Fable - Ask The Away Team

[Lucius]

Compelled by the light touch of Ana's magic Lucius rushed forward and beyond where Peyton and Anderson fought.

His blade was wrenched free from the Dreadlord's stomach, his boot stomping down on the dying man's face for good measure as he rushed forward. Lucius cut his way through the Corsair's in his way, blade singing through flesh and cloth armor.

"FOR MARR-"​

One of the Corsair's attempted to charge him in revenge of the Dreadlord, but his blade was quickly batted aside by Lucius' sword. His dagger quickly flicked up, slicing across the mans face while his boot hooked the man's leg and sent him sprawling onto the floor.

Three more steps, and Lucius jumped up onto the railing of the ship. In one swift motion he bounded over the edge of their vessel, his sword finding purchase in one of the archers who had been laying down volleys of arrows.

With a clatter Lucius fell to the floor atop the now dead man, raising himself up in an almost shamanistic fury.

 

[Andromeda]

"Was this your plan all along?" Kestra snarled as their blades locked together. Ana's jaw worked as she ground her teeth and focused on keeping her rigid grip on the blade. It had been a while since she had fought like this and her muscles were protesting a little. She was lucky she had her heightened strength to rely upon.

"Not exactly, I'm more along for the ride and well... the sea has always called," despite her concentration her voice was casual as if the two were catching up over a cup of ale in a tavern somewhere. Kestra broke their lock first then swung sharply at her face. The blade caught her across the cheek and she hissed, her hand coming up to press against the blood that gushed down her jaw. It wasn't a nasty cut, it was just that wounds to the face bled worse than other places.

"Well we can arrange for you and the sea to get well acquainted," she lunged forward again but Ana was ready and the sting on her face lent strength and vigour to her parry. The two danced across the deck and were panting by the time Ana's back hit the rail of the ship. Kestra pressed her advantage with a manic smile but Ana moved at the last second. As Kestra's blade thudded into the wood of the ship Ana spun around and kicked the woman firmly in the small of her back. With a cry the Captain went over the edge and Ana wrenched the secondary blade out of the woodwork.

 

[Peyton]

Peyton pulled in a sharp breath as the Captain rolled off of her and she tried to get up as she heard Finch's voice. The blade in her shoulder was buried in the deck underneath her and she grit her teeth hard together as she curled her fingers around the hilt and pulled. Another scream threw itself from her lungs as the blade was yanked free of wood, flesh and bone and her head spun for a moment when she thought she might throw up.

Get up Peyton..

The woman pulled herself to her feet and staggered against the rail of the ship to watch as the captain fell. She nodded at Finch's words and tried to catch her breath.. "Thank you.." she breathed out and wiped the glistening sweat from her brow with a bloody hand readied her weapons again before rushing back into the chaos. The captain was dead, she was now technically in charge and it gave her a renewed sense of purpose and power. Men were falling on either side, the Corsairs were far better warriors than most of their crew but these men were also pirates and they fought without honour for their lives and their pay.

"They think they're better than you are!!" she called above the carnage, her blades finding anchor in another ribcage before she moved on. "Ten extra gold for every fucking man cut down!!!!" she screamed with burning fury at the men as she slammed a blade into the back of a skull. They cheered, and rose up again.

 

[Finch]

Finch trilled as he saw his comrade return to the fray. In response he perfectly mimicked the young woman's voice and repeated her promise - casting it easily across the battlefield - if any of the crew hadn't heard her statement first time round, they would now.

His voice erupted into a song again as the feathered figure leapt into the fray. Without hesitation he armed his free hand with his knife and waded through the chaotic melee.

Now, in the heat of battle, Finch's voice began to be drowned out - whether intentional or not - only snippets of the song were heard ringing across the deck.

"... wouldn't do us any harm." His sword continued to glow its incandescent blue, even as it buried itself through the gut of a distracted Anirian.

"... wouldn't do us any harm." He stepped into a widening circle - an anirian stood bloodied and surrounded by corpses and maimed crewmembers, savouring the victory.

