Raz ducked behind the railings as return fire grazed the top of his head. An unexpected rock of the ship had been the only thing that saved his brain from taking in fresh air. Rushing to the stairway and the doorway to the lower hold he threw open the door, putting finger and thumb to his mouth before blowing a shrill whistle.

"ALL HANDS ON DECK. SEND OUT THE RATS AND MAKE READY TO REPEL!"

A few cheers ushered back from the dimly lit belly of the ship followed by the sound of metal clanking together as yet more swords were drawn, nearly 25 more sailors were already rushing to the stairway as Raz turned attention to the deck. Nearly a half dozen had been hit in the initial volley with minor wounds, another half dozen were sprouting arrows from their chest, others the victim of gunfire. Raz silently cursed their luck of running afoul the Great Aquarius.

Men went over but were being cut down quickly during the swing. Thankfully they had the numbers to overwhelm, rather than out-gun.

Stroking his long beard he turned just in time to see some youngling drop onto the raised deck with staff in hand, his other hand curled around something. Not wanting to see what, Raz threw his crossbow to the side and drew the boarding axe at his hip.

"DIE, Invader!" He roared, launching himself towards @noodles Bertol with a flurry of swings. Every swing felt like 100 pounds, the sheer weight vibrating up your arm numbingly.
Around the two combatants the other pirates grinned and returned their attention to GREAT AQUARIUS and let fly another volley of arrows and hastily reloaded pistol fire.

---

@Lunarlord34
Anemone had laid a few of the boarding party down but more continued to arrive, all dropping down without a shred of concern for the already injured. From the back of these boarders came three shimmering darts, each striking at her chest amidst the confusion if she failed to notice them in time.
At the back of the expanding pack of pirates gathering aboard the raised deck was a solitary figure in clean clothes chanting words of power, preparing a more devastating attack.

Beside Anemone was Izal, now armed with his signature curved sword held in his right hand. His face was a tapestry of anger, enraged by the filthy brigands setting foot aboard his ship as anything but prisoners.
From the stairway came 4 shipmates of Great aquarius, each giving Anemone or Izal a tap on the back as they rushed past swords drawn. The tallest one, gaunt with sunken eyes, met the first of the pirates and locked blades, calling back at Anemone.

"The wizard, Lass!"

Izal brought his terrifying strength to bear upon one of the brigands, cleaving through their wooden handle with impunity to cut at the soft flesh behind the feeble guard, engaging another of the invading force headon.
Once the wizard was dealt with he intended to take the fighting to the enemy ship.

---

@Lord of Evil@Spriggs27

Delilah could do little else but stand atop the main deck at the wheel for now, fearing a pirate would drop down and sabotage the steering wheel as Izal had done, but did her best to stay calm and overlook the fighting. She had called out for men to back up the ballistae before they were overrun, now she turned her gaze where Eiko and Garrett were.
Both were faring well if you excluded the arrow in the girls arm, but the girl was determined not to let it slow her. Delilah hated the girls stubborn refusal to stop fighting despite injuries but that was just the way of things.

To the enemy ship was Bertol alone, nobody else had gone over?!

Down to Garret and Eiko she whistled before calling out their names.

"Eiko, Garett, supporting fire on Bertol!" The her firing squad on the deck she gave new orders. "Boarding team! Cross over and help our man. Go!"

At the moment it didn't seem like anything was amiss. It was hard to disagree with her stomach trying to warn her that something didnt feel right..

---

Captain Goldwater frowned despite his good mood. Great Aquarius was an adept ship and commanded some respect but its display this far was lacking. Where was their ship wizard in all this mess? Surely they should have put up some sort of display by now.
His frown turned to a wolfs grin as he caught sight of the robed figure behind the female at the ships wheel, nervously eyeing his surroundings. The coward that had run away!

His eyes flicked down to the waters and his grin remained in place. Tiny figures had already begun to emerge from the water and began scaling the rudder inch by inch, quiet as a shadow.

No dount the others were already inside.

"Good luck, Miss Laxen." Goldwater whispered to himself, unbothered by the figure dueling his loyal servants.

---

@jdh97

Elodea worked quietly amd nimbly, doing her absolute best to put her faith in the ships able crew and keep herself busy in the process as she fiddled with vials and tinctures. Her trust in the crew might have been too deep.

In her secluded cabin was a portculis overlooking the ocean and all its majesty, the fighting outside was on the opposite side of the ship. No doubt the view had been a boon in her time aboard.
Slick fingers clicked the lock with ease, a scroll kept on its person magically undoing the unenchanted lock before disappearing into a crumbling mess of paper flakes tossed aside, its magic expended.
The window flung open as diminutive creatures rushed through the open hole with wild abandon. Their eagerness giving themselves away as they all scrabbled to get in at the same time in a biting mass of kicking limbs, their bloodshot eyes were almost rabid as they darted across the room until settling on Elodea.

With a thud the Goblins were inside the cabin, rusted knives in hand, they threw themselves at everything in sight as they reached for the bottles on the wall and tossed them everywhere to shatter upon the walls.
From other windows aboard the ship were similar eventd as dozens of green skinned goblins poured in through every available entance.

One snarling runt threw itself at the water elf, aiming to cripple the girl and take her as a prisoner.

From the belly of GREAT AQUARIUS were screams of alarm as the unwary were caught and killed before raising their weapons

On the steps down to the gun deck stood Chirina, eyeing the closing ship and keeping a careful watch on the guns on the deck below.
When it was clear which side the ships would meet on, she gave the order to move all eight guns to that side.
Her trained eye spotted immediately, that she would not get the chance to fire a round shot into the True Blue's side.

"Load grapeshot!", she yelled.
When the last flag went up signalling all cannons to be loaded, Chirina kept her eyes on the enemy ship again. Ten seconds...
two... one!
"Fire!"

A thunderous roar erupted from below her, followed by seven similar ones as the grapeshot left the barrels of the cannons.
Cries swept over from the wind as the munition shredded into the wooden hull and into people.
"Grab your muskets and get on deck!", she ordered her cannon crew, which did as she had asked, even though she was new on board.
Chirina herself grabbed her own musket from the back of her shoulder and headed onto the main deck as well, showing her soldiers where to line up facing the pirates that started to board the Aquarius.
"Ready! Aim! Fire!"
Dozens of musket balls hailed down on the boarders cutting down dozens of pirates. She watched her own shot bury itself into the chest of a man on the boarding bridge, who, by the force of the ball was sent tumbling into the water.

