Chapter 8 -Prisoners

Lurg looked down onto the crew of the Blood Galleon from the deck of the Hyperion. The pirate crew stood in awe for a moment, seeing their fallen companion for the first time. But awe quickly turned to the rage of betrayal. Many of the pirates drew their weapons and grabbed lines, preparing to swing over onto the Royal ship.

"Captain, I would control your crew. It would be a shame for me to have to give the order to fire."

"Ye know yer cannons cannot penetrate me hull Lurg," replied Barron von Black.

"That may be true, but tell me, does your necklace protect the whole crew, or will the grape shot only bounce off you?"

"Grape shot? Ya scurvy dog, it ain't worth getting dying if we can't even fight."

"ARRHHHHHHH!" came a cry from above them.

Lurg looked up as Flayblade swung down from the rigging of the Blood Galleon, sword in hand. Lurg drew his massive sword just in time to deflect Flayblade's strike. Flayblade began to whirl his dual swords around himself, moving so fast his arms were a blur. Lurg tightened his grip on his sword. Relax, he thought, Be one with the blade. As Flayblade whirled closer, Lurg blinked. When his eyes opened, everything was different. His whole body tingled. He could feel the energy flowing between the sword and his body. Flayblade was no longer a whirlwind, instead he looked like he was trying to fight in water, his movements slow, his arms dragging through the air. The other pirates and the Royal soldiers hardly moved. Out of the corner of his eye, Lurg saw Razorwind jump from the Blood Galleon to the Hyperion. Although he was moving at blinding speed, he too appeared as if he were running in water. The two pirates came at Lurg together, striking over and over, each time Lurg was able to parry the attack. The battle continued like this for several minutes, with Flayblade and Razorwind attacking, and Lurg blocking the attacks. Finally in one movement, Lurg spun around shattering Razorwind's leg with the flat of his blade, and bringing his elbow up to meet Flayblade's jaw at the same time, unhinging it. Both pirates fell to the ground in serious pain, but they were alive. Several soldiers moved forward and dragged the pirates to the brig.

"Now, if there aren't going to be any more unpleasantries, I suggest you throw down your arms," said Lurg.

An explosion rocked the Blood Galleon. The remaining powder keg had been ignited. The blast wasn't large enough to severely damage the ship, but it did destroy both the galley and captain's quarters.

"What the bloody hell was that?" asked Barron von Black.

"That would be any remaining gun powder exploding," sneered Commander Darius, stepping forward, "Better late then never I suppose, the imbecile who detonated it was supposed to set it off while you were enroute to us. We had hoped the blast would take a few of you with it, but what can you really expect from a lowlife pirate? Pity you had to fight all those other ships too, there would have been more powder for the explosion. Oh well, I suppose we can't always get what we want, now can we?"

"BLASTED BETRAYERS!" screamed Barron von Black.

Kittie had been muttering under her breath for some time now. Suddenly her head snapped up.

"DIE!" she screamed as fire leaped from her hand at Lurg.

Lurg raised his sword in a meager attempt to shield himself from the inferno, but to his surprise, the blade stopped the flame. Not only that, but it seemed to be absorbing the magic. As more and more magic was absorbed, the diamond on the pommel began to glow red. The more fire that the sword absorbed, the brighter the diamond grew.

"I...I...can't...stop...it" stammered Kittie, as more power flowed from her into the sword.

Finally when all her mana was exhausted, Kittie collapsed onto the deck of the Blood Galleon. The diamond glowed red like lava and was warm to the touch.

"Kittie, are ye all right?" asked Barron von Black.

"Yes...I'm fine...just....tired."

"Yer just full of surprises ain't ye, ya bastard?"

"Yes," said Lurg, eying his sword, "Sometimes even to myself."

"Arg, I've had enough of this, I challenge ye to a Captain's Duel. If ye can defeat me, we'll surrender without a fight, but if ye lose, ye'll have to use yer cannons on us, cause we won't come with ya alive."

"Fine," said Lurg.

"Yer gonna have to defeat me too, ya traitorous bastard," said Skully One-Eye, finally recovering from the shock of seeing Lurg alive, "How could ye betray us like this?"

"You betrayed me Skully One-Eye, when you left me to die on that forsaken island. Now you pay from your crimes!"

