The World's Greatest [ solo/ Promotion Thread]

[Orcleous]

The World's Greatest Blacksmith, that was the question Orcleous asked of his information broker. The man had never pointed him in a bad direction and every lead he gave the young sellsword turned out to be true. Orcleous would trust this man with his life, well as long as he had the coin to pay the man's fee of course. Pulling from his oldest and most coveted files, which cost Orcleous a pretty penny, the information broker pulled up the name Gado. The name was unknown to Orcleous, but to every man within ear shock it was a surprise. Surprised by the fact that the man's name mention. Surprised by the fact that he was said to still be alive, and surprised by the fact that somebody was looking for him. Gado was said to be the greatest blacksmith to come from eastern edge of Bern, but arrogance and pride drove him from his home and out to sea. According to the information, which was written to prevent others from hearing, Gado was on a backwater island near the most northern tip of the western Isles.

Desperate and eigr to meet the man Orcleous took ship almost immediately. The mercenary had packed his bags and taken all of his gold. His goal was the little island of Cellcie. There Orcleous was informed he would find the man living by the sea. If Orcleous could go there and convene the man to forge him a legendary weapon then he would be set for life. Rumors surounding the mystical man said that his weapons never break and that his work mirrors the crafts of the gods. Though that was all rose talk and blue berries Orcleous was still looking forward to seeing the man's skill for himself. The mercenary had but one desire from the aged smith and that was for him to build him a shield.

Orcleous did not want no normal shield. He did not want a couple of planks of wood strapped together and glued over with animal hide. No he wanted something with substance. He wanted a shield that could not only take brutal punishment, but looks good while doing so. For a mercenary fame is power. Fame is the difference between being in the front line and watching in the back.

"So this is the Isles", spoke Orcleous as he stared out at the sea. Orcleous had never been here before. As a matter of fact this was the first time he had ever been in a boat. Orcleous was always a land man. Unlike the other sea dogs he was ridding with Orcleous had no idea of ship culture. This very fact would lead to many arguments and fights along the way, but in the end everyone ended up walking away with all limbs in tact. For the first few days Orcleous was as sick as a hog, but after the second time his stomach made adjustments..

[Orcleous]

"It won't be long before we reach Cellcie now", spoke a young boy as he mopped the upper deck. His presence here however caused Orcleous to raise an eyebrow. Normally the cabin boy worked mostly blow deck and would not come above unless he was called for. It seems the young man was finally taking some initiative and began to do his duties himself. It was a good sign, or at least Orcleous thought.

"Good", spoke Orcleous as he looked out onto the waters. There was another ship in the distance, but nobody seemed to pay it no mind. There were plenty of ships that they passed while on there journey. Most of them simply sailed by each other and waved, but a few of them asked for aid or supplies. Despite the fact that the Western Isles were known for its pirates Orcleous had not seen a single one yet, or there was the other side of the coin. Maybe every ship he has seen was a pirate ship, but since he was riding on a pirate ship none of the pirates attacked the pirate ship. At the very least it was something to think about. Staring out into the sea was fun in all, but that quickly got boring and made orcleous wish he had his feet back on dry land.

"So Mr. What brought you out to sea", spoke the young cabin boy as he moved closer to the mercenary. Orcleous however was paying him no mind at the moment. His eyes were fixed on the ship in the distance. At first he was throwing it off as a passing ship, but something about it made him curious. It was almost as if it had just changed directions in response to something.

"Hey kid", spoke Orcleous as he put one leg up on the rail of the ship and pointed toward the vessel in the distance. "You have been out at sea far longer than I have. Is it strange that the ship just changed directions and seemed to beheading out way. I mean every other ship that we came across that wanted to ask for supplies always placed up a white flag and let us come to them, but never...", spoke Orcleous as a sharp pain entered his side.

The young mercenary turned around to see the boy stabbing a dagger inside the gap in his breast plate. A malicious look filled his eyes as a mass of malice radiated off him. At the moment Orcleous had not pieced things together, but his instincts as a mercenary kicked in. "Son of a", he spoke as he turned his back to the rails and use his right leg to kick the boy off him. Lucky for the mercenary he was wearing a leather breast plate under his plate armor chest piece. He started doing that after he left the city of heroes. Some times bolts would pierce the plate mail, but the leather underneath would usually stop them in there tracks. Plus leather was lighter than chain mail. Orcleous was already heavy enough with that single large breastplate.