"Reload!", she commanded again, doing the same with her musket, a family inheritance and very dear to her heart. At the speed that the pirates boarded the ship, she calculated, she could afford one more volley before they would be close enough to force hand on hand combat where her musket would be pretty useless.
"Last volley! Ready! Aim! Fire!"
The second volley tore into the slowly dimming stream of people boarding and some shots even went so far as to cut down men on the enemy ship.
"Fire at will! Otherwise, draw weapons and engage!"

Chirina knew, her soldiers would probably not be able to reload in time, but she trusted in her own ability to reload fast.
A hulking chunk of a man came charging at her, the firing line already having dispersed. Fearless, Chirina aimed directly at his head.
When the pirate realized that she wasn't going to flinch at his charge, he hesitated, enough for Chirina to press the trigger and drive musket ball through his head. With a swift motion, dropping her gun then and there, she drew her curved sword slicing the arm off another man close to her to then, in the backstroke, separate his head from his shoulders.

The blood dripping down the blade of her sword triggered it. Grinning maliciously, she licked off some of the blood that had gathered on the dull edge of her sword, her extra long canines glinting with red as they were coated with the blood. Chirina licked her lips.

The hunt had begun.

---

The more pirates that Anemone cut down, the more that seemed to drop down it would seem. This was such a pain, but alas she had signed up for exactly this so was resigned to beating down this fodder. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something shine and quickly dropped to the deck. She could feel the darts whistle part, taking some hair and scratching her armor due to her 'slow' reaction to the projectiles. Cursing under her breath, her annoyance began to rise as she propped herself up on one hand and proceeded to kick her feet out in a sweeping arc, to knock any of the approaching raiders back so she got enough time to get back to her feet.

By which time her reinforcements had arrived. Took their bloody time, didn't they? The foddder Her crewmates were lucky that she was currently engaging with about 3 pirates, otherwise she would've broken their hands as she felt a pat on her back as they passed her to engage the rest. "How many times must I say it? DONT." Slashing down one pirate, she began to berate her teammates.

"TOUCH." With the 2nd pirate's head separated from his body, Anemone could feel power begining to surge through her as she cut down the last one. This was a very familiar sensation, as was every hair on her boy begining to stand on edge. Her long purple hair levitating as sparks began to fly off her body.

"ME!" In a flash, the furious ex-marine dash forward at an incredible speed. It wasn't disappearing kind of speed, but for those not used to seeing someone move like this it would be hard to keep track of her. Blood sprayed as she passed pirates, cutting them down before finally arriving at the no doubt startled and panicking wizard.

"Die." Her tone was a feed up one, her annoyance begining to boil to the surface as her sword was driven into the man's chest. However her momentum carried them both forward, and if it wasn't for the railing and the man before her she would've fallen overboard. As it stood, the wizard's corpse would fall into the water with the sword embedded in it. Normally that would annoy Anemone, but there were plenty of weapons still on board. And one still in her hand as well.

Hearing the captains voice, she turned a disbelieving gaze towards where Bertol was on the enemy ship. How? How was someone that stupid? Why would he do that? Not realising the irony in her thoughts, she stuck her hand out. Her trident, which she had ended up being near to and within her range, flew back into her as she hurled it towards the dwarf with some added speed from her magic.
She hadn't taken the time to take aim, so it would probably miss but it would be close enough to startle the dwarf. With that deed done, she took quickly stepped onto the railing and jumped over.

"Come at me you filthy traitorous pigs. While I still feel merciful." Landing aboard, she slammed her elbow into the nearest pirate before dashing forward and cutting down another. These guys were so weak, so pathetic. She needed a challenge, otherwise this was going to get real boring real quick. She had given them a handicap too, having jumped over by herself and away from where the rest of the boarding crew no doubt would come from. But she needed to go back up that moron Bertol, Captains orders were absolute.
The young lady was bulldozing her way through to the thief, hopefully making herself a bigger target to draw enemies away from Bertol.

Aim, shoot, reload. There was a smooth flow to the motions Garret went through as he fired into the ranks of the rogue pirates. The battle seemed to have begun in earnest as a fresh tide of enemies emerged from the lower holds. Through the din he could've sworn he'd heard an enemy yell something about rats, but he couldn't be sure. What he could be sure he heard was the captain's orders, to defend the man that jumped towards the boat alone. Really, though, what was she expecting a guy like Garret with a crossbow to do? Then again, it wasn't that he couldn't do anything to help.

Garret finished reloading and took in what he could see from his vantage point. He hadn't moved much as his instincts had picked a good spot. He was somewhat close to the wheel, just a short flight of stairs below the captain's position. And thanks to the height difference of the Aquarius, it still provided a good view of the enemy ship. With the elevation the man he'd been asked to cover wouldn't have too much trouble before a certain point, but what happened afterwards would be anyone's guess. So Garret focused on the other ship; more specifically on the people running all over it. What captured his attention most was one of the brigands, armed with a crossbow and a clear line of sight to his charge. But from the corner of his eye, Garret saw a better target. He took aim and pulled the trigger. Moments later the brigand did too, but Garret's shot was perfect. The enemy bolt flew fast but a weighty form fell from above and intercepted the bolt. Another brigand from the enemy crew, with a straight shaft of wood sticking out of the bandit's chest. The man wasn't dead, or at least not yet. But he was out of the fight, and more importantly, he'd blocked at least one shot from the enemy crew. One shot in the right place could tear a well-crafted plan to shreds, so Garret counted it as a win in his book. It took careful observation and a wide field of view to make a difference in a battlefield, skills that Garret was proud of having. But these were skills that bothered him more and more as the battle wore on.

He reloaded his crossbow quickly and watched the battlefield once more. Garret was never good at long-term planning, so he relied on his experience and his gut for most things. And right now, his gut was telling him that something was missing. Things were going about average, all things considered, but there were definitely missing elements. The enemy captain, for one, although he couldn't fault them for not showing their face. Whatever the case, the word 'rats' he'd heard over the wind played over and over again in his mind. It was like a sea shanty he couldn't put out of his head, driving him so mad that he was almost glad when the screaming started.

It was quiet at first, but Garret knew that small things tended to be the most significant. He frowned and fired another bolt as the sounds rose in quantity and volume. A large chunk of the Aquarius's fighting specialists had gone over to the enemy ship, so they weren't in the most ideal position to fight off invaders at the moment. He could vaguely hear breaking glass down below - they'd likely come in from the sea and were wreaking havoc from the whatever holes they could enter from, whoever they were.

With all that being said, it wasn't really his problem right now. He still had to cover the boarding crew; if they divided their attention too much then their best combatants would be isolated and destroyed. He couldn't imagine that happening to someone of Izal's fame but the possibility was always there. Though the intrusion would definitely become his problem if left unchecked, he'd sooner jump into the ocean wearing full steel plate than jump in the deck alone, with no information on the threat at and. Well, maybe going in would be better than swimming in full plate, but that was besides the point.

