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Post by Ringulf on Mar 6, 2010 21:13:02 GMT -5
Having finally gazed her fill of the sunset, she (Tory) shot her hand out toward Tory. "Tag!" she yelled, darting away through the rigging.
"Well you squirrels be careful up here and try not to give the Captain and crew those conniptions if you can help it! I am headed to the galley and the source of that remarkable smell I just caught a whiff of!" said Ringulf.
And with that the big ranger grabbed hold of the yard and moved hand after hand along it till he was in the middle where the fattest belly of the sail was. He let go with one hand and rotated his body so that his back and bottom was to the sail then let go with his other hand and neatly slid down to the foot of the sail and lightly landed on the deck.
Ringulf looked up into the rigging were he had just been seconds ago and gave a cheerful wave to the young rangers and disappeared down below into the soft light that seeped up from the forecastle hatch.
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 7, 2010 22:40:54 GMT -5
Tory reached to tag Mylia back, but just missed catching her heel. She then thought to tag Ringulf, but he slipped away and slid down the sail to the deck. Tory watched in amazement, completely forgetting for a moment that she was "it" as Ringulf managed to not only NOT break his neck, but make the slide down the sail look graceful and easy.
By the time she remembered she had been tagged, Mylia was far away. Tory started to move after her, but studied Mylia for several moments, trying to determine which way she was going. Tory thought she knew and plotted an intercept course. She climbed a little bit higher and then, taking a deep breath and holding it, she launched herself from the set of rigging she was clinging to, to the next set over. She sailed through the air with her back arched and her arms outstretched to the sides until the ropes came close enough to grab.
She reached out and snagged the ropes, bringing her free fall to an abrupt end and used the momentum to swing up higher into the rigging. She scrambled up into Mylia's path and reached out and touched her elbow. "TAG!"
Then she leapt away, sliding down one of the lines that held the mast erect. The ship wobbled in the river current and reminded Tory they were over water and she tensly looked around, making sure the deck was still below her. She jumped off the rope she was on and caught hold of the rigging she had been in to start with and started to climb, checking to see where Mylia was.
Suddenly the boat lurched beneath her and she was thrown back and forth across the rigging. She screached a bit as she lost her grip and started to fall to the deck.
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Post by Firehead on Mar 8, 2010 12:04:55 GMT -5
"Well you squirrels be careful up here and try not to give the Captain and crew those conniptions if you can help it, I am headed to the galley and the source of that remarkable smell I just caught a whiff of!"
"Sure, sure. Try to leave some for the rest of us!" Mylia called as she scampered about on the rigging.
Tory brushed Mylia on the elbow, yelling "TAG!" as she swung away.
"Hey!" Mylia laughed as she flipped under the line she was hanging onto. Wriggling upright, she set out in hot pursuit of Tory. Tory had reached the rigging and begun climbing, looking over her shoulder for Mylia, who darted along the line below. Making a lunge, Mylia reached the rigging, and scrambled up it. Just then the entire ship lurched and Mylia grabbed tight to the rigging, ceasing her upward movement, as she waited for the ship to settle back to its gentle rocking. A screech came from above her, coming closer, and Mylia looked up to see Tory, having lost her grip, start to plummet to the deck.
Mylia let go of the rigging with her hands, hooked her legs through the rigging, and snagged Tory as she dropped past. Hanging on to her grimly, dangling upside down, Mylia offered her a weak grin. "Tag?"
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Post by Brandwyn on Mar 13, 2010 23:21:04 GMT -5
Tory's fall was arrested by Mylia's quick action and Tory slammed back into the web of rigging as the ship swayed back the other way. She locked her feet into the ropes and then clutched onto the ropes one hand at a time.
"Thanks!" She gasped and marveled at Mylia's ability to hang from her feet and still manage to catch her falling companion without loosing her grip on the ropes. "You just saved my life! or at least a broken arm." Tory looked down and shuddered. It was a pretty long fall to the deck. The ship swayed again in the rapids of the river and for a moment they were hanging over the open water.
