“Ships in the fog!” Caelum called out.

“Ready guns,” Crixim’s voice was taken up by others and down the decks. Gun tackle rattled as it drew the cannons through their ports.

Crixim took out an Orb of storm calling his mana spreading from his hand through its surface to the core.

Clouds roiled together into a storm, darkening the skies as flashes arced between them. The feeling was heady controlling a storm itself. All that power, that restrained fury.

Obscure their ability to see.

The clouds spread out, darkening the area around the Demon’s Rest opening. Rain fell in sheets everywhere but Reckoning and Noose. It should make it much harder to spot him, he called the wind and pushed it into the fog and had the wind stir up the water, adding power to the waves in the direction of Demon’s Rest.

“They’ll have to fight their way out of there to get to us. Give the horsemen more time. Hold ready,” Crixim said.

“For once it seems the rains keeping off of us,” One of the sailors said.

The others chuckled, defusing some of the tension and bringing back normality.

Crixim could sense through the storm as he held the orb.

“They’re using row boats to pull out the ships. Bailing them out as they go.” Crixim shook his head.

“Well they’re about to have a real shitty day,” The helmsman said.

Crixim grunted, he called down lightning it struck the rock columns, spraying out some rock, though not nearly the amount he’d expected. Stronger than they look.

One bolt hit the top of the first ship’s fore mast, causing it to explode, raining wood over crew and water, rigging caught on fire, though the rain fought it off.

If I can time the lightning right I can make it hard to hear our fighting. Crixim held out a second orb of storm calling in his spare hand.

The ships kept coming, squeezing out of the channel. The first a three decked beast like his own Noose. Crew were rushing about on the fore of the ship, taming the remaining smoking rigging and cutting away the fore mast.

“Prepare to fire on my command! Ready with Thalios,” He glanced to Emilie, she raised a thumb. “Keep eyes focused on the decking, its going to be a bright one!”

Everyone dropped down beside their guns facing Demon’s Rest. The gunners making final adjustments, others ready with the next load of powder and shot.

He gathered the charge within the clouds, wrestling it like a greased up eel thrashing about.

“Ready! On the upward roll!” He barked, the orb aglow in his hand that was clamped around it. He lashed the wind at the water, making a wave that would hit Noose and Reckoning at the same time.

He waited for the waves to draw them upwards giving the guns greater range.

“Fire!” He released the lightning. Noise overrode everything, dozens of tendrils of lightning needled into the ship that had emerged and the other trying to.

Noose and Reckoning’s full broadsides smashed into the leading ship. Lightning raked the ship, tearing through mast and hull.

Crews worked the cannons. “Ready for full broadside!” Crixim barked. “We’ll time it with the lightning, those behind won’t know what’s going--” Crixim ducked as lightning struck the forward ship and found a powder locker.

The ship’s holed hull cracked upwards and started sinking into the depths.

“Well that’s one done!”

The second ship coming out of Demon’s Rest only had two decks its row boats hauling on the ship as it fought to get free of the channel. Connected to the orb of storm calling Crixim felt the wind and water shift to push the ship faster.

The rowboat crew turned and hurried their paddling to get out the way of the ship, cutting away the lines that kept them connected to it.

The ship smacked one boat out of the way.

Cannons rumbled across the decks and into place.

Shouting ran up and down the decks. “Guns are ready Cap’n!” Urie bellowed.

Crixim looked to Emilie and over her shoulder to the Reckoning. Guns ran out as they were readied.

“Reckoning ready Cap!”

“Ready!” Crixim gathered the lightning. The second ship moved to come around the sinking carcass of the first ship.

Gun ports started opening across its sides.

“As one now! Fire!”

Lightning and cannon fire went off in a cacophony of noise once more. A water barrier snapped around the ship taking impacts, lighting ran through it and cannon balls thinned it out till it collapsed over the ship, making it rock, a third of the barrage tore through the ship.

Cannons were starting to come out of the gun ports and a third ship was out of the Demon’s Rest fog.