Garret turned away from the chaotic battlefield to yell towards the captain, informing her of the situation.
"Seems we've got some rats down below, cap'n!" He yelled to the woman. "What are your orders?"
@Zelosse

Once Delilah had called out of her name, Eiko's body tensed up, she stopped mid-reload turning herself to Delilah and ignoring all of the chaos going on at the moment, Delilah ordered her to give the thief covering fire, she didn't bother giving the captain a response but acted, firing around him with both her rifle and her pistol before taking cover to reload her weapons, she held her sidearm in her teeth while getting her primary ready.

Once both her firearms were ready and she was about to fire, she noticed that most of their fighters were over on the enemy ship and some of the enemy pirates were getting over on their ship, then Chirina fired grapeshot at the enemy ship while friendlies were still on board. Then she went above and beyond friendly fire and had her crew and herself fire upon the enemy ship with their muskets. Eiko held back on shooting as she could hit one of their crewmates with all the gunfire going on now, but what they were doing was dangerous to their own allies on the enemy ship, if one member were to miss fire and hit a crew mate they just gave them a death sentence, Eiko didn't know what she could do before Chirina had run out of ammo or just chosen to switch to her melee weapon and cut a man down.

Without thinking she grabbed the short woman's armored arm and tried to stop her as an enemy hit her across the face with a spiked flail, she kicked the monster back before putting the barrel of weapon to their forehead and shooting them. She grabbed the short woman's arm again pointing to her cannon crew." Your people could've hit Bertol" She told her." When you were firing on some of the borders you could've misfired, stick to melee for borders."

Blood trickled down from the three fresh wounds on her face, one at the bridge of her nose, one just below her left eye, and the last one just to the left of her mouth. Eiko only wiped away the blood from her face, her emotions still unknown before she hit fired her rifle at someone behind of Bertol.

---

While everything was going down, Jack decided to stay by Delilah's side and kick the ass of anyone trying to harm her."Don't worry cap I'll keep ya back covered." The guy cut down a border with his axe and quickly glanced over to see Eiko take a hit, but held back going to her aid as she protected herself.

Once he heard the shooting start and the cannon fire." Suns out guns out bitches!" He yelled before lopping off another border's arm. He ended up accidentally bumping his back against Del's while he was taking down some of the borders." Damn, where're most of our fighters? Are they playing musical ships or somethin'?" He complained as more enemies boarded them.

" Seriously what the fuck is Bertol doing over on the enemy ship? Does he think that he looks cool throwing himself into the middle of the fray?" He chuckled." Because he looks like a real dumb shit right now with my sis covering him." He commented before more borders started pouring onto their ship like water.

"What are they popping them out on that ship now, they got some kind of cloning device making more and more of these fools? Or did an entire army steal this stupid ship?" He questioned the numbers of their enemies." God this battle feels long." He cleaved a couple of borders trying to get close to Del, then that other guy, Garret mentioned that some of them got below deck." Well, that's just even great, now the hardtack will be ruined."

---

---

Ellie had been too focussed. The chink of glass upon glass, the swill of liquids, the whisper of poured powder. That was all she heard; the fighting was far away, for her allies to deal with. Not her. She sat below, away, preparing to help who she could. Thus, she missed the faint groan of the window complaining on its hinges. It was not until the thud that she turned, and by then it was too late.

Spilling into her sanctuary were Goblins. She stared, confounded. This shouldn’t be happening. She should be safe down here. The fighting happened elsewhere, always; Ellie made sure of that. But they came all the same, a wave of chaos, destroying everything in their wake. She backed away slowly, flinching as they smashed the bottles, feeling tangible pain as her collection was mindlessly ruined. Everything had been in order, the way Ellie liked it. Now it was gone. Hours upon hours of work, gone in mere moments. And she just looked on, paralysed by fear, stunned by the suddenness of it all. The world was numbed far beyond what the numbweed could ever manage.

Yet, that was far from the worst of her concerns. The shouts from elsewhere below deck told others were discovering a similar fate. She took another step away. A board creaked underfoot. A goblin, smaller than the rest, was roused from its destructive reverie, seeing Ellie again as if for the first time. A chill finger ran along the length of her spine as she watched a mangled maw slowly open into a sickle-blade grin.

Ellie turned. Ellie ran.

A bottle shot past, showering her with shards of glass as it exploded against a beam overhead. Then the world fell away. She watched it turn and tumble. The goblin had tackled her legs from under her. Her body snapped against the floor, but she kept trying to move. She clawed at the planks, trying to pull herself away. Her nails splintered under the strain. Yet to no avail; the goblin was still holding on. Her now-bloody fingers wiped trails of slick crimson across the floor, useless. She felt the goblin let go, only the weight of his body remaining on her shins and ankles.

And then the world exploded.

Pain. Agony. White flecks danced across her vision as black crept in from the periphery. Everything felt cold. Yet the situation clarified. She kicked from reflex, trying to pull her legs away, but the jerk just brought a gout of blood from the fresh wound in her thigh.

The goblin crawled up to her waist, twisting her round onto her back. It licked the edge of the blade, red dripping onto Ellie’s chest and exposed neck. She stared with wide, glossed-over eyes, quivering with each heartbeat as they thundered in her ears. The screams that reached her echoed what she could not express. Fear. A deep, ominous fear, as though the pit of her stomach had fallen away into a bottomless chasm. She would die here, she realised. Die here, away from the sea, separated only by a few planks of wood. It may as well have been a thousand leagues and more. She would not find her brother, if in fact he had not met a similar fate, but she would be waiting for him in the lost grove.

Shards of the bottle lay tangled in her fanned-out mess of hair, glimmering like the sands of a distant shore. A promise, of safety and freedom. She could have reached out whilst the goblin took its time raising that crude iron blade, another promise, though this one was vile. She could have drove a shard of that bottle into its neck and watched it bleed out. She could have stabbed it again and again, cutting up her own palms, but not caring. She could have been a killer. She chose not to be.

In the moments after the blade began to plunge, her body found function once again. Her arms raised, grabbing the Goblin’s forearms and holding the blade at bay. She was not done yet. It snarled, and Ellie screamed.

“Help!” Her arms shook, from adrenaline and exertion, “Help me!” Tears stung as they welled in the corners of her eyes. The blade slowly inched closer to her throat.

She would not give up. Could not. She was not ready to die; her brother still needed her. She would find him, and he would laugh, and then they would go home and dance and sing, like they used to, and they would be happy.