Tory went white as a sheet as she stared at the angry water below them. She clutched the roped tightly and squeezed her eyes shut, hiding her face in her arm until the ship righted itself and the deck was once again below them.
"I think maybe we should go see if Ringulf left us any supper." Tory suggested, looking hopefully at Mylia.
She started to carefully climb down from the rigging, wishing the ship was on dry land so she could enjoy the climb. Maybe she could get used to it eventually. She looked up to see if Mylia was following her. The sky was getting very dark now and it was hard to see the rigging beyond a few paces. Tory figured it was about time for them to get down anyway. Hopefully Mylia wouldn't think she was a sissy.
"Guess I will start out as "it" next time!" Tory quipped as she climbed, trying to hide her fear. Her hands were shaking though from the fright she'd just had.
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Post by Firehead on Mar 18, 2010 11:04:51 GMT -5
"Thanks! You just saved my life! Or at least a broken arm."
"Uh-huh. No problem." Mylia was glad that she only thought about the possible consequences of mishaps after the mishaps had happened. She slowly released her grip on Tory, as Tory got her own hold back on the rigging.
"I think maybe we should go see if Ringulf left us any supper." Tory suggested.
"Not a bad idea." murmured Mylia, thoughtfully. "Ya know, I never thought I'd see anyone who wasn't starving to death, still down an entire ox for dinner, until I met Ringulf. He has an appetite! Of course, I may be exaggerating the size of it just a little...."
"Guess I will start out as "it" next time!"
"Um....I don't know whether or not we can count that as a tag, but ya wanna be it next time, ya can go right on ahead!" Mylia dropped to last six feet to the deck and crossed to the hatch.
Upon sticking her head through the galley doorway, she promptly asked, "Did ya eat the whole ox, yet?"
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Post by Ringulf on Mar 25, 2010 17:55:46 GMT -5
"Did ya eat the whole ox, yet?" Mylia called as she poked her head down the hatch.
Ringulf sat among some of the off duty sailors and had just pushed aside his plate.
"Come on you two we left some for you but if you don't pick up the pace I may go for thirds!" Ringulf said and drained his cup with gusto.
The forecastle was small and crowded and the makeshift dining table had been set up so the crew could eat. What the crew was eating was not as clear, There was a wholesome smell lingering in the little galley and the stuff being slung into bowls from the large iron pot was chunky and brown and served with some large hunks of dark bread, and a bit of white cheese. There was a cask with a bung at the head of the table and the cook pointed his dripping ladle at it and said "water's fresh girls or there be rum, if you have a mind for it!" Then he gave them a wink and a big old toothless grin as he gave a wheezy giggle.
Ringulf gave a little cough and a smirk toward the girls and then at the cook as he secretly put his index finger up to the side of his nose, indicating that the cook was more than just a bit eccentric. and he looked down at his empty plate as he tried to stifle a chuckle.
The two sailors next to Ringulf snickered a little but upon seeing the girls come in started moving out of the seats to make room for them. They grabbed their plates and cups and silverware and pushed past them toward the big bucket on the counter and threw it all in to be washed.
"Come sit down and partake of this wonderful feast cookie has spread before us!" Ringulf said to the girls and he heard Cookie give a short cackle at the irony of the statement without turning around.
"Every meal is a feast on board, we work, breath deeply of the good fresh air and soak up the warm sun, (on the good days hee hee)."
"Well How did you two like your first day on the river? Was it all you had expected? Ringulf questioned good naturedly.
It somehow seemed as if Ringulf's nature changed somewhat since he had been told of the trip afloat but it was hard to tell if it was the mission or being on board ship that accounted for the change. He was much more easy going and less reflective and taciturn.
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Post by Brandwyn on Apr 9, 2010 17:15:39 GMT -5
Tory followed Mylia to the galley marveling at the relationship she had with her mentor. There was no way Tory would have ever said anything like that to Patrick, yet Ringulf didn't seem to mind and just joked back with her. Tory filed their interaction away for farther reflection at a later date.
