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>>32659321

You command your men forward in an effort to push the defenders off the deck. With a gallant warcry, your men tackle and push their assailants in a shoving match towards the railings, gaining some ground, then losing it, and then gaining it again. Eventually, both crews become too tired to continue such a Hellenic style of battle and reengage in the melee. You swiftly dispatch a member of Ainsworth’s crew as you spy the red-coated man standing atop a gangway, overseeing the battle. You dodge in and out of conflict as you make your way towards him, his eyes on you the entire way. With a swift jump that leaves a pang of pain in your side, you mantle the gangway in front of him. Raising your blade toward him in challenge, he opens his mouth to speak, but your footing leaves you as you tumble back onto the deck of the Abbey. You can see the three masts and familiar colours on the opposite of the Repentance; The Dodger has rammed her other side and has begun boarding.

>Rally the men and attempt to charge across onto the Repentance
>Seek out Ainsworth once again to duel him
>Pull back to safety
>Leave the battle to Alesa and the Dodger’s crew

>>32659337
>Rally the men and attempt to charge across onto the Repentance

>>32659337
>Rally the men and attempt to charge across onto the Repentance

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You begin to pick yourself up off of the deck of your ship, dodging this way and that in an attempt to not become skewered in the raging melee around you. You sweep down and grasp your blade once more, ready to engage any who would dare you. You spy the thinning enemies retreating back onto the Repentance in an attempt to stop the new enemies from taking her over.

“Aye lads! Forward, we take her here and now!” You shout, climbing on top of a pully-box and raising your cutlass to the sky.

The Repentance’s crew was not so easily shaken, as they weathered the buffeting blow that beset them in the form of a pincer attack. All experienced and driven men, they fought to the last, not one giving up in the heat of battle. Eventually, they are forced to the gangways and railings of the Abbey and your men thrust once more, driving them off onto their own vessel. You find a moment to reload your pistol before jumping onto the railing and sounding a war cry to fit the armies of yore. Your men follow behind you into the mouth of hell as they descend upon Ainsworth’s ship. You dodge a swing here and there as you run across the gangplanks that bridge the vessel and spy a lithe figure in black and gray dancing between her enemies.

>Team up with Alesa to combat the crew
>Stay on your side and attempt to force the Repentance’s crew to surrender
>Sneak away to engage Ainsworth alone
>Bring Alesa to fight Ainsworth

>>32660006
>Team up with Alesa to combat the crew

>>32660006
>Team up with Alesa to combat the crew

>>32660006
>>Team up with Alesa to combat the crew

As you watch Alesa dipping and ducking between a man’s swipes with a short blade, you are taken aback at her skills for someone who constantly reminds you she avoids conflict. She shunts an elbow into the man’s ribs before placing her dagger’s point under his arm and pushing it through like a sewing needle. The man before her drops in pain as he arm is partially severed and she calmly moves towards you, a ready stance sculpting her form into that of a feline hunter.

“To me!” You shout in her direction, a swift and determined nod bouncing quickly upon her shoulders.

The combined efforts of your two crews begin to press on those of the Repentance, slowly backing them towards the rear gallery and her wheel. As the Dodger’s crew sweeps in to fill an open gap, you quickly find that you control half of the enemy vessel. You lean away from a slashing strike, your side protesting the movement, aiming to clear the flashing blade. The man is tackled one of your crew members assaults him with a wooden mallet, beating him about the head. Ainsworth stands atop the gallery next to the ivory wheel of the Repentance, confident and resolute as ever. Once more, you open your mouth to taunt and challenge the pirate hunter as the grating that covers the entrance to the hold bursts open and men begin to pour forth. This new surge of men nearly has your combined crews outnumbered, as it seems all the canon operators and workers have joined the fight on the top deck. Amongst them strides a man as tall as a mast and as heavy as an anchor who wields an imposing looking bill-hook.

>Tell the men to hold firm under the new assault
>Cut your losses and cover Alesa’s retreat, then proceed with your own
>Charge into the growing mass of enemies

>>32660369
>Tell the men to hold firm under the new assault
>Charge into the growing mass of enemies

I would rather take out the thread now if possible. Surely, workers and cannon operators are not skilled or motivated fighters.

>>32660369
>Tell the men to hold firm under the new assault

>>32660369
>>Tell the men to hold firm under the new assault

“Stand firm, me drunks! We have our enemy upon his last legs, and no man, no matter how skilled, cannot jig without any legs!” You shout, not really sure what you were saying, but you did not care as your men cry out once again.

