Voyages of the Tempest: Into the Darkness

[CallieO]

Voyages of the Tempest: Into the Darkness
A Quest at Sea
June 24, 2022

Dramatis Personae:

Aavran, level 16 male Magi; sea admiral of Thallis
Traael, level 87 female bejeweled Drak Sen water mage; Imperial Guardswoman
(and Traael's female Mephos, De`Lorna; ruby-and-white body, silver mane and tail)
Mae, level 35 female black-winged torian necromancer; Mouth of the Skull of House Dethsiris
Tennibrook Balmossie, level 36 female nal'ri vulpine/High Human paladin/cleric; Air Marshal of House Dethsiris
(and Tenni's male Rook, Jilbo; black, with orange beak and feet)
Rolan, level 2 male earthly Drak Sen warrior; bodyguard in House Dethsiris
James Vodera, level 28 male cat person thief/fire mage; Mephos Rider in House Dethsiris
Shyntolin, level 34 male dark elf thief/warrior

Traael-IG had seen the flyers about this expedititon to from Dethsiris to Thallis, and though she had no wish to return to Thallis, she did have things to pick up there from the Port, and doing this quest to ensure the fruit and peppers would get there sounded like a job for someone from the Imperial Gaurds, so Traael decided to go along to help protect the supplies. It was the Empires Property, so she should most likely be the one to help protect it. She wore a blue and black outfit; << https://i.imgur.com/4EeReqo.jpg >> to give her easy mobility and had her scythe on her back.

Aavran-Deth was standing in the harbour, while the ship ‘The Tempest’ was being prepared to set sail. Callie had made sure to arrange to have a shipment of her fire peppers to be boarded as well, but now that he was looking for the Vulpine woman, he saw no sight of her yet. She would have to hurry up or the ship would be leaving with the peppers but without her. The ship would be setting sail towards Thallis, but while the ocean was quite large, the ship was rather limited in the journey it would take. The wind would dictate some of the options, but there were also depended on small docks located on some of the island they would be passing. There were creatures in the water that loved the wood the ship was made from. They could be facing pirates, dangerous creatures and even the weather itself could get highly dangerous, so he had send a call for proud adventurers to join this little journey, although he mostly expected people from Dethsiris to be interested in this travel.

Mae-Deth was standing next to Aavran-Deth. ¨Mmm...let´s hope things will be quiet today.¨ She softly murmers. The black winged torian beauty wore a sexy red outfit [https://imgur.com/sHUbJNb], her two whips on her hip and her mithril scimitar on her hip. Her undead wolven and other undead creatures were already on the ship. Guarding the fruit. She looked up to the sky. ¨Altough..there is something in the air...¨ she murmers a bit to Aavran-Deth.

<+Traael-IG> She rode up to the port, in the sky on her mephos, De`Lorna, and jumps off of her, using her spell of flight to glide downwards to the ship. She lands on the main deck, her mephos trilling loudly as she takes off for the ocean, probably to be near to Fear Traael assumed with a smile and sees Mae and Aavran on deck as well. She makes her way to them and brings an arm up to her chest in a sign of respect. "Aavran, good to see you again. I am here to help protect the fruit and the other goods on board." She tells him, remembering him from her time at Thallis Port when they were fighting hte pirates that had fled andn never returned so far. "Never been on your ship before, so I have no idea what to expect, but I'm here to do my part in helping out as part of the Imperial Gaurd." She said to him and bows to Mae, not knowing her but wanted to show respect.

Rolan-Deth didn't much relish the prospect of going back out to sea. After all the last time he was on a boat he was in his way to Dethsiris to be sold on the black market, and he spent the rest of the voyage with a grisly infection after he had been rescued by Thallis chief raider, and privateer. Rolan-Deth the big pit fighter has promised not to let Mae out of his sight. And, so there he was dressed in his fighting kit. The hulking nightmare drak looking more gladiator than professional soldier. But formidable all the same. He strides up into the Harbor to join Mae and Aavran.

Tennibrook Balmossie, Air Marshal of Dethsiris, boards the Tempest with her rook, Jilbo, ready to launch at a moment's notice, and the vixen is dressed for combat with her mithril chain mail shirt morphed into the appearance of a green-and-gold silk shirt with her family crest on it. She has on black pants and black boots, with her gambeson beneath her shirt. For weaponry, she has her mithril longsword, mithril dagger, shield, and wrist crossbow. She makes her way up to Admiral Aavran, and salutes him. "Air Marshal Tennibrook Balmossie, reporting for duty."

Aavran-Deth was wearing his uniform in the colors of Dethsiris: black with red dragons over it, but Mae would know that once the ship set sail he wouldn’t be wearing the uniform all too long. It was a long journey and surely most of it would be very quiet, so chances were that Mae would play a large role in the removal of his uniform. He gave a respectful nod to both Traael and Rolan as they approached him and Mae. “Good to have you both with us today.” He said to them. “The fruit we are transporting is highly affected by magic and because of that no one is allowed near the cargo.” He had just started to explain to them, when Tenni reported in and he gave her a warm smile.. and somewhat the run of his eyes over her form. “Lady Balmossie, good to have you here as well.” He said with a grin. “Mae’s ‘friends’ will be guarding the cargo and anyone going there will be seen as trouble, and dealt with accordingly.” He continued his warning. “We will be leaving in just a moment.”