The pack of sailors in the room bothered her a bit, but since some of them got up to make room for the girls, Tory just sucked in her breath and made her way to the pot containing the stew. It smelled good and she was hungry. She picked up a bowl and ladled a moderately sized portion into her bowl and looked at it wistfully, wishing she could fill it to the brim.
Apparently Cookie saw the look and grabbed the ladle and spooned a huge helping into her bowl. Tory looked up in surprise and then smiled at him, "Thank you, Sir!" She grabbed a large hunk of bread and smeared some butter on it, a hunk of cheese and a mug of water then went back to the table and sat next to Ringulf and started spooning in her food with gusto. She dipped her bread into the sauce and sighed contentedly as she concentrated on nothing but eating for several minutes.
It took her a moment to clear her mouth when Ringulf asked them, "Well How did you two like your first day on the river? Was it all you had expected?"
Tory eyed him sideways as if he were insane. She wanted to say that she had found it terrifying, but there were still some sailors in the galley and she didn't want them to think she was a baby. She shrugged in embarrassment and mumbled, "It was okay." She looked back at her bowl and shoveled more food in before he could question her farther. She hoped he wouldn't think she was a sissy, but she could not honestly say she had enjoyed the day. She dreaded falling asleep for fear of what might happen while she was sleeping and only the thought that they would not be on the ship for long kept her from curling up into a ball and hiding from everyone until they made landfall again.
At last she reached the bottom of the bowl and she mopped it up with the last bit of her bread and followed that by the last mouthful of cheese. She sat back and leaned against the hull of the ship, her belly more full than she could ever remember it being.
She slowly stood up and placed her dishes in the tub of wash water. She was very tired now, but since she had been raised to help out in a kitchen, and taught that she should not take anything for nothing, she looked up at Cookie and asked, "Would you like some help washing the dishes?" Though it was the polite thing to do, she was secretly hoping he would say no. However if he said yes, she would tackle the job and get it done as quickly as possible.
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Post by Firehead on Apr 14, 2010 15:30:39 GMT -5
Milia grabbed a bowl and spoon, and followed Tory to the iron pot. "You don't need any more food in that bottomless pit ya's call a stomach!" she declared. Ahead of her, Tory ladled a very modest portion into her bowl. Milia looked first at Tory, then at the huge pot, and then back at Tory again, thinking that if that were all Tory was going to eat, then it was no wonder she was as skinny as a bean pole.
The cook must have been thinking something similar, for he added another large ladle full to Tory's bowl, and Milia gave a nod of approval.
when Tory moved on, Milia grabbed the ladle, filling her bowl almost to the brim, and poured a cupful of water. Rum wasn't exactly her favorite drink in the world, after all. Seating herself next to Tory-- since Tory was sitting next to Ringulf-- she dug in with a will. The stew tasted not at all bad, when all things were considered. It was a tad more salty than Milia was used to, but that was all right. A little extra salt in the diet never hurt anyone.
"Well, how did you two like your first day on the river? Was it all you had expected?"
"Since I don't know what I was expecting, I can't tell you. I do know that I liked steering the ship and bein' up in the ropes an' all a' that. I know now why you like to think about sailing so much."
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Post by Ringulf on Apr 15, 2010 10:47:33 GMT -5
"Well How did you two like your first day on the river? Was it all you had expected?" Ringulf Asked.
"It was okay." Said Tory looking back at her bowl and shoveling more food in before he could question her further.
"Since I don't know what I was expecting, I can't tell you. I do know that I liked steering the ship and bein' up in the ropes an' all a' that. I know now why you like to think about sailing so much." Mylia replied.
"I have thought of it often, Ringulf said wistfully, I used to sail and fish all the time I could when I was a boy in Scandia, I became quite good at it! but to tell you the truth I have not been sailing since my voyage to Araluen with my mother when I was just a bit younger than you two...." He trailed off and stared at the opposite wall of the cabin, a very sad look coming into his eyes.
