As the boat passes, Lysander will throw a dagger at the other port bow oarsman.

 Elandra listens and the boatman did not listen he was given his chance and now they would pay the price, she watched and then when Kree let his arrow fly, she got her spell ready and fired a Guiding Bolt at the the person next to the one who did all the talking.

 Vilmund strides to and r=fro on the dock, lightly swinging his hammer, waiting for the boat to get closer.

  The  Boat was  sliglty  off now  ,with one oar out of the  water.

  Krwyn's  Arrow   catches the  Man who was at the Tiller , in the  Left shoudler,  The  Man Howls  and swears  dropping  down the   flames  burn his  leathers   as he  tries to beat it out.

 Lysander make s a Look toss dagger  hhits the mench  and falls to the bottom of the boat

  The Robe d Figure  next to  the   wounded Talker  his  hit  with the   bolts of light, he  shouts   as he  too, drops  down to the  floor of the  jolly boat.

 Ivy sends  an arrow  from  the  gunwale  nearest the  Boat,, his  arrow   misses the fellow in the front,  but  sticks  deep into the  third man back's leg

 The Boat  is  now veerign away from the  docks, like a  wounded fish

Lysander will remain in the shadows, but he thinks, "Come back with my dagger!"

Krwyn fires another flaming arrow in the group aboard the little boat, almost sure he will hit someone. But if the robed figure rises again, he would be the primary target for any shot.

Riven took a bead on one of the men and let her arrow fly. Even as the arrow left the bowstring, she had another up and loaded it quickly, letting that one follow in the other's path.

  Riven's  First arro  hits  a rower , in the amidships...  the second  arrow  finishes hi   as he  slumps sideways  as the boat turns..

   Kree  has his  Bow up, the arrow at Half draw  as he watches..

  Ivy sends  another   shat into the Bow..a  scream of a Mad who  stares at the shaft that  seemed to sprout from his thigh.. Krwyn hits a starboard  side rower

   Kree begins  to laugh.... The  wounded fellow  who is on the   bottom of the boat along with the wounded  . robed fellow  shouts.....You Find Humor in this!.. wait until the guards  come!

 there is a great deal of humor in what has  happened.. Tell me?  what did the Little Girl  Tell you....

 the rowers stopped.. the boat   drifted  slightly on the still water....how do you know about the Girl!

 who do you think sent her? Your  watchers   were fools, they talked too much on teh docks , waiting for the idiots you had on the ship?... small  ears can catch many things... so i sent her to tell you the lad  and his beast  were the only ones  aboard, and the Beast was i the Hold...

 Heads truned, some blacks , sweat glistening , even in the cool night...some white  whose faces were a bit easier to  reach, as the first of the sister  Moons  began to rise..

 now you will tell me  who sent you...and why you wouldwish to board this  ship... you do not have long...me and mine  can  easily kill you all fromthis disatnce, and we  will not even get wet..

 There are  murmurs and  even a sob from teh Boat. the leader snaps at them for quiet...You'll enever get  enough  shafts off to kill us all!

 there are   4  elves with Bows  ready.. another  two bows waiting.. Even  if the sisters frown on our aim  we will kill enough of you, that your  boat will drift, until we    get a skiff  from up the shore  and  come to finish the job...But..it has been a long
 day..so we will end it   alot faster...

  Bugger  yourself , Elf!..you'll get nuthin' from us!

 Kree never   looks back over his shoudler as he says.....Hooka?.... it is your turn....

 there is a bit  of  rustling    the Dragonette  stands  and  Fluffs out her  wings   and   rises  out of the waist of the ship... the  men in the boat  began to scream...

 ..I hope you were able  to spend  some of the coin your  were  promised......your  contract is   at an end....


 The  beastie    glides  around    the   Boats, the  men    ducking one of the  waving   the 8 foot oar  around... Hooka  Coughs  a breath  and   the oily reddish  ball escapes her throat to   hit   a few feet  back from the Bow. The men it its  scream as the Flames   explode , drinking in the wonderful oxygen ,,  One of the men  fell  into the water..still Burning  and   screaming and thrashing...which causes  more thrashing   to appear on the surface of the waters..  they   try to smother  the  oily substance   with  canvas for the small sail  even as a second  ball hits   amidships... the  man the   ball hit was already dead.. but those  flames   spread faster witht he next man's clothes  catching fire.. they screamed in fear,,,in pain, and cried out for mercy...

