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Post by Gyre on Jan 19, 2007 0:15:28 GMT -5
The Aquila gathered speed as they changed course and took up a faster, South-East wind. The small fleet cut through the rolling waves at an angle. The sails were round and hale, carrying the emblem of Captain Usarrian proudly on they swollen bellies. It was a red eagle, its wings spread proudly and its talons bared. In its beak, it held a single arrow. As the powerful SE wind caught the main sail of the lead ship again, the vessel's captain looked up into the cold eyes of the eagle.
Usarian pressed his ears back as the cold, salty air lifted his half white fur. His coat was in between seasons. His thick winter fur, was falling away and relieving the sleek, chocolate color beneath. The heavy ship, slammed hard into a breaker, and icy spray hissed up along the prow. On the vessel's flank, the name was painted in elegant green and gold lettering;Broadwing. The hare didn't blink as the spume and spray splashed again, but continued to stare openly at the sea bowing out in all directions. "Captain!" Usarrian barely moved. Only his eyes shifted from the horizon. They settled instead on the crows nest high above him. "Aye?" He asked. His voice was deep and smooth, it carried well over the deck. The young hare in the crows nest could hear him clearly over the hiss and rush of the rough water below. "Land," the young beast replied, leaning over the side of the basket. "Southern end of the Mossflower landmass," he continued, squinting out at the sea. "We may need to stay out fairly far.. I can see rocks and reef from out here..." Usarrian nodded sternly, his arms folded behind his back. He also had his gaze fixed on the blurry patch on the horizon. "Good work, Tine. Your eyes have earned an extra serving of ale at dinner tonight..." Tine's astonished thanks rang down from the crows nest, but Usarrian didn't respond. He looked deep in thought, his gaze, not once leaving the distant smudge.
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Post by Sen on Jan 19, 2007 11:23:25 GMT -5
((Artimis is kind of like Furlough in Redwall. Kind of naive...))
Artimis Brightsong tightened his jaw as the small figure of the ship came slowly over the horizon. He flicked his bushy tail twice and his footpaws settled a bit deeper into the soft sand. The forest stood still behind him, as if waiting for him to bolt into them to spread the news. The edge of Mossflower was only a couple of miles from Cantergrove, the nearest village and the only one for a couple of days. He looked closer and saw that the crew was made up of hares. Artimis drew his sword and waited for the ship to hit land. They may be hostile.
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Post by Gyre on Jan 19, 2007 12:24:42 GMT -5
(Gotcha.)
By nightfall, the Broadwing had come in close to land. The moon was half full, waxing, and bright over the quiet sea. Thankful for the clear sky, Usarrian was at the wheel, steering expertly among the shallow water. The masssive ship moved like a swallow over the water, somehow avoiding the dangerous rocks below. The crew didn't dare retire. They were cold and hungry, but so long as thier Captain remained on deck, guiding his ship so perfectly, they knew they were to remain ready for any order, or else. The Captain had his jaw clenched tight as he bore down on the wheel with his entire body. The vessel canted, and Tine, way up in the crows nest gave a small yelp, grabbing at the sides of the basket as he was held out over the water, even for teh breifest of moments. After that, the path was relatively clear, with deep dark water opening up into a protected cove. "Drop anchor," Usarrian said calmly to his firstmate, Orian. As he turned from the wheel, the big hare rubbed his elbow absently as he went below deck. ~~~~~~~~ The rest of the fleet coasted in to the cove as well, following the path that the Broadwing had taken. Dropping anchors, the ships looked like a herd of great animals sleeping on the quiet water. All the ships but one were a safe distance from land. The Cutter , a small stream line vessel, captained by the wildcat, Guinn, remained unanchored. It drifted around the cove, guarding the fleet the entire night. It was already a few hours to dawn, and the crew finally got to eat and rest, if only for a few hours.
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Post by Sen on Jan 19, 2007 12:59:27 GMT -5
Artimis was somewhat grateful when the ships dropped anchor. He had been preched in the tree, fighting his conscience on whether to tell his father, Bushpaw, of the ship sightings. Of course, perching in a tree and take a number on your joints. Artimis landed on the sand with a swiftness to be envied and walked slowly toward the giant ships. He doubted the hares were hostile, but he had seen many a good creature turn evil. Artimis tightened his dark blue vest around his torso and braced himself in the wind. The smell of salt water, fish, and wood barrowed into him. Artimis wondered if the hares had seen him in the shade of these great ships.
