Post by ThurnockScormus on Aug 14, 2005 18:50:46 GMT -5
VILLAGE OF ULLALI // Brinlar's gut was speaking again and perhaps if had just been growling for food Arculieus would of ignored him, but the clasp of the pirate's hand on his arm rang an alarm. It was more than just an itch to get back to the water. With terms agreed on they men would be put to work getting the supplies called for and Arculeius would approach the Mfalme to give his exchange, both the black wine beans and the dagger that Brinlar had included. This was when he was hit by the first surprise of the day.... a woman. Now that hadn't been what he had in mind as far as deliveries, but it was too late now to go back on his word. Not to mention the only reason they would have a problem returning the woman to Schendi was because they had just lied to the chief about their destination. Playing it safe had cost them this time, but as the chief explained where and to whom the woman was to be delivered, Arculeius was left to curse under his breath. He had no choice now, but to agree. At the same time there was another concern that came calling from the edge of the village as the Others made their presence known to a now bloodied corpse of a man. The next in line would face no better fate than the first, not even able to spear the giant beast before his own head was taken. He was able to scream and at the same time give the scouts time to raise an alarm that fell in sync with Brinlar's gut. The outsiders in the middle of the village were immediately looked at, accused, but Arculeius swore to the Mfalme that it was not of their doing.
THE FOLLY // About to face it's own collision were those still on the river, but they were not laying like sleeping sleens. The lip that they had used to tuck the galley behind was not just for cover, all a passing ship would have to do is look around the curve to spot them. The Ahn it would take for Krakatoa to presumably catch up had been calculated and once it became a possiblity they might meet that deadline the catapults were ready. The lookout rested in the nest of the mast had also noticed the fleeing of birds from the north, but his eyes turned back to the west and raised yet another alarm for those below him on deck to prepare for the approaching vessel.
[[THE FOLLY]] Renn was bored..and not liking the fact his whole crew, including his captain, were off in those damnable jungles. His arm resting on the tiller, he looks downriver for the umpteentrh time out of habit,hearing the familiar creaking of oars and his bright sea-green pupils widen seeing the prow of a barge swing around the jutting point. Spinning around,gesturing astern he barks loudly to those of Silenti on deck, looking for Venor in particular, as he had explained the kings fire to him a few days past. , " Man the catapult!!! Ready the pots! Har-ta you dark Schendian dogs..we have unfriendly COMPANY!!"
[VILLAGE OF ULLALI]] Brinlars eyes flicker in surprise seeing Sakina..a white woman in the deepest jungles..and alone is the last thing he expected to see..yet there she is...and looking very helpless and feminine to boot. Her unnatural presence here driven from his thoughts as the blood-choked scream of a man behind them spurs the pirate into action. Spinning around, blade in his right hand, 6 foot snake whip pulled from his side with his left,like a whipcrack his voice rings out to those of his crew "BEASTS! Weapons out, sleen! Find spears..fan out! Thurnock..Mateo!! With Arculeius and Me!
[[THE FOLLY]] For days Brinlar had made it a point to train those of Silenti to load, light the clay pots at the proper fuse setting and fire the catapult..Venor had struck up a cordial interest and Renn had Gladsly explainwed the working of the catapult..how it was aimed and the timing vs. distance for the use of the Kings fire. Men bustle into action like a well-oiled machine, and Renn meets Venor at the catapult at the same time, grinning lop-sided at Venor " Ready to cook up some urt, my friend?"
