[Plot] [Aq/Be/Be/Oc/Oc] Week 132: Salvage Operation

[swaswj]

"I'm a sailor, not a sharpshooter," Finian snapped. Nothing more was said, though. The three quickly joined Deni on the remaining fishing boat, keeping eyes to the sky as well as to the water. With Aelflead swimming nearby, they were at least confident that any demons would go for the easier prey before attacking the boat itself.

"Don't be falling overboard, we don't need no anchors," the old velen muttered as he quickly got the boat underway. It strained under the weight of the group, but held. For those used to the ocean, the silence in the air was troubling. The gulls were quiet, either killed or scared away. There were no sailors or dock hands talking, no cargo being moved. The only sound was the gentle lapping of the waves.

After their skirmishes, it felt decidedly like they were walking right into a trap.

Even so, they reached the buoy without any further trouble. The docks were still in sight, but if they encountered any trouble, there'd be no way to reach shore. Finian tied off the boat and looked down. "She's right below us now." He then pointed to the south. "The other one with the cannons is a little bit that way. The Hydrus has a main engineering room below the main deck. I'm going to have to get in there to enable the pumps. That'll empty the water that's already in the boat, but it'll take two of the salvage floats, one on port and aft, to raise it from the ocean floor."

His sharp teeth flashed as he growled in thought. "A'ight. I'll take the tin cans with me into the Hydrus. You and the girl can reach the Arma in no time and get back with us as soon as possible. We don't get those guns on the Hydrus before it's raised it'll be a lost cause."

[333/3333]

 

[Mystydjinn]

Aelflead followed the man's finger far down below the waves as her eyes could see, and could only make out the glinting edge of something metal. She assumed it was the cannons her and the rouge would be dragging up and nodded; then she turned back and drew her sword, jabbing a thumb behind her with a command. "Alright then, Quickdraw. You heard the fish, let's get going."

No sooner did she speak than did she disappear from the surface in a small spray kicked up by her plunge. She wasn't wasting any time with potentially more demons lurking about nearby, her confidence had been shaken with shame from freezing up at the flying demon's screech. Ironic the dragon was the beast she'd faced fearlessly, but a monster rising from something familiar to her had frozen her with fear.
[139]

 

[Valero]

The pale velen turned away from Finian and the male demvir as they verbally thumped each other. He doubted that they would have approved of the smile that grew on his face. The job was never worth taking if everyone just agreed with each other. It was just as well, since they were the only jobs he seemed to be able to find.

When it came to the boat ride, it was impossible for the rogue to sit still. Deni hastily tapped his foot against the damp wood. His body itched to expel energy after the previous fight. Despite the fact that his breathing remained a little strained after he evaded the aerial beast, the urge to fight was strong. The gentle rocking motion of the vessel didn’t help.

A sigh left him as they reached the buoy and Finian gave them their orders. The fact that there had not been a single sign of daemon presence since the last pair troubled Deni, but he wasn’t going to pass up one last, brief moment of rest before the dive. He was going to savour it.

“Good luck, old man,” Deni said. With one last glance at the two demvir, he jumped backwards into the water. Rifle still in hand, he kicked his feet and followed just a short distance behind Aelflead towards the wreck of the Arma.

[227/1,761]

 

[Several Zombies]

