The Raiders of the Scarlet Sails (IC)

Next day before the Christening Ceremony

Red and Nya inspected the new sparkling beauty of a ship as she stood in the dry dock. The ship had a single main mast, Rickety had added some oar banks for added power and movement in calm seas. The prow was covered in bronze to form a ram and the sides in copper for protection. There were topside catapults and upgraded ballistas.

“Are you sure the figurehead is not too tall … that she will not roll too much in heavy seas?” Red worried as she looked at the tall dragon head at the front of teh ship.

“I have checked Rickety’s calculations, it should be fine. If there is a problem it is attached with a simple hinge in front and two pins in the rear. Stop worrying so much. She is a beauty!” Nya gushed.

Red looked at her friend “I must agree, she looks so fast, but can she fight?”

Nya was almost giggling at this point. “Reaver and I might have over done it there. Look at all the added armament, those hatches amid ship open for a broad side. Forecastle and the quarter deck have trainable catapults, the added enhancement of greek fire, was your idea, boarding planks and grapping lines.”

“SHIT … how am I going to pay for all of this!” Red gasped thinking about the red gem Blade had given her.

“Rickety gave us a discount for saving the village. Our account is all square.” Nya giggled.

“Well, well” She commented “Rickety giving someone a break on the price … well shiver me timbers” Red gasped. Still worried she added “we’ll see how everything performs on her maiden voyage.” Red commented gruffly, but inside she could not have been more pleased. She just did not want Nya getting too big a head. “Did you arrange for a proper christening ceremony?" Red asked

“Of course! I think we'll need as much good fortune for this fine lady and her crew knowing her Captain's tendencies for taking risks!” Nya answered poking at Red.

“You made sure to remove all physical traces of the ship's old name. No old log book or any other papers that bear the ship’s name on board.” Red asked

“Aye” Nya said

“You checked for offending books and charts with the name inscribed. No old name on the transom, top-side, dinghy, and oars?” Red probed further.

“Aye” Nya answered.

“Were they sanded away? Not just painted over. You're dealing with gods here, you understand, not mere dumb mortals!” Red stated.

“Stop worrying … She is ready for the ceremony!” Nya said

http://forum.literotica.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1600419&d=1417357268

Wulf was standing next to Jura as they looked at the finished ship. Wulf was impressed.The design was very similar to the ships he had watched sail from the ports of his home city as a child and his father had always told him they were the best for raiding in the world. It looked like Rickety had done a superb job on it. He could not even tell it was the same ship Grim had used to Captain.

He looked at the armaments and realized he would have to teach Jura from the ground up. He had talked to a few of the crew last night about the Minotaur and had learned he was an excellent shot but had mostly been confined below decks and treated like an animal until red had freed him and made him the Gunnery mate. He had only ever fired the light Ballista though.

"Jura my friend we are going to have our work cut out for us. I think we will split our time between learning the ship to ship weapons in the morning, and the hand to hand and boarding weapons in the afternoon. We won't have many missiles to waste so we will get you used to loading and getting ready to fire. This will mean you will have to command your men as well. Do not worry I will help you there, but the main thing is to use a commanding voice and do not panic. They will be looking to you in the heat of battle so you always have to remain calm and in charge."

Then he spotted the large ballista and just knew it had been built for the big man. "Oh and we are definately going to be showing you how to use that," he said pointing. "That is going to be our secret weapon I am thinking. With your strength and from what I have been told superior aim, you can hit a ship from twice the range a normal person could." He smiled "We just have to train hard and we will make a great team."

Blade

He slipped out of the crow's nest, having inspected every inch of the rigging, the ship and had even prepared his bed in the crow's nest, though he had a feeling that he would not be spending many nights there anyway. He landed lightly on the top beam of the main sail, he ran towards the end of the beam and jumped to his left. Only then the rope in his left hand became apparent as it grew taut, using it along with his momentum, Blade swung across the deck and with an aerial flick, courtesy of the rope, he landed on the figure head.

All of this was fine and well, but Blade had not fully recovered yet and he wobbled, ready to pitch off of the figurehead, but his luck held and he regained his balance. "'Tis really a good job the master Squibber did Cap'n." Using the back of the dragon's head, he slid to the deck, landing a bit harder than usual since he by now had almost depleted all his strength. Still hiding it all too well, except to those who knew him, he sauntered over to the railing and grinned at the other.

(OOC: this post is jointly written by Kittenofdeath and Me)

Jabnil and Luca

Jabnil could not fly long holding another person and so she found a nice secluded spot to land, the lookout tower on the ridge where Lyle “One-Arm” Godwin had met his end.

“NOW that was FUN!” Jabnil exclaimed in total excitement. She glanced back to the village and saw the villagers had won the battle and were in mop up operations, missing Luca rolling his eyes at her, clearly he found it a little less 'fun'.

“Looks like the battle is over …” Jabnil said as she moved her lips closer to Luca. “Now where were we …?” she asked getting ready to kiss him, an act Luca was all too eager to get back too. As ever though, Rotgut’s talent for bad timing brought him to choose now to land on his regular perch.

Rotgut to spread his wings and squawked “Rotgut want a cracker, Rotgut want a cracker”

Luca wanted to take the bird apart. But Jabnil whispered to him “Let me do it” and took hold of Luca’s quarter staff which was still in Luca’s hands. Luca reluctantly released it and Jabnil brought it around so swiftly that Rotgut had no time to move away. The pole smacked Rotgut right off his perch. Jabnil did not hit the bird too hard she just wanted to scare it away, so it was not a deadly blow. Rotgut squawked and crashed to the floor of the platform.

