Private Tales Forgotten Treasures

[Edward Lorain]

Edward stood next to the helm of his ship as he looked through a spyglass towards the edge of the rounded cliff. Currently, his ship sat nestled up against a cliff face hidden from view. His brow was furrowed in thought as the moon brightened up the dark night. He had gotten a tip after a very lucky round of cards that a ship containing precious cargo was trying to make its way around eaglehead in the middle of the night to avoid detection.

The ship in question was supposedly fast and meant for stealth. Of course, stealth meant nothing when Edward knew where it would be. All they had to do was catch it...and he was feeling lucky.

Almost in response to his mood, he felt the wind pick up on his back, urging him forward. That breeze was reassuring like a mother's embrace. Edward put away his spyglass while looking over to Esme.

"We are going to need to do this as quick and fast as possible."

Edward quickly made his way down to the deck and called out to the men.

"Get ready to move. Trovik, you will lead the boarding party. Fenic...get the big guy out."

Normally, he tried to use Fenic's friend as little as possible, partly because he did not like thinking of Fenic as just some sort of weapon, but they needed all hands on deck for this one.

Trovik Half-horn Fenic Creed Esme Tyndall

 

[Fenic Creed]

The gentle rocking of the ship and the late hour lulled her to sleep, it wasn't often that this happened but with her new master she didn't believe that she would be punished. She couldn't say she necessarily felt safe, but she certainly felt less... She couldn't describe it... Less of what?

She was seated beside the open cargo hatch, leaned against a barrel and nodding off.
In the darkness below, the steady rumble of a large sleeping beast occasionally vibrated through the hull, further lulling Fenic into her peaceful slumber knowing that her friend was close.

"Get ready to move. Trovik, you will lead the boarding party. Fenic...get the big guy out."

Upon hearing her name she sleepily opened her eyes, rubbing away the haze she looked up at Edward, as if in confirmation.
Not really requiring any, she went ahead and began.

She crossed her legs under her and focused her mind on the rune marking her chest. The rune glowed with purple light and within moments she slumped limply against the barrel as her mind left her body.
The rhythmic vibration of the beast stopped. The creature opened its eyes and rose up on four legs, yawning cavernously as it stretched its massive muscles.

Fenic blinked through the eyes of The Apocolisk, letting her darkvision adjust before climbing out of the cage.
First one, then two massive clawed hands grabbed the edge of the cargo hatch, then as the creature pulled itself up another smaller set of clawed hands grabbed hold and further aided the massive creature onto the deck of the ship.

Power... Fenic felt powerful. She looked up at the moon and the clear sky, taking in a deep gulp and filling her massive lungs with the sea air, for a moment she wanted to roar, to declare her might to the stars, but for now they were being quiet, stealthy, stalking their prey.
She stood on her hind legs, a four armed beast with rending claws, massive crushing jaws, and a long barbed tail. A beast quite literally designed for combat and to do the most damage.

Apocolisk lowered herself to all fours and moved to the starboard of the ship, ready to slip into the water to stalk the ship which must be coming close now.
She turned her mighty head and blinked at Edward, awaiting his word.

 

[Esme Tyndall]

Esme stood next to Edward with a frown etched on her beautiful face. The frown wasn't because of their current job, it was the fact that their success rested a lot on luck. She did not have the best luck - hence why she was working for Edward right now. She had already been drinking throughout the day and had the nice feeling that she liked while working. Edward did not like her amount of drinking but she hadn't fucked up too bad yet so he let it be.

"Agreed, in and out. What do you need me to do?" She asked as she followed Edward and listened to his orders for the others.

She watched Fenic and it didn't matter how many times she saw Apocolisk, it still freaked her out a little.

 

[Trovik Half-horn]

"No problem, boss, I'm itching for a fight." he replied back to Edward standing up from the box he had been sat on sharping his Rhomphaia to pass the time. As he began to stretch out his muscles ready for the fight, the popping and cracking of his joint could be heard.

Trovik had seen the creature in cage during his time on the ship but it was hard to get idea of it's full size whilst it was in its cage. He stared at the Apocolisk, sizing it up, considering if he could take it a fight or not and he came to conclusion it would be a draw between him and the beast.

Trovik sheathed his Rhomphaia into it's back scabbard then cracked his knuckles "I'm ready when you are boss."