 ..you came to kill  a child  and his   beastie..who would not leave his post, because of his honor... You will all die  now.... the flames, the serpents, drowning?..maybe you will take your own life, so you do not suffer... The real product of this night?  those who hired you are watching you die...and not  doing one damn thing to save you...

  One  man who was caught between the prow  and the  fires  fire...PLEASE!! MAster ELF!..I have  a Wife  and  2  Children..what will they do if i die!

 ..Your wife  will find a better man to bugger her, and your children  will be  better  off  for it, I suspect...Die  now... try to have some dignity...

 Hooka  Lands back in the waist of the ship... Kree turns,that is It?.. two oily balls?.. that is all you have?

 Hooka   Looks  sad  and looks away...

 Ah well..it would have  made a better  scene for those  watching,,but..you did  well enough.....he turned back to the boat  loaded   with   growing Flames and screaming  men... the fellow   who fell into the  water was gone.. a few dead serpents  floated on the surface..little ones.. that  tried to eat the burning oil-like substance. ...

 People ran   down the wharf between the ships as they watched  the    Boat  burn, the  small mast  fell into the water.. the  robed   fellow   tried to stand  calling out  to his God..  Ivy hit  him in the elf thight with an arro  and the  man fell into the  water screams of  pain from the arrow.. screams of Horror  as the   serpents   bit off  chunks

 Ivy looked at the  others , with a shrug,I hate Magelings.  It took  10 minutes   for the  boat to start to sink...peopel were shouting   for aid, some giving accusing  glances  at Kree and his people...  another Jolly boat was being lowered by the frigate... but   stopped  when the   water   began to pour into  stern of  the   burning boat.. the man at the prow  was screaming..what was assumed to be..his wife's name.., then.. the larger  serpents  came from the depths ..Ten minutes... a life time for the men in the boat.. the last to die  was  the fellow   on the prow  of the  boat.

  Kree   smiled a bit  as the  waters becan calm agaain... only a few  oily boards  floating   and burning.. Well now?    send  word to The Plank  for some  scraps for Hooka... the rest of you go and  get some rest, I am quite sure we are  done for  tonight

It was amusing in a way as she watched the ship burn, hearing the men screaming. It was all something she had long became accustomed to, the chorus of the dying. Still looking out, Riven replied, "I go where my Captain goes and there is still a tip he needs to settle..." There was a hint of mirth in her voice.

She had remained near the back, watching the proceedings with a slightly frown. It wasn't from disapproval or anything, more working out the why. Maybe she was just too soft and would have let the one man go...but then again, that could come back to haunt her later. She was trying hard to see both points which at times, she wished she could just give in to her inner killer and turn off the empathy. She licked her lips and looked at Ivy, then Kree and then the others. Why was it so easy for them?

 Elandra watched and listened, they where given warnings, there Peace was being broken by continuing their approach. More arrows where fired Elandra readied another bolt, but then Kree sent Hooka out. She hit the boat with two oily fire balls, and she did a good job.

 When Hooka came back Elandra smiled at her and said," You did a great job Hooka." Elandra smiled at her again as she landed. Elandra watched she was not the killer Kree and the others where, the screams of the dying did effect her. She bowed her head and prayed for them to find Peace, she wished a lot of these peoples Peace wasnt death but they where warned. Elandra would show no weakness to the others, but why would someone keep sending people to their deaths, this is what bothered Elandra more. She would look at Tyri and could tell she was feeling the same thing, Elandra gave Tyri a nod and a look of why do they send these people to their deaths, Tyri could tell Elandra wasnt a killing machine she just wanted to keep the Peace.

Lysander had seen the beastly Orcs send wave after wave in the mountains for no gain.  It seems that men can suffer the same delusion.  The real question, in his mind, was, are there enough fool-hardy men left in the city to mount a proper attack and, would that bring an all-out war within.  He prayed he would not find out.

Knowing the elves wouldn't sleep, he decided to take some rest among the crates until it was time to go.

    Kree takes the  spy glass out  and  searched the waters  again, all he sees the occasional  snap of  some  serpents  as they   found a bit of flesh  bobbing around in the  water,

  A fellow with  a  soft   angled  hat  came  down the  wharf, he  had a  clipboard  and  called, YOU THERE!.. you just  sent that boat of sailoers to thier  deaths..

 Kree  kept  scanning,aye, I did....

