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<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 4076552" data-attributes="member: 812"><p><strong>Frying Pan, Fire: 15</strong></p><p></p><p>The ruby giant punched Madame Yuek in the face hard enough to blast her backwards right through the mainmast of the <em>Wavereaver</em>. The thick timber splintered with a deafening thunder, and sails began to topple all across the deck.</p><p></p><p>Isaac could only stare, openmouthed.</p><p></p><p>"Holy crap."</p><p></p><p>Zuleika wasted less time. The ship pitching and wallowing under the sudden weight of the two bizarre crystalline figures standing fore and aft, she scrambled along the heaving deck and launched herself at the after creature, standing astride the tiller.</p><p></p><p>Her scimitar clanged off the ruby facets of its body without leaving so much as a scratch.</p><p></p><p>More gemstone-like fists punched. A crew member flew screaming into the waves.</p><p></p><p>Isaac saw Madame Yuek get to her feet, a simmering fury burning on her face that made him glad she couldn't use any sorcery just then.</p><p></p><p>She stalked out of torn timbers towards the bow, hissing in savage anger.</p><p></p><p>Elena grabbed Arrafin and yanked on Isaac's collar.</p><p></p><p>"We have to get out of here! This whole ship is going to go down!"</p><p></p><p>The deck was awash, the ship unable to maintain herself as the enormous figures staggered towards their very angry target. A massive faceted foot stomped down near Elena and she, Isaac and Arrafin all scrambled aside, nearly pitching over the gunwales as the <em>Wavereaver</em> tilted again.</p><p></p><p>Arrafin struggled to free herself.</p><p></p><p>"We have to help! She'll die!"</p><p></p><p>"You've got no sorcery, I've got no powers. Weapons look useless. We can't help."</p><p></p><p>Etienne was busy tying off a stay for the forward mast.</p><p></p><p>"Speak for yourself. There's always room for us bold and dashing types."</p><p></p><p>Zuleika came stumbling to where they huddled.</p><p></p><p>"What are you going to do, kid? Charm them to death?"</p><p></p><p>"I don't think we want to be in the middle of this. Look at that."</p><p></p><p>Isaac pointed just as one of the fifteen-foot-tall crystal figures aimed another punch at the opulently-dressed Madame Yuek. This time she saw the attack coming, and met it with both fists.</p><p></p><p>It cracked.</p><p></p><p>Not completely, and Madame Yuek still plunged backwards, plowing a hole in the deck, but the immense fist showed clear fractures all the way up to the elbow.</p><p></p><p>"These things can be hurt."</p><p></p><p>A gun carriage creaked beside him. Isaac grinned.</p><p></p><p>"I want to blow something up."</p><p></p><p>"Make it snappy. Those things are going to punch her right through the hull one of these times."</p><p></p><p>Another walloping punch descended on Madame Yuek. She stepped aside and delivered one of her own, knocking one of the creatures backwards.</p><p></p><p>Elena stared. It was a bizarre spectacle, this opulently dressed lady spinning and lashing out with her long sleeves, versus immense automatons that should have been able to pulverise her with one blow. And yet she showed no signs of injury, and her blows rocked creatures that must have weighed several tons.</p><p></p><p>More deck timbers splintered. Mateo came scrambling past, clutching for balance.</p><p></p><p>"The longboat! Lower the boat!"</p><p></p><p>Isaac grabbed him.</p><p></p><p>"Look, get your crew and help me with these cannon. If we can point them at those bastards..."</p><p></p><p>Mateo shook himself free and kept on scrambling. Isaac swore in frustration.</p><p></p><p>Zuleika and Etienne had been comparing thoughts and turned to the others.</p><p></p><p>"The kid's got a good idea. Those things don't look too stable. Maybe we can get a couple of lines around one, yank it overboard. Etienne's taking the high road, I'm taking the low road."</p><p></p><p>Her dark eyes flashed at Arrafin.</p><p></p><p>"Pray to the Wind for us, sister."</p><p></p><p>She took off across the deck, dragging one of the cables that had come down with the mast. Elena looked back and forth between her and Etienne, who was now clambering up the forward stays, likewise dragging a cable.</p><p></p><p>"This is madness."