 

[Edward Lorain]

"Trovik and Fenic are too big to not have the attention on them. While the boarding party causes a bunch of fun problems. You and I are going to get below deck and find our prize."

Edward did not know exactly what the prize was. He was aware that there were some riches on the ship, but nothing to warrant such a discreet transportation mission. It had to be something worth taking.

"I want someone I can trust next to me."

He looked into the distance and spotted the movement he was looking for. It was such a small detail that he would have missed it if he was not looking for it. The trading vessel was not large and its wood looked back creating a type of camouflage against the dark ocean.

Edward used a hand motion and the sails unfurled. Almost instantly, the wind filled the sails and shot their ship forward to overtake the vessel. The ship they were chasing was fast. He was impressed, and it was not looking like they would catch up, but...Edward had luck on his side.

He whispered under his breath. "I could really use just a bit more help. Just give me a chance."

The wind responded. A greater gust seemed to come from his back increasing the speed of his own ship, but more importantly, it seemed the other vessel was having problems as the wind seemed to vanish from their sails. The ship was now a sitting duck.

"Alright, Trovik. You guys are up."

Fenic Creed Esme Tyndall Trovik Half-horn

 

[Fenic Creed]

"Alright, Trovik. You guys are up."

That was all the go-ahead she needed.
In spite of her enormous size she silently slipped over the side of the ship with little more than a creek of wood and a slight rocking as her weight left the deck.
She gracefully dove into the water and slipped below the surface with only a small spout as water closed around her.

She swam like a seal, streamlining her body into a hydrodynamic simi-bullet shape, making her passage through the depths swift.
At first she weaved her way between rocks near the shore, which might have been dangerous to their ship at low tide, but their captain and her master were no fools when it came to ships and seas.

On initial observation, Apocolisk didn't seem to be very adaptable to water, her bulk seemed a detriment to moving well under water.
And indeed this used to be true.
A surprise match designed to end her winning streak. A watery arena dominated by a modified kraken.
Apocolisk wasn't built for that kind of battle, she took a lot of damage and nearly drowned... But she defeated that monster and emerged from the bloody water victorious. But it was a close battle.
After that, her master at the time decided to invest in some aquatic modifications to overcome her weakness in a watery environment. Now she's just as competent in water as she is on land.

The belly of the black ship appeared through the watery haze. Apocolisk couldn't breath underwater, but she could hold her breath for up to an hour, and that was more than enough time.
She nosed her way up to the ship, it was bobbing in the water, barely moving.

She could have shoved a claw straight through the hull and sunk it, but that wasn't the plan. She would hold her position until Trovik arrived and then join him on the deck to take care of the crew.
She moved to the starboard side of the ship and waited... It won't be long now.

 

[Esme Tyndall]

Esme smiled over at Edward, "you really know how to treat a lady, Edward."

The pirate watched as the other ship seemingly stopped and they grew closer. Good, that was the luck they needed. As their ship came up close to the other, she smiled at her Captain.

"You ready for some fun?" Fenic and Trovic would start and then they would follow to slip below. "Cause I am!" Esme finished off the flask that was in her hand and set it in a crate on deck.

 

[Edward Lorain]

"I am to please." Edward laughed out with a smile as the ship grew ever closer. As soon as he was satisfied with the distance, he handed off the wheel to another of the crew. Edward unsheathed his cutlass before looking over closer.

"Let's go get rich then." He responded as the ship finally pulled up next to the other vessel. Edward was slow in the beginnings of the action, as he had no need to hurry. Like a good stew, he needed to give the battle time to simmer. Let all the eyes settle on Fennic and Trovik. He and Esme would serve as the main dish, but every dish needed an appetizer.

"Just don't blackout on me." Edward jeered as he glanced over at the empty flask.

Fenic Creed Esme Tyndall Trovik Half-horn

 

[Esme Tyndall]

Esme made a mocking mimicking face at Edward's comment about blacking out. "Oh but that was exactly what I was going to do, Edward!" She said with a joking smile. Esme did not black out...usually.

She had worked with Edward enough to know how he liked these things to go. The others would start the chaos and that would give them a chance to sneak on board.

 

[Trovik Half-horn]

As the ship pulled up Trovik didn't wait for board bridge to brought down on it. he backed up to the opposite end of the ship and broke out into flat out sprint leap from their boat to other, as he soared through air all that could be heard from him a heart laughy as he land the deck of the ship.