Mae-Deth would look at Traael-IG as she joined her and aavran. She smirked. Seeing the girl bowing for them. ¨Ah. you two know eachother hmm? My Name is Mae. I´m the Majordomo of Dethsiris.¨ She introduced herself. Haven´t seen the girl before. She would then shift her gaze for a moment as Rolan joined them. ¨Ah..good to see you Rolan. I´m sure we can use your strenght.¨ She smiled and gave him a wink. She would then shift her gaze to tenni. ¨Miss Tenni. Thank you for able to join us.¨ Of course she had catched the eyes of Aavran wandering over the form of Tenni but she wouldn´t respond to that. ¨Please make yourself comfortable during this trip.¨ She offered them. She would lean in and whisper something in the ear of Aavran before patting his chest and walk on board of the ship.

Traael-IG nods to Mae. "A pleasure, Miss Mae." Traael said respectfully. Traael smiled to Tennibrook when she joined them. "Hello Tennibrook," She said softly and then went silent. This ship was covered with Dethsiris people, and though she -did- outrank them as Commander Balard had told her, she would play nice and let them do their thing, as she was there to help protect and to fight, if needed. Once introductions were done, she moved to the ship and towards the back of it, away from the cargo and looked over the ocean, sighing softly. It was a beautiful day and a good one for a sail, but Traael also knew these waters could change in a heart beat, so she wouldn't lower her gaurd. She had seen the pit fighter Rolan, another of her kind and nodded to him, but otherwise she kept to herself, just waiting for the trip to begin.

Rolan-Deth had seen Tenni land on the ship and come over the the gathering. He gave her a rough pat on the back. "Glad to see you back on your feet. I know my first aid isn't the best." He would listen to Aavran's instructions and stand patiently as everyone is introduced. He bowed his head to Traael, a common courtesy among their kind. As soon as Mae moved he was shadowing her. The big fighter was a member of the Dethsiris guard, but it was no secret he acted more or less as Mae's bodyguard and personal muscle. Rumors swirled about the big man. Tales of his prowess from both the nethergloom and elsewhere.

Mae-Deth would check if everything was in check before their departure. Of course knowing that Rolan was following her and indeed was acting like her bodyguard. Something she could use. Especially IF a certain drak sen would show up. Then it would be BIG trouble. For now she simply walked to the wheel and starts to let her fingers caress the wood. It was a nice ship..and a ship that was now enhanced with magic.

Tenni smiles her appreciation to Rolan. "Between you and Calixa, and the passage of time, I'm completely healed. Thank you." The weekend of the Blood Swan Moon had been a challenging one for the fox, as it has been every year since she'd come to the empire. Then she speaks up to all involved. "Callie has authorized me to tell you that she has a gift basket of Fire Peppers prepared for each one of us, for nourishment, and for entertainment on this trip."

Aavran-Deth would make sure that everyone boarded the ship and smile as Tenni shared news of the gift basket that had been prepared for them. He was quite curious of course, although things would be more relaxing once they had arrived Thallis. “The voyage will take us about 6 days and most of that will surely be nothing more than talking amongst ourselves.” He said with a grin. “The ship has its own crew, so I won’t expect you to do anything unless trouble arises.” There was always a chance of that, although the fruit and peppers hardly would make a pirate all that rich. And The Tempest was not just any kind of ship, but the best ship the fleet of Dethsiris had to offer. Perhaps the most valuable ‘thing’ on the ship was Mae herself, growing quite powerful and important. The crew would prepare the ship to leave the harbour and soon they would be on their way.

Tenni knows she'll need her rest for the long journey ahead, but first she goes to check on Jilbo and feed him, and give him loving and reassurance, steeling his resolve. On her way, she comes across Shyntolin. "Oh, hello," she says. "I didn't see you come aboard." She remembers him as the master who'd come to his slave's defense when Tenni had accused her of trying to pick her pockets. She hadn't been able to prove that Ashe had actually tried, but she still suspects her.

Aavran-Deth had made this journey several times before and knew that with the required stops for little repairs things would remain limited to six days. The first two passed comfortable but slowly, Not much for the people to do but enjoy the sunny weather and getting to know each other. The cargo was well protected by the undead minions of Mae and so far that too went rather uneventful. Aavran at times took the helm from the actual captain and at other times enjoyed a ‘relaxing’ moment in the captain’s quarters with Mae. Uniform had soon be changed to something far more comfortable as he enjoyed the time on the water. It was around noon on the third day that the change came. Mae would be the first to sense it… something that was as much part of her as the powers she possessed, but the others would soon come to realize it as well. In the distance was Darkness, the magical kind that was written with a capital D. Not the fun capital D that every woman craved, but something far more dreaded. Trouble was coming, even if it couldn’t just be said what would emerge from the darkness and the ship was coming closer to it.