</p><p></p><p>Madame Yuek screamed. They saw her lift off the ground, one hand clutched in the fist of one creature, the other hand held tight in the fist of the other. The creatures stepped back and her right arm came tearing free of her shoulder.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, we're dead."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin shrieked and ran forward.</p><p></p><p>Zuleika had reached the far side of the deck. She rushed along the gunwales there, snugging her cable up behind the nearest creature's heels. Etienne saw her and leapt straight out past the forward mast. He sailed upwards until his cable paid out, at which point it tightened against the mast and yanked him backwards.</p><p></p><p>"That kid's going to get himself killed one of these days."</p><p></p><p>Elena watched as the half-Kishak youth executed a perfect mid-air sumersault and slammed feet-first into the creature's face. It tried to step back and found its foot tangled in Zuleika's cable.</p><p></p><p>Fifteen feet of faceted ruby giant fell backwards, thumping down onto the deck and off into the water. It sank as though sucked downwards, and the cable entangled in its feet began uncoiling in a wild frenzy as tons of animate gemstone plunged towards the sea floor.</p><p></p><p>Zuleika looked to the other end of the cable. It was lashed around the stump of the main mast.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, God."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin scarcely noticed the toppling giant. She pushed through splintered timbers and flapping canvas to find the remains of Madame Yuek, strewn with blood, laying limp amid the ruins of the forward cabin.</p><p></p><p>Her dark eyes opened and she grinned with manic energy.</p><p></p><p>"Wow. It's been ages since anyone pulled my arm off. Help me up."</p><p></p><p>"What? Are you okay?"</p><p></p><p>"It'll be a while before I'm signing autographs, but otherwise, I'm fine."</p><p></p><p>A huge ruby fist plunged down beside them in an explosion of wood and sea spray. Arrafin tugged a timber off Madame Yuek's left arm and the vampire lifted her up and then they leapt free of the ruins.</p><p></p><p>Isaac had gotten Elena to help him, but they were unable to shift the <em>Wavereaver</em>'s cannon. Madame Yuek took in the situation.</p><p></p><p>"Not bad. Is it loaded?"</p><p></p><p>Isaac nodded.</p><p></p><p>"That much, I've done. But we'll never get it turned around in--"</p><p></p><p>Madame Yuek lifted the gun, hoisted it on her left hip and turned to face the remaining gigantic figure.</p><p></p><p>"Light it."</p><p></p><p>Zuleika ran to the mast stump, raising her scimitar to chop at the cable as it thrashed and writhed like a live thing. The deck pitched as she prepared her strike, and she set her foot in a loop of the rapidly-disappearing cable.</p><p></p><p>Etienne got to his feet, triumphant and smug, only to see Zuleika suddenly vanish overboard, yanked into the water.</p><p></p><p>"What the?"</p><p></p><p>He ran to the edge of the deck where the cable sawed wildly at the rail, and just caught a glimpse of her bright jerkin as she was hauled downward into the gloom.</p><p></p><p>"Zuleika!"</p><p></p><p>Etienne dove overboard, swimming straight down alongside the still-rushing cable.</p><p></p><p>Isaac scrabbled in his pouch for a flint. The ruby giant saw them and stomped across the deck.</p><p></p><p>"You do know how to make fire, right? That secret hasn't been lost with the ages, even among you barbarians, has it? Or is it a mystery only to you?"</p><p></p><p>"You're not helping!"</p><p></p><p>"'You're not helping, Demon Goddess,' I think you mean."</p><p></p><p>The creature raised one foot, ready to stomp them all through the deck, but then the ship tilted sharply, beams groaning as if with sudden agony.</p><p></p><p>The cable had run out. The rail snapped, and the whole ship began to heave up on the side where Arrafin, Elena, Isaac and Madame Yuek stood.</p><p></p><p>"We're going down."</p><p></p><p>Etienne kicked and clawed at the water. The cable alongside him thrummed to a sudden halt, and he could hear the ship overhead groaning with strain. Zuleika was just below him, staring up at him in terror. She was too far down.</p><p></p><p>Steel flashed and he saw her scimitar in her hand.