 The fellow looked flustered and looked around  at  any others   who were still there... Ivy walked past, laughing  with out hiding it.

 ..You are not the Master of  this  ship!

 ..right again?... You are very good at your  job..if your  job is   to not mind  , one's business..

 ..you can't  be on this ship!

  This  ship, we have signed on as   guards for their  way down River.... seems  we  got an early start..what i want to Know.. is  where the watch  was , that did not  see a  Jolly boat  rowing up r the river to this vessel?.. with no  running lights?

 what?.. I mean... how did you know  they were   goign to attack?..maybe they were late getting back form shore  leave!

 ..they , more or less told me?... They thought i was the Lad  who was  keeping watch... so?.. Carry on..if you have  any problems?  go to the palace..Tell the Emperor the   arows  killed a few dozen people this night..

 The   fellow  turne d and stomped off... Kree  grinned  as he scanned the river.

Lysander hears the 'chat from his perch in the shadows and smiles to himself,  thinking "not to shabby,  for an elf."

Krwyn is surprised by all the useless attacks and the long tally of dead this night. He turns to Kree and Ivy. "The only reason I can think off to send so many men so easy to their death, literally piecemeal, would be someone watching us to find out our number, tactics, strengths and weaknesses. By now someone could make an educated guess we are short of magery and strong on ranged attacks."

He turns to Tyri and Elandra: "What bothers me most is not that we killed so many men tonight, because they had evil intentions. Had the boy been alone, he would have been food for the serpents as easily as we made them. But the unknown face behind these attacks is the evil one at heart: he sent all these men on their tasks, probably full well knowing what would be the end if they would meet us."

  Kree came  down from the  wheel,  grabbed a  small Keg and carried it  up to the  wheel and  set it  down, making himself comfortable  with the spy glass  wrapped in cloth to keep the moisture from the cooling night.

 he   called down, a bit softly,..they were  2..maybe  3  groups... they operated  on thier   own, or  else they might have gained access to the ship..or?..maybe they are merely stupid..... The Plank is   100 yards  from us? They have no idea  how many Arrows  could be there, at any one time...

"But...how do you turn off that empathy?" she asked softly, looking to Krwyn. "I mean...the man clearly made a bad choice in taking this job...but he still had kids...and...we robbed those children of their father. Am I overthinking this?"

From the shadows, Lysander offers, "Lass, he made the choice that would have cost the lad his life.  He didn't consider that life to count, nor did he consider the consequences of their own failure.  Should we be forced to value his choices when we protect life?"

He thinks, "Now, shut up whilst I sleep!"

"But what if he did it because he needed the coin to support those he cared for?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked to where the dwarf was, clearly unaware of his desire to sleep instead of speaking on right and wrong.

Knowing sleep was too far from him, Lysander offers a rejoinder, "There is always honest work for those willing to do it.  Better a live dog than a dead Lion."

"What if there was a need for coin now that could not wait?" She paused, raking her fingers through her long honey blond hair. "Am I overthinking this? I am totally overthinking this...right?"

"I think you are overthinking it Tyri...there are a lot of what ifs and ignoring the facts that have been presented before you." Riven spoke softly, looking out over the water from her position. "If you give put a redeeming quality to their actions, you are going to set yourself up for someone who wants revenge. It's the problem with leaving someone alive that can later hunt you down."

"You are young yet, it is your right to put things together in your head.  Better to contemplate things in the cool of the night with good friends than in the heat of battle when a misstep could kill you.  We all got to put our mind at ease at some point, easier for some than others.  We will be here to help you come to grip with things at your pace."

  The elf  smiled  a bit as he  heard  the Talk,  getting up off the  Keg and treating the  scope as one might a babe..He Looked towards the Main Board  walk, and Whistled  loud.. he Pointed  to the  closest persom who  jerked thier ehad  around..You there!.. Tell The Plank we need  some  Hot  Buttered  Rum and some Caffe... Come  here with them and you'll get a coin for your troubles...

 The   Man who looked like artisan of sorts  with his  leather apron  ran into The Plank.