Small, lapping waves rocked the boat rhythmically, a steady rise and fall which stood still no matter the occasion. Light played at the surface, at first concealing what the water hid beneath if only slightly, forcing those that peered to look deeper. In this particular case Seneca didn’t have to stare too intently to make out the large sunken warships silhouette beneath the surface. Emerging from the murky blue like the tops of mountain from clouds was the top deck and railings of the Hydrus, still whole after her rough ordeal. “As long as no other sea monsters decide to have a go at us, getting this ship to the surface shouldn’t take long.” The automaton thought out loud as she pulled the suede boots off of her feet, careful to not brush up against the still aching dented metal of her ankle. Although the boots were already stained with dalithium, she still held out hope that the iridescent blue fluid could still be removed by the proper person. There was simply no need to subject them to the water needlessly, the same going for the velvet indigo cloak which Seneca took off next and rolled into a ball before setting it down in the boat. This left the Demvir in a black short sleeved leotard which could easily dry and spring back from the depths below, and of course the all too important airbag. “Either way, don’t worry” she added, this time at Finnian while sitting at the edge of the boat. “We’ll see to it that this thing rises up again.” Perhaps the words were more of a confidence talk to Seneca herself seeing how important it was that the ship be usable and they were down their extra flotation device already. If they failed now, who know what would become of the world they had currently, and to a being as immortal as you can get to within reason, that thought was not a pleasant one. Without another thing to add to what was already said, Seneca leaned backwards into the water. The second demvir, it seemed, had had enough of pontificating. The array of narrow metal bands that surrounded his ocher optics contracted tightly as he strained to make out their destination in the fading light. A wave of nostalgia and, perhaps, regret washed over the ancient mercenary as he took in the sharp lines of the angular steel hull; the ship undoubtedly Demvir in origin. No matter how many retrofits or additions the shipwrights of Navale made, a keen eye could pick out the telltale signs of a machinae-designed vessel in a heartbeat, and Artanis had served on enough of them in his time. The demvir grimaced inwardly as he peered beneath the waves at the sunken reminder of his past, wondering how such a magnanimous frigate had ended up in the hands of Navale’s motley militia. However, there was work still to be done. Grabbing a sodden fistful of the cloak wrapped around him, the mercenary tossed the tattered garment aside, revealing his ancient and marred armor for all to see. The scow was immediately bathed in the pale blue glow of his exposed dahlitium core, whirring away in his chest; a beautiful marriage of clockwork and ancient magicks that sustained him, dancing its intricate mechanical ballet. If the demvir had a heart to speak of, this core was it; his soul, his very essence on display. Pressing a boot against the edge of boat, the light seemed to grow ever so slightly brighter. Mechanical digits wrapped tightly around the sheathed sword at his hip, moving with a steadiness and confidence that seemed to belie the state he was in. Turning his gaze briefly to the grayscale at his side, the mercenary offered the elder velen a curt nod. “The Hydrus will sail again. I promise you that.” With a final heave, the demvir stepped over the edge of the boat and into the water, the weight of his dense mechanical body dragging him quickly towards the seabed and his prize. Landing with a torpid thump on the sandy floor of the bay, the ancient machinae began his sluggish march towards the Hydrus. Towards the past. Sev: [1,524] Bunz: [1,499]

 

[swaswj]

The old velen tied off the boat to the buoy. After all, if things went south, they might need a way out. "If the cog-heads can even get back to the damn thing," he muttered to himself, grunting as he pulled the knot tight. Satisfied, he hoisted his pack onto his shoulders and took the harpoon gun in hand. Finian stepped off the side of the boat.

The entire group had gone beneath the waves.

Almost immediately, Finian felt soothed. The water eased the weight of the salvage flotation device but there was more to it. The waves rode the surface of the water overhead, but he could still feel their energy as they passed, steady, rhythmic, strong. It was like a heartbeat surrounding him, passing through him. This was home, and this was life. The threat of the daemon scourge was still present, but buoyed by the ebb and flow of the ocean waters, Finian felt renewed confidence in their mission.

Below him, the Hydrus stretched out along the bed of the bay. It had once been a demvir vessel, intended for researching the Chlorae Ocean to the east. It was never intended for combat, but many years later, it was gifted to the Empire of Pelagia, who repurposed it into a warship. Warship would hardly define it now, though. As Finian had promised, most of the vessel was intact, but it was not unharmed: cannons and grapnels around the ship had been smashed and battered, along with cargo and crane equipment, long dents encircling the hull. It was as if the hand of a sea god had wrapped around the ship, trying to squeeze until it popped, only to grow bored and give up.

For now, though, all was calm and peaceful. There was a dull thunk of metal striking wood when the two machinae landed on the forward deck of the ship. It was lined in wood planking, though solid metal underneath. Though massive for the small group, the ship was relatively small, with only three below decks and a two-level superstructure above.

Can you two understand me? the old velen called out in a velen tongue. It was a rhythmic language of croons, whistles, and clicks, worlds different from the surface languages but the words would carry easily through the water. It was unlikely that either of the demvir could speak it, but it was possible they might be able to understand it.

If not, they'd just have to communicate with body language.

