[color=lightslategray]     The sheriff and his men were taken aback as a great cloud of smoke filled the air about them, clearly confused as to what had just happened. It was unclear whether it had been sorcery or mere parlor tricks, but it made it little difference as the men all stepped back gasping in awe at the sudden event. There sheriff took note and quickly tried to regain the poise of his small regiment. He shouted loudly and grabbed the bowman who had fallen to the ground with his ear mangled, wrangling him up to his feet.

     [color=fff200]"YE ALL BE FEEBLE MEN! Be up with it.. NOW!!"[/color] the sheriff shouted voraciously, yanking him up onto his feet.

     It was an ill-fated attempt though. Just he did there was another pistol blast, followed by a massive fireball that landed them all back on their fleshy seats. The blast was not an explosion by any means, but the force and heat that rolled out from the ignition sent them all to the cobbles once more. What's for worse was they couldn't see the danger as it was shrouded by the smoke from Fu's diversion, but they could definitely feel it's presence.
     It was at this moment that the captain had taken note of the chaos unfolding just up from where they were docked with the ship. The flintlocks had almost gone unnoticed, almost inaudible in the coastal breeze, but the smoke and the fireball had caught his attention, as well as half of the crew's as well. Then, captain Griffin's brow furrowed as he noticed his men had also taken note.  He looked to them and nodded..

     [color=00aeef]"Aye, that probably be our Vargas's cargo then.."[/color] he said.

     [color=39b54a]"Aye."[/color] said several of the men in chorus.

     [color=00aeef]"Aye, I guess we're up then... MEN, TO ARMS, TO ARMS!"[/color] he shouted.

     The men all jumped into action as the planks of the ship seemed to crawl with life, like an ocean of fleshy waves rolling about the planks. The cannon crews all started shifting cannons to position them for a better field of view, as some restacked the shot. They were exquisite in their proficiencies, all hardened by years of salt and sun. The men's dark complexions all glistened with sweat, like seals on the rocks after a swim and a meal. Muscles torqued and tightened as they wrestled with them. The captain made his way to the bow of the ship so that he could get a better view of the chaos that was unfolding. He could now see them, a disheveled group running frantically towards the ship. "Aye, that be them indeed.." he muttered, his lips curled and snarled in anticipation. The captain had no love for the city of Guillan, and even less for those that governed it. He relished in the idea that there might be a scuffle, and the thought seemingly brought him a bit of joy as his snarled lips curled into a smirk. 

     [color=00aeef]"Ba'ku.. get then men and pull anchor, dorp the mains and let's get her ready to move. This is gonna happen fast."[/color] Gerard said, looking on to his first mate.

    [color=8dc73f] "AYE, captain."[/color] said the towering Afrik.

     Ba'ku had been with the captain longer than most of the men on the ship, and was very close to the captain. He had picked him up from the coasts of Baakara, his homelands. He was a fugitive and on the run from his people for fictitious crimes they had wrongly accused him of. Griffin, a man of good judgement in character decided to give him safe passage and took a chance on him. An act that the large Afrik would never forget, and one that bonded him to the captain for life. He was a grateful servant of Gerard, and would happily give his life for the man without even a thought on it. Men like Ba'ku were hard to come by, and fortunately for the captain, hard to get rid of too. 

     Ba'ku gave a short bow and took off to man the anchor crew and began to pull it up as others tended to the sails, and the captain turned his attentions once more to the party. They were all running for their lives. A red headed woman was leading the pack, it was an odd sight to see such a frail frame moving at such a high speed. She was quickly followed by the others, one which could be seen much better than the rest as he looked to be as big or bigger than Ba'ku, and looked like a boulder that would surely crush the rest of them had he rolled an ankle on the cobbles. It looked as though they had suffered some hits in the scuffle, and possibly even had a casualty with them. This was a dire situation indeed. One that would require drastic actions.. and even if they weren't warranted, the captain was surely a generous man.

     The sheriff's men had regained their feet and were no longer disoriented by the brief distraction, and the noise coming from the cart did much to bring them back in. Some of the men had already made their way around the fire and were once again in pursuit of the party. The mule breyed vehemently at the heat of the flames coming from the alchemist's fire, and the sheriff could no longer handle it.

     [color=fff200]"SHUT-THAT-FUCKING-THING-UP!"[/color] the sheriff's neck and forehead were bright and reddened, and veins busted forth beneath his skin as he shouted, saliva flying and frothing from the corners of his mouth with rage.

     One of the halberd men promptly did as he was ordered, sinking his spike into the mule's neck and queueing a final gurgled brey, giving it the peace that it had so longed for. The sheriff and the rest of the men quickly made their way around the fire blockade and rejoined the pursuit. The blockade had given the party a good bit of ground on the sheriff's men and had at least prolonged their lives, for however much longer that would be...
     The party had hit the planks of the docks as the sheriff's men gave one final push on them, choosing to confront them one last time before they tried to board the ship. Gerranti had recognized the ship's flag, and knew straight away the captain. This seemed to infuriate him even more, as they had had several run ins in the past, and there was a decent amount of bad blood somewhere in there. He raised his saber high into the air and gave command once more. Horns could be heard in the distance to alert reinforcing units to come to their aid as well...

     [color=fff200]"I SAY HALT!"[/color] he shouted once more. 

     The entire city seemed to shut down completely, and time briefly stood still. The streets and docks were deathly quiet, as if the air had been sucked out of the atmosphere. Deafeningly quiet, [i]even the winds seemed to heed his command[/i].

     [color=fff200][i]"Griffin."[/i][/color] the word stern on the sheriff's tongue, as if it was thick with tannins.

     The silence was to be short-lived. The captain with a solitary gesture gave his command to fire upon the port. The sound was not heard before the smoke and ball had cleared the chamber and bellowed forth over the bow. A small bore cannonball found it's place when it met with a belltower on the edge of the city, overlooking the bay. The sound was most definitely heard then, and the steeple and bell fell to the streets with a great deal of rubble falling apart on the way down and street goers fled as best as they could, but some were not so lucky and were crushed by the heavy falling stones. The sheriff's men were once again felled to the ground as the shot rang out. Moments later shrieks from the chapel could be heard.

     [color=fff200]"You'll not get away with this Griffin! You will not deny me these dogs!"[/color] the sheriff shouted. [color=fff200]"You'll swing from a noose for this! I swear it, I SWEAR IT!"[/color] 

     [color=00aeef]"Maybe so.. but not before you sprout fins"[/color] Griffin said in retort.

     A jolly laugh bellowed from his hefty gut, and the men all laughed with him. The ship had already started pulling from the docks as the party made their final push to board. Guillan would not soon forget this day, nor anyone that took part in these events. Had they ever made their way back to the city they would surely meet their ends. No one would be able to overcome the charges that were gained here on this morning.[/color]