The first cry, caught his attention. And the second one on it's heels, had him running the gauntlet between bodies, holding that arrow aloft (lest we poke an eye out) over their heads, till the steps leading onto the upper-deck were assailed with a grim finality. In his head, he was going over it all; distances, lining up the shots, judging the weights by the scratches in the barrel, how much further a lit would go, how the sling sat properly, how not to flip the jug...Of course, the other ship wasn't far. And further, it was coming closer. So, almost half that shit went to the wayside as he plucked up one've the double-spined bows off from the pile where they were coming in short supply, nocking the arrow in-hand with a glance to Renn, and a dull grunt. "Better them then me." And, leaving the arrow knocked but not pulled, he kicked one of the blocks from the wooden wheels, to slip behind the sling and grab- hold the vertical, wrenching it 'round with a shut of the eye to line up on the ensuing problem, before he straightened up, teeth meeting in a thoughtful clacking as he judged not the distance of the ships, but how far theirs was from the shore..."Blocks!" He barked, while one of the torch-bearers kicked the wedge under, leaving him to step aside. "Half-pull!" The crew of the 'pault fell into winding the ropes, building the tension, while he walked to the side a bit, chewing a lip as he thought it over...Screw it. "Light! Fire!" Just the one...never hurt to give it a test-shot, right? -d-
Sakina's doubts in conveying truth to her band had been groundless, as it was, a total of six other Taluna were in the vicinity, well concealed, three between the village and the water, two in the jungles to the west, only her personal scout close at hand as the hair raising screams ran like a ripple of ice water through the village as villagers as well as Brinalr and his men took note of the more than obvious and damned near heart stopping chrge of the creatures, she knew Rusalka had removed her bow by now and quiver, those too ovbious to bring along unquestioned, and as chaos flowed around her she did what any "helpless female" would, she ran, of course she took the risk that none would note her swiftness or agility in the shrieking wind of death the Kurii seemed hell bent on raining down on the village, but she did not waste time wondering either, she knew from the piercing cry, a triplet of notes discerned amid the screams, seemingly of a mindar, that action was taking place by the river, though she did not have any way of knowing what, her Talunas positioned there in the event she was passing towards the ship as anything other than a free woman, the two to the west dispatched by plan to shadow any retreat into the jungles, but to all overt appearances she was one hysterical female seeking cover behind one of the huts, dark eyes meeting Rusalka's, the silent question as she lifted the bo a shake of head in the negative, she would conceal herself, knowing at least one of the great creatures had her scent from a hand ago and she was cunning enough to bide her time, if the Kurii dispatched the crew, so be it, she could still approach the ship under guise of survivor, if they fled into the jungles, she would flee with them, her shadows following to report back locations and conditions, staying still and not engaging was entirely against her nature, her body burned with the desire to fling off the sari and take down as many as she could of the crew from the dense second growth surrounding the village, but she was too intelligent to play all her cards at once, and so she waited, and sent up a silent bitter curse that the Beast knew what he was doing because so help her if she became Kurii chow due to his actions she was going to haunt his ass till he joined her in the City of Dust where she would kick it proper~
|| Ullali Village || Mowing down the little humans with spears, the blood scent quickly agitated the Three and a roar thundered from the open throat of one of the darker ones. It's crinkled muzzle lifted, still bloody from engulfing the second sentry's head, biting down and snapping it right off his neck. There was food stuff everywhere. Despite the Kurii thinking that the tender soft flesh of the human females to be a delicacy, the trio of things did not swipe up the slave that stumbled, fell to her feet and being so terrified, curled into a ball against the dirt. It was hard for the Others to distinguish the cattle from eachother. They all looked the same. Gender, was the one thing that was obvious, so to make sure they did not kill the "one" or the "ally" Mwbiri lept over the cowering head of the female and landed in the teeming center of the village. It's ears flattened menacingly atop it's head as it reared up to a full towering height right next to Brinlar, then quick as an ost's strike it dropped down, bring with the sudden fall a double rip of claws right for the back of the Captain's legs. It meant to hamstring the man the old fashioned way. No pain killers. No hesitation for begging. It snarled as it struck out, ravenous for the feel of sinew and flesh giving way to it's claws. Another kur bust up the small copse of people around the Cheiftan. Slamming into the Mfalme's body, shoving him directly into the black man, Arculieus, then both things coming in with a whrilwind of claws swinging, going for the stronger males first and foremost. Take out the strength than mop up the destruction. Veering off from Arculieus, the third kur lifted it's great head to track the movements of the woman as she fled from sight, eyes slitting. Then spinning it hunkered over to Brinlar as well. Together with its fellow kur they would take this tiny human out of the picture.
