Painting Towns Red

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

It had been several days since Duke Grayson had left his manor in Etruria and he now found himself in a rather seedy looking tavern in one of the Western Isles. He sat in the corner, nursing a rather poor quality mug of ale. As he sat and observed, four gruff looking men entered the tavern and immediately began harassing the barmaid.

"Oy, why don't you come and entertain us sweetheart?" one of them said.

"Yeah, we've been awful lonely out at sea. We could use some comforting," the other chided. Suddenly, the Duke became filled with rage. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was vulgar treatment of women. He rose to his feet and swiftly hurled his half full mug at one of the men. It collided with his head and shattered, spilling warm alcohol all over the four men. The man who had been hit collapsed to the ground unconscious. The three remaining men turned to Manuel, looks of anger on their face.

"Who the 'ell are you?" one of them asked angrily.

The leader pushed back his two men and said, "Listen, chum. Seeing as you're new to these parts, you probably don't know who we are. We're Barigan's crew and we don't take orders from nobody, savvy? Now why don't you just back down and let us do as we please, eh?"

A look of pure fury lept to the Duke's face and he pounded the table next to him. "I don't... negotiate... with PIRATES!" he shouted furiously as he grabbed his lance and charged the men.

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

As he charged the men, the two behind the leader drew out their swords, but the leader, with a sly grin, drew an axe. Curses, the Duke thought to himself, he knows he has the upper hand. Maybe I can catch him off guard. Just as the Duke drew within striking distance of the pirate leader, he feigned to the right, and leaped onto the table closest to him. He pushed off with his feet, and bounded over the leader and, landing behind his men, struck one the swordsmen in the back. Quickly ripping his lance back out, he whipped it around, striking the other man across the face and creating a decent sized gash on his face. His partner dashed forward, but Manuel quickly sidestepped out of the way. The other swordsman, having made a quick recovery, slashed the Duke across the back. Manuel cried out in pain, but he quickly whipped around and smashed the man's face with the butt of his lance. His nose practically shattered, sending blood spilling across the floor. His partner had made a quick turn-around and was now bounding back towards Duke Grayson. The Duke heard his loud footsteps coming, and at the right moment, thrust his lance backwards, through the man's neck. He collapsed, a gurgling noise coming from his throat. Manuel turned to the other man who was on his knees, bleeding profusely.

"Mercy... please... have mercy," he stammered.

"I already told you," the Duke replied coldly, "I don't negotiate with pirates." With that, Manuel delivered a jaw shattering kick to the man's face sending him spiraling back to his leader's feet. Chuckling, the leader kicked the man aside.

"Well, well, well, looks like we gots us a fighter, eh? Too bad I gotta put ya down," the leader mocked, twirling his axe. But before he could take a step forward, an arrow hit him in the back. A man stood at the table behind him, a bow in hand and a smirk on his face. Duke Grayson took advantage of the leader's moment of confusion, charging forward and using his lance to vault across the distance between them. Once in the air, his armored feet collided with the leader's head, creating some blood-curdling cracking noises. The man collided with the floor with a loud thud, as Grayson wheeled around around and thrust his lance down into the man's stomach.

"But I... But... I had so much... left... to do..." the leader stammered, then went limp. The Duke pulled his lance out and leaned it against the counter. He plopped a few gold pieces down on the counter.

"Sorry about the mess," he said to the barmaid, then, turning to the archer, asked, "And you would be?"

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

"Name's Astin Urlender. I used to be a member of the Lycian army, before I got captured by bandits, and well.... it's been a long road since. But never mind that. Who would you be?"

"I'm Manuel Grayson, Duke of Etruria. But don't let that get in the way. I've left Etruria behind for the time being. By the way thanks for the help back there, that axeman would've been hell without that arrow to the back," the Duke replied, extending his arm.

"Don't mention it," Astin affirmed, shaking the Duke's hand, "Besides, I've been looking for men of your caliber. Listen, it don't take much to realize that we've got some real pirate problems in the area. So, I was thinking about gathering a small crew with some real potential, men who can make a difference in this area. Become a sort of... anti-pirates. So tell me, Manuel, are you in?"

Manuel took a moment to think, scratching his beard. Then he nodded and said, "I'm in. What do we do next?"

