~Quo~
Alquorien had a massive headache blooming just above his right eye. Unfortunately, he would have to do his best to ignore it, as he and his crew ran up the stairs, trying to be fast. It was hard, what with the boat beginning to sway like a swing from left to right.
Once they reached the deck, he took a pause to swig from his flask. A rush of mead swam down his throat and warmed him up a bit. Much better. His head still throbbed but his brain became loose, clear even. He could relax. He took another swing for good measure.
Quo bounded off again, trying to see where his fellows went. It was hard with the night so dark, not much light seeping through and the waves crashing about! Water seeped around his feet. There were ship men everywhere, shouting orders and pulling ropes but alas his own crew must have been across the deck already. He could not miss this. It was his destiny.
Quo fought to stay upright as he continued his way, nearly falling over as men bumped into him. No one gave him a second glance, how rude. Eventually, he saw Matis and then Di. Waterwell and Long Boar not far off, staying back it seemed. Best fighters my ass. Staying back like nancies!
"Well?" Quo shouted over their impending storm. Di looked troubled and pointed out. There was nothing ahead. Just feral waves crashing over and over, practically asking to wreck the ship. If they had gone on any other boat it would likely have been wrecked, but this was no ordinary boat. He and Matis sought them out, after hearing stories about them living through worse.
Quo looked back and saw Matis take her hand. A pang of jealousy hit again. Now really isn't the time, you fool. He wanted to slap himself. He felt suddenly quite alone. Just look back at the water. She's got magic, she knows something is coming.
He felt something hit him from behind and turned his head before the howling wind seemed to slap him as well. All around him was a light glow, from Di. A protection spell. Nevertheless, Quo stumbled backward, into Matis, unprotected from the wind. Matis held him up with his other arm, before pushing up back upright.
The howling grew into a vibrating sensation.
"What the fuck is it?" Quo yelled at Di.
"I'm not sure," she shouted back. "It's not good!"
"No fucking way," he grumbled. A large being crashed out from the waves and slammed into the boat. It was larger than four mean at least and there was another right across -- tentacles. Neither of the monster tentacles broke anything or hit anyone, but they were certainly frightening, what with the storm happening around them and people running around.
Quo wielded his sword and ran to the tentacle closest to him, watching as it released, only to slap the ship again, harder. He and a few others went forth and stabbed at it. It barely cut the first layer of skin. Quo didn't care, he hit it again, lengthwise, going for a slice instead. It bled more, a sickly black ooze, but still, it was just a nick in the skin. The tentacle receded again, flying into the air. It seemed to know who he was as it charged down towards him.
The protection spell barely worked. The tentacle tried to hit, but ever so slightly, it rebounded to the floor next to him, still causing him to lose some footing. He backed up, but still went at it, this time hacking at the tentacle. He couldn't tell who was with him, but other men around him hacked at it, too. Quo didn't care. He knew he needed to fight, he needed this.
The tentacle was beginning to look a little ravaged, but it was still intact. As was the other one. Quo backed up even more as it seemed to be angry, clutching at the boat and receding once again. The floorboards began to show some damage as it went, with one sticking into the crevice he made. Quo looked up to see Matis and the other two staring back at him, Di staying back by a pillar.
"This is shit!" Long Boar hollered.
The tentacle completely receded with its twin, back into the water. Quo felt his heart pound. From experience, he knew only something worse was coming for them.
Suddenly, something whipped the boat, making a large cracking noise but not causing any damage. Not any tentacles or any physical object, it was lightening. A fire started, creating a barrier between the port, his side, and the starboard, where most of the pirates fought. Quo ran forth to the edge of the ship.
"No!" He heard someone shout behind him, but he couldn't be bothered to find out whom. Looking down caused a fantastic feeling. The boat stopped swaying and the wind wasn't howling. No. It was singing. The song was graceful and sweet, better than anything he'd ever heard. He laughed in complete joy.
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He felt hands around him, but he whacked at whomever they were. Something -- the spell -- slid off him. He didn't need it anyway. This was safe. This was peace.
And then, a beautiful person rose up in the waters. They had a glow that simply sparkled in the harsh green water. It was a man. He smiled at Quo.
"My prince," he called out. Quo felt a blush come over him. The man was beautiful. Even with only the light of the growing fire behind him, Quo could see he was tan, with short curly black hair, and well-toned. He reminded Quo of someone he knew, although he couldn't think of anyone else's face with the man in front of him. Lovely dimples.