</p><p></p><p>She hung vertical along the rope, her foot extended down beneath her. He saw her flail, trying to cut the rope beneath her, but she couldn't reach. Her face turned up to him.</p><p></p><p>"Zuleika."</p><p></p><p>Her scimitar flashed once more; then she was gone, yanked downward faster than he could see.</p><p></p><p>The ship righted itself just as Isaac produced the flint from his pouch. The giant regained its balance and stepped towards them again.</p><p></p><p>"Arrafin, can you show the barbarian how to use it?"</p><p></p><p>"Shut up, Demon Goddess."</p><p></p><p>"Perhaps you'd like to take a turn holding this f**ker?"</p><p></p><p>Isaac gritted his teeth and remained silent as he struck a spark at the touchhole.</p><p></p><p>The creature was in mid-step when the cannonball caught it in its left shoulder, shattering half its torso and knocking it back right off the ship.</p><p></p><p>Madame Yuek was hurled backwards by the recoil, embedding herself in the deck with a groan.</p><p></p><p>"There's nothing like a peaceful cruise, is there?"</p><p></p><p>Some planking shifted and Nevid's head appeared.</p><p></p><p>"Are we sinking?"</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>Gravel crunched under the longboat's hull as they rowed ashore. Madame Yuek stood amidships, her right arm still just a bloody stump. She watched with interest as the crew scrambled out and ran them up, then turned to Isaac.</p><p></p><p>"Help me out."</p><p></p><p>"You can't walk?"</p><p></p><p>"It will be undignified. Lift me out and set me on the beach."</p><p></p><p>She smiled. It was a very beautiful smile.</p><p></p><p>"Don't make me insist."</p><p></p><p>Isaac scowled but bent to lift the Tianese beauty. She laid her left arm along his shoulders, and Isaac was startled to find her warm and light in his arms. He lurched awkwardly out of the longboat and set her on the gravel.</p><p></p><p>She curtseyed.</p><p></p><p>"Well, I should leave before Shang gets all reckless again. And I need to heal and that's... well, you don't want to be around for that."</p><p></p><p>Shadow's dark tendrils rose up around her. She turned her smile once more on all of them.</p><p></p><p>"I am sorry for your friend. She was very brave. I promise you Shang will pay for her death."</p><p></p><p>She was gone.</p><p></p><p>Nearly everyone sighed. They turned to look at the hulk of the <em>Wavereaver</em>, wallowing in the shallows a hundred yards off shore. Elena grunted and suddenly Farouk ibn Zaoud was there.</p><p></p><p>"What is my mistress' command?"</p><p></p><p>"Can you fix our ship?"</p><p></p><p>"Of course, if my mistress wills it."</p><p></p><p>"I will it. Fix our ship."</p><p></p><p>"Have you any tools?"</p><p></p><p>"Tools? Oh. No."</p><p></p><p>"It may take quite a while, mistress."</p><p></p><p>"I'll watch."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin crossed to where Etienne had thumped down on the beach. He stared out at the dark water.</p><p></p><p>"I'm sorry about--"</p><p></p><p>"Don't. Don't say anything. Don't say anything at all."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 4076552, member: 812"] [b]Frying Pan, Fire: 15[/b] The ruby giant punched Madame Yuek in the face hard enough to blast her backwards right through the mainmast of the [i]Wavereaver[/i]. The thick timber splintered with a deafening thunder, and sails began to topple all across the deck. Isaac could only stare, openmouthed. "Holy crap." Zuleika wasted less time. The ship pitching and wallowing under the sudden weight of the two bizarre crystalline figures standing fore and aft, she scrambled along the heaving deck and launched herself at the after creature, standing astride the tiller. Her scimitar clanged off the ruby facets of its body without leaving so much as a scratch. More gemstone-like fists punched. A crew member flew screaming into the waves. Isaac saw Madame Yuek get to her feet, a simmering fury burning on her face that made him glad she couldn't use any sorcery just then. She stalked out of torn timbers towards the bow, hissing in savage anger. Elena grabbed Arrafin and yanked on Isaac's collar. "We have to get out of here! This whole ship is going to go down!" The deck was awash, the ship unable to maintain herself as the enormous figures staggered towards their very angry target. A massive faceted foot stomped down near Elena and she, Isaac and Arrafin all