboard, but alas it seems more like a police ship than the luxury liner I hoped it might be."
Skye jumped slightly at the quick pinch, first looking surprised, then angry, then smirking devilishly. The captain responded with a quick, hard swat to Tonja's rear. "Silly girl, why should I have need to plunder you when you're already mine, heh." Skye smiled mischievously as she looked around the cabin, arching her eyebrow slightly at Tonja's excitement. The cabin seemed a bit sparse, but could still contain some treasures hiding around somewhere.. The captain smiled at Sonja and gave her a pat on the butt. "Why don't you try that cabinet to the far right lass?" Meanwhile Skye moved to the desk at the center of the room, starting to open the drawers to look through them, rolling her eyes at Tonja as she did so. "You could make your sexy ass useful over there and look under that bed you're rolling all around on."
Both demons emitted a soft glow from their eyes as Skye mentioned getting some R&R when they were back on the Seawolf, their grins broadening even as she mentioned blood, and it was obvious that both sisters would be happy to help her relax once their business on the other vessel was concluded. Later, Tonja received the swat on her rear in response to her pinch with a an inflated gasp, and her eyes rolled at Skye's words. "I know, but a girl can fantasize can't she?" the demoness quickly replied, smirking.
In the cabin, Sonja took her pat on the butt with a soft blush and nodded, "Right away captain!" She strode over and opened the thing, beginning to rifle through its contents while Skye went over to the desk. There were five drawers, a middle one and two on each side, plus a cabinet on the right side past the drawers. The left hand drawers were largely empty of anything of value unless Skye was looking to write a book, as they were filled with blank paper and assorted writing supplies, while the middle drawer contained a bit more of the latter plus some drafting and navigation tools. The top drawer on the right was empty, or at least so it seemed at first. Feeling along the ceiling of the drawer, she felt a piece of paper taped to the top, and when she withdrew it she found a letter that felt as if something heavy was inside of it. The cabinet and the bottom right drawer were both locked.
Tonja, in the meantime, had given a soft giggle at Skye's orders and curled up further within the blankets, momentarily acting as if she were going to ignore Skye's orders, before slowly crawling out of the bed and sinking to her knees. "Right away, captain~" she purred softly, arching her back as she bent down to check beneath the bed and making the already fairly suggestive pose far more erotic than was really necessary. Her bottom waved back and forth invitingly, the red marks on her pale skin still visible from when Skye had smacked her, but after a moment she paused and actually reached under the bed, withdrawing a small chest. "I wonder what's in here?" she said, curiously, but a moment of prying on hands on knees proved that the box was locked. "I can fix this~" she muttered with bemusement, preparing to cast a spell to open the box.
Sonja, in the meantime, had largely just turned up a bunch of men's clothing. She did pull out a small box of her own, however, one that was identical to the one that Tonja had recovered from underneath the bed, which proved to be likewise locked. "Why would he keep two of these in different places?" the pink-haired demoness asked curiously, and began doing much the same as her sister, preparing to simply magic open the box she'd found.