A desperate plea tore its way from her soul, the tears now streaming freely down the side of her face.

“Please!”

His attacks sure pack a punch...... Bertol breathed upon the whirling winds of the axe. It seemed to him that he have gotten the big fish's attention too quickly. I guess I won't be able to fend him off with one hand......

Bertol regretfully abandoned his grasp on the Moon Materia as he took a two handed grip on the staff. With a few flicks of his wrist, he parries the side of the axe as it whizzes past his side.

Without giving a moment to spare, Bertol pounces himself on Raz, drawing out his glowing moon materia to jab the eye with the pointed edge.

---

The people on the upper deck seemed to be enjoying themselves with the whole fight going on with the opposing ship, True Blue. At the least this is what she thought of anyone that participated in those battles, not knowing any better really. Isa had been organizing a few things in the storage before the whole fiasco began.

Naturally, she would have gotten out to take a peek at the very least to discern if anything was wrong. Opening the first door through landed her right next to a few goblins who had climbed through the windows with little sound. Weak. Stupid. Small. Threat in numbers. The thought ran through while she instinctively called for the supposed alien now stuck on her in a form or various inconspicuous trinkets and a piece of hidden armor under her clothes, weighing surprisingly less than one would expect.

The goo-like substance spread immediately to cover every nook and cranny of her form, slowly composing back into a more solid state. All in the span of about twenty-ish seconds, if one were to count.. The goo/blob like form morphed into something akin to an otherworldly set of armor by the looks of it. The arms and legs had curved-ish metal-like pieces protruding outwards which seemed to be there mostly to make it a challenge to hit a blade anywhere proper or to even do a minimal amount of damage. Various and multiple layers all over, while the chest and back were covered with more traditional looking pieces laid on top of each other. Supported by a smaller scaly looking layer on the side, connecting them both. The hands and feet were otherwise covered with a predominantly thin layer of a softer protective substance, while also giving her elongated looking claws and talons.

Though while not directly controlled as humans did not possess such, the extra appendage of a tail was also there. Albeit a whole lot more deadly looking than protective for obvious reasons. Controlling it was a challenge she hadn't overcome yet, so it simply swung mindlessly with the razor like edges. Not to mention the sharp stinger at the end of it. Last but not least, the head, the neck and throat area were covered with multiple small layers and strips of fin and scale like material. The facial area was covered with a one-way see-through dome that looked almost like glass. It wasn't broken as easily as glass however, but it was one of the more frail parts in comparison. And while the suit itself did indeed look like metal, it wasn't entirely so. It was more organic material akin to bone, very closely similar with mere minute differences.

Perhaps it was by chance, but it was Isa's only method of participating in either fights or just self-defense. Her otherwise unsuited physical state would have been overpowered by almost everyone, if not everyone in the crew had it not been for the thing stuck on her. And not a moment too soon, as one of said goblins got a bit ahead of himself and charged at her. Only to receive a whole handful of claw marks as they pierced through the collar area. Permitting tints of blood to rinse down in drops from her claws as they retracted and the goblin fell to the ground and stumbled around in a pathetic manner. A moment of respite, and the goblin would stop moving.

Isa had struck it one more time on the head, giving little to no time to recuperate or for the others to come in. Instead, she gave it a quick death. Merciful. She thought. Only to plunge on the second one without much hesitation, grabbing it by the neck and almost instantaneously smashing its life away with a mere whisk of her claws. Dropping it on the ground and smacking it with her talon-like leg one more time to make sure it was dead, before moving on the third one. This one she wouldn't spare with much mercy, as she kept clawing it, leaving marks and profuse wounds all around until the goblin simply stopped moving and bled to death.

“Help! Help me! Please!” Three quick pleads, coming from the other side of the ship. The voice was familiar enough to make Isa sprint through the rooms only to find Elodea on the ground with a goblin trying to either kill her or cripple her. She had no idea why such an event was unfolding, why she hadn't taken measures to defend herself if she had a chance, but it didn't matter. A sweet and short few steps and the goblin's head was bleeding while being lifted up as if some sort of profane trophy. Then subsequently thrown to the side of the ship to bleed out painfully. Not like it could move, as much of the brain was stabbed through.

Staring at Elodea, the facial dome retracting to reveal her face for her. Her semi-lifeless yet bright eyes looking at her for a few good seconds to see if anything bad had happened or if she was in any mortal danger otherwise. As soon as she was satisfied to see that she didn't seem to be mortally wounded at the very least, she took a few steps in the room while sealing the dome around her face again. Giving Ellie a small finger pointer to perhaps look away or move away slightly or perhaps to hide somewhere before she plunged in at the few remaining goblins in said room. Aiming to massacre them without much remorse nor guilt.

The first one fell to multiple stab wounds all around. Abdomen, legs, arms and some scratch marks over its face.
The second one died nigh instantly to a lucky swing of her claws that passed through the goblin's throat and cut off the head.
The third fell to abnormal mutilation.

A fourth, fifth, and perhaps sixth fell to repeated clawing and light dismemberment. At some point she lost count, if she was even keeping any, and stared into the room while breathing somewhat heavily and falling on one knee at the end of it. There were more of them spread throughout the lower decks, but the sudden strain forced her to wait in minor exhaustion. There was the thought at the back of her head, wondering how the others were doing. Both up and below deck, and Irving himself too. Even though she was one of the few people she worried about the least considering it was goblins only below deck, it didn't stop her from being concerned though.

@Zelosse @jdh97

@Lord of Evil@Spriggs27

Cannonfire and black powder had deafened her as the enemy expected. All of the Great Aquarius was engaged with the brigands and boarders and hadn't taken a chance to look at the water below. The trap was sprung and from the sounds of it there was a mess below deck, just like there was a problem on the main deck and the enemy deck. There simply wasn't enough time to react to everything but Delilah had to try; this was not going to be their end.

"Garret, take Jack and anyone not engaged and go below deck. I want whatever is down there wiped out before they get a chance to do real damage. Go!"

Jack was the smartest choice in a close quarters fight, him being a lunatic with a blade in hand, and Garret was the kind of clever that kept himself alive despite being forced into a situation that put them at a disadvantage. The ballista fight had been cleared, freeing up Anemone and Izal but word wouldn't reach them quick enough. Not that it mattered. Delilah had confidence in many things and one of those was that her adoptive father would do what he did best.