scrambled aside, nearly pitching over the gunwales as the [i]Wavereaver[/i] tilted again. Arrafin struggled to free herself. "We have to help! She'll die!" "You've got no sorcery, I've got no powers. Weapons look useless. We can't help." Etienne was busy tying off a stay for the forward mast. "Speak for yourself. There's always room for us bold and dashing types." Zuleika came stumbling to where they huddled. "What are you going to do, kid? Charm them to death?" "I don't think we want to be in the middle of this. Look at that." Isaac pointed just as one of the fifteen-foot-tall crystal figures aimed another punch at the opulently-dressed Madame Yuek. This time she saw the attack coming, and met it with both fists. It cracked. Not completely, and Madame Yuek still plunged backwards, plowing a hole in the deck, but the immense fist showed clear fractures all the way up to the elbow. "These things can be hurt." A gun carriage creaked beside him. Isaac grinned. "I want to blow something up." "Make it snappy. Those things are going to punch her right through the hull one of these times." Another walloping punch descended on Madame Yuek. She stepped aside and delivered one of her own, knocking one of the creatures backwards. Elena stared. It was a bizarre spectacle, this opulently dressed lady spinning and lashing out with her long sleeves, versus immense automatons that should have been able to pulverise her with one blow. And yet she showed no signs of injury, and her blows rocked creatures that must have weighed several tons. More deck timbers splintered. Mateo came scrambling past, clutching for balance. "The longboat! Lower the boat!" Isaac grabbed him. "Look, get your crew and help me with these cannon. If we can point them at those bastards..." Mateo shook himself free and kept on scrambling. Isaac swore in frustration. Zuleika and Etienne had been comparing thoughts and turned to the others. "The kid's got a good idea. Those things don't look too stable. Maybe we can get a couple of lines around one, yank it overboard. Etienne's taking the high road, I'm taking the low road." Her dark eyes flashed at Arrafin. "Pray to the Wind for us, sister." She took off across the deck, dragging one of the cables that had come down with the mast. Elena looked back and forth between her and Etienne, who was now clambering up the forward stays, likewise dragging a cable. "This is madness." Madame Yuek screamed. They saw her lift off the ground, one hand clutched in the fist of one creature, the other hand held tight in the fist of the other. The creatures stepped back and her right arm came tearing free of her shoulder. "Oh, we're dead." Arrafin shrieked and ran forward. Zuleika had reached the far side of the deck. She rushed along the gunwales there, snugging her cable up behind the nearest creature's heels. Etienne saw her and leapt straight out past the forward mast. He sailed upwards until his cable paid out, at which point it tightened against the mast and yanked him backwards. "That kid's going to get himself killed one of these days." Elena watched as the half-Kishak youth executed a perfect mid-air sumersault and slammed feet-first into the creature's face. It tried to step back and found its foot tangled in Zuleika's cable. Fifteen feet of faceted ruby giant fell backwards, thumping down onto the deck and off into the water. It sank as though sucked downwards, and the cable entangled in its feet began uncoiling in a wild frenzy as tons of animate gemstone plunged towards the sea floor. Zuleika looked to the other end of the cable. It was lashed around the stump of the main mast. "Oh, God." Arrafin scarcely noticed the toppling giant. She pushed through splintered timbers and flapping canvas to find the remains of Madame Yuek, strewn with blood, laying limp amid the ruins of the forward cabin. Her dark eyes opened and she grinned with manic energy. "Wow. It's been ages since anyone pulled my arm off. Help me up." "What? Are you okay?" "It'll be a while before I'm signing autographs, but otherwise, I'm fine." A huge ruby fist plunged down beside them in an explosion of wood and sea spray. Arrafin tugged a timber off Madame Yuek's left arm and the vampire lifted her up and then they leapt free of the ruins. Isaac had gotten Elena to help him, but they were unable to shift the [i]Wavereaver[/i]'s cannon. Madame