Letting the weight of the salvage equipment pull him down, Finian cast his eyes about in the deep blue waters. Sunlight was still filtering down to them, but there were enough dark shadows to leave the old man nervous. His fingers tightened on the trigger of his harpoon gun. At last his feet hit the deck and he started moving, waving for the two machinae to follow him. He half-hopped and half-swam to about the middle of the ship. He was on the left side of the deck and pointed off to the right. Unsure if they understood the velen tongue, he pointed at Seneca's pack, then pointed again at the other side of the ship.

Off to the south, Aelflead and Deni found their way to the Arma Bellica. Whatever had taken hold of the Hydrus had gotten to this smaller ship as well, but where the bigger ship had survived, the Arma was a complete wreck. Shattered on the ocean floor, propped up against a jutting spire of rock, the ship was filled with yawning, gaping holes full of darkness.

Only small portions of the main deck remained unscathed, one of them holding the armaments they sought. Though smaller, the Arma had been packing absurd amounts of firepower. Over a dozen cannons littered the sand, and two ballistae were smashed into the hull. What could have been a trebuchet was smashed into multiple pieces. What remained, though, was the Arma's primary weapon, a three-tiered cannon-powered ballista. Eight chains held the massive weapon to the deck, but at least four of them had already been broken. Broken beams of the trebuchet laid across two of the remaining chains.

Something moved in the waters, small and fast and just barely out of sight of the two would-be salvagers.

[717/4050]

 

[Mystydjinn]

Aelflead got halfway through a response to Finian before she realized that the man was attempting to communicate with the demvir, and turned her attentions back to the Arma with a shrug. Had she been looking in that spare second she might have noticed the shadow that lurked about. Instead she alighted a bare foot on the rough, water-logged wood of the Bellica's main deck and glanced around.

The wreckage of the ship reminded her of ancient caves and tombs her late explorer turned instructor would take her to. It filled her with a sense of longing for simpler times, but the splintered cannons scattered across the ground kept her mind focused. They were a reminder that danger was still very near them.

She glanced down at the chains holding the ship's lone operable weapon on board and ran her finger across the rusted chains thoughtfully, and tugged the inflatable from her shoulders and frowned at it, skeptical that it could do it's job. Hm. "So much depends on a white little piece of canvas." She raised her sword to the chains and swung, severing some while others that her blade had missed remained. She frowned and turned a glance back towards the ship. Can't he swim any faster?

 

[Valero]

An odd surge of nostalgia washed over Deni once he had fully submerged beneath the surface of the water. He realised that he hadn’t swam in the open ocean for a long time; it had been at least a few years since he last felt the briny water slip through his gills. He thought that he would have lost some of his fluidity in that time, but in fact it was the complete opposite. He kicked his legs together and unfolded the fins on his forearms. Sweeping his limbs in tandem, he zigzagged towards the Arma.

The velen’s eyes glanced left and right as he observed his surroundings, taking mental note of any potential hiding places that could contain lurking predators, daemon or not. Any vacant spaces could also be used to their advantage if things were to go awry. Looking at the scattered cannons and pieces of the hull around him, Deni hoped they wouldn’t come across what it was that managed to cause so much destruction.

“You keep hacking at those chains,” Deni said in his native tongue as he drifted towards Aelflead. He slung the rifle over his back and drew his signature pistol once more. “I’m going to make sure there’s nothing that will eat us alive inside the ship.”

His blue eyes fixed on the gaps of darkness in the hull for a moment.

“If you see any sign of movement, don’t be stubborn. Give me a shout and I’ll come rushing to your rescue.”

With a short smirk, the pale velen kicked his legs and swept his free arm through the water, carefully guiding himself towards the black void of the wreckage. The serpent's kiss was pointed in front of him as he reached the entrance into the side of the ship. While their safety was the primary reason for him searching the wreckage, he would keep his eyes open for any valuables while there. If they succeeded with their insane mission, he doubted he would get the exa that he thought he deserved. In his mind, he was going to make it back and he was going to make sure that he walked into Terminus a richer man than he walked out.

“Don’t suppose you have some sort of light?” Deni shouted back to his velen-blooded companion as he tried to ascertain what lay waiting for him in the Arma.