"... wouldn't do us any harm." Finch sung at the top of his voice, his sword twirling elegantly in the air - leaving mesmerising trails of blue lingering in its wake.

He knew the man before him was skilled. The challenger turned to face Finch, a rictus snarl on his face. His poise, his stance, his aura screamed death. Finch, for all his faults, knew the swordsman before him would win in a fair contest.

"... Hang on behind." He sung with a smile, gently flicking the sword towards the Anirian as he lunged for the bird.

A cacophony of sound met the assailant. In the blink of an eye the stored energy of his weapon evaporated the figure and the man that stood before Finch only moments before was little more than human slurry on the deck.

Thankfully, Finch was anything but fair.

 

[Lucius]

Lucius cut through the Corsair's as fast as he could.

They fought with a voracity that he'd never seen. Most of them were good swordsmen, others wielded spears better than any he'd ever seen. All of them fought like savages. By the time he'd dispatched the fifth one he found himself already bloodied.

A dozen cuts decorated his body, his shirt was torn to shreds and he could feel blood dripped from his forehead. A wild look had entered his eye, and as he cut down the sixth corsair he let out a roar of frustration and rage.

Five years.

Five years living in the gutter. Five Years away from friends, away from family. Five years without a home.

He would take this ship and change all that. He would slaughter every last Anirian and ensure that he claimed their prize. "ONTO THE GALLEON!"

Lucius screamed, his voice booming louder than he had any right to. He called to the Pirates still on the first ship, the men and women who had been caught there.

"CUT THE LI-" As he shouted Lucius found himself interrupted by a hulking giant of a man. He stepped to the side, dropping the words on his lips as a massive sledge hammer came thundering down into the deck where he had just been. An explosion of splinters erupted there, his eyes bulging as he saw the giant before him.

 

[Andromeda]

There were a lot less of their team on the ship than there were of the enemy and Ana found herself with her hands full as the Captain disappeared over the side. Who knew people actually cared about old Kestra? Sly sea bitch. There was one Anirian with a nasty black eye who swung at her and met a quick death with a slash across the throat, another who she ran through with the stolen blade and left to bleed out on the deck, another went crumpling to the floor after a well placed kick to the back of the knee. Her breathing was ragged by the time she heard the singing from the other ship and her attention was split for a moment.

Was that a parrot? Either way, Ana recognised the song. It was a popular shanty and the man who was singing it had a rich voice she could have listened to for days. Her lips twitched up at the corners and as another woman came running at her, the Siren picked up the tune too.

That was until the hulking giant split the deck of the ship. It sent men and women from both sides stumbling back as they scrambled to get out of the hammers way. One unfortunate soul screamed as he went through the gap in the decking. The giant began to turn and wind up for another aim at Lucius

"Hey!" Ana jumped on the rail of the ship and put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. "Over here big boy," the man turned slowly, as did quite a few of the rest of the crew. "Come and catch me," the words pulsed across the deck and weapons clattered to the ground from more than few of the men - including the giant. Ana waited for them to get a bit nearer then turned and neatly dived into the ocean depths below.

The ship rocked as 20 men and a giant poured over the side after her.

 

[Peyton]

Peyton continued to fight side by side with Finch and their men fought with a renewed sense of determination given promise of coin and with Finch’s song. A few were even singing along.

She heard Lucius’ voice bellowing and then coming to a stop and she spun around to search for him. Her distraction cost her, and she took a nasty slash under her eye before being knocked to the ground amidst the bloody rush of feet and mess of corpses.

The Corsair came after her, but he lifted his blade with both hands and she shoved her knife into his ribs and twisted before yanking it back out again and rolling to the side into a pool of blood before he could fall on top of her.

She struggled to get up, the deck was slick with blood and she was fallen over and kicked back down more than a few times, soon there wasn’t a bit of her not painted with crimson. Crawling to the rudder she pulled herself back to her feet, panting with exhaustion and searching the Galleon for Lucius. Ana’s voice grabbed her attention however and she watched with wide eyes the woman jumped over the edge, and how the others had followed.

“Finch!! Go get Ana!!” She pointed to where the woman had gone over, sure she would drown against the crushing waves.