Laughter can be heard as the two sides square up against each other across the deck of the Repentance. You look up to see Ainsworth swiftly leap across a railing to a hanging rope and swing down to the front of his men.

“The only dancing to be done, my boy, is upon your shallow grave.” He begins. “You mark this as a victory, pirate. For it shall be the closest you ever get!”

Ainsworth pulls a cocked pistol from behind his bright-red regalia and swings it in your direction. You recoil for a moment as the gunshot fills the air moments before a figure jumps in your way. You see the person shudder under the impact, but the melee has begun once again and you have no time to see or thank your martyr. Ainsworth heads his men in a daring assault, and begins to push the combined crews back to the middle of the ship. You spy the large man slashing and hooking his way through swathes of men, all unsteady at his intimidating presence.

>Confront Ainsworth
>Look for your savior
>Confront the large man
>Rally your men back to regain lost ground

>>32660628
>>Rally your men back to regain lost ground
>Confront Ainsworth

Cut off the head etc

>>32660628
>Confront Ainsworth

You charge forward, cutlass in the air, shouting like a man possessed. You bowl over a few men with your reckless charge as you feel metal and flesh sliding together, a shark pain arising in your left thigh. However, the desired effect is had as your men quickly follow, charging the small gap with ferocious speed. As you bash your assailants jaw with the handguard of your cutlass, you quickly survey the field. Your men look tired, they have been fighting non-stop for quite some time. Alesa is nowhere to be found and her men are close to wavering. You deem it necessary to end this battle as soon as possible. You find that the gallery stairs lie close to you, as you mantle them with growing pain. The same rope that Ainsworth swung down on lies within a small leaping grasp, and you could plunge right into the thick of battle next to him. You murmur a quick prayer as you take the leap of faith, shouting half in fear, half in courage. As you let go of the rope, you are aimed to tackle the Captain from behind, but he must spy you out of the corner of his eye as he steps out of the way. As you pick yourself up, your leg bleeding profusely from the deep slash across it, you ready your blade and clash with many blades that now encircle you and Ainsworth.

He waves them down as they engage in their own melee, and your personal fight has begun. This small circle of space will be your arena as Ainsworth brings up his thin officer’s sword and adopts an agile stance, smirking through his graying facial hair. His eyes belay his age, as they are that of a young and fiery man who feeds off of adventure.

>Adopt a heavy stance and attack
>Adopt a defensive stance and wait for him to attack
>Adopt a mirrored stance and copy his every move

>>32660943
>>Adopt a heavy stance and attack

>>32660943
>Adopt a heavy stance and attack

You pull your arm back as you poise your blade for a strike and close the gap heroically. You unleash a flurry of pent up strikes in his direction, hoping that one might catch him unprepared. To your dismay, he nimbly side-steps and parries most of your attack as they come. An intense smile grows on his face as he feels the adrenaline near to bursting within his veins; he loves it. He begins a maelstrom of thrusts from the thin blade, all prepared to be the killing blow. As you frantically dodge and beat his blade away with your own, you begin to sweat as you feel your heart racing. The older gentleman not letting up in his attack, you cannot get a word in edgewise with your blade. Your stance becomes ragged as the pain in your leg stops you from lunging and maneuvering as you could, making you adopt a submissive, defensive stance.

“This is all you have for me, young man? You could have admirable skill, but you chose to wither it away on a life of felony.” George taunts.

You weakly drive your blade towards him in an attempt to catch him in exposition, but he merely bats it away with an open palm. You clutch your side in pain, the old wound from the French Captain not fully healed. You proceed once more to attack him, and he does naught but toy with you; not striking you down, and giving you only fleeting hopes of victory as he dances away in the last moment.

“What shall I take from you, fair captain? I take trophies from all those who I’ve conquered. A figurehead, a token, a head or two. Some teeth, perhaps? Oh… I know. I’ll take your home! What a wonderful idea… I’m sure one of your men will squeal under torture for a fortnight.” Ainsworth scoffs as he lunges in towards you.