Yuek took in the situation. "Not bad. Is it loaded?" Isaac nodded. "That much, I've done. But we'll never get it turned around in--" Madame Yuek lifted the gun, hoisted it on her left hip and turned to face the remaining gigantic figure. "Light it." Zuleika ran to the mast stump, raising her scimitar to chop at the cable as it thrashed and writhed like a live thing. The deck pitched as she prepared her strike, and she set her foot in a loop of the rapidly-disappearing cable. Etienne got to his feet, triumphant and smug, only to see Zuleika suddenly vanish overboard, yanked into the water. "What the?" He ran to the edge of the deck where the cable sawed wildly at the rail, and just caught a glimpse of her bright jerkin as she was hauled downward into the gloom. "Zuleika!" Etienne dove overboard, swimming straight down alongside the still-rushing cable. Isaac scrabbled in his pouch for a flint. The ruby giant saw them and stomped across the deck. "You do know how to make fire, right? That secret hasn't been lost with the ages, even among you barbarians, has it? Or is it a mystery only to you?" "You're not helping!" "'You're not helping, Demon Goddess,' I think you mean." The creature raised one foot, ready to stomp them all through the deck, but then the ship tilted sharply, beams groaning as if with sudden agony. The cable had run out. The rail snapped, and the whole ship began to heave up on the side where Arrafin, Elena, Isaac and Madame Yuek stood. "We're going down." Etienne kicked and clawed at the water. The cable alongside him thrummed to a sudden halt, and he could hear the ship overhead groaning with strain. Zuleika was just below him, staring up at him in terror. She was too far down. Steel flashed and he saw her scimitar in her hand. She hung vertical along the rope, her foot extended down beneath her. He saw her flail, trying to cut the rope beneath her, but she couldn't reach. Her face turned up to him. "Zuleika." Her scimitar flashed once more; then she was gone, yanked downward faster than he could see. The ship righted itself just as Isaac produced the flint from his pouch. The giant regained its balance and stepped towards them again. "Arrafin, can you show the barbarian how to use it?" "Shut up, Demon Goddess." "Perhaps you'd like to take a turn holding this f**ker?" Isaac gritted his teeth and remained silent as he struck a spark at the touchhole. The creature was in mid-step when the cannonball caught it in its left shoulder, shattering half its torso and knocking it back right off the ship. Madame Yuek was hurled backwards by the recoil, embedding herself in the deck with a groan. "There's nothing like a peaceful cruise, is there?" Some planking shifted and Nevid's head appeared. "Are we sinking?" ***** Gravel crunched under the longboat's hull as they rowed ashore. Madame Yuek stood amidships, her right arm still just a bloody stump. She watched with interest as the crew scrambled out and ran them up, then turned to Isaac. "Help me out." "You can't walk?" "It will be undignified. Lift me out and set me on the beach." She smiled. It was a very beautiful smile. "Don't make me insist." Isaac scowled but bent to lift the Tianese beauty. She laid her left arm along his shoulders, and Isaac was startled to find her warm and light in his arms. He lurched awkwardly out of the longboat and set her on the gravel. She curtseyed. "Well, I should leave before Shang gets all reckless again. And I need to heal and that's... well, you don't want to be around for that." Shadow's dark tendrils rose up around her. She turned her smile once more on all of them. "I am sorry for your friend. She was very brave. I promise you Shang will pay for her death." She was gone. Nearly everyone sighed. They turned to look at the hulk of the [i]Wavereaver[/i], wallowing in the shallows a hundred yards off shore. Elena grunted and suddenly Farouk ibn Zaoud was there. "What is my mistress' command?" "Can you fix our ship?" "Of course, if my mistress wills it." "I will it. Fix our ship." "Have you any tools?" "Tools? Oh. No." "It may take quite a while, mistress." "I'll watch." Arrafin crossed to where Etienne had thumped down on the beach. He stared out at the dark water. "I'm sorry about--" "Don't. Don't say anything. Don't say anything at all." [/QUOTE]
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