Crixim felt the power of the orb dimming as he drew lightning from it and brought it down on the second ship.

It lit up the main deck of the ship, several cannons went off, their shots wild as decking was torn apart and shredded.

The orb collapsed into dust the rain started to fall on the ship, washing it from his hands as he threaded mana into the second orb. He pushed the rain back, the cannons finishing up their reloading.

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“Ready Cap’n!” Urie bellowed.

The third ship was out of the fog, using spells to move itself. A fourth on its way.

The second ship had barely a mast up, two were in the water and dragging. The last attack had to have killed the captain which with the pirates would lead to all kinds trying to claim leadership.

Fires had started in the rigging and were spreading.

He lessened the rain over the ship and brought in a steady wind pushing it back towards the opening.

“Target the third ship!” its ports were open and some guns were sticking out. Can they see through the rain and clouds?

Cannons on the third ship flashed with flame superheated water. Water cannons, going to take more time to charge up in all this rain and wind.

Shots hit the water a couple hitting the ship’s side.

The cannons on the other side targeted the Reckoning.

Adjustments were made across his cannons.

“Guns sighted!” Urie yelled back.

“Reckoning ready!” Emilie said.

“Fire!”

Lightning crackled, this directed towards the fourth ship as its crew raced to ready weapons.

A silver light shone over the ship, a mast exploding down its length as most of the charge snaked through the waters, cracking one of the row boats trying to get back to the safety of Demon’s Rest.

A barrier appeared over the third ship of swirling wind. Cannon shot weakened it till it broke, revealing a mana shield beneath that colored and broke, less than a dozen shots getting through.

Fuckers got defensive measures.

The third ship’s water cannons fired back out at them. The gunners adjusting for the flare of gunpowder shot.

The fourth ship worked for speed, surging through the waters.

We need to take that ship out before it breaks away. If it got past their ships it could turn back and attack them forcing them to deal with two sides of fighting and needing to manouver so their T didn’t get crossed.

“Load Ghostly shot! I’m tired of these barriers!” Mages and support, target the fourth ship making a run for it!”

The fifth was coming out of Demon’s Rest now. Great another three decker.

Crixim took out the third orb of storm calling. He drew the wind, the water and lightning together into a vortex, guiding it into the third ship. The mages fought back, but they fought the storm itself. The vortex hit the ship and started shredding through it.

His mages used their staffs, unleashing weapons formed of mana, water and wind against the fourth ship. It moved so quick they needed time to adjust their aim.

Cannons ran up into position.

“Fire as you bear!” Crixim yelled, his muscles bunched as the vortex tore up the third ship.

A flare of power battered against Crixim, causing a backlash. Crixim staggered, grabbing onto the railing with his hand now filled with the orb’s dust, mana channeling into the third orb of storm calling.

Cannons fired across the ship, striking out at the fourth ship.

Hits went through the sides of the ship’s hull and tore through the inside of the ship. The crews training showing.

The smaller ship fired back, Crixim frowned.

“Fourth ship is using ballista!” Caelum yelled. “Fifth’s ports are opening!”

The largest ship turned to present its starboard side to Noose.

“Barrier!” Crixim yelled.

Some crew grabbed onto the ship, others planted their feet, mana travelling through their limbs to the runes Valter had burned into the wood.

Water cannons fired, a favorite of the pirates. Powder was a rare resource and one carefully guarded. It didn’t require mana to fire and it was devastatingly powerful. Water just needed an enchanted cannon, water and shot. Pressurize the water, in the barrel heat it up and then let it loose firing the shot.

It was less powerful, mana intensive, but with the killing they did, pirates all had cores and decently strong ones at that. They were faster to reload, but the guns wore down with the superheated water and their accuracy was rough.

A barrier snapped up around the ship.

Cannon balls struck against it and the water. The ship rocked, the crews reloading the cannons with grim determination even under fire.

They were a damn good crew.

“Recover!” Crixim yelled as the cannon fire petered out. He threw lightning down against the fourth ship.

