Elegance arrives, following Daemon.

The Inexorable is made ready the night prior to departure. Supplies for the journey are stowed away, the sails and oars are meticulous checked and rechecked, and the hull itself is given an inspection by the Ostrian captain of the vessel. The following morning the crews arrive in force, a number of mercenaries from the Valorous Few and other distinguished guests and aides make their own arrivals at the port. Eventually everyone is ushered aboard and in some cases crammed into available spaces due to the large amount of supplies needed to reach the opposite side of the continent without delay or pause.

On the following morning the Inexorable rows from the harbor and makes its way to the open sea at a respectable time and speed. False dawn illuminates the horizon with transient blue-white light higher in the sky while the horizon takes on a dull orange and red color. Onward the ship rows, making use of the sails when they winds are found to be favorable, into the crimson and gold of the rising sun as it cascades like harsh, glaring diamonds across the surface of the sea.

The weather is fare and the morale of the crew is high, which only seems to lend itself to a pleasant journey as the hours trudge onward.

"It's no pleasure cruise," Cambria muses as she stares off the starboard side of the ship. "But all in all, it hasn't been bad. I haven't even felt seasick!" This, by the tone of her voice, clearly indicated such was in and of itself a triumph worthy of celebrating. "I should say if we make it to Ostria with no troubles, we'll have to count ourselves lucky." There's a faint scowl as she looks out over the blue, glittering waves. Then it eases, and a smile takes its place. "It's quite pretty, though, when it's calm."

"If there's no trouble, I don't get to charge you -nearly- as much," Audric says, cheerfully, from a spot that he has, apparently, decided is best for napping. All in dark grays and blacks, with a trio of sword hilts poking over one shoulder, it's kind of obvious the sort of problem he's there to fix. "So there's that!"

The first thing Khanne did when getting on the ship was, well, set her things where they were meant to go. The second thing Khanne did was head towards the bow of the ship's deck and kneel down, arranging some things before her in offering to the Spirits as she speaks a ritual of greeting and protection. She includes Mangata in her little ceremony, touching one of the shell necklaces she wears as she thanks the Goddess for allowing them travel upon the seas in what will surely be a safe journey. She would be found doing the same every sunrise and sunset on the ship.

Once she is in the groove of sailing, her sea legs not as... sea worthy as some others, but not bad for a northern woman. Khanne's had some practice as of late... she converses with the others, smiling at Cambria who is thankfully not seasick. "Here's to hoping we are lucky then." Looking out over the horizon, she nods. "It is, very.. yes." She grins towards Audric, who she knows only barely.

Daemon was no stranger to ships thankfully, despite his Oathlands roots that denoted him as someone who would definitely sink if they threw him in. From his own perch he's staring out over the waves, one arm rested atop the bannister while the other holds a book aloft in front of his face. He's of course wearing that new blade of his with pride as it dangles from his belt. Though he might be surrounded by the unfamiliar all the same so far from home, if it bothered him he wasn't showing it. Though that may or may not have had something to do with the fact that he had his nose buried in the pages as he leaned over the starboard side, nearly white locks blowing in the breeze ever so slightly. "Dangerous cruises are so nauseating..." He'd comment aloud to the group. "Let's hope we keep this weather and this level of anyone wishing us dead. Pointedly zero at the moment."

Khanne checked perception + investigation at difficulty 25, rolling 23 higher.

Cambria checked perception + investigation at difficulty 25, rolling 9 lower.

Daemon checked perception + investigation at difficulty 25, rolling 3 lower.

Audric checked perception + investigation at difficulty 25, rolling 3 higher.

Following Khanne's observations paid to the spirits, the winds seem to blow just a little harder. In the favor of the Inexorable. The sails are suddenly flush with winds and rowers work their oars just a little harder, creating a rythmic slap as the galley slices through the tepid summer waters. Those same waters only seem to become more and more ideal as the journey continues onward with the waves being gentle and inviting, as though they too sought to carry the vessel with greater haste to its destination.

The Marquessa of House Mazetti acknowledges Khanne when she nears her side with a nod of her head. "Thank you for that," Cambria says concerning the ritual and prayers. "I cannot admit to being the most devote of women, though neither do I wish to keep from the gods their due." Her hands clasp behind her back, and Cambria's attention turns to both Daemon and Audric. There is a faint smirk, but she does not deign to reply to the quip about payments.