>Try and dodge
>Try and parry
>Drastic measure
>Last resort

>>32661258
>Drastic measure

>>32661258
>Try and parry

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You realise that it if you are to have a chance, you need to take a drastic measure. As he lunges towards you, you have only time for one thing. You need to end the fight, for the sake of your men and now your home. You uncurl your fingers from around the handle of your cutlass as you toss it towards the lunging man in an underhand throw reaching down with your free hand to your belt. The flying cutlass causes him to spin, giving you precious seconds to lift the pistol from your belt. Time feels slowed as you close an eye like an iron door, the eyelid slamming shut as you take aim. Ainsworth finishes turning to find his new sight blocked by that of a gun barrel, his gritted teeth loosening into a wide eyed look of despair. You squeeze the trigger of the pistol, the flint striker rocketing forward toward the pan of powder and casting its angry sparks towards the ignition. Moments later, a gout of smoke and fire fill the small space as you feel the entry of steel in your chest and George Ainsworth topples to the ground, sliding across the wooden deck from his forward momentum. You stagger back, his blade embedded in your ribs by 3 inches. As you lean against a mast, one of your men gazes upon your anguished form as you bite your tongue, not shouting out for help. You gain a familiar feeling as the sound of the world begins to dull as you are wrapped in an embrace you do not recognize. You can feel the heels of your boots bouncing across the gaps in the deck boards as your vision narrows. You feel the strength move rise within you, but it is faint.

>Call out the retreat
>Turn to see who is carrying you
>Try to wrestle from their grasp

>>32661631
>Turn to see who is carrying you

>>32661631
>Turn to see who is carrying you

You let your head fall back in an attempt to catch a glimpse at who is dragging you and where. Your tunneling vision makes it hard to see, respectively, but from what you can see it’s.. a woman? You squint your eyes in an attempt to clear your vision, but you still cannot discern who it is. A brunette woman. You try and think of what woman would be in your crew, or Alesa’s, but your mind does not cooperate with your wants as it flounders under the pressure. You see your men surrounding you, so you feel that you are being taken to safety, wherever it is. You hear the din of battle receding as drop hard onto a wooden surface. You can hear shouting, but it sounds as if they are whispering at one another as figures crowd around you. They tear at your clothes and you begin to protest, but figures approach from out of sight and hold down your arms and legs. You feel the calming sleep coming over you as your eyelids flutter shut and you relax as hands scour over your chest and legs. You are just about to drift away as you become startlingly awake, pain welling up from your chest like a fiery brand. You feel the lump in your throat move as a howl of pain escapes your throat. Your ears become clear as you hear yourself echo inside a room and you twitch your limbs once again, the securing grasp of hands binding you down. You can hear voices, but not who they are speaking from or what they are speaking of, but you feel warm, hot even. You can feel the sweat dripping from your forehead as more pinching pains erupt from your chest. You open your mouth to howl once again, but instead a bottle is thrust into your view as it is tipped over-end as peaty smelling liquid fills your mouth. You swallow as you feel it’s warmth slide down your throat and into your belly. Your head swims as you cannot make out the faces of the people who stand over top of you.

>Try and shout again
>Try and sit up
>Call out to who is around you

>>32662044
>Call out to who is around you

>>32662044
>Call out to who is around you

You croak out a feeble “Who…” and the room goes silent. You feel a hand on your cheek as your head get gently tilted towards a particular face; the brunette woman.

As the time drags on, you are fed more and more fresh water, and you start to get your head back in order. You are in a small room you do not recognize, lying atop a sturdy table. The Brunette woman smiles at you as you try to sit up, a pain in your chest protesting the move.

“Easy now, Capitaine, prendre facilement.” You hear from the woman. She sits up and lays a hand on your chest, and one behind your head as she helps you up.

The room spins for a moment as you regain your bearings and adjust to the new position. “Who are you…?” You question.

“Pardonnez-moi, capitaine. Je suis Susanne. Le medecin de ce navire.” She responds. At your puzzled look, she giggles and repeats: “I am Susanne, the doctor.” in a heavy French accent.

“Doctor…?” You ask aloud. You never hired any doctors aboard your ship, and they are far too friendly to be enemies.

“Oui.” She states simply.

“Where?” You ask dumbly.

“Oh, we are aboard ze Le Noyer! Zhe Walnut!” She responds, patting you on the head gently.

“I thought… Oscar left?”

“We made it to safety because of you, monsieur. He felt bad for not ‘elping, so, we come to help!”

“Oh.” You respond plainly, your usual whit not about you to make a sly remark.

>What happened?
>Where is Alesa?
>Where is my ship?
>Where is Ainsworth?

>>32662499
>What happened?
>Where is my ship?
>Where is Alesa?
>Where is Ainsworth?
In this order.

>>32662499
>>3266257 sounds good to me

>>32662634
fail, meant to quote this:>>32662570

“What- what happened?” You ask.

“Oh, well, you were, ehh, stabbed?” She begins. “Riiiight… here!” She punctuates the statement with an extremely gentle press of her fingers on the wound. “You were also bleeding quite a lot from ze leg, ‘ere.” Again, she runs a hand on your thigh, outlining several sutures that hold your skin together. “But! You look good!- Err, you look very healzy, monsieur.” She finishes, correcting herself.