"First thing's first, we need a dependable crew. I've already got a couple of mates who rescued me from my captors a while back. They're quite skilled and dependable. We still need one or two more crew members, but I've got my mates handling that. Next, we need a ship. There's a pretty little ship sitting in the harbor and I don't think it'll be too hard to take."

"Alright," Manuel said with a quick nod, "When do we act?"

"We move tonight," Astin affirmed.

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

Later that night, the Duke stood waiting near the docks, eying the boat they would be taking. She was a smaller ship, but she would be perfect for the task he and his crew were undertaking. Soon enough, Astin showed up with his rather motley crew. Alongside the archer were six other men, three carrying axes, two with swords, and a smaller looking kid carrying a black book in his hands.

"Gentleman," Astin said, "Meet your new captain."

The men nodded and their were a few mixed "ayes" from the men.

Manuel tilted his head, confused. "Wait, I'm going to be captain? When did you decide this?

"Well," Astin replied, a smug look fixed on his face, "You've got the most experience and... that's it, I guess. But enough talking, time to get moving." The men quickly moved past the Duke before he could protest further. He shrugged and turned to follow his men. They quickly arrived at their target and stealthily climbed aboard. Most of the men had climbed onto the ship, when one of them stumbled and crashed to the ground, making lots of noise.

"We're under attack!" shouted somebody from below-decks.

[Gorz]

The noise and alarm stirred Gorz from his slumber, and the stench of stale air and seawater hit his nose. He was in a dingy and crowded Crew quarters, and many of his crewmates were stumbling around getting their weapons in preparation for an assault on the ship. One man turned to Gorz and shouted towards him. "Oi, Gorz! Get ready to defend our vessel. I know you cant remember much, but ye at least remember how to handle an axe, eh?"

That's right..... Gorz was a part of this crew, wasn't he? Amnesia was rather annoying, but as long as his shipmates were around, he was sure that he would remember sooner or later. However, now wasn't the time. Gorz had to help the crew repel the invaders.

Grabbing hold of an Iron Axe out of the armory, Gorz followed the other pirates out onto the deck of the ship. Holding the weapon in one hand, he scanned the area, seeing at least eight invaders.

Preparing himself for battle, Gorz locked eyes with an older man. He appeared to be the only lance wielder. He moved forward to engage him.

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

The Duke swore under his breath as pirates stormed onto the deck. One of them, who looked different from the others charged at him. Manuel crouched and quickly assessed the situation. The pirate had an obvious weapon advantage, but Grayson was heavier and better armored than the pirate. And judging by the look of the man, the Duke also had more experience. He crouched and held his lance horizontal, preparing to use his weight to his advantage in an old wrestling technique he learned from an old Sacaen chief.

[Gorz]

"This isn't your ship. Run away before you get hurt, old man." He warned the lance wielder, as the other pirates were busy engaging his the others. Holding his axe in one hand, he stood up straight, with his free hand on his hip.

With a swift movement, he balanced the axe to rest on his shoulder, before charging at the man. He took his free hand and gripped the axe handle with it, and jumped into the air, bringing his axe down towards his opponent with both arms in full force.

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

The Duke saw his opening and surged forward. As the pirate fell down towards him, Manuel forced his lance into the pirate's armpits and flipped him over his head. The man landed behind him, his axe clattering to the side. Leaving the man behind, Manuel scanned the deck and found an archer near the wheel. The Duke dashed to the stairs but the archer loosed an arrow that struck him in the shoulder.

[Gorz]

It happened so fast, he couldn't even tell what happened. He was flat on his back, his axe an arms length away from him. Stretching out, he grabbed his axe, and got back up. He was about to pursue the old man when he was blocked off by someone wielding an axe. "Tch.... get outta my way. This isnt your ship, and if you dont want to end up getting thrown off, you had best leave."

The man didn't even respond, attacking Gorz with his axe. On instinct, Gorz held up his own axe to parry the assault, before swinging back with the blunt end of his weapon to the side of his head. The forceful bludgeon knocked him off balance, and dazed the assailant.

Gorz then looked towards the direction the lance wielding man went off to. He was nearing the ship wheel, getting ready to attack another pirate. He saw him get struck with an arrow, and began to dash towards the fighting men, to aid the archer. Before he could reach them however, another group of men blocked him off.