Tolin-HoDW was late.. the trip to Deth took longer than he had anticipated.. he landed his mephos down by the docks and slipped from her saddle.. patting the girl on the neck letting her take back off up into the air .. he was dressed in black leather and chain armor a long sword on one hip and a dagger on the other .. his long silver hair pulled back into a loose braid.. he made his way down the dock and on to the ship.. .. he smiled at Tenni nodding his head to her lightly .. he remembered her from one of Ashe's failed pick pocket attempts.. the girl haddent gotten any better at it .. and the thought made him chuckle softly .. "well met Miss.. " he let that draw out a little fishing for her name.. he didnt remember if he got it in their little arguement they had on the streets of town.. he made himself comfortable on the ship walking over to where Traael stood at the back of the boat leaning against the rail next to her.

Mae-Deth was chatting with Aavran when suddenly her eyes snapped open. Her own eyes filling with some darkness. ¨Aavran...bad news..¨ She said and quickly turn around to see in the distance. ¨Fuck..¨ She closed her eyes. Feeling her own darkness getting stronger as well. Her nails carving into the wood of the ship. Her breathing increased. ¨Darkness....¨ She would shift her gaze to the others. ¨Prepare yourselves...something dark is comming closer..¨ She warned them. ¨Don´t approach it...let it approach us.. if we know exactly what we are dealing with..then we can make up a plan..but if we are dealing with death magic..then we want to keep as much distrance as we can.¨ Her eyes shifted back to the darkness. Her own darkness only comming more and more..leaving her body like some black fog. Preparing herself.

Traael-IG heard a new male voice, and it struck a cord within her. She turned her head to see Tolin and a large smile formed on her lips as she watched him come over to her. Arms would spread open. "Tolin! It's so good to see you again!" She said to him with a smile and would hug him if he allowed. "How have you been? It's been a long time since I last saw you." She told him with that smile. "You look good, healthy and happy I'm assuming?" She asked him, and then she felt it- the sense of dread of something bad about to happen. Head slowly turned towards the darkness, hearing Mae's words and frowns. Where was Viktor when he was needed? She said nothing, but a hand moved to her scythe on her back and drew it, setting it butt down on the vessel under her as she watched, and waited with baited breath. "You ready, Tolin?" She asked him softly, her own magics starting to swirl within her, she was at her element on the water, and had several naval spells at her disposal, but she did nothing more but wait and watched.

So on that first day, Tenni introduced herself to Shyntolin and assured him that she bore him no ill will, and after tending to Jilbo, made herself comfortable in her quarters. The first two nights, the assembled warriors met for dinner together and some light entertainment and storytelling. On noon of the third day, Tenni is in the galley with Rolan, fully armed for battle.

Rolan-Deth had spent the bulk of his time telling old war stories with Tennibrook in the galley. He wasn't much for sea travel, and he felt more comfortable there. And, that's where he was. Bonding with his fellow fighter when he feels the hairs on his neck stand up. He sets down the apple he had just taken a bite out of. "Tenni...I think we may be in for some trouble." He gets to his feet and wraps his fists, then slips his steel knuckle dusters on. He still prefers to fight with his bare hands and brute strength.

Tolin-HoDW smiled at Traael "its been a while.. and yes i;m good happy and healthy.." that sence of dread washed over him and he nodded to her .. pulling that long sword from its sheeth at his hip and adjusting his stance.. he had been out at sea once before like this and the enemies he faced then were not the best.. but he was ready for this.. ready for that new sword to get some action and to prove he was actually worht the tital of war master for the Lady Dias.

"I feel it, too," Tenni says. Her ears and tails are tingling and the fur on them is standing on end. "To arms!" Tenni loads her wrist crossbow, and makes her way up to the deck. "Goddess... what *is* that?" she asks.

Aavran-Deth saw the same thing Mae saw, although he didn’t feel the Darkness in the way she could feel it. He rushed over to the helm, taking over from the captain. The captain might be more experienced with this ship, but Aavran preferred being the one to decide and be able to immediately act on his decisions. He didn’t know what was in the darkness, but anyone could tell that it was nothing good. He tried to steer the ship to the west, rather than directly towards the Darkness ahead. It weren’t clouds or anything else blocking the sun, it was pure Darkness, still with that capital D. He could tell, as could anyone else that was looking towards it, that the Darkness was coming towards them. The way it ‘moved’ was hard to tell, the wind played no role in it. Far more it seemed like some intentional course towards them. Dark figures and shapes could be eventually noticed flying within the dark, but then suddenly four shadowy figures appeared on the deck of the ship. In the blink of an eye they had come into existence. One reached out, touched a crewmember and it dropped dead on the deck. And then a bigger shadow appeared on the deck, more the size of minotaur than that of a human.

