Sol Grim

Legends of the Lost Age

"Can't wait to see you in action, then," Dalious said as he then took her hand. "Until then." He kissed her hand and bowed. "You must get your rest, my lady. Meet us at the sparrow in the morning, I promise to wait for you this time."

By morning, the sails were set and the crew was anxious to leave. Armuille filled everyone in on the basics of combat against the vampires, but they would train on deck along the route. When Sybil came aboard, Dalious but had a few sentences to say and then they would be off. "This is Sybil," he told them. "She's a malignant. More importantly, she's a friend. Behave yourselves, I only say this once."

A few nods and smiles from the men, then they were off. They travelled north from the elven kingdom, keeping the sea to the left of them and the shore of the elven isles to their right the entire trip. It would only take a few days, then they would trek on foot to the destination.

Everyone was given garlic necklaces to ward off the vampires if they got too close. It was implied by Armuille that any sharp wood straight to their heart would kill them instantly. Decapitation worked. A few other things, such as fire, but other than that they were immortal and extremely powerful. The crew sailed and trained that day and into the night, working on techniques they thought would work with one another. By nightfall, everyone settled back down and the drinking started. Even though Everendall wouldn't give them their mead until after the job was done, they already had plenty anyway.

"You did work a hard bargain against our ale, Sybil," Dalious said.

"Yeah, we hope by the end of this," Felian started. "...you'll, you know, hook us up before the job's started next time maybe. Not that we don't have a fair share already!"

"It's okay to relax and drink for the night with these folk," Fanon told Sybil. "Our Muleki do not drink and will watch over us, which means we will know of any threat far before it is a threat, young one." He offered her over a drink, though understood if she would not take it.

Then Ronen began singing a sea shanty, one that Felian would take the high notes in, and all of the crew would join thereafter.

Leave her Johnny

youtube.com/watch?v=4fVQwzv5Qfc

Dalious took a break from the wheel, as Armuille took over, allowing him to down a shot of whiskey and walk over to Sybil. "We never got to finish our dance, may I?" he said, as he pulled her up and onto the deck as the crew sang around them. Dalious held Sybil close, his left hand holding her right and his other hand pressed against her back. "I'm the type that likes to finish things, even if they take ten years to achieve." He smiled and slow danced with her, quickly becoming mesmerized by her beauty. She had definitely grown up since the last they saw each other. He found himself wondering what her actual role was with the elves. She was a girl being chased in the woods, now she stands on council with the king of the elves. This wasn't the time to ask, with the beautiful nightfall horizon and the flickering yellow bugs on the shoreline. This was the calm before the storm.

"I feel like I've known you forever, but I have but known you a short while," he said. "You made quite the impression, I suppose. Are you happy, with the elves?"

Legends of the Lost Age

Fish people and dodo birds!

Legends of the Lost Age

Tried to edit last post and accidentally reposted. Ill put up a crew post there instead here in a few minutes.

Legends of the Lost Age

The monster hunters

While Dalious and Sybil reunited with one another, and Armuille took to studying in the elven library, the rest of the crew waited back on their ship. The elven kingdom was beautiful and mesmerizing, but the elves were fair and noble people. Immortal from age and with magic of their own kind, they rarely drank alcohol or took part in drugs. Thus meaning, there were no whorehouses or taverns, of which were normal hotspots in a visited town for the ship mates. So they simply just waited aboard playing poker on deck, aside from Bernen Wildcat, who jumped and climbed around the ship's structure to keep himself in shape.

Bernen, much like Armuille, was born and thrown into slavery immediately. They had been slaves their entire lives until Dalious rescued them ten years ago. Since then they were able to visit the Muleki homeland, Mulek. They chose the seas over their own people, feeling foreign to them and outcast. While Armuille looked to learning and studying, Bernen was focused solely on combat. He is one of the crew's greatest warriors, and his kill count of monsters stacks into the hundreds.

Thanden "Blackheart" Triggs was the true pirate at heart aboard the Sparrow. He had the option to become a captain of his own ship had he wanted, but he blindly and loyally follows Dalious after the things they have been through. He just wants to sail and make coin, while getting wasted along the way. He is the inventor of the group, always creating or updating weapons to face these evils. He didn't create blackpowder or guns to shoot it, but he has updated and modded a few rifles and pistols. His latest masterpiece was a weapon he called 'the blunderbuss'.

"Arrr, I knew ye to be bluffin'!" Blackheart spat, throwing his cards down on the table.

Fanon Hinderblade smiled and took his earnings. Fanon was always in a good mood, no matter how dire the situation. He enjoyed life and helping others, while also enjoying the pirate life. He was from a land known as High Rock. A desert land where you had to work for your survival everyday. High Rock has since been overtaken by the Imperial Legion, most of the people being forced into slavery thereafter. Fanon was the spiritual guidance on board the sparrow, and a good mentor to all. His advice was always taken.