"It's basically a failed trip if at least one person or thing doesn't try to kill me," Audric says, his tone dry, though Khanne and Daemon both get a grin of recognition. Then the sellsword's head tilts slightly to the side, looking off into the distance. "Hey, there's a thing out there. Boats aren't my thing, so I dunno if we care about floating junk."

As she looks off over the waters, Khanne squints her eyes a bit. "Uhhh..." She turns to look towards the others, and the captain before settling her misty-grey gaze back to the sea. "Anyone else seeing this? There seems to be a lot of debris out there..." She nods when Audric mentions it as well. More quietly to Cambria, she adds, "I've been to sea far too... uhh.. more than I ever thought I would be, that is. I have seen the powers of both, and feel incomplete now if I do not thank them and ask for their guidance. Spirits and Mangata alike."

The knight returns the smirk with a warm smile of his own back to Cambria, while the rest of Daemon's attention settles between Audric and Khanne in kind. "You seem to find yourself in many-a situation where something or someone has tried to kill you. Remarkable, really." He says in good humor toward the man as his eyes move onto Khanne fully. "Debris?" A quirked brow. "Perhaps a shipwreck, or we've drifted close to a pirate's would-be territory."

"Hm?" Cambria intones, looking this way and that, yet not in the direction of the debris. "What's that? I don't see anything." Her head continues to swivel. "Point it out?" She asks of Khanne. When Daemon mentions pirates, however, Cambria, frowns. "I don't have time for pirates," she grunts. Then, beneath her breath, "Or the coin for the Captain-General's surcharge."

"I'm kind of a shit, there's a lot that wants to kill me," Audric says, cheerfully, and produces a flask from somewhere, taking a drink as he pushes himself to his feet, sauntering towards the edge. "Pirates?! I haven't fought pirates in -ages-! Oh, I hope it's pirates."

"Just there," Khanne says to Cambria, pointing towards the debris about a mile off. Turning towards Audric, she says, "if anything tries to kill me, I will just assure them they are mistaken, it's surely you they are after..."

"My better judgement says to continue wishing that we have zero pirates attempting to kill us." Daemon's lips twist a bit as he folds the book into a leather pack around his belt, his eyes set toward the horizon slowly. "But... I will admit, it'd be nice to have fewer threats harassing any and all sailors. I'm sure they've enough on their plate lately!" His palm is already circling around the pommel of his blade. Not quite giddy with excitement, though clearly more ready than just being on guard.

"There's nothing for it but to bring us a bit closer," Cambria says, shading her eyes with a hand as she finally (or so she thinks) locates the debris. "I'll go confer with the captain. If anything, we can all feel confident in Baron De Lire, who has more swords than he has arms. He could turn them into a veritable storm, I am sure."

"Of course! There's hardly a chance that there'll be enough for me, let alone enough fighters to split -between- us," Audric replies to Khanne, before turning his smirk on Daemon. "If it is pirates, care for a wager? If you can kill as many as I do, I'll... uh... are you a plate or a leather type of person?" Then, to Cambria, "I can hold the third with my teeth. It's an old style."

"I would.. rather not have a share. Feel free to hog them all..." Khanne says to Audric with a chuckle. "I'm not meant for such things..." She shakes her head, then nods to Cambria as she goes to speak to the captain. Turning to Daemon she says, "I am with you... rather wish for zero pirates... uh, should I put on my leathers?" She wrinkles her nose, not wishing to put them on in this heat, but of course, she will if she must.

"Always a plate man, my friend! Oathlands specialty!" Daemon calls back to Baron De Lire cheerfully with a clap that rattles straight to his steel suit's core. "... Which, barring in mind, is going to make it very difficult to swim. So please, do not try to engage them in literal sea-combat. Being bolted to the deck will do me just fine." Even with all the heat he seemed more at home in steel than he did in any normal clothes. Which could be the only sane explanation for him wearing full plate in the middle of a summer day, with the sun beating down.

"Well, better you can use three for those of use who can't use any," Cambria calls out from where she stands, conversing with the Ostrian ship captain. Though the Marquessa had exchanged her silk dresses for cotton and leather, it was plain that the woman landed more to the indolent side of the spectrum than the active. She slept in late and rarely participated in anything too strenuous thus far aboard the Inexorable. Then again, as the ship's actual owner, she was not /expected/ to do anything.

