Re: Inexorable Altercation [Round II - Armada]
01-13-2011, 09:05 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by PlumFinder.
[color=#400080]Loran was exhilarated.
The sounds if fighting were all around him, screams and bangs and yells, occasionally interrupted by a gasp of horror as one of the men felt his throat being slit. And another, and another. None saw him coming. None heard him leave. The other cannoneers had left their positions now, shocked and scared by the rapid deaths among their fellow
crewmen. They didn't see Loran, of course. He crept through the shadows, only slipping out to take another life, then hurriedly dissappearing again. If they saw anything, it was the glint of a sudden knife, a spurt of blood, perhaps a cloak fluttering away. Never more than that.
They had cottoned on now, Loran saw. From the twenty men busying themselves with the cannons on this deck, only six were still standing, and they had formed a circle, backs to eachother and weapons drawn. Good. Let them fear. Loran dissappeared up the stairs without making a sound. It was more difficult to hide in the open, but with the chaos of the battle, being seen wasn't the problem it would've been belowdecks. Here, no one could be bothered to follow him. They would convince themselves they were seeing things, and concentrate on the more pressing matter of not being killed. Ah, the irony!
Loran spotted someone with a fancier uniform than the others, and made him drop to the deck, clutching his own intestines. He was a shadow of death, lethal, unnoticed.
He heard a shout behind him. He had been seen, finally. It was almost pitiful, how long it had taken these creatures to see him. He picked up the gun the fancy man had dropped, and shot the first sailor coming at him. The others hesitated. A quick glance told Loran that he now had the attention of half the ship. Good enough.
'What are you?' one of the men shouted at him. One of the braver ones. He would die first.
'I am a killer,' Loran said calmly. He was surrounded by a large group of heavily armed soldiers, some aiming ancient guns at him, some holding their swords at the ready. The last thing he should do was show fear. 'Surely you noticed?'
He took a step towards the man who had spoken. Rather than stop him, the circle of men moved with him. The air was thick with their fear. They probably thought him some kind of demon, come to take their souls to the place where criminals were tortured and mutilated, or whatever these fools believed. It always came down to the same thing
anyway.
He took another step, and the part of the circle in front of him bumped into something, stopping them from backing away. Two quick strides, and Loran was in front of the speaker.
'I like your manners,' he said, grinning the most monstrous grin he could manage. He heard someone approaching from behind, and grinned in that direction as well. The few who had dared approach him, probably to kill him, backed away as fast as they could.
'What is going here!?'
A commanding voice. A leader. Now it was getting difficult. Leaders were generally less superstitious than uneducated sailors. He might just decide to kill Loran and be done with it.
'Just a minute,' he said, smiling at the leader. Definitely a leader. He even had a feather on his hat. Loran turned back tot he sailor he had cornered leaning in close.
'See you around,' he whispered, and blew in the man's face. Between their bodies, hidden from the many eyes, he flicked out a dagger, stabbed the man in the guts, and pocketed it again. He rearranged the man's clothes, and let him drop to the ground. It didn't matter if the blood would soak the clothing soon. If the others believed for just a few minutes that Loran could kill by breathing in their face, it would suffice. By the looks of them, they did.
'Sir, so good to see you,' Loran said pleasantly to the leader, as though he hadn't just killed on of his men. 'I came to make a pact.'
'A pact?' repeated the leader raising his eyebrows. To his credit, he didn't look scared in the slightest.
'A pact,' Loran repeated. 'Me and my companions will fight at your side. we will bring with us the dark forces of darkness. Whoever you are fighting, we'll get rid of them.'
The leader looked at him, disbelieving.
'You just killed a quarter of my crew!' he said, outraged. He gave a signal with his hand, and the many sailors who had lowered their weapons, looking as though they wanted to run, raised them again.
'A price,' Loran said casually. 'For every two enemies we kill, we want one of your men. I merely took an advance payment. Anyway, you have plenty left, haven't you?'
'I'm not going to let you kill my men!' the leader yelled.
'They'll die anyway!' Loran said. 'You might lose much more if you fight this fight yourself. In exchange, we ensure your victory, all we want is to take the dead for our own purpose.'
'No,' said the leader decidedly. 'Leave, devilspawn, or we will kill you.'
