It was a dark and stormy night....

[General kala]

Lightning split the sky. For a fleeting moment, an image of the enemy ship burned into the eyes of the crew. Then it returned to a shadow in the driving rain and mountainous swells.

None of the crew knew if it was night or day anymore. The storm had kept both sky and sea midnight black for hours. The other Druchii ships had long since broken off pursuit of the fat Brettonian freighter. But Captain Kresh had driven his crew to their limits to stay on the tail of the quarry. The human captain knew his job. He knew that the larger, heavier freighter was better suited to weather the storm than the sleek Druchii boarding galley. Now they were paying Khaine.

Kresh had lost three overboard. Many more were retching at the gunwales and begging the sea to take them. As if to drive the point home, a huge swell rolled up like a sea monster beneath them. The crews of Reaper batteries clung to their weapon as the bow lifted to a steep pitch. As the ship rose to the crest, they could see the lumbering Brettonian brazenly pushing aside a similar wave like an ox through a hay bale.

The Captain knew this couldn't go on. But he would be damned if he let up this close to the prize. He needed an edge and he needed it now.

An officer staggered to the command deck clutching a lifeline. "My Lord" he shouted through the howling wind, "The Reaper batteries are running low on bolts." Dozens of scars and protruding shafts in the enemy hull certainly attested to that. But the enemy captain had been weaving and dodging as soon as a volley hit.

It had to be now.

Kresh paused in thought before replying. "Go below and bring Mehira." The officer stumbled across the deck to the captain's quarters. Moments later, the Sorceress appeared on deck, visibly put out for being summoned into the storm.

The Captain caught the briefest hint of her perfume on the driving wind before rain and ozone crowded out his senses. For a moment he lapsed back to the night before when their only concern was lovemaking and stolen wine. Malekith be damned, he loved this woman as much as any Druchii is capable of love.

"Kresh, what do you need?" she shouted to him even as she clung to the rail at his side. "I can't cast this far from the enemy."

"Call the Unseen Lurker, my love" he replied.

"Oh whom?!" her exasperation overwhelmed her and nearly cost her footing on the thrashing deck. "We're not close enough to board!"

"On the ship!" he shouted back.

"It's not intended…." Seawater washed over the deck before she could finish."…for something this large. Even if I can call the power, I don't know if it is even possible!"

"My beloved," he said as he gazed into her eyes, brushing back a soaking black lock of hair from her face. "Do this thing for me."

A moment passed. Another flash of lightning lit her pale face. She nodded her acquiescence. Her hands raised to pluck at the winds of Magic. Her rising power seemed to root her in place on the teetering deck.

"Chief of the Watch, prepare the boarders." Kresh barked. "Lieutenant, prepare a full volley with the Reapers. On my signal, unload on her starboard side. All hands, ready to take in all sails" The crew scurried away to their positions. Kresh then waited until a swell rose between his ship and the enemy. "Helm, fifteen degrees port." He smiled to himself, and a Dark Elf smile is never a good thing.

Through the wind he could hear Mehira's voice calling the Shadows. Her strain was evident. She positively crackled with energy as she swept the illusion over the ship. Through the swirling cloak of darkness that enveloped them, they could see the ghostly afterimage of their ship off to the starboard. She screamed the last words of the chant as the spell was cast. The sound carried all the way to the enemy ship as a siren's howl.

Again the Druchii ship crested the gigantic swell. In the valley between them, the freighter was just dipping its bow into the opposite wave.

"Sails up now!" the Captain shouted as thunder made the deck planks shudder. Without the drag of the sails, the Druchii ship plummeted down the slope of the wave like a boulder in an avalanche. Halfway down, the order was given. "Reapers! Let fly!"

Ghostly missiles leapt from the bow of the illusionary ship to mimic the real ones hurtling toward the enemy vessel. The marksmanship of the Reaper crew held true and the starboard side of the target was riddled with ballista bolts. The human captain dodged to port - directly into the path of the Druchii raiding galley.

"All hands brace!" was the last order heard before the barbed ram shaft pierced the enemy hull. The whole ship shook from the force of the impact. Before the humans could even get to their feet, the boarding ramp was embedded in the Brettonian deck. Corsairs were coming across five abreast and carving a crimson path through the hapless humans.

Captian Kresh smiled again. The freighter, her cargo, and every soul aboard, was now utterly his. He allowed himself a moment of pride. Perhaps they would name this the Kresh Maneuver at the naval academy in Naggaroth.

He turned to the Sorceress to find her collapsed on the deck. He crouched at her side and brushed back the same lock of hair from her eyes. Her jaw was slack and her eyes were glazed. Kresh had seen this before. Her final spell was cast with devastating power but her mind was gone. Perhaps she would recover some of her faculties, but she would never cast a spell again.

He stood up on the deck now stabilized by the huge ship. "Pity" he whispered under his breath as he caught his boot under her waist and pushed her into the heaving sea.

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This was my last outline that I had left over from the spring story competition. I had a creative burst this afternoon. Hope you enjoyed it.

[Malificant]

i really like it. why cant i write like this?? im just a silly fat cow.

[Dearchon]

oh my god that is actually amazing. . . and so harsh . . . its 150% druchii thru and thru, well done kala i salute you, wiht a knife be hind my back of course

[Voodoomaster]

another great story kala i love it, a typical druchii tale about life on the high seas.

[Shinobi]

im just a silly fat cow.

Rather interesting wiewpoint high self esteem you got there, *thumbs up!*
Back to topic: That was a good story Kala.
It really catched the athmosphere, and the end was very goo, and druchii styled. 10/10.

[Nakar]

Loved it. Also the fact that it was sea combat sold it to me even more.

[One-eye]

I like this story because it is realistic that a Brettonian ship would be giving them so much trouble as they are mentioned to have a devastating war fleet. The end was typical of Druchii but i am still glad that we won! overall a top job

[Sleekdd]

Ehm...wow. I am hereby officially impressed by your writing skills.

I'll be keeping an eye out for more stories coming from you. Great job.

[Ragnarok]

Well done. I liked how the captain used the skill of the bretonian against itself.

[Venneroth]

Amazing. Remind me to hire an assasin to pull one of those "mysterious hull breach" accidents on the good captains's vessel. I loved it. Strange though that a follower of the Convents who remold your mind into a form suitible for them would be so easily taken from her vows. Oh, well, that makes it twice as good a story.

[Canadian kamikazee]

Wow awesome story. It greatly depicts the way Dark Elves might take out a vessel. Although for one the Reapers are more or less used to clear the decks of vessels, and unseen lurker is used to hide things (black horror might have been a better idea).