She managed to stab one more man in the gut before running for the gangplank and onto the Galleon to start cutting the lines.

 

[Finch]

Finch's voice rose through the din of battle. Back to back with Peyton he fought. Several anirians were toppled beneath the unstoppable coalition of the two seasoned deckhands, together they parried, blocked, thrust and maimed any unfortunate enemy that stood before them.

Their sense of invincibility was short-lived. The writhing mass of battle, the violent swaying of the ship, saw them drift apart and Finch was powerless to defend his comrade from the enraged corsair. That said, his lapse in concentration cost him and one of the swordsmen he was keeping at bay slipped past his defence. The enemy's sabre opened up a deep gash on his shoulder.

Finch focused on the man, his song never faltering and gaining a hardened scornful edge to it. A feint, a parry, the swords of the pair clashed and Finch forced his beak through the confrontation and pecked at the eye of the sailor. He squealed, dropping his weapons to clutch his face. Finch's dagger and sword were skewering him in moments.

With his quarry down, he double-checked Peyton's status and followed her towards the Galleon. Unlike her, however, he had no use of the gangplank and instead used his feathered appendages to glide the distance between the ships.

"Uh, you might just wanna hope she's a good swimmer, I'm not really in a state to fly Peyt." He squawked back at his friend, gesturing towards the blood caking his feathers.

 

[Lucius]

"Well shit." Lucius said as Ana dove off the Galleon and pulled twenty Anirians with her.

For a few seconds he simply stood there dumbfounded, his eyes on the edge of the ship. Then he heard a step behind him. A Corsair with a brandished knife slashed at him, Lucius taking half a step but catching the end of the blade on his back.

Blood flicked onto the floor, soaking his shirt in an instant as he quickly turned and ran his sword through the man's chest.

"Cut the lines!" He shouted again with a grimace, taking a step towards the other edge of the boat and sinking his blade through one of the massive ropes. There was a snap as the line jumped loose, and then another as his orders were quickly followed.

More Anirians were coming from below deck, but Lucius could see their numbers were thinning.

With a roar, he turned and charged towards the stairs.

 

[Andromeda]

The change tore through her in the usual thrum of pain and exhilaration. She was a little gutted she lost her boots in the process but the thought only lasted for a moment as her tail sent her hurtling forwards the ocean floor. On the surface only bubbles and then ripples would be seen.

Those who had been weak enough to follow her orders would follow her further and further down until the pressure of the waves and lack of air became too much for them. Drowning was never peaceful no matter what sailors said to comfort one another. As each one died their bodies hung in the water, splayed and prone as if they had been crucified. A few had died closed enough to the surface that their bodied resurfaced and bobbed against the wood of the ship.

 

[Peyton]

Peyton winced at Finch's words as she caught glimpse of the blood. "Fuck."

She’d been about to run to the rail to peer over into the water when more Anirian’s filtered up from below deck, and she watched Lucius charge them before quickly following suit to fight by his side.

She was exhausted, and held on through sheer determination alone, but her wounds were slowing her and she growled and groaned with every blow and parry. She managed to cut down two more before she was kicked in the stomach and thrown to the floor, winded.

This time she didn’t think she’d have the energy to get back up again. She pulled herself back, coughing and gasping, and watched as the Anirian rushed toward her with a malicious roar, his blade raised with the intent on ending her.

 

[Lucius]

"Peyton!" Lucius called out in a mix of panic and rage as he saw her go down. An Anirian stepped in his path, the Corsair's blade singing forward in a hone strike. He felt steel carve into his side, flesh splitting and blood splitting.

A cry of pain erupted form his lips, but his left hand came up in a quick swipe. A knife split the Anirian's throat, his body immediately crumpling onto the floor as Lucius tried to rush passed him.

Yet as he moved another enemy fell into his path, then another, and another. They came at him not one by one, but all in a mass as they did their best to keep him away from his friend. Rage entered his heart, rage and a spike of fear.

As he saw the Corsair rush towards Peyton, his blade gleaming in the sunlight, something inside of Lucius snapped.

