Alright everyone, sorry for the delay! This one took some serious thought on my part. Figuring out a way to resolve the whole pirate/Nyan issue was difficult. But I think I came up with something that will smooth the issue over.
Before I post the next chapter, I'd like to address a few things.
First, I'm going to post the pirate scene by itself, as I'm still finishing up the rest of the chapter. This will at least allow everyone to see how things played out. Please don't post right away, as I'd like to reserve the first reply spot to post the rest of the chapter in.
Second, I am instating a few limitations regarding technology. They are as follows:
-If you have a gun, it is a black powder gun. If it is a machine gun, it is the very early, cowboy, crank-style gatling-gun. If it is a "laser" gun, it shoots magic which isn't as damaging as an actual sci-fi style laser weapon.
-All forms of modern technology (airships, tanks, mech-suits, etc.) are wooden, steam-powered, and have plates of heavy metal to act as armor for key parts. They are clunky, slow, and are far from invulnerable. In fact they are highly flammable. This should make it so they aren't a MASSIVE advantage.
-Torpedoes are wooden, black-powder filled barrels with prop motors. They are slow and aren't laser guided.
-Missiles are like the torpedoes. If they are guided, they are magically guided and require someone skilled in magic to guide them.
-Moral of the story, use some discretion.
With that, here is the first scene!
Quote:
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The Riot War – Chapter 4 – Blood for Blood “Sir!” cried one of Uszi’s crewmen from his perch in the crow’s nest of the Nerf Star. Uszi, who was standing at the bow of his ship practicing a pose that he had recently seen on a bottle of rum, jumped at the crewman’s unexpected shout. He turned abruptly, lost his balance, and tumbled down a short flight of stairs. Such a pose was extremely difficult when all of your limbs are wooden… and you lack any sort of vision to help orient yourself… and you were born with an inner-ear infection that ruined your balance to begin with… and your pet monkey, JoJo, kept poking you in your tickle spot. “Blast ye!” he yelled angrily. “I almost had it that time!” “A thousand and six apologies Cap’n, but I think ye should be seein’ this yerself,” replied the crewman as he peered through his cracked, bent, lens-less telescope. “This best be important,” Uszi grumbled as he sat down in the shoddy rope elevator that his crew, under JoJo’s direction, specifically designed for him so that he could get up to the crow’s nest. A handful of men quickly rushed to his side and began working the pulley system to hoist their captain. “Wait a second,” Uszi barked when he reached the top. “Ye think I should be seein’ this meself? I got no eyes ye durned fool!” “Then why did ye come up here, Cap’n?” the pirate asked. “Because you was tellin’ me to!” Uszi replied. “Oh… right. Me apologies, sir,” the pirate said. “Well, I’m supposin’ since I’m already up here, ye could at least tell me what ye seen.” “Ships, Cap’n,” the crewmen replied. “Well, blast ‘em to kingdom come if they get too close. Otherwise, ignore ‘em. Why’d ye think I needed to know this? Ye seed that I were busy, did ye not?” “They be flying, Cap’n… and they’re headed straight for us,” the crewmen said. “I just said that I was busy… wait. Did ye say they was flyin’?” “They is flying, not was, sir.” “JoJo, scary face… with a hint o’ disappointment!” Uszi shouted, and his monkey companion leapt to his side, carrying out the order. “If ye correct me again, lad, ye’ll be helpin’ to hold down the anchor when we next make land. Now, what flag do they be flyin’?” “It’s the banner of the IsC,” the crewmen replied. “Sure’n they be seekin’ revenge for their delicious pastry-cat friends…” Uszi muttered. “Full sail! Man the guns!” Uszi turned to head to the wheel, forgetting he was in the crow’s nest. Several of his crewmen were severely injured as they threw themselves beneath him to cushion his fall. “Captain Uszi,” Msyk said, coming up from below deck. “What’s going on?” “Those bloody IsC finded us!” Uszi replied as he clunked across the deck. “What do we have to stop them?” Mysk asked as turned to see the large airship racing up behind them. “Me wit… and a bit o’ luck,” Uszi replied. “Come with me to the wheel. I be needin’ yer eyes.” The two of them made their way to the stern castle where Uszi grabbed hold of the ship’s controls. Without hesitation, the pirate leader spun the wheel right as far as it would go. The Nerf Star tacked hard, the ship’s hull creaking in protest to the sudden, violent shift in direction. “Order the other ships to follow!” Uszi shouted and his crew went to work signaling the other two ships. “Uszi have you gone mad?” Msyk asked, holding on to the railing to keep himself from flying into the sea – as several of Uszi’s crewmen already had. “We’re heading straight into a cliff. We’ll be smashed to pieces!” Indeed, Msyk was correct. After Uszi’s quick bearing change, the Nerf Star was on course to slam directly into a towering sheer rock wall. “Ye need to be trustin’ me, wizard. No one knows these waters like ol’ Uszi!” Msyk shook his head. He didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Already the IsC airship was closing on them. “Cap’n!” the pirate manning the crow’s nest shouted. “Torpedoes in the water!” Msyk turned just in time to see several elongated barrel-looking objects – that appeared to have propellers and small steam-engines strapped to them – splashing into the water beneath the IsC airship. Moments later, white wakes and foam were streaking toward the Nerf