[Orcleous]

Drawing The Fury Dragon Blade from his hip Orcleous struck out at the boy. However the lad was far quicker than the mercenary had predicted. He avoided the blow with grace and moved across the deck like a swan. "What in the sam's hell has gotten into you lad", shouted Orcleous. It was then that everything started to click. Why was the boy above deck at the time? Why did he try to stab him as he stared at the ship and asked questions? Why was the ship moving toward them? "Pirate", spoke Orcleous and as he spoke a knife flew straight toward his throat. Quickly turning his sword Orcleous was able to deflect the incoming projectile however the young thief had quickly closed the gap. With his knife he attempted to stab the same spot as he did before hoping this time to pierce the light armor Orcleous had underneath. However the mercenary was way ahead of the lad. As he struck Orcleous twisted his body moving the theif's target zone closer toward the center of the breastplate making him miss his mark.

"Not going to work on me", spoke Orcleous as he prepared to swing his sword and remove the boy's head. However the rocking of the ship caused his blade to sway and the young thief was out of Orcleous reach before his blade could find its mark. "Curs this unstable boat", shouted Orcleous! It was his first time fighting at sea and he was already having trouble with the unstable platform. Fighting on a ship was no where near like fighting on land. On land your feel could plant themselves with no worry of shifting, but on a boat that was never the case. Almost all of Orcleous attacks were swayed off its mark by the raging sea.

"What is wrong land lover", spoke the boy as he dashed around Orcleous. The young lad was taking full advantage of his superior speed. "Can't fight straight on the deck of a ship and you can't keep up with my speed." As he finished speaking the boy lunged forward. Orcleous took the bait and swung only for him to stop just outside of his swinging range and move in with another attempt to stab the mercenary. Once again Orcleous moved, but the thief adjusted. His knife this time was not aiming for the whole he had mad earlier, but instead for the leather strap on the side of Orcleous armor. The knife cut through the strap light butter and immediately Orcleous was out of whack. Immediately orcleous countered, but the boy had already retreated.

With the strap cut Orcleous armor was no longer secure. Now every time he swung his blade or moved around his armor would shift throwing the mercenary off balance. If Orcleous continued to fight light this the boy would simply attack on his side again and use the strapless armor gap as a opening. If Orcleous removed the armor all togheter he would be playing into the young thief's hands giving hime exactly what he needed to take him down.

[Orcleous]

With little time before the thief's next assault Orcleous was forced to make a decision. The mercenary quickly cut the straps off the other side of his armor sending the heavy crimson plate slamming into the deck of the ship. "Bad move", spoke the thief as a wolfish smile crossed his face. The mercenary had chosen the option he wanted him too. The boy was now confident he could kill off Orcleous before his buddies on the ship boarded. As he charged forward the thief noticed the mercenary acting weird. Rather than hold his sword to his side or charge forward as he expected Orcleous instead held his sword above his head ready to bring down the blade at any moment. Was the man a fool, thought the boy as he looked into the mercenaries eyes. That kind of strike would be easy to dodge, all he needed to do was dash to the left or to the right while he was bringing down the sword, or better yet faint and let him swing then rush in and slit his throat. If he was on the opposite end of the battle he would most definitely not choose that pose, but then again he was not a fool like the mercenary. He must have fought way to many gentlemen duels thought the boy as he came at Orcleous forward. Dodging to the left and right was far too risky for him. He would rather make Orcleous swing and then simply cut open his throat.

As the thief moved ever closer Orcleous shifted his hands on the hilt of the blade. He wanted to be sure to put enough power to end the thief with a single blow. As the thief entered the range of the tip of Orcleous sword the mercenary swung, and just as the thief expected. As the blade descended the thief jumped backwards removing himself form the range of the sword, or at least he thought he did. As Orcleous sword descended toward the deck of the ship fire erupted from the blade. Orcleous knew exactly was the young thief would think once he took up that pose. It was because of that Orcleous was able to predict him and catch him off guard with his ploy. The fires from the blade spewed forward life flames from the mouth of a dragon itself. Before the thief could react he was already covered with fire. His screams of agony radiated throughout the ship causing a great stir on the deck below.

"Well I better be prepared to explain myself", spoke Orcleous as he placed his sword back in its sheath. However fate had other plans for the mercenary. The moment Orcleous locked his sword back in a great thrashing filled the air. The pirate ship had speed up while the two of them were fighting, and at full speed it rammed directly into the cargo ship. The force from the collision tossed poor Orcleous straight overboard sending him flying into the deep blue.