 Then he looked down  at the others,..The Rum will  aid you all to sleep...

 his head turned in the direction of Tyri,..You have heard me say, our  mantra .. has  two sayings... 'Be the fire , that fights the fire"...and " leave no live enemies behind you'..

 he walked the Quarterdeck   lookign down when he would turn , as if he, himself , were a ship's captain...,,if have reached  Villages   and Caravans..abit too late, with women crying out  for  slain husbands and children.. or worse?  Children who were taken by slavers... Men, beating the ground  with thier  fists , as  a woman lay dead over her  child that a slaver slew, because they would not stop resisting

 I'm sure you have all heard the tale of the  Slave Master  we hunted  down, and what we did to his family and..in the end..the slaver Master himself...

 Slavers  die a hard  death...Bandits...anyone who  attacks those  who are too weak to  defend themslevs.. that....includes those  folk  with coin and power , who  laugh at those who struggle..as  we saw  with the High Priest of The Alpower...

 ..The fellow who begged for  his life because of  his  wife and Child?  he Made his choice to take the coin... whether he  was constripted... or whether he was at an Inn and heard of good  coin for one night's work? Or whether he was with that band of men  for a long time... he made his chocie.... if we would have all been in  The Plank  as we all should have been?.. what would have  happened to the Lad and the  over grown newt...?

 Hooka  snorted

 At best,,  Hooka would have been captured, and the Lad slain.... The 3orst?.. the Lad   and  Hooka  would have been captured  and taken to those who have coin to buy such  goods...That fellow who died , would have  had a purse  full of silver and
 smiled  as he went home to his   family, never caring  of what his actions wrought to others...

   Had we  allowed  any one of them to live, it would be on our heads, the deaths  and stolen lives  of everyone they killed  or captured from this point on... for me?.. it is easier  to  punish those  folk who walk the dark, then it is  for me to allow them to keep walking...He made his   choice..whether for greed, or for his  gamily.. He paid  for his choice this night...

   Lookign up as the fellow was helping  carry apitcher of Miks  and tin of  sugar, While  Carla  and Ivy brought the trays  of  mugs  and the pewter pitcher of hot buttered Rum and Caffe.

  Kree gently laid the scope down, , coming  down the steps  to get his Caffe,You will hear, if you stay with us, The cries  and pleas of  Slavers and Pirates who beg for their lives, not for themselves, but thier Famlies..

 Handing  the   apron wearing  fellow  two silvers  and the fellow smiles and runs off towards the Plank.  Ivy speaks up, catching the last part  as he set the  tray down, and  picked up the empty Buckets of   'leavings' that Hooka had  eaten...If there  were any families..or  wives  or children... we never know the truth...

  Kree fills a Mug with caffe, adding the milk and sugar...In the end?... they chose to take the coin, that will ruin other folks lives, or....in fact..end those lives?.. they are not allowed to complain, if it costs them thier own life.

 sipping  the caffe  and adding,Folk.. especially , holy folk? Say this makes us  , not differant then those  we hunt?  I enjoy  smiling at them and saying, " I never said we were differant... we  are just on the other side?"

 he nods at the taste  and starts to turn for the steps again,..good  people feel the  evil that could, and sometimes is...put upon them... Evil  folk fear the  Evil they do, being inflicted upon them.. I enjoyed that fellow's  words as the ship bruned and he knew, there was no chance for  aid, except from the very people he was comign to kill, or steal from..or both...it is a small reward, to her  folk begging for thier lives and being ignored, Just as so many before, had begged them. He is  Lucky now?.. he will never need to make choices  like that again, he fed serpents so they may grow, and make more serpents, helping  fisher men provide for thier families.. the waste they come from these serpents   will settle  to the bottom of the River, and provide food  for creatures  who scavenge , and for   those plants to grow..again?  have  fish and other creatures  thrive  , for the fisher men who make  it, thier  hard tasks  to provide for thier own families...

  At the top of the steps  as he stepped on the quarterdeck,he ended with,My chocies  were made for me, those many years ago, when Salvers attacked  Razorhawk village, killing folks who would have never harmed a soul in thier lives..... and killing others who Kill to protect  those people?

 Ivy  turned at this    , his ehad low  as he walked back to the Plank with the empty buckets.

 i said before?  Any slaver  we allow to live, we are responsible  for every life they take  or ruin, after that point... Me? Ivy?... me are the ones the  Slavers should have killed, bcause each..and every death we inflict on the darker folk.. are on them...

"Well spoken," Says Lysander.  "Now, while I enjoy talking with you, Tyri, for now, I will empty my mug and chase some dreams."

With that, he will sink back into the shadows and very soon, he will find a brief respite.