>>6093049You didn’t know much about Almyrans. Or pirates for that matter. But you could tell a lot about someone by the way they carried themselves in a battle. These men were dexterous fighters, used to fighting on moving ships and maintaining their balance. Wearing heavy armor at sea was considered a death sentence for them. One false move and you’d sink to the bottom of the ocean. So these pirates opted for lighter wear. Some were bare chested, while at the most others wore leather jerkins. The swords in their hands were lightweight and easy to use. Their win condition was a simple one. Swarm the enemy’s deck as fast as possible, and cut their foes to pieces before they could retaliate. Clad in steel, these men likely deduced that you were out of your element here at sea, and did not slow down their approach.
The first pirate attacks with a grin on his face, only to quickly explode in a burst of red as your axe bites into his chest, sending him sailing off the gangplank into the water.
>10xp gained (10/100)The second one behind him doesn’t slow down, striking at you with a thrust attack. The stab is laughably weak. These swords may be good at piercing the unarmored hides of merchants or other pirates, but they were a bee sting for you at most. You chop your axe into his side, sending him tumbling down below.
>10xp gained (20/100)The third pirate tries swatting at you with some fancy flourish, only to have both his arms severed at the wrists when you swipe your weapon downward.
>10xp gained (30/100)By now, the pirates have begun to exercise caution .You can sense the hesitation in the fourth man as he tiptoes towards you. All the speed in the world would be of no use to these cretins though, unable to so much as scratch your hide. He goes down with a gurgle, your axe splitting into his chest. Kicking his corpse off the gangplank, you now face the last pirate.
>10xp gained (40/100)You were surprised to find the final man undeterred by your wanton slaughter. Perhaps he figured if he turned back now, this Omar the Red would strike him down for cowardice. Instead, he bellows a loud scream and charges at you, waving his cutlass around frantically. You honor his courage by removing his head in one blow.
>10xp gained (50/100)>Tristain (40/45 HP)That was easy enough, you think. You hadn’t been in a real fight since you’d been at the Officer’s Academy several years ago. But you still had ‘it’. You hardly broke a sweat, nor took any meaningful damage. There are still several pirates swarming the enemy deck, however, they now appear to be having second thoughts about crossing over. All the bravado they’d shown when they were holding up Alvin appears to have disappeared into thin air. You take the reprieve in battle to see how Adeline fares.