[Orcleous]

Everything happened so fast. At one moment Orcleous was watching the little rat burn alive and the next he was surrounded by water. On the surface he could see planks of wood and a dagger sinking downward. Below him he could see a dark abyss with no clue to what lies below. Quickly and desperately Orcleous checked his side to see if his sword was still there. Thankfully it was still latched into his sheath, but his iron saber however was not so lucky. Not wanting to drown at the bottom of the ocean Orcleous began to kick and move his arms. He had swam before, but only inside of a pond. He had never been in this much water before. As the mercenary kicked toward the top he saw several other bodies falling into the ocean. Their chest were cut open and their faces dented with axe marks. It seemed that the pirates were doing a good job taking out the ship. It seemed that drowning was not the mercenaries only worry.

"Thank Hartmut", shouted Orcleous as he broke the water's surface. His ears were flooded with the sound of fighting as he grabbed hold the side of the ship. With the strength of his arms he pulled his body out the water and made his way up to the top of the deck. The closer he got to the surface the hotter things became. It soon dawned on him that there was a fire burning on the deck of the ship, though he had no idea how it started, maybe. Still the fire was the least of the crews worries. Pirates were the far greater threat than a small fire started by Orcleous in defense. Still it kind of made him wonder why did the boy's body not fall off the ship when he did.

Without any further delay Orcleous pulled himself up to the deck of the ship. Things were far worse than he thought. It soon became clear to him that he was in fact not the source of the fire as the flames burned even the sails of the ship. There was no way a small fire started by him could burn that fast and that quickly. The pirates must have a mage on there side and one that used fire. From every corner of the ship Orcleous could see shirtless sea brigands running around looting and pillaging. Those who tried to resist, mainly the sailors, were easily cut down and the passengers were rounded up and being marched onto the pirate's ship in irons. The ship was lost, and no way one mercenary could turn the tide of this battle. Still Orcleous could not simply sit back and do nothing. He had to do something or he would be just as bad as the people who raided the ship for plunder. Drawing his magical sword Orcleous began to walk forward.

"Hey", he shouted as he walked through a wall of flames. Inside of his head Orcleous tank the sea for soaking him and his clothing to the bone.

[Orcleous]

Occ: Sorry had to do it, Theme music for the chapter

IC:

"What the", spoke a pirate as he turned and saw the mercenary walk from the flames. The furry in the mercenaries eyes told his completely of his intentions. "Looks like we got ourselves a hero", shouted the pirate as he rushed forward with his axes. He swung the first one aiming to chop off Orcleous head. Instead of trying to block, or move backwards to dodge like the pirate expected Orcleous ducked causing the man to miss entirely and temporary throwing himself off balance. Orcleous however took a step forward placing the pirates back directly behind him. With a quick flip of his sword Orcleus reverse gripped his blade and stabbed it into the man's back. The fires erupted from the tip cooking the man on the inside. From the view of the other pirates it seemed as if there friend suddenly erupted into flames as the mercenary ripped his sword back out.

"What the world", shouted the other pirate! It was the first time he had ever seen a magical weapon. In fact he did not even think they existed, and yet here out on the high seas he had meet a man holding such a weapon. Before he and the pirate next to him could move Orcleous sprung into action. Calling upon the flames of his magical sword Orcleous shot forth a flaming slash of fire. The flames missed the pirates and hit the deck of the ship, but the fire itself caused the tow men to panic.

"What the crap", shouted the man as he took a step backwards. His right leg touched the planks that they used to cross over and by instinct he looked back. This would prove to be a fatal mistake. Like a demon Orcleous rushed through the fire. With a single savage strike the mercenary cut the big man's right arm clean off giving it to the sea as a offering along with the man's axe. "My hand", shouted the man, but his voice was quickly silenced by Orcleous left hand on his throat. It was then that he saw the flames of rage in the mercenaries eyes. Orcleous was no longer looking at him and the pirates as people, he viewed each and every one of them as monster, and monsters were to be killed with no mercy.

With a single push Orcleous throw the man into the sea. His body joined his hand and axe as offerings to the depths. "Johnny", shouted the pirate next to him as he attempted to swing at Orcleous. The mercenary swung with his right arm causing his blade to clash with the man's axe in mid air. To his surprise however Orcleous was the stronger of the two. With a great ping Orcleous had knocked the axe clean out of the man's hand. With a swift left hook Orcleous threw him off balance and stabbed his flaming sword into the man's gut. After filling his stomach with flames Orcleous kicked him into the sea.

