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Wood creaked as Praetorum landed heavily on the enemy ship, to calls of alarm from the pirates before him. Releasing Clarissa so she could get her feet, Prae grinned broadly at the stunned pirates. He'd deliberately landed on the bow of the pirate ship, not just because that was the closest point, but because that was he and Clarissa only had to deal with enemies coming from one direction.
All at once, he activated four powers of Taithir—Serpent's Hood, to make himself the biggest target in the area; Serpent's interception, to block any arrows that might come his way; Serpentine Awareness, showing him the heat signatures of every living being around him; and Serpent Manifestation, conjuring up a massive anaconda with mottled green scales and vicious looking fangs.
"That's new." Clarissa commented, hefting her swords. "I like it."
"Thank you," Prae said. As he spoke, a golden shield appeared on his left arm, while a spear of brilliant light appeared in his right. "Now," he said as the nearest pirates began to charge towards them. "Just like we practiced."
The first pirate to arrive at them did so with a cutlass, sweeping through the air at Prae's ribs. Shifting the shield in his hand, Prae parried the blow, sending the pirate reeling backwards. Without missing a beat, Clarissa stepped forwards, and skewered the man on her sword, leaving herself wide open for the next pirate to try and attack her. Praetorum covered her, his shield flashing out to block yet another blow for her, before spinning the spear in his hand and stabbing behind him at where another pirate was trying to sneak up on them. It wasn't a lethal blow, just a distracting one—Clarissa finished that pirate off with a cut across the neck, and Praetorum's Taithir snake reared up with a hiss, scaring away a couple more enemies.
Barely a bit, and already the bodies were starting to pile up around them. Without needing to discuss, Prae and Clarissa moved forwards together, their Celarion bond keeping them in sync. Clarissa would attack with abandon, while Praetorum would protect her with his shield and make openings for her with his spear and snake. A few pirates managed to get behind them, only to find that Prae's lashing tail could do every bit as much damage as a fist—that was, just enough to distract them so that either Clarissa or the serpent could take them out.
Leaving a trail of dead and injured pirates behind them, Prae and Clarissa fought their way across the ship, sticking to the starboard side to keep from being surrounded. "Gotta say, this is a hell of an exhilarating way to fight," Clarissa laughed, trading blows with an increasingly distressed looking biqaj. "Really gets the blood pumping. Completely deranged, of course,"
"Well it works, doesn't it?" Prae countered, jabbing with his spear to keep a few other pirates at bay until Clarissa finished with the biqaj.
"So far, yeah." Beheading the biqaj, Clarissa spun around and lunged at the nearest pirate, relying on Prae to keep her safe. "You're the only one who'd ever think of fighting like this. Or who I'd ever trust my back to so completely like this." Over her shoulder, Prae sank his spear into a pirate's throat, and shrugged.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence. On your right." Clarissa turned, and Prae stepped forwards to keep at her back to block a flurry of blows from a pirate with a pair of daggers in hand. Spinning his spear, Prae clipped the side of the pirate's head with the butt of his weapon, before slicing into his side.
Across the deck, Prae could see the pirates trying to board the transport ship, with little success. The pirate's numerical advantage was being cancelled out by having to split their attention between the sailors defending the ship one one side and Praetorum and Clarissa carving through their ranks on the other. And the ten sailors Prae had empowered were doing well, spread out across the side of the ship to keep the pirates from pushing through to the deck.
If things kept going at this rate, their side would win handily, or else the pirates would flee. But Prae wanted a decisive victory, and quick—the sooner they took out the captain, the less injuries there would be on either side. And wouldn't you know it, speak of the spider...
"What in U'frek's name is going on here?"
Wood creaked as Praetorum landed heavily on the enemy ship, to calls of alarm from the pirates before him. Releasing Clarissa so she could get her feet, Prae grinned broadly at the stunned pirates. He'd deliberately landed on the bow of the pirate ship, not just because that was the closest point, but because that was he and Clarissa only had to deal with enemies coming from one direction.
All at once, he activated four powers of Taithir—Serpent's Hood, to make himself the biggest target in the area; Serpent's interception, to block any arrows that might come his way; Serpentine Awareness, showing him the heat signatures of every living being around him; and Serpent Manifestation, conjuring up a massive anaconda with mottled green scales and vicious looking fangs.
"That's new." Clarissa commented, hefting her swords. "I like it."
"Thank you," Prae said. As he spoke, a golden shield appeared on his left arm, while a spear of brilliant light appeared in his right. "Now," he said as the nearest pirates began to charge towards them. "Just like we practiced."
The first pirate to arrive at them did so with a cutlass, sweeping through the air at Prae's ribs. Shifting the shield in his hand, Prae parried the blow, sending the pirate reeling backwards. Without missing a beat, Clarissa stepped forwards, and skewered the man on her sword, leaving herself wide open for the next pirate to try and attack her. Praetorum covered her, his shield flashing out to block yet another blow for her, before spinning the spear in his hand and stabbing behind him at where another pirate was trying to sneak up on them. It wasn't a lethal blow, just a distracting one—Clarissa finished that pirate off with a cut across the neck, and Praetorum's Taithir snake reared up with a hiss, scaring away a couple more enemies.
Barely a bit, and already the bodies were starting to pile up around them. Without needing to discuss, Prae and Clarissa moved forwards together, their Celarion bond keeping them in sync. Clarissa would attack with abandon, while Praetorum would protect her with his shield and make openings for her with his spear and snake. A few pirates managed to get behind them, only to find that Prae's lashing tail could do every bit as much damage as a fist—that was, just enough to distract them so that either Clarissa or the serpent could take them out.
Leaving a trail of dead and injured pirates behind them, Prae and Clarissa fought their way across the ship, sticking to the starboard side to keep from being surrounded. "Gotta say, this is a hell of an exhilarating way to fight," Clarissa laughed, trading blows with an increasingly distressed looking biqaj. "Really gets the blood pumping. Completely deranged, of course,"
"Well it works, doesn't it?" Prae countered, jabbing with his spear to keep a few other pirates at bay until Clarissa finished with the biqaj.
"So far, yeah." Beheading the biqaj, Clarissa spun around and lunged at the nearest pirate, relying on Prae to keep her safe. "You're the only one who'd ever think of fighting like this. Or who I'd ever trust my back to so completely like this." Over her shoulder, Prae sank his spear into a pirate's throat, and shrugged.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence. On your right." Clarissa turned, and Prae stepped forwards to keep at her back to block a flurry of blows from a pirate with a pair of daggers in hand. Spinning his spear, Prae clipped the side of the pirate's head with the butt of his weapon, before slicing into his side.
Across the deck, Prae could see the pirates trying to board the transport ship, with little success. The pirate's numerical advantage was being cancelled out by having to split their attention between the sailors defending the ship one one side and Praetorum and Clarissa carving through their ranks on the other. And the ten sailors Prae had empowered were doing well, spread out across the side of the ship to keep the pirates from pushing through to the deck.
If things kept going at this rate, their side would win handily, or else the pirates would flee. But Prae wanted a decisive victory, and quick—the sooner they took out the captain, the less injuries there would be on either side. And wouldn't you know it, speak of the spider...
"What in U'frek's name is going on here?"