Silence fell upon the foggy ship, heralding an imminent attack.

Ulgrin swallowed heavily, but remained calm. [We still have a chance. Alyss, when they attack, toss a smoke bomb on top of us. If neither of us can see, that will even the playing field.] He tried to narrow his senses, listening intently. [Saezz, do you smell them?]

The lizardfolk inhaled deeply. [They are splitting into two groups. Three will be attacking our right flank, and four will be on the left.]

[Wreath is coming.] Raelza declared, closing her eyes. [He’ll find us.]

Satisfied that they had a course of action, Ulgrin waited and primed his magical energies. He could hear footsteps just at the edge of the fog. The creaking of a board clued him into an imminent attack. He stepped in front of Alyss and raised his staff. The hexagonal shield formed just in time for the whistling projectile to impact.

Armored figures rushed towards them. The officers wielded a mix of polearms and seemed to be well used to working in a formation. Their attack was halted as Alyss reached into her bag.

“If our side can’t see, then neither side will!” She cackled, throwing a vial down at her feet. Almost instantly a plume of smoke erupted outwards, filling the air with a foul-smelling concoction. Both sides were blinded, as this was an entirely mundane obfuscation. That seemed to stagger their foes, giving their side a momentary advantage.

“Flames, gather!” Ulgrin summoned magical power and conjured a trio of firebolts. They spun in a triangular formation before rocketing outwards towards where he had last seen their enemy. He got lucky and heard a yelp of pain.

Behind him, he heard Saezz lunge forwards. A man’s scream was cut off into a grunt. Metal groaned in displeasure as Saezz tried to peel him out of the armor. But just as soon as he began the lizardfolk was forced to retreat from two swings. Thankfully, Raelza seemed to have gotten a bead on their location.

Twang! Her crossbow fired and was aimed true, punching through plate armor at this close a range. Whoever she had hit gurgled, the armored woman crumpling to the ground.

“Oh, no, no.” Captain Saltgrit declared, his voice audible even over the din of battle. “We can’t be having that!” A gust of wind suddenly shot forth and into the cloud of smoke. While it didn’t manage to knock Ulgrin or his allies over, it still managed to clear up their environment.

Ulgrin forced himself forwards and into the line of fire as another javelin was hurled. This time his shoddily made barrier didn’t quite block it, and he felt a sudden pain in his sternum. His emerald shield had cracked, but the javelin hadn’t managed to punch through his brigandine. Still felt like he had been kicked by a mule. He reached down and pulled the javelin out, tossing it to the ground.

Alyss stepped forwards and hurled two vials at the nearest pirates. One of the three had a large scorch mark along his chest, but the other two had already recovered. One managed to lunge to the side, but the other was hit dead on. Flame suddenly engulfed the armored reaver and he hit the deck, flailing and screaming.

A wave of nausea ran through Ulgrin’s stomach. But he had no time to come to terms with it, as one of them was upon him.

The poleaxe came down with a fury, forcing him to raise both staff and warhammer to block it. His knees buckled, but held. There was a moment of struggle before he sent a surge of electricity through the staff. Conducted by their weapon and armor, his foe seized up in pain.

Ulgrin lashed out with a kick, knocking them over and delivering another swing to the helmet that knocked them out. Just in time for the scorched pirate to send a spear towards his neck. A few strands of red hair were severed as the blade narrowly missed. He grit his teeth and stepped in, raising his hammer. It came down upon the pirate’s shoulder, denting the plate and eliciting a yell.

“Duck!” Alyss yelled. He complied, thankful for his short height. A vial of sticky glue nailed the pirate straight in the chest and they fell backwards, struggling at the binding substance.

He twisted his hammer around and brought it down upon their helmet. A spray of red crimson spilled forth from their helm as the spike managed to breach their visor. Dead. Just like that. He looked up and saw that Captain Saltgrit had decided to advance into melee.

Behind him and Alyss, he heard the others fighting fiercely. Saezz was brawling and grappling their foes, his talons not capable of piercing their armor.

Raelza had switched to her glaive and was making sweeping, heavy blows to keep them off balance.

Distantly he could hear the thud of large hooves on wood. Wreath would back them up. He had to focus on protecting himself and Alyss. “Got any fancy bombs in that bag of yours?” He asked, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. “Because I don’t trust myself lasting long in a melee.”

“Most of my fancy stuff is back in my cabin but… Give me thirty seconds and I’ll mix something up that’ll melt his armor.” She responded, gritting her teeth.