It was a look that Mylia had seen often when in the midst of a story or lesson Ringulf would remember some old memory from his dark and tortured past.
Then suddenly like a shadow lifting as a cloud passes before the sun, Ringulf snapped back to the present and picked up his cup and bowl and spoon and scooted out the other side of the makeshift table bringing his things to the bucket.
"You two can help Cooky get the cabin ready to sleep in and then turn in, don't worry about watch tonight I got it covered, The air out here has the opposite affect on me, though I imagine you will both sleep well and deeply. Make sure you are able to be ready if you are called and keep your gear close at hand. This is always wise on-board a ship, Good night!"
And with that Ringulf disappeared up the companionway ladder and out the door to the deck.
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Post by Brandwyn on Apr 22, 2010 14:32:55 GMT -5
Tory quickly made the bucket of dirty dishes disappear into clean ones and into the waiting hands of Cookie who stowed them away and then he stowed the table away and Tory saw where a hammock could be hung in its place. Cookie sent the girls off to bed though, before he hung it and Tory was just as glad. She was nearly stumbling with fatigue as she gathered her weapons and followed Mylia back to their sleeping quarters. She stowed her weapons close to hand, but where they would not slide around on the ship if the weather became violent and crawled into bed. She had wanted to stay awake and question Mylia on her past, but sleep overtook her almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. She managed to mumble out, “I don’t know about you but that was one of the best meals I have ever had and now I am so sleepy I can’t keep my eyes open. Good night Mylia.” She tried to fight the sleep for a bit, in case Mylia wanted to talk, but it was no use. Soon she was fast asleep.
…
During the middle of the night in the darkest hours before dawn she was taken back in time, back to Meric. The gentle rocking motion of the ship reminded her of the rocking of the bed in her borrowed room at the castle the second night Korrin, the chamberlain, had come to visit her. The dream was very vivid. She could feel his hands on her, his hot stinking breath in her ear and even smell his unwashed body as if it was all happening again. This second visit from him had been far more terrifying than the first time. The following visits she had known what to expect so she loathed them but this was the night she always had the nightmares over. This was the night when he had done things to her for the first time. When he had…
She woke suddenly with a start, covered in a cold sweat. She hadn’t screamed out, just as she had not screamed out that night or any of the others he had forced himself on her. He had wanted to make her scream and she wouldn’t oblige him. But she couldn’t shake the sensation that the lecherous, unkempt man was all over her. She nearly gagged and felt a panic to get away. Gathering up her gear as quietly as she could, sobbing silently, she snuck out of the cabin in her ranger cloak and tried to hide from the sailors on duty as she made her way to the back of the ship. She curled up in a huge coil of rope and pulled her cloak tight around her with the hood up as she watched the land sliding by the side of the ship and tried to forget the nightmares of her past. Tears slid down her cheeks silently and she wiped them away with her cloak. With any luck no one would see her there in the dark in the ranger cloak and she would be able to sit and think.
The urge to run was strong in her. She would have a perfect opportunity when they docked. She could go in search of Patrick. Maybe she would be able to find him. … But if she did, he would just bring her back. She sobbed harder at the thought that he didn’t want her either. What was wrong with her? Why didn’t she fit in anywhere? She should just run away. Disappear. No one would miss her. They probably wouldn’t even notice she was gone.
Her thoughts ran to her ranger horse, Chip. There was Chip back at the castle stables. She couldn’t leave him. Could she come back for him later? It would be considered theft and horse stealing was normally a hanging offense. They would have to find her and catch her first though, and she could leave money to pay for him, so technically it wouldn’t be stealing. Maybe they wouldn’t hunt her down. She toyed with the idea. How would she get back to Araluen and into the stable without anyone the wiser? Bluffing the guards would be fairly easy. She had done it quite well when she left Meric. But by the time she got back, Ringulf would have returned and the word would be out to be on the lookout for her. They would undoubtedly have Chip under watch, knowing she would come back for him. … She was stuck - trapped in the Ranger Corps with not a single ranger who wanted her for an apprentice. She lowered her head to her arms, completely encased in the ranger cloak now and sobs shook her shoulders as she silently cried, giving in to feeling sorry for herself as she so rarely did in her earlier life. Her bright future with Patrick and the Ranger Corps was gone and had been replaced with an uncertain one. She couldn’t see how anything was going to turn out right now. She was being childish and knew it, but she didn’t care at the moment. Sometimes a girl just had to cry and get it out of her system. This was one of those times.
