The feeling of blood washing throughout his body, gushing past his red hot face Ohmen uses the burning sensation of each step to only push him further as he had sprinted toward the ships. The pounding of blood around his ears making war drums to which the incoming army marched, the force being so large it could be considered such. An army.
The sound of muck being replaced with grates of metal and wooden boards, Determination grits the changeling’s face. Having Taking one last deep breath before he threw himself into the helm. There would be no respite from the previous combat, not now.
----
The truth behind those last words becoming all the more clearer as two other ships begin the hunt, Predator, after prey, exhausted, worn down prey. Or so they thought, for this prey had more than a fight left in them.
Using all mental strength on the helm, having to steer the ship to stop it from veering off due to a damaged wing, Ohmen can only hear and feel the shudders as Archie and Vinnie get to work. And with a glance, see’s one of the two ships, and all those on board begin to plummet down to a grave amongst the sailor's bones and sea weed.
With a perfectly timed and executed shot, an arrow from big bang’s weapon slits through the air like a knife through soft goblin flesh. Quite literally executing the other, and last enemy ship’s helm’s man in what could only be described as brutal, yet clean in fashion. A painless death, the kind he did not deserve, but alas, a death all the same.
However, as the now immobile hunk of metal, that once was the ship, spirals down it manages to clip onto the Scorpion. Dragging it down in perhaps one last kamikaze, final twitch, the metal itself lashing out at they who caused its demise, before hammering against the water.
With the joint crashes of both Craft, Mantis, And Scorpion, ringing out, Ohmen quite literally feels the vibrations in the ship’s bones. And no doubt, the final throes of the pair would echo throughout these deeper waters for minutes, hours… The dinner bell rings out, summoning those from the depths with the promise of a feast. And, first from the sounds of screaming and frantic panic, and now frothing ocean surface, bubbling with the movement no man nor orc could create, it becomes clear that these calls were answered.
As slimy tentacles surface to wrap around and suffocate their new prize, the mantis ship, a ravenous maw fills the water with clouds of red, turning solid metal and wood planks into splinters. his beast, this aberration had awoken from the depths to once more to unleash its wraith and fill and hearts of men with unease and fear, fear of the depths, and what lurks within.
With seconds so intense, they blurred into minutes, ropes and craft are tossed down to those crew members who had been forced into the water, Izema diving in to help save them from a watery grave.
Exhausted, they lie on the deck as their muscles burn whilst Ohmen is forced to shift the ship forward, barely missing the beasts grasp and appetite made manifest.
-
As Shiro and Big bang splutter, coughing and sprawled out on the deck, the sound of clawed talons clicking against wooden deck boards breaks up their rapid breaths… At the deck's end, upon the railings Wisdom now perches. The raven looks forward, first out to the infinite horizon of the ocean, the shape of distant islands piercing and breaking what would be an endless expanse. And then, downward, toward the sound of gargled screams and snapping metal and wood alike.
Ancient eyes watch as Scro and goblin slip beneath the water. Most succumbed to the wave after wave, the ocean embracing them as their muscles give way. Some are crushed in the grasp of tentacles or unmade in the jaws of some ferocious beast. Whilst others scramble with another, using bodies and chunks of wood to provide them with a few more seconds.. Minutes of air.
“To find rest among the seaweed and sailors bones where gold is worth nothing, ground to dust by the waves and washed ashore. Dust to Dust, Ashes to Ashes… This is no place for the weak. For the foolhardy.”
Wisdom whispers aloud as they watch a pair of Scro fight over a plank of buoyant wood, the struggle only ending as one of them gently drifts away, carried on the waves face down.
---
Putting the ship into a softer, and steady drive forward, Ohmen takes a deep breath before turning to the mercenaries and those on the deck. “Even if we manage to make it back to the dragonfly, and then fight through another wave of Scro, Another ten, Another hundred laid to rest. We still can’t reliably retrieve the helm with the scorpion gone.”
“Face it, All of our magic is exhausted. And we risk losing it all, including the captives. As a wise man once told me, Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. Do not be Blinded by the pursuit of glory and gold. All will receive their judgment in time. And that time need not be now.”
Staring at Archie and Vinnie with a searing gaze, one that needn’t be so harsh now that the party was out of combat and unfollowed, for now at least.
“Archie, Vinnie. What direction is this tower? We need to put distance between us and the Scro fast. We need rest, not recklessness. The fight we brought was strong, But our blade is blunt.
“Lets keep their attention far from the Dragonfly. A further out island is a good start. If not for the tower, we can set up a camp before nightfall.”
Now glancing at Izema as he signals for Ohmen to bring them closer to the other ship, the changeling calls over Wisdom. Hoping over, the bird drags a small bag over, ruffling inside before pulling out a wrinkled, neatly tied scroll in one claw.
“Take this, It's a detect magic scroll I..” He looks to Wisdom “We scribed it a while back. Take it. Search the half-dragon.”