“You’ll get ten if I’m lucky,” he replied sardonically. “Right then.”

Captain Saltgrit lunged forwards with a horizontal swing of his bardiche. The weapon was large and ill-fit for a dwarf, but seemed to be wielded well by his enemy. There wouldn’t be much direct blocking of that. His weapon was no doubt heavily enchanted, more than a match for his warhammer.

Wind whistled past him as Ulgrin avoided the swing. The dwarf was a whirling dervish, spinning back and forth with fervor. “Come on, then! Put up a better fight! Hit me!”

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Ulgrin made more retreating steps, trying to keep him away from Alyss. Another swing came and he deflected it, reaching out and tapping his staff to the metal weapon. Electricity surged, running down its shaft and towards Saltgrit. Only instead of frying him it dissipated harmlessly. Right. Enchanted armor.

His foe responded by swinging the weapon back his way. Ulgrin grunted as the blunt end collided with his chest and sent him reeling, off balance.

Ulgrin called upon the power within him and steadied himself, bringing the staff down upon the ship’s surface. A wave of force erupted, giving him the space he needed to recover. I can’t let him have the initiative. He won’t be as effective if I get in close. That decided, he charged in.

“You’re no true fighter, kinsman!” Saltgrit yelled, bringing his weapon down in a vertical slash. Ulgrin let out a groan of pain as the weapon cleaved through his mostly unarmored right hand. It was a deep cut, down to the bone. Still, he’d dodged out of the way of a killing blow.

Tackling into the dwarf, their strength was tested. Ulgrin shortened the grip of his hammer and brought it down repeatedly, staying within close range. Harsh clangs filled the air, both combatants grunting with exertion. Saltgrit let go of his weapon in one hand and wrapped it around Ulgrin, bringing him in close in a tight bear hug.

Then Ulgrin’s vision flashed as the man headbutted him. His helmet rang and he could see stars in his eyes. He shook them away and responded in kind.

Both of them headbutt each other repeatedly. Ulgrin could feel himself growing more and more dazed. Both were stumbling, struggling at this point. “Head’s up, incoming!” Alyss yelled. Ulgrin pulled himself free, relying on his instincts to roll backwards and into a crumpled mess.

A roar filled the air as Saltgrit was covered in some kind of acid. The runes on his armor glowed brightly, their enchantments pushed to the limit in an attempt to ward off the destructive liquid.

After moments of glowing they finally dimmed, leaving the armor covered in pockmarks and shallow divots where the acid had eaten through. “That’s your plan?!” He roared. “You should’ve made it stronger, bitch!” Alyss’ eyes widened as the man charged her, bardiche raised.

Ulgrin tried to raise his own staff, but the rattling in his brain meant all the arcane formations were beyond him. Come on. Just a bit of power. Gather, damn it! Sparks formed, but failed to gain any sense of cohesion in their patterns. His mind flickered, overstressed by the head trauma.

[Perhaps I might help.] He heard the voice of Lorekeeper say suddenly. He saw spectral arms gently laid over his own, hands over his. [Aligning mana channels. Gathering power. Firing.]

Power erupted from his staff in a wicked lightning bolt. It struck Captain Saltgrit dead on, sending him flying and back into the ship’s railing. The sturdy fence cracked, but his armored form actually bounced off. [Ah. That seemed to have worked.] Lorekeeper stated factually, her voice neutral. [Should he not be dead?]

Indeed, the pirate was already starting to stand up. That was when Ulgrin saw a necklace be pulled out of his breastplate. The silver triangle was crumbling. “Heh. Hah-hah!” Saltgrit laughed, staring at the amulet as it broke into small pieces. “To think you’d even claim my ace card… Impressive!” He raised his bardiche. “But not enough.”

Suddenly the sound of hooves filled the air as Wreath emerged from the fog, Raelza on his back. The two rocketed towards Saltgrit, polearm couched.

The pirate’s eyes widened for an instant before he was struck in the chest. The glaive sent him flying back and into the banister once again, this time managing to break it. He flew off the side of the ship and hit the water, almost immediately sinking. The fog almost immediately dissipated, leaving the area clear.

Silence fell over the two ships, their furious fighting pausing as both sides realized the enemy captain had been slain. Pirates began throwing down their weapons and giving up. A cheer filled the air as the merchant vessel’s men celebrated their victory.

“Took you long enough,” Ulgrin groaned, spotting Saezz running towards them as well.

“Oh, you know us, we’ve gotta play with our food.” Raelza replied, patting Wreath on the neck. “Looks like you got beat up. Again. Is this going to be a common theme for you?”

