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Anka Seth - The Rise of the Hydra (New Update April 19, 2007)
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<blockquote data-quote="Fiasco" data-source="post: 2847686" data-attributes="member: 15187"><p>The ill conceived battle cry warned the pirate sufficiently to duck the woodsman’s tremendous blow and once more cheat a well deserved death. At the outcry, the rest of the Hydra reacted quickly. Mortec deftly slapped a fresh bolt into his crossbow and with a supreme effort, armed it in one smooth motion. He moved towards the north eastern opening, hoping to get a clear sight of the buccaneer. </p><p></p><p>Gerard took a similar course of action, taking his crossbow to hand and hoping to outflank the pirate by emerging from the north western exit. Stravarius unsheathed his sword and ran to join Argonne, determined to sink his blade in the despoiler of Ravenswood. Morgan had time to hastily nock and arrow and loose it before the pirate was obscured by his companions. Unfortunately, the shaft flew wide and Jack escaped harm. The pirate assessed the situation at a glance and danced backwards from Argonne. He retreated quickly and the axeman’s follow up swipe fell inches short. </p><p></p><p>The move took Jack all the way across the decking and into the waters of the cove. Remarkably, he didn’t sink but appeared to stand directly on the water! He gave a deep belly laugh at the look of amazement on the woodsman’s face then plucked a battered horn from his belt and gave it wind. A sonorous groan echoed back and forth across the constrained waters of the port. The high rocky walls of the sink hole seemed to amplify the noise and to the Hydra’s surprise, the horn raised great billows of fog from the water.</p><p></p><p>The booming call and shouts of his companions alerted Moxadder to the new danger. His sinewy muscles, wound to a fine tension by the Big Fear, exploded into motion. Legs straining, he ran down the passageway towards the dock. In the hallway, the gnome kept his nerve and loosed a bolt with extraordinary accuracy. Despite the distraction of companions moving in front of him, the partial cover offered by the edge of the opening and the rapidly thickening fog, the shaft scores a shallow furrow in the pirate’s left thigh. </p><p></p><p>From his position West of Rumscully Jack, Gerard also raised his loaded weapon and squeezed the release. Unfortunately, the tension within the bow proved too great and the string snapped as it strained to hurl forth the bolt. With a curse, the nobleman threw it to the ground, and seeing that his foe was well out of range of his rapier, ran back towards the barricades where he had seen some discarded spears. As he left he heard Argonne bellow “Ah’ll get thee Rumscully Jack!”. The woodsman had run around the circumference of the dock, in order to secure the long boat from the pirate.</p><p></p><p>From his position near the North-Eastern opening, Stravarius sheathed his sword and began the strenuous process of arming his great crossbow. Morgan moved up to stand next to him and loosed another arrow from his bow. Unfortunately, the fog was now quite thick and he failed to strike his indistinct target. To his surprise, he felt the muscled form of Kuruul brush against his leg and the next instant everyone heard the creature give a strange howl. The high pitched, plaintive noise reverberated in counterpoint to the deeper tones of Rumscully Jacks magical horn. </p><p></p><p>The result was equally wondrous. As quickly as the fog had gathered to the pirate’s call, it receded once more, bathing the cove in brilliant sunshine. The abruptly clear conditions allowed all to see the corsair briefly lose his composure before he snatching another object from his belt.</p><p></p><p>As Rumscully Jack regarded his enemies from across the shining waters he felt a grudging respect for them. They had managed to counter his fog, and now he was in danger of being brought low by the weight of missiles they would loose at him. Nevertheless, the thought of abandoning his magnificent hideout too easily was galling. The new object in hand was a conch of startling purity and smoothness. </p><p></p><p>Taking a deep breath, he raised the narrow point of the shell to his mouth and exhaled mightily into the natural tube. The noise that emerged was surprisingly soft for the effort expended, but reassuringly, he saw the water shiver in response to the mystical call. Satisfied, he returned the conch to his belt and stepped further back into the centre of the cove. The magic of his boots left peculiar footprints in the water that remained for a breathe before merging back into the whole. </p><p></p><p>Gasping from his exertion, Moxadder reached the dock. Reaching to his side he cursed at the realisation his prized dagger had been left in the corridor. Fortunately, he had collected other knives in his time with the Hydra, and he drew one of these as a substitute. Trying to concentrate through the persistent effects of the weed, he threw his blade at the pirate. Though his aim was good, it failed to hurt Rumscully Jack. The length of the cast had robbed the dagger of any penetrative force, and the pirate’s jerkin rejected its point. </p><p></p><p>For Mortec’s crossbow, the range presented no such difficulties and the absence of fog gave him a clear view of his foe. He caressed the stock of his weapon for luck and then loosed a bolt. Once more he achieved success, drawing a red line across Rumscully Jack’s beefy arm and drawing a snarl of pain.