[397/2,158]

 

[Several Zombies]

Trudging across the deck of the Hydrus, Artanis felt an unusual sense of calm, every torpid step conjuring memories long forgotten. He could still recall the briny sea breezes, the lapping of the waves, the rhythmic thrum of the ship’s engines as the vessel cut through the water… It would have been easy to forget they were at war. Ocher oculi narrowed, the mercenary grimacing inwardly at his reminiscence. Those days were a lifetime, a world away. What remained of them lay here, ruined and decrepit on the ocean floor. The machinae had to wonder whether the sentiment pertained more to the Hydrus or himself. Turning his amber gaze towards the greyscale, Artanis nodded in affirmation at the velen’s direction. He understood little, if any of the seadweller’s language, but any halfwit could figure out what was required of them, even without Finian’s exaggerated gesturing. As his compatriot made her way slowly to the opposite side of the ship, while their guide went about securing his own floatation device to the hull. For his part, Artanis could only remain vigilant, and hope that their expedition passed without further incident. Such hopes, it seemed, were misguided. Movement in his peripheries caused the mercenary to wheel about, surveying the deck with his blade at half draw. Gesturing to the greyscale at his back, Artanis waved in the direction of a nearby hatch leading into the superstructure. He was certain, for the briefest of moments, he had seen something lurking in the hold. [1,774]

 

[OssumBunz]

Sunlight danced its way into the waters depths, broken and dim. The Hydra was well within the suns illumination range, its construct and details emerging like a lost city on the ocean floor.

It was obvious who had built the mighty ship, her design clearly demvir in origin. The appearance bringing up a tinge of notsalgia in Seneca as her feet landed on the ships main deck.

The supposed dangers, creatures of the deep, had no interest with an old ship, other than housing. Yet at firsr glance it didnt appear to the mechinae that anyone of thing had taken up residence in the ship.

With a dampened thud, Seneca set down her pack, her weight lessened now making movement less of a hassle beneath the waves.

(I did this on my phone, so its not the best but at i felt it was important to just post)

 

[swaswj]

When Aelflead's sword shattered the chains, the sound of snapping metal rolled through the water, easily reaching the ears of those aboard the Hydrus... and possibly others from the dark and murky waters further from shore. There was nothing to be done for it, though: Aelflead's sword swung again and again, sluggish but powerful, until the war machine broke free.

There was a groan as the weapon slid a short ways across the deck before coming to a stop.

As though in response to Deni's call for light, a white glow appeared from behind, casting light into the dark corridor ahead, which rippled with the flow of the water. Deni's shadow stretched out ahead of him... but so, also, did the outline of an upraised claw over one shoulder. Acting on reflex, Deni spun around, a call of alarm whistling through the water. He brought his pistol up in front of him and paused.

The creature in front of him was clearly demonic in origin, almost unabashedly so, but it floated calmly in the water. Its forearm was raised, but it was far enough away that it couldn't have attacked him. In fact, it looked like it was trying to wave. The demon was humanoid and feminine, not much larger than Aelflead herself. She seemed at once naked and clothed in some alien substance, a skintight carapace that looked mechanical in places or like an insect carapace in others, even soft skin in a few places. All of it was a blend of browns and greys.

Though she had the body of a young woman, with curvy hips and a perky bust, her feet and hands had been replaced by viciously curving claws. Around her head, her skin-suit spread outward into a spiked collar or crest, like the open jaws of a carnivorous plant. The strange carapace ended there: her face and throat were smooth skin, the pallid shade of a drowned laicar corpse. Her short-cut hair was blonde, dirty and bedraggled. Her eyes had curiously glowing silver irises, and she met Deni's gaze not with malice or even allure, just curiosity. Above her head, there floated a halo, edged in spikes but glowing with white light.

The demoness watched Deni, but made no move to approach. Instead, when Deni's gun-hand twitched, she darted away, swimming as fast as any velen. In a blink, she was out of sight.

Aelflead, unaware of what just transpired, finished attaching the salvage float to the weapon and called out to Deni to let him know.

