A Scourge Known as the Attica (Thrandil)

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Elevie

Post by Elevie »

Elevie's head swivels around and she peers out in the direction Thrandil had indicated, then says calmly,

" Run down and tell the Captain or the bosun- if Mr. Spyer is there, you can let him know as well. Tell them she's coming up windward to the southeast- but coming up fast, nonetheless. She's tacking hard to port into the wind, and her sails look all out. Then get back up here fast as you can."

She glances at Dillon to confirm that he understands, then adds,

"Nice song, by the way. But we have other things to think of just now."
Thrandil

Post by Thrandil »

"Windward from southeast, coming up fast. Tacking hard to port, sails probably all out." Thrandil repeated. "I'll be right back... Jane... I hate that name, ya know, just like that Precious Dillon thing." he said and started to head back down as fast as he could, though making sure the descent of safe.

While on his way, he looked around to see if he could spot Spyer, Ryelock or the bosun in order to keep an eye on them and being able to find them quickly when he would be down.
Grant
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Post by Grant »

The bulk of the crew continued to scrub and clean the decks, a wash of sound and movement that brought the sleek ship to life down below and obscured any site of open planking in favor of broad, laboring backs. On the quarterdeck, only Rames stood in command, a silent and impassive figure as he leaned against the leeward rail and stared off into nothing, his face a mask of fatigue and boredom. At the helm were two other pirates, each carefully holding the wheel steady despite the Attica's heavy laboring in the near-reaching winds of the early morning.

Upon hearing Thrandil's report, the first mate nodded. "Aye, So'east it is, then," he responded, turning to bark orders at the helmsmen "Make yer course so'soeast." Turning back to Thrandil he pointed at the deck under his feet. "Jump down an wake the Captain. I reckon you'll have yer chance to speak w'im now, if you want."

In response to the Attica's new direction, the pirates lept into action, pulling yards around to run them virtually flat along the length of the ship, catching every ounce of thrust the light, contrary winds gave them. The ship leaned over on her larboard catheads to a regal, almost predatory angle and the water she shouldered out from her bow grew in violence as she began to gain speed. Just below the quarterdeck was the Captain's cabin, occupying most of the aftcastle of the sleek vessel.
Thrandil

Post by Thrandil »

Thrandil nodded to Rames and said "Aye sir!". As fast as he could he went to the Captain's cabin, trying to keep himself balanced on the deck. As he reached the door, he knocked hard twice and entered the cabin.

"Sir, I've come to wake you. We've spotted a ship and are heading on a course there now. South south east." the young elf said and closed the door behind him. "On a sidenote sir, would you mind me wearing the ring which shows my allegiance to... Puddin' Jane? The men probably won't recognise it anyway. It's about the least you could do for me. You know that her life is almost more important than anything else to me." he continued and looked expectantly at Ryelock.
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Post by Grant »

As the adhiel slipped into the Captain's quarters, he spotted Ryelock immediately, the tall, thin human running a whetstone across his weapons with careful attention. On the table before him was a sleek sabre, a thick cutlass, a boarding axe with a beaked counterweight, an adhiel war axe that once belonged to Draydis, and four daggers ranging from a palm blade to one that might have been a short sword.

"Aye, so'so'east, sure. An no, you can wear what booty you 'ave and what booty you earn...tis your right," he said, scraping the whetstone along the length of his sabre with scraping ching! "Be sure to take your bow to the tops with you, too, as you'll need it 'fore we close with 'em properly."

The Captain seemed to notice for once who it was that visited him, and all at once he stopped sharpening his blades. Turning his gaze over to the adhiel, he spoke again. "You'll look out for Jane, I hope. She's right fierce to be a proper pirate, but...well, lad, I was hopin' the others wouldn't find out about...who er what she is. Now that they know...they've 'eard you talkin' an there's been some scuttlebutt about her...well, you best keep an eye out for her. If'n the right minds should take it in their heads to ransom her, Spyer won't be enough to stop 'em, thick as 'e is. Do ye unnerstand me, boyo?"
Thrandil

Post by Thrandil »

Thrandil nodded. "Aye Captain. Thank you." he said.