"Well well what do we have here", shouted a voice as Orcleous turned his attentions over to the pirate ship. The captain of the pirates had finally brought himself out to the forefront after watching the mercenary off three of his men. The burly man covered with a great beard and scars sat utop the upper deck as his boys sharpened there axes with the thought of ripping Orcleous to pieces. From the mercenaries count they numbered in maybe fifteen. Far to many for him to kill in a straight battle.

[Orcleous]

Orcleous stared at the big man as he gave off a massive grin. With his soldiers just a deck bellow and with them outnumbering Orcleous fifteen to one victory seemed absolute. Toward the back of the ship on the upper deck were all the captured passengers. Some of them were women, some children, and a few of them were sailors from the vessel Orcleous and his fellows were sailing on. "So some of the sailors did survive", spoke Orcleous out loud. The calmness in his voice and the lack of fear in his eyes struck a cord with the leader of the pirates.

"Argg, I hope you don't plan to beg for mercy lad", he spoke as he pointed his cutlass at Orcleous. "Ye killed a good bit of me crew and as a response I am going to have ye walk the plank! So you might as well die on ye feet, because there be no mercy here laddy." "Argg", screamed the other pirates as the edged toward the mercenary. Orcleous however still remained calm. He understood that if he let his rage or his emotions take over him he would make a mistake and a mistake in this situation would result in his bloody death. Rather than try to take this force head on Orcleous began to use his mind. He did not survive all of these battles just because he had a strong arm and a wide back. Orcleous survival was credited to his use of his mind and taking advantage of situations. Before the mercenary made his move he looked around at the pirate forces. There was maybe two lance users, three swordsmen, but the rest of them wielded an axe. Not one of them had a bow. This would prove to be there fatal mistake, thought Orcleous.

Without a word to the pirates Orcleous swung is blade and sent a ball of fire flying off. The action caused many of the pirates in the front to take a step back, but to there surprise the flames flew off in a totally different direction. With a single motion Orcleous set the second set of planks connecting to the ship on fire. With the fires burning strong Orcleous removed the secondary path to the ship from use. "Now you have only one way to come and get me", spoke Orcleous as he looked at the pirates. "One by one", he spoke as he looked at the pirates lining the deck of the ship. "That is the only way you are going to be able to cross over and kill me.

It was in that moment the pirate captain realized what Orcleous was trying to do. "Ye think we are foolish enough to cross the plank to kill you. Smart move trying to force us to fight one on one, but that ain't going to work. Ye see those flames raging behind you. They will be your death before we walk the plank. The advantage is ours. We will simply let the fire burn ye out. How you die does not matter to me", spoke the bearded man as he began to chuckle away.

"Yes I see the flames", spoke Orcleous as he looked down at his sword. The mercenary then swung the blade again sending another wave of fire. Instead of going toward the pirates it instead slammed against the main mass of the pirate's ship. Orcleous aimed the fire to hit just below the sails. The fires did not spread, but Orcleous message was clear. "If you ignore me I will set your sails on fire and you all will be stuck out here at sea! Either you die from starvation and dehydration, or a etruian war vessel will come across you and you die from the hang man's nusse.

[Orcleous]

The pirates paused for a moment as they looked at Orcleous with shock. Even if they broke the planks connecting the two ships and set sail now Orcleous could still burn all of there sails before they could get far away enough to escape. The mercenary had got them. Their cozy situation was suddenly shattered as they realized that Orcleous had the advantage. The pirate captain groaned as he knew what he had to do. "Fine, we can make a", he spoke, but Orcleous cut the man off. The mercenary swung his sword and sent a bolt of fire forward and burned one of the lance wielding pirates alive. One down one to go, thought Orcleous as he sealed the deal. In a mass rush the pirates charged forward. Their goal was to pass the plank and rip Orcleous to pieces.