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Post by Cerridwen on Jan 19, 2007 13:44:14 GMT -5
Many seasons had passed since Rinn Fian found herself washed ashore after the tempest that took her ship and crew from her. Now the once feared sea otter captain filled her days with wandering the shores searching for meaning. Rinn Fian had at one time been the captain of the Windryder, which was the bane of all corsairs. Though Rinn herself was not a creature to be triffled with. Now in her later seasons she appeared like an ancient because death had stiped the colour from her body. Five times Rinn had escaped the pull of the gates of dark forest, the fifth time had left her pale as a ghost and had made her once blue eyes a shade that was almost translucent. She hid herself under a trailing cloak as she wanders the shore like a lost spirit. Under the half light of the moon she studied the fleet of ships that had dropped anchor in the sheltered bay from atop a dune. It had been seasons since she had been on a ship and she could feel the familiar call to go to sea. The call of ship and sail, the call of the heaving deck. Silently she swallowed her desire to get aboard one of the great ships, Rinn had to know who it was that had sailed to this place first. Despite having been stranded for so long her loathing for corsairs had not diminished...
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Post by Sen on Jan 19, 2007 14:15:17 GMT -5
Artimis had never seen anything like it before. He had seen ships like this, yes, but a big fleet had never come onto these shores for as long as he could remember. He touched a paw to the wood. It was damp and warm. He tightened his jaw. These could be corsairs. Or worse. What have they come to these shores for, I wonder? Artimis Brightsong grimaced and bounded back toward the trees. He realized it would take an hour or two to get back to Cantergrove on foot, but he had made it here earlier in the day. I could probably get there faster by tree, he mused. He made a running jump and swung by his strong arms by a branch and landed in a seperate tree. Dropping to all fours, he quickly made himself proud to be a treehopper. ___________________________________________________________________________ Artimis landed on his footpaws with a slap inside the town walls. The laughter from bars still wavered in the townsquare, jolly beasts singing and dancing inside. Lights were on in most of the houses. Other squirrelbeasts still wondered around, giving him an acknowledging nod. Bushpaw was the head of the town, so everybeast knew Artimis. He started to go up the stone stairs to the upper district of the town. "Hi there, Arty!" A voice said. A group of female squirrels were standing by the bridge, giggling and fluttering their eyelashes at him. "Hello, there, girls." He smiled politely and nodded. Shrill giggles filled the air. He made is way to the upper district and was about to make his way up some more stairs to his home when someone grabbed his shoulder. "Ah!" He turned around. Kayla, one of the flirtly squirrels he just encountered, smiled sweetly and fluttered her eyelashes. "You're so handsome tonight, Arty." Artimis fought to break free. "Thankee, marm, but--" "Don't you think I'm pretty, Arty?" The other girls giggled. "I really have to go!" He said and yanked his arm free, bounding toward his home, footpaws slapping the cold stone ground. "Bye, Arty!" Kayla called. It's Artimis. He though silently and pulled open the door. "Father!" Bushpaw calmly looked up from his mug of warm nettlebeer. "A fleet of ships! They've landed on the shore!" Artimis was breathing heavily. Bushpaw was a wise squirrel of 50 seasons. His mahogany coat was streaked with gray, and his eyes were filled with knowledge and memories of past encounters with badbeasts. "They are full of hares, father. I do not know if they are hostile or peaceful creatures." Bushpaw silently stared at his son until he was finished, and then he stood, leaning on a cane for support. Though Bushpaw was the head of the town and made most of the desicions, Artimis was the do-er. Bushpaw was injured severly in a war, taking from him the use of his left leg. He sometimes walked around the town, but he trusted his son enough to run the town with him. "Then...we will greet them." Artimis widened his eyes. "But...father! Your leg..." "I'll be fine. Besides, I'm not going." Artimis looked confused. "You want me to go back there?" "Yes. Take Thomas with you." "B-but...what if they attack?" "Then get out of there and come back to the town." Artimis shook his head. He didn't understand his father sometimes.
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Post by Gyre on Jan 19, 2007 14:57:15 GMT -5
It was dark and quiet, save for the steady rythme of the waves rolling under The Cutter as she slowly made another pass on the rocky shoreline. Guinn paced the deck, her luminus, green eyes reflecting the crisp moonlight. She was lean and wore a well fitted red jerkin. It hugged her feminine form, but gave her a strong and handsome look all the same. A heavy, cavelry saber hung at her side, she brush it with her tail almost constantly. "How goes the watch?" The young hare she addressed gave a sharp salute as he answered. "I have seen nothing on the shore, nothing on the water... it looks to be calm thus far Captain.." The wildcat nodded in a satisfied way. Her thick fur was brushed with pale moonlight and her tail kept swishing restlessly. "Good.. hopefully we'll have a quiet night before we move in to land tomorow..." Guinn was a fierce beast, a doer and a seeker. She Captained The Cutter because it fit her personality so well. It was always the first ship to land, the first to set sail and the first to launch an attack. She smiled, and the hare glanced anxiousy at her pearly fangs. "Do you know how much there is to take from this land, young hare?" "No Captain," he shook his head, watching her all the while. "Enough for Usarrian to retire, and for me to take over The Aquila in his stead."