Star. “Faster!” Uszi roared, firing his pistol into the air to raise his crew’s morale. “It be of no use, Cap’n. They’re closing too fast!” the crewman shouted, panic in his voice. “Bah, use yer skulls ye inbred swine! Start throwin’ the cargo overboard!” Uszi ordered. At that, several of the crewmen rushed below deck. Moments later they emerged carrying large crates full of various pirate necessities – fruit, eye-patches, bandanas, and the like. At their captain’s orders, they began to dump the crates over the rails. After they did this, they ran back below deck and returned with more, repeating the process. The hull of the Nerf Star shook as the first of the torpedoes struck. But Uszi just laughed, for he knew that it was nothing more than a shockwave as the torpedoes detonated on their floating cargo. “It’s workin’, Cap’n!” the crew shouted. “O’ course it be! I told ye, ye need to be trustin’ ol’ Uszi!” “If I may, Captain… There is still the issue of the cliff,” Msyk interjected. “Quit yer worryin’!” Uszi laughed. “Cap’n! There be little ships comin’ out o’ the big one!” the crow’s nest pirate yelled. And indeed, at that moment a handful of small, wooden, steam-powered airships emerged from the hull of the main IsC vessel. They weren’t very large or threatening looking, but they were fast. “Turn the ballistae on ‘em! Shoot ‘em out o’ the sky ye blokes!” Uszi cackled. It made Msyk a bit uncomfortable to see Uszi enjoying this so much. A minute later, large, heavy ballista missiles were flying out from the back of the Nerf Star. The IsC airships initiated evasive maneuvers, weaving between the hail of heavy spears. “Fire!” came a distant voice. It was the leader of the IsC squadron, and as he shouted this, the tiny airships unleashed a shower of lead, cranking their hard-mounted, miniature gatling-guns furiously. Though they weren’t the most accurate guns, they more than made up for this disadvantage with the sheer number of bullets they produced. Uszi’s crewmen hit the deck, taking cover behind the rails. Msyk did as well. But Uszi was unafraid. “How much further to the cliffs?” he asked Msyk. “Three-hundred yards, maybe four, and they’re coming fast!” Msyk replied. “Great! We’re almost to safety then!” Uszi said. “On yer feet, knaves! Keep firing! Bring down those buggers!” All three of Uszi’s ships continued to unload their ballistae as fast as they could load them. The heavy projectiles ripped through the rickety airships, sending them careening into the ocean in balls of fire. Several of the small IsC vessels managed to get close enough for their guns to be effective, punching holes in a handful of Uszi’s men, but the hulls of his ships held as the bullets merely lodged themselves into the wood and nothing more. But the large IsC flagship was approaching fast. If the heat that the little fighters packed was any indication of the IsC’s technology, Uszi didn’t want to find out what the flagship was carrying. The cliff was coming up fast and Uszi showed no signs that he intended to change directions. Even the pilots of the IsC vessels were confused about what the pirate captain’s intentions were. But Uszi’s crew didn’t seem to be afraid. At that moment, a loud, deep gunshot resounded, echoing off the cliff. Msyk turned just in time to see a massive grappling hook flying toward the Nerf Star. The thing, attached to a heavy chain, crashed into the stern deck, then slid back and attached itself to the railing. In an instant, the Nerf Star lurched, slowed by the IsC’s hook. “They got us, Cap’n!” the crew shouted. “We’ll never escape ‘em now!” “I disagree!” Uszi shouted. He reached into his coat and produced a single orange. He polished it on his chest, then tossed it back to one of his crewman near the hook. The crewman needed no explanation. Without hesitation, he took a bite of the orange, then swiftly lifted the heavy hook off the Nerf Star’s rails and tossed it into the sea. “Works e’ery time!” Uszi laughed. Msyk didn’t care about the captain’s small victory. He was much more concerned with the rock wall that was now no more than one-hundred feet from the bow of the Nerf Star. Even if Uszi turned right that instant, it wouldn’t matter. They were too close. They were going to crash. “You blind fool! You’ve killed us all!” Msyk cried. “Have I?” Uszi replied with a grin. A moment later, the Nerf Star hit the cliff. Or rather, it passed through the cliff. Msyk’s heart nearly leapt out his mouth in anticipation of the impact. But as the ship reached the rock wall, it passed through some sort of illusionary wall, which promptly dissipated, revealing the mouth to a sea-cave large enough to fit a ship. The Nerf Star and her two sister ships slipped into the cave at full speed, their shallow drafts barely missing the jagged reef below. Unsure of what lied beyond the mouth of the cave, or if they could safely navigate within the confined space, the IsC airships were forced to pull up and disengage. “Bring down the roof!” Uszi ordered. “Just in case the bloody *******s decide they want to follow!” A moment later, the crew opened fire, sending cannonballs and ballista spears into the stone ceiling, causing a cave in. “How are you planning on getting out now?” Msyk asked. “This is one o’ ol’ Uszi’s hideouts. A series o’ tunnels will lead us back around north to another exit. In the meantime, we have a small dock here with supplies. We can repair the boats, equip ourselves, and move out when it’s safe!” Uszi laughed. “I told ye you’d best be trustin’ me. Ol’ Uszi always has a trick o’ two up his sleeve!” Msyk, exhausted, elated, and overwhelmed simply shook his head and smiled. |
Scene 2 continued in the post below.