“When I’m forced into melee? I’d honestly prefer to simply just cast spells, but life is not so easy.” He replied, starting to stand up. “Thanks, Lorekeeper. You saved us both.”

[It is no issue, Ulgrin.] She replied. [The safety of your group is my current highest priority.]

“That was a close one.” Alyss whistled, hand over her heart. “He was gonna cut me in half! Lorie, you’re once again the best member of this party. I forgive you for your betrayal.” She walked up to Ulgrin and grabbed his arm, hauling the woozy dwarf to his feet. “Stop being such a hero and drink this.” She forced a bottle into his mouth.

Ulgrin complied, chugging down the foul-tasting brew. Moments later his arm wound began to knit shut and the pain in his head faded. This was definitely the good stuff.

“Saezz is unsure if our enemy is actually dead.” The lizardfolk said with consternation. “Surely a man wearing such armor would prepare for being thrown overboard? It is rather unwise to not do so if you live on a ship.”

Their group paused.

A javelin flew through the air, taking them off guard. Ulgrin attempted to raise a half-formed shield in response, but it barely slowed the projectile down. He stared as it flew directly towards his skull. Time seemed to almost slow down. He could read every last rune on its surface as it painstakingly inched closer to him.

CLANG! Impact. His vision went dark and Ulgrin fell back, screaming. Pain filled his skull and warm liquid trickled down his face and into his beard. He could hear his allies yelling. A pained gurgle. Silence. More yelling.

“Is… is the bastard dead?” Ulgrin mumbled, left eye opening a crack. The right side of his face hurt like hell and he couldn’t see. A sharp, jarring jolt of pain filled his skull every time he tried to open his eyelid. A heavy weight tugged his head down at an angle.

“Shit, Ulgrin.” Raelza said with a hiss. “He got you good.”

“Our foe is dead,” Saezz said. “I have crushed his neck.”

Alyss gingerly grabbed his head, cradling it. “Ah, fuck. This is a bad one. I don’t think a potion will heal that. He’s got multiple lacerations from fragmented metal… His helmet slowed the javelin, which is the only reason why it didn’t go any farther than the eye socket.”

“What?” Ulgrin asked, startled. “What do yeh mean?”

“Your eye’s gone, Ulgrin. It’s a mess in there.” Alyss replied, frowning heavily.

“I see.” He began, only to grimly chuckle. “Get it? Hah. Ohh, gods above and below. My eye is gone.” It was almost funny. Teetering on the edge between humor and madness. “Shite.”

His companions were silent for a good while.

Ulgrin grit his teeth, but tried to look on the positive side. “Well, at least I can wear an eyepatch now. How does ‘Pirate Lord Ulgrin’ sound?”

“That’s awful.” Raelza said, though her lips curled up. “You’re not fit to be a lord of anything, let alone a Pirate Lord.”

“Saezz believes an eyepatch would suit you well. It would add a certain air of mystery. We just need to get you a proper hat to wear. It is honestly a crime that you do not look properly sorcerous.” He paused. “Wear this injury with pride. We fought for a good cause, friend.”

“Those poor folk, they’re alright, yeah?” Ulgrin asked, worried.

“Looks like they’re all below decks.” Alyss replied. “I’ve already put out the alchemical fire, so it shouldn’t spread. Ulgrin, we’re gonna have to get that javelin out of you. It punched through bone and is stuck. Luckily it didn’t puncture your braincase, but it’s a close thing.”

“And that’s gonna hurt like a bitch, aye?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

“It is. Saezz, please hold him down. Bite on this.” She tore the scabbard off of a dead man’s belt, thrusting the leather into his mouth. Ulgrin complied, ignoring the foul taste. He felt Saezz’s strong arms hold him down tightly, pressing against the ship’s deck. Raelza sat on his legs.

A moment of silence filled the air as Alyss wrapped her arms around the javelin.

“Alright. Any preferences?” She asked, pausing.

“Eh…” He spoke through the gag. “Count of three, lass.”

“Right.” She gripped it tightly. “One. Two.” Suddenly she jerked and pain filled his entire being. His vision went black, tinged by red. It felt like someone was cracking his skull open.

Ulgrin fell into a blissful unconsciousness. The last thing he thought was; she didn’t even say three!

And thus we face the consequences of our choices. Ulgrin's going to be missing an eye. Not a crippling injury, but a major one nonetheless that will stick with him for a while until the party can get their hands on some serious ingredients. But a victory is a victory nonetheless.