subplotkudzu | Emirikol Part III, scene 19

The door behind the counter led to a store room filled with piles of boxes, crates, barrels and additional pirates. Hiram abandoned the ground, clambering into the boxes to regain sight of his quarry as Honesto closed in behind him, his great sword out but sheathed. The flat of that expertly wielded blade sent one of the pirates reeling, and the counterstroke doubled another one over. Hiram located another one fleeing through the maze and brought him down with a flying tackle, slamming the buccaneer's head to the floor and rendering the fellow insensate. Wasting no time he regained his feet and laid chase to other escaping felons, only to pause in his tracks as the foremost of the pirates wrenched out one of the chocks holding the stacks of barrels against the wall in his flight. That stack fell immediately, and only Hiram's sharp reflexes saved him. Seeing the other stacks falling in two waves - one towards him, the other towards the other pirates and the exit, the actor dared all and dove forward, outrunning the further wave and gaining on the shocked pirates!

With the smell of sardines and salt pork filling the room as some barrels shattered and spilled their contents Hiram fairly flew into the back of one of the fleeing pirates, who had already been abandoned by his comrades by slamming the upper half of a split door on them to slow the apparently mad youth's pursuit. In a pratfall worthy of the great Ricardo, Hiram showed the presence of mind to pull the collapsing pirate over him, maneuvering himself through the open half of the door and leaving the other to take the bunt of five stone of salt pork. Recovering his footing in the back room of the netmaker's shop the lord Desaud heard an affirmation of Honesto's strategy in the sounds of the guardsmen taking the wind out of the fleeing pirates' sails. He then heard a polite request for help and moved to assist the aforementioned worthy Paladin, who had been holding n unbalanced stack of crates to prevent it from killing both himself and his unconscious captives.

On the floor above Dietrich and Theo encountered a baker's dozen of pirates attempting flight from the authorities. Melas fairly flew up the stairs, catching the pirate he had first set his sights on with a shove that sent the man tumbling into the mass of pennyhangs that festooned the room. Sensing more than seeing a movement behind him he spun, then checked himself as a disheveled young lady rose with a look of panic in her eyes. Recognizing her as being more likely an unfortunate employee of the pirates rather than a miscreant herself he offered a quick bow before returning to the conflict at hand. (Tom: But I'm not doing anything like _trusting_ her!). Theo, a pugilist born, was laying into the pirates with considerable skill, focusing on those who were trying to pry open a passage into the next building over to avoid the crush at the rope ladder to the roof. Quickly getting his feet onto one of the pennyhangs the master of Von Eisnewald manor leapt across the room, clearing the pirates heads and, with a slash, severing the rope ladder on which so many had hung their hopes. At this some of the pirates surrendered, other tried doubling back, but Dietrich, who had fair rebounded off the wall like a child's toy, was ahead of them - with a tumble he dropped down the stairs, landing in front of the tangle of freebooters with a slight grin. Escape made impossible, the remainder dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.

Standing solitary but never alone, Cybele felt her serpentine soul securing her footing and sharpening her senses. When the first of the pirates was all but thrown by his fellows out of the trap door onto the roof the sorceress was calmly waiting, her saber leaving a wicked slash across the man's chest and sending him into a roll down the roof to get trapped in the narrow wedge of space between this building's roof and the one further inland. She spared a moment's glance at the figure to confirm that as uncomfortable as he was he was still among the living, and this moment of seeming inattention allowed one of the pirates to burst free of the trapdoor and begin his scramble across the roof seaward. Another's face appeared in the trap, only to be met by the lady Floriane's boot, sending him sprawling back into the fierce melee below. Cybele is briefly startled to see her companion Dietrich fly the open trap, but not so startled that her familiar Renee lost track of the remaining pirate.

"Halt where you stand!" she yelled, but instead the man turned and made a rude gesture before attempting his leap across to the slightly wider gap separating the netmaker's shop from its seaward neighbor. His leap is arrested by a dual blast of eldritch fire, snaking the distance between Cybele's casually held hand and the felon's chest. His flight made more of a fall the figure fell with a sickening thud to the street twenty-five feet below. Chagrined by this, as Honesto had asked for the pirates to be captured alive if at all possible, the lady Floriane again touched her more serpentine aspects and slithered down the roof to pull up the other wounded pirate, before applying what aid she could to prevent the man from passing beyond the reach of justice.

As the winter's waxing sun slid into the west and the already sunlight starved streets of Scornbul succumbed to twilight, our heroes engaged in some clean up from the last battle of their very busy day They confirmed that the presumed leady of the evening was what she appeared and arranged her an escort back to her home to be questioned later. They also confirmed that Reme, the pirate's leader, was not present, though he had been expected. Honesto and Theo also found in the captive's testimony that they, much like the surviving pirate from the caves, was unaware of their leader's connection to chaos and none save Johann had heard of his master plan concerning the ruination of Sebastian d'Ferrantino, Cardinal of the East. Much fatigued and seeing nothing more they could do, our heroes excused themselves from the matters of police work and began the trek back to the Von Eisenwald estate, where they hoped to find both their comrade at arms Melas and a dinner made by the talented Johann.

They were only half disappointed.

To be continued