As he talked about Elevie his expression turned grim. "Yes, I'll look out for her. Keep me posted around her and she'll be fine. As I said before, I'm staying because I have a mission to complete. While she won't come back with me, I'm staying to protect her. I do need to say that if any of your men try to hurt her or make her a captive, I'll fight till my last breath. Back to back with Spyer if I have to. Since they know what she is, and some might want to take it in their heads to take her hostage and ask ransom, maybe you could help me talking to her. It's for her safety to get back to Taquar, not to return her to her duties. Really Sir, as an Adhiel from Pan's Isle, I must say that I'm not really pleased with our Royal family to all extents, but I'll do for Jane what I can." he said
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Post by Grant »

The Captain only rarely looked up from his cache of weapons before him. "Very well. You should leap up to the tops, then. We're about to net our first catch of the day. When we tie up, be sure to take care of the archers they'll have in the tops. I don't care if you shoot them, cut their throats, or throw them to the decks below: just stop them from firing. And don't fall, or it'll be your last fight."

Somewhere in the distance, Thrandil could hear the sounds of a horn bleating out over the waters of the Mer. The horn was a deep, monotonous instrument that might have been more appropriate warning ships off of rocks or reefs, but there was no mistaking it's numerous, quick blasts this morning. The Attica was closing with it's prey, and the merchants were ready to put up as good a fight as they could.
Thrandil

Post by Thrandil »

"Aye sir. Noted. I'll be off then." Thrandil said to the Captain and quickly ran off again into the tops.

The sounds of the horns made his stomach stir. Never had he been in a fight as big as this, except in the Orc camp maybe, but even there, you'd say it wasn't this big, nor had the Adhiel ever been out fighting on sea. He didn't want to kill the innocent merchants, yet he would to be able to carry out his mission. That was what came first. He'd be the last man standing if need be.

Once he got back up in the rigging, he readied his bow, knocking an arrow and trying to get a steady aim before the other ship was within firing range. He'd need to get used to the wobbling of the waves. It'd make fighting, and especially aiming with his bow, easier.
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Post by Grant »

The Attica was no great place from which arrows might be fired. The masthead upon which Thrandril found purchase continued it's constant swaying and canting, moving some eight paces fore and aft with every break and at least four paces from one side to the other at the same time. In addition to this, the Attica was keeled to her port side, the wind pushing her forward through the waters of the Mer as well as leaning her over such that the adhiel guardsman was suspended over the water itself instead of the pitching, rolling deck.

In hopes of outmaneuvering the Attica, the merchantman turned to place the wind at her rearward quarter, running southeast towards the southern coast of the Mer which lay somewhere beyond the horizon. Their maneuver, while intelligent and expected, was inadequate to shake the pirate ship for long, for the Attica was half again as swift as it's prey and before long the vessel came within range of the heavy crossbows that lined the deck below.

At the course they maintained, the Attica would run up beside the Tripest...for that name was engraved upon her stern gallery...in only moments, but wooden arrow and iron bolt would fill the sky for several burns before this could happen. The defending merchants began shooting far too early, the bulk of their shot fell into the waters below save for a few of the heavy bolts which sunk into the clinkers below. Gazing upon the ship carefully, Thrandil could pick out several bow-equipped persons in the tops, each one firing wildly down upon the Attica's deck in hopes of scoring an early hit. All shots seemed quite wild given the unsteady decks of the ships, but what they lacked in accuracy was addressed in volley, for they seldom waited for one shot to land before they brought the next to hand.
Thrandil

Post by Thrandil »

Thrandil shaked his head. Desperate men... One should wait until the target is within range. If not, too many precious arrows get lost he thought.

Once he'd seen the archers in the tops, he tried to aim for the closest one. A careful aim, well, whatever you could call careful on a rocking ship, is what he tried to maintain until his target was in range. Then, all of a sudden, the Adhiel loosed his first arrow at his target. He already grabbed the second arrow and knocked that on his bow while his eyes followed the first one. If the man didn't fall, he'd have to shoot at him again, if not, he'd aim for the next target.
Grant
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Post by Grant »

There were few things that matched the shot Thrandil had to make from the tops of the pirate ship. While the vessel pitched and cantered like some massive, unbroken steed, there was a system to it...a measured predictability...that he could begin to anticipate in time. In addition to this, the Tripest was raked over by the wind in the same angle and at nearly the same rate as the Attica. To the adhiel guardsman, it was not entirely unlike fighting from the treetops in a very, very strong gale: the trees were leaning in the wind, all of them leaning in one direction.