"You can't tell," Cambria then shouts. "Sir Daemon is a proper Oathlands knight. It's plate or nothing!" She then laughs. "Actually, it's plate or more plate. I cannot imagine Sir Daemon would ever be caught in nothing."

"I don't have mine on," Audric says, gesturing to the silk outfit he's apparently decided to wear. "I can't imagine it'll become a problem! Just stand behind me and you'll be fine." Then he lets out a laugh, shaking his head. "You Oathlanders! I think the Marquessa's right, though - I've only rarely seen one -not- in full plate. If you can keep up with me, I'll be both thoroughly impressed and I'll buy you a set of rubicund. If you can't, uh... I don't know, think of something mildly unpleasant. I don't know what Oathlanders dislike beyond breaking vows or whatever."

Khanne smirks and presses her lips together. "I mean... I've seen them out of.... well, nevermind." She shakes her head and looks out to the debris again, subtly moving to stand behind Audric, slowly.

The Inexorable shifts direction along with the sound of the oars on the sea as it comes about to head toward the south-east and continues onward for some time. The sails are douse as they lose the wind and the oars take over the majority of the forward momentum. As the galley slices through the water like some great serpent on the prowl for prey on the surface, the debris comes closer and closer. It takes nearly twenty five minutes for the distance to close and as it does the scene begins to unfold.

At first the debris is sparse and thinned out, a plank here or a body floating there which the sea-life has already found and began to tear into, painting the immediate vicinity with the ruby flood of humanity leaking into the sea.

As the galley slows, rowing carefully and those not working the oars begin to move to the railing of the galley in order to keep an eye out, a call goes up from a marine from the Walled City by the Sea, “There!”, he calls out as he jabs a gloved finger into the water about 30 yards out, “A Grimhall flag!”

In the direction where the soldier jabs his finger a Grimhall flag floats at the surface, though each new wave that washes across the fabric threatens to drag the flag into the depths. Shortly beyond that the debris becomes thicker, larger. Sections of hull from some shattered ship floats on the surface, with bodies clinging to it. While most seem to lift their heads and look to the approaching galley with their desperate eyes, in soaked leathers and half-rotted furs. Yet others are not so fortunate as one body, clinging to a small section of hull which rolls with the waves, is another leather and fur draped sailor. The man was, at one point, no doubt a brutish man. Since the wreck took place however, he’s become half the man he used to be. Where his waist and below had been hanging in the water while he clutched to his impromptu life raft, something had risen from the depths and snipped his body in half. Only by chance has his grubby hands remained gripped to the boards of the debris.

"Rubicund? How generous!" Daemon calls back, that grip on his blade becoming all the more anxious. Granted they could be entirely /wrong/ about pirates... But now he did honestly want to see some pirates. First time for everything, right? "If I can't, I'll drink an entire wine bottle. Last time I had three glasses and threw up!" His voice carries that cheerful tone all through it. "Really I am quite the light-..."

Daemon's eyes slowly turn back to the sea as the shout from the crewman goes out. His expression slowly changing from one of boasting and jest to one more morbid and mortified. "Oh... Gods." A gauntlet moves to cover his mouth at the horrid sight. "These people were torn apart..."

Cambria checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 12 higher.

Khanne checked composure at difficulty 20, rolling 9 lower.

"Who!?" Cambria exclaims, leaning upon the rail and peering down to Khanne. Only, by that time, a marine is calling out, pointing, and Cambria cannot help but look. Her reaction is not quite akin to Daemon's, though she does lift a hand to her mouth momentarily. As it falls away, she mutters, "Oh my."

Turning to the captain, she says, "We should not linger here. But..." Her eyes slant back to the body, and her frown grows thoughtful. "Have the men haul up that flag, and the body. Perhaps there is something on him that we can return to Grimhall."

"Oh, that's rough," Audric says, entirely lacking in mortification or horror. "Ho, survivors! Were you pirates?" he calls out, cheerfully. "I really want to kill some pirates, but if you weren't, I probably won't!" The sellsword tips his flask up, taking a drink, before leaning out over the edge to peer over the debris. "If whatever ate that person is what did this, it's probably pretty big. I bet it'll taste -great-."