“There is your crack-errr!” Jabnil said in triumphant to the bird. Rotgut righted himself and jumped up on to the knob that opened the ladder hatch.

“Salty bilge-rat …Salty bilge-rat” Rotgot squawked in anger and then took off and flew away.

“I think that angry bird just flew off the handle!” Luca joked to Jabnil.

“I think you’re right. Angry Birds … that sounds like a cool title for a game.” Jabnil commented. The whole incident did remind her there was more work to do. “I’m afraid I need to go back to the village … there are wounded there that will need healing.”

Luca knew she was right. “You are right … don’t worry about me I can walk back”

Jabnil nodded, spread her wings and took off towards the village. Luca watched her go. Then he walked over and grabbed the rum bottle he had spied, popped the cork and took a sip. “Not too bad” He thought as he lay back on the hammock and finally got some rest.

The next day, Luca and Jabnil

Luca and Jabnil met up at noon.

“Abbo told me he is ready to show you what he has done to your boat, he seemed kind of excited.” Jabnil explained. Luca nodded “Ok … let’s head over to the drydock”

As they arrived Abbo Woodshaper was proudly standing next to Luca’s refit boat. Luca was surprised as he could hardly recognize the retrofitted vessel. The most striking thing he first noticed was that the main mast was gone.

“Captain Luca, before you get upset let me explain what I have done to your craft. The main mast is now foldable. See it lies here, along your main deck. It is simple to erect, just pull the mast to standing, placing it inside this hole and insert pins here and here” he explained pointing to the pin placements.

“Simple to erect … just like all males” Jabnil commented but Luca ignored her.

“This has two advantages; the vessel can now be used more easily as a row boat. I have added oars for that purpose and it takes up less room when stored on The Scarlet Dragon.

Luca nodded at the clever design.

“For stealth … I have greased the pins and the oarlocks are painted with sap from a rubber tree. Completely quiet, but you can still rotate the oar blade between the "square" and "feather" positions.” Abbo explained.

“What about combat?” Luca asked knowing that only a complete fool would fight in a boat his size, expecting an answer as to how likely it is to get away from combat rather than what he was about to receive.

“Aye … I thought about that long and hard. Here are her weapons” he pointed to a large screw like device below the waterline in the forward part of the dingy/boat.

“I have the boring device deployed to show you how it works. Someone would need to be in the covered part of the bow. Turn the crank there and that will turn this screw and bore a large hole in the enemy ship.” Abbo was smiling at his idea.

Jabnil peeked inside the covered part of the boat. Her sexy behind wiggling for Luca as she turned the crank. “Oh I’m so CRANKY” she joked. Abbo and Luca looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders before simultaneously turning back to ogle her a little longer before she finished her little tease “Abbo and I do not disagree …” Luca said back.

Abbo continued to show off the boat’s new features. “Additionally, should you get in real trouble” He pointed to a large box amidships “This is packed full of a magic powder.” He pulled out a small rod looking piece of metal. “This is the magic fuze. If you put this fuze … into that slot, in 30 seconds, you will get an explosion that should rip a hole in the largest of vessels. By removing some of the powder the explosion is less powerful. My thought was if you get captured, blow up the dingy while alongside or place the box under the enemy ship, and light off the fuze. Swim away. This will work underwater as well”

Luca smiled “Well done Abbo … you have exceeded my expectations!” Which was true, Luca had honestly forgotten that he had payed the man to fix the boat at all, so he wasn’t expecting anything.

“You’ll need to give her a name.” Abbo pointed out. Luca looked to the boat, then out over the water, obviously contemplating just want to christen her, he had given the boat quite a few names while he had it at sea before, all of them could be summed up as a stream of profanity though, so none of those were appropriate.

“Last Hope of a Dead Man is a bit of a mouthful, so I'll just go with Last Hope.”

Christening Ceremony

"UGH ... Blade, you are suppose to be resting!" Red gasped shaking her head. She was however impressed with his rope swinging trickery. The man knew how to control himself in the air. "Please just get ready for the Christening Ceremony and no more swing about" She ordered.

An hour later everyone in the village, Captain Pegworthy’s crew and Red’s crew were gathered for the christening of the ship. Everyone had been given mugs of rum, paid for by Jabnil, where she had gotten the money no one asked.

Red was the first one to speak. She gave the “denaming speech”. She stood on top of one of the crates so all could see her and spoke in a loud voice.

"In the name of all who have sailed aboard this ship in the past, and in the name of all who may sail aboard her in the future, we invoke the goddess of the wind and the sea to favor us with her blessing today. Mighty Gozreh, goddess of all that moves in or on the waves; and guardian of the winds and all that blows before them:

"We offer you our thanks for the protection you have afforded this vessel in the past. We voice our gratitude that she has always found shelter from tempest and storm and enjoyed safe passage to port.

"Now, wherefore, we submit this appeal, that the name whereby this vessel has hitherto been known Orchid of the Sea be removed, for this ship has bloomed. We ask that when she is again presented for blessing with another name in a few minutes, she shall be recognized and shall be accorded once again the selfsame privileges she previously enjoyed. In return for which, we rededicate this vessel to your domain in full knowledge that she shall be subject as always to the immutable laws of the goddess of the wind and the sea. In consequence whereof, and in good faith, we seal this pact with a libation offered according to the hallowed ritual of the sea."