|| The Folly || Striding down the length of the barge, he slapped the fist-curled pommel of the panga into the palm of his other hand, signalling that call that the oarsmen on starboard side of the ship should row double time compared to the others. The Beast could smell victory after all this waiting. He could smell. He would not hesitate. Dark bodies strained strongly against the oars and the Kilimanjaro slowly and smoothly came about, making itself a much smaller and harder to hit target. "Go! Go!" Came the command and Akira was already making for the side of the ship. He was not alone. His group of men streamed to the protected side of the vessel, swiftly lowering three canoes. Crawling like purposeful ants into them, soon they are paddling for shore. Other men were hustling to the deck, notching arrows to their long bows while two men catered to another need. Shoving and sliding a heavy trough filled with black ooze across the deck, fastening it down with a double pass of thick ship rope. The arrowmen stabbed the heads of the bolts within the muck, blackening them. Other men manned the 3 springals, lining up the spears in their berths. Water barrels were opened, men taking up position there. Surprisingly, the Beast and company were not the ones to send off the first salvo. Like a bright pockmark against the sky, living flame arched through the air and fire, flew from the deck of the Kilimanjaro for the Folly.
THE FOLLY // About to face it's own collision were those still on the river, but they were not laying like sleeping sleens. The lip that they had used to tuck the galley behind was not just for cover, all a passing ship would have to do is look around the curve to spot them. The Ahn it would take for Krakatoa to presumably catch up had been calculated and once it became a possiblity they might meet that deadline the catapults were ready. The lookout rested in the nest of the mast had also noticed the fleeing of birds from the north, but his eyes turned back to the west and raised yet another alarm for those below him on deck to prepare for the approaching vessel.
[[THE FOLLY]] Renn was bored..and not liking the fact his whole crew, including his captain, were off in those damnable jungles. His arm resting on the tiller, he looks downriver for the umpteentrh time out of habit,hearing the familiar creaking of oars and his bright sea-green pupils widen seeing the prow of a barge swing around the jutting point. Spinning around,gesturing astern he barks loudly to those of Silenti on deck, looking for Venor in particular, as he had explained the kings fire to him a few days past. , " Man the catapult!!! Ready the pots! Har-ta you dark Schendian dogs..we have unfriendly COMPANY!!"
[VILLAGE OF ULLALI]] Brinlars eyes flicker in surprise seeing Sakina..a white woman in the deepest jungles..and alone is the last thing he expected to see..yet there she is...and looking very helpless and feminine to boot. Her unnatural presence here driven from his thoughts as the blood-choked scream of a man behind them spurs the pirate into action. Spinning around, blade in his right hand, 6 foot snake whip pulled from his side with his left,like a whipcrack his voice rings out to those of his crew "BEASTS! Weapons out, sleen! Find spears..fan out! Thurnock..Mateo!! With Arculeius and Me!
[[THE FOLLY]] For days Brinlar had made it a point to train those of Silenti to load, light the clay pots at the proper fuse setting and fire the catapult..Venor had struck up a cordial interest and Renn had Gladsly explainwed the working of the catapult..how it was aimed and the timing vs. distance for the use of the Kings fire. Men bustle into action like a well-oiled machine, and Renn meets Venor at the catapult at the same time, grinning lop-sided at Venor " Ready to cook up some urt, my friend?"
The first cry, caught his attention. And the second one on it's heels, had him running the gauntlet between bodies, holding that arrow aloft (lest we poke an eye out) over their heads, till the steps leading onto the upper-deck were assailed with a grim finality. In his head, he was going over it all; distances, lining up the shots, judging the weights by the scratches in the barrel, how much further a lit would go, how the sling sat properly, how not to flip the jug...Of course, the other ship wasn't far. And further, it was coming closer. So, almost half that shit went to the wayside as he plucked up one've the double-spined bows off from the pile where they were coming in short supply, nocking the arrow in-hand with a glance to Renn, and a dull grunt. "Better them then me." And, leaving the arrow knocked but not pulled, he kicked one of the blocks from the wooden wheels, to slip behind the sling and grab- hold the vertical, wrenching it 'round with a shut of the eye to line up on the ensuing problem, before he straightened up, teeth meeting in a thoughtful clacking as he judged not the distance of the ships, but how far theirs was from the shore..."Blocks!" He barked, while one of the torch-bearers kicked the wedge under, leaving him to step aside. "Half-pull!" The crew of the 'pault fell into winding the ropes, building the tension, while he walked to the side a bit, chewing a lip as he thought it over...Screw it. "Light! Fire!" Just the one...never hurt to give it a test-shot, right? -d-
