Post by The Smith on Dec 22, 2008 18:40:28 GMT -5
The storm-battered ship pushed itself wearily into the small cove, its crew thanking the Drowned God that they had found a place to hide from the winds and the wild sea. The ship’s captain, Ser Wulf Pyke said a silent prayer to his own gods, thanking the Crone for guiding them here. The thanks caught in his throat though, as lightning flashed, illuminating the cove and showing the clear, white sail and the hull of another ship on the black water. He didn’t have a chance to see the flag the ship was flying, but he hoped they too were just escaping the worst of the weather, and not pirates who had thought this the perfect place to ambush such ships.
Wulf looked at his tired crew. At other times he would have relished the opportunity to cut down some pirates who sought to trap him, but the storm had been fierce, and his men seemed in no state to fight off attackers.
The clouds were to too thick for the moon to shine through tonight, so he had to wait until lightening flashed again before he could see the ship and its flag again. When it did, he could see the ship was moving now towards them, and the flag it flew was a black background with a grey snake, one he didn’t recognise. He didn’t need to recognise the flag though, there was only one reason for the ship to approach them, it intended to attack.
Wulf roared above the howling winds to his crew to get ready to fight. The men cursed loudly and scrambled to armour and arm themselves. Wulf went below deck and picked out his mail surcoat he used for ship fighting. He wore it loose so that it could be easily removed should he fall into the water. Picking up his axe, he launched himself back up to the deck, where Rodrik Blacktyde was organising the crew to fire a volley of arrows against the approaching ship. Lightening flashed again, showing the ship to be within arrow range and immediately Rodrik bellowed out for the crew to fire.
It was too dark to see if the volley had hit, but Wulf knew the wind was too strong for the arrows to have any affect. He went to each man, shouting in their ear to be heard, giving them words of encouragement to try and bolster their spirits and give them the strength to fight after sailing through the storm.
Lightening flashed again, the other ship was beside them now, but in the darkness it hadn’t come close enough to board. The distance was close enough for arrows to maybe hit though, and Wulf ordered for the crew to fire again. From across the water and over the sound of the wind they heard the cries of men as some of the arrows found targets. The volley was quickly responded to in turn, however, as arrows came from out of the darkness thudding, into the deck and into a few of Wulf’s men.
Briefly the moonlight managed to break through the cloud cover, showing Wulf that currents in the cover had brought the ships close enough to board. Wulf didn’t waste a moment; he roared for his men to follow him and jumped across the gap to bring the fight to the other ship.
Charging into the enemy crew, he buried his axe into the chest of the first man he met. He pulled his weapon out and was quickly surrounded by pirates. He knocked away a blow from one of them, then another blow from a second man. He felt the bite of steel cutting through his mail into his shoulder as third blow slipped past his defences. He roared and shoved his injured his shoulder into the man who had cut him, then raised his axe and slashed at the man’s face, cutting deeply into one of his eyes. The man fell to the ground clutching his face, and Wulf turned back to see more of the enemy crew surrounding him. Wulf only had a moment to register that some of them appeared to be Ironborn before he cut another one down.
Wulf was being pressed backwards now, trying to fend off a group of men. His axe moved in a blur, parrying and blocking blow, fighting purely defensively. Suddenly Rodrik Blacktyde came swinging from Wulf’s ships on one of the mast ropes, crashing into the group and sending them toppling to the ground. Wulf wasted no time in jumping on the fallen men, laying his axe into them one after the other. He grabbed Rodrik and pulled his friend to his feet. Rodrik winked at him and the two charged back into the main fight going on further up deck.
Despite their weariness, the experience of Wulf’s men seemed to be giving them a slight advantage over the pirates. Wulf and Rodrik fought back-to-back, spinning around cutting any man down who dared to approach them.
A huge, warhammer wielding pirate attacked Rodrik fearlessly, roaring as Rodrik narrowly jumped out of the way of the swinging hammer, separating him from Wulf, who had become locked in combat with the captain of the ship. Rodrik hit the ground and rolled as the hammer came smashing into the deck beside him. He sprang up and slashed up at the large man, but his blow only met the handle of the hammer.
The moonlight began to fade away as the two men fought on, covered by the clouds again. Rodrik was having difficulty seeing his attacker, and the battle that still raged on around him was no longer visible at all. He used the opportunity to try and move around the large man, doing his best to discern where he was. He cut out at the figure in the darkness, and felt the contact with the man’s armour, and then felt his sword cut through into the vulnerable flesh beneath. The man shouted in pain, but Rodrik only pushed his sword in further, before abandoning it and lifting his boot, and kicking the big man over the edge into the water.
Unarmed and unable to see, Rodrik felt extremely exposed, but the next flash of lightening showed the fight to be mostly over, with the pirates throwing down their weapons and surrendering.