Captain Merrill Pegworthy called out at this moment “HERE HERE” and everyone took a drink from their rum mugs. Wulf picked Red up off the crate and placed her on the ground. While Captain Pegworthy got on top of the crate.

His voice was perfect for ceremony, rich and strong voice. He spoke the words of the ritual:

"For thousands of years, we have gone to sea. We have crafted vessels to carry us and we have called them by name. These ships nurture and care for us through perilous seas, and so we affectionately call them "she." To them we toast, and ask to celebrate The Scarlet Dragon joining that list." Everyone raised their mugs and shouts, "TO THE SAILORS OF OLD, TO THE SCARLET DRAGON" Everybody took a drink.

The Captain continued. "The moods of the sea are many, from tranquil to violent. We ask that this ship be given the strength to keeps out the pressures of the sea." Again the mugs were raised, and the assemblage shouted, "TO THE SEA...TO THE SAILORS OF OLD...TO THE SEA!" Everybody took another sip.

"Today we come to name this lady, The Scarlet Dragon, and send her to sea to do battle. We ask the sailors of old and the mood of the Gods that is the sea to accept, The Scarlet Dragon as her name, to help her through her passages, and allow her to return with her crew safely." Again, all raised their mugs, "TO THE SEA...TO THE SAILORS BEFORE US...TO THE SCARLET DRAGON." All drained their mugs at this point.

Captain Merrill grabbed a bottle of rum and broke it over the bow to appease Gozreh, the goddess of the wave and surf, and then laid a branch of green leaves on the deck to ensure safe returns. Rickety yelled “Stand Clear, Mates!” and cut the holding line. This released the water back into the dry dock and it quickly filled with water. The Scarlet Dragon was afloat, as the crowd cheered.

As soon as the ceremony was over Wulf knew Red would be wanting to get underway. Actually he better start getting used to calling her Captain if he was going to be sailing under her. He and Jura already had their things packed and ready to go so as soon as the gangplank was lowered they walked aboard and found their quarters. As second in command Wulf's were right next to the captains and he threw his swag on the bed. He would unpack it later. He then led Jura towards the Gunnery area.

As they got closer Jura began looking around. "I do not see it friend Wulf, Where is Jura's cage?" Wulf laughed and then realized the big man was not kidding. "There will be no more cages for you Jura. You are part of the crew and are in fact an important part of the crew. From now on you are sleeping in a cabin."
The big Bulls face split into a wide grin and his chest pumped out. If this made him proud then wait until he truly earned his place by becoming the best damn gunner the pirating world had seen. Wulf had no doubt Jura could and would earn that title.

Finally he found the cabin he was looking for and showed Jura inside. It was not much, just a bed that would support the big bull, a closet a small desk and a chair, but he gazed at it in wonder. "This is all Jura's?" he asked.
"Yes Jura this is your's. Your gunnery crew sleeps next door and across from you are the stairs leading up to the deck to the main catapults and ballista's so that you don't have far to travel. I will be drilling you all so that you can be up and out of bed and ready to fire in less than a minute, but that comes after you all learn to fire them."

Jura clasped hands with Wulf. "Jura will not let Wulf or the Captain down. He will train hard and he will make sure his men train hard. He will be worthy to stay in this room."
Wulf clasp his hand back and shook it. "Stow your gear Jura then meet me on deck and we can see all your new weapons you get to play with. I think you will like them," Wulf grinned leaving him and walking up and on deck to gaze on the beauty that was the new ship.

Red, the reckless

Red watched as everyone finished stowing their gear aboard The Scarlet Dragon. Amlugeth, their new purser, who was getting lots of lusty looks from the men onboard, had brought crates of items for stowage below decks. Red had asked what in them, but Amlugeth had only smiled and stated “Things we need!” The elf had said it with such confidence, Red asked no further questions. But with everything secure, it was now time to leave.

Red walked over and stood behind Nya as the Navigator called out orders to draw up the gangplank and release the lines holding the ship to the dry dock. Nya called over the rigging crew “Quarter sails” so that only a small part of the sails would be dropped causing the ship to gentle pull out of the docking structure.

“Belay that order!” Red yelled. She follow that up with “This is Captain Red … I have the deck and the conn.” Take command of the ship with that statement. She gentle nudged Nya off the helm of the ship.

“I want Full Sails” She ordered.

“Captain!” Nya called out in alarm, almost challenging the order. But Red looked at Nya firmly “I know what I’m doing” she said quietly and then louder she repeated her order “Full sails!” The crew released the large scarlet sails, which filled with wind. Everyone could now see the two golden griffins design in the middle of the great sail. The ship started to take on speed rapidly as the wind blew the ship forward.

“Prepare the aft ballista for firing! Wulf you shall be the gunner!” Red ordered. Wulf seemed to know what was up and nodded his head in agreement and called out “Aye-Aye Captain” as he headed for the aft ballista. Jura was behind the big man watching his every move.

“Crow’s nest lookout … Prepare for demonstration 1-Alpha” Red ordered. Blade smiling face appeared above the crow’s nest. “Aye-Aye Captain” he yelled back in glee, as all the crew looking up at him in surprise.

Half the ship was in the river and if Red did not steer into the current just right the starboard side of the ship would scrap against the dry dock. With the speed the ship was now going the damage would be bad … But Red compensated for the current just right and the ship shot out into the river with the speed of a small racing sailboat. There were gasps of awe from the onlookers as they had never seen a captain so reckless … or so skilled.

