Races (Wilddog, open)

[phrostphyre]

Two nautical miles south of Narda


The Retribution laid at anchor as Blackhawke watched the merchant ship sail towards Narda; by the way she sat in the water, he could tell she was full. Grinning like a hawk before it drops upon it's prey, he turned to his first mate, Frederic Murphy.

"Mr. Murphy. Up anchor, pile on more sail, and be sure our colors are up. Don't want them mistaking who's attacking, now do we?" Murphy nodded, then reissued the orders. The ship's planks creaked as she began sliding through the water. Blackhawke was running short five men; he would stop in Teirm after this. Four minutes later, the Retribution was in archer range. Nodding his head, Hawke gave the order to fire. Fifteen archers let loose, and fifteen flaming arrows struck the merchant's sails. His men let loose whoops and cries as the sails of the merchant burned. It was dead in the water.

The Retribution slid next to the merchant, then planks were sent across deck to deck. Thirty-six men rushed onto the other ship, leaving Retribution alone. Sounds of pitched, chaotic battle sounded across the water. Men screamed as they were killed and killed. Ten minutes later, the merchant had surrendered to Blackhawke. He smiled as his men and the merchant crew moved crates of gold and luxuries across the planks; the luxuries were items such as lace, glass, and other hard to make items.


~*~
After four hours, Hawke ordered the merchant crewmen to their ship, his crew to theirs. Placing all the merchant crewmen in the brig of their ship, Hawke locked them in. Several protested, but Hawke ignored them. He left them locked in, then took a lamp from a placing beside him and knocked it against a wall; it lit the wall on fire, and Blackhawke left. He couldn't very well have them telling Galbatorix or Risthart he was plundering Empire ships as well as Varden. He'd be ruined. Shurgging, he returned to the Retribution. He had left them all knives with which to commit suicide; a gentleman's gift. As he took his place upon the bow, the ship got under way, leaving the burning hulk behind them. Hawke was contemplating his next course of action when the cry "Dragon's Roar, directly aft!" brought him running across the ship to the stern. He swore, then turned and issued orders.

"Archers, back up the masts. You have a duty to perform. Perform it. Sailors, sail as if our lives depended on it. Because they do. Magician now's your time. If you can rip the sails up, do it. Word the spell to where it would be like cutting them with a knife in your own hand. I'm glad you left the Army and joined us, Seamus."

[Wild Dog]

A bird coasted through the sky, with such elegance, he was sure people would pay attention. Now, if the bird could talk, he would tell us everything going on, on the deep blue sea. He would talk of the Dragon's Roar, such a mighty boat. Though, it seemed to big to be any good. Now, if this bird knew a thing or two, he would recognize that the boat looked elven. Which it was. So, assuming he knew, he would know that even though it looked slow, it wasn't. The bird would also tell us, about the weapons on the ship. Five crossbows, ten paces long, scattered the deck. Each could fling a arrow at tremendous speed. The bird also noted the boarding ramps. If it could count, it would note the fifty some people on board. All of them working quite hard. All of them seemed to be taking orders from a man at the top deck. But, the bird laughed at them, they were too small, at his height, to boss him around, so he turned to the other ship.

The other ship was nothing special, just a plain merchant ship. The bird saw plenty of these. The bird cocked his head ans started deeply into the blue. The ship seemed to be low in the water. People scurried on that ship too, but they were, again, to small, and it laughed. Then the bird would see another ship. This one was also seemed to be stalking the merchant ship. that ship seemed faster, but a little undermanned. The bird laughed again, and went along with whatever business a bird usually does.

<<<------>>>

Gan Ning glanced up, just in time to see a bird chirp and fly off. "Birds are silly creatures", he thought, "I really wonder if they really cared about life here." He was the proud owner of the Dragon's Roar and infamous pirate who sailed these waters for twenty years. He wore no shirt, and the sun made his tattoos sparkle. Moving to the wheel, he ordered the crew to step up and pick up the pace. While he moved, the many bells on his belt clinked. He barely thought about it though. His mind was set on the ship approaching. Not the other pirate ship though, he ignored that one. If he had the wisdom and view point that the bird had, he would not have. But, he didn't, and his mind was busy with matters ahead.

His plan was to get the boat in bow-range, and then kill all the crew, then, the magicians would board, rat the place out, and gather the treasure. Then, the crew would carry it aboard. That was the plan, and the crew knew it by heart. They preformed it dozens of times this year. Gan Ning was so engrossed in it, that he failed to see a rope twisting out of place. The seamen caught it, but couldn't keep it in place. With a sigh, the main sail drunkenly slid down. With a crash, a supporting post fell on the deck.

Shacked out of his revere, Gan Ning sprang out of his chair and came running down the ladder, cursing.

"You, you filthy, yellow dog, didn't I tell you to tie that rope up. I will have you dragged from this boat on that very rope if you don't tie that sucker down" This was a bit too harsh, but the crew handled it well. the "filthy, yellow dog replied, quite cheerfully, "May your mother have a growth on her foot, but can't tell which one" they all laughed, and raised the sail. Though, the ship stopped moving as fast.

Up Ahead, the merchant ship seemed to be in an uproar. People were screaming and jumping off. Gan Ning peered closer. The sails seemed to be red. On fire. Cursing, and this time he meant it, he ran toward the front. From his view point, another ship seemed to be attacking the merchant vessel. He gasped when he caught sight of the flag. A A black hawk on a white flag, with a sabre over the hawk's head. He cursed again. The Retribution sided the ship, and people started to gather the gold and valuables.

"Curse you, Jack Hawke" he shouted. Then he ordered the ship to move.

"Captain, the ship can't move, our sail is ripped, it will take hours for us to fix it." And it did, for four hours, the crew worked. Gan Ning paced the deck, alternating between shouting orders and glaring at the Retribution. Finally, they were ready to move. Gan Ning walked up to the upper deck, and steered his ship over to the other, smaller one. The Retribution was already on the move. When the Dragon's Roar passed the wreck, Gan Ning Cursed again. The whole bloody thing was fire. The image of the burning ship burned it self into Gan Ning's memory. This sealed his anger towards the Blackhawke.

"Mr. Huchins, I want those crossbows loaded and trained onto the ship. Mr. Adams, get those lazy magicians up here. I want them primed for battle. If anything happens, hurt their sails. But don't go any thing until I bloody tell you too" He eyed the craft in front of him. Up ahead, a bird crowed. "Bloody bird" he thought, "doesn't have a clue what is going on"