Mae-Deth would widen her eyes. Feeling those started to fill with more darkness. Slowely her blue eyes were turning to black ones. Her skin slowely started to become more pale and her hair turning black. She would growl. ¨Re...sist....Re...sist..¨ She murmers against her own. More growls. Her hands reaching for her head. This...This was not good...this was definitly not good...not for her at least! She could feel that darkness pulling on her..wanting to posses her. She took a few steps back as she growled. She would fall on her knees. Not only her eyes were black..but she was seeing black. Her black wings spreaded for a moment. Her breathing fast. One hand on the wooden floor. She saw those black figures. It was ..as if they were calling for her..pulling her towards them. She wanted to move..she wanted to approach them..being reunited with their darkness...but she managed to stay still. She would growl more. Trying to at least take some sort of controll. Both hands slammed on the floor and she would cast ¨Tendrills of Death¨. She whispered and suddenly from different places out of the floor Boneshards would try to impale those figures but perhaps also others if they weren´t carefull enough. It was clear that her own darkness was having trouble. It seem that the figures were shifting to ghost form as they managed to dodge her boneshards. She growled more.

Rolan-Deth had to act quickly. The big bodyguard, and pit fighter climbs up the stairs and out of the galley behind Tennibrook. And his eyes go wide at the scene on the upper deck. It didn't take him long to spot that big minotaur shadow. He makes a note of it, thinking he may he the only one on the crew large enough to take it. Rolan-Deth his gaze casts about for Mae. And finds her in a state he can't hope to help her with. He resists the urge to run to her side and instead stands beside Tenni. "I'm going to go after the big one. Might need your help." He squares up and clenched his fists. With that said he runs headlong at the minotaur sized shadow creature. He's sure he's fought bigger things in the pits. He builds up steam and goes go charge into it with his shoulder. And curses as it fades out of existence for a second and he has to plant his feet to stop from stumbling.

Tenni is horrified when a crew member falls at the slightest touch from one of the shadow creatures. Tenni is reminded of the Forces of Darkness Incarnate, which had appeared in two of the historical fiction novels of the contemporary vulpine author, Milana Serafin. She knows from reading those books, and from reading the historical records of the actual battles, that regular civilians stand no chance against them. Only those who have hardened themselves for combat can possibly stand up to them. Tenni nods at Rolan's request and says, "I've got your back." She waits to see the result of his attack and, when the Giant Shadow Creature passes through him, Tenni shouts to Rolan, "DUCK!" and gives him a short beat to follow her instruction before lashing out with a slice through the thing's chest.

Tolin-HoDW took a step back as the figures appeared out of the darkness almost in a protective manner of Traael but he knew she could take care of herself.. he glanced back at the drak and smiled before charging one of the smaller ones taking a cross body strike against the closest one connecting solidly against it.

Traael-IG watched as the figures were seen in the darkness, watached how one human one came aboard the ship and instantly killed a crew member by touching him and Traael frowned. She watched as how nimble they were with Mae's boneshards, instantly manuevering around them and then how Rolan just ran through the minotaur figure. So far no one has managed to lay a finger on these creatures and Traael's brain was trying to figure out which spell to use first, or if she should use her scythe. Seeing Tenni's attack shows her that the things could be touched at least, and it depends on whether or not if she should use Magic or Might... She watched as Tolin looked to her, and smiles ot him and nods, and then after he takes a slash out of a creature, she follows through with her scythe to the creature's chest and slashes down with her scythe, and then watches as it gets sliced opened, obviously weakened by the pair of their attacks.

Aavran-Deth couldn’t do much more than watch the fight from where he was standing, but other than the loss of one life of a crewmember, the others seemed to be handling themselves well. At least until he saw how the large one of the shadows hit Mae. Aavran was about to let go of the helm, but saw that the attack didn’t kill Mae like it had done to the crewmember. Mae would feel something far worse however, as she was hit by the darkness attack she lost the link to her undead minions. They were still there, and still obeying the last order given to them, but no longer did she feel in charge over them. The darkness she was facing might not be stronger than her, but it did seem to be countering her abilities…

Mae-Deth was breathing heavy. Why was that darkness strong?! Not able to move from her spot yet. She would widen her black eyes as suddenly she felt something sharp piercing her. She growls. Her hands reaching for her stomach. Her black eyes locked on that large mino shadow. She groaned. As if something had pierced her..but her eyes would widen more as she didn´t feel the connection with her undead. She would growl louder. In one hand a back spiritual spear started to come and with one growl and moving up on her knees, she would hit the mino creature with it. Impaling it. Making the creature blinded and causing damage. She growled more. ¨I...WILL...RESIST ..YOU!!¨ She growled towards it. More darkness escaped her body. Perhaps it was getting harder to seperate her darkness and the darkness of those creatures.