“I see… And what of my ship?” You ponder aloud.

“One of your.. eh, friends? ‘as it be’ind us.” She answers “I zink zey call ‘im a.. first maite?”

“Ah, me first mate has her, eh? Good, good.” You mumble.

“Where is Alesa? Err, Oscar’s sister?” You inquire.

Susanne the doctor looks down at the floor and her cheery smile dissipates as the mention of the name. “She is… wounded.” She says, pointing behind you.

Across the room is a similar table in which Alesa lies atop of. Her jacket has been removed as extensive bandages wrap around her midsection tightly, a dark spot welling up from her front and side.

“She was szot, zho, is was a.. zhrough an zhrough?” Susanne replies.

“Is she going ‘te be okay?” You ask.

“Ehh, oui?” Susanne answers, a tinge of uncertainty in her voice.

You scrunch up your nose and furrow your brow as you only have one question left.

“Where is the captain of the ship that attacked us?”

“Oh, well, after you were wounded, we pulled you to safety, oui? From zhere, everyone left tut suite.” She finishes, getting up and washing her hands. You watch as she dunks her hands in the crimson liquid filled basin, astonished at the amount of blood.

>So you don’t know what happened to him?
>Ask to go to your ship
>Ask to see Alesa
>Ask to talk to Oscar

>>32662968
>So you don’t know what happened to him?
if nobody can confirm his death, he might as well still be alive

>>32662968
>So you don’t know what happened to him?
>Ask to go to your ship

>>32662968
>>So you don’t know what happened to him?

“So he is still out there..” you ask, accusingly.

“I was not zhere, Capitaine, I cannot say.” She answers, a tad miffed.

“My apologies, miss. I did shoot him, after all. I saw him tumble but…” You trail off.

“But…?” She asks.

“I’m not sure he is dead.” You finish.

“Oh. I see.” She adds,

A small silence that permeates the room is broken as you finish gazing at the pretty young French doctor. “Can I go to my ship?” You ask.

“Oh, uh, oui?” She answers, moving to help you up. As you exit the dark room, the light blasts into your eyes as you squint to dull the pain. You are moving at a slow, but steady, pace across the sea. No enemies in sight. The deck of the brig is cluttered with wounded crew with doctors scurrying about. It seems as if Oscar had quite a few on board.

You turn slowly as you lean heavily on the young lady peering around to see your ship sailing resplendently as the day you stole her. It warms your sight and eases your mind to see it in good shape. Oscar pulls up beside you as you greet him and he explains what he had done.

“I’m proud of ye, Oscar. You’ve done yer sister and me a service.” You say, commending the young man.

“Oh, thank you sir. I- I felt so bad for not helping, I just had to come back!” He responds.

You thank Susanne the doctor as she tends to some nearby patients. Just as you are about to take a seat and wait to dock so you can return to your ship, you sling a weary arm over Oscar’s shoulder and say, just loud enough; “Thanks for giving me the pretty surgeon, eh?” You spy out of the corner of your eye that Susanne blushes profusely as she tightens a bandage upon a crewmates arm and stifles a smile a league long. You laugh to yourself as the ships near a rocky island that the exchange will occur next to.

(cont.)

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>>32663510

Upon a limping ship that smoke and moans of pain do raise, a weak body with a burning soul lies upon the deck, a hole in his chest with its void filled with hate, with malice and a want for revenge. The body does not move, but the mind is awake, and it surges with a new, profound hatred, tempered with the countenance of resolution. A mouth with no sound makes one word over and over again… “Abbot.”

==========

Alright folks. A little short today, I know, but some last minute errands need done, and this is a good place to leave you all hanging until Wednesday at 3:30 once more. I can say with almost certainty that I will not be late with the quest again. So, things happened! New characters were introduced! Plots thickened and I enjoyed writing every second of it! Now, I know I said there would be an artsy surprise, but it seems this fellow has fallen a tad behind. So, it seems that in the Wednesday thread, it shall debut. I am so excited to have his renditions of what the characters look like! He isn't exactly a drawfriend, but he frequents the 'draw your party' threads and does requests. He is a regular MSPaint whiz. Anywho, I'm excited! Once again, thank you all for taking the time to participate with my little story here, and I appreciate it immensely.

>>32663607
sweet, thanks for running

>>32663607
Cool. Thanks for running.

>>32663607

Thanks for running, was asleep for most of it but enjoyed catching up on it.