It was a pair of swordsman. At their feet were the corpses of a few pirates. Gorz furrowed his brow, in annoyance. He was at a clear disadvantage. He backed up a bit and held up his axe defensively.

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

Manuel grunted through the pain and surged forward. The archer tried to ready another arrow, but the Duke beat him to it, swinging the butt of his lance at the bow. The wood snapped like a piece of driftwood and the archer stumbled back, clearly shocked. Without even altering his momentum, the Duke thrusted his lance through the man's chest. He tugged and it came back out with a sickening schlorp sound and Manuel ran back into the fray.

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

Duke Grayson surveyed the situation around him. The pirates were inexperienced and the attack had caught them completely off-guard. The battle was already coming to a close. Astin had climbed into the crows nest and, having killed the pirate up there, was now raining hell down from above. The three axeman were now circled around a pirate who looked Sacaen and fought like one too. He obviously wasn't accustomed to fighting multiple enemies however, as he attempted a feint but was quickly overtaken by his attackers. The results were rather brutal. Two of the pirates had cornered the young boy at the bow of ship. He hurriedly flipped through the pages of his book muttered a string of unintelligible words and two dark balls lept from the boy's hand. The balls collided with his assailants, knocking them to the ground.

As the Duke rushed to mid-deck as large man with an axe emerged for the cabin. Noticing that much of his crew had either been killed or were no longer in a state capable of fighting, he slammed his axe against the deck and bellowed out, "Enough! Who be the man so foolish enough that he attack me ship and me crew in the dead of night. Let the coward show his face to me!"

"That would be me," Manuel said, turning to face the pirate captain. "My crew and I have come to seize this boat and all of it's supplies from the likes of you... pirates," he added, filling the last word with as much disgust as he could muster.

"And what makes ye think you can just take me ship and sail of?"

"Because the times of piracy and corruption in the Western Isles is at an end. Somebody needs to bring the concepts of peace and justice to these people. And that somebody is me, along with my crew. Your ship just happens to be the first step on my journey. Now stand down and relinquish your ship to me," the Duke ordered, his voice booming in the empty night.

"Stand down and relinquish me ship?" the captain asked, stifling a laugh. "There's one thing you need to learn about us pirates. We don't back down from a challenge.So let me offer ye a counter-proposal. A duel to the death. Winner gets me ship and all involved. What do ya say?" The pirate asked, holding up his hands.

Manuel gulped but gripped his lance tighter and locked eyes with the captain. "Alright. I accept."

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

The pirate captain smiled and surged forward at a rapid pace, and Manuel had almost no time to counter the assault. He jumped to the side and let the man pass him, the made a quick jab at his back. The wound was small and the pirate captain shrugged it off with ease. He turned to face the Duke and leaped at him with both axes raised high. They met with a loud clang and the Duke moved to strike at the captain. The captain moved quicker, however, and landed a blow on his thigh. The Duke fell to one knee and used his advantageous position to lodge his shoulder into the gut of the pirate. He stumbled back, breath knocked out of him. The Duke then transitioned into a flip-kick that brought his foot smashing into the Captain's nose. There was a loud crack and blood spurted from his face. The man's nose was flat against his face and rage flashed in his eyes. He surged forward and kicked the Duke in the chest several times. The Captain backed Manuel up to the edge of the deck and delivered a final kick, knocking him overboard. Manuel would have splashed down into the water, except that a large winged lizard had dived under Manuel and carried him to safety. He corrected himself on the Wyvern's back and guided it back towards the boat. The wyvern grabbed the pirate in his claws, ripped him in half, and tossed the captain's remains into the water. The Duke landed back on the deck, triumphant

[Duke Manuel Grayson]

Duke Grayson dismounted his wyvern and patted it's back, sending it back to wherever it had been roosting. He turned to his men and pumped his fist into the air. Victorious shouts erupted from his men. He allowed them to celebrate a bit longer before raising his hand to quiet them down. "All right, men. We've done it! The ship is ours!" The men cheered in unison at this point. "Now spend the night on the town! You've earned it!" Another round of cheers went up. "But remember to get some sleep! we prepare to set sail at first light! Now, go enjoy yourselves!" Manuel finished his speech and the men dashed into town for mirth and merriment. The Duke shook his head, chuckling. He himself headed towards the nearest tavern, eager for a good drink.