A threat before an action. Whatever the leader was thinking, he d
[color=#400080]Loran was exhilarated.
The sounds if fighting were all around him, screams and bangs and yells, occasionally interrupted by a gasp of horror as one of the men felt his throat being slit. And another, and another. None saw him coming. None heard him leave. The other cannoneers had left their positions now, shocked and scared by the rapid deaths among their fellow
crewmen. They didn't see Loran, of course. He crept through the shadows, only slipping out to take another life, then hurriedly dissappearing again. If they saw anything, it was the glint of a sudden knife, a spurt of blood, perhaps a cloak fluttering away. Never more than that.
They had cottoned on now, Loran saw. From the twenty men busying themselves with the cannons on this deck, only six were still standing, and they had formed a circle, backs to eachother and weapons drawn. Good. Let them fear. Loran dissappeared up the stairs without making a sound. It was more difficult to hide in the open, but with the chaos of the battle, being seen wasn't the problem it would've been belowdecks. Here, no one could be bothered to follow him. They would convince themselves they were seeing things, and concentrate on the more pressing matter of not being killed. Ah, the irony!
Loran spotted someone with a fancier uniform than the others, and made him drop to the deck, clutching his own intestines. He was a shadow of death, lethal, unnoticed.
He heard a shout behind him. He had been seen, finally. It was almost pitiful, how long it had taken these creatures to see him. He picked up the gun the fancy man had dropped, and shot the first sailor coming at him. The others hesitated. A quick glance told Loran that he now had the attention of half the ship. Good enough.
'What are you?' one of the men shouted at him. One of the braver ones. He would die first.
'I am a killer,' Loran said calmly. He was surrounded by a large group of heavily armed soldiers, some aiming ancient guns at him, some holding their swords at the ready. The last thing he should do was show fear. 'Surely you noticed?'
He took a step towards the man who had spoken. Rather than stop him, the circle of men moved with him. The air was thick with their fear. They probably thought him some kind of demon, come to take their souls to the place where criminals were tortured and mutilated, or whatever these fools believed. It always came down to the same thing
anyway.
He took another step, and the part of the circle in front of him bumped into something, stopping them from backing away. Two quick strides, and Loran was in front of the speaker.
'I like your manners,' he said, grinning the most monstrous grin he could manage. He heard someone approaching from behind, and grinned in that direction as well. The few who had dared approach him, probably to kill him, backed away as fast as they could.
'What is going here!?'
A commanding voice. A leader. Now it was getting difficult. Leaders were generally less superstitious than uneducated sailors. He might just decide to kill Loran and be done with it.
'Just a minute,' he said, smiling at the leader. Definitely a leader. He even had a feather on his hat. Loran turned back tot he sailor he had cornered leaning in close.
'See you around,' he whispered, and blew in the man's face. Between their bodies, hidden from the many eyes, he flicked out a dagger, stabbed the man in the guts, and pocketed it again. He rearranged the man's clothes, and let him drop to the ground. It didn't matter if the blood would soak the clothing soon. If the others believed for just a few minutes that Loran could kill by breathing in their face, it would suffice. By the looks of them, they did.
'Sir, so good to see you,' Loran said pleasantly to the leader, as though he hadn't just killed on of his men. 'I came to make a pact.'
'A pact?' repeated the leader raising his eyebrows. To his credit, he didn't look scared in the slightest.
'A pact,' Loran repeated. 'Me and my companions will fight at your side. we will bring with us the dark forces of darkness. Whoever you are fighting, we'll get rid of them.'
The leader looked at him, disbelieving.
'You just killed a quarter of my crew!' he said, outraged. He gave a signal with his hand, and the many sailors who had lowered their weapons, looking as though they wanted to run, raised them again.
'A price,' Loran said casually. 'For every two enemies we kill, we want one of your men. I merely took an advance payment. Anyway, you have plenty left, haven't you?'
'I'm not going to let you kill my men!' the leader yelled.
'They'll die anyway!' Loran said. 'You might lose much more if you fight this fight yourself. In exchange, we ensure your victory, all we want is to take the dead for our own purpose.'
'No,' said the leader decidedly. 'Leave, devilspawn, or we will kill you.'
A threat before an action. Whatever the leader was thinking, he d