He landed with a might thud and floor boards groaning over weight of the impact, he quickly drew his Rhomphaia and pointed into closet crewman "now which one of you wants to die first" he spoke with loud enthusiasm and that stunned crew. he would let out another laugh before charging in as the rest of board arrived.

 

[Fenic Creed]

She watched the bottom hull of their ship steadily approaching and then coming alongside the treasure ship.

That was her cue.

She rose up out of the water and dug her claws into the side of the ship, her weight caused the craft to tilt as she pulled herself out of the water and peaking her eyes just above the railing of the deck.

Trovik was already on the deck of the enemy ship, challenging the crew on deck to fight him before he went ahead and drove into them.

Now was as good a time as any.

She heaved herself up and over the side of the ship to stand on the deck.
Everyone was too distracted by Trovik to notice her... That simply wouldn't do.
Raising her head to the sky she opened her cavernous mouth and let out a bellowing roar, expressing her might and power through her primal scream!
That got their attention, and the crew screamed in simultaneous horror and panic as it seemed fate and the gods have completely abandoned them.

A few of the weaker men immediately jumped overboard to escape the four armed beast standing on the deck of their ship.
Now that they had their attention divided between her and Trovik, she went to work.
Methodically squishing the little soldiers and crew hands that tried to pierce her thick hide with useless weapons. She decided to play a savage little game with herself, whenever someone got brave enough to attack her she would pick him up, toss him in the air or into the rigging of the sails, and see how long it would take for them to come down before she bats them out of the air and into the water, or into a mast, or into their shipmates... Or sometimes she would miss, and the poor crew hand would splatter against the deck.

 

[Edward Lorain]

Absolutely perfect performances by Trovik and Fenic. The roars of the two warriors combined with the screams of terror of the other ship's crew were music to his ears.

"I suppose that is our cue."

Edward leisurely followed behind the rest of the boarding party, but he never reached for his sword. The crew followed Trovik into battle with their own war cries. Edward looked back to Esme with a smirk before casually sneaking off to the door that he assumed led to the captain's quarters.

He was confident in his knowledge of ships, and most of them tended to have similar designs. If the treasure he desired was truly as important as he believed it to be, then there was no way that the captain was ever going to let it out of his sight. It was the same thing that Edward would have done.

"Keep your eye out for the-" His sentence was cut short as a cold gust of wind made the hairs on his arm stand on end. It alerted him just in time to dive to the floor as a cutlass was being swung at his neck as he entered the doorway. He quickly turned to face up at the attacked as he scrambled backward, finally finding time to finish the sentence."

"-the captain."

Esme Tyndall Fenic Creed Trovik Half-horn

 

[Esme Tyndall]

Esme had been behind Edward as they headed to the Captains quarters so she was far enough away to avoid the strike that could have made her the Captain of Edwards ship. She drew a dagger and launched it at the mans throat but she did not wait to see if it struck home. She didn't care. The dagger was a distraction to allow for Edward to get to his feet and for her to pull her short sword from its sheath.

The Captain staggered back and the dagger just grazed him. Those seconds though were all that was needed for Esme and Edward to advance.

Edward Lorain

 

[Edward Lorain]

Thank the winds for Esme being here. He scrambled to his feet and took out his own cutlass with a big sigh of relief. It was not two on one with no surprises. He used his free hand to wipe some of his hair out of his face.

"That was rather rude Captain, but I am a forgiving man. It would be in your best interest to surrender the ship to your new guests."

"You're bloody pirates! You'll never get away with this."

"Such an aggressive word, but yes, we are and..." Edward stopped talking so the room could listen to the screams from outside.

"I'm actually quite confident that I can, so if you want to make it out of this alive then I will need you to put down your sword."

The man did seem to be hesitating now but still was not ready to surrender his only means of defense. The captain was probably the captain for a reason and knew how to use the sword, but he did not seem like the type that was confident enough to take two people on at once.

"You have my word that nothing will befall you or your men."

That seemed to finally push him over the edge and he dropped his sword to the ground. Perfect, Edward walked over and placed his hand on his back as he guided him towards the door.

"Alright, so I am going to throw you out there. I suggest you quickly announce the ship's surrender before the large minotaur or the four armed juggler makes it to you or you will die. Anyways good luck." Before any objections could be made, Edward launched the man out the door and locked the door behind him.

Fenic Creed Trovik Half-horn Esme Tyndall