Sakina's doubts in conveying truth to her band had been groundless, as it was, a total of six other Taluna were in the vicinity, well concealed, three between the village and the water, two in the jungles to the west, only her personal scout close at hand as the hair raising screams ran like a ripple of ice water through the village as villagers as well as Brinalr and his men took note of the more than obvious and damned near heart stopping chrge of the creatures, she knew Rusalka had removed her bow by now and quiver, those too ovbious to bring along unquestioned, and as chaos flowed around her she did what any "helpless female" would, she ran, of course she took the risk that none would note her swiftness or agility in the shrieking wind of death the Kurii seemed hell bent on raining down on the village, but she did not waste time wondering either, she knew from the piercing cry, a triplet of notes discerned amid the screams, seemingly of a mindar, that action was taking place by the river, though she did not have any way of knowing what, her Talunas positioned there in the event she was passing towards the ship as anything other than a free woman, the two to the west dispatched by plan to shadow any retreat into the jungles, but to all overt appearances she was one hysterical female seeking cover behind one of the huts, dark eyes meeting Rusalka's, the silent question as she lifted the bo a shake of head in the negative, she would conceal herself, knowing at least one of the great creatures had her scent from a hand ago and she was cunning enough to bide her time, if the Kurii dispatched the crew, so be it, she could still approach the ship under guise of survivor, if they fled into the jungles, she would flee with them, her shadows following to report back locations and conditions, staying still and not engaging was entirely against her nature, her body burned with the desire to fling off the sari and take down as many as she could of the crew from the dense second growth surrounding the village, but she was too intelligent to play all her cards at once, and so she waited, and sent up a silent bitter curse that the Beast knew what he was doing because so help her if she became Kurii chow due to his actions she was going to haunt his ass till he joined her in the City of Dust where she would kick it proper~
|| Ullali Village || Mowing down the little humans with spears, the blood scent quickly agitated the Three and a roar thundered from the open throat of one of the darker ones. It's crinkled muzzle lifted, still bloody from engulfing the second sentry's head, biting down and snapping it right off his neck. There was food stuff everywhere. Despite the Kurii thinking that the tender soft flesh of the human females to be a delicacy, the trio of things did not swipe up the slave that stumbled, fell to her feet and being so terrified, curled into a ball against the dirt. It was hard for the Others to distinguish the cattle from eachother. They all looked the same. Gender, was the one thing that was obvious, so to make sure they did not kill the "one" or the "ally" Mwbiri lept over the cowering head of the female and landed in the teeming center of the village. It's ears flattened menacingly atop it's head as it reared up to a full towering height right next to Brinlar, then quick as an ost's strike it dropped down, bring with the sudden fall a double rip of claws right for the back of the Captain's legs. It meant to hamstring the man the old fashioned way. No pain killers. No hesitation for begging. It snarled as it struck out, ravenous for the feel of sinew and flesh giving way to it's claws. Another kur bust up the small copse of people around the Cheiftan. Slamming into the Mfalme's body, shoving him directly into the black man, Arculieus, then both things coming in with a whrilwind of claws swinging, going for the stronger males first and foremost. Take out the strength than mop up the destruction. Veering off from Arculieus, the third kur lifted it's great head to track the movements of the woman as she fled from sight, eyes slitting. Then spinning it hunkered over to Brinlar as well. Together with its fellow kur they would take this tiny human out of the picture.
|| The Folly || Striding down the length of the barge, he slapped the fist-curled pommel of the panga into the palm of his other hand, signalling that call that the oarsmen on starboard side of the ship should row double time compared to the others. The Beast could smell victory after all this waiting. He could smell. He would not hesitate. Dark bodies strained strongly against the oars and the Kilimanjaro slowly and smoothly came about, making itself a much smaller and harder to hit target. "Go! Go!" Came the command and Akira was already making for the side of the ship. He was not alone. His group of men streamed to the protected side of the vessel, swiftly lowering three canoes. Crawling like purposeful ants into them, soon they are paddling for shore. Other men were hustling to the deck, notching arrows to their long bows while two men catered to another need. Shoving and sliding a heavy trough filled with black ooze across the deck, fastening it down with a double pass of thick ship rope. The arrowmen stabbed the heads of the bolts within the muck, blackening them. Other men manned the 3 springals, lining up the spears in their berths. Water barrels were opened, men taking up position there. Surprisingly, the Beast and company were not the ones to send off the first salvo. Like a bright pockmark against the sky, living flame arched through the air and fire, flew from the deck of the Kilimanjaro for the Folly.