Rolan-Deth ducks as Tenni had asked him to. He find himself on the other side of that shadow minotaur and facing a human shaped one much smaller than himself. It lashed out at him and he sidesteps it. Rearing back he lets out a loud warcry and aims a punch that could have shattered a man's skull at the creature. Unfortunately his fist whistles past it and he takes a chunk out of the railing with his steel knuckle duster instead. The man never pulls a punch. He screams in frustration as his battle fervor is taking him. Same as Mae's darkness.

Tenni is well aware of the toll that fighting these creatures must be taking on Mae, who dances on the edge of darkness as it is, and she knows that she'll have to keep an eye on her and make sure she remains on the side of the Tempest and her crew. In the meantime, she puts her shield up to fully block against the blow from one of the little ones, and strikes again with her longsword at the mino-sized one, damaging it. She hopes.

[Rolan FTB.]

Tolin-HoDW agely moved out of the way of the strike from the shadow creature he was squared up with.. letting the other sounds of battle on ths ship fall away as he focused on the enemy in front of him.. readjusting the grip on his sword and went in for another slice aiming to bury the blade into the things shoulder.. feeling the blade sink in he moced in close pulling the dagger from his other hip and jamming it into the things head before kicking it back and away watching it disipate . he smiled at that looking around taking stock of where everyone else was and if anyone looked like they were struggling.

<+Traael-IG> Seeing Tolin kill the one they were working on, she moves onto the next smaller one that charged at her. She spins out of the way just in time, taking a wider arch with her scythe, missing the creature entirely as she was making sure to not get touched by thec reature as it ran at her. Breathing heavily, she watched the creature and got ready for it to turn around and aim at her for a second time.

<+Aavran-Deth> It was clear the shadow creatures reacted very little to the attacks they were receiving. There wasn’t any sound as blades struck the opponents, nor when they moved to strike at the group. But it was clear they could be killed as Tolin slashed one with a vital strike and it seemed to nearly pop out of existence. Nothing of it remained and the other shadows couldn’t care less about it. It was hard to tell what effect Mae’s magic had on the large shadow, hard to tell if it had been blinded when it didn’t seem to have any eyes or other features but when the attack came for her, it clearly was having a harder time to pinpoint her. It still seemed to come directly for her however and managed to hit her while the small ones were fighting against the other adventurers. One might come to realize that the crewmember had been killed by a touch directly against exposed skin while that was something the group had prevented to happen to them. The ship hadn’t been engulfed by the dark, instead it seemed to linger next to the ship, as if it was a vessel itself. Still a shadow passed over the ship as something huge flew over the ship.

Mae-Deth had her black eyes locked on the mino. She tried to resist its darkness....the darkness from all around them. Her eyes widened. Another sharp thing piercing her. She coughs some black blood. Her hands grabbing the arm of the mino for support as she was still on her knees in front of it. Black blood dripping along the corner of her lips. She still couldn´t move but at least she was able to control her darkness for a short moment. She would take a deep breath and tried to create poisen from her throat to poisen it..draining it from its stamina..but she was unable to do that as more black blood was dripping from the corner of her lips. She was feeling weaker and weaker. She didn´t know what they were exactly facing....if only... She would cough more and slowely close her eyes. Feeling her getting weaker and weaker.

Tennibrook gets slashed in the left shoulder, causing her circular shield to be fumbled out of her grasp, but she sees Mae go down, and is angered by it, and concerned. Mae is among the strongest of them. If she's killed, or worse, turned, the course of this battle could be altered in a heartbeat. Tenni slashes at the leg of the mino, near the ankle, but it lifts its "foot" up and dodges Tennibrook's horizontal strike.

Tolin-HoDW agely moved out of the way of the strike from the shadow creature he was squared up with.. letting the other sounds of battle on ths ship fall away as he focised on the enemy in front of him.. readjusting the grip on his sword and went in for another slice aiming to bury the blade into the things shoulder.. feeling the blade sink in he moced in close pulling the dagger from his other hip and jamming it into the things head before kicking it back and away watching it disipate . he smiled at that looking around taking stock of hwere everyone else was and if anyone looked like they were struggling.

<+Traael-IG> Seeing Mae go down horrified Traael, and she turned and raced towards the mino and her, casting a spell of Artic Blast at the Mino, hitting him and stunning him long enough to scoop up Mae in her arms and moves out of the way of the fight with her. (If she allows of course) As she ran with Mae in her arms she activiated her enchantment on one of her multiple ear rings of Discern Ailment on Mae, so see what damage had happen to her. A Master of First Aide and Triage, Traael would do her best to help Mae out, so she didn't pass out, or worse die on them.