Red spun the helm wildly putting a hard right rudder on, as the ship heeled over violently. She eased the rudder and aimed for the open sea. It was quite the display of the ship’s turning ability.

“Fire at Target One … and then on Target Two” She yelled at Wulf. The big man wheeled the big ballista around and carefully aimed it at Captain Pegworthy captured Galleon and with a deep breathe he squeezed the trigger. The large arrow flew through the air, through the ship’s rigging and struck the middle of the Captain’s cabin door on the main deck. There was a banner on the end of the arrow and it fell open once the arrow struck the door. It said “Thanks … and may you have fair winds and following seas”

Wulf wheeled the ballista over to “Target Two” and firing within seconds. A second special arrow stuck one foot above Rickety’s head. Its banner said “Thanks Rickety, you’re the best!” Both shots were amazing for their accuracy and skill.

It was at this movement that Blade jumped off the crow’s nest with a line in hand … he did a complicated double spin and half twist maneuver, he used the line to swing around the mast and then he landed directly onto the Greek fire release lever. His full weight landed on the lever and thus he sent a massive stream of fire shooting out of the dragon’s mouth. The stream must have shot out a ship and a half length in front of The Scarlet Dragon. There was a big cheer and applause from the villagers and Captain Pegworthy’s crew. It would be a ship’s departure talked about for many months and one that would never be repeated.

“Attention on the deck … Nya has the deck and the conn. Quartermaster Wulf will commence combat drills once we are in deep water within the hour.” Red ordered and smiled as Nya took the helm from her.

“Sometimes I think you are completely crazy!” Nya said.

Red smiled at the half octopus half human “Nya … everyone in that village and Captain Pegwrothy’s crew now know what great sailors we are … how fast this ship can move … how skilled my gunner is … and that they need to be scare of that jet of flame. They just learned that the Scarlet Dragon is not a ship to be messed with … unless you want to get burned!” Red explained. “Plus we thanked them for their help, so we have their trust as well as their respect.”

Nya thought about what Red had done and the captain was right. Red reckless display might be very helpful to them in the future.

Amlugeth was glad the captain didn't ask to see what was in the crates, she just wasn't ready to share everything yet. She put her personal trunks and boxes in her room and when she heard yelling above deck went to see what was going on. Just as she stepped onto the deck the captain took a quick turn that had Amlugeth losing her balance and heading for the railing. She was able to stop herself from falling overboard just in time! She had never been on a ship before and hoped that it didn't always lean like this when they turned. But she was quite impressed by the firing of the arrows and the fire from the dragon's mouth! She looked around and tried to take as much in as possible. The guy who shot the huge arrows was very big and had a half minotaur following him like a shadow. The one who shot the fire out of the dragon's mouth was pretty big also, she recognized him from Rickety's. She took in a few others as they were going about their jobs. She didn't realize there were so many people on this ship, she should be able to keep to the shadows very nicely.

Wulf set about showing the gunnery crew the new armaments. The ballistas were easy. They had all fired them before these were just a little bigger. "They will have a bit more of a kick to them lads but with a little bit of training you should all become very proficient with them." At their muttering he grinned. 'Yes I did say all of ye. Who knows who will be closest when someone attacks or who will be on nightwatch. You will all learn so that does not matter." They all grinned at thatand gave a small cheer.

"Now these new bolts," he told them gesturing to them, "You need to know them and when to fire them and what at. I have heard tell you have just been using the straight tip. Well now you have a few more." Wulf grabbed one with a small pot and channel on it. "This here be a greek fire bolt. Hopefully we never have to use this. At the moment it is not filled and I hope it stays that way." Picking up one wrapped tightly with a rag but with a steel tip showing on it's end he passed it around. "That is a flame arrow. The rag has been mixed with a special compound that ignites when it reaches a certain speed. Launching it from a balista easily makes it reach that speed. You fire these at a ships sails and rigging. If you can you try to hit the mast near the top making it harder to put out but halfway will do, but make sure you hit the sails in any case."
Next was a wicked looking dart with a barbed tip with backward curving spikes and a loop on the end of the bolt. "This is a boarding bolt. A rope is threaded through the loop and tied on and you shoot it into the sips hull just below where a man can reach. Then we haul on the ropes and pull the ships together. These are normally used in rough seas when our grappling hooks are not effective or when the crew of the other ship is hacking away our ropes too quickly."
Next were large tipped bolts in a star pattern. Very small and sharp at the point but flaring out to over a mans hand width at the end. "The Breacher, fired at the water line is devastating at close range especially coming from this powerful a weapon. It should punch a hole through the hull and you all know what that means. Of course these are only used in certain battles."

He then took them over to the catapults. "A simple device Gentlemen but complex to get right and firing fast. A rock is placed in the basket at the end of the arm," he indicated where," the arm is cranked back by these two levers on either side," again he pointed them out, " aimed by swiveling the platform with these levers and then fired by pulling this strap. Sounds simple enough but each one is different and depending on the conditions it will tend to fire differently as well. Plus you must not aim for the ship but where the ship will be. Unlike the balista a catapults ammunition takes longer to get there but is far more devastating." He saw them murmuring again. "I will be training you and only picking the best to be on these crews. It makes no difference if you are a loader the gunner or a cranker, it is a team effort and everyone is important to the guns success."