WHile the others talk and do sailor type things, Khanne, the not-sailor, is quiet, watching the waters and the debris as it nears. The first body she sees has her pressing a hand to her chest, trapping a shell amulet between her palm and where her heart might be. Her lips turn down, frowning. When the flag is pointed out, she murmurs a saddened, "noooo..." into the wind, knowing the flag for her friendships with some Grimhalls. The pale woman turns several shades, it seems, more pale, the pink fading from her cheeks to be replaced by a bit of s sickly sallow when more and more blood, gore, and bodies is seen. Tears spring to her eyes and she shakes her head, beginning to whisper soft words to the winds, and presumably, the Spirits. "Some," she manages to say in a louder, but shaky voice. "Seem... alive?" Is she wrong? There, that one, looked towards them... didn't he? She continues to frown, and can't seem to tear her watery eyes away.

Cambria also includes an order to rescue the survivors, naturally.

She isn't heartless!

Daemon only looks on for a few moments more before he shakes his head free of any continuing horror. Never mind the grieving, action first! His first intent is to move along with the crew when Cambria signals her orders, immediately helping provide an extra strong set of hands in hauling. "I'm not sure normal pirates did this..." He muses. "At least, pirates do not usually rip and tear like beasts. Not the ones I've ever encountered."

Khanne checked perception + investigation at difficulty 20, rolling 29 higher.

Audric checked perception + investigation at difficulty 20, rolling 6 higher.

Daemon checked perception + investigation at difficulty 20, rolling 0 higher.

Cambria checked intellect + etiquette at difficulty 15, rolling 8 higher.

The Inexorable slows to a stop amidst the debris and field of bodies, both living and dead. Those bodies still living begin to call out to the ship in incoherent shouts as they thrash or swim their way toward the galley. The soldiers at the rails stand ready to receive them as they ready ropes. The Grimhall flag, as ordered, is retrieved after a few slaps of a gaff hook against the water. Eventually it is successfully snagged and pulled aboard. The sailors left adrift begin to draw closer to the edges of the boat, while the thrashing seems to create a new sense of urgency. One sailor is suddenly dragged beneath the water’s surface with a gurgling scream, only for a bloom of crimson to spread throughout the water. That fresh blossoming of life’s blood only seems to throw the sailors who still live into further panic as they quite literally begin to grope and claw at the hull of the galley in a bid to climb aboard. In total approximately twenty five still survival...make that twenty four. All of which are screaming incoherently, wide-eyed and terrified as they seek to climb aboard the galley in a bid to escape the increasingly deadly waters and reach the safety of their savior's ship.

As the flag is dragged aboard, still bearing the heavy scent of salt water and tinged red by the blood that has been churned into being within the water. The attentive eyes of Baron Audric de Lire, Marquessa Cambria Mazetti, Sir Daemon Dracone, and Lady Khanne Halfshav may take note of a peculiar fact of the Grimhall flag; the cross is atop a mountaintop.

When one of the survivors is pulled under, Cambria's eyes grow wide. Her fingers tighten about the rails, and she can bear heard to ask, "A shark did that, right? They can do that?" She looks right and left, the hair which she had pulled high atop her head swinging this way and that. "Because of all the blood...?"

Behind the Marquessa, the captain barks orders, his voice loud and stentorian as he urges sailors and marines (and any volunteers), to hurry and pull the survivors aboard. At the same time, he gives orders to the navigator to begin sailing away.

Audric makes a quick little hand-signal to one of the other members of the Few, who promptly skitters off and returns with a bow. Bow in hand, the sellsword sets a foot on the railing, leans into it slightly, and puts an arrow to the string. "You'd think they'd be a little more worried about -our- ship, but probably?" he answers, rolling a shoulder in a shrug, eyes sweeping the water. You know, in case there's a shark that is a threat. Or a person climbing aboard that he doesn't like.

Khanne isn't sure what to be doing at this point, and is still a bit shaken by the sight they sailed into - the naval version of stumbling onto. Her eyes though, stare at the flag when it is brought up, her expression seeming confused by the mountain on it. She tilts her head, then looks into the water. "Um... not to.. I dunno, like.. doubt? But... are we sure they are... friends? The flag looks a little... what is it?" She bites her lip.