<+Aavran-Deth> With one of the small ones down, the group could focus their attention a bit more on the big one, although it was clear they still needed to keep a good eye on the smaller ones, just as dangerous as the big one. Mae still didn’t feel any connection to her undead minions which might be the most troubling of all, but they kept standing and guarding the spots they were told to guard. The discern ailment would produce no answer to what had happened to her power and control, but the damage done by the touches of the shadows could be seen. The effect could be the best described as the leeching of energy and life force. Perhaps it would make the shadows stronger, although nothing had changed about the way they were fighting. More attacks came their way, with the large one still going after Mae, drawn to her darkness, while Traael could keep one of the smaller ones away. And then the huge shadow returned over the ship and came swooping down. A crew member had been watching the fight and was gone a moment later. The shadow might have been as huge as a Mephos

Mae-Deth didn t understood any of this. What was happening?! Why did it felt like she was being controlled? Like as if that mino was controlling her movements. Before she knew it she was suddenly lifted by Traael. Black eyes watching her weakly. Not able to resit it but it seemed that the mino was following them. Not done with mae. She would cast a boneshard and try to hit the mino but missed. She lets out a deep growl and sigh. More black blood was dripping from her lips. She was dying..that was something it seemed to be happening to mae. The Mino managed to do something to her as her black eyes widened more. She arched her back as she was hit and slashed out of the arms of Traael. Falling on the ground on her chest. Coughing. Weak arms trying to lift her torso from the floor but fell down again. No..strength..

Tolin-HoDW side stepped the blow from the creature easly enough and brought that sword across the back of the creature then stabbed forward with that dagger into where the kidneys would be on a normak human watching the darkness disapate as he killed another .. he let out a pleased sigh as he turned two small ones left and the large one that still seemed to be pressuring mae.. but Traael was helping with that so he would make his way towards the unengaged smaller one to square up with that one

Tenni sees Traael running to grab Mae, and she nods her gratitude to her. The vixen, for her part, has to keep fighting. She reaches down to try and grab her shield, and gets hit in the left shoulder again by the small one. Growling, Tenni almost switches to attacking the small thing that attacked her, but Tolin takes it out, and the vixen moves back to the mino-sized one. She attacks and it dodges. "Nimble thing, aren't you?"

Traael dropped with Mae as she got otu of her arms, and blindly sprayed another blast of Artic Blast towards the Minotaur, missing completely as she tries to pick Mae up again, and runs towards the gully with her, trying to get space between her and hte minotaur- knowing that the others could take care of them as she tried to protect Mae. Once in the gully, Traael would set Mae down on the table, pushing everything off, and then summoned her 5 elemental ice servents who look exactly like her and standing around the table protectively. "Mae! Don't give up!" Traael said to her, leaning her head down to listen to her breath and listening for her heart beat. "You can overcome this! Just don't give up!" Traael said to Mae, lifting her head up to look towards the door of the gully that was closed.

[Enter James.]

<+Aavran-Deth> It would be hard to predict what James would see first when he arrived on the deck. Perhaps it would be the huge Darkness, the kind written with a capital D, next to the ship he was on. Almost resting there as if it was a vessel in its own sort of way. The Darkness almost lined up directly with their ship as a pirate ship would when boarding another party. Or it could be the minotaur sized shadowy figure, currently fighting with several people on the ship while being assisted by two smaller ones. Or perhaps he noticed how Tolin managed t kill a third small one, that then simply popped out of existence. Either way, it was hard to say if he had truly woken up from his drunken slumber or was still dreaming. What surely had to be part of a nightmare was the huge, almost Mephos sized shadow, that swooped down from the sky and went directly for James. Only to pull up at the very last moment so it wouldn’t slam against the ship but James would surely feel the gust of wind that came with the shadow.

<+James`Vodera-Deth> 'Oh gods... my head...' First conscious thought in three days, and it was a doozy... Three and a half days of intense binge drinking with some guy met at the port in Dethsiris for no better reason then wishing to indulge his old life one more time... 'Where am I?' Second thought was doing better as faculties slowly returned to the hellcat, though his head was pounding something fierce; he stumbled his way out of the cot, still dressed as he had been four nights prior in robes, breeches, boots and shirt, as he looked around. Taking note of the swaying around him he realized he was out at sea at least and on a ship, checking his side to ensure his ninjato was there before heading topside; what he saw at first, that Darkness around the ship, shocked him surely, but that shock served to only wake him further as the headache started to fade. Quick glance around showed him the rest of the upper deck, recognizing several persons of immediate intrest, he started to move only to nearly get blown of his feet by the sudden gust from the shadow mehpos; with a grunt of effort he moved, heading to Traael and Mae who seemed to need the most aid with that minotaur sized.. thing. Hands clapped on his approach, heat suddenly pouring off the hellcat in waves as fire rolled and roiled between his parting hands, the tattoo of black sunburst glowing in his left hand before he was at Traael's side and Word was loosed; stream of white fire poured free from outstretched hands at speed, aimed directly for the biggest target in front of him as he called over the roar. "Get Mae out of here!"