"Now as for the ammunition you will have rocks for normal firing and believe me they do a lot of damage. Then there is grape shot. Small pebbles or lead balls in a spelled sack designed to break apart just as they begin to fall towards the target. You may wonder what the use of that is. Well how many of you have been hit on the head with a rock the size of your fist?" A few hands were raised. "I bet it hurt a fair bit. Now imagine that same rock hurtling towards you from four times the height of your ship at the speed of a balista." He saw a few grins now. "Ahh I see you have grasped the concept. Good lads. Next is a fire ball. a rock covered in pitch, set alight and fired. Ahh it makes a pretty sight. This here," he said picking up what looked like two huge lead balls joined together by a huge piece of chain, " is what's called chain shot and is fired at the masts of opponents. It is used to bring them down making them easy prey. Last of course is the greek fire pots but again prey you never have to see them in action. I have and I wish never to see it again. It is a terrible sight."

"Right once we are out a bit further I will split you up and Jura and I will put you thru your paces. He will take half and see how you go on the Balista and I will teach you the catapult."

Blade

He scurried about checking the rigging, he of course had the speed and agility to do so. He also rested often, sitting on the cross beam or crow's nest, all the while keeping a sharp eye out for any sails on the horizon. Of course he did this out of habit and not out of conscience thought, there would logically be no sails, but he checked anyway.

He also shouted down directors at the weapon crews, giving them windage and direction as well as range. He would be silent as the crews got better, they would not always hear him during a fight, and must learn to judge distances themselves, but for now he helped as he scampered about on the main sail's rigging.

Combat drills

As the Scarlet Dragon reached deeper water, ship handling and combat drill commenced. Wulf was proving to be an excellent second in command as he drilled the crew on the standard attack styles both on leeward and windward sides of the enemy ship. Luca helped as he launched his small craft. Luca learned about the craft’s handling abilities as The Scarlet Dragon’s crew pretended it was a much larger vessel and tried to “cross Luca’s T”.

Then Luca launched a target float attached to his boat's stern. It trailed his craft by about 200 feet. The Scarlet Dragon’s crew practiced striking the target from various distances and with various weapons. Everything was going well as the crew became better and better with the new ship and her weapons. However as they tested the maximum range of the dragon’s fire … Jura had a direct hit on the float and burned it away. There was cheering from the crew, but the officers realized training was over as a new float would need to be made.

Blade however came down from the crow’s nest to rescue the day.

“You can drill them on the other threats we may face” he advised with a wink and then scampered back up the mast.

“Blade is right” Red agreed “drill them on sea and air borne attacks from sea devils, monster eels, and sea monsters. Then work on their hand to hand combat skills” Red suggested. Jabnil agreed to tow a banner behind her as she flew in to attack the ship. Crew members tried to hit the banner as she did tricky dive bombing attacks on the ship. One stray bolt almost hit her during the drills, but she laughed it off with a yell “I don’t think that was one of cupid’s love arrow!”

By sun’s set the crew was tried and ready to rest. The officers met in the wardroom for dinner and Red discussed her plan. The officers were Wulf as the second or Quartermaster, Nya as the Navigator, Jura as the Gunner, Amlugeth as the purser, Jabnil as the ship’s doctor, Luca as temporary Boatswain mate, and Blade as the ship’s intelligence officer/invited guest.

“Some of you already know our destination is Tidewater Rock. The strategic keep located on the western shore of the windward isles. Every pirate ruler of that place has one thing in common. They all became rich. The legend goes that anyone who can “crack the rock” will become rich. I plan to be the next ruler.” Red stated boldly.

“That place cannot be taken by force!” Nya stated with some confidence.

“That is why I shall not take it by force.” Red said with an evil little smile on her face. “I have a different plan. It will take us a week to reach that destination and I will reveal the plan as we get closer. In the meantime, should we come across any “business opportunities”, I believe we should take advantage of them.” Red declared.

There were nods from everyone except Jabnil and Amlugeth, both of whom were uncomfortable with preying on innocent merchant shipping. As the meal completed all the officers started to leave the wardroom.

“Blade … may I remind you … you are on extra duty” Red said stopping him from leaving the room. “Please report to my cabin after this meal!” She ordered. Blade nodded in agreement.

Minutes later the two were alone in her cabin as she barked “I want you to lick the deck clean with your tongue!” She said loud enough for people to hear outside the cabin. Inside she grabbed Blade and kissed him wildly “Oh … Blade … I could not wait any longer …” She whispered as she kissed him again and again. Her love and passion for him burned in her eyes.

The moment Red grabbed him and kissed him, he was at a complete loss. He felt like a fumbling boy with his first whore. Not that he was inexperienced, nor was Red a whore, though a few men did see her as such by times, but a sharp blade always corrected those assumptions. It have been too many years that he longed after her, yet his deep-seated fear of being rejected and losing her had kept him silent about his feelings.

As her tongue slid into his mouth, he snapped out of his momentary shock and wrapped his arms about her, pulling her close, feeling her taut body push up against his own and those glorious mounds flattening against his chest as their kiss turned even more passionate.

Wulf and Jura made there way back towards their quarters. As they strolled along, easily compensating for the roll of the ocean they began talking about the days training.

"So what do you think of the new weapons and ammunition my friend. Do you think you will get used to it before we have to battle a real opponent."

Jura shook his head and growled. "The weapons are good and the ammunition is good. The men however are weak, we should get rid of them and get stronger men. Feed these ones to the sharks or abandon them who cares. They are not up to the task. It takes them too long to load, aim and then fire the weapons."