The last two members of the monster slayers, were the brothers Ronen and Felian Rosetree. Ronen was the oldest by two years, and was a mercenary of great skill. Felian followed suit, looking up to his brother and his ways of life. Felian was reckless though, and often got into trouble. He was captured on a job and was sailing to be an imperial slave when Dalious saved him as well. Ronen was not there that day, but he was close by in pursuit. When the brothers made their reunion quickly after, they decided to sail with Dalious for some time. The monster slaying just came naturally for the crew, as all of them took the jobs without hesitation. They proved to be very good at it, so it became their new way of life.

"All in," Felian said, pushing his coins to the center of the table.

"You got nothin" his brother Ronen said and called the bet.

"You have nothing," Felian corrected him. Felian had recently taken a liking to Armuille's teachings of grammar and proper tongue.

"I speak how I want, little brother," Ronen said sharply. "Correct me again, and I'll tie you upside down for a night!"

"I call," Fanon spoke, also throwing his coins in.

They all flipped their cards over. Fanon won with a flush draw.

"Dammit!" Felian said. "How do you always win?"

"Stick to fighting," Fanon replied with a laugh.

"Speakin' of, when are we settin' sail?" Blackheart wondered. "The hell's taken 'em so long?"

"Armuille is studying the vampires," Fanon answered. "Dalious is apparently reuniting with that friend we all didn't believe he had all those years ago, when he freed us, remember?"

"Ah, so the magic mage he kept goin' on about was real..." Blackheart said, looking up to the waterfalls that loomed above them. He could make out the figures of Dalious and Sybil as they walked and spoke to one another. "Knowing Dal, I bet he's trying to get in her pants as we speak."

"She is coming with us," Bernen wildcat spoke, falling from the top of the ship and landing on his feet.

"What!?" Blackheart said. "Having a lady on board is bad luck!"

"Having you on board has been bad luck, too, and we still manage," Felian joked.

"Hardeehar," was Blackheart's reply. "Get ready boys, 'cause we're all gonna die on this job. But as we always like to say...fuck it."

Legends of the Lost Age

"Ow!" Dalious felt the blow at unawares. "Bloody hell woman! You left me!! I told you to meet at the sparrow, where I waited until the bells rang!" He massaged his shoulder and gave her a glare. "It matters little now, we went our separate ways and here we are together again, all these years later. Fate, I believe. Now stop hitting me!"

They walked down the corridor and exited the throne palace. The sun was dying in the sky and they were to leave first light of the next morning. Dalious had never seen the elves kingdom and all its glory, until this invitation. An invitation he received because he was a renown monster slayer, something he took more serious than anything of this world. He and his men, if they could, would always study their target. It always being something singular or few of, but there were many vampires. The monster hunters had never slain any either, as their focus was more of the sea monsters and a few hagravens or gremlins. Vampires rarely appeared, less it be something of great importance to them, like opening hell.

"Your king doesn't like me," he continued. "I mean, he is sending me on a suicide mission, after all. If he knew the true treat of the hellmouths, he might have made you stay. Worry not, I'm a professional now. I will protect you, as I do all my crew."

They walked to the elven forge, where freshly made weapons and armor were being made by a master blacksmith and his group. The elves were being good with their word, which was something very important to the pirate. So long as things stayed that way, with the elves or any other, then business could go on. While the masters worked on the elven steel, Dalious leaned onto a ledge overlooking the sea.

"Here we are meeting again after ten years, and we immediately and openly head straight into a sure death," Dalious said with a huff. "If we survive this, who knows, we might even become legends. Dalious, the legendary monster hunter, has a nice ring to it." He was a man of legacy, and really only did things to be remembered in time. Mortality was something that irked him. "When the morning comes, we sail for Rockhaven." It was north from the kingdom, they would take the sparrow through the large everglades until they reached the town. Rockhaven was where the vampires were last, where they terrorize the locals that were unfortunate enough to live on top of one hellmouth. "By then I'll know how to kill them, assuming Armuille's research goes well. Then we will train at sea on my sparrow, no fire spells from you. I rather like my ship in tact, if you please."

They walked onto a grassy knoll, overlooking a massive waterfall that sparkled with each drop. Some trees in the background were glowing in different auras. "Seems a nice open spot," Dalious said, in awe of the beauty around them for a brief moment. "Surely you must have learned a few new tricks in the last ten years. Have you control over your gift?"

Legends of the Lost Age

Phone post

Legends of the Lost Age

"Sybil?" Dalious knew it was her now.

"Vampires?" Armuille said, giving Ardenelle a stern look. The elf girl shrugged. "You said werebeasts! Vampires is another matter entirely!"

"I said it might be werewolves, or something like that!" Ardenelle said and snarled her nose at the black cat. "What does it matter? They all come from hell."

"It matters because they are completely different to prepare for!" Armuille snarled back. "I must have access to the elves library at once!"