A quick thinker and excellent tactician Orcleous shot a bolt of fire toward the sails first and then turned his focus back to the pirates. The bolt hit the lower sail and immediately it started to go up in flames. "Quick some of you laddies put out that fire", shouted the captain! His face was red with rage as five of his men were pulled from the charge and forced to grab ropes and buckets in a attempt to quell the fire. The other eight were Orcleous problem. The first pirate to touch the plank was a axe men. Fearful of breaking the plank with a downward slash he swung his battle axe horizontally. That was a mistake as Orcleous simply jumped backwards and then lunged forward. The mercenary not only dodged the first man's blow, but also countered attack with a stabbing attack piercing the man's side and causing him to fall over board. From some extra fear factor Orcleous set the man on fire with the assault. As he fell to the mother of all life his body burned like a torch. His chilling screams filled the air sapping the courage from the other.

Thinking himself a super man one of the pirates attempted to jump from their ship and onto the one Orcleous was ridding. To his despair however the leap was to much. His hand touched the deck, but the force of his body being pulled down by gravity snapped his fingers and sent him falling into the sea. As he feel into the water the beast from the deep rose up form the depths and tore his flesh asunder. If it had not been for there earlier slaughter he may not had meet such a gruesome fate. However human blood and flesh marinated the sea and as a result the beast of the depth came for a feast.

The next man across the plank was the spear men. It did not take the pirates long to realize that the weapon triangle was working against them. By sending the man with spear they could take control of the situation. As he stabbed forward with his pole arm Orcleous was forced to give ground. He could not defeat the man at the center of the planks. He needed more ground to move and adjust if he wanted to win. Orcleous was forced to fall back to the deck of his own ship giving the plank to the pirates. This little victory however would not last long.

As Orcleous foot touched the deck of the other ship he quickly jolted to his left side. This caused the spear man to turn in order to try and stab Orcleous with his spear. This move however put the axe wielding pirate behind him in Orcleous range. With a swing of his sword Orcleous set the man's clothing on fire. Frighten by the flames the axe man panicked and began to run forward with fear. His wailing and screaming caused him to bump into the man with the lance and as a result the two of them fell into the sea.

[Orcleous]

Trying to take full advantage of the ground they had gained two duel wielding axe men rushed toward Orcleous. It was a two on one battle as the third and final member of the first assult team simply watched. It was clear to Orcleous that this man was a higher rank than the two goons he had sent Orcleous way. If Orcleous had to guess then eh would put this man as the first mate. Immediately the two pirates tried to get on both Orcleous right and left flank, but the mercenary was not going to have it. As the one on the right moved Orcleous swung his blade and caused a wall of fire to rage between them. The fire sealed the deal as it trapped the man between the fire that already raged on the ship and the wall of flames between him and Orcleous. Not wanting to burn alive the man charged forward toward the mercenary running strait through the wall of fire. Almost immediately his pants caught a blaze and the fire began to consume his body. In response the big man began to roll on the ground trying to smother the flames.

As the big man burned Orcleous moved to deal with the last ax men. With all of his might the pirate charged and began to swing his two axes. Rather than take him head on Orcleous stepped back and dodged around the man. Without his plate armor he could not risk taking a direct hit. As the axe man pulled back to go for another swing with his mighty duo Orcleous made a move. He dodged the first axe by ducking to the left. The blade barely missed Orcleous head, but the mercenary pulled the move off. Now on the pirates side with no chance of him countering him Orcleous called upon the power of his fire sword and set the man on fire. As he screamed in agony he fell into the sea meeting the same fate as all the others. The last pirate however. The big man who attempted to put out the flames. Orcleous stumped on his neck preventing him from moving and then stabbed the sword down into his skull.

"And now there is one", spoke Orcleous as he stared the last of the charging pirates in the eye. The swordsmen stared with displeasure as he watched the last of his men cut down by the mercenary.

"I do believe if you did not have that magical sword you would be dead by now", he spoke. His voice was surprisingly dignifying and had the tone of a proper gentlemen. It was clear to Orcleous that this man was not born a pirate, nor was he a bandit. He had to be as swordsmen from some kind of noble family.

"Yeah it is true", spoke Orcleous causing the man to chuckle a bit. He did not exspect the mercenary to just agree to an insult. Either way there was only one outcome to the two of them meeting. Somebody was going to live and somebody was going to die.

[Orcleous]

Not wanting to wast time Orcleous decided he was going to be the first to strike. The mercenary started off with a horizontal slash coming across the body. As he expected the swordsmen blocked the blow, but what did not expect was that his fires would not work. Orcleous gave the command, but fires did not spit out from the sword nor did Orcleous feel the presence of the vengeful spirit.