"Whatever it is, it's coming for all of them. And if it's large enough, us too." Daemon calls back as he leans far over the rails, assisting in hauling whatever survivors he possibly could amidst their frantic struggles. Though he didn't expect a shark would try to sink the /entire/ boat, but if it got a Grimhall ship...

Audric checked perception + investigation at difficulty 30, rolling 1 lower.

Daemon checked perception + investigation at difficulty 30, rolling 18 higher.

Cambria checked perception + investigation at difficulty 30, rolling 18 lower.

Khanne checked perception + investigation at difficulty 30, rolling 2 higher.

The first of the sea soaked survivors are dragged aboard, gibbering seemingly incoherently. Ratty furs weight them down as they sputter and cough when they’re dragged onto the decks. The crew of the ship, Ostria or otherwise, line the rails in a bid to offer aid. More and more of the survivors are dragged aboard, slowly but surely, as the sailors and marines follow their orders to retrieve the waterlogged sailors from the deadly waters. Once aboard the survivors begin to crawl and shuffle toward one another, forming into an ever-growing knot on the deck.

Cambria observes the process as it unfolds, tight-lipped, hands on her hips. She seems content to leave things to the Captain and his crew. However, at Khanne's words, the Marquessa gives a nod of her head, saying, "You're right." Descending the short stairwell so that she might rejoin the others, Cambria continues. "That's not the Grimhall sigil. I don't know to whom it belongs, but..." Her eyes narrow upon the clot of survivors, bedraggled and frightened as they are. "Friend or foe, I would not leave them to rot at sea. If they prove unruly, then it is not as if we don't have the means to deal with them."

Khanne nods to Cambria, but remains tight-lipped. She does what she can to help, but keeps a wary eye on the group being saved, who gather en masse. She reaches up to check the sprig of lavender in her hair. She tries to be as confident as the Marquessa, and at least tries to not show that she isn't.

Daemon's eyes dart from man to man as they slowly filter on board, some he helps haul while others he more so oversees. While the lot of them begin their babbling in unknown tongue, he takes notice of quite a few of them in particular. Namely, those that would start taking hold of their weaponry. "... They're holding onto their steel." He calls up to the Marquessa, as the blade Radiance is lifted a third of the way through its sheathe. It's starting to click. The odd flag and the fact that... "These 'Grimhall' troops aren't speaking Arvani either." The man looks poised to move at a moment's notice, his posture entirely defensive in an instant.

"They're frightened," Cambria counters, though her eyes remain narrow, and fixed. "But if they truly wish it, we can return them from whence they came." The Marquessa is indeed confident. Then again, it is hardly as if she is alone, surround by Ostrian marines, as well as members of the Valorous Few. She reaches out a hand to give Khanne's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Now, the trick is finding a way to make our expectations known," she announces, nodding to Daemon as he mentions the fact they don't speak Arvani.

The last of the survivors are dragged aboard, as per orders. The ‘Grimhall’ sailors begins to congregate together, forming a knot on the deck of the Ostrian galley. Each of the sailors is male, with the majority of them appearing practically feral with wild eyes and shaggy beards. A ripple moves among their knot as feet shift about and within a second a loud, guttural shout is roared. Axes, hooks, cleaves, and even the occasional sword is dragged from their scabbards as the haggard ‘Grimhall’ sailors pull weapons. Their back to the rail and the vast majority of them having worked their way into a defensive knot, they’ll no doubt prove a formidable threat now that the wolves have been welcomed into the herd. Or, more aptly, the hydra’s den.

While some were prepared for the sudden attack, yet many others were not. So within those first few seconds screams of pain rise up from the deck as the sailors spring their attack.

Hadrian has rolled 1 2-sided dice: 2

Hadrian GM Roll checked dexterity(3) + small wpn(3) at difficulty 10, rolling 24 higher.

Hadrian has rolled 1 10-sided dice: 10

Hadrian has rolled 1 10-sided dice: 8

In the opening attack the masquerading sailors swing cleavers, swords, hooks, and the like at the nearby Ostrian marines and sailors. One sailor takes a cleaver to the jaw, which spins him about before he drops with a gargling scream to the deck. A marine catches a sword to the throat as he lets out a bubbling gasp, only to fall to his knees where he’s kicked from the end of the sword by the wielder. Others are cut down in those opening moments, ten in total, but soon after it the marines and sailors rally. Drawing their own weapons they prepare to strike back, after the initial surprise has passed.