Results:
Ser Wulf Pyke’s Axe increases towards Grandmaster
Ser Wulf Pyke’s Naval Battle increases towards Master
Rodrik Blacktyde’s Sword increases to Master
Rodrik Blacktyde’s Naval Battle increases to Expert
Wulf looked at his tired crew. At other times he would have relished the opportunity to cut down some pirates who sought to trap him, but the storm had been fierce, and his men seemed in no state to fight off attackers.
The clouds were to too thick for the moon to shine through tonight, so he had to wait until lightening flashed again before he could see the ship and its flag again. When it did, he could see the ship was moving now towards them, and the flag it flew was a black background with a grey snake, one he didn’t recognise. He didn’t need to recognise the flag though, there was only one reason for the ship to approach them, it intended to attack.
Wulf roared above the howling winds to his crew to get ready to fight. The men cursed loudly and scrambled to armour and arm themselves. Wulf went below deck and picked out his mail surcoat he used for ship fighting. He wore it loose so that it could be easily removed should he fall into the water. Picking up his axe, he launched himself back up to the deck, where Rodrik Blacktyde was organising the crew to fire a volley of arrows against the approaching ship. Lightening flashed again, showing the ship to be within arrow range and immediately Rodrik bellowed out for the crew to fire.
It was too dark to see if the volley had hit, but Wulf knew the wind was too strong for the arrows to have any affect. He went to each man, shouting in their ear to be heard, giving them words of encouragement to try and bolster their spirits and give them the strength to fight after sailing through the storm.
Lightening flashed again, the other ship was beside them now, but in the darkness it hadn’t come close enough to board. The distance was close enough for arrows to maybe hit though, and Wulf ordered for the crew to fire again. From across the water and over the sound of the wind they heard the cries of men as some of the arrows found targets. The volley was quickly responded to in turn, however, as arrows came from out of the darkness thudding, into the deck and into a few of Wulf’s men.
Briefly the moonlight managed to break through the cloud cover, showing Wulf that currents in the cover had brought the ships close enough to board. Wulf didn’t waste a moment; he roared for his men to follow him and jumped across the gap to bring the fight to the other ship.
Charging into the enemy crew, he buried his axe into the chest of the first man he met. He pulled his weapon out and was quickly surrounded by pirates. He knocked away a blow from one of them, then another blow from a second man. He felt the bite of steel cutting through his mail into his shoulder as third blow slipped past his defences. He roared and shoved his injured his shoulder into the man who had cut him, then raised his axe and slashed at the man’s face, cutting deeply into one of his eyes. The man fell to the ground clutching his face, and Wulf turned back to see more of the enemy crew surrounding him. Wulf only had a moment to register that some of them appeared to be Ironborn before he cut another one down.
Wulf was being pressed backwards now, trying to fend off a group of men. His axe moved in a blur, parrying and blocking blow, fighting purely defensively. Suddenly Rodrik Blacktyde came swinging from Wulf’s ships on one of the mast ropes, crashing into the group and sending them toppling to the ground. Wulf wasted no time in jumping on the fallen men, laying his axe into them one after the other. He grabbed Rodrik and pulled his friend to his feet. Rodrik winked at him and the two charged back into the main fight going on further up deck.
Despite their weariness, the experience of Wulf’s men seemed to be giving them a slight advantage over the pirates. Wulf and Rodrik fought back-to-back, spinning around cutting any man down who dared to approach them.
A huge, warhammer wielding pirate attacked Rodrik fearlessly, roaring as Rodrik narrowly jumped out of the way of the swinging hammer, separating him from Wulf, who had become locked in combat with the captain of the ship. Rodrik hit the ground and rolled as the hammer came smashing into the deck beside him. He sprang up and slashed up at the large man, but his blow only met the handle of the hammer.
The moonlight began to fade away as the two men fought on, covered by the clouds again. Rodrik was having difficulty seeing his attacker, and the battle that still raged on around him was no longer visible at all. He used the opportunity to try and move around the large man, doing his best to discern where he was. He cut out at the figure in the darkness, and felt the contact with the man’s armour, and then felt his sword cut through into the vulnerable flesh beneath. The man shouted in pain, but Rodrik only pushed his sword in further, before abandoning it and lifting his boot, and kicking the big man over the edge into the water.
Unarmed and unable to see, Rodrik felt extremely exposed, but the next flash of lightening showed the fight to be mostly over, with the pirates throwing down their weapons and surrendering.
Results:
Ser Wulf Pyke’s Axe increases towards Grandmaster
Ser Wulf Pyke’s Naval Battle increases towards Master
Rodrik Blacktyde’s Sword increases to Master
Rodrik Blacktyde’s Naval Battle increases to Expert