"Surprise", spoke the man as he deflected Orcleous blow and swung toward the mercenaries legs. Immediately Orcleous pulled back, but he was unable to avoid getting slashed on his right leg. The blow caught Orcleous off guard as the thick pants he wore split open like rice paper. "You see unlike you I am a true swordsmen", spoke the first mate as he ran his finger on the back end of his cutlass. "I do not believe in using magic in a fight and a such I do not use a magical sword." From the corner of Orcleous eye he could see the other five pirates had finished putting out the fire on the sail. Orcleous had done it some damage, but it still could do its job. Trying to wast no more time with the man Orcleous sent out a bolt of fire, but a single swing from the the first mates blade dispelled the magic and took Orcleous attention. "You see my blade is a regal cutlass", he spoke as he lunged forward and struck out at Orcleous.

Being self taught orcleous had very little dealings with lunges. As a result he was forced to really on his instincts. The mercenary quickly jumped to his right and rolled. He quickly pulled himself back to his feet, but the swordsmen was already upon him. With a downward swing he brought the full force of his regal blade to bare on the young swordsmen, but Orcleous was strong and his block withstood the expertly done assault. "I see you were self taught", spoke the man as he quickly pulled back his sword and stabbed forward. Orcleous moved his body dodging the blow ,but only barely. The regal cutlass sliced clean through the leather armor severing its right straps.

"Holy Hartmut", spoke Orcleous as he retreated. His eyes however stayed on the swordsmen as his back now faced the planks and the pirates behind him. Lucky for him the other five and one had no intention of joining in on the battle. They simply watched as their ships master swordsmen began to give the youngster a lesson with the blade.

"In desperation you flee with no grace and no tact. The only thing that is keeping you alive boy is the magic in that sword and the strength of your arm."

"Well I will take that as a complement", spoke orcleous as once again he called upon the magic of his sword. He shot forward a great slash of fire. "Fool", spoke the first mate as he jumped forward stabbing through the fire and assulting Orcleous position. "Insanity", he shouted as he stabbed the blade toward Orcleous heart.

[Orcleous]

"Insanity is when you do the same thing over and over again but expect different results", spoke Orcleous as he held onto the back end of the man's cutlass. A surprised expression crossed the first mate's face as he realized he missed. His regal cutlass had pierced through the leather armor Orcleous wore, but not the boy's flesh. The fire slash Orcleous had created earlier was not there to burn the swordsmen, but rather to distort his view. The moment he dispelled it he struck out in a attempt to prevent orcleous from countering or dodging. This proved falty as his eyes only had a moment to pick a target. The straps on Orcleous leather armor were already broken before hand. When he saw the leather he struck forward, but the leather was not hanging onto the center of Orcleous's body, but rather leaning to the side thanks to gravity. The sword pierced straight through the leather, but did not touch a hair on Orcleous' body.

The swordsmen attempted to pull back on his sword, but it was too late. Orcleous was already holding the back end of his sword adding the extra texture and friction caused by the leather gave the young swordsmen the grip he needed to prevent it. With a single stab forward Orcleous covered the an in fire and sent him falling to his watery death. With the Swordmaster defeated the pirate moral plummeted.

Removing the leather from the blade Orcleous duel wielded both the regal cutlass and his magical sword. His goal was to exterminate the last fire of the pirates. wrapped with fear and angry two of the pirates charged forward with there axes raised. The first of the two meet the same end as many of the others. A fire ball to the face. The second one however was not so lucky. As he swung Orcleous dodged underneath and slammed the pummel into his skull. The blow gave the man a concussion which gave Orcleous the time to spin around and sever his head from his body with a twirling sword blow. Watching the other two die drained the last bit of courage from the three remaining pirates. The threw their axes overboard and raised there hands in defeat. Ignoring them Orcleous walked over to the stairs that lead him to his last challenge of the day, the captain.

"Impossible", spoke the man as he looked at the blood and flames that spanned across the two ships. The lower deck was at once filled with fourteen of his best men, but now they were all dead or cowering like frighten children. If somebody had told him that this was going to happen if he had attacked that passenger vessel he would have thrown them overboard. However it seems that fate was a cruel mistress. Frighten and scared for his life the pirate captain ran over to his hostages. With a strong punch to the jaw of a worried mother and fearsome grin he grabbed a young girl and held a knife to her throat. "Drop them", he shouted as Orcleous reached the top of the stairs. The mercenary stared at the man as the pirate assault was coming to a end.