Masts were torn apart and fires set. Cannons fired on the ship, it fired back ballista that struck the hull without any real damage.

The large fifth ship turned to port and fired on Reckoning. Her barrier snapped up to take the hits.

The third ship was taking on water, the second was ablaze, the fourth was battered. Fires spreading over her upper deck, barely checked. The First was broken sections of flotsam.

The ship shuddered under another round of cannon fire, flinching back from the impacts and starting to list.

“Reload all guns, aim on the three decker!” Crixim yelled.

He took the charge that had built up and directed it at the ship. Lightning danced across a shimmering shield, like water on an egg the lighting ran around the barrier to hit the water, tearing through it as it grounded out.

He checked on the Reckoning its cannons firing against the Pirate ship.

Crixim felt the storm trying to get free from him. Another spell, or piece of gear trying to take control away from him. Crixim reached for the wind and water. He depressed the sea ahead of the three decked ship, it lurched into a wave trough, blocking its lower cannons from firing.

Crixim brought the water away from the ship and pushed back against it, fighting the magics its crew and ship were using, while keeping two decks of guns below the water.

The water and the ship’s crew fought him. He grabbed onto the fourth orb, mana threading through him as the third failed.

Cannon fire raked Noose, the barrier shimmering with strikes. Lightning spells struck. Several staffs put into play.

“Creatures coming in from afar!” One of the water mages yelled.

“Ready the countermeasures!” Crixim yelled.

The third orb of storm calling fell apart. Crixim thrust power into the fourth orb.

The three decked ship surged up out of the water. Its decks ravaged by Ghostly shot passing through its barrier to hit the ship itself.

A spell hit the barrier of shimmering red light. It merged into the barrier and ran through it like a poison, tearing through the barrier.

The pirate’s two lower decks fired as they could, most shots going wide as they didn’t have the angles. Crixim felt the impacts on the hull, some going through, the screams reaching his ears as he fought with the storm orb, creating another trench to drag the ship down into.

Shots crossing back and forth in a mad melee.

A railing disappeared into shrapnel, cutting down half a cannon crew nearby. A line taught with the wind snapped and flew across the deck, bisecting a runner getting powder.

Blood stained his decks as his hull splintered and shattered.

Crew on standby rushed to fill the spaces in the cannon crews. Others to repair the damages, administer healing potions and clear away the wounded and debris.

It was a cruel melee as Criximm brought them low in the water again, taking out two thirds of their cannons.

“Status on the barrier!” He yelled to a nearby mage. Noose and Reckoning went all out with their cannons, battering the pirate ship with their full fury. Spells lanced across the distance, alongside cannon shot.

A mast cracked and collapsed on the ship, digging into the waters as the crew raced to free it. Cannon shot raking the ship.

“Beast near!” Crixim held onto the orb of storm calling, his will fighting against dozens of others. He turned his eyes to the waters around him. A pulse showing the tentacled beasts shooting towards his ships.

“Release counter measures!”

Enchanted harpoons were fired, disappearing into the waters racing to meet the creatures, detonating into wind, the pressure, pushing the beasts, then reversing to crush their internal organs.

Crixim looked back at the three decked ship, it was being torn up, though the ship was holding on. Crixim took out the last thing in the satchel that was thrown over, a runed circle carved into dimantium.

The orb of storm calling crumbled in his hands he infused mana through the ritual circle, taking out ingredients from the satchel and putting it on the circle. The power grew as the ingredients disappeared.

He directed the spell, targeting the three decked ship and the others barely staying afloat. He’d read the instructions several times, hoping he wouldn’t need to use it.

Lirina is going to be angry.

“Rise and serve. Kill the pirates.” He felt the ritual complete, reach out to all those wandering souls that hadn’t let left, binding them back to their cores as power surged into them. A call, a push, a command.

Rain washed over the ship, the wind and water raging against the commands they’d been given to recover and reach their equilibrium with devastating effect.