</p><p></p><p>Back in the dining hall, Gerard, dashed behind the remnants of the barricade and seized a lengthy spear from against the wall. Struggling with the foreign heft of the weapon, he staggered back in the direction of the melee. </p><p></p><p>From his position on the opposite side of the dock, Argonne stepped into the longboat and cast off its securing rope. Then, bracing himself, he leaned back over the dock and kicked mightily with his foot, hoping to launch the vessel in Rumscully Jack’s direction. Unfortunately, he underestimated the force it would take and ended up sprawling himself across the deck. The boat barely moved at all, wallowing a few yards in the buccaneer’s direction. As he scrambled desperately to his feet, he looked back at his companions, hoping that they would act to cut the reaver down. He saw Stravarius and Morgan standing side by side, unlikely allies in the desperate battle. </p><p></p><p>The Black Elf was feverishly working at his crossbow, the massive tension it demanded severely hampering his speed. Beside him, Morgan retrieved an arrow from his quiver then drew back and loosed in one easy action. The arrow nicked the pirate’s shoulder and Argonne clearly saw the rage suffuse the pirate’s features at this further sting to his pride.</p><p></p><p>Rumscully Jack regained his composure when he saw the waters of the cove begin to froth with activity. The Hydra watched in fear as fish scaled humanoids thrust themselves up from the water and regarded them with cold, emotionless eyes. The functional harnesses and spiralled spears were a familiar sight. As the tritons moved to attack, Mortec wondered at how such noble creatures could make common cause with such a vicious cutthroat. </p><p></p><p>Moxadder perceived the situation quite differently. The proximity of taking Devil Weed and the frantic rush of the battle had quite unhinged his reason. When the tritons had lunged up to confront them he dropped his newly drawn dagger and fumbled desperately for his crossbow. “A Kraken!”, he screamed, fingers shaking as he armed the bow and raised it to his shoulder. Unfortunately, his nerves were too disordered to allow his to aim. The Fastendian contented himself with waving the weapon erratically while trying to pick out a vulnerability within the imaginary beast’s torso. To his compromised senses, each thrashing triton was a tentacled arm, and the pirate captain its hideous head. He thrust a white knuckled hand into his mouth and tried to compose himself before trying to take aim again.</p><p></p><p>Mortec glared at the panicking Irudeshian and forced himself to concentrate on his task. With an effort that made his muscles burn with exertion, he armed his crossbow, raised it to his shoulders and loosed it once more. He missed, a nimble footed shift in position by the pirate defeating him. Nervously, he edged back a little further into the doorway, hoping to avoid facing the tritons in close combat. In doing so, he was nearly bowled over by Gerard, as the nobleman ran past him with a great spear clutched in both hands. Nearly overbalancing from his burden, the fop’s even strides degenerated into a stutter as he tried to stop before reaching the water. With his forward momentum halted just in time, Gerard aimed his spear at the chest of a fast approaching triton and hoped for the best.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fiasco, post: 2847686, member: 15187"] The ill conceived battle cry warned the pirate sufficiently to duck the woodsman’s tremendous blow and once more cheat a well deserved death. At the outcry, the rest of the Hydra reacted quickly. Mortec deftly slapped a fresh bolt into his crossbow and with a supreme effort, armed it in one smooth motion. He moved towards the north eastern opening, hoping to get a clear sight of the buccaneer. Gerard took a similar course of action, taking his crossbow to hand and hoping to outflank the pirate by emerging from the north western exit. Stravarius unsheathed his sword and ran to join Argonne, determined to sink his blade in the despoiler of Ravenswood. Morgan had time to hastily nock and arrow and loose it before the pirate was obscured by his companions. Unfortunately, the shaft flew wide and Jack escaped harm. The pirate assessed the situation at a glance and danced backwards from Argonne. He retreated quickly and the axeman’s follow up swipe fell inches short. The move took Jack all the way across the decking and into the waters of the cove. Remarkably, he didn’t sink but appeared to stand directly on the water! He gave a deep belly laugh at the look of amazement on the woodsman’s face then plucked a battered horn from his belt and gave it wind. A sonorous groan echoed back and forth across the constrained waters of the port. The high rocky walls of the sink hole seemed to amplify the noise and to the Hydra’s surprise, the horn raised great billows of fog from the water. The booming call and shouts of his companions alerted Moxadder to the new danger. His sinewy muscles, wound to a fine tension by the Big Fear, exploded into motion. Legs straining, he ran down the passageway towards the dock. In the hallway, the gnome kept his nerve and loosed a bolt with extraordinary accuracy. Despite the distraction of companions moving in front of him, the partial cover offered by the edge of the opening and the rapidly thickening fog, the shaft scores a shallow furrow in the pirate’s left thigh. From his position West of Rumscully Jack, Gerard also raised his loaded weapon and squeezed the release. Unfortunately, the tension within the bow proved too great and the string snapped as it strained to hurl forth the bolt. With a curse, the nobleman threw it to the ground, and seeing that his foe was well out of range of his rapier, ran back towards the barricades where he had seen some discarded spears. As he left he heard Argonne bellow “Ah’ll get thee Rumscully Jack!”