[Orcleous]

Here Orcleous was at the end of the fight. The pirates lay dead an broken. The ship he had sailed on was starting to sink to the bottom of the sea, and in his hands he held both a magical sword and a regal blade. On the other end of the table was the pirate captain. The man who saw his whole world be brought down by a single man. Fifteen of his braves, boldest, and most fearsome companions were dead. That also included the three cowards that gave in. If he survived this he was going to skin them alive himself.

In desperation the pirate captain had punched a woman in the face and grabbed hold of a small child in a last ditch effort to save his own life. He knew that Orcleous would set him on fire if he was not holding the child and he did not even think he could beat the lad in a straight combat situation. He had seen his duel with his first mate and to be honest he could not even defeat the man in a fight, but this lad. This lad was something different. A fire burned in his belly and rage in his heart. However he was the same as everyone else. He had morals. He had a code. As long as he held the little girl he was safe. As long as she was in his arms he had control. There was no way this selfless hero was going to hurt the child. No man who carries themselves with enough resolve to cut down a crew of pirates would suddenly loss their footing to end the battle. If the lad was only fighting to survive he would have simply taken one of the lifeboats and rowed his way to the nearest island.

So he is that low, thought Orcleous as he walked up the stairs. At first he thought he was going toward the greatest battle of his life. The first mate had nearly killed him with his regal sword and Orcleous no longer had armor to sacrifice in order to progress forward. The only thing he had left was his own flesh. Shirtless, angry, and tired Orcleous stared at the man holding a little girl as a hostage. This was a man who simply watched as his comrades were cut down. This was a man who laughed and mocked Orcleous as he stood on the upper deck. This man was a coward and Orcleous wondered why the swordmaster even worked for him. With his skill with the blade he could have easily taking this worthless lump of flesh. Maybe it was because that man owned the boat. Maybe it was because that man had money. Maybe it was simply a promise he made to somebody else that he would not slit the fat slops neck. Either way Orcleous did not care. This man was going to die, and there was nothing anybody could do to save him.

[Orcleous]

With his mind made up and his swords ready Orcleous walked forward. The pirate captain looked on with surprise and shock as the mercenary walked as if he had no care in the world. "Stop", he shouted as he pressed the blade against the little girl's neck. But neither his actions or his words deterred the man. Orcleous walked forward strong and bold. His eyes told of his intentions and spoke of the painful death that would soon befall the pirate captain. "Stop", shouted the pirate again! His weapon ate into the skin of the little girl and blood began to run down his arm. Still Orcleous marched on. His eyes undaunted and his emotions unfazed. It was almost as if he did not care about the little girl or about any of the passengers altogether. It was if the mercenaries only goal was to end him and nothing else. "I will do it", he shouted then a sudden pain pierced his hart.

The pirate looked down to see the regal cutlass stabbed through his hart. Orcleous had tossed the blade forward stabbing through the young maiden's neck. A shocked expression rolled across the pirate captains face as life drained from his body. The mother of the young child screamed out in agony as the mercenary cruelly cut down her daughter in order to get to the pirate. Orcleous did not even bother to remove the blade. Instead he left it there inside the neck of the little girl and the jolly pirate. He walked over to the sailors and cut the chains with his magical sword. "Take us into the port", he spoke as he walked below the deck. He returned shortly after with a new shirt and cowl and then separated himself from the rest of the passengers.

After two hours of sailing Orcleous and the survivors brought the pirate vessel into dock. The sailors explained to the coat guard why they were sailing a unmarked vessel and what happen to the crew. The body of the little girl was carried out for a proper funeral while the pirates was tossed into the sea. The last three remaining pirates were taken to jail where they were scheduled to be hung for piracy. All the while Orcleous simply sat at the front of the ship napping away in the evening sun.

"You know you are a hero", spoke one of the sailors as he walked up to Orcleous. The mercenary still had his hand on his sword. To be truthful Orcleous had expected the mother to come up and try to kill him in his slumber. The entire time he was pretending to be napping and was truly simply waiting.

"A Hero", spoke Orcleous as he rose up from the edge of the boat. "No I am not a hero. If I was a hero I would have saved the little girl", spoke Orcleous as he turned and watched the crying mother. Her eyes were bright red and her face stained with tears.

"Your not a hero", spoke the man as he looked at Orcleous with confusion. "Then what are you then", he asked.

"I am just an assassin", spoke Orcleous as he covered his face with a dark green cloak.

[Thread End]