Behind her, the contracted wizard had done little in the fight. His magic was not accustomed to fighting and relied heavily on defensive magic, making him useless in the situation unfolding around him. Rather than stand proud beside the mercenary crew he had nearly pissed himself and backed up as close to the rear of the ship as he could, the sight of blood so quickly after he had escaped from these pirates had his stomach in violent upheaval as the man turned and leaned out over the sea to empty his stomach.
The blade that struck him hard in the throat was a rusted piece of work, jagged and dull. It tore more than cut as the green skinned goblin grinned as it repeatedly pulled back its stubby arm to drive the point back into the victims neck while it latched onto his hair and face. The stifled scream as he was dragged over and into the water was the only alert he could give.

Delilah turned sharply at the sound, grimacing. The fight was getting chaotic but it was her duty to protect the wheel. Garret and Jack were gone and that left her alone till aid came up to secure the rear. A darker fear sank further into her stomach as the pieces of grand deception moved further to their goal.

With a thrust of her rapiers shining point Delilah took a Goblin through the eye and into the brain that dropped the hideous creature back to the depths as she slashed the throat out of another and another after that, but nearly a dozen dirty sets of hands were scraping up the tail end of the Great Aquarius.

Was there anyone who could reach her in time? Gritting her teeth and backing up to the wheel she readied her nerves for the fight ahead. It was just goblins, Delilah reminded herself.

---

@lunarlord34

Izal wiped the blood from his curved sword on the tunic of the slain at his feet, almost idly. The situation seemed well in hand from his position at the front so it was time to conquer what was rightfully belonging to the merchants back at Karak Kharagul.

Stretching his back, he gave a shrill whistle and pointed at Great Aquarius' rear deck. Many were engaged and more were trying to cross over but with the cannon crew now on deck, their shots having hit the enemy hull with great impact, the old captain assumed they had the situation well in hand.

It was time to board the enemy ship.

"Anemone and crew, follow me. They tried to take whats ours and failed miserably. Lets show them how it is done!"

Not even waiting for the others to confirmor not, Izal felt his magic buildingto a crescendo as he felt lighter. Stronger. Nearly invincible! With a great running stride Izal planted a foot on the railin and leaped across the gap, grabbing a swinging rope from the enemy boarding party that still dangled in the breeze fo ferry himself over, landing on their own raised deck with a thump of creaking boards.

Two pirates raised their weapons to meet him and were promptly overpowered, a feral growl rumbling from the former captain as he cleaved through their feeble offense leaving both headless corpses, weapons clattering to the deck uselessly.

There was still dozens aboard the ship taking cover or climbing to get a clear sight below or to the great aquarius. On true blues deck, Bertol fought honorably if foolishly with a strong armed dwarf as the crew kept

---

@Noodles

Raz struck hard every swing in an attempt to push the boarder to his knees but the slippery wretch was quick with his weapon and more skilled than the Dwarf was prepared for. When Bertol went for the parry, Raz knew the game was up. The boy was quicker by far and they both knew it but Raz had dozens of years worth if fighting experience to call on.

As his axe was deftly pushed aside Raz threw his weight it in a sloppy tumble that had him away from whatever the lad had tried to stab him with. Back on his feet he backed up and whistled for a gunner to drop the boy dead.
The plan was unsuccessful as cannon fire tore through the ships hull, shaking the TRUE BLUE enoigh that he lost his already unsteady balance and dropped on his back to the deck.

Fresh gunfire swept his crew like a scythe through wheat, nearly a dozen dropping with potentially fatal wounds. Raz had only surviced from luck.. luck that was running dry.

"Bah! Y'think am gonna jus' lay down 'n die, boy?"

Scrambling onto his belly he quickly rose and darted for the door leading below deck, throwing it wide.

"SKULL SMASHERS, LETS GO!"

Even if he took an arrow to the skull right then and there, Raz grinned evily as he felt heavy footsteps coming to the stairs from the very belly of the ship. Lots of them.

---

@Ookawa

The grapeshot tore through the wood like paper, the screams of pain from the enemy ship werent loud enough that she would have heard them but more than a few were not joining the fight. The damage to the ships exterior wasn't enough to risk it sinking. Something Captain Delilah wantes to avoid if it couls be helped.

While on deck her volley was effective, dropping nearly a dozen pirates with well placed shots from her firing squad. Thise few that had touched down on the deck knew they weren't going to last long, 2 of them whimpering as they tossed themselves overboard to avoid being cut down.

The main deck had been secured for now.

"GOBLINS BELOW DECK!"

The call came from a crewmate emerging from the hold, a bright cut zigzagged across their abdomen, their hand resting over the wound protectively.

"We got crew below caught unawares! Cannon teams gone."

---

@ennui@jdh97

Goblins in the belly of GREAT AQUARIUS was causing a panic as the unprepared crew below, many non-combatants aboard the ship, were caught off guard and summarily slaughtered as they tried to flee. Others grabbed their companions and fled to any area with a door and barricaded themselves.
Of the goblins in Isa's path there was only death for their ranks as the monster tore through flesh and blood with abandon. Those still clinging to the windows outside the sea elfs quarters saw the hideous thing and turned tail, ignoring the portculis in favor of softer meat far away.

In the Kitchens below deck, not far from Elodeas quarters, was a cacophony of banging metal and the crash of something heavy hitting the walls every so often. Over the din of goblin screams was the wordless howl of pain and rage coming from one of the lead cooks. With a staff of 6 to feed the whole ship, just the one remained. At his back was the door to the pantry and 4 crewmates huddled in terror.
In front of that single door was Irving, howling in pain as goblins climbed him like a tree as they stabbed a him anywhere they could before a meaty palm managed to clamp down.

For his part the big man had made short work of the threats, having literally crushed the little creatures into the wall and floor withhis bare hands. The last goblin was securely on his back as it stabbed him repeatedly in the sides as he dealt with its friends.

"GRRAH!" Bloody spit hung to his beard as Irving thrashed and grabbed futiely at the gnat puncuring his back. "LITTLE FREAK!"

Irving gave one last groan as a fresh wound appeared and could handle it no longer, throwing himself back into a sturdy wooden beam behind him, feeling the sickening CRUNCH of bones breaking as the goblin stubbornly held on as it was crushed into the beam over and over, fumbling its knife to focus on holding on in panic until the life was crushed right out of the murderous things body in a grisly smear, its limp corpse falling to the floor.

Irving groaned his displeaure while a big hamd tucked itself over the cuts as best he could. "Filthy little FUCKER!" With a string of colorful curses Irving turned and stomped down hard atop thendead goblins neck for another CRACK.
Slick with blood, Irving made his way to the pantry and knocked 3 times.

"Bulk up that door! Nobody gets in! I'll go round up the others."
Some muffled thank yous made it to his ear as Irving, still grasping his bloodied side, hoisted a butchers cleaver from below the block and departed the kitchen quarter.