The Tripest's upper yardarm had been cleared away for action, not unlike the Attica, and there were at least a dozen figures moving upon the spar. Fully half of these individuals were warriors armed with bows and large crossbows while the remainder were armed with nothing at all, those latter clearly more interested in sailing the vessel than any fighting at all. Of those warriors collected in the tops, Thrandil managed to strike one, his arrow sinking into the man's leg and driving through to the mast itself just beyond, the strike pinning the man in place for a time and drawing from him a howl of pain. In response, several heavy bolts sung through the air, the iron missiles jabbing out to shake the spar upon which Thrandil stood when they struck, each one delivering a shocking amount of force with their impact.

Down below, the voice of the Captain could be heard all over the ship. "Prepare to board to starb'erd!" he hollered as he brought the Attica near to the Tripest. The ships were closing quickly now, and while Thrandil's shot had little difficulty finding and striking targets, his opponents clung to the tops with fierce determination, fighting on despite his shafts protruding from their limbs and bodies. The yardarm itself upon which the adhiel worked reached well out to the Attica's side, and it was clear that the sail spar would collide and most likely entangle with the Tripest's rigging as well, locking the two ships together for a time and bringing him shockingly close to his opponents and their lethal crossbows that, until now, they had used with only marginal skill.
Thrandil

Post by Thrandil »

Thrandil looked at the men in awe. They must either be very desperate to win this fight or very determined Thrandil thought, No matter which, they're going down before I will. The adhiel prepared mentally for the collision and moved closer to the mast in order to grab it when the ships collided.

As long as he was able to, the young adhiel kept shooting the crossbowmen. The arrows did their work well, yet not well enough. As he kept on trying to get a better feel for the swaying, Thrandil aimed for their chests. He sure would have to train on combat on sea, but eventually he'd get a better aim anyway.

After the ships would collide, Thrandil would make his way down from the tops hastily, as he did not have the swords he was used to and didn't want to defend himself with a knife and a hook.
Grant
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Post by Grant »

As the distance closed between the two vessels, the missiles of the opposing sailors became more and more accurate. In addition, the bulk of the warriors in the tops of the Tripest...there were just under a dozen that could still fight...quickly turned their focus upon the adhiel, sending a hale of iron bolts that showered toward Thrandil and made his attempts to return fire very difficult indeed. One of the massive, iron bolts struck the mainyard crosstree tackle with enough force to rattle the heavy wood beneath the guardsman's feet, severing some of it's frappings and causing the mainyard to shift downward suddenly as if it were threatening to fall upon the crowded deck below.

But there was no more time. The Attica barrelled up behind the Tripest, cutting her wind and causing the merchant's sails to fall limp and useless as the Attica's sails occluded her. In that instant, the ships came together for the first time, their yards touching first as the rigging of both vessels, cut and ragged as they were, fouled into each other and tore running lines away from the decks below. The air was filled with the springing sound of backstays parting, a sound not unlike an arrow being shot from a thirty-foot bow.

It was one of these torn running lines that Thrandil used to instantly lower himself to the deck below. The shrowds were too dangerous by far, and while the great backstays...the standing lines that angled sharply down to the deck from his lofty position...would have worked as well, the severed running line swung into the elf's grip without too much effort, allowing him to slide down it's length to the sturdy wooden deck below. As his feet touched the deck, the massive roar of rage that signalled the crew's attack filled the air.

On his way down, Thrandil could see where the crew had divided themselves to board in two places. Those towards the stern of the ship, where the elf would join them, were boarding the Tripest by way of the aftcastle and quarterdeck, charging for the ship's helm immediately. The remainder of the crew clambored over to the enemy ship by way of the forecastle up towards the head of the ship, the crew clearing hoping to surround and push the merchant crew of the Tripest down into the hold where they could no longer defend themselves.
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