Its the end of the Third Era. The Civil War in the southern lands of the Dunmeck Kingdom has escalated to full out war of the entire lands. What was thought to be merely a couple of strange bandit raids in the forest has been relieved to be the sec...
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Kelnmock closely stuck behind the two as he too was refreshed once more in the day's fresh shine: sun nearing noon as he came to notice in having to shield his eyes with a free palm.
"Sir! The unknown vessel has made no attempt of communication." One of the sailors, clothed in a black and green cloth, leaped over the the three, hand coming from a fist off the chest, (a basic salute).
"And it's flags?" Balphamire asked, rushing to the starboard end and gazing over the reflecting waters.
"Yes sir, but none I've seen before. Black, similar to its sails." The man puzzled back, an almost frost to the air gaining with it.
"Black!? Balphamire, we need to get out of here!" Kelnmock shot to face him.
"Why, do you know of these flags?" He almost didn't need to ask, but felt a need to raise the question regardless.
"It's them..." was all he could answer back, fist tightening when the chilled wind began giving way to their breath.
"That doesn't sound good, " instantly Balphamire's voice rose from a hushed whisper to a mighty roar over the decks, "All men, to your stations! Prepare for battle!" Kelnmock had a slight feel of shock to the sudden order, (this more from the surprise and almost immediate change of tone). "We need to out run it! Swing us port side, a heading of 030!" He shouted again, this time to the few men up by the main wheel.
"Aye sir!" They yelled back, almost immediately after the entire ship swaying to Kelnmock's left, him stumbling slightly to keep his overall balance.
"Still gaining on us sir!" This voice was crackled and spotted high above the central mast, not that he could be seen with ease, a clouded mist dampening the upward views.
"Your gear is by the bed which you woke up in," Balphamire shifted to walking speedily toward the wheel, Kelnmock following for a moment until stopping to hear his last statement, "I fear things might get ugly..." And at that Kelnmock rushed into the room, finding both his bow and quiver beside his trusted steel sword.
"You found everything?" Kyplore rushed in, his blade already drawn.
"That I do..." He answered at more of a whisper, hands feeling his blade's balance and ears set on the waves, "How fast is it gaining?" He added, moving an eye up to the man's face, shockingly revealed from the hood and the man's pale skin shining in the dim fire light.
"They are almost on us," He said while also peering out the door, "Two by the looks of it." He added, Kelnmock rushing out to confirm the news.
"Where'd the other--" He paused his breath when his view crossed over to the sea. A mighty growth of thick blue-tinted fog had begun to settle off the horizon and some even crawling up to the deck of the ship. However, it was what lay central of it that made his heart skip a beat. The ghostly ship appeared to almost hover in the cloud growth, its black tint shooting out in all directions and behind this similar waves of black beginning to vanish and then re-emerge from the shadows. An entire fleet, by the looks of it. "Have they spotted us!?" He felt inclined to ask, looking up to Balphamire who now manned the ship. Though the elf only kept focus on the waves ahead, ignore the question which all had already known the answer too.
It was then that the blasted scream of terror directly behind had caused him to leap in fear, facing the noise to see one of the creatures already aboard, blade dug deeply in a sailors chest. Its loosed smile hit his eyes before he realized what had come up behind it. Another one of the ghost ships, this one just a few feet of the railing of their own ship.
"Damn! All men to the port side!" Balphamire shouted, he too having to spring to action when one of the beasts leaped over to him, a blade coming from his belt and removing its head. Instantly the force of the waters sent the ship into a tight turn, Kelnmock and the other falling over to the deck before Balphamire could again gain control of their direction; however, he did so in late action, for already the loud boom and crackle of wood had sounded off the striking of the two vessels, chips of which came flying up into the frigid fog. "Someone hold these things off of me or we'll all be at the bottom of the sea!" He screamed back down, Kyplore rushing up to his defence as floods of the creatures came pounding down.
"We can't hold them off forever--" Kelnmock began before his voice took pause to his might filled swing, "we need to find away out of here!"
"Well, if you've got any ideas!" Kyplore pressed the words from his teeth as his strength was leaked into hold back a lock.
"Just--" a swing of Balphamire's blade, this time one hand grasped tightly along the wooden wheel, "Shut up and keep them away from me!" He finished shouting, noticing the majority of borders had trudged up his direction.
Kelnmock sighed from his elevated exhausted, and once ending the life of the nearest black skinned beast, he took his sweaty eyes to gaze upon the unknown ship, its design coming across as chipped and dead Mich like its crew. And though, luckily, the others they spotted still had remains distant but he felt with the escalating quarrel some attention might arise the rest to assist in finishing the remaining crew.
"How far are we from land!?" He bursted out, scanning to see that most of their men lay dead, drown in their own blood.
"You're not seriously suggesting we swim?" Balphamire spoke out, grip on the wood loosening with each passing duck and evasion.
"Got a better idea?" He shot back, Kyplore commenting as well.
"Considering the circumstances I don't see it as that rash..." It trailed off when the boy was forced to a strange maneuver which ended with two of the shadow monsters splashing into the sea. This also forcing Kelnmock to see one of the other ghost ships approaching.
"Ah!" Balphamire cried in agony when he was thrown back into the rail, ship spinning about and catching tightly in the others aft. The rest of the surviving men were then thrown about, some entering the frosted sea with the jerk.
"We've lost! Captain its time we--" the random man who came to assist Balphamire was done in by the very thing that had thrown him to the side. It being a strongly built beast similar to the invaders, only taller and had a more of a green tint to the skin.
"Abandon ship..." He sighed, vision fixed on the puddle of blood splashing off the creatures foot.
"Sir!" Kyplore shouted up, seeing the strange beast prepared to thrust once more; only, as it went to do so, the blade was smashed down my his, Balphamire instinctively rolling way.
"Well, come on then! To the waters!" He nodded to Kelnmock before the rest of the men went spiraling down to the waves. And although they had expected the shivers of the water to be intense, when his body had made contact, he had never expected to feel the sudden rush of death dance upon his skin. It nearly ended his ability to swim free, only his intense blood flow gained in battle keeping him moving forward. Where ever that was. For, while he knew the direction of the ship layer behind, the mix of his frozen breath splashing out of the salty sea and the still thickening for made spotting anything but his own struggling hands impossible. That was until the cold had finally over come his hearing and soon sight. He merely lay frozen in the frost with the shadows flooding slowly over him.