"ISA!" His voice echoed deep despite the noise around him. "ISA! WHERE ARE YA!?"

"Aye aye, captain." Garret muttered.
The words were genuine enough but there was a note of sarcasm, a certain irony reserved in the words themselves. He had his orders, now all he had to do was follow through, though, it wasn't like he liked those orders, or wanted to carry them out. But he would follow them, he was sure his paycheck was riding on it. Besides, as a crew member had just declared, their cannons were gone, and that was definitely not a good thing.

Garret decided not to waste any time. He made eye contact with one of his cooperators, Jack, before moving down the quarterdeck towards the door to the bowels of the Aquarius. He weaved through the chaotic deck, arriving shortly at the entrance of foreboding darkness that was his goal. He turned back for a moment, surveying the situation on deck. They were dealing with enemy boarders well enough, and the opposing ship's firepower could basically be ignored, but the goblins would be a tipping point. They emerged on the deck now, throwing a fresh layer of chaos to proceedings. Most importantly, their captain was outnumbered at the wheel, and that wouldn't do. He remembered her orders - to take every spare man and go deal with the situation below deck. But he couldn't leave the captain like that. Yes, the more men he went with the less casualties below there would be, but 1 captain was worth more than a handful of support crew. Yes, he had his orders, but showing off a bit wouldn't hurt.

Garret took aim and fired, pinning one of the half dozen or so goblins surrounding the captain in the head.
"Oy you lazy buggers, watch the captain!" He yelled at the crew around him. "The rest of you, get over here!"
Some of the sailors looked up and went to help, and most of the rest were tied up with the melee. Those that heard him and were available gathered by the entrance to the gun deck as goblins burst out from the gloom. Garret clicked his tongue and smashed the butt of his crossbow at the closest one, sending it hurtling towards its fellows. He dropped the crossbow and drew his dirk, sliding one of his throwing knifes out of his various pockets. He threw one at the goblins and it buried itself in one of their eyes as backup arrived and pushed back the goblin group.
"Shape up ya gits, we're going down and killing every last one of these grey pieces of shit before the day's out!" He commanded.
Garret wasn't exactly a talented leader, but he knew that the crew knew that this was important. Garret followed behind the rest as they descended the stairs into the rest of the ship. He had his orders, but he didn't exactly need to go first.

Bertol frowned when his attempted assassination on his big fish had failed. With one tight clench of his Moon-shaped relic, it glowed in rough flickers as he let out a loosely concentrated flow of magic. A hastily churned out shower of stones was sent at Raz. But an unfocused attack like that wasn't enough to kill, or even hinder a dwarf. He's a dwarf? That explains his figure......

Good... Bertol let out a smirk upon noticing his vice captain coming in as reinforcements. He had deliberated on going with this measure, but there isn't anything to worry about now that he'll have people backing his position.

"Running away huh? You ELF!" Bertol taunted at the dwarf. He knows that Dwarves hates Elves more than anything in the world, and calling them that would incite even the most serene-tempered Dwarf. Wait is there even a dwarf without temper issues...?

---

Dozens of pirates laid injured, dead or dying on the True Blue deck. Most of which were at the hand of Anemone as she continued her one-woman assault. Even now, she unleashed a devastating suplex on some unsuspecting sap. But her reckless fighting hadn't come without a cost, as the various cuts on her body indicated. She had managed to avoid anything serious, but there was a free-flowing cut on her cheek that worried her a tad. That was a wound from having just narrowly stepping to the side when some fodder tried to cut her head off. Suffice to say, his head was rolling somewhere on board as she taught him how to really cut someone's head off. The Pirates numbers were beginning to finally thin as well now, especially as Izal entered the fray and the rest of the boarding crew was starting to make some headway as well.

"About bloody time." Grumbling under her breath, she looked over to see how Bertol was faring she was pleasantly surprised to see he wasn't dead yet. Good, that means she wouldn't get in trouble with the captain for failing to comply with her orders. However, that dwarf still lived and seemed relatively unharmed as he opened the door to the deck below and yelled something. It was hard to tell from this distance, but it might've been 'Skull Crushers'. Obviously, that didn't sound like good news.

"Bertol, get back." She didn't even so much as spare the younger man a glance as she passed him. She was too focused on whatever was potentially going to come out of that doorway. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained. Gathering all the remaining charge she had left at her disposal, she formed a small ball of electricity and shot it through the open doorway. If it was anything big like Anemone feared, then it wouldn't have much of an effect but it should stall them long enough for her to drive her sword through this dwarf's skull. She would deal with these 'Skull Crushers' when the time came.

"Alright cap, don't get yourself killed. We need at least one woman on the ship who knows how to dress herself." He launched himself off the side and slipped under the deck through one of the cannon ports so he could catch up with that Garret guy." sea elves, goblins, whatever it is I'll cut'em all down and enjoy myself while I'm making sushi outta them."

He found himself at the back end of the dozen or so gobs that were planing on mobbing Garret and his group of sailors he brought with him."Damn gonna need to get the other side of these little fucks." He pulled out one of his throwing knives and started stabbing into their group of gobs before pulling his arm back into long swing to lop off one of the heads of another goblin, he then used his momentum to stab another goblin and go into a sort of spin." Axe whirlwind!"

He cut up a couple or so more before actually working up a sweat and they finally turned their attention to him, a number of them tried jumping on him, only for him to throw one of them across the hall." Garret shoot some of these knee high fuckers will you?! I don't want to be stabbed in the fucking a eunuch because one of these goblins got lucky with a damn knife" He swore at the guy before one of the little shits stabbed him in the thigh and received his knee to their face.

---

Eiko heard garret speaking, he was asking for help from the others, but seeing how most of them are across on the other ship, well two of them, he wouldn't get much help, Eiko was a ranged fighter unlike most of the others; some of the cannon crew from Chiri's group followed Garret down with Jack tossing himself off the side. For some reason Eiko knew her brother would be alright despite how he acted, he was immortal, till she gave him permission to die, she doubted that a couple or a small gang of goblins would be enough to really hurt him.

Getting slashed across the arm brought her mind back to the battle, the cut on her wasn't too deep but stung more than anything, block their next attack with her rifle before smashing the buttstock across their face and jamming the bayonet into their face. Eiko examined the finish on her rifle quickly before noticing Delilah's dilemma, she was surrounded by the goblins and looked as if she needed a hand, she fired at one of them before getting an idea with the pint sized mongol.

Eiko grabbed Chirina by the back collar of her armor, she wasn't the strongest, but she could get Chirina out of being mobbed with what little of her cannon crew was left top deck, the pale girl spun Chirina around before throwing her from their boat to the enemy boat and moving towards Delilah's position.