Mae-Deth was carried out by Traael to one of the rooms. Her hands placed on her body. Where some stab wounds were hidden underneath her clothes. She looks at Traael-IG with a weakned expression. ¨Thank ..you... dear.. You...remind me of..someone...¨ She softly said. Closing her eyes. Thinking about Varis for a moment. He would´ve reacted the same probably..She chuckled a bit with more coughs. ¨Guess Viktor was right..¨ She softly said with a amused soft smirk on her lips. Durigon had said that dying could be part of the process of becomming stronger. She opened her eyes and looked at Traael. ¨Go..you need to help the others..I will be fine...There are healers on this ship.. they could use your help dear. That big thing..is still flying over the ship...¨ she softly said as she closed her eyes again. ¨I..never ..give...u..¨ then she went quiet.

Tennibrook takes a solid hit from a small shadow creature, and finally she turns her attention to him, but she flails wildly, in great pain, and misses everything. Stars enter her eyes as she falls to both her knees. She *does*, however, manage to grab hold of her shield, which she'd dropped.

Tolin-HoDW charged another od the small creatures.. but went a little wide and missed shifting to turn and square up againt it .. he snarled at the shadow thing trying to take the pressure off of Tenni as she attacked the big one.. he could handle the little ones if they were to all gang up on the big one.

Traael-IG frowns as she listens to Mae, and thankfully the healers came inside just as Mae went quiet. "Is she dead?!" Traael demanded of the healers, but they were busy with treating Mae that Traael never found out. "I'll keep my elemental servants here to protect you lot. You better not let her die!" Traael said, and moved baack up the stairs and moves to pick up her scythe, but didn't see the Mino with his fist coming to her face. She was hit and knocked backwards, and laid on her back, gasping for air as she felt some of her life force leave her. Eyes were wide, and she forced herself to sit up, blood coming out of the left lip where the mino hit her. It was bruised, and a shiner was coming upon that white skin of hers at the left side of her jaw, but it wasn't broken thankfully. She ducked down when the shadowy creature came out of the sky again, and Traael looked around and had to make a serious choice. She could stop all of this with her spell Blizzard, but that would mean the other fighters could get hurt as well.... Mentally she called for her Mephos, De`Lorna, to come to her, and runs full on to the minotaur to attack him with her scythe as she waited for her mephos so she could go after the shadow thingin the air, but for now, she concentrated on the minotaur shadow. As she took a swipe at him, he jumped out of the way, making her miss him. Traael cursed, and grabbed her middle, coughing. Free hand moving to wipe the blood from her lips, she stands there, waiting for the next opportunity, or waiting for De`Lorna to show up, whichever comes first.

<+Aavran-Deth> The large shadow creature seemed to be distracted as the pyromancer send his flames towards it. The flames didn’t kill it, but it gazed around before setting ‘eyes’ on Tolin and trying to strike, but dodged. One of the small ones stopped in its tracks and made its way towards James, perhaps some sort of suicide attack with the strange way it had come to this conclusion, but simply missed the attack it made while the other small one tried to hit Tenni. The huge thing flying around now made an attack against the ship. It caused the ship to heavily rock back and forth, but it didn’t seem to do any damage to the ship. Luckily the ship had an experienced healer on board, looking over Mae. Not for the first time.

[Mae FTB.]

James had dealt with shadowy types before, long ago, but never this many at once... He deftly avoided the incoming blow from the smaller shadow, letting his stream of fire end as hands went to his side, drawing cold steel instead as he remembered the ordeal by bits and pieces, his memory still a mess after Death's cold touch. Sword in hand he crouched, readying himself before launching through burst of Fly at that larger shadow beast, aiming to cleave through the things side.

Tenni is again attacked, this time by the mino-sized shadow creature, but she gets her shield up and holds it over her head, blocking the strike, though it makes a dull clang against the heirloom. Tenni lets out a growl, and with a battle cry of "RIKAJSHA!", an ancient vulpine call for help in battle from The Lady and from Xevious, Tayva Din of War, Tenni pulls up the shield and stabs the mino-sized shadow creature right in the "head", killing it. She allows herself a wry smile, and focuses her attention on the rest of the battlefield.

Tolin-HoDW expertly dodged a blow from the creature and swung back in return to not have his swing land.. the shadows dispursing around his blade.. this one was a tricky one.. he glanced over as Tenni felled the big one .. that was a relief .. one less to deal with and that one seemed to be doing the most damage.. Mae seemed to be down for the count and Traael wasnt looking so hot eather.

<+Traael-IG> The loud trill of De`Lorna could be heard in the distance, and Traael used her flight spell to get on the back of her mephos. Then Traael had set her sights on the moving shadow, and tried to follow it, trying to see exactly what it was. De`Lorna trilled at the thing, trying to get the things attention, and Traael did her best to try and figure out what "it" was. When she couldn't figure it out, she had De`Lorna dive towards it, pulling up at the last second to get its attention before flying swiftly away from the ship where she started to spin a spell. Dark clouds gather and thunder roared, ligthen streaks through the skies as she peformed the ritual for the spell of Blizzard, De`Lorna ensuring that the big shadow creature would follow her out 30 yards away from the ship and to be in the middle of that storm.