Lurg turned to his soldiers, "None of you will interfere, is that understood? If anyone tries to interfere, I'll kill you myself."

"Arg, that goes the same for me and Skully's crews!" shouted Barron von Black.

Barron von Black removed his hat and handed it to Kittie. He drew his morning star crossed onto the Hyperion with Skully One-Eye. The two pirate captains stood across from Lurg, eying him. Barron von Black's gaze never left Lurg's eyes. Skully One-Eye looked from Lurg to Barron von Black and back again. Barron von Black's eyes clouded over with a dark blue haze as he went into his holy wraith state, his mace erupting with blue flames. Skully One-Eye drew his cutlass with his left arm, and made a jabbing motion with the blade attached to the wooden prosthetic arm he had from the elbow down on his right arm. Lurg held his massive blade with both hands, eying Barron von Black. He knew that he was the man he had to be most careful with, the flames of his holy wraith could burn the flesh from his bone if he wasn't careful. The two pirates came at Lurg. He parried the blow from Barron von Black's mace and ducked under the slash from Skully One-Eye. When Lurg's blade met Barron's morning star, the diamond on the pommel glowed bright red, and the sword erupted with flames of its own. The burning sword surprised Barron von Black and Skully One-Eye temporarily, but they quickly recovered. Barron swung again and Lurg parried once more. Lurg whirled and swung his sword at Skully One-Eye as he came in for an attack, Skully was able to deflect most of the attack, but the tip of the blade niched him on the chest, drawing a thin red line across his shirt. Barron von Black attacked again, Lurg barely got his sword up in time to deflect the blow, he could feel the heat of the flames on his face. Lurg hacked several times at Barron von Black, driving him backwards towards the railing of the deck. Skully took the opportunity to slash at Lurg, hitting him just below the ribs, but his armor prevented the sword from cutting him. Lurg slashed at Skully One-Eye and Skully was able to parry the strike, but the force of the attack knocked his sword from his hand. Barron von Black attacked again and Lurg was forced to defend himself once more. He was able to throw the Barron back a little, and as he feel back, the ankh he wore around his neck slipped from his shirt and was exposed around his neck. Lurg slashed at Skully One-Eye and he raised his arm to defend himself. Lurg's sword cut cleanly through Skully's right arm just below the elbow. Skully One-Eye fell to the deck, clutching at his severed limb. Lurg and Barron von Black clashed again, their weapons locked together as they moved in a circle around the deck. They met in a parry, both pushing hard to try and throw the other back. Seizing an opportunity, Lurg relaxed and released the pressure he had been throwing at the Barron. The sudden shift in the resistance cause Barron von Black to stumble forward, as he did, Lurg sidestepped him, and grabbed his necklace as he fell to the ground. Barron von Black jumped up and attacked Lurg again, but this time Lurg was easily able to deflect the attack, and in the process, sent Barron von Black's morning star clattering across the deck. Lurg slammed his sword down next to Barron von Black's head.

"Not much of a fighter without this are you?" said Lurg, holding up Barron von Black's ankh.

"Me arm. Ye cut off me arm!" wailed Skully One-Eye.

"Yer an idiot Skully One-Eye," said Barron von Black, "yer arm's fine, he cut off yer wooden arm."

Skully One-Eye looked down at his severed limb for the first time. There was no blood, just a small amount of scorched wood remained attached to his elbow.

"Oy, I feel dumb," he said.

"You lost Barron von Black. Commander Darius, take pirates to the brig, none of them are to be harmed."

"Aye sir, what of our man on their ship?"

"Bring him to me."

"Aye. Pirate, step forward."

A pirate crossed over from the Blood Galleon.

"Why ya scurvy dog, I should have killed ye the first time!" yelled Barron von Black as he was dragged to the brig when he saw who had betrayed him.

Ironfist walked up to Lurg, with a dumb grin on his face.

"I knew I would get even with him one day for allowing that lizard to take me leg," he said.

"So, you are the one who betrayed your friends," said Lurg.

"Aye sir."

"I have no room for traitors on my ship," said Lurg, driving his sword through Ironfist's chest, "Dump him overboard with the rest of the garbage. Have Audra sent to my quarters. I'll be there once everything is taken care of on deck."

"Aye sir," said Commander Darius as he watched as two soldiers threw Ironfist into the ocean. His screams could be heard by the entire ship as the sharks began to eat him.