The pale girl stabbed away a couple of the goblins before getting up to the deck where the captain was, Eiko got to Delilah's blind spot behind her and put her back to the captains." Don't worry captain, I'll be your shield." For once her words sounded a bit different than before they sounded as if she was a bit worried.

---

---

This is it then, Elodea thought, nobody came. Eyes clenched shut as the last of her strength burned away and her muscles failed. She waited. And waited…

Had the Goblin given up? Had it decided to spare her from whatever fate, death or worse, that it had planned?

Her eyes slipped open, just a fraction.

“Glowing Maiden, light my path,” she hissed.

The glassy eyes of the goblin stared through her. Elodea gave a fear-glossed stare in return. Blood spilled down its face in a crimson tide from the multiple lancets that punctured its skull. It twitched, still alive, yet nothing more than a low-groan escaped it. Elodea’s lips moved in a silent prayer. The face lifted away. The whole body was suspended, dangling from its neck, and then it was tossed to the side.

Now Elodea’s saviour was revealed in full. And it was terrifying. She drew in a sharp breath. It was all slick and smooth, an elegant creature designed for speed and suffering. Its empty “face” seemed to look at Ellie, who daren’t move. But then a more familiar face was revealed.

“Isa...?” Ellie breathed.

Ellie was transfixed by Isa’s augmented form and nodded when Isa pointed. Pain flared in her leg as she forced herself to her feet. For a moment the world span, and black fingers crawled into her sight, threatening unconsciousness. That feeling slowly dissipated as she limped over to a wall for support, clutching her leg. Isa slunk off, and within seconds the sickening sounds of slaughter swelled like the sea. It was a macabre orchestra Ellie would not soon forget. She prayed to her Goddess for their souls, so they might find the way.

Above the din, Ellie heard the unmistakable shouts of Irving. It seemed to pull her back to reality; she was not safe yet, not even remotely. The kitchens weren’t far, and they’d be safer. She pushed off the wall and began to limp her way towards where Isa had went. She froze. The smell brought tears to her eyes. Blood and sweat and shit and filth. Ellie wretched, bile jumping up into her mouth. She spat. A hand went to her stomach, the other rested on a doorway. She tried not to breath; you could taste it all in the back of your throat. Her eyes were shut; the scene she had caught a mere glimpse of was a theatre of carnage and cruor. Best try not think about it, even though the image was burnt into her mind’s eye.

“Isa,” Ellie spoke to the floor, “We should maybe get to Irving.” The wound in her leg still stung, but she did her best to be heard through clenched teeth and the unrelenting nausea.

@Ennui

Chirina licked her lips. The smell of blood was everywhere.
She noticed the calls of goblins heading under deck, though and its implications shortly brought her back to her senses to steer her body to the scene of action.
However, before she could move forward, she was grabbed by the collar and hoisted into the air.
Confused, she flailed around until she saw that it was Eiko that had lifted her, she relaxed, just a little though, curiously awaiting what she had in store for her...

Flinging her to the enemy ship, though, was not a thing Chirina had expected. But, midair, she let out a adrenaline-rich scream, as the tiny banshee hailed down towards the deck of the enemy ship.
She shifted her downward momentum so that she landed right on the shoulders of a rather burly guy.
"Surprise!", Chirina snarled and then, bit down and her sharp fangs ripped into the guy's throat.
Blood flowed into her mouth and dribbled down the corners and to her chin.
The burly dude gurgled and his legs gave out, making him crumble to the ground. Sitting above the corpse, licking her chops, was Chirina, her blade "resting" halfway inside the back of the dropped soldier.

She drew the blade out of the body and hurled herself forward, a bestial howl erupting from her as she charged the mass of enemy bodies that were preparing to board the Aquarius.
She revelled in the feeling of her sword cutting through bodies, leaping at enemies, biting into flesh and more.

After a short while, she stood there, breathing visibly, more than twenty-five corpses surrounding her. All of her face was coated in blood.
Facing the rest of the enemy crew, she bared her sharp teeth, also covered in blood, and chortled maniacally.

"Yeah yeah, no need to shout kid." Garret grumbled.
Despite Jack's wishes, Garret's crossbow wasn't really a convenient size for corridor fighting. It had good stopping power for sure, and he could use it for bludgeoning in melee, but it was bulky and would only drag him down in the ship's tight halls. Thankfully, though, he had plenty of other ranged options. Garret slid a throwing knife out of his sleeve - just one of many he had on his person - and threw it down the dimly lit corridor, pinning the hand of an attacking goblin before it could swing its rusty weapon.

His tone of voice was calm and sarcastic but he was on alert at all times. Jack was reliable enough in a fight and Garret practically grew up in the cramped hallways, but that was no reason to get complacent. A goblin infestation in particular was cause to be on higher alert then usual. After all, one roach on the barrel meant a dozen under it. They didn't know how many of them there were in the holds, and they wouldn't be able to find out any time soon. At the same time, though, they couldn't spend too long hunting them down. Garret had seen a lot of naval combat and he didn't like how their forces were split. It was a classic command and conquer strategy. He smelled a rat, but there wasn't much he could do about it now.

The din of battle continued on above the group, as if to remind Garret that there was a battle going on. He clicked his tongue and yelled out new orders.
"Pick up the pace lads!" He exclaimed. "Time spent slackin' is time spent dying!"

(To those above deck, on either ship)

Heavy footfalls echoed from the hull of the ship before the warcry shook the boards of TRUE BLUE, a heavy roar of larger creatures. The stench of sweat abd blood was the first indication of what stampeded from below. Crudely armored, crudely armed, the orcish host emerged from the door in a wave of green flesh. The Dwarf had unleashed their cargo and wisely retreated, hiding himself behind the door as the bloodthirsty Orcs made their charge.

The first to leave the door, a hulking beast nearly 7 feet tall packed with corded muscles, had rammed the frame into splinters upon exiting to the fresh air above and charged the nearest threat.
The first in its path would be Chirina, caught out with her backup already being swarmed.

If nothing was done soon, she would soon be ringed by charging foes. Anemone and the former captain would fare the same as Bertol, a tide of green swarming them without fear. In a few minutes there would be nowhere left to run.

---

Atop the raised deck at the rear of TRUE BLUE, Captain Goldwater gave a flick of his wrist and spoke into the cuff at his wrist, the words echoing to the earrings worn by the captains of two other ships miles away. "My host is seen. Carry on without us."

A reply came in moments later as the captain put his arm down and smiled at the Orcish host funneling out of the single doorway in a screaming mass. Even if the nearly 150 of them were all wiped out, Goldwater was positive the enemy ship would not survive. His payment for the head of Delilah would easily make up for the cost of todays unfortunate incident. Beast would be pleased.