Wulf was shocked for a second and then remembered the Minotaurs way of life. Only the strong survive. Considering the conditions they had lived in before they had actually learned to sail and expand their lands it was a good philosophy. However it tended to cloud their judgements when it came to other races.

"So you think they are to weak? Well you are probably right," Wulf shrugged. "Maybe with some time and effort they could get better but maybe not. Maybe you are right and we should just get rid of them. Of course there are not many strong people available right now and only the Captain knows where we are going. Still we can do as you suggest but we will train them as we go along anyway."

Jura nodded his head and sighed in resignation. "Aye you are right, but I hate to waste my time on such weak people."

Wulf nodded and as they got close to their cabins. "You know it is still early, why don't we try those new boarding hooks we got. I am sure you will be great with it, I have seen you with a spear and it is very similar."

Jura nodded and smiled and Wulf led them up to the deck. He grabbed two of the large hooks and threw one to Jura and then started to spin his. "Okay lets get to this." Jura smiled and then attacked trying to batter his way with strength through Wulf's defense. Wulf smiled and easily swayed away from his attacks or batted them aside. He let him attack for a few minutes then calmly and quickly disarmed him. He picked up the hook and handed it back. "Try again."
He smiled as once again Jura tried to use strength. This time he only took a minute to disarm him. He threw it back to him. "Again", he said this time a little harshly. Again and again he disarmed the big man until finally Jura finally threw down the hook in disgust. "You are toying with me. This is not funny, I have my pride."
"Of course you do Jura, but so do the men you called weak. I was just showing you something. Just because you are physically stronger does not make you better. You should think about that a bit."

Wulf picked up Jura's hook and placed it and his own back in their racks and then bowing to the big Minotaur left him staring out to sea and retired to his cabin.

"Jabnil, why did you choose to get on a pirate ship after being an angel?" Amlugeth asked. "You looked as thrilled as myself when Red mentioned taking advantage of opportunities on our way."

Jabnil and Amlugeth sit and talk for awhile telling each other what made them decide to get on the pirate ship and what they hope will happen for them.

After a couple hours of talking Amlugeth starts to yawn, "Oh, I am sorry, guess all this excitement of a new adventure has gotten to me. I should head back to my room, cabin, I have to remember the right terms and hope I can find my way back. Good night Jabnil and it was nice talking to you and getting to know you better!"

Amlugeth left the galley and headed in the direction she thought was to her cabin. After a little while she realized that she had no clue where she was and if any of the doors were to her cabin or not. She would have to hang something on the outside of her cabin so she could tell which was hers. As she stood there wondering what to do, she looked up to see Wulf heading her way.

"Good evening Wulf. I am sorry to bother you, but you wouldn't happen to know how I get to my cabin do you?" Amlugeth asked.

Wulf saw the Elf walking towards him as he returned from his training with Jura and wondered why she was just standing outside her cabin. When she approached him he wondered if the Red headed woman had actually been waiting for him.

"Good evening Wulf. I am sorry to bother you, but you wouldn't happen to know how I get to my cabin do you?" she asked him.

Ah so that was the problem. The poor Lass had not been on a ship like this before and had probably never held a proper position on one if she did. "Aye Lass, You are almost standing outside of it now. Your Quarters are directly across from mine and as Purser are near our quartermasters stores which you have charge of. Of course the Larger ones are also in the hold but these are the ones with the locks," he grinned.

He led her up to her door and opened it for her showing her in. "You will find it only locks from the inside Lass, but never fear Pirates never steal from each other aboard ship. That is a killing offense. The latch is more for times you need your...Ahem...Privacy shall we say," he explained blushing a little.

"Well If there is nothing else I will see you in the morning." he waited to see if there was anything more the Elf maiden wanted.

Ship layout (kind of)

"I am never gonna figure out all these different doors. They all look alike! I will have to see if Red minds if I label the ones I need to use in some way to distinguish them from the others." Amlugeth stated. "Oh, I am sorry about my babbling, you are probably tired and here I am going on about doors." She fumbled to open her door. "I will bid you a good evening Wulf. And by the way, my name is Amlugeth. Wasn't sure if you knew that or not. Ummm, good night." She was now embarrassed that she kept rambling on when he clearly wanted to take his leave.

Wulf smiled down at the slender elf. "Please Amlugeth forgive me. My manners are somewhat lacking this evening." He gave her a small bow and a very wide smile. "Allow me to rectify that with a small piece of advice. While you are onboard and have been given a title whatever you need in regards to that position is allowed unless it conflicts with the day to day running of the ship. If you want to put up a sign on your door go ahead. personally I would go for a dragon. A lot of the crew can't read but they would recognize that as your symbol," he smiled as he gestured at the two dragons tattooed on her body.

"You could also put ones on your store rooms but I would delay doing that for a few weeks. Try to find your way about the ship first, but if you are unable to then you can put your signs up. Perhaps I can help you get acquainted with the layout of the ship. Feel free to call on me anytime."

He waved at her and then retreated to his own cabin.

Good and Evil

Wulf’s words had wounded Jura far more then the big human would ever know. The big minotaur stared out at the rolling waves as the ship sailed swiftly to the west. His thoughts were on what were “good” acts and what were “evil” acts. The evil black dragon part of his brain told him to just kill the big human … he had made Jura feel bad, so he should die. In fact, the black dragon brain suggested, kill all the officers on the ship while they slept and take the ship for himself. Sail it back to port and sell it and the remaining crew into slavery. He would be rich, and they would be no one to make him feel bad anymore. Problem solved.

