"rmaids?" Jake said, the pieces clicking together.
"You sent them to test us."
"Of course. When I heard a flying ship had arrived in Baenil asking about , I wanted to know what I was dealing with before engaging directly. The rmaids were reconnaissance that happened to turn violent when you defended yourselves, which told useful things about your capabilities."
Elisabeth’s tone remained conversational, as though they were discussing the weather rather than the tactical precursors to what might beco lethal combat.
"Then I positioned myself at the inn where I knew you’d go for lodging, gathered more information in a context where your guard was down, and confird my assessnt that you’re clever and competent but also young enough to be distracted by a pretty face asking friendly questions."
Jake felt his jaw tighten at the accurate assessnt, and Elisabeth’s smile suggested she’d noticed the reaction and found it amusing.
Maureen was fuming with anger and that’s when Elisabeth turned to her and said, "Hello, little sister; its been a long, long while."
Maureen’s face reddened further as she clutched her fists.
And everyone around her looked at her with confusion.
Seeing their reactions, Elisabeth said, "Didn’t you tell them you ca looking for your elder sister?"
Jake frowned deeper as he looked at the two of them and was confused. So were the others; her obsession with the pirate queen, they all thought it was just a simple greed for gold, but it seed like she had other motives.
Suddenly, Jake realized her vague and struggling emotions when she talked about the pirate queen.
Maureen had learned about her sister becoming the pirate queen but couldn’t believe it. The reason she had co hunting for her was to kill her. It was her goal. She had beco an adventurer and trained harder to reach Class I swordswoman; it was all done to kill her sister, whom she hated with her guts.
Maureen’s sword ca back up so fast that Jake barely tracked the movent, the blade catching the afternoon light as it leveled at Elisabeth with the kind of focused intent that said the conversation was over and violence was beginning.
"You’re not my sister anymore," Maureen said, and her voice was cold in a way Jake hadn’t heard from her before, all the emotion from monts ago crystallizing into sothing hard and sharp.
"Elise died thirty years ago. You’re just a criminal wearing her face."
She raised her voice without turning around, calling to her crew still on Windrunner.
"Attack formation! Kill every one of those pirates!!"
Windrunner’s crew responded instantly, weapons clearing sheaths and magic activating with the visible glow of combat abilities being prepared. They didn’t hesitate because Maureen’s word was absolute for them. Though they were confused about the relation between them, as long as she was clear, they would follow her lead.
Elisabeth smiled, hearing her sister. She didn’t want to disappoint her sister, so she raised her hand, giving her n permission to proceed.
Maureen’s emotions were all over the place; she couldn’t control herself and stop to think for a mont. All these years of building up hatred were coming at once and she wouldn’t stop even if anyone tried to stop her.
While Elisabeth kept a smiling face as she watched her sister.
And Jake, he just stood there, ready to fight if the fight escalated.
Elisabeth’s pirates reacted with equal speed, the casual atmosphere of monts ago evaporating as both groups moved into fighting positions with the practiced efficiency of people who had done this many tis before.
"Maureen, why don’t—" Elisabeth started, but Maureen was already moving.
The Class I swordswoman closed the distance between herself and her sister with explosive speed, her blade coming around in a horizontal slash that would have taken Elisabeth’s head off if the pirate queen hadn’t been equally fast in her response.
Elisabeth’s own sword materialized in her hand—Jake hadn’t seen where she’d drawn it from—and t Maureen’s strike with a block that sent sparks flying and the ring of steel on steel echoing across the Darkwhale’s deck.
Maureen pulled back her sword and launched another strike, to which Elisabeth blocked elegantly.
The sisters fought with the particular viciousness that ca from people who knew each other too well and cared too much, their movents mirroring each other in ways that suggested they’d learned from the sa teachers or maybe just shared enough genetics that their bodies moved in similar patterns.
Maureen’s style was the unique blend Jake had seen during the rmaid fight—aggressive and flowing, mixing grappling with blade work—and Elisabeth fought with a similar approach but adapted for soone who operated on ship decks where footing was uncertain and space was limited.
Around them, the two crews collided in a chaotic lee that spread across the Darkwhale’s massive deck.
Windrunner’s six adventurers were skilled and coordinated, working in their practiced formations, but they were outnumbered by pirates who knew their own ship’s layout intimately and used that knowledge to create advantages.
The cargo ship that had been in the process of being looted was temporarily forgotten as both sides focused entirely on the sudden battle.
Those six adventurers were already injured, and fighting such a number at this ti was difficult for them. So Jake decided to act quickly and help them.
Jake activated Shadow Serpent Manifestation and pulled darkness from every shadow the afternoon sun created across the deck, feeling the technique respond with eager readiness.
Ten constructs materialized in rapid succession, their black forms coiling upward from shadow pools and spreading across the deck to engage pirates who were trying to overwhelm Windrunner’s crew through numbers.
The shadow serpents struck with autonomous hunting intelligence, their venomous fangs finding gaps in armor and exposed flesh, their bodies wrapping around limbs to restrict movent and create openings for Jake’s allies to exploit.
Three pirates went down in the first thirty seconds as shadow-venom spread through their systems faster than their bodies could process it, paralysis setting in before they could fully register what was happening.
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