On the Hydrus, no visitors interrupted. In fact, the lack of any opposition was beginning to wear at Finian's nerves. He snapped rudely at Artanis to hurry up, and yelled out in the velen tongue for Deni and Aelflead to work faster. They know we're here, sure as the waves crash! If they aren't attacking, they're getting ready for something big! Move!

Soon, all three floats were affixed, one on the Arma's weapon and two on the side of the Hydrus. They needed to get the weapon onto the ship, activate the salvage devices, and then Finian would need to turn on the pumps from the engineering bay deep in the ship. There was a lot to do, and every second that passed, it felt like a net was tightening around them.

[550/4600]

 

[Mystydjinn]

Aelflead's click of impatience cut sharply through the water, and she waved a hand at the velen when he didn't respond. "Hey, quickdraw! We both wanna get this thing outta here right?"

She planted her foot against the smooth metal of the gun, sliding it forward slightly while sarcasm sat comfortably on her face. "I mean, the water's fine I guess. Clear, nothin' rank in it either, just a couple of aquatic horrors waiting rend the flesh from our bones and all that. But you've got your peashooters, so we'll be fine."

She tugged at her pack's fastening strap, double checking the float's knots for any looseness. Aelflead, more so than a few of their company (at least so she believed) wanted those guns aboard, especially after her encounter with Ego. She still didn't quite understand how she'd missed the demon, or whatever happened, but she figured there'd be more like him, and that something big enough to blast away all that smoke at once would help. She wasn't keen on being choked again in more high stakes situations.

 

[Valero]

The moment that Deni laid eyes upon the figure emitting the light, he was ready to kill. It should have been easy with the thoughts of that mouth with wings stuck in his mind, but he hesitated at the sight of her face. He didn’t even realise what she was until he sighted the claws, but even then, his finger remained motionless, curled around the trigger of his pistol. She understood him, gave him the light he needed. It seemed as though she was trying to help.

The swift transition from light to darkness hindered his vision, then she was gone. Deni was left with a heavy heartbeat and a multitude of questions as the salty water filtered through his gills. He knew what she was. So how did she look so close to someone he would have flirted with in a tavern? It was difficult not to wonder how each individual daemon came to be. The earlier creature was something plucked straight out of a nightmare, but for all he knew, the one he had just laid eyes upon could have been a laicar woman once.

Deceivers, the bewildered velen thought to himself. They’re not restricted to tearing things apart physically.

The distant call of Finian snapped the rogue out of his daze. He blinked once and then kicked his feet synchronously, manoeuvring his way to the top of the ship where the gun had been hacked free.

Even in our native tongue you sound like a dying basilisk, he retorted with a roll of his eyes as he approached Aelflead. He immediately finished fastening his float to the weapon with a hint of desperation. Let’s get this thing moving. Our enemies are close.

[258/2,143]

 

[swaswj]

Closer even than he thought.

A dark cloud rolled through the water and over the sunken gunship, twice as large as the velen but just as swift. In the murk of the underwater light, it first seemed black. Before long, it was clear that the cloud was red. Within the cloud, shapes were moving, and they could see the silhouettes of rows and rows of teeth.

This time there was no hesitation: Deni fired his pistol immediately. Water rippled and distorted like a heatwave before the bullet struck the daemon within the cloud. The ripples displaced the cloud of dark blood and gave the velen and spurii a clear view of their adversary, the very same monster of teeth and wings, now cloaked in a cloud of its own blood.

The beast recovered and flapped its wings rapidly, propelling itself through the water straight at Deni. There in the water, without the restraints of gravity, the daemon wouldn't be limited to sweeping passing attacks. If it drew in close, it would be a desperate fight to the death.

Nearby, perched atop the cabin of the sunken ship, the drowned woman watched the unfolding drama, jagged halo still glowing.

[200/4800]

 

[Mystydjinn]

Deni’s tired eyes blinked at the ripples in the water. When he turned and saw the cloud, his heart skipped a beat. Those blue eyes widened suddenly. There was no way they were going to be able transport that weapon of destruction before the horror reached them.

Red, the ugly one’s back, Deni said in his natural tongue. Think you can keep this thing away while I take a few shots?

Aelflead cursed under her breath as the toothed shadow bared down on them, and she glanced at the massive guns, then at the surface of the water past the demon attacking them.