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Post by Firehead on Apr 24, 2010 9:20:20 GMT -5
"I have thought of it often. I used to sail and fish all the time I could when I was a boy in Scandia, I became quite good at it! but to tell you the truth I have not been sailing since my voyage to Araluen with my mother when I was just a bit younger than you two...."
Ringulf trailed off and gained a thoughtful and far away look. Mylia watched him for a minute, to see if he would finish his sentence, then turned back to her food.
"You two can help Cooky get the cabin ready to sleep in and then turn in, don't worry about watch tonight I got it covered, The air out here has the opposite affect on me, though I imagine you will both sleep well and deeply. Make sure you are able to be ready if you are called and keep your gear close at hand. This is always wise on-board a ship, Good night!"
"Okay."
After she had finished eating, Mylia helped Tory with the dishes, drying them and putting them away. Done with that chore, she followed Tory up to their cabin. Tory spread her blankets on one of the bunks, but Mylia hung hers from one of the beams, creating a kind of hammock.
Tory collapsed onto her bed mumbling, “I don’t know about you but that was one of the best meals I have ever had and now I am so sleepy I can’t keep my eyes open. Good night Mylia.”
"Okay. We'll do the training tomorrow." -------------------------------------------------------
Late in the middle of the night, Mylia woke up and, unable to go back to sleep, she lay awake in her hammock, thinking over the past few days. Tory was the first girl that she had ever talked to who could relate to life as a young girl and a Ranger's apprentice. In a way, that made Tory's friendship with her different and special.
At last, Mylia sighed and gave up on sleeping for the rest of the night. She swung out of her hammock and headed for the door, then paused and looked back at where Tory slept. She was no longer there. Maybe she couldn't sleep either.
Mylia slipped out of the cabin of the ship and padded barefoot across the wooden deck to the fore of the ship. She leaned against the railing and stared out to sea. starlight danced faintly upon the water, and well out in the distance, she could barely make out a large shape, darker than it's surroundings. She studied it for a while, before turning away to look around the deck for Tory.
At first she didn't see Tory, hidden as she was by the large coil of rope, and ever afterwards Mylia could never tell how she had found Tory there. Maybe it was the slightest of sounds, of the cloak rubbing against rope. Whatever it had been, Mylia finally discovered Tory tucked away inside a large coil of rope. Mylia opened her mouth to ask Tory if she wanted to try practicing, when she noticed Tory was crying quietly. So instead, Mylia found a place to sit nearby without crowding Tory's space, and waited for Tory to finish crying. Maybe then, they would talk.
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Post by Ringulf on Apr 24, 2010 11:17:58 GMT -5
The grey light of dawn found Ringulf on deck standing with his feet apart and his arms folded within his cloak, The steam from his breath billowed out as he exhaled into the morning chill.
He cast his eyes on the many dark shapes that lie ahead in the river and from beneath the folds of his cloak he brought a curious brass tube up to his eye and turned it slightly aiming it at the multitude of waterborne shapes.
Many small boats lie ahead in a loose group that stretched the width of the major channel of the river, Ringulf dropped his spyglass down from his eye to gage the distance then brought it up quickly to his eye again. Something had caught his attention and he scowled at the sight.
He looked down toward his feet were in a large coil of rope that was laying on the deck held the sleeping form of the young ranger Tory and not to far away back up against one of the wide oaken frames clutching her knees and sticking her bare feet under a bit of rope and canvas for warmth, sat his apprentice Mylia.