Quo heard some splashes and immediately thought he's waiting for me! He flung himself in too. The water was biting but the man swam over. Quo heard the song emanate from around him. Bliss.
"I have something for you," the man's voice was deep and burly. Quo took his hand and let the man bring him forth, below the crashing waves. The man had the strength of ten horses, or so it felt as he pulled Quo down the to the depths of the ocean, water rushing into his system.
~Di~
She watched in horror as the men around her jumped right into the sirens' waiting arms. Her magic mattered not. She could pull and pull on her safety spells, yet they each were able to fight against it. Only Matis stayed, but that was because Di held onto his arm for dear life. She braced her feet on the side of the boat, having slid forward from trying to hold him back, using all of her might and power to hold him in. The moon was gone, but she knew it was up there, it had to be. She tried to wield her magic around him, like a rope on the water it kept sliding off.
All around her the howling had turned into screeching, yet she knew that's not what the men heard. It was the screams of her evil siblings- the sirens. Mermaids. The fae from the other half of the coin. They were nasty and powerful beings, able to use their magic in almost any setting, but especially in the water. She was no match, as a halfling Moon Elf. Her magic was not strong enough to fight whatever powers they were using. It was completely warded off Matis.
Her husband whipped his head around, black ringlets swishing in the air. His eyes were fierce, angry orbs.
"Husband! Please! Listen to me, hear me!" She pleaded, trying to make her voice higher than the screeching. He either didn't hear her or didn't care, because he took one of her hands in a crushing grip and pulled her up. Dangling in the air, she wailed.
Matis was completely gone. The irises in his eyes had become massive and turned them from brown to black. The song must have sounded so lovely in his head, she couldn't bear to look at the siren in the sea waiting for him. She already knew it would look like herself, but perhaps with red eyes and a tail for legs.
He threw her into one of the mast poles and dove so quickly Di could only scream. He was the last one. The last man. The storm slowed and the boat's crashing became a gentle rock again. Di laid for a long time, thinking as the fire seemed to quell on its own around her.
By the time the moon was beginning to set and the sun rose, she felt a small hand on her head. She looked up -- Lioni, Lana, Harrien, Saydree, Treth, and Po had finally come up. Each as shocked as the last, save for the dwarf whose face hardly ever changed. Saydree looked the most melancholy, probably as lost without her captain as Di was without Matis. Her beautiful red hair was matted down by water and brown eyes were glistening. Harrien, the elderly maiden kept an arm around Saydree. The only survivors were them -- the women, the boy, and the dwarf.
"What was it?" Lana asked. The boy ran across the deck as if he could find anyone else. He seemed frantic, searching in the debris of wood and smoke and water.
"They were sirens," Di replied tiredly. The sun was beaming as if nothing had just occurred hours prior.
"Infested waters," Saydree mumbled. Harrien shushed her and pet her head. Saydree shook it angrily before continuing, "No! He called these infested waters! He knew! That fucking idiot drove us right into this, he knew."
Di raised an eyebrow.
"They all knew," Treth replied, his voice scratchy and irritating as ever. "It was part of the agreement. Find the sirens, find the treasure."
"What else do you know, gruk?!" Di's fists balled in anger. How dare this creature be so secure in his knowledge. How dare he know everything and leave her in the dark.
"We must save them," he looked up at her. His beady eyes were harsh, but the truth was in them. Di looked at everyone again. She had four kitchen maids, one of which was elderly, a boy barely in his teens, and a fucking dwarf. The most useless people she could have in such circumstances.
Di stood up. Her body was beginning to feel the weariness and tiredness as it did when the sun rose, but she could not stop. She thought carefully before speaking again.
"Who knows how to man this ship?" The other four women raised their hands. Po was not in hearing range, having sat down in a pile of black ash, head in his hands. Di continued, "And who knows any magic?"
Not one.
"Dwarf?" She hated having to do this, but she no other choice.
"I can swim, and I can take any potions an elf may," he responded. No anger or resentment in his voice. They had to work together. All the fibers in her elf instincts wanted to tell him to stay behind, but she couldn't go after them by herself. Even just the two of them, it wouldn't be easy. Di nodded in reluctance.
"My maidens, please watch after our boy," she gestured towards him. Lana was the one to nod and rush over to him to gently calm him down. Di trusted them to watch him, she had no other choice. "Come, dwarf. Let's find my stocks and see if we can concoct something to breathe."
The air was so still, she couldn't believe this turn of events. Even the boat was still. For once, the only thing making her somewhat ill was the sun, well that and the thought of trusting a dwarf to watch her back.