All thought left his mind, and out of pure instinct Lucius simply reached out. His eyes flashed blue, and beneath the ship Ana would see the sight of a massive Nahas Whale suddenly appear from the depths. It's great bulk shifted and slammed into the underside of the Galleon.

The entire vessel rocked, Corsairs fell from their feet, others struggled to keep themselves afloat.

Lucius, as if he'd been expecting it surged through his foes. Blade cut flesh, and just as the Anirian in front of Peyton gathered himself up Lucius met him with the point of the very sword Peyton had bought him.

 

[Andromeda]

What the actual fuck.

Ana floated dumbfounded as she watched the whale. It had come out of nowhere. An animal that size was usually a slow beast that took its time and didn't bother itself with the affairs of humans. But this one had charged forward with a murderous intent and Ana had absolutely no wish to be in the water with an animal that was either being controlled or had evolved enough to have feelings about other creatures. She swam around the beast keeping a wary eye on it before appearing at the bottom of one of the ladders on a more abandoned side of the ship. She was still thankfully dressed at least in her shirt so she wouldn't startle people too much. Maybe.

She heaved herself up and once her tail left the water the change shifted her fins to leg and she was able to scale up the side of the ship with a practised ease. With a soft thud she landed on the deck, sword poised. Several Anirians flinched when they saw her.

"Hello boys, abandon ship," she stood to the side as they dutifully hopped over the edge of the boat and she half turned to see if the whale would eat them. "Wait," her sword tapped the chest of a younger boy and she motioned to his breeches. "I find myself lacking, if you wouldn't mind," his glazed eyes comprehended nothing as he took them off and passed them to her before jumping into the sea after his companions. Ana pulled them on briskly then jumped down to the main deck.

 

[Finch]

Finch was thankful for his avian balance. The rocking of the galleon sent the remaining Anirians off-guard and stumbling into each other. That said, he was acutely aware of the blood he was losing from his wound. He sighed. He knew he was going to pass out, it was just a matter of when.

May as well pass out with a bang, he concluded to himself. His beak shifted into a mischievous grin as he stole a glance towards his glowing sword. He acted quickly, realising his comrades - and a naked lady with an alluring voice - had destroyed most of the threat.

He sighed, picking one of the remaining packs of resistance aboard the stolen vessel and begun to erupt in a beautiful vocal scale. As he vocalised each note, his sword thrummed with power, dimming and glowing in perfect synch with the bird.

With the concluding note finished, Finch grinned, then flicked his weapon towards his enemies. A sphere of pulsating blue energy shot forth from his sword and suddenly erupted in a deafening cacophony amongst the melee. Finch was certain a couple of friendly sailors were caught in his attack, but he shrugged.

Limbs, blood, gore, teeth. The men were turned inside out, they were rendered, their bodies erupting from the force of the explosion he unleashed upon them.

Finch, content with the attack, turned towards Peyton. Smiled cheekily towards Lucius and then took a deep bow before collapsing into a puddle of his own blood.

 

[Peyton]

Had Peyton not been too distracted by the man coming at her she might have noticed what had happened to Lucius. She pulled herself back along the deck until there was nothing else to do but press herself against the barrels at her back and stare up at the man who was about to end it all.

Something shifted, and for a moment she thought they’d run aground before quickly realising the were anchored. She flinched in fright and the man staggered back and into the rail before refocusing himself. But Lucius was there, and the Anirian’s face was a picture of shock as the sword pierced straight through him.

She let out a shuddered breath in relief as she stared up at Lucius, entirely blood-soaked and shaking. She was done, and her face said it without her having to use any words at all.

More men were diving overboard and Peyton felt yet further relief to see Ana back on board. How, she didn’t know, nor did she know why she was in need of new breeches.

With Finch’s final attack, Peyton hid her face from spatter of yet more blood, averting her eyes from the effects of his magic. She didn’t have the stomach for it. A silence seemed to fall and she looked up to see the bird bow and collapse.

She had every urge to rush to him, every muscle in her body ached with the need to move, but as the threat seemed to have diminished, her mind forced itself to shut down, and her eyes closed.

The ship was theirs.