"Rangers wake up! Mylia go below and get your gear, Tory get over to the helm and ready your bow to protect the helmsman, there may be trouble up ahead!" said Ringulf in a quiet but deadly serious tone.
"What is wrong Ringulf what do you see? asked the captain as he approached the big ranger.
"I am not sure but I thought I saw the gleam of weapons and armor for a moment among that group of fisherman, I'm certain something is not right...There do you see that one who just stood up to shift that load of poles, I know few fisherman who dangle swords from their hips or wear leather Brigantines to fish with!" Ringulf said.
"By God I think you have the right of it man and good eyes! on my soul." the captain replied excitedly.
Then turning to his crew he shouted, "Lay on sail let all fly we can't turn but we can run them and fly with any luck! Helm set a course downwind right between those two boats, you see them?"
"Aye capn' The sailor on the tiller replied and pushed the tiller to starboard moving the bow of the Persephone to port away from the wind so she gained speed and momentum.
The top course of sails billowed out as several men in the rigging let loose the very upper sails that had been furled upon the top yards neatly to manage the vessels speed down river.
The sails suddenly caught the wind with a snap and the ship lurched forward picking up speed and causing the bow wake at the cut-water to foam up and gurgle anew.
"That's got a bone in her teethe let them try to stop us now!" said one of the crew
"Be silent and man your stations!" said the captain
"Look" cried a man in the rigging and he pointed to a boat that had just sent up a small line of thick black smoke, Ringulf had already seen it and the men in that boat grabbing the bag of poles and distributing not poles but staves, bow staves!
"tar pots!" the captain shouted and called to the deck crew, "Prepare the fire-watch, fill the buckets!"
All of a sudden it seemed as though each of the small boats had a black plume rising from there centers and men were bending bows and brandishing axes and swords and grappling hooks affixed to heaving lines in each vessel.
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Post by Brandwyn on Apr 24, 2010 17:41:47 GMT -5
"Rangers wake up!” Ringulf’s soft command made Tory jump. She hadn’t been asleep, but in the early dawn quiet Ringulf’s low pitched voice was very unexpected. She had stopped crying a while before but hadn’t lifted her head. She was just listening to the sounds around her, unaware that Mylia was sitting close by.
When she lifted her head, the tear stains were still visible on her face, but weeks on the run with Patrick had taught her to recognize a certain tone of voice. Ringulf meant business and he had spotted some sort of trouble.
Tory quickly climbed out of the coil of rope, pushing aside her emotions and strung her bow as she listened to Ringulf tell the captain what he suspected. She ran to the helmsman and looked over the rail, fighting her fear of the river, to see the boats ahead of them. She pulled out her spy glass that Ringulf had given her and trained it on a couple of the boats, seeing that they were preparing to fire flaming arrows at the ship, she picked out her target and then put her glass away and knocked an arrow to the string.
She was ready to fire, but her mouth had gone dry and there was a wild look in her eye. She’d been in battle enough now that she didn’t get sick at the sight and her hands were now steady, but she still had her stomach all clenched in knots and she couldn’t dispel the fear. What if these men sunk the ship with her on it? She would then be in the icy clutches of the river. Could she cheat death a third time from the cold grip of the swiftly moving waters?
Setting her jaw she resolved that it wasn’t going to happen. From this height she had a good shot at one of the men passing the bow staves along. Silently her arrow flew out of the predawn light and sunk into the man’s chest. Just as silently he fell over backwards and into the river, taking the entire package of staves with him. Before he hit the water Tory ducked down behind a coil of rope, hoping they wouldn’t have seen where the shot came from, another arrow already on the string.
Then she looked to Ringulf, hoping she hadn’t shot too soon. Patrick had never let her shoot first since he always had a plan of attack, but the chance to take out those weapons was just too great to resist. She hoped Ringulf wouldn’t be mad at her.