For a brief moment after the velen’s shots fired she considered trying to shove the guns above water despite the attacking beast, but the distance alone made her abandon that idea as quickly as it arrived. Besides, the sight of the bleeding gash on it’s body from before signified a job unfinished, and she owed the beast from surprising her before.

“Don’t hit me and we’ve got ourselves a deal.” She responded in a couple of harsh clicks, and took off, reaching for the heavy wide blade on her back. “I owe this ugly bastard a beating anyway.”

Their exchange lasted just a little too long. The beast was tearing through the water quicker than Deni had first realized. A lump caught in the gunslinger’s throat as if he could already feel those blade-like teeth ripping through his neck.

He pointed the auritium pistol forward and let loose a couple of shots. They collided with the creature’s maw, knocking out a tooth or two and adding an insignificant amount to that cloud of crimson. It was uncertain whether the ocean had caused his aim to falter or simply slowed his bullets down, but the shots were not enough. The monster was about to collide, ready to devour.

Red!

“Get outta the way then!” Aelflead wasted no time closing the distance with the beast, and knocked Deni brusquely aside with her wild charge into the beast’s path. At the same time she swung, her blade meeting the beast's maw squarely and cracking teeth as it embedded itself into the monster's jaw; unfortunately this trapped the spurii's arm in between the demon's cracked teeth as well, and she was expending a great deal of effort in order to prevent the beast from claiming her arm altogether.

The spurii turned her head and growled a furious “Help,” through a string of curses as best she could in velen tongue, while she tried to hold the beast's mouth open with her other hand and her blade edge.

[181]Val
[255]Min

 

[swaswj]

Rigid teeth ripped through Aelflead's hand, but the wounded daemon's furious thrashing wasn't aimed to devour -- instead, it was trying to escape. Six wings rushed forward at once, blasting both of the salvagers away in a rushing torrent. The clouds of blood, both demonic and spurii, twisted and engulfed the pair, a morbid smoke screen. The daemon's angered roars echoed weirdly under the water, giving no clear idea of where it had darted off to.

Its wings propelled it under the water like the tentacles of an octopus, giving the fanged beast monstrous speed, but with the great wound in its underbelly and the newest gash in its maw, it was already slowing. Even with its grievous wounds, the hell-beast showed no signs of stopping, no sign that it would be satisfied with anything less than tearing their flesh, crunching their bones.

The blood cloud thinned to one side, giving Deni the first clear view of the daemon hurtling toward them, giving him barely enough time to do more than raise his pistol or dive out of the way... or even decide between the two! Its many eyes flashed red with hunger, maw wide and trailing blood.

[200/5000]

 

[Valero]

As soon as the monster tore away from the duo, Deni kicked his legs to close the distance between him and his ally. He briefly glanced at the gash on her hand and then began to look frantically around the bloody haze. He could hear the creature, feel the ripples in the water, but every time he shifted his head, he saw nothing. His heart was pounding heavily, clammy hand gripping tightly on his pistol. He only had a couple of bullets left in the chamber, but he wouldn’t dare take the time to reload.

Think you can manage one more heavy strike? He asked quietly.

Aelflead nodded in response,wincing at the pain as she re-gripped her blade, and scanned the red clouded waves with scrutiny. The beast hadn’t taken as big of a bite out of her arm as she feared but the blood loss was going to become a real problem quickly. She could feel blood pumping through her body from adrenaline, and the ocean would gladly drink her dry if she didn’t get out of the water soon. The beast was a more pressing concern however, and much faster than the rate of her blood loss.

Blue eyes shot wide as a shadow cut through the sanguine cloud.

There-

It was too fast and the velen had seen it too late. He instinctively grabbed Aelflead’s shoulder with his free arm and twisted his body. She was dragged out of the way, but the creature’s teeth scraped Deni’s shoulder blade. The rogue released a sharp scream in his native tongue as the skin was ripped from his back.

Hack the bastard! Deni yelled at the end of his breath.

Red flashed by the velen’s face just as fast as the beast’s arm, followed by a ripple of bubbles as the redhead’s auritium blade sliced through the water again. It wasn’t quite as powerful as the first, but the blade found the gash in the demon’s jaw left by the woman’s first strike and tore through the ruined flesh and found bone again.