"How rude!" Cambria shouts, hands balling into fists and one petite foot stamping onto the deck where she stands at Khanne's side. For someone about to be attacked by a gang of water-logged savages, the Marquessa does not appear as distressed as one might otherwise imagine. Indeed, her eyes seem to burn with a wrath that can barely be contained. She reaches out for Khanne again, and if the other woman allows it, will grasp her wrist and tug her towards the cabin.

"Come," she urges. "We'll just be in the way of those who can fight. Besides, I am sure the Marquis would appreciate being informed that we are presently under attack. And," a fleeting grin crosses her features. "He might like the company."

The squeeze to her shoulder doesn't seem to calm Khanne at all, and for good reason. "I knew it....." she murmurs, as Cambria stamps her foot. Before she can do anything stupid, Her wrist is taken by the other woman and she is being taken away. She tries to grab her bag on the way, and her bow, slinging it over her shoulder even as they move to escape into the cabin. Once safe, she would slip into her leathers, at least some of them, and stand watch of the door.

Daemon checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 10, rolling 42 higher.

Audric checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 10, rolling 62 higher.

There's a brief flash of near reflective steel as Daemon's blade is drawn with force behind it, swinging high into the air for a moment before the man drops low in a martial stance. It mirrors much of the posture of any Oathlands knight, practiced to a fine art in itself when he imitates it. As the ten sailors meet their fate, its Daemon charging in behind them. The blade Radiance swinging forth to meet the throat of one Shav that strays too far forward of the pack, a spray of crimson following in its wake. Steel clashes and the business end of the blade's pommel is driven into the next 'Grimhall's' face before he too is cut down. It seems he's dived right into the thick of it, and with another few slashes two more fall at his feet.

Hadrian GM Roll checked dexterity(3) + small wpn(3) at difficulty 25, rolling 14 higher.

Hadrian has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 3

Hadrian has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 1

Hadrian has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 1

Hadrian has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 1

Hadrian has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 3

Hadrian has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 2

Hadrian has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 2

Hadrian has rolled 1 3-sided dice: 3

Oh hey, pirates! Audric draws two of the swords off his back, spinning them once in his hands and breaking into a wide, manic grin. "I knew it! My sword's -so- hungry, too!" he says, cheerfully, and promptly flings himself towards the group. There's an controlled sort of economy to the sellsword's movements, despite his cackling the entire time, and it's not long before blood's flying through the air and six bodies at his feet, blood turning his manic grin nightmarish. "Surely, you all can do -better-!"

Hadrian has rolled 1 6-sided dice: 4

Daemon checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 20, rolling 25 higher.

Audric checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 25, rolling 25 higher.

Two of the shav masquerading as Grimhall turn on Daemon as he hurls himself into the thick of their fighting component. Sir Daemon wreaks havoc, but so too does Audric when the Captain-General leaps into the fray. Screams of pain and death cries ring out as the pair excise the rot that has sullied the deck of the ship. Immediately some of the shav fall in on Audric and Daemon in an effort to eliminate that threat. Others on the perimeter of the group keep their attention focused outward as they desperately fight to push back the defenders of the ship and keep from being overwhelmed.

Cambria checked command + leadership at difficulty 15, rolling 22 higher.

"Are you good with that thing?" Cambria asks while the pair of them hide inside the cabin long enough for Khanne to change, perhaps to Hadrian's surprise - or not! There's then a small, annoyed laugh from the Marquessa as she says, "I won't be much help. But maybe I can call out warnings, or help you with your shots...?"

Whenever, and whatever, answer Khanne gives, Cambria immediately flings open the door of the cabin to assess the situation on deck. The scan is done quickly, and efficiently, because the woman begins to shout to sailors and marines alike; words of warning or direction, pitching her voice in such a way that it is heard over the clamor of battle. Like a true commander, Cambria chooses to lead from the rear!

Khanne checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 15, rolling 22 higher.

Khanne wields Bloom's Fall, a rubicund bow.

Daemon has rolled a critical success!
Daemon checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 102 higher.

Audric checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 25, rolling 25 higher.