Jura’s good minotaur brain part was against that course of action completely. This part of his brain told him he had finally found a herd to belong to. This crew had released him and now treated him as a trusted partner. Sailors talked to him, although they seemed to still fear him. Wulf did not fear him and was his equal. Wulf treated him very well.

This brought his thoughts back to what he had said. Feeding the weaker crew members to the sharks was not a “good” act. Wulf had not said anything, but had showed him the folly of his idea. So why was feeding the weak to the sharks an evil act? It would lead to a stronger ship, once the new stronger crew members replaced the old ones. What was evil about that?

Jura thought more, in silence, and then an idea struck him. Replacing weaker crew members with stronger crew members was not evil. Hiring a better fighter to replace an older one was not evil. It was his idea to feed the weaker crew members to the sharks that had caused the statement to be evil. Why?

Jura thought some more. He concluded “because you do not kill members of the herd, even the weak ones”. An evil act, he thought, was defined as someone doing harm to the herd. Doing it knowingly, accidents did not count.

Jura had been struggling with a working definition for evil and now he thought he had one. With a deep breath he went to his cabin and went to bed.

Red and Blade

Red kissed Blade more deeply and a small moan escaped her lips.

“Blade this feels so right. My body wants you so much. It needs you.” Red gasped. Her hands rubbed against his smooth strong back. She kissed him again and then pulled away and looked into his eyes. She saw the same over powering love in his eyes that she knew was in hers. Blade went up to her white shirt covered breasts. He gently and slowly rubbed her breasts through the fabric, which turned Red on. Blade had a strong “maleness” about him. His calm confidence excited her and her body reacted. Her parts swelled in excitement. She wanted him. She wanted to please him.

She untied the knot holding the front of her shirt closed. Her eyes were a blaze with lust and naughtiness as her large breasts came free. Blades eyes widened at the sight of her naked breasts.

“AHHHH there is no finer pair in all the seas!” Blade whispered to himself, but Red heard it.

“I think there was one noble brave fighter that saved me from certain death back in the village … I owe a special “thank you” too” Red stated as her lips again kissed Blade. Her free hand unbuttoned her pants which fell to the floor, cutlass and all as she whispered to him “It would be my greatest honor … to thank you” she said with a BIG BEAMING GRIN on her face.

Lennix took this as his cue to leap off Red’s shoulder and landed on her desk. He found a nice spot near the lantern to curl up and sleep as Red and Blade continued to kiss.

Jabnil

Jabnil had helped Luca launch the “Last Hope”. The fey touched seemed excited to test out his new boat but also seemed to want to do the least amount of work possible. That laziness was a fey trait but Luca may have come to it via a different route than just parentage. Nevertheless, it was vintage Luca.

It did not take long before it was Jabnil turn to be the target and she jumped at it. Aerial maneuvers were something she loved. Beside the close call, she had had a blast. Later in the day, she ran into Amlugeth who asked her "Jabnil, why did you choose to get on a pirate ship after being an angel? You looked as thrilled as myself when Red mentioned taking advantage of opportunities on our way."

Jabnil was unsure why she had signed up. There was the "sign" from her god (the ship pulling into port at just the right moment), she liked the idea of being the ship’s chaplain and surgeon, and finally she liked to fight evil. But pirates can be evil as well and in most situations their lives were pretty short. In the end Jabnil decided she wanted to help this crew out because she has a "feeling" they are good people and it is important for her to help them.

“Amlugeth … I think these are good people. I may be wrong and Red comments about preying on shipping got me worried, but I’m going to trust my god and give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise.” Jabnil explained.

After they finished talking, Jabnil headed back to her cabin. But she past Luca's door on the way. She had no interest in sleeping alone tonight. So she twisted the doorknob to Luca's cabin and it opened. She went inside. Luca was not there. “Perfect!” she thought as she strip off her clothing and position herself so he would get a nice eye full when he opened the door!

The days work had been an interesting distraction, if a bit more labor intensive than Luca would have preferred, but in the end a little work was worth it to not get bored, boredom was bad not only for Luca, but for the whole crew, because when someone who can bend magic to their whim has to entertain themselves there is a rather expansive list of things that can go horribly wrong. Once Lucas part in the training was over though he didn’t seek out additional ways to help out, instead he went below decks and found himself a quick game of cards with some of the crew, they were all cheating at cards of course, but it was fairly obvious that it was the real game they were playing and Luca won quite easily.

The officers meeting went quickly, Luca keeping quiet on account of not know what half of the things they were saying meant, but he pieced together enough of a picture to know what they were doing. The ship was going to a fortified place, they were going to take said fortified place, most likely via some kind of cunning ruse, seemed simple enough. Luca did have some misgivings about attacking merchants on the way though, as he had told the good Captain earlier, he wasn’t on board for unwarranted acts of violence, so he really hoped any poor fools that crossed their path just gave up.

And with that everyone bar Blade was dismissed, who had to stay for reasons that definitely weren’t obvious to about half the ship at this point, yes, clearly he was on his hands and knees licking something or at least he would be soon if Red had her way.

Luca went for a bit of a stroll after that, socializing with the crew a bit, exchanging bad jokes and seeing who would break and blush first, but there’s only so long you can play that game before it gets boring, so Luca headed back to his cabin for some barely earned but well enjoyed rest. What Luca was to find though was not rest, it was something that Luca was quite happy to work long and hard at to ensure that everyone involved was more than satisfied.