<+Aavran-Deth> The shadow Mephos, lacking a better word for it, turned its attention to Traael and De’Lorna as they went up into the air and tried to attack them but despite the nature of the shadow thing it seemed poorly capable of flying, more lunging itself in one direction and hoping to hit something. James was attacked by one of the smaller things, but managed to dodge out of the way, while Tenni was facing the last of the small ones. This one actually seemed capable of fighting, but it looked like the creatures were starting to run out of energy. If one was to glance to the darkness to the east of the ship, they could tell that it was slowly fading away. Whatever it was that this Darkness exactly entailed, it was running out of power.

James`Vodera-Deth had been too slow it seemed, missing the big mino sized shadow by more than a lot as Tenni got the final blow to its head. "Good kill, Tenni!" He called to her before turning to see the small thing coming for him again, easily side stepping the things charge but missing as he sought to kick the thing in the ass as it went by. Attention shifted eastward as he disengaged and ran to the railing, peering over to see that Darkness beginning to recede. "What the hell is going on?" He wondered aloud to himself.

Tenni grins at James's approving comment, and as he attempts to kick the little one that had been attacking him, she tries to stab it with her mithril dagger, but it dodges that as well as James's kick. The vixen looks up and out at the mephos-shaped one in the sky, being engaged by Traael and De`Lorna.

Tolin-HoDW was getting tired of this one and missing .. so he thrust into its back as he swung at Tenny his shoy finally ringing true and the thing disipating around his sword.. one left on the shop and there there was the mephos like one Traael was fighting in the air.. he looked up watching her fight it for a moment before his attnetion turned back to the last shadow creature that was engaged with the catboy moving up behind it ready to strike again.

<+Traael-IG> De`Lorna roared to the shadow mephos, kept diving towards it and pulling up at the last second to not get touched by it; all the while, Traael was working on her spell. the tempretures were starting to drop to sub-freezing tempretures and finally, the spell was complete. Hail and freezing rain the size of golf balls and bigger, some as small as razor blades, fell from the sky to rain ontop of the shadow mephos. It would feel like clubs hitting it, and the smaller pieces of ice razor would slip right through the "wings" of the creature who was seeming to loose power. If she could keep it away from the ship long enough perhaps it would evaporate.... sapphire eyes looked towards the main darkness and saw that it too was dissapating power. Hopefully the Blizzard would make it weak enough to slid into the water and not cause a ruckus, oh she hoped that was the case, she was very tired and injured, coughing up blood that she didn't realize she was doing, and De`Lorna was getting tired as well, keeping the beasts focus away from the ship.

<+Aavran-Deth> Tolin killed the third of the small ones, doing quite well and only one remained to attack James. A task it was most focused on, even if it didn’t do much damage to the pyromancer. The reaction the creatures had to flames had been a bit telling that it might be a weakness to the but it was also clear that the huge shadow Mephos didn’t like the magic Traael send flying towards it. Rather than attempting another attack against De’Lorna, the Shadow Creature dove into the Darkness that was next to the ship and both Creature and Darkness disappeared instantly. The only thing remaining was the small shadow creature, left behind until the end of its days. End of its minutes by now surely.

James`Vodera-Deth shook his head after a moment before turning around and avoiding another attack from the small thing just in time, ducking and spin stepping away from the railing, dropping his sword to the deck with a clatter. "I've had just about enough of you..." He said as hands clapped and rolled outward once more, spark igniting between palms and growing, festering as more power was poured into it before Word was dropped and, with gust of hot wind did stream of fire shoot forth, incinerating the last small shadow with a wash of white flame.

Tenni sees James take out the last shadow beast on deck, and when she looks up and otu, she sees the mephos-shaped creature disappear into the darkness. "It looks like we won," she says. "Glad to have you here, James. Let us take our fallen compatriot down to the morgue." His body would be kept in an airtight container until they could reach land and resurrect him. "And then I think I owe you a mug of trexla coffee to help with the hangover."

Tolin-HoDW took several steps back as the fire erupted around the shadow bringhing his hans up to block some of the heat from his face.. he didnt seem mad about it .. infact he laughed softly sheething his sword and dagger back where they belonged .. he nodded to James and turned to wait for Traael to land to check on her .. she had taken several large hits.

<+Traael-IG> She watched as the shadow mephos flew back into the darkness and dissapeared ands he sighed, finally, it was over and she could take a break. She petted De`Lorna's neck lovingly as they decended down to the deck of the ship, away from the cargo, and Traael slid down from the saddle and landed on her rump against De`Lorna who craned her head over to nuzzle and lick Traael's face, where Traael lifted a hand to wipe at her mouth, and then saw the fresh blood that was transfered to her hand. She cursed softly and closed her eyes, leaning her head back agasint the mephos and licking her lips. "Fuck." She said outloud to herself. She was tired, and in pain, but she was more tired than anything else.