"Ehh... I can do okay with it... " Khanne says to Cambria after merely tossing on her leather tunic before the Marquessa begins to head back out. She nods and says, "warnings would help.. yeah... or point out shots to be taken. Both would be good..." They exit the cabin and Khanne lifts her bow, knocking an arrow into place and looking for a good shot. She is able to send one arrow flying into a fake Grimhall easily enough. Quickly grabbing another arrow, she takes aim again, her bow soon singing as it releases another arrow which finds its way to a pirate, ending its misery... or rather, their own misery of having him aboard the ship.

Daemon's sword just barely managed to catch an oncoming cleaver, the diamondplate grinding against it as the two locked briefly. In the meantime, another had rounded on him, his armor heaving with a loud 'CLANG' as the man's blade did its best to pierce it. Thankfully it was thick enough to only leave a small pain, but that very same one was the spark to ignite him into action again. Spinning clockwise, his blade slices the poor Shav's offending hand off and sails clean in an arc through his friend behind him. As more close in, he's like a whirlwind, swinging from left to right as the attackers clatter to the deck. All the while he makes barely a sound, just pure focus as he strikes from enemy to enemy, and a huff of breath from the exertion.

A contrast to Daemon's focus and near silence, Audric's mad cackle only grows louder as he flicks his blades out, parrying two swipes before ducking out of the way of the third. "You're not even going to taste very good," he says. "Sorry, Stephen!" Then the sellsword steps forward, thrusting with both blades into a pair of unfortunate faces, quickly withdrawn, and then he's on to looking for more targets.

Audric checked willpower at difficulty 10, rolling 5 higher.

Khanne’s precision archery plants arrows into two of the shav, which stumble and fall, only to be further trampled by their fellow shav. Those shav trampled their companions because as Baron Audric de Lire and Sir Daemon Dracone dive further into the melee in their very midst the shav begin to recoil from the pair in panic. Audric brings down another pair, but it is the knight from the Oathlands and his diamondplate sword that truly send them scrambling. Panic sets in and they attempt to flee, one even jumping over the railing and back into the open ocean. A watchful eye may note a behemoth shape rising to the surface, angling for the newly returned food source. The shark glides silently, just beneath the surface of the water as it propels itself forward with a pair of swipes of its massive tail. It takes hold of the shav pirate, ripping and tearing as it begins to drag the sailor deeper into the dark depths.

The remaining bodies on the deck are ordered overboard by the Ostrian captain. Those Ostrian’s who were slain are retained, though later provided a burial at sea. There was little sense in allowing the risk of disease aboard the Inexorable, he would argue if pressed.

The galley is made ready to depart, with marines and sailors alike returning to their stations. The oars are again lowered into the water and it is with a much more somber attitude as the drums begin to pound out their rhythm that the rowers begin to move the galley forward once more.

"Audric! Daemon!" Cambria calls out. "Keep one alive!" Then, quite beneath her breath and thus unable to hear by anyone during the ruckus, "...Clap him in irons and let him rot below decks for a while." Unfortunately, however, neither man nor the marines engaged in fighting were able to heed this particular order. And the one that they might have taken (or not) chose to leap to an arguably more gruesome death in the jaws of a shark. Seeing this, Cambria curses, quite ignobly, and thumps her fist upon her thigh.

She does not linger upon this, though, and instead surveys the aftermath with something of a sigh. A look of chagrin crosses her features as she notes the losses suffered by their own.

After the battle, Khanne helps with the cleanup, her mood far more distant and less jovial, of course, than she was before. Once they set sail again, and it comes time to give the Ostrians and others of their own crew burial at sea, she would work beside whoever of Faith saw to the proceedings, thanking the Spirits for the time the souls were with us in this life. After, she finds a quiet spot to relax, gazing out once more at the waters all around them.

The Ostrian galley, painted to resemble the neck and head of a draconic hydra begins to make speed once again as it skims along the surface of the water. If only there were a fleet, then it would truly look as though the multiple heads of a hydra were traversing the seas. The winds at their back, the waves seem to again shift in their favor, and speed is once again attained. The Ostrian members of the crew are left to think about what had transpired while they row, with some sharing laughter while others share grief. Everyone handles death in their own way. Onward to Ostria, the Walled City by the Sea, the Inexorable continues in order to drop off a Marquis before venturing off to answer a peculiar invitation… or summons.