She ducked her head back up to look at their enemy and scanned them for any that looked like they might be aiming for the helmsman, her bow ready to fire again. She wondered who they were and what they wanted with this ship.
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Post by Ringulf on Apr 24, 2010 20:03:58 GMT -5
Ringulf looked around to see what each of the small vessels were doing if they seemed to have a plan of attack or was this an overwhelm and conquer strategy. he did notice two of the boats very close to each other quite a ways past the others and they seamed to be passing a large cable between them and rowing off in separate directions. His attention was diverted all of a sudden when he heard the sound of a loosed arrow fly from behind him lodging in the chest of one of the Water brigands as he was carrying a whole sack of bows to his fellows. Noting that no one had yet fired a shot from the other side he turned back to see Tory squatted down replacing another arrow on her string.
"Hmm," he thought "that was decisive and well executed if a bit undiscaplined...I like that!"
Ringulf Caught Tory's eye and gave her a piercing look that faded to a wink and a smile just as quickly.
But now the air was alive with arrows both flaming and non, some of the crew raced around dousing the shafts with water or smothering them some threw water up on the canvas to wet the cloth and to fill it's weave to catch the wind and let the breeze move the ship faster.
It was a wild scene and Ringulf was not wasting any arrows each shot he took saw another brigand on his way to hell until they got close enough for the axes to start flying.
The axes came aboard several at a time and it seamed as though the crew would take them and fling them back. some found their mark and once a sailor toppled out of the rigging and fell in front of the tiller in a crumpled mass.
When the next wave of axes flew up Ringulf caught one in mid air and yanked another from the mast where it had lodged. dropping his bow he sprung to the gunnel and threw both axes one in each hand at two men in the closest ship one took the nearest man and his grappling hook in the chest knocking him overboard the other took an archer in the same boat between his eyes cleaving his head like a pudding.
"Rangers keep firing! aim for the grapplers don't let them throw!"
Ringulf drew his own two axes from his hips and readied himself to repel borders or cut away any lines that came aboard.
"This does not look promising!" he said to himself as an arrow that had stuck into one of the topsails burst into flame.
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Post by Firehead on May 13, 2010 11:04:04 GMT -5
Mylia watched as the sky grew lighter, indicating that dawn was at hand. Ringulf had joined them, a while back, and remained on watch the entire time. Mylia wondered if he intended to take a nap in the cabin once the sun was up.
"Rangers wake up! Mylia go below and get your gear, Tory get over to the helm and ready your bow to protect the helmsman, there may be trouble up ahead!"
Mylia snapped her head up. "I am awake! Yes, Sir!" she added, leaping to her feet, and snapping a quick mock-salute to her mentor, before she trotted away. Throwing open the cabin door, she ambled over to her pack and snatched up bow, quiver, and belt knives. She slung the quiver across her back and belted on the knives as she sprinted back out to the deck.
She had hardly reached the deck when the fighting broke out. She ducked, barely in time to avoid getting her head split open by an axe, and darted toward the masts. She scrambled up the rigging to the crows nest, and dived in looking quickly about her, to take stock of her surroundings.
She heard Ringulf yell for them to take out the men swinging the grappling hooks and immediately followed his orders. While she had problems shooting when she had to take her time, Mylia was nothing if not good at shooting when she didn't have time to think about her shot beforehand.
Her first shot took a grapple-swinger in the hand and she immediately fired her next arrow, knowing that with her first shot had given her position away. Her following shots showed improved accuracy.
Up in the crows nest, she had an excellent view of what was going on closer to the water, and she saw the two rowboats passing the cable and then heading in opposite directions. Curiosity took over and she ducked down out of the line of fire to watch. It took a few minutes, to think about it, but she realized what they might be trying to do. She had no way to be sure, but she thought that they might be trying to block the boats progress, to keep them from getting away, or to stop them... the phrase "like a sitting duck" came to mind.
"Aim the prow for one of the boats, not between!" she yelled to the men down below her. She had no idea if they could hear her or not, but she continued to yell the advice down to them as she took up her archery again.
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