 

[Lucius]

"Kukri!" He called out for the ship doctor, glancing around the deck in hopes that he'd made it. After only a second the Nazrani stepped for are, glancing at Lucius and Peyton. "See to Finch, I'll get Peyton!"

The order was barked without any thought.

He took three steps forward and grabbed Peyton before she could completely collapse to the floor. Immediately he tore away the cloth still remaining around her wounds, inspecting them before beginning to quickly do his best to see after them.

Lucius was no doctor nor medic, but he'd always had an interest anatomy. Learning about how to fix yourself was important, and he could stitch about as well as a seamstress. "You'll be alright."

He said quietly to Peyton as he tore off strips from his ruined shirt and began to bandage her wounds as best he could. She was injured, cut deep, but by his eye he surmised that she would not succumb as long as she didn't lose any more blood.

Something he could do thankfully.

 

[Andromeda]

Ana was busy at the wheel, summarising the rest of them would get on with dragging bodies off to the side and seeing to the injured. She had no skills in the area, her talents lay with death and not life. She ran her hands smoothly over the wood with a soft sigh. It was a beautiful vessel and the wheel felt light under her hands. How long of the Anirians to basically leave her ready for sail. She thought it prudent that they get moving - Teth wasn't it they had said. There were a few dazed sailors standing around with no jobs and so she once again stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled.

"Look lively lads, let's get her going shall we? Last thing we want is Sirens coming to the scent of blood. Get the anchor up," the men seemed thankful to have something to do and those that weren't tending to the wounded or clearing off the dead were soon scurrying to get the ship ready for sail. Her eyes skimmed the deck to where Peyton and Lucius and Finch before giving a small wink and spinning the wheel round sharply.

Someone was even kind enough to return her hat.

 

[Finch]

Finch groaned as he woke up in the infirmary. Several of his feathers had been removed around his chest and an angry wound sat neatly stitched at his side. It was sore, but it was nothing he hadn't received before. He breathed deeply and tried to sit up. He was rewarded by a ripple of pain across his body, but he pushed through it and rested his back carefully against the wooden cabin walls.

"Jeez Peyt, you look horrific, did ya forget you're meant to avoid swords - not run into them?" He snickered at towards his comrade. She certainly looked worse than he felt. Several cuts, wounds, welts, grazes and every other injury you can imagine seemed to adorn the girl.

His vision was still focusing as he woke up and Finch called out several times to Lucius and Kukri. "Where are the help when you need them, I need to write myself up a prescription of liquor."

 

[Peyton]

Peyton had finally managed to sit up, and she felt as bad as she looked. Despite that, she managed a weak smirk at Finch and rolled her eyes. “You look simply gorgeous yourself. Big birdy bastard.. Some of us don’t have the ability of turning people inside out like you do.” she winced, pretty sure she still had human debris in her hair.

She pressed gingerly at her shoulder and the stitched wound on her cheek, realising just how close to her eye the blade had come. “Besides I‘m sure I can make these scars look pretty good.” she mused.

“Did we really just do that?..” she laughed, and flinched at the pain.

 

[Lucius]

After Peyton had been seen to Lucius had taken up charge besides Ana. The two of them had worked quickly to get the crew accustomed to the Galleon, and as soon as they were underway the Warships catapult had been used to set their old ship aflame.

Disbelief still rang through him, and that struck home even more so when he'd made his way into the cargo hold.

He had already known what was down there, at least conjecture of it, but as soon as he'd opened the heavy vault door Lucius had nearly collapsed onto his knees. Mountains and mountains of gold, enough to found a city.

From the ledger he'd found it was the entirety of House Relek's wealth, moved because they had feared the Great Houses would soon seize it.

After nearly fainting, and taking a handful of gold, Lucius had posted the men he trusted most at the door and locked the entire cargo hold down. Everyone on the crew would get their share, just as it had always been, but until then he would make sure greed got the best of no one. "We did!"

Lucius said as he opened the door to the infirmary.

"And now we'll reap the rewards." The words came as he flipped a coin towards the both of them.

