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[Color=red][b]Time:[/b][/color] Morning
[Color=red][b]Location:[/b][/color] Inside the Schooner
[Color=red][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] Lizzie [@Tae], Helio [@princess], Nym [@Helo], and Barboda [@Alivefalling]
[Color=red][b]Mentions:[/b][/color]
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Despite the threats. Despite the insults. Despite the enmity towards him, Ardyn kept a smug expression on his face. The hint of a proud smile was not one a defeated man wore. It could have been a mask used to discourage his enemies but it was simply his overwhelming confidence. His eyes looked upon each face, one at a time without a word in response. It would only be a waste of time to engage in conversation with dead men. They had sealed their fates with their responses. 

[color=red]“My condolences.”[/color] He nodded, nearly chuckling. [color=red]“To all of you.”[/color][hr]

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[color=orchid]“BOO!”[/color] The familiar pop and flash of a black powder pistol transitioned Ardyn’s taunting exit to Vellen’s surprise attack. A snicker could be heard deep in the darkness of the cargo hold where limp, slumped figures scattered the ground. Though they were silhouettes, the thick scent of rust surely identified them. This schooner was not only tasked by Ardyn with approaching the Harem. Amas is everything after all. The slaves numbered in the several dozen, packed nice and tight to make the most out of the room on the smaller vessel.

It was sickening to ponder on Ardyn’s request of Vellen, but the elf saw no other choice in this matter. The ship was being overtaken by the commotion overheard outside and Vellen alone would be taken prisoner and possibly killed with the others. How does a dark elf stand their ground against so many?

The lantern that had been placed by the ladder in the hold had been nothing but a lure into the lair of darkness. Ardyn’s grand and fleeting appearance was just the distraction Vellen needed to fire at his intended target.

Burning, searing pain is what Lizzie felt in her abdomen shortly after she’d seen that flash. [color=CE9B08]“Fuck.”[/color] She said through gritted teeth as she fired her own pistol back in the direction the flash came from. Having no shot left, she dropped the pistol and unsheathed her sword as her other hand went to her wound. She scanned the room, looking for the enemy and feeling her heart sink as she realized what the slumped figures were. She’d never been fond of slavers and it only fueled her hatred for these people even more.

[color=CE9B08]“Well I was considering letting this turn into a hate fuck situation, but then ya had to go and do this?”[/color] She called out to the man, listening for any movement. There was no immediate reply back. Instead, she soon heard a thud. The pistol that had been fired. The accessory to her wound. 

[color=orchid]“Is that so? I think all of those eyes might make me shy. They’re better this way.”[/color] Vellen was a predator playing with its food in this darkness he could see so clearly in. [color=orchid]“But to take a captain… right in front of her [i]dying[/i] crew. That type of audience would be a treat... Oh, did you not notice them? Their silence is not due to their absence, captain.”[/color] His voice started and stopped in different places. The placement of his voice was deceivingly inconsistent yet his words rang true. Three black giant cocoon-like structures bumped by Lizzie before becoming more revealing near the light of the lantern near the base of the ladder. The three Lizzie had with her were drowning in darkness. Darkness he pulled away from himself, just barely revealing his silhouette as he laughed at Lizzie’s dilemma.

[color=orchid]“I will kill every single member of your crew in front of you. Then I’ll chain you up in my quarters as [i]mine[/i]. Now that will make for a true hate fuck situation.”[/color] The different directions of the voice were disorienting and she found herself looking all around until her eyes landed on the sarcophagi of darkness that trapped and smothered her crew. Her heart began to pound as she tried to figure out what to do, anger rising. Her eyes then found the silhouette she'd been searching for.

[color=CE9B08]"Too bad it won't work out that way for you."[/color] She said as she lunged at him. She ignored the pain in her abdomen as she rammed her sword through his. He yelped from the surprise pang of pain before he felt Lizzie press her body up against his. She wrapped an arm around him as if in a hug, and grinned at him wickedly. [color=CE9B08]"It's over now, let my crew go."[/color] She growled at him as water seemed to swirl around them, but he was not afraid. There was nothing left for this elf… Nothing left but…

The darkness that had been suffocating Lizzie’s crew pulled away and forced them to drop as it returned to its master. Water and darkness swirled violently around the two. Black tendrils gripped Lizzie while water from the sea burst through the ship to strike Vellen with blunt pressurized blows. [color=orchid]“I’ll… just… have… you.”[/color] He could barely get the words out, but managed a grin.

Lizzie briefly glanced back to make sure her crew was alright, but she quickly turned her attention back to her enemy as she twisted the blade. She lost her grip on the blade, however, as the black tendrils gripped her. She clenched her teeth as she tried desperately to pull away from them, but she was losing strength fast. So she focused instead on her barrage of water attacks in Vellen, pulling in more and more water. The wood of the ship creaked loudly as she did so. [color=CE9B08]"How's it feel to have lost to a ship with far less crew than you? Pretty pathetic for someone claiming to be part of a crew that rules these waters."[/color] She went on to taunt him through clenched teeth before giving him a wicked grin. His expression was weak but there was a hint of amusement. 

[Color=orchid]“We're nothing…”[/color] When he should have chuckled was but a cough up of blood.  [Color=Orchid]“They're…”[/color] His eyes looked past her to her crewmates [color=orchid]“Nothing!”[/color] The last of his strength was with his untamed magic with tendrils that writhed like dying serpents.

[color=CE9B08]"Wrong."[/color] Lizzie grimaced at him, feeling the darkness loosening its grip on her at last. [color=CE9B08]"They are everything!"[/color] She ripped her sword from his gut and grinned as she watched him drop. Her breathing was heavy as she turned to her crew now.

[color=CE9B08]"It's over now. Are any of you ha-"[/color] She let out a shocked and pained gasp, eyes widening as her words were cut off. She glanced down to see a tendril of darkness protruding from her abdomen. She let out a dry laugh as she slowly looked up at her crew. [color=CE9B08]"That's probably not good."[/color] She said before collapsing onto the floor. [/color]