Along with the roar of anger and pain from the beast, a large CRACK that was more felt than it was heard, and a series of clicks and whistles from Aelf strangled with effort and pain.

Adrenaline coursed through the pale velen as his own blood was added to the red mist. Despite the weight of each breath and the heavy beat of his heart against his chest, he found a way to push through the pain as he always did. Razor-sharp teeth gritted together as he spun to face his enemy. In the wake of the spurii’s strike, Deni unloaded the final two bullets at the beast in rapid succession.

[263/2,587]

[193/????]

Spoiler: Note

Deni used double-tap with the final two bullets in the chamber.

 

[swaswj]

The tenacious ball of wings and teeth shuddered but finally, the strength seemed to fade from it. Twitching only faintly, the dark body sank downward through the clouds of red, still trying to gnash its teeth weakly. After how the daemon had come back again and again, the calm of its death felt unreal, as if it would suddenly rush at them one more time. Clutching their injuries, Aelflead and Deni refused to let their guards down, but no final attack came, no last-second resurgence of violence.

From the other ship, Finian was yelling, trying to find out if the pair was alright. At first, the pounding of adrenaline drowned out the cries, but as their racing hearts began to slow, they could hear him over the furious beating. Fine! Deni yelled back, shaky but whole.

Then they began moving again, heading toward the massive gun they were trying to obtain. If just one daemon gave them such a hard time, they didn't want to be there when more showed up.

In the corner of his eye, Deni saw light flitting along the floor of the sea. The curious daemon that had been watching him was making her way along the sands toward where the toothy nightmare's body was drifting. From this range, there was no way his bullets would find their mark, not in this water. All he could do was watch as she reached one chitinous arm up, claws outstretched toward the sinking corpse.

Given her glowing halo, he was expecting her to somehow heal or revive the creature, and silently cursed himself for hesitating to shoot before. However... once her claws touched the body, there was a sudden concussion in the water, a thump that Deni and Aelflead could both feel in their chests. The winged monstrosity suddenly turned a bright, glowing red, before turning black. It disintegrated then, turning to sand.

The white halo turned red, pulsing ominously while the daemon held her palm in front of herself, seeming as puzzled by what just happened as anyone else was. Her head turned, those sunken, drowned eyes somehow meeting Deni's where he stood on the deck of the Arma Bellica. She tilted her head, wisps of hair floating up and then sinking again.

The pulsing light slowed and then turned white again, at which point the daemoness turned and swam away, disappearing into darker waters.

Fuck this, Deni muttered to himself, busying himself with helping Aelflead. Wasting no more time, the pair got the salvage float attached and with a pull of the ripcord, it rapidly inflated itself. It was more than enough for the siege weapon they were recovering, and soon the pair were pulling it back toward the Hydrus, where the others were waiting tensely. All the remaining floats were secured in place, only waiting on the delivery of the goods.

Although they kept a wary eye out, the curious daemon did not return and no other abominations made their presence known.

At least, not yet.

[500/5500]

Spoiler: Notes

Fast-tracking this a bit. You can write how the recovery of the ship goes in your next turns. I'd like to end this thread this week.

Sorry this reply was a little slow, but thank you guys for keeping this pretty active and doing a great job with the mission so far.

 

[Valero]

With the heat and desperation dissipating after the creature’s demise, so too did the adrenaline coursing through Deni’s veins begin to fade. With each passing second, the pain of his shoulder injury began to grow. The velen’s expression dropped. Every time he thought the pain had reached its climax, he was proven wrong.

Bellator’s ballsack, Deni groaned to his spurii companion as they floated the weapon in the direction of the ship. Before he could elaborate on the curse, however, he sighted Finian. The wounded pair drifted over the Hydrus with the destructive weapon. The velen managed a smirk - just about - as he glanced down to the other team. It appeared as though they hadn’t ran into the same amount of trouble that he and Aelflead had. He dismissed the bitterness that he held for always getting hacked or shot by whatever foes came his way. Luck had not been his side during his endeavours of his late. The salvage operation was no different.

Alright, this beauty of a cannon is in place, he informed the others through gritted teeth. We found another beauty while searching, but that relationship was never destined to last. Now, let’s get our ship together.

[200/2,787]