"Sybil, it is you," Dalious said. "I thought you might have died. You ended up doing quite well for yourself I see, no more men trying to hang you. I'm glad you made it out fine, if I remember correctly, you ditched me! If you wanted to sail to the elves kingdom, you had but to ask.

"Also, your grace, may I request Sybil in joining us? Vampires are no easy matter, and if i remember correctly..." He had the image of all the imperials she burned alive in his head. "And I do...she could prove to be quite useful. Especially with the whole closing the hellmouth bit."

Legends of the Lost Age

The cat people will eat the fish people!

Legends of the Lost Age

Uhm no. Lol. Well, actually....maybe

Legends of the Lost Age

A hooded she-elf entered a tavern full of drunks and gamblers. She moved throughout the bar, avoiding as much contact with anyone as she could, until finally settling on the seat next to the large black cat, Armuille. Next to him was the tiger, Bernen, and a golden haired man clad in dragoncrest armor.

"I am looking for the monster hunters, those that killed the kraken in Duhill," the elven woman spoke softly to the muleki. "It is known that two great muleki warriors are among the group. Might you be one of them?"

"Ha!" Bernen spat. "Armuille is no great warrior. I am the one you wish to speak with, ma'dam. I am the invincible Bernen!"

She handed Bernen a king's letter she held in her sidepocket. Bernen opened it up and looked at the words written within it.

"Uhh...it says..."Bernen started.

"You can not read you fool!" Armuille shouted with glee, then stole the king's note from the cat.

"Just tell us what it says," Dalious spoke up, then took a drink of whiskey from his canteen.

"You have been invited to greet the elven king of Faestone, his highness Everendall Faowind," she said. "I am Ardenelle, and I will escort you to the king."

"Your king is at war with the human king," Dalious said. "We want nothing to do with the war. We fight the creatures of the world for the people in it, and are aligned to no one but ourselves."

"King Faowind does not request you to take part in that war," Ardenelle went on. "He needs your aid with a creature. Or Creatures. Something terrorizes his lands, I will tell you more along the journey."

"You will tell us now, so that we may properly prepare," Armuille stated. He was the intellect of the group, always learning through books and doing his research. He was also a fine alchemist, it was he who brewed the concoction that stilled the kraken, giving Dalious the time to fire at it.

"I do not know, if I had to guess, werewolves." she plainly said. "They have been slaughtering any travelers, and killing elves wherever they please. The smell of war has brought them from their darkness, and we need you to stop them for us."

Armuille left immediately to go study up on the creatures, forgetting to pay his tab and heading back to the sparrow.

"And the king is too busy to do this himself?" Dalious said.

"You will be paid greatly, if you do this."

"Now you're speaking my language, lass. By the way, we've been running from people all our lives." Dalious took a quick second to take another drink of his whiskey. "How'd a small elf-girl like you find us?"

"I'm very good at what I do, sir," she responded, a slight smirk on her face. She had been a hunter her entire life, there was no one or thing she felt she couldn't find. "Also word of you here came up after you killed the Griffin in Folkstead. How did you kill that Griffin, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Shot it down with a clean shot," Dalious answered. "Bernen here then cut its head off." Bernen purred, and Dalious stood up with a toast in mind for his men still awake yet. "We sail to Faestone then, ready the ship! This one will set us straight for life, mates. Cheers!"

They all drank shots.

The rest of the night was a blur for Dalious, but in the morning everyone was fresh and readied to sail. The elf Ardenelle had an elven ship of her own that followed behind the Sparrow, as the pirates and Dalious all sang a mighty shanty together.

Pirate's sea shanty

youtube.com/watch?v=bRLzfoySFWc

In three days time they reached the waters of the elves, their trees and structures a beautiful sight for all to see. Some of the pirates rode in to the city with their mouth opened, as they had never seen such magnificence.



When they ported, Ardenelle led Dalious and his quarter master, Armuille, toward and into the palace of the king. The others waited in the city itself, and were allowed to enjoy the marketplace and its luxuries as welcomed guests. Dalious and Armuille headed down the long hallway of the throne room, where at the end of it sat the elven king himself. To either side of him were beautiful woman, one that Dalious may or may not have known. He looked to Sybil, but he did not recognize her immediately, and instead focused his attention on the king himself.

"Captain Dalious Durendail and his quarter master, Armuille," Ardenelle spoke out to the king. "The monster hunters themselves, slayers of the kraken of Duhill." Ardenelle then took to formation with the other elven guards.

"Nice place you have here, your highness," Dalious spoke and gave a soft bow. "Let us quickly get down to brass tax, your grace. You want us to kill monsters for you, the answer is yes. If, you help us out as well..." Dalious fixed his mustache and combed back his hair with a free hand. "We are but brave pirates with a ship and two cats. We need an upgrade, and the support of the elves. Elven weapons and armor and a few things for our ship..."

"Eh, we need silver if we are fighting werebeasts," Armuille added in. "My research indicates that silver straight to their heart will kill them."

"And we need silver," Dalious said. "And also lots of ale."