. The woodsman had run around the circumference of the dock, in order to secure the long boat from the pirate. From his position near the North-Eastern opening, Stravarius sheathed his sword and began the strenuous process of arming his great crossbow. Morgan moved up to stand next to him and loosed another arrow from his bow. Unfortunately, the fog was now quite thick and he failed to strike his indistinct target. To his surprise, he felt the muscled form of Kuruul brush against his leg and the next instant everyone heard the creature give a strange howl. The high pitched, plaintive noise reverberated in counterpoint to the deeper tones of Rumscully Jacks magical horn. The result was equally wondrous. As quickly as the fog had gathered to the pirate’s call, it receded once more, bathing the cove in brilliant sunshine. The abruptly clear conditions allowed all to see the corsair briefly lose his composure before he snatching another object from his belt. As Rumscully Jack regarded his enemies from across the shining waters he felt a grudging respect for them. They had managed to counter his fog, and now he was in danger of being brought low by the weight of missiles they would loose at him. Nevertheless, the thought of abandoning his magnificent hideout too easily was galling. The new object in hand was a conch of startling purity and smoothness. Taking a deep breath, he raised the narrow point of the shell to his mouth and exhaled mightily into the natural tube. The noise that emerged was surprisingly soft for the effort expended, but reassuringly, he saw the water shiver in response to the mystical call. Satisfied, he returned the conch to his belt and stepped further back into the centre of the cove. The magic of his boots left peculiar footprints in the water that remained for a breathe before merging back into the whole. Gasping from his exertion, Moxadder reached the dock. Reaching to his side he cursed at the realisation his prized dagger had been left in the corridor. Fortunately, he had collected other knives in his time with the Hydra, and he drew one of these as a substitute. Trying to concentrate through the persistent effects of the weed, he threw his blade at the pirate. Though his aim was good, it failed to hurt Rumscully Jack. The length of the cast had robbed the dagger of any penetrative force, and the pirate’s jerkin rejected its point. For Mortec’s crossbow, the range presented no such difficulties and the absence of fog gave him a clear view of his foe. He caressed the stock of his weapon for luck and then loosed a bolt. Once more he achieved success, drawing a red line across Rumscully Jack’s beefy arm and drawing a snarl of pain. Back in the dining hall, Gerard, dashed behind the remnants of the barricade and seized a lengthy spear from against the wall. Struggling with the foreign heft of the weapon, he staggered back in the direction of the melee. From his position on the opposite side of the dock, Argonne stepped into the longboat and cast off its securing rope. Then, bracing himself, he leaned back over the dock and kicked mightily with his foot, hoping to launch the vessel in Rumscully Jack’s direction. Unfortunately, he underestimated the force it would take and ended up sprawling himself across the deck. The boat barely moved at all, wallowing a few yards in the buccaneer’s direction. As he scrambled desperately to his feet, he looked back at his companions, hoping that they would act to cut the reaver down. He saw Stravarius and Morgan standing side by side, unlikely allies in the desperate battle. The Black Elf was feverishly working at his crossbow, the massive tension it demanded severely hampering his speed. Beside him, Morgan retrieved an arrow from his quiver then drew back and loosed in one easy action. The arrow nicked the pirate’s shoulder and Argonne clearly saw the rage suffuse the pirate’s features at this further sting to his pride. Rumscully Jack regained his composure when he saw the waters of the cove begin to froth with activity. The Hydra watched in fear as fish scaled humanoids thrust themselves up from the water and regarded them with cold, emotionless eyes. The functional harnesses and spiralled spears were a familiar sight. As the tritons moved to attack, Mortec wondered at how such noble creatures could make common cause with such a vicious cutthroat. Moxadder perceived the situation quite differently. The proximity of taking Devil Weed and the frantic rush of the battle had quite unhinged his reason. When the tritons had lunged up to confront them he dropped his newly drawn dagger and fumbled desperately for his crossbow. “A Kraken!”, he screamed, fingers shaking as he armed the bow and raised it to his shoulder. Unfortunately, his nerves were too disordered to allow his to aim. The Fastendian contented himself with waving the weapon erratically while trying to pick out a vulnerability within the imaginary beast’s torso. To his compromised senses, each thrashing triton was a tentacled arm, and the pirate captain its hideous head. He thrust a white knuckled hand into his mouth and tried to compose himself before trying to take aim again. Mortec glared at the panicking Irudeshian and forced himself to concentrate on his task. With an effort that made his muscles burn with exertion, he armed his crossbow, raised it to his shoulders and loosed it once more. He missed, a nimble footed shift in position by the pirate defeating him. Nervously, he edged back a little further into the doorway, hoping to avoid facing the tritons in close combat. In doing so, he was nearly bowled over by Gerard, as the nobleman ran past him with a great spear clutched in both hands. Nearly overbalancing from his burden, the fop’s even strides degenerated into a stutter as he tried to stop before reaching the water. With his forward momentum halted just in time, Gerard aimed his spear at the chest of a fast approaching triton and hoped for the best. [/QUOTE]
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