“You know Jabnil, the privacy of each crew member is very important” Luca said with a tone of mock authority as he started stripping off his clothes and closing in on the naked beauty that had found her way in to his bed “as officers, we should be setting an example, rather than surreptitiously sneaking in to each others quarters at night.” He stood beside the bed in nothing but his pants, he would have removed those as well, but its rather difficult to take those off while walking and getting closer to Jabnil had been a rather driving force in his mind “so I think, and stop me if you disagree” he took her hand and pulled her up in to a seated position before him, so that she was looking right in to his abdomen and the rather sizable bulge in his pants was brushing against her breasts “somebody needs to be punished, for the good of the crew of course.”

Blade

Well then, seemed like Red had a lot more on her mind than taking keeps and attacking ships. In fact what she had in mind right now, didn't bother him at all! She slipped off her pants, leaving her dressed in just her boots. Now a more erotic sight there was not, well not in Blade's eyes and by now his own excitement was quite obvious. He cupped Red's breasts, running his fingers over the massive mounds, his thumbs and palms rubbing against her hard nipples as his fingers kept their soft exploration.

"Aye, it seems you do have a bit of debt there. Let's see what we can do about working off that debt." He finally released her mesmerizing chest from his hands' attentions and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her for only a brief moment. Guiding her to her map table, he lifted her onto the edge and with a wicked grin of his own, sank down to his knees, "But I also can't disobey a direct order from the captain. You did tell me to use my tongue..."

He pushed her legs open and started to kiss her slowly on her inner thighs, starting at the left knee, moving down the length of her taut muscles and silky skin. Stopping right at the juncture of her leg and crotch, his face almost touching her wet lips. Then he moved to her right leg and repeated the slow, soft trail of kisses and licks. This time he didn't stop and soon his tongue and lips was feasting on the most precious bounty he had ever came across. Not only was it precious to him, but it was tasty as hell.

Red is cracked!

Blade's fingers started to probe her lips, as he looked up and saw her eyes trained on him. He lowered his mouth to her sweetness, and began to lick her lips. He swirled his tongue around them clockwise, and stopped when he reached her clit. he tongued it back and forth. Red’s juices spewed forth, as her hands moved down to the back of his head and pressed him against her. Blade, saw his efforts were achieving what he had set out to do, he licked faster and harder.

Red moaned loader as her thigh’s trembled and she arched her back, the sensations of Blade's tongue were driving her wild. Her moans grew louder; she knew she was on the verge of an orgasm. It was not common for a man to be able to make her orgasm with his tongue, but she was quickly learning Blade was not a common man.

Feeling her thighs tremble around him, Blade knew she was close to an orgasm. It was the first of many for the night. Her juices were now dripping down his chin. Her pussy twitched awaiting the release he would provide. Red’s moans were more audible as she gripped the back his head tighter and pulled him into her harder.

“Oh yes, oh oh oh, don’t stop, please don’t stop.”

He did not and a small explosion went off inside her as she came. Her pussy twitched as her back relaxed. She looked down between her legs; saw her lover lap up the results of her release. She smiled as she slipped off the map table. Then she turned around and bent over. She was over the map table and looking at the Tidewater Rock as Blade big cock found her from behind. She moaned in excitement as he entered her. His thrusting was wonderful and she thought about the joy she felt when a man’s cock was inside her. It made her feel so complete. It was at this moment she realized something that she had overlooked. There was another way to “crack the rock” … through the lady of the rock. She had a crack and the right man would know how to open it!

Jabnil

“Ohhh yes … I agree … I have been a BAD Angel! Punish me for the good of the crew!” Jabnil gasped as she undid his pants and pulled them free of his hard cock. The huge thing sprang out and slapped her in her face. “OH MY!” She moaned as Luca had been blessed with a “stag” sized cock.

Luca grabbed his big hard cock with a free hand and brought it down against Jabnil’s big perky breasts.

“SMACK … SMACK” was the sound it made as he punished her with his mighty cock.

“Punish me with your rod of life!” Jabnil begged as Luca now aimed right at her sensitive nipples. Two more smacks were followed by Jabnil gasping in intense pleasure/pain from the nipple slaps. Luca would not stop there … he slapped her face with his cock as well. But Jabnil loved cock … and soon Luca’s punishment tool was deep down Jabnil’s throat. She pleasured him with an amazing blow job. The best oral sex a man can get is from a woman that loves to suck on a cock. Luca discovered that Jabnil had a level of adoration for cock he had never seen or heard of before.

It seemed like almost no time at all had passed before his monstrous tool was throbbing wildly and wanted to blast Jabnil belly full of it’s juice.

Blade

It was much, much later when Blade finally collapsed with Red into her bed. They were both satiated and too spent to even think of continueing. They lay there, gasping for breath, Blade realizing that two of the candles had burned away, leaving only the oil lamp to give the only light in the room. He knew that he would never be able to look at Red's cabin again in the same light. The map table had been a place of numerous orgasms for her, the leather couch and one of the high backed chairs paid silent witness to their coupling.

Blade felt her nails run softly over his chest, became very obviously aware of her naked body resting against and on top of his. Her breath warm in his neck when she spoke, "Seems like the tales about you were lies. You're way better." He had to chuckle and looked down at her, "And you captain, are not as frigid a bitch as they say in the ports." He saw the frown and gave her a grin, then he felt those very same nails brushing over his limp member. "Careful sailor, I might take offense at your jokes." He gave her another grin and kissed her lips, "And I still love you." Strangely enough, now that it was out, the fear of confessing his love for her was gone.