---

(Below deck, GREAT AQUARIUS)

The total number of goblins that had slipped from TRUE BLUE had been close to 40. With Irving and the alien looking girl Isa, that total had fallen to just under 30. A number of the crew had grouped up in the belly of the ship and walled put the goblin host, a few others armed with spears had barricaded the storage room holding the powder kegs against hostile invaders. Their bravery thus far had staved off the intent of the goblins lust for self destruction, a dozen of them gutted about just infront of the door.

Garett and Jack had dealt with the most immediate threats as the stupid creatures rushed headlong or jumped from their hiding holes, in short order they had cleared what few of the creatures remained. Banging from below deck and the yell of the lead cook Irving was the only alert that there was more.
Another cook, his eye wounded and blood dripping from his arm where a finger was missing, stumbled into the group as they approached the stairs to below.
Recognizing the crew he saluted numbly and reported.

"They're going for the gunpowder! Hurry before they blow the ship sky high!"

---

(Above deck, at the wheel with Delilah and Eiko)

Back to back, Delilah smiled warmly at the comfort of an ally. "Your presence is a comfort." The two circled as their reinforcements met what few goblins had come over the rails to block the stairs, leaving the two ladies above to fend off the last dozen or so of the little bastards dirtying her beautiful ship.

"No survivors, thats an order." Pushing off from Eiko, the captains blade took one of the filthy creatures in the neck before cutting out the side and into the chest of another goblin. Two more lunged and Delilah responded with a grunt as her dagger took one in the chest while the pommel of her hastily drawn rapier collided with the bridge of anothers nose, shattering it and sending the hellion back to the boards in a weeping heap as blood flowed freely.

The others were quick the engage the females in a group, rushing all at once.

"That was surprising, this is a good-tempered one..." Bertol tightened his grasp on the Moon Materia, letting magic gather around his wrist. He interrupted his cast when a purple haired girl told him to go back. What was her name? Right, Anemone. He then found himself nearby of another girl actually bit goblins alive. Putting himself a few paces back from the girls, he maintained a few flows of his magic as he harnessed his wooden staff again with his other free hand.

A giant Orc, emerging from the door that the Dwarf escaped into. "That bloody pig, selling his soul to the Dark." Bertol had whispered out a dozen more curses. A fist of rock churned out from his side, as it went pummeling towards the beast.

---

Anemone's swing hit nothing but air as Raz quickly retreated through the doorway, that is until her weapon got stuck in the wall and preventing her from following up and cutting him down as he ran.
"Get back here you coward." With some effort, she eventually tugged it free but not before the doorway seemed to explode, showering her with splinters and knocking her back. Though it wasn't an explosion, just something large charging it's way through. And by something, it was a whole lotta of that something. That something being orcs.

Oh dear, and there seemed to be more than just a whole lot of them. There were craploads, much more than their small group could handle especially with all the other pirates still on-

....
....
What had happened to the enemy pirates?

One moment the boarding crew had been severely outnumbered, but now there seemed to be only a few of them. Well not including the orcs of course. But the human pirate numbers had dwindled severely, almost as if a small ball of death had made mincemeat of them in the few moments that Anemone had looked away for. But that was a crazy thought, so she put it down to the former captain making some serious headway into their numbers.

She seemed to be in two minds, retreat and regroup back on the ship or stand her ground and fight. They didn't have long to make up their minds, and each plan had its downsides and upsides. She quickly returned to reality as she noticed one charging towards Chirina, who seemed to be covered....in blood? That was a strange sight to see, but Anemone was sure that was nothing for concern. The orc charging her, however? Probably needed to be dealt with.

"Bertol, get out of here. Now." Without any actual authority, she ordered the idiot to retreat. With these many orcs aboard, it was going to be hard for someone as weak and squishy as him to cast his magic. At least aboard the Great Aquarius, he would have some distance between him and the orcs. She would just need to carve him a path.

Making a beeline towards the orc charging at Chiri, Anemone bent down slightly to pick something up as she ran. Clasping it tightly in her hand, she brought her arm back and hurled her pitchfork once more at the orc. As the weapon became embedded in its back, she jumped and kicked into the weapon to drive it even further through its body. And to top it off, she grabbed onto its shoulders and pushed all her weight into its back so that it would fall facefirst onto the ground where she would pin it to the ground by stabbing her cutlass through the back of it's head.

"What are you doing over here?! You should be on deck, you're not a member of the boarding crew." Without a moment's hesitation, Anemone quickly removed her weapons from the orc and once again hurled her pitchfork at the nearest one.
"...But since you're over here. Can you zap these guys? I'll buy you some time." Not paying much attention to Chiri as she spoke, she quickly engaged the next orc. Chiri had some lightning magic if memory served, similar to her but her's was very much an individual magic while Chiri's was meant to be actual lightning.

If she needed time, Anemone could buy her some easily. Hopefully. Maybe. Anemone wasn't too confident against going toe to toe with orcs, physical creatures who were basically born to fight. They were stronger than her, but they weren't all too bright nor skilled. And most importantly of all, they presented a challenge she couldn't resist. The pirates had fallen so easily, these orcs however would prove a decent obstacle to overcome.

Especially seeing as they swarmed towards them, meaning Anemone wasn't engaging one orc but more like twenty at this stage. It took all she could do just to parry, dodge and block their maniacal attacks. It was very hard to counter-attack with twenty, seven-foot-tall bundles of muscle and death trying to cleave you in half every half second. Especially with one weapon.

@jdh97@ennui

(Below Deck

Baetuc huffed and puffed as his bulky frame struggled to move through the ra sacked hall that seperated the kitchebs from the rest of the ship, and Elodeas personal quarters. A few dead goblins torn to pieces was a good sign of who their killer had been, so he continued through and kicked the little buggers to the aide of the wall as he passed.

When at laat the big half-orc entered the sea elfs quarters it took him a moment to register the scene. Every day Isas form grew stronger, its scales grew thicker, and the girls abilities were faster. She had come far since captivity together.

"Isa! Told you to warn me when you go runnin' off, girl. Place is swarmin' with-" finally noticing the still alive form of Elodea, he sighed heavily in relief. "One less to bury. Got lucky, laas. Little bastards are everywhere so its high time you got somewhere safe. C'mon, pantry in the kitchens got survivors that are hurtin' n' scared. Take what ye can salvage."

A nod to Isa was all the communication they needed. Bartuc would go first, and Isa would watch Elodeas back. Whenever the Sea elf was ready they would make way to the stragglers left behind, before anything got to them.