 

[Andromeda]

It was the way Lucius had staggered across the deck after coming up from the hold that had made her pass the wheel over to one of the other lads on the crew before setting off after him. It he passed out somewhere she would be really fucked, especially with Peyton in the infirmary. She had a feeling that was where he was heading and she thought idly to herself that at least it meant that if he did pass out he would be in the right place to get help at the very least.

She stepped into the room just as he flipped a coin to each of the pair including the curious bird she had seen briefly on deck.

"So you're the one with the pretty voice?" her head tilted to the side with a small smile. Her peach eyes looked nearer to a deep orange in the dimmer light down here and she shifted them to Peyton now. "Congrats on the new digs. She's a beauty to sail."

 

[Finch]

"I believe we did Peyt, took an Anirian vessel. I cannot wait to see what happens when they send their fleet after us - I know the Anirian's hate to look weak." He spoke in jest, but in reality, his mind was already thinking ahead to the next steps. Vel'Anir would not take kindly to this transgression and, whether it be in a few months, years, or even a decade, they would answer back. In his experience, they never forget.

He shrugged, that wasn't a today problem, or even really his problem. Finch simply smiled and begun to preen some of his damaged or bloodied feathers carefully with his beak. It was soothing and therapeutic, a familiar sensation that helped ground him after the chaos of battle.

He almost lost himself in his grooming until Ana's voice addressed him and he perked up. "I prefer to call it handsome." Finch cackled as he spoke, his eyes bearing fully down on the woman and he smiled wryly.

"You're one to talk, I heard your song... Thirty men tumbling at your voice - an interesting gift." He winked at her. If he had inclinations or ideas regarding her power, he hid it well and instead he simply returned to his grooming.

 

[Peyton]

The last thing she'd seen was Lucius above her telling her she'd be alright, she wasn't entirely sure how long ago that had been. She looked down at the stitched and bandaged wounds, her clothes and hair still matted with dried blood.

She rubbed at her temples as they throbbed and laughed under her breath at Finch's comments .. "Let us have it for a few days at least Finchy.." she muttered and looked down to assess her wounds.

Lucius' voice called her attention and she looked up to catch the coin. She looked down at it for a moment with a widening grinand forced herself with a groan to her feet to pull the man into a tight hug that hurt but she didn't care. He'd saved her life, hadn't gotten himself killed, and she felt nothing but relief. "Thank you Luc..."

She looked to Ana with a warm smile and reached out to take the woman's hand. "Thank you too, Ana. You have quite the gift, we couldn't have won it without you. Any of you." she smiled warmly despite how awful she felt..

"Is the haul as good as we thought then?" her brow lifted.

 

[Lucius]

"I have a plan for when that happens." Lucius said proudly in regards to the Anirians, though he dropped it as everyone swiftly moved to other conversations.

The idea had been in the back of his head since Peyton had first brought up stealing the Galleon. For a few months they wouldn't have to worry about it, but he idea was there for when they actually needed it. He just hoped Finch trusted him.

A smile was flashed at Peyton. "Enough to make sure no one on this crew ever has to work again."

Though they would probably spend it all on prostitutes and ale inside of a month.

"I've put some guards on the door." He told them, clearly still not trusting the entirety of their crew.

They'd have to have a change over in Teth.

 

[Andromeda]

Ana's smile grew into a grin at Finch's words.

"Handsome, my apologies," she gave a small flourishing bow. "Perhaps when you're feeling a little better we could-" before she could finish her request for a duo her hand was gripped by Peyton and she put her hand over the top of hers before giving it a returning squeeze. "I'm glad my mind melting could come in handy," a soft laugh before she perched on the beside table that sat in between Peyton and Finch's beds. Her legs swung back and forth as Lucius boldly claimed that none of them would have to work again.

What was the fun of that?

There was a bottle of rum on the table and she helped herself to a swig. She was nowhere near as bad as the others but her skin still boasted a good few cuts and bruises, the one delivered by Kestra the worst running across her cheek dangerously close to her eye.

"I wouldn't worry about the Anirians, you have a much bigger problem with that whale that seemed intent on capsizing the ship," she winced as the rum went down her parched throat then took a far more ladylike sip.