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Post by Sen on Jan 19, 2007 17:07:30 GMT -5
Artimis and Thomas slammed their footpaws into the dirt road leading out of the town gates. The road streched on for about a mile, leading to a small forest and then the edge of Mossflower on the other side. They didn't dare speak; they were saving their breath for the long run ahead. Heavy gasping filled the air. No time could be wasted. ___________________________________________________________________________
"See? Look there." Artimis pointed from high in an oak tree. Thomas squinted. "Aye. You're right, mate...wonder what they want here. They'll probably wanna come by Cantergove for rations..." "That one nearest shore? Full 'o hares. Saw 'em myself while I was out on my rounds." Thomas laughed quietly. "I'd like to fight one 'o them." "We might have to, mate...my father said if they attack, just run back to the town. I'm surprised he isn't worried about me getting killed." "Well, either he doesn't care about you at all or he trusts you too much." Artimis was silent for a long time. "Oh...sorry, mate, I didn't mean for it to come out like..." "Worry not, its okay." Artimis interuptted. "I have a feeling we're about to come face to face with one 'o these beasts."
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Post by Gyre on Jan 19, 2007 17:14:17 GMT -5
As the sky slowly lightened, the craft came into view. The Cutter sat like a ghost in the morning vapor. Behind the craft, rough granite cliffs reached high, almost to the height of her mainsail. The entire scene was vague in the fog, but the rest of the fleet was all but undetectable farther out in the bay. Guinn and a portion of her crew had come ashore just before dawn, under cover of darkness. Their small boats were hidden in a small, sheltered birth behind the cliffs. The wildcat put her telescope to her eye once again. As the sky continued to brighten, she could see farther every time. “What do you see?” Pitach asked. Collapsing her scope with both paws, the feline answered her first mate with a cold smile. "I see our first victims, Pitach..."
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Post by Sen on Jan 19, 2007 17:57:44 GMT -5
Artimis felt a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt that something was very wrong. Very wrong indeed. "Arty? Artimis? What is it?" Thomas shook his friends shoulder, then followed his gaze. "W...whoa..." "This...this is not good." "What do we do?" Artimis smiled. "We greet 'em, mate!" Artimis pulled out his sword and jumped lively from the tree. Thomas followed, sword drawn. "I hope they expected a welcoming commitee." he laughed quietly.
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Post by Gyre on Jan 19, 2007 18:11:31 GMT -5
Guinn squinted, sighting in on the pair of squirrels. Shaking her head, she acted quickly. "Pitach, gather our party and send a scoreout after those children... I don't want us to be found out just yet..." The tall ahre saluted his captain, then decended the cliffs to gather his beasts. ~~~~~~ Within a few moments, there were twelve or more hares, accompanied by a pair of wild looking sea otters, rushing towards the spot where Guinn had last spotted the squirrels. They were armed with all manner of gruesome weapons, and with Pitach leading the charge, they moved quickly through the woodland.
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Post by Sen on Jan 19, 2007 18:14:58 GMT -5
Artimis smiled and started to walk toward the party of hares and otters. "Hello there, mates. Names Artimis. This is Thomas." He seemed not to be intimidated by the groups weapons. He kept at a safe distance. "What brings you here on this fine, crisp spring dawn?"
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Post by Gyre on Jan 19, 2007 18:17:56 GMT -5
Pitach held out a paw, to halt the marching seabeasts, for a very brief moment as he spoke to Artimis. "Not to be rude, you see, but I'm under ordersto kill the both of you, and well..." He waved for the company to start forward again, "orders are orders. Nothing personal, chaps.." One of the lage otters swung a spiked club at Artimis's torse.
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Post by Sen on Jan 19, 2007 18:23:17 GMT -5
Artimis thought quickly and leaped back. "Come on!" he called. "I was trying to be friendly." he said jokingly. Thomas winced, afraid that his friend might have been killed. "Artimis, shouldn't we head back?" "I don't want to worry my father." He said quietly. "Go back and tell them to lock down the town." "But..." Thomas shook his head and headed back. When Artimis was serious, he was serious. He was so headstrong. Artimis gripped his sword tighter. "Can't we comprimise, mates? Now, really...its quite rude to come up on the shores of another beasts land and start attacking. I thought you hares were gentlebeasts!"
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Post by Gyre on Jan 19, 2007 18:27:34 GMT -5
Pitach paid the squirrel's last words little mind. He grabbed a nearby hare by the back of his neck and shoved him after Thomas. "Kill that runt! We can't let him tell the others that we're here!" The chosen hare stumbled into a run, tearing off into the woods after the young squirrel. "You," Pitach said, pointing, now, at Artimis, "You are more trouble and strife then I cared to have this morning..." The hare drew a rapier and took a small bow, touching the sword tip to the ground between him and the squirrel. "Let's play then..."
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